BusinessMirror December 23, 2021

PHL gets P300M from WB for Covid response

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HE World Bank granted the Philippines P300-million additional financing for vaccination efforts, health-care system and overall pandemic response.

In a statement on Wednesday, the international financial institution said the Covid-19 Emergency Response Project-Additional Financing 2 will fund the procurement and delivery of Covid-19 jabs for aged 12-17 and additional doses for at-risk population, including immune-compromised individuals and senior citizens.

The additional funding will also cover booster doses for health workers and the wider population.

“Fair, broad, and fast access to effective and safe Covid-19 vaccines is

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vital to save lives and strengthen economic recovery,” Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, said.

“This funding operation is critical for the country to safely reopen the economy and resume economic and social development activities, including face-to-face learning, that were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

The loan is expected to buy 27 million vaccine doses, seen to support the safe reopening of schools for children under 12.

“As I told you, these are all preparatory. You know actually, the five-yearold shots are not yet approved here

in the Philippines but we are ready to buy it as soon as it gets approved,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

In addition, Diop said the lending facility can support the country’s efforts in addressing emerging Covid-19 variants.

In relation to this, it is crucial for the country to negotiate supply agreements with suppliers moving forward, Diop said.

The World Bank approved a $500-million lending window earlier this year to fund the initial rollout of the vaccination program. This, after granting $100 million last year to boost the public health system of the country. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

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Thursday, December 23, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 76

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

’22 GROWTH PROSPECTS

BOC sets up OSS in ports for typhoon donations

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@Tyronepiad

HE Philippine electronics and semiconductor manufacturers are optimistic that 2022 will be another year for growth as the global economy continues to get back on its feet amid the pandemic.

B B C @BcuaresmaBM

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LACHICA: “To protect the intellectual property, shorten the process lead time, and hopefully reduce the cost, we have...to put together a lab-scale wafer fab. And hopefully, in a couple of years, we can build that to support the IC [integrated circuit] design industry for prototyping needs.”

Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) President Danilo Lachica, in an interview with the BM, said he expects the industry to grow by 10 percent next year on the back of robust demand.

In particular, Lachica sees more orders in electronics for medical, communications, automotive and commercial applications.

The semiconductor industry, along with other sectors, faced operational difficulties due to mobility restrictions.

On top of this, the sector’s production was affected by shortage of manufacturing input amid the pandemic-induced pressures on global supply chains. This was in addition to constraints with shipping of goods and raw materials because of container imbalances.

Lachica previously said that the industry has been focusing its efforts on decreasing dependence on imports to boost production.

He said they were moving “to try to minimize this import of materials” by continuing to “[work] on

COMMERCIAL and residential buildings are reflected on the Pasig River in Escolta, Manila. The real-estate sector felt the brunt of the pandemic, with thousands of businesses closing shop due to loss of income. But a property consulting firm is confident the sector will recover lost ground next year. NONIE REYES

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced on Wednesday it has activated a One-Stop Shop (OSS) in various ports to expedite the processing and release of all donated relief goods for the victims of Typhoon Odette.

The BOC said the OSS, meant to facilitate the rapid movement of donations and relief goods from the international community, will be available 25 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The OSS will be responsible for coordinating with other government agencies the processing of donated relief goods to fast-track their release.

The BOC said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has also organized a national One-Stop Shop to handle all concerns relative to upcoming donations.

The BOC said it will follow the procedures and guidelines prescribed under the Joint Administrative Order 01-2020 on the Clearance of Relief Consignments entered during the State of Calamity.

“The Bureau of Customs will ensure the speedy processing of donations received by the country to respond to the needs of the Filipino people, especially at the critical time,” the BOC said.

BSP PROBING REPORTS ON FAKE 1,000-PESO NOTES

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday it is currently verifying reports circulating in messaging apps and social-media platforms on the alleged counterfeit 1000piso New Generation Currency (NGC) banknotes.

Earlier this month, posts circulating on the Internet reported alleged counterfeit 1000-Piso banknotes that end in the same serial number and all ending in -2507.

“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas advises the public to remain vigilant when receiving Philippine banknotes by carefully checking the security features to ensure authenticity,” the BSP said.

The Central Bank added that all

persons responsible for the manufacure and proliferation of these counterfeit banknotes to the public will be investigated, prosecuted, and dealt with according to law.

“As such, re-posting or further sharing of this photo or corresponding message on social media with malicious intent is highly dicouraged,” the BSP said.

“The BSP requests the support of the public in reporting persons involved in the manufacture or distribution of counterfeit Philippine currency,” it added.

Under Republic Act 10951, counterfeiters of Philippine currency are subject to the penalty of imprisonment of at least 12 years and 1 day and a fine not exceeding P2 million. Bianca Cuaresma

C  A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES

■ US 49.9140 ■ JAPAN 0.4375 ■ UK 66.2459 ■ HK 6.3987 ■ SINGAPORE 36.5939 ■ AUSTRALIA 35.7085 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.2962 ■ EU 56.3379 ■ CHINA 7.8338

Source: BSP (December 22, 2021)

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BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 23, 2021

DOJ indicts former bank execs over loan charges

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News

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) Task Force on Financial Fraud (TFFF) has indicted the former consultant and directors of the closed San Francisco Del Monte Rural Bank Inc. for creation of fictitious loans, a criminal offense under Republic Act 3591, as amended, or the Charter of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., the PDIC said in a statement on Wednesday.

As the Statutory Receiver of the closed San Francisco Del Monte (SFDM) Rural Bank Inc., the PDIC took over the bank in November 2018.

Upon its review of the bank’s records, fictitious loans created by the respondents aggregating P25.88 million were discovered.

These fraudulent loans lacked borrowers’ signatures and related loan documents. Supposed borrowers also provided testimonies that they neither received nor benefitted from the purported loan proceeds.

In its Resolution dated May 26, 2021 in relation to NPS Docket XVI-INV-20L00458, the DOJ found enough evidence for the indictment.

Creation of fictitious loans is punishable by imprisonment of six to 12 years, or a fine of P50,000 to P10 million, or both, at the discretion of the court, under the PDIC Charter.

The PDIC said it remains relentless in its pursuit of justice against erring bank owners, officers, and unscrupulous parties who take advantage of the deposit insurance system for their gain.

The Corporation’s vigorous legal actions are crucial for protecting the interests of depositors, safeguarding the Deposit Insurance Fund; and deterring bank officials and individuals from abusing the deposit insurance system.

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BBM, Sara top Pulse Asia survey; Cayetano, Tulfo lead Senate bets

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ERDINAND MARCOS JR. and Sara Duterte are the first pick of the Filipinos for the top government posts in the 2022 elections, according to the recent poll by Pulse Asia Research Inc.

The nationwide survey revealed that 53 percent of the respondents are backing Marcos Jr., the only son of the late dictator.

In terms of geographic areas, the former lawmaker took the lead in Metro Manila (61 percent), the rest of Luzon (51 percent) and Mindanao (64 percent). Majority of those from classes ABC (53 percent) and D (54 percent) said they would vote for him, as well.

He also has significant backing from Visayans (42 percent) and those who are part of Class E (49 percent).

Following him is Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, with 20 percent of the respondents supporting her bid for the presidency.

Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso and Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao secured voter preference of 8 percent each while 6 percent said they will vote for Senator Pan-

filo Lacson.

Other presidentiables received “almost nil to 0.01 percent” voter preference.

Meanwhile, Domagoso arose as the alternative choice for the top government position.

“Should their original pick for president end up not pursuing his/her candidacy, 23 percent of those with a first choice for the post would instead vote for Manila Mayor Domagoso,” Pulse Asia noted.

VP race

FOR the vice presidential race, 45 percent of the surveyed Filipinos are in favor of Duterte.

She takes the lead in her turf with 82 percent of the Mindanaons backing her while some 45 percent in Metro Manila showed support.

Following her is Senate President Vicente Sotto III with 31 per-

FERDINAND MARCOS JR.

cent. Senator Francis Pangilinan secured the support of 12 percent of the respondents.

The rest of the vice presidential aspirants had single-digit voter preference. The respondents, meanwhile, chose Sotto as the top alternative choice for the position, in case their top preference does not pursue his/her candidacy.

For the senatorial race, Taguig City-Pateros Representative Alan

SARA DUTERTE

Cayetano is the most preferred, with 64.1 percent choosing him for the ballot. Following him are broadcaster Raff y Tulfo (60 percent) and Antique Representative Loren Legarda (58.7 percent).

The survey, conducted on December 1-6, has 2,400 respondents of at least 18 years of age. The study has a ± 2 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

UP History Dept raps BSP ditching of WW2 heroes in bank notes B B C @BcuaresmaBM

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HE University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Executive Committee and the UP Department of History expressed “grave concern” and “dismay” over the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) new 1000-piso banknote design.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the UP Executive Committee and Department of History said there should have been public consultation on replacing the three images of heroes on the 1000-piso bill with an illustration of the Philippine Eagle.

“We earnestly call on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to retain the images of our three heroes in the P1,000 bill, most especially in the new polymer bill,” the statement read.

“As our national anthem continues to grace even our most ordinary official celebrations as a constant reminder of our patriotic pledge to our country, our heroes by whose genuine sacrifices have enabled us to take our place in the community of nations and in world history should be equally honored and given their rightful place in the symbols of our nation,” it added.

Earlier this month, the BSP said it had reached an agreement with Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and its wholly owned subsidiary Note Printing Australia for the production of the local

1000-piso polymer banknotes.

The delivery of the first batch of 1000-piso polymer notes from Australia will be in April next year. It will then be circulated to the economy in mid-2022.

The BSP also released the design earlier this month of the polymer notes designed by the Central Bank and approved by the National Historical Institute (NHI). The design contained a clear fi lm feature, with an illustration of the Philippine eagle instead of the three hero heads that are currently in circulation.

“Jose Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes Escoda, and Gen. Vicente Lim defended our freedom and democracy in one of the darkest hours in Philippine history. They died fighting a foreign invader, steadfastly committed to their ideals and advocacies as proof of their unconditional love of country,” the UP statement read.

“The design of the current note pays homage to these three genuine World War II heroes who offered their lives for our country; by its continued use and display the currency design affirms the legacies of their heroism,” it added.

The polymer design has also faced resistance against the change from abaca-cotton material to polymer.

The decision did not sit well with the Philippine abaca sector, whose leaders wondered aloud why BSP was switching to plastic when abaca in bank notes had proven to be the best option.

PHL’s friends ready to help amid Odette’s destruction

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EADS of state and the international community have extended their condolences to President Duterte and to the Filipino people for the tremendous havoc brought by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) last week.

Pope Francis of Vatican City, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Xi Jinping of China, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Omani Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik, Kuwait Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Moon Jae-in were among the heads of state who showed their public sentiment toward the 2 million Filipino people who became homeless, powerless and were left with no communication, food and water.

“I express my closeness to the population of the Philippines, struck by a strong typhoon that has caused many deaths and destroyed so many homes. May the “Santo Niño” bring consolation and hope to the families of those most affected. #PrayTogether,” Pope Francis tweeted.

“My heart goes out to the people of the Philippines, whose lives have been forever changed by last week’s super typhoon. Canadians are sending our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones—and we’ll keep everyone affected in our thoughts during this challenging time,” Trudeau tweeted.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said President Xi Jinping “was shocked to learn” about the extent of the devastation on lives and properties.

“Xi, on behalf o the Chinese government and people as well as in his own name, expressed deep condolences to the victims of the disaster and extended sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured.”

Foreign ministries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)—Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar—as well as of the United States, Japan, France, Australia, Germany, South Korea, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Turkey and the European Union have also sent out collective and individual statements of solidarity.

Aside from statements of solidarity, foreign leaders and international organizations have also started pouring in help or pledges to those afflicted. Related story in “Envoys and Expats,” page B4.

“In an immediate response to typhoon Rai which caused wide-spread destruction and deplorable loss of lives in the Philippines, the EU stands by the Filipino people in these difficult times and has started to provide emergency relief actions to those affected in close cooperation with our humanitarian partners,” European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said in a statement.

In a tweet, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said, “The Philippines is grateful for offers of humanitarian assistance from friends, following the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette in the country.”

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who met with South Korean Ambassador Kim Inchul, reacted to the offer of the international community to the Philippines: “What makes the job worth doing is receiving such displays of generosity from true friends abroad. I said, I’ll let my people know because when there is nothing left, this is hope that will sustain them through a cruel Christmas before the humanitarian aid gets to them.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook has committed to help both the Philippines and Malaysia—which was also battered by Typhoon Rai. “Typhoon Rai has caused so much devastation in the Philippines and Malaysia—so many families have lost so much. Apple will be contributing to relief, recovery, and longer-term rebuilding efforts. #OdettePH,” the American billionaire tweeted.

Malou Talosig-Bartolome

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our parts localization program.”

In relation to this, Lachica said they are looking forward to opening a microelectronics wafer fab laboratory in a few years amid the shortage of the manufacturing input. “To protect the intellectual property, shorten the process lead time, and hopefully reduce the cost, we have...to put together a lab-scale wafer fab. And hopefully, in a couple of years, we can build that to support the IC [integrated circuit] design industry for proto-

typing needs,” he said.

As of end-September, total electronics exports surged by 17.28 percent to $34.12 billion—equivalent to more than 50 percent of total Philippine exports—from $29.09 billion year-on-year.

Among the electronics products, telecommunications saw the biggest growth of 83.9 percent to $394.91 million in the first nine months from last year’s $214.72 million in the same period.

This is followed by medical/ industrial instrumentation and consumer electronics, which rose

by 72.6 percent to $170.49 million and by 53.2 percent to $820.54 million, respectively. The top destinations for Philippine electronics exports are (in order) Hong Kong, the United States of America, China, Singapore and Japan.

This month, Seipi and its French counterpart ACSIEL Alliance Électronique sealed five business-tobusiness and university-to-university cooperation agreements to boost the level of business, education, research data and information exchanges between the countries.

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DPWH places typhoon infra damage at P585.8 million

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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HE damage to infrastructure after Typhoon “Odette” (international code name Rai) has reached P585.8 million, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) estimated on Wednesday.

In a media advisory, Public Works Secretary Roger G. Mercado said the amount is broken down into: P231.9million damage was recorded in Region 4B, P35.5 million in Region 6, P173.4 million in Region 8, and P145 million in Region 13.

He noted “other regions have yet to submit reports on estimated damage to roads, bridges, and floodcontrol structures.”

There are still 12 roads closed to traffic in four regions, but the public works agency has so reopened 34 roads to date. It has also released P100 million in immediate response funds for the clearing/response operations in Regions 6, 7, 8, 10, and 13.

Meanwhile, Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said the Philippine Coast Guard dispatched nine vessels to provide relief to Bohol, Surigao, Leyte, Palawan, and Cebu.

Five more vessels are being prepared to intensify relief operations.

These vessels will be deployed to Palawan, Negros Occidental, and Kalayaan Island.

SC chief to lower courts: No Christmas lights in sympathy to ‘Odette’ victims

By Joel R. San Juan

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@jrsanjuan1573

HE Supreme Court has directed lower courts nationwide to turn off their Christmas lights in solidarity with the provinces that are now suffering due to lack of electricity and other basic needs after being ravaged by Typhoon “Odette” (international code name Rai).

The Christmas lights, the High Court said, would remain shut until such time that power supply has been restored in all the areas.

In a news statement, the Court also expressed its sympathy to the Filipinos affected by the typhoon, which left close to 200 people dead and several hundreds injured.

“The Supreme Court has learned that many of the areas affected by Typhoon ‘Odette’ including Bohol, Siargao, Surigao del Norte, and Dinagat Islands will still be without power this Christmas,” the SC said.

“In sympathy and in the spirit of the season, the Justices have decided to turn off all Christmas lights in all courts nationwide and in their official residences in Baguio City until power supply is restored in the typhoonaffected areas,” the statement added.

SC Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo also announced the release of calamity assistance to court personnel affected by the strong typhoon.

“All the members of the Court have, on their own and as a group, made donations or helped out in their relief efforts,” the SC said.

“This is a season for compassion and kindness, for reaching out and sharing as much as we can to ease the suffering of others. Without empathy, there can be no justice,” it added.

Aside from monitoring their court personnel, the Chief Magistrate said they are checking on the conditions of those who volunteered to assist in the upcoming 2020/2021 Bar Examinations that are scheduled on four consecutive Sundays, on the dates January 16, 23, 30 and February 6.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, December 23, 2021 A3

Government allows booster shot for 19-M fully vaccinated adults

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By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla & Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

ROUND 19 million fully vaccinated adults may now get their Covid-19 booster shots, according to the National Vaccination Operation Center (NVOC).

This after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended last Tuesday the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of six Covid-19 vaccines brands so those who are fully vaccinated with the said jabs could get booster shots at an earlier date.

“With the shortened time period or the interval, we expect a lot will be due already for booster doses,” Kezia Lorraine Rosario of NOVC said in a television interview on Wednesday.

“Based on our data, around 19 million individuals are already due for booster/additional doses. So this has a very big impact on the operations on the ground,” she added.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said the amendment reduced the six months duration before a fully vaccinated individual can get his or her booster shot to just three months.

“We will now be able to fast track

the administration of booster doses using our vaccines,” Duque said during the public address of President Duterte last Tuesday.

“Following the amended Emergency Use Authorization for Covid-19 vaccine boosters, the Department of Health would like to inform the public that all adults, ages 18 and above, are now eligible to receive a single-dose booster of Covid-19 vaccine at least three months after the second dose of AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac or Sputnik vaccine, or at least two months after Janssen effective 22 December 2021,” the DOH in an advisory said.

Under the amended EUAs, those aged 18 and above are now eligible to receive a single-dose booster of Covid-19 vaccine at least three months after the second dose of AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, or Sputnik vaccine.

For those who received Janssen, they could get their booster shot af-

ter two months, when they got their initial jab.

DOH stressed the booster doses are still not recommended for those in the 12 to 17 years old age group.

The new booster shot policy took effect on December 22, 2021, after the guidelines for its implementation were disseminated to local government units (LGU).

Rosario said they are confident the LGUs will be able to cope with the expected increase in the number of people who would avail of booster shots since the government currently has 192 million available Covid-19 jabs.

She noted fully vaccinated individuals would be allowed to pick the brand to be used for their booster shot although she appealed to them to just get the brand, which is readily available in the vaccination centers.

National Task Force for Covid-19 chief Implementer Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said the administration of booster shots is part of the government’s ef-

forts to raise the country’s resistance against new variants of the Covidcausing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

As of December 21, 2021, Galvez said the government already administered over 101 million Covid-19 jabs.

Of which, 56,290,841 were used as the first dose, while 40,552,816 were used for the second dose.

Another 1,153,118 jabs were used as the third dose.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, for her part, said that all fully vaccinated adults 18 years old and above may receive booster doses.

“We are exploring all possible options to safely mitigate the effects of more transmissible variants of Covid-19. The approval came at an opportune time as several countries also re-strategized in light of the Omicron and other Covid-19 variants that may emerge,” added Duque.

Cimatu calls for vigilance to stem wildlife trade after arrest of 2 pangolin traffickers

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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EPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has appealed to the public to be more vigilant and help the government in its effort to curb illegal wildlife trade following the arrest of two suspected wildlife traffickers in Quezon City last week.

The suspects, Rowena Pindot and Joel Quimado, were arrested by the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) and AntiIllegal Logging Task Force (AILTF) after they tried to sell pangolins through social media for P75,000 each or P4,500 per kilogram.

Pangolin is the most trafficked animal in the world, topping elephant, tiger, and rhino. Pangolins are high in demand for their meat and scales. The Philippines has the Palawan Pangolin to protect against illegal wildlife traders that are targeting the endangered species.

In a news statement, Cimatu decried the continuous wildlife trafficking activities despite warnings that illegal trade can facilitate the transmission of zoonotic diseases, such as Covid-19.

Six live pangolins, consisting of five adult males and one adult female, were rescued and brought to the DENR-BMB’s Wildlife Rescue Center in Quezon City.

“The pandemic has spotlighted the

lethal consequences of illegal wildlife trade to our ecosystem and the public health risks associated with it. We will not tolerate these activities. We are assuring the public that reports provided to the DENR will be acted upon promptly,” Cimatu said.

P i ndot a nd Qu i m ado face charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Protection and Conservation Act of 2001.

Section 23 of RA 9147 states that collection of threatened wildlife, including the by-products and derivatives shall be allowed only for scientific, or breeding or propagation purposes, and provided that only accredited individuals, business, research, educational or scientific entities shall be allowed to collect for conservation breeding or propagation purposes.

Aside from illegal logging, AILTF Executive Director and DENR Undersecretary for Protected Areas and Special Concerns Edilberto D. Leonardo said they have been also tasked to enforce other environmental laws and run after violators engaged in illegal wildlife activities, illegal mining, including illegal discharge or dumping of waste in the air, land and water bodies.

The AILTF—created in 2011 by virtue of Executive Order (EO) 23 that declared a moratorium on the cutting and harvesting of timber in natural and residual forests—is mandated to enforce Section 68 of

Duterte places 6 regions under state of calamity

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RESIDENT Duterte has declared a state of calamity in six regions devastated by Typhoon Odette (international code name Rai).

During his public address on Monday, Duterte announced he opted to “sign” the said resolution of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to “hasten the rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts of the government and the private sector” in the typhoon-hit regions.

He also noted the measure will allow the government to impose price control on basic goods and commodities in the affected areas.

Amongtheareascoveredbydeclaration are Regions 4B, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 13.

Based on their initial reports, NDRRMC Executive Director and Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Ricardo B. Jalad said they were able to record 156 fatalities in

the aftermath of Typhoon Odette.

Bohol registered the most number of deaths with 68 and followed

by Cebu with 54. The common causes of deaths are drowning by flood, sailing despite warning, being hit by fallen tree, being trapped in debris/collapsed structures, and due to landslide.

They also registered 37 people who are missing in the aftermath of the typhoon and 275 others who were injured because of it.

Jalad also reported typhoon Odette affected 1.13 million in 3,238 barangays.

He said the latest calamity to hit the country also caused an estimated P225,307,000 worth of damages to infrastructures and another over P200 million estimated damages to agriculture.

Jalad noted the said figures are not final and subject to validation by the NDRRMC.

Presidential Decree 705, as amended by RA 7161 or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines, which criminalizes the gathering and/or collecting timber or other products without a license.

President Duterte directed the revival of the AILTF on January 30, 2021, in the wake of widespread

flooding caused by Typhoon Ulysses in November 2020.

Leonardo said the AILTF has already launched 46 operations since its first operation in July, leading to the arrest of 61 individuals and the confiscation of some P10 million worth of undocumented forest products, including banned wildlife

species and some P3 million worth of fossilized clamshells (Tridacna gigas), locally called “taklobo.”

The AILTF is composed of personnel from the DENR, Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, and Armed Forces of the Philippines.

A4 Thursday, December 23, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DA bans Belgian poultry imports

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Philippines has slapped a temporary import ban on poultry products from Belgium after the European country confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu.

The Philippines imposes a temporary import ban on countries that have confirmed bird flu outbreaks to prevent the entry of the disease in the country to protect domestic poultry population.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued Memorandum Order (MO) 78 that authorized the imposition of the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products (poultry meat, day old chick, eggs and semen) from Belgium.

“There is a need to prevent the entry of HPAI virus to protect the health of the local poultry population,” Dar said in the MO released recently to the public.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Belgium officially reported to the World Organisation for Ani-

mal Health (OIE) last December 9 its outbreak of H5N1 HPAI in Alveringem and Ravels, Vlaanderen. Citing Belgium’s report, DA noted that the outbreak affected domestic birds as confirmed by the European country’s national laboratory.

Belgium joins the growing list of European countries that are temporarily banned to export poultry products to the Philippines due to bird flu outbreaks. The Philippines has earlier banned poultry imports from Hungary and Netherlands.

The temporary import ban on Belgian poultry products puts another supply pressure on the domestic meat processing industry as the European country is one of its top sources of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) chicken. Chicken MDM is a vital raw material used

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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by meat processors in manufacturing various goods like meat loaves, hot dogs, among others.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed that the country’s chicken meat imports from Belgium from January to November has reached 54,238.362 metric tons, with the bulk of it or about

49,103.532 MT being chicken MDM. BAI data showed that Belgium is the country’s third biggest supplier of chicken meat products this year.

With the temporary import ban in place, the government has immediately suspended the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosani-

tary import clearance (SPS-IC) for Belgian poultry products.

“All shipments in transit/loaded/ accepted unto port before the official communication of this order to the Belgian authorities shall be allowed provided the products were slaughtered/produced before November 19, 2021,” Dar said.

Lawmaker proposes ‘advance’ payment of GOCC dividends

T

O help fund the rehabilitation of provinces ravaged

by Typhoon “Odette” (international code name Rai), a senior lawmaker on Wednesday said the government could require 57 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) for advance

dividend payments.

In a news statement, House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability Vice Chairman Johnny Pimentel of Surigao del Sur said the Palace could ask GOCCs to “pay in advance” a portion of their cash dividends due for remittance

DOLE chief allots P100M to employ informal workers in calamity areas

to the National Treasury out of their net profits this year.

Citing records of the Department of Finance, Pimentel said a total of 57 GOCCs paid an aggregate of P157 billion in cash dividends to the treasury in 2020.

The top 15 dividend contribu-

tors were the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (P40.53 billion); Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (P17.98 billion); Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (P17 billion); Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (P12 billion); Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (P6 billion).

Manila International Airport Authority (P6 billion); Philippine Ports Aut hor it y (P5.05 billion); Philippine National Oil Co. (P5 billion); Philippine Reclamation Aut hor it y (P4.4 bi llion); National Power Corp. (P4 billion).

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (P2.27 billion); PNOC Exploration Cor p. (P2 billion); Philippine Economic Z one Authority (P2 billion); Bases Conversion and Development Authority (P1.17 billion); and Clark Development Corp. (P1.13 billion).

“There’s no question the government w i l l need a lot of additional funding to reconstruct mangled public infrastructure such as

farm-to-market roads, irrigation systems, bridges, and school buildings,” said Pimentel, whose home province is one of the several that are now under a state of calamity after sustaining heavy damage from the catastrophic late-season storm.

“The government will also have to extend cash aid to affected families to help them rebuild their homes and livelihood,” he added.

Higher dividend yield

MEANWHILE, Pimentel backed House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco’s bill seeking to compel all covered GOCCs to declare up to 75 percent of their annual net profits as cash dividends payable to the treasury, up from 50 percent as mandated by a 28-year-old law.

“Our estimate is that the bill, once enacted, can easily provide the government an extra P80 billion in recurring dividend income every year, possibly more once the economy has fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Pimentel said.

Under House Bill 9349, covered GOCCs may also be obliged to declare additional cash dividends out of their accumulated earnings.

The bill, which is currently pending before the House Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization, seeks to amend Republic Act 7656, entitled “An Act Requiring Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations to Declare Dividends Under Certain Conditions to the National Government, and for Other Purposes.”

“There’s really no need for GOCCs to pile up a lot of retained earnings, unless they have specific high-value economic projects for which they have appropriated some capital spending,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel noted that some of the best-managed private corporations listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange are already distributing up to 75 percent of their prior year’s net earnings as cash dividends to shareholders.

Allowing covered GOCCs to amass too much of their earnings would only encourage wastefulness, Pimentel said.

“For instance, there are GOCCs still spending millions of pesos for public relations and advertising, and yet they are virtual monopolies in the markets that they serve, so there’s really no need for them to promote their products and services,” Pimentel said. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has allocated around P100 million to provide emergency employment in areas devastated by Typhoon “Odette” (international code name Rai).

In a news statement issued on Wednesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the amount is expected to benefit 25,000 informal sector workers under DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

DOLE Financial and Management Service (FMS) Director Warren M. Miclat said Regions 8, 10 and 13 would each get P20 million for their TUPAD implementation.

Region 7, he said will get P26 million for its TUPAD funds.

