BusinessMirror January 07, 2022

RTL, schools’ clarificatory tax signed into law

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

P

@joveemarie

RESIDENT Duterte has signed several laws, including the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and the clarification on the income tax of proprietary educational institutions.

The Palace on Thursday said Republic Act (RA) 11595, which amends the RA 8761 or the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 by lowering the required paid-up capital for foreign retail enterprises, and RA 11635 amending Section 27(b) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, to clarify the income taxation of proprietary educational institutions were signed last

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R A 11595 lowers the paid-up capital threshold substantially, and allows foreign retail investors to participate in the country’s retail market with a P25-million paid-up investment, and a minimum requirement of P10 million per store.

The law also directs the Department of Trade and Industry, Securities and Exchange Commission, and National Economic and Development Authority to review the required minimum paid-up capital every three years to ensure that the threshold upholds the spirit of liberalizing the retail sector.

Earlier, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, Deputy Speaker for

Trade and Industry Wes Gatchalian and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo all agreed that the new RTL will help the country's economic recovery following this Covid-19 pandemic as it could bring more foreign investments.

Gatchalian said “the first and most obvious effect of lowering the barriers to entry of foreign retailers is increasing competition.”

Quimbo, for her part, said “because these new thresholds [provided under the law] are evidence-based, I am optimistic that this new version of the law will succeed in increasing foreign investments in retail trade.”

Salceda said “the main impact [of this law] will be in the provinces.

The RTL amendments will lower

minimum investment to just around P25 million, which practically opens the entire provincial retail market to foreign ownership.”

A lso, President Duterte has signed RA 11635 or an act amending Section 27(b) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (COCOPEA) said the law will provide the needed stability to education not only in this time of pandemic but also for generations to come, as it aligns with all existing and future initiatives to revive the battered economy.

See “RTL,” A2

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NCR cities readying ordinances on unvaxxed

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

B

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said the timing of their monetary policy support unwinding or, as he dubbed it—the BSP’s “pandexit”— remains “very much uncertain” at this time.

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

A

‘DIGITAL DIASPORA’

In a dialogue with reporters on Thursday, the BSP governor said while they have already broadly outlined their exit strategy, the monetary authority’s subsequent moves will largely depend on economic outcomes and not anchored on calendar dates.

“We would also like to emphasize that the timing of the exit remains very much uncertain at this time. The threat of further Covid-19 infections continues to pose a downside risk to both growth and inflation in the coming months,” Diokno said.

“Therefore, we deem it prudent MPLOY ER- SPONSOR ED to leave some room for flexibility health-care benefit costs in policy-making to account for are expected to increase uncertainty and risk, especially as ByManuel Manuel Cayon by 14.4 percent on average in the By T.T. Cayon the situation remains very fluid,” Philippines in 2022, according to he added. the 2022 Global Medical Trends Survey.

Record low rates Based on the survey, conductIn 2020, the BSP cut its main ed by leading global advisory, policy rates to record lows to broking and solutions company, provide massive support to the Willis Towers Watson (WTW), this is lower than the 16.4 percent See “Unwinding,” A2

FTER the Metro Manila Council (MMC) agreed to impose enhanced restrictions on individuals who are unvaccinated against Covid-19, some of Metro Manila mayors have moved to have their city council pass an ordinance to ensure the limits are legally enforceable.

The first was the Quezon City Council announced on Wednesday that an ordinance regulating the mobility of individuals unvaccinated for Covid-19 in the city was passed already.

It was introduced by Councilors Eric Medina, Franz Pumaren, Donny Matias, and Jun Ferrer Jr. The MMC earlier issued ResoPOLICE checkpoints are back in force, as seen at the boundary between lution No.22-01, Series of 2022, Quezon City and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, as Metro Manila and the urging local government units to provinces of Bulacan, Rizal and Cavite are placed under Alert Level 3 to enact ordinances for enhanced restrictions on unvaccinated instem the current surge in Covid-19 infections in the country. NONOY LACZA dividuals.

On Monday, the Metro Manila mayors agreed that unvaccinated individuals in the NCR shall: 1. Remain in their residences at all times except for the procurement of essential goods and services such as, but not limited to, food, water, medicine, medical deand 2021, survey results showed portfolios in 2021. vices, public utilities, and energy, the pandemic’s asymmetrical arc This is followed by telehealth work, and medical and dental necreated considerable volatility in services at 26 percent, undercessities; Provided, however, that showsofofproducts, products, with hostsshall and healthcare utilization and costs scored by the potential for cost shows hosts and individual outdoorwith exercise guests providing more details and around the world,” WTW said in reductions that virtual healthguests providing more details and be allowed within the general area giving testimonies, Zalora said. giving testimonies, Zalora said. a statement. care creates. Half of the insurof their residence, e. g., within the would alsohelp helpbrands brandsininItItwould also The survey also showed that ers now offer telehealth across barangay, purok, subdivision, or novate on flexible sales promonovate on flexible sales promoalmost four in 10 insurers or 35 select plans, with 92 percent ofvillage subject to the guidelines tions, suchasManila asgiving giving discounts, tions, discounts, percent identified the addition fering these services at no addiof the such Metro local governand offering easier and attracand offering easier and attracof new wellbeing services as the tional cost. ment units (LGUs); tive payment options such asthe the tive payment options such as biggest change organizations in buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) opbuy-now-pay-later (BNPL) opSee “Health care,” A2 See “NCR,” A2 APAC have made to their medical tion,which, which,ititsaid, said,emerged emergedasas tion, themost mostpopular popularoption optionamong among the Asian shoppers.

Asian shoppers. n singapore 37.6458 n australia 36.8949 n EU 57.8287 n SAUDI arabia 13.6078 Source: BSP (January 6, 2022) Indonesia, for for example, example, InIn Indonesia, Google saw saw a a “10x “10x increase increase inin Google searchesfor fore-wallet e-walletservices servicesand and searches 15xrise riseininBNPL BNPLservices servicesininthe the 15x lastfive fiveyears. years.Other Otherappealing appealing last payment options options like like monthly monthly payment installments,toto00percent percentinterinterinstallments, estfees feeson oncredit creditcards, cards,provide provide est access toto quality quality products products and and talsavviness savvinessand andtaste tastefor forluxury luxury Internetand andelectronic electroniccommunicommuniaccess tal Internet serviceswhile whilealso alsoimproving improvingfi-fiandsustainability. sustainability. cationgadgets gadgetsbybytheir theirside. side.Google Google services and cation nancialinclusion. inclusion.

“Thereport reportisispositioned positionedasasa a trendshows showsMalaysian Malaysianshoppers shoppers nancial “The trend Zalora,for forinstance, instance,offers offers21 21 referencepoint pointthat thathelps helpsZalora’s Zalora’s spendclose closetoto99hours hoursonline onlineon on Zalora, reference spend paymentmethods methodsacross acrossthe therere900brand brandpartners partnersnavigate navigatethe the average,“and “andare arethe themost mostlikely likelytoto payment 900 average, gion, including including cash-on-delivery cash-on-delivery region’sdiversity diversityand andevolving evolvingrerevalue-driven.” gion, region’s bebevalue-driven.” andBNPL BNPLoptions optionsacross acrossthe themarmartaillandscape,” landscape,”Zalora’s Zalora’sCEO CEOGunGunSingaporean shoppers shoppers are are and tail Singaporean kets.ItItlaunched launchedits itsfirst firstco-brandco-brandjanSoni Sonisaid. said. mostlikely likelytotoinvest investininluxury luxurypurpurkets. jan most creditcard cardininpartnership partnershipwith with Aside from from digital digital partners partners chases, with with Google Google search search data data ededcredit Aside chases, RCBCand andMastercard Mastercardininthe thePhilPhillike Google, Google, Mastercard, Mastercard, H&M, H&M, showinga a21-percent 21-percentyear-on-year year-on-year RCBC like showing ippines,the thefirst-ever first-everfashion fashionand and Lush,Paula’s Paula’sChoice, Choice,HABIB, HABIB,AtAtincreaseininSingaporeans’ Singaporeans’searches searches ippines, Lush, increase

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average in 2021 but higher than the 6.4 percent posted in 2020.

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News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, January 7, 2022

DOT looking for other hotels for displaced Berjaya guests Batin said the hotel had been earlier informed by the Makati City Hall of the closure order. “Makati City through its BPLO [Business Processing and Licensing Office] of the scheduled closure today [Thursday] to provide them the opportunity to inform the guests to make the necessary arrangements,” referring to their transfer to other quarantine hotels.

‘NBI didn’t tell us anything’

Meanwhile, the DOT was never

Unwinding..

Continued from A1

Philippines’ ailing economy due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. In 2021, the BSP maintained this record low rate all throughout the year.

The governor said the timing and conditions under which the BSP will start unwinding its pandemic-induced interventions will be guided by the inflation and growth outlook.

“In deciding to scale back BSP

NCR...

Continued from A1

2. Be prohibited in indoor and outdoor/al fresco dining in restaurants and other food establishments and shall likewise be prohibited from leisure or social trips to malls, hotels, event venues, sports and country clubs, and similar facilities in accordance with the guidelines of the Metro Manila LGUs and the

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Continued from A10

informed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that the latter was looking into reports of quarantine skippers as early as August 2021, and that hotels were not cooperating with its probe.

A DOT source told the BusinessMirror, “No [we were not told about it]. And if they [NBI] knew about it, why didn’t they file cases? They should have also informed us.”

Asked why NBI didn’t file cases

versus persons and hotels involved in violations of mandatory quarantine procedures, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said in Filipino, “They will do it, together with their current investigation,” referring to the more recent cases reported by the DOT. In a report aired by TV Patrol on Wednesday evening, the NBI said it had monitored alleged violations of mandatory quarantine procedures of a celebrity, foreign travelers, and

balik bayans ( homecom i ng Filipinos). The report added, a five-star hotel in Makati allowed the celebrity to skip quarantine, and that a diagnostic laboratory told the NBI of incidents when swabbed guests were not at their hotels to receive their swab results.

When NBI asked three hotels about these separate incidents, however, they supposedly re-

fused to give a headcount of their quarantined guests. In a news statement on Thursday, the DOT said it “has coordinated with the NBI for the list of quarantine hotels that have allegedly refused to cooperate in [the latter’s] investigation on a number of their guests who have reportedly breached quarantine protocols.”

Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

liquidity-enhancing measures, the challenge for the BSP is in striking a delicate balance between providing adequate stimulus to the economy and preventing the buildup of inflationary pressures and risks to financial stability,” Diokno said.

advances have always been intended to be a temporary intervention,” the governor said.

“As an encouraging sign of improving public finances, the National Government requested for only P300 billion in provisional advances this January, lower than the previous advance of P540 billion,” Diokno added.

Overall, the governor laid out four components of the BSP’s “pandexit.”

The first component involves the recalibration of the BSP’s monetary operations to help ensure that the accommodative monetary policy stance

is transmitted to the economy through short-term interest rates.

Another component involves the unwinding of the measures that infused liquidity directly into the economy, such as provisional advances to the government and alternative compliance with reserve requirements.

The third component entails the reduction in monetary accommodation, or the eventual raising of the policy interest rate when prospects

for the economy have materially improved.

Lastly, their exit strategy involves building on the country’s buffers to ensure that the economy is prepared in for another crisis.

“Even as the BSP looks toward unwinding these measures, the BSP will also keep a steady hand on its policy levers until there is firm evidence, supported by our rigorous analysis of trends and data, that the recovery has gained sufficient traction,” Diokno said.

tion (RT PCR) test every two weeks at their personal expense and present a Covid-19 negative result prior to being admitted for work onsite consistent with the guidelines, rules, and regulations issued by the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) and the Department of Labor and Employment; Provided, however, that in the event that the RT PCR test and/or result is/are not immediately available, a Rapid Antigen Test may be utilized in lieu thereof.

The same rules shall also cover individuals who reside outside of the NCR

but who work and/or travel to the region.

Quezon City, San Juan, Paranaque Following the metro mayors’ resolution, Quezon City ordinance states that non-fully vaccinated workers shall be required to undergo a RT-PCR test every two weeks at their personal expense and present a Covid-19 negative result prior to being admitted for work on site. Provided that the RT-PCR test or result is not immediately available, a Rapid Antigen Test may be utilized.

"We have to implement necessary measures to prevent the further spread of Covid-19 in our city, especially given that cases are rising, and with the presence of different variants in the country. We also appeal to those who are not yet vaccinated to get their shots as soon as they can because these vaccines are safe and they can protect you from getting critically ill from Covid-19. Those who have not yet received their booster shots are encouraged to do the same,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

In San Juan City, an ordinance restricting the movement of unvaccinated individuals was also passed, prohibiting unvaccinated individuals from going out except to buy food, medicines and other essentials.

They will not also be allowed to enter malls and restaurants.

Meanwhile, in Paranaque City, Mayor Edwin Olivarez signed an executive order (EO) regulating the movement of unvaccinated individuals in the city.

Under the EO, the unvaccinated will not be allowed to go out unless purchasing essential goods.

Business establishments like malls and restaurants are also prohibited from allowing the entry of unvaccinated individuals.

Violators will be reprimanded or given citation tickets.

Other mayors, on the other hand, when asked by the BusinessMirror, said they are still crafting their respective ordinances on restricting movements of unvaccinated individuals.

Health care...

2022, with six in 10 countries projecting higher or significantly higher costs over the next three years.

“Covid-19 has produced the biggest impact to global medical trend variation the industry has seen, and we expect the resultant repercussions and volatility to extend into 2022 and beyond,” said Cedric Luah, head of Health and Benefits, International, Willis Towers Watson.

“Markets and employers are feeling the impact differently.

Some have experienced the recovery’s demand for regular medical services in 2021, while others will see it next year or after. The pandemic, combined with the changing face of work, has had a significant effect on health-care needs, delivery of services and the future drivers of medical claims, which in turn will have an impact on medical inflation trends,” he added.

The leading driver of medical costs continues to be overuse of care (64 percent) due to medical professionals recommending too many services or overprescribing. Excess of care by insured members (59 percent) is the second leading driver.

The underuse of preventive services (38 percent) is also a significant cost driver and increased year-over-year due to, in part, the avoidance of medical care during the pandemic.

Insurers in APAC named cancer (76 percent), cardiovascular (62 percent) and musculoskeletal (48 percent) as the top 3 conditions by cost, identical to last year’s findings.

They have also ranked musculoskeletal, and mental and behavioral disorders as two of the fastest-growing conditions by cost which they expect to see over the next 18 months.

Cai U. Ordinario

BSP’s exit strategy

With the expected improvement in the National Government’s (NG) finances amid the recent upturn in economic activity, the BSP said it can ”look to gradually unwind” direct funding support to the NG. “We reiterate that the provisional concerned establishments; 3. Be prohibited in domestic travel via public transportation by land, sea, and air except for the procurement of essential goods and services such as, but not limited to, food, water, medicine, medical devices, public utilities, and energy, work, and medical and dental necessities subject to the production of proof to support and justify such travel; 4. Be required to undergo a Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reac-

Continued from A1

WTW Head of Health & Benefits in the Philippines Susan La Chica said that apart from Covid-19, the mental well-being of employees will continue to become a focus for 2022.

“In the Philippines, the health-care system has also pivoted to include virtual mental well-being support, largely to ensure that employees receive the quality health-care support they need as they continue to work from home, both virtually and physically,” La Chica said.

“Employers are also reviewing how well-being solutions, in general, can be incorporated as a core benefit item, seeking support from insurers or solutions providers like us,” she added.

Telehealth, La Chica said, will continue even after the pandemic. The role of telehealth is expected to evolve into the right care to close the gap and not only a digital platform to deliver health-care services.

Telehealth services, La Chica said, could expand their services into well-being offerings, including but not limited to mental-health services. This is mainly driven by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the emotional well-being of employees.

Higher cost trends

Meanwhile, WTW said that insurers expect cost trends to be higher in the Asia Pacific with China as well as Singapore and Vietnam expected to post increases of 8.3 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

Looking ahead, WTW medical insurers expect health-care cost trends to accelerate beyond

RTL...

Continued from A1

The law applies the preferential tax rate of 10 percent on taxable income prospectively and allow proprietary schools to avail of the 1-percent tax rate under Republic Act 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act. Rep. Salceda said the law will help private schools hire more teachers.

“By this means, we are indirectly helping private schools teachers, whom unfortunately we were not able to extend direct financial assistance to during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

Other new laws

Meanwhile, the President has also signed last December 10 RA 11598 to authorize Department of Agriculture to provide for direct cash assistance to farmers, Republic Act 11596 to prohibit child marriage, and RA 11597 to revise the charter of the Philippine Veterans Bank.

RA 11598 authorized the Department of Agriculture to provide for direct cash assistance to farmers who are tilling 2 hectares and below of rice land until 2024.

For the purpose, the law authorized the DA to use revenues in excess of P10 billion from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), as provided in Section 13 of RA 11203 or Rice Tariffication Law, for direct cash assistance to farmers.

It also mandates the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to directly remit the excess funds to the DA, in any given year within the implementation of the RCEF which shall be automatically given as cash assistance to farmer beneficiaries.

Under the Rice Tariffication Law, tariffs collected from rice imports are used to fund the six-year P10-billion annual RCEF fund to bankroll programs that provide farmers with high-quality seeds, machinery, easier credit access, and relevant training.

Should annual tariff revenues from rice imports exceed P10 billion, the law mandates earmarking the fund by Congress— and included in the national budget of the following year—for financial assistance to palay farmers, titling of agricultural lands, an expanded crop insurance program on rice, and crop diversification.

Major victory

For her part, House Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera said the signing of RA 11596 or “an act prohibiting the practice of child marriage and imposing penalties for violation thereof” is a major victory in the country’s campaign to end child marriage in the Philippines.

“This law will help protect children, especially young girls, and hopefully change the trajectory of their lives,” she said.

Herrera said the time has come for the Philippines to end the “longstanding disturbing practice” of child marriage.

Child marriage, she said, is a form of violence against children.

The law seeks to prohibit and declare child marriage as illegal and to impose penalties against violators.

Under the law, the solemnization of child marriage and cohabitation of an adult with a child outside wedlock are considered unlawful acts.

A fine of at least P40,000 and jail term of up to 12 years await solemnizing officers, parents, guardians, or adults who fixed, facilitated, or arranged child marriage.

New PVB charter

Signed as new law is RA 11597, which revised the charter of the Philippine Veterans Bank, repealing for the purpose RA 3518.

The law said the capital stock of the bank shall now be P10 billion divided into 75 million common shares and 25 million preferred shares with a par value of P100 each.

It also expands the definition of “veteran” to include post-World War II veterans, veterans of other wars and Philippine military campaigns, and retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Under the law, the term “veteran” would now include: any person who served in the regular and non-regularly organized Philippine military units during World War II and whose services are recognized by both the Philippine and US governments; the widow, orphan or a compulsory heir of a deceased veteran, and veterans referred to under Republic Act 6948, as amended by Republic Act 7696 and Republic Act 9396, after they have invested in Veterans Bank.

The law authorizes the bank to issue bonds and other certificates of indebtedness subject to the regulations of the Bangko Sentra l ng Pilipinas and the General Banking Law of 2000.

It also said the affairs and business of Veterans Banks shall be directed and its properly manages, controlled and preserved by a Board of Director consisting 15 members, five of whom shall be independent directors to be elected in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines.

The Nation BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Makati shuts down hotel in quarantine breach case

T

HE city government of Makati on Thursday closed down Berjaya Makati Hotel in compliance with a decision issued by the Department of Tourism (DOT) after a Filipino traveler from the US broke quarantine protocols at the facility.

Makati spokesman Atty. Don Camiña said, “DOT issued a decision stating—WHEREFORE, the recommendation of DOT-NCR [National Capital Region] is affirmed.”

Camiña cited that the respondent Berjaya Makati Hotel Makati is hereby penalized thus: 1. For violation for health and safety protocols issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force (DOT AO 2021-004-A Section 36(h), a fine of P13,200; and 2. For failure to comply with RA No. 11332 (DOT M.C. 2018-03 Sec. 13.2.1 (h), a three-month suspension of its DOT accreditation.

“Considering that Berjaya’s DOT Accreditation has been suspended, City is closing it since only hotels with DOT accreditation can operate at this time under relevant DOT and IATF guidelines,” Camiña stressed.

Camiña added that prior to its closure, Berjaya was already advised to coordinate with the Bureau of Quarantine for the transfer of its remaining guests to other facilities.

The city offered to assist the hotel management if needed.

“Berjaya should not skirt the issue. Its negligence has been established and admitted. Laws have been broken, and the welfare and safety of the community have been put to risk,” Camiña pointed out.

The management should not play the aggrieved victim, he added.

Earlier, Berjaya Hotel Makati was sent a show-cause order by DOT-National Capital Region Officer in Charge Sharlene ZabalaBatin on December 29, 2021, after the agency found out that one of its guests, a certain Gwyneth Anne Chua, “was allegedly able to leave your hotel and was seen in a bar in Poblacion, Makati on 23 December 2021, despite being under mandatory quarantine.”

There were screen captures of TikTok videos of Chua and her friends attached by DOT to the show-cause order. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, January 7, 2022 A3

Top southern Mindanao communist leader slain in Davao de Oro clash

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

T

HE military reported on Thursday that it has killed the highest commander of the communist movement in Mindanao following a clash in Davao de Oro. The rebel was identified as Menandro Villanueva, alias Bok, whom the military said was the lon-

gest-serving secretary of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) and the secretary of Komisyong Mindanao (KOMMID) of the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNew People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

Villanueva was also the reported commanding officer of the National Operations Command (NOC) of the NPA and a member of the Politburo of the CPP.

Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante, commander of the Army’s 1001st Brigade, said Villanueva was killed during a firefight between troops and members of the regional headquarters of the SMRC where Villanueva was cornered in Barangay Libudon, Mabini, Davao de Oro on Wednesday evening.

Villanueva sustained gunshot wounds in various parts of his body.

The military said Villanueva was

among the founding members of the NPA in Mindanao during the 1970s together with the late Edgar Jopson. During his student years at the Ateneo de Manila, he was an activist under the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and went underground when martial law was declared.

Villanueva had reportedly supervised the operations of the CPPNPA in the whole of Mindanao and

SC settles copyright feud over new designs of PNP cap, badge PSG members

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

‘T

HE copyright of a derivative work solely belongs to the person who fixes an idea into a tangible medium of expression. The law on copyright only protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.”

The Supreme Court (SC) made this declaration as it junked the petition filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) seeking copyright ownership over the new designs of its cap device and badge.

In a 23-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Court’s Third Division affirmed a Court of Appeals (CA) decision dated August 12, 2010 and Resolution dated June 27, 2011, which reversed the ruling issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City ordering the National Library to cancel the certificates of copyright registration issued in favor of the late Jose Tupaz IV and to issue new certificates of copyright registration in favor of the PNP. Tupaz passed away pending the resolution of the case, and was subsequently substituted in the case by his heirs.

In reversing the trial court’s decision, the CA declared Tupaz as the author of the new designs.

While the PNP contributed ideas, the appellate court noted that it was Tupaz who actually made the designs.

