BusinessMirror January 22, 2021

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JOE BIDEN is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Story on A5. AP/ANDREW HARNIK

LONGER PHL RECOVERY FROM ’CORONA COMA’ T

By Cai U. Ordinario

HE Philippines’s recovery from its “corona coma” could take longer, as the economy will likely post a growth of around 3 percent to 4 percent this year, according to the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd).

PHL READY FOR SHIFT TO CLEAN-ENERGY REGIME–DOE

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

T

HE Philippines is ready to run the race toward the transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy production and distribution, with experts and industry stakeholders agreeing that there must be a decent mix of renewables and other energy sources to meet the needs of Filipinos and electrify millions more households in the future.

Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Jesus Cristino Posadas said his group is strongly pushing for the development of renewable energy (RE) sources and low- and nocarbon sources like natural gas,

hydrogen and nuclear to create a cleaner, more sustainable future for the Philippines.

“We in the DOE have been actively seeking the development and utilization of all, most especially our indigenous energy resources, while working to increase the attractiveness of the country as an energy investment destination,” Posadas said in the Philippine Energy Transition Forum organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

Philippine Energy Independence Council President Don Paulino added that the Philippines is ready for the transition to a clean energy system, especially now Continued on A2

POSADAS: “We in the DOE have been actively seeking the development and utilization of all, most especially our indigenous energy resources, while working to increase the attractiveness of the country as an energy investment destination.” SIEW.GOV.SG

In the Ateneo Eagle Watch forum “Preparing Your Business and Institution in Prioritizing for Recovery,” Acerd Senior Fellow and former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito F. Habito said the economy may only start to regain its bearings by the second quarter this year.

“It will take three years or more to regain what we lost in 2020. And I’m beginning to won-

der whether this is not overly optimistic. If you look at our experience in the 1980s, it took us five to six years after the 1983 recession precipitated by the assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino, for us to recover the level of GDP we had in 1983. In other words, we did not regain that until about 1989,” Habito said.

See “Coma,” A2

Illicit trade to hinder credit rating upgrade bid

By Elijah Felice Rosales

E

CONOMIES prone to illicit trade, including the Philippines, will find it difficult to obtain the highest credit ratings if their regulatory regimes and institutions remain entangled in corruption, a report has concluded.

In a study, titled “The Link Between Illicit Trade and Sovereign Credit Ratings,” by Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (Tracit), it was deduced that countries dealing with the issue of illegal exchange of products and services tend to secure lower ratings from credit rating agencies.

On the contrary, economies with high scores on capacity to fight illicit trade also had the highest credit ratings.

“Where a country’s underlying conditions make it vulnerable to illicit trade, it has fewer prospects…

See “Illicit,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0420

n JAPAN 0.4641 n UK 65.6110 n HK 6.1976 n CHINA 7.4334 n SINGAPORE 36.2718 n AUSTRALIA 37.2133 n EU 58.1693 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8078

Source: BSP (January 21, 2021)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, January 22, 2021

Coma…

Continued from A1

HABITO: “It will take three years or more to regain what we lost in 2020.”

“So this time around, it’s even worse, I’d like to think. So before we regain the GDP we had in 2019, it will take us, well, more than three years and possibly, again, even longer than the five to six years we’ve seen before,” he added.

Based on Acerd estimates, the first quarter this year may see a contraction of 1.8 percent before posting a growth of 3.7 percent in the second quarter; 4.7 percent in the third quarter; and 5.1 percent in the last quarter of the year.

This will average 2.9 percent for the year, around 3 percent but if all goes well, the GDP still has room to grow by 4 percent this year.

Inflation

INFLATION, meanwhile, is expected to average higher at 3 percent to 4 percent given existing pressures such as the African Swine Fever (ASF).

The country’s employment rate could average 91 percent to 93 percent this year. Unemployment or joblessness could be around 7 percent to 9 percent, given the constraints on the economy.

Meanwhile, John Gokongwei School of Management Dean Luis F. Dumlao said “corona coma” was a term coined by renowned economist and Nobel winner Paul Krugman for what the lockdowns inflicted on the economy.

Dumlao said this has significantly affected the Philippine economy, which saw its trade deficit balloon and its overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances decline.

However, he said, one saving grace is remittances which, despite the number of workers who lost their jobs abroad, inflows from those who still had their jobs kept pouring in and offset the country’s trade deficit.

Nonetheless, as far as the pattern of recovery is concerned, Dumlao said it is appearing to be more of a “Nike swoosh” than a “V”, especially when it comes to the actual level of GDP.

In terms of GDP growth, Dumlao said, there may be some credence to the claims of the administration that a V-shaped recovery is going to happen. This is because, as Ateneo Dean of Social Sciences Fernando T. Aldaba said, the economy has “nowhere to go but up.”

“I think we can rule out the V recovery, both in terms of growth rates and in terms of the levels [of GDP]. It’s more likely going to be an extended ‘U’ or, heaven forbid, a ‘W’, where we recover and go down again. But again, the prospect of the resurgence of the virus can make that ‘W’ prospect very real as well,” Habito said.

Habito said the economy’s best bet at this time remains to be the agriculture sector. This is especially the case if the country wants to ensure that its growth is inclusive from here on.

He said the agriculture sector was the best performer in 2020, despite the pandemic and the initial supply chain issues logistics encountered at the start of the lockdowns.

In order to fast-track growth, Habito said, there is a need to invest in technology by harnessing the digital economy and its allied industries.

Technology can help boost the growth of agriculture and agribusinesses through digital tools that improve finance-to-field-to-fork value chains.

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DOLE report: 5-M workers displaced by Covid in 2020

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

VER 5 million workers were displaced last year amid the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, based on the latest preliminary report of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Of the Covid-affected workers, 428,701 from 2,060 employers lost their jobs either due to retrenchment or permanent closure of their establishments.

“Retrenchment or reduction of work force was mostly observed in small enterprises, while there is a higher incidence of permanent closure in microenterprises,” DOLE said in its 2020 Job Displacement Report.

The top three industries which registered the most number of permanent displacements were still the administrative and support service activities (80,803); other service activities; and manufacturing (51,793).

Coming in fourth place is the construction sector with 48,049; accommodation and food service activities (40,465); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (26,470); and transportation and storage (22,662).

The remaining sectors registered less than 20,000 displaced workers. These include education (17,152); information and communication (15,927); financial and insurance activities (13,946); professional, scientific and technical activities (7,977); arts, entertainment and recreation (7,735);

EARLIER, DOLE identified the construction sector and the transportation sector as those that will remain key employment generators during the pandemic.

In a phone interview, Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said she is no longer certain if this will remain true for the transportation sector, especially after some airlines have announced plans to reduce their operations.

However, the labor official is confident the construction sector will be able to bounce back from its labor slump this year.

“It will still be a key employment generator given the fullswing implementation of the Build Build Build program,” Tutay said.

This was affirmed by Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who said the government infrastructure spending is ex-

IN this July 15, 2020, file photo, jeepney drivers who were not lucky enough to get jobs in socalled “modern” jeepneys beg for alms along A. Mabini Street in Caloocan City as the government continues to limit public transportation to prevent the spread of Covid-19. NONOY LACZA

pected to pick up after December 2020 as “line departments try to fast-track the implementation of their programs and settle their outstanding payables.”

He said both the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) are now implementing their catchup plans.

Temporary displacement

DOLE registered over 4.5 million workers who were temporarily displaced from March to December 2020.

Half or 2.3 million of these workers were affected by 62,857 establishments, which implemented flexible work arrangements such as reduced workdays, rotation work-

ers, and forced leaves.

The other remaining 2.39 million were employed by 100,290 companies, which implemented temporary closure.

“In terms of establishment size, majority of the establishments which adopted flexible work arrangements were small enterprises.

On the other hand, a greater number of establishments under microenterprises implemented temporary closure,” DOLE said in its displacement report.

Tutay is hoping for a reduction in the number of displaced workers this year as the government relaxes quarantine restrictions to allow more businesses to resume their operations.

HOUSE MOVES ON RATE-HIKE DELAY FOR SSS, PHILHEALTH Continued from A10

Weakening the SSS

HOWEVER, SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said the bill will weaken rather than strengthen the SSS, “especially in these difficult times.”

“The SSS, therefore, respectfully expresses its opposition to the proposals because of their expected adverse financial impact to the financial health of the SSS, and eventually, on the benefits of pensioners, members and their beneficiaries,” Ignacio told lawmakers.

According to Ignacio, there will be a projected loss of P41.37 billion in 2021 contributions in the event of suspension of implementation of contribution increase.

Also, she said the small scheduled increase in contributions would be equivalent to around P41 billion of benefits and loans to 3.3 million beneficiaries, saying this amount should continue to enable the SSS to grant even more benefits and loans for the greater good of the SSS membership, both present and future.

“We submit that the additional peso contributions are rel-

atively small, ranging from P15 to P100 for employed members, from P30 to P200 for self-employed and voluntary members and from P80 to P200 for OFW members,” she added.

According to Ignacio, the predetermined contribution schedule is a long-overdue reform which will serve to offset the financial impact of improved and expanded benefits that the SSS has provided since 2017.

“Apart from the emergency Covid pandemic responses, these are the additional P1,000 monthly benefit allowance, ex-

panded maternity benefit and unemployment insurance benefit, with no corresponding additional funding,” she added.

“At this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, when members and pensioners have clamored for heightened benefits, including allowable loans, we would expect that proposed measures should clearly strengthen the SSS, not weaken it financially.

Stopping the collection of this considerable amount would clearly weaken our institution established to provide social protection,” Ignacio said.

PHL ready for shift to clean-energy regime–DOE Continued from A1

that many groups are exploring and developing other sources of energy like natural gas.

“The Philippines has the majority of the elements to transition to a clean energy system,” he said, noting that there are five elements that a country needs to move forward and be innovative.

Paulino listed these elements as: policies and regulations; enabling infrastructure; technology and innovation; market design and financial instruments; and innovative business models.

“Transitioning to RE is quite expensive and a lot of effort is involved.

We have to be able to align with one another in such a way that the whole value chain is seamless, complementary, and helpful to one another to allow us to transition,” he said.

Paulino stressed that the Philippines must “operationalize

policies and infrastructure and systems” in order to move forward with the transition.

For First Gen Corp. EVP Jon Russell, it is high time for the Philippines to cut its carbon emissions through cleaner energy sources.

First Gen is a leading company in energy production through liquefied natural gas.

“The Philippines has a strong reason in wanting to cut emissions in itself. The Philippines is the fourth on the list of countries that nobody wants to be on in 2018,” he said. “Although challenges clearly remain, the tide remains to be in favor of an energy transition.”

Costs go down in the long run

DESPITE the urgency, many still find RE to be more expensive than traditional energy sources today.

But according to Posadas, RE will become cost-effective in the

Continued from A1

to create legitimate employment, improve economic performance or move away from informal economic activity,” the study reported.

“These circumstances underpin credit rating determinations by international rating agencies and can result in lower credit rating scores, with the unfortunate consequence of further dampening the economic and financial forecast and nurturing the perpetuation of the structural conditions where illicit trade proliferates,” it added.

Singapore leads

agriculture, forestry and fishing (4,153); real-estate activities (3,824); human health and social work activities (3,788); mining and quarrying (2,304); electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (1,968); and water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (320).

Bounce back

Illicit…

long run, as the agency implements a competitive selection of entities that will be allowed to develop local resources.

He added that RE will allow more households to be electrified.

According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, shifting to renewable energy will help provide power to as many as 50 million people, especially in remote areas.

“RE will be cheaper in the long run,” Rozzano Briguez, the president of Philippine National Oil Co. Exploration Corp., agreed.

Work in harmony

ABOITIZ Power Corp. President Jaime Jose Aboitiz noted that the transition to cleaner energy systems will entail a close collaboration among stakeholders.

“This transition is really an allnation, all-hands-on-deck type of

deal. There is so much required from the government, private sector and academe to work really hard to make sure that any roadblocks that are there are taken away and opportunities are opened up for us to truly transition into a sustainable and renewable energy future,” he said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Committee on Energy, said lawmakers fully support this shift to renewables, citing 10 pending bills in the House that will ensure a smoother shift toward a cleaner future.

The bills include the institutionalization of research on energy resources, the use of electric vehicles, the development of waste-toenergy sources, the development of micro grids, and the promotion of natural gas as a sustainable energy source, among others.

“We need a sustainable transition backed by legislation,” he said.

IN Southeast Asia, for one, Singapore had the highest score in combatting illicit trade based on the Global Illicit Trade Environment Index (Gitei) at 71.1, and also maintains a perfect AAA, Aaa and AAA from S&P, Moody and Fitch, respectively.

In the upper middle quartile is Malaysia with a 60.3 score from Gitei, and an A-, A3 and A- from the three major credit rating agencies. Kuala Lumpur is followed by Bangkok that secured 59.8 from the latest Gitei, and keeps credit scores of AA-, Aa3 and AA-.

On the lower middle quartile, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia received scores between 45 and 50 from Gitei, and all three are working on raising their B ratings.

Cambodia placed among the last in Gitei with a rating of 30.6, and is only rated by Moody with a B2.

“The bottom line is that governments should prioritize and increase efforts to combat illicit trade, and the underlying conditions that facilitate it, because of the severe repercussions it has on society, the economy and development, and because it is in their own financial interest to do so,” the report concluded.

Pharma firms’ turn to face Senate vax hearing today Continued from A10

“Secretary Galvez’s briefing clarified a lot of issues,” Lacson told Senate reporters via Viber.

Lacson recalled receiving a message from Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Maga­long relaying Galvez’s request for “a meeting to apologize personally for the things he mentioned about me in his presentation during the T3 Zoom meeting last week—which I mentioned in my manifestation during the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing last January 5.”

The senator said Galvez’s Wednesday briefing “clarified a lot of issues and concerns raised by the senators that have remained unresolved until last night.”

In turn, Lacson said: “We advised him [Galvez] to explain in tomorrow’s hearing the same way that he did last night, without violating the terms of the agreement with the vaccine suppliers.” On their part, the senator reported that “we committed to honor and respect those terms so as not to put in jeopardy the deliveries of the vaccines that he said will start within the first quarter of this year.”

“I accepted his apology. He promised to be more careful in issuing statements,” Lacson said, adding: “We were shown the documents. And we have no doubt about Secretary Galvez’s integrity and his sincerity to accomplish his task.”

Moreover, Lacson advised Galvez to “mind his back, front, left and right sides,” adding, “He [Galvez] may have the best of intentions but there may be people pushing him out front to do the talking and explaining to take advantage of his credibility while pursuing their own interests,” the senator said. “He [Galvez] assured us that he will make it very hard for those people to even have an opening for that opportunity.”

Lacson likewise affirmed that “we share the same goal—to ensure our people are vaccinated against Covid-19, with no room for overpricing and other irregularities,” adding that “the Executive and Legislative departments must work together in this regard.”

Earlier, Duterte said he had advised officials like Duque and Galvez to continue heeding Senate invitations and be as transparent as possible, but to walk out in case of “abusive behavior” by senators who may politicize the vaccine issue.

Butch Fernandez

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Special courts for money laundering cases pushed

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HE Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has asked the Supreme Court to designate special courts that would handle cases involving money laundering.

AMLC Executive Director, lawyer Mel George Racela made the request during a courtesy call to SC Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta on Thursday.

Peralta and Racela were joined by Associate Justices Alexander G. Gesmundo and Ramon Paul L. Hernando, and Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez.

Aside from the creation of special courts to handle violation of the provisions of Republic Act 9160, or the AntiMoney Laundering Act of 2001, the AMLC, SC magistrates and the Court Administrator discussed the possible creation of a committee to review the Rule of Procedure in Cases of Bank Inquiry, or Examination of Deposit and Investment Accounts Relating to an Unlawful Activity or Money Laundering Offense under RA 9160, as amended. Joel R. San Juan

When wealth is health: Covid-19 jabs face delay if rich nations aim for 100% inoculation–expert

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

P

ROCURING vaccines against Covid-19 for poor countries like the Philippines may take longer if rich countries would aim for 100 percent vaccination for their citizens, rather than achieve “herd immunity,” according to the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD).

During the Ateneo Eagle Watch forum “Preparing your Business and Institution in Prioritizing for Recovery,” ACERD Senior Fellow and John Gokongwei School of Management, Dean Luis F. Dumlao said at the current pace, the earliest the common Filipino could get the vaccine is November.

Dumlao, however, said if rich countries will target herd immunity, or vaccinating only at least 80 percent of their populations, the

Pimentel off the hook on violation of quarantine protocol complaint

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed the criminal complaint for alleged violation of quarantine protocols lodged against Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III last year.

Lawyer Honey Delgado, spokesman of the Office of the Prosecutor General, said the complaint which was filed by lawyer Reco Paolo Quicho was dismissed for lack of probable cause.

Quicho specifically charged Pimentel for violation of Section 9 (e) of Republic Act (RA) 11332, or the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of the Public Health Concern.”

Quicho, former University of Makati School of Law, filed the complaint after Pimentel reportedly entered the premises of the Makati Medical Center (MMC) to accompany his wife who was about to give birth despite prior knowledge that he is suspected of being infected with coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19).

In a 19-page resolution, Delgado said the investigating prosecutor held that Quicho was not the proper party to file the complaint and that the evidence he presented were merely hearsay.

“News reports, being hearsay evidence, cannot be relied upon as proof

of the allegations in the complaint, or as a proof of the truth, because they were merely learned, read or heard from others,” the DOJ said.

Likewise, the DOJ held that Pimentel is not a public health authority that may be connected with the Department of Health or the Research or the Epidemiology Bureau, thus, not obliged to report under RA 11332.

“The mandatory reporting under RA 11332 was meant for public health authorities only,” it said.

The DOJ explained that even assuming that as a private individual he was mandated to report his medical condition under the said law, there was nothing to report then when he went to S&R supermarket in Bonifacio Global City on March 16 or at the Makati Medical City Hospital on March 24, 2020 since he only learned about his condition of being positive for Covid-19 on the same day, while he was at the hospital.

“There is no ‘non-cooperation’ under Section 9 [e] of RA deemed to have ‘cooperated’ when he left the hospital premises immediately after receiving the information about his medical condition,” it added.

Delgado said the DOJ considered the recommendation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which also conducted its separate probe on the incident for the case to be closed and terminated.

Binangonan cops under probe for alleged extortion activities

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

N

ATIONAL Police chief General Debold Sinas ordered on Thursday a deeper investigation into reported irregularities at the Binangonan Municipal Police Station in Rizal following the arrest of two civilian agents for alleged extortion.

Sinas ordered Calabarzon regional police director Brig. Gen. Felipe Natividad to place Binangonan chief of police Lt. Col. Ferdinand Ancheta under investigation for command responsibility over allegations of extortion involving his subordinate personnel that was confirmed in an entrapment operation on Tuesday by the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) right in front of the town hall.

“I will not let this incident pass without implementing appropriate criminal and administrative action against those involved,” Sinas vowed.

The IMEG operation resulted in

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, January 22, 2021 A3

the arrest of Albert Domingo, alias Joel, and Pablo Dolfo, alias Botchok, both civilian “assets” of the Binangonan Police Station.

Domingo and Dolfo were identified by IMEG as the persons who extorted money from a certain Stephen Kellu in exchange for the release of an impounded motor vehicle.

During the entrapment operation, IMEG operatives also discovered that a “person under police custody,” Corporal Archieval Perez, who is facing non-bailable charges for infidelity in the custody of prisoners, was outside the detention facility and serving as lookout during the extortion pay off using two mobile phones for communication, according to IMEG director, Col. Thomas Frias Jr. Kellu, the complainant, also identified six members of Binangonan Police Station as involved in the alleged extortion.

