BusinessMirror January 20, 2021

11-mo infra spending down 22% to ₧548.8B

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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TATE infrastructure spending from January to November last year dropped by over a fifth to P548.8 billion from P703.8 billion in the same period in 2019 as Covid-19 pandemic forced the government to delay or discontinue projects.

Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed government spending on infrastructure and other capital outlays falling 22 percent year-on-year.

“As expected, infrastructure and other capital outlays were lower year-onyear mainly due to the delays encountered in the implementation of public works during the imposition of Covid-19 community quarantine measures, and the discontinuance or deferment of some capital outlay projects which can no longer be

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implemented nor completed because of the pandemic pursuant to the Bayanihan I Law,” said DBM in its latest assessment of the national government disbursement performance.

Apart from state infrastructure spending, net lending was also down from the same cumulative period in 2019 due to conversion of national government advances into subsidy, where previous net lending releases are treated as subsidy and at the same time recorded as repayments.

Despite these, overall government spending was still up by 11.6 percent to P3.686 trillion from P3.3 trillion in the same period in 2019, driven by higher maintenance spending as a result of the implementation of Covid-19 measures.

Moreover, the allotment and capital transfers to local government units (LGUs) from one-time Covid-19 Bayanihan Grant, higher internal revenue allotment of LGUs,

and releases of the annual block grant to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), also contributed to higher maintenance spending.

For November alone, state infrastructure spending also plunged by 50.2 percent to P40.3 billion last year from P80.9 billion in the same month in 2019.

Aside from the delays in public works implementation, the DBM also attributed the lower infrastructure spending in November 2020 to one-time expense in 2019 for the building construction works of the Land Transportation Office and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

State spending on personnel services (PS) also slightly declined by 1.5 percent to P144.4 billion in November 2020 from P146.5 billion in the same comparable period in the previous year due to base effect of the payments made in November 2019

for the pension differential of retired military and uniformed personnel, and for the PS deficiency for the salary and allowances of newly filled positions in the Philippine National Police.

Nonetheless, overall government spending picked up by 2.3 percent to P374.1 billion in November 2020 from November 2019’s P365.6 billion.

Growth drivers for overall government spending for the month include maintenance spending, subsidy support to government corporations, allotment and capital transfers to LGUs and equity.

In the same report, DBM said it expects full-year overall government spending to settle at P4.23 trillion, 11.5 percent higher compared to P3.798 trillion in 2019 as it expected disbursements to recover from “substantial underspending” recorded as of end-September 2020.

See “Infra,” A2

BusinessMirror

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A broader look at today’s business

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 101

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PHL TRAILS ASEAN PEERS IN TACKLING ENV’TAL RISK n

By Bianca Cuaresma

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DTI TO BLOCK BID TO HIKE CANNED MEAT PRICES ON BASIS OF TARIFF RATE

HE Philippines scored the poorest in the region in terms of handling potential environmental risks, something that an international think tank said could hurt its credit profile with its potential adverse impact on the economy, on public finance or balance of payments.

In its most recent assessment of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standing of all its rated economies, international credit watcher Moody’s Investor Service said the Philippines has the lowest Environmental Issuer Profile Score in the Asean-5 bloc.

The Environmental Issuer Profile Score is a rating based on Moody’s qualitative assessment of five environmental factors along with any measures taken or firmly planned by the government to mitigate them. The five factors include: physical climate risk, carbon transition, water management, natural capital, and waste and pollution.

The scoring scale is on a range of 1 to 5, with 1 being the least at risk Continued on A2

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

By Elijah Felice Rosales

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TOWER 60 of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’s Baloi-Aurora 138kV line was toppled due to intentional pilferage at 10:13am on Monday, January 18, causing a power interruption followed by manual load droppings affecting customers in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Misamis Occidental, and parts of Lanao del Norte. Story on page A4. PHOTO COURTESY OF NGCP

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0660

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday vowed to reject all petitions to increase the price of canned meat on the basis of tariff, and committed as well to keep an eye on factors that may influence the cost of the basic good.

Consumers have eluded what appeared to be a looming price hike on canned goods when the tariff rate on mechanically deboned meat (MDM) reverted to 40 percent. MDM is used to make processed meat products that can supply protein and are affordable to many, such as hotdogs and luncheon meat.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez also told the BusinessMirror his agency will reject any petition to raise the prices of canned goods.

He specified petitions made on the basis of tariff. President Duterte last week signed Executive Order (EO) 123 that retains the tariff on chicken and turkey MDM at 5 percent, without which the rate would stay at 40 percent.

“We can commit that DTI won’t approve any price on canned goods if it is due to change in tariff because that’s the one that was retained at 5 percent and therefore shouldn’t cause an increase in cost,” Lopez said in a text message.

However, Lopez admitted there are “other factors” to watch out for that may compel makers of canned meat to appeal with the DTI for a price increase. Sought what these “other factors” are, he did not specify them and just said his agency will keep an eye on them.

“The increase in tariff rate would have brought about increase in cost. We avoided that for sure,” Lopez said.

“But you know also that there are other factors which we watch closely so as not to lead to any price increase,” the trade chief added.

On Monday Malacañang announced the President issued EO 123 to reimpose the tariff rate of 5 percent on MDM as stated under the previous EO 82, which expired on December 31 of last year, and this automatically jacked up MDM duty to its original rate of 40 percent.

Since then, concerns have been raised over the possibility of a price hike on canned products and processed meat since MDM serves as a key component in manufacturing these commodities.

n JAPAN 0.4635 n UK 65.3169 n HK 6.1994 n CHINA 7.4038 n SINGAPORE 36.1154 n AUSTRALIA 36.9099 n EU 58.0637 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8138

Source: BSP (January 19, 2021)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, January 20, 2021

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ABS-CBN must resolve ‘tax’ issue before franchise–PRRD

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

ALACAÑANG on Tuesday said companies with unpaid taxes, including ABS-CBN Corporation, will not be allowed to get a franchise until they settle liabilities with the government.

President Duterte stressed this in his public address late Monday, throwing a monkey wrench on revived efforts to get Congress to grant the network giant a franchise, which it failed to get last year, forcing the shutdown of its broadcast operations.

“For all I care, you can have a thousand franchise. You will not see the light of day there until you come to government with clean

hands,” Duterte said.

Duterte particularly singled out a company, which he said is applying for a franchise but allegedly had unpaid property taxes. He did not name ABS-CBN, but media and congressional watchers mostly surmised the Lopez-led company was being referred to by Duterte.

“Settle your accounts with government and… ’yung lupa ninyo na ang binabayad ninyong taxes,

you are occupying something like 44,000 square meters, nasa sinubmit [submit] ninyo na mapa ng lupa is four hectares [Settle your accounts with government and… that property you only paid taxes …you are occupying something like 44,000 square meters, but in the map you submitted of your property, it is four hectares],” Duterte said in Filipino.

To recall, Sagip Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta filed a resolution last year seeking an investigation on the land title of ABS-CBN’s 44,027-square-meters property on Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed that the statement of the President applies to ABS-CBN.

“I guess it is a safe conclusion, it is also applicable to ABS-CBN but it applies to all those who want a franchise,” Roque said in an online

press briefing on Tuesday.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) earlier cleared ABSCBN from any tax liability last year, when tax officials were among those invited to congressional hearings on the franchise application.

Duterte issued the statement amid moves in the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass a bill granting ABS-CBN its broadcast franchise.

Last year, the House of Representatives rejected the renewal of the ABS-CBN’s franchise, citing the media broadcasting network’s alleged violations of the law including illegal contractualization scheme, foreign ownership, non-compliance with the terms of its franchise; and using a dummy company.

The denial caused extensive disruption in the operations of ABS-CBN, which has since gained headway in its digital operations.

PHL TRAILS ASEAN PEERS IN TACKLING ENV’TAL RISK Continued from A1

and most addressed and 5 being the most at risk and least addressed.

Moody’s gave the Philippines an E-4 score, which means “Highly Negative” on the scale.

The Philippines’s peer countries Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam all scored an E-3, which is “Moderately Negative,” while Singapore scored E-2, which is “Neutral to Low”.

Broken down, physical climate risk is the largest environmental risk and least addressed in the country, which was scored a 5 or “Very Highly Negative”.

The Philippines’s water management, natural capital and waste and pollution risks all scored a 3 or “Moderately Negative” while its Carbon Transition is at 2 or “Neutral to Low”.

What it means

FOR example, if an economy like the Philippines is prone to flooding, this will create economic and social costs. These economic and social costs are bound to be aggravated by the country’s low incomes and infrastructure quality.

“Sensitivity to climate hazards is also an important determinant of our scores and ultimately credit

impact. For example, an economy which is reliant on weather-dependent activities such as agriculture and tourism will be more vulnerable to typhoons than one where the bulk of economic output comes from factories and offices,” Moody’s said.

“The effect of physical climate risk can be material from a credit perspective if it has a negative and durable effect on the economy, the government finances or the balance of payments,” it added.

In its latest assessment of the Philippine sovereign ratings just last month, where it affirmed the country’s Baa2 rating with a stable outlook, Moody’s already flagged

the country’s environmental exposure and its potential threat to the economy if not addressed early on.

“Environmental considerations are material to the Philippines’s credit profile, given the high incidence of climate-related disasters, as well as the relatively large, albeit declining, share of the labor force employed by the agricultural sector,” Moody’s earlier said.

“Overall, the severity and frequency of extreme weather events can increase the Philippines’s GDP growth volatility, as well as public expenditure due to costs associated with reconstruction or rehabilitation,” it added.

DOT-TPB expanding subsidized Covid testing Continued from A10

Quick Response (AkQuire) for Tracing and Monitoring or “QR” Code System, the mass testing of all tourism-related workers being implemented now, and the placing of all the provinces and cities in Western Visayas [under modified general community quarantine], may I therefore request, in behalf of the Tumandoks of Boracay Island (the most affected of this pandemic), the tourism workers and investors, to do away with the requirement of a negative RT-PCR test result to all incoming tourists coming from Western Visayas.”

He noted that when Boracay

was reopened to Western Visayas tourists in June 2020, no negative RT-PCR was required for entry.

Also, he said, “because of the manageable number of positive cases in the whole of Aklan, it remains under MGCQ.” With the entire Western Visayas now under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) status, government’s guidelines now allow the “intrazonal movement of non-APORs [non-authorized persons outside the residence, including tourists] for any purpose…across the area without documentary requirements,” added Miraflores in his letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Busi-

Infra…

Continued from A1

However, DBM admitted this is still slightly lower by 2.3 percent when compared to the P4.3-trillion fullyear program with the implementation of Bayanihan 2.

Last week, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said overall government spending rose by 11 percent to P4.206 trillion in 2020 from P3.798 trillion in 2019, cit-

nessMirror.

Mass testing ongoing

MUNICIPAL data show that of the 27,117 tourists who arrived in Boracay from June to December 2020, the largest group came from NCR at 16,039; followed by 6,858 from Aklan; 3,004 from Iloilo province; 578 from Capiz; 342 from Antique; 170 from Negros Occidental, and 19 from Negros Oriental.

The governor also reported that from December 22 to 29, 2020, the local government tested 1,619 employees of 28 hotels on the island, and at the Ciriaco Tirol Hospital for those establishments with less than 10 workers.

ing preliminary figures from the Bureau of the Treasury.

Dominguez also revealed that the country’s emerging deficit spending last year amounted to P1.36 trillion or equivalent to 7.5 percent of the government’s projected GDP for 2020.

This is slightly below the government’s projected budget deficit for the year at P1.38 trillion or 7.6 percent of GDP, but is more than double the country’s budget deficit in 2019, which only stood at 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion.

He added that mass testing of the remaining tourism workers on the island will be conducted from January 18 to 22, 2021.

Earlier, Romulo-Puyat lost her cool at Miraflores for failing to conduct Covid-19 tests among the island’s tourism workers before the holiday season set in, following reports that an employee of Discovery Shores Boracay was found to be Covid-positive. DOT had downloaded the funds for testing to the local government in November 19. (See, “DOT hits Aklan failure to test Boracay workers,” in the BusinessMirror, December 23, 2020.)

Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

SENATE BILL REGULATING LPG INDUSTRY ENDORSED BY PANEL

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HE Senate is on track to pass a law regulating the Philippine liquefied petroleum gas industry (PLPGI).

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Energy Committee chairman, on Tuesday sponsored for plenary deliberations Committee Report No. 160 endorsing early enactment into law of Senate Bill 1955 providing for a National Energy Policy and Regulatory Framework for the PLPGI.

“The legislation we are sponsoring today seeks to regulate and promote an important energy source in our country—liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, as it is commonly known,” Gatchalian said.

Specifically, he clarified that LPG refers to commercial propane gas, butane gas, or a mixture of the two, noting that LPG accounts for 12 percent of the country’s demand for petroleum products in 2019.

“It is a versatile fuel used for many purposes: heating, lighting, and cooking for households, industries, and commercial establishments; and even fuel for motor vehicles, with overall domestic consumption growing at an average of 6 percent annually,” the senator added.

Gatchalian cited updated data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, listing more than 8 million Filipino households or approximately 40 percent use LPG for cooking. This means, he said, that 4 in 10 households depend on LPG daily.

The senator said one possible reason for this is cost, noting that an LPG cylinder of P353 can last a little over a month when used for cooking compared to P441 of electricity used for the same purpose, adding that “this 88peso difference makes LPG the cheaper alternative by 25 percent.”

So crucial is LPG in a Filipino’s life, Gatchalian noted, “that it is classified as a basic necessity under Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, and is subject to price freeze during calamities, emergencies, or similar circumstances.”

Despite the crucial role of LPG in the economy, there is still no comprehensive regulatory framework governing the industry, noting that “the existing framework, if one may call it that, is essentially a patchwork of various policy issuances” authored by the Department of Energy, Department of Trade and Industry Bureau of Philippine Standards, other government agencies, and even local government units.

Gatchalian's Senate Bill 1955, to be known as the LPG Act once enacted into law, seeks to “streamline this patchwork of executive issuances into a clear legal and regulatory framework to govern the Philippine LPG industry.”

The regulatory reforms embodied by the bill would ensure more efficacious health, safety, security, environmental, quality, and competition standards for the benefit of consumers as well as LPG participants, the senator said.

Gatchalian said “safety is crucial because LPG is a highly flammable and even explosive fuel that poses a major fire hazard if not stored or handled properly,” noting that according to the Bureau of Fire Protection there were 1,161 reported fire incidents between 2010 and August 2020 attributed to LPG explosions. Butch Fernandez

PHL’S USE OF FTA WITH JAPAN AT ‘ALARMINGLY LOW’ RATE Continued from A10

For the AANZFTA, the utilization rate was high at 81.4 percent when trading with New Zealand; and 54.1 percent when trading with Australia.

“It is important the Philippines use these two agreements as a benchmark for further trade agreement negotiation. If possible, it may be wise to compare PJEPA with these two agreements to identify strategies to improve the utilization of PJEPA by addressing the limitations of the agreement itself,” the authors said.

Citing various studies, the authors said the low FTA utilization rate may be attributed to factors such as “lack of information or knowledge about FTAs, procedural delays, administrative and compliance costs, and availability of other incentives schemes.”

To address this, the study called on the government to “ensure that importers have all the available information related to importation under Pjepa and all the other FTAs,” especially the micro, small, and medium-sized importers and those in rural areas.

The authors noted that this

might be a challenge for the government due to limited resources; thus, it should “partner with business groups and organize information sessions and workshops to specifically increase the capacity of importers to utilize FTAs.” They also recommended revisiting FTA agreements to “pursue further tariff reduction in goods that still have room for tariff reduction.”

Moreover, the study found that the Asean FTA and Asean-Australia-New Zealand FTA have higher utilization rates for some of the country’s import partners. The authors said it would be wise to compare them with PJEPA to identify strategies that can improve the latter’s utilization.

The study also cited a need for continuous monitoring of these trade agreements’ utilization.

However, with data only available for three years, the authors said government agencies should continuously work with the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Tariff Commission to process the importation data vis-à-vis tariff data.

“This indicator should be closely monitored as it is the first indicator measuring the benefit from FTAs,” they said.

DOH clarifies: EUA still needed before getting donated vax Continued from A10

Nondisclosure agreement

FOR his part, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said there is nothing wrong with the nondisclosure agreement on the prices of the vaccine being obtained by the government.

However, Guevarra stressed that the efficacy and safety of these vaccines should be publicly disclosed as the lives of people who will be inoculated are on the line.

“There may be some good reason for nondisclosure of the commercial terms such as price competition, distribution channels, etc. I believe, however, that absolute transparency is necessary in relation to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, as the very lives of our people are at stake,” Guevarra pointed out.

He made the statement in reaction to

criticism on the refusal of government officials to disclose the vaccine costs, citing nondisclosure agreements with manufacturers.

The DOJ chief’s statement also followed several reported deaths of elderly people inoculated with Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine in Norway.

Guevarra said the negotiated procurement of vaccines under the Procurement Law is allowed, especially in times of emergency such as the pandemic,.

“Our Procurement Law expressly authorizes negotiated procurement by government in emergency cases such as when there is imminent danger to life during a state of calamity,” he explained.

The Philippine government, through vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., has been negotiating with vaccine manufacturers for the country to get a share of

their vaccine production.

But Galvez declined to disclose how much it would cost the government to obtain the Sinovac vaccine as this might affect ongoing negotiations to secure vaccines from other manufacturers.

“I have not seen the tripartite agreement among the national government, the local government sector, and the vaccine manufacturer, so I am not in a position to comment on whether the nondisclosure provision is anchored on a sound policy basis.”

“What I know, however, is that the tripartite agreement is a broad preparatory agreement, to be followed by actual supply contracts containing specific terms, such as on pricing,” he noted.

Joel R. San Juan, Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, Butch Fernandez

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, January 20, 2021 A3

DND chief vows to scrap accords with other schools

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By Rene Acosta

afraid of students,” he reiterated.

“Kung takot sa malayang pag-iisip, kung takot sa malayang diskusyon, kung takot sa estudyante, alam na [If they are afraid of freedom to think, freedom of speech , and afraid of students, then we get it],” he concluded.

@reneacostaBM

EPARTMENT of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana revealed on Tuesday he would likely scrap pacts with other schools similar to the terminated agreement with the University of the Philippines (UP) after declaring that the country’s top government university has evolved into a veritable breeding ground for communist rebels.

“We are looking into other similar agreements to terminate them as well,” the defense chief as he defended his decision to end the 1989 DND-UP agreement, which prohibits the military and the police from carrying out operations within the compound of the university and any of its campuses around the country without a “prior” coordination with school officials.

Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo slammed the DND’s move, which, she said, was done as part of the effort “to ease apprehensions, not just within the UP community, but among the public at large, that the reign of violence and terror that held sway during the dictatorship had never really gone away.”

“The unilateral scrapping of the decades-old accord sends the opposite message: That under this administration, anyone, anywhere, at any time, is fair game,” Robredo said in a news statement released by her office.

“If this was simply about law enforcement, all the accord asks is that military authorities give notice to university officials before any operations in UP. This is neither a difficult nor onerous rule, and five Presidents since 1989 have managed to protect both the UP community and the Republic without breaking it,” the Vice President added.

gled students to join their ranks to fight against the government,” the defense secretary said in statement released by DND spokesman Director Arsenio Andolong.

“The agreement has become obsolete. The times and circumstances have changed since the agreement was signed in 1989, three years after the martial law ended. The agreement was a gesture of courtesy accorded to UP upon the university’s request,” he added.

Lorenzana said the DND will “neither renege nor shirk on its duty to protect the rights of the majority. It will not tolerate those who will violate the laws of the land in the guise of lawful public dissent, free assembly and free speech. It is our sworn duty to protect the Filipino people.”

While Lorenzana said that they have determined that the agreement “does not serve the interests of the students,” he appealed to the UP community for both the DND and the school to work together in order to protect UP students from “extremism and destructive armed struggle.”

“The Department of National Defense only wants what is best for our youth. Let us join hands to protect and nurture our young people to become better citizens of our great nation,” he said.

‘Obsolete’

ROBREDO said the termination of the agreement was “not a practical gesture, but a symbolic one. One designed to sow fear. One designed to discourage dissent. One designed to silence criticism.”

“It is now up to us to decide whether we will give in. Or whether, at long last, we will stand our ground and speak out,” she said.

The Vice President said the DNDUP agreement was signed three decades ago as a safeguard in the

IN terminating the 1989 agreement by way of a January 15 letter to UP President Danilo Concepcion which was made public on Monday night, Lorenzana said “the country’s premier state university has become a safe haven for enemies of the state.”

“During the life of the agreement, the University of the Philippines has become the breeding ground of intransigent individuals and groups whose extremist beliefs have invei-

Painful to forget

Creating a problem

PROTESTERS belonging to different organizations stage an indignation rally following the announcement on Monday night of the revocation of the Department of National Defense—University of the Philippines accord, which prohibits the military and the police from carrying out operations within the compound of the university and any of its campuses around the country without a “prior” coordination with school officials. NONOY LACZA

aftermath of a “warrantless arrest of a staff member of the Philippine Collegian, the UP student paper, in front of Vinzons’ Hall, the student center, by operatives of the military.”

“This was in 1989, when the atrocities inflicted by the Marcos dictatorship and its armed agents on members of the university community—students, teachers, and residents alike—still burned vividly in the memories of many. When murder, torture, and abduction committed, not by those outside the pale of law, but by those operating openly under its aegis, was a reality too recent to deny, and too painful to forget,” Robredo said.

She said the agreement’s aim was not to exempt UP or its community from any law, “but to send the clear message that in a democracy, even a fledgling one, law enforcement was conducted following clear rules, within defined limits.”

“That in a democracy, there was no place for relentless war waged across all borders, without o ve r s i g ht or accountability, against any person those in power had decided to bra nd a n enemy,” Robredo said.

Defensor and Villafuerte lose key House posts in latest purge

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PEAKER Lord Allan Velasco stripped the committee posts of Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte on Tuesday following their reported comments critical of the House leadership.

Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza said the decision to strip Defensor and Villafuerte of committee vice chairmanships was a “direct consequence” of their statements criticizing Velasco, who is the head of the House majority.

Atienza said Defensor and Villafuerte “drew the clear line by their own statements” in their capacity as members of the “BTS sa Kongreso.”

Along with former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and four other ex-House officials, Defensor and Villafuerte formed what they called an “independent majority bloc” apparently working against the Velasco leadership.

Defensor was removed as vice chairman of five House panels, namely, Committees on Health, on Public Information, on Dangerous Drugs, on Good Government and Public Accountability and on Strategic Intelligence.

Villafuerte, on the other hand, was removed as vice chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts.

But Villafuerte said “let them continue to do their worst as we strive to do our best

for our people! We welcome their continued purge of the allies of Speaker Alan Cayetano because we are more inspired and motivated to point out their flaws.”

“Their vindictiveness only proves the Velasco camp’s obsession with playing politics.

Why continue purging strong allies of this administration and push for Cha-cha when they can focus instead on the vaccination program and rebuilding the economy?” he added.

Villafuerte challenged Velasco a “healthy intellectual debate” on various issues, “starting on why we don’t need Cha-cha at this time.”

“They can strip our positions, reduce the budgets in our districts, withhold the bonuses and salaries of our employees but one thing for sure is that we will not be intimidated by their continued harassment and we will to continue to highlight that under Velasco, the Congress has become the House of Politics and a ‘trapo central’ rather than the House of the People,” he added.

For his part, Defensor said “titles, names, and positions do not define us and the service we render for the people. He may be Speaker but he lacks the proper leadership. He may be Lord but he lacks the wisdom and good judgment to determine the right path of the House. Instead of uniting the House, he further divides it.” Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

‘Step backward’

FORMER Vice President Jejomar Binay condemned the “unilateral decision” to terminate the pact as he expressed fear that it exposes the students to greater danger and that it does not protect academic freedom and democracy.

“As someone who witnessed and experienced this witch hunt, I can say that this move is a step backward. It does not protect students. It exposes them to greater danger. It does not protect academic freedom and democracy. It undermines them,” Binay said in a statement.

In justifying its unilateral decision to terminate the UP-DND Agreement, Binay stressed, the administration is using rhetoric from the 1960s, when government conducted a “witch hunt” against student activists. “ M a l a k i n a ang ipinagbago ng lipunan mula noon [There is a big difference from the society before].

We are more open to what used to be controversial ideas. We recognize

the value of free exchange of ideas in strengthening democracy. Pero mukhang ang administrasyon, hindi pa maka-move on [It seems that this administration couldn’t move on],” Binay added.