“We already identified the TUPAD fund. Initially, it will be P86 million sub-allotted to Regions 7, 8, 10, and 13,” Miclat told the BusinessMirror in a text message.

Under the TUPAD program, he said, the beneficiaries will be provided emergency employment for 10 days.

Each of the participants of the program will be paid the prevailing minimum wage in their region in exchange for their services.

They will be tasked to help in clearing, declogging of canals, debris segregation, materials recovery, and other activities needed in the rehabilitation of their communities.

“Through this engagement, they will not only earn money but also help rebuild their lives and locality,” Bello added.

Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) Director Ma. Karina P. Trayvilla said they have already initiated the necessary profiling in the areas hit by Odette to select the qualified beneficiaries.

“This is what we implement every time there is a calamity, typhoon, and disasters, including human-made calamities,” Trayvilla said.

BBM-Sara UniTeam eyes more Ro-Ro routes to fast-track disaster response

W

ANTING to avoid the problems that confronted first responders and rescuers who were stymied by lack of available transport systems shortly after Typhoon Odette’s onslaught, the BBM-Sara UniTeam is eyeing the expansion of the country’s Roll-On/Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) terminal system to expedite response time in calamity-hit areas.

Former Senator and presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that given the country’s archipelagic structure, the Philippines would require an effective means of distribution for disasterrelated concerns such as delivery of relief goods and heavy equipment.

“The country’s unique archipelagic layout is a challenge when it comes to disaster response. Island municipalities can be easily isolated for days, with help only being sent via airdrops and only in small quantities.

We believe that by having more RoRo routes, we can send help faster to these affected communities,” the tandem said.

Also called the Philippine Nautical Highway System, Ro-Ro is a network of highways and ferry routes connecting the major islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

It was first opened to the public in 2003 during the term of then-President Gloria MacapagalArroyo.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

MMDA water purification team sent to S. Leyte

BARMM sets up Islamic banking-type microfinancing for small businesses

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

M

ETROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. has ordered the deployment of a water purification team in Southern Leyte amid reports that the province is facing a critical shortage in potable water following the onslaught of Typhoon “Odette” (international code name Rai).

“Our top priority is to provide relief for the typhoon victims. I hope they will be able to rebuild and recover from the severe damage inflicted

by Odette,” Abalos said.

According to Abalos, 3,639 gallons of drinking water were delivered to Barangay Combado and 1,215 gallons to Barangay Lib-og in Maasin City.

Meanwhile, a total of 8,428 gallons were distributed in Barangay Magallanes in the Municipality of Limasawa.

Abalos said the MMDA team conducted clearing operations in barangays Hantag, Malapoc Sur, Matin-ao Sur, Matin-ao Norte in Maasin City; Barangays Pangi and Taa in the Municipality of Bontoc; Barangay Libas in the Municipality of Leyte; and Barangay Union in the Municipality of Mahaplag.

For his part, Atty. Victor Pablo Trinidad, MMDA Metropolitan Public Safety Office head, assured that they are in constant coordination with the representatives from Leyte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Department of Health for any urgent concerns.

Thursday, December 23, 2021 A5

D

AVAO CIT Y—A microfinancing program for small businesses would set apart the Bangsamoro Region from existing loan practices with its non-collateral and shared risk features.

The microfinancing program is contained in Parliament Bill 164, or the Bangsamoro Microfinancing Act of 2021, which seeks to provide an affordable, accessible, simple, and responsive microfinancing program for

the region’s micro enterprises, especially those in the poorest populations.

Member of Parliament Amilbahar Mawallil filed the bill for the micro and small-scale enterprises in the region on Tuesday.

The bill adapted the principles of Islamic financing, he said, such as risk-sharing and equitable distribution of wealth “in the conduct of financing operations consistent with the principles of Shari’ah law.”

He said promoting and developing Islamic financing for micro and small-scale enterprises would help the Bangsamoro government’s ef-

forts to encourage and support the building of entrepreneurial capability in the region.

Under the proposed measure, beneficiaries of the Bangsamoro Microfinancing Program (BMP) are micro, cottage, and small enterprises, as defined under Republic Act No. 6977, or the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.

The BMP would be available through accredited partner financial institutions, such as rural banks, cooperatives with lending licenses, microfinancing institutions, or lending companies duly licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Cooperative Develop-

ment Authority, or the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He said the features of the Bangsamoro Microfinance Program are:

The concept of risk-sharing (Mudarabah), wherein the PFI shares in the profit and loss of the enterprise it underwrites;

The avoidance of any ambiguity and deception (Gharar) that may come from contract or agreement relative to financing transactions pursued under this Act;

No interest rate shall be imposed on the loan availed of;

It shall not extend to individuals or enterprises who are engaged

in activities, which are considered as haram or forbidden, such as producing or selling alocohol or pork;

There shall be no collateral requirements; and

The loanable amount for individual loans shall be set and regularly reviewed by the Bangsamoro Parliament in an annual report on the status of the BMP. “The enactment of this bill will help create an environment conducive to the development and growth of vibrant regional enterprises and will act as a catalyst for intensified private sector activity to accelerate and sustain regional economic growth,” Mawallil said.

DOH logs addl 261 Covid cases; Bishop Bacani collapses total infections reach 2,837,784 during Mass, recovering

T

HE Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday logged 261 additional Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 2,837,784.

There were also 395 recoveries and 122 deaths.

DOH said two laboratories were not operational on December 20, 2021, while 12 laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System.

Based on data gathered in the last 14 days, the 14 labs contribute, on average, 2.8 percent of samples tested and 2.3 percent of positive individuals.

Of the 261 reported cases, 247 (95 percent) occurred within the

recent 14 days (December 9-December 22, 2021).

The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were National Capital Region with 74 or 30 percent, Region 4-A with 32 or 13 percent and 20 from Region 3 or 8 percent.

Of the 122 deaths, 15 occurred in December 2021 (12 percent), 17 in November 2021 (14 percent), 39 in October 2021 (32 percent), 27 in September 2021 (22 percent), 10 in August 2021 (8 percent) 5 in July 2021 (4 percent), 2 in June 2021 (2 percent), 1 in May 2021 (1 percent), 2 in April 2021 (2 percent), 1 in August 2020 (1 percent), 2 in July 2020 (2 percent), and 1 in April 2020 (1 percent) due to late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya.

“This issue is currently being coordinated with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Units to ensure information is up to date,” DOH explained.

Of the total number of cases, 0.3 percent (9,238) are active, 97.9 percent (2,777,630) have recovered, and 1.79 percent (50,916) have died.

Four duplicates were removed from the total case count. These four are recoveries.

In addition, 192 cases were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count.

Of these, 189 are recoveries.

Moreover, 113 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

N

OVALICHES Bishop Emeritus Teodoro C. Bacani Jr. assured he is in good condition after he collapsed during a mass, which he celebrated last Monday.

Bacani was holding the consecrated Host and saying “Body of Christ” when the incident transpired while it was being live streamed for El Shaddai’s DWXI radio.

Despite the ordeal, the 81-yearold prelate was still able to complete the mass while seated.

Bacani, who appeared to be amused with the incident, explained he felt his knees

buckling down, which he attributed to the hunger he felt at that time.

“I would like to apologize, my knees gave way,” Bacani said.

“Last night (December 20, 2021), I drank only soup and I was not able to eat dinner. That is why I must have felt hungry,” he explained.

During his homily, Bacani reiterated the importance of celebrating Christmas despite the current challenges, including the pandemic.

He noted the annual religious event celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ serves as a reminder of God’s continued presence in the lives of the faithful in both good and bad times.

Tuguegarao Cebu still reeling from poor telco services five days after ‘Odette’ farmers get T machinery from DAR

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Wednesday turned over a delivery truck and various farm equipment worth P1.1 million to a group of farmers in the Province of Cagayan.

The beneficiaries belong to the Nabbotoan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

A memorandum of agreement to seal the implementation of the project was signed between Cagayan Valley Regional Director Samuel Solomero, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer II Val Cristobal, and Nabbotoan Farmers MPC Chairperson Wilson Obiar of Solana, Cagayan.

Solomero said the machinery was provided to improve the agricultural productivity of the cooperative and its members.

“The DAR is doubling its effort to pursue progress in the countryside and we could achieve this by improving the productions of our farmers,” Solomero said in a news statement.

The delivery truck and farm equipment were implemented under DAR’s Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets and Microfinance (LinkSFarMM), innovative program of DAR to make smallholder farmers increase agricultural productivity and effectively manage their agricultural production by applying a value chain process.

Obiar expressed his gratitude for the support project they received from DAR, as it would help them boost their farming activities.

E L E C O M M U N I C AT I O N services in Cebu province remain to be very erratic five days after typhoon “Odette” (international code name Rai), leaving poor connectivity from existing cell sites.

Kenneth Cobonpue, chairperson of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 (Central Visayas), said a “big factor hindering full reactivation of telco services remains to be the lack of adequate power supply and fallen debris preventing telco personnel from accessing certain cell sites.”

“It is hoped that as power supply resumes and more roads are cleared, this will enable the telco companies to expedite further the full resumption of mobile services in all areas of Cebu in the coming days or weeks,” Cobonpue told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in a Viber message.

He said PLDT and Smart reported that as of 2 p.m. on December 21, only 49 percent of wireless 4G subscribers have been activated, while 69 percent of PLDT DSL connections are still down until now.

However, he said, progress has been achieved concerning Smart wireless 3G connections, with 63 percent now reactivated, while 77 percent of PLDT Fiber-to-theHome (FTTH) connections are already available.

To help expedite the reactivation of their mobile services, Cobonpue said PLDT has flown in additional reinforcement teams and satellite equipment from Manila to provide additional support for some areas in Cebu with severely damaged equipment.

The RDC-7 chair said Globe Telecom is also providing free Wi-FI connections in select malls and government offices.

Power update

COBONPUE said several areas in

Cebu are slowly being reenergized with alternative power sources of power and supplied through the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

In northern Cebu, 10 areas have been energized by the Cebu Electric Cooperative II, while the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) has reenergized 64 out of 544 power line segments, providing power to 2,484 units in Cebu, of which 2,190 are residences and the rest are establishments.

The Project Balik Buhay, a private sector initiative organized in 2020 during the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, commended the Aboitiz Power for sending additional reinforcement teams from the Cotabato Light and Power Company on top of the reinforcement teams from the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco).

The reinforcement teams were deployed to help augment the already exhausted teams from VECO that have been working non-stop since Friday to expedite the repair and reconnection of the damaged electric posts.

Airport service back

THE Mactan Electric Company has repaired several damaged electric posts and energized some substations in Mactan Island, including the airport substation, with Terminal 1 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport now starting to receive power supply. ������������������������������� Although power is back to energize Terminal 1, Cobonpue said not all equipment is fully functioning just yet, including the air-conditioning units.

“Similarly, as Internet connection resumes, PAL (Philippine Airlines), Cebu Pacific, and Air Asia check-in systems have now been

reactivated. Unfortunately, while some Wi-Fi connection in the airport has slowly recovered, speed is sometimes affected by the deluge of usage by many of the waiting passengers,” he added.

He said international arrivals are scheduled to partially resume by Thursday, but with certain restrictions as the volume of passengers would need to be managed to avoid crowding at the airport.

The availability of hotel rooms is also put into consideration in the resumption of flights in Cebu.

However, international departures already commenced on Tuesday, Cobonpue said.

In its advisory as of noon Wednesday, VECO said it has energized 4,175 out of the 474,182 affected clients, and restored 93 or 17.1 percent out of the 544 power line segments, within its franchise area.

“Restoration is taking longer in areas where Visayan Electric’s distribution facilities sustained heavy damage, such as toppled poles, downed wires, and damaged transformers. Our linemen from Visayan Electric, together with the engineers and crews from various distribution utilities from all over the country, have been working round the clock to clear lines and restore power at the soonest and safest time,” the advisory read.

The power distribution firm covering Metro Cebu asked for continued “patience in these trying times” from the consumers.

Fuel woes solved

GOVERNOR Gwendolyn Garcia has ordered that fuel be loaded directly to vehicle tanks effective Wednesday to prevent people here from hoarding, as many are scrambling to source the commodity.

Establishments and residential houses that have generators will be exempted.

This measure intends to stop

hoarding, reselling, or black-marketing of fuel here, after the onslaught of “Odette.”

Garcia on Tuesday met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, representatives of major oil companies such as Shell and Petron, Topline, independent tankers, and the Cebu Contractors Association at the Capitol to address fuel woes in the aftermath of the typhoon.

Long lines at gas stations have been observed around the province and Metro Cebu, which have re-

sulted in heavy traffic.

Garcia issued an executive order on the matter while Rama is also expected to issue a directive to gas stations in Cebu City.

They agreed that hotels and major establishments could buy up to 200 liters of fuel for their generator sets but they must present their business permits. For residential houses that have generator sets, owners could load up to 10 liters of fuel in containers, provided they show pictures of their units as proof. PNA

A6

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION QUALIFICATION AND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION SALARY RANGE ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f To 10/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D., Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street, Tambo, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: ANDI Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 1.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: HA PHUONG LINH UYEN Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 2.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: HUANG, HAIQING Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 3.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: LI, JIE Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 4.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: MA, QIANG Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 5.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: PANG, XIZHOU Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 6.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: TRUONG MINH THONG Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 7.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: XU, QINGGEN Able to speak, read and Chinese Customer Service write Chinese language 8.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 BLOOMBERRY RESORTS AND HOTELS INC. Solaire Resort And Casino, 1 Asean Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: CHENG HUEY SHY Proven professional Host, Premium Services - China/sea experience 9.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Providing high quality services to gaming customers Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: CHO, SOYEON Proven professional Host, Premium Services - Korea experience 10.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Providing high quality services to gaming customers Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 BLUESKY INVESTMENTS HOLDING INC. Suite 2802 Discovery Center, 25 Adb Avenue, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig Basic Qualification: KWONG, KAI HONG College graduate, 1 year Accounting Supervisor-mandarin Speaking experience to the related 11. field Brief Job Description: Great in accounting and with management skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: LEE CHONG YEE College graduate, 1 year Accounting Supervisor-mandarin Speaking experience to the related 12. field Brief Job Description: Great in accounting and management skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: HSU, HSIU-TZU College graduate, 1 year Customer Service Representative experience to the related 13. field Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to customer inquiries Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: CHEUNG, TSZ KIN College graduate, 1 year Marketing Supervisor-mandarin Speaking experience to the related 14. field Brief Job Description: Identifying emerging markets and market shifts Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: KWONG, YUEN YEE College graduate, 1 year Marketing Supervisor-mandarin Speaking experience to the related 15. field Brief Job Description: Identifying emerging markets and market shifts Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: YEUNG, KEI SHUN College graduate, 1 year Marketing Supervisor-mandarin Speaking experience to the related 16. field Brief Job Description: Identifying emerging markets and market shifts Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 BON JIN LENDING INC. Units A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: ZHANG, YOUNIU Know how to speak Marketing Staff – Mandarin Speaking Mandarin and proficient 17. with computers Brief Job Description: Cooperating with Chinese clients, and workers. Also Salary Range: studying current market trends Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 CATHAY UNITED BANK CO., LTD. MANILA BRANCH U/1 15/f Tower 6789, Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree major HUANG, TING-KAI a.k.a. OSCAR in any business related Assistant Relationship Manager course, at least 1 year working experience in 18.

Brief Job Description: the international banking Assist the relationship manager (RM) in undertaking industry account management activities such as handling account opening, prospecting of potential markets, etc.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 COSMOLINK GLOBAL SOLUTIONS INC. Flr. No. 6th, 7th & 8th Bldg., No. 100 Necc Bldg., Andrews Ave. St. Newport City Subd., District 1, Barangay 183, Pasay City Basic Qualification: Fluent in speaking, writing LI, LIANDONG and reading (mandarin, Customer Service Representative Fukien & Cantonese) At least college graduate 19.

Brief Job Description: 2-3years work experience Interacting w/ customers via email, assists w/ or fresh graduates complaints, orders, and other queries.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 No.

BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 23, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION NIU, DONGSHENG Customer Service Representative

20.

Brief Job Description: Interacting w/ customers via email, assists w/ complaints, orders, and other queries.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in speaking, writing and reading (mandarin, Fukien & Cantonese) At least college graduate 2-3years work experience or fresh graduates 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 Basic Qualification: XU, ZHI With atleast 6 months Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk customer service experience/Good in oral 21.

Brief Job Description: communication and written Assist/Help customers, Give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: ZHANG, RONG With atleast 6 months Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk customer service experience/Good in oral 22.

Brief Job Description: communication and written Assist/Help customers, Give customers information about product and services 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 Basic Qualification: XIE, HAO With atleast 6 months Chinese Speaking Admin Associate customer service experience? Good in oral 23.

Brief Job Description: communication written Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: XUE, YI With atleast 6 months Chinese Speaking Admin Associate customer service experience? Good in oral 24.

Brief Job Description: communication written Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: YANG, FAN With at least 6 months Chinese Speaking Admin Associate customer service experience/ Good in oral 25.

Brief Job Description: communication and written Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: ZHANG, FAN With atleast 6 months Chinese Speaking Admin Associate customer service experience? Good in oral 26.

Brief Job Description: communication written Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: LIANG, XUAN With at least 6 months Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate customer service experience/ Good in oral 27.

Brief Job Description: communication and written Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: WU, LIUXIAN With atleast 6 months Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate customer service experience? Good in oral 28.

Brief Job Description: communication written Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: ZHI, HAITAO With atleast 6 months Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate customer service experience? Good in oral 29.

Brief Job Description: communication written Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. 4th-11th Floor Aseana 3 Building, Aseana Avenue Corner Diosdado Macapagal, Tambo, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: HAN THI THAM College graduate/level and Customer Service Representative Fluent in Mandarin/Basic 30.

English Brief Job Description: Customer Service Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: LE DUC HIEN College graduate/level and Customer Service Representative Fluent in Mandarin/Basic 31.

English Brief Job Description: Customer Service Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: NGUYEN NGOC QUE TRAN College Graduate/Level and Customer Service Representative Fluent in Mandarin/Basic 32.

English Brief Job Description: Customer Service Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES PHILS. INC. U-5302, 53/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Cor., V.a. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati MA, ZIHAO Basic Qualification: Assistant Channel Manager For Huawei Philippines 1. Has work experience Device Team in Sales Management. 2.

With good interpersonal Brief Job Description: skills. 3. With good business 1. In charge of retailers and their business plan. 2. In 33. negotiation skills. 4. charge of new product releasing project for the clients, Proficient in Chinese and and to align with other departments in execution plan.

English language 3. Responsible for collection of market information and analysis preparation. 4. In charge of with the Salary Range: implementation and localization of sell-in, sell out and Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 inventory management of clients.

Basic Qualification: 1. With at least 5 year experience as head of CHENG, YI business & delivery from Delivery & Service Vice President For Huawei a telecommunication Philippines company. 2. Must be proficient in using Brief Job Description: the Huawei project 1. Develops the service business plan and service 34. management software ISDP. model of Huawei Philippines. 2. Responsible for Huawei 3. Has obtained the level-5 Philippines’ operation objectives and market success qualification certificate of the delivery and service business. 3. In-charge of of Huawei PMI. 4. Highly the business scenario solutions business department, proficient in Chinese and and responsible for the competitiveness, customer English language satisfaction, and business success of business solutions Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION CHEN, QUNFENG Product Advisory Manager For Core Network Expansion Project

35.

Brief Job Description: 1. Understanding the Core Network and implementation. 2. In-charge with Customer Core Network planning and guidance. 3. Responsible for project planning and implementation of the organization and identify different domain products. 4.

In-charge with project solution and presentation with customers.

TIAN, DONG Solution Design Manager For Core Network Expansion Project 36.

Brief Job Description: 1. Identifies problems of telecom carriers’ living networks and optimize efficiency. 2. Monitor carriers’ requirements and customize solutions.3.

Assist the telecom carrier’s build networks, upgrade, reconstruction, evolution plans. 4. Design 5G networks and Core network for telecom carriers.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: 1. With 2 year work experience in Core Network products pre-sales activities. 2. With skills in Core Network planning and 5g Core product planning. 3.

Must be have a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Information Science and Technology. 4. Highly proficient in Chinese and English language.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 Basic Qualification: 1. With at least 5 years’ experience in R&D, design and development of the products. 2. With intensive understanding of telecom technologies and IT technical principles.

3. Preferably a Solution Architect with experience in R&D and pre-sales support. 4. Highly proficient in Chinese and English language.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 HUBEI SHUIZONG WATER RESOURCES AND HYDROPOWER CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD. PHILIPPINES BRANCH OFFICE Unit A & B, 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Project LYU, GUOJIANG Supervisor, Familiarity, Mandarin Project Supervisor knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Brief Job Description: 37.

Equipment use by company, The Mandarin Project Supervisor will be strategist and a Demonstrable experience leader able to steer the company to the most profitable in developing strategic direction while also implementing its vision, mission business plan. and long term goal.

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

INGRAM MICRO PHILIPPINES BPO LLC. 12th Floor Three World Square, Mckinley Hill Cyber Plaza, Bgc, City Of Taguig Basic Qualification: Formal education or training required; such as degrees, courses LAZARUS, SHARON of study, certification Principal, Project Management (rpa Practice Lead) preferred; At least 10 years overall experience.

Brief Job Description: With preference for The Principal, Project Management (RPA Practice Lead) those with minimum 10 38. is dedicated resource responsible in leading, managing years in Business/System and delivering Transformation Practice that will help Analysis for Technology both local and in Country stakeholders to effectively Products and combined innovate operations and its impact to Ingram Micro’s with at least 5 years Project business.

Leader for Enterprise wide Transformation.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS CO. LTD. - MANILA REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE Unit 804 8/f Ermita Center Bldg., 1350 Roxas Blvd. 072, Barangay 668, Ermita, City Of Manila Basic Qualification: Must be a Bachelor’s degree holder, at least 5 years’ experience in a YAMADA, SHOZO similar role in international Chief Representative freight forwarding proven 39. experience with business or Brief Job Description: corporate strategy, business Conduct strategic planning and provide leadership for operations, fluent in English the business endeavors of the Company and Japanese languages Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

KING-MERCHANT BUSINESS TRADING INCORPORATED Unit 2505-f, The Finance Centre 26th St., Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig Basic Qualification: CHU, HONGTAO Proficient in speaking, Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist reading and writing in 40. mandarin Brief Job Description: Conducting research and marketing strategies to Salary Range: develop areas of the business Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 LUFTHANSA TECHNIK PHILIPPINES, INC. Macroasia Special Economic Zone, Villamore Airbase, ., Pasay City Basic Qualification: MALINA, MATTHIAS MBA. 10 years of proven Vice President senior leadership experience & track record 41.

Brief Job Description: in aviation Directs the overall accomplishment of customer’s base maintenance requirements; responsible for financial Salary Range: planning Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower, C4 Rd. Edsa Ext., Brgy. 076, Pasay City Basic Qualification: BUI QUANG HIEU Able to speak, Read, and Chinese Customer Service Write chinese language 42.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: BUI THI OANH Able to speak, Read, and Chinese Customer Service Write chinese language 43.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: BUI VAN NGO Able to speak, Read, and Chinese Customer Service Write chinese language 44.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: CAO XUAN HIEU Able to speak, Read, and Chinese Customer Service Write chinese language 45.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

46.

47.

CHEN KUEY HANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CHU MANH GIOI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

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NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION CHU VAN BINH Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DAM VAN SANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DANG THI TRANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DAO THI HOAI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DICH CHOI XUAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DO THI HOA Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries HU, BIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LE THI THAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LI, DAYUAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LIANG, JIANHUA Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LIU, SHENGFU Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LUONG THI TRANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NGO THI LINH Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NGUYEN DINH KHANH Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NGUYEN THI BICH LOAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NGUYEN THI HONG LINH Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NGUYEN VAN DONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NGUYEN VAN TUAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NIM HY LONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries PENG, LONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries PHAM VIET BINH Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries SUN, LI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries TRAN THI THAM Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires TRAN THU HUONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires WANG, BOJUN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires WANG, YUSHENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WU, BANGPIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries XIONG, FAYANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION ZHANG, TAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CUI, XIANFENG Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries XIE, WEI Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHAO, YONG Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language LUO, XIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

91.

Brief Job Description: Resolve non-confirming issues research and resolve daily shortage root cause support materials transfer including integrated supplier program

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate level and fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English language both in written and verbal, must have college level. Good in math and science Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SOLIDLEISURE SOLUTIONS INC. Unit 2602-d & 2603-a West Tower, Psec Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig CHEN, XIAOQIANG Mandarin Team Leader 92.

Brief Job Description: Maintain and Drive Program Knowledge for self and Team

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking , Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SOMI UNLIMITED SOLUTIONS, INC. 10/f Tower 2 Double Dragon Plaza Bldg., Edsa Corner Macapagal Ave. St., Zone 10. Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City DINH THI PHUONG NGOC Vietnamese Customer Service Representative 93.

94.

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering products and service questions; Suggesting information about other products and services HO BAO LONG Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering products and service questions; Suggesting information about other products and services

A7

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAVEGAR PHILIPPINES, INC. U-6&7 5/f Zuellig Bldg., Makati Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas, Urdaneta, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: LIAO, HAO-MIN Competent and Senior Associate knowledgeable in the field of equity deals covering the 81.

Brief Job Description: investment structure.

Identifying and sourcing potential investments for the company and leading private equity.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 NEO INCORPORATED North Tower Centrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: HU, MENG With at least 6 months Chinese Speaking Admin Associate customer service experience/ Good in oral 82.

Brief Job Description: communication and written Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: LI, XIAOLIANG With at least 6 months Chinese Speaking Admin Associate customer service experience/ Good in oral 83.

Brief Job Description: communication and written Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: WU, JINGGANG With at least 6 months Chinese Speaking Admin Associate customer service experience/ Good in oral 84.

Brief Job Description: communication and written Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 NOCMAKATI, INC. 8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18 & 19 Floors, Century Diamond Center, Kalayaan Ave. Cor. Salamanca St. Poblacion, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: CHEONG YUING YIING Fluent in Mandarin and Chinese Customer Service Representative English 85.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing calls and customer services Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: SY SAM MUI Fluent in Mandarin and Chinese Customer Service Representative English 86.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Managing calls and customer services Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 PALEO PET PHILIPPINES INC. 31-c, Presidents Avenue, Bf Homes, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: LEE, MATTHEW Bachelor’s degree in Chief Product Officer business, marketing, 87. accounting or related field Brief Job Description: Being in charge of, but not limited to the manufacturing Salary Range: process, aligning product strategy Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 PHILIPPINE LHJ INC. 888, Unit 7 Warehouse, Marcos Alvarez Ave., Talon Singko, City Of Las Piñas Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a JIANG, ZHIQIANG Mandarin Sales Supervisor, Mandarin Sales Supervisor Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery Brief Job Description: and Heavy Equipment use 88.

The Mandarin Sales Supervisor will be strategist and a by company, Demonstrable leader able to steer the company to the most profitable experience in developing direction while also implementing its vision, mission strategic business plan. and long term goal.

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 Basic Qualification: XU, YONGGUI Can speak, write, type Mandarin Qa/qc Engineer (Construction) in Mandarin language.

Technical skills in software 89.

Brief Job Description: as stated above.

Responsible for the overall integration, troubleshooting and acceptance of the assigned site. Undertale site Salary Range: construction management.

Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 SHANGHAI ELECTRIC POWER CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINE CORPORATION Unit 2703-d, 27/f West Tower, Psec Exchange Road, Ortigas Ctr., City Of Pasig Basic Qualification: PENG, BO Fluent in Mandarin and Powerplant Materials Handling Supervisor English language both in written and verbal, must 90.

Brief Job Description: have college level. Good in Resolve non-confirming issues research and resolve math and science daily shortage root cause support materials transfer including integrated supplier program Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 XU, MAN Powerplant Materials Handling Supervisor

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese (verbal & written skills)

No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

HO THI LINH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative 95.

96.

97.

