BusinessMirror June 01, 2022

’21 LGU revenues hit ₧256B, 14% over target

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

R

@BNicolasBM

E V EN U ES col lec ted by local government units (LGUs) last year reached P256.21 billion, exceeding the downscaled target that was set for the year.

The Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), an attached agency of the Department of Finance, reported on Tuesday that the locally sourced revenues collected by all provinces, cities, and municipalities was 14.4 percent higher than their revised target for the year at P223.9 billion. Likewise, it also inched up by 1.44 percent from P252.57 billion in 2020.

To recall, the BLGF earlier said it expects revenues for 2021 to

be lower than originally expected due to Covid-19 pandemic and the slowdown of business operations in 2020, which is the base year for the assessment of most local taxes for 2021.

Of the total locally sourced revenues, tax revenues made up the bulk at P191.36 billion while P64.86 billion came from nontax revenues.

Brok e n dow n , t he lo c a l ly sourced revenues were collected from local business tax (P113.16 billion), real property tax (P78.2 billion), fees and charges (P36.36 billion), receipts from economic enterprises (P22.06 billion) and other receipts (P6.44 billion).

Cities posted the highest locally sourced revenue collection at P175.3 billion, cornering 68

percent of the total.

T his was fol lowed by municipalities and provinces with P49.97 billion and P30.94 billion, respectively.

Total current operating income of LGUs, which includes external sources such as the internal revenue allotment (IR A), grew by 4.48 percent to P871.3 billion in 2021 from previous year’s P833.92 billion.

Most LGUs continued to rely on IR A during the period, the BLGF said.

Topping the list of LGUs with the highest collection of locally sourced revenues is still the National Capital Region (NCR).

While the year-on-year growth of its collection is “minimal” at 0.01 percent, its locally sourced

revenues reached P103.77 billion, accounting for 41 percent of the total.

Among the cities in NCR, the BLGF said Quezon City remained to be the biggest contributor of locally sourced revenues with P23.35 billion. Next to Quezon City is Makati and Manila with P14 billion and P11.6 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, the BLGF also reported that local revenues generated in the first quarter of the year “showed a positive sign of recovery.”

From January to March this year, LGU revenues from local sources surged by 8.6 percent to P134.97 billion from P124.27 See “LGU,” A2

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Wednesday, June 1, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 236

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 days a week

FUEL, FOOD PRICE HIKES DRIVING MAY INFLATION n

By Bianca Cuaresma

P

PHL reaped ₧576B from tax reform laws in 4 yrs

@BcuaresmaBM

RICES likely accelerated above 5 percent in May this year, on the back of continued increases in petroleum and key food items during the month.

In a message sent to reporters on Tuesday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said their latest models forecast inflation settling between 5 percent and 5.8 percent in May, accelerating from the 4.9 percent inflation print in April.

“The BSP projects May 2022 inflation to settle within the range of 5 to 5.8 percent. The continued increase in domestic petroleum prices, higher prices of key food items, and peso depreciation are the primary sources of inflationary pressures during the month,” the governor said.

“These could be offset in part by lower electricity rates in Meralco-serviced areas, decline in LPG prices, and lower rice prices,” he added.

On Tuesday, the local currency traded at P52.37 to a dollar, depreciating slightly from the P52.31 to a dollar in the previous day’s close.

“Looking ahead, the BSP will cont i nue to mon itor c losely emerging price developments to enable timely intervention to arrest emergence of further secondround effects, consistent with BSP’s mandate of price and financial stability,” the governor said.

Latest forecasts from the BSP pointed to inflation hitting an average of 4.6 percent for this year, from the previous forecast of 4.3 See “Hikes,” A2

PESO exchange rates

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

T

FOR PINOY SAILORS Filipino Shipowners Association (FSA) Chairman Dario “Roy” Alampay (left) and International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Chairman Esben Poulsson give updates on the efforts of the Philippines—a major source of seafarers—to comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW).

Poulsson expressed confidence that by November this year, during a crucial review, many initiatives taken by Marina will bear results. Story in Nation, page A5. NONOY LACZA

JOINING RCEP LIKE JOINING OLYMPICS–NEDA CHIEF

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

B

EI NG comp e t it ive i s not a precondition for the countr y to ratif y the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In a recent Senate hearing, outgoing Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T.

Chua said joining the Olympics, like the RCEP, does not always guarantee a podium finish for countries who join.

However, the absence of that guarantee does not prevent countries from joining the world championships. Chua said efforts to make local players become competitive must continue while being part of an international agreement like RCEP. “We enter the Olympics, we

know we will lose maybe, but we will try our best because we will see how good our competitors are. And over the years, we will improve, and we will get the budget and the support needed from the home to get one or two more medals every Olympic year. So I hope this will be our mindset,” Chua said.

In order to attain a podium finish, Chua stressed to BusinessMirror that undertaking reforms similar to the Rice

Trade Libera l i zat ion (RT L) Law, which created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), are needed for other commodities.

This will ensure the countr y’s competitiveness in regional trade agreements like RCEP as well as in the arena of global trade.

“We will support Agriculture in parallel with passing the See “Neda,” A2

HE government collected nearly P576 billion from its implementation of tax reform laws in a span of four years from 2018 to 2021, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

The tax take from the implementation of the initial packages of President Duterte’s Comprehensive Ta x Reform Program designed to significantly lower personal income tax (PIT), provide amnesty to delinquent taxpayers and impose higher taxes on so-called “sin” products.

Bulk of the total P575.8 billion that was collected over the four-year period came from the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TR AIN) law which yielded P476.1 billion in additional revenues for the government, based on the report submitted by the DOF’s Domestic Finance Group (DFG) to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. Sin tax laws contributed P85 billion to government’s coffers while the tax amnesty law gave the state P14.6 billion.

See “Tax reform,” A2

n US 52.2430 n japan 0.4094 n UK 66.1292 n HK 6.6564 n CHINA 7.8425 n singapore 38.2369 n australia 37.5888 n EU 56.3127 n SAUDI arabia 13.9285

Source: BSP (31 May 2022)

A2

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

PHL dropped from shortlist of labor-case-hounded states

By Samuel P. Medenilla

T

@sam_medenilla

HE Philippines was officially dropped from the shortlist of states with labor-related issues to be tackled by the Committee on Application of Standards (CAS) in the ongoing 110th session of the International Labor Committee (ILC).

The CAS is an independent tripartite body, which reviews the observations on the application of labor standards of certain states. Its sessions draw international attention since it usually tackles labor rights violations.

The country was excluded from the 22 states included in the shortlist of the CAS for the current ILC.

Progress report The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) welcomed the development, as it is now addressing the alleged mass violations of freedom of association in the country.

Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the ILC has

already taking note of their “progress report” in cases of alleged killings and harassment of unionists.

“As a way forward, the Philippine Government is gearing towards possibly availing itself of ILO technical assistance, especially on identifying gaps in the exercise of freedom of association, case conferences with the prosecutorial, investigative, and monitoring arm of the government, enhancement of witness protection programs, social services to the victims, their families and witnesses, and capacity-building activities, among others,” Bello said in a statement last Monday.

In 2019, the Philippines among the countries included in the session for

the CAS after local labor groups raised concerns on the 43 incidents of killings and harassment of labor unionists in the country. Several country representatives in the ILC condemned these incidents.

This prompted the International Labor Organization (ILO) to hold a virtual inquiry in September to look into the incidents, which already rose to 60 cases this year.

DOLE said it will come out with a road map to address the said issues raised by labor groups.

Other priorities Labor leaders, however, stressed the removal of the Philippines in the CAS shortlist this year does not mean it is already off the hook.

“It just means the ILC leadership has just another priority to be emphasized in a certain region. If [the country] is not included [in the shortlist] this year, maybe it will be next year if there will be no improvement,” FFW President Sonny Matula told BusinessMirror in an SMS. Matula, however, acknowledged the efforts being done by DOLE, whic h inc ludes helping labor unions and workers in accessing legal remedies available in cases of intimidation, harassment, and “red-tagging.”

For his part, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) Secretary General Joshua T. Mata said DOLE is “missing the point” of the inquiry done by ILO. “DOLE can claim that it has done things to help investigate the numerous violations of freedom of association, including extrajudicial killings and red-tagging, but DOLE has yet to show any success in actually resolving any of these issues that were raised by the labor movement before the ILO,” Mata said.

Hikes. . .

Continued from A1

percent. This is a higher deviation from the ceiling of the government’s target for the year of keeping inflation within the 2 to 4 percent band.

For next year, forecasted inflation is also near the ceiling of the 2 to 4 percent target band at 3.9 percent, from the earlier forecast of 3.6 percent.

The rising inflation was key in the Monetary Board’s recent decision to start its normalization path by hiking its main interest rate by 25 basis points in May after evidence of second-round effects in the local economy.

“In deciding to raise the policy interest rate, the Monetary Board noted that the latest baseline forecasts have further shifted higher since the previous monetary policy meeting in March, indicating that elevated inflation pressures could persist over the policy horizon,” Diokno earlier said.

“The balance of risks to the inflation outlook now leans toward the upside for both 2022 and 2023, with upside pressures emanating from the potential impact of higher oil prices, including on transport fares, as well as the continued shortage in domestic pork and fish supply,” he added.

BSP officials have previously warned that inflation could hit as high as 5 percent this year and is expected to remain above 4 percent until the first quarter of next year.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

LGU. . .

Continued from A1

billion in the same period a year ago.

Tax revenues during the period reached P111.94 billion, mostly from local business

Neda. . .

Continued from A1

RCEP because of such a golden opportunity, but we will miss out, forever, if we do not join. This is the biggest trade agreement today surpassing other agreements, other entities like the EU,” Chua said.

In a joint statement with Neda, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said under the RCEP, the Philippines secured and preserved the majority of the tariff commitments vis-a-vis the Aeasn+1 FTAs, while at the same time bringing down import tariffs for key Philippine exports.

According to DTI, this is particularly important since a number of Philippine products will gain enhanced market access in terms of tariffs and rules of origin given the wider cumulative area under RCEP. The DTI said this includes canned tuna, coconut water, coffee, fruit cocktail, fresh papaya and durian, ignition wiring sets, leather goods, and bicycles.

“Our tariffs under the ASEAN FTAs are already low and under RCEP only 33 tariff lines were further liberalized. Thus, in weighing the cost and benefits of our participation in this Agreement we should look at it from a holistic point of view. Will this be beneficial to the whole economy?” Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said.

“It includes trade facilitation rules, liberal rules of origin, e-commerce, competition, and IP protection commitments, support for SME development, as well as opening up of trade services. These other elements are as important as tariff liberalization because they provide stability in the business environment,” he added.

tax and real property tax.

Among the regions, NCR is still the biggest contributor to locally sourced revenues with P59.8 billion, followed by Region 4A (P20.73 billion) and Region 3 (P12.37 billion). Only Region 9 posted a negative performance in terms of local revenue collection, the BLGF said.

Moreover, Chua said, joining RCEP will preserve the current preferential rates for 98.1 percent of tariff lines, which corresponds to 228 commodities or $16.9 billion of imports.

Only 15 agricultural commodities representing 33 tariff lines will see lower tariff rates. They account for only 1.9 percent of total tariff lines and only $132 million or 0.8 percent of total agricultural imports.

These commodities will be affected since RCEP preferential rates for these items will be generally lower than the most favored nation rate and lower than the Asean+1 rate after approximately 15 years.

BusinessMirror reported “the 15 commodities that will have their tariff rates slashed in the course of 15 to 20 years would be live swine, live chicken, live chicken weighing not more than 2 kilograms, celery, preserved vegetables, corn starch, meat sausages, frozen fish, palm nuts and kernels, olive oil, feeds for primates, spinach, and black pepper.” (See story here: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2022/05/30/benefits-tofarm-sector-farmore-than-risksfrom-rcep/) “ We wa nt to lea r n a nd be more compet it ive, a nd t he best way is not to be protect ionist or inwa rdlook ing. It is to get into t he globa l a ren a , compete a nd lea r n wh at t he ot he r cou nt r ies a re doi ng , a nd i mprove ou rse lves f u r t her,” C hu a sa id.

The RCEP is a free-trade agreement among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

This covers roughly 50.4 percent of the Philippines’s export markets, 67.3 percent of the country’s import sources, and a source of 58 percent of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).

Tax reform. . .

Continued from A1

TRAIN (Republic Act or RA No. 10963) provided 99 percent of taxpayers with significant tax savings resulting from lower PIT rates; the Tax Amnesty Act (RA 11213) allowed errant taxpayers to settle their outstanding tax liabilities; and the Sin Tax Reform laws (RAs 11346 and 11467 along with certain TRAIN provisions) imposed higher excise taxes on cigarettes, heated tobacco products, vapor products, and alcoholic beverages.

For 2021 alone, the DFG reported that the revenue take from TRAIN law, the Tax Amnesty Act, and the Sin Tax Reform Laws have reached 228.6 billion, or 13.7 percent above the target for the year.

Finance Officer-In-Charge Undersecretary Valery Brion of the DFG said TRAIN contributed P171.1 billion in additional revenues, which is 8.3 percent above the target of P157.9 billion; sin tax laws (P52.9 billion), or 22.7 percent higher than the target of P43.1 billion; and tax amnesty (P4.6 billion).

Brion said the incremental tax revenues from the tax reform laws were earmarked to fund President Duterte’s infrastructure program “Build, Build, Build” and the Universal Health Care program.

Despite the implementation of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises which cut the corporate income tax (CIT) rate from 30 to 20 percent for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 25 percent for all other corporations, the CIT remained to be the highest source of collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. It accounted for around 22 percent of average total tax revenues.

However, Brion said the share of CIT revenues to the gross domestic product (GDP) could have reached 3.2 percent without the pandemic.

Revenues collected from TRAIN and other enacted tax reform packages also allowed the Duterte administration to raise infrastructure spending to above 5 percent of GDP, double the level recorded by the previous four administrations, Dominguez said.

Likewise, it allowed the increase in spending on social services for human capital development and gave the Philippines the fiscal strength to weather the worse of the Covid-19 global crisis in light of the huge financial requirement of pandemic response, he said.

A4 Wednesday, June 1, 2022 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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BIR halts ‘surprise’ visits, audits of ecozone locators

T

By Andrea San Juan

HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has temporarily suspended its “surprise” visits and audits into the books of economic zone locators, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).

“We are glad that the BIR listened accordingly, they are now suspending their surprise audits and surprise visits to our locators so

we are looking forward that it will be printed black and white by the [fiscal incentives review board] FIRB and we are now observing

the status quo,” said Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Peza and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The Peza chief emphasized that BIR earlier conducted surprise inspections and even threatened economic zone locators that they would be penalized if they didn’t comply with the 100 percent on-site work order.

“The BIR were doing surprise inspections, telling our locators that they’re going to be facing or paying penalties for violating the order of 100 percent on-site work,” added Plaza.

Just two weeks ago, according to a report to the Department of Finance (DOF) by Internal Revenue Deputy Commissioner Arnel SD.

Guballa, the BIR had issued mission orders to undertake ocular inspections of registered business enterprises’ (RBEs) place of business. Guballa said that these personnel would determine whether the RBE is following the on-site work rules, which were part of the conditions for the grant of their incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law (Republic Act 11534).

The DOF interestingly issued the statement a week after Peza said it received reports that registered IT-BPM companies are losing their employees to “underground” entities in the same sector operating in a work-fromhome (WFH) setup.

The Peza chief also appealed earlier to those rushing the return-to-work deadline “not [to] rock the boat” while the country is still in the middle of a pandemic and global economic crisis.

Plaza has always urged the government to listen to the plight of the IT-BPO sector in pushing for continued WFH arrangement because we are not out of the woods yet as the Philippine economy’s still bearing the brunt of the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other global economic issues.

Meanwhile, the Peza chief expressed gratitude to Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Economic affairs,

who according to Plaza, “defended our industries [and] she’s one big voice who also requested the DOF, FIRB, for a status quo to be sensitive to the needs, sentiments of our registered enterprises because we are still not off from this pandemic, we still are facing the effects of the Ukraine war plus the global recession.”

The senator previously called out the DOF amid rising fears that the IT-BPO sector—a “golden goose” in government’s exports revenues and a vital job generator—is hurting from the government’s insistence on compelling them to make their employees return to on-site work right away, under the pain of losing their incentives.

Marcos said two weeks ago “companies in export zones are now afraid of losing their tax incentives if they do not resume all operations on-site. But their work-from-home programs were approved as early as 2017, which the Telecommuting Act of 2018 also supports.”

To elaborate, Marcos earlier cited reports that despite two years of the pandemic and under WFH conditions, the IT-BPM sector even grew its work force by 8.9 percent to 10 percent and its revenue by about 9.5 percent to 14.5 percent, quoting Peza data.

Marcos echoed Peza’s call to extend WFH set-up until the end of the government’s state of calamity declaration in September.

With this, Plaza looks forward that the incoming administration will institutionalize the WFH arrangement.

“We’re looking forward in the next administration that WFH will be institutionalized to include already the security of tenure, the protection and other benefits of the workers who will be under the WFH scheme,” said the Peza chief.

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Twin blasts rock Basilan on Monday

T

WO explosions rocked the capital of Basilan on Monday, wounding two people in what authorities believe to be the handiwork of the local terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

The Philippine National Police (PNP), through its public information office chief Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Balba, assured policemen in field are thoroughly investigating the twin blasts.

The PNP said the first explosion occurred at around 5:45 p.m. at the parking area of Jollibee food store located at Barangay Isabela in Isabela City, Basilan, which damaged the property.

Reports quoting the military said the blast was caused by a faulty electrical wiring at the establishment although Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command commander Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr. said that the police is continuing to investigate the incident.

He said military explosive and ordnance experts initially reported that the explosion was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

The PNP, however, said on Tuesday that a CCTV footage showed a man wearing a yellow shirt with a cap appeared in the food store’s parking area “to place a small container inside a cellophane that later exploded.”

Few minutes after the blast or at around 6:15 p.m., another explosion was reported at the garage of D’Biel Transportation Co. located at Barangay La Piedad also in Isabela City.

“A duty guard was interviewed by our personnel and he narrated that he noticed a box of an alcoholic beverage in the area. Suddenly, it exploded. Apparently, the box was left by a passenger who boarded one of the bus units,” PNP Officer in Charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. said.

The explosion severely damaged an Isuzu Canter and three Isuzu bus units.

Two individuals, Evangeline Francisco, 28, and Christopher Pasaul, 47, a security guard, were also injured and were brought to the hospital.

“The post blast investigation will now determine the composition of explosives used. Our investigators are doubling time to identify the culprit of these two incidents and to establish the possible connection of both,” Danao said.

Military officials, including Rosario believed the second explosion could have been the handiwork of the ASG, which is already on the decline in Basilan. Rene Acosta

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, June 1, 2022 A5

4 Chinese kidnappers killed in clash with Cebu policemen; victim rescued

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

F

OUR Chinese allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a compatriot were killed on Monday during a shootout with policemen in Cebu.

Philippine National Police Officerin-Charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. identified the four as Jinming Gong (Guangdong, China), Yiping You (Fujian, China), Fengqiang Li (Shandong, China), and Heng Lin (Fujian, China).

Citing a report submitted by PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) Director Brig. Gen. Rudolph Dimas, Danao said the four, who are members of a kidnap for ransom group, abducted Lyu Dingos, a Chinese national, from his garage in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City on May 25.

LAPU-LAPU City Mayor Junard Chan checks the body of one of the four Chinese nationals who were killed in a shootout with the police during a rescue operation for a kidnapped Chinese businessman on Monday night, May 30, 2022. The 70-year-old kidnap victim was unharmed but was weak when brought to a hospital. PNA CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The victim was preparing to re-

port for work at the Mactan New-

town complex in Lapu-Lapu City when he was taken at gunpoint by the four Chinese kidnappers and boarded a black Toyota Innova.

T he k idnappers demanded RMB (renminbi) 1 million as ransom from the family of the victim while holding him in a safe house.

However, the family only gave RMB 500,000, which was paid via the WeChat payment portal.

Through this, the AKG was able to locate the safehouse of the group.

A rescue operation was conducted by police operating units on Monday at around 9:30 p.m. at Block 9, Lot 14, Sevilla Street, Aldea del Sol Subdivision. Barangay Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu City.

As the operatives were about to enter the house, a firefight ensued that resulted in the death of the sus-

Davao City heightens alert amid Mindanao bombings Marina lauded for initiatives to meet STCW requirements D

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) placed on high alert its Oplan Davao Defense System (DDS) immediately after two bomb explosions in two Cotabato provinces last week.

The security system has been in place and adapted by the anti-terror unit Task Force Davao every time bomb explosions happen elsewhere in Mindanao and alleged terror attacks begin to circulate.

This time it was raised to a higher alert when two separate explosions occurred in Koronadal, South Cotabato and Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat.

Both explosions were alleged to be staged by a local terror group in retaliation to a sustained military operation against them in nearby Maguindanao province.

The head of the DCPO, Colonel Alberto Lupaz, said the operation plan covered “operational and tactical approaches, including heightened and layered checkpoint inspections, overt and covert monitoring strategies, as well as constant monitoring of intelligence networks to thwart terrorist threats and maintain peace and order in the city.”

“Right after we received the reports of the bombings, and we also saw videos of an exploding bus, we immediately implemented Oplan DDS, the Davao Defense System.

Actually, the DCPO had formulated this plan way before because we receive reports of bombing every now and then in our nearby provinces, especially in Central Mindanao,” he said.

Oplan DDS, Lupaz added, would mean heightened checkpoint inspections in all roads traversing the city.

“There is no let up, all police stations would be rendering checkpoint operation right after another police station finishes its duty,” he said.

Aside from the highway checkpoints, police and security personnel would spread out to places of convergence, in government facilities “through overt and covert acts, I mean we will have officers in uniform doing monitoring duties, while others will

be in civilian clothing,” he said.

Citizen reports of suspicious objects would be taken more seriously, as more reports kept coming in “due to the heightened vigilance of Dabawenyos, which he credited to the efforts of the National Police [PNP] and the Armed Forces to promote a culture of security within the city.”

“I am very happy with the culture of security implemented here in Davao City. Because, every now and then, when someone finds a bag they would report it. Unlike before when people were not educated about the culture of security, they did not care. People are more conscious now, more mature and more educated because of a series of activities conducted by the PNP, army, and Task Force Davao,” Lupaz said.

SC issues new ruling on jurisdiction of libel cases

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Cou r t has ruled that a public officer may file a libel case in the regional trial court (RTC) where he or she held office or in the province or city where the libelous article was printed and first published.

Thus, the SC denied the petition for review filed by columnist Jerry Yap, managing editor Gloria Galuno and circulation manager Edwin Alcala of Hataw seeking the

reversal of decisions issued by the RTC of Manila and the Court of Appeals (CA) which turned down their motion to quash the information for libel filed against them by Police Senior Inspector Rosalino Ibay Jr. The respondents sought the dismissal of the libel case on the ground of lack of jurisdiction of Manila of RTC. They argued that the Manila RTC committed grave abuse of discretion when it denied their motion for dismissal on March 9, 2016 that led to the setting of their arraignment on

April 13, 2016.

On May 6, 2016, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the Manila RTC’s decision, prompting the journalists to elevate the case before the Supreme Court (SC).

Petitioners argued before the SC that the Manila RTC had no jurisdiction to try the case considering that the information did not cite why they were filed in the said court.

They stressed that the Manila RTC has no jurisdiction over the libel case since Ibay was no longer assigned in Manila, as stated in the

alleged libelous article.

In a 12-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Court’s Third Division affirmed the rulings issued by the Manila RTC and the CA. It held that under Article 360 of the Revised Penal Code and based on its previous rulings, “when an offended party is a public officer, they may institute the action for libel in the Regional Trial Court where they held office, or in the province or city where the libelous article was printed and first published.”

Govt may have to spend P6.7B to lease 97,000 VCMs House approves CAR bill on 3rd and final reading

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

T

HE government may have to shell out as much as P6.7 billion if it were to proceed with its plan to lease replacement units for the 97,000 vote counting machines (VCM) for the next elections, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation last Monday, Comelec Executive Director Bartolome J. Sinocruz Jr. disclosed this was the projected cost for replacing the old VCMs. “In the past elections, the lease prices were always about 70 percent of the purchase price,” Sinocruz said.

“So for the sake of discussion if [the purchase price is] P100,000.

That will be about P70,000 for every machine,” he explained.

Too old

COMELEC Chairman Saidamen B. Pangarungan disclosed they would be recommending for the phase out of the old VCMs, which are now more prone to malfunction.

pects and the rescue of the victim.

Recovered from the crime scene were four short firearms, several ammunitions, a Samsung laptop, three units of Vivo Blue YO1 cellular phones, three units of Apple iPhone, pieces of China Bank check book, one Honor black cellular phone, five pieces USB memory stick and two pieces of handcuffs.

The cadavers of the suspects were brought to a Funeral home in Cebu after being processed by the Scene of the Crime Operations team of the PNP Regional Forensics Group 7.

“The unyielding manhunt operations against notorious kidnap for ransom groups serve as a strong signal to criminals that the PNP is very serious in addressing criminality and lawlessness in the country,” Danao said.

