BusinessMirror January 26, 2021

PHL only one in SEA to avoid shrinking FDI

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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@alyasjah

HE Philippines was the lone economy in Southeast Asia to avoid a contraction in foreign direct investments (FDI) last year, as FDI inflows to the country went up 29 percent in spite of all the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on the 38th Global Investment Trends Monitor, the Philippines was the only country in Southeast Asia to pose an FDI growth last year. Overall, FDI applied to region fell by 31 percent to $107 billion, attributed to the slide in investments made to its largest recipients.

“FDI flows to the Philippines, bucking the trend, rose by 29 percent to $6.4 billion,” the report read.

In 2019 FDI that flowed into

the Philippines crashed by nearly 25 percent to $4.99 billion, from $6.6 billion in 2018. That was the second consecutive year FDI figures stumbled double digits, putting Manila in a catchup position with its rivals in Southeast Asia.

T his year, when compared against competitors in the region, the Philippines secured the fourth highest FDI for 2020, the pandemic year, to trail Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, but jumped ahead of Malaysia and Thailand.

The report showed FDI recorded in Singapore declined 37 percent to $58 billion, while those of Indonesia and Vietnam dropped by 24 percent and 10 percent to $18 billion and $14 billion, respectively. Further, Malaysia endured a 68-percent setback to accumulate

just $2.5 billion in FDI, while Thailand suffered a 50-percent dive to obtain $1.5 billion.

“The strength of Southeast Asia as a region remained evident; announced Greenfield investment contracted more moderately [-14 percent] than in other developing regions,” the report added.

Across the region, investments made in new greenfield projects amounted to more than $70 billion, the largest volume among all developing economic blocs in the world. Likewise, the region’s trading leader Singapore saw an uptick in new projects in the third quarter to signal a looming FDI recovery for all of Southeast Asia.

Variance with reports

Published by the United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), the report concluded global FDI inflows this year will remain weak.

The Unctad report added “investors are likely to remain cautious in committing capital to new overseas productive assets.” Worse, the effects of the recession experienced by the economies will linger on and FDI recovery may just begin to take form on or before 2022.

The report of a positive FDI growth in the Philippines appears to contradict official data f rom investment promotions agencies, particularly the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), showing they bled losses in 2020.

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DOF: REVENUE GOALS TO BE MET IN LATE ‘21

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Tuesday, January 26, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 107

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P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 18 pages |

DA, DTI PIN HOPES ON PRICE-FREEZE ORDER ON PORK AND CHICKEN

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

& Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

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Third Philippine Eagle rescued in Sarangani Another Philippine Eagle was recently found and rescued—the third rescue in four years—in the hinterlands of Maitum town in Sarangani province as it was trapped in the thorny rattan vines while preying on a monkey. A team from the municipal government retrieved the eagle and relayed the rescue effort to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office for the proper handling of the eagle and turnover to the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City. A piece of marble, used as a bullet in an improvised rifle, was embedded near the eagle’s right clavicle, according to the DENR local office’s report. PHOTO COURTESY OF DENR-REGIONAL OFFICE 12

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

INANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III is optimistic the government will start hitting its revenue targets toward the end of this year as he expects the country’s economy to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dominguez on Monday said the Philippines has a “very resilient economy” and the government had a strong financial position when it

entered the health crisis.

Moreover, Dominguez said the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and In-

clusion Law and the fuel marking program helped the government raise revenues.

“By the last quarter of this year, we expect to start hitting the targets on our revenues. You know, we have a very resilient economy.

You have to remember that we entered this virus situation with very strong finances. We conducted a series of tax reforms, which boosted our revenues, as well as our credit rating, which incidentally, our credit rating has not been affected by this virus,” he said in an interview with CNBC. He said the rice tariffication law

also “moderated” the country’s inflation rate.

“So our tax administration has also improved greatly. And we did all of this, because we were doing our ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, which, incidentally, we are continuing, but this year these reforms helped us weather the financial impact of this Covid virus,” he added.

Last year, the government had to significantly revise downward its revenue targets given the economic impact of Covid-19induced lockdowns.

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Agri-agra credits rule top banks’ headaches

By Bianca Cuaresma

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@BcuaresmaBM

OC A L ba n k s voted t he mandatory credits to the agri-agra sector as the most challenging in terms of regulatory compliance, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey showed.

In order to evaluate the impact of local banking regulations, the BSP recently asked banks to rank five areas which they find challenging in terms of regulatory compliance. The results showed that except for rural and cooperative banks, compliance with mandatory credits to agri-agra remains

PESO exchange rates n US 48.0760

as the “most challenging.”

As of end-March 2020, the entire Philippine banking system logged in an 11.02 percent compliance for other agricultural credit, which is below the 15-percent statutory credit requirement under the agri-agra law. Compliance ratio for agrarian reform credit, meanwhile,

stood at 0.97 percent. This is way below the required 10 percent.

The other regulations that banks cited in their top 5 include anti-money laundering requirements, credit risk management, operational risk management and information and technology risk management.

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) is hoping that President Duterte will issue within the week an Executive Order (EO) imposing a price ceiling on pork and chicken to temper rising prices of these commodities.

This comes as Agriculture Secreta r y Wi l l ia m D. Da r blamed traders and wholesalers for the “tight” supply, saying they are the culprits behind the recent skyrocketing of pork prices beyond P400 per kilogram.

Dar, in a virtual press briefing on Thursday, assured the public that the country has sufficient food supply except for pork, which he noted is suffering from a “tight supply.”

Meanwhi le on Mond ay, Malacañang said President Duterte will make the “right decision” on the proposal to impose a price freeze to arrest the spike in the prices of pork and poultry products.

Presidentia l spokesman Harry Roque said they are now just awaiting the President’s action on the recommended price ceiling by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

“That is a recommendation made for the President and I trust the President will make the right decision,” Roque said in an online press briefing.

Last week, DA said it is pushing to implement a price ceiling, effective for 60 days, of P270 on kasim and P300 on liempo.

This, after prices of pork in the market reached as high as P400 per kilogram due to the supposed low supply of the product amid the spread of the African swine fever (ASF).

Strong enforcement

If the proposed price cap is implemented, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said they will be

coordinating with the DA and local government units (LGU) through the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to enforce it.

He sa id t hey w i l l a lso strengthen the Local Price Coordinating Council.

Should the President reject the DA’s proposal, Lopez said they will rely on other measures to bring down the prices of pork through importation.

Hoarders

Lopez said they also met on Monday with an “economic intelligence group” comprising supply chain stakeholders to determine if there are groups involved in hoarding pork products so as to artificially jack up prices.

“This will involve intelligence work, when it comes [to] the activities between farmgate and the market, traders in between warehouses,” Lopez said.

“Those who are are hoarding and stopping [the release] of the supply to increase prices, that will be our next focus,” he added.

Labor support

The Associated Labor Union (ALU) backed the proposed price freeze as well as the prosecution of hoarders to ensure workers can still afford basic necessities.

In his letter addressed to President Duterte, ALU National Executive Vice President Gerard R. Seno admonished the DA and DTI for allowing “pricegouging middlemen, traders, retailers, and hoarders,” to continue their operations.

“What they are engaged in is economic sabotage, and government must go after them hammer-and-tongs. The ineptitude and lack of political will of both DA and the DTI in enforcing the Proclamation must become a thing of the past,” Seno said.

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n japan 0.4632 n UK 65.7968 n HK 6.2021 n CHINA 7.4157 n singapore 36.2264 n australia 37.0906 n EU 58.5277 n SAUDI arabia 12.8165

Source: BSP (January 25, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, January 26, 2021

House panel lists rights of taxpayers, freelancers

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE House Committee on Ways and Means on Monday approved a measure providing for a bill of rights for taxpayers while easing the payment of taxes in the Philippines.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said his committee approved House Bill 7881, or the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, which will establish an office of the taxpayer advocate and codify a bill of rights for taxpayers to encourage tax compliance and protect taxpayer welfare.

Salceda said the bill includes taxpayer classification/segmentation to ease the experience of small and medium taxpayers and focus on education and taxpayer services for their segments, while focusing collection efforts on large enterprises.

He said it also relaxed rules on returns filing and the payment of taxes (i.e., “venue-filing” and “payas-you-file”) so that taxpayers can comply with tax requirements anywhere in the country.

The measure also provides for a uniform documentation for substantiating VAT transactions to facilitate electronic invoicing and close VAT loopholes; and easing compliance requirements so that tax filings for small enterprises

need not be as burdensome as large enterprises.

“This is part of a bigger picture: the simplification and modernization of government processes. This is one of four pillars. The other three are ease of registering and operating a business, ease of public service delivery, and ease of government procurement,” he said.

Under the bill, taxpayers, including OFWs, will be able to apply for tax identification numbers, file and pay taxes, without the need for physical appearance.

Forms are also expected to be significantly reduced for small and medium taxpayers.

It also unifies the requirement for VAT documentation, requiring only an invoice instead of both an invoice and a receipt. This will help expedite the VAT refund system in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

According to Salceda, the proposal aims to improve “tax morale” or the enthusiasm of taxpayers to

meet their tax obligations.

“One of the roots of our lack of competitiveness is low tax morale.

People aren’t excited to pay taxes because the process is tedious, and open to abuse and rent-seeking,” Salceda said.

Citing an industry analysis which he conducted, Salceda estimated the economic impact of low tax morale to be as much as 0.68 to 10.02 percentage points of lost GDP growth.

Taxpayer rights

Meanwhile, the taxpayer rights include: 1. Right to pay no more than the correct amount of tax 2. Right to a fair and impartial appeal 3. Right to timely and easy to understand information 4. Right to quality tax education and service 5. Right to the consistent and transparent application of the law 6. Right to have the cost of compliance respected whenever tax rules are prepared and enforced 7. Right to privacy and confidentiality of information, unless authorized by the taxpayer or by law 8. Right to speedy disposition of cases, assessments, audits, investigation and other similar actions 9. Right to finality of tax cases, including, but not limited to, agreement on the amount of tax due 10. Right to be protected and seek redress against malicious, excessive and wrongful assessments.

Freelancers

Also, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved the unnumbered substitute bill providing legal and contractual protections to freelancers, or self-employed individuals who take seasonal or short-term jobs, such as wedding planners, content writers, artists, and others who take “gigs.”

The protections will also entitle freelancers to benefits such as nightshift differentials and hazard pay, the bill said.

The Labor Code currently does not define “freelancers.” There is also no formal contractual framework for freelancers in the law.

Salceda said that some 1.5 million Filipinos were employed in the “gig” economy or freelancing prior to the pandemic, and he expects the number to have risen at the height of Covid-19.

Among the protections that the proposed substitute bill will include are: a framework for contracts between employers and freelancers; eligibility for nightshift differential for freelancers who are required to be physically present in the workplace or those on field assignments; and hazard pay for freelancers deployed in dangerous areas.

The proposal also makes it unlawful to pay the compensation due the freelancer later than 15 days after the date of payment of compensation stated in the written contract, or after the rendition of services in cases where there is no written contract.

DA, DTI PIN HOPES ON PRICE-FREEZE ORDER ON PORK AND CHICKEN Continued from A1

Timely policies To further help workers struggling with the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, ALU proposed a wage subsidy for the beneficiaries of the emergency employment program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

It also appealed for the deployment of DTI’s Diskuwento Caravan and DA’s Kadiwa stores in factory stores in factory zones and low-income communities; direct agri-producer co-op linkages with workers co-ops, unions and employees; and the extension of Proclamation 1081 indefinitely to freeze prizes of basic commodities.

Interagency panel

A few days before the Thursday briefing, Dar formed an interagency committee to assess the situation and validate the pork shortage in the country, a key condition in moving forward the DA’s plan to triple the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork imports. (Related story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2021/01/25/ da-led-panel-to-study-mavhike-for-pork-impor ts-formed/) The BusinessMirror first broke the story last week that the DA is looking at the possibility of increasing the MAV for pork to boost domestic supply and stabilize retail prices. (Related story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2021/01/18/ asf-prompts-phl-to-mull-over-hikein-mav-allocation-for-pork/).

Under existing laws, the President is empowered to propose to Congress“revisions, modifications or adjustments”of

the MAV in case of “shortages.”

Draft EO Dar said the Office of the Executive Secretary is now evaluating the draft EO that they submitted.

The EO would impose a price ceiling on pork at P270 per kilogram for kasim/ pigue parts and P300 per kg for liempo.

The EO would also put in place a P160 per kg price ceiling for dressed chicken.

Dar added that the EO would “prevent opportunistic businesses,” like traders and wholesalers, from illegally manipulating the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities.

Dar explained that they came up with the price ceiling figures by analyzing the average price for pork in the past 5 months and past 3 months for chicken.

The agriculture chief said they made the recommended price ceiling based on “very solid data.”

Dar added that the country could now be considered under state of calamity due to ASF, which would be the basis for the imposition of a price ceiling.

Under the country’s Price Act, the President can impose a price ceiling if any of the conditions are met: impendency, existence or effects of calamity; threat, existence or effect of an emergency; prevalence or widespread acts of illegal price manipulation; impendency, existence, or effect of any event that causes artificial and unreasonable increase in the price of the basic necessity or prime commodity; and whenever the prevailing price of any basic necessity or prime commodity has risen to unreasonable levels.

Furthermore, Republic Act 7581 or

the Price Act stipulates that the price ceiling on a commodity should be the average price of a commodity in the last three months immediately preceding the proclamation of the price ceiling.

From P300 per kg, pork prices jumped to P350 per kg and hovered at P400 per kg level in recent months due to supply reduction caused by ASF-related actions, such as culling and reduction of stocks.

As for dressed chicken prices, these have gone up to P170 per kg and continues to remain at the said price level on the back of rising demand.

Dar said the other measures recommended to Duterte are: consolidation of hogs to be transported for Metro Manila markets; slaughtering of hogs and packaging/blast freezing and cold storage; and identifying supermarkets to receive pork from Mindanao.

The DA will “increase” their interaction and dialogue with the Philippine Competition Commission “to investigate traders and wholesalers engaging in the manipulation and supply of prices,” Dar said.

‘Galunggong,’ too—Poe

The DA, meanwhile, was asked to include galunggong in the list of goods subject to a price freeze even as Senator Grace Poe prodded the DA to identify the calamity that triggered the price freeze.

Poe pointed out that the price of galunggong in wet markets has been “extremely high in the past few days and has become barely affordable to ordinary consumers.”

In a statement, Poe cited a DA

recommendation asking Malacañang to impose a “price ceiling/freeze” on pork and chicken.

However, “if we really want to help our people, we should also give attention to galunggong or at the very least implement the SRP of P140 per kilo that even the DA’s own price monitoring showed was already at P240 per kilo last December,” Poe said.

Poe noted that under the Price Act, the President may impose a price ceiling on basic necessities or prime commodities if there is a calamity, an emergency, widespread illegal price manipulation, if prices have risen to unreasonable levels or there is an event that will result in an unreasonable increase in prices.

She lamented that the price ceilings the DA is seeking are higher than its SRP, even as she noted that “even the DA’s own price monitoring shows that the SRPs were no longer followed in Metro Manila early in December.”

“This time, we are asking the DA to identify and punish those manipulating prices, not just for pork and chicken but also for fish and vegetables, if there was profiteering,” Poe said.

Poe pointed out that under the Price Act, the price ceiling on a product is determined by its average price in the three months prior to the proclamation, the availability of supply, the cost to producers including labor and transportation. “If the DA has been monitoring prices, why did it allow the situation to reach this point?

What caused the ‘calamity’ or ‘emergency’? Why is the move to increase importation happening only now?”

With Butch Fernandez

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOF: REVENUE GOALS TO BE MET IN LATE ‘21 Continued from A1

Targets reduced

To recall, the government had cut the combined collection target of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) for 2020 to P2.187 trillion, down by 32.8 percent from the original revenue goal of P3.255 trillion.

For 2020, BIR and BOC collected a total of P2.43 trillion, or 11.23 percent above the downgraded revised collection goal.

Dominguez earlier said the country’s emerging budget deficit last year was P1.36 trillion or 7.5 percent of the government’s projected GDP. While this is slightly below the government’s projected budget deficit for the year at P1.38 trillion or 7.6 percent of GDP, this is also a new record high and more than double the country’s budget defi-

cit in 2019, which only stood at 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion.

A budget deficit occurs when expenditures exceed revenues.

In the same interview, Dominguez said the government hopes to vaccinate majority or 57 million to 60 million Filipinos by the end of this year given the initial doses of vaccines are scheduled to arrive in February.

As for the remaining 13 million people whom he said also need to be vaccinated, Dominguez has since explained that the NG expects them to be covered by local government units and the private sector, noting that there may also be those who don’t want to be vaccinated.

He reiterated that the national government has allocated P82.5 billion for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines this year.

2 NCR hotels…

Despite this, the Makati Shangri-La has decided to close its doors temporarily starting February 1, citing “continued low business levels,” due to ongoing international travel restrictions. Prior to being a staycation hotel, it was accommodating returning overseas Filipinos and expatriates who needed to quarantine while waiting for their Covid test results, said a company spokesperson. (See, “Another Covid victim: Makati Shang closes doors in February,” in the BusinessMirror, Jan. 20, 2021.)

Grand Hyatt for instance, reported its occupancy levels between 3 and 8 percent last November.

A tourism leader observed, though, that part of the problem for staycation hotels is that “they are offering pre-pandemic [room] rates.” Indeed, a casual glance through online booking platforms like Agoda, show room rates of many of these staycation hotels starting at P8,500 to P10,000 a night.

“Why would families want to staycation, when they can pay for the same rate in destinations that are already open, like Boracay, and get more room nights,” asked Jose C. Clemente III, president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines.

A staycation hotel insider who requested anonymity admitted that the demand for rooms at their establishment was “not as much as we would want to have. The added cost of the antigen test could be a burden for many families can’t rule out the safety aspect too.”

The source said even though its antigen partner charges P1,500, “If you’re a family of three, that would be P4,500, which some feel

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they could spend on food already.”

What the stamp means

The WTTC Safe Travels Stamp is the world’s first-ever global safety and hygiene stamp.

It is a specially designed stamp, which will allow travelers to recognize governments and businesses around the world that have adopted health and hygiene globally standardized protocols and experience “Safe Travels.”

Aside from being promoted on the web sites and social media platforms of the DOT and its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), Safe Pass recipients will also benefit from global exposure and the vast network of WTTC member organizations, as well as brand awareness with the logos distinctly posted on the WTTC web site.

“While our staycation hotels are highly qualified, having already passed the DOT health and safety guidelines on top of the rigid star-rating assessment, they still need to apply [for the pass],” said Romulo Puyat.

“As bearers of this stamp, they carry the responsibility to sustain implementation of DOT health and safety guidelines and ensuring that these remain aligned with those of the WTTC,” she asserted.

The DOT, she noted, will aggressively pursue its campaign to enlist local destinations that have reopened so that when international travel restrictions begin to relax, and with a successful vaccination program restoring global travel confidence, the Philippines will be “top-of-mind among the safest destinations in the world.” DOTaccredited enterprises may apply via their respective regional offices.

Agri-agra credits rule top banks’ headaches Continued from A1

Other challenging regulations that banks cited include reportorial requirements for single borrower’s limit, Basel III capital requirements and foreign-exchange regulations.

“Penalties have been collected from banks which have failed to fully comply with the mandatory agri-agra credit allocation. The BSP is working with relevant government agencies on the amendments to RA No. 10000,” the BSP said.

Under RA 10000, or the agriagra law, banks are required to set aside 25 percent of their loanable funds to the agriculture sector—10 percent for agrarian reform beneficiaries and 15 percent for other

agricultural credit.

“Likewise, the BSP supports the amendment of RA 10000 to strengthen rural development by providing for a holistic approach that takes into account the broader agricultural financing ecosystem and rural community development requirements,” the BSP said.

In the second half of 2020, the majority of domestic universal and commercial banks focused on corporate banking, retail banking, payments and settlement services, and cross-selling while foreign banks mainly concentrated on corporate banking, trade financing, and treasury operations.

Meanwhile, agriculture remains the top market of the rural and cooperative banks’ loan portfolio.

PHL only one in SEA to avoid shrinking FDI Continued from A1

For one, investment pledges filed before the BOI last year declined by more than 10 percent to P1.02 trillion, from P1.14 trillion in 2019. On the other hand, capital applied to the Peza zones slid almost 20 percent to P95.03 billion, from P117.54 billion.

RCEP key

The report also pointed to the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) last year as key to the economic rebound of the region.

The RCEP is one of the world’s largest trade deals, covering the 10 Southeast Asian countries

and their trading allies Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The trade pact reduces the tariff rate of nearly all of the products traded by the signatories, and eases restrictions on investments, services, movement of people, e-commerce and dispute settlement.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Senate to review red-tagging issue amid ‘faulty’ intel info

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

& Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

S

ENATE probers will take a second look at initial findings on the red-tagging issue following indications of fumbling by military intelligence, which has been called out for including several personalities and schools among those allegedly in league with communist rebels.

In an interview with CNN PHL, Senator Panfilo Lacson recalled at least 18 schools were recently redtagged with “no concrete evidence.”

Lacson said revisiting the initial findings from the red-tagging hearings is now necessary given the recent exchanges between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the persons and schools that it tagged as a “red haven” in the aftermath of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s abrogation of the 30-year-old UP-Department of National Defense (DND) agreement keeping out soldiers and policemen from the UP campus without prior permission from university authorities.

The senator noted that because of the furor triggered by the unvalidated list revealed by Lorenzana coming from the AFP, there is a danger “they based their decision to abrogate on what appears now to be false information.”

“It would be prudent now for Secretary Lorenzana to at least suspend...the termination of the UPDND accord; go back to the drawing board; hold dialogues and thresh out the differences between the AFP and the UP, PUP...,” Lacson said.

Lacson lamented that the draft committee report is “almost finished” to include military findings to back up red-tagging, but with the new revelations of apparent intelligence fumbling, there is a need to revisit the report due to “what now appears to be false information” being used as basis for abrogating the UP-DND agreement.” To pursue it further, the senator added, “We will ask them to submit a validated report, including student casualties in AFP clashes.”

‘Insult’

ANOTHER school tagged by a senior military official as a recruitment ground for communist has denied the allegations, calling it as an “insult” and a “serious disservice” to its staff.

“The PLM administration is not aware of any recruitment by the CPPNPA on campus nor had it been previously advised by the authorities of such activities,” said Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila President Emmanuel A. Leyco in a news statement sent to the BusinessMirror.

“This allegation is a serious disservice to the men and women of the PLM and comes at a very bad time when its faculty, students and staff are struggling with the challenges of online education. Such distraction in

the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic is indeed reprehensible,” he added.

The statement added to the voices from other schools and universities, which have objected to the “redtagging” by Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command commander Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, who is also one of the voices behind the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The PLM was among the 18 schools and universities that Parlade earlier claimed was where the New People’s Army recruits for its members. The list was topped by the University of the Philippines where an agreement with the DND that bars the conduct of operations by state forces within UP without prior notice was recently abrogated.

Four universities—Ateneo, Dela Salle, Far Eastern University and University of Sto. Tomas—have issued a joint statement decrying Parlade’s claim that they are recruitment grounds for rebels. Leyco noted that this was not the first time that PLM has been identified as one of the schools where the alleged recruitment of the NPA is taking place.

“The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila was once again the subject of unscrupulous allegations made by a high official of the military, particularly of the NTF-ELCAC. According to reports circulating in the mass media, the military has identified the PLM as a recruitment haven for the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNew People’s Army,” Leyco said.

“This is the second time the same official attempted to put the PLM in a bad light by red-tagging,” he added.

The university president said the latest attempt to “red-tag” PLM is an insult to its “distinguished faculty, hardworking staff and dedicated students who are being prepared to join the country’s future leaders in business, government and civil society.”

Leyco said that as an institute of learning, the PLM will continue to uphold the rights of its faculty and students to pursue knowledge with the “full protection of their inalienable rights to academic freedom.”

He said the staff and students of the school are known for their passion for public service, noting among the recent graduates of the university are medical doctors who joined the frontlines of the city of Manila’s battle against Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, the military’s deputy chief of staff for civil-military operations, said hewouldapologize in behalf of the military over the “erroneous” inclusion of some individuals in the list of reported rebels—either killed or are still active.

“I’ll be the one to apologize because it was me who released it,” Arevalo said on Monday.

It was Arevalo’s office that released the list, which included a number of well-knownindividualsandlawyers,including former Health Undersecretary and later PhilHealth chief Alex Padilla.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, January 26, 2021 A3

Govt releases P16.4-B largesse for villages cleared of communist influence and threat

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By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

OME 822 barangays nationwide declared by security authorities as free of New People’s Army (NPA) threats and influence will each receive P20 million in projects and activities after Congress and President Duterte approved the P16.4-billion budget for the Barangay Development Program (BDP) for this year.

The National Security Council said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has confirmed the release of P16.4-billion budget for the BDP, which seeks to end poverty caused by insurgency.

National Security Adviser and National Task Force-End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Vice Chairman Hermogenes Esperon Jr. welcomed the development and expressed gratitude to Congress for approving such important funding.

The P16.4 billion was included in the P4.5-trillion 2021 national budget.

“The BDP is the flagship program of the government for poverty alleviation and development in the context of addressing the root causes of insurgency,” Esperon said in a news statement.

President Duterte is the chairman of the NTF-ELCAC.

Esperon said that while the NTF-ELCAC aims to dismantle the NPA and underground organizations, it is also the commitment of the government to develop villages formerly held by the rebel organizations and uplift the lives of the people.

“We intend to curb the NPA recruitment through holistic development projects that bridge the gap between the needs of the community and accessibility,” Esperon stressed.

For Davao region, a total of P4.3 billion is allocated for 279 barangays that can be utilized to several projects.