They are: Senior Master Sgt. Randy Andanar, Staff Sgts. Joel Acosta, Joe Sevillena, Corporals Allan Alvarez, Marson Tayaban and Ew Armenis.

ordinary Filipino would be able to get the jab earlier, perhaps around September this year.

“What we really need is only 80 percent to get herd immunity and if these countries become more considerate and stop thinking of 100 percent vaccination and start thinking of 80 percent vaccination, then we will get our vaccination, Juan dela Cruz will get his vaccination in September as opposed to November,” Dumlao said.

Based on the model, Dumlao plotted that countries such as Luxembourg and Ireland will get the vaccines first followed by the ordinary citizens in the US and those in China by April. India is expected to get their vaccine by February 2022, assuming that countries will aim for 100 percent vaccination.

Currently, for every 100 people, rich countries bought 254 vaccines, while in poor countries, for every

100 people, only 14 vaccines have been secured.

This is lamentable, he said, especially in the case of the Philippines, which has already detected the presence of another Covid-19 variant in the past week. At the current rate of infections, Dumlao estimated that the country could have 75,000 active cases by the end of February.

However, Dumlao said, it may still be too early to tell whether this will become a reality for the country.

One of the reasons is the gap in data monitoring since data collection may have stopped during the holidays, which may perhaps explain the recent increase in active cases.

Dumlao said, nonetheless, the hope of Filipinos is for these rich countries to give away the vaccines they did not use to poor countries. He said institutions such as the USAID and the AusAid may consider sharing the vaccines they have.

“Once they have secured vaccination for their population, they would have excess, which experience goes, what they would do is, in the case of the US, you have the USAID, in the case of Australia, we have the AusAid, and so on and so forth,” he added.

“They’re not buying to hog them but they are buying as if eventually, the excess will be shared to the rest of the world. And it does not help if the rhetoric is bad. If we are bad mouthing our partners, if we do that, it’s very difficult for us to get the donations that we need from these countries with excess vaccinations,” Dumlao said.

Meanwhile, Dumlao said the current pace of vaccine development is encouraging based on data from the Manila-based multilateral development bank Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Dumlao said that based on ADB data, the seven vaccines cost around

$3 to $70 per dose. Two vaccines, the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) have only one dose and costs the least at $3 to $4 per dose and $10 per dose, respectively.

The most expensive is the $70 worth Fierce vaccine developed by China-based Sinopharm. This is followed by Moderna which will cost $32 to $37 per dose.

AstraZeneca and J&J manufacturing capacities are 2.32 billion doses and 1 billion doses by December 2021. Sinopharm was able to manufacture 0.2 billion as of December last year, while Moderna expects to produce 1 billion doses

by December this year.

“If these manufacturing capacities are achieved as indicated here, then 5 billion of 8 billion, the population of the whole world is around 8 billion, then 5 billion of 8 billion will complete the vaccination by the end of 2021,” Dumlao said.

MMDA to deploy permanent personnel to Marikina City for dredging, dike repair

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EWLY installed Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos Jr. has assured the deployment of permanent personnel to Marikina City who will conduct dredging activities and restoration of dikes during floods in the city.

This developed after the agency chief and his personnel met with Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro and city officials during their visit at City Hall on Thursday, January 21, 2021.

The new MMDA chairman has been visiting local governments in the metropolis to assess the needs in their areas and to assure better coordination with the agency.

“The MMDA promised to assist the city in its dredging operations that aims to increase the water carrying capacity of Marikina River and prevent future flooding,” Mayor Teodoro said.

“MMDA Chairman Abalos also vowed to help Marikina City in restoring the dikes in Provident Village which were damaged during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses,” he added.

Teodoro expressed gratitude to MMDA for helping the city before and after the devastation of Typhoon Ulysses, saying the agency helped Marikina City to clear around 950,000 cubic meters of debris that they collected.

The dredging is part of MMDA’s programs which will be coordinated with the Department of Public Works and Highway, Abalos said.

Abalos, for his part, lauded Teodoro for leading Marikina’s Covid-19 response by taking the initiative in building its own molecular diagnostics laboratory to detect those who got infected with the virus—making the city the first local government to have

MARIKINA City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro meets newly installed Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos Jr. on Thursday, January 21, 2021. Mayor Teodoro has vowed full support to the programs and projects of the new MMDA chairman.

such in Metro Manila.

More Metro streetlight

STRESSING it could help lessen or avoid fatal accidents, Abalos has requested the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to improve lighting fixtures along major thoroughfares across the metropolis.

“Public safety is our utmost priority. Only one busted or broken light would endanger lives,” Abalos explained during his meeting with the officials of DPWH and Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday.

He added, “Without the street lights, our motorists and commuters are in danger. Part of road

safety is making the road visible to all its users.”

The DPWH, through Undersecretary Robert Bernardo, agreed to fix all streetlights along major thoroughfares and to turn over these to the MMDA within 10 days.

He also said that the DPWH will pay for the electric bill of all the road lights until the time it is transferred to the MMDA. Bernardo, however, raised concern on thieves stealing lights and other electrical fixtures on selected major thoroughfares, especially tunnels and underpasses.

“We will continue our cooperation with the MMDA and the LGUs to make sure that all the streetlights

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIKINA CITY LGU

are working,” Bernardo assured.

Bernardo also warned those who are stealing electric materials that they will face charges as streetlights are government properties.

Abalos appealed for inter-agency collaboration to make sure that major thoroughfares are maintained to be well-lit.

The DOTr, through road sector senior consultant Bert Suansing, expressed support for Abalos and his initiatives to alleviate traffic in Metro Manila such as construction of elevated bus ramps.

“We support Chairman Abalos in pushing for safer roads and pedestrian-friendly walkways,” he said.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

House bill assures preservation, roadworthiness of vintage cars

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OUSE Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian is pushing for the passage of a bill protecting and regulating the ownership and use of vintage vehicles, which, he said, could provide economic opportunities to Filipinos, while giving importance to the country’s history and heritage.

In House Bill 8244, or the Vintage Vehicle Act, the lawmaker said restoration of vintage vehicles and the production of their spare parts constitute a major international indus-

try, for which the country’s unique conditions make it competitive.

According to Gatchalian, the bill provides for the reduction of taxes, fees, and other duties on importation of spare and replacement parts.

“In a world beset by the pandemic and threatened by recession, it is important to explore the economic opportunities, create jobs for mechanics, tinsmiths, craftsmen, painters, laborers, shop owners and small and medium industries, while at the same time preserving

the country’s heritage in its motoring history,” Gatchalian said in the explanatory note of the bill.

He pointed out that vintage vehicles should be considered part of our country’s historical and cultural heritage. These vintage vehicles are considered as national treasures, the lawmaker added.

“I believe we are just custodians for the next generation that’s why we need to promote, protect and preserve these vintage vehicles,” said Gatchalian, who is also an avid

vintage car restorer.

In a hearing held on January 20, the Manila Sportscar Club, Land Transportation Office, and Highway Patrol Group have already expressed support for the passage of the said bill.

“They have not only passed the test of time but also serve as testimonial to the ingenuity, artistry and skills of their mechanics and builders as well as of dedication and passion of their owners,” Gatchalian added.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

A4 Friday, January 22, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Ookla: PHL Internet speed still ‘eons’ behind global average

W

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

HILE the Philippines fared better in the global rankings for Internet speeds in December, its average speeds for both mobile and fixed broadband are still “eons” behind the world average, according to data from Ookla.

In Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, the Philippines ranked 96th in terms of mobile Internet speed, while it ranked 100th in rankings for fixed line broadband.

This means that from its November standing, the Philippines climbed 14 notches from its previous ranking for mobile, and three notches from its standing for fixed broadband.

Ookla’s index involves 139 coun-

tries for mobile Internet and 176 nations for fixed broadband.

According to Ookla, the Philippines had an average mobile Internet speed of 22.50 Mbps, far below the global average of 47.20 Mbps and almost nine times worse than Qatar, the nation with the fastest mobile Internet speed of 178.01 Mbps.

The Philippine fixed broadband speed averaged at 31.44 Mbps in

December, three times lower than that of the global average of 96.43 Mbps, and more than 10 times slower than top country Thailand’s 308.35 Mbps.

In the Asean, the Philippines is considered to have the third slowest mobile Internet speed, while ranking 6th in terms of fastest fixed broadband in the region.

Ookla’s index is based on “at least 300 unique user results for mobile or

fixed broadband.”

Local telcos were expected to have spent roughly P270 billion in 2020—P50 billion for Globe, P70 billion for PLDT, and P150 billion for new entrant Dito Telecommunity—to modernize and build their mobile and fixed networks.

Last year, no less than President Duterte warned telcos of a government takeover if the players fail to improve their services.

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

President Biden takes the helm, appeals for unity to take on crises

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ASHINGTON—Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” and summoning American resilience and unity to confront the deeply divided nation’s historic confluence of crises.

Denouncing a national “uncivil war,” Biden took the oath at a US Capitol that had been battered by an insurrectionist siege just two weeks earlier. Then, taking his place in the White House Oval Office, he plunged into a stack of executive actions that began to undo the heart of his polarizing predecessor’s agenda on matters from the deadly pandemic to climate change.

At the Capitol, with America’s tradition of peaceful transfers of power never appearing more fragile, the ceremony unfolded within a circle of security forces evocative of a war zone and devoid of crowds because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, Biden gazed out on a cold Washington morning dotted with snow flurries to see over 200,000 American flags planted on the National Mall to symbolize those who could not attend in person.

“The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded.

We’ve learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” Biden declared in his speech. “This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve.”

History was made at his side, as Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president. The former US senator from California is also the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency and the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in the US government.

Biden never mentioned his predecessor, who defied tradition and left town ahead of the ceremony, but his speech was an implicit rebuke of Donald Trump.

The new president denounced “lies told for power and for profit” and was blunt about the challenges ahead.

Central among them: the surging virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States, as well as economic strains and a national reckoning over race.

“We have much to do in this winter of peril, and significant possibilities. Much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build and much to gain,” Biden said.

“Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged, or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we’re in now.”

Biden was eager to go big early, with an ambitious first 100 days including a push to speed up the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations to anxious Americans and pass a $1.9 trillion economic relief package. It included a blitz of executive orders on matters that don’t require congressional approval—a mix of substantive and symbolic steps to unwind the Trump years. His actions included re-entry into the Paris Climate Accords and a mandate for wearing masks on federal property.

“There’s no time to start like today,” a masked Biden said in the Oval Office. Then he swore in hundreds of aides—virtually—telling them, “You’re my possibilities.”

The absence of Biden’s predecessor from the inaugural ceremony underscored the national rift to be healed.

But a bipartisan trio of former presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama—were there to witness the transfer of power. Trump, awaiting his second impeachment trial, was at his Florida resort by the time the swearing-in took place.

Biden, in his third run for the presidency, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanizing a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy. Four years after Trump’s “American Carnage” speech painted a dark portrait of national decay, Biden warned that the fabric of the nation’s democracy was tearing but could be repaired.

“I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real. But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart,” Biden said. “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward and we must meet this moment as the United States of America.”

Swearing the oath with his hand on a five-inch-thick Bible that has been in his family for 128 years, Biden came to office with a well of empathy and resolve born by personal tragedy as well as a depth of experience forged from more than four decades in Washington. At age 78, he is the oldest president inaugurated.

Both he, Harris and their spouses walked the last short part of the route to the White House after an abridged parade. Biden then strode into the Oval Office, a room he knew well as vice president, for the first time as commander in chief.

At the Capitol earlier, Biden, like all those in attendance, wore a facemask except when speaking. Tens of thousands of National Guard troops were on the streets to provide security precisely two weeks after a violent mob of Trump supporters, incited by the Republican president, stormed the building in an attempt to prevent the certification of Biden’s victory.

“Here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people,” Biden said. “To stop the work of our democracy. To drive us from this sacred ground. It did not happen. It will never happen. Not today, not tomorrow. Not ever. Not ever.”

The tense atmosphere evoked the 1861 inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, who was secretly transported to Washington to avoid assassins on the eve of the Civil War, or Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural in 1945, when he opted for a small, secure ceremony at the White House in the waning months of World War II. But Washington, all but deserted downtown and in its federal areas, was quiet.

And calm also prevailed outside heavily fortified state Capitol buildings across the nation after the FBI had warned of the possibility for armed demonstrations leading up to the inauguration.

The day began with a reach across the political aisle after four years of bitter partisan battles under Trump. At Biden’s invitation, congressional leaders from both parties bowed their heads in prayer in the socially distanced service a few blocks from the White House.

Biden was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts; Harris by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court. Vice President Mike Pence, standing in for Trump, sat nearby as Lady Gaga, holding a golden microphone, sang the National Anthem accompanied by the US Marine Corps band.

When Pence, in a last act of the outgoing administration, left the Capitol, he walked through a door with badly cracked glass from the riot two weeks ago. Later, Biden, Harris and their spouses were joined by the former presidents to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Ceremony.

By afternoon, a White House desolate in Trump’s waning days sprang back to life, with Biden staffers settling in and new Covid-19 safety measures, like plastic shields on desks, in place.

In the evening, in lieu of the traditional balls that welcome a new president to Washington, Biden and Harris appeared separately at the Lincoln Memorial to take part in a televised concert that also marked the return of A-list celebrities to the White House orbit after they largely eschewed Trump. Among those in the lineup: Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The Bidens ended their evening watching fireworks from a White House balcony.

This was not an inauguration for the crowds. But Americans in the capital city nonetheless brought their hopes to the moment.

“I feel so hopeful, so thankful,” said Karen Jennings Crooms, a D.C. resident who hoped to catch a glimpse of the presidential motorcade on Pennsylvania Avenue with her husband. “It makes us sad that this is where we are but hopeful that democracy will win out in the end. That’s what I’m focusing on.”

Trump was the first president in more than a century to skip the inauguration of his successor. After a brief farewell celebration at nearby Joint Base Andrews, he boarded Air Force One for the final time as president.

“I will always fight for you. I will be watching. I will be listening and I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better,” said Trump. He wished the incoming administration well but never mentioned Biden’s name.

Trump did adhere to one tradition and left a personal note for Biden in the Oval Office. Biden would only tell reporters that it was “a very generous letter.”

Trump, in his farewell video remarks, hinted at a political return, saying “we will be back in some form.” Without question, he will shadow Biden’s first days in office.

Trump’s second impeachment trial could start as early as this week. That will test the ability of the Senate, now coming under Democratic control, to balance impeachment proceedings with confirmation hearings and votes on Biden’s Cabinet choices. AP

TheWorld BusinessMirror

Friday, January 22, 2021

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BusinessMirror

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ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5-10/f Tower 1 Pitx Kennedy Road Tambo Parañaque City

NO.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

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YIN, XINGHUA Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

45.

CHIN ONN KWANG Malaysian

46.

OOI WEIJIE Malaysian

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

NO.

79.

YANG, ZHIPENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

124.

XIE, YANQING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

80.

ZHU, LIANGCHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

125.

YU, ZHONGXING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

ITECHNO SPECIALIST INC. U-608 Eastfield Ctr. Moa Comp. Macapagal Ave. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

126.

YU, CHANGYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

1.

CHEN, GUIHUA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

2.

GONG, JIALIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

LU, JINGTAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

4.

WONG CHEN LUP Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

5.

HUANG, QIBIAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

6.

JIANG, WENYUAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

7.

KHIN SOE SOE WIN Myanmari

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

8.

LI, YONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

9.

LIANG, SUHAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

10.

LU, JUNLONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

50.

11.

NGUYEN SI SANH Vietnamese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila

12.

NGUYEN THI NGOC NHUNG Vietnamese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

51.

HU, SHIYING Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

52.

LI, YIJIN Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

53.

XU, XIUHUI Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

15.

QUAN, YUBO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

54.

YU, CANBO Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

16.

SHI, YUZHE Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

17.

SU, ZONGHUI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

55.

CHEN, GUIQUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

89.

CAO, MEIQU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

18.

TIAN, HAIQIANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

56.

PAN, LE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

90.

CHEN, WURONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZHANG, ZHIPENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

57.

91.

CHEN, WEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZHANG, SIYUAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

FIRST GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. Lot 5 Sta. Agueda Cor. Queensway Pagcor Drive Sto. Niño Parañaque City

92.

DUAN, LINGXING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

21.

ZHANG, YONGMIN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

58.

WANG, LIPING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

93.

GE, HONGTAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

22.

ZHI, HAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

59.

WANG, YUFENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

94.

HE, BI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

23.

ZHOU, ZHAOFEI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

95.

HE, LEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

24.

ZHU, HONGPEI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

96.

JI, CHANGXIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

97.

JIAO, WEIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

98.

LE, FEIHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

99.

LI, QINGQING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

100.

LI, HAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

101.

LI, XIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

102.

LI, ECHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

103.

LI, SHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

104.

LIAO, WAN-HSIN Taiwanese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

105.

LIU, SHUANGSHUANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

106.

LIU, GUANGZHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

107.

MENG, ZHAOJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

108.

NGUYEN THI KHANH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

109.

PAN, ZHIJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

110.

QIAO, MENGYAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

111.

QIN, HAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

112.

SHAO, ZHIGANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

113.

SHE, ZHILIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

114.

SUN, CHAONAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

115.

VU DUY VIET Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

116.

WANG, XIAOLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

117.

WANG, JUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

118.

WANG, FENGMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

119.

WANG, ZHENGWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

120.

WANG, YONGMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

3.

13.

14.

19.

20.

OU, GUANBIAO Chinese PANG, YUWEN Chinese

AMUSETECH BUSINESS OUTSOURCING 2/f Rivergreen Residences 2217 Pedro Gil St. 096, Bgy 880 Santa Ana Manila 25.

LI, ZIQI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D. Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street Tambo Parañaque City 26.

TRAN SAU KHIN Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BAOLONG TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY GROUP LIMITED INC. 20-29th/f Century Diamond Tower Kalayaan Ave. Cor. Salamanca St. Poblacion Makati City 27.

CHEN, HAIFENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

28.

CUI, BAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

29.

LI, TAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

30.

LI, YIBING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

31.

LIU, ZIYU Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

32.

LUONG XUAN HUY Vietnamese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

33.

MA, FEIYAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

34.

QIAO, JIANNING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CASTELIS ASIA INC. Unit 202 2/f Riverbend Bldg. 1869 P. Domingo St. Kasilawan Makati City 47.

MOUYAL, JORDAN DAVID French

TECHNICAL DELIVERY MANAGER

COGNITIF INC. Unit 1208 Orient Square Bldg. Ortigas Center F. Ortigas Jr. Pasig City 48.

ZHANG, WENLIANG Chinese

SALES ASSOCIATE-CHINESE MARKET

COUNTRYGARDEN CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Unit 1502 15th Floor The Trade And Financial Tower 7th Ave. Cor. 32nd Street Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 49.

ZHENG, CHENGBANG Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

E-SCIENCE CORPORATION U-2001 Richville Corporate Tow Mbp Ayala-alabang Muntinlupa City CONWAY, RYAN JOHN MICHAEL British

SOFTWARE ENGINEER LEVEL 2

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

QIN, JIAJIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

FUXINGYING CAIYUN HENTONG, CORP. 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th Floor Eton Ewestpod Chino Roces Avenue Cor. Yakal & Malugay Streets San Antonio Makati City 60.

GAO, LIFEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

61.

LE NGOC LINH Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

62.

LING, LIMIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

LIU, XINBIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

63.

64.

ZHANG, MINHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING Ground Level, Level 2-5 Floor Silver City 4, Ortigas East Ugong Pasig City 65.

YAN, TINGSONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES PHILS. INC. U-5302, 53/f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave., Cor., V.a. Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City 66.

67.

PANG, YINHUA Chinese

PLDT WIRELESS PROJECT DELIVERY MANAGER

CHEN, LINGBO Chinese

PRODUCT MANAGER FOR GLOBE 4G AND 5G UPGRADE PROJECT

IDNPLAY CORPORATION 8/f Burgundy Corporate Tower 252 Sen. Gil J.puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City RAMA RIO HERDIANTO Indonesian

INDONESIAN-SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE

35.