“Definitely we will recommend leasing new vote counting machines...we need to use new VCMs for the 2025 elections,” Pangarungan said.

Comelec Commissioner George M. Garcia noted the need for the phase out was apparent from the large number of VCM breakdowns in the elections earlier this month despite their efforts to refurbish and perform stress tests.

He noted a total of 1,310 VCMs were replaced during the May 9, 2022 polls.

While it was much lower compared to 1,400 units, which malfunctioned in the 2019 elections, Garcia said it showed that machines are now in poor condition if these were to be used in future elections.

“So I would personally recommend to the [Comelec] en banc, in case I will still be there, to retire the 97,000. It is no longer feasible to use them at this point in 2025 since they are already too old,” Garcia said.

Acting Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the 97,000 VCMs provided by Smartmatic-Total Information Management are seven years old at the least, having

been delivered in 2015.

He said the VCMs were used in three elections, namely: 2016, 2019 and the 2022 elections.

In tranches

DUE to the large amount needed to completely replace all the 97,000 VCM units, Senator Imee R. Marcos proposed the process be done in phases.

“I don’t think we have that amount burning a hole in our pockets right now. But I think we could start it phase by phase,” Marcos said.

This, the lawmaker said, can lead to issues of interoperability between the new machines and old machines from Smartmatic.

Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Operations Teopisto E. Elnas Jr. validated the said concern, saying that in previous polls held in the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), there were such interoperability issues when their separate service provider did not coordinate with one another.

Elnas said the issue could be addressed by conducting “technical adjustments” in the new units.

T

HE House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to create the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR).

House Bill (HB) 5687, also known as the Cordillera Autonomous Region bill, proposes to create a politically autonomous Cordillera, reflecting the hopes and aspirations of Cordillerans, as well as changes in the political, economic, and technological landscape in CAR. Once passed into law, Baguio Rep. Mark Go said, the Cordillera region would exercise meaningful self-governance where Cordillerans will be “free to pursue their political, economic, social and cultural development within the framework of national sovereignty and in accordance with the Constitution.”

He said the Cordillera region would remain an “integral and inseparable part” of the country’s territory, while transferring regional government powers to local government units, particularly in areas of education, health, human

resources, science and technology, and people empowerment.

The bill also proposes an equitable and proportionate share in the country’s annual national budget, as well as foreign-assisted projects.

Go, one of the bill’s principal authors, called the bill “a measure that’s been more than three decades in the making,” adding that the bill’s drafting “involved the collaboration of different representatives of the Cordillera provinces in efforts to come up with a measure that represents the true aspirations of Cordillerans.”

According to Go, the time is ripe for the Cordillera region to fulfill its goal of political autonomy, adding that the political, economic, and technological landscapes in the Cordilleras have since advanced.

He added “that since 1987, the Cordillera region has been placed under a transitory system of administration in preparation for a politically autonomous Cordillera, and that the current administrative region was not meant to serve our region in perpetuity.”

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

T

HE Filipino Shipowners Association (FSA) is optimistic that issues with the Philippines’ compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) will be “resolved in due time.”

When asked during a roundtable discussion on Tuesday, FSA Chairman Dario Alampay said the group is hopeful that the European Union (EU) views the corrective actions being undertaken by the Philippines in a “good light.”

“What the Marina [Maritime Industry Authority] has done in the submission of their corrective actions to the EU would hopefully be taken in good light and if that happens the threat of the EMSA [European Maritime Safety Agency] to recommend the withdrawal of the COCs [Certificates of Competency] issued by the Philippine authorities will be a thing of the past. I am optimistic that this will be resolved in due time,” he said.

To recall, EMSA in 2020 said there were 13 major findings, three minor findings, and 48 specific findings to the country’s compliance with the STCW. Marina has since said it has been implementing corrective measures to meet the international standards.

This includes measures to improve education, system processes, and procedures within the agency.

About 50,000 seafarers are expected to be affected should the Philippines fail in EMSA’s November review.

For his part, International Chamber of Commerce (ICS) Chairman Esben Poulsson lauded Marina for its initiatives to comply with the STCW. “I think it’s a little early to say, my instincts tell me that by November this year, many of these initiatives that have been taken in recent months by the Marina will begin to filter through and show results,” he said.

ICS accounts for 80 percent of the world’s tonnage.

Poulsson also expressed confidence in both the domestic and international shipping sectors in the Philippines, which account for roughly a third of the global supply for seafarers.

Specifically, Poulsson said the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the issues on Chinese ports, and the digital transformation initiatives of Marina, the Philippine maritime industry is poised to persist on a growth trajectory.

A6

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5/f To 10/f, Tower 4 Pitx #01, Kennedy Road, Tambo, City Of Parañaque LE NGOC DIEP Mandarin Customer Service Representative 1.

Brief Job Description: Interact with customer to provide information, support and problem resolution to inquiries and order status.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin both oral and written.

NAKASEKO, KEN Operation Account Leadership Senior Manager 2.

Brief Job Description: Own client relationship for the operations contract which covers one or more of the Ops offerings.

SEIN AUNG MINT Myanmari Customer Relations Officer 13.

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

ACCENTURE, INC. 7f, Robinsons Cybergate Tower 1, Pioneer St, City Of Mandaluyong Basic Qualification: Requires identifying and assessing complex problems for area(s) of responsibilty.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services.

SAHA, RAJAN KUMAR Lead Solution Architect 3.

Brief Job Description: Responsibility and accountability for defining customer requirements & solution, project implementation.

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

WU, XINTONG Field Sales Consultant 14.

SUSANTI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 4.

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

Brief Job Description: The one responsible to “get the sale” using various customer sales methods.

SHAN, ZHANGJIE Chinese Speaking Business Consultant 15.

Brief Job Description: Plan organize and manage business project for clients

LI, JUNSHAN Chinese Speaking Cabling Infrastructure Technician 16.

Brief Job Description: Install Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and fiber optic cabling system

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

5.

Brief Job Description: Delegate different customer service duties to team members to ensure a faster and smoother flow of operation through division of labor.

KHONTHONG, KHEMMAWAN Customer Support Specialist - Thai Speaking

6.

Brief Job Description: Evaluation of the systems’ problems to recommend enhancements.

MANHADEE, SUCHANUN Customer Support Specialist - Thai Speaking

7.

Brief Job Description: Evaluation of the systems’ problems to recommend enhancements.

TRAN DO CAT TAN Customer Support Specialist - Vietnamese Speaking

8.

9.

10.

Brief Job Description: Evaluation of the systems’ problems to recommend enhancements.

LU CAM HA Technical Support Specialist - Vietnamese Speaking Brief Job Description: Identifying hardware and software solutions.

LY THI LOAN Technical Support Specialist - Vietnamese Speaking Brief Job Description: Identifying hardware and software solutions.

Basic Qualification: Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills.

LOU, CONGWEI Chinese Speaking Cabling Infrastructure Technician 17.

Brief Job Description: Install Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and fiber optic cabling system

TANG, JUN Chinese Speaking Cabling Infrastructure Technician 18.

Brief Job Description: Install Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and fiber optic cabling system

YANG, SHUANGJIAN Chinese Speaking Cabling Infrastructure Technician 19.

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

Brief Job Description: Install Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and fiber optic cabling system

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

ZHEN, HONGTAO Chinese Speaking Cabling Infrastructure Technician 20.

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

Brief Job Description: Install Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and fiber optic cabling system

KADINOV, ELI Hebrew Business Development Manager

11.

Brief Job Description: Contacting potential clients to establish and arrange meetings planning and overseeing new marketing initiatives researching organizations and individuals to find new opportunities’ increasing the value of current customers while attracting new ones.

QIU, JILIN Mandarin Speaking Project Supervisor 21.

Brief Job Description: Act as Project Supervisor on capital construction and renovation projects.

FU, JIAFENG Mandarin Customer Relations Officer 12.

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services.

Basic Qualification: Has excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

24.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in English and Mandarin language and with analytical mind and analysis skills

LIU, RUIGUANG Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk 25.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English with good communication skills and preferably 5 years of experience as CHINESE SPEAKING CABLING INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNICIAN

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English with good communication skills and preferably 5 years of experience as CHINESE SPEAKING CABLING INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNICIAN

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English with good communication skills and preferably 5 years of experience as CHINESE SPEAKING CABLING INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNICIAN

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English with good communication skills and preferably 5 years of experience as CHINESE SPEAKING CABLING INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNICIAN

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English with good communication skills and preferably 5 years of experience as CHINESE SPEAKING CABLING INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNICIAN

Basic Qualification: College graduate, outstanding leadership skills, fluent in Mandarin and English preferably with 5 years of experience as Project Supervisor.

CHINA OCEANIS PHILIPPINES, INC. The Boardwalk, Quirino Grandstand Luneta Park, Barangay 72, Tondo I/ii, City Of Manila

22.

LOW KENG KWOK Executive Vice President Brief Job Description: Directly reporting to CEO/President

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services

WU, JIANG Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk 26.

DUNFENG MANAGEMENT INC. 17th Floor Units C & D, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

Basic Qualification: Developing and maintaining relationship with company stakeholders such as investor and other board members.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Developing and maintaining relationship with company stakeholders such as investor and other board members.

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

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services

Basic Qualification: With Atleast 6 Months Customer Service Experience/Good in Oral Communication and Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With Atleast 6 Months Customer Service Experience/Good in Oral Communication and Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

FLYING FUTURE SERVICES INC. 3/f Salcedo One Center, 170 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati LOU, YU-JYUN Mandarin Customer Service 27.

Brief Job Description: Maintains customer records by updating account info.

Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin.

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

GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER HEALTHCARE PHILIPPINES, INC. 2301 & 2302a 23rd Floor The Finance Centre, 26th Street Corner 9th Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig KATHURIA, ASHISH Channel Lead (key Accounts)

28.

Brief Job Description: Lead and coordinate internal GSK consumer healthcare key accounts sales team to the achievement of the company’s objectives in line with the plan; achieve the agreed budget and annual calendarized sales volume and value; optimize effective and efficient business partnerships with the key customers

Basic Qualification: University degree holder; MBA degree is an advantage; at least 8 years sales experience (key accounts) or general trade) background in fast moving consumer goods/ fast moving consumer healthcare Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

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

CHEN, LISHAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 29.

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

DANG VAN SON Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 30.

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

HU, QIANSONG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 31.

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

JIANG, FEI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 32.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin/ English language; at least 15 years related experience Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

DYNAMIC STUDIO TECHNOLOGY INC. 5th To 10th/f Platinum Tower Building, Aseana Ave. Cor. Fuentes Street, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. Eastfield Center, Cbp1, Macapagal Blvd., Barangay 76, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: Can Research Accounts and Generate or Follow Through Sales Leads; Can Valuate Customers Skills, Needs and Build Productive Long Lasting Relationships; Can Meet Personal and Team Sales Targets

CHAN, MING WAI ANNIE Board Director-mandarin Speaking

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

BEST RELIABLE RESOURCES CORP. Ub 111 Paseo De Roxas Bldg., Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing or related; experience in sales, marketing or related field; strong communication skills and its fluency; ability to manage complex projects and multi task.

Excellent organizational skills. Ability to flourish with minimal guidance be proactive and handle uncertainty hebrew speaker english speaker.

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

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

Basic Qualification: Attention to details and good problem solving.

Basic Qualification: Attention to details and good problem solving.

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

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Experience using help desk software and remote support tools.

23.

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

Basic Qualification: Experience using help desk software and remote support tools.

Basic Qualification: Experience using help desk software and remote support tools.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

CHAN, ANITA Board Director-mandarin Speaking

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Has excellent problem-solving and communication skills in BURMESE, with related BPO experience

No.

CHINA COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES PHILIPPINES CORPORATION 21st Floor Menarco Tower, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

APRICUS TECHNOLOGY INC. 8/f Aguirre Building, 107 Aguirre St. Legaspi Village, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati KRAISORNSRI, PANNIKA Customer Support Assistant Team Leader - Thai Speaking

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

AMUSETECH BUSINESS OUTSOURCING, OPC 2/f Rivergreen Residences, 2217 Pedro Gil St., Barangay 880, Santa Ana, City Of Manila Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

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

AMDOCS PHILIPPINES INC. 23rd, 25th, And 26th Floors Eco Tower, 32nd St. Cor. 9th Ave. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree and has wide knowledge of it relevant products and e2e business process.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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

JIANG, XINGYI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 33.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication 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.

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.

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

KIM, KWANWOO Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 34.

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

LOU, CHENGWEI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 35.

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

NINH VAN DINH Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 36.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

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

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

37.

Brief Job Description: Complete transactional buying and allocates to suppliers within required SLA’s

38.

Brief Job Description: Oversee the entire construction management and administration of the dredging and reclamation project.

NETLINGO SUPPORT SERVICES, INC. 15/f 6780 Ayala Ave. Bldg., 6780 Ayala Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Knows How to Recommend Potential Products or Services to Management by Collecting Customer Information and Analyzing Customer Needs

49.

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: Fluent Spanish speaking

39.

Brief Job Description: Mediate bet supplier & Philips accounts in oral and written French language.

50.

40.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, give customers information about product and services

Basic Qualification: Fluent in French & Portuguese language both oral and written comm skills.

41.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for implementation of sales strategies aimed to increase and maintain Japanese Business

CHEN, JINCHENG Chinese Customer Service 51.

SHIMIZU, YUTA Vice President 42.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for implementation of sales strategies aimed to increase and maintain Japanese Business

52.

43.

Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems.

CHINTYA ASSY Indonesian Customer Service Representative 44.

Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems.

SHANE STEVEN LAU Indonesian Customer Service Representative 45.

Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems.

VERY Indonesian Customer Service Representative 46.

Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems.

53.

54.

55.

47.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

WANG, QINGLIN Chinese Customer Service 56.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

KWANGKAEW, PORNCHANIT Customer Service Representative 57.

Basic Qualification: Graduate 4 years bachelor degree with critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Graduate 4 years bachelor degree with critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

PENG, YU Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication Skills in Japanese and English languages

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication Skills in Japanese and English languages

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

LIU, JIEYONG Chinese Customer Service

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

ELVINA VOON SIEW CHIN Malaysian Customer Service 58.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Graduate 4 years bachelor degree with critical thinking and problem solving skills.

LUCAS TSEN SIONG LIN Malaysian Customer Service 59.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Graduate 4 years bachelor degree with critical thinking and problem solving skills.

60.

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

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

NICK SIEU YAO Malaysian Customer Service

NEO INCORPORATED North Tower Centrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

PI, YUANYUAN Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

LAN, YINTAI Chinese Customer Service

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

MPOTECH DIGITAL SYSTEM INC. 47/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati BENLYANSEN WIGUNA Indonesian Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

DONG, HONGMING Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: With Atleast 6 Months Customer Service Experience/Good in Oral Communication and Written

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

No.

62.

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

Basic Qualification: With background in a related position, college graduate, proficient in speaking, writing in English & Korean hangul.

63.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

TRUONG TRAN CO PHU Vietnamese Customer Service 61.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

64.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate, Preferably 1 year experience in the same field, Speaks and write (Native Language & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

65.

Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

66.

67.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate, Preferably 1 year experience in the same field, Speaks and write (Native Language) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

OPTUM GLOBAL SOLUTIONS (PHILIPPINES), INC. 12th 14th 15th 16th & 17th Floors Vector Three Building, Northgate Cyberzone Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, City Of Muntinlupa

Basic Qualification: 13+ years professional experience in supporting/ leading enterprise Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: 13+ years professional experience in supporting/ leading enterprise.

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

Basic Qualification: 13+ years professional experience in supporting/ leading enterprise.

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

PUREVDORJ, DAVAADORJ Chief Executive Officer/treasurer

Basic Qualification: Proven experienced CEO

Brief Job Description: Develop high quality business strategies

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

NANZAN, BURMAA Operations Manager

Basic Qualification: Proven experienced OM

Brief Job Description: Lead, motivate, and support a large team

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

HARRIS, MICHAEL RICHARD Business Development Manager

68.

Brief Job Description: 1. Sustaining and growing the Pharsight revenue by new client acquisitions, renewal and identifying new business development opportunities in the city.

2. Formulating targets and incentive plans for the sales team in line with the city operating plans.

Basic Qualification: 1. Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing or related field.

2. 5 to 10 years of experience in sales, marketing or other related field.

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

SHANG SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. 11/f Pbcom Tower, Ayala Avenue, Salcedo Village, Bel-air, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing and other relevant courses; fluently speak in Chinese, Bahasa Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Thai to cater foreign market

KARLO PRAKASA Bahasa Indonesian Language-trade Specialist 69.

Brief Job Description: Ensure that all prices changes and delivery of events are timely and accurate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 SM RETAIL INC. Sm Retail Headquarters Bldg., J.w. Diokno Blvd Cor Bayshore Ave St., Moa Subd., Barangay 76, Pasay City

BARRATT, JUSTIN CHRISTOPHER Consultant

70.

Brief Job Description: Orchestrate meaningful and profitable digital change across all facets of the department stores; develop business rules and innovate assets including differentiated points of view and methodologies that can push the omnichannel transformation of the business

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Business; International Certifications in retail Business Operations and ecommerce/Omni channel; Minimum 20 years of experience; Must have proven track record in driving multi-market change & transformation in retail businesses in Asia Pacific as well as global markets Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

SPRITZER TRADING CORP. 37/f Lkg Tower, 6801 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

CHIN KIM YONG Chinese Speaking Brand Marketing Specialist 71.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written.

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

VICCI BUSINESS CONSULTANCY CORP 11/f Tower 1, The Enterprise Center, Ayala Ave. Cor, Paseo De Roxas St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati SHAN KYU Customer Relation Representative (mandarin Translation)

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

Brief Job Description: Leading complete portfolio of projects including budgeting, planning, vendor selection and execution; Mentoring and monitoring the performance of team members toe ensure efficiency in process operations;

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

PHARSIGHT INC. 3/f Corinthian Plaza, 121 Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

Brief Job Description: Leading complete portfolio of projects including budgeting, planning, vendor selection and execution; Mentoring and monitoring the performance of team members toe ensure efficiency in process operations;

Basic Qualification: 10+ years of experience in program management and high volume workforce management and Prince2 Practitioner or PMP certification and ITIL certification.

PESOMAT LENDING CORP. (PESOMAT) Unit 705 7/f Antel 2000 Corporate Center,, 121 Valero St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

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

Brief Job Description: Leading complete portfolio of projects including budgeting, planning, vendor selection and execution; Mentoring and monitoring the performance of team members toe ensure efficiency in process operations;

NAGAPURI, SHYAM RAO Senior Manager Support

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate, Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, Speaks and write fluently (Native Language)

Brief Job Description: Define work strategies, align these with resources and desired client outcomes, and oversee planning and execution of the work; Ensure technology solutions are managed to support business strategies, will often work with senior management.

MOHAMMED, NESAR AHMED Senior Manager Support

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language).

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

AUGUSTINE, PRADHEEP KUMAR Senior Manager Support

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With background in a related position, college graduate, proficient in speaking, writing in English & Korean hangul.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION MANDE, PHILOMON SATYA BHUSHAN Associate Project Manager

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th/f, Pearl Marina Building Pacific Drive, Don Galo, City Of Parañaque

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

MALAYAN INSURANCE CO., INC. 5/f Y Tower Ii 111 L.p. Leviste St. (alfaro), Cor. Gallardo St., Bel-air, City Of Makati KOSUGE, MITSUHIRO First Vice-president

Brief Job Description: Customer service representative to manage customer queries and complaints.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

INFOVINE INC. 9/f Y Tower, Moa Complex, Coral Way Drive Cor. Macapagal, Barangay 76, Pasay City

LAI, CHUN-AN a.k.a. NEO LAI Chinese Speaking Program Designer

Brief Job Description: Customer service representative to manage customer queries and complaints.

KOO, JEONGMO Customer Service Representative

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

Basic Qualification: 10 years of construction management of maritime/river works projects.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

GU, BOOCK Customer Service Representative

INFOSYS BPM LIMITED - PHILIPPINE BRANCH 19th-23rd Flr., Bgc Corporate Center, 11th Ave. Corner 30th Sts., City Of Taguig KATE ASU, OBI Customer Service Process Specialist

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

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

HASKONING PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit 4 22/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati ROBINSON, RICHARD LOUIS Construction Project Manager

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

48.

WEI, KANG Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

A7

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

Basic Qualification: Knows How to Recommend Potential Products or Services to Management by Collecting Customer Information and Analyzing Customer Needs

GOODYEAR REGIONAL BUSINESS SERVICES, INC. 23f Twenty-five Seven Mckinley Building, 25th St., Cor 7th Ave., Bgc, City Of Taguig ECHEVERRIA ESPINOZA, GERALDINE HEYSI Junior Buyer

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

72.

Brief Job Description: Handle service support calls, emails and chats, related to inquiry from the clients and/ or customers through Mandarin and English translation.

Basic Qualification: Through extensive and fluency in Mandarin language and characters.

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

*Date Generated: May 31, 2022 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 National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication.

Please inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

A8

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

TheWorld BusinessMirror

Shanghai prepares to reopen after 2-month virus lockdown

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EIJING—Shanghai authorities say they will take some major steps Wednesday toward reopening China’s largest city after a two-month Covid-19 lockdown that has throttled the national economy and largely bottled up millions of people in their homes.

Full bus and subway service will be restored as will basic rail connections with the rest of China, Vice Mayor Zong Ming said Tuesday at a daily news conference on the city’s outbreak.

“The epidemic has been effectively controlled,” she said, adding that the city will start the process of fully restoring work and life on Wednesday.

Schools will partially reopen on a voluntary basis for students and

shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores and drug stores will continue to reopen gradually with no more than 75 percent of their total capacity. Cinemas and gyms will remain closed.

Officials, who set June 1 as the target date for reopening earlier in May, appear ready to accelerate what has been a gradual easing in recent days. A few malls and markets have reopened, and some residents have been given passes

allowing them out for a few hours at a time. In online chat groups, some expressed excitement about the prospect of being able to move about freely in the city for the first time since the end of March, while others remained cautious given the slow pace and stop-and-go nature of opening up so far.

Shanghai recorded 29 new cases on Monday, continuing a steady decline from more than 20,000 a day in April. Li Qiang, the top official from China’s ruling Communist Party in Shanghai, at a meeting Monday was quoted as saying that the city has made major achievements in fighting the outbreak through continuous struggle.

The success came at a price. Authorities imposed a suffocating citywide lockdown under China’s “zero-Covid” strategy that aims to snuff out any outbreak with mass testing and isolation at centralized facilities of anyone who is infected.

However, the latest economic

data showed that Chinese manufacturing activity started to rebound in May as the government rolled back some containment measures.

Schools will reopen for the final two years of high school and the third year of middle school, but students can decide whether to attend in person.

Other grades and kindergarten remain closed.

Outdoor tourist sites will start reopening Wednesday, with indoor sites set to follow in late June, the Shanghai tourism authority said. Group tours from other provinces will be allowed again when the city has eliminated all high- and medium-risk pandemic zones.

Beijing, the nation’s capital, further eased restrictions Tuesday in some districts. The city imposed limited lockdowns, but nothing near a citywide level, in a much smaller outbreak that appears to be on the wane. Beijing recorded 18 new cases on Monday. AP

EU leaders agree to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end

By Samuel Petrequin & Lorne Cook The Associated Press

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RUSSELS—European Union leaders agreed Monday to embargo most Russian oil imports into the bloc by year-end as part of new sanctions on Moscow worked out at a summit focused on helping Ukraine with a long-delayed package of new financial support.

The embargo covers Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline, a move that was crucial to bring landlocked Hungary on board a decision that required consensus.

EU Council President Charles Michel said the agreement covers more than two-thirds of oil imports from Russia.

Ursula Von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive branch, said the punitive move will “effectively cut around 90 percent of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.”

Michel said leaders also agreed to provide Ukraine with a 9 billion-euro ($9.7 billion) tranche of assistance to support the war-torn country’s economy. It was unclear whether the money would come in grants or loans.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, responded to the EU’s decision on Twitter, saying: “As she rightly said yesterday, Russia will find other importers.”

The new package of sanctions will also include an asset freeze and travel ban on individuals, while Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, will be excluded from SWIFT, the major global system for financial transfers from which the EU previously banned several smaller Russian banks. Three big Russian state-owned broadcasters will be prevented from distributing their content in the EU. “We want to stop Russia’s war machine,” Michel said, lauding what he called a “remarkable achievement.”

“More than ever it’s important to show that we are able to be strong, that we are able to be firm, that we are able to be tough,” he added.

Michel said the new sanctions, which needed the support of all 27 member countries, will be legally endorsed by Wednesday.

The EU had already imposed five previous rounds of sanctions on Russia over its war. It has targeted more than

1,000 people individually, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and top government officials as well as pro-Kremlin oligarchs, banks, the coal sector and more.

But the sixth package of measures announced May 4 had been held up by concerns over oil supplies.

The impasse embarrassed the bloc, which was forced to scale down its ambitions to break Hungary’s resistance.

When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the package, the initial aim was to phase out imports of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year.