This prompted the PNP to elevate the issue before the High Tribunal.

Based on the records of the case, the PNP Directorate for Logistics Support Service authorized the procurement of new uniforms and equipment for the PNP, including

brand new cap devices and badges in 1996.

The PNP Directorate on Research and Development, Clothing, and Criminalistics Equipment Division (DRD-CCED) assumed the responsibility of updating the designs of the PNP cap device and badge.

The present PNP cap device and badge have distinctive features such a native shield, depicted as a vertically elongated hexagon; a sword-and-shield wielding warrior purporting to be Lapu-Lapu; eight rays of the sun representing the first eight provinces to revolt against Spain; three pentagram stars representing Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao; laurel leaves; and the words “service, honor and justice.”

The designs were previously used by PNP forerunner, the defunct Philippine Constabulary, in its coat of arms.

The PNP DRD-CCED collaborated with Tupaz to create the new designs of the PNP cap device and badge. Tupaz volunteered and rendered his services for free.

Under their agreement, Tupaz will sketch the new designs and produce samples or prototypes.

The samples will then be presented before the PNP’s Uniform and Equipment Standardization Board for approval.

Tupaz drew the new designs based on the PNP’s specifications and instructions.

He then submitted the finished sketches to the PNP for evaluation, which were subsequently transmitted to and approved by the National Police Commission.

In the new design of the PNP cap device, the native shield has been reduced in size and the laurel leaves

were made more noticeable.

The native shield in the pre-existing design was “checkered cream and red in color.” On the other hand, the native shield in the new design is silver.

The preexisting PNP cap device contains the words “PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE” located inside the native shield, which was eliminated in the new design.

Instead, the words “PHILIPPINES” and “POLICE” were placed at the top and bottom of the cap device, respectively.

Furthermore, the word “POLICE” is more prominent in the new design and there were also eight short sun rays on top of the cap device.

With regard to the PNP badge, the most prominent feature of the preexisting design is the native shield, which has been reduced in size in the new design.

Another prominent feature of the preexisting design is the badge number, which was reduced and placed at the bottom portion in the new design.

The words “PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE” were transposed from the native shield in the preexisting design and were placed on top in the new design.

The shapes of the two designs are also different as the new design takes the general shape of an oval compared to the preexisting design.

Aside from these, the new design contains the colors black, red, white, and blue. Upon approval of the new designs, the PNP conducted a public bidding for the procurement of the new PNP cap devices and badges.

Among those who participated was El Oro Industries Inc. (El Oro) chaired by Tupaz.

After the tabulation of the bids, El Oro, which submitted the second highest bid, presented before the PNP’s Bids and Awards Committee certificates of copyright registration over the PNP cap device and badge issued in favor of Tupaz.

Hence, the contract was not awarded to the winning bidder, but to El Oro. No other manufacturer attempted to produce the PNP cap device and badge bearing the new designs for fear of copyright infringement.

However, then Police Director Jose Andaya, head of the DRDCCED, wrote the National Library requesting the cancellation of the certificates of copyright registration of the PNP cap device and badge but did not receive any response.

Subsequently, the PNP filed a complaint before the Quezon City RTC for the cancellation of Tupaz’s certificates of copyright registration.

In upholding the CA’s decision, SC noted that the extent of PNP’s participation in developing new designs of the PNP cap device and badge was limited to instructing Tupaz on how the designs should appear and what specific elements should be incorporated.

“Petitioner merely supplied ideas and concepts. It was respondent Tupaz who used his skill and labor to concretize what petitioner had envisioned. Therefore, petitioner cannot be considered as an author of the new designs either in whole or in part,” the Court said.

The Court added that the PNP is also not entitled to own the copyright under any of the exceptions in Section 6 of Presidential Decree No. 49 (Decree on the Protection of Intellectual Property).

PRC urged to hasten digitalization of board DOLE official cautions extension examinations amid pandemic disruptions of AL 3 in Metro Manila, regions

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

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TRESSING that it is “very frustrating” to aspiring professionals and their families, Aksyon Demokratiko senatorial candidate Dr. Carl Balita called on the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to expedite the digitalization of Board Licensure Examinations in the Philippines.

“It has been almost two years and PRC’s best effort had been postponing examination, which is very frustrating to aspiring professionals and their families,” said Balita, who holds three professional licenses and is known for his review centers all over the country.

Balita presented that in 2019, there were 669,497 board exam takers across 45 regulatory boards.

“With only 261,823 passers in 2019, there were 417,674 board examination repeaters in 2021 added to more graduates of that academic year,” said Balita, citing that a million aspiring professionals may have been affected by the cancellations and postponements of Board Examinations.

He noted that the PRC web site presents 100 board examinations every year. Almost all examina-

directly controlled the operations of the NPA as head of its National Operations Command.

“The 51 years reign of terror of Menandro Villanueva is finally over.

His victims were finally given justice.

Alias Bok has several warrants of arrests to include multiple murder, double frustrated murder, arson, robbery with intimidation, rebellion, among others,” Durante said.

tions were canceled since March in 2020. In 2021, there were 48 examinations rescheduled in the same year, while there were 12 that were rescheduled in 2022, with 8 board examinations postponed on scheduled yet to be announced, as posted in the web site.

Late last year, the schedule for the 90 board examinations for 2022 was released. Recently, the practical phase of the Dentist Licensure Examination in NCR has been announced to be rescheduled to March 2022.

There are six board examinations scheduled for January 2022, namely, Real Estate Consultants, Optometrists, Medical Technologists, Architects, Professional Teachers and Sanitary Engineers.

There is fear that the other board examinations may also be canceled in face of the continuing increase in Covid cases.

“The PRC had almost two years of lead time to have transformed the board examinations into computerized tests, which is the practice of many countries already,” Balita asserted.

He added that the only “fear is transmission, and computerization is a known long-term solution, which PRC need not reinvent as

there are many international examinations given as computerized examinations already.”

Balita cited those almost a million aspiring professionals have been hoping to take the board exam and attain the qualification they need to work as professionals.

In the social media post of Balita, there is an outpouring of frustrations and rage expressed by aspiring professionals, their families and educators.

“Their board examination preparation may have suffered from more than a year of stagnation, unless they continue reviewing,” Balita said pointing out that the demand for professionals, especially those in the areas of health and sciences, construction, and technology, remains high and these aspirants are missing these opportunities, both here and abroad.

“Some of the aspiring professionals have spent on their tests and quarantines already prior to some last minute cancellations. There are also cases that the aspiring professionals filed leave of absences from employment as far as overseas. “There is overwhelming economic implications resulting from the cancellations and postponements,” Balita warned.

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has expressed concern that the Alert Level 3 (AL) status of the National Capital Region (NCR) and other provinces may disrupt efforts to sustain the country’s employment gains in 2021.

DOLE A ssist a nt Secret a r y Dominique Tutay said she is hoping that the AL 3 status imposed by the Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in the NCR will not be extended beyond January 15 to allow economic activities to continue and prevent further job losses.

“The Alert Level 3 status in NCR and other provinces may derail the progress we have made in terms of employment. We are hoping that this alert level would not extend beyond January 15 since any extension may erode the employment gains we have made,” Tutay said in Filipino.

The rise in Covid cases and the subsequent imposition of the new alert level came on the heels of an assessment undertaken by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and DOLE that 2.2 million

jobs may have already been lost due to typhoon Odette (international code name Rai). Tutay, however, said DOLE would validate the estimates in the coming weeks.

Other steps being taken by the government, Tutay said, include those under the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) 8-Point Employment Recovery Agenda.

The recovery agenda was able to create close to 870,000 jobs generated under the various programs of the NERS task force member agencies.

Tutay said the primary contributor was the Build, Build, Build program; bridging and internship program and emergency employment programs of the DOLE; and the service-contracting program of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), among others.

She added that around 2.8 million individuals and 257,000 establishments were also assisted by the NERS task force in the form of training, employment facilitation, livelihood and cash subsidies.

Further, out of the 1 million jobs project of the task force and Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, some 600,000 jobs were generated from construction, manufacturing and Business Process Outsourcing.

test positive for Covid infection

T

HE Presidential Security Group (PSG) on Thursday reported that 15 of its personnel have tested positive for Covid-19.

PSG Commander Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said the President’s security men were found positive of the virus after coming from a holiday break.

“After undergoing the mandatory quarantine for 7 days, they were administered RT-PCR Tests, and, 15 personnel have yielded positive test results,” he said.

“All personnel were fully vaccinated and are asymptomatic. This Command, through [the] PSG Task Force Covid-19 is attending to these personnel in accordance with InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases/Department of Health protocols,” Cabangbang added.

He also assured that these personnel are not detailed as close-in security of the President.

“PSG is strictly adhering to the highest standards of performing its primary mandate, that is, to protect the Commander-in-Chief, our beloved President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

Your PSG assures the public that we are fit and able to protect the President so he can continue his mandate to serve this nation,” he added.

Mobile booster

MEANWHILE, the Anakalusugan Party-list on Thursday called on local governments in Metro Manila to deploy mobile booster teams to swiftly cover more people in the ongoing inoculation drive against the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Rep. Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan said mobile booster services should also target communities with low vaccination rates as well as neighborhoods and worksites previously hit by outbreaks.

“We have to bring booster services closer to the people to overcome the tsunami of infections and hold back more hospitalizations and deaths,” Defensor said.

In Quezon City, he said, many residents have not received their booster shots because of the local government’s flawed strategy of merely asking people to gather at pre-designated vaccination sites.

“We would urge local governments to position transportable booster clinics around public markets, where both vendors and consumers are at high infection risk,” Defensor said.

“In the case of our vendors, they have to eke out a living every day and are being discouraged from getting their boosters because of poor access,” Defensor said.

He added barangay officials shou ld conduct door-to -door campaigns, draw up a list up of booster-eligible individuals, and then bring in mobile jab teams where needed.

Defensor also batted for extensive in-home booster services for individuals looking after the elderly or tending to children full-time.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

A4 Friday, January 7, 2022 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

BPI data: PHL rice imports jump 32 percent to 2.771 MMT in ‘21

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE country’s rice imports last year expanded by 32 percent year-on-year to 2.771 million metric tons (MMT), the second-largest import volume by the Philippines in history, latest government data showed.

Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data released to the public recently showed that total rice imports last year rose by 672,000 MT from the 2.099 MMT recorded in 2020.

Historical government data showed that this is the second-highest rice import volume recorded by the Philippines.

BPI data showed that Vietnam remained as the country’s top supplier of rice as it accounted for 85 percent of the total import volume or about 2.36 MMT. The country’s rice imports from Vietnam last year rose by 29 percent from 1.828 MMT

in 2020, based on BPI data.

Last year’s top rice importer was Davaobased Nan Stu Agri Traders with a total volume of 169,774.95 metric tons (MT) followed by Manila-based Bestow Industries Inc. at 129,339.28 MT, according to BPI data.

BPI data showed that a total of 154 entities imported rice last year from Cambodia, China, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The figure was lower than the 193 entities that imported rice in 2020.

The decline in the number of importers last year was a result of the indefinite suspension of farmers’ cooperatives and organizations as eligible rice importers following reports that they are just being used as fronts of unscrupulous traders.

BPI data showed that importers brought in the most volume of rice in September

at 327,164.339 MT followed by January at 303,923.020 MT. BPI data also showed that the agency issued a total of 7,821 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) last year covering an import volume of 7.003 MMT. Out of the total SPS-ICs last year, about 25 percent or 1,937 SPS-ICs were issued in December, based on BPI data. The total SPS-ICs issued in December covers an import volume of 1.824 MMT, which importers can bring in until February of this month since a SPS-IC has a 60-day expiry.

In 2020, the BPI issued a total of 5,535 SPS-ICs for an applied import volume of 4.795 MMT. The Philippines recorded the largest import volume in 2019, when its purchases reached 3.1 MMT. The government had deregulated the rice industry that year, which made it easier for traders to import rice.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Arta to streamline logistics pass for cargo trucks delivering goods

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

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HE Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) is teaming up with other government agencies and port operators in streamlining logistics passes to allow unhampered movement of trucks delivering basic goods and necessities.

The anti-red tape agency said that it will launch the Unified Logistics Pass (ULP) this month, which is a unified QR (quick response) code that seeks to eliminate the varying and separate pass-through stickers required by economic zones, ports, and local government units and will ease port-entry restrictions.

Arta took its cue from the implementation of the RapidPass system, which allows accredited frontliners and authorized personnel to have unified passes that allow them access at designated checkpoints.

A memorandum of agreement and a joint memorandum circular will be signed by the partner agencies and developmental partners of Arta during the launch.

The signatories include the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Land Transportation Office, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Philippine Ports Authority, Department of Science and Technology, Clark Development Corporation and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Asian Terminal Inc., International Container Terminal Services Inc., Manila Harbor Center Port Services Inc., Manila

North Harbour Port Inc., University of the Philippines Public Administration Research and Extension Services Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development, and DevConnect Philippines Inc. are also set to ink the agreement.

ULP is parallel with Arta’s flagship National Effort for the Harmonization of Efficiency Measures of Interrelated Agencies Program. It aims to reduce the time, costs, and requirements or procedures of government services in five priority sectors, including logistics, by 52 percent in 52 weeks.

Last year, Arta flagged the illegal collection of fees and taxes by the local government units (LGUs) for the transport of goods. These include sticker fees, entry fees, recharging fee, and mayor’s fees, among others.

It launched the Omnibus Guidelines on the Suspension of LGU Imposition and Collection of Illegal Fees and Taxes Relative to the Transport of Goods and Product in response.

The joint memorandum circular (JMC) provides the limitations of the LGUs in collectingfees,taxesandotherchargesontransporting goods carried into or out or passing through their territorial jurisdictions under the Local Government Code of 1991.

It also enjoins all local chief executives to refrain from enforcing “any existing ordinance authorizing the levy of fees and taxes on inter-province transport of goods or merchandise, regulatory fees in local ports, and other additional taxes, fees or charges in any form upon the transport of goods or merchandise.”

Arta, under the JMC, can conduct its own regulatory review of the subject ordinance.

DOE told to stock up on coal supply amid looming Indonesia export ban

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

P

RODDING the Department of Energy (DOE) to promptly stock up ample coal supply amid a looming Indonesia export ban seen to jack up the world prices of coal, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Duterte administration energy officials should promptly come up with contingency measures even before the Indonesian coal export ban takes effect any time this January.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, reminded DOE officials to prepare for contingency measures to ensure sufficient coal supply and avert possible higher coal prices following the Indonesian government’s decision to ban its coal exports this month.

The senator noted that the ban had caused concerns on the country’s supply of coal for power plants which, he warned, “if insufficient, could lead to widespread blackouts.”

He reminded in a news statement Thursday that “part of the contingency measures should be to ensure the adherence of coalfired power plants to the 30-day minimum inventory requirement [MIR].”

Gatchalian added the Duterte administration “should also consider looking for other suppliers,” especially in the coming weeks given the possible decline in stockpiles coming from Indonesia which, he warned, could “result in soaring coal prices.”

Wearing his hat as Senate energy committee chairman, the senator conveyed a looming concern over the recent development considering that Indonesia is the biggest supplier of coal in the country, reminding that the Philippines derived 57.17 percent of power generation from coal as of 2020.

He cited data from the DOE showing that as of October 2021, the Philippines acquired 96.88 percent of imported coal supply from Indonesia, 1.82 percent from Australia, 0.35 percent from Vietnam, and 0.94 percent from other exporting countries, adding that of the total 42.476 million metric tons of coal produced and imported in 2020, 69.51 percent of which were imported and 30.49 percent came from local sources.

This, the senator reminded “could be a wake-up call as well,” suggesting that the Duterte administration officials concerned should “probably start rethinking and be more committed in reducing the share of coal by further diversifying our generation mix.”

Moreover, Gatchalian noted that in pushing for the diversification of energy supply, “there is around 28,000 megawatts [MW] of potential capacity from renewable energy [RE] sources based on awarded service contracts.”

The lawmaker maintained, “If we maximize the 28,000 MW, we don’t need to import coal and we don’t need to import natural gas.”

George Barcelon leads new set of newly elected PCCI officers

T

HE reelected president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), George T. Barcelon, has vowed to continue strengthening partnership with the government for economic recovery under his leadership.

“We look forward to a new administration, and PCCI stands ready to help collaborate on an economic agenda that will be conducive to immediate business recovery,” Barcelon said in a news statement issued on Thursday.

The business group, which also represents micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), said that it has been working with the government to develop policies that can aid businesses and the economy.

Apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, Barcelon said, the country is also still reeling from the impact of the recent typhoon,

stressing the importance of unity.

“Many southern regions are still reeling from the catastrophic Typhoon ‘Odette.’

The Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus is upon us and cases surged at the beginning of the year,” he said.

“Philippine businesses, especially the MSMEs, again face the crucible of the pandemic. PCCI has immediately extended to pour chapters funds and needed necessities,” he added. Barcelon previously served as a president for PCCI in 2015.

He is a private sector representative in the Industry Development Council, National Competitive Council and Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, in addition to being one of the three Philippine representatives to the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Business Advisory Council. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, January 7, 2022 A5

DOLE readies P1-B aid for workers affected by ‘extreme’ curbs

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday announced that it is ready to allot P1 billion for workers who may be affected by “extreme” alert level restrictions.

During the Laging Handa briefing of PTV, Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said DOLE

would provide assistance to workers who will be affected by extreme restrictions under Alert Level 5.

“In extreme cases, that would warrant financial assistance under the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program or CAMP,” she said, referring to possible instances when “hard-hit sectors that have not and cannot fully recover because of current circumstances.”

Under CAMP, beneficiaries from

formal sector workers displaced due to Covid-19 curbs will receive a onetime cash assistance of P5,000.

Citing the Department of Trade and Industry, Tutay estimated the implementation of Alert Level 3 is expected to affect between 100,000 and 200,000 workers in Metro Manila alone.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) decided last

week to raise the Alert Level in the National Capital Region (NCR) from 2 to 3 due to the surge in cases of Covid-19 in the region.

Tutay also said DOLE will be extending emergency employment to the affected workers through their Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

“But the Alert Level 3 has already expanded in some provinces, so it is

more possible that the number of our affected workers will increase.

Labor Secretary [Silvestre] ‘Bebot’ Bello III also recently announced the emergency employment assistance under TUPAD to help our workers,” she added.

Under the TUPAD program, qualified informal sector workers will be provided emergency employment, which will usually last at least 10 days, and be paid the prevailing

minimum wage in their region.

The higher alert level in the region, which will be in effect from January 3 to 15, will translate to the prohibition of certain activities in NCR such as contact sports, amusement parks and casinos.

Besides Metro Manila, the task force had also included Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna to the list of areas under the heightened classification.

DHSUD chief outlines shelter damage in ‘Odette’-hit areas

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

N

EARLY 600,000 houses were either partially or totally damaged by Typhoon “Odette” (international code name Rai), according to the latest data obtained by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

In a televised briefing, DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said a total of 587,779 houses were partially or totally damaged. This is composed of 406,521 partially damaged houses and 181,258 that were totally damaged.

Del Rosario said the figures are

based on January 5 data for Regions 4B; 6 to 12; Caraga; and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. However, he said, the government has responded to the needs of the affected families.

“Naibigay na natin ay P487 million; ito ay ibinigay ng National Housing Authority [NHA]. Ang P487 million ay naibigay natin sa lahat ng lugar na nasalanta at ang nakatanggap nito ay 97,500 families. Ito ay immediate cash assistance na ni-release ng National Housing Authority sunod sa utos ng ating mahal na Pangulo,” del Rosario reported.

The funds were released through the NHA’s shelter assistance program and provided each family with

a P5,000 benefit.

Del Rosario added that DHSUD, together with the Philippine Coast Guard, distributed 14,000 more shelter-grade tarpaulin sheets; 250 modular tents for evacuation centers; and 1,310 solar lamps in other typhoon-hit areas.

Further, some 700 Shelter Repair Kits (SRKs) which contain CGI sheets, lumber, plywood, tarps, nails and carpentry tools were sent to the Caraga region while 300 more such kits were distributed in Maasin City.

Apart from the government, del Rosario said, international partners also extended assistance to Odette victims.

He said the USAID and the Inter-

national Organization for Migration (IOM) distributed a total of 5,598 shelter-grade tarpaulin sheets to affected local government units in Cebu, Bohol, Southern Leyte and Caraga region.

The IOM also has an ongoing procurement of 8,000 additional SRKs for Southern Leyte, Surigao Del Norte and Dinagat Islands.

Del Rosario also said Pag-IBIG Fund has also allocated P5 billion for members to help them avail of 80 percent of their savings to rebuild and repair their homes.

He said instead of a short-term period of payment, they extended it to a three year payment period.

This means, if a member avails of a

P20,000 Pag-IBIG Calamity Loan because of Odette, the monthly amortization will only be P615 a month.

“Malaking tulong ito para sa ating [members in the] formal sector, iyong mga empleyado sa gobyerno o empleyado sa mga private sector na miyembro ng Pag-IBIG so they can immediately apply for Calamity Loan and they can get 80 percent of their savings with a very low interest rate of 5.9 percent only,” he added.

Marawi rehabilitation

DEL Rosario also said 1,500 internally displaced persons residing in the most affected area (MAA) in the war-ravaged Muslim city will be able to return by the first quar-

ter of this year.

Del Rosario said MAA residents have started to return to their homes as early as July last year. Among the reasons for the delay in the return of residents are the lack of utilities and the construction of roads.

He explained that Marawi is composed of 96 barangays, which includes 24 barangays located in the MAA and 72 barangays outside the main battle area.

All those living in the 72 barangays have already returned but those in the 24 barangays, which were divided into nine sectors, have not all returned. Those who have been able to return as early as July are those located in Sectors 1 to 3 of the MAA.

A6

Friday, January 7, 2022

The World BusinessMirror

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

France reports staggering new case record, Europe’s highest A

Turkey reports record cases, reduces quarantine to 7 days

P

ARIS—France announced a staggering 332,252 daily v ir us cases on Wednesday, smashing a string of recent records, as hospitals prepared

drastic measures to brace for patient surges and the government strained to avoid a new lockdown.

With Europe’s highest-ever single-day confirmed infection

count, France is facing an Omicron-driven surge that is dominating the race for April’s presidential election and increasingly disrupting workplaces, schools and public life.

But the countr y also has one of the world ’s most-vaccinated popu l at ion s, so t he gover nment is hoping the sweeping infections won’t hit hospitals as badly as at the start of the pandemic, and is pushing the small minority of unvaccinated people to get inoculated fast.

France’s weekly average of virus cases has doubled in the past 10 days, with more than 1,800 people out of 100,000 testing positive over the past week, according to the government health agency.

The number of virus patients in hospitals has been on an upward trajectory for two months, and more than 72 percent of French ICU beds are now occupied by people with Covid-19.

The surge has prompted au-

thorities to allow health care workers who are infected with the coronavirus to keep treating patients rather than self-isolate, to ease staff shortages at medical facilities.

Meanwhile parliament is debating a bill that would deny unvaccinated people access to restaurants, regional trains and planes and many other public places.

Health officials say it’s needed to save lives and protect hospitals.