“It is true that UP has produced known stalwarts of the Left,” he said but stressed, “It is has also given the country a long list of presidents, vice presidents, legislators, Cabinet members, government officials, scientists, artists, and business leaders.”

“To say that UP only produces communists is like saying UP graduates in the Cabinet and in government are trojan horses. Will they now say that communists have infiltrated government to justify a purge?” he asked.

Binay challenged the administration to protect academic freedom and not suppress it if it is really protecting the country’s democracy.

“If it believes what it is doing is right, then it should not be afraid to debate.

If it believes it is protecting the interest of the people, then it should not be

REP. Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan party-list said he is hoping that Secretary Lorenzana “will find the wisdom” to recall his sudden revocation of the 32-year-old accord that prevented soldiers from freely entering any of the campuses of the UP. “We are hoping that Camp Aguinaldo will come to realize that it just created a problem where there used to be none. UP does not need any protection from the military,” Defensor, a UP alumnus, said.

“Any unwanted military presence in UP, or in any higher institution of learning for that matter, is bound to constitute an invasion of academic freedom,” Defensor said.

“We certainly do not want soldiers, whether in uniform or civilian clothes, stalking campuses and inhibiting the freedom of our teachers and students to study and express their ideas,” Defensor said.

Fascist?

ENVIRONMENTAL group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, in statement, said the termination of the accord “is yet another fascist attempt of the Duterte government to interfere with UP’s academic freedom and historic tradition as a safe space for progressive and democratic activism.”

“We recall how UP has opened its doors to the Lakbayan and Kampuhan of indigenous people, national minorities, and farmers protesting mining plunder, land grabs, and other attacks against their ancestral lands since 2012,” the group said.

They added that UP also continues to host indigenous Lumad students who were forced to evacuate from their schools and communities in Mindanao. With Jonathan Mayuga

A4 Wednesday, January 20, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Termination of domestics due to Covid infection, other diseases illegal–DOLE

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

T

ERMINATING the employment of domestic workers for being infected with the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is illegal, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

DOLE’s Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) issued the clarification as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country climbed to 500,577 as of Sunday.

“It is not sufficient grounds for

the termination [of employment] of a kasambahay [domestic worker].

This is not only applicable for Covid-19 but also for other diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and Hepatitis B,” OSHC health officer Reynaldo Sta. Ana said in an online forum on Monday in observance of the 8th anniversary of the passage of Republic Act 10361, or the Kasambahay law.

In fact, he said employers should help their domestic workers get access to medical facilities in case they are afflicted with such diseases, especially Covid-19.

“Based from the DOLE-DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] guidelines regarding Covid-19, employer should shoulder [the cost of] hospitalization, and testing of their kasambahay with regards to Covid-19,” Sta. Ana said.

He noted employers could only legitimately retrench their domestic workers if they are not properly doing their jobs, or misbehaving.

Mostly resolved

DOMESTIC workers, who will become victims of illegal dismissal and

other unfair labor practice, could file a complaint at the DOLE regional, provincial, and field offices as well as its attached agencies.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said domestic workers with pending labor disputes will be required to undergo a 30-day conciliation and mediation with their employers.

Once the case is submitted for resolution, the concerned office handling the case must issue a compliance order.

As of 2020, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB)

reported it had received 129 request for assistance (RFA) involving local domestic workers. Of which, 80 were disposed as of September 2020.

Among the issues, which were raised in the RFAs by DOLE last year, were alleged illegal termination/dismissal; non-payment of salaries; non-payment of back pay; non-payment of overtime pay and holiday pay and underpayment of wages, among others.

The remaining 49 cases of the RFAs last year were still pending as of September 2020.

Saboteurs topple NGCP tower in Lanao del Norte

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

A

LARGE part of Western Mindanao experienced a power outage on Monday after still unknown suspects sabotaged a transmission tower of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

Tower Number 60 of NGCP’s Balo-i-Aurora 138kV line located in Barangay Poona in Tangcal, Lanao del Norte, was toppled due to an “intentional pilferage of transmission line parts,” the NGCP said in a news statement issued on Tuesday.

As a result, a power interruption occurred at 10:13 a.m. A STUB angle, which forms part of Tower 60’s foundation, was intentionally pilfered, on Monday, affecting power with bolts and other tower parts dismantled. With the weakened foundation, consumers in the western part perpetrators used ropes to topple the said tower. PHOTO COURTESY OF NGCP of Mindanao.

The sabotage was followed as the area is secured,” NGCP added. by manual load droppings affecting customers of The NGCP said that sabotaging its transmission electric cooperatives in three provinces of Zambolines and structures will only burden the public anga, Misamis Occidental and parts of Lanao del with power service interruptions.

Norte.

“NGCP continues its appeal to the public, lo “NGCP is working with authorities to secure cal and national government, and local commuthe area and to identify the perpetrators of the nity leaders to help identify the perpetrators of sabotage,” the firm said. sabotage and prevent power interruptions,” the “Restoration of Tower 60 will commence as soon NGCP said.

Lawmaker lists ‘key pillars’ of PHL’s economic recovery

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

A

@joveemarie

LAWMAKER on Tuesday said that the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, passage of the corporate income tax and incentives reform bill, and the economic amendments to the 1987 Constitution are the “key pillars” of the country’s short, medium, and long-term economic strategy.

House Economic Stimulus and Recovery Cluster co-chairman Joey S. Salceda said the economic recovery will enter three stages— short, medium, and long term.

“The framework will be simple. The vaccines will tell the world that it is safe to be in the Philippines. CITIRA [Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act] or CREATE [Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises] will tell them it is rewarding to invest in the Philippines. RBH [Resolution of Both Houses] 2 will tell them they are welcome to invest in the country,” he said.

According to Salceda, the vaccine is the country’s immediate-term intervention.

“So we need to get it out fast, before anything else. The CITIRA will be the short-to-medium term fix for investor uncertainty and private sector sluggishness. Finally, RBH 2 will shake the dormancy out of our rent-heavy sectors,” Salceda said.

The lawmaker said Congress will pass the final version of CITIRA or CREATE this month.

“I expect CITIRA/CREATE to pass both houses by the end of this month. I have submitted my committee’s amendments to the Speaker for his final decision. I expect a discussion between the Senate President and the Speaker very soon,” Salceda said.

“The business community waited long enough, so I understand the frustrations of several groups. I just do not appreciate the tone that the House has not acted quickly upon the bill. First of all, the House approved the bill in September

2019. So, no intention to delay at all. Second, I vowed the House will immediately approve a fiscally responsible version. CREATE gives 17 years of incentives to domestic investors, when the current system only gives 6 years maximum,” Salceda added.

He, however, said a speedy vaccine rollout will be the “cornerstone of economic recovery.”

“CREATE/CITIRA will be useless without quick vaccine rollout. We will be wasting government revenues unless we rollout the vaccines quickly,” Salceda said.

“If we face delays on vaccine rollout, the recovery will also be delayed. If we vaccinate faster than planned, recovery will be faster than expected. It is really very simple,” he added.

Meanwhile, Salceda said RBH 2, on the other hand, is the strongest signal the country could ever send to the world that the Philippines is open for business.

“Actually, if you were to ask me, I would say RBH 2 is a thousand times more important than CITIRA. The problem with FDI [foreign direct investments] isn’t so much that we don’t give enough incentives. We do. The current investment priorities plan probably covers 70 percent of GDP. And we’re the only Asean country to give forever incentives through the gross income earned [GIE] incentive,” he added.

‘No more delay’

FOR his part, Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Tuesday opposed the call of Sen. Franklin Drilon for the House of Representatives to postpone its economic Cha-cha push to the latter part of 2022.

“I welcome Sen. Drilon’s openness to economic reform in the Constitution, but I am against his suggestion that we delay working on it by almost two years,” the representative of Cagayan de Oro’s second district said.

House leaders shift budget oversight powers to high gear

T

HE House of Representatives will activate its oversight powers over the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) along with the laws extending the validity of the 2020 GAA and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).

With this, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, member of the independent majority bloc, welcomed this commitment of the House leadership to perform this year its budget oversight powers.

“The House leadership under Speaker [Lord Allan] Velasco would do well to make good on this newly declared commitment to keep a close watch on how agencies of the Executive department would be spending their allocations this year under the 2021 GAA, together with the 2020 national budget and Bayanihan 2, whose validity have been extended, respectively, till June and December,” he said.

Villafuerte was the lead author in the House of Bayanihan 2 and the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1), and co-authored the recently signed laws extending the validity of the unspent portions of Bayanihan 2 to June 30, 2021 and of the 2020 GAA to December 31, 2021.

House Committee on Appropriations Eric Go Yap earlier expressed his commitment to safeguard the righteous expenditure of the people’s budget.

“Our responsibility as the appropriations chair does not end once the budget is enacted. Aside from our regular committee work, we will exercise the oversight function of the committee to look into how the budget will be spent throughout the year,” Yap said.

“This would be the best way for lawmakers to safeguard taxpayers’ money, especially at this time when the national budget deficit has been widening because of the necessity for Malacañang to secure additional borrowings and dramatically raise public spending on cash-intensive programs to fight Covid-19 and keep businesses afloat,” he added.

Villafuerte, however, added that, “Speaker Velasco would do well to return Cha-cha to the back burner as devoting the chamber’s attention to this highly divisive and counterproductive activity is just a waste of taxpayers’ money, especially at this time when we legislators could best be earning our keep by working with the Executive department on measures to deal with the lingering pandemic.”

Although Villafuerte has been one of the top advocates of constitutional reform under the Duterte presidency, he said that amid the pandemic, the situation has changed and “the ship has sailed” on this political reform as “Cha-cha should have been done yesterday.”

He said “the Congress’ time and effort would be best spent, not on tackling Cha-cha, but on passing pending measures and crafting new measures that would beef up our Covid-19 response.”

He said that, for instance, Congress should work double-time on passing the consolidated version of the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), which, in cutting corporate income taxes, would become the country’s biggest stimulus package ever, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that make up 99 percent of local businesses and employ a majority of workers.

He said Congress has yet to pass, too, another Covid-related stimulus package, namely, the Government Financial Institutions (GFIs) Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery or GUIDE bill, which will let GFIs create special holding companies that can infuse equity into pandemic-hit, strategically important corporations with insolvency issues.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

TheWorld

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

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

A5

California becomes first state to top 3 million virus infections

L

OS ANGELES—California on Monday became the first state to record more than 3 million known coronavirus infections.

The grim milestone, as tallied by Johns Hopkins University, wasn’t entirely unexpected in a state with 40 million residents but its speed stunning. The state only reached 2 million reported cases on December 24.

The first coronavirus case in California was confirmed last January 25.

It took 292 days to get to 1 million infections on November 11 and 44 days to top 2 million.

California’s caseload is also far ahead of other large states. Texas had more than 2 million and Florida topped 1.5 million.

The state has recorded more than 33,600 deaths related to Covid-19.

A caseload surge that began last fall has strained hospitals and especially intensive care units as a percentage of the infected—typically estimated to be around 12 percent by public health officials—become sick enough weeks later to need medical care.

On average, California has seen about 500 deaths and 40,000 new cases daily for the past two weeks.

O f f ic i a l s w a r n t h at a recent slight downward trend in hospitalizations could reverse when the full impact of New Year’s Eve gathering transmissions is felt.

The state is placing its hopes on mass vaccinations to reduce the number of infections but there have been snags in the immunization drive. On Sunday, Dr. Erica S. Pan, the state epidemiologist, urged that providers stop using one lot of a Moderna vaccine because some people needed medical treatment for possible severe allergic reactions.

More than 330,000 doses from lot 41L20A arrived in California between January 5 and January 12 and were distributed to 287 providers, she said.

In Northern California, Stani s l au s C o u nt y h e a lt h o f f i c i a l s res ponde d b y a n nou nc i ng t he y wouldn’t be holding vaccination clinics until further notice.

“Out of an extreme abundance of

caution and also recognizing the extremely limited supply of vaccine, we are recommending that providers use other available vaccine inventory” pending completion of an investigation by state officials, Moderna, the US Centers for Disease Control and the federal Food and Drug Administration, Pan said in a statement.

Fewer than 10 people, who all received the vaccine at the same community site, needed medical attention over a 24-hour period, Pan said.

No other similar clusters were found.

Pan did not specify the number of cases involved or where they occurred.

Six San Diego health-care workers had allergic reactions to vaccines they received at a mass vaccination center on January 14. The site was temporarily closed and is now using other vaccines, KTGV-TV reported.

Moderna in a statement said the company “is unaware of comparable adverse events from other vaccination centers which may have administered vaccines from the same lot.”

The CDC has said Covid-19 vaccines can cause side effects for a few days that include fever, chills, headache, swelling or tiredness, “which are normal signs that your body is building protection.”

However, severe reactions are extremely rare. Pan said in a vaccine similar to Moderna’s, the rate of anaphylaxis—in which an immune system reaction can block breathing and cause blood pressure to drop—was about 1 in 100,000.

The announcement came as California counties continue to plead for more Covid-19 vaccine as the state tries to tamp down its rate of infection, which has resulted in record numbers of hospitalizations and deaths.

California has shipped about 3.2 million doses of the vaccine—which requires two doses for full immunization—to local health departments and health-care systems, the state’s Department of Public Health reported

Biden to propose 8-year path to citizenship for immigrants

W

A S H I N G TO N — P re s i d e n t - e l e c t J o e B iden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the US without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies.

The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise impor tant to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump’s restrictive policies and mass depor tations.

It provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favored by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.

Expected to run hundreds of pages, the bill is set to be introduced after Biden takes the oath of office on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the legislation and granted anonymity to discuss it.

As a candidate, Biden called Trump’s actions on immigration an “unrelenting assault” on American values and said he would “undo the damage” while continuing to maintain border enforcement.

Under the legislation, those living in the US as of Jan. 1, 2021 without legal status would have a five-year path to temporary legal status, or a green card, if they pass background checks, pay taxes and fulfill other basic requirements. From there, it’s a three-year path to naturalization, if they decide to pursue citizenship.

For some immigrants, the process would be quicker. So-called Dreamers, the young people who arrived in the US illegally as children, as well as

agricultural workers and people under temporary protective status could qualify more immediately for green cards if they are working, are in school or meet other requirements.

The bill is not as comprehensive as the last major immigration overhaul proposed when Biden was vice president during the Obama administration.

For example, it does not include a robust border security element, but rather calls for coming up with strategies. Nor does it create any new guest worker or other visa programs.

It does address some of the root causes of migration from Central America to the United States, and provides grants for work force development and English language learning.

Biden is expected to take swift executive actions to reverse other Trump immigration actions, including an end to the prohibition on arrivals from several predominantly Muslim countries.

During the Democratic primary, Biden consistently named immigration action as one of his “day one” priorities, pointing to the range of executive powers he could invoke to reverse Trump’s policies.

Biden allies and even some Republicans have identified immigration as a major issue where the new administration could find common ground with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and enough other GOP senators to avoid the stalemate that has vexed administrations of both parties for decades.

That kind of major win—even if it involves compromise—could be critical as Biden looks for legislative victories in a closely divided Congress, where Republicans are certain to oppose other Biden priorities that involve rolling back some of the GOP’s 2017 tax cuts and increasing federal spending.

As a candidate, Biden went so far as to say the Obama administration went too far in its aggressive deportations. AP

Monday.

Only about 1.4 million of those doses, or around 40 percent, have been administered.

So far, the state has vaccinated fewer than 2,500 people per 100,000 residents, a rate that falls well below the national average, according to federal data.

Although Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that anyone age 65 and older would be eligible to start receiving the vaccine, Los Angeles County and some others have said they do not have enough doses to vaccinate that many people and are first concentrating on inoculating healthcare workers and the most vulnerable elderly living in care homes.

The death rate from Covid-19 in Los Angeles County—the nation’s most populous and an epicenter of the state pandemic—works out to about one person every six minutes.

On Sunday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District suspended some pollution-control limits on the number of cremations for at least 10 days in order to deal with a backlog of bodies at hospitals and funeral homes.

“The current rate of death is more than double that of pre-pandemic years,” the agency said.

Adding to concerns, California is experiencing new, possibly more transmissible forms of Covid-19.

T he state hea lt h depa r t ment announced Sunday that an L452R variant of the virus is increasingly showing up in genetic sequencing of

Covid-19 test samples from several counties.

T he va r i a nt wa s f i rst ident if ied l a st yea r i n C a l i for n i a a nd i n other states and countr ies but has been ident i f ied more f requent ly si nce November a nd i n se vera l l a rge outbrea k s in Nor t her n C a l ifor n i a’s Sa nt a C l a ra Cou nt y, t he depa r t ment sa id.

Overall, the variant has been found in at least a dozen counties. In some places, testing has found the variant in a quarter of the samples sequenced, said Dr. Charles Chiu, a virologist and professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California San Francisco.

However, not all test samples receive genetic sequencing to identify variants so its frequency wasn’t immediately clear.

Health officials said it was linked to a Christmas-time outbreak at Kaiser Permanente San Jose that infected at least 89 staff members and patients, killing a receptionist. The outbreak has been blamed on an employee who visited the hospital emergency room wearing an air-powered inflatable Christmas tree costume.

The variant is different from another mutation, B117, that was first reported in the United Kingdom and appears to spread much more easily, although it doesn’t appear to make people sicker.

That variant has already shown up in San Diego County, and Los Angeles County announced over the weekend that it had detected its first case. AP

BusinessMirror

A6 Wednesday, January 20, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

24/7 BUSINESS PROCESSING INC. 11/f Capella Bldg. L-3&4 B2, Asian Drive Filinvest Alabang Muntinlupa City 1.

YANG, WENBO Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5th-10th/f Tower 3, Pitx #1 Kennedy Road Tambo Para単aque City

NO.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

NO.

50.

XIAO, YUNTAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

51.

YAN, TENGFEI Chinese

52.

POSITION

NO.

82.

LIU, LIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

KABINI TRADING CORPORATION 407-8 Digna Bldg. 407 Dasmarinas St. 027, Bgy. 290 Binondo Manila

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

83.

WEN, JIANXIONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

121.

YANG, YANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

FIS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS PHILIPPINES INC. 9th Floor Ecoplaza Bldg. 2305 Chino Roces Pasong Tamo Avenue Extension Makati City

CHEN, QINNAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

53.

YU, MINGBING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

3.

FANG, JUNJIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

54.

ZHANG, LINA Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

4.

GAO, ANLEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

55.

ZHANG, RENAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

5.

HAN, GUANGYU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

56.

ZHANG, JINRONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

6.

HUANG, JINHUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

57.

ZHANG, ZAIXIN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

7.

HUANG, RONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ACCESS HEALTHCARE SERVICES MANILA, INC. 6f Unit B, One World Square Mckinley Hill Cyberpark Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

8.

LAI CHEE CHOONG Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

58.

9.

LIU, YANRU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

10.

MENG, JIAYOU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

11.

WEI, MENGRONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

12.

ZHOU, MINGSHUAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHE, JIAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

14.

15.

CHEN, WENHAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHEN, GUOFENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

16.

FENG, GUOLIANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

17.

GAO, CHENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

18.

GUO, HANPENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

19.

HE, XUDONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

20.

HE, LEI Chinese

LITTLEFIELD, ADAM CHRISTOPHER American

MANAGER CLIENT SUPPORT CENTER

AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore Brgy.

076 Pasay City 59.

CHOLBUSHPAKUL, JIDAPA Thai

SELLER SUPPORT ASSOCIATE

60.

NGO THI LINH Vietnamese

SELLER SUPPORT SUPERVISOR - VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE SPEAKER

AMDOCS PHILIPPINES INC. 23/f, 25th And 26th Floors Eco Tower 32nd St. Cor. 9th Ave. Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 61.

CHERVONSKI, GABRIEL American

PROGRAM MANAGER

ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D. Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street Tambo Para単aque City 62.

AUNG NAING OO Myanmari

63.

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

64.

DINH CONG HOA Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

21.

HE, XING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

65.

LIN, OUQING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

22.

HUANG, SHANSHAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

66.

LUO, YUE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

23.

JING, PENGFEI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

NGAN SI MUI Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

24.

LAI, BIAO Chinese

67.

25.

LAM JUN YIP Malaysian

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

68.

SHI, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

26.

LI, MIN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

69.

XU, GUANGBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

27.

LI, JIAJIE Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

70.

YAN, DAHU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

28.

LI, MI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

71.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

29.

LI, QI Chinese

YAN NAING SHIN Myanmari

30.

LIU, FEIHONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

72.

YAN YONE HWAR Myanmari

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

31.

LU, RULIANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

73.

YANG, LAIXIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

32.

LU, HEPING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

BVI (PHILIPPINES) CORPORATION 6/f Lta Bldg. 118 Perea Street San Lorenzo Makati City

33.

LU, YUSHAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

34.

LU, LINGFANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

35.

MING, WENHUI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

36.

MO, MINGMING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

37.

MU, LANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CLEARSOURCE BPO, INC. Unit A 8/f Wynsum Corporate Plaza F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City

38.

NGUYEN THI BAO CHAU Vietnamese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

76.

39.

QING, HAIJUN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

40.

SHANG, XIUXIU Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

41.

SHU, ZIYANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

42.

TONG, XUEYANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

43.

WANG, HUILING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

RADDATZ, JORG Deutsch

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER

CHINA RAILWAY DESIGN CORPORATION PHILIPPINE BRANCH 3/f Salcedo One Center 170 Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City 75.

TANG, HAIMIN Chinese

GOELLER, ROBERT LAVAR American

PROJECT MANAGER

CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT

DA SUCCESS BUSINESS TRADING INCORPORATED 2503 The Finance Centre 26th Street Corner 9th Avenue Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

80.

GAO, YONGLIANG Chinese

MANDARIN FIELD MARKETING OFFICER

81.

XU, WEIWEI Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

49.

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

WU, QIUXIA Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

FAREAST OUTSOURCE PROCESSING INC. 7th, 8th, 9th Flr. Nu Tower Moa Coral Way Brgy. 076 Pasay City

PURCHASING DIRECTOR

KONGANBUDDIES MARKETING INC. 48/f Lower Ground Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City 122.

KENTJI Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

KOREAN AIRLINES CO. LTD. Lpl Plaza 124 L.p Leviste St. (alfaro) Bel-air Makati City 123.

JUNG, KEUNWOO South Korean

CARGO COUNTRY MANAGER

LERIB SERVICES CORPORATION U-3d Rose Industries Bldg. Choice Market Ortigas Kapitolyo Pasig City 124.

PARK, HOJIN South Korean

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

125.

SIM, JAECHUL South Korean

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

LOGICDOSE INC. 19f Marco Polo Ortigas,sapphire Road Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City

87.

88.

JIANG, HUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

89.

LI, JUNWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

90.

LI, JIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

91.

LI, YING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

92.

LUO, YONGXUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

93.

NIU, XIAOJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

94.

SANG, GUOLIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg. Edsa Cor. Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

95.

SU, HAIJIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

130.

CHEN, LIBO Chinese

96.

SUN, ZHENYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER

97.

WANG, BINZHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

131.

DUAN, LEI Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER

98.

WU, NINGNING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

132.

HUANG, QI Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER

99.

WU, KUIQING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

133.

LI, XIANGDONG Chinese

100.

YUAN, GUOQING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER

134.

101.

ZHENG, CHUANYUE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LI, FEIFEI Chinese

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News

BusinessMirror Wednesday, January 20, 2021

A7

House endorses bill granting addl benefits to solo parents, children for Senate approval The current law, Republic Act 8972, which was enacted in 2000, has provided the framework for the rights and privileges of solo parents and their children but fails to address certain economic and social benefits that would address the pressing needs of Solo Parents to live a life of dignity in an otherwise very challenging situation.

Rep. Lawrence Fortun

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

HE House of Representatives on Tuesday endorsed for Senate approval the bill seeking to grant additional benefits to solo parents.

Voting 208 affirmative and 0 negative with no abstention, lawmakers passed on third and final reading House Bill 8097 to amend Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000 to uplift the lives and status of the solo parents and their children.

Over 20 years since becoming law in November 2000, Rep. Lawrence Fortun, principal author of the bill, said the Solo Parents Act is going through major upgrading to benefit 15 million single parents, 95 percent of whom are women.

“The current law, Republic Act 8972, which was enacted in 2000, has provided the framework for the rights and privileges of solo parents and their children but fails to address certain economic and social benefits that would address the pressing needs of Solo Parents to live a life of

BM

dignity in an otherwise very challenging situation,” he said.

Under the measure, qualified solo parents may avail of the additional benefit of 10-percent discount from purchases of basic necessities of a child, or children under the sole responsibility of the said qualified solo parent.