Both Michel and von der Leyen said leaders will soon return to the issue, seeking to guarantee that Russia’s pipeline oil exports to the EU are banned at a later date.

Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orban had made clear he could support the new sanctions only if his country’s oil supply security was guaranteed.

Hungary gets more than 60 percent of its oil from Russia and depends on crude that comes through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline.

Von der Leyen had played down the chances of a breakthrough at

Peza to pitch to BBM perks for strategic countryside industries Continued from A12 “I’m glad that our industry partners are here, [Philippine Economic Zones Association] PHILEA for one, with the president Chito Zaldarriaga because we’re going to invite them to partner with Peza in developing these different types of economic zones so we can attract different types of investors,” said Plaza.

Plaza added that “this is a very landmark partnership” as she aims to fully utilize the production areas of the DENR across the Philippines.

On Tuesday, Peza signed a MOU with DENR which will serve as an initial and broad framework of understanding between Peza and the DENR to achieve the goal of identifying public lands nationwide that can be harnessed in a sustainable manner to spread ecozones.

Plaza, in a statement on Monday, said that ecozones are drivers of economic growth outside the National Capital Region (NCR).

For its part, under the memorandum of understanding, the DENR agrees to provide an inventory of public lands and islands under its jurisdiction to Peza in order to explore feasible development of sustainable mineral and agroforestry processing economic zones, oil depots,

refinery ecozones, eco-tourism, agro-industrial special economic zones.

Another key responsibility of the Environment Department under this MOU is to adhere to its mandate of conserving the environment and properly managing the country’s natural resources.

Plaza added that once they finalize the list of the DENR lands in every region, Peza will invite PHILEA and other industry associations so that the prospective members and investors “can choose which to locate.”

Moreover, the Peza chief highlighted that apart from DENR, Peza also has MOUs with other government agencies such as but not limited to, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).

For CAAP, Plaza said that they have vacant lands beside airports that Peza will also convert into Aerotropolis Ecozone.

Currently, Plaza said that Peza has 105 newly proclaimed economic zones. At least 82 of them are IT parks and sectors, while 18 are for manufacturing, four are agro-industrial ecozones, and one is for medical tourism.

the summit. But leaders reached a compromise after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged them to end “internal arguments that only prompt Russia to put more and more pressure on the whole of Europe.”

The EU gets about 40 percent of its natural gas and 25 percent of its oil from Russia, and divisions over the issue exposed the limits of the 27-nation trading bloc’s ambitions.

In his 10-minute video address, Zelenskyy told leaders to end “internal arguments that only prompt Russia to put more and more pressure on the whole of Europe.”

He said the sanctions package must “be agreed on, it needs to be effective, including (on) oil,” so that Moscow “feels the price for what it is doing against Ukraine” and the rest of Europe. Only then, Zelenskyy said, will Russia be forced to “start seeking peace.”

It was not the first time he had demanded that the EU target Russia’s lucrative energy sector and deprive Moscow of billions of dollars each day in supply payments.

Karel Janicek contributed to this story from Prague.

‘Reforms to halt Asian states’ slide into debt crisis’ Continued from A12

Apart from transparency, the ADB exports said reforms should include tapping new instruments as well as preparing for fiscal risks that could come from natural, operational, financial, commodity, and others.

Preparing for these fiscal risks means Asian governments could buy insurance against those risks directly from investors or through multilateral development banks.

Countries, Ferrarini and Giugale said, could leverage the market for impact finance such as thematic bonds such as green, blue, social, and gender, among others.

“Not all of these instruments currently fit every country, because financial standing and institutional capacities differ. But the menu is ample and flexible,” they added.

On Monday, this newspaper reported that the Bureau of the Treasury raised P10 billion out of its P15-billion offering as the auction committee decided to reject bids for 364-day Treasury bills (T-bills) as investors demanded “unacceptable rates.”

Had the Treasury fully awarded bids for the 364-day T-bills, the rates would have averaged 2.716 percent, higher by 67.6 basis points from the comparable secondary market benchmark rate for the tenor at 2.04 percent.

As of end-March, the national government’s outstanding debt has hit a new record-high of P12.68 trillion as it resorted to more borrowings after revenue collections remained weak while government spending grew.

The national government’s debt-to-GDP ratio has also risen to a 17-year-high at 63.5 percent, above the internationally recommended 60-percent threshold by multilateral lenders for emerging markets like the Philippines. It is also the highest since the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio hit 65.7 percent in 2005 under the Arroyo administration.

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

Russians and Ukrainians fight block by block in eastern city

By Yuras Karmanau & Elena Becatoros

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The Associated Press

RAMATORSK, Ukraine— Russian troops pushed deeper into a key eastern Ukrainian city Monday, fighting street by street with Kyiv’s forces in a battle that has left Sievierodonetsk in ruins. In a bid to pressure Moscow to end the war, the European Union agreed to embargo most Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

As Moscow’s advance on Sievierodonetsk increased in intensity, Russian forces also shelled parts of Ukraine’s northeast, and a struggle continued for control of a southern region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Russia has prevented the export of 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain, contributing to a growing global food crisis.

Military analysts described the fight for Sievierodonetsk as part of a race against time for the Kremlin. The city is important to Russian efforts to quickly complete the capture of the eastern industrial region of the Donbas before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraine’s defense. Moscowbacked separatists already held territory in the region and have been fighting Ukrainian troops for eight years.

“The Kremlin has reckoned that it ca n’t a f ford to waste t ime a nd shou ld use t he l ast c ha nce to e x tend t he sepa rat ist- cont rol led ter r itor y because t he a r r iv a l of Wester n weapon s in U k ra ine cou ld ma ke it impossible,” U k ra ini a n m i l it a r y a na lyst Oleh Zhd a nov sa id.

In a potentia l setbac k for Ukraine, US President Joe Biden appeared to dismiss reports that the US was considering sending long-range rocket systems to the country.

But the European Union approved additional sanctions on Russia. As part of a long-delayed financial support package to help Ukraine, EU leaders agreed Monday to embargo most Russian oil imports into the 27-nation bloc by year-end. The agreement came after Zelenskyy asked the EU to target Russian oil exports so Moscow “feels the price for what it is doing against Ukraine.”

The embargo covers Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline. EU Council President Charles Michel said the agreement covers more than twothirds of oil imports from Russia.

Ursula Von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive branch, said the move will “effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.”

In an effort to punish and divide the West over its support for Ukraine, Russia has cut off natural gas to a handful of European countries. In its latest move, Russian state gas giant Gazr pom said it will halt gas supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra starting Tuesday.

Russia also ramped up its actions on the battlefield. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said the situation in the Donbas remains “extremely difficult” as Russia has put its army’s “maximum combat power” there.

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces reinforced their positions outside Sievierodonetsk, a city 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of the Russian border in an area that is the last pocket of Ukrainian government control in Luhansk.

Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said the city has been “completely ruined.” Artillery fire has destroyed critical infrastructure and damaged 90% of the buildings, and power and communications have been largely cut to a city that was once home to 100,000 people, he said.

“The number of victims is rising every hour, but we are unable to count the dead and the wounded amid the street fighting,” Striuk told The Associated Press in a phone interview, adding that Moscow’s troops advanced a few more blocks toward the city center.

He said that only about 12,000 to 13,000 residents remain, sheltering in basements and bunkers to escape the Russian bombardment. The situation recalls the siege of Mariupol, which trapped residents and led to some of the worst suffering of the war. More than 20,000 are feared dead in Mariupol.

Striuk estimated that 1,500 civilians have died in Sievierodonetsk since the war began from Russian attacks and from dire conditions that include a lack of medicine and medical treatment.

A 32-year-old French journalist, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, died Monday near Sievierodonetsk when he was hit by shrapnel from shelling while covering Ukrainian evacuations, according to his employer, French broadcaster BFM TV. Zelenskyy said Leclerc-Imhoff was the 32nd media worker to die in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24.

Governors of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions—which make up the Donbas—said six civilians, including the journalist, were killed in shelling. Authorities in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s secondlargest city, also reported one person died in shelling there.

Zelenskyy said Russian troops also shelled the Sumy region near the Russian border, and the struggle continued for the southern Kherson region, which has been largely controlled by Russian troops since the early days of the war. Russia-installed officials there said they would ask the Kremlin to annex it, while Kyiv, in turn, has vowed to liberate the region.

The Russian advance in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk on either side of the strategically impor tant Siversk iy Donetsk River is part of an all-out push, said Zhdanov, the U krainian militar y analyst. He said the intensity of the latest fighting and the influx of Russian troops have surprised Ukrainians, who are trying to hold out until more weapons arrive.

On Monday, Biden told reporters that there are no plans for the United States to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine, amid reports that the move is being considered.

Dmitr y Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, called it a “reasonable” decision. He said that “otherwise, if our cities come under attack, the Russian armed forces would fulfill their threat and strike the centers where such criminal decisions are made.”

Medvedev added that “some of them aren’t in Kyiv.”

In the Kherson region, the Russia-insta l led deput y head of the regional administration, Kirill Stremousov, told Russia’s Tass state news agency that grain from last year’s harvest is being delivered to Russian buyers, adding that “obviously there is a lot of grain here.”

Russia has pressed the West to lift sanctions against it as it seeks to shift the blame for the growing food crisis, which has led to skyrocketing prices in Africa.

Zelenskyy accused Moscow of “deliberately creating this problem” and said Russia’s claim that sanctions are to blame is a lie. He said sanctions haven’t blocked Russian food, and he accused Russia of stealing at least a half million tons of Ukrainian grain.

Karmanau reported from Lviv. AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

TheWorld BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

A9

EU inflation hits record high as ECB mulls over rate hike

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, on May 14, 2022. Within a two-week span, Turkey’s president has caused a stir by throwing a wrench in Sweden and Finland’s historic bid to join the Nato alliance, lashed out at Nato-ally Greece and announced plans for a new incursion into Syria. The Turkish leader appears to be using Turkey’s power to veto Nato’s expansion as an opportunity to air a variety of grievances against the Western nations and to force them to take action against Kurdish militants and other groups that Turkey views as terrorists. AP/Burhan Ozbilici

Turkish leader writes on ‘risks’ of Sweden and Finland in Nato

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STANBUL—Turkey’s president highlighted the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as part of his country’s objections to Sweden and Finland joining Nato and said both nations doing so would carry security risks for Turkey.

T he g roup k now n as PK K has waged a 38-year insurgency against Turkey that has led to tens of thousands of deaths. It is designated a terrorist entity by the United States and the European Union, including Sweden and Finland.

However, the West’s attitude to the PKK’s Syrian wing, the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, has caused acrimony between Ankara and other Nato members. The YPG forms the backbone of the forces involved in the US-led fight against the Islamic State group.

“Turkey maintains that the admission of Sweden and Finland entails risks for its own security and the organization’s future,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote in an article published by The Economist late Monday.

Referring to the central tenet of Nato’s mutual defense policy, he added: “We have every right to expect those countries, which will expect Nato’s second-largest army to come to their defense under Article 5, to prevent the recruitment, fundraising and propaganda activities of the PKK.” A l l Nato members must ap prove t he t wo Nord ic nat ions’

bids to join the a l liance, which were propel led by Russi a’s invasion of U k ra ine. Tu rkey has sa id it won’t a l low t heir accession u n less steps a re t a ken, but Nato leaders a re look ing to t he Nato su mm it in Spa in in l ate Ju ne as t he c ha nce for t he h istor ic e x pa nsion.

Erdogan reiterated calls for Finland and Sweden to extradite people Ankara suspects of terrorist activity and to support “the anti-terror operations of Nato members.”

He also said arms embargoes were “incompatible with the spirit of military partnership.”

Sweden a nd Fi n l a nd were among countries to impose defense export restrictions on Turkey following its 2019 incursion into northeast Syria that aimed to drive back the YPG. In recent days, Erdogan has promised a further cross-border operation against the group.

The president set out Turkey’s role in “arguably the greatest military alliance in history” since it joined in 1952 and called for other Nato members to persuade Sweden and Finland to change their positions.

“Where Sweden and Finland stand on the national security concerns and considerations of other countries, with which they would like to be allies, will determine to what extent Turkey would like to be allies with those states,” he added. AP

E

uro-zone inflation accelerated to a fresh all-time high, intensifying the debate at the European Central Bank about how rapidly to raise interest rates from record lows.

Consumer prices jumped 8.1 percent from a year earlier in May, exceeding the 7.8 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

The acceleration was driven by food and energy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent commodity prices soaring. A gauge that excludes volatile items like those rose 3.8 percent.

With rate hikes in full swing in the US and the UK, the ECB is preparing to lift borrowing costs for the first time in more than a

decade to combat the 19-member currency bloc’s unprecedented price spike.

President Christine Lagarde indicated last week that quarterpoint increases are likely at meetings in July and September. Chief economist Philip Lane backed that timeline on Monday, calling moves of that size a “benchmark pace” in exiting stimulus, which also includes large-scale bond buying.

Some officials have floated the idea of hiking by a half-point for

the first time in the ECB’s history—mirroring the latest Federal Reserve decision. Dutch Governing Council member Klaas Knot has said inflation numbers for May and June will determine whether such a step is warranted.

Italy’s Ignazio Visco pushed back on Tuesday against the prospect of a more aggressive rate move, saying the ECB must proceed in an “orderly” manner to avoid potential bond-market turbulence. His French colleague, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, said the latest inflation data warrant a “gradual but resolute” normalization of monetary policy.

While price growth should peak this quarter, it will still average more than the ECB’s 2 percent target next year, according to European Union forecasts. A European Commission survey this week showed inflation concerns among consumers retreating, though re-

maining double the average level since 2000.

Russia’s attack on its neighbor—and the response it’s prompted—remains the biggest risk to the euro-area economy.

Manufactur ing has slowed amid soaring input prices and renewed supply-chain snarls. An EU ban on Russian oil, meanwhile, risks further stoking pressure on prices, which are rising partly as the war disrupts wheat and fertilizer supplies.

European governments have implemented an array of measures to ease the burden on households.

Even so, prices rose by records this month in France, Italy and Spain.

After German inflation reached 8.7 percent, Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Monday called the fight against it the “top priority,” while advocating an end to expansive fiscal policy.

Bloomberg News

Denmark holds referendum on defense amid Ukraine war

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OPENH AGEN, Denmark—Historically skept ic a l a b out Eu ro p e a n Union efforts to deepen cooperation, Danish voters on Wednesday will choose whether to abandon the country’s decision three decades ago to opt out of the bloc’s common defense policy.

The Danish referendum comes as the latest example of European countries seeking closer defense links with allies in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It follows Sweden and Finland ’s historic bids to join Nato—something to be taken up at a summit next month.

Denmark joining the EU defense policy would have a relatively modest impact on Europe’s security architecture, particularly compared to Sweden and Finland joining Nato. But Christine Nissen, a researcher with the Danish Institute for International Studies, said both moves are “part of the same story,” and would strengthen military cooperation on a continent

stunned by the war in Ukraine.

She said the main effect of abandoning the opt-out decision would be that Danish officials could stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defense topics and Danish forces could take part in the bloc’s military operations.

Denmark, a founding member of Nato, has stayed on the sidelines of EU efforts to build a common security and defense policy in parallel with the transAtlantic alliance. It was one of four opt-out moves that Danes insisted on before adopting the EU’s Maastricht Treaty, which laid the foundation for political and economic union.

The 1992 waiver means Denmark hasn’t participated in the EU’s discussions on defense policy, its development and acquisition of military capabilities and its joint military operations, such as those in Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Danes also opted out of EU cooperation on justice and home

affairs, the common currency and citizenship. The opt-out decision on citizenship, which said European citizenship wouldn’t replace national citizenship, has since become irrelevant as other members later adopted the same position. But the other provisions remain intact despite efforts by successive governments to overturn them.

In a 2000 referendum, Danish voters decided to stay outside the eurozone, and 15 years later they voted to keep the exemption on justice and home affairs.

This time, however, Danes appear ready to say goodbye to opting out of common defense.

Socia l Democrat ic Pr ime M i n i ste r Met te Fre de r i k se n called for the referendum on March 8, less than two weeks after Russia launched its invasion of U k raine on Febr uar y 24. She called on citizens to vote “yes” to abolishing the exception, saying to do so “will strengthen our security.”

“I am voting in favor of abolishing the opt-out” decision, said Peter Jakobsen, a 61-year-old pharmacist in Copenhagen. “We must not stand outside. We are in the EU and we must be involved.

We must make a difference.”

But Sanne Michelsen, a 52-yearold shopper in Copenhagen, said she didn’t see the point of suddenly joining the EU’s defense policy after years on the outside.

“This is a referendum about an opt-out that has never caused us any problem,” she said in her native Danish, before turning to English to add. “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.’”

The “yes” side has had a clear lead in polls, with about 40 percent in favor of dropping the exemption and 30 percent against.

About a fourth of voters say they are still undecided.

There is widespread support for dropping the defense optout decision in Parliament. Only three small parties want to maintain it, two on the right and one on the left. AP

Australia’s Labor Party wins enough seats to govern alone US senator visits Taiwan as China ups military threat C

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AIPEI, Taiwan—On a visit to Taiwan, US Senator Tammy Duckworth reiterated support for the island amid rising Chinese threats.

Duckworth met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday and emphasized the close economic, political and security relations between Taipei and Washington.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force, and sent 30 military aircraft into airspace close to the island Monday. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it responded by scrambling jets, putting air defense missile systems on alert and issuing radio warnings.

In her remarks to Tsai, Duckworth said she wanted to “emphasize our support for Taiwan security.”

“I do want to say that it is more than just about military. It’s also about the economy,” Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot and lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, told Tsai.

Duckworth also cited strong bipartisan backing for a bill she has put forward promoting cooperation between Taiwan’s armed forces and the National Guard.

Tsai t h a n k e d t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t and Congress “for the importance they place on peace and stability across the Taiwan S t r a i t , ” a s w e l l a s D u c k w o r t h herself f o r “ k e e p i n g a c l o s e w a t c h

o n Ta i w a n r e l ated security issues.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put China’s threats against Taiwan under new focus, prompting increased backing for arms sales and political support from Democrats and Republicans.

China upped the ante further in May, reaching out to the Solomon Islands and nine other island nations with a sweeping security proposal that, even if only partially realized, could give it a presence in the Pacific much nearer Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and on the doorstep of the strategic American territory of Guam.

That is seen as a potential route to blocking access to Taiwan by the US and its allies in the event China makes good on its threat to invade the island.

In a speech Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said President Joe Biden’s administration aims to lead the international bloc opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into a broader coalition to counter what it sees as a more serious, long-term threat to global order from China.

While relations with Taiwan are informal in deference to Beijing, the US remains its main supplier of defensive arms and source of political support in international organizations where China blocks Taiwan’s participation. AP

ANBERRA, Australia—Australia’s center-left Labor Party secured enough seats Tuesday to hold an outright majority in the House as vote counting from an election 10 days ago continued.

That means new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his party will be able to govern alone—although it’s possible they might still seek deals with other parties to strengthen their hand. The calculus remains different in the Senate, where the Labor Party will likely need help from other liberals to command a majority.

With about 80% of the vote counted,

the Australian Broadcasting Corp. projected Labor will win at least 76 of the 150 House seats, the minimum required to form a majority government. Two seats remained too close to call. Labor will need to provide a Speaker, which will reduce their voting ranks by one, although the Speaker also gets the casting vote in the case of a tie.

A l b a n e s e ’s p a r t y d e f e a t e d t h e conservative coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the May 21 election.

Albanese was sworn in last week when it became clear he had the numbers to govern, with or without a majority. He flew to Tokyo

for a summit with President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Albanese got a standing ovation when he addressed his Labor caucus Tuesday.

He outlined his agenda for the rest of the year and announced the new parliament will open on July 26.

He said Labor will introduce a bill to form a federal anti-corruption commission, review wasteful spending and announce a budget in October.

Albanese told his colleagues the party won by showing unity, discipline and a

sense of purpose.

“We had a good story to tell,” he said. “We weren’t intimidated by anyone, we didn’t get distracted, we stayed on course and the discipline we showed was magnificent.”

He welcomed those colleagues who had won their first elections.

“For those newbies, you really struck gold because opposition is not fun. At all,” he said.

He said Australia would join the global effort to combat climate change “after nine wasted years.” AP

A10 Wednesday, June 1, 2022 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Food supply lessons for the new president

W

hen the Philippines joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, the general perception was that the move would greatly benefit all Filipinos because the country gained access to markets where food was plenty and cheap. The conversion of quotas into tariffs made it easier for traders to bring in food products, including meat products and processed food items. For as long as they applied for the necessary permits and paid taxes and tariffs, traders and importers were allowed to bring into the Philippines food items in bulk.

At the time, climate change was not yet a buzzword and the major El Niño episode that dried up farmlands in the Philippines was three years away. As huge tracts of land relied on rain for irrigation, production fell drastically in 1998 and 1999 because of drought, forcing the government to import 2 million tons of rice. Fortunately for the Philippines, neighboring countries like Vietnam and Thailand had surplus rice to help augment the production gap caused by the weather phenomenon.

Meat products and other raw materials like wheat and palm oil eventually became easily accessible. The conflict in Eastern Europe was two decades away and global population in the 1990s, at least until 1999, was below 6 billion. There were fewer mouths to feed and erratic weather patterns were infrequent.

As the global population swelled to 7 billion and the climate crisis intensified and affected agricultural production cycles, food prices rose.

Storms and other natural calamities that hit food producers forced exporting nations to ban the shipments of their produce to prevent spikes in domestic food prices. The 2008 rice crisis caused by protectionism jolted net food-importing countries like the Philippines, which were forced to cough up more funds to import food.

More than a decade after the rice price crisis, protectionism is again threatening to exacerbate the supply woes caused by the pandemic, climate crisis and the conflict in Eastern Europe. As the price of vegetable oils jumped due to the disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Indonesia decided to put limits on its shipments of palm oil (See, “Palm oil soars on Indonesia ban in risk to global food inflation,” in the BusinessMirror, April 25, 2022). India, a top supplier of grains, also banned the export of wheat to safeguard its food security.

The latest Asian country to impose curbs on its food exports is Malaysia, which banned the shipment of poultry (See, “Food protectionism spreads with Malaysia poultry export ban,” in the BusinessMirror, May 25, 2022). The measure was put in place by Kuala Lumpur to ease rising domestic prices. Analysts expect the move to put pressure on chicken prices from Thailand, one of the top poultry producers in Southeast Asia.

Dr. Baris Karapinar, Senior Research Fellow at World Trade Institute, said the WTO regulation dealing with export restrictions is relatively limited, offering ample “policy space” for domestic policy considerations. While the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade requires WTO members to eliminate all prohibitions and quantitative restrictions on exports, they are allowed to impose temporary curbs to prevent and alleviate food shortages.

The incoming administration, which has vowed to ensure stable food supply, should keep these developments in mind when crafting its agricultural policies. The stance taken by food exporters in times of crisis underscores the importance of weaning the Philippines from imported food items, particularly those that can be produced in the country.

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Entrepinoy Revolution, now

to P3 million asset size, small if P3 million to P15 million, and medium if it has P15 million to P100 million.

Dr. Carl E. Balita

Entrepreneurs’ Footprints

I

N the words of Thomas Jefferson, “every generation needs a new revolution.” And our generation needs one—an entrepreneurial revolution. The pandemic, which is about to end, hopefully, has created crises that in the context of entrepreneurs are opportunities.

History tells us that the rise of the entrepreneurs was observed during great depressions.

Tracing back its roots, the term entrepreneurship was coined from the two Latin words “entre,” to swim out, and “prendes,” to grasp, understand or capture. It was the French-Irish Economist Jean-Baptiste Say who popularized the word entrepreneur in 1800. In its original context, entrepreneurs were “resource hackers” who were able to use scant resources to create innovative products. In his 1800 Treatise on Political Economy, Say wrote: “The entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of the area of lower into an area of higher productivity and greater yield.” There was, however, a revelation, through an investigation, that as early as 1755, Richard Cantillon, in his Essay on the Nature of Trade in General, already cited that entrepreneurs are non-fixed income earners who take risk and pay unknown costs of production to earn uncertain incomes. And during the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939, Joseph Schumpeter formulated the Theory of Economic Development (1934) and cited entrepreneurs as drivers of change and progress. His-

tory tells us that entrepreneurs were born out of crisis.

In the unique experience of the Filipinos, entrepreneurship takes a twist as entrepinoyship.

In a country where the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) comprise 99.6 percent of all the businesses, we could expect the economy to benefit from the entrepreneurial spirit of its people.

Generating more that 86 percent of all the jobs, the MSMEs are the economic frontliners. The impact of the pandemic on MSMEs explains the decline in the employment rate.

With 89 percent of all the businesses categorized as micro enterprises, and 10 percent as small, it can be concluded that there is a missing medium. The big chunk of enterprises is either trapped in being micro enterprises or by choice prefers to be micro enterprises.