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Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering products and service questions; Suggesting information about other products and services NGUYEN VAN TIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering products and service questions; Suggesting information about other products and services TRAN CHI THANH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering products and service questions; Suggesting information about other products and services TRAN THI KIM TIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering products and service questions; Suggesting information about other products and services VO VAN HAI Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

99.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese (verbal & written skills) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese (verbal & written skills) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese (verbal & written skills) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese (verbal & written skills) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese (verbal & written skills)

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering products and Salary Range: service questions; Suggesting information about other Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 products and services SURESTE PROPERTIES INC. The Executive Offices, Solaire Resort & Casino, 1 Asean Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: KIM, EUNSOL Proven professional Supervisor, VIP F&B International (Korean) experience in the related 100. field.

Brief Job Description: Assist and supports the management team.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 SYKES ROHQ 10/f Glorietta 1, Bpo Office Tower, Ayala Center, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: BS/BA in information Technology, Engineering or SCYNER, TIMOTHY ANDREW security related field; CISSP, Director, Regional Security, Apac RHCE, MCSE, CCNA, RHCE or SANS GIAC certifications 101.

Brief Job Description: desired 5 years as a Responsible for all aspects of physical and logical manager of some form of (data) security across the Asia Pacific region of SYKES security discipline; 5 years infrastructure. as a security practitioner.

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

TELEHEALTH SOLUTIONS INC. Unit 604, The Infinity Tower, 26th Street Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig KWANDEE, ZULKARNAI Customer Support 102.

Basic Qualification: College graduate; Preferably 3 years of relevant experience; Must be fluent in English and Thai.

Brief Job Description: Handle Team, Monitor and Motivate each member, In charge of Training the team, Answer customer quires and complains; Coordinate customer feedback to management, Chat Support

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

UNITOP GENERAL MERCHANDISE INC. 12th Floor, Ri Rance Bldg., Aseana City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque 103.

104.

LIN, SUYUN Finance Manager Brief Job Description: Reviewing financial Info ,

Basic Qualification: graduate of any business course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: graduate of any business course

LI, ZHIXING Manager Brief Job Description: Manages his team / oversees operation

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

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: WANG, YUZHU Excellent in writing, reading Bilingual Marketing Specialist and speaking in Bilingual 105. languages Brief Job Description: Conduct market research to find answers about Salary Range: consumer requirements, habits Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: KOMINA, TATIANA excellent in writing, reading Bilingual Technical Support Specialist and speaking in bilingual 106. languages Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying Salary Range: work load capacity of computer system Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 HO LAM MY QUAN Basic Qualification: Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer Foreign language speaking 107.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 analyzing customer information TIET THIEN CO Basic Qualification: Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer Foreign language speaking 108.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 analyzing customer information VONG VIEN HUY Basic Qualification: Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer Foreign language speaking 109.

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 analyzing customer information W.E.W RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, INC. 50/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

110.

111.

HU, CHENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support for Mandarin speaking client ZHONG, XUEMEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support for Mandarin speaking client

Basic Qualification: With knowledge in computer application Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With knowledge in computer application Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

YOUBIN CONSULTANCY INC. 7/f Ba Lepanto Bldg., Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati ZHANG, WEIWEI Mandarin Administrative Associate 112.

Brief Job Description: RESPONSIBLE FORVERIFYING TIMESHEETS AND PROCESSING PAYROLL

Basic Qualification: PROFICIENCY IN SPEAKING, WRITING AND READING MANDARIN Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Dec 22, 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.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese (verbal & written skills) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A8

Thursday, December 23, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

South Africa’s drop in cases may show Omicron peak has passed S

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

Australia PM meets with state leaders as Covid cases surge

J

OHANNESBURG—South Africa’s noticeable drop in new Covid-19 cases in recent days may signal that the country’s dramatic Omicrondriven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say.

Daily virus case counts are notoriously unreliable, as they can be affected by uneven testing, reporting delays and other fluctuations. But they are offering one tantalizing hint—far from conclusive yet—that Omicron infections may recede quickly after a ferocious spike.

South Africa has been at the forefront of the Omicron wave and the world is watching for any signs of how it may play out there to try to understand what may be in store.

After hitting a high of nearly 27,000 new cases nationwide on Thursday, the numbers dropped to about 15,424 on Tuesday. In Gauteng province—South Africa’s most populous with 16 million people, including the largest city, Jo hannesburg, and the capital, Pretoria—the decrease started earlier and has continued.

“The drop in new cases nationally combined with the sustained drop in new cases seen here in Gauteng province, which for weeks has been the center of this wave, indicates that we are past the peak,” Marta Nunes, senior researcher at the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics department of the University of Witwatersrand, told The Associated Press.

“It was a short wave... and the good news is that it was not very severe in terms of hospitalizations and deaths,” she said. It is “not unexpected in epidemiology that a very steep increase, like what we saw in November, is followed by a steep decrease.”

Gauteng province saw its numbers start sharply rising in midNovember. Scientists doing genetic sequencing quickly identified the new, highly mutated Omicron variant that was announced to the world on November 25.

Significantly more transmis-

sible, Omicron quickly achieved dominance in South Africa. An estimated 90 percent of Covid-19 cases in Gauteng province since mid-November have been Omicron, according to tests.

And the world seems to be quickly following, with Omicron already surpassing the Delta variant as the dominant coronavirus strain in some countries. In the US, Omicron accounted for 73 percent of new infections last week, health officials said—and the variant is responsible for an estimated 90 percent or more of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.K. have surged by 60 percent in a week as Omicron overtook Delta as the dominant variant there. Worldwide, the variant has been detected in at least 89 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

In South Africa, experts worried that the sheer volume of new infections would overwhelm the country’s hospitals, even though Omicron appears to cause milder disease, with significantly less hospitalizations, patients needing oxygen and deaths.

But then cases in Gauteng started falling. After reaching 16,000 new infections on December 12, the province’s numbers have steadily dropped, to just over 3,300 cases Tuesday.

“It’s significant. It’s very significant,” Dr. Fareed Abdullah said of the decrease.

“The rapid rise of new cases has been followed by a rapid fall and it appears we’re seeing the beginning of the decline of this wave,” said Abdullah, working in the Covid-19 ward at Pretoria’s Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

In another sign that South

UN calls for probe into rape allegations in Sudan protests

Landslide in Myanmar mining area leaves dozens missing

C

A I RO —T he U N hu m a n rights office on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into allegations of sexual violence including rape and gang rape during mass anti-coup protests in Sudan earlier this week, a spokeswoman said.

Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for the UN human rights office in Geneva, said they received “disturbing” reports alleging that 13 women and girls were raped or gang raped in the demonstrations on Sunday in the capital, Khartoum.

There was no immediate comment from Sudan’s government.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan on Sunday, marking the third anniversary of the uprising that forced the removal of autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.

The rallies turned violent in many places as security forces moved against the protesters. At least two people were killed and over 300 others were wounded, according the Sudan Doctors Committee, a professional medical union. AP

B

ANGKOK—A landslide at a remote jade mine in norther n Myanmar’s K achin state killed one person and left at least 70 missing Wednesday and a search and rescue operation was underway, rescue officials said.

Reports were scant from the area in Hpakant, which is the center of the world’s biggest and most lucrative jade mining industry.

It’s a region where sporadic fighting has broken out between the Myanmar army and ethnic guerrilla forces.

Gayunar Rescue Team official Nyo Chaw, who was coordinating the effort, said more than 70 miners who were digging for jade were swept into a lake a couple of hours before dawn when the landslide hit. Earth and waste from several mines around Lonekhin village slid 60 meters (about 200 feet) down a cliff and struck the miners, he said.

At least five young women and three small shops were also buried in Wednesday’s landslide.

The body of a jade worker was unearthed from heavy mud by midday, Nyo Chaw said.

Sandile Cele, a researcher at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, works on the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 on December 15. South Africa’s noticeable drop in new Covid-19 cases in recent days may signal that the country’s dramatic Omicron-driven wave has passed its peak, medical experts say. AP/Jerome Delay

Africa’s Omicron surge may be receding, a study of health care professionals who tested positive for Covid-19 at Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital in Soweto shows a rapid increase and then a quick decline in cases.

“Two weeks ago we were seeing more than 20 new cases per day and now it is about five or six cases per day,” Nunes said.

But, she said, it is still very early and there are several factors that must be closely watched.

South Africa’s positivity rate has remained high at 29 percent, up from just 2 percent in early November, indicating the virus is still circulating among the population at relatively high levels, she said.

And the country’s holiday season is now underway, when many businesses close down for a month and people travel to visit family, often in rural areas. This could accelerate Omicron’s spread across South Africa and to neighboring countries, experts said.

“In terms of the massive everyday doubling that we were seeing just over a week ago with huge numbers, that seems to have settled,” said Professor Veronica Uekermann, head of the Covid-19 response team at Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

“But it is way too early to suggest that we have passed the peak.

There are too many external factors, including the movement during the holiday season and the general behavior during this period,” she said, noting that infections spiked last year after the

“About 150 rescue workers and firefighters are searching for the area and we have found the body of a jade miner so far and keep finding others,” Nyo Chaw told the Associated Press.

Hpakant is a mountainous and remote area in Kachin state, 950 kilometers (600 miles) north of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. A ceasefire in the region has been disrupted since a Feb. 1 coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government.

It has some of world’s richest jade deposits, making the industry a hotbed for corruption.

The military has said it shut down jade mining in Hpakant, but some companies have been operating illegally. The mines are also a main source of revenue for the Kachin ethnic armed groupKachin Independence Army based in Kachin state.

According to an official of a civil society group in Hpakant, who asked not to be named fearing his safety, between 20 and 50 mining companies have been operating illegal mines.

Safety has long been a concern,

holiday break.

It’s summertime in South Africa and many gatherings are outdoors, which may make a difference between the omicron-driven wave here and the surges in Europe and North America, where people tend to gather indoors.

Another unknown factor is how much omicron has spread among South Africans without causing disease.

Some health officials in New York have suggested that because South Africa appears to have experienced a quick, mild wave of Omicron, the variant may behave similarly there and elsewhere in the US. But Nunes cautions against jumping to those conclusions.

“Each setting, each country is different. The populations are different. The demographics of the population, the immunity is different in different countries,” she said. South Africa’s population, with an average age of 27, is more youthful than many Western countries, for instance.

Most of the patients currently being treated for Covid-19 in hospitals are unvaccinated, Uekermann emphasized. About 40 percent of adult South Africans have been inoculated with two doses.

“A ll my patients in ICU are u n v a c c i n a t e d ,” U e k e r m a n n said. “So our vaccinated people are doing better in this wave, for sure. We have got some patients who are ver y ill with severe Covid, and these are unvaccinated patients.” AP

and the suspension of licensing in recent years has sparred a rush of artisanal mining under even worse conditions.

On July 3, 2020, at least 162 people died in a landslide in the same area, while a November 2015 accident left 113 dead. In that case, the victims died when a 60-meter (200-foot) -high mountain of earth and waste discarded by several mines collapsed in the middle of the night, covering more than 70 huts where miners were sleeping.

Those killed in such accidents are usually freelance miners who settle near giant mounds of discarded earth that has been excavated by heavy machinery. The freelancers who scavenge for bits of jade usually work and live in abandoned mining pits at the base of the mounds of earth, which become particularly unstable during the rainy season.

Most scavengers are unregistered migrants from other areas, making it hard to determine exactly how many people are actually missing after such accidents and in many cases leaving the relatives of the dead in their home villages unaware of their fate. AP

Y DN E Y— Ne w Co v id -19 cases in Australia’s most populous state surged to a pandemic record Wednesday, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with state leaders to discuss preventative measures.

Morrison emerged from the national cabinet meeting again rejecting lockdowns and mask mandates imposed by the federal government. He said policies on mask wearing were best left to state governments and to Australians who should follow “commonsense behavioral measures.”

New South Wales state on Wednesday recorded 3,763 new cases, up 706 f rom Tuesd ay, though the number of Omicron cases was not known because genomic sequencing is not routinely carried out there.

State and territor y leaders were expected to press Morrison to reduce the gap between second vaccine doses and booster shots.

Morrison said any decision on reducing the gap from five to four months would be made by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization.

Australia has been battling the Omicron variant of Covid-19 for about four weeks and cases have been steadily rising in populous New South Wales and Victoria states.

Victoria reported 1,503 cases

on Wednesday, of which about 60 were reportedly Omicron.

Morrison said Australia is taking the highly transmissible Omicron strain “very seriously,” adding that “what we’re dealing with is a much greater volume of cases.”

“The cases themselves don’t necessarily present the challenge, as we’ve always said. What really matters is how many people are experiencing serious illness and how many people are having to draw on the considerable resources of ICUs and our hospital system,” he added.

Morrison said state and territory leaders told him that despite the increase in cases they have not yet seen any significant impact on the hospital system.

The federal government from Wednesday will pay doctors and pharmacists an additional $10 to administer booster shots, Morrison said.

He said that mask wearing indoors is “highly recommended whether it is mandated or not” and that compliance with “commonsense rules” would ensure Australians celebrate Christmas with fewer disruptions.

“My message is to stay calm, get your booster, follow the commonsense behavioral measures as you’re going into Christmas and we look forward to that,” Morrison said. AP

De Blasio says ‘no more shutdowns’ as New York City faces virus spike

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EW YORK—New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he’s committed to keeping the city open as it grapples with a huge spike in coronavirus cases.

The Democrat said Tuesday that New York can’t see schools and businesses close again like they did when Covid-19 first hit the city in 2020.

De Blasio has faced questions over the past week about whether he would reinstate closures as the Omicron variant surges in the city.

“Adamantly I feel this: No more shutdowns. We’ve been through them,” de Blasio said at a virtual news conference Tuesday. “They were devastating. We can’t go through it again.”

De Blasio, in the waning days of his term as mayor, will decide

by Christmas whether the annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will continue as planned. The event was small and socially distanced last year but de Blasio had hoped to hold it this year at “full strength.” That was before reports of Covid-19 cases ramped up again.

While the fate of the outdoor New Year’s Eve event remained up in the air, De Blasio’s successor Eric Adams postponed his inauguration ceremony, scheduled for Jan. 1 indoors at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre.

The mayor-elect issued a statement Tuesday saying that the ceremony would be rescheduled for a later date “to prioritize” the health of attendees, staff and reporters.

“It is clear that our city is facing a formidable opponent in the Omicron variant of Covid-19, and that the spike in cases presents a serious risk to public health,” Adams said.

Two other Democratic officials, the city’s Comptroller-elect Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, were also to participate in the ceremony and co-signed Adams’ statement announcing its postponement. Williams has been quarantining at home after recently testing positive for Covid-19.

Adams will still take over as mayor on Jan. 1. His spokesperson, Evan Thies, said it would take a lot for the mayor-elect to shut down New York City again.

“He believes that we can balance the priorities of public health and keeping New York open in a safe and responsible way as we aggressively address the Omicron threat with more vaccinations, boosters and testing,” Thies said.

Temporary restrictions were instituted at the city’s jails late Tuesday, with the Department of Correction saying in-person visits and programs like religious services had been suspended.

De Blasio said the city is ramping up testing but the biggest tool to fight the pandemic remains vaccinations. De Blasio announced the city would begin offering a $100 cash incentive to New Yorkers who get a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine starting Tuesday and going through the end of the year.

The city had previously offered similar incentives for people to get their first vaccine doses.

De Blasio said the federal government is expected to help set up more testing sites in New York City and the city will increase its city run sites, including brick-and-mortar locations and mobile testing vans.

As recently as December 13, the city had been averaging fewer than 3,600 new cases of Covid-19 each day. But after nearly 63,500 people tested positive in just five days, the average daily number of infections had climbed to nearly 11,000 as of Monday—an increase of 207 percent in a week. AP

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Thursday, December 23, 2021

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Secret Service: Nearly $100-B stolen in Covid-19 relief funds

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses an extended meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board at the National Defense Control Center in Moscow, Russia on December 21.

Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Putin blames West for tensions, demands security guarantees

M

OSCOW—T he Russian president on Tuesday reiterated his demand for guarantees from the US and its allies that NATO w ill not ex pand eastwards, blaming the West for “tensions that are building up in Europe.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech at a meeting with Russia’s top military brass came just days after Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance’s military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.

The demands—contained in a proposed Russia-US security treaty and a security agreement between Moscow and NATO—were drafted amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that has stoked fears of a possible invasion. Russia has denied it has plans to attack its neighbor but pressed for legal guarantees that would rule out NATO expansion and weapons deployment there.

Putin charged Tuesday that if US and NATO missile systems appear in Ukraine, it will take those missiles only minutes to reach Moscow.

“For us, it is the most serious challenge—a challenge to our security,” he said, adding that this is why the Kremlin needs “long-term, legally binding guarantees” from the West, as opposed to “verbal assurances, words and promises” that Moscow can’t trust.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is working with its European allies to address what he called “Russian aggression” with diplomacy but said President Joe Biden opposes the kind of guarantees sought by Putin.

“The president has been extremely clear for many, many years about some basic principles that no one is moving back on: the principle that one country does not have the right to change by force the borders of another, that one country does not have the right to dictate the policies of another or to tell that that country with whom they may associate,” Blinken told reporters in Washington. “One country does not have the right to exert a sphere of influence. That notion should be relegated to the dustbin of history.”

Putin noted that NATO has expanded eastward since the late 1990s while giving assurances that Russia’s worries were groundless.

“What is happening now, tensions that are building up in Europe, is their [US and NATO’s] fault every step of the way,” the Russian leader said. “Russia has been forced to respond at every step. The situation kept worsening and worsening, deteriorating and deteriorating. And here we are today, in a situation when we’re forced to resolve it somehow.”

Russia’s relations with the US sank to post-Cold War lows after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine that still controls territory there.

Tensions reignited in recent weeks after Moscow massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine’s border.

Putin has pressed the West for guarantees that NATO will not expand to Ukraine or deploy its forces there and raised the issue during a video call with US President Joe Biden two weeks ago.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu charged Tuesday that more than 120 staff of US private military companies are currently operating in two villages in war-torn eastern Ukraine, training Ukrainian troops and setting up firing positions in residential buildings and different facilities.

Putin said the US “should understand we have nowhere to retreat.”

“What they are now trying to do and plan to do at Ukraine’s territory, it’s not thousands of kilometers away, it’s happening right at the doorstep of our house,” he said.

Putin added that Moscow hopes “constructive, meaningful talks with a visible end result—and within a certain time frame—that would ensure equal security for all.”

“Armed conflicts, bloodshed is not our choice, and we don’t want such developments. We want to resolve issues by political and diplomatic means,” Putin said.

US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried, the top US diplomat for Europe, said at a briefing Tuesday that Washington is “prepared to discuss those proposals that Russia put on the table.”

“There are some things we’re prepared to work on, and we do believe there is merit in having discussion,” Donfried told reporters after a visit to Kyiv, Moscow and Brussels.

“There are other things in those documents that the Russians know will be unacceptable,” she added, without specifying which ones.

Donfried said bilateral US-Russia meetings are likely to happen in January, and talks within NATO-Russia Council, as well as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, are likely to see movement in January as well.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that he intends to call a new meeting of the NATO-Russia Council as soon as possible in the New Year.

“Any dialogue with Russia needs to be based on the core principles of European security and to address NATO’s concerns about Russia’s actions,” Stoltenberg said.

On Tuesday evening, Putin talked about Russia’s proposals in phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to the Kremlin, Putin informed Macron about Moscow’s “diplomatic efforts on the subject,” and gave Scholz “detailed comments” on the drafts Russia-US security treaty and a security agreement between Russia and NATO submitted last week.

In the conversation with Scholz, “hope was expressed that serious negotiations would be organized on all the issues raised by” Moscow, the readout said. AP

N

early $100 billion at minimum has been stolen from Covid-19 relief programs set up to help businesses and people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the US Secret Service said Tuesday.

The estimate is based on Secret Service cases and data from the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration, said Roy Dotson, the agency’s national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator, in an interview. The Secret Service didn’t include Covid-19 fraud cases prosecuted by the Justice Department.

W hile roughly 3 percent of the $3.4 trillion dispersed, the amount stolen from pandemic

benefits programs shows “the sheer size of the pot is enticing to the criminals,” Dotson said.

Most of that figure comes from unemployment fraud. The L a b or D e pa r t me nt re p or te d about $87 billion in unemployment benefits could have been pa id improperly, w it h a signif icant por tion attr ibutable to fraud.

The Secret Service said it has seized more than $1.2 billion while

investigating unemployment insurance and loan fraud and has returned more than $2.3 billion of fraudulently obtained funds by working with financial partners and states to reverse transactions.

The Secret Service says it has more than 900 active criminal investigations into pandemic fraud, with cases in every state, and 100 people have been arrested so far.

The Justice Department said last week that its fraud section had prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and had seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with the proceeds.

One of the best-known programs created through the March 2020 CARES Act, PPP offered

Thailand central bank holds key rate, cuts 2022 growth forecast

T

hailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a 13th straight meeting to assess how much risk the Omicron variant poses to a fragile economic recovery.

The Bank of Thailand’s rate setting committee voted unanimously to hold the one-day bond repurchase rate at a record-low 0.5 percent Wednesday, as predicted by all 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The central bank also lowered its forecast for next year’s gross domestic product growth to 3.4 percent, from 3.9 percent previously, while boosting the 2021 expectation to 0.9 percent from 0.7 percent.

The Monetary Policy Committee “assessed that the Omicron outbreak would affect the economy in early 2022,” the central bank said in a statement announcing its decision. “The impact could be more severe and prolonged than expected due to downside risks such as the severity of the outbreak and the strictness of corresponding containment measures.”

Prime Minister Prayuth ChanOcha this week halted the country’s

quarantine-free entry program after less than two months, citing concerns that tourists could spread the Omicron strain. BOT Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said last week the new virus variant poses a risk to the recovery, and that additional variants in the future could impact growth estimates if they derail projected tourist arrivals.

Thailand’s vaccination program has accelerated in recent months, with 70 percent of the population receiving at least one dose and 62 percent getting two. New infections dropped to 2,532 cases Wednesday, compared with its peak of more than 20,000 in August. The nation has detected 104 Omicron cases since the first case was confirmed earlier this month.

“On the plus side, economic activity looks to have bounced back strongly in the final quarter of the year, after the government eased restrictions in response to a fall in cases of Covid-19,” said Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics Ltd. “However, the first quarter of next year is likely to be a lot weaker than we had previously envisaged.”

“We still don’t expect the BOT to start tightening monetary policy until 2H 2023, once the recovery gains traction. The central bank does not expect GDP to return to pre-Covid-19 levels before 1Q 2023,” said Tamara Mast Henderson, Bloomberg Asean economist.

The committee noted that headline inflation had risen temporarily due to supply-side factors, particularly energy prices, but that these were expected to subside in the second half of 2022.

“The likelihood of second-round effects remained low due to limited cost pass-through given the slow economic recovery as well as weak employment and labor income,” the statement said. “Nevertheless, the Committee assessed that headline inflation would be subject to upside risks given higher global inflation and thus warranted close monitoring.”

In a briefing after the decision, Assistant Governor Piti Disyatat said baht weakness has helped improve exporters’ margins and has had only a limited impact on inflation for now, though the central bank will monitor the situation closely. Bloomberg News

India sees chipmakers starting local production in 2 to 3 years

I

ndia expects at least a dozen semiconductor manufacturers to start setting up local factories in the next 2-3 years after the South Asian nation offered incentives for the sector, the country’s information and technology minister said.

P r i me M i n i s te r Na re nd r a Modi ’s government is working on developing a full ecosystem for the chip manufacturing industry and will start taking applications under its incentive scheme from Jan. 1, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who also holds the railways and telecom portfolio, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin and Rishaad Salamat.

“The response has been very good. All the big players are in talks with Indian partners and

many want to come directly to set up their units here. Almost all big ones are talking to us,” Vaishnaw said.

The country intends to get involved in several stages of chipmaking, including silicon and display fabs and semiconductor packaging. It will start with fabrication of mature 28nm to 45nm parts and will request a road map from candidate companies for moving to more advanced production techniques over time, the minister said. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., the leading producers of the world’s most advanced chips, have shown themselves willing to expand internationally with recent announcements of new fabs in the US and Japan, aided by local government support.

Last week, the Modi government approved sops worth 760 billion rupees ($10 billion) spread over six years to boost local chip production, a move which is likely to help the South Asian nation reduce its reliance on expensive imports of the material used in everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles amid a global shortage. Currently, India relies on overseas manufacturers for almost all of its semiconductor requirement.

India joins a growing list of nations from Japan to Europe and the US in setting aside multibillion-dollar subsidies for domestic chipmaking, after a global shortage of the vital components walloped a plethora of important industries and exposed economic vulnerabilities. Bloomberg News

low-interest, forgivable loans to small businesses struggling to meet payroll and other expenses during pandemic-related shutdowns.

Law enforcement early in the pandemic focused on fraud related to personal protective equipment, the Secret Service said. Authorities have now prioritized the exploitation of pandemic-related relief because the federal funding through the CARES Act attracted the attention of individuals and organized criminal networks worldwide.

“Can we stop fraud? Will we?

No, but I think we can definitely prosecute those that need to be prosecuted and we can do our best to recover as much fraudulent pandemic funds that we can,” said Dotson, who is the Secret Service’s assistant special agent in charge of the agency’s field office in Jacksonville, Florida. AP

Indonesians may soon see pay hikes return to pre-Covid levels

S

alary increases in Indonesia are on track to rebound to pre-pandemic levels next year as the economy recovers and employers beef up their workforce, a new survey showed.

Median pay hikes in Southeast Asia’s largest economy are forecast to hit 6.5 percent in 2022, well above the 5.3 percent registered this year, but still slightly under the 6.9 percent in 2019, according to a survey of 533 organizations conducted by human resources firm Mercer. Indonesia’s results also beat the Asia-Pacific average of 5.4 percent.

“Employment recovery is gathering pace with the reopening of economic and social activities, and the future for Indonesia’s job market looks bright,” said Yosef Budiman, Mercer career products manager in Jakarta.

“Companies are in a better position to hire while employees have more options when they consider switching jobs in this climate.”

High-tech and Internet companies in Indonesia will offer the highest median salary increases in 2022 at 7.3 percent due to the high industry demand and stiff competition for skilled labor in the field, Mercer said. The chemical and life sciences sectors are eyeing pay hikes of 7 percent each, followed by the consumer goods sector at 6.5 percent.

Mining and related services are likely to maintain their pay hikes next year, but may offer the highest payout of variable bonuses of 3.6 months, the survey showed. Indonesian employers paid out about 2.3 months worth of bonuses in 2021.

Bloomberg News

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A12 Thursday, December 23, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Joyful Christmas?

C

hristmas is here, just like we all wanted! After last year’s lonely lockdown Christmas, we deserve to celebrate this year. It’s time for family and friends to get together again and enjoy the holiday with a lot of fun—eating, drinking, and exchanging gifts in person. Now we can let the children go from house to house singing carols to spread the spirit of Christmas.

Unfortunately, the Omicron variant has arrived to spoil a season of joy. It is threatening to destroy our holiday plans. Will we allow it to put Christmas festivities on hold again?

As with everything else in life, we have to accept current realities—including the fact that the pandemic has made life more complicated for us with the arrival of the new, more infectious variant.

Omicron has been overtaking the Delta variant among new Covid infections across the globe. As of December 20, we have three confirmed Omicron cases in the country. Omicron can evade some of the protection provided by full vaccination. Its initial symptoms are almost identical to a common cold or the flu, but we don’t know yet if it will cause severe illness requiring hospitalization.

What is alarming is that a growing body of preliminary research suggests that Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against the highly contagious Omicron variant. For example, two US senators—Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker—who are both “fully vaccinated” and “boosted,” revealed on Sunday that they’ve come down with symptomatic Covid.

Warren tweeted: “I regularly test for Covid & while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case. Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms & am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated & boosted.”

The United Kingdom, the US and Denmark are three of the countries where the Omicron variant is currently surging, about a month after it was first detected in South Africa. UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday that Omicron cases were doubling around every two days in the country. On Friday, the UK reported 93,045 new coronavirus cases—the highest daily number since the pandemic began.