WANG, JINTAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

68.

36.

XIE, LIHAI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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

C’EST LA VIE EVENT MANAGEMENT INC. 230 Narra Street Marikina Heights Marikina City 37.

38.

39.

LUO, TIANYONG Chinese KE, YARU Chinese GODFREY, ANTHONY GEORGE FRANCIS British

CHINESE-BOOTH FABRICATION SPECIALIST CONSULTANT CHINESE-GENERAL TRADE MARKETING SPECIALIST CONSULTANT FIELD SALES CONSULTANT

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

076 Pasay City

69.

AO, XIANKUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

70.

BAO, ZHENGDI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

71.

CHEN, LEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

72.

CHEN, LEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

73.

HUANG, TAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

74.

KE, LIANGSHI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

LIN, DUOZHI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

81.

GUO, XIYAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT

127.

ZHANG, ANSONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

82.

ZHAO, YANRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT

128.

ZHAO, WENHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

83.

MARVENA Indonesian

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

129.

ZHENG, HUIHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

130.

ZHENG, LEIFANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

131.

ZHUANG, MINGJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

JIANGSU DIBANG CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Unit 2106-a West Tower Psec Exchange Road, Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City 84.

CHEN, XIAOQIANG Chinese

TECHNICIAN

JIU ZHOU TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. 31/f Tower 6789 6789 Ayala Avenue San Lorenzo Makati City 85.

HUANG, PING-CHIEH Taiwanese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LAMUDI TECHNICAL SERVICES CORP. Unit 28b 28/f Bpi Philam Life Bldg. 6811 Ayala Ave. Bel-air Makati City 86.

ROCKYASL, SARA Iranian

DATA ANALYST

LVC FOODS CORPORATION Unit 102 B Ground Floor The Finance Centre 26th Street Corner 9th Avenue Bgc Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 87.

KITAYAMA, YOJI Japanese

EXECUTIVE HEAD CHEF

MITSUI & CO. (ASIA PACIFIC) PTE. LTD. MANILA BRANCH 36/f Gt Tower International 6813 Ayala Avenue Bel-air Makati City 88.

IWAYANAGI, TETSUO Japanese

MANAGER - IRON & STEEL DIVISION

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

MPOTECH DIGITAL SYSTEM INC. 2/f 331 Bldg. Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City 132.

DANI DWIKI SASONGKO Indonesian

INDONESIAN - MARKETING OFFICER

133.

YANTI LAMTARULI SIMANULLANG Indonesian

INDONESIAN - MARKETING OFFICER

134.

ALDI PRANATA Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

135.

CARINA PRATAMA Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

136.

CHERICO PHENDAWA Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

137.

ROMARIO Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

138.

SUSANTO WIJAYA Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

139.

TOMMY PRATAMA Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

140.

YAN PRATAMA Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION Sky Garage Bldg. Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City Tambo Parañaque City 141.

BAN, JINGZHU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

142.

CHEN, RONGSHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

143.

DENG, RUSHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

144.

DONG, ZHIMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

145.

DU, JIANPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

146.

HUANG, WENJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

147.

HUANG, TIANRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

148.

HUI, RU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

149.

JU, HAOJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

150.

LI, NA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

151.

LI, DAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

152.

LI, YANAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

153.

LIN, RENMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

154.

LIN, QIBANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

155.

LIN, RUYI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

156.

LIU, YOUFU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

157.

LIU, XIAOHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

158.

LIU, JIANING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

159.

LIU, ZHILONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

160.

LUO, XINMEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

161.

PAN, XUELONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

162.

QI, YING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

163.

QIAO, HUANTING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

164.

SU, WENLIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

165.

TANG, MENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

166.

WANG, SHENGQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

167.

WANG, XIAOCHUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

168.

WANG, LINTAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

169.

WANG, JIANGHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

170.

XU, ZHENWEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

171.

YU, JING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

172.

ZENG, LUOYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

GAO, YANG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

75.

41.

LIU, JISHENG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

76.

WANG, SHAOXIAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

121.

WEI, LIANG Chinese

42.

SUI, CHAO Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

77.

XU, FENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

122.

WU, SIYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

173.

ZHANG, HONGLIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

43.

WANG, KUNMING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

78.

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A7

Vice President Harris: A new chapter opens in US politics W

A SHINGTON—Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath Wednesday to hold the nation’s second-highest office.

Hours after she was sworn in as the first female US vice president—and the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent in the role—she cast the moment as one that embodied “American aspiration.”

“Even in dark times we not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be,” she said in brief remarks outside the Lincoln Memorial. “We are bold, fearless and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome, that we will rise up.”

For Harris, the day was steeped in history and significance in more ways than one. She was escorted to the podium by Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, the officer who single-handedly took on a mob of Trump supporters as they tried to breach the Senate floor during the Capitol insurrection, and she was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first woman of color on the court, on a Bible that once belonged to former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

She wore a deep purple dress and coat created by two emerging Black designers.

Her rise is historic in any context, another moment when a stubborn boundary falls away, expanding the idea of what’s possible in American politics. But it’s particularly meaningful because Harris takes office at a moment when Americans are grappling over institutional racism and confronting a pandemic that has disproportionately devastated Black and brown communities.

Those close to Harris say she’ll bring an important—and often missing—perspective to the debates on how to overcome the many hurdles facing the new administration.

“In many folks’ lifetimes, we experienced a segregated United States,” said Lateefah Simon, a civil rights advocate and longtime Harris

friend and mentee. “You will now have a Black woman who will walk into the White House not as a guest but as a second in command of the free world.”

Harris—the child of immigrants, a stepmother of two and the wife of a Jewish man—“carries an intersectional story of so many Americans who are never seen and heard.”

Later during the procession to the vice presidential office building, she was led by her alma mater Howard University’s marching band and walked while holding the hand of her grandniece and alongside her husband, stepchildren, sister, brother-in-law and nieces.

She then quickly got to work, presiding as Senate president for the first time to swear in three new Democratic senators: Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California, Harris’ replacement.

Harris, 56, moves into the vice presidency just four years after she first came to Washington as a senator from California, where she’d served as attorney general and as San Francisco’s district attorney. She had expected to work with a White House run by Hillary Clinton, but President Donald Trump’s victory quickly scrambled the nation’s capital and set the stage for the rise of a new class of Democratic stars. Her own presidential bid fizzled, but her rise continued when President Joe Biden chose her as his running mate.

Wednesday evening, she urged Americans to join Biden’s call for “the courage to see beyond crisis, to do what is hard, to do what is good.”

With Trump absent from the inauguration, Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, took on the symbolic duty of escorting former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, out of the Capitol. It’s a gesture that would normally be performed by incoming and outgoing presidents.

To celebrate the historic day, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the nation’s oldest sorority for Black women, which Harris joined at Howard University, declared Wednesday as Soror Kamala D.

Harris Day. Members of the sorority watching the celebrations across the country were clad in pearls, as was Harris, and the sorority’s pink and green colors.

“There is a pride I can’t put into words,” said Elizabeth Shelby, a member of the sorority’s Alpha Psi chapter, who watched from her home in Nashville, Tennessee. “It is such a joy to see her rise to this place in our country. It is such a joy to know that she is one of us, that she represents us.”

Biden, in his inaugural address, reflected on the 1913 march for women’s suffrage the day before President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, during which some marchers were heckled and attacked.

“Today, we mark the swearing in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President K amala Harr is.

Don’t tell me things can’t change,” Biden said.

As vice president, Harris will expand the definition of who gets to hold power in American politics, said Martha S. Jones, a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University and the author of “Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All.” People who want to understand Harris and connect with her will have to learn what it means to graduate from a historically Black college and university rather than an Ivy League school. They will have to understand Harris’ traditions, like the Hindu celebration of Diwali, Jones said.

“Folks are going to have to adapt to her rather than her adapting to them,” Jones said.

Her election to the vice presidency should be just the beginning of putting Black women in leadership positions, Jones said, particularly after the role Black women played in organizing and turning out voters in the November election.

“We will all learn what happens to the kind of capacities and insights of Black women in politics when those capacities and insights are permitted to lead,” Jones said. AP

World leaders welcome Biden, hope for renewed cooperation with US

M

EXICO CITY—World leaders welcomed into their ranks the new US President Joe Biden, noting their most pressing problems, including the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, require multilateral cooperation, an approach his predecessor Donald Trump ridiculed.

Many expressed hope Biden would right US democracy two weeks after rioters stormed the Capitol, shaking the faith of those fighting for democracy in their own countries.

Governments targeted and sanctioned under Trump embraced the chance for a fresh start with Biden, while some heads of state that lauded Trump’s blend of nationalism and populism were more restrained in their expectations.

But the chance to repair frayed alliances and work together on global problems carried the day.

China, whose US relations nosedived due to widespread frustration in Washington over its human rights record and accusations of technology theft, expressed cautious hope about the change in the White House.

“China looks forward to working with the new administration to promote sound & steady development of China-US relations and jointly address global challenges in public health, climate change & growth,” China’s ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, tweeted.

Biden “understands the importance of cooperation among nations,”said former Colombian president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos, who left office in 2018. “As a matter of fact, if we don’t cooperate—all nations—to fight climate change, then we will all perish. It’s as simple as that.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also noted the urgency of addressing the perils of climate change after Trump withdrew the US from the Paris climate accord, a move Biden reversed in the first hours of his presidency Wednesday.

With Biden, “we will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future.

Stronger to protect our planet,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!”

Other European allies saw a chance to come in out of the cold after strained relationships with the Trump administration.

European Council President Charles Michel said trans-Atlantic relations have “greatly suffered in the last four years” while the world has become less stable and less predictable.

“We have our differences and they will not magically disappear. America seems to have changed, and how it’s perceived in Europe and the rest of the world has also changed,” added Michel, whose open criticism of the Trump era contrasted with the silence that mostly reigned in Europe while the Republican leader was in the White House.

In Ballina, Ireland, where Biden’s great-greatgrandfather was born in 1832, a mural of a smiling Biden adorned a wall in the town, where some of the president’s relatives still live.

“As he takes the oath of office, I know that President Biden will feel the weight of history—the presence of his Irish ancestors who left Mayo and Louth in famine times in search of life and hope,” Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who formed close ties with Trump, noted a personal friendship with Biden and said he looked forward to working together to further strengthen the US-Israel alliance.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has accused Trump of unfair bias toward Israel with policies like moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, expressed hope for a more even-handed approach from Biden. He urged “a comprehensive and just peace process that fulfills the aspirations of the Palestinian people for freedom and independence.”

In Latin America, Biden faces immediate challenges on immigration, and the leaders of the two most populous countries—Brazil and Mexico—were chummy with Trump. The Trump administration also expanded painful sanctions against governments in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

In Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro’s government urged dialogue with the Biden administration, while hoping the new president abandons the avalanche of damaging sanctions Trump imposed to attempt a regime change.

Some Venezuelans, however, like retired accountant Jesús Sánchez, 79, said he was disappointed to see Trump leave power. Trump backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó, giving Venezuelans like him hope that Maduro’s days in power were numbered.

Carlos Vecchio, Guaido’s envoy in Washington who the US recognizes as Venezuela’s ambassador, tweeted photos of himself at Biden’s inauguration.

The invitation to attend was touted by Venezuela’s opposition as evidence the Biden administration

will continue its strong support and resist entreaties

by Maduro for dialogue that the US has strenuously rejected until now.

Cuba’s leaders perhaps have a more realistic hope for improved relations: Biden was in the White House for the historic thaw in relations in 2014, and various officials expressed willingness to reopen a dialogue with Washington if there was respect for Cuba’s sovereignty.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel railed against Trump via Twitter, citing “more than 200 measures that tightened the financial, commercial and economic blockade, the expression of a despicable and inhuman policy.”

In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who cultivated an unexpectedly friendly relationship with Trump and was one of the last world leaders to recognize Biden’s victory, read from a letter he sent to Biden in 2012, calling for reorienting the bilateral relationship away from security and military aid and toward development.

He urged Biden to implement immigration reform, and added: “We need to maintain a very good relationship with the United States government and I don’t have any doubt that it’s going to be that way.”

US allies in the Asia-Pacific region expressed anticipation of strengthening those alliances under a Biden administration. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and others highlighted their shared values as leaders of democracies.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said: “America’s new beginning will make democracy even greater.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Biden was a good friend to New Zealand and highlighted in particular the words given in his inaugural address.

“President Biden’s message of unity as he takes office is one that resonates with New Zealanders,” Ardern said.

World leaders also acknowledged the history of Vice President Kamala Harris taking office. She is the first woman, the first Black woman and the first South Asian to hold that office in the US. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter congratulated both Biden and Harris, whose maternal grandfather was Indian.

“That is a historic moment and one that, I think as a father of daughters, you can only celebrate,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. AP

A8

Friday, January 22, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Is Netflix killing Planet Earth?

O

ne result of the massive lockdowns in countries across the world has been the huge surge in online streaming. The industry recorded nearly 100 percent growth. Viewers consumed 3.93 billion hours of content in April 2020 compared to 1.97 billion hours in April 2019.

The Shift Project is a French organization founded in 2010 by “energy-climate” experts aiming to address two issues: Climate change and the depletion of fossil fuels.

In July 2019, the Shift Project released a report titled “Unsustainable and Growing Impact” of online video. The report claimed that video streaming was responsible for more than 300 million tons of CO2 in 2018, roughly equivalent to the emissions profile of France.

That implies that binge watching Tiger King on Netflix created as much carbon emission as a car that traveled a distance of 2,000 kilometers.

Sometimes, the problem with “think tanks” is that they look for data to support a conclusion rather than drawing a conclusion from the data.

In this case, the Shift Project over-estimated the carbon emissions from watching live streaming over the Internet by a factor of 80. The Shift Project published a follow-up article to correct a bit/byte conversion error, which saw CO2 emissions released by watching half an hour of Netflix revised downward to 0.2kg from 1.6kg per half hour. And that figure might still be too high.

So, you can still continue to watch Netflix and YouTube without worrying too much about killing Planet Earth. Of course, watching too much Tiger King could still be killing your brain cells, but that is a different issue.

However, by 2025, Internet use could be responsible for an astonishing 20 percent of global electricity consumption. The potential monster is the Internet of Things and the tidal wave of data it must power. “The Internet of Things describes the network of physical objects—“things”— that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the Internet.”

For example, your digital washing machine may make a periodic diagnostic check that is sent over a wireless Internet connection to your Smartphone.

Swedish researcher Anders Andrae, in a peer-reviewed study in 2016, said the ICT industry’s power demand would increase by six times from 2016 to 2025. The International Energy Agency reported that global electricity demand rose by 4 percent in 2019, the fastest pace since 2010 with China, the US, and India the top electricity consumers. Globally, coal supplied the biggest amount of our electricity at 38 percent, while gas and hydro were second and third at 23 percent and 19 percent. Only 3 percent of our electricity came from oil.

Increased electricity consumption and the unprecedented growth rate of the Internet are not coincidental. The Next Web reported that there were 4.4 billion Internet users across the globe at the beginning of 2021, a 9 percent annual increase. This past week the press reported that “Iranian authorities are blaming power outages and worsening air pollution in cities across the country on the energy drain caused by bitcoin mining operation.”

According to current estimates, the Internet consumes about 3 percent to 5 percent of the world’s electricity output. Remember that the next time you watch the “Top 10 Best Cat Videos of All Time.”

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The digital transition could start at the LGU level Sonny M. Angara

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he future is digital. When the Covid-19 pandemic required strict quarantine guidelines, it was no surprise that business, financial, and even personal transactions went online. One need only to look into how more Filipinos now regularly use their mobile phones and computers to shop, do their groceries, and even transact with their banks. Our government processes and services should follow suit.

Around September 2020, I filed the Use of Digital Payments Act (SB 1764), which aims to promote the universal use of safe and efficient digital payment systems for financial transactions involving the government and the general public. It was only logical that more of our government agencies adopted online payments, given the directive for people to stay home or refrain from crowded spaces (including cue lines for paying one’s taxes at the city hall). Anyway, more

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and government processes to be backed up by law.

Building an e-government in the Philippines, however, faces significant challenges. For instance, in a September 2020 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, researchers pointed out that limited access to computers, lack of standardization, poor infrastructure, and other related issues are hindering the development and implementation of e-government services throughout the country.

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of our people were adopting services such as PayMaya or GCash, which in itself saw a 150-percent uptick in registered users between mid-March and July last year.

However, as of November last year, the Department for the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that only 30 percent of local government units (LGUs) had taken measures to digitize their processes.

Clearly, there is a need for the digital transformation of our bureaucracy

Digital transformation, I believe, requires that we rebuild our organizational structures, work processes, and cultural mindsets.

Digital services are not add-ons —rather, they are how our work processes are evolving to fit into the new world. Now is the best time to improve our digital framework for both our government and business sectors, as last year’s challenges have given us an opportunity to build anew.

B

rothers and sisters, President Duterte appointed former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II as the new commissioner of the National Police Commission after the passing of former Napolcom Vice Chairman Rogelio Casurao. According to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque who confirmed the appointment, Aguirre’s experience from his previous position in government will prove helpful in his new role as Napolcom Commissioner to make the agency “competent, effective, credible, and responsive” in providing services for the police. Many quarters questioned this decision and considered it as a form of “recycling” in government.

Aguirre served as the Department of Justice secretary from 2016 to 2018 under the Duterte administration. As we recall, Aguirre left his DOJ position in 2018 after controversies enveloping the agency. There were DOJ prosecutors setting aside the drug charges against big-time drug lord and drug leader Kerwin Espinosa and Peter Lim, who confessed to their crimes.

Aguirre also served as Bienvenido Laud’s lawyer, a former police officer who was said to be a member of the Davao Death Squad and owner of the Laud Quarry that is rumored to be the burial place of extra-judicial killing victims in Davao City. In

2017, the DOJ headed by Aguirre also neglected to act on the drug and criminal charges presented by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency against former Bureau of Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon along with other officials of the agency following the P6.4 billion worth of Shabu that allegedly got past Customs. And just last year, Aguirre allegedly provided protection for a syndicate involved in the “pastillas” bribery scheme within the Bureau of Immigration.

These are only some of the controversial issues involving the Department of Justice when Aguirre was still its secretary. It is well known

Brothers and sisters, our officials in government must have honesty, integrity, and a sense of accountability in order to successfully promote the development and welfare of the people, not just for the interest of a few. As said in the book of Proverbs 16:12, “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.” that President Duterte and Aguirre are close—they are batchmates in San Beda College of Law, fraternity brothers, and Aguirre served as a lawyer for President Duterte in cases connecting the President to the Davao Death Squad. In spite of Aguirre’s repetitive involvement in controversies and anomalies, is it not worrisome that he was still appointed to a high and powerful position in government? Is this the example of greater chances to be absolved especially if you know people in government?

It is greatly emphasized in the social teaching of the Church that the true purpose of a responsible leader is to use their power to fulfill their service with dedication to common good, not for self-justification and personal elevation. In other words, government officials should be allies of the people in finding solutions to

That these issues persist helps explain why the Philippines had a middling, if not entirely poor, showing in the UN’s 2020 e-Government Survey. We ranked 77th out of 193 in the survey’s e-Government Development Index and 57th out of 193 in its e-Participation Index. With such rankings, though we find ourselves ahead of a few Asean members, we are still behind some of our more developed neighbors, like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

One way for us to catch up in terms of e-government services is for our LGUs to have a person specifically assigned to lead the digital transformation of government processes towards full-blown digital services.

This is why I filed the Local Information and Communications Technology Officer Act (SB 1943). This measure calls for the mandatory appointment of an Information and Communications Technology Officer or ICTO in all provinces, cities and municipalities.

