BusinessMirror December 04, 2020

Jobless data ‘improves’ but raises new worries

By Cai U. Ordinario

T Amang Geronimo, an operations manager at a silkscreen shop in Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, arranges with his staff their 2021 calendars. Geronimo said his business declined by 25 percent during the pandemic, but he looks forward to a slow recovery next year. NONOY LACZA

@caiordinario

HE latest unemployment data unveiled by government statisticians on Thursday showed a slight improvement but reflected risks confronting the Philippines in renewing consumer confidence, according to local economists.

The preliminary Labor Force Survey (LFS) results released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed 3.8 million Filipinos

or 8.7 percent of the labor force unemployed in October 2020.

With this, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said this year, 4.5 million Filipinos were jobless —translating to an annual unemployment rate of 10.4 percent this year.

“The 4.5 million is the actual count. But if we use the annual average given earlier at 10.4 percent, it means 104 [Filipinos] for every 1,000 persons in the labor force [are jobless],” PSA Assistant National Statistician Wilma Guillen told the

BusinessMirror on Thursday.

Guillen said this means 104 Filipinos out of 1,000 persons in the labor force also had no income this year.

“The number of people without jobs can definitely lower confidence and consumer spending. It is one of the main culprits behind low household consumption spending because joblessness can severely cut purchasing power,” University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics Dean Cid L. Terosa told this newspaper.

Ateneo de Manila School of Social Sciences Dean Fernando T. Aldaba and Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd) Director Alvin P. Ang agreed, and said the uncertainty of the times has also affected Filipino spending this year.

Ang said such uncertainty is also highlighted by the World Bank estimate t hat globa l ly, about 20 percent of the labor force cannot be accommodated in other jobs.

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GDP ’20 CONTRACTION NOW SEEN AT 8.5-9.5%

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Friday, December 4, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 57

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |

DOF hails PHL’s 3rd Global Bonds offer results

By Tyrone Jasper . Piad

T

@Tyronepiad

HE Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) expects the economy to sink deeper by 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent this year amid protracted lockdown measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This latest gross domestic product (GDP) projection is worse than its earlier forecast of 5.5-percent contraction.

“Despite a lower projection than what was initially adopted back in July 2020, further relaxation of restrictions, as we have improved our healt-hcare system capacity, will keep our economy on the right track toward full recovery,” the DBCC said in a joint statement.

Considering this, the economic managers are anticipating the GDP growth to be at 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2021 and 8 percent to 10 percent in 2022.

“We have revised macroeconomic assumptions and targets to take into account recent positive developments that will help propel the Philippine economy to a strong recovery starting 2021,” DBCC said.

“These developments include our gradual recovery, the betterthan-expected performance of the main revenue collection agencies, improvements in the employment situation compared to the peak of community quarantine restrictions, and the likely passage of key economic recovery bills,” it added.

The DBCC is also expecting “further improvement” in the GDP numbers for the fourth quarter. “As we carefully and proactively manage the risks, a strong economic recovery and solid growth remains within our reach,” it added.

As of end-September, the Philippine GDP slid by 10 percent on average after registering contraction in three consecutive quarters.

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Passersby take photos of creches, which showcase Tarlac's greatest attraction during the holiday season or the “Belenismo sa Tarlac” that is now on its 13th year. This special creche is in San Clemente, Tarlac. ROY DOMINGO

HE Philippines has returned to the international bond market for the third time this year with a $2.75-billion dual tranche 10.5-year and 25-year Global Bonds to boost the country’s budget support.

In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the new 10.5year global bonds were priced at US Treasury spreads of T+ 70 basis points (bps) and a coupon of 1.648 percent.

This was after an initial pricing guidance of T+ 100 bps area, while the 25-year tranche was priced at 2.65 percent, which is 35 bps tighter than initial pricing guidance of 3 percent area.

“The success of our third offering this year in the international capital markets underpins the international investor community’s recognition of the Philippine See “DOF,” A2

TEPID LENDING MOOD BLUNTS BSP TOOLS’ EDGE

By Bianca Cuaresma

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@BcuaresmaBM

ENDERS’ reluctance to lend and borrowers’ unwillingness to borrow is dampening the effectiveness of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) massive monetary policy easing, thereby weakening its ability to prop up growth in the midst of a global health and economic crisis.

In a press briefing on Thursday, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said recent data shows that their massive drive to cut rates is still not pushing banks and lenders to increase their lending and borrowing activity.

“Weak market confidence

continues to dampen the transmission from accommodative financing conditions to credit activity and private spending,” Diokno said.

“Even as monetary policy actions typically work with a lag, the latest data on domestic liquidity and bank lending indicate that credit activity has remained tepid as banks remain genera lly cautious, while households and businesses remain reluctant to borrow,” he added.

Theoretically, central banks use interest rate cuts to boost the economy as the lower interest rates translate to the market as lower financing costs, thereby creating an encouraging

environment for borrowing and investment.

BSP has aggressively cut its interest rates for the year to support the economy. In total, the Central Bank has already cut its rates by 200 basis points—25 basis points in February, 50 basis points in March, another 50 basis points in an off-schedule Monetary Board meeting in April, another 50-basis-point cut in June and the latest 25-basis-point cut just last month.

No pickup

However, latest data on bank lending and domestic liquidity shows no pick up in activity.

Continued on A2

See “GDP,” A2

PESO exchange rates n US 48.0440

n japan 0.4602 n UK 64.2204 n HK 6.1980 n CHINA 7.3202 n singapore 35.9261 n australia 35.6246 n EU 58.2149 n SAUDI arabia 12.8093

Source: BSP (December 3, 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, December 4, 2020

Economy needs confidence, not another stimulus–DOF

D

By Bianca Cuaresma & Cai U. Ordinario

@BcuaresmaBM @caiordinario

ESPITE looming calls from various departments and stakeholders, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III believes that pumping more fiscal stimulus into the economy is not the answer to boosting its growth prospects.

In the DBCC Virtual Press Briefing late Thursday, Dominguez said the Philippine economy does not need any further fiscal stimulus as the country’s foundations—as measured by its productive capacity—remain intact.

“There is one Asean country that spent in excess of 30 percent of their GDP [gross domestic product] and yet their GDP dropped almost 19 percent. That is the same for another European country that spent 23 percent of their GDP and their GDP dropped by 21 percent,” Dominguez said.

“So there is no direct relation-

ship between stimulus and GDP growth,” he added.

This, despite calls from the private sector and other government officials to boost fiscal spending to improve the effectiveness of other supporting government initiatives.

Among the latest of such was the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor who, in the same day, said “sustained and targeted fiscal interventions at this juncture are crucial in reviving domestic demand” as monetary policy effectiveness is being weakened by banks’ reluctance to lend and borrowers’ hesitance to

borrow.

The country’s main financial manager, however, on Thursday said the country needs to stick to its original strategy of managing its fiscal deficit.

“You have to take a look at what our fiscal deficit is going to be. Our original strategy was to land in the middle of the fiscal deficits of our rating peers around the world, as well as our Asean neighbors. And so far, with an estimated fiscal deficit of 7.6 percent, we are going to land exactly around the middle of the pack,” Dominguez said.

The Finance chief said that since the productive capacity of the Philippines has not been damaged, the root of the problem is not the lack of fiscal stimulus, but the people’s fear of infection.

“When you look at what is really holding back our economy in this particular time, it seems to me that it is the lack of confidence of people in spending. So rather than a stimulus package that’s a giveaway package, it is not really going to work as well as if we do the budget stimulus, as well as give people the confidence that they are not going to get sick or die of

Covid,” Dominguez said.

“When you restrict the movements of the young people that are 40 percent of our population, you are reducing the demand. But the productive capacity, the educated people, the infrastructure that we are continuously building, it is there,” he added.

“So, the economy is just waiting for this fear factor to be removed for people who have confidence that they will not get sick, and this economy, believe me, is going to boom,” he further said.

Unspent funds

Another basis for why the national government is cool to supporting another stimulus bill, per the DOF: the government still has unspent funds which could be spent for next year.

Dominguez said the government still had P213 billion unspent from the national budget and the Bayanihan 2.

Dominguez also said the country’s deficit to GDP ratio which is at 8.9 percent, will leave the government in a “very, very tight fiscal situation.”

Continued on A4

Jobless data ‘improves’ but raises new worries Continued from A1

While the number could be lower in the Philippines, the data speaks of the need for “massive retraining and immediate digital adoption.”

Consumer spending sips On top of this, De La Salle University economist Maria Ella Oplas told the BusinessMirror the high uncertainty this year also affected the confidence, even of the employed, to spend.

“It is the uncertainty aggravated by unemployment and depletion of savings that are making consumer spending go down,” Oplas said.

Apart from the low confidence, Aldaba said reduced remittances impacted Filipino’s spending this year.

Ang and Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) Executive Director Jeremaiah M. Opiniano earlier projected remittances from overseas Filipinos could decline to as much as $6 billion, the steepest decline in the country’s migration history.

However, with the unemployment rate improving to 8.7 percent in October, Aldaba said the jobs data could improve in the coming months.

“We may still see some improvements as we are able to manage the virus better and as people get accustomed to the various health protocols. We also hope to see more firms restarting and new ones opening up,” Aldaba said.

Still, a few threats—including trade tensions between the United States and China—could affect the economy’s ability to generate more jobs, Aldaba said.

Terosa listed other threats as, “the tepid response of businessmen and investors to stimulus measures, a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections, and weak recovery rate of businesses across interrelated industries.”

Discouraged workers Ang also cited a need to monitor discouraged workers. Based on the PSA data, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) was at 58.7 percent in October.

Mapa said this is the second lowest LFPR recorded after 55.7 percent in April 2020. Last year, LFPR was at 61.4 percent while in July 2020, it was at 61.9 percent.

“The signs aren’t crystal clear yet that we will see better days ahead in 2021.

Some heavy clouds hover over the horizon such as the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in leading economies of the world and the uncertainty behind the actual—not clinical—effectivity of approved vaccines. Of course, any gradual improvement in macroeconomic data will augur well for the economy moving forward,” Terosa said.

Oplas, meanwhile, said there may already be more employed Filipinos given the upcoming Christmas celebrations, despite the pandemic.

She added that the gradual lifting of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) classifications also encouraged more businesses to open up to clients and workers alike.

The De La Salle economist said spending patterns of Filipinos have changed in the past few months and this has also altered the employment options of workers.

“We will find ways to get together with families because that is a tradition that we cannot let go of. Of course it will be a modest celebration but the point is, these celebrations will translate to economic activity therefore increase in demand for labor,” Oplas said.

and Quinta in the latter half of October further reduced agriculture employment by 1.1 million, or about 70 percent of the 1.5 million jobs lost between July and October 2020.

Neda said workers in the provinces also faced difficulty returning to work given inter-province transport restrictions, and contributed to the 0.5 million loss in the industry sector.

“This improvement in the unemployment rate was driven by the reopening of the economy and it could have been lower if the economy were opened further, coupled with the provision of safe and sufficient public transport. On the other hand, the country was also hit by a succession of four typhoons in October alongside the monsoon and La Niña, resulting in significant employment loss in agriculture,”said Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua.

The employment loss was tempered by the services sector, which recorded a 0.3-million gain in employment relative to July 2020, as it benefited from the increased operational capacity and further relaxation of quarantine restrictions.

Lower labor force participation also contributed to the decline in employment. Certain factors were cited for this, including higher remittances and the opening of schools, that had parents shifting from going to work to helping younger children in blended learning from home.

Government take

Underemployment

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said earlier on Thursday the country’s unemployment rate improved to 8.7 percent in October 2020 from 10.0 percent in July and 17.6 percent in April.

This translated to 0.8 million less unemployed workers in this round compared with July 2020. However, Neda said lower labor force participation more than offset this, resulting in a net employment reduction of 1.5 million from July to October.

Neda said typhoons Nika, Ofel, Pepito

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate notably improved to 14.4 percent in October 2020 from 17.3 percent and 18.9 percent in July and April 2020, respectively.

“Decreasing underemployment means that the quality of jobs is improving. This proximity to normalcy means that the informal sector is performing and the impact on poverty may be less severe than initially estimated,” he said.

Overall, the Labor Force Survey results support the need to manage risks more and further open the economy safely to

restore jobs and economic activities.

Chua also cited the Senate’s recent approval of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill, which will provide relief especially for MSMEs which comprise 99 percent of firms in the Philippines and employ about 60 percent of working Filipinos.

“The swift passage and implementation of CREATE, together with the 2021 General Appropriations Act, the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer [FIST] Act, and the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiative to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery [GUIDE] Act will all contribute to rebuilding the economy and helping Filipinos and businesses get back on their feet,” Chua said.

Labor: Illusory gain The slowdown in the spiking unemployment rate is a mere “illusion” that the country’s economy is finally recovering from the effects of the pandemic, according to labor groups.

Labor coalition Nagkaisa expressed concern over the trend indicating that millions of workers who left the labor market are no longer actively looking for a job.

“Compared to the same quarter last year, the number of employed workers is lower by 2.7 million. The current employment level is also less than the number of employed workers in July by almost 1.5 million. That does not resemble recovery at all,” Nagkaisa said in a statement.

It noted that not even preparations for the Christmas season, wherein companies traditionally employ more workers, did not make a significant improvement in the country’s labor force.

“If October and July labor indicators were any indication of the performance of the government’s current approach to the pandemic and the crisis, then it is as if economic managers were not working at all,” Nagkaisa said.

It demanded a bigger stimulus and more effective response to the pandemic from the government. With a report by

Samuel P. Medenilla

TEPID LENDING MOOD BLUNTS BSP TOOLS’ EDGE Continued from A1

Domestic liquidity—broadly measured as “M3”—grew slower at 12.3 percent to P13.5 trillion in September. This is tamer than the 13.7-percent growth seen in the previous month.

Bank lending—one of the pri-

mary drivers of domestic liquidity — grew at 2.8 percent in September, also weaker than the 4.7-percent growth in August.

As such, the BSP governor cited the importance of other government initiatives—particularly on the fiscal side—to support the

monetary policy cuts in helping the economy recover.

“While the BSP continues to have ample monetary space to help ward off emerging downside risks to growth amid a benign inflation environment, it recognizes that sustained and targeted

fiscal interventions at this juncture are also crucial in reviving domestic demand,” Diokno said.

“Improvements in market sentiment shall then help the BSP’s monetary policy actions gain further traction in driving credit and economic activity,” he added.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

GDP…

Continued from A1

To boost economic recovery, the DBCC proposes a 2022 cash budget of P5.024 trillion, equivalent to 22.2 percent of GDP. It is also higher by 11.5 percent than the 2021 national expenditure program.

“The proposed 2022 national budget will continue to prioritize funding for health-related responses and measures that will help accelerate economic growth,” the economic managers said.

Narrower budget deficit DBCC trimmed its forecast for budget deficit this year to 7.6 percent of GDP from 9.6 percent of GDP. In 2021 and 2022, the deficit is estimated at 8.9 percent of GDP and 7.3 percent of GDP, respectively.

“Our deficit program is designed to balance the requirement of supporting economic recovery while keeping our debt-to-GDP ratio beneath a sustainable threshold,” the joint statement read.

The economic managers expect to collect more state revenues this year, or P2.85 trillion from the old estimate of P2.52 trillion. The new figure is equivalent to 15.7 percent of GDP. For 2021 and 2022, revenue projections were revised upward to P2.88 trillion and P3.31 trillion, respectively, despite factoring in the impact of the Senate’s version of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE).

CREATE cuts the corporate tax income (CIT) immediately to 25 percent from 30 percent upon effectivity; and subsequently reduces it further by 1 percentage point every year from 2023 to 2027 until it reaches 20 percent.

Meanwhile, disbursements this year are seen reaching P4.23 trillion, which is 23.3 percent of GDP and 11.5 percent higher than last year. The government is expected to spend P4.66 trillion for 2021 and P4.95 trillion for 2022, which

DOF…

Slowdown in trading Amid a slowdown in global trading, the economic managers maintained their forecast of a 16-percent drop for goods exports while adjusting the goods import growth to -20 percent from -18 percent earlier. However, goods export and import growth figures are anticipated to improve to 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, service exports and imports this year are seen to drop by 21.4 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

In 2021, however, service exports are expected to grow by 6 percent while service imports are projected to rise by 7 percent.“This accounts for the gradual opening up of the domestic economy and increase in travel-related activities,” DBCC explained.

Other macroeconomic projections For 2020, the average inflation rate is adjusted to a forecast ranging from 2.4 percent to 2.6 percent. DBCC earlier projected inflation to settle within 1.75 percent to 2.75 percent. Meanwhile, inflation assumption for 2021 and 2022 is maintained at 2 percent to 4 percent.

The projected price of crude oil per barrel for 2020 is adjusted at $40 to $42 from $35 to $45. For 2021 and 2022, prices are seen ranging from $35 to $50 per barrel.

The peso, meanwhile, is seen to settle within P48 to P50 against the greenback this year.The local currency may weaken in 2021 to 2022, with the economic managers projecting closing prices within P48 to P53. “We must continue to progressively reopen businesses and mass transportation as safely as possible to allow more Filipinos to return to work and for our people to once more enjoy life as they all justly deserve,” the DBCC concluded.

Continued from A1

economy’s strong fundamentals despite the global economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

“We believe this result indicated that international investors are aware of, and appreciate, the Duterte administration’s resolve to rebuild the domestic economy and its initial headway in steering it back to its pre-Covid growth trajectory,” he added.

The new Global Bonds are expected to be rated Baa2 by Moody’s, BBB+ by Standard & Poor’s, and BBB

by Fitch. Transaction is expected to settle on December 10, 2020.

Credit Suisse, Daiwa Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered Bank, and UBS were Joint Bookrunners for the transaction.

PHL…

are equivalent to 23.4 percent of GDP and 21.9 percent of GDP, respectively.

The deal follows the government’s $2.35-billion dual tranche global bond offering in May, and the EUR 1.2-billion dual tranche global bond offering in January earlier this year.

“The success of this issuance is once again a testament of the resilience and resolve shown by the Republic to ascend from these tribulations brought about by the pandemic,” National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said.

“It also manifests the administration’s ability to identify and capture favorable market windows in such uncertain times. [A] large portion of this success can be attributed to reforms intended to provide the catalysts to accelerate recovery and put the economy back on a strong growth momentum,” she added. Cai U. Ordinario

Continued from A12

logistics and warehousing sectors, as well as intelligent solutions for customer support and smart homes, among others.

Philippine telcos have been very keen on exploring 5G technologies. Globe has so far introduced a commercial fixed wireless 5G service in select areas in the country. Smart has launched its

5G mobile services. Dito Telecommunity will also be focusing on 5G, given its potential use cases not only for consumers, but also for enterprises.

All three telco groups are in talks with Huawei and other 5G technology vendors for the deployment of 5G technologies in the Philippines.

DTI…

relocate overseas factories back to Philippine soils to protect their investments from supply chain disruptions.

Similarly, Macatoman told exporters to work with policymakers in crafting reforms that will refuel their sector’s output and generate revenues and jobs for the economy.

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, merchandise exports in September, for the first time since February, grew more than 2 percent to $6.21 billion, from $6.07 billion during the same month last year. However, shipments after three quarters posted a decline of about 14 percent to $45.87 billion, from $53.21 billion.

Continued from A12

“Moreover, industries should institute effective on-the-job trainings to improve the labor pool, as well as a strong industrybased competency standards and national qualifications frameworks,” Lopez added.

The trade chief then called on exporters to embrace the changes in the way by which business is done, starting from moving some of their activities to online to sustain operations even during lockdowns. He likewise recommended they

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The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, December 4, 2020 A3

Popcom: PHL on track to cut fertility rate in 10 years

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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HE Philippines remains on track to bring down its fertility rate down to the 2.1-percent replacement rate in less than a decade, according to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).

On Thursday, Popcom Executive Director and Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III told the BusinessMirror that the replacement rate is still within reach despite the stagnation in efforts to reduce fer-

tility rates, particularly between 1980 and 2000.

In a presentation at the National Urban Development and Housing Framework (NUDHF) webinar series on Thursday, Popcom Deputy Executive Director Lolito R. Tacardon said the total fertility rate (TFR) was reduced by 2 children between 1973 and 1993 and was only reduced by with only one child between 1993 and 2013.

“The stagnation was most prominent for the years 1980-2000 when it took 20 years for fertility to go down by 1 child. From 2008 to 2017 the decline

was .6 over a 9 year period—TFR down to 2.6—which is better characterized as ‘accelerated decline’ in fertility,” Perez told the BusinessMirror.

“In another 8 years we expect the same accelerated decline to 2.1 fertility by 2025. We can achieve replacement fertility that year. Covid is a confounding factor between 2020 and 2021, which can still be overcome,” he added.

Tacardon said some poor families still consider that their children have economic value. He said children are still being “considered the labor force of the family,” a thinking that has

Survey bares prevalence of child labor among Pinoy HSWs

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

A

ROUND 5,000 household service workers (HSW) are victims of illegal child labor, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Citing the survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and DOLE last year, National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) Deputy Executive Director Patricia P. Hornilla disclosed these children, who are aged below 15 years old, are mostly female at 4,732, while the remaining 237 are male.

Republic Act (R A) 10361, or the Kasambahay Law, prohibits

children, who are aged under 15 years old from being employed as HSW. In an online news briefing on Wednesday, Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) Director Ma. Karina Perida-Trayvilla explained this is because being an HSW is considered as one of the “worst form of child labor” due to its demanding workload and schedule, as well as it leave them vulnerable to exploitation.

Those who will violate the provisions of the Kasambahay Law will not only face sanctions for violating the RA 10361, but also the RA 9331, or the Anti-Child Labor Law, Trayvilla warned.

Violators of the Kasambahay Law

may be fined not less than P10,000 but not more than P40,000, as well as face criminal and civil charges for the said violations.

Meanwhile, those who will violate the Anti-Child Labor Law may also be fined with between P50,000 to P1 million and imprisonment ranging from six months to 20 years.

Data from PSA and NWPC showed that there are currently 1,400,132 HSWs nationwide.

Most or 61.3 percent of them belong to the 36 and over age group.

The rest are in the following age groups: 35.2 percent are 19 to 35 years old; 3.1 percent are 15 to 18 years old; and 0.4 percent are below 15 years old.

led to the belief that having more children will make them better off in the future.

However, Perez said the attitude of rural women has already changed enough to favor family planning.

This was already observed in the 2017 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS).

Perez believed that by prioritizing population and health programs, the Philippines will be able to reap the socioeconomic rewards of having a manageable population.

“The 2017 NDHS showed that family planning in rural areas caught

up with urban areas. This shows a reevaluation of priorities among rural women in terms of number of desired children,” Perez said.

Based on a separate presentation at the NUDHF, Popcom Commissioner Dexter A. Galban said the country’s total population as of December 3 is 109.334 million.

This number is expected to increase to 142 million by 2045, even if the average annual population growth rate slows to 0.65 percent from the 1.7 percent, which is the average between 2010 and 2015.

To date, Region 4A has the high-

est population at 14.41 million followed by the National Capital Region at 12.88 million and Region 3 at 11.22 million.

Together, these three regions, Galban said, accounted for a third or 38.1 percent of the country’s population in 2015. Incidentally, these regions are also the same ones that are driving the Philippine economy.

The steady population and economic growth has led to faster urbanization nationwide. Based in 2010, the country’s urbanization rate is at 45.3 percent with Metro Manila being 100 percent urbanized.

SOT bill divides labor groups anew

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HE new version of the Security of Tenure (SOT) bill has split labor groups into those which accused it of perpetuating contractualization and those who consider it as a means to restrict the controversial employment scheme.

In a statement on Thursday, labor coalition Nagkaisa said it backs House Bill (HB) 7036, or the SOT bill, since it institutionalizes the prohibition of labor-only contracting (LOC).

Nagkaisa Chairman and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Sonny Matula said the bill also disallows fixed-term employment except for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and employees on probation, or relievers who are temporary replacements of absent regular employees.

It also imposes a P30,000 penalty for each victim employee by businesses engaging in end-of-contract arrangements and labor-contracting.

“While still small, [it] remains [to be] an improvement over current law where a negligible P1,000 to P10,000 fine may be imposed regardless of the number of victimized employees,” Matula said.

The labor leader, however, noted that the bill is just a “small step in fighting contractualization.”

Nagkaisa proposed to lawmakers to improve the bill such as making the regularization order from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) immediately executory.

Legitimizing third-party con-

tractors for his part, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) President Luke Espiritu rejected the bill for being “rushed” and an inferior version of the previous SOT bill, Senate Bill 1826.

“SB 1826, which was vetoed by President Duterte last year, stipulated that all employees, except those under probationary, seasonal, or project employment, shall be deemed regular,” Espiritu said.

“Adding relievers as a legal type of bilateral fixed-term employment is prone to abuse and trickery. It provides a gap through which employers can sustain the practice of endo simply by fabricating the status of new hires as replacements,” he added.

Samuel P. Medenilla

Economy

A4 Friday, December 4, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DA chief assures rice-supply adequacy despite pandemic, weather disturbance

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

HE government’s goal to achieve a higher level of rice adequacy remains on track despite recent typhoons and logistical roadblocks brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Agriculture assured on Thursday.

In a news statement following the 2019 Rice Achievers Award held at the DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the country has enough rice until the end of December 2020.

While the pandemic has minimal impact on the country’s rice and total agricultural production, he said, it is the damage wrought by recent typhoons that pushed back the DA’s earlier rice adequacy target of 93 percent.

Due to a series of typhoons, Dar admitted the country lost about 322,041 metric tons (MT) of palay, which is roughly equivalent to an eight-day rice supply.

“Hence, our adequacy level is about 90 to 91 percent. Let us wait for the fourth quarter palay production output. However, rest assured, we have enough rice by the end of December 2020, equivalent to three months supply,” said Dar. The DA said it previously targeted to produce 20.34 million MT of palay (paddy rice) that is 8 percent more than the total harvest of 18.8 MMT in 2019.

“The rice sector has been doing well amid the pandemic. For the first three quarters, rice production reached 11.9 MMT, exceeding initial expectations. But then, the typhoons

Economy needs confidence, not another stimulus—DOF continued from a2

“At this point in time we cannot say that we are supporting another Bayanihan 3 bill. However, we are planning to spend what is unspent for this year in both the GAA and the budget and the Bayanihan 2. So that is an additional P213 billion, if I’m not mistaken, so that could be the stimulus for next year,” Dominguez said.