One criterion to be a micro enterprise is to have less than 10 employees, small if 10 to 99, and medium with 100 to 199. Another criterion to be a micro enterprise is to have up

The age of survival entrepreneurship

Survival entrepreneurship has become the lifesaver of three kinds of people in the pandemic experience. First are those who lost their jobs and livelihood and need to survive through means within their capacity to reach. Second are those who, in the pursuit of their passion, are able to produce something that gets the attention and patronage of a market, usually within their sphere of influence. And thirdly, those businesspeople that are forced into pivoting their business to be able to survive and remain relevant in the changing times. The pandemic has nested entrepreneurs locked down at homes but accessing the power of social media and digital space to soar into business above the pandemic.

Survival entrepreneurship is highly evident among the millennials, the digital natives, who were labelled notorious for their restless and reckless nature, and misinterpreted as being a selfish generation. Their character, in fact, is demonstrating some excellent entrepreneurial inclinations. They belong to a purposedriven generation who search for meanings in what they need, what they want and whom they patronize.

They work and spend for a lifestyle as they are guided by the YOLO principle—you only live once. The creative millennials, being the biggest chunk of the population, are significant in numbers and are very comfortable with the digital world to navigate this new normal of entrepreneurship.

Beyond survival

Beyond survival, the entrepreneurs born of the pandemic should explore the possibility of entrepreneurship as a way of life. And the entrepreneurial journey extends beyond survival towards a more meaningful blessing derived from the pandemic experience. Even if survival entrepreneurs are engaged in business by neither intention nor design, they are learning the lessons that are imperative to move forward. The survival entrepreneurs should never lose that chance to take the road less travelled in entrepreneurship, and in the future should be able to look back to say that this pandemic is a blessing in disguise.

Entrepinoy Revolution

Entrepinoy R e volut ion i s launched by this author with the SMNI. It is a one-hour talk show that is developmental, inspirational and empowering, hosted by multiawarded host and entrepreneur Dr. Carl E. Balita who was host of a multi-awarded program in ABSCBN for 20 years. The program aims to: Celebrate the successes and learn the lessons of successful entrepreneurs; align dreams and aspirations of viewers with growth mindset; realize meaningful life through proactive solutions and actions; and leverage on available resources for development and progress. It airs every Friday at 4:30 p.m. on SMNI channels, both on free TV and cable channels, as well as on all its socialmedia platforms.

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

Why is the agriculture sector against RCEP?

By Raul Montemayor

T

he Philippine Senate has resumed deliberations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. RCEP is a trade agreement among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Facing objections mainly from the agriculture sector, the Senate has not yet approved the agreement.

Why are we in the agriculture sector against RCEP? Clearly, we are ill prepared to compete with our regional counterparts under RCEP. Our farmers continue to suffer from low productivity, high production costs, poor quality of products, and inability to sustain supply. Bringing goods from the farms to consumers remains expensive. Our products cost more than imports; more so, if the latter are subsidized, smuggled or undervalued. Local traders have to lower their prices to farmers in order to compete with cheaper imports.

These same problems make it difficult to be competitive and sell our products abroad. Yes, we export

a lot of bananas, pineapples, coconut-based and fishery products, but nothing much else. Meanwhile, our competitors have been innovating and improving, displacing many of our exportable products—including coconut juice and patis—while supplying us with products that we can and should produce locally, like mungbean, peanuts and black pepper. It has long been this way.

The outcome is huge and increasing agricultural trade deficits. We import much more than we export.

And the gap widens every year.

All RCEP countries, except Japan, sold more agricultural products to us than we exported to them in 2019.

Around the same time, the value of

our exports reached $5.8 billion, the lowest among the large economies in Asean and only slightly higher than Myanmar’s. Regionwide, we posted the highest trade deficit, surpassing Singapore, which imports most of its food, and smaller countries like Cambodia and Brunei.

Will RCEP membership reverse these trends? Most likely not, unless we first fix our production and marketing woes.

Knowing that we are unprepared, why hurry to join RCEP? Some economists claim that our country will gain a lot. However, most of their projections are based on economic theories and unrealistic assumptions that rarely play out in the Philippine setting.

This has been proven many times in the past. Instead of reaping billions of dollars from exports and other benefits—as promised when we entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995—we incurred over $7 billion in trade deficits, lost over a million jobs in agriculture, and saw agriculture’s contribution to our

gross domestic product shrink from 20 percent to 10 percent.

Free trade simply has not worked for our agricultural sector, particularly our small farmers and fisherfolk. How then can we believe all these rosy projections about RCEP, if the people making them have been so wrong previously?

RCEP supposedly offers significant export opportunities for our products through tariff reductions, and also grants other preferential arrangements with our trading partners.

But almost all these market access opportunities are already available to us under the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the Asean FTAs with China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. RCEP will just consolidate, but will not replace, these FTAs. These FTAs will remain in effect. We can still utilize them, even if we don’t join RCEP. It is therefore difficult to believe warnings that non-membership will cause the loss of our export markets See “RCEP,” A11

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Recovery and ‘ayuda’ amidst a debt pandemic?

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

E

ngineering a broad-based economic recovery and providing “ayuda” to the millions of unemployed, underemployed and displaced/disrupted micro entrepreneurs. These are the two most pressing problems facing the incoming Marcos administration.

On engineering economic recovery, the public policy response worldwide is for governments to spend extra on infrastructures and various societal needs in order to stimulate their economy and breathe life to stagnant economic sectors. This is classic Keynesian. Thus, during the pandemic years of 2020-2021, Singapore and South Korea, together with the OECD countries, spent the equivalent of over 20 percent or so of their GDP in order to maintain positive economic growth and prevent an economic collapse.

In the case of the Philippines, Covid-related spending was only around 6 percent of the GDP, one of the lowest in Asia. Moreover, the country’s stimulus program was weakened by the corruption-tainted health spending and the prolonged lockdowns. The GDP shrank by 9.6 percent in 2020 and the ensuing 5.6 percent GDP growth in 2021 failed to bring back the flattened economy to its pre-pandemic level.

As to the “ayuda” or social amelioration, the two successive Bayanihan laws in 2020 were supposed to ease the hunger and suffering of 23 million families. Not all families received the Bayanihan ayuda, which was distributed in an agonizingly

bureaucratic manner, with the recipient families complaining about the limited ayuda good for only one to two weeks. In 2021, a proposed Bayanihan 3 program was proposed by concerned legislators. This was thumbed down by the economic technocrats who labeled the program as “unfundable.”

Now with the election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the pro-BBM voters, mostly belonging to the CD-E classes, are hoping things will be better. They are expecting the economy to rebound to the prepandemic level. The general thinking is that more and better jobs and livelihoods for the poor are on the horizon. They also expect that ample and sustained ayuda for all, at a level substantially higher than what they received under Bayanihan 1 and 2, shall be given to all those in need. After all, the populist Marcos even spoke about rice price being reduced to P20 a kilo.

But where, oh where, will the Marcos administration get the means to bankroll the necessary massive social spending to address the amelioration need of the many? Where are the funds to cover the necessary stimulus spending to re-energize the comatose segments of the economy,

RCEP. . .

ports more expensive. There is no limit to the additional duties that can be imposed.

However, RCEP provisions for “transitional safeguards” concern us a lot. They set a cap or limit on the amount of safeguard duties, if an import surge occurs. No additional duty is allowed beyond this cap, even if proven insufficient.

RCEP defenders nevertheless cite two paragraphs in RCEP’s legal text on trade remedies, which state that member-countries can apply the WTO’s safeguard provisions in lieu of the RCEP transitional safeguards.

We are unconvinced. No right thinking country will resort to RCEP’s restrictive safeguards, knowing it can follow WTO rules that do not limit the trade remedies. So why did the RCEP negotiators devote seven-anda-half out of nine pages dealing with RCEP transitional safeguards, only to supersede it at the end? Until now, we have not received a convincing explanation from government.

We also remain skeptical of arguments that joining RCEP will force government to enable our farmers to compete and benefit from trade.

These promises are not new, but agriculture has yet to receive the priority and support that it needs and deserves.

Government must produce a realistic plan to make RCEP and trade work for our farmers and ensure that we are able to counter threats to vulnerable sectors. It should be reinforced with policy pronouncements, clear strategies, firm budgetary commitments, and time-bound targets.

This is the crucial missing element in the ongoing RCEP debate and the root cause of the agriculture sector’s resistance, exacerbated further by the current administration’s penchant to prioritize imports over local production.

The current Senate should defer further action on RCEP. Presidentelect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and the incoming Congress can then review the agreement and craft the country’s trade policy, consistent with an overall plan for the revitalization and competitiveness of Philippine agriculture.

continued from A10

in other RCEP countries. If that were true, how come we registered—over the past six years—the highest level of quarterly exports during the first three months of 2022, even though we were outside RCEP when it came into force this year?

Any new trade opportunity arising from RCEP will not be exclusive to the Philippines. All other RCEP members can take advantage of these opportunities. We may be good in producing some products; but if others are better—in terms of price, quality and reliability—we will still lose out to them.

The threat of trade diversion will come from our inability to match our competitors. This will be a challenge, with or without RCEP. Mere membership in RCEP also does not mean that our exporters will automatically enjoy trade privileges.

They must still secure certificates of origin to prove that their products comply with local content and other requirements in order to qualify for preferential RCEP tariffs.

Incentives for foreign investments under RCEP will likewise be available to all other members. There is therefore no assurance that investors will come to us, just because we join RCEP. Some investors might leave, not because we are outside RCEP, but because they would prefer locating in countries with less traffic, crime, corruption, and cost of doing business.

Let us now review our commitments under RCEP. Customs duties on 75 percent of our agricultural tariff lines will immediately be set to zero. Tariffs on another 8 percent will be phased out over several years. Another 7 percent will be subjected to partial tariff reduction.

The balance of 9 percent—involving ultra-sensitive products like rice, corn, meats, coffee and sugar— will not have any tariff cuts. RCEP proponents claim there is no need to worry.

But what if something goes wrong, and import surges occur?

WTO rules allow us to temporarily impose safeguard duties on top of our regular tariffs. This will arrest the surge by making subsequent im-

Raul Montemayor is the National Manager of the Federation of Free Farmers.

especially the bankrupted micro and small enterprises? May pera pa ba ang baul ng bayan?

This brings us to a dreaded reality: The Duterte administration is leaving behind a dire fiscal situation. The budget deficit is soaring. For 2022, the projected deficit is P1.7 trillion or almost one-fifth of the approved P5 trillion budget and equal to 7.5 percent of the GDP. Hence, economic observers agree: the rising fiscal deficit due to declining government revenues from taxes and customs duties in a flattened economy means more borrowings.

However, the national debt is also problematic. It is now at a dangerous level of unsustainability. The national debt problem, which the neo-liberal economists claim to have already disappeared after three decades (1980s-2000s) of back-breaking debt servicing by the government, is back. As of March 2022, the national debt totaled P12.6 trillion.

This represents an increase of over 60 percent from the P7.7 trillion in 2019 and more than twice of the P5.9 trillion national debt recorded in 2016 when the Duterte administration assumed office. By the end of 2022, the country’s national debt is projected to reach over P13 trillion, meaning every Filipino, young and old, would have an indebtedness of around P110,000.

The debt-to-GDP ratio, down to 39 percent in 2019, is now over 60 percent, back to the grim situation in the 1980s-2000s. When the Philippines went to the ADB in April 2020 for a $1.5 billion loan (as additional budgetary support), our debt officials declared that debt “is sustainable” and that the debt-toGDP ratio would not breach the 60 percent threshold. Not in 2020 and neither in 2021, they asserted. And

It is best that the Marcos administration opens up the policy choices to widest public discussion and debate. We do not want a repeat of the debt debacle of the 1980s.

We do not want another round of lost development decades due to policy failure and reliance on a handful of economic technocrats and their partner creditors at home and overseas.

yet, the 60 percent threshold was eventually breached by the end of 2021. And the debt-to-GDP ratio is now moving towards 70 percent by end of 2022.

Now the economic technocrats of the outgoing Duterte administration are saying that worries over the debt situation are misplaced. Debt is sustainable so long as the economy is able to post positive growth rate of 6-8 percent a year.

The economic team of the incoming Marcos administration is also saying the same thing: a growing economy makes the debt sustainable.

Grow and contain the debt virus.

However, there is no assurance that the economy shall indeed grow at a high level and that debt shall eventually be paid or reduced at a manageable level. In the late 1970s, the technocrats of then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. said the same thing: nothing to worry about growing debt because the economy was allegedly growing. As a backgrounder, the country witnessed a rapid accumulation of debt in the 1970s, from $2 billion in 1972 to $24 billion in 1980, no thanks to the IMF-WBled Consultative Group of Creditor Countries for the Philippines (CGCCP).

History also tells us that a high

Wednesday, June 1, 2022 A11

level of indebtedness can subvert the growth potentials of a country. Remember the debt crisis of the mid-1980s. The debt solutions recommended by the IMF-WB and CGCCP to the Philippines had opposite results: paralysis or low-level of growth for the economy. Hence, the decades of the 1980s-2000s are generally referred today as lost development decades for the country.

There were two policy recommendations that contributed to the standstill growth or non-development of the Philippines in these fateful decades: First, the IMF-supervised program. This program prevented the Aquino, Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo administrations from revving the economy through meaningful stimulus spending. This austerity program was even reinforced by the government’s adherence to Presidential Decree 1177, a Marcosian law mandating the government to allocate “automatically” the annual amount needed to service the debt, which sometimes reached more than 50 percent of the national budget.

Secondly, the economic technocrats dutifully followed the neoliberal policy advice (conditionalities) of the IMF-World Bank and the CGCCP (also called Philippine Aid Plan group). These policy conditionalities required the country to liberalize the economy in a onesided and wholesale manner. As documented by an ADB economist, Norio Usui (Taking the Right Road to Inclusive Growth, Industrial Upgrading and Diversification in the Philippines, 2012), the neo-liberal decades of the 1980s-2000s also became, ironically, decades of de-industrialization and de-agricultural development for the Philippines.

This brings us then to a discus-

sion of what is the way forward. How indeed can the Marcos administration engineer economic recovery and put the country on sustainable path of development—despite the huge national debt facing the country? What are the economic policy directions that the economic team of the incoming Marcos administration wants the government to embrace?

So far, there are no concrete answers yet from the incoming Marcos administration. Instead, what has been coming out in the mass media are the policy options being recommended by the economic technocrats of the outgoing Duterte administration. The policy recommendations being floated happen to be eerily the same or similar to those prescribed by the IMF-World Bank group in the deadly neo-liberal decades of the 1980s-2000s: more borrowings, more taxes, more austerity, more privatization and more trade/investment liberalization. Are we limited to these policy choices?

It is best that the Marcos administration opens up the policy choices to widest public discussion and debate.

We do not want a repeat of the debt debacle of the 1980s. We do not want another round of lost development decades due to policy failure and reliance on a handful of economic technocrats and their partner creditors at home and overseas.

The issue is how the country can post high and inclusive growth in order to bury the swollen debt? Answers to this question require sustained debates and dialogues with all sectors of society.

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo is a Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines.

For comments, please write to reneofreneo@ gmail.com.

Is it time to retire the PHL peso, Thai baht, and Indonesian rupiah?

By David Jay Green

A

new administration in Malacañang offers the opportunity to rethink existing economic policies. This should be welcomed. While we will hopefully see some relief from Covid-19, the world will not return to the old normal. Some things have changed. In East Asia, the pandemic and the concurrent global inflation could result in long-lasting, higher costs for travel and transport. The well-publicized disruptions to supply chains might become a regular occurrence. Continued tension between China and the United States seems a certainty. In this environment, the East Asian development model of manufacturing goods for export—a model that successfully raised hundreds of millions of people out of poverty—will be less reliable.

If we want to continue the East Asian miracle, to grow living standards, we will need different policies. For the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a starting point was made in 2015 by committing to build the Asean Economic Community (AEC) to create a single market and regional production base. This would be an economy of more than 660 million people, large enough for regional firms to enjoy economies of scale comparable to those in China, the European Union, and the United States.

There are many obstacles to fully integrating diverse economies. Asean has tackled some of the more important—for instance, reducing tariffs. But the critical milestone in realizing the AEC will be when firms routinely look across national borders to do business in the same fashion as they would in their own country. This isn’t happening today.

In the trade statistics, we can see that over the last decade, the bulk of imports and exports flowing to and from Asean economies were with non-regional trading partners. In 2011, non-Asean partners accounted for 75.7 percent of total Asean trade, rising to 78.8 percent in 2020. Although the pandemic muddies any sure picture of trends, there was no evidence that trade between the Asean economies grew as a share of total trade—Asean businesses focus primarily outside the region. The statistics for cross-

border investments present a similar picture; the bulk of that investment came from out of the region.

There are many reasons businesses focus on their national markets and shun cross-border efforts.

For one, as tariffs fell, non-tariff barriers have increased; countries are closing their markets to foreign producers through various administrative actions. This is attracting official attention and, although politically enervating, can be dealt with.

One further reason for the lack of regional perspective by Asean firms is the foreign exchange risk to be borne. An Indonesian firm that tried to work in the Philippines would have to accept that changes in the value of the peso and of the rupiah would affect profitability.

A single currency for Asean would not be something to establish tomorrow. But tomorrow would be a good time to start synchronizing exchange rates. This would involve the monetary authorities, the ministries of finance, and central banks, including in their set of goals, stabilizing the relationship of their national exchange rate to regional trends.

The experience in Europe in the 1990s is that it can be done.

The viability of the business might turn on exchange rate shifts—every business then becomes a forex speculator.

This would not be crucial if Asean exchange rates moved in the same manner. However, the chart below shows that the exchange rates of the different countries do not move as one.

Uncertainty is a barrier to action. The existence of multiple exchange rates in the different members of Asean discourages the development of a true single market.

The European governments understood this. Most members of the European Union have abandoned their national currencies in favor of a regional currency, the euro.

No, the euro doesn’t solve all problems, and, as with any new

institution, it brings new challenges. Brexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, shows that some see more costs than benefits to European economic integration. The protracted Eurozone Crisis was a harrowing experience; the GDP of Greece declined by more than 26 percent from 2008 to 2013. But the euro has stimulated cross-border trade and investment. Moreover, it has been instrumental in giving the constituent countries global influence—in international political economics, size matters.

Researchers have looked extensively at the issue of currency unions in Asia, although the governments have not taken it seriously. No, Southeast Asia is not an optimal currency area. For one, labor is not entirely mobile; people are not free to move from country to country to find work as they can in the United States or the European Union. However, the Asean visa program has considerably eased travel and transit in the region.

Giving up national currencies means giving up independent monetary policy, posing real risks. The 10 countries do not have economies that are synchronized. The business cycle in oil and gas exporting in Brunei does not move with its neighbor Indonesia. But most countries are sensitive to similar influences—they suffer shocks mutually.

A single currency for Asean would not be something to establish tomorrow. But tomorrow would be a good time to start synchronizing exchange rates. This would involve the monetary authorities, the ministries of finance, and central banks, including in their set of goals, stabilizing the relationship of their national exchange rate to regional trends. The experience in Europe in the 1990s is that it can be done.

No, it is not time to retire the peso, baht, or rupiah. But it is time to plan their retirement.

The author was formerly responsible for coordinating regional cooperation projects in Southeast Asia for the Asian Development Bank.

A12 Wednesday, June 1, 2022

From Covid-tied contraction, bank lending grows 10.1%

B

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

ANK lending growth in the country reverted to double digit-growth in April this year, less than two years after it had sunk into contraction territory due to the Covid-related economic slowdown in 2020.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that bank lending expanded by 10.1 percent in April, growing faster than the 8.9-percent expansion in March.

Money circulating in the economy—which is measured as M3— also grew during the month, by 7.3 percent to hit P15.3 trillion after expanding by 7.7 percent in March.

Bank lending first collapsed into contraction territory in December 2020 by 0.7 percent, as the restrictions brought about by the pandemic affected the local

banking industry. The contraction persisted amid the sustained all-time low monetary policy rate in place.

In comparison, bank lending grew 13.6 percent before the onslaught of the global health crisis in March 2020.

“A steady improvement in overall credit activity and stable financial market conditions have allowed the BSP to continue rolling back its pandemic-induced liquidity interventions,” the BSP said in its statement.

“Looking ahead, the BSP will

continue to watch closely evolving credit and liquidity conditions to ensure that appropriate level of liquidity is available to nurture the momentum of economic recovery, while containing inflation pressures,” it added.

Broken dow n, outstanding loans for production activities increased by 10.3 percent in April from 9.4 percent in March driven by the rise in loans for real estate activities (18.7 percent); manufacturing (12.4 percent); information and communication (26.9 percent); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (7.5 percent); and financial and insurance activities (8.7 percent).

Likewise, growth in consumer loans to residents accelerated to 6.7 percent in April from 3.6 percent in March with the year-onyear increase in credit card loans and salary-based general purpose consumption loans.

Outstanding loans to non-residents also expanded at a faster rate of 13.5 percent in April from 9.4 percent in March.

R iza l Commercia l Bank ing Corporation (RCBC) economist Michael Ricafort said bank loans could still “fundamentally pick up” amid measures to further reopen the economy towards greater normalcy.

FROM left (above), to right: Philippines-Laos Business Council Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon, Sharon Tan, PCCI President Emeritus/Adviser and President of PCCI Human Resources Development Foundation Dr. Alberto P. Fenix, Jr., International Affairs Committee Chairman Jude Aguilar, Honorary Consul of Lao PDR in the Philippines and PCCI Director & Chairman of the Philippines-Macau Business Council Joseph Sy, PCCI Chairman Dr. William S. Co, PCCI President George T. Barcelon, Laos Ambassador to the Philippines His Excellency Songkane Luangmuninthone, PCCI Honorary Chair and Treasurer & Senior Adviser of International Affairs Committee Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., Acting Director of the Office of Asean Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Jose Carlo Morales, PCCI Assistant Treasurer Mr. Bernardo T. Benedicto III, ICCT Colleges Vice President and Chief Information Officer Val Co, and PCCI Assistant Secretary General for International and Regional Affairs Mr. Edwin R. Glindro.

T

HE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President, George T. Barcelon, and PCCI Chairman Dr. William S. Co met with the Ambassador of Lao People’s Democratic Republic to the Philippines, His Excellency Songkane Luangmuninthone, on Tuesday (May 31) at the PCCI Headquarters in Mckinley, Taguig City to discuss potential areas for cooperation between the Philippines and Laos in pursuit of strengthening economic cooperation.

Also, in attendance from the PCCI were Honorary Chairman and Treasurer & Senior Adviser of International Affairs Committee Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., President Emeritus/Adviser and President of PCCI Human Resources Development Foundation Dr. Alberto P. Fenix, Jr., Honorary Consul of Lao PDR in the Philippines and Director & Chairman of Philippines-Macau Business Council Mr. Joseph Sy, Chairman of Philippines-Laos Business Council D. Edgard A.

Cabangon, Assistant Treasurer Mr. Bernardo T. Benedicto III, International Affairs Committee Chairman Jude Aguilar, ICCT Colleges Vice President and Chief Information Officer Val Co, Sharon Tan, and Assistant Secretary General for International and Regional Affairs Edwin R. Glindro. Acting Director of the Office of ASEAN Affairs of the Department of Foreig n A f fairs (DFA) Jose Carlo Morales also joined the meeting.

Peza to pitch to BBM perks for strategic countryside industries

By Andrea E. San Juan

T

HE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) will recommend to the incoming administration incentives for strategic and big-ticket industries that will be located in the countryside to attract investors.

A lthough there are already incentives provided under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law, Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said they are

pursuing a different path in Peza, as they will recommend to the Marcos administration incentives particularly for big-ticket industries that will be located in the countryside.

“In Peza we will be recommending incentives especially for strategic and big-ticket industries that will be located in the countryside,” said the Peza chief.

Plaza also emphasized that this is in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which Peza entered into with the Department

of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday.

“That’s why we are preparing in this MOU these different public lands suitable for agro-forestry, agro-industrial, ecotourism, mineral processing economic zones,” she pointed out.

The Peza chief also acknowledged the industry partners present, as they will surely aid Peza in developing these different types of economic zones in order to attract investors.

Continued on A8

‘Reforms to halt Asian states’ slide into debt crisis’

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

C

OUNTRIES in the region may not yet be facing a debt crisis, but reforms are still needed to prevent the fiscal contagion from turning into reality, according to economists from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In an Asian Development Blog, ADB Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Principal Economist Benno Fer-

rarini and Independent Consultant to Governments and International Institutions Marcelo Giugale said that currently, the debt levels in Asian countries remain sustainable.

However, sustainable debt levels do not mean they are riskfree. Ferrarini and Giugale said the fiscal space of many countries in the region may shrink further due to the post-pandemic reconstruction and this poses risks.

“Asian countries should imple-

ment the reforms necessary while their debt is sustainable to head off a debt crisis in the future or to facilitate a resolution should the crisis hit,” Ferrarini and Giugale said.

“While there are few universal prescriptions for a group of countries this diverse, full transparency about debt and its management, and increased mobilization of domestic resources should be a prerogative to all,” they added.

Continued on A8

Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

B1

Meralco: Right policy mix key to cutting power rates

Expanded franchises of electric firms get Senate’s green light

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

T

This BusinessMirror file photo shows Meralco's 100-MVA power transformer in Taytay, Rizal.