ICTOs will manage the following—formulating and executing digitization plans for processes and See “Angara,” A9

social issues and not be the cause of problems themselves.

Napolcom is one government agency that serves to discipline the police. Along with this mandate is their management of the police entrance examination, conducting investigations in anomalies and irregularities involving the police, and removing any official who committed wrongdoings. But what do we expect from the questionable appointment of one leader in an agency that filters the police? How will the trust of the people towards the police be built stronger? We need a greater form of service that cares for others.

For this to happen, it is important for the higher officials to lead and serve as examples for the other officials under their wing.

Brothers and sisters, our officials in government must have honesty, integrity, and a sense of accountability in order to successfully promote the development and welfare of the people, not just for the interest of a few. As said in the book of Proverbs 16:12, “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.”

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 Ang Radyo ng Simbahan in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph, and follow its Twitter and Instagram accounts @veritasph, and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For your comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

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Opinion

The making of history

Writing and refusing vaccines

BusinessMirror

Manny F. Dooc

H

istory was made on Wednesday, January 20, when Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first woman and the first colored American to serve as the 49th Vice President of the US. All the 48 American Vice Presidents who preceded her were all male. It took exactly one century for a female to get elected as Vice President of the US after the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution granting women the right of suffrage was approved on August 18, 1920. Harris’ swearing-in was made more momentous when she took her oath of office before Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina American to occupy a seat in the US Supreme Court. Watching two children of immigrant parents occupy two very powerful positions in the US government proves once more that the US is truly the land of promise and opportunity. The distinct honor denied to Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin, the only other women who ran for Vice President of the US under a major political party, was given to Harris by the American people.

Harris is not a stranger to breaking barriers. She was the first Indian American to be elected a US Senator and only the second African American woman after Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois to serve in the US Senate. She was also the first female and the first African American to hold the post of Attorney General of the State of California, which has the biggest number of state lawyers second only to the Federal Justice Department of the US. Prior to this, she was elected as the District Attorney of Oakland where she earned a solid reputation for being tough on crimes. Harris knows full well the obstacles confronting women in the rough-and-tumble game of politics.

She admitted that “breaking barriers can be scary. When you break through a glass ceiling, you’re going to get cut, and it’s going to hurt. It is not without pain.”

Harris is fortunate that she got the support she needed from her family, her friends, her husband and her party mates who have provided her “the force propulsion” that will get her to the next higher place. She had many mentors. She stood on many shoulders and she has gotten to her position because of the help of many. She acknowledges this fact wholeheartedly and with humility.

On her maiden speech delivered in the halls of the US Senate after her election to that august assembly, she opened her speech by stating: “Above all, I rise today with a sense of gratitude for all those upon whose shoulders we stand. For me, it starts with my mother, Shyamala Harris.”

Harris has not said or written much about her plans when she assumes the Vice Presidency. Maybe she does not want to steal the thunder from President Joe Biden. But speaking in more general terms, she has said earlier: “My daily challenge to myself is to be part of the solution, to be a joyful warrior in the battle to come. My challenge to you is to join the effort. To stand up for our ideals and values. Let’s not throw up our hands when it’s time to roll up our sleeves.”

After a bitter election contest and Trump’s repeated allegations of mas-

Angara. . .

continued from A8

public documents in their respective LGUs; develop, maintain, and supervise all other information and communications technology programs and services of the LGU (including partnerships with the private sector); and collate and disseminate information regarding ICT and the services of the local government to the public.

Aside from being Filipino citizens of good moral character, ICTOs will be required to have degrees from recognized colleges and universities, in information and communications technology, computer science, computer engineering, data science, electronics and communication engineering, or any other course that will be directly relevant

As the Vice President, Harris presides over the US Senate. With the current composition of an even 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats, Vice President Harris breaks the tie in the Senate. This gives the Democrats control of both Houses of the US Congress, which makes Biden’s life easier at the White House. sive fraud, which had stoked his partisans’ passion and wrath to storm the Capitol, what America needs is healing and unity. Even before the election, as if reading ahead the carnage that would unfold on January 6, Harris has written: “For all our differences, for all the battles, for all the fights, we are still one American family, and we should act like it. We have so much more in common than what separates us.” It’s now the time to turn the temperature down after months of tumult and division if America is to move forward. Every American should heed the call for unity.

As the Vice President, Harris presides over the US Senate. With the current composition of an even 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats, Vice President Harris breaks the tie in the Senate. This gives the Democrats control of both Houses of the US Congress, which makes Biden’s life easier at the White House. Harris’ decisive role in both the Executive and the Legislative Departments of the US government definitely makes her a critical cog in the Biden administration. She is just a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and for one with a big and brave heart as Harris, being a reserved tire will not deter her from becoming a governing partner of Biden. If she performs her job well, Harris is a cinch to get the presidential nomination after Biden ends his term. Biden is the oldest elected first termer president of the US and he would be 82 by the end of his first term. If Biden decides not to seek reelection, Harris’ wait will be abbreviated. She will have a crack at the US Presidency and a bigger history will be in the making. to the job. Incoming ICTOs should also have three to five years of experience, depending on where they will be assigned.

Digital transformation, I believe, requires that we rebuild our organizational structures, work processes, and cultural mindsets. Digital services are not add-ons—rather, they are how our work processes are evolving to fit into the new world. Now is the best time to improve our digital framework for both our government and business sectors, as last year’s challenges have given us an opportunity to build anew.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 16 years—nine years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and seven as Senator. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.

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

stances toward vaccination, (2) various religious standpoints and vaccine objections, and (3) suspicion and mistrust of vaccines among different US and global cultures and communities.

Generally, the problem arises when immunizations are mandated by law, in which case, as the material says, the tension between protecting individual liberties and safeguarding the health of the public clashes. In the US, there are laws apparently that require children to be immunized

sion made in 1905, according to the paper, is “the foundation for state actions to limit individual liberties in order to protect the public’s health.”

The document also talks about how religion impacts attitude to vaccination. An ethical dilemma enters the picture when certain religious groups begin to question chemicals or tissues derived from animals and injected into the body. There are also fundamentalist groups that affirm strongly their belief that only God can heal their body.

There is a section in the document, which deals with communities or even countries that develop suspicion and mistrust of vaccines.

Some inhabitants in areas in Africa and Asia, the document tells us, explain their doubt as to efficacy and necessity of vaccines in terms of a ploy to slowly introduce an affliction, instead of a cure. The notion of the West out to destroy a certain part of a population is one easy way to explain this phenomenon of mistrust. Vaccines are seen as having grave and serious effect on the sterility of women, usually, and sometimes, men. In the recent past, there were talks—rumors, specula-

in order to be able to attend school.

The document mentions the landmark case more than 100 years ago, in a case known as Jacobson versus Massachusetts, where a resident of Cambridge refused a smallpox vaccination on the ground that the law on immunization violated his right to care for his own body. The case reached the Supreme Court, which, in turn, favored the State. This deci-

tions, impression—that certain vaccines could impair the mental health of children.

While in many of the conditions cited, a proactive community was engaged, the colonial history of immunization in the Philippines did not show the people possessing the freedom to respond to the intervention acted out by the colonial health officials.

Tito Genova Valiente

TELLTALES

annotations

A

S early as the 18th century, movement against vaccination were already being formed. It began with Jenner and his cowpox vaccination, which first became compulsory in Britain. The issue was reduced to vaccination as a cure that was beastly.

The other concerns were developed from some religious groups protesting the use of non-human elements being incorporated into the human body.

There is nothing new therefore or “American” about the present refusal of a significant sector of communities in the United States to be vaccinated.

And the vehement emotions against the procedure is not simply about its medical aspect.

In the syllabus on the course, Cultural Perspectives on Vaccination, Travis Chi Wing Lau talks of this “cultural panic,” which was, by mid-century, about the “refusal of vaccination as a citizen’s right and widely deployed gothic rhetoric as a powerful scare tactic.”

For the academic, vaccination “has always been not only a medical procedure but a set of images, ideologies, and intentions bound up with nationhood and futurity.”

It is interesting to point out the other details about the syllabus, how it draws together the work of historians and philosophers of science and medicine, literary critics, and medical professionals in a field of study.

While it is easier to understand underdeveloping countries facing massive refusal from its citizens to participate in any mass vaccination programs, the case of anti-vaccination ideologies in a wealthy state like those in the US is a curiosity.

An online material labeled The History of Medicine. An educational resource by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, explains public opinions around vaccination as formed by the tension between divergent cultural viewpoints and value systems.

The same document mentions main cultural perspectives on vaccination, clustering around the following: (1) individual rights and public health

Friday, January 22, 2021

Focus on the recovery

I

What needs to be done is really to focus on the recovery. This means that all distractive elements must be weeded out and put on the sides. There needs to be only one topic again and again in policy making today—how to ensure that our economy and our people get out of this pandemic without losing much of their income and value creating potential.

Looking at the employment and economic data of the past year, it makes you wonder how the economy will be able to fully rebound at its current pace. Comparing the full year period from October 2019 to October 2020 of the labor force surveys, we find that more than 10 million jobs were lost across the 4 survey periods.

While there were some recovery from the worst unemployment rate of 17.3 percent in April 2020 to 8.5 percent in October 2020, there remains to be a net job loss of about 3.3 million.

The worst hit sectors are transport, accommodations, manufacturing and construction. These are the jobs that are mostly in the urban areas and supports strong economic activities. The gradual reopening of the economy might have helped some of them get back job losses in April, but the reality is that the new

Our own Eagle Watch forecast this year looks at a subdued growth picture much slower than the government expectations of about 6.5 percent and above. We are looking at 3 percent to 4 percent primarily because we seem not to be pushing hard enough to focus on the recovery agenda. Having an approved budget is only the first step to kick off the growth. We know that it is still confidence that is preventing business and consumers to get back to that growth path we had in 2019. We know that government needs to spend more but that it also has to work on addressing its absorptive capacity constraints.

The full year expenditure particularly on infrastructure actually fell instead of growing, preventing any significant pump priming.

The Bangko Sentral has flooded the market with liquidity but bank lending growth has now reached flat level—effectively saying that there is very limited confidence in the business sector and banks. If there is no significant change in policy directions, then we cannot expect the growth engine to move up faster. At this current rate, we

Alvin Ang

EAGLE WATCH

was recently asked the question if you have P300 million today, will you buy a penthouse in Shangrila Fort or 2 houses in Ayala Alabang? Straight away I answered that if I have that money, I will buy neither of the two! I reasoned that the economy we are in today sharply projects a K direction. This is because the higher income members of society have not been able to spend as usual in the last 10 months and therefore generated a significant amount of savings.

This “excess” savings, I believe, is fueling asset accumulation in stocks and real estate (including crypto currencies)—taking that slack and possibly the advantage as asset prices fell last year. While individually this is good and secures good returns when the economy rebounds, this is blindsided. normal economy has taken out 20 percent of the workers—meaning their skills are no longer relevant in a digitizing environment. In addition, reports of varying degrees of firm closures have been reported last year ranging from 15 percent from the World Bank Survey, 26 percent from the Department of Trade and Industry survey to 56 percent from the Employers Confederation of the Philippines Survey. This January, anecdotal evidence from the business permit renewals showed that a sizeable number of businesses are filing for “retirement” or effective closures. Just as we are writing this, a well-known hotel just announced a temporary closure beginning February, clearly suggesting that even those with deep pockets are having difficulties navigating through this rough environment.

A9

There is a book that examines the introduction of immunization by the colonial administrators to the Philippines. This was Warwick Anderson’s Colonial Pathologies: American Tropical Medicine, Race, and Hygiene in the Philippines.

One of the early findings of the American physicians was what they perceived to be the Filipino’s immunity to many tropical diseases. This immunity, which was described as partial, made the “native” the carriers of the disease, which caused the Americans’ vulnerability to the disease.

The medical findings also expounded on an aspect that would color the American conceptualization of the new colony, its sanitation. The Philippines was dirty and it needed cleaning. Sanitizing the Filipino, according to the colonial administrator, was looking not only at their environment but also their body.

In this health protocol, the conquest of the land became the conquest of the physical body.

To conquer the disease, the health officials had to educate the indigene and tell them how “dysentery, typhoid fever, cholera, and kindred diseases are conveyed to a person, regardless of whether he be king or peasant, with minute organisms that, probably, have passed through the bowels of another person.”

Colonizing the native meant educating them into the American standard of hygiene and sanitation.

The parks and plazas had to be swept of dirt and grimes. The homes should have toilets. Food must be clean. The source of water should be pure. All this in the name of health education and colonization.

Anderson redefines colonization pathologically: “Colonial public health, as it emerged in the Philippines under the American regime, would come to share both logic and grammar with the military sanitary bureau. That is, the mode of action and disciplinary tactics employed by military surgeons to ensure the hygiene and propriety of white troops were invoked, toward the end of the war, to manage the civilian population of the archipelago.”

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

will most likely recover the 2019 GDP level by 2023 at the earliest.

What needs to be done is really to focus on the recovery. This means that all distractive elements must be weeded out and put on the sides.

There needs to be only one topic again and again in policy making today— how to ensure that our economy and our people get out of this pandemic without losing much of their income and value creating potential. Today this means ensuring a good plan first to transparently get the vaccines, convince and assure people of their efficacy, ensure their availability (and affordability for those who need to purchase), provide the necessary support mechanisms to implement vaccinations. Clearly communicate the strategy for the economy to recover by addressing the choke points of governance capacity. Make people understand that we are entering a new phase in economic life and will not be back to where we were before.

Provide training opportunities to reskill for those unable to get back to the economy. Ease further doing business especially those that are severely affected.

Finally, for those who are not affected much by the pandemic, for those who can afford to buy real estate, stocks and other assets, I hope it is not much to ask you to think about the unemployed and small and medium enterprises closing. In your investing strategy, it will be good to think of investing in activities that create jobs and economic value in the real economy and not just wait for asset appreciation. For if jobs and businesses remain close, I wonder if the asset you invested in will appreciate anytime soon.

A10 Friday, January 22, 2021

House moves on rate-hike delay for SSS, PhilHealth T

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

WO committees of the House of Representatives approved two bills granting President Duterte the power to suspend the scheduled increases in the contribution rates of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Social Security System (SSS).

This, amid the cautionary note of the SSS chief that the deferment would cost the system about P41.37 billion in 2021 contributions, weakening its ability to provide services.

T he House Comm ittee on Health approved House Bill 8316 to amend Republic Act (RA) 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act while the House Committee on Gover nment Enter pr ises and Privatization passed House Bill 8317 to amend RA 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018. The two bills are principally authored

by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

RA 11223 and RA 11199 provide for gradual increases in monthly premium contributions in PhilHealth and SSS, repectively.

The moves come on the heels of Duterte’s directive to suspend the monthly premium hikes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health Secretar y Francisco Duque III, however, previously

clarified that the increase in PhilHealth members’ contribution rate cannot be delayed unless Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care (UHC) law which mandates the scheduled premium increase, is amended.

The UHC Act mandates increases in member premiums by increments of 0.5 percent every year, starting 2021 until it reaches the 5-percent limit in 2025.

Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, chairman of the health panel, supported the premium hike suspension in order to provide PhilHealth contributors immediate relief amid the hard times brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, but stressed that it should not in any manner undermine the ideals

and goals of the UHC. PhilHealth President Dante Gierran also supported the deferment on the condition that the subsequent scheduled increases in the premium contributions shall be adjusted to fall on the years following the lifting of the suspension and that the implementation of comprehensive outpatient benefits will also be deferred during the period that there is no corresponding premium increase being implemented.

For her part, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, one of the authors of the bill, said the Universal Health Care Law that provided for the premium hike was enacted in 2019 and it could not have foreseen the Covid-19 pandemic that has battered the health-care sector and the people’s livelihoods in the past year.

According to Quimbo, the forgone revenue from the rate suspension is estimated at P433 million in 2021.

However, she said, the implementation of PhilHealth programs should not be affected by the passage of the bill as the state insurer still has a P163-billion reserve fund that could be used for its programs.

SSS pay hike

Also, the House of Representatives Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization approved measures seeking to defer the hike to be implemented this month.

The still unnumbered substitute bill is a consolidation of several measures—including House Bill 8304 filed by Cibac Party-List solons Deputy Speaker Villanueva and Rep. Rivera, and House Bill 8137 of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco—seeks to give authority to the President to suspend increases in SSS contribution rates in times of national emergencies including this Covid-19 pandemic.

It must be noted that pursuant to Republic Act 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, the SSS pay rate is expected to increase from 12 percent in 2020 to 13 percent in year 2021.

“The truth is that not only laborers but also employers suffered from the debilitating blow of the pandemic and therefore must be provided not only with necessary government assistance but also of needed reprieve from statutory salary deductions or social insurance obligations such as the SSS premium contribution. The deferment in SSS pay hike means undiminished level of disposable income for our Filipino workers and employers which will help them cope and survive these hard times and aid them to get fully back on their feet,” said Villanueva.

NTA TO HELP STABILIZE PORK PRICES IN THE NCR

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

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HE National Tobacco Administration (NTA) has joined government efforts to stabilize pork prices by augmenting the operating capital of its meat processing facility in Ilocos Sur by P10 million, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The DA said the additional fund for the processing facility was approved by the NTA board in its January 19 meeting.

With the additional fund, the NTA will buy live hogs from African swine fever (ASF)-free areas in Ilocos Sur and Abra and slaughter and process them at the Narvacan meat processing facility, the DA said.

Pork and pork products from the Narvacan facility would be delivered to Metro Manila at an average of 5,000 kilograms per day. “We will strongly assist the DA to provide consumers in Metro Manila reasonably-priced pork meat and processed pork products,” NTA administrator Robert Victor G. Seares Jr. said on Thursday.

The DA said the NTA meat processing facility will initially slaughter 520 hogs, equivalent to 52,000 kg starting the second week of February.

The NTA meat processing facility in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, has a double A or“AA”accreditation from the DA’s National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). It can slaughter up to 80 hogs, equivalent to 6,000 kg, per day.

“This is a result of our recent visit in Narvacan, where we witnessed the operation of DA-NTA meat processing facility,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said “We thank the Governing Board of the DA-NTA, during its January 19 meeting, for its swift action on our request, as we are pressed to

increase the supply of pork and temper its rocketing price in Metro Manila,”Dar, who concurrently chairs the DA-NTA board, added.

Livestock insurance In a related development, the DA urged backyard and commercial hog raisers to access insurance packages from government-owned Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) to help recover their investments should they be affected by ASF. Dar said availing of insurance for their hogs is a “prudent safety net” for Filipino raisers, especially for those in ASF-free areas that aim to continue pork production.

“As the DA intensifies efforts to encourage hog raisers to get back to business and, ultimately, help pork production rebound, availing of an insurance coverage is a prudent safety net for existing raisers and for those in ASF-free areas who will venture into this business,” he said in a statement.

The PCIC, an attached government-owned and -controlled corp. to the DA, started including ASF among the risks covered by its livestock insurance program in 2019, when the fatal hog disease broke out locally.

The PCIC provides P10,000 insurance cover per head of swine, on a premium payment of only 2.25 percent or P225, according to the DA. However, small backyard hog raisers are given free insurance if they are listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), according to the DA. The insurance coverage is different from the ASF indemnification claims, where beneficiaries are eligible for a P5,000 assistance per pig culled, the DA said.

Continued on A2

More banks revert to eased Pharma firms’ credit standards in Q4 2020 turn to face

By Bianca Cuaresma

M

@BcuaresmaBM

ORE banks are starting to maintain their credit standards in the fourth quarter of 2020, indicating an improvement from stricter lending conditions in the previous quarter.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) recent survey on bank loan standards showed that 63.4 percent of local banks said their lending standards “remained basically unchanged” in the last three months of the year. This is an improvement compared to the 45.5 percent in the previous quarter.