The measure defines a qualified solo parent as a solo parent earning less than P250,000 annually and who may avail of the additional benefits of 10-percent discounts from purchases of basic necessities of a child or children under the sole responsibility of the said qualified solo parent.

Pertinent to the specific category of solo parent under the law, the bill shortens the required period of detention or duration of a sentence and the period of separation or abandonment of the spouse in availing the benefits provided in the proposal.

It also enhances the educational benefits provided under the current law by guaranteeing full scholarship for a child of the solo parent and prioritizing the other children, if any, in the educational programs

of the government.

The measure promotes child minding centers, breastfeeding in the workplace and social safety assistance to all kinds of solo parents and their children.

It provides for employment programs of solo parents by prioritizing them in the livelihood, training and poverty alleviation programs of the government.

The measure also encourages establishments to hire qualified solo parents by providing tax incentives, while extending tax deductions from their gross sales or gross receipts to establishments providing discounts on basic necessities of the children of solo parents.

HB 8097 also provides for medical and health welfare of the solo parents by prioritizing them in the provision of services in government hospitals and medical facilities.

It mandates a local government unit to create Solo Parent Office (SPO) in every city or province and Solo Parent Division (SPD) attached to the Municipal Social Welfare Office in every municipality.

The bill provides for stricter requirements and monitoring for the applicant solo parent and children through the SPO or SPD and creates an inter-agency coordinating and monitoring committee comprised of the different government agencies involved in providing additional benefits to the solo parents and their children.

It penalizes any person who refuses or fails to provide for the additional benefits misrepresents a status or falsifies any document in order to avail of the additional benefits.

From 420 in ’19 to 55 in ’20: Virus slows BI’s drive vs foreign fugitives

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

A

TOTAL of 26 fugitives from South Korea were arrested by agents of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in 2020.

South Koreans topped the list of 55 fugitives from various countries that were arrested by immigration officers in coordination with their foreign counterparts.

The BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) said the list of those arrested also include 10 Japanese nationals, nine Americans, and six Chinese nationals, a Briton, a Russian, a Czech, and a Saudi national.

“Fraud and economic crimes

topped the crimes committed by these fugitives, followed by telecom fraud, cybercrime fraud, and sexual offenses,” BI-FSU chief Bobby Raquepo said.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the fugitives were arrested in various places of the country by FSU operatives after conducting surveillance operations against the wanted foreigners.

The number of fugitives arrested, however, went down from 420 in 2019 due to quarantine restrictions and lesser operations in 2020 amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Despite, the challenges that the pandemic has brought to us, we still managed to apprehend high-profile

fugitives wanted for serious offenses by authorities in their home countries,” the BI chief said.

He disclosed that those arrested included sex offenders, investment scammers, swindlers, and telecommunications fraudsters.

Among the high-profile fugitives arrested were eight Japanese nationals who were rounded up in February during a raid of their room at a Laguna resort where they were caught in the act of engaging in cyber fraud and voice phishing operations.

The suspects allegedly scammed their Japanese victims, many of them retired senior citizens, of millions of pesos through their fraudulent racket.

IBP weighs in on government’s vaccine procurement process

I

NTEGRATED Bar of the Philippines (IBP) President Domingo Egon Cayosa on Tuesday called for transparency in the government’s procurement process of Covid-19 vaccines from different manufacturers.

In a news statement, Cayosa said a full disclosure on public transactions is mandated under the Constitution.

He cited the twin provisions Article II, Section 28 and Article III Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution, which adopt a policy of full public disclosure on all dealings involving public interest and an acknowledgment of the people’s right to information.

“There is compelling legal basis for transparency, even under the Covid-19 emergency. It is good to let the people know more about the Covid-19 vaccines, the decisions to be made for them, and the public funds

therefor,” Cayosa said.

He also cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Chavez vs. National Housing Authority case where the Court ruled that the said provisions of the Constitution “seek to promote transparency in policy-making and in the operations of the government, as well as provide the people sufficient information to exercise effectively other constitutional rights.”

Cayosa added that President Duterte’s Executive Order 2 signed on July 23, 2016 also known as Freedom of Information EO promotes transparency as it provides that: “There shall be a legal presumption in favor of access to information, public records and official.”

He added that the EO also acknowledges that “the incorporation of this right in the Constitution is a recognition of the fundamental role of free and open exchange of information

in a democracy meant to enhance transparency and accountability in government’s official acts, transactions, or decisions.”

“Transparency is helpful in establishing facts, dispelling doubts and suspicions, countering propaganda, minimizing political posturing, curbing corruption, promoting accountability, nurturing cooperation, and in enhancing trust in our country’s governance,” Cayosa said.

Several lawmakers and concerned sectors have criticized the government for its decision to secure jabs from Sinovac, a China-based biopharmaceutical company despite its reported low efficacy rate and being expensive as compared to other vaccines.

Philippine vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. has refused to publicly disclose how much Sinovac offered its vaccine to the government citing non-disclosure agreements.

A8 Wednesday, January 20, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

How PHL can revive hog sector

T

he “bidding wars” for live hogs among traders, which was recently revealed by the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines to BusinessMirror, is a clear indication that the country is sorely lacking in one of its favorite sources of protein (See, “ASF prompts PHL to mull over hike in MAV allocation for pork,” in the BusinessMirror, January 18, 2021).

African swine fever (ASF), the fatal hog disease that started spreading and wreaking havoc on Asia’s pork sector in 2018, has reached the country’s shores in 2019 and is gradually decimating local hog farms. The supply shortfall has been putting pressure on prices such that the current farmgate prices—or the cost of live hogs—are now at par with the retail price of pork sold in wet markets a year ago.

The jump in pork prices is adversely affecting consumers who have to switch to cheaper sources of protein, like chicken, or resort to eating more canned goods or processed meat. Unfortunately, food businesses are also affected, particularly those that source their meat products from local traders. While businesses would initially try to absorb the increase in cost, they would eventually have to pass it on to consumers. Pork is not the only meat product affected because the shift to other protein sources like chicken and beef could also pull up the prices of these products. If prices continue to spike, consumers would suffer. Those who can’t afford meat products would have no choice but to stop buying, or look for other protein sources.

Based on projections made by the United States Department of Agriculture, the worst is not over for the Philippine hog sector.

The USDA had projected that pork output may fall by 3.6 percent to 1.075 million metric tons this year, the lowest in 20 years. Hog output is not going to rebound any time soon, according to the USDA, because ASF would continue to disrupt domestic production. This means that the Philippines would have less domestic pork supply and would have to turn to the international market so that prices won’t spiral out of control.

Apart from studying the possibility of importing pork, the government should take stock of its ASF control and prevention program to determine where it can make improvements. A thorough examination of programs and measures put in place must be done to determine if these have been effective in stopping the spread of hog disease in high-risk areas. This assessment must be conducted together with industry stakeholders, as their input and cooperation are necessary to ensure the success of any government program.

To its credit, the government has been successful in containing avian influenza outbreaks in Luzon (See, “DA reports major gains to resolve bird flu outbreaks in Pampanga, Rizal,” in the BusinessMirror, January 15, 2021). We can also stop ASF on its tracks if government would be willing to provide the sector the required attention and the resources. The Philippines can take a cue from China, the world’s top hog producer, which was able to revive its hog sector by providing policy support and incentives.

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Revisiting RA 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018 Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

I

t’s been two years since President Duterte signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018 on February 7, 2019 that took effect on March 5, 2019, strengthening the Social Security System (SSS).

One of the significant provisions of the law concerns the new SSS Contribution Rate as well as the changes in the monthly salary credits, except for house helpers, which remained fixed at the minimum MSC of 1,000.

Perhaps it is relevant that I discuss this in today’s column for the benefit of our members and pensioners.

First of all, I would like to commend my predecessor, former SSS President and CEO Emmanuel F. Dooc, for this legacy which has been one of the pivotal milestone in the SSS history. Hats off also to our legislators, specifically to Sen. Richard Gordon who authored this law with his working principle—WORK. INVEST. SAVE. PROSPER. At present, we still adopt it with the launching of our own Provident Fund called Worker’s investment and Savings Program (WISP).

What are the significant features

of RA 11199?

First, as I have mentioned earlier, for the financial viability of the fund, the SSS Board or the Social Security Commission (SSC) has now the power to implement new contribution rates, which before has to go through Congress for approval. This includes the biennial 1 percent additional contribution rate, which started in 2019 (currently at 13 percent) until it reaches 15 percent by 2025.

Second is the additional benefit on top of the six regular benefits, which SSS administers, called the Unemployment Benefit. Among the existing pension fund in the country, it is only SSS that offers this benefit for members who were involuntarily displaced due to downsizing, retrenchment, and other related reasons of separation. This is a twomonth cash allowance given to the member, which is equivalent to 50

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percent of the monthly salary credit.

Third, the reduction of penalty rates for employers. Under the old law, RA 8282 or the Social Security Act of 1997, which was approved on May 24,1997, and under RA 1161 that established the SSS on September 1, 1957, SSS meted a 3 percent penalty rate for employer’s contribution delinquency. Under RA 11199, it is now pegged at 2 percent. With these major changes, SSS has offered a Contribution Penalty Condonation Program to all employers even with pending cases filed in courts, which ended on September 6, 2019. For this program, some 55,000 employers availed themselves with a collection of P1.81 billion during the six-month duration of the CPCP. “Fourth is the mandatory SSS coverage of all Overseas Filipino Workers, whether they are sea-based or land-based and under Bilateral Labor Agreements or not, as well as the increase in monthly salary credit for overseas Filipino workers from 5,000

to 8,000 in 2019. We understand the plight of our global and modern heroes, considering their sacrifices to be apart from their respective families, and so they deserve this kind of social security protection from SSS in times of contingencies.

With the start of 2021, SSS is now currently shifting to a defined contribution pension scheme where members get their benefits based on their actual contributions from the defined benefit pension scheme.

This is true to those paying 20,000 up to the maximum monthly salary credit of 25,000 where part of their contributions goes to WISP, the SSS Provident Fund.

SSS has been a part of every working Filipino in the last 63 years, and the SSS Management has been doing a great share in protecting the funds of our 38.8 million members.

On this note, I would like to share the quote of Sec. Dominguez in one of his recent statements, “RA 11199 will ensure the long-term viability of the SSS Fund, expand its coverage and provide more and higher benefits for its current and future members and their beneficiaries.”

I truly agree with him.

Have a productive week ahead!

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

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

Sto. Niño and the religiosity of Filipino seafarers

Founder Publisher

On this note, I would like to share the quote of Sec. Dominguez in one of his recent statements, “RA 11199, will ensure the longterm viability of the SSS Fund, expand its coverage and provide more and higher benefits for its current and future members and their beneficiaries.”

V

iva Sto. Niño!

The Sto. Niño is venerated all over the country with annual festivals celebrated every last two weekends of January through special masses, dances and processions attracting millions of devotees and tourists.

The main religious festivals in honor of the child Jesus are the AtiAtihan of Kalibo, Aklan, Sinulog of Cebu, Dinagyang of Iloilo, and Dinagsa of Cadiz City.

Even if the statue is a diminutive figure, Jesus is depicted as a small king with royal regalia: crown, red cloak of intricate embroidery, with its left hand holding a cross-bearing orb (a symbol of Christian authority), while its other hand is in a priestly blessing gesture.

However, Filipinos downsized the merrymaking atmosphere this year due to Covid-19.

In the street dancing event of AtiAtihan called Sadsad, the Sto. Niños are normally dressed based on the

group’s interest.

I usually see some wearing a seafarer’s uniform, presumably owned by a family whose member is in the maritime profession.

This is a reflection of the practice of most Filipino seafarers of bringing with them on board the vessel their religious beliefs, ideas and tradition.

They normally maintain a renewed faith practice and religiosity each time they go home.

The Philippines is considered as one of the major supplier of maritime labor globally as it is estimated that there is one Filipino seafarer for every five crewmembers on board a vessel at any time.

The sea-based sector’s remittances

comprise at least 22 percent of the total dollar remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The estimated 519,031 deployed Filipino seafarers in 2019—per POEA data—remitted $6.539 billion or around P326.95 billion.

For the ordinary Filipino seafarers, religion offers strength, hope and peace in relation with their daily work and social relationships on board the vessel.

A study by the Seafarers International Research Center (SIRC) revealed how religious practice may serve to mitigate negative aspects of work such as loneliness, isolation, and institutional living, as well as fear of the dangers that can be encountered at sea.

Religion assists seafarers in coping with dangerous and emotionally challenging workplaces.

Despite its glorification due to economic returns, a job of a seafarer is not exactly a walk in the park.

The maritime profession has always been identified as a high-risk workplace replete with health and safety hazards in relation to the risks of accidents, illnesses and mortality.

The seafarer is often mentally, physically and emotionally stressed, aside from being constantly exposed

to a variable environment while working on board vessels that cross ocean boundaries.

Some seafarers described faith as helpful in overcoming difficult emotional shipboard conditions and in making life at sea bearable in many ways.

SIRC noted that seafarers find strength in their God as they commonly experience fear for their lives during emergencies at sea, often associated with storms, mechanical failure, collisions and groundings.

SIRC stressed that God was being drawn upon by seafarers to increase their resilience in dealing with stressful and dangerous workplace situations.

Seafarers are more likely to draw on their belief in a God to help them at times when they are powerless to help themselves, SIRC said.

It was relatively common for seafarers to engage in faith-based routines, which they hope would offer them some protection from ill fate.

During the interviews of the Ten Outstanding Maritime Students of the Philippines, I asked some of them what personal item will they bring with them if the boat is in danger of sinking, and most of them answered the rosary.

See “Gorecho,” A9

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Philippine economic recovery program must be strategic

The healing of the ‘Port of the Galleons’ Dr. Carl E. Balita

Entrepreneurs’ Footprints

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

MAKE SENSE

T

he coronavirus pandemic triggered global recession in 2020, which is seen by many economic experts and fiscal planners as worse than the financial crisis in 2008-2009. I find logic in the House of Representatives’ push to amend the “restrictive” economic provisions of the 1987 Philippine constitution to pave the way for the opening of the country’s economy to foreign capital. After almost a year of restrained fiscal activities, and following the virtual economic lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic that started in March 2020, it’s time for the country’s economic recovery program to shift to higher gear.

However, as Chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), I am concerned that if the industry sector is not properly consulted and the proposed constitutional amendments to remove the “restrictive” economic provisions of the Constitution are not extensively discussed with local manufacturers, the good intention to open the already battered Philippine economy to foreign capital to facilitate its fast recovery could be outweighed by whatever negative impact it may have on the local industry.

I suggest that as the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments deliberates on the issue to remove the restrictive provisions of the Constitution on particular industry sectors, it must clearly define where foreign investors can enter.

I still believe that Filipino owned manufacturing companies will spend most, if not all, of their earnings in the country. On the other hand, foreign owned companies will very likely remit their earnings in the Philippines to their home countries.

Moreover, Filipino owned companies will hire Filipinos even for their top management positions. Foreignowned companies will most likely bring in their management and even production officials from their home countries.

This makes it really important to clearly define where foreign capital can invest in the Philippines, if only to avoid economic distortion in the country’s economy, particularly in the local industry sector.

Perhaps, our legislators can review the Special Economic Zone Act and figure out what provisions can be amended to make it even more

Gorecho. . .

continued from A8

Their answer is a reflection of what SIRC noted as the practice of carrying religious artefact or something with totemic significance that will comfort them as protection, like rosary, Bible as well as other religious pamphlets and written materials.

They find great solace in their belief in God. Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle said in one of the National Seafarers’ Day celebration that Filipino seafarers are “saint potentials.”

Referring to Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, Tagle noted that they were seafarers and missionaries at the same time before they became saints who sailed to other countries and died for a mission: “To teach the Good News.”

Tagle underscored that the pain brought by separation is a sign of the seafarer’s love, strength, and faith for the good of his family and the country.

“Even if you feel pain when you leave your family and your country, that suffering is not a reason for you to be “paralyzed,” but inspire you to strive for more,” said Tagle, adding that their hardships will not weaken them but make them even stronger.

Viva Pit Senyor!

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786.

If the purpose to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the constitution is to attract foreign capital, maybe the House should consider studying the Vietnam economic formula. Moreover, I also suggest for the country’s manufacturing sector, in particular, to be consulted for its inputs to help maximize the economic benefits of the measure. attractive to foreign investors. We have many Freeport zones all over the country. But how many of them are able to fully utilize their investment potentials?

And why is Vietnam getting the attention of foreign capital? Why is the Philippines not on the radar screen of many foreign investors in China that have relocated to other countries for their production hub?

Perhaps, our legislators can ponder on these questions and try to seek viable answers.

If the purpose to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the constitution is to attract foreign capital, maybe the House should consider studying the Vietnam economic formula. Moreover, I also suggest for the country’s manufacturing sector, in particular, to be consulted for its inputs to the proposed constitutional amendment to help maximize the economic benefits of the measure with the least, if not zero, distortion to the local manufacturing industry’s economic viability.

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade; a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 A9

P

uerto Galera was called a paradise in the early days of modern Philippine tourism when it captured the world’s attention, much ahead of Boracay. In 1973, the Unesco designated Puerto Galera as a Man and Biosphere Reserve. It has some of the most diverse coral reefs in Asia, at the very heart of the “Coral Triangle.” The “center of the center” of marine biodiversity in the world is Verde Passage—the waters between Batangas and Mindoro. Its coral reefs house about 60 percent of the world’s shore fish. Puerto Galera is well known for its numerous scuba diving spots. In 2005, the Parisbased Les Plus Belles Baies Du Monde Club declared it as one of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World. It is the tourism municipality of the province of Oriental Mindoro.

Ten months into the pandemic, Puerto Galera is future-ready with its rich natural resources revived, awaiting the world’s appreciation.

The pandemic allowed the healing of the beautiful paradise, which, over decades, has been exploited by savages of the universe—irresponsible humans.

The pandemic’s impact

With tourism as the only source of income for most of its 36,600 population in the past four decades, Puerto Galera has suffered the blows of the pandemic. The people went through the ordeal of having no income from tourism. Businesses closed and unemployment surged. Worst hit are the self-employed tourism frontliners who knew only one source of income—tourism. In this municipality, trade and commerce catered mostly to the needs of the tourists.

The 1,048 registered business establishments with 3,624 workers and 1,729 transport sector members suffered the most. The place suffered a loss of 223,000 tourist arrivals and almost P1 billion in tourism receipts.

The local government supported its populace through financial assistance and enjoined them to venture into agriculture, at least for their sustenance.

Puerto Galera’s rich history

Puerto Galera is Spanish for “Port of the Galleons.” It has been said that the Spaniards discovered Puerto Galera in the early 16th century as a safe haven for their trade ships during heavy squalls and typhoons, hence the name Puerto De Galera.

For centuries, trading vessels would drop anchors off the shores of this

place on the northeastern coast of Mindoro Island.

Puerto Galera, one of the oldest settlements of religious missionaries, was founded in 1574 as capital of Mindoro. Because of its susceptibility to Moro raids, the old capital town was transferred to the present site and was named Puerto Galera. Spanish galleons coming from Mexico and Spain stopped by Puerto Galera to take refuge during stormy weather before proceeding to Manila.

In 1837, the seat of government was transferred to Calapan.

Guarding the coast of Puerto Galera was a Spanish warship, the El Cañonero de Mariveles, which sank during a very strong storm in November 18, 1879. A wooden cross was erected at Muelle as a tribute.

Revolutionaries from Puerto Galera participated in the overthrow of the Spanish government in Mindoro from 1898 to 1900 under the leadership of brothers Miguel and Estanislao Cobarrubias Sr. During the American occupation, Cpt. Robert Offley was appointed military governor on November 2, 1902. Puerto Galera was again made the capital of the province until 1903. It was made a municipal district on February 21, 1928. Under Act 3415, it was organized into an independent municipality.

Rich topography, culture, flora & fauna

Puerto Galera is a Y-shaped peninsula located on the North shore of Mindoro island with 42 kilometers of irregular coastline. Its topography is characterized by mountainous terrains criss-crossed by numerous streams and rivers. Its water source

comes from a spring in the mountain.

The first-class municipality consists of 12 coastal and 1 upland barangays, with a total land area of 26,392.76319 hectares. It is home to an indigenous tribe—the Iraya Mangyan. Puerto Galera is home to 20 species of mangroves (out of 40 species in the country), 9 species of sea grasses (out of 16 species in the world), 152 species of corals (out of 400 species in the country), 69 species of seaweeds (out of 141 species in the country),19 species of birds and 1 very rare specie of hard coral known as “Acropora Puerto Gallerei,” which can only be found in Puerto Galera.

There are 45 dive spots scattered around the shore of Puerto Galera.

The 5 As of Puerto Galera tourism in the new normal

The Tourism Chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), who is also the Father of Philippine Franchising, Dr. Samie Lim initially formulated the 5 As of tourism: Arrival, Access, Accommodations, Attractions and Activities.

Recently, he expanded the As to also include Advertising, Academic Linkages and Assurance of Safety. Here is the review of the 8 As of Puerto Galera in the new normal.

Direct arrival and access to Puerto Galera is only through the designated Berberabe Port in Batangas, direct to Muelle Port in Puerto Galera via water taxi, which charges P8,000 for 10-person capacity. Travel time is approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

This requires negative RT-PCR swab test, booking with accredited accommodation facility and confirmation by the local government unit (LGU), which may be done online. Those with vehicles may take the trip via Calapan City, which is two hours RORO ride from Batangas. Puerto Galera is an hour away from Calapan City via land trip. As some resorts have helipads, helicopter rides are also available with clearance from the aviation authority. There are now 61 DOT-authorized accommodation facilities, with wide-ranging options from a budget price of P1,500 to P3,000 per person, or from a small cottage to big villas. The LGU has active online presence to guide tourists.

All attractions and activities are open for business except the Puerto Galera Windmill and the Mangyan Village. From white beaches to diving and snorkeling sites, to island hopping and fishing, Puerto Galera has everything to offer. Trekking through forests, mountains and hills, to waterfalls and rivers, Puerto Gal-

era has more to offer. The church, market and museum are also open, as well as restaurants with diverse local and international cuisines.

To ensure its human resource supply, Puerto Galera launched amid the pandemic its Colegio De Puerto Galera, offering a bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management. Advertisements of Puerto Galera is done by the individual resorts and establishments, which, in the age of social media, are benefiting from ambassadors from among the tourists. Assurance of safety is effectively led by the local government, with priority on the health and welfare of its people, especially because Puerto Galera has zero local transmission of Covid-19 in the last four months.

Moving forward and beyond

Blue Alliance, a non-profit NGO and the local government of Puerto Galera under Mayor Rocky Ilagan will soon sign a co-management agreement for the Marine Protected Areas of the municipality. It has the assistance of the Blue Finance, an international environment organization working under the auspices of the United Nations Development Program. The environmental NGO will invest millions of dollars and employ a significant number of local laborers and craftsmen while building the sea sensorium (digital visitor center) and will support the Bantay Dagat personnel, coral gardeners, eco-guides and resource monitors.

The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute is establishing an extension campus in Puerto Galera for training and research. It will also assist in maintaining the status of Puerto Galera as the Man and Biosphere Reserve of the Unesco.

The excellent biodiversity of Puerto Galera, which is host to rich flora and fauna, is not only a tourism destination that offers a multiverse experience but also a wealth of natural resources of the Philippines and the world. Now that the pandemic has erased the footprints of the irresponsible exploitation of its beauty, there is an opportunity for Puerto Galerans, the Mindorenos and the Filipinos to realize that as nature heals itself, the stewards of nature should protect the amazing Puerto Galera as a renewed paradise. People may still be afraid of the uncertainty amid the pandemic, but the beauty of Puerto Galera is a great messenger of hope and God’s love.

For feedback, please send e-mail to drcarlbalita@ yahoo.com.

Competition policy: Making it work for recovery in 2021 and beyond Arsenio M. Balisacan

Competition Matters

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n last week’s column, I discussed how, despite the tumultuous year that was 2020, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has remained steadfast in its commitment to protect fair competition in our markets and advance the welfare of Filipino consumers. Mindful of anti-competitive forces that threaten to exacerbate the significant economic losses due to the pandemic, we were prepared to flex our enforcement muscle and step up advocacy efforts to ensure pro-competitive solutions to the crisis.

This year, as we tread the uncertain and uneven path to recovery, the Commission’s topmost priority remains unchanged: effectively investigate and enforce prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements and conduct. Having adjusted to the new normal and gleaning from the past years’ lessons, we stand ready to exercise our full enforcement powers.

Here are our main thrust and plans for 2021.

