BusinessMirror January 14, 2021

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Thursday, January 14, 2021

A7

nal banks seen to uplift Islamic banking industry in PHL

rt Islamic banking sector. of end-October, the Philipanking industry has capiequacy ratio of 12.82 perwhich is above regulatory ement. u r ba n k i ng s y stem h a s recognized for its strong cial condition and robust rate gover nance system ulture that will complethe Shari ’ah Governance work for Islamic banks,” xplained. bair Mughal said that Islamic ng is expected to be a “valuen the current banking and ial landscape of the Philipbecause it provides prodot available in conventional ing. wever, R icafor t pointed hat demand for it might mited. st like in other Southeast ries, demand has been conto specific market niches, ally in some parts of Min, where Islamic banking is y accepted and practiced,” plained.

Cha-cha in a pandemic stirs debates

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lamic banking and finance even before the enactment of RA 11439, according to Fonacier.

An Interagency Working Group on Islamic Banking and Finance, headed by the BSP, was established under Officer Order 2019-1210.

It was tasked with developing a regulatory framework for Islamic banking and finance; and building capacity among regulators and other stakeholders.

The Central Bank is also coordinating with the National Government-Bangsamoro Government Intergovernmental Relations Body in implementing Article XIII, Sections 32 and 33 of RA 11054 (Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao).

It covers the creation of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board and the promotion and development of Shari’ah-compliant financial institutions. In addition, it states that an IBU should be headed and staffed by qualified Islamic banking experts.

“This initiative is in keeping with the mandate under the BOL [Bangsamoro Organic Law] for the BSP, the Bangsamoro Government, the Department of Finance and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, to jointly promote the development of an Islamic banking and finance system,” Fonacier explained.

CONVENTIONAL BANKS SEEN TO UPLIFT ISLAMIC BANKING INDUSTRY IN PHL

c bank

Exclusion map

BM GRAPHIC: JOB RUZGAL

religion

are considered as investors in Islamic banking, she said. Conventional banking also mandates fixed interest on deposit liabilities and charges interest on borrowings, while Islamic banking implements risk sharing through profit-and-loss sharing.

Conventional banks are exposed to assets and liabilities mismatch risks, while Islamic banks’ assets and liabilities are “better matched.”

Upended by Covid

RICAFORT said that awareness of Islamic financial products and services will help boost the sector.

“There is great potential for Islamic banking in the country, especially if there is greater awareness on the benefits of Islamic banking and the linkages with large groups of investors globally, especially in the Middle East,” he explained.

Recognizing this concern, the BSP is providing programs to

increase awareness and capacity building required by the expanded Islamic banking system.

Fonacier said that a capacity-building program under the technical assistance of the Asian Development Bank concluded in July last year. Representatives from different regulatory agencies and banks participated in the modular training, which started in September 2019.

“However, with Covid-19, other

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capacity-building initiatives were put on hold while some training was shifted to virtual,” she added.

Experts wanted

ANOTHER concern cited by industry experts is the lack of human resources required to operate the Islamic banking sector.

Fonacier said the “countr y is [witnessing] the shortage of Shari’ah scholars who are also qualified in banking and finance.”

However, she emphasized this phenomenon is not “unique” to the Philippines.

Zubair Mughal agreed.

“I did not find any university or institutes who have proper educational or training network for Islamic banking,” he said.

Fonacier said that capacitybuilding is provided to potentia l Shar i ’a h adv isers to address this concern. In fact, the Central Bank recently hosted a

workshop on Islamic Finance in Arabic, she added.

“Further, under existing rules, Islamic banks or IBUs are given the flexibility to engage international Shari’ah consultants,” Fonacier said. “The BSP will continue to maintain flexibility in its approach to allow industry players to thrive in this new environment.”

global business today,” Craig was quoted in a statement as saying.

“We remain convinced that Islamic finance can play a major role in alleviating the social and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic,” ICD CEO Ayman Sejiny said.

Venturing in Sukuk

ALONG with the development of Islamic banking industry in the Philippines is the increase in interest for Sukuk bond issuance.

“Sukuk means Islamic Bond—it is an ideal instrument for liquidity management of Islamic Banking and will be an ideal drive force to leverage the Philippine Islamic banking and financial Industry,” Zubair Mughal said.

Sukuk is an Islamic financial instrument that complies with Islamic religious law. Proceeds from the issuance of sukuk are allocated for asset acquisition, in which each investor holds partial ownership.

The Philippine government, he said, can tap the Sukuk bond m a rk et to r a i se m i l l ion s i n funds, which can be allocated for different projects.

Zubair Mughal said this has become a trend in Ma laysia, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, among others.

Ricafort added that there could also be a great demand potential from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.

Earlier, Moody’s Investors Service said the country might potentially venture into Sukuk issuance given the large funding needed for its massive infrastructure drive.

The “Build, Build, Build” program of the government is expected to improve the country’s infrastructure and connectivity while shoring up the construction industry with higher spending and more job opportunities.

The potential market for Islamic financial instruments is seen to be dominated by Muslims, who comprise 10 percent of the country’s population.

Globally, Sukuk issuance might rise to $75 billion in 2020 from $71 billion last year, Moody’s Senior Vice President Christian de Guzman said previously. Bulk of the sukuk issuance this year is expected to come from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey.

The report by Refinitiv and ICD also noted that corporate Sukuk issuance has also picked up after a cautious halt in the first quarter of last year. The report indicates that companies are taking advantage of low borrowing costs to shore up their finances, while the pandemic continues to batter trade and economies.

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

EN T LY, A l-A m a na h IsInvestment Bank of the pines (A AIIBP) is the only universal bank authorized ovide both conventional slamic banking, financnd investment services in untry. It is a subsidiary of owned Development Bank Philippines (DBP). sidential Decree (PD) 264 ished the bank in 1973, ng with an initial capitaln of P50 million. AAIIBP, ded to become a developbank, invested bulk or 75 nt of its loanable funds to d medium and long-term lines in areas with high y of Muslims. These include ato, South Cotabato, Lanao ur, Lanao del Norte, Sulu, n, Zamboanga del Norte, oanga del Sur and Palawan. e Islamic bank adopted the terest principle” a year after ablishment following the ise of PD 542, which amended 4.

6848 transformed the AAIto a universal bank in 1990. ed to its authorized capital rising to P1 billion, which rises 10 million common .

2008, the DBP took full conver the Islamic bank after ning the majority of sharengs.

of the challenges that the c banking industry needs rcome is lack of awareness. ring his several visits to the pines, Zubair Mughal obd that Filipinos have many nceptions about Islamic ng. one, he said many think of c banking as a service only ng to Muslims, which is not se. amic Banking is a system, religion, so, it can be operor utilized by any country ut religious divide,” he exd. “But for Muslims, they an extra advantage that it ording to their religious es; for non-Muslims, it is good system for banking nance.” e conventional banking, Isbanking is a financial service roduct open to all clients, less of their religious beut they have key differences, ier explained. conve nt ion a l b a n k i n g , s it o r s a r e l e n d e r s , b ut

for the Islamic banks, allowing them to operate alongside the conventional banks.

The BSP wants both the Shariah-compliant banks and traditional financial institutions to be under the same regulatory and supervisory approach but noted that there should be consideration for the “unique” features of the Islamic banking operations.

“The goal is to provide a coherent, consistent, and comprehensive set of regulations and standards to encourage wider investor and consumer participation on Islamic banking and finance without any regulatory arbitrage,” the BSP said.

“The BSP’s existing licensing framework on the establishment of conventional banks and branches is adopted, as appropriate, with supplementary requirements relevant to Islamic banking operations and Shari’ah compliance,” it added.

RA 11439, which took effect on September 15, 2019, gives the Central Bank legal authority to issue a broader set of rules and regulations on Islamic banking.

I

S there a need to change the Constitution Overall assets amid the Covid-19 pandemic? This was the repeated question during the resumption of hearings of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments on the proposal relaxing the restrictive economic provisions of the Charter.

While economists and several lawmakers strongly backed the lifting of the economic provisions as the Philippines is currently one of the most restrictive countries in terms of foreign investment in Southeast Asia, IBON Foundation Executive Director Rosario Guzman said economic Charter change Eyeing opportunities Lack of data will have “zero efficacy for recovery, while having huge adverse side effects.”

“Economic Cha-cha is no vaccine for recovery and development,” Guzman said at

IN 2019, the BSP released two circulars—1069 and 1070—covering the guidelines on the establishment of Islamic banks and IBUs, as well as the Shari’ah Governance Framework (SGF) for the Islamic banking windows. Both resolutions were approved on December 13 last year.

The guidelines highlight consumer protection for the potential clients of the Islamic bank or IBUs owned by conventional banks.

The SGF, meanwhile, ensures that the financial institutions providing Islamic banking products and services are adhering to the Shari’ah principles in their operations. The framework is a comprehensive system outlining the institutional measures, arrangements, requirements, structure and policies of an Islamic bank or IBU. The BSP issued the circulars after RA 11439 was signed into law in August 2019.

The law recognizes the importance offering Islamic banking and finance to boost financial inclusion, especially for the underserved Muslim population.

Islamic banks, under this law, are allowed to accept savings accounts for safekeeping, investment accounts and foreign currency deposits, among others.

“If you [view] the financial exclusion map of Philippines, you will come to know that Muslims are majorly financially-excluded in the country,” Zubair Mughal said.

“One of the major reasons of this exclusion is that Muslim people avoid conventional banking due to interest, as interest is strictly prohibited in Islam. If you want to include them into the financial inclusion, then the final and ultimate products is Islamic banking.”

Shariah-compliant

IN January last year, the Monetary Board also greenlighted the introductory regulations for the establishment of the Islamic banking sector. This is in line with the implementation of RA 11439 and relevant Islamic banking provisions under RA 11054.

The Central Bank said in a statement it was aiming to establish an enabling environment

REFINITIV Asia Pte. Ltd. and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector development arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), forecast global Islamic finance assets to reach $3.69 trillion by 2024.

According to the 2020 Islamic Finance Development Report released by Refinitiv and ICD last December, global Islamic finance assets increased by 14 percent year-on-year totaling $2.88 trillion in 2019. Islamic Finance assets of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reached $1.2 trillion in 2019, followed by Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at $755 billion (excluding the GCC), and Southeast Asia at $685 billion, the report said.

The Islamic banking sector contributes the bulk of the global Islamic finance assets. The sector grew 14 percent in 2019, equating to $1.99 trillion in global assets.

This compares with just a 1-percent growth in 2018 and an average annual growth of 5 percent over the period from 2015 to 2018.

According to the report, the top five developed countries in relation to Islamic Finance are Malaysia, Indonesia, Bahrain, UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Refinitiv and ICD noted that Indonesia displayed in 2020 one of the most notable improvements in the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (Ifdi), moving into second place for the first time “due to its high knowledge and awareness ranking.”

ACCORDING to Refinitiv, the pandemic was a game changer as several Islamic banks reported losses and reduced profits throughout this year.

Nonetheless, the pandemic has also led to growth in some areas of the industry as some regulators turned to Islamic finance to mitigate the economic impact, the company said.

Refinitiv CEO David Craig said that “a lack of relevant, actionable data has held back the Islamic finance industry for too long.”

Now, Craig said, the IFDI is an important tool for policy makers and market participants.

“This market is worth nearly $3 trillion already and I’m excited about its future, particularly when it comes to Sukuk and because Islamic finance has so much in common with sustainable finance - one of the most significant trends in

RICAFORT is optimistic for the future of the Islamic banking industry in the Philippines, even though it is not yet as fully-established when compared to the level reached by other membercountries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

“There are many opportunities for Islamic banking to grow further in the Philippines,” he said.

The RCBC economist said that Mindanao has “great potential for economic growth and development, so Islamic banking could correspondingly flourish and tap more of the unbanked population as well in those areas.”

In doing so, Ricafort said that financial inclusion will be further promoted in the Philippines.

The Central Bank introduced earlier a roadmap, which is aimed at making 70 percent of adult Filipinos “financially included” by 2023.

the hearing on the Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, authored by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, seeking to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution to include the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.”

According to Guzman, the economy’s development lies in using the protections in the Constitution to gain from foreign investment, and not in taking away the protections and giving self-interested foreign investment free rein over the domestic economy.

She said foreign capital can contribute to development but “we are of the view that responsible government intervention and regulation is needed to create meaningful linkages and long-term benefits for the economy.”

Guzman said IBON’s position is to retain the economic provisions as they stand and not to open up the 1987 Constitution for any revisions or amendments.

“We have five major points—all together seeking to break the prevalent dogmatism and put foreign investment in its proper historical and development context,” she said.

First, Guzman said if the objective is to help the economy recover from the Covid-19 shock then a meaningful fiscal stimulus is better and has more immediate effect.

“The amendments are supposedly targeted for ratification alongside the May 2022 national elections. This is much too late and the economic damage from not having a real stimulus package today only means bigger problems for the economy in the years to come,” she said.

Guzman said addressing the lack of fiscal stimulus to help the economy recover is more urgent than Charter change.

Related story on page A12.

‘Now is the time’

HOWEVER, UP School of Economics Professor Emeritus Dr. Gerardo Sicat said the restrictive economic provisions on foreign capital “have long been blamed for impeding the country’s attractiveness to foreign direct investments.”

“This is the time to do it because when will we do it, when we have a crisis that needs enormous effort by the government to organize itself?” he asked.

“We have to lay the foundation for making the Constitution more progressive in attacking new reforms that will help the country move forward even better.... If we do this, I think we can undertake more economic reforms,” he said.

UP School of Economics Professor Emeritus and national scientist Raul Fabella agreed

Continued on A2

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CLARK MINTING PLANT

Costlier food merits DA’s strategy tweaks–DOF

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

HE Department of Finance is urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to “restrategize” its food programs and to roll out a “stronger” program against African Swine Fever (ASF) following the uptick in the country’s inflation rate in December.

Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil Beltran said in an economic bulletin on Wednesday that the quicker inflation in December last year at 3.5 percent was mainly on account of major food items, particularly vegetables and meat.

A COAST Guard personnel holds placards directing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and non-OFWs to their designated areas upon arrival in the country on Wednesday from Bahrain. China together with four other countries have been included on the list of countries with travel restrictions for having cases of the new variant of Covid-19. On Wednesday, authorities confirmed that a Filipino traveler from Dubai was found infected with the so-called UK variant. Story on page A2. NONIE REYES

T

By Bianca Cuaresma

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday unveiled details of its plan to relocate to a sprawling location in New Clark City, where the country’s central monetary authority intends to start building its security and printing complex.

See “BSP,” A2

DESPITE ONLINE BUSINESS BOOM, PHL RATES LOW AS HOST

By Cai U. Ordinario

D

ESPITE the boom enjoyed by online businesses in the country during the pandemic, a study by a US-based firm said the Philippines is not one of the best countries to put up these kinds of establishments.

Best Accounting Software, which

reviews and rates financial software for small and medium enterprises, ranked the Philippines 78th out of 99 countries in terms of the Best Countries to Set Up an Online Business. The country only recorded an overall score of 34.34.

Why the low ranking? The country scored poorly in indicators that pertained to Internet, broadband connectivity, and especially in Internet security.

“Majority of countries most suited to starting an online business are located in Europe. Joined by the US, Canada and Singapore, these countries provide an all-around great starting point for your next business venture— but, the ‘perks’ of these locations tend to be met with a higher corporate tax rate,” it stated.

See “Online,” A2

BELTRAN: “The DA’s food programs may have to be restrategized so that unaffected regions can supply alternative supplies of vegetables to typhoon-battered regions immediately after a typhoon. Likewise, a stronger program to stamp out ASF needs to be set up.”

“Vegetable supplies were dented by the successive typhoons that swept the country during the last quarter. Meat was adversely affected by the African Swine Fever,” Beltran said.

Apart from vegetables and meat, the finance official also pointed out that rice recorded a slight price increase of 0.10 percent.

Beltran added that regions directly battered by typhoons such as Cagayan Valley and Bicol also recorded the highest inflation rate of 6.6 percent.

“The DA’s food programs may have to be restrategized so that unaffected regions can supply alternative supplies of vegetables to typhoon-battered regions immediately after a typhoon. Likewise, a stronger program to stamp out ASF needs to be set up,” Beltran said.

Also contributing to the increase in the inflation rate is the uptick in transportation services to 8.33 percent in December from 7.63 percent the prior month, BelSee “Food,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0660

n JAPAN 0.4633 n UK 65.6918 n HK 6.1982 n CHINA 7.4368 n SINGAPORE 36.3311 n AUSTRALIA 37.3521 n EU 58.6934 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8121

Source: BSP (January 13, 2021)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, January 14, 2021

Online…

Continued from A1

Best Accounting Software measured the performance of economies according to Internet Coverage and Penetration as well as Country Wealth and Ease of Processes.

For Internet Coverage and Penetration, the indicators are Mobile Internet Speed; Broadband Internet Speed; Number of Fixed Broadband Subscriptions; Internet Users; Social Media Users; Secure Internet Servers; and Online Purchases / Paying Bills Online.

In terms of mobile internet speed, the country averaged 17.83 mbps and scored 7.47 overall; Broadband Internet Speed, 27.07 and scored 9.85; Number of Fixed Broadband Subscriptions, 3.87 people per 100 population; and Internet Users, 67 percent of the population and scored 57.33.

In terms of Social Media Users, the Philippines averaged 67 percent of the population and scored 65.59 overall; and Bills Online, 9.9 percent of the population and scored 10.11 overall.

In terms of Secure Internet Servers, only 111 Filipinos per 1 million people had secure servers and gave the country a score of 0.04 overall. This is the lowest performance for this category compared to other Asean countries included in the ranking.

In terms of Country Wealth and Ease of Processes, this included Corporate Tax Rate; GNI (Gross National Income) per Capita; Individuals with a Finance Account; Payment Processing Providers; Economic Freedom; Number of Start-Up Procedures; Days Required to Start a Business; Cost of Start-Up Business Procedures; and Time Zones.

The Philippines Corporate Tax Rate is at 30 percent, the highest among the Asean countries in the ranking. This gave the country a score of 14.29 overall.

There’s an urgent push to bring down the corporate tax rate to 25 percent in the first year of implementation of the CREATE bill, now under deliberation in a bicameral conference committee of Congress.

GNI per capita of the country is at $3,850 which enabled the country to get a score of 3.62; about 34.5 percent of the population have finance accounts, which earned for it an overall score of 16.8; and economic freedom, a score of 61.21 overall.

In doing business, the country recorded 13 procedures to register a business, the most number among the Asean countries on the list. It takes 33 days to register a business in the country and costs 23.33 percent of GNI.

There are six countries with the same timezone as the Philippines; 237 co-work spaces, the second highest among the Asean countries on the list; digital skills, a score of 77.22, the third highest in the Asean nations on the list; logistics, a score of 39.53 overall; and postal development index score, 37.93.

“Each category was scored out of 100 (100 for the top-scoring country, 0 for the worst) and an average score created from all of the 20 categories,” Best Accounting Software explained.

Best Accounting Software said every country was given a point based on where it ranked between the highest-ranking and lowestranking countries. Countries with the best scores were given 100 points, while countries with the lowest scores were allocated zero points.

All of the countries in between these two scores received a score on a percentile basis, depending on where they ranked. The final score was achieved by taking an average of the 20 categories.

The ranking was based on research that covered over 200 countries worldwide, before finally featuring a comprehensive analysis of 99.

Best Accounting Software said it included only countries where full data was available.

3 Covid vaccines due in Q1, but Sinovac stirs controversy Continued from A12

At the same time, the senator also noted vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.’s reply—that they will advise Sinovac to apply for an EUA, after concluding a contract with it—“only made it obvious that Sinovac is really the chosen one.”

In a separate development, however, Galvez appealed to the public to avoid discrimination.

Galvez denied that Sinovac is gaining the favor of the government, stressing that it is being used in Singapore, Turkey, Argentina and Malaysia.

“Bakit hindi natin gamitin sa atin [ Why don’t we try it here]?” Galvez asked aloud.

Galvez also assured the public that the Food and Drug Administration will issue the emergency use authorization (EUA) by February 20.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also denied that they are giving undue importance to Sinovac.

Vergeire said the country is indeed “choosy” when it comes to vaccines that are likely to make the cut, for they will make sure that it would be “safe and efficacious” for the Filipinos.

50-percent efficacy rate

A BRAZILIAN trial showed that Sinovac was found to be just 50.4-percent effective at preventing symptomatic infections of Covid-19.

But Galvez said that they have yet to wait for the “official pronouncement” of the vaccine experts panels. “This should be scientifically proven],” Galvez said in Filipino.

This was echoed by vaccine expert Dr. Nina Gloriani, who said, partly in Filipino, “We should see the data first before making a conclusion.”

Galvez disputed claims that Sinovac is one of the most expensive. Sinovac’s offer is much lower, or “midrange,” he said, but declined to divulge the exact price due to the confidentiality disclosure agreement.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Covid variant now in PHL; vax still effective–expert

By Samuel P. Medenilla & Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

E

XISTING vaccines for Covid-19 remain effective even against its reported new variants, a medical expert said on Wednesday, as health authorities confirmed that the so-called UK variant is already in the country.

Late Wednesday, the Quezon City government said it was coordinating with the Department of Health in closely monitoring the case of a resident who tested positive for the United Kingdom variant (B117).

The patient was tested on January 7 upon arrival from Dubai and thereafter stayed at a hotel as part of protocol, said a statement from City Hall.

The day after, it was confirmed that the person had the so-called United Kingdom variant after his sample was sent to the Philippine Genome Center. He was immediately brought to an isolation facility where he is now being cared for.

He left the Philippines on December 27 on a business trip to Dubai with one companion. His female companion tested negative upon arrival.

The patient and his companion tested negative before leaving the Philippines, and tested negative as well upon arrival in Dubai.

The City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit has conducted contact tracing on the resident's close contacts upon his arrival like the healthworkers at the isolation facility where he was brought, and the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) that brought him from the hotel to the isolation facility.

The CESU is waiting for the DOH to submit the list of passengers who were on the same flight as the patient from Dubai to contact-trace passengers who may be from Quezon City.

As an added precaution, the patient’s immediate household contacts have been brought to an isolation facil-

ity where they were also tested.

“We have to remain cautious and vigilant to avert the spread of this new variant. What is important is we take care of the resident, and make sure we don’t sow panic in the community,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

Vaccines still effective

EARLIER on Wednesday, Citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Nina Giorlani, a member of the DOH Vaccine Expert Panel, said the identified more infectious variants of Covid-19 from South Africa (B1351) and UK do not affect antibodies against the said illness.

“So the vaccines...will still be effective,” Giorlani said in an online press briefing on Wednesday.

However, she said they will continue to monitor for other Covid-19 variants, which may no longer be affected by existing vaccines.

Currently, the government has imposed travel restrictions for foreign travelers from 32 countries due to the presence B117 in the said countries.

As of Wednesday noon, DOH said it has yet to identify the presence of the B117 in the country.

No holiday surge–yet

THE Department of Health (DOH)

expects the impact of holidays on Covid-19 cases to be felt near end-January as the country’s total number of infections stood at 492,700 on Wednesday.

“It is too early to tell at the moment. In order to determine if reported cases are higher than what is usual, we need to look at longer period trends,” the DOH said.

The DOH, however said, it needs to observe reported cases in the next few weeks.

“We may see the impact of the holidays toward the end of January as individuals come back from celebrating the holidays,” the DOH said.

As of January 10, 2021, the country’s overall utilization rate for Covid-19 is at low risk, “Hence, our health capacity is not yet overwhelmed.”

The agency stressed, “But we do not want this to happen that’s why we are implementing various mitigating measures already for example travel restrictions and strict quarantine.”

As of 4 p.m. of January 13, a total of 1,453 additional Covid-19 cases were logged, with 397 recoveries and 146 deaths.

Of the total number of cases, 5.0 percent (24,478) are active, 93.1 percent (458,523) have recovered, and 1.97 percent (9,699) have died.

DFA TO ASK SAUDI TO INCLUDE HSW IN KAFALA BAN T HE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it will be negotiating with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to include Filipino household service workers (HSWs) in its abolition of the kafala system.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Y. Ariola disclosed they were supposed to hold initial talks last month, but had to reset after the Saudi government imposed a

lockdown due to the presence of the more infectious strain of Covid-19, B117.

“We are planning to go to Saudi Arabia within the first quarter to lobby the inclusion of household service workers [from those exempted from kafala],” Ariola said during an interview with PTV on Wednesday.

She said the KSA is scheduled to start abolishing its kafala system on

March 14, 2021, for some sectors, excluding HSWs. The kafala or sponsorship system is a scheme practiced in many Middle East countries, where migrants are required to get the authorization of Saudi employers to be employed in the KSA. Many labor advocate groups called the scheme a form of “modernday slavery,” since it leaves migrant

workers, particularly HSWs, vulnerable to abuses from their employers.

Aside from the KSA, Ariola said several other Middle East countries such as Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have started initiatives to abolish their kafala system.

She welcomed these efforts, which she said will benefit the 2.6 million Filipinos in the Middle East. Samuel P. Medenilla

Cha-cha in a pandemic stirs debates Continued from A1

that lifting of the constitutional limitation will make the Philippines more foreign investment-friendly.

“Who can make the land flourish best should own it. The land should be able to produce as much as it can and citizenship is not a condition,” he said.

However, he said these amendments alone would not result in a “tsunami of foreign investments.”

He added, “We must also look at high cost of power, difficulties of doing business, flawed judicial system, unsettled peace and order, which affect both local and foreign investors.

“If we are not investing more of ourselves, I don’t see why foreign investors will do so.”

Former National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director General Ernesto Pernia also backed an economic Cha-cha, saying this will help the economy amid the pandemic.

“We cannot be competitive with our Asean and global neighbors if we do not open our economy. If we don’t do it, we will be locked into only a 5-6 percent economic growth which we shouldn’t be having,” he added.

Also, economist-lawmaker Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay, citing the OECD FDI restrictiveness index, said the Philippines is among the world’s most restrictive countries for foreign direct investments.

“No other Constitution has our foreign restrictions,” he said.

Salceda said the Philippines has locked itself out of significant foreign investments and, therefore, opportunities for job creation.

“We have spent hundreds of billions of pesos in foregone revenue for tax incentives, when we have not tried a simpler, cheaper solution: opening industries in need of capital to foreign investment through legislative action,” he said.

“Instead of sending our labor force abroad, let us attract foreign investment and create the jobs here in the Philippines,” he added.

Con-Ass?

MEANWHILE, House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairman Alfredo Garbin Jr. on Wednesday claimed his panel is now sitting as a constituent assembly (Con-Ass).

“Every time we deal with proposing amendments or revising the Constitution, we are sitting as a constituent assembly exercising constituent power,” he said.

“Once Congress initiates the procedure to propose amendments to the Constitution, it is deemed to have entered into the exercise of its constituent power.

There is no need for a prior act of organizing itself as a body exercising constituent power,” he added.

But he said the required three-fourths

vote under the Con-Ass will be applied during the third and final reading voting.

“The three-fourths vote of all members of Congress, voting separately, will only apply on third reading,” he said.

Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2 seeks to amend restrictive provisions of the Constitution by adding the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” to sections of Articles XII, XIV and XVI. Doing so would delegate to Congress the authority to determine whether economic policies dictated by the Constitution, such as limits to foreign equity ownership, should be retained or changed or completely abolished.

“These provisions have given rise to monopolies and oligopolies by some Filipino-owned industries at the expense of consumers,” the Ako-Bicol Party-list Representative said.

Former constitutional amendments committee chairman and now Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez disputed Garbin’s stand on Con-Ass. He said committees can never be a Con-Ass and “they are [only] preparatory to the Constituent Assembly.”

Rodriguez said the Con-Ass can only be constituted by the plenary of the entire Congress.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate also said the constitutional amendments committee “cannot just declare motu propio that it is now being constituted as a Constituent Assembly.”

“Amendment via legislation route

of House is not the Constituent Assembly contemplated by the 1987 Constitution,” he added.

Also, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said no committee of the Senate or of the House including the Committee on Constitutional Amendments can sit as a constituent assembly, “because the constituent assembly is composed of members of the House and the Senate in a joint meeting or assembly.”

Signature campaign

MEANWHILE, Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) turned over to the committee the 555,610 signatures from different provinces in the country signifying grassroots support for “surgical” amendments to the 1987 Constitution, especially its economic provisions.

Malaya, who is also a part of the Inter-agency Task Force for Federalism and Constitutional Reform, gathered the signatures in a roadshow promoting education in different parts of the country of the merits of amending certain provisions in the Constitution.

Besides the 500,000 signatures, Malaya said 1,489 municipal mayors also support amending the Charter.

Malaya presented a resolution by the League of Municipalities supporting surgical amendments to the Constitution, including the restrictive provisions cited in RBH No. 2.

Food…

Continued from A1

tran said, adding that international crude oil prices also rose 10.9 percent to $48.76 per barrel from $43.95 per barrel in the previous month due to tighter supply arising from demand recovery.

Nonetheless, the year-on-year decline in prices of utilities and fuels helped temper the increase in the general price level, Beltran said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that inflation rate accelerated to 3.5 percent, coming from 3.3 percent in November 2020 and 2.5 percent in December 2019.

For 2020, the country’s inflation rate averaged 2.6 percent, within the 2-percent to 4-percent target of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

BSP… Continued from A1

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno and Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vince Dizon signed the contract for a 50-year lease of the land on which the new BSP complex in Tarlac will stand.

The contract covers the lease of a parcel of land spanning 313,171 square meters, located along the New Clark City-SCTEx access road.

The term of the lease is for 50 years reckoned from this date, with the option to renew for another 25 years, upon mutual agreement of both parties.

“The signing of this contract now gives the BSP the go-signal to proceed onto the next phase of this undertaking, which is the procurement of the architectural and engineering design, and the construction of the modern, eco-friendly facilities mentioned earlier,” Diokno said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

The governor said the New Clark City BSP complex will pave the way for new modern, ecofriendly facilities including: a new plant complex for production and distribution of currency, and the printing of secure products such as the national identification card and land title certificates; executive offices and administration buildings; green spaces and employee wellness areas; a new BSP museum; and other support structures necessary to the operations of the Bank.

At present, the BSP’s current plant is in its Quezon City complex. Earlier, Diokno said the BSP facility in Quezon City is “ripe for a major upgrade.”

“With this contract, the BSP and BCDA affirm [their] shared commitment to promote efficient and effective governance by supporting the government’s infrastructure program to decongest the National Capital Region and decentralize the delivery of public services,” Diokno said.

In September 2019, the BSP and the BCDA entered into a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the groundwork necessary for the establishment of a new BSP facility in the New Clark City National Government Administrative Center, in Capas, Tarlac.

“This new facility is intended to strengthen the strategic foothold of the BSP in the country’s key growth corridors, in pursuit of its mandates in the areas of currency and securities production and distribution,” the BSP said.

WITH ‘DEAD CAT BOUNCE’ IN ’21, WE NEED STIMULUS, NOT CHA-CHA, SAYS IBON Continued from A12

“The policy question is not so much how to attract foreign investment per se but rather what needs to be done for foreign capital to contribute to real long-term national development. FDI will operate according to its narrow rational self-interest unless regulated and directed to serve the country’s development needs. Foreign investors seek to profit from the Philippines—not develop it—and they will consistently use their accumulated capital and other capabilities to their individual corporate advantage,” she added.

Fourth, she said foreign equity restrictions can be an important tool for development.

“They are not binding constraints. Indeed,

after decades of liberalization, they are among the last remaining regulatory tools to build national industrialization policy on. It would have been better to have a bigger basket of policy measures at hand but we are forced to make do with what we have left,” she added.

