BusinessMirror December 01, 2021

Peza backs down on revenue-based WFH

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

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THE WORLD »A6

WHO warns that new Covid variant poses ‘very high’ risk

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HE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) is no longer appealing its bid, before the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), to implement a revenue-based threshold for workfrom-home (WFH) arrangements in the information technologybusiness process management (IT-BPM) sector.

Peza Director General Charito Plaza, in an interview with the BusinessMirror, said the FIRB has not yet responded to their renewed call for the WFH scheme.

T he regulator of economic zones, to recall, recently asked the FIRB to reconsider their proposal after rejecting it in September.

“No response from FIRB which means go on with their decision [that] WFH is based on total number of employees,” she told this newspaper.

The Peza proposal, which seeks to base the threshold on gross revenues, will allow locators to have 100-percent WFH arrangement for the work force. However, it also means that only 90 percent of the revenues of the activity will be subject to incentives.

The Peza law states that all activities of registered locators must be within the ecozones for them to avail of the incentives.

Asked if Peza will be filing an appeal again, Plaza replied: “No more, we’re just guiding our locators [on] how to implement FIRB’s decision.”

The FIRB has decided to allow

WFH arrangements for up to 90 percent of employees in the IT-BPM sector until March 31 next year.

This means 10 percent of the employees are working on-site.

Earlier, the Peza official expressed concern for the on-site work force amid the Covid-19 situation.

“This will defeat the purpose of the extension of the WFH arrangement, which is to limit the mobility of workers and lessen the pressure on public transport because they will contribute to the number of people outside even if it is possible for them to perform their jobs within the confines of their respective homes,” she had explained.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who is also a FIRB co-chairman, said previously that the current

WFH arrangement was “reasonable” as it is based on consultations with the industries.

“Moreover, you can see that the country is gradually and safely moving to more reopening of the economy into the new normal with increasing vaccination rate, the reduction in Covid cases and HCUR [hospital care utilization rate],” he told the BusinessMirror earlier.

Lopez, as such, said they expect more employees reporting for work physically. Still, the trade official said that the hybrid working scheme can improve productivity moving forward.

According to a survey by IT and Business Process Association Philippines, the hybrid working model for the industry is expected to stay until next year.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 54

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N.G. TO CURE ‘SCARRING’ FROM COVID, MANDANAS n

PHL PINS ECONOMIC HOPES ON NEW TECH

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EW technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing will allow the country to attain AmBisyon2040, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the government needs to continuously innovate and make its systems more resilient against future crises through foresight planning. This will include the full implementation of the Philippine Innovation Act in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Apar t f rom being the

A ‘NO-GO’ NOW Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go gestures as he talks to workers at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City right after he declared his withdrawal from the presidential race on Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Story in Nation, page A4. NONOY LACZA

By Cai U. Ordinario

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@caiordinario

HE national government is considering crafting a fiscal consolidation plan to prevent further economic scarring from the pandemic and the impact of the Mandanas ruling, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

See “Covid,” A2

c o u nt r y ’s p r e m i e r p l a n ning agency, Neda is also the v ice-chair of the National Innovation Council (NIC), the highest innovation policy-making body in the countr y.

“The Philippines will soon be an upper-middle-income country in one or two years, and a high-income country over the next generation.

What will underpin and sustain this growth is innovation. We look for ward to working with the DOST and our partners in transforming the Philippines through the new lens of strategic foresight planning,” Chua said in a statement.

See “Tech,” A2

Hotels turn to online shopping channels for help

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM

Special to the BusinessMirror

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O V I D -1 9 m a y h a v e cramped the style of the hospitality industry, but it has also enabled its many players to “adapt, restrategize, and thrive [ART].”

Ok ad a Ma ni l a, t his yea r’s Virtus Awardee as the “Most Resi lient Business-Proper t y,”

for instance, tapped e-commerce channels like Lazada and Shoppee to increase its revenues, supplementing its direct and online travel agency bookings.

Victor Galzote, director of corporate marketing and communications of the luxury integrated gaming resort, said, “This threepronged approach [ART] has enabled us to reinvent our offerings based on consumer insights we’ve gathered, which basically

show their need to experience a semblance of ‘normalcy’ again.”

These efforts, plus their proactive approach in enforcing strict safety standards, have also earned Okada Manila official recognition by the Forbes Travel Guide/Sharecare Certification as being compliant with all safety requirements. At the time of certification, only 134 properties worldwide were certified, with only three in the Philippines.

Now in its seventh year, the Virtus Awards is an annual project of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association Philippines (HSMA), which acknowledges the various efforts of hotel sales and marketing professionals in several prestigious categories. The awards have gained even more particular significance in light of the hospitality sector’s struggles See “Hotels,” A2

PESO exchange rates n US 50.4580 n japan 0.4438 n UK 67.3261 n HK 6.4702 n CHINA 7.8927 n singapore 36.8172 n australia 36.0119 n EU 57.0377 n SAUDI arabia 13.4511 Source: BSP (29 November 2021)

A2

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

BusinessMirror

Saudi labor office: Ex-general’s labor row with maids resolved

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

The dispute apparently was the last straw that prompted Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to temporarily suspend the deployment

of newly-hired FIlipino domestic helpers to Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social

Development said that the dispute was resolved with the granting of the Filipino maids’ wish to return to the Philippines.

“We make it clear that the dispute was dealt with in a timely manner and workers returned based on their desire to The Philippines,” the MHRSD said in a statement.

It said the resolution was made “in coordination with” the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.

In a radio interview, Bello earlier cited a case of one Saudi general who had eight workers who were later

Covid. . .

will cost the country P1 trillion annually between 2021 and 2024.

“Tax revenue losses from the pandemic-induced economic slump, the rise in debt to fund our Covid-19 response, the looming revenue impact of our economic recovery measures, and lower spending efficiency as a result of the Supreme Court decision to expand the share of LGUs from the NTA (National Tax Allotment) must be adequately addressed by the next administration’s economic team,” Dominguez said.

DOF said the country’s outstanding balance or the principal value of the loans is $22.58 billion or P1.15

trillion; while the interest payments until maturity will amount to $6.32 billion or P320.85 billion. These loans will mature between 2024 and 2060.

Meanwhile, tax revenue losses as a result of the pandemic, DOF said, have reached P785.64 billion or 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020.

DOF noted that before Covid-19 struck early last year, tax revenues were expected to increase by 16.2 percent in 2020.

“Covid-19-related loans for the pandemic response and budgetary support to finance the deficit have also translated into increased

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HE Saudi labor ministry claimed that it has resolved the labor case between a retired Saudi general and his Filipino maids.

Continued from A1

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the country’s Covid-19related loans have reached US$28.91 billion or P1.47 trillion while foregone revenues due to the pandemic are expected to reach P1 trillion annually between 2021 and 2024.

Moreover, Dominguez said the implementation of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) and Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST)

molested, abused and not paid their salaries.

Prior to this, Bello has been threatening to suspend the deployment of workers to Saudi Arabia, saying that more than 9,000 Filipino workers have yet to receive their unpaid salaries and end-of-services pay.

“The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development affirms its keenness on everything that would guarantee the rights of workers of all nationalities,” the Saudi side said.

The Saudi labor ministry is now talking with DOLE “to discuss what was published about the temporary suspension of sending domestic workers,” it added.

financing costs for the government,” the DOF said.

Mandanas ruling

Meanwhile, DOF said the Mandanas ruling that will take effect in January 2022 will also have implications on economic growth.

DOF estimates found that implementing the High Tribunal’s 2018 decision will result in 3 percent lower economic growth, because the higher LGU allocation will be subject to a lower spending efficiency.

It noted that in general, National Government spending is more than twice as efficient as that of local governments. Spending efficiency is defined as the share of productive spending to total spending.

The DOF said productive spending is expenditure that goes back to the economy, generates multiplier effects, creates jobs, stimulates demand and improves the quality of life.

“Based on our estimates, the implementation of the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling will yield lower economic growth because local governments spend less efficiently,” Dominguez said.

In 2018, the Supreme Court affirmed that the LGUs’ “just share” of revenues includes all national government taxes, instead of just those collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

This SC ruling refers to the expanded NTA—formerly known as the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA)—for LGUs.

Tech. . .

Continued from A1

Chua said several nations such as Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan have already adopted foresight into their Science, Technology, and Innovation, or STI planning, and institutionalized this concept in their policy-making process.

“Following the experiences of other countries, we also aspire to improve our Global Innovation Index ranking by encouraging more research, development, and adaptation of new technologies,” Chua said.

Chua said that DOST’s PAGTANAW 2050 will complement the National Innovation Strategy, a 10-year foresight plan that aims to weave and harmonize existing policies and strategies with the evolving innovation ecosystem.

He said PAGTANAW 2050 highlights the efforts of the DOST through the National Academy of Science and Technology to provide an outlook of the possible development scenarios that could influence Filipino aspirations in the next 30 years.

Earlier, Neda said it intends to “walk the talk” and establish its own data science team to arrive at a “single truth” needed for policymaking.

In the Philippine Business Conference (PBC) plenary, Chua said apart from addressing the current crisis, the Neda is also employing “futures thinking” by looking beyond the pandemic.

Chua said these are just some of the innovations Neda is doing to support the efforts of the next administration. He said proposals for the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) will also include these innovations. Cai U. Ordinario

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Hotels. . .

Continued from A1

to remain in the black even as revenues continue to be tepid. Earlier, the HSMA said hotel industry losses have reached 80 percent since Covid-19 struck and international travel restrictions were enforced.

Similar to Okada Manila, the Chroma Hospitality Group received the Most Resilient-Hospitality Group Award because of their ability to keep their occupancy rate stable through their travel bubble initiatives in Boracay Island and in Clark. Their Clark property, in particular, became home to athletes of the Philippine Basketball Association in September 2020. They were also able to cater to the dietary needs of their clientele, like serving kosher meals for an Israeli team.

Conrad Hotel Manila took the award for Outstanding Marketing Campaign for their “Meetings To Go/ Signature Takeaway” campaign, which drove sales and pushed the brand, all within a limited budget.

Meanwhile, individual awards were given to Ericka Joy Calamba, Hotel 101 Group’s Sales Executive for MICE (Meetings Incentives Conventions Exhibitions), as Outstanding Sales and Marketing Associate; Joy de Mesa, Robinsons Hotels and Resorts Group Director of Sales and Marketing, as Outstanding Sales and Marketing Leader; and Alexis John Aquino, former Marketing and Communications Manager of JPark Island Resort & Waterpark Mactan in Cebu, as Outstanding Sales and Marketing Manager.

On operating under constantly changing alert levels and pandemic guidelines, Virtus Awards chairperson Rose Libongco said, “[The] hotels have taken the [new government] protocols to heart and have adjusted their systems to make it as seamless as possible for the guests. They have matched hotel operations with all the applicable alert level requirements satisfied.”

She added, “[They] implemented new practices to hang on and steady their foothold. That showcased their resiliency and flexibility to adapt to the unprecedented crisis. We move on with a renewed confidence that the light is getting brighter.”

The HSMA was established in 1979 as an informal gathering of directors of sales and marketing of top hotels in Metro Manila, and has grown over the years to become an organization of 140 hotel and resort properties nationwide.

On Great Plebeian’s day, DND chief asks Pinoys: Be ‘keepers’ of freedom

By Rene Acosta

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@reneacostaBM

EFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called on Filipinos to remain “keepers” of the country’s freedom as the defense and military establishment joined the country’s observance of Andres Bonifacio Day. Tuesday’s commemoration of the 158th birth anniversary of Bonifacio was led by President Duterte, who was joined by the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Andres Centino during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Spirit of Pinaglabanan Monument in San Juan City.

“Like Bonifacio, may we all become faithful stewards of our nation’s freedom and dedicate ourselves in the service of our fellowmen,” Lorenzana said in a statement released through Department of National Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong.

Lorenzana paid tribute to the life and legacy of Bonifacio, whom he called ”a man of lowly beginnings who dared to dream of a free and independent Filipino nation.”

“Today, we take courage in facing our presentday challenges inspired by the patriotism and perseverance of the Great Plebeian. He laid the groundwork for the formation of our republic, and underscored the importance of fulfilling our individual duties and working together towards a common goal,” he said.

Centino, for his part, said Bonifacio, being the father of Philippine revolution, was known for his patriotism and heroism, and has left a “legacy of liberty, dignity and sovereignty” for the Filipinos.

“Today, 158 years after his birth, Gat Andres Bonifacio’s nationalistic spirit, which inspired the Katipunan and spurred our ancestors to unite and fight to establish our republic, still lives on among us. His love of country, bravery, and sacrifices serve as enduring ideals that every freedom-loving citizen strives to emulate and pursue,” Centino said.

In a message to the soldiers, the chief of staff called on the uniformed service to be inspired by Bonifacio.

“To the men and women of the Armed Forces, may the patriotism and heroism of Gat Andres Bonifacio empower us to remain faithful and steadfast in our mandate of protecting the people and securing the state, which shall similarly inspire us into becoming more competent and dependable public servants that the Filipino people can truly rely on,” he said.

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Marawi peace situation improves, but more investments needed for recovery

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

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AVAO CITY—The lone Islamic city in the country has improved its peace and order situation after the terror war in 2017, but it still needs help in investment promotion to recover its pre-2017 economy as one of the centers of trade and commerce in the Bangsamoro region.

Prominent Marawi businessman, Elian Macala, also president of Bangon Marawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI), said the situation in Marawi and Lanao del Sur “is improving after the 2017 Marawi siege but there is still an urgent need to provide more resources and the participation of the private sector and businessmen.”

“Their help would sustain and further develop the growth of the only Islamic city in the Bangsamoro Autonmous Region in Muslim Mindanao [BARMM],” he said. He added that a booming Marawi economy would be a major factor in boosting the BARMM economy.

The BMCCI is the recognized affiliate business chamber in Marawi City of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. The BMCCI hosted and provided the logistical support for the holding in that city the Investment Forum and Orientation on Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE).

The November 25 forum was

organized by the Regional Board of Investments (RBOI-Barmm) to promote Marawi City and the province of Lanao del Sur as an ideal investment destination in the BARMM. It was held at the Soti Gas Station commercial square in Marawi City.

Potential investors and strategic partners, including government officials and private sector representatives attended the forum in Marawi City, said lawyer Ishak V. Mastura, chairman of RBOI-BARMM. He said the province’s improved peace and order situation was corroborated

by RBOI-registered firms like Mt. Kalatungan Agriventures Inc. and Wao Development Corp., who are engaged in Cavendish banana export and pineapple export, respectively.

Mastura said Republic Act 11534, or the CREATE Act, would help improve the business climate in Marawi City and the other localities in the BARMM, saying this law “is looked upon by many businesses as a lifesaver especially with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Believed to be a game changer, CREATE aims to improve equity and efficiency of the corporate tax system by lowering the rate, from 30 percent to 20 percent. More importantly this provides for a simplified incentives law for all investments in the country, wherein the tax incentives extended to private sector investments are rationalized and have become uniform across the different Investment Promotion Agencies that includes the RBOI-BARMM,” Mastura added.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, December 1, 2021 A3

Solon pushes completion of offshore gas devt drilling project in Recto Bank

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By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

ESPITE tensions with China, the chairman of the House Committee on Strategic Intelligence on Tuesday said two offshore gas drilling activities in Recto Bank must proceed as scheduled gas deposits there could yield up to P910 billion in future royalties for the government.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, in a news statement, said Sampaguita gas discovery in Recto Bank has the potential to energize the entire national grid—not just Luzon—for the next 20 to 30 years.

“We have no choice but to carry on with the drilling activities,” he said.

Sampaguita gas discovery is located 250 kilometers southwest of Malampaya. Citing Department of Energy records, Pimentel said Sampaguita’s operator is required to drill two offshore appraisal wells on or before October 16, 2022.

“In fact, if the groups clamoring for a government buyout of the Malampaya gas field really want to

carry on with their foolishness, they should target Sampaguita, which is far more valuable to the country’s future energy security,” Pimentel said.

According to Pimentel, Sampaguita is “an untapped value-changing asset” with up to 4.6 trillion cubic feet of gas, while Malampaya, which has been producing gas for the last 20 years, has only 1.6 trillion cubic feet of residual gas at best.

“There is even one study suggesting that the entire Recto Bank has up to 20 trillion cubic feet of potential gas in place,” Pimentel said.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in July 2016 that Recto Bank is within the Philip-

pines’s exclusive economic zone, as defined under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea. By virtue of the ruling, the Philippines enjoy absolute rights to exploit all resources in the seamount.

Force majeure

AMID rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea, Pimentel also warned the Department of Energy (DOE) against imposing another force majeure on Forum Energy Ltd., the operator of Sampaguita, which is located 250 kilometers southwest of Malampaya.

“A second force majeure would be a colossal sign of weakness on the part of the Philippine government,” Pimentel said.

“We also do not want Forum Energy to invoke the tensions as an excuse to voluntarily postpone the programmed gas drilling activities,” Pimentel said.

During the Aquino administration, the DOE in December 2015 placed all petroleum service contracts in and around Recto Bank under force majeure on account of the dispute with China over maritime claims.

In October last year, the Duterte administration lifted the force majeure, thus allowing the resumption of gas exploration work.

When it lifted the force majeure, DOE gave Forum Energy a two-year deadline, or until October 16, 2022, to drill its two commitment wells in Sampaguita at a cost of $100 million (P5 billion).

Forum Energy, which has a 70 percent operating stake in Sampaguita, is expected to drill the two wells under 260 feet of water at target depth of 10,300 feet below the seabed.

Tensions in the West Philippine Sea have risen in recent weeks, after Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked and water cannoned two Philippine civilian boats on November 16.

The boats were on a resupply mission to a Marines detachment at the BRP Sierra Madre, an obsolete tank landing ship that the Philippine government purposely ran aground in 1999 on Ayungin Shoal to serve as an outpost in the Kalayaan Islands (Spratly Islands), some 194 kilometers west of Palawan.

Sampaguita is projected to contain 2.6 trillion cubic feet of in-place gas and 5.5 trillion cubic feet of inplace prospective gas, according to an independent assessment by Weatherford Petroleum Consultants.

Another study estimates Sampaguita’s potential resources at 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and 440 million barrels of oil.

The Nation

A4 Wednesday, December 1, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

SC junks writ of kalikasan plea vs Camiguin diesel power plant

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

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HE Supreme Court has unanimously junked the petition filed by environmental organizations and several residents who petitioned for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan and a writ of continuing mandamus to enjoin the establishment of a diesel power plant by a power generation company in Mambajao, Camiguin.

In an 11-page decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda, the Court en banc unanimously affirmed two resolutions of the Court of Appeals, which both dismissed the petition filed by Citizens for a Green and Peaceful Camiguin Sulog Inc., Save CDO (Cagayan de Oro) Now Movement Inc., Task Force Macajalar and several other individuals.

The Court held that there was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Appellate Court in dismissing the petition, which named King Energy Generation Inc., (KEGI) Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment

and Natural Resources, Barangay Balbagon of Mambajao, Camiguin, Municipal Government of Mambajao, Provincial Government of Camiguin and Camiguin Electric Cooperative (Camelco).

The petitioners argued that the construction of said power plant violates their constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology and various environmental laws.

They added that the project should have not been approved due to its health, safety, and environmental hazards aside from KEGI’s failure to secure an environmental compliance certificate as required under Presidential Decree 1151 and Presidential Decree 1586.

Aside from these, the petitioners said the project did not have the approval of the President upon recommendation of the Philippine Tourism Authority as required under Proclamation 1801.

The construction, according to the petitioners, also failed to comply with the requirement of public consultation under Sections 26 and 27 of the Local Government

Code and that the Sangguniang Bayan violated Memorandum Circular 54 when it caused the reclassification of the area where the power plant is to be located from agricultural to industrial land without conducting the necessary public hearings.

KEGI, on the other hand, disputed petitioners’ claim that diesel power plant technology is unsafe.

It cited the case of Mindanao, which houses several existing diesel power plants without having any reported environmental issues.

It also stressed that its project has complied with all licensing and permit requirements, including those under the Philippine Clean Water Act and the Philippine Clean Air Act. In dismissing the petition, the Court reminded parties that seek the issuance of the writ of kalikasan carry the burden of substantiating its plea.

The SC said before filing the case, petitioners must be ready with the evidence necessary for the determination of the writ’s issuance.

In this case, the Court noted that

the petitioners failed to prove that they were entitled for the issuance of the writ of kalikasan.

The SC pointed out that aside from citing a purported press release issued by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) on the association between cancer and diesel exposure, as well as a Wikipedia article on the advantages and disadvantages of diesel engines compared to spark ignition engines, the petitioners offered no other evidence to support the alleged safety, health and environmental damage caused by the construction of the diesel power plant to the residents of Camiguin.

“In fine, we do not find that the CA committed reversible error in dismissing the petitions for issuance of a writ of kalikasan and writ of continuing mandamus in his case.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, the Court shares petitioners’ concern for the environment. This concern, however, is not an excuse to invoke Court’s jurisdiction in cases where other remedies are available,” the SC said.

Good luck to Bong Go after exit from May 2022 race–Lacson

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

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ARTIDO Reporma chairman and standard bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Tuesday wished fellow senator and presidential candidate Christopher “Bong” Go good luck on his future endeavors after the administration bet announced he was formally withdrawing from the 2022 electoral race.

At a news conference following his dialog with transport sector leaders on Bonifacio Day, Lacson said Go had indicated his desire to pull out from the May 9 polls several times in his private tete-a-tetes with him and his running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, in between sessions.

“I only learned it now that Senator Bong Go officially withdrew, although he had indicated it for a while now,” Lacson said, recalling that “even when we were in the Senate lounge, he really would feel dejected, frustrated with the developments.”

Lacson recalled that Go was even “telling us, confiding in us both with Senate President Sotto when we’re in the lounge, in our tete-a-tete there before or during session breaks, he was saying: ‘I don’t know how I got here because I was already happy… Even becoming a senator, I didn’t expect that I would become a senator.”

Saying he does not want President Duterte, whom he loves as a father, to be caught in the middle in his support for national candidates, Go earlier announced he was withdrawing from the presidential race, and was leaving his fate to God. Waxing emotional on the sidelines at the November 30 commemoration rites for Andres Bonifacio’s birth anniversary at San Juan City’s Pinaglabanan Shrine, Go said, “I don’t want President Duterte

SAN Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, together with his wife Keri, and Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and other officials, unveil the Katipunan and the Battle of Pinaglabanan Mural at the corner of Pinaglabanan and P. Narciso Streets in San Juan City, November 30, 2021, Bonifacio Day. The mural depicts Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio as Katipuneros, while the Ang Pinaglabanan along the stretch of a wall in Pinaglabanan Street, depicts the historic battle led by Bonifacio on August 30, 1896. NONOY LACZA

caught in the middle because I love him as a father. He is old and has given much to the country. I don’t want to add to his burdens. I will remain loyal to him and I vow to be with him forever.”

Go initially filed his candidacy for Vice President under PDPLaban, as running mate to Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, but on the deadline for withdrawals and substitutions, he withdrew his certificate of candidacy for Vice president and subsequently filed for President under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) party, with no less than

President Duterte accompanying him to the Commission on Elections. The latter also filed his candidacy for senator under PDDS. Moreover, Lacson quoted Go as saying, “I was ready to run for Vice President, but this presidential run, this is something that I don’t expect and I have not prepared for.”

Lacson added: “That is all I can say, and I wish him luck. We have an unwritten rule—if it’s a fellow senator, it’s a fellow senator, and you don’t—normally, as much as you can avoid it, you don’t speak ill of your colleagues in the Senate. So, good luck to Senator Bong Go, whatever

his plans in life are henceforth. Good luck to him.”

The Commission on Elections, meanwhile, said the PDDS may have permanently lost its chance to field a standard bearer for the 2022 polls after Go’s withdrawal.

The poll body said if Go pushes through with the withdrawal of his candidacy, he can no longer be replaced by PDDS with another candidate.

“Since it would be a voluntary withdrawal, no substitution,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said in a brief statement issued on Tuesday. With Samuel P. Medenilla

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MMDA revives number coding scheme at Edsa

METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority Traffic Discipline Office Director Neomie Recio (left) and MMDA Chairman Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. answer questions from the media at a conference on the reimplementation of the number coding scheme. PHOTO COURTESY OF MMDA

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

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TARTING Wednesday, December 1, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will reimpose the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), or number coding scheme, during rush hours to cut the number of vehicles on Edsa.

Neomie Recio, MMDA Traffic Discipline Office director, said that during peak hours, the vehicles plying along Edsa ranges from 18,000 to 20,000.

“Malaking bagay na rin ito [This is already a big thing if 2,700 vehicles will be reduced]...Ang maximum natin na dumadaan sa Edsa per hour ay 20,000, Edsa lang ha [A maximum of 20,000 vehicles per hour are plying along Edsa, this is for Edsa alone],” Recio said responding to the question of the BusinessMirror.

