BusinessMIrror July 28, 2021

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Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 287

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 days a week

JUNE BUDGET GAP LEADS TO H1 DEFICIT OF P716.1B n

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

T

HE national government’s budget balance swung to a deficit in June, pushing the shortfall for the first half of the year to P716.1 billion, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

The cumulative budget deficit from January to June this year was wider than the P560.4 billion recorded in the same period last year.

T he w ider def icit resu lted from government expenditures exceeding its revenues.

However, the actual budget gap for the six-month period was down by 29.66 percent compared to the government’s program of P1.018 trillion.

Revenues in the first semester this year stood at P1.49 trillion, posting a 2.55-percent uptick from last year’s P1.45 trillion. The government also breached its revised forecast of P1.42 trillion.

Of the total, 90 percent was raised through taxes while the rest came from non-tax sources.

Continued on A2

tokyo olympics medal count

As early as 5:30 am, public school teachers in Caloocan City waited at Maria Clara High School on Tuesday (July 27, 2021), to receive Astra Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine, limited to 590 slots only. The DOH announced on Sunday 55 new cases of the Delta variant, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 119. NONOY LACZA

rank

TEAM/NOC

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

TOTAL

1

Japan

10

3

5

18

2

United States of America

9

8

8

25

3

People’s Republic of China

9

5

7

21

4

ROC

7

7

4

18

5

Great Britain

4

5

4

13

6

Republic of Korea

3

2

5

10

7

Australia

3

1

5

9

8

Canada

2

3

3

8

9

France

2

2

3

7

10

Germany

2

0

3

5

23

Philippines

1

0

0

1

Source: Olympics.com | Full table at businessmirror.com.ph

Neda pins recovery hopes on labor force

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE country’s world-class labor force will make it possible for the Philippines to recover from this pandemic, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua

said on Tuesday efforts to pursue long-standing structural reforms will also be crucial in the country’s recovery.

These reforms include the passage of key legislation such as the Public Ser vice Act, the R et a i l Trade L ibera l i z at ion Act, and the Foreign Investment Act, which were named by the President as priorities of the outgoing administration.

Govt prodded to boost Kadiwa, online channels

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE gover nment shou ld partner with retailers and explore alternative sale channels, such as online and Kadiwa, to directly sell cheaper imported pork to Filipino consumers, industry players said.

Industry players and an economist told the BusinessMirror that the government must address the value chain problems hindering consumers to feel the cheaper price of imported pork.

The BusinessMirror learned that the Department of

PESO exchange rates

Agricult u re (DA) ca l led for a n emergenc y meet ing l ast week w it h meat impor ters to d is c uss concer ns over preva i l ing pr ices in t he domestic market.

Two industr y groups—Meat Importers and Traders Association and Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc.— alongside other registered meat importers were present at the meeting.

Pe o p l e w ho at t e nd e d t he meeting told the BusinessMirror that the atmosphere was “cordial ” and “cooperative” in See “Kadiwa,” A2

“The Philippines has a very good labor [force]. With these reforms, we can benefit from world class capital, technology, and innovation. The amendments to the Public Service Act will usher in a possibility that we have far better options for telecommunications and transportation. These two are very important to the lives of the ordinary people,” Chua said in a statement.

The three bills will also help at t rac t i nvest ment s i n ke y industries to support digital transformation and improve the country’s telecommunication services.

“In particular, opening up the telecommunications sector, through the Public Service Act, will help improve Internet

As of July 27, 2021

SIMPLE AFP WELCOME FOR HIDILYN, FOR NOW

See “Neda,” A3

Hidilyn Diaz gestures after winning the gold medal in the women’s 55-kg weightlifting event, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. AP/Luca Bruno

By Jun Lomibao

T

Sports Editor

OKYO—There won’t be a ticker tape parade to welcome Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz when she returns home on Wednesday, not even a red carpet.

Because of prevailing health protocols, Diaz and eight others—including fellow weightlifter Elreen Ando—from Team Philippines who’re flying via Philippine Airlines are headed straight to a Pasay City hotel for a mandatory seven-day quarantine.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines—Diaz is enlisted with the

Air Force—and not the Philippine Sports Commission or the Philippine Olympic Committee will be according her a simple welcome ceremony at the airport.

The pandemic protocols do not exempt anyone, even Diaz who two nights ago ended the nation’s almost a century-long quest for its first-ever Olympic gold medal.

But before leaving Tokyo, Diaz took time to give Ando, a potential heir apparent, a pat on the back on Tuesday. She even let the 22-yearold from Cebu wear her gold medal.

“I let her feel and wear my gold medal,” Diaz said. “I want Elreen to feel the Olympics—to aim high.”

An Olympic first-timer, Ando wound up seventh in the women’s 64-kg final on Tuesday night at the Tokyo International Forum, a finish that sets her up for a potential Olympic return in Paris 2023.

Ando lifted 100 in the snatch and 122 in the clean and jerk for a 222 total in the event dominated

by Canada’s Maude Charron (236), Italy’s Giorgia Bordignon (232) and Chinese Taipei’s Chen Wen Huei (230).

Nesthy Petecio, meanwhile, won’t be the lone Filipino athlete competing in the Olympics on Wednesday.

Remedy Ru le qua lified for the semifinals of the women’s 200-meter butterfly to join Petecio, who goes for a medal round berth against Colombia’s Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda in a women’s featherweight in boxing.

n US 50.3410 n japan 0.4561 n UK 69.5914 n HK 6.4718 n CHINA 7.7657 n singapore 37.0754 n australia 37.1567 n EU 59.4276 n SAUDI arabia 13.4221

Source: BSP (27 July 2021)

A2

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

BOP posts $312-M gap in June, brings H1 deficit near $2-B mark

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Philippine economy continued to bleed dollars in June this year, with its cumulative Balance of Payments (BOP) deficit nearing the $2-billion mark in the first half of the year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday that the country’s BOP—or the summary of the country’s transactions with the rest of the world— hit a $312-million deficit in June this year.

This is a reversal of the $80-million BOP surplus of the country in June 2020.

Kadiwa. . .

Continued from A1

nature as both government officials and private stakeholders agreed that there’s a need to resolve value chain problems, especially at the retail side.

Sources told the BusinessMirror that one sticking point during the meeting was that imported frozen pork is being sold at the retail level at P100

Compared to the previous month, however, the June BOP deficit is lower, as May’s shortfall came at $1.397 billion.

The BoP is usually considered as an important economic indicator in an economy as it shows the level of earnings or expenses of the Philippines with its higher than the price being passed on by meat importers or traders.

Meat importers and traders are selling imported pork liempo to retailers, including supermarkets, at P230 to P240 per kilogram price level, while pork kasim ranges from P140 to P150 per kilogram.

Recruit like-minded retailers Jesus C. Ch a m, Meat Importers a nd Traders A ssoc i at ion (MI TA)

transactions with the world.

A deficit means that the country had more dollar expenditures than its dollar earnings during the period.

According to the Central Bank, the country’s BOP deficit in June this year reflected mainly the outflows arising from the foreign currency withdrawals of the national government (NG) from its deposits with the BSP as the NG settled its foreign currency debt obligations and paid for various expenditures.

The BSP added that the deficit could have been larger, if not partly offset by the inflows from the BSP’s income from its investments abroad.

For the first half of the year, the country’s BOP deficit hit $1.94 billion, reversing the $4.1-billion surplus seen in the January-to-June period in 2020.

“Based on preliminary data, this cumulative BOP deficit was partly attributed

president, proposed that the government “recruit like-minded retailers and traders” to be able to lower the prices of pork in the market at a w ider scale.

This way, Cham explained, the imported pork would be sold at a very reasonable price level—way below prevailing prices—that is affordable to consumers while ensuring sufficient profit margin across the value chain, especially to retailers.

to a wider merchandise trade deficit,” the BSP said.

Last month, the BSP said they expect the country’s BOP to hit a surplus of $7.1 billion by the end of the year. This means the country must incur an average surplus in BOP of $1.5 billion for the next six months.

The only time that the country incurred a surplus in 2021 so far is in April, hitting a $2.6-billion surplus.

Despite the optimism on the recovery of the country’s BOP, the BSP also earlier said the threat of resurgence of Covid-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of the virus and the risk of slower-thanexpected vaccine deployment amid supply issues, could “cast a shadow” on the projected recovery path of the BOP. For 2022, the BSP projects overall BOP surplus to settle lower at $2.7 billion, driven mainly by the anticipated narrower current account surplus for the year.

Nonetheless, Cham said the government has already achieved the price level it has set for imported pork. Citing data presented by DA officials during the meeting, imported pork liempo is now sold at an average of P290 per kilogram and kasim, at around P250 per kilogram, he added.

The government is targeting to bring down pork prices below P300 per kilogram, starting with imported pork. However, the scale of the lower prices has not been felt across Metro Manila due to various factors, Cham said.

One of which, he pointed out, is the low purchasing power of consumers that has been worsened by the pandemic coupled with high price mark-up by retailers, especially in the wet market, who are trying to recover losses.

“The pass-on price from importers has come down significantly. There’s still room for consumers to benefit in terms of lower prices but we have to involve the retailers,” he told the BusinessMirror.

Issue of management

Economist Pablito M. Villegas told the BusinessMirror that the huge price disconnect between the retail level and the importer/trader level is a “simple” management issue that government could address through various means.

One option is for the government to intensify the rollout of Kadiwa by putting up Kadiwa stores that only sell meat products—both imported and locally produced—in poorer barangays in Metro Manila.

The rollout could be done with the government partnering with logistics or cold chain companies to be able to secure reefer vans that will position the meat products in the selected areas or markets, Villegas explained.

“Selling both imported and fresh pork gives the consumers the power of choice. Let them decide what they will buy based on their preference whether its price or quality,” he said.

Villegas also proposed that the DA engage with the retailers, particularly the wet market vendors, and negotiate a deal with them to ensure that they will sell at a lower price in exchange for an incentive.

Villegas said this could be done through the DA’s P40-million freezer program—the retailers could only benefit from the grant if they agreed to sell imported pork at a level that is lower than prevailing market prices.

Another option is for government to explore the use of online market platforms and tapping resellers at the barangay level, Villegas said.

Villegas explained that it is only natural for retailers to put a high mark-up price on imported pork to rake in missed profits, especially with its huge discrepancy with locally produced fresh pork.

“It is an aberration. It is the characteristic of a highly imperfect market. The solution in a perfect market condition is not applicable to an imperfect market—to the Philippines due to the greed across the value chain that you cannot moderate,” he said.

“The only option is to saturate the market [with imported pork] and provide support even at the retail level,” he added.

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June budget gap leads to H1 deficit of ₧716.1B Continued from A1

On the other hand, state expenditures in the same period rose by 9.57 percent to reach P2.21 trillion from P2.01 trillion a year ago.

Although government spending improved during the first half of this year, it still fell short of the P2.44-trillion revised program by 9.56 percent.

“This is mainly due to the timing of subsidy releases awaiting requests from the concerned GOCCs [government-owned and -controlled corporations], the pending enactment of the GUIDE [Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery Act] bill, outstanding checks as of end-June which are yet to be encashed by contractors or suppliers of line agencies, as well as interest savings,” the BTr said in a statement.

For June alone, the national government posted a P149.9-billion budget deficit, reversing the P1.8-billion budget surplus in the same month in 2020.

This resulted from the decline in revenue collection as there was no extension on the payment of income taxes this year, unlike last year when it was extended to June.

Revenues dropped by 30.03 percent year-on-year to P245.6 billion in June from last year’s P351 billion.

Expenditures

Meanwhile, expenditures during the month climbed to P395.4 billion, a 13.24-percent uptick from P349.2 billion in 2020.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) raised its projection for the country’s budget deficit-to-GDP ratio this year to 9.3 percent or P1.86 trillion, from 8.9 percent or P1.78 trillion previously.

ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa warned that the country could face a credit downgrade as early as the first quarter of next year if the country continues with its “current fiscal deterioriation.”

Mapa noted international credit watcher Fitch Ratings said back in April that it would hold off downgrades for the entire 2021 and postpone possible rating actions to 2022.

While Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on the Philippines’s rating down to “negative” from “stable” as it cited the strong impact of the pandemic on the economy, it affirmed the country’s rating at “BBB.” “With the YTD [year-to-date] deficit at 716 billion, approximately 8 percent of GDP, it’s getting more challenging to keep the debt-to-GDP level below 60 percent for the year. This could trigger a downgrade as early as 1Q 2022,” Mapa told the BusinessMirror in a message.

For his part, UnionBank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said that other credit rating agencies may follow Fitch Ratings’ move given the current fiscal balance situation of the government.

“With Fitch starting off with a preview of a downgrade, I cannot help but think that other credit rating agencies may follow suit. It may not mean an actual downgrade in the medium-term, but the fiscal challenge is really real,” Asuncion said.

As for the government missing its spending program, Mapa said this suggests a “softer outturn” for secondquarter GDP as government spending remains “tepid” amid ongoing recession and pandemic.

“The economy has been counting on government spending to fill the void left by the private sector and with this development, we understand that authorities have struggled to get out badly needed expenditure to help support the economy,” he said.

“Given underspending in the first half of the year, we are expecting 11 percent gain in GDP, largely driven by low base,” he added.

Asuncion noted that government spending has been the challenge, not just because of the crisis.

“This is one of the biggest issues that the next administration should seriously look into and make a real reforming dent if we really want to make fiscal policy work for the economy, and consequently, the people,” he said.

The DBM on Tuesday said in a separate report that it expects government spending to recover in the second half of the year.

“Disbursements will also be supported by the implementation of agency catch-up plans, particularly for those agencies which experienced implementation delays,” it said.

To avert a credit rating downgrade, Mapa said the government should really boost its spending.

“Ironically, I think we should spend more, which will bloat the deficit but will provide a boost to growth. Faster growth will in turn generate revenue momentum to offset higher spending,” he said.

But for Asuncion, the government must improve its handling of Covid’s spread and raise its vaccination rates so it could reopen the economy at least by the end of the year.

Apart from this, it is important for government to meet its fiscal spending targets and to completely and effectively roll out the 2021 national budget, he said.

“A 70 percent level of vaccination may actually be too ambitious, but a significant level of vaccinations by the end of 2021, will greatly improve economic prospects and confidence in consumers and business,” he said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Provision of legal assistance to uniformed personnel covered by PAO–Guevarra

J

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra has assured that the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) will continue to provide legal assistance to uniformed personnel, even as the President sought for the passage of a bill that would provide legal aid to soldiers and policemen.

The justice chief noted there’s already a standing directive to the PAO to provide free legal assistance to members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), who may be prone to lawsuits because of the nature of their duties.

“The DOJ [Department of Justice] has a standing directive to the PAO to extend legal assistance to police officers [up to the level of Special Police Officer 4] and other uniformed personnel who may be sued in the course of performing their official duties. The PAO has existing memorandum circulars to its public attorneys regarding this matter,” Guevarra said.

He, however, stressed that the “provision of free legal assistance is subject however to the PAO’s evaluation of the case, including a determination of conflict of interest, as when the adverse party has also sought legal assistance from the PAO.” In his last yearly address to Con-

gress, President Duterte sought the passage of a bill that would provide free legal aid to the military and the police.

Aside from the help extended by the PAO, the DOJ secretary said the PNP and the AFP might also have their own special funds set aside in case their personnel are facing legal cases.

“Maybe an increased budgetary allocation for this purpose will be enough, assuming existing funds are insufficient,” he said.

The DOJ chief also said that while there may be police officers and military personnel who are being investigated by the drug war review panel and the Administrative Order 35 Committee for allegedly being involved in extrajudicial killing incidents, these law enforcers are still entitled to defend themselves against their accusers, just like other people.

“It is just providing law enforcement agents some means to defend themselves in court for acts done in relation to their official duties, such as fighting terrorists and criminals.

Unless proven guilty, they are presumed innocent. Like everyone of us, they are also entitled to due process of law,” Guevarra explained.

Joel R. San Juan

DOT: Vaccination of tourism workers breaches 15K mark

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

O

VER 15,000 tourism workers in several destinations in the country have already been inoculated with a first dose or have received two doses of vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

This developed as more Covid-19 vaccines were sent over the weekend to Boracay Island, the so-called crown jewel of Philippine tourism. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat told the BusinessMirror “10,000 doses of Sinovac arrived in Boracay [on Sunday]—3,000 doses are for the second dose of those who earlier received their jabs and 3,500 each for the first and second jabs of more workers.” The vaccination of A4 tourism workers on the island began on July 7.

She added, more private hotels and resorts are also donating vaccines for use of the island’s workers. These include the 5,000 doses earlier donated by Crimson Resorts of the Gotianun-led Filinvest Group; 5,000 doses from the Tan-led Megaworld Corp.; and 50 doses from the Chusuey-owned Henann Resorts.

DOT initiatives

IN the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) report to President Duterte for his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, the agency enumerated its efforts to jump-start the recovery of the tourism sector, such as the issuance of health and safety guidelines, including safety seals to DOT-accredited establishments; digitization of tourist registration and monitoring procedures; development of tourism circuits; identifying recipients for cash-for-work assistance and business recovery loans; and establishment of Green Lanes for returning Filipinos and overseas workers.

But, Romulo Puyat underscored, “To support all these initiatives, the DOT believes that the best way to ultimately restore the confidence both foreign and local travelers to visit our destinations is to ensure that the tourism workers in these areas are vaccinated.”

The DOT pushed for the inclusion of tourism workers as priority recipients of the Covid-19 vaccine. As of June 24, 2021, 7,015 tourism workers have already been inoculated. Since then, more have been inoculated in Boracay and Panglao Island.

Improving tourism via infra, biz loans

IN his Sona, Duterte cited the completion of the Poro Point Freeport Zone Road in La Union, “to improve access to prime spots for investments and tourism in the Poro Point area.”

He also mentioned the release of some “P2.9 billion worth of loans to over 12,000 enterprises, including our displaced OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] and enterprises in the tourism sector to help them start or sustain their businesses amid the pandemic,” under the Bayanihan 2 law.

In its report to the President, the DOT said recovery of the tourism sector is anchored on the domestic travel.

“As such, the DOT has been assisting the safe and gradual reopening of select destinations [Baguio City, Bohol, Coron, El Nido, and Siargao], that were assessed for their readiness to receive tourists amid the pandemic.”

Among the agency’s other initiatives include: • Issuing 18 Health and Safety Guidelines for accommodation establishments, restaurants, meetings, investment, conferences and exhibition (MICE) organizers and venues/ facilities, travel and tour agencies, and tour guides; • Granting 104 Safe Travel Stamps to DOT-accredited facilities, and two destinations that are compliant with the World Travel and Tourism Council Safe Travels Stamp criteria and requirements, of which the Philippines itself is a recipient; • Releasing 154 Safety Seal Certificates to DOT-accredited tourism establishments for their compliance with m�������������������������� inimum ������������������� public health standards, including the adoption of the StaySafe.ph app;

Price caps on Covid tests

THE DOT also advocated for price caps on RT-PCR tests, spending some P25.17 million to subsidize such tests for about 45,000 qualified domestic tourists.

It also funded the development of digital solutions for contactless tourist registration, monitoring, and transactions, such as the Visita app for several provinces.

The DOT is developing 57 tourism circuits������������������������������� based on new travel preferences, that will also aid local governments in tourism planning and development, and ensure resiliency of travel.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, July 28, 2021 A3

North American firm may soon take over ops of Hanjin shipyard at Subic

A

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

NORTH American company may soon take over the operation of a sprawling shipyard in Zambales previously operated by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.Philippines (HHICC-Phil) Inc. In an online news briefing on Monday, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chief Executive Officer and Administrator Wilma

Eisma disclosed the agreement for the transfer of the management of the shipyard is now “99.99 percent” complete.

However, she declined to identify the said “white knight” firm until the said accord sealing the transaction is complete.

“Hopefully, before the end of the year, we will be able to announce the reopening of the Hanjin Shipyard,” Eisma said.

Eisma welcomed the development, saying it will translate to hundreds of employment opportunities in Zambales.

In 2019, the BusinessMirror reported the looming closure of the shipyard due to the financial loses of Hanjin, which led to the displacement of at least 3,400 workers.

During its heydays, the ship-

yard employed as many as 30,000 workers.

Eisma said the new operator of the shipyard is open to rehiring the displaced workers of Hanjin.

“We are very excited because it means many jobs will be back,” Eisma said.

Last month, the Philippine Navy (PN) announced it has already signed a “term sheet” with HHICC-Phil for the use of the North Yard of the 300-hectare shipyard in Subic.

The Navy plans to convert the 100-hectare North Yard to house its Philippine Fleet, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Installation Command, and the Amphibious Assault Battalion.

Malacañang urged to tackle pandemic ‘education crisis’

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

EN. Sher win T. Gatchalian pressed Malacañang on Tuesday to tackle the longdrawn education crisis brewing way before the Covid-19 pandemic, even as he commended the Duterte administration’s economic recovery initiatives to generate jobs to mitigate the crippling impact of the coronavirus contagion.

Citing President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) before a joint session of Congress on Monday, Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, reiterated the Chief Executive’s plea for Congress to

pass priority measures listing the proposed Foreign Investments Act, Public Services Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act. The lawmaker listed the pending bills on the proposed National Employment Recovery Strategy aiming to “generate more jobs, ensure upscaling of workers and increasing their employability” and the benefit of the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso program of the administration to assist struggling small entrepreneurs.

Sharing President Duterte’s desire, Gatchalian filed enabling bills seeking to “cut red tape and streamline government processes,” including the “Full Digital Transformation Act of 2020” crafted to provide full,

integrated E-Government (eGov) services to the public by the end of 2022.

“With just a year left in office,” Gatchalian acknowledged “there is still a load of work that needs to be accomplished and with perseverance and strong resolve to get back to our feet and bring back a semblance of normalcy in our lives,” even as he added: “I believe it can be realized.”

The senator affirmed that while he is one with the President in lauding the early enactment of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education or the Free Tuition Law, Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, is also

pressing to address the “crisis” in the basic education sector rooted from “the struggle of learners to master basic competencies and their poor performance in international large-scale assessments.”

Gatchalian confirmed he is poised to file other bills to support learning recovery and the strengthening of the basic education sector, adding that in order “to address the learning losses resulting from a year of school closures,” he intends to file a bill that would put a “catch-up” plan in place. He added that in the remaining months of the current administration, they would focus efforts to recover and strengthen the education sector to bounce back from the pandemic.

SC junks senator’s plea to recover ₧3.3-million electoral protest fee

T

HE Supreme Court has junked the plea of Sen. Francis Tolentino to recover the P3.3-million payment he made with the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) in connection with the election protest case he filed in 2016 against Sen. Leila de Lima.

In a 21-page decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, the SC affirmed the resolutions issued by SET in 2019 denying Tolentino’s petition.

Tolentino was directed to pay the amount as a condition for the grant of his request to preserve the

equipment related to his election protest that initially consisted of 45 vote counting machines (VCMs) and six consolidated canvassing system (CCS) laptops, and later on added additional 106 VCMs and SD cards.

However, on October 3, 2018, Tolentino filed a motion for return of payments because despite paying the sum, he never enjoyed ownership of the said machines and equipment.

He noted the equipment remained in the custody of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and he could not even access them without the poll body’s permission.

Neda. . . continued from a1 services and strengthen our foundation for digitalization. With better and cheaper Internet, digital services like cloud computing will be more viable,” Chua added.

Apart from these, Chua said in a forum on Tuesday, efforts to recover from this pandemic include the digital transformation of the government and businesses.

Chua said data science, analytics, and digital transformation can help make better policies and deliver better services as the Philippines heads to a new and better normal.

“I have always believed and advocated for digital transformation within the government in order to strengthen policy-making and service delivery. The government and businesses alike need to use data science to make better policies. This has become even more urgent in the new normal,” Chua said.

The Neda chief said digitalization is crucial in a pandemic when social protection programs need to be efficiently delivered using information and communications technology (ICT).

He recounted that the biggest challenge in implementing the social amelioration program (SAP) for 18 million families and the small business wage subsidy (SBWS) for 3.1 million workers was how these

critical emergency responses can reach the people, most of whom were unbanked or without access to formal financial services.

Chua lamented that at the height of the crisis, there was no single registry or database of Filipinos to identify beneficiaries.

Further, he said, some 71 percent of the total adult population did not have bank accounts, making it difficult to efficiently disburse subsidies.

“This is why the President gave the directive to accelerate the implementation of the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys to provide all Filipinos a unique and digitized ID,” Chua said.

Infra, lockdown

ECONOMISTS, however, expressed misgivings about the administration’s aim to complete its infrastructure projects on time and are concerned about the looming lockdown.

In terms of the infrastructure program, Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Coordination Filomeno Sta. Ana III told the BusinessMirror that there is little time to complete all the administration’s flagship projects.

Sta. Ana, however, said that along with the President, he hoped passing reform bills would be realized. These bills include those on investments,

The senator also sought to declare as invalid and unconstitutional Section 6.9 of the AES contracts between the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM. He insinuated that Section 6.9 of the AES Contracts constitutes an obstruction to the free access of litigants engaged in an election case as it imposes a retention cost, which is equivalent to the cost of the machines and equipment.

He postulated that this requirement is financially cumbersome to litigants and also discriminatory.

In addition, he argued that Section 6.9 of the AES is unconstitution-

al as it supposedly bestows upon the Comelec the sole discretion whether or not he should shoulder the costs.

The SET junked Tolentino’s motion on February 21, 2019.

In ruling against Tolentino, the Court found no merit to his argument that by paying the retention costs, which is equivalent to the entire cost of the election machines and equipment; he became the owner of said equipment.

The Court noted that the payments made by the petitioner did not cover the full cost of the election machines and equipment. Joel R. San Juan

taxation, improving the pension system, and public health, among others.

“What he presented seems to be a wish list. Whether the wish could be fulfilled entirely in a short time frame, an election year at that is open to speculation,” Sta. Ana said. “We are not in dreamland.”

For his part, former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo L. Neri said that while there is limited time to complete the projects, the “bureaucratic delays in government” will also be a factor.

The spread of the Delta variant, Neri said, is a “serious threat” and would be a cause for another lockdown.

He said this is the reason for the importance of using medicines such as Ivermectin. Relying on vaccination alone would not be sufficient since it has a “lower efficacy against the newer virus strains.”

“In fact, I suspect the reason for our stabilizing the case rate may be because of people using Ivermectin.

All the more when the Delta variant incidence increases,” Neri said.

They issued the statement after President Duterte said in his last Sona that should the Delta variant of Covid-19 spread, he would be “more strict” on mobility restrictions.

De La Salle University’s Maria Ella Oplas said this is a cause for concern especially since many Filipinos are “barely surviving” with dwindling savings while millions remain jobless.

UnionBank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said the spread of the Delta variant will cloud recovery prospects especially in the second half. UnionBank expects the economy to grow by an average of 6 percent in July to December.

With the possibility of another lockdown, Ateneo Center for Research and Development Associate Director Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes told the BusinessMirror the government must remember the importance of tradeoffs.

Peña-Reyes noted that as it is, the government is already “trying to muster” its resources just to address the crisis. Eventually, this will have an impact on the country’s debts moving forward.

However, Peña-Reyes said, there is a need to instead spend the government’s borrowings on key factors that will boost recovery efforts such as vaccines.