Fifth, Guzman said the current global conditions of growing protectionism, investment controls, and eroding multilateralism make relaxing foreign equity restrictions even more inappropriate.

“The most powerful capitalist economies in the world have been at the forefront of thousands of protectionist measures since the onset of the protracted global crisis in 2008,” she said.

“The trade war between the US and China

grabs headlines but protectionism is also on the rise across Europe, Russia, India and elsewhere.

Global FDI flows have also been falling since 2016 and especially in 2020 upon Covid-19. The next few years will be uncertain depending on the direction of the pandemic, the impact of policies to deal with the economic shock, as well as geopolitical tensions,” she added. If the objective is to help the economy recover from the Covid-19 shock, then a meaningful fiscal stimulus is better and has more immediate effect,” IBON said.

‘Too late’

IBON said amending the 1987 Constitution at this time is also “too late” and that the economic damage caused by lockdowns is more concerning than the at-

tractiveness of the Philippines to foreign investors.

Removing foreign investment restrictions was also inappropriate at this time given that advanced economies have been at the “forefront of thousands of protectionist measures since the onset of the protracted global crisis in 2008.”

IBON said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has also reported the decline in investment liberalization and growing investment restrictions since the mid-2000s.

“[We should] retain the economic provisions as they stand. The economy’s development lies in using the protections in the Constitution to gain from foreign investment, not in taking away the protections and giving self-interested foreign investment free rein over the domestic

economy,” IBON said.

Earlier, the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) threw its support behind the proposal to amend the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

A veteran legislator and deputy speaker aired similar sentiments. Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said amending these provisions is badly needed to help the Covid-devastated economy to recover, as such would attract badly needed investments.

In a statement, FEF said lifting the economic restrictions in the Constitution would help the Philippines recover from the pandemic.

However, FEF stressed that any amendment should be limited to economic provisions to avoid political controversy and division.

Cai U. Ordinario and Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

PSA adjusts Step 2 process of National ID registration

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has moved to adjust the Step 2 process of the National ID registration.

This was after the PSA conducted a small-scale rollout of the Step 2 Registration in San Pablo City, Laguna, last week.

PSA Deputy National Statistician Rosalinda P. Bautista told the BusinessMirror that so far, Step 2 registration has only covered a small number of Filipinos.

“For Step 2, as a gradual rollout plan, very small number pa lang and registered and generated with PSN [PhilSys Number]. We are also doing some system adjustments due to technical issues that have been encountered,” Bautista revealed.

The PSA said a total of 218 registrants completed this step by visiting the registration center at Barangay San Marcos for the capture of their biometric information, such as fingerprints, irises and facial images.

Following the start of the Step 2 Registration in the city of San Pablo in Laguna, additional registration centers will also be opened in other areas of the city, and in the provinces of Bataan, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, and Rizal in the succeeding weeks. The PSA aims to start the Step 2 Registration in more provinces by February 2021.

She said so far, a total of 10.5 million Filipinos have been registered under Step 1 of the National ID registration.

Bautista said Step 1 registrations will resume next week and have set a target of 14.9 million this year.

“With guidance from the PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council [PSPCC], the PSA starts the Step 2 Registration on a small-scale, gradual basis to ensure the best and safest PhilSys registration experience for Filipinos in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This

allows us to ensure our system’s functionality and security before a bigger deployment, and to put in place strict health and safety protocols at our registration centers. We also aim to start the Step 1 Registration in all provinces this January,” said Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.

In adherence to health and safety protocols, the PSA scheduled registrants who completed the Step 1 Registration in batches to manage the number of registrants at registration centers.

With their supporting document and appointment slip, Step 1 registrants are to comply with these health measures, while visiting their designated registration center on their scheduled appointment to advance to the next step.

The PSA has also partnered with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) to enable registrants to open their own bank accounts right after completion of the Step 2 Registration through LandBank branches or identified agent banking partners with assistance from participating local government units.

This co-location strategy helps achieve one of the goals of PhilSys to ensure financial inclusion for all Filipinos by providing them with a formal identification to access basic banking and other financial services, making them less vulnerable to informal and predatory lending practices that charge onerous interest rates.

The Step 2 Registration shall be followed by the final step of the registration, or the Step 3 Registration, which will include the issuance of the PSN and the PhilID. The PSN is randomly generated and will, likewise, serve as a permanent identification number for every registrant which can be used for digital transactions. PSA partnered with PHLPost for the delivery of the PSN and PhilID to successful registrants.

Prosecutor resets Dacera case hearing to Jan. 27

F

IVE of the 11 respondents facing rape with homicide charges of flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera have submitted their joint counteraffidavit, as the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office began its preliminary investigation on Wednesday.

The Philippine National Police submitted the supplemental complaint of the investigating police officer and manifested that they are still awaiting for the results of the DNA analysis, Toxicology/Chemical analysis Histopath examination and laboratory results from Makati Medical Center and moved for the resetting

of the preliminary investigation to January 27, 2021, a news statement from the Prosecutor’s Office read.

Seven of t he 11 respondents attended the preliminar y invest igat ion.

Assistant City Prosecutor Joan Bolina-Santillan, for her part, referred the case for “further investigation.”

Dacera, 23, was found lifeless in bathtub on New Year’s day at City Garden Grand Hotel Room 2209 in Makati City.

She had earlier checked in to the hotel with friends and celebrated New Year’s Eve with them. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, January 14, 2021 A3

CJ Peralta designates acting judge in two Sulu courts amid lockdown

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court designated a presiding judge of Jolo, Sulu, on Wednesday to attend to pressing court matters, including the delayed court action on the issuance of warrants of arrest against nine policemen who were charged last week for four counts of murder in connection with the killing of four Army intelligence men in June last year.

Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez admitted to reporters that the decision of the provincial government to impose a lockdown in Sulu province to prevent the entry of the new variant of coronavirus (Covid-19) has prevented

Judge Alfad Jr. shall be entitled to additional expense allowance and judicial incentive allowance.

Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta

the court from immediately acting on the case.

He said there was no judge to attend to the case filed against the nine policemen and on other filings in court.

BM

“[The] judge could not return to the province because it was on lockdown. Had to designate a judge to act on [the] filings,” Marquez said.

To address the concern, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta issued on

Davao City opens hotel-type facility 54,761 private for ‘picky’ Covid-19 positive patients school students

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CITY—A hotel-type quarantine facility was opened here recently to cater to Covid-19 patients who can afford to pay quarantine services but outside the government-mandated facilities for positive patients.

The city government would not disclose the name of the original hotel that was turned into a temporary treatment and monitoring facility (TTMF) but it said the hotel is intended for asymptomatic patients, or those with mild symptoms, “and who do not want to be admitted to a government facility but can afford to pay the cost of the quarantine services.”

City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday said this was the first such a facility being tendered for paying patients here.

“It means that those patients who do not want to go to our TTMFs [temporary treatment and monitoring facilities] for whatever reason, they have an option to go to this facility and pay for the quarantine,” she said in broadcast over Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday.

The hotel-type TTMF offers a package inclusive of 10 days quarantine in a room with a toilet, complete with meals and medical staff to monitor the patient. It currently has a capacity of 29 beds.

Duterte-Carpio said the city government decided to have a paid

TTMF “due to encounters with patients who do not want to be quarantined in a facility chosen for them according to their health status.”

“The reason why we have a paid TTMF is because we have encountered patients who are picky. So now we already have a TTMF or facility if you are assigned by the doctor as a mild or asymptomatic patient and then you do not want to go to our TTMF, then they can opt for the hotel and pay,” she said.

As of December 29, the city government has a total of 2,194 beds in the isolation facilities for probable and suspect cases, along with the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities for Covid-19 positive cases. The facilities are a mixed setup of a hotel, public schools, gymnasiums, and other facilities converted into isolation areas.

Split the fines

MEANWHILE, the barangays have turned over the proceeds of fines for violation of Ordinance 0301-20, or the Face Mask Ordinance. The barangays would remit only 60 percent of collected fines and penalties and to retain the 40 percent for their Covid-related initiatives.

The Face Mask Ordinance took effect into law on July 23 last year. It was amended by Ordinance 0416-20 to strengthen the enforcement of the ordinance at the barangay level.

In the amended ordinance, 60 percent of the collected fines and penalties will go to the barangay

that apprehended the violator and 40 percent will go to the city government’s coffers.

“So that the public will comply and the enforcers will be encouraged to implement the ordinance especially in the barangay, we will give them a share. For every P500, 60 percent will go to the barangay and 40 percent will go to the local government collection,” said Councilor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, author of the ordinance.

Dalodo-Ortiz said the barangays may opt to utilize their share of 60 percent for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for their functionaries.

C it y Trea su rer’s Of f ice in Charge Lawrence Bantiding said his office has prepared the documents for the handover of funds to the barangays.

The top 10 barangays with the most number of apprehension were Calinan Proper, Bago Aplaya, Angalan, Pampanga, Pangyan, Lacson, Sto. Nino, 76-A, Riverside and Lizada.

“For example, for Calinan Proper our total collection is 22,500 so the barangay share is 13,500,” Bantiding said.

The city government collected a total of P451,000 in fines and penalties from 902 violators of the ordinance between July and December last year. “They opted to make use of the no-contest provision of the ordinance wherein they pay P500 for the first offense at the City Treasurer’s Office,” he said.

98 and still counting: Bong Go leads launch Zamboanga City police officer of new Malasakit Center in Rodriguez, Rizal faces dismissal for drug abuse

T

HE 98th Malasakit Center was inaugurated in Rodriguez, Rizal at the Casimiro A. Ynares Sr. Memorial Hospital (RPHSMontalban Annex) on Tuesday, the Department of Health-Calabarzon announced on Wednesday.

Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, along with Rizal Governor Rebecca A. Ynares, led the launch.

In his speech, Go assured that the center will provide medical and health assistance for the residents of the second district of Rizal who cannot afford medical treatment.

The center has an initial fund of P3 million to be replenished monthly and will be increased as the need arises.

The center serves as a one-stop shop to hasten the delivery of medical services and free medicines, specially to indigent patients.

DOH-Calabarzon Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo, on the other hand, lauded the senator’s effort in

A

SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go comforts fire victim during his visit to Obando, Bulacan, on Tuesday, January 12, 2021. Go also recently launched the 98th Malasakit Center in Rodriguez, Rizal, along with Governor Rebecca A. Ynares. PNA PHOTO BY MANNY BALBIN

the establishment of Malasakit Centers in the country.

“Many of our countrymen have benefited from these centers. This

Wednesday an administrative order assigning the presiding judge of Branch 25 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Siasi, Sulu Alsad Hailil Alfad Jr. as acting presiding judge of RTC Branch 3 of Jolo and RTC Branch 4 of Parang in Sulu.

Judge Alfad has been tasked to “take cognizance of all urgent matters pending in the said court, in addition to the regular duties in his own court, effective immediately.”

Chief Justice Peralta said Judge Alfad will continue his duties until the return of Judge Grace Tillah-Alasco and Judge Shene Chiong Cañete.

“Judge Alfad Jr. shall be entitled to additional expense allowance and judicial incentive allowance,” Peralta said.

is also one of the important projects in giving assistance and that no one should be left behind,” Janairo said in Filipino. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

POLICE officer who heads the anti-drug unit of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) is now facing dismissal proceedings after testing positive for illegal drug use.

In a news statement issued on Wednesday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas said he has already ordered the conduct of a precharge investigation and summary dismissal proceedings against Maj. Jivertson D. Pelovello, head of the ZCPO’s City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU).

“Anybody who will test positive for drug use does not deserve to stay in the service any minute longer,” he said.

Pelovello has been placed under restrictive custody and was reassigned to the

Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Section of Police Regional Office 9 while the precharge investigation and summary dismissal proceedings against him are ongoing.

Sinas said Pelovello was among the 60 personnel of the ZCPO, including 12 CDEU personnel who underwent drug testing by the Regional Crime Laboratory Office last December 18, 2020, where he tested positive.

A subsequent drug test on January 6 showed that he was again found positive for drug use.

Police Regional Office 9 Director Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Ylagan, meanwhile, reported that Pelovello has been disarmed of his issued firearms and slapped with corresponding administrative charges. PNA

get B2HELP’s P5,000 cash aid

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

O

VER 50,000 private school students who have unpaid tuition and miscellaneous fees have received a grant of P5,000 under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), or Republic Act 11494 for Higher Education Tulong Program (B2HELP), implemented by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

CHED Chairman J. Prospero E. de Vera III thanked President Duterte, as well as members of Congress, for helping students affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 54,761 students benefited from the amelioration package.

“As instructed by President Duterte to immediately implement the Bayanihan 2 amelioration programs, CHED has released close to P300 million to 927 private schools to reduce the unpaid tuition and miscellaneous fees of their students so they can continue their studies,” de Vera said.

The P300-million fund for the B2HELP is part of Bayanihan 2 to jump-start the economy and provide additional amelioration assistance to affected Filipinos.

Inclusion of HEIs

“THE timely government assistance to students in private higher education institutions [HEIs] through the Bayanihan 2 has complemented the efforts of the private higher education sector, particularly on innovation while also looking after the health and welfare of their students,” said Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) Managing Director Joseph Noel M. Estrada.

Estrada said that they “manifest our appreciation, confidence and support to the Commission on Higher Education on its many endeavors.”

He said CHED has ensured not only the continuity of education but also in laying down the plans in future proofing quality higher education in the country “with due recognition of the complementary role of the private sector.”

For her part, St. Michael’s College of Laguna (SMCL) President and COCOPEA Chairman Lourdes Almeda-Sese, said that the inclusion of HEIs in the ameliorationprogramiscommendable and that its distribution is very timely.

“It is my sincere belief that this partnership will be further strengthened in the years to come,” said Almeda-Sese. The SMCL, she said, received the check for its 53 students on January 11, 2021.

BusinessMirror

Thursday, January 14, 2021

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LU, WENSHAN Chinese

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CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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LU, RENTONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

85.

PENG, ZHIGANG Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

46.

LUO, JIATENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

86.

SILVIA WIJAYA Indonesian

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

87.

WU, LIPING Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

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129.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

130.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

131.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

132.

JIN, HAILAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

133.

KOU, WENLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

134.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

135.

LI, XIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

2.

WONG TOH HUA Malaysian

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3.

LAN, LICONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

47.

MO, NANA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

48.

QIN, JIAGUO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

5.

SHANG, DONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

49.

QIN, JIAZHI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

6.

WANG, LONGHE Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

50.

WEI, CAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

88.

JIANG, GUANGMING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

136.

LI, JICHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

7.

JIANG, QINGFEI Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

51.

WEI, YAFU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

89.

PENG, YONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

137.

LIN, RENDI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

52.

XIE, LIUJIAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

53.

XIE, ZONGZHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

90.

CAI, QINGLONG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

139.

LIU, YIFAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

10.

LI, XUEHENG Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

54.

ZHANG, CHONGWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

91.

DENG, ZHAO Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

140.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

11.

LIU, JIAO Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

55.

ZHANG, JUNCHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

92.

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CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

141.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

12.

LU, YI Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

56.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

93.

FU, LEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

142.

PENG, BO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

13.

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MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

94.

GAO, GUANTING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

143.

SU, WEICAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

14.

TANG, MENG Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

95.

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CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

144.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

15.

WANG, JUNHAO Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

96.

HU, WEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

145.

TIAN, TIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

16.

WANG, KUNHUANG Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

97.

KUANG, TAO Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

146.

WANG, CHENXI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

17.

YE JU Myanmari

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

98.

LAI, XIAOZUN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

147.

WANG, HAITAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

18.

ZHANG, GUIYUAN Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

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CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

148.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

19.

ZHENG, JINGSHENG Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

100.

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149.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

20.

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101.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

104.

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CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

153.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

105.

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CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

154.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

106.

SHEN, QIAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

155.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

107.

TAN, HUAYING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

156.

YUAN, WUPING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

108.

TAN, KAI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

157.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

109.

WANG, BO Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

158.

ZENG, LIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

110.

WANG, LEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

159.

ZENG, ZIXUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

111.

WANG, WANAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

160.

ZENG, JIANGBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

112.

WANG, RIJIAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

161.

ZHANG, YAKE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

113.

WEI, MINGLONG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

162.

ZHANG, YUEWEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

114.

YAN, JICHAO Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

163.

ZHANG, FAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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ZHANG, TIANXING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

116.

ZHENG, HUI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

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ZOU, JIE Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

118.

CHUONG THI QUY VI Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

119.

CUN SAY PHU Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

120.

LE THI HOA Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

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

076 Pasay City 21.

FAN, XIAO Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

22.

LI, PENGYAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

LIANG, YONGXING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

TIAN, ZHIYUAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

WU, WEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

ZHANG, HUJUN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

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ZHENG, JIANJUN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

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ZHOU, DAFU Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

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ZHOU, HAIHUA Chinese

MANDARIN SYSTEM ANALYST

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CBMI CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD. Unit 37-b Rufino Pacific Tower 6784 Ayala Ave. San Lorenzo Makati City 30.

31.

CUI, WANSHENG Chinese

MANDARIN MECHANICAL WORKS SUPERVISOR

ZHAO, XUEJIN Chinese

MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST

CGI IT UK LIMITED INC. 2/f One World Square Bldg. Mckinley Hill Pinagsama Taguig City 32.

GUSTAFSSON, ULF FREDRIK Swedish

MULTILINGUAL SERVICE DESK MEMBER

CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY 5/f Rm 501 Ramon Magsaysay Center 1680 Roxas Blvd. 076, Bgy. 699 Malate Manila 33.

TANG, GUOGANG Chinese

EXECUTIVE MANDARIN TRANSLATOR

34.

LI, HAOJIANG Chinese

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DONG, LEI Chinese

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LAN, YIYONG Chinese

MANDARIN HEAVY LIFTING MAINTENANCE ANALYST

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HUANG, BANG Chinese

MANDARIN PROJECT SITE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

38.

CAI, WEI Chinese

MANDARIN QUALITY CONTROL INSPECTOR

39.

CAO, HAOYA Chinese

MANDARIN STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST

CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY 5/f Rm 501 Ramon Magsaysay Center 1680 Roxas Blvd. 076, Bgy. 699 Malate Manila 40.

XUE, XIMING Chinese

41.

BI-LINGUAL SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

COSMOLINK GLOBAL SOLUTIONS INC. Flr. No. 6th, 7th & 8th Bldg. No. 100 Necc Bldg., Andrews Ave. St. Newport City Subd. District 1, Barangay 183 Pasay City 42.

FAN, BINGQIAN Chinese

57.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

DONG, GUANGGUAN Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

FUXINGYING CAIYUN HENTONG, CORP. 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th Floor Eton Ewestpod Chino Roces Avenue Cor. Yakal & Malugay Streets San Antonio Makati City 58.

59.

CHEN, YUANWU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

HUANG, MINGCHENG Chinese

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HUANG, QIAOYUN Chinese

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CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

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YUAN, ZHAOYI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

60.

GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING Ground Level, Level 2-5 Floor Silver City 4, Ortigas East Ugong Pasig City 63.

LIN, RONGWEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT MANDARIN SPEAKING

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SHI, YUANHONG Chinese

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WEI, GUANGZHONG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT MANDARIN SPEAKING

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ZHONG, QIAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT MANDARIN SPEAKING

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HAN, QINGWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

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JING, JU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

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LI, WEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

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MENG, WENBIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

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PENG, FEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

QIN, BO Chinese

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XUE, CHENGLIN Chinese

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YU, JIAHUAN Chinese

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YUAN, ZHIGUANG Chinese

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ZHENG, ZHIHAO Chinese

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80.

ZHONG, LIHONG Chinese

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MANDARIN STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST

CHROMELAB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 25/f Techzone Bldg. 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. San Antonio Makati City DINH THI MY LINH Vietnamese

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila

INTERCOMP LINK SOLUTIONS INC. 14th Floor, Filinvest Three Bldg. Northgate Cyberzone Filinvest Alabang Muntinlupa City

JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Units 1, 5, 6, 7 & 8, 30/f Zuellig Bldg. Makati Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas Urdaneta Makati City 121.

JAIN, DEEPAK Indian

VICE PRESIDENT

LIFTHIGH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION S-301 3/f Dhi Bldg. 2 Lapu-lapu Ave. Magallanes Makati City 122.

LIN, CHIN-LUNG Taiwanese

VICE PRESIDENT

MARUBENI CORPORATION 8/f L.v Locsin Bldg. Ayala Cor. Makati Aves. San Lorenzo Makati City 123.

KAKIUCHI, TOMOYUKI Japanese

GENERAL MANAGER

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

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION Sky Garage Bldg. Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City Tambo Parañaque City 164.

BI, ZHIQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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CAO, QI Chinese

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GAO, YU Chinese

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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HUANG, CHANGJIANG Chinese

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HUANG, JIANJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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JIANG, JUNQIANG Chinese

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DING, HEAI Chinese

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DO DUY CUONG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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JIN, LINFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

81.

JIANG, KUNSU Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

82.

MA, JINYANG Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

126.

GAO, JING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

178.

JIN, YOUZHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

83.

ZHANG, XIAOYU Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

127.

GUO, PAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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KE, CHUNLIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

128.

GUO, RENFENG Chinese

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180.

LI, XINGCHENG Chinese

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Economy

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BusinessMirror

A5

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, January 14, 2021

PHL rice imports likely to remain flat at 2.3 MMT this year–USDA report

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE country’s rice imports this year could remain flat at 2.3 million metric tons (MMT) on the back of higher domestic output and slower purchases by traders due to record-high staple prices.

Despite a stable import volume, the country will remain the world’s largest buyer of rice for the third consecutive year ahead of China, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

In its monthly Grains: World Markets and Trade report, the USDA revised downward its full-year rice import projection for the Philippines to 2.3 MMT from the 2.6 MMT forecast last month.

“In 2020/21 imports are set to decline for the second year in a row amid higher production, government interventions, and high prices from its traditional suppliers,” the USDA said.

The Philippines became the largest buyer of rice abroad in 2019 after the Duterte administration deregulated the country’s rice trade, allowing easier entry of imported staple.

The Philippines imported 2.9 MMT of rice in 2019 based on USDA data.

Last year, the Philippines remained the biggest buyer of rice abroad having been tied with China at 2.3 MMT. For 2021, China would import 2.2 MMT of rice, 100,000 MT lower than the Philippines’s 2.3 MMT, according to the USDA. The USDA explained that the Philippines’s rice imports have been tepid as the government “slowed the distribution of sanitary and phytosanitary [SPS] import clearances in recent months” coupled by higher export prices for Thailand and Vietnam rice due to lower supply caused by drought.

“The Philippines is expected to continue being a large rice importer.

Still, improved production, government policies that constrain trade, and record high prices from traditional suppliers are key factors limiting imports this year,” it added.

Latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the country’s rice imports from January to November 2020 plunged to 1.907 MMT from 2.994 MMT recorded in the same period of 2019.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier said the country’s rice imports this year could decline by 15.5 percent to 1.69 MMT due to projected record-high palay harvest of 20.48 million.

Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel T. Cayanan said they project full-year domestic palay production this year to reach 20.48 MMT, 5.35 percent higher than the estimated output of 19.44 MMT last year.

The higher production this year would bring the country’s rice selfsufficiency level to 95 percent from last year’s 90 percent.

This means that the country would only import about 5 percent of its total domestic rice requirement which is about 1.69 MMT, Cayanan said.

In the same report, the USDA projected that the country’s rice output this year could reach 12 MMT, slightly higher than last year’s 11.927 MMT on the back of higher harvest area and yields.

The USDA attributed the increase in rice production to the government’s annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) that started in 2019.

POEA circular sets alternative work scheme for OFWs but not for HSWs The licensed Philippine recruitment agency, or the principal/employer shall shoulder the costs of quarantine upon arrival of the worker at the jobsite, which may include expenses for accommodation, food, Covid-19 test, and the cost of medical treatment if tested positive, among others.

BM

POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

A

BR AND-NEW policy regime on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW), which allows employers to implement alternative work arrangements (AWA), as well as impose additional requirements for recruitment agencies will take effect amid the pandemic.

Under its Memorandum Circular (MC) 1, Series of 2021, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) authorized the AWA to prevent the possible displacement of OFWs during the ongoing novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) health crisis.

It will apply to employers of all OFWs, except domestic workers or household service workers (HSWs).

The covered OFWs may be transferred to another branch or outlet of the employer accredited by POEA

and assigned to other positions of function in the same branch they are currently working.

They may also have their usual work days reduced, undergo job rotation, and be covered by partial closure of their establishments.

POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia, however, stressed AWA will only be allowed if the concerned OFWs agree to the scheme and it will not result in demotion of their position, as well as diminution of their benefits if they will still be required to work in their normal work hours.

He said the foreign employers should also inform the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) about the scheme before it could be implemented.

New responsibilities

LIKEWISE, the POEA also expanded the responsibilities of recruitment agencies, which are now mandated to provide the necessary information

related to Covid-19 to their OFWs. They will also have to make sure their OFWs have the necessary clearances, free Covid-19 testing, enhanced insurance to include force majeure and health issues at the jobsite.

The agencies must also guarantee the OFWs have leave credit entitlements; end of service entitlement (if applicable); and observe occupational health protocols, including provision of hygiene kits and personal protective equipment.

“The licensed Philippine recruitment agency, or the principal/ employer shall shoulder the costs of quarantine upon arrival of the worker at the jobsite, which may include expenses for accommodation, food, Covid-19 test, and the cost of medical treatment if tested positive, among others,” Olalia said.

However, he added, OFWs will not be paid their salary while they are under quarantine unless otherwise provided by the principal/employer or mandated by the government of the country of destination.

The POEA chief said affected OFWs may utilize their leave credits to continue to be paid during their quarantine period.

1MC 1 will take effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation and filed with the National Administrative Register.

It will continue to take effect during the period of state of public health emergency under Proclamation 1021, Series of 2020.

Camarines Sur farmers get livelihood support from DAR

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Department of Agrarian Reform announced on Wednesday that it has recently distributed livelihood support to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Camarines Sur under the agency’s Sustainable Livelihood Support for Disaster Affected Areas (SLSDAA).

Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer Rodel C. Martirez, along with other DAR Provincial Office staff, led the simple turnover ceremony at the coastal barangay of San Ramon.

Two egg-layering machines were given to farmer-members of the San Ramon Farmers and Fisherfolks Association (SRFFA) in San Ramon, Siruma, Camarines Sur last January 7, 2021.

The egg-layering machines came with 96 heads of egg-layering chickens, 13 sacks of feeds and medicines for the chickens.

“The project is a great help to the ARBs in barangay San Ramon of Siruma, Camarines Sur because the eggs sold in their area came from the nearby municipalities of Tinambac and Calabanga, Camarines Sur,” said Martirez.

TheBroa

Business

A6 Thursday, January 14, 2021 • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Conventional banks seen to uplift

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

S

Reporter

AY “Islamic banking” and one may conjure images that border on a banal reference to a fourth of the world’s population. This prejudice, however, is ending as local monetary authorities have been recently redoubling efforts in promoting this segment of financing in the Philippines.

That stride, however, got lost in its steady cadence as, like several sectors last year, developments in Islamic banking were derailed by government’s belated lockdown measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease of 2019.

Still, optimism is, like Covid-19, infectious as many believe Islamic banking can help the banking sector reach the unbanked.

Unwittingly, the vital cogs in further developing Islamic banking, or Islamic finance, are the established conventional banks.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and industry experts are saying these banks can open their own Islamic banking unit (IBU) to offer Islamic financial products and services.

The conventional banks, indeed, are being urged to throw their hats in the ring to meet the demand for Islamic banking in the country.

Conventional banks

IN an interview with the BusinessMirror, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier explained that Islamic banks in the country can be in the form of full-fledge domestic Islamic banks, fullfledge foreign Islamic banks or IBUs within domestic or foreign conventional banks.

She cited Republic Act (R A) 11439 or “An Act Providing for the Regulation and Organization of Islamic Banks” and other preliminary regulations.

Despite the different qualifications, Fonacier said that conventional banks have the advantage of setting up their own Islamic banking window.

“Because conventional banks already have an established clientele, and a supportive risk management and corporate governance culture, they are in a good position to easily expand their businesses by opening an Islamic banking unit,” she said.

“This is especially true in the case of foreign conventional bank with an existing Islamic banking head office, branch or units operating outside of the Philippines, because these banks already have the expertise and know-how to operate an Islamic banking business,” Fonacier added.

AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics CEO Muhammad Zubair Mughal agrees.

Offering diversity

ACCORDING to Zubair Mughal, traditional banks crafting and offering diverse financial products and services, such as Islamic banking, may bode well for them.

“It is a very good business proposition for the conventional banks to have Islamic banking windows operation in the country to have different type of unique products, especially for [the] Muslim consumer who avoids using conventional banking products,” Zubair Mughal told the BusinessMirror.

At t he sa me t i me, Zuba i r Mughal said that conventional banks will be able to attract new clients should they offer Islamic banking products.

R iza l Commercia l Bank ing Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort concurs with Zubair Mughal. Ricafort said traditional banks like RCBC should also set up their own Islamic banking subsidiary.

These banks can “partly cater to the more diverse local market and to market niches with promising growth potential, alongside with further progress and development in areas around the country where Islamic banking is widely accepted and practiced,” he told the BusinessMirror.

No applications

THE BusinessMirror conducted a poll among the country’s biggest universal and commercial banks to know if they are open to having an IBU. As of this writing, only BDO Unibank Inc. gave a definitive response: it does not intend to have an Islamic banking window for now.

When asked, Union Bank of the Philippines and Bank of the Philippine Islands said they are more inclined to beef up their digital offerings instead.

Philippine National Bank declined to respond while other banks have yet to reply to the BusinessMirror’s queries.

Three conventional banks have expressed interest in establishing Islamic banking units, according to BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno. While the Central Bank did not provide names, it noted these were two local banks and one foreign bank.

Fonacier added t hat t here have been many inquiries and exploratory discussions from both domestic and foreign investors prior to the lockdown measures in March.

However, monetary authorities have yet to receive a formal application to establish an Islamic bank or IBU in the country, she said.

Tiny steps

ISLAMIC banking is still considered to be in its infancy in the Philippines, according to the BSP. “The industry is still in its early stage,” Fonacier said.

Still, the BSP official has high hopes for the Islamic banking industry in the coming years because of recent developments in related policies.

These include “the issuance of the key regulatory frameworks on licensing, Shari’ah Governance and tax neutrality, coupled with the ongoing policy initiatives on digital banking, reporting, capital adequacy and leverage ratio framework,” according to Fonacier.

In addition, Fonacier said the Philippine banking system has a notable financial position and corporate governance system to

support Islamic banking sector.

As of end-October, the Philippine banking industry has capital adequacy ratio of 12.82 percent, which is above regulatory requirement.

“O u r ba n k i ng s y stem h a s been recognized for its strong financial condition and robust cor porate gover nance system and culture that will complement the Shari ’ah Governance framework for Islamic banks,” she explained.

Zubair Mughal said that Islamic banking is expected to be a “valueadd” in the current banking and financial landscape of the Philippines because it provides products not available in conventional financing.

However, R icafor t pointed out that demand for it might be limited.

“Just like in other Southeast countries, demand has been confined to specific market niches, especially in some parts of Mindanao, where Islamic banking is widely accepted and practiced,” he explained.

Islamic bank

CUR R EN T LY, A l-A m a na h Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines (A AIIBP) is the only local universal bank authorized to provide both conventional and Islamic banking, financing and investment services in the country. It is a subsidiary of state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Presidential Decree (PD) 264 established the bank in 1973, opening with an initial capitalization of P50 million. AAIIBP, intended to become a development bank, invested bulk or 75 percent of its loanable funds to extend medium and long-term credit lines in areas with high density of Muslims. These include Cotabato, South Cotabato, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Palawan.

