BusinessMirror December 16, 2021

Lawmakers ratify bicam report on ’22 budget

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HE country’s P5.024-trillion budget for 2022 inched closer to President Duterte’s signing it into law after the House of Representatives and the Senate separately ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of the measure on Wednesday.

The ratification in the House came a few hours after the congressional bicameral conference committee approved the national budget in the morning of the same day.

The Senate, in a final vote at Wednesday’s session, unanimously approved the final reconciled Senate and House versions of the General Appropriations bill.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara was briefly interpellated by Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on the bicameral decision to restore P15 billion of the P24-billion cuts made by the Senate for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The ratified national budget for fiscal year 2022 includes a P50-billion fund for booster shots and another P50 billion for health workers’ special risk allowance (SRA).

House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Rep. Eric Go Yap revealed that the bicameral conference committee focused on tweaking the 2022 national budget to address Covid-19-related problems

and hiking the budget for universities.

Yap said the 2022 national budget now includes a P50-billion fund for health workers’ SRA, which he pointed out was absent in the national expenditure program as proposed by the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Health.

He added that another P50 billion was allocated for buying Covid-19 booster shots. However, he explained that the bulk of the funds would be categorized as unprogrammed since the country gets a lot of Covid-19 vaccine donations from other countries.

“The house contingent focused

on Covid-19 and universities.

These are the important things to the House of Representatives especially to House Speaker [Lord Allan Velasco],” he told reporters after the bicameral conference committee meeting.

Yap said they allocated P32 billion for state universities and colleges (SUCs) to help these prepare for the resumption of face-to-face classes.

Yap also disclosed that the bicameral conference committee hiked the budget of the NTFELCAC to P15 billion (which was earlier slashed in the Senate by P24 S “L,” A

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Thursday, December 16, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 69

P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

A BIG BOON TO PHL Remittance growth slowed in October to 2.4%—BSP

B T J C. P @Tyronepiad

J E Y. A @jearcalas

 B F

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@butchfBM

OREIGN business groups operating in the Philippines on Wednesday hailed the Senate passage on third and final reading of the measure amending the 85-year-old Public Services Act (PSA), saying it breaks the country’s image as one of the most restrictive in the region, and will ease inflows of more investments.

However, the bill is not expected to be among those sent to Malacañang for signing into law by year-end, because the House of Representatives sent word it would not adopt the Senate version, having listed sticky issues it first wants to resolve with its counterpart, including the addition of more sectors to the list of public utilities identified in the House version and the introduction of “critical infrastructure” category.

What was billed as an “oligarchy-busting reform” by Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda will likely be submitted to President Duterte before the campaign period starts in February, Salceda said on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) hailed the approval of Senate Bill 2094, which seeks to revise provisions of the Public Services Act (PSA).

“The JFC expressed optimism that the game-changing law will pass in the current Congress as the bill has been certified urgent for immediate enactment by President Rodrigo Duterte,” the group said in a statement.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services and sponsor of the bill, said the measure intends to provide Filipino consumers with “more and better choices,” adding that future generations of Filipinos will “truly benefit” from liberalizing the country’s public services.

She said the bill provides a clearer definition of the terms “public S “JFC,” A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES

B B C @BcuaresmaBM

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ASH sent by Filipino migrant workers grew at a slower pace in October this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Wednesday.

Data from the Central Bank showed that cash remittances that coursed through banks increased by 2.4 percent to hit $2.8 billion in October this year from $2.747 billion registered in the same month in 2020.

The 2.4-percent growth is slower than the 5.2-percent expansion seen in September this year. It is also below the 5.3-percent average growth of remittances for the first 10 months of the year.

Despite the slower growth, the month’s remittance flow brought the 10-month total remittances to $25.93 billion for the year. This is higher than the $24.63 billion 10-month remittance total in 2020. The BSP traced the expansion in cash remittances to the increase in receipts from land-based and sea-based workers, which rose by 2.8 percent to $2.247 billion from $2.186 billion and 0.6 percent to $565 million from $561 million, respectively.

The Central Bank also said the growth in cash remittances from the United States, Taiwan, and MaA VEHICLE passes by Christmas displays at a drive-thru Christmas installation outside a mall in Pasay City on Monday, December 13, 2021. Visitors need to stay inside vehicles as they drive around tunnels and zones filled with Christmas displays as a safety measure to help curb the spread of Covid-19 while this predominantly Roman Catholic nation prepares to celebrate one of its most important holidays. AP/AARON FAVILA

S “R,” A

UNCTAD: PHL EXPORTS LOSING $100M ON RCEP, BUT...

B T J C. P @Tyronepiad

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HE Philippines may lose $100 million worth of exports within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) region with the implementation of the mega trade deal, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

While RCEP will boost trading among signatories in general, the Philippines, along with Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, may be drawing the short end of the stick as some trade activities are expected to be transferred to other territories with better tariff concessions.

“The reason for this is the nega-

tive trade diversion effects,” the UN committee said, even as it clarified that all things considered, this does not mean that RCEP members are better off opting out of the trade deal.

“Some of the exports of these economies are expected to be diverted to the advantage of other RCEP members because they obtained relatively higher tariff concessions,” it said by way of explaining the trade diversion effect. A tariff concession eliminates tariff duties, making trading among RCEP members cheaper.

Based on Unctad’s computation, the impact of the trade pact on Philippine exports to the RCEP region translates to 0.1-percent decline.

This is lower compared to other

affected countries. Unctad sees a decrease of 0.3 percent for Indonesia, 1.2 percent for Vietnam and 3.9 percent for Cambodia.

Lopez disputes claim

TRADE Secretary Ramon Lopez, however, deems Unctad’s claims are “unlikely.”

“Will have the team recheck. It [RCEP] should have the new concessions for Philippines,” he told the BM.

Despite the negative impact on exports, Unctad said RCEP members are better served by joining the trade deal.

“Even without considering the other benefits of the RCEP agreement besides tariff concessions, C  A

■ US 50.3610 ■ JAPAN 0.4429 ■ UK 66.6880 ■ HK 6.4560 ■ SINGAPORE 36.7625 ■ AUSTRALIA 35.7664 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.4246 ■ EU 56.7115 ■ CHINA 7.9097

Source: BSP (December 15, 2021)

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News BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Lawmakers...

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billion) while they added P3.5 billion for the purchase of more C130 aircraft.

Yap explained that they have been pushing to restore the original P29-billion budget of the NTFELCAC, but senators wanted to allocate the fund to other programs of the government. The P15 billion that was restored was a compromise made between the two chambers, which he noted was “good enough.”

“It was not fully restored since the Senate had different priorities.

We want to restore the whole NTFELCAC budget but the senators have a wisdom that other agencies need more funds like the SRA,” he said.

Yap said the budget allocated for C130 will allow the government to purchase six aircraft that can be used for Covid-19-related measures like delivery of vaccines.

The additional budget was sourced from government programs that had dismal performance or underutilization.

“For example, the DOTr [Department of Transportation] has underutilized [funds] so we removed it, then put it to the SRA. We are really dumbfounded that the SRA is not included in the NEP,” he said.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas, Butch Fernandez

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P13B in 3rd wave of advance PhilHealth payments due soon

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B S P. M

@sam_medenilla

HE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) announced it will soon release the third wave of advance payments for claims related to novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases with an estimated worth of P13 billion.

In a virtual briefing, PhilHealth spokesman Shirley B. Domingo said they will implement the latest round of their Debit-Credit Payment Method (DCPM) to address the concern of medical facilities, which complained of long delays

in their reimbursement.

Under the said scheme, PhilHealth will issue cash to its accredited hospitals equivalent to the amount of their claims minus tax, which it is still processing.

JFC...

Under SB 2094, public utility refers to a “public service that operates, manages or controls for public use” any of the following: distribution or transmission of electricity; petroleum and petroleum products pipeline distribution systems, water pipelines distribution systems and wastewater pipeline systems; as well as airports, seaports, public utility vehicles and tollways or expressways.

Those not classified as a public utility shall

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services” and “public utilities” in the existing law. In the 1987 Constitution, only corporations that are at least 60-percent owned by Filipinos shall be given the franchise, certificate and authorization to operate as a public utility.

“We do not have an exact amount [of the payment] because it will depend on who will avail of it. But we estimate, if all which are qualified will avail of it, it will be around P13 billion,” Domingo told the BUSINESSMIRROR in a Viber message.

The third wave of DCPM will be offered nationwide to hospitals, which are managing a Covid cases.

PhilHealth noted it already released P11.04 billion through the initial waves of the DCPM. Domingo maintained their DCPM, which is a kind of interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM), is allowed under Republic Act 7875 and the Universal Health Care Law. This is contrary to the position of the Commission on Audit (COA) that such scheme has no legal basis.

Domingo said they will request for post facto approval from the President to provide otherwise be considered as a public service, which will not be bound by the restriction on foreign ownership. Public services include telecommunications, air carriers, domestic shipping, railways and subways.

During the period of interpellation on the proposed law, Poe explained that such public services are identified in the bill as “critical infrastructure” and will continue to be subject to regulation by relevant agencies under existing laws.

The Senate version limits the industries considered as public utilities—or those sectors that, if destroyed, will adversely impact national security. As a result, the industries outside of the scope will not be subject to 40-percent foreign equity restriction, as public utilities are, thereby liberalizing the said sectors.

The Senate version allows full foreign ownership for the following sectors: telecommunications, air carriers, domestic shipping, railways and subways and canals and irrigation systems.

Meanwhile, the following are still subjected to 40-percent foreign ownership restriction: distribution or transmission of electricity; petroleum and petroleum products pipeline transmission; water pipeline distribution systems and wastewater pipelines systems; airports; seaports; public utility vehicles; and expressways and tollways.

“We strongly support the passage of this vital legislation and pledge our efforts to bring the reform to the attention of appropriate firms in our member countries in the United States, Australia-New Zealand, Canada, Korea, Japan, and Europe,” the JFC said.

The foreign business groups said they will encourage said countries to bring in more investments that can support the public services in the country.

“With its large, growing economy, the Philippines will enjoy many benefits when local and foreign firms compete side-by-side and together to provide the Filipino with better services that this reform will bring,” it added.

Closed to investments

IT is time for such restrictions to be lifted, the JFC said, as this branded the country as “more closed to foreign investment than most Asian economies.”

“It also created a business environment for the services sector that nurtured oligopolies and weakened competition to the detriment of consumers,” they said. “Tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment did not come to the Philippines but instead went to our neighbors.”

Enacting the PSA amendments will place the country on a par with Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia in terms of being open to foreign ventures, the group explained.

In addition, the group said passage of the reform will mean more job opportunities, better technology and cheaper cost of public services for the consumers.

The signatories include the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, AustralianNew Zealand Commerce of the Philippines, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, European Chamber of Commerce of the

Remittance...

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laysia contributed largely to the increase in remittances in January to October 2021.

Meanwhile, in terms of country sources, the US posted the highest share of overall remittances at 40.9 percent in the first 10 months of 2021, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Taiwan, Qatar, and South Korea. The combined remittances from these top

further legal basis for the IRM.

Ongoing coordination

THE state insurer made the assurance on Wednesday after some hospitals threatened to disengage with PhilHealth due to its delayed reimbursement for Covid-related cases.

Patients in non-PhilHealth accredited health facilities must process their PhilHealth reimbursement on their own.

As of Wednesday, Domingo said they have yet to receive an official notice from any hospital, which wants to disengage with PhilHealth.

Nevertheless, she said they are already coordinating with the hospitals, which are complaining of the delayed reimbursements.

“We are implementing several reforms and continuously reaching out to these hospitals to avert any situation that will not be good to our members,” Domingo said.

Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of the Philippines, Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc.

Risa’s dissent

IN casting her negative vote, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said she accepts the principle that Congress has the power to define what services are a public utility and which ones are not.

However, she expressed sadness, “that many other critical services have been opened up to 100 percent foreign ownership by our bill when, as Senator Recto repeatedly proposed, we could have limited foreign participation say to 70 percent, which allows Filipinos and even the state to have direct knowledge of what goes on inside these critical facilities.” Hontiveros added: “Specifically I also vote NO, because the Telecomms industry is being opened up by our Senate Bill to 100 percent foreign ownership, and we are doing this at a time when we have tech-savvy neighbors as well as rogue non-state elements that are directly targeting facilities in the region, including government and military installations and other very critical infrastructure.”

House panel’s ‘issues’

SALCEDA said House members will surely seek a congressional bicameral conference committee to resolve disagreeing provisions between their and the Senate’s versions of the bill.

“What I can tell you now is that there will probably be no adoption by the House. We will almost certainly want a bicameral conference committee on this. We hope to send a final version to President Duterte before the campaign period starts in February,” Salceda said.

Salceda said he expects to meet with their Senate counterparts during the session break for the bicameral conference committee.

The issues raised by Salceda on the Senate version include the addition of more sectors to the list of public utilities identified in the House version and the introduction of “critical infrastructure” category.

The House earlier approved its version on March 10, 2020.

Salceda said he will also discuss the standards for National Security Council review of critical infrastructure investments, including what could constitute disallowance and what qualifies as a national security threat, with his Senate counterparts.

Lastly, Salceda noted that the refund mechanism to consumers in the House version is absent in the Senate’s version.

“These provisions will be very crucial to the final form of the measure. For example, the Senate version only provides for the disgorgement of profits for violations of rules set by the administrative agency concerned,” he said.

“It does not provide for a system to return to the public any money generated that is against the rules of the regulator. This to me is a clear public welfare issue that should be clarified.

After all, it is the public that bears the cost of unjust hikes in the prices of utilities,” he added.

10 countries accounted for 79.0 percent of total cash remittances during the period.

Last month, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the growth in remittances in October reflected high base effects from last year’s remittance flows.

“OFW remittances could improve further in the coming months that support the country’s economic recovery prospects from Covid-19, as the global economic recovery would still improve further as more countries, especially those that host large numbers of OFWs,” Ricafort said.

TRADE Secretary Ramon Lopez

UNCTAD: PHL EXPORTS LOSING $100M ON RCEP, BUT...

C  A

the trade creation effects associated with participation in RCEP softens the negative trade diversion effects,” it explained.

The trade creation for the Philippines, for example, is seen to reach $200 million within RCEP region.

The trade among the 15 signatories already reached about $2.3 trillion in 2019, but the economic deal is expected to hike the overall exports within RCEP by 1.8 percent or $41.8 billion moving forward.

“This would result from trade creation—as lower tariffs would stimulate trade between members by nearly $17 billion—and trade diversion—as lower tariffs within the RCEP would redirect trade valued at nearly $25 billion away from non-members to members,” the UN group said.

Japan is seen as the biggest winner, with Unctad computing a 5.5-percent increase in exports to RCEP, mostly due to trade diversion effects. This translates to a $20.2-billion rise in exports.

Following Japan, Unctad also projects “substantial positive effects” of the trade deal on exports to RCEP by Australia, China, Korea and New Zealand.

Eliminating tariffs

THE regional bloc’s agreement covers several areas of cooperation, including tariff concessions; the RCEP seeks to eliminate 90 percent of their tariffs.

“Under the RCEP framework, trade liberalization will be achieved through gradual tariff reductions. While many tariffs will be abolished immediately, others will be reduced gradually during a 20-year period,” Unctad noted.

The report said the “tariffs that remain in force will be mainly limited to specific products in strategic sectors, such as agriculture and the automotive industry.”

Under RCEP, the percentage of tariff lines with zero tariff in agriculture, natural resources and manufacturing stand at 75 percent, 90 percent and 91 percent, respectively.

Unctad, as a result, computes an average reduction in tariffs for agriculture by 12.8 percentage points, natural resources by 4.8 percentage points and manufacturing by 8 percentage points.

RCEP signatories include the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) memberstates and their free trade agreement partners: Australia, China, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.

The pact was signed in November last year.

One of the world’s biggest economic deals, RCEP covers roughly a third of the global gross domestic products and international trade.

It is set to enter into force by next month but the Philippines has yet to ratify this deal to allow participation.

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, December 16, 2021 A3

It’s here: PHL logs first 2 cases of Omicron variant

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

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WO international travelers have been found to be positive of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron (B.1.1.529), the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Wednesday.

Based on the report of University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the University of the PhilippinesNational Institutes of Health (UPNIH) the two imported cases of the Omicron variant were detected from the 48 samples sequenced on December 14, 2021.

The latest sequence run also showed 33 positive for the Delta

(B.1.617.2) variant while 13 had no lineage assigned. The samples sequenced were from 21 Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs), one foreign national, and 26 local cases from areas with case clusters.

Omicron

THE two Omicron variant cases are incoming travelers and are currently isolated in a facility managed by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ).

One is a 48-year-old male ROF who arrived from Japan on December 1, 2021 via Philippine Airlines flight number PR 0427. The sample was collected on December 5, 2021.

His positive result was released on December 7 and the case was admitted in an isolation facility on

the same date.

The DOH said that the male patient is currently asymptomatic but had symptoms of colds and cough upon arrival.

The other case is a 37-year-old Nigerian national who arrived from Nigeria on November 30, 2021 via Oman Air with flight number WY 843.

A sample was collected on December 6, 2021 and the result was released on December 7, 2021.

He was then admitted to an isolation facility on the same date. His current status is also asymptomatic.

DOH is determining possible close contacts among co-passengers during the flights of these two cases.

“Getting the manifest kami [We’re

in the process of securing the flight manifest already], we will inform all of you as soon as we have further details,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told the media adding, “DOH is verifying the test results and health status of all passengers of these flights to determine if there are other confirmed cases or passengers who became symptomatic after arrival.

DOH is also asking travelers who have arrived in the Philippines through these flights that they may call the DOH COVID-19 Hotlines at (02) 8942 6843 or 1555, or their respective LGUs to report their status.

Vergeire said that one of the two cases is fully vaccinated and the other is not vaccinated.

Delta cases

OF the additional 33 Delta variant cases, 14 were ROFs. The 19 local cases were tested in the following regions: three each from Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Caraga, and Soccsksargen, two from Western Visayas, and one each from the Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Eastern Visayas, and Davao region.

This update brings the total number of confirmed Delta variant cases to 7,919.

DOH assured that it is closely working with local government units for them to conduct active case finding and ensure that Covid-19 cases are immediately isolated, tested and contact traced, and that eligible sam-

ples for sequencing are submitted.

With the detection of the imported cases of Omicron variant, the DOH also urged everyone to adhere to the minimum public standards and properly wear face masks, frequently wash hands with soap and water or disinfect with alcohol, observe physical distancing, ensure proper ventilation, and avoid crowded areas.

“Moreover, this holiday season, the public should avoid holding mass gatherings to curb the transmission of Covid-19,” DOH said.

DOH also encouraged those unvaccinated to get themselves inoculated during the National Vaccination Days to receive the additional protection that vaccines provide against Covid-19.

2,650 families get aid ahead of ‘Odette’s’ Samar landfall ‘Simbang Gabi’ tradition sweeps across

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UMANITARIAN groups distributed through digital cash transfer more than P4 million to 2,650 families in 40 barangays in Salcedo, Dolores, Lawaan, Quinapondan and Balangiga towns in Eastern Samar three days before the projected impact of Yyphoon “Odette” (international code name Rai), Oxfam Pilipinas announced on Wednesday.

The financial aid was made possible through the Building Resilient Adaptive and Disaster Ready Communities (B-READY) project, in coordination with Strengthening Harmonized Action for Disaster Risk Reduction, Preparedness and Early Recovery (SHARPER) project under which the humanitarian groups utilized an early warning system technology developed by Global Parametrics.

This developed as Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and CEO R ichard Gordon a ler ted people at Odette’s path to stay vigilant and prepare for the coming weather disturbance, warning that the severe storm may reach a maximum strength of 155 kilometers per hour (km/h).

As the typhoon is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday night, Gordon said PRC is prepared to respond through its local chapters. According to the PRC Disaster Management Services, all rescue vehicles, logistic hubs, and emergency response units are ready for situations like this.

“I want to remind everyone to keep your guard up. Protect and save your families. It is best to always predict, plan, prepare, and practice. These are vital steps towards safety and disaster resilience,” Gordon said.

Pre-disaster response

THE B-READY distribution initiative is jointly implemented

by Oxfam Pilipinas, People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network (PDRRN); Sentro para sa Ikauunland ng katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya Inc. (SIK AT), and Oxfam America.

The said early warning system

targets provision of support to lowincome communities before the typhoon strikes.

Both projects involve nongovernment organizations, private sector groups, government, and sciencebased agencies, which aim to anticipate typhoons and empower vulnerable groups at risk to prepare for incoming disasters.

In a statement, Oxfam Pilipinas Country Director Maria Rosario Felizco said that by shifting from giving post-disaster cash aid to providing pre-disaster cash aid, communities can recover from disasters sooner.

“To strengthen Filipinos’ disaster resilience, we need to move from a post-disaster response mechanism, and instead anticipate disasters and support vulnerable groups such as low-income families, elderly people, single women with children, and people with disabilities,” Felizco said.

DOTr, PCG hoist alert status

DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade has instructed all sub-agencies to prepare for Typhoon Odette to minimize its effect for the upcoming holidays.

“We need to be ready for this storm. Let us monitor closely and coordinate all action with all the other concerned government agencies so that those who are going home to their provinces to spend the Christmas holidays will be safe,” said Tugade.

Typhoon Odette is expected to affect many parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.

Already the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) has activated its airports’ weather emergency standby protocols, including necessary boarding up of glass windows and doors and the reinforcement of installations and equipment.

Caap has also started monitoring the movement of Typhoon Odette as well as conditions in various airports, assessing the possibility of suspending air traffic operations in areas expected to be affected by the tropical storm.

Likewise, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has started to comply with the advisories issued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), suspending sea voyages in areas affected by the typhoon.

For its part, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has ordered the suspension of land travel to the Visayas and Mindanao. The LTO order also ordered the suspension of land travel to Catanduanes and Masbate.

The order suspending land travel to the affected areas will remain until the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal is lifted.

Units of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), meanwhile, have started mounting efforts for possible evacuations, rescue operations and the delivery of relief amid Typhoon Odette.

District, station, and sub-station commanders in areas that will be directly affected by Odette were instructed to prepare for evacuations, rescue operations, and relief missions, in coordination with local government units.

PCG units in the Caraga and Western Visayas regions were directed to immediately activate their deployable response groups (DRGs) and quick response teams (QRTs), and inspect available search and rescue (SAR) assets and equipment as Odette enters PAR. All PCG vessels that are “ready for sail” are tasked to take shelter as early as Wednesday. Station and sub-station commanders in the affected areas are now preparing for the issuance of appropriate maritime safety advisories to fishermen, ship crew, and other maritime stakeholders within the day.

Meanwhile, PCG units in areas that will not be directly affected by Odette are tasked to work with the PCG Auxiliary in repacking food, medical supplies, hygiene kits, and other relief packages to ensure the swift provision of humanitarian assistance to communities that will be affected by the severe tropical storm.

Jonathan L. Mayuga, Lorenz S. Marasigan and Rene Acosta

the globe from Vatican to North America

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

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IMBANG Gabi, the Filipino tradition of nine-day novena mass leading to Christmas Eve, has begun not only here in the Philippines but across the globe—from Italy and Vatican City to the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America.

This year, parishes around the world are encouraged to offer thanksgiving prayers for the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.

Fr. Ricky Gente, chaplain of the Sentro Pilipino Chaplaincy in Rome, said Simbang Gabi for the Filipino Catholic CommunityinItalywillbeobservedfirst at Santa Pudenziana Basilica on December 15 around 6 p.m. Italy time (December 16, 1 a.m., Philippine time). The 4th centurybasilicaisthedesignatedofficial church of the Filipinos by St. John Paul II when he was the pope.

Then on December 19, the venue for the Simbang Gabi mass will transfer to St. Peter Basilica in Vatican City. The mass will be presided by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and will start around 4 p.m. (December 20, 12 midnight Philippine time).

However, only 500 seats will be allowed in the St. Peter Basilica, Flordeliza Racadio, secretary of the Pastoral Council of the Sentro Pilipino Chaplaincy, said.

This is the sixth year Simbang Gabi is being celebrated in St. Peter Basilica, the papal enclave. In 2019, Pope Francis even celebrated the Simbang Gabi mass there.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Simbang Gabi also started today December 15, 9 p.m. (December 16, 1 a.m. Philippine time) at the St. Joseph’s Church Parish.

In Taiwan, Simbang Gabi will be held in various churches, including the Holy Cross Parish in Changhua City, St. Joseph Parish in K aohsiung, and St. Michael Church in Taipei.

Filipinos in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), meanwhile, will not be allowed to attend inperson Simbang Gabi masses at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Instead,

Manila secures fresh $175-M ADB loan for construction of Marikina River bridges

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE Philippines was able to secure a new loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance the construction of three new climate and disaster resilient bridges over the Marikina River.

The ADB Board approved a $175million loan to build the bridges that aim to improve road traffic flow amid the rapid urbanization of Metro Manila.

The bridge projects will also improve the capability of the Department of Public Works and Highways to manage, operate, and maintain the country’s roads and bridges.

The Metro Manila Bridges Project

will construct bridges totaling 3,024 meters over the Marikina River, including the Marcos Highway–St. Mary Avenue Bridge, Homeowner’s Drive– A. Bonifacio Bridge, and Kabayani Street–Matandang Balara Bridge.

“This project is part of the country’s flagship ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure development program and the government’s integrated transport strategy to decongest Metro Manila, and promote development in the regions,” said ADB Transport Specialist for Southeast Asia Chaorin Shim.

“The project is ADB’s first focused on bridge construction in the Philippines and will help in the country’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic by creating jobs, improv-

ing the living conditions of residents near the river, and providing them with better access to the rest of Metro Manila,” she added.

The bridge designs include climate and disaster resilient features to reduce flood risks and absorb shocks from strong earthquakes.

The bridges will connect to Metro Manila’s major arterial and other trunk roads. The project meets international safety standards for access to all pedestrians, including people with disabilities, children, older people, and women.

The project is aligned with ADB’s 2018–2023 country partnership strategy for the Philippines, which prioritizes support for the country’s infrastructure investments, among

others. ADB’s current investments in the country’s big-ticket infrastructure projects include the Malolos Clark Railway Project, Edsa Greenways Project, and the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project.

This is also the second loan secured by the government from the ADB this week. The other loan worth $250 million aims to help the Philippine government secure additional Covid-19 vaccine supply to boost the health security of Filipinos and ensure a safe and steady economic recovery.

The assistance will allow the government to purchase 40 million additional doses of Covid-19 vaccines for eligible children and booster shots for adults.

SIMBANG Gabi at the Philippine Center in New York, with Bishop Witold Mroziewski blessing the parols

they will be asked to join the online mass that will be streamed live at 8 p.m. UAE time (December 16, 12 midnight Philippine time) at the SMCFilipino Facebook Page.

Meanwhile, Filipinos in Sydney, Australia have already started their first Simbang Gabi at Our Lady of Dolours Chatswood Parish, adorned with Christmas lanterns around the church, last December 11.

“We are blessed to witness and experience this Filipino way of waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ by adorning the church with parols [stars] to symbolize the light of Christ. Parols also adorn homes to show that families are ready to receive and welcome Christ,” Bishop Anthony Randazzo, who presided the mass, said.

Bishop Randazzo said Simbang Gabi has become popular in the Diocese of Broken Bay in Sydney, thanks to the Filipino Chaplaincy who introduced the Filipino tradition.

He was delighted with the parols, which he said are visible signs of joy around the Church, and a reminder for his parish “to always be happy in the Lord.”

Simbang Gabi also started early in New York City, USA last December 6.

The novena masses are being held at the Philippine Center along 5th Ave., organized by the Philippine Consulate General.

Bishop Witold Mroziewski, auxiliary bishop to the Diocese of Brooklyn, also held a special blessing of the parols before the Simbang Gabi mass Tuesday night.

On the west coast, Los Angeles, USA, the pre-Christmas mass series also started early in Sta. Monica last December 11.

But the bigger celebration will be held today December 15, 6:30 p.m., (December 16, 10:30 a.m. Philippine time) at the Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral with Archbishop José H. Gomez as celebrant.

Aside from celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will also celebrate the 250th jubilee of the Catholic faith in Los Angeles. “This year’s Simbang Gabi theme, ‘Gifted to Share the Light of Christ,’ highlights these important gifts for Filipino Catholics,” the archdiocese said in a news statement.

Sixty parishes in Chicago, Illinois, USA have also scheduled their own Misa De Gallo starting today December 15 from as early as 6:30 a.m. (December 16, 6:30 p.m. Philippine time).

TheArchdioceseofChicagoreleased guidelines on how to conduct Simbang Gabimasses,including followinghealth protocols and information on the availability of 19 Filipino priests in Chicago.

“Please be aware that there are only 19 Filipino priests who already have faculties in the Archdiocese of Chicago [this does not include some of the religious orders]. With just 19 priests and about 60 parishes participating in Simbang Gabi, please give consideration and realize that it will be difficult for all 19 Filipino priests to make themselves available for all requests and invitations,” it added.

SHFC’s low-cost housing project benefits 1K+ families in Bacoor

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VER a thousand families living in danger zones across Bacoor City, Cavite will benefit from the latest project implemented by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

TheDHSUDsaidatotalof1,440units will be built under SHFC’s Community MortgageProgramandwillbenefitfamilies living in danger zones across Bacoor City. The units will be built in Barangay Molino 1 in Bacoor City.

The agency said that the project, dubbed Ciudad de Strike Phase I, is the third low-rise housing project turned over by SHFC over the past two months.

“Ito po ang proyekto na subsidized housing na pinapairal ng national government with direct coordination with the LGU with a subsidized rate.

Pinababa po namin nang husto ang interest rate dahil yan po ang utos ng ating mahal na Pangulo to ensure na tulungan ang ating mga kababayan—81 percent of Filipinos—to have their own dream house,” Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said in a news statement.