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado has already issued Local Budget Circular 135, which will serve as the guidelines in releasing NTFELCAC’s Local Government Support to the Barangay Development Program (LGSF-SBDP).

NATIONAL Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. (right) and Department of Budget and Management Secretary Wendel Avisado on Saturday confirm the release of P16.4 billion to barangays cleared of communist threat and influence. Each barangay may receive as much as P20 million under the Barangay Development Program. PNA/PREXX MARNIE KATE TROZO

Recipients can use the said funds for farm-to-market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation systems, rural electrification, housing; medical, burial, transportation, food, cash-for-work and educational assistance to indigent person or households.

And due to Covid-19 pandemic, these barangays may also spend their respective budget allocations to build health stations or fund initiatives related to Covid-19 vaccinations, among others, the guidelines said.

Also included among the projects to be funded by the LGSF-SBDP are “reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair and other similar projects in connection with the occurrence of natural, or human-induced calamities, epidemics, crises resulting from armed conflicts, insurgency,

terrorism and other catastrophes, Avisado added.

Meanwhile, Esperon appealed to the private sector to join the government in its effort to improve the lives of residents in these specific barangays. “ T he NTF-ELC AC, through the Whole of Nation Approach [WONA] truly values improving the lives of Filipinos, unlike the eccentric violence of the CPP-NPA,” he said.

“This is the type of confidence building mechanism we need; not a self-destructing measure. Our strategic framework entails the achievement of a genuine and lasting peace through holistic programs and activities. In spirit and in truth, the core of the NTF-ELCAC is good governance in practice,” Esperon added.

Threats to public health and environment listed

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

G

LASS, metal and plastic straws pose huge threats to public health and environment and have been listed as top candidates for inclusion in the list of non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging (NEAP).

During a public consultation organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last January 2, Reynaldo Esguerra of the Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) presented the results of a study conducted from October to December 2020 that focuses on the assessment of single-use plastic straws.

The DOST is a member of the National Solid Waste Management Council (NSWMC), which is tasked to

come up with a NEAP as mandated by Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001.

Straws are commonly used for soft drinks and coffee stirrers and its equivalent alternative materials.

A commonly used and better alternative for glass, metals or plastic straws are now available. Some nongovernment organizations and environmental groups are also introducing bamboo or paper straws.

Titled “Findings on the Assessment Conducted on Certain Products for Inclusion in the Non-Environmentally Acceptable Products List,” the study came up with a the rapid risk assessment on four items—glass straws, metal straws, plastic straws and paper straws.

Glass straws posed the highest score with 25 points followed by metal straws, 23; plastic, 17; and paper straws, 10. Esguerra said the higher

the score, the greater the risk.

Meanwhile, a wood stirrer has a risk assessment score of 10, and 16 for plastic stirrers.

Environmental groups have been prodding the DENR to come up with a NEAP for possible inclusion in a nationwide ban to be imposed by the agency.

Acknowledging that the establishment of non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging materials as mandated by Republic Act 9003 is “long overdue,” an official of the DENR assured that the issue is not being completely overlooked.

DENR Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units (LGUs) Concerns Benny D. Antiporda assured participants of an online public consultation held by the DENR recently that the NEAP will not be left behind.

The online public consultation with various stakeholders aim to identify

single-use plastic items that will be included in the NEAP. The NSWMC, chaired by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, organized the visual consultation which was joined by 169 representatives from local government units, private sector, and key stakeholders from civil-society groups, including Ecowaste Coalition and Oceana Philippines, known vocal critics of ocean plastic pollution.

Antiporda, also NSWMC alternate chairman, said conducting the consultation is “a key moment on our work on NEAP,” noting that coming up with the list of NEAP is anticipated.

Antiporda expressed optimism over the formulation and adoption of the list of NEAP due to the renewed vigor to engage stakeholders in implementing Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 under President Duterte’s administration.

Shadow economy, extremist activities prevail in BARMM, Intl Alert reports

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

D

ESPITE a decline in violent conflict incidents, shadow economy and violent extremism activities continued in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Reg ion in Muslim Mind anao (BARMM), according to International Alert Philippines.

Based on the 2020 Bangsamoro conflict report, International Alert Philippines said its conflict monitoring system logged a total of 2,655 violent conflict incidents, a decrease of 9 percent from the previous year.

However, suicide bombings perpetrated by extremists in the island province of Sulu has raised the magnitude of these violent incidents.

“One would expect that violence will less likely happen under the watch of the BTA [Bangsamoro Transition Authority] and

BARMM, but peace takes a while to grow, and peace agreements hardly lead to a post-conflict future at once or at all,” International Alert Philippines Country Director Nikki de la Rosa said.

“Studies have shown that democratic transitions can spin-off identity-based, ethnic conflicts when conditions for open, inclusive, and accountable rule are not in place. This is what our Conflict Alert data are showing this time in the Bangsamoro, with land resources as the locus of horizontal conflicts,” she added.

In order to resolve this, International Alert Philippines said a land law must be crafted through a “strong, evidence-based and participatory and publicly accessible process.”

The situation also requires the establishment of a mechanism to settle land and property disputes to prevent the escalation of violence

in the region.

International Alert senior peace and conflict adviser Francisco Lara Jr. said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front must exert coordinated effort to rein in violence from active or decommissioned MILF combatants and their respective clans, especially in cases of land and resource conflicts and to counteract similar threats from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

International Alert also recommended a combination of capacity building in the deradicalization of the youth and implementing restorative justice programs.

It also recommended the conduct of social-media campaigns to prevent recruitment into extremist groups on top of intelligence gathering and security operations.

Shadow economy

THE report found that illegal drugs

and illicit weapons persisted as the leading singular cause of conflict in 2019, Conflict Alert reported.

The number of illegal drug-related incidents climbed 14 percent in 2019.

All provinces except Basilan, including Isabela City registered increases.

Tawi-Tawi led with a 74-percent increase in illegal drug-related incidents, followed by Lanao del Sur and Sulu, each with 19 percent, then Maguindanao, including Cotabato City, with 5 percent.

According to the report, the government’s campaign against the illegal drug trade revealed new hot spots such as Buluan, Maguindanao where incidents doubled.

The use of handguns, the most common type of weapon in the region, also increased by 6 percent between 2018 and 2019, the report revealed.

Handguns were used in illegal drug incidents, clan feud, personal

grudges, robberies, and during the 2019 elections. Violent extremists such as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and BIFF used handguns to carry out assassinations.

Lara said the ongoing Bangsamoro normalization process must be considered amid a proliferation of illegal guns in the area.

Violent extremism

DATA showed suicide bombings carried out by the ISIS-affiliated ASG in Jolo in January and in Indanan in June and September caused 21 and 11 deaths, respectively.

The deaths from suicide bombings in January and in June and September accounted for 90 percent and 72 percent of deaths attributed to violent extremism in these towns.

These were followed in 2020 by two successive suicide bombing attacks in Jolo on August 24 that

killed 14 civilians, policemen, and soldiers, and wounded 75.

T he repor t a lso showed that violent extremism events dropped 26 percent to 195 in 2019 from the prev ious year with fewer incidents involving the ASG in Sulu and Basilan and the BIFF in Maguindanao.

However, the rate of decline in the incidence of violent extremism and the resulting deaths was lowest in Sulu at 13 percent and 10 percent, respectively due to suicide bombings. Incidents involving the Maute Group in Lanao del Sur reached 21 in 2019.

Lara said this only meant ISIS remained active in these provinces.

He said recruitment and regrouping of ISIS-affiliated armed groups continued in Lanao del Sur. Further, Lara said, financial incentives are also being offered to lure new members to the BIFF.

A4 Tuesday, January 26, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

Group pushes aquaculture investments in lakes, dams

A

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

N advocacy group is urging the government to open investments in dams, rivers and lakes for aquaculture as means to boost the country’s food security and provide alternative protein sources amid rising pork and chicken prices.

A BOUNTIFUL harvest of cultured tilapia in Baybay City last year. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is eyeing Baybay City as the region’s champion for tilapia fish farming.

Tugon Kabuhayan said the country’s bodies of water have great potential for aquaculture production, which is a growing segment of the country’s fisheries sector.

The group pointed out that boosting aquaculture production would provide more supply of cheaper alternative protein sources for pork and chicken.

Citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the group said fish accounts for 66 percent of Filipinos’ 57 kilograms (kg) annual per capita protein source.

The group noted that the average prices of tilapia in the market has re-

PHOTO COURTESY OF BFAR REGION 8

mained at the P110 per kg to P120 per kg level since 2019 while prices of bangus have increased or declined by an average of P20 per kg.

The group added that this is in contrast with the sudden spike in meat prices, particularly pork that has gone beyond P400 per kg in recent months.

“Bangus and tilapia account for 40 percent of the total protein requirement. They act as stabilizers of prices and an anchor of our food security and animal protein sources,” it said in a virtual news briefing on Monday.

The group urged the government

to come up with an overarching policy regarding aquaculture investments in dams, rivers, and lakes as these areas have untapped potential for caged fish production. Some of these areas are the Pantabangan Dam, Lake Mainit, Lake Lanao, and San Roque dam, according to the group.

“The government should create a small ad hoc task force group that would review all regulations and assist investors to secure long-term permits in order to increase our investments in aquaculture,” it said.

The group said the idea of having a mixed-use for dams, lakes and rivers is still quite new in the country and some regulators are yet to see the potential of such ventures as anchor of the country’s food security.

The group disclosed that one of its members Feedmix Specialist Inc. has a pending application before the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for an aquaculture investment in Pantabangan Dam. The proposal seeks to put up 500 fish cages, which at an average cost of P500,000 would translate to a total investment of at least P250 million. At an average of 50 metric tons (MT) per cage per year production, the 500-fish cage investment would produce an additional 25,000 MT of fish supply, according to the group.

The company’s proposal is being reviewed by a team formed by the NIA. Feedmix Specialist Inc.’s investment proposal has been pending for more than a year now.

The group added that aside from Feedmix Specialist Inc. there are other aquaculture investment proposals that are awaiting government approvals.

“It’s easier to deploy investments in aquaculture compared to poultry and livestock,” it said. “And we do not see reasons for the government to block or reject these proposals except if the target investment area is totally inconsistent with aquaculture,” it added.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Jobs of the future–more digital, agile and volatile

By Henry J. Schumacher

W

E have already lived and worked in corona mode for nine months, and many things will change permanently, especially in the world of work. Home office, digital working methods, agile methods: what remains, what changes, what works?

We are experiencing an innovation dynamic that has never been seen before: work processes, products, services and business models are being reinvented. Everything is becoming more digital, more agile and even more volatile.

In terms of the work of the future, however, digitalization does not just mean the use of new technologies. Only in combination with a modern organizational structure and work organization, as well as qualified and motivated employees do new technologies unleash their full potential.

The scope for design is immense: virtualization, robotics, learning systems and quantum computing mean that work statuses and company processes will in future be mappable, transparent, largely automatable and feasible at a previously unknown speed. People and technology will interact in a much more ubiquitous manner and will substantially change the way we work.

Due to the progress in the field of artificial intelligence, technical systems are becoming increasingly clever. You can make decisions yourself and work

increasingly autonomously. The use of digital assistants and the use of process automation in knowledge and production work supports employees, for example via augmented reality, and enables them to learn and carry out new work content. Modern technologies make these functions available for globally distributed teams.

More than ever, it is becoming clear that digitization will be decisive for more resilient forms of value creation and work in the future. The digitalization push will have a lasting effect and massively strengthen the competitiveness of innovative companies.

The workplace of the future is an arrangement of different workplaces in different locations that can be adapted to individual needs. Four components can be combined: First: the company office, which is not becoming less important but more important, but with a different function—as a place of exchange, personal interaction and social embedding; as the place where a company gets a color, a smell, a shape. A place where new ideas are born and creativity is exercised.

Second: the home office. Studies show two main advantages for employees: there is no commute, and you can work at home with more peace and quiet and fewer interruptions (provided you keep the rest of the family under control).

Third: a flexible workplace in a coworking space. Unlike at home, where there are often no really favorable working conditions and there is a risk of isolation, coworking spaces not only offer a reasonable office infrastructure, but also community. I still believe that community is and will remain important.

And fourth: mobile work in places that are not primarily places of work— meeting on the train, preparing for the next appointment in the café or, why not, team meeting while walking.

The workplace of the future is within one’s grasp, but not a surefire success. Work has to be reorganized and regulations have to be adapted. Companies have to rethink, employees have to be trained and empowered. But in the end, everyone could have the job they need and want—that would be great.

I believe that a key question is whether leadership will change at all

levels. The skills required for digitization can only be dynamically developed further if the work environment allows it. This means, for example, that employees must be involved in future projects.

Above all, the new way of working will be flexible and independent of location—in the home office, in the coworking space, in the office or anywhere else. In science, the term “Activity-Based Flexible Office” has been used for this for several years. This way of working fits in perfectly with the “VUCA” world, because it can be flexibly adapted at any time.

The acronym, which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity, has never been more meaningful than it is today: In an increasingly complex world that is constantly changing, past experiences are becoming less relevant for shaping the future. Security is lost—and the demands on the individual grow.

Every employee faces new tasks: The elimination of external structures or frameworks means that they have to organize themselves more strongly: they have to know how much work they can do in what time and at what time of the day they tackle their tasks. Above all, this requires the ability to self-reflect.

Conversely, this does not mean that companies should now simply shift responsibility onto their employees. In this new situation, “help for self-help” and mutual support are required, for example through group exchanges or coaching.

And so the real office will also gain in importance for everyone in the future. Even if this claim seems a bit paradoxical, I am convinced that it must become a high-quality place that enables lone fighters from the home office to collaborate with high-quality technical equipment and also experience a real sense of togetherness. This is the only way to achieve a new normal.

Going forward, managers will be less technical experts and more socialemotional experts, to help employees navigate the new culture of the organization.

Am I dreaming? I need your feedback regarding the new normal.

Please e-mail me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com

Neda eyes tweak in PDP 2017-2022 to include ‘social protection floor’

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE national government is looking at institutionalizing a “social protection floor” through the updated Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 20172022, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In a news statement issued on Friday, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said this is part of the reforms to be pushed under the updated PDP which will be launched in February.

Chua said these reforms will help make up for the human development losses caused by the pandemic and the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“We will soon be sharing with you the Updated Philippine De-

velopment Plan 2017-2022, which would show our priorities for the next two years, including enhancing the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act, improving the quality of instruction in education, upskilling the work force, and institutionalizing the Social Protection Floor,” Chua said.

“The Plan will also include other reforms and strategies we will undertake to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and help every Filipino achieve the long- term vision of a Matatag, Maginhawa, Panatag na Buhay by 2040,” he added.

Neda earlier explained that a SP Floor is a minimum set of SP programs, which includes several interventions such as cash transfers, social insurance, safety nets, and labor market interventions, among others.

Neda Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon

told BusinessMirror that an SP floor guarantees access to essential health care and maternity care, among others for vulnerable persons.

She earlier said that institutionalizing a social protection floor will help address gaps in social protection nationwide.

Edillon said that while the country had a legislated Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program and the pension systems through the Social Security Systems and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) are working, they may not be enough.

She added that the SP floor can be an effective way to respond to the needs of vulnerable persons during pandemics and natural calamities like typhoons. “[Social protection is] still not well-defined for other groups. For instance, during the lockdown, seniors were not allowed outside their

Shang Boracay ‘not told’ to quarantine staff after Covid tests continued from a10

The company spokesman said, however, “We were not told [by the provincial health officer] to quarantine the workers.”

The spokesman insisted, “With regards to next steps after our colleagues undergo RT-PCR testing, the resort complies fully with the guidelines provided by the authorities.”

The spokesman reiterated, “After being notified of the test results, affected colleagues were all placed in self-isolation in accordance with

guidelines from the authorities and we are supporting them in any way we can during this period.”

The spokesman underscored on Saturday, “The well-being of our guests and colleagues is our top priority. We are working closely with the authorities and keeping them informed of our processes. Contact tracing to identify close contacts of affected colleagues has been completed, with concerned parties notified. We have spoken to all in-house

guests and are assisting them with alternative travel arrangements.

Should there be any further specific advice for our guests, we will be sure to keep them informed immediately.”

Last December, Discovery Shores Boracay also was found to have one Covid-positive worker, though the DOT said the worker did not interact with any guests. (See, “DOT hits AklanfailuretotestBoracayworkers,” intheBusinessMirror,December 23, 2020.) Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

homes; what if they didn’t have any other adults or no seniors living with them? The same goes for pregnant women,” Edillon said.

Earlier, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; and Guy Ryder, director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said social protection floors are affordable.

The financing gap for all developing countries—the difference between what these countries already invest in social protection and what a full social protection floor, including health, would cost—is about $1.191 billion in the current year, including the impact of Covid-19.

But they said the gap for the lowincome countries is only some $78 billion, a negligible amount compared to the GDP of the industrial-

ized countries. And yet, the authors said, the total official development assistance for social protection amounts to only 0.0047 percent of the gross national income (GNI) of donor countries.

“We need to ensure that they will have the means to meet the basic needs of their families to protect their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, and to build capabilities for realizing their potentials,” Chua said.

“Together, we will chart a path towards a change that enables a strong economy, while ensuring ecological integrity and social development,” he added.

Based on the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report (HDR) 2020, the Philippines saw its Human Development Index (HDI) value increase to 0.718, based on 2019 data.

This placed the country in the high human development catego-

ry—positioning it at 107 out of 189 countries and territories. The rank is shared with Bolivia and Indonesia.

However, UNDP said the Philippines 2019 HDI is below the average of 0.753 for countries in the high human development group and below the average of 0.747 for countries in East Asia and the Pacific.

From East Asia and the Pacific, Philippines is compared with Indonesia and Thailand, which have HDIs ranked 107 and 79, respectively.

Between 1990 and 2019, UNDP said, the Philippines’s HDI value increased to 0.718 from 0.593, an increase of 21.1 percent.

Between 1990 and 2019, Philippines’ life expectancy at birth increased by 4.9 years, mean years of schooling increased by 2.8 years and expected years of schooling increased by 2.4 years. Philippines’s GNI per capita increased by about 135.2 percent between 1990 and 2019.

PHL urged to submit climate pledge to Paris Agreement continued from a10 “With the pandemic, we have come to realize that our world is not that advanced and resilient as we thought it to be. Our social and economic systems are fragile. However highly interconnected, we are only as strong as the most vulnerable among us. The best way forward is to heed science and take decisive actions for our collective recovery that also secures a cleaner, safer, and more resilient world for all,” Legarda said.

Lauded

MEANWHILE, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) lauded Legarda’s filing of House Resolution 1494.

Rex Barrer, head of ICSC’s climate governance team, said the country needs an ambitious climate action plan that actually reflects major changes under way in the economy.

“To survive and thrive amidst the climate emergency and the pandemic, we need plans to be anchored on a bold economy-wide investment agenda.

Deputy Speaker Legarda’s resolution, which cites both the climate and Covid crises, is the proper role of the House of Representatives as it exercises oversight on the country’s climate and energy policy,” said Barrer.

“Legarda’s resolution is correct to cite significantadvancesmadebytheDepart-

ment of Energy, Department of Finance, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the CCC, in reflecting President Duterte’s climate justice declarations and his sense of climate ambition.

Thepositiveimpactgeneratedbythework of these agencies must be fully reflected in our NDC so we can continue to credibly call out rich countries and the criminal neglect of their climate responsibility,” added Barrer. The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities is a Manila-based international policy group advancing climate resilience and low carbon development. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 A5

IBP decries communist tag on three of its top lawyers

By Joel R. San Juan

joining the New People’s Army (NPA).

HE Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) deplored on Monday the inclusion of three known lawyers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines’s (AFP) list of students from the University of the Philippines (UP) who were either killed or captured after

Libarios, Alexander Padilla and Rafael Angelo Aquino are not members of the NPA, contrary to the list posted by the AFP in its Facebook post.

In fact, Cayosa said the three lawyers were never captured and they are very much alive.

@jrsanjuan1573

T

IBP President Doming Cayosa assured the AFP that lawyers Roan

“We urge government authorities to right the wrong and set firm policies against red-tagging false and reckless publications, shortcuts, and questionable means destroy the very rights, public interests, or principles that we all seek to protect,” Cayosa said.

The IBP said Libarios is a past IBP national president and chairman of the 20th Board of Governors.

During his college years in UP, Libarios became the editor in chief of the UP Collegian.

He also served as vice governor of Agusan del Norte, congressman of the Second District of Agusan del Norte, member of the government’s peace panel and member of the 2018 Consultative Committee on Charter Change.

On the other hand, Padilla served as

the president of UP Law Student Government, assistant secretary at the Department of the Interior and Local Government, commissioner of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, commissioner of Customs, undersecretary of Health, president of PhilHealth and government chief peace negotiator.

Aquino was a UP student leader and is the legal counsel of Rotary Interna-

tional District 3830, senior partner of a private law firm, and a volunteer lawyer of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).

“IBP decries red-tagging as it compromises the security and safety of the subjects, besmirches their reputation, causes unwarranted risks, tension, and distress to their families, friends and loved ones,” the IBP said.

BusinessMirror

A6 Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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24/7 BUSINESS PROCESSING INC. 9/f Capella Bldg. L-3&4 B2,filinvest Alabang Muntinlupa City

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GUO, ZHAOHUI Chinese

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111.

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ZHANG, GUOCHENG Chinese

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113.

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YOU, ZHIKUN Chinese

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8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5-10/f Tower 1 Pitx Kennedy Road Tambo Parañaque City 6.

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AEON CREDIT SERVICE SYSTEMS (PHILIPPINES) INC. Unit 1101 & 1102, Citynet Central No. 298b, Edsa Cor Sultan St. Brgy. Highway Hills Mandaluyong City 8.

KATO, TAKASHI Japanese

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ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D. Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street Tambo Parañaque City 9.

10.

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ARCHEV INC. Unit 1 & 3 14/f Syciplaw Center 105 Paseo De Roxas San Lorenzo Makati City 47.

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

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COCA-COLA BEVERAGES PHILIPPINES, INC. 27/f Six / Neo Bldg. 5th Ave. Cor. 26th St. Fort Bonifacio Taguig City SOMVANSHI, AMOL ANNASAHEB Indian

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COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS PHILIPPINES, INC. 5th And 6th Floors, 8/10 Upper Mckinley Building Mckinley Hill Cyberpark Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

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

52.

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86.

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DOUBLEWIN ALUMINUM INDUSTRY CORP. 3 Reparo St. Morning Breeze Subd. Brgy. 084 Dist. 1 Caloocan City

54.

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KUABARA BARBOSA, JHOAN STYBEN Colombian

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EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila

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HUANG, ZHANGXIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

57.

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89.

18.

HUANG, XINHAI Chinese

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MOU, PENG Chinese

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HUANG, YONGCHI Chinese

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59.

QIU, ZHIHAO Chinese

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20.

JIANG, YAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

60.

SHI, LI Chinese

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

61.

SUN, MING Chinese

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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WANG, GUODONG Chinese

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63.

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LI, XUANWEI Chinese

WANG, JIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

64.

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LIU, ZHONGHAI Chinese

WANG, LEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE 65.

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LIU, ZHIQUAN Chinese

WANG, YANGSHUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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LIU, QIYAO Chinese

66.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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67.

28.

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68.

YANG, CHAO Chinese

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70.

ZHAO, BING Chinese

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30.

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XI, RAN Chinese XIE, YUANJIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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YANG, DAWEN Chinese

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CHEN, GENGMIN Chinese

11.

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48.

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TEO CHEE SEONG Malaysian

CHINA RAILWAY FIRST GROUP CO. LTD. (PHILIPPINE) BRANCH U-18a 18/f Trafalgar Plaza 105 H.v. Dela Costa St. Bel-air Makati City

71.

72.

ZHAO, FEI Chinese ZHOU, HONGBO Chinese

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BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. Eastfield Center Cbp1, Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City 73.

BI, JIAQING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

74.

ZHANG, CANYU Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

BILLION DRAGON OUTSOURCE PHILS., INC. One Townsquare Place Bpo Bldg. Alabang Zapote Rd. Almanza Uno Las Piñas City

75.

LIN, YAOLONG Chinese

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LEE (WIFE OF CHOI), YOUJIN South Korean

LAM, KIU BUN Chinese

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CHEN, QI Chinese

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121.

LU, GUOXIANG Chinese

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122.

ZHANG, PENG Chinese

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123.

ZHU, FEIYU Chinese

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GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING 2nd, 3rd & 6th Flr. Ortigas Technopoint 2 Ortigas Home Depot Complex #1 Doña Julia Vargas Ave. Pasig City 124.

PAN, JING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT

125.

CHENG, SHIGAO Chinese

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MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

126.

LI, LUDA Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

JIANG, NIANLI Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

127.

LI, WENAN Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

90.

JIANG, XIAOHAO Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

128.

WANG, YONGMING Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

91.

LIAO, KAI Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

129.

XIE, HUAJIAN Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

92.

MO, DEYU Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

130.

ZHANG, MEILING Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

93.

YANG, ZUHUAN Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

INQUICK SERVICES INC. Unit 606 6/f Itc Bldg. 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City

94.

YU, HUAPENG Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

131.

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FIRST GENPACT INFORMATION TECH. INC. Unit G-16/ M01 019/ M02 G25 Solemare Parksuites Units Bradco Avenue Tambo Parañaque City 95.

LIU, PEI Chinese

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96.

WEN, ZHAOXIAN Chinese

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GALAXIER INC. Unit 1 & 3 14/f Sshg Law Center Sycip Law Center 105 Paseo De Roxas San Lorenzo Makati City

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INTEGRITY GLOBAL GROUP, INC. 2/f-3/f Ayala Malls Circuit A.p. Reyes Ave. Carmona Makati City 132.