From the Associated Press: “Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the US, accounting for 73 percent of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a sixfold increase in Omicron’s share of infections in only one week. In much of the country, it’s even higher. Omicron is responsible for an estimated 90 percent or more of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. The national rate suggests that more than 650,000 Omicron infections occurred in the US last week.”

From Bloomberg: “The surge is already having an impact on workplaces and on campuses. CNN closed its offices to nonessential workers last weekend. Apple Inc., Google and Uber Technologies Inc. have all delayed return-tooffice plans indefinitely. Ford Motor Co. delayed its return until March. Lyft Inc. says workers don’t have to show until 2023.”

Bloomberg reported other Omicron cancellations: “The World Economic Forum, scheduled for Davos, Switzerland in January, has been put off until summer. It’s the latest big conference to reconsider an inperson gathering.”

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday urged people to cancel holiday gatherings as Omicron continues to spread.

He said: “All of us are sick of this pandemic. All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal. The fastest way to do this is for all of us leaders and individuals to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect others and ourselves. In some cases, that will mean cancelling or delaying events. But an event cancelled is better than a life cancelled. It’s better to cancel now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and grieve later.”

Do we want to follow the WHO chief’s recommendation and again cancel this year’s Christmas celebration, or do we want to go ahead with plans to celebrate with our loved ones and friends now that restrictions have been lifted?

The choice is ours to make.

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BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua

You are what you read John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

J

ean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was a 17th century French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of The Physiology of Taste, gained fame as an epicure. His book has not been out of print since it first appeared in 1825.

Brillat-Savarin was heavily into designing better diets and is often deemed as the father of the lowcarbohydrate diet. He considered sugar and white flour to cause obesity and he suggested protein-rich ingredients.

He wrote, translated from French, “Sure enough, carnivorous animals never grow fat [consider wolves, jackals, birds of prey, crows, etc.].” Can’t argue with that. Of course, maybe Brillat-Savarin never thought about the reason that wolves never grow fat is the amount of calories they burn chasing and catching rabbits in the forest.

He promoted a diet that avoided starch, grains, and sugar. He recommended meats, root vegetables, cabbage, and fruit. Brillat-Savarin also wrote what has become classic “meme.” In French: “Dis-moi ce que

tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.”

In English, “Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you what you are.”

One commentator writes 1,000 words that the food we eat depends on everything “that shapes and fashions the culture and customs of any given society” including religion, location, and economics.

Actually, all Brillat-Savarin meant was that the food one eats has a bearing on one’s state of mind and health, which is much less philosophical.

But the simple Western mind in the 20th century reduced his thought to “you are what you eat,” which probably requires 5,000 words of philosophical mumbo-jumbo to explain.

However, in this day of mass media and instant “knowledge,” perhaps a better brilliant quote would be, “You are what you read.”

“Opinion” is entitled to be as prejudiced as the author wishes.

But the two best sources of factual news and genuine analysis are the Wall Street Journal and the Economist with minimal partisanship. Watch your food and news diet. It’s healthier.

We eat what “tastes good” to us as individuals, both physically and psychologically. When Westerners come to Asia, many of them cringe when they are presented with a beautiful plate of cooked shrimp or fish with the heads still on. They refuse to learn the culinary delight of sucking the meat and juice from a shrimp head, let alone eating the eyeball of a fish. And Filipino papaitan would be out of the question, so don’t even try.

Studies show that people gain information the same way, preferring to read news and views that support their well-established thinking and bias. Ask them and they will tell you that “their” news source is both accurate and totally objective.

The US, which runs on a very polarized political two-party system, reveals this. Democrats overwhelmingly think that Republicans are “biased” as Republicans think that Democrats are the super unfair community. About 40 percent

of Americans watch Fox News, and 40 percent of Americans watch CNN. But only 24 percent of Republicans watch CNN, and equally, only 23 percent of Democrats watch Fox News.

“Liberals” distrust Fox; “Conservatives” distrust CNN. Ad Fontes Media is a Colorado-based media watchdog organization known for rating media sources in terms of political bias and reliability. They are heavily criticized by “progressives” and “the right,” so they are probably doing something legitimate. They rate CNN as “skew left” and Fox as “skew right.”

However, regardless of its perceived partisan bias, CNN is noted as “Better than not reading news at all,” while it “Confirms existing biases” when it comes to actual news reporting. The most left-wing bias without being “click bait” is the New York Times newspaper with the New York Post on the right.

“Opinion” is entitled to be as prejudiced as the author wishes. But the two best sources of factual news and genuine analysis are the Wall Street Journal and the Economist with minimal partisanship. Watch your food and news diet. It’s healthier.

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.

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Omicron casts a new shadow over economy’s pandemic recovery

By Paul Wiseman & Anne D’innocenzio | AP Business Writers

J

ust as Americans and Europeans were eagerly awaiting their most normal holiday season in a couple of years, the Omicron variant has unleashed a fresh round of fear and uncertainty—for travelers, shoppers, party-goers and their economies as a whole.

The Rockettes have canceled their Christmas show in New York. Some London restaurants have emptied out as commuters avoid the downtown. Broadway shows are canceling some performances. The National Hockey League suspended its games until after Christmas. Boston plans to require diners, revelers and shoppers to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars and stores.

A heightened sense of anxiety has begun to erode the willingness of some people and some businesses to carry on as usual in the face of the extraordinarily contagious Omicron variant, which has fast become the dominant version of the virus in the United States.

Other people are still traveling, spending and congregating as they

normally do, though often with more caution. Holiday air travel remains robust. Many stores and restaurants are still enjoying solid sales. And Omicron has yet to keep audiences away from movie theaters in significant numbers. This past weekend, record audiences across all demographics flocked to theaters for the new “SpiderMan” movie.

“The movie theater has not yet been hindered by Omicron,” said Steve Buck, the chief strategy officer of EntTelligence.

At the same time, no one knows yet what omicron will ultimately mean for the health of the Western economies, which have endured a wild ride of downturns and recoveries since early 2020.

Citing Omicron and other factors, Oxford Economics has downgraded its estimate of US economic growth for the OctoberDecember quarter to a 7.3 percent annual pace, down from an earlier 7.8 percent estimate.

“These mutations keep coming,’’ said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance. “What is the probability that sometime we get a really nasty one?

No one has any idea. This thing is mutating, and it’s very, very hard to say.’’

Will Omicron cause outbreaks at factories and ports, disrupt operations and worsen supply chain bottlenecks that have forced up prices and contributed to the hottest US inflation in decades?

Will it mean people will hunker down at home again and spend less on services—restaurant meals, concerts, hotel stays—which could weaken the economy but potentially defuse inflationary pressures?

Will return-to-office plans for white collar workers be put on hold indefinitely, deepening the hit to many cities’ downtown businesses?

Or will omicron prove a blip that scarcely slows what has become a surprisingly strong recovery from the short but intense pandemic recession?

Spooked by uncertainty and fear of the worst-case scenarios, stock markets around the world sold off for three days before rebounding Tuesday.

“We don’t know whether this is good or bad for growth or inflation in the medium term,’’ said Megan Greene, global chief economist at the Kroll Institute. “We just don’t have enough data yet.’’

Unable to assess its longer-term consequences, businesses, consumers and policymakers have struggled to respond to the Omicron threat.

Danielle Ballantyne, a Chicago dietitian, had planned to visit some stores and seek inspiration for holiday gifts. But as Omicron spread, she See “Omicron” A13

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Russian pipeline faces big hurdles amid Ukraine tensions

Philippine failure to take off: The missing ‘industrial policy’ Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

By DAVID McHUGH & VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV | Associated Press

F

RANKFURT, Germany—The pipeline is built and being filled with natural gas. But Russia’s Nord Stream 2 faces a rocky road before any gas flows to Germany, with its new leaders adopting a more skeptical tone toward the project and tensions ratcheting up over Russia’s troop buildup at the Ukrainian border.

The pipeline opposed by Ukraine, Poland and the US awaits final approval from Germany and the European Union to bypass other countries and start bringing natural gas directly to Europe. The continent is struggling with a shortage that has sent prices surging, fueling inflation and raising fears about what would come next if gas supplies become critically low.

The US has stressed targeting Nord Stream 2 as a way to counter any new Russian military move against Ukraine, and the project already faces legal and bureaucratic hurdles.

As European and US leaders confer on how to deal with Russia’s pressure on Ukraine, persistent political objections—particularly from EU members like Poland—add another challenge to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key projects.

Former longtime German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed the pipeline, and the country’s new leader, Olaf Scholz, did so while serving as her finance minister. But his new government has taken a noticeably more distanced tone after the Greens party became part of the governing coalition. The Greens’ campaign position was that the fossil fuel pipeline doesn’t help fight global warming and undermines strategic EU interests.

New German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have said the project doesn’t meet EU antimonopoly regulations.

“Nord Stream 2 was a geopolitical mistake,” Habeck said in an interview published Sunday in the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. “The question is open if it will be able to start operating,” adding that further “aggression” meant “nothing is off the table.”

As chancellor, Scholz has been cautious in his comments, and it’s not clear if he’s willing to go as far as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has said it is “very unlikely” that gas will flow if Russia “renewed its aggression” toward Ukraine.

Deputy German government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner, pressed on whether an invasion would halt the pipeline, said Nord Stream 2 is “an undertaking of a private business that is largely completed” and that regulatory approval “had no political dimension” but stressed that military aggression would have “high costs and sanction.”

Scholz “never makes things completely clear,” said Stefan Meister, an expert on Russian energy policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “So I am not sure under which conditions he would really agree to stop the pipeline.”

Still, Meister said, there was “a new tone, a new rhetoric from the new German government.”

The pipeline would double the volume of gas pumped by Russiancontrolled gas giant Gazprom directly to Germany, adding to a similar pipeline under the Baltic Sea and circumventing existing links through Poland and Ukraine. Gazprom argues it would allow more reliable long-term supply and help save billions in transit fees paid to Poland and Ukraine. Gazprom stresses that the pipeline is part of its role as a long-term supplier of affordable energy to Europe, which is heavily dependent on natural gas imports.

Pipeline critics say it increases Russia’s leverage over Europe, pits member states against each other and deprives Ukraine of key financial support. Europe also went into winter with scant gas reserves that have sent prices soaring to eight times what they were at the start of

the year, with Putin using the crunch to underline his push for final approval of the project.

Gazprom didn’t sell gas above its long-term contracts, further increasing unease about Russian motives.

Analysts say existing pipelines have enough capacity for Gazprom to have sent more, but it filled domestic reserves first.

For now, the approval process for the pipeline is on hold. German regulators say they can only rule on an entity formed under German law, so Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 is forming a German subsidiary to comply; a decision won’t come in the first half of this year. Then the European Commission must also review the project before it goes back to German regulators for a final look. Analysts say the decision is a legal and bureaucratic one that isn’t subject to politics.

Nord Stream 2’s critics say it does not meet an EU requirement to effectively separate the gas supplier from the pipeline operator to prevent a monopoly that could hurt competition and mean higher prices for consumers. Nord Stream 2 is owned by a Gazprom subsidiary.

Asked about the separation issue, Nord Stream said that it “undertakes all necessary efforts to ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations” and has been granted permits by the four EU countries through whose territory it passes.

Regarding Habeck’s critical remarks, the company said that “we do not comment on political statement.”

Even if the pipeline passes regulatory review, it’s not necessarily in the clear due to Poland’s opposition.

That’s because EU members can sue in the European Court of Justice if they disagree with regulators’ decision, said Alan Riley, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a lawyer specializing in European antitrust and energy issues. The anti-monopoly rules could bring years of litigation, and possibly a preliminary order halting pipeline operations until the case is decided.

“This could go on for some time,” Riley said. Final approval “is not a slam-dunk by any means.”

Konstantin Kosachev, a deputy speaker of the upper house of Russian parliament, deplored the “artificial” obstacles against quickly launching Nord Stream 2. While some argue that Europe has grown more dependent on Russian gas, the country has met all its obligations, he said.

“The opponents of gas projects by Russia and the EU nations fear not that Russian supplies would fail, but just the opposite, that all problems would be solved, leaving no opportunity to accuse Moscow of harboring ill intentions or using energy as a weapon,” Kosachev said.

While noting that German Foreign Minister Baerbock’s anti-Nord Stream 2 comments reflect her and her party’s views, Kosachev emphasized that she represents the entire country now.

“Explaining the failure to provide cheap fuel exclusively by tales about what Russia could allegedly do wouldn’t be the best start for the ruling coalition in Berlin,” he said.

“That’s why I don’t think that the position of the ‘green’ minister would have a radical impact on the pipeline’s fate, although it’s obvious that she wouldn’t support it or speed it up.”

Even if it never starts, Nord Stream 2 has been worth it for the Kremlin’s geopolitical goals because it has sowed division among EU members and between Germany, the EU and the US, said Meister of the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Thursday, December 23, 2021 A13

An open letter to Usec Rodolfo and BOI Director Dichosa.

Usec Ceferino Rodolfo, Managing Head of the Board of Investments, and Ms. Corazon Dichosa, Executive Director, Board of Investments:

M

araming salamat for the invitation to the dialogue (December 9-10) on “implementing a modern industrial strategy for the Philippines to strengthen Philippines industrial competitiveness for facilitating increased participation in global value chains, spur innovation, and contribute to inclusive growth”.

Many thanks for reviving once more the national conversation on “industrial policy,” a much-maligned and misunderstood development strategy.

Much-maligned? Before 2012, “industrial policy,” which is generally defined as the concerted efforts of a State to promote economic transformation and industrial upgrading, was largely ignored by the country’s economic planners. It was frowned upon by the IMF-World Bank economists in the Washington Consensus decades of the 1980s-2000s. In 1972, upon the declaration of martial law, Neda’s liberal economists ignored “industrial policy” by promoting a program of labor-intensive exportoriented (LIEO) industrial production based on the liberalization of entry for foreign capital and integration of the Philippine economy in the world market.

Neda also ignored Resolution “Magna Carta of Social Justice and Economic Freedom” passed in the pre-ML period by a nationalistic Congress led by Speaker Jose B. Laurel.

The thrust of the Magna Carta: for the Philippines to have a rounded or all-around development of the economy, that is, for the country, like Japan, to develop basic and midstream industries and avoid getting stuck at the low-end light-processing level. On the other hand, the thrust of Neda was to make the Philippines attractive to global investors by building infrastructures for reexport manufacturing such as export processing zones (the destination of the then emerging global value chain investments) and marketing the availability of cheap, productive

Omicron. . .

continued from A12

scrapped that idea in favor of staying home and shopping online.

“From what I have been hearing in the news,” Ballantyne said, “Omicron is more contagious. So I am trying to be more selective in where I go in terms of big public spaces.’’

At its stores in big cities like New York and Chicago, the clothier Untuckit is reporting a 15 percent drop in traffic, similar to what it experienced when the Delta variant started spreading last summer.

“It impacts people’s perception of comfort and safety and their willingness to go out,’’ said Aaron Sanandres, CEO of the company.

As infections have spread, European countries have so far gone further than the United States, with restrictions ranging from a full lockdown in the Netherlands to indoor mask mandates in the United Kingdom.

A theater in western England refunded $240,000 in tickets. The Advantage Travel Group, which represents UK travel agents, said that business—flights, cruises and package holidays—plummeted fell 40 percent in mid-December from a month earlier. A diner in central Madrid absorbed cancellations for about half its booked space one week recently.

In London, downtown restaurants are suffering as office workers stay home.

“As soon as they said work from home, it’s completely emptied,’’ said Sally Abe, a chef at the Conrad Hotel in central London.

On Tuesday, Britain announced

Unfortunately, the Filipino First movement had a short life, shot down by the counter-propaganda launched by the US Embassy, which labeled the movement as Communist-inspired. But the movement resurfaced in the late 1960s when Congress united to vote for the Magna Carta for Social Justice and Economic Freedom, which carried essentially the same message of the Filipino First movement.

and malleable Philippine labor. With LIEO, the Philippines deviated from the development path taken by Japan and the Asian NICs (Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan), which developed an integrated program of industrialization (light, medium and heavy) at home while promoting import substitution and export orientation at the same time.

The light industries which made the Philippines second to Japan in the industrialization process in Asia in the early 1960s (per World Bank study) were roundly denigrated by the liberal economists as products of “protectionist import-substituting industrial strategy” (ISI). Accordingly, these industries thrived on high tariff protection, not on “comparative advantage.” Some economists did not even hesitate to call these industries as “rent seeking.”

These economists forgot that after World War II and three centuries of Spanish and American colonialism, there were no Philippine industries to speak of. They also failed to see how Japan and the Asian NICs were successfully combining import substitution and export orientation and giving utmost protection to both their domestic and export industries such as cheap credit and assistance in acquiring and developing technology for both types of industry.

In brief, Usec Rodolfo and Director Dichosa, the failure of the Philippines to take off industrially

is rooted in the narrow development framework pursued by Neda beginning in the 1970s with the support of neo-liberal economic advisers from the IMF-World Bank and the academe. The Board of Investments under then Minister Vicente Paterno in the 1970s tried to deviate from the narrow LIEO program by requiring foreign investors to help share or “transfer technology” to local industries such as the nascent car assembly industry. Unfortunately, the transfer process, through the increased use of locally-manufactured parts, was sabotaged by political interference, political-economic crisis in the 1980s and, in the 1990s, by the contradictory policy of liberalizing the importation of foreignmade parts.

The point is that a successful implementation of industrial policy requires a strong State with a clear industrial vision and capable of coordinating efforts towards the full realization of the vision. Industrial policy visioning and programming also require re-assessment of the old economic concept of “comparative advantage” and the newer concept of “revealed comparative advantage.”

In 2000, JETRO wrote a long list of industries such as car, machine and other high-tech industries where China had no “comparative advantage”. What did China do? It ignored JETRO and simply pursued what it calls as “comparative-advantage-defying” program. Thus, today, China is now competing head to head with the United States and Japan on various science-and-technology-based industries.

So, back to 2012. Why did the Philippines, the DTI and BOI in particular, adopt industrial policy as an

that it would provide 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in grants and other aid to help the hospitality industry survive Omicron. The government bowed to pressure from pubs, restaurants and other businesses whose income has plunged in the aftermath of public health warnings.

Since the pandemic hit nearly two years ago, it has imposed one economic challenge after another.

Economies all but shut down when the virus struck early last year. More than 22 million people in the United States alone lost jobs. Bars, restaurants and hotels were particularly devastated.

But record-high infusions of government spending and, eventually, the rollout of vaccines triggered an unexpectedly powerful recovery, giving many households the confidence and financial wherewithal to resume shopping. And it sparked optimism for the 2021 holiday season: In an updated forecast shortly before Omicron emerged as a serious threat, the National Retail Federation said US holiday sales were on track for a record-breaking year.

One fear now is that Omicron infections will further disrupt manufacturing and shipping, worsen the supply chain backlogs and keep inflation simmering. It could also increase consumers’ already intensified demand for goods, which would magnify the supply shortages.

“If everybody is freaked out that going to a bar or restaurant is going to land them in a hospital, they may continue to buy goods,’’ said Greene, the Kroll Institute economist. “So that could exacerbate the short-term trend and make inflation worse.’’

On the other hand, she said, “if growth is really dampened [by

Omicron], that should take the heat off inflation.’’

There are other reasons to think the recovery could decelerate. In the United States, economic aid from federal spending and relief checks is fading. The Federal Reserve is reducing its economic support. China’s economy, the world’s second biggest after the United States, is slowing.

For now, the US bond market is signaling more concern about economic weakness than about runaway inflation: The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note remains at historically low levels, below 1.5 percent.

Citing Omicron and other factors, Oxford Economics has downgraded its estimate of US economic growth for the October-December quarter to a 7.3 percent annual pace, down from an earlier 7.8 percent estimate.

“Omicron has been so rampant,’’ said Kathy Bostjancic, Oxford’s chief US financial economist. “And it is hitting in high-density areas of the Northeast. We think it is going to take a pretty big toll on economic activity.’’

That said, it’s also possible that the economy will prove resilient against the latest challenge Covid has thrown at it. One measure of retail traffic shows that the new variant has made little difference—at least so far. For the week that ended Dec. 18, store traffic was up nearly 20% from a year earlier, though down 23 percent from the same week in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to Sensormatic Solutions. For the Black Friday that ended Nov. 27, sales were up 30% from last year.

Peter McCall, Sensormatic’s senior manager of retail consulting, noted that shoppers are still going

official policy? First, in 2008-2010, the World Bank acknowledged that all developed countries are committed to keeping their favored industries intact by providing survival support for “industries that are too big to fail.” Second, a maverick ADB economist by the name of Norio Usui, who was openly critical on how the neo-liberal economists mismanaged the Philippine economy (at least in his private conversations with CSOs), published the book Taking the Right Road to Inclusive Growth: Industrial Upgrading and Diversification in the Philippines. Somehow, Usui got the support of top ADB management, which funded the cross-archipelago talk of Usui on the importance of industrial policy. In the analysis of this author, one reason why Usui and ADB were supportive of the “new” industrial policy for the Philippines was to nudge the country to go higher up in the GVC chains outsourced by Japan and to snare labor-but-machineintensive industries being phased out in Japan such as the ship repair industries.

A third reason for the adoption of industrial policy in 2012: BOI then was headed by Adrian Cristobal Jr., whose father was associated with the Filipino First movement in the 1950s-1960s. The Filipino First movement sprung up in the late 1950s because of the heightened awareness by political and economic leaders like Claro M. Recto and Gil Puyat that the Philippines should not get stuck in the low-end lightprocessing industries which were dependent on imported machines, industrial raw materials and fuel.

Unfortunately, the Filipino First movement had a short life, shot down by the counter-propaganda launched by the US Embassy, which labeled the movement as Communist-inspired. But the movement resurfaced in the late 1960s when Congress united to vote for the Magna Carta for Social Justice and Economic Freedom, which carried essentially the same message of the Filipino First movement.

Now what has the BOI achieved after embracing industrial policy in 2012? More on this in the next issue.

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

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

to retail stores but are now favoring open-air shopping centers and outlet malls more than enclosed shopping centers.

Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp., the world’s leading cruise company, said this week that Carnival had experienced “a little spike’’ in cancellations but predicted that it would prove just a short term blip. “ The booking patterns are strong,’’ Donald said.

So is the traffic at some big retailers. Several hundred people lined up for the opening of the Toys R Us flagship store Sunday at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“We were prepared for a big day, but it was even bigger than we thought,’’ said Yehuda Shmidman, co-founder of WHP Global, which owns Toys R Us. Abt Electronics in Chicago says it’s enjoying a strong holiday season so far, with sales up 10% from a year ago. But Jon Abt, co-president and a grandson of the company’s founder, said he’s noticed that Omicron is changing how some people shop.

Though fewer customers are entering stores, there’s increasing demand for curbside pickup.

He’s also made changes for workers designed to prevent the spread of Covid: He’s requiring them to stay at the counters or warehouses where they work instead of jumping back and forth to different workplaces.

“I am an optimist,’’ Abt said. “I am not a worrier. This is life. And you have got to roll with the punches.’’ Wiseman reported from Washington, D’Innocenzio from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

AP Writers Martin Crutsinger in Washington, Lindsey Bahr in Los Angeles and Kelvin Chan, Sylvia Hui and Danica Kirka in London contrib-

A14 Thursday, December 23, 2021

NPC orders 2 banks to verify documents in hacking incidents

By Samuel P. Medenilla

“The NPC assures the public that all steps necessary to safeguard the rights of data subjects shall be taken and that the Commission shall exercise the full extent of its powers under the law against any party found to be in violation of the DPA.”

HENRY NAGA

BM

NPC COMMISSIONER

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

T

HE National Privacy Commission (NPC) has ordered BDO Unibank Inc. and Union Bank of the Philippines to verify the documents submitted related to the recent hacking incidents in a conference on January 4.

Newly-installed Privacy Commissioner Henry D. Naga, in a statement on Wednesday, said the agency is looking into the potential personal data breach related to the recent reports about unauthorized bank transactions.

The privacy watchdog started its investigation formally on December 11 to determine the violations committed by the fraudsters according to the Data Privacy Act (DPA).

Two days later, the NPC instructed BDO and UnionBank to explain the situation, asking them to submit additional information, documents, evidence or witness, if needed.

The agency said it has been working with both banks since the launch of the sua sponte investigation.

“Under the NPC’s Rules of Procedure, a sua sponte investigation allows the Commission to investigate possible personal data breaches even without a formal complaint from the public or third party,” Naga explained.

The privacy watchdog said it is factoring in its investigation as well as BDO’s 10-year-old system to determine if “sufficient technical, organizational and physical

₧6B of typhoon funds to come from ’22 GAA O

safeguards” were in place to protect clients from said fraudulent activities.

“The NPC assures the public that all steps necessary to safeguard the rights of data subjects shall be taken and that the Commission shall exercise the full extent of its powers under the law against any party found to be in violation of the DPA,” Naga concluded.

Recently, several BDO clients shared on social media their stories about their bank accounts being compromised as their funds got transferred without their consent to other people with accounts under the Union Bank of the Philippines.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently reported, however, that the fraudsters may have used other financial accounts, apart from UnionBank, when transferring the stolen money. It did not disclose the names, but categorized them as bank and non-bank entities.

The Sy-led bank said that it has been processing the reimbursement of about 700 clients affected by the fraudulent transactions.

The Central Bank, for its part, recently created a task force to investigate the security breach. This, after announcing that they are working with the BDO and UnionBank to resolve the matter.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno is expecting recommendations from the team next month. “Guided by relevant laws and regulations, penalties and/or sanctions may be imposed depending on results of the examination,” he said.

@sam_medenilla

VER half of the government’s P10-billion fund allocation to help areas hit by typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) are contained in the still pending 2022 national budget, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Of the committed funds by President Duterte, Budget officerin-charge Tina Rose Marie L. Canda disclosed only P4 billion are readily available.

She explained that P2 billion will come from the government calamity fund, while the other P2 billion will be taken from the President’s contingency fund.

The remaining P6 billion, she pointed out, will be sourced from the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which she said, may be

signed by the President next week.

“So it’s between—probably after Christmas until [December] 29th—these are the days that are open [for the signing],” Canda said.

Acting Presidential spokesperson Karlo B. Nograles said the 2022 GAA still needs to pass through a vetting process before it could be signed by Duterte.

Pending report

NOGRALES said the signing of Proclamation No. 1267 last Tuesday

USE FUNDS FOR PARTIES FOR TYPHOON AID–CBCP

T

HE head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged the public to celebrate Christmas simply this year and use money for parties instead to help victims of typhoon Odette (international name: Rai).

In an article posted in CBCP’s news website, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said savings from the celebration can be better used to help typhoon victims.

“Perhaps instead of spending a lot on lavish Christmas parties and exchanging gifts, we can put together whatever we can and contribute it to relief operations,” David said.

The prelate issued the statement after typhoon Odette pummeled six regions during weekend, causing massive damage to farms and infrastructure and homes, and killing hundreds.

The calamity affected over a million people in the

typhoon-hit areas, many of whom now do not have any shelter and even basic necessities such as food and water.

Bishop Alberto Uy of Tagbilaran in Bohol appealed to local government units (LGU) in the affected areas to temporarily “set aside politics” so they could focus on helping their constituents.

Uy also appealed to businessmen not to engage in the “unchristian act” of hoarding basic goods during such disasters.

“Let’s all be united to help all in need,” Uy said.

Bohol was one of the worst hit places.

The CBCP declared December 25 and 26 as national days of prayer for the said victims.

It also appealed to other dioceses to hold a second collection during both days, with the funds raised to be used for the relief operation led by Caritas Philippines.

Samuel P. Medenilla

will allow typhoon-hit provinces to finally tap their calamity funds.

He said this will augment the Quick Response Fund, which is currently being used by concerned government agencies to provide aid in areas devastated by typhoon Odette.