Del Rosario reiterated that housing is a right of every Filipino family and it is the department’s responsibility to capacitate the underprivileged in having access to decent and affordable housing, as well as ensure that no substandard housing project is built under the Duterte administration. Cai U. Ordinario

A4 Thursday, December 16, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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Private sector seeks ‘swifter’ Covid-19 booster inoculation

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

P

@TyronePiad

RIVATE sector groups want Filipinos to receive their booster shots sooner than the prescribed six-month period after receiving the final dose of Covid-19 jabs to strengthen immunity.

GoNegosyo Founder and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria A. Concepcion and OCTA Research Fellow Nicanor Austriaco recommended that the national government consider “shortening the interval between the second dose and the booster dose from 6 months to 4 months.”

“There is data that suggests that acquired immunity from the Covid-19 vaccines significantly decreases at around five months, sometimes sooner depending upon the vaccine brand,” their joint statement on Wednesday read.

As such, they said cutting the waiting pe-

riod for the booster shot by two months will “preserve the significant population immunity that is mitigating the pandemic in the country at this time.” This, as the representatives took note of the excess supply of vaccines.

In addition, Concepcion and Austriaco noted that recent data about the Omicron variant from South Africa suggests that it is more “transmissible and more immuneevasive.” They said that it is likely that a surge in Covid-19 cases will happen once it arrives in the country.

Austriaco said the government must be able to administer booster shots by the first or second quarter of next year already to avoid Covid-19 surge.

The Philippines can do this, Concepcion said, as the country has the “tools to be able to handle the threat of waning

vaccine protection in the population.”

“We have the vaccines, and it will be those vaccines that will create that wall of protection,” he said.

Citing data from GoNegosyo’s sources, the Philippines is expected to have received nearly 200 million vaccine doses by the end of 2021.

The private sector representatives suggested focusing vaccination in cities and first class municipalities, including those near the international gateways such as airports and seaports, to improve protection against Omicron variant.

“The significant population protection in the urban regions of our country will also help to shield our farming communities and our kababayans living in the countryside, many of whom have not yet been vaccinated,” the joint statement said.

PSA: 50M+ Pinoys now listed for national ID

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VER 50 million Filipinos have already registered for the National ID, exceeding the target ahead of its December 30 deadline, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

As of December 11, 2021, the PSA has registered 50.014 million Filipinos to the demographic and biometric data collection.

The target is to register 50 million Filipinos

by December 31 this year.

Step 2 Registration, which involves validating supporting documents and collecting biometric information such as iris scans, fingerprints, and front-facing photographs, began in January 2021 in 32 priority provinces that were considered low-risk areas for Covid-19.

“The PSA salutes all those who contributed to this milestone for the PhilSys Step 2 Registration,” said PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General. “Notwithstanding the pandemic and the restrictions that came with it, the PSA—together with its field offices, partner agencies, and key stakeholders—worked relentlessly to ensure that more Filipinos can begin registering for their PhilIDs.” As of December 10, 2021, some 4.414 million Filipinos have already received their PhilID cards. These cards will soon have a digital version through the soon-to-belaunched PhilSys mobile app. Registrants can already use this alternative while waiting for their actual PhilIDs. Further, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said in a news statement that in partnership with the PSA, the Land Bank of the Philippines has also processed 6.787 million bank account applications through a co-location strategy in PhilSys registration centers.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said this milestone would help promote financial inclusion, improve targeting of beneficiaries, and accelerate the delivery of government social protection programs for all Filipinos.

“The pandemic emphasized the urgency of providing every Filipino with a unique and digitized ID. This is why we accelerated the rollout of the PhilSys. We congratulate and thank the PSA, our government and development partners, private sector stakeholders, and registration officers for making this huge accomplishment possible,” Chua said.

In order to reach more registrants, PhilSys registration sites will remain open in the remaining working days of the year.

PSA also enjoins the private sector to host mobile registrations in their respective

workplaces and communities.

Assistant Secretary Rosalinda P. Bautista, Deputy National Statistician of the PhilSys Registry Office (PRO), commended the efforts of PSA field offices for the rollout of registration operations and assured the public that the PSA will continue to organize programs that will open more opportunities for Filipinos to register to the PhilSys next year.

“The PhilSys will enhance service delivery of both the public and private sector and give every Filipino, especially the poor, access to much-needed social and financial services. We encourage everyone to register and take part in this game-changing reform,” said Chua.

The three-step PhilSys registration process began in October 2020, which prioritized low-income households in the 32 priority provinces. As part of the PhilSys Step 1 Registration, PhilSys registration team conducted house-to-house collection of the registrants’ demographic information amid the extended quarantine protocols.

The nationwide collection of registrants’ demographic information was also made possible with the launch of the online PhilSys registration site in April 2021.

The PSA gradually expanded its Step 2 Registration operations as more Filipinos realize the benefits of having a national ID. As of today, 1,622 registration centers across the country continue to accommodate the Step 1 registrants.

It also established partnerships with local government units (LGUs), other government agencies, and private institutions to bring the registration experience closer to more Filipinos.

Further, PSA implemented various registration drives and other institutional registration strategies to onboard working and middle-class individuals, and persons deprived of liberty (PDL).

The PSA also has recently extended its registration efforts to citizens living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA). On May 18, 2021, the Provincial Statistical Office of Pampanga organized an on-site registration for the Aeta communities in Porac, Pampanga, specifically in the barangays of Camias, Villa Maria, Inararo, Diaz, and Sapang Uwak.

On November 30, 2021, more than 100 individuals residing in remote areas from Nueva Ecija were registered to PhilSys. Representatives from PSA Nueva Ecija crossed rivers to register residents from Barangay San Agustin and Barangay Putlan in Carranglan. Cai U. Ordinario

San Juan beats rest of Metro cities in tax collection efficiency rating for FY 2020

S

AN Juan City has topped the rest of Metro Manila cities in tax collection efficiency by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) following the release of top performing local government units (LGU) in the Philippines for fiscal year 2020.

The city collected P1,731,860, 137.1 percent of its target of P1,262,800.

In terms of efficiency of collection of locally sourced revenues in the country, San Juan City ranked third after Legazpi City and San Pedro City.

Mayor Francis Zamora thanked the citizens for their trust and confidence to the local government.

Mayor Zamora and City Treasurer Rosette Laquian attended the recent BLGF Stakeholders’ Recognition Program to Top Performing Local Government Units in Local Revenue Generation at Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. They received the certificates of achievement for ranking first in the National Capital Region (NCR) and third overall in the Philippines for Collection Efficiency of Locally Sourced Revenues.

“Ito ay karangalan para sa amin at sa lahat ng San Juañeno, maraming salamat sa inyong suporta at tiwala sa pagbayad ng buwis. [This is an honor for us all San Juañeno, thank you for your support and trust as you pay your taxes],” Zamora said. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

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The year 2021 is a banner year for PPA

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ESPITE the ongoing pandemic, the year 2021 has never been this exciting for the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), particularly in terms of port infrastructure.

The PPA, together with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), have so far completed a total of 484 seaport development projects, 233 of which are completed commercial port projects worth P19.254 billion carried out by the PPA since the Duterte administration took over in 2016.

For 2021 alone, the PPA has completed 19 commercial seaport projects worth approximately P2.9 billion. These projects involved the expansion and modernization of facilities and not merely repair and maintenance projects to prepare Philippine ports for the future as the world continues to rebound from the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

PPA ports, at least in the next three to five years, have the capability to accommodate as many as double their cargo volume, shipcalls and passenger traffic giving the next administration enough time to think and prepare their own port industry development plan.

This year, the PPA, DOTr and the Office of the President inaugurated 24 seaport projects, which include among others, the new Port Operations Building of the Port of Dumaguete, the new Passenger Terminal Building 2 of the Port of Tagbilaran, the new port of Talaga in Batangas, the modernized and expanded Port of Salomague in Ilocos Sur, the expanded Port of Cantilan in Surigao del Sur, the expanded Port of Siquijor, the ports of Tagbilaran, Maribojoc, Loon, Jagna, Ubay, Tapal, and Talibon in Bohol, the expanded POB Complex of the Port of General Santos, the eight port projects in Mindoro— Calapan, Bansud, Roxas, Mansalay, Bulalacao, Balatero and Abra de Ilog, and the recently inaugurated Zamboanga City Port Expansion Projects.

Dumaguete port

Led by no less than President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the new POB of the Port of Dumaguete worth

P110.545 million was inaugurated on March 11, 2021.

The POB is a two-story building that addresses the need for proper monitoring of vessels during port arrivals and departures and provide a new and modern Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) for those traveling to nearby islands.

Aside from having the capacity to serve an estimated 500 passengers, the POB also features the Port Integrated Clearing Office (PICO) — a one-stop-shop intended to expedite the processing of en-

trance and departure clearances for domestic and foreign vessels and cargoes. Housed within the facility are regulatory agencies and other offices such as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) - Bureau of Animal Industry and Plant Industry that offer convenience for transacting port users.

The new Passenger Terminal Building II of the Port of Tagbilaran in Bohol, meanwhile, involves improvement works, like the construction of a new, state-of-the art

second PTB aimed at providing locals and tourists with more comfortable and convenient sea travel.

The facility was inaugurated on April 15, 2021 by DOTr Secretary Art Tugade with PPA General Manager Jay Santiago and Bohol Governor Arthur Yap.

Tagbilaran port

The PTB II is expected to greatly augment the passenger capacity of the port. From a passenger capacity of only 497 via its existing PTB, Tagbilaran Port can now handle

613 more passengers, more than doubling the port’s total passenger capacity to 1,110.

The next port that was inaugurated was Talaga in Batangas on June 30, 2021 with again DOTr Secretary Tugade, PPA GM Santiago and several local government executives of Talaga, Batangas.

Among the completed rehabilitation works at the port are the construction of a back-up area, the construction of a Port Operations

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Aside from providing safe transport to passengers, PPA said 30 local residents were employed during the construction phase of the port project. Additional employment is also seen as more business and tourism opportunities will open once the port is fully operational.

The transport infrastructure development is also seen as another integral component that will spur economic growth not only in the province, but also in the entire CALABARZON region.

The Port of Salomague in Ilocos Sur, which is expected to be a cruise ship port, was inaugurated on July 8, 2021 in a simple ceremony held at the port. The expanded Salomague Port includes the construction of the reinforced concrete (RC) platform backup area and RC pier extension.

The completed development port projects are expected "to promote local economic sufficiency as job opportunities, especially in the tourism sector, will be offered once the port becomes fully operational."

Cruise calls

The port will also expect more cruise calls given its location near

the tourist areas and beaches of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, as well as near the ports of Hong Kong and South China.

The Port of Cantilan in Consuelo, Surigao del Sur was virtually inaugurated on August 5, 2021. The inauguration coincided with the inauguration of the Butuan airport expansion project, which is a couple of hours away from the port.

The development projects at the Cantilan Port cover the construction of its reinforced concrete pier, back-up area and a port lighting system. The improved and expanded Cantilan Port can now handle 25,000 to 30,000 bags of ce-

ment shipments a month and carry twice the current cargo volume.

On 26 August 2021, the DOTr and the PPA inaugurated the expanded Siquijor port, effectively ending the decade-long concern against congestion.

The Port of Siquijor is the main door of the mystical island province to and from Luzon, the rest of the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The Siquijor port development, which started in 2018 and was formally completed early this year, doubles the vessel berthing capacity of the terminal to eight from the previous four vessels, thus, enabling it to handle bigger, more sophisticated passenger vessels.

Ro-ro ramps

It likewise increased the number of Ro-Ro ramps to two, effectively reducing the queueing by more than half the time as well as equipped the terminal with enough capacity to handle a vessel up to 65 meters in length.

Prior to the development, a long queue of rolling cargoes offshore is a common scenario while incoming vessels are forced to stop at anchorage while waiting to be served due to lack of berthing space resulting in delays in their commercial turnaround, delays in the movement of passengers, and significant interruptions in Siquijor’s supply chain for both essential and non-essential shipments.

The improved and expanded facility is also set to complement the refurbishment made to the port’s Passenger Terminal Building some three years ago, which increased its seating capacity to almost 300 passengers at any given time. It will also decongest its other nearby ports like the ports of Larena and Lazi.

The Port of General Santos, popularly known as the Makar Wharf, was inaugurated on September 23, 2021 for its new Port Operations Building Complex worth approximately P100 million.

The POB Complex offers a state-of-the-art facility, which is expected to ease the movement of vessels, cargo and other port-related traffic compared to its old complex.

The improved facility is a longawaited development for the port considering that Makar Wharf is one of the major gateways to and from Mindanao.

New facility

The new facility is composed of a Port Operations Building which houses its Port Integrated Clearance Office, a one-stop-shop for all PPA transactions like Marine and Terminal Services, Berthing, Public Assistance and Complaints, Assessment and Collection Services, among others.

It also boasts of a multi-function sports facility to promote work-life balance among its employees and port workers and at the same time provide a venue to hold meetings and controlled gatherings compliant with the new normal.

Employees now also enjoy a workplace conducive for produc-

tivity and growth compared to the crowded, humid, and old warehouses and transit sheds which were converted into office spaces before.

The last port that DOTr Secretary Art Tugade inaugurated was the Lucena Port in Quezon on 25 September 2021. The project involves an additional pier and a POB facility.

With a high concentration of passengers and rolling cargoes bound for Marinduque and Romblon, the new pier facility will address congestion at the port as it offers additional berthing space for vessels.

These twin developments made the port and the PMO more capable of handling bigger vessel calls and larger rolling cargoes, as the country transitions to the new normal.

Build, Build, Build program

The construction of the POB and the new pier were carried out under the Build-Build-Build program of the current administration by the PPA and the DOTr for Filipinos and the global traveling community primarily aimed at providing the much-needed buffer for the terminal in the next decade or so.

The annual passenger volume average for the terminal is pegged at around 925,000 or about half of the average consolidated passenger volume of the PMO which is at 1.815 million annually.

In terms of Ro-Ro traffic, the annual average is about 131,000 rolling cargoes representing 50 percent of the overall annual Ro-Ro traffic for the entire PMO. Lucena also handles about 6,000 shipcalls annually or a little under 50% of the consolidated shipcalls handled by the PMO at 12,500 shipcalls.

On 29 October 2021, President Duterte simultaneously inaugurated seven Bohol seaport development projects worth approximately P900 million.

Seaport projects

These seaport projects will significantly change the transportation and logistics patterns of the province to a more speedy, predictable, and cheaper transport mode.

The port projects include the improvement of the Maribojoc Port, construction of additional fast craft berth at the Tagbilaran Port, construction of Reinforced Concrete (RC) pier and passenger terminal building (PTB) repairs at Jagna Port, construction of RC pier at Ubay Port, construction of Back-up area and RoRo ramp at Tapal port, construction of PTB at Loon Port, and repair of port facilities and provision of a dedicated power transformer for the PTB at the Talibon port.

Among the benefits expected to be felt with the completion of these commercial port projects include the faster turnaround time of vessels as it will cut or eliminate the waiting time for berth space as well as the expectations of heavier cargo volume that can be handled by the ports with their improved and expanded cargo areas.

The sea-traveling public can now enjoy a more comfortable and

convenient travel experience with the new and modernized PTBs and other passenger port facilities.

Economies of scale can likewise be achieved through the expanded port capacity enabling the ports to handle bigger, more sophisticated conventional and Ro-Ro vessels, all translating in reduced cargo spillage, lower cargo-handling cost, reduced transportation cost, and eventually lower market prices of products.

Bohol ports

The Bohol ports, all under the supervision of the Port Management Office (PMO) of Bohol, are among the strong performers among the 25 PMOs under the PPA Port System due to its robust tourism industry and good trade fundamentals.

By the middle of next year, right before the term of the President ends, the following projects are expected to be completed – the construction of a new RC Pier and back-up area at the Tagbilaran Port; the construction of a PTB at Ubay Port; the construction of the Port Operations Building at the Tubigon Port; and the further expansion of Jagna Port. This will make Bohol one of the few provinces to have undertaken significant moves to make its various ports ready and responsive to the needs of the local and international trade and tourism markets.

Six days after the Bohol Ports’ inauguration, the President once again flew to Puerto Princesa City to inaugurate the newly expanded Puerto Princesa seaport worth P366 million.

The project, which involves the expansion of the Port of Puerto Princesa, the main maritime gateway of the province, is expected to further expand its role as a catalyst for growth not only for the region but for the entire archipelago.

The Puerto Princesa port expansion project doubles the capacity of the existing traffic in the port where the annual averages are as follows – cargo throughput, 1.7 million metric tons; vessel calls, 1,500 and passengers at 200,000.

The expanded project includes the construction of a backup area, excavation of existing seabed, supply and installation of rubber-dock fenders as well as supply and installation of bollards.

Several facelifts

Prior to this project, the Port has experienced several facelifts, the most recent of which was completed in late 2016 and involved the left-wing of the terminal.

With the project already completed, Puerto Princesa is now ready to respond to the demands from local and international trade as well as immediately adjust to the requirements of the international cruise-tourism industry under the new normal.

To date, new sea vessel services are being planned connecting Palawan to the island of Mindoro via the Port of Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro.

Aside from the Puerto Princesa development project, the PPA has also carried out several other

orts Authority

ror Special Feature port development projects in this leading tourism destination. In March 2021, the DOTr and PPA inaugurated the Ports of Bataraza in Bataraza town and connect it to the Brunei-IndonesiaMalaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMPEAGA), the Port of San Fernando in El Nido to address the needs for the growing demands of tourism, and the Port of Borac in Coron to offer a new and dedicated port facility for the area, which has been neglected for years.

PPA has likewise expanded the Port of Coron in Coron town to also address the demands for cruise tourism as well as the burgeoning cargo volume due to the increasing demand in its supply chain brought about by the number of foreign and local tourists arrivals.

PPA expects that as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, the number of travelers to and from the region will pick up and eventually return to pre-pandemic levels. Right now, the PPA is completing the Port Operations Building at the Port of Coron to further improve the transaction and traveling experience at the said port.

Likewise, a new cargo transit shed at the Culion port was also completed and is expected to reduce cargo spillage at the port.

Mindoro projects

Another MIMAROPA region, the two provinces of Mindoro, was also visited

by President Duterte to inaugurate not just seven but eight seaport development projects with a consolidated value of about P754 million on 18 November 2021.

The completed projects were the expansion and construction of the Port Operations Building at the Port of Abra de Ilog; construction of back-up area, Passenger Terminal Building and RoRo ramp at the Balatero Port in Puerto Galera; expansion of the ports of Roxas and Mansalay; construction of back-up area and other improvements at the port of Bulalacao; construction of RC Pier, Platform and Ro-Ro ramp at the port of Bansud; and the construction of the coastal access road at the port of Calapan.

The port of Abra de Ilog, considered the main gateway to and from Occidental Mindoro, averages about 4,500 shipcalls, 800,000 passengers, and 2,400 metric tons of cargo annually.

The number is expected to increase by some 50 percent with the new development and eventually double the traffic as the PPA and DOTr are again set to embark on another expansion project, and the construction of a breakwater to make the port more efficient for shippers and cargo owners as well as vessel operations.

The Balatero Port, also known as the Port of Puerto Galera, meanwhile, is predominantly a tourism port due to the famous beaches in the area frequented by locals and tourists all year long.

It is handling about 1,700 shipcalls, and 200,000 passengers annually. Like Abra de Ilog, this port will also undergo a port expansion project to accommodate the increasing tourism demand as the country eases its COVID-19 restrictions.

The Port of Roxas, on the other hand, is the main access of the province to Western Visayas via Malay, Aklan. The port handles close to 2,800 shipcalls,

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127,000 metric tons of cargo, and about a million passengers annually. With the recent expansion carried out by the PPA-DOTr, the port is now poised to handle double its current capacity.

Access to Western Visayas

The port of Bulalacao is also another access to Western Visayas and soon to Palawan. It was built primarily to complement the operations of the Port of Roxas to handle its spillovers. About a thousand shipcalls are being handled at the port on a yearly basis with cargo throughput of about 17,900 metric tons of Ro-Ro and non-Ro-Ro. Passenger volume is pegged at 171,900 passengers. Its expansion project will increase the port’s capacity to handle at least 30 percent more of its current port traffic.

The ports of Mansalay and Bansud, meanwhile, are relatively new ports.

With the burgeoning traffic at the ports of Roxas and Bulalacao as well as some percentage coming from the port of Calapan, shipcalls, cargo, and passenger traffic are expected to pick up as the country eases its restrictions against the pandemic.

The Calapan Port is the main gateway and biggest port on the island of Mindoro. The newly constructed coastal access road, which was only realized during this administration after decades of clamor from Mindoreños, will decongest road traffic to and from the port as it diverts cargo trucks away from the main road artery. It is expected to reduce vehicular traffic inside the port by at least 50 percent, thus, allowing the port to take in more traders traversing the major islands of the Philippines. Construction of its Passenger Terminal Building is also ongoing and is expected to be completed before the term of President Duterte ends in June of next year. Once finished, it will be the biggest seaport passenger terminal building in the country as its capacity will increase to 3,500 at any given time, effectively dislodging the Cagayan de Oro port from the top spot at 3,000 passengers at any one time.

On December 2, 2021, President Duterte inaugurated two development projects in Zamboanga City port coinciding with the inauguration also of 143 social and tourism seaport projects worth about P316 million.

The Zamboanga seaport development projects, which involve several aspects—expansion of the back-up area, the extension of RC Pier, and the provision of the port lighting system, among others—are aimed at facilitating the growing trade in the Zamboanga Peninsula particularly sardine exports to the mainland US, Europe, and the Far East.

Major project

DOTr and PPA likewise highlighted another major project at the Zamboanga Port—the construction of a new Passenger Terminal Building (PTB)—which, when completed, will be the biggest PTB in the country as it can accommodate approximately 4,500 passengers at any given time.

The completed Zamboanga seaport expansion projects reinvigorated the port as it can now handle at least 11,000 shipcalls annually from only 8,000 shipcalls in 2015.

The port’s cargo capacity also doubled to at least three million metric tons (MMT) annually compared to its 2015 capacity of only 1.5 MMT. Passenger capacity, on the other hand, is now at 3.5 million passengers annually from only two million during the previous administration. However, two years from now, the capacity is expected to jump to more than 6 million once the new PTB is completed which has a static capacity of 4,500 persons at any given time.

Aside from infrastructure projects, PPA also hit several milestones last year like the Green Port Award for its Cagayan de Oro Port, a testament that the agency is committed to achieve sustainable port operations.

The award was a culmination of group efforts in its CDO Port, under the Port Management Office of Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro, to maintain efficient operating processes while maintaining a high level of balance with the environment.

Global Gateway

The Cagayan De Oro port is dubbed as the Global Gateway to Mindanao for

its strategic location at the Northern Coast of Mindanao within Macajalar Bay. The port serves as the entry and exit point of passengers and goods to and from the adjacent urban cities and provinces and other parts of the Philippine archipelago. It also links conveyances to countries such as Vietnam, China, Australia, and the United States, among others.

The GPAS program, meanwhile, is a green evaluation system for ports in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. The program is intended to improve environmental awareness as well as increase the understanding of green port development strategy, with the aim of achieving a balance between economic development and environmental protection in the APEC ports community; promoting the sustainable development of ports in the APEC region and protect the port environment for the benefit of the entire APEC community; contribute to the harmonization of regulations and improve the interoperability of green port systems in the APEC region; establish an APEC green port performance benchmark based on

this program, share best practices and encourage mutual assistance among APEC ports.

Aside from the CDO Port—a multiple GPAS awardee, Batangas Port was also given the same recognition a couple of years ago. The two ports, meanwhile, are Certified to ISO 9001:2008 and recognized for their implementation of the Port Safety, Health, and Environmental Management System (PSHEMS). The two ports also successfully migrated to the Integrated Management System fusing in three international standards, namely: ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2015 for Environmental Management System, and 45001:2018 for Occupational Health and Safety Management, to further solidify its quality, safety, health and environmental policies, and commitment for the protection of the environment, provision of safe and healthy working conditions and improved quality of port operations and services.

This award has prompted the PPA to take more advanced Climate Change mitigation initiatives after a series of successful measures were implement-

ed for the past five years.

Green Port initiatives

With this, PPA is now prioritizing its “Green Port” initiatives patterned before the Green Port Awards System of the APEC Port Services Network (APSN) as it moves forward towards more sustainable port operations.

The move aims to also complement the initiatives being undertaken

by PPA’s international partners like shipping lines to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by ships as well as port equipment to a more manageable level.

Aside from ensuring GPAS compliance, a team was formed to formulate a “Green Port” Roadmap.

Indeed, 2021 is turning out to be a banner year for the PPA in compliance with the President’s directive to give Filipinos comfortable lives before his term ends in a couple of months.

With this, PPA is upbeat that the completed projects and those for implementation and procurement will benefit the PPA long after President Duterte steps down from power to form his Legacy.

TheBroaderLook BusinessMirror

A8 Thursday, December 16, 2021

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Village people’s zest won’t let Covid stop the music of business

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

I

@Tyronepiad

BM GRAPHICS: JOB RUZGAL

T can be felt humming with the wind moving through calamansi trees dotting this northern farming village: the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace

TheBroaderLook

T he bu z z i n g of bu s i ne s s, clamped down for two months by fear and an xiet y, has exploded; its zest epitomized by two women: 52-year-old beauty salon owner Evangeline Yumol and 58-year-old sari-sari store Rosemarie Feliciano.

For Yumol, re-opening her beauty salon, which is a fourth of the 50-square-meter property where the family home sits, is part of an obligation to her customers.

“Pero ayoko man silang iwanan, napilitan akong magsara,” she said while wiping to dry a customer’s hair with a navy blue towel one November afternoon. (WhiIe I didn’t want to turn away my customers, I had to close my salon.)”

Yumol was referring to September, when their village of Magpapalayoc, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, became regarded as a ghost town.

The snip-snip of scissors from her salon was no longer heard.

Even dogs were absent on the streets. One could hear a needle pin drop at midday.

According to the women, residents were afraid to go out due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, affecting both their businesses. At the time, some 13 villagers tested positive in their neighborhood of 1,600 households. Authorities placed the barangay under strict lockdown and put up checkpoints on access points.

‘Bad luck’

YUMOL believes at some level that the pandemic is not the sole cause of villagers’ fears. According to her, the elders have pointed out September has always been marked with bad luck.

The month is associated with “ kawitang-palakol ” (hook-ax), which represents severe challenges or even poverty, Yumol said, while dumping a towel on a 5-tiered black rack containing plastic bottles of hair dye, an assortment of combs and hairbrush, a carton of tissue paper and scissors.

Whether it was the myth or the pandemic, one thing is for sure: it was really bad for business. Yumol, who wasn’t vaccinated that time, didn’t open her beauty salon for 60 days beginning September 1.

According to data from the Department of Health (DOH), Covid-19 cases recorded on September 1 were lower at 145, 562 compared to the 148,594 cases for August 30.

The DOH Case Bulletins issued for these days also revealed that cases in Central Luzon likewise declined from 19,526 to 18,705 on the first day of September.

The number of cases peaked on September 16 at 170,446, the DOH Case Bulletin data for that day revealed. Nonetheless, the cases recorded in Central Luzon, where Nueva Ecija belongs, went down slightly to 18,430.

By the end of September, the DOH recorded further declines in the number of cases for the whole country and Central Luzon at 138,294 and 13,490, respectively.

A room of goods

TWO rectangular glass counters of four layers containing several products front Feliciano’s store.

The first shelf displays crackers, instant noodles, powdered milk and assorted junk food. Another shelf displays sachets of coffee and coffee creamer, bottles of alcohol, cologne and deodorant, canisters of face powder and boxed bath soaps.

Feliciano moves between wooden shelves stacked with canned goods and bottles of cooking oil condiments, alcoholic beverages and native snacks, among others.

The hum of a refrigerator packed with cans of soda punches the silence. Sachets of powdered food seasoning, juice, iced tea, milk and coffee hang like festive banderitas (pennants) from a 5-foot horizontal truss.

These were kept inside padlocked doors for the whole of September, when Feliciano closed the

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store she and her husband manage.

She said she had to, as she cannot risk being infected their health given their old age. This was especially risky for her diabetic husband (both are vaccinated now).

It is cheaper to incur some losses than to pay for hospital bills, she said, while twisting to the right several jars of peanut butter on a shelf.

Unlike Yumol’s beauty parlor, the mom-and-pop store is separate from Feliciano’s home. But like Yumol, Feliciano and other store owners also had to be closed when the village was locked-down.

Closure losses

SOME other mini-grocery stores in the neighborhood also shut down during the same period amid the rising Covid-19 fear, making it difficult for residents to source their daily needs.

Magpapalayoc Barangay Captain Gerardo Santiago told the B us i n e s sM i r ror t he cou n cil encouraged Feliciano and storeowners to stay open. The 53-year-old official, however, said they could not blame them for turning away customers because of fears of getting infected by the Covid-19 virus.

Yumol’s salon and Feliciano’s store are among the 10 percent of the business establishments nationwide that closed amid the lockdown, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Of this figure, 20 percent folded their businesses for good.

The Trade department said the closures dug a deeper hole into the pockets of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), who have been struggling already to keep their business afloat amid the pandemic.

In September, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) even estimated a total loss of P4.5 trillion due to lower consumption, which has severely affected businesses of all sizes.

Keep on earning

WITH the salon’s 2-month closure, Yumol said her family had to rely only on the earnings of her husband, who drives a tricycle for a living. This, however, is not enough to make ends meet, she lamented.

Her profits from the salon help pay bills and tuition for her daughter’s tertiary education.

“Eh, talagang wala nang kinikita; wala na. Talagang nagtitiis na lang kami. (I had no earnings then; none at all. We just had to endure.)”

Yumol said they had to scrimp to survive. In addition, she had to be creative and resourceful in order to find a new way to make money for the sake of her family.

Yumol said she resorted to selling sariwang lumpia (fresh spring rolls) online. She used her savings for capital. Yumol said this venture helped tide over her family during the closure of the beauty salon.

“Pumatok naman (It took off),” she said with a chuckle, referring to the spring rolls. Yumol, however, stopped selling after reopening the parlor.