DONG, CHUANGAO Chinese

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INVECH TREASURE PROCESSING CORPORATION Ground, 2nd, 3rd And 4th Floor Eight West Campus Mckinley West Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 133.

ZHANG, JINGTAO Chinese

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97.

DEWI SUSILAWATI Indonesian

CHINESE SPEAKING HARDWARE TECHNICIAN

J-NA ALLOUT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP. 3/f Lipams Bldg. #48 President Avenue Bf Homes Parañaque City

98.

ZHANG, ZIRUI Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING HARDWARE TECHNICIAN

134.

PARK, SUNBYUNG South Korean

ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT

99.

GU, RUNBIN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

135.

KIM, KIBONG South Korean

KOREAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

100.

JIANG, PENG Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

136.

HA, HYUNUK South Korean

MARKETING OFFICER

101.

LI, JUNJIAN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

JINDINGYUAN BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. 3-9/f Filinvest Cyberzone Bldg. A, Bay City Brgy. 076 Pasay City

102.

LIN, JINJUN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

137.

103.

LU, PAN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

104.

NING, QIBIN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

138.

105.

PIAO, XINXIN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

KONGANBUDDIES MARKETING INC. 12/f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City

106.

SHANG, LILI Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

139.

RUDY EDENATA Indonesian

FINANCE MANAGER

107.

ZHANG, JUN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

140.

THAMPSON ONG Indonesian

FINANCE MANAGER

108.

ZHANG, ZHONGHAI Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING IT PROJECT ASSOCIATES

141.

DEDY MARTHA Indonesian

FINANCE OFFICER

ZHANG, SHUAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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News

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 A7

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

LTO’s private motor vehicle system flawed, prone to graft–groups

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Clean Air Movement Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) on Monday aired concern that private motorists in Metro Manila may be subjected to arbitrary imposition of fees to be imposed by Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVIC).

Most PMVICs are located outside Metro Manila and by the group’s account, only two are operating within the National Capital Region, according to Dr. Larry Pitpit, president of CAMPI during an online news conference via Zoom.

The PMVIC system, he said, was implemented without the benefit of an amendatory law to Republic Act 8749, or the Philippine Clean Air Act. While saying they are not against ensuring the roadworthiness of motor vehicles since it will benefit the people through cleaner air, the group said implementing the policy requires transparency.

He reminded that no less than Sen. Grace Poe had called for a nononsense public consultation involving all concerned stakeholders to discuss the fee to be imposed on private motor vehicle inspections

and slammed the Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) Memorandum Circular 2018-2158 dated November 28, 2018 requiring motorists to pay P1,800 for a motor vehicle inspection.

For his part, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), through its president, Arsenio Evangelista, called on all concerned agencies to ensure transparency believing that “if there is no public consultation, there’s corruption.”

“So we are calling all concerned agencies, as well as the head of agencies, to please, have transparency,” he said.

He, likewise, said that VACC is not against ensuring roadworthiness but is against compliance to a policy that is prone to corruption.

“We will support this as long as there is transparency and no corruption,” he said.

To recall, the Department of Transportation through the LTO has pushed through with the PMVIC system effective, supposed to be on December 29 last year.

This was particularly outrageous, according to Pitpit, considering that it was enforced as the country is still

reeling from the economic impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Around 12,000 workers employed in private emission testing centers (PETCs) already lost their jobs already due to the pandemic, CAMPI said.

Implemented first in Angeles City, Pampanga, followed by Nueva Ecija and other provinces, the group said some PETCs were forced to shut down.

This early, there were complaints of arbitrary fees being charged by PMVICs, which according to the group is holding hostage the certification that a vehicle is “roadworthy.”

The motor vehicle inspection program is a 70-point series of worthiness automated tests based on international standards prior to car and motorcycle registration.

Some motorists are also raising the issue of connectivity of the LTO information technology system with that of PMVICs. With LTOs plan to put up only 138 PMVICs or inspection sites, its capacity to accommodate 12 million private cars and 15 million to 16 million motorcycles in the Philippines for inspection is also being raised.

ILO: Successful vaccination drive paves way for recovery by year-end

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

C

OUNTRIES that could be able to embark on a successful vaccination drive against Covid-19 in the coming months would likely be on their way to economic recovery by the end of the year, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has predicted.

In a news statement issued on Monday, the labor arm of the United Nations said that mass inoculation will be a crucial factor for countries to resume most of their businesses operations within their territories.

“While there is still a high degree of uncertainty, the latest projections for 2021 show that most countries

will experience a relatively strong recovery in the second half of the year, as vaccination programs take effect,” ILO said.

The Philippines is targeting by next month the inoculation of 60 million to 70 million Filipinos once the first shipment of the needed vaccine arrives.

Citing the forecast of the International Monetary Fund, ILO said the “baseline scenario” will be international working hours could decline by 3 percent, which will be equivalent to a loss of 90 million full-time jobs.

“The pessimistic scenario, which assumes slow progress on vaccination in particular, would see working hours drop by 4.6 percent, while the optimistic scenario forecasts a 1.3-

percent decline,” ILO said.

But even the worst-case scenario pales in comparison to the 8.8 percent lost global working hours, which translates to 255 million full-time jobs, which is approximately four times greater than the number lost during the 2009 global financial crisis.

“These massive losses resulted in an 8.3-percent decline in global labor income [before support measures are included], equivalent to $3.7 trillion or 4.4 percent of global gross domestic product,” ILO said.

Women and young workers are hardest hit by employment impact of the international economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, ILO said.

DOTr aims for partial operability of Cebu Bus Rapid Transit in ’21 While I’m addressing our program of projects, I am addressing the need of the economy and I’m addressing the requirements of the pandemic.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade

T

HE Department of Transportation (DOTr) is targeting the partial operability of one of the crucial segments of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (Cebu BRT) within the year as Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade ordered round-the-clock construction work.

In a meeting in Cebu on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Tugade said that he wants Package 1 of the Cebu BRT to be partially in operation this year to respond to the need for mobility amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

BM

The transport chief ordered the Cebu BRT project management team and the other concerned transportation officials to implement a 24/7 construction work schedule, with three work shifts that will employ and generate jobs for more local residents of the province.

Tugade also stressed that the project contractor and personnel with key roles in the Cebu BRT project must be based in Cebu, and that 90 percent of the project’s total work force must be Cebuanos.

“While I’m addressing our program of projects, I am addressing the need of the economy and I’m addressing the requirements of the pandemic,” said Tugade.

“These are extraordinary times.

They need extraordinary processes,” he added, stressing the need to generate more jobs for Cebu residents who were displaced from their livelihood by the pandemic. With this, the transport chief said, the national economy will blossom with the local economy.

Tugade also directed to make sure that the project’s work schedule and timeline of completion will be aligned with the election ban next year, and that the procurement process should be fast-tracked.

In his meeting with the Cebu BRT project management team, Tugade was updated on the latest status of the project’s major components, particularly Package 1, which covers the 2.6-kilometer busway, with four stations, urban realm enhancement, and vital intersection improvements.

Currently, Package 1 is already at the procurement stage.

A8 Tuesday, January 26, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Planting trees

J

oyce Kilmer’s poem, Trees, goes: “I think that I shall never see /A poem lovely as a tree”... and many of the older generations can recite the rest of it by heart, perhaps because it is one of the first poems they learned in school or from their parents at home.

It’s a simple but beautiful poem that teaches us what a tree has to offer.

Those of us who have ever stood before a tree and found ourselves utterly transfixed by it understand why Kilmer wrote the poem.

There was a time in the Philippines when there were many trees to behold. In the 1950s, for instance, the concrete jungle we know today as Manila was called a garden city. It had more green spaces than grey buildings.

Trees shaded the streets and avenues. Nowadays, trees are largely gone in our cities and even in our provinces.

The Philippines has a total land area of 30 million hectares, and almost half of which are classified as forest land. However, only half of our forest land, or approximately 7.5 million hectares are covered with trees, leaving almost the same area falling under the classification of “open, degraded and denuded forests.”

This is a shame since trees can help mitigate climate change, the harsh effects of which we Filipinos know only too well.

According to Global Forest Watch, a nonprofit organization that monitors the world’s forests, each tree is estimated to capture 200 kilograms of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.

Global warming has strengthened the storms that routinely pummel our shores, harming lives and destroying billions worth of crops and properties.

Our local scientists have been saying over the years: Had our forests been healthier, they could have absorbed the powerful winds and surges of powerful storms. They could have protected our people, their homes, and saved lives.

That’s why we commend Binhi, the nationwide tree-planting program of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC), which was recently featured by Jonathan L. Mayuga in a BusinessMirror banner story—Greening PHL the public-private way.

EDC, the country’s largest and the world’s second-largest geothermal energy producer, recently celebrated the 12th anniversary of Binhi.

Over the years, the Lopez Group’s global and diversified renewableenergy firm has accomplished what no other company in the Philippines has done. From 2009 to 2019, EDC planted over 6.4 million seedlings and restored 9,449 hectares of denuded forests inside geothermal reservations and other watershed areas “to leave a legacy of a verdant Philippines for the next generation.”

The company has partnered with 183 institutions and 88 communities in 16 regions for various forest-restoration projects.

One of its most successful initiatives is the Baslay coffee project, which transformed three generations of slash and burn farmers or kaingineros in Dauin, Negros Oriental into forest guardians.

Baslay’s community forest is now a refuge to 113 species of birds and one of the primary sources of quality coffee (robusta and arabica) in Central Visayas.

The former kaingineros are now masters of interplanting coffee with native tree species. They produce one of the country’s best coffee beans, and now operate their own coffee shop at their coffee plantation, which foreign backpackers and local tourists often visit. They have learned the value of taking care of the forests.

The Binhi program is an excellent example of how ethical businesses can boost the reforestation efforts of the government. It deserves to be emulated because private-sector support is essential to the success of the government’s National Greening Program.

If other responsible corporations like EDC can help create financial incentives to spur investment in reforestation and work side-by-side with the government, scientists and communities to protect and restore our forests, then there is no doubt that we can obtain a sustainable future for the Philippines and all Filipinos.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua

Economic reopening has not led to a virus spike Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur

T

he Philippines may be one of the few populous countries in the world that has avoided a spike in Covid-19 cases. Health experts have feared an upsurge in virus infections after the holiday season. But succeeding data showed otherwise—there was no noticeable surge in Covid-19 infections.

Our management of the virus infections seems to be holding up. From being in the top 20 nations with virus infections a few months ago, the Philippines now ranks outside of the top 30 (in 32nd place as of January 22, 2021), with daily cases kept under 2,000 on the average.

The Philippines’s Covid-19 data is in stark contrast to those in the US, UK, Brazil, India or even Indonesia, which is close to registering 1 million cases. We have kept our Covid-19 cases low despite a partial reopening of the economy, simply because Filipinos are responsible and are religiously heeding the health protocols advised by authorities.

The relatively low infection rate and the absence of a notable spike in super spreader events, such as reunions during the Christmas holi-

days and the Traslacion in Quiapo in early January should convince health authorities that it is safe to reopen the economy further.

To be fair, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases is slowly moving to reopen the economy. It approved last week the further lowering of age restrictions for those who can leave their homes to 10 years (from 15) in modified general community quarantine areas. The task force lowered the age requirement to give retailers and commercial establishments an opportunity to triple their sales or at least increase transactions to 60 percent of the pre-pandemic level.

I agree with the assessment of IATF Vice Chairman and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez. Malls, fast -food

The reality of government debt

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outlets, convenience stores and other retail establishments will benefit from the relaxed restrictions.

A survey conducted by the task force, and whose results Mr. Lopez relayed, showed that “retail activities can easily bounce back to double or triple sales if children, 10 years to 14 years old, are allowed to visit malls and other retail establishments with their parents.”

Allowing younger children to go out and enjoy the amenities of shopping malls will have a significant impact on the overall economy.

More people will purchase the merchandise offered by stores and dine in fast-food outlets. These minors will increase consumption in the market. Being minors, these children must be accompanied by their parents while shopping or dining in their preferred outlets. I can just imagine the exponential growth in consumption, and the jobs they generate, when minors start visiting the malls or eating in their favorite fast-food outlets.

The partial reopening of the economy, unfortunately, has not produced the desired results so far. Mr. Lopez and the task force confirmed the lower sales trend.

The current quarantine restrictions are still preventing many of our people from traveling, or going out of their homes.

The mobility restrictions dur-

B

eing a trial attorney—or the much classier British term “barrister”—and being on the university debate team are similar.

For both, you learn a variation of this rule.

“If you have the law [or facts] on your side, pound the law. If you have neither the facts nor the law, pound the table.” There is much tablepounding going on about Philippine government debt.

There are three interlocking components to a loan. These are the principal amount of the loan, the maturity date or tenor, and the interest rate. You cannot make any competent analysis of a loan without speaking on all three.

A headline that reads—with an article to match—“Philippines’ Covid-19 loans balloon to P641 billion; to be paid until 2049” is a complete intellectual fraud because there is no mention of the interest rate. If you are going to write a thousand words on Philippine government

debt and not mention the term “interest rate” even once, you qualify for this assessment. “I’m impressed with your confidence in the face of your ignorance.”

The Department of Finance has a thorough and transparent list of government loan details on its web site (https://www.dof.gov.ph/data/ fin-agreements/). There is no acceptable excuse for failing to provide the public with accurate and complete detailed information.

“Another USD 26.36 million were grants from the Government of Japan and from ADB.” Grants are not debt, as the amount is not paid back.

Do your homework. And a big thank you to both agencies.

The $165 million loan from Agence Française de Développe-

ment (AFD) is not related to the pandemic. It is for “Strengthened Government Financial Support for PPPs.” Term: 20 years, Interest rate: 6-month Euribor. The current six-month Euribor rate is a negative 0.527 percent, meaning they pay the Philippine government to borrow money from them. But maybe this is where the concern is: “Shall not be less than zero percent per annum.”

There is a $110 million credit line from AFD along with the ADB to “support the development of financial inclusion with a special focus on the poorer, rural population and women to improve financial infrastructures.”

For direct Covid support through the CARES program, the government has two loans from ADB for $250 million (seven years) and $500 million (two years)—not year 2049.

The interest rates are Euribor plus 0.50 percent and Libor (0.31 percent) plus 0.50, respectively.

The $750 million loan for the CARES Covid Aid from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank goes at Libor plus 0.50 percent. But the government cannot spend any of the loan proceeds on “alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or gold jewelry.”

The $458 million Jica “Post Disas-

ing the holiday season, according to him, dampened consumers’ appetite and contributed to the slowdown in retail activities that dropped to the lockdown level of 20 percent from 70 percent in the October-period.

Such a trend, of course, is disturbing. The slow sales in the retail sector could eventually translate into another rise in the unemployment numbers.

Perhaps, the task force should look into further increasing the mobility of the people, especially our workers, by way of expanding further the capacity of our rail system and the deployment of more buses, including those coming from the provinces. The Philippines has a declining Covid-19 infection rate for so many months now—a testament to the health discipline instilled in our workers and those who are out there providing services.

The absence of a Covid-19 spike during the recent holiday season is proof enough that we can reopen the economy without necessarily risking a surge. For one, the task force should strongly encourage local government units to also ease the age restrictions in GCQ areas. Lifting the restrictions one by one, cognizant of the current health protocols, is a step closer to restoring jobs and a vibrant economy.

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

ter Standby Loan [Phase 2]” has a 40year tenor at an annual interest rate of 0.01 percent. The Export-Import Bank of Korea loan of $100 million for 20 years carries a 1.5 percent annual interest. The four ADB loans for CARES totaling $1.5 billion for two to seven years is at Libor/Euribor plus 0.5 percent.

Government debt can be extremely dangerous. That is why we must constantly keep a heavy boot on the government’s neck (yes, that is how serious I am about this issue) to make sure it does not screw around with the public’s money.

But to do that the press/media must stop with the drama and provide all—not just “selected”—facts.

Speaking ‘Truth to Power’ by overacting is neither truthful nor powerful. It is just embarrassing.

Because of its decade long continuing strong financial stability and its continuing good standing in the international markets, the Philippines has been able to secure vital funding during these perilous times on highly favorable terms.

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Why not a TRO?

The inauguration of Amanda Gorman

BusinessMirror

T

Yes, remember the name— Amanda Gorman, a refreshing and audacious voice in US literature and politics. Charles Bukowski once described a poet in this wise: “She’s mad but she’s magic. There is no lie in her fire.”

Amanda is anathema to Trump and his cohorts. She not only spoke truth to power, she sets tyrants afire.

Dr. Jill Biden, America’s First Lady and an educator, who is familiar with Amanda’s work, had asked her to pen a poem especially for the occasion and to recite it during the inauguration. And she did it with flourish and aplomb! Amanda not only captivated the sparse audience fortunate to be given the few seats restricted by the pandemic but the whole world, half of them went sleepless to watch the event. Amanda’s poem, “The Hill We Climb,” can compare favorably with the other presidential inaugural poems recited by venerable poets led by Robert Frost who started the practice when President John F. Kennedy invited him to read his work, “The Gift Outright,” on his inauguration in 1961. Notably all the three Presidents who had inaugural poems included in the program are all Democrats, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Biden. Sharing the stage with the president on his inauguration day is the greatest honor that may be accorded to the country’s outstanding men and women of letters. A nation reveals itself by the men it honors and decorates.

only to find herself reciting for one.”

She boldly hopes to run for president in 2036. If she gets elected, Amanda won’t just be reciting an inaugural poem but will be delivering the inaugural speech. Then she can “strive to form a union that is perfect…and forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.” Marcus Aurelius dreamt of a philosopher-king.

The closest we got was Vaclav Havel, playwright and poet, who became the first President of the Czech Republic. Maybe what America needs is a poet-president.

Amanda rightly observed that “while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.”

The Biden administration bears the great responsibility of healing the fragmented nation without sacrificing justice. Amanda has stressed that “we will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation…. If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children’s birthright.”

Justice, as we always love to say, should be tempered with mercy, or vice versa.

The young poet clearly spelled

Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Manny F. Dooc

Tax law for business

TELLTALES

W

hat will you do if you receive a Warrant of Distraint and Levy from the Bureau of Internal Revenue or, worse, a Notice of Garnishment from your bank? It means that the government is now enforcing the collection of what it believes a delinquent taxpayer owes the government. WDL is usually issued when the taxpayer’s protest against an assessment notice is denied by the BIR and all efforts for reinvestigation and reconsideration have failed.

Can you still stop the BIR at this point? Is everything lost?

When a taxpayer receives a WDL or a Notice of Garnishment, his only recourse is to appeal to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) within 30 days from receipt of the same. It is important to note, though, that when a taxpayer appeals a WDL or a Notice of Garnishment, he is not questioning the validity of the assessment but only the validity of the BIR’s collection enforcement. This has implications in laying down a defense in court.

As regards the collection process, only the CTA can stop the BIR from flexing its enormous power to take a taxpayer’s property. The regular courts are prohibited from issuing orders that will enjoin the BIR from garnishing a bank account or from selling real properties of taxpayers in a public auction. The Tax Code provides that no court shall have the authority to grant an injunction or sustain the collection of any national internal revenue tax, fee or charge.

However, the law creating the CTA provides that no appeal taken to the CTA from the decision of the BIR on a disputed assessment shall suspend the payment, levy, distraint, and/or sale of any property of the taxpayer for the satisfaction of his tax liability, unless the CTA suspends the collection after payment of bond that is twice the amount being assessed.

To stop the BIR from enforcing collection, a taxpayer must file a motion for suspension of collection of tax with the CTA, together with its Petition at any time while the case is pending in court. But is this remedy given by law to taxpayers enough to temporarily clip the power of the BIR to collect until the taxpayer’s liability is determined with finality by the courts?

I am afraid it is not. When compared to the regular courts, the power of the CTA appears to be limited. The regular courts in ordinary cases have the power to issue a 72-hour temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo. After hearing, the regular courts can issue a permanent injunction. But the CTA, as far as I know, does not issue a 72-hour TRO nor a preliminary injunction. What it grants is a permanent injunction or a suspension of collection of tax. So, while the motion for suspension of collection of tax is being heard at the CTA, the BIR is not being stopped from enforcing the WDLs and notice of garnishment.

The law appears to limit the power of the CTA to only grant “sus-

In some cases, the CTA made a stand and declared that the BIR must not issue WDLs when the CTA has already promulgated a decision against it. The problem though is that between the time that the WDL and the notice of garnishment are issued and the time that the CTA grants the motion to suspend the collection of tax, bank accounts may have already been seized by the government and real properties might have already been sold in a public auction. pension of collection of tax.” The Rules of Court, on the other hand, is explicit in stating the power of the regular courts to issue a TRO, preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction. It is therefore necessary to clearly define what the power of the CTA is in terms of injunction. Is the current law enough for the CTA to issue TROs or a law must be passed to expand its powers?

The BIR recently issued WDLs even on cases where the CTA has already ruled that the assessment issued by the BIR is void. The BIR is still pursuing the collection of these cases because it believes that if they are still on appeal, there is no order coming from the CTA stopping them. In some cases, the CTA made a stand and declared that the BIR must not issue WDLs when the CTA has already promulgated a decision against it. The problem though is that between the time that the WDL and the notice of garnishment are issued and the time that the CTA grants the motion to suspend the collection of tax, bank accounts may have already been seized by the government and real properties might have already been sold in a public auction.

I hope the government, including the lawmakers, will address this loophole and shield taxpayers from irreparable damage.

The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.c.nideajr@bdblaw.com.ph or call 84032001 local 330.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 A9

he best speech delivered during the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20 was actually a poem read by a 22-year-old colored American named Amanda Gorman.

Amanda is recognized as the national youth poet laureate of the US whose poems have enthralled the literary world and delighted the cognoscenti.

Clad in bright yellow, the color of the year, and bedecked with jewels given to her by Oprah Winfrey, Amanda delivered her piece with exuberance and passion. Highlighting healing and unity, which were the overarching themes of the event, Amanda intoned: “We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all.” But she was quick to denounce the evil forces that sought to destroy her beloved country just a fortnight ago.

She assailed the “force that would shatter our nation rather than share it. Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. This effort very nearly succeeded.” But she was intrepid in proclaiming that “while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.” A fearless warning to the enemies of democracy—the Ted Cruzes, the Proud Boys, and the white supremacists of US politics.

Amanda has confessed that she, “a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother, can dream of becoming president,

The important and unappreciated role of women

By Reynaldo A. De Dios

T

he inequality of women to men was highlighted in a United Nations Conference held in Beijing, China in 1995. In fact, since then not much progress has been achieved to meet the objectives of the Beijing conference, and now the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to erode the limited gains that have been made.

It is common knowledge that women are the principal frontliners in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic and are more exposed to the virus infection. Also, they constitute over 70 percent in the health sector. The number of physicians is reported at 32,300 of which 56.2 percent are females and 43.8 percent are males.

The professional nurses were registered at 253,500 with women accounting for 74.1 percent and 25.9 percent are men. Thus, women are in the forefront in combating the Covid-19 pandemic and they deserve recognition as our heroines.

In the world of business, the Philippines can take pride that in a survey of 32 countries, it has the most number of women in senior positions. The top 3 roles of Filipino women executives are chief finance officer (CFO) at 38 percent of Philippine businesses surveyed, human resources director at 36 percent, and chief operating officer at 23 percent. The most sig-

nificant roles of women in business operations are in strategy, finance, and people.

In the politica l scene, the Philippines had only one female President and one incumbent female Vice President. There are at present 7 women senators and 17 men, while at the House of Representatives, there are 68 women compared to 174 men. In local government, there are 12 women governors out of 69 and 215 women mayors, against 1,219 men.

In the Judiciary, the latest statistics from the Court Management Office of the Office of the Court Administrator shows that as of February 26, 2020, there are 414 women RTC Judges who constitute 46 percent of the total number of Judges in the RTCs; 35 women Family Court Judges who constitute 73 percent of the total number of Judges in said courts; and 527 women first-level court Judges who constitute 55.75 percent of the total number of firstlevel court judges. In the Court

The negative aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic is the rise of gender-based violence. Because of the prolonged lockdowns, which lasted for over eight months, children and adolescents, particularly girls are confronted with violence and abuse.

The government, in partnership with the United Nations agencies and private civic organizations, is fully committed to end this terrible situation.

of Appeals, 24 out of the 54 incumbent Justices are women, including the Hon. Acting Presiding Justice Remedios A. SalazarFernando and Hon. Fernanda C. Lampas-Peralta. In the appellate courts, women are likewise at the forefront. In the Court of Tax Appeals, seven out of nine Justices are women. In the Sandiganbayan, eight of the 21 incumbent Justices are women, including its Presiding Justice, Hon. Amparo M. CabotajeTang. In the Supreme Court, there are three incumbent lady Justices.

In the insurance industry, sadly women were not able to make much progress as there are only two CEOs out of the 31 life insurance companies and only eight CEOs out of the 64 non-life insurance

Oxfam urges radical economic rejig for post-Covid world

By Pan Pylas Associated Press

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ONDON—Anti-povertycampaigner Oxfam has warned that the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic will lead to the biggest increase in global inequality on record unless governments radically rejig their economies.

In a report geared to inform discussions at the World Economic Forum’s online panels of political and business leaders this week, Oxfam said the richest 1,000 people have already managed to recoup the losses they recorded in the early

days of the pandemic because of the bounce back in stock markets. By contrast, Oxfam said it could take more than a decade for the world’s poorest to recover their losses.

“Rigged economies are funneling wealth to a rich elite who are riding out the pandemic in luxury, while those on the frontline of the pandemic—shop assistants, healthcare workers, and market vendors—are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table,” said Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International.