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

he Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said Tuesday that power rates during the Marcos administration could be reduced if and when the government enforces the right policies that would address spiraling fuel prices among others.

“Reducing electricity prices is always possible but involves looking into the many factors that affect movements in electricity rates.

The biggest and most volatile part of the bill, which is the generation charge, is driven by fuel prices,

forex [foreign exchange], and supply-demand situation. Fuel prices mostly reflect global oil prices, as even the Malampaya natural gas is indexed on oil.

What we need are sound government policies that can better

address movements on fuel and forex, and an environment that encourages the development of additional capacities, brought by new generating plants,” Espinosa said in response to a query of a Meralco shareholder.

With recent surges in energy prices, Espinosa stressed the importance of diversity of fuel sources, for both energy security and affordability, including nuclear.

“Meralco will favorably consider contracting reasonable and competitively priced supply from generation companies, including the BNPP [Bataan Nuclear Power Plant] if the same should become operational,” Espinosa said.

Based on data from the Department of Energy, while coal-fired projects will still account for about a third or 32 percent of new power generating capacity, natural gas-

fired projects will be almost half, or 48 percent, of new supply. The remaining 20 percent will use renewable sources.

Hybrid renewable energy plants that combine solar, with battery energy storage systems (BESS), promise to address the intermittency of such RE resources.

For Meralo, the country’s largest power distribution utility firm, it is looking to secure 850 MW of RE-based mid-merit supply, which was initially proposed to be met by a hybrid plant consisting of solar and BESS. Meralco’s power generation arm, Meralco PowerGen Corp., is planning to transition to clean energy.

It targets to build 1,500 MW of RE capacity in seven years and to be coal-free by 2050 as next-generation clean technologies mature technically and economically.

he Senate, voting 17-0, approved on Monday the expanded franchises of electric firms in Davao del Norte and Iloilo on third and final reading to “improve services and bring down electricity rates” in the two provinces.

Embodied in House Bill (HB) 10306, the enabling legislation included provisions to expand the franchise granted to MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) in order to “serve more consumers in Iloilo province.”

HB 10306 specifically seeks to authorize MORE Power to operate in the City of Passi and the municipalities of Alimodian, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Pavia, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Zarraga, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Duenas, Dumangas and San Enrique, effectively expanding its existing franchise to provide electricity in Iloilo City.

At the same time, the Senate, voting 16-1 with one abstention, likewise adopted HB 10554 to expand the franchise area of Davao Light and Power Co. Inc. (DLPC), another distribution utility operating in Davao City, Panabo City, and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali and Sto.

Tomas in Davao del Norte.

Once signed into law by President Duterte, HB 10554, as amended by the Senate, is expected to expand Davao Light and Power’s services to Tagum City, the Island Garden City of Samal, Asuncion, Kapalong, New Corella, San Isidro and Talaingod in Davao del Norte.

In sponsoring plenary approval of the enabling bills, Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the franchisegranting Senate Committee on Public Services, stressed the importance “to reduce the cost of electricity—that’s what we are really after here—and ensure better services to their consumers.”

Poe pointed out “there are still a lot to improve in the services currently being provided to them, that’s why we are giving citizens of Iloilo and Davao the chance to have more affordable and better electricity service.”

At the same time, the senator assured Filipinos that ‘the Senate would continue to look for solutions to reduce power rates in the country.”

She conceded, however, that “we cannot do it all simultaneously, but slowly, we can achieve that,” adding that “for those who have yet to experience improved power services, we hope that in the coming months we would have a solution to your problem.”

Manila Water unveils ESG goals

PSE gives nod to North Star IPO

By VG Cabuag @villygc

T

he Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) has approved the initial public offering (IPO) of North Star Meat Merchants Inc. which aims to list its shares on the bourse this month.

The meat vendor will offer up to 360 million primary shares and 32 million secondary shares with up to 58 million over-allotment option shares at an indicative price of P10

Yisheng wants to invest in PHL

Y

isheng Biopharma Co., Ltd., a Chinese global pharmaceutical firm, is planning to invest in clinical trials in the country and to partner with a local company for the manufacture of vaccines in the Philippines.

The Board of Investments (BOI) said it recently met with representatives of Yisheng to discuss the company’s plan to pursue its investment interests.

Present during the meeting were BOI Executive Director for Industry Development Service Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa and BOI Executive Director for Investments Promotion Evariste Cagatan.

They were joined by the BOI-Manufacturing Industries Service and the International and Investments Promotion Service in the briefing with the Yisheng Delegation led by its Chairman Zhang Yi, Chief Medical Officer Dra. Zenaida Mojares, General Manager Boonyiong Loh, and Business Development Manager Miel Dayrit. Andrea E. San Juan

per share, or gross proceeds of about P4.5 billion.

The final offer price will be determined on June 8, after the completion of its book building exercise, while tentative listing date for the shares of North Star Meat is on June 24, traded using the ticker symbol NSTAR. “Domestic consumption is expected to remain among the drivers of the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery, with the food sector among the primary industries

that will benefit from a resurgence in consumer spending. This environment is ideal for companies like North Star Meat Merchants, which is looking to raise funds for expansion,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.

The company will utilize the capital raised from its IPO to expand its cold chain infrastructure, improve its operating cycle efficiencies and expand its product lines and research and development work.

The company is a meat vendor

and supplier that operates 360 meat concessions nationwide. It has 8.09 million kilograms of companyowned cold storage capacity across the country and can deliver up to 120,000 kilograms of meat daily.

The company engaged BDO Capital and Investment Corp. as sole issue manager, which will be joined

by China Bank Capital Corp. as joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners. PNB Capital Investment Corp. and SB Capital Corp. will also serve as co-lead underwriters.

Marcos-linked stocks post windfall gains in election month

I

nvestors who bought stocks tied to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family ahead of the Philippines’s presidential election this month have enjoyed windfall gains as he coasted to victory.

Three of the nation’s five best performing equities in May were linked to Marcos. PhilWeb Corp., a gaming company owned by his brother-in-law Gregorio Araneta III, soared more than 60 percent in its best monthly gain in more than seven years. The businessman’s Araneta Properties Inc. returned about 50 percent, as did Prime Media Holdings Inc., owned by the family of Marcos’ cousin Deputy House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Nickel miner Marcventures Holdings Inc. and its shareholder Bright Kindle Resources & Invest-

ments Inc., two other firms linked to Romualdez, also outperformed the country’s stock benchmark.

Shares of both companies rose at least 8 percent, while the Philippine Stock Exchange Index climbed 1 percent.

Expectations the stocks would fare better under a Marcos presidency lured investors, like Kevin Khoe, 48, who started buying PhilWeb in January as surveys showed Marcos consistently leading by a wide lead over his rivals.

Khoe, a former stock analyst and who has been trading equities since 1994, named PhilWeb the best play among so-called “Marcos stocks” because he saw catalysts beyond politics. PhiWeb has strong earnings, liquidity and is poised to benefit from the economy’s reopening, he said.

Every election, investors focus on companies that might gain “accommodation” under a new president, according to Alex Timbol, a former stock broker who’s been an equities investor since 1987. Such firms are favorably valued by the market during a president’s six-year term, but are punished toward the end if they fail to show “they can thrive on their own ability,” he said.

“Speculators like empty companies because they can believe anything, it’s like pointing at the sky and imagining whatever they want,” said Timbol, who prefers Marcventures among the Marcoslinked stocks, citing its earnings recovery and rising nickel prices.

“Traders should be astute to identify those opportunities and see where it’s going.” Bloomberg News

Photo from www.manilawater.com

M

anila Water Co. Inc., the East Zone concessionaire said it will allocate a supply buffer of at least 15 percent that will come from its expansion and raw water sources.

The said goal is part of a series of efforts that embed environment, social and governance (ESG) into the company’s operations.

“We have re-imagined the company with new purpose, vision and mission. We are drawing on our heritage as an industry pioneer in sustainability practices and reporting to further focus on and embed ESG into our business strategies,” Manila Water President and CEO Jose Victor Emmanuel A. De Dios said.

“This very same foundation will continue to support us as we aim for greater and better things, and as we pursue our vision to become a global leader in providing quality water and environmental services, supportive of sustainable development.”

Other mid-term targets of the company include building infrastructure to satisfy service commitments and improvements and by reducing and avoiding scopes 1 and 2 carbon emission by 60 percent through

renewable energy and wastewater treatment According to the GHG or greenhouse gas protocol set by the United Nations, scope 1 emissions covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, while scope 2 emission covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the reporting company.

Manila Water said it has already made headway with these targets, specifically on using renewable energy (RE).

In 2021, the company utilized 13.8 million kilowatt hours of RE using onsite solar panels and purchasing renewable energy from open access.

“In addition to forging progress towards its environmental goal, the company formed its ESG committee at the board level earlier this year.”

The committee, led by the company’s CEO, exercises oversight to ensure that sustainability remains entrenched in the company’s strategy, provides purpose to the day-today work of over 2,000 Manila Water employees, and extends to quality water and wastewater service globally. VG Cabuag

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Demand for mass housing boosts 8990 income in Q1

M

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

ass housing builder 8990 Holdings Inc. said its income in the first quarter grew 22 percent to P1.9 billion from last year’s P1.55 billion on continued demand for residential units.

Revenues, which came from real estate estate sales, hotel operations and rental income, rose 16 percent to P5.22 billion from last year’s P4.47

billion. Anthony Vincent Sotto, the company’s president and CEO, said the results were due to the renewed confidence of Filipinos and the

continued high demand for mass housing. Sotto said the easing of lockdowns also contributed to the overall improvement of the business climate as Covid-19 vaccination rates rose nationwide.

“We are hopeful that the confidence of homebuyers in our key mass housing market will grow even stronger for the rest of the year.”

He said the company is expected to grow this year “in the high double digits” as 8990 will reach its prepandemic growth rates.

Sotto said the company is sticking to its sales target of P164 billion over the next seven to eight years, which will come from its projects in the pipeline across its land bank of

729.05 hectares in key strategic locations nationwide.

The company delivered 11,564 units to its buyers last year, with Metro Manila cornering 32 percent of the units; Luzon, 23 percent; Visayas, 29 percent; and Mindanao, 16 percent.

Metro Manila accounts for 45 percent of revenues, followed by the rest of Luzon with 22 percent.

Visayas projects accounted for 20 percent while Mindanao accounted for 13 percent.

Vertical or condominium developments accounted for 41 percent of revenues, while horizontal or subdivision developments made up the bulk of revenues at 59 percent.

SMC starts work on MRT-7 train depot

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

D

IVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has started the construction of the train depot of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 7, its chief said on Tuesday.

Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said the depot will rise on a 20-hectare property in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. It will have the capacity to accommodate up to 150 train cars, higher than the 108 rail car capacity set for the project.

This, he said, will provide SMC Infrastructure more room for future expansion, should it need to procure more trains depending on commuter demand.

“This is yet another important milestone reached by our MRT7 team, who have been diligently working for several years now, even throughout this pandemic, not only to build the physical structure of the rail system, but also to overcome the many right-of-way and property-related challenges faced by a project of this scale,” Ang said.

With the start of construction on the depot, he said the company estimates it will be ready to support essential operations by end of 2023.

“With the necessary land area for the MRT-7 depot finally complete, we can’t waste any more time; our people are fully committed to delivering this vital project to the public as soon as possible.”

Currently, the total project com-

PSE, PDS support new economic team

T

he Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) and the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) have expressed their support for the incoming administration.

In a statement signed by the heads of the two firms, PSE and PDS also said President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s choice of economic managers is “excellent.”

The PSE is the operator of the equities trading market while PDS owns the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp., the operator of the fixed income trading platform.

“The PSE and PDS recognize that these individuals are competent, experienced professionals who are all imbued with a public service mindset and most qualified to steer the economy back on track on its growth

trajectory,” they said.

“Furthermore, with their appreciation of the role of the capital markets as an engine for economic growth, we look forward to their support and help in advancing regulations and reforms that will further develop and deepen the Philippine capital markets.”

Marcos Jr.’s economic team is composed of current Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno as Secretary of Finance, Monetary Board member Felipe M. Medalla as the new BSP Governor, current Philippine Competition Commission Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan as the new Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director-General of the National Economic Development Authority and Alfredo E. Pascual as Secretary of Trade and Industry.

“We extend our best wishes to the President-elect and his economic team as they embark on the challenges confronting our nation,” the PSE and PDS said. VG Cabuag

pletion rate for the MRT 7 is estimated at over 60 percent, with most of the construction work focused on the first 12 of its 14 stations.

Construction on the last two stations, as well as the train depot, had

been delayed due to right-of-way issues related to their original sites.

The government provided an alternative site for the depot, but this led to more issues on easement for the 13th and 14th stations.

mutual funds

May 31, 2022

NAV

One Year Three Year

Five Year

per share Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

219.29

2.01%

-5.71%

-4.32%

-5.92%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.431

12.11%

-3.94%

-2%

-14.01%

3.15%

-9.54%

-6.86%

-6.75%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0193

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7323 -2.81%

-7.82% n.a.

-3.2%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6777 -4.55%

-7.94% n.a.

-12.09%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

4.44%

-3.27%

-1.9%

-5.17%

0.7345

8.57%

-5.47%

-4.97%

-13.95% n.a.

-16.88%

4.915

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

78.49

-16.85%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

45.1096

2.55%

-4.47%

-2.85%

-6.27%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

469.97

1.65%

-4.45%

-2.93%

-6.14%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.3421

19.73%

0.71%

0.61%

-1.05%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

34.4246

4.55%

-3.74%

-1.79%

-5.93%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.8897

4.01%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.6605

3.42%

-3.86%

-5% n.a.

-6.05%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

777.67

3.1%

-3.87%

-2.29%

-6.13%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.6966

2.9%

-9.15%

-5.09%

-7.44%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.506

2.82%

-6.53%

-3.63%

-7.14%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.8854

2.76%

-4.18%

-2.54%

United Fund, Inc. -a

2.79%

-4.44%

-1.59%

-5.66%

3.2429

-6.23%

-6.26%

Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a

1.1107

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

947.75 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

7.13% n.a. n.a.

-4.47%

Exchange Traded Fund (shares) First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 104.8484

3.58%

-3.66%

-1.89%

-5.95%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$0.9545

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5654

-24.61%

0.16%

-0.6%

-15.27%

-10.78%

8.05%

6.23%

-15.22%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.5701

-4.7%

-2.89%

-2.48%

-7.2%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.1626

-1.23%

-2.03%

-1.76%

-5.21%

2.05%

-0.41%

0.01%

-3.54%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.5957

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.2018

5.93% n.a. n.a.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

0.9%

0.33%

1.9408

0.38%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.5712

-1.18%

-0.95%

-0.9%

-5.15%

15.9962

-1.23%

-1.18%

-0.94%

-5.04%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.0382

0.8%

-1.55%

-1%

-3.92%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.4464 0.28%

-3.56%

-1.8%

-5.5%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

-2.91%

-1.34%

-5.7%

0.8998

5.23%

-3.44%

-3.76%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a

0.9241

-4.62%

-2.62% n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a

0.8721

-1.44%

-4.37% n.a.

-7.67%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a

0.8623

-0.87%

-4.65% n.a.

-7.67%

-6.64%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03421

-9.97%

-2.29%

-0.77%

-9.83%

-16.24%

0.33%

-0.2%

-10.41%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.1728 -10.45%

4.82%

4.12%

-13.1%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,2 $1.0606 -10.66%

0.67%

1.03%

-11.51%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$0.956

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

372.49

0.35%

2.19%

2.28%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.8888

-1.35%

-0.21%

0.12%

0.22%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2293

0.14%

2.06%

3.38%

-0.45%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

-0.48%

2.184

-3.04%

0.24%

0.8%

-3%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.411 -0.91%

1.89%

1.71%

-0.62%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.2162

-5.82%

1.17%

0.74%

-4.08% -0.61%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

1.3111

-0.99%

2.87%

2.68%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.8784

-2.45%

2.19%

2.2%

-2.2%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0065

-1.61%

2.82%

1.67%

-2.11%

-1.9%

2.5%

2.72%

-1.57%

-2.63%

1.68%

2.02%

-1.88%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1372 Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.6981

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$482.76

-0.4%

1.92%

1.91%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є213.4

-2.85%

-0.41%

0.18%

-3%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.0824

-8.2%

-2.65%

-0.7%

-10.09%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0245 -5.41%

-1.2%

-0.32%

-5.77%

-12.78%

-5.17%

-3.14%

-10.48%

$2.2663

-8.98%

-0.35%

0.47%

-9.55%

$0.0609225

-3.04%

1.28%

1.31%

-2.2%

-10%

-2.08%

-0.98%

-11.37%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

-1.39%

$0.9156

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $2.8327

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

131.78

1.26%

2.32%

2.51%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

1.0627

1.04%

1.63% n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1

1.53%

2.21%

2.48%

1.324

0.45% 0.47%

0.64%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0632

0.59%

1.19% n.a.

0.25%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a

43.9163 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a 1.2399

0.46% n.a. n.a.

-10.34%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.8648

-13.52% n.a. n.a.

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago.

c - Listed in the PSE.

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

May 31, 2022

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK COMMERCE BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK CITYSTATE BANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FILIPINO FUND IREMIT MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

8,990 2,195,472,088 1,152,015 1,279,029,918 1,406,130 38,622 544,776 662,704,918 212,100 220,614 3,444 5,745 407,865 114,383,179 1,780,126 1,536,800 87,400 600 5,030 1,500 38,000 533,800 6,161,660 12,000 1,884,220

424,105,826 36,301,694 -114,906 59,022,302 1,838.00 34,647,594.50 -32,275 -340,000 5,793,900 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 7.15 7.17 7.23 7.37 7.15 7.15 74,320,500 534,221,672 ALSONS CONS 0.99 1 1.01 1.02 0.99 0.99 1,624,000 1,624,000 ABOITIZ POWER 31.55 31.8 31.6 31.9 31.2 31.8 2,742,400 86,897,420 0.445 0.45 0.44 0.47 0.44 0.45 25,760,000 11,793,500 BASIC ENERGY 19.2 19.38 19.1 19.88 19.02 19.2 7,309,100 140,402,598 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 67.55 67.85 67.9 67.9 67.55 67.55 16,880 1,146,003.50 MERALCO 372.6 373.2 372 374.8 364 373.2 1,069,060 398,698,626 18.3 18.98 18.52 19 18.3 18.3 906,600 16,786,014 MANILA WATER 3.23 3.24 3.23 3.24 3.22 3.24 474,000 1,530,210 PETRON 4.91 5 5 5.11 5 5 20,700 104,588 PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM 9.15 9.99 8.81 9.99 8.81 9.99 55,700 553,329 SYNERGY GRID 12.34 12.36 12.8 12.88 12.36 12.36 12,360,400 153,187,210 18.96 19 18.58 19 18.58 19 190,000 3,579,802 PILIPINAS SHELL 12.92 12.94 12.9 12.96 12.8 12.94 214,500 2,764,116 SPC POWER SOLAR PH 1.81 1.82 1.87 1.87 1.82 1.82 22,785,000 41,735,350 VIVANT 14.14 21.1 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 100 1,450 AGRINURTURE 4.61 4.73 4.74 4.74 4.62 4.74 7,000 32,850 2.29 2.3 2.3 2.31 2.28 2.3 429,000 986,360 AXELUM 22 22.45 21.65 22.75 21.55 22 1,075,800 23,852,490 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 13.18 13.2 13 13.4 13 13.2 64,400 838,020 DNL INDUS 7.05 7.23 7.25 7.27 7.05 7.05 1,658,100 11,819,916 17.86 17.9 18.1 18.2 17.84 17.86 1,507,700 26,977,602 EMPERADOR 59.95 60 61.6 62.35 60 60 278,520 17,041,326.50 SMC FOODANDBEV FIGARO COFFEE 0.495 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.49 0.495 921,000 455,380 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.58 0.59 0.58 0.6 0.58 0.59 22,000 12,790 FRUITAS HLDG 1.09 1.11 1.09 1.11 1.09 1.11 10,258,000 11,237,200 106.5 110.4 107.9 110.4 106 110.4 6,990 748,655 GINEBRA 209.2 209.4 210.6 210.6 208.6 209.4 2,612,400 547,067,572 JOLLIBEE KEEPERS HLDG 1.16 1.18 1.19 1.19 1.16 1.16 1,457,000 1,706,160 MAXS GROUP 5.52 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.48 5.48 34,300 188,994 0.122 0.125 0.12 0.125 0.12 0.122 120,000 14,770 MG HLDG MONDE NISSIN 14.78 14.8 15.68 15.82 14.8 14.8 204,223,300 3,042,331,200 7.23 7.3 7.38 7.38 7.2 7.3 335,700 2,441,441 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 0.55 0.56 0.54 0.57 0.53 0.56 941,000 505,760 RFM CORP 4.01 4.28 4.29 4.29 4.29 4.29 40,000 171,600 1.09 1.13 1.11 1.11 1.11 1.11 5,000 5,550 ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS 0.097 0.099 0.099 0.099 0.097 0.097 2,980,000 294,540 UNIV ROBINA 107.8 108 108 108 104.5 108 4,864,910 523,325,005 VITARICH 0.6 0.62 0.61 0.63 0.6 0.6 379,000 231,970 42.1 60 51 66.5 51 57 100,300 6,666,600 CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG 0.71 0.72 0.74 0.74 0.7 0.72 3,745,000 2,680,240 12.5 12.78 12.2 12.2 12.2 12.2 14,400 175,680 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 3.52 3.55 3.6 3.64 3.51 3.55 408,000 1,449,460 HOLCIM 5.39 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.39 5.4 33,200 179,941 4.33 4.35 4.46 4.5 4.28 4.33 702,000 3,037,840 MEGAWIDE 19.9 19.94 19.94 19.94 19.9 19.94 9,100 181,302 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.66 0.75 0.67 0.77 0.67 0.77 374,000 251,450 VULCAN INDL 0.88 0.9 0.92 0.92 0.88 0.9 1,160,000 1,041,010 CROWN ASIA 1.76 1.82 1.83 1.83 1.83 1.83 11,000 20,130 1.04 1.12 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.04 10,000 10,400 EUROMED PRYCE CORP 5.33 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 4,500 24,300 CONCEPCION 18.02 18.98 18.46 18.46 18.46 18.46 700 12,922 GREENERGY 1.73 1.74 1.78 1.8 1.72 1.74 8,126,000 14,276,480 6.88 6.9 6.88 6.9 6.87 6.9 160,700 1,108,590 INTEGRATED MICR PANASONIC 6.11 6.18 6.2 6.2 6.11 6.18 26,800 165,301 SFA SEMICON 1.03 1.1 1.07 1.11 1.03 1.1 209,000 220,290 CIRTEK HLDG 2.85 2.86 2.8 2.86 2.8 2.85 822,000 2,329,610

-31,331,570 -1,491,000 373,645 -100 -70,754,232 -1,140,579 111,779,340 -813,082.00 38,800 -21,871,314 -95,000 -591,016 -16,550 -14,100 -160,660 8,610,630 780,000 -4,080,726 14,947,214 7,233,917.50 8,330 -65,900 201,061 -61,347,072 425,090 -181,749 58,492,808 -1,016,056 -26,327,372 -2,008,030 -144,980 -563,040 36,000 20,130 17,700 -

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP TOP FRONTIER ZEUS HLDG

43.7 133.2 9.7 98.8 26.9 6.71 7.19 54.85 7 18.58 57 90.25 20.05 92.1 80.35 2.04 3.47 0.6 5.03 0.75 930 0.66 196.1 2,200 0.7

1.44 697 53 10.7 8.98 0.91 0.455 4.71 8.99 6.9 502.5 54.4 2.97 8.21 3.68 2.56 1.8 0.86 857 101.5 111.9 0.159

44.95 133.4 9.71 98.85 27 8.4 7.2 55 7.99 18.6 57.4 114.9 20.15 92.3 80.75 2.1 3.5 0.68 7.39 0.84 950 0.69 200 2,400 0.75

1.45 699.5 53.45 11.06 9.2 0.92 0.465 4.8 9 7.08 503.5 54.5 3.17 8.49 3.74 2.82 1.82 0.87 858 104 114.6 0.16

44.95 130 9.96 97.5 27.2 7.97 7.23 55 7 18.8 57.4 114.9 20.15 93.5 80.8 2.13 3.5 0.6 5.03 0.75 950 0.68 200 2,400 0.7

1.41 703 53.5 10.9 9.2 0.91 0.485 4.71 9.04 7 520 53 2.99 8.56 3.84 2.81 1.73 0.87 862 106 111.8 0.16

44.95 133.4 9.96 98.85 27.2 8.4 7.25 55 7 18.8 57.4 114.9 20.15 95 80.8 2.14 3.5 0.6 5.03 0.75 950 0.68 205 2,400 0.7

1.46 709 54.15 11.1 9.2 0.92 0.49 4.75 9.04 7 522 54.5 2.99 8.56 3.87 2.82 1.85 0.87 867 107 111.8 0.16

44.95 127.7 9.7 95.5 26.9 7.97 7.16 53.75 7 18.56 57.4 114.9 20.05 92 80.35 2.03 3.47 0.6 5.03 0.75 950 0.68 199 2,400 0.69

1.41 690 51.55 10.7 9 0.91 0.455 4.7 8.94 6.85 502.5 52.1 2.97 8.21 3.68 2.81 1.7 0.87 845.5 101.5 111.7 0.16

44.95 133.4 9.71 98.85 27 8.4 7.2 55 7 18.6 57.4 114.9 20.05 92.3 80.35 2.05 3.5 0.6 5.03 0.75 950 0.68 200 2,400 0.7

1.45 697 53 10.7 9 0.92 0.465 4.71 9 7 502.5 54.5 2.97 8.21 3.68 2.82 1.82 0.87 858 101.5 111.7 0.16

200 16,591,530 118,300 13,000,970 52,100 4,800 75,700 12,065,060 30,300 11,800 60 50 20,300 1,229,920 22,050 740,000 25,000 1,000 1,000 2,000 40 785,000 30,760 5 2,693,000

27,940,000 3,259,700 19,668,630 3,767,500 24,700 40,000 930,000 1,634,000 13,123,700 50,400 1,211,430 6,973,510 517,000 7,022,500 171,953,000 4,000 972,000 5,000 905,670 205,110 100 70,000

40,261,260 2,272,130,080 1,042,771,950 40,634,326 222,620 36,490 436,000 7,698,440 118,047,229 352,755 610,782,365 378,828,765 1,542,830 58,318,815 635,149,100 11,250 1,761,660 4,350 777,389,285 21,214,119 11,178 11,200

PROPERTY

-5.49%

-2.26%

www.businessmirror.com.ph

-10.85%

d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

2 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last November 25, 2021.