Fewer banks also tightened their credit standards for the period. About 14.6 percent of banks said they “considerably tightened” their credit standards in the fourth quarter of 2020. This is down from the 20.5 percent in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, those that said they “somewhat tightened” in the fourth quarter hit 17.1 percent, also down from the 27.3 percent in the third quarter of 2020.

The BSP has been cutting its interest rates aggressively in the hopes of creating an environment where businesses and consumers can borrow money from banks to restart economic growth.

However, bank lending has been dismal in the Philippines since the implementation of lockdowns and restrictions to curb Covid-19. In November last year, in particular, bank lending growth almost ground to a halt at 0.3 percent. One of the many reasons behind the dismal lending in the country is tight credit standards.

On the other hand, BSP’s survey showed that fewer banks eased their conditions for the quarter.

About 4.9 percent of respondent banks said they “somewhat eased” their bank lending standards, down from the 6.8 percent in the previous quarter. Still, no bank has reported “considerably eased” credit standards in the survey period.

Banks that tightened their credit standards still in the fourth quarter attributed it to less favorable economic outlook, deterioration in the profitability of bank’s portfolio and profiles of borrowers, and reduced tolerance for risk, among other factors.

On specific credit standards, the net tightening of overall credit standards was reflected in terms of reduced credit line sizes; stricter collateral requirements and loan covenants; and increased use of interest rate floors.

Meanwhile, some form of easing was revealed in terms of narrower loan margins and longer loan maturities.

Demand for loans, meanwhile, generated mixed results in the fourth quarter of 2020 as the overall loan demand for businesses pointed to a net increase, specifically for top corporations, while loan demand from households showed a net decline across all types of consumer loans.

The BSP said the overall net increase in loan demand from businesses was attributed to higher customers’ requirements for inventory financing as businesses reopen, as well as to higher accounts receivable financing needs amidst a decline in corporate clients’ internallygenerated funds.

Meanwhile, respondent banks cited lower household consumption and housing investment as the key factors that contributed to the observed decline in household loan demand.

Senate vax hearing today

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T’S the turn of pharmaceutical companies producing Covid vaccines, including Sinovac, to face Senate probers Friday for the third Committee of the Whole (COW) hearing on the Duterte government’s vaccine roadmap.

The Office of Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who chairs the allsenators COW inquiry, confirmed that apart from vaccine czar Carlito Galvez and Health Secretary Francisco Duque, formal invitations were sent to Cabinet members sitting in the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), as well as officers of Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Zuellig Pharma Philippines, Pfizer and Unilab. Among others, Senate probers were set to verify claims that Malacañang officials were reportedly keen to close a deal with Sinovac, among other suppliers.

Also invited to testify were officials of MKG Universal Drugs Trading Corp., which said it is an exclusive distributor here of China’s state-owned Sinopharm. At the same time, Senate probers are expected to raise questions on the efficacy, pricing and side effects of the Chinese-made vaccines.

No ugly scenes

Meanwhile, the third Committee of the Whole hearing was not expected to result in acrimonious debates between the Executive officials and lawmakers, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, given the effort taken by Secretary Galvez to clear the air with him, Senate President Sotto and Senator Ronald dela Rosa in a meeting Wednesday night.

Continued on A2

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Nissan plant closure shows need for safeguard measure’

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Thursday stressed the importance of putting in place the safeguard measure on vehicle imports shortly after Nissan Philippines Inc. announced its decision to shutter their operations here.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said it is “regrettable” that Nissan is choosing to abandon its production of Almera units in the Philippines as part of its parent firm’s moves to rationalize its manufacturing worldwide. Further, Lopez said the closure serves as an example of why the DTI must impose the safeguard on automobile the soonest.

“The announcement of Nissan to close their assembly operations in

the country is regrettable, as these developments all the more demonstrate the critical situation of the local motor vehicle industry,” Lopez said in a statement.

“Thus, the provisional safeguard measures need to be immediately put in place to protect the domestic industry from further serious injury."

According to the DTI, Nissan’s shutdown is but expected given the poor sales of the model in the coun-

try, as the Almera sells just about 4,500 units yearly to account for roughly 1 percent of total industry sales. Likewise, the DTI said the plant employs some 133 workers and the Almera itself exceeded its life cycle.

From a global standpoint, however, Nissan has been closing factories left and right, from the United States, to Europe, to Asia, and has left some 42,500 workers jobless. It is also cutting its global production capacity by 20 percent to cope with the market impact of the pandemic and lockdowns to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Nissan, for its part, has vowed to give reasonable compensation packages to its 133 workers in the plant who will be unemployed by the closure, according to Lopez.

The trade chief added the DTI and the Department of Labor and Employment will make sure they can move the displaced workers to another site where they can continue with their manufacturing work.

“The stoppage of Almera’s assem-

bly operations, following closely that of Honda and Isuzu, only highlights that the local auto assembly industry is critically impacted by the surge in imports and will thus benefit from the time-bound safeguard duty,” Lopez explained.

The DTI this month decided to apply a safeguard duty per unit of P70,000 on passenger cars and P110,000 on light commercial vehicles in response to a trade union’s petition to protect the local industry from a surge in imports.

As of writing, Nissan Philippines has yet to respond to press queries on when the shutdown will take effect and what it plans to do with the plant.

Nissan is leasing the manufacturing facility owned by the Taiwanese company, Yulon Group. Accordingly, the plant itself will be kept, similar to how the Honda’s facility, remained intact. Lopez said he hopes that the factory can be used for the next entrant to local assembly of cars when the business climate improves after the pandemic.

Globe expands 5G outdoor service

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

G

lobe Telecom Inc.’s 5G outdoor service now covers 80 percent of Metro Manila, its chief honcho said on Thursday.

Ernest L. Cu, the company’s president, said this means that Globe now has 884 locations in Metro Manila that are powered by 5G. This feat, he added, was achieved through the sustained

URC unit in Vietnam bags award

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he Vietnamese unit of Gokongwei food group Universal Robina Corp. (URC) was part of the 500 companies shortlisted for Vietnam's top firms that operate sustainable businesses for 2020.

These companies met some 127 indicators in four areas including sustainability results, competent governance, environmental protection and sustainable labor practices, the company said.

“This prestigious award will be the driving force for URC Vietnam to continue to operate and spread sustainable values in Vietnam, based on three pillars: environmental protection and human development and quality products,” Laurent Levan, SVP and regional director for URC Indochina said.

The award was handed out during the Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forum 2020, organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and attended by Vietnam’s vice president Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam. Vu Duc Dam said this year marks a significant rise in Vietnam’s ranking in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals from No. 54 in 2019 to 49 in 2020.

URC Vietnam will continue pursuing its mission to move forward to a circular economy, optimize operations by pursuing the UN’s goals to reduce environmental impacts, improve the lives of employees, promote education, and implement social responsibility initiatives to develop the community,” Levan said.

URC Vietnam has been among the top 100 sustainable businesses recognized by VCCI since 2019.

In September this year, it landed among Vietnam’s top 10 prestigious companies in the non-alcoholic beverage industry.

That same month, URC Vietnam was among the 33 organizations that were given awards by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs for supporting children in Binh Duong province from 2015 to 2020. VG Cabuag

modernization of telco’s existing network.

“We continue to invest on our network so our customers get to experience the many promises and opportunities of the most advanced technologies like 5G. With our aggressive roll outs, our network is getting closer to making the whole of Metro Manila 5G ready. Ultimately, our goal is to make the 5G experience as pervasive as possible,” he said.

Cu said Globe customers in Bonifacio Global City, Makati, and Ortigas commercial business districts can now enjoy 97 percent, 95 percent, and 97 percent coverage, respectively.

Other Metro Manila cities and their corresponding coverage rates are as follows: San Juan (91 percent), Pateros (91 percent), Mandaluyong (86 percent), Makati (84 percent), Caloocan (84 percent), Manila (83 percent), Marikina (83 percent), Pasig (81 percent), and Quezon City

(80 percent).

Cu noted that Globe is also making efforts to “boost further” the 5G readiness in Cebu and Davao, where Globe’s 5G outdoor service covers 61 percent and 60 percent of the cities respectively.

Globe is spending P70 billion in capital expenditures this year to further expand its network through the installation of around 2,000 new cell towers and the deployment of more fiber optic lines across the country.

Coca-Cola unveils Manila hub

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oca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI)—the bottling arm of Coca-Cola in the country—has unveiled its new distribution center in Manila, jumpstarting a series of bullish investments for 2021. The facility is part of CCBPI’s continuous expansion of its nationwide footprint, as the Company remains true to its longstanding commitment to support economic recovery and growth.

Formally inaugurated on January 18, 2021, the new Coca-Cola Manila distribution center will be utilizing a smart logistics system, promoting innovative and advanced technologies in the country, and will thus serve as a model site for all Coca-Cola distribution centers. The new site will also be a testing hub for all process and capability improvements to be rolled out to the rest of Coca-Cola distribution facilities across the country.

“We have something really in common with the City of Manila—our vision, our commitment to try and rebuild, restart the economy and small businesses, is hugely important to us in CCBPI. In fact, we believe that we are only as strong as the communities that we serve and the communities that we operate in,” said Gareth McGeown, CEO and President of CCBPI. “Our people remain as the heart of our business. It has been [that way] for the last 108 years, it will be for the next 108. Our commitment to you [Mayor Isko Moreno], is that we will continue to be a responsible citizen and partner to the Great City of Manila. We look forward to many more investments in the future, and to your continued support,” said McGeown.

To help stimulate job creation in the City of Manila, all of the regular employees of the Manila Distribution Center are Manila residents. This aligns

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno joins CCBPI in the inauguration of the new Manila distribution center on January 18. The model facility is equipped with smart technologies that make it an ideal testing lab for process improvements to be implemented across other Philippine distribution centers. Photo shows (from left to right) CCBPI Logistics Operations Senior Manager for Luzon Domingo Intal, Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, Mayor Isko Moreno, and CCBPI President and CEO Gareth McGeown. Contributed Photo with a Company principle, as well as an action impact study which observed that the Company strives to create more opportunities in the communities it operates in: for every one direct job at the Coca-Cola bottling arm, the Company generates seven more across its value chain.

“So it’s true like what the song said, you keep coming back to Manila,” said Manila Mayor Isko Moreno during the inauguration ceremony, pertaining to Coca-Cola’s return in the city from the establishment of its first bottling facility in the Philippines 100 years ago.

“This pandemic taught us so many things. Value to one’s life, value to family, value to health and safety. We have learned a lot from both our achievements and shortcomings during the pandemic, but we are sure that what will help us more in the coming months are jobs,” continued the Manila Mayor.

“We are optimistic that in one way or another, business will bounce back. So in return for the trust that Coca-Cola is giving us, we [will] ensure that we [the Manila government] will be efficient as

we overcome the pandemic together.”

As part of its plan to mitigate the socio-economic effects of the pandemic, the city continues to empower and support the livelihood of Manileños, recording almost 1,000 newly registered businesses for the first three weeks of January 2021.

Moreno also expressed his gratitude for Coca-Cola’s trust in the City of Manila, and his hopes for an extension of the distribution center to help the Company cater to the demands of its customers.

The Mayor threw his full support for CCBPI’s newest distribution site, assuring Company personnel present at the turnover, “I know for a fact, magtatagumpay ang Coca-Cola sa Maynila.

[I know for a fact that Coca-Cola will succeed in Manila.]”

During the inauguration, CCBPI presented the local government of Manila with a refurbished fire truck for the San Andres fire volunteers. Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, Councilor Mon Yupangco, and Ting Yupangco also attended the inauguration.

Friday, January 22, 2021

B1

Ang’s eldest son joins SMC board of directors

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he eldest son of Ramon S. Ang, president and COO of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), has been elected on Thursday as a member of the company's board of directors.

John Paul L. Ang, currently Eagle Cement Corp.'s president and CEO, was elected as the new director of the country's largest conglomerate. He is replacing former Development Bank of the Philippines president Reynaldo G. David, who died last December.

David was an independent director of San Miguel since 2016.

San Miguel said John Paul has all the qualifications and none of

the disqualifications to fill in the vacancy in the board.

“He brings with him years of top managerial experience in the cement industry in the Philippines and Malaysia, beginning with experience in business operations to top level management decision making, which experiences allowed him to be equipped with the necessary skills to lead their cement business,” the company said.

Eagle Cement is the company led by his father, Ramon Ang. John Paul graduated with a degree on Interdisciplinary Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University. VG Cabuag

Lamudi ties up with SMDC

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roperty platform Lamudi has announced its partnership with real estate company SM Development Corp.

(SMDC), which has set its sights on expanding its market reach further in the “new normal.”

“During the pandemic, we’ve discovered the power of online selling. Our sales come both from our physical broker network and also through the internet,” SMDC President Jose Mari Banzon said during the latest episode of Lamudi’s "On the House: Small Talk with Big Bosses."

SMDC said it recognizes the impor tance of streng thening online presence to accommodate the needs of buyers in the time of the pandemic, especially since a significant portion of the market has gone digital. It is turning to online listings, as community quarantine measures are still in place, limiting physical property showings.

According to Lamudi’s trend report published last May, there was a 31-percent increase in site visits from returning platform users from March to April 2020.

This suggests that those who were thinking about real estate before the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ ) gave property purchase a more serious thought during the ECQ. Aside from responding to the new normal of property search, the company aims to connect to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) better. "Through SMDC’s partnership with Lamudi, property seekers abroad can easily find SMDC

projects on the platform. They can have all the information they need for investment decisions, from prices to amenities to locations, and even neighborhood ratings."

Speaking with Lamudi CEO Kenneth Stern for On the House: Small Talk with Big Bosses, Banzon said SMDC has allotted funding to agents overseas in order to create interactive websites and a 360-degree view of showrooms. “What we want is for the website to sell the Philippines, sell real estate in the Philippines, and give the potential buyer the capability to do the transaction through the Internet.”

As SMDC embraces innovations in going digital, it said it is optimistic about the seriousness of buyers today, as well as the strong real estate appetite for properties located within the central business districts (CBDs).

In Lamudi’s latest trend report, Hotspots Unw rapped: 2020 ’s Most Popular Locations, the data shows that cities with CBDs remain popular among real estate seekers. Quezon City leads the list, followed by Makati, Pasig, and Taguig.

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Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, January 22, 2021

Filinvest Land to transform unit into a REIT company

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

roperty developer Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) on Thursday said its board has approved the establishment of its own real estate investment trust (REIT) company.

The company will place certain office buildings leased to business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in Alabang in Muntinlupa and Cebu in the said REIT firm.

In its disclosure, the company said it is transforming Cyberzone Properties Inc. (CPI), its wholly-owned owned unit, to become the company's REIT, which will be listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

“We are looking forward to

listing CPI as a REIT company because we believe that this will unlock the value of our office leasing business. Filinvest has a growing portfolio of recurring income projects and significant prime office properties in Alabang, Cebu and Clark to continue to grow this business. A REIT listing will enable acceleration of the growth of this business line,” FLI President and CEO Jose-

phine Gotianun-Yap said.

The company did not give other details on the planned establishment of a REIT company.

Most of CPI's buildings are located in the 18.7-hectare Northgate Cyberzone, a Philippine Economic Zone Authorit y Specia l Economic Zone in Filinvest City in Alabang, Muntinlupa, while some are also located in Cebu Cyberzone, also an economic zone in Lahug, Cebu City.

Nor t hgate Cyberzone is strategically located with various supporting amenities and provides competitive rental rates which are significantly lower than the rates in the central business districts of Makati and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Nor t h g ate fe at u res t he country’s largest district cool-

ing system that helps reduce energ y consumption of its property buildings, provides greater efficiency, lowers the initia l capita l investment, reduces carbon dioxide emissions and enhances real estate value by freeing up building space for other uses.

Filinvest’s BPO buildings have continued to be fully operational during the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. CPI’s office rental revenues increased by 16 percent year-onyear in January to September 2020 to P2.46 billion.

The Gotianun group's Filinvest is one of the pioneer providers of office space to the BPO industry in the Philippines and currently has 43 operating and under construction office buildings covering over 824,000 square meters of gross leasable area.

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ICTSI: Colombia terminal hits 1-millionth TEU mark

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nternational Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Thursday its terminal in Colombia breached the one-million twentyfoot equivalent unit (TEU) mark this month.

Sociedad Puerto Industrial de Aguadulce (Puerto Aguadulce) handled its one millionth TEU despite the challenges in 2020, when most countries imposed various levels of lockdowns, reflecting the “growing options and opportunities for foreign trade in Colombia,” said Miguel Abisambra, Puerto Aguadulce General Manager.

“The one millionth container represents our efforts to generate social and economic development in Buenaventura. The special characteristics of our terminal and the highly trained and dedicated staff make it possible to generate more options and connections, as well as attract more investments and opportunities for the country,” he said.

Puerto Aguadulce started commercial op-

mutual funds

erations in 2016 and has since become one of the most productive and efficient ports in Colombia. ICTSI operates the port through a joint venture with PSA International Pte Ltd. The partners have a 60-year concession period for the port.

The terminal has a capacity of 600,000 TEUs for its first phase of development and is fully capable of handling mega ships with capacities of up to 18,000 TEUs. “Despite the adversities of 2020 for the global economy, we started the new year with this positive news, which re-affirms our efforts and our drive towards providing a great gateway for cargoes in the Colombian Pacific region,” Abisambra said.

ICTSI’s portfolio of terminals and projects are located in developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Lorenz S. Marasigan

January 21, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D

per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 226.94 -7.05% -8.85% 0.15% -0.12% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2962 -1.61% -7.37% 5.17% -1.28% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1256 -8.75% -12.75% -0.83% -0.24% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7921 -8% -7.85% n.a.

-1.47% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7279 -11.09% n.a. n.a.

-1.85% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.945 -4.16% -6.92% 0.91% 0.07% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7541 -8.42% -9.48% -5.04% -0.75% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 101.68 0.93% -4.44% n.a.

-0.26% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 46.8325 -5.46% -6.87% 2.04% -0.03% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 488.36 -5.19% -6.92% 1.04% -0.13% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0896 8.88% n.a. n.a.

-0.7% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1725 -6.01% -6.35% 1.73% 0.37% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 34.7603 -5.11% -6.15% 2.54% -0.03% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9129 -7.1% n.a. n.a.

-0.01% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.7913 -5.02% -6.39% 2.82% 0% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 801.7 -4.81% -6.28% 2.82% 0.01% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7157 -10.13% -10.33% -1.79% -0.45% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.628 -9.76% -8.33% 1.14% 0.12% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9178 -5.06% -6.57% 2.59% 0.01% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3061 -6.18% -5.71% 3.35% -0.39% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 107.5862 -4.77% -6.04% 3.57% 0.03% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.3117 23.78% 3.84% 10.49% 9.04% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7055 20.33% 9% n.a.

1.95% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6772 9.73% -4.02% 0.46% 0.52% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.2919 8.58% -2.77% 2.76% 0.28% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6281 2.06% -2.07% 1.27% 0.04% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1986 -11.81% n.a. n.a. n.a.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9694 1.67% -0.85% 2.91% 0.27% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.794 2.61% -1.72% 2.33% 0.16% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.9619 2.41% -1.73% 2.24% 0.15% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.096 0.1% -2.72% 1.91% 0.09% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.5791 -4.43% -4.25% 1.15% 0.17% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0255 3.82% n.a. n.a.

0.28% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9493 -1.68% n.a. n.a.

0.01% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9328 -3.03% n.a. n.a.

-0.03% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8921 -4.88% -4.86% 0.52% 0.5% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03905 1.96% 2.71% 1.98% -0.18% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.2175 15.58% 3.86% 8.04% 5.85% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.5789 14.83% 6.79% 9.32% 1.46% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2071 7.74% 3.62% n.a.

