Issuu

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 118

‘Virus to cut tourism, export receipts of PHL’ T By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) in China and the confirmation of cases in other top markets for Philippine products could hurt the country’s exports this year, according to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III.

In a statement delivered before the Joint Senate Committee Hearing on the n-CoV on Tuesday, the finance chief said more than half of the Philippines’s exports to China last year consisted of electronic parts. China was the top trading partner of the Philippines in 2018 while Wuhan is considered the hub of transport and industry for central China.

“In the immediate term, the temporary closure of factories in China and possible disruption in global supply chains may cause a temporary, slight decline in our exports, particularly of electronics and auto parts,” said Dominguez. While the country’s top imports from China, such as steel, machinery and petroleum products do not

seem to carry the nCoV virus, he said the government will undertake the necessary precautionary measures. He also said the Department of Trade and Industry has committed to work closely with affected Chinese and China-based companies that intend to strengthen their operations by adding a production facility in other countries.

However, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said he does not expect the spread of nCoV to cause a significant impact on the country’s exports and imports, especially if the problem would persist for only two months. “In fact, we’re not seeing any reduction yet. We’re just basically preparing or projecting that there might be impact on the demand. If this problem ends in, say, 60 days, it won’t affect the full-year projection

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 42 pages |

DOH HIT FOR SLOW PACE OF NCOV CONTACT TRACE By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

N “interagency miscommunications” is now being blamed for the delays in the crucial contract tracing of passengers of the flight taken by the two foreigners who were confirmed to be infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) after arriving in the country. During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, it was revealed that the Department of Health (DOH) was only able to contact 17 percent of the 331 passengers of the concerned flight, 14 days after it arrived in the country on Jan. 21. Grilled by several senators, Health Secretary Franciso Duque III attributed the slow pace of the Bureau of Epidemiology to the alleged refusal of the concerned airline to share with them the contact details of the passengers due to the Data Privacy Law. “The airlines are not sharing . . . The contact details of the passengers. They are invoking confidentiality,” Duque said – a comment that drew a quick reaction from one of the three carriers with regular flights to China and its Special Administrative Regions Macau and Hong Kong. “CEB has been in close coordination with the Department of Health, the Bureau of Quarantine and other government agencies to help manage the risk of contamination from the nCoV and has been working with the government from the beginning,” said Cebu Pacific in a statement on Tuesday. “Per the request of both the DOH and BOQ, CEB has already provided a list of the passengers aboard both flights. There is no impediment whatsoever for CEB to provide any and all information that the BOH and DOQ would need from us for their purposes,” Continued from A9

See “Export,” A2

Ban on live animals’ shipment eyed to fight ASF

BSP seen cutting rates despite faster inflation

NFLATION may have accelerated slightly in January, but the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will likely continue to tighten monetary policy this year, a local economist said. In a recent economic bulletin, ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Mapa said the inflation rate may have reached 2.9 percent in January, slightly higher than the 2.5 percent recorded in December. Mapa said January saw sustained disruption to the supply chain as “runoff effects” of the recent storms and damage from the eruption of Taal Volcano will boost food prices. “Transport prices will see a slight uptick in prices on the third tranche of the fuel excise tax was

PESO exchange rates n

implemented although lower global crude oil prices muted most of the impact,” he said. “Lastly, ‘reverse’ base effects from the low inflation reading in 2019 will also nudge the 2020 inflation path to bounce then settle at around 3 percent on average for 2020,” he added. Despite the projected upward trajectory of the inflation rate, Mapa said the BSP will still likely cut rates this year and continue its easing stance from 2019. The ING economist believes that BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno will prioritize supporting growth for this year, as he sees enough elbow room for the Monetary Board to cut interest rates further. See “Inflation,” A2

At first glance, it looked like a Cabinet meeting, as nearly a dozen department secretaries showed up at Tuesday’s joint Senate hearing, led by the Committee on Health and Demography, on the government’s preparedness to respond to the 2019 novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV threat. ROY DOMINGO

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) will study the possibility of imposing a nationwide ban on the shipment of live animals, such as hogs, to prevent the spread of diseases, such as African swine fever (ASF), a high-ranking official said. Agriculture Undersecretary for Consumers Affairs Ernesto S. Gonzalez said he will form a technical working group (TWG) to assess the feasibility of implementing the stringent measure. Gonzalez explained that the banning of live animal shipment would be complemented with the establishment of meat packing zones in every

US 50.9460 n japan 0.4688 n UK 66.2145 n HK 6.5601 n CHINA 7.2552 n singapore 37.2222 n australia 34.0880 n EU 56.3565 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5798

See “ASF,” A2

Source: BSP (4 February 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

BTr raises ₧310.8B in 1st RTB issuance for the year

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has raised a total of P310.8 billion in its first issuance of RTB for the year.

In a text message, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said P250 billion was raised through new money and P60.8 billion was raised through the switch tender offer. The BTr also closed the public offer period and the exchange offer period for the latest tranche of Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) two days earlier than scheduled. The BTr issued a memorandum on Tuesday informing all selling agents for the 23rd tranche of RTB of the early closure of the public offer period.

Please be advised that today, 04 February 2020, will be the last day of the Public Offer Period for the 4.375 percent Retail Treasury Bonds due 2023. Final orders for subscription shall be submitted to the BTr no later than 4 p.m. today. Please be guided accordingly,” read the memorandum signed by National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon. On the same day, the Treasury also issued another memorandum on the closure of exchange offer period on Tuesday. Both the public

offer and the exchange offer which started last January 28, 2020 were initially scheduled to end on February 6, 2020. However, the BTr also noted in its January 24 Notice of Offering for RTB-23 that it may end the Public Offer Period as well as the submission of offers on an earlier date within the Public Offer Period. By way of explaining the early closure of the Public Offer Period, Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said the Treasury has already achieved its target volume for the three-year RTBs. “We have almost reached our target volume so we deemed it best to close the exchange offer and end the offer period by 4 pm today,” Sta. Ana said in a text message to BusinessMirror on Tuesday. Prior the result of the RTB sale on Tuesday, BTR’s biggest issuance of RTBs is in 2017 at P255.4 billion.

During the rate-setting auction on January 28, the BTr awarded an initial P134 billion worth of RTBs, which was almost five times oversubscribed from the P30-billion offering. Tenders amounted to P149.827 billion. Aside from the 23rd tranche of RTBs, the BTr also introduced a switch tender offer where bond holders of RTB 3-08—issued in April 11, 2017, maturing on April 11, 2020—will be allowed to exchange their holdings for the latest RTB offering. RTB 3-08 held a coupon rate of 4.25 percent, which is lower than the 23rd tranche of RTBs with 4.375-percent coupon rate. RTBs are generally considered low risk for investors as these allow them to earn on a fixed interest based on prevailing market rates, and are paid quarterly during the term of the bond.

Stockpile on vital medical supplies–Gordon

O prevent shortages during public health emergencies, the local Red Cross chairman on Tuesday proposed stockpiling on strategic medical supplies, given how face masks and disinfectants disappeared from store shelves amid fears over the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). “Other countries, like the United States, spend billions for a secret stockpile of supplies, food, medicines, and vaccines, among others.

This is to ensure that there would be adequate supply of food, medicine, vaccines and other necessary supplies to tide them over until the emergency ends. We should also invest in warehouses in strategic areas across the country where they could be prepositioned,” Sen. Richard J. Gordon, concurrent Philippine Red Cross chairman, said during a hearing on the nCOV called by the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, chaired by Senator

Export. . .

ASF. . .

[for exports],” said Lopez. Aside from the country’s export receipts, Dominguez said tourism’s direct gross value added will also likely decline, noting historical data which indicated that the outbreak of diseases affected tourist arrivals in the Philippines. Nonetheless, he said the Department of Tourism will intensify the promotion of domestic destinations for local travelers who have decided to postpone or forego international travel for the time being. Despite the projected cut in export and tourism receipts, Dominguez said the economic team is standing by its forecast that GDP will grow by 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent this year. “At this moment, it is reasonable to expect that while these developments might slightly restrain our economic expansion, these threats are not enough to force a dramatic reduction in our growth estimates,” he said. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia also said economic managers are now starting to crunch the figures on the possible impact of the spread of n-CoV on GDP. The virus has so far killed more than 425 people worldwide and infected at least 20,000, according to international reports.

region so that “boxed” meat would be traded instead of live hogs and farm animals. Gonzalez, the former National Meat Inspection Service executive director and a veterinarian by profession, said implementing these two concepts would address biosecurity risks in farms and modernize the local hog industry. “I’m now drafting a paper that would create the TWG. I know it is feasible to stop shipments of live animals—not only [will] we address biosecurity risks but the trading system would be more efficient,” he told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview. “We will now have a value chain wherein boxed meat are being delivered in the market instead of live,” he added. Gonzalez added that having such system would also allow the country to be a pork exporter.

Continued from A1

Investment Under his proposal, Gonzalez explained that a meat packing zone would be established in every region which will comprise a slaughter house, cold storage, cutting plant and meat packing plant. He added that these zones could be established in an area where concentration of hog raising is high per region to ensure sustainability of hog supply. The agriculture official said the

Pagcor. . .

Christopher Go. Gordon said the government could also encourage local investors to venture into the production of medical supplies such as face masks, medical gowns and other protective gear to ensure that the high demand for them, during public health emergencies, would be met. The PRC maintains warehouses in different parts of the country where stockpiles of food and non-food items such as face masks, gloves, other per-

government could shoulder part of the investments since it has been able to establish slaughterhouses or partner with the private sector for further funding. Gonzalez said the TWG study, which could start next quarter, will also assess the required investment to pursue the proposed program. Gonzalez said there is already one meat packing company based in General Santos City that is shipping boxed meat.

Clustering Economist Pablito M. Villegas said Gonzalez’s proposal is a step in the right direction in industrializing the country’s agriculture sector. Villegas recommended that the meat packing zones should be established in “strategic” locations where there is a high concentration of hog production and sufficient availability of inputs, such as feeds. Furthermore, he proposed that this type of investment should be done through a public-private partnership (PPP) program and if possible located in agro-industrial economic zones so that private investors would be enticed with incentives provided by the government. “We have to do it strategically where the pig-producing growing zones are. It can be multi-province in regions where [there are] a lot of hog-raising provinces such as Bulacan, Batangas,” Villegas told the BusinessMirror.

Moving forward Meat industry sources told the

Continued from A12

Over P56 billion was remitted by the government through its mandated contributions and other corporate social responsibility programs. The bulk of the remittance, or P35.92 billion, went to the National Treasury which represents the government’s share of 50 percent, followed by the 5 percent franchise tax of P3.78 billion. Other notable contributions of PAGCOR to the government include remittances to the Philippine Sports Commission (P1.79 billion), Dangerous Drugs Board (P60 million), and the Board of Claims

sonal protective gear, sleeping kits and hygiene kits, among others, along with response vehicles are prepositioned for easier mobilization. “We have warehouses in different parts of the country like Cebu, Passi, Iloilo, Ilocos, Subic, Cagayan, here in NCR (National Capital Region) and many more,” he said. Gordon added that the PRC also has response vehicles in those areas like rescue trucks and payloaders.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, Butch Fernandez

BusinessMirror three existing plants in the country are capable of meat packing: one in Bataan, one in Batangas and another in Bacolod. In its TWG, one source noted, the DA should consider the problems faced by existing meat packing plants such as lack of raw materials and strict local government unit (LGU) parameters, such as banning of backyard slaughtering, if it wants its proposal to succeed. The meat packing plants in Bataan and Batangas are underutilized due to lack of hog supply in areas where they are situated, the source said. “We already have the experience for meat packing plants. It just requires strategic positioning and adequate raw materials,” said the source, who is familiar with the meat and cold storage industry. The DA will no longer need a new plant to do a dry run, the source added. “They just have to see the situation of the existing ones.” The source said the establishment of meat packing zones should be a multisectoral approach to ensure efficiency and success of the program. Farmers should commit to the volume of healthy live hogs needed while processor and storage should adhere to global standards while transportation of boxed meat should follow proper handling and hygiene and at the retail level there should be proper receiving and display areas with temperature control, the source explained. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

(P118.91 million), an agency under the Department of Justice which grants compensation to victims of unjust imprisonment and victims of violent crimes. The state-run gaming firm also remitted P123.30 million cash incentives to national athletes and coaches who won in international sporting events by virtue of Republic Act 10699. Cities hosting PAGCOR-operated casinos nationwide also received host cities’ share, amounting to P445.72 million. PAGCOR is a 100-percent GOCC under the Office of the President. On its website, PAGCOR said it operates nine casino branches, collectively called Casino Filipino in major cities across the country. It also operates 32 satellite casinos in major cities in areas that are popular tourist destinations.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Exclusive MRI provision sparks PCC complaint vs NHMFC, 8 insurers By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE countr y’s antitr ust agency is charging insurance firms and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) for entering into deals on exclusive provision of mortgage redemption insurance (MRI) to its account holders for nearly four decades. In a statement on Tuesday, the Enforcement Office of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it charged the NHMFC and eight insurance companies for violation of Section 14(c) of the competition law. The firms are Beneficial Life Insurance Company Inc., Country Bankers Life Insurance Corp., First Life Financial Co. Inc., Fortune Life Insurance Co.Inc., Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corp., Philippines International Life Insurance Co. Inc., The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils) Inc. and United Life Assurance Corp. The PCC also filed charges against members of the Executive Committee who administered the agreements of the insurance pool. They were Ignacio A. Macrohon Jr., president; Daniel M. Mercado Jr., vice president; Jaime M. Santiago, chairman of the technical committee; and Evelyn T. Carada, secretary and treasurer.The statement of objections, issued in December of last year, will serve as the Enforcement Office’s complaint against the respondents, and this will be heard and ruled on by the PCC. According to the Enforcement Office, the respondents entered into agreements that allowed the pool to exclusively and indefinitely provide MRI to borrowers whose loans have been assumed by the NHMFC as secondary mortgagor. One of the agreements deemed anticompetitive has been in effect since 1980. The probe on the MRI deals was launched when the NHMFC approached the PCCO during the twoyear transitory period of the Philippine Competition Act, asking for a review of its contracts and deals with the pool. Prior to the enactment of the competition law, the NHMFC tried to terminate the agreements, but faced legal obstacles arising from by the insurance pool. As secondary mortgagor, NHMFC manages different mortgage loan portfolios originated by banks, housing developers and other primary lending institutions that offer loans for socialized and low-cost

Inflation. . . Continued from A1

The government maintained its inflation target of 2 to 4 percent this year. “In light, however, of the recent development related to the 2019-nCoV, we do expect global growth to dissipate as China, one of the biggest cogs in the global market, is poised to show a marked slowdown. A possible downward revision to China’s growth outlook in 2020 will undoubtedly dampen its demand for Philippine exports with China one of the top three trading partners for the Philippines,” Mapa said. “Given the bleak outlook for global

housing. Mortgagor-borrowers of these primary lending institutions, whose housing loans have been assumed by NHMFC, must obtain an MRI as a form of security. The MRI ensures outstanding loans will be settled in the event of the borrower’s premature death. This exclusive arrangement, according to the basis of the complaint, effectively deprived NHMFC and the housing loan borrowers of choosing MRI coverage from other providers that may offer better terms and conditions at lower premium rates. Any insurance company wishing to offer MRI to NHMFC is effectively required to go through the pool; thereby compromising competition in the relevant market. The agreements cannot be terminated also by mere notice, worsening their foreclosure effect. With such agreements in place, facilitated by the pool’s Executive Committee, the insurance pool was accused of exploiting the lack of any competitive constraints for almost 40 years. This has resulted in poor service, unfavorable premium rates and lack of options to the detriment of thousands of account-holders, including low cost and socialized housing borrowers. Lawyer Ronald P. de Vera, who was tapped as counsel for the insurance pool, told the BusinessMirror his party will be filing a reply to the PCC on or before February 9. At the moment, he said, he and his clients are still preparing the reply.

IC chief: Revisions imperative

Sought for comment, Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa on Tuesday said the Insurance Commission has already expressed its support for the termination of this pool of life insurance companies in the past since the terms were “lopsided.” “I will read and study the PCC findings and report first. But in any case we supported the termination of this pool by the NHMFC leadership a couple of years ago. The terms were really lopsided,” he said in a text message to BusinessMirror. “I cannot support such agreement if that were to be the agreement now. That agreement was put in place in the 1980s with no expiration date,” he added. Under the competition law, entities found to have entered into anticompetitive agreements could face an administrative fine of up to P100 million. With a report by Bernadette D. Nicolas

growth and dissipating threats to the inflation outlook, BSP will likely keep its foot on the easing pedal to help bolster the sagging growth momentum,” he added. Mapa said he sees the first cut to the interest rates happening as early as this week’s meeting to “give the economy a shot in the arm to help navigate the more challenging global growth scenario.” “Meanwhile, we do not expect the BSP to tinker with the reserve requirement (RR) ratio for now, given ample liquidity in the system and to only resume cutting RR when bank lending shows signs of improvement,” he added. The BSP will hold its monetary policy meeting on February 6.

Telecommuting. . .

Continued from A12

“Let me reiterate that noncompliance with occupational safety and health standards is a crime.” “Buhay at kalusugan po ng ating mga manggagawa ang nakataya sa pagpapabaya [Our workers lives and health are at stake with negligence],” said Villanueva, adding: “I’m glad that the DOLE family is here because we want to know from them the extent to which our employers provide information about nCoV, monitor the health of their workers, and provide personal protective equipment or PPE most especially to health care workers.” The senator likewise sought

the assurance of Department of Health officials that the DOH has enough facilities and personnel to help contain the spread of the virus. “What is the capacity of DOHsupported hospitals, which are already, according to news, crowded even prior to the 2019 coronavirus outbreak? Our point is: we have limited resources. If there are many patients under investigation (PUIs) at San Lazaro, for example, can that hospital still be used to treat the other illnesses of Filipinos? The personnel, resources and facilities will really be short,” he said. Butch Fernandez

The Nation www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, February 5, 2020

NBI’s new mission: Pursue purveyors of ‘fake news’ about virus outbreak By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

HE Department of Justice on Tuesday has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to go after individuals deliberately spreading “fake news,” or misleading information, about the novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak, which has claimed more than 400 lives so far. In his Department Order 52, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra specifically directed NBI

Director Dante Gierra “to conduct investigation and case build-up on the alleged deliberate spread of misinformation and fake news about the 2019 nCov acute respiratory disease (2019 nCoV ARD), as well as false reporting of nCoV cases.” If evidence warrants, Guevarra said, appropriate charges should be filed against those found responsible for the violation. Likewise, Guevarra’s order also tasked the NBI to coordinate with the Department of Health and provide technical assistance as may be

needed in contact tracing of individuals who may have interacted with the two Chinese nationals from Wuhan who were found positive of the virus. One of the Chinese nationals died at the San Lazaro Hospital last Saturday after his health condition deteriorated. Guevarra cited in particular the contact tracing of of the passengers who were on board the same flights as the two Chinese nationals. The NBI was directed to submit its report within 30 days.

House, DBM eye new approach for early natl budget approval By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

OUSE Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday said the lower chamber is eyeing to jointly craft the national budget together with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to avoid delays on its passage and, even, presidential veto. In a news statement, Cayetano said the House of the Representatives and the DBM are taking a “second look” at the traditional way of preparing the proposed budget and presenting it to the two chambers of Congress. He pointed out that their plan is for both the Executive and Legislative branches to work together in putting together the yearly outlay. “That is what we want to do and that is what Budget Secretary [Wendel] Avisado wants to do— even before the President submits the budget to Congress, there is consultation with the proper committees of both the House and the Senate, instead of them preparing it, and the House revising it and the Senate doing its own revision,” he said. Through the proposed method

BODY TEMP CHECK

A security guard on duty checks the body temperature of every person entering the building premises of the House of Representatives at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City with a forehead thermometer, amid the global health emergency triggered by the spread of the novel coronavirus. A person afflicted with the lethal virus, which has claimed the lives of more than 400 in China and elsewhere, typically exhibits flu-like symptoms but there also cases that were reportedly asymptomatic, which means a person with the virus did not exhibit any symptom at all. NONOY LACZA

of budgeting, Cayetano said the enactment of the general appropriations bill “would be smoother and faster.” “Aside from speeding up the budget enactment process, the House and the DBM plan to obviate the possibility of the President vetoing or rejecting certain appropriations in the Congress-approved spending bill,” he said. Under the Constitution, it is the President who submits the annual budget to Congress. The budget bill, by mandate of the Charter, originates from the House. The Senate has the power to concur,

or propose amendments. Cayetano recalled that the budget last year was delayed after President Duterte deleted a P95 billion worth of alleged last-minute pork-barrel fund insertions made by the previous House leadership. “Wrangling between the two chambers over such insertions delayed the signing of the budget. The delay resulted in an economic slowdown in the first two quarters before the economy recovered in the latter part of last year. However, the recovery was not enough for the government to meet its growth target,” he said.

Navy sustains capability upgrade program with purchase of 2 more dock landing ships By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

HE Philippine Navy will acqu i re t wo add it ion a l brand-new dock landing ships as the command begins the process of phasing out 24 aging vessels, including warships, deemed to be too old and have already exceeded their required years of service. A dock landing ship is an amphibious warfare vessel with a well dock to transport, and launch, landing craft and amphibious vehicles. The purchase of the two landing dock was disclosed on Monday by newly installed Navy chief Rear Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, even as he admitted that the bidding process for the news vessels is yet to commence. Upon delivery and commissioning, the new acquisition will provide the Navy with four new landing platform docks following its earlier purchase and delivery of such vessels from Indonesia. Bacordo said the decommissioning of vintage vessels, or “legacy ships,” in the inventory of the Navy, which included patrol gun boats, will be done in phases while they

also await the delivery of other brand new assets. “It’ll stripped off all that is functioning. The guns will be removed, everything that is functioning will be removed and will be turned over to other Navy ships,” he said of the warships that will be retired. After that step, the vessels will be turned over to the naval logistics center for the disposal process which would be likely to be done through a bidding as prescribed by Commission on Audit regulations, this will be done by bidding, Bacordo added. The Navy chief said they will retire 20 up to 24 ships, including the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and the BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), both of which were acquired in 1965 and 1998, from the United States and Republic of Korea Navies, respectively. “We are looking at a minimum of 20, so we have already set up certain number of ships for decommissioning per quarter, first quarter, until the second quarter of the Calendar Year 2021. All in all, we will be decommissioning a minimum of about 24 ships,” Bacordo said.

On the other hand, the Navy is also looking forward to the delivery of brand-new additional warships, all under its ongoing capability upgrade program. “We are expecting the Jose Rizalclass frigates, two of it, the first will be arriving estimated in April or May, and then, the second by October, November. And then, we also have the eight units of the fast attack interdiction craft, hopefully, the first will be by first quarter of Calendar Year 2021. The four will be built in Israel shipyard and the four will be built in the naval shipyard,” Bacordo said. “We also have two corvettes and then six offshore patrol vessels. These are the large ticket items,” he added. Meanwhile, the Navy wanted to occupy part of the Hanjin Heavy Industries facility in Subic Bay, Zambales, for use of its bigger ships, including submarines that will be procured. “Our interest is to occupy part of Hanjin because Hanjin. That area is blessed with a deep sea harbor. Right now, none of our strategic vessels can be accommodated in any of the Navy facilities,” Bacordo said.

A4 Wednesday, February 5, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

It is now ‘business as usual at Clark,’ airport official says

DOLE now a step closer to lifting HSW deployment ban to Kuwait, Bello says C By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now a step closer to lifting the total deployment ban for Kuwait after Kuwaiti officials finally agreed to enforce the country’s Standard Employment Contract (SEC) for Filipino household service workers (HSW). In an ambush interview on Tuesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told reporters that the SEC is one of the essential provision of the 2018 Philippine-Kuwait memo-

randum of agreement (MOA) for the protection of HSWs. Bello said the new SEC contains all the provisions, which no less than President Duterte has endorsed to improve the protection of HSWs. The document harmonizing the provisions of the SECs for HSWs between the Philippines and Kuwait was signed during Bello’s recently concluded trip to the Arab country over the weekend. Among the salient provisions of the SEC include making it mandatory for Kuwaiti employers to allow their OFWs to keep their passports and cellphones, setting their meal

Stranded OFW. . . Last flights out

UNTIL Tuesday, immigration and labor author ities continued to grapple with the problems arising from having thousands of migrant Filipino workers and foreign, mostly Chinese, travelers caught in the middle of the ban to all of china, its special administrative regions Macau and Hong Kong, in the wake of the spreading novel coronavirus. Since the ban was declared by President Duterte on Sunday, the airports have had to host hundreds of foreign travelers who were refused entry for coming from China, or Macau or Hong Kong, as well as OFWs with jobs in these places. On Tuesday, some 300 stranded Chinese passengers were able to fly back to their country of origin onboard foreign commercial flights after their local carriers canceled their flights to and from China, Hong Kong and Macau. These flights were given special consideration at the request of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, accord-

and rest time, and banning their relocation in Kuwait without authorization from the Philippine consulate posts. To recall, the implementation of the SEC was among the conditions set by Bello for the lifting of the total deployment ban for Kuwait, which he imposed last month after the killing of Jeanelyn Villavende in December 2019. Bello said he is now just waiting for the Kuwaiti government to submit the status report on the case of Villavende, as well as other Filipinos, who were brutally killed or abused in Kuwait since 2018,

before he decides to lift the total deployment ban for Kuwait. The labor chief said he had asked for updates on the cases of the Filipina HSWs Joanna Demafelis and Constancia Dayag, as well as the case of the OFW, who was allegedly raped after arriving at the Kuwaiti airport last year. The Demafelis case prompted Duterte in 2018 to order to the imposition of total deployment ban to Kuwait. The deployment ban at that time was only lifted with the signing of the Philippine-Kuwait MOA.

continued from a12

ing to Immigration spokesman Dana Sandoval. She said about 120 Chinese passengers boarded a Cathay Pacific flight back to Hong Kong as early as 5 a.m. Tuesday. Another 86 Chinese passengers were flown back to Pudong (Shanghai), onboard China Eastern Airlines Tuesday morning. Another 96 Chinese passengers boarded a China Southern Flight CZ 398 past 9 p.m. Monday. Sandoval said the BI is closely coordinating with Chinese Embassy officials to assist their nationals who might wish to travel home but are having difficulty in securing flights. Meanwhile, Public Affairs Division chief Connie Bungag of the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) said they distributed on Monday night “malasakit kits” that contained biscuits, bottled water, hand sanitizer and wipes to Chinese passengers.

Chinese officials from their embassy in Manila arranged to have their nationals ferried back to Guangzhou, China. At around 6 p.m. (Monday), Chinese Embassy officials and staff brought food and bottled water for the 96 Chinese passengers who complained that no food was available at the departure lobby.

15,000 OFW

A LOC AL recruitment industry leader estimated that 15,000 newly hired overseas Filipino domestic workers would not be able to leave the country to fulfill their contractual obligation, while an estimated 10,000 more domestic workers who went on vacation in the Philippines will remain stranded in Manila due to the ban on travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau. Recruitment consultant Manny Geslani the estimated 10,000 domestic workers is only a ball-park figure because “they did not go through any

recruitment agencies but were hired independently.” He said the number quoted is the yearly estimate of domestic helpers who visit the country at the start of the year. “Their documents are with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency.” There are about 250,000 Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong and Macau out of the 300,000 total. The rest are Indonesians, Vietnamese, Thai and Africans. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam was quoted in newspapers as saying that she would appeal to concerned authorities to allow returning foreign domestic workers (FDW) to be exempted from the ban provided they undergo the proper screening procedure to make sure they do not harbor the novel coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV.

Flights canceled

THE outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus has caused the cancellation of a weekly average of 69 flights by Philippine Airlines to China, and “that’s 138 flights to and from Manila combined,” said PAL spokesman Cielo Villaluna. She added that the carrier accounts for 18,165 seats weekly to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, said it operates 232 flights weekly “between the Philippines and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzen and Xiamen, as well as Macau and Hong Kong.” AirAsia spokesman Kelly Austria said 29 flights to Hong Kong were canceled from February 2 to March 1, 2020. Between the outbreak of the virus and January 21, 2020, nearly 10,000 flights were canceled, according to Cirium, which provides data and research on the travel industry. Hong Kong has sealed six of its 14 border crossings with the mainland as part of efforts to reduce the number of people arriving.

L ARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT—Other than the 14 passengers that were turned back to Hong Kong on Sunday, as well as some canceled flights, airport operations here is “business as usual.” This was the observation made by Teri Flores, spokesman of the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development, which operates and maintains this airport. Flores said following the directive of Malacañang, the airport management has immediately approved the temporary ban on the entry of any person, regardless of nationality, except Filipino citizens and holders of permanent resident visa issued by the Philippine government, directly coming from China and its Special

Administrative Regions. Flores said the 14 passengers were retained on hold at the airport on Sunday as they were not allowed to pass by immigration. The 14 passengers were returned to Hong Kong on Monday via Cathay Dragon flight, she added. Flores also confirmed that China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Air and Cebu Pacific have also canceled their flights. In a travel advisory on February 2, AirAsia also suspended its flights between the Philippines and China. Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea said President Duterte issued a directive on January 31, on the containment and neutralization of the spread of the novel coronavirus. Ashley Manabat

Angeles City water district chief declares he’s ready to quit post amid controversy

LARK FREEPORT—The head of the Angeles City Water District (ACWD) has finally broke his silence amid the swirling controversy sorrounding the management of the city run water supply company. At a news conference here on Friday, ACWD Chairman Bernie Cruz stressed he won’t hesitate to quit his post, saying he does not need his monthly salary of P7,000 from the water district. “They want to banish me there? As for me, they could have just told me to please can you just resign. It’s okay with me, I am not that impatient to get a P7,000 salary from the water district. I don’t need that salary from the water district,” an embattled Cruz declared. He recalled that the controversy started with the supply of bulk water by a private company, the AM Gatbonton Drilling Corp. “We were summoned [by the city council] and they told us that AM Gatbonton was supplying water to the ACWD without a business permit from the city government. And that started it all,” Cruz said. “They recommended the stoppage of the supply of AM Gatbonton because it has no business permit and the operation stopped,” he narrated. Cruz explained that the private company is open in securing a business permit, but they did not allow it to secure such. He added that other than AM Gatbonton, there are other suppliers of bulk water for the ACWD like Clark Water and the Taguete Waterworks. “We were summoned and we showed up in one or two hearings, but we were told by our corporate lawyer that we don’t have to attend because we are not really mandated to be there,” Cruz said. Even if we did not show up, there will be no contempt. We went there on our own volition in aid of legislation,” he added. But Cruz said they were badgered

and the environment (in the city council) was hostile and because of the stress, the general manager had to be placed on a pacemaker. “It was hostile like a court. Hindi [Not] in aid of legislation. What we were looking is for a solution and not to make trouble,” Cruz pointed out. “We were sent letters asking for our reaction, so I said wala naman kaming ginagawang masama […we didn’t do anything wrong],” he said. He denied there was conflict of interest with the transaction in a property at Montenegro subdivision. It happened that the pumping station was located at Montenegro. “Nasa Montenegro ’yung tinayong bomba, but the owner of the subdivision is Tarzan Lazatin who sold it to an Australian. It happened that I have several properties there,” he said. But Cruz admitted that the lot where AM Gatbonton’s pumping station was located was formerly owned by his daughter who then sold it to a private company, AM Gatbonton. “I have nothing to do with it. If I was the one who sold it to the water district, then there is conflict of interest because I am the chairman. But the transaction was between private to private,” he explained. Cruz claimed that the ACWD even earned from the transaction with AM Gatbonton since the bulk water that was sold to them was only P10 per cubic meter, which the water district resold at P22 per cubic meter for residential users and P27 per cubic meter for commercial establishments. Cruz clarified that they are not selling ACWD because it is owned by the government. Cruz said what they are proposing is a joint venture with Prime Water, which is allowed by law, citing a memorandum from the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Ashley Manabat

Property group hopes to draw investments to PHL by hosting global real-estate summit By Roderick L. Abad

Contributor

@rodrik_28

HE association of property developers in the Philippines said on Tuesday that it is confident to bring new investment opportunities into the country, given the growing interest from foreign investors to do business here, particularly in the real-estate sector, on the back of resilient national economy and ongoing massive infrastructure developments. The local chapter of Parisbased Federation Internationale des Adminstrateurs de Biens Conceils et Immobiliers is certain to achieve this as it hosts the 71st World Real Estate Congress at the Marriott Convention Center, from May 26 to 30. FIABCI-Philippines expects that around 1,700 foreign

and local delegates will attend this five-day event. “I hope there’ll be businesses [to be created] out of this Congress,” FIABCI-Philippines Chairman Emeritus Florentino Dulalia Jr. said during the event’s media launch at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City. “In fact, there are many inquiries [from] abroad to partner with us because they hear that the Philippines is a good investment [destination], especially in matters of real estate.” For instance, he bared that the Ciputra Group, a property giant in Indonesia, is eyeing to invest in the country via a partnership with a major local real-estate company to acquire and develop around 250 hectares of land into a township development. “I will connect [them during the conclave],” Dulalia told the

BusinessMirror in a sideline interview, without divulging any further details. In addition, he bared that he already had gained the support of the Asian Real Estate Association of America, confirming the participation of at least 30 of its members in the event. “They will have a road show in the Philippines [during the summit]. So they have already businesses in mind before getting here,” said Dulalia, who will formally assume the presidency of FIABCI International during the global congress. FIABCI-Philippines President Arch. Nestor Mangio, on the other hand, disclosed an offer to develop an old structure in Barcelona, Spain, which used to be a bullfight arena, into a mixed-use development comprised of commercial, residential and retail structures.