In addition, MMDA Chairman Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. expressed worries that if the number coding will not be reimplemented, the vehicles traversing Edsa will hit 405,000.

Recio said that the capacity of Edsa is around 288,000 to 300,000 vehicles in a day.

“But right now our volume [of vehicles] is 401,000. Ibig sabihin may sobra tayong [meaning we have an excess of] 100,000 in a day. So that’s why kailangan natin magbawas [we need to reduce the number],” Recio said adding that the private vehicles comprises 49 percent to 53 percent of vehicles using the roads of Metro Manila.

“Our public transport is just around 8 percent to 10 percent, a very small percentage. The dominant really are cars and motorcycles but we don’t include motorcycles because they just occupy a small spaces of the road unlike cars,” she added.

The number coding will be implemented in the afternoon on Mondays to Fridays, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., except during holidays.

Abalos said that the Metro Manila Council (MMC) through a resolution on the implementation of the calibrated traffic mitigation measures in the National Capital Region (NCR) aimed to avoid a traffic management crisis in the future already approved this.

According to MMDA Resolution 21-30, per the recent travel survey and analysis which was conducted by the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center, including vehicle volume

count, travel time and travel speed study, and average daily traffic rate, it was determined that the current traffic situation is approaching the pre-pandemic levels.

The number coding scheme in the metropolis will only cover private vehicles. Vehicles with plates ending in 1 and 2 are prohibited on Monday, 3 and 4 on Tuesday, 5 and 6 on Wednesday, 7 and 8 on Thursday, 9 and 0 on Friday.

Exempted from the modified UVVRP are public-utility vehicles (including tricycles), transport network vehicle services (TNVS), motorcycles, garbage trucks, fuel trucks, motor vehicles carrying essential and/or perishable goods.

“Data shows that the travel speed along the northbound portion of Edsa is 9.66 kilometers per hour.

Hence, we have to reinstate the number coding scheme during the afternoon rush hours to address the problem. We are trying to exhaust all options here,” Abalos stressed.

“The solution to this problem is efficient traffic management and mass transport system,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abalos said the light trucks ban along Edsa would be reimplemented, also with modification.

Based on the UVVRP motor vehicle plate endings, light trucks shall be prohibited to ply Edsa between Magallanes, Makati City and North Avenue, Quezon City, both northbound and southbound, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays, except holidays.

“Light trucks” refer to motor vehicles, whether for commercial use or not, with a gross capacity weight of 4,500 kilograms or below and/or having six or more tires, the payload area of which are either enclosed or open.

Meanwhile, the total truck ban policy along Edsa between Magallanes, Makati City and North Avenue, Quezon City, both northbound and southbound, shall remain and be strictly enforced with the exception of garbage trucks, fuel trucks, and trucks carrying essential and/or perishable goods. On the other hand, the truck ban hours in the NCR shall remain suspended until further notice.

“Trucks” refer to motor vehicles, whether for commercial use or not, with a gross capacity weight of above 4,500 kilograms.

The MMC, composed of the 17 local government units of Metro Manila, is the governing body and policy-making body of the MMDA.

BBM envisions to establish more SUCs in the provinces T

HE government should build more state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country if it wants to hone and develop more Filipino professionals for the country’s work force.

According to Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard bearer Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., it is his dream to establish SUCs in every province in the Philippines.

At present, SUCs have only 112 main campuses in the Philippines with a total of 421 satellite campuses.

Central Luzon has 12 main SUCs; Western Visayas has 11 SUCs; Eastern Visayas has 10; nine in Bicol region, eight in the National Capital Region, five to six each in Zamboanga Peninsula, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Mimaropa, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Davao Region, four in Caraga and only three in Soccsksargen.

If the construction of various public colleges and universities in

every corner of the country continues, it will be a big help for financially challenged parents who want excellent education for their children, but also that people living in rural areas need not migrate and add to the overcrowding of cities.

Marcos recognizes the characteristic excellence of provincial students who often land on the Top 10 in board and bar exams.

“Palibhasa, mas determinado silang makapagtapos sa pag-aaral kaya dapat talaga tuluy-tuloy ang

pagpapatayo ng SUCs sa probinsiya. Tulong man iyan mula sa national o local government,” said Marcos.

At the same time, the former senator believes that the construction of various Centers for Excellence and Centers of Development should be strengthened to further enhance the skills, competence and intelligence of Filipino students.

Marcos also noted the increasing number of students enrolling on the first day of school, but are later drop-

ping out because of financial issues.

“Nalulungkot po tayo sa report na ganyan. Iba’t iba ang dahilan kaya maraming estudyante ang nageenroll pero hindi nakaka-graduate.

Marami riyan problema sa pera kasi mahal nga naman ang matrikula, libro, pamasahe at baon sa eskuwela. Iyong iba naman ay posibleng nawawalan ng interes sa pag-aaral.

Kaya dapat maliban sa pagpapalakas sa mura at kalidad ng edukasyon ay maiparamdam sa kanila ang kahalagahan ng edukasyon, lalo na kung

makikita ng bawat isa sa ating estudyante ang kanilang sariling kakayahan at kagalingan,” he added.

Marcos had earlier cited the recent P10-billion budget cut in education for 2022 as a big unwanted pushback in the country’s mission to provide quality education for all.

It was learned that from the P62.3-billion budget proposed by the Commission on Higher Education, it was cut to P52.6 billion as recommended by the Department of Budget and Management.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2021 A5

DOH logs lowest daily Covid case count since July ’20 on Tuesday

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

T

HE Philippines has recorded the lowest number of Covid-19 cases yet since July last year after a total of 425 additional infections were logged by the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday.

A total of 2,832,734 have contracted the disease.

There were also 909 recoveries and 44 deaths.

Of the total number of cases, 0.6 percent (15,800) are active, 97.7 percent (2,768,389) have recovered, and 1.71 percent (48,545) have died.

Three duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, two are recoveries.

In addition, 63 cases were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count.

These 63 are recoveries.

Moreover, 40 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

Two labs were not operational on November 28, 2021, while 4 labs were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System.

Based on data in the last 14 days, the six labs contribute, on average, 0.4 percent of samples tested and 0.4 pecent of positive individuals.

Vaccination

MEANWHILE, a total of 216,357 persons were inoculated in the C a l aba rzon (C av ite, L ag u na, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region, topping the highest number of vaccine doses administered by region, during the first day of the three-

day national vaccination day, the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) said.

As of 3 p.m. on Monday, Calabarzon recorded 216,357 jabs followed by Region 5 with 192,160 and 133,000 for Region 3.

The province with the highest number of vaccinees is Batangas with 60,681 followed by Cavite with 48,636, Laguna-47,068, Rizal35,855 and Quezon-24,117.

Regional Director Ariel I. Valencia lauded the vaccination teams for their sacrifices.

“Although we haven’t reached our target of 1 million vax per day, the high influx of vaccinees in vaccination centers only shows that people’s hesitancy against the Covid vaccines is waning and they are already voluntarily accepting the Covid-19 vaccines,” Valencia said.

POEA freezes deployment of new HSWs to Saudi Arabia

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

T

HOUSANDS of newly hired Filipino household service workers (HSW) may have to wait until the end of the month, or until early next year at the most, before they could be deployed and be able to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

This developed as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) announced it is drafting a new set of guidelines on HSW deployment to the oil-rich kingdom.

POEA announced it is eyeing to come out with the protocols by December to plug the gaps in its blacklisting mechanism for erring foreign employers and recruitment agencies.

At a virtual news conference, POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia disclosed they are now gathering inputs from NGOs, recruitment agencies, and the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) in KSA to

come out with the draft guidelines.

“We will try to complete it [guidelines] next month. But if we lack the time for this, it might take us until early next year,” Olalia said.

He noted their draft guidelines will compel foreign employers to include their definitive addresses, where their hired HSWs will be deployed and submit a government issued ID, which should contain their names and addresses.

The new protocols will be initially piloted in the KSA, and if successfully implemented, it will be cascaded in other Filipino HSW destination countries.

Plugging the gaps

OLALIA said they came out with the new requirements since many erring employers are able to avoid being blacklisted from POEA by using just postal codes for their address and making slight alterations in their names.

He said this makes it difficult

for POEA to keep track if a foreign employer has repeatedly abused the Filipino HSW he or she hires.

This, the POEA head said, was the case of a retired Saudi general, who was able to keep hiring Filipino HSWs despite previous complaints from several HSWs, by using a “pseudo employer.”

The case prompted the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to temporarily suspend the deployment of newly hired HSWs bound for KSA until the said gaps for HSWs deployment is enforced.

“Aside from the retired [Saudi] general we observed that even if we have blacklisted [employers], the number of welfare cases continue to increase,” Olalia said.

“We were able to take notice of these gaps again, which we are now trying to plug,” he added.

To note, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, POEA deployed over 200,000 HSWs per year. Most of these HSWs work in Middle East countries like KSA.

WHO exec urges PHL to hold new round of vaccination prior to Yuletide holidays

T

HE World Health Organization (WHO) is now urging the government to conduct another round of vaccination this month just before the upcoming Christmas holidays to reduce the risk of resurgence of Covid-19 cases.

WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said the measure will be crucial in thick of global concerns over the Covid-causing Omicron variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

“It’s important because we are in a scenario that we now have potential circulation of Omicron globally and even besides that, we are ahead of the Christmas season that we know that there could be a lot of gatherings and arrivals from abroad,” Abeyasinghe said in televised interview with PTV last Monday.

Omicron was declared a variant of concern by the WHO since its heavy mutations is said to make it

more infectious compared to other SARS-CoV-2 variants.

As of Tuesday, Omicron cases were detected in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

WHO lauded the conduct of the National Vaccination Days (NVD), which started last Monday, since it will help increase the number of people who are protected against Covid-19.

However, it did express some concern over the overcrowding as well as the lack of priority lanes for the vulnerable sector in vaccination centers, which it noted, should be addressed by the government in the remaining days of the NVD. “Overall, WHO is fully supporting the campaign. We are talking with the Department of Health already on the potential replication within the month of December,” Abeyasinghe said.

The government is targeting to vaccinate 3 million people per day

during the three-day NVD, which will end on Thursday.

However, during the first day of the event, National Vaccination Operation Center Chairman Myrna C. Cabotaje said they were only able to register a total of 2.5 million people.

While this fell short of their target, it was more than double than the average 1 million vaccinated individuals the government is able to inoculate on regular days.

Cabotaje noted the regions with the biggest number of vaccinated individuals under the NVD are Regions 4A, 3, 6, 7, and 5.

Acting Presidential spokesman Karlo B. Nograles said they hope the NVD will allow the government to reach the target of fully vaccinating 54 million people before the end of the year.

As of Monday, the government was only able to register 35.6 million fully vaccinated people nationwide.

Samuel P. Medenilla

Dinagat Island gets chicken multiplier breeder farm

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AVAO CITY—The Department of Agriculture (DA) has sent a native chicken breeder farm package to Dinagat Island province in northeastern Mindanao to replenish or revive its chicken stock and help farmers’ cooperatives to rev up their livelihood ravaged by inactivity due to pandemic restrictions.

The DA allotted P5 million for the native chicken multiplier breeder farm that was received by the provincial local government unit of Dinagat on November 25.

The assistance was under the DA’s Bayanihan Act II Stimulus Package

for Agriculture.

The provincial government will handle the operation of the multiplier farm that intends to raise chicken breeders and produce stocks to be distributed to pre-identified recipient farmers and other households.

DA said 50 percent of the stocks to be produced would be given for free to identified recipients in the first three years or until the investment cost is fully repaid in the value of products provided as a livelihood.

The provincial government would extend technical assistance to beneficiaries to ensure the success

and sustainability of the project.

The farm would also serve as a training and learning facility for students, farmers, women, and interested individuals.

Regional Livestock Program Coordinator Jekem Sanchez, together and Dinagat Island Governor Arlene “Kaka” J. Bag-ao, led the cutting of the ribbon at Barangay Justiniana Edera.

Meanwhile, the Caraga office of the DA has began releasing P5,000 cash aid to 44,452 qualified rice farmers in the region through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund—Rice Farmers Financial Assistance. Manuel T. Cayon

Valencia conducted rounds around the province of Rizal, particularly Cainta, Binangonan, and Angono to personally assess and monitor the conduct of the ongoing vaccination at the municipal level. He also attended the national launching with President Duterte at SM

Masinag, Antipolo City.

“For vaccines and syringes, we have sufficient allocation and continues to augment supplies of LGUs [local government units] as per request,” he assured.

There are a total of 1,920 vaccination teams deployed in 411 vaccina-

tion sites in various municipalities of the region including volunteers, health human resource for health, medical staff from National Capital Region hospitals, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority personnel and Department of Health officials engaged as vaccinators.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2021

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WHO warns that new Covid variant poses ‘very high’ risk

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ENEVA—The World Health Organization warned Monday that the global risk from the Omicron variant is “very high” based on the early evidence, saying the mutated coronavirus could lead to surges with “severe consequences.”

The assessment from the UN health agency, contained in a technical paper issued to member states, amounted to WHO’s strongest, most explicit warning yet about the new version that was first identified days ago by researchers in South Africa.

It came as a widening circle of countries around the world reported cases of the variant and moved to slam their doors in an act-now-ask-questions-later approach while scientists race to figure out just how dangerous the mutant version might be.

Japan announced it is barring entry to all foreign visitors, joining Israel in doing so. Morocco banned all incoming flights. Other countries, including the US and members of the European Union, have moved to prohibit travelers arriving from southern Africa.

WHO said there are “considerable uncertainties” about the Omicron variant. But it said preliminary evidence raises the possibility that the variant has mutations that could help it both evade an immune-system response and boost its ability to spread from one person to another.

“Depending on these characteristics, there could be future surges of Covid-19, which could have severe consequences, depending on a number of factors, including where surges may take place,” it added. “The overall global risk... is assessed as very high.”

The WHO stressed that while scientists are hunting evidence to better understand this variant, countries should accelerate vaccinations as quickly as possible.

W hile no deaths linked to Omicron have been reported so far, little is known for certain about t he var iant, inc lud ing whether it is more contagious, more likely to cause serious illness or more able to evade vaccines. Last week, a WHO advisory

panel said it might be more likely to re-infect people who have already had a bout with Covid-19.

Scientists have long warned that the virus will keep finding new ways to exploit weaknesses in the world’s vaccination drive, and its discovery in Africa occurred in a continent where under 7 percent of the population is vaccinated.

“The emergence of the Omicron variant has fulfilled, in a precise way, the predictions of the scientists who warned that the elevated transmission of the virus in areas with limited access to vaccine would speed its evolution,” said Dr. Richard Hatchett, head of CEPI, one of the founders of the UN-backed global vaccine sharing initiative COVAX. Spain on Monday became one of the latest countries to report its first confirmed Omicron case, detected in a traveler who returned Sunday from South Africa after making a stopover in Amsterdam.

While the majority of Omicron infections recorded around the world have been in travelers arriving from abroad, cases in Portugal and Scotland have raised fears that the variant may already be spreading locally.

“Many of us might think we are done with Covid-19. It’s not done with us,” warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general.

Days after the variant sent a shudder through the financial world nearly two years into the pandemic that has killed over 5 million people, markets had a mixed reaction Monday. European stocks rebounded and Wall Street steadied itself, while Asian markets fell further.

US President Joe Biden called the Omicron variant a cause for concern but “not a cause for panic.” He said he is not considering any widespread US lockdown and instead urged mask-wearing and

People stand holding shopping bags on Regent Street in London on November 29, 2021.

Countries around the world slammed their doors shut again to try to keep the new Omicron variant at bay Monday, even as more cases of the mutant coronavirus emerged and scientists raced to figure out just how dangerous it might be. In Britain, mask-wearing in shops and on public transport will be required, starting Tuesday. AP/Matt Dunham

vaccinations, even as a federal judge blocked his administration from enforcing a requirement that thousands of health care workers in 10 states get the shot.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reacted to the potential threat by urging everyone 18 and older to get booster shots, because “strong immunity will likely prevent serious illness.” Earlier this month, the US opened boosters to all adults but recommended them only for those 50 and older or people in long-term care.

The Omicron infections have underscored the difficulty in keeping the virus in check in a globalized world of jet travel and open borders. Yet many countries are trying to do just that, against the urging of the WHO, which noted that border closings often have limited effect and can wreak havoc on lives and livelihoods.

Some have argued that such restrictions can buy valuable time to analyze the new variant.

While the initial global response to Covid-19 was criticized as slow and haphazard, the reaction to the Omicron variant came quickly. “ This time the world showed it is learning,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, singling out South African President Cyril R amaphosa for praise. “South Africa’s analytic work and transparency and sharing its results were indispensable in allowing a swift global response.”

Late last week, von der Leyen

successfully pushed the 27-nation EU to agree to ban flights from seven southern African nations, similar to what many other countries are doing.

Cases have been reported in such places as Canada, Germany, Britain, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal, where authorities identified 13 Omicron infections among members of the Belenenses professional soccer team.

Taking no chances, Japan, which has yet to detect any Omicron cases, reimposed border controls that it had eased earlier this month.

“We are taking the step as an emergency precaution to prevent a worst-case scenario in Japan,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

Israel likewise decided to bar entry to foreigners, and Morocco said it would suspend all incoming flights for two weeks.

Britain reacted by expanding its Covid-19 booster program to ever yone 18 and older, making millions more people eligible.

Up until now, booster shots were available only to those 40 and over and people par ticu larly v u lnerable to the v ir us. T he UK has reported about a dozen Omicron cases.

Despite the global worry, doctors in South Africa are reporting patients are suffering mostly mild symptoms so far. But they warn that it is early. Also, most of the new cases are in people in their 20s and 30s, who generally do not get as sick from Covid-19 as older patients. AP

Doctors: Many South Africans ill in surge have mild symptoms

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OHANNESBURG—South Africa’s rapid increase in Covid-19 cases attributed to the new Omicron variant is resulting in mostly mild symptoms, doctors say.

“We’ve seen a sharp increase in cases for the past 10 days. So far they have mostly been very mild cases, with patients having flulike symptoms: dry coughs, fever, night sweats, a lot of body pains,” said Dr. Unben Pillay, a general practitioner in Gauteng province where 81 percent of the new cases have been reported.

“Most of these patients have been treated at home,” Pillay told an online press briefing Monday.

“Vaccinated people tend to do much better. We have not seen a vast increase in hospitalizations, but this is still early days. Hospitalizations often come several days after a rise in confirmed cases.”

Most of the new cases in South Africa have been among people

in their 20s and 30s, and doctors note that age group generally has milder symptoms of Covid-19 in any case. They warn that older people infected by the new variant could have more severe symptoms.

Learning more about the Omicron variant is important as nations around the world sought Monday to keep the new variant at bay with travel bans and further restrictions, even as it remains unclear what the variant means for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japan announced it would suspend entry for all foreign visitors, while new cases of the variant identified days ago by researchers in southern Africa appeared as far away as Hong Kong, Australia and Portugal. Portuguese authorities were investigating whether some infections there could be among the first reported cases of local transmission of the variant outside of southern Africa.

South Africa has seen its sevenday average of new cases over the past two weeks surge from about 200 per day to more than 2,000.

Omicron appears to be more transmissible than previous variants and the surge in South Africa could bring the daily number of new cases to 10,000 by the end of the week, infectious diseases specialist Salim Abdool Karim, told the briefing.

“Our biggest challenge will be to stop super-spreading events, particularly indoors,” he said, suggesting that it might be necessary to restrict indoor gatherings to those who are vaccinated.

The hotspot for the new surge is Gauteng’s Tshwane metropolitan area, incorporating the capital, Pretoria. The “vast majority” of those hospitalized there have been unvaccinated people, said Waasila Jassat of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

“Of recent hospitalizations 87 percent have been unvaccinated, 13 percent have been vaccinated,” Jassat said of the 455 hospital admissions in the Tshwane area in the past two weeks.

Vaccination appears to have also helped people avoid infection, she said.

Of South Africa’s 60 million people, 16.5 million are vaccinated and the number of fully vaccinated who are testing positive is very small, said Nicholas Crisp, the acting director general of the department of health. “It is a very small number of those people who tested positive. It’s minute in comparison to unvaccinated people.”

To combat the surge of Covid-19 cases attributed to the Omicron variant, South Africa is urging vaccinations and is weighing making vaccines mandatory to enter indoor areas, the minister of health said Monday. AP

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Omicron variant brings Covid-19 vaccine inequity ‘home to roost’

By Maria Cheng & Lori Hinnant The Associated Press

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ONDON—The emergence of the new Omicron variant and the world’s desperate and likely futile attempts to keep it at bay are reminders of what scientists have warned for months: The coronavirus will thrive as long as vast parts of the world lack vaccines.

The hoarding of limited Covid-19 shots by rich countries—creating virtual vaccine deserts in many poorer ones—doesn’t just mean risk for the parts of the world seeing shortages; it threatens the entire globe.

That’s because the more the disease spreads among unvaccinated populations, the more possibilities it has to mutate and potentially become more dangerous, prolonging the pandemic for everyone.

“The virus is a ruthless opportunist, and the inequity that has characterized the global response has now come home to roost,” said Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, one of the groups behind the UN-backed COVAX shot-sharing initiative.

Perhaps nowhere is the inequality more evident than in Africa, where less than 7 percent of the population is vaccinated. South African scientists alerted the World Health Organization to the new Omicron variant last week, though it may never be clear where it first originated. Researchers are now rushing to determine whether it is more infectious or able to evade current vaccines.

COVAX was supposed to avoid such inequality—but instead the initiative is woefully short of shots and has already abandoned its initial goal of 2 billion doses.

Even to reach its scaled-back target of distributing 1.4 billion doses by the end of 2021, it must ship more than 25 million doses every day.

Instead, it has averaged just over 4 million a day since the beginning of October, with some days dipping below 1 million, according to an Associated Press analysis of the shipments.

Shipments in recent days have ramped up, but nowhere near the amount needed.

Meanwhile, richer nations often have a glut of shots, and many are now offering boosters—something the WHO has discouraged because every booster is essentially a dose that is not going to someone who’s never even gotten their first shot. Despite the UN health agency’s appeal to countries to declare a moratorium on booster shots until the end of the year, more than 60 countries are now administering them.

“What it highlights are the continuing and fundamental risks to everyone associated with not seriously addressing the inequalities still at play globally in the fight against disease and poor health,” said Dr. Osman Dar, director of the One Health Project at the Chatham House think tank.

Anna Marriott, health policy manager for Oxfam, said COVAX was limited from the outset after being pushed to the back of the vaccine queue by rich countries.

“The COVAX team may be delivering as fast as they can, but they can’t deliver vaccines they haven’t got,” Marriott said.

Just 13 percent of vaccines COVAX contracted for and 12 percent of promised donations have actually been delivered, according to calculations by the International Monetary Fund from mid-November. About a third of the vaccines dispensed by COVAX have been donations, according to the vaccine alliance known as Gavi, and the initiative is now partly a clearinghouse for those donated doses, the very situation it was set up to avoid.

Last week, COVAX sent out a news release praising a European Union pledge to ship 100 million vaccines to Africa by the end of the year—but only 1/20 of that amount was actually on planes.

Asked about the logistical challenges of distributing the other 94 million doses in only six weeks, Aurelia Nguyen, managing director of COVAX maintained that arrangements “are in place to move a vast number of doses between now and the end of the year.”

In a statement, she said the issue was ensuring that “conditions are right on the ground for doses to be administered.”

In minutes released ahead of an executive meeting this week, Gavi fretted that the perception that rich countries are dumping older or lesser vaccines on poor countries could undermine the whole project. On Monday, in a joint statement with WHO and the African Union among others, it admonished that “the majority of the donations to date have been ad hoc, provided with little notice and short shelf lives.”

Fury over dose dumping is already very real. In Malawi and South Sudan, tens of thousands of out-of-date doses were destroyed.

But it’s not just getting the vaccines into poorer countries that’s a problem, according to some experts. COVAX is “falling short on getting vaccines from the [airport] tarmac into people’s arms,” said Dr. Angela Wakhweya, senior director for health equity and rights at CARE. Authorities in Congo, for instance, returned their entire COVAX shipment this summer when they realized they would not be able to administer doses before they expired.

In a “risk management” report on COVAX, Gavi warned that “poor absorption” of vaccines by developing countries could lead to “wastage” of some doses. One problem is logistics—just getting the doses in the right country at the right time. But just as important is the ability of oftenunderfunded national health systems to distribute the shots where they’re most needed, along with syringes and other necessary gear. A third issue is persuading sometimes-hesitant people to get the vaccines.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, however, has disputed distribution is a problem, saying the only obstacle to immunization in poor countries is supply.