Using figures from Forbes’ 2020 Billionaire List, Oxfam said the

out the country’s collective goal: “So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left…”

And when that day comes that the country emerges from the shade forced upon it by the elements of darkness during the four years of the previous administration, Americans will “step out of the shade, aflamed and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it.

For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

As one poet of another age, Dylan Thomas, fighting another cause, had ranted: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Healed and united, darkness cannot set in and prevail. And she wondered aloud, “How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe, now we assert, how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us? No way.

When the philosopher, poet and essayist Henry David Thoreau referred to poet laureate Walt Whitman as “the greatest democrat that ever lived,” it never occurred to him that he would also be describing Amanda Gorman. For Amanda, in her powerful delivery of her poem, has given everyone a neat lesson in Democracy 101. The guilty Republicans who were obsequious to, if not witting tools of, Trump to subvert the sovereign were fidgeting in their seats.

Yes, remember the name— Amanda Gorman, a refreshing and audacious voice in US literature and politics. Charles Bukowski once described a poet in this wise: “She’s mad but she’s magic. There is no lie in her fire.” Amanda is anathema to Trump and his cohorts. She not only spoke truth to power, she sets tyrants afire.

world’s 10 richest people, including the likes of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett, saw their fortunes increase by half a trillion dollars since the crisis began even though the global economy remains smaller than when the pandemic started a year ago.

Meanwhile, using data specially provided by the World Bank, Oxfam said that in a worst-case scenario global poverty levels would be higher in 2030 than they were before the pandemic struck, with 3.4 billion people still living on less than $5.50 a day.

Bucher said women and marginalized racial and ethnic groups are bearing the brunt of this crisis and are “more likely to be pushed into poverty, more likely to go hungry, and more likely to be excluded from healthcare.”

While urging governments to ensure that everyone has access to a coronavirus vaccine and financial support if they lose their job, Bucher said policies in a postcoronavirus world should focus on ending poverty and protecting the planet.

“They must invest in public services and low carbon sectors to cre-

ate millions of new jobs and ensure everyone has access to a decent education, health, and social care, and they must ensure the richest individuals and corporations contribute their fair share of tax to pay for it,” she said.

“These measures must not be band-aid solutions for desperate times but a ‘new normal’ in economies that work for the benefit of all people, not just the privileged few,” she added.

Oxfam has traditionally sought to inspire debate at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering of business and political elites in the

companies, and one woman CEO in the insurance academia. Nevertheless, three women executives deserve to be cited as “Women Power in Insurance” and they are Ms. Nina Aguas, executive chairman of Insular Life Insurance, Ms. Yvonne Yuchengco, vice chairman of Malayan Insurance, and Mrs. Herminia Jacinto, president of the Insurance Institute for Asia and the Pacific.

In the field of education, women outnumbered men as only one out of four teachers is male. Historically, during the American regime, the teachers were at first mostly men but later on the Americans realized that employing women was less costly than men.

Overall, women have achieved a measure of success in reducing the level of inequality, but much has yet to be done. The negative aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic is the rise of gender-based violence. Because of the prolonged lockdowns, which lasted for over eight months, children and adolescents, particularly girls are confronted with violence and abuse.

The government, in partnership with the United Nations agencies and private civic organizations, is fully committed to end this terrible situation.

The author is the Editor of Insurance Philippine.

Swiss ski resort of Davos. Though the pandemic means there won’t be any trek up the mountains this week, organizers are putting on a virtual gathering.

Leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are all set to take part in the meetings from Jan. 25-29.

Joining them will be a host of chief executives and campaigning organizations, including Oxfam and the likes of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

A10 Tuesday, January 26, 2021

2 NCR HOTELS AWARDED WTTC ‘SAFE TRAVELS’ STAMP FROM THE D.O.T.

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

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WO five-star hotels in Metro Manila have been awarded the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Safe Travels Stamp issued through the Department of Tourism (DOT).

These hotels are the Joy Nostalg Hotel and Suites Manila, in the Ortigas Business District, and the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. This is the first time the DOT is granting these WTTC stamps, after the Philippines became the 100th country to receive the stamp itself last September. The private global tourism organization recognized the country as having the appropriate health and safety guidelines in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, in keeping with the WTTC’s core requirements.

In a news statement, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said, “Following [the country’s] milestone, the DOT has taken the role as Safe Travel Ambassador, advocating the implementation of the Safe Travel protocols and the enrollment not only of tourism enterprises, but more importantly, of destinations that are compliant with said protocols.”

She enjoined more destinations and businesses “to secure this seal of good housekeeping to better leverage our country as a safe tourism destination.”

Will it help though?

The DOT has tried to further push

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P1.67 trillion or 86 percent of its total tax take for 2020 via electronic payment channels as the country grappled with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Electronic payment channels account for 86% of BIR take

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat (right) awards the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp Certificate to Joy Nostalg Hotel and Suites Manila General Manager Antoine Weinstein. Contributed photo

domestic tourism in the country by allowing four- and five-star hotels in the National Capital Region and other areas under general community quarantine to offer staycations to Covid-weary families. (See, “‘Staycations’ now allowed under GCQ, but rapid testing required,” in the BusinessMirror, September 28, 2020.)

To date, there are 15 hotels with staycation accreditation: Grand Hyatt Hotel, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Okada Manila Hotel, ShangriLa at the Fort, Nobu Hotel/Hyatt Regency/Nuwa Manila in the City of Dreams, Joy Nostalg Hotel and Suites Manila, Edsa Shangri-La Manila, Solaire Resort and Casino, The Peninsula Manila, Aruga by Rockwell, Sheraton Manila Hotel, Hilton Manila, and Hotel Okura Manila.

See “2 NCR hotels,” A2

Citing a report from BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay, the Department of Finance said in a statement on Monday that P4.98 billion of the total e-payments last year were from the additional digital system PayMaya.

On top of PayMaya, other epayment tools that taxpayers can use to settle their tax dues and liabilities include GCash, LandBank Linkbiz, Development Bank of the Philippines PayTax, UnionBank Online and PESONet.

Aside from online tax payments, Dulay said 21.5 million or 94 percent of the 22.86 million tax returns filed last year were also done online, while only 1.38 million or 6 percent were filed manually, given the mobility restrictions imposed by the government since March 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Based on preliminary data as of January 8, BIR collected a total of P1.94 trillion last year, down by 11.23 percent from its actual collection in 2019 at P2.19 trillion.

However, last year’s total revenue take by the BIR exceeded by 15.14 percent the P1.68-trillion downgraded full-year 2020 goal set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for the bureau.

The BIR’s tax effort of 10.67 percent in 2020 was only slightly lower by half a percentage point compared to 11.2 percent in 2019, Dulay said.

He also added new business taxpayers registered with the BIR last year also rose by 6.15 percent to P4.37 million from 4.11 million in 2019.

Responding to Dulay’s report on BIR’s performance last year, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the drop in BIR collections in 2020 compared to the previous year was understandable, considering the adverse economic impact of the pandemic and the contraction of the gross domestic product (GDP) by about 10 percent that year.

Shang Boracay ‘not told’ to quarantine staff after Covid tests

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Too early to say if UK strain spreading across PHL–DOH

By Samuel P. Medenilla

D

@sam_medenilla

ESPITE the confirmed cases of B117 in the country rising to 17, the Department of Health (DOH) said it is too early to determine if the more infectious variant of Covid-19 from the United Kingdom (UK) is already spreading across the country.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are still testing additional samples, particularly in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), to determine if the B117 is already being transmitted locally en masse.

“We cannot say that it is already conclusive, that the variances are here and existing just because we got one from the south and from the north. We still need further evidence and that is what we are going to get because for this coming run, we were able to get samples across the region,” Vergeire said in an online press briefing on Monday, “So, we will be able to determine if really—based from how we have collected the specimens now which is more rational and equally distributed—we will see if there are existing variants across the country,” she added.

New cases

The first local case of B117 was a Filipino who traveled from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before returning to Quezon City.

The University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center has since then identified 16 additional cases. Of these, 12 are

from Bontoc, Mt. Province. They were infected after being exposed to one person who tested positive for B117 in households, workplaces and public placed.

The provinces of Benguet, Iloilo, Rizal and Laguna each recorded a case of B117.

“Based on available data, the case in Calamba City is not linked to a case from La Trinidad or Bontoc. We are still verifying if there is a link between the La Trinidad case from the Bontoc case,” Vergeire said.

Extended lockdown

Vergeire said they are now conducting contact tracing for the people who interacted with those infected with B117.

In the case of Bontoc, she said the government deployed an additional 50 contact tracers to help the local government unit (LGU) locate those who interacted with the 12 people who tested positive for B117.

Currently, 144 people were already identified to have had close contacts with the infected patients from Bontoc.

In an interview with PTV, Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey said they already placed five barangays under lockdown until January 31, 2021 as a precaution against the possible spread of B117.

Odsey said that, through their containment efforts, they hope there won’t be a need to expand the lockdown beyond the five barangays, or become a municipal-wide lockdown.

DOH recommended extending the lockdown for another two weeks.

“Congratulations, Billy [Dulay].

This coming year, I think, will be continuously challenging but I’m very happy the way BIR has responded to this crisis and had not given up,” Dominguez said following Dulay’s report on the BIR’s 2020 performance.

“Basically, your collections went down almost exactly as the GDP contracted, around 10 percent. That’s about right. In other words, you haven’t let up on the pressure. The performance relative to 2019 is still the same even if the collections are lower. It was lower because the GDP dropped.

Please thank the team and keep it up,” Dominguez added.

Dulay said he is optimistic that the BIR this year “will do good based on the recent announcement by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that we are on the road to economic recovery.”

“We will continue rowing and plowing and collecting these taxes,” he said.

On January 25, 2015, the nation was jolted by the horrifying death of 44 members of the police Special Action Force (SAF) during the standoff between the commandos and Islamic extremists in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province. The Day of National Remembrance for the SAF 44 was marked on Monday at the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) in Taguig City. Leading the rites were NCRPO Major General Vicente Danao Jr., Chief PNP PGen. Debold Sinas, PMajor Bernabe Barba, Director of the Special Action Force, and DPWH Secretary Mark Villar. ROY DOMINGO

HANGRI-LA’S Boracay Resort and Spa was closed for disinfection starting Monday, after a number of guests finished their holiday until Sunday.

A company spokesman confirmed to the BusinessMirror that the hotel was now empty of guests, and that “all remaining guests checked out yesterday [Sunday].

This was all done hand in hand with the DOT [Department of Tourism], who was fully aware of the numbers.”

As of January 22, there were 77 guests staying in 35 rooms and villas at the resort, although some guests were supposedly transferred to other hotels, while those who opted to stay until Sunday were to be moved to another building in the resort, according to sources.

The Aklan provincial government had ordered a five-day closure of the resort, after 15 of the resort workers were found to be positive with the novel coronavirus, which causes Covid-19. The sprawling, posh resort located in Brgy. Yapak said, however, it was not accepting guests from January 22-28. (See, “Aklan government orders closure of Shangri-La Boracay for 5 days,” in the BusinessMirror, January 23, 2021.)

Sources said 388 hotel workers at Shang Boracay were swabbed, but many of them, including the 15 found Covid-positive, were immediately put to work instead of quarantining while waiting for their test results.

Continued on A4

PHL urged to submit climate pledge to Paris Agreement

A

LEADER of the House of Representatives has filed a resolution urging the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to submit the Philippines’s climate pledge to the Paris Agreement.

In House Resolution 1494, House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda of Antique called for the country’s Paris climate pledge, formally known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), to convey the “highest possible climate ambition in reflection of the government’s strong commitment to contribute to global efforts to advance climate justice.”

The CCC had vowed earlier that the country’s first NDC “shall convey the shared vision and collective strategies of our sectors for the immediate pursuit of low carbon development and a sustainable future for the Filipino nation. It shall also communicate to the developed world our readiness for transformative green investments and finance, consistent with the President’s call for climate justice.”

She said, “It is unfortunate that we begin the New Year with the news that the Philippines failed to submit its Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Climate

Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC].”

All parties to the agreement and the convention were asked to submit their NDCs last December 31, 2020.

But the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Aksyon Klima, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, Greenpeace Philippines, Oxfam Philippines said the Philippines is among the countries that failed to make a submission.”

“There is no place for fear or hesitancy in expediting our country’s

NDC submission,” Legarda said.

“It will drive all sectors of the economy to strengthen their capacity to reduce disaster risks and adapt to climate change into a thriving a post-crisis scenario that turns crisis into opportunity,” she added.

The lawmaker also pushed for a more inclusive and consultative process from a wide range of stakeholders in the process of doing the NDC, recognizing civil society calls for urgency, ambition, and justice to be the three bottomlines for the country’s NDC.

Continued on A4

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Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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ACEN to boost renewables portfolio via joint venture

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

C Energy Corp. (ACEN) and Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (SP) are forming a joint venture for the development and construction of solar projects in the Philippines.

In a filing to the local bourse, the Ayala-led company said it is teaming up with the group of Leandro Leviste, whose company has been developing solar farms and rooftop solar solutions for almost a decade now.

This will help the Ayala group in its bid to scale up its renewables portfolio to about 2,500 megawatts (MW) in 2021 and 5,000 MW by 2025.

In separate filings to the local bourse, ACEN said it is buying 244,000 common shares from SP in Solar Philippines Central Luzon Corp. (SPCLC) for P244,000.

“The acquisition will allow ACEN to have a significant ownership interest in SPCLC and is meant to implement the joint venture between ACEN and SP for the development of solar power projects in the Philippines,” a disclosure read.

ACEN also subscribed to 375,000 common shares, which will be issued out of the unissued authorized capital stock of SPCLC, for P375,000.

SPCLC is a special purpose vehicle for the development and operation of solar power projects. With the acquisition, ACEN will own 94.6 percent

of the company, providing it with the “opportunity to earn stable dividend income from the operations of the solar power projects.”

In a related development, ACEN’s board of directors has approved the sharing of ACEN’s credit facilities with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Santa Cruz Solar Energy Inc. (SCSEI) to enable SCSEI to participate in auctions for electricity supply.

ACEN’s board also approved the lease of land in Alaminos, Laguna from Crimson Field Enterprises Inc. and Red Creek Properties Inc., both of which are subsidiaries of Ayala land Inc, for its eco-learning hub.

In November 2020, ACEN said it has set its sights on achieving half of its target of 5,000MW renewable energy (RE) capacity this year.

Of the target, ACEN President Eric Francia said 1,500MW of RE projects are lined up for 2021. “We have 1,500MW worth of projects in the region including Philippines [500MW], Australia [500MW] and the remaining 500MW in India and Vietnam. Those four markets, we expect to build 1,500MW.”

ACEN, which has 1,000MW of capacity in its portfolio, will integrate its international business, which currently has 900MW RE capacity.

The company aspires to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with the goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.

“To us, it’s a very unique window of opportunity and we will be there to make sure we will be leaders in the RE space. Our aspiration is to be the largest listed RE in Southeast Asia.”

To make it happen, the company needs equity of $1.8 to $2 billion.

Francia had said that the company has lined up various sources of capital requirements.

“We have existing cash reserves of about $700 million and then we have a series of fund raising activities, such as stock rights offerings, private placement and follow-on offering, which we are targeting [in 2021]. Among those three fund raising activities, we expect to raise an additional $500 to $600 million to add to our existing cash reserves of $700 million.”

PMFTC to merge with subsidiary

By VG Cabuag @villygc

P

MFTC Inc. on Monday said it is merging with one of its shareholders, Philip Morris Manufacturing Philippines Inc., as part of the restructuring of its operations in the country.

PMFTC—the combined cigarette manufacturing firm of Lucio Tan’s Fortune Tobacco Corp. and Philip Morris—will be the surviving entity, the company LT Group Inc. (LTG) said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The said merger will take ef-

fect on June 1 this year subject to approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“As a result of the merger, PMFTC’s Articles of Incorporation will be amended in accordance with the Articles of Merger and Plan of Merger. The merger is part of an internal restructuring process and is not expected to materially affect the operations, earnings and ownership of PMFTC,” the company said.

The LT Group holds 49.6 percent of the combined firm, while Philip Morris owns the rest.

LTG earlier said the volume of

PMFTC’s sales fell 14 percent for the three quarters of 2020 compared to 2019.

The industry’s volume is estimated to have declined by 11 percent for the 9-month period due to the August 2019 price increase, coupled with the impact of the enhanced community quarantine implemented in Luzon starting March 17 and in other select cities thereafter up to end-May 2020.

LTG’s income from its tobacco business, however, rose 27 percent to P12.17 billion from the previous year, despite the industry-wide volume decline.

“The higher income is attributed to the higher share of premium Marlboro with customers shifting from mid-priced Fortune, as well as the price increases implemented in late August 2019 to pass on higher excise taxes,” the company said.

Illicit activities have also been on the rise, the company claimed, as there were a total of 150 machines were seized from illegal factories, 70 more than the 80 machines seized last year. The 150 machines can form 24 lines, with each line estimated to produce as much as 3 million sticks per day.

SABIC named CDC to innovate more business systems, procedures top employer in Asia Pacific

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ABIC, a world leading diversified chemicals company, has been officially recognized as the “Top Employer Asia Pacific” for the eighth consecutive year.

Organized by the Top Employer Institute, a globally accredited certification body, SABIC also received the “Top Employer 2021” awards in 5 of its key Asian markets—China for the eleventh year, and India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea for the past eight years. The award also acknowledged the company’s unwavering commitment to its employees in a year that has been shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Top Employers Institute program certifies organizations based on the participation and results of their HR Best Practices Survey. This survey covers 6 HR domains consisting of 20 topics such as People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Well-being and Diversity & Inclusion and more.

“While the pandemic has brought about unprecedented change and disruption to our daily lives, we are proud of the resilience shown by our employees to take these challenges in their stride. To be recognized as the certified Top Employer for the eighth-year running is a proud achievement and an important milestone for SABIC’s development in the region,” said Mohammed Al-Nafea, General Manager, HR MEAF & Asia Regions, in a statement.

C

lark Freeport—As part of its “ease of doing business” advocacy, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) is set to enhance and modernize its business systems and processes, making the state-firm more responsive to needs of locators especially under the pandemic.

During his recent meeting with the CDC management team and executive officers, newly-appointed CDC President and CEO Manuel R. Gaerlan underscored his plans to integrate new technology in the state-owned firm’s frontline processes.

Gaerlan directed his team to focus on upgrading CDC’s systems and methods using up-todate technology that will bring about better delivery of services and experience to all locators, and stakeholders here. This is in view of the demands for more online business processing in order to help keep stakeholders safe.

Gaerlan said he wanted modern technology to be incorporated and utilized to their maximum potentials to promote the ease of doing business. This should be made more evident during the pandemic as various CDC offices need to adapt alternative modes of communication to handle business concerns of stakeholders and visitors alike.

Gaerlan is confident that the same technology integrated into CDC’s own systems, methods, and processes will eventually attract more investments in the areas

Gaerlan

of manufacturing, logistics, and tourism.

For a national recovery after the pandemic, Clark and all other economic zones must continuously deliver services to stakeholders that are par with, or better than, international standards.

All the innovations are being implemented under the “reset, rebound and recover” directions given by the new CDC leadership.

The new CDC head also believes that the implementation

of this plan will redound to a more favorable investment climate in the Freeport – making Clark closer to achieving its goal of being a premiere aerotropolis and a preferred meeting, incentives, conferences, and exhibits (MICE) destination in the Asia Pacific Region.

Meanwhi le, in consonance with the plans to automate frontline services and transactions here, CDC, in partnership with the Landbank of the Philippines launched an online payment option. This new process aims to provide Clark locators an easier, faster, and more convenient way to pay their dues.

Through the Linkbiz.Portal, locators can now pay their permits and other fees to CDC. Payments for Lease Rentals (under Treasury Division), Visa-Related fees (under BDBEG), Alien Employment Permit, Dependents Visa, Downgrading of Visa, Optional Express Lane Fee, Photocopy ACR iCARD, Provisional Permit to Work PPW, SCWV excess limit, Special Working Permit SWP, Subic Clark Working Visa can also be made via this new option.

Aside from this, more programs and projects spearheaded

by Business Development and Business Enhancement Group (BDBEG) and CDC- Information Technology Division are also in the pipeline to develop new approaches in accelerating corporate processes in the Freeport.

Jollibee to open 100 Pho24 stores J

ollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) on Monday said it will open 100 branches of its Vietnamese brand Pho24 in the country within the year.

The company said it will start with 3 new store openings for the year, the first of which is scheduled in February and will be located at the Jollibee Tower in Ortigas Center in Pasig. It did not provide details for the other branches.

Pho24 has been in the country since 2018, when Jollibee bought a controlling stake in the Vietnamese firm that owns the chain, but it is only now that JFC is expanding the brand.

The first branch is located at the Double Dragon Meridian Park in Pasay.

The chain, which was previously positioned to the middle market but became a mass brand when Jollibee bought into the firm, serves Vietnamese dishes with pho as its signature product.

“We are looking forward to the new store openings of Pho24 this year as part of plans for the longterm strategic growth of the Jollibee Group,” Joseph Tanbuntiong, Jol-

libee’s country business group head for the Philippines, said.

Tanbuntiong said JFC is also developing Pho24’s own delivery platform to cater to the increasing demand for its products and to reach new customers. JFC will also launch new products.

“We have seen the growing love of Filipinos for authentic Vietnamese cuisine, and Pho24’s expansion in the Philippines provides Filipino foodies with distinctly different pho meals that are both tasty and nutritious.”

Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company launched in the second quarter last year its Facebook-based ordering platform. It also launched 2 new rice meals—Saigon Fried Chicken and Shaking Beef—that have contributed significantly to its total average daily sales. It also has two variants of home meal kits, the beef fillet and fried spring rolls.

Aside from the lone branch in the Philippines, Pho24 has 42 branches in other Southeast Asian countries—26 in Vietnam and 16 in Indonesia. VG Cabuag

Cebu Pacific offers Covid-19 insurance

Photo from wwwcebupacificaircorporate.com

By Recto L. Mercene @rectomercene

T

he Philippines’s leading carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB) on Monday introduced COVID Protect, its newest add-on to CEB Travelsure, to give travelers peace of mind when flying during this time.

This upgrade, which will cover Covid-related hospitalization and treatments, is timely as the carrier aims to provide more passenger options as it prioritizes passengers’ health and safety.

With COVID Protect, guests traveling who test positive for Covid-19 will get up to P1 million coverage for hospitalization and medical expenses. This upgrade to the airline’s comprehensive travel insurance plan may be availed by all passengers flying to and from all of CEB’s domestic and international destinations for as low as P270.

Coverage begins on the date of departure from origin and ends 2 hours upon arrival back at origin, with maximum travel duration of 30 consecutive days.

CEB Travelsure COVID Protect is underwritten by Insurance Company of North America (a Chubb Company). Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company.

“We are very pleased to launch the CEB Travelsure COVID Protect in line with our commitment to restart travel and tourism safely and sustainably. With COVID Protect, guests will be able to travel more confidently as they are assured of cover-

age, especially if they have essential travel scheduled,” said Candice Iyog, CEB Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience.

Passengers can easily avail of this offer when booking flights on the CEB website, while existing CEB Travelsure insured passengers can simply purchase the COVID Protect add-on up to two hours prior their flight via the “Manage Booking” portal on the Cebu Pacific web site.

Chubb also offers a 24/7 Emergency Assistance Hotline, while claims may be filed online.

CEB TravelSure is the airline’s comprehensive travel insurance plan which provides extensive trip protection with coverage of costs related to having injuries, illnesses, loss of personal belongings, trip cancellations, emergency assistance, and other unforeseen travel circumstances (subject to the full terms and conditions of the Group Policy).

CEB has been rated 7/7 stars by Airline Ratings for its Covid-19 compliance as it continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, in accordance with global aviation standards.

These include contactless procedures, thorough cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, mandatory wearing of masks and face shields for both passengers and crew, as well as antigen testing for CEB frontliners before duty.