Lockdown’s impact

ON Monday, local economists expressed concern that another strict lockdown would not only result in deeper economic contraction but could also worsen poverty and hunger.

A4 Wednesday, July 28, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

State infra spending in H1 rises to P426B on projects ramp-up S

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

TATE infrastructure spending for the first half of the year grew to P426.6 billion on the back of faster implementation of projects amid looser quarantine restrictions.

This was a 43.2-percent increase from P297.9 billion posted in January to June last year when construction activities were hampered by stricter lockdowns amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the first six months of this year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported that the government slightly exceeded

its P419.6-billion infrastructure spending program.

Among the various infrastructure projects implemented by the government during the period include the construction, repair and rehabilitation of access, by-pass, and diversion roads, bridges, and flood mitigation structures and drainage systems.

W hen infrastr ucture components of support to gove r n m e nt owned and -controlled corporations and transfer to local government

units are accounted for, overall infrastructure disbursements for the period reached P535.9 billion. This is up by 40.3 percent from last year’s P381.9 billion.

However, overall infrastructure disbursements during the period were lower than the P568billion program.

The DBM said infrastructure disbursements fell short of the program largely because of pending requests of subsidies from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, National Electrification Administration, National Housing Authority and National Irrigation Administration.

For June alone, government’s infrastructure spending rose to P94.4 billion, 50.4 percent high-

er than P62.8 billion in the same month a year ago.

For this year, the government has programmed to increase its spending for infrastructure to P1.019 trillion, equivalent to 5.1 percent of the country’s GDP. Last year, it spent P869.5 billion for infrastructure or 4.8 percent of the country’s GDP. The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee also increased the infrastructure program to P1.29 trillion in 2022. It will then slightly taper off to P1.28 trillion in 2023 following the updated projections for the National Tax Allotment and the block grant to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao before reaching P1.35 trillion in 2024.

Villar sets completion of ₧2.5-trillion DPWH infra program under Duterte

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

D

EPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar is confident that his agency will finish its ongoing infrastructure projects within the term of President Duterte.

He listed the ongoing projects as follows: 15,134 kilometers of road construction, rehabilitation and widening; 1,859 bridge rehabilitation, retrofitting, replacement, and widening; 4,155 floodcontrol projects; 17,647 more classrooms, 186 school workshop buildings, and 99 evacuation centers.

“We are confident and we are really pushing to achieve our goal that by the end of this administration, every Filipino will be able to reap the benefits of these infrastructure projects that they very much deserve,” he said.

He noted that in the last five years, the agency “has implemented almost a three fold more projects than any administration in the last five decades.”

Villar said infrastructure projects implemented by his office amounted to P2.5 trillion, a 209-percent jump from the P820.4

billion worth from 2011 to 2015. This, he said, resulted in 6.6 million jobs from 2016 to 2020.

This year, the DPWH expects to generate an additional 1.6 million jobs based on its budget allocation.

Villar said between July 2016 and May 2021, DPWH was able to deliver the construction, maintenance, improvement, and widening of a total of 29,264 kilometers of roads which is composed of 13,294.54 kilometers of projects in Luzon, 5,427.06 kilometers in Visayas, and 10,542.88 kilometers in Mindanao.

These roads span from airport roads, seaport roads, tourism roads, and farm to market roads, among others.

Likewise, he said, the department delivered the construction, widening, rehabilitation, replacement, and retrofitting of 5,950 bridges nationwide or 2,905 in Luzon, 1,411 in Visayas, and 1,634 in Mindanao.

In terms of flood-prevention, mitigation, and control, the DPWH completed a total of 11,340 projects spread all over the country with 7,782 projects in Luzon, 1,752 in Visayas, and 1,806 in Mindanao.

Aside from these, the agency also built 223 new evacuation centers and 150,149 classrooms.

Popcom chief may tap women Olympic athletes in teenage pregnancy education

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE Population Commission (Popcom) on Tuesday said the historic triumph of Hidilyn Diaz in the Tokyo Olympic games could boost efforts to educate the youth about teenage pregnancy.

Undersecretary for Population and Development Juan Antonio Perez III, who heads the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom), told the BusinessMirror that “Hidilyn and other women athletes can be positive role models for adolescents and the youth in general who have aspirations for their future roles in society. Given the opportunity we would tap them [women athletes] in our campaigns.”

The Philippine Olympics team is composed of 19 athletes, 10 of whom are women. Two of these athletes, Diaz and Elreen Ando are competed in weightlifting.

The other athletes are Irish Magno and Nesthy Petecio who are competing in boxing; Margielyn Didal, skateboarding; Kiyomi Watanabe in judo; Kristina Knott, athletics; Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan in golf; and Remedy Rule in swimming.

Perez said, however, that beyond excellent role models, young women could avoid teenage pregnancy by focusing on their education. Efforts to improve basic education can help achieve this end.

“I think the focus of primary education is academic learning and not enough about careers and role models. This is an area of basic education that could be strengthened and have positive knock on effects on teen pregnancy,” Perez said.

The Popcom chief also emphasized the importance of keeping communication lines within families. It

recently launched the Konektado Tayo campaign, which aims to bridge the communications gap between Filipino parents and their adolescent children, particularly those concerning adolescent sexuality and development.

The campaign will use Facebook as the primary platform to reach target audiences and help improve the quality of conversations about love, sexuality and relationships.

Official government data showed babies born to adolescent mothers, or those younger than 20 years old, reached 180,916 and was more than three times of babies sired by adolescent fathers at 52,734 based on the 2019 births statistics only released in January 2021.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data also showed that “highrisk” age of pregnancy covering the age group 17 years old and younger accounted for 3.7 percent of births and, notably, 35 years old and over accounting for 15.8 percent.

Childbearing in these age groups, PSA said, is more likely to have complications during pregnancy and labor that may result in higher morbidity and mortality to both mother and child.

About 10.7 percent of the births in 2019 were to mothers aged between 15 to 19 years old, while around 16 percent were to mothers 35 years old and over. Moreover, the adolescent birth rate, or the number of births to women ages 15 and 19 per 1,000 women in that age group, was 34 per 1,000 women in 2019.

The career and financial stability goals of women become more complicated with the birth of a child, especially when a child is born out of wedlock. Nearly a million or 917,242 births, representing 54.8 percent of all births in 2019, included children are illegitimate.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 A5

Enforcing WPS arbitral DBM seeks Duterte OK on ₧5-T Rufus: win doesn’t mean war vs China National Expenditure Program A

T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has started seeking President Duterte’s approval on the proposed P5.024-trillion 2022 national budget.

The budget department submitted

on Monday the memorandum to the President to seek his approval of the 2022 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

“The Memo for the President highlights the important features of the NEP and we are submitting it to OP

today [Monday],” Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado told BusinessMirror in a text message on Monday.

Budget Assistant Secretary and spokesman Rolando U. Toledo also confirmed that the memorandum was sent on Monday.

Avisado also vowed to submit the

NEP to Congress within the deadline stipulated under the Constitution.

“We are in the process of having the Memo for the President for the approval of the NEP signed

by PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte] first then we will prepare the President’s Budget Message and have the NEP printed out and thereafter submit it to Congress within the period prescribed by the Constitution,” he said.

The Executive branch has 30 days from the opening of the regular session of Congress to make the submission to lawmakers. This means they need to submit the 2022 NEP on or before August 25.

Last week, the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) approved the expenditure ceiling of the 2022 proposed national budget at P5.024 trillion. This is higher by 11.5 percent than the proposed national budget last year at P4.506 trillion.

The DBCC earlier said the proposed 2022 national budget will continue to invest in building the country’s resilience amid the pandemic by prioritizing funding for Covid-19 response measures, such as health-care development and social services, while also ramping up economic growth through investments in public infrastructure.

LEADER of the House of Representatives on Tuesday reminded President Duterte that going to war against China is not an option in enforcing the Philippines arbitral victory in the West Philippine Sea. Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez made a statement after President Duterte said during his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) that asserting country’s territorial rights would only lead to war with China.

“However, we can assert our sovereign rights over our 200 Miles Exclusive Economic Zone as upheld by the International Tribunal Award,” he said.

“Under international law, the award is binding upon China. It is to be noted that China sent a position paper which the Tribunal considered and thoroughly deliberated on in granting the award,” he added.

With this, the House leader said on the scale of 1 to 10, “I give the President a grade of 8.”

Earlier, Rodriguez filed House Resolu-

tion 1975 urging the Congress to declare July 12 of every year as National West Philippine Sea Victory Day. He said this declaration will celebrate the government’s July 12, 2016 triumph before the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration, which upheld our country’s sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, “much of which our frenemy China is illegally claiming as part of its territory.”

According to Rodriguez, it is clear that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Kalayaan Island group and portions of the Spratly Islands in the Palawan area and Panatag Shoal off Zambales and Pangasinan are part of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

He said China is illegally occupying some of these islands, including Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, which Filipino fishermen call Bajo de Masinloc and which Beijing seized in 2012 after a standoff between the Chinese Coast Guard and the Philippine Coast Guard.Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

BusinessMirror

A6 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

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

VONG THI KIM PHUONG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 1.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in mandarin speaking

Basic Qualification: Know how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting costume information and analyzing customer needs.

2.

BOOM, NIELS Computerized Maintenance Management System Expert Brief Job Description: Responsible for planning designing and implementing the CMMS across AP

TAY LEONG KAI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 11.

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

ABOITIZ POWER CORPORATION Nac Tower 32nd St. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio Taguig City Basic Qualification: Expertise and working experience in IDM Maximo Techno Functional

3.

Brief Job Description: Manage solution delivery. Work with account management senior executive and commercial support teams to proactively. Manage and develop the service delivery operations team. Manage contract operational & financial commitments

LAM, PANG Chief Financial Officer Basic Qualification: 10-20 years’ experience in senior managerial role; with BPO contract center experience. College graduate or undergraduate with relevant experience and trainings. Experienced in talent management and succession planning.

Extensions knowledge of instructional design theory and learning principles.

Ability to calculate training ROI.

13.

4.

Brief Job Description: Assign all work assignments commit teams(s) work manage the quality of their work manage the team’s financials and mic to targets, and drive the overall people management with the team , work within a local market/segment group and/or single tower or offering may manage service deliver senior manager

GUTIERREZ ALTAMIRANO, JESSICA PAOLA Hr Service Delivery Analyst 5.

Brief Job Description: Support in helping schedule candidates. Preparation of offer letters and facilitating pre-onboarding and day 1 onboarding activities. Assist in the employee movements as it relates to movements against open job roles.

JABUR, GERALDINE MANTIONGO Language Specialist - French 6.

Brief Job Description: Security event monitoring and incident handling on a 24/7 basis. Maintenance of used cases and log source tracking. Service review and reporting. Tracking open high and critical vulnerabilities. Translation tasks for both ticket handling and customer response.

Basic Qualification: Completely (Degree of difficulty of an assignment or the level of problem solving assessment and resolution required , as measured by degree of problem solving strategic vs routine focus and stakeholder interactions (EG Executive supervisors etc) Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above Basic Qualification: Human resource related course; fluent in both Spanish and English language.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

7.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management of work flow throughout all department within business GIP THE TIEN Mandarin Budget Control Specialist

8.

Brief Job Description: Assist with planning and maintaining an organization’s finances

Brief Job Description: Tasked with overseeing all financial activities, reporting on revenue, and training accounting staff, budgeting, disbursing funds to departments, managing risk, implementing policies, and improving financial.

XIONG, QINGYAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls & outgoing calls, chat & emails.

GUAN, HUABIN Marketing Assistant Brief Job Description: Prepare and deliver promotional presentation

YAN, JUNJIE Marketing Assistant Brief Job Description: Prepare and deliver promotional presentation

CHEN, LIANGBIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

CHEN, XINJUN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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

ACSTREAM MANAGEMENT INC. 2204b/2206, 22/f Pbcom Tower Ayala Avenue Bel-air Makati City CHONG PUI YING Mandarin Budget Control Specialist

Basic Qualification: Education and Experiences

19.

DU, ZHANGWU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

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

Basic Qualification: Education and Experiences Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

20.

FU, JIANSEN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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

CHEN, YONGQIANG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 9.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking

CHENG, PO-YEN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 10.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking

Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs

No.

24.

21.

22.

23.

HU, ZHIJUN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

HUANG, ZHANGWEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

HUANG, YISHENG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

HUANG, JUNFU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs

25.

HUANG, XIONGBIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

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

26.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate, Preferably 1 year experience in the same field, Fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

27.

HUANG, YING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

LI, LIYUN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

Basic Qualification: Proficiency with computers and strong typing skills.

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

28.

Basic Qualification: Effective written and verbal skills.

LIAO, JIANDI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Effective written and verbal skills.

29.

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

BILLION DRAGON OUTSOURCE PHILS., INC. 3/f Ayala Mall Southpark National Road Alabang Muntinlupa City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or other relevant fields; proficient in French language; excellent communication skills both written and oral.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

BBOPHIL (HOLDINGS) INC. Unit 604 6/f Itc Bldg. 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City

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

KAPOOR, NIKHIL Client Delivery Associate Director

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

AUTO RESOURCES TRADING CORP. Unit 1207 12th Floor, The Finance Centre 26th St. Cor. 9th Avenue Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

ACCENTURE, INC. 7f Robinsons Cybergate Tower 1 Pioneer St Mandaluyong City

COUTINHO, ALEXANDER GERARD DERICK Client Delivery Associate Director

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking

ZHOU, DAWEI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 12.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters

30.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters

31.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters

32.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters

33.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters

34.

LIN, LINGLING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

LIU, JIANGKEN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

MIAO, ZHENHAO Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative

PYONE PYONE KHAING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

SHEN, MEILING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative

WAN, CHISONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters

35.

WANG, RONGFEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

36.

WEI, XIAOJUAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

37.

38.

39.

40.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

XIONG, LIANGLIANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative

YAO, GUIYING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

ZHAO, BAIQING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

ZHAO, GUODONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service representative

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

FUWEALTH SERVICES INC. 18/f Techzone Bldg. 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. San Antonio Makati City

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

50.

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters

51.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters

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

52.

53.

42.

54.

43.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for assisting the project manager in daily administrative work LIU, BIQI Supervisor Of PRDP

44.

45.

46.

Brief Job Description: Assist Engineering Manager to participate in project planning, organization, implementation and management CHEN, ZHILIN Survey Officer Of PRDP Brief Job Description: Survey control and daily survey work

FAN, QINGQIAN Survey Officer Of PRDP Brief Job Description: Survey control and daily survey work

55.

Basic Qualification: Can speak, write, type in Mandarin language.

Technical skills in software as stated above.

47.

Brief Job Description: Drive the company’s financial and business planning for upcoming projects and expansion

56.

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

48.

Brief Job Description: Managing and developing marketing campaigns.

57.

49.

Brief Job Description: To provide an oral translation between speakers of different language.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

JIANG, WUJUN Customer Service Representative 58.

Basic Qualification: Can speak, write, type in Mandarin language.

Technical skills in software as stated above.

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

59.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for Managing Various Customer Issues Depending on Account Assignment

KONG YI SIONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

LEE, YU-HUA Customer Service Representative 60.

Basic Qualification: College graduate; speaks fluently in Mandarin

61.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate; speaks fluently in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

62.

63.

Basic Qualification: College graduate; speaks fluently in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in English and Korean/Japanese/ Chinese language

64.

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

LI, YU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

LIU, XIAOSHUANG Customer Service Representative 65.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

LU, YONGLONG Customer Service Representative 66.

Basic Qualification: Must be aware of the market trends, competitor in the market and future threats.

Basic Qualification: Knows how to speak Filipino and Chinese Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

LI, YANLIANG Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

LI, XIANG Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: College graduate; speaks fluently in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

LEE WEI YAN Customer Service Representative

67.

FILFLY CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INC. #1295 G. Araneta Ave. Cor. N.s. Amoranto Sto. Domingo 1 Quezon City GONG, MINGCAN Interpreter - Mandarin Chinese / Filipino Speaking

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

HUANG, ZHENYE Customer Service Representative

COLORFUL GROUP TECHNOLOGY INC. Unit 1807 Cityland Pasong Tamo Tower 2210 Chino Roces Ave., Pio Del Pilar Makati City

TO NGOC LINH Marketing Officer

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

HUANG, LIQIU Customer Service Representative

CJ LOGISTICS PH CORPORATION 8/f U-3 Imet Bpo Tower Bldg. Roxas Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City HWANG, INYOUB Support Management Division Head

CHENG, YUAN Customer Service Representative

GUO, AILONG Customer Service Representative

CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY 5/f Rm 501 Ramon Magsaysay Center 1680 Roxas Blvd. 076, Bgy. 699 Malate Manila ZHANG, JIAHUI Administrator Of PRDP

Brief Job Description: Responsible for Managing Various Customer Issues Depending on Account Assignment

GE, SHIJIE Customer Service Representative

ZENG, MIN Mandarin Software Quality Assurance Analyst Brief Job Description: As MANDARIN SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE ANALYST, you shall managing a team of mandarin staff including programmers, analysts and support specialists, evaluating the functionality of systems, consulting computer users to ascertain needs and to ensure that facilities meet user or project requirements, selecting and purchasing appropriate hardware and software, managing IT budgets, ensuring software licensing laws are followed, implementing and managing security or integrity and backup procedures, scheduling upgrades, providing user training, support, advice and feedback, testing and modifying systems to ensure that that they operate reliably managing secure network access for remote users, keeping up to date with new technology, designing maintenance procedures and putting them into operation training new staff. Ensure software packages contain no errors by analyzing development data, regularly interpret data and analysis in Mandarin.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for Managing Various Customer Issues Depending on Account Assignment

CHEN, JIANGFENG Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese ,Can Speak and write fluent Chinese Mandarin, Can Operate Mandarin Characters

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

CHEN, DAIPENG Customer Service Representative

SU, XIAOBIN Mandarin Software Quality Assurance Analyst

41.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese, can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin, can operate Mandarin characters

BZC IT SERVICES INC. 3f Salcedo One Center 170 Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City

Brief Job Description: As MANDARIN SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE ANALYST, you shall managing a team of mandarin staff including programmers, analysts and support specialists, evaluating the functionality of systems, consulting computer users to ascertain needs and to ensure that facilities meet user or project requirements, selecting and purchasing appropriate hardware and software, managing IT budgets, ensuring software licensing laws are followed, implementing and managing security or integrity and backup procedures, scheduling upgrades, providing user training, support, advice and feedback, testing and modifying systems to ensure that that they operate reliably managing secure network access for remote users, keeping up to date with new technology, designing maintenance procedures and putting them into operation training new staff. Ensure software packages contain no errors by analyzing development data, regularly interpret data and analysis in Mandarin.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

CAO, JIYUAN Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

MENG, XIANGYUN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

NING, HUI Customer Service Representative 68.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Basic Qualification: have patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations

No.

OU, ZHIHUI Customer Service Representative 69.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have Patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situation

70.

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Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: have patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations

82.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

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

83.

84.

85.

Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

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

86.

Basic Qualification: have patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

ZHANG, XIUMEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

ZHOU, YU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

ZHU, LI Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

ZHANG, CHUNHONG Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

YU, NIE Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for Managing Various Customer Issues Depending on Account Assignment

YIN, PING Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for Managing Various Customer Issues Depending on Account Assignment

YE, YIFENG Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: have patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

YANG, QIWEI Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations

Brief Job Description: Responsible for Managing Various Customer Issues Depending on Account Assignment

XIAO, BIN Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

WEI, LIJUN Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

WEI, SHUMIN Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

WANG, LIN Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

SUN, CHUNBO Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: have patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

REN, YUJING Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situation

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

87.

88.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment.

CHEN, DANQING Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

CHENG, SHAOZHEN Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures

HOU, XIAOJUN Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures

HU, GUOYAO Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

LI, PENGTAO Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Patience and the Ability to Remain Calm in Stressful Situations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: have patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: have patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

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

A7

BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION NGUYEN THI BICH Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

WANG, JINLONG Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

WANG, CHAO Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures

WANG, QIRAN Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

XU, NA Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

YU, YANG Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

ZHOU, YIGE Technical Software Support Representative Brief Job Description: Follow standard processes and procedures.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

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

CHAI, YANAN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 106.

Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill

96.

Brief Job Description: IT Support specialists provide organizations with information technology support to optimize operational efficiency.

WOO, CHANGSIK Korean It Support Specialist

97.

Brief Job Description: IT Support specialists provide organizations with information technology support to optimize operational efficiency.

YU, MIN SANG Korean It Support Specialist

98.

Brief Job Description: IT Support specialists provide organizations with information technology support to optimize operational efficiency.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

CHEN, YINGHUAN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 107.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

CHENG, WEIYI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 108.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

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

109.

Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent problem solving and strong analytical skill.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

DU, JUNJUN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

JIANG, JINGHONG Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 110.

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

GEM DATA SOLUTIONS INC. 16/f Tower 6789 6789 Ayala Ave. Bel-air Makati City LEE, JINSUN Korean It Support Specialist

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result.

LIANG, YUANCHENG Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking Basic Qualification: Can speak Korean Language.

111.

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

Basic Qualification: Can speak Korean Language.

LIU, XIAOPING Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 112.

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

Basic Qualification: Can speak Korean Language.

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

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result.

LIU, JUNYI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 113.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

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

CAI, XIULIANG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 99.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

LIU, PENGFEI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 100.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship if trust through open and interactive communication in mandarin speaking.

OH, HEUNGSU Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 101.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship if trust through open and interactive communication in mandarin speaking.

TAN, JIANLONG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 102.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

TIE, LIJUAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 103.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

WU, RENJIE Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 104.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

YAO, JUN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 105.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing costumer needs

LUO, DONGKE Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 114.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs.

WANG, MENGLIN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 115.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs.

XU, HAIYAN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 116.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing costumer needs

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing costumer needs

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

YI, WENWEI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 117.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing costumer needs

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

YU, BO Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 118.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result.

YU, BANGNONG Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 119.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result.

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

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans, and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans, and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management

No.

121.

KANG, SEUNGCHAE Strategic And Facilitation Officer 122.

HOANG THI LIEN Mandarin Information System Analyst 120.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Information System Analyst will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Brief Job Description: Your primary function is to help the company and its Chinese clients to generate more income for the company LIANG, JINTAO Strategic And Facilitation Officer

123.

Brief Job Description: Your primary function is to help the company and its Chinese clients to generate more income for the company

ZHANG, XU Chief Operating Officer 124.

Brief Job Description: Oversees company’s business operations and reports to the CEO.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management.

CORREIA, PAULO RICARDO Compliance Lead 125.

Brief Job Description: The Compliance Lead role is focused on the consistent flow of current accurate, and usable information from the company to the project leads and vice-versa.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans, and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans, and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects, recommend optimization to senior management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans, and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management.

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

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Information System Analyst, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s operating capabilities, employ strategies to maximize customer satisfaction, and manage marketing initiatives.

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

Basic Qualification: 6 years’ experience managing PMO or compliance teams. Broad experience in managing high-risk, high visibility projects. Specific knowledge of Excel and various Project and Portfolio Management platform(s) required. Experience in IT infrastructure projects.

Spanish speaker (nice to have)

KWONG YUAN TRADING CORP. 16/f Tower 6789 Ayala Ave. Cor. H.v Dela Costa St. Bel-air Makati City CHEN, CHUANG Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative 126.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

CHEN, KEQIN Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative

127.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

LIN, QIHANG Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative

128.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

REN, XINGWANG Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative

129.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

WANG, YONGPENG Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative

130.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

WENG, QUANREN Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative

131.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management.

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management.

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

KMC MAG SOLUTIONS, INC. 20/f, Picadilly Star Building 4th Avenue Corner 27th Street Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management.

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language

JIDA COMMUNICATION (PHILIPPINES) INC. 99 Comclark Reliance Center E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Ugong Pasig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Operating System Analyst, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

JDB MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTANCY CORP. 107 T & D House Magallanes St. 069, Bgy. 655 Intramuros Manila

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans, and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Operating System Analyst will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans, and projects, recommend optimization to Senior Management

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

VUONG PHOI AN Mandarin Operating System Analyst

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

WU, ZHENGFU Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative

132.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

XIAO, LONGJIE Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative

133.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

ZHANG, WENLONG Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative 134.

HECTECHURE CORP. Units A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. San Lorenzo Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing costumer needs

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

ZHAO, LINGLING Bilingual Speaking Customer Service Representative 135.

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer.

MASTERLINK CORP. 7/f Ba Lepanto Bldg. 8747 Paseo De Roxas Bel-air Makati City

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin.

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

HE, GAOYE Mandarin Software Quality Assurance Analyst

136.

Brief Job Description: As MANDARIN SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE ANALYST, you shall managing a team of mandarin staff including programmers, analysts and support specialists, evaluating the functionality of systems, consulting computer users to ascertain needs and to ensure that facilities meet user or project requirements, selecting and purchasing appropriate hardware and software, managing IT budgets, ensuring software licensing laws are followed, implementing and managing security or integrity and backup procedures, scheduling upgrades, providing user training, support, advice and feedback, testing and modifying systems to ensure that that they operate reliably managing secure network access for remote users, keeping up to date with new technology, designing maintenance procedures and putting them into operation training new staff. Ensure software packages contain no errors by analyzing development data, regularly interpret data and analysis in Mandarin.

SINTIA LANDEMEY TAMBUWUN GBS Services And Solutions Delivery Specialist

Basic Qualification: Can speak, write, type in Mandarin language.

Technical skills as stated above Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

137.

138.

MUN, YOUNGJUN Korean Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

CHEN, HAOWEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

139.

FENG, XINXIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

140.

HUANG, JINGHUAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

141.

JIANG, ZHONGWEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

142.

LI, XIAOXUE Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

143.

LIN, ZHAOYI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

144.

LUO, ZHENGPING Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

145.

SUN, JIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

146.

SUN, YIHANG Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

147.

WANG, ZIYU Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

148.

XIE, XINGYU Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

149.

XIONG, GUIXUE Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

150.

ZHU, JIUBO Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

152.

151.

Brief Job Description: Review and analyze projects electric & maintenance requirements, as well as its medium to long term strategies.

Brief Job Description: Manage contract creation, modification and cancellation of service contracts in the system based upon a signed contract quote. Add the agreed contract entitlements relevant for appropriate services execution, pricing and billing information Renew the contracts based on signed quote or renew the contract based on the original quote in case of silent renewal agreement with the customer.

GILLIES, JOHN Project Director 153.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Korean

Brief Job Description: Reports to the head of construction. He must have an in-depth knowledge of day to day issues affecting the progress of works, he shall make experienced advice/ guidance on work and design methodologies for building and refurbishment construction activities.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

CHEN, SHAOJIANG Chinese Customer Service Representative 154.

Brief Job Description: ANSWERING INQUIRIES, RESOLVING PROBLEMS, FULFILLING REQUESTS AND MAINTAINING DATA BASE

LI, YAJIE Chinese Customer Service Representative 155.

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests and maintaining data base

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

LIANG, TINGGAO Chinese Customer Service Representative 156.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

157.

158.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin 159.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

160.

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests and maintaining data base

YANG, WANLING Chinese Customer Service Representative 161.