Most COVAX doses distributed so far have been AstraZeneca’s vaccine, a shot that has yet to be authorized in the US and whose botched rollout in Europe helped fuel anti-vaccine sentiment when the vaccine was linked to rare blood clots. The vaccines mostly used in the US and much of Europe— made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna—have only been available in tiny amounts via COVAX. The US, which blocked vaccine sales overseas and exports of key ingredients for months, has donated 275 million doses in all, more than any other country but still less than a third of what the Biden administration pledged. The European Union, which has in general allowed vaccines manufactured in the bloc to be sold anywhere in the world, has actually delivered about a third of its 400 million promised doses.

Efforts to ramp up global production beyond a select group of manufacturers have stalled, which many activists and scientists blame on pharmaceutical companies’ opposition to waive intellectual property rights for the highly lucrative vaccines.

Given that the pandemic has so far not devastated Africa as many had initially feared, some scientists on the continent are now discussing whether to withdraw their vaccine requests.

“I think what Africa could do to really shame the world is to stop asking for vaccines,” said Christian Happi, a Nigerian virologist who sat on the scientific advisory board of CEPI. “The vaccines have not arrived, and anyways it may turn out that we don’t need them as much as the West.” AP

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Myanmar court postpones verdict for Aung San Suu Kyi

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A NG KOK— A c o u r t i n Myanmar postponed its verdict on Tuesday in the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to allow testimony from an additional witness, a senior member of her political party.

The court agreed with a defense motion that it allow Zaw Myint Maung, who had previously been unable to come to court for health reasons, to add his testimony, a legal official said.

The court had been scheduled to deliver a verdict on Tuesday on charges of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions.

The verdict would have been the first for the 76-year-old Nobel laureate since the army seized power on February 1, arresting her and blocking her National League for Democracy party from starting a second term in office.

She also is being tried on a series of other charges, including corruption, which could send her to prison for dozens of years if convicted.

The judge adjourned the proceedings until Dec. 6, when Zaw Myint Maung is scheduled to testify, said the legal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the government has restricted the release of information about the trial. It was unclear when a verdict will be issued.

The cases are widely seen as contrived to discredit Suu Kyi and keep her from running in the next election. The constitution bars anyone sentenced to prison from holding high office or becoming a lawmaker.

Zaw Myint Maung, who was chief minister of the Mandalay region, a major state-level post, was also detained when the army took over. He is vice chairman of Suu

Kyi’s party and a medical doctor, and like her faces several criminal charges, including corruption. He is 69 years old and reportedly suffers from leukemia.

He accompanied Suu Kyi during campaigning for last year’s election, including in Naypyitaw, where her presence was the basis for one of the charges of violating coronavirus restrictions.

Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory in last year’s polls. The army, whose allied party lost many seats, claimed there was massive voting fraud, but independent election observers did not detect any major irregularities.

Suu Kyi remains widely popular and a symbol of the struggle against military rule.

The army’s takeover was met by nationwide nonviolent demonstrations which security forces quashed with deadly force, killing nearly 1,300 civilians, according to a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

With severe restrictions on nonviolent protest, armed resistance has grown in the cities and the countr yside to the point where UN experts have warned the countr y is sliding into civil war.

Suu Kyi, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent struggle for democracy, has not been seen in public since being taken into custody on the day of the military’s takeover. She has appeared in court at several of her trials, which are closed to the media and spectators.

In October, Suu Kyi’s lawyers, who had been the sole source of information on the legal proceedings, were served with gag orders forbidding them from releasing information. AP

On second try, Swedes elect first female prime minister

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OPENHAGEN, Denmark— Magd a lena A ndersson, who last week was Sweden’s first female prime minister for a few hours before resigning because a budget defeat made a coalition partner quit, was elected again on Monday as the Nordic nation’s head of government.

In a 101 -173 vote with 75 abstentions, the 349-seat Riksdag elected Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats, as prime minister. She will form a one-party, minority government. Her Cabinet is expected to be named Tuesday.

Formally, she will be installed following an audience with King Carl XVI Gustav, Sweden’s figurehead monarch.

Andersson served as prime minister for seven hours before stepping down last week after the Greens left her two-party coalition. Their move followed the rejection of her government’s budget proposal in favor of one presented by opposition parties including the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, who are rooted in a neo-Nazi movement.

Under the Swedish Constitution, prime ministers can be named and govern as long as a parliamentary majority—a minimum of 175 lawmakers—is not against them.

“It feels good and I am eager to start,” Andersson said of her appointment.

Andersson who was finance minister before becoming prime minister, said she would present her government policies Tuesday when her Cabinet is named. However, she said she has three priorities—welfare, climate and combating violence. Sweden has seen a rise in organized crime activity in the past few years and several

gang-related shootings have occurred in the three main cities, Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo.

Andersson repeated she would govern Sweden with the opposition’s budget, which was based on the government’s own proposal but of the 74 billion kronor ($8.2 billion) that the government wanted to spend on reforms, just over 20 billion kronor ($2.2 billion) will be redistributed next year. The approved budget aims at reducing taxes, increased salaries for police officers and more money to different sectors of Sweden’s judiciary system.

In a speech to parliament, Center Party leader Annie Loof said a female prime minister “means a lot to many girls and women, to see this glass ceiling shattered. I am proud that (the Center Party) is involved and makes this possible.”

Her party abstained from voting for or against Andersson, paving the way for her election.

Andersson’s appointment as prime minister had marked a milestone for Sweden, viewed for decades as one of Europe’s most progressive countries when it comes to gender relations, but which had yet to have a woman in the top political post.

Sweden is the last Nordic country to have a woman prime minister. The current government leaders in Denmark and Finland are women, Mette Frederiksen and Sanna Marin, respectively.

Norway’s first prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland took office in 1981 while Johanna Sigurdardottir became Iceland’s first female prime minister in 2009.

With 10 months to the next election, Andersson said, smiling, that she hopes to hold the job for 10 years. AP

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

A7

Powell: Covid variant clouds inflation, economic outlook

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ASHINGTON—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that the appearance of a new Covid-19 variant could slow the economy and hiring, while also raising uncertainty about inflation.

The recent increase in Delta cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant “pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation,” Powell said Monday in prepared remarks to be delivered to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. The new variant could also worsen supply chain disruptions, he said.

Powell’s comments come after other Fed officials in recent weeks have said the central bank should consider winding down its ultralow interest rate policies more quickly than it currently plans.

They cited concerns about inflation, which has jumped to threedecade highs.

Yet Powell’s remarks suggest that the additional uncertainty raised by the Omicron variant may complicate the Fed’s next steps.

“Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people’s willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions,” Powell said.

Little is known definitively about the health effects of the Omicron variant. If it were to cause Americans to pull back on spend-

ing and slow the economy, that could ease inflation pressures in the coming months.

Yet if the new variant causes another wave of factory shutdowns in China, Vietnam or other Asian countries, that could worsen supply chain snarls, particularly if Americans keep buying more furniture, appliances and other goods. That, in turn, could push prices even higher in the coming months.

Powel l ac k nowledged t hat inf lation “ imposes significant burdens, especially on those less able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation.”

He said most economists expect inflation to subside over time, as supply constraints ease, but added that, “factors pushing inflation upward will linger well into next year.” At a news conference last month, Powell said high inflation could persist into late summer.

At their last meeting November 2-3, Fed policymakers agreed to start reducing the central bank’s

$120 billion in monthly bond purchases by $15 billion a month. That would bring the purchases to an end in June.

Those bond buys, an emergency measure that began last year, are intended to hold down longer-term interest rates to encourage more borrowing and spending. The Fed has pegged its short-term interest rate, which influences other borrowing costs such as for mortgages and credit cards, at nearly zero since last March, when Covid-19 first erupted.

Last week, the Fed released minutes from the November meeting that showed some of the 17 Fed policymakers supported reducing the bond purchases more quickly, particularly if inflation worsens.

That would give the Fed the opportunity to hike its benchmark rate as early as the first half of next year.

At that time, investors expected three rate hikes next year, but the odds of that many hikes have fallen sharply since the appearance of the new coronavirus variant. AP

Russian navy successfully test-fires hypersonic missile in the White Sea

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OSCOW—Russia’s navy has successfully testfired a prospective hypersonic missile, the military said Monday.

The Defense Ministry said the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea launched the Zircon

cruise missile, hitting a practice target 400 kilometers (215 nautical miles) away. The launch was the latest in a series of tests of Zircon, which is set to enter service next year.

Russian President V ladimir Putin has said Zircon would be

capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

Putin has emphasized that its deployment will significantly boost the capability of Russia’s military.

Zircon is intended to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines.

‘Sexual harassment rife in Australian parliament’

A

landmark report aimed at cleaning up a toxic workplace culture in Australia’s parliament and other government offices found that one in three employees had suffered sexual harassment.

Just over a quarter of those that experienced sexual harassment said a member of parliament was responsible, in the survey of more than 1,700 individuals. Some 37 percent of staff said they had suffered bullying.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated that his government w il l likely suppor t the report’s 28 recommendations, which include setting targets for gender balance and diversity across all parliamentary roles.

T he repor t add resses “t he power imbalance, the gender imbalance, the lack of accountability for behavior, as well as understanding the challenging and demanding work environment” in parliament, Morrison told reporters in Canberra Tuesday.

Morrison ordered the independent inquiry to be conducted by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins after thousands of

women rallied across Australia to protest against sexual violence.

“While we heard of positive experiences of work within the Parliament, there were others who shared experiences of bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault,” Jenkins said in the report. “Too often, we heard that these workplaces are not safe environments for many people within them.”

Morrison’s government has been criticized for refusing to hold an inquiry into claims that former Attorney-General Christian Porter raped a fellow member of a school debating team in 1988— allegations he denies. Porter has since resigned from the ministry.

There was also criticism of Morrison’s handling of allegations that former government media adviser Brittany Higgins was raped by a fellow staffer in a minister’s office in 2019.

One of the individuals interviewed for the report said: “It is a man’s world and you are reminded of it every day thanks to the looks up and down you get, to the representation in the parliamentary chambers, to the preferential

treatment politicians give senior male journalists.”

Multiple participants complained about the lack of women in senior roles, saying the workplace possessed a “male-dominated and testosterone-fueled culture.” Rather than being held accountable, people who engaged in misconduct were often rewarded for, or in spite of, their behavior, workers said.

Among the recommendations in the report are: Party leaders and the heads of the parliamentary departments should come together, agree and deliver a joint statement to Parliament acknowledging the harm caused by bullying, sexual harassment, and sexual assault in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces and a commitment to action and shared accountability.

A leadership taskforce will oversee the implementation of the recommendations made in the report.

The government should establish a follow-up external independent review to examine the implementation of recommendations made in the report within 18 months. Bloomberg News

Couple detained on plane after leaving quarantine

T

HE H AGUE , Net herl a nd s —D utc h m i l it a r y police arrested a husband and wife Sunday who had left a hotel where they were being quarantined after testing positive for Covid-19 and boarded a plane to fly home to Spain.

A spokesman for the local security authority that covers Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said Monday that an investigation was underway into whether the couple had committed a crime and should be prosecuted.

“Quarantine is not obligatory, but we assume people will act responsibly,” spokeswoman Petra Faber said. “But there was a cou-

ple that wanted to go home and they tried to fly home. The Royal Marechaussee took them off the plane and handed them back to the local health authority.”

When authorities heard the couple had left the hotel, the head of the local security authority, Marianne Schuurmans, quickly signed an isolation order that empowered the Marechaussee police force to detain the couple.

“These people they are now in enforced isolation no longer in our municipality, but in a hospital elsewhere in the Netherlands,” Faber said.

Authorities, citing privacy rules, declined to give more detail about

the couple or whether they had tested positive for the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The couple had made a stopover in Amsterdam on Friday after returning from a vacation in Cape Town, South Africa, and said they appeared to have been caught up in the improvisation of travel rules that followed news of the new variant.

Carolina Pimenta tested positive for the virus along with 60 other passengers and had remained isolated in a local hotel with her husband, Andrés Sanz, the couple told TV3, the regional broadcaster of Spain’s Catalonia region where they both live. AP

It is one of several hypersonic missiles under development in Russia.

The Kremlin has made modernizing the country’s arsenals a top priority amid the tensions w ith the West that fol lowed Russi a’s 2014 a nne x at ion of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. AP

UK to expand Covid vaccine boosters amid Omicron fears

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ONDON—Britain is extending its Covid-19 booster vaccine program to millions more people as part of efforts to tackle the spread of the new omicron variant, which is feared to be more contagious and vaccineresistant.

The British government said Monday that it would accept in full the revised recommendations from the independent body of scientists that has been advising it, chief of which is that everyone aged between 18 and 39 should be offered a booster shot.

Up until now, only people aged over 40 as well as those deemed particularly vulnerable to the virus were eligible.

The change in advice means around 13 million more people will be eligible for the vaccine. So far, the UK has given around 17.5 million booster shots.

In addition to extending the rollout down the age range, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization also said booster doses for all age groups should be given no sooner than three months after a second dose.

That shaves three months off the current wait.

In further advice, the JCVI said young people aged 12 to 15 should be offered a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, no sooner than 12 weeks after their first.

“With this new variant on the offensive, these measures will protect more people more quickly and make us better protected as a nation,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers when accepting the new advice.

The major revision of the booster rollout comes after six more cases were reported in Scotland and two in England. That takes the UK’s total to 11. AP

A8 Wednesday, December 1, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Support the backbone of Philippine economy

T

he world’s average chocolate consumption amounts to an estimated 0.9 kilograms per capita per year, according to the Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries. The big chocolate eaters are found in European countries. The largest consumers in the world are the Germans with a per capita consumption of 11 kg per year, followed by Switzerland with 9.7 kg, and Estonia with 8.8 kg.

Despite the pandemic, demand for cash crops like cacao has remained strong. Because of this, cacao prices have remained above $2,000 per metric ton, according to the International Cocoa Organization. On the New York market, cocoa prices averaged $2,413.33 per ton as of November 26, or $2.41 a kg.

Another cash crop that’s getting higher price quotations in recent weeks is coffee. A Bloomberg report said that extreme weather and global shipping congestion are putting pressure on coffee prices, particularly robusta and arabica. Coffee would always remain in demand, no matter the season, because it is one of the world’s most popular beverages.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that these two cash crops are grown in the Philippines, local planters have yet to fully take advantage of the good global prices. The country’s climate is suitable for these crops, yet farmers continue to prefer rice, corn and other crops that grow faster and can be sold immediately. Two years after Congress converted the quantitative restriction on rice into tariffs, the government has yet to entice more farmers to practice crop diversification.

The next president of the Philippines should keep these things in mind when crafting a strategy for the agri-food sector. Increasing the budget of the local farm sector is not enough; there must be a reckoning of the policies that have not been implemented properly, which effectively prevented the sector from increasing its contribution to the country’s economy.

Southeast Asia is replete with examples of what political will, datadriven policy decisions and higher budgets can do to enable the agrifood sector to significantly contribute to the gross domestic product of a country. Oxford Economics examined the agri-food sector of four Southeast Asian countries—the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. It found that Indonesia recorded the biggest contribution at 35 percent of GDP or $374 billion, and 50 percent of total employment.

More importantly, the report found that among the four countries in the region, only the Philippines recorded an agri-food trade deficit of $6.2 billion in 2019. The three Southeast Asian countries recorded a trade surplus in agri-food products, which means that their exports exceeded their imports. Thailand, dubbed the food kitchen of the world, recorded the biggest trade surplus at $21 billion in 2019.

Thailand’s agri-food sector got to where it is now by investing heavily in research and development and technology. The next set of government officials should look at Thailand and other food exporters in the region and find out how the strategies they pursued can help the Philippines increase its exports to wipe out its agri-food trade deficit.

Agriculture is considered the backbone of the Philippine economy because it employs about 40 percent of Filipino workers. Unfortunately, it only contributes an average of 20 percent to the Gross Domestic Product. For the longest time, government neglect of the sector has worsened the poverty situation in rural areas. We need to review our agriculture policies. The sector’s development is critically important to improving our food security. To our politicians, we say: Ignore Filipino farmers at your own peril.

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Short-Term Member Loan Restructuring and Penalty Condonation Program is back Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

W

hen contingencies and emergencies arise, it is always good to have extra cash to tide you over. Of course, there are times when what you have is not enough and you need to procure additional funds to fulfill some important financial obligations. This is the time when SSS loans come in handy.

SSS, as a pension fund institution, is known not only for its benefit programs but also for its various short-term member loans that people can avail themselves of during financial emergencies or after an unexpected calamity. SSS offers loan privileges such as Salary Loan, which is equivalent to a one month or two month-salary loan based on member’s latest posted 12 monthly salary credit, and Calamity Loan, a loan assistance for SSS members who were affected by typhoons and other calamity events and who are living in declared calamity-stricken areas by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

These past couple of years have been very challenging and now that pandemic restrictions have eased, businesses have started to open and

people are trying to get back on their feet, we are certain that more people would like to get back their good standing with SSS by settling their unpaid short-term loans.

For those who missed out on paying their Salary Loan, Calamity Loan, Salary Loan Early Renewal Program (SLERP), Emergency Loan, and Restructured Loans under the Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) implemented in 2016-2019 due to unexpected circumstances, we have good news for you! As part of our Pandemic Relief and Restructuring Program (PRRP), we are currently offering the Short-Term Loan Restructuring and Penalty Condonation Program starting November 15, 2021 until February 14, 2022, where our members can pay the said loans without the penalty.

Eligible under this program are:

1. All member-borrowers with past due loans for at least six months as of the first day of condonation period.

2. Member-borrowers who: n Are under 65 years old at the end of the installment term (for installment payment); n Have not been granted any final benefit, i.e. permanent total disability or retirement; and n Have not been disqualified due to fraud committed against the SSS. 3. Member-borrowers who will file their final benefits application for permanent total disability or retirement, whose contingency date is on or before the last day of the availment period of the condonation program of which the application must be filed within the availment period.

4. Heirs or beneficiaries of deceased members who will file the death benefit application, whose contingency date is on or before the last day of the availment period of the condonation program.

Under this program, the total amount of the outstanding principal and interest of the member’s past due loans shall be consolidated and settled through the following payment terms: n One-time Payment—full payment of the Consolidated Loan, in a single payment transaction, within 30 calendar days from receipt of the notice of approval of the Penalty Condonation Application. No stag-

gered/partial payments are allowed even if the required payment is completed within the 30-day prescribed period. n Installment—full payment of 50 percent of the Consolidated Loan, in a single payment transaction, within 30 calendar days from receipt of the notice of approval of the Penalty Condonation Application.

No staggered/partial payments shall be allowed even if the required payment is completed within the 30-day prescribed period. The remaining 50 percent shall become Restructured Loan (RL 1) and shall be paid in six equal monthly installments starting from the month following the end of the 30-calendar day period. Late payments shall be subject to imposition of penalty.

However, it is important to note that under the installment payment term, member-borrower must be under 65 years old at the end of the installment term, otherwise, member-borrower shall only qualify under the One-Time Payment term. Member-borrowers and heirs or beneficiaries of deceased member-borrowers who will file their benefit application and whose contingency date is on or before the last day of availment period of the condonation program shall only be allowed to avail themselves of the one-time payment through deduction from the proceeds of the final See “Ignacio,” A9

Inside the ‘big wave’ of misinformation targeted at Latinos

By Amanda Seitz And Will Weissert | Associated Press

W

ASHINGTON—Before last year’s presidential election, Facebook ads targeting Latino voters described Joe Biden as a communist. During his inauguration, another conspiracy theory spread online and on Spanish-language radio warning that a brooch worn by Lady Gaga signaled Biden was working with shadowy, leftist figures abroad.

And in the final stretch of Virginia’s election for governor, stories written in Spanish accused Biden of ordering the arrest of a man during a school board meeting.

None of that was true. But such misinformation represents a growing threat to Democrats, who are anxious about their standing with Latino voters after surprise losses last year in places like South Florida and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

Heading into a midterm election in which control of Congress is at stake, lawmakers, researchers and activists are preparing for another onslaught of falsehoods targeted at Spanish-speaking voters. And they say social media platforms that often host those mistruths aren’t prepared.

“For a lot of people, there’s a lot of concern that 2022 will be another

big wave,” said Guy Mentel, executive director of Global Americans, a think tank that provides analysis of key issues throughout the Americas.

This month’s elections may be a preview of what’s to come.

After Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy won New Jersey’s close governor’s race, Spanish-language videos falsely claimed the vote was rigged, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud—a fact the Republican candidate acknowledged, calling the results “legal and fair.”

In Virginia, where Republican Glenn Youngkin campaigned successfully on promises to defend “parental rights” in classrooms, false headlines around a controversial school board meeting emerged.

“Biden ordenó arrestar a padre de una joven violada por un trans,” read one of several misleading articles,

translating to “Biden ordered the arrest of a father whose daughter was raped by a trans.”

The mistruth was spun from an altercation during a chaotic school board meeting months earlier in Loudoun County that resulted in the arrest of a father whose daughter was sexually assaulted in a bathroom by another student. The father claimed the suspect was “gender fluid,” which sparked outcry over the school’s policy allowing transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.

In reality, the White House wasn’t involved with the meeting. The man was arrested by the local sheriff’s department. It’s also unclear how the suspect identifies.

Loudoun County was already the epicenter of a heated political debate over how the history of racism is taught in schools—another issue that became fodder for misinformation and political attacks on Spanishlanguage websites this summer, said Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino, a nonprofit that mobilizes Hispanics to become politically engaged.

“It has everything to do with trust in institutions. Trust in gov-

ernment,” said Kumar, whose group works to combat the misinformation. “Eroding that trust will transfer not just to voting in the midterms, but just overall disengagement from your government.”

Stretched truths accusing some Democrats of being socialists or communists could also dominate the online narrative, said Diego Groisman, a research analyst at New York University’s Cybersecurity for Democracy project.

During the 2020 election, Groisman flagged Facebook ads targeting Latino voters in Texas and Florida that described Biden as a “communist.” The ads in Florida—where a majority of the country’s Venezuelan population is concentrated— compared Biden to that country’s socialist President Nicolás Maduro.

“There were clearly specific Spanish-speaking communities that were being targeted,” said Laura Edelson, the lead researcher for NYU’s program.

Evelyn Pérez-Verdía, a Florida Democratic strategist who watches Spanish misinformation patterns, says many online narratives intentionally stoke “fear in the SpanishSee “Inside,” A9

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 A9

Why we shouldn’t write off The saga of the WWII women victims Omicron cases as ‘mild’ of sexual slavery and violence

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By Jason Gale | Bloomberg Opinion

eports of mostly mild illness from Covid-19 infections caused by Omicron need to be interpreted with caution because they may not reflect the new variant’s severity across a broad range of people.

Fatigue, head and body aches and occasional sore throats and coughs are among the typical symptoms experienced by Omicron patients, according to Angelique Coetzee, the doctor in South Africa whose observations helped scientists identify the worrisome strain. The manifestations contrast with the rapid heartbeat, low blood-oxygen levels and a loss of smell and taste often seen in Covid patients sickened by the Delta variant, she said.

While such anecdotes are encouraging, they may represent only a subset of cases and a fraction of the risk that could emerge if it spreads widely across the globe. Studies of disease patterns are needed to gauge Omicron’s virulence across diverse patient groups, public health experts said.

Some reasons experts are cautious about Omicron cases described so far: n They may be occurring mainly in young people and those at lowerrisk now, but that could change as it spreads. n It’s early days, and more serious symptoms may develop in the second week of infection. n Vaccinations and prior infections may provide current patients protection that others don’t yet have.

Covid causes a spectrum of disease and is more likely to be lifethreatening in people older than 65.

About 80 percent of cases have mild or no symptoms, 15 percent are severe and require oxygen, and 5 percent are critical, leading to ventilation, according to the World Health Organization.

“It’s premature to make any statements on severity,” said Raina MacIntyre, professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. “Only 20 percent of Covid cases are severe, so we need epidemiologic studies. Also, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions lag behind cases, and people usually experience one week of mild symptoms before getting sick.”

The WHO has warned of the potential for Covid surges with “severe consequences” fueled by Omicron, whose constellation of genetic changes suggest it may be both more transmissible and capable of evading the immunity provided by vaccination or a prior infection.

Although only 36 percent of adults in South Africa are fully vaccinated, the country has experienced three Covid epidemics and at least 3 million people have been infected already. A 2020 study found more than a quarter of patients in public health facilities in Gauteng, the province including Johannesburg where

Ignacio. . .

continued from A8

benefit claim. A Payment Reference Number shall be issued with the amount and due date for each required payment.

Receipt of Notice’ shall be deemed the date when electronic notice was sent to the applicant’s e-mail address.

Significantly, all member-borrowers must apply for the Penalty Condonation Program through the SSS web site by accessing his/her My. SSS account except for Death, Disability, Retirement benefit applicants who are self-employed, with dependents, mine workers, racehorse jockeys, and incapacitated retiree subject for representative payee who can only file their claims through over-thecounter (OTC).