French President Emmanuel Macron heightened tensions with an explosive remark that prompted widespread criticism and was seen as a campaign ploy.

T he vaccine push has also prompted tensions in France’s overseas territories. Dozens of anti-vaccination protesters in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe attacked a hospital director and other medical staff following recent violent demonstrations against Covid-19 restrictions and long-running grievances. AP

NKARA, Turkey—Turkey on Wednesday reported its highest number of daily Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic as the rapidly spreading Omicron variant takes hold.

The Health Ministry recorded 66,467 new cases and 143 deaths in the past 24 hours. The previous peak, reached on April 16, was 63,082 infections.

Despite the surge, the country is not so far considering introducing new restrictions but is urging people to continue to wear masks and to practice social distancing. Turkey is determined to keep schools open, officials have repeatedly said.

“Despite the increase in the number of cases with the Omicron variant, there is no alarming increase in hospitalizations,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. Still, he asked people to exercise caution, especially during hospital visits.

Separately, in a statement released following a weekly meeting of the country’s coronavirus advisory council, Koca said Turkey was reducing the quarantine

period for people who have tested positive to seven days. People who test negative on the fifth day of the quarantine will be allowed to end their isolation, he said.

People who h ave received booster shots or contracted the virus in the last three months would not be forced into quarantine if they have had contact with an infected person, Koca added.

On Wednesday, the Turkish Football Federation announced that fans would be asked to show proof that they had received their booster shots before being allowed to enter stadiums to watch games.

Tu r k e y h a s a d m i n i s t e r e d more than 134 million doses of vaccines developed by China’s Sinovac and Pfizer-BioNTech.

Last week, it also rolled out the country’s first domestic vaccine, called Turkovac.

Around 83 percent of the adult population have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines and 20 million people have received booster shots.

More than 82,000 people have died of the virus. AP

N. Korea says hypersonic missile tested to modernize weaponry

S

with a multi-warhead missile, spy satellites, solid-fueled long-range missiles and underwater-launched nuclear missiles.

The North’s latest launch was first detected by its neighbors.

The US military called it a ballistic missile launch that “highlights the destabilizing impact of [North Korea’s] illicit weapons program.” South Korea and Japan expressed concerns or regrets over the launch. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated that North Korea should resume talks with other countries.

US-led diplomacy on North K orea’s nuc lea r prog ra m re mains stalled since 2019 due to disputes over international sanctions on the North. T he Biden administration has repeated ly ca l led for resuming t he nuc lea r d iplom ac y “a nywhere and at any time” without preconditions, but North Korea

has argued the US must first withdraw its hostility against it before any talks can restart.

During last week ’s plenar y meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim repeated his vow to expand his country’s military capabilities without publicly presenting any new positions on Washington and Seoul.

The North’s advancing nuclear arsenal is the core of Kim’s rule, and he’s called it “a powerful treasured sword” that thwarts potential US aggressions. During his 10-year rule, he’s conducted an unusually large number of weapons tests to acquire an ability to launch nuclear strikes on the American mainland. But his country’s economy has been faltering severely in the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the sanctions and his government’s own mismanagement. AP

UK authorities ease testing requirements amid surge

Japan calls on US to limit troop movements over Covid spread

EOUL, South Korea—North Korea said Thursday it has successfully launched a hypersonic missile as part of efforts to modernize its strategic weapons systems, days after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his military forces despite pandemicrelated difficulties.

We d ne s d ay ’s l au n c h , t he North’s first known weapons test in about two months, indicates that the country will press ahead with plans to build powerful, sophisticated missiles rather than returning to disarmament talks anytime soon.

The official Korean Central News Agency said the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party expressed “great satisfaction” at the results of the missile test, which was observed by leading weapons officials.

It’s the second known testflight of a hypersonic missile since

L

ONDON—Health authorities across the UK simplified Covid-19 testing requirements on Wednesday, a move designed to cut isolation times for many people and that may ease the staffing shortages that are hitting public services from hospitals to garbage collection amid an omicron-fueled surge in infections.

In another effort to bolster the economy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that pre-departure tests for people traveling to England will no longer be required because the Omicron variant is so prevalent that travel restrictions meant to contain its spread are now meaningless. The tests had discouraged people from traveling overseas for fear they would get stuck abroad.

The moves came as the Cabinet backed Johnson’s decision not to impose any further restrictions despite record Covid-19 infection levels. With indications that Omicron is less severe than earlier variants and widespread vaccination curtailing serious illnesses, the government is sticking with light-touch controls imposed in mid-December.

“All these measures are balanced and proportionate ways of ensuring we can live with Covid without letting our guard down,” Johnson told lawmakers.

T he UK Hea lt h Secur it y

North Korea first tested such a weapon last September. It wasn’t immediately known if both are the exactly same type of hypersonic missile.

“The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernizing strategic armed force of the state,” a KCNA dispatch said. The word “strategic” implies the missile is being developed to deliver nuclear weapons.

Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. It’s unclear whether and how soon North Korea could manufacture such a high-tech missile, but it was among a wish-list of sophisticated military assets that Kim disclosed early last year, along

Agency said that from Jan. 11 people in England who test positive using a rapid lateral f low test will no longer need to confirm the result with a PCR test if they are asymptomatic.

The temporary move, which also was used early last year, will cut the time people who record a positive lateral flow test but don’t have Covid-19 symptoms need to self-isolate. They will no longer need to wait for the result of a PCR test and then begin another seven days of isolation.

“While cases of Covid continue to rise, this tried-and-tested approach means that LFDs [lateral flow devices] can be used confidently to indicate Covid-19 infection without the need for PCR confirmation,” said Jenny Harries, the agency’s chief executive.

Health authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland quickly followed suit, with Northern Ireland making the change immediately. Scotland and Wales plan to introduce it starting Thursday.

Epidemiologist John Edmunds, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the move made sense.

“When the prevalence is high, and it is incredibly high at the moment, almost everyone who tests positive with a lateral flow test will be a true positive,” Edmunds said. “There is really no need to

confirm this with a PCR, a step that not only wastes time but costs a lot of money and uses up laboratory resources that could be better used elsewhere.”

But he cautioned that the change will mean authorities have less data about the spread of different variants as PCR swabs are used for genotyping and sequencing to identify different mutations. The change also will mean that daily updates on confirmed cases— which come from PCR tests—“may need more careful interpretation,” he said.

Confirmed new infections over the last seven days jumped 40% from a week earlier, according to the latest government statistics.

The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, tested positive for the coronavirus and missed the chance to grill Johnson about the government’s Covid-19 policies on Wednesday.

A string of National Health Service local organizations have declared “critical incidents” in recent days amid staff shortages.

Hospitals in the Greater Manchester region said they would pause some non-urgent surgeries amid the rising impact of Covid-19 and worker absences.

Gillian Keegan, a junior minister at the UK Ministry of Health, acknowledged the strain in an interview with the BBC. AP

J

apanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged the US to impose restrictions on troops stationed in Japan amid virus outbreaks thought to have stemmed from bases, which have strained ties between the allies.

In a phone conversat ion Thursday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hayashi called for stronger virus measures, including limits on excursions off base, to relieve anxiety among local people, according to a statement issued by Japan’s Foreign Ministry. Blinken responded that the health and safety of local people was extremely important and said he would convey the message to the Defense Department, the ministry said.

A separate statement from the State Department, however, only mentioned that the two “expressed their shared commitment to combating and recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic,” without mentioning the infections that are part of a surge in cases following months at low levels.

US Forces Japan said in a statement issued after the call that mitigation efforts would be stepped up for all military installations across the country. Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

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ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Friday, January 7, 2022

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

NOCMAKATI, INC. 8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18 & 19 Floors, Century Diamond Center, Poblacion, City Of Makati 25.

GABA, AJAY KUMAR Director, Financial & Analysis 1.

Brief Job Description: Work with business leadership in setting goals and objectives for the function as well as in setting policies, programs, and procedures that are aligned with Convergys business goals and objectives

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in related field from a fouryear college or university with twelve years of relevant experience with four to six years of Progressive Management Experience preferred Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

10.

CAO TUAN VU Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

11.

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

ETIHAD AIRWAYS (PHILIPPINE BRANCH OFFICE) 1701 Tower 1 High Street South Corporate Plaza, 26th Street Corner 9th Avenue Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

SAEED MOHAMMAD AHMAD ALI AHMAD General Manager 2.

Brief Job Description: Lead the implementation of sales programs to ensure targets are reached timely according to regulations and policies

Basic Qualification: University degree, preferably in business administration; 10 years of airline experience, including 5 years at management level; fluent in English; technical trainings in aviation systems; proficiency in the application of MS office suite

LIN, YU-HSIEN Marketing Consultant (Mandarin Speaking Clients) 3.

Brief Job Description: *Studying company profile and operations to understand its marketing needs. * Implementing a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget.

SHIH, CHIA-CHUAN Marketing Consultant (Mandarin Speaking Clients) 4.

Brief Job Description: *Studying company profile and operations to understand its marketing needs. * Implementing a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget.

TSE, JEN DOL-GA Marketing Consultant (Mandarin Speaking Clients) 5.

Brief Job Description: *Studying company profile and operations to understand its marketing needs. * Implementing a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget.

Basic Qualification: *Can multi-task and keen to details. *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently.

12.

13.

6.

Brief Job Description: Conceptualization of hydraulics systems including but not limited to material specification, innovation, etc.

16.

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

17.

7.

8.

9.

Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

SU, QIANYUN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

WANG, HEWEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

18.

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

Basic Qualification: Design development of infrastructure services, with expertise on international standards and codes

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

LE THUY HONG NGOC Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

LY HOANG KIEN Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

MA THUY NGUYEN Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

19.

20.

NGUYEN HA TAM Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

NGUYEN NGOC PHUONG TRINH Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

NGUYEN THI GIANG Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

NGUYEN THI LAN VI Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

NGUYEN THI LE HUYEN Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

21.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications with good oral and written communication skills

22.

PHAM THI SANG Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

TRAN PHUOC DUNG Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

29.

30.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

23.

TRAN QUOC NHAT TAN Chinese Customer Service Representative

31.

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

TRAN TICH KY Chinese Customer Service Representative

24.

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BHANDARI, NITIN General Manager For Philippines (beverages And Foods) And Indonesia, Malaysia And Singapore (foods) Brief Job Description: Setting business strategy and develop plan to ensure the delivery of Annual Operating Plan of PO1 Philippines and GMD Foods for other markets.

Basic Qualification: At least 15 years of working experience in commercial, 5 years in general management with regional / multi-market experience Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Basic Qualification: Management personnel

Brief Job Description: Provide technical guidance and training to the local employees

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

Basic Qualification: Management personnel

Brief Job Description: Stabilize the management role and quality of the drawings in the design department

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

Brief Job Description: Overseeing sales activities and operations.

Established local and foreign sales staff and Chinese brokers for market expansion

Basic Qualification: Know how to speak Mandarin and proficient with computers Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SUTHERLAND GLOBAL SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. 12th Floor Philplans Corporate Center, Kalayaan Avenue & Triangle Drive, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

HENGSIRI, AONNEERA Associate - Cs Internet 32.

Brief Job Description: Process requires candidate to work on the content uploaded on social media

Basic Qualification: Ability to work both independently Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TELUS INTERNATIONAL PHILIPPINES, INC. Units 23/f, 31st/f - 37th/f Discovery Centre, Adb Avenue, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

LEE, SUNG KYUN Korean Operations CSR II 33.

Basic Qualification: Skilled in Korean language

Brief Job Description: Provides expedient and accurate customer service to Korean speaking clients and customers

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

ZENAUST PHARMA, INC. Mezz. Flr., 1105 Chino Roces Ave., Sta. Cruz, City Of Makati

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

VO THI KIM THUY Chinese Customer Service Representative

CHEN, LEI Sales Manager – Mandarin Speaking

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

PROPH NETWORK SERVICE INC. 44/f Philamlife Tower, 8767 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

TRUONG Y NHI Chinese Customer Service Representative

UEMATSU, TAKASHI Manager

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

TAKAGI, YUSUKE Assistant Manager

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TRAN VO DUY THANH Chinese Customer Service Representative

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

PHILIPPINE EDS TECHNO-SERVICE, INC. 6/f Aseana One Bldg., Bradco Ave. Aseana City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

CHELLANI, DIVESH SUNILKUMAR Finance Manager 34.

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

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

28.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

PEPSICO, INC. Level 6 Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2, Makati Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

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

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION Sky Garage Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

PENG, DINGPENG Chinese Customer Service

15.

Basic Qualification: *Preferably 6 months experience with the above position. *Can multi-task and keen to details. *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently.

MEINHARDT PHILIPPINES, INC. 25/f Chatham House, 116 Valero Cor. V.a. Rufino Sts., Bel-air, City Of Makati

TURNER, ROBERT JOHN Senior QAQC Engineer-hydraulics

14.

LE HO NGOC QUE ANH Chinese Customer Service Representative

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

Basic Qualification: *Preferably 6 months experience with the above position. *Can multi-task and keen to details. *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently.

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

27.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

FLY ASIAN INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION Eighty One Newport Blvd., Newport City, Va, Brgy. 183, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

26.

LA THI HAU Chinese Customer Service Representative

A7

Brief Job Description: Develop strategic and plans for the organization’s long term objectives

Basic Qualification: With experience in Finance, can multi-task and keen to details and can speak English or Hindu Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Jan 6, 2022

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication.

Please inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A8

Friday, January 7, 2022 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Helping control Covid-19 spread

A

lmost 100 lawmakers that belong to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s party opposed mask requirements and other infection-control measures imposed in the UK in December.

Since then, the Omicron variant has been raging across the country.

Hospitals said they would pause some non-urgent surgeries amid the rising impact of Covid-19 and worker absences. There have also been cuts to train services, and garbage is piling up on some city streets because of sanitation staff shortages.

From the Associated Press: “France announced a staggering 332,252 daily virus cases on Wednesday, smashing a string of recent records, as hospitals prepared drastic measures to brace for patient surges and the government strained to avoid a new lockdown.” The situation has gotten so dire French authorities now allow health-care workers who are infected with Covid to keep treating patients rather than self-isolate, to ease staff shortages at medical facilities. “I wouldn’t call Omicron a wave anymore, I would call it a groundswell,” French Health Minister Olivier Véran told lawmakers. “Given the numbers we have been seeing these past few days, we’re talking about a landslide.”

The Philippines is starting to see a tsunami of Covid infections. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Tuesday that Metro Manila is “now at critical risk” for Covid-19 transmission, based on virus case trends. The Department of Health reported 17,220 new cases on Thursday, following Wednesday’s 10,775 cases. The DOH attributed the increase to the possibility of the Omicron variant spreading locally. With the current trend, OCTA Research Group member Guido David said they expect daily new Covid-19 cases to reach the 20,000 mark next week.

Amid the rising number of infections in the National Capital Region, Metro Manila mayors have collectively agreed to impose enhanced restrictions on individuals who are unvaccinated against Covid-19 to regulate their mobility. “The advances in public health and the economic gains that have been achieved in the recent months under Alert Level 2 must be sustained and pre-emptive measures must be adopted in order to forestall and immediately address the perceived adverse impact of Covid-19, particularly the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, upon the NCR under said Alert Level 3,” the approved resolution read. (Read, “MMDA to impose restrictions on unvaccinated individuals in NCR,” in the BusinessMirror, January 3, 2022).

The unabated rise in new Covid infections in the regions is likewise getting alarming. Acting presidential spokesman Karlo B. Nograles said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) will discuss the proposal of Presidential Adviser for Covid-19 Response Secretary Vince B. Dizon for the nationwide implementation of the policy laid down in a resolution by the Metro Manila Council (Read, “Mobility limits on unvaccinated may extend beyond Metro Manila,” in the BusinessMirror, January 5, 2022).

As of January 4, 2021, the government was able to fully vaccinate 50.62 million of the country’s over 100 million population. Nograles said they want more people to be inoculated to minimize their risk of hospitalization from Covid-related symptoms. “Eighty-five percent of Covid-19 patients in our ICUs or intensive care units are unvaccinated. So vaccines are a big help to protect from Covid-19 and its variants,” Nograles said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson reminded health officials that “zero Covid cases is the goal,” as the lawmaker pressed for more aggressive measures to effectively contain the deadly Covid contagion. The senator said he is pushing for an aggressive mass testing, mass contact tracing and mass booster shots, vaccination of minors aged 5 to 11, and a tougher stance against violators. (Read, “Duterte administration urged to aim for zero Covid goal amid surge,” in the BusinessMirror, January 5, 2022).

All of us can help control the spread of Covid-19. For Metro Manila residents, compliance with the government’s directive to limit the movement of the unvaccinated is key to preventing another wave of cases from inundating our health system.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

A shared responsibility Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

A

S of the writing of this column, the Department of Health (DOH) reported more than 10,000 new cases of Covid-19 infections, with a positivity rate of 31.7 percent (which apparently is a record high for the country). These numbers push up the active cases to nearly 40,000, which is the highest they’ve been since early November of last year. While roughly 33,800 of these cases have been categorized as mild, the utilization rates of ICU beds, isolation facilities, wards, and ventilators are climbing—hopefully not to dangerous levels.

The more alarming figure from the DOH is that up to 85 percent of the patients with severe Covid-19 cases in intensive care units across Metro Manila were unvaccinated. This is unconscionable, when the vaccine supply nationwide is adequate and that local government units (LGUs) have been ramping up their vaccination efforts, including booster shots. Some cities in the Metro have even revised their guidelines to allow non-residents to walk-in and get them inoculated.

Hence, efforts from all sectors of society should echo and amplify the clarion call for people to get themselves vaccinated (and boosted) as soon as they can. Parents of minors should take steps

to have their children vaccinated already, particularly those aged 12 to 17. And given that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already approved the use of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for minors aged five to 11, inoculations for this age group should be fast-tracked and rolled out soon.

The cause of the sudden rise in cases is still unclear. But the DOH is already working on the assumption that the spike was driven by the reportedly more transmissible Omicron variant, saying that the trend in other countries where cases doubled in two days has already been observed in the Philippines. Some also suggest that the increased mobility of people during the holidays

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was also a contributing factor to the current surge.

This is why on top of the nationwide vaccination drive, it is critical that every citizen continues to observe social distancing and minimum health and safety protocols, including mask wearing. Compliance with the government’s directive to limit the movement of the unvaccinated is key to preventing another wave of cases from inundating our health system. And this is particularly important given that a recent study by the University of Copenhagen, Statistics Denmark and States Serum Institut (SSI) found that the Omicron variant is 2.7 to 3.7 times more infectious than Delta among the vaccinated. In short, the new variant is better able to circumvent a person’s immunity than previous variants.

Winning by containing Covid

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

The cause of the sudden rise in cases is still unclear. But the DOH is already working on the assumption that the spike was driven by the reportedly more transmissible Omicron variant, saying that the trend in other countries where cases doubled in two days has already been observed in the Philippines. Some also suggest that the increased mobility of people during the holidays was also a contributing factor to the current surge.

I

t’s the last day of 2021. We had hoped at the start of this year that the pandemic would end. With vaccines and the assumed adaptation of different non-pharmaceutical measures, we were looking forward to getting out of the difficult lockdowns. Alas, here we are, apparently at the beginning of another, but hopefully smaller, increase in case numbers. We’re not alone; the West is currently experiencing highest number of daily cases. The good news is that hospitalization and mortality numbers haven’t followed the steep upward trajectory. Nonetheless, the rapid increase in infected persons can still put pressure on our already tired health system. The question is: Are we going back to square one again?

CNN and Time Magazine wrote in early December 2021 a commonthemed opinion about the world having the tools to end the pandemic: vaccines, scientific tests, contact tracing and containment measures, and more importantly, international cooperation. However, each country tried to address Covid as if each one can totally eradicate it. As long as there is one country where it is circulating, it will continue to mutate and limit mobility and commerce as

we have seen for the past two years.

Everyone wants to get out of the pandemic when the best strategy is to incorporate it in our way of living. By allowing it to coexist with us without causing severe cases and deaths, Covid can become like the common colds.

The World Health Organization, as early as September 2020, already called for a united approach in addressing the pandemic. More than a year later, we seem to go back to

As we approach the height of election season, containing Covid will be on top of the agenda. It will be a local and national issue.

The core question that candidates must answer is how they plan to work together with other LGUs and national government in coming up with a common containment strategy. square one after managing each wave. In a forthcoming paper, I propose that finally adapting Covid into our way of life requires a clear-cut strategy of containment, recovery, rebalance, and relaunch. These are stages that build on one another. It is critical, however, that a common approach is implemented at least in the containment stage. Containment does not mean full eradication, but rather full adaptation and allowing it to co-exist with us without hurting us. We have the tools to do this, mostly non-pharmaceutical such as testing, tracing, and isolating (if necessary) and the use of face masks (and face shields), social distancing resulting in massive behavioral modification. Without a standard approach at the community, city, regional, national, and international levels,

Inevitably, that means people will have to postpone whatever plans they had for the beginning of 2022. Indeed, as World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu remarked, “an event cancelled is better than a life cancelled.”

This isn’t to downplay, however, the real cost fresh restrictions will exact on business establishments, entrepreneurs, and workers—who are all still dealing with the effects of being in lockdown for nearly two years. But such situation characterized by disruption to people’s livelihood is exactly why we, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, made sure that ample funds were set aside this year for social amelioration programs, emergency employment, and other social safety nets. We even included funding under the Department of Labor and Employment for free Covid-19 testing of job applicants to help defray the cost of finding employment.

It goes without saying that the pandemic is the greatest humanitarian crisis that we as a society have faced in recent history. We all have a shared responsibility to do all that we can to prevent the spread of the virus.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 17 years. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.

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

we will unlikely graduate from the containment stage.

In Metro Manila, for instance, we still haven’t adopted a common tracing tool. I’ve been to establishments in certain cities that no longer use their tracing apps or even their tracing protocols.

In other cities, they were strict in requiring people to download their contact tracing apps before being allowed to enter establishments.

This is a weak link in containment.

Indeed, we are all weary from the long lockdowns, and the last thing we want to face is a long queue of people writing or going through tracing protocols. Unfortunately, this is a necessary transaction cost that we must all bear. This is part of adaptation and behavioral modification.

Our decentralized local governance, however, is making it difficult to have a standard approach in implementing these tools. Nonetheless, since we are dealing with an airborne disease; it is not possible to have unique approaches to the same problem. This is particularly the case in Metro Manila as it is contiguous geographically. Expanding this dilemma into provinces and regions in the country, the more complicated it See “Eagle Watch,” A9

Opinion BusinessMirror

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US, Germany say Russia poses ‘urgent’ challenge to stability

By Matthew Lee & Frank Jordans Associated Press

W

ASHINGTON—The United States and Germany said Wednesday that Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine’s border poses an “immediate and urgent challenge” to European security and that any intervention will draw severe consequences.

But the country’s top diplomats left open what those consequences would be and how differences on arming Ukraine and a controversial Russian gas pipeline will be resolved.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sought to present a unified front on Russia after a meeting in Washington.

“Both Germany and the United States see Russia’s actions toward Ukraine as an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe,” Blinken said.