The Islamic bank adopted the “no interest principle” a year after its establishment following the issuance of PD 542, which amended PD 264.

RA 6848 transformed the AAIIBP into a universal bank in 1990.

This led to its authorized capital stock rising to P1 billion, which comprises 10 million common shares.

In 2008, the DBP took full control over the Islamic bank after obtaining the majority of shareholdings.

Not a religion

ONE of the challenges that the Islamic banking industry needs to overcome is lack of awareness.

During his several visits to the Philippines, Zubair Mughal observed that Filipinos have many misconceptions about Islamic banking.

For one, he said many think of Islamic banking as a service only catering to Muslims, which is not the case.

“Islamic Banking is a system, not a religion, so, it can be operated or utilized by any country without religious divide,” he explained. “But for Muslims, they have an extra advantage that it is according to their religious believes; for non-Muslims, it is a very good system for banking and finance.”

Like conventional banking, Islamic banking is a financial service and product open to all clients, regardless of their religious belief. But they have key differences, Fonacier explained.

I n conve nt ion a l b a n k i n g , d e p o s it o r s a r e l e nd e r s , b ut

are considered as investors in Islamic banking, she said. Conventional banking also mandates fixed interest on deposit liabilities and charges interest on borrowings, while Islamic banking implements risk sharing through profit-and-loss sharing.

Conventional banks are exposed to assets and liabilities mismatch risks, while Islamic banks’ assets and liabilities are “better matched.”

Upended by Covid

RICAFORT said that awareness of Islamic financial products and services will help boost the sector.

“There is great potential for Islamic banking in the country, especially if there is greater awareness on the benefits of Islamic banking and the linkages with large groups of investors globally, especially in the Middle East,” he explained.

Recognizing this concern, the BSP is providing programs to

increase awareness and capacity building required by the expanded Islamic banking system.

Fonacier said that a capacity-building program under the technical assistance of the Asian Development Bank concluded in July last year. Representatives from different regulatory agencies and banks participated in the modular training, which started in September 2019.

“However, with Covid-19, other

aderLook

sMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Thursday, January 14, 2021

A7

t Islamic banking industry in PHL Islamic bank ing and f inance even before the enactment of R A 11439, according to Fonacier.

An Interagency Working Group on Islamic Banking and Finance, headed by the BSP, was established under Officer Order 2019-1210.

It was tasked with developing a regulatory framework for Islamic banking and finance; and building capacity among regulators and other stakeholders.

The Central Bank is also coordinating with the National Government-Bangsamoro Government Intergovernmental Relations Body in implementing Article XIII, Sections 32 and 33 of RA 11054 (Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao).

It covers the creation of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board and the promotion and development of Shari’ah-compliant financial institutions. In addition, it states that an IBU should be headed and staffed by qualified Islamic banking experts.

“This initiative is in keeping with the mandate under the BOL [Bangsamoro Organic Law] for the BSP, the Bangsamoro Government, the Department of Finance and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, to jointly promote the development of an Islamic banking and finance system,” Fonacier explained.

BM GRAPHIC: Job Ruzgal

Exclusion map

capacity-building initiatives were put on hold while some training was shifted to virtual,” she added.

Experts wanted

ANOTHER concern cited by industry experts is the lack of human resources required to operate the Islamic banking sector.

Fonacier said the “countr y is [witnessing] the shortage of Shari’ah scholars who are also qualified in banking and finance.”

However, she emphasized this phenomenon is not “unique” to the Philippines.

Zubair Mughal agreed.

“I did not find any university or institutes who have proper educational or training network for Islamic banking,” he said.

Fonacier said that capacitybuilding is provided to potentia l Shar i ’a h adv isers to address this concern. In fact, the Central Bank recently hosted a

workshop on Islamic Finance in Arabic, she added.

“Further, under existing rules, Islamic banks or IBUs are given the flexibility to engage international Shari’ah consultants,” Fonacier said. “The BSP will continue to maintain flexibility in its approach to allow industry players to thrive in this new environment.”

Regulators’ actions

THE BSP has been promoting

IN 2019, the BSP released two circulars—1069 and 1070—covering the guidelines on the establishment of Islamic banks and IBUs, as well as the Shari’ah Governance Framework (SGF) for the Islamic banking windows. Both resolutions were approved on December 13 last year.

The guidelines highlight consumer protection for the potential clients of the Islamic bank or IBUs owned by conventional banks.

The SGF, meanwhile, ensures that the financial institutions providing Islamic banking products and services are adhering to the Shari’ah principles in their operations. The framework is a comprehensive system outlining the institutional measures, arrangements, requirements, structure and policies of an Islamic bank or IBU. The BSP issued the circulars after RA 11439 was signed into law in August 2019.

The law recognizes the importance offering Islamic banking and finance to boost financial inclusion, especially for the underserved Muslim population.

Islamic banks, under this law, are allowed to accept savings accounts for safekeeping, investment accounts and foreign currency deposits, among others.

“If you [view] the financial exclusion map of Philippines, you will come to know that Muslims are majorly financially-excluded in the country,” Zubair Mughal said.

“One of the major reasons of this exclusion is that Muslim people avoid conventional banking due to interest, as interest is strictly prohibited in Islam. If you want to include them into the financial inclusion, then the final and ultimate products is Islamic banking.”

Shariah-compliant

IN January last year, the Monetary Board also greenlighted the introductory regulations for the establishment of the Islamic banking sector. This is in line with the implementation of RA 11439 and relevant Islamic banking provisions under RA 11054.

The Central Bank said in a statement it was aiming to establish an enabling environment

for the Islamic banks, allowing them to operate alongside the conventional banks.

The BSP wants both the Shariah-compliant banks and traditional financial institutions to be under the same regulatory and supervisory approach but noted that there should be consideration for the “unique” features of the Islamic banking operations.

“The goal is to provide a coherent, consistent, and comprehensive set of regulations and standards to encourage wider investor and consumer participation on Islamic banking and finance without any regulatory arbitrage,” the BSP said.

“The BSP’s existing licensing framework on the establishment of conventional banks and branches is adopted, as appropriate, with supplementary requirements relevant to Islamic banking operations and Shari’ah compliance,” it added.

RA 11439, which took effect on September 15, 2019, gives the Central Bank legal authority to issue a broader set of rules and regulations on Islamic banking.

Overall assets

REFINITIV Asia Pte. Ltd. and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector development arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), forecast global Islamic finance assets to reach $3.69 trillion by 2024.

According to the 2020 Islamic Finance Development Report released by Refinitiv and ICD last December, global Islamic finance assets increased by 14 percent year-on-year totaling $2.88 trillion in 2019. Islamic Finance assets of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reached $1.2 trillion in 2019, followed by Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at $755 billion (excluding the GCC), and Southeast Asia at $685 billion, the report said.

The Islamic banking sector contributes the bulk of the global Islamic finance assets. The sector grew 14 percent in 2019, equating to $1.99 trillion in global assets.

This compares with just a 1-percent growth in 2018 and an average annual growth of 5 percent over the period from 2015 to 2018.

According to the report, the top five developed countries in relation to Islamic Finance are Malaysia, Indonesia, Bahrain, UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Refinitiv and ICD noted that Indonesia displayed in 2020 one of the most notable improvements in the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (Ifdi), moving into second place for the first time “due to its high knowledge and awareness ranking.”

Lack of data

ACCORDING to Refinitiv, the pandemic was a game changer as several Islamic banks reported losses and reduced profits throughout this year.

Nonetheless, the pandemic has also led to growth in some areas of the industry as some regulators turned to Islamic finance to mitigate the economic impact, the company said.

Refinitiv CEO David Craig said that “a lack of relevant, actionable data has held back the Islamic finance industry for too long.”

Now, Craig said, the IFDI is an important tool for policy makers and market participants.

“This market is worth nearly $3 trillion already and I’m excited about its future, particularly when it comes to Sukuk and because Islamic finance has so much in common with sustainable finance - one of the most significant trends in

global business today,” Craig was quoted in a statement as saying.

“We remain convinced that Islamic finance can play a major role in alleviating the social and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic,” ICD CEO Ayman Sejiny said.

Venturing in Sukuk

ALONG with the development of Islamic banking industry in the Philippines is the increase in interest for Sukuk bond issuance.

“Sukuk means Islamic Bond—it is an ideal instrument for liquidity management of Islamic Banking and will be an ideal drive force to leverage the Philippine Islamic banking and financial Industry,” Zubair Mughal said.

Sukuk is an Islamic financial instrument that complies with Islamic religious law. Proceeds from the issuance of sukuk are allocated for asset acquisition, in which each investor holds partial ownership.

The Philippine government, he said, can tap the Sukuk bond m a rk et to r a i se m i l l ion s i n funds, which can be allocated for different projects.

Zubair Mughal said this has become a trend in Ma laysia, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, among others.

Ricafort added that there could also be a great demand potential from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.

Earlier, Moody’s Investors Service said the country might potentially venture into Sukuk issuance given the large funding needed for its massive infrastructure drive.

The “Build, Build, Build” program of the government is expected to improve the country’s infrastructure and connectivity while shoring up the construction industry with higher spending and more job opportunities.

The potential market for Islamic financial instruments is seen to be dominated by Muslims, who comprise 10 percent of the country’s population.

Globally, Sukuk issuance might rise to $75 billion in 2020 from $71 billion last year, Moody’s Senior Vice President Christian de Guzman said previously. Bulk of the sukuk issuance this year is expected to come from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey.

The report by Refinitiv and ICD also noted that corporate Sukuk issuance has also picked up after a cautious halt in the first quarter of last year. The report indicates that companies are taking advantage of low borrowing costs to shore up their finances, while the pandemic continues to batter trade and economies.

Eyeing opportunities

RICAFORT is optimistic for the future of the Islamic banking industry in the Philippines, even though it is not yet as fully-established when compared to the level reached by other membercountries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

“There are many opportunities for Islamic banking to grow further in the Philippines,” he said.

The RCBC economist said that Mindanao has “great potential for economic growth and development, so Islamic banking could correspondingly flourish and tap more of the unbanked population as well in those areas.”

In doing so, Ricafort said that financial inclusion will be further promoted in the Philippines.

The Central Bank introduced earlier a roadmap, which is aimed at making 70 percent of adult Filipinos “financially included” by 2023.

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Thursday, January 14, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

US shifts to speed coronavirus shots as cases and deaths rise

W

ASHINGTON—Facing a slower-than-hoped coronavirus vaccine rollout, the Trump administration abruptly shifted gears on Tuesday to speed the delivery of shots to more people. The move came as cases and deaths surged to alarming new highs.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a series of major changes to increase supply of vaccines, extend eligibility to more seniors and provide more locations for people to get shots.

Administration officials describing the new policies conveyed a notable sense of urgency.

One change will have some teeth to it. Azar said going forward the federal government will base each state’s allocation of vaccines partly on how successful states have been in administering those already provided.

“If you are not using vaccines that you have the right to, then we should be rebalancing to states that are using that vaccine,” Azar said at news conference.

That won’t happen overnight, not until officials try to sort out whether lags in reporting could be the reason for what appears to be subpar performance. Currently, the government allocates vaccines based on state population.

Azar also said the government will stop holding back the required second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, practically doubling supply. Both those shots require two doses to achieve optimum protection.

Additionally, Washington is urging states to immediately start vaccinating other groups lower down the priority scale, including people age 65 and older and younger people with certain health problems.

The move to increase the supply of vaccines better aligns the outgoing administration with the new BidenHarris team. On Friday, Presidentelect Joe Biden said he will rapidly release most available vaccine doses to protect more people. He said he supported immediately releasing vaccines that health authorities were holding back out of caution, to guarantee they would be available for people needing their second dose.

“This next phase ref lects the urgency of the situation,” said Azar.

“Ever y vaccine dose sitting in a warehouse rather than going into

an arm could mean one more death that could have been avoided.”

Initially the government had been holding back second doses as a safety precaution against potential shortfalls in production. Now, officials say they are confident the needed supply will be there. And people needing a second dose will have priority. “ T his is not a supply issue at this moment in time,” Vice President Mike Pence told governors on a W hite House call. A recording was prov ided to The Associated Press.

Azar also gave states the green light to designate more places where people can get shots. Those locations can include tens of thousands of pharmacies, federally supported community health centers that serve low-income communities, and mass vaccination sites already being set up in some states.

The flurry of changes raised questions for some local officials, still trying to get vaccination campaigns into full swing.

As of Monday morning, the government had distributed about 27.7 million doses to states, US territories and major cities. But only about 9.3 million people had received their first shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s online tracker. That means only about 34 percent of the available vaccines had been administered.

Initially, the shots were going to health care workers and nursing home residents. Those 75 and older were next in line. But problems arose even in vaccinating that limited pool of people. Some hospital and nursing home workers have been hesitant to get the vaccine. Scheduling issues created delays in getting shots to nursing homes.

S ome s t at e s , i nc lud i n g A r i z o na, have or are planning to open up mass vacc inat ion centers, a i m i n g t o i no c u l at e t ho u s a n d s of people a day in a single locat i o n . I n F l o r i d a , G o v. R o n D e S a nt i s o p e n e d u p v a c c i n at io n s t o p e o p l e 6 5 a n d o l d e r. I n o t h e r s t at e s , l o c a l h e a lt h aut ho r it i e s h ave s t a r te d a s k i n g re s ide nt s 6 5

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar (center), speaks during a news conference on Operation Warp Speed and Covid-19 vaccine distribution on January 12, in Washington.

Standing alongside Azar from left are Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and US Army Gen. Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed.

AP/Patrick Semansky

a n d o l d e r t o r e g i s t e r, i n a nt i c i pat ion t he v acc i n at ion c a mpa ig n wou ld be ex panded.

Although Azar said the shift in strategy was a natural evolution of the Trump administration’s efforts, as recently as Friday he had raised questions about whether Biden’s call to accelerate supplies was prudent.

On Tuesday, he also sought to deflect blame to the states for the slow uptake of vaccines. Azar said some states are being “overly prescriptive and trying to micromanage every single dose of vaccine,” leading to bottlenecks.

A z a r a l so c r it ic i zed wh at he called “the hospitalization of vaccine distribution,” saying “we have too much vaccine sitting in freezers in hospitals.”

State and local officials are sure to point out that it was the federal government that recommended putting health care workers at the front of the vaccination line.

The Trump administration directed a crash effort to develop, manufacture and deliver vaccines, hoping to avoid a repeat of earlier debacles with coronavirus testing. Dubbed “Operation Warp Speed,” it has produced two highly effective vaccines, with more on the way.

Each state has its own plan for who should be vaccinated, based on CDC recommendations that gave first priority to health care workers and nursing home residents. Some critics say the administration’s planning should have extended into helping states administer the shots after they were delivered. Congress has recently approved more than $8 billion for that.

T he slow pace of the vaccine rollout has frustrated many Americans at a time when the coronav irus death toll has continued to rise. More than 376,000 people in the US have died, according to the

Johns Hopkins database.

Azar said the pace of vaccinations has picked up, on track to reach 1 million daily within a couple of weeks. But the American Hospital Association estimates 1.8 million vaccinations a day are needed, seven days a week, to achieve widespread immunity by the middle of this year. Biden has set a goal of 100 million shots administered in his first 100 days.

L oc a l publ ic hea lt h of f ic i a l s were sur prised by Tuesday’s annou ncement a nd sc ra mbl i ng to figure out how to implement the changes, said Adr iane Casa lotti of NACCHO, the National A ssociation of County and City Health Officials.

“All levels of the governmental public health system really need to be on the same page. Surprises don’t benefit anyone,” she said.

Letting more groups in line “all of a sudden makes a lot more people potentially eligible and certainly interested and we need to have the systems in place to get them the vaccine,” Casalotti added.

But ad m i n i st r at ion of f ic i a l s pressed their case urgently.

“We think right now getting the vaccine into [more] individuals, now, could really make a huge difference in the hospitalizations that you would see in your jurisdictions say four to six weeks from now,” CDC Director Robert Redfield told governors on the call, adding it was his strong recommendation.

Biden, who has been highly critical of the Trump administration’s pandemic response, is expected to give a speech Thursday outlining his plans. He’s looking for a turnabout in his first 100 days.

Azar said they’ll brief the Biden transition team on the changes, but didn’t seek their blessing. AP

U.S. will require all arriving passengers to get Covid test

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EW YORK—Anyone flying to the US will soon need to show proof of a negative test for Covid-19, health officials announced on Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirement expands on a similar one announced late last month for passengers coming from the United Kingdom. The new order takes effect in two weeks.

Covid is already widespread in the US, with more than 22 million cases reported to date,

including more than 375,000 deaths. The new measures are designed to try to prevent travelers from bringing in newer forms of the virus that scientists say can spread more easily.

The CDC order applies to US citizens as well as foreign travelers. The agency said it delayed the effective date until Jan. 26 to give airlines and travelers time to comply.

International travel to the US has already been decimated by pandemic restrictions put in

place last March that banned most foreigners from Europe and other areas. Travel by foreigners to the US and by Americans to international destinations in December was down 76 percent compared to a year earlier, according to trade group Airlines for America.

The new restrictions require air passengers to get a Covid-19 test within three days of their flight to the US, and to provide written proof of the test result to the airline. Travelers can also provide documentation

that they had the infection in the past and recovered.

Airlines are ordered to stop passengers from boarding if they don’t have proof of a negative test.

“Testing does not eliminate all risk,” CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said in a statement. “But when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations.” AP

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

Jokowi gets Chinese vaccine on live TV to kick off Southeast Asia’s largest rollout

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ndonesia has kicked off Southeast Asia’s largest inoculation program against Covid-19 to curb its record increase in infections, using Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine.

President Joko Widodo received the first jab in a televised ceremony at the presidential palace in Jakarta on Wednesday. Wearing his signature white shirt, the president had his blood pressure checked by the doctors before getting an injection to his left arm.

The Southeast Asian nation becomes a test case for the vaccine, being the first country to administer CoronaVac for mass vaccination outside of China. Questions have been raised about the vaccine’s efficacy rate amid scarce research data and varying levels of effectiveness reported in clinical trials in Brazil and Turkey.

Indonesia approved the emergency use of the Chinese vaccine on Monday.

Indonesia is facing the mammoth task of inoculating 181.5 million people, two-thirds of its population, across the world’s largest archipelago.

It will prioritize 1.5 million health workers and 17.4 million public officers in the first round to be held until April, with other segments of the

population subsequently receiving the jab through March 2022.

The vaccination for Jokowi, as he’s commonly known, was followed by shots administered to the military and police chiefs, the chairman of the doctors’ association as well as ministers and social media influencers on Wednesday.

The nation is also under pressure to swiftly administer vaccines as repeated movement restrictions did little to slow the virus spread that’s worsened in January after the year-end holidays. The country added more than 100,000 new infections so far this month, leading in Southeast Asia in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

In addition to the logistical challenge of rolling out vaccines across its vast archipelago, the government will also have to contend with reluctance among Indonesians to be inoculated. A survey released in November showed 65 percent of respondents were willing to be vaccinated against Covid-19, while more than a quarter were unsure.

The government is shouldering the cost of the vaccines after the survey found only a third were willing to pay for the shots. Bloomberg News

China’s Covid shot has four wildly different efficacy rates

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ays before a global rollout kicks off with the President of Indonesia receiving the Sinovac Biotech Ltd. vaccine on live television, uncertainty swirls over the efficacy of the leading Chinese shot, for which four different protection rate numbers have been released in recent weeks.

Indonesia, which is moving the fastest on distributing the Sinovac shot to its population, said that a local trial showed an efficacy of 65 percent against Covid-19. But only 1,620 people in Indonesia took part in that trial—too small for meaningful data.

Turkey said last month that the same vaccine showed efficacy of 91.25 percent in its local trial, which was similarly too small to draw a sufficient conclusion.

In Brazil, where Sinovac’s biggest trial of more than 13,000 people is being conducted, dueling efficacy rates have been publicized. The company’s local trial partner, Butantan Institute, said last week that the vaccine was 78 percent effective in preventing mild cases of Covid-19 and 100 percent effective against severe and moderate infections.

Yet on Tuesday, Butantan said the overall rate, which also includes very mild cases that didn’t require medical help, is actually 50.38 percent.

Overlapping efficacy data is not unprecedented in the Covid-19 vaccine race—AstraZeneca Plc released two separate protection rates based on different dosage regimes last month—and all the findings are above the threshold of 50 percent efficacy required by regulators for approval.

Yet the confusion, which comes as several governments commit to inoculating their citizens with Sinovac’s shot, is fueling skepticism over Chinese vaccines, which have disclosed less safety and testing information than western front-runners. The data kerfuffle risks further undermining trust in shots that President Xi Jinping has promised to share with the rest of the world as a global public good.

“There is enormous financial and prestige pressure for these trials to massively overstate their results,” said Nikolai Petrovsky, a professor at the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University.

“In many cases, such overstatements are also politically motivated, as countries that have failed to properly control the pandemic now want to overstate the benefits of the vaccines to win votes and appease local unrest.”

A Sinovac spokesman declined to comment on the numbers from its trials in Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia and said its Brazil partner would release more data this week.

The data issue appears to already be holding up regulatory approval for Sinovac’s vaccine in some places.

“Initially, Sinovac was going to ship the vaccine supply to Hong Kong in January. But they delayed the announcement of the Phase III clinical trial data three times,” said David Hui, a professor of respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who sits on the Asian financial hub’s Covid-19 advisory panel. “That would delay the assessment of their application.”

Calculation confusion

The massive Brazil trial, which Sinovac has said will be where it gets its definitive efficacy data, has received intense scrutiny.

Observers were flummoxed by the first efficacy rate of 78 percent announced by Butantan Institute.

According to the information disclosed, the trial saw about 220 participants infected: 160 in the placebo group and almost 60 in the vaccinated group.

If trial participants were evenly split between the vaccine and placebo group, then the efficacy rate should come out to 62.5 percent, said Petrovsky, who’s also a research director for Vaxine Pty Ltd., a company that is developing a Covid-19 vaccine.

External calculations remain speculative unless more data, like the total number of people in the placebo group and vaccinated group, is released in peer-reviewed scientific journals, said Raina MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales.

On Tuesday, Butantan explained the 78 percent was calculated considering the mild, moderate and severe cases, officials said. When very mild cases are included among the 13,000 volunteers, the figure is 50.4 percent—167 infected volunteers in the placebo arm, and 85 in the vaccine arm. The shot proved 100 percent effective in preventing severe cases.

Brazilian health regulator Anvisa requested additional data from the Butantan Institute on the Sinovac trial before deciding whether to approve the vaccine for use. Bloomberg News

Japan seen expanding coronavirus emergency to cover 60 percent of economy J apan is set to expand its state of emergency beyond the Tokyo region to encompass the country’s largest economic hubs as it battles to contain a surge in coronavirus cases.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will announce the expansion of the emergency area to seven additional prefectures later Wednesday, according to local media reports. He is set to speak at a press conference at 7 p.m. in Tokyo.

Together with the capital and three neighboring prefectures that came under the state of emergency last week, the areas account for more than half of the nation’s output. The expansion would further strengthen the likelihood of the world’s third-largest economy slipping back into reverse this quarter.

Widening the reach of the emergency is also likely to fuel criticism that the government didn’t start its second state of emergency quickly or extensively enough and that its provisions aren’t stringent enough to contain record levels of infections.

“There’s no question that the economy will

contract in the first quarter,” said economist Hiroaki Muto at Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. “Nobody thinks they can end the state of emergency in a month. I think it will take at least a full two months.”

Among the prefectures set to be added are the business and manufacturing hub of Osaka along with nearby Kyoto and Hyogo, and the industrial heartland of Aichi, which is home to Toyota Motor Corp., plus bordering Gifu. The other areas are the prefecture surrounding and including Fukuoka, the largest city in the southern island of Kyushu, and Tochigi, located north of Tokyo.

The 11 areas account for about 60 percent of the economy’s total output, according to government data.

While the emergency is intended to send a strong message in a country that can’t legally enforce the type of lockdowns seen in other nations, the Tokyo region has yet to see the same level of impact on people’s behavior as during the first declaration last spring.

The number of people moving through business and shopping districts in central Tokyo

since the latest emergency was declared is down considerably from a typical year, but the decline this time is much less than the drop in April during the first state of emergency, according to an analysis of GPS data provided by Agoop.

Tokyo reported cases under 1,000 for the first time in more than a week on Tuesday, with 970 new infections, though testing and reporting are likely to have been impacted by a long weekend.

Serious cases in the capital, defined as those on a ventilator or ECMO machine, jumped to a record 144, with 250 beds allocated to such cases.

The surge is already weighing on sentiment.

The mood among main street merchants and other consumer-facing businesses like store owners and taxi drivers slid in December to the lowest since May, a government survey showed Tuesday.

The Bank of Japan is also considering cutting its growth forecast for the fiscal year ending March when it meets next week, the Nikkei reported, with consumption impacted by the virus resurgence.

Critics have questioned if the second state of emergency is sweeping enough to contain the spread of the virus. While authorities have called for lighter restrictions than last year to limit the economic damage, the measures risk sending mixed messages to a public that is struggling with pandemic fatigue. Department stores, cinemas and gyms remain open, while bars and restaurants have only been asked to close after 8 p.m.

Health Minister Norihisa Tamura addressed the issue on Tuesday. “Of course it’s not OK for people to drink and get rowdy during the daytime,”Tamura said at a regular briefing. “We want people to use their common sense.”

Last year, the government expanded the emergency designation to the entire nation shortly after starting with a handful of prefectures including Tokyo. That led to a record economic contraction in the quarter through June. The economy has only recouped about half of its losses so far. Bloomberg News

A customer sits in front of a kebab stand in the Shibuya district of Tokyo on January 8. Bloomberg

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

South Korea jobless rate hits 10-year high as virus surges

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outh Korea lost the most jobs in two decades and the unemployment rate hit a 10-year high as the countr y’s worst coronavirus outbreak yet forced businesses to slash hiring.

The nation shed 628,000 jobs in December compared with the prior year, a tenth straight monthly drop and the most since February 1999. Restaurants and hotels were the hardest hit, but manufacturing also lost more than 100,000 jobs for a second month, signaling that a recovery in tech exports has yet to translate into increased employment.

The jobless rate jumped to 4.6 percent, the highest since January 2010. Economists had forecast a reading unchanged from November’s 4.1 percent.

The worst jobs losses since the late 1990s Asian financial crisis could spur more calls for the Bank of Korea to put increased emphasis on employment in setting monetary policy. The BOK is expected to hold rates at a record low when it meets on Friday.

The deteriorating labor market also adds pressure on the government and lawmakers to come up with more ways to shore up the economy.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, speaking in a statement, said difficulties in the labor market are likely to persist through February and pledged to do more to combat it.

President Moon Jae-in’s administration already plans to give 4.6 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in cash handouts to millions of South Koreans before next month’s Lunar New Year holiday and front-load fiscal spending in the first half of the year.

“Though the latest virus surge is beginning to recede, authorities will likely loosen curbs only gradually to stamp out virus transmission.

Th at wo u l d m e a n t h e d ra g o n t h e l a b o r market—and domestic economy—may persist through the winter,” said Bloomberg economist

Justin Jimenez.

The damage to the jobs market reflects the tightening of social distancing rules after Korea’s daily infection tally surged above 1,000 last month. Curtailed hours for most shops and the shutdown of karaoke parlors and other businesses where the spread of disease is more likely have hurt workers in the service sector, especially during the holiday season.

“No year- end drinking par ties and no s p e n d i n g s p l u rg e a n d yo u h a ve s e r v i ce s workers suffering job losses,” said economist An Young-jin at SK Securities. “The tighter social restrictions hurt sectors that would normally see seasonal improvement.”

Restaurant and hotels shed 313,000 jobs, roughly twice November’s losses. Employment in the manufacturing industry was down by 110,000 workers in the month, a slightly smaller decline than in the previous month but still worrisome given the economy’s dependence on exports and factory work.

“Manufacturing has been under pressure from greater labor costs even before Covid-19 and the virus only adds to the trouble,” said Sung Tae-yoon, an economics professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University. “An exports recovery isn’t necessarily going to translate into more jobs in the tech sector, which has already automated much of its manufacturing.”

Construction continued to see improving employment, adding 23,000 workers, amid a government push to increase public housing.

Korea’s ongoing recover y in expor ts has s u p p o r te d t h e b ro a d e r e co n o my, b u t t h e job market outlook depends on a successful containment of the latest virus wave and a loosening of restrictions. The number of new infections in South Korea has come down to around 500 a day recently. Bloomberg News

U.S. cancels ambassador’s controversial trip to Taiwan

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AIPEI, Taiwan—The US State Department canceled the planned Taiwan visit by its UN ambassador that has drawn strong opposition and a warning from China.

The department announced it was canceling all senior-level overseas travels, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned trip to Belgium, in a decision to assist with the transition to the next administration.

US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft was due to begin a three-day visit on Wednesday, which would have involved meetings with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as well as delivering a speech.

Craft’s trip was one of two moves in the twilight days of the Trump administration that increases official exchanges with the self-ruled island while also provoking China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

The US and China have clashed on everything from the origins of the pandemic to Hong Kong.

China had already warned the US would pay a “heavy price” in response to the planned visit.

It follows an announcement from Pompeo on Saturday that the US would remove longstanding restrictions on how its diplomats and others have contact with their Taiwanese counterparts.

U n d e r t h e Tr u m p a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d bipar tisan suppor t from Congress, relations with Taiwan has warmed up considerably, with the government increasing the frequency and quality of weapons sales to the island’s government. Craft herself had a public lunch with Taiwan’s top official in New York, James K.J. Lee, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, a meeting she called “historic.”

She would have been the third high-level US official to visit Taiwan in recent months. In August last year, US Health Secretary Alex Azar became the highest-level US Cabinet official to visit since the US switched formal relations from Taiwan to China in 1979.

Taiwan is a sensitive issue for China’s ruling Communist Par ty, which considers the selfgoverning island democracy of 23.6 million people a renegade province that should be brought under its rule.

U n d e r t h e “O n e China” polic y, the U S re co g n i ze s B e i j i n g a s t h e g ove r n m e nt o f China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, it maintains unofficial contacts including a de facto embassy in Taipei, the capital, and supplies military equipment for the island’s defense.

In Beijing, the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office declined to say whether the cancellation of Craft’s visit was a positive sign for China-US relations.

“Our position is very clear. We resolutely oppose all official exchanges between the US side and the Taiwan area, demand the US immediately cease their wrong approach,” spokesperson Zhu Fenglian told reporters at a biweekly news briefing.

A n e x p e r t s a i d t h e v i s i t wo u l d h a ve also presented a dilemma for the Taiwanese government.

“This is also a headache for Taiwan. If you welcome them in a large way, with high norms, then you are expressing that you are very very close to the Trump administration, and in the eyes of the coming Biden administration, that’s not good for Taiwan,” said Yu-Shan Wu from Academia Sinica, a top research institution on the island.

Wu also noted that current policy moves could be reversed, pointing to the historic meeting between former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese leader in 2015. “Back then, although Taiwan and China’s leaders met, this seemed to be a climax, but then the situation was completely reversed.”

In 2016, Taiwan elected independence leaning Tsai Ing-wen as president, and China broke off contact with the government shortly after. AP

U.K. to use fines to target forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region

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OND O N—B rit ish comp anies w ill face fines unless they meet new government requirements showing their supply chains are free from forced labor, the UK’s foreign secretary said Tuesday as he announced measures aimed at tackling human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in China’s Xinjiang region.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said officials have issued guidance to British firms with links to Xinjiang on how to carry out due diligence checks.