Now that the program is currently in place, I am enjoining our memberborrowers to avail themselves of this offer as part of our assistance to

“It’s premature to make any statements on severity,” said Raina MacIntyre, professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. “Only 20 percent of Covid cases are severe, so we need epidemiologic studies. Also, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions lag behind cases, and people usually experience one week of mild symptoms before getting sick.” cases are on the rise, had antibodies to the virus from infections during the first wave.

Partial immunity

A previous case of Covid may provide some level of protection against Omicron, resulting in a milder illness, said Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases physician and associate professor of medicine at the Australian National University in Canberra. Researchers in Qatar reported this month that reinfections were 90 percent less likely to result in hospitalization or death than primary infections.

“We can’t definitively say that that means, throughout the world, Omicron’s going to be mild for everyone,” he said. “It still could be quite a virulent, nasty strain.”

Vast swaths of the globe remain unprotected, having not been vaccinated or previously infected. And breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are known to occur, especially with the Delta variant, Senanayake said.

“The question is, to what degree is the vaccine less efficacious” at preventing Omicron infections than those caused by Delta, he said. “We’ll probably get better epidemiologic data from developed countries that have Omicron cases and have very good reporting and surveillance systems.”

Health authorities in the US are recommending booster shots to bolster immune protection against a winter Covid wave, including the potential spread of Omicron there.

An additional dose of vaccine is likely to trigger an increase in antibody levels that may shield against severe illness from Omicron, said Catherine Bennett, chair in epidemiology at Melbourne’s Deakin University.

Antiviral pills being developed by companies such as Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc. could also mitigate threat of Omicron and other worrisome variants, she said. With assistance from Antony Sguazzin.

them during the pandemic. By having your loan penalties waived, it is now easier for you to pay your delinquent loans in flexible payment arrangements. Unlike in our previous condonation program where there was a six-month holding period from full payment of the loan, under this program, members can readily gain back their good standing and file for a loan renewal after full payment of the loan.

Have a productive week ahead!

For more information on this program, you may browse our official web site www.sss.gov.ph and official social-media accounts: Philippine Social Security System on FB, @PHLSSS on Twitter, Philippine Social Security System on Youtube or join our Viber Community at MYSSSPH. 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.

Dennis Gorecho

Flowers for Lolas

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ola Isabelita Viduya died on November 23, 2021 at age of 89 due to pneumonia, the same day the unfortunate event called “Mapanique Siege” happened in 1944.

Lola Isabelita is a leader of the Malaya Lolas who are victims of military sexual violence and slavery by Japanese military forces in the Philippines during the Second World War. Born November 1, 1932, Lola Isabelita was 12 years old when the Imperial Japanese Army attacked on November 23, 1944 their barrio Mapaniqui in Candaba, Pampanga, a suspected bailiwick of Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (HukBaLaHap).

Their communities were bombed, houses were looted and burned, and civilians were publicly tortured, mutilated, and slaughtered.

Some 100 women and girls, ranging in age from 13 to early 20s, were ordered to walk from Mapaniqui to the Bahay na Pula (Red House) in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, which became the site of a mass sexual assault.

Japanese soldiers forcibly seized the women who were “locked inside” the “comfort stations” where they were repeatedly raped, beaten, and abused by Japanese soldiers as part of the destruction of the village.

As a result of the actions of their Japanese tormentors, the “survivors of the wartime female slavery system” have spent their lives in misery, having endured physical injuries, pain and disability, and mental and emotional suffering.

Lola Isabelita is one of the lead petitioners in the case of Vinuya v.

Executive Secretary (GR 162230 April 28, 2010) filed by Malaya Lolas.

The Malaya Lolas claimed that since 1998, they have approached the Executive Department through the DOJ, DFA, and OSG, requesting assistance in filing a claim against the Japanese officials and military officers who ordered the establishment of the “comfort women” stations in the Philippines.

However, officials of the Executive Department declined to assist the Lolas, and took the position that the individual claims of the comfort women for compensation had already been fully satisfied by Japan’s compliance with the Peace Treaty between the Philippines and Japan.

The Supreme Court dismissed the case noting that it is not within

their power to order the Executive Department to take up the Malaya Lolas’ cause. Theirs is only the power to urge and exhort the Executive Department to take up the Lolas’ cause.

The Court affirmed that “rape, sexual slavery, torture, and sexual violence are morally reprehensible as well as legally prohibited under contemporary international law,” but stated that “the practice of states does not yet support the present existence of an obligation to prosecute international crimes.”

“Of course, we greatly sympathize with the cause of petitioners, and we cannot begin to comprehend the unimaginable horror they underwent at the hands of the Japanese soldiers. We are also deeply concerned that, in apparent contravention of fundamental principles of law, the petitioners appear to be without a remedy to challenge those that have offended them before appropriate fora. Needless to say, our government should take the lead in protecting its citizens against violation of their fundamental human rights,” the Supreme Court said.

It has been 76 years since the war ended on August 15, 1945, and yet the Japanese government refuses to recognize its official accountability to the victims of sex slavery.

About 200,000 women from Korea, China, Burma, New Guinea, and the Philippines were held in captivity and many thousands more were raped as part of one of the largest operations of sexual violence in modern history.

It was in the late 1990s that the Lolas came out as part of Lila Filipina

and Malaya Lolas to tell the world about this inhuman practice of the Japanese during the war.

I personally met Lola Isabelita in July 2019 during the medical mission in Mapaniqui of Flowers for Lolas, an alliance supporting the campaign on the issue of WWII victims of sexual violence and slavery.

“Rape is still rape whether it was done for days, for months or for years.

The effect is the same. It destroyed our bodies, our sense of self. We lived in shame for years,” said Isabelita Viduya of Malaya Lolas.

She lamented in an earlier NPR interview that the Malaya Lolas received no compensation from the Asian Women’s Fund as they were not considered as “comfort women” because they were not held or abused over an extended period.

Another Lola, Remedios Tecson, died in March 2021 at the age of 93.

The recent deaths of Lola Isabelita and other WWII women victims of sexual slavery and violence are manifestations that the survivors are dying without receiving a formal apology and legal compensation from Japan.

Justice has not been given to women such as Lola Isabelita. Their fight for unequivocal public apology, accurate historical inclusion, and just compensation continues up to this day.

Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786.

China’s financial pledge to Africa falls after criticisms of debt traps

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hina’s financial pledge to Africa fell for the first time in over a decade, as the world’s second largest economy tried to avoid criticism about saddling developing nations with unsustainable debt.

President Xi Jinping pledged $40 billion to the continent in a video address to the eighth triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Senegal on Monday. The money will be evenly split among credit lines to African financial institutions, investment from Chinese firms, trade financing and International Monetary Fund special drawing rights.

That marked a 33% drop from the $60 billion committed at the same summit in 2018, when China only matched the previous event’s pledge.

Prior to that, China had doubled its financial commitment to the continent every three years since 2006 at

Inside. . .

continued from A10

speaking communities.”

One conspiracy theory mentioned on talk radio grew out of Lady Gaga’s golden bird brooch at Biden’s inauguration. Some spreading the claim noted a similar brooch once worn by Claudia López Hernandez, the first openly gay mayor of Bogota, Colombia, signaled the new president was working with foreign leftists.

“They’re not going to stop. They’re going to double down on it,” PérezVerdía said of the misinformation.

Critics argue that social media companies like Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, have placed outsize attention on removing or fact-checking misinformation in English over other languages like Spanish.

Facebook ’s own documents, leaked by ex-Facebook employee turned whistleblower Frances Haugen earlier this year, echo those concerns. Haugen said the company spends 87 percent of its misinformation budget on US content—a figure that Meta spokesperson Kevin McAllister said is “out of context.”

An internal Facebook memo, written in March, revealed the company’s

the two-day forum, which is Beijing’s main vehicle for managing its relationship with the continent.

Beijing has hit back against criticism of “debt trap” diplomacy in recent years, saying no foreign asset has ever been seized by China to repay a Chinese loan. Earlier this week, local media reported the Ugandan government was seeking to amend a Chinese loan agreement to avoid losing control of the nation’s only international airport, a claim Beijing called “made up.”

China has emerged in the past decade as the world’s largest non-commercial international creditor, with its state-owned policy banks lending more to developing countries than the IMF and World Bank. That lending has also been subject to international scrutiny, which intensified as the pandemic caused dozens of countries to suspend debt repayments.

Vaccine diplomacy

ability to detect anti-vaccine rhetoric and misinformation was “basically non-existent” in non-English comments.

Last year, for example, Instagram and Facebook banned “#plandemic,” a hashtag associated with a video full of Covid-19 conspiracy theories. Yet users were spreading misinformation on the platforms using “#plandemia,” the Spanish version of the hashtag, until just last month.

An analysis last year by Avaaz, a left-leaning advocacy group that tracks online misinformation, also found Facebook failed to flag 70 percent of Spanish-language misinformation surrounding Covid-19 compared to just 29 percent of such information in English.

McAllister said the company removes false Spanish-language claims about voter fraud, Covid-19 and vaccines. Four news outlets, including The Associated Press, also factcheck Spanish-language falsehoods circulating around US content on Instagram and Facebook.

Meanwhile, researchers at the nonpartisan Global Disinformation Index estimated that Google will make $12 million this year off ads on websites that peddled Covid-19 disinformation in Spanish. Google has “stopped serving ads on a major-

ity of the pages shared in the report,” company spokesperson Michael Aciman said in an e-mail.

“Spanish-language misinformation campaigns are absolutely exploding on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.,” New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the party’s top progressive voices, tweeted after the Nov. 2 election.

That explosion is fueled in part by a US-Latin America feedback loop that allows falsehoods to fester.

Misinformation that starts on US websites is sometimes translated by social media pages in Latin American countries like Colombia and Venezuela. The inaccuracies are shared back through YouTube videos or messaging apps with Spanish speakers in expatriate communities like those in Miami and Houston.

Those falsehoods are more likely to reach US Latinos because they tend to spend more time on sites such as YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, according to an October Nielsen report.

“We see YouTube accounts or radio stations churning out mis- or disinformation regarding a whole range of things that they pick up from fringe US outlets,” Mentel said.

Some are working to fill the void

AS well as the $40 billion, Xi pledged an additional 1 billion doses of desperately needed vaccines to the world’s poorest continent as it battles the new Omicron variant.

That would help the African Union achieve its goal of vaccinating 60% of the African population by next year, Xi said.

“We need to put people and their lives first, be guided by science, support waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines, and truly ensure the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in Africa to bridge the immunization gap,” Xi told the forum.

He also pledged that China would hit $300 billion worth of imports from Africa over the next three years, a modest goal given the country’s current import trajectory.

Xi said China would open green

lanes for African agricultural exports, speed up inspection and quarantine procedures, and increase the scope of products with zero-tariff treatment to help achieve the goal.

Beijing will also exempt Africa’s least-developed countries from debt incurred in the form of interest-free Chinese government loans due by the end of 2021, the same pledge China made at FOCAC in 2018.

Hannah Ryder, chief executive officer of Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined, said the FOCAC pledge didn’t represent a pullback from the continent. It reflected that China was listening to African governments’ request for a different type of engagement, she said.

This is the “sort of commitment needed from a development partner,” she added. Bloomberg/withassistance from James Mayger and Kari Lindberg.

of reliable information in those communities.

The Oakland, California, news service El Timpano delivers a text message of local news in Spanish to roughly 2,000 subscribers every week. Subscribers can text back with questions that staffers work to answer, said Madeleine Bair, who launched El Timpano.

The news service has fielded more than 1,500 questions over the past year, including ones about hoax Covid-19 cures.

“We really ramped up because it was clear that the communities we were serving were most in need of basic public health information,” Blair said, “and that information wasn’t reaching them.”

Others have urged the government to take on a watchdog role.

Federal Trade Commission commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democrat, said the regulator may look at disparities in how Big Tech monitors English-language disinformation compared to other languages.

“The first thing I think we need to do is investigate,” Slaughter said during a November panel with lawmakers. Associated Press writers Marcos Martínez Chacón in Monterrey, Mexico, Abril Mulato in Mexico City and Marcy Gordon in Washington contributed to this report.

A10 Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Neda chief: Border controls to cut Omicron risk vital now

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

ORDER control is crucial at this time in order to prevent the entry of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 into the Philippines, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua told BusinessMirror “guarding” the country’s borders will allow domestic economic activities to continue.

O n Mond ay, lo c a l e cono mists called for the closing of the country’s borders to prevent the spread of Omicron in the Philippines. (See story here: https:// busine ssm ir ror .com. ph/2021/11/29/close-borderscut-omicron-ex posure-risk /) “Priority is to guard our borders so all domestic activity can continue.

So border control will determine the level of threat and alert level,” Chua told this newspaper.

Chua said the government has set up a color coding system which can be used to guard the country’s borders from potential travelers that could bring in the Omicron variant.

Under this system, Green List countries include those classified by the IATF as “Low Risk” countries/ jurisdictions/territories while those under the Red list are classified as “High Risk” countries/jurisdictions/territories.

The Yellow list countries, meanwhile, are those countries/jurisdictions/territories classified by the IATF as “Moderate Risk.”

Chua said the protocols associated with these classifications will help the country better prevent the entry of individuals who could be carriers of the Omicron variant.

“It [guarding borders] will [have an] impact of course, but as a preemptive move, it will save us future lockdowns,” Chua noted.

Volatile recovery

IN a Research Brief, Oxford Economics said that while it is still too early to pass judgment on the Omicron Covid-19 variant on the global economy, the situation showed the volatility of economic recovery at this time.

Oxford Economics Director of Global Macro Ben May said currently, there is no definitive evidence that Omicron is more transmissible and causes more or less severe symptoms than Delta or that it affects vaccine efficacy.

However, if Omicron becomes the dominant Covid-19 strain and causes more serious side effects as well as reduces vaccine efficacy, it is possible for global economic growth to only hit 2.3 percent, significantly lower than its baseline forecast of 4.5 percent.

“In our upcoming December 6 forecast we envisage lowering next year’s world GDP forecast by a considerably more modest 0.3 percentage points [ppts] or so,” Oxford Economics said.

“This is based on Omicron inflicting a similar scale of disruption at the turn of the year to that seen in Q3 [third quarter], and most of the economic weakness being caught up in Q2 [second quarter] and Q3 2022,” it added.

The best-case scenario for the global economy, Oxford’s May said, is for Omicron to be a less virulent strain than Delta and speed up the transition toward “normalcy” through the rapid deployment of better vaccines.

The worst-case scenario, meanwhile, is for Omicron to trigger the increase in restrictions and the disruption of global trade. This will cause GDP to slow to 2.3 percent in 2022 with advanced economies being particularly hit.

The US and eurozone GDP growth in 2022 is around 2 ppts below their current baseline forecasts of 4.5 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

Faster recovery

IN the Philippines, Chua said the effective management of Covid-19 risks will allow the economy to recover to the pre-pandemic level in early 2022.

Chua said interventions enabled the effective management of Covid-19 risks and the country’s continuous economic recovery.

These include the shift to the alert level system and granular lockdowns, removal of age restrictions on mobility and pilot opening of face-to-face schooling, and the increase in transport capacity to 75 to 100 percent.

Moreover, the Philippine economy grew by 7.1 percent in the third quarter of 2021. Improvements in the manufacturing production, external trade, public infrastructure spending, employment, and mobility also point to the recovery of key sectors.

“If we can perform at this level in the third quarter despite the ECQ and MECQ, we can expect even bet-

ter performance in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Our economic growth remains promising and we need to build on these gains to accelerate recovery, and prevent long-term scarring and productivity losses,” Chua said.

To solidify the country’s economic performance and to further accelerate economic recovery, the Neda proposed five key actions: First, reducing artificial barriers to vaccination, and expanding the vaccination drive to children from age 5 and above in the appropriate time.

Second, moving to Alert level 1

by January 2022, which will require everyone’s adherence to minimum health standards especially during the holidays.

Third, resuming face-to-face classes for all schools in January 2022, with consideration of the lessons learned during the pilot classes conducted in selected areas.

Fourth, increasing public transport capacity to 100 percent for all transport types to ease public transport stations.

And last, streamlining all requirements for local and international travel to improve mobility.

“The data on our progress is likely to improve further if we focus on the safe reopening of the economy alongside the intensified vaccination drive, and reduce the barriers to mobility to allow the free movement of people,” Chua said.

QUARANTINE RULE STUNS TRAVELERS FROM JAPAN

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

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ANDEMONIUM marked the arrival area at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 Monday night as OFWs from Green List countries were surprised with sudden quarantine requirements in Manila. This, as authorities carried out measures to reduce risks of the Covid-19 Omicron variant entering the country.

“Passengers were really angry and they vented their anger at the Philippine Coast Guard, at PAL staff,” Enrique Gonzaga told BusinessMirror.

Enrique is a Filipino worker in Tokyo, Japan—one of the countries listed last month as “green.” Filipino travellers flying in from Green List countries were no longer required to undergo testing upon arrival and quarantine.

Until Monday, November 29.

“We were told there is no more green list. We are all under the yellow list because of the new variant Omicron,” he said.

Gonzaga, who is suffering from ter mina l cancer, said PA L had required that he b e a c c omp a n ie d b y a companion throughout his f light.

Aside from the ticket that he had to book for himself—al-

ready expensive as it is, given the holiday season—he had to buy another set of two-way tickets for his companion for the Tokyo-Manila-Bacolod leg and back.

So it was indeed very frustrating for Gonzaga to be told that the two sets of tickets that he bought for ManilaBacolod leg will have to be rebooked.

The chaos and confusion for most of the passengers at the airport on Monday night, he said, began when they were told that they need to be quarantined.

OFWs like him, he said, were taken care of by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. As for his companion, also a Filipino and a permanent resident in Tokyo, he had to book a quarantine facility—another unexpected cost “There’s a mad scrambling to book hotels. Nabutas nang doble ang bulsa ko dito [My pockets got burned twice],” he lamented.

Since Gonzaga is going to miss his domestic flight to Bacolod City, he hopes that PAL could rebook him and his companion. “I was told there might be sweeper flights. Sana naman [I would hope so],” he added.

Phivolcs monitoring Pinatubo volcano after explosion signal

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

M

@jonlmayuga

T. PINATUBO, which last exploded in 1991 and affected many countr ies around the globe, is under close monitoring for signs of restiveness after an “explosion signal” was recorded on Tuesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Authorities immediately banned any activity inside the crater of the volcano, which has become a popular site for adventure and nature tourism since its explosion re-drew the topography of several towns in Central Luzon.

Phivolcs reported that the Mt. Pinatubo Network recorded seismic and infrasound signals of a weak explosion around 12:09 p.m. and 12:13 p.m.

The event, according to a Phivolcs Bulletin issued at 4 p.m. revealed that the event produced a plume that was detected by the Himawari-8 Satellite and reported to DOST-Phivolcs by the Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.

“The seismic and infrasound signals are not typical of known volcanic processes and are currently being evaluated together with other potential sources, e.g. aircraft activity, ordinance disposal, and others. In addition, there has been very low seismic activity in the past days and geochemical survey of the Pinatubo Crater Lake this November 2021 yielded low diffuse volcanic CO2 flux (257 tonnes/ day), discounting magmatic activity beneath the edifice,” the Phivolcs Pinatubo Volcano Advisory issued at 4 p.m. on November 30 stated.

“DOST-Phivolcs is cautioning the public to refrain from venturing in the vicinities of Pinatubo Volcano at this time,” it says.

Moreover, DOST-Phivolcs advised local government units to prohibit

entry into Pinatubo Crater until the source of the explosion event has been determined.

DOST-Phivolcs also enjoined the LGUs to report any related information.

“Communities and local government units surrounding Pinatubo are reminded to be always prepared for both earthquake and volcanic hazards and to review, prepare and strengthen their contingency, emergency and other disaster preparedness plans,” it said.

Meanwhile, the DOST-Phivolcs continues to strengthen its monitoring of the volcano with ongoing upgrades to the PVN or Pinatubo Volcano Network, periodic geochemical surveys of the Pinatubo Crater lake and GPS and satellite analysis of ground deformation.

In a radio interview, DOST Undersecretary Renato Solidum, the concurrent Director at Phivolcs, confirmed the explosion but said the explosion “was not typical” in explosions noted in other volcanoes.

It could be associated, he explained, “with aircraft activity or explosion of ordnance—so, besides volcanic activity, we are looking at other possibilities,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said any activity in Mt. Pinatubo is banned for now, although he noted that volcanic gas and earthquake activity are very low, “discounting any substantial” volcanic activity at the moment.

Solidum said the DOST-Phivolcs will try to examine satellite images available.

He recalled that at the end of the first quarter of 2021, an alert level was raised in Pinatubo because of quake activity, but there was no magma buildup.

“So far, there’s no report of ashfall anywhere,” he added.

RESIDENTS of Bulacan show messages of support for the respective electoral bids of Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Sen. Ping Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III during a recent assembly. Lacson and Sotto explained their campaign platforms including their Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) agenda. On Tuesday, Lacson said in another forum the deep cuts on NTF-Elcac’s 2022 budget are not yet final, but warned security sector officials against allowing the counterinsurgency program’s funds to be “prostituted” again. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Lacson: NTF-Elcac funds were ‘prostituted’

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HE drastic cuts in the 2022 budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) may still be reconsidered, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Tuesday, but stressed that the country’s security sector must better implement the programs and funds earmarked for it.

The Partido Reporma chairman and standard bearer challenged the officials concerned to make sure the NTF-Elcac funds will not be “prostituted ” and used for political ends.

Lacson noted he had vigorously defended the budget and concept of the NTF-Elcac as chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense, but its implementation

left him dismayed, which was why lawmakers decided to slash the task force’s budget by P28 billion for 2022.

He observed that “when it comes to implementation that’s where it gets messed up, adding, “even with all the laws we’ve been passing, the problem is always implementation.”

“You know, the authorities… the executive department, particularly the security sector —the PNP [Philippine National Police], AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], and the implementers, the implementing agency— should show that they are implementing it properly. Not with politics mixed into it,” the senator stressed.

He declined to go into details of what he told the Executive’s security cluster, but added; “Really, we should stop…. Let’s say its implementation has been prostituted.

So, the senators are studying it now, the ball is in their court. If they can promise that they will fix its implementation, they’ll get their P28-billion back, because it really is a great concept.”

Lacson was speaking in a press conference following his dialogue with transport sector leaders at the Partido Reporma media bureau headquarters in Greenhills, San Juan, broadcast live on Facebook.

Joining Lacson were his running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and senatorial

candidate Dr. Minguita Padilla.

Lacson affirmed he was defending NTF-Elcac “to the bones” because being a former police officer, he understood how great a concept it was to empower the countryside and keep the communist or rebel elements from infiltrating the communities, especially in faraway areas. “My old colleagues in the military, in the PNP, understand this to be a great concept. Because if you don’t follow up the cleared barangays with development or livelihood, the NPA [New People’s Army] will keep returning. Those who are left behind in the villages, they have this fear factor that they will be terrorized, so they [rebels] will rule again.” Butch Fernandez

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

SEC: Local firms raise $5B from green bond issuances

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Philippines has raised some $5.4 billion, both onshore and offshore, from green bond issuances since the adoption of the Asean Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Standards, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.

SEC Commissioner Ephyro Luis B. Amatong said the country has seen rapid growth in green bond issuances, mainly from the private sector. These will be used for renewable energy projects, infrastructure, and real estate.

Amatong said the Philippines expects more green bond issuances as the country adopts principles that will allow it to secure more of the private capital that looks for financial and social returns.

In October, the government launched the Philippine Sustainable Finance Roadmap and Guiding Principles developed by the Green Force with the support of the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

“The objectives incorporated in the Philippine Sustainable Finance Roadmap optimize the public sector’s strengths—policy development and concessional, albeit limited, funds—to ‘crowd in’ the substantial

amounts of private capital looking for financial and social returns, in order to transition the Philippine economy to become more sustainable, inclusive and resilient,” Amatong said.

In addition to the Roadmap for Asean Sustainable Capital Markets—a guidance for the economic bloc—the group has released Version 1 of the Asean Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance or Asean Taxonomy.

“This document will provide a frame for discussions among official sector and private sector stakeholders to work together on the development of the Asean Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, which will serve as a reference point to guide capital and funding towards activities that can help promote the systemic transformation and transition needed for the region,” Amatong said.

The SEC has also instituted sustainability reporting for publiclylisted companies and has required these to submit a separate report on these on top of the usual annual

financial documents that it give to the regulator.

Amating said compliance rates of listed firms to submit this document “have been very high” at 93.3 percent for the 2020 sustainability reports and 90.77 percent for 2019 reporting season despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic.

The SEC has asked these firms to submit the document on a complyor-explain basis for the first three years of its implementation. Firms will have to submit to the agency the report, or if not, tell them the reason for not submitting or complying with the requirement.

He said, however, that there is still a long way ahead before reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and achieving the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius by drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

There is an “urgent” need to begin measuring the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by businesses, he said.

Cebu Pacific offers flexible options

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o prevent the entry of new Covid-19 variants in the Philippines, Cebu Pacific (CEB) said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases has released a new set of guidelines for arriving passengers effective November 29.