“We condemn Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, as well as Russia’s increasingly harsh rhetoric as it continues to push the false narrative that Ukraine seeks to provoke (Russia),” he said. “That’s a little bit like the fox saying it had no choice but to attack the henhouse because somehow the hens presented a threat.”

Baerbock agreed. “We jointly reiterated that Russian actions and activities come with a clear price tag, and a renewed violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would have severe consequences,” she said.

The Blinken-Baerbock meeting followed a telephone call last week between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a conversation Sunday between Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a group discussion Tuesday among Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterparts from the five Nordic nations.

It also preceded a flurry of meetings involving NATO foreign ministers, senior US and Russian officials, the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe set for next week.

“The real question is whether Russia is serious about diplomacy, serious about de-escalation,” Blinken

said. “Let’s see where this goes over the next weeks.”

Western officials have hinted at any number of economically crippling sanctions that could be imposed should Russia act. Those include near total cutoff from the international financial system and steps toward greater Nato integration with non-allied European nations.

But, there have been very few specifics and Blinken again declined to discuss them. “I’m not going to telegraph them publicly, but I can tell you with great confidence that a tremendous amount of work has been done already. There is very strong coordination and collaboration and very strong agreement on measures that would be taken in the event of renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

As the Biden administration moves to build international consensus around a set of possible punitive measures, Germany is clearly the linchpin. Securing the support of Europe’s biggest economy will be key to both messaging and implementation of whatever is decided.

Baerbock is the top diplomat in the first German government in 16 years not headed by Angela Merkel.

She has struck a tougher tone on Russia than her predecessor. But Germany has adopted a less confrontational stance toward Russia compared with many other European nations.

Germany’s business ties with Russia could provide leverage, but they could also prove a hindrance for forging a united front toward Moscow. Despite strong criticism from the US, the center-left government of new Chancellor Olaf Scholz hasn’t shown itself willing to block the start of natural gas deliveries through a newly built pipeline linking Russia and Germany—a move that would hurt both countries.

Under Merkel, Germany persuaded the Biden administration last year not to impose sanctions on the company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which many believe will leave Europe beholden to Russia for energy and Ukraine more vulnerable.

Blinken noted that the pipeline, while completed, has yet to go into operation and said gas flows through it would be unlikely if Russia invades Ukraine.

Friday, January 7, 2022

Judging the first week of the year Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

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E have barely thanked the past year for witnessing our survival when the first days of 2022 exposed a new sport— passing judgment on anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Most of these events were carried over from the old year, beginning with the tragic revival of a fabled film festival down to declaring two personalities as persona non grata.

The first issue was the film festival, which did not gain significant audience and turned into a losing enterprise. The conditions for such a failure were obvious and there was no need to intellectualize the collapse. But, recriminations took over simple observation (the pandemic was not over; the people were scared to go out yet; the ticket was expensive etc.). The debate scaled the heights of quality and Culture. We simply, according to observers, were not good filmmakers. To make things shamefully dumb, postings reeking of nostalgia for the conjugal dictatorship as behind the once-upon-a-time renaissance of this country’s cinema crept into the forum. We know what direction this forged sentimentality can bring us to. Suffice it to say that any good memory about martial law and restrictions is suspect in this land where data distortion is a viable cottage industry.

What is the failure of a film festival amid a season when new variants are threatening the arrival of social and economic freedom?

And so it came to pass that as the moveable feast of the Three Kings passed by us without our knowledge that we are left with the unwanted gift—this government coping with the absence of coping mechanism.

Eagle Watch. . .

will be to standardize even contact tracing. National government efforts will be limitedfrom unlessA8a direccontinued tive with corresponding resources are evenly distributed and centrally implemented.

As we approach the height of election season, containing Covid will be on top of the agenda. It will be a local and national issue.

The core question that candidates

The kings may have followed the right star but our health czars (our beloved label for special tasks related to anything problematic like the pandemic, dolomite doomed to decorate a polluted seashore, and open-pit mining) are here to stay star-crossed, uninformed.

It is true what they say: calm the crowd and declare how silence is golden then the brash, loudmouthed person becomes the king. And so in the elegance of the vanishing days of the last month of the year, a woman is caught skipping the quarantine and partying as if there was no virus tomorrow. She is announced tonguein-cheek as the face of the new variant. Her photos flood the Internet but so do the photos of those other individuals who shared a space for her. The government goes ballistic or those loud enough to come across as authorities online. In this age of new media, it is difficult to determine who are talking and who are listening. It is difficult enough to spot who is right and who is wrong. It is easy to sense our glee as we celebrate this woman’s fiasco.

The online transactions have blurred identities and ideas. One never knows if those whose online tongues are resolutely toxic are remust answer is how they plan to work together with other LGUs and national government in coming up with a common containment strategy. For national candidates, that goes up to how the national leaders can work and influence regional organizations, such as Asean and UN agencies, to push for a united approach for contact tracing. The candidates should be

ally different people or just the same three or four individuals hating the guts of the girl now named Poblacion girl, her crime geographically referenced. Before you can throw more stones at or defend the girl, another woman gets identified because she had a massage instead of going into meditation alone. But, isn’t this poetic: massage, a private consensual act between two people, is brought into the open and reveals a crime— that of eluding quarantine?

What is the latest? People are shouting for the head of the quarantine truants. Declare them personae non gratae! Or singular, persona non grata.

Declaring a person as unwelcome sounds theatrical but social norms that facilitate such expression of utmost disgust exist.

What do Elvis, Gunter Grass, and Alec Baldwin have in common? At certain historical points, they were declared persona non grata. And if my online source is correct, Baldwin, the Hollywood actor, received that dubious distinction from our country no less because he made disparaging remarks about our women.

The declaration can be a bit fuzzy.

In regular life, the fact of being a persona non grata is a symbolic condemnation. It is in the world of diplomacy that the verity of a person unwelcomed is dramatic. Online, honest enough to address containment before they talk about a better economy and more jobs. Covid did not diminish other global trends such as ageing, digitalization, and climate change. Containing Covid requires that governance should have clear plans and strategies to address it in light of the difficulty of containment. Those who are working to address these issues will defi-

there is a citation pointing to the Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which articulates how a State about to receive a diplomat may “at any time and without having to explain its decision” declare any member of the said body persona non grata. Given the status of the individuals involved, this can be embarrassing and could even lead to ruining the relations between two States.

In the case of the Poblacion Girl, what does the refusal bring her to?

In another domain, sports, the issue between pole vaulter EJ Obiena and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association has escalated to the point that the Philippine Olympic Committee, it has been written, has declared Patafa chief Juico a persona non grata. Another unwelcome person?

Where does this lead us to?

Condemnation has come easy to us. Judgment is rash and traverses always a dead end.

Something about how this government has handled the pandemic must be one reason why we resort to murderous means. The isolation and masked existence, which appeared during the last days of the old year as easing out, are back.

People are hearing again of community lockdowns being revived.

How much of the mythical resilience is still with us when feng shui divinations have been eclipsed by a growing list of paracetamols and antitussive marked out-of-stock?

Forget Nostradamus. We are our own prophets of doom, less dramatic but original in being unforgiving and misguided. I have not even considered here the catastrophe called politics.

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

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T must be hard to walk in the shadow of Nelson Mandela, a man described as South Africa’s “combined Washington, Lincoln and Gandhi,” but Archbishop Desmond Tutu held his own against his country’s foremost icon. If Mandela was the greatest black South African political leader and acknowledged as the father of his nation, Archbishop Tutu was the moral force that opposed the apartheid system, which promoted racial segregation and white minority rule in South Africa. While Mandela was still imprisoned in Robben Island, Tutu prominently led the anti-apartheid movement as a human rights activist.

As a man of the cloth serving as the Archbishop of Cape Town, the primate of the Anglican church in Southern Africa, he wielded his considerable influence to promote human and political rights of the majority black South Africans. After Mandela was released from prison in 1990, the two prominent leaders created the formidable partnership that successfully confronted and trounced the apartheid system, which had ruled their country for decades. They consolidated their efforts and dealt with the apartheid regime gradually but effectively.

Their lives and struggles personified the indomitability of the human spirit and the triumph of patience and fortitude over inequity

and repression. In one street protest that Tutu led, the police violently confronted the protesters and surrounded them with dogs. Tutu asked the demonstrators and the crowd to kneel and pray, which restrained the police from committing further atrocities. He proved that peaceful and non-violent actions could tame brutal state power.

As a young priest, he assigned females to serve in the mass and allowed them to actively join the religious activities. Much later, as archbishop, he ordained female priests in the Anglican Church and appointed gay priests to senior positions. He exalted black theology to great heights. In a conference paper he presented at the Union

Theological Seminary in 1973, Tutu said: “Black theology seeks to make sense of the life experience of the black man, which is largely black suffering at the hands of rampant white racism… Black theology has to do with whether it is possible to be black and continue to be Christian; it is to ask on whose side is God; it is to be concerned with the humanization of man, because those who ravage our humanity dehumanize themselves in the process…” Tutu made no bones of his contempt of corrupt and despotic black leaders in the African continent. After visiting Zaire, he publicly lamented that the corrupt and oppressive rule of Mobotu Sese Seko was galling to fellow blacks from Africa. He also condemned the authoritarian regime of Idi Amin in Uganda and Nigeria’s suppression of Biafra. He embraced “liberation theology”

and propagated “black theology,” which he described as not mere academic and detached theological concepts but a “gut level theology, relating to the real concerns, the life and death issues of the black man.”

And he lived what he preached. In 1975, he was installed as the first black dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg, which made big news at that time. But instead of residing in the official dean’s house in the rich men’s suburbs in Johannesburg, he elected to live in the township of Soweto outside the city, which was largely an impoverished area for the blacks. His congregation was racially mixed and he used this to reinforce his dream that someday a racially equal and de-segregated society will eventually emerge in South Africa. Tutu effectively used his pulpit to hammer on divisive social issues, particularly the apartheid system, which ruined the country. He displeased the political authorities when he released a statement urging the international community to boycott South Africa until it ends the apartheid. Tutu was committed to non-violence in securing racial equality for his people. Like Gandhi and Martin Luther King who were his heroes, he employed civil disobedience to force the white government in South Africa to grant equal rights to the black majority.

He knew it would be long in coming but he did not lose hope. In 1985 he expressed deep disillusion that change might not be in sight. He

said: “I have no hope of real change from this government unless they are forced.… Only the action of the international community by applying pressure can save us.... I call the international community to apply punitive sanctions against this government to help us establish a new South Africa—non-racial, democratic, participatory and just.”

While Mandela was still in prison, Tutu probably got the highest praise when the former referred to Tutu as “public enemy No. 1 for the powers that be.” He indeed was. Tutu led marches against the regime. He called for people to boycott their jobs and asked them to go on a national strike against apartheid. He called on foreign governments to impose economic sanctions against his own country. He met with foreign heads of state (US, UK, Japan, Germany, and several others) to lobby their support and gave speeches around the world to expose the evils of apartheid and gain sympathies for his cause. Later, after noting Tutu’s invaluable contributions to protect the people’s welfare, Mandela referred to him as “the people’s archbishop”.

After the end of the apartheid, Mandela appointed Tutu as the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to resolve abuses and violations committed by both sides, but mostly by whites against the blacks during the long period of apartheid. The goal was to start the healing process, promote reconciliation and build peace and justice. His

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

nitely have a good understanding of how the country can recover faster in this pandemic-scarred economy.

Here’s praying that 2022 will be the year that Covid will be contained, and our economy sustains its recovery.

Dr. Alvin P. Ang is a Senior Research Fellow at the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development.

Arch. Desmond Tutu: The moral force and conscience of his nation Tutu’s life chronicles a life of achievements. Mandela had awarded Tutu the “Order for Meritorious Service,” his country’s highest honor. Among the many distinguished honors he received were the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award in 1983, Nobel Prize in 1984, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Award in 2012, the Templeton Prize in 2013, and many others.

A9

work as the head of the TRC was documented in his well-acclaimed book, No Future Without Forgiveness published in 1999. It emphasized that justice should be tempered with mercy.

Tutu’s life chronicles a life of achievements. Mandela had awarded Tutu the “Order for Meritorious Service,” his country’s highest honor. Among the many distinguished honors he received were the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award in 1983, Nobel Prize in 1984, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Award in 2012, the Templeton Prize in 2013, and many others.

Tutu died on December 26, 2021 at a ripe age of 90 in Cape Town. He lived a long and full life. He outlived Mandela who died on December 5, 2013. And Tutu lived his dream, which he longingly held when he said: “There is a great deal of goodwill still in our country between the races. Let us not be so wanton in destroying it. We can live together as one people, one family, black and white together.” A multi-racial general election was held in April 1994 leading to the formation of a government of national unity that ended the apartheid. South Africa’s experience is now a model for other countries to adopt to transition from apartheid to racial equality. Where they are now, Tutu and Mandela can lead the chorus of black and white angels singing love and peace among all people of the world.

A10 Friday, January 7, 2022

OWWA sets aid for stranded OFWs after HK imposes ban

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

OLLOWING the announcement by Hong Kong’s government banning for two weeks all flights from eight countries including the Philippines, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Thursday said that the agency is now closely monitoring the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who might be stranded due to the flight ban.

During the Laging Handa briefing, OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac said the OWWA is now preparing food, accommodation and transportations for OFWs. “We are now monitoring the airports for those who may be affected by the ban,” he said. “OFWs from the provinces who have nowhere to stay here in Manila, we will provide them food, and accommodation ...as well as transportation,” he said.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said incoming flights from Philippines, Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Britain, and the United States, would be banned from January 8 to 21 amid the rising cases of Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Moreover, Cacdac said all assistance will be provided to agency-hired or Balik Manggagawa OFWs. “Although in general, recruitment agencies are very cooperative and have the resources to help stranded OFWs in the airport, there are also returning workers

who do not have agencies. We will also assist them with their transportation from the airport to wherever they want to be transported at,” he said.

Taiwan workers

MEANWHILE, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard Olalia said the government will not allow OFW bound for Taiwan to shoulder the cost of their RT-PCR test and quarantine.

“The POEA’s regulation is clear; all quarantine protocols should be at no cost to OFWs. Even if host country allows charging of cost to OFWs, we will not implement this and we will enforce our own rules,” he said.

“We have already sent a reply letter signed by [Labor] Secretary [Silvestre] Bello saying we agree with their protocols except for the cost that should be shouldered by the employer or recruitment agencies. If employers or recruiters don’t agree, they have to propose other ways to

cover the expenses, just don’t pass it on to our OFW,” he added.

In an interview, Bello said OFWs can now enter Taiwan. But he said the Philippine government wants employment agencies to shoulder RT-PCR test and quarantine costs for Filipino workers.

In an earlier press statement, recruitment and migration expert Emmanuel Geslani said 5,000 stranded OFWs bound for Taiwan are waiting for DOLE and POEA to resolve the deployment impasse.

“The hopes and dreams of more than 5,000 workers mobilized to work in Taiwan since May of 2021 now depends on how soon the Department of Labor and Employment together with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration will resolve the impasse between Taiwan’s Council of Labor and these government agencies on the new pre-quarantine protocols dictated by Taiwan on migrant workers arriving in Taiwan,” he said.

“The Philippines has to catch [up] with neighboring countries Indonesia and Thailand whose migrant workers have been allowed to enter Taiwan.... These border restrictions have now been waived for migrant workers from Thailand, with the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) agreeing to the move in light of Thailand’s willingness to cooperate and adhere to Taiwan’s Covid-19 rules,” he added.

Taiwan had lifted an entry ban on mi-

grant workers from Indonesia on November 11 for similar reasons. Indonesian migrant workers had initially been barred from coming to Taiwan in December 2020 due to a surge of Covid-19 cases imported from the Southeast Asian country.

Geslani also warned that the Philippine labor force in Taiwan has dwindled to far less than what used to be 150,000 OFWs in September 2021. While in the past few years there were over 180,000 OFWs in Taiwan, now, according to Ministry of Labor data from Taiwan, Filipinos lag a poor third behind Indonesia and Vietnam.

He said migrant workers need to be tested for Covid-19 before they enter work training centers in their home countries and also need to test negative again two days before departing for Taiwan. If they test negative, prospective migrant workers must then stay in quarantine for the remaining 48 hours leading up to their flight.

“Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand all have already agreed to the new protocols guidelines and pre-quarantine periods for migrant workers while the POEA is still studying the matter. Meanwhile, Indonesia has already sent caregivers to Taiwan and more of their caregivers are expected to be allowed to enter Taiwan after the Chinese New Year where electronic factories and assembly plants are expected to get more migrant workers into the workforce,” he added.

PHL CREDIT-CARD FRAUD UP 21% SINCE PANDEMIC

By Siegfrid Alegado

C

REDIT-CARD fraud in the Philippines rose 21 percent since the coronavirus pandemic, with many incidents involving scammers gaining access to one-time passwords to transact online, an industry group said on Thursday.

“The industry has been experiencing high volumes of fraud cases causing financial detriment. These perpetrators have carried out fraud by using the various digital payment platforms,” Alex Ilagan, executive director of the Credit Card Association of the Philippines, said in a statement.

A “virtual account take over”—where fraudsters access OTPs to validate online transactions—account for the highest credit-card fraud losses, the group said.

Regulators and telecommunication companies must tighten rules when providing customers with mobile phone numbers or changing them, and create a process to report numbers used to defraud people, it said.

“There are no existing laws which protect the consumers from this mode of attack from the fraudsters,” the credit-card group said, as it threw support to a bill requiring persons to register their Philippine SIM cards. With pandemic restrictions pushing transactions into digital form, the central has asked the public to be vigilant amid emerging risks and frauds.

Farm damage from Odette hits ₧11B

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

OME 389,316 farmers and fisherfolk in 11 regions have incurred losses amounting to over P11 billion due to the damage caused by Typhoon Odette to their farms.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the damage to the agriculture sector due to Odette climbed to P11.1 billion with an estimated production loss of 252,956 metric tons (MT) across 420,465 hectares of farms.

The affected commodities include rice, corn, high value crops, coconut, sugarcane, livestock, and fisheries. The DA added that damage to agricultural infrastructures, machinery and equipment was also recorded.

The affected regions include Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Easter n Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen and Caraga.

“The Department of Agriculture (DA), through its Regional Field Offices (RFOs), is conducting assessment of damage and losses in the agri-fisheries sector,” it said in its latest damage report released on Thursday morning.

“The DA continuously coordinates with concerned NGAs, LGUs and other DRRM-related offices for the impact of “ODETTE,” as well as available resources for interventions and assistance,” it added.

The damage to the fisheries sector by Odette remained at P3 billion with 50,256 fisherfolk affected, according to the DA report. The DA added that losses in the fisheries sector were recorded in damaged fisheries produce, fishing boats and gears, fishnets and gillnets.

The damage to the rice sector has reached P2.6 billion with an estimated production loss of 138,010 MT across 114,034 hectares, according to the DA report.

Both the high-value crops and coconut sectors registered P1.5 billion in losses. Odette damaged 6,131 hectares of assorted

Bloomberg

vegetables, fruit trees, root crops, cacao, coffee, banana and rubber.

The typhoon also affected 240,240 hectares of coconut trees.

The sugar cane industry registered P1.2 billion in production losses after 51,159 hectares of plantation were affected by Odette.

Corn farmers lost 24,174 MT of produce valued at P431.7 million, the DA said. The DA added that P535.4 million in damage and losses were recorded in the livestock and poultry sectors after 1.637 million heads of chicken, swine, cattle, carabao, goat, duck sheep, horse, turkey, quail and guinea fowl were affected by Odette.

The typhoon’s damage to irrigation and agri-facilities, which include shallow tube well, rain shelter, crops, nursery, green house, vermi-composting facilities, fertilizer processing center, livestock and poultry houses and multiplier farms, has reached P411.4 million.

The DA also recorded P13.8 million in damage and losses to farm machinery and equipment.

The DA said its available interventions to affected farmers and fisherfolk has now reached P2.9 billion, of which P1 billion is for a quick response fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected farms.

The DA said the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has P828 million of funds available to indemnify affected farmers, while the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has P500 million worth of emergency loan assistance available.

The DA said it is ready to distribute P314 million worth of rice seeds, P129 million worth of corn seeds, and P57 million worth of assorted vegetables. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will provide P47 million worth of assistance to fisherfolk, according to the DA. Lastly, the DA said P6.6 million worth of animal stocks, drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry will also be distributed. The DA added that the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will also provide assistance to affected coconut farmers.

DOT looking for other hotels for displaced Berjaya guests

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HE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DOT) is finding alternative accommodations for Berjaya Makati Hotel’s incoming guests after Makati City Hall ordered the establishment’s closure.

DOT-National Capital Region Officer-in-Charge Sharlene Batin told the BusinessMirror, “For those incoming [guests], they [Berjaya] are asked not to accommodate anymore, so DOT is looking for other hotels for those with confirmed bookings, and Berjaya is facilitating the refund as well.”

She added, “For the remaining guests, we are consulting with the BoQ (Bureau of Quarantine) as to the process of transferring guests completing their quarantine requirement just to ensure they will not be at risk during facility transfers, and to ensure that such action will still be in accordance with BoQ protocols in handling quarantined guests.”

As per the closure order signed

by City Administrator Claro Certeza on January 5, 2021, addressed to Perdana Hotel Philippines Inc., operator of Berjaya Makati Hotel, the establishment was found violating the Safety and Health Protocols and Section 4A.10 of the Revised Makati Revenue Code City Ordinance No. 2004-A-025. This effectively “revoked/canceled” the mayor’s permit or business license of the establishment.

Berjaya Makati said the closure was “without legal basis” as it is based on the DOT’s suspension order, which is “not yet final as the hotel will appeal it within the 15-day period it is given.” (See related story, “Makati shuts down hotel in quarantine breach case” on page A3).

The closure order arose after DOT found one of its guests, Gwyneth Ann Chua, skipping quarantine after arriving from the US, then going to a bar in Poblacion, Makati the next evening, thus earning her the monicker “Poblacion Girl.” (See, “Anyone can sue ‘Poblacion Girl’— DOJ chief,” in the BusinessMirror, December 31, 2021.)

Continued on A2

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Friday, January 7, 2022

SEC to public: Steer clear of Outrace Play to Earn

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission has warned the public against investing in Outrace Play to Earn, which is preselling its tokens to players through its in-game non fungible tokens (NFTs) at a low price before its initial coin offering (ICO).

In its advisory, the SEC said Outrace is also being operated by the people behind BCPay Financial Technology Inc.--Fredoline “Fred” Bruno, Victor “Troy” Denia, with Marco Mendoza, Arvann Cariaga, Johnru Cadag, Mark Mari and Clyde Santos.

In October 2021, SEC warned the public against investing in BCPay. Outrace is an NFT racing game that includes card management, dice roll management and stats management.

The overall objective of the game

is to win the race using the array of cars that can be purchased and customized using ORE token, according to its website. The ORE token can be earned by racing in conqueror mode or in player versus player sprint races.

“What makes this game so interesting is that it offers the player not only excitement and entertainment but enables them to earn crypto and earn prizes for their activity,” it said.

The SEC, however, called Outrace’s investment scheme “dubious” and “shady.” The company is selling

its in-game NFTs and pre-selling its ORE coins before its ICO at a low price on the premise that its price will rise once it is listed on public exchanges.