With both houses of Congress passing the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill, the economy will get another “stimulus package,” he added.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises earning less than P5 million a year will see their corporate income tax reduced to 20 percent from 30 percent.

For companies earning more than P5 million, the CIT will also be reduced to 25 percent from the current 30 percent.

“That bill includes a large stimulus by reducing taxes on both large companies and small companies,” Dominguez said. “That in itself is also a stimulus package.”

Vaccines vs fear

IN order to dispel the fear factor, Dominguez said the government is spending at least P73 billion to purchase Covid-19 vaccines.

He said this is just a preliminary estimate given that the government does not yet know which vaccine will be approved by the country’s Food and Drug Administration.

However, the P73 billion was derived from an estimate of P1,200 per person for two doses of the vaccine. With the amount, the government would be able to purchase vaccines for 60 million.

TONDO residents queue for their rice ration during the height of a Covid-19 lockdown in the area early this year. BERNARD TESTA

hit, affecting our major rice producing provinces,” Dar said.

For the last quarter of 2020, DA national rice program (NRP) lead Assistant Secretary Andrew Villacorta said rice production is expected to reach 7.42 MMT, bringing this year’s total palay output to 19.32 MMT, 2.7 percent more than in 2019.

For first and second quarters of 2021, the DA, meanwhile, targets to produce 9.02 MMT from an aggregate 1.149 million hectares nationwide.

The agency said the volume will come from three major rice initia-

tives: Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund that provides a total P10 billion annually; regular national rice program, focusing on hybrids; and expanded RCEF program, covering additional areas for inbred rice production.

For the entire 2021, the DA eyed an initial target of 20.48 MMT of palay.

To achieve this, Dar said the DA will optimize the use of both quality inbred and hybrid seeds for rain fed and irrigated areas nationwide, and improve efficiency in the allocation and distribution of the P10-

billion RCEF for farm machinery, inbred rice seeds, credit, training and extension.

On top of P10-billion annual RCEF, the DA proposed for 2021 a total budget of P15.5 billion that includes the provision of hybrid seeds with P6.2 billion, inbred seeds with P375 million, fertilizers with P4.4 billion, farm equipment with P1 billion, training with P998.2 million, irrigation with P745.9 million, research and development with P658.7 million, and other interventions with P375 million.

Marikina River Basin quarry ops halted but freeze order may be lifted in Albay

By Jonathan L. Mayuga mayuga

T

@jonl-

HE Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 4 (Calabarzon) has issued an order temporarily suspending certain quarry and crushing plant operations in Rizal province within the coverage of the Marikina River Basin.

DENR-MGB Region 4 Regional Director Samuel Paragas issued Memorandum Order 01 suspending the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement of Asensio—Pinzon Aggregates Corp.; San Rafael Development Corp.; Montalban Milex Aggregates Corp., Hardrock Aggregates Inc. and Rapid City Realty and Development Corp.

Likewise, the DENR-MGB Region 4 chief suspended the mineral processing permits of Oxford Mines Inc., Viba Aggregates and Marketing, Amiterra Aggregates Corp., Montalban Millex Aggregates Corp., Dream Rock Resources Phils Inc.; Superior Aggregates Inc. and ATN Holdings Inc. Paragas issued the order in compliance with the DENR-MGB Central Office’s order to temporarily suspend the quarry and crushing plant operations until a joint assessment by the DENR’s Composite Team is completed and submitted on the cause of flooding at the height of Typhoon Ulysses.

The said quarr y and crushing plant operations within the Marikina River Basin which river system drains to the Marikina River are being blamed for the perennial flooding, particularly in the Marikina area.

At the height of Typhoon Ondoy and the recent Typhoon Ulysses, the entire city, as well as most parts of Metro Manila went under floodwater, resulting in tragic deaths and

loss of millions worth of property.

Earlier, Rizal Provincial Governor Rebecca Ynares issued an order suspending all mining and quarry operations and other related activities under the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act in Rizal province and appealed to the DENR to suspend large-scale quarry operations it allowed under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Ynares, in Memorandum Order 2020-01, cited the attribution to mining and quarrying operations and related activities in Rizal the loss of lives and the millions in damage to property as a result of flooding caused by heavy rain-induced by typhoons such as Ulysses.

“In the interest of public safety and welfare and ensure environmental protection and sustainability, and to address as well the complaints and concerns on threats and impacts thereof, more so, during typhoons and similar natural disturbances, all quarry operations and related activities permitted and actively operating in the Province of Rizal over a total land area of 38.24 hectares, more or less, are hereby ordered stopped and shall remain to be such unless and until authorized to resume operations for just cause or reason,” Ynares said.

Ynares also urged the DENR to cause the immediate stoppage of all operations of mining, quarrying, and related activities that it granted under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, which the official stated covers a total of 4,964.32 hectares, including crushing plants.

“Likewise, all local government units in this province are strongly advised to cause the immediate stoppage of all land development activities, including subdivision development, permitted under RA 7160, unless assessed and found to be compliant with the pertinent laws, rules,

and regulations,” the order stated.

Albay quarry firms ‘compliant’

IN a related development, the MGB has recommended the lifting of the suspension order against 91 quarry firms in Albay province.

MGB Director Wilfredo Moncano said the lifting of the suspension order is urgently needed to allow the firms to empty and restore the capacity of river channels around Mayon Volcano.

In a news statement, Moncano said the 91 quarry operators were found to be “compliant” with environmental and mining laws by the MGB-led task force earlier formed

by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu.

T he sa me invest igat ion re vealed that only 15 out of 106 suspended quarry operators have permit violations.

This was earlier confirmed by the Director of the MGB Region 5Guillermo A. Molina Jr. who added that the 15 violators are not operating within the river that could have caused the landslide of lahar and volcanic debris that buried a residential community in Guinobatan, Albay at the height of Typhoon Rolly on October 31 and November 1.

Molina added that the community is situated in a lahar which is prone to lahar flow and landslide, noting that Mayon Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines.

To recall, Cimatu earlier suspended a l l qu a r r y operat ions around Mayon Volcano and formed a task force to look into the possible liability of quarry companies in the lahar flow during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Rolly last month.

According to Moncano, there is a compelling need to lift the suspension order insofar as the “compliant” quarry firms are concerned.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, December 4, 2020 A5

AFP not keen on holiday season truce with Reds

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

T

HE military will not recommend a cessation in its operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) this holiday season, even as the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that its forces killed five rebels and bagged another one in two separate raids in Mindanao and Cagayan.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said they are not inclined to recommend to President Duterte a halt in their operations against the rebels for the upcoming Christmas and New Year due to the past experiences of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) where cease-fires were allegedly breached by the NPA. “The AFP—wishing and longing for a peaceful Yuletide season for the Filipino people notwithstanding—will not recommend to the Commander-in-Chief a holiday cease-fire with the Communist Terrorist Group [CTG],” Arevalo said in a news statement issued on Thursday.

“Many times in the past, the CTG has shown it’s incapacity for sincerity and for being unfaithful to a covenant,” he added. “This was the AFP’s painful experience where the CTG reneged from their own cease-fire declaration by attacking and killing soldiers on humanitarian and peace

and development missions.”

The military and the rebels usually observe a cease-fire during the holiday season, with the former declaring a “suspension of offensive military operations [SOMO],” which the rebels reciprocate with their own cease-fire, although both forces still observes a defensive stance.

Even the PNP also observes a truce through a suspension of offensive police operations [SOPO].

Arevalo said that during the effectivity of a cease-fire, the rebels go on with their activities and uses it to “regroup, refurbish, recruit new members, and recoup their losses.”

Still, he said, that the military leadership will follow President Duterte’s orders on the issue of a cease-fire with the NPA. “Amidst this strong position, AFP chief General Gilbert Gapay assures the President of the AFP’s support to whatever decision the Commanderin-Chief makes in his exercise of his prerogatives,” Arevalo said.

In South Cotabato, five rebels, including two bomb experts were killed during a firefight with a composite team of policemen who were serving a warrants of arrest against members of the Guerilla Front 53 of the NPA’s Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) at Sitio Kibang, Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu at around 4:35 a.m. on Wednesday.

A report sent to PNP chief General

Debold Sinas said members of the Lake Sebu Municipal Police Station and South Cotabato Police Provincial Office were serving warrants against the rebels accused of murder, frustrated murder and attempted murder when they were fired upon, triggering a firefight.

Killed during the operation were Bernie Canyon alias Delmar, commanding officer of ordnance platoon; Rogelio Magsaya alias Sargs, and Delio, vice commanding officer of the Pulang Bagani Command; Romeo Hebron alias Frank, and Melvin, head of Regional Ordnance, SMRC and two identified only as “Ka Mercy” and “Mckoy.”

The operating team recovered an M-16 rifle, a Carbine, a .45 caliber pistol, a .40 caliber pistol and homemade bombs and components.

In Cagayan Valley, operatives of the CriminalInvestigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Police Regional Office-2served two search warrantsfor violation of RA 10591 (Illegal Possession of Firearms)

CLARK LOCATORS EXTEND HELP TO MARIKINA

Clark Development Corp. (CDC) Director Manuel R. Gaerlan (second from left) with Widus International Leisure Inc., Executive Assistant to the President and Chief Executive Officer Agnes Liwanag (third from left) presented the check of cash donation amounting to P1 million from Widus Foundation to Rotary Club President Jerom Josef (fourth from left). The financial assistance is for the benefit of Typhoon Ulysses flood victims in Marikina. Also in the photo are (from left) Former Marikina Vice Mayor Jose Fabian, and Rotary Governor Antonio Parungao, and former District Governor Efren de Guzman. Aside from the cash assistance, various in-kind donations from Clark locators were also given during the activity. CDC-CD PHOTO

By a unanimous vote, mayors disallow minors from ‘malling’

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

M

ETRO Manila mayors have voted unanimously to disallow individuals aged 17 years old and below to go to the malls following the recommendation of the Philippine Pediatrics Society and Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines to prohibit them from going to commercial establishments and other outdoor areas such as shopping malls.

At a virtual press conference, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Jose Arturo Garcia said that the mayors, through the Metro Manila Council (MMC), voted 17-0 not to allow minor “mallers” since they may be virus “carriers.”

“Because of having high immune system, pediatrics experts said that minors who are infected of Covid-19 are usually asymptomatic carriers of the virus. They might be transmitting the virus unknowingly, especially to those vulnerable,” Garcia said adding that persons aged 18 to 65 years old are the only ones allowed to go inside malls in Metro Manila.

This recommendation of the health experts was echoed by Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III who lauded the decision of the Metro Manila mayors.

“I think they should be commended for putting the health of the children first in not allowing those below 18 years old to go out in

public places, especially during this Christmas season where as is there are already lots of adults who are going out, therefore, increasing contact, transmission and cases and possibly hospital admissions if not deaths,” Duque told the BusinessMirror.

Duque stressed, “So, the response ought to be more restrictive for children as they may be easily infected and in turn contaminate the elderly and vulnerable individuals at home.”

Essential activities

HOWEVER, Garcia said that essential activities done inside the malls such as medical and dental checkups, buying of food, and medicines are allowed for all ages, including minors and senior citizens—as long as the minimum health protocols such as wearing of face mask and face shield and observance of physical distancing are complied with.

Minors are also allowed to do non-contact sports such as biking and jogging, subject to the interpretation of local government units (LGUs) through their respective existing ordinances.

Garcia also thanked Interior Secretary Eduardo Año for supporting the decision of Metro Manila mayors since the enforcement lies on the LGUs. Further, Garcia reminded both the mall owners and the LGUs of their responsibility to ensure that no minors will be allowed to go inside their establishments and other outdoor areas.

and RA 9516 (Illegal Possession of Explosives),bothissuedbyJudgeSheila C. Gacutan-Labuguen of the Municipal Trial Court of Baggao, Cagayan against Amanda Socorro Echanis alias Waya, and Julian in Barangay Carupian, Baggao.

During the search, the operating team reportedly recovered an M-16 rifle, two hand grenades and at least two magazines for M-16 rifle.

As a result, Echanis was arrested and was later identified by the police as a finance officer of West Front of the NPA’s Komiteng Probinsya ng Cagayan (KOMPROB) Cagayan.

Echanis, 32, is a daughter of the late National Democratic Front peace consultant and Anakpawis chairman Randall Echanis who was brutally murdered inside his apartment in Quezon City several months back.

T h e hu m a n - r i g ht s g r o u p Karapatan, through its Secretary-General Cristina Palabay, had denounced the arrest, saying the evidence were planted and Echanis was with her one-month-old baby when arrested.

“Karapatan denounces the recent arrest of 32-year-old Amanda Echanis, a woman peasant organizer of Amihan, a federation of women peasants, in Cagayan and the planting of evidence against her,” the group said in a news statement.

“Similar search warrants were used in the raid in the house of peasant leader Isabelo Adviento of Danggayan, a chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas in Cagayan Valley at around the same time that house where Amanda was staying was raided. Adviento was not in his home at the time of

the raid, but his wife was there, and she recounted how authorities forcibly entered the premises of their residence, forced all those in the house to go out and planted firearms and grenades in their living room. Richard Dagohoy of the Baggao Farmers Association was accosted and handcuffed during the said operations in Brgy. Carupian but was later set free by the authorities,” the group added.

Karapatan noted that the arrest of Echanis and the raids in Cagayan came “amid the red-tagging spree and counterinsurgency operations by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which resulted in the numerous cases of illegal or arbitrary arrests, detention, extrajudicial killings and many other rights violations.”

BusinessMirror

Friday, December 4, 2020

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ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5-10/f Tower 1 Pitx Kennedy Road Tambo Parañaque City 1.

BAO, WEIJIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

CHENG, QIAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

3.

DENG, TIANWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

4.

HE, YI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

2.

5.

LI, DONGMING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

6.

LIU, ZHENLEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

LIU, HUALAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

WANG, YU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

WANG, YANJUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

WU, HUAMEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

7.

8.

9.

10.

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

36.

ZHANG, RUFEI Chinese

OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE

37.

TRINH MANH TUAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE MARKETING EXECUTIVE

BAYVIEW TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 43/f Yuchengco Tower Rcbc Plaza Ayala Ave. Cor. Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City 38.

GUO, WENXIN Chinese

PRODUCT TRAINER (MULTILINGUAL)

BEAUTYLOUNGE CO. 2floor Petron C5 Diego Silang Ususan Taguig City 39.

HOANG THANH NHAN Vietnamese

CHINESE SPEAKING MANAGER

BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. 5f-13f, Jiaxing Tower Building Aseana Avenue, Aseana Business Park Tambo Parañaque City 40.

LEONG KAR WEI Malaysian

COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST

41.

LIM WEI FENG Malaysian

COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST

42.

QI, DENGWEN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

43.

WU, QINJIAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

44.

YANG, YUAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

45.

YU, MENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

46.

YI, CAI Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

11.

XIA, XIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

BIGCAT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. 18/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Avenue Cor. Rufino Street Salcedo Vill.

Bel-air Makati City

12.

ZHANG, ZHENSHAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

47.

KESHET, YASMIN Israeli

ARABIC LANGUAGE - GLOBAL SPONSORSHIP MANAGER

ZHANG, LEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

48.

CHRISTAL XAVERINA TANGKERE Indonesian

BAHASA INDONESIAN LANGUAGE - OFFICER CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZHAO, ZHUANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

ZHAO, LINGHUA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

13.

14.

15.

ZHENG, JUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

ZHONG, BINMING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

18.

ZHOU, NAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

19.

ZHOU, TAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

16.

17.

AF ORTIGAS AVENUE EXTENSION INC. Smeo 107,111,115 & 119 Sm City East Ortigas Ortigas Avenue Extension, Sta. Lucia Pasig City 20.

RAADSMA, SIMON PETER Australian

PRESIDENT / FITNESS GROWTH CONSULTANT

ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D. Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street Tambo Parañaque City 21.

LIU, HONGJI Chinese

22.

HOANG VAN HANH Vietnamese

23.

24.

CHINESE - FIELD SALES CONSULTANT

51.

TIAN, CHUNYING Chinese

CHINESE - FIELD SALES CONSULTANT

52.

WU, YONGYI Chinese

CHINESE - GENERAL TRADE MARKETING SPECIALIST CONSULTANT

53.

HE, YICAI Chinese

CHINESE - KEY ACCOUNTS SPECIALIST CONSULTANT

54.

WANG, WENYIN Chinese

CHINESE - KEY ACCOUNTS SPECIALIST CONSULTANT

CAPSLOCK INC. 7th & 8th Flr. Y Tower Bldg. Coral Way Drive Cor. Macapagal Brgy. 076 Pasay City 55.

ZHANG, HAO Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

56.

SONG, FEI Chinese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

CERTOSA RESOURCES INC. Unit 705 7/f Asian Star Bldg. Filinvest Alabang Muntinlupa City MINNS, ADAM WILLIAM British

CONSULTANT

FORTUNEGATE HOLDINGS PHILIPPINES, INC. 5/f Ag New World Manila Bay Hotel 1588 1588 Mh Del Pilar St. Cor. P. Gil St. 076 Bgy. 699 Malate Manila

27.

NGUYEN THI TRANG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

28.

NGUYEN VAN TIEN Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

29.

QIN, WENXIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

30.

SU, FUDI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

YANG, DAPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ASIAN TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, INC. 11/f Tower 2 Double Dragon, Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

AVANTICE CORPORATION 19/f Pbcom Tower Ayala Ave. Bel-air Makati City

SUN, LINNA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LI, ZHEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

113.

QIAN, DESHENG Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF

77.

LIU, YANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

114.

TANG, XIAOLU Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF

78.

FANG, YUNQI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

115.

ZHUO, YAHUA Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF

79.

GU, LIDUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MELCO RESORTS LEISURE (PHP) CORPORATION City Of Dreams Aseana Ave. Cor. Roxas Blvd. Tambo Parañaque City

80.

QU, YUNJIA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

116.

81.

WANG, ZENGCHUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower C4 Rd. Edsa Ext. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

82.

YAO, YAOYANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

117.

AUNG AUNG Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

83.

ZHANG, QING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

118.

AUNG AUNG OO Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

84.

ZHANG, WEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

119.

BAWK SWE CHAIN Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

120.

DING, QINGWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

121.

EI EI NYEIN Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

122.

GAN, FENGLAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

123.

GE, RU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

124.

GUO, JIANWEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

125.

GUO, MIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

126.

HAN MYO AUNG Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

127.

HONEY WIN Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

128.

HTAY HTAY MYINT Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

GENX SPORTS & MEDIA PRODUCTION CORP. 11/f Aseana I Bldg. Bradco Ave. Aseana City Tambo Parañaque City NGAI YONG KHANG Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE - MALAYSIAN SPEAKING

LI, WANQIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE - MANDARIN SPEAKING

87.

HA MINH TRANG Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE - VIETNAMESE SPEAKING

88.

LE THI HA Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE - VIETNAMESE SPEAKING

TRAN THI DIEM HUONG Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE - VIETNAMESE SPEAKING

85.

86.

89.

GLOBAL B2B CONSULTANCY, INC. 50/f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Avenue Bel-air Makati City

MARKETROLE ASIA PACIFIC SERVICES, INC. 26/f, 27/f, 28/f The Enterprise Center Tower 1 6766 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas San Lorenzo Makati City

ANDRES, GEOFFRY PHILIP American

PROPERTY PRESIDENT

90.

KAO, HSIU-HUA Taiwanese

CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE SPEAKING

129.

HU, CHIH-HUNG Taiwanese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

91.

LEONG CHI WAN ADRIAN Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE SPEAKING

130.

HUANG, ZHONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

92.

INMEE, TANAPORN Thai

CUSTOMER SERVICE THAI SPEAKING

131.

JIA, LAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

93.

CUI, XIAOTING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

132.

KAUK MAN CHAN Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

94.

LIANG, HUANGSHAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

133.

KHAING THAZIN Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

KHIN MAR WAI Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

95.

LIN, PENGCHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

134.

135.

KHIN THIRI MAY Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

96.

QU, QINGDONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

136.

LE THI HUONG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

137.

LE THI MO Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

97.

XIE, JUN Chinese

138.

LE TUAN ANH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

139.

LI, ZAILONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

140.

LI, WEIDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

141.

LI, YADONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

142.

LIN, HUARONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

143.

LIN, CHIH-CHIA Taiwanese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

YANG, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

112.

76.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

NGO VAN LAM Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

LUO, JING Chinese

LI, QINGSONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

KAM SENG Myanmari

111.

75.

YANG, YONGLI Chinese

COSMOLINK GLOBAL SOLUTIONS INC. Flr. No. 6th, 7th & 8th Bldg. No. 100 Necc Bldg., Andrews Ave. St. Newport City Subd. District 1, Barangay 183 Pasay City

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

99.

59.

BUI HAI AN Vietnamese

JIANG, YANYU Chinese

COLDSTREAM MARKETING SOLUTION INC. 603-4 Eastfield Ctr. Moa Comp. Macapagal Ave. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

110.

74.

58.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

POSITION

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

YANG, MAOZHU Chinese

LYU, QIANG Chinese

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

HAO, YING Chinese

CINATECH LIMITED CORP. 10-1 One Global Place 25th St., Cor. 5th Ave. Bgc Fort Bonifacio Taguig City LIN, JINAN Chinese

NO.

73.

98.

HUANG, KAIHUA Chinese

KIM, JOON SEOK South Korean

50.

LIN, JIANBIN Chinese

POSITION

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST (BI LINGUAL IN MANDARIN)

26.

32.

CHINESE - BOOTH FABRICATION SPECIALIST CONSULTANT

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

31.

49.

ZENG, YANZHU Chinese

NO.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

LYO CHAUK KWAN Myanmari

25.

C’EST LA VIE EVENT MANAGEMENT INC. 230 Narra Street Marikina Heights Marikina City

57.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

100.

HAOLI BUILDERS CONSTRUCTION CO. INCORPORATED 1219 Soler Cor Masangkay St. 028, Bgy 294 Binondo Manila

60.

CHEN, RONGHUA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

101.

ZENG, HUAFENG Chinese

CHINESE DESIGN & QUALITY ASSURANCE SPECIALIST

144.

LIU, QIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

61.

KANG, WEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

102.

DENG, YUANFU Chinese

CHINESE EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION SPECIALIST

145.

LIU, PING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

62.

LI, HAOYANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

103.

YE, TAO Chinese

PROJECT CONTROL ANALYST

146.

LU, ZHICHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

63.

SUI, RENHAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

104.

WEI, LIYAN Chinese

QUALITY ASSURANCE ADVISOR

147.

LY NGHIEP THANH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

64.

WANG, YIBING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

148.

MA, YUEXIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

65.

XIAO, LIANGFENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

IDNPLAY CORPORATION 8/f Burgundy Corporate Tower 252 Sen. Gil J.puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

149.

MIN MIN THU Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

66.

XIE, BING-JYUN Taiwanese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

150.

MOE MOE SAN Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

67.

YAO, TENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

151.

NGUYEN THI BICH VAN Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

68.

ZHONG, XIAODONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

152.

NGUYEN THI NHUNG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZHU, GUOZHU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

153.

NGUYEN VU PHUONG THAO, Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

154.

PENG, WENJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

155.

SHUAI, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

156.

SONG, CHENGYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

157.

TAN, FENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

158.

THAT SIKE Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

159.

THIHA AUNG Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

69.

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila 70.

QIN, YISHUN Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

SHI, WENYI Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

33.

ELRINA Indonesian

INDONESIAN MARKETING EXECUTIVE

71.

34.

NAKAGOMI, MAIKO Japanese

JAPANESE MARKETING SENIOR EXECUTIVE

EASY TALK LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTER FOUNDATION, INC. G/f Mezz, 2/f, 3/f & Penthouse 95 Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Palanan Makati City

35.

NGUYEN TRAN XUAN TUONG Vietnamese

OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE

72.

LIU, DONGMEI Chinese

CHINESE BUSINESS RELATIONS OFFICER

105.

ERLINA Indonesian

INDONESIAN-SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE

INTEGRITY GLOBAL GROUP, INC. 2/f-3/f Ayala Malls Circuit A.p. Reyes Ave. Carmona Makati City 106.

107.

WANG, LONGDING Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

YANG, CHENGCHENG Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

INVECH TREASURE PROCESSING CORPORATION Ground, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Floor Six West Campus Mckinley West Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 108.

TRAN THI MY DUNG Vietnamese

COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST

JINDINGYUAN BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. 3-9/f Filinvest Cyberzone Bldg. A, Bay City Brgy. 076 Pasay City 109.

CHEN, MINGZHEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LOGICALSOURCE1 CALL CENTER INC. 8/f Sultan Cityland Central Brgy. Highway Hills Mandaluyong City

The World

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Friday, December 4, 2020

A7

100 world leaders to speak at UN session on Covid-19 U N I T ED NAT IONS — Nearly 100 world leaders and several dozen government ministers are scheduled to speak at the UN General Assembly’s special session that opens on Thursday to discuss the response to Covid-19 and the best path to recovery from the pandemic, which has claimed 1.5 million lives and shattered economies in both rich and poor countries.

Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said when he took the reins of the 193-member world body in September that it would have been better to hold the highlevel meeting in June. Nonetheless, he said Wednesday that the session “provides a historic moment for us to come together to beat Covid-19.”

“With news of multiple vaccines on the cusp of approval, and with trillions of dollars flowing into global recovery efforts, the international community has a unique opportunity to do this right,” he said. “The world is looking to the UN for leadership. This is a test for multilateralism.”

When financial markets collapsed and the world faced its last great crisis in 2008, major powers worked together to restore the global economy, but the Covid-19 pandemic has been striking for the opposite response: no leader, no united action to stop the pandemic that has circled the globe.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to leaders of the Group of 20, the world’s richest nations responsible for 80 percent of the global economy ahead of their summit in late March as Covid-19 was starting its killing spree urging that they adopt a “wartime” plan and cooperate on an international response to suppress the coronavirus. But there was no response.

The two-day special session will not be raising money to finance vaccine immunizations or taking any political action, and there will be no final declaration, just a summary document from Bozkir.

“The real point of this special session is to galvanize concrete action to approach our response

People wear face masks but stand close together as they wait for a subway train in Frankfurt, Germany on December 2. AP/Michael Probst

to Covid-19 in a multilateral and collective way,” General Assembly spokesman Brenden Varma said Wednesday. He added there are currently many responses to the pandemic, but what’s needed now is to bring together all countries, UN actors, the private sector and vaccine developers.