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests and maintaining data base

LI, QIUJIA Marketing Specialist 162.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for developing and managing all aspects of the company’s marketing strategy.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

WAN, JIN Marketing Specialist 163.

Basic Qualification: Candidates must possess at least a diploma in civil engineering, preferably with post graduate degree; cumulative 20 years’ experience in construction including in project management of high rise construction; required international experience in managing all stages of a complex project lifecycle

Basic Qualification: COLLEGE GRADUATE, FLUENT IN ENGLISH, PREFERABLY 6MOS-1YEAR CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE

167.

168.

169.

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, Preferably 6mos1year customer service experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, Preferably 6mos1year customer service experience

170.

171.

172.

173.

174.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for developing and managing all aspects of the company’s marketing strategy.

Basic Qualification: Can Conduct market research to find answers about consumer requirements, habits and trends; Can Brainstorm and develop ideas for creative marketing campaigns; Can Assist in outbound or inbound marketing activities by demonstrating expertise in various areas.

SKY DRAGON GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES CORP. 2f-5f Unit 710 Shaw Blvd. Global Link Center, Brgy. Wack Wack Mandaluyong City

164.

CHEN, MINGXIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Relations Service Provider

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider

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

WANG, LI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider

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

YANG, JIAJU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider

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

ZHOU, HONGFEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider

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

WANG, YALAN Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Creating and updating customer account information

XU, TIANFU Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Creating and updating customer account information

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests, and maintaining data bases

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests, and maintaining data bases

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests, and maintaining data bases

WANG, YANGYANG Information Processing Associate 175.

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, Preferably 6mos1year customer service experience

Basic Qualification: Can Conduct market research to find answers about consumer requirements, habits and trends; Can Brainstorm and develop ideas for creative marketing campaigns; Can Assist in outbound or inbound marketing activities by demonstrating expertise in various areas.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written

LING, LEI Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Can speak read and type mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can speak read and type mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English.

Preferably 6 months to 1 year customer service experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English.

Preferably 6 months to 1 year customer service experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English.

Preferably 6 months to 1 year customer service experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

UNBLOCKTECHNOLOGY CORPORATION 23/f Bonifacio Stop Over Corporate Center 31st Cor. 2nd Ave. Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

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

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

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

TIAN, LIGUANG Chinese Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, Preferably 6mos1year customer service experience

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider

NIE, WANWAN Chinese Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, Preferably 6mos1year customer service experience

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, preferably 6mos1year customer service experience

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written

LIN, MINGCAN Customer Service Representative

GAO, PAN Chinese Customer Service Representative

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

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

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

THE PENBROTHERS INTERNATIONAL INC. 6/f Opl Bldg. 100 C. Palanca St. San Lorenzo Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, Preferably 6mos1year customer service experience

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

SKYLUSTER TECHNOLOGY, INC. 11/f The Enterprise Center Tower 2 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas San Lorenzo Makati City

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

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

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

PHILIPS PHILIPPINES, INC. 10/f Sunlife Centre 5th Ave. Cor. Rizal Drive Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

166.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

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

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

Basic Qualification: Mechanical/trade qualification; Project Management qualification or experience is desired.

165.

Brief Job Description: Responsible in working on the data entry or information processing field

PAN, LINGJIAN It Specialist Brief Job Description: Monitor and maintain computer system and networks

QIAN, XIAORU Marketing Officer 177.

S&P CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT CO., INC. U-1168b G/f Veca Bldg. Chino Roces Ave. Cor. Estrella St. San Antonio Makati City

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

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

No.

176.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests and maintaining data base

WANG, JIAYUE Chinese Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests and maintaining data base

WANG, LICHUN Chinese Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests and maintaining data base

TIAN, YANGYANG Chinese Customer Service Representative

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

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

Brief Job Description: Answering inquiries, resolving problems, fulfilling requests and maintaining data base

SHI, ZHIJIAN Chinese Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent (written and verbal) in Bahasa/ Indonesian language 2 or more years of experience in SAP. Preferred but not required experience in Salesforce.com Back office support or Logistics Experience : 1 year (Preferred)

RIGHT CHOICE FINANCE CORP. 5e-1 Electra House Bldg. 115-117 Esteban Street San Lorenzo Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

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

A9

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

PRIME METRO BMD CORPORATION 16/f Three E-com Moa Complex, Bayshore Cor. Ocean Drive Brgy. 076 Pasay City

OCEANAGOLD (PHILIPPINES), INC. 2/f Cjv Bldg. 108 Aguirre St., Legaspi Village San Lorenzo Makati City HAKKAART, STEFAN LESLIE Consultant/electrical Superintendent

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Brief Job Description: Prepare contact for the publication of marketing material and oversee distribution

Basic Qualification: Monitor security certificates and company compliance of requirements Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good organization, time management and prioritization Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be aware of the market trends, competitors in the market and future threats Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZTT PHILIPPINES CORP. 24 Flr. Bgc Corporate Center 11 Ave. Cor. 30 St. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio Taguig City SHI, JINJIE Technical Marketing Manager 178.

Brief Job Description: To evangelize our products to both technical and nontechnical clients by expressing the technical capabilities of the product as values to our target clients YU, YINGDONG Technical Marketing Manager

179.

Brief Job Description: To evangelize our products to both technical and nontechnical clients by expressing the technical capabilities of the product as values to our target clients ZONG, YUN Technical Marketing Manager

180.

Brief Job Description: To evangelize our products to both technical and nontechnical clients by expressing the technical capabilities of the product as values to our target clients

Basic Qualification: Natural leadership skills and the ability to work with all teams in the company Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Natural leadership skills and the ability to work with all teams in the company Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Natural leadership skills and the ability to work with all teams in the company Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Jul 27, 2021

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

Please inform DOLE-NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A10 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

US keeps travel restrictions amid rising Delta infections

W

ASHINGTON—The United States served notice on Monday that it will keep existing Covid-19 restrictions on international travel in place for now due to concerns about the surging infection rate because of the Delta variant.

It was the latest sign that the White House is having to recalibrate its thinking around the coronav ir us pandemic as the more infectious variant surges across the US and a substantial chunk of the population resists vaccination.

It was also a reversal from the sentiment President Joe Biden voiced earlier this month when he said his administration was “in the process” of considering how soon the US could lift the ban on European travel bound for the US after the issue was raised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to the White House.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the restrictions would continue for now.

“Driven by the Delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated, and appears likely to continue in the weeks ahead,” she said.

T he r i si ng c a ses a l so a re causing t he ad m inist rat ion to t a ke a c loser look at pol ic ies on wea r ing mask s.

On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs became the first major federal agency to require its health care workers to get Covid-19 vaccines. And over the weekend, US health officials acknowledged they’re considering changing the fed-

eral government’s recommendations on wearing masks.

The Delta variant is a mutated coronavirus that spreads more easily than other versions. It was first detected in India but now has been identified around the world. Last week, US health officials said the variant accounts for an estimated 83 percent of US Covid-19 cases, and noted a 32 percent increase in Covid hospitalizations from the previous week.

The rise in cases has prompted some state and local officials to reinstate masking guidance, even for vaccinated Americans.

The White House follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance released in May, which states those who are unvaccinated don’t have to wear masks indoors. They’ve thus far made no changes to Biden’s public events, and the president is still traveling the country and participating in events unmasked.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said on CNN’s State of the Union this Sunday that recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials.

“We’re going in the wrong direction,” Fauci said, describing himself as “very frustrated.”

The surge in the Delta variant poses a major political challenge

for Biden, who called it a “great day” for Americans when the CDC released its relaxed masking guidance in May and on July 4 declared that “the virus is on the run and America is coming back.” He’s spent the past few months shifting his focus from dire warnings to Americans to get vaccinated to public events pitching his infrastructure, education and jobs proposals, which are currently in the middle of fevered negotiations on Capitol Hill.

The administration has touted strong economic growth as fears about the pandemic waned, states relaxed their coronavirus restrictions and their economies opened back up. But the surging Delta variant risks undermining that economic progress and drawing Biden’s attention away from his domestic agenda and Democratic Party priorities like gun, voting and policing reforms, back to the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

It could also highlight one of the administration’s greatest struggles thus far: The sluggish vaccination rate nationwide. As of Sunday, 69 percent of American adults had received one vaccination shot, according to the CDC—still slightly below the 70 percent goal Biden had set for July 4. Sixty percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated.

When asked Monday if he had confidence he could get unvaccinated Americans to get the shot, Biden said, “we have to,” but ignored a follow-up question on how. And prior to the VA’s announcement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki skirted questions from reporters on why the administration hadn’t yet issued its own vaccination mandates for healthcare workers, deferring to the CDC for guidance and hospitals and healthcare associations on the ultimate decision.

Psaki acknowledged that the administration runs the risk of undermining its vaccination goals by further politicizing an already fraught issue if the president becomes the face of vaccine mandates.

“The president certainly recognizes that he is not always the right voice to every community about the benefits of getting vaccinated, which is why we have invested as much as we have in local voices and empowering local trusted voices,” she said.

Still, it’s clear the administration is taking steps to address t he continued impact of t he pandemic.

Biden a n nou nced Mond ay that those Americans dealing with so-called “ long Covid ”— sometimes debilitating side effects caused by the illness that last for months after the initial infection—would have access to disability protections under federal law.

“These conditions can sometimes, sometimes, rise to the level of a disability,” he said, adding they’d have accommodations in schools and workplaces “so they can live their lives in dignity and get the support they need.”

And the CDC advised Americans against travel to the United Kingdom this past Monday given a surge in cases there.

Most of continental Europe has relaxed restrictions on Americans who are fully vaccinated, although the United Kingdom still requires quarantines for most visitors arriving from the US. Airlines say, however, that the lack of two-way travel is limiting the number of flights they can offer and seats they can sell.

But the rise and prevalence of Covid-19 variants in Europe, especially the Delta mutation, has caused the Biden administration to tread slowly about increasing transatlantic travel. AP

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

Koreas restore communication channels, agree to improve ties

S

EOUL, South Korea—North and South Korea have restored suspended communication channels between them and their leaders agreed to improve ties, both governments said Tuesday, despite a 2 and a half yearstalemate in US-led diplomacy aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reached the agreement during several exchanges of letters since April, the presidential office in Seoul said.

The two leaders agreed to “restore mutual confidence and develop their relationships again as soon as possible,” Blue House spokesman Park Soo Hyun said in a televised briefing. Park said the two Koreas subsequently reopened communication channels on Tuesday morning.

Nor th Korea’s state media quickly confirmed the South Korean announcement.

“Now, the whole Korean nation desires to see the NorthSouth relations recovered from setback and stagnation as early as possible,” the official Korean Central News Agency said. “In this regard, the top leaders of the North and the South agreed to make a big stride in recovering the mutual trust and promoting reconciliation by restoring the c utof f i nter -K orea n com munication liaison lines through the recent several exchanges of personal letters.”

Last year, North Korea cut off all communication channels with South Korea in protest of what it calls South Korea’s failure to

stop activists from floating antiPyongyang leaflets across their border. Some experts said the North Korean action signaled the North had grown frustrated that Seoul has failed to revive lucrative inter-Korean economic projects and persuade the United States to ease sanctions.

T he nuclear talks between Wa sh i n g ton a nd P yon g y a n g have made little headway since early 2019, when the second of three summits between Kim and then-President Donald Trump collapsed. Kim has since threatened to bolster his nuclear arsenal and build more sophisticated weapons unless the Americans lifts policies the North considers hostile—believed to refer to the longstanding US-led sanctions.

Some e x per t s ea rl ier sa id North Korea may be compelled to reach out to the United States or South Korea if its economic difficulties worsen. Mismanagement, storm damage and border shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic have further depleted North Korea’s economy and Kim in recent speeches called for his people to brace for prolonged Covid-19 restrictions. While his remarks may indicate the potential for a worsening economic situation, outside monitoring groups haven’t seen signs of mass starvation or social chaos in the country of 26 million people.

Tuesday marks the 68th anniversary of the signing of an armistice that ended the 19501953 Korean War. The Koreas remain split along the world’s most heavily fortified border since the war’s end. AP

Moderna expands child vaccine trial to get more safety data

M

oderna Inc. said it would expand an ongoing trial of its coronavirus vaccine in children under 12 years old to gather more safety data amid worries that messenger RNA shots may trigger rare heart side effects.

“The objective is to enroll a larger safet y database which increases the likelihood of detecting rarer events,” a Moderna spokesman said in a statement.

Clinical trial timelines are regularly re-evaluated based on regulatory agency discussions and requests, she said, and Moderna expects to have data that would support authorization in late 2021 or early 2022. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is discussing a proposal for a bigger trial with the US Food and Drug Administration, she said.

Concerns about side effects from both the Moderna and Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE mRNA-based vaccines have risen after reports of rare cases of heart and heart-lining inflammation in young adults.

Moderna shares declined 3.9 percent to $335.35 at 3:45 p.m.

Monday in New York. Shares of Pfizer were up 0.4 percent, while BioNTech’s American depositary receipts rose 1.4 percent.

Federico Laham, medical director for children’s infectious diseases at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Florida, said expanding the size of the trials for the under-12 age group will help families weigh the benefits and risks of vaccination.

“I welcome this cautious approach,” he said in an interview. “ The more you vaccinate, the more you’re likely to see rare side effects. Though including more patients may delay approval for that age group, it will instill a sense of security and safety for the intended population.”

The New York Times reported earlier Monday that both Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech partnership were expanding the size of their pediatric Covid vaccine trials at the request of the FDA. Pfizer declined to comment on whether its trial had gotten bigger.

FDA spokesman Abby Capobianco said the agency generally works with companies to ensure that clinical trials are of adequate size to detect safety signals, but declined to comment on the vaccine trials specifically.

Moderna’s late-stage children’s trial began in March and was originally planned to enroll 6,750 kids from ages 6 months old through 11 years old. A listing on clinicaltrials.gov currently projects 6,975 participants. The company said that it couldn’t confirm the scope of the expansion.

Cautious tone

In recent weeks, US health agencies have convened panels to discuss the rollout of vaccines to children. Pfizer and BioNTech ’s was cleared for those age 12 and up in May. Moderna’s vaccine is author ized for adults ages 18 and older. It is awaiting an FDA decision on expansion to 12 and up, and the shot has already been recommended for use in that age group by the European Medicines Agency.

Pediatricians have taken a more cautious tone on the twoshot regimens for use in even younger children, particularly in the wake of reports about rare side effects.

In June, advisers to the US Centers for D i sea se Cont rol and Prevention met to discuss a potential link between mRNAbased Covid vaccines and cases of both hear t inf lammation, called myocarditis, and inflammation of the membrane around the heart, or pericarditis. A total of 1,226 cases were reported through June 11, according to the CDC, most of which were among young men and adolescents.

Following the meeting, US public-health leaders sought to reassure Americans that Covid-19 shots are safe and to get vaccinated. They suggested the risk potentially posed by the shots is extremely low, and that it is much more likely that the coronavirus itself would pose a serious health threat. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 A11

UN: Covid hitting conflict-ridden, poor nations much worse in 2021

U

In this October 13, 2010, file photo former California US Sen. Barbara Boxer shakes hands with supporters during a campaign stop in Lincoln, California. Boxer was assaulted and robbed on July 26, in the Jack London neighborhood of Oakland, California. A statement on Boxer’s verified Twitter account says the assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and jumped into a waiting car. The 80-year-old Boxer was not seriously injured. AP/Rich Pedroncelli

Former US Sen. Barbara Boxer assaulted, robbed in California

O

AKLAND, California— Former US Sen. Barbara Boxer was assaulted and robbed Monday in Oakland, California, her son said.

The assault happened in the Jack London Square neighborhood, according to a tweet on Boxer’s verified Twitter account.

“The assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and jumped in a waiting car,” the tweet said. “She is thankful that she was not seriously injured.”

The tweet was confirmed via

e-mail by Boxer’s son, Douglas Boxer, an attorney.

Responding to multiple media inquiries, the Oakland Police Department confirmed a robber y at about 1:15 p.m. in the area, but d idn’t identif y the victim.

The suspect fled in a waiting vehicle, police said. The robbery is under investigation.

Boxer, 80, represented California in the US Senate from 1993 until 2017. The Democrat did not seek reelection in 2016. AP

Senate Democrats eye legal path for undocumented immigrants

S

enate Democrats plan to seek a way to provide legal status for as many as 8 million undocumented immigrants in a broad economic package they want to pass this year, according to a Senate Democratic aide familiar with the plan.

Democrats are drafting a fiscal blueprint that will kick-start the process by instructing the Senate Judiciar y Committee to craft a targeted immigration overhaul bill with a $120 billion federal budgetar y impact, the aide said. Those funds might entail making improvements on US ports of entr y, clearing out a backlog of visa applications, or other changes, the aide said.

Of the 8 million immigrants that Democrats want to aid in the economic package, 3 million would be young undocumented immigrants known as “Dreamers,” migrant workers and some with “temporary protected status” because dangerous conditions present risks if they return to their home countries, the aide said. The other 5 million would be “essential workers” who have yet to be defined.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will act on a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that reflects much of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda before lawmakers leave for an extended August recess.

Biden has proposed a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people living illegally in the US, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this year opted for a pared-back approach to attract support from moderate Democrats. The House in March passed two bills that provide legal status for migrant farm workers and for Dreamers, a move that creates the prospect of eventual citizenship.

Senate Judiciar y Chairman Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, is leading bipartisan talks on a similar bill, but they have dragged on for months.

The broad economic package, which needs 50 votes to pass the Senate and is unlikely to attract any GOP support, will seek

to shift policy in areas that also include climate change, the tax code, Medicare, child and elder care and others.

Democrats will need to unite behind it. The Senate is split 50-50 between the two political parties, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast a tie-breaking vote. In the House, Democrats currently have a four-vote margin.

It also will have to meet strict rules designed to ensure any of its provision directly relate to federal revenue, with the Senate parliamentarian able to strike some portions that don’t meet the bar.

The immigration piece is taking on added importance as a few House Democrats say it is key to getting their support on the broader package. Two House Democrats—Lou Correa of California and Chuy Garcia of Illinois—say they would oppose the so-called reconciliation package if a pathway to citizenship isn’t in it. Two other House Democrats, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, tweeted Monday it “must” be in the package, suggesting they also would take a hard line view.

At the same time, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia—a moderate Democrat who often splits with his party—said he could support tackling the immigration issue in a Democratonly bill. Manchin pointed to his support in 2013 of a Senate-passed bill that provided a pathway to legal status for 11 million undocumented immigrants, while pairing it w ith a $46 billion border-security package.

The aide said a recent court ruling that imperiled a program shielding Dreamers—those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program—from deportation could help unify Democrats on the immigration part of the bill, including moderate Senator Kyrsten Sinema, whose state has a large Latino base.

A federal judge in Texas this month blocked new applications for the program, leaving in limbo tens of thousands of potential applicants. Bloomberg News

NITED NATIONS—The Covid-19 pandemic is hitting conflict-ridden and impoverished countries much worse this year than in 2020, with many facing higher caseloads and rising deaths, the UN’s deputy humanitarian chief warned on Monday.

Ramesh Rajasingham said in a closed briefing to the UN Security Council that these surges are being fueled by a lack of access to vaccines, an easing of public health measures, increased social mixing, and the spread of the Delta variant to at least 124 countries, including 17 fragile and conflictaffected nations.

“This pandemic is far from over,” he said. “We are arguably in one of the most dangerous periods for the poorest people on our planet.”

In his briefing obtained by The Associated Press, Rajasingham said that so far in 2021 almost three-quarters of countries needing humanitarian aid have recorded more cases or deaths than in all of 2020. And in over one-third of those countries, he added, “at least three times more cases or deaths have been recorded this year compared to last.”

He called these numbers “just the tip of the iceberg,” saying that testing capabilities in many of these countries are inadequate so the UN doesn’t have “a true sense of the actual scale of the crisis.”

“Today, we have a two-track pandemic—one trajector y for the rich world, and one for the poor—characterized by dramatic differences in vaccine availability, infection rates and the ability to provide policy support,” he said.

Rajasingham urged the international community to respond by ensuring that the poorest countries have access to protective equipment, oxygen, testing kits and other critical supplies.

To tackle the pandemic and the worsening impact on the poorest people, he said, the global humanitarian system is appealing for $36 billion to help 161 million people.

Rajasingham said fragile and conflict-affected countries also must have access to vaccines. To date, he said, 80 million vaccine doses have been delivered to countries where the UN has appealed for humanitarian assistance.

The World Health Organization has set a goal of vaccinating 10 percent of the population of ever y countr y by September, he said. R ajasingham said to meet t hat goa l, t he U N est imates

Paska Itwari Beda, the young mother of five children, shares a meal with her family at her Juba, South Sudan home on May 27. The young mother of five children—all of them under age 10—sometimes survives on one bowl of porridge a day, and her entire family is lucky to scrape together a single daily meal, even with much of the money Beda makes cleaning offices going toward food. AP/Adrienne Surprenant

countries needing humanitarian assistance will require 162 million additional doses.

The UN anticipates more vaccine doses becoming available in the second half of 2021, but Rajasingham said vaccines alone are not enough.

He urged international support to enable the delivery of vaccines in impoverished and conflict-torn countries before their expiration date, saying this must include recruiting and training health workers and putting in place logistics and security to reach remote locations and people living in regions controlled by armed groups.

“Vaccine doses are essentially useless without effective delivery systems,” he said.

“Almost half of the countries with humanitarian appeals have administered less than 50 percent

of the doses delivered to them,” Rajasingham said. “For example, in South Sudan, vaccines could not be administered because funding was not available for the rollout.”

The Security Council was meeting to discuss implementation of a resolution adopted in February that demanded a “sustained humanitarian pause” in all conflict areas to enable access to vaccines.

It also called for “equitable and affordable access to Covid-19 vaccines in armed conflict situations, post-conflict situations, and complex humanitarian emergencies.”

Since its adoption, Rajasingham said, the most fragile countries have not received sufficient quantities of vaccines or help.

“To date, the level of effort to end this pandemic has been inadequate,” he said. “More must be done.” AP

Tunisia on edge as president suspends parliament, fires PM

T

U N IS, Tu n i si a—Troops surrounded Tunisia’s parliament and blocked its speaker from entering on Monday after the president suspended the legislature and fired the prime minister and other top members of government, sparking concerns for the North African country’s young democracy at home and abroad.

In the face of nationwide protests over Tunisia’s economic troubles and the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, President Kais Saied decided late Sunday to dismiss the officials, including the justice and defense ministers.

He announced a series of other measures Monday, including a nationwide curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. for one month and a ban on gatherings of more than three people in public places. He denied allegations that he was fomenting a coup d’etat.

Some demonstrators cheered the firings, shouting with joy and waving Tunisian flags.

But others accused the president of a power grab, and the countr y’s overseas a l l ies e xpressed concern that it might be descending again into autocracy.

In a move sure to fuel those worries, police raided the offices of broadcaster A l-Jazeera and ordered it shut down.

Tunisia, which ignited the Arab Spring in 2011 when protests led to the overthrow of its longtime autocratic leader, is often regarded as the only success story of those uprisings.

But democracy didn’t bring prosperity. Tunisia’s economy was already flailing before the pandemic hit, with 18 percent unemployment, and young people demanding jobs and an end to police brutality protested in large numbers earlier this year.

The government recently announced cuts to food and fuel subsidies as it sought its fourth loan from the International Monetary Fund in a decade, further fueling anger in impoverished regions.

The pandemic has only compounded those problems, and the government recently reimposed lockdowns and other virus restrictions in the face of one of Africa’s worst outbreaks.

Angry at the economic malaise and the poor handling of the pandemic, thousands of protesters defied virus restrictions and scorching heat in the capital, Tunis, and other cities Sunday to demand the dissolution of parliament. The largely young crowds shouted “Get out!” and slogans calling for an early election and economic reforms.

Clashes erupted in many places.

“I must shoulder the responsibility and I have done so. I have chosen to stand by the people,” the president said in a solemn televised address.

Saied said he had to fire the prime minister and suspend parliament because of concerns over public violence. He said he acted according to the law—but parliamentary speaker Rached Ghannouchi, who heads the Islamist party that dominates the legislature, said the president didn’t consult with him or the prime minister as required. The three have been in conflict.

“We have taken these decisions...until social peace returns to Tunisia and until we save the state,” Saied said.

While the dissolution of parliament cheered some protesters, others in Tunisia were opposed. Police intervened Monday to prevent clashes outside the parliament building bet ween demonstrators supporting the president and lawmakers from the dominant Ennahdha party

and their allies who opposed the move. Both sides shouted and some threw stones, according to an Associated Press reporter.

Ghannouchi, the speaker, tried to enter parliament overnight, but police and military forces guarding the site stopped him. He sat in a car outside the building for nearly 12 hours before leaving Monday afternoon—his next steps were unclear.

He called the president’s move “a coup against the constitution and the [Arab Spring] revolution,” and insisted the parliament would continue to work.

Saifeddine Makhlouf, founder of and lawmaker in a coalition of hardline Islamists, also denounced the president’s move as a coup, saying, “We will not let it pass.”

However, the president, a former constitutional law professor elected in 2019, rejected allegations during a meeting Monday with representatives of several national organizations that he was engaging in a coup.

“I ask how some can talk of a coup d’etat,” Radio Mosaique quoted Saied as saying. “I studied and taught law. I applied the constitution, respecting its dispositions.”

The president invoked a constitutional article that allows him to assume executive power for an unspecified period of time in cases of “imminent danger threatening the institutions of the nation and the independence of the country and hindering the regular functioning of the public powers.”

Tensions between the prime minister and president have been blamed for poor management of the virus, while a bungled vaccination drive led to the dismissal of the health minister this month.

To date, 7 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, while more than 90 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds

are occupied, according to health ministry figures. Videos have circulated on social media showing bodies left in the middle of wards as morgues struggle to deal with growing deaths.

Ennahdha has been a particular target, accused of focusing on its internal concerns instead of managing the virus.

Security forces also moved in Monday on the Tunis offices of AlJazeera, the Qatar-based satellite news network said on its Facebook page. The reason for the move was not immediately clear.

Al-Jazeera, citing its journalists, said 10 “heavily armed police officers” entered their bureau without a warrant and asked everyone to leave. “The reporters’ phones and other equipment were confiscated, and they were not allowed back into the building to retrieve their personal belongs,” the network said.

Qatar and its Al-Jazeera have been viewed by some Middle Eastern nations as promoting Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Its offices have been shut down in other countries over that, most noticeably in Egypt after the 2013 coup that brought current President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to office.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped “the voice of wisdom” would prevail in the turmoil and that the rule of law would be established again.

Inside and outside Tunisia, from the U.N. to the US, the European Union and beyond, concern was raised about whether the nascent democracy was taking an authoritarian turn.

For me r P re s ide nt Monce f Marzouk i ca lled for politica l dialogue, saying in a Facebook video, “We made a huge leap backward tonight, we are back to dictatorship.” AP

A12 Wednesday, July 28, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Keeping Christmas ham affordable

T

he period of maximum rain in the country is usually from June to September. That’s why the government should take its cue from the state weather bureau that has declared in June that the rainy season has started. Apart from the torrential rains that inundate low-lying cities and municipalities, strong typhoons also visit the country during the months of June to October. This is bad news for planters whose farms are in the path of strong typhoons.