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Xi Jinping warns virus may impact China’s social stability

hinese President Xi Jinping called on all officials to quickly work together to contain a deadly new virus at a rare meeting of top leaders, saying the outcome would direc tly impact social stability in the country. Th e e f f o r t to c o n t a i n t h e v i r u s directly affects people’s health, China’s economic and social stability, and the country’s process of opening up, he told a meeting of the Communist Par ty’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee on Monday. Leaders also urged officials “to achieve the targets of economic and social development this year” and “promote stable consumer spending.” It was the second meeting of China’s senior-most leaders to handle the crisis in recent days, a rare occurrence over the past few decades. The virus has already claimed more than 400 lives in China, and sent its equity markets plunging. “The outbreak is a major test of China’s system and capacity for governance, and we must sum up the experience and draw a lesson from it,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a statement from the meeting. Xi said the countr y ’s top leaders should be squarely focused on prevention and controlling the spread of the virus. Officials should abandon “formalities for formalities’ sake,” he said, adding that those who disobeyed the plans of the central government would be punished. The meeting resolved to improve C h i n a’s e m e rg e n c y re s p o n s e s y s t e m , improve weaknesses in public health and crack down on illegal wildlife markets. It also called for improving the production capacity of essential supplies.

Rare meeting

Xi had been out of public view for nearly a week as his government battles the deadly epidemic amid concerns over its abilities to contain the virus. He made his last public appearance on Januar y 28 when meeting in Beijing with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, which has declared the coronavirus a “public health emergency of international concern.” Such meetings of China’s top leaders are rare. There were only 20 reported meetings of the committee between 1992 and 2013, half of them urgent and focused on natural disasters or public health emergencies. Since Xi took power

they have generally been held once a year, except for special meetings, such as those on a deadly 2014 earthquake in Yunnan province and a 2018 gathering to discuss the development of the Xiongan “smart” city. In recent weeks Xi has overseen extreme containment measures, including quarantining more than 50 million people —roughly equivalent to the population of Spain—and rapidly building two new hospitals. The moves have come as the virus’s spread fuels concerns at home and abroad about his efforts to centralize power since taking office, with local officials and Beijing pointing fingers over who’s to blame for the spread of the illness. Bloomberg News

First virus death in Hong Kong puts pressure on Carrie Lam

H Workers arrange beds in a convention center that has been converted into a temporary hospital in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province, on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. China said the number of infections from a new virus surpassed 20,000, as medical workers and patients arrived at a new hospital and President Xi Jinping said “we have launched a people’s war of prevention of the epidemic.” Chinatopix via AP

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

ong Kong reported its first death in the coronav ir us outbrea k on Tuesday, according to Cable T V, putting new pressure on leader Carrie Lam to contain its spread through the densely populated Asian financial hub. The 39-year-old patient is only the second person outside of mainland China to die after contracting the new virus. According to earlier information released by the Hong Kong government, the patient had a preexisting illness and was admitted to the hospital on January 31. He had traveled to Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the outbreak, via high-speed rail on January 21 and returned to Hong Kong two days later. Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Hong Kong has 15 conf ir med coron av i r u s c a s e s a nd i s o n t h e f r o nt l i n e s o f t h e no w - g l o b a l b at t l e t o c o nt a i n t he i l l ness, wh ic h h a s c l a i med mo r e t h a n 3 6 0 l i v e s i n m a i n l a nd C h i n a s i nc e e me r g i n g i n D e c e m b e r. T h e r e h a v e b e e n 4 2 5 d e at h s g l o b a l l y, t h e v a s t m a j o r it y i n Hu b e i p r o v i n c e , w he re Wu h a n i s lo c at e d . E a r lier this week, a 4 4 -year-old

d i e d i n t h e Ph i l i p p i n e s a f t e r c o nt r a c t i n g t h e v i r u s . The news emerged as Lam held a regular news briefing before meeting with the city’s Executive Council, one day after announcing further closures at ports of entry. She stopped short of completely sealing off the border. The death will likely pile further pressure on Lam to shut the border w ith China—a demand of thousands of striking local medical workers—as deep distrust left over from months of v iolent anti-government protests f uel concer ns she isn’t doing enough to stop the v irus from spreading. Taiwan added to that pressure on Tuesday when its foreign ministr y announced the democratica l ly r un island wou ld rest r ic t v isitors f rom mainland China, including foreigners who had traveled there within 14 days, starting Februar y 7. Hong Kong and Macau residents were excluded from the measures.“Lam has no excuse but to tighten up the measures on border control, including stopping mainland travelers and mandator y quarantine for those Hong Kongers who returned from the mainland,”

said opposition law maker A lv in Yeung. “ We understand the mother of the deceased was also infected. T hat is to say there’s a risk of community spreading, hence actions must be taken now.”

‘Quite serious’

Lam said Hong Kong is sourcing medical supplies globally and stocking hospitals was the first priority, after a shortage of surgical masks caused panic buying. She also said Hong Kong was working closely with authorities in neighboring Guangdong, a southern mainland province. “The consequences [on Monday] were quite serious,” she told reporters of the strike’s impact on hospital services. “Critical operations have been affected.” In addition to the partial border closure, her government’s efforts to ward off the outbreak include an extension of school holidays. The coronavirus has rattled global markets, led airlines to cancel flights to and from China, and seen millions on the mainland quarantined as Beijing and governments around the world struggle to contain its spread. The number of cases in China has topped 20,000. Bloomberg News

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Clock is ticking for companies that depend on China imports

f much of industrial China remains on lockdown for the next few weeks—a very real possibility— Western retailers, auto companies and manufacturers that depend on Chinese imports will start to run out of the goods they depend on.

In order to meet deadlines for summer goods, retail experts say that Chinese factories would need to start ramping up production by March 15. If Chinese factories were instead to remain idle through May 1, it would likely cripple retailers’ crucial backto-school and fall seasons. “There’s complete uncertainty,’’ said Steve Pasierb, CEO of the Toy Industry Association. “This could be huge if it goes on for months.” Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak hit hardest, is a center of automotive production. It’s been closed off, along with neighboring cities, isolating more than 50 million people and bringing factories to a standstill. So far, US automakers haven’t had to curb production for want of Chinese parts. But David Closs, professor

emeritus at Michigan State University’s Department of Supply Chain Management, said the clock is ticking. “I would say it’s weeks at the most,” Closs said. “One to two to three weeks.” The partial shutdown of Wuhan has already harmed the production of TV display panels and raised prices, according to a report by research group IHS Markit. The city has five factories making liquid crystal displays, known as LCDs, and organic light-emitting diodes, known as OLEDs, both of which are used for television and laptop monitors. China accounts for more than half of the global production of these display panels. David Hsieh, an analyst at IHS Markit, said in a report that “these factories are facing shortages of both labor and key components as a result

of mandates designed to limit the contagion’s spread,” leading suppliers to raise panel prices more aggressively. Phone-maker Motorola, which has a facility in Wuhan, said that so far, it expects little impact because it has a flexible global supply chain and multiple factories around the world. Its priority has been the welfare of local employees, Motorola, which is owned by the Chinese electronics giant Lenovo, said in a statement. Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts last week that the company’s contrac tors in China had b een forced to delay reopening factories that closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Cook said the company is seeking ways to minimize supply disruptions. Some of its suppliers are in Hubei, the Chinese province at the center of the outbreak. Most of Apple’s iPhones and other devices are made in China. In the meantime, economists are sharply downgrading the outlook for China’s economy, the world’s secondbiggest. Tommy Wu and Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics have slashed their forecast for Chinese economic growth this year from 6 percent to 5.4 percent. They expect most of the damage to be inflicted in the first three months of 2020. “But a more serious and long-last-

ing impact cannot be ruled out,’’ they wrote on Monday. Forecasters are contending with unknowns. No one knows how long the outbreak will last, how much damage it will cause, or how policy-makers will respond to the threat. “We’re grasping for precedents,’’ said Phil Levy, chief economist at the freight company Flexport who was an economic adviser in the administration of President George W. Bush. Some look back to the SARS outbreak, which paralyzed the Chinese economy for the first few months of 2003. But the damage from SARS faded quickly—China was booming again by year’s end. And the world economy emerged mostly unscathed. But times have changed in ways that are not favorable to containing the economic damage. Back then, China was the world’s workshop for cheap goods—toys and sneakers, for instance. Now, China has moved up to sophisticated machine parts and electronics like LCDs. And it accounts for about 16 percent of global economic output, up significantly from just 4 percent in 2003. Levy said he was struck by how US airlines reacted to the coronavirus— They suspended flights between the US and mainland China for weeks— American airlines through March 27, United through March 28 and Delta

until April 30. The move doesn’t just affect tourists, students and business travelers. Passenger planes also carry a lot of freight. “When you see them loading those big 747s, that’s not just your luggage,’’ Levy said. “That can be pallets full of electronics, and other things.’’ The health crisis coincides with an especially difficult time for China’s factories. A 19-month trade war with the US—in which the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $360 billion of Chinese imports—has already led US-based multinational corporations to look for alternatives to Chinese suppliers. Many are moving to Vietnam, or other low-wage countries to dodge President Donald J. Trump’s taxes on Chinese-made goods. The coronavirus, along with fears that US-China tensions over trade and geopolitics will persist, gives them one more reason to reduce their reliance on China. Among multinational firms, there is “increasing unease that China is starting to become quite risky,’’ said Johan Gott, an independent consultant who specializes in political risks for businesses. But it isn’t easy to completely abandon China, where specialized suppliers cluster in manufacturing centers and make it convenient for factories to obtain parts when they need them. AP

The W

Business

Apple suppliers aim to resume full China production Feb. 10

pple Inc.’s major suppliers in China, including iPhone-maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., plan to resume full-scale production in the country February 10, despite the coronavirus that has infected thousands and limited travel. Foxconn’s Hon Hai, the most important manufacturer for the US company, said Tuesday it still expects to be able to restart facilities throughout China on schedule, according to a text message sent to Bloomberg News. Suppliers, such as Quanta Computer Inc., Inventec Corp. and LG Display Co., also said they would go back to work next week in China. While Chinese officials and companies have targeted February 10 as the date to resume work in much of the country, doubts about the timing have grown in recent days as the virus death toll rises, workers find themselves stuck in municipal lockdowns, and the transport of people and goods has been hampered. More than 20,000 people have been infected with the virus, and more than 400 have died. Virtually all of the world’s iPhones are made in China, primarily by Hon Hai at its so-called iPhone City in Zhengzhou and by Pegatron Corp. at an assembly site near Shanghai. Each of those locations is more than 500 kilometers away from Wuhan in central China, the epicenter of the viral outbreak. “The main variable is whether the government will push back the time for resuming production, though it is not very likely given the complexities of organizing transportation for the returning migrant workers,” said GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu. He added that any potential labor shortage is a serious issue that weighs on the minds of suppliers. Bloomberg News

World

sMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

WHO tackles misinformation over coronavirus outbreak G

ENEVA—The World Health Organization chief has traveled a dozen times to monitor the Ebola response in Congo. But when he planned to visit China’s capital last week over a new viral outbreak emerging from central Hubei province, his daughter got worried. “Before I left for Beijing, my daughter was saying, ‘Oh, you should not go,’” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confided to the UN health agency’s executive board in a public session on Monday. The account exemplifies the fine line WHO officials are navigating between fear about the new coronavirus, and hopes of increasing international preparedness over an outbreak that has taken more than 360 lives and infected at least 17,238 people in China since late December— and could become a pandemic. So far, growth has been exponential in China, but elsewhere cases remain under 150, scattered across nearly two dozen countries. “Instead of spending time on fear and panic, we should say this is the time to prepare,” Tedros said. “Because 146 cases, by any standard, is very low.” As governments clamp down on travel to China, airlines suspend flights and Chinese nationals fret about rising xenophobia and ostracism, WHO is calibrating a message of praise to Chinese officials and trying to focus on the epicenter—Wuhan city and surrounding Hubei province— to keep the virus from spiraling out of

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, addresses his statement, during the 146th session of the World Health Organization Executive Board, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, February 3, 2020. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP) control. It also wants to help get weaker health systems ready. Before he left for the meeting with President Xi Jinping last week, Tedros reassured his daughter: “It’s ok, it’s not all over China.” “Even in China, the virus is not evenly spread everywhere, and the risk is not the same,” he recalled. “When I was in Beijing, what we had discussed with the authorities is that our concentrated effort should be in the epicenters, or the sources of the virus.” Pausing on a couple of occasions to cough, clear his throat and drink some water, Tedros quipped: “Don’t worry: It’s not corona,” prompting laughter.

WHO is also battling misinformation, working with Google to ensure that people get facts from the UN health agency first when they search for information about the virus. Social-media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, Tencent and TikTok, have also taken steps to limit the spread of misinformation and rumors about the outbreak. Chinese officials are increasingly speaking out. At the executive board meeting, Ambassador Li Song, deputy permanent representative for China in Geneva, lashed out at flight cancellations, visa denials and refusals by some countries to admit citizens of Hubei province—saying those moves went against WHO recommendations. Li noted how President Xi, in his meeting with Tedros, had said the coronavirus epidemic “is a devil—we cannot let the devil hide.” “At the same time, the international community needs to treat the new virus objectively, fairly, calmly, and rationally, and not overinterpret it negatively and pessimistically, or deliberately create panic,” Li said. “We need facts, not fear. We need science, not rumors. We need solidarity, not stigma.” Since the outbreak began, a number of misleading claims and hoaxes about the virus have circulated online. They include false conspiracy theories that the virus was created in a lab and that vaccines have already been manufactured, exaggerations about the number of sick

and dead, and claims about bogus cures. On Sunday, WHO lamented that the outbreak and response have been accompanied by a massive “infodemic”— an overabundance of information, some accurate and some not—that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it. The report said WHO, the UN health agency, was working “24 hours a day to identify the most prevalent rumors that can potentially harm the public’s health, such as false prevention measures or cures.” Tedros also addressed his decision last week to classify the virus outbreak as a global emergency, saying the move was prompted by increased human-tohuman spread of the virus to numerous countries and the fear it could have a significant impact on developing countries with weaker health systems. Tedros said recent outbreaks, such as the new virus and Ebola, demonstrated the shortcomings of the “binary” emergency system, calling it “too restrictive, too simplistic and not fit for purpose.” “We have a green light, a red light and nothing in between,” he said, adding that WHO was considering options to allow for an “intermediate level of alert.” In July, Tedros declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo a global emergency: There have been 3,421 cases and 2,242 deaths from it since the outbreak began 18 months ago. AP

Coronavirus fears prompt shipping restrictions on vessels from China

essels coming from China are in focus as nations take steps to halt the spread of a deadly coronavirus that originated in the world’s secondbiggest economy. Here’s a roundup of some of the latest efforts by authorities around Asia, including quarantines and checks. Bloomberg is tracking the outbreak on the terminal and online.

Australia

Enhanced screening measures will apply to vessels that left China from February 1, with the first ship to meet that criteria expected as soon as February 10. The government is continuing to consult with port authorities, and industry groups, on the development and implementation of those measures, but said it would not be imposing a 14day quarantine period, as had been suggested by private shipping and logistics agency Gulf Agency Co. Queensland state’s maritime safety body has already intensified checks on incoming foreign vessels, which are required to report if any crew member or passenger has visited mainland China since February 1, or Hubei province, in the past 14 days. They must also disclose if anyone shows coronavirus symptoms.

Indonesia

Vessels that have visited China during their last 10 port stops will be thoroughly inspected by the Port Health Authority, according to Indonesia’s Directorate General of Sea Transportation. Anyone suspected of being infected with the virus must be treated by authorities. Animal inspections will

also be carried out. Indonesia plans to halt imports of food and beverages from China in what may be the first such move by a country to protect itself from the fastspreading virus.

Japan

A spokesman for Japan’s transport ministry said the agency hasn’t imposed restrictions on ships arriving from China, and isn’t currently considering extra precautions. A spokesman for the country’s health ministry said it isn’t in a position to restrict Chinese ships.

Philippines

The Philippine Ports Authority said workers in ships coming from China are prohibited from disembarking to prevent the spread of the virus.

Singapore

Vessels that have traveled to China in the past 14 days must submit a health declaration form and other documents 24 hours before berthing, according to a February 1 notice from the Maritime and Port Authority.

South Korea

Any vessel that visited China within the last 14 days will be inspected by officials from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency before they enter ports to check the crew, according to an official at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The vessels can only enter South Korean ports if the inspectors find no sign of infection and give them the all-clear. Bloomberg News

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The World BusinessMirror

Trump administration clears way for new currency tariffs

he Trump administration is going ahead with controversial new rules that would clear the way for the US to start applying punitive tariffs on goods from countries accused of having undervalued currencies, the Commerce Department said on Monday. The move would give new muscle to US complaints about currency manipulation that have in the past targeted economies like China and Japan and thus turn the more than $6-trillion-a-day global currency market into a new battlefield in the Trump administration’s trade wars. It would allow the US to impose countervailing duties on goods from countries accused of manipulating their currencies, even in cases where they were not officially found to be guilty of that by the US Treasury. Past administrations have resisted calls to take such action from Congress and

some industries for fear it would lead to tit-for-tat currency wars. In the wake of the global financial crisis a decade ago, policymakers in countries such as Brazil accused the US and the Federal Reserve of using monetary policy to weaken the dollar to help spur a quicker recovery in the US.

Currency manipulation

President Donald J. Trump h a s long acc u sed C h i n a a nd other countr ies of doing the same. Commerce Department officials on Monday presented its decision as a del iver y of a 2016 campaig n promise to

tackle currency manipulation around the world. “This Currency Rule is an important step in ensuring that unfair trade practices are properly remedied,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in a statement. “While successive administrations have balked at countervailing foreign currency subsidies, the Trump administration is taking action to level the playing field for American businesses and workers.” The new rule, which was opposed by the Treasury Department when it was first proposed in May 2019, would allow US companies to file complaints with the Commerce Department over specific imported products by treating undervalued currencies as a form of unfair subsidy. It would also give the administration the power to self-initiate cases should it so choose, however, potentially making the US government plaintiff, judge, jury and executioner in currency fights. A Treasury spokesman did not immediately reply to request for comment. The Commerce Department put some caveats on its powers, saying it would “not normally include monetary and related credit policy

of an independent central bank or monetary authority” in determining whether foreign governments had acted inappropriately to weaken currencies. “Commerce will seek and generally defer to Treasury’s expertise in currency matters,” it said.

‘Broad signal’

But its statement left room for unilateral action by Commerce— even if Treasury, which issues a twice-yearly report identifying currencies that are artificially weak or the subject of government manipulation, determines that a currency is not undervalued. “ This appears intended as a broad signal to US trading partner countries that any significant weakening of their currencies relative to the dollar could invite retaliator y actions,” said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University economist and the author of books on the rise of the dollar and Chinese renminbi. The new rule appeared to go against guidance from a Treasury official, who said last June that the framework of any currency assessments by Commerce would be consistent with its semiannual foreign-exchange report to Congress. In a question and answer section attached to Monday’s announcement, the Commerce Department said it would preserve the final power to make any determination about whether a currency’s value presented an unfair subsidy for that country’s exporters. The statutes governing Treasury’s mandate to monitor currencies and Commerce’s power to impose anti-subsidy duties had different criteria, Commerce said. “Hence, the two processes may result in different outcomes as to a particular country, theoretically including the possibility of applying countervailing duties to a country that does not meet the criteria for designation under the laws Treasury administers,” the statement said. Commerce also said the new rule would allow it to specifically impose currencyrelated tariffs against China even if Treasury did not label it a currency manipulator. The Treasury last month lifted a designation of China as a manipulator just days before Trump signed a “phase one” trade deal with China that includes language on currencies, though the new rule appears to give the US powers to act that go beyond that included in last month’s deal. The final rule announced on Monday drew concern from some former US officials. “ This is a unilateral policy which will alienate countries around the world,” said Mark Sobel, a former Treasury official. It may also violate the US’s World Trade Organization commitments, Sobel said, although the Commerce Department insisted in its statement that “there is no WTO rule that bars the imposition of countervailing duties on subsidies conferred through currency practices.” It also prompted warnings that the rule marked another step in Trump’s efforts to weaponize the dollar after he previously set out to talk down its value and blame the Federal Reserve for causing it to strengthen, to the detriment of US manufacturers and other exporters. The new rule set vague enough criteria for determining a currency’s proper value that it would allow the US to easily take action if it so chose, Prasad said. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Oil climbs back above $50 before Opec+ meets to assess demand

il traded back above $50 a barrel before Opec and its allies gather on Tuesday for an urgent meeting to assess the impact of the coronavirus on global demand. While futures have slumped more than 20 percent since early January as the virus curtailed demand in a market awash with crude, commodities are stabilizing globally on Tuesday as traders assess China’s measures to support economic growth. Technical experts from the Opec+ coalition will meet in Vienna and their assessment on the outbreak may determine whether the group convenes a ministerial meeting later this month to consider new output cuts. The virus has upended trade f lows a nd probably led to a 20 -percent cut to China’s oil demand as the crisis hits the world ’s biggest commodities importer. Refineries are curbing operations and shutting plants, while the nation’s top processor is seeking to re-sell millions of barrels of West African crude it no longer needs because of the squeeze to consumption. “The coronavirus is prompting growth downgrades around the world and oil demand is taking a big hit,” said Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “It looks highly likely to me that Opec+ will extend its production cuts from March to

June. It’s a logical response given how depressed prices are now.” West Texas Intermediate for March delivery added 44 cents to $50.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 1:06 p.m. in Singapore after falling as much as 0.9 percent earlier. The contract slumped 2.8 percent to the lowest since January 2019 on Monday. Brent gained 0.6 percent after dropping 3.8 percent on Monday. Energy to metals have rallied globally, while iron ore and crude in China pared losses after plunging earlier. The firmer tone came even as steel mills and processing plants remain shut throughout the country. The next Opec+ ministerial meeting was already scheduled for March, but the group is considering whether to hold that gathering earlier to respond to the virus. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz discussed the market by phone on Monday, the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that both leaders confirmed “readiness to continue cooperation.” In China, officials are reviewing whether to soften the economic growth target for 2020 and authorities in Beijing are hoping the US will agree to some flexibility on pledges in their phase one trade deal due to the virus outbreak, according to people familiar with the situation. Bloomberg News

U.K. and E.U. dispute over trade with 11 months to make a deal

ONDON—Britain and the European Union set out clashing opening gambits on Monday on striking a post-Brexit trade deal, making it clear that each side is willing to walk away without an agreement rather than compromise on key issues. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent a bravado-filled salvo toward Brussels three days after Britain left the bloc, the first country to exit. In a speech to business leaders and international diplomats in London, Johnson said “we want a free-trade agreement”—but not at any cost. “I see no need to bind ourselves to an agreement with the EU,” he said, insisting that Britain would “restore full sovereign control” over its borders, rules and economy. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier was equally emphatic that the EU’s 27 remaining nations wouldn’t agree to any British trade deal just to avoid a costly, chaotic “no-deal” at the start of 2021, when an 11-month post-Brexit transition period ends. “We are in favor of free trade, but we are not going to be naive,” Barnier said. “If the request is to have broad access to a market of 450 million European consumers, zero tariffs, zero quotas—that won’t happen for nothing, or in any kind of condition.” In their divorce agreement, Britain and the EU agreed to strike an “ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership,” including a free trade deal and agreements for security and other areas. The details are to be worked out during a transition period lasting until the end of 2020, in which relations stay essentially unchanged. For the rest of this year the UK will continue to follow EU rules, although it will no longer have a say in EU decision-making. After that, a cliff- edge looms. But Johnson insisted the choice facing Britain was not “deal or no deal.” “The question is whether we agree a trading relationship with the EU comparable to Canada’s—or more like Australia’s,” Johnson said. Australia does not have a free-trade deal with the EU, and Australia-style trade would mean a panoply of new tariffs and other barriers between the UK and the EU, its near neighbor and biggest trading partner. Britain is aiming for a “Canada-style” free trade agreement with the EU, which would eliminate almost all tariffs and cover both goods and services. But it is adamant it won’t agree to follow the EU’s entire rule book in return for unfettered trade because it wants to be free to diverge in order to strike other

new deals around the world. The bloc insists there can be no trade deal unless Britain agrees to a “level playing field” and doesn’t undercut EU regulations, especially when it comes to the environment, workers’ rights and health and safety standards. “There is no such thing like a free ride to the [EU’s] single market,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “It is always rights and obligations in a good balance.” Johnson, however, doubled down on Britain’s tough stance in Monday’s speech. He delivered it in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich on the River Thames, a spot steeped in Britain’s past military glories. The vast hall, covered in paintings glorifying British achievement, is where Adm. Horatio Nelson lay in state after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar against the navies of France and Spain in 1805. Even as he set out a vision of trade that would impose new barriers between Britain and the EU, Johnson said the UK would become a champion of free trade in a world where “the protectionists are gaining ground.” And he sought to allay EU fears that a post-Brexit Britain will slash workplace and environmental protections in order to gain a competitive edge. “The UK will maintain the highest standards in these areas—better, in many respects, than those of the EU—without the compulsion of a treaty,” Johnson said. Johnson’s bullish message was aimed as much at a domestic audience as it was at the bloc, but EU leaders are unlikely to be reassured by what they’ll see as British intransigence and wishful thinking. “The UK can independently decide not to respect the rules,” said France’s Europe Minister Amelie de Montchalin before pointedly adding: “But when it passes the frontier, it concerns the place where it arrives.” She said the EU would be as vigilant about checking the product itself as about the way it is produced, making sure it would respect social, environmental and other standards that are cornerstones of EU policy. “It is important for European citizens to know that the single market will be protected,” she said. Barnier signaled that one flash point in the talks will be fishing. He said the EU would link access to its market for British products directly to the access that EU boats are given to UK waters. AP

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 AA9

PHL only has 10 percent of needed sanitary landfills, says DENR exec

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

wenty years after the enactment of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, the Philippines has managed to build only a total of 108 sanitary landfills nationwide, or 10 percent of what is actually needed, and a far cry from the estimated 1,700 requirement for the proper disposal of garbage, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said. The DENR hopes to put up more sanitary landfills before President Duterte’s term ends in 2022. Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Govern-

ment Units Concerns Benny D. Antiporda said the sanitary landfill is the primary long-term method of solid waste disposal allowed under the law.

Antiporda issued the statement as the DENR spearheaded a cleanup drive at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetlands Park (LPPWP), formerly called Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) on Friday to culminate the celebration of January as ZeroWaste Month. The event was also attended by Sen. Cynthia Villar, Parañaque Rep. Eric Olivarez, Philippine National Police Maritime Group Director Police Brig. Gen. R’win Pagkalinawan, and NSWMC Vice Chairman Crispian Lao. An engineered sanitary landfill is required in any LGU as a means of safe disposal of untreated solid waste, or recovery of residual wastes, Antiporda said. Unfortunately, the DENR official said, the number of sanitary landfills in the country remains inadequate. “What we need in this country is about 1,700 sanitary landfills for all the municipalities and cities. But, sad to say, we only have 108 as of the moment and this number

could even decrease in the future,” Antiporda lamented. Worse, he added, many of the country’s sanitary landfills are nearly full or reaching maximum capacity. If this happens, he said, some LGUs might go back to operating open dump site, which is illegal under RA 9003. “We will not allow this to happen,” he said. Under the leadership of Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, Antiporda said, the DENR will do everything to ensure the establishment of more sanitary landfills. Cimatu had earlier ordered Antiporda, in his capacity as NSWMC head, to “review and revise” DENR Administrative Order 2001-34, or the implementing rules and regulations of RA 9003, to make the establishment and operation of a sanitary landfill easier and less expensive. The DENR chief noted that a lot of LGUs find it difficult to comply with the law as building and maintaining a sanitary landfill can be costly and somewhat complicated.

A sanitary landfill is a solid waste management facility that utilizes an engineered method of waste disposal, primarily for municipal solid waste. An “engineered” method of landfilling means that garbage is handled at a disposal facility that is designed, constructed and operated in a manner protective of public health and the environment. In constructing more sanitary landfills, the DENR is also eyeing to close down more than 300 open dumps across the country, the operation of which has since been declared illegal by the garbage law. Aside from pushing for proper solid waste management through reduction, recycling and reuse of wastes, the DENR is also eyeing to promote waste-to-energy as a solution to the garbage problem although this strategy is being met with strong opposition by environmental groups who insisted that the use of waste incineration is by law, specifically Republic Act 8745 ,or the Philippine Clean Air Act, is strictly prohibited.

NBI ready to assist DOH’s contact tracing of persons who interacted with 2 virus-infected Chinese nationals By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) may extend assistance in the contact tracing of individuals and passengers who interacted with the two Chinese nationals from Wuhan found to be infected with novel coronavirus-acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD). “The DOH [Department of Health] says they can still handle the contact tracing but the NBI will be on standby to support,” Guevarra told reporters. He said the NBI, with its offices in the different parts of the country, may be used in determining the whereabouts of the said individuals. The two Chinese nationals, who are from Wuhan, traveled to Hong Kong and arrived in the country last January 21.

They arrived in Cebu and traveled to Dumaguete before proceeding to Manila. Five days later, they were admitted at the San Lazaro Hospital after experiencing fever, cough and sore throat and later tested positive for 2019-nCoV ARD. The male Chinese national died of pneumonia complications resulting from the 2019-nCoV ARD. The DOJ is part of the task force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, which has been activated following the virus outbreak. Guevarra also clarified the task force has not directed the NBI to step in and render assistance to the government’s effort against the spread of the virus. The NBI has 17 regional offices and 25 district offices. Guevarra added that the BI has not been given new orders except to strictly implement the travel ban against foreigners coming from China, Hong Kong and Macau.

UPMG OFFICERS WITH ‘SP’ Senate President Vicente Sotto III inducts into office the officers of the United Print Media Group (UPMG) on Tuesday. From left: Barbie Atienza (Manila Bulletin) - President, Jay Sarmiento (PhilStar Media Group) - Vice President, Vivienne Motomal (Journal Group of Publications) - Treasurer, Jeanette Dominguez (BusinessWorld) -Secretary, Annie Grefal (Manila Standard) - Auditor, Sherly Baula (Chinese Commercial News) - Director, Jong Arcano (Philippine Daily Inquirer) - Public Relations Officer, Marisa Consuelo (Gadgets Magazine) - Director, Marvin Estigoy (Business Mirror) – Director, Badette Cunanan (Manila Bulletin) - Chief of Staff.

Last batch of Chinese tourists travelers departs from Davao By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The last group of Chinese tourists visiting this city and other places in Mindanao were all flown to Manila to catch their next flight back home to mainland China, the China Consulate General here said. Consul General Li Lin also assured that the departing tourists were all screened when they arrived here last week. Li said the tourists from the mainland were those flown by Xiamen Air, which has opened a two times a week flight connecting this city with Jinjiang, a county-level city of Quanzhou City in northeastern China province Fujian. Li said the Chinese tourists were flown to Manila on Sunday to help them catch up with the celebration of the Spring Festival for the Chinese New Year on January 25. The Chinese consulate official said he has checked with travel and tour agencies which, in turn, reported that there were no more Chinese tourists from the mainland who remained. The Xiamen Air put up the Jinjiang flight in December after the two cities signed a sisterhood pact. Li said the airline has suspended its Davao -Jinjiang flight throughout February. The tourists stayed for three days to one week. Li said the consulate advised the tourists to cut their trips as the flights from Jinjiang to Davao City, for the whole month of February were canceled. “If they want to stay…they might not be able to go back to China,” Li said. Americans topped the list of visitors here, with 22,041 visitors, followed by China, with 14,934, and Japanese 13,241 in 2019.

DOH HIT FOR SLOW PACE OF NCOV CONTACT TRACE Senators mull over shift from Neda Board to Council Continued from A1

Cebu Pacific added. “We have also contacted the passengers aboard the flights taken by NCOV-positive patients and updated them [DOH] on those we have been able to speak with. As an additional measure, Cebu Pacific opened a hotline to enable passengers aboard the specific flights to call the airline.” The DOH’s failure to give the carriers timely, even confidential notification that certain of their passengers were under investigation had earlier been slammed by some aviation sources, who noted that DOH held on to that information for over 10 days while awaiting confirmatory tests on the Chinese passengers – precious time which the airlines could have used, had they been told earlier, for some contact tracing or preemptive or mitigation measures. The carriers only learned of the investigation from the media reports, when DOH broke the news of the first confirmed case, a Chinese woman who traveled from Wuhan. Cebu Pacific pulled out the plane used by the nCoV patient and placed the concerned cabin crew on 14-day quarantine. DOH conducts the contact tracing to determine if any of people, who had close contact with two 2019-nCoV infected foreigners, were also infected by the disease.

Use BI paper trail – Locsin

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the pace of the contact tracing would have gone faster had the Bureau of Immigration (BI) shared the contact details with DOH. “What I now, not just as secretary of foreign affairs but as any airline passenger, is you can-

not get out of the plane unless you give the details where you are living, what is your address. I have been reprimanded in airports for failing to give the address of the hotels. Therefore that slip of paper is in the custody of the Bureau of Immigration, therefore there is no such thing as right to privacy, otherwise we are open to foreign invasion,” Locsin said. To resolve the issue, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade urged DOH to coordinate with BI and the airport agencies, which have the power to compel airlines to submit the contact details. “What we have here is a glaring example of failure to communicate...What should be the template for the process? You know, if it is the Department of Health that would be the one to follow up with the airlines and the Department of Health has no power and ascendancy to enforce suspension or compliance, they will not follow,” Tugade said. “The protocol should be, once there is contact tracing, CAAP and CAB should take it upon themselves to commence the contact tracing because they have the power and ascendancy,” he added. Duque took note of the recommendations and vowed to implement a 48-hour contact tracing policy. Senator Francis Pangilinan, however, said the slow pace of the contact pacing is not just a failure of communication but also a failure of the leadership on the part of Duque.

Officials’ assurances

Senator Christopher Go, presiding over the Health committee hearing on the nCoV, sought assurances from concerned officials and health experts that the virus will be contained. Voicing hopes the coronavirus “will not spread

further throughout the country,” Go asserted, “We are here to enligthen the public about the (coronavirus) issue.” Key government officials outlined the precautionary measures already in place to protect Filipinos from the spread of the virus that began in Wuhan, China. According to Go, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in the Philippines, Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, had lauded the government for its efforts and response to the disease. Health Secretary Duque III noted that the fatality rate of the 2019-nCoV is “much less than SARS and MERS-CoV but it is more easily transmissible.”