Canda said they could start releasing the calamity funds once the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) comes out with a definite assessment of the damage caused by Odette per region.

“We still don’t know how [the fund] will be distributed and how much will be the distribution per region and local government,” Canda said.

Duterte gave the NDRRMC until Friday to submit the assessment report, which will serve as the basis for the calamity fund distribution.

Proclamation 1267 placed regions 4-B, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 13 under a State of Calamity after these areas were adversely affected by

typhoon Odette.

International aid

NOGRALES said the issuance also allowed the government to accept aid from other countries.

He noted the United Nations, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, China, France, Japan, Qatar and even the European Union have pledged their support to the government in mounting relief and rehabilitation efforts in the typhoon-hit areas.

“We expect a lot more countries and development partners and allies to come to our aid and help our citizens, who were severely affected by Ty phoon Odette,” Nograles said.

To note, in 2017, Duterte said he will refuse to accept any aid from the EU due to the regional bloc’s criticism of the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Last Wednesday, the EU announced it will be donating 1.7 million Euros (P98.86 million) to help victims of typhoon Odette.

TWO friends embrace each other at the Cainta municipal plaza after attending morning Mass in the church opposite the plaza. Catholics in the Philippines attend 9-day early morning masses in the run-up to Christmas, making the country’sobservance one of the longest in the world. BERNARD TESTA

Gordon hounds LTO over inactive riding-in-tandem law

A

MID continuing reports of criminals riding motorcycles in tandem—the latest being four bike-riding policemen robbing a Japanese businessman —Senator Richard Gordon pressed for the filing of separate charges against Land Transportation Office (LTO) officials for “failure to implement Republic Act (RA) 11235, or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.” The senator suggested “multiple charges” also be lodged against LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante and Executive Director Romeo Vera Cruz for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. He warned in a privileged speech that “when the Executive fails to implement a law properly, or when it fails at all to implement what we have passed, the result is a situation where the Executive Department could just sneer at us, disrespect us, or worse, show to the world how powerless we in the Senate or Congress can be.”

Gordon griped that “this is completely unacceptable to us, especially since we, too, have been put here in place by voters of the entire country. Our mandate is no less strong, our role no less important than the others. But that, while personal to us, is not the only consequence.”

Citing findings in his preliminary inquiry, the senator said it showed Galvante had also violated Republic Act 3019, or the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act, “for inexcusable negligence in implementing the law.”

At the same time, Gordon confirmed endorsing the filing of additional charges for separate violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against Galvante and Vera Cruz, for allowing the private entity Trojan-Tonnejes to install a proprietary and closed system such as the Order Management System that, the senator said, was “found to be detrimental to future bidders through regulatory capture or act-

ing in self-interest.”

T he senator stressed that the government should first check whether laws are properly implemented, “instead of impulsive legislation hampering other important measures.”

He added: “And, before we can even think of passing new laws to address the myriad problems our society faces, I submit that what we should prioritize is an honest-to-goodness review of laws,” including, he said election laws, or the prohibition on the parking of billions of government funds in controversial units like the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), or the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC).

Gordon earlier filed the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act as a way to deter r id ing-intandems. The law allows the easier identification of specific vehicles used in crimes through

larger, legible, and more identifiable license plates.

Lamenting the delayed implementation of the law, he noted that over 19,277 crimes were committed by motorcycle-riding criminals from 2016 to January 2021. Gordon griped that “this year alone, a total of 202 individuals have been victimized by the riding-in-tandem, including 171 deaths and 28 injuries, while two escaped unharmed.”

At midnight last Saturday, four active-duty Taguig policemen were nabbed by Pasig patrol cops after a brief shootout when the latter responded to a resident’s call for help after being robbed.

The “robbers” who took P30 million in cash and other valuables from the home of the Japanese businessman turned out to be Taguig policemen, who barged into the house in the guise of an anti-drug mission, and ransacked the house, without arresting the Japanese. Butch Fernandez

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 23, 2021

SMIC aims to raise ₧15B from fixed-rate bond offer

S

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

M Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding firm of the Sy family, on Wednesday filed its registration statement to sell P15 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds.

The offer, composed of P10 billion of fixed-rate bonds and an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion, is the second tranche of the company’s P30-billion debt securities under shelf registration.

It will offer the bonds in three and five-year tenors at a price of 100 percent of face value and will be listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

Net proceeds from the offer will be used primarily to refinance existing debts, the company said.

The company said it has P2.95 billion in loans from Mizuho Bank Ltd. that will mature in March, a P2.55-billion loan from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. maturing in May and P2.5 billion in loans from BDO Unibank Inc. due also in May. The

company also needs to pay P7.68 billion to holders of its Series D bonds, which will mature in July.

SMIC hopes to offer the debt in February next year.

The company engaged BDO Capital and Investment Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. as joint issue managers for the offer, who will also work with BPI Capital Corp., East West Banking Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corporation and SB Capital Investment Corp. as

joint bookrunners and joint lead underwriters.

In November, SMIC reported that its net income in January to September grew 79 percent to P27.2 billion, from last year’s P15.2 billion.

Consolidated revenues rose 5 percent to P289.4 billion during the nine-month period from last year’s P276.4 billion.

Banking accounted for 60 percent of SMIC’s reported net earnings from core businesses, followed by property at 27 percent and retail at 13 percent.

Retail net income was at P4.8 billion, growing more than double from P2.2 billion last year, benefitting from sustained growth in the sales of the department store and specialty stores as well as cost management.

EEI preferred share sale yields ₧6B

Y

u c h e n g c o -l e d c o n struction firm EEI Corp. on Wednesday said its preferred share offering was almost five times oversubscribed on strong demand from investors, allowing it to raise some P6 billion in fresh funds from the deal.

EEI recently concluded the offering of its Series A and Series B preferred shares to the public, which commenced on December 9 and ended on December 15.

The offering marks the return of the company to the equity capital markets since its P540-million stock rights offering in 2007.

The company said its order book was 4.85 times oversubscribed from its base offer of P4 billion, allowing the company to exercise the oversubscription option of P2 billion.

“EEI’s preferred shares were oversubscribed with strong demand from institutional and retail investors who want exposure to a major player in the infrastructure development of the country,” RCBC Capital Corp., the sole issue manager of the offering, said.

Proceeds from the issuance are expected to further hasten the growth of EEI through the financing of its current and future projects and capital expenditures for new equipment for its operations. Other uses for the proceeds of the offer include the repayment of existing short-term loans and funding of general and working capital requirements.

S e r ie s A of it s pre fe r re d shares will have an initial dividend 5.7641 percent and Series B at 6.9394 percent. The shares are scheduled to be listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange on December 23.

“We’re grateful for the public’s faith and trust in our company despite the challenges that we face. This fundraising exercise positions the Company to more actively participate in projects that contribute to nation building,” Cris Noel Torres, EEI chief financial officer said.

EEI has mandated RCBC Capital as sole issue manager and, together with SB Capital Investment Corp. as joint lead underwriters and bookrunners for the issue.

The company said it is targeting to hire some 10,000 skilled workers next year to fast-track the completion of its projects.

Reynaldo Dizon, EEI vice president for human resources man-

agement, said the firm has set its sights on projects from the government and the private sector both here and abroad.

By ne x t yea r, he sa id t he company will need carpenters, masons, reba r men, sca f folders, welders, pipe fitters, steel workers, engineers, architects, safety, quality control personnel, electricians, and civil works supervisors.

EEI currently has 13,382 employees across different construction projects in the Philippines, some 6,909 of whom are overseas while 3,201 are in its subsidiaries.

“We really take good care of our employees and their families.

This has been highlighted during this pandemic when employees were housed, fed and paid their full salaries and wages despite no production during the ECQ [en-

hanced community quarantine] lockdowns,” Dizon said.

In ter ms of remuneration, the firm provides subsistence allowances to cover incidental expenses while on field deployment. These are on top of standard housing and accommodations while in the project sites.

“We are also among the few construction companies investing in the protection of project workers through group life and accident insurance,” he said.

The company said it is one of the few local construction companies that provide an array of career opportunities, both domestic and overseas, to its employees.

It is a leading producer of high ly sk i l led workers muc h sought after in the construction and engineering labor market.

VG Cabuag

B1

AC Energy to sell Iloilo power barge

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

A

C ENE R G Y C o r p .

(ACEN) is sel l ing a power barge to MORE Power Barge Inc. In a disclosure to the stock exchange, ACEN said it signed on Wednesday the Asset Purchase Agreement for the sale of Power Barge (PB) 101. The purchase amount was not disclosed.

PB 101 in Barangay Obrero, Iloilo City is a 4 x 8 megawatt (MW) oil-fired diesel barge. It is operational and providing ancillary services, providing peaking load and/or as backup supply.

The sale is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, subject to satisfaction of agreed conditions precedent, which include applicable regulatory approvals.

Earlier, ACEN executed an asset purchase agreement for the sale of PB 102 and 103 with

SPC Island Power Corp. PB 102 and PB 103 are both 4 x 8 MW oil-fired diesel barges and are currently non-operating.

PB 102 in Barangay Obrero, Iloilo City has been decommissioned since July 2020, while PB 103 in Barangay Poblacion, Lapu-lapu City is nonoperating.

These assets are “aged” and were inherited when the company acquired Phinma Energy Corp. from the Del Rosario family for P6.3 billion in 2019.

ACEN said the sale of power barges is part of the company’s move to shift its focus to renewable energy (RE).

The company is the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group. It has about 2,900 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia.

The company’s renewable share of capacity is at around 80 percent. Its goal is to reach 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 23, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

December 22, 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 FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MANULIFE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

79,200 246,035,933 130,237,978 3,515,130 122,766 147,276,135 16,000 4,999,880 14,351 4,040 9,880 39,385,037 25,360,800 102,890 40,660 63,700 107,770 19,560 19,475 183,986 13,000

-99,410,274 -11,104,401.50 526,395 -13,146 61,463,946 -136,162 -5,653,859 3,373,707 9,975 40,176 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 10.6 10.62 10.6 10.68 10.5 10.6 13,100,700 138,820,966 ALSONS CONS 1.04 1.08 1.03 1.04 1.03 1.04 69,000 71,160 ABOITIZ POWER 31.05 31.1 30.7 31.45 30.7 31.1 1,798,400 55,962,520 BASIC ENERGY 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.65 0.63 0.64 3,828,000 2,447,570 FIRST GEN 27.25 27.3 27.4 27.9 27.25 27.3 859,400 23,610,345 FIRST PHIL HLDG 71.6 71.8 71.8 71.8 71.6 71.8 860 61,616 MERALCO 299.6 303 303.2 303.8 299.6 303 92,070 27,772,182 MANILA WATER 24.5 24.6 24.5 25.5 24.5 24.5 871,600 21,768,625 PETRON 3.13 3.15 3.13 3.18 3.13 3.13 1,155,000 3,648,540 PHX PETROLEUM 10.48 10.86 10.86 10.86 10.48 10.86 16,000 171,858 PILIPINAS SHELL 19.56 19.6 19.6 19.62 19.56 19.56 28,500 558,492 SPC POWER 13.8 13.82 13.8 13.9 13.76 13.82 96,400 1,330,314 SOLAR PH 1.12 1.13 1.15 1.16 1.11 1.13 148,680,000 168,615,710 AGRINURTURE 4.04 4.05 4 4.12 3.98 4.09 222,000 899,020 AXELUM 2.85 2.92 2.88 2.96 2.85 2.85 241,000 689,380 CNTRL AZUCARERA 13.18 13.78 13.18 13.18 13.18 13.18 100 1,318 CENTURY FOOD 26.4 26.45 26.55 26.9 26.4 26.4 1,011,600 26,839,380 DEL MONTE 16.2 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.2 16.2 184,400 3,020,506 DNL INDUS 9.3 9.31 9.25 9.31 9.12 9.3 1,948,700 18,039,723 EMPERADOR 18.9 18.98 18.98 19.6 18.88 18.9 1,326,200 25,241,618 SMC FOODANDBEV 70 70.95 70.95 70.95 70 70.95 79,410 5,596,540.50 FRUITAS HLDG 1.2 1.21 1.23 1.24 1.21 1.21 7,216,000 8,825,540 GINEBRA 113.1 114 111.5 114 110 114 71,590 8,050,886 JOLLIBEE 218.6 219 209.2 219 209.2 219 903,830 196,001,912 MAXS GROUP 6.45 6.52 6.64 6.64 6.4 6.52 111,400 723,347 MG HLDG 0.152 0.158 0.15 0.158 0.15 0.158 520,000 78,690 MONDE NISSIN 15.9 15.94 15.84 16.02 15.7 15.9 12,133,200 192,915,280 SHAKEYS PIZZA 9.5 9.6 9.5 9.65 9.5 9.5 98,400 936,681 ROXAS AND CO 0.62 0.65 0.63 0.65 0.62 0.65 2,084,000 1,295,500 RFM CORP 4.6 4.64 4.6 4.64 4.6 4.64 2,000 9,240 SWIFT FOODS 0.104 0.107 0.104 0.109 0.104 0.104 550,000 57,250 UNIV ROBINA 129.5 130 127.8 130.2 127.6 130 2,150,180 278,406,424 VITARICH 0.69 0.7 0.7 0.72 0.7 0.7 5,785,000 4,058,750 CEMEX HLDG 1.01 1.02 1 1.02 0.99 1.02 13,601,000 13,827,110 EAGLE CEMENT 14.32 14.48 14.48 14.5 14.48 14.48 5,100 73,868 EEI CORP 6.4 6.42 6.5 6.55 6.4 6.42 60,900 395,285 HOLCIM 5.65 5.68 5.12 5.65 5.12 5.65 1,307,900 7,088,227 KEEPERS HLDG 1.32 1.33 1.32 1.39 1.32 1.32 20,395,000 27,567,110 MEGAWIDE 5.02 5.03 5.06 5.1 5.01 5.03 252,100 1,271,560 PHINMA 20.25 20.5 20.45 20.5 20.45 20.5 381,200 7,795,930 TKC METALS 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 1,000 780 VULCAN INDL 0.92 0.94 0.96 0.96 0.91 0.92 759,000 701,700 EUROMED 1.46 1.52 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2,000 3,000 MABUHAY VINYL 4.05 4.29 4.25 4.29 4.25 4.29 2,000 8,540 PRYCE CORP 5.65 5.7 5.74 5.74 5.69 5.7 15,000 85,510 CONCEPCION 20.15 20.9 20.95 20.95 20.15 20.15 500 10,155 GREENERGY 2.32 2.33 2.39 2.39 2.32 2.33 1,685,000 3,989,370 INTEGRATED MICR 8.74 8.83 8.7 8.88 8.7 8.74 853,000 7,496,991 IONICS 0.69 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.68 0.7 590,000 411,900 PANASONIC 5.75 5.88 5.73 5.88 5.73 5.88 18,800 108,266 SFA SEMICON 1.08 1.11 1.1 1.12 1.08 1.11 165,000 181,970 CIRTEK HLDG 3.66 3.67 3.59 3.66 3.53 3.66 795,000 2,880,890

66,098,366 7,842,255 68,590 -1,663,155 -1,436 -8,864,310 -77,470 1,539,230 -121,532 275,760 61,690.00 -4,120 22,960 5,882,455 -396,000 5,125,363 84,042.00 -5,029,487.50 231,920 -10,154,768 -42,324 -516,806 388,550 -1,255,690 -15,918,447 8,000 -47,784 4,977,443 159,780 -308,896 45 8,160 -308,060

HOLDING & FRIMS

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

43.8 122.2 91.5 25.9 9.2 53 17.7 19.22 56.7 101 19.7 116 109.2 1.54 4.05 0.64 3.23 0.87 867 211.2 2,502

0.92 853 57 11.9 6.35 7.35 0.87 5.08 7.66 7.52 568.5 3.5 52.65 0.63 3 9.7 3.88 2.93 1.1 2.85 1.06 13.46 943 111 0.61 122.4 0.167

44 122.3 91.7 25.95 9.31 53.1 17.72 19.24 57.5 109.8 20 117 109.8 1.69 4.13 0.66 3.32 0.93 950 215 2,600

0.93 861 57.2 11.96 6.39 7.88 0.91 5.1 7.68 7.61 570 3.55 53.9 0.67 3.02 9.75 3.91 3.05 1.12 3 1.15 13.5 948 113 0.66 128 0.17

44 123.2 92.1 25.95 9.2 53 17.84 19.1 56.7 101 19.7 116 106.5 1.51 4.05 0.65 3.33 0.93 997.5 215 2,600

0.92 883 55.7 12 6.15 7.88 0.88 5.14 7.62 7.98 580 3.5 53.7 0.63 2.91 9.8 3.89 2.93 1.12 3 1.05 13.4 975 113 0.61 120.1 0.167

44 124 93 25.95 9.4 53.1 17.84 19.22 57.5 101 20 117 118 1.54 4.13 0.65 3.33 0.94 997.5 215.2 2,600

0.95 887.5 57.4 12.1 6.44 7.88 0.91 5.15 7.7 7.99 584.5 3.5 54.4 0.67 3 9.87 3.92 3.16 1.12 3 1.15 13.58 977.5 113 0.61 128 0.167

44 122 90.9 25.8 9.2 52.2 17.7 19.1 56.7 101 19.7 115.8 106.4 1.51 4.05 0.65 3.24 0.92 950 211.2 2,600

0.92 853 55.7 11.88 6.15 7.88 0.87 5.08 7.61 7.51 560.5 3.5 52.65 0.63 2.91 9.68 3.88 2.92 1.12 3 1.05 13.32 940 110.6 0.61 120.1 0.167

44 122.2 91.7 25.95 9.36 53.1 17.7 19.22 57.5 101 20 117 109.8 1.54 4.13 0.65 3.32 0.92 950 211.2 2,600

0.92 853 57.2 11.9 6.39 7.88 0.91 5.08 7.66 7.52 568.5 3.5 52.65 0.67 3 9.7 3.88 2.93 1.12 3 1.15 13.5 943 113 0.61 128 0.167

1,800 2,005,360 1,425,200 135,600 13,200 2,781,740 900 260,800 250 40 500 338,460 229,630 68,000 10,000 98,000 33,000 21,000 20 860 5

5,107,000 4,717,250 266,260 231,976,215 529,810 30,204,462 2,211,700 26,399,062 8,805,500 56,081,754 1,300 10,244 712,000 621,620 526,800 2,699,935 2,205,900 16,916,480 15,300 118,022 349,880 198,859,365 35,000 122,500 2,689,860 143,899,724.50 77,000 48,550 379,000 1,135,870 2,529,200 24,600,853 7,536,000 29,387,220 11,000 32,440 7,000 7,840 55,000 165,000 9,000 9,550 1,700,600 22,925,026 256,680 243,999,425 170,000 19,038,376 181,000 110,410 150 19,042 360,000 60,120

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 0.62 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 28,000 17,920 ANCHOR LAND 6 6.46 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.1 4,900 29,890 AYALA LAND 34 34.05 34.65 35.05 33.95 34 9,664,700 331,450,190 AREIT RT 48.5 48.7 47.5 48.5 47.3 48.5 768,600 37,002,585 BELLE CORP 1.34 1.38 1.4 1.4 1.34 1.38 96,000 130,680 A BROWN 0.78 0.8 0.79 0.8 0.78 0.78 5,000 3,950 CITYLAND DEVT 0.72 0.74 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.72 7,000 5,040 CROWN EQUITIES 0.098 0.102 0.098 0.098 0.098 0.098 11,000,000 1,078,000 CEB LANDMASTERS 2.75 2.77 2.74 2.77 2.73 2.75 563,000 1,548,650 CENTURY PROP 0.39 0.4 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.395 4,270,000 1,686,700 DOUBLEDRAGON 7 7.01 6.96 7.05 6.95 7.01 227,100 1,591,404 DDMP RT 1.78 1.79 1.79 1.79 1.77 1.78 2,918,000 5,197,840 DM WENCESLAO 6.76 6.78 6.78 6.78 6.76 6.78 27,400 185,694 EMPIRE EAST 0.255 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.255 0.26 310,000 79,300 EVER GOTESCO 0.31 0.32 0.325 0.325 0.31 0.31 7,140,000 2,272,200 FILINVEST RT 7.39 7.4 7.4 7.41 7.4 7.4 4,166,100 30,838,582 FILINVEST LAND 1.08 1.09 1.09 1.1 1.08 1.08 6,801,000 7,391,700 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.86 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.86 0.88 672,000 580,100 8990 HLDG 11.48 11.88 11.7 12 11.6 11.88 277,700 3,292,866 PHIL INFRADEV 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.14 1.12 1.13 85,000 96,210 CITY AND LAND 0.87 0.88 0.87 0.87 0.86 0.87 227,000 196,690 MEGAWORLD 3.06 3.08 3.1 3.1 3.05 3.06 8,061,000 24,729,760 MRC ALLIED 0.247 0.248 0.25 0.255 0.247 0.247 3,490,000 867,380 MREIT RT 18.3 18.32 18.32 18.6 18.3 18.32 3,626,000 66,544,872 PHIL ESTATES 0.52 0.53 0.485 0.52 0.485 0.52 4,310,000 2,180,800 PRIMEX CORP 1.96 1.99 1.88 2.02 1.88 1.99 1,000,000 1,938,080 RL COMM RT 7.42 7.43 7.52 7.6 7.42 7.43 3,750,600 28,175,680 ROBINSONS LAND 18.16 18.2 18.4 18.42 18.16 18.2 1,494,000 27,322,586 PHIL REALTY 0.205 0.206 0.21 0.211 0.206 0.206 450,000 93,150 ROCKWELL 1.49 1.52 1.53 1.53 1.49 1.49 67,000 102,470 SHANG PROP 2.61 2.62 2.61 2.61 2.61 2.61 45,000 117,450 STA LUCIA LAND 2.23 2.88 2.89 2.89 2.89 2.89 2,000 5,780 SM PRIME HLDG 34.4 34.95 35 35.25 34.3 34.95 9,833,200 341,695,995 VISTAMALLS 3.6 3.77 3.6 3.77 3.6 3.77 13,000 46,980 SUNTRUST HOME 1.1 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.1 1.14 20,000 22,440 VISTA LAND 3.44 3.48 3.39 3.45 3.35 3.44 463,000 1,587,440

SERVICES ABS CBN 12.44 12.46 12.46 12.6 12.44 12.46 291,300 3,635,000 GMA NETWORK 13.6 13.64 13.6 13.7 13.58 13.6 177,000 2,407,818 MANILA BULLETIN 0.415 0.445 0.44 0.445 0.44 0.445 80,000 35,300 GLOBE TELECOM 3,360 3,420 3,416 3,474 3,352 3,360 38,145 129,948,040 PLDT 1,852 1,870 1,850 1,890 1,836 1,870 78,370 145,995,410 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.079 0.08 0.077 0.081 0.076 0.079 100,740,000 8,027,390 CONVERGE 32.35 32.6 32.1 32.9 31.95 32.6 12,885,300 419,171,945 DFNN INC 2.44 2.45 2.59 2.59 2.44 2.44 250,000 623,530 DITO CME HLDG 5.18 5.19 5.29 5.29 5.01 5.18 5,576,800 28,683,467 JACKSTONES 1.71 1.75 1.77 1.77 1.75 1.75 23,000 40,290 NOW CORP 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.29 1.24 1.24 1,204,000 1,505,980 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.295 0.3 0.295 0.3 0.295 0.295 1,120,000 333,050 PHILWEB 1.86 1.93 1.86 1.97 1.86 1.94 136,000 257,910 2GO GROUP 7.5 7.6 7.5 7.5 7.4 7.5 25,500 191,240 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.88 14 14 14 14 14 5,000 70,000 CHELSEA 1.61 1.65 1.61 1.67 1.6 1.61 83,000 134,550 CEBU AIR 42.3 42.5 43.95 43.95 42.5 42.5 482,200 20,602,330 INTL CONTAINER 193.5 194.1 194 195 192.6 193.5 900,350 174,166,519 LBC EXPRESS 21.05 22.8 22.95 23.95 22.8 22.8 3,200 74,485 MACROASIA 5.22 5.28 5.26 5.37 5.24 5.29 383,100 2,025,118 METROALLIANCE A 1.02 1.2 1.05 1.2 1.02 1.2 140,000 145,630 HARBOR STAR 0.89 0.9 0.92 0.93 0.89 0.9 97,000 89,120 ACESITE HOTEL 1.51 1.6 1.6 1.67 1.55 1.55 89,000 144,310 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.82 1.88 1.8 1.88 1.8 1.88 61,000 111,000 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.49 6.98 6.5 6.5 6.49 6.49 49,700 322,572 STI HLDG 0.345 0.35 0.345 0.345 0.345 0.345 90,000 31,050 BERJAYA 6.61 6.79 6.89 6.89 6.6 6.79 16,300 108,961 BLOOMBERRY 6 6.03 6.2 6.33 5.96 6 15,602,700 94,616,387 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.76 1.8 1.78 1.78 1.76 1.76 134,000 238,300 LEISURE AND RES 1.43 1.45 1.43 1.45 1.43 1.43 163,000 235,640 PH RESORTS GRP 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.75 0.76 324,000 245,590 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.43 0.435 0.43 0.445 0.43 0.435 690,000 304,900 ALLDAY 0.64 0.65 0.63 0.66 0.63 0.64 58,045,000 37,591,030 ALLHOME 8.18 8.3 8.62 8.63 8.17 8.18 629,800 5,311,953 METRO RETAIL 1.35 1.42 1.38 1.43 1.38 1.38 54,000 75,580 PUREGOLD 38 38.05 38.95 38.95 37.9 38.05 893,000 34,319,925 ROBINSONS RTL 64.45 64.55 64.5 64.6 64 64.45 598,840 38,517,423 PHIL SEVEN CORP 88.3 93 89.5 93 89.5 93 33,890 3,113,620 SSI GROUP 1.1 1.11 1.12 1.12 1.1 1.11 1,741,000 1,917,880 WILCON DEPOT 30.15 30.3 30.4 30.5 29.75 30.3 3,839,200 115,555,385 APC GROUP 0.23 0.238 0.23 0.238 0.23 0.238 210,000 49,420 EASYCALL 4.51 5.5 4.51 4.51 4.5 4.51 8,000 36,030 GOLDEN MV 525 540 540 540 540 540 30 16,200 IPM HLDG 7 7.04 7 7.06 7 7.06 2,000 14,030 MEDILINES 1.35 1.37 1.34 1.42 1.34 1.35 16,606,000 22,844,780 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.5 0.51 0.52 0.52 0.495 0.5 5,933,000 2,985,495

MINING & OIL ATOK 5.8 6 6 6.13 5.95 6 33,600 203,915 APEX MINING 1.33 1.36 1.36 1.36 1.33 1.33 339,000 451,240 ATLAS MINING 5.81 5.82 5.82 5.85 5.8 5.82 518,400 3,015,484 BENGUET A 5.02 5.09 5.06 5.06 5.02 5.02 154,500 779,646 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.26 0.28 0.265 0.265 0.26 0.26 200,000 52,850 CENTURY PEAK 2.71 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 40,000 112,000 DIZON MINES 4.91 5.59 5 5 5 5 500 2,500 FERRONICKEL 2.02 2.09 2.06 2.09 2.01 2.09 2,487,000 5,093,140 GEOGRACE 0.184 0.21 0.184 0.184 0.184 0.184 20,000 3,680 LEPANTO A 0.125 0.126 0.129 0.129 0.124 0.126 950,000 118,410 MARCVENTURES 1.02 1.05 1.02 1.05 1.02 1.05 1,101,000 1,128,490 NIHAO 0.98 1.02 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 35,000 34,300 NICKEL ASIA 5.08 5.12 5.08 5.14 5.06 5.08 385,400 1,959,156 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.72 0.75 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.72 9,000 6,480 PX MINING 4.81 4.85 5 5 4.81 4.81 424,000 2,052,300 SEMIRARA MINING 20.85 20.9 20.65 21.05 20.65 20.9 313,800 6,561,080 UNITED PARAGON 0.006 0.0063 0.0061 0.0061 0.006 0.006 9,000,000 54,600 ACE ENEXOR 34.4 34.8 34.15 36 34.15 34.45 317,600 11,026,165 ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 15,400,000 161,000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.01 0.011 763,600,000 8,397,900 PHILODRILL 0.0086 0.0087 0.0087 0.0087 0.0086 0.0087 10,000,000 86,400 PXP ENERGY 6 6.09 6.05 6.09 5.97 6.09 60,600 363,674