Despite the difficulties, Yumol might still be lucky compared to other salon owners.

She said her friends had to fold up their personal-care services business because they could no longer afford rent. This is something that Yumol considered when she decided to open up her own salon back in 2018. She decided to build the salon as part of her property so she wouldn’t need to pay for rent.

Tight cash flow

WHILE accepting the absence of income with a shuttered store, Feliciano was thankful none of the goods expired. That allowed her to keep a healthy inventory upon reopening. The businesswoman patted herself on the back for making sure the goods have a long shelf life.

However, the enterprise is Feliciano’s only source of income, which meant her family was also

put in a tight financial spot.

“Kung ano lang yung meron kami, yun lang din ginagamit namin,” she said. (We only used the money from the savings that we have.)

Adding fuel to the fire is their monthly down payment for a van the couple bought back in November 2019. This is on top of personal expenses, the tuition of her youngest child in college, and business capital for inventory restocking.

The van, meant for rental services, was supposed to make them money, Feliciano said. But the pandemic hit and no one was renting the vehicle anymore.

Their rental service usually caters to pick-up of overseas Filipino workers arriving at airports and family outings. In a month, Feliciano said they could get four to five bookings with average earnings of P5,000 each. These go to paying the van’s monthly amortization.

But now, the regular dues also gobble up a portion of their store revenues.

Opposed to debt

WHEN Yumol reopened her salon, she, fortunately, did not have to shell out money for supplies and other related expenses. She just picked up where she left off.

While she is open to applying for a bank loan if the need arises, Yumol said she is much more comfortable borrowing from relatives.

The key is to always fulfill the repayments to keep the trust of her lenders, she said.

Still, she is not too keen on borrowing money for her business in general.

“Kung meron akong perang naitabi, yun ang gagamitin kong puhunan,” she explained. (If I have money saved, that is the only amount I will use for investment.)

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., explained there are barangay entrepreneurs who refuse to apply for a bank loan.

“Some of the barangay enterprises and their owners may also be part of the unbanked population or part of the informal economy that might not have financial statements and/or identification documents that are part of the requirements in opening a bank account,” he noted.

As such, Ricafort said some resort to informal lending with exorbitant interest rates.

Bank loans

ON the other hand, Feliciano has found it imperative to take out a bank loan even before they temporarily shut down for a month to sustain business operations.

It has been bad, she lamented, with her husband saying the business is now in the red. Paying the monthly dues for the van has really crippled them financially.

Some time in May or June, the couple applied for a loan at a commercial bank with their truck serving as collateral. She said the loan, which bears 3-percent interest, was approved after a week.

The sari-sari store owner would have secured additional financing from a government bank that offers zero interest but she was not aware at the time.

“Hindi nakarating sa amin yun,” she said, referring to the much affordable loan. (The information did not reach us).

Feliciano said it was better to get a loan from a bank rather than from informal lenders.

“Maya’t maya may dumadaan kapag lending. Daily. Nahihiya din ako sa ganun,” she said. (The informal lenders visit the borrowers every day. I’m not comfortable with that).

Ability to borrow

THE fixed monthly payment is more suitable too, Feliciano said, as this allows the business to turn in profits before the deadline comes.

Ricafort explained that banks have made lending facilities more accessible by offering microfinancing services to barangay enterprises.

“For instance, microfinancing lenders employ persons who are familiar with the people, especially borrowing clients, in the community,” he said. “Their ability to borrow would be a function of their credit standing/track record/ reputation in the community.”

As of September 23, bank loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) reached P195.9 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BSP said this amount is markedly higher compared to P8.7 billion for the period ending April 30, 2020. The MSME lending soared thereafter following the implementation of a new policy that recognizes loans to small businesses as alternative compliance with reserve requirements.

Gutted spending

WITH mobility restrictions, the pandemic has dampened consumer demand: the health and financial crises have forced the public to lessen their expenses as a result.

Think tank Fitch Solutions projected that consumer spending in the country will amount to P10.6 trillion this year, which is below the P11.1 trillion in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

This has taken a toll on businesses, including that of Yumol’s parlor. She said that the average number of daily customers that visit her salon declined to six from 10 before the pandemic.

The customers are also spending less, she noticed. For example, a typical customer would avail of a complete service package—hairstyle, manicure, pedicure and foot spa—before. Now, she said that customers would only ask for one or two of the services offered.

To earn more money, Yumol accepts jobs in prenuptial and wedding events, in addition to home services.

At the personal level, the clamp-

Thursday, December 16, 2021

down to stem the infection was difficult for people like Yumol, who considered her business as her passion.

Yumol said she was 12 when she realized she wanted to become a beautician after seeing how a hairdresser helped a bride look beautiful for the wedding.

Upbeat expectations

FELICIANO observed the same thing.

The number of her daily customers was slashed by half from over a hundred before. As a result, the entrepreneur said they only now restock their inventories twice a week from almost every other day prior to the pandemic.

Amid high unemployment, she understands that people have been limiting their expenses to essential purchases only. Her business adapts to the change in consumer behavior by only selling the items she deemed necessities on the part of the customers. Doing so helps her trim any potential and unwanted losses.

In addition, Feliciano now has to compete with more stores in her neighborhood.

“Yung mga empleyado, yung mga nagtatrabaho sa ibang lugar, nauwi dito dahil pandemic; nawalan ng mga trabaho. Ang ginawa nila, nagtayo rin sila ng tindahan,” she narrated. (Those who were laid off from their jobs went back to Magpapalayoc. They opened their own stores to earn a living.)

But both entrepreneurs may see better earnings soon. Fitch Solutions said that consumer spending is expected to rebound next year, projecting the figures to reach P11.2 trillion—which is slightly higher than pre-pandemic consumption.

Instituting measures

BOTH enterprises are categorized as essential sectors by the government, which means they have more favorable community quarantine measures. Still, they have to adhere to minimum health protocols.

The entire country is currently under Alert Level 2. This means that Yumol’s parlor is allowed 50-percent indoor capacity and 70-percent outdoor capacity while Feliciano is permitted to have full operations.

“Ang ginagawa kong pag-iingat, yun nga, nagpa-vaccine ako. Tapos, sumusunod ako sa health protocol,” Yumol said. (For safety purposes, I got vaccinated. Also, I follow the health protocols.)

She placed a plastic box with a bottle of ethyl alcohol at the front door. Likewise, her customers set up an appointment before visiting the salon. This helps the beauty salon owner control number of

A9

people inside.

Feliciano’s store, meanwhile, has a plastic barrier hanging atop the front counters. She described it as a “shield” protecting her from getting infected, especially from some customers who forget to wear masks sometimes when visiting her store for a quick purchase.

It also helps that customers do not need to enter the store premises to buy their needs. All they have to do is transact by the window, which means less physical contact.

Apart from health and safety concerns, both entrepreneurs also made other adjustments relating to their operations.

Yumol, for example, now orders her supplies online. Before, she would visit an outlet store in Cabanatuan City—about 30 minutes away from her home—to purchase items for her salon.

Feliciano, meanwhile, shortened the hours her store is open.

On recovery path

YUMOL and Feliciano live at least a dozen houses away from each other but they are on the same boat. This is the same boat that onboards thousands of MSMEs that have been challenged by the pandemic as well. And now, they are paddling their way through recovery.

While they are doing their part for the economy, the entrepreneurs also want the government to make it easier for them. After all, their recovery, along with other MSMEs that represent over 90 percent of the economy, will only bode well for the country.

For one, Feliciano asks for more lending facilities with low to zero interest rates catering to barangay enterprises. Additional financing can help fund expansion, capital expenditures and operational expenses, depending on the nature of the business.

Yumol suggested that the government provide more capital support to existing and budding entrepreneurs. With the additional money, the salon owner said she can build a second business in her own home: a sari-sari store like Feliciano’s. Having another business can not only help pay their expenses, she shared, adding this will also mean that her husband can retire from being a tricycle driver.

As they are getting back on their feet, however, a new threat looms: the Covid-19 Omicron variant. And this brings worries to them. They do not want to revisit another dark chapter in their businesses.

But their zest for earning for their loved ones has kept entrepreneurs like Yumol and Feliciano humming the music of business.

Nobody can stop that music.

A10 Thursday, December 16, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Go to US, Mr. President; trumpet our Unclos win

T

he US State Department has formally extended the invitation for President Duterte to attend the Special US-Asean Summit in Washington DC in January, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. In a statement, the DFA said the preparation for the US-Asean Summit was discussed during the meeting between Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and US Undersecretary of State for political affairs Victoria Nuland. The two met at the sidelines of the Group of Seven Ministerial Meetings in Liverpool, United Kingdom over the weekend (Read, Biden invites Duterte to US, Asean summit next month, in the BusinessMirror, December 13, 2021).

When President Duterte took office in 2016, he proclaimed it was time for the Philippines to set aside its over-reliance on the US and pivot to China, given the constitutional mandate to craft an independent foreign policy. Pundits said China’s growing political and economic clout through its Belt and Road Initiative and the ambiguous position of the US in the territorial dispute in the South China Sea may have influenced Duterte’s decision to warmly embrace China.

After more than five years in office, however, the President’s pivot to China produced, at best, mixed results. For example, a deal on joint exploration of disputed territories in the South China Sea remains pending, and China’s muchpublicized pledge to support the President’s “Build, Build, Build” program has shown relatively meager results.

Worse, China has repeatedly shown it has no respect for Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea—even within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

To show its might, China repeatedly encircled the country’s Pag-asa Island with hundreds of militia boats, apparently to prevent Philippine authorities from upgrading the island’s runway and making other infrastructure improvements.

Last month, Chinese coast guard ships blocked and attacked with water cannon two Philippine boats carrying supplies to troops stationed at Ayungin Shoal.

The attack incensed President Duterte. During the virtual Asean-China Special Summit held on November 22 where Chinese President Xi Jinping was present, Duterte delivered a rare rebuke to China. “We abhor the recent event in the Ayungin Shoal and view with grave concern other similar developments,” he said, adding that the incident “does not speak well” of the partnership between the Philippines and China.

Is the President’s China-friendly policy over? Will he align the Philippines with the United States again?

In an article published in foreignpolicy.com, Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at Rand Corp., wrote: “In recent months, Manila has moved to fully reinstate security ties and rebuild trust with Washington in a vigorous attempt to deter Beijing. Steps include a series of high-level visits; the restoration of wideranging defense agreements; Manila’s full endorsement of the AUKUS security pact joining Australia, Britain, and the United States; the reestablishment of the Philippines-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue; and expanded joint military exercises next year.”

“Duterte would never have authorized endorsement of AUKUS if he were not fully committed to shredding his own China engagement policy,” Grossman said, adding that the shift away from Beijing could have significant implications. “For the United States, access to Philippine military bases is vital to deterring Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, in particular, and Asia more generally. That access was threatened while Duterte flirted with China and scorned the United States; now, ties with the United States are again being reinforced.”

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea formalizes countries’ rights and responsibilities on the world’s oceans. Over 150 countries signed Unclos, including China that ratified it in 1996. On July 12, 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China) issued a unanimous award favorable to the Philippines.

China, however, rejects the ruling. Pundits said by refusing the dispute settlement mechanisms of Unclos and rejecting the ruling, China – though it is a signatory to it—put the Unclos at risk and may put it at risk in other seas, like the Arctic and Mediterranean.

The Arbitral Tribunal has decided that the Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea and that China’s “nine-dash line” is invalid.

Despite the disdain shown by a few US congressmen against him, President Duterte might do well to accept the invitation to visit Washington in January, and further sew up support for the country’s continuing bid to proclaim to the world our Unclos victory.

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Relax. Philippine interest rates will always be realistic because our economic policy-makers are not political no matter what the academic economists along with their “opposition” think tanks might say. Further, while the US may try to “export” its inflation, the Philippines is not dependent on Uncle Sam’s children for our economic growth.

Suddenly her face turns menacing, and she responds. “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” She waves her hand, and the forest turns into an empty wasteland. Black thunderclouds fill the sky and huge bolts of lightning crash all around.

Two days ago, data showed the US Producer Price Index increased by 9.6 percent year over year in November, much higher than expected and the highest increase on record. Obviously, prices are increasing at an astounding rate, but that is not the point why I mentioned this data.

The “book” definition of the PPI is “the average changes in prices received by domestic producers for their output.” The financial talking heads trying to shield the public

the service producer or indirectly from a retailer.

Inflation as measured by the “Consumer Price Index” is based on a basket of goods and services that an ordinary person regularly buys such as clothes, cars, appliances, utilities, Netflix, and rent. The price the department store pays for each of a million shirts is different than what we pay. But because a single consumer does not buy a million shirts every day, the department store sells those shirts to several million consumers over many days or weeks.

After reading the PPI number, a US consumer might go to the department store and say, “Well I don’t see any price increase since the last time I was here.” But the “Mother Nature” of the markets will not be fooled by the talking heads. Over the next months, the price of that shirt will be much higher.

The Federal Reserve can only

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

N iconic television commercial from the 1970s shows Mother Nature in a gown of white, adorned with a crown of daisies, sitting in a flowered forest surrounded by birds and woodland animals. She samples a spread saying, “Oh, that is my delicious butter straight from nature, so creamy and sweet.” The narrator informs her: “That’s Chiffon Margarine, not butter.” “Impossible,” says Mother Nature. The narrator responds that the margarine is indeed so close to real butter that it could fool even Mother Nature.

Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

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from disastrous government economic policies may say that the PPI does not matter anymore. “Producers” imply “manufacturers” and the US buys all their factory-made stuff from China. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

However, they are trying to fool the people. The goods and services in the PPI include the entire marketed output of US “producers” of raw materials (like wood and cement), finished goods (like furniture and swimming pools), and services (like carpenters and concrete masons). This includes goods, services, and commodities purchased by other producers as inputs to their operations, or as goods and services purchased by consumers either directly from

SSS’s recognitions in 2021

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

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

MEMBER OF

You can’t fool the market

A

S the end of year 2021 fast approaches, I can’t help but look back at my own journey as the President and Chief Executive Officer (PCEO) of the Social Security System (SSS). I am proud of the SSS officials and employees who are working tirelessly to make SSS a notable institution as it is. Perhaps this is one of the fulfilling chapters in my corporate journey as it proved to be inspiring and challenging at the same time.

Looking back at these past years, I feel confident that SSS did well in terms of taking advantage of the opportunities for collaborations and innovations, which aim to provide universal and equitable social protection through world-class service to our over 40 million members, 3.14 million pensioners, and our other

stakeholders.

While we have technological infrastructures set in place for a simpler, faster, and easier processing and transacting, we also made sure that we have an efficient strategy management in initiating, planning, and implementing our programs and services.

I am truly grateful and honored to receive these recognitions on behalf of the SSS. These notable accomplishments during my administration will continue to inspire me and the whole institution to work even harder for the benefit and welfare of our stakeholders.

In my previous column, I have mentioned the awards that we received for our digital innovations.

We received the GCash Digital Excellence Award for Excellence in Digital Public Aid Distribution for SSS’s comprehensive account registration in My.SSS and disbursement via PESONet partnership with GCash, and the 2021 Asean Social Security Association (ASSA) Innovation Recognition Award for the noteworthy SSS Mobile App innovation, designed to serve SSS members’ needs in a platform

try to fool “Mother Nature” with artificially low interest rates that taste so creamy and sweet just like genuine economic growth for so long. The Fed can fool the consumer with what was formerly “transitory inflation,” which is now a “flexible average inflation target.” Eventually, though, the market can turn the delightful forest into a dead wilderness.

“Chilean policy-makers seek to rein in a consumer spending boom and the fastest inflation in more than a decade. Chile’s central bank lifted its monetary policy interest rate by 125 basis points to 4 percent.” Even that is fake butter. The reality is that the cost of borrowing money in Chile just increased by 45 percent. Or will. The monetary policy interest rate is like the PPI and the consumer will get whacked by the borrowing “price” increase down the line.

Relax. Philippine interest rates will always be realistic because our economic policy-makers are not political no matter what the academic economists along with their “opposition” think tanks might say. Further, while the US may try to “export” its inflation, the Philippines is not dependent on Uncle Sam’s children for our economic growth.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

adapted to the changing technology and members’ profile.

In Pag-IBIG Fund’s Virtual Stakeholders’ Accomplishment Report (StAR) for the 1st half of the year 2021, SSS was also awarded as one of the top employers in recognition of its outstanding support that have contributed significantly in enabling Pag-IBIG to continue serving the members with excellence, and in their efforts to help the nation recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Another milestone recognition that SSS received was the Silver Trailblazer Award by the Institute for Solidarity in Asia, following our successful reválida on our adoption of the Performance Governance System (PGS). PGS is a performance management and measurement tool that aims to translate organizational goals into breakthrough results guided by a set of performance indicators and metrics.

See “Ignacio” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, December 16, 2021 A11

Challenge to ADB: Aligning lending assessment tools with SDGs Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

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he Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been undertaking a “safeguards policy review,” ostensibly as part of the Bank’s efforts to reach out to broader segments of Asian society, especially those belonging to the civil society movement. The Bank has also publicly acknowledged the importance of providing safeguards or protection to the most vulnerable such as the disabled, children and indigenous people.

the SDG agreement incorporates climate change as an integral part in building a sustainable economic and social order. The rallying call for SDGs and climate change action is summed up neatly in the SDGs’ 5Ps framework: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership.

The question: Is ADB now aligning its lending operations based on its Strategy 2030? The answer is not clear.

As it is, this author has difficulty looking for documents to show that the Bank has developed guidelines or standards on how to assess rigorously an ADB-funded or ADB-supported development project from the development framework outlined in Strategy 2030 and the 17 SDGs. What one finds in the ADB’s annual reports is a listing of projects, most of which are given the green tag of being SDG-aligned. Such a process of listing projects and correlating these projects in relation to the different SDGs is utterly simplistic. It is useful mainly in relation to specific projects with very clear or uncontestable social and economic purpose, for examples, grant for a feeding project for impoverished communities (SDG on zero hunger) or loan for the reforestation of a logged-over area (SDG on climate action) or technical assistance in improving an irrigation project (SDG on life on land).

The alignment issue becomes a puzzle when it comes to development projects/programs that cannot be implemented in one fell swoop and/or require calibrated and multi-pronged measures and projects to achieve. The lack of rigorous guidelines or standards to measure the SDG alignment means projects/ programs cannot be expected to automatically deliver the sustainability goal of Strategy 2030 and the SDG program.

A good example of an uncertain/ undefined alignment is illustrated by the ADB’s declared policy of phasing out support for GHG-emitting power plants using dirty energy (coal, oil and natural gas) as part of

And yet, as to the central issue of inequality, the ADB’s neo-liberal economists hardly discuss how and why this is happening. They are simply focused on how the gini coefficient and other indices of poverty and inequality are moving. There is very little inquiry on the root causes of poverty and inequality such as skewed distribution of land, limited schooling for the children of the poor and so on.

the ADB’s commitment to both the Paris Agreement and the UN’s SDG program. The ADB has come out with well-publicized pronouncements that it is openly promoting a “lowcarbon transition in Asia and the Pacific,” which means phasing out or de-funding energy projects using dirty energy, on one hand, and supporting clean, green and renewable energy projects, on the other. And yet, a number of civil society organizations (CSOs) led by the NGO Forum on ADB has been questioning the Bank’s failure to walk the talk, that is, to give substance to its transition commitment. As documented by the NGO Forum, the ADB continues to finance or co-finance a number of these dirty plants across Asia since 2018, the year the Strategy 2030 was adopted. The lack of alignment in the design can lead to the opposite outcome: non-alignment.

Another related problem is the ADB’s failure to overhaul the economic analysis methodology it has been using since the 1970s in analyzing the economic value and importance of a project or program.

The ADB has been using the costbenefit analysis (CBA) methodology, a tool popularized by the World Bank in the 1970s-1990s. It is used in measuring the viability and effectiveness of a given infra project based on the projected internal rate of return of the project. The problem is that the so-called IRR of a proj-

ect is overly focused on the benefits that are projected to accrue to the project proponents—government (in terms of reduced budgetary expenditures and delivery of service to target project beneficiaries) and the private sector investor/developer. Often, the estimated benefits, at the micro or project level, tend to outweigh the social cost, at both the micro and macro levels, of any borrowing or government budgetary outlay for a project.

There are two good examples how the unqualified use of the CBA micro-level analysis of a project/ program can be disastrous for the economy and society: the construction of big dams and the privatization of power projects in a number of Asia-Pacific countries. In these projects, the CSOs exposing the negative impact of the projects have been documenting the larger social, economic and environmental costs of these projects, costs that are often ignored or neglected by the CBA analysts of the ADB and WB. Look at how a number of big power dam projects in Asia has displaced ethnic communities/tribes and disemboweled mountains of forested land. In the case of the power projects, look how the withdrawal of government’s role in running power projects have led to higher cost of electricity, private sector monopolization of the power industry and exclusion of the poor in the power service, as what happened in the Philippines after the implementation of the ADBsupported Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

Now the foregoing micro-economic modeling using the CBA method is paired with the macroeconomic modeling favored by the neo-liberal economists. To stabilize the economy at the macro level, the advocates of the Washington Consensus in the international financial institutions (IFIs), usually push for free-trade or free-market solutions in the name of “getting the prices right,” e.g., currency flotation, interest rate deregulation, fiscal restraint

This piece is focused on the need for ADB to develop guidelines or assessment tools to insure that program/project lending is aligned with the Bank’s “Strategy 2030,” which was finalized in 2018. In the said Strategy, the Bank declared that its vision-mission is “to achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.” Strategy 2030 has the following seven development priorities for the region: addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities; tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability; promoting rural development and food security; fostering regional cooperation and integration; accelerating progress in gender equality; making cities more liveable; and strengthening governance and institutional capacity.

In the crafting of “Strategy 2030,” the ADB management was clearly influenced by two major international agreements adopted by UN Member States in 2015. These are the Paris Agreement on climate change, which mandates the participating UN Member States (under the Conference of Parties or COP) to collectively cooperate in limiting global warming to a maximum of 2.0 Celsius degrees above the pre-industrial era (preferably 1.5 degree) in order to prevent

catastrophic risks to humanity.

The other agreement is the UN compact on 17 SDGs, the UN’s successor program for the Millenium Development Goals for 2000-2015. These SDGs are interlinked global goals designed to be achieved by all UN Member States by 2030. The 17 SDGs are: (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reducing Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land, (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals.

From the foregoing, it is clear that ADB’s development lending, from 2018 onward, can now be assessed based on ADB’s Strategy 2030, which is based primarily on the UN’s twin agreements of 2015. The overall message of Strategy 2030 is that ADB, as a development bank, is fully committed to the promotion of sustainable development in Asia as defined in the two UN agreements. The Paris Agreement mandates countries to reduce GHG emissions, build up resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change. On the other hand,

Ignacio. . .

Natural gas, a vital bridge to net-zero carbon future

continued from A10

We started our PGS journey in 2020 and have worked hard in achieving our strategic goal of ensuring progressively higher levels of social security protection for Filipino workers and families. Our plans and programs, and roadmaps have been aligned and directed toward achieving that strategic goal, which successfully brought very satisfactory rating of the elements required in the Initiation stage of the governance pathways in November.

We are gearing up for Compliance, the 2nd stage of the PGS, in 2022 as we are expected to deliver measurable results, launch new services for our members’ benefit, welfare and satisfaction, and enhance internal systems, policies, and procedures following our set roadmaps.

I am truly grateful and honored to receive these recognitions on behalf of the SSS. These notable accomplishments during my administration will continue to inspire me and the whole institution to work even harder for the benefit and welfare of our stakeholders. Recognitions like these affirm that the SSS is on the right track in carrying out our duties and responsibilities not just in providing social security protection for our members but also for implementing systems and procedures to ensure continuous improvement in the quality of services that the SSS offers to its members and pensioners.

As an ending note, I share these recognitions and achievements to all the men and women of the SSS. Mabuhay kayong lahat!

Have a fulfilling week everyone!

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

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

Val A. Villanueva

Businesswise

F

or the past week or so, the United States has been experiencing the weirdest weather ever. For instance, the people of Hawaii spent the weekend of December 3 worrying about a blizzard warning issued a day before. While rainfall was inexplicably drenching the Pacific Northwest, irrationally warm temperatures swathed across the Midwest and South, and a major snow famine in the Rockies signaled that Denver’s first winter snowfall has been delayed.

Across six states—Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee—multiple tornadoes left a path of devastation with at least 80 people feared dead.

Communities in parts of the central and southern US dug through wreckage in the aftermath of the powerful, out-of-season storms and tornadoes that swept overnight.

Asia and Europe have also had their share of unexplained severe weather disturbances. But even as the whole world grapples with the negative impact of climate change, there are ordinary citizens, government officials, and big-business representatives who refuse to believe scientists and researchers who have been warning for the longest time about the effects of climate change and global warming.

Parties in this year’s 26th global climate summit, or COP26 (Conference of the Parties), held between October 31 and November 12, agreed to reduce the increasing global temperature to within 1.5°C. Participated in by 197 countries, COP26 laid out the need for the whole world to transition to low-carbon emission, irrespective of each country’s development sta-

tus. To achieve a net-zero carbon future, the urgent next steps for all nations include the improvement of energy system efficiency and increased use of renewable sources (RES). Heightened RES use will have a positive impact on the environment, considering how the combustion of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases (GHG) that contribute to global warming.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, approximately 2,000 gigawatts (GWs) of renewable generation capacity existed globally at the end of 2015. IRENA noted that the greatest new renewable energy capacity installation ever recorded was in 2016, with wind and solar energy accounting for majority of this capacity due to falling technology costs. This is good news in the light of how one of the major challenges of the 21st century is providing people with clean, reliable, and affordable energy that does not pose environmental risks.

One of the best options for reducing emissions and improving air quality is replacing coal and diesel with natural gas. As a critical support for wind, solar and hydroelectricity, natural gas helps match

supply with demand. Natural gas is also vital in parts of the economy, including industrial processes and freight transport, that are more difficult to electrify.

Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that natural gas has between 45 percent and 55 percent lower GHG emissions than coal when used to generate electricity. This is why replacing coal with natural gas to generate electricity will significantly reduce air pollution.

Aside from quickly compensating for dips in solar or wind power supply and rapidly responding to sudden increases in demand, natural gas makes for a good partner for hydropower, providing secure electricity supply when there is insufficient rainfall. If light industries, such as textile manufacturing, were to switch from coal to gas boilers, they would greatly reduce their production costs, lower GHGs, and improve air quality.

In heavy industries, such as iron, steel, cement and chemicals, switching from coal to gas to produce the intense heat required in furnaces can significantly reduce emissions.

Natural gas will also continue to be a central component in the production of everyday products, such as plastics and fertilizers.

On the national and international levels, using natural gas will enable developed countries to enjoy combined heat and power systems that are highly efficient and free from GHG emissions. In developing countries, natural gas will replace wood and coal in heating and cooking, which will boost environmental protection and improve human health conditions.

Energy systems that use natural gas also support the integration of low-emission sources of energy, including geothermal heat and power, solar, wind and batteries.

When converted into high-quality, cleaner burning gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuels for heavy duty vehicles, inland and seagoing marine vessels, natural gas helps diversify the fuel mix and reduce air pollution.

Since it occurs naturally and can be collected and processed to generate power, natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, releasing less than half the emissions of coal. It only takes minutes for a natural gas plant to start up, making it flexible enough to adjust to shifting power demands.

When there is not enough sunlight, flexible gas plants can quickly provide the missing power, helping keep the lights on. Current discourse on decarbonized development focuses on the use of natural gas and other RES as the viable step toward transitioning to a secure, sustainable and competitive energy supply, although initial conditions for this transition may vary across different regions and countries.

Here at home, six companies are investing P82.3 billion to put up LNG terminals. One of these companies is Energy World Corp.

(EWC) which has an LNG project in Pagbilao, Quezon, that is 95 percent complete and set to commence operations in the early or middle part of 2022.

Six proposed LNG infrastructure development are likewise expected to augment the country’s natural gas supply in the face of the fastdepleting reserves of the Malampaya gas field. FGEN LNG Corp. is investing P13.28 billion for the construction of an interim floating storage and regasification unit LNG terminal in Batangas City. It will have a capacity of 5.26 million tons LNG per annum. Other LNG terminal projects include the 4.4MTPA project of Excelerate Energy L.P., with investments amounting to P6.39 billion; the 3-MTPA LNG

and so on.To make the economy competitive, the usual advice is for the further deregulation of the economy, further privatization or downsizing of the public sector, further liberalization of trade and investment regimes, and greater global integration of the economy.

To solve mass poverty? This is imagined to happen as a result of the full implementation of the Washington Consensus growth paradigm.

The argument goes this way: As the economy grows, poverty is reduced, and as the economy grows faster, poverty is also reduced faster. This, of course, is nothing but trickle-down economics.

The problem is that the foregoing macro-economic and microeconomic modeling has remained essentially in place. It is thus not surprising that the ADB’s monitoring of Asia’s performance in SDG fulfilment is usually based on how much or how fast the economy has grown and how the benefits of growth such as jobs and wealth creation are eventually spread among the people. Of course, the ADB analyzes too the efforts of the government to help spread the growth benefits through expenditures on food aid and social protection for the poor such as the conditional cash transfer (CCT) for poor mothers with school-age children, a project pioneered and popularized by the World Bank.

And yet, as to the central issue of inequality, the ADB’s neo-liberal economists hardly discuss how and why this is happening. They are simply focused on how the gini coefficient and other indices of poverty and inequality are moving. There is very little inquiry on the root causes of poverty and inequality such as skewed distribution of land, limited schooling for the children of the poor and so on.

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo is a Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines.

For comments, please write to reneofreneo@ gmail.com.

terminal of Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila, Inc., with project cost amounting to P15.33 billion; and the 3-MTPA project of Shell Energy Philippines, Inc. worth P2.52 billion.

Although EWC’s 400-megawatt Pagbilao LNG power is already 95% complete, it has not been allowed to tap on any existing power plant’s transmission grid.