Virus survives 10 hours

Duque likewise clarified the mode of transmission of the disease, saying, “Our available information says that coronavirus can survive and stay for as long as 10 hours on inanimate objects like keyboards, tables, and fomites,” referring to clothing or bedding that can absorb and transmit the infecting organism of a disease. In the same hearing, the DOH also confirmed that President Duterte has approved the budget needed for the procurement of personnel protective equipment for around 5,000 workers who will need them amid the threats of the 2019-nCoV. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea also provided senators with updates on President Duterte’s directives. Besides the travel ban covering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, Medialdea said Duterte had also “ordered the establishment of repatriation and quarantine facility for novel coronavirus,” even as the establishment of quarantine facilities is still being studied. With Butch Fernandez

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

HE Senate started committee consideration on Tuesday of two related bills separately filed by Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Imee Marcos to convert the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) into a council “to be headed by the President.” Gatchalian, chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs, was earlier tasked to conduct hearings on Senate Bill 169, which he authored, and Senate Bill 1256 filed by Marcos, which have similar titles. SB 169 carries the title “An Act institutionalizing the National Economic and Development Authority as the independent economic and planning agency of the Philippine government, defining its functions and amending Executive Order No. 230 series of 1987, as amended, appropriating funds therefor,and for other purposes.” SB 1256 was titled, “An Act institutionalizing the National Economic and Development Authority as the independent economic and planning agency of the Philippine government, defining its functions and amending Executive Order No. 230, series of 1987, as amended, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes.” The two bills were referred to the Economic Affairs Committee for public hearings to be presided by Gatchalian, who said they are looking to submit a consolidated version for plenary consideration “before we adjourn on March 18.” “Repaso at refining na lang [We just need to review and refine it],” Gatchalian told BusinessMirror. As proposed, the bill provides that in lieu of the Neda Board, “it will be replaced by a Council,” Gatchalian said.

A10 Wednesday, February 5, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Minimizing the threat of animal viruses

HE accession of the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 paved the way for the entry of more imported food products into the country. This was facilitated by the conversion of the quantitative restrictions on farm products into tariffs. Traders may ship food products, except for rice, in huge quantities provided that they pay the tariffs and other taxes.

The Philippines bought more pork, chicken, and other meat products from other countries after the government removed the import restrictions. The expansion of the country’s population and the increasing requirements of meat processors for raw materials in recent years caused the Philippines’s purchases to hit a record high of 850,000 metric tons in 2018. The 2018 record was more than 20 percent higher than the 691,462.564 MT posted in 2017. While the availability of imported meat products has helped the Philippines meet the food requirements of its expanding population, the increase in trade activity has also exposed the country to transboundary animal diseases, such as avian influenza and African swine fever (ASF). These transboundary animal diseases, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, are highly contagious epidemic diseases that can rapidly spread. They cause high rates of death and disease in animals, and have the potential to wipe out a significant portion of the country’s livestock population. The highly pathogenic avian inf luenza (HPAI), for instance, almost brought the poultry sectors of Thailand and Vietnam to their knees in 2003 and 2004. The FAO said the bird flu had already spread in over 95 countries, including the Philippines and its major sources of chicken products. The magnitude of the bird flu outbreak in Vietnam and Thailand had caused farmers to incur losses worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The latest threat to the region’s meat supply is ASF, which nearly wiped out the hog population of China last year. The virus reached Philippine shores in July 2019, when ASF was detected in backyard farms in Luzon. The virus is now threatening Mindanao farms after the Department of Agriculture confirmed that ASF has struck two remote towns in Davao Occidental (see “ASF strikes another town in Davao Occidental,” in the BusinessMirror, February 3, 2020). Ironically, the outbreak of these animal diseases happened against the backdrop of increasing nontariff barriers erected by the Philippines’s trading partners, such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures. These SPS measures seek to prevent the entry of animal diseases, yet they appear inadequate to stop animal viruses from slipping past the borders of nations. It does not help that poor countries that usually import meat products do not have the resources to invest in long-term measures to protect their own farm sector. This does not mean, however, that there is nothing that Manila can do to insulate the Philippines from transboundary animal diseases. As a net food-importing country, it is incumbent upon authorities to implement stringent measures to prevent the entry of shipments with infected products. Concerned agencies, such as the Bureau of Customs, must thoroughly inspect shipments from countries with known outbreaks of animal diseases. Government must not let its guard down because some animal diseases can threaten not only the livestock sector but also public health.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor

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

Senior Editors

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

Online Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

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

Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025. (Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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

The FAA doesn’t care if you feel like a sardine in that plane By Joe Nocera Bloomberg Opinion

NE of the things we learned in the wake of the two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people within five months is that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Boeing Co. were “too cozy for either’s own good,” as my colleague Brooke Sutherland wrote in March. The FAA, it turned out, had outsourced much of the certification process for the plane to Boeing itself. As a result, a flawed aircraft was allowed to fly, with tragic results. The FAA is a classic case of “regulatory capture”—it is more focused on the needs of the industry it is supposed to regulate than on the consumers it is supposed to protect. Letting airplane makers certify their own planes is only one example. Another, I learned recently, is the way the agency approaches airline seats. Who doesn’t hate the seats in economy class? They’re terribly uncomfortable—narrow and cramped. Before airline deregulation in 1978, most airline seats had 36 inches of legroom, or “pitch,” in airline jargon. Today, the legacy airlines have reduced seat pitch to 30 or 31 inches, while several low-cost airlines have cut it even more, to 28 or even 27 inches. Passengers emerge from long-distance flights with aching backs and stiff necks. Paul Hudson, the president of passenger rights group FlyersRights. org, told me that he views the misery that modern seats inflict a “health, safety and human-rights issue.” The reason seats are smaller is no secret. The narrower the seat, and the smaller the pitch, the more seats airlines can cram into planes. More seats mean more revenue. Plus, by installing a large class of uncomfortable seats, airlines are creating the desire among passengers who can afford it to pay for a smaller number of more comfortable ones.

“Sardine seating exists to allow airlines to squeeze passengers’ pocketbooks by threatening pain,” Hudson has said. Passengers in too-cramped seats sometimes get blood clots in their legs. Sickness can be passed more easily from one passenger to another when their seats are too close. And the crowded seats make it more difficult to evacuate in an emergency. The Association of Flight Attendants also believes that the modern seat configuration poses dangers. In a memo it issued last October, it pointed to passenger “air rage,” increased conflict over bag storage and difficulties faced by disabled passengers — as well as evacuation worries—as problems caused by too many seats too close together. The flight attendants’ union concluded, “This is not an issue the market can fix. Safety needs to provide a bottom line.” The health and safety of passengers is, of course, the whole point of the FAA’s regulatory authority. Yet, it has dealt with the seat situation by bending over backward for the industry. Consider evacuations. The regulations say that all aircraft must be able to be evacuated in 90 seconds. But, just as with plane certification, the agency allows airlines to do their own testing—and lets them use computer simulations instead of actual humans. And when the airlines do use real humans for such tests, they hardly reflect real-world conditions. Take a look at this 2006 test for the Airbus A380. Do you see anyone trying to grab their luggage from the overhead bin—something people often do during evacuations? Do you see any charging cords, or bags under passengers’ legs, or soda cans on open trays impeding the evacuation? Do you see any children? Anyone who’s elderly or disabled or overweight? The answer to all of these questions is no. With the test rigged to optimal conditions, the more than 800 passengers were off the

plane with just three seconds to spare. Hudson began agitating for the FAA to take the seat issues more seriously in 2015. That year, he filed a petition calling on the agency to set a minimum length for seat pitch and width. He cited both health reasons—the possibility of thrombosis and other injuries—and safety—the evacuation difficulties. The FAA rejected his petition the next year, contending that its evacuation tests showed that smaller seats were safe. FlyersRights.org sued, and an appeals court ruled in 2017 that the FAA had not adequately considered the petition and said that it needed to address the evacuation issue. (The FAA could ignore the health issue, the appeals court said.) In 2018, the FAA rejected the petition again. (“The FAA has no evidence that there is an immediate safety issue necessitating rulemaking at this time.”) Hudson sued again. That case was tossed on a technicality. By then, Congress was getting involved. Democratic Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee, a member of the House aviation subcommittee, introduced the SEAT Act. It called on the FAA to consult with other federal agencies about health issues posed by airline seats, to force airlines to prominently post the pitch and width of the seats on their aircraft, and to establish a minimum seat size using “the safety and health of passengers” as its criteria. The airlines lobbied hard against the bill and managed to eliminate the first two requirements. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York attached the third requirement as an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill. That bill was signed into law in October 2018. It gave the agency a year to complete its work. Fast forward to December 2019— two months past the deadline set by Congress. That’s when the FAA finally got around to conducting some tests. Given the FAA’s conclusion about

the health issues raised by cramped seats—there are none—it all came down once again to evacuations. Were modern airline seats an impediment to evacuating an aircraft in 90 seconds? The tests, conducted at an FAA research facility in Oklahoma City, were ludicrous. It used an aircraft interior with only 60 seats. All the “passengers” were between the ages of 18 and 60, with the majority younger than 30, according to Hudson, who watched some of the testing. Only one or two passengers were even mildly overweight. There were no impediments, such as baggage or pets. None of the women wore high heels. Oh, and one other thing: People who got out fastest could earn more money. According to Hudson, the first test he saw had the seats set at a 16inch width and a 28-inch pitch; the 60 passengers evacuated in 43 seconds. When the settings were 18inch width and 32-inch pitch, the evacuation took 37 seconds. “Based on these tests, size matters,” Hudson told me. “It debunks the position of the plane manufacturers.” Reflecting on the way the Oklahoma City tests were conducted, Charles Mauro, an engineering consultant who specializes in how people interact with products, put it this way: “The FAA ended up cherry-picking a user population to accommodate the airlines’ business model.” Exactly. The FAA is supposed to release the test results in March. But what will it do with the information? It is hard to know. The agency also has a larger group studying evacuation standards. It says that the seat data will be given to the evacuation group. And then? Then the FAA will have to decide whether it wants to anger Congress, which clearly wants higher seat minimums that would cost the airlines money, or the industry, which wants things just the way they are now.

I know where I’m placing my bet.

Fires, scandal, slowdown pose triple threat to Australian PM

By Jason Scott | Bloomberg Opinion

HEN Australia’s parliament wrapped up for the summer break in early December, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was brimming with optimism.

He was still riding high from a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the May election that saw him hailed as a conservative hero. He was also trumpeting a plan to return the budget to surplus. “Whatever challenges are in front of us, the one thing we can always say with a full heart is—it’s great to be an Australian,” Morrison declared. Two months later, as lawmakers gather in the national capital, Canberra, for the first parliamentary sitting of 2020, it’s all going wrong. An unprecedented wildfire season that’s burnt out an area of land almost the size of England and

shrouded major cities, such as Sydney and Melbourne in toxic smoke has increased pressure on Morrison to abandon his pro-coal agenda. His government is walking back promises on a budget surplus as the fires and coronavirus threaten economic growth. A member of his Cabinet has just resigned over a breach of ministerial standards, and there’s disunity within his junior coalition partner. Voters are taking notice. The LiberalNational coalition government’s 4-percentage point opinion poll lead over the main opposition Labor party two months ago has been reversed, while

Morrison’s personal approval rating has plunged 8 points to 37 percent. “Morrison has suffered one of the steepest declines in political fortunes in recent Australian history and his government colleagues will be worried that his reputation is already damaged beyond repair,” said Paul Williams, a political analyst at Griffith University in Brisbane. “He’s no longer seen as an average Aussie bloke but as a media manipulator more concerned with his image than with the community’s welfare.”

Some solace

STILL, while the backlash against his climate policies and slowing growth pose threats to Morrison’s government, he can take some solace from the fact that elections don’t have to be held until September 2022. He’s also unlikely to face an internal challenge

from his own lawmakers, due to rule changes that make it harder for a party to topple its leader—and because he still remains popular among his colleagues for delivering the election victory. That means he still has time to rebuild his damaged reputation. “Morrison does have time, but at the moment he doesn’t seem to have many ideas about what his government is aiming to achieve,” Williams said. “His policy agenda looks thin, so 2020 will likely see a lot of added pressure on Morrison.” The coalition’s parliamentary year had an inauspicious start on Tuesday. A day set aside for condolences for bushfire victims instead began with more political infighting, as former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce unsuccessfully tried to take the leadership of the party from Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Innovative regulation: Keeping the speed bumps just right

Keep businesses safe and clean amid coronavirus outbreak Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

Atty. Amabelle C. Asuncion

Competition Matters

HERE was a time when the roads of northern Fairview were conducive to “The Fast and The Furious” type of car racing. Displaying their newfound ability to drive, teenagers would proudly drive their flashy cars late evenings to race a few meters to be declared king of the road. Soon enough, this activity was brought to the attention of the authorities. The prohibition against road car racing was enforced, speed limits were imposed, stoplights were installed, and policemen were deployed in the area. The car-racers were directed to take their skills to the proper race tracks.

It was also around this time when residential developments were under way north of Metro Manila. To attract buyers, developers offered gated properties that provided security, privacy and safety. Part of the safety features were speed bumps around the subdivision to prevent vehicular speeding that could endanger residents. Funnily though, this meant halting almost every two meters for a speed bump high enough to damage your car’s under chassis. As homeowners started to use the village streets, the speed bumps were lowered and lessened, but still enough to prevent speeding and to ensure safety of residents. These happened in the early 1990s but they actually depict what continues to be the dilemma in competition policy and regulation: Under-regulation versus over-regulation. In the first case, there was traffic regulation that generally prohibited road car-racing but it was not sufficient to deter drivers from doing so. For sure, talent and skills like carracing should be encouraged. However, there is a need to regulate where car-racing could be done in order to keep the roads safe for other people. In this instance, further regulation and enforcement was required. In the second case, while the high and numerous speed bumps ensured safety, these also had unintended and unnecessary outcomes like damaging vehicles or causing undue delay in navigating subdivision roads. Although the streets must certainly be kept safe, the question is whether the speed bumps have to be so high and numerous to achieve this objective. At the recently concluded 2020 Manila Forum on Competition in Developing Countries, one of the underlying themes was precisely this—how do you keep the speed bumps just right? Competition policy is a form of regulation which practically mandates firms to really and “fairly” compete with each other. From a firm’s perspective, this could be difficult and ruinous compared to a market that accommodates a monopoly and allows the firm to recoup its investments more quickly and earn maximum profits. It could also be seen as preventing growth and innovation because becoming a market leader tends to be eyed with suspicion of potential misuse of market power. Thus, competition seems to be either a threat to a firm’s existence or a warning against being too successful. Either way, it is a speed bump to an otherwise strongly motivated firm driving toward its desired destination. Similarly, sector regulation is another speed bump that is probably just a meter apart from the speed bump of competition. Its development in the Philippine context, however, is viewed a little more positively in that sector regulation is by definition supposed to help the sector even as it regulates it. Thus, the policy objectives of sector regulation tend to focus on enforcing qualifications, standards, safety measures and the like. Still, sometimes this speed bump can be too high that the firm might just end up backing off rather than trying to get over it and destroying the car. (In an ideal setup, competition policy should be able to give the firm a push to get it

to slide over the unjustly high speed bump of regulation.) These speed bumps with different heights sitting closely to each other could be so daunting as to discourage and drive away business. This, ironically, is the last thing that competition and regulation would like to happen. The challenge, therefore, is how to create business-friendly policy spaces. As brought out in the forum, the common and surprisingly simple answer is cooperation and collaboration among regulators and business. Quite right. Before this can be done, however, there must be mutual respect for each other’s objectives. There must be an appreciation of each other’s goals, an acceptance that such goals are legitimate, and an acknowledgment that each party has to achieve its objectives. This means that business must understand what the regulators are trying to do, why they are doing it, and that they have to do what it takes to accomplish their policy objectives. In the same way, regulators must accept that business is there for profit and that it has to protect this proprietary objective. Between regulators, they must understand each other’s policy objectives and acknowledge that these are of equal importance. Having this common understanding and acceptance is crucial in bringing all parties to a state of openness and readiness for cooperation and collaboration. Next, regulation must keep up with the times. A frequent criticism is that regulation always lags behind business and technological developments. Yet, it is also not realistic to demand that regulators be able to predict such developments before they occur lest this results in over-regulation. What, therefore, does keeping up with the times mean? It is for regulation to be innovative. It is futile to insist on a traditional framework if it no longer addresses present-day concerns. This means genuine mutual efforts by regulators and business to bridge the information asymmetry. Only in being well-informed can regulators respond appropriately. Finally, regulation must be suitable to the governed sector and consciously infused with overarching principles and policies aimed at serving the public good. This is where competition policy becomes relevant. Regulation must be innovative and inclusive. While it protects sectoral interests, it should keep the playing field open for anyone who wants to come in, and level it for them to have a fair chance to succeed. Sometimes, this means rechecking the height and width of the regulatory speed bump, recounting if there are too many, and recalibrating if any is misplaced, as often as necessary. Before her appointment to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), Commissioner Asuncion was engaged in corporate and commercial practice and served as chief legal counsel of a top company and a corporate partner of a law firm. She was also previously involved in legislative, law and policy reform, advocacy, and adjudication work. Commissioner Asuncion has a Master of Laws degree (with distinction) in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. and is admitted to the New York bar.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A11

MAKE SENSE

HE coronavirus scare, which has now reached pandemic levels on a global scale, has already resulted in the cancellation of many travel and tours to and from China. The panic caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak, which has already killed hundreds in China, is reverberating in many parts of the world like the United States parts of Europe, and Asia, including the Philippines and Japan where the tourism industry is already beginning to feel the coronavirus fallout. In the Philippines, we had our first reported nCoV related death just recently, heightening the coronavirus scare in the country. And knowing that the persons prone to get infected with the deadly virus are children and the elderly, at 77 years old, I am concerned about how the Philippine government’s concerned agencies are handling the situation especially at the country’s various international airports, if only to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. The government’s recent order to ban all flights coming from coronavirus affected areas in China, provided relief to an already worried Filipino nation. Although some say the order

was a bit late, considering that Chinese nationals account for about 20 percent of the country’s visitors each year, and some of those already in the country could be carriers of the deadly virus, this is still speculative, if not presumptive. But what scares me is the experience I had recently in a restaurant in Manila. While we were being served our food by our assigned waiter, I noticed that he had colds and was not wearing a face mask. Nevertheless, I asked the waiter if he had colds which he confirmed. I then talked to the restaurant manager and asked why he allows waiters to serve without mask, and much worse, why he allows wait-

ers with colds to serve customers. If many Filipinos feel paranoia whenever they suspect that they are with people who sneeze at the least, or have cough and cold at the worst, it would scare us even more if we are being served in a restaurant by a waiter with cough and colds who is not wearing a face mask. Remember that no matter how careful we are with our lives and we always wear a face mask outside our homes to protect us from the deadly virus, the restaurant is a place where we have to remove our face mask to be able to eat, making us vulnerable to the virus, especially if we have an infected waiter serving us without a face mask. I remember the time when business establishments, especially the restaurants, were randomly inspected by sanitary inspectors of local government units called “sanidad” then, to check its sanitary condition and how foods are being prepared for customers. This is the time for local government units (LGUs) to be aggressive in their health and sanitary campaigns by enhancing the inspection of business establishments that provide personal service to customers, especially the restaurants and diners. Sanitary inspectors must check, among others, the following: First, these business establishments should not allow workers who

Giving back to pensioners in need Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

HAVE been reviewing a lot of the #KwentongSSS video uploads on the Social Security System’s official Facebook page. In case you haven’t watched any of these yet, my favorites are stories of satisfaction from our dearest pensioners whose lives have been touched one way or another by the SSS through our Pension Loan Program. With enhanced guidelines already in effect, PLP offers financial assistance to qualified retirement pensioners by offering them loans of up to P200,000.

One of the pensioners we featured was 68-year-old Daniel C. Mendiola or simply Mang Daniel. He used to tap private lending institutions to meet his financial needs but encountered difficulties due to their steep interest rates. For Mang Daniel, PLP is a remarkable program due to its low interest rate of only 10-percent interest per annum or as low as 0.83 percent monthly. I also remember Lauro B. Are-

nas, 70 years old, who was able to buy his maintenance medicines, pay utility bills, and still save some portion of the pension loan for other personal needs. Likewise, Luisa O. Fuellas, 68, who used the money as capital for her start-up business and thinks of reavailing herself of what she calls as “Christmas loan” to purchase presents for her loved ones. At age 66, Evelina P. Malaque enjoys her

senior life and for her part, she shared how fast and efficient was the PLP application process. It just feels so good to be reminded of why this institution exists—to provide efficient service with the best programs and policies that will enhance the lives of our members and pensioners alike. With every PLP application approved, we hope to reach out to more people and in our small way, contribute to bringing out a positive impact on our pensioners. For retired pensioners to qualify for PLP, they should meet four conditions. First, they must be 85 years old or below at the end of the month of loan term. It is important to note that the term of the loan plus the age of the pensioner at the time of application should not exceed 85 years. Second, they must have no deductions such as outstanding loan balance and benefit over payment payable to SSS from the monthly pension. Third, they must have no existing advance pension under the SSS Calamity Package. And, last, they must have an “active” pension status by having at least one month posted

are sick, even only with cough and colds, to serve its customers without a face mask at the least, or require them not to report for work at all. Second, these business establishments should require, as a matter of policy, all their personnel involved in the handling of food to always wear a face mask while on duty, regardless of their health condition. In fact, this should be a standard policy in restaurants and diners. Third, all restaurant employees, especially those involved in the handling of food, must be required to undergo a routine health check up every six months, to ensure that they are not infected with a contagious disease or virus. While the new coronavirus is not as deadly as the 1348 black plague of Europe that killed up to half of the population of Eurasia in four years’ time, we should not be complacent about the scourge of the new coronavirus. And most important, all concerned government agencies should be pro-active and not reactive to the prevailing health crisis, if only to secure the nation from an outbreak of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, let us all be careful and maintain good hygiene. Stay away from large crowds, even as we pray to God from deep within our heart, that we and our loved ones, be spared from the wrath of the new and deadly coronavirus.

regular pension. In cases where the retirement pensioner availed of the 18 months advance pension, he/she must be receiving the regular monthly pension for at least a month. Once qualified, applying for PLP is simple, easy, and secure. Pensioner-borrowers residing in the Philippines need to just go to the nearest SSS branch to personally apply for pension loan. They should present the original upon submission of the photocopies of the documentary requirements, a complete list of which may be viewed through www.sss.gov.ph. It only takes one day to process the pension loan application, and five working days from application date for the loan proceeds to be credited to the pensioner’s UMID-ATM or Cash Card of chosen SSS-accredited bank. The interest of the SSS through this enhanced PLP is very clear—we want our beloved pensioners to know how deeply we value and recognize their support to the institution during their prime years. And this is our simple way of giving back to them for helping the SSS thrive.

How the coronavirus could help Trump By Tyler Cowen Bloomberg Opinion

HERE has been plenty of talk about how the coronavirus might affect politics in China, for example by eroding trust between the Chinese public and its leadership. In the US, however, the coronavirus is likely to have the opposite effect— Namely, to make the incumbent more popular and to increase the reelection chances of President Donald J. Trump. How the coronavirus will develop is not yet apparent, but the public-health and economic risks are significant and, thus, it stands a good chance of being a front-page story for several months. Even if the coronavirus does not lead to many deaths in the United States, that risk will continue for some time, and various quarantines and travel bans will continue to be in the news and on social media. The first and, perhaps, most important effect will be to make Trump’s nationalism seem ordinary, even understated. Hundreds of flights to China have already been canceled, countries are refusing to receive (or deciding to quarantine)

Chinese nationals or visitors from China, and China itself is severely limiting travel within the country. Whether or not these prove effective measures, the idea of travel bans and restrictions no longer seems extreme or unconstitutional. Even if voters are confusing normal times with times of pandemic, on this issue Trump’s instincts now seem almost prescient. When the flight of Americans returning from Wuhan was sent to Alaska last week instead of San Francisco, and subject to quarantine, very few political complaints were heard, including from leading Democrats. There might still be arguments about whether that was a justified violation of civil liberties, but the notion that a pandemic requires the federal government to take such measures, without a congressional vote, is not seriously contested. That is going to help any incumbent president who believes in the strong exercise of executive power, as does Trump. Likewise, Trump’s call to build a wall, which has created enormous opposition, could be neutered as a campaign issue if countries around the world are erecting barriers to

entry. There are even reports of Chinese villages building walls or, otherwise, restricting migrants from Wuhan. Trump’s suspicions about China also now seem to be more justified. Of course, they have been more about trade and foreign policy than public-health policy. Still, the general feeling being conveyed by the news—“Bad Things Are Coming Out of China”—makes Trump seem ahead of the curve, regardless of whether his views are justified. Voters are more likely to harbor negative feelings toward China, and to support a nationalistic American stance toward China. Whether the issue is trade or pandemics could seem a second-order detail. If the coronavirus continues to be an issue through the general election, it might even discourage large public gatherings and, thus, make it more difficult for the challenger to campaign and attract attention. The incumbent, in contrast, can generate publicity more easily from the Oval Office. It is easier to appear presidential when decisive actions need to be taken, even if they are policies—such as increased support for vaccine pro-

duction—that virtually any president would implement. The big question is how voter attitudes will change if there are pandemic casualties in the US. In general, a noticeable number of domestic deaths that can be attributed to an unexpected “foreign agent” tends to create a rally-around-the-flag effect. Such a sentiment tends to be good for the incumbent. As it currently stands, Trump has electoral vulnerabilities on a number of issues, including hea lt h- ca re pol ic y. T he pa ndemic could cause those issues to fade from the headlines, and if Trump is seen as taking decisive action to save lives, his weakness on health-care policy may diminish, as well. Finally, Trump’s rhetorical skills are well-suited to scapegoating, should he find the scapegoating of foreigners or Chinese to be a useful political tactic. It is hard to see how a challenger could do the same with equivalent impact. The effects of the coronavirus are just beginning. But it is already clear that they will influence many features of American life—politics included.

A12 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Pagcor breaches 2019 gaming revenue target ₧75.76B S By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

TATE-RUN Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) breached its gaming revenue target last year as it earned P75.76 billion in gaming revenues in 2019.

Pagcor said in a statement released on Tuesday that its gross gaming revenues in 2019 rose by

11.65 percent from P67.85 billion in 2018. “The amount, likewise, exceeded the agency’s 2019 target

Gaming revenues of Pagcor in 2019, or P1.33 billion more than target

by 1.80 percent or P1.33 billion,” said the government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC). Also, Pagcor said it recorded a growth of 11.22 percent in total revenues last year if the non-regular revenues of P32.71 billion from the sale of Pagcor’s land in Entertainment City to Sureste Properties Inc.,

a subsidiary of Bloomberry Resorts Corp., is excluded. I n 2018 , Pagcor recorded P104.12 billion in total revenues. Of this amount, P36.27 billion came from other income, including the sale of Pagcor’s land in Entertainment City. The remaining P67.85 billion was the agency’s 2018 income from gaming operations. Among the biggest sources of Pagcor gaming revenues are slot machine operations, electronic bingo, table games operations, regulatory fees from the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and fees from licensed casinos. See “Pagcor,” A2

Stranded OFW get help, Chinese fly out of PHL By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

UT off from their source of livelihood, an initial 200 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are covered by the travel ban for China, Hong Kong and Macau because of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) have availed themselves of government aid. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OW WA) Administrator Hans J. Cacdac said the

OFWs were each given the P10,000 cash assistance at the OWWA main office in Pasay City. “Then, of course, if they just decided to pack up and come home, we also have livelihood assistance which was announced by the secretary a while ago,” Cacdac told reporters in an ambush interview at the sidelines of the 2019-nCoV Senate hearing attended by a dozen Cabinet secretaries. During the hearing, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III announced the affected OFWs could borrow P20,000 for their livelihood

assistance with no interest. He said they will also hold a “Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan” (TNK) fair and provide scholarships for the affected OFWs. Cacdac said they will keep providing cash aid to qualified OFWs for the duration of the indefinite travel ban. To qualify for the program, the applicant must be an active OWWA member who was was barred from traveling abroad. Cacdac said they will be made to submit their travel documents, overseas employment certificate

from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), their passport. The BusinessMirror asked Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ed Meneses how to address the problem of stranded newly hired domestic workers and vacationing helpers, and he replied: “These questions will need to be addressed by the interagency group as they involve different aspects of travel, labor, quarantine, etc. Will try to get a comprehensive response.” See “Stranded OFW,” A4

TELECOMMUTING SEEN TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM NCOV, PANDEMICS

EN. Joel Villanueva endorsed to employers on Tuesday the adoption of the telecommute option to protect workers from pandemics, citing the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) acute respiratory disease. “Not only does a telecommuting work arrangement save workers the need to leave their houses to do their jobs, it likewise minimizes the risk of getting infected with illnesses, such as the coronavirus,” Villanueva said at a joint Senate hearing led by its Committee on Health. The senator prodded the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to encourage the private-sector employers to consider implementing telecommuting work arrangements for their employees as global health authorities grapple with containing the nCov outbreak. This, as Health Secretar y Francisco Duque III, responding to a query by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto at at the hearing, confirmed two casualties from the deadly disease, and at least 80 others still under observation after they were admitted in hospitals. “We also expect our friends from the labor department to urge the private sector to adopt telecommuting for workers whose tasks can be done remotely to minimize possible spread of the disease,” Villanueva said in his opening

remarks. “This [telecommuting] is one of several laws we can resort to to help the DOH curb the spread of nCoV,” the senator added, referring to the telecommuting law enacted in 2019. The law had initially been pushed as a remedy for the problems caused to workers by the horrendous road traffic in Metro Manila, and key cities. The senator said telecommuting work arrangements maintain the productivity of workers while reducing their need to commute in traffic-clogged routes to get to their offices or workplaces, thereby, lowering the risk of getting infected by the nCoV. “Working at home will help disperse crowds, decrease the number of people on the streets, on the trains, and other in public mass transport vehicles, which will ultimately help mitigate the spread of the infection,” said Villanueva, who chairs the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development.

Employers’ duties

At the same time, the senator reminded employers of their obligation to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) law, even as he also prodded the Department of Labor and Employment to continue reminding their stakeholders that noncompliance is punishable under the law. See “Telecommuting,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A13

A14 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A15

A16 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A17

A18 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A19

A20 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A21

In the ad material of Notice of filing of application for Alien Employment Permits published on June 28, 2019, the company of Ms. Li, Shuangshuang under JINDINGYUAN BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. should have been read as NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION and not as published. In the ad material published on September 3, 2019, the name Mr. Dang, Zhaobo under NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION should have been read as Mr. Dang, Zhao and not as published. In the ad material publish on February 1, 2020, the position of Mr. Zheng, Riqiang under MEI YA INTERNET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION should have been read as Mandarin Marketing Manager and not as published. In the ad material published on December 12, 2019, the name of Mr. Li, Tienzhu under FIRST GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. should have been read as Mr. Li, Tiezhu and not as published. 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 NCR Regional Office located at 967 Maligaya St., Malate, Manila, within 30 days after its publication. Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

BusinessMirror

A22 Wednesday, February 5, 2020 Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Regional Office No. IV-A 4th Flr. Andenson Bldg. II, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City Telefax No.: (049) 545-7362 February 05, 2020

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YANG WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. QI ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YAXU GAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YANGMING CAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. KE ZENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YOUJIAN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. SHIXIANG XU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. LING PAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHENGZE LIAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DAIMING DENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP) Notice is hereby given that the following employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s. Name and Address of Company/Employer

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHIWEI JIN / Chinese

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CAIHUA LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QINGYAN WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XIAOXIONG DAI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YINHUI ZHOU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZEKAI WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEIWEN DENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. GUOWEI LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. CHENGKANG LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZILIANG ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

48 Ms. YOUYAN XING / Chinese

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZETAO HE / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. WOO CHEE WAI / Malaysian

Mr. KE DENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SONG YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHIGANG LAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SONG YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HUANGJIAN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YALANG CHENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZIREN YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. LIXIN LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. WEI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAO WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

55 Ms. YANYUN LU / Chinese

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. QINGQING CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

56 Mr. YUSHENG LU / Chinese

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIAOLONG JING / Chinese

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. MIN WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. JUNJIE TIAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JINGLONG YAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YU YE / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YUNTING DU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HESHUAI QIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAILONG HOU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHONGSHAN WEI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. PENGPENG BAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. HAO SHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. WENBO MA / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

63 Mr. NAOKI TERAO / Japanese

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HUAJIE YUN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

COMINIX (PHILIPPINES), INC. Laguna Technopark, Biñan City, Laguna

ACBEL POLYTECH PHILIPPINES, INC. CIP II, Calamba City, Laguna

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JUNSHENG SONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. CHUNG-HSUN YANG / Taiwanese

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. LIN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZIHAO GUO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAIYANG YU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHIJIN YAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YONGSHENG CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHIHUI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. WEI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. YU LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. QIQI CAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JINYI LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIAOFENG TIAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. XINXIN TIAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YUANGUI DING / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Chinese Customer Service Representative Chinese Customer Service Representative

Malaysian Customer Service Representative

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Vice President

Plant Manager

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. NINGNING DONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHEZHE DONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DONGDONG YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DONG XU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. PENGLIN SONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. WENLONG CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. XIAOJIA ZHENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YONGZHONG GAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. QUANMING SU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. TAO HU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YINGWEI LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. RONGJIE LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YUZHOU MAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Name and Address of Company/Employer

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

Name and Address of Company/Employer

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A23

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HUANYOU MAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 116 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. LAN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. RUICHAO WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 117 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIAHAO DONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YUNPING QU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 118 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZUYUAN ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DINGQIAN SUN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 119 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. DAYU ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIULONG SUN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 120 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. MINGHUI MI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JUNHAO WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 121 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. PEIYU WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 122 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. QIANQIAN ZHU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 123 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHUNHUA MA / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 124 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHAOQIANG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 125 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HONGWEI LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 126 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. RUI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 127 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIANQIANG LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 128 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. BINGYING LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 129 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QINGYUAN SU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 130 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YUJIN GUO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 131 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. LINYING MA / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 132 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JUN WEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 133 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QIANG HUANG / Chinese

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 134 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. BO XIA / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 135 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. BENRONG GUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 136 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XIA QIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 137 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XIAOYAN HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. FENZHONG YU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. PINGPING CUI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HUI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XUNENG XIAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DAREN NG KAI LUN / Malaysian

Malaysian Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SIMON SAW KA HOE / Malaysian

Malaysian Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. MENGYU CAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. TEOH AI LING / Malaysian

Malaysian Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHAOXU FU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. SHUIYING FU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HENG JIAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JUNQUN NI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YONG JIANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YOUYANG YUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. MAOJUN RAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. XIAOLING SU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Ms. MINGQIU SU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 100 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Chinese Customer Service Representative

101

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. JINGJING GAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 138 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

102

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. TIANLI QIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 139 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QIANG LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

103

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. BIN WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 140 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. SHIXING YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

104

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHENGYI GAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 141 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HUAMING LEI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

105

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YE HTUT AUNG / Burmese

Myanmari Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 142 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHAOYUE ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

106

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHEN NIE / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 143 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. SHUNPING SHI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 107 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. GUANGZE YU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. SHUANGLONG LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 108 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 144 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIE ZHOU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Ms. XIAOLI ZHAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 109 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 145 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JUNHONG DING / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. YU ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 110 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 146 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. SHUANG LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. HAIJUN SU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 111 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 147 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. SHIDAN HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Ms. CHANJUAN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 112 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 148 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHAOXIN NONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. LEI HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 113 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 149 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FENGQI LU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Ms. ZHEN ZHENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 114 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 150 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FUYANG HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. JIANBIN HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 115 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 151 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEI LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 152 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. PING LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Name and Address of Company/Employer

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

Name and Address of Company/Employer

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 153 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. TING ZHANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 172 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YIBING QIAN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 154 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QIANG TANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 173 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YANLING NONG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 155 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. RONGZHI HONG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 174 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YINGJUN CHAI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 156 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HONGXU WANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 175 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JUNLIN WANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 157 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CAIYONG ZHOU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 176 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HAO WANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 158 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. TUN TUN NAING / Burmese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 177 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. TIAN DUAN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 159 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. MEI YANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 178 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YULIAN LU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 160 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. DONGLEI XIE / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 179 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHIWEI LIANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 161 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. BIXIA ZHU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 180 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LIANG LIANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 162 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHUN PENG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 181 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHENGCAI ZHAN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 163 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JINZHONG ZHAN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 182 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HUBIN WANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 164 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. MULEI WANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 183 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HAO HUANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 165 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. JINJIN LIANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 184 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. MENGLU PEI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 166 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XIAOYAN ZHANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 185 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHAO LIANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 167 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. SHUIMING ZHONG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 186 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WENJIE ZHANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 168 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LIEQIANG JIANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 169 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FAN DU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 170 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YUFEN LU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 171 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. GUOTONG CHEN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

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 the DOLE Regional Office within 30 days from the date of publication. Please inform the DOLE Regional Office if you have an information of any criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

HENRY JOHN S. JALBUENA Regional Director

To avail of free job referral, placement, and employment guidance services, visit the nearest Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) or log on at http://www.philjobnet.gov.ph AEP20201007331

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

DTI suspends standard license of SteelAsia, 5 other manufacturers By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has suspended the standard license of SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp.—the country’s largest steelmaker—and five others for allegedly producing substandard steel bars. Debunking the claim of an industry group that the government failed to take action against producers of substandard rebars, the DTI last year suspended the Philippine Standard (PS) licenses of six steel manufacturers for failing the independent testing commissioned by the DTI’s Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) from the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC). These steel manufacturers are SteelAsia’s Bulacan plant, Maxima Steel Mills Corp., Henro Steel Corp., Cathay Metal Corp., Somico Steel Mill Corp. and Sagarthama Steel Trading Corp. According to the DTI, SteelAsia was found to have been manufacturing deformed steel bar; Maxima, deformed steel bar and equal leg angle bar; and Henro, rerolled steel bar. On the other hand, the DTI accused Cathay of making equal leg angle bar; Somico, rerolled steel bar; and Sagarthama, deformed steel bar. The suspension order resulted from unannounced surveillance audits conducted by the BPS last year on numerous steel manufacturing plants around the country. Samples obtained from these audits that were subjected to MIRDC tests proved that these six steel manufacturers were not compliant with the standards indicated in Philippine National Standard 49, Series of 2002, the DTI reported. PS licenses will remain suspended until the violator complies with the PNS. In a statement, SteelAsia said the DTI findings of substandard steel were only found in the Meycauayan Mill 2 and for selected sizes only, namely, 10-mm and 12-mm Grade 230 rebars. “Corrective measures were immediately put in place and the affected rebar lot destroyed. We are confident our Meycauayan Mill 2 will be declared fully compliant by the BPS shortly,” the firm said.