On top of these, jet aircraft are also equipped with hospital-grade HEPA filters with 99.99 percent efficacy, keeping viruses at bay.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 25, 2021

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH VANTAGE

43.6 111.5 82.6 24.7 10.06 48 11 27.5 56.25 18.1 133.3 71 4.09 0.58 4 6.99 1.54 0.4 0.75 153.5 1.05

43.9 111.9 83.2 25.05 10.08 48.2 11.1 27.65 56.3 18.5 133.5 71.5 4.12 0.62 4.05 7.39 1.55 0.42 0.76 154 1.08

43.6 110.9 81 24.7 10.2 46.5 11.08 27.5 56.35 18.2 133.4 71.3 4.3 0.59 3.96 6.99 1.51 0.41 0.81 152.6 1.06

43.6 111.9 83.2 25 10.2 48.2 11.48 27.7 56.5 18.2 133.5 71.5 4.3 0.59 4.08 6.99 1.54 0.42 0.81 154 1.06

43.55 109.5 81 24.6 10 46.4 11.08 27.25 56.2 18.1 131 70.65 4.08 0.58 3.81 6.99 1.46 0.41 0.75 152.6 1.05

43.6 111.9 83.2 24.7 10.08 48.2 11.08 27.65 56.25 18.1 133.5 71 4.12 0.58 4 6.99 1.54 0.42 0.75 154 1.05

7,000 9,197,550 960,240 40,000 822,900 3,414,600 2,600 719,200 6,710 10,900 323,670 12,530 446,000 21,000 192,000 1,500 148,000 620,000 519,000 1,550 63,000

305,165 1,015,997,544 79,371,978 990,205 8,282,942 161,927,465 29,060 19,824,870 378,261 197,300 43,067,084 892,159.50 1,886,910 12,280 760,570 10,485 222,100 254,300 400,180 237,958 66,450

161,385,536 14,985,994.50 4,940 -2,351,814.00 -2,893,930 -12,216 -3,421,570 28,150 20,947,527 -310,139.50 -382,310 -80,080 34,650

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 6.75 6.79 6.7 6.88 6.61 6.79 31,797,900 214,381,113 ALSONS CONS 1.41 1.42 1.35 1.45 1.32 1.42 17,511,000 24,339,490 25.8 25.9 26.05 26.3 25.8 25.8 1,539,800 39,969,215 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 1.05 1.09 1.34 1.37 1.05 1.05 449,120,000 552,820,380 FIRST GEN 31.1 31.8 30.9 31.9 30.65 31.1 1,151,900 35,826,435 78 78.2 78.1 78.5 78.1 78.2 81,070 6,338,288.50 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 283.8 284 285 290 284 284 212,660 60,444,924 MANILA WATER 15.88 15.98 16.36 16.36 15.88 15.98 2,591,600 41,551,838 3.59 3.6 3.6 3.61 3.57 3.6 1,630,000 5,863,840 PETRON PETROENERGY 3.79 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.78 3.79 211,000 801,280 PHX PETROLEUM 11.26 11.88 11.52 11.92 11.2 11.88 75,500 874,204 21 21.05 21.6 21.9 20.95 21 423,900 8,999,735 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 9.96 9.99 10 10 9.96 9.96 73,800 736,905 VIVANT 13.5 14.48 13.5 14.48 13.5 14.48 2,100 28,448 7.75 7.76 7.75 7.87 7.7 7.76 482,300 3,764,365 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 3.06 3.11 3.06 3.12 3.06 3.11 574,000 1,770,410 CNTRL AZUCARERA 13.9 14.56 14.6 14.6 13.9 13.9 39,100 556,060 17.2 17.28 17.16 17.48 17.14 17.2 1,083,800 18,651,054 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 9.8 9.85 8.65 9.97 8.65 9.8 985,100 9,007,740 DNL INDUS 7.14 7.18 7.1 7.21 7.05 7.18 475,000 3,385,308 9.94 9.95 9.9 9.95 9.83 9.95 750,600 7,420,787 EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV 68 68.5 68 68.5 66.5 68.5 266,040 18,129,729.50 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.64 0.67 0.64 0.67 0.64 0.67 519,000 335,690 1.61 1.62 1.66 1.68 1.61 1.62 14,577,000 23,741,380 FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA 58.2 58.5 59.5 62 54 58.5 460,150 26,723,597 JOLLIBEE 185.7 186 186.5 186.6 185.4 185.7 794,610 147,591,401 36.3 36.85 37.45 37.5 36 36.4 1,000 36,430 LIBERTY FLOUR MAXS GROUP 6.47 6.48 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.47 92,100 593,612 MG HLDG 0.4 0.405 0.325 0.4 0.315 0.4 65,150,000 23,900,700 7.26 7.27 7.41 7.41 7.25 7.26 144,600 1,052,247 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.12 1.14 7,864,000 8,944,650 RFM CORP 4.61 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.6 4.75 17,000 80,250 0.128 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.128 0.128 2,930,000 380,350 SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA 145 145.7 149.1 149.3 145 145 517,340 75,638,023 VITARICH 0.94 0.95 0.98 0.98 0.94 0.94 3,065,000 2,927,970 2.24 2.32 2.3 2.3 2.22 2.22 20,000 45,460 VICTORIAS CONCRETE A 53.6 57.75 54 54.1 54 54.1 470 25,397 CONCRETE B 55.3 57.7 55.3 55.3 55.3 55.3 100 5,530 1.4 1.42 1.44 1.45 1.39 1.4 12,381,000 17,402,460 CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL 6.05 6.08 6.1 6.1 5.98 6.05 40,400 243,185 EAGLE CEMENT 13.6 13.9 14 14 13.5 13.6 1,115,700 15,575,302 7.8 7.83 7.84 7.96 7.67 7.8 323,100 2,512,511 EEI CORP HOLCIM 6.67 6.68 6.69 6.73 6.51 6.67 578,900 3,843,681 MEGAWIDE 7.82 7.98 7.9 7.98 7.73 7.98 1,262,800 9,887,623 9.6 9.9 9.9 9.9 9.6 9.9 63,700 620,618 PHINMA TKC METALS 1.25 1.27 1.3 1.35 1.21 1.25 1,437,000 1,833,900 VULCAN INDL 1.91 1.92 2.03 2.15 1.8 1.92 24,545,000 48,263,610 1.8 1.83 1.87 1.87 1.81 1.81 85,000 153,910 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 2.26 2.31 2.21 2.34 2.18 2.26 430,000 977,090 MABUHAY VINYL 4.4 4.56 4.5 4.56 4.5 4.56 4,000 18,060 5.2 5.3 5.17 5.3 5.17 5.3 14,100 73,755 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 21.7 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.7 21.9 21,900 479,265 GREENERGY 3.13 3.14 2.94 3.15 2.91 3.14 24,569,000 74,537,530 11 11.02 9.3 11.28 9.28 11 14,193,100 149,206,763 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 1.33 1.35 1.31 1.39 1.26 1.33 3,432,000 4,467,690 PANASONIC 5.55 6.4 5.61 6.4 5.55 6.4 9,600 54,387 1.46 1.47 1.39 1.47 1.39 1.47 1,192,000 1,730,590 SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG 7.2 7.22 7 7.37 6.8 7.2 21,578,800 153,943,237

109,024,994 -1,210,880 -5,037,300 3,847,990 -4,669,924 -10,047,330 5,230,666.00 -104,270 -7,800 326,800 -164,395 -211,930 -5,495,140 19,030 -66,977 307,724 1,145,844 -6,500 19,400 298,577 -51,910,850 -26,567 -2,548,200 -160,162 37,200.00 23,550 -31,147,460 382,100 -2,941,830 -14,969,636 1,473,376 2,214,490 -428,807 -6,250 209,410 31,800 -390,040 -1,612,510 -888,139.00 10,400 49,640 -2,142,706

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 1.02 1.03 1.14 1.19 1 1.02 94,312,000 101,646,080 ASIABEST GROUP 8.32 8.65 9.09 9.09 8.2 8.7 192,400 1,596,716 799 800 793 805 793 799 105,450 84,131,335 AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY 43.3 43.4 43.4 43.45 43.3 43.4 1,390,300 60,303,805 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 9.87 9.99 9.9 9.99 9.81 9.99 1,825,800 18,131,753 2.98 2.99 2.92 3 2.89 2.99 1,636,000 4,862,970 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.85 6.9 6.85 6.95 6.85 6.95 14,900 103,471 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.87 0.88 0.93 0.93 0.84 0.88 4,284,000 3,728,940 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.87 0.89 2,510,000 2,214,340 ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B 0.88 0.89 0.93 0.93 0.88 0.89 24,000 21,230 COSCO CAPITAL 5.32 5.33 5.35 5.35 5.25 5.33 777,300 4,109,568 5.26 5.35 5.33 5.35 5.25 5.35 3,094,500 16,396,627 DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV 8.8 9.14 8.9 9 8.75 9 50,300 447,795 FORUM PACIFIC 0.225 0.246 0.24 0.248 0.24 0.246 450,000 110,160 538.5 539 550 550 535 539 256,310 138,706,540 GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV 3.68 3.7 3.7 3.75 3.68 3.7 102,000 377,290 JG SUMMIT 72.3 73 71.25 73 71.25 73 1,086,120 78,922,663 4.73 5.83 4.71 5.84 4.71 5.84 400 2,066 KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.12 1.04 1.04 2,798,000 2,996,410 LOPEZ HLDG 3.72 3.73 3.73 3.73 3.72 3.73 781,000 2,909,360 13.04 13.2 13 13.2 13 13.2 1,402,900 18,401,776 LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG 0.56 0.57 0.54 0.58 0.53 0.57 587,000 325,950 METRO PAC INV 4.28 4.29 4.3 4.32 4.26 4.29 13,604,000 58,361,180 5.75 5.88 6 6.3 5.56 5.89 367,100 2,166,872 PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA 0.88 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.86 0.88 117,000 105,840 SOLID GROUP 1.29 1.3 1.25 1.29 1.25 1.29 626,000 795,650 330 345 330 400 330 345 5,230 1,914,598 SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS 1,034 1,038 1,040 1,047 1,032 1,038 159,775 165,812,765 SAN MIGUEL CORP 128 128.9 128.9 128.9 125.8 128.9 128,360 16,437,967 0.83 0.89 0.92 0.92 0.88 0.89 37,000 33,160 SOC RESOURCES SEAFRONT RES 2.1 2.41 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 19,000 39,900 TOP FRONTIER 137.1 140 140 140 135.7 140 12,920 1,784,410 0.225 0.236 0.223 0.238 0.223 0.236 680,000 157,530 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.25 0.229 0.24 4,640,000 1,076,990

-865,460.00 -33,500,380 -26,047,680 1,665,489 -554,470 66,300 -1,046,606 -2,418,982 -75,450 -39,808,965 -185,000 -40,354,374 -10,900 -398,610 -10,937,166 -7,407,240 -1,200 9,889,510 -3,944,179 -1,116,613 6,900

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.72 0.7 0.7 759,000 535,740 ANCHOR LAND 7.8 8.49 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 100 850 39.8 40 39 40 39 40 7,227,200 285,830,565 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 1.41 1.46 1.41 1.48 1.41 1.46 74,000 105,480 AREIT RT 31.9 32 31.6 32.15 31.5 32 522,100 16,662,595 1.67 1.68 1.66 1.68 1.66 1.68 234,000 390,600 BELLE CORP A BROWN 0.94 0.95 0.97 0.97 0.94 0.95 2,788,000 2,654,210 CITYLAND DEVT 0.78 0.8 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 21,000 16,380 0.15 0.157 0.16 0.16 0.157 0.157 250,000 39,710 CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG 5.7 5.89 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 800 4,640 CEB LANDMASTERS 5.1 5.12 5.1 5.18 5.08 5.1 427,800 2,188,422 0.43 0.435 0.45 0.45 0.43 0.435 10,010,000 4,376,900 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.365 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.365 0.365 1,840,000 675,300 DOUBLEDRAGON 14.68 14.7 14.38 14.8 14.38 14.68 1,316,400 19,295,846 7.22 7.25 7.1 7.3 7.07 7.25 219,500 1,564,428 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.33 0.335 0.33 0.345 0.305 0.335 10,580,000 3,531,300 EVER GOTESCO 0.09 0.097 0.097 0.097 0.089 0.097 2,220,000 202,650 1.13 1.14 1.13 1.15 1.12 1.14 5,697,000 6,463,620 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.88 0.9 0.88 0.88 0.87 0.87 850,000 739,720 8990 HLDG 7.88 7.95 7.91 7.99 7.11 7.95 89,600 696,235 1.4 1.41 1.45 1.45 1.41 1.41 1,784,000 2,547,640 PHIL INFRADEV KEPPEL PROP 3.1 3.24 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 2,000 6,200 CITY AND LAND 0.72 0.73 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.72 9,000 6,480 4.01 4.02 4.02 4.05 3.98 4.02 17,731,000 71,262,480 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.63 0.64 0.69 0.72 0.63 0.64 277,751,000 183,567,410 PHIL ESTATES 0.4 0.44 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.4 180,000 71,350 1.33 1.38 1.4 1.44 1.31 1.32 501,000 681,720 PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND 20.45 20.5 20.3 20.7 20.25 20.5 2,648,000 54,212,170 PHIL REALTY 0.32 0.33 0.33 0.34 0.32 0.32 840,000 271,550 1.52 1.55 1.53 1.55 1.5 1.52 1,195,000 1,813,880 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.61 2.64 2.65 2.65 2.59 2.61 507,000 1,319,670 STA LUCIA LAND 2.29 2.3 2.27 2.38 2.23 2.3 585,000 1,349,670 38.05 38.2 37.7 38.4 37.7 38.2 5,014,900 190,933,680 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 4.18 4.2 4.2 4.22 4.1 4.18 48,000 200,840 SUNTRUST HOME 1.89 1.9 2.01 2.01 1.88 1.9 3,121,000 5,987,570 4.5 4.53 4.58 4.58 4.47 4.52 2,188,000 9,879,730 VISTA LAND

61,921,870 -28,200 -2,558,820 57,930 5,110 -65,850 -7,646,550 -2,100 153,960 70,505 -73,020 -3,354,260 -694,420.00 69,000.00 -38,334,750 33,000 41,250 5,220 -73,500.00 -19,696,190 -328,030 -3,207,460.00

SERVICES ABS CBN 13.7 13.8 14.08 14.08 13.4 13.7 325,700 4,451,386 GMA NETWORK 5.97 5.99 5.97 6.01 5.96 5.99 275,000 1,645,606 0.455 0.475 0.45 0.48 0.45 0.455 390,000 181,250 MANILA BULLETIN MLA BRDCASTING 11.2 11.5 11.5 11.5 11.12 11.5 1,200 13,420 GLOBE TELECOM 2,034 2,044 2,062 2,064 2,030 2,044 35,065 71,549,280 1,400 1,425 1,424 1,425 1,394 1,425 76,470 107,824,215 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.275 0.28 0.33 0.345 0.28 0.28 3,596,370,000 1,117,363,400 CONVERGE 15.88 15.9 15.6 16.02 15.58 15.9 6,775,600 107,733,994 4.95 4.96 5.06 5.06 4.95 4.96 1,393,000 6,950,480 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 12.14 12.16 12.42 12.66 11.96 12.16 23,038,800 280,879,766 IMPERIAL 1.84 1.97 2.08 2.08 1.84 1.97 14,000 27,170 0.142 0.147 0.159 0.165 0.142 0.142 66,560,000 10,359,760 ISLAND INFO JACKSTONES 1.96 2.05 2 2.08 1.96 1.96 15,000 31,000 NOW CORP 3.61 3.62 3.67 3.72 3.61 3.61 4,742,000 17,283,070 0.37 0.38 0.41 0.415 0.365 0.37 33,920,000 12,961,550 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.76 2.79 2.88 2.88 2.75 2.79 1,371,000 3,810,680 2GO GROUP 8.54 8.63 8.65 8.7 8.4 8.63 78,900 674,986 14.7 15.58 15 15 15 15 61,200 918,000 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 4.78 4.8 4.72 4.95 4.72 4.8 2,353,000 11,322,210 CEBU AIR 51.3 51.4 50.1 52 50 51.4 823,920 41,989,390.50 127.5 127.9 128.4 128.5 126.1 127.9 450,400 57,515,510 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 15.5 15.9 15.4 16 15.4 15.9 1,000 15,860 LORENZO SHIPPNG 1.01 1.05 1.01 1.05 1.01 1.01 18,000 18,300 6.11 6.12 6 6.19 6 6.11 2,714,200 16,477,827 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 2.5 2.51 2.59 2.59 2.45 2.5 1,412,000 3,551,980 METROALLIANCE B 2.46 2.59 2.21 2.5 2.21 2.46 49,000 115,950 6.53 6.54 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.53 20,800 135,801 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.49 1.5 1.54 1.57 1.49 1.5 1,914,000 2,917,670 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.045 0.046 0.048 0.048 0.045 0.046 84,500,000 3,875,400 3.35 3.48 3.5 3.7 3.29 3.48 1,253,000 4,309,920 DISCOVERY WORLD GRAND PLAZA 10.32 12.18 10.32 10.32 10.32 10.32 500 5,160 WATERFRONT 0.55 0.56 0.58 0.58 0.54 0.56 20,237,000 11,272,850 6.51 6.98 7.5 7.5 6.5 6.51 3,200 21,920 CENTRO ESCOLAR IPEOPLE 8.06 8.1 8.57 8.57 8.06 8.06 22,800 183,883 STI HLDG 0.43 0.44 0.435 0.44 0.43 0.43 7,710,000 3,332,950 5.3 5.38 5 5.4 5 5.3 13,300 67,484 BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY 7.73 7.74 8 8.03 7.65 7.73 5,851,500 45,276,371 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.05 2.06 2.19 2.19 2.04 2.06 50,000 104,050 1.83 1.9 1.84 1.84 1.83 1.84 445,000 817,630 LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY 2.15 2.16 2.16 2.16 2.16 2.16 34,000 73,440 PH RESORTS GRP 3.08 3.09 2.84 3.09 2.84 3.09 38,180,000 113,287,820 0.495 0.5 0.49 0.5 0.48 0.495 5,360,000 2,618,950 PREMIUM LEISURE PHIL RACING 6.6 6.7 6.6 6.9 6.6 6.7 3,400 22,490 ALLHOME 8.79 8.85 8.95 8.96 8.72 8.85 615,100 5,425,423 1.47 1.48 1.38 1.55 1.38 1.47 22,887,000 34,415,170 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 38.45 38.5 38.9 38.95 38.4 38.5 1,267,900 48,884,060 ROBINSONS RTL 62.15 62.2 62.25 62.8 62.15 62.2 634,310 39,514,059 115 116.1 116.8 116.8 116.1 116.1 6,840 795,354 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.45 1.47 1.44 1.48 1.43 1.45 5,446,000 7,897,180 WILCON DEPOT 17.9 18.1 17.64 18.2 17.64 18.1 3,668,400 66,225,964 0.48 0.485 0.45 0.52 0.445 0.48 10,980,000 5,327,500 APC GROUP EASYCALL 7.05 7.06 7.1 7.11 7.06 7.06 47,100 333,848 IPM HLDG 5.01 5.49 5.01 5.01 5.01 5.01 5,100 25,551 2.51 2.52 2.77 2.84 2.52 2.52 102,858,000 277,952,350 PRMIERE HORIZON SBS PHIL CORP 5.14 5.24 5.12 5.24 5.12 5.24 2,000 10,252

-41,689,180 13,328,365 -30,735,150 -20,362,428 701,420 4,659,904 135,650 123,060 -157,800 -446,450 277,160 -819,270 9,543,927 -17,265,586 800,440 25,000 -299,310 255,600 255,450 -1,222,350 -8,863,394 108,560 -1,236,390 -320,800 3,342,032.00 -16,183,740 -14,307,660 10,994,895.50 -202,663 -645,720 31,309,284 -157,900 -12,004,430 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 6.5 6.64 6.86 6.86 6.43 6.64 939,800 6,172,085 148,530 1.62 1.63 1.65 1.65 1.6 1.62 3,974,000 6,406,140 103,650 APEX MINING ABRA MINING 0.007 0.0071 0.0072 0.008 0.0068 0.0071 70,352,000,000 518,397,700 -3,427,900 ATLAS MINING 6.85 6.87 6.96 6.96 6.85 6.87 366,400 2,519,182 3.06 3.24 3.08 3.24 3.08 3.24 79,000 245,080 BENGUET A BENGUET B 3.03 3.28 3.03 3.03 3.03 3.03 26,000 78,780 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.31 0.315 0.305 0.315 0.3 0.31 200,000 61,650 2.85 2.86 2.86 2.86 2.83 2.83 47,000 133,250 CENTURY PEAK DIZON MINES 8.3 8.4 8.4 8.9 8.3 8.4 112,400 942,312 FERRONICKEL 2.78 2.79 2.93 2.95 2.76 2.78 16,296,000 45,842,820 9,022,970 0.36 0.365 0.39 0.395 0.36 0.365 1,570,000 576,100 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.169 0.171 0.17 0.173 0.165 0.169 16,230,000 2,753,960 LEPANTO B 0.17 0.175 0.177 0.178 0.175 0.175 2,840,000 502,200 176,000 0.01 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.01 0.011 496,200,000 5,549,400 MANILA MINING A MANILA MINING B 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 12,300,000 139,000 MARCVENTURES 1.63 1.66 1.65 1.67 1.6 1.66 1,271,000 2,091,840 -215,180 2.89 2.9 2.91 3.08 2.9 2.9 624,000 1,818,650 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.35 5.37 5.43 5.43 5.28 5.37 6,100,000 32,493,420 -12,299,633 OMICO CORP 0.405 0.42 0.425 0.425 0.42 0.42 60,000 25,300 1.02 1.04 1.01 1.08 1.01 1.02 1,540,000 1,579,320 10,300 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 4.92 4.93 4.9 4.98 4.9 4.92 412,000 2,029,060 -36,210 SEMIRARA MINING 13 13.02 13.06 13.22 12.88 13 1,878,700 24,488,554 -1,489,616 0.0072 0.0076 0.0079 0.0084 0.0072 0.0073 108,000,000 855,200 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 14.82 15 15.1 15.96 14.52 15 224,500 3,372,118 6,614 ORNTL PETROL A 0.014 0.015 0.015 0.015 0.013 0.014 1,475,800,000 21,130,200 0.014 0.015 0.015 0.016 0.014 0.015 34,100,000 487,700 7,000 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.015 0.016 0.017 0.018 0.015 0.015 1,753,200,000 28,372,700 1,422,800 PXP ENERGY 10.68 10.7 10.38 10.7 10 10.68 942,000 9,801,866 77,630

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100 101.8 100.1 100.1 100 100 10,000 1,000,198 58,000 AC PREF B2R 512 515 512 515 512 515 4,100 2,109,925 102.4 104 104.4 104.4 102.4 104 410 42,164 CPG PREF A DD PREF 100.6 102.5 101 101 100.6 100.6 23,000 2,315,634 GLO PREF P 504 517 505.5 505.5 504 504 200 100,935 1,002 1,038 1,038 1,038 1,038 1,038 5 5,190 GTCAP PREF A MWIDE PREF 101.5 101.9 101.9 101.9 101.9 101.9 1,130 115,147 MWIDE PREF 2A 100 100.5 100.9 101 100.2 100.5 20,800 2,086,166 100.1 101.5 101.7 101.7 101.5 101.5 510 51,767 MWIDE PREF 2B PNX PREF 3B 103.5 104.5 104 104 103.5 103.5 9,760 1,012,405 PNX PREF 4 1,006 1,007 1,007 1,007 1,005 1,007 11,910 11,982,440 50,250 1,017 1,051 1,040 1,115 1,040 1,051 275 288,450 PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A 1,094 1,098 1,093 1,095 1,093 1,095 7,370 8,067,410 PCOR PREF 3B 1,120 1,129 1,100 1,120 1,100 1,120 1,590 1,770,750 79.3 79.5 79.5 79.5 79 79.3 1,460 115,865 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E 76.3 77 76.5 76.5 76.5 76.5 1,000 76,500 SMC PREF 2J 76.05 76.3 76.1 76.3 76.1 76.3 11,310 862,053 -205,210 76.05 76.25 76.05 76.25 76.05 76.05 11,390 867,353.50 -228,300.00 SMC PREF 2K

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 13.2 13.8 13.12 13.8 13.12 13.8 39,100 537,632 483,680 GMA HLDG PDR 6 6.03 6 6 6 6 24,000 144,000 41,400

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.94 0.98 0.94 0.95 0.94 0.94 59,000 55,710

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 19 19.5 21.45 23 19.5 19.5 786,400 16,350,927 -122,655 ITALPINAS 3.47 3.51 3.7 3.76 3.41 3.51 9,935,000 35,418,780 1,895,220 6.01 6.2 6 6.2 6 6.2 33,500 201,805 KEPWEALTH MERRYMART 7.85 7.86 7.5 7.94 7.46 7.85 42,676,200 331,716,404 7,255,958

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 107 107.8 107 107.4 106.6 107 15,920 1,700,273 367,309

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Milk, pasta sales drive RFM revenues during pandemic

By VG Cabuag

L

@villygc

isted food and beverage company RFM Corp. on Monday said it had a better 2020 despite the lockdowns that ravaged the economy, as its main consumer products did well last year.

“While the 2020 audited financials are still not available, anecdotal evidence points to a better performance in 2020 compared to 2019 in revenues and income. On the one hand, we saw our Selecta Milk, Royal and Fiesta pasta as well as the White

King mixes and flour business units take advantage of the pantry loading behavior of the lockdown period,” Jose Ma. A. Concepcion III said in a statement.

“On the other hand, Selecta Ice cream and bread bun revenues were

naturally impacted by the pandemicinduced closures of fastfood chains and stores.”

RFM said its consumer brands Selecta milk expanded at 56 percent last year while pasta brands Fiesta and Royal grew 16 percent and 44 percent, respectively from year-ago levels.

White King hotcakes and other bowl mixes also had a 36-percent increase as consumers purchased and cooked more in their homes during the lockdown.

For the year, Concepcion said that RFM continues to watch trends in consumer sentiment and income as well as the ability of the coming vaccines to restore normalcy in the economy and daily lives of the people.

“We have a strong balance sheet in RFM which supports the continua-

tion of our dividend policy and share buyback programs. While RFM continues to look out for any [merger and acquisition] opportunities to boost shareholder value, the organic growth in milk, ice cream, pasta and mixes will be our growth drivers for 2021,” Concepcion said.

RFM also declared a cash dividend of P350 million or P0.10387 per share payable on March 8, with record date as of February 8, 2021.

The dividend declaration is one of the usual two dividend declarations made every year by the company. RFM dividends per share have grown from 14 centavos in 2017 to 16 centavos by 2019 and to 21 centavos in 2020.

At the end 2020 share price of 4.56 per share, the dividend yield is 4.6 percent, it said.

PCC increases antitrust fines by 10%

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

T

he Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on Monday raised by 10 percent the amount of fines slapped on antitrust violators to keep track with inflationary adjustments.

Under Memorandum Circular 21-001, the PCC increased the penalties for anticompetitive agreements, abuses of dominance, anticompetitive mergers and violations of compulsory merger notification by 10 percent. According to the agency, the competition law provides it the authority to adjust administrative penalties every 5 years to maintain their real value.

“Indexing the value of imposable fines to inflation ensures that the competition law’s sanctions maintain sufficient deterrent effect,” said PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan.