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.6 100.9 100.9 100.9 100.6 100.6 610 61,399 ALCO PREF D 511 525 511 525 511 525 1,270 650,370 BRN PREF A 101.1 101.3 101.3 101.3 101.3 101.3 600 60,780 CEB PREF 43.1 43.2 43.85 43.85 43.2 43.2 8,700 376,535 CPG PREF A 102 103 103 103 103 103 100 10,300 DD PREF 100.7 102 101 101 100.7 100.7 5,550 560,094 FGEN PREF G 106.5 110.8 106 107 106 106.5 2,500 265,330 GTCAP PREF A 1,010 1,019 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,010 700 707,000 JFC PREF A 1,000 1,015 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 5 5,000 JFC PREF B 1,005 1,024 1,024 1,024 1,024 1,024 3,005 3,077,120 MWIDE PREF 2B 99.7 100.8 100.8 100.8 100.8 100.8 500 50,400 MWIDE PREF 4 99.5 100.5 98.5 100.5 98.5 100.5 920 90,720 PNX PREF 3B 101.5 102.5 101.5 102.5 101.5 102.5 6,000 612,700 PNX PREF 4 998 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 200 200,000 PCOR PREF 3B 1,105 1,149 1,105 1,105 1,105 1,105 5 5,525 SFI PREF 1.5 1.99 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 25,000 37,500 SMC PREF 2F 79.9 79.95 79.9 79.9 79.9 79.9 9,000 719,100 SMC PREF 2H 75.6 76 75.95 75.95 75.6 75.6 31,330 2,371,587.50 SMC PREF 2I 77.2 79.75 79.75 79.75 79.75 79.75 20 1,595 SMC PREF 2J 76.45 77.45 76.45 76.45 76.45 76.45 692,500 52,941,625 SMC PREF 2K 75.6 76.9 75.6 75.6 75.6 75.6 613,540 46,383,624 TECH PREF B2C 50.5 53 53.5 53.5 53.5 53.5 1,900 101,650 TECH PREF B2D 53.2 53.5 53.2 53.5 53.2 53.5 4,000 213,730

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 12 13.4 12 12 12 12 95,400 1,144,800 GMA HLDG PDR 13 13.02 13 13.02 13 13 41,500 539,530

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.8 0.76 0.79 691,000 540,220

399,470 11,228,780 11,779,630 -17,938,304 6,121,011 700,828 -3,847,642 45,291 -12,673,870 -42,000 26,877,796 -38,070 1,365,794 4,518,000 3,390,872 -31,236,765 -2,926,339 -79,300 -8,320 -29,890 -63,243,765 8,377,580 8,320 -90,780 -19,750 -168,539 53,400 1,131,621 -5,407,160 140,174 67,800 -7,882,810 -45,529,522 -1,057,000 -4,780,969 -4,161,270 -70,040 -90,933,880 3,600 -645,580 -54,206,900 -19,293,260 1,261,990 -12,733,145 -48,800 656,319 40,280 29,500 -1,860 15,000 8,000 -13,010,065 64,036,430 -71,284 310,222 -18,814,312 145,000 -22,800 -3,869,460 573,059.00 -3,040,405 -6,806,349.50 2,053,770 -71,691,475 47,790.00 65,870 13,530 -118,776 112,000 518,610 -1,840 -409,000 -678,445 -6,480 -102,150 675,390 -53,925 8,600 - 597,870 30,390 -263,890 907,200.00 - -1,130,400 -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

ALTUS PROP ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART

20.65 1.29 2.92 2.42 2.31

FIRST METRO ETF

108.3

20.7 1.3 3 2.7 2.32

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

109.3

21.25 1.26 3 2.45 2.31

21.9 1.35 3 2.45 2.36

20.5 1.26 2.9 2.42 2.3

20.7 1.3 2.93 2.42 2.32

94,400 275,000 8,000 31,000 2,263,000

1,957,780 355,130 23,490 75,440 5,266,640

-26,600 -19,500 221,920

110 110 108.3 108.3 25,860 2,824,150 251,240

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Petron has sufficient fuel supply in typhoon-hit areas’

P

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

etron Corp. on Wednesday assured the public that it has sufficient fuel inventory in the regions struck by Typhoon Odette (international code name Rai) even as it is working double-time to repair and safely reopen a number of damaged service stations in hard-hit areas.

The company reported that all its import facilities and terminals in Visayas and Mindanao have been operational since December 18. However, a number of Petron stations in the said regions have remained closed, as these are undergoing damage assessment and repair.

“One thing’s for sure, we have enough product inventories to serve the needs of our kababayans in Visayas and Mindanao. Our biggest challenge, however, is quickly and safely reopening damaged service stations,” Petron President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said.

“Despite limitations, all our teams are working hard to address this. We ask for our countrymen’s

understanding. We know there are long lines at service stations, so we’re working with utmost urgency to ease the situation.”

Ang added that most Petron stations that are open are currently operating using gensets, so even if power outages would persist, the stations can continue serving the public.

Earlier, Ang said the company had also sent fresh stocks of fuel to some provinces, giving assurances that there will be enough supply for all. This, after he announced that San Miguel Corp. (SMC) had also sent P30 million in food donations to some 29 provinces, to help with the massive relief effort.

Aside from working to expand its

Solar PHL unit aims to expand capacity

S

olar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC) on Wednesday said it is in talks for a possible joint venture to acquire some 1,000 hectares of land to increase its capacity to 500 megawatts.

“We are preparing an initial 1,000 hectares for a joint venture with a partner who can help turn this plan into a reality,” said Leandro Leviste, chairman of Solar Philippines, the parent company of SPNEC. While he did not name the potential partner, Leviste said teaming up with the country’s leading companies will be key to accelerating the transition to renewable energy.

Last year, Solar Philippines announced its shift towards Sites and Partners, focusing on creating value from the development of greenfield sites and then bringing in other companies as partners once the project has been “de-risked.”

According to the company’s prospectus, part of the proceeds of its recent P2.7-billion initial public offering (IPO) will go to the construction of the first 50 MW out of the 500 MW that SPNEC has already developed.

The largest part of the IPO use of proceeds is to acquire land to expand beyond 500 MW, in support of SPNEC’s plan to develop the largest solar project in Southeast Asia.

In the case of its Nueva Ecija devel-

opments, SPNEC is initially limited by the power demand of Central Luzon, but the development of around 60 kilometers of transmission to Bulacan would enable the company to deliver more power directly to Metro Manila.

The company has noted this expansion potential is one of the reasons it prioritized this project and pursued the IPO of SPNEC. “This project’s scale is both its advantage and disadvantage. Unlike 100 MW projects located next to existing transmission, this one will need to be at gigawatt-scale to justify the development of new transmission, which is why others have not sought to develop in this area,” Leviste said.

“This is a bet on the demand for large-scale solar, and if such demand does come, this project can become larger than all the solar projects to date in the Philippines combined.”

The Department of Energy earlier mandated the increase of the renewable portfolio standard target to 35 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030.

This would require over 20,000 MW of solar.

According to the DOE’s figures as of December 2020, the Philippines had a total operating grid-connected solar capacity of 1,021 MW. VG Cabuag

number of operational stations in Visayas and Mindanao, the country’s largest oil company is also committed to serving government agencies that are crucial in recovery and clearing efforts, as well as critical installations like hospitals, power plants, water utilities, airports, water transport, and others.

Petron, together with SMC, is also closely coordinating with local government units to gain better visibility of other pressing needs in provinces hit by typhoon Odette (international code name Rai).

The agency said NGCP and DUs should also extend consideration to their electricity consumers by providing some leniency in their electric bill payment.

“We also direct the DUs to relax their collection policies to consumers in their franchise area, at least within the next two months, to give people time to recover from the effects of the typhoon. The directive will also be applied to NGCP, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), generation companies, and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” added Devanadera.

The ERC required the NGCP to provide the status and extent of its transmission lines restoration efforts in the aftermath of Odette.

ERC said that during force majeure events, the NGCP and the affected DUs may immediately implement their capital expenditure projects for the restoration of power without seeking prior approval from the agency.

Since immediate reporting may hamper the restoration work, only a force majeure event (FME) notice is required within three months from the occurrence of the force majeure.

Thereafter, the affected entity shall seek the ERC’s confirmation of the implementation of capital expenditure projects arising from such event.

Power restoration

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Wednesday ordered the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Distribution Utilities (DUs) in Visayas and Mindanao that were affected by the recent typhoon to prioritize and speed up their power restoration efforts.

“We are reminding both the NGCP and Distribution Utilities of their mandate of immediate restoration of lines and power supply to their consumers after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. Consequently, we expect that all their efforts now are concentrated on ensuring that supply will be restored at the earliest possible time,” said ERC Chairperson and CEO Agnes VST Devanadera.

mutual funds

December 22, 2021

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

228.78

-0.4%

-3.61%

-0.53%

0.7%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.6307

21.59%

4.47%

4.22%

24.2%

-7.07%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1654

-3.43%

1.03%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7524 -7.73%

-0.5%

-5.89% n.a.

-7.43%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7538 -1.36%

-3.25% n.a.

1.65%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

1.81%

-1.33%

1.15%

3.22%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.7663

-0.56%

-3.19%

-2.49%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

93.42

-8.79%

-8.1% n.a.

-8.29%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

47.0523

-0.77%

-1.92%

1.16%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

491.51

-0.54%

-1.88%

0.43%

0.53%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d

1.1387

3.49% n.a. n.a.

3.77%

5.1005

0.45%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.3324

12.86%

1.65%

3.06%

14.06%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

35.8055

2.05%

-1.14%

1.76%

2.98%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.9199

-0.37% n.a. n.a.

0.76%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.8502

-0.01%

1.23%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

809.87

-0.17%

-1.19%

1.79%

1.03%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.737

0.71%

-5.35%

-1.54%

2.52%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7029

0.79%

2.18%

-1.17%

1.84%

-3.4%

0.17%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9232 - 0.61%

-1.53%

1.51%

0.6%

United Fund, Inc. -a

-1.53%

2.27%

1.76%

-0.98%

2.28%

3.3769

0.64%

-1.3%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

108.9539

0.09%

1.3%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities $1.1009

-8.01%

6.61%

5.52%

-8.48%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7724

ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

6.13%

15.99%

11.25%

5.95%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.6598

-1.15%

-0.06%

0.16%

-0.53%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.2555

-2.04%

0.58%

0.56%

-1.31%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6687

0.79%

1.51%

2.33%

1.59%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.206 NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

3% n.a. n.a.

1.9945

1.03%

2.48%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.7235

-2.26%

1.54%

1.41%

-1.75%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.6601

-2.14%

1.35%

1.36%

-1.65%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.0967

-0.48%

0.15%

1.27%

0.27%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6067 0.19%

-0.65%

0.94%

0.93%

-4.45% n.a. n.a.

-4.11%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9806

2.48%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9291

-3.15% n.a. n.a.

-2.12%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9173

-2.78% n.a. n.a.

-1.69%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

0.9377

4.35%

0.25%

1.21%

3.99%

1.39%

5.63%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03802

-2.69%

2.61%

1.79%

-2.76%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0495

-8.4%

3.96%

3.66%

-7.12%

3.7%

11.41%

8.42%

3.56%

6.43%

4.5%

-0.08%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6733

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,2 $1.1825 - 0.02%

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

374.37

0.94%

2.94%

2.6%

0.88%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.8855

-0.74%

0.51%

-0.12%

-0.78%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2441

1%

3.02%

3.93%

0.89%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2518

-1.86%

1.87%

1.6%

-2.02%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4278 -0.91%

3.21%

1.97%

-1.04%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.3987

-4.94%

3.94%

1.76%

-5%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

1.3201

0.04%

3.8%

2.83%

-0.09%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.976

-0.38%

4.34%

2.85%

-0.63%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0288

-0.98%

4.87%

2.21%

-1.41%

3.195

0.08%

4.96%

3.62%

-0.35%

1.7323

-0.89%

4.04%

2.92%

-1.29%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities

Poultry integrator taps Converge’s 10GPON

ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$489.64

1.23%

3%

2.56%

1.16%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є219.85

0.31%

1.11%

1%

0.29%

1.88%

-6.02%

1.45%

1.03%

-2.26%

onverge ICT Solutions Inc. announced on Wednesday that it has fired up the first customer of its new 10GPON network, which it said could “provide symmetric upload and download speeds up to 10 Gigabits per second with an average speed of 8Gbps—an industry-first in the Philippines.”

In a statement, Converge CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said the next-generation fiber network also called XGS-PON not only provides faster speeds, but also enhances network reliability.

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

$1.0256

-6.08%

-0.28%

-0.34%

-5.91%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.5095

-0.86%

4.96%

3.12%

-1.2%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.0623317

-0.08%

3.04%

2.04%

0.05%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2025 -0.78%

3.75%

2.03%

-0.65%

C

“10GPON is a future-proof service that allows businesses to expand their network and increase the number of users at a cost-efficient manner. This is a long-term and reliable investment that can bring your business to new heights,” he said.

Uy said the 10GPON network enables businesses to enjoy “reduced traffic jams on their networks, allow the storage and transfer of data instantaneously, and trust that their fiber powered GPON connectivity will be consistent when they need it most.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2028

-5.71%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.026 -2.26%

2.26%

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

2.56%

1.03%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0577 0.95% n.a. n.a.

131.16

0.92%

Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1

1.41%

1.3152

1.08% 1.48%

2.8% 2.6%

2.53%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0605

0.79%

1.46% n.a.

0.65%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d 1.3057

16.43% n.a. n.a.

15.59%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a,d

$0.96

-2.04% n.a. n.a.

-2.04%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

2 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last November 25, 2021.

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

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, December 23, 2021 B3

Per capita rice consumption declined, says PSA

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE country’s average per capita consumption of rice declined by 6 percent to 103.25 kilograms (kg) in 2018 from 109.874 kg in 2016, according to the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Research Fermin D. Adriano attributed the decline in per capita consumption to the “artificial” rice shortage in 2018.

“The lower consumption of rice can only be accounted for the rice ‘crisis’ that we experienced in 2018 because of the wrong decision by NFA [National Food Authority] regarding the timing of the importation and the volume to be imported. This led to a significant increase in rice prices, and in turn, rice inflation which worried our economic managers,” Adriano told the BusinessMirror via e-mail.

“As a result of the ‘artificial’ rice shortage, rice pila became a ubiquitous sight in urban areas. Regular

milled rice price peaked to P45 per kilo then. In other words, price was the significant determinant of the decline in rice consumption then.”

The latest PSA data showed that Filipinos in the 10th decile or the 10 percentofthepopulationwiththehighest income were the biggest rice eaters on a per capita basis at 117.38 kgs.

The lowest income group or the 1st decile recorded the lowest per capita consumption of rice at 82.26 kgs.

“There was an artificial shortage and therefore rice prices increased significantly. Thus, many of the poor consumers cannot afford to buy more given limited income,” Adriano said.

For the regular-milled rice variety, the PSA estimated the country’s average annual per capita consumption at 66.52 kgs.

“By per capita income decile, the average annual per capita consumption of regular-milled rice was highest for the third decile [i.e., the third lowest income group] at 74.57 kilograms,” it said.

“On the other hand, the lowest per capita consumption of regular-

milled rice was registered for the 10th decile or the highest 10 percent income group at 50.71 kilograms.”

The PSA noted that the average consumption of well-milled rice was “higher among individuals belonging to the higher income group.”

The country’s average per capita consumption of well-milled rice was estimated at 32.6 kgs.

“Annual per capita consumption ranged from 10.46 kilograms for the first decile to 65.53 per kilograms for the 10th decile.”

PSA data indicated that the country’s average per capita consumption of NFA rice in 2018 was at 4.13 kgs with people belonging to lowest income group recording the highest consumption at 7.21 kgs.

“It was lowest at the 10th decile at 1.14 kgs.”

The so-called “artificial” rice shortage in 2018 caused the farmgate price of palay and retail prices of rice to hit record highs. This prompted the government to enact the rice trade liberalization law, which deregulated the rice industry in 2019.

THIS BusinessMirror file photo shows different varieties of rice being sold at a local market in Manila.

SLAC raises ₧1.86B via commercial paper issuance Davao farmers bag gold, silver in International Cocoa Awards H YBRID rice producer SL Agritech Cor p. (SL AC) on Wednesday listed its P1.866-billion commercial paper on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

SLAC’s virtual listing ceremony was attended by officials of the company and PDEx. PDEx President Antonino Nakpil said SLAC is the 22nd listing at PDEx this year.

The company’s latest commercial paper issuance will mature on December 21, 2022.

“SL Agritech is now the preeminent and most prolific lister of commercial paper with enough experience in the use of this instrument to provide subject matter expertise

on accessing public investor funding for working capital requirements,” Nakpil said.

SLAC will use the proceeds from the issuance to finance its working capital requirements, including the purchase of seeds and rice from its contract growers and refinance its short-term debts.

Based on the final prospectus of the SLAC listing, some P500 million will be used to repay debts while the remaining amount would be allocated for working capital use.

“This short-term commercial paper will help SL Agritech Corp. fuel its growth,” SLAC Chairman and CEO Henry Lim Bon Liong said.

Unlike other products and com-

modities, Lim said SLAC saw an increase in demand for their rice products and rice seeds both from the government and retail sectors.

“We receive orders from various LGUs [local government units] for rice to be given to their constituents as a form of ayuda. Several foundations also put batch orders of rice to the less fortunate Filipinos,” he said.

“Our processing plants in Talavera, Nueva Ecija and in Laguna have been operating 24/7 just to catch up with the [increasing] orders,” he added.

Lim said the company remains keen on pursuing its plan to expand its domestic and local production capacity despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

He said SLAC’s new rice processing plant in Tarlac with state-of-the-art technology “will soon be operating early next year.” Once operational, he said the plant will double SLAC’s rice production capacity and meet the rising demand for its products.

“The travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic have prevented us from putting in place our plans for international business but nonetheless, the potential for growth of this market is still encouraging and will continue to be a source of growth for the company,” Lim said.

“With the easing of restrictions, SL Agritech Corp. will start to revive its expansion program for its international operations.” Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

NIA transfers 60% of CMIPP ownership to PSALM

T

HE National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has transferred its 60-percent ownership of the P33.75-billion Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

NIA Administrator Ricardo R. Visaya and PSALM President and CEO Irene Joy Besido-Garcia signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the transfer of the ownership on December 14.

The MOA is pursuant to the EconomicDevelopmentCluster(EDC)ResolutionNo.02, Seriesof2021,providing theresolutionthatNIAshallimplement thetransferofits60-percentownership share over CMIPP to PSALM. Under the memorandum, NIA agreed that PSALM shall procure the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Service Contract under Republic Act 9184 or the Government

Procurement Reform Act, to operate, manage, and maintain CMIPP’s power generation facilities and nonpower generation facilities, such as weather stations and access roads from December 11, until its eventual privatization.

“In addition, NIA and PSALM shall work together to ensure that CMIPP’s irrigation function and power generation are preserved and maintained,” NIA said in a statement.

In terms of electrical energy trading, PSALM will continue to be the registeredmarketing participant in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market’s (WESM) database and be responsible for selling, trading, and/or allocating to its customers/WESM the net electrical energy generated by CMIPP’s power generation facilities until the project’s privatization is completed.

In terms of sharing in net revenue and expenses, the parties agreed to share all net revenues and expenses,

accruing from the project beginning December 11 based on their ownership ratio.

For cost-sharing and billing arrangement, NIA and PSALM shall proportionately share in the net income or loss from the project’s monthly operations.

“The Parties shall discuss the protocols in the implementation of sharing and billing arrangements, including the accounting procedures for the same. It was agreed upon that PSALM will pursue the privatization of CMIPP, with the understanding that NIA and PSALM will share in the net proceeds in accordance with their 40 percent-60 percent ownership interest.”

CMIPP was undertaken through a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) agreement between NIA and Cal Energy Casecnan Water and Energy Company Inc. (CECWEC) on November 13, 1994.

The project has a total cost of $675

million (P33.75 billion). It involves the construction of a 26.27-kilometer, 6.50-meter diameter transbasin tunnel traversing Caraballo Mountains with a capacity of 80 cubic meter per second (cms) capable of diverting at least 800 million cms of water per year to the Pantabangan Reservoir.

It also involves the construction of two diversion weirs in Casecnan and Taan Rivers in Nueva Vizcaya, including 80.46-kilometer access roads that connect to local municipal and provincial road networks.

Two generator sets were installed generating a combined power of 150 MW and a 230kV Switchyard wherein the National Power Corporation’s (NPC) transmission lines were connected. The power produced in the plant is supplied to the Luzon Grid.

On December 10, CECWEC conducted the Turnover Ceremony of the Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant to NIA and PSALM.

O

UT of 235 samples from 53 cocoa-producing countries, two Davao farmers made it to the prestigious International Cocoa Awards (ICA) and joined the roster of the best cocoa producers in the world.

ICA through the Cocoa Excellence (CoEX) Program is a biennial global competition recognizing the value of work of cocoa (cacao) farmers by providing them global recognition and celebrating the diversity of flavors from different origins in the world.

For the 2021 edition, the ICA received 235 samples from 53 cocoaproducing countries, four of which from the Philippines and transformed into liquor and evaluated blindly (physical and sensory evaluation through blind codes) by the CoEX Technical Committee.

Recently, CoEX conferred the 50 best samples during the recent virtual ICA which was celebrated at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France in which two of the top producers are Davao farmers.

For ICA Gold Award winner Arthur Lagoc from Talandang, Tugbok District, Davao City, the recognition validates not just his own work but the work of the generations who came before him. He is a second generation cocoa farmer who inherited the family’s 35-year-old cocoa farm from his father Juan Lagoc.

“For as long as you adopt good farming practices, you can produce high-quality cocoa beans,” he said, adding that biodiversity in cocoa farms must also be conserved.

“My cocoa trees are intercropped with fruit trees as they create a cooler environment for my cocoa trees to thrive well and survive the heat es-

pecially during the dry season. One of our farming practices is the use of livestock manure as organic fertilizer and we don’t practice burning of crop residues under the trees.”

The ICA Silver Award winner Carlos Barsicula from Sawata, San Isidro in Davao del Norte is a testament that even smallholder cocoa farmer from a remote area can be at par with the world’s best.

As a retired army personnel, he said discipline, hard work and adherence to quality standards are the secret to his success in the international tilt.

“Before I entered the cacao farming, I have seen many cacao farmers who didn’t adhere to the Good Agricultural Practices and even drying their beans along the side of the road,” he said.

With the Municipality of San Isidro as one of the major cocoa-producing areas in the Davao region and best known for their annual Sikwate Festival, Barsicula has seen it as an opportunity to level-up and put premium on their produce to command better price.

“I attended a lot of trainings to know the best practices and technologies in cocoa production to make sure that every step of the way is based on informed-decision. And through the Chokolate de San Isidro Inc., I also shared what I have learned to my fellow cocoa farmers.”

Both winners are farmer-beneficiaries of the Cacao Rehabilitation Program of the Department of Agriculture-11 (DA-11) through the High Value Crops Development Program where they received production inputs and tools such as cacao seedlings, fertilizers, pruning shears and saws to revive old cacao trees and return to its former glory.

Coffee tumbles on ‘surprising’ USDA surplus view, omicron fears

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RABICA coffee tumbled to a four-week low, pressured by an improved supply outlook and a broader market selloff.

The United States Department of Agriculture on Friday increased its world output estimate for coffee, mostly because of better production in Honduras and Guatemala.

The agency also reduced its demand projection slightly, yielding a world surplus of about 2.6 million bags against a small deficit in June.

March futures fell as much as 5 percent to $2.231 a pound in New York, the lowest for a most-active contract since mid-November. The price is still up about 75 percent his year after adverse weather reduced output in top suppliers Brazil and Colombia.

The USDA report was surprising because until a few months ago some analysts were calling for a much larger deficit, said Hernando de la Roche, senior vice president for StoneX Financial Inc. in Miami.

“Consumption data also showed it hasn’t been as good either. This changes the game a bit.”

Equities and commodities— paced by crude oil—declined as European nations introduced tighter restrictions to fight a surge in infections triggered by the Covid-19 variant, and after US President Joe Biden’s spending plan was derailed.

Coffee may remain under pressure ahead of the annual rebalancing by commodity indexes in early January.

As a top performer, the beans will see

net selling of contracts, analysts at ABNAMROestimate.Fundshavebeen reducing net bullish position for three weeks, government data showed.

In Chicago, corn also dropped, while soybeans and wheat recovered from early losses as traders await more clarity on the South American harvest potential and Chinese demand.

Markets are also keeping an eye on government measures aimed at moderating exports and cooling food inflation. Argentina is putting a ceiling on wheat and corn sales, officials said Friday. Russia also set an 8-million ton wheat quota for the latter part of the season and might raise export taxes if prices reach $375 per ton or higher, about $40 above current levels. Bloomberg News

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

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Thursday, December 23, 2021

For 3rd time, a Filipino wins Franco-German rights prize

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HE 2021 Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law was recently bestowed to Cristina Palabay.

T he s e c re t a r y - ge ne r a l of Karapatan Alliance Philippines was jointly nominated by the French and German Embassies in Manila, in recognition of her dedication to promoting human rights in the Philippines and globally— particularly, through her advocacy work in protecting minorities, empowering women, upholding labor rights, defending freedom of the press and expression, calling for respect of international humanitarian law, as well as supporting actions to protect and safeguard human-rights workers all over the world.

In her capacity, Palabay has led efforts in providing legal and material assistance to political prisoners, as well as families of torture victims, harassment, displacement, and enforced disappearances in the country. She is among the Gabriela Women’s Party’s cofounders who advocate for women’s rights, and has worked to implement laws protecting women against violence and human trafficking, among others.

“Honoring a human-rights defender from the Philippines for her courageous work to protect human rights…underlines the dire situation of human rights… [including] challenges and the risks humanrights defenders and advocates are confronted with in the Philippines,” said Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel of Germany at the awarding ceremonies on December 15. “There cannot be sustainable peace and stability if human rights are violated. The safeguarding and respect of human rights is an essential precondition for develop-

ment, progress and prosperity.”

“This recognition…is not only for me; it is for each and every person who believes in defending and advancing people’s rights,” Palabay remarked during her acceptance speech. “I enjoin everyone to continue to protect and defend human-rights defenders, to hold the line as what Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa said, and to recreate a world [and] a country where genuine respect, protection and solidarity for human and people’s rights exist.”

“Three [Filipinas have received this award, which is truly impressive, as it shows the force of the human-rights movement in this country and its commitment in protecting] the most vulnerable— including against harassment and violence,” stated Ambassador Michèle Boccoz of France. “The [worldwide protection and promotion of human rights and the rule of law…remain top priorities for France and Germany’s] foreign policies, as we strive toward achieving a world built on peace, equality, and justice.”

Palabay is the third Filipina to receive the award since its creation five years ago. In 2017 Rosemarie Trajano—then secretary-general of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates—was cited for dedicating over 30 years of her work in the defense and protection of human rights in the Philippines; while Mary Aileen Bacalso, as secretary-general of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, was honored in 2019 for her work in lobbying for greater national and international

BOCCOZ (from left), Palabay and Reiffenstuel

action against enforced disappearances, as well as providing aid to victims of such and their families.

Yearly since 2016 the prize has been awarded to individuals or organizations that have made exceptional contributions to the protection and promotion of human rights and the rule of law in their country and at the global level. According to the European countries’ embassies, the prize reaffirms their constant commitment to human rights and the rule of law, and helps strengthen their linkage in this area.