0.42% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 371.45 3.74% 3.27% 2.84% 0.1% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9027 -0.08% 0.08% 0.18% 0.13% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.217 3.09% 4.42% 4.79% 0.07% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.3011 3.79% 2.94% 2.47% 0.22% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4536 4.63% 3.39% 2.21% 0.02% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6519 7.37% 4.73% 3.27% 0.37% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3227 5.95% 4.5% 2.74% 0.11% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9878 5.93% 4.52% 2.97% -0.33% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0412 8.82% 4.12% 2.72% -0.08% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2091 5.48% 4.84% 3.77% 0.1% 4.09% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7536 4.59% 3.15% -0.08% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $484.62 3.24% 2.79% 2.91% 0.16% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.33 -0.2% 0.84% 1.29% 0.07% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2762 5.46% 4.06% 3.07% -0.33% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0264 1.93% 1.83% 1.76% -0.75% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0891 -0.98% 0.67% 0.61% -0.33% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5304 4.89% 3.97% 3.54% -0.21% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0623348 3.11% 2.99% 2.33% 0.03% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2223 0.74% 2.28% 2.43% -0.04% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.93 3.08% 3.34% 2.58% 0.09% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0486 1.95% n.a. n.a.

0.05% 0.08% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2977 2.44% 2.96% 2.61% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0531 1.44% 1.77% n.a.

0.07% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.1534 n.a. n.a. n.a.

2.11% 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."

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Banking&Finance

Success starts with ‘U’

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BusinessMirror

these experiences will attract HE title of this colmore members – a manifestaumn may be a little tion that an association is a bit confusing because, community of members, for obviously, the word “success” does not start with the letter Association World members, and by members.

Urgency of action—As “u.” The “u” here is a casual Octavio Peralta experienced during the panabbreviation of “you” which, demic, associations quick to in this age of text touch typact to the call of the time became more resiling, is accepted as part of social media lingo. ient and relevant to their members. Whether I also used “u” as a symbolic reference to disseminating needed information on what’s 2021 since “u” is the 21st letter of the modern going on, helping members solve their probEnglish alphabet. So the alternative title of this lems, or embracing technology to continue to article is really the much-clichéd phrase, “Sucengage with them and adapting to the “new cess Starts with You.” normal,” these associations came out stronger The “you” I am referring to here is the assoand more sustainable. ciation as an organization and, in particular, the Unrelenting pursuit for resources—Asassociation executive—i.e., secretary general, sociations need all the resources they need, e.g., executive director, or CEO—who manages the people, technology and money, to continue to day-to-day operation of an association. serve their members despite all odds during Armed with the lessons I have learned as the crisis. Not only did they become creative in secretary general of an international associaharnessing these resources, they also tweaked tion during this time of many uncertainties these to balance their members’ and their asdue to the still ongoing pandemic, I have resociation’s interests. flected upon the following “u’s,” which could The traditional way of doing things for an be a guide for a successful administration of association has changed completely and will an association: never be the same again because of the panUniversality of purpose—I have writdemic. Learning from this experience, associaten about the essentiality of purpose to drive tions that have survived this crisis can only look success for an association. Remarkable assoback with lessons they have learned and move ciations, based on a multi-year research of the forward to improve. At the very least, thinkAmerican Society of Association Executives ing profoundly on the essence of the above “5 (Asae) entitled “7 Measures of Success,” align u’s” may make a difference in your association. their member services with their purpose. After all, an association is formed by a group of The column contributor, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, is concurindividuals or organizations to fulfil a purpose.

Uniqueness of value—An association will rently the secretary-general of the Association of Development stand out from other organizations and hence Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, Founder & CEO of become successful because of the unique value the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives proposition it provides to its members which and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Orgarevolves around learning and knowledge sharnizations. The purpose of PCAAE—the “association of associaing, advocacy, and sense of community. tions”—is to advance the association management profession and Unity of the community—The same ASAE to make associations well-governed and sustainable. PCAAE enjoys study amplified that an association that fothe support of Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the Philcuses on its members’ interests and facilitates ippine International Convention Center. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org

Friday, January 22, 2021 B3

₧1.077B goes into govt coffers as BOC auctions off overstaying cargo

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

January to December 2020.

Overstaying containers are either seized or abandoned. The bureau said disposing overstaying containers would also decongest the port of its cargoes aside from generating additional revenues.

Under Customs Memorandum Order 102020, cargoes that have not been withdrawn within for more than 30 days from the date of discharge shall be tagged abandoned and, upon finality of the Decree of Abandonment, the Bureau shall then make the proper determination as to its disposition.

Further, Section 1141 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act states that goods subject to disposition may be donated, declared for official use by the bureau, or Container vans are stacked at a port in Manila. The Bureau of Customs announced sold at public auction, last Thursday it was able to raise P1.077 billion in revenues after auctioning off while goods suitable for containers deemed overstayed last year. shelter, or consisting of foodstuffs, clothing materials or medicines last year. may be donated to Department of Social Overall, a total of 3,514 overstaying conWelfare and Development. tainers were disposed by the bureau from @BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) raised P1.077 billion in revenues from auctioning off overstaying cargoes last year.

In a statement, the bureau said proceeds came from the public auction of 1,898 containers of assorted items such as television sets, tiles and plywood, among others.

Based on separate data provided in the BOC’s annual report, the Manila International Container Port accounted for the bulk or 74 percent of total public auction revenues last year at P796.62 million It was followed by the Port of Manila (P138.416 million), the Port of Subic (P64.66 million), the Port of Davao (P52.279 million) and the Port of Batangas (P8.42 million).

Proceeds from the public auction conducted by the bureau reached P577.694 million and P742.42 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Apart from conducting a public auction for overstaying containers, the BOC also condemned 1,346 containers while the remaining 270 containers were donated

B4

Parentlife BusinessMirror

Friday, January 22, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

My 202-‘one’ road to simplifying life Photos I chose that visualize what “simplifying my life” means to me: (clockwise) Instagram post of the altar at Saint Francis Xavier Church at Shanghai; Meagan under this beautiful sunset in Hawaii; me in tune with nature at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Las Vegas.

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Beverley Mitchell, 40; Balthazar Getty, 46; Guy Fieri, 53; Diane Lane, 56.

Happy Birthday: Control your emotions. Channel your energy into something creative, meaningful and mindful. How you reach out to others will determine what you receive in return. A unique and informative approach and showing interest in what others do will result in greater freedom to do as you please. Use your intelligence, skills and resourcefulness to gain support and achieve success. Your numbers are 8, 17, 21, 23, 29, 38, 43.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your enthusiasm will attract a lot of attention, but it will also make you subject to those who want to harvest and use your energy to get ahead. Don’t take on the responsibilities of others without receiving what you want in return. HHH

T

HE day after the lockdown was officially declared in March 2020, I suddenly had a fever. Even when my fever subsided, I had the hardest time getting out of bed for a week. This was so unlike me because I could always work through a fever in the past. My youngest sister pointed out that I must have been so anxious with the sudden change in reality. True enough, I was overwhelmed with not just worries but also the unpredictability in planning for everyone’s welfare at the time.

It has been almost a year since. Despite the wins and the losses, I ended 2020 with much gratitude.

With all the plans and changes at work, with all the new activities and adjustments at home brought about by the pandemic, the biggest realization I want to bring to 2021 is: “I Want to Simplify My Life.”

Since 2018, I have been sharing my view on simplifying parenting. I realized these past few months how this can also be applied to the other aspects of my life. I can relate to how the Netflix show The Minimalists: Less is Now, featuring Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, which challenges us to think how life can be better with less. I like how it speaks about an “intentional” life that is not perfect, not easy, but a simple life not weighed down by stuff. It points out the reality of us being pulled to “the direction of comparison, the direction of being overwhelmed by media,” and the need “to constantly refocus ourselves.” The hopeful result, which is a result most of us want, is: “more time, more meaningful relationships, more growth and contribution, and contentment.”

With having more time at home and alone time last year, we literally and figuratively had more time and frequency to “see ourselves in the mirror.” So many questions and reflections surfaced about our

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An exaggerated version of a situation will make you look bad.

You can be creative and attract attention and interest without being misleading. Personal improvements and romantic encounters are favored.

HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Live and learn.

Structure your day to include learning something new. Don’t let a change someone makes or a problem with an institution throw you off guard. Utilize your time and money carefully, or someone will take advantage of you. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Work in unison with people you know will come through for you. A partnership based on equality will help you overcome any situation you face that is confusing or unpredictable. HHHH

life, love and purpose. I find 2021 an opportune year to “declutter.” The documentary suggests starting with one’s physical possessions in the house. I would stretch it further to finding out what you want to keep or do without—whether in your personality, tasks or the people around you.

I pushed this thought further by lifting a question I picked up from the book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, by authors and real-estate entrepreneurs Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan. The question is: “What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”

I remember that during the lockdown, I found the time to refocus on that one simple question, the answer to which everything positively followed. This one simple thought—that I wanted to ensure my home and work family will be happy, healthy and active— was and continuously has been a potent driving force

in steering me toward good results this whole time.

Drawing on this, we can start by formulating our 202“one” Driving Question for ourselves. For me, it is: How do I simplify my life which allows me to love my body, mind, and soul? Remember, a stronger you also allows yourself to be stronger in the various roles you play in your life.

The next step is to gather some photos or draw out a picture that visually represent the result if you are able to answer this question. I chose three visuals of how I envision my feelings when I am able to simplify my life. The first is my Instagram post in March 2013 of the altar at Saint Francis Xavier Church at Shanghai, which reminds me of the feeling of confidence that God’s benevolent providence is always with me. The second photo is of my daughter Meagan in a “hurrah” pose under this beautiful sunset

Continued on B5

Dog agility park opens

A-Frame Agility Ramp practices dogs’ discipline walking up and down the planks. Photo shows Mandaluyong City Councilor Charisse Abalos-Vargas training her pet dog Odette during The Podium Paw Park launch.

PET owners and their furry friends can now enjoy the outdoors in the heart of Ortigas Center at The Podium’s recently opened Paw Park located at the mall’s Roof Deck Garden on the sixth level.

Mandaluyong City Councilor Charisse Abalos-Vargas together with SM AVP for Operations Christian Mathay, Barangay Wack-Wack Greenhills Chairman Margarita Tan-Climaco, and Father Bong Lo led the opening ceremony with a blessing and ribbon-cutting.

Fur babies can now stay mentally and physically active with Paw Park training equipment such as the Hoop Jump, Tube Tunnel, A-Frame Ramp, Adjustable Dog Hurdle, Weave Poles, and Pause Table. It has a maximum capacity of 15 dogs and 15 people at a time to practice social distancing.

The Paw Park is open from 10 am to 6 pm daily. The Podium ensures everyone’s safety as pet owners need to present their dog’s latest vaccination records upon registration. The park’s etiquette and safety rules are posted at the entrance for reference.

Fur-parents may register online at bit.ly/PetPassRegistration and claim the physical Pet Passes at The Podium Administration Office.

The Podium Paw Park is one of the mall’s initiatives to give families and their pets a safe space to play, run around and have fun despite the pandemic.

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Get along with your peers, but don’t share personal information that could be used against you. Gravitate toward tried-and-true methods and people you know you can count on for backup. HH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Listen attentively and compliment freely; you will come away enriched by the conversation and in an excellent position to use the information you gathered to support your efforts. Romance is featured. HHHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Keep your money and possessions in a safe place. Don’t share financial information or leave your passwords on display. Be smart in dealing with someone with whom you are emotionally attached. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A partnership will encounter difficulties. Waffling will be an indication of uncertainty regarding whether you are heading in the same direction. Stick to whoever brings out the best in you. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Conversations will lead to emotional fallout.

Think before you speak, and question what’s said before you react. An exaggerated opinion will lead to assumptions and premature judgment. A change of scenery will give you a chance to decipher a situation.

HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Use your charm to entice others to do things your way.

You’ll gain support if you do something nice for a friend, relative or colleague. A positive change at home will further a pursuit that will help you advance.

Romance is featured. HHHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Refuse to let anyone control what you can do. Gather information, and make a move only if you feel it will benefit you. Helping others is admirable, but not when it’s at your expense. Put your needs first. HH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be a good listener, but don’t share personal secrets or get involved in gossip. Review your accomplishments, and consider people you have associated with, and who and what is in your best interest as you head into the future. HHHH

THE Podium opens its Paw Park where dogs can freely enjoy outdoors in a pet obstacle course which include the Hoop Jump, Tube Tunnel, A-Frame Ramp, Adjustable Dog Hurdle, Weave Poles, and Pause Table.

Birthday Baby: You are aggressive, emotional and talented.

You are hesitant and mystified.

‘college expenses’ by erik agard The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Mid-show plugs 4 Sloth, for one 7 Denizen of Doha 13 ___ effect (memory bias toward items at the end of a list) 15 Password go-with 16 Tuition at a Wisconsin school?

18 Actor or politician Jones 19 Long-legged bird 20 Kit ___ 22 In-land connector 23 “Nothing Runs Like a ___” (machinery slogan) 24 DC United’s sports org.

25 Tuition at a Texas school?

28 Crossing instruction 29 Many internship applicants, briefly 30 Bread from a tandoor 31 Musical awards 32 With 33-Across, tuition at a Pennsylvania school?

33 See 32-Across 35 Monastery leader 38 Pinkie’s where?

39 You might hold one in captivity, or vice versa 42 Wheedle 43 Tuition at an Iowa school?

46 Ice cream brand founder Joseph 47 A triceratops had three 48 “Understood” 49 Blue expanse 50 Dorsey of TV 51 Tolkien tree creatures 52 Tuition at a Louisiana school?

57 ___ Powers, aptly named women’s basketball star 58 “Oh, who cares?”

59 Babyproofing goal 60 Era 61 Have a go at DOWN 1 Body part that some robots imitate 2 Radio host’s fear 3 Goes down a web page 4 Comfortable 5 It hardens in a tray 6 Paper HQ’d in Manhattan 7 Ontario neighbor

8 Have dreams 9 Most definitely dissimilar to this clue 10 Singer Grande’s nickname 11 Alan who played Snape 12 “In the optimal case...”

14 ___ pay 17 Cross-promotional ploy 21 Disapproving clucks 22 Prez from Texas 23 “Tarnation!”

26 “Doing that now” 27 It can be in the fire 28 Triumphed 31 Neat 32 Old-fashioned ailment 33 Some can be unscrewed 34 Snakes ___ Plane 35 Cards with A’s 36 Corner stores 37 Palo Alto’s region 38 Matisse or Rousseau 39 Most viable option 40 Very low-rated 41 Chowed down 43 Fighting

44 By mouth 45 Plied a pickax 47 Friend, informally 51 Maze component 53 Barking sound 54 Joel Embiid’s sports org.

55 Party, e.g., for a DJ 56 Tricksy Solution to Tuesday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

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My 202-‘one’ road to simplifying life

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, January 22, 2021

Cinema quarantine

Continued from B4 Contin in Hawaii. It represents this feeling of being free I wish to feel where I can just lift my hands up in the air and say thank you for another day. The last photo was of me at the Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas. I like the feeling of warmth and wind under the most beautiful clouds and mountains, while I immersed in ideas and reflection.

The last part this exercise is your “how.” What are the small but concrete ways you can do to answer this one driving question? For example, in my case, I break this down further to ways of simplifying the following aspects of my life— personal, parenting, and work. For the personal, I choose to nourish my body with my chosen form of exercise this year, which is dance. I also commit to eating vegetables for every meal. For mind, I will set aside time to read or to write poetry once a month. For my soul, I aim to apply my learnings in early child development by reaching out to more parents, as well as to my Dad’s charities.

Throughout this year, I hope to share more ideas on this road to simplifying life. Please feel free to share your ideas with me as well at mommynolimits@gmail.com. n

IMITATION

THE actress must be the idol of this other actress who follows everything she does when it comes to love, romance and sex. First, Actress 2 has an affair with Actress 1’s husband when they were still married.

Then, when Actress 1 finally moved on and had a new boyfriend, Actress 2 also hooked up with the same guy after the relationship ended. Actress 1 has also since moved on and is now involved with a politician. Guess what? Actress 2’s boyfriend is also a politician. We’d like to think this is all coincidence but everything that Actress 2 does when it comes to her love life is pretty similar to Actress 1’s life decisions.

We know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but Actress 2 seems to be taking things a bit too far.

THEY FEEL CHEATED

A RECENT online event featuring a popular actor drew the ire of fans because of technical malfunctions.

The fans were willing to let that pass but what further angered them was that the said event will now be aired on free TV. The fans are angry because they feel like the actor’s management takes them for granted when they, in fact, spend money to support him and his endeavors. His close fans, meanwhile, get everything for free including all advantages not available for paying fans. These fans just wish to be treated fairly and to get their money’s worth. They don’t really want the advantages being enjoyed by the actor’s close fans.

THE REAL CAUSE

THE celebrity claims to have been ill as she’s been hit by a mysterious ailment. One of the alleged reasons for the illness is the amount of surgical enhancements she’s had done on her face. The celebrity has had her eyes and nose done, among other things. It was during one of those procedures when a nerve was allegedly hit and this is something that can happen even when the doctor is very skilled. The damage was not apparent at first. It was years later when the singer noticed that something felt wrong. When she became ill, it was reportedly when she was told that an accident during surgery is one of the things that could have caused her condition.

SPOILED CELEBRITY

WHEN the celebrity and her then-married beau were still in the courtship stage, she hired a chef to cook their meals when he would have dinner at her place. The guy’s marriage wasn’t annulled yet so they had to keep a low profile. Eventually, the relationship became more open and the celebrity and her beau could already dine out. So she messaged the chef with a list of recipes that she wanted him to give her for free, complete with instructions on how he should write them down so that she could she could understand them properly. So did the chef give the celebrity the recipes? He couldn’t because he was employed by a restaurant who owned those recipes. The restaurant owner gave him permission to moonlight using their recipes but not to give them away.

S

IXTEEN filmmakers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were engaged by the National Committee on Cinema of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) to document their responses to the quarantine using the art form they are expected to struggle with in this age of isolation and virus.

What did our filmmakers do in the quarantine?

What cinema can be produced in the lockdown?

When the films were completed, I received a letter from the committee through one of its members, film scholar Ramon Garilao, requesting if I can do a quick review of the works of the 16 filmmakers.

Here are my capsule reviews of ECQ: Covid-19 Filmmakers’ Diaries.

We begin with Glenn Barit’s quest for an oven in Walang Katapusang Hurno (The Endless Oven), the source of all creation in a time when all things are put on hold. A grant to make a film brings guilt because we never think of art as crucial to living. Actors disappear in this film because drawings on chins are enough to create humanity. Music moves in circle. A kitten is found but later dies.

In the home of Zurich Chan’s Soul Fish is caught in the fishbowl. Except for the shrieking baby and the father and son talking about chocolate, the main movement is in the fish swimming all by its lonesome in the aquarium. The family is preparing to attend a birthday party, which turns out to be online. The son asks: Where do we go? No one moves among the humans; the fish does not need to move. It is a being of enclosure.

Pam Miras in Lonely Girls pays tribute to a kind of loneliness and the loss of loveliness in the hair that is fast disappearing. A woman does yoga but each time she makes a position, another being manifests its presence by an unwelcome touch. A person appears and disappears; the woman feels she has no control over her body. An affliction is around her but it is beyond her mind and body.

Carlo Catu’s happiness and sorrow are all in one person as he declares Mama Joy is My Mother. Intensely personal, the filmmaker allows the camera to invade his private space. Catu’s film renders Death as the most expected but also the most unwelcome of all, a parallel to the insurmountable deaths brought about by the pandemic.

A man running brings us back to Earth. It is Keith Deligero, filmmaker and actor in his own flame— Kalayo (Flame). He chances upon a P100 bill but instead of picking it up, he takes out a thermometer to find out if the money has a fever and, maybe, infected with a virus. He runs on. Houses with lights are seen from above; a city with ambulances running here and there, and men in white protective gears form an army out to clean the cities.