Just last year, successive typhoons battered Luzon in the fourth quarter, destroying millions worth of crops, which disrupted the island’s food supply chain. Typhoon Quinta and Supertyphoon Rolly caused farmers and fishermen to incur losses amounting to more than P7 billion (See, “Damage to agriculture sector from Rolly, Quinta now at P7.6 billion,” in the BusinessMirror, November 11, 2020). Rolly, the strongest typhoon to visit the country last year, accounted for the bulk of the losses at P5 billion.

The damage sustained by the crops and fisheries subsectors was tagged as one of the major factors behind the spike in food prices in November 2020, according to the National Economic and Development Authority. In a statement issued following the release of the November inflation data in December 2020, the Neda said the acceleration of inflation was due to the 4.5-percent hike in the price index of food. This, the agency said, was due to the P15.3 billion worth of crops and other agricultural goods damaged by typhoons Ofel, Nika, Pepito, Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses.

Food prices continued to accelerate in the succeeding months as the impact of the typhoons and the spread of African swine fever worked in tandem to put pressure on food prices. The Neda reported that the country’s overall inflation rate in January accelerated to its fastest rate in two years at 4.2 percent due to the spike in food prices. The decline in Luzon’s hog population due to ASF and the losses incurred by vegetable growers made food more expensive, particularly in urban areas like Metro Manila.

Thankfully, the country so far has not been visited this year by a strong typhoon like Rolly. We all pray and hope for good weather so our farmers can plant more crops and produce enough food for Filipinos. Apart from praying, however, policy-makers must now prepare for natural threats to the country’s food security, such as devastating typhoons.

While importing food items to plug the shortfall in domestic production is always an option, the current container crisis will also make it more difficult to beef up the country’s food supply.

As ASF decimated local hog farms, the Philippines was forced to import pork, but the arrival of shipments may be delayed due to the lack of vessels as well as pandemic-related mobility restrictions (See “Longer import clearances validity sought,” in the BusinessMirror, July 23, 2021).

We hope that this early, concerned agencies have already put in place the necessary measures to ensure that the Philippines will have enough pork and other food items during the coming holidays. That’s the only way to ensure that the price of Christmas ham stays within the means of ordinary Filipinos.

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Maternity benefits for female SSS members Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

W

hen starting a new family, soon-to-be parents often ask themselves these questions: Can they handle the diaper changes, lack of sleep and late-night feedings? Can they handle the immediate expenses that come with pregnancy and childbirth?

For female workers who will be taking a leave to give birth and bond with their babies, having additional funds to mitigate ensuing costs is crucial. Indeed, the addition of a new member to the family can stretch one’s finances. It is during these times when maternity benefits come in handy.

SSS has always recognized the invaluable contribution of the country’s female work force ever since the Social Security Law was signed in 1954. Since the beginning, maternity benefit is included in the pension fund’s social security programs, along with sickness, disability, retirement, death, funeral—and unemployment in 2019. Adapting to the needs of the times, SSS continues to improve its benefit systems to promote the welfare of workers and women through the Expanded

Maternity Leave Law (EMLL) under the Republic Act 11210, which was implemented on March 11, 2019.

Under the EMLL the compensable number of days for maternity benefit leave was increased to 105 days for live childbirth, regardless of the mode of delivery (whether caesarian or normal), and an additional 15 days paid leave if the female worker qualified as a solo parent; or 60 days paid leave for miscarriage and emergency termination of pregnancy (ETP); and with an option to extend for an additional 30 days without pay in case of live childbirth. The law also expanded the childcare leave period for every instance of pregnancy, miscarriage, or ETP, from the previous limit of four deliveries or miscarriages.

The SSS maternity benefit is a cash allowance granted to female members. To qualify, she should have

at least three monthly paid contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of her childbirth, miscarriage, or ETP. It has been observed that there has been a steady increase in the amount of maternity benefit payouts over the last five years. In 2016, SSS disbursed P5.29 million for maternity benefits, then P6.11 million in 2017, P7.07 million in 2018, P10.41 million in 2019, and P10.49 million in 2020. From January to May 2021, SSS already released P5.99 million in maternity benefits to over 157,000 female members. This is 68.3-percent higher than disbursements in the first six months of 2020.

This increase in numbers during the first half of the year is due to the higher number of leave credits granted to female SSS members.

Another factor is the easing up of quarantine restrictions that made it possible for female members to go to SSS branches and submit their maternity benefit applications, as some deferred their branch appointments as a result of the lockdowns imposed last year. It is good to note that technology has made the filing of benefit applications much easier.

Effective May 31, 2021, maternity benefit applications (MBAs) and maternity benefit reimbursement applications (MBRAs) can now be filed online through the My.SSS facility on the SSS Web site.

MBA and MBRA are still being

received at the branch offices or through the drop boxes until August 31, 2021. But starting September 1, 2021, online submission of applications will be mandatory. It is important to remember that SSS members must set up their own My.SSS account, not only for filing of benefit applications but also for monitoring their contribution payments, as well as updating/correcting their SSS records. We also encourage them to enroll their respective disbursement accounts through the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module for immediate disbursement of their benefit payments and loan proceeds.

It is part of SSS’ mandate to provide meaningful protection and world-class service to our members and their beneficiaries. We support and salute our female members as they juggle the responsibilities of being professionals, mothers, and homemakers. This is the reason why we continuously work on improving all our benefit processes so our members can have a happy and satisfied customer experience. This is what we envisioned when we designed our brand campaign, ExpreSSS, for faster, simpler, and easier transactions.

Have a good day everyone!

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

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

Human Rights Watch: Israeli war crimes apparent in Gaza war

By Josef Federman | Associated Press

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ERUSALEM—Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused the Israeli military of carrying out attacks that “apparently amount to war crimes” during an 11-day war against the Hamas militant group in May. The international human rights organization issued its conclusions after investigating three Israeli airstrikes that it said killed 62 Palestinian civilians. It said “there were no evident military targets in the vicinity” of the attacks.

The report also accused Palestinian militants of apparent war crimes by launching over 4,000 unguided rockets and mortars at Israeli population centers. Such attacks, it said, violate “the prohibition against deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians.”

The report, however, focused on Israeli actions during the fighting, and the group said it would issue a separate report on the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in August.

“Israeli forces carried out attacks in Gaza in May that devastated entire families without any apparent military target nearby,” said Gerry Simpson, associated crisis and conflict director at HRW. He said Israel’s “consistent unwillingness to seriously investigate alleged war crimes,”

coupled with Palestinian rocket fire at Israeli civilian areas, underscored the importance of an ongoing investigation into both sides by the International Criminal Court, or ICC. There was no immediate reaction to the report by the Israeli military, which has repeatedly said its attacks were aimed at military targets in Gaza. It says it takes numerous precautions to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for civilian casualties by launching rocket attacks and other military operations inside residential areas.

The war erupted on May 10 after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests against Israel’s heavy-handed policing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, built on a contested site sacred to Jews and Muslims, and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers in a nearby neighborhood. In all, Hamas fired over 4,000 rockets and mortars toward Israel, while Israel has said it struck over 1,000 targets linked to Gaza militants.

In all, some 254 people were killed in Gaza, including at least 67 children and 39 women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas has acknowledged the deaths of 80 militants, while Israel has claimed the number is much higher. Twelve civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with one soldier.

The HRW report looked into Israeli airstrikes. The most serious, on May 16, involved a series of strikes on Al-Wahda Street, a central thoroughfare in downtown Gaza City.

The airstrikes destroyed three apartment buildings and killed a total of 44 civilians, HRW said, including 18 children and 14 women. Twentytwo of the dead were members of a single family, the al-Kawlaks. Israel has said the attacks were aimed at tunnels used by Hamas militants in the area and suggested the damage to the homes was unintentional.

In its investigation, HRW concluded that Israel had used US-made GBU-31 precision-guided bombs, and that Israel had not warned any of the residents to evacuate the area ahead of time. It also it found no evidence of military targets in the area.

“An attack that is not directed at a specific military objective is unlawful,” it wrote.

The investigation also looked at a May 10 explosion that killed eight people, including six children, near

the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. It said the two adults were civilians. Israel has suggested the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket. But based on an analysis of munition remnants and witness accounts, HRW said evidence indicated the weapon had been “a type of guided missile.”

“Human Rights Watch found no evidence of a military target at or near the site of the strike,” it said.

The third attack it investigated occurred on May 15, in which an Israeli airstrike destroyed a three-story building in Gaza’s Shati refugee camp.

The strike killed 10 people, including two women and eight children.

HRW investigators determined the building was hit by a US-made guided missile. It said Israel has said that senior Hamas officials were hiding in the building. But the group said no evidence of a military target at or near the site and called for an investigation into whether there was a legitimate military objective and “all feasible precautions” were taken to avoid civilian casualties.

The May conflict was the fourth war between Israel and Hamas since the Islamic militant group, which opposes Israel’s existence, seized control of Gaza in 2007. Human Rights Watch, other rights groups and UN officials have accused both sides of committing war crimes in all of the conflicts.

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Pandemic leaves Indians mired Let’s celebrate activism in massive medical debts

By Krutika Pathi & Yirmiyan Arthur | Associated Press

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EW DELHI—As coronavirus cases ravaged India this spring, Anil Sharma visited his 24-year-old son Saurav at a private hospital in northwest New Delhi every day for more than two months. In May, as India’s new Covid-19 cases broke global records to reach 400,000 a day, Saurav was put on a ventilator.

The sight of the tube running into Saurav’s throat is seared in Sharma’s mind. “I had to stay strong when I was with him, but immediately after, I would break down as soon as I left the room,” he said.

Saurav is home now, still weak and recovering. But the family’s joy is tempered by a mountain of debt that piled up while he was sick.

Life has been tentatively returning to normal in India as coronavirus cases have fallen. But millions are embroiled in a nightmare of huge piles of medical bills. Most Indians don’t have health insurance and costs for Covid-19 treatment have them drowning in debt.

Sharma exhausted his savings on paying for an ambulance, tests, medicines and an ICU bed. Then he took out bank loans.

As the costs mounted, he borrowed from friends and relatives.

Then, he turned to strangers, pleading online for help on Ketto, an Indian crowdfunding website. Overall, Sharma says he has paid over $50,000 in medical bills.

The crowdfunding provided $28,000, but another $26,000 is borrowed money he needs to repay, a kind of debt he has never faced before.

“He was struggling for his life and we were struggling to provide him an opportunity to survive,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I was a proud father—and now I have become a beggar.”

The pandemic has devastated India’s economy, bringing financial calamity to millions at the mercy of its chronically underfunded and fragmented healthcare system. Experts say such costs are bound to hinder an economic recovery.

“What we have is a patchwork quilt of incomplete public insurance and a poor public health system. The pandemic has shown just how creaky and unsustainable these two things are,” said Vivek Dehejia, an economist who has studied public policy in India.

Even before the pandemic, healthcare access in India was a problem.

Indians pay about 63% of their medical expenses out-of-pocket.

That’s typical of many poor countries with inadequate government services. Data on global personal medical costs from the pandemic are hard to come by, but in India and many other countries treatment for Covid is a huge added burden at a time when hundreds of millions of jobs have vanished.

In India, many jobs returned as cities opened up after a severe lockdown in March 2020, but economists worry about the loss of some 12 million salaried positions. Sharma’s job as a marketing professional was one of them.

When he asked his son’s friends to set up the campaign on Ketto to raise funds, Sharma hadn’t seen a paycheck in 18 months. Between April and June this year, 40 percent of the 4,500 Covid-19 campaigns on the site were for hospitalization costs, the company said.

The pandemic has driven 32 million Indians out of the middle class, defined as those earning $10 to $20 a day, according to a Pew Research Center study published in March. It estimated the crisis has increased the number of India’s poor—those with incomes of $2 or less a day—by 75 million.

“If you’re looking at what pushes people into debt or poverty, the top two sources often are out-of-pocket health expenditure and catastrophic costs of treatment,” said K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.

In the northeastern city of Imphal, 2,400 kilometers (1,490

A health insurance scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 was intended to cover around 500 million of India’s 1.3 billion people and was a major step toward easing medical costs. miles) away, Diana Khumanthem lost both her mother and sister to the virus in May. Treatment costs wiped out the family’s savings, and when the private hospital where her sister died wouldn’t release her body for last rites until a bill of about $5,000 was paid, she pawned the family’s gold jewelry to moneylenders.

When that wasn’t enough, asked her friends, relatives and her sister’s colleagues for help. She still owes some $1,000.

A health insurance scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 was intended to cover around 500 million of India’s 1.3 billion people and was a major step toward easing medical costs. But it doesn’t cover the primary care and outpatient costs that comprise most out-of-pocket expenses. So it hasn’t “effectively improved access to care and financial risk protection,” said a working paper by researchers at Duke University.

The program also has been hobbled by disparities in how various states implemented it, said Shawin Vitsupakorn, one of the paper’s authors.

Another paper, by the Duke Global Health Institute and the Public Health Foundation of India, found costs of ICU hospitalization for Covid-19 are equivalent to nearly 16 months of work for a typical Indian day laborer or seven to 10 months for salaried or self-employed workers.

Meager funding of healthcare, at just 1.6% of India’s GDP, is less, proportionately, than what Laos or Ethiopia spends. At the outbreak’s peak in May, hospitals everywhere were overrun, but public facilities lacked the resources to handle the floods of patients coming in.

“The result is a suffering public health system, where the provision of care is often poor, prompting many to flock to private hospitals,” said Dehejia.

A public hospital treated Khumanthem’s mother, but her sister Ranjita was admitted to a private one that cost $1,300 per day.

Ranjita was the family’s only earner after Khumanthem left her nursing job last year to return home during the first wave of the virus.

She’s now hunting for work while looking after her father and her sister’s 3-year-old son.

At her home in Imphal, Khumanthem grieved for her mother by remembering her favorite food — chagem pomba, a type of gruel made with vegetables, rice and soybeans. Every few minutes, she looked toward the front gate.

“This is usually the time Ranjita would return home from work,” she said. “I still keep thinking she could walk through the gate any moment now.”

Back in New Delhi, Sharma sighed in relief as an ambulance brought his son home from the hospital last week. Saurav needs physiotherapy to build up his weakened muscles, a daily nurse and a long list of medications. It may be weeks before he will be able to stand on his own, and months before the ambitious lawyer who graduated among the top of his class will be able to go to court again.

The costs will continue.

“Our first priority was to save him,” Sharma said. “Now we will need to figure out the rest.”

Associated Press journalist Yirmiyan Arthur contributed from Imphal.

Dennis Gorecho

Kuwentong kule

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n avatar called “Tumindig” recently became viral with the message that one must stand up for what he believes in and fight.

The digital drawing posted on July 17 by satirical cartoonist Tarantadong Kalbo centered on a standing fist person amid a sea of bowed ones representing the fist bump gesture used by President Duterte and his allies.

Followed by other “dissenters”, the raised fist is associated with activists who dared to stand up and stand out from the crowd.

The word activism came from the Latin root actus, “a doing, a driving.”

In general, activism consists of efforts to promote or participate in social, political, economic, legal, or environmental reforms with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good.

Any controversial social issue you can think of involves activism on both sides.

Activism is carried in several forms and varying levels of collective action from petition signing, letter writing, consultations, negotiations, pickets, and street protests.

The University of the Philippines has always been associated with student activism.

Students have always been a potent force in social organization and social change in Philippine society.

When I entered UP Diliman in

1987, I was warned several times not to participate in rallies and be associated with the activist groups. Perhaps I was really a nerd in my first two years, spending most of my time in the library and classrooms.

It was on my third year that I became part of the UP student movement as the photographer for the Philippine Collegian and later as a member of the Sandigan Para sa Magaaral at Sambayanan (SAMASA).

SAMASA began as a Universitywide alliance of student organizations campaigning for the return of student institutions such as the Student Councils. When the USC was reestablished in 1981, SAMASA won landslide victories in that election and in several elections after.

SAMASA was one of the major student political parties during my UP student days in the 1980s and 1990s; the others include Nagkaisang Tugon (TUGON).

It was established when students’ movement was at its peak to defend their democratic rights to organize inside and even outside campus grounds.

The UP student activism has taught us the vision of service to the people.

The campus molded us to fight for

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 A13

Activists have to be both militant and expert, committed and competent, and thus, must be thinking activists. Thoughtful activism demands that we learn and unlearn, read before we write, listen before we speak. We, from the various professions and businesses, enrich all pathways to activism, through constant study and intellectual clarification. the causes we believe in; trained us for the skills we need to communicate ideas and rally others to effect changes in society.

One of the SAMASA election campaign poster in the early 1990s featured my photo with the phrase “May panahong magduda’t magtanong, ngayo’y panahon ng pagharap at pagsulong” lifted from one of the progressive songs.

A comrade once said SAMASA was never perfect. It perfectly believed in some ideas that died along the way.

But it dared, too, to confront its own weakness es in order to compose new songs for imperfect realities. People die, so do organizations. But for some compelling design of certain historically contextualized habits, like commitment and consistency, shadows from the past that persist to own warm bodies manage to resurrect ideas that continue to be formidable. Thus, SAMASA died because it needed to live again!

“Does activism still matter?” is the question posed during the recent webinar sponsored by SAMASA as part of its 40th year anniversary.

SAMASA stalwart Atty. Raffy Aquino summarized the answer of the discussants, including veteran

journalist Malou Mangahas, by identifying the four elements of activism.

First, habituality of constancy.

Activism cannot be occasional alliances, to be engaged only when convenient.

Second, change. Activism is progressive, always looking forward to what may be, what ought to be.

One who acts only to preserve the ways thing are is reactionary, not an activist.

Third, society. It is both the object of change, and its site. It is the betterment of the human condition, as found in communities and countries, which is the activist’s concern.

Because power is relevant to the changing of that condition, activism is political.

Fourth, collective action. There are no lone-ranger activists. Activists seek to connect and organize, because the action of many is more telling than the act of one person.

There is a fifth element of activism that runs through these four: thought. Activists have to be both militant and expert, committed and competent, and thus, must be thinking activists. Thoughtful activism demands that we learn and unlearn, read before we write, listen before we speak. We, from the various professions and businesses, enrich all pathways to activism, through constant study and intellectual clarification.

One needs to see the world from a different perspective, not to be complacent to submit to the status quo, and not to be afraid to be critical.

Let us celebrate activism.

Kule is the moniker of Philippine Collegian, the official student publication of UP Diliman.

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

A Mexican state suffers bloody fallout of cartel rivalry

By María Verza | Associated Press

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ALPARAÍSO, Mexico—When they heard gunfire in the valley, residents locked their doors and cowered inside their homes. Some 200 armed men had just looted a gas station, according to a witness, and the shooting would continue for hours as an equal number from an opposing group confronted them.

The authorities didn’t arrive until the next day. When they did, they found 18 bodies in San Juan Capistrano, a small community in Valparaíso, Zacatecas. The northcentral Mexican state holds strategic importance for drugs being shipped to the United States. Mexico’s two strongest cartels—Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation—are locked in a battle for control.

One month after the June 24 killings, there have been no arrests. The military has sent reinforcements, but killings continue across Zacatecas: a doctor here, a police officer there, a family hacked to pieces, eight killed at a party, two girls shot along with their parents.

In a country that has suffered more than a decade of violence at the hands of powerful drug cartels, the situation in Zacatecas, as well as violence-plagued states like Michoacán and Tamaulipas, shows that neither the head-on drug war launched by former President Felipe Calderón in 2006, nor the softer “hugs not bullets” approach of current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador have managed to break Mexico’s cycle of violence.

Zacatecas’ 746 murders in the first half of the year, compared to 1,065 for all of 2020, give it the highest murder rate per 100,000 residents in the country through June, according to the Mexican government.

“The day they [soldiers] leave, we know from experience that quickly the criminal groups are going to fight over territory,” said Eleuterio Ramos, Valparaíso’s worried mayor.

What makes Zacatecas worth fighting for is its location. It borders eight other states. Among other things, the cartels are battling to control the most lucrative drug: fentanyl. Zacatecas sits between the drug’s production and its consumers.

After the chemical precursors en-

ter the Pacific ports, they are finished into fentanyl pills in labs in Nayarit, Jalisco and Sinaloa to the west of Zacatecas, said Oscar Santiago Quintos, head of the analysis and intelligence department of Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office. To the east sits San Luis Potosi, a logistics hub filled with shipping companies that can move the tiny pills north. Highways running north to key border cities pass through Zacatecas, providing a direct route for northbound drugs and southbound guns.

“The battle for Zacatecas is part of the larger war to dominate the fentanyl market, which is the largest source of money for the cartels in the United States,” said Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2020, some 93,000 people died of fentanyl overdoses in the US, a record high.

Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, Valparaíso sits on one of those critical highways.

For the past month, a shot up pick-up truck has rested here. It’s a reminder that residents remain in the line of fire even as the army and National Guard patrol the area.

The larger currents of the international drug trade engulfing these Zacatecan communities may not be clear to their residents, but the impact is inescapable.

When the shootouts rumble across the plains dotted with ranches, farmers often can’t go out to feed their livestock. Goods to stock store shelves and medical care frequently don’t arrive for fear of cartel roadblocks. Gunmen stop residents and demand their cell phones to look for information that could tie them to the other cartel. They sometimes beat people or tie them up regardless to instill fear.

If someone doesn’t stop, they

open fire. Earlier this month, a doctor was killed in neighboring Jerez for not stopping. Two paramedics carrying a woman in an ambulance from neighboring Jalisco state to a hospital were killed a few days before passing through Valparaíso.

Last month, a priest was killed in crossfire on the highway. Residents said he had been helping them get electricity back after an armed group cut the power to some ranches.

“One town is controlled by Sinaloa, the next by Jalisco, the next Sinaloa again,” said a community leader, who like more than a dozen people interviewed requested anonymity to avoid repercussions. He said just sharing territory with one group makes residents complicit in the eyes of their enemies.

A rumor circulated that the cartels were forcing youth snatched from the communities to work for them.

“There was panic,” said a 21-yearold man, the oldest of five siblings.

They stayed only because “there wasn’t any way to go, nor any place.”

Plenty of families left, some for other Mexican cities to wait for the situation to calm, others to the United States where some 1 1/2 million Zacatecans—the same number as in Mexico—reside.

Others just stayed inside. “There were 15 days that we didn’t go out for anything,” said Claudina Betancourt, a nurse born in San Juan Capistrano. She continues working here, but recently moved her belongings to Fresnillo where her daughter and mother live in case she has to quickly leave one day for good.

There’s no cellular coverage and just two phone booths, isolation that adds to the uncertainty.

Days after the June 24 shootout, authorities found two more corpses, raising the death count to 20. Valparaíso’s mayor could not confirm or deny figures given by some residents that were double that. A detective who apparently was investigating the shootout and was pulled out of Valparaíso for his safety was later killed.

Similar violence is occurring in other states like Michoacán and Guerrero, where residents caught between competing gangs suffer

extortion, abductions and killings.

For years, attention focused on violence along Mexico’s northern border in cities like Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo. Zacatecas had it then too as cartels battled for control, but it was overshadowed.

Now Zacatecans, including in the state capital of the same name, have awoken on several occasions to corpses dangling from overpasses.

Murders occur daily in Fresnillo, a city that mixes the local offices of major mining companies with farmers working the bean fields. With 239 murders per 100,000 residents, Fresnillo has the highest perception of insecurity in Mexico: more than 96 percent of its population lives in fear, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

“There is anxiety and uncertainty not knowing where to find safety for your family,” said Ramos, Valparaíso’s mayor, who was just re-elected to a third term. He said he has not been directly threatened, but he has the same fear as everyone.

Mexico’s federal government defends its policy of targeting the root causes of violence—poverty, corruption, impunity—with social programs while deploying the National Guard and soldiers. There are more than 100,000 guardsmen deployed in Mexico, plus the military, yet the violence continues apace.

Arturo Nahle, Zacatecas’ former attorney general and current state supreme court president, said those policies could be right, but will take years to bear fruit. “The strategies that the Mexican government has implemented over the last 15 years have not worked,” he said.

López Obrador’s party just won the governorship in Zacatecas, but it remains to be seen if coordination with federal authorities will improve.

“If we don’t manage to pacify Mexico, regardless of what has been done, we are not going to be able to historically prove our administration,” the president said earlier this month.

Last Wednesday, he announced a “special strategy” to address the cities with the most murders, among them Fresnillo: more military presence and more social development.

Tracing gold medalist Diaz’s route to success

WEIGHTLIFTING Coach Antonio Agustin recalls Hidilyn Diaz’s beginnings.

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OKYO—A diminutive but muscular figure sits alone for breakfast at the Cerise casual dining restaurant of Conrad’s Tokyo the morning after the entire Philippine nation celebrated Hidilyn Diaz’s gold medal in women’s weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics.

That man, about 5 feet but with a frame that no doubt grizzled by the demands of weightlifting, was Antonio “Tony” Agustin.

Agustin owns the distinction as one of Diaz’s coaches very early in her career. Her first coach was a cousin, Catalino Diaz, who started honing the eventual Olympic gold medalist in a backyard gym in Zamboanga City.

“Hidilyn started weightlifting when she was 10 years old in a backyard gym set up by her cousin Cat [Catalino],” said Agustin, a Southeast Asian Games campaigner in his prime, having competed in the biennial games from 1991 to 1997.

“Hidilyn and her cousins were Cat’s wards, and she was the only girl in the group,” said Agustin, adding Diaz and co. were made to

practice lifting technics first with sticks before levelling up with weights.

That was in 2001 when Diaz showed dedication to the sport that complemented her physique and skills to go into serious weightlifting.

“The next stop was to bring Hidilyn to the Batang Pinoy in Puerto Princesa in 2002 where she dominated with gold medals,” said Agustin, also a Zamboangeno like Diaz. “I was already a member of the national coaching staff then and I immediately took her in.”

Diaz’s progress went quick like weightlifting’s snatch category.

“Despite her age, we entered her in seniors’ competitions—in the SEA Games and even the Asian Games,” he said. “That way, she became stronger and comprehended the sport even more at an early age.”

Like many members of the national team, Diaz stayed at the Athletes’ Quarters at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila. And it was during one of those motorcycle trips from Rizal Memorial to the PhilSports (formerly Ultra) Complex that Antonio vividly recalls telling Diaz his fervent dream—to see her competing on the Olympic stage.

“While we were on Edsa, I told Hidilyn ‘I dream of seeing you some day on one of those giant billboards as an Olympic champion,” he told Diaz. “I’m a frustrated Olympian, but I will fulfill my dream if you go to the Olympics and win the gold medal.”

Diaz’s reply: “Coach, you’re so ambitious. That’s too much of an ambition.”

Diaz had her Olympic debut as a wildcard at Beijing 2008. So young and so inexperienced on the biggest stage of them all, she was a mere participant. Come 2012 in London and Diaz couldn’t complete her lifts and went home with her heart bleeding.

Heroine’s going home

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OKYO—Hidilyn Diaz will be flying home on Wednesday with that precious gold medal hanging from her neck.

Diaz, who won the women’s -55 kgs gold medal of weightlifting in Olympic record fashion at the Tokyo International Forum on Monday night, and her team returns home on board a Philippine Airlines flight.