Until December 15, passengers from countries in the “green” and “yellow” lists will be required to undergo the same quarantine and testing protocols, specifically: n For fully-vaccinated individuals (with RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior): undergo a mandatory 4-day quarantine in an accredited facility; testing on the third day and continue with quarantine until result is released; self-monitoring until 14th day. n For fully-vaccinated flyers (without RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior): undergo a mandatory 6-day

quarantine in an accredited facility; testing on the fifth day and continue with quarantine until result is released; and undergo home quarantine until the 10th day. n For partially/unvaccinated individuals: undergo a mandatory 8-day quarantine in an accredited facility; testing on the 7th day and continue with quarantine until result is released; and undergo home quarantine until the 14th day.

Cebu Pacific said it will continue to operate its flights to the following countries included in the “green list” but must follow the testing and quarantine requirements of the “yellow list”: Dubai; Japan (Narita, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka); Hong Kong; Taiwan (Taipei); and China (Guangzhou).

Incoming passengers from said countries must comply with the protocols upon arrival in the Philippines.

However, CEB said international passengers with flights until December 7 who wish to postpone their travel have the following options, and may select their preferred choice through the Manage Booking portal on the Cebu Pacific website up to 2 hours before scheduled time of departure: n Rebook Rebook for travel within 60 days at no additional cost, following CEB’s permanent removal of change fees.

Fare difference waived. n Travel Fund Store the amount in a virtual CEB wallet valid for 2 years and use this to either book a new flight or pay for add-ons. Passengers are advised to update their contact details via http://bit.ly/CEBUpdateInfo to receive email notifications on flight reminders and updates.

Before going to the airport, pas-

Google workers sue over firings

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hree former Google employees sued the technology giant claiming they were wrongfully fired for challenging a plan to collaborate with the Trump administration’s border security agencies.

They claim that in addition to being falsely accused of leaking information about the Alphabet Inc.’s unit’s plans to the media, they were also targeted because they were gay or trans.

Rebecca Rivers, Sophie Waldman and Paul Duke claim that in opposing Google’s plans to work with agencies responsible for separating children from their parents and caging immigrants, they were simply abiding by Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” mandate.

“Google decided to start punishing employees for fulfilling their contractual commitment to ‘call out’ conduct they believed to be inhumane or ‘evil,’” the former workers said in the complaint.

Mountainview, California-based Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The National Labor Relations Board also filed a complaint against Google this year accusing the company of violating federal labor law

by firing activists including Rivers, Waldman, and Duke; a judge is considering those retaliation allegations at a trial that began in August and is still underway.

In the new lawsuit, filed Monday in state court in Santa Clara County, California, according to Laurie Burgess, the lawyer representing former employees, Google is accused of violating California state law by targeting gay and trans employees for termination, slandering Rivers, and breach of contract.

Waldman questioned Google’s commitment not to work with Customs and Border Protection in July 2019, generating follow-up questions from hundreds of fellow employees, according to the complaint. That drew a response from Thomas Kurian, chief executive officer of Google Cloud, who said at a workplace meeting that Google wouldn’t participate in any projects “associated with the southern border,” and affirmed that Google products would only be used for “good stuff’ like crop protection, according to the lawsuit.

But in August 2019, Rivers found Google had already offered a free trial of its new cloud platform “Anthos” to CBP, according to the complaint.

That was reported by Business Insider the same month.

The employees claim Google hired a consulting firm and adopted a plan called “Project Vivian” to implement the consultants’ recommendations for defending itself against employees organizing and other attacks on its brand, according to the complaint.

The company fired Waldman, Duke and Rivers “within minutes of one another” in November 2019 and accused them of violating data security policies through unauthorized searches for information outside the scope of their jobs, which was shared externally.

The three former employees deny those allegations.

The three were among a group of five people fired. Three of the five are trans, one is gay and one is heterosexual, according to the complaint.

“Google’s conduct of targeting gay and trans employees for termination based upon their involvement in the above activities constitutes unlawful discrimination,” the former employees claim.

The case is Rivers v. Google Inc., Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara. Bloomberg News

sengers are advised to check the travel requirements, safety protocols, and frequently asked questions on the CEB website.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

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Nippon is set to hike prices for carmakers

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apan’s top steelmaker said it’s close to securing price hikes from domestic manufacturing giants, signaling the balance of power is shifting from buyers to sellers as the alloy’s price surges.

“We’ve seen big progress in correcting contract prices,” Nippon Steel Corp. Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori said Friday in an interview.

“Second-half contracts have been almost settled.”

Japan’s steel suppliers are gaining the upper hand in a market where carmakers, their biggest customers, have typically had more bargaining power. Senior executives of the steelmaker have been increasingly vocal in seeking better terms for domestic contract prices to bridge the gap with international prices. Back in May, the president warned the company can’t take responsibility for stable supply unless unreasonably low domestic prices are corrected. Mori said domestic steel users have broadly accepted calls by the company to raise contract prices to reflect cost surges.

Nippon’s average price for its products sold both overseas and at home rose to the highest since at least 2008 in the three months through September amid tight supply and robust demand.

The steelmaker is also trying to bring more changes in the way contracts are implemented, as part of its push to amend traditional business practices in Japan.

It’s seeking to conclude talks before it begins delivery, shorten the contract terms to three months from six now and deliver products only after agreeing on prices, he said. Talks with buyers

for the second-half for the year ending March typically end around February, although delivery starts before that.

The executive declined to elaborate on the details, including naming the customers or the size of the price hikes, saying the negotiations are private. Talks between Nippon Steel and Toyota Motor Corp. are held twice a year and are closely watched as they typically serve as a benchmark.

Still, “the question is what will happen when the market f lips around,” said Takeshi Irisawa, an analyst at Tachibana Securities Co. Users like Toyota could demand price cuts when conditions for steelmakers turn sour, he said.

Mori expects the recovery in demand to continue, although the company will closely monitor the impact of the resurgence in coronavirus infections in some regions.

The World Steel Association said last month demand should climb again next year and the main driver of growth will be outside China as the country’s real estate crisis undermines consumption. Still, China’s drive to cut steel output to curb emissions alleviates the risk of a collapse in the world’s biggest market, Mori said. Bloomberg News

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Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Companies BusinessMirror

Stop investing in Double M, Axiecrowd, SEC tells public

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against investing in Double M Global Trading and Axiecrowd Asia, which operate online schemes that promise to grow investments by as much as four times in just two weeks.

In an advisory, the SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection department said a certain Melvin Martinez spearheads the operations of Double M, also known as Double M FX Financial Consultancy Services.

As posted online, the company is offering investments to the public for a minimum amount of P500 and promises earnings of 300 percent for their investment in 15 days. It said the company is investing the money in foreign exchange and casinos.

There is also an additional income for direct referral and an “unlimited level of commission.” A payout of 50 percent, 100 percent and 150 percent will be earned every 5 days for a total of 300 percent subject to a 10-percent withdrawal maintenance deduction.

“The public is advised not to invest or stop investing in any investment scheme being offered by any individual or group of persons allegedly for or on behalf of Double M Global Trading/Double M Fx Financial Consultancy Services and to exercise caution in dealing with any individuals or group of persons soliciting investments for and on behalf of it,” the SEC said.

A xiecrowd, meanwhile, is a crowdfunding platform, but the SEC calls it a Ponzi scheme, as it promises a 50-percent return on investment in just 15 days.

It asks for a regular investment of

P1,000 per individual, and its special program promises earnings of seven times in 90 days plus other incentives. Payment is coursed through GCash to a certain Jonathan del Rosario.

SEC said Axiecrowd has no primary registration and is not authorized to solicit investment from the public. Its scheme, meanwhile, “is within the context of a Ponzi scheme where the main source of income that shall in turn be distributed among the investors primarily comes from the investment of the incoming investors,” the SEC said.

The agency said the said schemes involve the sale of securities to the public. “The Securities Regulation Code [SRC] requires that these securities are registered and that the concerned corporation and its agents have the appropriate registration and license to sell such securities to the public.”

The SEC warned that those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents for the company in selling or convincing people to invest in the investment scheme, including solicitations and recruitment through the internet, may be prosecuted and held criminally liable under the SRC. They can be penalized with a maximum fine of P5 million or penalty of 21 years of imprisonment or both.

CAL becomes new operator of A321neo

C

hina Airlines (CAL) has become the latest operator of the A321neo, following the delivery of its first aircraft of the type, on lease from Air Lease Corp.

The aircraft operated with a blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

SAF provides a reduction of up to 80 percent in carbon emissions over its lifecycle, compared to traditional jet fuel.

The aircraft is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines and seats 180 passengers in a two-class layout. The A321neo incorporates the Airbus Cabin Flex, which enables optimal use of space by relocating various fixtures and fittings, providing the highest levels of passenger comfort.

CAL’s A321neo will be able to fly on routes of up to seven hours from Taipei.

CAL’s A321neos also come with a

Cargo Loading System that enables container cargo operations, further reinforcing the airline and Taipei’s position as a global air freight hub.

Altogether CAL will acquire 25 A321neo aircraft, comprising 11 directly ordered from Airbus and 14 under lease agreements. The A321neo will form the core of CAL’s single-aisle fleet and offers cockpit commonality with CAL’s existing A330 and A350 aircraft.

The A321neo is a member of the A320neo Family, which offers the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky and incorporates the latest technologies, including new-generation engines and Sharklets, delivering a 20 per cent reduction in fuel consumption per seat.

At the end of October, the A320neo Family had won more than 7,500 firm orders from over 120 customers worldwide.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 29, 2021

Net Foreign Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Stocks Buy (Sell) FINANCIALs

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK CITYSTATE BANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH VANTAGE

44,810 1,563,749,909 434,799,238 4,332,820 4,250 7,168,493 367,568,180 349,740 18,813,828 11,540 66,595 1,126,270 162,434,228 11,681,747 662,530 327,860 48,460 13,680 86,900 342,400 98,900 90,650 40,200

8,900 -212,537,025 44,173,930.50 135,870 850 -35,650 -40,483,895 1,740.00 -3,378,414 -19,900 -37,420,881 160,920 107,230 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 11.26 11.28 11.5 11.8 11 11.28 444,117,000 5,043,407,678 1.07 1.14 1.09 1.14 1.07 1.14 203,000 219,270 ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER 29.75 29.95 30.1 30.1 29.15 29.95 2,577,800 76,603,975 0.62 0.63 0.6 0.63 0.59 0.62 12,745,000 7,724,760 BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN 29.2 29.5 29.35 29.5 28.7 29.5 2,773,500 80,711,765 72.7 72.75 73 73 72.7 72.75 99,690 7,253,355.50 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 288 294 293 296 288 288 754,430 218,144,184 24 24.3 23.9 24.6 23.2 24 2,021,600 48,648,380 MANILA WATER 3.28 3.29 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.28 1,484,000 4,836,370 PETRON PETROENERGY 4.21 4.3 4.24 4.25 4.21 4.24 188,000 794,330 10.66 11.14 10.62 11.18 10.62 11.14 19,100 209,118 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 20.35 20.5 21.2 21.2 20.05 20.35 534,500 11,079,380 13.78 13.8 13.9 13.9 13.66 13.78 232,000 3,198,080 SPC POWER AGRINURTURE 3.97 3.99 3.71 3.99 3.71 3.99 302,000 1,178,170 2.78 2.8 2.75 2.8 2.69 2.8 1,243,000 3,451,880 AXELUM CENTURY FOOD 26 27 26 27 25.55 27 2,089,600 55,849,770 DEL MONTE 14.28 14.3 14.5 14.5 14 14.3 254,900 3,631,584 8.69 8.7 8.5 8.73 8.15 8.7 9,367,000 80,100,065 DNL INDUS EMPERADOR 17.8 17.84 17.78 18.1 17.62 17.8 1,640,700 29,092,102 74.95 75.5 75.5 75.5 74.9 75.5 51,340 3,856,603 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.56 0.6 0.58 0.58 0.58 0.58 1,000 580 1.22 1.25 1.24 1.27 1.22 1.25 24,151,000 29,836,230 FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA 100.4 100.5 102 102 96 100.4 98,530 9,911,503.50 235 239.2 233 240 225 235 1,631,820 382,895,888 JOLLIBEE 27.3 27.95 27.25 27.5 27.25 27.25 2,200 60,365 LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG 5.76 6.64 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 1,100 6,908 6.64 6.7 6.72 6.72 6.31 6.64 550,700 3,630,009 MAXS GROUP MG HLDG 0.156 0.169 0.155 0.156 0.155 0.156 780,000 120,950 17 17.02 17 17.78 16.72 17.02 329,857,900 5,645,176,022 MONDE NISSIN SHAKEYS PIZZA 8.39 8.68 8.4 8.69 8.2 8.69 606,500 5,071,313 0.68 0.7 0.68 0.7 0.67 0.68 622,000 419,970 ROXAS AND CO 4.53 4.64 4.64 4.64 4.64 4.64 1,000 4,640 RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG 1.18 1.2 1.18 1.2 1.18 1.2 5,000 5,920 0.114 0.116 0.115 0.116 0.115 0.115 2,700,000 311,000 SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA 132.2 133 135 135 128.3 133 5,790,510 764,323,339 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.77 0.75 0.75 2,232,000 1,681,110 VITARICH CEMEX HLDG 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.17 1.19 2,665,000 3,125,630 13.9 14 14 14 13.7 14 63,600 882,366 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 6.41 6.48 6.51 6.68 6.4 6.41 142,600 915,597 HOLCIM 5.32 5.34 5.57 5.57 5.3 5.34 2,261,300 12,104,697 1.58 1.59 1.59 1.61 1.55 1.58 74,447,000 117,874,680 KEEPERS HLDG MEGAWIDE 5.2 5.21 5.4 5.4 4.98 5.2 1,742,400 8,967,495 16.62 17 17.3 17.3 15.72 17 497,200 8,431,858 PHINMA VULCAN INDL 0.99 1 1.04 1.06 0.99 1 18,181,000 18,314,370 1.7 1.73 1.71 1.71 1.7 1.71 39,000 66,610 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 1.5 1.52 1.5 1.54 1.49 1.49 22,000 33,230 3.62 4.11 4 4.39 4 4 16,000 64,520 MABUHAY VINYL 5.71 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 4,500 26,100 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 21.3 21.45 21.45 21.45 21.45 21.45 2,000 42,900 2.34 2.37 2.32 2.4 2.21 2.37 1,282,000 2,966,000 GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR 8.6 8.61 8.8 8.8 8.15 8.61 498,900 4,243,566 0.73 0.77 0.74 0.77 0.72 0.77 221,000 160,810 IONICS PANASONIC 5.88 6.01 6 6.02 6 6.01 7,900 47,435 1.09 1.1 1.09 1.1 1.08 1.1 122,000 132,500 SFA SEMICON 3.99 4 3.88 4.08 3.79 4 2,785,000 10,939,180 CIRTEK HLDG

849,508,864 -2,709,060 -179,930 4,960,725 -3,247,542.50 -52,119,740 -4,515,940 -477,900 722,120 2,740 488,770 23,437,785 114,140 25,472,853 -1,897,474 -809,491.50 -162,180 4,485,137 -9,739,444 -27,720 478,288,130 -68,907,238 151,250 -819,680 -12,960 -8,042,776 519,260 178,246 16,300 29,600 17,100 472,110 1,548,359 2,880 32,700 -259,620

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MJC INVESTMENTS METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER ZEUS HLDG

44 123.9 91 25.1 8.48 9.32 49.8 17.2 20.05 56 105 19.9 114.9 106.8 1.59 4.02 3.23 0.91 0.285 825 0.61 209 0.82

0.96 5.5 836 49.1 11.3 5.56 7 0.92 0.46 0.455 5.08 8.13 7.55 570 3.54 56.5 0.66 2.97 10.6 1.1 4.02 1.29 2.76 14.66 979.5 112.4 0.62 122.1 0.18

45 124 91.2 25.15 8.5 9.38 49.9 17.4 20.1 57.7 107.9 20 115 107 1.6 4.03 3.38 1.07 0.31 978 0.62 212.8 0.84

0.99 5.7 840.5 49.15 11.32 5.58 7.49 0.94 0.485 0.5 5.11 8.14 7.79 570.5 3.69 56.55 0.67 3.07 10.64 1.2 4.06 1.3 2.96 14.68 980 113.5 0.69 126 0.187

45.3 124.8 88.2 25.4 8.5 9.53 48 17.4 20.2 57.7 102 19.9 115 108 1.63 4.01 3.22 0.92 0.29 902 0.62 213.6 0.83

0.95 5.7 855 50.25 11.1 5.5 7.4 0.92 0.47 0.455 5.15 7.5 8 560 3.65 56.5 0.64 2.95 10.7 1.12 3.99 1.22 2.95 14.4 975 112 0.65 122 0.18

45.3 125.3 91 25.4 8.5 9.53 49.9 17.4 20.2 57.7 107.9 20.1 116 110 1.64 4.1 3.38 0.93 0.29 902 0.62 213.6 0.83

0.99 5.7 860 51.45 11.34 5.63 7.5 0.95 0.485 0.455 5.15 8.14 8 576.5 3.65 57.05 0.66 2.97 11 1.2 4.06 1.41 2.95 14.76 980 113.5 0.65 126 0.18

44.5 121.3 85.5 25.1 8.5 9.17 47 17.4 19.8 57.7 100 19.8 112.1 100 1.55 4 3.22 0.91 0.285 800 0.61 209 0.82

0.92 5.7 832.5 49.1 11 5.4 7.4 0.92 0.46 0.455 5.07 7.31 7.6 550 3.53 55.9 0.64 2.95 10.26 1.12 3.87 1.22 2.95 14.1 945 109.6 0.62 121 0.18

45 124 91 25.15 8.5 9.32 49.9 17.4 20.1 57.7 107.9 19.9 115 107 1.6 4.03 3.38 0.91 0.285 800 0.62 213 0.82

0.99 5.7 836 49.1 11.32 5.56 7.5 0.94 0.485 0.455 5.08 8.14 7.79 570 3.55 56.55 0.66 2.97 10.6 1.2 4.06 1.3 2.95 14.68 980 113.5 0.62 126 0.18

1,000 12,624,000 4,813,410 172,200 500 764,700 7,465,500 20,100 940,000 200 650 56,700 1,415,090 109,800 412,000 81,000 15,000 15,000 300,000 390 160,000 430 49,000

15,273,000 1,000 1,056,180 5,614,700 15,587,400 2,947,000 900 30,000 1,660,000 100,000 1,637,100 48,662,100 7,200 555,360 106,000 10,839,490 178,000 1,027,000 52,617,200 2,000 60,139,000 86,000 13,000 10,965,100 637,330 202,340 100,000 350,970 40,000

14,483,940 5,700 887,040,245 277,378,409.50 174,797,618 16,198,951 6,670 27,650 780,550 45,500 8,319,256 387,945,357 55,058 315,344,855 379,570 612,259,731 115,650 3,050,070 561,734,944 2,320 241,480,190 111,680 38,350 158,826,998 620,646,345 22,566,027 62,390 44,218,448 7,200

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.63 0.62 0.63 298,000 186,930 34.5 34.55 35.7 35.7 34.5 34.5 30,791,800 1,070,070,675 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 1 1.02 1 1.02 1 1.02 39,000 39,060 46.25 46.4 47.8 47.9 46.4 46.4 6,839,700 319,825,950 AREIT RT BELLE CORP 1.37 1.38 1.37 1.37 1.36 1.37 251,000 343,710 0.8 0.81 0.84 0.84 0.8 0.82 478,000 386,100 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.73 0.76 0.73 0.76 0.73 0.76 365,000 266,770 0.101 0.106 0.102 0.106 0.101 0.101 1,100,000 112,140 CROWN EQUITIES 6.1 6.27 6.18 6.18 6.18 6.18 35,100 216,918 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 2.84 2.85 2.85 2.88 2.82 2.84 2,096,000 5,960,070 0.42 0.425 0.425 0.43 0.41 0.425 8,610,000 3,610,700 CENTURY PROP DOUBLEDRAGON 7.64 8.04 8.3 8.35 7.64 7.64 19,775,100 151,943,585 1.8 1.81 1.82 1.82 1.79 1.8 10,938,000 19,748,060 DDMP RT DM WENCESLAO 6.88 6.89 6.85 6.85 6.8 6.8 48,400 329,660 0.265 0.27 0.265 0.27 0.265 0.27 660,000 175,450 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.32 0.325 0.315 0.325 0.3 0.325 6,910,000 2,148,150 FILINVEST RT 7.65 7.66 7.85 7.85 7.47 7.65 30,855,300 236,871,868 1.1 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.09 1.12 9,215,000 10,198,880 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.84 0.86 0.86 0.87 0.84 0.85 1,471,000 1,250,170 10 10.18 10 10.32 10 10.18 25,000 255,406 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.1 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.09 1.14 659,000 729,350 3.05 3.47 3.47 3.47 3.47 3.47 1,000 3,470 KEPPEL PROP CITY AND LAND 0.87 0.9 0.87 0.9 0.87 0.87 299,000 260,690 3.06 3.14 3.07 3.14 2.91 3.14 42,669,000 130,411,310 MEGAWORLD 0.275 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.275 0.28 14,150,000 3,935,200 MRC ALLIED MREIT RT 18.3 18.32 18.24 18.32 18.02 18.32 2,493,500 45,373,312 0.55 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.54 0.55 17,625,000 9,949,440 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 1.99 2.02 1.87 2.04 1.87 2.03 157,000 312,750 7.3 7.33 7.4 7.4 7.15 7.3 7,030,100 51,144,851 RL COMM RT ROBINSONS LAND 18 18.22 18 18.34 17.38 18.22 7,084,500 127,851,486 0.215 0.221 0.216 0.217 0.215 0.215 560,000 120,680 PHIL REALTY 1.51 1.55 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 9,000 13,500 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.58 2.61 2.58 2.61 2.58 2.61 1,470,000 3,793,040 2.85 2.86 2.86 2.86 2.85 2.85 71,000 202,690 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 37.05 37.4 35.8 37.4 34.15 37.4 41,966,200 1,549,431,170 3.72 3.8 3.72 3.72 3.7 3.72 36,000 133,650 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.23 1.26 1.34 1.34 1.16 1.23 2,514,000 3,101,460 3.57 3.84 3.65 3.84 3.42 3.84 3,888,000 14,476,410 VISTA LAND

SERVICES ABS CBN 13.28 13.3 13.7 13.7 13.28 13.3 282,700 3,810,654 13.68 13.7 13.7 13.74 13.3 13.68 1,877,300 25,434,240 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.41 0.43 0.41 0.435 0.405 0.435 230,000 95,300 10.4 10.6 10.6 10.6 10.4 10.4 1,600 16,660 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 3,282 3,314 3,310 3,490 3,280 3,282 410,045 1,352,530,210 1,680 1,699 1,697 1,709 1,640 1,680 335,475 563,724,795 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.072 0.073 0.072 0.077 0.07 0.073 144,470,000 10,559,790 31.75 32 29.8 32 28.75 32 21,277,900 653,250,595 CONVERGE 2.7 2.73 2.81 2.83 2.63 2.73 171,000 466,890 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 5.41 5.42 5.49 5.57 5.11 5.41 6,978,300 37,423,341 1.42 1.5 1.42 1.42 1.42 1.42 6,000 8,520 IMPERIAL NOW CORP 1.55 1.56 1.65 1.65 1.53 1.55 859,000 1,354,290 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.33 0.305 0.32 3,210,000 1,003,200 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 1.95 1.97 1.99 2 1.9 1.97 496,000 969,860 7.8 7.84 8 8 7.78 7.84 19,800 155,628 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 13.8 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 3,400 48,280 1.68 1.69 1.65 1.7 1.61 1.69 585,000 957,590 CHELSEA 46.2 46.35 45 46.3 43.5 46.2 1,658,100 74,711,115 CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER 197.4 197.9 194 197.9 190.1 197.9 3,246,200 640,324,790 22.45 22.5 21.8 22.45 21.5 22.45 102,000 2,249,475 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.9 0.94 0.91 0.91 0.9 0.9 549,000 494,190 5.58 5.59 5.54 5.74 5.4 5.58 8,236,300 45,862,446 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 1.33 1.4 1.35 1.4 1.31 1.4 51,000 67,880 1.45 1.68 1.43 1.43 1.42 1.42 30,000 42,660 METROALLIANCE B 0.93 0.96 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.93 182,000 169,750 HARBOR STAR ACESITE HOTEL 1.48 1.51 1.46 1.49 1.46 1.48 15,000 22,140 2.03 2.11 2.05 2.13 2 2.13 212,000 428,110 DISCOVERY WORLD WATERFRONT 0.475 0.485 0.485 0.49 0.455 0.475 570,000 272,750 6.5 6.96 6.96 6.96 6.96 6.96 400 2,784 CENTRO ESCOLAR FAR EASTERN U 545 599 546 546 545 545 2,030 1,106,370 6.97 7.47 6.97 7.47 6.97 7.47 3,200 22,404 IPEOPLE 0.345 0.35 0.345 0.345 0.34 0.345 1,050,000 359,250 STI HLDG BERJAYA 6.47 6.48 6.12 6.49 6.05 6.47 90,500 563,776 7.31 7.79 7.2 7.79 6.8 7.79 10,819,400 79,483,556 BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 1.97 2.04 2 2.1 1.97 1.97 130,000 258,110 1.5 1.52 1.49 1.52 1.48 1.5 113,000 170,380 LEISURE AND RES PH RESORTS GRP 0.82 0.87 0.83 0.87 0.79 0.87 1,383,000 1,148,410 0.44 0.445 0.44 0.44 0.425 0.44 5,910,000 2,569,300 PREMIUM LEISURE PHIL RACING 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 30,000 174,000 0.71 0.72 0.71 0.72 0.69 0.72 125,220,000 88,747,060 ALLDAY 9.1 9.5 9.07 9.5 8.32 9.5 1,894,400 17,209,654 ALLHOME METRO RETAIL 1.39 1.4 1.41 1.41 1.39 1.4 1,666,000 2,328,610 40.8 41.05 40.1 41.1 40.05 41.05 2,546,300 103,717,920 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 65.5 66.5 62 66.5 60.15 66.5 1,430,940 92,882,232.50 90.3 94 90.3 94.8 90 94 3,500 315,658 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.18 1.19 1.19 1.2 1.13 1.18 8,078,000 9,455,070 31.4 31.9 30.9 31.9 30 31.9 4,519,700 141,639,485 WILCON DEPOT 0.23 0.238 0.23 0.238 0.23 0.238 200,000 46,970 APC GROUP EASYCALL 4.22 4.64 4.6 4.65 4.2 4.2 7,000 32,000 501 540 520 540 520 540 3,420 1,840,400 GOLDEN MV IPM HLDG 6.9 7 7 7 7 7 3,000 21,000 0.67 0.68 0.7 0.73 0.64 0.67 60,118,000 41,960,800 PRMIERE HORIZON