For cartels, abuses of dominance and prohibited mergers, the maximum administrative fine for the first offense was raised to P110 million, from P100 million originally.

Likewise, the maximum fine for late

merger notifications was raised to P2.2 million, from P2 million.

The adjustment also includes fines for offenses committed in the course of PCC’s competition enforcement and merger review, such as the supply of incorrect or misleading information and failure to comply with an antitrust order.

The fine increase will take effect on February 9, 15 days after the publication of the circular. It will only apply to violations made in the course of the order’s effectivity.

While the circular changes the range of fines, the computation of actual fines are determined by several factors, such as the gravity and duration of the infringement, profits derived from the illegal conduct and consumer harm.

“Along with effective detection and prosecution of infringements, increasing PCC’s fines is meant to deter cartelistic and abusive business practices that take advantage of consumers amid the pandemic,” Balisacan added.

Since 2016, the PCC has imposed a total of P162.5 million fines on breaching entities.

Greenergy board approves creation of 2 subsidiaries G

reenergy Holdings Inc., a company led by businessman Antonio Tiu, on Monday said its board has approved the creation of two firms, which will become its corporate vehicle for its infrastructure ventures.

“The first subsidiary, which will have the corporate name ‘Green Tunnel Boring Corp.,’ will undertake services with various infrastructure developers or local government units,” the company said in its disclosure.

“The second subsidiary, which will have the corporate name ‘Green Communities Development Corp.,’ will undertake transientoriented community development projects.”

Greenergy earlier gave its unsolicited proposal to Manila City government to build a modern tramway system within the country’s capital.

The company will be the vehicle used for the financing, development, implementation and operation of a modern tramway system within the city.

Tiu, through Philippine Infradev Holdings Inc., will also build a $3.5-billion subway in Makati.

Philippine Infradev, formerly IRC Properties Inc., is also being headed by Tiu. Tiu earlier said these railway systems can be interconnected in the future to create a complete railway system that connects the main cities of Metro Manila.

The proposed subway would connect key points in Makati like the current Central Business District at the corner of Ayala and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenues, Circuit City, Makati City Hall, University of Makati, Ospital ng Makati and other new growth areas within the city.

The subway will have up to 10 air-conditioned, underground island stations. It can accommodate up to six car trains, with room for over 200 persons per car, with more than 700,000 passengers per day to be accommodated and served by the proposed mass transport system. VG Cabuag

mutual funds

January 25, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 224.14 -8.97% -9.54% 0.04% -1.36% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3003 -1.88% -7.58% 5.37% -0.97% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.095 -10.34% -13.36% -0.99% -1.21% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.787 -8.66% -8.33% n.a.

-2.1% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7291 -11.89% n.a. n.a.

-1.69% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.8857 -5.82% -7.56% 0.72% -1.13% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7435 -10.41% -10.05% -5.31% -2.15% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 102.37 0.48% -4.8% n.a.

0.42% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 46.1947 -7.47% -7.63% 1.92% -1.39% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 482.37 -7.02% -7.59% 0.95% -1.35% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0866 8.21% n.a. n.a. -0.98% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1581 -7.82% -7.04% 1.53% -0.86% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 34.3476 -6.88% -6.85% 2.41% -1.21% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9013 -9.34% n.a. n.a. -1.28% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.7251 -7.1% -7.17% 2.7% -1.38% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 790.73 -6.88% -7.04% 2.72% -1.36% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7106 -11.36% -10.82% -1.76% -1.15% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.5876 -11.56% -9.01% 1.07% -1% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9052 -7.13% -7.33% 2.47% -1.36% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.2759 -7.71% -6.25% 3.37% -1.3% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 106.1145 -6.84% -6.82% 3.46% -1.34% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.3406 29.11% 3.95% 11.76% 11.45% 8.94% n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7334 22.12% 3.62% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6722 8.98% -4.35% 0.47% 0.22% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.2743 7.07% -3.22% 2.61% -0.49% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6083 0.89% -2.53% 1.14% -0.71% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1971 -12.63% n.a. n.a.

-0.76% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.959 0.8% -1.23% 2.89% -0.25% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.7659 1.23% -2.15% 2.28% -0.59% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.8404 1.11% -2.17% 2.18% -0.57% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.082 -1.03% -3.17% -0.58% 1.85% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.5543 -5.78% -4.72% 1.09% -0.53% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0188 2.32% n.a. n.a. -0.37% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9388 -3.58% n.a. n.a.

-1.1% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9218 -4.98% n.a. n.a.

-1.21% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8844 -6.56% -5.44% 0.42% -0.37% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03908 1.8% 2.77% 1.99% -0.1% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.234 17.88% 3.82% 8.78% 7.29% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6386 16.13% 6.8% 9.81% 2.79% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2155 8.3% 3.62% n.a.

1.11% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 371.61 3.75% 3.25% 2.86% 0.15% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.903 -0.08% 0.2% 0.24% 0.14% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2176 3.06% 4.39% 4.79% 0.09% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.3011 3.52% 2.9% 2.46% 0.22% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4535 4.36% 3.39% 2.21% 0.01% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6513 7% 4.75% 3.23% 0.36% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3228 5.81% 4.47% 2.74% 0.12% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9893 6.11% 4.48% 2.98% -0.29% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0417 8.31% 4.16% 2.69% -0.03% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2096 5.03% 4.78% 3.7% 0.11% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7538 4.08% 4.03% 3.07% -0.07% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $484.47 3.14% 2.82% 2.89% 0.12% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.3 -0.28% 0.84% 1.27% 0.05% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2808 5.89% 4.28% 3.15% 0.03% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0264 1.93% 1.83% 1.67% -0.75% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0914 -0.93% 0.79% 0.66% -0.12% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5331 4.65% 4.23% 3.54% -0.1% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0623688 3.03% 3.03% 2.35% 0.08% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2175 0.03% 2.32% 2.36% -0.19% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.94 3.05% 3.33% 2.58% 0.1% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0486 1.83% n.a. n.a.

0.05% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2978 2.42% 2.95% 2.61% 0.09% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0531 1.42% 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 1.1709 n.a. n.a. n.a.

3.66% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.99 -1% n.a. n.a.

1.02%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019.

4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Acquisition of add’l stake in unit gets CB nod–PNB

T

an-led Philippine National Bank (PNB) announced it has secured the green-light from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its additional stake acquisition in a subsidiary.

“PNB Board of Directors noted and confirmed the report on the approval of the [BSP] of the additional equity investments in PNB Holdings Corp.,” the listed bank said in disclosure on Monday.

It was in September last year when the PNB announced it was selling some of its prime real estate properties in exchange for P46.68-billion worth of additional ownership in PNB Holdings.

The bank would be subscribing to 466.77 million shares of the holding company for P100 apiece. Subscription price was based on the par value per share of PNB Holdings.

Upon completion, the additional subscription will be equivalent to 99.46 percent of PNB Holdings’ outstanding shares.

“This is part of Bank’s plan to realize the market value of its prime properties and reduce its low-earning assets to strengthen its financial position,” PNB added.

In a separate disclosure on Monday, PNB also confirmed the receipt of the first of the three installment payments from Allied Bankers Insurance Corp. for the latter’s acquisition of PNB shareholdings in PNB General Insurers Co. Inc. (PNBGen).

PNB shares climbed by 0.55 percent, or 15 centavos, to finish at

P27.65 each amid the 0.36-percent uptick for the benchmark index last Monday.

PNB earlier said it was selling its stake, along with PNB Holdings’s, in PNBGen to AlliedBankers for P1.52 billion or 9.126 million shares for P166.93 apiece.

The Insurance Commission gave the go-signal for the transaction last December 29, 2020. The share purchase agreement was also signed the same day.

PNB President Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso has told the BusinessMirror the bank plans to introduce a digital account opening facility this year in a bid to improve its online banking services. Veloso further explained that the pandemic has highlighted the need for an efficient digital platform, which the bank is working for.

Last year, the listed bank allocated around P2.5 billion of capital expenditures for information technology projects, which is 15-percent more than the amount earmarked in 2019. Of this budget, 30 percent is for digital payments and e-wallet, among others.

In the first nine months of last year, the listed bank’s net income dipped by 39 percent to P3.87 billion from P6.34 billion for the same period in 2019 due to higher provisioning for potential credit losses.

Its capital adequacy ratio and common equity tier 1 stood at 16.40 percent and 15.67 percent, respectively, as of end-September 2020.

Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

LandBank generates 52% of ‘Premyo Bonds 2’ sales

S

TATE-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) announced it has facilitated more than 6,700 orders worth P3.42 billion for the 1-year peso-denominated Premyo Bonds 2 or “Premyo Bonds Para sa Bayan 2,” which represents 52 percent of the total P6.56 billion raised by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) from the bond offering.

The bulk or P2.98 billion of LandBank’s total “Premyo Bonds 2” sales were generated via over-the-counter placements at LandBank branches, while a total of P78.5 million in sales were generated through the bank’s online channels.

Of the P78.5 million online sales, P40.7 million was transacted through the pilot launch of the bond purchase feature in the mobile banking application of the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), the digital-only branchless bank subsidiary of LandBank. The remaining P37.8 million was generated through LandBank’s Link.BizPortal via the BTr’s online ordering facility.

“Despite a pandemic-induced recession, we observed wider participation for the Premyo Bonds 2 offering.

This became possible through more accessible online ordering platforms, which include the OFBank mobile banking application (MBA) that encouraged more Filipinos abroad to

invest their hard-earned money in safe and affordable government securities,” LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo said.

It was the first time that the OFBank MBA was utilized as an online ordering facility for the “Premyo Bonds,” following the OFBank’s launch as a digital-only, first branchless Philippine government bank on June 29, 2020.

The OFBank MBA allowed Filipinos from 63 countries abroad such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Qatar and Singapore to invest in the “Premyo Bonds 2” through their smartphones, free of charge.

Meanwhile, the state-run lender also generated total sales of P362 million under the BTr’s exchange offer program whereby bondholders of Premyo Bonds Tranche 1 could exchange their holdings for the latest “Premyo Bonds 2” offering.

The P6.56 billion total sales generated from “Premyo Bonds 2” is more than double the P3-billion target of the BTr. Proceeds from the issuance will help fund the country’s educational programs, public infrastructure, and economic recovery in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and recent natural calamities.

LandBank is lead issue manager for the “Premyo Bonds 2” offering.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 B3

‘Overflowing’ cash continues to flock into govt securities

T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of the Treasury raised P22 billion in Treasury Bills (T-bills) on Monday’s auction as the market was flushed with “overflowing” liquidity.

The auction was oversubscribed by more than 5.6-times the initial P20-billion offering with total tenders reaching P112.2 billion, prompting the auction committee to double the accepted non-competitive bids for the 182-day T-bills to P4 billion.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon attributed the strong liquidity in the market to P67-billion matur-

ing debt papers this week.

“Market overflowing with liquidity with bias on front end of curve,” De Leon told reporters after the auction.

De Leon added they also decided to open the tap facility auction also last Monday for an additional P10 billion offering for 364-day T-bills.

Average rates across all tenors also ended up lower than the rates

from the previous auction as well as secondary market benchmark rates.

The 91-day T-bills settled at an average rate of 0.969 percent, a 1.5-basis point reduction from 0.984 percent previously. Total bids for the tenor have also hit P17.33 billion, which was thrice the P5billion offer.

Meanwhile, the 182-day T-bills’ average rate dropped by 2.5 basis points to 1.323 percent from 1.348 percent in the previous auction. Bids for the security amounted to P31.527 billion, six times the equivalent of the initial P5-billion offer.

The average rate for the 364-day T-bills fell by 4 basis points to 1.542 percent compared to previous auction’s 1.582 percent.

Tenders for the tenor reached P63.355 billion, also six times as

ABCs of surviving through adversity

O

NCE in a while we go through difficult times such as these, where just being able to survive is good enough. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Nonetheless, there are certain practical things that can be done to increase the chances of your survival. The first thing to do is to ASSESS the situation, come up with a BLUEPRINT for your plan of action and finally keep a close watch on your CASH FLOW. Do not act on impulse. Learn how to properly assess your situation, which would include your worst case, most likely and best case scenario.

Explore all your options and the potential outcome. It would also be good to validate the information you have on hand to make your assessment.

This is normally done through cross referencing, checking the source for credibility, getting a second opinion and if possible confirming with the appropriate regulatory government agencies.

From your assessment of the situation, come up with an action plan that will serve as your blueprint to survive through the difficulties you are currently encountering. The more accurate your assumptions are, the better you blueprint will be. Make sure your blueprint is designed so that it can adapt to a changing situation and is flexible enough for a quick response. You may want to compare your blueprint with what your leading competitors are doing and adopt best practices.

Making an accurate cash flow projection for yourself or your business is a critical element for survival. Typically during times of crisis, the cash inflows are the ones affected in that they either totally stop or slow down considerably. In trying to keep the cash flow coming in, there are several things that can be done. Some businesses adapt their business model to suit the current situation.

As an example, during the Covid-19

EXCLUSIVE

Amid rising scams, CCAP supports SIM registration

Finex free enterprise George S. Chua quarantine restrictions, many restaurants were forced to close their operations and those that were allowed to open had to follow social distancing and other safety protocols. This resulted in a lower seating capacity and a significant drop in patrons. To augment their lost sales, they entered into takeout orders and food delivery service to be able to generate sufficient cash flow to stay afloat.

On the cash outflow side, people and businesses have to live within their means. For people who lost their jobs, they had to tighten their belts and live off on savings until they are able to find another job or the companies they worked for resumed operations. With no source of income, they could not afford to maintain the monthly amortizations for their cars and homes, they could not afford to maintain luxuries like eating out, and they could not even pay for the education of their children. So in these dark times, knowing what expenditures to prioritize is key.

As a business, you may be forced to defer payments to your suppliers and landlords. With limited or no operations, you are forced to close down operations, branches and lay off people just to conserve cash to stay afloat and survive until the crisis is over or a new business model that works is in place. Harsh measures?

Yes, definitely! However, you need to bite the bullet to survive and open another day.

Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@yahoo.com.

much as the P10-billion offer.

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

Finance officials said they expect national government debt this year to settle at 57 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as the country aims to borrow a total of P3.03 trillion, roughly the same amount it borrowed in 2020.

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

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

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

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

T

O reduce credit card scams, an industry group is calling for the speedy approval of a bill aimed at requiring the registration of all SIM (subscriber identity module) cards used in mobile phones.

The Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said that House Bill 7233 (SIM Card Registration Act)—approved in the 17th Congress and endorsed to the Senate in May 2018—could help curb the rising cases of credit card fraud.

The proposed bill is requiring SIM card owners to declare their full name, birthdate, gender and address.

Such information will allow authorities to identify the SIM card holders in case their device was used for illegal schemes, the CCAP said.

“This [bill] will minimize, if not totally stop, the use of prepaid mobile phone numbers for committing credit card fraud because it will eliminate the cloak of anonymity provided by prepaid SIM cards,” CCAP Executive Director Alex B. Ilagan told the BusinessMirror.

With a shift to remote payments, Ilagan noted that fraud in cardnot-present (CNP) transactions increased. Such types of fraudulent activities usually occur with transactions completed online.

CNP fraud rose by 29 percent in April to November in 2020 compared in the same period in 2019, according to CCAP data.

Ilagan also urged the government to help in raising awareness about credit card fraud and implement tighter surveillance on social

media and the dark web.

In addition, CCAP called for stricter penalties for perpetrators of fraudulent schemes.

There should be “penalty to be imposed on money mules, as well as individuals that cooperate with the fraudsters/scammers to receive funds and goods taken from these fraudulent activities,” Ilagan said.

Ilagan, meanwhile, suggested widening the coverage of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 in relation to the Philippine Credit Card Industry Regulation Law (Republic Act 10870) on credit card fraud investigations.

With the increased usage of digital platforms, the CCAP said that the regulation should also apply to financial technology firms, digital payment platforms and even telecommunications. Ilagan noted that its current scope includes credit card issuers, their officers, employees and agents.

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian earlier said that P1-million worth of orders via food delivery app FoodPanda were booked without his consent, with hackers using his credit card to pay for the transactions.

The senator said he only noticed that his credit card was used by hackers around 6 p.m. of January 5. Looking at the history, there were four food order transactions completed by the hackers in about an hour.

Union Bank of the Philippines, the government official’s credit card issuer, said it has acted accordingly to address the issue.

It also assured the public its cybersecurity system has remained uncompromised despite the credit card hacking incident.

Oil higher on weaker dollar as supply cuts weighed

O

IL in New York inched higher as the dollar weakened, with investors assessing the impact of supply curbs from Iraq and Libya on the near-term demand outlook.

Futures rose 0.6 percent toward $53 a barrel as a weaker dollar increased the appeal of commodities like oil that are priced in the currency. Iraq pledged to cut output in January and February after pumping more than its OPEC+ quota last year, and Libyan guards halted some crude exports after a pay dispute.

The global supply picture is mixed, however. US crude inventories expanded by 4.35 million barrels in the week ended January 15, a surprise gain and the first since early December, according to government data released

on Friday. Most analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a draw. Oil’s rally has stalled over the past week and a half as a resurgence of the virus in China spurred localized lockdowns, while restrictions remained in place in many European countries. Iraq, meanwhile, will pump 3.6 million barrels a day in January and February, the lowest level since early 2015.

“After Friday’s high volatility and lower close, it’s going to be a cautious start to the week,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore. “Unless speculators spot a bargain and swoop in, crude may remain range-bound with a downside bias.”

Prices

WEST Texas Intermediate for March

delivery rose 31 cents to $52.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 7:50 a.m. London time after dropping 1.6 percent on Friday.

Brent for March settlement added 0.5 percent to $55.67 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after falling 1.2 percent in the previous session.

Brent’s prompt timespread was 18 cents a barrel in backwardation—a bullish market structure where neardated contracts are more expensive than later-dates ones—compared with a 7-cent contango at the start of the month. The world economy is facing a tougher start to 2021 than expected as Covid-19 infections surge and as it takes time to roll out of vaccinations. Global growth is still on course to rebound quickly from the

recession of last year, but it may take longer to ignite and not be as healthy as previously forecast. The World Bank trimmed its prediction to 4 percent in 2021 and the International Monetary Fund will this week update its own outlook.

Other oil-market news

LIBYA restarted a pipeline that carries crude oil to its biggest export terminal, after a halt that caused the Opec member’s production to drop to the lowest level in two months.

Oil prices are set to rise with Opec production cuts and a demand boost from a rebounding global economy, said Jeremy Weir, the head of commodities trading giant Trafigura Group.

Bloomberg News

A valve control wheel connected to crude oil pipework in an oilfield near Dyurtyuli, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, on November 19, 2020. The flaring coronavirus outbreak will be a key issue for Opec+ when it meets at the end of the month to decide on whether to delay a planned easing of cuts early next year. BLOOMBERG

B4

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Art

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Rome churches beckon with art and no ‘hordes’ A woman admires the 1514 fresco Sybils Receiving Instruction From Angels by Italian High Renaissance master painter Raffaello Sanzio, known as Raphael, adorns the inside of Santa Maria della Pace church, in Rome, on December 14, 2020. AP

R

By Beatrice Larco The Associated Press

OME—Like elsewhere in Europe, museums and art galleries closed in Italy in the spring and again in the fall to contain the spread of Covid-19, leaving virtual tours as the best option for art lovers who wanted to see the treasures held by institutions such as the Uffizi Galleries in Florence and the Vatican Museums in Rome.

But some exquisite pieces of Italy’s cultural heritage remain on display for in-person viewing inside the country’s churches, which stayed open during the autumn resurgence of the virus. Some churches hold collections of Renaissance art and iconography that would be the envy of any museum.

Residents of Rome—and, in a normal year, tourists—can admire masterpieces by Michelangelo and Caravaggio in the city’s lavish cathedrals and churches.

“Emotions and sensations experienced upon entering are no less than those experienced upon entering museums,” said art historian Benedetta Mazzanobile, who gives tours of the artwork inside Roman churches in French, Spanish and Portuguese.

San Luigi dei Francesi, the French community church in Rome, has three majestic works by 16th century painter Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio. Visitors who deposit a coin to illuminate the church’s Contarelli Chapel can enjoy the paintings, centered around the life of Saint Matthew.

Two other Caravaggio paintings, depicting the crucifixion of Saint Peter and the conversion of Saint Paul on the way to Damascus, can be admired in the Santa Maria del Popolo church together with The Assumption of the Virgin, by Annibale Carracci.

Works by another Renaissance master, Raphael, can be found in several churches in Rome, including Santa Maria della Pace. That’s where the artist painted Sybils, a fresco also known as Sybils Receiving Instruction From Angels, starting around 1514.

The pandemic interfered with plans to mark the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death. In Rome, the largest Raphael exhibition opened in March and closed three days later when the Italian government

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Colin O’Donoghue, 40; Sara Rue, 42; Ellen DeGeneres, 63; Anita Baker, 63.

Happy Birthday: Let your creative imagination take over, and you’ll come up with ideas that will improve your living space, relationships and outlook. Listen to suggestions, mull over your intentions and pursue your goals with passion, integrity and the desire to make your life better. A change of pace will be enlightening.

Embrace new beginnings with open arms. Your numbers are 9, 17, 24, 28, 34, 37, 46.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Be conscious of what’s happening around you. Listen, respond thoughtfully and look for solutions that are fair and doable. Learn from mistakes, and make adjustments that will help you achieve the success you desire. Keep your emotions in check. HH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep life simple. Don’t alter your life because of what someone else does. Use your imagination, and you’ll come up with a plan that will uniquely utilize your skills. Take ownership of your life and the moves you make. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Seek refuge in what you know and what you can do, not what others want. Manage your money smartly, and don’t make donations you cannot afford. Take better care of yourself, your interests and your possessions. HHH

d

ordered a nationwide lockdown. The exhibit reopened in June as restrictions were lifted and ran until the end of summer.

A work of art in its own right, the Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Basilica is packed with masterpieces, including Michelango’s Pieta, a touching sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ.

The Santa Maria della Vittoria church has a less known but powerfully evocative marble sculpture by Baroque architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.

That Italian church-goers now can admire art without having to compete with the usual throngs of tourists is a mixed blessing, Mazzanobile said.

“Surely the pandemic has allowed us to reflect on the hordes of tourists who would be now invading, sometimes in an unworthy way, the streets and galleries of museums,” she said. “But I certainly believe that, like me, most of the guides and tour leaders are waiting for those hordes.” n

Gene Paul Martin’s ‘spiritual thug lyf’ SILVERLENS Galleries presents a solo exhibition by Gene Paul Martin, titled spiritual thug lyf, a mesmerizing painting tour de force collapsing boundaries of abstraction, figuration, and landscape genres into a phantasmic panorama of shifting contexts and mutable identities that represent states of transcendental awareness born of aesthetic freedom.

Today’s Horoscope

Mixing the infinite data looms of digital culture and its assembly machines with the mystical intuitiveness of traditional media, Martin explores visual code switching into symbolic narratives, crossing the harmonic shuffle between artistic negation and rhythmical desire to deliver the birth of spiritual visions toward ecstatic experiences, while pitching the artist at the center of experiments in alchemical transformation and self-realization. The painter who uses his imagination as the sole essential force in creating the universe.

The goal of painting here is to introduce the extraordinary in the fleeting moment of creation possible within the confines of two dimensional space that also sets the tone for the artist’s fabrication of the illusion of reality and the experience of magic. Indeed, Martin’s approach to painting can be compared to sorcery with his ability to transform his medium at will, to dilute and coagulate his pigments phenomenally, to conjure fantastic shapes into anthropomorphic beings, and to compose his creations into manners of impossibility.

The portrait of the artist as shaman thus figures frequently in Martin’s work.

Gene Paul Martin’s spiritual thug lyf runs until February 6. Silverlens Galleries is at 2263 Don Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City.

Italian police find stolen copy of Leonardo’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ ROME—Italian police have recovered a 500-yearold copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th century Salvator Mundi painting of Jesus Christ that was stolen from a Naples church during the pandemic without the priests even realizing it was gone.

The discovery was made when Naples police working on a bigger operation found the painting hidden in an apartment.

Police chief Alfredo Fabbrocini said the apartment owner was detained after he offered a “less than credible” explanation that he had “casually” bought it at a market.

The painting is a copy of the Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) by Leonardo that sold for a record $450 million at a Christie’s auction in 2017.

The unnamed bidder was later identified as a Saudi royal who purportedly purchased it on behalf of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. It was supposed to have been unveiled a year later at the museum, but the exhibition was delayed indefinitely and the work hasn’t been seen in public since.

The copy, attributed to the Leonardo school but not the Renaissance artist himself, had been housed in a small museum in a side chapel of the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, which had been closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fabbrocini said the discovery was particularly satisfying “because we resolved a case before it was created.” He explained: “The painting was found but its custodian hadn’t realized it was stolen.”

The painting depicts a robed Jesus holding a crystal orb and gazing directly at the viewer.

The San Domenico basilica says the painting was probably made by a Leonardo student in the 1520s and purchased by Giovan Antonio Muscettola, an adviser to Emperor Charles V and ambassador to the papal court. It was housed in the basilica’s Muscettola family chapel.

It was restored prior to being exhibited in a 19831984 show Leonardo and Leonardism in Naples and Rome. AP

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Put more thought into how you do a job or take care of your responsibilities. Taking a different approach will draw the attention of someone influential. Don’t be afraid to ask direct questions and make fundamental decisions based on facts. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Keep your secrets to yourself. Someone will use personal information against you if you are too trusting.

Look for ways to stabilize your life professionally, financially and personally. Spend less; focus on saving and personal growth. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’ll get help when needed. A friendly gesture will bring high returns. Fitness, self-improvement and getting up close and personal with someone special are favored. Be the one to formulate a plan and put it in motion. HHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Emotions will surface if you mix business with pleasure.