Had EWC been allowed to do so, it could have started exporting power two years ago. Its request to use the existing transmission grid in the area was rejected by the government upon vehement opposition from Team Energy Inc., which ironically processes coal to produce electricity.

The EWC project has had to hurdle protracted bureaucratic red tape and cold-shoulder support from government agencies tasked to ensure stability in the country’s energy mix. The company is now building its own transmission line and switching station in order to connect the plant to the main grid.

Once operational, EWC intends to install a 200 megawatt (MW) steam turbine. Similarly, the final stages of development of its 2-MTPA LNG facility are on track.

For now, it is imperative for the Philippines—and the whole world, for that matter—to keep the natural gas option for renewable energy, inasmuch as technological diversity and advances widen the innovation scope that results from differentials in resource endowment and shortterm priorities. With natural gas, there will be no threat of struggle with fossil-dependent countries, thereby paving the way for a smooth, socially acceptable, and economically feasible transition to a decarbonized energy system.

For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com

A12 Thursday, December 16, 2021

MEAT IMPORTERS BACK PORK MAV+ EXTENSION

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE Meat Importers and Traders A ssociation (Mita) backs the proposal to extend the minimum access volume plus (MAV+) program for pork imports until end-2022, saying such will ensure the country’s meat supply while keeping retail prices in check.

“The Mita board currently feels that an extension of MAV+ up to December 2022 will be very favorable for food security and especially keeping pork prices from runaway inflation,” Mita spokesperson Paolo Pacis told the BusinessMirror.

Pacis noted that their group has supported implementing the 200,000-metric ton (MT) pork MAV+ for the entirety of 2022 since the deliberations on the expanded import program.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez earlier said he favors extending the pork MAV+ program until the end of the year. The pork MAV+ program, under Executive Order (EO) 133, is only applicable during the MAV year 2021-2022, which ends on January 31.

Last month, Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano said only about 22 percent or some 44,000 MT of the 200,000 MT pork MAV+ has been availed of by importers.

Adriano attributed the anemic utilization of the MAV+ to the numerous non-tariff measures imposed by certain DA agencies, including the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), in the implementation of the expanded import program.

Hog raisers have already warned that extending the pork MAV+ would do more harm than good, especially for local production. Leaders of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) and

Federation of Pork Producers Inc. (ProPork) lamented that extending the pork MAV+ will not make any difference in the market prices, noting that there has been no “tangible reduction” on prevailing pork prices today.

They also argued that extending the pork MAV+ would “slow down” the local hog sector’s repopulation efforts as they continue to face further competition from imported pork products.

“The plan to extend pork MAV+ at a lower tariff until December 2022 will still not solve the inflation rate. Since issuance of those EOs [Executive Orders], there was no tangible reduction of pork retail prices as an effect of those EOs 133 and 134,” ProPork President Rolando Tambago told the BusinessMirror.

“What happened instead was it gave further sufferings for local swine farmers [with] foregone revenues of at least P3.7 billion for the government. And it did not bring down the retail price of pork in areas where there are pork shortages,” Tambago added.

Chester Warren Y. Tan, president of NFHFI, said that extending the MAV+ validity will just “slow down” the repopulation efforts of local hog raisers. Tan emphasized that local hog raisers, both backyard and commercial, have started to repopulate their farms even without financial support from the government.

“DOF is not looking at the real ground situation. Their recommendation is not prolocal farmers. Even if they flood the market with imported pork it will not change the situation,” Tan told the BusinessMirror.

“They have to check the history and what happened this whole year. The key is to convince the local producers to produce more and eventually supply will be stable,” Tan added.

Alert Level 2 in effect nationwide till end-Dec

By Samuel P. Medenilla

M

@sam_medenilla

ALACAÑANGonWednesday said the duration of the Alert Level 2 classification for the entire country will now last until the end of the month due to the existing public health threat of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

In a vitual press briefing, Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo B. Nograles disclosed that the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) issued its Resolution No. 154-A, which extended the duration of the nationwide Alert Level 2 from December 16 to 31, 2021.

He noted the IATF adopted the measure since they observed a surge in new Covid-19 cases in areas, which reported a confirmed case of Omicron.

The Omicron variant was declared a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) since its mutations makes it more infectious compared to other SARSCoV-2 variants.

“We are being very cautious because of the threat of the Omicron,” Nograles said.

Also, the still pending parameters for an area to be placed under

Alert Level 1 was another reason, Nograles said, for the government’s decision to defer lowering the quartantine restriction in some parts of the country.

Early detection

ON Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) announced it detected two passengers, who tested positive for the Covid-causing Omicron variant.

One of the passengers is a returning Filipino who came from Japan, while the other one is a Nigerian national. Both were isolated in a quarantine facility, when they were tested.

DOH is now conducting contact tracing to determine those people, who may have interacted with the two passengers.

Nograles said the detection of both cases showed that the government’s entry protocols to prevent the spread of infection are effective.

“This early detection forms part of our Prevent-Detect-IsolateTreat-Reintegrate [PDITR] strategy that has been in place all throughout the pandemic,” Nograles said.

But despite measures, the concurrent Cabinet Secretary urged the public to religiously observe minimum public health standards and get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Q4 growth could hit 7%, full-yr GDP goal of 5.5% doable-DOF

T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) expressed confidence that the country’s economy will grow by 7 percent in the last quarter of the year to hit the higher end of the government’s revised full-year GDP growth target at 5.5 percent.

Finance Chief Economist Gil Beltran said a 7-percent fourthquarter GDP growth is “doable” given that the volume of production index for the manufacturing sector posted a double-digit growth

in October of this year.

“So far, we only have number for October, for the manufacturing sector. It’s 24.7 percent up so because we have further opened the markets, I think the growth

rate will be sustained,” Beltran told finance reporters on Wednesday.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III also said it is likely that the country’s economic growth will be within the revised target range set by the economic team for this year.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on Tuesday said it now sees the economy growing by 5 to 5.5 percent this year, higher than its previous assumption of 4 to 5 percent. The DBCC said they raised their assumption for the country’s GDP growth due to the increase in economic activity on the back of easing mobility restrictions as the number of daily new Covid-19 cases continues to go down.

“The country’s economic performance has exceeded our expectations in 2021. Our year-to-date growth presently up to the end of

September is 4.9 percent, so there is a greater likelihood that our fullyear growth will hit the revised target of our GDP growth ranging from 5 and 5.5 percent this year,” Dominguez said.

For 2022, Dominguez also believes the country’s GDP growth will be within the government’s target range of 7 to 9 percent with the reopening of the economy.

“Backed by a strong health-care system and the massive rollout of the vaccination program, we will solidify our recovery by reopening the economy to Alert Level 1 in January 2022. At the same time, to avert long-term productivity losses and restore more employment, we will resume face-to-face schooling most likely in January 2022,” he said.

For 2023 and 2024, the DBCC retained its growth targets at 6 to 7 percent.

PIGS are seen being roasted in one of the lechon stores in La Loma, Quezon City. Prices of lechon, considered one of the unofficial national dishes of the Philippines, have increased by as much as P1,500, according to the sellers. NONIE REYES

Dept of Migrant Workers best ‘Christmas gift’ to OFWs

T

HE Senate approved on third and final reading Tuesday night a Malacañang-certified bill creating the Department of Migrant Workers, with one senator tagging it the “best Christmas gift” to overseas Filipino workers and peers expressing confidence it would lead to a more rationalized and coordinated approach to caring for an important sector that has shored up the economy for nearly five decades.

“I would not want to lose this opportunity to congratulate all our kababayans overseas on this historic victory,” administration Senator Ronald De la Rosa, the bill’s main sponsor, said, following its approval in plenary deliberations presided by Senate President Vicente Sotto III. Senator Richard Gordon likewise lauded timely passage of the legislation creating the OFW department, which the chairman of the Senate Labor committee, Sen. Joel Villanueva, had defended on the floor for the past weeks.

Gordon earlier introduced key amendments adopted by De la Rosa that were carried in the approved version of Senate Bill 2234. One is “empowering and requiring the

DMW, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs, to conduct regular, timely, and relevant political and security risk assessment in particular to the OFWreceiving country.” This includes evacuation plans to be coordinated with OFWs, not only for immediate deployment but also in cases of emergencies requiring swift action, such as their possible evacuation within a host country, or within a region.

Gordon recalled that since the Covid-19 pandemic started in March 2020, the government has repatriated thousands of OFWs displaced from their work abroad. Official figures show that 785,448 OFWs have been repatriated under a whole-of-government approach involving several agencies led by the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Gordon’s second amendment provided “an additional power to the DMW Secretary to terminate, suspend, or impose a total ban of foreign workers to a particular country.” It allows the immediate action of the DMW Secretary to ensure protection of the best interest, welfare, and safety of migrant workers, Gordon added.

For his part, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go thanked Villanueva for his sustained defense of SB 2234 and said that, even if certain changes were made, what is important to him is to have the bill passed, calling it a timely “gift to OFWs, to the migrant workers this Christmas.” He said he and President Duterte wanted this measure passed because OFWs are “close to our hearts,” noting Duterte’s recent issuance of the Executive order for the long-awaited setting up of an OFW Hospital in Pampanga.

Families’ anxiety

SENATOR De la Rosa, meanwhile, noted that the decision of every Filipino to go abroad to work has always been hard. “Like many Filipino families, my own family dealt with separation caused by overseas employment. Three of my siblings went abroad for better jobs,” he said, partly in Filipino.

De la Rosa cited an International Organization for Migration report listing the Philippines as one of the top labor-sending countries in the world. “With the better opportunities offered abroad, our kababayans are not only enticed but are actually left with no choice but to leave their

families to work and earn a living,” he added.

He recalled that President Duterte himself had promised, when he was running for the presidency in 2016, the creation of a single department to be home and shelter for OFWs. “I am privileged to be a part of this Congress that fulfills the government’s promise of giving more consideration and care to our hardworking Filipinos abroad,” de la Rosa said.

At the same time, he praised Villanueva, chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment, and Resource Development, for “spearheading” passage of the bill “and even making it a landmark achievement” of the current 18th Congress. “He is not just a Tesdaman but now we have a new tag for him—‘BMW’, or brother of migrant workers,” De la Rosa added.

“We believe that the creation of a single department solely devoted to promoting the welfare and instituting a higher standard of safety of all overseas Filipinos will indeed harmonize and integrate the functions of the various agencies and offices that will make the delivery of services more accessible and available,” he had said. Butch Fernandez

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

24 INCH GAUGE CONSTRUCTION INC. L4 Blk. 4, Near Kay Buboy Bridge, San Dionisio, City Of Parañaque

LI, YULONG Project Coordinator 1.

Brief Job Description: Plan, organize, and direct the activities of a construction project, under the direction of a general manager.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field of study; Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook; Knowledge of file management, transcription, and other administrative procedures. Or a related field; Good communication and interpersonal skills

DONG PHU KIET Payment Executive 11.

2.

Brief Job Description: Plan, organize, and direct the activities of a construction project, under the direction of a general manager.

TONG, JIANJUN Project Coordinator 3.

Brief Job Description: Plan, organize, and direct the activities of a construction project, under the direction of a general manager.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field of study; Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook; Knowledge of file management, transcription, and other administrative procedures. Or a related field; Good communication and interpersonal skills

12.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

13.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field of study; Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook; Knowledge of file management, transcription, and other administrative procedures. Or a related field; Good communication and interpersonal skills

CHHUON, SAMBO Risk And Compliance Executive Brief Job Description: Initiates and process customer verification

Brief Job Description: Initiates and process customer verification

YANG, CHAO Project Coordinator 4.

Brief Job Description: Plan, organize, and direct the activities of a construction project, under the direction of a general manager.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 ALLIANZ PNB LIFE INSURANCE INC (ALLIANZ) 9/f Pnb Makati Bldg., 6754 Ayala Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

CHONG FANG SIONG Vice President And Chief Financial Officer 5.

Brief Job Description: Overall responsible for finance strategy, profitability, risk and capital management

Basic Qualification: 14 years of experience across various finance functions in an array of industries, the recent 4 years as Regional Manager in Finance at Allianz Asia Pacific head office in Singapore.

14.

LE THI BAO YEN Seller Onboarding Associate 6.

Brief Job Description: Communicates effectively via live video call with our customer base – third party sellers who want To sell on amazon in its various marketplaces

Basic Qualification: Fluency in Vietnamese language

15.

16.

LINDA WATI Risk And Compliance Executive Brief Job Description: Initiates and process customer verification

7.

SUN, CHIA-YING Marketing Executive Brief Job Description: Conduct and analyze market research

17.

CHAN, WING FAI Marketing Senior Executive 8.

Brief Job Description: Manage and organize data from market research and insights and render business support to ensure efficient operational process

HUANG, DING-JIUN Operations Executive 9.

Brief Job Description: Serves a liason between the customer and various departments and ensure that basic CS functions are performed

CHANG, YU-AN a.k.a. STEVEN CHANG Operations Senior Supervisor 10.

Brief Job Description: Responsible in overseeing day to day in operation and undertake coaching and performance monitoring

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Must be Native Korean / Thai / Vietnamese / Japanese / Chinese / Cambodian / Indonesian, Fluent in English and Native Language with atleast a year of experience in the same field.

18.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

PHAM THI THUY VAN Risk And Compliance Senior Executive Brief Job Description: Assist in analyzing new customer process and policies

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware LUONG VAN DAM IT Support Specialist Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware LUONG VAN KHANG IT Support Specialist

20.

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware MACH VAN NAM IT Support Specialist

21.

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware NGUYEN DUC ANH IT Support Specialist

22.

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware NGUYEN VAN DUC IT Support Specialist

23.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be native Thai / Indonesian / Vietnamese / Taiwanese / Chinese / Korean /Japanese, fluent in English and respective native language; With atleast a year experience in similar field

Brief Job Description: Assist in analyzing new customer process and policies

ZHONG, ANPING Chinese IT Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be native Cambodian, Indonesian /Vietnamese/ Taiwanese/ Chinese/ Korean/ Japanese / Taiwanese Fluent in English language with atleast a year experience in similar field

NGUYEN TUAN HOANG Risk And Compliance Senior Executive

YANG, WENTAO Chinese IT Support Specialist

19.

Basic Qualification: Must be Native Korean / Thai / Vietnamese / Japanese / Chinese / Cambodian / Indonesian, Fluent in English and Native Language with atleast a year of experience in the same field.

Basic Qualification: Must be Native Korean / Thai / Vietnamese / Japanese / Chinese / Cambodian / Indonesian, Fluent in English and Native Language with atleast a year of experience in the same field.

Basic Qualification: Must be native Korean / Thai / Vietnamese / Japanese / Chinese / Cambodian / Indonesian, fluent in English & native language; With atleast a year of experience in the same field

Basic Qualification: Must be native Thai/ Vietnamese/Chinese/ English & native language, with atleast 2 years experience in similar field

No.

Basic Qualification: Must be native Thai/ Vietnamese/Chinese/ english & native language, with atleast 2 years experience in similar field

26.

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware NGUYEN VAN Y IT Support Specialist

24.

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware PHAM THI NHAT LE IT Support Specialist

25.

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

27.

CHEN, HAIJIE Project Manager 28.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

29.

Brief Job Description: Rich experience in horizontal and vertical construction project

ANAND, DEVPREET SINGH VP, Service Delivery 30.

Brief Job Description: Respond to basic and routine inquires of a technical nature, including hardware/software and other designated client products. This position assist internal users of the client’s technical problems or services by answering questions and solving problems involved in their use.

CHEN, JUNLIN Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 31.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

DENG, YIWEN Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 32.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

GAO, ZHIPENG Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer 33.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, Give customers information about product and services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate. Fluent in Mandarin and English language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate. Fluent in Mandarin and English language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: University Degree in related field and 12+ years of experience (with at least 6+ years of progressive management experience) relevant experience preferred.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

DIGICHROM INC. Unit 2602 & 2603 26/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

34.

35.

36.

CHEN, YU-AN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage incoming and outgoing calls, chats and emails

KO, WEI-REN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage incoming and outgoing calls, chats and emails

WANG, TING-TING Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage incoming and outgoing calls, chats and emails

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

DYNAMIC STUDIO TECHNOLOGY INC. 5th To 10th/f Platinum Tower Building, Aseana Ave. Cor. Fuentes Street, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque CHU, JITUO Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 37.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

LI, XILONG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 38.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customers information about product and services

LIU, NANTING Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 39.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customers information about product and services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

CRONYX INC. No. 4th-10th Flr. Yinhope Bldg., Dela Rama Cor. Zoili Hilario St., Seascape Village, Ccp Complex Subd. Zone 10, Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

CONCENTRIX DAKSH SERVICES PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Bldg. F, Ayalaland, Technohub, Quezon City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

Brief Job Description: Rich experience in horizontal and vertical construction project TANG, JIAN Project Manager

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

CHINA CONSTRUCTION FRONT GENERAL DEVT. CORPORATION Unit 3001, Atlanta Center, 31 Annapolis St., Brgy. Greenhills, City Of San Juan

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese Language (Writing and Speaking)

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware VI THI BICH IT Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and speaking)

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION TRUONG TAN PHAT IT Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

Basic Qualification: Must be Native Korean / Thai / Vietnamese / Japanese / Chinese / Cambodian / Indonesian, Fluent in English and Native Language with atleast a year of experience in the same field.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex, Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore, Brgy. 076, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: Must be Native Korean / Thai / Vietnamese / Japanese / Chinese / Cambodian / Indonesian, Fluent in English and Native Language with atleast a year of experience in the same field.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field of study; Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook; Knowledge of file management, transcription, and other administrative procedures. Or a related field; Good communication and interpersonal skills

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

JULIA CANDRA Risk And Compliance Executive

A13

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SHAO, WENWEN Project Coordinator

Brief Job Description: Assess financial risk while maintaining appropriate level of cash flow requirement to support business operation

Thursday, December 16, 2021

QIN, ZHONGZHONG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 40.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/Good in oral communication Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/Good in oral communication Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

A14

BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 16, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION SAM DUNG THANH Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

41.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

TANG, PENGFEI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 42.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customers information about product and services

YANG, TENG-KAI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 43.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customers information about product and services

ZHENG, DONGMEI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 44.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customers information about product and services

SUN, HAIAN Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate 45.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

DENG, DONGPING Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk 46.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/Good in oral communication Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/Good in oral communication Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/Good in oral communication

XIE, MIN Marketing And Sales Agent 56.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

YAO, MENGLIN Logistic Manager 57.

47.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

CHEN, YUN Marketing And Sales Agent 48.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

Brief Job Description: Recommend optimal transportation modes, routing, equipment, or frequency

GAO, ZECONG Chinese Finance Supervisor 58.

Brief Job Description: Oversees the collection and analysis of financial information for an organization LIN, WEI Chinese Finance Supervisor

59.

Brief Job Description: Oversees the collection and analysis of financial information for an organization ZHAO, XIN Chinese Finance Supervisor

60.

Brief Job Description: Oversees the collection and analysis of financial information for an organization

DU, RAN Customer Service Representative 61.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

LAI, LIANFA Customer Service Representative 62.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

CHEN, ZHIHONG Marketing And Sales Agent 49.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered

LIN, WENQING Customer Service Representative 63.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 GUO, JIAQIAO Marketing And Sales Agent 50.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

LUO, ZHIHANG Marketing And Sales Agent 51.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

PHAN THI BICH Marketing And Sales Agent 52.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

64.

65.

53.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WANG, XI Marketing And Sales Agent 54.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

XIA, SEN Marketing And Sales Agent 55.

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implemment plans and works to meet sales quotas

66.

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

HAO, YAN Marketing Manager For Bank Backup Modernization Project

67.

Brief Job Description: Assist the product manager improving the documents required by the customer cooperate with the research and development team to improve storage product competitiveness, Help grow the business by finding new storage opportunities Researching leads, Establishing relationships with potential clients and partners understand local storage markets for client marketing relationships with enterprise information technology IT clients and identify new projects

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

LIM, JIAN WEI Procurement Category Manager For Huawei Philippines Fiber To The Home(x) (FFTX) Project

68.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin and English language both verbal and written

Brief Job Description: In Charge of Procurement operation process planning and management in accordance to the company’s strategy: Ensure the implementation and localization of the procurement and qualification process of fiber to the Home(X) (FFTX) Project of Huawei Philippines: Establish the quality and operational Organization and Mechanism manage the internal control and information security for Huawei Philippines FTTC Project category control the major problems and risk of the FFTX project

WANG, HAIHUA Solution Sales Director For Customers Experience Management (cem) On Huawei Cloud Stack Online (hcso) Project

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in any related field Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in any related field

69.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in any related field Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

70.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must have the ability to identify key customer requirements and ensure smooth implementation requirements with the product solutions familiar with the storage industry and have knowledge of the storage solution such as centralized storage, distributed storage and hyper-convergence have experience it overall architecture design and system operation and maintenance including virtualization data center storage and hybrid cloud, Hands on experience in testing and implementation of hybrid cloud Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

TER WEI HON Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk 71.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree holder in business management and other related courses: able to understand the cloud infrasture: has experienced in virtualization, Virtual private cloud distributed storage container and microservice has a certified network associate (CCNA) certificate preprerably a solution architect with experience in R&D and presales Support Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer’s question about services or products/ Excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer’s question about services or products/ Excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ITECHNO SPECIALIST INC. 7/f Aseana I Bldg., Bradco Avenue Aseana Business Park, Tambo, City Of Parañaque LIU, YUAN Chinese It Support Specialist 72.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

Basic Qualification: A Chinese and fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

JIU ZHOU TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. 31/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Avenue, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati LEE, PAI-CHUN Chinese Customer Service Representative 73.

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services TRAN THI HANG Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

74.

Brief Job Description: At least potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Chinese mandarin, English and their respective native language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: At least 19 y/old; Ability to speak write and communicate in Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

KAISER DYNASTY TRADING CORP. Unit 25d 2/f Zeta Ii Bldg., 191 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati CHEN, CHANGFU Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 75.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

CHEN, YU Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 76.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

DONG, RUIHONG Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 77.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

Brief Job Description: Analyze customers business applications and technical requirement then college the original requirements to map it to our solution and find the gap and to support it, design high level solution models and technical solution structures for assigned projects: participate in projects delivery to guarantee the success of implementation and fix technical issues during delivery: provide the original requirements to the delivery team and coordinate the designed solution

NICHOLAS CHU EE CHUAM Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

Basic Qualification: With experience in project procurement management, has basic knowledge in finance and international business knowledgeable in SRM system, Ibuy system supply chain management and e-procurement: with technical skills in project management, data analysis and supplier management has excellent communication and interpersonal skills, Have a Bachelors Degree In finance and other related courses, Highly proficient in Chinese and English language

INFOVINE INC. 9/f Y Tower, Moa Complex, Coral Way Drive Cor. Macapagal, Brgy. 076, Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

GAO, QI Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 78.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

LIU, KAI Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 79.

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES PHILS. INC. U-5302, 53/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Cor., V.a. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

ZHANG, LEI Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WANG, TING Marketing And Sales Agent

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

YU, ZHIYANG Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information, ideas, and research to help develop marketing strategies; can help to detail, design, and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

LYU, QIFAN Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered

GATEWAYSOLUTIONS CORP. Unit 2306 Antel Global Corporate Center, Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered

No.

FUJIAN ELECTRIC POWER ENGINEERING COMPANY 5 West, Lawin, Phil-am 1, Quezon City

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503, Nueva St, , Binondo, City Of Manila

CHEN, MANRONG Marketing And Sales Agent

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

FIBERHOME PHILS., INC. U-19d 19/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Can Contributes Information, Ideas, and Research to help develop marketing strategies; Can Help to detail, design and Implement marketing plans for each products or service being offered

Brief Job Description: Researches and Develops Various Marketing Strategies for Products and service and Implement plans and works to meet sales quotas

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

LU, CHIA-YU a.k.a. CHARINA LU Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 80.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

WANG, BIN Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 81.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

YANG, CHENGKAI Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 82.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers; give customers information about product and services

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION ZENG, ZHENGLAI Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist

83.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

ZHENG, YUANLIU Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 84.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

85.

Brief Job Description: Lead the review and analysis of current operational processes

100.

101.

86.

Brief Job Description: Contribute in the implementation of marketing strategies WU, XUEDONG Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist

87.

Brief Job Description: Contribute in the implementation of marketing strategies

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin

102.

103.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin

88.

Brief Job Description: Analysis disputes received (basis target allocated) understand what is customer disputing for

ALTAMIRANO LOPEZ, ANA CAROLINA Lam Collections Team Leader 89.

90.

Brief Job Description: Accountable for managing people setting direction and developing resources

DE MORAES ROSA, MARISIA Process Expert Brief Job Description: Assist customers with their issues and inquiries JAQUE PARRA, IGNACIO ALONSO Process Expert

91.

Brief Job Description: Has complete knowledge and expertise in the role of logging and resolving disputes

Basic Qualification: Analysis disputes received (basis target allocated) - understand what is customer disputing for

104.

105.

106.

92.

Brief Job Description: Assumes full responsibility for all marine aspects of the project

JAMES MICHAEL THOMAS JOHN Mechanical Superintendent 93.

Brief Job Description: Monitor & review the performance of plant, labour, and subcontractors to ensure production targets are met or bettered.

107.

Basic Qualification: Assist customers with their issues and inquiries

Brief Job Description: Committed to improving customer experience and operational efficiency HAAIRI Mandarin Operations Specialist

95.

Brief Job Description: Committed to improving customer experience and operational efficiency LIN, BO Mandarin Operations Specialist

96.

Brief Job Description: Committed to improving customer experience and operational efficiency WU, HAO Mandarin Operations Specialist

97.

Brief Job Description: Committed to improving customer experience and operational efficiency HE, GUOXIANG Mandarin Technical Support

98.

Brief Job Description: To troubleshoot, maintain and monitor the computer system TAN, QI Mandarin Technical Support

99.

Brief Job Description: To troubleshoot, maintain and monitor the computer system

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

108.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

Basic Qualification: Minimum 5 years’ experience with marine systems operation & maintenance, with at least 1 year experience as a barge supervisor, with advanced crane operations knowled

109.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION 1331 Pearl Plaza Bldg., Quirino Ave., Tambo, City Of Parañaque

Basic Qualification: Minimum 10 years’ experience relevant to the designated project and having previously held a position as supervisor; trade qualification relevant to construction, building or manufacturing industries

MINDSCAPE CREATIVES INC. Unit 19-o, Burgundy Corporate Tower, 252 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

94.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

ZHANG, JINGJING Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

ZHENG, XINXIN Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

110.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

YANG, YIHAN Mandarin Customer Service

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

YU, RUISHENG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

MC CONNELL DOWELL PHILS., INC. Level 4 Nol Tower, Commerce Ave., Mbp, City Of Muntinlupa

TEY TACK SENG Barge Master

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

WANG, KE Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

WANG, HAIJIAO Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Attend to export or import specific processes as assigned in the team

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

LI, PEIHU Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Leads and manages employees and sets priorities to ensure task completion

Brief Job Description: Lead the team in developing

GU, XINGXING Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

MAERSK GLOBAL SERVICE CENTRES (PHILIPPINES) LTD. Levels 5-8 North Wing, Estancia Offices, Capitol Commons Meralco Ave., Oranbo, City Of Pasig FUENTES SANCHEZ, JOSE OMAR Disputes Voice Coordinator

CHONG KONG YEW a.k.a. ZHANG GUANGYAO Country Manager

DENG, HUI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

111.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

112.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

113.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

CHEN, QIANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Base Services

JIN, LIANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LUO, ZHENZHEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

MOU, XIUMEI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

114.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

115.

WU, JIANWEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

YANG, YUXIAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MONDELEZ BUSINESS SERVICES AP PTE. LTD. PHILIPPINE BRANCH 6th Flr. Cyberpod Centris Three North Tower, Eton Centris Edsa Cor. Quezon Ave., Pinyahan 4, Quezon City

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

117.

Basic Qualification: Degree in Engineering with specialization in Telecoms

118.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

NEO INCORPORATED North Tower Centrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

KWONG YUAN TRADING CORP. 16/f Tower 6789 Ayala Ave., Cor. H.v Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati LIU, SHOUCHENG Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist

Brief Job Description: To support employee via call or chat function, all question related to HR especially in local Bahasa Indonesia language

116.

ZHAO, FEILONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

A15

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION ZHONG, PENGFEI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data base Services

N-WAVE TECHNOLOGIES PHILIPPINES, INC. #128 Unit 717 Globe Telecom Plaza Pioneer, Cor. Madison, Barangka Ilaya, City Of Mandaluyong

Basic Qualification: Extensive experience on the said position Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION HERI SETIAWAN My Query Advisor, Indonesia

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

KAREILA MANAGEMENT CORPORATION S & R Membership Shopping Bldg., 32nd Cor. 5th Ave., Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig SEGAL, CHRISTOPHER TODD Consultant

No.

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

119.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

120.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

121.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

122.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

123.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

124.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

125.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

126.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 127.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Application With Good Oral and Written Communication Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

128.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

129.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

130.

131.

132.

133.

134.

ZHU, YUJIE Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Base Services

LUMBA GUNAWAN Indonesian Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

KUA SIONG FOO Malaysian Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

CHANG, HSUN-HAO Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

CHENG, WEI-TING Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

CHIANG, JING-SIH Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LEE, KUAN-YI Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIAO, HUNG-MING Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIN, JING-MIN Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIN, YI-SHENG Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIU, CHIH-CHUN Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIU, PU-HUNG Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

SU, CHIEN-JUNG Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

TSENG, CHEN-WEI Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

WU, KUN-FENG Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

YANG, MEI-JHEN Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

YOU, YI-SHENG Taiwanese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Applications with Good and Written Communication SKills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Application With Good Oral and Written Communication Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

A16

BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 16, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

135.

136.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION HONG CONG HY Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Base services

LANG THU THAO Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Applications with Good oral and Written Communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

152.

Brief Job Description: A Mandarin Speaking Project Coordinator is responsible for planning, organizing and direct the activities of a construction project, also supports the Project Manager

137.

138.

139.

140.

141.

142.