“It’s mandatory,” Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, referring to protocols set by the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee. “But more important is that

Hidilyn wants to be with her family who she haven’t seen for more than one and a half years now.”

Athletes, coaches, officials and even media are required to leave Japan within 48 hours after the completion of their events or tasks as prescribed by the Tokyo Olympics Playbook.

Then came Rio de Janeiro and medals were ripe for the picking for a Diaz whose body, spirit and experience were tuned in to one goal—win a medal.

She did, clinching a silver that ended a medal spell since Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco bagged a boxing silver in the 1996 Atlanta edition.

“That was the fruit of her hard work, sacrifices and labor in the gym,” Antonio said. “I was very happy for her then, but now, I am even much happier for her.”

Agustin said he felt the gold was there for the picking for Diaz on Monday night.

“She was relaxed, and she didn’t even need to shout off her fear,” said Agustin, explaining that weightlifters who keep shouting on the ramp are those who aren’t confident at all in making good lifts.

“I saw it in her eyes, and her body spoke of her determination to win the gold,” he said.

Jun Lomibao

In Diaz’s case, she has only until Wednesday to return home.

Too bad, Diaz could only be feted with the warmest of all reception accorded sporting heroes at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Diaz and her team—Chinese coach Gao Kaiwen and strength and conditioning coach Julius Naranjo—will have to be hotel quarantined for seven days as set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Jun Lomibao

HIDILYN DIAZ is now immortalized in Philippine sports history. AP

A14

| Wednesday, July 28, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE –HIDILYN

By Jun Lomibao

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OKYO—“Good morning, thank you God.” Five words from Tokyo Olympics weightlifting gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz as she graced a virtual press conference the morning after her historic feat from the Olympic Village.

Diaz ended the Philippine gold medal chase that began in the 1924 Paris Olympics on Monday night, breaking two games records and sending an entire nation to tears in the process.

“The journey to the Olympic gold medal wasn’t easy, but it was made possible by the people behind Team Diaz, the government, the private sponsors and the Philippine Olympic Committee [POC] for giving us athletes the opportunity to be here in the Olympics,” the 30-year-old Diaz said.

Diaz powered herself to the country’s first gold medal in women’s -55 kgs class, lifting 97 kgs in the snatch en route to two new Olympic records—127 kgs in clean and jerk and 224 kgs in total lift.

The pride of Zamboanga City beat former Olympic record holder and favorite, China’s Liao Qiuyun, to win the gold. Liao took silver with 223 kgs and Kazakhstan’s Zulfiya Chinshanlo bagged bronze with 213 kg.

“Here’s the lady that we’ve

Hidilyn makes us all winners AL MENDOZA | alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL WE are all winners in the victory of Hidilyn Diaz in the Tokyo Olympics.

Every nation oozing with solidarity and united with mankind’s endless quest for greatness, every global triumph such as Hidilyn Diaz’s is a testament to humanity’s hopes of surreal survival that comes from sweet success.

Our first Olympian was runner David Nepomuceno of Albay, who was our lone, winless, entry in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

The country would win 10 medals after Paris. No gold. The best from that puny haul were three

silver medals.

But who remembers second placers?

This time, we do. Because our last runner-up happened to be Hidilyn Diaz, who gallantly won the weightlifting silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil to end a 20-year medal drought.

That silver finish all the more fueled Hidilyn Diaz’s undying dream of an Olympic gold.

With her spectacular triumph, Hidilyn Diaz’s name will be in the lips of every Filipino from hereon.

So give way, Manny Pacquiao.

waited for the past 97 years,” POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino told the same online press conference. “ Olympic debutante in Beijing 2008, an unlucky participant when she ended up with an injury in London 2012 and was almost there in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro where she clinched a silver medal.

With that gold medal, the country’s performance since it started joining the quadrennial “greatest show on earth” now stands at one gold, three silver and seven bronze medals.

Diaz was emotional while waiting for her turn to step on the highest spot on the podium on Monday night—and so was the whole country was—and was already in tears when Mikee Cojuangco Jaworski, the International Olympic Committee’s Representative to the Philippines, handed her the golden mint and the winner’s boquet.

Off stage, Tolentino and his secretary general at the POC, Atty.

Edwin Gastanes, and Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez and his chief of staff Marc Velasco were holding back tears.

And then the singing of Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national anthem, and corresponding raising of the country’s colors for the very first time in Olympic history.

“I got goose bumps all over,” Marc Velasco said, wiping away tears.

Diaz’s gold medal is worth a total of P3.3 million in cash—P10

million each from government under the Athletes and Incentives Act, Ramon S. Ang of San Miguel Corp. and Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Smart and PLDT—and a house-and-lot in Tagaytay City courtesy of Tolentino.

On Tuesday, the ante was raised with Megaworld of tycoon Dr. Andrew Tan gifting Diaz a P14 million condominium unit at Eastwood City.

Team Diaz—Chinese Coach Gao Kaiwen, strength and conditioning Coach Julius Naranjo, nutritionist Jeaneth Aro and psychologist Karen Trinidad—stayed long after the venue was cleared, taking selfies and groupies on the stage—along with a handful Filipino reporters who chronicled the most significant feat in Philippine sports history.

“Nothing is impossible, even in this pandemic,” added Diaz in the press conference where she was also joined by chef de mission Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, Gao, Naranjo and Gastanes.

“We were able to do this amid the pandemic, when the risk is there ready to strike anyone of us” she said.

It was already bright in Tokyo when Diaz finally hit the sack at 5:30 a.m. answering calls and messages and trying to get the gold medal winning accomplishment.

Diaz woke up at 7 a.m. admitting she still had to convince herself that she won an Olympic gold medal the night before.

“I could hardly believe that I won gold,” she said.

NESTHY EYES MEDAL ROUND

FILIPINOJAPANESE Kiyomi Watanabe (bottom) and Spain’s Cristina Cabana Perez compete in the women’s -63-kg elimination round of judo on Tuesday.

Perez wins the match, 1-0. AP

You’ve had your time. Be a gentleman, please? Clear the way for Hidilyn Diaz. Better yet, spread the red carpet yourself.

Before Pacquiao, there was Flash Elorde.

Before Hidilyn Diaz, there was nothing.

After a 97-year wait, here comes Hidilyn Diaz—the strongest, the bravest, the no-surrender.

She’s even a certified BTS fan now: Believe. Trust. Surrender.

She believed in herself. As a shy 17-year-old, she didn’t quit after she finished a dismal second-to-last in her Olympic debut in the 2008 Beijing Games.

She trusted her skills and instinct. In her next Olympics in London 2012, she plodded on despite being derisively labeled “DNF” for “Did Not Finish.”

She continued surrendering her fate—faith—to God. And when she won silver in her third Olympics in Rio 2016, she knew sweet success

Sports BusinessMirror

T NESTHY PETECIO seeks an automatic bronze medal. AP

OKYO—Nesthy Petecio returns to the boxing ring on Wednesday against Colombia’s Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda in a women’s featherweight bout hoping to advance to the medal round at the Tokyo Olympics.

Petecio fights the Colombian at 10 a.m. (Manila time) at the Kokugikan Arena just two days after Hidilyn Diaz’s gold medal winning feat in weightlifting.

was just a breadth away.

It happened on Monday, July 26.

Down by two kilos off her highly-favored Chinese rival, the reigning Olympic and World champion Liao Quiyun, Hidilyn decided to go for 127 kg in a beator-bust dead end.

When she made it, lifting her division’s heaviest load to beat Liao by a 224-223 squeaker, Hidilyn burst out her suppressed emotions, stepping backwards in subdued euphoria, her hands clasped tightly as in prayerful mode.

That tearful, gripping scene sent the nation crying in joy with her.

Who said success can come overnight, is a product of short cut? Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo needed eight years to become an NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks this year.

Hidilyn Diaz took a longer journey: 13 years.

At 30, she is the oldest of the 19 Filipinos in Tokyo 2020. By far, she is presently the best of the lot.

Thus, with her spectacular win comes the pride, honor and glory of the Filipino people.

Let her rest for now. She should be done fighting. She’s finished the race. Hail the champ. A grateful nation couldn’t be prouder.

THAT’S IT Our female judoka was ousted yesterday, bringing to four the number of Filipinos getting the boot in the Olympics. The other three losers came in rowing, taekwondo and skateboarding. We are still alive in gymnastics, golf, pole vault, swimming and, yes, boxing. Let’s keep on praying we’d win some more.

Without a doubt, prayers helped power Hidilyn Diaz’s victory. She is a devotee of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, which Hidilyn definitely deems as her first, forever, medal ahead of the Olympic gold medal…From Sen. Bong Go, the Senate’s sports committee chair: “Mabuhay ka, Hidilyn, at sa lahat ng mga atletang Pilipino!”

A victory by Petecio, world champion in 2019 in Russia, over the 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalist will send the Filipino to the semifinals where she is assured of a bronze medal.

“We will look at the videos of her [Castañeda] fights here,” Petecio’s Australian Coach Don Abnett said.

“We know her next opponent will be tough, but we’re very confident.”

Petecio’s opponents in Tokyo are indeed tough.

On Monday, Petecio removed the biggest stumbling block in her road to glory by beating tournament top seed and world’s no. 1 in Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-Ting by fashioning out a 3-2 split decision victory.

Earlier, Petecio pulled off a dominant 5-0 mauling of Congo’s Marcelat Sakobi Matshu in her first bout.

“I want to win the gold medal for my country, but I know that I will have to work hard for it,” Petecio said after her win over Lin. On Thursday, Eumir Felix Marcial, predicted by Association Press to win a gold medal, debuts against Younes Nemouchi of Algeria in a men’s middleweight fight at 10:48 a.m.

(Manila time), while flyweight Irish Magno, fresh off her 5-0 demolition of Kenyan Christine Ongare, takes on Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong next at 12:24 p.m. (Manila time).

Carlo Paalam, after posting a 4-1 win over Ireland’s Brendan Irvine, fights Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi on Saturday at 10:48 a.m. (Manila time).

Jun Lomibao

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

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PXP Energy wants to resume petroleum exploration in WPS

P

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

angilinan-led PXP Energy Corp. is prepared to resume oil exploration activities in disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) even without a partner.

PXP holds a 78.98-percent operating interest in Service Contract (SC) 72 or the contract to explore Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea through London-listed Forum Energy Plc. The company was supposed to partner with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), one of the largest national oil companies owned by the People’s Republic of China, but the Department of Energy (DOE) imposed a moratorium on exploration activities. The ban was eventually lifted. Since then, PXP said it would take guidance from the Philippine government.

“No recent updates in terms of our discussions with CNOOC. Discussion is at the government level and

we’re not a party to that. We don’t participate in that discussion.

If there’s no agreement that can be reached, then what will we do?

That is a question that we have to ask ourselves. Actually, we’re ready to go, PXP by itself,” said company chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Pangilinan’s group is set to drill exploratory wells next year.

However, exploration activities may depend on the outcome of discussions between Manila and Beijing regarding a possible joint exploration.

The Chinese foreign minister reportedly said China and the Philippines have reached a consensus on joint exploration of oil and gas resources in the disputed waters.

“Of course there’s a big geopolitical issue. Will China agree to an independent effort by SC72 PXP to enter that territory and do work?

I can’t answer that question,” said Pangilinan.

Last week, Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said the DOE is preparing to implement the 60-40 foreign ownership rule in the planned joint exploration with China.

“Our governments are talking… but our rules will be limited by the provision of the Constitution. If we follow the Philippine Constitution, we can apply the current 60:40 arrangement, which we also apply to other nations or contractors,” said the DOE official.

Under the 1987 Constitution, foreign ownership of land and businesses is limited to only 40 percent while 60 percent should be owned exclusively by Filipino citizens or corporations.

Other service contracts (SCs) previously affected by the moratorium include SC 54 operated by Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd.; SC 58 and SC 59 operated by PNOC Exploration Corp.; and SC 75 also operated

by PXP Energy.

Last week, the DOE said it has endorsed to the Office of the President the awarding of three new petroleum service contracts (PSCs) in the WPS. However, the agency has yet to release details of the three contracts.

The agency said operators of SCs 54, 58 and 59 sought the suspension of work activities amid the Covid-19 pandemic. For SC 72, the DOE said the operator is set to drill exploratory wells next year while the SC 75 group is scheduled to conduct exploratory activities.

DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said his office is regularly monitoring the progress of each project to ensure that the service contractors’ commitments are being fulfilled.

Cusi said these activities are concrete and explicit forms of the enforcement of sovereign rights consistent with real gains in the South China Sea arbitral award.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, petroleum licensing is the most important sovereign right of a coastal state like the Philippines. With the lifting of the moratorium in the WPS, the service contractors are obliged to comply with approved work commitments in their respective areas.

RCI unit secures loan from DBP

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oxas Sigma Agriventures Inc., a unit of publicly-listed Roxas and Co. Inc. (RCI), on Tuesday said it is boosting its plant output following the approval of a P100-million facility from stateowned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Edgar P. Arcos, RCI president and CEO and ex-officio Roxas-Sigma president, said the loan will be used for the working capital requirement of its integrated coconut processing plant in Tupi, South Cotabato for the rest of the year.

Roxas Sigma is pushing for the phase 1 of its expansion program to

meet higher demand from international business-to-business customers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Arcos expects a sharp production rebound in the second half of 2021 as demand for its coconut cream and milk, coconut water concentrate, and virgin coconut oil continues to rise, the company said.

Roxas Sigma is a joint venture between RCI and Sigma Xynergies Corp.

The partnership was formed with the objective of establishing and operating a premier integrated coconut processing plant to serve business

ICTSI unit starts bulk coffee operations

PHL’s first Olympic gold medalist gets unlimited flights from AirAsia

I

nternational Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Tuesday its subsidiary in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has started bulk coffee operations.

Sout h Pacif ic Inter nat ional Container Terminal’s (SPICT) 2,000-square-meter coffee bulking facility is compliant with the requirements set by Coffee Industry Corp.

(CIC), which regulates the coffee industry in PNG. “After almost a year of securing the necessary permits from state regulators and consultation with coffee experts across the country, we are now ready to provide the highest level of service to PNG’s coffee industry,” SPICT CEO Robert Maxwell said.

He added that the terminal has taken its first delivery of 320 bags of green coffee beans from Monpi Coffee Exports Ltd, one of the country’s major coffee producers.

“Opening the coffee bulking facility is one of our major accomplishments for this year. Having a young and capable team, along with ICTSI’s cargo-handling expertise, we look forward to helping PNG’s coffee industry grow by helping exporters capitalize on opportunities from the increasing global demand for coffee,” said Maxwell. Lorenz S. Marasigan

needs for high-quality coconut products, locally and globally.

The company has chosen Tupi, South Cotabato in the Philippines as the site for its processing plant.

In the first quarter, RCI revenues stood at P535 million, six times higher than last year, mainly due to raw land sales and the recovery of hotel and coconut product sales.

RCI incurred losses of P1.15 billion in 2020 primarily due to the lockdowns that led to the temporary closure of Anya Resort Tagaytay and Go Hotels in Manila as well as the Roxas-Sigma coconut processing plant in Tupi, South Cotabato and its

equity stake in Roxas Holdings Inc. Arcos earlier said Anya was able to recover in the last quarter of 2020 and ended the year strong as guests from Metro Manila patronized its luxury rooms and food outlets.

Go Hotels made a quick pivot as quarantine facilities for returning overseas Filipino workers starting in mid-April last year, with occupancy levels recovering up to 50 to 70 percent for the rest of 2020.

While the coconut manufacturing plant was not spared from the impact of Covid-19, Arcos said the facility revisited process flows to maintain output efficiencies. VG Cabuag

By Recto L. Mercene @rectomercene

A

irAsia is awarding lifetime free flights to Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, “in recognition of her hard work, passion, and sportsmanship best exemplified during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

Diaz conquered the women’s 55 kilogram weightlifting competition on July 26, etching a historic first gold win for the Philippines which is about 97 years in the making.

This is the 2nd Olympic medal brought by the 30-year-old Zamboangena, the first during the 2016 Rio Olympics. In the same year, Diaz was awarded with 5-year unlimited flights within the AirAsia route network.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “We want all Asean to believe that they can always make it happen. Amidst challenges and struggles as we go forth with recovery, Hidilyn reminds us that no matter how heavy the weight we are carrying, inner strength, perseverance and a heart of gold will help us power through.”

AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla said, “We in AirAsia would like to congratulate Hidilyn for her wonderful achievement of representing our country and earning our very

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes and Hidilyn Diaz

first Gold medal in the Olympics.

We thank Hidilyn for being an inspiration to the Filipino people and for uplifting our spirits.”

“Hidilyn is the perfect example of what it means to be an Allstar, by embodying AirAsia core values of Dreaming Big and Making it Happen. We thank her for reminding us that being the world’s best is second

to serving the Filipinos. The Allstar family is one in celebrating with Hidilyn, and it is our great honor to serve her onboard.”

In an interview with AirAsia in 2018, Hidilyn shared personal and professional challenges she faced.

But through all these, she says it’s important to look back at your dreams and never give up on them.

‘Remittances growth a boon for Vista Land’

Photo from www.vistaland.com.ph

By VG Cabuag @villygc

V

illar-led property developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. said it is still optimistic about its performance for the remainder of 2021 due to strong remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW), who comprise more than half of its buyers.

“While Covid-19 continues to impact our performance, both on our leasing and residential businesses, we still anticipate a better year with indicators such as strong overseas Filipinos remittances and the ramping up of the vaccination rollout across the country,” company chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said.

“I founded Camella Homes more than 40 years ago to help out fellow Filipinos—with an OFW as our very first homebuyer—to buy a place they can call their own and I am just so glad that four decades after and even with an ongoing health crisis, here we are, still building the best homes for our kababayans.”

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently reported that remittances from overseas Filipinos grew by double digits for the second straight month in May, when it expanded by 13 percent

year-on-year, bringing year-todate OFW remittance growth to 6.6 percent.

The growth in remittances bodes well for Vista Land as 55 percent to 60 percent of its buyers are Filipinos working or living overseas.

Vista Land, together with the property brands from the Villar Group recently held its first and biggest virtual property exposition that showcased its complete real property offerings from various price points across the Philippines.

“The ViCon is just one of the ways we navigate through these challenging times and we are looking at breaking more digital ground in the future,” Manuel Paolo A. Villar, Vista Land president and CEO said.

Such exposition, he said, was a success as it reached thousands of property seekers and investors alike. From finding the ideal site to property acquisition, to saving and financing, to decorating and interior designing, the digital convention offered a selection of seminars and tips for homebuyers.

Vista Land said it envisions staging more virtual expositions like The ViCon to provide needed information and support to future homeowners and investment seekers.

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Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Rules to determine working status of riders released

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

iders providing food delivery and courier services are entitled to benefits stipulated in the Labor Code, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

DOLE issued the clarification in a landmark advisory which sought to settle the question of whether motorcycle riders are employees or independent contractors.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III cited the “four-fold test” in determining if there is an employer-employee relationship between riders and the concerned digital platforms.

Under the four-fold test, such relationship exists if a concerned

employer has authority over its worker in terms of their selection, payment of wages, dismissal, and conduct. Bello said the DOLE has observed that such relationship exists between riders and digital platforms.

“All delivery riders who are deemed employees of the digital platform company shall enjoy the minimum standards and benefits,” Bello said.

Benefits prescribed by the La-

bor Code include minimum wage, holiday pay, premium pay, overtime pay, night shift differential, service incentive leave, 13th month pay, separation pay, retirement pay, and the right to security of tenure, self-organization, and collective bargaining.

Employees must also be enrolled in the Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and Pag-IBIG Fund.

Under the law, employers must adhere to occupational safety and health standards.

Bello said riders who have no employer-employee relationship with the delivery apps, as determined by the four-fold test, are considered independent contractors.

“Delivery riders deemed independent contractors or freelancers shall be governed by their respective contract or agreement with the digital platform company.”

DOLE issued the advisory after

Foodpanda sanctioned its riders who raised questions about the delivery app’s payment scheme.

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition Chairman and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) president Sonny Matula welcomed the new advisory from DOLE. He said the advisory will better protect delivery riders not only of Foodpanda but also of other digital platforms like Grab.

Matula has been calling on DOLE to release such guidelines. He alleged that digital platforms do not treat their riders as employees.

“In the Philippines, gig workers are generally considered not employees. They are not paid a regular wage, but are paid for the ‘gig’ work they do—like delivering passengers, food or parcels,” Matula told the BusinessMirror via SMS. With the advisory, Matula said his group expects more riders of digital platforms will be encouraged to organize a union.

Phoenix settles ₧3B in commercial papers

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

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HOENIX Petroleum Philippines continued to improve its balance sheet after it settled P3 billion in commercial papers (CP) last July 26.

The settlement of CP Series D was funded by a mix of internal funds and financing support from established institutional creditors, the independent oil player said Tuesday.

“The settlement of the CP is an overall reduction in our indebtedness, which improves our leverage and liquidity profile. This puts us in a firmer footing, and positions us well into the second half of the year. We are building on the progress of the past quarters as we prioritize our people’s safety, our cus-

tomers’ needs, and preservation of resources,” said Phoenix Petroleum President Henry Albert Fadullon.

The CP program of Phoenix was supported by the retail and institutional investors, added Fadullon.

“The company is grateful for the confidence given, and having the opportunity to offer such instruments that benefit the investors, and support our growth.”

Amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the oil firm posted record-high quarterly volume in the second quarter of the year on the back of the strong performance of its fuels and LPG businesses.

“With this improvement in sales, along with our sustained efforts to prudently manage our costs and capital, we have been able to shorten the cash cycle, and gradu-

Cebu Pacific delivers hand-carried vaccines

T

he Philippines’s leading carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB), marks another first in its continuous vaccine transport efforts last Tuesday, as it safely hand-carried vaccine doses inflight.

Dumaguete City is the first to receive this type of shipment, while another is scheduled for General Santos on T hursday, July 29.

This was made possible through

the assistance and approval of the OTS (Office for Transportation Security), coordinated through Cebu Pacific as requested by the Gokongwei Group’s official partner for its employee vaccination program, Reliance United.

The airline said this type of special courier service has to be pre-arranged and is ideal for small shipments of vaccines, while large volumes will continue to be accommodated as cargo in the belly of the aircraft. All inquiries may be directed to the CEB Cargo Customer Service at cargocare@cebupacificair.com “We are happy to keep looking for new ways to assist in our nation’s vaccine distribution efforts.

We look forward to having more clients avail of this service, which we plan to make regular in the near future,” said Alex Reyes, Chief Strategy Officer at Cebu Pacific.

These vaccines were stored in insulated bags with ice blocks to ensure its potency and efficacy and maintained throughout the duration of the flight. All bags were securely placed on a passenger seat beside its caretakers. Recto L. Mercene

ally deleverage,” Fadullon added.

Based on the latest market share data of the Department of Energy, Phoenix Petroleum grew its market share in the first quarter of 2021 to 7.8 percent from 7.5 percent as of the end of 2020, and remains the third largest petroleum player in the Philippines.

It noted that fuel demand has

improved last April, exceeding preCovid levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Phoenix vowed to “provide the best offer to customers, operational excellence, and accelerating growth.” The company has also highlighted its focus on streamlining operations, improved resource management, and efficiency.

mutual funds

July 27, 2021 NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

205.32

3.95%

-7.69%

-5.78%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.3339

32.23%

-3.38%

-0.79%

1.59%

6.69%

-11.96%

-8.43%

-9.72%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8284

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7357 8.32%

-9.64%

-6.74% n.a.

-8.48%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7114 8.88%

-6.14% n.a.

-4.07%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

7.19%

-5.79%

-4.02%

-8.18%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6734

1.07%

-8.63%

-8.06%

-3.88% n.a.

-5.21%

4.5371

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

96.63

22.32%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

41.9369

5.89%

-6.11%

-4.82%

-10.48%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

441.62

3.76%

-5.78%

-5.16%

-9.69%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5

1.0176

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.0908

8.63%

-4.93%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

31.6132

6.99%

-5.19%

17.97% n.a. n.a.

-3.77%

-7.26% -6.63%

-3.65%

-9.08%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.8152

4.11% n.a. n.a.

-10.71%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.3025

6.65%

-5.5%

-4.04%

-10.2%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

719.82

6.58%

-5.42%

-4.17%

-10.21%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.6578

8.08%

-8.99%

-7.13%

-8.5%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.287

5.21%

-7.43%

-5.36%

-9.29%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8217 6.09%

-5.77%

-4.32%

-10.46%

United Fund, Inc. -a

-5.74%

-3.39%

-9.06%

-5.21%

-3.64%

3.0182

6.75%

-11.37%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

96.6223

6.54%

-10.16%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities $1.2143

18.38%

4.85%

6.94%

0.95%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8205

ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

24.49%

11.51%

12.1%

8.83%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.6441

5.29%

-0.86%

-2.47%

-1.47%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.1283

3.79%

-2.49%

-2.41%

-6.87%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4789

3.18%

-1.87%

-1.7%

-5.64%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1852

0.43% n.a. n.a.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

0.37%

1.8852

2.7%

-0.72%

-4.01%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.5278

1.34%

-0.8%

-2.12%

-6.87%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

15.8217

2.02%

-0.65%

-2.07%

-6.58%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

1.9715

2.97%

-2.11%

-1.72%

-5.85%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3581 2.86%

-3.12%

-3.12%

-6.02%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9548

1.69% n.a. n.a.

-6.63%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.851

1.42% n.a. n.a.

-10.35%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8347

2.61% n.a. n.a.