An ICO, much like an initial public offering of a company’s shares that will be listed for trading, is the first sale and issuance of a new virtual currency to the public usually for the purpose of raising capital for start-up companies or funding independent projects.

“Ostensibly, Outrace is capitalizing on the current popularity and pliancy or flexibility of the NFT application which is now being devised by many as an investment platform as well akin to those conventional mediums of pooling capitals by allowing users to buy, sell, and hold an array of funds or investments therefrom in the guise of in-game characters, boosters, commodities, and various digital assets and currencies,” the SEC said.

The agency said Outrace’s securities must be registered with the SEC, which will give them the license to sell these to the investing public.

“However, based on our records, Outrace is not registered with the

commission and is not authorized to solicit, accept or take investments/ placements from the public nor to issue investment contracts and other forms of securities,” it said.

“Our records also show that Outrace does not have any brokers, account managers, agents, and/or representative that have appropriate registration and/or license to offer and/or sell such securities to the public.”

The SEC said any offer or promise of ridiculous rates of return with little or no risk similar to what Outrace is offering is an indication of a possible Ponzi scheme where returns to early investors are likely to be paid out from the investments of new investors and not out of the companies’ profits.

Those engaged in such operation tend to close or to shut down operations once they cannot gather enough investments from new investors to fund their schemes.

The agency reminding the public that the offer and sale of securities in the form of investment contracts using the Ponzi scheme is fraudulent and unsustainable and is not a registrable security.

Shakey’s taps Darwinbox’s HR tech

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estaurant chain operator Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. said it had signed a deal with Indian firm Darwinbox for its human resource (HR) management system to handle its growing number of employees.

Darwinbox said it is set to help Shakey’s thrive in a post-Covid world by managing its human resources effectively from hire to retire.

Shakey’s said the new systems will go live in the first quarter. The company is hoping for a strong recovery and is investing in store network expansion. It built more than

PLDT unit ties up with food trader

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LDT Inc. said on Thursday its international arm has partnered with a Filipino-owned distributor of Philippine-made food and grocery items in the Gulf region to provide access to mobile and digital services to Pinoys in the Middle East.

The telco said PLDT Globel Corp. and SandBox Middle East have joined hands to enable Filipinos in the Middle East to purchase Smart and TNT mobile load, pay bills, and avail of electronic gifts.

“We are happy to have a like-minded partner that fully understands the Filipino culture, character, and psyche in the Middle East. This is another step towards our goal of bringing services available locally to our Filipino workers abroad as we continue to help empower and uplift our kababayans,” PLDT Global President Albert V. VillaReal said in a statement.

SandBox has an extensive retail and direct-to-consumer network, including mom-and-pop convenience stores that overseas Pinoy frequent for their needs. It also has a courier service partner as well as a team of direct sellers in the Emirates.

“The collaboration with PLDT Global extends the leadership of SandBox ME in the region and reinforces its position as the ideal partner for Philippine brands and institutions,” SandBox Middle East CEO Lito S. German said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

30 new stores in 2021.

“The company is ultimately a guest-centric business where people are front and center. When our people are well-cared for, it flows through to our guests. Guest-centricity begins at home, thus, investing in our people is a key pillar in delivering sustainable growth.

Our partnership with Darwinbox is a validation to this commitment,” Vicente Gregorio, the Shakey’s president and CEO, said.

Shakey’s said it can now complement its safe and healthy work environment with tech infrastructure that manages the entire employee

lifecycle. With its more than 1,000 employees under one virtual roof, the company will be able to keep record of its employees, provide quick and actionable feedback and “ensure an impeccable employee experience for everyone.”

Performance management, leave and attendance management, recruitment, analytics and reporting are some of the key areas in the human resource management suite that the pizza parlor operator plans to adopt over the coming months.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with one of the leading restaurant brands in the Philip-

pines. By providing [Shakey’s] with a digital platform for all their HR needs, we are enabling an uninterrupted and frictionless experiences for employees across its multiple stores, and for the company, it means improved efficiency and productivity,” Jayant Paleti, co-founder of Darwinbox, said.

“We have a lot to look forward to in the first phase of this partnership.

With a one-stop-shop for feedback, advanced analytics, company-wide engagement surveys, amongst other things, Shakey’s will find it easier to run smoother HR operations to yield momentous outcomes.” VG Cabuag

Cebu Pacific cancels more domestic flights

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ebu Pacific (CEB) said Thursday it is reviewing its network schedule and closely monitoring manpower levels with employees currently on quarantine.

To prevent last-minute cancellations due to the unavailability of crew and ground personnel, the airline is preemptively cancelling the following flights from January 7 to 10 and transferring passengers on other available CEB flights on the same day: January 7 * 5J909/910 Manila—Boracay (Caticlan)—Manila * 5J553/554 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J559/560 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J635/636 Manila—Puerto Princesa—Manila January 8 * 5J 553/554 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 557/556 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 559/560 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 643/644 Manila—Puerto Princesa—Manila January 9 * 5J 909/910 Manila—Boracay (Caticlan)—Manila * 5J 192/193 Manila—Cauayan – Manila * 5J 557/556 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 559/560 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 551/552 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 635/636 Manla—Puerto Princesa—Manila January 10 * 5J 377/378 Manila—Cagayan de Oro—Manila * 5J 381/382 Manila—Cagayan de Oro – Manila * 5J 889/890 Mania—Boracay (Caticlan)—Manila * 5J 909/910 Mania—Boracay (Caticlan)—Manila * 5J 907/908 Manila—Boracay (Caticlan)—Manila * 5J 911/912 Manila—Boracay

An aircraft operated by Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. stands at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, on August 7, 2020. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg

it faces the threat of the omicron coronavirus strain, this week banning inbound flights from eight countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, until January 20.

“We will adopt measures to operate as many cargo services as possible while complying with the latest Covid-19 regulations,” Cathay said in an emailed statement Thursday.

Passenger traffic was about 12

percent of typical levels in November and will slide to just 2 percent this month. The airline said it will “strive to maintain passenger connectivity with key destinations, although at reduced frequencies, under the confines of the place-specific and flightspecific suspension mechanism.”

C at h ay sh a res were dow n 1.9 percent as of 3:15 p.m. local time following a 2-percent loss Wednesday. Bloomberg News

(Caticlan)—Manila * 5J 551/552 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 557/556 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 559/560 Manila—Cebu— Manila * 5J 651/652 Manila—Tacloban—Manila “Passengers affected by the cancellations have been informed of their new flight schedules through the contact details provided in their booking,” the airline said.

Cebu Pacific said flyers may also opt to avail themselves of the following options through the Manage Booking portal on the Cebu Pacific website (http://bit.ly/CEBmanageflight) until 30 days from date of departure: n Rebook Rebook for travel within 60 days at no additional cost, following CEB’s permanent removal of change fees.

Fare difference waived. n Travel Fund Store the amount in a virtual CEB wallet valid for two years and use this to either book a new flight or pay for add-ons (e.g. baggage allowance, seat selection, etc.) n Refund The process may take up to two months from the date of request.

Furthermore, the airline said it is offering flexible options for all domestic flights until January 31.

“Passengers who wish to voluntarily postpone their travel plans may conveniently cancel up to two hours before their scheduled time of departure and select their preferred option through the Manage Booking portal (http://bit.ly/CEBmanageflight) on the Cebu Pacific website.”

CEB operates with 100 percent fully vaccinated active flying crew.

The airline’s pilots and cabin crew undergo regular antigen testing (Test Before Duty) before they are assigned to operate flights.

The airline has also started its booster program to ensure the continued safety of its employees and passengers.

Biggest tech selling in a decade

Cathay cuts cargo capacity, T hitting key earnings crutch C

athay Pacific Airways Ltd. will operate only about 20 percent of its pre-pandemic cargo capacity this month, a sharp reduction in what has been a rare bright spot during the most challenging period in the carrier’s history.

While the Hong Kong-based airline will resume some long-haul cargo services from Friday after a weeklong suspension, the January schedule is way thinner than at the end of last year, when freight operations allayed some of the pain of passenger traffic slowing to a relative trickle during the Covid crisis.

Cathay operated about 71 percent of pre-pandemic cargo capacity in November, latest available figures show, helped by demand for seasonal goods such as Southern Hemisphere cherries, as well as from shipping products that would normally go by sea. The company described its cargo operations as “consistently robust” that month.

Cathay is scaling back now due to the crippling effect of the government’s Covid Zero strategy on its staffing, with most aircrew required to undergo lengthy stretches in quarantine that limit their ability to work. Hong Kong is starting to clamp down even harder as

B1

he hammering in technology stocks that began to spread into the broader market Wednesday is being fueled by one of the most intense bouts of selling by professional speculators since the financial crisis.

Hedge funds, which spent December unloading high-growth, highvaluation stocks, began the new year by jettisoning software and chipmakers at a furious pace. During the four sessions through Tuesday, these sales reached the highest level in dollar terms in more than 10 years, data compiled by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s prime broker show.

The tech carnage worsened after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting pointed to earlier and faster rate hikes, uncovering “a more hawkish Fed than some may have expected,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial.

The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped more than 3 percent, rounding out its worst two-day drop since March.

Stocks boasting nose-bleed valuations bore the brunt of selling, with a Goldman basket of expensive software sinking 6.3 percent to the lowest level since last May. The MSCI Asia Pacific Communication Services Index dropped as much as 1.5 percent on Thursday, with South Korea’s Kakao Games Corp. the biggest loser with a 14-percent slump. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index, which mainly tracks Chinese giants, closed 1.4 percent higher, erasing earlier losses. The gauge plunged 4.6 percent on Wednesday and was near oversold levels.

“The Fed is going to be raising

rates this year, perhaps more aggressively than many thought,” said Mark Freeman, chief investment officer at Socorro Asset Management LP. “In many of these tech names, there is little support from the long-only community so it doesn’t take much selling pressure to push the names sharply lower, which in turn forces more selling by the hedge funds.”

The specter of higher borrowing costs prompted traders to rethink their long-held affection for tech firms. The rush for the exits created trouble for hedge funds whose concentrated bets on speculative software were still elevated even after unwinding some of those positions late last year. On Tuesday, Goldman’s long-short fund clients suffered their worst alpha drawdown, or belowmarket returns, in a year.

Even before the Fed minutes were released, the tech drubbing began as a rotation, with big investors selling one-time highfliers to buy companies poised to benefit from an improving economy. Before Wednesday, Goldman’s hedge-fund clients snapped up airlines, energy and industrial shares during the previous four sessions. As a result, their technology exposure relative to the S&P 500 dropped to the lowest ever recorded by the bank. With the Fed turning more hawkish and Treasury yields rising, overly stretched stocks may have a hard time to justify their valuations. According to data compiled by Bernstein, about onethird of all tech stocks were recently traded at more than 10 times their revenues. The S&P 500 was valued at 3.2 times sales, Bloomberg data show. Bloomberg News

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, January 7, 2022

NTC exceeds income goal for 2021 despite pandemic

T

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

he National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said on Thursday it collected P9.09 billion in income last year, topping 2020’s P7.7 billion collection by 18 percent.

Last year’s income was also 72.4 percent higher than its target of P5.27 billion, making it the sixth straight year under the administration that the agency exceeded its goals.

“Our collective effort in providing excellent public service indeed made us surpass what was expected of us,” NTC Commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba said, noting that he was thankful that the agency “surpassed the income target despite the restrictions imposed on people’s mobility due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

NTC collects spectrum users’ fees, supervision and regulation fees, and penalties. It regulates cable and commercial television operators, broadcast radio stations, telecommunications companies, and commercial and portable radio operators.

Collection targets of the agency are mandated in the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, a document required by the Constitution and consolidated by the Department of Budget Management.

NTC is the government agency

that regulates cable and commercial television operators, broadcast radio stations, telecommunications companies and commercial and portable radio operators.

In October 2021, NTC signed a joint memorandum circular (JMC) with other agencies to streamline the processing of permits and allow infrastructure sharing to expedite the rollout of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure.

The Philippine Competition Commission said the JMC will allow the sharing of existing poles and other physical infrastructures, and prohibit anti-competitive acts relating to their access.

PCC said the JMC requires owners to provide other market players access to these infrastructure facilities on a non-discriminatory basis and prohibits them from giving preferential access to related firms.

The anti-trust body said the refusal to grant access should only be based on objective, transparent, and proportionate criteria, such as lack of technical suitability and available space.

Vertiv names WSI as distributor in PHL

A

merican firm Vertiv has tied up with homegrown firm Wordtext Systems Inc. (WSI) to distribute its critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions nationwide.

“As many companies in the Philippines have adopted digital transformation strategies in the new normal, having a reliable IT [information technology] backbone is essential in ensuring that their vital applications perform continuously and optimally.

We are excited to announce this partnership with WSI,” said Pamela Albar, associate director, channel enterprise sales of Vertiv Philippines.

Per the distribution deal, WSI will be carrying Vertiv’s rackbased products, ranging from power distribution units to uninterruptible power supply solutions and monitoring solutions.

These include Vertiv’s IT and Edge products including the Vertiv Liebert GXT5 Uninterruptible Power Supply, Liebert ITA2 UPS, the Vertiv Edge and Vertiv Edge Lithium-Ion UPS range, Vertiv Geist Rack Power Distribution Units, and the Vertiv VE Rack.

“Working in partnership with Vertiv is one of our ways to ensure that our product lines remain rel-

evant in this dynamic IT industry.

As an industry expert, Vertiv has a wide range of products and solutions that will surely fit the business needs of our customers. We look forward to this partnership and how we can take Vertiv solutions further,” said WSI President Juan G. Chua.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network.

For its solutions partners, it provides them with a global product set and access to sales and marketing support, including e-commerce, through the Vertiv Partner Program.

WSI is a pioneer IT distributor in the Philippines that was founded in 1982. To date, it has grown with an extensive channel base of more than 2,000 dealers in 18 provinces across the country.

“With a strong presence nationwide, particularly in Visayas and Mindanao, we are confident that WSI can bring Vertiv solutions to a broader customer reach,” Albar said. Roderick L. Abad

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 6, 2022

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 PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

577,680 96,671,423 115,416,385.50 888,095 1,306,467 102,747,945.50 8,810 8,720 2,453,800 2,633,264 291,770,524 43,856,047 1,700 195,480 6,300 2,490 110,250 53,450 6,420 559,000

9,094,116 2,300,882.50 -21,344,562.50 -89,285 -5,994 9,252,141 3,927,097 533,000

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 9.65 9.66 10.08 10.1 9.6 9.65 48,689,800 477,288,563 ALSONS CONS 1.08 1.1 1.14 1.15 1.08 1.1 774,000 853,160 29.7 29.75 30.5 30.5 29.45 29.75 1,076,800 32,031,185 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.59 0.55 0.58 10,734,000 6,036,390 FIRST GEN 27.5 27.55 27.6 27.7 27.45 27.5 1,953,200 53,886,495 69.95 70 70.05 71 69.95 70 52,350 3,664,511.50 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 304.8 305 303 305 301 305 188,650 57,427,032 24.05 24.1 24 24.15 23.9 24.1 899,300 21,581,635 MANILA WATER 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.23 3.2 3.21 1,373,000 4,411,160 PETRON PETROENERGY 3.91 4.3 3.9 4 3.9 4 7,000 27,500 10.54 10.6 10.54 10.6 10.54 10.6 29,000 305,988 PHX PETROLEUM SYNERGY GRID 12.92 12.96 12.9 12.98 12.9 12.92 1,172,800 15,154,632 PILIPINAS SHELL 19.22 19.5 19.1 19.5 19.1 19.5 43,200 833,722 13.88 13.9 13.9 13.92 13.88 13.9 82,500 1,146,182 SPC POWER SOLAR PH 1.21 1.22 1.21 1.23 1.18 1.22 100,341,000 121,309,120 AGRINURTURE 4.64 4.83 4.82 4.89 4.6 4.83 351,000 1,665,760 2.85 2.9 2.87 2.9 2.85 2.9 278,000 795,830 AXELUM CENTURY FOOD 27.8 27.85 28.45 28.45 27.8 27.8 683,700 19,281,450 14.74 14.86 14.74 14.9 14.7 14.74 43,100 636,094 DEL MONTE DNL INDUS 8.91 8.92 8.99 8.99 8.8 8.91 1,959,700 17,443,194 EMPERADOR 19.88 19.9 20 20.05 19.78 19.9 2,000,000 39,912,459 69.5 69.7 70 70 69.5 69.7 87,570 6,104,335 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.6 0.63 0.62 0.62 0.6 0.6 213,000 131,820 FRUITAS HLDG 1.17 1.18 1.21 1.24 1.16 1.17 14,726,000 17,618,560 106.5 107.5 110.3 111.4 105.1 106.5 48,960 5,257,171 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 215.8 216.8 217.4 218.8 215 216.8 174,670 37,868,830 1.2 1.21 1.25 1.25 1.2 1.2 9,234,000 11,211,310 KEEPERS HLDG 6.37 6.4 6.43 6.43 6.37 6.37 10,600 67,654 MAXS GROUP MG HLDG 0.149 0.155 0.15 0.15 0.148 0.148 420,000 62,960 16.18 16.22 15.96 16.26 15.88 16.22 11,198,000 180,184,682 MONDE NISSIN 9.92 9.96 10.18 10.18 9.92 9.95 100,000 994,997 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 0.64 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.64 0.64 2,012,000 1,288,650 4.63 4.65 4.65 4.65 4.6 4.65 23,000 106,340 RFM CORP SWIFT FOODS 0.102 0.104 0.101 0.102 0.101 0.102 1,530,000 155,860 UNIV ROBINA 128.9 129 127.8 129.7 126.8 129 453,560 58,234,734 0.72 0.73 0.71 0.73 0.71 0.72 263,000 188,430 VITARICH VICTORIAS 2.4 2.54 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 4,000 9,600 1.03 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.03 1.03 685,000 707,650 CEMEX HLDG EAGLE CEMENT 14.86 14.88 14.9 14.9 14.78 14.88 67,000 995,170 EEI CORP 6.32 6.37 6.38 6.5 6.32 6.32 81,600 518,497 5.41 5.54 5.58 5.58 5.41 5.54 53,300 295,711 HOLCIM MEGAWIDE 5.04 5.1 5.1 5.1 5 5.1 398,900 2,000,650 PHINMA 20 20.25 20 20 20 20 35,400 708,000 0.76 0.83 0.77 0.77 0.76 0.76 197,000 150,430 TKC METALS VULCAN INDL 0.87 0.88 0.92 0.92 0.87 0.88 2,250,000 2,006,300 CROWN ASIA 1.7 1.73 1.7 1.73 1.7 1.73 130,000 224,550 1.4 1.53 1.41 1.41 1.4 1.4 31,000 43,610 EUROMED MABUHAY VINYL 4 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 2,000 8,200 5.61 5.7 5.61 5.72 5.55 5.7 330,200 1,848,117 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 20 20.05 20.05 20.05 20.05 20.05 11,300 226,565 GREENERGY 2.23 2.24 2.27 2.32 2.23 2.24 4,194,000 9,637,560 8.42 8.45 8.47 8.49 8.4 8.45 162,000 1,364,223 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 0.69 0.7 0.68 0.69 0.68 0.69 25,000 17,200 PANASONIC 5.75 5.99 6.02 6.02 5.71 5.99 12,400 74,237 1.08 1.1 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08 3,000 3,240 SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG 3.51 3.56 3.66 3.66 3.51 3.56 555,000 1,965,250

-148,499,259 -4,689,225 -224,390 -239,745 -3,035,952.50 21,079,270 -3,788,550 260,840 3,172,226 198,236 -652,980 -290,800 -3,146,005 -185,998 17,743,950 -5,831,610.50 37,960 1,369,569 4,931,564 174,510 -19,605,952 -277,626 -1,055,770 8,700 -8,026,616 9,600 790,072 57,716 -170,260 20,020 -18,730 -7,000 -226,565 3,127,220 744,508 7,120

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANSCOR ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP

44 121.8 92.8 24.95 9.35 53.5 8.82 17.44 20.25 19.96 108.9 90 1.55 4.05 0.7 0.83 0.29 0.59 212 2,600

0.87 841.5 56 11.5 7.78 0.395 5.05 7.91 7.61 536 56.1 6.1 0.63 3 9.78 3.84 1.24 1.09 932 111.7

44.8 123 92.85 25 9.38 53.65 9.49 17.84 20.35 19.98 109 90.3 1.7 4.06 0.72 0.91 0.325 0.6 213.8 2,700

0.89 848 56.75 11.58 7.9 0.425 5.1 7.92 7.7 538 56.3 6.3 0.67 3.03 9.79 3.85 1.28 1.14 947 112.8

44.8 120.7 92.8 24.9 9.41 53.85 8.81 17.44 20.25 19.98 113 93.1 1.7 4.09 0.7 0.83 0.32 0.61 214 2,600

0.9 837 55.35 11.5 7.9 0.42 5.2 7.95 7.89 544 55.25 6.1 0.63 2.97 9.76 3.84 1.33 1.09 929 112.9

44.8 123 93.35 25 9.5 53.85 8.81 17.44 20.5 20 113 93.1 1.7 4.09 0.7 0.83 0.325 0.61 214 2,600

0.9 848 56.7 11.62 7.9 0.42 5.2 7.95 7.89 544 56.5 6.1 0.67 3.03 9.83 3.85 1.33 1.09 947 115

44 120.1 91.25 24.9 9.35 52.9 8.81 17.44 20 19.96 108.9 88.9 1.7 4.06 0.7 0.83 0.32 0.6 214 2,600

0.86 834 53.5 11.2 7.9 0.38 5.05 7.8 7.55 535 55.25 6.1 0.63 2.97 9.62 3.79 1.19 1.09 920 111.1

44.8 123 92.8 24.95 9.38 53.5 8.81 17.44 20.25 19.98 109 90 1.7 4.06 0.7 0.83 0.325 0.6 214 2,600

0.88 848 56.7 11.5 7.9 0.395 5.05 7.91 7.7 536 56.3 6.1 0.67 3 9.78 3.85 1.28 1.09 947 112.8

12,900 792,260 1,248,040 35,600 139,400 1,923,370 1,000 500 122,000 131,800 2,636,910 485,560 1,000 48,000 9,000 3,000 340,000 89,000 30 215

46,913,000 234,870 1,340,760 2,604,100 1,300 1,110,000 169,100 4,445,200 29,800 122,090 2,987,700 100 13,000 190,000 1,584,600 8,814,000 33,000 6,000 373,440 59,940

41,279,160 197,665,655 74,834,596.50 29,644,824 10,270 444,100 863,780 35,108,253 230,556 65,504,245 167,847,249.50 610 8,230 569,550 15,470,559 33,722,600 42,220 6,540 348,426,780 6,750,350