MINING & OIL ATOK 5.59 5.97 5.9 5.98 5.58 5.97 93,800 544,968 APEX MINING 1.38 1.41 1.4 1.41 1.37 1.41 94,000 131,610 6.03 6.04 6.23 6.23 6.02 6.03 1,529,900 9,336,725 ATLAS MINING BENGUET A 5.05 5.1 5.05 5.05 5.05 5.05 5,000 25,250 4.85 5.5 4.81 4.81 4.81 4.81 2,000 9,620 BENGUET B CENTURY PEAK 2.6 2.64 2.45 2.65 2.45 2.64 131,000 339,050 5.11 5.49 5.11 5.49 5.11 5.49 200 1,060 DIZON MINES 2.11 2.14 2.16 2.16 2.09 2.14 1,223,000 2,588,870 FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.192 0.22 0.2 0.202 0.192 0.202 570,000 113,220 0.125 0.128 0.124 0.128 0.124 0.128 2,540,000 316,610 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.132 0.138 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 100,000 13,000 0.0091 0.0096 0.0091 0.0091 0.0091 0.0091 5,000,000 45,500 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.39 1.4 1.35 1.44 1.28 1.4 4,891,000 6,668,940 1.01 1.03 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.01 229,000 231,320 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.15 5.16 5.08 5.19 5 5.16 3,545,500 17,967,617 OMICO CORP 0.31 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.3 0.32 560,000 178,300 0.75 0.79 0.75 0.76 0.74 0.76 184,000 137,190 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 4.9 4.94 4.8 4.95 4.8 4.9 326,000 1,585,710 22.65 22.85 22.6 22.85 21.55 22.85 2,603,900 58,746,595 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0063 0.0064 0.0063 0.0063 0.0063 0.0063 6,000,000 37,800 22.9 22.95 22.05 23.5 22.05 22.95 485,200 11,042,175 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 15,900,000 159,700 0.0091 0.0092 0.0091 0.0091 0.009 0.0091 22,000,000 198,700 PHILODRILL 5.95 6 6.05 6.05 5.84 5.95 450,200 2,676,295 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED AC PREF B1 531 547.5 521 531 521 531 2,850 1,507,250 104 108 108 108 108 108 18,410 1,988,280 ALCO PREF C AC PREF B2R 508 522 510 510 510 510 8,000 4,080,000 100 100.5 101 102.5 100 100 22,550 2,257,355 BRN PREF A CEB PREF 46 46.4 47.3 47.3 44.5 46 63,000 2,900,935 101 103 100.5 103 100.5 103 900 91,060 CPG PREF A DD PREF 100.8 100.9 100.6 100.8 100.3 100.8 27,210 2,732,715 105.4 109 109 109 109 109 18,240 1,988,160 FGEN PREF G 1,010 1,019 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,010 20 20,200 GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B 1,020 1,040 1,030 1,030 1,030 1,030 5 5,150 999 1,010 999 1,000 951 999 1,570 1,542,830 JFC PREF A JFC PREF B 1,005 1,015 1,015 1,015 1,015 1,015 10 10,150 98 100.2 99.2 99.2 98 99.2 5,200 510,680 MWIDE PREF 2A MWIDE PREF 2B 98.8 101.5 100.9 101.6 100.9 101.6 9,920 1,004,842 101.5 104.7 103.5 104.7 101 104.7 410 42,431 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 989 997 998 998 988 989 26,720 26,466,040 PCOR PREF 3A 1,043 1,108 1,099 1,108 1,042 1,108 2,975 3,174,505 1,105 1,106 1,107 1,108 1,105 1,105 6,045 6,685,680 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2F 79.3 79.4 79.3 79.4 79.3 79.4 20,220 1,603,468 75.85 77 75.8 75.8 75.8 75.8 500 37,900 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 79.4 79.45 76.65 79.2 76.65 79.2 20,000 1,558,500 76.4 76.9 76.4 76.9 76.4 76.9 707,100 54,372,440 SMC PREF 2J SMC PREF 2K 75.6 75.8 75.9 75.9 75.75 75.8 695,320 52,705,540.50

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 12.1 12.38 12.4 12.4 11.7 12.1 232,200 2,854,790 13.22 13.64 13.2 13.2 13.18 13.2 34,200 451,250 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.92 0.93 0.95 0.95 0.9 0.94 1,523,000 1,403,410

1,205,310 -232,210,690 -87,346,794.50 -21,321,144 -241,481 -249,062 285,239,092 8,320 37,420,120 53,250 -24,988,931 -403,920 -7,928,660 43,128,920 17,929,418 -80,472,295 -6,819,579 18,150 -760 -380,643,560 -2,150,490 -121,930 -18,700 -55,620 803,930 -124,850 -95,606,270 36,000 -29,150 -31,500 -69,206,917 4,293,960 3,470 12,339,730 201,500 -4,621,468 -852,010.00 -7,933,199 -15,024,974 10,750 46,800 283,536,025 2,474,760 -229,024,110 1,390,750 248,830.00 16,009,860 -1,820,958 55,760 80,700 -198,860 28,660 -4,782,365 175,203,327 285,886 86,360.00 -48,500 -696 -93,150 32,021,838 -11,960 207,880 -26,800 10,875,040 7,792,002 13,003,690 11,011,568 -66,902 363,360.00 60,591,320 -21,442,560 1,380 -228,919 277,800 495,590 5,200 171,200 -49,500 -624,761.00 15,000 -182,600 12,796,225 2,012,005 18,100 -88,500 10,200 80,000 39,680 20,700 59,550 - -2,841,310 125,210 -10,450

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

ALTUS PROP ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MERRYMART

17.8 2.09 3.5 3

17.9 2.1 3.65 3.01

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

109.2

109.3

18 2.08 3.55 3.06

18 2.12 3.63 3.06

17.78 1.95 3.5 2.85

17.8 2.1 3.5 3

51,400 1,134,000 56,000 7,509,000

915,412 2,338,890 198,370 22,407,630

79,700 10,650 1,510,740

110.8 110.8 105.5 109.3 43,800 4,754,865 558,047

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance

CIC to host credit forum for borrowers, consumers

C

REDIT Information Corp.

(CIC), the country’s public credit registry and repository of credit information, will conduct its first virtual credit expo geared towards borrowers and consumers on Thursday (December 2, 2021) at 9 am.

Entitled “#PHCreditExpo: Rebuilding Creditworthiness in the New Normal,” the event aims to promote the benefits of a credit information system to the economy and raise awareness on the rights of borrowers in light of the current recovery phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We would like to educate everyone, that beyond serving as the country’s credit registry, the CIC also protects and upholds the rights of borrowers including their right to ready and immediate access to their own credit information, as well as their right to dispute any incomplete, outdated, or erroneous data on their credit report,” CIC President and CEO Atty. Ben Joshua A. Baltazar said.

The CIC PCEO is set to discuss how credit reporting works in the country, the anatomy of a credit report, responsible borrowing and improving one’s credit standing, access to credit in the new normal, and the rights and remedies of borrowers, especially against abusive lending and debt collection practices.

Malicious use of CIC’s name

IN support of the campaign against unlawful debt collection practices of lenders spearheaded by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the CIC will also cover the said topic in its upcoming credit expo.

“One of our frequently received inquiries concern the abusive practices of lenders including the use of obscenities, insults, or profane language, and threatening to contact everyone on their phone book to in-

timidate them to settle their debts.

Some debt collectors even misrepresent themselves as CIC employees.

These acts are illegal and deplorable,” the CIC PCEO shared.

He then advised everyone to be wary of individuals or institutions disseminating information while disguising themselves as representatives of CIC. “Debt collection is not part of our mandate so we will never contact anyone about their debts. Another tactic employed by abusive collectors is the threat of being blacklisted. We want to emphasize that the CIC does not have any blacklist of delinquent borrowers,” Baltazar explained.

He added that the goal of the CIC Credit Report is to provide a balanced view of an individual’s credit history so it captures both positive and negative credit data.

The CIC Credit Report with credit score may be accessed and obtained online through CIBI Information, Inc., one of the CIC’s accredited credit bureaus.

One of their credit experts will present the importance of credit scoring in the upcoming expo.

The public is invited to register for free at bit.ly/CICPHCreditExpo and join the expo via Zoom to receive a certificate of participation. They may also e-mail communications@ creditinfo.gov.ph or send a message to https://www.facebook.com/creditinfo.gov.ph for more information.

A government-owned and controlled corporation, CIC was created

by Republic Act 9510, or the Credit Information System Act. Its primary mandate is to establish a comprehensive and centralized credit information system for the collection and dissemination of fair and accurate information relevant to, or arising from, credit and credit-related activities of all entities participating in the ecosystem.

Hey, it’s my country, too!

H

ELLO! I’m getting pretty tired of all the nitpicking and judgmental diatribes of all those disaffected creatures out there who find nothing better to do than to criticize, make unfounded accusations based on hearsay, and preen about like they were the only honest, truthful, intelligent and responsible citizens of our beleaguered country. This kind of accusations upon accusations and projections of themselves has peaked, particularly now that it’s just a couple of months to national elections. Hey, it’s my country too! And if all those surveys are objective reflections of the general populace, how come I have never been surveyed, even once, in the last 20 years?

Why don’t those geniuses out there come out with practical, doable solutions to some of the ills that beset our society, and puhleese, enough of those hypocritical calls for all dishonest, lying, and corrupt officials, elected and nonelected, in all branches of the government to step down. Honestly, if they all did, it would be nice—we would have a clean slate with not one of them left. That also goes for all those in business who are hand-in-glove with those accused of corruption—aren’t they tarred with the same brush? I could be wrong, but I sometimes wonder if all those calls for this administration to step down are not simply a case if salivating for those same positions, so that they in turn may themselves dip into the honeypot?

Who are funding these orchestrated destabilizing activities?

I find it sad that we seem to be the only country whose so-called intelligentsia can find nothing good about our nation, our society, our people. For that is the reading of those outside—so that instead of attracting visitors and investors to our shores, we actually drive them away. Also, since our newspapers are in English, there’s no need to

Finex free enterprise Mercedes B. Suleik translate all the “news” about what a corrupt country we have. We wash our dirty linen in public with apparent glee.

But now, we can hope for a more enlightened voting population, with disinterested (in positions in government) people helping to share what good government should be. They go out of their way to describe what every citizen should expect from the officials they propose to elect. There are now more volunteers to counteract the temptations of goons, guns, and gold, and encouraging the voters to look at the accomplishments and qualifications of those projecting themselves as the hope of our country. Let us all declare, hey, it’s my country too!

With all those political parties coming to the fore, I sometimes feel that we should return to the old system of having only two parties, each with a real program of action, with a differentiation that they plan to accomplish. The current spate of so-called political parties are just marking out what they eventually, if elected, will claim for themselves.

Please, let us all be more intelligent. It has been said that you get the government you elect. And so, if scoundrels are elected, then indeed you get what you deserve. Let there be more citizens who can honestly say, I have chosen correctly and will make sure to follow up how they lead this country to prosperity and a culture that will make us proud of our country E-mail: merci.suleik@gmail.com.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Wednesday, December 1, 2021

B3

PHL, 30 others push junking of tariffs on medical products

T

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Philippines, along with over 30 states, proposed that World Trade Organization (WTO) member-countries eliminate tariffs and unnecessary non-tariff measures, such as export restrictions, to ensure the smooth flow of medical products like syringe and vaccines amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a communication submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council, the 32 statesponsors of the document proposed measures meant to ensure the “equitable” distribution of “essential medical goods” during the pandemic and beyond.

The document noted that WTO member-states are “free to decide” what constitutes essential medical goods, but added that such goods include pharmaceutical products, medical devices and other medicalrelated products needed to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Philippines became a cosponsor of the document last November 17.

“The trade policy-related actions set out in this declaration are

designed to contribute to the WTO response to the current Covid-19 pandemic and to enhance resilience against future pandemics,” the declaration read.

“These actions may be complemented by additional aspects of trade policy, including those related to intellectual property. This Declaration is a contribution to the multilateral process on the WTO response to the pandemic,” it added.

The draft declaration recognized an “equitable distribution” of medical goods across countries requires “concerted efforts to increase manufacturing capacity and investment,” especially in countries which have “limited resources” and are import dependent.

“The challenges posed by the

current pandemic offer an opportunity for Members to take stock of the lessons learnt and review the existing tools of the trade policy in an effort to enhance Members’ resilience against any future health crisis of local, regional or global nature,” it read.

Once the WTO General Council— the highest policy-making body of the multilateral organization—approves the declaration, membercountries will take actions “intended to facilitate trade in essential medical goods in these critical times and enhance the capacity of the trading system to deal with a public health emergency.” Such proposed actions, read the declaration, “are not intended to be prescriptive and do not cover the whole universe of possible measures that could support trade in essential medical goods.”

“Rather, they reflect emerging best practices and should provide sufficient flexibility to be adapted to each Member’s differing circumstances. They could pave the way for new WTO commitments in the future,” it added.

Some measures identified by the document are the regular review and prompt elimination of “unnecessary existing restrictions” on exports of essential medical goods, as well as the exercise of “utmost” restraint in the imposition of “any new export restrictions” on such goods.

By so doing, members ensure that any export restrictions applied to fight the pandemic “are implement-

ed only when necessary to prevent or relieve critical shortages and as a last resort after consideration of other less-trade restrictive options,” it read.

The bottomline is to “implement any such measures in a manner that limits market disruptions to the greatest extent possible, is targeted, transparent, proportionate and temporary, and consistent with WTO obligations,” it added.

The draft declaration also noted that shipments of essential medical goods will be exempted from export restrictions while least developed and developing countries are excluded from undertaking measures in the document.

The draft declaration also stipulated that member-countries must do their best to “temporarily remove or reduce tariffs” on goods deemed essential medical goods to fight Covid-19.

“We may choose the method of implementation of such a temporary tariff removal or reduction, which could take the form of emergency duty relief programs. The indicative list of Covid-19 related goods, established by the World Customs Organization and World Health Organization, could be helpful in the determination of the product scope,” it read.

Member-countries will be required to share experiences in tradefacilitating measures and intensify efforts to speed up implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

BSP eyes ‘offline’ digital payments for off-grid areas

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

T

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) wants digital payment solutions to be available offline as well to further its financial inclusion initiatives, especially for off-grid areas.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Central Bank bared its plan to offer offline digital payment solutions that can allow transactions without using Internet connection.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said that “while an effective and re-

liable Internet connectivity is a necessary condition for digital finance to flourish, the central bank is also pursuing digital solutions to enable offline payment.”

The BSP said they are working on this initiative in line with its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap (DPTR). It seeks to make 50 percent of the volume of retail payments in digital form, and to onboard 70 percent of Filipino adults to the formal financial system by 2023.

This is among the digital reforms discussed by Diokno during the Philippine Economic Society’s

(PES) virtual conference, which was attended by representatives from the private and public sectors and academe.

Recently, the BSP encouraged the public to send cash gifts via digital wallets this holiday season.

“Digital wallets offer a safe, secure, efficient, and convenient way to transfer funds to family and friends during this season of giving,” he said, noting that is “highly recommended” because it eliminates physical contact.

“Digital wallets offer a safe, secure, efficient, and convenient way to

transfer funds to family and friends during this season of giving,” BSP added.

In an October report, BSP noted that digital payments continue to rise in the country, achieving its 20-percent target in 2020.

The Central Bank noted that the monthly payments volume in digital platforms rose to 20.1 percent by the end of last year, which it considered a “substantial improvement” from 17 percent in the first semester of 2020.

The value of digital payments also rose to 26.8 percent from 25 percent during the same period.

LGU tax, non-tax revenues NextPay teams up with post slight uptick to P209B O2O provider Ayannah as of end of Q3–BLGF to widen clients’ options

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

@BNicolasBM

AX and non-tax revenues of local government units (LGUs) as of the end of the third quarter this year only inched up by 0.5 percent year-on-year to P208.98 billion amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Latest data from the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) showed almost flat revenues collected by LGUs from local sources as of end-September this year, compared to last year’s P207.92 billion.

Broken down, LGU’s tax revenue from January to September this year was even slightly lower at P163.09 billion than P163.198 billion in the same period in 2020.

Tax on businesses, which is expected to be the biggest source of LGU’s local revenues this year, posted a doubledigit drop of 12.27 percent to P88.32 billion during the nine-month period from last

year’s P100.67 billion.

However, real property tax surged by 16.9 percent to P65.35 billion from P55.9 billion in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, other taxes collected by LGUs grew by 42.21 percent year-on-year to P9.42 billion from P6.62 billion.

On the other hand, endSeptember non-tax revenues reached P45.89 billion, up by 2.62 percent from P44.72 billion.

For this year, the BLGF has set a P223.9-billion local revenue collection target, which is 30 percent lower than the original goal of P321.6 billion.

The cut in the revenue collection goal for LGUs was due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the slowdown in business operations in 2020, the base year for assessments of most local taxes for 2021.

Last year, locally sourced revenues collected fell to P251.65 billion from P253.8 billion in 2019. This, however, exceeded the slashed local revenue target of P193.04 billion for 2020.

H

OMEGROWN financial technology (fintech) start-up NextPay, backed by the Sy and Ayala groups, has struck a partnership agreement with online-to-offline (O2O) payments provider Ayannah to enable its customers to disburse funds to unbanked recipients.

Under the partnership, NextPay leverages Ayannah’s tie-up with almost 10,000 remittance centers to enable small businesses to send money to their employees, suppliers, and customers.

“We understand that a majority of our population are still unbanked with only three out of 10 Filipinos owning a bank account. Even with the pervasiveness of eWallets, a huge part of the population still does not have access to basic financial services. NextPay aims to serve them by allowing unbanked recipients to receive funds through the nearest remittance centers in their area,” NextPay Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Don Pansacola said.

To use the service, NextPay users need only to click on the disbursements tile on the NextPay dashboard, choose between single or batch disbursements, and input the personal details of the recipient. Then, they can choose “remittance center” as their receiving option and confirm the transaction.

The recipients will receive a text mes-

sage and an e-mail containing the transaction reference number.

Recipients may claim the funds through the almost 10,000 branches of remittance centers nationwide, including LBC, Tambunting, Raquel Pawnshop, Panalo Express, RD Pawnshop, ACM-VIP, and Sendah Direct Agents.

“This online-to-offline service enables us to strengthen our shared goal of providing basic financial services to more Filipinos—especially the unbanked. By partnering with NextPay, we are also simplifying the process of disbursements for growing businesses and even individuals,” Ayannah Founder Mikko Perez said.

NextPay was launched during the pandemic and recently raised $1.9 million in fresh investments from global and local investors, including the Sy and Ayala groups.

Since then, NextPay Chief Experience Officer and Co-Founder Aldrich Tan said the start-up has introduced new digital solutions including payment links and is now beta testing corporate cards.

Payment links are easily generated and can be single-use or reusable. They allow businesses to collect customer payments easily by letting them click on a link that allows them to settle with the payment method they prefer. Lorenz S. Marasigan

B4

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Art

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

❶ Milky, Lee

Salvador, acrylic on canvas 36”x36”x3”

By Eugenia Last

❷ Bazooka, Lee Salvador, acrylic on canvas 24”x24”x3”

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Vance Joy, 34; Sarah Silverman, 51; Nestor Carbonell, 54; Bette Midler, 76.

Happy Birthday: Weigh the pros and cons before you progress. Turn every negative into a positive, and keep your life simple, moderate and doable. An independent, do-it-all attitude will prove to work in your favor. Take note of what others do, but formulate and execute plans in a unique fashion. You won’t be disappointed in the results you get. Your numbers are 8, 15, 21, 24, 30, 37, 46.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take a backseat, be patient and listen carefully. You stand to win if you understand your place, value and the best way to gain by accommodating others. Don’t take a risk with your health, reputation or investments. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A sudden change will backfire if you take on too much too fast. Take a moment to work out the logistics, and you’ll realize what’s required if you want to become successful. Self-improvement projects are in your best interest. HHH

❶

c

❷

Exploring the ‘Supamaketto’

A

typically-resigned head of Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants attached to the body of a flying Super Mario hovers on the left side, just above a grinning Majin Buu with its eyes popping out.

Opposite the Dragon Ball Z villain is a corncob with the limbs and clothes of Mickey Mouse.

Meanwhile, in another scene, Doraemon stands on one side, while a gumball machine with anime eyes is positioned on the other.

Such are the obscure sights in the latest solo exhibition of visual artist Lee Salvador, where the

aforementioned are nothing more than auxiliary details. Highlighted in the former, titled Tomi, is the caveman brand mascot of the local, flavored corn chips, while in the latter, Eminem, is a red M&M button-shaped chocolate. Both central figures, prominently bigger than the amalgamation of characters that orbit them, are rendered in Salvador’s distinct cartoonish depiction and endowed with his signature expressive set of four eyes.

The artist’s new exhibition presents local commercial products we are accustomed with, along with the ones that have captured his fancy during a grocery run in Japan. The show, titled Supamaketto, opens today, December 1, at Art Anton (@artantongallery) in S’Maison at the Mall of Asia Complex, and will run until December 15.

“Minsan naming nabisita ’yung Japan kasama ‘yung mag-ina ko, at madalas kami magpunta sa mga grocery/ supermarket doon,” Salvador said. “Gusto ko bigyan ng buhay ’yung mga products na madalas makita sa supermarket dito sa atin at sa Japan din. Gusto ko din magkaroon sila ng positive at masayang vibes.”

Salvador showcases 10 artworks that are each inspired by a grocery item, bearing Japanese

branding, alongside a pastiche of cartoon and commercial figures. While tapping into pop culture references is nothing new to the former street artist, Salvador does explore a different style that is aesthetically more subdued but still visually striking nonetheless.

The artist used to pay heavy homage to his past as a street artist, incorporating elements of ragged posters on the walls on which he used to paint. In the show, Salvador displays his full transition to canvas.

What used to be in the background comes to the fore, and all we see behind now are gestural strokes of textured colors.

In any case, in bombarding his artworks with a collection and combination of recognizable characters, Salvador may be attempting to recreate the mix of confusion and excitement of someone entering a grocery store in a foreign land.

Not knowing what to expect.

Clueless, but not without a hint.

Eager for new experiences.

More information about Supamaketto and Art Anton is available via inquiry.artanton@gmail.com or 0945-3326659. n

New Filipiniana book HOW well do you know the Filipino? If you are a Filipino, largely the Filipino refuses to be defined, to be discussed about, to be boxed in, or to be pinned down. But there is a more relaxed, more convenient yet more absorbing, more provocative way of knowing the Filipinos, especially during these pandemic times.

A new book by Visitacion “Chit” R. de la Torre, one of the country’s more seasoned writers and book authors, offers a new pair of lens to view the Filipino. Rising with the Filipino, in coffee table book edition, features a diverse, multi-faceted dimension of the Filipino, in his past, present and future journeys in the making of this nation.