-10.55%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

4.05%

0.8352

-3.87%

-3.57%

-5.91%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03829

-2.35%

2.76%

1.28%

-2.12%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1106

8.34%

3.16%

3.91%

-3.44%

17.95%

8.84%

8.48%

5.83%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.224 8.54%

5.16%

4.63%

1.82%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.776

-6.75%

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

July 27, 2021

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

BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH

105.8 84 24.4 9.4 44.9 19.06 20.8 56.1 19.4 110.5 76.2 1.28 4.35 2.9 1.2 0.355 918 0.62 220

106.4 84.2 24.45 9.46 45 19.98 20.85 57.4 19.5 110.7 76.25 1.3 4.39 3 1.31 0.37 976 0.71 221.4

102.9 83.8 24.4 9.3 44.05 19.06 20.5 56.2 19.8 110.2 76.5 1.25 4.37 2.91 1.18 0.37 976 0.64 222.6

106.4 84.55 24.5 9.5 45.1 19.06 21 57.4 19.8 112 77 1.3 4.4 2.91 1.31 0.37 976 0.65 226.6

102.6 83.5 24.4 9.3 44.05 19.06 20.5 56.1 19.4 110 76.25 1.25 4.29 2.9 1.17 0.37 976 0.62 220

106.4 84.2 24.45 9.4 45 19.06 20.8 57.4 19.4 110.5 76.25 1.3 4.39 2.9 1.31 0.37 976 0.62 220

1,868,490 196,117,581 2,092,160 175,636,538.50 26,200 640,335 52,700 496,516 944,800 42,332,275 600 11,436 91,200 1,897,260 670 38,252 66,600 1,297,498 487,350 53,896,091 15,910 1,217,872 6,000 7,750 42,000 183,680 48,000 139,230 23,000 27,690 10,000 3,700 10 9,760 29,000 18,400 1,820 402,786

-2,317,487 -92,561,054.50 5,102,060 -243,405 6,777,946 -17,626.50 26,000 -239,112

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 7.95 7.96 7.81 8.05 7.81 7.96 16,548,100 131,500,418 ALSONS CONS 1.24 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 4,000 5,080 ABOITIZ POWER 24 24.05 23.7 24.25 23.6 24 942,200 22,611,800 BASIC ENERGY 0.56 0.57 0.54 0.57 0.54 0.56 33,508,000 18,630,000 FIRST GEN 28.35 28.65 28 28.75 27.95 28.35 232,600 6,591,490 FIRST PHIL HLDG 73.9 74.5 73.85 73.9 73.7 73.9 170,990 12,623,147.50 MERALCO 271.8 272 269 272 268 272 200,270 54,325,926 MANILA WATER 16.5 16.76 16.54 17.2 16.5 16.5 1,480,000 24,658,510 PETRON 3.15 3.16 3.13 3.18 3.13 3.16 456,000 1,442,150 PHX PETROLEUM 12.5 12.98 12.5 13 12.5 13 70,200 902,796 PILIPINAS SHELL 19.52 19.66 19.3 19.68 19.3 19.52 21,900 427,932 SPC POWER 11.82 11.9 11.56 11.9 11.56 11.9 80,000 946,680 VIVANT 14.68 17.96 17.98 17.98 17 17.96 1,400 24,186 AGRINURTURE 5.75 5.98 5.89 5.98 5.65 5.98 1,027,800 6,045,586 AXELUM 2.71 2.77 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.8 51,000 138,410 BOGO MEDELLIN 69 72 71.7 72 69 69 70 4,917 CENTURY FOOD 25 25.05 24.8 25.15 24.05 25 1,192,600 29,729,850 DEL MONTE 17.52 17.56 17.98 18 17.2 17.52 537,400 9,453,542 DNL INDUS 8.18 8.2 7.7 8.25 7.7 8.2 2,602,300 21,064,129 EMPERADOR 12.68 12.7 12.42 12.9 12.32 12.68 1,337,900 16,847,868 SMC FOODANDBEV 81.1 81.2 80 82.45 79.9 81.2 70,940 5,709,366.50 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.65 0.67 0.66 0.66 0.65 0.66 241,000 158,550 FRUITAS HLDG 1.21 1.23 1.21 1.25 1.21 1.23 2,524,000 3,074,390 GINEBRA 89.95 90 89.7 92 89 89.95 13,390 1,199,717 JOLLIBEE 195.7 195.8 193.8 199.5 193.1 195.7 422,550 82,544,962 LIBERTY FLOUR 28.5 29.75 29 29 28.5 28.5 1,500 43,170 MAXS GROUP 5.99 6.1 6 6 5.98 5.99 73,100 438,514 MG HLDG 0.23 0.24 0.221 0.245 0.221 0.23 510,000 117,760 MONDE NISSIN 15.08 15.1 14.9 15.18 14.88 15.08 5,082,500 76,647,566 SHAKEYS PIZZA 7.7 7.8 7.52 7.7 7.52 7.7 18,800 143,602 ROXAS AND CO 1.02 1.03 1.06 1.09 1.01 1.02 12,784,000 13,398,500 RFM CORP 4.6 4.72 4.52 4.73 4.52 4.73 3,000 13,980 SWIFT FOODS 0.131 0.132 0.13 0.133 0.129 0.131 5,230,000 684,690 UNIV ROBINA 134 135 132.1 135 132.1 134 494,900 66,288,384 VITARICH 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.78 6,597,000 5,147,300 VICTORIAS 2.25 2.49 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 5,000 11,250 CEMEX HLDG 1.22 1.23 1.2 1.24 1.2 1.23 1,446,000 1,758,600 EAGLE CEMENT 14.38 14.4 14.1 14.5 14.1 14.4 522,300 7,419,120 EEI CORP 7.2 7.6 7.8 7.8 7.79 7.79 300 2,338 HOLCIM 6.35 6.37 6.27 6.4 6.19 6.35 972,000 6,095,748 MEGAWIDE 6.28 6.3 6.2 6.35 6.19 6.28 354,100 2,223,151 PHINMA 14.1 14.18 14.2 14.2 14.1 14.1 101,000 1,429,530 TKC METALS 1 1.02 1.02 1.02 0.99 1.01 128,000 128,350 VULCAN INDL 1.59 1.6 1.56 1.67 1.56 1.6 6,447,000 10,442,260 CROWN ASIA 1.69 1.7 1.67 1.7 1.67 1.69 462,000 773,750 MABUHAY VINYL 5.47 5.48 5.48 5.48 5.47 5.47 2,100 11,488 PRYCE CORP 5.35 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 45,000 243,000 GREENERGY 2.41 2.42 2.36 2.44 2.3 2.42 13,217,000 31,323,040 INTEGRATED MICR 8.98 9 8.9 9.09 8.9 8.98 269,600 2,422,717 IONICS 0.93 0.95 0.91 0.95 0.91 0.95 182,000 168,370 PANASONIC 5.75 5.8 5.81 5.81 5.75 5.75 33,800 194,840 SFA SEMICON 1.23 1.26 1.28 1.28 1.23 1.26 301,000 374,850 CIRTEK HLDG 5.01 5.04 5 5.07 4.92 5.04 1,505,000 7,566,220

17,639,921 4,458,155 875,970 -4,242,760 3,250,275 30,388,514 -7,515,062 -708,520 148,366 -79,755 27,400 7,218,785 164,508 9,958,261 4,982,376 591,272.50 -6,600 3,720 835,134.50 -28,780,083 -169,183 3,875,016 2,405,890 4,520 -108,240 -10,180,216 285,000 2,373,110 -4,681,071 -138,409 113,880 -611,220 243,000 9,600 -1,237,644 -2,730 -2,560 271,390

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.94 0.95 0.93 0.96 0.92 0.95 2,491,000 2,348,880 ASIABEST GROUP 6.1 7 7 7 7 7 100 700 AYALA CORP 737.5 740 726.5 744 726.5 740 567,230 419,025,365 ABOITIZ EQUITY 39.7 39.95 39 40.1 38.7 39.95 1,065,100 42,513,895 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 9.68 9.75 9.46 9.81 9.45 9.68 1,983,400 19,314,917 AYALA LAND LOG 3.88 3.9 3.78 3.92 3.78 3.9 1,573,000 6,105,900 ANSCOR 6.71 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 6,200 42,160 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 1.01 1.02 1.02 1.04 1 1.01 7,770,000 7,923,740 ATN HLDG A 0.57 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 64,000 38,400 COSCO CAPITAL 4.97 5.06 4.99 5.07 4.94 4.97 301,000 1,501,430 DMCI HLDG 6.07 6.08 5.93 6.08 5.92 6.08 3,929,800 23,704,484 FILINVEST DEV 7.81 7.85 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 20,000 156,000 FORUM PACIFIC 0.285 0.31 0.305 0.315 0.275 0.31 2,350,000 712,850 GT CAPITAL 560 561 567 568 558 560 121,750 68,448,240 JG SUMMIT 58 58.95 57.1 58.95 57.1 58.95 1,296,050 75,360,827 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.52 5.74 5.53 5.53 5.52 5.52 1,500 8,290 LODESTAR 0.7 0.71 0.7 0.72 0.69 0.71 251,000 175,090 LOPEZ HLDG 3.12 3.37 3.11 3.12 3.11 3.12 1,247,000 3,880,610 LT GROUP 9.55 9.71 9.95 10.1 9.54 9.55 14,152,700 136,779,825 MABUHAY HLDG 0.51 0.54 0.495 0.54 0.495 0.54 11,000 5,490 METRO PAC INV 3.55 3.6 3.5 3.62 3.5 3.55 7,683,000 27,405,080 PACIFICA HLDG 3.38 3.49 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.5 14,000 48,520 PRIME MEDIA 2.58 2.6 2.47 2.74 2.46 2.59 397,000 1,039,260 SOLID GROUP 1.17 1.22 1.23 1.23 1.16 1.16 33,000 39,890 SM INVESTMENTS 956 962 963 963 946 956 222,890 212,979,180 SAN MIGUEL CORP 109.9 110 110.5 111.5 110 110 104,820 11,571,696 TOP FRONTIER 137 139.2 139.2 139.2 137 139.2 385,210 53,621,012 ZEUS HLDG 0.198 0.2 0.2 0.202 0.197 0.2 5,540,000 1,103,060

-960 -20,770,125 11,803,580 -11,134,762 83,390 16,600 -494,240 6,360,254 15,250 -39,995,600 12,065,098 -770,610 -73,239,235.00 -18,961,430 -15,020 -58,387,465 -677,724 -590,680

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.63 0.62 0.62 175,000 109,900 AYALA LAND 33.75 33.85 32.55 33.85 32.55 33.85 9,157,100 307,449,425 AREIT RT 35.95 36 36 36.5 35.95 36 183,500 6,609,520 BELLE CORP 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.38 1.4 117,000 162,700 A BROWN 0.91 0.92 0.91 0.92 0.88 0.91 1,645,000 1,489,750 CITYLAND DEVT 0.8 0.82 0.81 0.82 0.8 0.8 166,000 134,540 CROWN EQUITIES 0.132 0.133 0.134 0.134 0.127 0.132 2,600,000 337,350 CEBU HLDG 6.26 6.68 6.26 6.26 6.26 6.26 900 5,634 CEB LANDMASTERS 2.83 2.86 2.8 2.89 2.8 2.86 1,308,000 3,738,320 CENTURY PROP 0.43 0.45 0.415 0.45 0.415 0.45 29,810,000 12,952,050 DOUBLEDRAGON 10.32 10.4 10.3 10.5 10.18 10.4 837,300 8,696,424 DDMP RT 1.83 1.84 1.82 1.86 1.8 1.84 8,758,000 16,024,250 DM WENCESLAO 6.82 7 6.71 6.8 6.71 6.8 31,900 216,822 EMPIRE EAST 0.275 0.285 0.275 0.285 0.275 0.285 270,000 74,350 EVER GOTESCO 0.335 0.34 0.315 0.345 0.305 0.34 93,640,000 31,093,450 FILINVEST LAND 1.11 1.12 1.09 1.12 1.09 1.12 8,467,000 9,415,800 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.84 0.85 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.85 889,000 755,660 8990 HLDG 7.1 7.25 7.3 7.3 7.24 7.25 4,600 33,360 PHIL INFRADEV 1.23 1.25 1.21 1.26 1.21 1.22 564,000 691,750 KEPPEL PROP 3.41 3.95 4.15 4.15 3.99 3.99 26,000 107,170 CITY AND LAND 1.33 1.34 1.3 1.37 1.2 1.34 435,000 573,020 MEGAWORLD 2.99 3 2.88 3 2.88 3 11,928,000 35,472,980 MRC ALLIED 0.31 0.32 0.31 0.325 0.31 0.31 16,230,000 5,105,900 PHIL ESTATES 0.54 0.55 0.52 0.56 0.52 0.54 3,327,000 1,803,170 PRIMEX CORP 2.53 2.54 2.47 2.59 2.47 2.54 1,697,000 4,337,230 ROBINSONS LAND 16.18 16.2 15.82 16.2 15.82 16.2 2,492,500 40,022,226 PHIL REALTY 0.28 0.285 0.26 0.28 0.26 0.28 3,750,000 1,036,750 ROCKWELL 1.5 1.56 1.58 1.58 1.56 1.56 2,000 3,140 SHANG PROP 2.6 2.68 2.65 2.65 2.6 2.6 40,000 104,100 STA LUCIA LAND 2.74 2.82 2.7 2.82 2.7 2.82 197,000 548,170 SM PRIME HLDG 33.8 33.95 32.6 33.95 32.2 33.95 5,419,400 181,859,680 SUNTRUST HOME 1.46 1.48 1.49 1.5 1.46 1.48 380,000 554,960 VISTA LAND 3.48 3.49 3.5 3.5 3.43 3.49 701,000 2,433,400

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.18 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.16 11.2 110,300 1,234,386 GMA NETWORK 11.64 11.66 11.36 11.88 11.3 11.64 1,957,100 22,725,922 MANILA BULLETIN 0.41 0.42 0.425 0.425 0.41 0.41 450,000 184,800 MLA BRDCASTING 9.85 10.5 9.85 9.85 9.85 9.85 500 4,925 GLOBE TELECOM 1,881 1,890 1,905 1,929 1,880 1,881 38,600 73,449,780 PLDT 1,255 1,265 1,251 1,270 1,250 1,255 34,130 42,941,855 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.118 0.119 0.112 0.119 0.112 0.118 310,790,000 36,121,300 CONVERGE 23.4 23.45 23.05 23.5 23 23.4 3,767,400 88,048,895 DFNN INC 3.89 3.9 3.9 3.92 3.86 3.89 228,000 888,150 DITO CME HLDG 7.5 7.51 6.98 7.5 6.96 7.5 11,675,600 85,582,891 JACKSTONES 2.1 2.15 2.15 2.15 2.15 2.15 3,000 6,450 NOW CORP 2.1 2.14 2.04 2.14 2.04 2.14 1,007,000 2,100,290 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.4 0.405 0.385 0.415 0.385 0.405 4,260,000 1,709,950 PHILWEB 2.21 2.3 2.25 2.34 2.2 2.3 190,000 437,470 2GO GROUP 8.1 8.25 8.4 8.4 8.01 8.3 5,700 47,240 ASIAN TERMINALS 14.1 14.3 14.5 14.5 14.3 14.3 2,100 30,050 CHELSEA 2.73 2.79 2.78 2.79 2.7 2.79 225,000 622,290 CEBU AIR 45.1 45.2 45 45.35 44.8 45.2 415,300 18,763,995 INTL CONTAINER 158.7 163 154.1 163 152 163 1,475,400 233,065,699 LBC EXPRESS 16.22 17.7 17.84 17.84 17.7 17.7 600 10,644 MACROASIA 4.88 4.89 4.75 4.9 4.67 4.89 3,119,000 15,063,230 METROALLIANCE A 1.9 1.92 1.89 1.9 1.85 1.9 83,000 154,590 HARBOR STAR 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.16 1.02 1.06 412,000 436,140 ACESITE HOTEL 1.89 1.9 2.06 2.16 1.83 1.89 2,087,000 4,120,470 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.109 0.11 0.099 0.11 0.096 0.11 236,020,000 24,855,030 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.43 2.59 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 15,000 39,000 WATERFRONT 0.55 0.57 0.56 0.56 0.55 0.55 415,000 229,040 STI HLDG 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.355 0.35 0.35 1,600,000 560,400 BLOOMBERRY 5.96 5.97 5.89 6.05 5.89 5.97 1,410,000 8,420,309 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.99 2.07 1.95 2 1.95 1.99 41,000 80,800 LEISURE AND RES 1.48 1.5 1.55 1.55 1.48 1.5 607,000 913,580 PH RESORTS GRP 1.72 1.75 1.67 1.79 1.67 1.75 846,000 1,469,910 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.405 0.415 0.405 0.41 0.405 0.41 610,000 249,150 ALLHOME 7.62 7.7 7.48 7.62 7.4 7.62 373,500 2,829,769 METRO RETAIL 1.32 1.33 1.32 1.33 1.32 1.33 35,000 46,440 PUREGOLD 40.45 40.6 39.35 40.7 39.35 40.6 1,211,100 48,863,255 ROBINSONS RTL 53.5 53.65 53 53.65 51.8 53.5 755,960 40,096,272.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP 90.5 91 91.5 91.5 90 91 7,390 673,225 SSI GROUP 1.18 1.19 1.14 1.18 1.14 1.18 1,103,000 1,290,410 WILCON DEPOT 20.75 20.8 20 21.1 19.96 20.8 2,592,800 53,205,139 APC GROUP 0.34 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.34 600,000 207,350 EASYCALL 5.33 5.6 5.25 5.25 5.2 5.25 10,200 53,299 GOLDEN MV 438.6 448 448 448 448 448 600 268,800 PRMIERE HORIZON 1.15 1.16 1.08 1.18 1.06 1.15 19,560,000 22,395,800 SBS PHIL CORP 4.21 4.5 4.2 4.5 4.2 4.5 6,000 25,500

4,960 23,973,695.00 -3,982,010 8,390 18,600 -32,550 -66,600 118,400 -2,130,480 -2,889,600 8,250 1,231,350 -425,480 -420,750 23,920 33,450 6,459,640 -3,200 19,440 2,951,060 23,805,340 91,000 -46,591,220 21,900 -305,820 -44,748,540 -17,774,405 2,042,650 -8,119,560 -31,270 1,827,661 8,240 40,000 6,478 14,300 -27,510 633,825 18,116,214 635,110 46,250 -309,850 901,497 19,600 7,500 -12,210 1,404,364 21,454,605 -11,284,329.50 -616,575 70,800 -37,462,359 1,198,540 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.03 7.04 6.73 7.12 6.73 7.04 188,700 1,332,810 62,671 APEX MINING 1.65 1.67 1.64 1.67 1.63 1.67 3,798,000 6,296,850 -397,400 Primarily invested in Peso securities ATLAS MINING 7.11 7.12 7.19 7.48 7 7.11 3,180,200 23,133,634 196,375 ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 372.59 1.42% 3.14% 2.41% 0.41% BENGUET A 4.53 4.72 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.53 1,150,000 5,212,570 BENGUET B 4.5 5.13 4.36 4.5 4.31 4.5 1,151,000 4,987,440 -4,749,600 ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9246 -1.07% 1.1% 0.13% 1.28% COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.29 0.305 0.305 0.285 0.285 610,000 174,250 Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2342 1.2% 3.64% 4.27% 0.61% DIZON MINES 6.13 6.44 6.44 6.44 6.44 6.44 100 644 FERRONICKEL 2.44 2.45 2.38 2.44 2.38 2.44 9,802,000 23,590,710 -9,726,800 Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2624 -1.78% 2.2% 1.16% -1.46% GEOGRACE 0.285 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 230,000 69,000 First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4438 -0.36% 3.32% 1.68% -0.38% LEPANTO A 0.136 0.137 0.135 0.138 0.132 0.137 6,860,000 936,910 MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 4,400,000 47,400 Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4921 -3.58% 4.55% 1.13% -3.07% MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 100,000 1,000 Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3172 1.11% 4.01% 2.69% -0.3% MARCVENTURES 1.24 1.25 1.22 1.25 1.22 1.25 1,742,000 2,166,800 NIHAO 1.28 1.31 1.24 1.36 1.22 1.31 159,000 203,330 Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9815 0.45% 4.62% 1.74% -0.49% NICKEL ASIA 5.88 5.89 5.55 5.88 5.55 5.88 18,469,400 106,655,792 939,187 Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0386 -0.03% 4.93% 1.55% -0.33% ORNTL PENINSULA 0.92 0.93 0.87 0.92 0.87 0.92 895,000 819,140 PX MINING 6.06 6.11 5.95 6.12 5.95 6.11 811,900 4,930,169 466,629 Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2166 1.16% 5.37% 2.1% 0.33% SEMIRARA MINING 16.38 16.42 15.92 16.48 15.92 16.38 1,154,100 18,905,790 -127,878 Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7508 0.29% 4.68% 1.4% -0.24% UNITED PARAGON 0.009 0.0092 0.0089 0.0092 0.0088 0.0091 26,000,000 234,700 -8,900 ACE ENEXOR 16.2 16.5 16.04 16.5 16.04 16.5 18,000 294,244 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 15,400,000 170,200 ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $486.94 2.19% 3.15% 2.16% 0.63% PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 10,400,000 114,400 PXP ENERGY 7.02 7.05 7.05 7.05 7.02 7.05 61,600 433,776 18,370 ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є220.28 1.77% 1.08% 0.9% 0.5%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2001 -3.11% 2.46% 1.31% -6.27% PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.8 101 100.8 100.8 100.8 100.8 10,000 1,008,000 First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0261 - 0.76% 1.72% 0.78% -1.88% AC PREF B2R 522 530 530 530 530 530 30 15,900 PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0538 -2.79% 0.61% -0.94% -3.56% CEB PREF 45.1 45.5 45 45.8 45 45.5 17,900 813,265 -135,175 CPG PREF A 101.1 102.1 102.1 102.1 102.1 102.1 17,990 1,836,779 Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5211 1.29% 5.05% 1.87% -0.57% DD PREF 100.8 100.9 101 101 100.8 100.8 19,430 1,961,378 Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0630467 3.57% 3.57% 2.12% 1.17% FGEN PREF G 104.7 105 105 105 105 105 1,900 199,500 GTCAP PREF B 1,020 1,025 1,020 1,020 1,020 1,020 16,420 16,748,400 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1901 -1.26% 3.41% 0.71% -1.04% MWIDE PREF 101.5 101.7 101.2 101.6 101.2 101.6 41,020 4,162,065 Money Market Funds MWIDE PREF 2B 101 103 100.7 100.7 100.7 100.7 180 18,126 PNX PREF 4 1,001 1,002 1,003 1,003 1,002 1,002 7,240 7,259,080 Primarily invested in Peso securities PCOR PREF 2B 1,010 1,013 1,017 1,017 1,013 1,013 210 213,530 ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 130.39 1.46% 3% 2.53% 0.45% PCOR PREF 3A 1,083 1,110 1,110 1,110 1,110 1,110 180 199,800 PCOR PREF 3B 1,107 1,108 1,149 1,149 1,108 1,108 1,700 1,885,905 First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0538 1.05% n.a. n.a.

0.54% SMC PREF 2C 77.3 77.45 77 77.45 76.9 77.45 140,180 10,807,034 -319,516.00 Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.3066 1.66% 2.81% 2.55% 0.77% SMC PREF 2F 78.6 79.4 78.6 78.6 78.6 78.6 60,070 4,721,502 SMC PREF 2H 76 76.9 76.9 76.95 76 76 21,000 1,609,200 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities SMC PREF 2I 78.2 79 78.1 78.25 78.1 78.2 2,280 178,291 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.058 1.13% 1.64% n.a.

0.53% SMC PREF 2J 75.65 75.7 75.7 75.75 75.7 75.7 27,980 2,118,101.50 -666,160 SMC PREF 2K 76.5 76.6 76.5 76.5 76.5 76.5 763,850 58,434,525 - Feeder Funds

Primarily invested in Peso securities PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.5 10.9 10.9 10.9 10.86 10.9 25,300 275,734 -74,084 Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.3286 30.38% n.a. n.a. 17.62% GMA HLDG PDR 10.52 10.9 10.24 10.52 10.24 10.52 86,800 904,118 -23,218 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities

WARRANTS ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.99 5.32% n.a. n.a.

1.02% LR WARRANT 1.21 1.1 - - - - - - -

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).

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 16.76 17 17 17 16.72 17 55,800 947,286 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.

ITALPINAS 2.05 2.09 2.05 2.13 2 2.09 495,000 1,010,920 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

MERRYMART 3.28 3.29 3.15 3.3 3.15 3.29 6,359,000 20,665,000 910,940 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 EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 98.7 98.8 98.5 99 98.3 98.7 20,860 2,058,346.50 280,812 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." Bond Funds

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance

Bids for T-bonds hit more than double ₧30B offered

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

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HE Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P35 billion in reissued 7-year Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) as investors swamped the auction.

Strong demand was evident on Tuesday’s auction, which attracted a total of P69.76 billion, more than double the P30-billion offer.

The reissued 7-year T-bonds fetched a higher average rate of 3.651 percent, climbing by 7.5 basis points from 3.576 percent in the previous auction.

Following the auction, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon expressed satisfaction that the auction lured strong volume from investors and that the tenor also fetched “reasonable rates.” De Leon attributed this to the “liquid security” of the tenor.

She added that the securities are also “on the sweet spot of the curve” with a remaining life of six years and eight months. The tenor is set to mature on April 22, 2028, and has a coupon rate of 3.625 percent.

Despite the 7.5-basis point uptick

in the average rate, De Leon said the rate is still within the secondary level.

On top of the primary auction, she said they also opened the tap facility to auction off an additional P10 billion offering.

For July, the Treasury has set to borrow P235 billion from the local debt market, slightly bigger than the P215 billion it programmed in June.

This year, the national government programmed to borrow a total of P3.1trillion, of which around 75 percent is expected to be raised through domestic sources.

The outstanding debt of the national government as of end-May this year has already ballooned to a record P11.07 trillion, up by 13 percent from P9.795 trillion as of end-2020.

Finance officials last week said the debt-to-GDP ratio this year is projected to rise to 59.1 percent from 54.6 percent in 2020.

It is also expected to peak next year at 60.8 percent—slightly higher than the international recommended threshold—before gradually tapering off to 60.7 percent and 59.7 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Wednesday, July 28, 2021

PHL gets $400-M ADB loan for youth support program

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE Philippines has secured another loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) this time to support efforts to plug youth unemployment and underemployment.

The ADB Board has approved a $400 million policy-based loan to finance the Facilitating Youth School-to-Work Transition Program, Subprogram 3.

The program builds on nearly a decade of ADB support to the government in shortening the time at-risk young Filipinos spend to find work after leaving school.

“The pandemic has led to job losses in many sectors, especially among young people. There is an

urgent need to help young Filipinos find work through innovative labor market programs and skills development initiatives,” said ADB Director for Public Management, Financial Sector, and Trade for Southeast Asia Jose Antonio Tan III. “This new loan reflects our long-term commitment to ensuring that young people find jobs to improve their lives and create a wider employment base for postpandemic economic growth.”

The program will assist the De-

partment of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in boosting the job facilitation capacity of Public Employment Services Offices (PESOs) nationwide, strengthening labor market programs, improving workplace skills development, and creating a healthy work environment.

The subprogram follows the two loans approved in 2017 and 2019.

Those loans helped fund reforms that led to full operationalization of PESOs and established DOLE’s flagship “JobStart Philippines” program.

JobStart provided over 20,000 at-risk youth with life skills training and paid internships, and strengthened apprenticeships. The third subprogram will also strengthen government measures to address the impact of the pandemic on youth employment.

“This loan will help young job seekers, especially women, access training opportunities and enhance their skills development. It will

Co-ops’ credit reporting to be digitized by firms

By Bianca Cuaresma Manuel T. Cayon

@BcuaresmaBM & @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

M

ANILA and DAVAO CITY–TECHNOLOGY firm TransUnion Information Solutions Inc. announced having entered into an agreement with 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines (1CISP) and its partner TraXion Tech Inc. to extend its solutions to cooperatives in underserved and underbanked areas in the country.

In a statement the firm recently released, TransUnion said the partnership is expected to boost “grassroot financing” especially during the global health crisis as 3,000 cooperatives are expected to benefit from the combination of their innovation.

TransUnion said that under the agreement, it is expected to provide 1CISP and its member-cooperatives a credit-scoring and credit-reporting system integrated and ready to use within the “DigiCoop” platform. This gives cooperatives visibility on their members’ off-books credit behavior, enabling them to assess the creditworthiness of their existing borrowers and new applicants more efficiently and effectively and at a reduced cost.

It is also expected to help cooperatives better manage their portfolio and lend with greater confidence, empowering them to be more competitive and allowing them to grant more and bigger access to credit to their community.

With their partnership for digital connection, the providers said “cooperative members would have access to richer data solutions, to enable them to better service their community and prospective members and drive greater financial inclusion.”