O n De cemb er 10, Hu m a n Rights Day, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, as

well as Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, announced the 15 recipients of the 2021 Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. Joining Palabay as this year’s awardees are: Monika Borgmann (Lebanon), Narges Mohammadi (Iran), Nebahat Akkoç (Turkey), Erika Aifán (Guatemala), May Sabe Phyu (Myanmar), Noelah Godfrey Msuya (Tanzania), Tabelo Timse (South Africa), Shaharzad Akbar (Afghanistan), Chang Wei-ping (China), Jacques Létang (Haiti), Alexandrine Victoire Saizonou (Benin), Ajna Jusic (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Jake Epelle (Nigeria), and Rafael Uzcátegui (Venezuela).

Year-end toast to wellness, and a ‘Taste of Australia’

BUSINESS ENVOY

Steven J. Robinson AO Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines

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AM sure the prolonged quarantine at home has made many of us yearn to go out and interact with others, and to celebrate the holiday season. Our shared experiences over the past 22 months have certainly brought to the fore the importance of holistic behavioral wellness: keeping physically active, developing good nutrition and eating habits, making mindful choices, as well as cultivating positive social support.

Recently I joined our very dynamic network of Australianeducated Filipinos and partners in an outdoor festival to promote our collective mental and physical wellbeing. It was an opportunity, after nearly two years, to gather, reconnect and to support each other, while still abiding by health protocols. With SM Malls and SM by the Bay, our embassy provided a safe means by which our alumni could interact and say hello to each other, while helping all of us reach our health and wellness

goals through activities such as a cooking demo, fitness classes, and our joint bike ride around the SM Mall of Asia Complex.

The outdoor activity also highlighted the importance of promoting sustainable, inclusive, active urban transportation and mobility choices for our cities of the future.

I am happy to see a convergence of efforts regarding inclusive mobility. This is one issue the Australian government’s Coalitions for Change program has been advocating for in respect of urban transport—including the establishment of a network of bike lanes in key cities across the country.

Adding to this, our alumni— which includes Hans “Chico” Sy Jr.—have been influenced by the time they spent living and studying in Australia. Accordingly, they are now working on advancing sustainable, inclusive and active urban transportation through cycling here in the Philippines.

I am very pleased to support Chico’s efforts: the bike lanes, racks and repair stations that were set up in SM Supermalls across the country, as well as the recently published Department of Transportation-SM Biker’s Manual, are certainly significant contributions to building back better post-pandemic.

Strong trade partner

INDEED, part of our inclusive march toward better health post-pandemic would be to integrate mindful choices in our daily routines—including choosing high-quality and safe products for our households.

Adding to a clean and pristine environment, strict health and foodsafety protocols, Filipino consumers have also been choosing Australianmade products which are high-quality and safe.

The Philippines has always been my country’s strongest trade partners, as we are both members of the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the recently signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP. These agreements mean nearly 99 percent of our trade in goods is tariff-free. In practice, this means Australia is the local market’s foremost source of beef and lamb; second-biggest source of wine; top supplier of fresh table grapes, citrus and stone fruit; and sixth-biggest source of dairy.

Excited by how enthusiastically Filipinos have taken to e-commerce,

which grew exponentially during the pandemic, we are keen to have high-quality Australian products accessible online. We hope this will enable us to showcase modern Australian flavors with online shoppers who may not be aware of the range of food available.

Australian Festival

SINCE November the “Taste of Australia” shopping page on Lazada has been showcasing my country’s brands and products. Buying Australian fresh produce, food, as well as lifestyle brands and products, has never been so convenient.

Following the Lazada campaign, we launched TasteOfAustralia.ph at the end of November. It is a one-stop shop microsite featuring Philippine online merchants with Australian brands in their product line-up.

Having these Australian brands highlighted on e-commerce sites is our way to bring Taste of Australia closer to Filipino homes, and share more of Australia to a wider market.

Welcoming 2022, we will launch the “Australian Festival” on January 2022 at the MarketPlace, Robinsons Supermarket, Shopwise, Metro Mart and GoRobinsons.

With the holiday season in full swing, and as the country opens up from quarantine restrictions, we will wrap up the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relationship on a high note. So, cheers to 75 years of friendship! I wish all of you a happy and healthy year ahead.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Foreign aid, goods pour in for PHL in wake of ‘Odette’

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EVERAL countries led by Canada, Hungary, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have pledged to provide more than P187.9 million to assist provinces hit hard by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

On top of this, the governments of China, the United States, Japan, Israel and Australia have allocated goods inkind for immediate deployment to affected families.

World leaders also sent their messages of condolences to bereaved families of those who perished in the aftermath of the howler.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa is providing financial assistance through the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), which should help address the urgent need for water and sanitation on the ground.

“My heart goes out to the people of the Philippines, whose lives have been forever changed by last week’s super typhoon. Canadians are sending our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones…we’ll keep everyone affected in our thoughts during this challenging time,” the prime minister said. “In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll continue to help those who need it most.”

Canadian Minister for International Development Harjit Sajjan announced that his country will extend up to CA$3 million (approximately P118.7 million) in assistance, including CA$500,000 for the urgent Red Cross response.

Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin also sent his sympathies and personally expressed solidarity with the Filipino people: “[We share the grief of those who lost their family members and friends as a result of this natural disaster, and wish] a speedy recovery to all those injured.”

For its part, the United Kingdom has pledged £750,000 (about P49.47 million) to the PRC, which will be coursed through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) “to help support those in desperate need of assistance.”

New Zealand will likewise donate NZ$500,000 (around P16.77 million) to the Philippines to support the IFRC’s efforts on the ground.

Hungary is sending financial aid to the typhoon’s survivors, as well as assistance in restoring damaged churches in Cebu. “[We are] sending HUF20million [or P3.05 million] to the victims,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday, while Ambassador Titanilla Tóth shared that their embassy is working together with Caritas Manila and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Ambassador Huang Xilian of China said about 20,000 food packages worth

around P8 million are on their way to Cebu, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro City, Surigao City, Negros Oriental, and other provinces hit

by Odette.

At the same time 4.7 million kilograms of Chinese government-donated rice are already in different Philippine ports, of which 1.5 million kilos are in Cebu, and 3.2 million are in Manila for deployment.

“Relief goods on their way to areas devastated by Typhoon Odette.

Our hearts go out to all the Filipino families who were devastated,” Huang said Tuesday. “We thank the Philippine government—in particular, the Department of Social Welfare and Development—for their great efforts in urgently distributing these rice [donations] to…Filipino families in need.

China will do its utmost to continue its firm support to the disaster-relief efforts of the Philippine government and the Filipino people.”

The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. is likewise contributing a total of P12 million through its Filipino Chinese Community Calamity Fund.

The Israeli Embassy in Manila said Ambassador Ilan Fluss was scheduled to fly to Cebu to deliver solar panels, food packs, and hygiene kits to typhoonaffected residents on December 22.

Last week the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with the support of the Australian government, sent about 1,000 solar lamps, 1,000 mosquito nets, 1,000 plastic tarpaulins and 200 plastic sheets to augment government-led relief operations on the ground and help those displaced in the affected islands of Siargao and Dinagat.

The United States Agency for International Development, together with the World Food Programme and the Philippine government, has deployed two mobile operations vehicles for emergency to Surigao and Ormoc as a means to access electricity and Internet connection for responders.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila said Tokyo is also sending disaster-relief assistance in the form of generators, camping tents, sleeping pads, portable water containers and plastic sheets to cover roofs.

In the morning of December 22, Ambassador of South Korea Kim Inchul met with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin to convey President Moon Jae-in’s message of sympathies and solidarity to President Duterte. His country will be providing $2 million in humanitarian assistance, and an additional $50,000 for emergency relief, courtesy of its embassy. Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA

EU delivers 14.5-M worth of anti-Covid-19 vaccines

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SIDE from the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, other member-countries of the European Union (EU), namely Germany, Sweden, France and Austria, have likewise delivered vaccine doses last week.

The recent shipment has brought the bloc’s total jab donations to 14,525,700, which reflects “a strong gesture of solidarity to fight the…pandemic in the Philippines,” its delegation to the country revealed.

It said some 9.9 million additional doses are expected to be donated by the end of the year through the COVAX Facility—the global initiative providing fair and equitable access of the Covid-19 vaccines for every country.

Collectively, the region’s memberstates are, thus far, the biggest donor of the said jabs in the world, as they have provided more than 350 million doses to low- and middle-income countries. The large majority, around 300 million, have been shared via COVAX. Team Europe is also a major contributor to the facility, having provided €3 billion (about P170 billion) to help secure access to fully donor-funded doses for 92 lower-income economies.

The EU Delegation considers such as “a great collective achievement.”

“Developing, sharing and distributing vaccines against Covid-19 is among the most pressing challenges we face

today,’ Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron said. “By delivering this large amount of vaccines at a critical period, the EU and its member-states stand in full solidarity with the Philippines. It is in our mutual interest to confront this global pandemic, and end it as soon as possible.”

The batch of Germany’s vaccine donations to the country arrived on December 17. They were received by the German Embassy-Manila First Secretary and Consul Anja Hartung, together with representatives from the Health Department and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

With the arrival of another 1,961,300 doses of Moderna vaccines from the ACT-A/COVAX program, the overall number of vaccines donated by the European country to the Philippines now amounts to 7.3 million doses. This set of donations follows the 3.7 million doses of the same kind of jabs that arrived two Wednesdays ago; and already the fourth round of German vaccine donations after shipments of AstraZeneca vaccines were sent in October and November.

Germany is a top global donor of Covid-19 vaccines, supplying a total of more than 175 million doses, with the Philippines among their primary destinations. As a whole, EU memberstates are the largest provider of vaccines to the country.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Parentlife BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, December 23, 2021

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The Christmas Start to ‘SEL’: Part I few questions on “Simplifying Parenting”:

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S we spend another Christmas in the coronavirus pandemic still raging, I want to direct parents to a more positive and purposeful holiday and 2022 the gift of “SEL”or Socio-Emotional Learning. According to www. edutopia.org, “Maurice Elias, a psychology professor at Rutgers University and director of the university’s Social-Emotional Learning Lab, describes SEL as the process through which we learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behaviors.”

We are all aware of the uncertainties in going back to in-person school. Many parents like myself fear the further negative effects this may have on our kids.

I choose to direct my kids’ learning today toward the other skills of a 21st century learner other than Content and Critical Thinking, which they learn more in school. (The other Cs, according to Hirsh-Pasek, include Communication, Collaboration, Creative Innovation and Confidence). I found my “one” solution through SEL. It is an interesting trivia I learned from the same web site that the roots of SEL are as old as ancient Greece when Plato wrote about education in The Republic. Plato proposed “a holistic curriculum that requires a balance of training in physical education, the arts, math, science, character, and moral judgment.” Today, an organization called CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning), which originated from Yale, even exists “to establish social and emotional learning as an essential part of education.”

As I see my kids repeatedly struggle and overcome the challenges this pandemic, I realize how building our children’s socio-emotional side is equally, if not

even more important in these ever-changing times.

For my holiday article, I would like to share to you the works and thoughts of three very interesting people that may serve as a guide for us parents in SEL: Valerie Cheng, a children’s book author based in Singapore; Amabel Japitana, co-founder of kindlittlehands; and Lia Cua, a bright teenager who opened her online bookstore this pandemic. Valerie Cheng wrote a book, titled Where in the World is Peace?

This has a simple but powerful message: that we all

experience anxiety, stress and big feeling moments at one point in our lives, but we will eventually find our peace with some simple exercises. I like this book because it teaches calming skills to kids, like breathing, mindfulness, meditation, letting go, and affirmations, which I only learned in my 20s. It is available onlike via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Powell’s, Booktopia and other independent book sites.

With her simple but powerful book, I asked her a

What are your views with your husband on the importance of Socio-Emotional Learning for your children? Does it differ for each child?

My husband and I believe social and emotional learning (SEL) is extremely important to help children manage their emotions, feel and show empathy for others, make responsible decisions, and to communicate and have healthy relationships with people around them.

We think most of the tools used for SEL are applicable for all ages, for both children and adults.

Even though each child is in a different developmental stage and each child has their own unique personality and a different learning style, the tools we can use are all applicable. We just need to make sure we take an eye-level approach in communicating to each child appropriate to their age.

What activities or tools do you usually use for your child in developing SEL? Do you consider play time an important part of this? Why so?

There are lots of activities and tools we use to help our children develop SEL. We believe it is the little things that are important. It’s the day-to-day experience that matters. We bond and communicate with them, we bring the kids to the parks to play, we do arts and crafts, we cook together, we feed fishes together, we volunteer and help different organizations so they learn empathy and compassion, we do Family Trust Circle time, and we meditate together at night. We make sure the communication lines are always open, so they can come to us for help and support anytime. We also make sure we play together as a family.

Play time is extremely important for children, because it is through play that children learn how to interact with the world around them. Play helps them to understand who they are, to understand cause and effect, to learn problem-solving and decisionmaking skills. It also hones their creativity, develops their motor skills, develops their communication and language skills, and develops empathy and confidence.

Next week, let me share more on Valerie’s thoughts, as well as the unique organization called kindlittlehumans. n

SINGAPORE-based children’s book author Valerie Cheng’s Where in the World is Peace?

New year, new ways of shopping for families WITH more Filipinos embracing the upsides to a digital home, SM Appliance Center offers customers a better, faster and easier way of shopping online through its newly revamped web site, The New SM Appliance, at www. smappliance.com.

The new web site layout is more intuitive and allows for easier navigation through various filters. Apart from a zoom-in feature on product images, families can examine the products better through the comprehensive and updated information on product features and benefits.

There is also a tab dedicated for promos where customers can quickly view special collections. The new web site generally loads faster, making shopping online more fun and convenient. New payment options like installments is now also available using BDO and other selected credit cards.

Now is the best time to try the new web site and shop online for your favorite appliances with SM Appliance Center’s Libreng Appliances Araw Araw promotion, which is ongoing until January 15, 2022. Customers are entitled to a raffle entry

for every P1,000 purchase for the chance to win exciting prizes during the raffle draws.

Planning a new look for your home for the New Year? There are state-of-the-art home entertainment systems like the amazing Samsung TV Frame that will bring not only the cinema experience to your home but also the art gallery with its 4K QLED display and Art Mode features. It has over 1,200 pieces of art with a customizable frame of your choice. It’s TV when it’s on, and art when it’s off.

There are also high performance air filtration systems like the LG inverter splittype air conditioners with energy-saving dual compressors that refresh and renew the air in your room, and Sharp innovative purifiers with built-in dust and odor sensors, keeping your family’s safe from any virus.

Moms will feel like a kitchen queen with LG inverter refrigerators with Hygiene Fresh features to keep food items fresher and odorfree; and the Beko Kitchen Range with advance precision in cooking your family’s favorite meals.

ENJOY a cleaner and safer environment at home with the Sharp Air Purifier with Humidifier.

COOK your family’s favorite meals with ease with this high performance Beko Kitchen Range. It has four gas burners, two hot plates, gas oven and electric grill.

Don’t make a trip to the ER part of your holiday plans IF the holidays are described as “the most wonderful time of the year,” they could very well be the most accident-prone time as well. Think about it. With so much going on—from opening presents, lighting up the tree, and serving Noche Buena, to setting off fireworks and toasting to a bright new year—there’s bound to be a mishap or two in the process.

“Christmas and New Year, while happy occasions, are also stressful ones because of the various elements involved,” says Amado Flores III, MD, chairman of the Emergency Department of top hospital in the Philippines, Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed, www.makatimed.net.ph). “We are cooking more dishes than we’re used to, dealing with our hyperactive kids, hanging Christmas lights that may overheat, and dealing with relatives who may consume more alcohol than they are used to—making our homes more prone to accidents.”

Still, it doesn’t have to be, especially now that we’re still facing a pandemic and practicing minimum health protocols, and Flores offers tips on how to keep the coming festivities fun and ER-free: n FOOD POISONING. “Food poisoning happens when people eat food that has been contaminated with infectious organisms like bacteria, viruses and

parasites. The improper preparation and handling of dishes can also lead to food poisoning,” says Flores.

“This results in nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea. Most cases are mild but some require a trip to the ER.” To avoid food contamination, “make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before and after handling and preparing food,” he points out.

Ensure that utensils, cooking tools, cutting boards, and other food surfaces are washed and clean as well.

Also, cook food in a safe temperature, store perishable foods promptly in the fridge or freezer, and separate raw food from ready-to-eat foods to prevent crosscontamination. “And when it doubt, throw it out,” adds Flores. n BURNS. Grease and boiling water burns from cooking, sparkler burns from welcoming the New Year: the potential for burn injuries happening in the holidays is high. “Kitchen burns can be avoided by protecting your hands with mitts and your arms with long sleeves,” says Donna De Padua, MD, MakatiMed Emergency Department Physician. “Also, stand back when removing the lid of a hot pan or from boiling oil or liquids. And keep your oven and stove tops clean as grease and debris buildup can suddenly ignite.”

As for the best way to prevent firecracker burns?

“Don’t use firecrackers at home in the first place,” he/ she says. “According to the Department of Health, 75 percent of firecracker-related injuries in New Year 2020 occurred at home.” n CHOKING. And not just on food. Toddlers have made the headlines recently for getting their hands on things and popping them in their mouths—like a button battery from a new toy or a coin from an aguinaldo.

“For as long as a foreign object doesn’t get caught in the throat, it will go to the digestive tract and pass naturally,” says Padua. “But if the object gets stuck in the esophagus or bowel area, possible symptoms include gagging, drooling, chest or throat pain, vomiting, refusal to eat, and even abdominal pain and fever. Alert your doctor immediately when you know your child swallowed an object, and even if you believe they can pass it.”

Keeping an eye on your kids and removing any small objects from their reach are the best ways to avoid this holiday nightmare. n FALLS. From seniors tripping over Christmas wires to a person toppling from a ladder after placing the star atop a tree, falls can happen even in a

seemingly benign occasion like Christmas. “Be wary of the older folks who could break their arm or hip when they fall,” warns Padua.

Keep this mishap from happening by clearing floors of wires from Christmas lights and gadgets, and quickly mopping floors of spilt drinks. If someone had to use a stepladder for some reason (to pick out items from a hard-to-reach cabinet, or place the aforementioned star on the tree), have someone hold on to the ladder for support. n ALCOHOL-RELATED ACCIDENTS. Apparently, no holiday get-together is complete without some alcohol and drinking involved—from glasses of champagne to usher in the brand-new year, to endless bottles of beer to go with the pulutan or appetizers. Unfortunately, some tend to get carried away and drink more than they should.

Nip falls, road rage fights, and car accidents in the bud, says Padua. “In a gathering, make sure you or someone else doesn’t drink so they can help those who drank too much reach their homes safely because they’re in no position to drive. Have drunk relatives or guests sober up with coffee before leaving—or, better yet, make them stay over for the night. At least you don’t have to worry if they made it home all right.”

B6 Thursday, December 23, 2021

SMX is best convention center at 2021 World M.I.C.E Awards

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MX Convention Center Manila was recently named by World M.I.C.E Awards as the Best Convention Center in the Philippines for 2021.

World M.I.C.E. Awards is an annual citation to honor the outstanding leaders in the M.I.C.E. (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) industry.

With over 17,000 sq. m. of leasable space, SMX Manila remains as the largest privately-owned convention center in the country. Boasting of four (4) flexible Halls,

five (5) pillarless Function Rooms and fifteen (15) Meeting Rooms, it has hosted the biggest M.I.C.E events in the country: Manila Book Fair, PhilConstruct, World Food Expo (WOFEX), Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), Philippine Franchise Expo, Philippine International Furniture Show, Philippine Dental Association, Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines (IIEE), WORLDBEX, Philippine College of Physicians and Kerygma, to name a few.

Without putting its guard down, safety protocols are continuously enforced within the facilities. Less physical contact, strict policy on wearing of face mask, contactless Health Declaration and Contact Tracing forms, monitored crowd movement via CCTV with face recognition function and event marshals, reduced seating capacity to implement safe crowd management, equipping building staff with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), frequent disinfection of venues and highcontact surfaces, and making use of live-streaming platforms for hybrid events to name a few.

SMX Convention Center continues to provide eXciting events in eXcellent locations complemented by eXceptional service from competent and highlydedicated Events Professionals, upholding its commitment in providing #SMXsafespaces throughout its seven (7) properties located in Manila, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and Olongapo City.

SMX Convention Center is opening its 8th and 2nd standalone property in Clark, April 2022.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. ties up with Ant Group to accelerate its digital transformation

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ESTAURANT Brands International Inc. ("RBI"), one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies and the owner of Tim Hortons®, Burger King®, and Popeyes® brands, recently announced a regional partnership to leverage Ant Group’s digital solutions to accelerate digital transformation of its restaurant operations across Asia Pacific. This deal further complements RBI’s continuous efforts to support local franchisee operations and expansion in the Asia Pacific market.

Under the collaboration, Ant Group will work with RBI’s local franchisees to implement a range of digital solutions, including mini program Software-asa-Service (SaaS) solution and Alipay+, a suite of global cross-border mobile payments and marketing solutions. The collaboration aims to enable a more convenient and seamless omni-channel experience for local diners and to uplift the restaurants’ operational efficiency.

With the mini program SaaS solution, Ant Group will develop mini programs for each of RBI’s brands, namely Tim Hortons, Burger King, and Popeyes, adapted for each local market. Via the mini program, RBI’s local franchisees

will be able to digitally integrate online and offline operations to drive increased efficiency and gain deeper operational insights. At the same time, diners will have access to expanded services, such as contactless menus and payments, online ordering for pickup or delivery, scan-andorder function in store, etc. Furthermore, the mini programs will also incorporate each RBI brand’s existing loyalty program and provide additional digital marketing capabilities, such as distribution of digital vouchers, etc.

To help RBI’s local restaurants to reach more local diners, the mini programs will be integrated into other local and regional digital platforms, including leading regional F&B tech startup Chope, and e-wallets in Southeast Asia, etc.

The collaboration will also see RBI leveraging the Alipay+ solutions to allow more payment options to be accepted instore, on websites, apps, and via the mini programs. With the integration of Alipay+ solutions, RBI’s operations will support payment options such as Touch ‘n Go eWallet in Malaysia, True Money wallet in Thailand, GCash in the Philippines, Kakao Pay in South Korea, and many others.

“We couldn’t be more excited to

launch this groundbreaking partnership with Ant Group, which further supports our mission to make ordering and dining as easy as possible for our guests and leveraging payments to provide a more convenient and personalized experience,” said Ekrem Ozer, President of APAC, Restaurant Brands International.

“Franchisees across Asia will soon be able to benefit from the advantages of digitization across operations and the mini programs’ integration into other digital platforms.”

"Leveraging digital payments and marketing innovations is critical for industries like food and beverage to provide contactless services, boost operational efficiency, and adapt to the fast-changing market conditions,” said Angel Zhao, President of Ant Group’s International Business Group. “We look forward to assisting RBI in its overall digital transformation journey as it reinvents how diners connect with RBI brands both online and offline to create superior customer experiences.”

This activation will take place across eight selected markets in Asia Pacific, and 1,500 restaurants across all three RBI brands.

SM FOUNDATION DISTRIBUTES KALINGA PACKS TO TYPHOON ODETTE VICTIMS. SM Foundation, through its Operation Tulong Express Program (OPTE), distributed thousands of Kalinga packs to families affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. OPTE is a social good program of SM Foundation in collaboration with SM Supermalls and SM Markets which aims to address the needs of communities during calamities and crises.

The EON Group wins silver at Campaign Asia‘s 2021 Philippines PR Agency of the Year

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HE EON Group, one of the largest independent, Filipino-owned, and awardwinning integrated communications firms in the Philippines, wins Silver at Campaign Asia’s Philippines PR Agency of the Year 2021.

This is the third time EON has bagged a win at Campaign Asia’s prestigious awards since 2017.

Sticking to its singular purpose of building trust between its partners and stakeholders, EON continues to champion truth-telling and inspire leadership through its mantra for the year, “Rebuilding with Purpose.” EON believes that in order to rebuild the company, they must build trust by doing great work.

“Trust remains as the strongest tool for any company to recover from a crisis, and we made it a point to respond to the needs of our clients in terms of decision-making and policy development by remodeling our scope of work

and stepping up our research and analytics services,” says Junie Del Mundo, Chief Executive of The EON Group.

EON also believes that the business’s greatest asset has always been its people.

Working on a new company culture and offering flexibility through a hybrid workplace, growth opportunities, and psychological support are just a few of the things EON has rebuilt for the betterment of its employees.

“We now know that for people to thrive in this new work environment, the idea of ‘worklife’ balance must not be left to the employees to figure out on their own. It must be a belief system that the company stands by. We hope that this recognition inspires other agencies and their leaders as we continue to navigate and hope for a better year to come”.

For more information, visit www.eon.com.ph

Sun Life and Pfizer Philippines ink tie-up

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UN Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. (Sun Life) and Pfizer Philippines (Pfizer) are teaming up in a bid to increase financial and health literacy among Filipinos.

The initial phase of the strategic partnership will focus on mounting webinars, market research, and forums.

First offering was the webinar entitled “The Value of Vaccination” with LDR Medics Medical Director Dr. Lemuel Reyes as guest speaker.

“Sun Life and Pfizer are very much aligned in our goal of empowering Filipinos eager to secure their future. With both companies bringing their expertise to the table, the possibilities are exciting,” Sun Life President Alex Narciso said.

“At Pfizer, we apply science and our global

resources to bring therapies that extend and significantly improve lives. Our collaboration with Sun Life reaffirms our longstanding heritage and industry-leading expertise in offering solutions that go beyond just medicines.

With patients at the heart of what we do, we aim to help Filipinos be aware of the available prevention and treatment options so they can make informed decisions for themselves and their loved ones” said Edilberto Reyes, Pfizer Philippines Interim Country Manager.

“One thing we know for sure is that working together allows us to do more and go farther,” Narciso said. “Sun Life will always be ready to engage organizations that share our vision of a brighter Philippines.”

For more information, visit www. sunlife.com.ph.

ROI 2021: Conquer Your Tomorrow

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ANT Group’s International Business Group President Angel Zhao (left) and Restaurant Brands International’s President of APAC Ekrem Ozer during the Business Collaboration Agreement Signing Ceremony.

PJFA Return on Investment (ROI) is a three-weekend case competition that aims to empower senior high school students to engage in financial literacy.

With financial workshops and talks, it serves as the first step towards building a financially literate generation. ROI 2021: Conquer Your Tomorrow, held last November 6, 13, and 27, had a total of 245 participants from senior high schools all over the Philippines.

This year’s ROI focused on creating value through the different talks about financial instruments, compounding the interest earned from investments, and challenging the participants’ resistance through a culminating case competition.

The top 5 finalists of the competition from a pool of 63 teams all over the Philippines were Team Arrupe from Ateneo De Zamboanga University Senior High School, DLSU IS Team A and B from De La Salle University-Integrated School, FINasaya from St. Scholastica’s Academy of Marikina, and ICA Nicole, Nadine, & Jermaine from Immaculate Conception Academy-Greenhills.

The 2nd runner up was DLSU IS Team A and the 1st runner up was ICA Nicole, Nadine, & Jermaine. The final champion who presented

the most realistic investment plan was Team FINasaya from St. Scholastica’s Academy of Marikina!

BusinessMirror, along with Adobo Magazine and WhenInManila were media partners. The ROI team expresses its gratitude to the event speakers: Dylan Berdin from UPJFA, Jong Layug from GCash, Karen Jonas from CFA Society Philippines, Zedric Matubis from Manulife, Paolo Tomacruz from Investagrams, Kenneth Hungchiuming from PDAX, and Anne Raqueno and Vince Cortes from Macquarie.