Brief Job Description: Handling inbound and outbound service support calls CAI, XIAOLING Chinese Customer Officer Brief Job Description: Handling inbound and outbound service support calls LIN, WENNA Chinese Customer Officer Brief Job Description: Handling inbound and outbound service support calls PENG, ZHEN Chinese Customer Officer Brief Job Description: Handling inbound and outbound service support calls SUN, HAIBO Chinese Customer Officer Brief Job Description: Handling inbound and outbound service support calls WANG, LIANG Chinese Customer Officer Brief Job Description: Handling inbound and outbound service support calls

ISHIBASHI, YUKI Project Manager 153.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in reading writing and speaking in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in reading writing and speaking in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in reading writing and speaking in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in reading writing and speaking in mandarin

PSA PHILIPPINES CONSULTANCY INC. Unit 1408 14/f The Pearlbank Centre, 146 Valero St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

154.

155.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in reading writing and speaking in mandarin

143.

Brief Job Description: Keep posted with market changers and new product

Basic Qualification: Proficient in writing, reading and speaking in Thai

CRAPPS SR, BURTON WILSON Business Development Coordinator Brief Job Description: Development and expansion of new services

156.

157.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

HNIN WUTT YEE Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

JIN, DAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIN, WENJIAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

PHILIPPINES E-SKY COMMUNICATION INC. Unit E-1905a East Tower, Psec Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig CAI, CHANGZHAO Technical Supervisor 144.

Brief Job Description: Manage teams of technicians in a supervisory capacity and travel into the field to oversee workers and conduct inspection on completed works LI, HONGJI Technical Supervisor

145.

Brief Job Description: Manage teams of technicians in a supervisory capacity and travel into the field to oversee workers and conduct inspection on completed works XIE, JUNJIE Technical Supervisor

146.

Brief Job Description: Manage teams of technicians in a supervisory capacity and travel into the field to oversee workers and conduct inspection on completed works ZHONG, SHUAIWEI Technical Supervisor

147.

Brief Job Description: Manage teams of technicians in a supervisory capacity and travel into the field to oversee workers and conduct inspection on completed works

Basic Qualification: Minimum of two years of working experience in the related field; fluent in mandarin/basic English

148.

Brief Job Description: Management, Interpreter, Disseminator of information’s and figures, Company’s representative.

Basic Qualification: Minimum of two years of working experience in the related field; fluent in mandarin/basic english

149.

Brief Job Description: Will lead & supervise a team for work targets.

Basic Qualification: Minimum of two years of working experience in the related field; fluent in mandarin/basic english

150.

Brief Job Description: A Mandarin Speaking Project Coordinator is responsible for planning, organizing and direct the activities of a construction project, also supports the Project Manager

151.

Brief Job Description: A Mandarin Speaking Project Coordinator is responsible for planning, organizing and direct the activities of a construction project, also supports the Project Manager

160.

161.

162.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate, speaks mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 163.

Basic Qualification: has excellent ability to lead a team Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: Has a good project administration and management skills.

Experience in supervising construction projects is required. Fluency in Mandarin and basic English.

Excellent in communication both in written and verbal.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

XU, HAOTIAN Mandarin Speaking Project Coordinator

Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

TOH SZE HAO Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

TUN LIN NAING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

POWERCHINA PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Unit 2101 21/f Bdo Equitable Tower, 8751 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

CAI, ZHENHUA Mandarin Speaking Project Coordinator

159.

MOE MOE KHAING Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

POSCO E AND C BRANCH OFFICE 9/f Philamlife Tower, 8767 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati LIM, DOKYEOM Section Leader

Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

PLANETARY RING CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION Level 10-1 One Global Place, 5th Ave. & 5th St. Bgc, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig LAW, SHARON Mandarin Interpreter

158.

LY THE LAP Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Minimum of two years of working experience in the related field; fluent in mandarin/basic english

Basic Qualification: Has a good project administration and management skills.

Experience in supervising construction projects is required. Fluency in Mandarin and basic English.

Excellent in communication both in written and verbal.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must have more than 5 years experience in Business Development.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

SA RIVENDELL GLOBAL SUPPORT, INC. 9-11 Flr., The Biopolis Bldg., Macapagal Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City

NOVATECH (PASAY) LIMITED, INC. 4th Flr. W Mall Bldg., Diosdado Macapagal Ave. St., Zone 10. Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City RITKHAMROP, NOOTCHANART Thai Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: The position requires the employee to perform particular duties and assume responsibilities attendant upon his assigned position as required by the management of the company.

Basic Qualification: Must have a work experience in the used car industry.; Has experience in planning and sales of used car warranty or inspection business.; Has excellent English and Japanese communication skills.; Has high level of awareness of crisis management and compliance.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Has a good project administration and management skills.

Experience in supervising construction projects is required. Fluency in Mandarin and basic English.

Excellent in communication both in written and verbal.

No.

167.

VU THANH PHUC Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

YAN KYU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

164.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for customer status and monitoring updates

CHANG, YEN-TING Customer Relation Representative (Mandarin Translation) 165.

Brief Job Description: Handle service support calls, emails and chats related to inquiry from clients and/or customers through Mandarin to English translation

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

166.

Brief Job Description: Participating in scheduling for a project

Basic Qualification: Excellent skills in Project Management, AutoCAD, SketchUp and MS Office Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Sourcing suppliers, advice advantageous terms, key personal collaboration, team lead

WANG, CHING-TING Chinese Admin Support Specialist 170.

Brief Job Description: Handles administrative request and queries from senior managers/officers.

HUANG, YU-JEN Chinese IT Specialist

171.

Basic Qualification: MA in Business Administration, Finance or relevant field; Minimum 10 years of working experience in executive leadership positioning FMCG industry; Extensive International business experience; In-depth knowledge of different business functions; Hands-on experience in strategic planning and business development; Has a solid grasp of data analysis and performance metrics

Basic Qualification: Multi-lingual, analytical, high experience in procuring globally Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Brief Job Description: Assesses infrastructure on a regular basis to ensure it continues to meet necessary demands.

Basic Qualification: - Atleast 19y/old - Ability to speak write and communicate in Taiwanese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: - Atleast 19y/old - Ability to speak write and communicate in Taiwanese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TPPH-FHCS, INC. Teleperformance Center, Ayala, Corner Sen. Gil J Puyat Avenue, City Of Makati

NHACA, JOAO PAULO DA SILVA Customer Service Representative 172.

Brief Job Description: Provide Comprehensive and quality customer care at all times, Communicate effectively with internal and external customers

Basic Qualification: Highly Proficient in oral and written Portuguese and English, Experience in handling Portuguese accounts, or Portuguese-related duties and responsibilities is preferred Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

VASTLINE BUSINESS SUPPORT INC. U-504p Five E-com Ctr. Bldg., Pacific Drive, Brgy. 076, Pasay City ZHANG, RUILIN Mandarin Field Marketing Officer 173.

Brief Job Description: Foster human relationship through communication and distribution of marketing activities

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WANFANG TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, INC. 6-9/f Double Dragon Plaza, Edsa Cor. Macapagal Ave., Barangay 76, Pasay City WAN, HSIN-JAN Chinese Customer Service Representative 174.

Brief Job Description: Maintains financial account; recommend potential products and services; attract potential to a customers

LEE, CHIA-YU Chinese IT Specialist 175.

Brief Job Description: Assesses infrastructure on a regular basis to ensure it continues to meet necessary demands

Basic Qualification: At least 19 y/old; Ability to speak write and communicate in Chinese mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Chinese Mandarin, English and their respective native language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZAPPORT SERVICES, INC. 36/f Burgundy Corporate Tower, 252 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati ALWIN SIAWIRA Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 176.

Brief Job Description: Indonesian written reports on a daily operation of call center activities performing customer-oriented telephone activities and various background operation duties

CHRISTOVER Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 177.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Through extensive and fluency in Mandarin language and characters

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TIAN XIA TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. Bldg. B Filinvest Cyberzone 6, Bay City, Brgy. 076, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: Proficient in writing, reading, and speaking Chinese

SHSY ELECTRIC POWER CORPORATION 3/f Salcedo One Center, 170 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati DING, ZHIWEI Chinese Site Manager

169.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SEEKTOP SERVICE MANAGEMENT INC. 25/f Alphaland Corporate Tower, 7232 Ayala Ave. Extn. Cor. Malugay St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Brief Job Description: Collaborates with the Chief Executive Officer in the idealization, planning, and implementation of business strategies supportive of long-term and short-term directions; Translates strategies into actionable, comprehensive goals and operational plans for business growth and efficiency; Establishes and regularly reviews relevance of policies and procedures that promote organizational and business objectives

WICHMANN, MATTHIAS Procurement Manager

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

Basic Qualification: Excellent skills in Project Management, AutoCAD, SketchUp and MS Office

SYSPRO BPO INC. Royal Cargo Building, Sta. Agueda Ave., Pascor Drive, Santo Niño, City Of Parañaque

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

Brief Job Description: Participating in scheduling for a project

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SECURE SMARTER SERVICES INC. Unit A 9/ F Bpi-philam Life Bldg., 6811 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati CHANG, LINLIN Chinese Speaking Site Technician

168.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

DUAN, XIAOBING Chinese Site Manager

GIRIDHAR, ARUN Chief Operating Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

SPLASH CORPORATION 5th Flr. W - Office Bldg., 11th Ave. Cor. 28th St. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

PREMIUM WARRANTY SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit No. 283-285 Flr. No. 2nd Bldg. No. Cluster J, Blue Bay Walk Bldg. Diosdado Macapagal Blvd.

Cor. Edsa Extension St., Zone 10, District 1, Barangay 76, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: Proficient in reading writing and speaking in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NEW WEATHER FORCES GROUP INC. 26/f The Enterprise Center Tower 2, 6766 Ayala Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati WANG, LE Chinese Customer Officer

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ZHAO, DAWEI Mandarin Speaking Project Coordinator

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Brief Job Description: Indonesian written reports on a daily operation of call center activities performing customer-oriented telephone activities and various background operation duties

HENDI PRANATA Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 178.

Brief Job Description: Indonesian written reports on a daily operation of call center activities performing customer-oriented telephone activities and various background operation duties

Basic Qualification: Indonesian speaking and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Indonesian speaking and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Indonesian speaking and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

*Date Generated: Dec 15, 2021 Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication.

Please inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Thursday, December 16, 2021

B1

PNOC-EC withholds consent to sale of Malampaya stake

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

he Philippine National Oil Co.Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), which holds a 10-percent stake in the Malampaya consortium, is not giving its consent to the $380-million deal between Malampaya operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) and Udenna Corp.’s Malampaya Energy XP Pte. Ltd. “PNOC-EC is withholding its consent to the transaction,” said PNOCEC President Rozzano Briguez during a public hearing on the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-To-Power Project conducted by the Senate Energy Committee held Wednesday.

He refused to say why and how PNOC-EC arrived at its decision. Briguez asked the committee that he be allowed to refrain from answering further questions since SPEX was informed about the decision only two days ago.

“Out of respect to the other

parties, not to disclose reason behind our decision at the moment because our other partners, stockholders have to be informed first. We only informed one of them, SPEX. I’m reiterating that we have communicated two days ago that we are withholding our consent. Our letter did not contain the reasons.”

He said it is up to SPEX “how it will act after we withhold our consent.”

The consortium is composed of PNOC-EC (10 percent), SPEX (45 percent) and UC38 LLC (45 percent).

SPEX earlier sold its stake to Malampaya Energy for $380 million, with additional payments of up to $80 million between 2022 to 2024 contingent on asset performance and commodity prices.

PNOC-EC earlier waived its right to match the offer of Malampaya Energy.

The deal is valid if the parties secure the consent of PNOC-EC and if the Department of Energy (DOE) approves it.

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, who was present during the hearing, was asked if his office would continue to evaluate the deal after PNOC-EC withheld its consent.

“What is the purpose of continuing the evaluation if there is no consummation, if there is no consent by the parties?” the energy chief commented.

The target date for the deal to become effective was set later this year.

SPEX, according to its managing counsel Atty. Kiril Caral, confirmed during the hearing that it received a letter from PNOC-EC about its decision to not consent to the transaction. He also confirmed that the state firm did not explain its reasons.

“We’re very disappointed [with the] decision of PNOC. However, we

will continue to engage with them to find out if there is anything we can do to address the concerns that might have led them to this decision,” said Caral during the hearing.

He added that SPEX is “very much interested to understand” what led PNOC-EC to withhold its consent to the deal. Understanding PNOC-EC’s decision is the first step moving forward, Caral said, but without its consent, “we will not be able to pursue the sale at the moment.”

Committee chairman Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian lauded the decision of PNOC-EC, saying this will protect the interest of the Filipino people. “I laud and welcome the decision of PNOC for putting the interest of the Filipino people first.

Definitely, that decision will not be put to waste because we recognized that decision was made to protect our country.”

The Malampaya gas field delivers a fifth of the Philippines’ growing electricity requirements through the supply of natural gas to five power plants in Luzon.

The gas project has also been providing a crucial source of income for the government with a total net national government share amounting to P261,681,610,752.59 since it began commercial operations in 2002.

ICTSI to beef up Mexico capacity

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

I

nternational Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Wednesday its subsidiary in Colima, Mexico is investing $230 million to expand the Second Specialized Container Terminal at the Port of Manzanillo.

Contecon Manzanillo SA (CMSA) CEO Jose Antonio Contreras said the investment will be used to expand the terminal’s capacity by 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs),

‘Vaccine industry ready for Omicron’

T

HE local vaccine industry is all set to respond to the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as the Philippines reported its first case of the new strain on Wednesday.

The two imported cases of the new coronavirus variant of concern were detected from 48 samples sequenced on December 14. The carriers are now put in isolation in a quarantine facility, the Department of Health said in a statement.

Prior to the entry of Omicron in the country, the vaccine sector, together with the medical community, already reiterated that the public can still get enough protection from it via current and future anti-variant countermeasures like immediate changes in the Covid-19 vaccines, a faster vaccination drive, and the strict observance of health protocols.

IP-Biotech (IPB) Founder and Chairman Enrique Gonzalez assured that “the world’s vaccine industry is ready to respond with specific Omicron booster shots by making changes to the existing vaccines if the need arises. The production infrastructure is in place, and ramping up for next generations can be a rapid process.”

IPB is a vaccine service provider and the local emergency use authorization holder of Sinovac which has so far provided 50 percent of all Covid-19 vaccines nationwide. Among the characteristics of omicron are its speed of transmission and the large number of mutations it triggers.

Based on a study of South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, it may be more infectious than the Delta variant; about 30 of its more than 50 mutations are on the spike protein.

It only takes 20 days to hit 90 percent of the genome-sequenced samples, when compared to the latter strain which takes approximately 100 days. Roderick L. Abad

allowing it to “serve the growing maritime traffic at the port.”

“The investment is intended to expand the operating capacity of the terminal from 1.4 million TEUs to 1.7 million TEUs annually,” he said.

The additional capital will be used for the construction of berths and yards, as well as for the acquisition of quay cranes, rubber tired gantries, port tractors and other equipment.

All these will complement the public project for the expansion and the adaptation of land access to the

terminal, which the Federal Government announced for Manzanillo in November.

The expansion initiatives will start in the second half of 2022.

For his part, ICTSI Chairman Enrique K. Razon Jr. said the fresh capital “is an essential part of the ICTSI Group’s strategy that will benefit the supply chain in the region.”

CMSA has a 34-year concession for the Second Specialized Container Terminal at the Port of Manzanillo.

It started operating the said terminal in 2010.

ICTSI reported that its profits grew by a percentage point to $101.8 million in 2020 from $100.4 million the year prior thanks to the 2-percent increase in its gross revenues to $1.51 billion from $1.48 million the previous year, and the lower cash operating expenses resulting from the continuous groupwide cost reduction and optimization measures.

The port operator’s volumes were flattish in 2020 at 10.19 million TEUs due to the pandemic’s effect on global trade and lowdown restrictions.

Solar PHL unit IPO 2x oversubscribed

Photo from www.solarnuevaecija.ph

By VG Cabuag @villygc

T

he initial public offering (IPO) of Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC), a unit of Solar Philippines Inc., was almost two times oversubscribed ahead of its market debut by the end of the week, according to its underwriter.

“SPNEC’s IPO was oversubscribed, receiving P5.3 billion in orders for the P2.7-billion offering, with strong demand from investors who want exposure to the first pureplay solar company to list on the PSE [Philippine Stock Exchange],” Abacus Capital and Investment Corp. said.

The company’s IPO was already sized at the maximum of its indicative range of up to 2.7 billion shares priced at P1 apiece. At the said price, the company’s market capitalization will reach P8.12 billion.

“We’re grateful for the public’s faith in our ability to turn this power point into a power plant, and hope our work can live up to these expectations,” Solar Philippines Chairman Leandro Leviste said.

SPNEC is the PSE’s 10th and possibly final listing for the year. It is the first company to list under the Supplemental Listing and Disclosure Rules for Renewable Energy (RE) Companies approved by PSE in 2011 which provides exemption from the PSE’s track record and operating history requirements.

To date, SPNEC is at the pre-operating stage and has not commenced

commercial operations.

Proceeds from the IPO will be used to complete the first 50 megawatt of the project and acquire land to expand the project beyond 500 MW, in support of SPNEC’s ambition to develop the largest solar project in Southeast Asia.

Solar Philippines incorporated SPNEC in 2016 and secured a Department of Energy’s service contract to develop the Nueva Ecija project in 2017, with construction planned to start by the end of 2021. Once operational, the project is intended to supplement the Luzon grid’s thin reserves and help prevent rotating outages that affected millions of Filipinos earlier this year.

Prime Infrastructure Holdings Inc., a company owned by billionaire Enrique K. Razon Jr., earlier announced its P3.5-billion investment for a 50 percent stake in three solar projects with a total of 340 MW that will be developed by Solar Philippines. These solar projects are located in the provinces of Tarlac, Batangas, and Cavite.

Solar Philippines has indicated that its strategy is now focused on helping the country’s power companies enter the solar market, by making available project sites it has developed over the years.

“We want to help the country’s power companies replace their future coal and gas developments with solar, so that together, we can make solar the largest source of energy in the Philippines,” Leviste said.

Chowking to open Report: Corporate sustainability store in New Jersey reporting is a complex issue C C

orporate sustainability reporting is still a complex issue, according to the latest report published by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which stressed the need for collaboration between the government and the private sector to make the disclosed information comparable and useful.

The latest report from GRI’s business leaders’ forum said credit ratings agencies and benchmarking organizations should also learn from other guidelines—other than those of the GRI’s—to know the impact of a company’s initiative on reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations or other material information on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.

“The GRI Standards can be used to provide information on the most significant impacts and material ESG and SDG issues in sustainability reports. Sustainability reports that use the GRI Standards can provide the necessary information, which can then be used by rating agencies and benchmarking organizations to evaluate their sustainability performance and impacts,” the paper read.

“Some rating agencies and

benchmarking organizations might also apply external datasets, such as climate or other risk models, to further analyze business risk and impacts on people and the environment. They also assess related controversies or other ‘discovered data’ to evaluate the impact of a business on the SDGs.” Ratings firm use different approaches and methodologies to gather relevant ESG and SDG information for their respective datasets, which can lead to different data requests. These firms mainly look for data on assessing products and services alignment with the SDGs, preferably tied to revenue; mapping operational ESG metrics to impacts on the SDGs; and assessing targets that businesses have set for SDGs-related topics.

The paper said these firms are continuously looking for more quantifiable and comparable information that is necessary to evaluate businesses impacts on the SDGs. “While the SDGs call for worldwide action by all stakeholders, including businesses, the goals and targets were primarily designed for government agencies,” it said.

The GRI along with the United Nations Development Programme in Colombia developed an online

tool called SDG Corporate Tracker, which allowed the private sector to report their contribution to the SDGs at the country level, still within the context of voluntary disclosure. This tool has been replicated in other countries, such as in Indonesia and Peru.

The tracker allows the national governments to measure the private sector’s contribution to the SDGs at the country level by generating an aggregated analysis of contributions by economic sector, company size and region of the country. Submission, however, is anonymous so companies feel more comfortable when sharing information.

“Examples provided by business participants from around the world make it clear that interaction and guidance on the SDG reporting from governments varies significantly and depends on the local and regional factors,” the paper read.

“Success is dependent on situationally specific contexts, which means that what works for one government may not work for another.

Thus, reporting and data collection processes are not one size fits all, and national governments should explore what procedures and policies work best in their individual cases.” VG Cabuag

howking USA recently opened its first store in the East Coast in the state of New Jersey as part of the Jollibee Group’s aggressive expansion plans in North America.

The 16th Chowking store in the region is in Jersey City, the secondmost populous metropolis in the New Jersey state with a thriving Filipino community.

“The opening of the Jersey City store is key in our progress as this marks Chowking’s first entry in the East Coast. Jersey City is home to a large Filipino population making it a natural area of expansion for Chowking,” Maribeth Dela Cruz, president of Jollibee Group North America, Philippine brands, said.

Opening day sales was unprecedented as it was the highest one-day sale of a Chowking store in the United States, the company said.

Customers lined up for hours to taste their Chowking favorites, it said.

Chowking launched new meals in its Jersey City menu including the chicken wonton noodles and soy garlic ginger chicken. These products will soon be offered in other Chowking stores, joining the crowd favorites meaty asado siopao, beef wonton noodles and pork siomai.

Chowking USA opened its first store in the US in 1995.

Meanwhile, Jollibee, the company’s flagship brand, is set to kick-off

2022 by establishing its first stores in Scotland, the United Kingdom and in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, while opening its 150th store in Vietnam early next year.

“We’re excited to bring the Jollibee brand to more countries around the globe—in line with our mission of serving great-tasting food,” Ernesto Tanmantiong, Jollibee Foods Corp. CEO, said.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we continue to open more Jollibee stores and are glad to see the community’s support wherever we open. We look forward to bringing the joy of eating to more and more people in different parts of the world, sustaining our growth momentum as we enter 2022.”

In the UK, Jollibee’s entry into Scotland comes at the heels of its successful opening in Wales. Scotland is part of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom and is the second-largest in terms of population with over 5 million people.

Jollibee Kuala Lumpur will be located in Sunway Pyramid, a popular destination mall among locals and tourists. Together with its joint venture partner, the brand plans to grow to 120 stores in Malaysia within the next ten years.

In Vietnam, the brand is set to open its 150th store in a popular location. Vietnam is home to Jollibee’s largest store network outside of the Philippines. VG Cabuag

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Converge plans to invest $200M in cable system

C

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

onverge ICT Solutions Inc. plans to invest another $200 million in an international cable system that will be much bigger than its newest undersea fiber optic system.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Converge CEO Dennis Anthony H. Uy said the group is looking at further beefing up its international capacity through a fresh investment in a yet-to-be-disclosed international cable system.

“We’ve signed already, but it is still under FCC approval. We’re looking at an additional $200 million investment next year--that’s only towards the United States. But for the Asia Pacific cable, we’re going to build it

among Southeast Asian countries,” he said, referring to the US’ Federal Communications Commission.

The said cable system will have three times the capacity of the Bifrost Cable System, a fiber optic network that links the Asean to North America. Converge joined the consortium for the said cable system earlier this year through a P5-billion investment.

The new cable system, which Uy refused to name for now, has three

fiber pairs. He noted that his group’s partner for the said project is an over-the-top (OTT) service provider.

In another development, Uy announced the completion of a critical infrastructure in Converge’s domestic fiber backbone in Mindanao, improving fiber internet service availability for subscribers in southern Philippines. Called the Mindanao Redundancy Loop, the infrastructure runs through Mindanao and connects the cable landing point in Cagayan de Oro with Buenavista, forming a network ring that passes through key areas in Mindanao, such as Tagum, Davao, and Valencia.

The redundancy loop is a network structure that fortifies the primary route of the network by adding a secondary path for data to pass through in case of a failure in the main route.

This makes sure there’s no service downtime and subscribers’ connection remains unhampered.

“As we continue to pursue our Go

National strategy through 2022, we want to make sure that we have high service availability for our subscribers in Visayas and Mindanao. With the redundancy ring completed, we’re significantly reducing the chances of service outages since we now have an alternative network route in place. The whole Philippine digital highway is now strongly protected against cable breaks,” Uy said.

As of the third quarter of the year, the nationwide fiber backbone of Converge spans 90,000 kilometers with the 1,800-kilometer subsea segment interconnecting the major islands of the Philippines. The company’s total residential subscriber base reached nearly 1.6 million as of end-September, with almost 5.5 million fiber ports installed across the country.

Converge aims to cover 55 percent of total Philippine households with fiber connectivity by 2023, two years earlier than initially planned.

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

D

avao del Norte, according to its governor, prefers another power distribution utility because its customers could no longer afford high power rates.

Edwin Jubahib has appealed to the management of Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) Inc., formerly Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco), to allow the province to seek other power service providers due to the cooperative’s high cost and poor service.

“We hope Nordeco will respect the decision of the people of Davao del Norte. Our people can no longer pay P2 to P3 more per kilowatt hour (kWh) while having more brownouts and bad service and having no representation in the board. We have given Daneco 40 years to improve, my administration even tried to dialogue with them, but they refused to recognize us,” said Jubahib.

“They can continue serving Davao de Oro and the other local government units [LGUs] who chose to stay.

The people of Davao del Norte have decided, our leaders have decided. We are appealing to Daneco, please let us go,” added the governor.

The issue has crossed political lines among LGUs in Davao del Norte, with the municipality of Maco in Davao de Oro having asked Congress that they join the franchise area of Davao Light and Power instead, similarly citing the high costs, frequent interruptions and poor service of Nordeco.

The provincial government of Davao del Norte, along with the city councils of Tagum and Island Garden City of Samal, as well as the municipal councils of Kapalong, Talaingod, San Isidro and New Corella have also passed unanimous resolutions supporting their exit from Nordeco, which they say is hampering the economic

growth of their areas. Close to 120 barangay councils or 90 percent of the barangays from the affected areas also signified support for the move, which is also backed by unanimous resolutions from local business chambers and tourism organizations. Davao del Norte First District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez also supports the move of the LGUs citing the electric cooperative’s “lousy service.”

“I am in favor of the cancellation of franchise of the Nordeco because of its lousy service. The power utility, for long years, was standing in the way of Davao del Norte’s development,” Alvarez said earlier.

Jubahib belied claims by Nordeco that there was no due process accorded to the electric cooperative. In 2020, Jubahib along with the mayors of Davao del Norte sent a letter to the Nordeco board requesting that the province be allowed to leave the electric cooperative. Attached to the letter were thousands of signatures of support from residents.

A copy of the petition was sent to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) as well.

Davao Light is currently serving Davao City and Davao del Norte localities of Panabo City, Carmen, Sto. Tomas, as well as Dujali.

The local government leaders complained that they are paying close to P3/kwh more than Davao Light, yet they experience more frequent brownouts, poor power quality, bad customer service and lack of power infrastructure, which are making the province unattractive to business and preventing the economic growth of their localities as well as negatively affecting the lives of residents.

The electric cooperative has not had an election for its board of directors

since 2012. All the board of directors have been appointed ever since.

Instead of upgrading the existing 1.5-kilometer submarine cable connecting the island with mainland Davao, or investing on a longterm connection solution through

the ongoing four-kilometer DavaoSamal bridge project, Nordeco announced they are instead building a massive 25-kilometer, P1.5-billion submarine cable connecting the island with far-away Pantukan municipality. Lenie Lectura

mutual funds

December 15, 2021 NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

230.55

-0.24%

-3.14%

-0.98%

1.47%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.674

24.67%

6.12%

4.53%

27.49%

0.52%

-6.32%

-3.67%

2.78%

-5.56% n.a.

-7.07%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2202

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7553 -8.6% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7725 0.13%

-2.37% n.a.

4.17%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

2.29%

-0.82%

0.85%

4.41%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.7744

-0.44%

-2.72%

-2.75%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

94.64

-6.18%

-6.45% n.a.

-7.1%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

47.5366

-0.52%

-1.41%

0.67%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

495.27

-0.39%

-1.53%

-0.04%

1.3%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d

1.1501

3.06% n.a. n.a.

4.81%

5.159

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.3223

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

36.1866

11.31%

1.48%

2.32%

2.47%

-0.66%

1.37%

1.49%

13.19% 4.07%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.9302

0.24% n.a. n.a.

1.88%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.9001

0.27%

-0.66%

1.33%

2.27%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

818.1

0.1%

-0.67%

1.27%

2.06%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.7514

1.8%

-4.67%

-1.76%

4.52%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7328

1.08%

-3.06%

-0.32%

3.01%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9327 - 0.32%

-1.02%

1.02%

1.63%

United Fund, Inc. -a

-1.17%

1.81%

2.76%

-0.45%

1.76%

3.4102

1.02%

-0.26%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

110.0602

0.3%

2.33%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1281

-5.08%

5.97%

5.45%

-6.22%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8259

11.89%

15.62%

11.73%

9.15%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.6799

0.02%

0.4%

0.07%

0.68%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.2714

-1.86%

0.93%

0.45%

-0.61%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6888

0.97%

1.93%

2.08%

2.36%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.206

2.44% n.a. n.a.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

2.72%

2.0027

0.98%

2.31%

1.81%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.7395

-2.18%

1.76%

1.16%

-1.33%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.7303

-2.15%

1.56%

1.1%

-1.24%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.1076

-0.21%

0.5%

1.05%

0.79%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6236 0.29%

-0.46%

0.64%

1.41%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.987

-4.37% n.a. n.a.

-3.48%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9362

-3.04% n.a. n.a.

-1.37%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9253

-2.63% n.a. n.a.