The government intends to exclude suppliers when there is evidence of rights violations in their supply chains and also to review export controls to prevent the shipping of any goods that could contribute to such violations in Xinjiang.

“Our aim, put simply, is that no company that profits from forced labor in Xinjiang can do business in the UK, and that no UK business is involved in their supply chains,” Raab told lawmakers.

However, Raab didn’t provide details, and he stopped short of announcing specific sanctions against Chinese officials, saying that the UK government continues to sanctions over human rights violations under review.

Beijing has been accused of widespread rights abuses in its far western Xinjiang region, mainly targeting the Muslim Uighur population. Raab said mounting evidence, including first-hand testimony and non-profit reports, supports claims of unlawful mass detention in internment camps, widespread forced labor and forced sterilization of women on an “industrial scale.”

The evidence “paints a harrowing picture” and showed the practice of “barbarism we had hoped

lost to another era,” Raab said.

Britain’s Foreign Office minister of state, James Cleverly, followed up at a UN Security Council meeting on combatting terrorism, pointing to China’s “severe and disproportionate measures” against the Uighurs as an example of counterterrorism measures being used “to justify egregious human rights violations and oppression.”

He said Beijing’s detention of up to 1.8 million people in Xinjiang without trial and other welldocumented measures run counter to China’s obligations under international human rights law and run counter to the Security Council’s requirement that counter-terrorism measures comply with those obligations.

China’s UN ambassador, Zhang Jun, rejected what he termed Cleverly’s “groundless attacks,” saying that “the various narratives on Xinjiang are purely politically motivated” and have no basis in the facts.

“As a victim of terrorism, China has taken resolute measures to firmly fight terrorism and extremism,” he said. “Our action is reasonable, is based on law, and conforms to the prevailing practice of countries of the region.” At the same time, he said, China has safeguarded the rights of ethnic minorities.

Chinese officials have denied the accusations and said some of the claims were fake news or lies perpetrated by Western media. They also say measures were needed to deradicalize the population after a series of attacks in the Xinjiang region several years ago. AP

Thursday, January 14, 2021

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House urges Pence to oust Trump; impeachment next

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ASHINGTON—The US House rushed ahead on Tuesday toward impeaching President Donald Trump for the deadly Capitol attack, taking time only to try to persuade his vice president to push him out first. Trump showed no remorse, blaming impeachment itself for the “tremendous anger” in America.

Already scheduled to leave office next week, Trump is on the verge of becoming the only president in history to be twice impeached. His incendiary rhetoric at a rally ahead of the Capitol uprising is now in the impeachment charge against him—to be taken up Wednesday—even as the falsehoods he spread about election fraud are still being championed by some Republicans.

The House on Tuesday night approved a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to remove Trump with a Cabinet vote, although Pence had already said he would not do so. The resolution, passed 223205 almost entirely along party lines, urged him to “declare what is obvious to a horrified Nation: That the President is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office.”

Hours before the vote Pence had said no. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he said it would not be in the best interest of the nation and it was “time to unite our country as we prepare to inaugurate Presidentelect Joe Biden.”

Meanwhile, five Republican lawmakers, including third-rank ing House GOP leader Liz Cheney of Wyoming, announced zthey would vote to impeach Trump on Wednesday, cleaving the Republican leadership, and the party itself.

“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” said Cheney in a statement. “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

As lawmakers reconvened at the Capitol for the first time since the bloody siege, they were bracing for more violence ahead of Democrat Biden’s inauguration on January 20.

“All of us have to do some soul searching,” said Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, an author of both pieces of legislation, imploring other Republicans to join.

Portugal’s president awaits virus advice in self-isolation

L

ISBON, Portugal—Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has tested negative for the coronavirus in results of two consecutive tests disclosed Tuesday, a day after a single positive result.

Rebelo de Sousa, 72, took office in 2016 and is seeking a second term in the country’s presidential election on January 24.

He was self-isolating in a residential area in the west of Lisbon without any symptoms and had suspended his entire agenda for the coming days, but was awaiting instructions from health authorities, a series of statements from the presidential office said.

A laboratory test using the so-called PCR method on Monday revealed that the president was positive for the virus, despite an antigen test having come out negative earlier in the day, his office first reported. The president then took two more PCR tests, one on Monday evening and another one on Tuesday, and both of them were negative.

False positive results in PCR tests, although rare, can occur.

As the head of state, the president is largely a figurehead in Portugal, where the prime minister and his Cabinet are in charge of day-to-day affairs. He wields large influence nevertheless, and he holds the authority to appoint the prime minister and dissolve parliament.

The Portuguese Cabinet is meeting Wednesday to decide on a new set of restrictions, and possibly a full lockdown, to combat the strong and steady resurgence of virus infections during the past few weeks.

Health authorities on Tuesday reported 155 new confirmed deaths for Covid-19, the highest single-day number since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing the total death toll in Portugal over the 8,000 mark.

There were also 7,259 new infections, bringing the southern European country of 10 million closer to 500,000 recorded cases. AP

Trump, meanwhile, warned the lawmakers off impeachment and suggested it was the drive to oust him that was dividing the country.

“To continue on this path, I think it’s causing tremendous danger to our country, and it’s causing tremendous anger,” Trump said.

In his first remarks to reporters since last week’s violence, the outgoing president offered no condolences for those dead or injured, only saying, “I want no violence.”

With Pence’s agreement to invoke the 25th Amendment ruled out, the House will move swiftly to impeachment on Wednesday.

Trump faces a single charge— “incitement of insurrection”—in the impeachment resolution after the most serious and deadly domestic incursion at the Capitol in the nation’s history.

Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, argued that Trump must go because, as she said in Spanish, he’s “loco” - crazy.

Republican Reps. John Katko of New York, a former federal prosecutor; Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, an Air Force veteran; Fred Upton of Michigan and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state announced they, too, would vote to impeach. Kinzinger was the lone Republican voting in favor of the resolution calling on Pence to act.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said the “cancel culture” was just trying to cancel the president. He said the Democrats had been trying to reverse the 2016 election ever since Trump took office and were finishing his term the same way.

Though a handful of House Republicans will join the impeachment vote—and leaders are allowing them to vote as they wish—it’s far from clear there would then be the two-thirds vote needed to convict from the narrowly divided Senate. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania did join Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska over the weekend in calling for Trump to “go away as soon as possible.”

President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on January 12, in Washington. The President is traveling to Texas.

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Unprecedented events, with just over a week remaining in Trump’s term, are unfolding in a nation bracing for more unrest. The FBI has warned ominously of potential armed protests by Trump loyalists ahead of Biden’s inauguration, and Capitol Police urged lawmakers to be on alert.

The inauguration ceremony on the west steps of the Capitol will be off limits to the public.

With new security, lawmakers were required to pass through metal detectors Tuesday night to enter z the House chamber, not far from where Capitol police, guns draw n, had barricaded the door against the rioters. Some Republican law makers complained about it.

A Capitol police officer died from injuries suffered in the riot, and police shot a woman during the violence. Three other people died in what authorities said were medical emergencies.

Biden has said it’s important to ensure that the “folks who engaged in sedition and threatening the lives, defacing public property, caused great damage—that they be held accountable.”

Fending off concerns that an impeachment trial would bog down Biden’s first days in office, the president-elect is encouraging senators to divide their time between taking up his priorities of confirming his nominees and approving Covid relief while also conducting the trial.

As Congress resumed, uneasiness swept the halls. More lawmakers tested positive for Covid-19 after sheltering during the siege. Many lawmakers were voting by proxy rather than come to Washington, a process that was put in place last year to limit the health risks of travel.

One of Trump’s closest allies in

Congress, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was among those echoing the president, saying “impeachment at this time would have the opposite effect of bringing our country together.”

The impeachment bill from Reps.

David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California, Raskin of Maryland and Jerrold Nadler of New York draws from Trump’s own false statements about his election defeat to Biden.

Judges across the country, including some nominated by Trump, have repeatedly dismissed cases challenging the election results, and former Attorney General William Barr, a Trump ally, has said there was no sign of widespread fraud.

Like the resolution to invoke the 25th Amendment, the impeachment legislation also details Trump’s pressure on state officials in Georgia to “find” him more votes, as well as his White House rally ahead of the Capitol siege, in which he encouraged thousands of supporters last Wednesday to “fight like hell” and march to the building.

The mob overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and rampaged through the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were finalizing Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College.

While some have questioned impeaching the president so close to the end of his term, there is precedent.

In 1876, during the Ulysses Grant administration, War Secretary William Belknap was impeached by the House the day he resigned, and the Senate convened a trial months later.

He was acquitted.

Trump was impeached by the House in 2019 over dealings with Ukraine and acquitted in 2020 by the Senate. AP

EU regulator is considering Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

L

ONDON—The European Medicines Agency said Tuesday that AstraZeneca and Oxford University have submitted an application for their Covid-19 vaccine to be licensed across the European Union.

The EU regulator said it received a request for the vaccine to be greenlighted under an expedited process and that it could be approved by January 29 “provided that the data submitted on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine are sufficiently robust and complete.”

The EMA, the drugs agency for the 27-nation EU, has already approved two other coronavirus vaccines, one made by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech and another made by US biotechnology company Moderna.

Switzerland approved the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday and plans to immunize about 4 percent of its population using that and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

Britain gave its approval to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine last month and has been using it.

India approved it this month.

As part of its strategy to obtain as many different Covid-19 vaccines as possible for Europeans,

the EU said it had concluded early talks with French biotech company Valneva to secure up to 60 million doses of vaccine.

Valneva previously signed a deal with Britain to provide tens of millions of doses of its shot, which is developed using similar technology to that used to make flu vaccines. The EU has sealed six vaccine contracts for up to 2 billion doses, many more than are necessary to cover its population of approximately 450 million.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be a key vaccine for many countries because of its low cost, availability and ease of use. It can be kept in refrigerators rather than the ultra-cold storage that the Pfizer vaccine requires. The company has said it will sell it for $2.50 a dose and plans to make up to 3 billion doses by the end of 2021.

Researchers claim the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine protected against disease in 62 percent of those given two full doses and in 90 percent of those initially given a half dose because of a manufacturing error. However, the second group included only 2,741 people—too few to be conclusive.

Questions also remain about how well the vaccine protects older people. Only 12 percent of study participants were over 55 and they were enrolled later, so there hasn’t been enough time to see whether they develop infections at a lower rate than those not given the vaccine.

The US Food and Drug Administration says it won’t consider approving the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine until data are available from late state research testing the shot in about 30,000 people.

The World Health Organization is also examining a request from AstraZeneca and Oxford for an emergency use listing for its vaccine.

The UN health agency does not license or regulate vaccines itself, but typically evaluates vaccines once they have been approved by an agency such as the U.K. regulator or the European Medicines Agency. WHO experts conduct their own evaluation of whether or not the risks of a vaccine outweigh its benefits and then make a recommendation for the shots to be “pre-qualified” so they can be bought by donors for developing countries. AP

A10 Thursday, January 14, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

‘Don’t change your plan to get vaccinated’

‘P

ublic health moves at the speed of trust,” according to health communications experts. As more people stir the embers of vaccine mistrust on social media, concerns about vaccine safety will cloud government’s efforts to inoculate majority of Filipinos.

Somewhere between 60 and 90 percent of citizens must be vaccinated to arrive at the safe harbor known as herd immunity, where the entire population gets protected.

A recent Pulse Asia survey found that almost half of Filipinos (47 percent) are not inclined to get a Covid-19 vaccine due to safety concerns. Only 32 percent showed a willingness to receive the vaccine, while 21 percent are still undecided. In terms of location, 55 percent of the respondents in the Visayas showed disinterest in the Covid-19 vaccine; 48 percent were from Mindanao; 46 percent from Balance Luzon; and 41 percent from the National Capital Region. Based on socioeconomic class, the percentage of Filipinos who said they do not want to be inoculated was 56 percent in Class E, 46 percent in Class D, and 43 percent in Class ABC. The biggest global vaccination campaign in history has begun. As of January 12, more than 29 million doses in 43 countries have been administered, according to data collected by Bloomberg. Delivering billions more will be one of the greatest logistical challenges ever undertaken.

Here’s a big hitch: A healthy 56-year-old doctor in South Florida died two weeks after getting a first dose of a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. Health officials from Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating what role, if any, the vaccine played in the death of Dr. Gregory Michael, a Miami-Beach obstetrician who, his family said, was in otherwise good health.

The doctor received his first dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine on December 18 at Mount Sinai Medical Center, according to a Facebook post from his wife, Heidi Neckelmann. Three days later, small spots began to appear on his feet and hands and he went to the emergency room at Mount Sinai, where he has worked in private practice for 15 years. His blood count was far below normal ranges, the wife said, adding that for two weeks, doctors tried to raise the patient’s platelet count. “Experts from all over the country were involved in his care,” she wrote. “No matter what they did, the platelets count refused to go up.” She wrote that her husband was “conscious and energetic” through the process. But just days before a last resort surgery was scheduled, he suffered a stroke and died.

Vaccinations in the US began on December 14 with health-care workers, and so far 9.27 million doses have been given, according to a state-by-state tally by Bloomberg and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Out of the 9.27 million doses administered, there’s one puzzling death that is spreading like wildfire on social media, igniting vaccine mistrust that could imperil the global fight against the virus.

In a statement, Pfizer said it was aware of the death, but that it didn’t think there was any direct connection to the vaccine. It said it was a “highly unusual” and severe case of a condition that can prevent blood from clotting and cause internal bleeding. “To date, millions of people have been vaccinated and we are closely monitoring all adverse events in individuals receiving our vaccine,” the statement said.

The world needs a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, which is a critical component of the war against the pandemic. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stepped forward to assure Americans that the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is safe.

As of January 6th, the CDC said about 21 people out of more than 9 million people vaccinated in the US have reported severe reactions to the vaccine, adding the risk for most people is low. “Don’t change your plan to get vaccinated based on this one report,” the CDC said.

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Hungry people will be angry people John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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ome three decades ago there was a man who worked as a gardener in an exclusive village in Greenhills. He was an “elderly” but much of that was because he was never quite sober and never quite drunk, always carrying a small bottle of White Castle in his rear pocket.

On occasion he questioned anyone who would listen why P10 bought much more when he was young than it did now when he was old. Someone could have explained to him the effects of the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement. Or US President Richard Nixon ending the convertibility of the US dollar to gold in 1972, and the subsequent—but supposedly unrelated—1973 oil crisis when prices increased 400 percent.

The massive increase in predatory lending to under-developed countries, aided and encouraged by the World Bank, would have meant nothing to the gardener. He would not have understood that the postEdsa agreement to pay the Marcos era debt to foreign lenders came with the

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that the Philippines has reversed the Covid case uptrend by asking for statistics and is unaware of the Department of Health’s “Covid-19 Tracker.” It’s the journalists that are often being questioned about their information on social media—and sometimes in print—that is two or 10 years out of date.

“Philippine inflation quickened in December to 3.5 percent driven by higher food prices and transport costs. Rice prices also climbed for the first time since the implementation of the Rice Tarrification Law, and transport costs also contributed to faster inflation with tricycle fares rising 47.2 percent in December, and jeepney fares rising 6.6 percent.”

Statistically, that is true. However, the analysis makes it seem like a local problem, which it is not.

The price of Brent crude oil is up 50 percent since November, affecting not only fuel costs but also agricultural production inputs like

fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides.

Globally, the FAO (UN Food and Agricultural Organization) Food Price Index averaged 107 points in December 2020, up 2.2 percent from November, marking the seventh consecutive month increase. The last time the index was at this high level was in 2011 and part of the reason is that global food production is down. Global cereal production in 2020 is the lowest since 2016 and is in a declining trend. Covid is not the culprit.

The third largest exporter of rice—Vietnam—just imported rice from India to lower the domestic price spike.

The Dow Jones Commodity Grains index is at a six-year high. The Industrial Metals index is at an eightyear high. Then we find out that it has never been more expensive to get a container of goods across the ocean as shipping rates are at historic highs.

The centerpiece “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte administration was important. The next administration must do something that has not been done in the last 30 years: “Grow, Grow, Grow.”

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

Malaysia leader accused of power grab after Parliament suspended

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high price of capital controls.

In the same way, a tricycle driver in some far-flung province who never tasted a chicken meal from a global fast-food chain, or ever saw much less slept in a five-star hotel, is unaware that both the fast-food place and the hotel influence the financial condition of his family.

We can appreciate and excuse the ignorance of the gardener and the tricycle driver. But what can we say about the highly “educated,” comfortably “wealthy,” and exceedingly vocal urbanite who has every modern gadget including a programmable air fryer? That person often displays the same level of ignorance.

It’s the upper-class “rabblerouser” who challenges the thought

The centerpiece “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte administration was important.

The next administration must do something that has not been done in the last 30 years: “Grow, Grow, Grow.”

By Philip J. Heijmans & Anisah Shukry

I

n explaining why Malaysia needed to suspend democracy for the first time in half a century to fight the pandemic, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin assured the nation he wasn’t staging a military coup.

But his opponents found it hard to view the first nationwide emergency since 1969 as anything but a power grab. While the Southeast Asian nation has seen a surge of coronavirus cases in recent weeks along with many other countries, measures to combat the pandemic have generally enjoyed broad support across the political spectrum.

“Do not hide behind Covid-19 and burden the people with a declaration of emergency for the sake of saving yourself,” Pakatan Harapan, the main opposition bloc in parliament, said in a statement after the announcement.

The only problem easily solved by the emergency was Muhyiddin’s political trouble: Some key leaders in the ruling coalition’s largest partner, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), had recently called for a fresh election as soon as possible.

Now, with parliament suspended

potentially until August, the prime minister doesn’t have to worry about an election anytime soon.

While the move brings stability to Malaysia for the first time since political infighting early last year brought down a coalition government and hoisted Muhyiddin to power, it also poses a risk to the country’s democracy. Prior to the last election in 2018, the same ruling coalition had ruled for roughly six decades—often with heavy-handed tactics that sought to silence the media and opposition politicians.

Malaysia last saw a nationwide emergency in 1969, when racial riots between the ethnic Malays and Chinese led to the suspension of parliament for two years. The emergency now is “totally unnecessary” as the criteria for imposing one hasn’t been met and “no sane MPs” from either party would block moves to end the pandemic, according to Oh Ei Sun, a

Muhyiddin has been vague on how he’ll use his new powers. On Tuesday, he warned of possible price controls, greater control over public hospitals and a role for the military and police in implementing public health measures. He also vowed to hold an election once an independent committee declared that the pandemic had subsided and it was safe for voters to head to the polls. senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

“If you’re not careful, we will slip from parliamentary democracy into a rule by diktat,” he said. “It’s addictive—future governments would once again invoke a state of emergency.” Investors were cautious after the announcement, with the ringgit and the country’s main stocks index declining on Tuesday. A lockdown announced on Monday prompted Fitch Solutions to cut Malaysia’s 2021 economic growth forecast to 10 percent from 11.5 percent earlier, while warning that restrictions could last for months.

For the 73-year-old Muhyiddin,

a former UMNO stalwart who has gambled by switching allegiances over his four-decade political career, it will be a welcome chance to consolidate power. Since becoming prime minister in March 2020, he has faced constant pressure from both within his 12-party coalition and an opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim, who has repeatedly claimed to have the numbers to form a new government.

In October, Malaysia’s king rebuffed his push to declare an emergency that would’ve allowed him to avoid a budget vote in parliament that doubled as a confidence test.

But he narrowly survived, and the recent spike in virus cases—reaching a record 3,309 on Tuesday—allowed him to convince the king to grant emergency powers this time around.

“This period of emergency will give us much needed calm and stability,” Muhyiddin said in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday.

He added that the decree “is not a military coup and curfew will not be enforced.”

‘Checkmated’

Following the emergency, one UMNO lawmaker became the See “Malaysia,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

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No urgency in facing climate emergency?

What the little ones tell us Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

I

n a life-threatening emergency, urgent and resolute action is imperative. This is the reason why hospitals have ERs and intensive-care units for critically-ill patients.

The world today is facing an existential threat called global warming. Scientists of the UN Environmental Program keep reminding us that a surge in global temperature by over 2.0 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era will be catastrophic to humanity. It will unleash more violent storms, prolonged droughts, sea rise (that can swallow whole islands and coastal areas), and so on and so forth.

To prevent this apocalyptic scenario from happening, the UN Member States adopted in 2015 the Paris Agreement, an agreement requiring the signator y States to commit themselves to a twin program of GHG/carbonreduction and climate adaptation/readiness. Climate change is a global problem, which cannot be stopped without the concerted efforts of all countries.

In line with this, a number of countries have been declaring “climate emergency” as a means to mobilize their populations behind a sweeping climate mitigationadaptation program backed up by the maximum financial resources possible. In Asia, Japan and South Korea are showing the way: they are restructuring their economies to make them climate resilient and they are abandoning their dependence on coal and fossil fuel by investing heavily on clean energy.

In the case of the Philippines, the policy response is puzzling.

The Philippines is in the world’s list of the top five most vulnerable countries to climate change. This is the reason why the Philippine delegation to the Paris Convention in 2015 fought hard not only for the adoption of a global compact to address global warming but also for the inclusion of clauses in the said agreement that recognize the moral and financial responsibility of developed countries. As the world’s leading carbon emitters, these countries have the obligation to help developing countries in covering the cost of the climate adjustment measures.

Now, what is puzzling?

The Philippines, which played a leading role in the 2015 Paris Convention, has become less visible in the follow-up activities that signatory countries must undertake in relation to the agreement. One of these activities is the submission every five years of updated and consolidated “Nationally Determined Contributions” (NDC).

The Philippines missed the 2020 deadline for the submission of its NDC.The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) and its partner civil society and peoples organizations (CSOs/POs) lamented this failure of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to make the NDC submission. They explained the importance of NDC as follows: “NDCs articulate the clear and substantive commitments of governments to the global effort to combat the crisis of climate change….

“NDCs reflect commitments to empower people and communities to deal with its impacts, ensure adaptation and climate resilience efforts; make financial flows consistent with climate-resilient development and decarbonization, and stop global temperature rise at the safest level still possible—below 1.5 degrees Celsius. NDCs are also measures of commitments to

The NDC should be a product of an exhaustive process of popular consultation. After all, it involves the Filipino people who are facing an emergency situation on various fronts— climate, health and economic.

The NDC should be a people’s survival roadmap under climate change. pursue immediate and long term actions that are vital to addressing the manifold emergencies that are exacerbated by the climate crisis— such as the urgent and immediate recovery from the unprecedented Covid-19 global pandemic and its economic fall-out.”

The truth is that the CCC appears to be in a slow-motion mode in the drafting of the NDC. In July 2019, a PMCJ delegation, together with the team of the late Sen. Heherson Alvarez, went to the CCC head office to dialogue with the CCC Commissioners and to seek information on how the CCC is updating the country’s NDC. No materials were given and none of the Commissioners met with the PMCJ-Alvarez group.

It is now clear why the CCC Commissioners failed to meet with the PMCJ-Alvarez group. No NDC draft was ready and available in 2019. The CCC started consultations on the proposed NDC only in late 2020. In fact, the CCC consultation with the country’s environmental groups was arranged only on December 23, 2020.

The December CCC-CSO consultation process, a two-hour event, was also shallow. No draft NDC was circulated before and during the consultation. Inputs came mainly in the form of an overview powerpoint presentation on climate change and the Paris Agreement by the CCC, followed by summary presentations by select government line agencies such as the DENR and DOE on what they deem the country can contribute under the Agreement. In short, there was no time and opportunity for the participants to scrutinize if the proposed “contributions” being presented in outline form are meaningful, inclusive, substantive and truly contributory to the global battle against climate change.

The point is that the NDC should be a collaborative effort of all sectors because climate change is the concern of the whole society.

The CCC itself has written that the NDC should secure the support of the people through a wholeof-government-whole-of-society approach. The CCC also listed four pro-people “non-negotiable elements” in the drafting of the NDC: sustainable industrial development, poverty eradication and provision of basic needs, securing social and climate justice, and energy security.

Why then the failure to communicate and do consultation on time? Why the failure to be fully transparent?

The NDC should be a product of an exhaustive process of popular consultation. After all, it involves the Filipino people who are facing an emergency situation on various fronts—climate, health and economic. The NDC should be a people’s survival roadmap under climate change.

A

feast proper to the Philippines is our celebration of the Santo Niño every third Sunday of January. Jesus as a little child images to us divine love for the little ones (Mark 10:1316). As a child is a promise for tomorrow and an opportunity for today, the Santo Niño is a challenge for us now as well as a glimpse of our future.

Children as the measure The words of Jesus that “the kingdom of God belongs to such” as the little children must challenge us to reflect why so. The quality of children here highlighted is that of dependence and obedience. It is not the denial of freedom and responsibility that is meant here by child-like dependence, but the truth of one’s limitedness and the appropriate readiness to accept and trust the loving care of God. It is freedom truly appreciated as only human but summoned to a transcendent fullness in God. Fatal anywhere is the proud blindness to one’s human imperfections and shortcomings, and the absurd refusal of all outside assistance and guidance.

The incarnate Son of God as the Santo Niño, like a snap-shot of that all-too-fleeting period of

The incarnate Son of God as the Santo Niño, like a snap-shot of that all-too-fleeting period of human childhood, reveals to us the depth of the Son’s willingness to obey his Father’s will to identify with us and be there for us. In the utter dependency of a child, in the littleness of a small boy, Jesus personally showed us a measure of our true relationship with God. human childhood, reveals to us the depth of the Son’s willingness to obey his Father’s will to identify with us and be there for us. In the utter dependency of a child, in the littleness of a small boy, Jesus personally showed us a measure of our true relationship with God. He

Thursday, January 14, 2021 A11

has begun God’s kingdom on Earth because he was even as a child already the proclamation of humankind’s need to confess dependence on God and to live in obedience to the divine wisdom. The reign of God obtains among those who accept that humanity needs saving and who listen to God’s word for the way to eternal life. “Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

Children as already saved

Precisely as children who are open to God’s grace and as yet incapable of the abuse of human freedom, little children likewise illustrate for us the nature of the salvation already made available to us in Jesus Christ. It is a gift, not bought nor merited, solely offered and humbly to be accepted.

Throughout history, children are variously considered as worthless because workless or without accomplishments. Such a viewpoint fails to consider that in God’s design what really matters is not what we can do on our own, but what God shares with us. Where God’s action is primary, little children especially picture to us divine goodness.

Little children are part of the humanity already saved by Jesus Christ and as not corrupted yet by the sinful use of human freedom.

There is no need to consign them to some limbo when they die prematurely without the sacrament

of baptism; such a construct would manifest more our lack of appreciation of God’s saving love as well as our neglect of the innate dignity of children. Jesus was literally angry with those who would turn little children away from him; little children in his arms would be more correct to presume. The little ones represent God’s presence in the world; what is done to them is done to Jesus. Abuse of children is an act of desecration. One is rightly horrified by the current and widespread violations of the dignity and rights of children.

Alálaong bagá, we are actually in a direct contact with the mystery of God’s saving love for humankind, when we uphold our community to be characterized by respect and loving care for little children, particularly as parents and teachers.

Anytime and anywhere, the little ones are an incarnation of divine grace. The love we pour upon them is sanctifying, just as any abuse of them is despicable and downright condemnable. Our feast of the Santo Niño, beyond the sights and sounds of the festivities, must picture to us God’s irrevocable commitment for our salvation and our proper response of filial fidelity to our heavenly Father.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God

every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Trump’s Republican wall eroding ahead of impeachment vote

By Steve Peoples | AP National Political Writer

R

epublicans offered only modest reproach when President Donald Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides of a white supremacist rally. They stayed in line when Trump was caught pressuring a foreign leader and later defended his handling of a deadly pandemic.

But with a sudden force, the wall of Republican support that has enabled Trump to weather a seemingly endless series of crises is beginning to erode.

Trump’s weakened standing among his own party will come into sharper focus on Wednesday when the House is expected to impeach the president for inciting a riot at the US Capitol last week. A handful of Republicans have already said they’ll join the effort, a number that could grow as the vote nears.

The choice facing Republicans isn’t just about the immediate fate of Trump, who has just seven days left in his presidency. It’s about whether the party’s elected leaders are ready to move on from Trump, who remains popular with the GOP but is now toxic in much of Washington.

How they proceed could determine whether the party remains viable in upcoming elections or splinters in a way that could limit their relevance.

“We’re at the moment now where we’re seeing a fracturing, a breaking, because of the unprecedented situation—the sedition, the violence, the death,” said Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist who left the party because of Trump.

The stunning nature of the deadly insurrection—and Trump’s role in fueling it—has shaken many lawmakers. Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, gave rank-and-file conservatives the green light to abandon Trump in a scathing statement on Tuesday evening.

“There has never been a greater

Malaysia. . .

continued from A10

second in recent days from the group to declare that he was withdrawing support for Muhyiddin. The party as a whole was more reserved, with President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi saying the prime minister should only use his emergency powers on measures that contain the pandemic and restore parliamentary practices as

It’s unclear whether the chaos in Washington represents an existential threat to the party, but it almost certainly threatens to undermine the GOP’s short-term political goals. Several major corporations, many of them reliably Republican donors, have promised to stop sending political donations to any of the 147 Republicans who perpetuated Trump’s false claims of election fraud by voting to reject Biden’s victory last week.

donors, have promised to stop sending political donations to any of the 147 Republicans who perpetuated Trump’s false claims of election fraud by voting to reject Biden’s victory last week.

The fundraising challenge comes at a bad time for the GOP. History suggests that the Republican Party, as the minority party in Washington, should regain control of the House or Senate in 2022.

At the same time, a collection of ambitious Republicans are trying to position themselves to run for the White House in 2024. They are also contending with Trump’s legacy.

One of them, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, reminded reporters on Tuesday that he’s condemned the Trump presidency from the very beginning.

“I’ve been in the same place I’ve been for the whole four years. A lot of people have just changed their position,” Hogan said, while vowing not to leave the GOP. “I don’t want to leave the party and let these people who did a hostile takeover four years ago take over.”

Despite Hogan’s confidence, a significant portion of the Republican Party’s political base remains deeply loyal to the president, and has already shown a willingness to attack anyone—especially Republicans—who is not. That helps explain why two other 2024 prospects, Sens.

Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, voted to reject Biden’s victory last week, even after the uprising.

“Republican leaders do not know how to move forward,” Republican pollster Frank Luntz said. “Everybody’s afraid that Donald Trump will tell people to come after them, but they also realize they’re losing the center of America. They’re trapped.”

betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” she charged.

While stunning, the fast-moving developments do not ensure Trump will be forced from office before Democrat Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration. The timing of a Senate trial is unclear and could spill into Biden’s presidency.

But for the first time, there are real signs that a significant faction of Republicans want to purge Trump from their party.

Already, three Trump Cabinet members have resigned in protest.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who left the White House less than a month ago, accused his former boss of a “betrayal of his office.”

It took almost a week for Vice President Mike Pence, whose relationship with Trump has soured considerably since he and his family were forced into hiding during the Capitol siege, to publicly declare he would not invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to remove Trump from office.

The president still enjoys some level of Republican support. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a top Trump ally just honored this week at the White House, refused on Tuesday to concede that President-elect Joe Biden won the election outright, the same demonstrable falsehood that sparked the riot.

Trump emerged from his White House fortress for the first time since the riots for a trip to the wall his administration built along the Texas border. As he left Washington, he was careful to insist “we want no

violence,” but denied any responsibility for the insurrection.