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.61 0.64 0.62 0.64 0.6 0.64 40,000 25,260 ANCHOR LAND 5.74 6.36 6.42 6.42 5.67 5.67 2,100 12,732 33.9 34.9 33.8 34.9 33.7 34.9 5,471,800 187,778,115 AYALA LAND AYALA LAND LOG 6.28 6.29 6.55 6.55 6.24 6.29 6,746,100 42,526,355 ARANETA PROP 0.97 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1,000 1,030 50 50.1 50 50.8 49.85 50 1,909,550 95,540,588.50 AREIT RT A BROWN 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.77 0.78 361,000 278,000 0.74 0.75 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.74 137,000 101,380 CITYLAND DEVT 0.096 0.103 0.096 0.103 0.095 0.103 11,810,000 1,122,230 CROWN EQUITIES CEB LANDMASTERS 2.85 2.88 2.84 2.89 2.81 2.88 381,000 1,081,950 0.39 0.4 0.4 0.405 0.395 0.395 11,630,000 4,644,250 CENTURY PROP DOUBLEDRAGON 7.04 7.05 7.03 7.1 7.01 7.05 167,300 1,178,760 DDMP RT 1.79 1.8 1.78 1.8 1.78 1.79 2,432,000 4,353,090 6.65 6.68 6.7 6.7 6.62 6.68 56,600 378,257 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.25 0.255 0.25 0.255 0.25 0.255 510,000 127,600 EVER GOTESCO 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.325 0.32 0.32 4,440,000 1,421,000 7.44 7.45 7.4 7.45 7.4 7.45 2,118,400 15,750,554 FILINVEST RT FILINVEST LAND 1.09 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.09 1.09 4,045,000 4,410,180 0.95 0.96 0.95 0.95 0.95 0.95 286,000 271,700 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 11.58 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.32 11.58 201,100 2,328,588 GOLDEN MV 501 540 540 540 540 540 10 5,400 1.18 1.19 1.2 1.25 1.19 1.19 2,043,000 2,525,370 PHIL INFRADEV CITY AND LAND 0.86 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.86 0.86 58,000 50,430 MEGAWORLD 3.11 3.12 3.07 3.15 3.07 3.11 7,387,000 22,952,380 0.242 0.244 0.247 0.25 0.241 0.243 4,920,000 1,202,940 MRC ALLIED MREIT RT 19.56 19.58 19.48 19.6 19.44 19.58 2,225,500 43,451,542 0.5 0.52 0.5 0.52 0.5 0.5 1,203,000 608,520 PHIL ESTATES 2.1 2.11 2.19 2.19 2.08 2.11 1,584,000 3,400,410 PRIMEX CORP RL COMM RT 8.1 8.15 7.8 8.18 7.79 8.15 6,198,800 49,769,979 17.9 17.98 17.8 18.04 17.7 17.98 5,787,100 103,702,800 ROBINSONS LAND 0.202 0.213 0.213 0.213 0.213 0.213 1,400,000 298,200 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.45 1.52 1.5 1.52 1.42 1.52 206,000 298,580 2.74 2.84 2.67 2.84 2.67 2.84 8,000 21,530 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 33.5 33.8 33.85 34.45 33.45 33.5 6,561,500 220,721,135 SUNTRUST HOME 1.08 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.08 1.1 56,000 60,780 3.41 3.46 3.51 3.52 3.41 3.41 201,000 691,360 VISTA LAND

SERVICES ABS CBN 12.68 12.7 12.58 12.76 12.58 12.68 188,900 2,397,574 GMA NETWORK 13.78 13.8 13.78 13.8 13.7 13.8 275,700 3,797,646 0.42 0.435 0.445 0.445 0.445 0.445 130,000 57,850 MANILA BULLETIN MLA BRDCASTING 9.51 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 600 6,300 GLOBE TELECOM 3,260 3,268 3,244 3,270 3,240 3,260 27,295 88,771,490 1,876 1,877 1,870 1,899 1,840 1,876 87,855 164,689,845 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.073 0.074 0.076 0.076 0.073 0.074 157,340,000 11,690,450 31.15 31.2 31.4 31.6 30.9 31.2 8,087,500 252,692,190 CONVERGE 2.35 2.4 2.42 2.42 2.31 2.42 132,000 309,540 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 4.99 5 5.05 5.06 4.97 4.99 9,122,300 45,661,271 1.41 1.63 1.41 1.41 1.41 1.41 17,000 23,970 IMPERIAL JACKSTONES 1.6 1.74 1.74 1.74 1.74 1.74 5,000 8,700 NOW CORP 1.21 1.22 1.22 1.26 1.21 1.22 1,880,000 2,309,410 0.305 0.31 0.3 0.31 0.295 0.31 2,250,000 678,550 TRANSPACIFIC BR 2GO GROUP 7.79 7.8 7.41 7.84 7.41 7.79 13,500 101,279 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.5 14 14 14 13.5 13.5 24,200 331,020 1.61 1.62 1.62 1.65 1.61 1.61 167,000 271,070 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 39.95 40 40.7 40.75 40 40 733,900 29,501,560 193.5 194 194.1 197.7 192.6 193.5 1,444,700 279,893,869 INTL CONTAINER 22.65 24 24 24 24 24 1,200 28,800 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.9 0.92 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 22,000 20,020 5.25 5.26 5.2 5.28 5.2 5.25 1,147,500 6,019,804 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 1.03 1.19 1.18 1.19 1.18 1.19 26,000 30,880 HARBOR STAR 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.89 0.89 107,000 95,770 1.72 1.79 1.72 1.85 1.66 1.79 137,000 234,680 DISCOVERY WORLD WATERFRONT 0.46 0.475 0.46 0.475 0.46 0.475 330,000 152,250 535 549.5 535 535 535 535 30 16,050 FAR EASTERN U STI HLDG 0.34 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.34 320,000 109,250 BELLE CORP 1.32 1.35 1.37 1.37 1.32 1.35 430,000 578,570 6.05 6.06 6 6.17 5.99 6.06 2,321,200 14,076,132 BLOOMBERRY 1.76 1.81 1.74 1.81 1.7 1.81 126,000 217,330 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.46 1.51 1.49 1.5 1.48 1.5 1,031,000 1,540,790 0.72 0.73 0.78 0.78 0.72 0.72 619,000 449,310 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.425 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.425 0.43 1,770,000 754,050 PHILWEB 1.82 1.85 1.88 1.9 1.85 1.85 68,000 127,050 0.58 0.59 0.58 0.59 0.57 0.58 20,166,000 11,689,200 ALLDAY BERJAYA 5.61 5.63 5.99 5.99 5.5 5.61 153,800 864,909 8.65 8.67 8.69 8.69 8.51 8.65 141,500 1,219,975 ALLHOME 1.42 1.43 1.42 1.43 1.42 1.42 1,350,000 1,917,650 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 38.35 38.75 38.2 38.8 38.2 38.35 441,500 16,960,790 57.95 58 59.6 59.6 58 58 822,590 48,065,874.50 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 87.5 90.9 86 88.6 86 87.5 156,640 13,868,792 SSI GROUP 1.05 1.07 1.06 1.08 1.04 1.05 1,906,000 2,023,790 30.2 30.3 30.3 30.5 30.15 30.2 1,194,000 36,169,555 WILCON DEPOT IPM HLDG 6.8 7 7 7 6.9 7 2,800 19,360 MEDILINES 1.11 1.12 1.15 1.16 1.11 1.11 3,805,000 4,292,050 0.51 0.52 0.53 0.54 0.5 0.51 9,174,000 4,719,000 PRMIERE HORIZON SBS PHIL CORP 3.94 4.09 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 200,000 790,000

MINING & OIL ATOK 6.09 6.1 6 6.09 6 6.09 35,700 216,432 1.62 1.63 1.6 1.64 1.57 1.62 5,384,000 8,683,430 APEX MINING ATLAS MINING 6.01 6.02 6 6.03 6 6.01 368,000 2,211,132 BENGUET A 5.05 5.2 5.04 5.05 5.04 5.05 30,600 154,240 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.8 10,035,000 27,095,500 CENTURY PEAK FERRONICKEL 2.06 2.07 2.06 2.1 2.03 2.07 1,423,000 2,932,200 0.135 0.137 0.138 0.138 0.133 0.136 6,940,000 933,690 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.134 0.141 0.141 0.141 0.141 0.141 80,000 11,280 MANILA MINING A 0.0096 0.0098 0.0098 0.0099 0.0098 0.0098 11,000,000 108,300 0.0097 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 17,200,000 172,000 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.29 1.3 1.35 1.35 1.25 1.3 1,361,000 1,753,520 NIHAO 1 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 3,000 3,060 5.18 5.19 5.32 5.32 5.18 5.19 1,375,000 7,156,744 NICKEL ASIA ORNTL PENINSULA 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.84 0.79 0.79 1,939,000 1,580,220 PX MINING 5.23 5.25 5.21 5.35 5.2 5.25 811,000 4,241,966 23.55 23.6 23.9 24 23.1 23.6 2,271,100 53,457,010 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0064 0.0068 0.0067 0.0067 0.0065 0.0066 40,000,000 264,600 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 10,200,000 104,100 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 2,400,000 26,400 PHILODRILL 0.0097 0.0098 0.01 0.01 0.0098 0.0098 12,800,000 125,600 5.85 5.95 5.72 6.02 5.72 5.95 47,800 282,005 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.1 101 101 101 101 101 110 11,110 AC PREF B1 515 520 515 515 515 515 20 10,300 512.5 525 512.5 512.5 512.5 512.5 200 102,500 ALCO PREF D BRN PREF A 102.2 104 104 104 104 104 200 20,800 CEB PREF 40.5 41 41.15 41.15 41 41 12,700 521,450 102 102.9 102.9 102.9 102.9 102.9 50 5,145 CPG PREF A DD PREF 100.8 101.8 100.8 100.8 100.8 100.8 200 20,160 106.3 106.9 107 107 107 107 400 42,800 EEI PREF B FGEN PREF G 103 105.5 105 105.5 103 105.5 10,400 1,074,700 GTCAP PREF A 1,010 1,030 1,030 1,030 1,026 1,029 6,045 6,223,575 1,013 1,047 1,047 1,047 1,020 1,020 22,005 22,445,235 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 4 96 100.5 100.5 100.5 100.5 100.5 1,650 165,825 PNX PREF 3B 100.8 101 101 101 101 101 5,920 597,920 995 998 998 998 995 998 1,410 1,405,685 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 3A 1,050 1,060 1,060 1,060 1,060 1,060 50 53,000 PCOR PREF 3B 1,100 1,119 1,119 1,119 1,119 1,119 5 5,595 79.45 79.5 79.45 79.45 79 79.45 5,690 451,430 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2I 78.5 79 78.5 79 78.5 79 14,680 1,152,430 75.8 76 75.9 75.9 75.8 75.8 25,300 1,919,862.50 SMC PREF 2K TECH PREF B2D 53.35 53.5 53.5 53.5 53.5 53.5 6,200 331,700

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS GMA HLDG PDR 13.1 13.5 13.1 13.12 13.08 13.12 100,700 1,318,686

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.81 0.83 0.82 0.83 0.8 0.82 197,000 159,290

19,460,120 -65,166,860 -10,644,410 525,102 -57,544 5,629,263 -7,284,410 27,832,218 -71,280 4,792,439 2,344,570 -8,782,815 -1,055,218 27,545,390.00 2,521,967 29,273,429.50 101,380 159,460 -888,650 32,603 2,612,170 -112,500 3,200 1,689,932 -134,260 483,718 -1,135,500 522,780 -195,200 -2,550 -541,800 12,618,502 -1,954,536 8,760 37,318,645.00 80,310 -32,739,890 40,006,230 66,600 67,624,375 -232,100 2,684,714 -300,220 1,520,125 -127,750,672 4,167,215 20,640 13,850 -311,850 -184,802 -14,580 768,060 30,280 46,010 568,559.00 -3,297,805 7,639,872.50 44,365 -177,620 30,342,475 54,850.00 -217,880 -3,240 603 -26,904,500 1,069,250 -452,514 -240,120 -7,610 -8,880,520 - -118,900 6,223,575 -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MERRYMART

19.06 1.14 2.81 2.34

FIRST METRO ETF

107.4

19.22 1.16 2.9 2.35

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

107.9

19.96 1.2 2.87 2.36

19.96 1.2 2.88 2.37

19.22 1.13 2.87 2.34

19.22 1.16 2.88 2.34

3,600 399,000 13,000 3,442,000

70,402 459,680 37,410 8,075,810

- 13,650 35,250

108 108 107 107.9 33,370 3,585,932 385,354

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

BOC-Port of Davao collects P37.99B, exceeding ’21 goal

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

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HE Bureau of Customs-Port of Davao reported to have exceeded anew its annual target for the year, keeping the feat after doing it a year before.

For 2021, the office reported to have collected a surplus of P735.35 million from its target of P37.24 billion. The port of Davao collected P37.99 billion in duties and taxes, an amount that was 2-percent higher than its assigned target.

Interestingly, “for the month of December 2021, the Port of Davao had also exceeded its monthly revenue target by [more than] 5.14 percent with a total revenue collection of P3.27 billion against its P3.11 billion target,” said BOC Davao District Collector Erastus Sandino B. Austria said.

Last year, the Port of Davao also exceeded its collection target with a much higher 23.6 percent from target, collecting an excess of nearly P5.9 billion.

The Port of Davao has set a target of P24,663,729,934.38 for 2020.

That year’s excess was the highest among all collection districts in the entire country, Austria said.

The official attributed the positive revenue collection performance to “improved valuation, intensified enforcement operations, and the government’s efforts in ensuring the unhampered movement of goods both domestically and internally amid the pandemic situation.”

The entire 2021 also saw the Port of Davao exceeding some of its monthly target collection, in January and September.

A week before January 2021 ended, the Bureau of Customs already reported that revenue collection of the Port of Davao, including its sub-ports in Dadiangas, Parang and Mati already reached nearly P2,955 billion. Its assigned target for that month was P2.716 billion.

On September it also surpassed its target with a total revenue collection of about P3.275 billion, surpassing its target of P3.217 billion.

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE government raised over half a billion pesos in revenues from the disposal of thousands of unclaimed containers in a public auction last year, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

About 2,407 overstaying containers were disposed by the BOC Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group together with the Auction and Cargo Disposal Division as well as the ACD units of all collection districts nationwide.

The BOC said it was able to raise some P555.44 million from the public auction of 1,257 containers; the remaining 1,150 containers were either condemned or destroyed.

“These containers were forfeited after seizure or abandonment proceedings under Sections 1139 and 1141 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, which provides for the conditions

because these will be compromised and used in illegal activities,” she said.

SSS also warned the public against joining Facebook Groups, offering assistance on various online transactions for a fee. SSS offers free services and doesn’t charge from its members except for Unified Multi-purpose ID Card replacement.

These groups, SSS said, are considered illegal and unauthorized as they could be data mining accounts used to extract an individual’s personal information.

Ignacio reiterated that SSS will not be held accountable for these transactions, especially if the SSS member is found to have connived with the fixer. This, she said, is a violation of RA 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 as well as RA 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018. Cai U. Ordinario

Association leaders as VIPs

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Govt raises ₧555.44M from sale of unclaimed containers in 2021

SSS warns vs fraudsters posing as employees to con members

HE Social Security System has warned its members not to share their SSS information with persons posing as SSS employees as these information would be used for illegal activities.

The SSS said fixers and scammers posing as SSS employees are using SSS member’s numbers, My.SSS login credentials and other personal information to commit fraud.

The state-run pension fund’s President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said there have been increased reports of fraud victims who are mostly SSS members.

“We are deeply concerned with the increasing number of fraud victims who are mostly our members. That’s why we constantly remind them not to patronize these individuals. Never share your [social security] number, My.SSS login credentials and other personal information with individuals who claim to be SSS employees

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Friday, January 7, 2022

ter all, those working with S we usher in the associations are relationship New Year, it’s but builders and have extraordifitting to salute all nary listening skills and the associations, their leaders, ability to express oneself and members, and volunteers, for Association World to establish connections. The being resolute, resilient and association community is of re-imaginative during this Octavio Peralta the people, by the people, and pandemic. Having attended for the people. While meethundreds of virtual associaings and other activities of associations have tion meetings, forums, and conferences these been done virtually in most cases, the human past two years, I have come to a conclusion that touch and connection have, to a larger extent, associations everywhere have adapted and surbeen felt and appreciated. vived this global crisis.

Selfless (charitable, compassionate, magAnd so as a tribute to the association comnanimous): A crisis, they say, brings out the best munity worldwide, I wish to offer a special badge of humanity and the association community is for all association leaders out there that they are no exception, exhibiting selflessness and dediindeed VIPs: not “very important persons,” but cation with “heads held up high.” Associations having the following attributes: in various professions and industries have been Valiant (determined, strong, heroic): Assoin the forefront in providing care, energy, and ciation leaders have shown determination in time, even in life-threatening circumstances, fulfilling their purpose despite the challenges. during this pandemic.

This they do by continuing to keep their memIn my column here four years ago (January bers informed and looked after; helping them 24, 2018), entitled “Why Associations Matter,” in their professional or industry needs through I wrote about what the late ASAE President online training courses, timely research and and CEO John H. Graham IV said during our surveys; and providing them collaboration opinterview with him in the 2017 issue of the portunities. They have shown strength and PCAAE’s Association World magazine: “Assoheroism by mobilizing members to participate, ciations put their resources to work in solving among others, in rescue, relief and rehabilitamany of the world’s pressing problems (like cation programs during the pandemic. lamities)… they were in the front lines of relief Indefatigable (tireless, persistent, enthusiefforts, organizing and deploying professionals astic): At the onset of the pandemic, association from their field to assist in the affected commuleaders, working from home, at times 24/7, have nities, or raising funds to meet immediate and provided members with updated and reliable inlong-term recovery needs.” formation on Covid-19 through calls, e-mails, John added: “The future of associations is text messages, and via their websites. They very bright…no matter what the world looks made sure they are “in the trenches” with their like in the future, people will have common inmembers and persistently identifying ways and terests and challenges to meet.” means to deliver services to members, empathy How true John was as if he had predicted the to their staff and volunteers, and balancing their challenges association leaders are now presented family life at the same time. Despite being unduring this pandemic. So kudos and all the best der this difficult environment, they have been to all association leaders out there! enthusiastic “to do more with less.”

People person (relatable, approachable, friendly): One distinct character of an associaOctavio Peralta is the founder and CEO of the Philippine tion leader that stood out during the pandemic Council of Associations and Association Executives, the “assowas about being both human and humane. Afciation of associations.” E-mail: obp@adfiap.org

and modes of disposition, respectively,” BOC said.

Inside the auctioned containers were assorted items such as rice and galvanized steel while the condemned units contained clothing, rotten food, used oil, used furniture and other articles deemed without value by Customs personnel.

Citing Customs Administrative Order 17-2019, the BOC said cargoes that weren’t withdrawn within the regulatory period of 30 calendar days from payment of duties, taxes and other charges shall be deemed abandoned.

This is unless these are covered by a duly-issued alert order and upon

the finality of the “decree of abandonment.” The bureau will then determine the proper disposition such as auction, condemnation or donation.

These disposition activities also resulted in the efficient trade facilitation by eliminating port and yard congestion, and ensuring the smooth flow of business within the agency.

The bureau assures the public that it will remain steadfast in ensuring unhampered delivery of its services, especially in these trying times that the movement of goods, essentials and nonessentials, is deemed both substantial and critical.

Revenues

MEANWHILE, in an economic bulletin, Department of Finance Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said government’s efforts to raise revenues last year will play an important role in the country’s economic recovery in the new year.

“Despite higher fiscal deficit, a strong revenue performance enabled the country to maintain good macroeconomic fundamentals, attain manageable inflation, sustain low interest rates and keep its investment grade credit rating,” Beltran said. “These positive develop-

ments augur well for a strong economic recovery as the country gradually loosens its quarantine restrictions.”

Based on the first 10 months of 2021, total national government revenues increased five percent to P2.49 trillion from P2.37 trillion in the same period in 2020. Tax revenues rose by 9.1 percent, higher than the 7.4 percent nominal GDP growth in the first three quarters of 2021. BIR collections increased by 6.8 percent, which is slower than the 9-month nominal gross domestic product growth due to the closure of a domestic refinery. The latter led to the BIR collecting a lower share of petroleum product taxes.

BOC collections rose by 17.1 percent as imports recovered. BOC’s collections of P525.4 billion over the period is lower by a hairline than its pre-pandemic collections of P527.7 billion.

Non-tax revenues dropped by 22 percent due to nonrecurring collections last year from government corporations and government offices as mandated under Bayanihan 1.

Meanwhile, expenditures increased by 11.5 percent, partly on account of disbursements for Covid-response programs.

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Friday, January 7, 2022 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Relationships BusinessMirror

What will 2022 bring in the way of misinformation on social media?

PHOTO BY MARVIN MEYER ON UNSPLASH

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By Anjana Susarla Michigan State University

T the end of 2020, it seemed hard to imagine a worse year for misinformation on social media, given the intensity of the presidential election and the trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic. But 2021 proved up to the task, starting with the January 6 insurrection and continuing with copious amounts of falsehoods and distortions about Covid-19 vaccines.

To get a sense of what 2022 could hold, we asked three researchers about the evolution of misinformation on social media.

ABSENT REGULATION, MISINFORMATION WILL GET WORSE Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University While misinformation has always existed in media—think of the Great Moon Hoax of 1835 that claimed life was discovered on the moon— the advent of social-media has significantly increased the scope, spread and reach of misinformation. Social media platforms have morphed into public information utilities that control how most people view the world, which makes misinformation they facilitate a fundamental problem for society.

There are two primary challenges in addressing misinformation. The first is the dearth of regulatory mechanisms that address it. Mandating transparency and giving users greater access to and control over their data might go a long way in addressing the challenges of misinformation.

But there’s also a need for independent audits, including tools that assess socialmedia algorithms. These can establish how the social-media platforms’ choices in curating news feeds and presenting content affect how people see information.

The second challenge is that racial and gender biases in algorithms used by

social-media platforms exacerbate the misinformation problem. While social-media companies have introduced mechanisms to highlight authoritative sources of information, solutions such as labeling posts as misinformation don’t solve racial and gender biases in accessing information.

Highlighting relevant sources of, for example, health information may only help users with greater health literacy and not people with low health literacy, who tend to be disproportionately minorities.

Another problem is the need to look systematically at where users are finding misinformation. TikTok, for example, has largely escaped government scrutiny. What’s more, misinformation targeting minorities, particularly Spanish-language content, may be far worse than misinformation targeting majority communities.

I believe the lack of independent audits, lack of transparency in fact-checking and the racial and gender biases underlying algorithms used by social-media platforms suggest that the need for regulatory action in 2022 is urgent and immediate.

GROWING DIVISIONS AND CYNICISM Dam Hee Kim, Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Arizona “Fake news” is hardly a new phenomenon, yet its costs have reached another level in recent years. Misinformation concerning Covid-19 has cost countless lives all over the world. False and misleading information about elections can shake the foundation of democracy, for instance, by making citizens lose confidence in the political system.

Research I conducted with S Mo Jones-Jang and Kate Kenski on misinformation during elections, some published and some in progress, has turned up three key findings.

The first is that the use of social media, originally designed to connect people, can facilitate social disconnection. Social media has become rife with misinformation. This

leads citizens who consume news on social media to become cynical not only toward established institutions such as politicians and the media, but also toward fellow voters.