1CISP, a member of the International Co-operative Alliance-Asia Pacific, offers support to mostly underprivileged communities by providing their cooperatives with life and non-life insurance products and wider financial services. Its tech partner—TraXion Tech—is a systems integration company that specializes in transaction management systems.

Together, the two organizations launched and operate the “DigiCoop” website where cooperative members can apply for loans, insurance, and investments, pay bills and other financial commitments, and access the DigiCoop virtual marketplace, among other capabilities.

“Technology plays a huge role in terms of providing services, and DigiCoop and our other initiatives have played an important part already during the pandemic,” 1CISP President and CEO Roy S. Miclat was quoted in the statement as saying. “With the addition of TransUnion’s solutions, we can extend our reach and fulfill our responsibility of providing protection and risk mitigation to the communities and members we serve.”

Miclat added that “grassroots finance has been performing well during [the pandemic] and we want to reinforce this position.”

He said the many cooperatives under 1CISP grew 8-10 percent in membership during the pandemic “as many consumers were pushed to seek financial support in coping with the economic impact of Covid-19 on their communities and household finances.”

“To address the sudden surge of members, 1CISP and TraXion Tech launched the DigiCoop platform to be able to reach and onboard cooperative members despite the social distancing protocols and continuously provide them access to credit and digital financial services during these difficult times,” he added. “Our partnership with TransUnion enables us to further enhance cooperative-lending capabilities.”

“One of the biggest pain points in serving the communities is the lack of infrastructure. Alongside 1CISP and TransUnion, we enable cooperatives to virtually roll out services that they were only able to provide traditionally.

By integrating TransUnion’s services into the DigiCoop platform, cooperatives now have access to better insights and intelligence that will help them mitigate and weigh the risks that go along with providing their members the loan that they require,” TraXion Tech CEO Ann J. Cuisia was quoted in the statement as saying.

“This partnership is a great milestone because it enables us to reach more underserved consumers and be instrumental in giving them access to the financial services they need,” TransUnion Philippines President and CEO Ma. Gracia Pia L. Arellano was quoted in the statement as saying.

Paying attention to agriculture

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VER the years, compared to the other economic pillars of our gross domestic product, namely, industry and services, agriculture always lagged behind. In the pandemic year (2020), it did not change with Agriculture accounting for only 10.18 percent of the GDP compared to Service of 61.42 percent and Industry 28.40 percent. Yet, the country is agricultural by nature and topography and millions are into marginal farming.

Since the 1960s the problems have been the same: scant government attention; lack of financing and expensive inputs; no marketing network and farm-to-market roads; and, of course, the nasty weather that slaps us with either a drought or a typhoon.

We were somewhat amazed, however, that based on our study on the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC)—the biggest among the 22 such centers in the country—it seems the agri-vegetable business seemed pandemic-resilient. Of course, the BAPTC serves the Cordillera Region, which accounts for at least 75 percent of vegetables in the country—supplying them from Batanes to Mindanao. (This we learned during a webinar presentation sponsored by the Management Association of the Philippines-Agri Group).

Total BAPTC volume traded went up from (2018) 71.2 million kilograms (kgs) to (2019) 106.5 million kgs to Covid year (2020) of 170.3 million kgs. BAPTC Gross Receipts scaled up similarly from (2018) P21 million to (2019) P25 million to (2020) P31 million.

Their current biggest buyer-destinations are: Divisoria; Balintawak; Urdaneta (Pangasinan); Batangas; and, Tacloban.

The numbers would show that many people had shifted to agriculture (growing vegetables especially) due to economic displacement (loss of jobs and income elsewhere). And people have actually learned

B3

Finex free enterprise Zoilo P. Dejaresco III to eat more vegetables, which are generally cheaper (yet more nutritious) than meat and seafood, or learned to mix veggies with other stuff.

The Agri-Pinoy Trading concept was institutionalized under the administration of the late President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III behind his Agriculture Secretary Prospero J. Alcala. In the case of BAPTC, some P700 million in investments have been altogether sunk into the facility with another P80 million coming in soon for equipment and working capital.

Current Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar recently announced, however, that realizing the bureaucratic red tape in government that they feel hindered the growth and profitability of BAPTC, the entity will soon be converted into a corporation. They probably did a study recognizing that the track record of BAPTC (2013-2020) of P16.7 billion in gross receipts that benefited 187,000 farmers (gifted them a P2.3-billion net income) could have even been better when left to corporate managers.

According to Violeta B. Selda, who is CEO of BAPTC as of May this year, there are 146 accredited farmer cooperatives and associations, 36 trader and buyer groups, 4 transport groups and scores of packers and porters. There are roughly 40,000 identified stakeholders.

There is a constant need to re-educate the

farmers, Salda said, as there are unscrupulous fly-by-night buyers who gyp them into handing them out credit terms only to run away with some P29 million in payables— leaving the farmers holding the proverbial empty bag.

Capacity building of a center

BESTSELLERS in volume and value at BAPTC are potatoes, regular and Chinese cabbage and carrots (fourth is radish). These three, especially, and other vegetables are still bought by many Visayan and Mindanao provinces from Luzon.

Due to the Rice Tariffication Law, millions of rice farmers in the country, even before Covid-19, were brought to their knees and shifting to vegetables and high-value crops should have been an alternative. Agriculture should have been the logical shift after tourism, especially in the Visayan islands, has been beaten black and blue by the virus scare and lockdowns.

They can learn a thing or two on how to operate their own Agri-Pinoy centers patterned after the BAPTC. But the traditional role of just being a mere conduit between producers and buyers of agricultural goods is not enough to make a Trading Center become worth its while. The facilities in BAPTC will tell one what makes such a center tick and succeed.

It has 12 giant cold-storage and even pre-cooling facilities, specialized washing machines, air-drying, a modern laboratory (for checking pest, bacteria presence and nutrition values), modern-technology-driven clipping machine, lifters/containers and packaging equipment.

The BAPTC has trading spaces that can accommodate 3,000 metric tons of goods per day and its cold storage and warehouse facilities are enough to store huge quantities in lean months and keep the goods in

saleable condition. A processing center even converts off-sized vegetables and trimmings and converts them into vegetable noodles.

Conclusion

GIVEN the enormity of the income loss of farmers due to Covid-19, the punishment inflicted upon rice farmers, the relatively benign neglect of farmers (as proven by their current destitute state), it behooves the provincial local government units to bring their microscopes and focus the turn-around of the economy to include agriculture.

Using hybrid and inbred rice seeds to produce high-value rice for tourists (assuming we turn around soon enough), and producing organic and cheap additives like root crops, corn, coconut and rice to lower the cost of feeds to livestock are two of the many initiatives under the present “One DA Reform Agenda.”

The existence of layers of brokers before fish goes to the local markets is something government can lick by dedicated and focused financing and strategic cold storage facilities in the provinces. And bring down the cost of marine food for consumers.

Surely, this agri-weakness did not just happen all of a sudden in just one year. Certainly woven across are tapestries of wrong priorities and reckless neglect of Agriculture that litter the many years behind us. Extending callow sympathy to the near-death of agriculture is not enough.

Action pronto is needed as hunger stalks millions of our countrymen especially in the countryside.

Zoilo P. Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner and book author. He is a Life and Media member of Finex. His views here, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex and the BusinessMirror. Reach the author via dejarescobingo@yahoo.com.

strengthen labor market policies and provide assistance to returning Filipino workers who lost jobs overseas because of the pandemic through group livelihood and entrepreneurship programs,” ADB Principal Financial Sector Specialist for Southeast Asia Stephen Schuster said.

Among the reforms supported by the new loan are the creation of a P1 billion or $200 million) job assistance scholarship fund, unemployment insurance scheme and the First Time Jobseekers Act. The program assisted in the development of an online Life Skills Training program for JobStart covering digital literacy, mental health, reproductive health and rights, women’s empowerment and work values.

The ADB is preparing more support for the labor sector in 2022, including a technical and vocational education and training project and a post-coronavirus disease (Covid-19) employment recovery program.

Paying a fine for violating traffic rules? Use a phone

By Claudeth S. Mocon-Ciriaco

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@claudethmc3

RAFFIC fines and penalties for all types of violations of traffic rules and regulations can now be settled with the use of mobile phones, laptops or personal computers.

This was made possible after the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) partnered with the LandBank of the Philippines and CIS Bayad Center Inc. and launched a cashless payment system last Tuesday.

“In the age of digitization, cashless payment offers convenience for the clients. With the use of mobile phones and laptops/computers, we can now pay anytime and anywhere without the need to travel. Payment is now made easier and long queues will be avoided as they don’t have to go to the MMDA or any over-thecounter payment centers to pay the fines.” MMDA Chairman Benjamin D. Abalos Jr. said during the project launch. Abalos noted that this mode of payment is convenient and time-saving. With this new system in place, MMDA would also ensure safety of its clients, especially in the midst of a pandemic, he added.

“Contactless payment means less exposure to the public [no contact transaction] and less possibility of acquiring the Covid-19 virus,” Abalos said. LandBank Executive Vice President Julio D. Climaco said that the addition of the MMDA to “the growing roster” of LandBank’s “Link Biz Portal” partners nationwide “significantly strengthened the country’s ongoing push for greater financial digitization.”

“This new collaboration proves to be relevant and timely as we all continue to adapt to the new normal. As the MMDA continues to advance initiatives to ease vehicle build-up on the road, our online payment portal will also, in a way, decongest foot traffic in MMDA offices,” Climaco said.

Meanwhile, CIS Bayad Center President and CEO Lawrence Y. Ferrer said the partnership with MMDA would give the agency’s clients more convenient service in terms of paying their obligations.

“The MMDA and Bayad Center have been partners in helping Filipino commuters and motorists settle their fines and penalties in a more convenient, easier way and with this cashless payment solution, we are taking it a notch higher as we provide better service to our kababayans through online and digital channels,” Ferrer said.

On a daily basis, the MMDA is receiving an average of 2,000 traffic fine over-the-counter payments.

The MMDA said that after paying electronically, the payor would see a successful payment transactions post the following day. A service processing fee of P12 for Bayad Center and P15 for LandBank shall also be paid on top of the penalties.

Clients who have overpaid their payment transaction may write a refund request letter to MMDA with proof of payment or official receipt attached, according to government’s traffic manager. The letter should be submitted to the Traffic Ticket Management Division for the preparation of the voucher.

Moreover, the payor needs to ensure the correct ticket number to avoid delays. In case of an invalid or incorrect ticket number, the payment will be tagged as unposted and the client may contact the MMDA Redemption center for payment correction.

Abalos said the MMDA is also open to motorists who would contest their violations and encouraged them to go to the Authority’s Traffic Adjudication Division. “If you think that you did not commit any violation, you could go to the MMDA office and appeal. Our adjudicators will then decide to either uphold or cancel the apprehension,” he added.

Aside from LandBank and Bayad Center, clients may also pay through Bayad Center partners such as GCash, Grabpay and Paymaya. Other payment options include credit, debit and prepaid cards.

Abalos is hopeful that this initiative can also be done in other areas within Metro Manila, with the added help of all the local government units and the private sector.

BusinessMirror

B4 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Editor: Tet Andolong

Having a slice of the Big Apple in Cebu City

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By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

hen you are looking for investment opportunities in the property sector outside Metro Manila, consider Metro Cebu because this is the largest residential hub outside of Metro Manila.

Property management consultant firm Colliers remains bullish as completion of residential units is likely to pick up in 2021. According to Colliers, the pre-selling market offers a degree of optimism as it expects a slight recovery as developers prepare for pent-up demand beyond 2021.

“We believe that demand for residential units in integrated communities are likely to continue despite Covid. Hence, we recommend developers further explore the feasibility of township developments. Developers should also consider fringe areas for house and lot projects and maximize new infrastructure as Cebu is a major beneficiary of the government’s massive infrastructure push,” Colliers explained.

In the first quarter of 2021, 813 condominium units were sold in the pre-selling market, a decline of 28 percent quarter-on-quarter from 1,122 units sold in the fourth quarter of 2020. Moving forward, there is a sign of slight recovery as Colliers expects higher takeup over the next three years, and this is likely to be supported by remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and the Covid vaccine roll out.

Colliers projects the annual delivery of about 4,760 units from 2021 to 2025. Cebu City and Mandaue City are expected

to cover 81 percent of new supply during the period.

“Moreover, we see a 4 percent growth in condominium prices in 2021 as we see demand from investors and end-users gradually recovering starting in the second half of 2021. We expect prices to grow at a faster rate in 2022 as we project higher take-up from Mactan and Cebu City,” Colliers said.

The Lobien Realty Group (LRG), meanwhile, pointed out investing in Metro Cebu is a viable option as it is ranked as a center of excellence behind only Metro Manila.

Moreover, Metro Cebu has top level business hubs such as Cebu Business Parks, Cebu IT Park, Mactan Newtown and Oakridge Business Park.

If you are in the hunt for highend properties, LRG observed that there was an increase of 10 percent in residential properties priced P7 million to P15 million and 5 percent for residential property worth P15 million starting in 1995 until the first quarter of 2020.

Starting the 2nd quarter of 2020 until 2023, LRG reported the rise in percentage in the P7 million to P15 million would be 16 percent price range; and 6 percent for residential properties worth more than P15 million. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, residential property prices rose to 27.1 percent year-on-year in the

second quarter of 2020, the highest growth rate recorded by the Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) since it started in 2016.

This makes a good case for investing in a unit in 38 Park Avenue, a joint venture between Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) and El Camino Developers Inc. The P3.5-billion high-end tower, which recently held a topping off, is nestled right at the heart of the Cebu IT Park is envisioned to be among the most preferred residential locations in Cebu.

With a sales value of P5.5 billion, the 38-story tower is already 96 percent sold, bucking challenges such as the lockdowns due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, construction continued following strict com-

pliance to health and safety protocols including Covid-19 testing.

This was also driven by financial support to these third-party construction workers through weekly allowances on top of daily wages during the height of the pandemic.

The New York City-inspired 38 Park Avenue is the first phase of the three-phased mixed-use development within a 1.2-hectare property in the highest valued location in Metro Cebu. CLI plans to start turnover by the fourth quarter of 2021.

The mixed-use development is developed and managed by CLI in partnership with El Camino Developers Inc., a consortium of five homegrown property companies composed of Gothong Southern

Properties, Acrissor Development Corp., 12Sika Holdings Corp, RKP Property Holdings Inc. and Cebu Landmasters.

The ritzy project offers 764 units with 459 studio units, 230 one-bedroom units, 56 two-bedroom units, 11 three-bedroom units and eight penthouse units.

All units have been laid out around a soaring atrium that infuses light and energy to the entire development, according to top architectural firm Aidea Philippines and international design consultant Callison RTKL. The Plaza, a generous park space with retail area. The next phases are currently under the planning stage.

“38 Park Avenue’s distinct sustainable design, its generous

mixed-use master plan and premium location within the Cebu IT Park ensure that it will offer a new residential option not only for Cebuanos, but also for business and leisure travelers from other global markets. The Cebu property market remains to be one of the bright spots in the region with sustained demand and highly resilient property values,” CLI Chief Operating Officer Franco Soberano explained.

According to Cebu Real Estate Shop (www.cebu-realestateshop. com), prices range from P4.48 million for a 24.85-square-meter (sqm) studio to P28.3 million for a threebedroom unit. The 412-squaremeter penthouse is priced at P90 million.

Inspiring trust and guest confidence in pandemic Greenfield City lays ground for luxurious yet sustainable suburban living times at Seda and Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts

By Roderick L. Abad

I

n the aftermath of Covid-19, guests today prioritize their health and safety over all else when selecting a hotel. After over a year of taking extra health precautions, they seek to regain their confidence as they venture out of their homes for leisure and business trips.

“Guest safety and wellness have been the priority of Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp. (AHRC) in the past 16 months, even more so now that people are desiring to travel again,” assures Javier Hernandez, president and CEO. AHRC is the Ayala Land subsidiary that owns and manages a range of hotel and resort properties catering to all segments of the market—from luxury to affordable and from business to leisure.

AHRC’S biggest brand is its homegrown Seda Hotels which it developed and now operates in 11 strategic locations throughout the country. Since the brand was founded in 2012, it has adhered to the highest levels of hygiene and safety so that both guests and employees alike feel safe, confident and secure.

With the onset of Covid-19, it organized all its health and safety protocols into the comprehensive “Safe at Seda” program based on government protocols and global industry standards and more. The program is overseen by a Covid-19 Safety Officer in each property to ensure consistent implementation, from prevention to staff training on detection and management of suspect cases.

Digitalization of processes to provide contactless transactions were among the first changes implemented by the brand. This paved the way for the use of QR codes, to online check-in, to e-commerce and to expanding Seda’s presence in more

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The right protocols and equipment ensure that guests feel safe at Seda hotels throughout the country.

digital channels.

Seda Hotels continues to receive certifications from other bodies, reiterating its commitment to safety.

All its properties accepting leisure stays have qualified for the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Safe Travels Stamp, attesting to their adherence to health protocols that meet global standards. Several hotels have also received the Clean and Ready Shield from Diversey, one of the world’s leaders in hygiene, certifying that its cleaning products and practices ensure the protection of guests and employees from Covid-19 and other harmful illnesses.

“The pandemic has raised public expectations for safer and healthier environments,” according to Hernandez. Across all its properties, AHRC has strictly complied with national and local guidelines and actively supported government efforts to manage the pandemic as a key step for delivering assurance to guests. All its establishments from Seda to its El Nido islands and Lio Beach resorts, as well as its inter-

nationally branded hotels, display a Safety Seal from the Department of Tourism. This also means they use the country’s official StaySafe. ph application for more efficient contact tracing.

AHRC’s branded hotels enforce their respective chains’ stringent safety programs. Luxury hotels Fairmont Makati and Raffles Makati, both managed by Accor, have received the French chain’s ALL Safe certification. Holiday Inn & Suites Makati, also part of the AHRC portfolio and a member of the prestigious Inter-Continental Hotels Group (IHG), complies with IHG’s “Clean Promise” program.

“We are confident we have systems in place throughout our properties that greatly minimize risks for all our guests and workers,” assures Hernandez. He adds that vaccination of its employees is ongoing in its properties around the country, reaffirming the company’s continued commitment to health and safety, not just within its premises but also to the greater community.

Contributor

HE new normal is now driving the homebuyers’ preference for development projects that provide better access to open space while enjoying access to everyday conveniences.

This is apparent in Sta. Rosa Laguna’s continued transition into a strategic residential, industrial, and recreational hub.

One of the most iconic townships rising here is the Greenfield City, the brainchild of Greenfield Development Corp. (GDC), that is attracting buyers who want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the metropolis with its 400-hectare selfsustaining network of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational communities.

Boasting a park-living concept, it puts premium on open spaces and nature and offers a refuge for those looking for a refreshing shift in scenery and lifestyle outside of Metro Manila.

Two of Greenfield ’s up-and-

ARTIST’S perspective of Trava, a 33-hectare residential development rising at the Greenfield City.

coming developments—Zadia and Trava—provide future residents master-planned communities that extend to them the convenience of living in middle-tier cities while still having the chance to commune with nature.

Designed with the fusion of modern living with an eco-inspired lifestyle, Zadia has devoted 80 percent of its area to parks, outdoor amenities and green open spaces— a comfort that is practically rare in the Metro.

The 33-hectare residential development Trava, on the other hand, allots 45 percent of the property to expansive green meadows, playgrounds, and tree-lined wide roads.

Besides its verdant surroundings, it integrates sustainable concepts, such as underground utilities, solar-powered green roofs, and the use of environment-friendly building materials to create a peaceful, sustainable luxurious haven of suburban living.

GDC believes that mixed-use developments comprised of offices, condominiums, supermarkets and

restaurants meet the homebuyer’s demand for greater mobility and convenience that only a well thought of and executed projects could provide.

Greenfield City, for instance, is easily accessible from Metro Manila with its strategic location just a few kilometers away from the South Luzon Expressway via the Greenfield City-Unilab interchange and the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

Retail outlets and al fresco dining in Paseo Outlets, Laguna Central and Arcadia offer both shoppers and foodies a wide array of choices.

Also, residential establishments here are well within reach of landmark business, commercial and industrial centers.

For GDC, creating lasting, sustainable living spaces is what it stands for. The company’s mantra, “Building for Generations,” shows its commitment to contribute to the progress of the country by pioneering future-proofed, master-planned communities with eco-friendly and architecturally sound homes that can be passed on to more generations to come.

Property BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

B5

A GATEWAY TO GREEN URBAN LIVING

C5 TRANSFORMS INTO A PROMISING ADDRESS FOR THE UPCOMING ‘GREENEST URBAN ESTATE’ OF AYALA LAND AND ETON PROPERTIES CALLED PARKLINKS

leisure, the sprawling estate will also be anchored by a lifestyle mall located at the C5 frontage.

The Parklinks Mall is designed as a family-oriented establishment that will offer a vast array of shopping, dining, and entertainment options. On top of it is a 3,500-square meter sports complex that will become a home to a basketball court, volleyball and badminton courts, as well as a fitness gym and a dance studio.

Contemporary office spaces will, likewise, be available for potential business locators.

Linking modern urban living with nature’s comfort

Parklinks Bridge

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By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

EXT to Edsa, Circumferential Road 5 (C5 Road) in Pasig is the second most vital transportation corridor in Metro Manila. Spanning some 32.5 kilometers, it connects the city with its neighboring localities of Las Piñas, Makati, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon City (QC), Taguig, and Valenzuela.

Built in 1986, the C5 Road, or legally known as President Carlos P. Garcia Avenue, has long served the commuting public going north or south of the metropolis. Running parallel to the four other beltways, this network of roads and bridges has been continuously supporting the growing vehicular population of its surrounding areas. Hence, it remains a work in progress until today with the ongoing extension initiatives on both ends.

From access road to destination

AKIN to other major thoroughfares in the metro, the C5 corridor has gone far beyond just an access road. It, eventually, has become a destination teeming with various developments. The stretch by itself now hosts several multinationals, business process outsourcing companies, and automotive industry outlets. It has also never failed to be on the radar of big-ticket real estate developers.

In fact, many of its previously unused locations are currently being converted into mixed-use developments—most notable of which is the biggest estate in the area called Parklinks, a jointventure development between two of the country’s major developers, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and Eton Properties Philippines Inc.

This one-of-a-kind, emerging address is complete with all the amenities and facilities of a perfect vibrant destination.

Complementing this are the attributes of a balanced and serene community fit for the ideal “work, play, and live” lifestyle.

Being highly accessible via C5, Amang Rodriguez Avenue, and Ortigas Avenue, it is strategically located as a meeting point for business hubs like Bonifacio Global City, Ortigas, Makati, and QC. Parklinks is also just a drive away from reputable hospitals, top universities, and commercial establishments, bringing it closer to life’s essentials.

Combining business with

C5 rises as strategic address for balanced modern lifestyle

PARKLINKS is a 35-hectare property along the C5 corridor, envisioned to be a burgeoning estate development that brings all the comforts of urban living close to nature. Boasting of utmost connectivity and convenience, this integrated, mixed-use project will soon connect Pasig with QC via the iconic 110-meter Parklinks Bridge over the Marikina River.

Such a connection will help ease the flow of vehicular traffic in both bustling cities.

Parklinks Estate

Parklinks Mall

The Lattice with Central Park

PARKLINKS will be a definite “breath of fresh air“ along the C5 corridor. Being the “greenest” and “healthiest” township initiative from the two developers, half of this sustainable masterplanned estate is dedicated to open space.

And with the incorporation of the most extensive park system (which includes the eco park, eco esplanade, eco terraces, eco forest and eco center), an engaging living experience is just within reach from any point of this verdant community.

The well-designed and managed walkway system makes the Parklinks truly a “walkable” estate—approximately just a fiveminute stroll from business hubs, mall, office and living spaces. Apart from this, jogging paths and bike lanes throughout the development provide not just better options for travel, but also active and healthy lifestyle choices.

Parklinks is far more than just a sprawling township project along the C5 Road. It’s likely a potential game-changer that can redefine sustainable living in the country—thanks to premium residential brands of both developers now dotting the estate.

Among the vertical developments rising here, Alveo Land’s The Lattice is a signature, towering community right across the three-hectare central park. This offers an inimitable investment opportunity for future residents with its unmatched convenient and holistic lifestyles via quality building standards and amenities interweaved with the natural environments just outside its dwelling spaces.

True to its name, The Lattice exudes intertwining or interlacing architecture design. This is aligned with the project’s premise of seamlessly incorporating unmatched indoor and outdoor experiences: From a welcoming lobby that leads straight to the central park up to the amenity deck that features alfresco areas to lounge around and expansive open spaces that are accommodating for a flexible variety of activities or simply enticing to marvel at a viewing platform.

The C5 route may not be complete yet to date, however, it has come a long way. Truly, it has transformed not just as a major transportation corridor, but also as a vital cog in progress and development with its excellent transit accessibility, adjacency to existing job centers, and diverse urban amenities and largescale communities like the Parklinks that integrates modern city life with natural environments.

Visit our website www. alveoland.com.ph for details on The Lattice at Parklinks.

The Lattice Amenity Deck

B6 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

TAP DMV holds exclusive rights for Pacquiao vs Spence in August

BOXING icon and Sen. Manny Pacquiao (center) with Ovation Productions CEO and TapTV cofounder Renen de Guia and his wife, Celine.

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HILIPPINE-based media company TAP Digital Media Ventures Corp.

(TAP DMV) has signed a License Agreement with boxing icon Manny Pacquiao to secure the Exclusive Rights covering all media for his upcoming superbout against the undefeated WBC and IBF Welterweight Champion, Errol Spence, Jr. The event is set for Sunday, August 22, 2021 (PH Time) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fans nationwide can watch the fight

on TapSPORTS, TapEDGE, Premier Tennis and Premier Football. Available on SkyCable, Cignal, Air Cable, and CableLink. The Superfight will also be shown on GMA, Tap’s free-to-air telecast partner. Fans can likewise have the option to watch without ads on PayPer-View through their cable television providers. And as a special offer, Tap DMV is making the Pacquiao vs. Spence fight available for free by subscribing to TapGO, Tap’s Sports and Entertainment

subscription streaming service.

At age 42, Pacquiao revels in being the underdog against the undefeated 31 year-old American and believes he can overcome the odds by fight night, furthering his illustrious career with a win. The Filipino boxer is expected to stake his WBA welterweight title against Spence’s unified WBCIBF welterweight title, making the winner of this bout the undisputed welterweight world champion.

“We are tremendously excited to be working with Manny Pacquiao and we are equally grateful for the opportunity to bring this superfight to Filipino fans. In the wake of the challenges brought on by this pandemic, we remain steadfast partners in delivering top notch sports and entertainment properties that aim to improve content consumption of our audiences,” said Celinda De Guia, President and CEO of TAP DMV. “It is a great honor for our team to be part of the continuing legacy of one of boxing’s all time greats. We are truly proud to be a part of this historic fight which will surely bring inspiration and honor to our country,” said Renen De Guia, Chairman of TAP DMV.