Once he reached the border, his remarks to a small crowd were fairly muted. In the end, he spoke for just 21 minutes and spent less than 45 minutes on the ground in what was expected to be the final trip of his presidency.

Before leaving, he offered an ominous warning to Democrats leading the charge to remove him from office: “Be careful what you wish for.”

That veiled threat came as the nation—and members of Congress— braced for the potential of more violence ahead of Biden’s inauguration.

The FBI warned this week of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington.

Capitol security officials made the extraordinary decision to require members of Congress to pass through metal detectors to enter the House chamber beginning on Tuesday, although some Republicans resisted the new rule.

It’s unclear whether the chaos in Washington represents an existential threat to the party, but it almost certainly threatens to undermine the GOP’s short-term political goals.

Several major corporations, many of them reliably Republican

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Alamo, Texas, and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

soon as possible.

“Muhiyiddin Yassin is now safe,” said Awang Azman Awang Pawi from the University of Malaya. “When the state of emergency was declared, UMNO was checkmated because nothing significant is able to be done during a state of emergency.”

Muhyiddin has been vague on how he’ll use his new powers. On Tuesday, he warned of possible price controls, greater control over public hospitals and a role for the military

and police in implementing public health measures. He also vowed to hold an election once an independent committee declared that the pandemic had subsided and it was safe for voters to head to the polls.

Whether Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party will see gains in the next election now largely depends on how he handles the virus over the period of emergency rule. So far, he has failed to find solutions to stop the surge in cases -- an outcome that ironi-

cally laid the groundwork for him to implement the emergency and keep his opponents at bay.

“Without a strategy to address Covid-19, they are using these levers of power to hold on,” said Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate at the Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham Malaysia. “It’s a reflection of the instability and ultimately it will make the cleavages and divisions in a highly polarized society worse.” Bloomberg News

A12 Thursday, January 14, 2021

WITH ‘DEAD CAT BOUNCE’ IN ’21, WE NEED STIMULUS, NOT CHA-CHA, SAYS IBON

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ECOVERING from the economic fallout following the spread of Covid-19 should be the priority of the national government and not Charter change, according to Ibon Foundation Inc. “The economic growth in 2021 is akin to a dead cat bounce.

We will rebound from the harsh lockdowns and protracted quarantines last year—but the economy will still be on a downtrend that started even before the pandemic,” it added.

Ibon said this is significant especially after economic growth has been slowing in the past three years. It noted that the 6.9 percent GDP growth in 2016 slowed to 6.7 percent in 2017, 6.2 percent in 2018, and 5.9 percent in 2019.

Appearing at a House panel hearing on resolutions reviving calls for Charter change, Ibon’s executive director Rosario Guzman said, “A large stimulus package closer in magnitude to the projected P1.74-trillion contraction in GDP in 2020 will immediately spur growth, raise employment, and improve the welfare of poor households compared to the distant and uncertain gains of merely speculated foreign investment years from now.”

Furthermore, vastly growing foreign investment into the Philippines hasn’t contributed

to national economic progress as promised, Guzman said.

“Despite the supposedly restrictive provisions of the 1987 Constitution, foreign direct investment [FDI] has grown substantially since the 1980s both in absolute amounts and as a share of GDP,” she said.

“Annual foreign investment inflows are over 30 times larger than in the early 1980s—from an annual average of US$187 million (equivalent 0.5 percent of GDP) in 1980-1984 to US$6.3 billion (2 percent of GDP) in 2015-2019. The inward stock of FDI increased seventy-fold from US$1.3 billion in 1980 to US$88 billion in 2019, and seven-fold as a percentage of GDP from 3.6 percent to 24.1 percent over that same period,” she added.

Third, Guzman said foreign investment has to be strictly regulated to contribute to national development. “ T he potent ia l benef its from foreign investment are well-known and real. They are however neither intrinsic nor spontaneous and will only materialize in the right policy context. It’s also a myth that the developed countries developed because they liberalized—they liberalized because they first developed,” she said.

Continued on A2

3 Covid vaccines due in Q1, but Sinovac stirs controversy

T

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | Correspondent & Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

HREE Covid-19 vaccines —Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZeneca—are expected to arrive in the Philippines in the first quarter of this year.

“Nagkakaroon ng negotiation sa WHO [World Health Organization] at sa GAVI ng early deployment of Pfizer this coming February at kung mapagbibigyan po tayo ng gosignal meron po tayong sinasabing early rollout [We are negotiating with WHO and GAVI for an early deployment of Pfizer this coming February and if they will give us the go-signal we will have an early rollout,” National Task Force against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez said during the Laging Handa public briefing on Wednesday.

Galvez said that next month,

they expect 50,000 doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to arrive in the country. He added that an additional 950,000 doses in March and 1 million doses by April are expected to arrive as well. The earlier announcement of the Sinovac deal has drawn criticism from many sectors, including lawmakers, who wondered aloud why the government rushed to buy Sinovac despite the low efficacy rate, reported at 50 percent, but variously reported with different efficacy claims across the world.

According to Galvez, they are also working on the possible de-

livery of the Covid-19 vaccine of British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca. There are also ongoing negotiations with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, Moderna, Novavax, and Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

An agreement was also signed by the government with Serum Institute of India (SII) and Faberco Life Sciences, Inc., to secure the supply of 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine Covovax.

SII, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, partnered with Novavax, a US-based biotechnology company, for the development and commercialization of the Covovax vaccine.

The vaccine has the recombinant coronavirus spike protein nanoparticle and a Novavax-patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies. Covovax is in third-stage trials and is expected to be approved for use by international regulators.

Galvez said the government plans to secure a total 148 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from seven vaccine makers.

Lacson: Why Sinovac?

On Wednesday, Senator Panfilo Lacson questioned the officials’ option to purchase a more expensive Covid vaccine supply from Chinese manufacturer Sinovac, citing its murky record of clinical trials, despite the availability of cheaper but more efficacious vaccine from other available sources.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Lacson asked: “Can somebody explain why preference is given to the second most expensive vaccine, has lower efficacy, a record of suspended clinical trials and has not even applied for EUA over other vaccines that cost much less, more efficacious and are about to be granted their Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)?”

“Why choosy?” the senator wondered, scoring Sinovac’s five-month headway. “After telling ordinary Filipinos not to be choosy in getting their Covid vaccines, the government should apply the same line in expediting the procurement of all qualified and available vaccines,” he added.

Continued on A2

3.6% pork output dip seen on ASF disruption

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

T

@jearcalas

HE country’s pork output this year may fall by 3.6 percent to 1.075 million metric tons (MMT), its lowest volume in 20 years, as African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to disrupt domestic hog production, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

The USDA revised downward its production forecast for the Philippines from its earlier projection of 1.35 MMT in October, dismissing an immediate rebound of domestic hog output this year.

The USDA made a lower production projection as it noted that the ASF virus, which is fatal to pigs but not harmful to humans, continues to spread in key producing regions in the country.

Historical USDA data showed that their 2021 pork output estimate for the Philippines could be its lowest volume since 2001, when production was at 1.064 MMT. The USDA also revised downward its 2020 pork output estimate for the Philippines to 1.115 MMT from 1.275 MMT. The government has culled at least 400,000 pigs to curb the spread of ASF nationwide.

In an earlier statement, Agriculture Undersecretary William Medrano said about 29.7 percent of the country’s 14 million hog population has been wiped out by ASF and ASF-related actions such as culling. This means the country has lost at least 4.158 million pigs since the ASF struck the country in mid-2019.

Medrano said they hope that their P400-million repopulation program would bear fruit by the third or fourth quarter this year, thus, somehow increasing local supply in a bid to arrest spiking pork prices that have touched the vicinity of P400 per kilogram.

Medrano said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is also implementing its P110-million breeder farm program that seeks to augment the country’s sow population.

Under the program, P95 million would be spent to build 15 multiplier breeder farms and the remaining P15 million for the establishment of one nucleus breeder farm.

The program aims to produce 600 breeders for new multiplier farms and 7,000 hogs breeders eligible for distribution to backyard hog raisers in one year, Medrano said.

But a UK-based swine company said the number of sows that could be affected by ASF in the country could reach up to 750,000 sows if biosecurity measures in farms would not be intensified to combat the virus.

Pig Improvement Company (PIC) Philippines General Manager Vino Borromeo said this could be the likely scenario if ASF continues to spread across the country, causing further supply shortfall and price hikes.

Borromeo added that bringing back the country’s domestic supply to 2019 levels “may take at least 10 years.” He pointed out that the dreaded virus will remain and continue to spread in the country until an “effective ASF vaccine arrives.”

PIC is the swine division of Genus plc., a British-based company that seeks to pioneer animal genetic improvement to help nourish the world, according to its website.

“The shortfall will fast-track the transformation of the industry to adopt a more modern system of farming, put technology into the process, and innovate solutions to be more efficient and more conscious of the biosecurity that we need to put in place to protect herds,” Borromeo said in a statement on Tuesday.

Retail pork prices in Metro Manila wet markets have reached P400 per kilogram due to a shortfall in supply.

A storekeeper arranges Santo Niño figurines at a store in Manila. Just like Manila’s Traslacion, millions flock to Cebu City every year on the third Sunday of January to celebrate the Sinulog Festival in honor of the Santo Niño or the Child Jesus. And like the Traslacion, the traditional street dancing has also been canceled, with Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama announcing that Sinulog activities would instead be recorded and broadcast as live on January 17. ROY DOMINGO

Govt paying for treatment of vax recipients who fall ill

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HE government will pay for the medical treatment of Filipinos who will suffer adverse reactions related to the Covid-19 vaccines that it will administer.

The Department of Health (DOH) made the assurance as the country is now poised to get the first shipment of its Covid-19 vaccine next month.

In an online press briefing on Wednesday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire disclosed the possible incidents of adverse effects will be monitored by the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee (NAEFIC).

She said the committee led

by Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) Director Lulu Bravo will also determine if the said medical condition is indeed caused

by the vaccine.

“The government has already prepared the benefits and [will] shoulder the treatment [if there is an adverse] reaction from the vaccine,” Vergeire said.

Aside from aid to the said vaccine recipients, she explained the NAEFIC and its regional counterparts will also determine how to improve the immunization service delivery.

The committee will also have the power to recommend the potential product recall or withdrawal of Covid-19 vaccines.

First shipment

Chief implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said they are anticipating the first batch of vaccine to be acquired by the government will come from Pfizer-

BionTech.

He said they hope to secure the batch through the Covid-19 vaccine from Vaccines Global Access (Covax) facility of Gavi, a Genevabased international public-private organization.

Representatives from the Covax facility will arrive in the country on January 19 to determine if the country is ready to store 30 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, which will need to be kept in storage in temperatures of negative 70 degree Celsius.

“Pfizer [vaccine] will be the first just in case we qualify for it,” Galvez said.

The vaccine czar said the government already has an agreement with several private companies, which provide the necessary cold chain storage facilities for vaccines from Pfizer and other drug makers.

National rehearsal

Aside from the vaccine from Pfizer, he said the government is also anticipating the first 50,000 vaccine it bought from Chinese drug maker, Sinovac, will arrive in the country next month.

Also expected to arrive within the first quarter are the 20 million vaccines the government purchase from British-based AstraZeneca.

Galvez said they will be conducting a walkthrough and time and motion test next week to prepare for the looming rollout of the government Covid-19 vaccination drive following the arrival of the vaccines.

“By end of January, we will make sure we are already prepared for the arrival of the more than 50,000 vaccines. That will serve as our national rehearsal,” Galvez said.

Samuel P. Medenilla

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, January 14, 2021

B1

Villar warns against crypto scammers using his name

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

usinessman Manuel B. Villar Jr. has again warned that he is not engaged in bitcoin trading schemes and that he has not endorsed a cryptocurrency trading program, which he said is a scam.

“It has come to my attention that a social media post falsely claiming that I endorsed a cryptocurrency trading program is again making the rounds in various websites, specifically in yahoo.com. I would like to reiterate that I have never made any such endorsement nor have I engaged

in the said bitcoin trading program,” Villar said in a statement.

“This is a scam and I ask the public to protect themselves from such unscrupulous act by reporting them to the proper authorities,” he said.

Villar, the country’s richest man, is the founder and chairman of real

estate firm Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a warning to the public against dealing with Bitcoin Revolution, which presents itself as a cryptocurrency trading program purportedly endorsed by government officials, businessmen and celebrities.

The SEC issued the warning after finding that Bitcoin Revolution continues to solicit investments from the public using the domain “thebitcoinrevolution.com” without the necessary license.

Bitcoin Revolution is notorious for using fake endorsements from the likes of Senator Manny Pacquiao, former Senator and House Speaker Villar, television host Boy Abunda and even Finance Secretary Carlos

G. Dominguez III. Under the scheme, investors could supposedly earn as much as $1,000 from a minimum investment of $250 within a day, a 300-percent return on investment per day or a total of 9,000 percent per month. Bitcoin Revolution also claims that some of its traders managed to become millionaires in less than two months by simply investing in its scheme that supposedly offers a unique automated trading system or platform with a success rate of as high as 99 percent per transaction.

The scheme involves the offering and sale of securities, in the form of investment contracts, because investors need not exert any effort other than to invest or place money in Bitcoin Revolution in order to derive income, according to the SEC.

Asticom PLDT blocks 3,011 child-porn sites launches P subsidiary A

sticom Te c h n o l o g y, Inc., a shared ser vices company wholly owned

by Globe, is launching its first subsidiary, Asti Business Services, Inc. (ABSI), a move that is expected to propel the company to be the number one shared services provider in the Philippines and Asia.

ABSI is a business process solutions company prov iding enterprises with Above and Beyond Service Innovation with end-to-end solutions for human resources, administrative, finance, and information technology functions.

With its commercial launch, ABSI will provide shared services to a multitude of industries including telecommunications, financial technology, information technology, retail, health, logistics, automotive, banking, education, real estate, and aviation.

“Amid the pandemic, we see a growing need for IT-BSO services as enterprises have reinvented their ways of working while fully focusing on their core business functions. In line with our vision to become the number one shared services company in the Philippines and Asia by 2029, we are confident that ABSI will be able to create purposeful growth for the local and international markets,” Mharicar Castillo-Reyes, Asticom president and CEO, said in a statement.

Gary Ona, General Manager of ABSI added: “More than launching a subsidiary, our goal is to showcase Filipino innovation and expertise as an international ITBSO services provider. With ABSI, we emphasize people development and unwavering commitment to innovation, quality and efficiency.”

ABSI said it offers digital platform solutions to help leading enterprises in their digital transformation journey such as customer experience and employee engagement. In addition to IT-enabled services such as web and mobile application development, ABSI will also focus on process optimization for front and back-end office functions ranging anywhere from customer verification to payroll administration and finance support services.

LDT Inc. and its wireless unit, Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), said they have taken down 3,011 sites that host illicit content featuring children as mandated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

The PLDT Group said it is also building up further the capacity of its network-based child protection platform and is currently testing additional technologies that would allow automatic blocking of end-user access to online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) or child pornographic content.

“When users try to open these malicious materials that are on our network blacklist, our child protection platform will automatically redirect them to a landing page that informs them that the files they’re trying to access violate the country’s Anti-Child Pornography Law,” Angel Redoble, FVP and Chief Information Security Officer of ePLDT Group, PLDT Group, and Smart Communications, said in a statement.

The PLDT Group is also expanding its intelligence sources on domains with identified OSAEC con-

tent. It has earlier embarked on seeking a membership to United Kingdom-based international nonprofit organization Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) dedicated to eliminating online child sexual abuse content. Once completed, this membership will enable the telco group to gain access to a rich database of web pages linked to child sexual abuse.

“As we strongly condemn the continuing abuse on our children online, this membership underscores our network-level investment on a more advanced child protection platform.

This also seals our commitment to the global cooperation and resolve against OSAEC. With the completion of this IWF membership in the first quarter of 2021, we look forward to contributing more to multi-sectoral efforts to end this crime against our children,” Redoble said.

In support of regulatory compliance and network technology investments, the PLDT Group said it has also been actively collaborating and seeking guidance of various children’s rights champions and likeminded organizations for a holistic approach towards child protection.

As a result of its partnership with UNICEF, the telco group has since rolled out its own Child Safeguarding Policy that would further drive its child online protection thrust and guide its impact to children in the context of the workplace, marketplace and communities.

Amid the shift to blended learning and the heightened Internet exposure among children during the Covid-19 pandemic, Smart has also worked with UNICEF, the Department of Education, and the National Privacy Commission in rolling out its CyberSmart: Cybersecurity Beyond Digital learning series in 2020. This provided students with valuable information on how to safeguard their digital life. Further to this, the telco group is also expanding its support to community-based programs that are geared towards eliminating OSAEC in the country.

The PLDT Group also is supporting the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators in urging Congress to reconcile conflicting laws that impact ISP compliance and hamper anti-child pornography efforts.

Qatar Airways earns ‘Diamond Standard’ status

Q

atar Airways said it has achieved Diamond Standard in the Airline Passenger Experience Association’s (APEX) Health Safety Powered

by SimpliFlying audit.

The company said in a statement that the ‘Diamond Standard’ status, which is the highest level attainable, was announced by APEX and global aviation marketing consultancy, SimpliFlying, following a meticulous assessment of the airline’s robust Covid-19 hygiene and safety standards.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said: “As an industry leader, we welcome the further recognition of Qatar Airways’ commitment to providing the most rigorous and stringent virus monitoring, detection and Covid-19 safety program throughout our end-to-end passenger experience, in existence within the global aviation community.

“The awarding of the APEX Health Safety ‘Diamond Standard’ was the result of a thorough and extensive independent audit of the airline’s comprehensive Covid-19 protection and prevention measures, both on board and at Hamad International Airport, and reinforces the fact that air travel does not need to be a source of concern to passengers.

“As commercial aviation continues to deal with the challenges and impact of the global pandemic, we welcome the introduction of this and other relevant Covid-related hygiene and safety reviews, and would encourage other airlines to continue to build passenger confidence and assist with the recovery of the industry by participating wherever possible.”

APEX Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Joe Leader, said: “Qatar Airways’ Covid-19 protocols definitively met the highest marks for the Diamond certification level backed by their extraordinary steps for customer safety.

The actions taken by Qatar appear centered around a singular philosophy: how can we innovatively maxi-

Contributed photo

mize both our customer service and passenger safety hand-in-hand.

“Having flown recently on Qatar Airways with my family to the Maldives after negative Covid-19 PCR tests, the level of health safe service both in-flight and onthe-ground surpassed my highest expectations and even surpassed our best-ever pre-pandemic experience on the airline.”

SimpliFlying Chief Executive Officer Shashank Nigam said: “Qatar Airways has raised the bar for health safety standards in the industry by initiatives such as providing a face shield to all passengers, using Honeywell’s UV disinfection systems and advanced biosafety measures at its hub in Doha. Taking such hospital-grade in ensuring health safety will help bolster trust among travelers.”

Qatar Airways’ onboard safety measures include the provision of personal protective equipment for cabin crew and a complimentary protective kit and disposable face shields for passengers.

Business Class passengers on aircraft equipped

with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy this award-winning business seat provides, including sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb’ indicator. Qsuite is available on flights to more than 30 destinations including Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York.

For full details of all the measures that have been implemented onboard and in HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety.

“In addition to this, the airline also uses the most advanced HEPA air filtration systems on board all aircraft, and recently introduced Honeywell’s state-of-the-art Ultraviolet Cabin System, operated

by Qatar Aviation Services, as a further step in the cleaning of its aircraft.”

Qatar Airways currently operates more than 800 weekly flights to over 110 destinations across the globe. By the end of March 2021, Qatar Airways plans to rebuild its network to 129. Many cities will be served with a strong schedule with daily or more frequencies.

SMC to formally open Skyway 3

Photo from www.sanmiguel.com.ph

S

an Miguel Corp. (SMC) is set to fully open all 7 lanes of the 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3 elevated expressway from the South Luzon Expressway in Alabang to the North Luzon Expressway, after official ceremonies on January 14, Thursday afternoon.

In preparation for the opening ceremony, Skyway management has set the closure of Skyway 3 starting 10 p.m. of Wednesday, January 13 through the whole day of January 14. A full inspection, set-up and staging of the opening, and other pre-opening preparation activities, are scheduled.

The entire expressway will be opened to regular vehicular traffic starting 5 a.m. of January 15.

SMC, which fully funded the project, said that motorists will finally be able to use all 7 lanes of the Skyway 3, which it soft-opened, free to the pub-

lic for one month, last December 29.

Since then, an initial four lanes have been in use, as finishing work continued on the much-awaited project, dubbed a true “game-changer” for Metro Manila traffic.

“We ask for the kind understanding of motorists, as we prepare to officially open Skyway 3. Following the opening, motorists will be able to experience the benefits of all seven lanes and all the features of this game-changing expressway that will reduce travel time from Slex to Nlex and vice-versa, to only 30 minutes. It will also help decongest traffic on Edsa and many parts of Metro Manila,” Skyway management said.

“Skyway 3 will remain toll-free until January 29, and we look forward to welcoming our motorists, and letting them experience seamless travel,” the company said.

StaySafe.ph removes GPS, Bluetooth contact tracing to allay concerns

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taySafe.ph said its developer, Multisys Technologies Corp., ensured zero surveillance in the app as the current version now runs without the GPS and Bluetooth-enabled contact tracing features.

The developer also enhanced the app’s QR code security to remove possible data exposure.

The software solutions company has also intensified the technical support that it deployed to assist the government in the nationwide implementation of StaySafe.ph, following the release of Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF) Resolution 85 on November 26.

T he resolution states that StaySafe.ph is now mandatory for national government agencies and local government units (LGUs), as well as promoted for use in all private establishments, facilities and offices. This will unify and centralize all digital contact tracing data and make it more effective as other existing contact tracing applications are also enjoined to integrate with StaySafe.ph’s system.

Contact Tracing Czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said, “These efforts have been done to build public confidence and trust in our digital contact tracing efforts. We appeal for everyone’s participation and support as we continue and reinforce our pandemic mitigation efforts this 2021.”

On top of deploying the necessary technical assistance, MultiSys is also currently shouldering all the fees to maintain the cloud services needed by StaySafe.ph.

Almirol shared, “We are glad and beyond thankful to see an

Photo from www.multisyscorp.com

ever-swelling digital bayanihan spirit among our kababayans, which has ever since been our team’s call for unity. Our country is still suffering and we’re far from total recovery after taking enormous tolls in these challenging times.”

As of date, StaySafe.ph has over 8 million users from both mobile app, web app and smartphone camera QR scanning; and more than 700 LGUs and over 100,000 companies and establishments have adopted its built-in digital logbook and QR code scanning features to protect their employees, visitors and customers. This provides an efficient way to replace the manual logging of visitors’ health check, which requires the use of pen and paper that can potentially transmit the virus.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, January 14, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 13, 2021

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

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

43.6 111.5 85.6 25.7 8.48 10.48 49 11.42 27.85 55 100 18.1 133.4 70.05 0.99 4.81 0.6 4.72 6.91 1.63 0.425 898 0.79 153 2,168 1.02

45 111.6 85.65 25.75 8.49 10.5 49.1 11.44 27.9 55.1 114.9 18.4 133.9 70.5 1 4.85 0.63 4.73 7.3 1.68 0.44 900 0.82 154 2,170 1.07

43.55 111.1 84 25.75 8.48 10.52 48 11.44 28.25 55 97.4 18 130.5 70 0.96 4.82 0.6 5.1 6.9 1.69 0.435 898 0.81 153.9 2,168 1.02

45 112.7 85.9 25.75 8.48 10.68 49 11.44 28.5 55.15 97.4 18.5 134 70.55 0.99 4.98 0.63 5.49 6.9 1.72 0.49 898 0.82 154 2,168 1.02

43.55 110.6 84 25.6 8.48 10.2 48 11.44 27.9 55 97.4 18 130.5 69.5 0.91 4.8 0.6 4.62 6.9 1.61 0.415 898 0.79 152 2,100 1.02

45 111.5 85.65 25.75 8.48 10.48 49 11.44 27.9 55.15 97.4 18.4 133.9 70.05 0.99 4.85 0.63 4.73 6.9 1.68 0.44 898 0.82 154 2,168 1.02

6,500 4,891,020 1,240,090 88,200 800 908,800 2,882,600 400 299,000 3,680 400 6,800 333,890 10,710 202,000 1,285,000 12,000 3,724,000 600 1,161,000 15,210,000 90 322,000 4,750 95 12,000

290,325 545,064,342 106,107,495 2,267,515 6,784 9,465,330 140,289,075 4,576 8,360,555 202,470.50 38,960 123,870 44,271,127 752,566.50 192,510 6,287,600 7,530 18,533,280 4,140 1,923,010 6,841,100 80,820 257,690 722,225 205,620 12,240

INDUSTRIAL

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

6.19 1.28 26.65 0.7 31.8 82 296.6 16.94 3.94 3.5 11.5 21.25 9.9 13.06 7.76 3.34 14.02 19.02 7.85 7.7 9.99 68 0.63 1.74 50.5 199.5 37.55 7.85 7.15 0.355 7.7 1.3 4.56 1.69 0.127 155 0.94 2.26 52.4 54.85 1.49 5.6 14 7.4 7.17 8.26 9.7 1.83 1.28 126.3 1.84 2.51 4.6 5.4 22.25 3 9.01 1.29 5.21 1.53 8.22

6.2 1.3 26.85 - 31.85 82.1 298.4 17 3.95 3.57 11.66 21.3 9.97 14 7.88 3.38 14.04 19.04 7.89 7.75 10 68.75 0.65 1.75 51.85 199.8 38.5 8.45 7.17 0.36 7.71 1.31 4.77 1.78 0.13 156.7 0.95 2.4 54.9 56.1 1.5 5.7 14.2 7.44 7.18 8.28 9.89 1.85 1.29 130 1.85 2.52 4.65 5.46 22.3 3.03 9.1 1.35 5.41 1.55 8.23

6.19 1.3 26.9 0.7 32 79.5 295 16.7 3.98 3.5 11.98 21.1 9.94 14 8.11 3.37 14.02 18.8 7.65 7.76 10 68.8 0.64 1.67 51.5 199 38.6 8.45 7.2 0.4 7.83 1.3 4.6 1.72 0.127 157.5 0.95 2.32 54.95 54.85 1.5 5.7 14.02 7.46 7.11 8.7 9.88 1.94 1.24 130 1.84 2.9 4.67 5.16 22.95 3.02 9 1.29 5.4 1.55 8.16

6.4 1.31 26.9 0.7 32.4 82.5 299.4 17.14 4 3.56 11.98 21.5 10 14 8.12 3.38 14.92 19.2 7.93 7.77 10 68.8 0.68 1.74 51.95 199.5 38.65 8.45 7.21 0.41 7.84 1.34 4.65 1.84 0.134 158.3 0.95 2.48 54.95 55.95 1.5 5.78 14.26 7.46 7.44 8.85 9.88 1.94 1.31 130 1.84 2.92 4.67 5.46 22.95 3.05 9.7 1.34 5.45 1.56 8.48

6.06 1.28 26.65 0.7 31.05 79.2 294.4 16.58 3.94 3.5 11.46 21.1 9.87 14 7.61 3.28 13.94 18.72 7.65 7.56 9.85 67.95 0.63 1.63 50.5 195.1 37.05 8.45 7.1 0.31 7.65 1.27 4.6 1.69 0.127 155 0.93 2.22 52.4 54.85 1.47 5.6 13.9 7.11 7.11 8.26 9.7 1.65 1.2 130 1.8 2.5 4.67 5.1 22.1 2.92 8.94 1.26 5.4 1.5 8.15

6.2 1.28 26.65 0.7 31.8 82 296.6 17 3.95 3.56 11.66 21.25 9.97 14 7.88 3.38 14.04 19.02 7.85 7.75 10 68.75 0.63 1.74 51.85 199.5 38.5 8.45 7.14 0.355 7.71 1.3 4.65 1.69 0.13 155 0.95 2.22 52.4 55.95 1.5 5.6 14.2 7.4 7.18 8.26 9.88 1.83 1.29 130 1.84 2.51 4.67 5.46 22.3 3.03 9.1 1.34 5.45 1.55 8.22

97,116,700 1,096,000 1,571,600 201,790,000 1,836,400 298,030 115,410 3,039,400 3,198,000 118,000 259,900 301,800 459,500 100 312,600 1,177,000 7,300 2,525,900 51,000 1,494,400 496,900 48,290 3,349,000 31,243,000 50,810 679,010 11,900 600 186,200 168,260,000 258,400 23,799,000 12,000 52,000 4,270,000 849,750 2,509,000 124,000 740 320 3,875,000 64,700 86,900 164,700 1,304,600 3,900,700 4,500 15,318,000 8,645,000 40 79,000 6,885,000 3,000 2,629,500 104,000 23,523,000 2,823,400 2,505,000 200 1,586,000 6,573,800

225,000 152,306,699 33,555,745.50 -567,940 14,379,070 310,420 -16,286,377 503,959 49,000 -34,200.00 -91,000 -4,920 -643,166 -

603,190,221 1,420,670 41,993,235 141,253,000 58,555,250 24,387,914 34,366,790 51,602,312 12,671,860 414,600 3,006,222 6,407,435 4,558,671 1,400 2,464,182 3,919,760 102,558 48,066,338 400,757 11,464,378 4,922,711 3,299,368 2,123,000 53,438,250 2,570,149.50 134,957,437 449,235 5,070 1,330,776 61,176,400 2,003,202 30,927,940 55,250 90,850 556,550 132,623,357 2,370,740 284,770 40,229.50 17,651 5,768,560 369,950 1,230,494 1,213,425 9,495,374 32,975,069 43,794 27,385,790 11,026,840 5,200 143,610 18,196,740 14,010 13,442,331 2,316,950 70,452,960 25,953,201 3,264,150 1,085 2,425,050 54,247,232

875,931 38,400 1,820,120 -25,137,000 -3,325,465.00 -3,885,212 -1,542,754 -1,693,422 -1,177,330 -100,836 2,715,895 -99,400 108,445.00 -29,630 11,143,182 -53,626 1,077,275 -2,052,115 635,670 -232,850 51,500 -31,906,655 138,643 -23,250 352,927 -4,394,740 -7,320 -32,171,617 7,520 -146,212 -22,350 -1,307,197 -398,799 -143,690 -25,800 166,850 -5,111,603.00 -29,080 1,458,910 -7,946,629 59,600 2,697,911