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

ARTHALAND CORP 0.55 0.57 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 41,000 23,240 AYALA LAND 29.55 29.6 29.6 30.2 29.2 29.6 104,712,900 3,102,063,860 AYALA LAND LOG 4.13 4.15 4.19 4.19 4.15 4.15 316,000 1,314,180 16.22 16.78 16.22 16.22 16.2 16.2 9,800 158,770 ALTUS PROP ARANETA PROP 1.56 1.58 1.59 1.64 1.56 1.56 164,000 258,630 AREIT RT 40.2 40.5 38.55 40.5 38.55 40.5 1,769,000 71,034,115 A BROWN 0.78 0.83 0.79 0.79 0.78 0.78 65,000 50,930 0.71 0.73 0.7 0.73 0.7 0.73 64,000 46,190 CITYLAND DEVT 0.089 0.09 0.096 0.096 0.089 0.09 2,220,000 200,030 CROWN EQUITIES 2.68 2.7 2.71 2.73 2.69 2.7 172,000 464,550 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.415 0.425 0.425 0.425 0.42 0.425 190,000 80,400 CITICORE RT 2.54 2.55 2.55 2.56 2.54 2.55 2,619,000 6,679,050 8 8.1 8.1 8.1 7.98 8 92,800 742,847 DOUBLEDRAGON 1.62 1.63 1.62 1.64 1.61 1.63 1,474,000 2,393,560 DDMP RT DM WENCESLAO 6.83 6.85 6.84 6.85 6.84 6.85 80,400 550,658 EMPIRE EAST 0.216 0.222 0.222 0.222 0.222 0.222 50,000 11,100 EVER GOTESCO 0.275 0.285 0.29 0.29 0.275 0.285 2,940,000 823,600 7.12 7.34 7.32 7.38 7.12 7.12 1,268,000 9,060,380 FILINVEST RT 0.92 0.93 0.96 0.98 0.93 0.93 97,216,000 90,760,870 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.86 0.89 0.87 0.89 0.87 0.87 10,000 8,740 8990 HLDG 10.4 10.5 10.3 10.5 10.22 10.5 53,700 557,490 0.92 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.91 0.96 127,000 116,940 PHIL INFRADEV 0.77 0.81 0.78 0.83 0.77 0.82 32,000 24,850 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 2.76 2.78 2.82 2.82 2.74 2.76 21,278,000 58,792,960 MRC ALLIED 0.21 0.211 0.206 0.212 0.206 0.211 910,000 191,750 MREIT RT 16.32 16.38 16.86 17 16.38 16.38 11,553,100 189,680,940 0.395 0.4 0.41 0.41 0.4 0.4 960,000 386,300 PHIL ESTATES 2.05 2.07 2.06 2.08 2.01 2.07 346,000 709,190 PRIMEX CORP RL COMM RT 6.65 6.66 7.13 7.2 6.66 6.66 34,267,400 231,100,100 ROBINSONS LAND 19.36 19.4 19 19.5 18.94 19.4 5,547,600 107,662,048 0.223 0.239 0.231 0.231 0.223 0.223 510,000 116,000 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.29 1.32 1.29 1.3 1.29 1.3 26,000 33,740 STA LUCIA LAND 2.91 2.94 2.94 2.94 2.94 2.94 50,000 147,000 SM PRIME HLDG 36.9 37 38 38.15 36.9 36.9 132,139,000 4,894,035,875 VISTAMALLS 3.23 3.39 3.22 3.39 3.22 3.39 3,000 10,000 43.5 56.45 43.5 43.5 43.5 43.5 100 4,350 PTFC REDEV CORP VISTA LAND 2.35 2.45 2.5 2.5 2.35 2.35 2,832,000 6,753,480

SERVICES ABS CBN 10.1 10.3 10.2 10.4 10.1 10.3 68,900 708,520 GMA NETWORK 11.8 11.86 12.02 12.02 11.6 11.86 360,600 4,251,846 MANILA BULLETIN 0.345 0.39 0.345 0.39 0.345 0.39 20,000 7,350 7.82 9 9.98 9.98 9 9 900 8,198 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2,428 2,504 2,600 2,600 2,428 2,428 776,795 1,893,836,670 PLDT 1,900 1,903 1,956 1,980 1,900 1,900 973,020 1,859,027,220 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.045 0.046 0.046 0.048 0.045 0.046 558,300,000 25,658,700 26.35 26.5 26.4 26.95 26.15 26.5 207,656,500 5,503,579,345 CONVERGE 3.3 3.35 3.46 3.46 3.19 3.3 892,000 2,929,660 DFNN INC 4.43 4.53 4.49 4.6 4.43 4.43 6,433,000 28,856,450 DITO CME HLDG NOW CORP 1.45 1.47 1.49 1.52 1.45 1.47 2,506,000 3,719,400 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.315 0.32 0.335 0.335 0.315 0.32 16,580,000 5,332,650 7 7.1 7.2 7.4 7.1 7.1 14,400 103,602 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 13.22 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 100 1,350 CHELSEA 1.47 1.48 1.48 1.48 1.48 1.48 31,000 45,880 CEBU AIR 45 46.75 47.2 47.2 45 45 243,700 11,078,150 INTL CONTAINER 217 218 218.6 219.8 215 217 3,143,160 681,722,762 24 25 25 25 25 25 100 2,500 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.66 0.8 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 1,000 660 MACROASIA 4.93 4.94 4.95 5.02 4.9 4.94 268,000 1,328,470 PAL HLDG 6.1 6.19 6.19 6.19 6 6.19 5,800 35,542 1 1.02 1.06 1.06 1 1.02 332,000 338,900 HARBOR STAR BOULEVARD HLDG 0.091 0.092 0.091 0.093 0.09 0.091 81,820,000 7,449,490 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.63 1.69 1.68 1.69 1.68 1.68 66,000 110,930 WATERFRONT 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 30,000 12,600 IPEOPLE 7.23 7.96 7.21 7.96 7.21 7.96 200 1,517 0.34 0.345 0.35 0.35 0.345 0.345 130,000 45,150 STI HLDG 1.26 1.27 1.26 1.26 1.26 1.26 53,000 66,780 BELLE CORP BLOOMBERRY 6.33 6.5 6.49 6.62 6.33 6.33 16,124,200 103,542,012 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.31 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1,000 1,400 1.28 1.29 1.29 1.3 1.28 1.28 4,915,000 6,338,290 LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY 1.66 2.01 2.15 2.15 2.04 2.04 11,000 23,210 PH RESORTS GRP 1.15 1.16 1.11 1.18 1.11 1.16 1,936,000 2,247,040 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.41 0.415 0.415 0.42 0.41 0.415 3,890,000 1,613,200 PHILWEB 3.74 3.75 3.65 3.77 3.61 3.74 800,000 2,947,770 0.405 0.41 0.405 0.41 0.405 0.41 4,620,000 1,887,550 ALLDAY 6 6.25 6.21 6.21 6.21 6.21 1,000 6,210 BERJAYA ALLHOME 5.31 5.33 5.31 5.4 5.29 5.33 2,631,600 14,031,183 METRO RETAIL 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.43 165,000 237,370 32.9 33 34.5 34.5 33 33 2,774,600 92,721,590 PUREGOLD 53.2 53.65 52.5 53.8 51.75 53.2 336,570 17,899,251.50 ROBINSONS RTL 53.65 58 53.6 54 53.6 54 162,710 8,786,336 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.39 1.4 1.39 1.4 1.38 1.4 7,118,000 9,926,090 WILCON DEPOT 26.5 26.95 26.9 27.2 26.5 26.5 1,336,500 35,616,150 0.212 0.214 0.214 0.214 0.212 0.212 1,810,000 385,070 APC GROUP 4.01 4.7 4 4.05 4 4 8,000 32,100 EASYCALL MEDILINES 0.66 0.67 0.69 0.69 0.66 0.67 1,082,000 718,950 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.425 0.435 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.425 2,440,000 1,046,600 SBS PHIL CORP 3.98 4 4 4 4 4 3,000 12,000

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.9 7.98 7.78 7.98 7.5 7.98 765,800 6,014,228 APEX MINING 1.59 1.61 1.61 1.61 1.59 1.61 565,000 902,400 6.01 6.05 6.03 6.07 6 6.01 80,900 488,435 ATLAS MINING 7 7.04 7.03 7.04 7.02 7.04 14,600 102,664 BENGUET A BENGUET B 7.05 7.1 7.07 7.1 7.05 7.05 10,100 71,450 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.22 0.23 0.219 0.219 0.219 0.219 10,000 2,190 2.71 2.78 2.71 2.78 2.7 2.78 215,000 592,750 CENTURY PEAK 4.01 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 2,000 8,400 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 2.65 2.66 2.63 2.67 2.62 2.65 1,927,000 5,100,710 GEOGRACE 0.173 0.18 0.174 0.18 0.173 0.18 230,000 39,920 LEPANTO A 0.135 0.137 0.136 0.137 0.135 0.137 120,000 16,380 1.77 1.78 1.76 1.84 1.76 1.78 6,195,000 11,050,390 MARCVENTURES 1.01 1.02 1 1.04 1 1.02 102,000 104,050 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 7.25 7.26 7.16 7.32 7.16 7.25 7,774,100 56,468,231 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.78 0.8 0.79 0.8 0.78 0.79 391,000 307,760 PX MINING 4.49 4.51 4.49 4.52 4.48 4.49 228,000 1,025,490 33 33.4 33.55 33.85 33 33 7,117,200 236,322,350 SEMIRARA MINING 0.0062 0.0064 0.0062 0.0062 0.0062 0.0062 6,000,000 37,200 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 12.56 12.6 12.6 13 12.5 12.6 162,300 2,040,048 ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 28,800,000 316,800 0.0091 0.0092 0.0091 0.0092 0.009 0.0091 21,000,000 189,700 PHILODRILL 4.77 4.78 4.76 4.8 4.75 4.77 33,000 157,070 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 97.8 100 97.6 97.6 97.5 97.5 500 48,753 HOUSE PREF A 98.9 100.8 98.85 99 98.8 98.8 5,010 495,174 CEB PREF 46.6 46.7 46.7 46.95 46.7 46.7 12,200 569,765 99.15 100 99.9 100 99.9 100 49,950 4,994,753 DD PREF FGEN PREF G 101 105.9 102 102 102 102 1,560 159,120 GTCAP PREF A 995 1,000 995 995 995 995 5 4,975 MWIDE PREF 2B 99.8 100.4 100.4 100.4 100.4 100.4 20 2,008 97 99.7 99.5 99.7 99.5 99.7 3,230 321,391 MWIDE PREF 4 PNX PREF 3B 100.2 100.9 100.9 100.9 100.9 100.9 60 6,054 970 985 971 985 970 985 1,460 1,420,540 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 3A 1,065 1,050 1,050 1,050 1,050 100 105,000 SMC PREF 2F 76.9 77 77 77 77 77 30 2,310 75.3 76.8 75.5 75.5 75.1 75.1 9,100 683,510 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 77.2 78.6 78.6 78.6 78.6 78.6 4,650 365,490 SMC PREF 2J 75 75.15 75.15 75.15 75 75 3,510 263,296.50 SMC PREF 2K 74.15 75 74.9 74.9 74.9 74.9 5,000 374,500 TECH PREF B2D 54.5 58.35 54.5 54.5 54.5 54.5 1,000 54,500

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS GMA HLDG PDR 11.5 11.8 11.84 11.84 11.5 11.5 13,900 160,556

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.55 28,000 14,900

28,362,400 -292,936,790 92,968,624.50 -9,991,270 9,000 -503,810 10,582,742 -71,754,955 60,065,377 -1,097,330 -13,813,456 -166,257,670 -96,322,405 9,513,665 -11,200 -267,580,545 -70,730 45,927,990.00 8,640 180,000 737,050 57,615 1,196,940 -280,000 -3,558,804 -35,085,640 -5,250 2,840 10,780 10,228,920 -47,490,972 41,000 -108,862,535 24,241,506 17,670,625 -3,641,640 -461,672,900 34,432,465 240,700 492,533,070 10,380 -14,626,730 -322,500 -6,667,175 458,612 -187,290 1,800 -3,450.00 11,419,654 -515,440 33,200 32,940 24,500 -1,308,986 -8,366,190 137,503.50 -685,800 1,576,480.00 -5,009,175 203,520 -41,810 -46,600 -86,240 -37,984 552,210 4,339,380 110,010 19,019,342 13,470 -18,182,830 -96,690 -135,000.00 -270,860 -6,054 -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

CTS GLOBAL HAUS TALK ITALPINAS MERRYMART XURPAS

0.82 1 0.82 1.61 0.325

0.83 1.01 0.83 1.62 0.335

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

104.4

104.5

0.82 1.02 0.82 1.65 0.315

0.86 1.04 0.83 1.65 0.335

0.82 0.98 0.81 1.61 0.31

0.83 1.01 0.83 1.61 0.325

7,075,000 396,000 265,000 341,000 3,490,000

5,934,840 394,470 216,720 551,790 1,124,850

55,846 19,680 -

105 106 104.5 104.5 29,400 3,084,795 126,638

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BTr awards only ₧9.3B of ₧35B in treasuries

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

T

HE Bureau of Treasury only awarded P9.3 billion out of its P35 billion offering of reissued 3-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) on Tuesday as investors submitted higher rates on the back of expectations of quicker inflation.

With a remaining life of 2 years and 10 months, the security capped at an average rate of 4.994 percent, higher than the comparable secondary market benchmark rates.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters that investors factored in rate-hike signals from both the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to address inflation.

According to De Leon, the Treasury “saw good bid to cover but market remained defensive with inflation expected to breach beyond 5 percent per Bloomberg estimate.”

“Bids also took cue that Fed will [cue] another 50bps [basis points] hike and guidance from [BSP] Gov [Benjamin] Diokno for another 25bps rate lift this June.”

Had the Treasury fully awarded the debt papers, the average rate would have reached 5.113 percent.

This would have been higher by 15.9 basis points than the Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL) Reference rate for the tenor at 4.835 percent. Likewise, it would have been up by 4.8 basis points than the BVAL rate for the security of 4.946 percent.

Nonetheless, the auction attracted total bids of P56.9 billion, making it oversubscribed.

Market expectations on the pace of the rise in prices were bolstered after the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) hiked last week assumptions for the country’s inflation rate this year to 3.7 percent to 4.7 percent; way above the original target band of 2 to 4 percent.

The DBCC said that prices of food and fuel increased as the ongoing geopolitical tensions from RussiaUkraine conflict showed no let up and disrupted supply chains.

For this month, the Treasury is set to borrow P250 billion from the domestic debt market, of which P175 billion is expected to come from auctioning off Treasury Bonds and another P75 billion through it sale of T-bills.

Since Monday, the Treasury has raised P19.3 billion of its P50 billion offering so far.

As of end-March, the national government’s outstanding debt has hit a new record-high of P12.68 trillion as it resorted to more borrowings after revenue collections remained weak while government spending grew.

The national government’s debt-to-GDP ratio has also risen to a 17-year-high at 63.5 percent, above the internationally recommended 60-percent threshold by multilateral lenders for emerging markets like the Philippines. It is also the highest since the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio hit 65.7 percent in 2005 under the Arroyo administration.

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Duterte govt secures $250M ADB loan

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE Philippines has obtained a new policy-based loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for government’s program addressing climate change and building a low-carbon economy.

The ADB approved a $250-million policy-based loan to support the Philippines in its climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Last Monday, the ADB also announced the approval of a $400-million policy-based loan to help the Philippine government deepen domestic capital markets and increase the supply of long-term financing in the country, especially for infra-

structure development.

Meanwhile, the $250-million loan last Tuesday will finance the “Climate Change Action” program to help the Philippines deliver its nationallydetermined contribution, or NDCs and intensify efforts to transform vulnerable sectors toward a climateresilient and low-carbon economy.

The United Nations Environment Proramme said NDCs “represent the

commitments of each country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.”

They were agreed to by countries during the Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) in Paris in 2015, a commitment known as “The Paris Agreement, the UNEP further explained.

“This is ADB’s first climate action policy-based loan. It will support the Philippines develop, deliver and finance a holistic approach to address climate change by transitioning to low-carbon pathways, strengthening the ability of vulnerable sectors to adapt to climate change and increasing conservation of land and marine resources,” ADB Vice-President for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ahmed M. Saeed said.

The new program targets policy reforms and will help the Philippine government build planning, financing and institutional systems to scale

up climate action. It will support reforms to enhance the resilience of farming and fishing communities to the increasing impacts of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transport.

The program was prepared jointly with the Agence Française de Développement, which is providing cofinancing of $172 million to the government.

“The Philippines has adopted important climate actions and goals that will help address these threats and challenges and guide a green and resilient recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic,” Saeed further said.

Policy-based loans transfer loan amounts to a government’s general budget instead of paying for explicit project costs.

Loan funds are disbursed only when the borrower completes policy reforms or actions that have been

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agreed with ADB. This is ADB’s first policy-based loan that addresses climate change as its core objective.

ADB’s loan is part of its commitment to bold climate action.

It joined other multilateral development banks in committing to a just transition that supports DMCs to move toward net-zero emission economies.

This also includes ADB’s ambition to deliver $100 billion in cumulative climate finance to its developing member countries (DMCs) from 2019 to 2030 and its support for a green recovery through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ “Catalytic Green Finance Facility.”

The Manila-based multilateral development bank also said it is also collaborating with the Philippine government to pilot its Energy Transition Mechanism aimed at accelerating the retirement of coal power plants and replacing them with clean power infrastructure.

PhilHealth premium hike ‘vital’ in meeting UHC Act’s goals–officials

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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TATE-RUN Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) on Tuesday defended anew before the members of the House of Representatives the scheduled premium contribution hike this June.

Philhealth Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office Eli Dino D. Santos told lawmakers that “the increase is vital in the attainment of the goals of” the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act. “With funding for PhilHealth’s indirect contributors already lacking in the past years, this increase for the direct contributors is crucial to achieve advancements in the plans of the Corporation,” Santos said, reading the statement of PhilHealth President and CEO Dante A. Gierran.

“I can never stress enough the importance of protecting the National Health Insurance Fund; a pool borne of every hardworking Filipinos’ collective contribution, to afford everyone a fighting chance to pursue

a healthy life unburdened by medical conditions,” he said during the hearing of the House Special Committee on the North Luzon Growth Quadrangle.

Santos further told lawmakers that the premium increase introduced this year through PhilHealth Advisory 2022-0010 was authorized

by Section 10 of Republic Act 11223 [UHC Act] and with the support of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I assure this body that PhilHealth has nothing but the best interests of the [millions of] Filipinos [who] depend on us for their medical upkeep,” he added.

Earlier, the PhilHealth said it is duty-bound to collect the higher premium rate of 4 percent this year since Congress has yet to pass a new law allowing the deferment of scheduled premium adjustment in the UHC Act. Under the UHC law, premium rates should gradually increase starting from 2.75 percent in 2019 until it reaches 5 percent for both 2024 and

2025. For this year, the premium rate for this year should be at 4 percent, with the income floor fixed at P10,000 and the income ceiling set at P80,000.

Last year, the PhilHealth agreed to postpone the premium hike to 3.5 percent from 3 percent in 2020 under an “interim arrangement” that will be good only until Congress passes a new law allowing for the deferment.

However, the 18th Congress is set to adjourn sine die this week.

Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc slammed the premium hike for PhilHealth, saying the move will further “burden the already suffering Filipino workers with the measly wage increase and high inflation rate.”

Claims processing

MEANWHILE, Santos said the PhilHealth remains steadfast in its commitment to pay hospital claims that are in order and compliant to rules and regulations.

As the national purchaser of health services, he said PhilHealth

is expected to pay the benefit claims of health care providers based on diagnosis and performance.

“In view of this, PhilHealth anticipates receiving no less than complete required documents needed for claims assessment and compliance to the existing standards of care required for the management of patients,” he said.

Santos further explained that in addition to requirements per RA 11223 and RA 7875 (as amended), or the National Health Insurance Act, “other requirements based on government accounting rules and regulations would have to be complied with consistently.”

“Otherwise, claims submitted needing compliance, questionable or in violation of the policy will be denied or returned back to hospitals for compliance or submission of requirements,” Santos said.

“Hence, the seeming discrepancy in figures between PhilHealth and the hospitals may be due, in large part, to differences in accounting treatments.”

The Philhealth official further explained that during reconciliation meetings with a number of hospitals, “it was noted that these facilities have been including Denied and Returnto-Hospital (RTH) claims in their accounts receivables.”

“Further, claims that purportedly have yet to be paid by PhilHealth are actually settled already,” he added.

Santos said the PhilHealth only recognizes “good claims” as its payables pursuant to prevailing government accounting rules and regulations.

He said PhilHealth is mandated to process claims within 60 days per Section 47, Letter l of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013 (RA 7875 as amended by RA 9241 and RA 10606).

“This is to give the corporation ample time to review the claims for completeness and more importantly for fraud,” Santos added. “However, some facilities still insist on payments immediately upon submission of claims documents.”

Green light for SEA’s first satellite broadband BSP: Ceilings on credit card transactions stay T

HE National TelecomSenate along with DFNN Inc. munications CommisExecutive Chairman Ramon sion (NTC) has apC. Garcia Jr., who was instruproved the registration of mental in bringing Starlink Starlink Internet Philippines to the country.

Inc., a subsidiary of CaliforGarcia said the recent nia-based Space Exploration passage of Republic Act Technologies Corp. (SpaceX).

11659, which amended the NTC’s approval sets the Commonwealth-era Public stage for Starlink to start pro- Joseph Araneta Gamboa Service Act of 1936, paved viding satellite internet serthe way for Starlink to opvices in the Philippines, which becomes the first erate in the Philippines. The new law is a major country in Southeast Asia and the 32nd in the development in the country’s foreign investeworld to access SpaceX’s broadband technology. ment policy since it relaxes foreign ownership An attached agency of the Department of restrictions and allows non-Filipinos to own Information and Communications Technology 100 percent of businesses that are considered (DICT), the NTC is responsible for the regulaas public services. tion, supervision and control over all telecomFounded in 2002 by Elon Musk, the world’s munications services and broadcast networks richest person according to Forbes magazine, throughout the archipelago.

SpaceX is poised to revolutionize space techActing DICT Secretary Emmanuel Rey R. nology. It is both a provider of space transCaintic has also issued a certificate of accreditaportation services and a communications tion to Starlink Philippines as a satellite systems company with the goal of reducing the costs of space travel to enable the colonization of provider and operator (SSPO). Such accreditation Planet Mars. is granted only to qualified entries after faithful compliance with the prescribed procedures and “You want to wake up in the morning and requirements for SSPOs. think the future is going to be great—and During the DICT consultation at Manila that’s what being a space-faring civilization is Polo Club in Makati City last week, on hand to all about. It’s about believing in the future and receive the SSPO certificate was Rebecca Hunter, thinking that the future will be better than the SpaceX Senior Manager for Market Access. She past. And I can’t think of anything more excithas attended several hearings at the Philippine ing than going out there and being among the

Finex free enterprise

stars,” Musk intimated.

SpaceX has gained global attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the first and only private firm that is capable of returning a spacecraft from low earth orbit. Its Dragon spaceship became the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2012. More recently, it achieved another milestone as the first private company to take human beings to the ISS as well.

Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez lauded the entry of Starlink into the Philippines. Lopez believes this will bring about a much faster broadband speed, better internet connectivity, more capacity for telecommunications services and more affordable rates for Filipino consumers—particularly to those in far-flung rural areas where connectivity has been difficult or outright impossible.

Lopez committed the assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry to the establishment of Starlink Philippines as it would further capacitate micro, small and medium enterprises as well as facilitate online learning, e-commerce and fintech.

Joseph Gamboa is the chairman of the Finex Media Affairs Committee and director of Noble Asia Industrial Corp. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions and the BusinessMirror. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph.

LandBank adds 57 additional agent banking partners

TATE-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) announced that it is tapping branches of UCPB Savings Bank (USB) nationwide to serve as “agent banking partners” (ABPs) in remote and underserved areas.

In a statement issued last Tuesday, LandBank said a total of 57 USB branches are set to be onboarded as Landbank ABPs by June, of which 20 USB branches are operating in communities without any LandBank branch.

The bank said this is part of their mandate to advance greater financial inclusion

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in the country.

“Through the agent banking program, LandBank is able to better serve its mandated sectors, particularly those in unbanked and underserved communities where financial services are scarce,” LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo was quoted in the statement as saying.

As LandBank ABPs, USB branches will offer card sale, cash-in, cash- out, fund transfer, and bills payment services, allowing customers to enjoy lower transaction costs, improved access to financial services, greater convenience and

potentially lower travel expenses.

Beneficiaries of the National Government’s conditional cash transfer and unconditional cash transfer programs can also withdraw their cash grants through the Landbank ABPs. Earlier this year President Rodrigo Roa Duterte issued Executive Order (EO) 170 on the “Adoption of Digital Payments for Government Disbursements and Collections.

The EO mandates all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the government, including state universities and colleges and government-owned or -controlled corpora-

tions, and enjoins local government units to utilize digital channels in the disbursement and collection of payments.

As of end-March this year, LandBank has a total of 907 ABPs nationwide.

These include client cooperatives, associations, rural banks, local government units, small and medium enterprises, gasoline stations, and private entities.

In the first quarter of the year, a total of 1.3 million transactions amounting to P4.6 million were facilitated by LandBank ABPs.

Bianca Cuaresma

By Bianca Cuaresma

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@BcuaresmaBM

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday announced that there will be no changes to ceilings on credit card transactions and interest rates on unpaid bills.

In a statement, the BSP said its Monetary Board decided to maintain the ceilings on credit card transactions under Circular 1098 dated September 24, 2020.

This means that the maximum interest rate or finance charge on the unpaid outstanding credit card balance of a cardholder remains at 2 percent per month or 24 percent per year.

Similarly, the monthly add-on rates that credit card issuers can charge on installment loans is retained at a maximum rate of 1 percent. The maximum processing fee on the availment of credit card cash advances also stays at P200 per transaction.

“The decision of the Monetary Board will continue to help ease the financial burden of consumers through affordable credit card pricing amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said. “It will also allow the BSP to assess the impact of the improvement in macroeconomic fundamentals and easing of mobility restrictions on the performance of the credit card industry.”

The BSP also reported that latest credit card business activity data show that the demand for credit cards moderated in the second half of 2021 as customers shifted towards “alternative digital products.”

The number of credit cards that were issued and outstanding grew by 0.3 percent to 10.3 million while monthly card billings increased by 33.9 percent to P100.6 billion in December 2021.

“Moving forward, the credit card industry intends to further reduce operating costs through digital transformation and process improvements as well as maintain prudent lending standards,” Diokno said.

The governor also said that ceilings on credit card transactions remain in effect unless revised by the BSP. “The BSP, however, will closely monitor evolving domestic and external developments that will impact the state of credit card financing, sustainability of credit card operations and viability of banks/credit card issuers,” Diokno added.

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Show BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 1, 2022 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Willow Shields, 22; Amy Schumer, 41; Heidi Klum, 49; Morgan Freeman, 85.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Assess your lifestyle and what you enjoy doing. Gather information that will help you acquire and incorporate new skills, experience and knowledge into your everyday routine. By shaking off any uncertainty or negativity you harbor, you’ll find it easier to leave the past behind you. Expand your interests, and you’ll find a promising way to put your attributes to good use. Your numbers are 4, 10, 19, 26, 31, 35, 48.

SHE’S QUIET

THE actress’ absence on social media is so apparent after her high profile presence since last year, complete with charity drives. This absence, according to reports, is a result of her fight with a politician over her involvement with a form of gambling that’s technically legal but is considered inhumane. The actress is known to be very supportive of the politician’s benefactor but she doesn’t like his stance on her favorite hobby and source of income. Now it’s obvious why the actress, who is not known for her generosity, was so open about giving gifts to everyone in the past few months.

She’s also been unusually outspoken about a lot of things on social media. Well, she’s finally quiet now that the politician’s benefactor has spoken and it’s not in her favor.

HE’S TAKEN

THE male politician is considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the country—or is he really eligible? Rumors are that he’s off the market and dating a socialite who is also a TV personality. The couple has so far been relatively successful in keeping the relationship secret and it’s unclear where and when they met, although they did go to the same university.

So, people are thinking that maybe they’ve been together for a while. Here’s the thing though: the girl’s political leanings are not exactly popular on social media right now, so maybe the politician is hesitant to be open about the relationship because of this. For certain reasons, the TV personality is also cautious because she knows she won’t be well-liked once people find out who her boyfriend is.

THIRD WHEEL NO MORE

SHE’S been called the perennial third wheel but it looks like that’s about to change. The actress finally has a boyfriend who’s also an actor, and she is very happy, thank you. A lot of people don’t know this but the actress’ family is very wealthy and she doesn’t really need to work to make a living, but acting is her passion and she loves what she’s doing. She even prioritized her career over her love life. The actor, people say, is quite lucky to have the actress for a girlfriend because she’s a nice person. But then, the actress is lucky, too. Her boyfriend came from a simple family and he didn’t even intend to become an actor but he’s quite hardworking and is known as a nice guy. Before the actress, the actor was dating a model.

THE END OF A DYNASTY?

THE politician couple from a city in Metro Manila didn’t know what hit them after the election results came in. Every family member who ran lost. In the case of the husband, his opponent’s father, who also ran and won, spent a lot of money just to make his son win. The son’s political strategists wooed voters in informal settlements where his father is already popular. Truthfully, the boy’s opponent did not stand a chance. The boy’s dad really wanted him to win and that’s what happened. The father reportedly spent a lot for his son’s campaign and he also called in favors from people he’s helped in the past. The politician couple is also disliked in the city and that contributed to their election loss.

KEVIN SPACEY leaves court after testifying in a civil lawsuit on May 26, 2022, in New York. British prosecutors have charged Spacey with four counts of sexual assault against three men. AP

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’ll react too quickly. Think before you do something that makes you look bad. Keep busy, avoid trouble and get your facts straight before sharing information.

Too much talk and not enough action will lead to complaints. HH

Kevin Spacey to face 4 sex assault charges in Britain

By Jill Lawless | The Associated Press

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ONDON—British prosecutors said on Thursday they had authorized police to charge actor Kevin Spacey with four counts of sexual assault against three men, an announcement that came as the actor was in court in New York testifying in a different case.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had “authorized criminal charges” on the four sex assault counts and one of “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.”

The alleged incidents took place in London between March 2005 and August 2008, and one in western England in April 2013. The alleged victims are now in their 30s and 40s.

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the service’s Special Crime Division, said the charges followed a review of evidence gathered by London’s Metropolitan Police.

Prosecutors initially said Spacey had been charged.

However, they later clarified that charges had been authorized, but the formal charging by police had not yet taken place.

The authorization to charge means criminal proceedings against Spacey are underway. The police force said Spacey—who is not currently in Britain— “will be formally charged at a later date.”

If Spacey does not return to Britain to face the charges, prosecutors could seek to start extradition proceedings. Spacey, a 62-year-old double Academy Award winner, was questioned by British police

K-pop sensation BTS to launch new show on Apple Music 1 LOS ANGELES—BTS will reveal their gradual journey to becoming K-pop superstars through a new Apple Music weekly limited series. The streaming service announced on Thursday that BTS will launch their new show BTS Radio: Past & Present on Apple Music 1. The three-episode limited series will air weekly, leading up to the release of the band’s new album Proof, which arrives on June 10.

The inaugural episode aired May 28 at 6 am PDT. The Grammy Award-nominated band will take listeners on their quest to stardom while sharing stories and songs that helped shaped them. The group is known for hit songs such as “Dynamite” and “Butter.”

“We wanted to use this radio show to celebrate nine years of BTS with you guys and with our ARMY all over the world,” said RM of the seven-member boy band—which also includes J-Hope, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jimin.

“Every episode is dedicated to you,” RM continues. “And we wanted to share the BTS songs that help tell our story.”

In the first episode, BTS explains the beginning of the group with songs that inspired their sound and style. The second episode—which airs June 3—has the band pick some of the BTS ARMY’s favorite songs.

BTS shows how the group ultimately achieved fame as global music sensations in the final episode on June 10. AP

in 2019 about claims by several men that he had assaulted them. The former House of Cards star ran London’s Old Vic Theatre between 2004 and 2015.

Spacey won a best supporting actor Academy Award for the 1995 film The Usual Suspects and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 movie American Beauty.

But his celebrated career came to an abrupt halt in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused the star of assaulting him at a party in the 1980s, when Rapp was a teenager. Spacey denies the allegations.

Spacey testified Thursday in a courtroom in New York City in the civil lawsuit filed by Rapp. Spacey didn’t respond to reporters as he left the courthouse talking on his mobile phone.

The British charges were mentioned briefly by Rapp’s lawyers during the court hearing, and Spacey’s lawyers were asked about it by reporters during a break in testimony. They declined to comment.

Another criminal case brought against Spacey, an indecent assault and battery charge stemming from the alleged groping of an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket resort, was dismissed by Massachusetts prosecutors in 2019.

Thursday’s court session in New York City dealt with a technical issue in the civil lawsuit, whether it was better handled in a federal or state US court.

Spacey was called to testify about where he lived, not about the truthfulness of the allegations against him.

Spacey testified that his main residence and domicile is in Baltimore, where he moved for the filming of House of Cards. He said he was “beguiled by its charm, its beauty.” But he also testified about his time living in London as the artistic director of the Old Vic. “It was extremely important to me that I endear myself to the British public, that I’m not running away,” he said, noting that his start there was troubled by a “disastrous production” in 2005 of Arthur Miller’s last play.

But, he said, “I’m an American citizen. Once the job was done, I came back to America.”

He said he made a trip to London in February 2020 for a possible film, but then the pandemic hit.

His US doctor recommended he stay there, where he resided until the following September, when his visa expired and he flew to Los Angeles for an arbitration proceeding.

He said he has not returned to the UK since then. n

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t judge others or make a change without considering the consequences. Formulate what you want to do, and map out a course that helps you dodge controversy and interference. A risk that affects your health or physical well-being is discouraged. HHHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Keep your thoughts to yourself until you figure out what you want.

Avoid taking on too much or letting someone talk you into shouldering added responsibilities. Be blunt about what you are willing to do or contribute. Truth matters. HHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A positive attitude will encourage a better outcome.

Overreaction or a display of anger will dent your reputation. Don’t limit what you can learn by being close-minded. Focus on what’s possible, and make your dreams come true. Self-improvement is favored.

HHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Listen, ask questions and verify facts. Set high expectations, and take an energetic approach to achieve your goals and attain happiness. Don’t let someone’s uncertainty cloud your vision or push you in a direction for the wrong reason. Avoid health risks. HHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Experience is the best teacher. Dig in and try new things, participate in challenging exercises and test your intellect and skills. Personal gain is within reach if you are willing to put in the time and push your way to the top. HHHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take a moment to assess a volatile situation. Emotions will flare up and ruin your day if you aren’t willing to compromise or acknowledge what others want. Look for solutions to keep the peace. Put your energy into home improvements. HH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t use force; use ingenuity. Think matters through to come up with alternatives. Don’t worry about anyone who doesn’t want to participate in your plan.

Offer others the same freedom you demand from them.

Romance and personal growth are favored. HHHHH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stick close to home, and do whatever it takes to use your space constructively. Building a safe and convenient place to work, grow and excel will make it easier to reach your dreams. Don’t let distress rob you of accomplishment. HHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Have a little fun, but don’t ignore your responsibilities. Working toward a rewarding goal will encourage you to make changes that fit your routine and allow you the freedom to explore possibilities. Romance will improve your day and enhance your life. HHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Dig in and do something that makes you feel good about yourself. Present your idea to the people you love and trust. Step away from those who ridicule you or belittle your aspirations.HHHHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Discipline will come in handy and help you terminate unhealthy situations. Revisit how you handle money, your lifestyle and love, and make changes that help you create a secure and stable future. HHHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are outgoing, innovative and emotional.

You are bold and persevering.

‘birds aren’t real’ BY ROSS TRUDEAU The Universal Crossword/Edited by Amanda Rafkin

ACROSS 1 Hyphen relative 5 Itsy-___ 10 Nonstandard nickname for the Golden State 14 Cosmetics chain 15 Join forces 16 Tweak, as a crossword 17 Simians studied by a certain primatologist? (OWL) 19 “Hahaha,” in a text 20 Jheri ___ (hairdo) 21 Wrath 22 Push away 23 Claw for building a nest 25 Bog accumulations 26 Nick a china dish? (CROW) 30 Sympathized with 33 Particles such as Na+ and Cl34 AOC or JFK, e.g.

35 Langston Hughes poem 36 Japanese noodle soup 38 Croat’s neighbor 39 Southern sch. by the Mississippi 40 ___ bomb (Japanese drink)

41 “Makes sense to me” 43 Certain frilly Middle Eastern fabric?

(WREN) 46 Long part of a golf club 47 Answers a Paperless Post 49 The “T” in THC 50 Ruckus 52 Court reporters’ channel?

54 Oodles and oodles 55 “Did you hold hands?,” e.g. (ROBIN) 58 2021 sci-fi remake starring Zendaya 59 “Am not!” comeback 60 Facial breakout 61 Did an impression of 62 Weighed down 63 Marsh plant DOWN 1 “Thanks, Captain Obvious” 2 Apt name for a smartie?

3 Walk proudly 4 Amateur broadcaster’s set 5 Cinnamon ___ 6 Signing, as a contract 7 Amphitheater level 8 Eyelid inflammation

9 10 11 12 13 18 22 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 32 37 38 40 42 44 45 48 49

“You’re correct” Post bag contents?

Animal shelter’s rehoming initiative Self report? “___ be OK” Skateboarder’s “no hands” trick Gym rat’s count Ready to pour Bic tips Stopwatch Groundbreaking tool?

Idris of Marvel films Tablet in a bottle “We’re being framed!”

Push-button phone type Dana Elaine Owens, ___ Queen Latifah Daytime TV idol A remote may slip between its cushions Donates Merited Incite, like suspicion Cinnamon or ginger “Behold my brilliance!”

50 51 53 55 56 57

City south of New Delhi Banned from a competition, briefly Word hidden in “run on empty” Gal ___ Immeasurably long time Homer’s neighbor

Solution to today’s puzzle:

Image BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Wednesday, June 1, 2022

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Boosting your team’s morale Celebrating Philippines-Australia friendship

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ITH the continuing threat of the different variants of the Covid-19 virus plus the rising cost of fuel, organizations have adopted either a hybrid or a work-from-home setup. But whether you ask your team to work from home or to report to the office, it has now become increasingly more difficult to boost their morale considering that interactions can more often become more transactional than conversational. And with that, several organizations have reported employees leaving the organization for companies offering flexible and adaptive work setups.

While work setups do not primarily dictate if people stay in an organization, it can become a big factor in their decision to leave. As a people manager, you need to be aware of how your team responds to these changes and how your organization reacts, because it will dictate how many of them will stay and what you can do to prevent them from looking for the proverbial greener pastures. More often than not, people look for work elsewhere because they think this organization or that would provide a better working environment for them.

First thing you need to do is to identify what your team considers as a good working environment.

As management guru Peter F. Drucker once said, “What gets measured, gets managed.” Organizational experts have long been discussing how culture can be measured and they all agree that there is no objective way of measuring it—but there are indicators to show if an organization has achieved its culture goals.

These include norms and practices, interpersonal interactions, and behaviors expressing corporate core values, among others.

This begs the question of whether the team should adapt to the culture of the entire organization, or should they retain their own? I think that as long as your team delivers what is expected from them, your role as their people manager is to ensure that they continue to be consistent, and to manage how your team interacts with other departments. After all, while an organization needs to be unified, it does not have to be uniform.

You also need to provide opportunities for your team to decide on their own by empowering them.

The key here is to lessen micromanaging and focus more on communicating the team’s goals clearly so your team can have creative license to look for the best way of achieving them. Your team needs to understand that they can be trusted and relied on to support the achievement of the team’s goals. A colleague once said that people go to work so they can find meaning in what they are doing, and to contribute significantly to their team. When you explicitly trust your team to do their work the best way they know how, they will strive to safeguard that trust.

And when they fail, take it as a way to practice the growth mindset where failure is viewed as a learning opportunity. This will help your team appreciate the experience and strive to do better next time. Of course, this is helpful if you have the luxury of time and learning opportunities are closely monitored.

For urgent matters requiring quick decision-making,

PHOTO BY SITHAMSHU MANOJ ON UNSPLASH

as their team leader you need to step up and guide the team every step of the way. Nothing discourages a team more than a leader who fumbles during an emergency. Clear thinking and decisive instructions help motivate your team to action.

I have written about this several times already, but this remains to be an effective way of motivating and boosting the morale of your team: catch them doing good. In the organizations I have been with in the past, I noticed a dearth of compliments from colleagues and more so from leaders. After complimenting people for their good work, I noticed that they become more open to helping me out later on and they would even go out of their way to ask if I needed help.

Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson wrote One Minute Manager, where a key lesson in the book is that it takes only a minute to praise someone for doing good work, but it has lasting benefits for the team member’s productivity. Based on experience, it also has lasting benefits for the people manager because it becomes easier to ask for help later on.

Positive reinforcement makes people feel good about their work because it tells them they are in the right direction and it motivates them to continue to be in that state.

If possible, look for opportunities where your team can get together without office work in mind. There are online team collaboration platforms where your team can play online, or, if health protocols permit,

you can go out as a group where you can just relax and have fun. You can also try looking for outreach programs that your team would be interested in.

You can learn so many things about your team by observing them outside of the office environment.

This will help you plan and identify incentives they would appreciate.

Incentives are a good way of boosting your team’s morale, and the best thing about incentives is that they can be anything your team wants—free food or parking, new office facilities, and additional bonuses, among others.

The key here is knowing which ones your team will appreciate and value more. I know of a previous colleague who stayed in the organization because of the free medical benefits for her parents. She could have had better pay somewhere else, but she did not want to risk losing those benefits because her parents were already old. The organization knew most of their employees enjoyed this benefit, so they also used it for recruitment purposes.

Understanding your team’s background and how they behave are the two key components in understanding what motivates them, and in identifying essential activities that will boost their morale. Knowing the right balance of motivating them and pushing them will help you manage your team to greater success and improved productivity.

And it all begins with how you relate with your team as their leader. n

THE Australian Embassy, in partnership with SM, recently celebrated this year’s Philippines-Australia Friendship Day with Experience Australia, a three-day food, retail, study and travel festival at SM Megamall.

Australian Ambassador Steven J. Robinson AO was joined by members of the business sector, Australia Global Alumni network, the Filipino-Australian community, and officials from the Australian Embassy and SM. “We mark Philippines-Australia Friendship Day every May 22, and we bring the celebration to a different city each year.

This year, we are pleased to celebrate Friendship Day back in Manila, our first face-to-face festival since the pandemic,” said Ambassador Robinson.

Mallgoers got to experience shopping in Sydney’s The Rocks markets with Taste of Australia pop-ups featuring world-class wines, sustainable meat, fresh fruits, healthy snacks, and an exciting selection of Coles products.

It was also announced during the launch that Coles, one of the largest supermarket chains in Australia, comes to the Philippines for the very first time through its partnership with SM Markets. With this, Filipinos have a chance to enjoy Aussie favorites ranging from cookies, chocolate bars, milk, honey, coffee, tea and cereals to baking needs, condiments, hearty soups, tasty liquid stocks, and more. Coles products are exclusively available at select SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and Savemore branches.

“I am so excited for Filipinos to be able to enjoy the products we love back home. Coles is one of Australia’s biggest and long-established brands; similar to what SM Markets is to the Philippines. What makes it even better is that SM is able to offer Coles products at a reasonable price so that more and more families can start enjoying Coles regularly at home,” Ambassador Robinson added.

Mallgoers also learned about study opportunities at Australia’s world-class universities at the Experience Australia education booths; while Australia Global Alumni booths featuring hand-crafted clothing and accessories, gift items, as well as fresh and artisanal food by Australia-educated Filipinos were also on display.

Festival highlights also included a special visit by FilipinoAustralian celebrities Diego Loyzaga, Teresa Loyzaga and Leila Alcasid, and a chance to win roundtrip tickets for two to Australia via Qantas.

AUSTRALIAN Ambassador Steven Robinson AO and Australian Embassy senior trade and investment commissioner Christopher Lim highlight a Taste of Australia at the Experience Australia launch.

AUSTRALIAN Embassy’s Political, Economic and Public Diplomacy Counsellor James Yeomans and Filipino-Australian Miss Eco International 2022 Kathleen Paton

How to tell when money advice is bad

By Sara Rathner NerdWallet THERE are a lot of people out there who want to tell you what to do with your money. The problem is only some of them know what they’re talking about.

Whether it’s a friend with a hot investment tip, a relative spouting off outdated directives about the way it “should” be done, or a social-media influencer touting a trendy financial product, money advice can be hit or miss. You can filter out the useful tidbits and leave the rest, but to do that, you have to know how to evaluate which pieces of advice you can trust.

CONSIDER THE SOURCE CERTIFIED financial planners, financial coaches or nonprofit credit counseling agencies can all supply you with advice that’s tailored to your unique circumstances. Look for professionals who don’t earn a commission when you agree to follow their advice by using recommended solutions. That way, you know you’re getting unbiased guidance.

As an added bonus, you’ll also get a solid explanation of how different financial products work, which is knowledge that can serve you for years.

“Financial matters tend to be complex, and I think that’s why it’s so important for individuals like myself to have education as a large part of what we do,” says Durriya Pierce, a certified financial planner and financial advice expert at Albert, a financial services company. A friend or relative who accomplished a similar financial goal could also have actionable tips to share. You might be able to lean on them as a source of emotional support while you work toward your own goal.

There may even be some nuggets of wisdom in outdated advice that previous generations relied on.

The next time you’re treated to a lecture about how cars cost a nickel back in the day, instead of scoffing in disbelief, ask open-ended questions. How much was your grandfather paid at his first job out of school?

How much did your parents’ first house cost? That can open up a conversation about how salaries, housing costs and other money issues have changed over time, so you can both understand where the other person is coming from.

“At some point, it becomes less about them sharing advice and more about them sharing their story,” says Phuong Luong, a Massachusetts-based certified financial planner and founder of Just Wealth.

THINK ABOUT HOW FEASIBLE THE ADVICE IS FOR YOU MONEY advice is like clothing. It’s designed to fit a person, but that person might not be you. Certain money best practices don’t work for everyone’s situation. “So often we ignore the context of what people are going through. Financial advice-givers don’t bring in the context and it’s really harmful when you don’t,” Luong says. “It perpetuates the myth that we can do this on our own and we cannot.”

She cites the oft-discussed 50/30/20 budget— where you apply 50 percent of your take-home pay to “needs” (like housing, utilities and transportation), 30 percent to “wants” (like hobbies and travel) and 20 percent to savings and debt payments—as an example. In high-cost areas, she notes, rent alone might eat up half of your take-home pay.

Bad money advice can also oversimplify a complex decision. With more people working remotely, for instance, a friend may suggest you simply move to a lower-cost city to save money. Pierce, who lives in a high-cost area in New Jersey and has no plans to leave, says that this advice disregards the non-monetary benefits of staying put—such as being close to an established community of family and friends.

BE WARY OF ADVICE THAT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE THE Internet and social media are rife with moneyrelated clickbait that promises near-instant success.

Influencers sell access to expensive courses that claim they’ll make you a millionaire.

High-school acquaintances send you direct messages out of the blue, asking if you want to “be your own boss” by joining a multilevel marketing program. Many of these get-rich-quick schemes are a waste of time and money.

“If it requires you to put money upfront first, that would be a red flag for me,” Luong says. She recommends taking a hard look at these offers by finding out as much as you can about them— including looking up reviews—before you fork over any money.

Trustworthy money guidance isn’t going to make empty vows about guaranteed wealth. Look for advice that fits you, but gives you realistic expectations and a few alternative courses of action.

“Be wary of any financial advice that seems like it’s black and white,” Pierce says.

“Because it’s very much a gray practice.”

THE CONVERSATION

B6 Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Learn Mandarin at Sunshine Place Online

Give your home that personal touch at The Enclave in Batangas

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UILD a home with your personal style to make it your haven and private sanctuary at The Enclave, an exclusive 3-hectare community at the heart of the Municipality of Malvar in the picturesque province of Batangas.