Rising with the Filipino, in brief,

incisive essays and complemented by photographs and art works, presents a unique voice, a new perspective in understanding and appreciating the Filipino.

Among the essays included in the book’s eight chapters include: “The Filipino Sense of Maganda,” “Engaging the Highly Mobile Class,” “Philippine Politics/Governance,” “Staying Sane When the World is Falling Apart,” “Clearing-Up Some Pollution,” “The First Woman Contemplative Missionary in the Philippines,” “The Grace of Fatima,” and “The City of Santiago de Compostela,” among others.

De la Torre has previously written some Filipiniana works, such as

Filipino Cultural Symbols, Expressions and Brands, The Ilocos Heritage, Cultural Icons of the Philippines, Lipa: A Jewel of a City, The Barong Tagalog, The Millennium Edition; Churches of Pangasinan, Advertising in the Philippines, and The Filipino Child, among others.

Rising with the Filipino is published

by Brown Movement for Cultural Advancement Inc., a non-profit organization which aims to preserve, to promote and to enhance the Filipino cultural genius, composed by a group of professionals and cultural advocates.

More information is available at 8815-4938, 8815-6925 or chitdelatorre19@ gmail.com.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Explore new possibilities, and use your skills to achieve something you want to conquer. Taking a diverse approach to life, work and happiness will bring stellar results and encourage exciting partnerships. Dedicate more time to educational pursuits and a promising future. HHHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): An incident will arise if you let your emotions take over. Focus on doing the best job possible, and you will receive recognition for a job well done. Refuse to let jealousy or insecurity cause a rift with someone you love. HH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Spend more time nurturing what you’ve worked so hard to build and the relationships that are meaningful to you, and you’ll feel good about your accomplishments.

Make arrangements that will help stabilize how you live and conduct your life. HHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Aim high and refuse to let anything or anyone stand in your way. Your expectations will exhaust you, but the rewards will replenish your soul. Hard work pays off, and wasting time arguing a moot point will slow you down. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Put your heart and soul into making your surroundings more convenient and comfortable. Your strength will come from doing what’s best for you. Pay attention, expand your mind and put your energy where it will encourage prosperity and praise. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Refrain from sharing personal information or revealing how you feel. Be a good listener; it will give you the upper hand when dealing with peers, friends and relatives. Take a unique approach to life, and you’ll enjoy more and stress less. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Be clear about what you want and plan to do. Speak from the heart, and address matters that will help you get ahead. Don’t underestimate others or take on more than you can handle. Inconsistency will hold you back. HHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Make rational decisions. If you let your emotions take over, you will regret the promises you make. Put your health and personal needs first. Take a creative, energetic approach to work and how you handle money.

Romance is in the stars. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put more thought into investments, contracts and your lifestyle. Choose a healthy, fit way to live, and you will be happy with the results. Looking and feeling your best will give you the boost you need to do a good job. HHHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Mull over how you feel about your relationships with others.

Make a point to reach out to someone who shares your beliefs and long-term goals. A healthy conversation will help resolve issues that can hold you back. HHH Birthday Baby: You are emotional, caring and persistent.

You are unique and astute.

‘object-ively speaking’ by paul coulter The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Unfortunate folder for an important email 5 Favors one leg 10 Sufficiently qualified 14 Ballet attire 15 Start of the Spanish year 16 Tree supporter 17 Song and dance 18 Road trip destination?

19 Has a Philly cheesesteak, maybe 20 What the scorekeeper said to the scoreboard?

23 Person in a convent 24 In the know about 25 Final approval 28 Small whirlpool 30 “Give ___ rest!”

32 Pioneering ISP 33 What the geography teacher said to the globe?

38 Pronoun that some pair with “they” 40 BJ of The Office 41 Tribute from a poet 42 What the penthouse dweller said to

the private elevator?

5 Anatomical canal’s locale 4 46 Pennies: Abbr.

47 Invitation request 50 Fourth month 52 Just slightly 55 Bonanza find 57 What the repairperson said to the broken appliance?

61 Not much 63 4-Down of love poems 64 Amount to make do with 65 Eric of Munich 66 Helped 67 Entry fee in poker 68 Baker’s dozen?

69 Car dealer’s document 70 Word after “dating” or “wading” DOWN 1 One may be taken to the cleaners 2 Chase after 3 Be there 4 Greek poet’s inspiration 5 Awful auto 6 Bidirectional, as a door

7 Paris transit system 8 Get ready, for short 9 Without help 10 Gladiator setting 11 Relative of a marina 12 Auction offering 13 They might visit Earth: Abbr.

21 It comes easily to hand 22 Vidi from Caesar’s boast 26 It’s under a foot 27 Like a movie from the ‘30s 29 Person who colors textiles 30 Mosque official 31 Young kid 34 Liter or gallon 35 Discount clothing chain 36 The last night of the year, e.g.

37 “Didn’t mean to do that!”

38 Wet bar, perhaps?

39 Rushing 42 Congressional assent 43 Censorship-fighting org.

44 Language of Lahore 48 Cast a ballot against a proposition 49 Magic word

51 Itsy-bitsy bits 52 Carne ___ 53 Hauls around 54 “Humble” dwelling 56 Famous Ford flop 58 Authentic 59 Ashtabula’s Great Lake 60 Kind of shot in hockey 61 Prez on a $5 bill 62 Groceries holder Solution to today’s puzzle:

Image BusinessMirror

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WANT TO TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE? HERE ARE 4 TIPS TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF IT FOR YOUR CAREER

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Wednesday, December 1, 2021

B5

Back at work

By Anne Trumbore University of Virginia THE “Great Resignation” has left a lot of people with time on their hands. And while this time may be a welcome respite from the daily grind, most folks will need to get back to work eventually. For many, this period is a time of reflection and a chance to pursue a new career.

But how do you make the switch? And even if you plan to return to the same field, how do you show that you have kept current with the changes and trends that affected most industries during the pandemic?

Traditionally, the answer to these questions has been to go back to school. But rising tuition costs over the past few decades, and the time commitment of traditional degree programs, makes this route prohibitively expensive for a lot of people.

That’s where short online courses in business, technology and other fields come in. Over the past 10 years, these courses from providers such as Udemy, Coursera and edX have become more popular, and approximately 75 percent of learners who take them report gaining career benefits from completing them.

As a researcher and practicioner who develops these education technologies, I also study the behaviors that make online learners successful.

Here are four key actions that studies have shown will help online learners make the most of a short online course to reap the career benefits they desire.

1. Identify the goal. Learners who begin a course with a clear idea of what they want to get out of it are more likely to complete their course and earn a certificate. A goal may be, for example, to learn a new skill, gain more knowledge about a topic, improve job performance, get a new job or advance in a current one.

In my study of over 4,000 learners who completed an online course in business topics, I found that learners who enrolled in their course with the intention of improving their job performance, starting their own business or getting a new role were more likely to experience career benefits than those who enrolled only because they wanted to learn something new about the topic.

2. Rewatch videos and retake tests. Among the same sample of over 4,000 people taking online courses, I also found that learning behaviors associated with persistence—such as watching more videos or retaking tests—were shown to be more strongly associated with perceived career benefits than social behaviors like forum posts, comments and views—or even grades.

In fact, the same study showed that grades don’t have any correlation to whether or not a person gains career benefits as long as they eventually pass the course. The lesson here is to try and try again. Taking a course that is challenging may prove to be more useful than one a learner can breeze through.

3. Finish the course. Many short courses are now only four or five weeks long, with fewer than three hours of time required per week. Learners who complete their online courses are more likely to learn something new, improve performance, get a raise or new job or start a new business. They can also receive a digital certificate or badge they can post on social media channels to inform potential employers that they have successfully passed the course.

4. Choose the brand wisely. Currently, I am working on a broader study to confirm that hiring managers feel that “nondegree credentials” like certificates from online courses improve a candidate’s resume, particularly if the potential employee does not have work experience in the field.

These same hiring managers value the reputation of the institution that offers the course over the specific credential that is earned from it—a badge vs. a certificate, for example. In my survey to hiring managers, the results of which have not yet been published, a majority responded that they prefer nondegree credentials from academically distinguished universities over credit-bearing certificates from for-profit institutions.

Fortunately, many highly recognizable, academically selective universities and companies now offer these short courses for low or no cost.

It’s easy to learn data analytics from IBM, business strategy from Darden, machine learning from Stanford and many more topics from top schools, such as Python, computer science, robotics, economics of health care and even the science of happiness from University of Michigan, Harvard, Penn and Yale. If a learner recognizes the name of the institution offering the course, chances are hiring managers will too.

While short online courses have not lived up to the hype 10 years ago that they would disrupt higher education, they are helping millions of learners around the globe try new fields and learn skills to advance their careers. THE CONVERSATION

Editor’s note: This column was written before news broke about the discovery of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Omicron’s mutations could make it more transmissible, according to news reports.

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ITH vaccination rates up and the relaxing of the quarantine restrictions, several organizations have announced the return of their work force to the offices. Organizations face three setups as a continuing effect of the pandemic: maintain the remote working arrangement, adopt a hybrid setup of staggered schedule for onsite and remote work, or ask all their employees to go back to the workplace. These setups have their own benefits and disadvantages so organizations need to carefully consider which one to adopt and how these will impact productivity while keeping their employees safe and healthy.

Whatever setup organizations use, they will face several challenges considering that new conditions have made it difficult for Human Resources to track productivity and maintain engagement. Moreso when Covid-fatigued employees start going back to the offices and compare their working conditions with others from a similar industry. Employees are also considering leaving their work altogether to find organizations that allow for remote working or even find other industries that allow for a work-from-home setup.

Others have ventured into small businesses and are planning to expand their consumer base and quitting their work to focus on their businesses. The remote working setup has allowed others to invest in their passions and have become their own boss, so much so that they are making more money than when they were employed. Add to this are the job seekers who are choosing organizations with either a remote or hybrid setup.

With these challenges and a work force that has seen the possibility and convenience of a remote working setup, organizations will have to work harder at minimizing employee’s health and safety concerns if they opt to choose either a hybrid or back-to-office setup.

To some, going back to their workspaces gives them a sense of normalcy and positivity, while to others it could be risky because of other health issues aside from Covid-19. Organizations need to consider not just the physical health concerns of their employees but also their mental health. Peer support groups and counselling services can help employees manage their anxiety and cope with the new working conditions, and these also can become a venue where the organization can keep track of the common concerns of their employees.

It goes without saying that you need to keep

the workspaces clean and safe for everyone.

Provide adequate ventilation and limit face-to-face interactions as much as possible. If the workspace does not allow for enough safe distance, deliberately consider adopting a staggered schedule so employees can have enough space to distance themselves from one another. Or you can look at unused spaces like conference rooms which could be converted into working spaces. Organizations will be hard-pressed to come up with creative solutions to ensure a safe work environment.

Listen to your employees and then weigh their feedback against business objectives. While it is true that you are running an organization that has goals and targets, at the end of the day it is run by people. What you do after the pandemic subsides will dictate the culture you want to permeate throughout the organization. As people managers, you need to be decisive and clear in making your people understand what needs to be done, but at the same time empathetic and mindful of their concerns. There has to be healthy dialogue between the management and employees to understand where there can be concessions without compromising organizational goals and targets.

People managers need to understand that work dynamics have changed and there is a need to address these changes gradually. In implementing office policies, managers need to keep their ear on the ground for their people’s sentiments especially revolving around their health and safety. Not everyone will be as comfortable mingling with others as before, or even meeting with people they have only seen online. Allow your team members to find their

own pace but make it clear where the office needs to be at a specific time and make sure nobody gets left behind.

Slowly meet with people but maintain a safe distance. Just because everybody is in the office does not mean you should start setting meetings left and right. People have different levels of comfort when it comes to meeting people again face-to-face.

Respect their boundaries and look for creative ways to meet without making others feel unsafe. With the improvements in virtual meeting platforms, online meetings would still be the better option. People need to be comfortable to produce the best output. It would be counterproductive to ask people to report to work when the workplace is not safe.

Focus on what you can control and influence. With everything that will happen when employees will be asked to report to work, focus on what you can do for your team members. It is important at this point to take one step at a time and focus on making your team feel safe while doing their work. Equip yourself on how to de-escalate tension and diffuse your team’s apprehensions. If it is a management decision or something you cannot change, then work with your team on what can be done. Involving your team makes it easier for implementing agreements and makes everyone accountable for their actions.

Employees need to feel and understand that their employers have their best interest at heart. It is a given that organizations always look at profit as the bottom line, but it should not be at the cost of their employees’ well-being and safety. When employees know and feel this, they will adopt whatever work setup their organization adopts. n

PHOTO BY PROXYCLICK VISITOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ON UNSPLASH

TOYM LAUNCHES ‘HEROES UNMASKED’ CAMPAIGN TO BENEFIT PGH MEDICAL FRONTLINERSTHE entire country continues to live in such formidable times as we navigate the uncharted course of the Covid-19 pandemic. And no other sector of society has been carrying the brunt of this burden more than the health-care system, led by the tireless medical frontliners who put their lives on the line daily for the sake of Filipinos.

As everyone looks forward to recovery and better times, there are still many things that we need to work on and many whom we need to extend help to.

The TOYM has a long-standing reputation as an institution that honors outstanding young men and women whose selfless dedication to their profession or vocation has resulted in significant contributions to their countrymen’s welfare. With the current need for assistance, TOYM is leading an initiative to raise funds to benefit the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in recognition of its laudable efforts of providing quality health care for Filipinos from all socioeconomic classes.

“Heroes Unmasked” is the campaign that benefits the Panatag na Kanlungan Project of PGH, which provides necessary assistance for medical frontliners and volunteers.

The endeavor is highlighted by an original song composition and music video created through the collaborative efforts of musical artists Ryan Cayabyab, Lea Salonga and Gary Valenciano.

Historic for being the first song ever that Lea and Gary have worked together on, “Heroes” is inspired by and dedicated to the medical frontliners who put their lives on the line daily to heal, care for, and alleviate the sufferings of fellow Filipinos. The touching and poignant piece is also meant to galvanize the nation to encourage and show their solidarity with these modern-day heroes.

“TOYM is honored and grateful to have three of the biggest names in music collaborate to offer their talents, time

THE ‘Heroes Unmasked’ campaign is highlighted by an original song composition and music video created through the collaborative efforts of music artists Ryan Cayabyab, Lea Salonga and Gary Valenciano.

and voices to drive awareness and support for the Heroes Unmasked campaign,” says Donnie V. Tantoco, chairman of TOYM. “We’re also very proud that ‘Heroes’ is actually the first song ever that Lea and Gary have worked on together.

As an institution that recognizes young individuals who have positively impacted larger society, we think it is time to take bolder action, and we hope that our call can be answered by the entire nation for the benefit of our medical frontliners.”

This coming holiday season, the campaign presents many ways to support the cause. Both corporate and personal donations are welcome, the details of which be found at www. toymheroescampaign.org.

Everyone can view and share the “Heroes” music video on YouTube, just key in “Heroes Unmasked” in the search bar.

For those who would like to show their support in a more creative manner, TOYM has also launched the Heroes Unmasked Song Challenge. Open to anyone 15 years old and above, participants can create a video and dedicate it to a frontliner they consider their hero.

Video entries may be a song cover, dance, slideshow, or any animated format, played to the “Heroes” song, and uploaded on their preferred platform (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) with the hashtags #HeroesUnmasked #TOYM #PGH. Cash prizes are at stake for standout videos including a grand prize of P20,000, and P15,000, P10,000, and P5,000 for first, second and third runners-up, respectively. The challenge runs until December 31. More information can be found at www.toymheroescampaign.org.

B6 Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Chowking now offers Taiwan’s ‘best milk tea’in the Philippines

6th Malabon Business Forum continues to empower Malabonian entrepreneurs

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EDICATED to continuously empower Malabonian businesses, the Malabon LGU continued with its 6th Malabon Business Forum, which was done online like in 2020. The five-day forum presented a strong lineup of speakers who talked about different significant topics such as Adaptive HR Techniques, Mastering Problem Solving Process, Business Sustainability, among others.

“This is a timely initiative for the Malabon LGU and businesses to come together and keep the spirit of bayanihan alive. Unlike the previous forums, this one features a 5-day webinar that provides lessons in business management. The purpose of this forum is to help businesses adapt and succeed during the pandemic and during the post-pandemic recovery,” said Mayor Lenlen Oreta.

The five-day webinar, which featured different prominent speakers, had the aim of inspiring the Malabonian entrepreneur.

For example, a talk by Jennifer M. Martin, an HR and Admin Departments OIC of CDC Manufacturing Corp. focused on the five important HR techniques to adapt to the current COVID-19 situation.

“HR professionals play a significant role in making sure this transition is conducted safely and efficiently – making sure there is appropriate signage regarding proper COVID-19 protocols,” Martin stressed.

The second day of the forum featured Adolfo Aran Jr., CEO of Courage Asia Management Consulting. For him, this pandemic brought out both good and bad – it made us more connected and helped us find solutions to the problems with a new mindset.

He stressed the importance of having clear and flexible systems and procedures – and finding the best mix between technology and personal touch. Aran also reminded the participants to give importance to mental health. “Right now,

SOME of the speakers and participants of the 5-day 6th Malabon Business Forum. we are going through a lot of changes, and I think it’s important to take care of our mental health. It allows us to look at other things, and talk about interests with other people who share common interests,” said Aran.

On the third day, Malabonian business people were introduced to Robert Raymond del Rosario, President of Fishermall, who talked about Centered Leadership. He stressed the importance of an open eye and open mind approach and believes that we need to adapt to have a productive environment.

Meanwhile, for Raymund Magdaluyo, Managing Partner of Red Crab Group and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse PH, he practices what he calls the “6C’s in Surviving this Crisis” – Cash, Chemistry and Composure, Context, Comedy, Core, and Christ. He said that these 6C’s are strategic ways to approach these challenging times filled with rapid changes.

Richard Cruz, a professor at the Asian Institute of Management, shared four basic elements of a resilience framework that can be applied in various disturbances. While the Business Sustainability talk, which featured two speakers, highlighted strategies on how to ensure that your business will survive in the next 5, 20, to 30 years.

The Business Sustainability talk, held on the fifth day, featured Riccardo Carlos Fong, Head of Enterprise DSE & Technical Services of PLDT Inc. and Roel S. Espiritu, Head of Quality, Sustainability, and Resiliency of Maynilad Water. Mr. Fong believes that being sustainable means looking out for customers and communities, employees, and the environment. While Mr. Espiritu shared the importance of creating a business continuity plan, development and implementations of COVID-19 preventions and control protocols, management of customers, computerized system, creation of automation and design, financial discipline, and adjustment in the supply chain management.

To pursue a responsive, transparent, and inclusive environment for the business owners in Malabon, the city government will launch a website called “Kaasenso.PH” that will showcase how each Pamilyang Malaboninan can work hand-in-hand to keep the Bayanihan spirit alive.

The website will also have a job matching portal, which would allow an applicant to find opportunities in various industries through filtered suggestions based on their skill set, years of experience, and other qualifications.

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AIWAN’S “best milk tea” brand is coming to the Philippines. Chowking, the country’s #1 Chinese restaurant, is now offering the freshness and indulgence of Milksha milk tea.

Also known by the brand name Milkshop in Taiwan, Milksha is one of the world’s best milk tea brands. It was voted as the “No.1 Milk Tea Brand” by university students in Taiwan and recognized as “The Best Reviewed” milk tea brand by Daily View, a known online media platform in Taiwan.

Founded by Peter Huang, Milksha is driven by its mission to offer “Fresh, Natural, and Handmade Beverages”. It achieves this by using natural and fresh ingredients, without any preservatives or chemical additives.

Milksha prides itself in using fresh, high quality milk as a base for its beverages.

From its founding in Tainan City in Taiwan in 2008, this milk tea brand has continued to grow and establish its presence locally and overseas. Milksha now has over 250 outlets, in Taiwan, Hongkong, Melbourne, Vancouver, and Singapore.

Last November 6, Chowking opened its first Milksha counter in Betterliving in Paranaque and saw strong reception for the brand. Milksha will soon be made available in Chowking stores in SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City, Unciano Center and Marcos Highway in Antipolo City, Fairview Regalado and Roces in Quezon City, Annapolis Albany in San Juan, Bonifacio Stop Over and Petron C5 Diego Silang in Taguig City, and Valenzuela City Hall in Valenzuela City.

“Our goal is to give Filipinos a taste of what gold standard milk tea should be. We want to offer a unique and satisfying milk tea experience to our customers. With the use of premium ingredients, meticulous preparation process, and the delicious and indulgent taste of Milksha flavors, this new Chowking offering is expected to be a hit with foodies and milk tea lovers alike,” said Chowking Milksha Brand Director, Ariane Valinton.

Premium flavors

CHOWKING is offering five flavors of Milksha drinks, including Honey Pearl Black Tea Latte, Black Tea Latte with Pudding, Valrhona Cocoa Milk, Signature Taro Milk, and Wintermelon Lemon.

The honey pearls are Milksha’s signature toppers. Milksha’s pearls are soaked in honey for that unique and natural burst of honeyed sweetness in every chew. Delivered fresh from Taiwan, these pearls are free from preservatives. They are prepared meticulously daily to ensure each pearl is perfectly translucent and bouncy.

Like the honey pearls, the black tea used in creating Milksha’s Honey Pearl Black Tea Latte are always freshly prepared on-site.

This premium black tea blend, which has an invigorating floral aroma, is finished off with the smoothness of fresh milk. Milksha Black Tea Latte can be topped off with its very own pudding, which is also fused with fresh milk for that soft, smooth, and creamy mouth feel.

For its indulgent Valrhona Cocoa Milk, Milksha uses Valrhona cocoa from France.

Valrhona is a known high-grade luxury chocolate brand established by French pastry chef Albéric Guironnet. Every cup feels like a rich, and addictive chocolate experience. Far from your regular chocolate drink, Valrhona Cocoa Milk delivers a strong cocoa taste, yet perfectly balanced with sweet and creamy milk.

Signature Taro Milk is one of Milksha’s top sellers in Taiwan—for good reason! It uses high quality taro from selected regions in Taiwan. With each sip, customers will taste the earthy all-natural flavor of taro blended with rich and creamy milk.

Milksha’s Wintermelon Lemon boasts of the right blend of sweet and sour. It is made with sweet, fruity wintermelon syrup brewed from fresh wintermelons and is mixed with the tangy, citrusy flavor of Taiwanese lemon juice. Every drop of this drink leaves a cool and refreshing taste.

SOGO CARES supports DepEd’s Brigada Eskwela

Safe and Fair Philippines marks International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

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N celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW), Safe and Fair Philippines hosted an open dialogue on the Gender Responsive and Inclusive Pandemic Management Act of 2021 or “Senate Bill 2088” / “House Bill 9059”. The bill seeks to address the gender-differentiated needs of women, including migrant workers, with provisions on the prevention of and response to genderbased violence. Through its national campaign Babaeng BiyaHero, the event aimed to educate attendees on the details of the bill and why it needs to be passed, as well as encourage more Filipinos - men and women alike - to help rally and fast-track its implementation into law.

IDEVAW seeks to raise awareness of the many forms of violence and abuse that women around the world are subjected to on a daily basis. The day is also meant to highlight the scale of these issues and how many of them are often hidden from the public eye. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, gender-based violence has continued to persist for thousands of women and across different spheres within the homes, the workplace (including abroad), and in public spaces. The at-home situation today has only heightened these problems and brought about new risks for

other forms of violence, such as financial and employment vulnerabilities, that have further disproportionately affected marginalized groups of women in and out of work.

“Apart from dealing with the effects of a global health crisis, women all over the world today also continue to experience varying forms of abuse. Many remain at risk without having an avenue or resource to be heard. It is a shadow pandemic that we need to start paying attention to. In every aspect of their lives, women deserve to be heard and to have access to coordinated and quality essential services from legal aid when they experience genderbased violence, to health services including sexual and reproductive health services and livelihood and economic opportunities.

Passing SB 2088 and HB 9059 into law is a necessary step towards mitigating violence against women. We urge our legislators to please make its swift enactment into law,” said Charisse Jordan, National Project Officer, UN Women, Safe and Fair Philippines.

SB 2088/HB 9059 was created to ensure gender-responsive and inclusive protocols that will address different 'gender-differentiated needs' of women during COVID- 19. If implemented as a law, government agencies will have enough power to act on the following:

Monitoring and data gathering on the realities of women relating to gender-based violence/violence at work. Responding to and eliminating gender-based violence/ violence at work against women and girls through pandemic policy and decision making, planning, and programming.

Developing guidelines on practices, protocols, coordination and networking, and education of first responders.

Ensuring that communications systems, referral systems, protection mechanisms and measures on access to justice and effective remedies by women subject to gender-based violence/violence at work continue to operate during a pandemic.

Providing shelter and security, resources and support to women and girls subject to violence; and Enabling sufficient and effective institutional response for preventing gender-based violence/ violence at work during a pandemic.