Competition analysis and enforcement this year will focus on e-commerce, health and pharmaceuticals, insurance, logistics and shipping, energy and electricity, water supply and distribution, real estate, and food—essential sectors that have become even more relevant

due to the ongoing pandemic.

On enforcement, to boost investigation and case-building, we will establish a digital forensics laboratory and develop an in-house bid-rigging screening system through BRIGADE (Bid Rigging Intelligence Gathering and Detection for Enforcement) project, an undertaking with support from the Korean government.

We will revitalize our investigation of possible bid-rigging in public procurement and anti-competitive issues in the priority sectors by working with task forces involving other government agencies.

The Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, also known as Bayanihan II, has suspended the review of mergers and acquisitions (M&As)

until September 2021. In the interim, we will be monitoring priority markets for possible M&As that substantially lessen competition. To gear up for the return of our motu proprio review powers, we will improve PCC staff capacity and streamline internal processes. Noting the gains from effective policy communication, we will also continue to encourage the private sector to voluntarily notify and consult with the Commission.

Cognizant that much cannot be achieved without mainstreaming competition policy, we will amplify our advocacy efforts this year.

In particular, we will engage the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council to include pro-competitive legislation in the Common Legislative Agenda and to require the review of priority legislation using the competition lens.

Following the success of similar efforts last year, we will continue to monitor court cases that may affect competition in important sectors and provide valuable inputs to the courts. We will also launch a second capacity-building workshop for Senate legislative staff and a seminar series for local government units in Metro Manila.

This year, we will broaden our enforcement networks by establishing and reinforcing ties with other competition authorities, particularly those of Singapore, Ja-

pan, Korea, Australia, and Mexico.

Locally, we aim to strengthen and formalize ties with local sector regulators such as the Department of Health, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Governance Commission for GOCCs, Food and Drug Administration, and National Telecommunications Commission.

In terms of research, we will continue producing quality studies to support our enforcement and advocacy efforts. In particular, we will study the impact of subsidies and subsidy-like measures relative to Covid-19 relief and recovery efforts such as the Bayanihan I and II Acts.

Moreover, we will conduct an expost impact assessment of the Commission’s enforcement and merger decisions over the past years. Our aim here is to improve the effectiveness of PCC’s decision-making practices and obtain evidence of the benefits of competition policy. In the same vein, we will tap the assistance of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for a third-party peer review of PCC’s enforcement rules, processes, and policy outcomes after five years of operations. Such review will allow us to benchmark against more mature antitrust authorities.

Finally, as we expand our enforcement and advocacy work, we will continue to strengthen our institutional capacity to increase PCC’s productiv-

ity and effectiveness, especially in view of plans to establish regional offices in Cebu and Davao by 2022.

The pandemic-induced economic crisis last year has sidetracked the country’s growth trajectory. And the path to recovery looks daunting, requiring a huge undertaking from both the private and public sector.

The same is expected for the postrecovery development, or even more, depending on our current policy choices. However it may be, competition policy is a key pillar to achieving economic development that is both sustainable and pro-poor.

Indeed, 2020 had been a tough year, more so than any other in our lifetime. Yet, I am proud to say that the PCC has emerged stronger and wiser from it. Just as we have done since the PCC came into being almost five years ago, let me assure the Filipino people that, whether in a crisis or not, its Competition Commission will work tirelessly for the protection of competition in our markets and the advancement of consumer welfare and inclusive development.

Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan is the chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission. Prior to his appointment to the Commission, he served as socioeconomic planning secretary and, concurrently, director general of the National Economic and Development Authority. He also served as dean of the School of Economics in UP Diliman and directorchief executive of SEARCA.

A10 Wednesday, January 20, 2021

PHL’S USE OF FTA WITH JAPAN AT ‘ALARMINGLY LOW’ RATE

By Cai U. Ordinario

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@caiordinario

ANILA’S utilization rate of its free trade a g re e me nt ( F TA ) with Tokyo remains “alarmingly low” at only 16.6 percent, according to state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

In a study titled FTA Utilization of Philippine Imports, PIDS Senior Research Fellow Francis Mark A. Quimba, Supervising Research Specialist Maureen Ane D. Rosellon, and Research Specialist Sylwyn C. Calizo Jr. said it was essential to maximize the said trade agreement as it will “pave the way for negotiations of subsequent trade agreements.”

Enforced in December 2008, the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (Pjepa) is the country’s first bilateral trade agreement. It is currently undergoing review after about a decade of implementation.

“While the results of the FTA utilization rate under Afta [Asean Free Trade Area] is promising, utilization rate of Pjepa is alarmingly low at 16.6 percent,” the study stated. “Government should ensure that importers have all the available information related to importation under Pjepa and all the other FTAs.”

The study noted that FTAs “provide a means to reduce barriers in the cross-border flow of goods, services, as well as capital.” These trade agreements also indicate the “continuing interest of economies to establish formal partnerships.”

In the Philippines, these are considered a testing ground “through which liberalization can be gradually undertaken,” with vulnerable sectors given the opportunity to mitigate its adverse impacts.

Currently, the country has nine FTAs, both bilaterally and as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

However, the results showed that the Afta and the AseanAustralia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA) tend to have higher utilization rates for some of the Philippines’s import partners.

The Afta was signed in January 1992 and became effective in January 1993 while the AANZFTA was signed in February 2009 and became effective in January 2010.

The Philippine importers’ utilization rate for the Afta was at 92.2 percent by when trading with Brunei Darussalam, followed by its utilization rate with Indonesia at 79.3 percent and at Lao PDR at 74.9 percent.

Continued on A2

2.1-MMT rice imports just 45% of volume applied for T

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

68,604.98 MT, based on BPI data.

The other countries where qualified rice importers purchased the staple were: China (26,130 MT), India (10,822 MT), Pakistan (9,132 MT), Singapore (1,884), South Korea (1,000 MT), Taiwan (300 MT), Cambodia (200 MT), Japan (9.6 MT), Italy (5.68 MT) and Spain (0.312 MT), BPI data.

BPI data showed that Gold and Perfect Corp. topped the list of rice importers last year as it brought in 110,541.250 MT of rice followed by Arvin International Marketing Inc. with 100,029.899 MT. Puregold Price Club Inc., the leading rice importer in 2019, fell to 15th spot at 34,449.348 MT of imported rice, based on BPI data.

BPI data showed that rice importers brought in the most staple in the month of May at 384,613.915 MT,

while they imported the least volume in November at 52,505.5 MT. 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 the projected record-high palay harvest of 20.48 million.

Agriculture Undersecretar y 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.

DOH clarifies: EUA still needed before getting donated vax

DOT-TPB expanding subsidized Covid testing

@jearcalas

HE country’s rice imports last year reached 2.079 million metric tons (MMT), less than half of the 4.5 MMT that eligible importers applied for last year, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) reported.

Latest BPI data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that 217 rice traders, cooperatives, farmers’ associations and firms obtained 5,331 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) to import 4.588 MMT of rice last year.

However, BPI data showed that only 193 qualified importers imported rice using 2,785 SPS-ICs, representing a total volume of 2.079 MMT, which is 45.31 of the total

T

HE Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday clarified that before it accepts

applied volume last year.

The total volume of rice imports last year was 30 percent lower than the record-high of nearly 3 MMT volume in 2019.

BPI data showed that Vietnam was the top source of rice imports last year as it accounted for nearly 87 percent of the total imports or about 1.808 MMT. It was followed by Myanmar at 153,174.984 MT and Thailand at

donated vaccines, it should first secure an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be able to administer the medicine.

“We will wait for the issuance of an EUA by the Philippine FDA before we accept and administer the donated vaccines,” the DOH said.

It’s the same thing with vaccines that the government plans to procure, the DOH added.

The DOH issued the clarification after FDA Director General Enrique Domingo was quoted as saying that even if the EUA has not been granted yet, the DOH can still accept the donation.

“Pero desisyon nila [DOH] yun kung tatanggapin nila at gagamitin nila [The decision lies with the DOH if they will use or accept it],” Domingo said, referring to China’s reported donation of 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippines.

The donation was announced by China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a bilateral meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 cases in the country surged to 504, 084 on Tuesday.

Lacson: No ‘agenda’

Also on Tuesday, Senator Panfilo Lacson debunked insinuations on Senators agenda in pursuing the vaccine inquiry, voicing hopes vaccine officials learned “hard lessons on transparency.”

“While there is still a long way to go as far as the government’s vaccination efforts are concerned, the controversy involving Covid-19 vaccines from Sinovac should be a hard lesson on honesty and transparency for officials in the program, Lacson said.

Had the officials been forthright about the conditions of negotiations with Sinovac early on, there would have been no speculations or suspicions about the matter, he said in an interview on ANC, stressing that while Congress— the Senate and House of Representatives—are willing partners of the executive department, lawmakers “need to be informed also what happened to the appropriations we gave you.”

In his priv ilege speech on Monday, Lacson noted that when the Senate hearings raised more questions than answers about Sinovac, “our officials were both tongue-tied and stuttering, leaving us with a string of flip-flop-

ping pronouncements.”

Lacson debunked insinuations that some senators had personal or political motivations in the hearings. “I haven’t heard of any senator who has expressed preference for the Pfizer vaccine or any brand for that matter,” he said, adding that “what we are doing in the Senate is an exercise of our oversight function over the appropriations laws that we passed, particularly on the purchase of the vaccines.”

He stressed, “There is no personal or political agenda involved in our inquiry as insinuated by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier. Most of us who participated in the public hearings of the Committee of the Whole merely want to get straightforward and honest responses from the concerned authorities so we will be informed for our future reference in our legislative work. Instead, the resource persons were groping, inconsistent, flip flopping and even evasive in their responses— hence our misgivings and apprehensiveness,” he added.

He recalled that when the Senate conducted inquiries on the anomalies in the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Corrections and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth)/Department of Health, “enough information was gathered that led to the filing of criminal and administrative cases by the Department of Justice and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, and could have possibly tightened the noose on those responsible for the pillage of public funds or prevented them to further bleed dry the public coffers.”

He added, “Isn’t that how the executive and legislative departments work as a team in fighting corruption?”

The suspicion of senators—and netizens—was aroused when officials would not disclose pricing and other conditions of the negotiations with Sinovac, a privately owned Chinese firm. The officials also were not forthright in their answers during Senate hearings last week, he said.

He added it was only recently that Galvez declared an “indicative price” of P700 for the Sinovac vaccines. “If at the outset during our first hearing last Jan. 11, he already declared we can get Sinovac vaccines for P700 thereabouts, then that’s the end of the story,” he said.

Continued on A2

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HE Department of Tourism (DOT) is expanding its subsidized Covid-19 testing program in a bid to boost domestic tourism in the country.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said she received a request recently from Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas to look into the possibility of the DOT subsidizing RT-PCR tests in his city.

“We’ll evaluate it first,” she said.

Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Chief Operating Officer Ma. Anthonette C. Velasco-Allones said Treñas’s request will allow “their local tourists to cross to Boracay Island and elsewhere that are open.”

She added, they are “just discussing the pricing” of the RT-PCR tests in Iloilo, but in general, “We are pursuing an expanded subsidy [program] outside of the National Capital Region [NCR].”

TPB, the marketing arm of the DOT, is finalizing a partnership with the JB Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in San Fernando, Pampanga, for another subsidized testing project. With TPB paying for half of the cost of the RT-PCR tests, domestic tourists from San Fernando and its nearby environs will only have to pay P750, said Allones.

TPB recently provided some P19 million to the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital in Manila, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Quezon City, to subsidize the cost of RT-PCR tests by domestic tourists. Thus, they only pay P900 and P750 per person, respectively.

Aklan gov asks for more lenient health protocols

As this developed, the provincial government of Aklan is looking at easing entry requirements in Boracay Island for tourists from Western Visayas.

In a letter to the Boracay InterAgency Task Force led by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, and co-chairs Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat dated January 5, 2021, Aklan Gov. Florencio T. Miraflores said, “With the mitigating measures being implemented by the Provincial Government through the Aklan.

Continued on A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

B1

SEC: Circular on contact details applies to all firms

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the memorandum circular that requires all companies, partnerships and associations to designate their respective contact details also applies to the agency’s regulated and supervised corporations.

In a notice, the SEC said it needed to issue such clarification after the agency regarding the coverage of the measure which will be implemented before the end of February.

The SEC Memorandum Circular 28, Series of 2020 requires corporations, partnerships, associations and individuals to create or designate

email account address and mobile numbers for transactions with the agency.

Deadline for the online submission, which can be sent through email (MC28 _ S2020@sec.gov. ph) is on February 22, while the filing of hard copies can be done through appointment with the SEC

office or through courier services or Philpost.

The SEC issued the said circular, released late August last year but was only published on October 31, as electronic documents submitted to the agency and vice versa shall now have legal effect and valid as any other document or legal writing.

The said circular requires all firms to have valid official and alternate email addresses and mobile phone numbers when transacting with the agency.

The said email and mobile phone numbers shall be under the control of the corporate secretary or any person in charge with the administration and management of the corporation.

The SEC, meanwhile, can also send their notices, replies, orders, decisions and other documents through these e-mail addresses.

Beginning February 23 onwards, the said contact details will now be included in the General Information Sheet (GIS) or Notification Update

Form (NUF) that are regularly filed with the SEC. “If a corporation fails to include the e-mail address and cellular phone numbers in the GIS or NUF... such GIS or NUF shall be considered incomplete,” the SEC circular read.

Both official and alternate e-mail addresses shall be where transactions such as applications, letters, requests papers and pleadings submitted to the SEC may be processed.

Emails sent to these addresses are deemed received by the said firms.

The agency allows firms to change their email address or mobile phone numbers, but it may summon the parties involved in cases of double filing as there may be intra-corporate disputes happening with the firm.

If they found that there’s feud happening within the company, the said submission, which may include the GIS, will be marked as “disputed.”

SEC will slap a penalty of P10,000 if a company failed to file the said documents within the deadline.

Marina restricts AFS use on ships

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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he Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has released rules and regulations concerning the application of antifouling paints and systems in ships to comply with the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems in Ships (AFS Convention).

Under a memorandum circular, Marina now prohibits and restricts the application, reapplication, installation, or use of “harmful” antifouling systems on ships, as well as those while in any port, shipyard, or offshore terminal.

Anti-fouling systems (AFS) contain organotin compounds, which kill marine life, harm the environment, and poses a threat to the food chain.

“These rules and regulations also cover all Marina-registered

Europe car sales drop most on record

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uropean car sales plunged the most on record last year as relatively resilient demand in the second half did only so much to make up for the collapse during the initial outbreak of Covid-19.

New-vehicle registrations fell 24 percent, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said Tuesday, the biggest annual drop since records began in 1990. A strong finish to the year for Volkswagen AG and PSA Group limited the industrywide decline in December to just 3.7 percent.

Carmakers managed to better cope with government measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus as the year rolled on, helped by subsidies and dealers embracing online-ordering tools. But the collapse in sales in March, April and May proved difficult to come back from, with the industry managing a single month of growth all year. By contrast, China’s auto market expanded throughout the second half.

While continued lockdowns will weigh on demand in the first months of the year, carmakers will have easy year-ago comparisons in the second quarter, Michael Dean, Bloomberg Intelligence’s European auto analyst, said in an email. He estimates sales will rise 13 percent this year, though that would still be 15 percent below 2019 levels.

Electric vehicles were a rare bright spot among the malaise, with BloombergNEF estimating that Europe’s plug-in hybrid and batteryonly vehicle sales exceeded China’s for the first time. The researcher expects 1.9 million to be sold in 2021, roughly 40 percent of the global market. Bloomberg News

shipbuilding, ship repair, boatbuilding, boat repair, and shipbreaking entities. All Philippineregistered domestic and international going ships, or ships operating under the Philippine flag, as well as all foreign-registered ships entering the Philippine maritime jurisdiction, and also all ships entering a port, shipyard, or offshore terminal in the Philippine, were included,” Marina said.

Moreover, Marina requires all ships of 24 meters in length and above and/or 400 gross tonnage, and above shall be issued with an AFS Certificate and records of antifouling system and shall at all times carry onboard the copy of the said certificate.

Failure to comply with the antifouling system controlled under the AFS Convention shall undergo repair or replacements to completely comply with the said convention, Marina added.

“In addition to these, all Marina-registered shipyards, boatyards, shipbreaking yards are required to ensure that any waste from the application or removal of an anti-fouling system is collected, handled, treated and disposed of in a safe and environmentally sound manner to protect human health and the environment,” Marina said.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) noted that antifouling paints are used to coat the bottoms of ships to prevent sealife such as algae and molluscs attaching themselves to the hull—thereby slowing down the ship and increasing fuel consumption.

“In the early days of sailing ships, lime and later arsenic were used to coat ships’ hulls, until the modern chemicals industry developed effective anti-fouling paints using metallic compounds.”

These compounds slowly “leach”

into the sea water, killing barnacles and other marine life that have attached to the ship, according to the IMO. “But the studies have shown that these compounds persist in the water, killing sealife, harming the environment and possibly entering the food chain. One of the most effective anti-fouling paints, developed in the 1960s, contains organotin tributylin [TBT].”

The harmful environmental effects of organotin compounds were recognized by IMO in 1989. In 1990 IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee adopted a resolution which recommended that governments adopt measures to eliminate the use of anti-fouling paint containing TBT on non-aluminum hulled vessels of less than 25 meters in length and eliminate the use of anti-fouling paints with a leaching rate of more than four micrograms of TBT per day.

Birkenstock in talks for $5-B sale to CVC Capital

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irkenstock, the German company behind the iconic sandals worn by hippies and preppies alike, is in talks to be taken over by CVC Capital Partners, according to people familiar with the matter.

The private equity firm is in advanced negotiations with the family owners of the nearly 250-year-old brand, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. A deal could value the business at more than 4 billion euros ($4.8 billion) including debt, the people said.

While Birkenstock launched its sandals in the 1960s, the brand’s roots stretch all the way back to 1774, when Johann Adam Birkenstock was working as a cobbler in the German state of Hesse. That heritage has appealed to shoppers who gravitate toward products with a back story.

CVC already controls high-profile brands like Breitling SA, the Swiss watchmaker it took over in 2017 that’s known for the aviation-themed timepieces worn by actor John Travolta. The buyout firm also owns German beauty chain Douglas GmbH, which has struggled with its debt load amid the coronavirus lockdown and online competition.

No final decisions have been made, and there’s no certainty the discussions will lead to an agreement, according to the people. A representative for CVC declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Birkenstock couldn’t immediately comment.

Comfort first

Products that cater to comfort have been in

Bloomberg News

demand during the coronavirus crisis, which has confined people to their homes and gardens and greatly reduced the need for more formal attire in the day-to-day. Crocs Inc., the United States footwear company, is expected to post record revenue for 2020 after the pandemic boosted sales of its trademark colorful clogs. In London, bootmaker Dr. Martens, known for its air-cushioned soles, is considering an equity value of 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) or more in an initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported this week.

Birkenstocks have been sold in the US since 1966, after a woman named Margot Fraser discovered them on a German vacation and began importing the product. Popular with bohemians and fashionistas, the sandals enjoyed a faddish

bump in the 1990s and 2000s when celebrities including Kate Moss and Heidi Klum began strolling around in them. The style has also spawned a range of luxury variants from labels including Celine and Givenchy.

Since 2013, Birkenstock has been led by CoChief Executive Officers Markus Bensberg and Oliver Reichert. The company sells its products, which also include belts, bags and beds, in some 90 countries, according to its website.

Birkenstock sold 23.8 million pairs of shoes in the financial year through September 2019, which helped sales rise 11 percent to 721.5 million euros. Net income for the period rose 40 percent to 129 million euros, according to a filing. Bloomberg News

‘Cashless scheme gives toll operators undue advantage’

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

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he chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development on Tuesday denounced the “undue advantage” of toll operators in the implementation of a cashless payment system on toll expressways.

During a hearing, Manila 1st District Rep. Manuel Luis T. Lopez, the panel chairman, said the amount collected in November 2020 alone for either NLEX or SLEX Corporations could not be below a billion pesos by way of minimum load upon acquiring the radio frequency identification (RFID).

The minimum load requirement for one RFID ranges from P200 to P400. “ T his amount takes into consideration only the minimum payments made by owners of the 3.2 million vehicles which have been reported to have acquired an RFID. We can just imagine how much more is to be made by the tollway operators when this cashless system is fully implemented,” said Lopez.

“And in all probability no one at any point in time just maintains the minimum balance. I see vehicles in front of me that have balances of tens of thousands of pesos. They would be holding billions of pesos in advance and, considering that no discount is given for any prepaid amount, they can already use and are being paid even if their services have not been availed of. It appears that there is an undue advantage on toll operators and an obvious disadvantage to vehicle owners with this current cashless system.”

Citing records as as of November 25, 2020, Lopez said about 3.2 million vehicles have acquired RFID tags while there are still a lot of vehicles without said tags as Metro Manila alone has around 6.2 million registered vehicles.

“We need to dig deep into whether or not this cashless system is truly what we need now.

We cannot afford to continue such a rushed, costly and anti-poor scheme without concrete basis.

This enormous benefit to the toll operators must be passed on to our motorists and riding public by way of discounts or toll rate reduction,” he said.

“More than just the prevention of the spread of Covid-19, we have to assess, among others, if there is truly a need to make all tollway transactions cashless, this will encourage more motor motorists to use toll roads, [and] if the penalties are necessary and justifiable.”

Last Aug ust 13, 2020, the DOTr issued Department Order 2020-012, requiring Cashless or Contactless Transactions for All Vehicles Travelling on Toll Expressways primarily to avoid the spread of Covid-19.

The two RFIDs being used are the Autosweep tag by San Miguel Corp. for the Skyway, South Luzon Expressway, STAR Tollway, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway; and the Easytrip tag—issued by the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.—for use in the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Cavite Expressway, C5 Southlink and Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

BCFI breaks ground for Quezon hospital

By Recto L. Mercene @rectomercene

T

he Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Inc. (BCFI), through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

(PAGCOR) led the groundbreaking of a state-of-the-art hospital facility in a far-flung town in Quezon province.

BCFI, the social responsibility arm of the Bloomberry Resorts Corp., donated P50 million for the construction of a 25-bed hospital with two operating rooms and two emergency rooms.

Although primarily catering to San Andres residents, the facility will also serve the medical needs of locals in nearby municipalities like San Narciso, San Francisco and Mulanay once the hospital commences its operations.

BCFI Executive Director Filipina Laurena said their financial grant for San Andres town is in line with the developmental pillars of PAGCOR for the foundations organized by its integrated resort-casino operators. These developmental pillars include health, environment, education and cultural heritage.

“Mayor Lim approached us directly and we saw the need of a hospital [in San Andres]. This jibes well with the development pillars of PAGCOR for its casino operators. In the case of San Andres, it’s health and environment. Upon seeing the need, it was easily approved, hence, the P50 million hospital project was

granted,” Laurena said.

As part of its social responsibility commitments, PAGCOR obliges its Entertainment City casino licensees to create a foundation for the restoration of cultural heritage. A percentage of their gross gaming revenues is set aside for these foundations “for the protection, conservation and restoration of cultural heritage sites in the Philippines; improvement of public schools in the country; and provision of quality healthcare services.”

San Andres Mayor Giovanne Lim said the new hospital will address the health needs of around 40,000 individuals in their town alone and thousands more from nearby municipalities.

“Currently, the nearest hospital from our town that is equipped to handle emergency cases is in Lucena City. Going to Lucena will take about 5 hours and from San Narciso takes three and a half hours. We usually go to Lucena because of the lack of surgical capability. Those with serious wounds, if they’re unlucky, don’t make it alive in due to massive blood loss,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.

The new hospital in San Andres, Quezon is expecting completion by January 2022.