Choose your words carefully, and direct your energy into something constructive. Use your imagination and take positive action; you’ll gain respect and the support needed to reach your goal. HH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do your own thing. Refuse to let anyone draw you into a situation that is impossible or will leave you perplexed and unsure of what to do next. Soulsearching will lead to self-improvement and greater confidence. Romance will enhance your life. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A change at home may be upsetting, but in the end, you’ll adjust to the way things turn out. It’s time to embrace new beginnings and discard what no longer works for you. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The changes you make should result in greater comfort at home or to the way you live and work. Look over your options and weigh the pros and cons. Ask for the approval of anyone affected by what you do. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Refuse to let negativity set in, regardless of what those around you do or say. Be the one in control of your emotions, and set a standard for others. An optimistic attitude will help you draw people who share your enthusiasm. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Make changes at home to suit your needs. Feeling comfortable will ease stress and encourage you to do things that make you happy. Reach out to someone who makes a difference in your life. HHHHH Birthday Baby: You are excitable, playful and complicated.

You are tenacious and chic.

‘men at work’ by greg johnson The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Sidewalk art supply 6 See 15-Across 10 Pop singer Del Rey 14 Diameter halves 15 With 6-Across, phone number part in parentheses 16 Aircraft designer Sikorsky 17 Elizabeth ___ makeup 18 Word before “admiral” or “axle” 19 Sandpaper statistic 20 It should be placed carefully 21 Apt jobs for Cliff and Glen?

24 “Holy smokes!”

26 Over-the-top adorable 27 Trade ___ (Coca-Cola’s recipe, e.g.)

29 India’s first Prime Minister 31 Cry of dismay 32 Apt jobs for Ace and Jack?

36 Make public, as grievances 37 Lost-at-sea signal 39 Start of school?

40 2018 Wall Street move for Spotify 41 Apt jobs for Bud and Herb?

44 Pizza place?

5 Island country south of Sicily 4 46 Crown sparklers 48 Harden into bone 51 Easier to reach, say 53 Apt jobs for Jimmy and Rob? 55 Truck stop idler 58 Fir, for one 59 Sacha Baron Cohen character before Borat 60 Kitchen appliance choice 62 Taj Mahal’s city 63 DNA sequence 64 Squabbles 65 Cosmetic car flaw 66 Oracle 67 Frank Beard is this band’s beardless member DOWN 1 Chesapeake Bay catch 2 Loser in an Aesop fable 3 Online shopping button with a + 4 No-no on the stand 5 Exclamation after a diagonal move 6 Billiards ricochet 7 Seasoning in many Italian dishes

8 Beloved 9 Swimmers’ maladies 10 Show sudden joy 11 Say “Me, too!”

12 Gritty crime films 13 Like a creative type 22 Cook’s encouragement 23 Runs smoothly, as an engine 25 Pay stub abbr.

27 Former Swedish automaker 28 Lovestruck boy in Call Me by Your Name 30 Squeaks by, with “out” 32 Hushed “Hey, you!”

33 Whitewater rapids conveyance 34 German automaker 35 Twins, sometimes 37 Major mix-up 38 Auto garage fire hazards 42 Exclamation of exhaustion 43 Mark left by a bikini 44 Be behind 46 Loose change holder 47 Artificial 48 Legs of an arachnid, numerically

9 Army base nickname 4 50 Rigidly rule-enforcing 52 Rarin’ to go 54 Joy 56 Contact ___ (e-mail, phone number, etc.)

57 (Oh, my!)

61 B’way’s Les ___ Solution to January 22’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Tuesday, January 26, 2021

B5

From left: Coney Reyes, Tessie Tomas and Joyce Ann Burton

Sen. Bong Revilla inducts into office the 2021 PMPC officers

By Leony Garcia AFTER the successful election of officers of the Philippine Movie Press Club Inc. (PMPC) in early January, the group held its oath-taking ceremony on January 19 at Annabel’s Quezon City with Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. as inducting officer.

Strictly following the health protocols, especially since the actor-turned-politician contracted Covid-19 last year, only the 15 officers plus Sen. Bong’s staff of four were present.

In his short speech before the ceremony, he expressed appreciation for the club for having honored his craft with several awards when he was still active in show business.

“Ngunit ang higit na pinagpapasalamat ko ay ang pagkilalang ibinigay ng PMPC kay Daddy, former Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr., noong 2019. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for never failing to recognize talent and artistry in our industry,” he added.

Revilla must be referring to the club’s tribute to movie icons in line with the Centennial Celebration of Philippine Cinema in 2019. Despite his medical condition, the elder Revilla honored the event with his attendance to the delight of the award night’s audiences, including fellow veterans the late Eddie Garcia and Gloria Romero, and fellow honorees Tirso Cruz III, Christopher de Leon, Niño Muhlach and Philip Salvador.

Sen. Bong, who is making a TV comback via the weekly Agimat ng Agila on GMA, also congratulated the club for continuing its support to the industry. “Sa kabila ng ating sitwasyon noong 2020 ay patuloy po kayo sa pagkilala sa mga natatanging entertainers at artists sa ating industriya. Sa mga nagdaang taon, naging sandigan na po ng ating industriya ang PMPC kaya nakakatuwa pong makita that PMPC thrived and adapted during this pandemic season. This induction night and gathering is proof how important PMPC has been in our industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, newly inducted PMPC President Roldan Castro reiterated his call for the club, especially for the new set of officers, to work doubly hard toward unity at this time of the pandemic in order to sustain the club’s Star Awards for Movies, Music and Television. Under his term, Castro is also expected to do other projects and outreach programs for the benefit and camaraderie of PMPC members.

PMPC is a group of professional and active entertainment press in the country. It is well-known for honoring Filipino artists for nearly 40 years and its annual Star Awards ceremonies are highly anticipated in the showbiz industry.

Aside from Castro, the 2021 PMPC officers are Fernan de Guzman (vice president), Mell Navarro (secretary), Mildred Bacud (assistant secretary), Boy Romero (treasurer), Lourdes Fabian (assistant treasurer), John Fontanilla (auditor), Rodel Fernando and Leony Garcia (PRO). The board of directors is composed of immediate past presidents Sandy Mariano and Joe Barrameda, plus Eric Borromeo, Timmy Basil, Rommel Placente and Francis Simeon.

Women of strength and substance T

HIS week, we feature three admirable women who have, at some point in their colorful lives, experienced failed relationships, raising their children all by themselves. One continues to be an inspiration to women who choose to remain single, and two of them eventually found love again, enjoying the bliss and happiness they deserve.

At a time when the world seems to have more unanswered questions, we take our hats off to the likes of Coney Reyes, Tessie Tomas and Joyce Ann Burton who remain kind, faithful, tough, steadfast and irrepressible.

Actress Coney Reyes does not mind if the younger generation would refer to her as “the mother of the cute Pasig City mayor.” “ I am really happy that I have raised my children well, with God-centered lives and Christian values that they carry on as they pursue their respective dreams and careers.”

A single mom after a failed marriage to her basketball player husband, Reyes’s second attempt on romance with a popular TV host was also short-lived.

But she learned to carry on, with her very strong faith serving as her compass in many of her major life decisions.

Still lovely at 66, Reyes would, from time to time, accept acting jobs. Her television followers are glad to see her again in the GMA daily series Love of My Life. In this soap, she plays an overbearing mom who is both belligerent and pugnacious toward her

son’s wife. “I’m not as strict to my own children as I was before, you know, when they were young and growing up. I’d like to think that they have all matured and have become responsible individuals,“ she volunteered.

Reyes is aware of the risks involved about working during these dangerous times. “We have to do what we have to do. We should still be productive. We just have to be extra careful. We have to keep fit and healthy, physically and mentally. Of course, I think about my children a lot and when I am feeling anxious, I turn to prayer knowing that God will protect us and keep us safe.”

Thespian Tessie Tomas had to reschedule her flight to Manila early this month because of the lockdown in the UK, where she and her marine biologist husband Roger Pullin relocated two years ago.

Now based in the Isle of Man, Tomas takes two trips back to the Philippines annually to be with her ailing 92-year-old mom, radio icon and actress Laura Hermosa, currently battling renal complications due to her advanced age in Tomas’s Makati condo.

“It breaks my heart that I have to wait a little longer to be with my mother,“ she told me in a recent chat. “I miss her so much, and I can’t wait to be with her again.

Hopefully, I’ll be back in Manila in mid February.”

Tomas admits that winter in the Isle of Man isn’t helping at all. “ We are on a stricter lockdown because of the new variant of the virus. And the number of cases continues to escalate, so it is really is something we cannot help but worry about. Then the freezing temperature doubles the anxiety and sadness. I’m just glad that my dear husband Roger is always by my side, and does little things to cheer me up whenever I feel down. I am thankful for that.”

From time to time, Tomas also worries about her only son Robin, who has been living in New York for many years now, married to his lawyer-hubby John.

“I hope the new administration over there would give hope for a safer, healthier United States.”

Tomas turned 70 last November without much fanfare, largely because of the safety and health

protocols around the globe. “I would’ve had a big party in Manila but maybe I can celebrate it this year, because I really miss family and friends in the Philippines!” Tomas also keeps busy by doing her weekly vlog, called Tess Tube, to keep abreast with the changing times.

Beauty queen-turned-host and actress Joyce Ann Burton is also one resilient woman. It is not easy to be separated from those she holds dear, especially during these times when global health is being relentlessly challenged.

Burton is based in Manila with her husband Ron Titular with their pack of dogs while her two young adult children Wolf and Diandra are living in the US. Her 80-year-old mother Delia is in a care home in Texas. “I am just thankful that modern technology allows us to communicate clearly with our loved ones despite distance. That’s why I seize every chance I get to do video calls with them.”

A regular host of The 700 Club, Burton is also very active on social media where she posts her long-distance activities with her mom. Her goal is to bring her mom back to the Philippines when travel restrictions are lifted and when there are potent medical solutions to the ongoing pandemic.

Burton was also supposed to travel to the United States in last year to witness the wedding of her daughter but the lockdown prevented that from happening. “There were many cancellations and changes in plans, but we just have to accept and put everyone’s health and safety above everything else.”

A prayerful woman, Burton had her own ups and downs, and most recently a big medical scare when she tested positive for the virus. Already discharged from the hospital, she is regaining back her stamina and strength as each day passes. “I take it a day at a time, and face every challenge that comes my way with faith and prayers.” Burton also experienced flooding in their Marikina abode when Typhoon Ulysses hit hard. But like always, rooted in faith and love, they survived, totally unscathed, with only a few damaged items. n

Delivering news, stories that inform, inspire across PHL GMA Regional TV (RTV) takes pride in staying true to its “Local News Matters” campaign. With stations strategically located in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the regional arm of GMA Network consistently enables viewers to access local news in various communities outside Metro Manila.

Its commitment to producing local news programs and specials that are more attuned to stories, voices and viewership in the regions has earned the trust of Filipino viewers all over the country. In 2020, GMA RTV’s regional morning shows and local newscasts tallied a combined reach of about 64 percent of all TV households throughout the country, with an estimated total of 46.8 million viewers, based on Nielsen Phils. TV Audience Measurement’s Total Philippines data (January to December 2020).

Moreover, in the last two years, GMA RTV posted increased viewership for all of its regional news programs based on 2019 and 2020 Nielsen Phils.

Metro Cities TV Audience Measurement (MCTAM) data. And amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic in 2020, GMA RTV launched pioneering morning programs in key regional hubs in the Philippines.

In GMA RTV’s North Central Luzon hub, GMA

Regional TV Balitang Amianan remains as the leading local newscast. In 2020, the award-winning unified weekday newscast registered an enormous viewer growth of 170 percent in Metro Dagupan. Balitang Amianan is coanchored by seasoned broadcast journalists CJ Torida, Joanne Ponsoy and Jasmin Gabriel-Galban.

Meanwhile, in GMA RTV’s Central and Eastern Visayas hub, the unified weekday newscast GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak continues to be the viewers’ top choice since 2019. MCTAM’s data even showed that Balitang Bisdak grew its average viewership in Metro Cebu by 48 percent in 2020 relative to 2019. Balitang Bisdak is bannered by tri-media personality Bobby Nalzaro and coanchored by awardwinning broadcast journalists Alan Domingo and Cecille Quibod-Castro.

In GMA RTV’s Western Visayas hub, flagship weekday unified Hiligaynon newscast GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas continued to increase its viewership in the span of two years since its launch.

It recorded a 165 percent viewership growth in Metro Bacolod, while earning 174 percent viewership increase in Metro Iloilo from 2019 to 2020. One Western Visayas is coheadlined by broadcast

GMA Regional TV and Synergy leadership team led

by Vice President and Head Oliver Victor Amoroso (seated, third from left)

journalists Sedfrey Cabaluna, Adrian Prietos and Kaitlene Rivilla.

In Mindanao, pioneering unified weekday local newscast GMA Regional TV One Mindanao more than doubled its viewership reach in 2020 compared to 2019. The program, produced by Mindanaoans for Mindananoans, recorded a remarkable 137 percent viewership growth in Metro Davao. Similarly in Metro Cagayan de Oro, One Mindanao posted a 110 percent increase in viewership. It is coanchored by Gandingan Awards’ Best Anchor Tek Ocampo and seasoned broadcast journalists Sarah HilomenVelasco and Real Sorroche.

At the same time, GMA RTV’s flagship national

newscast GMA Regional TV Weekend News was awarded the Catholic Mass Media Awards’ Special Citation as Best News Program, as it continues to make the top stories from the regions available to more viewers nationwide every Saturday on GMA News TV. Launched in 2019, GMA Regional TV Weekend News airs news and other special features delivered by no less than the roster of award-winning broadcast journalists from RTV’s local newscasts.

This year, GMA RTV remains committed to bring relevant news and stories from the regions to the local and national levels as it launches its sixth flagship newscast, GMA Regional TV Balitang Bicolandia, on February 1.

B6 Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Delivering hope in the Philippines amid the pandemic

PRSP grows network with VisMin chapters, announces upcoming 27th PR Congress

PRSP gathered together PR and communication practitioners in NCR, the Visayhas and Mindanao in a virtual conference last January 19, 2021, to establish chapters in VisMin. This is to boost PR practice across the country and to herald the annual gathering of practitioners for the national congress on February 17 to 19, 2021. Aptly hemed Transcend, it is a call and challenge to the industry to unite and together rise above the challenges brought about by the recent months to make a more lasting impact on the society.

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HE Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), the country’s premier association of PR and communications professionals, PRSP is expanding its network to the Visayas and Mindanao with the creation of regional chapters.

As the pandemic puts industries and businesses under immense pressure to adapt to the new normal and recoup losses, PRSP underscores the crucial role of communication and hopes to help synergize the efforts of communications professionals across the country. The newly instated chapters will provide more avenues for collaboration and learning through shared knowledge, technology, training and best PR practices.

Jones T. Campos, APR, former PRSP president and proponent of the chapter creation, said: “Aside from strengthening relationships among PR practitioners nationwide, having PRSP chapters in Cebu, Davao and other key cities in the Philippines will open more opportunities and integrate a common aspiration to professionalize the industry. Likewise, it will enable a nationwide way of combatting fake news, disinformation and misinformation while inculcating competence and ethical practice among PR and communications professionals.”

The new chapters will be created initially through a partnership with VisMin PR agencies PR Works, Selrahco and Bigseed. Jaja Chiongbian-Rama, founder and managing Director of Bigseed, gladly accepts the idea of having a PRSP chapter in Cebu: "We welcome this opportunity to connect and collaborate with other agencies and practitioners from around the country. With public relations evolving as the world around us changes, an organization such as the PRSP opens opportunities to set industry standards and provides an avenue for us to support and learn from one another.”

The same sentiment is echoed by Doris Mongaya of PR Works, who stated that the creation of regional chapters will result in greater cooperation between VisMin-based PR professionals and their Metro Manila counterparts, which could in turn lead to the faster development of the whole Philippine PR industry. “We recognize the efforts of PRSP in congregating PR professionals and agencies in a national scale.

Through this, we have more avenues for collaboration, which is especially apt in these times. We’re looking forward to what’s to come,” Charles Lim of Selrahco adds.

PRSP President Norman Agatep, APR shares, “We appreciate how receptive our fellow PR practitioners in VisMin have been when we brought up our intention to create regional chapters of PRSP. These challenging times further highlight the importance of good communication both for brands and their audiences.

With this new development, we reaffirm PRSP’s commitment to uphold ethics and elevate the PR practice nationwide.”

The National Public Relations Congress, now on its 27th year, is marking several firsts—the first to go full-digital and the first to run for three days. These changes, particularly the shift to digital, reflect how the PR industry is adapting to the new normal and embracing new technologies to continue telling the story of brands and organizations.

To be held on February 17 to 19, 2021, the Congress will be headlined by topics such as the post-pandemic Philippine PR landscape, industry recovery efforts and pressing issues such as mental health in the workplace.

With the theme “Transcend”, the 27th PR Congress hopes to inspire PR and communication practitioners across the country to go beyond conventional thinking and step out of their comfort zone to address pressing issues and collectively move forward to create a better normal for all.

Ana Pista, Congress chairperson, shared: “As the PR Congress has done since it started, we are bringing together a powerhouse roster of local and international speakers and delivering a lineup of timely and relevant topics this year. This year, more than ever, the Congress will highlight the role of PR in building a society that works for all.”

More than 1,000 PR and communications practitioners are expected to join this year’s Congress.

For more information, visit the event’s website or official Facebook page or contact Lessa Azcarraga at lessa.azcarraga@ardent.com.ph.

ValuePlus revs up for 2021 with newest branch in Batangas City

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HILE the pandemic has forced many businesses to pivot – or in worst cases shutdown, some agile companies have found new opportunity in his time of crises, expanding their businesses and catering to the new demands of the population. And one of these businesses that has found surprising new support and reach during COVID-19 is Value Plus Auto Service Express (VPX), the franchising brand of Value Plus Auto Services Philippines Inc., an after-market auto service that was established in 2013.

Headed by General Manager Mark Saberola, ValuePlus is revving up for a stronger 2021 with the recent awarding of VPX franchise to Jandusay & Sons last January 15, 2021 in Batangas City. The 300-sqm operations, located along Batangas-Tabangao-Lobo Road in Barangay Libjo, will become operational by second quarter of the year and become the second franchised branch in South Luzon, made possible by the family company, Jandusay & Sons.

“We had come across Value Plus online in 2018 when my father Hanniel, an expatriate, and I were looking for a franchise that we could start as a family, along with my brother Jet Martel,” shares John Alvin Jandusay, the 23-year-old branch manager of VPX Batangas CityO of Jandusay & Sons. The family had a keen interest in automotive repair and believed that VPX was the perfect pick for their first venture together. And so despite the pandemic that hit early

2020, they were determined to pursue the partnership.

As localized lockdowns became part of the “new normal” and city-wide transport became restricted, the family anticipated the rise of car ownership during the pandemic and believed that they could provide the automotive repair services needed by these drivers.

According to Saberola, around 5.5 million cars are no longer covered by their manufacturer’s warranty, and thus car owners seek trusted auto repair service providers for their vehicles’ needs and that’s why ValuePlus positions itself as the casa alternative.

“What we appreciated about ValuePlus is that even while we were just inquiring about the franchise, the company was already very supportive. They offered insight on the market and were willing to show us how to become more competitive as a company. This further cemented our idea that VPX would be a really good investment,” says Alvin.

To date, with the addition of VPX Batangas City, ValuePlus will have 4 branches, two of which are in

Metro Manila. The VPX franchise is one of the most competitive businesses in the industry, founded on a sound business model, and is proven to be crisis-proof.

With their newly introduced Starter Package ranging from 3.5-4.5M, franchisees can expect to have their very own auto repair shop up and running in 2-3 months’ time and with ValuePlus guiding them every step of the way.

“Our growth at ValuePlus has been strong and steady. And despite COVID-19, we have proven to be agile and able to adapt to the new challenges of the pandemic. At a time when people are seeking financial security, we - as an almost decade old established brand - can help entrepreneurs confidently set up their own businesses. ValuePlus is not just a provider of auto repair services, but a complete business solutions provider,” Saberola ends.

For more information on franchising opportunities, send email at vpx@valueplusph.com or call 0917-6372085 or visit their social fb.com/solutionsvpx

AT the awarding of VPX franchise in Batangas on January 15, from left, the officers of Jandusay & Sons: Jet Martell, Menjie and John Alvin Jandusay with ValuePlus GM Mark Saberola.

L

OVE transcends boundaries and quarantines. That was the important takeaway of 2020 for both the UPS volunteers and the families of SOS Children’s Villages, who participated in a series of virtual visits by UPS employees who were ‘Uncles’ and ‘Aunties’ for a day.

As a longtime patron of SOS Children’s Villages, UPS Philippines traditionally engages the non-governmental organization with visits to its villages in Manila and Cebu by volunteers. The sessions help in the social and emotional development of the abandoned, neglected, and orphaned children who SOS Children’s Villages support, and is a regular affair that both sides look forward to.

With the Coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions, volunteers at UPS Philippines took up the challenge of taking their activities virtual, and organized games and storytelling to provided much-needed interaction to the children during lockdown.

Arnold, a resident at SOS Children’s Village Manila, shared that he enjoyed being able to continue the regular conversations with the ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’. “I enjoyed the most when we were able to introduce ourselves and our dreams. I learned from them that even though there is a pandemic, they are able to find and share the time to interact with us and understand our situation in the village.

The experience enriched me through listening to their advice and thoughts, not just about how we will achieve our dreams and still manage to have many activities even when there is a pandemic. Thank you for spending your time just to see us and ask us how we are right now. I look forward to the next virtual visits to be just as fun,” he added.

“The most memorable experience during the activity was when we played games, and we were able to talk comfortably with the uncles and aunties. I was enlightened more when they gave us advice. I was able to realize more

IN support of Typhoon Ulysses efforts, UPS raised cash donations and relief goods. that I am blessed being here in SOS, because everything we need is here and not everyone can experience this kind of life. I would like to say that they continue to support children in need with care, love and support and may God always bless them. I am looking forward to more interesting activities,” shared Cristine of SOS Children’s Village Manila.

“Our engagement with SOS Children’s Villages blossomed with the virtual activities we had. We hope than in our own small ways, we brightened the children’s days in these extraordinary times. The experience was a priceless opportunity,” explained Nikki Ambion, co-chair of the UPS Philippines Community Involvement Committee.

In support of Typhoon Ulysses efforts, UPS Philippines raised cash donations, sacks of rice and nearly 250 food baskets containing canned goods, noodles, coffee, milk, and biscuits.

And together with Operation Blessing Foundation, a nonprofit organization, UPS distributed the donations to affected families in the Cagayan, Calabarzon, and Bicol regions.

Tei Endecia graces Club Ananda’s bridal event

S

OON to wed couples are invited to join the Bridal Open House, the very first event by Club Ananda this year.

On January 30, come and witness how Tagaytay’s critically acclaimed and most sought-after stylist Tei Endencia transforms

Club Ananda to a wedding venue that every bride will dream of. Tei specializes in styling large-scale events using advanced technology with refined craftsmanship.

A graduate of College of Fine Arts, UP Diliman, he’s the chief executive of Aquila Crystal Palace Tagaytay and has the coveted title "Young artist of the Year" in 2000.

The whole day event will also feature a food tasting activity and accredited suppliers that will showcase today’s exciting wedding trends.

Limited slots are available, so sign up now. For reservations, please contact Rodel Rivera at +63 917 550 6873. You may also check out Club Ananda on Facebook and Instagram.

Lopez Group helps Iloilo City fight COVID-19 through P5.5M worth of medical donations

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HE Lopez Group of Companies through the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) fulfilled its commitment to help the City of Iloilo in its fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as it officially inked the deal and delivered the state-of-the-art Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) machine, RNA extractor, and test kits that it donated to the city’s Uswag Molecular Laboratory in San Pedro, Molo district on January 21.

Federico “Piki” R. Lopez, Chairman and CEO of First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), said providing the necessary support to put up the Uswag Molecular Laboratory for the City of Iloilo and its people is part of the new mission of the Lopez Group of building a regenerative future through collaborative pathways.

“Being regenerative is all about elevating everything we touch—from our employees, our customers, suppliers, and contractors, our environment, our communities, as well as our shareholders. This is why we’ve committed to providing our country with only clean sources of energy such geothermal, wind, solar, hydro, and natural gas. But our mission goes beyond energy and anticipates in dealing with the many adaptive challenges needed to redesign how we live, work, and do business in a changed world,” Lopez said.

Lopez, whose roots traces in Iloilo, added that it exemplifies a city and a province that are taking concrete steps to develop not just sustainability but also regeneratively, thus, progress and prosperity that benefits the people and planet can be achieved in collaboration between like-minded individuals and institutions.

To recall, in November last year, the Lopez family together with its Group of Companies, spearheaded by Lopez himself, sent a letter to Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas signifying their intent to help the city in its fight against COVID-19 through a donation of a RT-PCR machine and other laboratory equipment to deliver timely and accurate testing services to fellow Ilonggos.

The letter, signed by Lopez, First Gen President and COO Francis Giles B. Puno, and EDC President and COO Richard B. Tantoco, laid out the proposed donation of the conglomerate which will cover the cost of the equipment, test kits, and consumables worth over P5.5 million.

Treñas thanked the Lopezes, its family and companies, for its unwavering support to the city especially in these extremely challenging times since the first quarter of 2020. “This day is a recognition of a selfless contribution, philanthropy and social responsibility. This is also a celebration of successful collaboration and partnership with the private sector. On behalf of the city government

of iloilo and my fellow Ilonggos. And we humbly recognize that we can not gain leverage and perform effectively without the assistance and support and essential contributions coming from the private sector like EDC,” said Treñas in his acceptance speech at the Deed of Donation signing held via zoom. He, likewise, showcased the RT-PCR machine and RNA extractor that was delivered straight to his office in Iloilo City in time for the signing ceremony.

Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases against COVID-19 Deputy Chief Implementer and Bases and Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vince Dizon graced the event and expressed his appreciation for the Lopez group’s continuous efforts and collaboration with Iloilo City and various local government units to help them combat COVID-19 and become resilient amid the pandemic.

“You know since last year the tremendous assistance of the Energy Development Corporation has been a major factor in our battle against COVID-19. From the beginning when our president called for everyone all throughout the country to help in this once in a generation challenge that we all face, EDC was one of the private sector companies that responded to this call of the president in his whole nation approach. We want to thank Chairman Piki again for this partnership with the national government that has not wavered since the very beginning,” said Dizon.

FPH is a pioneering holding company with principal interests in clean and renewable energy, premium real estate, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and education. Since 1961, FPH's businesses are leaders and trailblazers in key industries in the Philippines, powering the diverse needs of a rapidly growing economy First Gen Corporation (First Gen) is the primary holding company for FPH’s power generation and energy-related businesses. It is the pioneer and leader in the natural gas industry, producing 2,959 megawatts (MW) of electricity from indigenous energy sources. First Gen accounts for 23 percent of the country’s gross generation and operates Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the world’s largest integrated geothermal power producer.

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

The World BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

B7

UK vaccination drive expands as Covid deaths near 100,000

In this December 18, 2020 file photo, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his daily morning news conference at the presidential palace, Palacio Nacional, in Mexico City. López Obrador says he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is under medical treatment on Sunday, January 24. AP/Marco Ugarte

Mexico’s president says he’s tested positive for Covid-19

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EXICO CITY—Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday he has tested positive for Covid-19 and that the symptoms are mild.

López Obrador, who has been criticized for his handling of his country’s pandemic and for not setting an example of prevention in public, said on his official Twitter account that he is under medical treatment.

“I regret to inform you that I am infected with Covid-19,” he tweeted. “The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward.”

José Luis Alomía Zegarra, Mexico’s director of epidemiology, said López Obrador had a “light” case of Covid-19 and was “isolating at home.”

Mexico’s president wrote that while he recovered Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero would be taking over for him in his daily news conferences, at which he usually speaks for two hours without breaks each weekday.

López Obrador, 67, has rarely been seen wearing a mask and continued to keep up a busy travel schedule taking commercial flights.

He has also resisted locking down the economy, noting the devastating effect it would have on so many Mexicans who live day to day, despite that the country has registered nearly 150,000 Covid-19 deaths and more than 1.7 million infections. Last week, the country registered its highest levels of infections and deaths to date.

Early in the pandemic, asked how he was protecting Mexico, López Obrador removed two religious amulets from his wallet and proudly showed them off.

“The protective shield is the ‘Get thee behind me, Satan,’” López Obrador said, reading off the inscription on the amulet, “Stop, enemy, for the Heart of Jesus is with me.”

I n N o v e m b e r, Te d r o s A d h a n o m Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, urged Mexico’s leaders to be serious about the coronavirus and set examples for citizens, saying that “Mexico is in bad shape” with the pandemic.

He didn’t name López Obrador, but said: “We would like to ask Mexico to be very serious.”

“We have said it in general, wearing a mask is important, hygiene is important and physical distancing is important and we expect leaders to be examples,” he added.

At the star t of the pandemic López Obrador was criticized for still leaning into crowds and giving hugs. The eternal campaigner, López O brador’s st yle of politics has always been very hands on and personal. As the pandemic grew he began limiting attendance to his events and maintaining his distance from supporters.

But on Friday, López Obrador posted a photo of him, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, a translator and former chief of staff Alfonso Romo, all gathered around a table for a phone call with US President Joe Biden. None were wearing masks; the foreign relations department has not answered questions about whether Ebrard has been tested.

Despite his age and high blood pressure, as well as undergoing surgery after a heart attack, López Obrador has said he won’t jump the line for a vaccination. But he was getting tested for the coronavirus once a week.

At his age and with his existing health conditions López Obrador’s turn for a vaccine could still be weeks away as the country still works to vaccinate front line health workers.

As of Sunday night, Mexico had given nearly 630,000 doses of vaccine.

López Obrador’s announcement came shortly after news emerged that he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about obtaining doses of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.

Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter the two leaders would speak about the bilateral relationship and supplying doses of the vaccine.

The vaccine has not been approved for use in Mexico, but the government is desperate to fill supply gaps for the Pfizer vaccine.

Besides López Obrador, other Latin American leaders who have tested positive for the coronavirus are Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, Guatemala’s Alejandro Giammattei, Honduras’ Juan Orlando Hernández and Bolivia’s then-interim President Jeanine Ánéz.

All have recovered. AP

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ONDON—Britain is expanding a coronavirus vaccination program that has seen more than 6 million people get the first of two doses—even as the country’s death toll in the pandemic approaches 100,000.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that three-quarters of the UK’s over-80s have received a vaccine shot. He said three-quarters of nursing home residents have also had their first jab.

Health authorities said 6.35 million doses of vaccine have been administered since injections began last month, including almost 500,000 doses on Saturday, the highest one-day total so far. Health officials aim to give 15 million people, including everyone over 70, a first vaccine shot by Feb. 15, and cover the entire adult population by September.

Britain is inoculating people with two vaccines—one made by US pharma firm Pfizer and German company BioNTech, the other

by UK-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca and Oxford University. It has also authorized a third, developed by Moderna.

It is giving the shots at doctors’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies and vaccination centers set up in conference halls, sports stadiums and other large venues like Salisbury Cathedral. Thirty more locations are opening this

week, including a former IKEA store and a museum of industrial history that was used as a set for the TV show “Peaky Blinders.”

Br ita in’s vaccinat ion campaign is a rare success in a country with Europe’s worst confirmed coronavirus outbreak. The UK h a s re corde d 97, 9 39 de at h s among people who tested positive, including 610 new deaths reported on Sunday.

The UK is set within days to become the fifth country in the world to record 100,000 Covid-19 deaths, after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico—all of which have much larger populations than Britain’s 67 million people.

Some health experts have questioned the Conservative government’s decision to give the two vaccine doses up to 12 weeks apart, rather than the recommended three weeks, in order to offer as many people as possible their first dose quickly.

AstraZeneca has said it believes a first dose of its vaccine offers protection after 12 weeks but Pfizer says it has not tested the efficacy of its jab after such a long gap.

Doctor Claire Chatt prepares the PfizerBioNTech vaccine inside Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England on January 20.

Salisbury Cathedral opened its doors for the second time as a venue for the Sarum South Primary Care Network Covid-19 Local Vaccination Service. AP/Frank Augstein

The British Medical Association says the government should “urgently review” the policy.

But Anthony Harnden, deputy head of the government-advising Joint Committee on Immunization and Vaccination, defended the policy, saying the UK is in a “dire situation.”

“Every dose of vaccine we give as a second dose, we’ll be denying somebody their first dose at the moment and denying them very good protection,” Harnden told Sky News. He said the policy of prioritizing first doses would “save thousands and thousands of lives.”

Britain’s latest surge is being fueled in part by a new virus variant first identified in southeast England, which scientists believe is more transmissible than the original strain. They also say it may be more lethal, though that evidence is weaker.

The British government has said it may tighten quarantine

requirements for people arriving from abroad in an attempt to keep out other new variants discovered in South Africa and Brazil.

Already travelers to Britain must self-isolate for 10 days, but enforcement is patchy. Authorities are considering requiring arrivals to stay in quarantine hotels like those set up in Australia and some other countries.

The UK is several weeks into a lockdown to try to slow the spread of the virus. Pubs, restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues and many shops are closed, and people are required to stay largely at home.

The lockdown rules will be reviewed on February 15, but the government says it is too soon to think about easing the restrictions.

“There is early evidence that the lockdown is starting to bring cases down, but we are a long, long, long way from being low enough,” Hancock said. AP

Samsung heir forgoes appeal of jail sentence in bribery case

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amsung Electronics Co. de facto leader Jay Y. Lee has decided not to appeal against a prison sentence, placing him behind bars for the next 18 months during a time of growing global uncertainty.

L ee “ humbly accepts” t he court ruling, his lawyer said in a statement on Monday. A Seoul court last week handed down a 30-month sentence to the billionaire, though he will likely only have to serve 18 months after already having spent a year in prison before he was released in February 2018.

The sentencing marked the

end of a years-long corruption scanda l that toppled for mer South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Lee had been accused of offering bribes that included horses and other payments to win support for his succession at South Korea’s largest conglomerate. The trial—as well as a second case involving a merger of two Samsung units— had been an overhang for the company, which had held off from naming him as chairman following the death of his father Lee Kun-Hee. Samsung Electronics declined to comment on the decision to

forgo an appeal. Shares of South Korea’s most valuable company rose as much as 1.5 percent in Seoul on Monday, after having gained more than 40 percent over the past year.

Any void in leadership presents risks for the world ’s largest producer of memor y chips, sm a r t phones a nd con su mer appliances as it deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, tumultuous US - C hina rel at ions a nd i ntensi f y i ng compet it ion i n mobile devices and semiconductors. While Samsung’s daily business is run by an army of managers, Lee’s absence may

stall or complicate larger investments or strategic longerterm moves. The executive has played an active role at the company, f requent ly joining government-related and public events after he was released from the prison.

Lee faces another case related to the controversial merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015, which includes allegations ranging from violation of capital markets law to a breach of duty. He will have to attend hearings in that case while serving his time in jail.

Bloomberg News

Xi Jinping set to address Davos in first remarks during Biden era Indonesia says it has seized

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hinese President Xi Jinping is set to deliver his first speech since Joe Biden entered the White House, remarks that could set the tone for relations between the world’s biggest economies over the next four years.

Xi will speak later Monday at the Davos Agenda event, which he last addressed in 2017 days before Donald Trump took office. At the time, Xi warned that a trade war would hurt both sides while stressing China’s openness and condemning protectionism.

Chinese state media has recently promoted that speech, casting Xi as a visionary.

Xi’s earlier address “illuminated the turbulent world economic voyage” and “transcends time and space,” Qiushi Journal, a bimonthly magazine published by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, said in an editorial last month.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were also slated to be among the speakers at the

Xi Bloomberg photo

online event hosted by the World Economic Forum from Monday to Friday. The in-person meeting, which is usually held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, has been postponed due to the pandemic and is now scheduled to take place in May in Singapore.

The landscape is much different for Xi than four years ago. The Trump administration has since moved to impose tariffs on Chinese exports, sanction officials over moves to restrict freedoms in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and

deny vital technology to some of China’s biggest companies. Xi has since emphasized a “dual circulation” policy that prioritizes self-sufficiency.

Biden’s team has signaled it would continue to hold a tough line on China while seeking cooperation in areas like climate change. In its first week, the US issued statements blasting China for sanctioning Trump officials and for a military show of force against Taiwan. China’s foreign ministry has called for bilateral

relations to be “rebuilt and repaired” while asserting the right to defend its interests.

Biden hasn’t given many specifics on how he would deal with the thorniest issues between the countries, including export curbs on companies like Huawei Technologies Co., data security regarding apps like Bytedance Ltd.’s TikTok and tariffs on almost $500 billion of products. But he has signaled a shift from confrontation to competition, with members of his administration calling for greater investments in the US to “outcompete” China.

Xi is speaking from a position of strength: China has been the only major economy to report growth amid the pandemic last year. Economists are forecasting an expansion of 8.3 percent this year, compared with 4.1 percent in the US. X i recently committed China to be carbonneutral by 2060, although Beijing has revealed few details on how it plans to achieve the target. Bloomberg News

Iranian, Panamanian tankers

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AKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesian authorities said that they seized an Iranian tanker and Panamanian tanker suspected of carrying out the illegal transfer of oil in their country’s waters on Sunday.

T he tankers—the Iranianflagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Frea—were seized in waters off Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, said Wisnu Pramadita, a spokesman for the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency.

He said the tankers are suspected of a variety of violations, including not displaying national flags, shutting off their identification systems, anchoring illegally as well as the illegal transfer of fuel between ships and spilling oil.

Authorities were escorting the two tankers to Batam Island in Riau Islands province for further investigation, he said.

Iranian state television acknowledged the tanker’s seizure,

citing Indonesian authorities. The report did not elaborate.

Iran, home to major oil and natural gas reserves, has seen its sales abroad deeply impacted by US sanctions after former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. That cut a crucial source of government revenue in Iran’s long-anemic economy.

In the time since, Iran has relied on black-market sales and deals with Venezuela to keep its sales going.

Iran’s state-owned fleet of oil tankers routinely travel and turn off their Automatic Identification System trackers to try and mask where they deliver their cargo. Those AIS beacons, a safety measure so other ships know what’s around them, can be tracked. Analysts say those ships often transfer their oil to other ships, that then sell the crude under false pretenses. AP

Inspired to keep sports adrift during pandemic

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HE slogan kicks in immediately— CONQUER YOURSELF—in capital letters.

Exclamation point unnecessary.

That’s what greets you when you click on the Inspire Sports Academy’s (ISA) official web site. The academy also stresses: “Built for the prime purpose of developing Filipino athletes to achieve excellence at any given time and situation.”

Until the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020.

The academy that caters to top-level sports programs played a unique role its owners may have never conceived in the state-of-the-art facility’s planning stage— be a perfect bubble environment shielded against the deadly virus.

“We didn’t expect this in the same way that we didn’t expect Covid-19 to change all our lives significantly,” ISA Marketing Director Lee Tajonera told BusinessMirror. “So when we all were hit, our business development team discussed how best we could pivot and started seeing how some sports organizations around the world like the UFC, NBA and the Bundesliga were planning their own bubbles, we realized that we were in a strong position to do the same.”

“With the dedication of our team and how our facility was naturally set up for different formats, we figured we could actually lead the way in Philippine sports by being that entity that could still allow sports to go on safely amid the pandemic,” Tajonera added.

“In every crisis, there is an opportunity and Inspire took inspiration from the history of Henry Sy Sr.,” ISA Managing Director Benjie Uichico said. “At a time when businesses were [and still is] at a low ebb, the whole Inspire team got together to spot the opportunity in this Covid crisis.”

The bubble concept, Uichico added, was already floating around the global sporting industry and “Inspire became the first mover and innovated the concept fitted for the current market need.”

Located in Calamba, Laguna, at National University’s first extension campus, the academy hosted the Chooks-to-Go 3x3 Pilipinas tournament and the TNT KaTropa training camp for the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. At present, the country’s Tokyo Olympics qualifiers and hopefuls in boxing, taekwondo and karatedo are hosted by the facility as they THE Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba comes out smoking against the pandemic by serving as a bubble facility.

train face-to-face with their coaches for the first time in almost a year.

The Gilas Pilipinas pool for the third window of the International Basketball Federation Asia Cup qualifiers are also in the academy, polishing its game against South Korea and Indonesia next month.

Director of Administration Ricardo Ocampo said that the 16,000 square-meter four-storey facility was built primarily to focus on the “hardcore training and major development of the athletes.”

“The whole campus is a little less than 3 hectares. The ground floor has the receiving area and lounge, while at the second floor is a high-performance gym,” Ocampo said. “The higher floors are for taekwondo, futsal and basketball.”

“We also have a great recovery room in the lower ground. It’s a state-of-the-art facility,” Ocampo added.

The NU extension campus and the ISA were launched in November 2019 by the NU Chairman of the Board Dr. Hans Sy and President Dr. Renato Carlos Ermita Jr. The Sy family owns the academy which is located 54 kilometers south of Metro Manila.

The academy has its own “dormitel” (dormitory-type quadruple sharing rooms) and 32 superior twin rooms for a total of 64 rooms for 176 individuals or more.

Uichico said the academy was created to develop and enhance Filipino athletes.

“The Sy family invested in what they felt was necessary to enhance Filipino athletes.

They spend a lot of money to achieve the level of excellence of the athletes and they are willing to continue spending and investing more for that,” Uichico said.

Tajonera said the ISA rivals academies abroad that also caters to elite sports development.

“There are many similar venues like the IMG Academy in Florida and the Singapore Sports School. But we’re hybrid over those concepts— facility-wise and program- and academic wise,” Tajonera said. Josef Ramos

Sports

Romero forum guest

BusinessMirror

B8

| Tuesday, January 26, 2021

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (sixth from left) joins newly elected president Ramon “Tats” Suzara (fifth from left) for a photo opportunity. Also in photo are (from left) Atty. Wharton Chan, Yul Benosa, Rod Roque, Atty. Edwin Gastanes, Donaldo Caringal, Charo Soriano and Ricky Palou. At the back is Atty. Billy Sumahui. NONIE REYES

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OUSE Deputy Speaker and NorthPort Batang Pier team owner Mikee Romero makes a rare appearance as a special guest in Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday.

Romero, who represents the 1-Pacman partylist in the House of Representatives, is expected to talk about a wide-range of topic in Philippine sports, among them the country’s campaign in the Tokyo Olympics, Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, vaccine for Filipino athletes and the Batang Pier’s coming campaign in Season 46 of the Philippine Basketball Association.

The 10:30 a.m. session is presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., with Upstream Media as official webcast partner and powered

by Smart.

The public sports program is livestreamed via the PSA Facebook page fb.com/ PhilippineSportswritersAssociation and also shared by Radyo Pilipinas 2 Facebook page.

SUZARA ELECTED V’BALL CHIEF

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By Josef Ramos

AMON “TATS” SUZARA was elected as president of the newly formed volleyball association—Philippine National Volleyball Federation Inc. (PNVFI)—on Monday, thus opening door to the International Volleyball Federation’s (FIVB) official recognition of the country as one of its regular members.

“I will do my best as the new president,” Suzara told reporters after the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) electoral body formally proclaimed winners in the elections staged under strict health protocols at the East Ocean Seafood

Restaurant in Parañaque City.

“But I am not the only one [in the new federation]. I have the board and the other stakeholders who are there to support. We are all here to uplift Philippine volleyball,” he added.

Suzara, representing the Alliances of Philippine Volleyball Inc., won the POC-supervised elections unchallenged with 31 votes, while Arnel Hajan of the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) was elected vice presidenct with 30 votes.

Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI) Secretary General Ariel Paredes was elected chairman with 30 votes and Donaldo Caringal also of the alliance was named secretary general also with with 31 votes.

Rod Roque, also of LVPI and the University

Athletic Association of the Philippines, was elected treasurer and PVF’s Yul Benosa as auditor.

Also elected were board members Ricky Palou, Tony Boy Liao, Karl Chan, Charo Soriano, Carmela Gamboa, National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Fr. Vic Calvo and POC representative to the board Atty. Wharton Chan.

“We are thankful to all the stakeholders.

We’ve been longing for this and the true winner here is Philippine volleyball,” POC President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said.

Suzara said he would use his affiliation and influence in the FIVB and the Asian Volleyball Confederation for more support to Philippine volleyball.

A total of 31 of 32 registered voters cast

their votes through a “drive-thru” process at the restaurant’s main entrance. POC Secretary General Atty. Edwin Gastanes and accreditation and membership committee head Atty. Billy Sumagui supervised the proceedings.

The POC executive board is expected to approve the result of the elections when it meets on Wednesday, while Tolentino said the new association will be officially recognized during the POC general assembly on Thursday.

Tolentino said the POC will then submit an official report to the FIVB, which is expected to officially recognize the PNVFI during its online world congress from February 5 to 7.

Tennis gods smile on Alexandra

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LEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA at 15 showed she’s made of elite stuff by becoming the first Filipino to win an International Tennis Federation (ITF) seniors professional title on Sunday.

Eala defeated hometown bet Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, to capture the $15,000 W15 Manacor ITF Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar World Tennis Tour by LG first leg in Mallorca, Spain.

The young Eala pulled off the historic feat away from her parents Mike Eala, a 1985 Southeast Asian Games 100-meter backstroke bronze medalist, and Rizza who monitored her matches from Pennsylvania in the US. For Eala, her victory is a product of hard work, having been playing competitive tennis since she was 12. In fact, at 15, she is still a juniors player.

“I play a lot of tournaments on my own especially during the pandemic so I am used to playing on my own,” Eala told BusinessMirror through his dad Mike. “But they still serve as a huge motivation in keeping me up at a high-performance level.”

“I am super happy because it’s a huge milestone and I worked so hard the last few months to improve. I am very pleased with the result,” added Eala, whose finals foe is 13 year older than her.

Eala is expected to play in the second leg of the W15 Manacor ITF on Tuesday.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic in Spain, Eala commended her coaches at the Rafa Nadal Academy—headed by Gabi Urpi, Mathilde Muñoz and Daniel Gomez—for providing her with the best international training and exposure for the past two-and-a-half years.

“I still train daily and keep up with my hectic training schedule here in Spain even with safety protocols in place amidst the pandemic,” Eala said. “I usually train in the mornings and attend to my academics in the afternoon.”

Eala, as well as her parents, are scheduled to return home on Saturday.

Alex’s elder brother Miko, 17, is an athletic scholar at the Penn State Tennis Team of the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Josef Ramos

SAFEGUARDING BIKERS’ SAFETY

Clark Development Corporation (CDC) Maintenance Reaction Team removes a fallen tree along the bike lanes in Clark Freeport Zone to ensure the safety of all bikers traversing the area. The state-owned firm has been active in making sure that these bike paths are cleared from all forms of obstructions as more cycling enthusiasts visit and try the scenic routes in Clark. CDC has set for completion more bike routes alongside major thoroughfares of Clark Freeport.

Wilde Blu Yonder Vincent Juico @VJuico, Instagram vpjp_j, vince.juico@gmail.com

SPORTS WITHOUT BORDERS Bernie “Benok” Regalario is a 16-yearold Filipino billiards prodigy. He has won tournaments both here and, this early in his young career, already has a pro player sponsorship with Peri Cues.

According to Peri Cues Facebook page: “We’ve been focused on the billiards field for more than 20 years. With years and years of experience, our Peri brand products have earned a solid reputation in the market. We’ve already signed seven famous spokesmen who are world championship level players such as Jayson Shaw.”

Bernie is just one of the developing products of the Wilde Blu Juniors project. Wilde Blu Juniors is an organization that promotes and develops billiards among the youth (10 to 17 years old) beginning at the grassroots level.

The whole thing was started by Nino Lopez and Leslie “Anito Kid” Mapugay in February 2019. These guys weren’t just recruiting random kids to be part of their program, the kids come from low-income families who have a passion for pool. What Nino and Leslie are doing is to mentor, guide and nurture these kids, working hand in hand with their parents to make sure they not only enjoy the sport, but that they also don’t miss out on just being kids and growing up.

The plan, originally, was to sponsor one junior billiards player from a low-income family. Unfortunately, in a good way, they somehow ended up with a team of 20 juniors.

This development forced Nino and Leslie to re-evaluate everything, from budget to additional equipment to training and expenses.

With good fortune and a sound management

of their finances, they were able to provide the youngsters everything they need.

These kids are managed not by one person, but by committee, and I mean by a company, Wilde Blu Chalk is the official sponsor of the team.

When Leslie and Nino set out to talk to these young men and women and their parents, they set some conditions: n Stay in school and you MUST maintain a school grade point average of 80 percent or higher; n Follow the memorandum of agreement such as to honor their parents and stay out of trouble; n Read, comprehend and write down all glossary terms by Dr. Dave Billiard. In which it provides definitions for cue sports terms and phrases, including gambling lingo and technical terms. We ask our juniors to write it down by hand because it will force their brain to process information in a more detailed way, which helps them keep everything in mind; and n Be a good Wilde Blu brand ambassador.

So, obviously, there’s a condition for them to maintain a sort of a grade-point average, like in the schools, colleges and universities in the US. I think I speak for parents of student athletes when I say that sport is not a lifelong career, you’ll need something to fall back on, and that’s a high-school diploma, then eventually, a college degree.

According to Nino, “all tournament prize money is theirs to keep for their own savings or investment.

They may choose to return any sponsored tournament/training expenses—in which all fees go back to the team’s training budget.

“Our Wilde Blu Juniors has learned how to compete with the best and representing themselves, their families and their country with respect and dignity. Win or lose, all Wilde Blu Juniors shall display the finest qualities of sportsmanship and fierce competition.”

Running a sports team isn’t easy so I asked Nino what the challenges that lie ahead. And he shared: “The Wilde Blu Juniors team has grown from two members to 20 members, so, the challenge is consistently being able to raise funds to cover the team’s training and tournament expenses such as table fees, meals, transportation and accommodation.

The majority of our players come from low-income families and need to commute with their parents to attend our training in Tandang Sora Avenue in Quezon City. We have a lot of team members from the Rizal area, Cavite and Batangas.”

“Majority of our funding comes from the sale of Wilde Blu Chalk. Since the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine regulations on billiard halls, our sales have drastically dropped but fortunately, we have secured 85 percent of the needed equipment for our team members already. Our junior team now needs monetary sponsorship or donations.”

These guys do their own thing without any press, without any media or fanfare. They do it because they love the sport and they love advocating the sport to the youth. The game is teaching these kids values like discipline, humility, patience, hard work and especially because they’re still in school, time management at such a young age. A balancing act between books and training.

If you’d like to get in touch with them to help these kids, please contact 09154559556 and look for Nino Lopez. You can also reach them through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ wildeblujuniors/ or e-mail them at wildebluchalk@ gmail.com.

You might be wondering why “Wilde Blu Yonder” as in Wild Blue Yonder? Wild Blue Yonder is the sky as viewed during daylight—the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth. So folks, the sky’s the limit for these young ones and we fervently hope that Leslie and Nino never tire of developing the future of Philippine billiards.