Leaders and ministers from over 140 countries will deliver pre-recorded speeches on Thursday after an in-person opening in the General Assembly including speeches by Bozkir and Guterres.

Among the leaders slated to address the session are French President Emmanuel Macron, Ger m a n C h a ncel lor A ngel a Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and European Union chief Charles Michel. The United States will be represented

by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

Friday’s session will focus on three virtual panels, the first on the UN’s response to Covid-19 and the second on vaccines that will include representatives from producers BioNTech and Oxford University-AstraZeneca, and the World Hea lth Organization’s ACTAccelerator, which is working to get vaccines to the world’s poorest people. The final panel is on recovery from Covid-19.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is ex pected to participate in all three panels.

Canada’s UN deputy ambassador Louise Blais, who organized the special session with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Yashar

Aliev, said it will be the first time that the UN system is bringing key players together to focus on Covid-19’s “myriad impacts.”

“Countries around the world are facing their own internal impacts, but it’s important that the UN continue to advocate... that this crisis impacts us all and the solutions are global,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “So, we have to work together in order to ensure that all of us get out of this, because until everyone does, no one is really safe.”

Blais said the session is “an important step” and will focus on implementing the three resolutions adopted by the General Assembly on Covid-19, especially the wide-ranging measure approved in September.

The special session “comes at a critical time,” Blais noted, “because we now know that there are a number of vaccines that have proven to be effective.”

“Now, all eyes are on the critical distribution of vaccines,” she said, adding that this is expected to be a key during the special session and it’s one “where the world is expecting us to work together and make sure that we have an equitable distribution of vaccine globally.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said secretary-general Guterres will be focusing on the need for all countries and people everywhere to have access to vaccines. “ The vaccine needs to be treated as a “global public good” and that will be the basis of the secretary-general’s message on Thursday,” Dujarric said. AP

Putin orders ‘large-scale’ vaccination in Russia

M

OSCOW—President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a “large-scale” Covid-19 immunization campaign to start by late next week, with doctors and teachers set to be first in line to get a Russian-designed vaccine that has yet to complete the advanced studies needed to ensure its effectiveness and safety in line with established scientific protocols.

Putin’s action came hours after Britain became the first country in the West to authorize the use of a vaccine against the coronavirus developed

by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.

Russia touted its domestically developed vaccine, Sputnik V, as the world’s “first registered Covid-19 vaccine” after the government gave it regulatory approval in early August. However, giving the shots the go-ahead drew considerable criticism from experts, because at the time the Sputnik V only had been tested on several dozen people.

The Russian leader said at the time that the early vaccine recipients included one of his daughters.

Putin said Wednesday that more than 2 million doses of the Sputnik V jab “has been produced or will have been produced in the next few days.”

“This gives us the opportunity to start if not mass, but large-scale vaccination, and of course, as we agreed, first of all of the two risk groups—doctors and teachers,” Putin told government officials. He tasked Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova to “organize the work in such a way so that large-scale vaccination starts by the end of next week.”

Golikova said that the shots will be voluntary and free of charge, and that the government was looking to include other demographic groups in the vaccination campaign.

The two-shot Sputnik V vaccine was developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute. An advanced study among 40,000 volunteers was announced two weeks after the vaccine received government approval. The trial is still ongoing.

But the vaccine is already being offered to people in high-risk groups such as medical workers, despite expert warnings against its wider use before all the necessary testing is done. Several high-profile officials have said they received jabs.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Wednesday that more than 100,000 people in Russia have been given the shots.

Kirill Dmitriyev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled Sputnik V’s development, added that around 25,000 people have been vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine “as part of a clinical trial now.” Dmitriyev said that outside of the trial, the vaccine was offered to “volunteers” among medical workers “because we wanted to protect our frontline personnel first.”

Last month, developers of the vaccine said interim analysis of trial data showed it was 91.4% effective. The conclusion was based on 39 infections among 18,794 study participants that received both doses of either the vaccine or a placebo, which is a much lower number of infections than Western

drugmakers have looked at when assessing the effectiveness of their vaccines.

Dmitriyev said Wednesday that developers of the vaccine have applied to the European Medicines Agency to get Sputnik V approved for use in Europe, and submitted applications in other countries.

“We understand that it may take some time, but we concurrently, you know, have applied for approval in 40 different countries and we are working very closely with regulators in all of those countries,” Dmitriyev said.

Dmitriyev said last month that more than 1 billion doses of the vaccine were expected to be produced next year outside of Russia. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, however, stressed Wednesday that vaccinating Russians “will be the absolute priority.”

Russia has been swept by a rapid resurgence of the outbreak this fall, with numbers of confirmed Covid-19 infections and deaths regularly hitting new highs and significantly exceeding those reported in the spring.

On Wednesday, Russia reported a record high daily number of coronavirus deaths, 589. The previous record of 569 deaths was registered on Tuesday. The government task force has recorded a total of 41,053 virus-related deaths since the start of the outbreak.

Russia’s total of over 2.3 million confirmed cases is currently the fourth-largest caseload in the world. On Wednesday, officials reported 25,345 new cases. AP

A8

The World BusinessMirror

Friday, December 4, 2020

US deadliest day ever; UK approves vaccine T

he US recorded on Wednesday its deadliest day ever, with Covid-19 fatalities reaching more than 2,700 to surpass the previous peak in April, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The total death toll in the country is at more than 273,000, the most of any nation, as hospitals in some regions are approaching capacity.

The Rust Belt, New York and California are likely to drive up the pace of Covid-19 deaths in coming weeks as the US approaches 300,000 fatalities, based on a forecast from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Reich Lab. The death toll is rising as hospitalizations in the US surpassed 100,000 for the first time, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Hospitalizations increased by more than 1,000 a day at the end of November, data released from the Department of Health and Human Services show. California recorded a 38 percent surge from November 23 to December 1, with 8,171 coronavirus patients as of Tuesday. Arizona’s Covid-19 inpatients jumped 28 percent to 2,479.

Meanwhile, the UK became the first western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, clearing Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s shot before decisions by the US and European Union.

The UK’s quick approval of the Covid vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE means Britons will get first dibs on a shot developed in two other countries—the US and Germany.

Britain’s drug regulator on Wednesday cleared the vaccine for emergency use, ahead of the US Food and Drug Administration and its European Union counterpart. The government cited a rule allowing the UK to authorize a shot independently before the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31. An accelerated review process in which regulators were able to monitor Pfizer’s trial data in real time also helped.

T h e U K ’s M e d i c i n e s a n d Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency “has done a great job of

working with the company to look at that data as it’s come through and do things in parallel, rather than one after the other as they normally would,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a radio appearance. He also credited Brexit, though the MHRA said the speedy authorization was conducted within EU guidelines.

Key developments:

Australia state probes 1st case in 25 days

Australia’s New South Wales state has recorded its first new case of the coronavirus in 25 days after a woman working at a quarantine hotel in Sydney tested positive.

Authorities are investigating whether she became infected in the community or through work at the facility, the state health department said in a statement Thursday. The woman’s five family members were tested overnight and all returned a negative result for the virus.

Myanmar locks down 2nd-biggest city

Myanmar has imposed a strict stay-at-home order for two weeks in Mandalay district, home to the nation’s second-largest city, to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases after the November 8 general election, according to a statement by Mandalay Region Government.

Nearly 2 million people from seven townships must stay at home December 5 to 18, except for work and health reasons, according to the order.

Eli Lilly to provide treatment

The US government paid Eli Lilly & Co. $812.5 million to secure an additional 650,000 vials of Covid-19

This May 4, file photo, provided by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, shows the first patient enrolled in Pfizer’s Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine clinical trial at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. Pfizer and BioNTech say they’ve won permission on December 2, for emergency use of their Covid-19 vaccine in Britain, the world’s first coronavirus shot that’s backed by rigorous science—and a major step toward eventually ending the pandemic. Courtesy of University of Maryland School of Medicine via AP

antibody treatment to be administered in December and January to non-hospitalized patients at the early stages of disease.

Operation Warp Speed, the multi-agency effort to accelerate access to treatments, had previously paid Lilly $375 million for an initial 300,000 doses of its monoclonal antibody, bamlanivimab. As a part of that deal, Lilly agreed to supply the US with an additional 650,000 doses with an important caveat: The country would have to demonstrate an ongoing need for the treatment, which is difficult to manufacture and limited in quantity. Now, as the US continues to see a surge in cases, that option has been exercised.

Germany extends partial lockdown

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany will extend its partial lockdown by three more weeks as the country struggles to regain control of the coronavirus spread.

Bars, gyms and cinemas will remain closed until January 10 and the government will reconvene with regional leaders on January 4 to reassess the restrictions, Merkel said on Wednesday after talks with the premiers of Germany’s 16 states.

Germany’s infection rates are still far too high and need to come down faster, Merkel said in Berlin.

Merkel’s administration last week already extended a partial shutdown until December 20 while keeping schools and much of the economy open. The partial lockdown has yielded little progress in slowing the spread to levels the

government has determined as manageable.

Spain limits Christmas groups to 10

Spain will allow families to meet in groups of up to 10 on Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as part of its restrictions on festive season gatherings, Health Minister Salvador Illa said in a news conference on Wednesday. The government is seeking to strike a balance between permitting small-scale festive gatherings and combating the pandemic.

The government will also restrict travel between mainland Spanish regions from December 23 to January 6, unless journeys are for family gatherings, he said.

NYC surge won’t deter schools plan

New York City’s new coronavirus cases hit 1,809 on Monday, its highest daily tally since May 3 and 144 more than the previous day. Yet its school system remains on track to reopen for pre-kindergarten and elementary students Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

City public and private hospitals reported 1,203 Covid-related hospitalizations as of November 30, up 90 from the previous day and its highest level since June, according to state data. But the mayor said hospitals remain able to handle the increasing load. The city recorded a 4.80 percent seven-day average positive infection rate, edging closer to a 5 percent public-health safety threshold established months ago.

Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

China testing blunders stemmed from secret deals with companies

W

UHAN, China—Secrecy and cronyism at China’s top disease control agency led to widespread test shortages and flaws that hampered the early response to the coronavirus outbreak, an Associated Press investigation has found.

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention gave test kit designs and distribution rights exclusively to three then-obscure Shanghai companies with which officials had personal ties, according to the investigation. It was based on interviews with more than 40 doctors, CDC employees, health experts, and industry insiders, as well as hundreds of internal documents, contracts, messages and e-mails.

The Shanghai companies—GeneoDx Biotech, Huirui Biotechnology, and BioGerm Medical Technology—paid the China CDC for the information and the distribution rights, according to two sources with knowledge of the transaction who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retribution. The price: One million RMB ($146,600) each, the sources said.

It’s unclear whether the money went to specific individuals.

In the meantime, the CDC and its parent agency, the National Health Commission, tried to prevent other scientists and organizations from testing for the virus with their own homemade kits. They took control of patient samples and made testing requirements to confirm coronavirus cases much more complicated.

The flawed testing system—at a time when the virus could have been slowed—stopped scientists and officials from seeing how fast it was spreading. Chinese authorities failed to report a single new case between January 5 and 17, even as hundreds were infected in Wuhan, the city where the virus was first detected.

The apparent lull in cases meant officials were slow to take early actions such as warning the public or barring large gatherings. It also caused critical shortages of testing kits, barring access to care for many who were infected.

The testing problems, along with other mistakes and delays, allowed the virus to rip through Wuhan undetected and spread across the world in a pandemic that has now sickened 64 million people and killed almost 1.5 million.

China was hardly the only country to grapple with testing. In the US, the CDC declined to use a WHO design and insisted on developing its own kits, which turned out to be faulty and led to even longer delays than in China. Still, the hiccups in China were especially consequential because it was the first country to detect the virus.

“Because you have only three companies providing testing kits, it kept the capacity of testing very limited,” said Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It was a major problem that led to the rapid increase in cases and deaths.”

China’s foreign ministry and China’s top medical agency, the National Health Commission, did not respond to requests for comment.

But interviews and documents suggest that a culture of backdoor connections quietly flourished in a top-down, underfunded public health system. Though none of the first three diagnostics companies tapped to make test kits were well known in the industry, there were extensive ties between the companies and top China CDC researchers.

The founder of BioGerm, Zhao Baihui, was the former chief technician of the Shanghai CDC’s microbiology lab. E-mails and financial records obtained by the AP show that Zhao first started BioGerm’s predecessor through an intermediary in 2012, while she was still at the Shanghai CDC. In the next five years, she sold thousands of dollars’ worth of test kits to her own workplace through the intermediary. After quitting the CDC in 2017, Zhao went on to spearhead lucrative contracts with Shanghai officials.

Zhao did not respond to requests for comment from the AP. Another of the three companies, GeneoDx, enjoyed special access because it is a subsidiary of

the state-run firm SinoPharm, which is managed directly by China’s cabinet. In October 2019, GeneoDx co-organized an internal CDC training conference on emerging respiratory diseases in Shanghai. Tan Wenjie, the CDC official who ran the training, was later put in charge of developing test kits.

GeneoDx did not respond to requests for comment or interviews. The National Health Commission did not respond to a request for a comment or an interview with Tan. The last company, Huirui, is a longtime partner with Tan, the CDC official in charge of test kits. In an interview, CEO Li Hui said the CDC routinely contracted his company to make emergency testing chemicals.

He denied any personal relationship with Tan or any payments to the CDC. “We’ve been working with the CDC to respond to emerging new diseases for about 10 years, not just for a day or two, it’s normal,” Li said.

It’s unclear whether the agreements between the China CDC and the three test kit companies violated Chinese law.

They raise questions around potential violations of bribery laws, along with rules against abuse of authority, self-dealing and conflicts of interest, said James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based corporate attorney and former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

But other experts caution that the state may have designated the three companies to make test kits under special laws on the procurement of emergency goods during natural disasters.

“Things will be different in the middle of a crisis,” said Lesli Ligorner, a Beijing-based attorney specializing in anti-corruption law. “I wouldn’t be so quick to rush to judgement.”

The first step in making test kits is to get samples of the virus and decode its genetic sequence. This leads to test designs, essentially a recipe for the tests.

In past outbreaks, the China CDC sent test designs and testing compounds to laboratories across the country just days after identifying the pathogen.

But this time, they held back the genome and test designs. Instead, they finalized “technology transfer” agreements to give the test designs to the Shanghai companies, according to three people familiar with the matter. The selection process was kept secret.

At the same time, central CDC authorities stymied others from testing. Provincial CDC staff were told that instead of testing and reporting cases themselves, they had to send patient samples to designated labs in Beijing for full sequencing, a complicated and time-consuming procedure. As a result, for weeks, local CDC staff were unable to confirm new cases.

After a January 14 internal teleconference to order secret preparations for a pandemic, China’s health authorities relaxed the requirements to confirm cases and started distributing the CDC-sanctioned test kits.

A day after the first test kits finally arrived in Wuhan on January 16, the case count began to rise again.

But the test kits from GeneoDx and Huirui had quality issues, turning out inconclusive results or false negatives. And technicians were hesitant to use test kits that would later prove more accurate from more established companies, because the CDC did not endorse them.

As a result, in the early days, getting a Covid test was so difficult that Wuhan residents compared it to winning the lottery.

Among the victims was Peng Yi, a 39-year-old schoolteacher who started coughing on January 23. When he went to the hospital, he waited for eight hours, only to be turned away for a lack of test kits. Then, when he finally got tested on January 30, it turned out negative, even as the virus ravaged his lungs.

His second test, on Feb. 4, turned out positive. It was too late. Weeks later, Peng passed away.

“There were very, very few tests, basically none...if you couldn’t prove you were positive, you couldn’t get admitted to a hospital,” his mother, Zhong Hanneng, said in a tearful interview in October. “The doctor said there was nothing that could be done.” AP

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy House approves restrictions on Chinese firms listing in U.S. Lai denied bail on fraud charge T

H

ONG KONG—Outspoken Hong Kong prodemocracy advocate and media tycoon Jimmy Lai was refused bail on Thursday on a fraud charge amid a growing crackdown on dissent in the semiautonomous city.

Jimmy Lai of Next Digital, which publishes the Apple Daily newspaper, was among 10 people arrested August 10 on what police said was suspicion of violating a national security law and collusion with a foreign country.

Lai, 73, was later released on bail but police raided his company’s offices in October and took away documents.

On Wednesday, Lai and two Next Digital executives were charged with fraud over accusations that they violated lease terms for Next Digital office space.

Lai appeared in court Thursday and was denied bail. His case has been adjourned till April 16.

Hong Kong police said in a statement Wednesday that it had arrested three men on charges of fraud, without naming them. It also said that one of them had been suspected of violating the national security law, and that it was still under investigation.

Beijing imposed the national security law in response to protests in Hong Kong that began

in June 2019 over a proposed extradition law and expanded to include demands for greater democracy in the former British colony.

The sweeping legislation prompted more public protests and led to complaints that Beijing is violating the autonomy promised to Hong Kong when it returned to China and damaging its status as a business center.

Apple Daily criticized the law on its front page on July 1, calling it the “final nail in the coffin” of the territory’s autonomy.

The British government had slammed Lai’s August arrest and said the security law was being used to crush dissent.

The law is “being implemented in a way that undermines freedom of speech,” the British government said in a report this month on the status of the 1984 agreement for Hong Kong’s return to China.

“It is imperative that this freedom is fully respected,” the report said.

Lai was earlier arrested in February and April on charges of taking part in unauthorized protests.

He also faces charges of joining an unauthorized vigil marking the anniversary of the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. AP

he US House of Representatives approved legislation that could ultimately lead to Chinese companies—including behemoths like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc.—getting kicked off American exchanges if regulators aren’t allowed to review their financial audits.

The legislation won bipartisan support in the House after easily clearing the US Senate in May. Its passage now sends the bill to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it, in his administration’s latest parting shot at Beijing.

While the legislation provides a phase-in period—penalties only kick in after three straight years of failure to comply—it represents intensifying scrutiny in Washington of ties with China. Chinese firms for years have relied on access to American capital markets, and more broadly to dollar-based finance, as a key funding component.

“US policy is letting China flout rules that American companies play by, and it’s dangerous,” said Senator John Kennedy, one of the bill’s lead sponsors, in a statement. “Today, the House joined the Senate in rejecting a toxic status quo, and I’m glad to see this bill head to the president’s desk.”

In addition to requiring companies to allow US inspectors to review their financial audits, the measure—introduced by Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican; and Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat—requires firms to disclose whether they are under government control.

When asked about the legislation on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Beijing “firmly opposes politicizing securities regulation,” and called for enhancing dialogue and cooperation. The ministry didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment Thursday on the House’s passage of the bill.

In another hit to China, the US Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that customs officers at American ports would impound “shipments containing cotton and cotton products originating from” the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps., a military-affiliated entity that’s one of China’s largest producers. This follows earlier US action against the company that bar it from making any transaction with American companies and citizens.

‘Cheated’ investors

Van Hollen said in a statement that the delisting bill would protect people who “have been cheated out of their money after investing in seemingly legitimate Chinese companies that are not held to the same standards” as other public companies.

“This bill rights that wrong, ensuring that all companies on the US exchanges abide by the same rules,” he said.

The measure represents a watershed moment in a long-running dispute between Washington and Beijing. At issue is China’s refusal to let the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board examine audits of firms whose shares trade in the US. The requirement for the inspections by the agency, which was created in the wake of the Enron Corp. accounting scandal, is meant to prevent fraud and wrongdoing that could wipe out shareholders.

Investors have mostly shrugged off the anticipated legislative move. Alibaba, the largest US-listed Chinese company, was steady in after-hours trading, following a 1-percent drop on Wednesday. The offshore yuan was little changed. The move may even boost Hong Kong’s role as a financing center for mainland firms.

Fang Xinghai, the vice chairman of the China

Securities Regulatory Commission, last month expressed optimism that the clash could be resolved with Presidentelect Joe Biden’s arrival in the White House next month.

“It’s not an intractable problem,” Fang said, adding that it’s important to ensure that Chinese companies have access to international capital markets.

Regulators in the two countries have been engaged in on-again, off-again negotiations amid the standoff for more than a decade. Over the years there have been moments of optimism that the two sides were closing in on a deal, but ultimately it always fell through—with China citing strict confidentiality laws. More than 50 other foreign jurisdictions now permit the PCAOB inspections.

Despite the inability of American inspectors to review audits of Chinese firms, they’ve been allowed to continue to trade in the US, as the dynamic has been profitable to American stock exchanges, investment banks and asset managers.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, more than 150 of the country’s companies, with a combined value of $1.2 trillion, traded on US exchanges as of 2019 and there have been a spate of initial public offerings this year.

Major companies such as Vanguard Group Inc., the New York Stock Exchange, and Nasdaq have all expressed concern that the trend could reverse, with a crackdown causing Chinese companies to move their listings to Hong Kong or countries where investor protections are weaker than in the US. American investors would still be able to purchase the stock.

Alibaba pledge

Alibaba Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu said during a May 22 earnings call that the company “will endeavor to comply” with legislation that seeks to

bring transparency to investors buying stocks on US exchanges. Her comments were directed specifically at the Kennedy-Van Hollen legislation, which at that point had just passed the Senate.

The bill would prohibit foreign companies from trading in the US if PCAOB inspectors aren’t allowed to review their auditors’ work for three consecutive years.

The businesses would also have to disclose whether they’re controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, or any other foreign government.

Jay Clayton, the outgoing chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the legislation would help “level the playing field for all issuers” in the US stock market. “Today’s vote, in combination the commission’s ongoing work, will help address these long-standing issues for the benefit of US investors,” he said in a statement.

The SEC has been pushing ahead with writing a rule to tackle the same issue, which would lead to the delisting of companies for not complying with US auditing rules, Bloomberg News reported last month. The effort is in response to recommendations released earlier this year by top Trump-appointed financial officials including Clayton and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The NYSE said in a statement that it was “hopeful this legislation’s time horizon will allow” for balancing both protection and choice for investors. Meanwhile, Nasdaq said it “stands ready to work with our listed companies to comply with any and all regulations” and looks forward to cooperating with the SEC to bolster transparency.

The bill passed on Wednesday tasks the SEC with writing a rule to implement part of the measure. As in the Senate, the bill passed the House by voice vote, underscoring the bipartisan support for the measure.

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Friday, December 4, 2020 A9

A10 Friday, December 4, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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Expert advice

O

ne problem that we have faced has been trying to decide what information about the pandemic is accurate and what is not. This is not about “fake news.” It is trying to differentiate between experts holding different opinions.

Anyone who believes there is a final scientific answer about wearing a mask is in trouble. It all depends on: the type of mask, the way you handle and wear it, and its usage with other protective measures. Are we supposed to wear masks to protect ourselves from other “sick” people or to protect other people in case we are “sick”?

Your answer probably depends on which “expert” you just listened to. Read this from the University of California San Francisco if you want to hear some genuine expert nonsense.

“Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and the World Health Organization now [July 11, 2020] recommend cloth masks for the general public, but earlier in the pandemic, both organizations recommended just the opposite. These shifting guidelines may have sowed confusion among the public about the utility of masks.”

One reason was that WHO and CDC did not think that the virus could spread quickly, having a “low disease prevalence.” That is what they said when they first changed their expert recommendation. But that was not true. UC San Francisco epidemiologist George Rutherford said this about the real reason. “The legitimate concern [of WHO and CDC] was that the limited supply of surgical masks and N95 respirators should be saved for health-care workers.

We should have told people to wear cloth masks right off the bat.”

“Another factor was that culturally, the US wasn’t really prepared to wear masks, unlike some countries in Asia where the practice is more common, said infectious disease specialist Peter Chin-Hong.”

So if the white, black, and brown people of North and South America and Europe were a little more turned in to Asian mask wearing practices, they would not now be dropping dead in huge numbers from Covid. Maybe drinking baijiu, sake, and San Mig Light could also have helped.

In fairness, with the constantly developing pandemic situation with new knowledge discovered rapidly, not seeing changes in the expert advice could be extremely dangerous.

However, the first mortality estimate we mentioned in February from an epidemiology expert was 4 million global deaths within a short time. That number became a base case benchmark that was lowered reluctantly by experts slowly over time.

In his 2001 book—Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Are Next to Worthless, and You Can Do Better—Daniel Gardner cites the studies made by Philip E. Tetlock from the University of Pennsylvania.

“Face it, experts are about as accurate as dart-throwing monkeys.

And yet every day we ask them to predict the future—everything from the weather to the likelihood of a terrorist attack.”

One commentator on the book said this: “The more hysterically that experts are shrieking about some unthinkable scenario, the greater the odds are that you can ignore it. When bad things happen to people, they are more often things that they didn’t expect rather than things they were actively fearing.”

James Callaghan, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, once said, “A leader must have the courage to act against an expert’s advice.”

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The untapped potential of our blue economy Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

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N July 2019, at the beginning of the 18th Congress, we filed Senate Resolution 10, calling for the appropriate Senate committees to conduct an inventory and inquiry into the government’s initiatives related to our seas and oceans. Our primary aim in calling for such an inventory was to formulate a comprehensive national policy for the sustainable development of our blue economy.

This “blue economy” generally refers to sectors directly defined by and are dependent on coastal and marine resources. And according to some studies, our potential in these areas are largely untapped. For instance, in a 2017 joint article from the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, it was found that the total annual monetary value associated with the country’s marine ecosystems amounted to P9.183 trillion, or roughly $581 billion in 2007 valuation. This only refers to our coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove areas, and does not yet include other sea-based activities like seafaring and shipbuilding.

However, harnessing the untapped potential of our waters comes with some serious challenges or issues. For example, the coral reefs within our territorial waters should be studied and protected, as our country is situated in the Coral Triangle, where 76 percent of the world’s coral species are found, along with 37 percent reef fish species. These coral reefs are in danger from human activities like overfishing, and bleaching due to climate change. Left unchecked, these issues could impact up to 40 million Filipinos whose livelihoods rely on such reefs.

We should also act on the adverse effect of plastic pollution on our marine resources, considering that our country has the dubious distinction

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of being the third largest source of plastic pollution as of the 2015 Ocean Conservancy report by the McKinsey Center.

Decisive steps should also be taken to improve the daily lives of our fisherfolk, who remain among the poorest sectors of Philippine society. This concern should also be extended to our seafarers, who, as of 2016, comprise 25 percent of the 1.5 million seafarers globally. There is a need for upgrading skills and competencies, so that we will be able to potentially address a 16,500 shortfall of officers, and potentially 147,500 more by 2025, according to data from the Baltic and International Maritime Council, and International Chamber of Shipping.