The groundbreaking of the health facility was graced by PAGCOR President and COO Alfredo Lim, Director Reynaldo Concordia, Laurena, and local chief executives from nearby towns.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 18, 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 PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

43.65 109.5 84.45 25.5 7.4 10.38 48.3 11.24 22.25 27.85 55.5 18.78 135.9 70.5 0.96 4.25 4.34 6.94 1.64 0.45 900 0.79 152.5 2,190 1.02

43.9 109.6 84.7 25.6 8.5 10.4 48.5 11.5 22.3 27.9 55.6 19 136 71 0.99 4.27 4.36 7.3 1.66 0.46 995 0.82 154 2,200 1.07

43.65 111.4 85.3 25.6 7.31 10.34 49.05 11.78 22.3 27.95 55.65 18.88 137.5 70 1 4.75 4.6 6.94 1.69 0.45 890 0.81 153 2,188 1.02

43.9 111.4 85.3 25.75 8.5 10.5 49.1 11.78 22.5 28 55.65 19 137.5 71.5 1 4.75 4.61 6.94 1.69 0.49 900 0.82 154 2,190 1.06

43.55 109 83.95 25.5 7.31 10.34 48 11.5 22.25 27.8 55.5 18.5 134 70 0.96 4.16 4.3 6.94 1.6 0.44 890 0.8 152.5 2,188 1.02

43.9 109.5 84.7 25.5 8.5 10.38 48.5 11.5 22.25 27.9 55.5 18.9 136 71 0.99 4.25 4.36 6.94 1.66 0.46 900 0.82 152.5 2,190 1.06

4,400 192,135 2,232,160 244,437,455 1,862,870 157,648,462.50 64,900 1,662,985 400 3,281 509,200 5,293,412 2,661,800 128,323,615 300 3,478 1,200 26,820 210,700 5,884,105 1,570 87,263.50 76,100 1,433,148 598,340 80,950,983 9,190 648,024 135,000 133,420 1,455,000 6,265,860 584,000 2,579,590 600 4,164 495,000 801,820 2,750,000 1,263,350 1,370 1,227,920 379,000 303,950 1,580 242,623 460 1,007,370 10,000 10,240

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 BOGO MEDELLIN CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR 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 LMG CORP MABUHAY VINYL PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

6.55 1.32 26.3 1.86 31.9 81.2 295 16.48 3.75 3.7 11.78 20.4 9.92 13.5 7.62 3.3 70.85 15.02 18.2 8.43 7.3 9.94 67.5 0.64 1.73 51.75 192.5 39.8 6.79 0.495 7.56 1.23 4.59 1.75 0.14 155.4 0.94 2.31 53 55.2 1.43 5.85 13.72 7.33 6.65 8.14 9.7 1.96 1.54 139 1.85 2.3 4.37 4.44 5.3 21.85 3.07 9.27 1.49 6 1.47 7.25

6.56 1.33 26.35 1.87 32 81.5 297 16.5 3.8 3.74 11.96 20.45 9.93 14.78 7.74 3.38 76.8 15.5 18.24 8.44 7.31 9.95 68.2 0.65 1.77 52 194 39.85 6.83 0.5 7.59 1.27 4.77 1.76 0.143 158.6 0.95 2.4 54.9 59 1.44 5.95 13.9 7.39 6.66 8.15 9.8 1.97 1.55 140 1.88 2.35 4.6 4.52 5.38 22 3.08 9.3 1.5 6.05 1.5 7.27

6.49 1.39 26.15 1.55 32 81.9 297 16.76 3.85 3.64 11.8 20.3 9.98 13.3 7.75 3.38 71.1 14.52 18.5 8.03 7.4 9.9 68 0.64 1.75 51.95 194.1 40.7 6.85 0.41 7.65 1.24 4.77 1.76 0.141 156.3 0.95 2.31 54.95 55 1.47 5.45 14 7.3 7.06 8.07 9.7 2.25 1.22 130 1.9 2.4 4.36 4.52 5.21 22 3.05 9.2 1.31 6.34 1.46 7.21

6.75 1.42 26.6 2.03 32 81.9 297 16.76 3.87 3.74 12.1 20.6 10 13.3 7.8 3.38 76.8 16.3 18.5 8.44 7.4 9.95 68.4 0.64 1.79 52 194.1 40.7 7.02 0.57 7.65 1.27 4.77 1.76 0.143 158.6 0.96 2.4 54.95 55.2 1.47 5.85 14 7.34 7.08 8.18 9.7 2.25 1.58 140 1.9 2.4 4.6 4.52 5.31 22 3.2 9.47 1.68 6.34 1.53 7.52

6.44 1.3 26.15 1.45 31.1 81.5 293 16.5 3.75 3.6 11.72 20.3 9.92 13.3 7.56 3.3 71.1 14.52 18.2 7.89 7.3 9.82 66.95 0.64 1.73 51.5 191 39 6.78 0.38 7.55 1.21 4.59 1.75 0.132 154.8 0.93 2.3 52.4 55 1.42 5.45 13.6 7.3 6.56 8.01 9.65 1.8 1.22 130 1.87 2.25 4.25 4.52 5.21 21.85 3.05 9.2 1.31 5.55 1.45 7.16

6.55 1.32 26.35 1.86 32 81.5 297 16.5 3.75 3.74 11.96 20.4 9.93 13.3 7.74 3.38 76.8 15.02 18.2 8.43 7.31 9.95 68.2 0.64 1.77 52 194 39.8 6.79 0.5 7.56 1.27 4.59 1.75 0.143 158.6 0.94 2.4 53 55.2 1.43 5.85 13.9 7.33 6.66 8.14 9.65 1.97 1.54 139 1.87 2.3 4.6 4.52 5.3 22 3.08 9.27 1.5 6.05 1.5 7.25

27,582,600 3,924,000 1,540,300 870,821,000 306,200 38,650 232,290 761,600 1,862,000 275,000 58,300 141,400 167,900 300 1,053,700 889,000 130 45,100 1,022,800 171,700 3,668,200 1,150,500 281,340 687,000 28,832,000 137,970 695,290 6,000 472,100 163,240,000 103,000 6,493,000 5,000 55,000 3,460,000 284,010 5,798,000 10,000 1,000 550 8,192,000 121,100 84,800 173,100 3,706,300 1,255,400 34,900 10,718,000 37,149,000 290 96,000 1,960,000 408,000 4,000 63,500 13,400 16,067,000 628,500 17,617,000 7,700 2,024,000 11,191,100

50,813,445 29,885,950 -259,854 -25,301,330 159,555 174,158.00 -12,933,862 -127,000 -914,830 95,480 322,000 -71,250 436,000 -157,080 -

180,324,676 5,366,670 40,525,195 1,560,450,630 9,741,015 3,153,954 68,682,148 12,614,202 7,062,400 1,016,480 691,404 2,882,355 1,670,537 3,990 8,037,527 2,979,570 9,813 708,922 18,652,072 1,408,663 26,849,521 11,353,092 19,108,280.50 439,680 50,946,470 7,173,696 133,919,214 237,485 3,233,283 79,786,450 780,778 8,064,920 23,130 96,750 484,690 44,756,183 5,446,110 23,270 52,968.50 30,326 11,825,540 683,955 1,172,702 1,265,636 25,043,529 10,176,902 337,535 21,645,910 55,022,250 40,246 180,420 4,544,440 1,778,450 18,080 336,183 293,875 50,355,650 5,832,081 26,564,630 46,569 3,010,420 81,599,600

26,502,216 -145,600 -15,126,535 297,210 1,266,515 -1,541,910.50 -10,704,414 -577,046 -953,250 358,900 -173,125 3,992 -86,359 -96,610 1,127,582.00 -7,317 -6,435,074 -661,650 1,617,026.50 343,300 4,263,546 -50,993,288 -46,859 -7,974,200 450,938 3,221,630 -1,849,561 425,940 -37,630 51,234 -106,739 4,314,695.00 24,940 -251,060.00 -4,920.00 -4,600 -201,400 -114,650 -2,079,180 -81,221 -262,210 -78,860 -625,810

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.9 0.91 0.76 0.9 0.76 0.9 233,515,000 192,887,450 8.87 9 8.94 9 8.87 9 124,500 1,107,064 ASIABEST GROUP 823 825 819.5 828.5 812 825 149,190 122,533,170 AYALA CORP 45.45 45.5 47 47 45.35 45.5 851,800 38,782,135 ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL 10.08 10.16 10.4 10.4 10.02 10.16 2,390,500 24,122,278 AYALA LAND LOG 2.88 2.9 3.05 3.05 2.85 2.9 9,911,000 29,179,590 ANSCOR 6.55 6.78 6.78 6.78 6.55 6.55 7,600 51,344 1.13 1.14 0.92 1.28 0.92 1.13 83,836,000 94,007,560 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.88 0.89 0.92 0.92 0.87 0.89 8,270,000 7,402,400 ATN HLDG A 0.88 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.88 0.91 581,000 519,480 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 5.41 5.45 5.4 5.47 5.32 5.45 1,807,500 9,720,070 DMCI HLDG 5.36 5.37 5.44 5.44 5.35 5.37 6,570,300 35,391,332 FILINVEST DEV 8.73 8.8 9.06 9.07 8.8 8.8 66,100 590,688 3.14 3.38 3.38 3.39 3.38 3.39 8,000 27,090 FJ PRINCE A 0.226 0.239 0.24 0.24 0.222 0.239 370,000 87,790 FORUM PACIFIC 561 570 568 570 554 570 137,980 77,601,895 GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV 3.89 3.97 3.96 3.97 3.96 3.97 24,000 95,260 JG SUMMIT 73 73.85 73.9 73.9 72.35 73.85 687,820 50,470,683.50 KEPPEL HLDG A 5.1 5.99 5.3 6 5.3 5.99 44,500 257,379 5.01 6.06 4 6.22 4 4.5 5,200 27,340 KEPPEL HLDG B 1.13 1.14 1.11 1.18 1.11 1.14 12,008,000 13,519,590 LODESTAR 3.71 3.72 3.71 3.72 3.7 3.72 245,000 907,850 LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 13.34 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.2 13.5 752,700 10,073,312 MABUHAY HLDG 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.56 0.54 0.55 1,261,000 691,530 1.8 1.88 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 13,000 23,700 MJC INVESTMENTS 4.36 4.38 4.44 4.44 4.31 4.38 15,706,000 68,571,940 METRO PAC INV 6.2 6.22 5.95 6.6 4.9 6.2 2,632,000 15,239,090 PACIFICA HLDG 0.89 0.9 0.94 0.94 0.89 0.9 173,000 158,090 PRIME MEDIA 1.16 1.21 1.16 1.21 1.16 1.21 73,000 87,180 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 310 315 313 320 300 310 1,990 614,810 SM INVESTMENTS 1,047 1,050 1,051 1,053 1,043 1,050 328,055 344,288,525 SAN MIGUEL CORP 125.7 125.8 125 126 125 125.7 262,170 32,834,717 1.05 1.06 0.91 1.05 0.89 1.05 6,555,000 6,424,210 SOC RESOURCES 136 140 136 140 136 140 3,890 542,540 TOP FRONTIER 0.231 0.239 0.237 0.24 0.225 0.239 340,000 79,400 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.27 0.275 0.245 0.275 0.222 0.27 41,330,000 10,441,810

-2,597,270 -12,063,650 -10,544,160 -9,101,548.00 -287,300 5,240 -749,710 -22,450 4,724,939 3,702,944 97,300 -12,074,065 -7,920 -27,158,981 -111,720.00 7,440 -3,241,968 -11,612,200 -407,480 -45,020 3,000 -65,952,360 -11,320,216 17,640 372,330

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.75 0.76 0.7 0.77 0.67 0.75 6,150,000 4,522,580 39.65 39.7 40 40.05 39.2 39.65 8,178,000 324,163,915 AYALA LAND 1.43 1.49 1.49 1.51 1.36 1.43 168,000 237,440 ARANETA PROP 30.85 30.9 30.1 30.9 30.1 30.85 510,700 15,618,175 AREIT RT BELLE CORP 1.68 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.68 1.68 1,361,000 2,287,410 1.01 1.02 1 1.01 0.97 1.01 7,284,000 7,263,170 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.78 0.81 0.79 0.81 0.77 0.77 189,000 149,520 0.169 0.17 0.159 0.175 0.155 0.17 37,440,000 6,215,230 CROWN EQUITIES 5.6 5.85 5.89 5.9 5.85 5.85 88,300 520,879 CEBU HLDG 5.22 5.27 5.3 5.39 5.17 5.27 1,607,200 8,401,098 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.465 0.47 0.465 0.47 0.455 0.47 11,310,000 5,247,500 CYBER BAY 0.41 0.415 0.4 0.42 0.39 0.41 18,220,000 7,474,250 DOUBLEDRAGON 14.4 14.42 14.68 14.68 14.34 14.42 1,532,200 22,161,902 7.17 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.15 7.2 149,200 1,077,000 DM WENCESLAO 0.325 0.33 0.33 0.34 0.32 0.33 2,920,000 961,950 EMPIRE EAST 0.09 0.091 0.087 0.09 0.087 0.09 1,400,000 124,940 EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.14 1.11 1.13 6,217,000 6,963,770 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.88 0.89 0.87 0.89 0.87 0.89 629,000 558,480 7.61 7.91 7.92 7.92 7.6 7.6 16,600 128,648 8990 HLDG 1.41 1.42 1.4 1.43 1.39 1.42 2,960,000 4,158,960 PHIL INFRADEV 0.73 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.73 0.73 72,000 53,190 CITY AND LAND 4.2 4.28 4.2 4.28 4.18 4.28 16,681,000 70,763,870 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.75 0.76 0.75 0.77 0.72 0.76 197,694,000 148,126,790 PHIL ESTATES 0.39 0.41 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.41 90,000 37,500 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.41 1.42 699,000 995,690 PRIMEX CORP 21.4 21.45 21.5 21.7 21.05 21.4 3,463,300 73,946,080 ROBINSONS LAND 0.33 0.34 0.325 0.35 0.325 0.34 1,250,000 420,750 PHIL REALTY 1.63 1.64 1.63 1.63 1.6 1.63 1,900,000 3,088,730 ROCKWELL 2.68 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.68 2.68 25,000 67,150 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 2.45 2.57 2.64 2.66 2.41 2.57 6,465,000 16,484,380 SM PRIME HLDG 39.1 39.2 39.4 39.5 39 39.2 8,206,200 321,637,970 VISTAMALLS 4.22 4.29 4.33 4.33 4.15 4.3 63,000 264,250 2.4 2.41 2.21 2.44 2.1 2.4 11,368,000 25,830,550 SUNTRUST HOME 4.7 4.71 4.75 4.75 4.61 4.7 2,576,000 12,048,050 VISTA LAND

88,840 -194,582,140 -21,450 4,176,000 -10,100 52,800 -502,090 272,299 41,850 -584,000 -147,526 9,600 1,471,890.00 -243,810 12,355,180 4,578,100 -46,233,960 -918,930 24,120 37,860 -128,875,670 79,450 516,360 3,093,580

SERVICES ABS CBN 14.3 14.32 14 14.52 14 14.32 1,697,700 24,228,864 6 6.01 6.02 6.05 6 6.01 404,700 2,433,602 GMA NETWORK 0.47 0.48 0.475 0.5 0.46 0.475 2,150,000 1,025,000 MANILA BULLETIN 11.5 12.2 11.5 12.2 11.5 12.2 300 3,520 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2,098 2,100 2,102 2,118 2,100 2,100 25,090 52,777,130 PLDT 1,451 1,460 1,460 1,460 1,441 1,460 36,055 52,429,795 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.305 0.31 0.32 0.32 0.29 0.305 1,958,890,000 597,827,550 15.64 15.66 15.7 15.72 15.6 15.66 2,873,300 44,983,104 CONVERGE 4.92 4.99 5.1 5.15 4.91 4.99 1,447,500 7,189,780 DFNN INC 11.9 11.92 12.08 12.08 11.9 11.9 28,055,300 335,154,576 DITO CME HLDG IMPERIAL 2.01 2.1 2.2 2.2 1.83 2.1 188,000 390,590 ISLAND INFO 0.26 0.265 0.24 0.295 0.215 0.265 187,080,000 46,587,180 JACKSTONES 1.96 2 1.99 2.03 1.94 2 177,000 351,570 3.91 3.93 4 4 3.88 3.93 8,431,000 33,102,180 NOW CORP 0.5 0.51 0.56 0.64 0.45 0.51 609,216,000 326,510,300 TRANSPACIFIC BR 2.9 2.91 2.95 2.96 2.9 2.91 976,000 2,846,470 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 9.05 9.1 9 9.05 8.9 9.05 67,000 600,766 ASIAN TERMINALS 14.54 14.92 14.6 14.96 14.6 14.92 3,700 55,072 4.86 4.87 4.95 4.95 4.8 4.86 4,042,000 19,709,880 CHELSEA 49.5 49.6 49 49.6 48.8 49.5 484,700 23,840,740 CEBU AIR 126.4 127 126.9 128 125.4 127 867,470 110,456,562 INTL CONTAINER 15.52 15.98 16 16 15.52 15.52 21,200 337,568 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 1.03 1.06 1.03 1.08 1.03 1.06 625,000 646,890 6.29 6.3 6.33 6.34 6.26 6.29 3,121,500 19,627,250 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 3.2 3.21 3.85 3.85 3.2 3.21 6,151,000 21,259,200 3.1 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.37 68,000 227,400 METROALLIANCE B 6.75 6.76 6.84 7 6.75 6.75 44,700 305,872 PAL HLDG 1.62 1.63 1.56 1.64 1.56 1.62 6,823,000 11,015,800 HARBOR STAR 1.5 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.5 1.55 8,000 12,300 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.05 0.051 0.046 0.051 0.046 0.05 377,400,000 18,519,100 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.82 2.99 3.2 3.2 2.74 2.82 196,000 578,070 0.58 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.58 0.59 17,068,000 10,113,380 WATERFRONT 6.57 7.1 6.53 6.53 6.5 6.5 40,300 262,095 CENTRO ESCOLAR 560 580 580 580 580 580 40 23,200 FAR EASTERN U 8.17 8.91 8.17 8.17 8.17 8.17 3,500 28,595 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.455 0.46 0.445 0.455 0.435 0.455 11,170,000 4,981,200 BERJAYA 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.51 5.4 5.4 114,300 623,349 8.08 8.18 8.16 8.18 7.93 8.18 2,879,600 23,157,154 BLOOMBERRY 2.08 2.14 2.11 2.11 2.11 2.11 51,000 107,610 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.9 1.91 1.81 1.9 1.81 1.9 1,565,000 2,895,980 LEISURE AND RES 3.07 3.08 3.23 3.26 3.04 3.07 19,736,000 61,435,080 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.52 0.53 0.51 0.52 0.5 0.52 16,104,000 8,248,010 PHIL RACING 6.7 7 6.7 7 6.7 6.7 62,000 415,700 8.91 9.09 9.14 9.14 8.86 9.09 3,058,100 27,532,560 ALLHOME 1.43 1.44 1.46 1.46 1.42 1.43 3,693,000 5,311,520 METRO RETAIL 37.75 37.8 38.5 38.55 37.75 37.75 3,775,700 143,905,220 PUREGOLD 63 63.2 63.05 63.1 62.6 63 2,201,120 138,674,423.50 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 119 119.5 119.8 119.8 116.3 119 21,590 2,568,584 SSI GROUP 1.48 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.48 1.48 4,755,000 7,077,690 WILCON DEPOT 17.3 17.32 17.7 17.7 17.04 17.32 5,624,600 97,632,372 APC GROUP 0.53 0.54 0.48 0.54 0.48 0.53 38,010,000 19,591,650 7.95 8.1 8.65 8.65 7.6 7.95 294,700 2,357,999 EASYCALL 435 450 450 450 430.2 450 1,430 632,448 GOLDEN BRIA 5.7 6 6 6 5.7 6 12,100 72,330 IPM HLDG PRMIERE HORIZON 2.86 2.87 2.89 2.95 2.75 2.86 100,915,000 288,824,820 SBS PHIL CORP 5.3 5.46 5.48 5.48 5.26 5.28 31,100 164,888

-7,374,640 -4,271,540 2,458,300 12,356,392 1,060,498 -4,757,284 -11,000 578,740 -109,650 -5,517,525 118,000 144,680 1,141,000 15,905,245 29,193,809 -1,902,469 -23,590 104,400 92,100 136,800 -1,863,000 -4,362,726 246,300 615,770 280,710 2,688,942 56,730 -4,949,640 8,092,510.50 16,772 37,320 -22,165,512 -544,400 24,450 -51,840 6,159,490 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.51 7.59 8 8 7.5 7.51 2,587,000 19,823,376 -531,370 1.73 1.74 1.81 1.81 1.7 1.73 20,969,000 36,452,700 -1,489,300 APEX MINING 0.0076 - 0.0055 0.0076 0.0048 0.0076 144,655,000,000 909,039,700 1,571,300 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 6.71 6.78 6.82 6.83 6.71 6.71 502,600 3,395,199 -675,860 BENGUET A 3.13 3.29 3.13 3.32 3.13 3.3 155,000 495,910 3.05 3.2 3.12 3.2 3.12 3.2 5,000 15,680 -3,120 BENGUET B 0.35 0.355 0.315 0.385 0.305 0.35 20,970,000 7,312,100 -36,800 COAL ASIA HLDG 2.85 2.9 2.94 2.94 2.83 2.9 69,000 199,470 159,080 CENTURY PEAK 8.58 8.76 8.79 8.79 8.59 8.76 5,700 49,568 -22,788.00 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 2.94 2.95 3.04 3.04 2.9 2.94 8,802,000 25,909,980 4,491,170 GEOGRACE 0.405 0.41 0.4 0.43 0.4 0.405 5,440,000 2,238,950 0.171 0.172 0.163 0.173 0.162 0.171 98,780,000 16,731,440 LEPANTO A 0.17 0.171 0.165 0.173 0.165 0.171 6,980,000 1,174,480 200,520 LEPANTO B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.01 0.012 1,328,000,000 14,731,300 MANILA MINING A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.01 0.011 201,000,000 2,221,600 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.78 1.79 1.88 1.89 1.77 1.78 2,831,000 5,141,690 -21,530 NIHAO 3.26 3.35 3.35 3.45 3.24 3.35 656,000 2,147,190 5.62 5.63 5.77 5.77 5.55 5.62 4,729,300 26,537,437 -694,406 NICKEL ASIA 0.42 0.425 0.42 0.42 0.4 0.42 710,000 290,100 OMICO CORP 1.29 1.3 1.39 1.4 1.25 1.29 16,141,000 21,095,550 11,100 ORNTL PENINSULA 4.88 4.89 5 5 4.82 4.88 3,422,800 16,728,901 -1,771,076 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 13.48 13.64 13.76 13.76 13.42 13.64 1,443,100 19,546,116 1,319,914 UNITED PARAGON 0.0089 0.009 0.0075 0.0098 0.0071 0.0089 768,000,000 6,563,100 -77,100 ACE ENEXOR 17.5 17.56 16.52 18.3 16.52 17.56 1,504,000 26,348,358 -656,382 ORNTL PETROL A 0.019 0.02 0.015 0.021 0.014 0.02 8,065,500,000 146,132,100 0.019 - 0.014 0.019 0.014 0.019 2,070,500,000 35,293,500 -7,584,200 ORNTL PETROL B 0.019 - 0.014 0.019 0.014 0.019 6,191,000,000 106,624,100 14,300,800 PHILODRILL 11.7 11.74 12.2 12.34 11.5 11.7 2,433,200 28,538,456 1,537,768.00 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED ALCO PREF B 101.3 104 101.2 101.2 101.2 101.2 420 42,504 511.5 513.5 511.5 511.5 511.5 511.5 400 204,600 AC PREF B2R 12.6 - 27 27 27 27 200 5,400 BC PREF A 101.1 101.5 101 101.1 101 101.1 9,570 966,575 105,040 DD PREF FGEN PREF G 108.1 111.8 108.2 108.2 108.2 108.2 400 43,280 517 519 519 519 519 519 50 25,950 GLO PREF P 1,018 1,039 1,018 1,018 1,018 1,018 5 5,090 GTCAP PREF A 101.2 102.3 101.9 101.9 101.1 101.1 1,140 115,352 -101,190 MWIDE PREF 100.1 100.8 100.7 100.7 100 100 210 21,070 MWIDE PREF 2A 101 101.8 101.8 101.8 101.8 101.8 900 91,620 MWIDE PREF 2B PNX PREF 3B 104 104.9 104.5 104.9 104.5 104.9 1,150 120,195 -114,950 PNX PREF 4 1,008 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,006 1,008 7,540 7,591,690 1,006 1,019 1,019 1,019 1,016 1,019 45 45,825 PCOR PREF 2B 1,088 1,090 1,090 1,090 1,090 1,090 320 348,800 PCOR PREF 3A 1,093 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,100 75 82,500 PCOR PREF 3B 1.52 1.67 1.5 1.68 1.5 1.68 3,000 4,680 SFI PREF SMC PREF 2C 78 78.6 78.6 78.6 78 78 6,160 480,691 -11,872.50 SMC PREF 2F 78 78.1 78 78.1 78 78.1 3,400 265,400 75.9 76 76 76 76 76 1,710 129,960 SMC PREF 2G 76.2 77 77 77 77 77 4,600 354,200 SMC PREF 2H 77 78.75 78.8 78.8 78.8 78.8 100 7,880 SMC PREF 2I 76.3 76.4 76.3 76.3 76.2 76.3 12,160 927,472 SMC PREF 2J SMC PREF 2K 76.1 76.25 76.1 76.25 76.1 76.25 69,940 5,332,445

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 13.9 14 12.7 13.9 12.7 13.9 128,500 1,751,018 5.95 6.05 6.09 6.09 6.03 6.03 400 2,430 - GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.97 0.99 1.01 1.01 0.95 0.99 690,000 674,210 -34,650

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 17 17.1 13.48 17.1 13.48 17 5,540,400 87,623,436 17,994 3.6 3.61 3.79 3.79 3.6 3.6 7,228,000 26,598,190 398,080 ITALPINAS 6.1 6.14 6.15 6.15 6.1 6.14 74,700 457,616 KEPWEALTH 3.2 3.4 3.2 3.46 3.2 3.2 114,000 390,800 MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART 7.79 7.8 8.15 8.25 7.75 7.8 47,999,900 381,652,358 -767,793

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 108.7 109 109.4 109.4 108.3 108.7 14,340 1,558,642 139,196

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ICTSI: Berth expansion allows MICT to hike annual capacity

I

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

nternational Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Tuesday that its flagship port, the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), has raised its annual capacity to 3.3 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), after completing its berth expansion project.