Megawide, Petron, Remington

Meanwhile, the BPS denied the issuance of import commodity clearances (ICC) for deformed steel bars and equal leg angle bars imported by Megawide Construction Corp., Petron Corp. and Remington Industrial Sales Corp., valued at over P68 million. The deformed steel bars bought by Megawide were denied issuance of ICC due to noncompliance with PNS, while those shipped by Petron had no proper markings. Remington Industrial Sales Corp., on the other hand, has no valid PS license for the importation of equal leg angle bars. All these imported steel bars were either destroyed or returned to their country of origin. Also last year, Wan Chiong Steel Corp. was found to be producing deformed steel bars not covered by the scope of their PS license. After hearing out Wan Chiong and the filing of formal charges, the DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) issued a decision in November of last year ordering the Pampanga-based firm to pay a penalty of P450,000. Wan Chiong was previously suspended for five months for noncompliance with PNS. Similarly, Dragon Asia Rolling Mills was found to be manufacturing steel that is not covered by the scope of their PS license. A formal charge against the company has been filed by the FTEB and the case is now up for decision. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said his agency sanctioned a total of 42 retailers and manufacturers of steel, and vowed it will stop at nothing in going after violators of product standard and consumer welfare laws. “For the whole of 2019, the DTI penalized a total of 42 retailers and manufacturers of steel—a clear contrast to the claim of a product safety and quality group that the department failed to charge violating steel manufacturers and traders for substandard steel products,” Lopez said in a statement on Tuesday. “The DTI stops at nothing in tracking down unscrupulous businesses and ensuring that violators are dealt with to the highest and fullest extent of the law. The protection of consumers is our utmost priority, and we remain steadfast in our commitment,” he added.

ERC: Decisions on Meralco PSA that underwent CSP out soon By Lenie Lectura @llectura

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has given assurances that it will be able to release decisions on the Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) powersupply agreements (PSAs) that underwent competitive selection process (CSP). “Lalabas na [They’re coming out soon]. The resolutions are being finalized,” said ERC Chairman Agnes Devanadera. These PSAs are with First Gen Hydro Power Corp., Phinma Energy Corp. and South Premiere Power Corp. for the supply of 500-megawatt mid-merit capacity for five years that should have started on December 26, 2019; and with Phinma Energy, SPPC and San Miguel Energy Corp. for the supply of 1,200-MW brownfield capacity. Devanadera said the resolution for these PSAs were delayed because certain parties opposed the applications for approval of these supply contracts even though these underwent a competitive process. “If there is an intervenor in the case then we should also act on it,” the ERC chief said, explaining that the delays in resolving cases could, at times, be attributed to this. “Within February, by end of the month, we will come out with the resolutions,” on pending PSAs, “including that of the 1,800 MW of Meralco because ‘yun naman ang importante [that’s the important one].”

Petition filed

The Power for People Coalition (P4P) filed last year a petition for intervention at the ERC, questioning the results of the competitive bidding.

“We are pleased that after over two years of Meralco’s insistent efforts to evade biddings for their power-supply agreements, the CSP finally took place,” said Gerry Arances, convenor of the Power for People Coalition. “We find it alarming, however, that Meralco is still so set on ensuring that power consumers remain tied to paying for dirty energy in the coming decade, while also suffering the impacts of destructive power generation,” Arances added. The National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore), on the other hand, has asked the ERC to penalize Meralco for alleged abuse of market power. Nasecore claimed that Meralco allegedly coerced the ERC into granting them provisional authority for their PSA applications. Nasecore alleged that Meralco’s application for provisional authority for the issuance of the PSAs is tantamount to a threat to the government regulator as it provided the ERC with a deadline of December 26, 2019, to approve the contracts. Otherwise, it added, Meralco may be “exposing” its consumers to “volatile” electricity prices. “The subject application seeks this PA, which means that there is an emergency situation not within the control of Meralco. However, it should be stressed that this emergency situation is not based on a ‘force majeure’ situation,” Nasecore said. In short, there was no force majeure beyond Meralco’s control that prevented it from sourcing, procuring and entering into bilateral contracts, in accordance with the law and rules governing the same, on the Power Demand and Supply Outlook, and Distribution Development Plan it submitted to the DOE as early as 2016.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Globe budgets ₧63B for capex, widens network to meet demand

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

LOBE Telecom Inc. has allocated roughly P63 billion in capital expenditures (capex) this year to further expand and enhance its networks to keep up with the growing demand for data connectivity in the Philippines. The figure, which is 23.5 percent higher than the P51-billion record capex for last year, includes some spillover from 2019, when it put up 139 percent more sites, increasing its 3G and 4G base stations by 28 percent from the year prior. With this network improvement, Globe was able to cater to the 58-percent in-

crease in mobile data traffic in 2019. Ernest L. Cu, the company’s president, said these network developments buoyed the profits of Globe last year, which stood at P22.28 billion, a 20-percent increase from P18.63 billion the year prior. Its consolidated service revenues grew

by 12 percent to P149 billion from P132.88 billion driven by gains from data across mobile, broadband, and corporate services. Data revenues now account for 71 percent of the total service revenues of Globe, reflecting the huge demand for Internet connectivity in the Philippines. “These results serve as a springboard for the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead, and will help us better serve our expanded mobile and broadband customer base of over 96 million,” Cu said. Globe’s operating expenses and subsidy, meanwhile, increased by a slower 8 percent to P72.98 billion from P67.75 billion. “We will continue this momentum through 2020, as we remain committed to our goal of delivering first-world Internet connectivity to the Philippines,” Cu said.

Pandacan fire did not start from our yard, DMCI clarifies

NGINEERING giant DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI) said on Tuesday the massive fire that occurred last Saturday in Pandacan, Manila, and destroyed a 30-meter segment of the Skyway Stage 3 that is under construction “did not originate from the construction yard of DM Consunji Inc.”

In a statement, DMCI said, “ Videos taken by various netizens clearly show that the fire started outside our work area.” In addition, it said, “according to the Bureau of Fire Protection, the fire broke out at around 10:38 a.m. or more than 30

minutes before the warehouse inside our construction yard caught fire at around 11:15 a.m. “Nonetheless, we will cooperate with any investigation to determine the real cause of this fire,” said the construction and engineering firm.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Companies BusinessMirror

DMCI launches second project along Pasig Blvd

MCI Homes Inc. on Tuesday said it launched another project along Pasig Boulevard in Pasig in anticipation of greater business activities in the area brought by the ongoing construction of the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link Road Project and the upcoming Metro Manila Subway Project.

Allegra Garden Place, which the company launched in September last year, aims to attract first-time

home buyers and young professionals working in BGC, Makati, Ortigas and Eastwood City.

T he 1.3 -hectare project is DMCI’s second project in the area after the sold out three-tower development Prisma Residences. Allegra Garden Place will feature amenities that include an indoor multipurpose wooden court, elevated roof garden, kiddie pool, lap pool, leisure pool, game area, bar area, entertainment room, roofdeck, fitness gym and Sky Lounge. The condominium offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units spread across two buildings, namely Amina and Soraya. The units have a gross floor area ranging from 30 square meters to 83 sq m. The Amina building is targeted for completion by July 2024.

“The buildings will feature a design that allows natural light and air to flow in and out of the living spaces, thereby, saving energy by minimizing the electricity use throughout the day,” the company said. The BGC-Ortigas bridge, targeted for completion by the first half of 2020, will connect with the Lawton Avenue-Global City Viaduct to improve intercity travel in Pasig, Mandaluyong, Taguig and Makati. On the other hand, the Metro Manila Subway Project, the country’s first intercity underground railway, has proposed stations in Ortigas, BGC and Kalayaan Avenue, which are all near the location of the new DMCI Homes two-tower condominium project. VG Cabuag

GMA, ABS-CBN claim lead in January 2020 ratings game By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

IVALS GMA Network Inc. and ABS-CBN Corp. claimed separately on Tuesday that they dominated the nationwide ratings game in the first month 2020. In a statement, the Gozon-led broadcaster, citing data from Nielsen, said it “reclaimed” the top spot in the nationwide ratings for January, after posting 34.7 percent in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (Nutam), a few points higher than the 31.7 percent of its competition. GMA also recorded a 36.7-percent total day people share in Urban Luzon last year, outscoring the 29.1-percent share of ABS-CBN. In Mega Manila, it scored an average of 37.1 percent versus the Lopez-led network’s 27-percent share. Urban Luzon accounts for 72 percent of all urban TV viewers in the country, while Mega Manila represents 57 percent of all urban households in the Philippines. GMA,likewise,ledthemorningblockat28.8-percent share, beating ABS-CBN’s 27.4 percent. It also won in the afternoon block at 37.7 percent versus its competitor’s 31.4 percent, and the evening block, where it recorded an average audience share of 34.8 percent versus the competitor’s 33.6 percent.

ABS-CBN’s claim

In a separate statement, ABS-CBN said it con-

tinued to be the No. 1 network in the country with an average national audience share of 38 percent versus its rival’s 32-percent share in January, citing data from Kantar Media. The Lopez-led entertainment and multimedia conglomerate also claimed leadership in Metro Manila and Mega Manila, where it scored an average audience share of 38 percent and 32 percent, respectively, against GMA’s 27 percent and 33-percent share. ABS-CBN also attracted more viewers than GMA in other areas. It won the ratings game in Total Luzon with an average total-day audience share of 34 percent, versus GMA’s 35 percent, in

mutual funds

Total Visayas with 49 percent versus GMA’s 27 percent, and in Total Mindanao with 44 percent, versus GMA’s 28 percent. ABS- CBN also claimed it fared better against GMA in all time blocks. In the morning block it scored an average share of 34 percent versus its rival’s 27 percent, while maintaining its lead in the noontime block at 37 percent versus the competition’s 33 percent, and the afternoon block at 39 percent versus its rival’s 37 percent. It also sustained a 41-percent share in the primetime block versus the Gozon-led network’s 33-percent share.

February 4, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 232.04 -14.57% -2.69% -3.21% -7.88% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2391 -19.5% -3.77% -5.49% -10.34% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2617 -22.6% -6.79% -6.14% -11.32% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.812 -16.01% n.a. n.a. -9.49% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7748 -13.06% n.a. n.a. -8.77% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.9124 -13.2% -1.38% -3.21% -7.81% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,6 0.7775 -13.93% -5.36% n.a. -8.92% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 94.44 -23.44% n.a. n.a. -8.6% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 46.7844 -12.58% -0.78% n.a. -8.77% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 489.91 -11.78% -1.57% -2.87% -8.05% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,8 0.9794 n.a. n.a. n.a. -4.92% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1811 -12.17% -0.89% -1.91% -8.22% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 34.7681 -12.01% 0.04% -1.75% -8.26% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.9316 -12.37% n.a. n.a. -8.5% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.7654 -11.84% -0.1% -1.12% -8.77% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 795.68 -11.87% -0.16% -1.25% -8.76% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.76 -17.6% -3.64% -4.88% -10.74% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.8118 -12.88% -0.93% -2.04% -9.44% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9131 -12.13% -0.32% n.a. -8.76% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3639 -10.58% 1% -0.3% -7.92% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 106.7521 -11.58% 0.53% -0.32% -8.72% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.9661 -3.33% 2.68% -0.57% -6.06% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.384 14.53% 9.02% n.a. 0.38% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5131 -13.29% -4.22% -5.14% -3.18% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0584 -11.43% -3.32% -3.02% -5.63% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.5152 -6.54% 0.18% -2.92% -4.42% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,5 0.2128 n.a. n.a. n.a. -6.87% Grepalife Balanced Fund Corporation -a N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9038 -1.23% 1.36% -0.29% -3.02% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.6173 -1.42% -0.07% -1.45% -4.53% -0.1% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.1961 -2.59% -1.51% -4.51% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.0331 -6.44% -0.39% -0.53% -4.36% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6359 -5.82% 0.15% -1.3% -5.9% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9712 n.a. n.a. n.a. -4.38% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9281 n.a. n.a. n.a. -6.85% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9208 n.a. n.a. n.a. -7.29% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.905 -7.42% -0.87% -2.53% -7.16% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities 3.32% 1.93% 1.44% Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03878 8.72% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -a $1.0076 3.52% 3.31% 0.32% -2.92% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.9372 11.42% 7.27% 4.27% 0.68% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,7 $1.1377 8.32% 4.44% n.a. 0.79% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 358.21 3.86% 2.66% 2.16% 0.11% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9058 1.87% 0.38% -0.92% 0.2% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1305 4.91% 5.14% 5.17% 0.46% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2343 4.1% 2.07% 1.64% 0.42% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.3589 5.61% 2.08% 1.22% -0.01% Grepalife Fixed Income Fund Corp. -a P N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.3792 11.89% 2.19% 1.15% 0.14% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.7748 5.53% 2.65% 0.48% -0.35% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 0.9682 6.35% 1.2% -0.33% 0.4% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.077 8.8% 4.05% 1.87% 0.04% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.6949 7.69% 3.46% 1.16% -0.36% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $470.64 4.51% 2.75% 2.64% 0.52% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є220.44 3.06% 1.93% 1.28% 0.32% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2114 6.12% 3.09% 2.24% 0.35% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.026 4% 1.59% 1.45% 0.78% Grepalife Dollar Bond Fund Corp. -a N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -a $1.1095 5.98% 1.7% -0.29% 1.31% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4403 10.2% 3.82% 2.68% 1.52% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0606964 5.93% 2.36% 1.82% 0.63% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2453 11.63% 3.55% 2.57% 2.2% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities 2.21% ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 126.19 3.91% 2.9% 0.33% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a,3 1.0275 2.71% n.a. n.a. 0.12% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.2527 5.74% 2.98% 1.62% -0.32% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2681 3.68% 2.92% 2.41% 0.28% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.039 2.06% n.a. n.a. 0.17% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,4 $0.99 n.a. n.a. n.a. 0% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Launch date is January 3, 2019. 2 - Launch date is January 28, 2019. 3 - Launch date is February 1, 2019. 4 Launch date is November 15, 2019. 5 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 6 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 7 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 8 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

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

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

52.1 149.2 82.3 25 11.06 56.65 11.8 31.15 51.6 110.1 171 59 0.85 18.1 3.9 1.15 0.42 841 0.76 170.2 1.04

53.95 150.7 82.55 25.05 11.1 56.75 11.98 31.2 53.95 129.6 171.9 59.85 0.88 18.48 4.07 1.19 0.43 870 0.79 176 1.05

53.95 145 81.75 25 11 56.65 12 31.3 53 110.1 169 61.95 0.85 18.48 3.95 1.15 0.375 850.5 0.74 176 1.03

53.95 151.9 83.9 25.05 11.1 58.4 12 31.5 53 110.1 175.4 61.95 0.85 18.48 4.1 1.15 0.43 850.5 0.8 177.9 1.05

53.95 144.7 81.5 25 10.96 56.65 11.94 31.1 51.55 110.1 169 56 0.8 18.3 3.9 1.14 0.375 850.5 0.74 176 1.03

53.95 150.7 82.3 25 11.06 56.65 12 31.15 51.6 110.1 171.9 59 0.85 18.3 4.1 1.14 0.43 850.5 0.79 176 1.05

10 3150180 1355790 126900 306600 8603740 30000 183500 1860 20 354620 86700 103000 1400 16000 13000 220000 10 50000 450 520000

539.5 474213858 111619321.5 3173085 3372814 492648096.5 359500 5740735 96301 2202 61075073 5182024.5 84300 25764 63410 14890 90200 8505 39020 79517 536000

INDUSTRIAL

AC ENERGY ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER VIVANT AGRINURTURE AXELUM CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VICTORIAS CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CROWN ASIA EUROMED MABUHAY VINYL GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

HOLDING & FRIMS

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

93106406 1001401.5 2505 -360040 -68018888 -3544635 -16436140 580 9150 -

2.1 1.19 31.95 0.211 20.35 66.65 266.8 13.76 3.48 11.52 29.55 9.15 14.08 11.48 2.84 16.1 14.98 4.8 8.65 7.25 72.6 0.59 1.69 35.05 195 6.52 9.99 1.86 9.26 1.63 5.02 0.117 151 1.14 2.4 58.85 58 1.45 11.98 8.38 9.7 14.5 9.8 0.95 0.93 2.12 2.2 3.1 1.85 6.61 1.36 1.29 10.04

2.13 1.24 32.4 0.227 21 67 271.8 13.78 3.49 11.84 29.95 9.19 15.08 12.06 2.85 17.18 15.08 5 8.7 7.26 78 0.6 1.7 36.5 196 6.93 10 1.88 9.3 1.66 5.33 0.12 151.2 1.15 2.54 61.9 64 1.46 12 8.4 9.98 14.8 9.9 0.98 0.95 2.14 2.21 3.2 1.89 6.73 1.37 1.3 10.1

2.08 1.19 32.4 0.21 20.3 66.8 260 12.8 3.49 11.3 29.45 9.15 15.1 12.08 2.76 16.62 15.04 5 8.72 7.24 73.5 0.58 1.7 36.5 197.5 6.55 9.99 1.86 9.5 1.65 5.01 0.117 144.4 1.14 2.54 60 64 1.45 12.12 8.88 10.14 14.6 9.8 0.99 0.98 2.09 1.94 3.3 1.86 6.8 1.53 1.74 11.1

2.17 1.22 32.9 0.228 21.25 66.8 274 14.08 3.51 11.84 30 9.2 15.1 12.08 2.91 17.18 15.18 5 9.15 7.25 78 0.67 1.74 36.5 200 6.98 10 1.88 9.5 1.66 5.33 0.12 151.9 1.17 2.54 60 64 1.5 12.46 8.88 10.14 14.8 9.9 1.01 0.98 2.14 2.7 3.3 1.9 7.19 1.59 1.8 11.5

2.08 1.19 31.95 0.21 20.3 66.65 259.8 12.8 3.45 11.3 29.45 9.15 14.06 11.86 2.65 16.08 14.9 5 8.63 7.24 72.5 0.56 1.68 35.05 195 6.52 9.96 1.86 9.03 1.64 5.01 0.117 143.5 1.13 2.54 58.85 64 1.42 11.94 8.36 9.68 14.4 9.8 0.99 0.93 2.09 1.94 3.1 1.84 6.61 1.28 1.21 10

2.13 1.19 31.95 0.227 20.35 66.65 266.8 13.78 3.49 11.84 29.55 9.16 14.06 12.06 2.84 17.18 14.98 5 8.65 7.25 78 0.59 1.7 36.5 195 6.52 9.99 1.86 9.26 1.66 5.33 0.12 151 1.15 2.54 60 64 1.46 12 8.38 9.98 14.8 9.9 0.99 0.93 2.14 2.2 3.2 1.89 6.61 1.36 1.29 10.1

6567000 162000 877500 170000 915000 37680 161340 28770100 814000 106200 237800 73100 800 850400 7038000 70500 644600 1000 1662000 58200 312200 15644000 19102000 8700 1281730 18100 41300 159000 43800 30000 8300 510000 882390 2207000 1000 280 770 5549000 848600 608300 780800 1501700 179200 35000 777000 29000 3921000 14000 7221000 442900 6786000 36865000 12964400

13851810 192810 28224185 36100 19008240 2511425.5 43535850 388671776 2839100 1241534 7064115 671224 11664 10179046 19594090 1149952 9662752 5000 14389964 421935 23231321 9834920 32654980 308970 253329863 118560 412875 297770 406595 49560 41615 59700 132687336 2531080 2540 16708 49280 8137580 10187624 5097660 7738275 21895374 1761578 34750 724820 61390 8971220 44350 13468770 3013230 9560600 54826250 137721792

-138850.0003 -3035430 -9119765 -2408774.5 969239.9996 26410790 -502010 -74554 -1321495 13799.9998 -6040 2046006 293050 2761294 8948912 -31900 12176065.5 -68400 63730 24590 -12371733 29 -28010 -197953 14045896 -572680 -1852220 -4731308 22570 -17489450 49440 -31450 -2444000 546246 26800 76670 -3221796

0.84 10 733 49.85 10.5 2.5 5.98 0.68 0.9 0.89 6.2 6.18 12 0.211 686 4.81 70.3 0.485 3.7 9.88 0.55 3.24 4.45 1.12 2.56 1.15 175 983.5 131.5 0.77 175 0.205 0.198

0.85 10.3 740.5 50 10.52 2.52 6 0.69 0.91 0.93 6.22 6.2 12.2 0.227 688.5 5 70.4 0.5 3.84 9.9 0.59 3.25 4.99 1.18 2.88 1.19 185 986 133 0.79 176 0.227 0.2

0.85 10.48 734 49.8 10.52 2.48 6 0.67 0.88 0.88 6.19 5.99 12.8 0.21 667.5 4.61 71.9 0.5 3.69 9.76 0.56 3.21 5 1.2 2.75 1.13 180 975 135 0.79 176 0.203 0.2

0.86 10.48 745 51 10.56 2.5 6 0.71 0.91 0.93 6.4 6.25 12.8 0.275 695 4.99 71.9 0.5 3.71 10.08 0.59 3.28 5 1.2 2.75 1.19 191.5 989.5 137.2 0.8 176 0.228 0.2

0.84 9.99 733 49.8 10.46 2.45 6 0.66 0.88 0.88 6.13 5.96 12.2 0.21 667.5 4.61 70 0.485 3.69 9.76 0.56 3.2 4.43 1.11 2.72 1.1 180 974.5 131.5 0.79 174 0.203 0.196

0.85 10.3 740.5 49.85 10.52 2.5 6 0.69 0.91 0.93 6.2 6.2 12.2 0.211 686 4.99 70.3 0.5 3.7 9.9 0.59 3.25 4.99 1.19 2.72 1.15 180 983.5 131.5 0.79 176 0.205 0.2

2855000 31600 384450 1044400 7069800 255000 42200 605000 318000 9000 481200 6999400 42300 8820000 193840 6000 1120950 3000 371000 1832700 143000 36078000 14000 26000 4000 79000 510 936380 523940 61000 5740 6340000 4290000

2418880 318409 285193815 52493665 74269184 632390 253200 413400 283650 7970 2997035 43125379 517260 2130620 133074420 28420 79388706.5 1485 1369270 18148219 81160 117212030 65389 30070 10970 90210 92805 922397270 70695001 48200 1009106 1390060 856940

54048670 -7479735 36719462 -208726 -20302182 11230 -205570 34579915 -3548584.5 -85090 177379 -14907470 8860 7770 -87890 494287890 -31096544 -173736 -660000 400000

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.82 0.77 0.79 1948000 1555220 40.9 40.95 41 41.1 40.6 40.95 11871400 484825460 -48065880 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 1.61 1.76 1.65 1.76 1.6 1.6 245000 402060 1.52 1.53 1.53 1.55 1.52 1.53 435000 667460 27620 BELLE CORP A BROWN 0.62 0.65 0.67 0.67 0.62 0.65 448000 282410 CITYLAND DEVT 0.78 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 278000 222400 0.177 0.18 0.177 0.18 0.177 0.177 1150000 204130 -8900 CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG 6.16 6.2 6.4 6.66 6.16 6.2 109300 680038 4.51 4.53 4.54 4.55 4.51 4.51 217000 983670 457110 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.485 0.5 0.48 0.5 0.48 0.5 5000000 2469400 DOUBLEDRAGON 17 17.2 17.5 17.5 15.94 17 283900 4857612 -535710 8.75 8.76 8.75 8.8 8.75 8.76 36400 318870 -12266 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.39 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 30000 12000 1.42 1.45 1.45 1.46 1.42 1.42 20752000 29828030 -16219490 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 1.04 1.07 1.05 1.1 1.04 1.04 395000 411440 8990 HLDG 14.72 14.76 14.76 14.76 14.72 14.76 400400 5894234 -275324 1.1 1.11 1.07 1.14 1.07 1.11 976000 1079340 PHIL INFRADEV CITY AND LAND 0.76 0.78 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.77 13000 10010 3.88 3.89 3.86 3.96 3.84 3.89 22376000 87487510 -51638910 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.211 0.215 0.2 0.219 0.199 0.215 9030000 1909190 -63370 PHIL ESTATES 0.395 0.405 0.4 0.41 0.4 0.405 800000 323000 2.03 2.06 2.04 2.05 2.03 2.05 399000 812960 PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND 25.15 25.2 24.25 25.9 24.25 25.15 1053800 26456255 -841785 0.31 0.325 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 120000 38400 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 2.06 2.09 2.08 2.08 2.08 2.08 40000 83200 SHANG PROP 3.09 3.15 3.17 3.17 3.15 3.15 24000 75640 31500 2.5 2.53 2.48 2.58 2.46 2.5 152000 377750 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 38.85 38.9 39 39.4 38.55 38.9 14029600 546912135 -98132080 5.27 5.4 5.27 5.48 5.27 5.27 110000 584463 2650 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.98 1.99 1.85 2.03 1.79 1.99 18064000 34855920 -1097620 VISTA LAND 6.4 6.59 6.58 6.8 6.4 6.4 895300 5798367 -3021482 SERVICES ABS CBN 17.5 17.74 17.6 18 17.4 17.74 172200 3029424 5.23 5.24 5.29 5.29 5.24 5.24 150500 791692 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.415 0.43 0.425 0.435 0.415 0.43 110000 47250 1930 1955 1920 1980 1893 1930 53740 104847595 -13010270 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1020 1021 1003 1040 1003 1020 106625 109204375 -24428435 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.048 0.049 0.05 0.05 0.047 0.049 8100000 388300 4 4.9 4 4 4 4 372000 1488000 DFNN INC ISLAND INFO 0.098 0.101 0.098 0.098 0.098 0.098 210000 20580 3.05 3.06 3.3 3.42 3.05 3.06 12578000 39951100 -90730 ISM COMM JACKSTONES 1.75 2.14 2.2 2.22 2.14 2.14 6000 13220 NOW CORP 2.22 2.28 2.29 2.3 2.2 2.28 757000 1701910 -274100 0.247 0.25 0.241 0.25 0.241 0.25 1560000 385780 -2500 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 3.79 3.8 3.4 4.1 3.3 3.79 17109000 65196730 -630139.9998 9.4 9.49 9.49 9.6 9.4 9.49 13400 127769 2GO GROUP CHELSEA 4.95 4.96 4.98 5.07 4.92 4.96 392000 1953180 -680750 CEBU AIR 74.8 75 74 75.95 74 74.8 647210 48543159.5 -3156651.5 127.4 128 127 131 127 127.4 1550480 197728172 -81040378 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 11.72 13.68 13.68 13.68 13.68 13.68 100 1368 0.88 0.95 0.95 0.95 0.9 0.95 56000 50760 LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA 10.1 10.12 10 10.18 9.28 10.12 8753400 86696274 -43410842 METROALLIANCE A 1 1.06 0.93 1.05 0.93 1.05 21000 21430 0.99 1.12 1.19 1.19 1.12 1.12 43000 50060 METROALLIANCE B PAL HLDG 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.39 7 7.1 17600 125529 16520 1.19 1.2 1.18 1.23 1.14 1.2 2600000 3083360 -32940 HARBOR STAR ACESITE HOTEL 1.33 1.38 1.31 1.38 1.31 1.33 127000 167330 GRAND PLAZA 9.8 13.18 9.8 13.26 9.8 13.26 400 4656 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.58 0.6 452000 268660 WATERFRONT FAR EASTERN U 890 927 895 895 890 890 1520 1357930 0.6 0.61 0.6 0.61 0.59 0.61 1062000 639530 18000 STI HLDG BERJAYA 2.64 2.73 2.62 2.83 2.62 2.73 618000 1699160 -39110 BLOOMBERRY 8.84 8.85 9 9.1 8.85 8.85 6081700 54326428 -3109498 2.01 2.04 1.99 2.19 1.98 2.04 127000 265720 12250 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 2.26 2.35 2.2 2.39 2.15 2.25 238000 519750 8500 3.41 4.49 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.5 5000 22900 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.495 0.5 0.52 0.52 0.495 0.495 12989000 6511460 -1096865 ALLHOME 9.81 9.9 9.87 9.9 9.78 9.9 1741900 17127058 6395678 1.89 1.9 1.87 1.94 1.87 1.9 1331000 2529150 -467620 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 38.25 38.35 38.45 38.45 38.1 38.25 1041800 39801105 -18305 75.65 77.6 76.25 77.6 75.6 77.6 306660 23643265 -8020695 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 144.1 146 144 145.5 144 144.1 11330 1642377 1335371 SSI GROUP 2.16 2.17 2.11 2.18 2.11 2.16 1519000 3261750 -92780 18.5 18.6 18.56 18.68 18.48 18.5 5517900 102118072 5258517.9993 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.385 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 1600000 624000 78000 7.75 7.99 8 8 7.2 7.75 31300 242093 EASYCALL GOLDEN BRIA 424.4 434 424.4 424.4 423 424.4 880 373158 38150 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.335 0.34 0.315 0.34 0.315 0.335 12590000 4174700 283750 8.74 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.73 8.8 60600 531766 SBS PHIL CORP MINING & OIL APEX MINING 1.05 1.08 1.05 1.08 1.05 1.07 809000 864400 -34980 0.0014 0.0015 0.0015 0.0016 0.0014 0.0015 149000000 223200 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 2.32 2.4 2.34 2.34 2.34 2.34 7000 16380 1.1 1.18 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 18000 19800 BENGUET A COAL ASIA HLDG 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.27 0.265 0.27 270000 71950 CENTURY PEAK 3 3.05 2.98 3.08 2.98 3.05 848000 2556160 -72480 6.68 6.7 6.71 6.95 6.69 6.7 4700 31542 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 1.44 1.45 1.43 1.46 1.4 1.45 1371000 1958520 -84710 0.2 0.203 0.207 0.207 0.2 0.203 1710000 342370 100000 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.094 0.095 0.095 0.098 0.095 0.095 10100000 962150 LEPANTO B 0.091 0.1 0.095 0.1 0.094 0.1 70000 6730 -1000 0.0078 0.008 0.0078 0.0078 0.0078 0.0078 1000000 7800 MANILA MINING A MARCVENTURES 0.77 0.79 0.78 0.8 0.78 0.79 152000 119600 1 1.03 1.05 1.05 1.03 1.03 3000 3120 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 2.69 2.7 2.79 2.82 2.68 2.7 9229000 25204390 -17341280 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.67 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.66 0.69 130000 87370 13600 2.85 2.9 2.85 2.95 2.85 2.85 272000 776010 -285000 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 20.2 20.9 21.4 21.4 20.2 20.2 563200 11564040 -4573670 7.59 7.6 7.99 8.05 7.6 7.6 216400 1666472 -42292.9998 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 400000 4400 4400 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.01 20300000 213300 8.41 8.42 8.24 8.65 8.23 8.41 467400 3932326 -99757.9997 PXP ENERGY PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 98.5 99.9 99 99.9 99 99.9 1800 179312.5 149425.5 101 103.1 101.5 102 101.5 101.5 250 25425 ALCO PREF B AC PREF B2R 498 504 495 495 495 495 120 59400 100.9 102 102 102 102 102 200 20400 CPG PREF A DD PREF 100.1 100.5 101 101 100.1 100.8 10740 1075607 FGEN PREF G 105 108.2 103.5 103.5 103.5 103.5 40 4140 490 502 490 490 490 490 70 34300 FPH PREF C GTCAP PREF A 955.5 990 979 979 979 979 10 9790 970 980 980 980 980 980 300 294000 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 99.9 100 100 100 100 100 12210 1221000 PNX PREF 3A 102.3 102.4 102.3 102.4 102.3 102.4 690 70624 1030 1035 1040 1040 1031 1031 80 82525 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 2B 1031 1099 1030 1030 1030 1030 15 15450 77 78.35 77.1 78.4 77 78.35 3250 250409 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D 75.2 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 100 7550 SMC PREF 2E 75 76 75 76 75 75 97390 7315520 75.9 76 76 76 76 76 86560 6578560 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H 75.65 76 75.65 75.65 75.65 75.65 400 30260 PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

15.4 5.05

15.56 5.07

15.52 5.13

15.8 5.13

15.2 5.05

15.32 5.07

99100 704300

1533862 3575268

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.08

-1532330 -796548

1.17

1.07

1.18

1.07

1.08

231000

251670

ITALPINAS 3.41 KEPWEALTH 9.95 0.82 XURPAS

3.5 10.08 0.83

3.36 9.94 0.82

3.6 10.24 0.85

3.35 9.9 0.82

3.39 10.08 0.83

142000 325000 1627000

498860 3264573 1353940

FIRST METRO ETF

109.8

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

"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."