Clearly, a paradigm shift needs to occur in our economic thinking toward one that recognizes the natural wealth and untapped economic po-

Be the light in this Advent season

Founder Publisher

The opportunity has come for us to rethink the structure of our economy. And even though we are still addressing the ongoing pandemic, now is the time to identify how we as a society can further develop our blue economy. Indeed, the path out of recession may just lead us back to the sea.

B

rothers and sisters, are you enjoying the cool breeze that usually comes at night?

It is undeniable that the Christmas season is upon us, the day we as Christians are most excited about. Last Sunday, the new calendar of the Church began and we are now in the first week of Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word Adventus, which means “the coming.” For us Christians, Advent is the sign of the coming of Jesus our Hope. This fulfills God’s promise in Israel that we can see in the book of Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Truly, this year is filled with sorrowful and depressing events. Thousands have perished from Covid-19, the disease that crippled our economy. Many people either stopped working or lost their livelihood. In the past weeks, many people have lost their homes and loved-ones because of the series of typhoons. Many of us are suffering and in a grim state. Many hearts are grieving. In a moment, our lives have changed.

It is unquestionable that this year is

tortuous for us all.

But at a time when we are enveloped in darkness, we must have more hope and faith. In the first week of Advent, we must not lose patience in waiting for the promise of hope brought by Jesus for all of us. It will help in this season of Advent to pray for our lives, our relations with our loved-ones and others, and our connection with the environment. It is important to look back at the things we have

While we are eager and waiting for the day of the birth of Jesus, let us purify our hearts in order to have space for Him. And above all, this is also a call for all of us to recognize His presence in those who are belittled, suffering, and grieving.

done that please God and others, and even those unpleasant experiences, for these may teach us to be good and humble. And best of all, it is time for us to be thankful for all the blessings we have received.

Surely, most of us are excited about Christmas, but let us not set aside in our minds the poor in our society, the orphaned, those who are suffering, and the weak. These people—we may not be aware of at times—that we meet every day. In this season of Advent, let us also pray for our fellow citizens that they may find the light from darkness. By giving importance to life and the dignity of our fellow citizens, we can share a light for the people that lost hope, and pray for opportunities to come their way.

Because of our current situation, physical distancing is the norm. But our hearts must reach out to those

tential arising from our geography as an island-based (read: archipelagic) and oceanic (read: seafaring) nation.

Thankfully, it appears more people are joining us in this clarion call. This past week, UP Manila and the Alejandro Melchor Foundation launched online a new book entitled “A Treatise on Blue Economy for the Island States” by Dr. Ernie R. Gonzales. Dr. Gonzales makes an argument for the country to develop its blue economy, saying that it should be seen as a bright spot in the country’s “way out of the disaster of 2020.”

According to his treatise, one area that can generate immense wealth is fisheries, capitalizing on the Philippines’s position as the center of marine biodiversity in the Pacific Ocean.

On seafood alone, several sectors could be developed—fish capture, aquaculture, and fish processing.

For these sectors to expand, ancillary industries will also need to be established, such as for shipbuilding and seaports.

Sea-based energy is another “blue economy” sector worth supporting.

During the launch, Dr. Gonzales highlighted how several studies have estimated that the tidal currents running through the San Bernardino Strait between the Bicol Peninsula and Samar Island can produce up to 500 megawatts of energy.

See “Angara,” A11

in need of help and support. This will ensure that socializing still lives in us. Like what is written in Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti, St. Paul illustrates that goodness is a trait that gives hope, not cruelty. People who have this ability can help in making the lives of others better and easier, especially through participation in carrying the weight of their problems, needs, and worries. In spite of the unfavorable events, let us not allow this to become the reason to sever our relationship with God and with our fellowmen.

Brothers and sisters, regardless of the sad things that happened this year that we were not prepared for, we can surely prepare for the coming of Jesus in our hearts. While we are eager and waiting for the day of the birth of Jesus, let us purify our hearts in order to have space for Him. And above all, this is also a call for all of us to recognize His presence in those who are belittled, suffering, and grieving.

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

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The term of the Chief Justice

Friday, December 4, 2020 A11

Disputing national identity Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

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he reported early retirement plan of Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta created a ripple of disbelief not only in the judicial circles but also in the public at large. This follows the early retirement of Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla last month due to her reported physical disability. She was appointed to the highest court in July this year but Justice Baltazar-Padilla had reportedly gone on leave by the end of August 2020. This calls for a more rigorous scrutiny of the health of the applicant to the SC by our Judicial and Bar Council. If a rigid physical examination is required of every applicant to any civil service position, candidates to the SC should undergo thorough medical examination by a government hospital.

The position of a Chief Justice is the pinnacle of every lawyer’s dream and giving it up after a lifetime’s labor to achieve it both at the bar and the bench is almost unheard of.

But that is what CJ Peralta has just announced to his colleagues at the Highest Court. In his letter sent to his fellow magistrates last Tuesday, he informed them of his decision to cut short his term effective March 27 next year when he reaches his 69th birthday. Seventy years old is the mandatory retirement age for members of the judiciary. Under Section 1, Article VIII of the Philippine Constitution, “the members of the Supreme court… shall hold office during good behavior until they reach the age of seventy years or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office.” This provision ensures the independence of judges and guarantees them the security of tenure until their mandatory retirement.

They may be ousted from their position on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. The removal of CJ Ma. Lourdes Sereno on a quo warranto petition en banc is the first case of a constitutional officer ever removed from office without an impeachment trial. Moreover, the fact that justices are not elected and do not have to campaign for office insulates them from partisan politics and other external forces. It spares them from any undue influence or interference so that they can only apply the rule of law in dispensing justice without fear or favor. It protects their autonomy, which is the bedrock of our justice system.

The Peralta SC faces landmark cases where its decisions will have a far-reaching impact on our people.

One of them is the question of the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which is the subject of more than 3-dozen petitions. This is one case where the firm leadership and moral courage of the CJ will be acutely needed.

The SC is the highest court of our land. It is the so-called arbiter of last resort, that’s why it’s called the Supreme Court. Its decision is final and binds everyone and its rulings and decisions are inappealable to any higher authority. Given their critical task, in the US, justices serve until their death, voluntary retirement or conviction by the Senate in an impeachment proceedings but this is not shared even by the current CJ of the US SC, CJ John Roberts.

He has stated that “setting a term...

Angara. . .

continued from A10

There are also sea-minerals that we as a country have yet to benefit from. As our seas could one day reveal vast underwater fields of fossil fuels, it is also believed that our waters hold significant deposits of deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen that is used as a coolant for nuclear reactors, and palladium, which has uses in electronics, automotive, dentistry and even jewelry.

The opportunity has come for us

would ensure that federal judges would not lose all touch with reality through decades of ivory tower existence. It would also provide a more regular and greater degree of turnover among the judges.” It cannot be denied that both physical and mental capacity diminish with age.

But as the late Justice Isagani A. Cruz had aptly observed when he opposed a proposal to reduce the retirement age of judges to 65, “like excellent wine, judges mellow with age” and he pointed to US SC justices Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter and John Marshall who all served well beyond their 80th years.

The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in office at 87, once said: “As long as I can do the job full steam I’ll stay, I think I’ll recognize when the time comes that I can’t any longer.” The maximum age term for sitting justices is designed to prevent mental decrepitude to set in and affects the work of a magistrate. Men in robes should have full command of their faculties since our very life, fortune and honor depend on them.

Given the advances in science and medicine, 69 is still a relatively young age for one at the peak of his mental power to leave his office.

From where I sit and observing him from afar, CJ Peralta is far from being spent, wasted, or to borrow President Duterte’s favorite word, inutile. We are not aware that the good CJ is suffering from any sickness or infirmity, which would seriously hamper him from discharging his official duties. Neither is he under any risk of impeachment, or even a quo warranto proceeding, which would threaten his security of tenure. One who is not incapacitated, physical or mental, to serve his country deprives his people the gift of his experience and wisdom.

We don’t know the reason for his opting to retire early, as the CJ has not disclosed it. We trust, however, that when he does, he would give us one that won’t raise more questions than answers. I am saying this because I’ve the highest respect for the CJ whose illustrious career I have followed since he started as a young prosecutor in the government, until his meteoric rise to the position of Chief Justice of our SC. The question everyone is asking is: why would the CJ step down before he completes his term? Can he not handle the grave responsibility of his office? Is he under severe and undue pressure from anyone? I refuse to speculate as I respect the guy a lot, but anyone’s guess is as good as mine. to rethink the structure of our economy. And even though we are still addressing the ongoing pandemic, now is the time to identify how we as a society can further develop our blue economy. Indeed, the path out of recession may just lead us back to the sea.

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

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

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he First Great Filipino. The Filipino Artist. And the Filipino Art. Make it: The Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino. The Philippine Cinema. Aha, the National Artist. The list of illusory labels goes on forever. Each item in the list buffeted not by facts but by assertion, not as end goals but really as starting points for discussion, meditation, and questioning.

The search for National Artist will soon begin. Whoever is anointed by a group of individuals, tiered as in belonging to level of disputation and decision; tired as in being there in a committee for a long time.

Those who will anoint or certify— canonize is also a nice option—the artists considered for that august label belong to, it is assumed, a nation. Where can we find that nation is, however, not clear, and one of the issues not settled and unsettling. But we assume, for the sake of the selection, that there is indeed a nation. It may be more greatly articulated in the center—in Manila—where most critics and intellectuals concerned with artistry reside and that is that.

No one questions the selection.

No one asks the artist of the nation what nation s/he does represent.

Putative, the nation or, at least, its construct is a given. And no one realizes that it is not the nation that selects the artist to represent it, but a group of select individuals. If this is sampling in research, we have what is called “judgmental sampling.” Someone decides that this person and other persons are the ones capable of standing for a nation, not as a symbol, mind you, but as that person whose keen artistry and skill have enriched the fabric of aesthetics by “his significant contributions to the development of the country’s art.”

Interestingly, there is nothing about culture and national identity mentioned in the field of national artistry.

The problem with any notion of nation is no more an empirical validation of empire-building but the

actual practice of nation-building.

On what foundation shall our nation stand? On what art forms can we develop and for what end?

The fact of the matter is “nation” and “nationalism” are overrated.

With those concepts are the other concept of race and person, sex and gender.

What does a nation give an individual? An identity? For what?

Do I become more Filipino when a national artist is identified? What does it mean to be Filipino?

The real truth to identities is the truth that we accept them and invent the truths around them.

Charles King has a book that seems to answer my anxieties about the overblown reputation of the “national” and the eager, urging concept of a national identity or character.

Entitled Gods of the Upper Air. On the cover, a subtitle says: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century.

The book chronicles the life of Franz Boas and the other anthropologists who called themselves “cultural anthropologists” and their theory of cultural relativity.

Before Boas, there was an assumption that our society makes sense and the others do not. According to King, “the belief that our ways are the only commonsensical, moral ones has a powerful allure, especially when expressed in the language of science, rationality, religion or tradition.”

When Boas and his team developed these concepts, they were travelling to distant places, “to the ends of the world.” And yet, for King, this

predilection for so-called exotic and strange places have another meaning, that “in order to live intelligently in the world, we should view the lives of others through an empathetic lens.

We ought to suspend judgment about other ways of seeing social reality until we really understand them, and in turn we should look at our own society with the same dispassion and skepticism with which we study far-flung peoples.”

The then new discipline was really asking for self-criticism or to nurture the ability to be critical about one’s community or sense of nation.

The totalizing nation must be examined once more. Following King, we should rethink our thinking of concepts such as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality and many other concepts. People’s understanding of them have changed through the years.

King cites as an example the 2000 census in America where, for the first time, Americans were allowed to report multiple answers to questions about their racial or ethnic identity.

In the island-province of Masbate, a group has been formed called “Arte Masbate.” While it seeks to present the artists of that province in Bicol, it also demands to know its identity.

Straddling the area that is flanked by

Samar and Sorsogon, the question is geographic, linguistic, and political.

But it is a question whose provenance is in the manner by which the mainland and its stronger provinces of Albay and Camarines Sur continue to peripheralize Masbate.

Masbate linguistically is closer to Waray and Hiligaynon. This is the general perception of those from the island. Ticao Island, on the one hand, reserves the label “isla” and, thus, by reverse ideological snobbery, becomes not part of the mainland.

The greater loss with all these denials and disputes is to mainland Bicol whose representations have been limited to the personalities and artists of Camarines Sur and Albay.

With excellent writers from Masbate and the other island-province of Catanduanes, what to make now of the renaissance of Bikol literature?

Speaking about Boas and his practice, King speaks of how the “deepest science of humanity…was not one that taught us what was rooted and unchangeable about human nature.

Rather, it was the one that revealed the wide variation in human societies—the immense and diverse vocabulary of propriety, customs, morals, and rectitude.”

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

What does success look like for a climate czar?

By Meghan L. O’Sullivan | Bloomberg Opinion

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resident-elect Joe Biden’s decision to create a new cabinet-level position for climate-related issues—and to choose so prominent a figure as former Secretary of State John Kerry to fill it—demonstrates Biden’s sincerity over putting climate at the very center of US foreign policy. It is easy to understate the importance of this appointment, given the flurry of czars created by most new administrations.

However, if Kerry’s position works as intended, this could mark the beginning of a significant transformation of US foreign policy. It won’t be easy: Such a shift goes against the grain of how foreign policy has traditionally been formulated and executed.

Taking climate more seriously means going far beyond simply rejoining the Paris accords and participating fully in other international forums related to climate. It means integrating climate policy into all aspects of foreign policy and marshaling many instruments of US national power— economic, diplomatic and rhetorical—to coerce, compel and incentivize countries to address climate change.

Given the seriousness of the challenge, one can make a strong case that this shift is long overdue. Yet, placing decarbonization at the heart of US foreign policy will have repercussions well beyond climate change, potentially altering the geopolitical landscape in fundamental ways.

Realistically, there is a finite number of issues the US has the bandwidth and leverage to work in any bilateral or multilateral relationship, and a focus on climate will likely come at the expense of advancing more traditional national-security issues such as nonproliferation, counterterrorism and possibly human-rights advocacy.

This is not simply a question of walking and chewing gum at the same

time. Tradeoffs are inherent in national security. Balancing foreign-policy priorities can involve fraught choices—an extreme example being how the US turned a blind eye to Pakistan’s nuclear pursuits in order to secure its support in repelling the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Biden administration will face similar dilemmas as it elevates climate to the top of its global concerns.

One relationship where two of its high priorities will come into conflict is that with Saudi Arabia. Alongside climate, the Biden team promises to put a renewed emphasis on human rights and respect for democracy.

Biden has pledged to hold a “Summit of Democracies” early in his presidency.

On the campaign trail, Biden vowed to treat the Saudis like “the pariah that they are.”

However, a foreign policy that makes a top priority of climate would recognize the importance of working with potential spoilers such as the Saudis, and ensuring that they have a stake in a successful energy transition.

The US would need to invest itself in the success of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030—the blueprint for diversifying the country’s economy away from oil—not undermine it.

As of now, most foreign-policy professionals are new to the idea that climate should be infused into their every interaction. Environmental issues

have been seen more as “an issue-area expertise” than as an essential competency for every national-security expert. That will need to change.

Another challenge will be the link between how aggressively US leaders can push the climate issue abroad in relation to the extent of progress made at home.

There is always a connection between domestic and international policy, but here it is particularly prominent. For instance, the world will be looking for the US not only to rejoin the Paris Agreement, but to put forward a much more ambitious “national determined contribution” — the individual pledge made by each nation on greenhouse gas emissions. A credible one will require significant action at home, beyond even the measures such as the Barak Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan.

Likewise, a foreign policy on climate-turbo will need to involve intensive efforts to convince developing countries to abandon coal plants that are still economically viable. Yet doing so will be nearly impossible unless the US can demonstrate similar measures within its own borders.

Quite apart from the execution of diplomacy, this drive to put climate at the heart of global interactions will also create challenges for policy formulation.

Many questions remain about how this new post will fit into the traditional bureaucracy. Two models—one formal and one informal—seem possible.

The first is the position of the director of national intelligence, created at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission to coordinate the more than a dozen intelligence agencies existing and overlapping within the US government. Many who have worked inside them would agree that more coordi-

nation was necessary, but would also admit that this post took years to find its footing, and is less powerful than the technically subservient director of the CIA in some respects.

The second potential model is the Office of the Vice President under Dick Cheney. Cheney became arguably the most powerful vice president in history, not only by the force of his personality and longstanding relationships. He also expanded the traditionally skeletal staff of the vice president to a size that allowed his office to be omnipresent in the interagency process. In most every meeting convened by the National Security Council, Cheney’s staff played a prominent role, putting forward opinions and proposals that others knew to take seriously.

It is easy to see how parallels will be drawn, particularly if Kerry’s staff— likely to be of significant size—is placed in the White House.

The jobs of national security advisor and secretary of state will be altered—both positively and negatively—by the existence of a cabinetlevel climate czar. The national security advisor will need to resolve heated debates over conflicting priorities. The secretary of state will need to coordinate closely with the climate team to ensure that foreign counterparts— most prominently the Chinese—are not able to pit parts of the US government against itself. The people in these two posts, and those serving them, will spend significant time both harnessing and deflecting the power of Kerry and his team.

All this may give the impression that the climate czar is an unnecessary creation, bound to complicate the smooth workings of a foreign-policy team that needs to move quickly in a troubled and complex world.

A12 Friday, December 4, 2020

DTI reviews road map for PHL exports as virus cuts

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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@alyasjah

O retain or reduce export targets is the question bugging the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) before the year ends, as it reviews the road map for shipments to assess the feasibility of objectives set there.

Trade Undersecretary Abdulgani M. Macatoman on Thursday informed exporters the DTI is now examining the viability of numbers indicated in the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 20182022. He said the agency initiated a review to look into the impact of the pandemic on the goals marked in the PEDP, in order to determine which to keep or drop.

In the PEDP, the government had stated its target to bring exports of goods and services to at least $122 billion by 2022.

Just as the export sector is nearing the magic number— it’s just $28 billion behind $122 billion as of last year— the Covid-19 crisis erupted and crushed hopes of hitting the target for this year. Under the PEDP, exports should amount to $102 billion by the end of 2020.

“Currently, we are reviewing and assessing the PEDP’s strategies, indicators and export targets to see if such are still doable or not, and [we] continue to be optimistic that we will be able to still achieve the low-end target of $122 billion in 2022 hand in hand,” Macatoman said in his speech at the National Export Congress 2020.

In separate remarks, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the review will allow the DTI to insert new projects into the PEDP to accommodate changes brought about by the pandemic.

He specified, for one, the need to include trainings for workers in export firms to equip them with the skills they require in the new normal.

“Education and training is important in our quest to produce world-class Filipino products and services,” Lopez said.

Lopez said the government will extend programs to exporters that will help set them on the path to shifting to digital methods. In exchange, he asked them to improve their on-the-job trainings to raise the capabilities of workers as part of public-private collaboration to develop human capital.

See “DTI,” A2

Liberalization bills on agenda but Cha-cha for next Congress

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

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HILE other liberalization measures may yet be enacted by the 18th Congress, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Thursday ruled out further Charter change (Chacha) discussions, particularly the lifting of the economic restrictions, during the term of this Congress.

During the 9th Arangkada Philippines Forum 2020 titled Foreign Investment in the Post-Pandemic Philippines, Velasco told Joint Foreign Chambers and Philippines business groups that all the moves to amend the 1987 Constitution

will now be in the hands of the next Congress.

While he supports the relaxation of the restrictive provisions in the 33-year-old Constitution, Velasco said the House will focus on the passage of the national budget and government’s Covid-19 pandemic response.

Several moves in the 18th Congress are geared at liberalizing the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. Under Article XII of the 1987 Constitution, foreign investors are prohibited to own more than 40 percent on certain industries, and they are totally restricted from exploiting natural resources, public utilities and owning any company in the media industry.

“I am open to amendments towards relaxing the very restrictive provisions of our Constitution on foreign capital, [however] maybe we don’t have enough time any-

more this 18th Congress, as there are many other equally important matters that we need to attend to,” Velasco told foreign and local business chambers.

“Notwithstanding, this overdue constitutional amendments should be tackled and be addressed with finality in the next Congress to attract investment and subsequently improve the quality of employment in our country. We have to address the bottleneck that hinder the efficient operations of our industries and the flow of capital and resources to the sectors that need them the most,” he added.

Liberalization agenda

Meanwhile, Velasco said the lower chamber will continue to push for the final passage of the New Public Service Act (House Bill 78), Foreign Investments Act (House Bill 300), and Retail Trade Liberalization Act (House Bill 59), the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and National Land Use Act. All these measures are now in advanced stage in Congress.

In the same forum, the cochairman of the Economic Stimulus Response Package Cluster of the Defeat Covid-19 Ad Hoc Committee and AAMBIS-OWA Rep. Sharon Garin said these bills, which have been approved by the House and pend in the Senate, will spur economic activity post Covid-19 pandemic. “[Once approved] these measures will boost business and consumer confidence,” she said.

G a r i n a l s o t o l d b u s i ne s s g r o u p s t h at l aw m a k e r s a re working on the passage of the Bayanihan 3 proposal, which include health, regulatory and fiscal interventions that can help the country’s overall recovery from the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic.

Roque hopes SC changes mind on Malampaya ruling

By Samuel P. Medenilla

P

@sam_medenilla

RESIDENTIAL spokesman Harry Roque on Thursday said the Supreme Court made a “regrettable mistake” when it ruled the local government of Palawan should not get a share of revenue from the Malampaya gas project.

In an online briefing, Roque said the location of the Malampaya gas project should be considered within the jurisdiction of the provincial government of Palawan, which will entitle it to a cut from the Malampaya revenue.

“For me it is strange that there is an area that pertains to the national government, which is not part of the local government. So who will exercise jurisdiction t here [Ma l a mpaya project]? ” Roque said.

“In my opinion, with all due respect to the Supreme Court, the decision was wrong,” he said.

He clarified he was not stating the Palace position, but “speaking as counsel.”

Roque served as the legal counsel of the Palawan local government unit (LGU), when it petitioned to get

a 40-percent share of government revenue from Malampaya natural gas facility.

He said they still have a pending motion for reconsideration before the High Court on the matter.

“It is not certain if there is already a decision [on the petition] because if there was already a decision, my [law] office will inform me . . . Since there is no decision, there is still hope [that the SC will rule in favor of the Palawan provincial government],” Roque said.

Even if the SC affirms its previous decision, however, Roque said there are still other means for the Palawan government to eventually get its share from Malampaya.

Among the options, he said, is for Congress to define which areas in the country should be appended to the municipality of Kalayaan in the Palawan Spratly Group of Islands and its nearby continental shelf.

He said the issue should be resolved as soon as possible since there is another joint exploration for possible gas deposits in Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea, which is also located near Palawan.

“With the primary goal of enabling the procurement of Covid-19 drugs and vaccine and making it accessible to Filipinos from all walks of life, the bill further aims to recondition the economy and extend government support to various sectors such as banking, business [particularly micro, small and medium enterprises] and most notably, agriculture,” she said.

House Bill 8059 is the third “Bayanihan” package crafted by lawmakers to cushion the adverse socioeconomic impact of Covid-19, and Garin is optimistic the bill will soon hurdle Congress.

Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, who also cochairs the House Economic Cluster, said these measures will make the business environment more competitive and regulations reasonable and predictable.

“But the most important legislation that will attract foreign investment are those measures that will control the spread of Covid-19, will foster the growth of small and micro business and provide builtin mechanisms that make economy more resilient,” she said.

Quimbo is also pushing for the passage of her own version of Bayanihan 3 or the P400-billion Bayanihan to Arise as One Act. In House Bill 8031, Quimbo’s third Bayanihan Act will give additional funding and strengthen government response to the ongoing public health crisis complicated by three successive typhoons that battered most parts of Luzon.

According to Quimbo, the P400 billion in spending package seeks to ensure help is available under the state’s social amelioration program, rehabilitate areas damaged by natural calamities, sustain delivery of basic goods and services, implement high-impact infrastructure projects, assist businesses to keep them afloat, and bring the economy on the right track.

PHL listed among early 5G adopters, but still lags

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

C

@lorenzmarasigan

REDIT rating agency Moody’s placed the Philippines as one of the four countries in the Asia Pacific Region as so-called “early adopters of 5G,” although it still has to make significant progress in four out of five facets.

Sitting well with peers such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, the Philippines placed third on the list of early adopters of 5G in the region.

South Korea, China, Japan, and Australia were considered “pioneers” and were able to gain significant progress in the development of the new mobile technology.

According to Moody’s, the Philippines made significant progress in terms of spectrum allocation or auction for 5G, but it only had moderate progress in terms of network infrastructure and technology trials. It also had minor to no progress in terms of government support and demand.

5G is seen to enable machineto-machine communication via mobile. Its use cases worldwide span different industries such as retail, transport, manufacturing, See “PHL,” A2

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Globe secures LandBank loan for network expansion

G

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

LOBE Telecom Inc. has secured a P5-billion loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), an amount that will help bankroll the company’s general financing and corporate requirements for capital expenditures, a disclosure to the stock exchange showed.

The Ayala-led telco is spending about P50 billion in capital outlays this year, most of which are programmed for the expansion and extension of its mobile and fixed line networks, including the development of 5G technology.

As of end-September, Globe has spent P33.4 billion of the pro-

grammed capital expenditures for 2020, 81 percent of which was spent on data-related requirements.

Globe claims that this “benefitted Globe’s customers as evidenced in the latest global report of Opensignal naming Globe as one of the most improved telecommunication companies in the world in terms of

video experience.”

Opensignal, in its August 2020 report, cited marked improvements in download speeds and 4G availability within the Globe network from 2017 to 2020. As of August, Globe’s mobile data speed averaged at 8.5 Mbps, an 80.9-percent rise from 4.7 Mbps in 2017, while 4G availability was at 83.3 percent from 63.7 percent.

“Globe remains on track to meet its full year guidance of capital expenditures amounting to P50 billion with the company’s continued focus on increasing capacity and upgrades nationwide for better internet experience for Filipinos,” the disclosure read.

Globe saw its bottomline dropping by a tenth in January to September, as the pandemic forced consumers and enterprise customers to cut their telco expenses, slightly trimming the company’s revenues.