The expansion involved the addition of 150 meters to Berth 7, which now has a 600-meter contiguous berth adjacent to Berth 6, both of which now accommodates vessels with loads of over 8,000 TEUs. These are also now equipped with 5 quay cranes, with the option to add one more.

Christian R. Gonzalez, the com-

pany’s EVP, said the berth expansion is complemented by the extension of the container yard by about another 5.5 hectares—3 hectares designated for laden containers and 2.5 hectares for empties. This redounds to added capacity for the terminal of an estimated 200,000 TEUs for laden containers and 150,000 TEUs for empties.

“The added berthing capability and yard space will enable the country to easily handle added volume that is expected as the country gears up for an economic reboot following last year’s trade flow facilitation complications. Moreover, this will enable us to continue performing our tasks as frontliners to move critical goods that are still badly needed,” he said.

Anders Dommestrup, the executive director of MICT, said the project was completed despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic, including safety and health protocols even during the construction of the project.

“This project along with the other projects we are implementing, are part of our commitment to the government and to our port users to ease business activities and transactions at the port,” he said.

ICTSI is also planning to acquire next year 8 additional hybrid rubber tired gantries (RTGs) to upgrade its existing 32 RTGs.

The port operator is also replacing the Manila port’s first quay crane with three new ones to serve vessels with 12,500 TEUs of load.

Meanwhile, the MICT is also refurbishing Berths 1 to 5 and their back up areas in preparation for the next 25 years of operation.

These include the installation of an additional 450 reefer plugs for 40 footers expected to be operational

by April this year, refurbishment of Berths 1 to 4 by September this year, and the upgrade of the yard infrastructure of Berths 1 to 5 by the end of 2022.

It is also adding truck ingress capabilities to the port by April.

The new technology is equipped with optical character recognition that is designed to automate gate service.

“We will continue to invest in terminal facilities to improve our capacity, infrastructure and environmental footprint to provide the highest level of service,” Dommestrup said.

Intimex plans to offer 49% stake V

ietnam’s biggest coffee bean exporter Intimex Group plans to offer as much as a 49% stake to foreign investors this year as the company looks to expand its instant coffee factory, Chairman Do Ha Nam said.

The former state-backed company, which is now owned by domestic investors, will issue new shares for the stake sale, according to Nam, who is also chief executive officer. Talks with foreign investors are expected to begin after the instant coffee factory in Binh Duong province, which borders Ho Chi Minh City, reaches its current designed capacity of 4,000 tons a year this quarter, he said.

Intimex eventually plans to list shares on one of Vietnam’s stock exchanges, said Nam, who declined to provide further details, including the anticipated value of the stake sale. The company aims to surpass Nestle SA as Vietnam’s biggest instant coffee supplier with a plan to boost the annual capacity of its Binh Duong plant to 20,000 tons by 2025.

“Several foreign investors have been interested in our stake,” Nam said in an interview in Ho Chi Minh City. “There’s been no other company in the world that exports as much coffee beans as we do.”

Intimex exported 400,000 tons of robusta beans last year to companies including Nestle, Neumann Kaffee Gruppe and Jacobs Douwe Egberts BV. While

that’s a 20-percent drop from the previous year due to the global pandemic, it’s still more than the 300,000 tons of green beans shipped by Cooxupe, Brazil’s top producer and exporter of arabica coffee.

Export outlook

Vietnam is the world’s largest producer of robusta beans, used primarily for instant coffee. The country exported 1.57 million tons of coffee last year, according to the customs department. The nation’s 2021 shipments are forecast at “no more than 1.5 million tons” due to lower output, said Nam, who is also the vice chairman of the Vietnam Coffee– Cocoa Association.

Intimex currently has nearly 35 million shares with 47 percent held by institutional investors, according to a report prepared for a shareholders’ meeting last May. Do Thanh Motor Joint Stock Co. and Hanoi-based Vietnam Intimex Joint Stock Co. own more than a combined 30-percent stake in the company, said the chairman, whose family has a stake of about 20 percent in the company. He declined to say who owns the remaining shares. The company, which also exports rice, cashews and black pepper, reported 2019 shipments of almost $1 billion, the report said. Nam sees the company’s 2021 total revenue at 40 trillion dong ($1.7 billion), similar to last year. Bloomberg News

Macquarie consortium bids $1.8B for waste firm Bingo

I

nvestors including Macquarie Group Ltd. offered A$2.29 billion ($1.8 billion) for Bingo Industries Ltd. to gain a network of recycling and waste-management facilities in Australia.

A consortium that comprises Australian buyout firm CPE Capital and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets bid A$3.50 in cash for each Bingo share, Bingo said in a statement Tuesday. That’s 28 percent higher than Monday’s close.

Bingo is considering the offer and “discussions and due diligence with the consortium have been ongoing,” the company said in its statement. At the same time, there’s no certainty of a deal, Bingo said.

Bingo shares soared 20% to A$3.28 at 10:08 a.m. in Sydney.

Representatives for Macquarie and CPE declined to comment.

Initially a family owned dump-

ster business in Western Sydney, Bingo now operates the largest network of recycling and resource recovery centers in New South Wales and Victoria states, according to the company’s website.

The takeover proposal is also set to include a scrip alternative that would allow Bingo shareholders to receive a mixture of cash and equity in the business— at a lower price than the upfront cash offer, according to the statement.

Bingo Chief Executive Officer Daniel Tartak and board member Ian Malouf would probably have to accept the scrip deal, based on its minimum and maximum acceptance conditions, Bingo said. Together they own about 32 percent of the company’s stock, according to Bloomberg data.

Many investment funds are barred from owning unlisted assets. Bloomberg News

mutual funds

January 19, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 229.04 -7.57% -8.56% 0.12% 0.8% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3087 -1.26% -7.07% 5.32% -0.33% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1534 -9.49% -12.49% -0.89% 0.65% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.8052 -7.5% -7.35% n.a.

0.16% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7422 -10.96% n.a. n.a.

0.08% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.9888 -4.46% -6.65% 0.93% 0.96% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7607 -8.88% -9.22% -4.88% 0.12% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 102.65 0.96% -4.14% n.a.

0.7% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 47.2278 -5.91% -6.6% 1.99% 0.81% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 492.84 -5.62% -6.63% 1.06% 0.79% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.1062 9.64% n.a. n.a.

0.81% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1832 -6.39% -6.07% 1.74% 1.28% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 35.0998 -5.47% -5.84% 2.52% 0.95% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9226 -7.41% n.a. n.a.

1.05% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.8318 -5.49% -6.13% 2.76% 0.85% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 808.5 -5.27% -6.01% 2.75% 0.85% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7226 -10.61% -10.04% -1.77% 0.51% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.6578 -10.7% -8.08% 1.04% 0.94% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9256 -5.51% -6.3% 2.53% 0.86% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3381 -6.92% -5.41% 3.24% 0.58% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 108.4909 -5.24% -5.78% 3.5% 0.87% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.293 23.12% 3.35% 10.36% 7.49% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.6973 20.79% 1.46% 8.82% n.a.

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6814 9.52% -3.94% 0.46% 0.77% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.3038 8.08% -2.6% 2.77% 0.81% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6423 1.91% -1.9% 1.31% 0.58% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1997 -12.41% n.a. n.a.

0.55% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.976 1.52% -0.74% 2.92% 0.61% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.8116 2.17% -1.56% 2.36% 0.62% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 17.0437 2.03% -1.57% 2.27% 0.63% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.1079 -0.1% -2.54% 0.66% 1.9% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.596 -5.11% -4.1% 1.13% 0.64% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0275 3.24% n.a. n.a.

0.48% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9549 -2.2% n.a. n.a.

0.6% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9392 -3.49% n.a. n.a.

0.65% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8966 -5.86% -4.7% 0.46% 1% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03895 1.54% 2.62% 1.93% -0.43% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.2015 14.36% 3.4% 7.84% 4.46% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.5671 15.18% 6.7% 9.32% 1.2% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2053 7.88% 3.57% n.a.

0.27% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 371.39 3.72% 3.26% 2.85% 0.09% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9024 -0.09% 0.08% 0.26% 0.11% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2163 3.09% 4.42% 4.8% 0.05% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2978 3.55% 2.89% 2.47% 0.08% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4514 4.44% 3.36% 2.2% -0.07% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6439 7.06% 3.29% 0.2% 4.67% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3223 5.85% 4.49% 2.74% 0.08% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9863 5.79% 4.51% 3.02% -0.37% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0408 8.71% 4.11% 2.76% -0.12% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2054 5.23% 4.8% 3.8% -0.02% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7516 4.29% 4.05% 3.18% -0.19% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $483.9 3.1% 2.74% 2.9% 0.01% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.42 -0.15% 0.86% 1.28% 0.11% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2718 5.1% 3.94% 3.01% -0.67% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0263 1.54% 1.7% 1.59% -1.13% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0876 -1.12% 0.62% 0.49% -0.47% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5216 4.49% 3.85% 3.52% -0.55% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0622988 3.07% 2.97% 2.34% -0.03% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2048 0.01% 2.1% 2.38% -0.58% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.92 3.11% 3.34% 2.58% 0.08% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0484 1.83% n.a. n.a.

0.03% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2976 2.46% 2.96% 2.61% 0.08% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.053 1.45% 1.77% n.a.

0.06% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.15 n.a. n.a. n.a.

1.81% 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."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, January 20, 2021 B3

Entrep wages uphill battle to keep business afloat in face of Covid, demise of husband

By Roderick L. Abad

U

NDOUBTEDLY, the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has shaken up businesses of all shapes and sizes, regardless of their strength and type of industry. But for small business owner Hayreen Rodil-Puno, what’s more difficult in these trying times than managing all their family businesses on her own now.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Hayreen said that she did not dare imagine herself running their entities single-handedly when her other half, Aldrine, succumbed to heart attack on October 24, 2020.

He was 51 years old.

According to Hayreen, Aldrine was not just a husband but indeed a business partner. Together, they put up a small vegetable retailing business that paved the way for their auto supply, diesel refilling station, and hollow blocks manufacturing enterprises.

“It was heartbreaking, of course,” Hayreen said of her husband’s passing in Filipino. “But I have to stand up and move on for my children. I am the only one now whom they can depend on. They are my inspiration to continue our businesses.

I will do my best even without him anymore.”

Aldrine is also survived by his sons Archie Jan, who has autism, 26

years old, special education graduate; Patrick, 25, multimedia arts graduate, who currently helps manage their businesses in Pampanga; and Maria Joannes, 23, industrial engineering graduate.

Starting from ground up

IN 1992, soon after Aldrine and Hayreen graduated in college with Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Science with a Major in Mathematics degrees, respectively, they decided to heed her mother’s advice to sell carrots in one of her stalls in Divisoria since they did not have jobs yet during that time.

“She lent us one or two sacks of carrots that we retailed. After we sold them, we paid her back. That’s how we started,” Hayreen recalled on how her mom, who was also a vendor, helped them establish their business without investing any capital.

Hands on of their start-up business, she was in charge of selling

DTI-Laguna allots livelihood kits to 45 MSMEs in Mabitac

Entrepreneurs receive their livelihood kits from the Department of Trade and Industry provincial office and Mabitac, Laguna local government unit last month. Photo courtesy of DTI-Laguna

By AAAdriano DTI-Laguna

T

Parañaque, and other parts of Metro Manila.”

@rodrik_28

Contributor

he Department of Trade and Industry—Laguna Provincial Office (DTI-Laguna), in partnership with the local government unit led by Mabitac Mayor Roland I. Sana awarded a total of 45 livelihood kits to program beneficiaries of the Department’s Livelihood Seeding Program (LSP)—Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (NSB) program on December 22, 2020.

Mabitac Municipal Administrator Romeo Alarde expressed his gratitude to DTI-Laguna in behalf of Mayor Sana for giving livelihood kit assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) especially in this time of pandemic.

Alarde affirmed their commitment in supporting the LSP-NSB program as they underscored the benefits and importance of the collaboration between the local government units and national government agencies in aiding MSMEs.

DTI-Laguna Provincial Director Susan R. Palo said that the 45 MSMEs were one of more than 500 beneficiaries of the livelihood kits, each amounting to P5,000. This is in line with the Department’s commitment to the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act through its LSP-NSB. The town of Mabitac, the fourth congressional districts, was one of the municipalities to have been released with the said assistance.

According to Palo, the LSP-NSB was an offshoot of the Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay Program, which aims to provide package of livelihood kits and business advisory assistance and services to MSMEs affected by natural and human-induced calamities, including health disasters.

Palo stated that the beneficiaries will not be left alone as they are now part its database, and they will be handheld by the Business Counsellors of the Negosyo Centers and will be guided until they are able to grow and excel in their business.

Diversified enterprises

HAYREEN Rodil-Puno (left, first row) strikes a pose with her late husband-business partner Aldrine (second from left, second row) during the inaugural blessing of their auto supply shop in Floridablanca, Pampanga. Joining them are Parish Priest Fr. Stephen B. Susi, staff and friends.

the carrots sourced by Aldrine from Benguet and Baguio. It was hard at first, she admitted. They had to work from three o’clock in the afternoon up to 9 am the next day and, most of the time, were apart from each other given their responsibilities.

Thanks to their hard work and sacrifices, they managed to grow the business in a span of six years.

Using their generated income, they acquired the stalls of some of their co-vendors and a truck unit in 1998 that they used for their expansion into wholesaling not only of carrots, but also cabbage, sayote, potatoes, and pechay.

Their customers also have grown from household buyers to restaurateurs, hoteliers, and other vegetable retailers. From merely a husbandand-wife in tandem, they now employ 15 workers.

Like some of their counterparts, Hayreen said that they also have their own share of “misfortunes” in the business like customers not paying their bills, inflation, lack of supply, and now the health crisis.

SMALL business owner Hayreen Rodil-Puno is hands on in managing her vegetable wholesaling business in Divisoria.

Good thing that vegetables have become more in-demand amid the pandemic as more people are now health-conscious, she cited.

“We also sell online that’s why our business has continued even during lockdowns,” Hayreen said. “We also keep on supplying vegetables everyday in Mindoro, Palawan, Batangas,

BUSINESS opportunities not only knocked once, but multiple times for the Puno family.

Eight years after their successful foray in the vegetable retail sector, they needed to keep up with the times so as to improve further their daily operations. Upgrading their delivery system is one way to do so. This, eventually, led to their entry into the trucking business in 2010.

“When we changed our delivery trucks, the old units usually ended up in the garage of our property in Floridablanca, Pampanga. So why not convert them into delivery trucks for gravel and sand,?” she shared, while revealing their measly initial capital of just P10,000.

Maintaining the vehicles have become more costly as the years passed by, hence, the couple decided to invest around half-a-million pesos to put up their own auto supply shop in 2015, mainly to serve their own needs. Named after her husband, it has shortly become the “go-to” store also for her siblings with trucking businesses and other customers passing by the shop strategically located along the road.

Since 2017, the Aldrine Autosupply and General Merchandise also has carried their diesel refilling business for their trucking and customers’ consumption. Due to demands from their patrons, they then offered hollow blocks they sourced from local producers. In 2019, they put up their own P2 million manufacturing facility located at a nearby barangay, Starting with just four workers, this site directly supplies to hardware stores and contractors in Pampanga,

Bulacan, and Mandaluyong.

Following the diversification of their businesses, however, Mr. and Mrs. Puno had to come up with the hardest business decision yet during the time. Since it cost a lot to maintain the four “hand-me-down” vehicles for their trucking business— between 10 to 15 years old—they had them retired and sold last year.

For Hayreen, it’s just right to finally “give up” such venture as it already served well for almost a decade of hauling gravel and sand for their customers and providing jobs for 17 of their employees.

Unfazed by the pandemic

CONCEDING that 2020 was one of the difficult years of her life given the impact of such unprecedented health crisis on their businesses plus the untimely demise of her husband, Hayreen remains bullish that they will overcome and bounce back from this pandemic.

Due to the imposition of community quarantines in Metro Manila and other areas with rising cases of Covid-19, she bared that the income generated by their vegetable trading business decreased by 70 percent last year compared to 2019. The downtrend also followed after they temporarily closed from March to May their auto supply shop, whose profit declined to 70 percent; diesel retailing, which decreased by 50 percent; and hollow blocks manufacturing and trading, down by 40 percent for the two periods in review.

“This 2021, of course, we expect to recover. But it still depends on the development of our situation, wherein the government’s vaccination program will be implemented nationwide and that we go back to the ‘old normal’ by end of this year,” Heyreen stressed.

Young woman’s passion, drive and grit fuel success of start-up company Shepherd’s Deli

By Marisol Negrosa NC Business Counsellor

S

ince she was young, Ms. Sherry Wenzel Rellosa has always been passionate about food.

Her first business venture is baking and she currently owns a cake shop.

She dealt into the meat manufacturing business in July 2019 when a friend offered her a meat processing equipment and introduced her to the various opportunities that it could open.

She took the chance and started training on sausage making from a European-trained chef. She also took several short courses on meat processing from prominent training schools in the Philippines.

Afterwards, she started to sell the meat products online and built a loyal customer base. Her family saw the business’ potential for growth that they decided to open their first Shepherd’s Deli store in Barangay De Ocampo, Trece Martires City, Cavite.

Shepherd’s Deli is a family-run business dedicated to providing excellent quality of meat products and great value to customers. Its mission is to make Shepherd’s Deli meat products a staple to be enjoyed in every household. Its vision is to uplift the brand of Filipino sausage and to make it well-known in the international market. Performance excellence, godly pursuit, teamwork and integrity are its core values.

In 2020, Ms. Sherry became a mentee under the Kapatid, Mentor ME-Money and Market Encounter online training program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Cavite. The KMME-MME online training program is one of

Sherry Wenzel Rellosa

the many interventions that DTI is giving to the micro, small and medium enterprises in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

T he K MME-MME program helped her a lot to gain more understanding of the business and the marketing techniques. She became more knowledgeable on the different avenues on how to reach out to the business’ target customers. She also learned and put into practice the principles in business, its application and how to adapt in the current economic situation. The KMME-MME mentors have been very generous in sharing their expertise and insights in further building up the business. Ms. Sherry also shared that when entrepreneurs have problems in the supply of resources or lacking ideas for growth and expansion, a great solution is knowing available government agencies willing to support entrepreneurs like DTI.

A snapshot of Shepherd’s Deli’s finished products Bacon slabs before slicing

After joining the KMME-MME program, Ms. Sherry said that she is now more optimistic, goal-oriented and inspired having been exposed to a lot of possibilities. She also realized and appreciated the importance of continuous learning.

“By investing in yourself, you also invest in your business,” Ms. Sherry emphasized.

“Having a sense of purpose and passion for what you do is what will sustain you when things get tough. Having a solid foundation is very important when you are planning to build a strong structure. Your foundation in business is comprised of your values, determination, and wisdom through knowledge and experience.” She also stated she now has a better sense of direction for the business after the KMME program.

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Currently, Shepherd’s Deli’s gourmet meat selection include longganisa, German franks, gourmet bacon, pepperoni, slab corned beef, Hungarian sausage, all-beef patty, American meatloaf, bockwurst, bratwurst, chickenwurst, Italian sausage, kielbasa, pepperstick, Spanish sausage, nurnberger and Vienna sausage.

Moreover, Shepherd’s Deli is on its way to having its certification from the Food and Drug Administration.

For the years to come, Shepherd’s Deli is creating the groundwork for an effective system that will enable the business to reach its full potential: to be a national brand ultimately known for its quality and value. Also, Shepherd’s Deli will soon be offering more Filipino-inspired variants of the sausages such as sisig and lechon sausage.

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

B4 Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Sale of reissued T-bonds adds ₧30B to govt coffers

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of the Treasury on Tuesday raised P30 billion in reissued 10-year Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) as the tenor attracted total bids more than twice as much as the initial offer.

With a remaining term of six years and three months, the security fetched total tenders amounting to P82.587 billion, more than double

the P30-billion offer.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters they also opened the tap facility for an additional P10-

billion offering for the same tenor.

“Auction saw interest on [the] intermediate part of curve; driven by search for yields,” said De Leon in a message.

The tenor settled at an average rate of 2.719 percent, lower than the original coupon rate of 4.75 percent and 2.791-percent average rate upon its latest reissue in December 2020.

The latest decision of the auction committee brought the outstanding volume for the series to P134.9 billion.

For this month, the Treasury has programmed to borrow P140 billion.

Finance officials said they expect national government debt this year to settle at 57 percent of gross do-

mestic product (GDP) as the country aims to borrow a total of P3.03 trillion, roughly the same amount it borrowed in 2020.

Government projects the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio to reach 53.5 percent.

This is significantly higher than the state’s pre-pandemic target of 40.2 percent and the country’s actual debt-to-GDP ratio in 2019, which fell at a historic low at 39.6 percent.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez said the projected debt-to-GDP ratio of the country for last year “kept us well within the prescribed bounds of fiscal viability.”

FDFC, Maria Health ink deal for insurance sale

F

irst Digital Finance Corp.

(FDFC) announced it has entered into an agreement with Internet-based services provider Maria Health PH Inc. to sell insurance health products.

The financial technology (fintech) player announced on Tuesday its partnership with Maria Health aims “to make healthcare and insurance products more accessible and affordable via an installment payment solution.”

FDFC’s “BillEase” brand, which allows the “buy now, pay later” scheme, is tagged as the credit platform for consumers who have no debit or credit card. BillEase runs on a pro-

prietary algorithm and would be the payment method for the scheme.

“As the leading insurance services platform in the Philippines, we are thrilled to partner with [FDFC] to bring a first of its kind insurance and pay later solution to Filipinos, providing them convenient and affordable access to combined healthcare and financial services wherever they are in the country,” Vincent Lau, Maria Health CEO and co-founder, was quoted in a statement as saying.

Lau added that their goal is “to provide simple, easy to access health insurance online through the delivery of both personalized education and flexible payment options.”

Maria Health is a venture capital-backed insurance technology, or insurtech, firm that aggregates healthcare plans for different segments, including small and medium enterprise, individuals and family. It provides “bite-size” insurance products which are deemed accessible for the company’s clients.

The partnership allows the clients to have three payment options, providing flexibility to their financial position.

“We are focused on helping consumers take full control of their financial future, spend more responsibly, and achieve financial freedom,” FDFC CEO Georg Steiger was quoted

in the statement as saying. “Maria Health would be a significant value add to customers who would like to avail sachet-like insurance products.”

The FDFC has informed the BusinessMirror that it plans to at least double the transactions and credit disbursal for “Billease” this year, driven by its partner merchants.

With this, the fintech firm said that it was focused on scaling up its “buy now, pay later” partnerships.

The digital credit app operator has teamed up with several e-commerce firms last year to launch the installment payment scheme.

A

Central banks decide

Bank Negara Malaysia is expected to keep its benchmark rate on hold Wednesday, according to a median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg Economics argues that the central bank can afford to stand pat after 125 basis points of easing last year. Oil prices are also recovering,

Bank plans to onboard more SMEs with app

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

A

bank led by the Aboitiz clan launched last Tuesday a digital platform targeting to onboard small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).

Union Bank of the Philippines President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista said they plan to onboard 1 million SMEs into all its digital platforms in the next few years.

“It is an ambitious number but we believe it is doable,” he said. “This is part of our commitment to ‘tech up’ the Philippines.”