February 4, 2020

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 109

107.6

110

107.5

109

27260

2982265

5501

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Boracay co-op bags ₧135-M loan for purchase of fiber-glass ferries Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

he Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) announced it has provided a P135-million loan to the Caticlan Boracay Transport MultiPurpose Cooperative (CBT-MPC) that will allow the group to modernize its fleet by replacing wooden boats with fiber glass ferries. The LandBank said the CBTMPC availed the loan under its Ferr y Boat Inclusive Program

(FBIP). The bank said the FBIP seek s to fund the acquisition of brand new and modern ferry boats as replacement to their wooden-hulled vessels that are no longer eligible for franchise under the new Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) rules. This partnership will help boatowners and boatmen of CBT MPC to augment their income and provide safer and more comfortable ride for Boracay tourists, residents and laborers alike, a statement by the Landbank said. It will also

generate more employment in the community as each modern passenger boat can employ a crew of four as compared to wooden boats with only two, the Landbank added. The CBT MPC is the principal ferry boat operator plying the Caticlan-Boracay route with a fleet of 58 vessels, among which nine are steel-hulled or made of fiberglass, according to LandBank. CBT MPC Chairman Godofredo B. Sadiasa expressed gratitude for the loan. Sadiasa also considered

Corona virus: Cost on the economy

ome people can be panicky even to the point of being paranoid. They may have a reason because the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a real threat not only to the health of the global population but also to the economy. However, we also need to have a life free from paranoia. I think doing our best by frequent washing of hands and avoiding as much as possible public crowds plus strengthening our resistance is the most rational things we could do. After having done our best, we will leave to God the rest. There are some people I know who had to cancel their trips to Asian countries like Thailand and Hong Kong until everything is clear and until there are some sense of certainty as to the effect of this virus worldwide. Covering our nose with masks may give us some sense of security but even hands that handle masks can be infected—

FINEX free enterprise Wilma Inventor-Miranda what will all the door knobs, the handrails, the chairs—that our hands will likely touch. The breakout started to be detected in December 8, 2019, with the peak of the outbreak in January 20, 2020. Although mortality is small (at 2 percent of the affected people) when compared to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which is 10 percent, it seems to be spreading faster than SARS. There were a total of 8,098 to 8,422 affected persons by SARS in a period of eight

months while about the same number or 7,783 persons were infected with the disease in just a couple of weeks only by the nCoV, according to Rabo Research. And unless China or global health experts can find a cure for this epidemic and soon, the economy will likely suffer. The economy rebounded fast after SARS was contained. We’re hoping the nCoV will also be stopped or contained soon to avoid a serious and longer term negative impact on the global economy. As of now tourist influx, for instance, not only in the Philippines but in other countries, might slow down because the Chinese comprises a big bulk of tourists in many countries including the Philippines (No. 2 after South Korea) with 1,255,258 compared to Korea of 1,587,959 in 2018, according to the Department of Tourism. I cannot find any figure yet as of 2019 but the way we see it, they are still the top tourists in the Philippines

the debt as “a springboard for a greater CBT MPC probably in the next 20 years.” The LandBank said the FBIP is part of its support to government’s modernization program that seeks to bridge the gap of socioeconomic growth among islands and boost the domestic tourism through the acquisition of modern passenger boats as well. “We are committed to nourishing the countryside and promoting financial inclusivity, which includes assisting in the move-

after Korea. Tourists from China comprised a significant number visiting Thailand (30 percent) and Australia (15 percent)—the top two countries with Chinese tourists. If the virus is not contained soon, the global economy is expected to be more severely affected by this virus more than the effect of SARS in the years 2002 to 2003. For one, China is much bigger in terms of economic growth now and thus have a bigger domino effect on the global economy since it deals with more businesses in more countries now than ever before. And with its growth it has become more vulnerable compared to 17 years ago since it has much higher debt and also had trade concerns with the United States; although partly settled by the Phase 1 trade deal. Its growth had been slowing down for the past years, which might become worse as they are faced with this kind of crisis now, according to

ment of commodities, products and people that are reliant on maritime transport,” Landbank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo was quoted in the same statement as saying. The FBIP was first launched in 2017 then expanded in 2019 to cater to more interested clients currently involved and looking to be involved in the ferry boat business, according to the LandBank. “With FBIP, the bank hopes to contribute to the improvement of the agricultural value chain by

a paper by Raphie Hayat titled the “Economic Implications of the Corona Virus.” According to Macrobond, China’s economy in 2003 only comprised 7.3 percent of the world gross domestic product while today it represents more than 20 percent. As to the impact to the economy of the Philippines, the country’s finance team do not see the virus having a serious effect on the economy even though it is still reeling from the effects, although minimal, of the Taal volcano eruption. I was just wondering with all those scares and uncertainties the world is facing because of the outbreak of this virus. Still, many people has still the gall to create false news. I was in the province and woke up last Friday morning with a message on Facebook Messenger, which is obviously fake news because the figures were quite exaggerated. I verified with those in the know and found

ushering in safe delivery of fresh goods to the market that require inter-island transportation, while also promoting a modern maritime fleet for the safety and convenience of agri-aqua development players in the country,” it said. “Small boat owners, cooperatives, and corporations can avail of this financing Program provided that they will pass the franchising policy set by Marina—the country’s maritime authority tasked to uphold safe domestic ferry travels,” added the Landbank.

out that it was indeed fake news. I have to verify to stop this spreading of fake news. I always do this verification when I know it is too exaggerated and obviously made up so I can refute these messages and stop people from sharing it. For now, we can do our share in minimizing the harmful effects of this virus outbreak by refuting false messages and nip it in the bud. We have enough events to scare us. We certainly don’t need those fake news to scare us more. Wilma Miranda is a Managing Partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAs. She is also chairman of the Media Affairs Committee of the Financial Executives of the Philippines and a member of the KPS Outsourcing Inc. Board of Directors. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

World Banking BusinessMirror

Asia faces rate-cut pressure to curb fallout from virus

ENTRAL banks in Asia face increasing calls to cut interest rates as they jump into action against a spiraling coronavirus crisis that’s hammering tourism, travel and confidence across the region.

The People’s Bank of China trimmed some interest rates last Monday and injected massive l iqu id it y i nto t he f i n a nc i a l system to shore up slumping markets. Indonesia’s central bank said it was taking “bold” steps to bolster the nation’s currency and bonds. Bank of Japan Governor H a r u h i k o K u ro d a s a id l a st Tuesday the bank won’t hesitate to take action to cope with the virus’s economic impact if it becomes necessary. Asia—set to see the worst spillovers from the virus due to its dependence on Chinese demand and tourists—boasts a handful of central banks that have space to ease monetary policy in a world of rock-bottom interest rates. Australia was first up, with the central bank keeping interest rates unchanged Tuesday, saying “it is too early to determine how long-lasting the impact will be” on China’s economy from the v ir us outbreak. T he Reser ve Bank of Australia will continue to monitor developments and remains prepared to ease monetary policy if needed, it said. Next up is Thailand, where there are growing calls for a move last Wednesday, but no consensus estimate so far that a cut is coming. By contrast, a reduction is e x pected on T hu rsd ay i n t he Ph i l ip pi nes, w h ic h h a s reported the first death from the coronavirus outside China.

Travel curbs

India—which on the weekend

announced a budget that underwhelmed those hoping for more stimulus—also sets policy T hursd ay. A recent spike in inflation is expected to keep the central bank sidelined, but some economists think it will have to act at coming meetings to spur a faltering economy. Growth risks are accelerating as China enforces strict travel curbs and airlines around the world suspend service to the mainland. Bloomberg Economics estimates that even if the virus outbreak were severe but shortlived, China’s first-quarter gross domestic product growth would hit a record low 4.5 percent. UBS Group AG’s China economist, Tao Wang, predicts a slump to 3.8 percent. “The downside risks to growth have increased substantia lly in the short-term, especially for the more tourism-oriented countries like Thailand,” said Priyanka Kishore, head of India and Southeast A sia research at Oxford Economics Ltd. in Singapore.

Manufacturing falters

Even before the virus spiral, manufacturing gauges signaled a shaky start to the year as the US-China trade agreement failed to boost sentiment. South Korea’s purchasing managers index—a key barometer of global demand—fell to 49.8 in January from 50.1 in December. In Thailand, restrictions on Chinese travel have hammered the

tourism industry, which makes up about one-fifth of the economy. Growth was already taking a hit from drought and government spending delays, with the central bank last week signaling it may cut its 2.8 percent forecast for economic growth this year. “The central bank needs to do something to help shore up conf idence now,” said Bur in Adulwattana, chief economist at Bangkok Bank Pcl. “We used to think the revenue stream from tourism will help drive the economy this year while other eng ines are weak. Now that engine is gone. One cut may not be enough this year depending on the severity of the pandemic.” The Bank of Korea, which next meets on February 27, has previously acted in response to a virus outbreak. In June 2015 it lowered rates during the MERS outbreak that ended up claiming the lives of more than 30 people in Korea. However, there was a combination of other economic factors favoring policy easing at the time.

Market slump

Bank Indonesi a, wh ic h c ut interest rates four times last year, stepped up intervention in

the bond and currency markets Monday to stem losses in the rupiah. Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo said the bank is open to further policy action as it assesses the impact of the virus outbreak, and “future utilization of easing space will be carried out at the right timing.” David Sumual, chief economist of P T Ba n k Cent ra l A sia in Jakarta, said if the situation worsens, “the government may opt to stimulate the economy via a more aggressive fiscal policy, since doubts remain over the efficacy of monetary easing amid tepid loan demand.” I n Si n g ap ore, w h ic h h a s confirmed 18 cases of coronavirus, authorities are bracing for an economic hit that may be worse than the SARS outbreak in 2003. T he gover nment h a s h a lted travel from China, where about 20 percent of the city-state’s international visitors come from. The February 18 budget will likely provide support measures for industries like tourism and transport, and economists— including from JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.—see a higher risk that the Monetary Authority of Singapore will ease policy in April. Bloomberg News

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial posts 1st quarterly loss in a decade

itsubishi UFJ Financial G r o u p I n c . ( M U F G) posted its first quarterly loss in a decade and cut its annual profit forecast after booking a hefty charge on its stake in an Indonesian bank. Core lending business slumped in t he quar ter, underscor ing t he cha l lenge for Hironor i Kamezawa when he takes over from Kanetsugu Mike as chief executive officer in April. Gains f rom s a les of sh a re hold i ng s and bonds weren’t enough to prop up earnings, and bad-loan costs ticked higher, fiscal third-

qu a r ter resu lts showed l a st Tuesday. Japa n’s big gest ba n k h ad already flagged the 207.4 billion yen ($1.9 billion) charge on its stake in PT Bank Danamon Indonesia, which reflects a drop in the share price of the recently acquired lender. Adding to the pain, it logged a 26.7-billion yen impairment on its US banking operations, where it has had to refinance mortgages after the Federa l Reser ve cut interest rates. As a result, MUFG now expects full-year profit of 750 billion yen, down from 900 billion yen

targeted previously. Lending profitability is under pressure as Japan heads into its fifth year of negative interest rates. Even so, MUFG’s rivals Su m itomo M it su i Fi n a nc i a l Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. eked out higher profit after seeing gains from lending income in the quarter, results showed last week. Shares of MUFG rose 0.6 percent before the results were published, paring this year’s decline to 4.3 percent. MUFG said in December that it would book the writedown on its stake in Danamon during the

quarter. The need for a charge has been looming ever since it completed its takeover in April, which triggered a sharp retreat in the small portion of Danamon shares still traded on the open market as they were removed from MSCI Inc.’s indexes. The bank said it could cancel the charge at the end of March if Danamon shares recover. It hasn’t disclosed the level at which a reversal would apply, but a n a ly st s est i m ate it at around 4,700 rupiah per share. Danamon traded at 3,440 last Tuesday afternoon in Jakarta. Bloomberg News

SG to include more climate change risks in stress test

ingapore plans to include a broader range of climate change-related risks in a future stress test of its financial industry, a government minister said. The Monetary Authority of Singapore plans to issue a consultation paper during the first quarter on environmental risk guidelines for various financial institutions, Ong Ye Kung said last Tuesday in a written reply to a parliamentary question. Global central banks are increasingly involved in the debate over climate change, particularly through the Network for Greening the Financial System, of which the MAS is a founding member. In 2019, the group created a set of guidelines that urges peers to price in climate change risk when regulating financial companies and to invest with sustainability goals in mind for their own portfolios. Last year, the Bank of England published

a discussion paper on stress tests planned for 2021 saying it will examine the effect on its financial institutions of three possible scenarios: an abrupt transition to lower emissions, a smooth transition, and a world with no transition whatsoever where physical risks are higher. The MAS “takes climate change-related risks seriously as a financial supervisor,” Ong said. “Financial institutions are potentially exposed to such risks, because they provide financing and insurance services to businesses that can be impacted by a wide range of climate change-related events, including natural catastrophes.” The MAS has already started to stress test for climate risks, Ong said. For example, in its 2018 test, it subjected insurers to a scenario involving extreme flooding, requiring them to consider the impact on their balance sheets of higher claims from damage to property.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

China adds market support with more cash, strong yuan fix

hina’ s c e n t r a l b a n k helped steady the country’s markets last Tuesday, a day after a post-holiday plunge for equities and the currency amid the coronavirus’ continued spread. The People’s Bank of China pumped 400 bil lion y uan ($57 billion) into the banking system with reverse repurchase agreements last Tuesday, marking the largest single-day addition since January 2019. It also set the yuan’s reference rate stronger than the currency’s official close last Monday and the key 7 level. On Tuesday, the cur renc y strengthened 0.42 percent to 6.9928 per dollar as of 5 p.m. in Shanghai. Stocks rebounded, led by a 4.8 percent jump in the small-cap ChiNext index, while the y ield on the most actively traded contract of 10year government bonds rose four basis points. That’s the most since October 28. “C h i n a s e nt v e r y s t ron g me s s a ge t h at t he y w i l l d o whatever to stabilize its markets and economy,” said Stephen Chiu, an Asia FX and rates strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence. He added it’s probably in authorities’ interests to support the yuan now more than during the trade war last August, as China will need to import and consume more goods such as medical supplies in the near future. China’s financial markets took a beating Monday across almost every asset class following a weekplus holiday break, as investors weighed the coronavirus’ impact. T he onshore y uan weakened below 7 per dollar Monday despite the centra l bank setting its daily fixing at a stronger-thanexpected level. All but 162 of the almost 4,000 stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen recorded losses. T he PB O C to ok it s f i r s t concrete steps to cushion the economy and plunging markets Monday, providing short-term funding to banks and cutting the interest rate it charges for the money. It added a net 150 billion yuan of funds on Monday using 7-day and 14-day reverse repurchase agreements, cutting both rates by 10 basis points. The

cash injection was part of a raft of supportive measures announced over the weekend to soften a market sell-off and help firms affected by the disease outbreak. PBOC adviser Ma Jun indicated he expects further rate cuts later in the month. The central bank’s measures so far “are just the beginning of monetary and credit easing,” Nomura Holdings Inc. analysts wrote in a note, predicting the central bank will probably pump in medium-term cash and cut lenders’ reser ve requirement ratio to bolster growth. Traders continue to watch closely for whether the central bank will set the daily reference rate at or weaker than 7 for the first time since December 25. Following the spot rate with a fixing weaker than 7 on Tuesday would have signaled authorities’ concern over the wider economic i mpac t of t he coron av i r u s, according to Nathan Chow, an economist at DBS Bank Ltd. in Hong Kong. But not doing so demonstrated an effort by the PBOC to stabilize sentiment, he said. The fixing limits the onshore yuan’s daily moves to 2 percent in either direction. “It’s not just the v ir us - the economy had already been slowing down since last year,” Chow said. “There was a rebound in December but it proved to be short-lived.” It may take a few days for fixing to break 7 but it could happen within this week, he added. The currency held stronger t h a n 7 f rom l ate December t h r o u g h Ja nu a r y a s t r a d e ten sion s ea sed a nd C h i n a’s economy looked to be on steadier footing. The phase-one trade deal between the US and China inc luded a cur renc y pact to avoid manipulation to gain an advantage. Market watchers had recently rev ised y uan forecasts amid rising confidence that China had arrested an economic slowdown. No w, s ome e conom i s t s a re predicting the impact of the virus on China’s economy may b e s e v e re , a nd p ot e nt i a l l y larger than that of 2003’s SARS outbreak. Bloomberg News

Citigroup doesn’t see oil revival from virus until Q4

itigroup Inc. slashed its price forecasts for commodities from oil to copper and iron ore as it said the impact of the coronavirus looks much worse than it initially thought. Oil came in for the most severe downgrades, with the bank cutting estimates for the first three quarters. Citi also reduced its first-quarter copper projection, noting the outbreak had “drastically shifted” the Chinese and global economic outlook, analysts including Ed Morse, wrote in a note. Chinese government measures amount to a “major shutdown of the economy” and even with a deeper OPEC+ production cut it will drive weaker oil balances, Morse, the global head of commodities research, said in the note. “There would be critical knock- on indirect ef fects for all commodities.” The lender slashed its first-quarter Brent oil estimate to $54 a barrel from $69. Reductions in projections for the following two quarters are based on its view the virus will have a longer and deeper impact than previously anticipated. It said the global crude benchmark could fall as low as $47 a barrel, which would be the weakest level in two and a half years. Oil demand in the world’s biggest importer has dropped by around 3 million barrels a day, or 20 percent of total consumption, according to

people with inside knowledge of the country’s energy industry. The Wuhan virus looks set to be the biggest demand shock for oil markets since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, with OPEC+ considering an emergency meeting. Citi cut its second-quarter crude forecast to $50 a barrel from $68 and its estimate for the following three months to $53 from $63. It revised up its fourth-quarter projection to $58 a barrel from $57. Brent has fallen 13 percent since Jan. 20, when financial markets first took notice of the magnitude of the crisis in China. It was trading around $56.50 a barrel on Monday. The downgrades underscore the increasing concern traders are having about demand in the world’s largest energy user and metal producer amid the extreme measures the Chinese government has taken to stop the spread of the virus. Citi cut its first-quarter copper forecast to $5,600 a ton from $6,000 and its coking coal projection to $150 a metric ton from $170. Timing-wise, the impact of the demand shock on commodity prices should peak in the first quarter, the analysts wrote. Although, “there remains plenty of uncertainty, with much still depending on how far the virus spreads and the duration of the outbreak,” they said. Bloomberg News

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Wednesday, February 5, 2020 B5

DA to probe ‘mislabeling’ of feed meal imports

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said it will investigate allegations that some unscrupulous traders are supposedly mislabeling imported feed meal to circumvent the import ban on countries struck by African swine fever (ASF).

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said he will instruct the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) to look into allegations that mislabeled feed meal imports are allowed entry into the Philippines. “This is a new [piece of] information and the DA will check that,” Dar told reporters in an interview. The DA chief made the pronouncement after House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said mislabeled feed meal imports from ASF-hit countries have entered the Philippines.

Since last year, Zarate said he has been urging the DA to “strictly monitor and ban the importation of feed meal from ASF-infected countries particularly from China and Eastern Europe.” Citing industry sources, Zarate said big firms and several smaller ones were allegedly granted permit by the BAI to import animal by-products as cheap protein source for the local swine industry. The BAI is an attached agency of the DA. “It seems the BAI has allowed still the continuous importation of meat and bone meal, meat meal, blood

DANIEL ACKER/BLOOMBERG

meal, blood plasma into the country and their unregulated use in animal feeds,” he said. “To circumvent regulations and avoid detection, our sources said that these companies label their products as produced in countries free of ASF but these are actually produced in ASF-infected countries in Eastern Europe and then transported to their sister companies in neighboring European

PHL slaps import ban on poultry products, birds from Ukraine

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) ordered a temporary import ban on domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Ukraine. The DA said it imposed the ban as a precautionary measure to protect the local poultry industry against avian influenza after Ukraine confirmed outbreaks of the disease in its poultry farms recently. “There is a need to prevent the entry of HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] virus to protect the health of the local poultry population,” the orders read. The government has earlier banned domestic and wild birds and their products from Slovakia and Hungary. The import ban on poultry products from these European nations was contained in Memoran-

dum Orders 8, 9, and 10. The Philippines was free from bird flu until 2017, when the government detected the presence of the virus in poultry farms in Central Luzon. The Philippines was one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that was not hit by the virus which wreaked havoc on the poultry sector of the region in 2003.

‘Minimal risk’

The DA has also lifted the import ban on hog, pork and pork-related products from Czech Republic after the European country has been declared free from the fatal African swine fever (ASF). The DA issued Memorandum Order (MO) 7 Series of 2020 which authorized the lifting of the temporary ban on the importation of domestic wild pigs, and their prod-

ucts including pork meat and semen from Czech Republic. “Based on the evaluation of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the risk of contamination from importing domestic and wild pigs and their products from Czech Republic is negligible,” read the order, which was dated January 28. The MO noted that based on Czech Republic’s self-declaration report of its recovery from ASF to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), ASF events affecting wild boars within its borders are now “closed and resolved.” “All import transaction of the above commodities shall be in accordance with existing rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry and National Meat Inspection Service,” the MO read. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Over ₧100 million allocated for expansion of coco plantations, replanting in Caraga

U T UA N CI T Y— Coconut farmers in Caraga region who want expansion or replanting will receive funding from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). A total allocation of P105.3 million will be available for the coconut farmers in Caraga region for planting and replanting programs, PCA13 Regional Manager Joel Oclarit told the Philippine News Agency on Monday (February 3). Oclarit said that aside from planting and replanting programs, a portion of the budget will also be used for the coconut fertilization program in the area. “The planting and replanting will be undertaken through the Participatory Coconut Planting Project [PCPP] that will encourage coconut farmers to plant more coconut trees in the region,” he said. Data provided by PCA-13 indicates that Caraga region has a total land area of 272,093 hectares fully planted with coconut trees covering 1,311 barangays, most in Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur. The region has a total number of 118,069 coconut farmers. Oclarit said that the PCPP is among the major components of the Accelerated Coconut Planting and Replanting Program (ACPRP) of PCA that promotes coconut planting

in open and suitable areas, and replanting of senile and unproductive coconut trees, and those damaged by natural calamities. PCPP, he added, involves the giving of cash incentives to qualified farmer participants for the production, transplanting and stabilization of good coconut seedlings on their own farms. PCA-13 is also developing a coconut seed farm project in an 18-hectare land in Barangay Sukailang, Surigao City. “The seed farm can accommodate more than 2,600 seedlings of dwarf and tall coconut varieties, and will be disposed to farmers and planters at a very minimal price,” Oclarit said.

Support

THOUGH coconut farmers were affected by the low price of copra in the previous years, Oclarit said PCA was able to help them through other support programs and services. “PCA is supporting coconut farmers to innovate and adapt to new technologies especially in manufacturing that is proven to augment incomes,” he added. Among the support programs of PCA to the coconut farmers include the Community/Household Level Coconut Processing Project (CHLCPP).

In 2018, a total of 95 coconut processing interventions were conducted by PCA-13 throughout the region that include coir fiber processing, coir-based fertilizer, coconut meat-based bread and pastries, and ice cream, virgin coconut oil and coco sugar. In the same year, a total of 1,440 coconut farmers directly benefited from the CHLCPP in Caraga, with a total allocation of P12.48 million. “We have a success story last year where a P15-million project for our coconut farmers already provided them with over P1 million gross sales during the first month of the year 2020,” Oclarit said. He is referring to the JAIF-EEA Coir Fiber Processing Project that was released to Bayugan City Coconut Farmers Association (BCCFA) in June last year. JAIF-EEA stands for Japan-ASEAN Integration FundEmergency Economic Assistance. The BCCFA coir processing, with a project cost of P15.31 million, has a daily processing capacity of 24,000 husks. Oclarit said the BCCFA coir processing project started its full operation after the turn-over last year. As of January 31, the officers and management of the BCCFA coir processing project reported a gross income of P1.63 million. PNA

countries for export to the Philippines,” he added. Zarate also criticized the DA for repeatedly saying that ASF in the Philippines is “under control”, an attitude which he said is responsible for the spread of the virus to remote towns in Davao Occidental. “What they did was to control the flow of information on ASF that would reach the public rather than strictly monitor and control the spread of the sources of the disease, locally and internationally. But more importantly, among others, they should have already totally banned these meat and processed meat products from ASFcontaminated countries months

ago,” he said. “This ticking economic devastating time-bomb is about to explode, yet, it appear agriculture officials and even some industry players would rather downplay the catastrophic effects of this problem,” Zarate added. On Sunday, the DA said that aside from Don Marcelino, the nearby town of Malita in Davao Occidental was also struck by the virus which affected backyard farms in seven barangays. Industry sources said the confirmation of ASF outbreaks in the province may jeopardize the plan of Mindanao hog raisers to ship pork not just to Luzon, but also to other countries.

B6 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Decode your personality this #GreenwichWorldPizzaDay

VERYONE has their own style of doing things – from speaking walking, dressing up, and working in the office. But did you know that the way you eat also reveals a lot about your personality? Take pizza, for example. You’d be surprised by the different ways barkadas satisfy their pizza cravings. If that’s hard to believe, then test it out with your closest friends during Greenwich’s World Pizza Day celebration this coming February 9! Greenwich, the number one pizza

and pasta brand in the country, will take Php 100 off on every barkada size Hawaiian Overload pizza delivery order made on February 9, Sunday, between 10am to 4pm. Have a taste of summer as early as February this #GreenwichWorldPizzaDay by ordering exclusively through www. greenwichdelivery.com, #5-55-55 hotline or via SMS. Topped with sweet pineapples, melt-in-your-mouth cheese, savory ham, bacon bits and fresh green bell peppers, the Hawaiian Overload pizza

has a savory-sweet summery taste that everyone can enjoy. With the upcoming promo, you can truly eat more of the best-selling Hawaiian Overload and check out your and your kabarkadas’ pizza personality! 1. The Folder. A Folder is your kabarkada who folds a pizza slice lengthwise, so it fits exactly into one’s mouth. A perfectionist to the core, he or she meticulously calculates all decisions, whether life-changing or routine, to ensure that everything’s in order which is like the way he munches on pizza. 2. The Doughboy. Also known as Breadwinners, this kabarkada nibbles on the outer pizza crust first towards the tip. Intelligent and unique, this individual doesn’t care what other people think or do (which is not eating the crust), as long as his/her pizza cravings are satisfied. 3. The Topper. This kabarkada eats his/her favorite toppings first before devouring the rest of the pizza. Self-assured and confident, he/she knows what he wants and wastes no time getting it. 4. The Untouchable. There’s only one way Untouchables eat pizza – and that’s with a knife and a fork. Refined and sophisticated, these people appreciate the finer things in life.

PAO LEGAL, MEDICAL & OPTICAL MISSION. The Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and PAO Forensic Team continue to help dengue vaccinees through medical mission. The survivors, specially those who have weak immune system, continue to fight the adverse effects of the vaccine in their bodies: anaphylactic allergic reaction, viscerotropism, neurotropism, and increase in severity of dengue disease. The mission is based on the directive of the Department of Justice (DOJ) dated December 12, 2017, to help the survivors, the injured, and those who were hospitalized. Held from from January 15-17 and January 29 & 30, 2020, at the PAO Central Office in Quezon City, prescribed medicines and vitamins, reading glasses, along with relief goods were given to the survivors and their families. Volunteer doctors nurses, and optometrists worked along with PAO doctors Angelo Alexis L. Sulit, John King C. Soliman, Dale Marc F. Espenida, and designated Director ng PAO Forensic Laboratory Division (PAOFLD) Atty. Erwin P. Erfe, M.D.

FAMI-GRAB FINANCIAL LITERACY PARTNERSHIP. FIRST METRO Asset Management, Inc. (FAMI), the fund management subsidiary of First Metro Investment Corporation, and Grab Philippines, an app-based ride service provider, have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to develop and improve the financial literacy of Grab’s Partner-Drivers. By providing seminars focused on Practical Finance and Investment Literacy, FAMI aims to increase the knowledge of the Partner-Drivers in managing their finances to reach their financial and wealth goals. With this partnership, the more than 70,000 Partner-Drivers also get access to FAMI’s expertly-managed mutual funds, giving them exposure to the financial markets, whether in bonds, stocks, or a combination of both. These funds provide higher returns than the ordinary savings and time deposits, fast-tracking the growth of their money. The Partner-Drivers will also be given their own relationship manager who can advise them on the best investment strategy to help them achieve their financial goals, whether it be for short-, medium-, or long-term horizon like travel, children’s education, business capital, or retirement. In photo sealing their agreement are FAMI president Karen Liza Roa (left) and Grab Philippines president Brian Cu.

Metrobank completes merger with subsidiary

N January 3, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the merger of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) and Metrobank Card Corporation (MCC). The Bank welcomes this

positive change as it enables customers to have a more meaningful banking experience by getting the best payment solutions to their needs. With the merger in effect, the Bank strengthens its retail capabilities, allowing for a more efficient

approach in servicing customers’ evolving financial needs. In photo is Metrobank President Fabian Dee (right) with Ramon Del Rosario (left), now heading the Cards and Personal Credit Sector of Metrobank.

AVID ends 2019 strong; posts 12% sales growth in December 2019

HE Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID) ended the year with a bang with 8,089 units sold in December 2019, a 12% increase versus the same month in 2018. For full-year 2019, the group association recorded 87,984 units sold versus the 88,430 units of the previous year, or a marginal dip of 0.5%. AVID President Ma. Fe PerezAgudo said, “AVID’s performance in the last month of the year augurs well for the automotive industry as we begin the Year of the Metal Rat and the new decade. The continued easing of inflation rates, lower fuel prices, and increased government spending will only bolster sales for the group. We will complement these positive indicators with new models, value-packed service offerings, and easier ownership schemes.” For 2019, the Passenger Cars (PC) segment declined by 0.5% from 30,876 units sold in 2018 to in 2019 with 30,726 units in 2019.

sold in versus the 30,876 units sold in 2018. Hyundai sold more vehicles in this segment than all reporting members combined with a total of 17,761 units in 2019. Suzuki follows with 8,621 units. The PC segment climbed 5% in December 2019 alone with 2,608 units versus the same period in 2018. In the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) segment, AVID recorded a 1.1% dip in 2019 sales from 56,999 units sold in 2018 to 56,351 units in 2019. However, performance of this segment increased by 16% in December 2019 alone with 5,362 units sold versus the same period last year. Ford leads this segment with a total of 19,993 units sold, followed by Suzuki comes after with 15,298 units and Hyundai, a close third, closely followed by Hyundai with 15,095 units sold in 2019. In the Commercial Vehicles (CV) segment, AVID recorded a 63% increase in sales or a total of 907 units in 2019 versus 2018. In December alone, CV sales increased

soared by 98% with 119 units sold versus November 2019. This segment is dominated by Hyundai Trucks and Buses. With the approval of the P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020, and with the public works and highways department having one of the largest shares of the budget, it is expected that industry performance will gain traction in the new decade with the help from its importers bringing in more models that meet the requirements of various markets. for the Filipino people. “It is appropriate that the recent budget carries the theme ‘Continuing the journey to a more peaceful and progressive Philippines’ since it focuses on critical infrastructure, human capital development, and peace and order initiatives. AVID hopes to contribute to this aim by giving offering better mobility solutions to both public and private for both the private and business sectors,” Ms. Agudo ended.

Sports

Colombian-born Shakira and New York-raised Jennifer Lopez, two of the world’s most popular Latina artists, seize the Super Bowl 54 stage. AP

BusinessMirror

| Wednesday, February 5, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW

LATINOS REJOICE!