The man in Kyle Fermindoza’s Kuadrado (Framed) is alone with the firmament and the sea, the primary elements of life. He constructs and attends to the most basic of shapes: squares and rectangles. He scribbles words on papers, which are made into boats. This is the world in lockdown where paper boats take on power and hope, because there is nothing else.

Arbi Barbarona in the Art of Life revisits the subject of his documentary. He finds them in evacuation centers. Long before the virus, they were already in isolation to protect themselves from the other forces.

Then the virus comes, and the masks and the shield and the alcohol invade their ethnicity. A woman recites the epic and we believe she will live on with the community.

Guillermo Ocampo has the right to think positively in From Itogon to London. A natural calamity—typhoons causing landslides—kills an extractive industry like mining. Miners become coffee planters. Things are going great until the lockdown but coffee and trading connect people. The Itogon Coffee reaches London and becomes a hot commodity.

There is humor and hope, even entrepreneurship, in isolation.

Bagane Fiola films in a time of uncertainty in Alimungaw (literally, confusion or uncertainty) where the only certainty is the condition of the quarantine.

The filmmaker cannot stand behind the camera, he goes in front of it while the people in the location makes sure they are safe from the outsider. Once more cinema is the intruder, and the place it documents is the threatened insider.

Somewhere in Antique, Arden Rod Condez with his Random People blurs the line between the lenses of his camera and the tender, loving, sensual, candid shots of couples in love. Then death comes: an old man with his single flower and candle is in the cemetery kissing the grave of the loved one, not for the last time but so long as he lives.

Hiyas Baldemor Bagabaldo’s Kneading Nothing begins with an all-seeing eye. An animation is the only sign of life. Then comes an enumeration of all types of quarantine, as we travel through time and space. Fireworks become an expanding universe, and a voice asks: What’s beyond? The outer space matters because the inner spaces are full of deaths. Jagged lines crisscross; the colors are sharp.

Akong Pinalangga (My Beloved) is Julienne Ilagan’s rhapsody about separation and connection. With and without the virus, we have developed already the capacity to link up with our loved ones, across the sea and over distances. But people die and we cannot be with each other. We look across the screen and wish each other well, shed a tear or two, or even deny we are crying.

Or, we could explode as Khavn de la Cruz does in Gunam-Gunam x Guni-Guni (Reverie x Imagination), a loud, public peroration on education in the new normal. A voice of an elderly woman—an educator perhaps—mouths lessons and concepts that fade into senselessness. She would not stop. Children run around learning on their own, inventing their own modules, independent learners in world gone mad and free.

Mark Garcia in Nawong (Face) stages a world where figures in deathly masks move around the Earth.

They preside over rituals of decay. On a deserted road, three of them walk as days are scattered about—as the period of disease goes on. A voice recites wishes and looks to a new mask of new dreams and mysteries.

Kristian Sendon Cordero revisits a film long finished and uses old footages to meditate on the tale of the Ibong Adarna. In his home where books continue to tell tales in natural isolation, the legend begins with a mystical egg. Women chant the story and conclude how the cure from the Bird is not only meant for Kings. Then the egg is cooked. In the retelling, Nora Aunor with a muted scream is a found footage, like the myth.

The solution for Adjani Arumpac is to Count. Her immediate response to the pandemic is the memory of numbers and the act of counting. Around her schools are closed but her child learns about equation.

Loss is measured by numbers and not by health care.

But we plant seeds, because from nature, trees and other futures grow. Domesticity comes in the form of a cat giving birth. A man climbs a staircase and a storm comes upon us.

ECQ: Covid-19 Filmmakers’ Diaries is a project of the NCCA-National Committee on Cinema, in collaboration with the University of Saint La Salle (USLS Artists Hub). It will be launched online through its Facebook page on January 22, Friday, 6 pm. Two omnibus films will be shown on demand on Vimeo on January 26. n

GMA unveils new ‘Voltes V: Legacy’ teaser, earns praise from netizens AFTER almost a year of anticipation, GMA has finally released a new teaser trailer of the highly anticipated live-action adaptation of the hit Japanese anime series Voltes V: Legacy, drawing positive feedback from loyal fans and netizens.

The one-minute trailer features a hyper-realistic and more enhanced computer graphics of Voltes V’s headquarters Camp Big Falcon, where the crew and their vehicles are seen launching from the base on a mission to save the Earth from the Boazanian empire’s invasion.

The group’s leader Steve Armstrong is also shown leading his members and piloting the Volt Cruiser while shouting the show’s popular catchphrase “Let’s volt in!” The second teaser of GMA’s groundbreaking project by Entertainment Group has taken the Internet by storm, gaining over 720,000 views on YouTube, 1.7 million views on Facebook, and 800,000 views on Twitter since its release last January 14.

Meanwhile, netizens and fans of the iconic anime series took to social media to express their excitement and approval over the much-awaited live-action adaptation.

A netizen on Twitter wrote, “GMA, thank you for doing your best on this one! I’ve got high hopes that this will live up

to our expectations! Congrats and good luck sa Team V5!”

Another netizen on YouTube said, “World Class! I trust Mark Reyes will pull this off because he did an amazing job with Encantadia. This will be setting the next level of visual effects in the Philippines! Fantastic job, Kapuso!”

In a previous interview, the director of the upcoming blockbuster Mark Reyes V confirmed that GMA Network has partnered with TOEI and Telesuccess. The network also

engaged the services of Riot Inc. Post Production along with GMA Post Video graphics team in handling the CGI and live action elements of the series.

Mark shares that he and the rest of the team are beyond grateful for all the positive feedback following the recent release of the new trailer, “It’s very heart-warming that most are accepting of the hard work we have put in it. They have also noticed the upgrades we have made on the designs from the first teaser trailer. We are very thankful.”

The director also reveals the reason behind the realization of this project: “It has been a seven-year journey for me to make Voltes V a reality. This is a passion project from someone who is a true fan. Someone who grew up believing in the overall theme of Voltes V, which is family, love, and fighting for good. And without GMA, this would still remain a pipe dream.”

Last December, Mark Reyes teased the fans with anonymous photos of artists who are set to portray the characters of Steve, Big Bert, Mark and Jamie during their costume fitting. The official date of the launch and the final cast members of Voltes V: Legacy are yet to be announced.

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P42M Training Center in Rio Tuba, Bataraza to boost jobs creation

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STATE-OF-THE-ART training center located in the mining community of Rio Tuba in Bataraza, in the southern part of Palawan, is poised to provide its residents the opportunity to shape a brighter future.

Barangay Captain Nelson D. Acob says that trainings to be conducted in the new facility, once fully operational after the pandemic, will empower local residents because it will provide the tools for more people to be qualified for good paying jobs based on skills they will acquire.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, giving his full support to the TechnicalVocational Education and Training (TVET) sector of the country, signed Executive Order 83 last June, approving and adopting the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan (NTESDP) 2018-2022 “to mobilize, galvanize and strengthen the TVET”.

Under EO 83, all local government units and the private sector are “to adopt, disseminate and support the implementation of the NTESDP, which stands as the blueprint for TVET. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on the other hand, with an approved P14B budget for 2021, is mandated to “ensure that all skills development programs and scheme conform with the quantitative objectives of the NTESDP”.

Acob says there are a lot of opportunities for use of the new Training Center with the President’s support.

“The approved 2021 national budget, specifically TESDA budget, has ample provisions for communitybased training programs and training for work scholarships which take advantage of because we have the facility to conduct trainings right here ni Rio Tuba,” Acob exclaims.

The huge taxes it earns as host to two major mining companies has made Bataraza a bustling firstclass municipality. It is also the most populated municipality in Palawan and the LGU is closely monitoring the number of unemployed youth, as recorded by the Philippine Statistics Authority, largely because of inmigration and population growth.

HON. Nelson D. Acob, barangay captain of Rio Tuba “We need to immediately address the issue of youth unemployment and we believe that providing them with knowledge and skills to have fulfilling jobs as soon as possible is key,” adds Acob.

The new training center, jointly funded

by Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC) and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp (RTNMC), a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), will have audio-visual rooms and dedicated areas for various workshops, and will be equipped with conveyor belts, overhead cranes, vertical structure platforms, electrical simulators for trainings. It will host classes for skills education and job-preparatory training based on the courses that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) offers.

The Center is CBNC’s and RTN’s show of commitment to the mining communities.

The mining companies, who work with the communities and disadvantaged residents to foster integral human transformation and contribute to the poverty alleviation initiatives of President Duterte, believe the Center will help develop entrepreneurial skills that can guide people towards economic independence and to a more secure future.

Reynaldo “Bong” Dela Rosa, Community Relations Manager for RTNMC, shares that Bataraza aims to forge a partnership with

TESDA for the job-preparatory skills training and for the NC-II National Certificates that will be given to the graduates.

Dela Rosa says that a survey was conducted to determine what kind of skills training the residents of the mining communities prefer.

“The survey covering some 5,000 households in 5 Barangays (Rio Tuba, Ocayan, Sumbiling, Sandoval and Iwahig), shows that residents prefer technical trainings such as Driving, Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Cookery, Auto Electrical Assembly and Agricultural Crops Production, and also, masonry, carpentry, pipefitting, automotive, plus specialized courses such as weight load simulation, heavy equipment operation, welding and electronics.,” says Dela Rosa.

The new facility, also to serve as center for manpower pooling that will regularly train residents to be highly-qualified for local, domestic and overseas employment, is one of the major projects of RTNMC and CBNC and will be officially launched this year under its Social Development and Management Program (SDMP) – a fiveyear plan budgeted to use as tool for the implementation of development programs in the mining communities that Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) approves, endorses and monitors.

Security Bank, Ateneo Manila and Knowledge Channel partner for ‘Ready, Set, Read’ educational video series

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ECURITY Bank’s corporate social responsibility arm, Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI) recently launched the Ready, Set, Read! video series for elementary students in partnership with the Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. and Ateneo De Manila University, as part of its advocacy of improving the quality of education and filling the educational gaps brought by the pandemic.

The first five episodes set to air from January 19 to February 19, 2021 will focus on enhancing the reading competencies of Grade 5 students particularly on inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words in stories through context clues.

The topics chosen are based on the Department of Education’s Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs) Guide which focuses on the indispensable competencies that Filipino learners must acquire, especially with the challenges of learning delivery during this pandemic.

Other videos in the pipeline touch on the reading strategies for grades 1 and 3 students such as predicting the possible ending of a story, making inferences and

drawing conclusions based on texts, and interpreting simple graphs, tables and pictographs.

“Uplifting the quality of life in communities where Security Bank has a presence is the goal of Security Bank Foundation. We aim to achieve this by providing quality education through scholarships for deserving students, building and donating classrooms to accredited public schools nationwide, training the teachers of our beneficiary schools to help them improve their teaching skills, and developing new initiatives through digital learning resources. Through these efforts, we hope to provide better opportunities for the succeeding generations of Filipinos and a brighter future for the communities Security Bank serves,” says Rafael F. Simpao, Jr., Chairman of Security Bank Foundation.

The three organizations collectively chose English Reading competencies as the subject matter of the educational materials after the reports of the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) showed that Filipino students lag behind

other countries in terms of reading proficiency.

“Our partnership with Security Bank Foundation and Ateneo comes at a time when video lessons have become fundamental in ensuring that learning continues even amidst any calamity or pandemic. This video series will also provide Filipino children with English reading proficiency that will prepare them to succeed and thrive in a globallyconnected society,” says Rina Lopez Bautista, President and Executive Director of Knowledge Channel Foundation.

“Ateneo welcomes this opportunity to work with Security Bank Foundation and Knowledge Channel Foundation in ensuring an effective teaching-learning process even during the unusual circumstances surrounding education at this time,” adds Dr. Carmela Oracion, Managing Director of the Ateneo Center for Educational Development.

To help educators and parents understand how these videos can be used as effective teaching tools, a free webinar was organized by Security Bank Foundation and Knowledge Channel. Teachers and parents can use these videos for free to enhance children’s reading skills in the comfort of their home and eventually as integral teaching materials once classes return to face-to-face.

The pilot run consisting of 5 episodes will be aired on Knowledge Channel from January 19-28, 2021 every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (11:2011:40 am), A2Z Free TV Channel from January 22 to February 19, 2021 every Thursday (8:20-8:40 am).

The said episodes will also be available for replay on Security Bank’s Website at https://www. securitybank.com/sustainability/educational-videos and at https://facebook.com/SecurityBank.

To know more about Security Bank and Security Bank Foundation, visit www.securitybank. com/Sustainability.

CSC sets January 25 deadline for feedback on semi-finalists to government awards

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UBLIC feedback on the semi-finalists to the 2020 Search for Outstanding Government Workers should be sent to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) by 25 January 2021.

The process of gathering information will ensure that only the best will be conferred with the prestigious award for government service.

CSC released in December 2020 the list of semi-finalists. For the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award, all are from the group category, namely the Carrageenan Plant Growth Promoter Team of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute; Bayawan Aquaculture Team of the City Government of Bayawan, Negros Oriental; and NRPS Core Team of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Meanwhile, the Outstanding Public Officials and Employees or Dangal ng Bayan Award is a recognition given to an individual for exemplary ethical behavior. The semifinalists are: Principal III Jeremy Atun Cruz of Pagasa National High School in Legazpi City, Teacher I Jeffrey Galera Dimalig of Mate Elementary School in Tayabas, Quezon and Principal I Gregorio Apues Legal of Mary Perpetua Brioso National High School in Masbate City; Administrative Aide I Dennis Llanes Suero of the School Division Office of DepEd Vigan City; Medical Specialist III Dr. Elizabeth Jaravata Batino of Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center; Daycare Worker Dina Entendez Diaz of the

Local Government of Surigao City; Master Teacher I Edgar Tolentino Elago of Jagupit National High School, Agusan del Norte; and Administrative Aide IV Benito Ronato Ong of the Commission on Audit.

The semi-finalists for CSC Pagasa Award Principal I Jesus Catigan Insilada of Caninguan National High School (DepEd) in Lambunao, Iloilo; Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer IV Gerard Marta Lavadia of Tagbilaran City, Bohol; End Hunger Program Team of the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro; and the Medical Social Welfare Department of Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.

Feedback should be sent through email: hapsecretariat@csc.gov.ph; Contact Center ng Bayan (CCB) email address email@ contactcenterngbayan.gov.ph or CCB via 0908-8816565.

MOK 2.0 provides stylish and less harmful way to indulge

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OK (mok.com.ph), continues to elevate the heatnot-burn experience of adult smokers looking for the better alternative to traditional cigarettes.

Launched virtually were the MOK 2.0 and the MOK mini Plus which boast of improved functions and style

that fit perfectly in the lifestyle of their users.

Being the new flagship device of the MOK portfolio, MOK 2.0 flaunts sophisticated angles and a metallic finish that exude premiumness and elegance.

Thanks to advanced heat-not-burn technology, MOK 2.0 also highlights next gen OLED panel on the pocket charger and even faster pre-heating cycles of 12 seconds and charging times of 2 minutes 30 seconds for the holder and 1 hour 30 minutes for the pocket charger.

“This is the most premium MOK device that’s out in the market – angular shapes that’s distinct and a truly metallic finish—MOK’s signature of sophistication,” said Cax Mayuga, MOK Philippines’ Marketing Director.

MOK mini Plus, on the other hand, is still ultracompact and ultra-lightweight. The device now comes in a matte metallic finish for a minimalist, elegant look.

MOK mini Plus also has the fast 12-second pre-heating cycle and can be used up to 12 times consecutively in one full charge.

Aside from the original three variants, a new flavor, Oriental Hue, was also launched designed for those looking for a full-bodied, strong tobacco flavored vapor.

All these products are already available in MOK official stores in Shopee, Lazada, and select hubs of GrabExpress, as well as MOK Specialty Kiosks.

Rising above COVID-19 pandemic, adapting to post recovery times

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OLISTIC well-being, focus on nutrition and rejuvenation have become even more popular topics this past year. Even with the pandemic, the global hospitality industry has seen a renewed interest in wellness tourism. Travelers are seeking out health and wellness retreats to build their immunity. According to a 2018 report by the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism is slated to grow at an average annual rate of 7.5% by 2022. This is higher than the projected 6.4% rate for the annual growth of overall global tourism. Now that things are getting back to some semblance of normalcy, it is predicted that wellness is going to be a priority for everyone, and people will plan their vacations with their health as a priority. In the months to come, wellness tourism may continue to take centerstage as travel restrictions are slowly being relaxed and maybe even lifted.

People will prioritize traveling to places that provide health and wellness enhancing opportunities, and tourism will shift from the simple spa and leisure travel majority of the travelers know to a more health and wellness-focused travel.

The anxiety and stress due to COVID-19 can be resolved with holidays in wellness-focused places that offer the essence of these holistic therapies and spirituality and well-being.

The Farm at San Benito managed to resume operations last May 16, 2020 after receiving all the required permits to continue its services as a medical wellness facility.

The first of its kind in the country, The Farm is also the first resort to put up an on-site COVID testing center. Upon arrival, all guests are required to undergo the Antigen Nasal Swab Test all administered by medical doctors and licensed health professionals. RT-PCR test is also made available on-site. The whole staff, along with long-staying guests, are tested regularly. Since its reopening, the facility has remained a safe place of retreat with zero cases of COVID. All guest and treatment rooms at The Farm are sanitized by Sanivir Smoke which is proven by international laboratories to kill Corona Virus on all surfaces and in the air effectively.

Now more than ever, The Farm serving its purpose in changing lives of people who experience this piece of healing sanctuary. Afterall, its mission is deeply rooted in healing people by offering transformative and life-changing retreats for 18 long years.

In response to the pandemic, the specifically-designed Immune Support and Post-COVID Recovery Program includes COVID-19 testing, medically-supervised holistic treatments to support the immune system, nutrient-rich organic vegan meals and beverages, microbiome nourishment, mindful movements and more. It also includes psycho-emotional sessions to ensure that guests’ mental health and emotional state are well attended to, especially during the pandemic, which can trigger anxiety and panic attacks.

And to assist people who have been previously compromised by SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, the recovery program is inclusive of Daily Nutrient-Rich Organic Vegan Meals and Detox Juice, Holistic Consultation, Brain Biofeedback, Live Blood Analysis, Colon Cleansing, Acupuncture, Vitamin Infusion, Liver Compress, Energy Healing, Immuno Cell Renewal, Steam Therapy, Ozone Therapy, Sustainable Program Discussion, with daily mindful and functional fitness activities.

According to The Farm’s medical director, Dr. Homer Lim, a certain population of people who developed COVID-19 infections will eventually have what's now called the "Post-Covid Syndrome" or long haulers. They usually will have persistent symptoms even at 2 months from recovery such as loss of taste and smell, fatigue, difficulty breathing, muscle and joint pains as well as digestive issues. The Farm’s COVID-free healing environment, medically-supervised and science-based treatments, healthy vegan and nutritious meals and mindful movement activities provides a holistic approach to help COVID-19 survivors fully recover and achieve their optimum health.

The Farm also offers other Health Optimization Programs such as Immune Support, Holistic Detox Cleanse, Weight Management, Diabetes Prevention, & Heart Health, Holistic Cancer Care, Yoga & Raw Food Retreat, Sleep Induction, Post-Natal Care, Fertility Program, Hormone Regulation, Beauty & Longevity programs to name a few.

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

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AN MIGUEL Beer Head Coach Leo Austria said the youth in his hometown of Sariaya should not give up on their dreams despite the Covid-19 pandemic as he is confident the presence of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) in the area will boost basketball in Quezon province and produce fresh talents who will eventually make it to the collegiate leagues and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Austria, the PBA Rookie of the Year in 1985, said that living in the province did not deter him from moving forward as a player and coach in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL), the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the PBA. “I always tell the kids in Sariaya that I worked hard to be in the PBA, and I keep reminding them that if I can do it, they also can,” Austria said. “All they need to do is to work hard and set their goals—and it’s a blessing for them that SMC is in their community.”