-0.84%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

0.9442

4.76%

0.55%

0.89%

6.36%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03797

-2.67%

2.68%

1.71%

-2.89%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0685

-6.4%

4.34%

3.58%

-5.44%

3.99%

December 15, 2021

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 PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

43.8 127 92.5 25.75 9.2 50.1 16.92 19 56.8 101.1 19.6 115.4 102.7 1.6 4.04 0.63 0.84 0.29 900 0.62 213.4 2,600 0.81

45.65 127.1 93 25.8 9.24 50.2 17.2 19.2 57 109.9 20 116.2 103 1.65 4.12 0.64 0.87 0.33 949 0.67 213.6 2,780 0.89

45.85 127 94.8 25.8 9.31 51.8 17.2 19.86 57.55 101 20 117.9 104 1.56 4.13 0.64 0.87 0.33 922 0.59 213.4 2,600 0.81

45.85 129.4 94.8 25.8 9.44 51.8 17.2 19.86 57.55 101 20 117.9 104.7 1.78 4.13 0.64 0.87 0.33 922 0.62 213.6 2,600 0.81

45.85 125.3 91 25.65 9.18 50.05 17.2 19 56.8 101 19.6 115.4 102.7 1.56 4.13 0.64 0.84 0.33 900 0.59 213 2,600 0.81

45.85 127 93 25.8 9.2 50.1 17.2 19 56.8 101 20 116.2 103 1.6 4.13 0.64 0.84 0.33 900 0.62 213.4 2,600 0.81

2,600 4,765,450 1,948,890 87,000 774,300 4,348,680 1,000 1,172,200 390 50 39,800 561,740 80,640 230,000 35,000 113,000 64,000 30,000 260 31,000 2,150 140 1,000

119,210 608,640,675 182,913,243 2,240,320 7,202,645 221,776,478 17,200 22,767,974 22,228 5,050 788,560 65,536,824 8,344,193 375,630 144,550 72,320 54,960 9,900 238,775 18,590 458,774 364,000 810

INDUSTRIAL

301,114,157 106,291,761 -41,140 18,450 -56,843,773.50 7,709,074 -34,525,102 -786,676 11,520 7,670 392,584 286,000 -

AC ENERGY 10.28 10.3 10.6 10.6 10.02 10.3 47,183,800 484,383,178 1.04 1.09 1.03 1.09 1.03 1.09 21,000 21,710 ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER 30.4 30.45 30.55 30.95 30.25 30.4 1,754,200 53,650,195 27.25 27.3 28 28 27.2 27.3 635,100 17,420,695 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 71.8 71.95 72 72 71.8 71.95 19,270 1,385,173 296.8 298.4 299 299 296.4 298.4 168,370 50,201,266 MERALCO MANILA WATER 24.85 24.9 26.05 26.25 24.7 24.9 3,164,200 80,012,810 3.17 3.19 3.24 3.24 3.17 3.17 497,000 1,583,430 PETRON PETROENERGY 3.95 4.15 4.03 4.03 4 4 39,000 156,580 10.46 10.88 10.44 10.88 10.44 10.88 200,500 2,118,938 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 19.88 19.98 19.88 20 19.84 19.88 54,000 1,074,172 14.06 14.1 14.44 14.48 14.02 14.06 464,600 6,583,526 SPC POWER AGRINURTURE 3.88 4 3.94 4.05 3.88 4 275,000 1,079,770 2.82 2.9 2.97 2.99 2.8 2.9 4,737,000 13,976,550 AXELUM CNTRL AZUCARERA 13.2 13.78 13.78 13.78 13.78 13.78 700 9,646 27.05 27.4 27.5 27.55 27.05 27.4 2,806,900 76,929,440 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 14.6 14.88 15 15 14.6 14.6 166,800 2,439,024 8.97 9 9 9.12 8.85 9 14,021,500 126,347,866 DNL INDUS EMPERADOR 17.84 17.86 17.82 17.98 17.74 17.84 3,197,100 57,022,314 70.5 71 73.05 73.05 70.5 71 270,190 19,197,270 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.59 0.6 0.59 0.59 0.58 0.59 138,000 81,380 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.24 1.22 1.22 3,099,000 3,782,850 FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA 107.5 108 110.7 110.7 106 107.5 14,550 1,583,252 223 223.6 227.6 228.8 223 223 711,140 160,569,130 JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR 19.98 27.95 27.2 27.2 27 27 1,800 48,745 MAXS GROUP 6.57 6.59 6.69 6.7 6.57 6.59 99,800 660,945 0.145 0.163 0.164 0.164 0.16 0.16 210,000 33,640 MG HLDG MONDE NISSIN 15.58 15.6 16.1 16.28 15.6 15.6 60,245,100 963,568,464 9.5 9.55 9.5 9.55 9.2 9.5 1,038,000 9,777,358 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 0.62 0.66 0.65 0.66 0.63 0.66 947,000 607,880 4.5 4.65 4.7 4.7 4.65 4.65 4,000 18,650 RFM CORP SWIFT FOODS 0.107 0.11 0.106 0.11 0.106 0.11 1,400,000 148,840 126.5 127.9 127.4 128.2 125.7 127.9 2,074,030 264,416,212 UNIV ROBINA VITARICH 0.71 0.72 0.74 0.75 0.72 0.72 1,437,000 1,039,270 2.35 2.55 2.53 2.54 2.35 2.35 69,000 172,990 VICTORIAS CONCRETE A 46.3 48 47 47 47 47 21,700 1,019,900 48.05 55.95 48.05 48.05 48 48 50,500 2,424,025 CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG 1.04 1.05 1.08 1.1 1.03 1.04 20,477,000 22,218,210 14.5 14.54 14.54 14.54 14.2 14.5 4,415,200 64,012,534 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 6.38 6.39 6.45 6.45 6.38 6.39 84,600 540,925 5.07 5.09 5.1 5.12 5.09 5.09 491,400 2,503,992 HOLCIM KEEPERS HLDG 1.34 1.35 1.39 1.39 1.33 1.34 24,541,000 33,229,590 5.01 5.05 5.11 5.11 5.01 5.01 757,500 3,824,431 MEGAWIDE PHINMA 20 20.15 20.1 20.15 19.84 20 65,600 1,311,635 0.78 0.85 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 43,000 33,540 TKC METALS VULCAN INDL 0.91 0.93 0.95 0.96 0.92 0.92 2,215,000 2,073,030 1.7 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.7 1.7 59,000 100,850 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 1.43 1.45 1.45 1.45 1.44 1.44 58,000 83,900 3.38 4.47 3.94 3.94 3.94 3.94 4,000 15,760 LMG CORP MABUHAY VINYL 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.31 4.29 4.3 5,000 21,500 5.66 5.75 5.67 5.75 5.66 5.75 18,300 104,500 PRYCE CORP 20.5 21.2 20.65 20.65 20.5 20.5 5,100 105,025 CONCEPCION GREENERGY 2.3 2.34 2.36 2.4 2.3 2.34 4,004,000 9,360,610 8.16 8.25 8.3 8.3 8.15 8.16 205,900 1,686,228 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 0.68 0.71 0.7 0.7 0.68 0.69 60,000 41,490 5.59 5.95 5.96 5.96 5.9 5.9 3,500 20,727 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.07 1.09 1.07 1.09 1.04 1.09 361,000 380,050 3.5 3.53 3.61 3.61 3.5 3.5 2,320,000 8,172,800 CIRTEK HLDG

12,679,620 -11,667,300 -1,288,645 -342,028.50 5,938,612 10,741,540 -226,800 40,300 -35,964 -3,183,384 -826,560 87,980 23,168,000 -4,380 -72,393,648 2,210,510 -6,846,780.50 -14,640 192,804 -25,066,112 8,145 66,000 -113,045,142 7,046,302 1,320 -18,650 -89,574,014 115,920 -537,110 63,462,074 -1,836,562 2,841,870 -647,573.00 -177,540 17,100 5,800 -4,686,180 666,293 2,040 -157,590 -1,782,920

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES SEAFRONT RES TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

604,140 232,312,050 3,061,896 10,790,962 -8,790,950 2,783,067 6,725,997 233,561 38,739,575 24,193,024.50 2,516,960 -30,451,520 -13,687,032 63,905,940 773,655 -12,598 -

HOLDING & FRIMS

‘Davao del Norte needs new power supplier’

www.businessmirror.com.ph

0.94 5.45 855.5 55.8 11.7 6.02 0.89 0.39 5.08 7.83 7.51 559.5 55.2 0.63 9.51 0.375 3.86 2.9 1.12 2.7 1.11 13.04 950 112.9 0.63 2.01 122 0.24 0.167

0.96 5.84 856 57.5 11.72 6.08 0.9 0.415 5.11 7.84 7.98 565 55.45 0.65 9.52 0.415 3.87 3.1 1.25 2.96 1.18 13.06 951 113 0.65 2.39 129.9 0.25 0.17

0.99 5.85 860 58.1 12.22 6.4 0.9 0.39 5.16 7.95 7.51 572 54.75 0.63 10 0.375 3.87 2.95 1.11 2.87 1.18 13.7 970 112.9 0.63 2.01 122 0.24 0.17

1 5.85 875 58.35 12.24 6.42 0.9 0.39 5.18 7.98 7.51 575.5 56.2 0.66 10 0.38 3.91 3.22 1.25 2.88 1.18 13.72 981 113 0.63 2.01 129.9 0.24 0.17

0.93 5.85 851.5 55.1 11.1 5.91 0.9 0.39 5.08 7.77 7.51 558 54.75 0.63 9.51 0.375 3.83 2.95 1.11 2.7 1.18 13 950 112.1 0.63 2.01 122 0.24 0.167

0.96 5.85 855.5 57.5 11.7 6.02 0.9 0.39 5.08 7.83 7.51 565 55.45 0.63 9.51 0.38 3.86 3.22 1.12 2.7 1.18 13.04 950 113 0.63 2.01 129.9 0.24 0.167

4,572,000 1,800 459,830 2,838,100 10,002,900 16,764,900 10,000 490,000 1,019,100 3,448,200 31,500 185,150 3,195,300 69,000 11,098,300 150,000 24,841,000 28,000 46,000 46,000 1,000 21,799,900 236,140 71,680 12,000 3,000 500 120,000 400,000

4,355,080 10,530 395,636,610 161,752,695 117,625,316 102,271,428 9,000 191,100 5,228,560 27,093,455 236,565 104,829,825 177,614,865 43,530 107,746,208 56,350 96,551,770 83,500 51,560 126,480 1,180 289,863,454 227,708,280 8,084,943 7,560 6,030 63,215 28,800 67,400

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.62 0.63 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 255,000 158,100 35.85 35.95 35.95 36.15 35.2 35.85 12,758,400 456,403,390 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 0.98 1.02 1 1.03 1 1.02 7,000 7,100 45.55 45.8 46.45 46.45 45.5 45.55 767,300 35,126,425 AREIT RT BELLE CORP 1.33 1.38 1.36 1.38 1.34 1.38 235,000 316,770 0.76 0.77 0.8 0.8 0.76 0.79 304,000 233,810 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.73 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.73 0.73 33,000 24,390 0.096 0.101 0.102 0.102 0.096 0.102 50,000 4,920 CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG 6.13 6.65 6.08 6.12 6.08 6.12 5,800 35,456 2.79 2.8 2.82 2.83 2.79 2.8 1,602,000 4,492,120 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.4 0.39 0.4 2,670,000 1,054,600 6.88 7 7 7.05 6.88 7 475,300 3,312,469 DOUBLEDRAGON DDMP RT 1.79 1.8 1.79 1.8 1.78 1.79 2,367,000 4,239,900 6.72 6.75 6.78 6.78 6.75 6.75 32,000 216,720 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.26 0.265 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.26 70,000 18,200 0.315 0.32 0.335 0.34 0.31 0.315 14,060,000 4,532,300 EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST RT 7.41 7.42 7.51 7.53 7.42 7.42 4,103,700 30,582,987 1.1 1.12 1.11 1.12 1.1 1.1 4,099,000 4,550,250 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.83 0.84 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 429,000 356,070 11.6 11.8 11.4 11.88 11.4 11.8 405,300 4,734,958 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.14 1.16 1.13 1.16 1.13 1.14 1,584,000 1,820,600 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.87 0.88 114,000 100,340 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 3.04 3.05 3.15 3.16 3.01 3.04 51,936,000 160,522,270 0.255 0.265 0.26 0.265 0.26 0.265 10,800,000 2,816,400 MRC ALLIED MREIT RT 18.32 18.34 18.32 18.7 18.3 18.34 17,511,300 322,099,648 PHIL ESTATES 0.49 0.495 0.495 0.5 0.49 0.495 2,040,000 1,007,000 2.09 2.1 1.95 2.1 1.95 2.09 2,863,000 5,892,680 PRIMEX CORP RL COMM RT 7.46 7.47 7.39 7.48 7.38 7.47 11,784,100 87,844,357 17.84 17.86 18.48 18.48 17.74 17.86 2,858,600 51,331,772 ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL 1.48 1.5 1.53 1.53 1.48 1.48 42,000 62,390 2.62 2.63 2.62 2.62 2.62 2.62 72,000 188,640 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 2.71 2.89 2.71 2.75 2.71 2.71 45,000 122,740 34.2 34.25 35.15 35.25 34.05 34.25 15,208,400 528,412,350 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.7 30,000 110,000 1.08 1.1 1.09 1.13 1.08 1.1 5,997,000 6,745,220 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 3.44 3.45 3.6 3.62 3.45 3.45 4,170,000 14,600,690

SERVICES ABS CBN 12.64 12.8 12.8 12.8 12.64 12.64 288,200 3,658,864 13.9 13.94 13.8 14.18 13.78 13.9 1,521,700 21,268,170 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.415 0.44 0.41 0.445 0.41 0.415 100,000 42,650 3,306 3,326 3,402 3,470 3,300 3,306 72,490 244,574,610 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1,722 1,735 1,750 1,808 1,710 1,722 535,165 952,495,555 0.078 0.08 0.081 0.085 0.077 0.078 393,460,000 31,937,410 APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE 30.75 30.85 31.4 31.8 30.75 30.75 8,380,200 260,931,675 2.5 2.53 2.66 2.66 2.5 2.5 695,000 1,775,200 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 5.6 5.61 5.87 5.96 5.52 5.6 6,068,300 34,667,703 1.7 1.79 1.79 1.79 1.7 1.78 5,000 8,670 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 1.44 1.46 1.49 1.5 1.45 1.45 1,104,000 1,624,530 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.31 0.305 0.305 910,000 279,600 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 1.82 1.86 1.82 1.87 1.82 1.87 124,000 226,930 7.51 7.8 7.51 7.8 7.5 7.8 15,400 118,858 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 13.86 14 14 14 14 14 2,000 28,000 1.66 1.67 1.66 1.71 1.61 1.66 417,000 698,380 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 44.5 45.4 46 47.1 44 45.4 892,400 41,026,115 193.5 193.6 196.8 197.4 192.5 193.6 2,250,690 441,832,844 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 20.55 22.5 22.3 22.3 22.3 22.3 800 17,840 5.13 5.16 5.41 5.47 5.06 5.13 2,634,400 13,737,471 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 1.12 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.12 1.12 43,000 48,880 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.86 69,000 59,340 HARBOR STAR ACESITE HOTEL 1.43 1.46 1.48 1.48 1.48 1.48 9,000 13,320 1.68 1.7 1.81 1.81 1.66 1.7 356,000 617,690 DISCOVERY WORLD WATERFRONT 0.475 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.465 0.475 190,000 90,550 FAR EASTERN U 535 585 550 550 550 550 40 22,000 7.6 7.65 7.65 7.65 7.65 7.65 1,500 11,475 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.35 0.355 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 2,420,000 847,000 5.99 6.2 6.5 6.65 5.92 5.99 723,100 4,444,128 BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY 6.8 6.82 6.93 6.98 6.8 6.8 5,829,700 40,041,498 1.83 1.98 1.99 1.99 1.99 1.99 1,000 1,990 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.44 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.44 1.44 67,000 99,060 1.82 2.34 1.95 2.34 1.95 2.34 200,000 458,280 MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP 0.81 0.84 0.85 0.86 0.82 0.82 1,442,000 1,207,850 0.43 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.43 0.43 450,000 195,800 PREMIUM LEISURE ALLDAY 0.56 0.57 0.57 0.61 0.55 0.57 233,016,000 133,627,440 8.75 8.86 9.2 9.2 8.52 8.75 544,500 4,827,173 ALLHOME METRO RETAIL 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.45 1.43 1.43 1,992,000 2,861,850 36.35 36.8 37.55 37.9 36.35 36.35 5,188,800 191,227,220 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 64.7 65 66 66 64.55 65 1,371,780 89,153,354 90.9 91 91 91 90.9 90.9 5,200 472,700 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.12 1.12 2,414,000 2,723,260 30.55 32 32.2 32.25 30.3 32 2,621,100 82,955,215 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.23 0.235 0.238 0.239 0.235 0.235 2,000,000 472,530 4.62 5.66 4.66 4.66 4.65 4.65 10,000 46,570 EASYCALL IPM HLDG 7.02 7.06 7.04 7.06 7.04 7.06 6,000 42,286 1.4 1.41 1.5 1.52 1.41 1.41 38,565,000 56,736,100 MEDILINES PRMIERE HORIZON 0.59 0.6 0.61 0.63 0.59 0.6 5,867,000 3,569,420 3.75 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.9 24,000 93,250 SBS PHIL CORP

-55,232,905 12,728,185 16,320 -6,080 473,500 -35,700 -408,566 0 8,315,764 -1,648,080 532,250 -1,722,750.00 16,392,200 26,500 -205,878,208 -2,090 35,890,776 1,940,866 -46,710 12,189,605 36,000 -18,040 -72,432,590 229,061,430 -2,191,740 -26,788,580 43,100 6,364,209 -24,000 31,000 -78,570.00 -4,941,120 -122,570,701 2,793,438 34,200 -9,500 329,000 149,750 -5,307,186 26,080 -407,350 66,000 2,383,700 282,411 -856,710 -68,629,755 -49,073,442.50 445,400 -4,315,015 -2,669,140 19,730 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 6 6.25 6.05 6.38 6 6.25 245,400 1,494,642 APEX MINING 1.35 1.38 1.35 1.38 1.35 1.38 136,000 183,810 5.91 5.95 5.97 5.97 5.95 5.95 347,400 2,070,103 ATLAS MINING Bond Funds COAL ASIA HLDG 0.265 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 10,000 2,700 2.7 2.8 2.79 2.8 2.79 2.8 60,000 167,500 167,500 CENTURY PEAK Primarily invested in Peso securities DIZON MINES 5.01 5.59 5.01 5.01 5.01 5.01 5,000 25,050 2.07 2.09 2.09 2.09 2.07 2.07 717,000 1,487,160 -170,900 FERRONICKEL ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 374.28 1.04% 2.96% 2.6% 0.85% GEOGRACE 0.185 0.198 0.188 0.2 0.181 0.185 270,000 50,930 ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9301 1.63% 1.31% 0.45% 1.57% 0.125 0.126 0.123 0.126 0.123 0.125 18,070,000 2,252,550 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.128 0.143 0.128 0.144 0.128 0.144 1,350,000 178,660 8,960 Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2444 1.02% 3.06% 3.94% 0.9% 0.0085 0.0086 0.0085 0.0086 0.0085 0.0086 8,000,000 68,100 MANILA MINING A MARCVENTURES 1.14 1.18 1.16 1.18 1.12 1.14 1,126,000 1,299,670 -93,600 Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2481 -1.99% 1.83% 1.64% -2.18% 0.98 1.04 1 1.04 0.98 1.04 182,000 179,200 NIHAO First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4256 -1.06% 3.2% 1.93% -1.13% NICKEL ASIA 5.02 5.03 5.1 5.1 5.01 5.02 2,257,000 11,348,820 -1,863,064 0.73 0.74 0.73 0.74 0.72 0.74 291,000 211,170 ORNTL PENINSULA Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.3913 -5.19% 3.9% 1.69% -5.16% PX MINING 4.72 4.73 4.79 4.8 4.73 4.73 291,000 1,386,260 -19,070 21.25 21.3 21.65 21.8 21.2 21.25 1,018,200 21,919,540 39,165 SEMIRARA MINING Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.3188 -0.01% 3.78% 2.74% -0.19% UNITED PARAGON 0.006 0.0063 0.0063 0.0063 0.0063 0.0063 7,000,000 44,100 35 35.5 38.95 39.9 34.55 35 2,590,200 95,952,695 -104,045 ACE ENEXOR Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9875 0.06% 4.52% 2.91% -0.34% ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 17,200,000 183,300 Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0286 -0.92% 4.88% 2.27% -1.43% 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.011 1,600,000 19,000 12,000 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.0088 0.0089 0.0087 0.0088 0.0087 0.0088 24,000,000 209,200 Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1898 -0.23% 4.91% 3.52% -0.51% 5.95 6.07 6.1 6.2 5.95 5.95 358,300 2,167,027 60,000 PXP ENERGY

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7297 -1.13% 4.02% 2.86% -1.44% PREFFERED Primarily invested in foreign currency securities HOUSE PREF B 99.3 99.6 99.6 99.6 99.2 99.6 1,060 105,376 100.6 101 101 101 100.5 100.5 430 43,255 HOUSE PREF A ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $489.52 1.35% 3.02% 2.55% 1.14% AC PREF B1 517 530 517 517 517 517 100 51,700 505 509 505 505 505 505 20,100 10,150,500 ALCO PREF D ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.87 0.39% 1.17% 1.04% 0.3% BRN PREF A 101 101.5 100.8 101.5 100.8 101.5 3,470 351,270 ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2042 -5.29% 2.32% 1.84% -5.91% 45.3 45.95 46.6 47 45.3 46 154,600 7,179,690 CEB PREF CPG PREF A 102.5 103 103 103 103 103 3,030 312,090 First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.026 -1.89% 1.45% 1.03% -2.26% 100.9 101.9 101.9 101.9 101.9 101.9 180 18,342 DD PREF FGEN PREF G 104 111.5 111 111.6 111 111.6 5,000 556,238 PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0245 -6.05% -0.14% -0.5% -6.01% 993 1,016 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,010 770 777,700 GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B 1,016 1,048 1,040 1,040 1,040 1,040 5,000 5,200,000 Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5083 -0.7% 5.09% 2.97% -1.25% 1,000 1,010 1,000 1,010 1,000 1,010 55 55,050 -5,050 JFC PREF A Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.062333 0.07% 3.05% 2.04% 0.05% JFC PREF B 1,009 1,020 1,005 1,030 1,005 1,030 570 585,850 95.5 100 95.55 95.55 95.5 95.5 400 38,210 MWIDE PREF 2A Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2018 0.18% 3.71% 1.94% -0.68% MWIDE PREF 2B 98.4 101 98.35 98.35 98.35 98.35 560 55,076 100.5 100.6 100.5 100.6 100.5 100.5 16,410 1,649,304 MWIDE PREF 4 Money Market Funds PNX PREF 3B 102.4 102.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 1,990 203,975 71,750 Primarily invested in Peso securities 995 999 999 999 995 999 9,800 9,784,590 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 3A 1,070 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,100 100 110,000 ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 131.13 1.09% 2.83% 2.57% 1.01% 1,101 1,147 1,150 1,150 1,150 1,150 100 115,000 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2F 79.65 79.9 79.75 80 79.7 80 54,500 4,349,688 First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0575 0.95% n.a. n.a.

0.9% 76.1 76.2 76.1 76.2 76.1 76.2 7,000 532,900 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 77.25 79.8 79.75 79.8 79.5 79.5 35,110 2,792,527.50 2.53% Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3148 1.48% 2.61% 1.38% 76.7 77.7 76.7 76.7 76.7 76.7 650,000 49,855,000 SMC PREF 2J Primarily invested in foreign currency securities SMC PREF 2K 75.65 76.5 75.65 75.65 75.65 75.65 685,260 51,839,919 50.1 51 50 51 50 50.3 23,100 1,160,910 TECH PREF B2C Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0603 0.79% 1.46% n.a.

0.64% 51.5 52 52 52 51.5 52 61,820 3,202,995 - TECH PREF B2D

Feeder Funds PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS Primarily invested in Peso securities ABS HLDG PDR 12 12.1 12.2 12.2 12.1 12.1 97,200 1,179,580 13 13.5 13.2 13.2 13 13 323,800 4,239,126 -3,705,038 GMA HLDG PDR Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d 1.3486 22.32% n.a. n.a.

19.39%

WARRANTS Primarily invested in foreign currency securities TECH WARRANT 0.78 0.79 0.8 0.83 0.78 0.79 705,000 568,110 63,940 ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a,d $0.97 -1.02% n.a. n.a.

-1.02% SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES 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).

ALTUS PROP 20.5 20.95 23.95 24.2 20.1 20.95 751,900 16,691,195 -263,970 1.29 1.3 1.45 1.49 1.29 1.29 4,126,000 5,712,040 -14,000 ITALPINAS 1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

KEPWEALTH 3.06 3.18 3.2 3.2 3.05 3.18 4,000 12,480 2 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last November 25, 2021.

2.42 2.44 2.53 2.58 2.41 2.44 5,424,000 13,514,710 512,090 MERRYMART "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

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

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." FIRST METRO ETF 108.5 109 110.5 110.5 108.5 108.5 19,840 2,168,653 288,810 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.7668

7.77%

11.3%

8.66%

5.63%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,2 $1.1953 2.13%

6.41%

4.61%

1%

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, December 16, 2021 B3

Rice imports reach 2.5 MMT in Jan-Nov–BPI

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE country’s rice imports in January to November have expanded by more than 25 percent to 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) from 1.98 MMT a year ago, latest Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed.

Figures released by the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that rice imports during the 11-month period had already surpassed the 2020 import volume of 2.099 MT. Historical data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicated that rice imports this year have exceeded the second largest import volume recorded in 2008, when purchases reached 2.4 MMT. The Philippines recorded the largest import volume in 2019, when its purchases reached 3.1 MMT. The government had deregulated the rice industry that year, which made it easier for traders to import rice.

BPI data indicated that rice purchases as of December 9 have reached 2.6MMT. Vietnam was the country’s top source of imports, accounting for 2.218 MMT of shipments during the period.

Davao-based Nan Stu Agri traders remained as the country’s top rice importer with 147,822.95 MT followed by Lucky Buy and Sell with 117,821.6 MT, based on BPI data.

SPS issuances

FIGURES from the agency also indicated that the government did not pause the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) for rice imports unlike in the past two years.

BPI suspended the issuance of SPS-ICs in September-October 2019 and in October-November 2020, which coincided with the harvest season.

This year, data from the BPI showed that the agency continued to issue rice SPS-ICs. It issued 400 SPSICs in November, which corresponds to an import volume of 303,329.606 MT. From December 1 to 4, the BPI

THIS BusinessMirror file photo shows an assortment of commercial rice on sale at a grocery store in Antipolo City.

issued 43 SPS-ICs for an estimated volume of 42,662 MT. From January to December 4, the

Quirino farmers learn to make polvoron from banana

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

F

ARMERS in Quirino province are learning to deal with overproduction and are processing bananas to make vinegar and polvoron, a powdered snack, according to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

The DAR-Quirino Province has recently concluded hands-on livelihood training on polvoron and vinegar-processing from banana crops to boost farmers’ income.

Agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and members of Gudiesan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries

Cooperative and Diffun Organic Farmers Agriculture Cooperative attended the training under the department’s Village Level Farmfocused Enterprise Development (VLFED) project held at Quirino State University campus in the town of Diffun.

The training is provided to give the farmers an opportunity to earn more through agricultural business, Cagayan Valley Regional Director Samuel Solomero said.

“Bananas are a good source of nutrition, high in minerals and vitamins, and the prepared products are high quality since they are the result of extensive research and prepara-

tion by experts in this field. I am sure that this product would find a huge market when the time comes,” Solomero said.

DAR would provide them with additional support to establish the farmers’ new business.

“I can see that our ARBs are eager to apply what they have learned into practice, as this will serve as their inspiration to have their products displayed on the market places sooner or later,” Solomero said.

The VLFED project aims to enhance the products of farmers through the provision of appropriate facilities and equipment.

BPI issued a total of 5,927 SPS-ICs for 5.22 MMT of rice imports.

“This shows that [the government

is] not actually managing the imports but is allowing an unlimited volume to come in despite the bumper har-

vest. Perhaps, the government wants to ensure that the country will not grapple with supply problems,” Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor told the BusinessMirror.

“We have already imported more than what is needed. What is the point of allowing even more imports? For sure, the prices of palay will drop during the dry season harvest in March.”

The United States Department of Agriculture had projected that the country’s total rice imports this year would reach 2.6 MMT, which would make the Philippines the world’s third largest rice importer.

The Philippines is on track to achieve its palay harvest target of 20 MMT this year if production momentum will be sustained after first-half output grew by almost 5 percent to a record 8.8 MMT. In September, the DA said it is targeting to expand the country’s unmilled rice production by 5 percent to a record 21 MMT next year via its P55-billion investment in the sector.

‘Rehabilitated irrigation systems in Ilocos to help farmers recover growth’

T

HE National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) recently turned over two newly rehabilitated irrigations systems in Ilocos Norte as boost to the Philippine agriculture sector.

The Solsona River Irrigation System and Madongan River Irrigation System form part of the 6.187-billion yen National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (NISRIP) of NIA, in collaboration with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and Jica. NISRIP is rehabilitating 11 national irrigation systems all over the country to benefit more than

25,000 Filipino farmers.

The rehabilitated and improved irrigation systems in Ilocos Norte will benefit around 8,149 farmers.

“The pandemic has emphasized the need to promote resilience in agriculture by strengthening farm production capacities and the food supply chain. Through NISRIP, we look forward to helping farmers explore high-value opportunities in agriculture and also, addressing food security challenges,” said Jica Philippines Chief Representative Azukizawa Eigo.

NIA Deputy Administrator Freddie M. Toquero said “the newly rehabilitated and improved Madongan and Solsona river irrigation systems

will provide reliable irrigation services to more than 3,000 hectares of farmlands benefiting a total of 19 barangays in the municipalities of Dingras, Marcos and Solsona in Ilocos Norte.”

Jica noted that the value of crop production in the Philippines grew modestly in 2020 despite the pandemic, at P982 billion and the newly rehabilitated irrigation systems can play a role in further adding economic value to local agriculture’s growth.

Other NISRIP sites include Pangasinan, Pampanga, Quezon, Palawan, Iloilo, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Agusan del Sur.