By Russell Contreras

The Associated Press

LBUQUERQUE, New Mexico—When the Super Bowl halftime show began, Yol-Itzma Aguirre and her relatives watched with anticipation. The El Paso, Texas, family was curious how Colombian-born Shakira and New York-raised Jennifer Lopez, two of the world’s most popular Latina artists, would seize the stage. The performance Sunday was draped in Hollywood tropes of female sexuality. But it also contained subtle political messages about anxieties shared by many Latinos in the US—children in cages, Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the urge to be heard. Aguirre, 39, had to watch the performance again. “My sister was tearing up. We saw more things,” Aguirre said. “We stopped caring about the game.” Across the US, Latinos took to social media to praise and dissect the show. Shakira paid homage to her Colombian roots by performing the mapalé—an Afro-Colombian style of dance from the country’s Caribbean coast. She also made a tongueflicking cry called a zaghrouta, a way to express joy in Arab culture. Her father is of Lebanese descent. During her performance, Lopez brought out a dual Puerto Rican-American flag while her daughter sang the lyrics to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” her daughter and other children with American flags on their shirts had emerged from what appeared to be steel cages. “Let’s get loud!” Lopez sang as her daughter sang the Springsteen hook. Shakira hit some drums. In the background, strobe lights crossed each other to form an image of a cage. Latinos saw the juxtaposition as a call for them to vote, being mindful that American authorities on the US-Mexico border separated migrant children from their parents and locked them up.

“It was brilliant,” said Aguirre, a writer who has toured immigration facilities holding children. Others pointed out that Lopez held up a Puerto Rican flag—once banned in 1948—at a time of anger over how President Donald Trump has handled relief efforts after the island was hit by the hurricane and a recent earthquake. The flag became a symbol of resilience and hope following the hurricane, which struck in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm. It caused more than $100 billion in damage and killed an estimated 2,975 people in its aftermath. The flag also became a symbol of resistance and justice last summer when massive protests over corruption and other issues led to the resignation of the island’s former governor. Luivette Resto, a Puerto Rico-born poet who now lives in Los Angeles, said she felt conflicted about the use of the flag because of the island’s history. “Puerto Rico is still a colony of the US,” Resto said. “We’re treated like property.” But Resto said she was glad the appearance of the flag sparked needed conversations about Puerto Rico’s status. Still, she was disappointed that more Afro-Latinos or Mexicans were not represented in the performance—a critique shared by many on social media. The legendary Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte from San Jose, California, opened the Spanish broadcast for Super Bowl LIV, but the performance was not seen on the English broadcast. Others said they are satisfied by the overall Latina theme of the performance. “It was a PERFECT example of how different cultures can exist under the ‘Latino’ umbrella,” comedian Cristela Alonzo tweeted. “We are different from each other and therefore should be allowed to tell DIFFERENT stories. See us as individuals.” Late Monday, Lopez posted an Instagram video of her and her daughter before the performance. Lopez wrote that she wanted the girls on stage with her to know how to use their voices and be proud of everything they are. “Other people can try to build walls, keep us out or put us in cages,” Lopez wrote. “We are proud to recognize that all of us

together are what makes this beautiful country truly great.” Shakira also posted an Instagram video of her performance and thanked Colombia for giving her “the mapalé, the champeta, the salsa and the Afro-Caribbean rhythms” that have allowed her to create the Super Bowl Halftime Show that she dreamed of more than a decade ago. The halftime show wasn’t the only moment for Latinas on Super Bowl Sunday. The game began with multiplatinum Demi Lovato singing the national anthem. The Albuquerque, New Mexico-born Lovato is a descendant of Francisco Perea, a Hispanic hero for the Union in the Civil War who saw President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The rendition by Lovato, who is recovering from drug addiction, sparked an emotional response from the people of New Mexico—a state with the nation’s highest percentage of Hispanic residents that has historically had some of the country’s highest drug overdose death rates. For Shakira, this wasn’t her first time participating in an event with a political dimension. In 2011, for example, she told The Associated Press that proposed anti-immigrant legislation in some US states went against her foundation’s efforts to provide education to poor people around the world. The Grammy Award-winning singer said Latino immigrants in the US who were facing anti-immigrant bills would have “justice” as public awareness about their plight grew. “Justice will come. I’m sure,” Shakira told the AP after receiving an award at Harvard University. “Wherever there is...a kid, who could be the son or the daughter of a Latino immigrant, who cannot attend a school in the United States of America, that kid should be a concern to all of us and our responsibility.” Lopez rarely speaks out on social issues, and her fiance, retired baseball player Alex Rodriguez, famously avoided addressing the mistreatment of Latinos as an active player. But in recent months, Lopez has loaned her name to causes. In August, she signed an open letter in support of Latinos after deadly shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Gilroy, California.

Super Bowl betting brings big business to sports books A

TLANTIC CITY, New Jersey—Business was brisk at sports books around the country on Super Bowl Sunday, with customers risking money on everything from the coin toss at the start of the game, to the color of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach, Kansas City’s Andy Reid, at the end of it. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20, in a game that was forecast to be among the most heavily wagered-on championship games ever. Revenue reports began trickling in Monday evening, including the $54.2 million wagered by gamblers in New Jersey, the state whose US Supreme Court victory in 2018 cleared the way for the expansion of legal sports betting to many parts of the country. That total surpassed the $34.8-million New Jersey gamblers bet on the Super Bowl last year. New Jersey’s 10 retail sports books and 19 sports wagering mobile applications lost $4.28 million, for a negative hold percentage of 7.8 percent. Ron Baumann, regional president for Caesars Entertainment, which owns three Atlantic City casinos, said its sports books at Bally’s and Harrah’s were jammed. “We exceeded what we thought we would do by far,” he said. “We sold out every seat we had, every inch of seating.” The two books handled over 10,000 bets. And the increased foot traffic also gave the casinos a measurable boost in table games and slot revenue, and food and beverage sales, though Baumann would not reveal exact figures for either. Nevada, the country’s largest sports betting market, said it will not release its figures until Tuesday because one of its licensees had technical problems while compiling data. But MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment both reported multimillion-dollar wins from the game. Last year, Nevada sports books took in $146 million worth of bets on the Super Bowl, down from $158 million a year earlier. Mississippi regulators reported taking in $6.7 million worth of bets

on this year’s game, but did not immediately calculate how much of that was paid out to customers who made winning bets. In Rhode Island, the beloved New England Patriots were not in the Super Bowl for the first time in four years, and gamblers showed less interest in betting on someone other than Tom Brady. The $5.5 million wagered was about 84 percent of the $6.5 million wagered last year when the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams. Rhode Island’s sports books had a hold percentage of 14.6 percent, or twice the level of what Paul Grimaldi, a spokesman for the state revenue department, termed “good.” That worked out to a hold of about $805,000 for the sports books, about half of which goes to the state. Last year when the Pats won, the sports books lost $2.3 million. Elsewhere in New England, New Hampshire gamblers bet more than $2.3 million on the Super Bowl; the state only began sports betting on December 30. “We are extremely pleased with the results from our first Super Bowl and our first month overall of sports betting, and we look forward to continuing to build on this success as we engage more and more players,” said Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery. Mattias Stetz, chief operating officer of Rush Street Interactive, which operates the PlaySugarHouse.com and BetRivers.com online betting sites, said the Super Bowl generated 10 times the amount of bets that his company sees from a regular-season NFL game. Delaware saw $2.1 million in bets and a hold of $229,000. Oregon took in nearly $2 million in bets and kept about $150,000. Pennsylvania said it would release its Super Bowl betting numbers on Tuesday and several other states, including New York and New Mexico, said they do not calculate Super Bowl bets separately. For those keeping score, the Gatorade dumped on Reid at the end of the game was orange, even though purple had been a pregame betting favorite. AP

A MAN makes a bet on the Super Bowl at Bally’s casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. AP

Spo

Business

C2 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

ABE: OLYMPICS WILL GO ON T OKYO—Concern about the spreading coronavirus outbreak in China and its impact on this year’s Tokyo Olympics reached Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday. Abe was asked about the virus by an opposition lawmaker but he brushed aside worries. “We will respond appropriately,” Abe said, speaking in Japanese, “while closely cooperating with the World Health Organization and other international organizations so that we can proceed with the preparations without letting it affect the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.”

Japan has not reported any fatalities from the outbreak, while China has reported more than 300 deaths from the virus and more than 17,000 cases. The Olympics open on July 24. Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee have said there are no plans to cancel or postpone the Olympics. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has urged vigilance, said there will be “regrets” if there isn’t a maximum effort made. Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto said Tokyo organizers and representatives from local

municipalities would meet next week to discuss measures against the virus. The modern Olympics, dating from 1896, have been called off during wartime and faced boycotts in 1980 and 1984. They have evolved in the last few decades into a multibillion-dollar event with massive investments from television and sponsors. About 11,000 athletes will attend the Olympics. Many of them still need to qualify, and could face qualifying events canceled or postponed if the virus continues to spread outside China. AP

CHINESE ATHLETES T ‘BEHIND CLOSED DO

George, Clippers rally past Spurs

OS ANGELES—Paul George got beat up again, came back and hit some big shots to help the Los Angeles Clippers rally late. Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and George added 19 in a 108-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Leonard’s one-handed dunk gave the Clippers a two-point lead with 1:35 remaining after they trailed by 15 in the first half. Leonard then blocked DeMar DeRozan’s shot, and George’s step-back jumper with 13 seconds left made it 106-102. Patty Mills hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left to draw the Spurs within one. Lou Williams got fouled and made both for the Clippers. Mills’s half-court heave at the buzzer came up short. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and DeRozan added 26—but none in the fourth— for the Spurs, whose two-game winning streak ended. Aldridge had 13 points in the fourth.

Patrick Beverley’s 3-pointer tied the game for the Clippers for the last time at 102-all. Leonard’s streak of nine straight games with at least 30 points ended. George had a season-high 12 rebounds to go with a gamehigh eight assists. George got hit in the nose by DeRozan’s left elbow at 6:02 of the third. After a video review, DeRozan was called for a flagrant-1 foul. DeRozan was driving to the basket when he struck George, who spun around and went down on his knees holding his face. A trainer brought over a towel to soak up the blood. “Tough cat. I thought it was broke, how it was leaking out there,” Williams said. Asked if he thought George would return, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers joked, “Yes, we’re a hockey team.” George came back in the fourth. On Saturday, he got poked in the eye against

Minnesota. The Clippers dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Spurs, 31-19, but led by just threes going into the fourth. “We couldn’t capitalize and they did off our mistakes — transitions, dunks, threes,” Mills said. The Spurs blew a 15-point first-half lead and the game became a back-and-forth affair over the final two quarters. “We did a good job upping our energy,” Williams said. “We spent too much time feeling them out instead of being forceful.” AP

THE Clippers’ Paul George shoots under pressure against the Spurs’ Lonnie Walker IV. AP

CHINA’S Wang Shuang could not travel to Australia for the Olympic football qualifier because of the coronavirus crisis.

U.N. LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO PROTECT SPORTS

NITED NATIONS—The United Nations (UN) counterterrorism office launched a global program Monday to stop attacks at major sporting events and promote sports as a way to prevent extremism. UN counterterrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov told the first meeting of international experts on sports and security that sports events, especially those where famous international athletes participate, have long been “a preferred terrorist target.” He cited attacks against the Olympic games in 1972 and 1996, and bombings during the marathons in Sri

Lanka in 2008 and Boston in 2013. Voronkov said “terrorists aim to destroy what sport represents”—positive values across civilizations and cultures, striving to aim higher, and promoting tolerance and gender equality. This week’s two-day launch is focusing on the vulnerability of sports venues to terrorist attacks, and the second meeting in April will concentrate on strengthening the “resilience” of youth through sports to prevent extremism, he said. In order to promote sports “as a tool to prevent violent extremism conducive to

terrorism,” Voronkov said, the program will launch a major campaign involving sports champions called “Say NO to Terrorism.” It will also collect best practices, assist countries in developing national strategies, and work with civil society organizations at the grassroots level, he said. Among those attending Monday’s launch were UN organizations, the International Center for Sport Security, the International Olympic Committee, Fifa, regional sports federations and private companies. AP

Asian soccer tournament in Turkmenistan delayed

SHGABAT, Turkmenistan—Asia’s indoor soccer championship in Turkmenistan was postponed on Monday because of the outbreak of a fast-spreading new virus which originated in China. The virus is increasingly disrupting competitions outside of China. That includes events in countries which have reported no cases of the virus, such as the Central Asian state of Turkmenistan. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said its decision not to play the men’s futsal tournament scheduled for

February 26 to March 8 was “to ensure the safety and well-being of all participating teams and stakeholders.” New tournament dates will be announced “when the situation stabilizes,” the Malaysiabased soccer body said. Of the 16 teams due to take part, five were from countries with cases of the new coronavirus, including China. Turkmenistan’s soccer federation said on Monday that a club from the country would not travel to Kyrgyzstan for a game in the AFC Cup, Asia’s second-tier club competition.

The federation said FC Ahal considered it too risky to travel to the game against Neftchi in the second preliminary round. Kyrgyzstan has a lengthy border with China. However, the Akipress news agency cited Health Minister Kosmosbek Cholponbayev as saying on Monday that Kyrgyzstan has reported no confirmed cases of the virus. As of Monday evening, the AFC web site listed the game as scheduled for Wednesday in the Kyrgyz city of Jalal-Abad. The AFC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the game. AP

10-stage Ronda 10th edition set from Sorsogon to Vigan ORANZA

TOTAL of 88 riders headed by returning champions Santy Barnachea, Reimon Lapaza and Mark Galedo will battle it out for the top purse of P1 million in the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 10th anniversary race set from February 23 to March 4, starting off in Sorsogon and finishing in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. The 43-year-old Barnachea, who won the inaugural race in 2011 and the fifth edition in 2015, will suit up for Scratch It, while Lapaza, the 2014 titlist, will ride for Celeste Cycles PH-Devel Project Pro Team and Galedo, the 2012 winner, is back along with 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Road Bike Philippines after years of absence. They will battle 2018 champion Ronald Oranza and 2016 and 2017 title-holder Jan Paul Morales, who will lead powerhouse Standard Insurance (Navy) that will also be bannered by El Joshua Cariño, George Oconer, Ronald Lomotos and John Mark Camingao—all consistent top 10 finishers in past editions. Ronda Pilipinas Chairman Moe Chulani on Tuesday said they have reverted to an allFilipino race this year after helping PhilCycling in its Olympic quest by holding a five-stage International Cycling Union-sanctioned race last year. “The essence of the Ronda Pilipinas really is giving Filipinos, especially the younger ones dreaming to become big in the sports of cycling someday, an avenue for them to make their dreams a reality,” Chulani said.

“We’re bringing the LBC Ronda Pilipinas back to our countrymen in our 10th anniversary celebration because this is really for them.” Bernadette Guerrero, the new LBC Ronda Pilipinas executive project director, said 11 teams of eight cyclists will battle it out in a 10-stage race that will start in Sorsogon on February 23, and conclude in Vigan on March 4. The race is presented by LBC and in cooperation with the Manuel V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation. Backing up the race are Versa, 8a Performance, Print2Go, Petron, Green Planet, Bike Xtreme, Standard Insurance, CCN, Lightwater, Prolite, Guerciotti, Black Mamba, Boy Kanin, Vitamin Boost, Nlex/Sctex, Maynilad, 3Q Sports Event Management Inc., LBC Foundation and PhilCycling. Also out to make a big impact are Go for Gold, Bicycology Shop (Army), Bike Xtreme, Tarlac Central Luzon, Ilocos Sur, South Luzon-Batangas and Nueva Ecija. “It is just fitting that we celebrate the LBC Ronda Pilipinas’s 10th anniversary with 10 stages and several champions like Santy Barnachea, Reimon Lapaza and Mark Galedo making a memorable Ronda comeback,” Guerrero said. After the 137-kilometer Stage One, Ronda will resume with a 163-km Sorsogon-Legazpi Stage Two on February 24, 126.9-km Legazpi-Naga Stage Three on February 25, 212.5-km Daet-Lucena Stage Four on February 26, and 155.4-km Lucena-Antipolo Stage Five on February 27, before taking a breather the next day. Ronda will then continue with a 128.9-km Lingayen-Lingayen Stage Six on February 29, 171.9km Lingayen-Nueva Ecija Stage Seven on March 1, 177.1-km Nueva Ecija-Baguio Stage Eight on March 2, 176.4-km Pugo, La Union-Vigan Stage Nine before closing it with a Stage 10 criterium in Vigan on March 4.

orts

sMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

TRAIN OORS’ C

HINESE athletes preparing for Tokyo 2020 have been forced to train in isolation due to the coronavirus crisis. The Olympic hopefuls are being kept “behind closed doors” around the country, an official told Xinhua. Coronavirus has killed more than 300 people and spread to at least 27 countries since it originated in Chinese city Wuhan. More than 14,000 people have been infected and the World Health Organization has declared a global emergency. “Athletes are training in behind closed doors camps in various domestic and overseas cities in preparation for the Olympic Games and qualifying tournaments,” said Liu Guoyong, the vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC). “Up until now, no athlete from the national team has reported to be or is suspected of being infected with the virus,” Liu said. “We will do our best to prevent all athletes from becoming infected.” The COC has been in contact with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the participation of Chinese athletes in Tokyo 2020 qualifiers, Liu said. This comes after China’s women’s football team was kept in quarantine in Brisbane after arriving in Australia for an Olympic qualification tournament. The squad had been in Wuhan, where the event was due to take place before the virus forced its move. Four players were unable to leave China at all, including experienced midfielder Wang Shuang, with the tournament schedule this month re-jigged. Liu added that Chinese athletes would have special arrangements for accommodation and transport. “There will be over 100 Olympic qualifying tournaments around the world between February and April,” he said. “Hopefully, the Chinese athletes can prepare well and claim more Olympic berths. The IOC has asked various international sports federations to provide all possible assistance and convenience to Chinese athletes.” The World Athletics Indoor Championships, initially scheduled for March in Nanjing, is the most high-profile sporting event to be postponed because of the virus so far. It has been delayed by a year until March 2021. This year’s SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit in Beijing, scheduled for between April 19 and 24, is also at risk. Insidethegames

PALARO POSTPONED!

HE Department of Education (DepEd) postponed the Palarong Pambansa because of the coronavirus crisis. Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones made the announcement on Tuesday’s wellattended Senate inquiry. Marikina City is supposed to host the Palaro from May 1 to 8. “If you take the Palaro, you take 30,000 learners as well as parents and grandparents attending. And we have been advised to take care while being exposed in public places,” Briones said. “So right now, the policy is temporary postponement of all these activities,” she stressed. Briones did not set a new date for the Palaro, an annual national multisport competition among elementary and high-school athletes. Mindoro Occidental begged off from hosting the Palaro because of the damages wrought by Typhoon Tisoy last December. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Alexandra Eala (left) and Indonesia’s Priska Madelyn Nugroho pose with their Australian Open trophy. AP

ENNIS phenom Alexandra Eala jumped four rungs to No. 4 in the world in the International Tennis Federation World Tennis Tour Girl’s Juniors rankings. Eala, a Rafal Nadal Academy scholar, rose four rungs following her doubles victory with Indonesia’s Priska Madelyn Nugroho in the recent Australian Open in Melbourne. Eala, only 14, and Nugroho toppled seeded players in Melbourne and clinched the title at the expense of Slovenia’s Ziva Falkner and Britain’s Matilda Mutavdzic, 6-1, 6-2, last Friday. The doubles title was the sixth for Eala and Nugroho who started teaming up in 2017. Eala became the first Filipino to bag a Juniors Grand Slam title since Francis Alcantara, who won the Australian Open Boys doubles crown with teammate Chinese-Taipei’s Hsieh Cheng-Peng in 2009.

The young Filipina has 1718 world ranking points. France’s Diane Parry (17 years old, 2356.25), Andorra’s Victoria Kasintseva (14, 1971.25) and Ukraine’s Daria Snigur (17, 1930) are the top three juniors girls players in the world. Eala is not only the lone Filipina in the rankings, but also the only Southeast Asian in the top 10, placing better than the only other Asian also in the top 10—China’s Bai Zhouxuan, who ranked No. 9 with 1382.50 points. Kasintseva made the biggest leap—from 17 down— following her singles victory at the Australian Open where she beat Poland’s Weronika Baszak, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, in a hard-fought two hours and four minutes final. Rounding out the top 10 are the US’s Robin Montgomery (fifth, 1667.50) and Alexa Noel (sixth, 1646.25), Russia’s Polina Kudermetova (seventh, 1517.50), France’s Elsa Jacquemot (eighth, 1461.25) and Latvia’s Kamilla Bartone (10th, 1379.25).

PSC to NSAs: Go grassroots

HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has opened its doors to assisting national sports associations (NSAs) in running their grassroots development program. NSAs are mandated to handle elite programs—particularly on the selection, training and competition of national athletes—but with the PSC pronouncement, the sports bodies could now embark to young potential athletes. “We want to help NSAs in their own grassroots sports programs for the country,” Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez told NSA officials at the start of the PSC-NSA budget hearings on Tuesday at the PSC Administration Building. “When they conduct a strong and effective grassroots program, they help us carry out our mandate to make sports accessible to every Filipino,” Ramirez added. “The aim is to

Djokovic’s no joke Al Mendoza alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL NOVAK Djokovic looked spent and on the verge of losing after staring at a 2-1 deficit in sets contested. Defeat was hovering hugely like a boulder of a dark cloud about to explode into a downpour. A doctor and a therapist offered to help him during a changeover. He refused neither medication nor a massage. Feeling dizzy and appearing fagged out, he drank an anti-oxidant. Seemingly, that proved to be an elixir of sorts. Gone, almost inexplicably, after three, four, gulps was the tentativeness in his strokes. His mountain of unforced errors—57 alone in the first set—were significantly reduced starting in the fourth set. Obviously rejuvenated—and definitely not a joke—he even uncharacteristically rushed the nets twice on his serve while a breakpoint faced him. When he survived it, at 2-1, in the fourth set, he xeroxed it, courageously, in the fifth with the score also at 2-1, before zooming ahead to 5-3 as Dominic Thiem finally showed gaping cracks in the shape of a shoddy volley into the net, a double-fault and a long forehand. From there, it didn’t take long before

Arellano U survives Letran scare, notches 6th win in ‘NC’ volley

TENNIS PHENOM EALA WORLD NO. 4

Djokovic would complete a mighty comeback to win 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and claim a record eighth Australian Open on Sunday in Melbourne. “My energy dropped significantly,” said Djokovic. “I was on the brink of losing the match. Dominic disrupted the rhythm in my game at one point.... Probably one point—and one shot— separated us tonight.” When Thiem’s tough challenge came alive again after inching to within 4-5 from 3-5 in the deciding fifth set, Djokovic finally showed who was the hardcourt boss. Serving for the match, Djokovic dulled Thiem’s sizzling forehand winner with a quick ace for 15-all, then forced the 25-year-old Austrian to an unforced error at the 3:58 hour mark. That sparked Djokovic’s fiery finish, rattling off back-to-back blistering winners to officially capture his 17th major in four hours flat en route to a record 11th win on hardcourt Slam finals, adding his three other US Opens. “It was anybody’s game, really,” said Djokovic, who is now three off Roger Federer’s all-time best of 20 majors, with Rafael Nadal second with 19. “Amazing achievement,” said Thiem, who is now 0-3 in a Slam final, of Djokovic’s escape act.

develop a deep pool from which elite sports could cull their future stars.” The PSC’s grassroots program is molded around major competitions, including the domestic Batang Pinoy Program and now, the global Children’s Games. The budget hearings are scheduled for two days and also cover updates on NSAs’ accreditation with their international federations and the Philippine Olympic Committee and the completion of details for the database for their athletes. Commissioner Ramon Fernandez presided over activities on Day One with representatives from karatedo, judo, boxing, muay, pencak silat and wushu. Commissioner Celia Kiram, meanwhile, formally received on Tuesday a P470-million check representing the PSC’s share from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

“You and two other guys [Federer and Nadal], I think you brought men’s tennis to a complete new level.” Well said. From 2003, the Big Three had won 56 of the last 67 majors. But looking ahead, though, and you’ll see that the French Open in May-June will feature Nadal once again as the heavy favorite. Because with 12 French Open across his name, Nadal is miles ahead of Djokovic and Federer, who have only one apiece at Roland Garros. I’m sure Nadal, easily the undisputed King of Clay, is raring to nail a 13th French Open, if only to avenge his painful four-set loss to Thiem in the Aussie Open semifinals. But will Federer, turning 39 on August 8, allow Nadal, 33, to equal his record 20 majors? And never rule out Djokovic, 32, who now has won six of the last eight Slams dating back to Wimbledon 2018. I guess the Big Three will be around a little bit longer. The young ones must continue applauding. THAT’S IT Here’s a glass to the members of the Pampanga High School Class 1958 who will celebrate their 62nd reunion on February 8 (10 a.m. onward) at Villa Victoria Multi-Purpose Hall, Brgy. Dolores, San Fernando City. The members of the organizing committee—Red del Rosario (USA), Jake P. Ayson (Phl), Millet Lacsina, Lulu Lusong, Glo Yutuc, Ceny Wy, Noel Perez, Elias/ Gigi Miranda and Vangie Cayanga—deserve commendation for their unselfish support to ensure that the event become a huge success. Cheers!

Indonesia’s Nugroho is No. 17 with 1210 points, while Thailand’s Mai Napatt Nirundorn is at No. 31 with 930 points. Eala also made it to the girls juniors third round of the Australian Open, defeating Israel’s Shavit Kimchi in the first round and France’s Julie Belgraver in the second round before yielding to Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong in the quarterfinals. Eala is again bound for Mallorca, Spain, to resume training at the Nadal academy with Roland Garros for the French Open as her goal in May. The boys rankings is dominated by France’s Harold Mayot, the Australian Open juniors boys champion, with 3023.75 points, followed by Denmark’s Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune with 2715 and Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki with 2186.25. Mayot beat compatriot and friend, Arthur Cazaux, 6-4, 6-1, in the final in Melbourne. Cazaux is ranked No. 4 with 2000 points, ahead of the US’s Martin Damn (1977.50).

rellAno University survived a major scare from Letran, 25-14, 26-28, 25-19, 25-16, on Tuesday to keep its title-retention bid on track in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 women’s volleyball action at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan. The Lady Chiefs improved to 6-1 won-lost for solo second place, but the hard-earned win worried Head Coach Roberto Javier. “The performance of the team is worrying me,” Javier said. “The players are not consistent. The game should’ve not gone that way.” “Yes, we’re defending a title and it’s not convincing on how we are tackling our matches. If you want to defend your title, your performance should also be improving and you should be consistent,” he added. Reigning Most Valuable Player Regine Arocha had 15 points and three aces and Necole Ebuen added 10 points, two aces and eight excellent digs, with Faye Flores helping out with 13 excellent digs for the Lady Chiefs, who are eyeing a fourthstraight crown. Arellano University’s core playmaker, Sarah Verutiao, struggled and managed only four excellent sets out of 44 attempts. The Lady Chiefs only made seven successful sets out of 136 tries. The Lady Chiefs are bound for a long break and will only again play on February 13 against winless Emilio Aguinaldo before taking on undefeated College of Saint Benilde on February 17. “We’re going to practice, no days off until we get to the next game. My target is to end up No. 2 only. I told them if we end up in the No. 3, we’re going to do extra efforts to get to the finals,” Javier said. Chamberlaine Cunada led the Lady Knights with 15 attacks and one ace while Julienne Castro added nine points, one block and 10 excellent sets. Its two-game winning streak snapped, Letran fell to fifth spot with a 3-3 card. The Chiefs, on the other hand, had an easier day against the Knights, 25-22, 25-12, 25-17, in men’s play to notch their fifth win in seven matches. Jesrael Liberato paced the Chiefs with 17 points built on 14 attacks and three blocks, Christian Segovia added 12 points, Joshua Esguerra had 13 excellent digs and five excellent receptions and Adrian Villados made 10 excellent sets. Michael Doria had eight points and Brylle Novo added six points and nine receptions for the Knights. Ryniel Berlanga

Sports BusinessMirror

| Wednesday, February 5, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

THIS is Novak Djokovic’s 276th week leading the Association of Tennis Professionals, the third-most in the history of the computerized rankings, which began in the 1970s. AP

By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press

ELBOURNE, Australia—Novak Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings Monday after winning his eighth Australian Open title, while Sofia Kenin’s first Grand Slam trophy boosted her to a career-high No. 7—and made her the leading American—on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) list. Djokovic’s 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Dominic Thiem in the final at Melbourne Park on Sunday allowed the 32-year-old from Serbia to rise one spot and move back ahead of Rafael Nadal. Nadal had overtaken Djokovic in November and, at age 33, became the oldest year-end No. 1. But Nadal lost ranking points by getting eliminated in the Australian Open quarterfinals, by Thiem, one year after being the runner-up to Djokovic. This is Djokovic’s 276th week leading the ATP, the third most in the history of the computerized rankings, which began in the 1970s. Roger Federer holds the record of 310, followed by Pete Sampras with 286. If Djokovic can stay at No. 1 until the first week of October, he will surpass Federer. “That’s one of the two biggest goals, for sure,” said Djokovic, who defeated Federer in the semifinals at Melbourne Park. “I mean, there is no secret in that.” The other? Catching up to Federer and Nadal for most major championships. Federer leads the way with 20, with Nadal at 19 and Djokovic now at 17. In the rankings, Nadal is No. 2, Federer remained at No. 3 and Thiem went up one place to No. 4, with US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev sliding to No. 5. The highest jump in the top 100 was by Tennys Sandgren, an American who went from 100th to 44th thanks to getting to the quarterfinals. He pushed Federer

NOVAK RETURNS AS WORLD N0. 1 to the brink in that round, holding seven match points, but was unable to convert one. The 21-year-old Kenin, who lives in Florida, became the youngest woman to win the Australian Open since Maria Sharapova in 2008 by coming back to beat twotime major champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Saturday’s final. Kenin rose eight spots, and is the youngest American to make her debut in the top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999. With Williams staying at No. 9 after her thirdround loss in Australia, Kenin moved past a player she considers an idol. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. Everything is just still a blur for me. I just can’t believe what happened. Yeah, it’s just great. I feel like I’m doing some great things for American tennis. It’s such an honor,” Kenin said Saturday. “I’ve watched Serena. I’ve been following her, all the Slams she’s been winning. It’s a special feeling just

French ice skating head asked to quit amid sex-abuse claims

HE head of the French skating federation has been asked to resign by the country’s sports minister after she grilled him over a string of accusations of sexual abuse and rape against a coach of underage skaters. Federation Head Didier Gailhaguet was not directly targeted by the claims, but was asked by Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu on Monday about Coach Gilles Beyer, who has been accused of rape and continued to work with the federation following an investigation that raised suspicion in the early 2000s. Gailhaguet was called in following the publication of a book last week in which Sarah Abitbol, a 10-time French champion and bronze medalist in the pairs at the 2000 world championships, accused Beyer of raping her from 1990 to 1992 when she was a teenager. “The numerous testimonies and inquiries published in the press put forward facts of exceptional gravity prevailing in the world of figure skating,” Maracineanu said. “I, therefore, asked [Gailhaguet] to accept his responsibilities and resign from the post.” According to L’Equipe newspaper, the French sports ministry terminated Beyer’s contract as technical adviser in 2001 following a report that highlighted repeated “serious

SOFIA KENIN pops a champagne bottle to celebrate her Australian Open victory. She is now a career-high No. 7 in the world. AP

acts” committed against young skaters. Despite the dismissal, Beyer continued his work at Les Francais Volants and served several terms at the French skating federation until 2018. The release of Abitbol’s book coincided with the publication by L’Equipe of a series of articles looking into sexual abuse in skating, swimming and tennis in France. In the newspaper’s report, Beyer and two other coaches were accused of sexual abuse by former skaters. “We did not suspect that the things we have heard and read over the past few days were so big,” Maracineanu said. “Everybody is shocked. Me the most.” Gailhaguet was a central figure in the judging scandal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. After Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the pairs title, Gailhaguet was accused by French Judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne of pressuring her to put the Russians ahead of Canadian pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. She later retracted the accusation, but the International Olympic Committee awarded the Canadians duplicate gold medals. The ISU suspended Le Gougne and Gailhaguet for three years in April 2002 and banned them from the 2006 Turin Olympics. AP

to be ahead of her. I’m just super excited. I can’t wait to compete, be on the same team with her in Fed Cup.” The United States hosts Latvia at Everett, Washington, in the team competition next weekend. Ash Barty held onto No. 1 in the WTA rankings after losing to Kenin in the semifinals. Simona Halep, ousted at that stage by Muguruza, went from No. 3 to No. 2, switching places with Karolina Pliskova. Muguruza, who was unseeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in six years, returned to the top 20, going from No. 32 to No. 16. The 2019 champion in Melbourne, Naomi Osaka, went from No. 4 to No. 10 after losing in the third round to 15-year-old American Coco Gauff. Making it to Week Two in her tournament debut boosted Gauff from No. 67 to No. 51. Federer, meanwhile, shook his head and sounded a bit embarrassed when he’s asked why he’s never played a tennis match in South Africa until now.

It is, after all, where his mother was born. “I don’t know what took me so long, to be quite honest,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said. “I said, ‘It’s not possible that I’m on the tour for 20 years, I’ve become the player that I have been, and I’ve never played in South Africa. It’s just not OK.’ I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.” Federer, a 38-year-old from Switzerland, is planning to finally fill that gap on his rather full resume on Friday, when he and his longtime rival, Nadal, are scheduled to play an exhibition match in Cape Town. “You know how it is. Life on tour sometimes is what it is. I couldn’t be more excited now that it’s actually really happening. I hope I’m going to be really fine to play. I believe I am, but we’ll see,” Federer said after losing in the semifinals at the Australian Open, where his movement was hampered by a painful groin muscle. “Also, that Rafa is willing to do it is exciting, of course, to say the least. I know my parents are very happy, very

Paris Saint-Germain Kylian Mbappe talks with his Coach Thomas Tuchel during their French League One match against Montpellier at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris over the weekend. AP

proud, as well. I’m sure it’s going to be very, very special for me on many levels to play there.” The hope is to generate more than $1 million for the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports early childhood education in six African countries and Switzerland. Its CEO, Janine Händel, said the foundation already has reached more than a million children in its history. “It will be such an emotional moment for him,” Händel said about the event in South Africa, which also is slated to include an appearance by Bill Gates. “For him, it’s really a dream. It’s been a project for quite some time.” But this wasn’t just about raising—or making— money, Federer said. He wanted to make sure the event was accessible for spectators, so 10,000 tickets were available for about $11 each. The aim is an attendance of 50,000, which would be the largest crowd on record for a tennis match.