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.71 0.72 0.72 0.74 0.71 0.72 15,819,000 11,395,610 9 9.52 8.97 9.7 8.8 9.54 41,500 373,785 ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP 818 818.5 840 840 811.5 818.5 278,110 228,087,835 46.45 46.5 47 47.05 46.1 46.5 1,257,300 58,512,570 ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL 10.12 10.14 10.1 10.38 10.1 10.14 3,879,200 39,482,086 3.16 3.17 3.19 3.2 3.1 3.17 3,116,000 9,813,470 AYALA LAND LOG 6.76 6.78 6.76 6.78 6.76 6.78 14,100 95,483 ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.84 0.85 0.87 0.89 0.81 0.84 5,684,000 4,791,480 0.86 0.87 0.9 0.92 0.86 0.87 5,516,000 4,871,330 ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B 0.87 0.88 0.9 0.9 0.88 0.88 301,000 265,900 5.46 5.56 5.49 5.57 5.43 5.56 788,600 4,343,463 COSCO CAPITAL 5.4 5.43 5.5 5.51 5.4 5.4 3,643,000 19,789,556 DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV 9 9.25 9 9.25 8.95 9.14 45,100 405,545 567 571 566 574.5 558 571 97,690 55,696,255 GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV 3.9 3.98 3.98 3.98 3.98 3.98 113,000 449,740 72 72.55 72.3 73 72 72 1,265,580 91,431,714.50 JG SUMMIT 4.86 5.38 4.89 4.89 4.86 4.86 10,000 48,670 JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR 1 1.03 1.1 1.17 1 1 15,274,000 16,281,750 3.72 3.74 3.73 3.73 3.72 3.72 315,000 1,173,870 LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 13.44 13.46 13.5 13.5 13.2 13.46 549,800 7,369,758 0.58 0.59 0.67 0.67 0.56 0.58 6,819,000 4,055,980 MABUHAY HLDG MJC INVESTMENTS 1.82 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 5,000 9,500 4.33 4.34 4.36 4.39 4.33 4.34 18,848,000 82,001,570 METRO PAC INV 3.62 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.5 3.62 195,000 697,070 PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA 0.92 0.94 0.87 0.94 0.87 0.94 527,000 480,470 1.16 1.21 1.16 1.16 1.16 1.16 1,000 1,160 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 313 329 311 329 308 329 7,560 2,348,280 1,072 1,079 1,068 1,086 1,052 1,079 181,240 193,892,950 SM INVESTMENTS 127.6 128.1 128.8 130 127.5 127.6 115,700 14,828,746 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.83 0.86 0.89 0.9 0.84 0.86 1,031,000 901,270 134.4 140 140 140 134.1 140 1,090 150,397 TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS 0.23 0.24 0.242 0.242 0.23 0.24 440,000 104,660 0.213 0.214 0.215 0.22 0.206 0.213 5,090,000 1,089,590 ZEUS HLDG

97,520 -153,976 -131,065,005 -26,008,770 13,940,868 3,430 677 -33,750 -306,056 -3,680,813 123,188 13,082,150 -286,560 -26,877,161.50 9,760 106,560 -876,230 2,256,446 220,570 -7,325,120 10,450,360 351,818 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.74 0.68 0.72 4,111,000 2,907,070 7.55 7.91 7.9 7.91 7.9 7.91 6,000 47,420 ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND 40.4 40.85 41.45 41.5 40.4 40.4 6,850,900 279,773,180 1.24 1.27 1.25 1.28 1.24 1.28 238,000 300,360 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 30 30.05 30 30.05 29.9 30.05 1,338,900 40,149,600 1.68 1.7 1.74 1.74 1.69 1.69 669,000 1,141,220 BELLE CORP 1.04 1.05 0.97 1.08 0.97 1.04 43,058,000 44,572,520 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.79 0.8 0.81 0.82 0.79 0.79 17,000 13,740 0.15 0.155 0.163 0.163 0.15 0.155 9,910,000 1,553,980 CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG 5.61 5.86 5.58 5.89 5.58 5.89 11,000 61,504 5.35 5.42 5.16 5.62 5.16 5.35 7,758,000 42,403,445 CEB LANDMASTERS 0.46 0.465 0.45 0.465 0.445 0.465 18,000,000 8,236,250 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.38 0.385 0.4 0.4 0.375 0.38 7,190,000 2,736,400 14.78 14.8 14.84 15 14.7 14.8 1,013,500 15,048,064 DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO 6.96 7 7 7.01 6.96 7 60,200 421,091 0.32 0.325 0.315 0.33 0.315 0.325 1,860,000 597,150 EMPIRE EAST 0.088 0.091 0.093 0.093 0.087 0.091 1,200,000 109,170 EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.15 1.13 1.15 9,842,000 11,256,880 0.9 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.9 0.91 1,165,000 1,050,750 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 7.76 7.77 7.94 8.2 7.77 7.77 36,700 291,243 1.39 1.4 1.42 1.45 1.39 1.4 3,695,000 5,214,020 PHIL INFRADEV KEPPEL PROP 3.09 3.29 3.05 3.35 3.05 3.35 23,000 72,910 0.75 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.77 4,000 3,080 CITY AND LAND 4.28 4.29 4.15 4.29 4.12 4.29 32,442,000 137,822,930 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.77 0.78 0.71 0.79 0.68 0.77 335,716,000 249,308,700 0.37 0.375 0.395 0.395 0.36 0.375 3,160,000 1,197,900 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.53 1.49 1.49 489,000 738,470 21.85 21.95 21.55 22.2 21.55 21.95 2,479,600 54,247,180 ROBINSONS LAND 0.32 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.32 0.325 370,000 118,550 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.62 1.63 1.59 1.63 1.59 1.63 922,000 1,496,080 2.68 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.68 2.68 24,000 64,360 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 1.96 2.03 2.07 2.1 1.97 2.03 234,000 471,900 SM PRIME HLDG 39.3 39.9 39.7 40.55 39.3 39.3 10,437,800 416,684,620 4.2 4.28 4.18 4.31 4.18 4.3 62,000 263,870 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 2.07 2.08 2.01 2.15 2.01 2.08 8,035,000 16,674,160 40.9 45.95 40.85 40.85 40.85 40.85 1,000 40,850 PTFC REDEV CORP VISTA LAND 4.7 4.72 4.62 4.75 4.62 4.72 2,309,000 10,850,140

-110,221,070 1,683,130 -705,140 408,580 -3,100 -143,565 -497,400 -630,572 -453,900 9,000 7,770 9,800 53,595,880 37,225,210 6,314,535 -16,720 10,226,930 -239,080 8,170 2,803,800

SERVICES ABS CBN 13.34 13.5 12.94 13.58 12.76 13.5 215,200 2,810,890 6.03 6.04 5.98 6.05 5.97 6.04 882,700 5,315,176 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.52 0.53 0.455 0.67 0.455 0.53 35,680,000 19,656,700 11.42 11.98 12 12.8 11 11.98 7,300 85,236 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2,040 2,046 2,050 2,050 2,018 2,046 45,180 92,048,540 1,429 1,436 1,423 1,458 1,423 1,436 98,160 141,208,865 PLDT 0.234 0.235 0.24 0.265 0.225 0.235 4,156,460,000 1,006,393,700 APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE 15.7 15.72 15.7 15.74 15.5 15.7 4,432,100 69,454,604 4.96 5.1 4.95 5.18 4.95 4.96 746,000 3,748,160 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 12.06 12.08 11.96 12.64 11.62 12.08 37,840,100 459,209,470 1.76 1.91 1.73 1.94 1.73 1.91 124,000 222,790 IMPERIAL 0.183 0.184 0.178 0.196 0.167 0.184 65,590,000 11,864,790 ISLAND INFO JACKSTONES 1.97 2.08 2.11 2.13 1.95 2.1 22,000 45,280 3.97 3.98 3.99 4.15 3.94 3.97 4,947,000 19,799,760 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.36 0.365 0.38 0.385 0.355 0.36 35,100,000 12,825,450 2.98 2.99 2.92 3.02 2.88 2.98 1,387,000 4,101,470 PHILWEB 9.01 9.05 9 9.15 9 9.05 103,900 937,395 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 14.72 14.9 14.8 14.8 14.76 14.76 141,800 2,093,384 5.02 5.03 5.05 5.15 4.99 5.03 5,376,600 27,131,669 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 49.2 49.25 49 50 48.5 49.2 293,700 14,466,185 124.2 124.3 125 126 123 124.3 921,110 114,516,738 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 15.48 15.5 15.5 15.5 15.48 15.48 1,200 18,598 LORENZO SHIPPNG 1.09 1.1 1.06 1.13 1.05 1.1 3,103,000 3,371,720 6.49 6.5 6.52 6.66 6.35 6.5 2,454,900 15,954,566 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 3.54 3.55 3.28 4.08 3 3.54 44,308,000 158,656,720 3.65 3.68 3.24 3.88 3 3.68 1,174,000 3,981,920 METROALLIANCE B PAL HLDG 6.82 6.84 6.96 6.96 6.79 6.82 41,900 286,305 1.59 1.6 1.65 1.65 1.58 1.6 2,894,000 4,636,460 HARBOR STAR 1.5 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.56 18,000 28,080 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.047 0.048 0.053 0.057 0.046 0.047 552,840,000 27,085,220 2.22 2.48 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.3 18,000 39,800 DISCOVERY WORLD GRAND PLAZA 10.5 10.98 11 11 11 11 5,000 55,000 0.62 0.63 0.65 0.65 0.6 0.63 25,955,000 16,073,370 WATERFRONT 580 615.5 586 586 586 586 20 11,720 FAR EASTERN U IPEOPLE 8.17 9.31 8.17 8.17 8.17 8.17 100 817 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.435 0.44 4,770,000 2,082,650 STI HLDG BERJAYA 5.65 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.8 51,500 293,007 8.08 8.18 8.08 8.2 8.01 8.08 1,124,700 9,124,972 BLOOMBERRY 2.13 2.24 2.18 2.25 2.12 2.24 104,000 228,390 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.95 1.96 2.01 2.01 1.94 1.95 641,000 1,263,050 2.22 2.3 2.29 2.29 2.25 2.25 35,000 79,220 MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP 3.19 3.2 3.2 3.31 3.14 3.2 18,169,000 58,795,200 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.53 0.5 0.52 9,165,000 4,669,150 PREMIUM LEISURE 6.65 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 3,200 21,440 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 8.84 9 9.01 9.02 8.81 9 851,800 7,577,160 1.54 1.55 1.5 1.55 1.48 1.55 1,929,000 2,914,090 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 38.05 38.15 39 39 38.05 38.05 4,514,800 173,322,605 63.7 63.75 63.9 64 63.7 63.75 205,220 13,082,484 ROBINSONS RTL 120 122 118 120 118 120 22,320 2,676,061 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.5 1.52 1.5 1.52 1.46 1.52 3,550,000 5,307,160 17.96 18 18 18.04 17.92 18 3,313,000 59,562,340 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.425 0.43 0.43 0.445 0.42 0.425 8,280,000 3,564,750 7.21 7.4 7 7.48 7 7.32 97,300 706,461 EASYCALL 435 450 440 450 440 450 570 254,800 GOLDEN BRIA PRMIERE HORIZON 2.55 2.56 2.11 2.55 2.03 2.55 316,643,000 750,128,730 5.46 5.5 5.31 5.5 5.25 5.5 519,900 2,763,033 SBS PHIL CORP

-16,783,290 -2,714,025 -40,815,290 -13,038,664 2,493,780.00 6,898,458 -3,700 85,000 -626,200 199,750 14,800 232,650 -2,093,384 462,907.00 -319,780 29,013,877 -1,550 -97,200 778,425 13,900 8,050 -881,850 111,200 -797,161 2,051,020 838,960 -272,899 113,070 -63,084,410 -6,613,681.50 2,361 -83,120 -23,141,700 42,000 8,957,870 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 8.6 8.65 7.81 9.6 7.81 8.6 8,656,100 72,611,005 544,634 APEX MINING 1.77 1.78 1.76 1.79 1.76 1.78 4,794,000 8,478,350 153,380 0.0033 0.0034 0.0033 0.0035 0.0032 0.0033 9,825,000,000 32,650,900 79,000 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 6.9 6.99 6.8 6.92 6.8 6.9 132,600 911,556 3.3 3.37 3.45 3.45 3.3 3.4 16,000 53,950 BENGUET A 3.14 3.2 3.12 3.2 3.1 3.2 43,000 135,580 BENGUET B COAL ASIA HLDG 0.29 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.29 0.3 1,930,000 574,750 -18,600 2.84 2.94 2.84 2.94 2.83 2.94 49,000 142,560 60,940 CENTURY PEAK DIZON MINES 8.44 8.8 8.85 8.87 8.38 8.8 60,800 515,806 3 3.03 2.9 3.04 2.9 3 13,438,000 40,350,660 6,109,370 FERRONICKEL 0.39 0.4 0.375 0.42 0.37 0.4 32,240,000 12,854,150 9,250 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.165 0.166 0.165 0.167 0.161 0.166 42,320,000 6,948,450 0.166 0.17 0.17 0.171 0.165 0.165 760,000 128,370 13,200 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.01 71,700,000 741,700 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 16,400,000 188,000 MANILA MINING B 1.84 1.85 1.68 1.85 1.68 1.85 5,477,000 9,828,570 170,710 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 3.35 3.45 3.39 3.49 3.36 3.45 845,000 2,895,670 5.8 5.81 5.61 5.85 5.61 5.81 6,226,900 35,916,542 14,564,831 NICKEL ASIA OMICO CORP 0.43 0.445 0.415 0.49 0.4 0.445 18,400,000 8,230,100 -44,600 1.2 1.22 1.19 1.31 1.16 1.22 14,469,000 18,024,780 -67,020 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 5.09 5.11 5.17 5.17 5.09 5.09 789,700 4,037,025 -10,200 SEMIRARA MINING 13.9 14 14 14.02 13.78 14 1,234,700 17,214,100 2,501,894 0.0065 0.0066 0.0068 0.007 0.0065 0.0065 45,000,000 304,300 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 15.8 15.9 13.4 17 13.4 15.9 2,279,800 34,615,874 -1,101,242 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 107,500,000 1,208,500 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 23,700,000 273,300 11,000 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 164,800,000 1,803,900 8,000 12.28 12.36 12.4 12.48 12.1 12.28 738,400 9,058,060 -1,196,376 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.2 101.9 100.1 101.9 100.1 101.9 540 54,072 527.5 528 525 527.5 525 527.5 4,850 2,552,400 AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B 101.2 104 103 103 101.2 101.2 1,600 163,470 510 513.5 510 510 510 510 130 66,300 AC PREF B2R CPG PREF A 102 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 40 4,176 101 102 101 101 101 101 10,200 1,030,200 282,800 DD PREF 515 519 518.5 519 518.5 519 990 513,710 GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF A 1,018 1,039 1,018 1,018 1,018 1,018 880 895,840 1,021 1,030 1,021 1,021 1,021 1,021 1,015 1,036,315 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 101 102 101.9 101.9 101.8 101.8 630 64,184 100 100.8 100 100 100 100 500 50,000 MWIDE PREF 2A 104.3 106 105.5 105.5 104 104 1,450 152,825 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1,008 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,010 200 202,000 1,080 1,085 1,080 1,085 1,080 1,085 3,010 3,250,850 PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B 1,085 1,100 1,094 1,100 1,094 1,100 1,800 1,978,820 1.59 1.69 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.59 7,000 11,130 SFI PREF 78.2 78.8 78.2 78.2 78.2 78.2 2,000 156,400 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E 75.6 76.25 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 13,400 1,011,700 77.3 78 77.25 78 77.25 78 775,200 59,923,025 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H 76.3 77 77 77 77 77 10,000 770,000 77 78.85 77 77 77 77 20,690 1,593,130 SMC PREF 2I SMC PREF 2J 76 76.2 76 76 76 76 1,250 95,000 76 76.25 76 76.25 76 76.25 56,850 4,323,496 -342,800 SMC PREF 2K

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 13.6 13.7 13.6 13.6 13 13.6 48,100 654,100 654,100 5.93 6.09 6 6.09 6 6.09 6,200 37,218 -30,000 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.01 81,000 81,960

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 12.9 13.08 12.68 13.1 12.52 13.08 187,300 2,426,050 3.55 3.56 3.28 3.57 3.18 3.55 11,168,000 38,291,850 956,670 ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH 6.16 6.25 6.2 6.2 6.16 6.16 112,600 695,337 7.13 7.14 7.18 7.46 7 7.14 23,935,700 173,292,685 411,874 MERRYMART

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 109.4 109.9 109.9 110 109.4 109.4 41,920 4,600,688 160,862

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SEC urges public to stop investing in Masa Mart

T

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against dealing with Masa Mart Business Center (MMBC), which has been posing as a multi-level marketing program to entice the public into its unauthorized investment schemes.

In an advisory dated January 12, the SEC said the company has no registration statement to sell such kind P11.65 billion, depending on the of securities to the public. lock-in period.

Masa Mart was found to be offerThis entails an interest of up to ing a subscription and gains program, 30 percent per month or up to 2,561 under which a member may invest at percent per year. least P1,250 to P500 million for reThe group also offers The MMBC turns ranging from P2,746 to about P5,888 combo package, in which one

could invest P5,888 for promised gains of P20,000 after 6 months; and the Do It Yourself subscription of 24 months, roll-over program, in which members could generate an income of P100,000 to P12 million after 2 years.

Other offers include the United Masa Coin or the XUM Coin, which is a cryptocurrency promoted through a software-controlled app called UmcUSDTBot, as well as a referral program, among others.

The SEC said Masa Mart offers similar investment programs as TBCMMP Masa Mart Inc., which was earlier issued an advisory on April 14, 2020. Records show that TBCMMP and Masa Mart have the same president, Jessie R. Royo.

Masa Mart is registered with the SEC as a One Person Corporation under the Revised Corporation Code, and with the Department of Trade and Industry.

However, such registrations only grant the company a personality and does not authorize it to issue, sell or offer for sale securities to the public or engage in business activities requiring a secondary license from the SEC. Masa Mart does not appear among the registered banks, exchanges, or companies engaged in digital assets with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Neither UMC nor XUM are included among the list of generally accepted virtual currencies posted on the World Coin Index and Coin Market Cap websites.

Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of fraudulent investment schemes may be held criminally liable and penalized with a maximum fine of P5 million or imprisonment of 21 years or both under the Securities Regulation Code, the SEC said.

ICTSI Mexican port handles 1M TEU P ort operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) on Wednesday said its Mexican unit, Contecon Manzanillo SA de CV (CMSA), handled its 1 millionth 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of container.

Its Mexican port operates the Second Specialized Container Terminal. It achieved the said milestone during the call of CMA CGM Jacques Joseph on December 29.

“Despite the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Contecon Manzanillo’s operations did not stop. We continued to comply with the strictest health standards established by the authorities, configured our work areas for proper distancing between employees, and implemented work-from-home and other work schemes that were a complete success,” Fortino Landeros, CMSA CEO, said.

“The event we are celebrating would not have been possible without the support of all our clients, shipping agents, customs agents,

carriers, authorities, and of course the participation of our collaborators–the valuable men and women who work every day with responsibility and best attitude to serve.”

CMSA, which corners about a third of market in Manzanillo, is the only terminal capable of meeting the growing volume requirement at the Port of Manzanillo. Its 34-year concession period covers 72.42 hectares, 70 percent of which has been developed and accounts for a dynamic capacity of 1.66 million TEUs. The terminal has a 53-hectare container yard–the largest in the port–with a total of 786 reefer plugs.

It is also the only terminal that has inspection points for refrigerated merchandise and dry cargo for faster customer transactions.

In 2010, ICTSI won the 34-year concession for the development and operation of the said port.

The Port of Manzanillo is Mexico’s most important port and the third most important in the Latin America region. VG Cabuag

iPhone assembler sets up car venture A

pple Inc.’s Taiwanese manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology Group is setting up a car venture, strengthening its automotive capabilities at a time when technology companies including its California ally are looking to expand in vehicles.

Foxconn is joining forces with Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. to provide production and consulting services to global automotive enterprises, according to a statement from the companies Wednesday.

Amid reports of Apple considering making its own electric vehicles, Foxconn has been bulking up its automotive muscles swiftly. Such moves may help the company become a major contender to make cars for its largest customer.

With development work still at an early stage, Apple will take at least half a decade to launch an autonomous electric vehicle, people with knowledge of the efforts have told Bloomberg News.

That suggests the company is in no hurry to decide on potential auto-industry partners. Last week, Hyundai Motor Co. backed away from a statement confirming it is in talks with

Apple, saying it had been contacted by potential partners for the development of autonomous electric vehicles.

Foxconn, whose main listed arm is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., in October unveiled its first-ever EV chassis and a software platform aimed at helping automakers bring models to the market faster. It plans to deliver its first development kit in April, with Hon Hai Chairman Young Liu saying EV-related business in the first half will be “very good”. Meanwhile, Foxconn’s key unit Foxconn Technology Co. is reportedly expanding a plant to develop automotive metal parts.

Earlier this month, Foxconn signed a manufacturing deal with embattled Chinese electric-vehicle startup Byton Ltd. with the aim to start mass production of the Byton M-Byte by the first quarter of 2022.

An Apple car would rival electric vehicles from Tesla Inc. and offerings from companies such as upstart Lucid Motors and established manufacturers like Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG. Setting up a car plant can cost billions of dollars and take years, likely the reason why Apple is talking to potential manufacturing partners. Bloomberg News

mutual funds

January 13, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 230.82 -8.24% -8.39% 0.27% 1.77% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3261 -1.69% -6.6% 4.95% 1.31% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1907 -10.61% -12.15% -0.85% 2% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.8109 -8.33% -7.26% n.a.

1.25% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7516 -11.17% n.a. n.a.

1.36% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 5.0366 -4.93% -6.21% 0.99% 2.11% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7681 -9.72% -8.83% -4.69% 1.19% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 103.1 0.49% -4.41% n.a.

2.36% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 47.5959 -6.94% -6.3% 2.12% 1.84% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 496.6 -6.52% -6.3% 1.16% 1.74% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.1089 7.6% n.a. n.a.

2.53% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1872 -7.59% -6% 1.81% 2.13% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 35.3105 -6.51% -5.66% 2.6% 2.06% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9293 -8.54% n.a. n.a.

2.14% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.8689 -6.55% -5.87% 2.92% 1.85% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 814.75 -6.32% -5.76% 2.91% 1.88% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7332 -11.23% -9.54% -1.54% 2.03% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.6914 -11.7% -7.79% 1.18% 1.96% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9327 - 6.57% -6.04% 2.69% 1.87% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3686 -7.76% -5.04% 3.34% 1.58% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 109.3218 - 6.27% -5.51% 3.67% 1.89% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.2866 24.68% 3.97% 9.71% 8.51% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7085 23.49% 9.64% n.a.

2.35% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6866 9.04% -3.82% 0.46% 1.24% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.31 7.12% -2.5% 2.67% 1.34% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6574 1.64% -1.61% 1.19% 1.29% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.2009 -12.27% n.a. n.a.

1.31% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9833 1.26% -0.63% 2.94% 0.98% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.8211 1.28% -1.39% 2.31% 0.99% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 17.0903 1.26% -1.42% 2.24% 1.05% 1.15% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.1168 -0.61% -2.43% 2.01% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6139 -5.91% -3.91% 1.13% 1.41% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0298 2.29% n.a. n.a.

0.81% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9605 -3.28% n.a. n.a.

1.38% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9454 -4.51% n.a. n.a.

1.52% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.9013 -6.86% -4.56% 0.53% 1.58% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. - a $0.03881 1.44% 2.39% 1.86% -0.84% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.1962 15.91% 3.45% 7.48% 4.69% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.5779 16.71% 7.22% 8.97% 1.69% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2061 8.61% 3.9% n.a.

0.54% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 371.1 3.61% 3.25% 2.83% 0.02% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9016 -0.07% 0.12% 0.09% 0.08% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2159 3.11% 4.45% 4.8% 0.07% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2944 3.28% 2.9% 2.37% -0.09% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4502 4.33% 3.37% 2.16% -0.1% -0.09% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6276 6.54% 4.57% 3.06% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3204 5.67% 4.47% 2.71% -0.05% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.984 5.46% 4.51% 2.94% -0.41% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0392 8.37% 4.07% 2.59% -0.22% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.198 4.77% 4.79% 3.48% -0.07% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.7475 3.81% 4.05% 2.83% -0.37% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $483.11 3.07% 2.68% 2.85% -0.14% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.36 -0.17% 0.84% 1.26% 0.1% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2644 4.57% 3.74% 2.91% -1.25% 1.7% 1.59% -1.13% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0263 1.94% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0872 -0.88% 0.55% 0.59% -0.52% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5107 4.32% 3.71% 3.42% -0.92% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0622028 3.04% 2.86% 2.31% -0.33% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1893 0.37% 1.89% 2.25% -1.03% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.88 3.16% 3.35% 2.58% 0.06% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0482 1.87% n.a. n.a.

0.02% 2.5% 2.97% 2.61% 0.06% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2973 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0528 1.46% 1.77% n.a.

0.04% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.1557 n.a. n.a. n.a.

3.74% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.99 -1% n.a. n.a.

1.02%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019.

4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

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

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL reaffirms migration commitment at UN meet

G

ENEVA—Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, the Philippines’s permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in this Swiss city, highlighted the country’s commitment to the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) at an annual meeting of the UN Migration Network.

Held virtually last December, Garcia noted that the country has mainstreamed the GCM into the Philippine Development Plan 2016-2021, which includes a new chapter on international migration and development. This new chapter is closely aligned with the objectives of the GCM—an international document where member-states commit to cooperate internationally to protect migrants worldwide.

“For the Philippines, the focus remains on pathways for regular

migration; decent work and ethical recruitment; labor mobility and combating trafficking in persons; [as well as] strengthening international cooperation and partnerships for safe, orderly and regular migration,” Garcia said.

The ambassador mentioned that the Philippines “is heartened with recent developments in the Middle East, where attitudes to policies that inhibit labor market mobility and fair migration, such as the kafala system, are softening.”

The Philippines has been cam-

GARCIA DFA/FILE PHOTO

paigning against the kafala scheme— a sponsorship system that monitors and restricts the movement of migrants, and has welcomed the recent decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to abolish it.

Garcia expressed the hope that the easing of these restrictions would “trickle down to the domestic labor sector, which is the most vulnerable.”

The envoy reiterated the Philippines’s call for the protection of migrant workers amid vulnerabilities arising from the pandemic, and emphasized that migration status should not be seen as a factor in the vaccine intervention programs that are now being rolled out in Western countries.

“None are safe, until all are safe,” he said.

Garcia, who serves as chairman of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Council Bureau, also congratulated the Philippines’s country-team for the said entity, as well as those working with the International Labour Organization and UN Women, for submitting the Bridging Recruitment to Reintegration in Migration Governance (BRIDGE)—one of the six pilot projects funded through the Migration Multipartner Trust Fund.

Crafted with the support of the Philippine Departments of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Employ ment, and Trade and Industry, along with civil-society groups such as Migrant ForumAsia, BRIDGE seeks to “equip and strengthen the approach by government and civil society toward effective reintegration frameworks and services, tailored to [the context of the pandemic, mindful of its particular impacts both female and male] migrants.”

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. delivered the keynote address to the event. PR/PNA

FOR A GENDER-EQUAL WORLD

EU places women, girls’ rights at the heart of global recovery T

HE health and socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic are disproportionately affecting women and girls, according to the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in the Philippines.

Its local embassy said that for instance, in the global scale—because a higher proportion of women work informally and in vulnerable sectors—their job-loss rate is 1.8-times greater than that of men. The poverty rate among women could go up by 9.1 percent.

To address these gaps, the new Gender Action Plan III (GAP III) launched in November 2020 put forward ambitious plans to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through all external action of the EU. While there has been some significant—albeit uneven—progress achieved in advancing women’s and girls’ rights, no country in the world is on track to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.

The EU’s new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025 Action Plan aims to accelerate progress on empowering women and girls, while safeguarding gains made on gender equality during the 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action.

High Representative of the EU and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said: “Ensuring the same rights to all empowers our societies. It makes them richer and more secure. It is a fact that goes beyond principles or moral duties.”

Borrell added: “The participation and leadership of women and girls is essential for democracy, justice, peace, security, prosperity and a greener planet. With [GAP III], we are pushing for more and faster progress toward gender equality.”

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said: “Stronger engagement on gender equality is key to sustainable global recovery from the

BORRELL TWITTER: @JosepBorrellF

URPILAINEN EU DELEGATION-PHILIPPINES

RASOULIAN SM/FILE PHOTO

[health crisis and building fairer, more inclusive and] more prosperous societies. Women and girls are in the frontline of the pandemic and must be put in the driving seat of the recovery. As a gender-sensitive and responsive geopolitical commission, we want to work more closely with our member-states, as well as all partners, in building a truly gender-equal world.”

GAP III provides the EU with a policy framework with five pillars of action for accelerating progress toward meeting international commitments, and a world in which everyone has space to thrive. It makes the promotion of gender equality a priority of all external policies and actions; offers a roadmap for working together with stakeholders at national, regional and multilateral levels; steps up action in strategic thematic areas; calls for the institutions to lead by example; and ensures the transparency of the results.

are screened through a gender lens, taking into consideration the needs of women.

The union is also keen on advancing a gender equality agenda in the Philippines. An EU gender champion was appointed in 2020 in the person of Ambassador Bita Rasoulian of Austria. The EU’s head of delegation and ambassadors of its member-states are committed to be gender-responsive leaders and advance the gender agenda in their work.

The EU also funds actions to support women, like two big programs implemented by UN agencies: the “Safe and Fair” programme supporting female migrant workers, and “WeEmpowerAsia” which promotes women’s economic empowerment.

Other issues have been tackled by the EU’s engagement, among others through the civil-society sector, like safety of women journalists, women in agriculture, sexual and reproductive health, and participation in decisionmaking. With the new GAP III, the EU and its member-states will strive to do better and more for gender equality and women empowerment in the Philippines.

for all EU actors at country-level, and for focusing on selected strategic issues.

3) GAP III calls for accelerating progress, focusing on the key thematic areas of engagement—including fighting gender-based violence, as well as promoting economic, social and political empowerment of women and girls.

4) The action plan calls for the EU to lead by example—including by establishing gender-responsive and genderbalanced leadership at top political and management levels.

5) GAP III adopts a new approach to monitoring, evaluation and learning, with a stronger focus on measuring results.

Gender mainstreaming agenda

IN the Philippines, women benefit from important legislative advancements, as the gender gap has been narrowed in education, decision-making positions, and participation in economic opportunities. However, they still bear the burden of poverty, economic disadvantage, early pregnancy, domestic violence and exploitation.

The EU and its member-states work hand-in-hand in the implementation of the EU GAP III in the Philippines.

Putting gender mainstreaming high on its agenda, the bloc ensures that programs implemented in the country

GAP III: Five pillars

1) EIGHTY-FIVE percent of all new actions throughout external relations will contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment by 2025.

2) Shared strategic vision and close cooperation with member-states and partners at multilateral, regional and country level. GAP III makes the case for developing a common approach

Transformative, intersectional approach

CONTRIBUTING to empowering women, girls and young people to fully use their rights and increase their participation in political, economic, social, and cultural life is a key objective of the new action plan.

GAP III strongly supports the participation and leadership of girls and women, promoting it, for example, through governance programs and public administration reforms. It will promote a transformative and intersectional approach, as it will mainstream gender in all policies and actions.

Finally, leaving no one behind, the action plan seeks to tackle all intersecting dimensions of discrimination, paying specific attention for example to women with disabilities, migrant women, and discrimination based on age or sexual orientation.

Thursday, January 14, 2021

B3

US guarantees peaceful presidential transition

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HE United States Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires (CDA) John Law gave an assurance on Monday that the presidential transition in Washington, D.C. will happen peacefully “as it has for over two centuries.”

In a statement, Law condemned the US Capitol attack on January 6, noting that the actions of the rioters “do not define our country, our principles and our ideals.”

“Leaders across our political spectrum have condemned last week’s criminal behavior and called for accountability,” Law said. “As Secretary of State [Michael R.] Pompeo stated, this type of lawlessness and destruction is unacceptable.”

The CDA thanked those in the Philippines who sent “heartfelt messages of support” that symbolized the “strong” friendship between the two countries.

“American democracy has repeatedly proven [to be] resilient and strong.” Law averred. “With the support of steadfast friends like the Philippines, I am confident that will continue to be true.”

Thousands of supporters of President Donald J. Trump marched to the US Capitol to protest the November

LAW US EMBASSY-PHILIPPINES

presidential election results as the US Congress began counting the Electoral College votes.