Safe and Fair Philippines also continues to offer credible information on services that support the welfare and protection of women migrant workers. The programme remains committed to providing more Filipina migrant workers with reliable, timely updates and assistance that will support them in achieving a safe and fair migration experience. Women migrant workers are encouraged to check out the Babaeng BiyaHero website, a mobile app that assists women by providing them with essential information and services to help them in times of distress or emergency, whether in their countries-of-destination or in the Philippines. Another initiative is the Babaeng BiyaHero Helpline that provides psychosocial support, counseling, and VAW case management for distressed and abused women migrant workers.

Visit and follow the Safe and Fair Philippines Facebook page. Go to the Babaeng BiyaHero website to learn more about the situation of Filipina migrant workers, or if you need to contact or report any incidents.

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ORE than 50,000 students from 50 various schools recently received learning supplies, cleaning materials, surgical masks, and vitamins from Hotel Sogo through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, SOGO CARES, in coordination with the Department of Education’s (DepED) Brigada Eskwela.

SOGO CARES supports this campaign of DepEd with the theme “Bayanihan sa Paaralan,” which emphasizes the country’s collective efforts in promoting collaboration for safe living and addressing social issues and concerns in schools homes, and communities despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, not all parents can provide learning materials for their children, especially those in far-flung and underprivileged communities. This year, SOGO CARES has been promoting and encouraging education through the BalikEskwela campaign of the government, where they provide learning tools for students and children who wish to go back to school but are hindered by economics.

“We are pleased with this “reconfigured” campaign of DepEd because we can extend our efforts to more schools all over the country, especially in isolated locations such as in the area of Biliran, Pampanga,

Batangas, and Rizal. We are honored to be a part of this endeavour by the Philippine government. It is always a joy to support schools and children in any way we can.

We believe that children without access to basic needs are more likely to stop their studies. Providing basic items like pencils, paper, crayons, and learning material can significantly increase student engagement and keep kids in school.”, shared by Ms. Sue Geminiano, Hotel Sogo Marketing Manager.

Hotel Sogo’s CSR Program started in 1998 with a donation of linens, pillowcases, and bath towels to victims of the Super Typhoon Loleng. Since then, SOGO CARES has continuously extended its humanitarian services to various communities, including the education sector.

SOGO CARES support to schools has lightened the burden of parents and teachers, especially when the nation is faced with severe crises on health, education, and economy because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hotel Sogo intends to increase the presence and efforts of its Balik-Eskwela program in partnership with DepEd's various projects.

For more details, visit www.sogocares.ph or like and follow Sogo Cares on Facebook (facebook.com/ sogocares) and Instagram (@sogo.cares)

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 B7

Serene, sustainable and healthy living in the South

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

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AGAYTAY City and the nearby areas are showing continuous growth as more and more people are opting to adopt a suburban lifestyle mainly for environmental and health reasons.

PHirst Homes, a joint venture between the Antonio-family led Century Properties Group Inc. and the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi have successfully launched earlier seven communities and 9,349 units in key growth areas of Luzon: Tanza, Cavite; Lipa and Nasugbu, Batangas; San Pablo and Calamba, Laguna; Pandi, Bulacan; and Magalang, Pampanga collectively worth P11.25 billion in sales value.

Meanwhile, property colossus Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has also made its presence felt in the area by developing several projects in these areas.

Suburban living Trent Frankum, CCIM, managing director TFA Commercial-CORFAC International told the BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview that a lot of people are going south, which gives them an overall better quality of life compared to living in a condominium. “I’m a firm believer that living in a house provides a better overall quality of life than living in a condominium when complemented by the necessary amenities, and outside of the high end, cost prohibitive subdivisions in Makati, Pasig, and Quezon City the widest range of supply of houses is located South of Manila, from Las Piñas to Tagaytay and its surrounding areas, such as Sta. Rosa, Silang, and Sto. Tomas,” Frankum explained.

He believes the increase in demand for a house and lot in these areas will continue as Manila’s decentralization is facilitated by the development of the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX), Skyway extension to San Pedro, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax).

In terms of both life and functionality, Frankum said a house provides an

At The Grove’s Garden Lot, nurturing one’s own natural space through home gardening

advantage because it has more space than a condominium, which has become more important with 50 percent of employees still working from home. “ While getting to and from Tagaytay and surrounding areas is still an hour plus drive time, it’s manageable if you only need to go into the office 3 to 4 days a week, instead of the quickly fading five day workweek,” Frankum said.

In terms of pricing, buyers will benefit from investing in Tagaytay. Prices for house and lots across the masterplanned townships have increased over the past 18 months by 15 percent on average, or an annual increase of 10 percent, according to Frankum. He said one project they follow has seen their prices soar by 30 percent.

“I think the main driver of the South of Manila market is the middle to upper middle segment as the high end market is generally well set already [Makati subdivisions, Corinthian Gardens, Wack Wack, etc.]. A quick look at the selling price per sq m will attest to that. A vacant lot in a gated subdivision in Makati sells for P300,000 to 500,000/sq m while lots in Nuvali, for example, sell for P25,000 to 30,000/sq m,” he said.

A green lifestyle If you are looking for a place that offers a green scenery, the Grove at Plantation Hills is the place to be. Future homeowners at this lush residential enclave within Tagaytay Highlands can flex their green thumbs when they engage in vegetable gardening.

Indeed, the pandemic has spawned “plant therapy” enthusiasts who now happily tend to their flourishing home gardens which channel their stresses

Life at The Grove is a fusion of modern living topped with the aesthetics of leisure farming

Giant clams found in moderate amounts in Santelmo, Etayo and Subli coves

into something beautiful, productive and uplifting.

Plantitos and plantitas as well will enjoy gardening at the Grove at Plantation Hills as it provides ample green space for nurturing plants. This eco-farming community is a 22-hectare land area that is master-planned to be a leisure residential and farming concept-in-one.

The Grove’s Orchard Lots, ranging from 750 to 1,300 sq m are an estate of their own. Each cut is ideal for growing fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables in the comfort of one’s own backyard. Its Garden Lots, on the other hand, range from 450 to 600 sq m, enabling future residents to build their dream farmhouses and surround these with an abundance of greens. Here, residents can grow all the fresh produce they want for a farmto-table lifestyle—plus bright-colored flowers and ornamental shrubs.

Sustainable tourism The South is also an active promoter of sustainable tourism. Costa Del Hamilo

Inc. (CDHI), the movers behind Hamilo Coast, recently walked the talk when it recently completed its Marine Protected Area (MPA) assessment.

Frank Bolalin, assistant vice president for Hamilo Estate Management told the BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview three sites of the 12 coves were named as MPAs for CDHI’s Sustainable Development Project, implemented from 2017 to 2019.

“As developers, we are not only involved in cultivating land, but we also take the responsibility to think of ways to nurture and augment this diversified natural environment,” he said.

“Ultimately, this is what makes Hamilo Coast not just a premium beach resort development, but a safe and healthy habitat,” Bolalin added.

MPA, a marine conservation already practiced since the 1970s, has been proven effective in many places in the world surrounded by oceans, and where fishing is a way of life. Bolalin pointed out the MPA becomes quite important in

the Philippines as it’s in the center of the global hot spot of natural abundance known as the Coral Triangle.

With an MPA, Bolalin said Hamilo Coast is assured the protection of its biodiversity, preservation of natural habitats, keeping fish and other resources available for those who need them, and encourages low-impact tourism. Furthermore, the presence of a protected area also guarantees the retention of the aesthetics of its immediate surroundings, with the absence of pollution and intrusive human activities highlighting nature’s beauty.

The World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF), the local office of the globally renowned organization, led the assessment. CDHI and the WWF Philippines have been partners since 2007 to monitor the health and viability of the Hamilo Coast area. WWF assisted the developers in identifying the MPAs of Santelmo, Etayo, and Pico De Loro.

The MPAs were assessed based on three parameters: benthic, or the conditions of the sea bottom in the area; fish life, which measures the species and number of fish present; and invertebrate population, which includes familiar reef creatures like sea urchins, clams, lobsters, and starfish.

Seaside barangays known as Bantay Dagat will continue to patrol the coves and control overfishing, as well as any use of destructive fishing methods using cyanide, dynamite, and large nets.

Finally, a conscientious development, backed by science and based on principles of sustainability, is the way to produce ideal communities—and a lifestyle truly in harmony with the best nature can offer.

REITs unaffected by overall office supply situation T

he 67-percent price appreciation to date since the launching of AREIT shares and four subsequent Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listings by the largest national developers have compelled savvy investors to seriously consider this alternative investment option, according to Roy Golez, research and consultancy director of Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC).

Consequently, the 5 REITs attracted a sizable following despite pandemicrelated uncertainties and now have a combined market capitalization of P260 billion.

“It is to the credit of the REIT sponsors that they put together resilient IT-BPM heavy office portfolios that squarely addressed market jitters,” observed Golez.

Amid higher than usual office vacancies in 2021 due to the pandemic, the top REIT portfolios are thriving with both RCR and MREIT posting price appreciations as of mid-November of 11% and 12% respectively since they were launched around three

months ago. The collective performance of these REITs is anchored on superior quality office stock likely to retain high occupancies. Occupancies of the 5 REITs range from 90 percent and higher, according to studies.

The Gross Leasable Areas (GLAs) of the top portfolios are likewise 100 percent accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza). The limited supply of Peza spaces up to 2025 also ensure that these portfolios will remain highly viable for the next few years, according to Mikko Barranda, LPC director for commercial leasing.

In addition, the Weighted Average Leasing Expiry (WALEs) of these portfolios range from a healthy 3.9 to 5.8 years. Annual escalation clauses are further locked into the lease contracts which translates to increasing annual rental income for the REIT portfolios and steady stable yields for investors.

Barranda observes that even at the height of the lockdowns in 2020, ITBPMs took up office space and will continue to do so since outsourcing jobs to the Philippines and India remains a

viable solution for businesses in recovering economies in the West. Moving forward, there are 129k sq m of live office requirements from BPOs out of 228k sq m seeking to be concluded in the next six months.

Moreover, the average rate of contractions or lease terminations have drastically dropped by 69 percent from a high of 253k sq m in 4Q 2020,

slowing to 135k sq m in 2Q 2021 and down to 42k sq m in 3Q 2021 indicating “the bleeding has stopped for the Philippine office segment now paving the way for stronger growth.”

“Our numbers indicate that ITBPMs continue to be expanding in the Philippines although at a slower rate than in 2019 and earlier. Some observers contend that more contractions will

drive down REIT share prices but that is not supported by the data we have presented,” Barranda assured.

From a capital valuation perspective, approximately 80 percent of these REIT assets are located in Central Business Districts that enjoyed double digit CAGRs (11 percent to as high as 21 percent) in the last five years. This is despite the fact that two out of those five were pandemic years. According to Tam Angel, LPC director for investment sales, this uptrend in capital values is expected to continue post-Covid-19 and should have a positive impact on REIT valuations and share price.

Majority of the REITs have outperformed the PSEi year to date with AREIT leading the charge at 53.8 percent as of mid-November. For long-term investors, this is an opportune time to build a REIT investment base before postCovid-19 recovery speeds up capital value appreciation once again similar to the hypergrowth in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the years following the Global Financial Crisis which directly affected the Philippines in 2008-2009.

Sports

Focus on Constantino, Singson at Riviera Ladies Championship

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ARMIE CONSTANTINO tests Mafy Singson’s mettle anew in what looms to be a fierce duel of top contenders as Chanelle Avaricio sets out for a stab at a second-straight crown in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Riviera Ladies Championship which gets under way Wednesday in Silang, Cavite.

Constantino, who has marked her maiden pro campaign with two victories, both at Eagle Ridge-Aoki and including one over Singson last month, faces the top amateur in the 11:40 a.m. flight, bracing for a challenging day not just against the rising star but also the Langer course.

Singson has figured in the title race in the last three tournaments but came up short on each occasion, setbacks many believe have only toughened up the 18-year-old Davaoeña, who guns for another crack at the overall championship on top of her three straight low amateur honors.

Joining them is the come-backing Gretchen Villacencio.

Avaricio, on the other hand, exudes confidence as she launches her drive for another Ladies Philippine Golf Tour plum against Apple Fudolin and amateur Anna Fernandez at 12 noon with forecast of cloudy skies with chances of rain in the afternoon.

Coming off a rousing sevenstroke romp over Chihiro Ikeda and

Constantino at the nearby Couples course last week that snapped a twoyear search for a title in the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.-organized circuit, the former Alabama State U top player has the momentum and motivation going for her in the 54hole championship.

But it will not only be about the swing shift as the par-71 layout remains a risk-reward course set up to punish even the slightest of mistakes.

That gives the rest of the 19-player cast equal chances with Sunshine Baraquiel, who recently scored a breakthrough at Tagaytay Highlands in windy play, hoping to emerge on top under the same conditions. She starts at 11:30 a.m. in the company of Majorie Pulumbarit and Daniella Uy, both chasing their first LPGT crown.

Ikeda, whose joint runnerup finishes in the last two tournaments have sparked hopes for the Fil-Japanese, who will tee off with Marvi Monsalve and Sheryl Villasencio at 11:20 a.m.

Arnie Taguines, meanwhile, seeks to snap a string of mediocre finishes as she shoots for a followup to her low amateur feat at Eagle Ridge-Norman last July. She kicks off her bid at 11:10 a.m. with Pamela Mariano with Korean rookie pro Jane Jeong and former leg winner Sarah Ababa clashing at 11 a.m. and Florence Bisera, Lovelyn Guioguio and amateur Eagle Ace Superal tangling at 11:50 a.m.

TIGER: I HAVE SO FAR TO GO

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ASSAU, Bahamas—Tiger Woods says he expects to play golf again, just not very often, and he doesn’t see himself reaching the top of the sport again because “I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation of me.”

He says he can see himself picking certain tournaments to play, but not a full-time schedule.

His extensive video interview with Golf Digest, with whom he has a financial relationship, was published Monday ahead of his first press conference since his right leg was badly damaged in a February 23 car crash in the Los Angeles suburbs.

Woods is the tournament host of the Hero World Challenge.

The 15-time major champion raised hopes of another comeback when Woods posted a three-second video hitting a short iron with the message, “Making progress.”

He didn’t make it sound as though a return was around the corner.

“I have so far to go,” he said. “I’m not even at the halfway point. I have so much more muscle development and nerve development that I have to do in my leg. At the same time, as you know, I’ve had five back operations.

So I’m having to deal with that. So as the leg gets stronger, sometimes the back may act up.”

Woods was recovering from another back procedure at the start of the year when he ran his SUV over a median and it toppled down a steep hill on a winding, sweeping road in the Los Angeles suburbs on his way to a television shoot at a golf course.

Doctors said he shattered tibia and fibula bones in his right leg in multiple locations. Those were

stabilized by a rod in the tibia. A combination of screws and pins were used to stabilize additional injuries in the ankle and foot.

He last played at the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, and then had a fifth back procedure that kept him out the early part of the year before the accident.

Woods already had one remarkable comeback, winning the Masters in 2019 after fusion surgery, his fourth on his lower back. He won the Zozo Championship in Japan later in the year for his 82nd career victory on the PGA Tour, tying Sam Snead for the all-time record.

“I don’t have to compete and play against the best players in the world to have a great life. After my back fusion, I had to climb Mt. Everest one more time. I had to do it, and I did.

This time around, I don’t think I’ll have the body to climb Mt. Everest, and that’s OK. I can still participate in the game of golf. I can still, if my leg gets OK, I can still click off a tournament here or there. AP TIGER WOODS says he can see himself picking certain tournaments to play, but not a full-time schedule.

Just prolonging the agony WHAT ethics are we trying to establish here?

EJ Obiena broke ethics when he made a delayed payment of his coach’s salaries from 2018 to 2020 or thereabouts?

Since when is the non-payment in time of one’s salaries a crime?

It’s a minor offense at the most. The flaw is not fatal.

Coach Vitaly Petrov’s fees have been delivered minus a demand letter. He has attested to that, thereby freeing Obiena of any liability.

The ethics committee headed by rowing chief Pato Gregorio might just be wasting time digging for unethical conduct in the Obiena case.

Olympic president Bambol Tolentino a bit overreacting when he formed the ethics committee?

Obiena’s mother federation, the Patafa (Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association) headed by Philip Ella Juico, has charged the ace pole vaulter from Tondo, Manila, of stealing Petrov’s salary.

When the accusation was proven false, Patafa would next charge Obiena with delayed payments of Petrov’s fees.

BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, December 1, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

OLYMPIC champion Hidilyn Diaz takes a selfie with fiancé Julius Naranjo and close friends Dessa De los Santos (maroon t-shirt), Roanne Beltran (with face mask) and Nhur Atikah at a gym in Greenhills.

GOLDEN GIRL BACK IN TOWN

By Josef Ramos

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IDILYN DIAZ is back home after spending 20 days in Malacca where she managed to get a respite from the hustle and bustle of a celebrity life the moment she won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in July.

And now that she’s back, Diaz also returned to the gym to keep her gold medal-winning form and at the same time focus on her studies at the College of Saint Benilde.

“We’re already here and we’re already doing twice-a-day training,” the 30-year-old Diaz told BusinessMirror on Tuesday.

Training for Diaz and fiancé Julius Naranjo is at the Stronghold Athletics gym in Greenhills, San Juan, some 40-minute drive—minus heavy traffic—from the couple’s condominium unit in Eastwood which was one of her multi-million rewards for break-

ing the gold medal quest.

Diaz and Naranjo, now her head coach on top of his responsibility in strength and conditioning, flew to Malacca, Malaysia, last October 30 with the hope to be championship form for the world weightlifting championships set next month in Tashkent.

But they called off their participation in the Uzbekistan capital, saying Diaz won’t have enough window to get her form back to the Tokyo Olympics level.

“There are many more world championships in the future,” Diaz said then as she still has to win the mint that’s missing from her collection after the Olympics, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games.

The supposed training turned into a quiet vacation of sorts for Diaz, who, after her July 26 Olympic conquest, was deluged with dozens of TV appearances and guesting, product endorsements, among others.

They arrived last November 20 and had to undergo a four-day

quarantine at the Discovery Primea in Makati City. Now free, Diaz said she’ll not only be training but will also diligently attend to her Business Management course.

“I’m so busy with my studies especially that the finals are approaching,” said Diaz, who has four terms to go before finishing her program at Saint Benilde.

Diaz took a leave of absence from school for practically one school year when she prepared for Tokyo in her Malaysia training camp.

“It’s a long way to go,” said Diaz said of her studies. She’s an incoming junior next year.

Up next for Diaz is her gold medal defense at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi in May and the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in September.

Aguilas sweep Steel Spikers, make Champs League semis

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O for Gold-Air Force grabbed the first semifinals seat in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League men’s tournament with a 25-15, 28-26, 2520 victory over Basilan Steel Spikers Amin-Anak Mindanao on Tuesday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center in Lipa City, Batangas.

Relying heavily on John Vic De Guzman, the Aguilas of Coach Dante Alinsunurin showed their cohesiveness and hard-hitting prowess to complete back-to-back wins in the three-team Pool A. Alinsunurin praised De Guzman of his effort that netted him a team-

Obiena has admitted the delay of payment, citing as reason his being overworked, which is true. He’s into multitasking actually—being an elite athlete and a bookkeeper, if not an accountant, at the same time.

It’s not easy mixing figures from pole vault meterage with debit and credit balance sheet. Obiena is probably the only Olympian and paymaster rolled into one.

Does that make Patafa guilty of ethical standards, sparked by its seemingly failed bid to label Obiena a thief?

Not to mention accusing Obiena of falsifying liquidation papers pertaining Petrov’s salaries?

“We are looking into this matter with utmost concern and collating pertinent information from both Patafa and Mr. EJ Obiena to ensure due process,” Gregorio said.

For its part, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Butch Ramirez expressed dismay over the refusal of both Obiena and Patafa to submit themselves to a mediation.

“The parties owe it to the government and the Filipino people to resolve the issues amicably,” Ramirez said. “A failed mediation will be detrimental to both parties.”

Ramirez said all he wanted was to help heal the wounds between Obiena and Patafa.

“My role is not to decide who is right or wrong,” Ramirez said. “Mediation can make parties to reconcile, open communication lines and continue the work ahead of us.”

Instead of approaching the issue separately, can POC and PSC please sing the same tune to expedite a quick solution?

A protracted method hatched from different directions will only prolong the agony. It might even lead to exposing more dirty linen in public.

THAT’S IT The exodus to Japan of our basketball players seems unstoppable. A Grade A cager nets at least P1.2 million a month, a Grade B no lower than P400,000. The color of money has always been that hard to ignore.

high 17 points with three service aces.

“We have the same system because he [De Guzman] is also in the national team. It’s not hard for him to make adjustments, it’s very much the same,” Alinsunurin said. “We had a better performance today. We have a better effort in our service and receive so everything went well.”

Mark Alfafara added 13 points, seven receptions and three digs, and Francis Saura had nine points with two service aces for the Aguilas.

Libero Ricky Marcos provided 17 receptions and 11 digs and setter Jessie Lopez tossed 13 excellent sets.

Team Dasmariñas posted its second straight victory at the expense of MRT-Negros, 25-16, 22-25, 25-20,

25-23, to close in on a semifinal berth from the four-team Pool B also on Tuesday in the tournament that has Rebisco, Pitmaster Foundation Inc., Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors and F2 Logistics, Asics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation and Mikasa as gold sponsors and BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Lipa City, Davis Paint

Belgira, Barba rule MTB DH national trials in Danao City

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EA DENISE BELGIRA and Eleazar Barba Jr. lived up to expectations on Sunday by ruling the Women and Men Elite categories of the PhilCycling Mountain Bike National Trials for Downhill in Barangay Sandayong Sur in Danao City, Cebu.

Belgira remained queen of Philippine MTB downhill by bagging the Women Elite gold medal after she negotiated the 850-meter International Cycling Union-grade course in one minute and 29.164 seconds.

The 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist riding out of Guimaras was a good 2.023-second winner over Naomi Gardoce, who settled for silver.

Jade Nicole Baleta bagged bronze after finishing 29.289 seconds back.

Barba, meanwhile, clocked 1:13.593 to rule the Men Elite class of the trials organized by the PhilCycling under its chairman Oscar “Boying” Rodriguez and through the auspices of the Danao City Sports Commission.

Barba clinched silver also in the 2019 SEA Games at the Tatlong

Bungo course in Laurel, Batangas, but the gold medalist, Jerich Farr, was slightly off his elements and settled for the bronze medal with a time of 1:15.671.

Emmanuel Torregoza Cabalquinto snatched silver with 1:15.175.

“Our national athletes proved they are in top shape despite the difficulties in training because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Rodriguez said. “And we are all happy that MTB is alive despite all the safety protocols.”

The PhilCycling, headed by Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, also the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, also conducted national trials in MTB crosscountry-Olympic also in Danao City in June and Road in Clark in July. All three trials were staged under authority of regional health and safety task force against the pandemic.

QC bags bronze in National Bike Lane Awards UEZON City (QC) clinched the bronze medal in the National Bike Lane Awards conducted by the Department of Transportation and Department of the Interior and Local Government to recognize the local government units’ best practices and innovations in establishing bike lanes.

The QC Bike Lane Network is maintained by the Green Transport Office under the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS).

The city prides itself with a 93-kilometer bike lane network, traversing major and secondary roads in the city.

Soon, the city will complete its 161-kilometer bike route, providing longer and safer bike lanes for active transport users in the metro.

“We really put our effort into making our bike lanes safe and convenient for all cyclists and alternative transport users in our city,” DPOS head Gen. Elmo San Diego (Ret.) said.

Iloilo City emerged as backto-back gold medalist with Pasig City bagging the silver medal. The other aspirants were the cities of Taguig, Mandaue, Mandaluyong, Cebu, Davao, Tabuk, San Fernando (La Union), Cagayan de Oro, Sta. Rosa (Laguna) and Naga (Camarines Sur).

“We are moving closer to our vision of making a more sustainable metropolis for all,” Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said. “Thank you for recognizing the beauty of the City of Love.”

Besides the extension of bike routes, the city has also implemented various ordinances on safe cycling and active transport, “no bike helmet” policy and the voluntary bike registration program to help owners with missing bikes.

Mayor Joy Belmonte accepted the award on behalf of the city.

“In QC, we would like to be considered as a bike-friendly and eco-friendly city, that is why we want to make sure that from infrastructure to the policies, we do it all,” Belmonte said.

“And we have to really make our bike lanes safe for everyone.”

and Emerald PVC Pipes, Fittings and Doors as silver sponsors with PNVF godfather, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Champions League, giving his full support.

After scrambling in a five-set win over VNS Manileño Spikers on Monday, the Aguilas were cohesive on Tuesday. Josef Ramos JOHN VIC DE GUZMAN is nailing those points for Go for Gold-Air Force.

LEA DENISE BELGIRA and Eleazar Barba Jr. pose with their gold medals.