The telco’s net income stood at

P15.89 billion during the period, a 10-percent decline from P17.68 billion the year prior. The 3-percent reduction on its operating costs and sales expenses was not enough to offset the 3-percent decline in operating revenues to P119.59 billion from P123.42 billion as well as the 6-percent increase in depreciation charges to P26.58 billion.

The decline in revenues was mostly due to the reduction in the consumption of mobile usage, as consumers were forced to stay at home, while corporates also reduced telco spending due to workfrom-home arrangements. This was cushioned, however, by the rise in home broadband data usage.

Globe’s core net income also plummeted by 13 percent to P15.61 billion from P17.86 billion in the same period in 2019.

Shares in Globe added P30 apiece or a 1.5-percent improvement from its previous close to end Thursday’s trade at P2,030 per share.

SMC buys Petron’s insurance arm

By VG Cabuag @villygc

C

ONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Thursday said its board of directors has approved the company's P3billion equity investment in Petrogen Insurance Corp., the insurance company wholly-owned by refiner Petron Corp.

“With the investment, the corporation will have direct equity interest in Petrogen...in addition to its current indirect equity interest through Petron. The additional investment by the corporation will

FFCCCII bullish on recovery

T

HE Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) said it is supporting the government’s efforts to achieve economic recovery in 2021 amid the uncertainties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

From this year’s expected economic contraction of 8 percent to 10 percent, National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Karl Kendrick Chua said in the recently-concluded FFCCCII forum that he expects growth rate to reach 6.5 percent next year and 7.5 percent in 2022.

“We, at the FFCCCII, strongly support the country’s approach to gradually reopen our Philippine economy while still upholding strict observance of health protocols,” said Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong, president of FFCCCII. The Chambers, according to him, is bullish` that the Philippines can even achieve a 7.5-percent economic growth next year with united efforts from both the public and private sectors, including the people, and if global conditions stabilize like the ending of the trade war between the United States and China.

The FFCCCII lauded the passage of some landmark legislations in the Senate in bolstering business confidence amid the health crisis, such as the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Act and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises bill that will add to Bayanihan I and II laws.

“Aside from those, I urge government and the private sector to push ‘Spend, Spend, Spend’ to revive economic activities and consumer confidence,” Lim said. “Another top priority should be support for higher agricultural productivity.” Roderick L. Abad

enable it to expand its insurance business,” the company said in its disclosure.

Petron is a unit of San Miguel, while Petrogen serves the insurance requirements of Petron.

Petrogen is engaged in the business and operation of all kinds of insurance and reinsurance for sea and land; for properties, goods and merchandise; for transportation or conveyance; and against fire, earthquake, marine perils, and accidents, except life insurance.

San Miguel said its income reached P10.74 billion for the three quarters of the year, or just

a quarter of its income last year of P39.65 billion as Petron's huge losses pulled down most of the gains it made in all of its units during the third quarter.

In the third quarter alone, it had a P14.73-billion in income, some 8 percent higher than last year's P13.54 billion. Its third quarter income also wiped out the P4-billion loss it reported in the first half.

Net sales of the country's largest corporation during January to September reached P531.13 billion, down from last year's P758.63 billion.

Petron reported a P12.6-billion

net loss for the nine months of the year, from an income last year of P3.62 billion.

For the third quarter alone, Petron had a consolidated net income of P1.63 billion, mainly due to stabilizing world crude prices and government’s easing of the quarantine restrictions, the company said.

Consolidated retail volumes registered a 49-percent increase in the quarter. Domestic volumes have started to recover, with most Petron stations in the country operating under normal hours since August, the company said.

Friday, December 4, 2020

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Covid-proof hotel gets BOI approval W ITH the endorsement of the Department of Tourism, the Board of Investments (BOI) recently approved the P4.1-billion Westin Sonata Palace Hotel project of Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) in Mandaluyong City.

The Westin Manila Sonata Palace Hotel is RLC’s first Marriott International Hotel brand, which is internationally renowned for topnotch facilities and excellent service. The hotel will have 303 rooms, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, and exhibition) facilities, food and beverage venues, recreational spaces, a fitness studio, a full-service spa, and a swimming pool. It will also offer guestrooms equipped with the brand's signature amenities, including an ergonomic work area.

As part of its commitment to health and safety protocols as well as to sustainable tourism amid the current global pandemic, Westin Manila Sonata Place Hotel will adhere to the multi-pronged approach of the Marriott chain of hotels to elevate the global cleanliness practices and hospitality norms at hotels.

It will be equipped with modern technologies such as heat, ventilation and air conditioning and highefficiency particulate air filtration systems to provide safe and clean air within the building. It will adopt information technology solutions for contact tracing, online booking, and contactless payments. No-contact thermal scanners and disinfecting kiosks with sensors will also be installed as part of their measures to reduce Covid-19 infections.

The Westin Manila Sonata Palace Hotel is scheduled to start operations in March 2022 with 400 personnel manning the facility. The project supports DTI’s “buy local” campaign which aims to promote patronage of products and services of domestic enterprises to help them recover from losses during the lockdown. Once operational, it thus is expected to

boost income of food and beverage suppliers, furniture designers, and makers of high-quality handicrafts in the Philippines.

“Tourism/accommodation is among the few industries to have registered a growth uptick among project approvals this year as new hotels are established with Covid-19 proofing measures to ensure tourists are safe and secure,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said.

“With the much-needed government support by incentivizing their efforts, we prepare the country’s industry players for the post-pandemic scenario wherein tourism will finally make its considerable presence felt in the economy.”

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures showed Filipinos took 110 million domestic trips and spent P3.1 trillion which accounted for 85 percent of total tourism revenues or 10.8 percent of the industry’s 12.7 percent output to the gross domestic product (GDP).

A recent study of Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines (PwC) reveals that majority or 63 percent of the country’s tourism businesses surveyed are optimistic to be back on track in 2021.

Also worth noting is the Philippine hosting of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in the last quarter of 2021.

Prior to the pandemic, tourism was a major contributor to the economy. The Tourism Direct Gross Value Added in 2019 is estimated at P2.48 trillion, 12.7 percent up from 12.3 percent or P2.24 trillion in 2018.

Of the total contribution of tourism to GDP in 2019, accommodation services accounted for nearly 10 percent. The industry employed about 5.71 million in 2019, up from 5.36 million in 2018, consisting of workers in passenger transport, accommodations, and food and beverages, among others.

‘Boeing-Airbus dispute can be settled under Trump’ Nestlé to invest $3.6B

T

HE European Union’s top trade official held out the prospect of a long-sought deal with the United States on aircraft subsidies before President Donald Trump leaves office.

EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said “it’s possible” that both sides will reach an agreement by January 20 governing aid to Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. He reiterated an offer to remove EU retaliatory tariffs on $4 billion of American goods if the US does the same for its duties on $7.5 billion of European products.

“The solution which would be preferred by the EU would be that

both sides withdraw or at least suspend their tariffs and we reach agreement on future disciplines in the area of civil aviation,” Dombrovskis said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday. “We are still intensively engaged with the current US administration.”

An accord before the incoming administration of US Presidentelect Joe Biden would mark a surprise turn of events after months of tensions and stalemate—and officials in Europe are cautious about the likelihood of an imminent breakthrough.

The latest push for talks between Washington and Brussels is aimed

at finally resolving a 16-year dispute at the Geneva-based World Trade Organization, which ruled that both the US and the EU excessively subsidized their domestic aerospace industries in violation of their international trade commitments.

The governments of Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom provided Airbus with subsidies through launch-aid loans for aircraft development, equity infusions, debt forgiveness and various other financial contributions.

In the US, Boeing benefited from subsidies through a since-withdrawn Washington state business and occupation tax break. Bloomberg News

in climate-change fight

A BIRD'S nest logo sits on display at the Nestlé SA headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, on Wednesday, February 12, 2019. PHOTOGRAPHER: STEFAN WERMUTH/BLOOMBERG

N

FREE TESTS Cebu Pacific conducted free tests for over 290 passengers flying to General Santos during the first day of the pilot run of its Test Before Boarding program. Tests were conducted by DOH-accredited Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

ESTLÉ SA, the world’s largest food company, said it will invest 3.2 billion Swiss francs ($3.6 billion) over the next five years in an effort to fight climate change.

The company will plant 200 million trees over the next decade and help farmers and suppliers shift toward regenerative agriculture, the KitKat maker said Thursday. Nespresso, Perrier and San Pellegrino will become carbon-neutral by 2022, with the rest of its bottled water portfolio doing so by 2025.

The food industry is stepping up attempts to burnish its reputation amid criticism for environmental damage and packaging waste. Nestlé is already spending as much as 2 billion francs in an attempt to promote more food-safe recycled plastics. PepsiCo Inc. pledged Wednesday to only use recycled plastic in its namesake brand’s bottles in nine European markets by 2022. And Danone, which bottles Evian, has announced a 2 billion-euro ($2.4 billion) sustainability investment over the next three years.

“Business leaders can no longer afford to be skeptical and interminably patient,” Nestlé Chief Executive Officer Mark Schneider said in an oped in Fortune magazine. “We should not expect comprehensive public policy and unanimity to do the job for us.”

Schneider compared the situation to what executives in the car industry faced in the 1970s and 1980s, choosing to invest billions of dollars to make smaller, more fuel-efficient cars that were less profitable.

Nestlé said it plans to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources at its 800 factories within the next five years, and will expand its offering of plant-based food and beverages.

When Nestlé set a target to reach zero net greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 last year, Schneider said climate change is one of the greatest risks to the company’s future business.

Nestlé said the measures it’s taking will help halve carbon emissions by 2030. Bloomberg News

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Friday, December 4, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

December 3, 2020

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

43.85 45 44 44 43.8 43.8 107 107.5 104.7 107.5 104.1 107.5 83.45 84 80.1 84 79.6 84 26 26.05 25.65 26 25.65 26 11.62 11.64 11.6 11.66 11.58 11.62 50.85 50.9 49.5 51.3 49.4 50.9 9.51 9.64 9.66 9.83 9.51 9.82 30.25 30.3 30.1 31 30 30.3 53.4 53.55 53 53.55 52.75 53.55 18.76 19 18.48 19.08 18.48 19 131.9 132 123.5 132 123.4 132 65.2 65.5 65.05 65.5 65.05 65.5 0.91 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.97 0.99 28 28.2 27.75 28 27.75 28 0.63 0.65 0.61 0.62 0.61 0.61 3.8 3.84 3.8 3.85 3.76 3.85 6.98 7.43 6.97 6.97 6.97 6.97 1.36 1.4 1.41 1.41 1.36 1.36 0.345 0.355 0.36 0.36 0.34 0.355 768 797 797 797 797 797 0.65 0.66 0.64 0.66 0.64 0.66 157.9 160 158 158 157.8 157.9 1,889 1,999 1,902 1,902 1,850 1,889 1.03 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

3,200 140,670 5,558,350 591,712,646 -83,556,874 7,646,670 631,250,573.50 -44,576,154 51,900 1,345,970 -95,935 527,300 6,132,060 80,266 14,229,800 722,755,070 -44,153,730 9,000 86,781 622,000 18,788,415 -1,316,175 3,660 194,520 71,800 1,352,948 9,168.00 3,472,770 449,820,363 135,411,052 21,750 1,420,293 130,400 316,000 311,940 160,700 4,485,700 -83,750 73,000 44,590 42,000 159,540 900 6,273 72,000 98,580 530,000 181,700 10 7,970 841,000 554,060 1,870 295,274 -287,378 225 417,935 32,000 35,200 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 6.2 6.21 6.2 6.26 6.12 6.2 14,806,300 91,374,810 4,219,051 ALSONS CONS 1.41 1.42 1.42 1.44 1.41 1.41 799,000 1,132,750 26.75 26.8 26.35 27 26.35 26.8 2,287,900 61,135,975 -19,043,630 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.325 0.33 0.315 0.33 0.305 0.33 136,190,000 43,829,850 12,300 28.1 28.4 28.05 28.5 27.8 28.1 605,200 16,961,385 -6,166,070 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 75.1 77 73.2 77.4 71.05 77 401,200 30,012,937 -10,125,414 296 298.8 300 300 290.2 296 293,950 86,891,100 -56,520,754 MERALCO MANILA WATER 15.5 15.56 15.3 15.5 15.04 15.5 1,445,200 22,137,158 4,433,318 4.01 4.02 3.98 4.03 3.91 4.01 2,815,000 11,177,380 -2,163,110 PETRON PETROENERGY 3.35 3.48 3.4 3.41 3.35 3.35 31,000 105,110 12.76 12.84 12.9 12.9 12.62 12.86 63,900 813,312 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 21.1 21.15 21.3 21.5 20 21.15 687,200 14,464,590 408,590 10.58 10.68 10.96 11 10.5 10.58 448,900 4,844,626 -61,600 SPC POWER VIVANT 13.58 14.02 14 14.02 13.56 14.02 13,500 186,348 8.35 8.38 8.5 8.59 8.31 8.35 842,600 7,056,438 -1,217,641 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 3.48 3.49 3.54 3.54 3.45 3.48 702,000 2,439,370 -17,380 15 15.3 15.5 16.28 15 15.3 33,000 499,622 CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD 17.5 17.68 17.68 17.68 17.48 17.5 1,864,400 32,683,454 88,708 5.95 6 5.88 6.1 5.8 6 181,400 1,081,344 8,800 DEL MONTE DNL INDUS 7.09 7.1 7.13 7.13 7 7.09 1,369,800 9,638,064 -912,256 10 10.04 10.04 10.04 10 10 1,054,400 10,549,510 -993,290.00 EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV 68.5 69 68.8 69.45 67.55 68.5 82,080 5,640,734 206,993 0.68 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.68 0.69 97,000 66,530 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.5 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.5 1.53 21,979,000 33,164,370 -847,020 50.3 50.35 49.55 51 49 50.35 27,400 1,371,730 200,655 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 204.8 205 199.8 205 199.3 204.8 1,626,900 331,213,449 62,209,149 61 63.8 63 63 60 63 1,580 97,534 LIBERTY FLOUR MAXS GROUP 8.07 8.08 7.75 8.08 7.75 8.08 1,803,100 14,399,450 -316,446 0.174 0.18 0.177 0.179 0.17 0.179 1,800,000 313,890 MG HLDG SHAKEYS PIZZA 8.66 8.68 8.74 8.74 8.4 8.66 342,700 2,961,143 1,285,903 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.37 1.32 1.36 4,380,000 5,895,940 836,650 ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP 4.7 4.79 4.79 4.79 4.7 4.7 7,000 33,440 1.86 1.9 1.88 1.88 1.85 1.85 35,000 65,050 ROXAS HLDG UNIV ROBINA 148.2 148.4 145 148.7 142.3 148.2 1,299,310 190,476,318 -24,675,699 VITARICH 1.03 1.04 0.93 1.03 0.92 1.03 38,470,000 38,095,280 -542,290 2.5 2.55 2.5 2.55 2.5 2.5 301,000 766,910 -35,560 VICTORIAS CONCRETE A 53 54.55 55 55 54.55 54.55 620 33,942.50 55 56.95 54 58 53.25 56.95 2,450 132,728.50 CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG 1.69 1.71 1.68 1.71 1.65 1.7 7,340,000 12,345,550 -82,140 5.33 5.34 5.06 5.39 5.06 5.34 229,400 1,226,977 DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT 14.76 15.08 15 15.1 14.98 15.08 22,900 344,848 -61,718 7.88 7.9 7.86 7.92 7.86 7.9 831,100 6,560,077 297,178 EEI CORP HOLCIM 6.92 6.98 6.96 7 6.78 6.92 1,285,800 8,885,550 612,151 9.08 9.09 9.41 9.47 8.8 9.09 20,590,400 186,777,039 -66,498,610.00 MEGAWIDE PHINMA 8.56 9.16 8.25 9.18 8.25 9.16 8,000 72,564 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.87 0.85 0.85 374,000 319,510 TKC METALS VULCAN INDL 1.26 1.27 1.1 1.34 1.1 1.26 33,349,000 41,447,960 -97,430 123 154 159.5 159.5 158 158 50 7,960 CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA 1.92 1.94 1.88 1.94 1.88 1.94 36,000 69,060 2.64 2.65 2.69 2.69 2.55 2.64 887,000 2,324,710 46,320 EUROMED LMG CORP 4.4 4.49 4.38 4.39 4.38 4.39 4,000 17,550 5.3 5.31 5.13 5.31 5.13 5.3 565,400 2,982,442 -1,895,352 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 23.05 23.55 23.6 23.6 23.5 23.55 15,200 358,195 -325,210 2.58 2.6 2.64 2.67 2.58 2.6 5,893,000 15,441,660 1,881,970 GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR 7.16 7.17 7.3 7.3 7.05 7.17 427,200 3,074,646 -7,473 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.08 1.05 1.06 421,000 447,870 85,600 IONICS PANASONIC 5.17 5.4 5.41 5.41 5.4 5.4 6,800 36,750 1.56 1.57 1.54 1.58 1.54 1.57 957,000 1,494,700 SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG 6.68 6.69 6.7 6.89 6.6 6.68 3,504,200 23,516,255 432,436

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.64 0.65 0.59 0.66 0.58 0.65 37,965,000 23,978,790 504,830 ASIABEST GROUP 8.35 8.65 8.52 8.98 8.36 8.68 83,300 702,003 42,000 860 860.5 849 860 840.5 860 494,610 424,099,690 57,828,845 AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY 46.8 48 45.5 48 44.5 48 3,158,200 148,773,810 -44,902,520 10.1 10.14 10 10.16 9.88 10.1 10,111,600 101,500,391 -1,902,156 ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG 3.06 3.07 3.05 3.09 3.03 3.07 3,148,000 9,639,950 684,910 6.34 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 35,000 227,500 ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.7 0.73 0.72 0.73 0.68 0.73 1,234,000 876,710 1.03 1.04 1.09 1.09 1.02 1.03 13,574,000 14,070,910 ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B 1.04 1.05 1.07 1.07 1.02 1.05 160,000 166,960 -42,190 5.72 5.89 5.79 5.92 5.62 5.72 2,627,900 15,112,324 -5,884,251 COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG 5.7 5.71 5.74 5.75 5.66 5.7 10,036,100 57,217,899 11,877,890 9.06 9.32 9.02 9.36 9.02 9.36 5,400 50,014 -3,624 FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A 3.14 3.78 3.78 3.78 3.78 3.78 1,000 3,780 0.211 0.22 0.204 0.204 0.204 0.204 10,000 2,040 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL 639.5 640 630 640 625 640 277,360 176,570,445 83,832,920 3.92 4.15 3.92 3.92 3.92 3.92 1,000 3,920 HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT 72 72.5 71.55 72.5 69.2 72.5 2,765,520 197,436,557 -2,931,363.50 0.8 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.8 0.82 134,000 107,980 LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG 3.72 3.73 3.71 3.73 3.7 3.72 8,042,000 29,902,440 -965,470 13.5 13.52 13.54 13.6 13.46 13.52 11,084,700 149,879,514 -99,804,086.00 LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.56 0.52 0.56 1,172,000 620,330 1.85 1.88 1.85 1.85 1.85 1.85 2,000 3,700 MJC INVESTMENTS METRO PAC INV 4.49 4.5 4.29 4.5 4.2 4.5 60,700,000 266,389,520 45,228,330 3.83 3.93 4.08 4.08 3.9 3.93 216,000 847,150 525,350 PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA 0.87 0.88 0.87 0.88 0.86 0.87 291,000 252,400 1.14 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.14 1.14 208,000 246,320 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 267 267.6 270 270 250 267 1,160 301,864 15,000 1,026 1,047 1,030 1,047 1,007 1,047 390,685 403,568,055 -31,151,110 SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP 134 134.9 132.8 134.9 131.5 134.9 188,030 25,033,613 -1,563,003 0.69 0.7 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 18,000 12,420 SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER 147.9 148 149.5 149.5 144 147.9 2,240 323,658 0.225 0.232 0.225 0.225 0.225 0.225 80,000 18,000 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.173 0.178 0.179 0.183 0.172 0.178 1,900,000 332,800

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.65 0.66 0.65 0.66 0.65 0.66 953,000 623,090 4,550 AYALA LAND 39.6 40 40 41.15 39.3 39.6 14,150,300 569,789,950 -84,699,820 1.21 1.25 1.26 1.26 1.19 1.21 147,000 176,900 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 27.5 27.55 27.55 27.6 27.5 27.5 1,244,600 34,259,610 1,256,835 1.65 1.66 1.64 1.65 1.63 1.65 293,000 479,650 -241,080 BELLE CORP A BROWN 0.89 0.9 0.88 0.9 0.87 0.9 1,314,000 1,161,650 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.81 0.8 0.8 41,000 32,990 4,050 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.154 0.155 0.155 0.155 0.151 0.155 1,790,000 273,540 6.04 6.17 6.02 6.17 6 6.17 9,300 55,939 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 4.93 4.95 4.94 4.98 4.9 4.93 663,000 3,276,230 330,510 0.48 0.485 0.475 0.48 0.47 0.48 17,020,000 8,121,500 -129,400 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.33 0.335 0.335 0.34 0.325 0.33 10,660,000 3,514,400 16,500 14.88 14.9 14.8 14.94 14.78 14.9 1,300,200 19,328,896 19,196 DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO 6.07 6.1 6.09 6.11 5.95 6.07 438,900 2,644,169 -22,045 0.32 0.33 0.325 0.335 0.32 0.32 4,120,000 1,329,450 -12,800 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.08 0.083 0.081 0.082 0.08 0.08 11,000,000 881,340 1.15 1.17 1.15 1.17 1.13 1.15 24,857,000 28,645,830 326,800 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.9 0.93 0.9 0.92 0.9 0.9 279,000 252,920 8.58 8.6 8.55 8.58 8.52 8.58 45,200 386,419 4,280 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.58 1.59 1.62 1.63 1.57 1.58 5,414,000 8,656,430 408,480 2.92 3.26 2.91 2.91 2.91 2.91 1,000 2,910 KEPPEL PROP CITY AND LAND 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 4,000 2,920 3.96 3.97 3.87 3.99 3.85 3.96 58,489,000 231,146,260 34,596,290 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.52 0.53 0.53 0.54 0.51 0.52 74,414,000 38,777,340 195,060 0.395 0.425 0.42 0.425 0.42 0.425 250,000 105,800 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 1.33 1.34 1.31 1.34 1.3 1.33 282,000 369,990 18.46 18.48 18 18.6 18 18.46 21,020,000 386,737,728 -94,044,848 ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY 0.28 0.285 0.28 0.285 0.28 0.285 270,000 75,700 1.57 1.58 1.56 1.58 1.56 1.57 481,000 753,660 -297,300 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.69 2.71 2.74 2.74 2.69 2.69 121,000 329,190 -63,390 2.13 2.15 2.14 2.17 2.11 2.15 290,000 619,540 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 38.15 39 38.2 39 37.35 39 10,784,000 411,984,310 -85,470,710 4.8 4.9 4.78 4.95 4.78 4.9 57,000 275,440 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.68 1.69 1.7 1.71 1.66 1.69 1,479,000 2,481,050 VISTA LAND 4.67 4.7 4.68 4.7 4.5 4.7 11,841,000 54,123,810 -1,460,090