Currently, there are 175,000 businesses—with asset size of less than P10 million—who have shifted to the bank’s digital channels, according to Bautista.

UnionBank shares climbed by 0.14 percent, or 10 centavos, to close at P71.10 each amid the 0.07-percent drop for the benchmark index on Tuesday.

UnionBank already has a digital platform for corporates. But, Bautista said, they came to a conclusion that SMEs have different banking needs compared to bigger companies. This prompted the bank to develop a new financial platform to address their requirements.

“We have developed a digital solution that has full digital capabilities such as real end-to-end online account opening process,” UnionBank Vice President for SME Segments Jose Paulo R. Soliman said, noting it was critical to have a solution designed for SMEs. Soliman explained the application allows users to open online stores and track inventory. At the same time, it

GSIS extends lending to govt employees to end-2021

S

A man is shown standing inside Bursa Malaysia, the Malaysian stock exchange, trading floor. Currencies of emerging markets are being tested by a dollar that gained strength ahead of the inauguration into office of US President-elect Joe Biden. Bloomberg News

and Malaysia’s key trading partner, China, remains on the mend, it said.

Still, it looks like a close decision, with 12 out of the 24 economists in the Bloomberg survey expecting a 25-basis-point cut after Malaysia was placed under renewed lockdown, and in part because of Malaysia’s persistently low inflation readings.

Malaysia’s December year-over-year CPI is expected to remain deeply negative on Friday.

The rate decision comes after Malaysia’s king declared a nationwide state of emergency for the first time in more than half a century, suspending parliament in a move that allows embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to avoid facing an election until the pandemic is over.

Bank Indonesia is expected to hold policy rates unchanged on Thursday.

The central bank didn’t signal that more cuts were imminent at its previous meeting in December, and may be concerned about the risk of higher US yields putting the rupiah under pressure.

One economist in a Bloomberg survey expects a 25 basis-point cut, perhaps because inflation has remained below target for seven months straight.

China’s one-year loan prime rate—the reference rate for bank loans to companies—will likely remain at 3.85 percent in January, according to

Bloomberg Economics.

Brazil’s central bank is expected to hold the key rate at an all-time low on Wednesday, while traders look for signs of more hawkish language after policy makers warned that inflation pressures could persist into the new year.

Key Chinese data

offers basic banking transactions, including balance checking, fund transfers and check deposits.

The SME banking platform is also designed to manage multiple businesses even by just submitting a single set of credentials, UnionBank Vice President Antonio Miguel D. Dans said.

“A lot of business owners don’t just have one business,” Dans said. “A lot of the time, these entrepreneurs—I guess—are really creative, so they end up thinking a lot of businesses.”

Amid the digital shift, the UnionBank chief observed that SMEs— comprising 99 percent of all the businesses in the country—were able to adapt to the so-called new normal, transitioning to e-commerce during this pandemic. With this, Bautista reiterated that SMEs should be given help to further bounce back as they are among the hardest hit sectors.

“If done properly, they would be the engine that will sustain the continued growth of the country,” he added.

UnionBank also offers other SME banking products that extends loans and provides one-stop-hub digital platform for small businesses.

The Aboitiz-led bank saw its net earnings slip by 0.9 percent to P8.5 billion in the first nine months of 2020 amid higher provisions for potential loan losses.

Earlier this month, UnionBank announced it was aiming to establish the first known “data science factory” banking model in Southeast Asia’s financial industry. The said model will boost the listed bank’s business management, improve its internal processes and enhance end-to-end perspective of all operations.

Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Emerging markets tested by rising US dollar ahead of Biden’s return stronger US dollar is proving to be an early test for emerging-market currencies on the eve of Joe Biden’s inauguration.

The greenback gained over the last two weeks, buoyed by the president-elect’s proposal for a $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Most developing-nation currencies have slumped in that span, and history suggests further pain may be in store.

Emerging-market currencies climbed against the dollar over the vaccine rollout.

MSCI Inc.’s gauge of emerging-market currencies ended 2020 with its biggest quarterly advance in a decade as optimism over the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines bolstered risk appetite. Now, to a backdrop of rising cases, renewed lockdowns and vaccine concerns, it threatens to reverse those gains.

“If vaccines prove less effective than we expect and [the] global economy stumbles, the ‘safe haven’ dollar would likely appreciate,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists including Zach Pandl wrote in a report.

Still, the strategists “expect broad dollar weakness” this year as exposures to risk assets and upside in commodity prices outweigh the potential drag from higher US rates.

One currency of interest to investors is the Turkish lira, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated on Friday his long-held belief that high interest rates fuel inflation, rekindling doubts over the direction of Turkey’s monetary policy. On Thursday, the central bank is expected to keep the nation’s one-week repo rate at 17 percent.

“The lira has rallied and reserves are stabilizing, providing no reason to raise rates further,” according to Bloomberg Economics. “Still, inflation accelerated in December, limiting the scope for rate cuts.”

Policy makers in Malaysia, South Africa and Brazil will also decide on their borrowing costs this week.

Meantime, Biden’s return to the White House on Wednesday will carry particular significance for traders who follow relations between the world’s two largest economies. The Trump administration has announced it would sanction six officials from China and Hong Kong in a parting shot to Beijing.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

China’s economic data was probably enough to restore China’s outperformance narrative. Fourthquarter GDP and industrial production nummbers both beat expectations in year-over-year terms.

However, retail sales and fixed asset investment numbers both fell short.

December currency settlement data from SAFE are due on Friday. This was previously scheduled for last week. It will be interesting to see if the hitherto low exporter-conversion rates have started to increase, as one would expect given the yuan’s steady trend of appreciation in the second half of 2020.

Ongoing Chinese official resistance to appreciation will also be monitored by traders after higher than expected yuan fixes and reports of state banks buying dollars.

The yuan edged lower last week and the offshore rate is a little weaker than onshore, suggesting that China has somewhat tamed appreciation expectations in the short-term. Bloomberg News

TATE-pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced it is extending its financial assistance loan (FAL) program until December 29 this year.

The GSIS said in a statement last Tuesday it would continue lending even after releasing over P110 billion to more than 271,000 government employees since launching the FAL program in May 2018.

GSIS President and General Manager Rolando L. Macasaet was quoted in the statement as saying in Filipino that despite the 6-month suspension of its FAL program, the fund manager was able to release P37 billion, which benefited 89,947 members.

And because we want to make life easier for more of our members, we will continue the GSIS FAL program until the end of 2021, according to Macasaet.

Under the lending program, GSIS members may transfer and consolidate their loans from other lending institutions.

“With this, GSIS members will benefit from reduced monthly amortization, lower interest rate of 6 percent per annum and a longer payment term of six years,” the GSIS said. “They will also enjoy higher take-home pay and their retirement benefits will be protected from loan deductions while helping GSIS improve its loan-collection efficiency.”

Aside from paying out the debts of members with other lending institutions, the GSIS’s FAL program also boasts of a “top-up loan” feature allowing members to borrow the remaining loan amount for their personal needs.

Under the “top-up loan” option, GSIS member-borrowers can maximize their loanable amounts of P500,000, according to the GSIS. For instance, if a member’s FAL loan is P300,000, he or she may borrow the remaining P200,000 under the “top-up loan,” the GSIS said.

The loan is released through check directly to the lending institution while the “top-up loan” is released to borrowers either through check or credited to their unified multipurpose identification (UMID) or

electronic card account.

Qualified borrowers are permanent government employees with paid premiums of at least three years or appointed, elected or non-permanent government employees with at least 15 years of paid premiums. They must also have outstanding loans from lending institutions and have no due and demandable GSIS loan.

Moreover, they should not be on leave without pay and they should have no pending administrative or criminal case except if the case is due to loan non-payment due to the prioritization of GSIS payments.

They must have a net take-home pay that is not lower than the P5,000 requirement under the General Appropriations Act. Applicants interested in the GSIS’s FAL program may email the requirements to their designated GSIS branch office or submit the same in drop boxes located in GSIS branch offices. Their agency authorized officer (AAO) may submit the requirements on their behalf via email. Liaison officers may likewise submit their application through drop boxes.

Applicants must submit the following documents: a duly accomplished application form; statement of account from the lender; ID of the lending institution’s authorized representative; and loan agreement, voucher, or other certified documents with loan details.

Other required documents include the previous month’s pay slip prior to the GSIS’s FAL application, which must be certified by their AAO and a clear photo of the borrower holding the accomplished form and UMID card. In the absence of a UMID card, a photo of their two valid IDs (front and back) may be submitted.

Attendance to the financial literacy seminar, one of the requirements for the GSIS’s FAL program, may also now be complied with by watching the video explainer posted on the GSIS’s website or by attending a virtual seminar. Loan applicants may also participate in the seminar conducted by their respective human resources departments.

Bernadette D. Nicolas

Image BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Keep it clean WITH its passion for quality in every detail, the Danish brand ECCO stays true to its commitment to not just creating beautifully crafted shoes but also caring for them. Known as the global leader for innovative footwear, it has come up with a unique shoe care program that provides the best protection and targeted care.

The ECCO Clean, Care and Protect products are all you need to make your shoes look at their best for longer. The brand embraces the art of shoe cleaning with the easy three-step care system: 1. CLEAN. ECCO’s water-based Clean products effectively remove built-up dirt and instantly revive leathers while enhancing freshness. The Foam Cleanser has a water-based self-foaming formula developed to shift grime and salt stains. It is suitable for smooth leathers, nubuck, suede, and fabrics. Use alongside the Shoe Refresher Spray to revive the inside of shoes. For gentle and effective cleansing and rebuffing of delicate suede and nubuck, use the Nubuck and Suede Eraser.

2. CARE. ECCO Care products formula work like lotion to soften, moisturize, and improve elasticity. They are formulated to shine, retain suppleness, and prevent leathers from drying out. The Nubuck and Suede Conditioner Daily Care blends refined oils and waxes to keep the shine on these types of particular materials. To revive and protect delicate leathers, use the Gentle Leather Lotion or the Daily Care Cream.

3. PROTECT. Just as we need to protect our skin against harsh weather conditions, so does leather. The brand’s Protect products work as a protective coating to keep rain and stains away.

The Repel spray, a nonaerosol, gas-free, and PFCfree spray, provides an invisible and breathable protective coating that resists water and stains. It is perfect for a wide range of materials.

The ECCO shoe care range is tailor-made for each pair of shoes. Each Shoe Care product is developed on a similar technology as skin-care products using only the highest quality natural ingredients. This manufacturing technique ensures that the products will restore and maintain the unique finishes found on ECCO footwear.

The ECCO shoe care range can be found in stores at SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, and shop-in-shop concepts at The SM Store.

These can also be found online at www.lazada. com.ph/shop/ecco-ph.

ECCO’s UK made complete shoe care kit that includes a foam cleanser to remove dirt and enhance freshness, smooth leather care cream to retain natural suppleness, the Repel spray to invisibly protect from water and stains, and a multi brush and cleaning cloth.

Ear to the ground W

HAT if exit interviews were honest?

I mean, really honest—the frank unfiltered kind where people can say how they really feel when they leave an organization. I bet you would hear the real reason people leave the organization. And this can work both ways—there are instances when an organization is more than thrilled that you have decided to leave.

But whatever the reason, it would be costly for the organization if the people that left the organization are the effective and productive ones.

And even more costly when you discover that what could have made them stay was something workable and would have even benefited the organization in the long run. Paramount to avoiding this is understanding how organizations listen to their people and, consequently, how employees receive feedback from their leaders.

People often forget that communication is twoway. Frequently, employees hear from their leaders only when they do something wrong and never when they do something well. This perpetuates a culture of fault-finding and employees constantly needing affirmation that what they are doing is correct.

Sadly, the mindset that good work is a reward in itself is slowly being forgotten because employees today regularly need to know if they are doing well.

This goes hand-in-hand with the need for leaders to anticipate obstacles their team might encounter and

provide contingent measures to overcome them. With all these considerations, it is imperative for leaders to listen to their people.

There are several ways of listening to employees.

These can range from the water-cooler talks to a town hall meeting, where leaders and employees can talk about significant issues which affect them. But to get to what really bothers employees and to reduce the backlash from speaking out about these concerns, organizations can launch anonymized surveys where employees can really say what is on their minds without fear of retaliation from the leaders. Because if leaders are really concerned about what they can do to help their employees, they need to keep their ears to the ground.

Listening to employees can help you position changes in the organization so you can easily get employee buy-in. When organizational changes resonate with employee needs, it becomes easier for leaders to generate support and could even lead to innovative and creative ways of implementing them.

But this also comes with a caution as organizations cannot always do what their people want. It always needs to be tempered by the shared vision, mission and core values of the organization. There is a need to balance listening and letting employees understand what can and cannot be done. Otherwise, you end up with a work force who thinks they deserve more than what they actually deserve, or an organization that keeps asking for more than what their employees need to produce.

Understanding your employee’s motivations also helps you become more adaptive rather than being reactive. Instead of firefighting every little issue which comes up, you can put mechanisms in place to prevent a possible issue from escalating into a fullblown crisis. A good leader will anticipate what their people need before it becomes an issue. And while the responsibility to keep people satisfied is with the leader, the human resource (HR) department needs to help leaders have the right tools and skills to deal

with their team. Knowing what people need helps the organization in innovating new ways in people management.

A natural offshoot of keeping employees highly motivated is retaining your top talents. I strongly believe that people go to work to give their best and when they do not, there is a disconnect between what they want and what the work gives them. Listening to your people will help you adjust policies and the work environment as needed, and can help alert you to signs of employee burnout and mitigate eroded teamwork.

Knowing your employee’s sentiments will also help you adjust your culture-building programs by echoing what your employees actually value.

Understanding where your employees are coming from will help you set a baseline for where you want the organization in the future, and also provide an indicator of how far you have come in terms of the values and mindset you want the entire organization to espouse.

On the other hand, it will also help you identify employees who do not share the organization’s purpose. This will help you develop initiatives and programs to influence them to support the organization’s objectives. But when everything is said and done, you do not necessarily have to retain those who do not support the organization. One aspect of listening to employees is that they will not always agree with you. There will always be someone who is both willing and able to take their place.

Being a leader means people are willing to put their trust in you because they know you are worthy of that trust. But if you are perceived as protecting management’s interest more than their interest or what is good for the team, you will soon find yourself dragging everyone to support you. People understand that it is your role to protect management’s interest, but they also need you to balance it with listening to what they need because if you do not, they will start looking for someone who can and who will. ■

How to outsmart your Covid-19 fears and boost your mood in 2021

BY LAUREL MELLIN University of California, San Francisco AFTER a year of toxic stress ignited by so much fear and uncertainty, now is a good time to reset, pay attention to your mental health and develop some healthy ways to manage the pressures going forward.

Brain science has led to some drug-free techniques that you can put to use right now.

I am health psychologist who developed a method that harnesses our rip-roaring emotions to rapidly switch off stress and activate positive emotions instead. This technique from emotional brain training is not perfect for everyone, but it can help many people break free of stress when they get stuck on negative thoughts.

Three key things make it hard to turn off stressactivated negative emotions: ■ First, our genes make us worrywarts. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors survived by assuming every rustle in the grasses was a lurking hungry lion, not harmless birds hunting for seeds. We’re essentially programmed to be hyperaware of threats, and our brains rapidly launch stress chemicals and negative emotions in response.

■ Second, the chemical cascade of stress hormones

in the brain associated with negative emotions impairs cognitive flexibility, goal-directed behavior and self-control.

■ Third, our tendency to avoid dealing with negative emotions puts people in a perpetual cycle of ignoring unpleasant feelings, which amplifies stress and the risk of emotional health problems.

Traditional approaches for coping with stress were based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, which focuses on modifying patterns of thinking and behavior. It was developed before our modern understanding of stress overload.

Researchers at New York University discovered a paradox: Although cognitive methods were effective in low-stress situations, they were less effective when dealing with the high stress of modern life.

Emotional brain training works with these high-stress emotions in an effort to tame them, releasing negative emotions as the first of two steps in preventing stress overload.

STEP 1: RELEASE NEGATIVE EMOTIONS. The only negative emotion in the brain that supports taking action rather than avoidance and passivity is anger.

Studies have shown that the suppression of anger is associated with depression and that suppressing anger doesn’t reduce the emotion. Healthy release of

anger instead has been found to reduce other stressrelated health risks.

Our technique is to switch off stress overload by using a controlled burst of anger to help the brain exert better emotional control and allow emotions to flow rather than become chronic and toxic. After that first short burst, other feelings can flow, starting with sadness to grieve the loss of safety, then fear and regret, or what we would do differently next time.

You can talk yourself through the stages. To experiment with the process, use these simple phrases to express the negative feelings and release your stress: “I feel angry that...”; “I feel sad that...”; “I feel afraid that...”; and “I feel guilty that...”

STEP 2. EXPRESS POSITIVE EMOTIONS. After releasing negative emotions, positive emotions can naturally arise. Express these feelings using the same approach: “I feel grateful that...”; “I feel happy that...”; “I feel secure that...”; and “I feel proud that...” Your mindset can quickly change, a phenomenon that has many potential explanations. One explanation is that in positive states, your brain’s neural circuits that store memories from when you were in the same positive state in the past can be spontaneously activated.

Another is that the switch from negative to positive emotions quiets your sympathetic nervous system—

which triggers the fight-or-flight response—and activates the parasympathetic system, which acts more like a brake on strong emotions.

Here’s what the whole stress relief process might look like like for me right now: ■ I feel angry that we’re all isolated and I can’t see my new grandson Henry.

■ I hate it that everything is so messed up! I HATE THAT!!!

■ I feel sad that I am alone right now.

■ I feel afraid that this will never end.

■ I feel guilty that I am complaining! I am lucky to be alive and have shelter and love in my life.

Then the positive: ■ I feel grateful that my daughter-in-law sends me photos of Henry.

■ I feel happy that my husband and I laughed together this morning.

■ I feel secure that this will eventually pass.

■ I feel proud that I am doing the best I can to cope.

After a daunting year, and with more challenges ahead in 2021, upgrading your approach to emotions can be a drug-free mood booster. Our Covid-19 fears need not consume us. We can outsmart the brain’s fear response and find moments that sparkle with promise. THE CONVERSATION

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Pateros Technological College gets boost for its communication and skills programs

Enactus Philippines successully held its 2nd Business Innovation Idea Challenge

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THE MOU signing was held at PTC in Metro Manila with College President Dr. Analiza Arcega, VP for Admin and Finance Prof. Rolando Baylon, and College Secretary Prof.

Catalina Yolanda Banaobra. Sitel was represented by Sitel Academy Senior Manager Fatim Tigas and Learning Specialist Eliane Lansigan.

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ATEROS Technological College (PTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sitel Group to provide PTC students world-class brand of business outsourcing and communication training. The global leader in end-toend customer experience (CX) products and solutions will make the program available to over 1,000 first and secondyear students from 28 classes across the various disciplines in the college.

“The partnership seeks to provide the school with important skills needed not just for BPO, but also for most jobs that rely on strong communication and technical skills,” said Fatima Tigas. “Through this partnership, Sitel Academy will be reaching more than 300 students every semester and providing a wide range of skillsbuilding modules.”

The BPO has taken bold steps to expand its footprint and reach more

students both in Metro Manila and Sitel’s provincial locations.

As provided in the memorandum, Sitel will provide PTC students with Sitel Academy online training programs and modules that may be accessed through Triboo, Sitel’s Learning Management System. The academy team will also work closely with PTC in creating instructional materials suitable for its Information and Communication Technology curriculum.

Automation, AI, and Connectivity key innovations to address pandemic disruptions in manufacturing

NACTUS Philippines conducted virtually the 2020 Business Innovation Idea Challenge (BIIC) on December 4-5, 2020. The BIIC was open to student teams from all colleges and universities around the Philippines, including all active Enactus teams. Sixty-four teams initially submitted project proposals, which were trimmed down to 15 semi-finalists, chosen by Judges during the Opening Round of Competition, whose results were announced on 30 October 2020. The 15 teams then moved on to the Semi-Finals where they had the chance to pitch their business innovation ideas through a video presentation to a panel of experts. Five teams were chosen from among them to compete in the Finals.

The Semi-Finals on December 4, 2020 was officially opened by Enactus Philippines' Chairman, Jose P. Leviste, Jr. “COVID-19 pandemic has taught us to think outside the box, to be innovative, and to drive social changes by challenging the status quo. As we face global threats like this pandemic, we are reminded of how innovation and technology play a crucial element in how we do things now and in the near future," he said.

Six finalists among the 15 teams were announced after the Semi-Final Round of BIIC via Facebook Live.

On December 5, the Final-Round was also broadcasted via Facebook. Mindanao State University-Main Campus won again for the second time in BIIC besting five other finalists including Holy Angel University (1st Runner-Up), De La Salle University Manila (2nd Runner-Up), Occidental Mindoro State College, University of the Cordilleras, and University of Southeastern Philippines.

Concluding the 2nd year of BIIC, Enactus Philippines Country Leader, Atty. Leo G. Dominguez congratulated the 64 teams that participated from around the Philippines.

“The success of the BIIC should not end at the announcement of winners today. We believe that we can push this further by encouraging all our 64 participating teams to start social entrepreneurship projects and capitalize on their hard work and successes to date. We at Enactus Philippines, with our various programs, stand ready to guide the teams that are or will become full-pledged Enactus teams to progress their ideas into tangible social and innovative projects aimed at empowering communities," he said.

Parenting 101: Guiding Gen Z Kids for the Future

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DON’T know if you agree with me but running a business is easy, managing a career profession is peanuts, as compared to raising a teenager,’ top business and inspirational speaker Mr. Francis Kong said as he shared his knowledge and expertise as to how parents can have a better understanding of the generation their children belong to including the effective ways of guiding them for their future.

Prior COVID-19, Gen Z’s personalities are known to be a Google reflex generation. They are also highly inquisitive and highly philosophical. Surprisingly, they even tend to look down on their predecessors—the millennial generation.

At present, Gen Z kids feel delayed due to the pandemic which contributes to their level of anxiety. They tend to feel postponed, pushed aside, penalized, and panicked.

Therefore, they need to do quick adjustments.

Microsoft research indicates that 1/3 of Gen Z students are uncertain about the types of career they want to pursue and around 1/2 expect to do a job that doesn’t even exist yet.

We also need to recognize the bigger role technology plays across all industries today.

In a study of Linkedin, the top five technical skills valued really reflect the need for digital skills—things connected to cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and improving digital

experience. Some of the top five skills newly graduates are learning are data visualisation, data modelling, python, web analytics, and database management. But more than these, soft skills also prove invaluable contributions.

So how do parents now deal with pandemic parenting and how can they guide their children in choosing the right career for their future?

At present, children tend to be very vulnerable. Mr. Kong recommends that parents need to be sensitive to the feelings of their children. They must show compassion, empathy, and understanding.

In the webinar hosted by Enderun Colleges on January 9, Mr. Kong elaborated by explaining, “Parenting is a privilege not a birthright.” Parents have to acquire and update their parenting skills because the skills you have before might no longer be effective at present. He continued, “Cultivate the right worldview. All of those things needed for [your children] to succeed in life depends on your world.

Your worldview forms your belief system. Your belief system shapes your perspective. Your perspective determines your behaviour. And your behaviour leads to your outcome.” It only goes to show that children merely reflect the attitude of their parents.

Alabel rolls out business one-stop shop

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EALTH measures to curb the effects of the COVID-19 have heavily affected business continuity for many industries, most especially manufacturing companies that rely on physical work on the factory floor to keep afloat.

“Social distancing is key in a factory because it’s very common for people to get together,” said Carlos Rojas, Manufacturing Industry Lead of Cisco Philippines. “Digital technologies that enable companies to keep their teams safe, productive and connected are vital. There are lots of ways to utilize technology, but those backbones and investments are key for companies to remain agile in the current situation.”

In their online webinar series titled “Manufacturing in the New Normal: Moving Beyond the Disruption”, Cisco Philippines gathered innovative leaders to provide solutions to complicated challenges in the manufacturing industry.

Another challenge felt not just by the industry but by the whole country in general is the lack of transportation services. For both Microchip Philippines, led by Country Manager Greg Fisher, and Allegro MicroSystems Philippines Inc., led by Asia IT Head Rhett Ramos, the inability of employees to reach their places of work due to restricted public transportation caused severe business

disruptions. Nevertheless, Ramos noted that government measures to ease the disruption were a great help, especially with processing fees in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

As a top priority, however, health and safety measures in an otherwise highly physical workspace were the biggest challenge. But for businesses like Amkor Technology Philippines, Inc., the company’s ability to manage costs and immediate pandemic response allowed them to continue business as usual.