Austria, along with PBA legend Alvin Patrimonio, joined Sariaya local officials led by Mayor Marcelo Gayeta and Quezon clergy led

by Lucena City Bishop Mel Rey Uy during the recent inauguration of the new 5.4-hectare San Miguel-Christian Gayeta Homes.

The facility includes a covered and concrete basketball court, livelihood center, e-library and children’s learning center.

Austria reiterated his gratitude to SMC President and COO Ramon S. Ang for taking care of 127 families who relocated to the P352million sustainable housing community from the risky coastal areas of Sariaya.

“Being in San Miguel Corp. changed my life. And I tell my kababayan that SMC cares and that they could always depend on Boss RSA,” he said. “The SMC facility gives jobs to the people

Sports BusinessMirror

Austria reminisced his younger days in Sariaya which he spent mostly on sports.

“I started with volleyball at St. Francis High School and I was a regular in intramurals. After volleyball, I fell in love with basketball,” he said.

“We often played in the basketball court fronting the church, which we called parke.

I played there all the time and eventually,

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TEAM CANLUBANG Members of the Team Canlubang Cycling Team—Kian Angelo Febrer, Fernan Ballera, Paul Genota, Manuel Alvarez, Justin Antisoda, Carl Justine, Micah Tagular and JC Acibo—are featured in BM Cycling, BusinessMirror’s cycling show that airs on facebook live every Monday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The team boasts of more than 30 members. NONIE REYES

PSC to push online National Sports Summit

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HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will hold the National Sports Summit but transformed the program into a three-part weekly online interaction starting on Wednesday.

“We wanted to push through with the summit because we know it will be useful to know where we are now from where we were almost three decades ago,” PSC Chairman William Ramirez said. “It will help us see the road ahead of us and navigate sports better.”

This year’s summit is only the second since 1992 when 38 resolutions were crafted with the hopes of a better national sports environment.

The 2021 edition, starting with a weekly conference-type online session titled Sports Conversations, will cover 25 topics.

“Data gathered from these sessions will be studied and processed, and shall be the foundation of a new set of resolutions hoped to be useful for our future sports leaders, legislators, and national officials who contribute to the betterment of sports in the country,” Ramirez said.

PSC tapped recognized figures from the local and international sports scene to deliver short lectures in the online conference with the primary aim of determining the present status of sports in the country and charting the path to achieve sports excellence.

The first batch of sessions features United Sports Academy President TJ Rosandich, Philippine Sports Institute Dean of Philippine

Sports Henry Daut, Davao del Norte Sports Development Head Giovanni Gulanes and University of the Philippines Professor Tessa Jazmines.

Rosandich will discuss a three-part lecture-forum on “Sports Success from a First World Perspective.”

The academy is home to the likes of American-Israeli Olympic figure skater Aimee Buchanan and two-time national coach of the year Mike Leach.

Gulanes will share his expertise in sports development programs in local government units on February 4. The long-time sports coordinator will also touch on youth training and hands-on management of his province’s sports program.

Daut, who played a major role in PSC’s Sports Mapping Action Research Talent Identification (Smart ID) program, will explore the topic as well as grassroots development on February 11.

Veteran sportswriter Jazmines will lecture on the value of sports marketing on February 28.

“We believe that sports are a means to move forward despite taking a step back for months. We may continue to chart our path in bettering Philippine sports starting now, and with the help of these experts in the field to whom we are very grateful,” Ramirez said.

Almost 1,000 registrants consisting of sports educators, athletes, coaches, LGU coordinators, national sports associations and private stakeholders have already registered.

Adiwang faces Kawahara in Singapore

dropped a three-round split decision loss to the Japanese in the close match that could have gone either way.

Kawahara was the least bit impressed and stressed Adiwang “is just not on his level.”

One: Unbreakable is One’s first live event in 2021. The main event features a One Super Series showdown between bantamweight kickboxing world champion Alaverdi “Babyface Killer” Ramazanov of Russia staking his belt against No. 2-Capitan Petchyindee Academy of Thailand.

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APAN’S Namiki Kawahara stepped in as a last-minute replacement for China’s Hexi Getu and faces hard-hitting Filipino Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang of Team Lakay in the One: Unbreakable on Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

The 31-year-old from Osaka prefecture believes he has the tools to end Adiwang inside the distance in any manner possible.

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SAN MIGUEL Beer Head Coach Leo Austria urges Sariaya’s youth to dream on.

of Sariaya and, as well as income to the local government.”

Austria said he will conduct basketball clinics for kids in the community once health protocols are relaxed.

“I will teach the kids of Sariaya how to play basketball, that’s my dream—to boost sports development in my hometown,” he said.

“I admit that Lito is a great fighter. That shows in his previous performances. But it doesn’t matter who he’s fought in the past, he’s never faced me. I’m a dangerous fighter.

I’ll prove it in the Circle,” Kawahara said.

Kawahara’s confidence stems from Adiwang’s performance against his countryman, former Shooto champion Hiroba Minowa last November. Adiwang

everyone was calling me ‘batang parke,’” Austria narrated. “Me and my baskettball friends roamed almost the entire Quezon province playing basketball.”

Austria said that he hopes more Quezonbased players could make it to the collegiate and professional leagues as he named players from the province who rose to stardom.

“Alex and Boy Clarino are from Pagbilao, the late Vegildo Babilonia was from Alabat and among the younger ones, Jesper Aya-ay is also from Pagbilao,” he said. “I hope many more will follow their footsteps.”

SMC is set to build a modern, state-of-the-art integrated agro-industrial complex in Sariaya that will include a brewery, grains terminal and

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OPERATION: BRING HOME KAI SOTTO

AUSTRIA: SARIAYA BOOMS

Olympic champ’s abuse claim triggers debate in Greece THENS, Greece—Greek Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou appeared before a public prosecutor in Athens Wednesday in relation to sexual assault accusations she made that have ignited a nationwide debate on misconduct and encouraged multiple victims to make their claims public.

Bekatorou, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Games, has said a senior sailing federation official assaulted her in 1998.

She made the allegation publicly last week, speaking at an online event organized by the government. It triggered an outpouring of support from public figures, including Greece’s first female president, and has been likened to the “Me Too” movement that followed the accusations and subsequent conviction of Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

“I hope this helps other women to speak out if they have experienced sexual abuse so that our society can be healthier and less afraid,” the 43-year-old Bekatorou said after giving a threehour deposition Wednesday.

The alleged offense has exceeded a 15-year statute of limitations but a public prosecutor has agreed to examine the case for other possible victims.

An official who was removed on Monday from senior posts at the Hellenic Sailing Federation and Hellenic Olympic Committee denies the allegations and has argued that the public furor has undermined his ability to defend his position. He has not been identified by prosecuting authorities.

Bekatorou’s revelation rippled to Cyprus where renewed accusations by Commonwealth Games and World Cup shooting champion Andri Eleftheriou that she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed sports official several years ago ignited a debate about the issue on the conservative island nation.

Eleftheriou met with the country’s Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis on Wednesday to talk about the accusations she made during a recent TV appearance. She filed a formal police complaint about the incident.

Yiolitis praised Eleftheriou for her bravery in stepping forward and promised her full support while urging other women who have been assaulted to speak out without fear because authorities have made significant strides in handling these cases.

Separately, prosecutors in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki have launched a preliminary investigation into multiple claims of sexual misconduct made by former female students against two faculty members of the city’s state-run university.

The scandals in Greece have emerged as the country is attempting to shake off a legacy of corruption and abuse of high authority, blamed in part for a major financial crisis that lasted for most of the previous decade. AP

Friday, January 22, 2021

feedmill, a ready-to-eat food manufacturing plant, fuel tank farm and port facilities.

Each housing unit in the community, built under Housing Land Use Regulatory Board standards, has a lot area of 54 square meters that can fit a bedroom, toilet and bathroom, kitchen and dining area with loft capability.

The community also has an overhead water tank with a 136,000-liter capacity, a dedicated sewage treatment plant made of natural reed beds, park, daycare center and playground garden.

By Josef Ramos

HE Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is now doing everything it can to bring home 7-foot-3 Zachary “Kai” Sotto for the third window of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asian Cup Qualifiers set from February 18 to 22 in a Clark bubble.

In response to Sotto’s latest Instagram post last Thursday reiterating his desire to play for Gilas Pilipinas, SBP Special Assistant to the President Ryan Gregorio told BusinessMirror that they are now working closely with his management team, East West Private, to bring him home the promising center.

But the SBP, Gregorio said, need to hurdle travel restrictions because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 variant.

Sotto needs to complete a 14-day quarantine once he comes home.

“We are working closely with his management team,” Gregorio said. “We will know in the next few days—a lot of moving parts.”

Sotto will also sacrifice his debut with the Ignite team in the National Basketball Association (NBA) G League which starts February in the Disney bubble in Florida.

The Gilas Pilipinas pool composed of cadets and Philippine Basketball Association players are presently training at the Inspire Sports Academy bubble in Calamba under SBP Program Director Tab Baldwin.

Gregorio said he is expecting TNT’s Roger Pogoy and Troy Rosario and NLEX’s Raul Soyud to join the bubble on Friday. So Far, CJ Perez of Terrafirma, Kiefer Ravena of NLEX and Justine Chua of Phoenix are already in the bubble.

The men’s national team will face South Korea on February 18, Indonesia on February 20 and South Korea again on February 22 in the window.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

B8 Friday, January 22, 2021

Isuzu donates ‘Mobile Kitchen’ to Philippine Red Cross

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Story by Randy S. Peregrino

SUZU Philippines Corp. (IPC) started the New Year being true to its corporate mantra as “Your Responsible Partner” in business and various community assistance.

Recently, IPC donated one mobile kitchen truck to the Philippine Red Cross (Laguna Chapter) to support its Hot Meals on Wheels’ emergency mass feeding program.

Held at the Philippine Red Cross Headquarters, the Isuzu Mobile Truck ’s formal turnover was g raced none ot her t ha n Chairman Richard Gordon and representatives from Isuzu led by IPC President Hajime Koso, officers of the Philippine Red Cross and its Laguna Chapter headed

by Frank Sorromero.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, life’s emergencies don’t stop and neither does the work of Philippine Red Cross. Each day, indigent Filipinos rely on them to help prevent and lessen their suffering. Philippine Red Cross ensures that Filipino families have access to food and other basic needs in light of the heavy economic cost of the pandemic,” said Koso.

The Isuzu Mobile Kitchen is

equipped with a complete minikitchen setup capable of cooking, prepare, and serve hot meals quickly and efficiently on-site where it is needed. Moreover, the design and layout are ideal for the Philippine Red Cross’ daily operations, especially in various feeding programs and disaster response operations nationwide.

IPC and the Philippine Red Cross share an active partnership in responding to disasters and national emergencies in the past.

Last year, the organization was among the partner recipients of IPC’s “Kasama Mo” campaign, the company’s continuing response to the global pandemic. IPC also donated one D-MAX pick-up unit to assist the Philippine Red Cross relief operations during the last Taal Volcano eruption.

IPC Assistant Division Head for Sales Hiroto Nakaguro (4th from right) handed the ceremonial Isuzu key to First PGMC Enterprises Inc. National Sales Manager Edward Dela Cruz (3rd from left) during the turnover completion of 46 N-series truck units. Isuzu Philippines

nect to water and power supply as needed.

Isuzu completes turnover of 46 N-Series truck units to First PGMC Enterprises Inc.

Chief Executive Officer of Philippine Red Cross Richard Gordon (4th from left), Inteco President Raymond Jarina (3rd from right), IPC President Hajime Koso (2nd from right), and Truckmaster President Johnny Pronaci (1st from right) presenting the Isuzu Mobile Truck. Isuzu Philippines

For this particular Isuzu Mobile Truck donation, IPC was joined by its longtime dealer group Inteco, represented by its president Raymond Jarina.

Also present was Truckmaster

head Johnny Pronaci. The body builder company was responsible for customizing the Isuzu tr uck ’s mobi le k itchen body, which is safe for long-distance travel and can efficiently con-

Meanwhile, IPC resumed its commercial vehicle turnover to various companies. Recently, the country’s leading assembler and distribution of brand-new trucks turned over the last batch of NSeries light-duty trucks to complete the fleet of 46 units to First PGMC Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of NutriAsia Inc. through Orix Rental Corp.

Held at the Isuzu Taytay dealership, which facilitated the sale are 46 trucks including 21 NMR85, 13 NPR85, and 12 NQR75 units.

These N-series trucks have various body designs intended for specific applications.

Power-wise, both the NPR and NQR variants are motivated by the 4JJ1-TCC turbodiesel engine with Blue Power dishing out 121 hp and 354 N-m of maximum torque. The NQR variant, on the other hand, is fitted with the more powerful 4HK1-TCN turbodiesel engine with Blue Power generating 153 hp and 419 N-m of maximum torque.

During the turnover, IPC Assistant Division Head for Sales Hiroto Nakaguro praised the partnership between IPC and Orix Rental Corp.

The association represents the ideal example of how Isuzu vehicles transform the Filipino spirit of entrepreneurship into a major economic force for national growth.

“Among the many reasons for IPC’s market dominance over the years, ability to meet customers’ everchanging needs has always been a priority” he said.

First PGMC Enterprises Inc. National Sales Manager Edward Dela Cruz, for his part, shared, “Buying’ brand new truck’ is the better option when it comes to peace of mind and safety of employees. With a brand-new truck, you’ll know every bit of the vehicle’s history because you’ll be the one to make it and for corporate identity.”

Aside from the proven reliability, power, comfort, and efficiency of Isuzu-branded trucks, First PGMC Enterprises Inc., through Orix Rental Corp., is guaranteed with the aftersales support of the 45 authorized and strategically located Isuzu dealerships and service centers. Moreover, it includes the supply of readily available parts for delivery.

‘Second wind’ at Nlex; more on 2021 forecast attracted to automobiles that best fit their lifestyle with their given budgets.

‘Customer Centricity’

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T happens that in a marathon, the champion also feels energy slipping away. And then, all too suddenly, he sharply senses a surge of new knee power. He picks up speed. Whizzes past his foes, slicing the wind nonstop, telling himself: “Win this race I must!”

I knew how to run before I learned how to drive. I had known about the “second wind” even before I could pronounce the phrase.

The North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) had that proverbial “second wind” long before it got embroiled in the recent brouhaha of toll booth congestion.

Thus, in a snap, that glitch was addressed, leading to a seamlessly smooth traffic flow from December 18 to January 4.

To their credit, the Nlex top brass had risen to the occasion.

You’ve got to give credit where credit is due.

“We carried out fool-proof measures to help control the expected traffic spike at our toll plazas,” revealed Jose Luigi Bautista, the Nlex president. “We fielded 1,000 people more for instant assistance to motorists for every conceivable traffic concern.”

Bautista said they had finetuned their cashless transactions while adding more cash payment lanes.

“Turns out motorists preferred using RFID than paying in cash,” Bautista said.

After it had morphed from North Diversion Road to Nlex, this road marvel leans on a regimen called “continuous improvement,” said Bautista: “We always

strive to get better and better till the end of time.”

Welcome back, Nlex!

2021 forecasts

TWO more gentlemen at bat:

Jose Maria Atienza

TMP Senior VP, Marketing Division

“THE start of 2021 brings with it a strong market momentum coming from the end of last year. “ Together with our partnerdealers and Toyota Financial Ser v ices, we look for ward to another year of providing our best for our customers, mindful of everyone’s role in rebuilding the economy in a safe and responsible manner.

“While market indicators are getting better, the recent announcement related to Safeguard Duties however brings with it uncertainties. This has to be assessed fully in terms of its short to midterm impact on the market and we all must work together to set the best course forward for our customers and the automotive industry.”

Spencer Yu

President, SMC-BMW PHL

‘Aggressive Competition’

“As we do not expect the industry to recover quickly, we foresee a more intense competition across all segments, which will manifest into aggressive pricing and financing programs. With manufacturers fighting over market share, there will always be a race to keep consumers interested and

“With data and metrics being more accessible than ever, the tools to analyze information have prov ided manufacturers w ith ways to tailor fit programs and events to reach out to their target markets. This more focused push on trends and interests allow for a more efficient use of resources, which benefits not just the manufacturer, but the consumer, as well, thanks to more targeted experiences that will feel even more worthwhile.

‘The Shift to Digitalization’

“ The global pandemic has not only taught us that health and safety are of utmost priority.

The shift in markets has now accommodated a digital landscape in whic h many of our daily lives have now adopted a cashless or touch-free method.

From the way we reach our customers, the way they interact with our vehicles, to the way our vehicles will interact with other cars and their drivers, we can expect even more reliance on systems that increase efficiency and ease of use. With even more mobile applications being adopted in car systems, we are truly seeing a new rise in connected lifestyles for the years to come.

“Ultimately, we at BMW will try our best to be prepared for these changes and the challenges that they bring, doing our utmost to be more adaptable than ever in order to serve our clientele only the best of our brand.”

PEE STOP Here’s a glass to Isu-

zu PHL for donating an Isuzu Mobile K itchen to the Lag una Chapter of the Philippine Red C r o s s f o r p a n d e m i c - r e l at e d operations. IPC President Hajime Koso handed the keys to Laguna Red Cross officer Frank Sor romero. Cheers!

Villar: Nlex Connector to reach España this year

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HE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Nlex Corp. are accelerating the construction of the first 5-kilometer section of Nlex Connector from Caloocan Interchange, C3 to España, Manila, as they aim to complete the project by year-end.

DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar led the project inspection along 4th Avenue in Caloocan City together with Nlex Corp.

President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista.

“Right-of-way delivery for the whole alignment stands at 81 percent, while construction progress is at 16 percent. With the commitment of both the public and private sectors, we are optimistic that we can finish the project as scheduled,” said DPWH Secretary Villar.

DPWH and Nlex officials also witnessed another milestone for the project, the launching of Super T girders—these are innovative, pre-stressed box girders that are widely used for bridges in Australia and New Zealand but relatively new in the Philippine construction industry.

The newly installed Super T

beams span 30 meters and weigh 53 tons. Compared to other types of girders, Super T beams are more flexible, structurally efficient, and aesthetically appealing. They have open flanges that provide a complete working surface and reduce the need for formworks thus help fast-track the construction of the elevated expressway.

“Innovation is one of the core values of our company. We are using Super T beams to advance our construction progress so we can soon complete this crucial infrastructure that would help decongest Metro Manila and solve truck ban woes,” Bautista said.

Over 1,400 girders will be used for the entire Connector project.

The structural format of a Super T provides an optimal solution to particular challenges posed by the Connector project, which passes through urbanized areas where the roads are already congested, and the right-of-way is constrained laterally.

Last year, DPWH, Nlex, and Meralco facilitated the clearing of electric facilities in Sta. Cruz, Manila. More than 300 Meralco linemen simultaneously worked

to clear a portion of the right-ofway. The said activity involved the installation and retirement of around 160 electric poles.

Spanning a total of 8 kilometers, the full Nlex Connector will be an all vehicle class elevated expressway that will traverse the C3 Road in Caloocan City pass through Abad Santos, Blumentritt, Dimasalang, España, Magsaysay Boulevard and eventually connect with the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa in Manila.

The P23-billion Nlex Connector will feature four toll plazas and interchanges in C3 and España. It is seen to provide better access to Manila Ports (North Harbor) and airports (Naia and Clark), and expected to reduce travel time between Nlex and South Luzon Expressway from two hours to just 20 minutes.

The project will also provide tr ucks w ith 24/7 a lter native route, enabling unhampered delivery of goods and stimulating economic development in Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and surrounding areas.