However, the protest turned into a riot that resulted in the vandalization, destruction, looting and occupation of the US Capitol for several hours. Four rioters and one police officer died in the incident.

On January 7, the US Congress certified Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s win as president, hours after a mob at the Capitol interrupted the process.

Biden is expected to be sworn-in as the 46th president of the US on January 20. Raymond Carl dela Cruz/PNA

South Korea sends rice to supertyphoon survivors

EMBASSY Counsellor Sang-hui Lee (left) symbolically hands over the South Korean government’s rice donation to National Food Authority Administrator Judy L. Dansal EMBASSY OF SOUTH KOREA-MANILA/PNA

T

HE South Korean government recently donated 1,000 metric tons of rice to Catanduanes—one of the provinces hardest hit by supertyphoons in November 2020.

Counsellor Lee Sang-hui of the Embassy of South Korea turned over the donation to Administrator Judy L. Dansal at the National Food Authority’s (NFA) regional office in Batangas on December 18, 2020.

The embassy’s First Secretary Park Se-ah, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel V. de Mesa, Social Welfare and Development Director Emmanuel P. Privado, as well as several national and local government officials who included Governor Joseph C. Cua of Catanduanes, attended the ceremony.

The rice donation, scheduled

for delivery to the island-province, was made under the Tier3 program of the Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve or APTERR—a regional cooperation among the region’s membercountries which includes South Korea, China and Japan. It aims to strengthen food security, alleviate poverty and eradicate malnourishment in the region.

On November 23, 2020, the South Korean government also donated nearly P10 million in humanitarian assistance to the families affected by Supertyphoons Rolly and Ulysses (international names Goni and Vamco, respectively). The check was personally handed over to Senator Richard J. Gordon, the Philippine Red Cross’s chairman and CEO. Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA

Japan provides irrigation system facilities to Quezon province

F

ARMERS from the province of Quezon is seen to benefit more from the Dumacaa River Irrigation System (RIS) as the government of Japan, through its embassy in Manila, turned over the facility on December 10, 2020, under the National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (NISRIP) in Lucena City.

The Embassy of Japan’s Economic Affairs Minister Masahiro Nakata, National Irrigation Administration Senior Deputy Administrator Abraham B. Bagasin, Lucena City Administrator Anacleto Alcala Jr., Tayabas City Mayor Ernida A. Reynoso, as well as Japan International Cooperation Agency-Philippines Chief Representative Eigo Azukizawa, graced the event.

Before the official turnover, Nakata joined ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the rehabilitated Alsam Dam in Tayabas City, as well as the Irrigators’ Association Office and support facilities in Lucena City.

In his speech, Nakata highlighted: “The wideranging impact of this endeavor will contribute to the enhanced lives of farm households in the

municipality of Pagbilao, as well as the cities of Lucena and Tayabas. The NISRIP project provides a shining example of the relationship between the Philippines and Japan.”

The ¥6.187-billion NISRIP project targets to rehabilitate 11 RISs nationwide. Four similar infrastructures, including the Dumacaa RIS in Quezon, have been completed. This P115-million subproject covers the rehabilitation of the Alsam Dam, which will restore around 1,839 hectares of service areas. Around 1,795 farmers in the municipality of Pagbilao and cities of Lucena and Tayabas stand to benefit from this undertaking.

According to the embassy, the Dumacaa Federation of Irrigators’ Associations will also be strengthened with the provision of four buildings with combined office and support facilities.

These will also be complemented with vital agricultural support.

Said interventions are vital enablers to increase farm yield and productivity, accelerate farm income, and deliver growth in Quezon province’s agricultural sector.

B4 Thursday, January 14, 2021

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Customs seizes nearly ₧11B in smuggled goods in 2020

T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized P10.629-billion worth of smuggled goods in 2020, with cigarettes accounting for more than half of its total haul.

In terms of the estimated value of smuggled goods that the BOC seized from January to December last year, cigarettes comprised 54 percent or P5.77 billion, followed by illegal drugs (P1.855 billion) and counterfeit goods (P1.056 billion).

In its 2020 accomplishment report, the BOC also said its intensified campaign against smuggling yielded

a total of 997 seizures.

It also filed 74 smuggling cases last year before the Department of Justice, up from 69 and 27 smuggling cases in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Other smuggled goods seized by the bureau were general merchandise (P406.38 million); vehicles and accessories (P356.53 million);

agricultural products (P284.62 million); food stuff (P236 million); personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and cosmetics (P196.58 million); used clothing (P168.29 million); electronics (P95.17 million); other products (P73.95 million); wildlife and natural resources (P66.43 million); currency (P32.59 million); steel products (P11.82 million); jewelry (P7.28 million); chemicals (P5 million); alcoholic beverages (P2.43 million); and firearms (P303,000).

The bureau seized smuggled goods worth P5.068 billion in 2018 and P20.584 billion in 2019.

As earlier reported, the Department of Finance had cited preliminary data showing the BOC collected a total of P533.88 billion last year, overshooting its downscaled target of P501.33 billion by

6.49 percent.

According to BOC’s accomplishment report, it collected P1.218 billion in revenues as a result of the post clearance audit it conducted on importers suspected to have violated provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. It also raised P1.077 billion from conducting public auction of containers that have been seized, abandoned or forfeited.

For 2021, the BOC vowed to implement customs modernization program, intensify its post-clearance audit and post-modification measures, encourage additional 15 regulatory agencies to participate in the National Single Window, fully implement Authorized Economic Operator Program and promote and apply the Advance Ruling program, among others.

Banks warn of chaos if court abolishes Libor

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OME of the world’s biggest banks are urging a US judge not to immediately terminate Libor after a group of borrowers filed suit claiming the benchmark was the work of a “price-fixing cartel.”

Defendants in the case, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG, said in a November filing that an injunction abruptly ending the London interbank offered rate would wreak havoc on financial markets and undermine years of work reforming the reference rate. The plaintiffs, which include 27 consumer borrowers and credit card users, are also seeking monetary damages.

Attorneys not involved in the case say the chances of an injunction are slim. Yet it underscores the risks and legal costs for banks that continue to prop up Libor, which still underpins hundreds of trillions of dollars of financial assets around the world. It also highlights the fragility of the discredited benchmark, which in theory could be halted by a single court decision.

“You have to take it seriously because it would be a catastrophe if it was granted,” said Anne Beaumont, a partner at law firm Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP. “They’re likely going to continue to get sued like this as long as it’s there.”

A San Francisco judge has said he will render a decision on the injunction without a hearing. The judge is scheduled Thursday to hear a request by the banks to transfer the case to

clude UBS Group AG, Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and ICE Benchmark Administration Ltd., which oversees the rate.

‘Price fixing’

This Bloomberg photo shows the 30 St Mary Axe (known previously as the Swiss Re Building) in London, United Kingdom. Global banks are warning that markets would be in chaos if a United States court issues a decision for the immediate termination of the London Interbank Offered Rate, which is the benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans. Bloomberg News

Manhattan federal court.

Libor is derived from a daily survey of bankers who estimate how much they would charge each other to borrow. It’s used to help determine the cost of borrowing around the world, from student loans and mortgages to interest-rate swaps and collateralized loan obligations.

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, regulators discovered that lenders had been manipulating the rates to their advantage, resulting in billions of dollars of fines.

For over three years, policy makers around the globe have been developing new benchmarks to replace Libor by the end of 2021. In Novem-

ber, officials proposed an extension for some dollar Libor tenors until mid-2023, to help firms cope with the transition process.

If the benchmark were to be immediately switched off, many derivatives contracts already contain contractual fallback language that would enable them to transition to an alternative rate, according to Y. Daphne Coelho-Adam, a counsel at Seward & Kissel LLP who is not involved in the case. But hundreds of billions of dollars of bonds, loans and securitizations lack a clear replacement rate and could pose a threat to financial stability.

Defendants in the case also in-

“IT must be stopped one way or another or neutralized because it’s an illegal price-fixing agreement,” Joseph Alioto, an attorney at Alioto Law Firm representing the plaintiffs, said in an interview. Banks argue “that the sky is falling and all kinds of economic havoc will take place. In the United States that doesn’t matter,” he said. “If you’re fixing prices you can’t do it, regardless of the consequences or the business excuse.”

The plaintiffs want Libor to be either prohibited or set at zero with borrowers repaying capital but not interest. The banks said in filing that none of the plaintiffs have shown that they ever paid interest based on Libor, adding that the suit is built on “baseless theories of antitrust liability.” Regulators have warned that even a temporary disturbance of Libor could devastate financial markets, the banks’ attorneys said.

“Plaintiffs allege that the highly regulated process of setting a benchmark that is a fundamental part of the global economy is a per se antitrust violation,” the banks said. “But legitimate cooperative activities, even those involving competitors, often benefit competition.”

Attorneys for the banks didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment. Bloomberg News

Fed talk of taper rekindles specter of 2013 tantrum

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EDERAL Reserve officials are beginning to split over when they may need to start pulling back on their massive monetary stimulus, drawing nervous glances from investors who remember how markets were roiled during the 2013 taper tantrum.

In the past week, four of the Fed’s 18 policy makers have publicly raised the prospect they may discuss reducing bond buying—currently running at $120 billion a month—by year’s end. In contrast, several others have called the debate premature and Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, the most senior central banker to weigh in, has said he doesn’t expect any changes before 2022.

Investors, taking no chances, have pushed up yields on longerduration Treasuries, steepening the spread between rates on twoand 10-year debt to around the widest in more than three years.

They may get more guidance in coming days. Clarida and Governor Lael Brainard both speak on Wednesday, followed a day later

by Chair Jerome Powell in his first comments of the year.

“The Fed needs to clarify its position or it risks a taper tantrum, unnecessarily,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton in Chicago.

In 2013, in the so-called taper tantrum, yields surged following the unexpected disclosure by then-Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that officials were thinking about dialing back their asset purchases, provoking severe financial market volatility and a bitter memory among investors.

“Bond investors were all trapped,” said John Herrmann, director of US rates strategy at MUFG Securities Americas, invoking the iconic 1971 rock song from the Who to make his point. “As Roger Daltrey once argued, Treasury bond investors are prepared to argue, we ‘Won’t get fooled again’.”

In December, a unanimous Federal Open Market Committee said it would continue $120 billion a month in asset purchases— comprised of about $80 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities—until there was “substantial further

progress” in meeting its goals on employment and inflation. Powell called the guidance “powerful,” but declined to spell out what metrics the committee was looking for to make a change.

That vague wording is open to different interpretations by individual Fed policy makers, and a source of potential confusion among investors. The 10-year Treasury yield is near the highest level since March, while the two-year yield has edged up only slightly—reflecting the clear signal from the central bank that overnight interest rates will stay near zero through at least 2023.

“If the Fed tapers in 2021, then I certainly do worry about a taper tantrum. But Powell-Clarida and the doves-moderates camp will not sweat a short-lived inflation flare up,” Carl Riccadonna, chief US economist, said. “On the contrary, I anticipate the Fed will continue full-bore on QE until 2022.”

Regional Fed presidents including Patrick Harker, Robert Kaplan, Raphael Bostic and Charles Evans have all indicated an openness to discussing a 2021 taper if the econ-

omy proves to be strong enough.

The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines to the US population, more fiscal aid and continued monetary support are contributing to forecasts of a robust recovery in the second half of the year.

At the same time, even those open to discussing a 2021 tapering are not pushing for action anytime soon. “It’s too early for me to have a strong judgment on that,” Chicago Fed chief Evans said, adding that

by June things may be clearer. Vaccine distribution has gotten off to a slow start and further delays would be a setback to the hoped-for strong recovery, the Atlanta Fed’s Bostic noted Tuesday.

While Clarida said his forecast didn’t include tapering in 2021, other Fed officials viewed the outlook as still cloudy.

“We want to get through the pandemic and sort of see where the dust settles, then we will be able to think about where to go with balance-sheet policy,” St. Louis Fed’s James Bullard said Tuesday during an online conversation with the Wall Street Journal.

Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

EXCLUSIVE

‘Challenge for fintech: Meet growing demand’

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

W

ITH the increasing shift to digital, the financial technology (fintech) sector is tasked with upgrading offering to meet the surge in demand for online banking services, a fintech executive said.

“The challenge is for us and many other fintechs to meet the growing demand of the customer base and to match them with the right products,” First Circle Growth Finance Corp.

Managing Director Moritz Gastl told the BusinessMirror.

The lockdown measures imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic has forced the public to turn to digital banking, opening accounts online.

Among the financial services these fintech applications are offering include savings, cash withdrawal, money transfer and even lending.

“Covid has significantly accelerated the digital service adoption in the Philippines,” Gastl said. “People that could not imagine to start a loan application online a few months ago are now processing all their banking services through online banking.”

While there is demand, Gastl pointed out that the “lack of a national ID system” is hindering the growth of fintech adoption.

Last month, Malacañang announced that additional 20 million individuals are eyed to be registered to the Philippine Identification System by the end of this year. This is in addition to the 50-million target registration.

President Duterte and Cabinet members also approved the allocation of additional P3.52 billion for the said initiative.

“The cost of identifying individuals and ultimately being able to lend to them is extremely high and it needs to come down in order to lower the hurdles for customers to engage

with fintech services,” Gastl said.

For the part of FintechAlliance. ph, it vowed to participate in promoting the digitalization of financial services in the country to aid economy recovery.

“Fintech Alliance is ready to help in getting back our economy on its feet again,” Angelito M. Villanueva, the group’s chairman said in its yearend report.

“Collectively, the Alliance is committed to accelerate the realization of a digital economy amidst the pandemic,” he added.

Last year, the fintech group welcomed 14 new members. These include: libaba Cloud (Singapore) Pvt Ltd; Brankas Digital Technologies Inc.; Cashwagon (Green Money Tree Lending Corp.); Cebuana Lhuillier (PJ Lhuillier Inc.); Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra; Micro-D International Inc.; MoneyGuru (MoneyMax); Netbank (Community Rural Bank of Romblon); PayMongo Philippines Inc.; WeFund Lending Corp.; Salesforce; and, Xendit Philippines Inc. The FintechAlliance.ph recently welcomed the approval of the digital bank licensing regulations by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“Coupled with the recently released draft on the guidelines on open finance framework and a comprehensive digital payments transformation roadmap, the Philippines is poised as an emerging digital hub in the Asia Pacific region,” Villanueva said.

The digital banking framework, the group said, came at a time when more foreign fintech players and conventional banks are beefing up their online offering.

According to the Philippines Fintech Report 2020, there are currently over 190 fintech players in the country, mostly offering services in lending, payments, digital wallets, and remittances.

BDO, BPI top banking brands in PHL–study

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DO Unibank Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) are the top banking and financial services brand in the Philippines, according to a study conducted by a media intelligence and insights firm.

Isentia based its findings on the media analytics data from mainstream media coverage and social conversations in the last quarter of 2020. It studied several markets in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.

It revealed that BDO led the media coverage in the same period, with over 2,000 articles published about the bank in the country. JP Morgan Chase and Maybank took the lead in Singapore and Malaysia, respectively. Vietcombank and AXA had the most media coverage in both Indonesia and Thailand.

BPI, on the other hand, was the most mentioned bank in the Philippines’ social media world, with 15,905 buzzes. In Singapore and Malaysia, Barclays and Malaysia dominated the social media conversations, respectively. In addition, Airpay, AXA, and SCB Bank garnered the most online mentions in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, respectively.

“In Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, the most interesting factors often times discussed in digital journalism and social media conversations is what is it in these markets that is driving change, and how do financial institutions, banks, insurance companies and e-commerce in general move forward to succeed in a post-pandemic period,” said Lady Ochel Espinosa, the firm’s regional insights manager for emerging markets.

Isentia also highlighted the efforts of the local banking industry

to promote sustainable finance, citing the awards received by some of the Philippine financial institutions in the last year in relation to this.

LandBank, DBP

FOR example, the media analytics agency noted that the Land Bank of the Philippines received two awards for outstanding development projects on climate financing and digital account opening at the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific Development Awards 2020.

The Development Bank of the Philippines, meanwhile, was recognized during the Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards and Certification Ceremony held in Germany for extending funding to a solar-powered housing community project.

Meanwhile, Isentia also observed the acceleration of contactless transactions across the banks in the markets it surveyed. These financial institutions, the firm said, “responded to the needs by working closely with their partners to provide digital and cashless payments.”

It cited JazzyPay in the Philippines, which teamed up with the Ayala-led bank to allow secure online payments to essential businesses.

Since its 2018 launch, JazzyPay now has hundreds of partner merchants across the country, including Manila Adventist College, Adventist Medical Center Manila, Adventist Hospital Santiago City and the Dr. Arturo P. Pingoy Medical Center.

It is a registered Operator of Payments System regulated by the Central Bank. The startup recently acquired the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Level 1 Certificate. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Life

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Self-care in the new normal for stay-at-home moms

THE new normal has changed the routines of families at home. With most family members working or attending classes from home, stay-at-home moms—who usually take the lead in taking care of the entire household—most likely has little time for herself.

To ease the feeling of being stressed or overworked, Solane, the country’s leading LPG solutions provider, shares these simple suggestions to help moms during this time: n Plan your day. It’s easy to lose track of time when the whole family is at home all the time, blurring the lines for school and work. It’s important to create a schedule to help moms establish a little control and structure especially during the pandemic. Planning ahead may prevent moms from feeling overwhelmed. n Get everyone involved with meals. Make meal prep a family affair. Give each child a role that they can safely handle. While the teens can cut and take care of the plating, dad can check help with the preparation so everything is easier for moms to cook. n Share the load. House responsibilities become easier and less stressful when shared with family members. It also makes for a great bonding opportunity.

Assign the kids some chores, like clearing the clutter, folding the clothes, and setting the table. And why not do the tasks to a little music or turn it into a game? n Prioritize me-time. Moms, or even parents in general, always put their kids first that they sometimes forget to take some time for themselves. With the ongoing pandemic, it has become even more important to look after’s one’s physical and mental well-being. Include “me time” in the daily schedule, and take that opportunity to relax with a book, meditate, or exercise. Being physically and mentally healthy allows moms to be their best selves. n Connect with fellow moms. Sometimes there are certain struggles that only moms would understand.

During this period, it’s important for moms to find likeminded friends that they can connect to through video conference sites or online mommy groups. Exchanging advice or sharing stories and laughs can keep their spirits up and motivate them during the pandemic.

Moms deserve to take care of themselves too, even more so now. And they can do so with these simple suggestions.

REGRETS

THE female role in a recent acclaimed project was supposed to go to this unknown starlet but her manager said no because it would have entailed some nudity. Unfortunately for this starlet, the one who eventually took the role won an award and it became a career breakthrough for her. The starlet, we heard, was not even asked if she wanted to take on the role. The manager just said no. Perhaps this should serve as a lesson to managers to read scripts carefully and look at the bigger picture before accepting or rejecting roles for their talents. The starlet belatedly learned about what happened and doesn’t know how to react to what her manager did.

NON-RENEWAL

SO the talent has transferred to another station and while many people see this as a good career move, there is a story behind the transfer. The talent criticized one of the network’s decisions involving a controversial celebrity and for that, she was attacked by one of their publicists. So everyone thought the publicist had acted on her own. Apparently not. After the talent’s contract expired, it wasn’t renewed and that’s when she realized the power-that-be at the network were displeased at her because of her political views. She realized she was let go because she was too outspoken. The talent is reportedly taking pay cuts in her new home but she’s said to be happier and more at peace.

ACCOUNTABLE

THE celebrity is quite vocal now in admitting that, yes, her ex has a substance abuse problem, and that was one of the reasons why their marriage ended. But she says she is not blameless. She also had her share of problems, which she projected on her ex. She has also admitted publicly that while her ex had his issues, she also had hers. She sought help for her mental health issues and is now in a better place. She had a brief relationship after she and her husband broke up but is now single again. Right now, she isn’t ready to be with someone and would rather focus on her career.

TRAUMATIZED

THE celebrity grew up in the public eye mainly because she came from a prominent showbiz clan. Thus, it was no surprise that she also went into show business at such a young age. There was an incident during her teenage years when she was shamed in school because of something that her mother made her do to earn money to help the family.

These incidents added up to further traumatize her. She realized that she had been exploited and that the money she earned working while still a minor didn’t even go to her. Her mom made her work to help support their large family. Now, the celebrity is estranged from most of her family members.

She and her mom are not talking. The celebrity now wishes that she had stood up to her mother instead of agreeing to everything that was asked of her.

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, January 14, 2021

B5

Start the new year giving with Anne Curtis

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HE holidays have just passed but the Christmas spirit is not yet over. This time around, Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies brand (www.huggies.com.ph) comes with both surprises and gifts as it welcomed actress and firsttime mom Anne Curtis and her daughter Dahlia as their newest endorsers. Alongside the announcement was the introduction of a special holiday gift pack aimed to help moms and babies in need.

Introduced via Facebook Live session hosted

by Patty Laurel-Filart, Huggies revealed Anne and Dahlia as moms’ Secret sANNEta and Dahlia ReinDEAR, bringing with them a specially curated Secret sANNEta gift pack as part of an ongoing promo.

Started last December 20, in the promo every purchase of one case of Huggies Dry Pants comes bundled with one Secret sANNEta gift pack that contains baby care essentials, such as one pack of comfortable Huggies Dry Pants, one pack of skinloving Huggies wipes, two packs of Kleenex Facial Tissues, one roll of Kleenex bathroom tissue, and one Hugsy teddy bear.

With every purchase of this bundle, Huggies and Anne will match and donate the same amount of Secret sANNEta gift pack to Dream Machine, which will then distribute it to families in need in their partner hospitals.

A total of 1,000 gift packs will be up for sale. This offer is available exclusively on Lazada until January 15, or until supplies last.

As we continue to face the challenges of the pandemic, more people will need basic childcare supplies, and what better way than for Huggies to collaborate with Dream Machine, a platform founded

by Anne that stands both as a voice against dream

shaming and as an enabler to make dreams come true.

One of Dream Machine’s advocacies is the youth, and with this, Huggies is extending its efforts to provide comfort and care to moms and their babies, especially to those who need it the most.

“I’m so delighted to be moms’ Secret sANNEta this Christmas season,” shared Anne during the launch.

“My Dahlia reinDEAR has been a Huggies user even before we were welcomed to the Huggies family, so we feel so grateful to be a part of this special ‘Buy 1, Get 1, Give 1’ promo. I hope everyone is as supportive to reach our 1,000-donation goal for Dream Machine’s partner hospitals.”

“Huggies continues to put forward its goal of being the parenting partner, adds Brian Duruin, head of marketing for Kimberly-Clark Philippines. “We should all uplift each other as we remain hopeful for the coming year.”

Last year, Huggies has already donated over

100,000 newborn diaper packs to children’s hospitals and maternity wards. They also launched the Huggies Club: Facebook Live, a five-week online forum series that aimed to guide and provide moms the reliable support system they need by connecting them to other moms and health-care professionals to tackle relevant parenting topics and advice.

Now, with the gift pack, the brand affirms its role and commitment to being a trusted parenthood partner for generations to come. To purchase the Secret sANNEta gift pack, visit Huggies LazMall.

Parents can also read up more on Diapering 101 and other parenting tips, by registering at Huggies Club.

This offers free access to parenting tips through the club, an online community where moms can find helpful information and connect with fellow moms to help guide them as they embrace the joys and challenges of parenthood.

A Happy “Giving” New Year to everyone. n

Arnold Schwarzenegger compares US Capitol mob to Nazis FORMER California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger compared the mob that stormed the US Capitol to the Nazis and called US President Donald J. Trump a failed leader who “will go down in history as the worst president ever.”

The Republican said in a video he released on social media on Sunday that “Wednesday was the Night of Broken Glass right here in the United States.”

In 1938, Nazis in Germany and Austria vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses during an attack that became known as Kristallnacht, or “the Night of Broken Glass.”

“The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol. But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol, they shattered the ideas we took for granted,” he said. “They trampled the very principles on which our country was founded.”

Schwarzenegger, who was born in Austria, compared the Proud Boys—a far-right American extremist group—to the Nazis. Some Proud Boys leaders were arrested in the nation’s capital, before and after the riots Wednesday last week.

“President Trump sought to overturn the results of the election—and of a fair election,” Schwarzenegger said in the video. “He sought a coup by misleading people with lies.” Schwarzenegger called Trump a failed leader and said he took solace that Trump’s presidency was coming to an end and “would soon be as irrelevant as an old tweet.”

He called for national unity and vowed his support for President-elect Joe Biden after mobs loyal to Trump broke into the US Capitol, causing a temporary suspension of the electoral count. Members of Congress later returned and certified the results.

Five people died, including a Capitol police officer.

Scores of rioters have been arrested and many more are being sought after the brazen attack.

“And to those who think they can overturn the United States Constitution, know this: You will never win,” Schwarzenegger said.

During the video, which runs for more than seven and a half minutes, Schwarzenegger likened American democracy to the sword he brandished in his early role as Conan the Barbarian, which he said

only grows stronger when it is tempered.

Schwarzenegger, best known for his movie role as the Terminator, was elected as California’s governor in 2003 during a special recall election. He was later elected to a full term.

“I believe, as shaken as we are about the events of recent days, we will come out stronger because we now understand what can be lost,” he said, adding that those behind last week’s riots—and those that fomented them—will be held accountable. AP

Start-ups, NGOs with Covid-related solutions in 6th ‘Final Pitch’ season Airing on CNN Philippines, The Final Pitch is the country’s first and only business reality TV show where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to a panel of investors.

The sixth season is themed “Heroes Edition” and will feature investors Li Hao Zhuang and Vince Yamat. Interested applicants may submit their pitches through online entries and one minute pitch videos.

Nonprofit organizations, start-ups and innovators with new solutions to address Covid-19-related challenges are invited to submit their pitches for business investors, donations, and grants to qualify for the sixth season of The Final Pitch.

Li Hao Zhuang, the president and CEO of FWD Insurance, and Yamat, managing partner of 917Ventures, are investors looking for multisectoral business solutions and high-impact advocacies. In an effort to address the economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the upcoming season adjusts its format to accommodate pitches from non-profits for donations and grants, and entrepreneurs for new normal investment proposals.

Pitches for donations and grants must come from reputable organizations that have a specific ask for beneficiary communities, such as medical frontliners, farmers, indigent communities, and displaced workers.

Pitch for investments, on the other hand, should come from entrepreneurs, inventors and start-ups, and provide solutions and technologies to the country’s transition to the new normal. Sample target sectors include retail, transport and tourism. Likewise, ideas for employment of both locals and displaced OFWs, and business solutions for MSMEs are also welcome.

Online entries and one-minute pitch videos can be submitted via www.thefinalpitch.ph/application. Interested investors and corporate partners may also reach the show through submit@TheFinalPitch.ph or 0917-8136674.

More information can be found at www.thefinalpitch.ph.

Patty LaurelFilart with new mom Anne Curtis as they announced gift packs to be given to Dream Machine, a platform founded by Anne that stands both as a voice against dream shaming and as an enabler to make dreams come true.

B6 Thursday, January 14, 2021

Lark Awards Business Mentorship Program to Pal Maritime Corporation CEO Mark Joseph David

Energy Development Company’s BINHI celebrates 12 years of greening the country

I

T all started with the planting of a single Tindalo seedling at the heart of the Quezon City Memorial Circle 12 years ago.

From that single binhi or seedling that was taken from the Tindalo Mother tree that Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon planted within the town plaza of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental on its inauguration as a chartered city on October 19, 1938, the future of our Philippine native trees has definitely taken root through BINHI, Lopez-led geothermal leader Energy Development Company’s (EDC) forest restoration and native tree species propagation program.

BINHI began as EDC’s next level greening initiative born out of its need to maintain lush forests to sustain its geothermal reservoir. Instead of planting and growing fast growing and invasive exotic tree species, the company’s Watershed Management team decided to focus on the use of Philippine native tree species and fruit trees to bridge forest gaps in its areas of operation.

Beyond the local and international accolades that BINHI, the country’s biggest private sector-led greening initiative has garnered, EDC considers the 6.44 million native and fruit tree seedlings that it has planted on close to 10,000 hectares of land inside its geothermal reservations across the country as one of the program’s true greening legacy. This was made possible with the help of the 88 farmers associations that EDC has transformed from being slash and burn farmers or kaingineros to forest stewards.

“This paradigm shift of the farmers in our host communities has likewise given them a viable source of livelihood since EDC incentivized them for helping us manage our BINHI areas,” Atty. Allan V. Barcena, head of EDC Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Relations group.

One of its most successful BINHI initiatives is the Baslay coffee program.

Operated by the Baslay Farmers Association (BFA) in Dauin, Negros Oriental, its three generations of farmers have learned the value and income potential of taking care of the forests that also take care of them.

Through EDC’s intervention, Baslay’s community forest is now refuge to 113 species of birds and one of the primary sources of quality coffee (robusta and arabica) in Central Visayas. More importantly, the former kaingineros are now masters of interplanting coffee

INAGURATION of UPIB BINHI Arboretum for endemic and endangered native trees with native tree species.

The BFA is the first farmers’ association in Negros Oriental to produce premium and quality organic coffee recognized by globally trained baristas from various parts of the Philippines.

Baslay is EDC’s most awarded corporate social responsibility (CSR) endeavors, having recently won the Gold Standard Award for Corporate Citizenship and besting entries from Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Baslay has likewise earned the distinction of being CSR Guild’s most outstanding CSR program for enterprise development, an award giving body organized by the League of Corporate Foundations, and has received the Grand Anvil award from the prestigious Public Relations Society of the Philippines this 2020.

For its 12th anniversary celebration, EDC launched the BINHI Biodiversity Hub in its Mount Apo Geothermal facility that showcases Mount Apo Natural Park’s rich flora and fauna, which the company has been cultivating since it started operating its 108MW geothermal facility at the foot of Mount Apo, our country’s tallest mountain, in 1997.

“Our Mindanao tree species collection of 75 out of EDC’s 96 flagship BINHI native tree species can be found inside the arboretum,” said Myrissa L. Tabao, head of EDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility team in Mount Apo Geothermal Project (MAGP).

These Mindanao tree species include Pinulog (Ganua obovatifolia) that is endemic to Lanao Del Norte and Matutum, South Cotabato; Basilan Yakal (Hopea basilensis) and Basilan Apitong (Dipterocarpus eurynchus) of Basilan and Zamboanga Sibugay, Mindanao Narek (Hopea brachyptera) of Zamboanga City and Zamboanga Sibugay and Mindanao Narig (Vatica mindanensis) in Zamboanga.

To date, EDC already has 183 BINHI partners that helped the company establish 15 arboreta these past 12 years, with six more lined up next year. Not

even the COVID-19 pandemic stopped EDC and like-minded organizations from forging collaborative BINHI partnerships as six of them signed up during this lockdown period.

Among the partnership agreements signed were two from the academe: Bicol University located in Legazpi, Albay and Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental; two homeowners’ associations namely: Victoria Valley Homeowners’ Association in Antipolo City and La Vista Homeowners’ Association in Quezon City; a religious organization from Bulacan — the Priests of Notre Dame de Vie (PNDV); and from local government — the recently signed agreement with City of Ormoc.

Around 2,000 sq.m to 2 hectares of land from these six new partnerships are expected to become a nesting place of 96 premium native Philippine tree species that will add up to the greening legacy of EDC BINHI. G EDC will provide the seedlings to the partner groups and the latter will be responsible for the nourishment and maintenance of the tree species.

EDC’s BINHI partnerships has likewise become global in 2019 after the company was chosen to be the International Union of Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) only Philippine partner for its Global Tree Assessment of 800 Philippine native tree species through its secretariat, Botanic Gardens Conservation International. To date, EDC has already assessed 200 species and IUCN has updated and published 89 species in their Red List.