Second, politicians, the media and voters have become scapegoats for the harms of “fake news.” Few of them actually produce misinformation. Most misinformation is produced by foreign entities and political fringe groups who create “fake news” for financial or ideological purposes. Yet citizens who consume misinformation on social media tend to blame politicians, the media and other voters.

The third finding is that people who care about being properly informed are not immune to misinformation. People who prefer to process, structure and understand information in a coherent and meaningful way become more politically cynical after being exposed to perceived “fake news” than people who are less politically sophisticated.

These critical thinkers become frustrated by having to process so much false and misleading information. This is troubling because democracy depends on the participation of engaged and thoughtful citizens.

Looking ahead to 2022, it’s important to address this cynicism. There has been much talk about media literacy interventions, primarily to help the less politically sophisticated. In addition, it’s important to find ways to explain the status of “fake news” on social media, specifically who produces “fake news,” why some entities and groups produce it, and which Americans fall for it. This could help keep people from growing more politically cynical.

Rather than blaming each other for the harms of “fake news” produced by foreign entities and fringe groups, people need to find a way to restore confidence in each other. Blunting the effects of misinformation will help with the larger goal of overcoming societal divisions.

PROPAGANDA BY ANOTHER NAME Ethan Zuckerman, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Communication, and Information, UMass Amherst I expect the idea of misinformation will shift into an idea of propaganda in 2022, as suggested by sociologist and media scholar Francesca Tripodi in her forthcoming book, The Propagandist’s Playbook. Most misinformation is not the result of innocent misunderstanding. It’s the product of specific campaigns to advance a political or ideological agenda.

Once you understand that Facebook and other platforms are the battlegrounds on which contemporary political campaigns are fought, you can let go of the idea that all you need are facts to correct people’s misapprehensions.

What’s going on is a more complex mix of persuasion, tribal affiliation and signaling, which plays out in venues from social media to search results.

As the 2022 elections heat up, I expect platforms like Facebook will reach a breaking point on misinformation because certain lies have become political speech central to party affiliation. How do socialmedia platforms manage when false speech is also political speech?

THE CONVERSATION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Leslie Grace, 27; Robert Sheehan, 34; Nicolas Cage, 58; Katie Couric, 65.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Take nothing for granted, and forge ahead with optimism. Don’t waste valuable time on things that don’t matter. A positive attitude coupled with the desire to make alterations at home consistent with your long-term plans will help you maintain a better quality of life. Tidy up loose ends that stand between you and what you want to achieve. Your lucky numbers are 9, 17, 21, 29, 32, 37, 43.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’ll face opposition from someone competitive. Don’t let anyone disrupt your plan. Keep your eye on what you want to achieve, and put your intelligence and energy into reaching your goal. Distance yourself from high-risk situations and people. HHH

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t let stubbornness set in when you should be exploring the possibilities. Learn all you can regarding the ins and outs of something that can help you perfect a skill you want to use to your advantage.

Change begins with you. HHHH

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Put one foot in front of the other, and continue to push your way to the front of the line. Use your intelligence and a little brute force until you are happy with the results you achieve. Speak on your behalf, and avoid being misinterpreted. HH

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CANCER (June 21-July 22): Incorporate your imagination into everything you do, and you’ll stand out and make a difference. Don’t expect everyone to be on your side; jealousy will prevail, and it’s up to you to stay focused on giving your all and doing your best. HHHHH

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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Learn through observation. If you move forward without thinking about consequences, you’ll end up having to do things twice. Don’t let change throw you off guard. Analyze what’s happening, and make the necessary adjustments that offset any chance of failure. HHH

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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You can have fun and make an impression without overspending. Be innovative, and you’ll develop a cost-efficient plan that will open doors and offer insight into new and exciting possibilities. Don’t let negativity stand in your way. HHH

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A disciplined approach to what others expect of you will help you finish what you start. Take better care of your health and home, and it will spare you loss and regret. Take the path that soothes your soul instead of following someone else. HHH

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Refuse to let anyone hold you back. Consider what’s best for you, and follow through. It’s OK to be different and follow your gut feeling. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals, and do what makes you happy. Romance is favored. HHHHH

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Go over every detail. Sharing your thoughts and feelings too soon will backfire. Spend more time observing and less time sharing. Put your time and effort into how best to use your skills to get ahead or make a difference. HH

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Follow your interests. Incorporate something you love to do into your daily routine. Work that you enjoy can make your life less stressful. Look into what you need to do to offset negativity and poor decisions. Let go of the past. HHHH

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Anger will stand between you and what you want to achieve. Refuse to let what others do or say ruffle your feathers. Focus on what you can do to get ahead. Discipline and determination are encouraged. HHH

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Turn your dreams into a reality. Don’t let what others do anger you. Instead, put your energy where it counts, and concentrate on whatever it takes to achieve happiness. If you can imagine it, you can incorporate it into your life. HHH

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are unique, creative and attractive. You are instinctual and responsive.

‘block parties’ BY ADRIAN JOHNSON The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Soak (up) 4 Bottle lid 7 It cuts with the grain 13 One might be fraternal 15 National bird of Australia 16 Pop star Grande 17 Place that accepts plastic 20 Yearly 21 Colorful fish in a pond 22 Stitches 23 Last letter in the Greek spelling

of “Cyclops” 24 Sch. in Cambridge 26 “___ Week” (Barenaked Ladies

hit) 28 Worker with a stop sign 35 Peter Hernandez, ___ Bruno

Mars 36 Catch some rays 37 “Wowzers!”

38 What a bloodhound tracks 40 Toupee, slangily 42 Astronomer Carl 43 Dehydrate 44 Org. with many return

envelopes?

46 Web destination 47 Hook, line, sinker, etc.

51 Keanu’s role in “The Matrix” 52 Arid 53 Chatterbox’s “gift” 56 SIMPLE savings plans, e.g.

60 Graffiti, to some 62 Llama’s smaller relative 64 Stereotypical nerd accessory,

or a punny hint to the football

positions at the ends of 17-,

28- and 47-Across 67 Look up to 68 Curve 69 Like feet after a long hike 70 Less shallow 71 “I’m not impressed” 72 ICU workers DOWN 1 Helmet fastener 2 Olympic legend Jesse 3 Folks with a blanket and

basket, say 4 Musician such as Yo-Yo Ma 5 Buddy, in Bordeaux 6 Trick, slangily 7 Competing on a track

8 9 10 11 12 14 18 19 25 27 29 30 31

32

33 34 35 38 39 41 45 48 49 50 54

Wrath Strikes topple them Make full Once more Armed conflicts Sch. in Greenwich Village Clothing for hunting, briefly Hoodlum Pre-Soviet ruler They often clash in Hollywood Dude ___ (vacation spot) Arctic native Option if one wants to make a move?

Site with content from many sites Genuine Locale for thieves Inch-long berry Coppertone letters Like insubstantial evidence June honoree, familiarly Hit the cue ball into a pocket More tidy Trail mix Actor Chandler Part of a squirrel’s hoard

55 56 57 58 59 61 63 65 66

Uncovers Tablet with a mini variety Traveled on a Harley Peak Ditch, as a class Airport conveyance Alternatives to Macs Before, in a sonnet Mineral deposit

Solution to today’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, January 7, 2022

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Myopic and visually impaired: ‘Don’t Look Up’ THE Netflix blockbuster Don’t Look Up, headlined by a powerhouse cast led by (from left) Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence.

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ON’T look up! Humanity is down there and this is where the action is.

That is the blunt, if not atrociously funny message of Don’t Look Up, the hit new film from Netflix.

One cannot even consider this a cautionary tale because a narrative that warns of an impending apocalypse typically takes on at least a somber tone.

But this film from the get-go does not really take itself seriously—from the scientist who sells his brain and soul to the Devil (i.e. lust and fame) to a bright PhD candidate who is hysterical down to the President and the media. Or why would the screenplay make them huge caricatures if the purpose of this film is to alert us of what has been predicted all along—that human beings will be the death of humanity, and that the cycle of life really does not mean we people will be always at the top of heap?

At the core of Don’t Look Up is the discovery by two astronomers of a comet moving in the direction of the Earth. This seems to be a common scientific fact and we find out the powerful governments in our planet have the means to stop and destroy such an extraterrestrial body. There were cases already in the past of said bodies hurling themselves down to our surfaces but the effects had been negligible. But this time, Dr. Randall Mindy and his student Kate Dibiasky, a doctoral candidate in astronomy, have a more startling realization: the comet spells the end of human civilization.

They have to tell someone and that someone has to be the person that can make the prime decision on what to do. The two astronomers need to see their president. But to go to the president, who is a woman, they have to pass through a bureaucracy called the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which is headed by Dr. Oglethorpe.

Facing the president, Dr. Mindy and Ms. Dibiasky will encounter a politician who is worried of the impact this would have on the next election more than on the planet. President Janie Orlean would tell them to sit tight and assess, which, in the face of an impending doomsday, is nothings short of stupid. But politicians, as we know them, are so clueless morally that any stupid act is bound to be seen as a lustrous strategy.

It takes a long time for the White House to come to its “assessment” and go into action—to destroy the comet. As soon as the plan is in place, however, a tech billionaire enters the scene. He has other plans: to blow

the meteor into manageable and useful bits and pieces; the comet has an economic value after all.

Along the way, Dr. Mindy becomes more popular and leaner. His beard gets a trim and he becomes a sex symbol/poster boy for science. This development is an amusing metaphor about the mass media and its desire to turn all things into user-friendly units. Make research digestible. Turn science into a sexy material.

This brings us to the real nature of this film—it is a kind of upgraded commedia dell’arte, where the characters are accessible because they are stock. You have the rulers and lovers, the Fool and the Ordinary Man. There are no gray characters: everything is in black and white.

The President is corrupt and dim-witted. What makes her seductive is that she is played by Meryl Streep. You don’t look for great acting in that role if good performance warrants nuances. You demand a sort of delicious romp and Streep is just too willing to serve it to us. And so is the media represented

by Brie Evantee, host of the TV show The Daily Rip, here played with as much gusto and salaciousness

by Cate Blanchett. Over-the-top, these personifications lose a delicacy but who cares about laces and ribbons, pastels and sunshine, the world is coming to an end and our governments and sources of information care only about their survival.

If there is a sweetly duplicitous character in this film, one who chews the scenes, it is Mark Rylance as Peter Isherwell, the CEO of the giant tech firm aiming to tap the wealth of the comet.

He is also one of President Orlean’s top donors and therefore has her ears.

I am not a fan of Jennifer Lawrence but how she survives her eccentric kookiness at the start of the film converts me into an admirer. She has this sense of daring and wonderment that both look real in this fantastic science fiction. When she meets Yule, played by a subtle Timothée Chalamet, then we have two young people we can be hopeful with.

Not everything is a parade of caricatures and a display of the carnivalesque in Don’t Look Down, which was written, produced and directed by Adam McKay. There is a grain of truth in how in the world of authorities, leaders wrangle for the spotlight.

That even science—or maybe because it is science—has to fight fake news. There is freshness in the presentation of the life on this planet being terminal and it is in the claim that we—our society, our human group—have indeed an end. Believe me, not even halfway through the film, with all those characters, I was wishing Earth be destroyed by Comet Dibiasky.

By the way, Ariana Grande is in this movie. Why? I do not know. What I know is she is not the comet.

‘Marry Me, Marry You’ nears finale

ONE series I am hooked on is Marry Me, Marry You: Merrily Ever After?

If you’re into K-dramas and also watching this teleserye, then you would know what I mean. All the essential components that you love in K-dramas can be found in the Paulo Avelino-Janine GutierrezJake Ejercito show. As the story soon reaches its climax, Andrei and Camille (Paulo and Janine) will have to find a way to overcome their relationship problems before their families, who are slowly unraveling a complicated history, totally tear them apart.

I simply love the dynamic between Janine and Paulo who play Camille and Andrei, respectively. Camille and Andrei couldn’t stand each other when they first met. Andrei is a snobbish rich guy, but thanks to Paulo’s portrayal of the character, there’s still that charm that make you swoon over him. Janine deftly plays her character with much positivity and warmth, and she is the perfect match to Paulo.

PAULO AVELINO and Janine Gutierrez

The series showcases a lot of subtle but cute scenes. One of them that netizens couldn’t help gush over is the rain scene where Camille was soaking wet and Andrei suddenly arrives with an umbrella. It’s actually an innocuous moment but thanks to that slow-motion action of Andrei approaching Camille like a true “knight in shining armor,” it was kilig vibes to the max.

Then there’s that “love square”. You see, Andrei’s best friend, Cedric, played by the dashing Jake Ejercito, complicates things by also falling in love with Camille. Andrei’s ex-girlfriend Patricia (Iana Bernardez), on the other hand, is nowhere close to giving up her love for Andrei as she grows more jealous of his blossoming romance with Camille.

Oh, there’s really so much to fall in love with in Marry Me, Marry

You, such as other quirky characters (a standout for me is Sunshine Dizon; many of her scenes can be considered a highlight in each episode) and heartwarming secondary storylines.

So, imagine my shock to learn that the show is now on its last three weeks. Separation anxiety is real for this viewer as early as now. Spoilers ahead but Camille and Andrei do end up together and the former even gets pregnant but the storyline now is she suffers an unfortunate miscarriage. As Camille grieves and copes with the traumatic loss of the baby, she also becomes estranged from Andrei and will have second thoughts about starting a family with him.

Will Andrei and Camille’s love story have a happy ending? Is there still a chance for the families of Andrei and Camille to make peace?

Don’t miss the final three weeks of Marry Me, Marry You: Merrily Ever After? I certainly won’t.

Marry Me Marry You airs weeknights at 8:40 pm on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, and Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Viewers who use any digital TV box at home such as TVplus, only need to rescan their device to be able to watch Marry Me, Marry You on TV5 and A2Z. Marry Me, Marry You, which figured in the list of the mostwatched TV programs among US multicultural Asian homes in September, is also available to viewers in and out of the Philippines on iWantTFC, while viewers outside of the Philippines can watch on The Filipino Channel (TFC) on cable and IPTV.

More GMA dramas airing in Latin America THREE more top-rating GMA dramas are making their debut in Latin America. The Spanish-dubbed versions of Little Nanay, Dahil sa Pag-ibig, and Madrasta will have their grand premieres in Ecuador’s free television. The three series are the latest addition to the growing number of GMA dramas airing in the Latin American region made possible through GMA’s partnership with Latin Media Corp.

TC Television will broadcast the Spanishdubbed version of Little Nanay as La Inocencia De Tania. The series stars Kris Bernal, whose Impostora also made waves in Ecuador. Little Nanay tells the story of a mentally challenged young woman

who gets pregnant and must face the challenges of being a mother. It also stars Mark Herras (Ysabel), Sunshine Dizon (Dulce Venganza), and Nora Aunor (El Amor Mas Grande).

Meanwhile, the Spanish-dubbed version of Madrasta is set to premiere on Ecuavisa as La Madrasta. The series stars Arra San Agustin, Juancho Trivino and Thea Tolentino who recently captivated Ecuadorian viewers via the hit drama Heramanas (The Half Sisters).

Another hit GMA afternoon drama, Dahil sa Pag-ibig is set to captivate Ecuadorian audiences via Ecuavisa with its recent premiere as ¿Por

Amor O Por Dinero? It is top-billed by Sanya Lopez, Benjamin Alves, Pancho Magno and 2017 Reina Hispanoamericana Winwyn Marquez. It tells the story of a wife who sacrifices even her dignity just to save her husband from the death row in the Middle East.

Ecuadorian viewers have expressed their excitement on social media over the three new Filipino telenovelas. GMA dramas remain strong in Ecuador with three other titles currently airing in the country due to their popularity in the ratings: Someone To Watch Over Me (No Me Olvides), The Half Sisters (Hermanas), and Sa Piling ni Nanay (Ysabel).

PREGNANT AND HAPPY

IS there any truth to rumors that the young actress is pregnant with her much older boyfriend? The boyfriend has always been very supportive of the actress. He has even helped her through financial difficulties as it is known that the actress supports her entire family, including the extended ones. Now that the actress is rumored to be pregnant, we won’t be surprised if she and her boyfriend will announce marriage plans. Despite allegations of grooming, the guy has been good to the actress and her family.

He genuinely has her back and supports her in whatever she does.

Even if he is much older, he isn’t possessive and controlling.

SET FOR LIFE

NOT every celebrity can be a jet-setter during a pandemic when there’s barely any work for most actors and actresses. Still, this actress has been traveling the world, seemingly with no care for the expenses involved. The actress was not born into a rich family but at one point, she was in a relationship with a really rich guy who showered her with money and houses and that kind of set her up for life. Another boyfriend taught her how to invest her money properly, so, yes, you could say that she’s now set for life.

Any income she gets from acting is just a bonus.

COUPLE ALERT

THE couple is now Instagram official after the holidays. The guy, an actor-politician, and the girl, an actress, are both technically single. The actress has long been separated from her husband. The guy, meanwhile, is in a long-term relationship with the mother of his kids. He has never left this woman even when he enters into other relationships. In the end, he always comes home to her because he knows she is loyal to him. He isn’t sure if his new GF really likes him or his money, but he appreciates her being easy on the eyes.

NO X-DEALS FOR HER

WHILE there are some celebrities, influencers and starlets who unscrupulously ask for freebies from online sellers and small businesses, the actress is known for supporting them in her own little way. When small shops message the actress on social media if they could send her some gifts, she insists on paying for them.

She makes sure to post if and when the good and/or services don’t conflict with her endorsements. Even for her wedding, she refused X-deal offers from her suppliers saying she understands how difficult it is to earn money these days.

The toprating soap Dahil sa Pag-Ibig

B6 Friday, January 7, 2022

Public Attorney‘s Office gives legal advice online via #PALA

Virtual sustainability career fair invites Filipino job seekers across the globe

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ETAMORPHOSIS Group with the support of Sustainable PH and the Society of Sustainability Practitioners and is sponsored by a metaverse virtual event space called Gather is hosting the Philippines’ first ever Virtual Sustainability Career Fair called the Virtual Career Academy (VCA) Summit 2022!

The VCA Summit is a 5-day annual event meant to invite employers and job seekers to come together and share mutually-beneficial opportunities in the sustainability practice.

The event offers activities such as industry career talks to engage audiences, employerhosted workshops and panel discussions to help employers and job seekers get to know each other better, free resume and interview coaching opportunities for job seekers to prepare for their job applications, and a raffle

to end each day of the week with a bang!

The first run last March 2021 on Digital Transformation had Microsoft Philippines and Go Philippines as the co-presenters and boasted an outcome of 17 industry speakers, 600+ participants, 115,000+ people reached, 15,000+ engagements, 17+ companies and employers, and 100+ job openings.

This year, Metamorphosis Group is aiming for a bigger and better virtual career fair experience for everyone.

“We’ve already reached out to multiple schools and industry sectors across the Philippines.” explains Danica Octa, President and CEO of Metamorphosis Group, “We want employers to get access to these talents that they wouldn’t normally know how to reach, and these talents want to be in an event where they

can easily speak to employers so they can position themselves as really great candidates. Believe me, this is an event that is worth the investment! And to think that this is going to promote sustainability in the Philippine job market! This is truly a great advocacy.”

“The need for a more sustainable world today cannot be understated,” explains Shawntel Nieto, President of the Society of Sustainability Practitioners or SSP. “With this comes the desire people have to build careers centered on what they believe in alongside the need for companies to become more sustainable - in practice, vision, and values. We believe we have a multitude of both in the Philippines and we are so excited to bridge the two through our upcoming career fair.”

The organizers have also tapped all kinds of employers (i.e. multinationals, SMEs, NGOs, etc) to become part of this meaningful event.

Other features of this event include exploring Metamorphosis Group’s Virtual Career Academy metaverse platform as well as award shows for employers and job seekers and a talent insights survey and report.

The Virtual Career Academy Summit 2022 will be running from March 21-25, 2022. Interested partners can visit the website with more details at https://metamorphosis-group.co/ vca-summit or inquire at partnerships@ metamorphosis-group.co

Experts urge public to observe minimum health standards while the government continues with vaccination

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T this time of the pandemic, anything goes on the social media. And if you think it's dominated by tech savvy millennials and Gen Z generations, think again.

Yes, the social media can be really be put into good use.

Take a look at the recent trending of Public Attorney's Office‘s (PAO) #PALA that stands for Persida Acosta's Legal Advice, an online legal advice information dissemination program on Facebook Live at Facebook Fan Page “Persida V. Rueda-Acosta.”

Broadcast live every Friday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. #PALA‘s episode aired last December 3 has virtually hit over two million viewers and is still counting, to the delight of the PAO Chief herself.

“That means, many Filipinos are in dire need of our services, among them, the free legal advice. And at this time of the pandemic, they are getting them at the comfort of their homes or anywhere else they bring their gadgets on,” said the lady chief.

Chief Acosta is most sought-after for her expert legal advice and viewers’ entitlements provided for by the law locally and worldwide.

With inquiries choking up to her neck, she has to be assisted by PAO's District, and Regional Public Attorneys nationwide in rendering appropriate legal advice down to the concerns at the regional level; this includes mediation online to settle disputes to avoid unnecessary filing of cases in courts.

At #PALA, Acosta brings with her over two years of TV hosting experience from her past TV program billed “Public Atorni,” in 2010 over then ABC TV5. Among the frequently

AGV gives opportunity to earn with your extra time

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ITH 2022 being here, opportunities of earning from the internet is ever so accessible with grit and determination. As the normal changes, an evolution in our schools and working places have evolved, pushing people into becoming digital nomads.

And even if one is in between jobs, these opportunities given by Play-to-Earn (P2E) have been made accessible to all.

Before, a parent could say in Filipino “Kakacomputer mo kasi yan!” (It’s because you keep on playing!) when one gets a low grade, poor eyesight, or something in between. It then has turned into a field where people play professionally, and now, anyone can earn while they play, so what’s stopping you from starting it this 2022?

Astra Guild Ventures, or AGV, is one of those gaming guilds where anyone looking to play can go to and try to even get a spot.

AGV, in fact, has 2,035 of these players, and is on an increasing trajectory where you might be able to get a spot in.

Starting point

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HE country must change its mindset about how it reacts to the pandemic into one that takes into account the healthcare system and vaccination levels among the population.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said this at the recent townhall meeting entitled “State of COVID in the Philippines: A dialogue on the Omicron and Delta variants: What we can expect, what we can do.” The zoom event was held online on January 5 and broadcasted over the Go Negosyo Facebook page.

“We want the economy to open safely, and the only way to do that is to maintain our health situation,” said the Go Negosyo founder.

“Vaccinations will not prevent people from being infected but it will prevent people from getting severe illness and death. We should be concerned but not panic, and we should move ahead as planned,” he said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that healthcare utilization should indeed be part of the scorecard, and that it will need to be monitored closely. He added that while Omicron appears to be milder, it could easily overwhelm the healthcare system should it become the dominant variant. “The sheer number alone may negate the mild nature, we have to be careful and mindful,” he said.