Without ‘kotong,’ fruit and vegetable prices sure to go down–Lacson

P

RICES of fruits and vegetables are certain to go down once kotong (bribe-seeking) is eradicated from the streets and in government, Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo Lacson told businessmen and residents of Dumaguete City in the recent “Online Kumustahan” there.

“Lagi naming sinasabi: ‘Aayusin ang gobyerno para maayos ang buhay ng bawat Pilipino.’ Dahil kung nangongotong ang mga taga-gobyerno, sino ang pinaparusahan? Taumbayan, [We always say: ‘Fix the government, fix the lives of every Filipino.’ Because if people in the government are corrupt, who suffers? The citizenry.]” he said.

Lacson said this as he noted the rising prices of goods anew, especially as Christmas nears and Filipinos scramble to put food on their tables for “Noche Buena” and “Media Noche” (Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve feasts).

In his dialogue with various leaders and sector representatives in the capital of Negros Oriental, the former Philippine National Police chief said he had proven during his stint at

the PNP that removing kotong and sparing motorists the pain of paying bribes to rogue law enforcers is possible.

These same scalawags, Lacson said, are the ones who man “checkpoints” and squeeze payments from fruit and vegetable traders in return

for passage to local markets. The traders, in turn, will pass on these expenses to consumers, leaving Filipinos to suffer anew. “’Yung mga checkpoint sa daan, inalis ko po lahat ‘yan, kasi doon nanggagaling ’yung kotong,” he said, noting that vegetable and flower

vendors from La Trinidad province going to Divisoria in Manila revealed they had budgeted P1,000 every trip to pay off corrupt cops.

Jeepney drivers and truckers of these traders, meanwhile, expected to lose as much as P300 a trip, Lacson added.

“Siyempre, alangan namang abonohan nila ’yung kanilang lugi sa kotong.

So, ‘nung nawala ’yung kotong, bumaba rin ‘yung presyo,” the veteran lawmaker said.

[Of course, they won’t absorb these losses from “kotong” cops. So, when “kotong” was gone, the prices

went down, too.]

Apart from corruption, illegal agricultural smuggling was also making life more difficult for local farmers and producers, which he and running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III were currently investigating in the Senate, the Partido Reporma chair noted.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

B4

Thursday, December 16, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

TORRENT OF VACCINE DONATIONS CONTINUES

Countries further boost PHL pandemic response

A

FIRST batch comprising 1.5 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines were handed over by the Dutch government to its Philippine counterpart on the evening of December 13—the largest single donation to be sent to the country.

The delivery is part of a donation of 7.5 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines by the Netherlands through COVAX. This is part of the joint solidarity effort of the European Union and its member-states to provide at least 100 million vaccines worldwide by the end of 2021 to countries in need, and will allow 7.5 million Filipinos to receive a single-dose vaccine.

The Embassy of the Netherlands disclosed that “J&J” vaccines are also easy to store and transport, making it possible to reach more people in far-flung areas.

Said country has committed to provide more than 22 million vaccines to other countries through the COVAX—the only global initiative working with governments and

manufacturers to ensure vaccines versus the pandemic are available worldwide to both high- and lowerincome countries. COVAX is co-led

by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization. The three entities work in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund as delivery partner, developed and developing countries’ vaccine manufacturers, the World Bank, and others.

The Netherlands has committed to provide 27 million doses through the facility. This is the same amount of vaccines used there, and is provided under the “take-one, give-one” principle. According to its ambassador Saskia de Lang: “This donation

EUROPEAN Union envoys, including Ambassador Saskia de Lang (foreground, third from right) hand over the donation of 1.5 million vaccines DFA

OFFICIALS from the Polish Embassy and the Philippine government during the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines DFA

shows the importance…[my country attaches to helping others fight the pandemic]. The 7.5 million doses will allow the Philippines to strengthen its resilience, and save the lives of Filipinos.” She believes the donation is a testament to the two nations’ people-to-people interactions, as they celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations. Three more shipments of J&J vaccines will arrive this week, ready to be deployed immediately to help Filipinos.

The following night, Spain delivered 453,600 doses of Moderna vaccines. Ambassador Jorge Moragas, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III and National Task Force Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez were on hand to receive the shipment.

count the epidemiological needs of the countries of destination.

This donation, it said, also is part also of the actions in the Philippines of “Team Europe,” comprised of European Union member-states.

Likewise, the Republic of Poland recently donated 547,100 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines as a show of solidarity with the Philippines in its fight against the pandemic, led by Charge d’Affaires Jarosław Szczepankiewicz, the Embassy of Poland’s Minister-Counselor Anna Krzak-Danel and Political/Economic Section Expert Jermaine Bohol, as well as AstraZeneca’s Head of Government Affairs Victor Sepulveda.

They were joined by the Health Department’s Bureau of Interna-

According to its embassy, the donation manifests Spain’s “unconditional support and promotion of fair, equitable and universal access to vaccines,” as well as its commitment to the health and well-being” of Filipinos.

Moragas said: “This donation— the only one Spain has made in Asia so far—is a demonstration of our special friendship with the Philippines.”

The embassy imparted that Spain is fully committed to multilateral efforts. Consequently, the donation, and more than 95 percent of total Spanish donations, have been made through the COVAX mechanism, which allocates vaccines based on objective criteria, and takes into ac-

PHL, Korea firm-up infra linkage for Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge C

tional Health Cooperation Director Dr. Maria Soledad Antonio, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Jaime Victor Ledda, Vaccine Czar and National Task Force Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr., as well as European Union Delegation to the Philippines’s First Counselor Rafael de Bustamante Tello.

Late in November, the Republic of Korea (ROK) provided 539,430 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. Aside from Galvez and Sepulveda, the arrival was also witnessed by Ambassador Kim In-chul, Embassy of Korea in Manila’s Consul General Lee Kyoo-ho and Second Secretary Gu Hwa-yeong, Deputy Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asia Pacific Maria Anna Lilia De Vera-Schinazi.

United Kingdom affirms support for BARMM’s health programs

T

HE government of the Republic of Korea, according to its embassy in Manila, is ready to extend financial support in the conduct of engineering services for the highly anticipated interisland-bridges project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Western Visayas.

Public Works Acting Secretary Roger G. Mercado said that moving forward soon, after the completion of supplemental feasibility studies by the Koreans, is the detailed engineering design (DED) of the Panay-GuimarasNegros (PGN) Bridge.

The soon-to-be longest bridge in Region 6 will be the fastest land access for locals who will be able to leisurely cross Iloilo, Guimaras, and Bacolod for commerce, tourism, and other essential travels, added Secretary Mercado.

T he minutes of discussion for the financial support on en-

gineering ser vices—including preliminar y design, DED and procurement assistance required prior to the construction of the bridge was signed late October

by Public Works Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office Operations (UPMO) Emil K. Sadain and Country Director Jae-jeong Moon from the Manila Representative Office of the Korea Export-Import (KEXIM) Bank. Deputy Director Han Soohhyung and Ana Labella of KEXIM Bank, as well as Project Director Benjamin A. Bautista of DPWHUPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 (Bilateral) also attended the signing ceremony.

Sadain confirmed that the Koreans have committed an official development assistance loan to the Philippines through the KEXIM Bank-Economic Development Cooperation Fund to finance the DED of the immense f lagship bridge project.

The loan will be formalized with the signing ceremony scheduled this month.

The proposed island bridges connecting the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros has two components: These are the 13-kilometer Panay-Guimaras, or Section A, that will have a sea-crossing bridge length of 4.97 kilometers; and the Guimaras-Negros, or Section B, or with a total length of 19.47 kilometers—including a sea-crossing bridge length of 13.11 kilometers.

The supplementary feasibility study report and engineeringservice provision for the project was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority’s board’s Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee in August 2021.

The 32-kilometer bridge is a large and complex project which requires comprehensive and highstandard engineering works that

will be serviced by consultants who have extensive experience in long-span bridge. They will assist the DPWH in preparing the construction in an efficient and timely manner, said Sadain.

Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, the DPWH and Korean government-funded flagship infrastructure projects are steadily moving forward.

KEXIM Bank-EDCF is presently supporting civil works on the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Measures, or IDRR-CCA, in low-lying areas of Pampanga to boost disaster resilience; the Samar Pacific Coastal Road Project connecting the Pacific towns in the said province’s northern and eastern parts, while bolstering the agricultural and fishing industries in Eastern Visayas; as well as Panguil Bay Bridge linking Tangub, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte

Germany explores green hydrogen, fuel-cell potential, technology in PHL

T

HE Ger m a n-Ph i l ippi ne Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) recently identified the potential of green hydrogen production and use in the Philippines in a virtual roundtable discussion with representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) on November 24.

The dialogue aimed to forge partnerships between Philippine and German stakeholders on the integration of green hydrogen and fuel-cell technology into the country’s renewable-energy roadmap. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen generated through noncarbon-emitting renewable-energy sources.

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety or BMU, the GPCCI is currently assessing the market potential for green-hydrogen applications in urban areas in the Philippines.

“Reliably storing clean energy, mainly from solar and wind in the Philippines, is an ongoing challenge, and limits its use as a backup power,” shared Charlotte Bandelow, GPCCI’s deputy executive director. “Diesel generators are still the most common type of backup power system in the country; however, its costly maintenance and negative environmental impact are not sustainable in the future. ” She confirmed that “green hydrogen and fuel-cell technology can present a clean and climatefriendly alternative, and this is where Germany has knowledge and technical expertise to share.”

The Green Hydrogen initiative comes at a time when energy consumption in the Philippines is steadily increasing due to economic and population growth, which calls for a larger and more reliable energy supply. While coal

still makes up most of the Philippines’s energy mix, there is a continued expansion of renewableenergy sources, which is the basis for Green Hydrogen production.

The Philippines has committed to increase its share in the renewable-energy mix to 35 percent by 2030.

“Transitioning from fossil fuels to climate-friendly renewableenergy sources is crucial both for the climate and the economy,” said Dr. Georg Maue, commercial Counsellor of the German Embassy in Manila. “Moving toward a climate-neutral economy while maintaining energy security at fair costs is a challenging endeavor, which is the cornerstone of the German government’s energy policy.”

Continued Maue: “We applaud the Philippine government’s commitment to increase the use of renewable-energy sources, and

wish to support this process with know-how, expertise and partnerships.”

Initial results of the study were presented during an online webinar on November 10, which was attended by more than 60 participants from both countries.

The GPCCI was scheduled to organize an online networking event on December 6, where selected German companies were to share their expertise and experience in green hydrogen applications in Southeast Asia with Philippine companies interested to learn more about green hydrogen and fuel-cell technology.

The Green Hydrogen Initiative is part of the BMU’s Environmental Technologies Export Initiative, supporting German GreenTech companies—including small and medium enterprises to internationalize their “green” innovations, products, and services.

OTABATO CITY—The United Kingdom has reiterated its support to the Bangsamoro government in the latter’s fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and its other programs in the region.

In her meeting with Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) leaders and development partners, Ambassador of the UK to the Philippines Laure Beaufils averred that collaborations could get things done on the ground.

“Only through these types of partnerships can we make things happen.

We have partnerships of trust, genuine understanding, and two-way learning [which can get things done, and make sure they] are sustainable,” Beaufils said. “We are proud to have supported the work you have done.”

The envoy was referring to her country’s ongoing grant in coordination with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)-Philippines to support Covid-19 prevention efforts in the region through the “Improving Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Overcoming Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal in BARMM” project. It aims to boost the regional government institutions’ capacities in risk communication.

“The UK government is proud and happy partnering with the [region’s] Ministry of Health (MOH), the Bangsamoro Information Office, Bangsamoro Youth Commission, UNICEF, and IOM [International Organi-

zation for Migration]. We are proud to have supported the work you have done,” she stated.

Dr. Bashary Latiph, the BARMM’s health minister, said the intervention from the UK government did not only help the region’s fight against Covid-19, but also its other health programs. Beaufils shared that the UK government is investing in the BARMM’S future through education and health to build ideal communities for the children. She highlighted the need to focus on mental health, given the way the pandemic has affected young people in particular.

While the partnership has helped reduce the virus-infection rate in the region, Beaufils admitted a lot of risks still exist: “We should all continue to focus on vaccination and prevention.

Vaccination is essential: it is our first line of defense, and we are happy to support it here. It is a priority for us nationally.”

For Dr. Ameril Usman, the MOH director-general, the UK’s support to the BARMM government has been timely and valuable especially for its youth in obtaining correct information on Covid-19 prevention and vaccination.

The UK government recently donated an additional 5.2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to the Philippines through the COVAX facility, with 415,000 doses given bilaterally, or a total of approximately 5.6 million units. Edwin Fernandez/PNA

SFA, EU VP DIALOG Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. and European Union High Representative-Vice President Josep Borrell discussed regional and bilateral matters during their meeting on December 12 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The two officials talked about preparations for the Asean-EU commemorative summit in 2022 to mark the 45th anniversary of the two bloc’s dialogue relations. Locsin imparted that the Philippines takes its role as coordinator of the summit seriously and for the next three years, it will work with both regions to push forward cooperative partnerships on issues of mutual concern. Opportunities to deepen Philippine-EU bilateral relations in the areas of trade, maritime cooperation, and human rights were likewise tackled.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Parentlife BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, December 16, 2021

‘Tis the season for better family digital habits C

HRISTMAS vacation is just around the corner. Many parents have had to maneuver our way through the drastic increase of our children’s screen time this past year and a half. I believe this coming free time from school holidays can be a good opportunity to better our family digital habits.

A new global survey, commissioned by security Kaspersky, explores the role of healthy digital habits in the family, as well as the effect of parents’ behavior on children and vice versa. This study has shown a direct correlation between how much time parents and their children spend on devices. With 82 percent of adults and 70 percent of kids spending at least three hours on gadgets every day, the data shows that kids are likely to copy the amount of time their parents spend using devices.

Children are always observing and copying what their parents do—this is also the case when it comes to their digital habits. If kids can see that their parents are constantly using their devices, they will consider

such behavior the norm and also spend a lot of time online. Although sometimes it can be hard to be a role model, parents should be conscious of their actions on their children’s behavior and attempt to lead by example when it comes to rules around screen time.

The study results demonstrate the correlation between the amount of screen time of parents and children. The majority of kids and adults—48 percent each use their devices at the same time during the day—is about three to five hours. Additionally, the majority of parents are convinced that both they (62 percent) and their children (58 percent) spend a sufficient amount of time online.

In addition to this, the results show that kids actively adapt the way they use devices based on their parents’ usage. For example, when 80 percent of parents spend less than two hours a day on devices, their children do too. Meanwhile, if adults use their gadgets more than two hours per day, kids are just as likely to do the same, with only 19 percent of cases showing that children who are exposed to this example engage with gadgets less than two hours a day.

At the same time, according to the survey’s results, children whose parents regularly use devices spend more time behind the screen on various digital habits. For example, kids whose parents commonly use gadgets spend an additional 39 minutes online during meals. Meanwhile, texting while carrying on conversations adds to children an average of 41 minutes of screen time and sharing family photographs on social media adds a further 31 minutes per day—it all really adds up.

“As we see from the data, the more hours parents spend on gadgets, the more hours kids are likely to spend on theirs. Parents want to ensure better screen-time balance for their children and their main challenge is how to achieve this. Today, there are tools available that can help parents improve digital wellbeing for their kids and ensure their screen time is secure and balanced. Setting an example themselves is also a great option,” said Marina Titova,

vice president for consumer product marketing at Kaspersky.

“Children benefit far more from tangible interaction with the real world than from consuming digital information. Children younger than 12, for example, still have a long way to go before their capacity for abstraction is comparable to that of an adult. They first have to learn to feel, hear, see, smell and taste the world. In our practice, too, parents’ and families’ use of digital media is always a prominent topic. Many parents are convinced that it is sufficient to clearly regulate their children’s media time and control the type of content they have access to. But instead of worrying about effective punishments, parents should first reduce their own media consumption,” said therapists Birgitt Hölzel and Stefan Ruzas from the Munich practice Liebling + Schatz.

If you want to help your children and ensure they use devices in a secure way, you can: ■ Spend more time communicating with kids about online safety measures. Try to pay attention to your own habits—do you use your smartphone when eating or chatting? See if there is a pattern with your kids doing the same, or if they react in a different way when you put away the phone.

■ Consider downloading parental control apps, and discuss this topic with your child to explain how such apps work and why they need them to stay secure online.

■ Ask your child not to agree with any privacy settings on their own and ask for parents’ help.

Adults should get in the habit of reading any privacy agreements as well.

This online survey done by Sapio involved 11,000 respondents, including adults who live with their children aged seven to 12 years old full-time. The sample included respondents from United Kingdom, France, Germany, United States, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil, Colombia, Russia, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Mexico. ■

EXPERIENCE live performances once again at the Grand Atrium at the Shangri-La Plaza.

BRIGHTER HOLIDAYS ARE AHEAD

IT’S a December to remember at Shangri-La Plaza, as the retail destintion fills the month with celebrations and happenings that make the holidays more joyful and brighter this time around.

Experience live performances once again at the Grand Atrium. What is Christmas without music and carols, and like all past Christmases before, Shang is putting talented local musicians front and center of its holiday celebrations. Head over to the Grand Atrium and catch live performances from Servus Dei Vocal Ensemble on December 18, and Shang’s very own Musicians Collective on December 17 and 20.

Missing the big screen? Shang’s Red Carpet has finally reopened the latest epic Marvel film, Eternals, starring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan and Richard Madden. To ensure a safe viewing experience, the mall has implemented protocols, such as requiring moviegoers to present a vaccination card, seat distancing, wearing of face masks, and prohibiting food and drinks inside the cinema.

Moreover, parents can let the young ones safely enjoy new experiences and active play time this Christmas break by bringing them to Q Power Station and Kidzoona. Both require minors to be accompanied by fully vaccinated parents or guardians.

Families can dine al fresco and try out traditional and new Asian flavors. Soon to open at the Shang is Modern Shanghai, which offers authentic Chinese dishes such Kung Pao Chicken, shrimp with preserved egg yolk paste, and braised fish in black beans sauce. Savory snack cravings can easily be satisfied by delicious Korean style hotdogs. Gorae Hotdog, now open at the mall’s Level 1, Main Wing, offers hotdogs dipped in batter, rolled in noodles or potatoes, and deep-fried for that perfect crunch.

Tick off remaining items on that wish list during Shang’s Boxing Day Sale. Shang is bringing back its Boxing Day tradition, and ending the year with a mall-wide sale. With over 50 participating retail partners, Shang’s Boxing Day Sale is a chance to treat oneself and shop for the remaining items on the wish list for as much as 70-percent off.

More information is available at www.facebook.com/ shangrilaplazaofficial.

Holiday gifting with a Pinoy touch

A DIFFERENT KIND OF HOLIDAY GIFT BAG

NOW that we’re deep into the holiday season, most of us are thinking about the perfect gift to give and spread cheer. What better way to share the Christmas spirit than by giving a gift that everyone in the family will enjoy throughout the many yuletide celebrations.

Consider the Cuckoo Bag and Weeshee Bag— seasonal gift bags from leading snack brand Oishi.

Available in supermarkets or Oishi’s official Shopee and Lazada stores, these big, festive bags are filled with classic and new Oishi favorites that everyone will love munching on over the holiday break.

Adding to the holiday cheer, Oishi offers discounts until December 31 to consumers who order all that crunchy goodness online—P150 off on every bundle of 8 Cuckoo Bags and P100 off on every bundle of 8 Weeshee Bags when they check out from official stores in the popular e-commerce platforms.

More information can be found at www.facebook. com/oishi.ph.

THE Philippines is very rich in the gift-giving tradition. Filipinos love to give gifts because of their warm nature, and consider this an expression of love. Giving a gift to someone we care about allows us to communicate our feelings and appreciation for them. This Christmas, bring the heritage, artistry and taste of Philippines to family and friends with Regalo from Kultura.

The popular brand in all things Filipino has curated artisanal gift sets for everyone. This includes Regalo para sa Pamilya at Tahanan for the home and family members, and Regalo para sa Barkada at Katrabaho for colleagues and friends.

Give a taste of the Philippines by creating your own Regalo para sa Pinoy Foodie, and Regalo para sa Coffee Lover at Chocoholic with award winning artisanal chocolates—gourmet coffee blends— and healthy snacks made from local fruits and vegetables.

Gifts of wellness from the country’s fields and forests—coconuts, rice, and nuts—are not only delicious and nutritious but also make the recipeint happy and healthy.

The Regalo Collection is available at Kultura Stores, and can also be availed of with the help of a personal shopper. More information can be found at www.kulturafilipino.com.

REGALO FOR THE PINOY FOODIE Make your own Christmas

hamper and send it out to your loved ones for Christmas. Fill your basket with Kultura’s selection of Philippines’s best from dried mangoes, hot chocolate mix, local coffee, wine and premium chocolate.

GOURMET Farms premium coffee blends and mug set.

Avoid going overboard and over budget on kids’ holiday gifts

BY AMANDA BARROSO NerdWallet IT’S hard to resist the holiday messaging to buy gifts—and lots of them—to make the season brighter and more fulfilling.

However, supply chain disruptions may make this year’s shopping stressful, especially for parents looking to buy toys in short supply. Shortages aside, going overboard on gifts for your kids could create budget stress and unintentionally set unrealistic expectations for years to come.

This year’s added pressures could offer parents a chance to rethink their holiday shopping and budget strategies. These tips from budgeting and parenting experts can help you cut through the noise and find what works for your family.

SET YOUR HOLIDAY BUDGET A BUDGET is crucial to keeping spending in check.

If you’re struggling to figure out a realistic holiday budget, review previous years’ spending.

“You can literally pull up your credit-card

statements from last November and December if you want to get a general sense of where your money went,” says Andrea Woroch, a money-saving expert focusing on advice for mothers. Contemplate whether you want to repeat that spending pattern or if it left you stressed when January rolled around.

Budgets change from year to year. “Things can change in a year dramatically,” Woroch says. “Did you have another kid? Did you get divorced or married, bought a house, get a new job, lost your job? Whatever it is, you kind of have to reassess based on your current situation.”

TAKE INVENTORY AND GET ORGANIZED THINGS get lost in overflowing toy boxes. Taking inventory of what you already have is a great way to figure out what your kids need and an opportunity to set aside items they’ve outgrown. Items in good condition can be donated or sold in online marketplaces to other parents looking to catch a deal.

KEEP TRACK OF EARLY PURCHASES GIFTS bought weeks or even months ago may have

fallen off your radar—especially if you’ve hidden them well. Before hitting the stores, make a list of previous purchases.

“If you’re not writing down what you bought, you’re going to forget what you had,” says Woroch, who suggests using an app called Santa’s Bag— although a note on your phone or old-fashioned pen and paper can work just as well. Tracking purchases throughout the season can help prevent overspending.

FIND A GIFTING STRATEGY THAT WORKS EVERY YEAR “SOMETHING they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read” is a popular phrase, and for good reason: It sets parameters on gift-giving and works no matter how old the child.

Another strategy is buying fewer toys and focusing on what supports your child’s development, which is especially important for younger children. Kathryn Humphreys, an assistant professor in Vanderbilt University’s Department of Psychology and Human

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Development, suggests finding toys that allow collaboration and open-ended play.

RESIST THE COMPARISON GAME IT’S hard for parents to resist comparing themselves to others, especially when social media feeds are overloaded with holiday photos. Just remember, you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.

“It is so easy to get wrapped up in what other families are spending and moms are doing that you feel bad and you end up spending more,” Woroch says.

You’re looking at a highlight reel and don’t know if that family is spending beyond their means.

MEMORIES ARE FREE IF the holiday gifting frenzy grabs you, just remember that this time of year is about more than things.

“At the end of the day, it’s really important to remember that the holidays aren’t about the physical gifts,” Woroch says.

“Creating memories and maybe creating traditions that don’t cost a lot of money is such a great way to connect and bond with your kids.” THE CONVERSATION

B6 Thursday, December 16, 2021

Reliving Christmas traditions through food

Security Bank is Diversity Champion and Best Culture of Learning at LinkedIn

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ECURITY Bank Corporation won the “Diversity Champion” and “Best Culture of Learning” Awards at the recently concluded 2021 LinkedIn Talent Awards. These recognitions were given to successful organizations who have made a significant impact using LinkedIn Talent Solutions. “(We) want to shine a spotlight on the companies and people across the globe who have excelled in the last year at engaging with talent, creating inclusive workplaces, building strong employer brands, encouraging learning and development, and focusing on employee retention,” said LinkedIn. The “Diversity Champion” Award is given to companies who initiated and inspired meaningful conversations around Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity.

The “Best Culture of Learning” Award on the other hand is awarded to companies who invested in the learning and development of their

employees by connecting them to relevant and applicable skills.

Security Bank is the first local bank to have an existing partnership with LinkedIn Learning. On top of its comprehensive internal learning initiatives, Security Bank employees enjoy unlimited, on-demand access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses. They can choose from a wide range of topics to help them upskill and learn new things for their personal and professional development.

Within the first month of launch of LinkedIn Learning, the Bank achieved 86% organization-wide activation rate. To date, activation rate is at 100% with over 81% average monthly repeat learners and more than 320,000 learning hours recorded on the platform. This translates to 6.2 million videos viewed and over 330 million courses completed.

Further, true to its commitment to always put people first, Security Bank continues to ensure that all its

employees have access to development opportunities. This includes providing equal consideration for promotions, pay raises, and inclusion in decisionmaking processes among others. The Bank’s male to female employee ratio remains at 1:2, which reflects its gender-neutral view on recruitment.

Notably, the number of women in middle and senior management positions remains significant.

“At the center of this recognition are our employees for their hard work and commitment to deliver a BetterBanking experience to all our customers. Despite the challenges faced by the banking industry in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to move forward and achieve excellence and diversity in the workplace”, said Security Bank Senior Vice President and Head of Human Capital Management Nerissa Berba.

For more information, visit www. securitybank.com or www.facebook. com/SecurityBank.

Doctors urge Filipinos to make Christmas a jolly season, not a holiday syndrome

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OR the doctors and heart experts at the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), a Holiday Season, not Holiday Syndrome, is the best Christmas treat that you owe yourself and your loved ones. Thus, the PHA invited renowned TV chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and food columnist Sandy Daza to present well-balanced Noche Buena and Media Noche recipes as well alternative dish to carbo-laden rice such as the healthy, less calories ‘cauliflower rice.’ He also shared practical tips on how to make cooking a no-fuss chore and a gratifying passion. For Daza, no one, especially Mom, deserves to be left in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove while the rest of the family members and guests are having a feast.

At the recent online discussion, entitled Christmas Treat: Holiday Season, not Syndrome, via Zoom and PHA FB page, the PHA urges the

public to cook balanced and healthier Christmas and New Year fare. It said that one-third of the Holiday spread should be fresh fruits and vegetables.

People should also limit their alcohol intake. This is so because the peak of cardiovascular diseases (ailments of the heart and blood vessels like stroke and hypertension) and diabetes happen during the Christmas season.

Time and again, year in and year out, this trend has been observed in hospitals around the country. The above-mentioned diseases which are hereditary and lifestyle-induced are linked to five most common but preventable risk factors –unhealthy diet, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, smoking and stress.

Most merrymakers (even those with pre-existing heart conditions and other health issues) tend to overindulge in food and booze intake; skip their exercise regimen; forget to take their

maintenance meds and forego their follow-up consult/tests specially during the Christmas season – the longest food holiday in the Philippines.

Dr. Clara Tolentino, chair of the PHA Council on Electrophysiology and Cardiac Pacing, expounded on Holiday Syndrome — that too much alcohol or binge drinking can drive the electrical impulse of the heart crazy.

The top three causes of death in the country in 2020 and 2019 were ishaemic heart diseases, neoplasms and cerebrovascular diseases, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Cardiac ischemia is a condition in which the blood flow and thus oxygen to the heart muscle is restricted. Ischemia is caused by a blockage in the arteries.

Around 99,680 Filipinos died due to heart diseases in 2020, surpassing the 82,547 average death from 2015-2019.

Amid the continuous decline of pandemic cases, PHA encourages everyone to consciously work on a snag-free Christmas 2021 and welcome New Year 2022 with a healthy heart and disciplined lifestyle.

Dr. Don Robespierre Reyes, the event's moderator along with Dr. Tolentino, said people should adhere to doing everything in moderation — and that includes the holiday feasting.

“When excessive carbs, fats and cholesterol go to our stomach and absorbed by our body, there is no turning back. They are unlike bank deposits which are withdrawable anytime. They will be there in your body for life ready to constrict blood flow or clogged your arteries, your heart or your brain to make you sick,” he ended.

O

H, Christmas. For many Filipinos, this time of the year is among the most special days on the calendar for many reasons. Christmas is already such a multi-faceted occasion to begin with, but there is something different about the “Paskong Pinoy” and its relevance to us as a society. For us, the season is also synonymous with other things that all hold a special place in our hearts—family, traditions, and of course, good food.

Christmas is about spending time with the special people in our lives and expressing our love and care for them through acts of service; and what better way to show that other than through food and a breakfast table where everyone can sit down and connect?

While holidays in the Philippines are already teeming with so many food traditions in general, there is still something extra special about Christmas mornings when you wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and plates of breakfast favorites waiting for you.

Nothing beats a traditional well-prepared holiday breakfast when it comes to warming the heart and the soul. Breakfast, in a way, is when we truly sit down around the table and take in the importance of the day while appreciating everything that surrounds us. It’s an expression of love, as well as an invitation for everyone to just truly be in the moment with the people we hold closest to our hearts.

This is something that mothers out there could deeply understand for sure.

As the ones who are mostly in charge of preparing meals for their family, their roles are even more amplified during this special time of the year when festivities

almost always equate to food.

Breakfast made with love is something that Pacific Sunrise, a healthy brand of cooking oil, has always stood up for. A product of AgriPacific Corporation, a manufacturer which also supplies highgrade kitchen staples to the market, Pacific Sunrise continues to advocate for the importance of a well-prepared breakfast that could be shared and enjoyed by the whole family. Now with Christmas time just a few weeks away, the brand aims to inspire all family cooks—especially mothers—to craft healthy meals that can make the season even more special.