SERVICES ABS CBN 12.32 12.34 12.2 12.32 12.1 12.32 258,600 3,168,816 GMA NETWORK 5.88 5.89 5.82 5.9 5.8 5.89 534,900 3,131,050 0.43 0.445 0.445 0.45 0.43 0.43 230,000 101,600 MANILA BULLETIN MLA BRDCASTING 12.2 12.7 12.3 12.7 12.2 12.7 1,400 17,690 2,026 2,030 2,010 2,038 1,995 2,030 92,825 187,589,500 22,124,475 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1,352 1,370 1,365 1,389 1,351 1,352 163,195 222,512,490 22,108,545 0.052 0.053 0.051 0.053 0.051 0.053 72,390,000 3,740,080 258,350 APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE 15.68 15.7 15.6 15.84 15.6 15.68 6,353,500 99,873,078 6,618,686 4.28 4.3 4.36 4.46 4.29 4.29 123,000 534,080 208,000 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 6.85 6.86 6.79 6.92 6.74 6.86 44,743,000 306,414,832 -7,476,647 1.34 1.49 1.34 1.38 1.33 1.38 32,000 43,170 IMPERIAL ISLAND INFO 0.11 0.114 0.112 0.115 0.11 0.11 2,800,000 309,460 1.89 1.92 1.82 1.89 1.8 1.89 84,000 156,880 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 4.75 4.76 4.86 4.94 4.7 4.75 13,299,000 63,811,180 -1,066,670 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.315 0.305 0.315 18,750,000 5,814,000 40,300 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.96 2.98 2.94 3 2.92 2.98 722,000 2,128,090 142,200 9.15 9.2 9.2 9.2 9.1 9.2 49,400 452,598 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 15.62 15.9 16 16 15.9 15.9 800 12,780 -9,600 5.52 5.53 5.6 5.65 5.52 5.53 4,271,500 23,797,382 -272,515 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 50.65 50.7 50 51 50 50.7 1,021,600 51,737,490 -14,559,425 121.5 121.7 121.7 123 119 121.5 3,682,210 445,662,246 -74,439,630 INTL CONTAINER LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.98 1.02 1 1.03 0.98 0.98 125,000 125,180 -79,900 8.01 8.02 7.82 8.13 7.82 8.02 5,142,900 41,208,512 -15,492,322 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 2.16 2.19 2.16 2.2 2.14 2.16 984,000 2,143,400 7.28 7.29 7.3 7.3 7.26 7.29 103,800 756,252 -21,870 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.75 1.76 1.73 1.77 1.7 1.76 2,818,000 4,915,100 -379,040 1.4 1.45 1.45 1.45 1.45 1.45 225,000 326,250 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.035 0.036 0.034 0.036 0.033 0.035 134,200,000 4,648,300 -1,116,200 1.96 2.03 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.95 14,000 27,300 DISCOVERY WORLD WATERFRONT 0.65 0.66 0.66 0.67 0.64 0.66 21,356,000 13,807,760 594,000 1,300 9,100 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.64 7 7 7 7 7 IPEOPLE 9 9.5 9 9.6 9 9 37,200 334,920 0.395 0.405 0.39 0.405 0.385 0.395 21,150,000 8,328,200 -4,783,700 STI HLDG BERJAYA 5.04 5.06 5.04 5.18 4.85 5.04 486,800 2,426,063 BLOOMBERRY 8.61 8.66 8.71 8.74 8.6 8.61 7,801,800 67,404,919 -31,113,184 2.02 2.07 2.01 2.05 2 2.05 185,000 376,720 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.89 1.9 1.84 1.89 1.84 1.89 413,000 772,550 3.02 3.03 3.13 3.14 2.95 3.03 14,256,000 42,992,910 840,210 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.41 0.415 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.415 5,220,000 2,161,850 116,800 6.7 6.84 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 4,500 30,150 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 8.42 8.5 8.47 8.5 8.28 8.5 1,330,700 11,124,955 -412,524 1.61 1.63 1.61 1.63 1.59 1.61 3,059,000 4,934,290 -2,184,210 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 41.95 42 42.05 42.4 41.5 42 2,322,200 97,583,340 -22,112,505 68.65 68.75 68.9 69.1 68.5 68.75 289,550 19,944,313.50 -397,016.00 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 106.1 106.2 107 107 106.2 106.2 220,850 23,623,970 -814,067 1.69 1.7 1.73 1.73 1.68 1.7 7,270,000 12,332,990 -3,842,990 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 17.7 17.72 18 18 17.6 17.7 1,010,200 17,889,374 7,956,612 0.41 0.415 0.42 0.42 0.405 0.415 1,670,000 686,300 51,350 APC GROUP EASYCALL 8.2 8.28 7.84 8.5 7.7 8.28 233,900 1,883,824 445 448 447 448 447 448 660 295,620 22,350 GOLDEN BRIA IPM HLDG 4.68 5 5 5.04 4.61 5 28,300 139,636 2.31 2.35 2.35 2.35 2.35 2.35 5,000 11,750 PAXYS PRMIERE HORIZON 0.75 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.73 0.75 62,111,000 46,728,020 21,480 5.11 5.24 5 5.49 5 5.1 85,000 444,600 -97,200 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL ATOK 8.99 9 8.84 9.18 8.65 8.99 176,100 1,557,774 44,000 1.89 1.9 1.86 1.92 1.85 1.9 16,099,000 30,473,050 809,190 APEX MINING ABRA MINING 0.0009 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.0009 0.001 1,984,000,000 1,975,000 -10,000 6.02 6.06 5.95 6.02 5.84 6.02 1,173,300 6,980,006 -1,555,371 ATLAS MINING BENGUET A 3.15 3.17 3.15 3.18 3 3.17 174,000 550,270 0.3 0.305 0.295 0.31 0.295 0.3 2,160,000 653,550 COAL ASIA HLDG CENTURY PEAK 2.36 2.38 2.44 2.45 2.31 2.38 1,537,000 3,703,060 2,440 8.17 8.39 8.49 8.49 8.17 8.39 2,200 18,344 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 2.2 2.21 2.21 2.24 2.1 2.2 5,680,000 12,379,030 269,760 0.25 0.255 0.255 0.26 0.249 0.255 310,000 78,020 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.158 0.159 0.157 0.161 0.153 0.159 35,370,000 5,534,130 0.155 0.158 0.153 0.158 0.153 0.158 2,750,000 428,220 -133,110 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.0095 0.0097 0.0096 0.0096 0.0092 0.0095 46,000,000 431,600 0.01 0.011 0.0096 0.011 0.0096 0.011 13,100,000 137,360 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.27 1.22 1.25 3,654,000 4,539,420 -28,800 2.9 2.92 2.95 2.95 2.89 2.91 475,000 1,378,410 -2,930 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 4.72 4.73 4.68 4.73 4.58 4.73 8,692,000 40,217,760 16,702,090.00 0.365 0.38 0.37 0.37 0.365 0.365 310,000 113,500 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.7 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.69 0.7 605,000 419,850 4.94 4.95 4.9 4.98 4.85 4.95 5,074,000 25,079,810 1,888,990.00 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 12 12.1 11.96 12.36 11.84 12 7,380,500 89,061,144 -1,050,952 0.0054 0.0055 0.0052 0.0055 0.0052 0.0055 46,000,000 249,400 -27,500 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 9.6 9.65 9.59 9.8 9.59 9.6 459,200 4,451,435 310,132 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 74,200,000 742,000 ORNTL PETROL A PHILODRILL 0.0082 0.0084 0.0084 0.0085 0.0082 0.0082 79,000,000 656,700 24,900 13.9 13.92 13.16 14.2 13.06 13.9 6,304,800 86,791,656 1,862,724 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED AC PREF B1 513 515 515 515 515 515 100 51,500 ALCO PREF B 101 102 102 102 101 101 920 92,956 505 509 505 505 505 505 110 55,550 AC PREF B2R CPG PREF A 101.6 102 101.6 101.6 101.6 101.6 500 50,800 110.3 113.7 110 110 110 110 20 2,200 FGEN PREF G GTCAP PREF B 1,029 1,031 1,029 1,029 1,029 1,029 10 10,290 100.6 101.5 100.7 100.7 100.7 100.7 1,920 193,344 MWIDE PREF MWIDE PREF 2A 97 100.8 95.5 100 95.5 100 1,000 97,750 99.8 100.7 100.7 100.9 100.7 100.9 2,340 235,764 MWIDE PREF 2B PNX PREF 3A 99.5 100.5 99 99 99 99 50 4,950 995 997.5 994 997 994 994 2,430 2,418,270 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 2B 1,007 1,034 1,020 1,034 1,000 1,034 410 416,840 1,062 1,070 1,063 1,070 1,060 1,060 4,700 4,991,950 PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B 1,110 1,114 1,110 1,110 1,110 1,110 445 493,950 78.45 78.5 78.5 78.5 78.4 78.4 3,590 281,771 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2F 77.55 78 77.6 77.6 77.6 77.6 4,350 337,560 75.9 76 76 76 76 76 26,100 1,983,600 SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H 76 76.25 76.2 76.25 76.05 76.25 57,910 4,414,312.50 76.8 77 77 77 77 77 8,990 692,230 SMC PREF 2I SMC PREF 2J 76.1 76.5 76.1 76.85 76.1 76.15 12,950 989,902

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 12.2 12.5 12.34 12.5 12.34 12.5 91,000 1,137,340 1,125,000 GMA HLDG PDR 5.64 5.68 5.51 5.68 5.51 5.65 547,600 3,071,936 -864,154

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1 1.04 1.04 1.06 0.99 1.04 646,000 659,490 -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 15.3 15.38 15 15.68 15 15.3 482,500 7,409,800 -131,596 ITALPINAS 3.04 3.05 3.15 3.15 3.01 3.04 4,527,000 13,852,270 134,190 6.05 6.06 6.05 6.08 5.9 6.05 132,200 794,646 KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE 2.5 2.6 2.74 2.74 2.73 2.73 11,000 30,070 5.92 5.93 6.06 6.07 5.93 5.93 35,181,200 210,040,071 -5,231,246 MERRYMART

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 108.1 108.4 106.6 108.4 105.6 108.4 16,390 1,759,003 88,657

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CPG to reallocate a portion of proceeds from share sale

C

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

ENTURY Properties Group Inc. (CPG), the property development firm led by the Antonio Group, on Thursday said it is reallocating some of the proceeds of its P2.95billion preferred shares offering it conducted earlier this year.

In its disclosure, the company said it will use P500 million of the proceeds to acquire the 40-percent stake of Mitsubishi Corp. in Century Diamond Tower which was partially funded by its working capital funds.

Century Diamond Tower is a 41-floor pre-LEED certified office building in Century City, Makati which has 63,000 square meters of

gross floor area.

The acquisition effectively gave CPG an additional 25,000 square meter of completed and leased out office leasing space.

“The board considers that the reallocation in the planned use of proceeds is beneficial to CPG’s strategy of growing both its commercial leasing and affordable housing segments

in line with the company’s expansion into high-margin businesses,” the company said.

The said P500 million came from the P1.8 billion originally intended for the construction of an office building in Century City Office Building in Makati with an estimated 28,800 square meters in gross floor area to working capital funds of CPG. The reallocated funds will be part of CPG’s general working capital funds 30-days after the board approval on Thursday.

In January the company raised P2.95 billion from the sale of 10 million preferred shares. As of endSeptember, the company has only utilized a total of P285.65 million with P2.65 billion still unutilized.

CPG earlier said it had P1.1 billion in net income for the nine months of 2020, flat from last year, as its affordable horizontal development and leasing segments supported is operations despite lockdown measures.

The company’s revenues, however, were still down for the period, reaching P8.23 billion, a 15-percent decline from last year’s P9.79 billion.

Ponciano S. Carreon Jr., the company’s CFO and head for investor relations said that despite a dip in revenues, the company’s results for the period are at better-thanexpected levels, reflecting the welltimed mitigating measures that it had put in place to avert unfavorable business impacts given the present situation.

“CPG is well-positioned to take on the business challenges in this new normal and navigate through this period while we plan for new launches and continue with our business expansion into our high-margin segments,” he said.

The company’s high-margin businesses posted combined contributions of 25 percent or P1.98 billion of its total revenues, 35 percent higher than P1.46 billion last year.

Qantas to start fixing finances by June MUTUAL FUNDS Q ANTAS Airways Ltd. expects to start repairing its finances within months and said it’s upbeat about a recovery after a rebound in sales on the airline’s domestic network.

Qantas will fly the vast majority of its normal domestic schedule next quarter after major state borders inside Australia reopened, it said Thursday. By June, the airline will be generating enough cash to begin fixing its balance sheet, it said.

“We’ve seen a vast improvement in trading conditions over the past month,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said. “There’s been a rush of bookings as each border restriction lifted, showing that there’s plenty of latent travel demand across both leisure and business sectors.”

“Overall, we’re optimistic about the recovery,” he said.

The outlook for Qantas’s domestic network -- the profit engine of the group—is better than the airline expected just last month. While Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Singapore Airlines Ltd. struggle, with no domestic travel market to tap, Australia has largely suppressed Covid-19 and more local flights are being added. Shares of Qantas, which have rebounded since March from a low of A$2.14, were unchanged at A$5.55 at 10:09 a.m. in Sydney.

Queensland’s state border reopened this week to all of New

South Wales and Victoria, allowing a recovery in services between the state capitals of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Qantas’s capacity on routes in Australia will increase to 68 percent of pre-pandemic levels in December, and reach almost 80 percent in the first three months of 2021. Qantas expects to be close to break even—based on underlying earnings -- in the six months ending December, and net free cashflow positive in the six months ending June.

International doldrums

STILL, Joyce reiterated there’s likely be almost no international flights until at least July 2021, and global travel will take years to recover. Qantas said it will post a “substantial” net loss in the year ending June 2021.

Qantas also shed light on its tussle with reborn rival Virgin Australia under the ownership of private equity firm Bain Capital. Qantas said a “large number” of corporate customers have moved to Qantas this year, and the trend has accelerated in recent months. Qantas expects to maintain its domestic market share above 70 percent. Qantas had A$3.6 billion ($2.7 billion) in available liquidity as of Nov. 30, comprising A$2.6 billion in cash and A$1 billion in undrawn credit. The airline said it has no material debts due until April 2022. Net debt was A$5.9 billion on November 30. Bloomberg News

LaCroix water mogul to get $205M for loyalty

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HE maker of LaCroix sparkling water is giving billionaire Chairman Nick Caporella a $205 million Christmas present in the form of a special dividend.

National Beverage Corp. said Wednesday that it’s increasing a previously announced dividend to $6 a share, twice as much as originally planned. The company cited the economic hardship brought by Covid and a desire to reward “loyal shareholders,” though most of the payout stands to go to Caporella, who owns about three-quarters of the stock.

The “heartfelt” decision to boost the special dividend came after “considerable self-examination with all that has transpired this year of 2020,” the Fort Lauderdale, Floridabased company said in a statement.

“Additionally, the economic atmosphere that is affecting our country

also persuaded us to increase this special dividend.”

Shares of National Beverage, founded by Caporella in 1985, soared over the past decade, fueled by millennial consumers embracing LaCroix. Though the stock cooled in 2018 and 2019, it has almost doubled this year. Caporella, who is in his 80s, has a net worth of $3.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

National Beverage said the special dividend is an investor “reward” for its 30-year anniversary as a public company. It will be paid on or before February 2.

“We hope this Christmas spirit now upon us and the Thanksgiving celebration of recent days will help to brighten this season we have come to honor and respect,” the company said in the statement. Bloomberg News

December 3, 2020

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 226.31 -11.1% -7.2% -1.98% -10.14% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.2895 -10.31% -6.75% 1.14% -6.69% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 3.1259 -17.57% -11.05% -3.59% -15.02% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.7968 -12.67% -7.58% N.A. -11.27% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.7524 -12.74% N.A. N.A. -11.41% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 4.9189 -8.29% -5.65% -1.8% -7.68% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,4 0.7593 -11.86% -8.16% N.A. -11.05% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 97.85 -9.02% N.A. N.A. -5.2% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 46.4987 -10.14% -5.15% -0.4% -9.33% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 487.15 -9.52% -5.09% -1.01% -8.56% PHILEQUITY ALPHA ONE FUND, INC. -A,D,5 1.07 N.A. N.A. N.A. 3.87% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.1553 -11.35% -5.45% -0.57% -10.23% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 34.3119 -10.41% -4.92% 0.03% -9.46% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A 0.9091 -11.63% N.A. N.A. -10.71% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 4.7537 -9.75% -4.59% 0.35% -8.99% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 795.19 -9.53% -4.48% 0.23% -8.81% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.7198 -17.96% -8.46% -3.74% -15.46% -6.85% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 3.5961 -15.7% -1.51% -14.56% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 0.9105 -9.79% -4.82% 0.13% -9.02% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.3034 -10.74% -4.17% 0.58% -9.58% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C 106.8434 -9.34% -4.19% 1.02% -8.64% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $1.1698 19.94% 1.42% 5.39% 13.75% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.6293 20.74% 9.17% N.A. 18.18% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.6469 4.21% -3.21% -1.22% 5.38% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.2562 1.24% -2.19% 0.81% 3.44% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6187 -0.64% -1.33% -0.89% -0.49% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN F.O.C.C.U.S. DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A,1 0.1979 -15.28% N.A. N.A. -13.39% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9606 -0.3% 0.27% 1.74% -0.05% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.7714 -0.73% -0.62% 0.98% -0.47% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 16.8596 -0.82% -0.68% 0.9% -0.6% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.0847 -2.8% -1.79% 0.67% -1.76% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.5534 -8.42% -3.22% -0.34% -8.03% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D 1.0162 -0.08% N.A. N.A. 0.05% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D 0.9458 -5.44% N.A. N.A. -5.08% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D 0.9289 -6.91% N.A. N.A. -6.47% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.8835 -10.12% -4.02% -1.11% -9.37% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES $0.03914 2.65% 2.67% 2% 2.46% COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -B $1.1208 12.38% 2.05% 4.6% 10.75% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $4.4075 14.44% 6.76% 6.88% 12.7% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A,3 $1.1843 5.98% 3.05% N.A. 4.93% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 370 3.74% 3.2% 2.76% 3.37% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A 1.8983 -1.52% -0.04% -0.01% -0.19% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.2102 3.23% 4.6% 4.86% 2.96% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.292 3.6% 2.89% 2.37% 3.09% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.4469 4.33% 3.35% 2.08% 3.72% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.6277 6.73% 4.41% 3.04% 5.83% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A,6 1.3166 5.29% 4.41% 2.56% 4.77% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.9789 5.92% 4.47% 2.78% 5.03% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 1.0361 8.49% 3.88% 2.46% 7.45% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.1863 4.84% 4.64% 3.4% 3.6% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.7425 3.68% 3.94% 2.75% 2.43% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $482.82 3.43% 2.71% 2.9% 3.09% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є218.63 -0.48% 0.77% 1.14% -0.53% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.2693 5.45% 3.83% 2.99% 5.14% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0265 2.71% 1.96% 1.75% 2.71% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -B $1.0937 -0.09% 0.4% 0.83% 0.01% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A

$2.5282 5.69% 4% 3.57% 5.19% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0621386 3.18% 2.66% 2.29% 3.05% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.2084 1.48% 2.08% 2.42% 1.05% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 129.59 3.26% 3.34% 2.56% 2.99% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.0471 2.08% N.A. N.A. 2.03% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2948 2.62% 3% 2.62% 2.36% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0517 1.53% 1.72% N.A. 1.29% FEEDER FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD EQUITY INDEX FEEDER FUND, INC. -A,D,7 1.1011 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM GLOBAL MULTI-ASSET INCOME FUND INC. -B,D,2 $0.97 -2.02% N.A. N.A. -2.02%

A - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY. B - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO. C - LISTED IN THE PSE. D - IN NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT (NAVPU).

1 - LAUNCH DATE IS SEPTEMBER 28, 2019. 2 - LAUNCH DATE IS NOVEMBER 15, 2019. 3 - ADJUSTED DUE TO STOCK DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST OCTOBER 9, 2019.

4 - RENAMING WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST OCTOBER 12, 2018 (FORMERLY, ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.). 5 - LAUNCH DATE IS DECEMBER 09, 2019.

6 - RE-CLASSIFIED INTO A BOND FUND STARTING FEBRUARY 21, 2020 (FORMERLY A MONEY MARKET FUND). 7 - LAUNCH DATE IS JULY 6, 2020.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

UnionBank raises ₧9B from bond offering

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

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nion Bank of the Philippines raked in P9 billion from its dual-tranche peso-denominated bond offering, which was oversubscribed by three times on the back of robust demand.

The 3-year bonds carrying an interest rate of 2.75 percent raised a total of P8.115 billion while the 5.25-year tranche with 3.375-percent coupon rate registered P885 million.

Shares in UnionBank climbed by 20 centavos, or 0.31 percent, to close at P65.50 each amid the 1.60-percent rise for the benchmark index on Thursday.

The bond offering, which has an original issue size of P3 billion, is set to be issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on December 9.

The issuance is the third transaction from UnionBank’s P39-billion bonds program.

“The third drawdown from the Bank’s program is part of our on-going efforts to extend term liabilities, expand funding base, and also support its business expansion plans,” UnionBank Chief Financial Officer Jose Emmanuel U. Hilado said.

The bond offering is also the bank’s first dual-tranche offering issued under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Circular 1010 on bank-issued bonds. In addition, the 5.25-year tranche is UnionBank’s issuance with the longest tenor to date.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. and Standard Chartered Bank are the joint lead arrangers and bookrunners of the transaction. Along with UnionBank, both banks are also the selling agents.

In October, UnionBank issued 5-year senior unsecured fixed rate

notes amounting to $300 million.

The offering has a fixed coupon rate of 2.125 percent per annum. Proceeds are allocated to extend term liabilities, expand funding base, and for other general corporate matters.

The offering was oversubscribed by 4.3 times, with orders reaching as much as $1.3 billion. Over 110 investors subscribed to the notes, with the majority or 84 percent of them coming from Asia.

Citigroup Inc., MUFG Securities Asia Limited and Standard Chartered Bank were the joint bookrunners of the transaction.

The Aboitz-led bank also raised P6.8 billion in February from the issuance of series A unsecured subordinated notes which are eligible as Tier 2 capital. It came from the bank’s P20-billion of Tier 2 notes program approved by the BSP in December 2019.

Recently, UnionBank announced that it was the first Philippine bank to join the international organization Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN), which was established in 2008 to provide best banking architecture and to set banking technology standards in the industry. It is composed of banks, financial technology, technology providers, consultants and academics.

The bank said it can “help to define banking technology standards, creating industry-wide best practices and play an active role in shaping the future of banking” by being part of the global network.

UnionBank saw its net earnings drop by 0.9 percent to P8.5 billion in the first nine months due to higher provisions for loan losses. Revenues, meanwhile, grew by 33 percent to P31.8 billion for the period, thanks to 36-percent increase in net interest income.

Notable notes from Associations Summit 8

Bill to stem entry of illegal cash tossed to House TWG

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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@joveemarie

embers of the House Committee on Ways and Means have created a technical working group (TWG) to prioritize and finalize the bill criminalizing bulk cash smuggling and tighten the country’s measures against the transit of large amounts of cash to and from the Philippines.

This was after House Ways and Means Committee began its first deliberation on House Bill 6516, which would penalize the unauthorized transit of large amounts of foreign currency into or out of the country.

The bill was authored by House tax panel chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing, AAMBIS OWA Rep. Sharon S. Garin, Sultan Kudarat Rep. Horacio P. Suansing Jr., Muntinlupa City Rep. Rozzano Rufino B. Biazon and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo.

Salceda appointed the committee’s Senior Vice Chairman Estrel-

lita Suansing to head a TWG on the measure. Suansing would be assisted

by Committee Vice Chairman Garin.

He said the TWG is to come up with a substitute bill that shall be “more compassionate and humane,” especially to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

According to Salceda, the reform is urgent as bulk cash smuggling is considered a “red flag” by the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental watchdog which could recommend the imposition of sanctions and additional safety checks against Philippine financial institutions.

Former govt officials take oath as DBP execs

Part One

T

he Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), with the support of the Tourism Promotions Board, successfully held the eighth edition of its annual Associations Summit (AS8) with the theme, “Leading with Agility.”

The 2-day virtual event, which drew over a hundred attendees from here and abroad, featured eight webinars on association governance and management topics, a tourism-inspired opening session, the “Ang Susi” Awards 2020 presentation, and the 8th General Council of Members Meeting.

Following are notable notes I took from speeches and presentations of the distinguished guests and speakers who graced the occasion: Maria Anthonette C. Velasco-Allones, TPB chief operating officer: “The theme of the Summit resonates deeply with any leader who remains focused on achieving strategic organizational goals, sustains a creative mindset to explore new ways of thinking and doing things, and continues to commit and cultivate the spirit of shared service within the context of the leader’s team, our industry and, in a larger milieu, our country.”

Charlie Villasenor, chairman, PCAAE and Procurement and Supply Institute of Asia (Pasia): “The holding of the Summit could not have occurred at a better time than this as we endure the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has brought. I am sure all of you have your own stories to tell on how you are surviving and transforming your associations, your professions, and industries. This is one of our greatest opportunities to spread the faith through events such as this one we are holding right now.”

Greta Kotler, chief global development and credentialing officer, American Society of Association Executives (Asae): “I would like to congratulate the PCAAE for the work it has done for the last eight years and with the many contributions it has been making to Philippine society. We are also proud of the (PCAAE’s) Association World magazine and the phenomenal job that you have been doing with that.”

Amy Hissrich, vice president, global and strategies, Asae: “The complex

Association World Octavio Peralta challenges of 2020 spurred innovation and agility across associations around the world. As associations grapple with how to move to virtual meetings, address remote work, and evaluate new business models, it is just fitting that the topic of this year’s Summit is ‘Leading with Agility.’”

Gihan Perera, futurist, speaker, author, and consultant: “We’re not in the same boat but in the same storm. Everybody is thinking differently about what matters to them. What used to work before might not work anymore now. Leading with agility needs three things: (1) to scan wider, i.e., think more of what’s happening outside your association; (2) to choose better, i.e., narrowing down your choice and choosing the path you are going to take to the future; and (3) to use wisely, i.e., leveraging and making use of the resources you’ve got. So when you’re making your plans, don’t aim for perfection but make what is good for you now, with a backup plan when things change.”

John Peacock, CEO, Associations Forum (Australia): “Successful associations consider these 11 essential elements: organizational structure and scope, constant review of their constitution, good governance, staff, finance, technology, member services (value proposition), communication, membership engagement, plans, and culture.”

The column contributor, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The purpose of PCAAE— the “association of associations”—is to advance the association management profession and to make associations well-governed and sustainable.

PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org

Friday, December 4, 2020 B3

DBP Chairman Alberto G. Romulo (left) swears in new Development Bank of the Philippines Director Jeannie N. Sandoval, former vice mayor of Malabon City. Sandoval and former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Deputy Administrator Rafael L. Reyes took their oath as new directors of the DBP.

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he Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) introduced on Thursday two new members of its board of directors, Rafael L. Reyes and Jeannie N. Sandoval, who both held top positions in the business sector.

Reyes is the founder and chief executive officer of FIGS Inc. He also held top posts in Miascor Holdings Inc., Prospector Investments Ltd., JG Summit Capital Services Inc., AIG Investment Corp. and AIA Capital Corp.

In addition, Reyes served on the board for various companies including eTelecare Global Solutions Inc.; SPI Technologies Inc.; Rustan Supercenters Inc.; Eng Teknologi Holdings Bhd; WTK Holdings Bhd.; and, Millennium Microtech Holdings Corp.

He offered consultancy for private equity investment firm Lombard Investments Inc., Energy Logics Group Inc. and Prospector Investments Ltd. and subsidiary Citadel Holdings Inc. This is in addition to being former deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Reyes is currently a member of the Management Association of the Philippines and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.

He completed his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering in Stanford University in US. Sandoval, meanwhile, was the former president of Genesis Industrial Gases Corp. and Watercraft Venture Corp. She is currently the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross-Malabon City Chapter.

She served as vice mayor of Malabon City as well from 2013 to 2019.

She also served as the president of the Soroptimist International of Malabon from 2008 to 2016. During this stint, Sandoval was awarded Most Outstanding Club President in the Soroptimist International Philippine Region Conference 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.

Sandoval earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the De La Salle University. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

He said bulk cash smuggling is a potential source of terrorist financing and is being taken advantage of by syndicated crime groups.

“The implications of failing to enact this measure are very real. Remittance fees could get more expensive for OFWs. Our banks will have a hard time getting through other financial institutions abroad. Our international reputation will suffer immensely. The inability of Philippine banks to transact with foreign banks endangers approximately 13.18 percent of our GDP [gross domestic product],” Salceda added.

The lawmaker said that last year, about P28.6 billion was smuggled into the country by four syndicates.

Salceda added 2019 is the same year that about P50.1 billion may have been smuggled into the Philippines undetected.

Under the proposal, a one-time inbound or outbound transport of P500,000 or its foreign currency equivalent will have to be reported.

A “cumulation of closely-related events” would constitute “one-time,” the bill said with the aim to close possible loopholes in the current law.

The proposal seeks to criminalize bulk cash smuggling and failure to or evading to report significant transports of cash. The bill also seeks to criminalize “conspiracy to commit”

bulk cash smuggling, which would cover the “escorting” services being conducted by unscrupulous police, soldiers and airport personnel.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and Bureau of Customs all expressed support for the measure; but subject to some suggested refinements. The bill ensures that the evasion of a paper trail for cash transfers is not tolerated under the law.