Laguna launches centralized hotline number for easy access to services, faster govt response

A DOSE OF HOPE. Lead Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Founder Joey Concepcion, NTF COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, and AstraZeneca Country President Lotis Ramin receive a total of 1,150,800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines procured by the private sector at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal I in Parañaque City on July 16, 2021. “A Dose of Hope" Program Lead Josephine Romero, Zuellig Pharma Chief Business Officer Jannette Jakosalem, and Alastair Totty, Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy in Manila also joined the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines from the private sector.

“Running Man” will hold an online fan meeting via TikTok on September 5, 2021

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OUTH Korean variety TV Show, “Running Man”, will hold an online fan meeting via TikTok, the world's leading short-form mobile videos, on September 5. The SBS variety show, “Running Man”, has gained massive popularity worldwide since its first broadcast in 2010. Since 2013, Running Man members have been visiting their fans overseas with fan meets and various performances.

Running Man's overseas fan meetings and performances have been popular in many regions like Southeast Asia. Previous fan meetings have been successful such as the Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam event in December 2019 and the Manila fan meeting which had to be rescheduled due to the COVID 19 outbreak.

However, despite the hurdles, the Manila fan meeting is still recognized as one of the best K-performances, selling out tickets within one hour of going on sale.

Jay Bae, head of global business development at TikTok Korea told, “TikTok's paid live feature was first introduced in May and we have received positive feedback as well as meaningful results afterwards, including

Lotte Duty Free Online Family Concert, Beautiful Mint Life 2021, and FOREST 21 Epik High Concert. TikTok will continue to make efforts to provide better customer experiences to domestic and foreign users.”

“Running Man 2021 Online Fan Meeting” will open tickets through SM Tickets and various overseas ticket companies at 12PM (PST) on July 16. The show will be broadcast live to global audiences in six different languages: Korean, English, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian.

CCP Digital Time Capsule walks down history lane, showcases Art in the Times of COVID-19

AT THE LAUNCH OF A CENTRALIZED HOTLINE IN LAGUNA, FROM LEFT: GLC Head of Marketing Angela Gutierrez, GLC National Sales Head Shirley Billedo, Laguna Gov. Ramil Hernandez, GLC Project Lead MJ Hernandez and PLDT Relationship Manager Allan Hechanova.

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S part of its initiatives towards digital transformation, the provincial government of Laguna has taken its first step in becoming a Smart Province with the launch of a centralized hotline that will ensure easy access to the services for Lagunenses, whether emergency response, official business, public service and even for reports and inquiries.

“Our main goal is to provide an easier channel for people to contact our offices faster so we can immediately respond to their needs. As with everything we do in the province, we always have our constituents in mind first with our Serbisyong Tama principle. If we are easier to be reached, we can provide services quicker and more efficient,” Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez said.

Providing the technology for this ground-breaking and innovative initiative is Gur Lavi Corp. (GLC), one of the fastest growing telecommunications distributors in the Philippines in partnership with PLDT, with one of its flagship brands – TeLavi Cloud – considered to be a pioneering all-in communication platform in the country today.

GLC President and CEO Erwin Co shares, “In the past, we have done several partnerships with the local government wherein we offered our on premise and infrastructure solutions however, our collaboration for the Laguna hotline number is our first implementation in the public sector in terms of hosted PBX. With this project, we will help the province gather more partners and opportunities not just in the public sector but also from private organizations from

SMEs to Large enterprises with remote branch offices.”

Dial #LAGUNA

WITH #LAGUNA, residents of Laguna only need to know one number to call to be able to reach the agencies and the offices of the provinces. They just have to dial #LAGUNA (#524862).

Co also explained that having Telavi Cloud has a plethora of advantages for Laguna in their journey to be futureproof. The project will not just improve the communication inside their office, but also their collaborations. People can join an audio conference call with a single click, use individual and group messaging to quickly and easily communicate with colleagues, and create workspace for teams where they can chat in real time and share important information, especially during calamities.

“The array of tools at their team’s fingertips keep the communication and the exchange of ideas to flow seamlessly.

The result? A network of employees that are connected, informed and armed with the tools they need to perform their jobs to the best of their ability,” Co said.

Project Lead MJ Hernandez echoed the same sentiments as the innovative initiative will soon benefit many people, “In GLC, it is always our mission to support the community. We understand the challenges that everyone is facing now that’s why we created effective and user-friendly solutions that will connect people wherever they are to institutions or organizations the fastest way possible."

Hernandez emphasized that Telavi Cloud is cost efficient and gives

remarkable benefits that ensures business continuity, flexible work arrangement for teams whether together or remotely apart, and adaptability and compliance even under stricter quarantine measures being implemented.

Gov. Hernandez vows to continue to deliver better services to his constituents.

“We are always looking for better ways to serve our people. Just recently, we launched the Province of Laguna Employment and Information System by PESO (PLEIS), an online job portal which is the first in the region. Rest assured that we will continue to innovate and create projects,” Gov. Hernandez added.

The #LAGUNA Telavi Cloud project and the centralization of voice and data system are seen as just the start of a long and innovative partnership between the Provincial Government of Laguna and GLC. The first phase of the project was mobilized in November 2020 followed by phase 2 which is the integration to Telavi Cloud and #LAGUNA that started on May 2021 and is now ready to be launched and implemented.

The maintenance and warranty for this project will last for a 5-year period where it is forecasted to provide 95.2 km fiber network connection that will interconnect CCTV cameras all over Laguna’s National Road, from Barangay Paagahan in Mabitac, Laguna to United Boundary Barangay San Antonio, San Pedro City Laguna and integrate other Smart City components like smart street lights, traffic lights, PA System and Telemetry devices.

To know more about TeLavi Cloud, visit www.telavi.com.ph.

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AKE a trip down memory lane with the CCP Digital Time Capsule, an interactive digital timeline that tells the history of the Cultural Center of the Philippines from its inception in 1965 to its most recent artistic breakthroughs and achievements in the digital age.

A project of the Cultural Research and Development Division, this is the Center’s answer to the ever-changing spirit of the times to continue its mission of bringing artistic excellence to the people and nurturing the public to participate in art-making and appreciation.

Launched last January 28, 2021 via CCP's official Facebook page, the web-based interactive timeline has three main features – CCP Timeline, Art in the Time of Covid-19, and Featured Memories.

The CCP Timeline maps the history of the CCP as the Philippines’ premiere arts institution. It documents how the idea of building a national arts and culture center began. It details its progression to become the leading institution for arts and culture in the Philippines.

The Timeline contains rare archival photos and videos from the vast collection of the CCP from 1965 to 2019.

The capsule also features a dedicated section called Art in the Time of COVID-19, a sub-timeline born out of the current

pandemic situation.

This sub-feature chronicles a crucial period in Philippine and world history, reflects how the pandemic has abruptly affected the art scene in the Philippines, and showcases how artists, art communities, and ordinary citizens cope with the current situation using arts.

Art in the Times of COVID-19 is a testament to the power of arts in inspiring change, educating the public, and providing healing and respite in these trying times.

This section features CCP’s digital approach to 2020, online workshops, COVID-19themed art forms, virtual exhibits, online concerts, performances, and festivals; webinars and online conversations about the pandemic; and homage to arts and cultural establishments that closed down during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Featured Memories are curated interviews with cultural administrators, workers, and artists about their experiences in working with the CCP: their beginnings, the challenges they faced, achievements, and fond memories.

Check out the CCP Time Capsule: https:// timecapsule.culturalcenter.gov.ph/ Follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to CCP YouTube channel.

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Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

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Wednesday, July 28, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

B7

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Dustin Milligan, 36; Noma Dumezweni, 52; Jim Davis, 76; Peter Cullen, 80.

Happy Birthday: Sign up for interesting courses to expand your mind, skills and awareness. Strive for perfection, and engage in practices that will help you advance. Do your research and leave nothing to chance. Preparation will be the key to turning this year from mundane to sublime. Choose your destiny. Take a deep breath, gain control and take a leap forward. Your numbers are 5,18, 23, 28, 33, 39, 46.

BYE IMPLANTS

EVERYBODY’S been asking why the TV personality looks somehow different. You know how it is when someone looks better but you can’t pinpoint what exactly changed to make them look like that? That is what’s happening with this TV personality right now. She looks fresher and somehow younger. She’s had something done but it’s not what you think. The TV personality went to a doctor and had her breast implants removed as she’s been worried about them. She does not have a history of cancer but she’s concerned that having implants in her body could harm her health in the long run and she wants to be strong and healthy for her family, especially her child.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Look for new possibilities. An adventure will lift your spirits and get you excited about something you’ve never experienced. Be the one to initiate change; channel your energy, and you’ll discover something that motivates you. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t leave anything to chance. Size up situations, ask questions and direct your energy to suit your needs. A physical change will boost your morale and give you added confidence to set your pace and follow your heart. HHH

c

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

Let the experience prompt better decisions regarding health, love and matters that affect your position or reputation. Don’t let outside influences interfere with your long-term goals. Say no to indulgent situations or behavior. HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Keep your thoughts to yourself. A situation will not be what you think, and responding too quickly will result in regret. Slow down, observe, and concentrate on personal gains, self-improvement and happiness. HH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Look for a moneymaking opportunity; do whatever it takes to make it happen. It’s up to you to make decisions to help you achieve the lifestyle you want to live. Look, and you will discover a practical way to excel. HHHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Press on courageously. Seize the moment, embrace exciting prospects and physically engage in putting what you want into play. Don’t be afraid to nudge anyone who is waffling or holding you back. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Speak up and share your thoughts. Take part in events that address matters that concern you. Don’t hesitate to become a spokesman or act on behalf of an organization that shares your beliefs. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Observation is favored. Listen, gather information, formulate a plan and prepare to make adjustments that free you from situations that are standing between you and what you want to achieve.

Create opportunities instead of waiting for them to come to you. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stick close to home. Put time, effort and money into making your surroundings fit your lifestyle.

Change begins with you, and a challenge will spark enthusiasm to turn your dream into a reality. HHHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep your guard up, mind open and emotions under control. You have plenty to gain if you focus more on what you are trying to achieve and less on what others do or say. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Set goals and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results you achieve. Discuss concerns with individuals who have insight into something you want to pursue. Consider forming partnerships and signing deals. Do your part, and rewards will follow. HHHH

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Assess your health, financial situation and personal life, and you’ll come up with a plan that will help you tweak whatever isn’t working for you anymore. A lifestyle change will promote better relationships with loved ones. HHH Birthday Baby: You are insightful, appealing and compassionate.

You are adaptable and generous.

SHE’S IN SHAPE

Singer Pink backs beach handball team on ‘sexist’ clothing

By Jari Tanner | The Associated Press

H

ELSINKI—US pop singer Pink has offered to pay a fine given to the Norwegian female beach handball team for wearing shorts instead of the required bikini bottoms. Pink said she was “very proud” of the team for protesting against the rule that prevented them from wearing shorts like their male counterparts.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, Pink said: “The European handball federation SHOULD BE FINED FOR SEXISM. Good on ya, ladies.” She added that “I’ll be happy to pay your fines for you. Keep it up.”

At the European Beach Handball Championships in Bulgaria last week, Norway’s female team was fined €1,500 ($1,770) for what the European federation called improper clothing and “a breach of clothing regulations.” The rules stipulate that women must wear bikini bottoms while men wear shorts.

The Norwegian Handball Federation didn’t contest the decision, seen by the Norwegian team and several others as unfair, and announced earlier that it was ready to pay the fine.

The European Handball Federation (EHF) on Monday acknowledged the commotion that the incident had triggered in media outlets and social media, and said it would donate the amount paid by the Norwegian team “to a major international sports foundation which supports equality for women and girls in sports.”

“We are very much aware of the attention the topic has received over the past days, and while changes cannot happen overnight, we are fully committed that something good comes out of this situation right now which is why the EHF has donated the fine for a good cause promoting equality in sports,” EHF president Michael Wiederer said in a statement.

He added that handball is already ahead of other sports in some respects, such as the parity given to the men’s and women’s competitions.

He noted that this had happened far sooner in beach handball than in soccer. The Norwegian women posted a photograph of themselves on Instagram wearing shorts and told their followers: “Thank you so much for all the support. We really appreciate all the love we have received.” n

THE actress’s marriage recently ended but she and her husband have been having problems for a while. In fact, they’ve been living on her money as her husband hasn’t had steady work. The actress isn’t rich on her own but her family, even her mom, supports her financially. She is itching to go back to work so that she can be financially independent, but she can’t because she wants to be in shape before tapings keep her busy. The actress is smarting at insinuations that her husband cheated because she let herself go when she clearly did not. She may not be as svelte as she was when she was a teenager but she still looks very good.

FRENEMIES

THE two young stars consider themselves to be friends but probably not for long. The senior of the two (in terms of years in showbiz) is beginning to feel insecure about her friend, who is now more popular than her especially on social media. So the more senior is discreetly asking her management if could break away from the many projects they have planned for them. The management has told her that one of the reasons why she is doing so well is because she works with the other young star. Otherwise, she’d be hounded by the scandals of her past. The more junior star’s being wholesome and her good reputation in the industry is what makes her very popular right now. The more senior of the two has a certain reputation for having an attitude problem.

HER TRUE SELF

THE Filipino YouTuber is known for being nice but those who’ve worked with and for her know that isn’t the case. The YouTuber is a diva who is demanding and not gracious at all.

She is difficult to work with, too. It’s no wonder that views on her videos are now quite low, when they used to be in the tens of thousands. Now, she’d be lucky if she got 10,000 views on a video. She often gets half of that or even less. She once did a shoot for a beauty brand and while there were a couple of pre-production meetings, the YouTuber threw a fit on the day itself because she didn’t like her makeup. This is so strange because she was the one who chose the makeup artist, who did a trial before the shoot day. The YouTuber just wanted to be difficult and throw her weight around.

In times of stress, turning to contemplation can be helpful Continued from B8 reflection so our over-cluttered minds can focus on prayer and other contemplative practices. The Apostle Paul discusses how cultivating the “fruit of the spirit” through prayer and contemplation moves us toward patience and away from egocentrism.

Buddhists believe that quieting the mind through meditation can help people recognize that their feelings, perceptions, worldviews and even the self are impermanent features of life that can cause suffering. It can also help people contemplate their connectedness to the world around them. Rest and contemplation help connect religious people with the deeper sources of meaning they seek to cultivate through scriptural study, meditation and prayer.

Medical science has become religion’s unexpected partner in confirming the benefits generated by these religious practices.

Researchers have found an association between downtime, learning and creativity. Sleep, nature walks and exercise offer a number of lifeenhancing benefits, including improved memory, productivity and physical health. Recent advances in neuroimaging technologies have allowed researchers to observe brain changes during times of intense prayer, yoga and mindfulness meditation. Scientific evidence suggests that engaging in these practices may lead to improved health and well-being.

A broad range of clinical studies on mindfulness, decentering and acceptance therapies note that regular meditation can physically alter the brain

and how it responds to the world. For instance, these practices have been found to transform the brain’s neural pathways and create new neurological networks that can lead to improved health and wellbeing.

Research on the practices of Japanese and Chinese Buddhist monks reveals benefits for physical and mental health. Furthermore, active meditations, such as yoga, qigong and tai-chi, are found to increase a sense of well-being through the regulation of mood and the reduction in anxiety and depression.

Even in the midst of a pandemic—or a stressful work week—taking time to rest, exercise, sleep, meditate or pray can lead to improvements in our everyday physical, mental and spiritual health.

THE CONVERSATION

‘sports center’ by julian lim The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Went down a chute 5 Way to a freeway 11 It might be part-time 14 Sugar stalk 15 Document signed before a stunt 16 One, in Cancun 17 Harris, to Biden, in 2020 19 Tex-___ 20 “Head over heels” and “hand over fist” 21 Keg outlet 22 Practice, as a trade 23 Meal that may feature tempura 24 Dietary amt.

26 Letter before omega 27 “The ___ of Glory” (Lady Gaga hit) 28 Carnival’s setting 32 Medieval workers 34 Better ventilated 35 ___ milk 38 Pairing on a fight card 40 Stab or go 41 “To life,” at a bat mitzvah 43 Labyrinths

5 Outing for two couples 4 47 Like flan 51 A, in Cannes 52 Heart of a winner?

53 “That’s ___” (Dean Martin love song) 54 Drug made from a fungus 55 Spray used before sauteing 57 Floral Van Gogh subjects 58 Grazed, say 59 Dramatic baseball maneuver, or what you can do within each starred answer to form two words/ phrases?

62 It was in orbit for 15 years 63 Definitely will, after “is” 64 Ascended 65 Machines in some labs 66 Assigned a job to 67 Is in the hole DOWN 1 One who takes things down 2 Extolled 3 One of nine in baseball, usually 4 Signifies 5 Dominates, to gamers

6 Worn-out horse 7 Periphery 8 Top-grossing movie of all time (2009) 9 Photographer’s prefix for “data” 10 Gear up (for) 11 Parachutist’s apparel 12 Short zinger 13 Squarish 18 “Just my 2 cents,” in a text 24 Life ___ (inflatable vessel) 25 iPod predecessor 26 Lead-in to “que” 28 Freeze-___ (still image) 29 Paramedic’s roll 30 Like a red strawberry 31 Word before “cell” or “spell” 33 ___ and the Detectives 35 Aged 36 Kind of guitar 37 Speaks with a booming voice 39 Tops of Santa costumes 42 Nickname that anagrams to “Bea” 44 Part-time athlete 46 Shows reluctance 48 Proceed leisurely

9 Summer Nights musical 4 50 “Of course! Of course!”

53 Verb that sounds like its middle letter 54 Genie’s place 55 Subtle summons 56 Blue-green 57 Polo shirt brand 60 Cartoon squeal 61 Summer, to a Parisian Solution to today’s puzzle:

B8

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Image BusinessMirror

• Wednesday, July 28, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

In times of stress, turning to contemplation can be helpful

PHOTO BY SCOTT GRAHAM ON UNSPLASH

By Kristen Lucken Brandeis University

Warning: bad manager W

HILE waiting for the elevator recently, I heard a woman shouting at the head of security because, apparently, he did not recognize her. It turns out she was an executive and she was already late for a meeting, and she created a scene in the reception area where there were applicants and clients. Later that day, I saw her laughing and joking with the rest of the management team. She really had a reputation for throwing her weight around, especially those below her. Needless to say, I have discovered, people do not stay with her for more than a year—they either transfer or resign.

Every organization has at least one of these managers—bad managers who lord it over everybody else, or who do not know what they are doing and mask it with threats and aggression. Some like being in power and letting everybody know who the boss is. Some are first-time managers who bully everyone into submission, while others have no one to look up to for the kind of leadership that helps people become the best version of themselves.

There are several indicators to know if you are one of these managers. One indicator is when you publicly shame your team members and do not recognize or praise them. No one wants to work with someone who puts them in a bad light. As their manager, your role is to protect them from other managers who might take advantage of them. During meetings with other departments, stand behind your team members. If you do not agree with them, talk to them afterwards.

But do not be the first to criticize them in front of

other managers.

Nobody likes a know-it-all. If you are a manager who does not acknowledge your mistakes or do anything to remedy them, chances are, you have lost some of your team’s respect. A good leader takes accountability for their team and their actions. Your team loses their respect for you when you take credit for their success but shift the blame to others for your shortcomings.

To be a good leader, give credit where credit is due and do it publicly. Acknowledge people’s contributions to the success of the team, and always find ways to instill in your team that the success of one is the success of everyone. After all, when other departments and offices look at your team, they do not see individual members but the team as a whole.

Establish that mindset for your team and you will be surprised with how they will have each other’s back, and how they will also protect you.

Bad managers also do not listen to their team. Do not wait for people to resign before you start listening.

One of the biggest mistakes people managers make is that they do not invest time in getting to know their people. Bad managers think they can do it alone. Good managers understand that to succeed, work needs to be done through people. And to understand how to influence people to work in the same direction, you need to listen to them.

Be aware of your own biases when you listen.

Your role as a leader is to deliberately assess your team’s recommendations and put it in a context where your team understands what needs to be done against what they want. Employee feedback is crucial in understanding their sentiments, and puts you in a better position to influence them. Finding the right balance of pulling and pushing your team entails getting to know their motivations and aspirations so you can influence their work toward a common goal.

And then there are managers who focus too much on what went wrong more than what could be done. As a leader, your role is to steer the team towards success. Thinking negatively is like an anchor weighing everybody down even if everybody

paddles in the same direction. Focus on getting things done, not on self-pity or unproductive reflection.

Bad managers also have no clear direction for the team. To be agile in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, there is a need to be adaptive. But when the team is not willing to follow or finds it hard to follow your lead, there is something wrong. And since they do not have a clear direction of where they are headed, these bad managers also cannot give clear guidance or constructive feedback on the work of individual members.

Avoid this by taking the time to plan with your team on how to accomplish set goals for the year, quarterly, or even monthly if needed. Team members need to understand how they contribute to the overall success of the team and how their efforts are translated into personal achievements. When people find meaning in what they do and their efforts are acknowledged, they are more likely to be motivated to get to the next project.

Another trait of a bad manager is when they do not motivate their team to do their best. Or their way of doing so is to scream, shout, or pull rank just so people will do whatever they want. If you are this manager, you need to stop. You are dealing with professionals, so act like one. Team members reflect their leader.

There are better ways of motivating your team to do their work than being a bully.

Bad managers also play favorites and end up with an unbalanced work distribution. To avoid this, show what everybody else is doing if you can. You can also partner the efficient ones with those who are struggling so people can teach each other on best practices. This also helps people develop camaraderie and engenders a sense of community where everybody watches everybody’s back.

A big part of being a good manager is understanding where your people are coming from, respecting their professional expertise, and harnessing the energies and talents of a group of people toward a common purpose. Bad managers focus on what is in it for them. Good managers focus on what is in it for the whole team. n

Why superfoods are super GOOD health starts with what is on one’s plate. Now that many have become more conscious of their health, they have also become more mindful of what they eat. And conversations about healthy eating would never be complete without a mention of superfoods.

With July being “Nutrition Month,” it’s just fitting to learn more about superfoods and why, in recent years, they have emerged as a great companion to every health journey. It’s best to start from the beginning—so, what are superfoods really?

Superfood is often hyped as “power food” or food that has exceptional nutritional density. Meaning, it is packed with nutrients even in small serving volumes yet low in calorie content. Mostly plant-based foods, superfoods provide substantial amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals, and offer multiple health benefits.

Health experts say that the benefits of eating superfood include improving nutrition, promoting good heart health, stabilizing blood sugars, and preventing some types of cancer.

Some plant-based foods that are considered as superfoods are dark leafy greens such as kale, root crops like beets, and whole grains like quinoa.

To illustrate their health benefits, a single cup of kale has more vitamin C than an orange and contains seven times the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin K. It’s also a good source of minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium that many people are deficient in.

Beets are some of the best sources of nitrates, or

compounds that convert to nitric acid in the body. Nitric acid plays an important role in improving blood flow, which may improve athletic performance and also lower blood pressure.

Quinoa, meanwhile, is considered as a super crop by the United Nations for its high protein content. This superfood is also a complete protein, as it contains all nine essential amino acids that the body cannot make on its own.

The Harvard School of Public Health advises that regular consumption of superfoods still needs to be complemented with healthy living. Despite their popularity, superfoods should not be mistaken as cure-alls or miracles for any existing ailments. They should be incorporated into a proper diet and active lifestyle. While there is science that backs their health benefits, variety and moderation in your diet are required to enjoy optimum results.

Plant-based Filipino brand Sekaya (www.sekaya.com.ph) offers the dietary goodness of superfoods through its Sekaya Raw Actives line, superfood powders made with the highest quality US Department of Agriculture-certified organic wholefood ingredients. They come in ready-to-mix powder formats, so they are easy to stir in water or other beverages, and even mixed in with food. Sekaya is under Synnovate Pharma Corp., the natural products company of Unilab.

Choose from Sekaya Raw Actives Barley Green to keep the digestive system healthy, Daily Greens to boost daily intake of essential nutrients, Maca Factor to help regulate stress hormones, Pea Protein to speed up muscle recovery, Powerbeet to increase energy during workouts, and Vegan Protein to sustain a plant-based lifestyle.

OVER a year of dealing with Covid-19 has left a lasting imprint on our daily lives. The pandemic disrupted usual work routines, with the majority of Americans having to work from home for long spells. While working from home has some hidden benefits, such as no daily commute, it also resulted in longer workdays and high levels of stress for many.

A global study of the communication patterns of 1.3 million workers during the global lockdown showed the average workday increased by 8.2 percent during the pandemic, and the average number of virtual meetings per person expanded by almost 13 percent. Many in the workforce felt overloaded with never-ending online meetings and unexpected family obligations that added pressure to the lives of working parents and other caregivers.

People’s well-being can be profoundly impacted if work-life balance ignores the need for rest and recuperation. As a scholar who studies the sociology of religion, I know that the themes of rest and contemplation are woven throughout the fabric of most religious traditions, and they remain equally salient in our lives today.

Through the practice of meditation, religious traditions quiet the senses in order to achieve a mindset of rest that they believe brings about heightened consciousness. Hindus, Buddhists and Jains teach the concept of dhyana, which generally translates to “contemplation”.

Through yoga, meditation and other contemplative practices, practitioners can achieve a state of meditative consciousness and self-awareness that can lead to better mental, physical and spiritual health.

Religions emphasize the need for rest and quiet

Continued on B7

Popular Filipino brand celebrates 25 years

A household name in local fashion accessories, Secosana has been a part of every Filipina’s life. From the first day of classes to weekend gimmicks, from their first job interview to their well-deserved promotion, or as a first-time mom, Secosana’s bags have been the trusted companion in every woman’s milestone. It was in 1996 when the brand began its journey, which has gone on to transform Secosana as one of the country’s top go-to fashion brands for bags that has prided itself in encouraging and empowering women to express their best selves.

Bea Secosana, vice president for sales and marketing, said, “Secosana as a brand is classic and enduring. The brand continues to forever relate to women with sophisticated and chic fashion styles across all ages.”

“We are truly proud that as we celebrate our 25th year in the market, Secosana has successfully combined timeless designs with price value, making it the go-to brand in today’s discerning market,” the young and dynamic Secosana added.

People recognize Secosana as a brand favored by Filipino celebrities, and it has been fortunate to have had the support of celebrities and notable personalities.

This year, as Secosana moves forward to meet the changing tastes of Filipinos and, of course, the changing lifestyles as a result of the global pandemic, it has remained true to its commitment to deliver on-trend, relevant, quality and attractively priced bags with its anniversary collection (www.secosana.com.ph).

The pieces reflect the chic and fashion-friendly style the brand has been known for. What makes it special is that the collection also takes into account the needs of today as we continue to face challenges brought by leaving one’s home amid a pandemic. Each bag comes with a free alcohol holder, matching face mask, and a bag keeper that helps protect the bag while allowing others to see the beauty of the design. This is in line with the current Secosana theme of “New Normal, New You.” “This collection reflects the core of where Secosana is as a brand now—relevant to the lifestyle of our Filipina consumers, proudly Filipino-made that is both fashionable and functional, budget-friendly and, above all, with a freshness and a sense of style that endures.

“Our campaign hashtags [#OwnTheNew, #SecosanaAt25, #ForeverSecosana] truly encapsulate our place in the hearts of the Filipina customer, as well as our commitment to forever be there to celebrate their milestones as they continue to celebrate with us,” concluded Bea Secosana.