EDC’s over 1,499MW total installed capacity accounts for 20% percent of the country’s total installed RE capacity while its 1,204.67MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity and has put the Philippines on the map as the 3rd largest geothermal producer in the world.

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HE ship-crewing CEO was one of two mentees selected for Lark's New Normal Business Council and Mentorship Program out of 761 business leaders who participated in the Lark Your Way to Success webinar series.

Lark recently announced Mark Joseph David, CEO of Pal Maritime Corporation, as one of the business mentees under its New Normal Business Council and Mentorship Program.

The ship-crewing company provides seafarers as manpower for vessels belonging to their various partners located in the Isle of Man, Germany, and Bangladesh. Mark is a second-generation partner in the company, which his family acquired in early 2000s. He joined the team in 2007, and at first, his father sent him to work aboard one of the ships so that he could fully understand the business, and be able to relate to the people that they work with. After working his way up, he became President in January 2020.

Ship-crewing is a huge industry in the Philippines, and one that relies heavily on relationship-building and loyalty. The entire industry was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic because most of their operations require manual processes, face-to-face interaction, and local and foreign travel. In the case of Pal Maritime Corporation, their movements became limited. The crew could no longer come to the office to sign their contracts, and activities like family day were suspended. Partners from abroad could not come to Manila, and Mark’s team was unable to fly out to Europe to meet with them either.

A lot of businesses were lost within the industry in the early months of the pandemic, and Mark says that it seemed hopeless back then. But he believes that it is always possible to find a way to overcome obstacles, when you truly want to. Over time, with the help of the government, the industry has been able to slowly adjust to the new normal. Many processes are now being done online, and Pal Maritime Corporation has started to adapt.

Mark feels that Lark would be a great tool for community-building, enabling his company to forge stronger relationships between their local team, seafarers, and partners abroad. He was quick to see how their team can communicate, hold meetings, and even host seminars on Lark. They could continue doing the same things they did prepandemic, but this time in a digital setting.

Mark shares this advice to fellow business leaders who are navigating into the new normal - In order to succeed, your heart needs to be in

MARK Joseph David, CEO of Pal Maritime Corporation your business, and your business needs to be in your heart. When faced with struggles, it's easier to fight for something that you love. “I always believe that if you love your business, if you take care of your business, the money will come after,” he says. According to Mark, if you enjoy the business you have chosen, you really can't go wrong.

The New Normal Business Council and Mentorship Program was established

by Lark with the intention of providing help and support to Filipino businesses as they transition into a more digital way of working. Three webinar sessions were held as part of this program, and each one featured business and entrepreneurship experts who shared their professional advice and insights on how companies can adapt, evolve, and innovate in order to survive and thrive amidst changes and crises.

Along with Mark Joseph David of Pal Maritime Corporation, Joyce Yu of True Blends Tea & Coffee was also chosen.

Mentees were shortlisted and selected based on their responses to the registration question, “Why should you and your company be the beneficiary of the mentorship program?” as well as the following criteria: The CEO should have attended all three tracks of the series  The company must have been operating for at least one year The company should employ at least 10 workers To learn more about Lark, visit www. larksuite.com.

Lark is available on Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. Click here to start using Lark today.

SBC, Operation Smile raise cleft lip and palate awareness

New decade for Philippine PR: 27th National Congress slated on February 17 to19, 2021

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HE beginning of this decade and this new year comes with both celebration and challenge. Celebration because despite the COVID-19 pandemic, society continues to rebuild itself, the economy is beginning to move and industries are adapting. Challenge because even as society is rebuilding, this must be with an inclusive and emancipatory new normal in mind.

Economic growth must intersect with a rise in quality of life, particularly for the marginalized. Industries must ensure the well-being of all stakeholders, internal and external alike, and not just a few.

The PR industry, being the society storyteller, has been at the center of issues even before the pandemic happened, starting discussions about market concerns and developments as these relate to businesses and organizations, products and services, sometimes

kicking off trends and new ideas in the process. Not rarely, PR practitioners have even been perceived as spinners of truth or harbingers of incorrect information in their efforts to create awareness about or boost interest in certain brands.

Increasingly, however, PR campaigns have been tackling not just products but purpose as well, touching on relevant and pressing social issues such as gender equality, the environment or body positivity. Heightened awareness of these issues and perhaps of potential repercussions of insensitive PR activities, in particular on social media, play a part in how communication practitioners now practice their craft across the different platforms available to them.

The global health crisis has revealed the important role that PR plays, with one Forbes article even saying PR is priceless. At a time of limited mobility and many business

restrictions, PR practitioners work with organizations and companies in serving their stakeholders and helping the community at the same time. PR practitioners identify points of partnership to enable businesses to continue engaging with their publics.

Communication professionals find ways to continue telling stories with increased reliance on technology to ensure business continuity, education, socialization and even leisure. With live events no longer feasible, PR strategies quickly adapted digital platforms and techniques to bring products and services closer to the market, in turn helping businesses and consumers and the economy in general.

Industry learnings, especially this past year, and outlook for this next decade will be further tackled at the three-day virtual 27th National Public Relations Congress set for February 17 to 19. The first day of the annual conference will revolve around the new realities of PR at the national, regional and global levels. The discussions on these new realities will look into where PR is in the new dynamic, the new market behavior and the role of the media.

According to Ana Pista, chairperson of the 27th National Public Relations Congress, “In facing the new decade, we must have foresight. This is achieved when we are first aware of where we are in the present, the trends that shape not just the way we do things but the way our stakeholders do things, and the purpose of what we do.”

For more information about the 27th National Public Relations Congress, visit the event website or Facebook page or contact Lessa Azcarraga at lessa. azcarraga@ardent.com.ph.

MEETING virtually for the partnership, from top, left to right) Sanjiv Vohra (President & CEO, Security Bank), Frederick Brindopke (Associative Director for Executive Projects, Operation Smile International;(bottom, left to right) Roberto Manzano (Country Director of Development, Operation Smile Philippines), Emiliano Romano (Executive Director, Operation Smile Philippines); (rightmost) Wigbert Dennis Funtanilla (President, Operation Smile Philippines)

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ECURITY Bank Corporation and Operation Smile recently held a virtual signing ceremony to formally seal their partnership to build awareness and launch education initiatives for children born with cleft lip and palate.

Cleft lip and palate occur when a child’s lip or mouth do not form properly during pregnancy. This typically causes children to experience problems with feeding or speech, develop ear infections and facial deformities, and in severe cases, heart problems.

Operation Smile is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that provides surgical care for patients in their communities, donates essential medical equipment and supplies, and conducts health education programs.

With the partnership, Security Bank and Operation Smile will launch several education and training programs intended to raise the quality of life of Filipinos with cleft and their families. Among these initiatives are the Cleft Infomercials and Nutrition Pilot Program. The Cleft Infomercials will raise awareness on the causes of the congenital defect, its prevention and access

to treatment to help educate expectant mothers and parents of children with clefts.

Meanwhile, the Nutrition Pilot Program, an innovative intervention program, will enable children with cleft to attain the best possible health condition required for surgery and help mothers avoid succeeding cleft births through the provision of healthy food and supplements as well as educational materials on early childhood nutrition.

“We look forward to collaborating on initiatives to cater to the total well-being of cleft lip and palate patients and their loved ones,” said Security Bank President & CEO Sanjiv Vohra. “This means a lot to us, and to me, personally. I am confident that together, we can make things better for many Filipinos, not just for now, but for many years to come.”

Security Bank has been advocating for education and implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs focused on entrepreneurship, community engagement and the environment, together with its CSR arm, Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI).

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Doubts raised over vaping’s safety claim

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

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he first time I used it, I felt great,” confessed Ken who was only 13 years old when his older brother brought home vape pens.

Ken watched as his brother demonstrated how to use the gadgets, thinking they were “cool.” Not long after, the then eighth grader who did not even have prior experience with cigarette smoking was hooked on vaping.

“I felt I was being cool. I felt I was being trendy,” he said.

According to Ken, he vaped as much and as often as he could because he could use the gadget regardless of what he was doing.

“The smell was also more pleasant than tobacco, which was addicting. During that time, I thought that e-cigarettes didn’t have any bad effects on the body, so I didn’t have any concerns using it,” he added.

Ken had been vaping for a year when his brother, who was the one buying the vapes, lost his job. With no one to fund his vice, he, for a time, would occasionally borrow his friends’ vapes.

But soon, Ken realized vaping was not only bad for his health; it could also jeopardize his future after he attended an event where they talked about the risks of vaping.

“I decided to completely get rid of it,” he said.

Less harmful, but not safe

There is literature that says that vapes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes.

But while this may be so, health professionals say that this does not make vapes and e-cigarettes safe.

In an article published in the Johns Hopkins web site, Dr. Michael Blaha, Director of Clinical Research at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, wrote that like their traditional counterparts, vapes and e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is harmful and addicting.

“It raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack,” Dr. Blaha writes.

He adds: “Emerging data suggests links to chronic lung disease and asthma and associations between the dual use of ecigarettes and smoking with cardiovascular disease. You’re exposing yourself to all kinds of chemicals that we don’t yet understand and that are probably not safe.”

According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as of February 18, 2020, it has recorded a total of 2,807 people who have been hospitalized due to e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) cases. Of the total number, 68 deaths have been confirmed.

In the Philippines, the first confirmed case of EVALI involved a 16-year-old.

Not a cessation tool

Manufacturers tout vapes and e-cigarettes as smoking cessation tools. However, they have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Authority (FDA) as such.

Moreover, they have not undergone clinical trials to ensure their safety.

Furthermore, these gadgets do not actually help people quit. They just make smokers switch from one form to another.

Studies have also found that flavored vapes and e-cigarettes lure adolescents to smoke, or to become addicted to nicotine, such as the case with Ken.

The quitting process

Fortunately for Ken, now 17, he realized the negative effects of vaping early enough. And more importantly the process of quitting was not as difficult for him.

According to Ken, ironically, it was when he had stopped smoking that his body started improving. It was only then that he noticed the effects of smoking on him “I realized that my being short tempered, my physical appearance—bloated face, dry lips, stained teeth, etc.—and sleep deprivation were caused by my use of the device. Now I feel really great. I’m physically and mentally healthy and I feel more confident than before,” he said.

DOH and WHO refute claim of ‘reduced harm’

The Department of Health (DOH), together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and medical societies warned the public on the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes

and heated tobacco products.

“Electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products are sold in the market as alternatives for smokers trying to wean themselves off tobacco. Some studies claim that they contain fewer toxic chemicals and are less harmful alternatives to cigarettes,” said Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III. “We do not support their claim of reduced harm. These products endanger the health of both users and non-users, and are clearly not meant for children,” Duque stressed.

In response to the epidemic in the United States, WHO introduced International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 code U07.0, an international tool for classifying and monitoring diseases, to be used immediately for reporting of acutely ill patients who have used electronic cigarettes in the last 90 days, with no other plausible causes for illness.

Healthy, young people

An increase in vaping-related illnesses in the US has been reported in recent months, mostly afflicting otherwise healthy young people.

With 1,299 cases and 26 deaths reported, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US FDA are currently investigating the reports.

In support of WHO’s efforts, the DOH urged all government and private hospitals, clinics and other health facilities to use proper codes for designating vapingrelated disorders to allow existing health information systems to capture data on vaping-related disorders.

Information on the potential harm of novel and emerging nicotine products can guide future policy directions for electronic cigarettes.

All health and allied health professionals are urged to be vigilant in identifying risks during routine clinical evaluations by taking the history of tobacco use and use of e-cigarettes or vapes in all patients.

The DOH also calls on the medical community, parents and teachers to help address the widespread use of electronic cigarettes, particularly among the youth and young adults.

Likewise, the department also urged users, especially pregnant women and young adults, to immediately stop and refrain from vaping and using all forms of e-cigarettes.

“People who have recently used ecigarettes or other vaping products should immediately seek medical attention if they develop respiratory symptoms,” Duque concluded.

Contradicting the President’s Executive Order

In February 2020, President Duterte expanded his earlier nationwide smoking ban by signing Executive Order 106 which prohibits vaping or the use of e-cigarettes in public places. The EO also prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs), and novel tobacco products to people younger than 21 years old and requires the registration of such products and its components with the Food and Drug Administration.

In December 2020, however, Sen. Ralph Recto filed Senate Bill 1951 which seeks to lower the legal age for buying vapes and heated tobacco products from 21 to 18, alarming parents and health advocates.

“The bill allows vaping in places which are declared 100 percent vape and smoke free. This is alarming on so many levels.

First it will be an enforcement problem when two similar products have two different rules. It will set back the ongoing implementation of the Philippine National Police on the President’s executive order. Second, allowing vaping in vapefree and smoke-free spaces will normalize this addiction in the eyes of the youth,” said Ralph Degollacion, Project Manager at HealthJustice Philippines. Parents Against Vapes (PAV), a newly formed coalition of multi-sectoral groups which include Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, JCI Lakambini Davao, Philippine Society of Private Midwife Clinic Owners Inc., and Federation of PTA in Region 11, echoed Degollacion.

In December, the coalition signed a Parents’ Manifesto supporting the President’s call to ban the use of e-cigarettes in public places nationwide, and calls for the banning of all vape and e-cigarette flavors and the sale of e-cigarettes in areas accessible to children, such as malls.

Thursday, January 14, 2021 B7

Are Filipinas ready for the menstrual cup revolution?

By Rory Visco

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Contributor

hat is a menstrual cup?

This soft, flexible cup is worn internally to collect menstrual flow rather than absorb it. It traces its origins back in the 1930s when the first menstrual cup was patented in 1937 by Leona Chalmers, practically around the same time the first commercial tampons were introduced.

Dr. Judy Ann Uy-De Luna, an obstetrician-gynecologist and an active consultant at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, said the use of menstrual cups is definitely acceptable in the medical community.

However, she cautioned that not all women can use it.

In the US, she said it became popular when people became aware about issues like the environment, sustainability and eco-friendliness.

“Here in the Philippines, Filipinos are generally conservative. However, we noticed that women started using it because it became sort of a fad, saying it’s good, better than tampons or sanitary napkins. They don’t realize that not all can use it.”

For one, Dr. De Luna said a woman should be educated or knowledgeable about it. Since it is a foreign body inserted in the vagina, it will definitely disrupt whatever anatomical structure is in there. “For someone with no history of sexual activity, and the first thing going in is a menstrual cup, I don’t think someone would be open about that.

Most who would go for it are those with history of sexual activity or contact, who had given birth.”

Cost effective On the cost side, she said it is definitely cost effective because it is affordable and reusable for a long time “for as long as you’re good at cleaning and sanitizing it,” and ecofriendly because nothing would be thrown to the landfill. However, she said the dirtiest part of the body is the finger or the hands so the act of inserting and then pulling it out from the vagina from time to time,

can already be considered a side effect when using the menstrual cup.

“So if you’re not good at maintaining clean hands and not hygienic enough to change it or drain it properly and as frequently as possible, bacteria or an infection may happen. Of course, it’s acceptable if the user practices good hygiene and goes to their doctor regularly to have themselves checked.”

She narrated one case where a lady who uses a menstrual cup turned out to have early signs of cervical cancer.

Due to this, she should not be using a menstrual cup.

The bottom line, Dr. De Luna said, is that the use of the menstrual cup is individualized, that the user should be checked first and be free from any form of lesions or diseases in the reproductive organ and any infection in the vagina. If there are plans of using it, it is better to consult a medical professional.

Education is key The key to using a menstrual cup is being educated first, especially in choosing the right one. She said she had patients who found it difficult trying to find the right fit, while others would have allergic reactions.

She said one patient who, after using it for two days, came back and said she experienced vaginal itchiness and turned out she has allergic reactions when using silicone or latex. There was another lady who had difficulty pulling it out and it turned out she did not pick the right size and one even experienced tearing of the product. This goes whether one is using a branded or a generic one.

“We have to know also the man-

Napkin, tampon or menstrual cup?

ner of sexual activity because there are those who believe that using a menstrual cup gives them a license to engage in sexual activity with multiple partners, thinking that it can serve as a form of barrier method, but it is not. And don’t be swayed by peer pressure.”

Definitely, the menstrual cup would not be welcomed by the conservative type of Filipino women. The thought of the “virginity” thing, she said, that a menstrual cup becomes the first that would come in and disrupt the hymen, they would not allow this to happen. The ones who would be open to using it are those used to tampons. The idea before was comparing tampons to sanitary napkins, but now most Filipino women are using tampons, and those who did are now open to using menstrual cups.

Random object For Czarina May Noche, she discovered the menstrual cup during a trip to Australia in 2015 when she noticed a random object in the feminine hygiene section. “I was honestly dumbfounded that such a thing existed and of course I ended up researching for the best brand out there, that’s when I stumbled upon Intimina, which made the Lily Cup, the one I am now using.”

In 2018, four to five months after giving birth and having her period back, she began using it again and even applied to be the authorized retailer of the product in the Philippines.

She said the menstrual cup is slowly but surely becoming popular, especially among millennials and Gen Z’s, probably because they are more open to embracing the zero-waste lifestyle.

“As one who uses a menstrual cup for five years now, it did make my life easier compared to using sanitary pads or tampons. The thing I liked the most about menstrual cups is that once it is properly inserted, you won’t feel it at all. There is a learning cycle when it comes to switching to menstrual cups but once you get the hang of it, you’ll then realize that it really is life changing.”

Losing virginity?

On losing virginity when using a menstrual cup, she said it is one of those taboo topics that interested users would usually ask. For a country where the majority are Catholics, the issue is definitely about virginity or breaking of the hymen for women. “I think this will depend solely on how a woman thinks because menstrual cups are totally different from penises. There’s definitely no pleasure involved with using menstrual cups, they’re a different tool. Take note as well that a woman can break her hymen with daily activities such as body stretching, yoga, cycling, etc.”

Noche believes that a woman can use it but for those with medical-related issues, it is best to consult with an OB-Gynecologist first.

“I believe that younger Filipinas are more conscious with the products they use now as compared before. The main reason why I switched was that tampons were becoming too expensive for me. I remember buying my first cup for almost US$46 including shipping to the Philippines and have no regrets up to now since I can still use my Lily Cup from 2016.

Not only did I save money, I’m also doing my small part in saving the environment.”

Four ways to control diabetes in the time of Covid

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t seems that diabetes and Covid-19 are not a good match.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in its largest epidemiological investigation titled “Characteristics of and Important Lessons from the Covid-19 Outbreak in China,” it said that Covid-19 mortality in the presence of diabetes rose up to 7.3 percent.

A report by “EpiCentro,” which is under the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Laboratory (Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica) or LEB of the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) or ISS, also showed that diabetes accounts for 30.5 percent of comorbidities among Covid-19 related deaths in Italy.

And here in the Philippines, the World Health Organization, in its Covid-19 situation report last April 2020, said that 77 percent of Covid-19 related deaths had either one or several known co-morbidities like diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, cardiac disease, bronchial asthma, and cancer.

“Covid-19 and diabetes are both inflammatory disorders. That being said, the presence of diabetes can make one’s Covid-19 infection worse,” said Dr. Jeremy Robles, president of the Philippine Society of Endo-

crinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (PSEDM).

According to Dr. Robles, controlling diabetes will depend largely on patient adherence because diabetes is both a chronic and a lifetime disease. Patient adherence refers to the willingness to take care of one’s own health by following the treatment the doctor prescribed. Adding to that, the patient will be able to experience better outcomes when they continuously and consistently follow the doctor’s advice.

Dr. Robles said it is now best to follow what he calls “Apat Dapat.” These are four simple yet effective ways for patients to control diabetes.

Proper diet

Eating healthy and on time is needed to help normalize the body’s blood sugar. PSEDM encourages people to eat more fruits, vegetables, and fish. At the same time, they should also avoid high-sugar drinks like juice, iced teas milk teas, and energy drinks.

“That does not mean people with diabetes cannot eat good food anymore,” said Dr. Robles. “Everything changes but it does not equate to being the end of your life. You do not give up everything. What’s important is to understand your disease and your limitations.”

Regular exercise

The PSEDM guidelines stated that exercise has been proven to lower blood sugar because it helps fight against “insulin resistance.” This means that when exercise is done, the body’s insulin works better. Dr. Robles suggests that though it may be difficult to exercise outdoors given the pandemic’s restrictions, there are many exercises that can be done in the comforts of the home. “Try jogging in place, skipping rope, or even just brisk walking around the house for 30 minutes or more. You can even follow along with some dance videos on YouTube. Whatever you choose to do, any type of physical activity can potentially improve insulin sensitivity.

Regular medication

Experts will agree that taking medication every day is one of the most important steps in maintaining normal blood sugar levels. Regular medication also helps prevent complications brought on by uncontrolled blood sugar. “It would be more costly to deal with complications later on. Talk to your doctor for lower cost alternatives,” said Dr. Robles.

Regular check-ups

A doctor is an important partner in a pa-

tient’s diabetes management, and regular visits, Dr. Robles said, will ensure progress towards normal levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Going to regular check-ups is a supporting pillar of the PSEDM guidelines because it ensures adherence to the other three—proper diet, regular exercise, and consistent medication.

Living with diabetes is not easy, Dr. Robles pointed out. The anxiety that comes with potential complications, especially during this time, can also be difficult to deal with. “It’s important to remember that diabetes is dangerous, and complications may be fatal,” he said. “Taking control of diabetes means being responsible for one’s disease. By adhering to Apat Dapat, patients can take a monumental step towards controlling their diabetes.”

“Apat Dapat” is part of an awareness campaign called “Kontrolado Ko, Diabetes Ko,” which advocates patient adherence to medication and treatment among people with diabetes in the Philippines.

Its goal is to raise awareness among people with diabetes about the importance of making impactful changes to one’s own lifestyle to manage diabetes, and that taking medication as prescribed by the doctor is a vital first step toward better health outcomes. Rory Visco

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OKYO—Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency last week for Tokyo and surrounding areas. Amid the surging virus, he again promised the postponed Tokyo Olympics would be “safe and secure” and tried to disconnect the state of emergency from the fate of the Games.

But opposition to the Olympics is growing with calls mounting for a cancellation. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and local organizers have already said another postponement is impossible, leaving cancellation—or opening on July 23—as the only options.

Two polls published in the last few days by the Japanese news agency Kyodo, and Japanese broadcaster TBS, show that just over 80 percent want the Olympics canceled or postponed, or believe they will not take place. The negative responses are up 15 to 20 percentage points from polls published just last month.

“The Japanese public are already more and more inclined to oppose the hosting of the Olympics this summer, and the state of emergency reinforces the perception that it is a lost cause,” Koichi Nakano, who teaches politics at Tokyo’s Sophia University, said in an e-mail to the Associated Press.

As a fearful public asks to call off the Olympics, it faces the reality of Olympic finances, geopolitics, and face-saving.

Japanese taxpayers have sunk billions into the Olympics, the IOC lives off the television money and has seen its income stalled by the postponement, and China is waiting in the wings to hold the Beijing Winter Olympics in 13 months if Japan stumbles.

“Japan’s standing in Asia and in the world matters a great deal, particularly in view of its rivalry with China,“ Nakano said. “It would be a nightmare for them [Japan’s political leadership] if Japan fails to be the host of the first ‘postCovid’ Olympics and the title goes to China.”

Nakano said the government wanted to avoid the emergency order, which could be extended beyond February 7 and to other parts of the country. This could further embolden skeptics and imperil the Games.

Organizers have promised strict “anti-virus” measures to pull off the Olympics. Here’s what

Tolentino hoping for Philta’s reinstatement

Sports

NBA, players’ union stiffen virus protocols

BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, January 14, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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TO CANCEL OR NOT TO CANCEL?

A MAN and a woman look at the Olympic rings float in the water in the Odaiba section in Tokyo. AP

they face—vaccine or no vaccine.

They must bring 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, from more than 200 nations and territories, safely into Tokyo and still protect Japanese citizens. Add to this, tens of thousands of judges, coaches, officials, VIPs, sponsors, volunteers, media and broadcasters. And hundreds of thousands of fans—perhaps some from

abroad—if any are allowed to attend.

Organizers have speculated about myriad measures to counter the virus, but firm answers probably must come by March 25 when the torch relay with 10,000 runners begins crisscrossing Japan, headed to Tokyo and the opening ceremony.

It was also in late March last year when

the Olympics were postponed after organizers insisted they would happen.

For Japan, hosting the Olympics has to do with justifying at least $25 billion in “sunk costs,“ satisfying domestic sponsors who have pumped a record of $3.5 billion into the Games driven by giant ad agency Dentsu, and gaining in the geopolitical contest with neighboring China AP

By Josef Ramos

November for failing to comply on requirements in time—had just held an online election last January 2 forming “good governance.”

“They held a valid election so that’s what we’re going to tell their IF [international federation]. They are now complying in creating a committee on good governance with Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez as their chairman,” said Tolentino.

“The IF [ITF] will follow what’s the report of the POC,” added Tolentino, noting Philta was not

suspended by the country’s national Olympic committee. “Maybe suspension will be lifted if they fully comply in ITF’s requirements.”

Philta longtime national Coach Chris Cuarto confirmed to BusinessMirror the election of good governance last January 2 with Atty.

Antonio Cablitas being elected as president along with Manuel Misa as vice president and son Martin Misa as secretary-general.

Manuel Misa was elected treasurer too by the other seven board of trustees composed of Dr. Pablo, Edwin and Edna Olivarez and former Secretary-General Romeo Magat.

Other trustees who did not participate in the election were Lito Villanueva, Jean Henry Lhuiller and Gerard Maronilla. Villanueva had resigned already.

Lhuiller and Maronilla were the main complainant to the ITF. But Cuarto believes the ITF reinstatement remain a long process due to the pandemic although it already achieved step one by forming a good governance as instructed by the international federation.

“Looking at it as the first step. The biggest job that await us is answering the representation in how to spread the trustees all over the country,” said Cuarto. “That’s what they always mentioning.”

“If the regions are properly represented in the Philippines, then we will hold another election.”

The ITF headed by President David Haggerty suspended Philta for two years last November for “unresolved representation issues and long-standing governance failings.”

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HILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino— after the crisis in volleyball—is now hoping the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) will be reinstated just in time by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Tolentino informed BusinessMirror on Wednesday that Philta—which was suspended by the ITF last

HEADER

Matias Suarez of Argentina’s River Plate (front) and Alan Empereur of Brazil’s Palmeiras go for a header during their Copa Libertadores semifinal second leg match at the Allianz Parque Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday. AP

Indon team tops eSports tilt

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HE AOC Masters Tournament ended with a bang with Indonesia’s Alter Ego winning the title after beating Thailand’s Overtime Esports in a heated three-round Valorant match last month.

With an impressive run this season, Alter Ego snatched various prizes, including top-tier AOC Agon monitors, in the event that lured hundreds of teams from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

“Times are hard, but that did not stop AOC Masters from being a great event with lots of great feedback,” Pirunchaya Makcharoenphol, Mineski’s Project Manager, said. “We hope everyone was as happy about the tournament as the staff who worked passionately on this.”

The event racked up close to 6 million online exposures during the final round alone.

“The AOC Masters Tournament was a testament to AOC’s commitment of raising the

Cycling in this pandemic RICK OLIVARES | bleachersbrew@gmail.com

BLEACHERS’ BREW THE days of a tight lockdown might be behind us—more so with a vaccine on the horizon— people have tried to go to a semblance of life pre-Match 2019.

For former PLDT-Smart First Vice President Perry Bayani and advertising and broadcast producer Richie Aquino, it has been cycling as much as they can while paying close attention to the health protocols.

“Physical exercise is important during this pandemic,” reasoned the 53-year-old Bayani who does independent consultancy for global corporations. “Cycling, while following prescribed safety protocols, provides me with physical and mental benefits. The cardio exercise from cycling helps me fight my

diabetes and boosts my immune system. The delight from being in the beautiful outdoors and away from crowds alleviates the day-today stress.”

Bayani has been biking regularly over the past few years; sometimes with his batchmates from the Ateneo, or from work.

“The farthest I have done is from Subic to Masinloc, Zambales, which is a 200km ride and Manila to Bataan that is about 135 kilometers,” shared Bayani. “Our favorite routes are Baguio, Tagaytay, Zambales, and Baler to name a few. We always stop to savor the beautiful scenery our country has. The joy of these spectacular views overwhelms the physical pain due to the long hours of cycling.”

ITH five games called off this week already and more teams dealing with virus-related issues, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association enacted additional rules Tuesday in the hope of keeping the season going safely.

For “at least the next two weeks,” the league and union said, players and team staff will have to remain at their residence when in their home markets and are prohibited from leaving their hotels when on the road—with exceptions primarily for practices and games.

“I’m all for anything we possibly can do to ramp up the safety,” said Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team had the NBA-minimum eight players in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, missing eight for Covidrelated reasons and another with injury.

“Just because we want to proceed with our profession doesn’t mean that there isn’t a reality of what’s going on in the world. The virus is still very much out there.”

Utah’s game in Washington on Wednesday was postponed because contacttracing issues among the Wizards meant they wouldn’t have eight available players for that matchup. Orlando’s game in Boston on Wednesday is also off, the third postponement since Sunday involving the Celtics.

Boston’s most recent list showed eight players as unavailable because they are adhering to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which means they either tested positive or contact-tracing data showed they may have been exposed to someone who is positive.

“I’m for whatever the NBA wants us to do,” Washington Coach Scott Brooks said.

All that is permitted in home markets, for now, is “to attend team-related activities at the team facility or arena, exercise outside, or perform essential activities,” the league and union said. On the road, team activities and emergencies are the only allowable reasons for leaving hotels.

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts said “it would be irresponsible and unacceptable” to not seek better ways to keep players safe.

“No one wants to see more restrictions imposed,” Roberts said. “No one also wants to see the infection rate increase if there are steps we can take to mitigate the risk. Our experts have concluded that these new procedures will add to our arsenal of weapons against the virus.”

The new rules add to a challenging time in the NBA, especially when dealing with the mental strain of playing in a Covid-19 world. And the flurry of virus-related issues in the last few days have only made matters tougher.

“I feel like I’m living my life in a box,” Portland guard Damian Lillard said. “I go to practice, I go back home, I don’t go anywhere else.” AP standards of competitive gaming through our collection of monitors designed to stand any challenge,” said Kevin Wu, AOC APMEA General Manager. “We are happy to have defied the limits with the success of the tournament.”

AOC’S efforts in the eSports ecosystem, as well as the gaming market, allowed the company to retain its position as the top-ranked gaming monitor, based on data from the International Data Corporation for monitors 100hz and above.

The company is set to continue its market dominance with its continued efforts to engage consumers through events such as the AOC Masters Tournament.

This past weekend, both Bayani and Aquino biked from Camp John Hay in Baguio.

During their first day, their route took them from Halsema Highway from La Trinidad to Atok, Benguet, then back that was some 45km.

We reached the highest peak of the Philippine Highway System at 7,400 feet (2,256 meters above sea level) and is close to Mount Pulag which is one of the highest mountains in the Philippines.”

The next day, the two biked from Camp John Hay to Kennon Road and back (28Kms).

Caution is also undertaken by carefully monitoring heart rate. “Richie and I both use Garmin cycling computers with heart rate monitors,” explained Bayani. “The computer sends audible alarms to use when our heart rate becomes high.”

“For our age, our maximum heart rate should be 177 beats per minute. Once we reach that, we slow down or stop pedaling to rest until our heart rate returns to normal. Kailangan maingat to minimize risk. We wear masks because of Covid even while riding and that makes it more difficult because we inhale less oxygen. But comply because of the protocols.”