The measure likewise includes the Bureau of Treasury, through the Treasurer of the Philippines, in the AMLC to facilitate counterpart-tocounterpart cooperation, as many countries’ anti-money laundering efforts are spearheaded by their Secretaries or Ministers of the Treasury.

It also provides for the forfeiture in favor of the Philippines of assets related to cash smuggling.

The bill also makes “escorting” cash smugglers illegal as part of criminalization of conspiracy to smuggle cash. It also makes declarations of cash transport amount “under oath,” effectively making misdeclaration perjurious.

It mandates an AMLC representative in airports, develop a rapid-reporting mechanism between authorities and the AMLC while expanding the latter’s powers of surveillance over airports and ports.

WB private sector arm names new PHL chief

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he private sector arm of the World Bank, the International Finance Corp. (IFC), has appointed a new Country Manager for the Philippines.

In a statement, the IFC said it has appointed Jean-Marc Arbogast, who served as the adviser to IFC’s vice president for corporate strategy and resources. Arbogast helped formulate and articulate IFC’s strategic priorities while aligning resources to deliver on IFC’s agenda, a statement from IFC said.

Prior to that, Arbogast was a senior investment officer in he IFC’s infrastructure and natural resources team, where he led the origination and execution of transactions in the sector globally.

Arbogast “brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role that will help IFC to optimize opportunities and mobilize the private sector to deliver impactful investments in the Philippines,” IFC Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific Vivek Pathak said. “Under his leadership, we are confident of creating new markets and opportunities where they are needed most, especially in these challenging times.”

IFC said the Philippines has one of the most vibrant economies in the Asia Pacific region, supported by strong domestic demand and a young, tech-savvy population with rising disposable income.

The Covid-19 pandemic, however, has dimmed the country’s growth prospects. Timely measures are therefore important to cush-

ion against health and economic shocks and support the country’s most vulnerable people.

Before joining IFC in 2012, Arbogast was an investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York specializing in industrial and agribusiness firms. He has also focused on mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions.

He also holds an MBA from Yale University and a master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Ensica, a French engineering school.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has already taken a heavy toll on households and businesses in the Philippines. IFC’s priority is to help drive a sustainable and inclusive recovery in the country,” Arbogast said. “I look forward to engaging with the government, the private sector, and all relevant stakeholders to revitalize the key sectors that can drive economic growth and create jobs.”

Since 1962, the IFC has invested more than $3 billion to support over 100 private sector companies in the Philippines.

IFC’s strategic priorities in the country include reducing the impacts of climate change, deepening financial inclusion, promoting sustainable infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of the private sector.

This will better support the Philippines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and help drive inclusive growth during the country’s eventual recovery. Cai U. Ordinario

Insurer inks agreement with 46-yr-old co-op

M

alayan Insurance Co. Inc. recently signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines (1CISP), to better serve the insurance needs of the Philippine cooperatives movement.

Likewise, the accord will enable insurance support services pertaining to claims, process improvements, distribution and sales, and product development. Reinsurance support

is the main area of cooperation between the two top insurers.

The insurer agreed to lend its knowledge, assistance and experience to further strengthen the collaboration.

Malayan Insurance is the leading non-life insurance firm in the Philippines and a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC). Malayan Insurance is celebrating its 90th anniversary this 2020 and has received a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) at

B++ (Good) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) at “bbb+” from A.M. Best global insurance rating agency. It has a network of 35 fully functioning branches and service offices nationwide.

1CISP was founded on January 25, 1974, as a cooperative insurance society to promote and engage in insurance services for the cooperative market. 1CISP now has a composite license issued by the Insurance Commission, and is now providing both

life and non-life insurance products to its cooperative members.

1CISP is operating nationwide with 8 area offices, insuring mostly the underprivileged and farmers of the country. 1CISP is being regulated by two Government Agencies; the Insurance Commission and the Cooperative Development Authority. To date, 1CISP has more than 3,031 cooperative members and insuring over a million individuals annually.

B4

Relationships

Friday, December 4, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

BusinessMirror

Retail giant takes madness out of shopping

I

By Carlo Atienza

DO not like shopping. More so during the Christmas season. I find it tedious doing a shopping list, much less going out and braving the hordes of shoppers jockeying for the best prices, or rummaging along rows and rows of endless aisles looking for the perfect gift for family and friends. I would rather stay in the safety of my room and just do my work, watch a movie, or read a book.

Especially now that the pandemic has made it risky to go out.

I opened my phone and started browsing through mobile shopping apps hoping I could do my gift shopping online. However, I quickly discovered that the delivery time was too long, and I was not even sure if the pictures of the products shown were actually the ones which would be delivered. And based on the comments and ratings of the items I wanted, I changed my mind.

Fortunately, someone gave me the idea to try retail giant SM’s Call to Deliver service by calling #143SM (#14376).

I was wary at first because having a personal shopper is new to me. So I found out more about it on their Facebook page. I was impressed with what I read about it, but I still wanted to know more so I started a chat with them on their Facebook Messenger hoping I could talk to someone. Right away, it asked me what I wanted, so I clicked “I’d like to buy something” and then it asked me for contact details so they could refer me to a personal shopper who will message me through Facebook Messenger or Viber. I was still hesitant but I gave the needed information and waited for them to contact me.

While waiting, I clicked on “Can I see your catalog?” and it gave me a link to an online list of items by categories. Now this was something I could work with. I discovered that I could make a complete shopping list right out of my phone using their catalog. And true to its motto, The SM Store has so many options for gifts for just about anyone. I started taking screenshots of what I wanted so I could tell my personal shopper which items to pick.

After a few minutes, a personal shopper named Grace called to introduce what the service was and asked me how she could assist me. I told her I wanted to get some items from the online catalog so I sent the screenshots of what I wanted and she started looking

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Tyra Banks, 47; Jay-Z, 51; Marisa Tomei, 56; Jeff Bridges, 71.

Happy Birthday: Use your intelligence and common sense when dealing with persuasive individuals. You have plenty to gain this year if you are smart, articulate and dare to follow your heart and do your own thing.

Set the standard, and pace yourself to ensure you reach your goals. Make this a year to remember, and be proud of your achievements. Your numbers are 4, 12, 19, 24, 32, 35, 49.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t stop when there is so much you can do to make things better. Strategize the best way to use your skills, knowledge and wherewithal to help you bring about the changes that will make you happy. HHHHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You may have a plan in place, but uncertainty will set in if emotional issues prevail. Take care of unfinished business before you move forward. Discuss options and be clear about where you stand and what you are willing to do. HH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’ll have a better chance of getting your way if you are honest about how you feel and what you want to do. Handle partnerships with care, and offer a straightforward approach to finding solutions. HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Spend more time cleaning up unfinished business and less time letting what’s going on around you cause upset and discord. Focus on personal gains, a healthy lifestyle and easing stress. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take the initiative to get things done. Speak up on your own behalf, as well as for others. Think and react, and you will take on the position of a leader. Be creative and respond to opposition with solutions, not anger.

HHH

for them. Later on, she messaged me that some items were already sold-out. I was dismayed but she sent me alternative items similar to the ones I liked. So we exchanged screenshots until I settled on what I was finally getting.

I was impressed because the items she recommended were actually better than the ones I initially wanted. But at the same time, it was like I was also with her throughout the process of choosing the items. There were even some items I wanted but were not in the catalog, so I asked Grace if they had something similar. One of the items I was looking for was a dog bed. Surprisingly, she sent me pictures of what they currently had in the store. They were too small for my dog but I was amazed that I could even ask her to look for other items.

After getting everything I wanted, I verified

with Grace the items in my shopping bag and asked for the total. She sent me a picture of the provisionary receipt and then asked me if I would like to send over some of the items to the gift recipients. I was thrilled. Not only did I have a personal shopper, but I could also ask them to deliver the gifts to the recipients for a minimum fee. Now that is service which is literally and figuratively going the extra mile.

You can pay for the items online using your credit card, debit card, online bank transfer, or your digital wallet (like GCash, PayMaya, GrabPay). Now that is convenience all the way. You can call them daily from 10 am to 7 pm, with a delivery cut off at 3 pm. The SM Call to Deliver Service is so easy to use that even someone like me would want to use it. True to their brand, SM has got it all for you. n

Eastwood Richmonde celebrates milestone RICHMONDE Hotels Cluster General Manager Jun Justo

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Eastwood Richmonde Hotel recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a public virtual event streamed via its official Facebook page. Titled “Now and 10,” the online program commemorated a decade’s worth of warm, Filipino hospitality—from the time it opened its doors in 2010 to this day as it operates in the new normal.

In his welcome remarks, Cluster General Manager Jun Justo expressed his appreciation to the hotel’s patrons, associates and stakeholders for their unwavering support which has allowed Richmonde to overcome the obstacles brought about by the pandemic.

He further maintained the hotel’s commitment to protecting the well-being of guests with its strict “Safe Stay” protocols and declared his optimism that the best is yet to come for the hotel and its guests.

Megaworld Hotels’ Group General Manager Cleofe Albiso, on the other hand, in her anniversary greeting extended her congratulations to the management and staff of Eastwood Richmonde Hotel (www.

eastwoodrichmondehotel.com.ph) for being an integral part of Eastwood City, the pioneering mixed-use township in the Metro developed by Megaworld Corp. She also commended the hotel employees for their loyalty and dedication to their jobs, and shared her hope that they continue to be inspired to provide exceptional service in the years to come.

Program highlights included the announcement of winners of the Now and 10 photo contest where past and present guests shared on social media their most memorable experiences at Eastwood Richmonde Hotel, and the first-ever Kitchen Masters: Home Edition where self-taught amateur chefs presented their original heirloom recipes in a cook-off judged by some of the country’s renowned culinary heavyweights, namely Chefs Bruce Lim, Kel Zaguirre, Myke Tatung, Robb Pengson, and Sau del Rosario. Winners took home hotel gift certificates, while the Kitchen Master champion received an additional cash prize and the distinction of having his winning dish featured at Eastwood Café+Bar.

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be mindful of those you live with, but don’t let them get away with something that isn’t right.

Honesty and integrity will win out if you handle matters diplomatically. A positive change to a meaningful relationship will unfold. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Spend more time gathering facts that will help you make an informed decision. Check with experts, friends, family and peers, and consider what will serve you best.

Welcome a partnership with someone who shares your thoughts and feelings. HH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Look for alternatives, and you will find a way to get things done without interference. A unique plan will strike an emotional chord with you and encourage you to do things differently. Verify information before you begin something. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Home improvements will turn out well and set the stage for family fun. How you use your energy will encourage others to follow suit. Turn uncertainty into confidence, and make decisions that will bring you the joy and happiness you deserve. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): An emotional incident will surface if you are insensitive. Listen to what’s being said, and be mindful of the way others feel. A positive change you make will influence how you are treated by colleagues and those you love.

Romance is favored. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You can improve your position, status and reputation if you take charge and go after your goals. Set up interviews, offer proposals and use your persuasive charm to capture attention and turn your ideas into a reality. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Avoid persuasive situations and people. Look out for your interests, and be secretive regarding your plans. Someone will offer unreliable information that will cause uncertainty and confusion. Protect your money, possessions and passwords. HHH Birthday Baby: You are opportunistic, relentless and appealing.

You are imaginative and dominant.

‘impersonating’ by pam klawitter The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Pull an all-nighter, maybe 5 “Can ___ now?”

8 Ready to swing 13 Capital by the Baltic Sea 14 Deafening applause sound 16 Popular Mazda model 17 Realtor’s event 19 Songwriters’ grp.

20 Birthday buys for singer Dolly?

22 Wordsworth poem 23 Uses a potato gadget 24 Library ID 26 Work on again, as a stubborn stain 29 Seedy stopover 32 Director DuVernay 33 Actress Thompson 36 Somber song 37 Half-and-half half 39 Savoir ___ 41 Show bias 42 Sherlock Holmes’ street 44 An Allman brother

46 Gobbled up 47 What Beyonce and Madonna use?

49 Moves gracefully 51 Toddler’s taboo 52 Colorado getaway 54 Cul-de-___ 56 “Orate” or “emancipate”?

61 Comedian Glazer 63 City center, say 64 Pedometer button 65 Deutschland dissent 66 Terrible rackets 67 Lauder of fragrance 68 Cpl.’s superior 69 It’s nice when they meet DOWN 1 Trim in Photoshop 2 Kelly of morning TV 3 Golden-___ (senior) 4 Yoga instructor’s chant 5 Cooking show with Japanese roots 6 Charge too much 7 It might be a mirage

8 Gathered over time 9 “___ the season...”

10 Actor Kevin’s loaf?

11 Ever so slightly 12 What connects the words in Adopt a Pet 15 WNBA official 18 Raise, as a sail 21 No later than, for short 25 Leave abruptly, slangily 26 Tough guy in action movies 27 Perrier competitor 28 Actor Christopher and his fellow performers?

29 Price for a ride 30 Gem with bands 31 Essential hand-me-downs?

34 Wise 35 Knight’s title 38 Numbers game in Vegas 40 Baba ghanoush ingredient 43 Went for longer than planned 45 Close in Hollywood 48 Miss Piggy’s question

0 Enter with an army 5 52 Plot measures 53 Edna Ferber novel named for a baby game 54 Castle address?

55 Brewpub

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, December 4, 2020

B5

Gal Gadot in a scene from Wonder Woman 1984.

WarnerMedia last week announced that the highly anticipated movie—which might have made $1 billion at the box office in a normal summer—will land in theaters and on HBO Max nearly simultaneously in December. AP RYAN CAYABYAB

Smart powers PhilPop 2020’s search for next OPM hits MOBILE services provider Smart Communications continues to champion Original Pilipino Music (OPM) by supporting the 2020 PhilPop songwriting tilt.

Pushing forward amid the limitations of a worldwide pandemic, PhilPop Festival Chair Ryan Caybyab shared, “We’ve planned for this year’s festival way back in 2019 when Covid-19 was nowhere in sight. When the pandemic hit us, we had to make a huge pivot in terms of the execution of most ideas, many of which were originally envisioned to happen in the usual, traditional in-person platform.”

He added, “We did encounter challenges in executing some tasks. In terms of producing the songs for example, it was quite a different process owing to the restrictions in travel and mobility. But I’m happy to say that PhilPop managed to find ways thanks to the ingenuity of the team and their passion to make things happen.”

Technology bridged much of the distance for this year’s nationwide search. “Technology made things possible for us. Amid the pandemic, it served as a bridge for us to continue engaging with one another.

It gave us a platform where we could continue to do things that we previously thought weren’t possible virtually. It also helps provide a new dimension and new flavors to our songs as we discover more reasons of how great it is as a tool in music production,” explained Cayabyab.

Smart People’s Choice Award for Best Song also makes a return this year. Music fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite song via Twitter Poll from December 4 to 11 and through streaming on Spotify and YouTube on December 11.

PhilPop 2020 pulled all the stops by gathering finalists from the following clusters: Mindanao, Visayas, North Luzon, South Luzon and Metro Manila. Those who will top the votes per cluster will be named Smart’s People’s Choice awardee bringing a total of five winners this year for this category.

Voting for the most popular songs will be an exciting experience for Smart subscribers because this year’s roster proves to be a promising batch. “The entries are wonderful, it was difficult to eliminate songs. Salute to our lead adjudicators, Trina Belamide and Jungee Marcelo, and to our partners from Warner Music and the regions for patiently and successfully screening the songs,” said Cayabyab.

Going nationwide also helped PhilPop discover even more songwriters whose passion for music are only matched by the entries they were able to come up with. “It’s amazing how much talent our songwriters have, and I am glad we were able to encourage many of them including those in the regions to join. This year’s finalists are a great mix of songs and I am sure many—whether they are here or across our borders— will enjoy listening to the top 15 songs.”

To vote for your favorite songs, join the Twitter Poll starting December 4, or stream the songs on Spotify and YouTube. The PhilPop 2020 Finals Night takes centerstage on December 12, 2020.

More information is available on Smart Communications on Facebook and @livesmart on Twitter.

Philippine Madrigal Singers perform ‘Harmonies of Hope’

Shangri-La Plaza (www.facebook.com/ shangrilaplazaofficial) is inspired to share and celebrate humanity’s gift of grace, perseverance, sincerity, and good intentions as it presents the concert Harmonies of Hope with the Philippine Madrigal Singers on December 5, 5 pm, at the Grand Atrium.

One of the world’s most awarded and renowned choirs, the group, under the direction of Mark Anthony Carpio, is set to perform a repertoire of holiday classics, contemporary tunes, and Filipino Christmas favorites.

Holiday 2020 at the popular retail destination is all about “Hope & Home,” and the entire month is filled with performances that reflect the hopeful spirit of the holidays. The mall also safely welcomes guests with a wonderful lineup of bazaars and fairs, as well as longer hours: 11 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 11 am to 9 pm on weekends.

The pandemic is changing Hollywood, maybe forever N

By Jake Coyle The Associated Press

EW YORK—“No New ‘Movies’ Till Influenza Ends” blared a New York Times headline on October 10, 1918, while the deadly second wave of the Spanish Flu was unfolding.

A century later, during another pandemic, movies—quotes no longer necessary—are again facing a critical juncture. But it’s not because new films haven’t been coming out. By streaming service, video-on-demand, virtual theater or actual theater, a steady diet of films have been released under Covid-19. The Times has reviewed more than 460 new movies since mid-March.

Yet until recently—with only a few exceptions— those haven’t been the big-budget spectacles Hollywood runs on. Eight months into the pandemic, that’s changing.

Last month, the Walt Disney Co. experimented with the $200 million Mulan as a premium buy on its fast-growing streaming service, Disney+—where the Pixar film Soul will also go on December 25.

WarnerMedia last week announced that Wonder Woman 1984—a movie that might have made $1 billion at the box office in a normal summer—will land in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously next month.

Much remains uncertain about how the movie business will survive the pandemic. But it’s increasingly clear that Hollywood won’t be the same.

Just as the Spanish Flu, which weeded out smaller companies and contributed to the formation of the studio system, Covid is remaking Hollywood, accelerating a digital makeover and potentially reordering an industry that was already in flux.

“I don’t think the genie will ever be back in the bottle,” says veteran producer Peter Guber, president of Mandalay Entertainment and former chief of Sony Pictures. “It will be a new studio system.

Instead of MGM and Fox, they’re going to be Disney and Disney+, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, HBO Max and Peacock.”

Many of the pivots in 2020 can be chalked up to the unusual circumstances. But several studios are making more long-term realignments around streaming. WarnerMedia, the AT&T conglomerate that owns Warner Bros. (founded in 1923), is now run by Jason Kilar, best known as the former chief executive of Hulu. Last month, Disney chief executive Bob Chapek, the Robert Iger heir, announced a reorganization to emphasize streaming and “accelerate our direct-to-consumer business.”

Universal Pictures, owned by Comcast, has pushed aggressively into video-on-demand. Its first major foray, Trolls, kicked up a feud with theater owners. But as the pandemic wore on, Universal hatched unprecedented deals with AMC and Cinemark, the largest and third-largest chains, respectively, to dramatically shorten the traditional theatrical window (usually about three months) to just 17 days. After that time, Universal can move releases that don’t reach certain box-office thresholds to digital rental.

There’s widespread acknowledgement that the days of 90-day theatrical runs are over.

“Windows are clearly changing,” says Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Paramount Pictures.

“All this stuff that’s going on now in the business was going to happen, the evolution is just happening faster than it would have. What would have taken three to five years is going to be done in a year, maybe a year and a half.”

That condensed period of rapid change is happening at the same time as a land rush for streaming market share, as Disney+, HBO Max, Apple and Peacock try to wrestle for a piece of the home viewing audience dominated by Netflix and Amazon. With theme parks struggling and worldwide box office down tens of billions, streaming is a bright spot for media companies, and the pandemic

may offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lure subscribers. Wonder Woman 1984 and Soul are essentially very expensive advertisements for those streaming services.

It can be easy to cheer such moves, even if their financial performance remain cloudy (no studio has been transparent about its viewership numbers or digital grosses) and their long-term viability uncertain. Can you replicate $1 billion in box office in new subscriptions? And for how long will the one-time bounce of a new movie (unlike a series staggered over weeks or months) drive subscribers once streaming services are closer to tapping as many homes as they can?

“The whole thing is more complicated than people want it to be,” says Ira Deutchman, the veteran independent film producer and Columbia University professor.

Deutchman considers the idea that people, after a year of quarantines and lockdowns, won’t want to leave their living room “ludicrous.” But he does imagine continued mergers and acquisitions, and “a new equilibrium” for distributors and theater owners.

“It could be about pricing,” he says. “It could be about the way film rental is split between them. There are a lot of things that are potentially on the table.”

So what could that mean on the other side of Covid, if moviegoers are once again comfortable sitting in packed theaters on opening weekend? It will almost certainly mean the months-long runs of films like Titanic or Get Out are a thing of the past. It could mean variable pricing on different nights. It could mean an even greater division between the franchise films of the multiplex and the boutique art house, with everything in between going straight to streaming.

Some things, though, will stay the same.

“If you’re going to be in this business, no matter what you do or where it plays, whether it’s streaming or in cinemas, you’re going to make hits and you’re going to make flops,” says Guber. “The idea is to make more hits than flops.” n

Rita Ora says sorry for lockdown-breaching birthday party LONDON—British singer Rita Ora apologized on Monday for breaking lockdown rules by holding a birthday party, saying it was “a serious and inexcusable error of judgment.”

The Sun newspaper ran photos of Ora and others, including models Cara and Poppy Delevingne, arriving at the Casa Cruz restaurant in London’s Notting Hill area on Saturday.

Under lockdown rules that ended on Wednesday, all pubs and restaurants in England must close except for takeout and delivery, and people are barred from meeting indoors with members of other households.

Ora said on Instagram that she had held “a small gathering with some friends to celebrate my 30th

birthday.”

“It was a spur of the moment decision made with the misguided view that we were coming out of lockdown and this would be OK,” she wrote.

Ora, whose hits, include “Anywhere” and “I Will Never Let You Down,” said she now realized “how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility.” Reports of the party attracted widespread criticism.

Asked about the event, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, Jamie Davies, said it was “important that everybody in society sets an example by following the rules. That is for every member of the public, including celebrities.”

Britain has Europe’s worst coronavirus death toll, at over 58,000 people. AP

B6 Friday, December 4, 2020

Things that bring us joy during the pandemic

DLSU, local gov’t partner to make Manila a sustainable urban center

T

HE COVID-19 crisis has definitely turned a lot of lives upside down.

Besides the danger of the virus itself, another challenging thing that a lot of us face has a lot to do with being stuck in our homes most of the time. This is especially hard for the homemakers out there, who, besides working, also have to manage their tasks on top of taking care of their families.

Gladys, a mother of one and a part-time copywriter have to juggle work and taking care of her daughter, but also want to have time for herself. She loves baking, create something out of the activity which is calming and relaxing in itself. Started her own business by making cookies breads and cakes which turned out to be her another source of income.

“There’s a lot of trial and error, but the success of baking is all about using the right ingredients. I love using the flour from Joy of Baking because they are beginner-friendly and is of good quality.”

Joy of Baking is a notable brand of Agri Pacific Corporation, under the Rebisco Group of Companies since 2015 providing innovative flour products in the market using advanced Swiss and German milling technology.

The company also produces some of the best oil, shortening, and other baking products in the industry.

The Joy of Baking Complete Breadmix is perfect for making quick and easy breads like pandesal, ensaymada, and spanish bread because of its all-in-one formula and a free pack of yeast that comes in every bag. The Joy of Baking All-Purpose Flour is ideal for baking and cooking needs like chocolate chip cookies, fried chicken, and banana breads.

While the Joy of Baking Cake Flour is a high-quality flour that is perfect for moist, light, and fluffy cakes like chiffon, sponge, and batter type cakes. Lastly, the Joy of Baking Bread Flour is the best flour in making loaves, buns, and other breads. All fours are also fortified with Vitamin A and Iron making them healthy options for baking.

“We want to encourage everyone to start, continue, or even improve their talent for baking. Since we are all staying at home, the best we can do is to make the best out of these moments. Baking is a great hobby because of the sense of comfort and satisfaction that it provides.

It’s hard, but everyone can find their piece of joy during this time," Maria Minna Vistan, Senior Marketing Manager of Flour Division shares.

The brand is actually inviting resellers from Cavite and Metro Manila so they could easily reach and encourage more people to get into a hobby.

For those interested, visit https://www.facebook. com/JoyofBakingPH.

AT MU SIGNING FROM LEFT: SDG Lab Project Director Dr. Francisco Magno, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, and Vice President for Lasallian Mission Fritzie De Vera.

I

N an effort to make the Philippine capital a sustainable urban center, De La Salle University and the Manila city government forged a partnership to co-produce technologies and implement innovative programs for inclusive development.

Dubbed as “Manila-DLSU SDG Project,” the initiative seeks to equip the City of Manila with the appropriate tools and technologies in collaboration with the University to foster sustainable and inclusive development and address city-wide social problems.

Under the project, DLSU and the local government will develop joint actionresearch programs, technologies, and tools aligned with the goals of the city and the UN Sustainable Development Goals to address specific development issues. The parties also agreed to coproduce and co-implement programs, projects, and outputs that will localize SDGs in the city.

DLSU is a member of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) which operates under the auspices of the UN SecretaryGeneral. The network mobilizes global

scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the SDGs. The memorandum of understanding signing was held on November 18 at the Manila City Hall. DLSU was represented

by Vice President for Lasallian Mission Fritzie De Vera and SDG Lab Project Director Dr. Francisco Magno with DLSU President Br. Raymundo Suplido FSC and DLSU Chancellor Br. Bernard Oca FSC virtually present. Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso signed for the city government.