Other than sending the message about the importance of sharing a good breakfast, however, Pacific Sunrise also aims to spread awareness that healthy cooking doesn’t need to be complicated.

With premium ingredients and the right kitchen partners in your pantry, anyone can whip a healthy and satisfying breakfast that can be part of our favorite meal traditions, Christmas or not.

Pacific Sunrise is made with palm olein and is Halal Certified, and it is also rich in vitamins A&E and minerals like Omega 6&9. Moreover, it has 0 percent cholesterol and trans-fat and non-GMO, which means that it is a healthy choice for cooking breakfast for the family.

Pacific Sunrise will be releasing its special holiday recipes on its official social media channels soon.

Stock up on your packs of Pacific Sunrise for all the Christmas cooking you’ll be doing by dropping by any leading supermarket in your area, Lazada, Shopee, and 7-Eleven. The product is available in 500ml pouches, 1-liter bottles, and 2-liter pouches.

PhilHealth fast tracks hospital payments thru DCPM

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HE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) reported that it continues to pay hospital reimbursements, having released a total of P165.8 billion in claims from January 2020 to date.

In view of the challenges brought about by the pandemic in its operations, the state Agency has implemented the Debit-Credit Payment Method (DCPM) to allow for the fast release of funds to qualified hospitals nationwide that have signified intention to avail of the new payment mechanism while it processes their claims.

To date, PhilHealth has released two waves of payments amounting to P11.04 billion under the DCPM. It is set to release more funds for the third wave through its Circular 2021-0023 which took effect immediately upon publication on December 8, 2021.

Under the third wave, hospitals nationwide are qualified to apply as long as they are managing Covid cases and are offering the PhilHealth testing packages, have fully liquidated their IRM, and have no legal cases with PhilHealth.

The Corporation averred that hospitals in Iloilo City have been qualified to avail of the said mechanism ever since they started experiencing a surge in Covid cases early this year. It called on the seven hospitals to avail of the DCPM so as to expedite payments, thereby ensuring and protecting the welfare of the members in the said region.

THE GLOW GARDEN AT SM CITY NORTH EDSA. Walk into a magical Glow Garden as SM City North EDSA’s Skygarden is illuminated with thousands of festive outdoor sparkling lights with a pop of neon. Have your photos taken under the whimsical trees with twinkling stars that brings smile, hope and love for all shoppers.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Understanding transmission mode is key to controlling Covid-19 virus

By Rory Visco

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Contributor

he good news is that almost everything related to Covid-19, when it comes to fewer number of new cases detected daily, the number of active cases going down, lesser transmission, lower bed occupancy in hospitals where they experience days without a single Covid case admitted and so forth, has been very encouraging.

And then the Omicron variant surfaced, which sent shock waves throughout the world and led many to ask “will Covid-19 be controlled?”

During the TV UP series “Stop Covid Deaths” last week organized by the University of the Philippines together with UP Manila National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Telehealth Center, and in cooperation with UP Philippine General Hospital, it asked the question “Will we ever control Covid-19?”

Dr. Susan Pineda Mercado, Special Envoy of the President for Global Health Initiatives, took a look back at the months of Covid-19 in the Philippines, what did people learn, and what has been done so far to control this public health menace.

Mode of transmission

She said the key to control an infectious outbreak is for everyone to understand the mode of transmission. “It is not just knowing it in our heads but also behaving or acting in ways so that we won’t get infected,” Dr. Mercado stressed.

Dr. Mercado also said that as long as there is a desire for animal meat, mutations of viruses from wild ani-

mals will mutate and infect humans, according to Gauden Ga lea, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to China.

She said that as more wild animals get close to humans and interact, viruses from animals can leap across species in congested and impoverished areas.

She pointed to the Civet Cat from where the SARS epidemic in 20032004 started that affected 37 countries where 8,000 got sick with 744 dead; the Camel for the MERSCov epidemic in 2012 to 2015 reached 27 countries, with 2,000 sick and 720 dead. “If the coronav ir uses f rom t hese anima ls meet with the coronavirus in humans, it can create a new kind of virus. Dealing with and eating wild animals increases the risks of new viruses to come up,” she said.

As for the SARS-Cov-2, which she said that while the jury is not out on this virus yet, it was most likely caused by the mutation of the coronavirus of a bat and that of a human being and seems to be the closest connection. It has already affected 219 countries and territories, where 266 million got sick and 5.2 million already dead.

Epidemiologic Triad

Dr. Mercado then explained what she called the “Epidemiologic Triad,” and for an outbreak to occur, there has to be an “agent” or the virus; a “host” which could be a human being, and the “environment,” where the agent and the host can interact.

The “agent” or the virus and in the case of SARS-Cov-2 its variants as the mutating agent, then the “host,” those poorly nourished or with comorbidities, and the “environment,” which can be crowded living conditions, Filipinos who worked overseas where the virus is also present, and also congested cities.

“Even if you do everything about the agent, and yet the environment is poor and the host is poorly nourished and has weak immune system, it is still difficult to control an infection or an outbreak,” Dr. Mercado emphasized.

So, what needs to be done? For the host, she said, vaccine is the most important. “If we have to choose between modifying the environment and doing something about the host, the easiest thing to do is to vaccinate. We have shown that vaccination is probably one of the biggest breakthroughs of public health, that we’ve been able to stop some diseases on their tracks through vaccination programs.”

When it comes to dealing with the “host,” many things have to be done like making tests and treatments available and accessible to them to let them know if they have the virus or not, and good nutrition to help improve their immune system. For the “environment,” what she called “social determinants of health,” has to be addressed like congestion, unsafe working spaces and transportation. “You can keep vaccinating, but if people go back to an unsafe environment and people don’t have what they need to be healthy, then the infection will simply continue. In public health, we think about these three things to

control the disease,” Dr. Mercado explained succinctly.

Herd immunity

Her next message was that “herd immunity” only occurs after decades of routine vaccination. As long as there is community transmission, reinfection is possible (unless a vaccine is developed for life-long immunity) so routine vaccination is important.

So, what are the tools in managing infections? The most important is information, which can help change behavior, for surveillance and early case detection, treatment, environmental modification, and prevention.

Dr. Mercado also pointed to “risk communication” as one of the most important control measures of a pandemic. She said understanding the mode of transmission makes prevention possible. “But when people don’t trust the government and the authorities, there is now a destabilized communication environment where decision-makers will panic and results in unnecessary disease or death.”

She warned that if there are no investments in public health and social determinants of health, Covid-19 will become a chronic and lingering disease of the poor, like tuberculosis. “We need to invest in our own Philippine CDC, more laboratories and genome centers in the country, treatment centers in every province and city, decongest cities, make our own vaccines and invest in vaccination programs, and create a strong and autonomous health promotion agency.”

Finally, she said that full implementation of the Universal Health Care is the only solution to Covid-19. It can be controlled but the system has to be changed. “We also need to be in emergency response mode and have a Covid-19 control program with resources, plus the self-care of health-care workers is the most important strategy for the control of Covid-19.”

Studies indicate that vapes are harmful to teens–expert

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

H

e was not a smoker. In fact he has never tried smoking cigarettes.

But when his older brother started bringing home what looked like an attractive device that releases a sweet chocolate smell, Kyle Esposado was amazed. Soon, he started sharing the vape with his brother.

“I love the chocolate flavor, and thought it was cool. I also never thought that it was bad for my health because how can something that smells so good be toxic?”

Kyle, who was a minor when he started using vapes, said. Not long after, he started coughing for no apparent reason.

He also started to experience difficulty in breathing.

“That’s when I thought I should stop.

It was also some sort of a blessing that my brother lost his job so he could not buy flavored juices anymore,” he narrated in a recent media briefing.

Kyle’s experience clearly shows the need to highly regulate vapes.

In study conducted by the Philippine Pediatric Society in partnership with the Department of Education, Dr. Rizalina Gonzalez confirmed that among Filipino youth, one of the top reasons why they tried vapes was because of the different “flavors” they offered.

In the US, flavored e-cigarettes were blamed for the “epidemic” on youth-use of vapes as declared by the US Food and Drugs Administration. Currently, many US states adopted flavor bans to arrest the growing number of users of vapes among

their youth.

President’s stand against vapes, e-cigs

No less than President Rodrigo R. Duterte made a strong stand against vape proliferation in the country in 2019 when he said that these products are “toxic” and said that the government has “the power to issue measures to protect public health and interest.”

As a result of this statement, two laws were passed strictly regulating e-cigarettes by raising the age of access to vapes from 18 to 21, restricting vape flavors to menthol and tobacco, and placing regulatory power over the product under the Food and Drugs Administration.

However, the Senate Vape Bill (SB 2239) of Senator Ralph Recto attempts to reverse these restrictions by lowering access to vapes to 18, allowing more flavors, and even providing a looser policy on the use of vapes in public.

Dr. Gonzalez registers strong opposition against the bill, saying that current regulations should actually need to be strengthened by even increasing the age of access to vapes and even cigarettes to 25 years old and ban menthol flavors which were also proven to attract the youth.

“Even with the existing regulations, we already found that almost 11 percent of students with the age of 10 to 15 years old have already tried vapes. It will be highly irresponsible to even lower the age of access specially with the experience of other countries” she added.

According to Dr. Gonzalez, the youth

are easily influenced by friends who also use vapes.

“Our children who are below 18 usually have friends in their social circle who are 18 years old and above and are able to access vapes,” she said. Recto justifies the lowering of age to 18 to align it with the existing law on cigarettes.

Senator Pia Cayetano, on the other hand, filed a bill increasing the age of access to cigarettes to 21, also to align the almost 20-year-old Tobacco Regulation Act to current evidence supporting the need to increase the age of access to cigarettes.

Toni Flores, Coordinator of the Child Rights Network (CRN) laments that Senator Recto would even consider weakening existing policies despite the local and global evidence showing the danger to a possible youth-use epidemic happening in the Philippines. She also cited studies that vape-use has been proven to be a gateway to cigarette-use which is directly opposite to the claim of the vape groups.

“If the Recto Vape Bill is passed we should expect more young people to be lured into this harmful vice and eventually led to the fatal addiction to cigarettes.

This is against the best interest of the child and compromises children’s rights to survival and development. We must not leave anything to chance when it comes to the protection of our children,” she added.

Majority of Filipinos support vape ban

An overwhelming 68 percent Filipinos in Metro Manila, 61 percent in Luzon, 43 percent in Visayas and 75 percent in Min-

danao showed support on banning flavors in vapes. About 66 percent of vape users also agree to impose a ban on flavors, according to the recent Pulse Asia survey conducted nationwide.

Filipinos also support the absolute ban on vape use in public places.

These survey results reinforce the collective call of former Health Secretaries to junk the vape bill. In a separate statement, former DOH Secretary Paulyn Ubial said “if our Senators pass this Vape Bill, it shows that they are gambling with the lives of our youth and children and would rather prioritize the interest of the vape and tobacco industry rather than the health of our people.”

Imelda Gocotano of the Davao-based Parents Against Vapes appealed to Sen. Recto to junk his vape bill.

“As parents, we want our children not be hooked to this new form of harmful addiction, especially now that we are facing a pandemic that ultimately targets weakened lungs,” Gocotano said.

She has likewise called on the Department of Health and Food and Drugs Administration to implement existing regulations without further delay to prevent our children from being addicted to vapes and protect their lungs as we face the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I hope our Senators will realize that vapes are very much attractive to us young people. We hope you can come up with rules that will limit our access to vapes and support activities that will inform us about the harms of vaping,” Kyle stressed.

Bongbong eyes more public dialysis centers in the provinces

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RESIDENTIAL aspirant Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. is pushing to increase the number of governmentrun dialysis centers in the provinces to allow more Filipinos access to this essential service.

Data presented in a University of the Philippines (UP) webinar on Covid-19 and Dialysis held in December 2020 showed that one person dies of kidney failure every hour, his office pointed out Data also revealed that almost 35,000 Filipinos are undergoing dialysis.

Over the past decade, the number of new cases has grown at a rate of 15 percent every year.

Marcos Jr. said the plight of dialysis

patients from the provinces who have no choice but to go to Metro Manila or other areas to avail themselves of dialysis services should be looked into.

These patients are compelled to travel long distances due to a lack of or sometimes absence of dialysis centers in their area.

“The situation of our dialysis patients is so dire. Many of them travel long distaces for many hours just to have dialysis, and they spend a lot.

So, instead of being able to spend money on their medicines and vitamis, these go to other expenses like travel and short-term rent” for those who need to stay closer to the dialysis centers, he

said, partly in Filipino.

“We need to build more dialysis centers in the provinces so they don’t have to travel long distances or rent,” said Marcos.

According to Medical Pinas, an online resource for medical-related topics, a dialysis session in a private hospital costs from P2,000 to P7,000. WIn public hospitals, it ranges between P3,000 and P3,500.

Although noticeably cheaper, the capacity of public hospitals and dialysis centers to cater to more patients is limited.

The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer said that should he win as president in next year’s polls, he will form a task force to coordinate with LGUs and other agencies to ensure free dialysis

treatment for patients.

“We also plan to make the dialysis sessions free. What’s important is for us to spare them from further misery and lengthen their lives. It’s bad enough they are suffering in life, and they agonize further for their treatments. So, we will link up with local governments and government agencies responsible for their situation,” according to Marcos Jr. He noted that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. are helping now, “so I think that if we can add more dialysis centers in the provinces, we can take even better care of them.”

Thursday, December 16, 2021 B7

Behind the brush

How cleaning teeth impacts pregnancy

By Leo Gerald R. De Castro DMD

Managing Partner, Asian Centre for Dental Specialties

M

aking time for self-care is vital to our health, well-being, and overall quality of life. Selfcare involves anything done to keep ourselves healthy physically, mentally, and even emotionally.

Practicing oral health care is an important component of good self-care habits due to the significant impact oral health has on our health and well-being.

However, findings from a study by GSK Consumer Healthcare and IPSOS point to a concern that people may not be proactively looking after their oral health as they should be. While it was revealed that 59 percent of Filipinas surveyed strongly believe that good oral health benefits their overall health, and more than half admitted to regularly brushing their teeth to help manage oral health conditions, it was found that only 39 percent of Filipinas agree that good oral health can support a healthier pregnancy with a lower risk of premature childbirth and low birth weight.

In total, 4,500 people were surveyed online from five European countries and (France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Russia) and four South-East Asian countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand).

A total of 500 people over the age of 18 years old were surveyed in each country.

The survey was conducted between 17th and 26th February 2021, and it focused on the approval level of participants with regard to several statements, as well as on any change of behavior before and after the Covid-19 outbreak began. The data was mapped proportionally against metadata—age, gender, region – in the total population.

Oral Health and Pregnancy

Another key finding from the survey revealed that in the current health situation, 44 percent of Filipinas visited the dentist less frequently. Among them, many pregnant women opt to forego dentist appointments due to the perception that dental procedures could possibly compromise a pregnancy and endanger the safety of both mother and child. While certain food, lifestyle choices and activities can pose complications to pregnancy, many common dental procedures have been proven to be safe for both mothers and their expectant children.

A woman’s body goes through so many changes throughout the journey of pregnancy. As these changes occur, maintaining one’s oral health can go overlooked.

As a woman’s hormone levels are significantly altered, those changes can lead to an increased blood flow in the oral tissues and a weakened immune system.

One of the most common problems a lot of expecting mothers experience due to fluctuations in hormone levels is the onset of Pregnancy Gingivitis. This can leave gums red, inflamed, and more at risk of catching bacterial infections.

Morning sickness can also do a number on the oral health of any expectant mother. With the act of vomiting, stomach acid makes its way into the mouth—possibly weakening tooth enamel and placing women at a greater risk for cavities.

If one or both conditions are left untreated, research suggests that inflammation caused by gum disease can allow for the entry of bacteria into the bloodstream— potentially targeting the developing baby. Additional findings show that there exists a link between pregnant women with severe gum disease and children born prematurely with a low birth weight. Babies who are born in those conditions can potentially experience eyesight and hearing problems, as well as a heightened risk of brain injury.

Supporting Pregnancy by Improving Oral Health

In order to help eliminate the risks poor oral health pose on a woman’s pregnancy, there are many measures women can employ that can significantly improve health outcomes for both themselves and their children.

Oral health education can play a big role in maintaining good overall oral health through all stages of pregnancy. By understanding the connection between oral health and pregnancy and seeking counsel with physicians, nurses, and dentists, expectant mothers can be equipped with the tools, knowledge, and even resources to lower the risk of oral health problems arising during pregnancy.

Oral hygiene can be maintained at home through regularly brushing teeth with a toothpaste containing fluoride as an active ingredient. To complement the act of brushing, it is recommended to floss daily, and use an alcohol-free mouthwash to help remove bacterial plaque from the mouth.

While nutrition plays a big part in the development of a child during an expectant mother’s pregnancy journey, the intake of sugar-rich food and drink must be limited to prevent the build-up of plaque. This must be coupled with measures that mitigate the oral transmission of bacteria such as sharing food and utensils.

Treatments for existing tooth decay can also be done during pregnancy as restoring decayed teeth can significantly improve oral health. For any other dental problems, it is always ideal to consult a dentist at the earliest possible time.

Being a mommy in the making entails all sorts of sacrifice—where a mom-to-be can get so focused on ensuring everything is perfect for her little one that sometimes, her own health tends to be neglected. However, moms who care for themselves also care for their future children—and that’s especially true when it comes to oral health.

By maintaining good oral health habits alongside other self-care practices to boost overall health and well-being, expectant mothers can reduce unwanted complications from arising during the pregnancy journey and pave the way for their future children to enjoy happy, and healthy lives.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, December 16, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

STEPHEN CURRY gets congratulatory hugs from his dad Dell Curry, Rey Allen and Draymond Green. AP

CURRY: 3-POINT KING!

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EW YORK—Stephen Curry has shot his way to the top of the National Basketball Association (NBA) record book for three-pointers.

Curry hit his 2,974th 3-pointer Tuesday night in the first quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the New York Knicks, breaking the record set by Ray Allen.

Curry hit the shot from the right wing with 7:33 remaining, waving his arms toward the sky as he jogged backward down court. The Warriors then committed a foul and quickly called timeout to let the celebration begin.

Curry went and embraced his father, Dell Curry, who was seated along a baseline, while Bob McKillop, his coach at Davidson, stood in the stands and beamed alongside Larry Riley, who drafted Curry for the Warriors. Then came a hug from Warriors teammate Draymond Green among others and, finally, Curry trotted back across the court for a long embrace and a few congratulatory words from Allen.

Curry is often considered the league’s greatest shooter, and the numbers back him up. He already owns two of the top three seasons for threepointers—including the only season with 400 3s— and now has the career record Allen had held since passing Reggie Miller in 2011.

During a postgame interview with TNT, Miller, standing next to Allen, presented Curry with a Warriors jersey with the number 2,974 on the back.

“I’ve been thinking about this number for a long time. I’ve even got it on my shoes,” Curry said on TNT. “Basketball history. This is pretty special.

These two, legends. I watched them growing up and understood what it meant to shoot the ball because of them and my dad. Full-circle moment, man. I’m blessed. Blessed, for sure.”

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ONITO DONAIRE JR. could get his personally sought after rematch with Japanese Naoya Inoue in March next year after proving over the weekend that age’s just a number and his two fists pack numerous wonders rarely seen from a 39-year-old fighter.

“Of course why not? It’s absolutely going to be a great duel between both fighters,” Top Rank head Bob Arum told BusinessMirror over the phone from Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday. “The last time Inoue and Donaire fought was really great.”

Donaire Jr. (42-6 win-loss record

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By Josef Ramos

EVER mind if there were only 580 fans who trooped to the Smart Araneta Coliseum to watch Magnolia rout Terrafirma, 11487, on Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup. What’s important—and worth a one-liner in PBA history—was that the league is back playing in its traditional home and, more essentially, with the fans cheering their favorite teams and players.

“I was so excited as I entered the venue, I got goosebumps,” said Magnolia’s Calvin Abueva, who didn’t disappoint when he nailed a threepointer from mid-court at the buzzer.

“That half-court shot? It just went in.

I can’t say anything about that.”

On Wednesday, the fans were as exc ited as the players and PBA brass.

“I’m so excited because it’s been almost two years that I haven’t watched the PBA live. I was here since 9 morning just to make sure I get a ticket,” said 36-year-old Randy Calantang who travelled from Rosario, Cavite, for his first live PBA game. He wore Jio Jalalon’s Hotshots jersey for the match.

The Hotshots didn’t want to see their fans—Calantang included—to go home frustrated. They controlled much of the game behind the explosive plays of returning import Mike Harris, who scored 18 of his 30 points in the second half in addition

The record came at Madison Square Garden, where Curry had one of his early-career highlights on February 27, 2013, when he made 11 threepointers and scored 54 points. He’s gone on to win two MVP awards and three championships while becoming one of the biggest, most popular stars in the game.

“I think fans are attracted to him just because of his humility and his story and how hard he’s had to work, so from that standpoint it transcends sports somewhat,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the game.

Curry had been far from his best beyond the arc to start this road trip, going 3 for 14 in Philadelphia and then 5 for 15 in Indiana. But with his ability to go from slumping to surging in a hurry, Kerr predicted a breakout would be coming soon.

It came quickly Tuesday. Curry hit from straightaway on his first attempt, and fans around the arena stood as he was dribbling the ball across center court on the next possession. He launched an ugly attempt that he missed.

The record-breaker came on his next shot and was vintage Curry. He gave the ball up and eventually raced back to the outside, getting the ball back and seemingly launching it in the same motion before a defender could get out to him.

It’s that quick shot—whether after catching it or on the dribble—and the ability to release from so far behind the arc that’s made him a shooter unlike any before him.

“He’s the best shooter I’ve ever seen, and I think it’s clear he is the best catch-and-shoot player,” former Dallas superstar Dirk Nowitzki said. “But where he’s so good is off the dribble, and I think that’s something that he added, the quick 3 off the dribble. It’s one motion and his shot is gone.”

None of Curry’s stardom was guaranteed when

he entered the league in 2009 as the No. 7 pick from Davidson, far from one of the basketball powerhouses that usually produce the top players.

But with perhaps an unmatched combination of dribbling and shooting accuracy, he led a long-distance revolution that has turned the three-pointer from an afterthought in NBA offenses into a weapon. He has led the league in threepointers six times and is well on his way to a seventh for a resurgent Warriors team that again has the league’s best record.

And Curry could put the record well out of reach at his current pace: He entered the night making 5.4 threepointers per game this season, best of his career.

Curry, 33, is in his 789th game, with perhaps a few more seasons at the top. At the same point in his career, Allen had 1,918 3s. AP

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OUNG Rianne Malixi continued to upstage the pros with her dynamic brand of play, keeping her flaws to a minimum then unleashing a scorching backside charge to fire an eagle-spiked 70 and pull away by nine strokes over Daniella Uy after 36 holes of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Midlands Ladies Classic in Tagaytay City on Wednesday.

A second straight bogey on the closing par-5 hole hardly ruined Malixi’s brilliant last-nine assault of Midlands that had her bucking a one-over frontside card with a birdie on the 12th. She then pulled off a stirring eagle-birdie feat from No. 16 to shoot a 37-33 for a two-day total of 143 and closer to turning her first Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) sortie into a celebratory appearance.

Uy, winner of the last LPGT leg at Riviera’s Langer layout, also hit a birdie on the par-5 16th in an earlier flight to salvage a 75 but lay nine strokes behind with a 152 total while Sunshine Baraquiel, just three strokes behind Malixi after 18 holes, lost in the face of her 14-year-old rival’s sizzling finish and poor club selection, ending up with a 77 to drop to joint third at 153 with Harmie Constantino, who fought back from a 79 with a 74.

Marvi Monsalve shot a 75 for fifth 154 while amateur Laurea Duque groped for an 80 after a 76 to slip to sixth at 156 followed by Chanelle Avaricio (80-160), Lovelyn Guioguio (79163), Apple Fudolin (79-164) and Sarah Ababa (83-169).

With a huge lead over Uy and the rest of the field, Malixi put herself on track of win-

who retained his International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association bantamweight titles after Beating Thailand’s Aran Dipaen via eighth-round technical knockout win in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Arum, who turned 90 last December 8, was amazed by Donaire’s skills despite approaching 40.

“It’s terrific, it’s amazing that he refuses to get old, he keeps going,” said Arum, who added that a Donaire-Inoue fight could be in

March in Japan.

“A rematch with Donaire in Japan is absolutely a big, big fight,” he said.

World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero, Arum said, however, could stand in the way of Donaire’s wish to take on the Japanese a second time.

Donaire beat Frenchman Nordine Oubaali via fourth-round TKO win last May 29 also in Carson City to become the oldest bantamweight world champion.

TEAM Forest Hills—composed of Gus Pacheco, playing captain Raymond Bunquin, Dennis Nicomedes, Edgar Lee and Inigo Raymundo (not in photo is Rodel Mangulabnan)—are battling it out in the Am Championship division.

Baguio Country Club ahead by 9 in Am A

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AGUIO Country Club (NCC) slowed down on Day 2 by submitting a less stellar card but it was enough to give the co-host team a nine-point lead over first round coleader Baguio Blue Blood Eagles after two rounds in Am A division of the 71st Fil-Am Golf Invitation Golf Tournament on Wednesday in Baguio City.

Goodie Ignacio followed up an

HOTSHOTS WIN BEFORE FANS AT BIG DOME

to his 15 rebounds.

Paul Lee racked up 16 points, while Ian Sangalang and Aris Dionisio contributed 10 points each for Magnolia’s first win in the reinforced conference.

Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said he wanted to control his players’ emotions.

“I’m very excited, too, but we needed to control our excitement and stay focused,” Victolero said.

Magnolia led by as many as 30 points, 114-80, late in the game.

“We’re excited to hear the screaming fans again,” Victolero said. “Slowly and surely, they’re coming back.”

Magnolia was a power off the boards and outrebounded Terrafirma, 57-35. The Hotshots also scored 54 points the paint to their opponents’ 36.

Import Antonio Hester led Terrafirma with 21 points, Juami Tiongson had 20 points and veteran Alex Cabagnot posted 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

The Dyip failed to follow up on their 112-106 overtime win over Rain or Shine last Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Victolero, meanwhile, told reporters that 44-year-old Rafi Reavis will get his Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States on December 17 before flying back to Manila.

ning a local pro title in her first try and besting Avaricio’s seven-shot breakthrough title romp over Constantino and absentee Chihiro Ikeda in the ICTSI Riviera Challenge at the Couples course last month.

Taiwanese Yu Chiang Hou edged Thai pro Wanchana Poruangrong in a playoff to become the last amateur to win an LPGT championship at Pradera Verde in 2019 while Princess Superal set the record when she humbled the local pros to dominate the ICTSI Camp John Hay LPGT in 2013.

Malixi insisted there was nothing special in her game, even saying: “I just treated it like a practice round.

Actually, there was no pressure but it’s a great challenge.”

“I know I’ve been dubious about my iron shots but I was able to manage myself great,” added Malixi, who banked on her superb short iron shots to birdie all but one of the four par-3s.

But it was her eagle off a 50-degree wedge shot after coming up short from a 150-yard distance after a 250-yard drive that highlighted her two-day stint in the season-ending tournament of the eight-leg circuit put up by ICTSI in a season halted by two suspensions due to spike in coronavirus cases in March and July.

“I will play relaxed but confident although anything can happen,” she added.

But Uy and the rest will need exceptional rounds to make things happen.

Uy, for one, needs to polish her putting stroke after making a fourputt miscue for a double bogey on the par-5 second and three-putt mishaps on Nos. 8 and 14 that derailed her bid.

“I struggled because of the wind and the greens,” said Uy, hoping to ride the wind in the final round while vowing to make up with good approach shots to shun three-putt miscues.

RIANNE MALIXI is not allowing the pros to get into the groove.

Donaire-Inoue rematch eyed in March 2022 with 28 knockouts) lost to the still undefeated Inoue last November 2019 via unanimous decision in Saitama, Japan. Although the orthodox boxer from Talibon, Bohol, lost, he fractured Inoue’s right eye socket (orbital bone) during the hard-fought battle.

Donaire is coming off a four-round knockout victory over compatriot Reymart Gaballo last Sunday in Carson City to retain his World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight belt.

He immediately called out Inoue,

Malixi cards eagle-spiked 70, builds massive 9-stroke lead

THE fans watch Magnolia’s Jio Jalalon trying to defy a Terrafirma defense with his layup.

opening round of 29 with 30, while Philex Mines top man Eulalio Austin submitted the same card to give the BCC a second-day total of 91 for 193 points midway the tournament.

Isohnn Angheng added 18, while Miguel So Hu chipped in 13 points as the host team separated itself from Baguio Blue Bloods which amassed 82 points paced by Sammy Sab-it’s 28 for a 184.

A-1 Driving Team managed a respectable 78 points to bolster its stake at third spot with 162.

After another 92 points, Leopard Enterprise increased its lead to 36 points in Am B competition. Jose Austria II came in with 31 points, Jose Benjamin Wenceslao had 24, while Jamil Ramirez and Von Vernon Vargas churned in 19 and 18, respectively, to give the team a 180 aggregate.

Miners Golf Team retained second spot after a 76 and a 144 aggregate, Team Mcder followed up an opening round of 66 with 68 for an 134 and its six-point lead ballooned to 13 halfway through the Senior Fil B the competition.

The 288 players are scheduled to take another antigen test on Thursday under the organizers’ strict health protocols.

“We are glad to have the Fil-Am back,” Camp John Hay chairman Robert Sobrepreña said. “It’s the world’s largest in the world and we want to continue the tradition.”

Sobrepeña said that the Fil-Am executive committee made sure that everything will be in order to guarantee a healthy and safe bubble tournament.

“Our staff and the people involved at CJH and Baguio Country Club are fully vaccinated and have antigen tests,” Sobrepeña said. “To safeguard everyone, participants have to undergo antigen tests as well. This is in compliance with the LGU’s guidelines.”