The country, he said, must prevent breaching the red line of healthcare utilization, and continue to protect the

vulnerable, who are likely to overwhelm the hospitals.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos described the growth of COVID cases in the National Capital Region as “exponential”. He reported that 34.15 percent of its 95 isolation facilities are already occupied even in this early stage of the uptick in cases.

He said that home quarantine is being encouraged, and focus must be on triaging cases to avoid overwhelming hospitals and facilities.

Vaccine Expert Panel member Dr. Rontgene Solante observed that as of January 3, emergency rooms saw mostly mild cases, and all had a history of socializing during the holidays.

OCTA’s Dr. Guido David noted the almost vertical spike in the number of cases. Hospital utilization rates are also rising and halfway to Delta levels, this despite the prevalence of mild cases. It is believed that the cases are mostly mild or moderate and that because there is still room in the hospitals, people with mild to moderate symptoms choose to be admitted in case the symptoms become worse.

All the experts were in agreement that the public must continue to observe the minimum public health standards.

“Vaccination is not complete without minimum public health standards, which is key to preventing infection and spread,” said DOH’s Duque.

OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor

Austriaco echoed Concepcion’s call for a paradigm shift. “It’s important to change our mindset, come to terms that if you are vaccinated and boosted, you should not be terrified. But you should remain prudent and careful,” he said.

Austriaco cited data coming from South Africa showing that cases during their Omicron surge showed a very slim spike: it went up fast but also went down quickly. He added that Omicron might become a natural vaccine that will give significant population protection once it passes. He cautioned, however, that it will first have to find those who are unvaccinated or with waning immunity.

“We will expect high numbers, but mostly mild cases, fewer hospitalizations and deaths,” he said. As such, he emphasized that people should not panic. “There will be no lockdowns unless the hospitals are overwhelmed. Beds must be reserved for severe and critical cases,” he said.

Concepcion has expressed his full support for the MMDA’s decision last January 2 to limit the movement of unvaccinated individuals in Metro Manila to protect them against COVID-19.

He emphasized that keeping the economy going is critical if the country is able to pay back the trillions of debt that it has incurred as a result of its COVID spending. “We have the arsenal of vaccines, and the teamwork between the public and private sector,” he said. “We really have to find a way to coexist with COVID,” he said.

PAO Chief Atty. Persida R. Acosta asked questions in #PALA include feuds in the family and the neighboorhood, workers rights and security of tenure, topics on rumor-mongering, land-grabbing, taxation and property ownership among others.

On record, #PALA has more than three million supporters, dependents, and even defenders so to speak on the free legal services of the PAO agency throughout the country.

FOR those that do not want to put up funds to start, they can apply for a so-called “scholarship” where these digital assets used to play are lent out.

Profit sharing is applied, and this varies depending on the manager or guild and player. A daily quota is also implemented, which is on a reasonable and achievable level when a player competes on an average level, at the least. Others impose updates and even participation in guild activities.

All of these vary from manager to manager, or from guild to guild. Their playable assets also vary, as some manage them more

actively and update them as needed to further supplement player performance.

In AGV, the current focus of their scholarship program is on Axie Infinity, as they are taking care of 2,035 players, and that number is currently growing with a goal of 4,000 scholars in mind! In Axie Infinity, a player must have a team of 3 Axies, and these are lent out in the scholarship program. A player can at least, in a day, earn up to 75 SLP, which is the token awarded in the game, and it takes between an hour to two to play. Despite that, AGV plans to expand to other P2E games in the future, providing more opportunity to those who are next in line in getting a blessing as a scholar.

Be part of the agv team

THOSE applying must be active in the communities put up by AGV, such as in their Discord server. Participating in their activities is also a big plus!

To become a member of AGV, following the AGV Twitter and TikTok, liking the AGV Facebook Page, subscribing to the AGV Youtube Channel, and joining the AGV Telegram Chat would be the first steps. And to find out if any applying scholar has the commitment in becoming a scholar, inviting members into their Discord server would be the next step. In-depth instructions of the process can be found there, so if you are interested, better head there now!

And slowly but surely, you will definitely be part of the AGV community. It’s just a test of grit and commitment, to see if you can handle it. So in 2022, will you be able to find a new income stream? AGV is right here to help you reach that goal.

Uplive WorldStage opens the road to fame this 2022

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PLIVE recently announced its second annual global live streamed singing competition, Uplive WorldStage at a grand event at Novotel Hotel in Araneta City.

Formerly known as Singing for the World, WorldStage’s first UpLive Champion is a Filipina – Zandy Storm, who along with fellow guests, such as the singing trio JBK, Director Ricky Rivero and a host of Uplive streamers, were welcomed by the CEO and co-founder of Asia Innovations Group (AIG), Mr. Andy Tian.

Founded in May 2016 as part of AIG, Uplive a live-streaming platform that allows users to broadcast and view real-time videos via smartphones. It has more than 200 million registered users worldwide, making it the largest independent video social entertainment platform in the world outside of China and is available in more than 100 countries. Twitter recently recognized Uplive as one of the most influential international brands in 2019. UpLive was also named as the Highest Paying Platform

JOINING forces for Uplive, from left: Abigail Posner, Paula Abdul, and Christine Xu, AIG US CEO. for Broadcasters in 2018.

Uplive WorldStage 2022 is slated for the grand finals on January 23, 2022. It is judged by Emmy/Grammy award winner Paula Abdul together with Blac Chyna, Casper, Montana Tucker, Nathan T. Wang, Jackie Rivera, Willie Baker, Ray De La Garza, Chris Rosa, Lisa Chen and Sisi Zhang.

For more information, visit https://www. upliveworldstage.com/2021.

Sports BusinessMirror

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

PATAFA DEFERS ACTIONS ON EJ FOR TWO WEEKS

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HE Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) on Thursday announced that it is deferring the implementation of its four-point action against world-class pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena and co. for two weeks.

“In deference to the comments made by Malacañang and due respect to the PSC [Philippine Sports Commission] and its board of trustees further the statement of the board on behalf of Patafa board of directors, the Patafa has agreed to defer the implementation of the recommendations made in the fact-finding report dated December 29, 2021, for a period of two weeks,” the Patafa said in a statement signed by its chairman Rufus Rodriguez.

The Patafa said in the same statement that it “strongly urges all the parties to submit to PSC mediation and explain the matter of liquidation at the said forum.”

PSC chairman William Ramirez said in a collegial decision of the sports agency’s board that the Obiena issue is a mere liquidation problem.

A Patafa administrative committee recommended for the dropping of Obiena from its national pool and the filing of estafa charges against the Asian men’s pole vault record holder and misappropriation of funds by his mother, Jeanette Obiena.

The association committee also dropped legendary Ukranian pole vault coach Vitaly Petrov fron the national team and recommended that he be sanctioned by the World Athletics. Obiena’s benefactor, American James Michael Lafferty, was also declared persona non grata by the Patafa. Josef Ramos

AL PANLILIO says the Manuel V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation it fulfilling its commitment to the Philippine Olympic Committee.

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HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) thanked the Manuel V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation (MVPSF) for donating 500 booster shots of the Moderna anti-Covid-19 vaccine for members of the national team who will see action in the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games in May. MVPSF President Al Panlilio committed the booster shots on Thursday, saying its part of the foundation’s commitments to the POC where he serves as First Vice President.

VACCINE BOOSTERS FOR SEAG-BOUND ATHLETES, COACHES

“I’s absolutely a big help,” POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said, adding that members of the delegation who couldn’t be accommodated by the 500 booster shots will get their third vaccines in Tagaytay City.

“Some of the athletes I think already got their booster shots, so for those who will not make it, we will shoulder it in Tagaytay City,” said Tolentino, a congressman representing the Eighth District of Cavite where Tagaytay City is a part.

Panlilio is in charge of the POC’s vaccination program.

“This is our early commitment to the POC and the moment all documents have been completed by the delegation members, they’ll immediately get their booster shots,” said Panlilio, also the president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and president and CEO of Smart and PLDT. The POC listed 626 athletes who will compete in 39 of the 40 sports programmed by Vietnam in the May 12 to 23 SEA Games.

The date and venue in Metro Manila will be announced as soon

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as arrangements and documents are completed, according to Tolentino.

The POC headed a vaccination program through the National Task Force Against Covid-19, Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and in coordination with the local government of Manila in May and June last year in anticipation of the Hanoi SEA Games that were earlier scheduled for December 2021 and the Tokyo Olympics last July.

Close to a thousand athletes

PBA SUSPENDS GAMES IN GOVERNORS’ CUP

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difficult for them outside of their training and competition.”

Go expressed his disappointment over the decision of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association to drop Obiena from its national Training pool.

“Our national athletes are focused on winning and bringing honor to their family and our country,” he said. “It’s not easy to train and excel in sports. Let’s not compound their tasks by making them work on things that they’re not supposed to do.”

The Patafa said it was dropping Obiena from the national pool and filing of estafa charges against the Asian men’s pole vault record holder and misappropriation of funds against his mother, Jeanette Obiena.

It dropped legendary Ukranian pole vault coach Vitaly Petrov from

its roster and recommended that he be sanctioned by the World Athletics.

Obiena’s benefactor, American James Michael Lafferty, was also declared persona non grata by the Patafa.

“I’m disappointed that these issues are taking the attention away from the support and praise that should be given to world-class and promising pole vaulter EJ Obiena,” Go said. “As the country’s pride, he has the weight of a whole nation on his shoulders. The least we can do is unburden him with these issues.”

As chair of the Senate Committee on Sports, Go emphasized that he has seen the struggles and difficulties athletes have to endure especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unless the matter is resolved, Go warned that the Senate would launch an investigation to determine

whether or not there were lapses on the part of the government or the athletics body.

“I urge the Patafa, POC [Philippine Olympic Committee] and PSC [Philippine Sports Commission] to resolve the matter as soon as possible,” he said. “Otherwise, I will be compelled to call for a legislative inquiry to find out if there are lapses and excesses on their part.”

By Josef Ramos

HE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will not resume the Governors’ Cup until after the surge in Covid-19 infections in Metro Manila is contained.

“It’s always a painful decision to postpone PBA game,” PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas said on Thursday. “But at this time when the infection rate is rising, the risk of continuing with the games for our players, officials and staff far outweighs our financial loss.”

Vargas said the PBA board approved the suspension during a special meeting on Wednesday night and stressed that the Governors’ Cup will return after protocols revert to Alert Level 2.

“The PBA will be back. It’s just a temporary pause to allow

PSC receives disinfectant chemicals

Djokovic denied entry to Australia B

RISBANE, Australia—Novak Djokovic’s chance to play for a 10th Australian Open title was thrown into limbo Thursday when the country denied him entry and canceled his visa because he failed to meet the requirements for an exemption to Covid-19 vaccination rules.

The top-ranked Djokovic announced on social media Tuesday that he had “exemption permission” and landed in Australia late Wednesday after receiving a medical exemption from the Victoria state government that was expected to shield him from the strict vaccination regulations in place for this year’s first major tennis tournament.

But border authorities did not accept the exemption. The Australian Border Force issued a statement saying Djokovic failed to meet entry requirements.

“The rule is very clear,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a news conference Thursday. “You need to have a medical exemption. He didn’t

and coaches and national sports association officials—except those locked down in the provinces—got their two doses of Sinovac vaccines.

The booster shots, Tolentino said, are also intended for the 19th Asian Games China is hosting from September 10 to 25 in Hangzhou.

Panlilio said that PLDT, Smart and the MVPSF, through the coinitiative of former POC President Ricky Vargas, also donated 500 Moderna booster shots to the Philippine Basketball Association as part of their commitment to the pro league.

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (bottom left) joins a worldwide International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting on Wednesday night with IOC President Thomas Bach assuring that the Beijing Winter Olympics will push through from February 4 to 20 but with Covid-19 health and safety protocols stricter than those implemented in last year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics. Filipino-American Asa Miller is the country’s lone representative to the Winter Games in men’s slalom and giant slalom. He will be accompanied by a bare essential seven-member team— coach, trainer, chef de mission, Athletes Village administration office, Covid-19 protocol officer and one representative from the Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation.

Go reminds sports officials on obligation for athletes EN. Christopher “Bong” Go on Thursday came close to chastising sports officials for mishandling the Ernest John “EJ” Obiena issue which he said could been resolved amicably from the onset.

“Instead of promoting the welfare of national athletes and helping them focus on their training for international competitions, they are being dragged into issues that should have been resolved amicably by sports officials and organizations tasked to fulfill such functions on behalf of these athletes,” said Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports.

“It’s your [sports official] task to help the athletes, attend to their needs and lighten the burden outside of their sport,” Go said. “Your job is not to pin them down and make life

Editor: Jun Lomibao | Friday, January 7, 2022 B7

have a valid medical exemption. We make the call at the border, and that’s where it’s enforced.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the visa cancellation followed a review of Djokovic’s medical exemption by border officials who looked “at the integrity and the evidence behind it.”

He said Djokovic was free to appeal the decision, “but if a visa is canceled, somebody will have to leave the country.”

The president of Djokovic’s native Serbia blasted the “harassment” of the star, who was detained overnight at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport.

The 20-time major winner had to wait more than eight hours at the airport to find out if he would be allowed into the country. He was later moved to a hotel, pending arrangements for a flight out of Australia or legal action.

THE Australian Border Force issues a statement saying Novak Djokovic failed to meet entry requirements. AP

PHILIPPINE Sports Commission Engineering staff Daniel Espino receives the Nobac Urban disinfectant chemicals from an Interworld Enterprises representative.

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HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) received 400 liters of disinfection chemicals from the Interworld Enterprises on Thursday at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

The organic-based deodorizer disinfectant delivered in 20 20-liter containers were officially received by the PSC Engineering through its staff Daniel Espino.

The disinfectant will be used at the PSC facilities at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and PhilSports in Pasig City.

PSC Executive Director Atty.

Guillermo Iroy Jr. said that the PSC is always grateful for the support from good friends and colleagues from the private sector.

“The donated disinfectant is especially helpful now as the agency doubles its disinfection schedule amid the rise of Covid-19 cases in the country,” Iroy said.

PSC facilities are disinfected after office hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends.

RICKY VARGAS: It’s always a painful decision to postpone games.

healing,” Vargas said. “This way we can assure our fans the quality of games will be sustained.”

The Governors’ Cup opened last December 8 in a closed-door setup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City and moved to the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao where fans at 30 percent capacity were accommodated last December 15.

Twenty-six games were already played before action was stopped during the New Year weekend following the alarming rise in virus infections.

Meralco team governor and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio agreed with Vargas.

“I think the best thing to do is just wait—just like what the NGAP [National Golf Asssociation of the Philippines] did when it postponed its tournament since the alert level were hiked,” Panlilio told BusinessMirror also on Thursday.

“We just have to hold off and postpone the games until it settles down. It’s the prudent thing to do.”

But Panlilio said a bubble setup is not in the league’s horizon.

“It’s too expensive and it might take a few weeks to have one [bubble],” he said. “So by that time, things might be better.”

PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said the league always puts premium on the health and safety of its family and the public.

“It’s a difficult choice but we cannot put the people under our care at risk, and also those who are with them. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Marcial said.

Full team scrimmages are also barred under Alert Level 3 but a seven players at a time training is allowed.

The Games and Amusements Board (GAB), meanwhile, said it will only allow professional leagues to resume in a bubble setup.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

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Friday, January 7, 2022

Editor: Tet Andolong • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Kia inaugurates Alabang dealership Story by Randy S. Peregrino

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FTER the successful relaunch of its new brand philosophy, Kia Philippines recently inaugurated its Alabang dealership. The opening of the newest branch leads the way to a brighter future under the management of Iconic Dealership Inc. (IDI), a multi-brand automotive dealer group and a wholly-owned subsidiary of AC Motors, an Ayala company. Also, Kia Alabang is the first dealership to champion the brand ’s “Movement That Inspires” slogan.

Customers living in the south of Metro Manila will be the first to experience Kia’s brand refresh. The dealership in Muntinlupa City is the first location to showcase the Korean car brand’s new store design and the new corporate logo. The epicenter of Movement That Inspires in the northern gateway to booming Calabarzon is now open to the public.

Bob Palanca, IDI Chief Operating Officer, believes that choosing Kia Alabang as the first dealership to carry the brand’s new identity is the right move.

“Kia Alabang is strategically located in one of the most vibrant convergences of the urban and suburban markets in the Calabarzon socioeconomic region where the rapid pace of progress is

The façade of the new Kia Alabang dealership.

From left: Kia Philippines President Manny Aligada, AC Motors Automobile Group President Toti Zara, Mayor of Muntinlupa City Honorable Atty. Jaime Fresnedi, President & CEO of AC Industrials Art Tan, and COO of Iconic Dealership, Inc. Bob Palanca Kia Philippines tempered with slow, deliberate countryside lifestyle. It is the perfect market landscape to highlight Kia’s focus on the customer experience that complements its quality and stylish products.”

Customers visiting the newlyopened Kia Alabang branch will immediately feel the brand’s renewed brand identity through the new spatial design and color scheme. The

dedicated customer area emanates warmth and puts customers at ease with its minimalist, wooden interior.

Step into the showroom, and it’s an entirely different experience. Achromatic colors and metallic surfaces exude a modern and futuristic vibe that shines the spotlight on the Kia models on display.

This new store identity and customer experience are expressions of the brand’s desire to inspire and transform the lives of Filipinos everywhere, which are significantly in line with the new Kia global movement—Movement That Inspires. Kia Philippines is dedicated to becoming a solid part of this movement.

While the new brand identity’s journey begins with Kia Alabang, Kia’s reputation as a provider of quality customer

and aftersales services remains consistent in all its dealerships nationwide.

“Kia Alabang is only the beginning of the brand’s reinvention following the launch of Kia’s new brand purpose.

Filipinos can expect more dealerships to adapt to the new store identity in the coming years. In addition, our goal is to constantly provide memorable customer experiences as we create various programs that aim to continuously strengthen the knowledge and skills of all our teams to better serve our valued customers,” explained Manny Aligada, Kia Philippines president.

All Kia dealerships are now more than prepared to provide the customer experience that the new Kia aims to deliver. Everyone can enjoy it when shopping for any of the models from Kia’s wide range of vehicles comprising its top 3 best-selling Kia models: the stylish and iconic Stonic subcompact crossover, the hardworking Soluto subcompact sedan, and Kia’s commercial vehicle, the K2500.

Other models are also available to serve various mobility needs: The versatile Seltos, ideal for both the city and the outdoors; the Picanto, compact and just right even for those pursuing big dreams; the Sportage, for faraway adventures; the Grand

Kia Philippines

Carnival for families; the Forte for those who exceed expectations; the sport sedan Stinger, one of the modern pillars of Gran Turismo, and the newly introduced all-new Sorento, the SUV for VIPs. As part of Kia’s commitment to providing a quality customer experience, its vehicles come with a generous fiveyear/160,000 km warranty. There is also 24/7 Roadside Assistance which comes free for five years and includes services such as emergency towing, personal assistance, minor onsite repair, medical assistance, information service, and more.

Interested customers may avail any Kia vehicle and its aftersales perks—all while immersed in an inspiring, transformative dealership experience—then be sure to drop by the new Alabang dealership. The 11th dealership under the IDI group—and 4th for the Kia brand—Kia Alabang is located along A labang-Zapote Road, corner Acacia Avenue, Madrigal Business Park, Muntinlupa City.

Customers may contact via (02) 8558-5888 local 876 and 804 for general inquiries or local 807 for servicerelated concerns, or through the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ KiaIconicDealershipInc/.

Sneak peek of Toyota Alabang

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NE Toyota dealership that has made a mark in the automotive industry is Toyota Alabang owned by Cesar T. Lee, fondly called CTL. If there’s someone who has seen firsthand how the outfit grew to what it is today—for one, it now has expanded its service station as the biggest in Toyota Far East in terms of land area—it is Danny “Sir John” Isla, for years CTL’s most trusted ally before Sir John became the founding president of Lexus Manila on January 14, 2009.

Sir John shares us a glimpse of the man who did it all.

The business knack of CTL

“IN the beginning, Toyota Alabang’s business was mainly focused on selling cars. There wasn’t enough UIO or units in operation to fill up the service workshop. Apart from selling genuine Toyota spare parts, the Parts Department was also responsible for taking charge of a few car accessories such as window tints, f loor mats and seat covers. Very basic car accessories.

“One time, I showed CTL a brochure of genuine Toyota Car Accessories given to me by an acquaintance I met at a birthday party. CTL was not keen about it initially. All he said was, ‘MAHAL YAN.’ A few days later, while I was on floor duty, CTL called me to

ask if the accessories in the said brochure were true and available. I called the person who gave me the brochure to confirm.

“My call turned out to be just in time as her shipment was being unloaded to her apartment while I was on the phone with her. I relayed the info to CTL and he only quipped, ‘Puntahan mo.’ Excited to receive such a direct order from the Supremo, I rushed to my car as an obedient soldier. But while I was backing up, a thought came up: ‘Aba, teka, anong gagawin ko dun?’

“Bumalik ako sa office and told CTL: ‘Boss, ano na pagdating ko dun?

Sumama ka na lang.’ [In 1990, wala pa namang technology ng video call].

“Sumama naman sya. We went to an apartment along Pedro Gil near St Paul’s College. Kumislap ang mga mata ni CTL when he saw the apartment overflowing with Toyota boxes from floor to ceiling. We randomly checked the contents of the boxes and CTL confirmed they were legit/ authentic Toyota accessories.

“In a few minutes, walang pakiemekieme, CTL asked the seller: ‘MAGKANO LAHAT?’ “The lady was dumfounded and couldn’t respond immediately—Ako rin nagulat. Before I knew it, DONE DEAL NA! “CTL instructed one of his drivers to get a truck from his fleet and load

all the boxes to be brought to TAI [Toyota Alabang Inc]. It was evening when the truck arrived. We spread the whole caboodle in the showroom and inspected each and every item for any damage and to make sure the numbers were correct.

“Madaling araw na kami natapos.

Bad shot na naman ako kay Misis.

“Dito nagsimula ang Accessories business ng TAI. The rest is history.

“Ibang klase talaga si CTL—pagdating sa negosyo, malakas ang kutob at matalas ang mga mata kung ano ang papatok. Matapang at matulis sa lahat ng bagay.”

Sir John is now based in Auckland, New Zealand, with his entire family.

Petron recognition

THREE Petron stations were chosen partners in nation-building by the Department of Energy (DOE) and motorcycle ride-hailing app, Angkas.

The homegrown oil giant was recognized for its real-time monitoring of pump prices and exemplary service in its retail outlets based on cleanliness of forecourt, cleanliness of comfort rooms, good personnel relations and constant availability of air and water facilities.

DOE Usec. Jesus Cristino Posadas paid tribute to the three Petron stations, namely, Equity on 1601 Taft Ave. Cor. Pedro Gil, Malate, Manila; L.A. Petron on 811 Quezon Avenue, Roxas District, QC; and, Local Boiler Fuel Services Inc. on Kamagong cor.

Metropolitan Ave., San Antonio, Makati City.

PEE STOP Despite

Covid-19’s evildriven aim to harm mankind, it can never stop us from greeting each other, HAPPY NEW YEAR! With God’s grace, we shall overcome.