Appreciation is likewise extende to the case competition judges: Ryan Acorda, Clarah Villasenor, Mikhael Magana, and Bret Urmeneta. “Given that we had several talks, and each time we were given different sets of speakers, I love how each one [of] them really emphasized that as early as now, we should already invest and learn how to manage our finances despite in our current situation wherein there is a pandemic. This shows that even if you are young and is currently only enrolled in senior high this should not prevent or hinder you from investing and budgeting your finances properly,” said a happy ROI 2021 participant.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 23, 2021 B7

Covid-19 vaccine makers hit uneven distribution of doses

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By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

hile vaccine makers have been able to manufacture a total of 11.2 billion of Covid-19 vaccine doses this year, concern has been raised about the uneven distribution of the vaccines.

At a recent press briefing the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network (DCVMN) and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFMA) released data that confirmed production of Covid-19 vaccines scaled up from zero to 11.2 billion doses in just one year. “ T he comple x it y of vacc ine development and manufacturing cannot be overstated, which is why the production levels we are seeing today merit to be celebrated.

As doses leave factories, it is vital that they reach those who need

them the most,” said Sai Prasad, Director for Quality Operations of Bharat Biotech and President of the DCVMN. The DCVMN is a voluntary public, health-driven alliance of vaccine manufacturers from developing countries, firmly engaged in research, development, manufacturing and supply of high-quality vaccines that are accessible to protect people against known and emerging infectious diseases globally.

New production lines

The manufacturing scale up of Covid-19 vaccines that had been developed in record time required

building new production lines able to consistently produce millions of doses to the highest quality standards, managing global supply chains for hundreds of components and ingredients, as well as forging over 300 partnerships around the world to increase manufacturing output.

Of these deals, 229 include various forms of voluntary collaboration that rely on technology transfer, sharing of know-how about the processes and the technologies used to make the vaccines, as well as training specialist personnel to ensure quality standards.

“Unprecedented levels of collaboration between large and small biotech companies has enabled the breakthrough innovation—in the form of vaccines and therapeutics— we need to fight Covid-19. Our scientists and researchers remain committed to improving public health by discovering new scientific tools to protect us from infectious diseases and to working with global partners to increase health equity around the world,” said Dr. Michelle McMurry-Health, President and

CEO of BIO. The BIO is the world’s largest advocacy association representing member companies, state biotechnology groups, academic and research institutions and related organizations across the United States and in 30 plus more countries.

Vaccine surplus

The 2021 supply of Covid-19 vaccines resulted in half of the world’s population being vaccinated with a year. Independent studies indicate that by the end of March 2022, the Group of Seven and European union Countries are projected to have a surplus of 1.4 billion vaccines even when administering boosters.

Dose-sharing is gaining momentum to reach those who have not yet been vaccinated and COVA X is ramping up fast to ensure doses are distributed equitably around the world. So far, more than 700 million doses have been shipped by COVAX to 144 countries and nearly one million doses ordered.

Rapid and efficient delivery of Covid-19 vaccines requires effective and flexible coordination and

planning. The groups said attention is urgently needed to focus on concrete measures in recipient countries to support Covid-19 vaccine deployment and uptake. These measures include: Political prioritization, funding, infrastructure and human resources must be sufficient to deliver vaccines safely, including upscaling cold chain capabilities from airfields to the last mile and increasing health workforce numbers to deliver the vaccines even in areas that are hard to reach and without compromising routine immunization.

Extension of shelf life, with the increase in dose-sharing and distribution of vaccines, coupled with the challenges related to country absorption, innovation and regulatory oversight needed so that shelf life is extended, in line with ongoing studies looking at the stability of vaccines, to ensure vaccines are not wasted.

Regulatory approval even before doses reach countries requires World Health Organization and national regulatory authorities to

work together to ensure that vaccines are approved at the national level so that doses can be deployed immediately.

Addressing vaccine hesitancy requires collective focus as there continues to be pockets of people that, after 18 months of safe data and over eight billion doses administered around the planet, remain hesitant towards Covid-19 vaccines.

“Vaccine manufacturers have delivered on their promise of innovation breakthroughs and have ramped up manufacturing output to historic levels. There have been setbacks, not least the unequal distribution of vaccines. Since May 2021, we have been flagging supplies are sufficient to vaccinate all those who need protection and calling for urgent, planned and efficient redistribution of doses. We are ready to continue innovating in the light of the new variants, and to persevere in our efforts to produce more doses, but we call for greater commitment and urgency to remove the barriers which prevent getting vaccine into people’s arms,” said Thomas Cueni, Director General of IFPMA.

D.O.H. on high alert vs W.I.L.D. LGUs can jump-start smoke-free programs with minimal budget diseases in areas hit by Odette

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

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ollowing the aftermath of super typhoon “Odette” that struck Visayas and Mindanao, the Department of Health (DOH) is on heightened sur vei l lance and war ned the public against the possible outbreak of waterborne and foodborne illnesses, inf luenza-like illnesses, leptospirosis and dengue (W.I.L.D.) diseases.

DOH also reiterated its call for precautionary measures against the spread of Covid-19 among the displaced population.

The stagnant water brought about by the f lood is a good habitat for mosquitoes. These floodwaters may also contain the leptospira bacteria which causes leptospirosis.

The health department also notes that the interruption of safe water supply and sanitation due to flooding may cause water and food contamination which brings other diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, amoebiasis, hepatitis A and acute gastroenteritis.

To prevent W.I.L.D. diseases, Health Undersecretar y Maria Rosario Vergeire stressed the importance of access to water, sanitation, hygiene or WASH facilities and to maintain sanitation inside the evacuation centers.

“Don’t walk in flooded areas.

Ensure availability of safe drinking water and food,” Vergeire said.

She said that the DOH has also alerted its Centers for Health Development to continuously monitor the possible spread of W.I.L.D. diseases, together with concer ned Local Gover nment Units (LGUs) and their respective communities.

“We are very wary of the possible outbreak of communicable, waterborne and vector-borne diseases after disasters, especially now that we have a pandemic.

This may create a complex situation,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

“Rest assured that we at DOH, of course with the support of our LGUs, are doing the best that we can to prevent or control possible outbreaks,” he added.

“Sa ganitong pagkakataon, mas mainam pa rin po ang mga nonpharmaceutical inter ventions gaya ng palagiang paghuhugas ng kamay at pag-didisinfect ng mga bagay na madalas hinahawakan o high-touch surfaces, at observing proper cough etiquette.

Kasama rin dito ang pagbabakuna for vaccine-preventable diseases, pagsusuot ng masks, pagsisiguro na malinis ang inuming tubig, at pagpapanatili ng kalinisan ng kapaligiran upang maiwasan ang flu and other infections,” Duque said.

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o help local government units (LGUs) sustain the implementation of smokefree environment programs in the new normal, a study conducted by HealthJustice Philippines, a nongovernment organization, in partnership with the University of the Philippines—National College of Public Administration and Governance, said that by allocating at least one percent of the local investment plan for health, LGUs can kick-start or even sustain their smoke-free environment programs.

Spending for a practical smokefree program costs around one to three percent of the health budget of LGUs, the study stated.

Even before the passage of Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, LGUs have been strategizing tobacco control programs and finding a place for it among the many priorities in the local health sector.

HealthJustice said that there are LGUs who actively advocate for the smoke-free or anti- tobacco program and have found ways to operationalize these strategies by providing funds for the various program components.

In the said study, selected LGUs from the provincial, city and municipal levels showcased how far they have gone in determining budgets for local tobacco control.

In municipalities, it was recorded that the health budget gets around eight percent of the total annual LGU funds.

Out of this eight percent, less than one percent has been devoted

TMC South Luzon holds Red Mask Gala: Runway for a Cause

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t was a night of elegance and sophistication, fulfilling, and fun.

That’s the fitting description of the recently concluded fundraising event of The Medical City (TMC) South Luzon’s Red Mask Gala: Runway for a Cause, held on December 1, 2021 at The Monochrome in Nuvali, Santa Rosa, Laguna in celebration of World AIDS Day. Organized by a team composed of d if ferent depa r t ments a nd units led by the Hospital Infection Control and Epidemiology Center head, Dr. Mark Kristoffer U. Pasayan, the event featured 50 TMC South Luzon doctors, other healthcare professionals, and guests who walked the runway in their best outfits to help raise funds for the event’s beneficiary Project Ribbon’s Duyan: Cradling for Children with HIV program that aims to provide care and support to children with HIV in the Philip-

pines and TMC-SL’s YACAP (Young Adult Care Assistance Program).

The group included Santa Rosa City Mayor Arlene Arcillas with Dr. Jesus Julio A ncheta, TMC South Luzon Chief Medical Officer as her escort; TMC South Luzon Chief Operations Officer, Dr. Jose Enrico, and spouse, Mrs. Christine Juliano; Dr. Maria Gina Nazareth, president of Philippine College of Physicians Foundation, and the doctors and staff of TMC South Luzon.

One of the event highlights was the official launch of TMC Sout h Lu zon’s CR EST (Center for Reproductive Health and STI Treatment), a DOH-accredited facility where linkages, diagnosis, treatment and continuum of care and support for people with HIV are provided.

The event also featured live performances from the talented singing staff of TMC South Luzon and the children from Duyan. The

turnover of the cheque donations to the beneficiary wrapped up the program.

“This event is held in celebration of World AIDS Day and to raise funds to help provide care and support to children with HIV. It aims to focus our attention on a medical and social aff liction, a lot of members of our society are still uncomfortable with. People w ith HI V-A IDS are often burdened with its stigma and often suffer from discrimination. We hope that, with continued public education, more will realize that HIV patients are like any other member of society who deserve the understanding, care and support for their disease,” says Dr. Cesar Ramon G. Espiritu, TMC South Luzon President and CEO in his virtual message during the program.

All participants of the event are fully vaccinated. Face masks were removed only during picture taking.

to various needs of the anti-smoking program, whether in a first class or fifth class municipality.

Local ordinance

Surprisingly, the allocation for these funds is contained in a local ordinance to ensure that it is made available by these LGUs as a statutory obligation when preparing their annual budget.

These have shown that clear local policies that indicate a minimum amount for anti- smoking program strengthen the availability of the budget, withstanding the regular budget process.

With a less than a one percent “starter kit” budget, LGUs can jumpstart their anti-smoking programs by funding the dual intervention of increasing awareness of constituents for the program and enforcement of guidelines, preferably through an ordinance.

For provinces, this budget can contribute to the maintenance of smoking cessation clinics that are usually available in tertiary hospitals, which may be receive less than one percent allocation from the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses of their health budgets.

Cities, on the other hand, may have larger requirements of around three percent, considering the population density of urban areas and the need for more resources.

Achieving a smoke-free society

P res i de n t D u t e r t e l a u d e d HealthJustice Philippines for pursuing smoke-free advocacies for the benefit of the entire country.

In his message during the 2nd

Smoke-Free Loca l Gover nment Units Forum titled “Sustaining Smoke-Free Communities in New Normal” on December 13, 2021, Duterte also thanked HealthJustice and its partners for “advancing policy reforms in the fields of health, environment, and human rights.

“May this forum lead to more responsive prog rams that w i l l help secure our people from health risks, especially as we recover from the pandemic,” Duterte said in his speech delivered by Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya at Seda Vertis North in Quezon City.

Duterte shared that even during his time as mayor of Davao City, anti-smoking ordinances were put in place and strictly enforced within the locality.

Such policies, the President noted, have so far been “successful for more than a decade now, clearing up our air and promoting the improved well-being of our kababayans.”

He also called on everyone, especially the public health officials, local leaders, and his fellow advocates to work together to achieve a truly smoke-free society for the current and future generations of Filipinos.

Burden of tobacco use

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, meanwhile, lamented that despite efforts to control the Philippine Tobacco epidemic, the Philippines still ranked 10th worldwide and 3rd in Southeast Asia in terms of the total number of smokers.

“The mounting evidence is overwhelming. Tobacco smoking is a risk, a major health factor and leading cause of preventable diseases such

as cancers and diseases of the lung and heart. Every year in the Philippines more than 111,000 Filipinos die from diseases cause directly by tobacco,” Duque said in a recorded video message during the forum.

Duque also stressed that aside from the ill-effects from tobacco products and smoke, current evidence also revealed that tobacco products and smoking significantly increases the individual’s risk of developing severe Covid -19.

“And what we have before us is a glaring public health problem, one that demands urgent action from multiple fronts. The Philippines continuously fights to reduce the burden of tobacco use and exposure, developing critical policy reforms to create a more health enabling environment for all,” Duque said citing Executive Order (EO) 26 signed by President Duterte.

In addition, he said, EO 106 was signed in 2020 which expanded existing smoke free policies to include protection from the emissions produced by vapes, tobacco products, and novel or emerging tobacco products.

“We at the DOH believe that by working closely with the local government units, we can fully realize this policy reforms and create a ‘Healthy Pilipinas’ where all Filipinos especially the youth are protected from the harms of tobacco, vapes, heated tobacco products and other novel tobacco products, more so in times of health crises,” said Duque as he thanked HealthJustice for providing partners and stakeholders an avenue to advocate their policies their policies on tobacco and control.

NIVEA launches NFT art to underline the value of touch

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he s k i n - c a r e b r a n d NIVEA is tapping into the connected world of NFTs (non-fungible token) partnering with Italian visual artist Clarissa Baldassarri, to explore and showcase the value of touch through digital art. Clarissa has suffered from temporary visual impairment early on in her career as a painter. This inspired her to rediscover art through touch.

Based on the belief that a conscious touch can provide new insight to the world, and that touch should thus be accessible to all, a limited edition of a NIVEA NFT art piece is available for free for the first people interested in it.

Touch is powerful—and it’s free

W i th a N o b e l p r i z e g i v e n to the science of sk in recep tors and the trend ing topic of touch depr ivation dur ing the

pandemic, touch has received more attention lately. However, touch as a sense sti l l ranks lower i n most people’s per ception. Recent research concludes that 88 percent of people wou ld rank sight as their most impor tant sense, fol lowed by hear ing.

With “The Value of Touch,” NIVEA wants to bring attention to the power of touch, using blockchain-based non-fungible token (NFTs) to discuss the value society currently attributes to it and spark a discussion about how touch can be valuable and powerful, even if freely available to all. NIVEA is the first mass brand to offer free NFTs that represent “The Value of Touch” with a piece of art directly related to touch through the artist and t he creat ive process behind it.

Touch with purpose

When loneliness begins to take up more space in people’s lives, human touch and connection to others can make a fundamental difference. “The Value of Touch” is part of NIVEA’s brand purpose “Care for Human Touch to Inspire Togetherness,” launched in January 2021. Through this the brand supports human touch projects to promote the quality of life for people at risk of loneliness, like babies born preterm, visually impaired individuals, elderly with dementia, and girls in vulnerable situations. By 2025, NIVEA aims to invest 20 million Euro in human touch projects globally, with positive impact on ​t he individual health and well-being of more than 150,000 people.

NIVEA’s “The Value of Touch” NFT art can be claimed for free at nivea.com/thevalueoftouch.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8

| Thursday, December 23, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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WOODS, SON OFFER INSPIRATION

By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press

THE Appmasters celebrate their title conquest.

Appmasters PBA 3x3 tilt back-to-back champions

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IMITLESS App sealed its place in Philippine Basketball Association 3x3 history as the first team to claim two straight leg titles.

The Appmasters kept their mastery of the TNT Tropang Giga with a hard-earned 21-18 victory to rule the final leg of the half-court tournament’s maiden conference.

Jorey Napoles scored five of his game-high seven points in the final two minutes, including three straight baskets, to break a tight 13-all contest that put his side on top for good.

Napoles later joined Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Reymar Caduyac and Marvin Hayes as the quartet celebrated at mid-court of the Smart Araneta Coliseum after clinching a second straight championship at the conclusion of Leg 6 backed by 1Pacman Party List.

The Appmasters won the top prize of P100,000 to add to their earlier earnings following a similar triumph in the fifth leg of the standalone tournament, where they nosed out TNT, 14-13.

Before Limitless App pulled off the feat, TNT, Meralco, Sista Super Sealers and Purefoods all fell short in their respective bids to become the meet’s first twotime leg winner.

“We approached every leg the same way. We got out there and gave it our best, and we took no opponent lightly,” said Limitless App coach Willy Wilson about his team’s historic feat.

Buoyed by their back-to-back triumphs, the Appmasters will try to cap their campaign by eyeing to win the big one when the tournament holds its first grand finals on December 29 also at the Big Dome. The finale is also backed by 1Pacman Party List headed by Deputy Speaker and NorthPort team owner Mikee Romero.

The TNT quartet of Almond Vosotros, Chris Javier, Lervin Flores and Martin Gozum bagged the runner-up purse of P50,000, but remains a top contender in the grand finals, where the winning squad gets to take home the top prize of P750,000.

In the battle for third place, Platinum Karaoke was too much for San Miguel Beer, scoring a 2113 win to take home the P30,000 purse.

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RLANDO, Florida—The moment offered great hope for the immediate future of Tiger Woods.

Golf had gone all year without his blazing red shirt on Sunday and suddenly it had two of them. Woods and 12-year-old son Charlie, decked out just like Dad, headed down the 18th fairway tied for the lead in the PNC Championship, and for a moment the unthinkable seemed possible.

Winning—no matter that it was a scramble—in his first tournament in the 10 months since a car crash that mangled his right leg?

But then Woods missed the green to the right, both chipped too strong trying to hole it for eagle, both missed birdie putts and par was never going to be enough.

The championship belt went to John Daly and his college son.

The words asked for restraint.

“No, no, no, no,” Woods said with a smile.

The topic was an observation from Matt Kuchar, who played with Woods in the final round and suggested that walking aside, his game and swing looked ready for the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour.

“I totally disagree. I’m not at that level. I can’t compete against these guys right now. No,” Woods said.

For those keeping track, that was his fifth “No.” “It’s going to take a lot of work to get to where I feel I can complete against these guys and be at a high level,” Woods said, and then he was gone.

He at least ended the year on an uplifting note.

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By Josef Ramos

LASKA jumped out of a twogame slump with relative ease over Blackwater that has been groping big time dating back to last year as the Aces scored a lopsided 98-75 win on Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces started slow but went

Augusta National is the prettiest garden and the toughest walk.

Ian Poulter was contemplating this while watching Woods play on Saturday. Up the steep hill on No. 1, down the hill on No. 2, up the hill on No. 3, down and then up on No. 4.

On and on he went until it was suggested the par-three 12th over Rae’s Creek was a fairly easy walk.

“You do have the bridge,” Poulter said, grinning because the point had been made.

Southern Hills, the site of the 2022 PGA Championship, is a fairly easy walk, once players get down the massive slope from the first tee, meaning they eventually have to go back up.

The steepest climb at St. Andrews, which is holding the 2022 British Open, is getting out of the pot bunkers (Woods didn’t hit into any of them when he won by eight shots as a 24-year-old in 2000).

About all Woods knows concerning his future is that he won’t be playing a full schedule ever again. He will have to pick the spots. “And even then,” he said, “my body might not cooperate.”

Justin Thomas sees more of him than any other player, and he was alongside for the opening round when Woods stuffed a towering 4-iron from 220 yards to 8 feet, and when Woods outdrove the 28-yearold on the 11th hole.

“In terms of hitting shots and all that stuff, he’s not that far away,” Thomas said. “But in terms of being able to compete and walk 72 holes multiple weeks in a row? Yeah, that’s a different story. And he’s the only one that can answer that.”

CHARLIE WOODS (right) watches his fairway shot on the 16th hole with father Tiger Woods during the second round of the PNC Championship on Sunday in Orlando, Florida. AP One answer could be found in his easy smile when it was over.

Woods doesn’t smile often when he finishes second. But this was simply about playing with his son. He was happy with that.

MVP group inspired by fruitful ’21, vows more support in ’22

PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan (center) makes the No. 1 sign with (from left) MVP Sports Foundation Executive Director Jude Turcuato, PLDT Vice President Rafael Bejar, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President and Philippine Olympic Committee First Vice President Alfredo Panlilio, TNT Tropang Giga Head Coach Chot Reyes, Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines Chairman Ricky Vargas and TNT Tropang Giga Team Manager Gabby Cui.

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ROM the historic golden performance by Hidlyn Diaz at the Tokyo Olympics—plus two silver and one bronze medals in boxing—to TNT Tropang Giga ending a six-year title drought and a young Gilas Pilipinas scoring a breakthrough, the MVP (Manuel V. Pangilinan) Group was there every step of the way.

And counting the valiant showing of Filipino athletes in gymnastics, football, volleyball, esports, and other sports, no less than the MVP

Aces make mincemeat of Bossing

This might not seem like much, but it was the 26th consecutive year that Woods played at least one tournament as a pro. That didn’t seem likely after images of his crumpled SUV at the bottom of a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs and words like “comminuted open fractures,” medical speak for a bone broken in at least three places that broke through the skin.

Woods also has said amputation was on the table. Word on the medical street is the “Tiger Woods of doctors” were on duty when he was brought in.

Lucky man.

And then 10 months later, he and his son played bogey-free (that was one of their goals) and had a great time (that was the other goal), finished at 25-under par in 36 holes, made 11 straight birdies and nearly won the tournament.

“The competitive juices, they are never going to go away,” Woods said. ”This is my environment. This is what I’ve done my entire life. I’m just so thankful to be able to have this opportunity to do it again.”

Golf doesn’t often make the front of sports pages, and never in December.

Welcome back, Tiger.

And so the next step, naturally, was to wonder when he would return.

Woods doesn’t know, and neither does Lee Trevino.

The second question is where, another mystery.

Woods is forever linked with the Masters, where he delivered a watershed moment in golf history with his 12-shot victory in 1997 at age 21, and where he returned from four back surgeries to win a fifth green jacket in 2019.

The first round of the 2022 Masters is 107 days away, and Woods said he never took a day off during rehab. So who knows? But walking is a big part of playing, and Woods was in a cart at the PNC Championship.

on fire in the second quarter behind the hot hands of Robert Herndon, Maverick Ahanmisi and Jeron Teng to crush the Bossing and improve their win-loss record to 3-2.

Ahanmisi’s layup with four minutes left in the game gave the Aces an insurmountable 92-66 advantage that sent Blackwater reeling to its fifth straight loss in the conference and 24th overall since last year’s Philippine Cup at

Group top brass himself is ecstatic over a fruitful 2021.

“It’s a forerunner of things to come for our Filipino athletes,” said Pangilinan, chairman of the country’s largest fully integrated telco PLDT. PLDT, Smart and the MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF) have long been working with national agencies to support promising Filipino athletes in their training and competitions.

The telco firm also tapped platforms such as TikTok to

the Clark bubble.

“We just can’t let Blackwater play its game, they’re very hungry for a win right now,” said Alaska coach Jeffrey Cariaso, whose wards managed to score the rout despite committing as many turnovers with 17.

Alaska import Olu Ashaoulu was bothered with leg cramps and played for only 22 minutes and finished with 10 points and seven.

“We are hoping he’s fine,” Cariaso said.

Ahanmisi stepped up for

South Border reunion sets off MPBL finale

promote sports and mental resiliency, and partnered with grassroots organizations and local government units to provide Filipino youth a venue to showcase their talent in esports.

“We are committed to supporting Filipino athletes in 2022 and beyond,” Pangilinan said. “We’re fixing the programs of our teams and spending more to help our athletes have better chances of representing the Philippines in the global arena.”

Smart has also been preparing for the Fiba Basketball World Cup in 2023. PLDT and Smart President and CEO Alfredo Panlilio also received a fresh mandate to lead the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas as its president for another year.

“I hope we do an excellent job in hosting a championship that will be remembered by the Fiba,” Panlilio said.

In addition, PLDT Smart and MVPSF are also preparing for the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games in May, Huangzhou 19th Asian Games in September, Jakarta Fiba Asia Cup in July and the Philippines’s hosting of a Fiba Qualifying window in February.

“We Filipinos love sports so much that it has the power to bring us

together as a nation. It gives us a deep sense of community, camaraderie, and pride,” added Panlilio, who also serves as the president of MVPSF and first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

PLDT and Smart have also brought sports closer to the Filipinos through various innovative services powered by the fastest network in the country.

The Olympics, National Basketball Association, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), volleyball games and esports tournaments, among others, were streamed on the Smart Sports Facebook Page, GigaPlay app and across all social media platforms— allowing fans to watch the games conveniently through their gadgets.

Smart also brought about the country’s first 5G-powered sports broadcast during the PBA games.

On esports, Smart has also partnered with game creators, supported local and international tournaments, delighted subscribers with exclusive mobile data offers for gaming and actively participates in the Philippine Esports Organization, which governs and develops esports for over 43 million gamers in the country.

Ashaoulu and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Teng added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Herndon and Mike Tolomia contributed 12 points each also for the Aces, who struggled in the first quarter, 21-24, before outscoring the Bossing in the second (29-19), third (23-17) and fourth (25-15) quarters.

Alaska lost to Barangay Ginebra (77-80) last Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City and TNT Tropang Giga (77-81) last Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Blackwater’s woes continued to pile up as import Jaylen Bond suffered a groin injury in the first quarter. He still managed to play for 23 minutes but only scored two points on a dismal 1-of-5 shooting from the field that went with five rebounds and three assists.

Rashawn McCarthy led the Bossing with 16 points.

HE Chooksto-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) will reunite one of the iconic bands MASCARIÑAS the country has ever produced—South Border— as an added Christmas treat for basketball and original Pilipino music fans alike, Luke Mejares, Duncan Ramos, Jay Durias and the rest of South Border will perform for the first time in seven years before the winner-takeall final of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational powered by TM. The pre-final show is set on Thursday live and for free at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The battle for third place starts at 1 p.m., while the gates for the South Border reunion and the final will open at 6 p.m.

“We had a lot of firsts during the 13-day Invitational tournament,” Chooks-to-Go President Ronald Mascariñas said.

“We’re the first league to open the SM Mall of Asia Arena, we’re the first league to open to the fans and now, we will be the first to hold a live concert.”

“This is our gift to the fans who have religiously supported Chooks-to-Go, the MPBL, and Filipino music,” he added.

For Durias, this will be a monumental moment in the band’s 27-year history.

“This is so exciting for all of us,” Durias said. “This is our first public appearance since the start of the pandemic and also our first time to perform in a basketball league.”

“More importantly, it’s been seven years since South Border last jammed with Luke and five years since we had Duncan,” he said. “We hope that the basketball fans would sing and dance with us as we play our hit songs and our favorites covers. It sure is going to be a lot of fun.”

It will not stop there as at halftime, Mojofly will be performing.

Four teams remain in contention for the championship and the P2,000,000 top prize.

Pasig-Sta. Lucia took on BasilanJumbo Plastic Medical and Nueva Ecija faced Imus-Buracai de Laiya on Wednesday night.

WGM Frayna solo leader in national women’s chessfest

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OP seed Janelle Mae Frayna unloaded a vicious kingside onslaught to hammer out a 36-move King’s Indian victory over Marian Calimbo and leapfrog to the top after the eighth round of the Philippine National Women’s Chess Championships at the PACE Building in Quezon City on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Frayna, the country’s first and only Woman Grandmaster so far, went straight for Calimbo’s king and ended up capturing the defense piece by piece that forced her opponent to resign.

The result catapulted the Army recruit from Bicol to solo No. 1 with 6.0 points as erstwhile co-leader, No. 3 seed Jan Jodilyn Fronda, drew with second seed Shania Mae Mendoza via repetition in 16 moves of a Ruy Lopez to slip to second with 5.5 points.

Mendoza was stranded at No. 3 alongside WGM candidate Kylen Joy Mordido and Marie Antoinette San Diego with 5.0 points each.

Mordido bounced back from her seventh-round defeat at the hands of Lexie Grace Hernandez on Tuesday by edging Bernadette Galas in 38 moves of a Sicilian encounter while San Diego dumped Francois Magpily in 30 moves of another Sicilian battle.

But it was Frayna who shone the brightest after absorbing a heartbreaking loss to child prodigy Ruelle Canino in the opening round on Saturday. She faced Rinoa Mariel Sadey in the ninth round late Thursday.

Sadey turned back Canino in 50 moves of a Pirc Defense to stay in the middle of the pack at sixth with 4.5 points.