MBAPPE PROBLEM CHILD AT PSG?

ROBLEMS often seem to occur before important games for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Brazil star Neymar was ruled out of Champions League matches against Real Madrid and Manchester United because of injuries over the last two seasons. Now, Kylian Mbappe is at the center of controversy only two weeks ahead of a crucial European meeting with Borussia Dortmund. Usually praised for his down-to-earth attitude, frenetic pace and exciting dribbles, Mbappe showed a less attractive side this weekend at the Parc des Princes. He sulked. After scoring a fine goal during a lopsided 5-0 French league win against Montpellier, Mbappe looked furious when Coach Thomas Tuchel replaced him with Mauro Icardi midway through the second half. Mbappe barely acknowledged Icardi, giving him only a perfunctory handshake. Ahead of a busy period, including a trip to Nantes on Tuesday and just a fortnight before the first leg of the last 16 Champions League match against Dortmund, Tuchel’s decision looked logical. Especially since he made a double substitution, also bringing on Edinson Cavani. Since the arrival of Icardi, there has been much less involvement for Cavani, the club’s record scorer with 198 goals, so it was wise for Tuchel to bring him on. Considering Cavani almost left the club to join Atletico Madrid, it may have been more appropriate for Mbappe to encourage him—and Icardi—when

they came on. But the 21-year-old Mbappe appeared not to like it at all with the cameras picking up every reaction. France’s World Cup-winning forward ignored Tuchel and tried to walk past him on his way to the substitutes bench, and the German coach had to force him to stop twice to listen to his explanations. After the final whistle, Mbappe did not celebrate the win in front of PSG fans. It is the third time this season he has reacted with public dissatisfaction after being substituted by Tuchel, who dropped him from an away match at bitter rival Marseille last season because Mbappe arrived late for a team talk. Mbappe’s apparent tantrum on Saturday tarnished the win and undermined Tuchel’s authority, at a time, when PSG needs to be united, having experienced three last 16 Champions League exits in a row. It’s unclear whether Mbappe will be sanctioned for his behavior, but Tuchel expressed his disappointment at his striker’s attitude—all the more so because it eclipsed a sixth straight win in all competitions for PSG, which is now unbeaten in 19 games. “It is not good because it opens up a discussion about topics which are a distraction from our state of mind,” Tuchel said. “So I am not angry, but I am sad because it’s just not necessary. I am the coach, someone who has to decide. I will always make decisions based on sporting reasons. This is football, not tennis, and you need to have respect for everyone.” AP

Money

EAR God, we continue to struggle in our journey of life, labor that much to earn our money. We go distant places to earn much more money. And what is the point? To make us more comfortable and happy when our earnings is flourishing to meet our desires. If we are wise, and know how to earn much and satisfy our needs plus sharing what we have, life is a beautiful outcome of our money. “A little that a righteous man hath is better than riches of many wicked,” Psalms 37:16. Oh Lord, keep us away from corruption and unwise use of money, so in the end we satisfy ourselves and others and, thus, reach Your kingdom. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Life BusinessMirror

HOW TO WRITE BETTER PET ADOPTION ADS D2

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Coronavirus misinformation is spreading all over social media A SPORTS hall of a school at the Frankfurt Airport is prepared with beds in Frankfurt, Germany, on January 31. About 90 people from the Chinese area around Wuhan, which is affected by the coronavirus, were expected to arrive in Frankfurt last Saturday. AP

BY GERRIT DE VYNCK, RILEY GRIFFIN & ALYZA SEBENIUS Bloomberg News

HE new coronavirus roiling financial markets and prompting travel bans is taking on a life of its own on the Internet, once again putting US-based socialmedia companies on the defensive about their efforts to curb the spread of false or dangerous information. Researchers and journalists have documented a growing number of cases of misinformation about the virus, ranging from racist explanations for the disease’s origin to false claims about miracle cures. Conspiracy theorists, trolls and cynics hoping to use the panic to boost traffic to their own accounts have all contributed to the cloud of bad information. “It’s the perfect intersection of fear, racism and distrust of the government and Big Pharma,” said Maarten Schenk, cofounder of the fact-checking site Lead Stories. “People don’t trust the official narrative.” The novel coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed at least 259 people, and infected over 11,000, with cases in more than 20 countries. One set of tweets and Facebook posts from US conspiracy theory accounts said drinking bleach could protect against the virus or even cure it. On YouTube, a series of videos accusing media organizations of suppressing information had hundreds of thousands of views. Fact-checkers, medical experts and academics reviewing coronavirus-related misinformation said some of the most viral hoaxes have concerned vaccines that claim to prevent or cure the disease and that would soon be commercially accessible to the public. Though medical authorities and biotechnology companies have begun researching and developing vaccines, they’re far from being stocked on pharmacy shelves. “Rumors can travel more quickly and more widely than they could” in an era before social media, said Thomas Rid, a professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University, who has a forthcoming book on the history of disinformation. “That of course lends itself to conspiracies spreading more quickly. They spread more widely and they are more persistent in the sense that you can’t undo them.” MAPPING THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK SOME of the Internet traffic and misinformation has been outright racist against Chinese people and Asians in general. Posts attributing the coronavirus to Chinese culinary practices have blown up, and a review of a new Chinese restaurant in Toronto was swarmed by racist trolls. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there, and some of that can be quite dangerous,” Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the World Health Organization’s emerging diseases unit, said at a Wednesday press conference in Geneva. Viruses have always sparked fear and misinformation, striking panic as rumors spread and people desperate for information latch onto whatever snippets they can find—whether they’re true or not. But the advent of social media has supercharged this process, leading to waves of misinformation over elections, mass shootings, plane crashes and natural disasters. The outbreak is just the latest test of social networks’ ability to handle the spread of false and dangerous information. Twitter Inc. is trying to stave off bad information related to coronavirus by directing users to more reliable sources, prompting users who search for coronavirus to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site. The company has not seen an uptick in disinformation since coronavirus became a worldwide problem, a spokesman said. Twitter has a policy against people trying to “mislead” others with “deceptive activity.” It permanently suspended the financial web site Zero Hedge on Friday after it published an article questioning the involvement of a Chinese scientist in the outbreak of the virus. Facebook Inc.’s fact-checking partners—independent organizations that flag problematic posts on the platform— have been labeling misinformation about the coronavirus so users know it’s false, according to a company spokesman. Facebook is also alerting people who may have shared misinformation before it was fact-checked. On Tuesday, Facebook searches for coronavirus and related terms surfaced mostly credible reports from sites, like the BBC and CNN, but there were also links touting dubious immune-boosting services and posts from users that questioned whether the virus news was a conspiracy from the World Health Organization. Information shared in private groups are outside of Facebook’s fact-checking apparatus, and they have been known to incubate conspiracies on many different topics. Alphabet Inc.’s Google searches for the virus are topped with a panel linking to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A special section of search results also includes news from mainstream sources, as well as a link to the World Health Organization’s latest updates on the situation. On Google’s YouTube, coronavirus was being treated as a news event, so searches for videos related to the outbreak

mostly returned results from large, mainstream news organizations, though some conspiracy theory videos slipped through. Much of the dubious information being shared could be considered what YouTube labels “borderline” content. That’s information that isn’t necessarily wrong or racist but peddles unconfirmed conspiracies or shoddy medical information. YouTube said its algorithms are built to lower the number of times borderline content is recommended to viewers. In China itself, where homegrown social-media apps like WeChat and Weibo dominate, misinformation has spread alongside protests against the government’s handling of the situation. Generally, social media is closely monitored and censored by the communist party. But the sheer amount of posts criticizing the government and demanding more action mean some have evaded censors. Videos and posts that otherwise wouldn’t have left China have circulated through the Internet, giving the world a view into the situation that isn’t totally controlled by the government. “Early days in an outbreak, there’s so much uncertainty. People don’t like uncertainty. They want answers,” said Timothy Caulfield, a health law professor at the University of Alberta. “Social media is a polarization machine where the loudest voices win,” he said. “In an outbreak, where you want accurate, measured discourse, that’s kind of a worst-case scenario.” ■ With assistance from Kurt Wagner, Kartikay Mehrotra and Sarah Frier.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

How to write better pet adoption ads A

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Darren Criss, 33; Michael Sheen, 51; Laura Linney, 56; Jennifer Jason Leigh, 58. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: A change will help you reach a goal you’ve been working toward for some time. Your patience and hard work will pay off, and with a little effort on your part, you’ll be given the chance of a lifetime. Don’t hesitate to take action. This will be a fast-paced year that requires you to look, see and do automatically. Your lucky numbers are 4, 18, 21, 27, 32, 38, 46.

By David Markowitz University of Oregon

BOUT 1.5 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters each year because they weren’t adopted or had health problems that concerned potential owners. Agencies often use “Adopt, Don’t Shop!” campaigns to encourage people to adopt from or donate to shelters, but their effectiveness can be limited. How can adoption agencies persuade people to rescue pets who need a home? In a paper published on December 26, I investigated the pet adoption problem using advertisements from the online database Petfinder. The paper quantified the language patterns of nearly 680,000 adopted and unadopted pet ads. CONCRETE AND ANALYTIC STYLE THE use of articles, like “a” and “the;” and prepositions, like “above” and “on,” indicate concrete and analytic thinking. For example, one highly analytic ad of a dog who was adopted read, “Meet Christina! Breed: Bull Terrier Mix, Estimated DOB: 8/21/18, Sex: Female, Weight: 6-8 lbs, Health: Up-to-date on vaccinations & preventatives, Rescued From: South Carolina.” By comparison, pronouns and storytelling words, such as “he,” “they” and “extremely,” indicate a more narrative style. An example of one ad that used many storytelling words read, “Look at the cuteness! This boy is adorable and he is full of love and is super playful. Make sure you have plenty of cat toys around because this boy loves his toys! Jack and his brothers are also super unique as they are polydactyl in their front paws.” Each ad received a score from zero to 100, with high scores suggesting the ad’s style was more analytic and less like a story. The successful ads were more likely to contain a concrete and analytic style than the unsuccessful ads. Animal adoption is not the only setting where such verbal patterns can have a persuasive impact. A study of HPV vaccination ads showed that parents and physicians viewed formal, fact-based messages as more persuasive than those that were less straightforward. Related peer-to-peer lending research also suggests that people are more likely to receive money if their online ad is written in a concrete and analytic manner. FACTS AND PHOTOS A SECOND important adoption indicator was the rate of social words in the ad, such as “buddy,” “friend” or “helper.” The pet data revealed that social words might be red flags for potential owners. Most adopters care if the pet is healthy and has its vaccinations, and they want to learn about the adoption process. Humanizing details—stating the pet is a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Speak from the heart, and be true to yourself. Not everyone will agree with you, but as long as you make your point, you will get others to consider your suggestions. Be prepared to follow through with your plans. HHHH

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Stick to your plan, regardless of what others do or say. You’ll face opposition from someone who has ulterior motives or wants something from you. Don’t fold if faced with emotional manipulation or persuasive tactics. Do what’s best for yourself. HH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Look at your options, and consider how best to get ahead. An opportunity is apparent if you form a partnership with someone who can add to what you have to offer. Avoid anyone who tends to be excessive. HHHHH

“sweetheart” and will be a lifelong “companion”— might signal that the agency is hiding vital health details about the pet. The lending study also found that people were less likely to receive money from strangers if their ad contained high rates of social words and humanizing details. Words were not the only key features of adoption ads. On average, ads from adopted pets had more photos than unadopted pets. Photos may help to reduce uncertainty for owners whose introduction to a pet is online. CHANGING HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT ADOPTION THERE is some evidence that language patterns can affect how people think and feel about the adoption process. In an experiment, I had nearly 1,000 people from Amazon Mechanical Turk read an ad associated with adopted pets—analytic writing style with few social words—or unadopted pets—less analytic writing style with more social words. Those who read the analytic and less social ad were nearly 6 percent more likely to say that they would adopt the pet, and 4.5 percent more likely to say that they would visit its shelter than those who read the less analytic and more social ad. These are small effects, but they can have a large impact since millions of pets need a home. Writing style matters for pet adoption. If agencies are thoughtful about how their ads are communicated, pets can have an improved chance of adoption. THE CONVERSATION/AP

ANIMAL SHELTER SAYS ‘WORLD’S WORST CAT’ IS UP FOR ADOPTION

BAKERSVILLE, North Carolina—The “world’s worst cat” is available for adoption—just ask the Mitchell County Animal Rescue organization in North Carolina. The shelter, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) northeast of Asheville, is waiving adoption fees in the hope that someone will take the cat named Perdita off their hands. The group says on its Facebook page, “We thought she was sick. Turns out she’s just a jerk.” A tongue-in-cheek profile of the foul-tempered feline says her dislikes include “dogs, children, the Dixie Chicks, Disney movies, Christmas and, last but not least...hugs.” It says she likes lurking, pretending to be sick and “staring into your soul until you feel as if you may never be cheerful again....” It adds, “She’s single, and ready to be socially awkward with a socially awkward human who understands personal space.” Shelter Director Amber Lowery says four-year-old Perdita came to the facility on Christmas Eve, The Charlotte Observer reported. Since then, the shelter has had to warn visitors that Perdita’s attempts to draw passersby to her cage are actually a ruse that will not end well. “I’m looking at her right now, and she’s rolling around in her little bed, looking all sweet and cute, but the minute you try to rub her, she slaps you. We thought she was in pain and took her to the vet, and he said: ‘No, this cat is just a jerk,’” Lowery told the newspaper. Her Facebook post has drawn thousands of “likes”—and a follow-up post says more than 50 applications to adopt her have been submitted. One person wrote on the shelter’s Facebook page that they hoped Perdita finds “the goth home of her dreams.” The shelter replied, “Us too...like soon.” AP

Therapy dog helps special needs students at Palmer school ANCHORAGE, Alaska—Special needs students at a Palmer elementary school are getting assistance from a nontraditional source: a three-year-old cream golden retriever. Casper is a therapy dog assisting students at Swanson Elementary School, Anchorage television station KTVA reported. “School is really hard for some of these kids and, all of sudden, they have something to look forward to,” said Kelly Sosa, founder of Central Coast Service Dogs in San Luis Obisbo, California. Sosa trained Casper in California. He provides comfort to kids with autism and sensory issues, she said. “He helps interrupt meltdowns. If a kid is getting

www.businessmirror.com.ph

overwhelmed, he’ll provide deep pressure therapy,” Sosa said. Casper wears a service dog vest with a handle that allows children to hang on as they walk together down hallways. “They’re getting more social interaction,” Sosa said. “It’s no longer them isolated in their class; it’s connecting them with the rest of the community in a way that’s so much more normalized. It’s huge for them.” Carole Shay, director of Alaska Assistance Dogs, said the nonprofit organization has been bringing service animals into schools around Alaska for years. Casper will be Swanson’s first in-house dog. The animal goes home with a teacher every night. Shay will check on other dogs Sosa places, and help other

schools raise money for therapy dogs. Sosa estimates that the cost of training a dog is several thousands of dollars. “We’re a team, and it’s just incredible the way this has taken off but it’s so needed in this day, and age, of stress and trauma,” Shay said. Students earn time with Casper for good behavior, such as doing their school work. It’s easy to see the effect the dog has on students, said Swanson Principal Rourka Spatz. “Watching him interact with the kids, it does, it gives you goose bumps,” Spatz said. “It makes you teary-eyed to know that he’s making an impact. And he’s only been here for a week.” AP

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You are best to take a look at what everyone around you is doing before you make your move. Taking the safe route will turn out to be in your best interest. Don’t be fooled by someone who makes unrealistic offers. HHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A change will do you good. Explore what’s available, and discuss your options with someone close to you. An investment that will add to your security or improve your living conditions is apparent. Expand your interests and your friendships. HHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Make family, friends and love your priorities. Focus on looking and being your best. Take a healthy approach to life, and consider how best to move forward with regard to your relationships. HHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be careful how you deal with family members. Someone older may not be easy to get along with, but the experience and wisdom offered will help you make a decision that can change the way you live your life. HHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Problems at home will escalate if you don’t address emotional issues quickly. A joint money matter can leave you in a difficult position if you can’t agree on where you should spend and where you shouldn’t. A change needs to be made. HH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Look at your options, and make a move. Trust your instincts, not someone who tends to talk a lot and do little. Follow your heart, and use your experience and wisdom to bring about the changes that will make you happy. HHHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t make a change because someone else does. It’s important to know your limitations and your boundaries before you make your move. It’s OK to say no if you don’t agree or if you feel an offer isn’t in your best interest.HHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You’ll have plenty of opportunities, but it will be up to you to make things happen. Just don’t take too long to decide what you want to do. An offer will be time-sensitive. Let your intuition guide you. HHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Choose moderation if someone tries to entice you. Lending a helping hand is honorable, but don’t let anyone take you for granted. Information will not be made readily available, leaving you in an awkward position. Don’t make a snap decision. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are sensitive, caring and inquisitive. You are popular and fun-loving.

‘core curriculum’ BY BRIAN TEMTE The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Moral standard 6 In vogue 10 Word disguised in “rough idea” 14 Rob’s wife on The Dick van Dyke Show 15 Spiritual energy field 16 Yellow River’s continent 17 Blows a gasket 20 Hearth residue 21 Dogs rest in them 22 Places for Fitbits 23 Lack of difficulty 24 Basketball infraction 25 Medieval holy site protectors 31 Julie & Julia director Ephron 32 Coup d’___ 33 Apt name for a ball newcomer 35 Sooner State city 36 “Dang, dude!” 38 Type of sax 39 Welker or Anderson 40 Snack bag sealer 41 Jealous Greek goddess 42 1980s Best Picture winner set in

China 7 Brain section 4 48 Fertile soil 49 Pop star Grande 52 “Once ___ a midnight dreary...” 53 Many history degs. 56 Company whose business is picking up? 59 New York county by a Great Lake 60 Enterprise alternative 61 Barista’s offering 62 Tennis divisions 63 November Alpha Tango Oscar 64 Twitch DOWN 1 Jazz legend Fitzgerald 2 New Mexican art center 3 Sudden silence 4 Rage 5 Fortress referenced in a hit by The Clash 6 Where the Palme d’Or is awarded 7 Color chart choices 8 Treasury Dept. bureau 9 Purr-fect role for Halle Berry?

0 Skywalker portrayer Mark 1 11 www access companies 12 Paleo or Atkins 13 Corn purchases 18 Remove from power 19 Blow a gasket 23 “My stars!” 24 Greek salad cheese 25 Didn’t just have a hunch 26 Nine-member ensemble 27 Inhabitants of The Emerald Isle 28 ___ fate (do something risky) 29 Grace of Will & Grace 30 Nostalgically trendy 34 Wild pig 36 Selma resident 37 Sagacious 38 Throaty attention-getter 40 Each Jurassic Park dinosaur 43 Sends to the moon 44 Texas border city 45 Big name in synthesizers 46 Conference groups 49 Leaves speechless 50 Like a blue moon

51 “That so?” 52 Military squad 53 Gamma’s predecessor 54 Hill dwellers 55 Educational acronym hidden in 17-, 25-, 42- and 56-Across 57 Queen Sugar creator DuVernay 58 Waze screen display Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

REPOSSESSED

THE TV host-singer used to be a hot property and this earned him a lot of money. But things and times have changed and right now, hosting jobs are few and far between. He’s still getting hired but these jobs are not enough for him and his wife to maintain the lifestyle they have been living. Even before he married his wife, people have been reportedly warning him that the girl is high maintenance in the sense that he would also need to support her family. Well, these warnings have sort of come true. The TV host-singer is now having financial problems because he and his wife don’t have so much work. There are even unconfirmed reports that one of their properties has been foreclosed by a financial institution. This is sad because the TV host has worked hard for whatever he has now. Let’s hope that there will be better times ahead for him and his wife.

NOT LISTENING

THERE has been an online uproar over a network’s decision to give a disgraced actor a new project. This uproar has resulted in several online skirmishes between different personalities and the popular opinion is that the actor doesn’t deserve the project. You’d have thought that the network would listen but—no. The word on the street is that the actor is getting not one but two projects. The second one is a drama opposite one of the network’s rising stars. This development makes us wonder if the network does not listen to the sentiments of its viewers. It’s a sad day when you realize they don’t even when they should.

HAPPY MAMA

THE young actress is so happy being a wife and mother that she doesn’t want to work anymore. Sadly, this is just a dream for now because the actress may be very happy but the reality is that she and her family are living off her money and whatever she gets from her parents, which isn’t a lot. The actress is so in love with her husband that she doesn’t care that whatever money her husband makes goes to his own family. Her husband and his family are actually deep in debt and they aren’t shy about depending on the actress for their day-to-day expenses. But she doesn’t really care. The actress is a simple girl who is not crazy about designer stuff. For her, all that matters is her family and how much she loves them.

‘TIPID’ TIPS

THE actress is known for her love for luxury and anything branded or designer. But people don’t know that there is a practical side to the actress. While she grew up comfortably, the actress lived through times when she didn’t have a lot of projects. During those times, the actress, while not exactly destitute, had to settle for what she already had. That’s how she learned that you can be classy without spending a lot of money. So, anyway, the actress still practices certain economics even now when her circumstances are better. The actress is also not shy about sharing her tipid tips with others.

The best and worst of Super Bowl ads N

By Mae Anderson The Associated Press

EW YORK—Boston accents got poked. Groundhog Day got—surprise— resurrected, complete with Bill Murray. Google pulled out tears, and Cheetos and Doritos danced. All to the tune of $5.6 million for 30 seconds—to reach 100 million people with your product. During advertising’s biggest night, Super Bowl Sunday, marketers battled it out to bolster their brands. Some got it exactly right. Some didn’t. Here’s your Monday morning quarterbacking rundown.

BEST n HYUNDAI. The automaker released its ad early, but it still drew fans during the game. Bostonaffiliated celebrities, including actor Chris Evans, John Krasinski, Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch and former Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz discussed a Hyundai feature that lets car owners park remotely with exaggerated accents that make “Smart Park” sound like “smaht pahk.” n JEEP. Super Bowl Sunday was on Groundhog Day, so someone had to do it. Fiat Chrysler painstakingly recreated the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, including the town square and other locales, with original actors Bill Murray, Brian Doyle Murray and Stephen Tobolowsky. The twist: instead of a Chevrolet truck, Murray uses a Jeep Gladiator truck. FCA Group Marketing Chief Olivier Francois said the ad worked to demonstrate the versatility of the Jeep truck since Murray does something different every day. n GOOGLE. Google’s 90-second ad stood out by not using humor or celebrities. It features a man reminiscing about his wife, using the Google Assistant feature to pull up old photos of her and past vacations. The ad is set to an instrumental version of “Say Something” by Great Big World. “It’s so hard to write earnestly and not make it cheesy,” said Julia Neumann, executive creative director at ad agency TBWA/Chiat/Day in New York. “This was really, really well done.” n CHEETOS. Cheetos used nostalgia effectively, appropriating the 30-year-old MC Hammer classic “U Can’t Touch This”—still an earworm after all these years. The snack-food ad features a man with bright orange Cheetos dust on his hands who uses it as an excuse not to move furniture and perform office tasks. Hammer himself—“Hammer pants” and all—also kept popping up to utter his iconic catchphrase. n DORITOS. The brand added a silly danceoff to “Old Town Road,” the smash hit of the summer by Lil Nas X. In the Western-themed ad, Lil Nas faced off with grizzled character actor Sam Elliott with silly, sometimes CGI-enhanced dances moves at the “Cool Ranch.” Billy Cyrus, who features in the song’s remix, also made a cameo. n PLANTERS. Planters teased its Super Bowl ad nearly two weeks before the game, releasing a teaser that showed its Mr. Peanut mascot seemingly being killed. The “death” of Mr. Peanut went viral on Twitter. But when Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash, the marketing stunt suddenly seemed insensitive, so

JULIE ANNE, CHRISTIAN SPREAD LOVE AND FUN IN PANGASINAN FEBRUARY 8 will be an early Valentine’s Day treat for music and comedy fans up north with vocal powerhouse Julie Anne San Jose and best-selling balladeer Christian Bautista set to showcase their world-class talents again via The Sweetheart and The Balladeer (Fun Night Only), happening at the Urdaneta City Cultural and Sports Center in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan. Joining them is the comedic duo of Donita Nose and Super Tekla with Kyline Alcantara as special guest. This is the third leg of The Sweetheart and The Balladeer (Fun Night Only) following its highly successful, sold-out shows in Iloilo City and Cagayan de Oro City last year. And as part of the 70th anniversary celebration of GMA Network, expect this pre-Valentine concert under the Kapuso Live series to raise the bar as Julie Anne, Christian and their guest Kyline bring fun and music on stage through medleys and performances that express different stories about love. “It’s always been a wonderful experience performing for our Kapuso in different parts of the Philippines and abroad. We just want everyone to have fun. That has always been our goal, so this concert’s repertoire will revolve around love songs, and songs that inspire, kasi ’yun ang gusto nating iparamdam sa audience. I’m very excited for this concert,” says Julie Anne. Christian, on the other hand, shares that they will offer a show-stopping performance for the third leg of their concert series. “It’s a challenge to show something new in every concert but I am very lucky to be performing once again with these amazing artists. We have more surprises in store for everyone. Julie and I have performed together several times so we’ve already built that rapport. I believe DonEkla will up their game while Kyline, we’ve seen her grow as a performer, so expect nothing less as we all celebrate the month of love

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

and GMA’s 70th anniversary.” Meanwhile, the funny ensemble of Donita Nose and Super Tekla takes the audience to a journey of love filled with humor. Concertgoers must brace themselves for an evening of laughter as the DonEkla tandem pokes fun on today’s dating trends and their own experience about the joys and pains of being in a relationship. Produced by GMA Network under Kapuso Live, The Sweetheart and The Balladeer (Fun Night Only) is a joint project between the network’s regional arm GMA Regional TV and GMA Entertainment Group. At the helm of this concert is Paolo Valenciano. “As part of the network’s 70th anniversary celebration and as a pre-Valentine treat to our Kapuso, we are now bringing The Sweetheart and The Balladeer [Fun Night Only] to Urdaneta City, Pangasinan,” shares GMA Regional TV Vice President and Head Oliver Amoroso. “After conquering Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro, we want the Kapuso all over the country to experience and be able to witness the spectacular talents of Julie, Christian and Kyline, and, of course to laugh out loud with Donita Nose and Super Tekla. For this leg, we also want the younger generation to be able to get up close with them, that’s why we made our tickets very affordable for them. We invite everyone to fall in love and laugh with us this February 8.” Don’t miss out on the love, fun and world-class performances in The Sweetheart and The Balladeer (Fun Night Only) this February 8 at the Urdaneta City Cultural and Sports Center in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan. Tickets are available at GMA Dagupan Station, all Addessa outlets in Pangasinan, all TicketWorld outlets, or online via TicketWorld. More information is available at (75) 522-0077 or 0915-4223393.

Planters paused its pregame advertising. The actual Super Bowl ad was relatively inoffensive, with a baby Mr. Peanut appearing at the funeral. “Baby Nut” comparisons to “Baby Yoda” and “Baby Groot” sprung up online. WORST n AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO. Avocados from Mexico have carved out a niche with humorous ads featuring avocados, but they may have veered a little too far into “random” territory with this effort featuring a home shopping network with fake products such as a baby carrier-like device for avocados. “I thought the Avocados from Mexico spot felt like a random and gratuitous use of celebrity,” said Steve Merino, chief creative officer of Aloysius, Butler & Clark in Wilmington, Delaware. “Not only did it not make sense to have Molly Ringwald as your spokesperson, it was also a bit of a distraction.” n POP TARTS. Kellogg’s went for quirky but ended up with a bland spot that isn’t likely to be remembered. In a pseudo infomercial, Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye describes the new Pop Tarts pretzel snack. The idea is that Pop Tarts adds pizazz to pretzels, but the ad itself failed to have much spark. n SQUARESPACE. Winona Ryder went back to Winona, Minnesota—which she is named after—to create a web site for the town. But nothing much happened in the ad, which shows Ryder in a snowdrift on her laptop being confronted by a Fargo-like cop. There’s a more involved marketing campaign with Ryder, but the Super Bowl ad didn’t communicate much.

n HARD ROCK INTERNATIONAL. Hard Rock International went all in on its first Super Bowl ad, maybe too much so. It enlisted Michael Bay for a frenetic commercial showing a frenzied heist caper involving Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, DJ Khaled, Pitbull, and Steven Van Zandt—but some found it hard to follow. n

Image BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

IS WORKPLACE RUDENESS ON THE RISE? BY SHANNON G. TAYLO� University of Central Florida YOU don’t have to look hard to see uncivil behavior these days, whether in political discourse, in college classrooms or on airplanes. One study found that rudeness is even contagious, like the common cold. The workplace, where my research is focused, is hardly immune from this so-called incivility epidemic. Past surveys suggest virtually all workers experience rude or uncivil behavior, while over half report being treated badly at least once a week. And some researchers have claimed it’s pervasive and getting worse. But is it really? I’ve spent the past decade studying workplace rudeness, and other forms of mistreatment. While I do believe it’s a significant problem, it’s hardly an epidemic. THE RISE OF RUDENESS? FIRST let’s consider whether workplace incivility is on the rise. That is, are employees actually more likely to be interrupted, made fun of, addressed unprofessionally, demeaned or excluded at work? To answer this question, I examined data from the General Social Survey, which has been gathering data on hundreds of trends in American attitudes, behaviors and attributes since 1972. It’s administered by the National Opinion Research Center, at the University of Chicago. I looked at an item that’s been included every four years since 2002: “I am treated with respect at work.” Participants answer on a scale of 1, or strongly agree, to 4, or strongly disagree. In 2002, the average score was 1.69, meaning workers generally agreed they were treated with respect. In 2018, that rose to 1.76, meaning a few more people disagreed with this statement than in the past. A statistician would call that significant, but on a scale of 1 to 4 it’s a pretty tiny change. MISLEADING STATISTICS NOW, let’s consider prevalence. Just how rampant is workplace rudeness? A frequently cited statistic is that 98 percent of workers have experienced uncivil behavior. But this kind of data point misleads us into thinking that everyone is being rude to each other all the time. In reality, when an employee reports experiencing high levels of incivility, it’s unlikely he or she is mistreated frequently by everyone in the office. The trouble with research investigating the incidence of workplace rudeness is that it doesn’t consider an employee’s interactions with every coworker but instead her experiences of incivility in general. Rudeness occurs between two people. It requires an offender and a victim, comprising what researchers refer to as a “dyad.” So to understand the prevalence of workplace incivility, we should consider not only an employee’s general tendency to be mistreated but also—and more important—the relationships that employee has with each of his or her colleagues. In 2018, three colleagues and I conducted a study to determine how widespread workplace incivility is when considered from the viewpoint of employee relationships. We gave workers at a chain of casual dining restaurants in the Southeastern US a survey and asked them to report how frequently they experienced rudeness over the past 12 months on a scale from “never” to “very frequently.” We found that 69 percent of employees reported experiencing some incivility in the previous year. But this happened only in 16 percent of their relationships with coworkers. In other words, while a majority of employees reported experiencing incivility, most indicated that these experiences came from just a few coworkers. These findings show that while most people experience workplace rudeness at least once in a while, most of their relationships are not characterized by rude or discourteous behavior. Concerns about the deterioration of courtesy and professionalism in today’s workplace are understandable. Yes, there are jerks out there, but rudeness is nothing new. It may spread like the flu, but it is no epidemic.

Back to management basics SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

Y first foray into management education introduced me to a framework which is still as relevant and helpful as when I first encountered it. I became familiar with it through readings and lectures, but it only became useful to me when I started managing others. Most HR professionals know it, and most who have taken management education courses will be very familiar with it. I am talking about the PLOC framework. PLOC stands for “Planning, Leading, Organizing and Controlling.” When I facilitated a professional development program for new managers, this framework was the foundation from which all the other courses came from. And whether you are a new manager or a seasoned people manager, the framework is useful and relevant in identifying areas where you can improve and develop. People managers, sometimes, gloss over planning, and just focus on revenue and profit as the bottom line. Sure, without revenue, the organization will cease to exist. But planning involves more than just looking at the books. Planning involves taking the time to study where the organization is headed, and the implications of the needed changes to get there. Yes, people managers have to be immersed in what their people are doing but they should not neglect the time spent in identifying goals and objectives, what it takes to get there, the people who can help get you there and the steps you need to take. The Bible is right in saying that without a vision, the people perish (Proverb 29:18). Your team trusts you not to make the correct decisions all the time but to point in the direction you want them to go, and to steer them and clear the path when needed. An organization that takes the time to plan has a better understanding of its employees and customers, which will help them overcome challenges later on. But without a blueprint for the organization, teams will develop their own agenda or, worse, wander away. Leading is the softer side of managing people. I

There have been so many leadership and management books published in the past years but there are four functions essential to a manager’s professional development. These functions will help you see which areas in your people management skills need work, and how to develop them so you can become the best people manager you can be. say this because you manage people by inspiring, influencing and motivating them to do what they need to do. And you can only do this when you understand your people’s predilections and propensities. It was easy for me to influence people in a previous organization because I had been with them for a long time, and I could build on my reputation and the quality of my work as the source of my influence. Not so when I handled a team I barely knew. I had to take the time to spend time with them and talk with them, not only about work but also their lives because you will get insights from those talks on what motivates them. Your brand of leadership will depend on how you interact with your team. The way you deal with creative people is not the same as when you deal with analytical people, but it takes influence and motivation to make those two work together and produce stellar results. The true test of your influence is when you can bring together a diverse group of people, and make them work together for a common goal. That is also where organizing comes in. Understanding the different roles people need to play and how each one relates to others is an essential part of your work as a people manager. You see the big picture, and where the organization is going. When different teams under your watch are not aligned and are in confusion, it is your role as a manager to sort the confusion, and clarify each one’s roles and responsibilities. Personality differences can be a factor in the confusion but a good people manager takes those into consideration and minimizes the friction among team members. An understanding of how they contribute to the overall progress of the team also keeps them efficient because they

understand what is expected of them, and how their work affects the other members. By assigning tasks which leverage their strengths, you empower them to hone their skills and make better decisions when confronted with unfamiliar situations. Controlling seems rather harsh a term to describe it, but a good amount of time in a manager’s day is spent as a process gatekeeper. What that means is ensuring the team follows agreed protocols and processes to ensure they deliver consistent products and services. This also means providing regular feedback to team members if they are doing well and, if not, provide activities or tasks which help them develop the needed skills to deliver the expected results. As a people manager, your role is to ensure the team actually follows through with the agreed goals and objectives in the planning function. Thus, the balanced scorecard has to significantly reflect those goals and objectives, and you have to provide the tactical and operational plans to achieve them. And when a member is straying from the team’s goals, your role is to pull them back in and show them how it is done. Because at the end of the day, you will be accountable for your team’s success or failure. There have been so many leadership and management books published in the past years but these four functions remain an essential part of a manager’s professional development. These functions will help you see which areas in your people management skills need work, and how to develop them so you can become the best people manager you can be. And what underpins all of these functions is a genuine concern for people and their professional development, and how you can become instrumental in their own journey toward managing others. ■

Harnessing Filipino marketing creativity at World Marketing Summit 2020 FOR the first time in the Philippines, the World Marketing Summit (WMS) will reach local shores in order to tap into Filipinos’ vaunted creativity in the world of marketing. The World Marketing Summit Philippines 2020, which carries the theme “Building a Digital Economy through Marketing,” aims to attract and present new opportunities for enterprising CEOs and CMOs, and help create a better world through marketing, knowledge and creativity. It will also look at ways on how to influence mindsets, support feasible actions for change, and craft new operating models for brands to help improve economic wealth, environmental wellness and human well-being.