“We continue to execute our digital transformation initiatives and I am ensuring that our I.T. infrastructure is stable and capable to support any new requirements,” said Amkor Senior Director and Head of IT Jonathan Mondero.

Of the numerous adjustments done by the companies, system integration, automation of services and innovating supply chain management were the key transformations from the pandemic that the panelists agree will stay for good.

Amkor Technology Philippines turned to full digitalization at the onset of the pandemic. “We designed the whole integrated and secured architecture for a hybrid workspace, and we developed and deployed it in just two days. That’s the fastest that we were able to create a new

system from scratch,” said Mondero.

For Asurion, these developments were a natural part of their business.

“Innovation is embedded in our culture.

Even before the pandemic situation, our Fort Bonifacio site already supports remote working, and our management team had the necessary technology platform and framework available then,” said Asurion IT Director Lito Espacio. “Many platforms like digital currency and online transactions which have long been available are going to be appreciated further and will be part of the new norm.”

Despite the promising advances of key players in the industry, the experts acknowledged that not all companies and countries are capable of digital transformation right away. However, the world will be moving towards the same direction in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in supply chain management and automation of network systems in connectivity as the future of remote management.

“Flexibility is the buzzword I see around the world. Creating spatial separation but still keeping people connected is possible with technology. Businesses should consider how they’ll manage their supply chain. Data is also very critical in the connection to the assets, to the machines, to the systems,” Rojas concluded.

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HE Municipality of Alabel recently rolled out its annual one-stop shop to facilitate the renewal and application of new local business permits and licenses.

Set at the town’s gymnasium, the integrated location includes offices under the local government such as the office of the mayor, engineering, planning and development, health, treasury, administrator, and environment and natural resources, as well as national line agencies such as the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine

National Police, and the Department of Trade and Industry, among others. The bustling provincial capital, commercial and agro-industrial hub of Sarangani, Alabel has been implementing the one-stop-shop scheme to be a leading business-friendly and competitive municipality in southern Mindanao. It recently placed 14th Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI) ranking of the National Competitiveness Council and the Department of Trade and Industry.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 B7

Designing spaces that evoke warm memories

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BA Manila Design Office creates another space to awe, transport and inspire. There is nothing quite like a whiff of a familiar scent that can take you back to some place or time that meant something to you. Same goes with flavors, flashes of color, design details and space.

The connection of something sensory to significant and memorable times and people, milestones and experiences, somehow brings so much comfort and a range of emotions.

This is what food can do for many, and while a lot of dining and events venues have attempted to match what the scents, tastes, sounds, or visuals can evoke, there is just something that a complete sensory experience can do, especially in creating even more memories and celebrating new milestones and occasions.

Memories of home. That was the goal of Resorts World Manila when they developed the unique concept of Casa Buenas, a Filipino-themed restaurant, and in deciding to work with Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) Manila Design Office, they got exactly that—the firm’s signature of a total guest experience that transports one to a special place and time.

The top global hospitality design firm’s Manila Principal Norman Agleron shared, “Working on the

ally designed as acoustic treatments for the expansive space, so no modern-day clink, whirring, chatter, or merriment can detract from the overall feel of the place.

The lighting design of the restaurant adds to the drama that the space evokes in the evening.

design brief with the owner and the operations team, we developed the interiors of a destination restaurant that we hoped to redefine the Filipino style.” He adds that they took their inspiration for the main dining hall from the azotea, which is that part of a traditional Filipino ancestral house first built in the Spanish colonial era or a bahay-na-bato.

Building from the bones. What would complete any design concept are the details, which if overlooked, could spoil the overall effect of what could be an indelible experience. “The part of the Okura Hotel building’s shell where Casa Buenas gave us an amazing opportunity to carve it into an immersive and functional space. An integral part of the design, which is less apparent than the decorative elements of the interiors, is the way the restaurant is laid out. As a designer, I firmly believe that the soul is in the planning,” Agleron said.

The restaurant’s prominent cor-

HBA Manila

ner location provides the space plenty of natural light reminiscent of the azotea, which is a semi-outdoor space. The lush gardens encapsulate the restaurant, providing a refreshing tropical backdrop while creating a barrier from the driveway outside. Tall sliding lattice screens filter any harsh sunlight during the day. The double-volume height ceiling gives a sense of grandeur balanced by the scale and proportion of the elaborate and bespoke chandeliers.

Details matter. “If the soul is in the planning, then God is in the details,” he stressed, as he enumerates those essential touches that could make or break a total experience.

Visible from the outside are the ventanillas—the top panels above the double-height sliding screens along the exterior glazing that are a modern iteration of the traditional capiz shell windows. The screens are adorned with diamond-shaped capiz accent panels.

The palissandro stone-cladded walls and columns are reminiscent of the bahay-na-bato, invoking the same warmth of a home. Adding to these subtle references are the hand-carved wood f looring with intricate wood inlays and the machuca tiles with wood borders.

The iconic ceiling with the swooping curved timber beams and painted wooden planks, the fabric paneling with arched and floral frames and the doubleheight draperies were all actu-

The HBA stamp. HBA Manila Design Group’s design was aimed to capture the feeling of being home. The relaxed, warm feel of the interiors is inviting and conducive for both festive get-togethers and intimate conversations.

Leaving a truly HBA mark is not what is tangible and visible, but the collaboration with this particular client in ensuring that what was initially a concept had become the space where the carefully-planned and prepared fare, the warm service, and the music will all work together to allow their guests to recall wonderful moments and create new ones.

This he attributed to what has become their signature stamp on every project—connectivity, equilibrium, balance, collaboration and creative synergy. “It’s an internal discipline that they bring into the relationship with their clients, for every project we undertake.” Casa Buenas is now open for dine in Tuesdays to Sundays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., they are also open for takeout and deliveries. Reni Salvador

Century Properties maintains positive outlook in 2021

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

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UST like other businesses in the country, the property sector was hit hard in 2020 caused by the pandemic.

Nevertheless, industry players such as the Century Properties Group (CPG) remained steadfast and continued their operations. Moreover, it put emphasis on the safety of its work force by going digital to keep homeowners informed.

Filigree Showsuites unveiled

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REMIER real-estate brand Filigree recently opened its doors to its newest Showsuites.

The newest headquarters provides a first glimpse of the impeccable quality and attention to detail that the Filigree brand is known for.

“We have had dedicated showrooms for each of our projects, but with the growth of our brand it was only fitting that we took this step. We want our clients to experience what it’s like to live in a Filigree home with just one visit. This Showsuites is the embodiment of everything Filigree stands for and we made sure that this would be evident in the design and customer experience,” said Filigree deputy head Daphne Sanchez.

Design firm Periquet Galicia was commissioned to take on the work of realizing Filigree’s vision. Principal designer Tina Periquet shared insights on her experience of working on the project.

“It’s always a pleasure to work with a company whose values are closely aligned with ours. I feel the brand name Filigree is apt, as it speaks of refinement, luxury and meticulous craft. Translating this in the language of design and architecture, we worked together to create an environment that satisfies both the mind and the eye, harmoniously proportioned and thoughtfully detailed to induce a sense of calm and delight,” she noted.

The 2,500-sq-m property boasts of stately contoured spaces. A visit will take you through well-designed expanses that comprise the personalized tours carried out by skilled account specialists.

Reflecting the high aesthetic quality of the planned spaces is a symmetrical and perfect-in-form lobby that sets the tone for the overall experience. Each area, whether it be the lounge or the AV room, were intended to

echo the design principles of Filigree. Towering ceiling heights, floor to ceiling glass walls, spacious hallways, and well thought-out color schemes represent the signature aesthetics of a Filigree project.

Undoubtedly, the pieces de resistance are the two model units, designed by Periquet Galicia, to demonstrate the potentials of selected units of Botanika Nature Residence’s Tower 2.

“We spent many months developing the space plans of every single condo unit in the building. Each square inch was pored over to ensure that the ideal distribution of space was achieved, while seeing to it that the rooms were well-shaped, so that standard furniture from stores could fit neatly. It’s surprising how many times you end up seeing a bed edge jutting out in front of a doorway, or a sofa blocking an operable window, because of a poor space plan,” added Periquet. The challenge was to resolve upfront all the complexities stemming from the curved shape of the building, so that the unit owners need not have to deal with any awkward corners or odd elements, and can just furnish and move in with minimal customizing.

The two model units were deliberately designed in contrasting styles—a pared-down, edgy treatment with sculpted forms and a cool neutral palette, and a more formal, transitional setting rendered in ivory, cream, and black—to show how different personalities can happily settle down in perfect harmony at Botanika Nature Residences.

Get a better sense of this and more at Filigree’s newly opened Showsuites. To visit, please schedule an appointment through https:// filigree.com.ph/contact/. Filigree Showsuites is located on Corporate Avenue, Filinvest City, Alabang, across Bristol at Parkway Place and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

#CenturyAtYourService

Despite the lockdown, Century Properties’ marshalled its frontliners so it can continue to serve while ensuring their safety. The Antonio-led company stressed that their service champions in all its residential communities and establishments at Century City Mall and Centuria Medical Makati— continued to report to work despite the trying times to ensure each property is running smoothly.

Meanwhile, the service champions covering the residential communities and establishments at Century City Mall and Centuria Medical Makati—from the concierge and security staff, to the engineering, property management officers, and housekeeping teams—continued to report to duty to ensure that each property is running smoothly. Aside from having safety protocols in place, the frontliners were also housed nearby to eliminate the hassles of commuting.

Business as usual

Notwithstanding Covid-19, Century Properties carried on with its business expansion plans. Aside from growing its commercial leasing business and affordable housing portfolio, the company maintained robust sales of its in-city vertical developments.

The company posted P1.6 billion in reservation sales for the first half of 2020 which is equivalent to 1,925 homes or 651 units under its in-city vertical developments business and 1,274 house and lot units under PHirst Park Homes.

PHirst Park Homes, launched its sixth and seventh horizontal community this year—in Nasugbu, Batangas and in Magalang, Pampanga, respectively. PHirst Park Homes has maintained its sales momentum, posting reservation sales worth P3.120 billion from its first six projects in Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, and Batangas for the first six months of 2020.

Meanwhile, for commercial leasing, CPG acquired 40-percent stake of joint venture partner Mitsubishi Corp.’s subsidiary in the Peza-accredited Century Diamond Tower in Makati City.

Furthermore, CPG also turned over 1,200 finished units this year. Another 1,600 units will be turned over from February to April in 2021 as well. Construction is currently ongoing at Commonwealth by Century in

Quezon City, Batulao Artscapes in Nasugbu, Batangas, and Azure North in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Health and safety first

To maintain its productivity, the company provided the staff with additional resources by setting up flexible work arrangements, and conducting regular testing. Before resuming construction in its project sites, CPG personnel underwent testing and protocols were put in place to avoid the spread of the virus.

It pursued three-step test levels that included the Cellex antibody test, the RTPCR test, and the Sofia 2 antigen test.

Sofia 2 provides results in less than 20 minutes with 100 percent specificity and 96.7 percent accuracy. Centuria Medical Makati in partnership with LabX Corp., offers the same service via a drive-thru service.

Furthermore, the company temporarily closed and deferred the opening of its 310-room hotel operation at the Tower 6 of Acqua Private Residences for the safety of all stakeholders.

Corporate citizenship

CPG practiced good corporate citizenship in response to the times. Further, it contributed to convert the Philippine Sports Stadium into a Covid-19 mega testing fa-

cility. Just recently, it also helped expedite the purchase of up to 3 million vaccines together with more than 30 other companies through a tripartite agreement with the government and AstraZeneca.

The company also conducted a successful community-wide donation drive for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption and those displaced by Typhoon Ulysses.

Companies under the CPG distributed relief goods in evacuation centers in Rodriguez, Rizal; Marikina; and San Fernando, Pampanga.

Looking forward in 2021

Despite having experienced a tough 2020, CPG maintains an optimistic outlook going into 2021.

“As we prepare for 2021, we are ready to take on the year with optimism, guided by the three core principles of Innovation, Resilience and Growth, and Sustainability,” the company said in a press statement.

“The company will continue to re-align its strategies to meet the changing consumer needs and be of better service to its customers,” it added.

Despite the economic challenges, CPG stressed it will remain strong and agile by diversifying its portfolio for further expansion, while reducing its carbon footprint and creating environment-friendly buildings.

Going digital

Century Properties took the digital route to help clients find their dream home in these hard times. By going digital, it conducted virtual tours—allowing potential homeowners to view the properties without having to go to the location and a tour of the available units, dressed or bare.

Meanwhile, a property specialist will also be deployed to discuss payment terms.

Walking the extra mile, Century Properties launched the Client Credit Assistance Program to help clients when applying for a home loan in any of its accredited banks.

Moreover, it also developed the Customer Online Records Assistant, (CORA) to provide homeowners updates about their Century home on monthly amortization and other details.

True to its values of working with purpose and striving for innovation, Century Properties rose above the hurdles by quickly addressing the roadblocks set by the times from ensuring the safety of its employees and workers, to further boosting its digital efforts to keep homeowners informed, the company continued to be of service.

Petecio and co. can’t train just yet

Greek president backs Olympic champ claiming sexual abuse

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ORLD boxing champion Nesthy Petecio and several other Tokyo Olympics hopefuls have to wait awhile before they could start sweating it Petecio out in face-to-face training at the Inspire Sports Academy bubble in Calamba, Laguna.

Petecio and company entered the bubble last Friday and they have to complete a 14-day quarantine period—confined to their rooms and banned from roaming the facility.

“We haven’t seen the entire place yet, because we are not allowed to go out,” Petecio told the BusinessMirror on Tuesday. She shares a room with fellow female boxers Tokyo-bound Irish Magno and Analene Cellon.

The other female Olympic hopefuls, Quesedian Riza Pasuit and Aira Chan, are in another room.

Paris is hosting the Olympic boxing qualifiers at still to be specified dates in June, according to Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines secretary general Ed Picson.

The Calamba bubble will last for 60 days with only Olympic hopefuls being accommodated at the training center set up by the Philippine Sports Commission.

With Petecio in the bubble are male boxers Ronnie Ogayre, Carlo Paalam, Markhun Tabamo, Aston Palicte, Mario Fernandez and Marjon Piencenaves.

Practically the entire Abap coaching staff—Pat Gaspi, Nolito Velasco, Reynaldo Galido, Mitchel Martinez, Elmer Pamisa, Australian consultant Don Abnett, Roger Ladon, Roel Velasco and Ronald Chavez—are also in the bubble.

Josie Gabuco, the country’s first women’s world champion in 2012, is also in the bubble to spar with the female boxers.

Men’s middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial and women’s flyweight Irish Magno already earned their tickets for Tokyo at last year’s qualifiers in Amman just before the lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic. Petecio was also in Jordan but failed to qualify. Annie Abad

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, January 20, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

GREEK President Katerina Sakellaropoulou (right) meets Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou at the Presidential Palace in Athens on Monday. AP

THENS, Greece—Greece’s first female president met Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou on Monday to express her support for the athlete who publicly claimed she had been sexually assaulted 22 years ago by a senior sports official.

Bekatorou, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, last week said the male official from the Hellenic Sailing Federation performed a “lewd act” after inviting her to his hotel room to discuss team preparations in 1998. Multiple claims by other female athletes of sexual misconduct from sporting administrators followed over the weekend.

“It was the least I could do in recognition of her bravery and dignity,” Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said in an announcement. “In meeting her, I met all those women who have been abused, verbally or physically, and injured for life by the moral cruelty of sexual assault.”

Sakellaropoulou became Greece’s first female head of state in March.

A senior member of the sailing federation

resigned upon request of the federation Monday and also quit his post with the Hellenic Olympic Committee. The official, who has not been named, indicted or summoned by prosecuting authorities, described the allegations against him as “false, defamatory and deceitful.”

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and other prominent politicians have publicly expressed support for the 43-year-old Bekatorou, who also won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and six gold medals at world and European sailing championships and was Greece’s flag bearer at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games as the first athlete to enter the stadium in the parade of nations.

“I want to stress that my personal experience and this individual case is not my only concern,” Bekatorou wrote in a Facebook post late Sunday.

“This is about the abuse of power in general, and the current administration of the [failing] federation in particular.... To those still left in the dark, we encourage you to speak out.” AP

accreditation head Atty. Billy Sumagui determined the legitimate voting members for the election on Monday, while the filing of candidacy is set on Wednesday.

Joey Romasanta, president of the other major stakeholder Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc., already expressed his support to the unification process and stressed he won’t take part in the election.

“I’m already retired,” he told BusinessMirror on Monday, adding he is thankful that Tolentino is exerting realistic efforts to unify Philippine volleyball.

The International Volleyball Federation listed the PVF on its members’ roster since 2016, but

withheld official recognition of the organization.

The POC, then headed by Jose Cojuangco Jr., refused recognition of the PVF and instead created the LVPI. But the FIVB also didn’t consider the LVPI as an affiliate, but allowed the group to handle the selection and participation of the national team to international competitions.

The FIVB than asked the POC twice last year to supervise the election for the volleyball national sports association, saying it is imperative for a Philippine national federation to be recognized during the world body’s congress which will be held online from February 5 to 7.

60 persons to join the Calamba bubble— including athletes and coaches from boxing, karatedo and taekwondo. Most of these athletes are preparing for Olympic qualifiers that will run until June.

Karate Pilipinas, Inc. president Richard Lim also graced the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Lim thanked the PSC and the IATF for

giving his athletes the chance to train for the Olympic qualifiers. He understands the health and safety protocols being implemented by the government, which has limited the movements of the other athletes.

“We have to prioritize the safety of everybody. I think everybody [SEA Games rivals] is in the same situation. Health is our primary concern. November may still be far but for an athlete preparing for the SEA Games that’s near,” said Lim.

4 PVF MEMBERS BOLT CAMP T

By Josef Ramos

HE Philippine Olympic Committee’s (POC) effort to unify the volleyball community and establish a new national federation for the sport lured the support of four members of the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF).

PVF vice president Dr. Arnel Hajan of the Zamboanga Peninsula wrote POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino on Tuesday to express their support for the unification effort that will culminate with an election on Monday at the East Ocean Garden Restaurant in Parañaque City.

The letter stated that the PVF, a major stakeholder of the sport, is endorsing Hajan, Nestor Bello of Metro Manila, Yul Benosa of North Luzon and Garry Hamili of Visayas for the elections.

In an interview by the BusinessMirror, Hajan and company said they are defying PVF president Edgardo Cantada’s order of not participating in the POC-supervised exercise.

“We are very much willing to participate because we want genuine changes so we can bring Philippine volleyball to greater heights,” said Hajan, adding they would participate in the election online.

“It’s not the position that matters, but the

changes,” Hajan said. “I know Mr. Cantada will not like our decision but then we are united as a super majority from the Mindanao, Visayas and Metro Manila.”

Hajan said the PVF has 20 members—11 from Mindanao, six from Luzon and Metro Manila and three from the Visayas.

Tolentino welcomed the PVF members’ gesture.

“They [PVF officers] are very welcome to join the unification and election process. They have until tomorrow [Wednesday] to confirm their participation,” Tolentino said.

The POC through membership and

SEA Games bets will have to wait awhile

A

S the majority of the Filipino athletes gearing up for the Tokyo Olympics are in bubble training in Calamba, those who will vie in this year’s Vietnam 31st Southeast Asian Games are still restricted to online training.

National training director Mark Velasco on Tuesday said the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is still working on the clearance from the Inter-

Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to allow the athletes for the SEA Games in November to undergo face-to-face training.

“We need the IATF clearance for that. [PSC] Commissioner Ramon Fernandez [SEA Games chef de mission] is working on that,” Velasco told the online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.

Only those who are either qualified or seeking slots to the Tokyo Games are allowed to enter the bubble at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba.

Olympic-bound athletes like gymnast Caloy Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, boxer Eumir Marcial and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who is set to formalize her entry to the Games in Tashkent in April, have been training overseas for quite some time now.

Velasco said they expect no more than

TEAM EXCELLENT

Members of the Team Excellent Noodles cycling club show their support for BusinessMirror’s BM Cycling program that airs on Facebook Live from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. every Monday. Team owner Alexander Billan (front row, fourth from left) is joined by team manager Virgilio Valenzuela, Toti Quintos, Francisco Amido, Adrian Billan, Austin Billan, Ysrael Gendrano, Rolly Gendrano, Ruel Gendrano, Leonard Silverio, EJ Soto, Resty Aragon, Jiva Siojo and Marlboro Tour veteran Elpidio Untalan. The team was founded in 2011 and has 38 members. ROY DOMINGO

Aussie Open players get on with life

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ITH no way out, tennis players in lockdown are figuring out ways to keep themselves fit within the confines of their Melbourne hotel rooms as they prepare for the Australian Open.

Angelique Kerber, who won the Australian Open in 2016, spent her birthday in quarantine on Monday. At times in the past, she’s spent the day playing or preparing for matches in the later stages of the tournament.

This year, with the season-opening Grand Slam event not starting until February 8 because of travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, she had to settle for a message posted on social media by Australian

Open organizers to mark the occasion.

Kerber is among the 72 players doing hard quarantine for 14 days after a five positive coronavirus tests were returned from charter flights that brought almost 1,200 players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for what has previously been dubbed the Happy Slam.

That means those players won’t be allowed to leave their hotel rooms or practice for 14 days, creating a two-speed preparation period for the tournament. Others in less rigorous quarantine will be allowed to practice for five hours daily.

Those outdoor sessions started Monday in Melbourne. A smaller group of players

Another Black makes history Al Mendoza | alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL AARON Black is another case of a son also trying to rise.

Always, that’s a tough act to follow.

A son cannot just outshine his father. Can a water rise above its source?

Aaron’s father, Norman Black, is a living legend in basketball.

As an import years back, Norman was a pillar for Royal Tru-Orange, then a San Miguel Corp. team.

So versatile was Norman that he could practically play all positions: guard, forward and center.

One time, under the late and lamented Coach Ed Ocampo (he loved scotch so much he had a glass of it under his chair when coaching), Norman was tasked to do point guard chores.

Right that minute, Norman became, at 6-foot-6 or thereabouts, the tallest ever point guard in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

I should know. I covered Black essay his

role, leading Royal Tru-Orange to several victories.

Norman now coaches Meralco, where his son, Aaron, is playing.

Stunningly, Aaron, despite limited time, displayed an uncanny ability to accomplish tasks whenever Norman dispatched him during the PBA bubble in Pampanga.

So adequately adept was Aaron in performing his duties that he actually outdid himself during the several occasions he was fielded in.

Like all fathers coaching their sons in the bigtime, Norman felt the pressure. I’m sure that every time he gave Aaron his minutes on the floor, swimming in his mind would be butterflies coming from his guts.

But astonishingly, Aaron wouldn’t, didn’t, disappoint. He’d shoot twos as well as threes.

He’d steal, disrupt the enemy’s plays during crucial times. He’d help orchestrate offensive,

who landed in the South Australia capital of Adelaide, including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, are also allowed outside to practice under biosecure protocols.

Players such as Yulia Putintseva and Belinda Bencic initially complained in social-media posts about being ill informed of the quarantine rules but have found ways to practice indoors by hitting balls against walls and windows and setting up other unique sessions.

Some players have expressed anger at being classified as close contacts merely for being on board charter flights with people who later tested positive. But local government, tennis and health authorities have said all players were warned of the risks well in advance. AP as well as defensive patterns.

Norman would only be too delighted to see his son coming to his own.

I must admit that the first time I saw Aaron play for Ateneo, I immediately had this gut-feel he’d go places in no time. That is why my one beef with coach Tab Baldwin of Ateneo is, he had hardly given Aaron playing time in his Blue Eagle days.

But that is water under the bridge now.

In emerging as the best rookie of the year, Aaron set a record worth remembering: He became the lowest draft pick to win it.

Picked 18th overall, Aaron surpassed Larry Fonacier, a fellow Eagle. Fonacier was 14th overall when he won rookie honors in 2005 as a Red Bull greenhorn.

“This will definitely push me to work even harder,” said Aaron, a 23-year-old lefty. “It should inspire players that you don’t have to be a first-round draft pick to make a name for yourself.”

The father oozes with pride—but, of course “Knowing Aaron, he likes to work on his game,” said Norman, the San Miguel Beer grand slam coach in 1989. “He knows the things he has to work on to be successful in the PBA.” We ain’t seen nothin’ yet?

THAT’S IT Greetings to my January birthday buddies Danny and Nini Dalena, Vernon B. Sarne and Ray Butch “Elvis” Gamboa. Mabuhay kayo!