Together as One: Megaworld Hotels lights Christmas Tree of thanksgiving

CLARK LOCATORS EXTEND HELP TO MARIKINA. Clark Development Corporation (CDC) Director Manuel R. Gaerlan (2nd from left) with Widus International Leisure Inc., Executive Assistant to the President and Chief Executive Officer Agnes Liwanag (3rd from left) presented the check of cash donation amounting to P1 Million from Widus Foundation to Rotary Club President Jerom Josef (4th from left). The financial assistance is for the benefit of Typhoon Ulysses flood victims. Various in-kind donations from Clark locators were also given during the activity. With them are, from left: former Marikina Vice Mayor Jose Fabian, Rotary Governor Antonio Parungao, and former District Governor Efren De Guzman. (CDC-CD Photo)

Iloilo City to ramp up economic recovery with an Investment Forum on December 9-10

I

IN attendance at the Christmas Tree ligthing ceremony were Cleofe Albiso; Megaworld Hotels Group General Manager (center); clockwise: Jun Justo, General Manager Eastwood Richmonde Hotel; Jeremy Go, Resident Manager Hotel Lucky Chinatown; Joe Fijardo General Manager Kingsford Hotel Manila; Avinash Menon, Area General Manager Belmont Hotel Manila and Savoy Hotel Manila; Oliver Esguerra, General Manager Twin Lakes Hotel Tagaytay; Jorold Montelibano, General Manager Richmonde Hotel Ortigas

2

020 may have been a challenging year for most of us, but Megaworld Hotels believe that the best is yet to come.

With this, it is quite timely and significant that the group gathered all ten homegrown hotels for the first time in one Christmas Tree Lighting event, strengthening its solidarity as a group and anchoring on the event theme, Together as One. The theme intended to spread positivity to our guests and associates alike, with an entertaining yet inspiring event, which featured the symbolic Tree Lighting Ceremony by the different Hotel General Managers led by Megaworld Hotels Group General Manager, Ms. Cleofe Albiso at Eastwood Richmonde Hotel for Manila, supported by the rest of our properties

in Tagaytay, Iloilo, Mactan, and Boracay.

The event also honored the hotels team members affected by the current pandemic situation thru a moving video.

GGM Cleofe Albiso in her message said, “This is a celebration of the undying support of all our guests who have stayed at Megaworld Hotels despite the new realities. A celebration of the owners who have continuously backed the hotels and its associates. This definitely deepened the commitment as well as the loyalty of the employees and will surely go a long way. More so, this celebration is a thanksgiving for all the hardwork of the associates of Megaworld Hotels who made it through being frontliners in this time of pandemic. To all the employees on furlough for their trust and confidence that one day we will work back together again.”

Finally, viewers were treated with a wonderful holiday musical ensemble featuring The LOVE Project artists, Singing Sensations, James Uy, and Jon Joven in partnership with Resorts World Manila.

Megaworld Hotels is a homegrown hotel brand under the Megaworld Corporation, offering 4,000 room keys in Metro Manila (Eastwood Richmonde Hotel, Richmonde Ortigas, Hotel Lucky Chinatown, Belmont Manila, Savoy Manila, soon-to-open Kingsford Hotel Manila), and major tourist destinations in the provinces (Belmont Boracay, Savoy Boracay, Richmonde Iloilo, Savoy Mactan, and Twin Lakes Tagaytay).

For more details, follow the official Facebook page, https:facebook.com/ megaworldhotels.

LOILO is on the move for economic recovery and an introductory Investment Forum is set to ramp up the effort starting December 9 to 10, 2020 in Iloilo City.

The Iloilo Investment Forum 2020 is being organized by the Iloilo Provincial Government, the Iloilo City Government and the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Inc. (ILEDF), and in collaboration with three regional agencies, namely: Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Tourism.

“Reimagining Iloilo’s next economy and transforming it into a resilient sector is now an imperative. There is no other time to align the local economy back on its high-growth track than today,” said Terence S. Uygongco, chairman of ILEDF. According to the business group, Iloilo possesses the fundamentals to realize the national Government’s “new thinking” in agriculture development which pushes a modified focus from advancing specific crops towards overall wellness of the rural sector in terms of resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability.

The business forum on December is a kick-off for the three part series event. Part two will be comprised of business meetings set between January to February 2021 and it will capped by part three which is an international investment forum on March 2021.

The business meetings will offer a venue for potential investment locators to identify specific opportunities and matching with priority

commodities. In addition, this is also the time for business groups and Local Government Units to prepare and discuss project briefs where priority commodities are situated.

The International Investment Forum set on March 2021 is a networking opportunity in the area of food processing, agribusiness logistics centers, and light processing and manufacturing industry to absorb production of other areas or regions.

The Iloilo Investment Forum will be available online through Zoom and it will also be live-streamed through Facebook. The on-venue activity will be limited for pre-identified participants in compliance with the health protocol requirements as outlined by the Inter-Agency Task Force and by the Provincial and Local Governments of Iloilo.

Invited to speak on various topics during the forum are national and local political and business leaders, and industry experts. Visit thewebsite to learn more about the event, the program and the speakers at http://forum.investiniloilo.ph/.

To attend the free event, register at http://forum. investiniloilo.ph/register/.

TOYOTA RECOGNIZED FOR CSR PROGRAMS. Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP), together with its social and humanitarian arm TMP Foundation, received awards for outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs during the 4th Driven to Serve Awards bestowed by the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists (SPMJ). Toyota bagged two Gold Awards for implementing the Vegetable Garden Project in its adopted school in Santa Rosa, Laguna, and for initiating the nationwide Start Your Impossible: National Mangrove-Planting and Coastal Clean-up activity among TMP employees and Toyota dealers across the country. Toyota also received a Silver Award for its Breast Cancer Awareness Project for female faculty and staff at its adopted school. Receiving the awards for Toyota are, from left: TMP vice chairman and TMPF president Dr. David Go, TMP first vice president for Corporate Affairs Group Rommel Gutierrez, and TMPF assistant vice president Ronald Gaspar.

Sports BusinessMirror

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

Friday, December 4, 2020 B7

CONE: ANOTHER UGLY WIN

By Josef Ramos

B

ARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel made it 2-0 over TNT Katropa in the Finals series of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Wednesday night but the Gin Kings’ Head Coach Tim Cone came short of hating himself for that victory.

Isn’t that ironic?

“I sound like a broken record, but again, we are thankful for the win, but we are not happy,” Cone told BusinessMirror in a text message

RUSSELL WESTBROOK isn’t happy in Houston. AP

Westbrook to Wizards, Wall moves to Rockets

H

OUSTON—Russell Westbrook is headed to the Washington Wizards and John Wall is moving to the Houston Rockets in a significant swap of point guards—one a Most Valuable Player, the other a No. 1 overall draft pick—just weeks before the season starts.

The Wizards shipped a future lotteryprotected first round pick to the Rockets on Wednesday night.

“Having the opportunity to acquire a player of Russell’s caliber and character was something that we could not pass up when looking at both the immediate and long-term future of our team,” Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard said in a release. “With that said, the decision to part ways with John, one of the greatest players in franchise history, was extremely difficult. What he has meant to our organization and our community is immeasurable and will not be forgotten.”

While Wall has played his entire professional career in the nation’s capital, the move ends Westbrook’s tenure in Houston after just one disappointing season. He arrived from Oklahoma City in July 2019 for Chris Paul and draft picks.

The Rockets had hoped that the 32-year-old Westbrook would be the final piece they needed to win their first title since winning back-to-back championships in 1994-95. But instead, Houston was eliminated from the playoffs by the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western semifinals. Westbrook was the 2017 National Basketball Association (NBA) MVP and is a ninetime All-Star, but has failed to win a title.

Many questioned whether the pairing of two ball-dominant guards like Westbrook and James Harden would work in Houston, but the longtime friends insisted that it would. After the Rockets were sent home from the playoffs early again, rumors started to swirl that the two weren’t happy in Houston and both wanted out.

But after spending years building their entire team around Harden, who won MVP honors in 2018, the Rockets weren’t interested in parting with him. This move could be new general manager Rafael Stone’s way of appeasing Harden so the Rockets can continue their quest for a title this season instead of rebuilding without the superstar. Stone was promoted to GM last month after Daryl Morey stepped down before quickly taking a job with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Westbrook-Wall deal works under the NBA’s rules because the two players are owed about the same amount: Each gets more than $80 million over the next two seasons, plus each has a player option of more than $45 million for 2022-2023. AP

D

on Thursday, the morning after their 92-90 victory that kept them unbeaten in the raceto-four series.

“We were out coached and outhustled for the most part. But I don’t want to take anything away from our guys who persevered and found a way to win,” Cone said.

Cone even praised Roger Pogoy for filling the void left by Bobby Ray Parks Jr. who is recovering from a strained left calf he sustained in Game One. Pogoy posted 38 points in Game Two. And the most successful coach in the league wants his team to play Game Three set for 6 p.m. on Friday even more prepared.

“We know that we have to find the best of ourselves to continue to win games in this series,” he said. “Otherwise the tide could turn very quickly.”

Aljon Mariano sneaked in an explosive game when the Katropa were looking elsewhere to double up on defense in Game Two, and so did Stanley Pringle, although he usually does that.

Mariano finished with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in that

GINEBRA’S Aljon Mariano battles it out with TNT Katropa’s Troy Rosario (left) and Ryan Reyes.

GAB approves staging of more pro golf events

T

HE Games and Amusements Board (GAB) recently lauded the staging of the first of two tournaments marking the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) restart after an eight-month hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic and endorsed the staging of more pro golf events in the coming year.

In a report to GAB Chairman Abraham Mitra, the Pro-Basketball and Other Pro-Games Division cited the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. (PGTI) for its strict compliance with the Department of Health-Philippine Sports Commission-

GAB Joint Administrative Order health and safety protocols during the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Riviera Invitational Challenge two weeks ago.

“With the successful conclusion of the pro golf tournament organized by PGTI under the GAB supervision in compliance with the DOH-PSC-GAB JAO No. 2020-0001, it is noted that pro golf is back and more upcoming tournaments be allowed,” the GAB report said.

The report also mentioned the smooth conduct of the bubble tournament from the designated hotel at Bayleaf-Cavite to

Basketball gyms should remain closed–Roque

P

RESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. reminded basketball enthusiasts that all public or private playing courts should remain closed amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Basketball—a contact sport—is still not allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force [IATF] for the Management of Emerging Roque Infectious Diseases in areas under GCQ [general community quarantine] so public and private basketball courts should not be allowed to operate as of this moment,” Roque told BusinessMirror on Thursday.

BusinessMirror learned that several private indoor courts in Metro Manila, particularly in Marikina City and Paco in Manila, have opened their doors to clandestine games whose participants include players from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

The gyms, BusinessMirror found out, allow no more than 15 players for each

game. It wasn’t clear, however, if the gym owners or operators disinfect the facilities.

If caught, Roque said they would be apprehended and fined based on local government unit ordinances.

Roque stressed that only the Philippine Basketball Associaton, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 and the National Basketball League were allowed to play in bubble facilities.

It could be recalled that in July, Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and Rain or Shine’s Adrian Wong and Gilas cadets Isaac Go and Thirdy Ravena were caught on video playing a 5-on-5 game at the Ronac Gym in Greenhills, San Juan City.

The PBA fined Aguilar and Wong P20,000 each, while Go and Ravena were issued warnings by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

Also in July, the PBA fined Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy for holding an unauthorized collective team training.

Josef Ramos

Olympian Tabal joins Coast Guard Auxiliary

By Annie Abad

ON’T be surprised if you see a champion marathoner manning the deck of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship patrolling the country’s waters.

Rio Olympian Mary Joy Tabal was pinned with the rank of a Lieutenant Commander of the PCG Auxiliary (PCGA) on her shoulders in solemn ceremonies at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel in Cebu on Thursday.

“I will be working as Operations Officer, but the official announcement of our assignment will be on December 5,” said Tabal, 31, winner of the women’s marathon gold medal at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games.

“They [PCGA] just accepted me officially in advance.”

PCGA Commander Chester Sumalinog inducted Tabal as the highest ranked Auxiliarist in her batch. The PCGA primarily supports the PCG in the conduct of its functions. It is a volunteer organization.

Tabal said joining the PCGA was a calling.

“I never expected myself to join the PCGA, but I knew that in order to grow, I have to serve the country,” she said. “I also want to constantly inspire others to emulate any act of patriotism and service to our country.”

“I want to continue to challenge myself to never stop learning and to be able to embody the values that sports has taught me inside and outside the sports field,” she added.

Tabal underwent trainings to achieve her rank.

“The training wasn’t that hard—one whole day of indoctrination, orientation and basic Coast Guard protocols, marching, salute and how do we work and partner with PCG,” she said.

The military service is no alien to Tabal. Her longtime partner, Hector Dan Jimenez, is a lieutenant junior grade at the Philippine Navy, while her late father, Rolando Tabal, served in the Philippine Constabulary and the Philippine National Police.

“As a child, I grew up admiring men in uniform. People who serve the country, putting their lives in danger to maintain peace and safety,” Tabal said.

I saw how the service molded my Papa Lando to be a responsible father us.”

Tabal is no ordinary athlete as she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Accounting from Southwestern University in Cebu City and later completed a Masters degree in Public Administration.

“I have dedicated my life in sports and academics and it wasn’t easy,” she said. “Sports disciplined me to where I am today, serving the country.”

Lieutenant Commander Mary Joy Tabal beams in her uniform.

the venue at Riviera’s Couples and Langer courses.

RT-PCR tests were conducted for players and all personnel involved, including the GAB personnelon-duty.

“Health and safety protocols were implemented strictly in the hotel and golf course,” the GAB report added.

Antigen tests were conducted for all participants upon check-in at the hotel and at the close of the

tournament and all were tested negative.

Tony Lascuña topped the men’s competition while Princess Superal ruled the Ladies PGT side at the Couples course with the duo seeking a sweep of the twin events when the ICTSI Riviera Championship is held December 8 to 11 at the Langer course.

The PGTI has meticulously studied the possibility of staging tournaments after the easing up of quarantine restrictions in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces which host a number of the country’s

Game Two squeaker. But he is aware they need two more victories before they could celebrate.

“We haven’t proven anything yet and we haven’t won the series yet,” Mariano said. “We’ll shoot for 3-0 tomorrow [Friday]—one game at a time. It’s a race to four,” said the former University of Santo Tomas star who only had six points in their 100-94 overtime win in Game One last Sunday.

Mariano took over when the usual suspects—Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio and Earl Scottie Thompson—almost played dud and combined for a measly 14 points in Game Two where Ginebra overhauled a 15-point deficit.

“It’s just a conscious effort on my part,” Mariano said. “I expect TNT to come out aggressive tomorrow and I want to be more aggressive, so I really need to work harder.”

Pringle remained in his elements and had 34 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

TNT Coach Ferdinand “Bong” Ravena, meanwhile, remained optimistic.

“I think we have to protect our lead until the end. We suffered a breakdown in defense so we have to figure this out,” said Ravena, noting the 6-foot-4 Parks remains doubtful for Game Three. “We just have to pray also. I know we can still pull this off.” championship courses.

It included a new set of safety guidelines, including during the tournament proper, to help ensure the health and safety of all participants and those involved in the staging of both events.

Two tournaments were actually held before the pandemic—the ICTSI Pradera Classic, a spillover tournament capping the third season of PGT Asia last January, and The Country Club Invitational, the flagship event of each PGT season, last March.

Motoring BusinessMirror

B8 Friday, December 4, 2020

Editor: Tet Andolong

MY CLASSICS, MY FAVES A

By Myopic Eagle

N Omega for him, a Cartier for her—classics. Shakey’s thin crust pizza, Aristocrat BBQ with java rice—comfort food.

A Lancer box type, a Corolla SR— retro collectibles. And the Isuzu Gemini, the Isuzu Trooper—faves of mine and of so many others, which still beget smiles and happy memories when seen on the road.

Close but no cigar

MY hidden-away, guilty pleasure back in the late 70s and early 80s was to own and drive a taxi-yellow Gemini diesel with gold and silver Rota mags, Momo steering wheel and Recaro seats. But the closest I came to that young adult dream was when my sister- in-law bought a pre-loved powder blue Gemini two-door (but gas-fed). I can still picture the blue upholstery and feel the smooth clutch, shifter and responsive engine. My last memory of that fine car was during the 1989 coup attempt by the RAM. At the time we were living in Horseshoe Village, Q.C., not far from Camp Crame. One afternoon, as the children went out to play, we noticed the clear indentation of a bullet on

the chrome bumper of the Gemini and heard sporadic gunfire. We hurriedly herded the kids back indoors. We didn’t bother looking for the stray bullet casing.

Shortly after that episode, my sister-in-law migrated to Canada, but not before making sure her beloved Gemini went to a carefully vetted-car-caring buyer. My next close encounter with an Isuzu was through a family friend’s Trooper in the early 2000s—my first real taste of the emerging SUV class— riding high in the spacious middle row, feeling the road imperfections but not in an unpleasant way as the powerful three-liter diesel gobbled up the city streets…quite an experience. And what a looker! The Patrol looked too daunting, the Pajero too ubiquitous…the Trooper slotted in right between those two competitors as the most balanced optics- and performance-wise.

Boon and bane

SAVE for a nip and tuck here and

Parting is such sweet sorrow; old cars in demand

I

JUST sold my old car. Since it was my nephew buying it, I practically let him have my Lancer, the pizza type, practically for a song.

My dear, old gray ride never gave me a single headache. Also my wife, who drove it for the most part of its 23-year stay with the family. Reliable like my Swiss knife of 38 years.

It pained me to part with my 1997 matic. I must have downed a bottle of single malt—was it Oban or Macallan, if not Hibiki?—before the farewell rites were said and done.

The morning after, the hangover didn’t matter much after I got a high hearing about my nephew being so exceedingly happy at parting time the night before.

Nothing compares with blood brothers bonding with each other.

Money’s nothing. Blood is everything.

Have you read the Reuters news about old cars selling like hotcakes in Europe, because people there now view public transport like trains as being carriers of the Covid-19 pandemic?

Said Reuters: “In September, London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for a 5.7 billion pound [about P370.5 billion] bailout package for the city’s transport operator as passenger numbers continued to plunge.”

The virus scare also holds true in Madrid, Berlin, Brussels, The Hague, Rome, Geneva, Vienna and many other major European cities.

To them, it’s become healthier and safer to ride in their cars, be they aged 20 or 25.

“It’s fair to say in the time of corona that the amount of vehicles [seen on the road] older than 15 years has increased versus prior years,” said Bjoern Huetter of the

United Kingdom’s IHS Market, as quoted by Reuters.

Suddenly, I miss my Lancer.

Okamoto oration

THE following is Atsuhiro Okamoto’s closing remarks during the media lunch hosted by Alfred Ty, chairman of Toyota Motor Philippines, at Grand Hyatt Manila: “I became President of TMP in January this year. I did not realize but it was ONLY 10 months ago! It seems so long ago!

“I heard IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES, before I came here.

So I was looking forward to many exciting experiences like going to Boracay or El Nido, play golf. But I never imagined it to include volcano eruption and a global pandemic!

“But I am thankful for this experience for it has taught us a lot— What we can actually do, how we can become even tougher or more resilient, and how to survive. During this time, we saw how we can start the impossible.

“I did not know where to start, but one thing is ingrained in Toyota DNA. Family takes care of Family.

So when this pandemic broke out, we made it our top priority to ensure health and protection of our team members. TMP took steps to preserve the jobs of team members which many companies cannot do under these difficult times. We did it by assigning production team members to do kaizen activities, equipment maintenance, work-place safety and even mask production.

“We also prioritized team member welfare by conducting regular testing, health education and strict enforcement of health protocols.

Recently, we are fortunate to go back to 2-shift operations in line with market recovery and in preparation for better sales as economy

there, Isuzus bring longevity to the Philippine driving and riding public.

The venerable Hilander/Crosswind went thru more iterations than Spiderman over its 21-year lifespan. I still fondly recall the pleasant and comfortable ride of a rented tancolored Crosswind as my sidekick and I wended our way from Laoag to Vigan and Candon, thence to Santiago and Cauayan.

The Trooper, for its part, had a seven-year run, but is still very much around. So too the Alterra that has been with us for almost a decade and which brings us to the D-Max. It burst onto the local scene in 2003 and gave way to its second generation in 2008. This in turn ran until 2013. And so our current D-Max is opens up.

“Outside our plant, we also took the opportunity to reinforce our customer relations, adjust dealer operations by implementing strict safety protocols, enhancing online touchpoints, door to door service, resulting to increasing customer visits again lately. We supported our local suppliers by continuing both CKD production and CBU logistics operations. We accelerated our digital transformation by developing tools that will provide seamless customer experience on the front-end, and efficient operations on the backend with the use of technology. With drastic volume reduction, our dealers and suppliers struggle to keep their business operations. That’s why even at the height of the pandemic, we continue to roll-out new models, 5 for Toyota and recently 1 more for Lexus. This is our way to excite the market, stimulate sales, leading to restarting the economy and faster recovery.

“We initiated our transition from an automotive company to a mobility company. Locally, we have started with new mobility products such as Kinto One Subscription Service, Connected Auto Loans, and On-demand shuttle. Globally, Toyota is developing a fully connected ‘Woven City’ in Japan, and is eyeing the moon with a Lunar Cruiser! I am dreaming of one day when we can invite you for a ride and drive event to the moon.

“I am confident that we are prepared and positioned for growth beyond Covid.

“I am excited in what the future holds and we count on your support as we navigate a better, safer normal for all of us.

“Thank you and good afternoon.”

PEE STOP Despite almost 10 months of a pandemic-caused sales slump in the automotive industry, our players aren’t about to toss in the towel. They will soldier on like true warriors, believing eternally that nothing is permanent.

Christmas is just around the corner and there’s no reminder of a hope forthcoming as strong as what the season brings. We will overcome.

going on seven years and growing its fan base as it gains added tech and even more fuel economy with its Blue Power engines and more masculine stylistic cues outside, creature comforts inside. Think Tim Duncan, the Big Fundamental of the NBA. Or Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay in professional tennis or Pele, who played soccer for over two decades. Classic and steady, reliable and sturdy. Durable as all get out with just as lasting an appeal whether as a daily drive or weekend warrior.

This is personal

SO maybe you’re among the horde of Isuzu faithful hungry for images on YouTube and amateur reviews on social media of that latest ver-

sion launched in Thailand. And then you pause…only to realize and admit to yourself that not much has changed. My DMax still holds its own, and is far from outdated, compared to its youngest sibling.

And then you heave a sigh of relief and give thanks to the automotive gods for letting Isuzus stay the course and hold their value even as rivals scramble for upgrade and model changes to the point of over-spec’d foppery and polarizing faddism.

I should know. I got myself titanium silver D-Max RZ4E LS from Gencars a fortnight ago and quickly got attached to its intuitive controls, smooth shifter, quiet cabin, great visibility, and equal parts rugged and civilized aesthetic. This ex-Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda patron is now an Isuzu convert. Now I understand why there are so many Isuzu loyalists and evangelists. I can’t quite put my finger on it; maybe it’s the fit and finish, the rocksteady feel, the comfort akin to a classic Eames chair as opposed to a La-Z-Boy. Whatever that visceral connection may be, I know I’ve got it…with my two-week old D-Max.

Get in on it too. You will recall that the excise tax had the least cost impact on pick-up trucks, present D-Max company included. And now Isuzu Philippines and Gencars are offering hefty discounts on all variants to celebrate the milestone of 300K units sold in the country. This is such great value for money. But promo prices are good only while supply lasts. So call Gencars Sales right now at 8893 1674 and 8893 8913. Or e-mail them at isuzugencarsmakati@ gmail.com/sales@isuzu-gencars. com.ph or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. And if you’re outside the Metro, Gencars has half a dozen branches to serve you.

Are you one of those who need to be among the first to buy a flatscreen TV, from LCD to Plasma to HD to OLED? Not me…I wait for the technology to settle and for the price to drop. Neither am I a fan of the latest iPhone or Android device. If it ain’t broke…why replace it?

And so with nary a sideways glance at a spy photo or YouTube vid of its kid bro, I got myself a brand spanking new D-Max with its DNA of durability and dependability. Forget the mad scramble for the latest this, the latest that. Many years from now, I will decide…to pass on my D-Max to my son or to cash in on its high resale value…for the end in view of treating myself to another Isuzu.

Hmm…maybe the mu-X next time around.

GET BIG SAVINGS ON THIS SEASON’S FAVORITE VEHICLES

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YUNDAI Asia Resources Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai Passenger Cars (PC) gives more this Christmas with the MerrygaLOW Promo. Get big cash savings for this season’s family favorites—the STAREX, KONA, ACCENT, and REINA—from December 1 to December 31.

The Hyundai STAREX has established a legacy all its own as a stylish and reliable people mover, making it the vehicle of choice of many Filipino families and local celebrities, and business movers and shakers. But you don’t have to be a star to get one and celebrate the season in style. Inside and out, the STAREX is designed for relaxation, bonding, and long, happy naps. The long wheelbase not only assures ample legroom, but also makes the ride stable and noise-free even while moving at top speed. The front-mounted engine makes for reduced vibration and heat emissions and an added safety cushion in case of frontal collision. Inside, the driver safety windows and dual front air bags assure optimal safety.

With MerrygaLOW, you can save as much as P290,000.00 for this familyfirst van.

Another vehicle to make it to the top of your Christmas list is the Hyundai KONA which has been making waves as one of the bestselling subcompact SUVs in the market. The KONA has conquered Philippine roads with its globallyacclaimed styling, powerful and efficient engine (2.0-liter Atkinson gasoline engine with 6-speed AT transmission), and safety features which include six air bags, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and Tire Pressure Monitoring System. All the more reasons to get the KONA this Season and enjoy P205,000.00 in savings.

To upgrade your personal mobility these Holidays, MerrygaLOW also offers the Hyundai ACCENT with savings of up to P160,000.00, and even all the year through. That’s because the ACCENT has become synonymous with fuel-efficiency.

The 1.6-liter CRDi diesel engine variant, mated to a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission, effortlessly delivers capable power at 128 ps @ 4,000 rpm, and torque at 26.5 kg-m @ 1,500-3,000 rpm. Based on internal tests, this ACCENT vari-

ant can take you 29.4 kilometers on a single liter.

Finally, the sub-compact Hyundai REINA remains the favorite of first-time car buyers with its attractive price range, space, and urban styling. The ample 2,570mm wheelbase gives driver and passengers the right room for comfort, while the generous trunk space can store up to 475 liters of cargo. Under the hood is a 1.4L gasoline engine with dynamic power of 95ps for quicker maneuverability in and around the city. It’s mated to either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic transmission, offering a more versatile and convenient driving experience. Get this Queen for Christmas with P110,000 in savings to boot.

“Christmas is a time for reflection with friends and family. We look back at the year that was and look to better days ahead. It has been a challenging period but we remain committed to giving #BetterJourneys to our customers as we start a fresh year. This is our way of saying thank you and Merry Christmas to all,” HARI President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.