At present, new demographics and local conditions in developed markets are presenting decision-makers with unique challenges. The concern now is how modern-day marketers will embrace their new roles in a world that is fast becoming digital-savvy, and be reliable influencers when it comes to inspiring and affecting consumer behavior and corporate strategy. The WMS Philippines 2020 is brought to the Philippines by IMMA Marketing Philippines Inc., an integrated advertising and marketing company headquartered in Canada, and headed by president Cherry Motil, who also serves as chief marketing officer of WMS Philippines; and Kotler Impact, a strategic marketing community that seeks to employ

PHILIP KOTLER

sustainable economic development established by Philip Kotler, known as the “Father of Modern Marketing”

and Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, US. The Philippines will be the 20th country where the WMS will be held this year, after making stops at countries, such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, among others. The WMS Philippines 2020 happens on February 22, at The Theater at Solaire in Solaire Resort & Casino, Parañaque City. For more information, visit www.wmsphilippines. org. Tickets are available at TicketWorld (8891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph).

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, February 5, 2020 • Editor : Tet Andolong

Sunset at Dubrovnik, Croatia

JEBA: Pursuing his other passion as a lensman By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

SIDE from leading the Century Properties Group (CPG) in becoming one of the major developers in the country, Jose E. B. Antonio (JEBA) is also pursuing another passion that also brings out the best in his competitive nature—traveling. For 10 years, Antonio has utilized his camera in an effective manner during his travels by capturing moments, traditions, and sceneries from his expeditions in their raw, unrehearsed state, and shares them with friends and loved ones through a yearly postcard collection that he fondly calls, travelogue. “I take pictures to share my experiences with other people,” Antonio said, stressing that he also loves the challenge that it brings, and the rare opportunity to compete and learn from the country’s master photographers. Aside from being the executive chairman and founder of CPG, Antonio is also an active member of the Camera Club of the Philippines and Leica Club Manila, where he is a very active contributor of entries and works for exhibition. The San Beda College cum laude graduate sees his camera as a tool to discover, experience and educate himself about the world. Under his leadership, the company developed pioneering projects such as the awardwinning Essensa East Forbes designed by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei. Since CPG became a publicly listed firm in 2012, it has sold 91 percent of over 20,000

Kecak Dance, Bali, Indonesia

Century Properties Group founder and Executive Chairman Jose E.B. Antonio

units launched and completed 26 buildings with more than 14,000 units and 1.3 million square meters of gross floor area. Moreover, the company has embarked in the past four years a diversification program to broaden its portfolio in real estate, including affordable horizontal housing, commercial leasing, and a new product

Waterfalls and rainbows, Iceland

line of medium-rise residential buildings. This move proved to be positive as shown in CPG’s 2018 bottom line and is expected to increase the company’s profitability in the next three to four years. For the 72-year-old Antonio, photography is not just a respite from the daily grind of corporate life. He uses it to channel the passion and drive for excellence in his commercial ventures into a new field where the objectives are highly different: “In photography, my objective is how to capture the moment and produce something that others can enjoy.” Antonio held his first solo exhibition called Across the Continents: A Travelogue Series by Jose E.B. Antonio, late last year. The exhibit showcased 30 photos from his adventures and National Geographic expeditions in Asia, North and South America and Europe. Some of his collections include rare experiences in the deserts of Mongolia, the Kingdom of Bhutan, and the arresting Antelope Canyons in Arizona, among others. His award-winning photographs of an Aeta in a river in Zambales, and the freezing winter in Lake Placid, New York, are also on display. His photographs are now on exhibit at the Antonio Gallery, located at the Sky Loft of Century City Mall, Makati, a venue open to individuals and groups for showcasing their work or holding special lectures and talks. “Everyone is welcome here to use the space for creative and learning pursuits,” Antonio said. Proceeds of the exhibit sale and venue fees will be donated by the J Antonio Foundation to Operation Smile Philippines and Haven for the Elderly (formerly Golden Acres Home for the Aged).

Business

E2 Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Women in Real Estate (WIRE) Amor Maclang

first dibs in real estate

Part One

HE “accidental” founding of this group happened when I first organized for our friend Bhavna Suresh, the first Power Women in Real Estate (WIRE) issue celebrating the quiet contributions of the fairer sex in a male-dominated industry.

Since then, the group has grown with informal meet ups and a support network that would rival any organization. I had a chat with WIRE members on the prospects for real estate and women in 2020. One of the leaders of group, realestate powerhouse Emma Imperial has this to shade on her outlook for the 2020 real-estate industry. “As a panelist at World Bank Group’s Innovate4Climate in June, Imperial Homes was able to share our model to the world. The summit highlighted that an increasing warming world at 1 percent per year equals 100 percent global floods. Temasek SPG CEO recommended our sustainable homes

with solar that uses 85 percent less cement with built-in insulation that blocks external heat. These homes that last 100 years using connovate panels reduces the need for cooling inside each home and lowers GHG emissions. This event resulted to immediate networking with possible future strategic partners in Asia.” Another active member of both groups, Arch. Cathy Saldaña, is optimistic about the prospects for Mindanao this coming 2020. All her projects toward spreading good sustainable and inclusive design for communities all over the country have found its way in Mindanao. Saldaña recently won the Phil-

Emma Imperial

DIGNA Elizabeth Ventura of Anchorland

Bhavna Suresh of Lamudi

ippine Property Awards together with her client Damosa Land for the Best Architecture Design for an Office Building. This is the Diamond Tower, an 18-story edifice

now rising in Davao City. Saldaña believes in #mindanaonow and #mindanow, a very active advocacy we’ve been spearheading as early as 2013.

Arch. Cathy Saldaña

Another founding member of our group is Digna Elizabeth Ventura, whose rich sales background has made many women in realestate prosperous. “I am very proud to spearhead a forum [Real Estate: the Key to Passive Income] and talk about real estate as a surefire way to earn passive income. In our recent forum held in Davao, we made sure that property sellers are properly armed so they can sell with substance and vital insights. As a result, the market will, likewise, be fully informed about their investment. This is a mark of a truly successful real-estate selling. We are also ensuring a sustainable boom of Davao’s property sector by empowering sellers and brokers.” My passion for real estate and technology continues to be piqued whenever I have a conversation with Bhavna Suresh of Lamudi, another founding member of our group. Conversations surrounding real estate can happen at any

place and any time: when there is new construction happening in the business district, when an up-and-coming developer plans to change the skyline with a proposed development or even when investors are comparing the value of property acquired a decade ago with a property they are eyeing today. However, it is rare for all facets of real estate to be represented in one venue, with conversations ranging from taking sustainable action to digitalizing real-estate marketing and exploring the sharing economy. This led to the inception of Lamudi’s The Outlook’s Real Estate Conference, a panel discussion where representatives of today’s property developers and other professionals related to the realestate industry gather to share their ideas and perspectives on conversations that steer the industry forward. Everyone is looking forward to Outlook 2020 as early as now. (To be continued)

A boutique developer that can deliver

OUTIQUE developer Golden Bay Landholdings is making waves in the real-estate industry today. The company recently announced that its maiden project, the 11-story Aspire Corporate Plaza in Pasay City, is on track to be turned over to clients by June 2020—one year ahead of its original target completion. If this signifies anything, it is the prospect of a promising future for Philippine real estate through outof-the-box concepts designed and implemented by the young minds behind this company. Jardin Brian B. Wong, the 29-year-old chief operating officer of Golden Bay Landholdings, has been trained in business as early as age six. He currently leads this rising company with values and principles of humility, perseverance, compromise and smarts. Like his own parents—businessman Bong Wong and former public servant Cely Bernardino—the story of Golden Bay Landholdings is also a rags-to-riches one. “We started out with only three employees and our office was only less than 30 sq m. It was just a former function room at a hotpot restaurant,” recounted Wong. “Now we are a total of 50 with a prospect to hire at least 15 more.” Golden Bay Fresh Seafood Restaurant, one of the businesses under the corporation being led by the Wong family, helped paved the way for Golden Bay Landhold-

ings to be created. Through the collaborative effort of the company’s stakeholders and partners, the concept for Aspire Corporate Plaza was realized. With the massive development of residential properties in the area, they were inspired to build an office property on the 3,500-sq-m lot sitting behind the now iconic restaurant, which was among the first establishments to be built in the Bay Area when it first opened

several years ago. “Seeing all the residential properties being built around the restaurant, the first thing that came to mind for us was, ‘Where will all these people hold their offices?’ That’s how we thought of Aspire Corporate Plaza,” recounts Wong about how the company, together with their partners, decided to enter the real estate business. The building was designed with the mid- and upper-scale clientele

in mind. “Our smallest cut is at 92 sq m—a perfect size for a growing enterprise. We also made sure the units are combinable and flexible for future modifications, plus all the units are without columns so no matter the location, you’re guaranteed that you’ll receive a good size or good cut, and you can maximize the office space,” Wong described. Through dedication, proper management, and some help and

advise from mentors, Golden Bay Landholdings is now one of the fastest-growing real-estate developers in the country today. Partnering with prestigious construction companies, such as Megawide Construction Corp., Asya Design Partner, Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp., D.A. ABCEDE & Associates, and Meinhardt Philippines Inc., Golden Bay is able to deliver on its first project at a truly impressive rate. While Aspire Corporate Plaza is currently at its finishing stages, Golden Bay is now preparing to work on a bigger, more ambitious project: a mixed-use mini city in Bacoor, Cavite, that aims to be the

next go-to place for young families living south of the Metro. It will feature residential, commercial and recreational spaces, filled with amenities that are more functional than just aesthetical. “It is our advocacy to help young Filipino families build their dreams by investing in a house that they can call their own,” said Wong. “We feel that the lack of housing has been the burden of generations and our answer to that is to provide quality housing at reasonable prices. I guess this is our contribution to nation-building by helping the middle-aged generation build a brighter future for the next generation.”

sMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Choice accommodations in the East

Santorini at Sta. Lucia Residenze

Stradella at East Bel Air

OVING beyond the business of building homes, Sta. Lucia Land Inc. continues to solidify its strong foothold in the Philippine market with its portfolio of hotel and condotel projects.

“We are here not just to build homes and develop lands. We also create projects that could help us further expand our portfolio of offerings, which, in turn, would

allow us to be of better service to a bigger market and not just to our homeowners,” explained Sta. Lucia Land Inc. President Exequiel Robles. “Thus, after developing

our commercial mall and golf communities, we also ventured into hotel and condotel development. This is our way of contributing to the evolving tourism landscape in the country.” Sta. Lucia Land believes that by continuously expanding its offerings, it would be able to sustain its strong standing in a highly cutthroat market while satisfying the needs of its growing base of loyal clientele. What is further notable is the fact that the company has put up its hotels and condotels in areas where demand for decent accommodation is strong but supply is lacking. For instance, among the company’s early hotel and condotel

projects were located in the Eastern corridor of the Metro—an area where the company traces its roots and currently thrives. “We are familiar with the needs and wants of our market in the East because that is where Sta. Lucia Land began. But this familiarity wasn’t enough for us to feel complacent. Thus, we made sure to go all out and deliver only the best accommodations for our market,” Robles said. “Every hotel and condotel we’ve built in the East proved to be the best thus making us a smart, practical accommodation of choice in the area. There were no shortcuts for us when we built them, offering the modern traveler and stay-

cationer the best value for their money with their bright, spacious rooms and practical amenities,” he further noted. In the East, Sta. Lucia Land currently has two operational hotel and condotel offerings, namely, the Stradella at East Bel Air and Santorini at Sta. Lucia Residenze. These two hotels provide comfortable accommodations that offer all the necessities you may need, as well as the ease of being near the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, among other modern conveniences. Both hotels, likewise, provide the perfect setting for that much-needed break as it has amenities, such as the swimming pool, gym, and children’s play area that would al-

Architecture, design event to bring ‘brightest minds’ around Southeast Asia to Manila By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

OR the fifth time, Manila is all set to host again the Anthology Arch. and Design Festival, themed “ Think Architecture,” happening from February 7 to 9, timely to the historic massive developments now taking place in the country and across the region. “Architecture has always been the most definitive and visible reflection of a society and its development,” said Arch. William Ti Jr., principal architect of WTA Architecture and Design Studio. The significance of this field is now more evident than before given the nation’s constant growth and quest to play a pivotal role in the global community. “This is very important because the Philippines is undergoing an unprecedented time in terms of construction and development,” Visionarch Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Terrence Yu noted during the event’s press launch held recently in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. “Never before in Philippine history the way construction and development is at this faster pace in the last 15 years, and the growth looks like it’s continuing to expand. So what we are doing now in these years that you are all witnessing too is going to change the skyline of the Philippines. It’s going to be how we will live in the next decades to come,” he added. As the country undergoes major change in the built landscape,

Photo shows (second from left) Arch. Ronnie Yumang, UAP secretary-general; Arch. William Ti Jr, principal architect of WTA Architecture and Design Studio; Terrence Yu, president and chief executive officer of Visionarch Inc.; and Cathy Saldaña, managing director of PDP Architects

it is also important for Filipinos to discover and explore the architecture that forms a crucial part of their identity. “We must continue to find ways to make this exploration and evolution relevant not just to our own society but also as a vital contribution to the richness of humanity and its cultural growth,” Ti pointed out. The three-day event is expected to bring together around 6,000 participants this year, including leading architects, designers, industry leaders, and the general public, in a series of talks, workshops and partnerships aimed at helping develop and formulate design-influenced policies that aid and advance nation building and urban planning here and in

the region. “Urbanism and awareness in Southeast Asia has grown worldwide. Attention and eyes of the world are focused on us because the Southeast Asian region is one of the steadiest economically, and financially, as well as in real-estate development, it is a block in itself,” said Cathy Saldaña, managing director of PDP Architects. “But we are all growing in the context of the urban environment, and the Anthology Festival is a great platform for this.”

Full-packed activities

AKIN to the success of its previous editions, Anthology will be headlined by more than 150 local and foreign thought leaders in architecture and urbanism sharing

their thoughts and ideas in various activities lined up during the summit. Twenty-one of the best and brightest minds in the architecture industry will shed light on architecture and design at Anthology Talks. Keynote speakers for Anthology 2020 are Wong Mun Summ of WOHA, Liu Xiaodu of Urbanus and Ricardo Bofill of RBTA. Shelter Dialogues is a series of dialectic panels moderated by several architecture critics and industry leaders each featuring four to five architects with varied backgrounds. Anthology Sessions opens a stage for the exploration and discussion of ideas that can help evolve architecture to address the problems of a changing world. Here, a manifesto will be published in support of urban development by providing an architectural framework that supplements policy-making and planning. Think Architecture Exhibit features the participants’ works that highlight the diversity and richness of architectural practice internationally. Installations from some of the leading firms in the Philippines will be displayed in the festival grounds, showcasing the talents and ideas of Filipino architects. A series of sociocultural debates, Anthology Raw aims to give lively discussions and global perspectives into mainstream architectural discourse, led by Joel Luna of Joel Luna Planning and Design, Denise de Castro of DEQA Design Collaborative, and Kevin Low, founder of Small Proj-

ects. Anthology Workshops will be conducted by industry leaders SOM, Arup, and Skew and PDP Architects. Different competitions for students, professional architects and designers are also included. For the student contests, participating international schools are Taylor’s University, University of Indonesia, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Thammasat University, Tsinghua University, Politecnico di Torino, Hanyang University; while the local schools joining are College of Saint Benilde and the University of the Philippines. Photography enthusiasts and sketch artists can also participate. The festival as a whole seeks to heighten awareness of how architecture and design affects the environment and society. Likewise, it hopes to inspire individuals to challenge current practices and norms so as to build “socially conscious” architecture, or a built environment that focuses on the conditions and needs of all social segments. “Anthology is becoming a large dialogue for the different minds, and we just don’t have this kind of dialogue where it happens. As with any urbanization, moving forward, we have to have the bayanihan of the different stakeholders. So this is such a big opportunity to have more developed countries come and share experiences, and have the stakeholders share their ideas, so we can move forward together as one. Hopefully, this will result in a better future for our communities and our country as well,” Ti stressed.

low any guest to have a good time. The two projects are, likewise, near some of the famed tourist destinations, family entertainment centers, food havens, pilgrim sites and other landmarks in Rizal, Marikina and Pasig that would make for truly perfect weekend getaway. “These two hotels serve as the perfect jump-off point to even bigger and more enjoyable adventures in the East. And if ever guests or business travelers decide to take it slow, then they can also opt to explore Sta. Lucia City and its many offerings. Staying in these two hotels means never running out of options and things to do, explore and experience,” Robles concluded.

GROHE wins Red Dot: Brand of the Year award

LOBAL sanitary brand GROHE is having a stellar year with multiple awards won in 2019 alone. Among them is the “Red Dot: Brand of the Year” bestowed by the juries of the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design 2019. “We are delighted about the award. It is an appreciation of the GROHE brand and its employees across more than 150 countries that represent a consistent brand experience day in, day out. At the same time, it recognizes the new path we took to emotionally charge the GROHE brand and its products in a holistic context, which gives it relevance way beyond the sanitary industry,” summarized Thomas Fuhr, CEO Grohe AG. Over the several days, the experts scrutinized, discussed and assessed a total of 8,697 entries. With its outstanding design quality and extraordinarily consistent conveying of its own values across different channels, GROHE won over the experienced jurors. The award was handed over by founder and CEO of the Red Dot Award, Dr. Peter Zec. For more information, visit www.grohe.com or follow GROHE on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Entrepreneur E4

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

BusinessMirror

Small outlets seen fueling Adobo Connection’s franchise growth By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

Contributor

EVERAGING on the mobile lifestyle of majority of Filipinos today, Adobo Connection revealed that it is set to open more kiosk type outlets this year to cater such popular Filipino dish, and other local specialties to customers who are always on the go.

The homegrown fast-food chain currently has 32 company-owned and 28 franchised outlets—40 of them are full dining bistros called Adobo Connection, and 20 are their smaller versions named as “Adobowls.” Per the company’s plan, it will grow the network of its stores to 100 by end of 2020, equally divided into such brands. According to Adobo Connection Managing Director Meredith Ngo, they want to establish 50 branches of Adobowls since their dishes are highly in demand for both their customers and business partners. “W hat’s good about it is that right now, if you know what’s happening in the food retail industr y, deliver y is really No. 1 [in terms of dining ser vices]. Because of traffic, people don’t want to go beyond 2 kilometers. So it’s better to have many tiny stores like this that is super fast, and really good for takeouts and deliveries,” she told the BusinessMirror in mixed Filipino and English during the recent opening of their 60th branch located at the SM North Annex in Quezon City.

Adobowls are usually found within or outside the malls, with heavy foot traffic. With an area of around 6 square meters, this stall offers affordable adobo rice meals and other local food items. With their unique franchise concept, Adobowls sells well to those interested to own and operate it over a specific period of time for as low as P500,000, all expenses included. “The reason why we really come out with it is because there are many franchisees who still have difficulties to earn P3 million [for a franchise of Adobo Connection]. So they ask for P1 milllion and below,” she said of the investment model they offer to help enterprising individuals with limited budget to fulfill their dream of owning a business. Having a franchise of Adobowls is hassle-free. It is the company that actually looks for a site to be franchised. Putting up a kiosk could only take a couple of weeks once the location is determined and secured. Adobo Connection’s support to franchisees does not end there. It

TELEVISION host Melai Cantiveros-Francisco (center) leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of Adobo Connection’s 60th outlet at the SM North Annex in Quezon City. Joining her is Adobo Connection Managing Director Meredith Ngo (second from left).

is also commited to assist especially those who are not adept on running a business. “Sa panahon ngayon, ang hirap na makahanap ng business na papatok at higit sa lahat ang hirap makahanap ng katuwang sa negosyo—yung talagang mapagkakatiwalaan at tutulungan ka talaga. Pinadali talaga ng Adobo Connection and pagbubusiness ko. Dahil sa mga maaasahang teams nila, masaya at madali ang naging experience ko [In these times, it’s difficult to find a business that w il l click, and most of all its hard to find a business partner who is really trustworthy and helpful. Adobo Connection makes it easy to do my business. Their dependable team makes my experience happy and easy],” shared television host Melai Cantiveros, the brand ambassador and also a franchisee of three outlets of Adobo Connection. Given its low operational expenses yet good daily sales of at least P8,000, return on investment for Adobowls usually will take

about two-and-a-half or threeand-a-half years. This could be mainly attributed to the favorable take-up on its franchise to date. Elated by this, Ngo is bullish on meeting their goal of doubling the total number of their stores to 200 next year—100 Adobo Connection and 100 Adobowls. “Our ideal target is that 30 percent of our chain would be company-owned and 70 percent franchisee. This is what we learned also from the likes of Jollibee and Max’s who are very experienced in this business,” she said. “They say that if you own 30 percent of the store network, you still know what’s going on operations-wise.” Unlike managers appointed by a company to handle its business, the top executive said that their sense of ownership is not as strong as when a franchisee operates it. “The franchisee, if you’re an owner, you really take care of the store. That’s why it’s still better that it’s a franchisee-owned store since they are more focus and hands-on of the business,” Ngo stressed.

Francorp CEO wins Entrepreneurship award at the 40th Agora Awards

op f r a n c h i s e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d consulting firm Francorp Philippines gained another momentous milestone as its chief executive officer (CEO), Sam Christopher Lim, has been named as the recipient of the “Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship [Medium-S c ale]” accolade in the recent 40th Agora Awards. The said Agora Award is bestowed to an owner, or partner of a medium scale/medium enterprise, (with asset size of P15 million to P100 million) with exemplary performance to attain growth in sales, market share, and profitability in the last three years. The meritorious distinction is one of the seven coveted individual awards presented by the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA). Now on its 40th year, the Agora Awards is the country’s most prestigious marketing award that recognizes outstanding Filipino enterprises and leaders in the marketing profession whose laudable pioneering contributions across the Philippines have immensely shaped the country’s thriving business landscape.

Passion and purpose combined

Prior to joining Francorp, Lim spent a decade in Unilever as senior global brand manager based in Manila, Bangkok, Shanghai and London. He graduated with Distinction Honors from Oxford University with Post Graduate Diploma in Strategy & Innovation. Lim is also the President of U-Franchise Sales & Management Inc. and a coauthor of the book The 12 Strategies of Franchising. Lim, a passionate marketer whose campaigns helped establish enterprises and Filipino global brands in the past 16 years, underscored the pivotal role of Francorp’s “purpose-driven marketing” in cultivating avenues for new

entrepreneurs and creating job opportunities in the Philippines. Apart from pursuing innovation and profit generation, Lim stressed the importance and far-reaching impacts of growing businesses anchored on unparalleled customer/client services and a “bigger” mission to “promote positive values, fair growth and better future” for all. “It was in Unilever that I first got exposed to the idea of purpose-driven marketing.... That brands should be pursuing profit while also pursuing a positive social purpose. And it was Francorp’s mission that continued to inspire all of us to grow the business, the mission of generating thousands of jobs through franchising. And over the years I’ve been privileged enough to meet some great brands that have been able to pursue both profit and purpose,” Lim told in his acceptance speech. Among the franchise brand partners that he said exemplified this meaningful thrust are LT&G Credit Line (the first ever microlending franchise in the Philippines that gave access to capital to more micro entrepreneurs), The Generics Pharmacy (whose clear mission is to make medicine more affordable to the masses), and Vibes massage (a blind massage franchise that now employs over 600 blind individuals). Last, Lim expressed his gratitude to his purpose-driven colleagues and mentors in the industry for their inspiring leadership which instilled in him the marketing discipline, the passion to be of greatest service to the greatest number of people, and motivation to make Francorp the leading franchise partner of successful Filipino entrepreneurs who make the country a better place, one business at a time. “At Francorp we all beam with pride

7-ELEVEN EXPANDS IN ILOCOS NORTE, OPENS 1ST 2020 FRANCHISE STORE IN PIDDIG 7-Eleven, the world’s leading convenience store chain, recently opened

its first franchise store for the year in Piddig, Ilocos Norte, as part of its aggressive expansion program in the North. The opening signals the company’s continuous growth toward the northern part of the country with six more stores to open this year in Ilocos Norte. Construction of 7-Eleven stores in Laoag, Bangui and Burgos are ongoing, while outlets in other towns, like Vintar and Solsona, are also in the pipeline. The Piddig store is strategically situated in the town’s poblacion to serve consumers from both residential and commercial areas, as well as the locals from the nearby municipalities and outskirts with its 24/7 buying convenience offering a wide array of products. Aside from Ilocos region, 7-Eleven also eyes expansion in La Union and Pangasinan. At present, a total of 124 branches are operating within the areas of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. Currently, 7-Eleven has 2,872 stores nationwide: 54 percent are franchise outlets and 46 percent are corporate stores. To know more about 7-Eleven franchise business opportunity, call (02) 87269968, 0920-9508651, 0917-8711686; or e-mail franchising@7-eleven.com.ph or visit www.7-eleven.com.ph.

because we know that every brand that we help, every franchise outlet that opens is another few new jobs created. That’s why with a team of 50 people, we’re proud to have helped grow over 700 Philippine brands and help generate over 250,000 jobs. May we all channel the unique power of our brands and businesses to create profit through both passion and a dedication toward a bigger purpose,” he concluded. Francorp Philippines offers ser vices that encompass strategy, operations, legal, marketing, sales and a range of special ser vices. Among its roster of developed winning franchise brands are Jollibee, Max ’s, Potato Corner, David’s Salon, Bench, Shawarma Shack, Farron Cafe, to name a few.

A globally leading franchise development and consulting firm, Francorp’s reputation is built on years of solid experience and industry expertise. To d a t e , F r a n c o r p h a s h e l p e d develop over 3,000 franchise businesses worldwide, and assisted more than 10,000 companies in their franchise expansion. H e a d q u a r t e re d i n C h i c a g o, Fr a n c o r p has grown to 22 offices and hundreds of franchise consultants not only in the United States, but all over South America, Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. For more information, visit francorp.com. ph or e-mail info@francorp.com.ph. Or contact Francorp via landline, 8638-3149-50 loc. 121, Globe (0917-3113001), Smart (0999-9825555), or register online (www.francorp.com).

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Entreps reap success in selling organic and natural crops By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

he late 2000 was a period when there was nary a demand for organic and natural products, especially among developing countries like the Philippines. But the triumvirate of Chit Juan, Reena Francisco and Jeannie Javelosa believed otherwise. They decided to go against the common belief and stuck to their gut-feel instinct that the market for such products will soon appreciate. And this paved the way for the birth of ECHOstore in 2008. “Will you make money out of this business?” friends asked with a mix of concern and pessimism. The ECHOstore trio, however, knew it was just a matter of time. Despite the skepticism around them, ECHOstore carried on. Being the pioneer of sustainable lifestyle store, ECHOstore persevered, until the general public started to get conscious about organic sources for vegetables, rice and even coffee. Fast forward to 2019 and Juan met Naturland’s international manager Marco Schluter through another friend Girlie Sarmiento —another organic believer. Since they share the same vision and mission of helping the farmers in developing natural products, ECHOstore a g re e d t o b e N a t u r l a n d ’s m a r ke t i n g partner. With the partnership, farmers can now sell their produce through ECHOstore

and its distribution network—from Metro Manila to Davao and Cagayan de Oro City. “O rganic is not input-based, but knowledge-based” said Schluter who has worked with over 3,000 farmers in Visayas and Mindanao. Naturland makes sure products like sugar cane and what grows around it—rice and others— will all be organically certified to Exeter export markets like Germany,” Schluter said in a news statement. Naturland farmers and processors have global pioneers in organic farming for over 30 years. The world’s first-ever conversion to organic agriculture of tea gardens in Sri Lanka and India in the 1980s was the prelude to the successful work on an international scale. Currently over 65,000 farmers in 58 countries manage an area of some 440,000 hectares according to the Naturland standards. For ECHOstore the work continues with more farmers in Luzon most especially. “I can get VCO [virgin coconut oil] from Palawan instead of Davao for our Luzon locations” said Juan. “While for our Davao and CDO [Cagayan de Oro] stores the farmers from Mindanao can supply them,” she continued. The partnership is practical as ECHOstore has stores all over the country and farmers will be more efficient selling to the closest store possible. This way, extra freight and carbon footprint is minimized. Soon, ECHOstore will beef up its cafés and stores with products from various Naturland farming communities all over the country.

JUUL affirms support for new tax measure on e-cigarettes

-cigarette maker JUUL Labs has affirmed its support for Republic Act 11467, which raises taxes anew on e-cigarettes and alcoholic products, and vowed to take imediate steps to comply with the provisions of the new law ahead of the February 7, 2020 deadline. JUUL Labs said it exists to help the world’s 1 billion adult smokers transition away from combustible cigarettes, the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. The company added it aims to do this by listening to and working cooperatively with regulators, public health officials and other stakeholders, to realize the historic opportunity to transition adult smokers to alternatives. JUUL Labs is supportive of measures that ensure vaping products reach only the adult smokers for whom they are intended and are not used by non-nicotine users, especially those who are underage. In accordance with RA 11467, JUUL Labs Philippines will no longer make Mango, Creme and Mint JUULpods available for purchase

at any JUUL Labs-owned kiosks nor JUUL.ph web site, and will stop fulfilling retail orders for these flavors from its retail partners. JUUL Labs and its partners will continue selling the Virginia Tobacco flavor to those verified as over the age of 21. In addition, to comply with RA 11467’s new minimum purchase age guidance of 21 for vaping products, JUUL Labs Philippines will not sell its products to anyone under the age of 21. This action comprises the selling of products via JUUL.ph web site and JUUL-owned kiosks. Furthermore, the company will fully adhere to all the new tax stipulations that, as of January 1, 2020, under RA 11467, manufacturers of nicotine-based vapor products will be required to pay an additional tax of P37 per milliliter, or a fraction thereof, of vape liquid. This will increase to P42 in 2021, P47 in 2022 and P52 in 2023. The rate of tax will then be raised to 5 percent ever y year beginning 2024. Currently, e-cigarette liquids are being taxed at P10 per 10-milliliter increments.

smokers told: switch to e-cigs OR HEATED TOBACCO PRODUCTS

respected Filipino dental expert is urging smokers unable to quit to switch to smoke-free alternatives, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). “ We w a r n o u r p a t i e n t s w h o a r e smokers that smoking is the leading cause of oral cancer, and strongly advise them to quit smoking. For those who cannot or do not want to quit smoking by themselves, or with currently approved methods, we convince them to switch to noncombustible alternatives,” said Dr. Fernando M. Fernandez, president of the Philippine College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (PCOMS) and past president of the Philippine Dental Association. While clarifying that he does not endorse any particular brand or product, Fernandez, who appeared in his personal capacity as a licensed dental surgeon, spoke during the “Scientific Conversations on Tobacco Harm Reduction” held recently at the Shangri-La at the Fort in Taguig City. The event was organized by human data science company IQVIA to provide a platform for Filipino health- care professionals to have a scientific and e v i d e n ce - b a s e d d i s c u s s i o n re g a rd i n g concerns on e-cigarettes and HTPs. “When a smoker lights up a cigarette, the burning, or combustion of dried tobacco leaf at high temperature, produces cancercausing toxins that are subsequently inhaled by the smoker,” explained Fernandez. He cited the Public Health England independent evidence review and the

UK Parliament Science and Technology Committee repor t. Both concluded that e - cigarettes are at least 95 percent less harmful than combustible cigarettes. Wi t h o u t c o m b u s t i o n , t h e r e’s n o t a r and carbon monoxide[QD1], which are the most dangerous components of conventional cigarettes. Fernandez quoted the Public Health England statement describing e-cigarettes as “an opportunity to significantly accelerate already declining smoking rates in the UK, and, thereby, tackle one of the largest causes of death in the UK today.” Unlike conventional cigarettes, e - cigarettes heat and vaporize liquid at lower temperatures and do not burn organic matter. Therefore, e-cigarettes do not emit toxicants produced by the process of burning or combustions. The main components of the liquid used in e - cigarettes (e -liquid) are propylene glycol and glycerin. The remaining c o m p o n e n t s a re wate r, n i c o t i n e a n d flavorings. On the other hand, HTPs heat tobacco just enough to release a flavor ful nicotine- containing vapor without burning the leaves. B ec ause the tobacco is not burned, the levels of harmful chemicals produced by HTPs a re s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o we r c o m p a re d t o combustible cigarette smoke. A popular HTP brand is IQOS, an elec tronic device that heats tobacco-filled sticks wrapped in paper, called HEETS or HeatSticks, to generate a nicotine - containing aerosol.