The Enclave is one of the exclusive communities within Townscapes Malvar, a ‘work-live-play’ residential development where nature and man co-exist harmoniously.

It is accessible via the South Luzon Arterial Road (STAR) and is an easy 1.5-hour drive to and from Manila.

With a limited number of lots, The Enclave is a haven and a cozy escape from the hustle-and-bustle of the city. Every space is specially designed to accentuate the quality of life you desire. Available lots

range from 205 to 423 square meters.

Each lot allows homeowners to add their personal touch into creating a proper work-live space – be it an intimate abode and place for rest and relaxation, or an integrated home-office.

Every square inch of The Enclave is surrounded by landscaped outdoors, creating stunning views at every turn. There is also an abundance of open spaces purposely preserved for ‘new normal’ ways of living.

“We were really fascinated by the location (of The Enclave) with its natural stone and its expansive view of the area of the south,” said Arch. Royal Pineda, chairman of BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Design, which had been contracted to design a house at The Enclave. “We were so inspired

in designing it. The nature of the place is quite interesting and we were able to resonate its elements in our architecture,” he added.

The Townscapes Malvar is a project of Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation, the property development arm of the ICCP Group. Launched in November 2021, the mixed-use township is master-planned by Pomeroy Studio, the brilliant minds behind Singapore’s Kallang Alive and Indonesia’s BSD Digital Hub, For more than 25 years, PDO has been delivering a unique mix of residential communities ranging from high-end, exclusive subdivisions to affordable economical projects.

All these have been carefully curated, exuding quality, innovation, and value.

Subway retains ESTRAT 360 Marketing Company as its media and ads agency in the Philippines

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UBWAY®, the international brand that has earned a worldwide reputation of offering a fresher alternative to traditional fast food, retains ESTRAT 360 Marketing Company (ESTRAT 360) as its integrated marketing, advertising, and media agency in the Philippines.

SUBWAY®, the international brand that has earned a worldwide reputation of offering a fresher alternative to traditional fast food, retains ESTRAT 360 Marketing Company (ESTRAT 360) as its integrated marketing, advertising, and media agency in the Philippines.

SUBWAY® Philippines Marketing Manager Joshua Wahiman commends ESTRAT 360’s efforts in successfully activating campaigns during the pandemic until to date.

In an interview, Mr. Wahiman said, “I’d like to thank ESTRAT 360 for its immense support in bringing Subway® Philippines to where it is now.”

He adds, “ESTRAT 360’s tireless efforts and dedication in taking the brand’s story to life have made the agency the integrated and trusted brand partner from this point onwards.”

ESTRAT 360 Marketing Company Chief Executive Officer Ruben Licera is grateful and honored for the trust and confidence bestowed on the agency. “We are delighted with the continued trust and confidence of SUBWAY® in making us their official partner in launching memorable and community-driven campaigns,” quips the CEO. “Since we were first tapped by Subway® in 2020, we have proactively listened to and anticipated their needs, especially at the height of the pandemic.

With our active collaboration with the internal team, we have successfully

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EARN to speak Mandarin from the comfort of your own home! Sign up with Sunshine Place Online for its Mandarin Language Workshop.

The workshop will start on June 6, 2022 and consists of 15-sessions on Mondays and Thursdays from 10:00am12:00 noon. Module soft copy and certificate of completion will be provided.

Platform to be used is ZOOM Meeting and Padlet for the handouts.

The Beginners’ Mandarin workshop will be conducted by Ms. Marrie MirandaBoledo, an enthusiastic and devoted Foreign Language teacher with excellent communications skills and high degree of fluency in Hokkien and Mandarin. She is a graduate from Far Eastern University and currently teaching Mandarin Course for college students at San Beda CollegeAlabang. She also teaches Mandarin to grade school and high school students.

She has 10 years of teaching experience specializing in managing students and maximizing learning opportunities in diverse classroom settings with residence experience across Taiwan.

She has various trainings and seminars on Course Module Development in Foreign Language and Speech Basics at the University of the Philippines. She has

completed the HSK Levels 1-3 and passed her Mandarin proficiency test.

The course is ideal for travelers and students as well as anyone who wants to quickly pick up the basics in an engaging way.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to introduce themselves and others, order food in restaurants; inquire about prices when shopping, ask and understand directions in Mandarin. Aside from building new skills in reading, writing, and speaking Mandarin in a fun and easy manner, participants will have the opportunity to better appreciate Chinese culture.

For more information and to register, please contact M. (0917) 515-5656 or email: online.sunshineplace@gmail.com For more information, visit http://www. sunshineplaceph.com/; or follow Facebook @SunshinePlace56Jupiter; Instagram @ sunshineplaceph; and YouTube Sunshine Place: Senior Recreation Center.

Philippines longest-running business gifts expo returns

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HE resumption of face-to-face events heralds the return of the Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show, the Philippines longest-running expo for business gifts. Now on its 33rd year the trade exhibition on premiums, promotional items, and merchandise incentives will be held on June 21 – 23, 2022 at the SMX Convention Center Manila.

“Gifts and giveaways have always played an important part in corporate branding. We’ve been receiving inquiries from our regular visitors about the show. I think everyone is eager to come face to face with the suppliers and be able to see and touch the products once again,” shared Raquel Romero, President of Worldexco, the organizers of Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show.

The Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show

is annually visited by professionals in the field of purchasing, marketing, corporate communication, public relations, and human resources for their companies’ gift-giving requirements. With thousands of products on display, everyone is sure to find the right items to help make a lasting impression for their brand, affirm a business relationship, celebrate a milestone, or show reward for a job well done.

“Even during the pandemic, we held the show online because the need for these items did not go away,” shared Romero. “We want to retain an online option for those who aren’t able to visit the show due to distance or other reasons.” As such, Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show 2022 has partnered with leading online shopping giant Lazada as it’s e-commerce partner. Through a section on the Lazada app, customers can access the exhibitors’ stores, view their products, inquire through chat, and even place orders.

A selection of the country’s top suppliers will be at the Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show to display their latest products ranging from, desk accessories, notebooks and paper products, leather craft, bags and luggage, caps, t-shirts and other garments, mobile accessories, food & beverage gifts, electronic gadgets, eco-friendly items and much more.

Admission to the Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show is free of charge.

Visitors can register online at www. corporategiveawaysbuyershow.com.

VLF returns to live stage with 12 new works

A ESTRAT360 and Subway pose for a photo in front of Subway Axis, the international sandwich brand's largest store in the Philippines. From the left, Senior Account Manager Joana Gersale, Customer Experience Director Kezia Rico, ESTRAT360 Chief Executive Officer Ruben Licera, Subway Franchise Owner Angeli Acasio, Subway Marketing Manager Joshua Wahiman, with ESTRAT 360 Senior Business Advisor Bong Abela, and ESTRAT 360’s Creative Director Kirsten Castillo. launched 360 marketing campaigns that have helped them meet and exceed their goals,” adds the Marketing Agency CEO. Integrated communications with a strong digital marketing component have played a huge role for SUBWAY® in its journey to position itself as the #BetterChoice for on-the-go consumers in the market.

ESTRAT360 has created multiple social media content, promos, and activations that strengthened the brand’s relevance to its target audience.

With the active collaboration of SUBWAY Philippines marketing lead, ESTRAT 360 has transitioned from a mere digital marketing and outsourcing agency to becoming a full-blown 360 marketing and advertising company and has become more agile in all integrated communications and advertising requirements to strongly support its clients’ business needs.

“The pandemic brought the best in us. It is also a time we saw opportunities on how ESTRAT 360 can help our clients grow. In a time when everyone wants to be digital and the inventory of digital touchpoints is

vast, we chose to empower our clients to see their voice amidst the noise by employing mixed offline, print, and digital strategies.

We thank SUBWAY® Philippines for giving us the platform to materialize impactful campaigns,” adds Mr. Licera.

ESTRAT 360 Marketing Company is an international award-winning integrated communication and digital marketing agency from the Philippines, serving the world. A 100% Filipino-owned company operating since 2014, ESTRAT 360’s strategies are primarily aimed at helping businesses and companies #GrowFurther in terms of revenue through their activations that ensure clients’ marketing and revenue goals are achieved on schedule. Other brands they have the opportunity to handle include Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, Cemex Philippines, Anejo Gold Rum, and Vino Kulafu. ESTRAT 360 Marketing Company have also successfully deployed virtual 360 marketing teams and campaigns for more than a hundred companies in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

For more information, visit ESTRAT360.com.

FTER two years of online performances and the streaming of archived works, the Virgin Labfest (VLF), the festival of untried, untested and unstaged plays, returns to live stage with 12 new works slated on June 16 to 26, at Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater).

For its 17th edition, VLF follows the theme “Hinga” to “underline the need to breathe, to be present and feel alive.”

VLF 17: HINGA also reintroduces the practice of grouping plays into sets under shared themes and other commonalities.

Set A: Life is Full of Surprises revolves around life’s unexpected turns. This set features: Eljay Castro Deldoc’s Walang Bago sa Dulang Ito; Ma. Cecilia de la Rosa’s Mga Balo; and Bibeth Orteza’s Bituing Marikit.

Three plays show that fiction is stranger than life in Set B: Life is Strange Fiction.

The plays are: BJ Crisostomo’s Absurdo: Event Day; Jerry O’Hara’s Liberation; and Juan Ekis’ ‘Nay May Dala Akong Pancit.

Meanwhile, stories of characters who are at a crossroad find their way to Set C: Life Choices, which include Mikaela Regis’ Unica Hijas; Andrew Bonifacio Clete’s Punks Not Dead; and Anthony Kim Vergara’s Student’s Handbook.

Plays set in schools and involve life lessons that must be learnt and unlearnt are grouped together in Set D: School of Life. They are: Dustin Celestino’s Fermata; Ryan Machado’s Huling Haraya Nina Ischia at Emeteria; and George Vail Kabristante’s Bienvenuta Al Lido Di Venezia.

VLF 17 will have a new component, Theater Talks, a curated forum series on theater and creative processes. To be

livestreamed during the festival, these talks feature theater practitioners who will share their know-how on production works and take in questions from the audience to elicit a lively dialogue on contemporary theatre-making.

The festival brings back its mainstay components such as the VLF Fellowship Program, with mentor Glenn Sevilla Mas and director Dennis Marasigan, and the VLF Playwrights Fair under the direction of Rody Vera and coordination by Beverly Siy. For more information, visit the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph). Follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for latest updates.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, June 1, 2022 B7

Greenfield Development Corp. builds sustainable architecture and living spaces under the new normal

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ith our homes becoming our safe haven amid the crisis, the importance of good design and anticipative planning has never been made clearer. Residential architecture and design now play a crucial role in creating a better, safer and more livable built environment, especially in the post-pandemic era.

Greenfield City, a 400-hectare enc lave in Santa Rosa, Laguna, is a living testament to Greenfield Development Corp.’s vision of creating self-sustaining spaces. The area, which touts life in a “city within a park,” plays home to several community-centric lifestyle and office establishments well within reach of its residents.

Trava and Zadia are two exciting developments in Greenfield City where discerning homebuyers can find a place they can call home and commune with nature for themselves and for their families for many years to come.

Exemplifying suburban living in Trava

Greenfield Development has tapped renowned architectural firm Leandro V. Locsin Partners for the master-planned community, Trava, the flagship project of their luxury property arm, Greenfield Deluxe. Launched in May 2018, Trava features tree-lined roads, lush parks, fully underground utilities, and a streetscape with a 4-meter wide lawn.

Technology, security top concerns of property seekers

By Roderick L. Abad

H Greenfield Trava entrance

Historically, the whole area in Santa Rosa was part of a large sugar field in a Hacienda for many years before urban development started in the region. Leandro V. Locsin Partners were tasked to develop what was once agricultural land into a cosmopolitan work of art.

They chose to focus on Biophilic design, or design that takes after natural concepts in order to transform Trava into something more extraordinary and meaningful as they build its infrastructure that can serve as an extension of nature.

The main design philosophy for the model houses is its timelessness wherein residents won’t need to talk about how beautiful the structures in Trava are but rather, they can feel and see it through their homes as its residential structure blends into the environment. Take for example model unit 1 wherein Locsin Partners introduced the use of jalousie windows which enables a free flowing of air around the house. Model unit 2, on the other hand, utilized louvers to block rain and debris from entering into the household.

When it comes to the overall approach to the development of the Trava model houses, Leandro V. Locsin Partners took design principles from the elements of the traditional Bahay Kubo and Bahay-na-Bato in Philippine architecture. Despite the abstracted adaptations, the architects were able to focus on progressive design, highlighting openness, practicality and sustainability.

Through the application of these different features, one can sense the simplistic beauty and func-

Greenfield Zadia entrance

tionality of these “updated ” traditional residential typologies, igniting a feeling of familiarity among Filipino people.

Apart from this, residents of Trava can also take pride in its state-of-the-art amenities like the pools and sports courts, the gym, dance studio, social hall, and the solar-powered clubhouse. They can also enjoy “nature-friendly” features in the neighborhood with its tree-lined roads, permeable road design that allows rainwater to drain naturally, and fully underground utilities that reduce transmission loss and eliminate unsightly cables above the street.

All of these are curated and masterfully designed for the homeowners’ dynamic lifestyle.

All in all, Trava exemplifies how suburban living can be sustainable and livable while promoting the improvement of one’s overall quality of life. The architecture firm also shared that “it’s all about feeling a sense of belongingness when you arrive in Trava, a place where you’ll find peace, calmness and being in harmony with the land.”

From its gateless homes, amenities, to the overall planning and construction of the community, Trava is perfect for those looking for a home away from the limited space of city living and makes extravagant living more sustainable and attainable for its homeowners.

Inspired living in Zadia

Zadia, by Equus Property Venture Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenfield Development Corp., is the fulfillment of the company’s vision of building future-ready and

sustainable homes in the South.

Created to emulate the Greenspiration lifestyle, Zadia lets its green architecture speak for itself. The 3.6-hectare mid-rise condominium has an abundance of tree-lined roads, parks, playgrounds, and green open spaces—a luxury practically unfounded in Metro Manila.

W hen the architecture firm started the development of Zadia in 2018, the pandemic had yet to happen but Greenfield Development Corporation was already pioneering the integration of healthy living and being close to nature in property development.

A rchitect Er ic Matic of Kreativ*Devgroup pointed out that their design philosophy for Zadia revolves mainly around modern architecture while incorporating lush greeneries and open spaces into the condominium blueprint.

Their aim was for something very aesthetically pleasing, while still being environmentally friendly, which is why they turned to nature for inspiration.

“We designed Zadia to be a place where residents can flourish in green living and living inspired, through its intricate beauty and wonder,” Matic explained.

Zadia, referred to as Santa Rosa City’s first upscale vertical community, is adorned with vertical greeneries called Green Walls, true to its green living testament. Residents can enjoy the benefits of its vast green spaces, modern amenities, and pedestrian-friendly roads.

To improve air and light circulation, a Skylight was developed in the building’s lobby while natural light through windows was strate-

gically placed in the long hallways of Zadia. This helps promote sustainable practice without being too dependent on light fixtures while saving cost on electricity.

“One thing that also stands out is the uniqueness of having Zadia’s amenities outside the building which is rare for residential developments, as amenities are usually inside the building. This shows the vast space that the development can offer to its residents in a bid to promote a healthy lifestyle among the homeowners,” concluded Matic.

The overall greenspired structure of Zadia contributed to the success of its first tower as homeowners now look for a sustainable home they can live in amidst challenging times. This has led to the topping off of its 2nd tower last year, as well as the recent launch of the 3rd tower—a testament of the increasing demand for Zadia’s condo units.

Sustainable and future ready

As Greenfield City continues to grow and build a lasting legacy, it stays true to its promise of creating vibrant, living communities for future generations by adopting sustainable concepts and innovative building techniques. Zadia and Trava are just two of Greenfield and Equus’ exciting developments that look toward the future. With its use of sustainable practices and adoption of eco-efficient designs, Greenfield City is poised to transform more areas into bustling communities that will coexist harmoniously with nature for future generations.

OUSE hunters seekers are now looking for residential projects offering technology and security that lean towards a better normal as the health crisis situation in the country improves, bared a study.

Compar ing d ata recorded from January to April 2020—the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when location was the top priority essential when acquiring properties in response to lockdown measures and mobility restrictions—to that in the same period this year with apparent recovery, Lamudi observed that preference for them grew, accounting for almost 20 percent of amenity searches.

They include WiFi, alarm system, broadband internet provision, secure parking, 24 -hour security, intercom, and CCTV. “It’s interesting to see the evolution of property seeker preferences throughout this pandemic.

In a way, the change ref lects how people are coping with the health crisis,” said Lamudi Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Stern.

He attributed this to the market’s adoption of “stay-at-home” lifestyle over the last two years, when teching up their homes became important for them to still do ever ything, whether work, learning or leisure at the comfort of their abode.

“Since we’re spending more time indoors, we want to have the peace of mind that we’re safe, our families and belongings are protected. These lived realities amid the pandemic gave rise to a stronger preference for tech and security amenities,” the CEO explained.

Comfort and relaxation features became the third of the amenity searches on Lamudi, including swimming pool, built-in wardrobe, air conditioning system, gym, balcony, ensuite, garden, and park.

Confined at home for long periods, breathing spaces or facilities have become one of the priorities of people to avoid stress and pressures brought by the pandemic, Stern said.

Tech-enabled, secure properties get attention post-pandemic Ultimate comfort at home with LG Multi Split

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t the height of the pandemic, location was emphasized as the top essential when buying properties in response to lockdown measures and mobility restrictions. Now, as the health crisis wanes, technology and security emerge as one of the most important priorities of property seekers aiming to create a better normal.

A move towards a techified home

He added that the heightened interest in tech and security amenities may be attributed to the stay-at-home lifestyle people have grown accustomed to over the last two years.

“We want our homes to be ‘techified’ to keep up with the demands of doing everything at home, from work and learning to leisure. Since we’re spending more time indoors, we want to have the peace of mind that we’re safe, our families and belongings are protected. These lived realities amid the pandemic gave rise to a stronger preference for tech and security amenities,” Stern explained.

Cooped up at home for long periods, people prioritize literal breathing spaces, facilities that can help them take a break from the stress and pressures brought by the pandemic, Stern said.

Interestingly, recent Lamudi data also shows that upscale condo rentals in popular central business districts flexed double-digit growth in leads.

In Makati, for instance, the leads for condo rentals priced between P60,000

and P100,000 surged by almost 90 percent from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, the largest spike out of all other price segments. In Taguig, the leads for condo rentals with a price range of P200,000 to P500,000 doubled in the same mentioned period.

According to Stern, the strong preference for tech and security amenities as well as the high demand for upscale residences both point to property seekers’ pursuit of a better normal home, one that would let them do more in their own space.

PHL real estate conference in partnership with tech leader

The new preferences of property seekers post-pandemic will be among the issues tackled at the upcoming The Outlook: Philippine Real Estate Conference by Lamudi. The event will be in partnership with KONE, a technology leader in innovative and eco-efficient

solutions for elevators and escalators.

“We’re excited to have KONE as our co-presenter in this momentous industry event. In the past year that we’ve partnered with them, we know how dedicated they are as a reliable partner throughout the life cycle of buildings.

They have a well-deserved reputation as a technology leader,” Stern said.

KONE came in as a co-presenter at the most opportune time as the industry is showing strong signs of recovery.

And with the onset of smart, sustainable buildings, KONE is excited to share its systems that can be integrated with today’s intelligent buildings—a step change toward future-proofing buildings.

For more than 110 years since its establishment, KONE has been fully committed to tech-driven innovations offering advanced people flow solutions. For one, they provide touchless technology through the KONE

Elevator Call, a cloud-based solution that allows the user to call the elevator with their smartphone—no need to touch elevator buttons. The KONE Elevator AirPurifier reduces pollutants, germs, and odors, improves air quality, and enhances the overall ride experience. Meanwhile, the KONE Handrail Sanitizer for escalators has a chemical-free UV-C cleaning solution using ultraviolet light to reduce germs from handrails.

Aside from touchless technology, KONE offers connectivity capabilities to its elevators. Their DX Class elevators are the world’s first digital elevator series with built-in connectivity.

Developers and building owners can now adapt and upgrade their elevator experience according to their needs now and in the future with additional software and services. Additionally, the KONE 24/7 Connected Services provides valuable information on upcoming maintenance needs and identifies any potential issues before it even happens. KONE is taking people flow solutions to a new level of digital experience with cloud-based service and artificial intelligence-based analytics to make smarter predictive maintenance decisions.

According to Stern, the advanced solutions KONE offers to real estate players meet the demands of property seekers looking for techified buildings in the post-pandemic era.

For partnership inquiries, contact joseph.dimayuga@lamudi.com.ph.

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ooking to build the perfect dream home or renovate a newly acquired house? Remember to keep multi-split HVAC solutions in mind as well. Multi-split home systems might seem like an extravagance for most, but it offers incredible features that add even more quality of life improvements for your ideal home. Aside from adding energy efficiency, it also offers less noise, space savings, and fuss-free maintenance.

One of the biggest benefits of using a multi-split system is that it saves valuable space. With regular split type air-conditioners, you’ll need a dedicated outdoor unit for each one. With a multi-split, all you’ll need is one.

Multiple indoor units are run from a single outdoor unit, making the use of space efficient. Along with the additional space, the multi-split won’t interfere with the design or aesthetic of your home. This flexible form factor makes the multi-split ideal for retrofit installations as well since the unit can fit neatly into any space without cumbersome ducts or extensive piping.

An often overlooked feature of air-conditioning systems is noise.

The impact of the noise that an outdoor unit makes is large. It can spell the difference between a good night’s sleep vs tossing and turning endlessly.

The multi-split for residential installations reduces noise emissions for a more peaceful and quieter environment. The secret is in its shaft-through hybrid scroll structure with bottom compression. LG’s own R1 Compressor

reduces noise emission by improving stability and limiting vibration during operation. The R1 Compressor is a new concept of scroll compressor that combines high-efficiency, low sound levels of the scroll, and the simple structure of the rotary compressor.

True to the company’s vision of a smart home, the LG multi-split lets users monitor and control their home HVAC systems with LG ThinQ connectivity for more convenient and efficient operation both in the house, or away from home. Furthermore, the design of the many LG indoor units makes maintenance service even more convenient for service technicians.

Technicians can also access valuable maintenance information about indoor and outdoor units to more accurately diagnose issues and reduce service times.

LG Philippines Managing Director Sungjae Kim discusses how the multisplit system the best HVAC solution for discerning clients. “Homeowners know what they need for their ideal home and LG understands what customers require to meet those needs.

The LG Multi Split provides customers with the optimal residential HVAC solution for ideal home comfort while making life more convenient for homeowners, designers, and HVAC engineers.”

Make your dream home a reality with LG Multi Split. Visit www.lg.com/ ph for more information. You can purchase LG air-conditioners from authorized dealers nationwide.

‘Chooks’ 3x3 right on course to qualifying for Paris 2024

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HOOKS-TO-GO’S successful hosting of the 2022 FIBA 3x3 World Tour Manila Masters last weekend not only brought glory to the company but also to the country.

The Philippines has risen to No. 18 in the world thanks to Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3’s continuous participation and hosting of International Basketball Federation (Fiba) 3x3 events, Gaining valuable FIBA 3x3 points is important in this crucial stretch as the cutoff for qualification for both the Paris 2024 Olympics and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) is 18 months away.

“We already know the formula for us to reach the OQT having done so during the last Olympic cycle,” Chooksto-Go president Ronald Mascariñas said. “Maintaining our rank will be relatively easy. The goal now is to turn our players into world-class athletes.”

“Hosting and participating bring in points but winning FIBA 3x3 tournaments will bring maximum points,” he added.

For the past two months, Chooksto-Go Pilipinas 3x3 teams have competed in three Super Quests which are level eight events.

The Philippines got 22,750 points in Dubai last March 31, 80,675 points for hosting and winning the Asia Pacific Super Quest last April 30 and 52,805 points for joining the Ulaanbaatar Super Quest last May 6 and 7.

Cuas lead assault in Kidapawan tilt

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NDRE CUA toppled last week’s champion Jose Palo in the quarterfinals then went on to bag the boys’ 16-under crown and complete a family affair as Dhea Cua kept the girls’ 14- and 16-under titles in the Palawan PawnshopPalawan Express Pera Padala (PSPEPP) President’s Cup national agegroup tennis tournament in Cotabato last Monday.

The unranked Andre Cua survived a three-setter against Jason Flores in the first round, eased past Celso Jimenez, 4-2, 4-1, in the next then wore down Palo via a 4-1, 4-5(2), 10-7 decision in the quarterfinals.

The local bet then routed Randy Pausanos, 6-3, -6-0, in the semifinals then capped his surprise romp in the Group 2 tournament with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Marco Montecillo at the Kidapawan courts.

Dhea Cua, on the other hand, reasserted her mastery of the 14-under field, dispatching Jannah Mamac for the second straight week, 6-0, 6-1.

She then stunned No. 2 Chelsea Bernaldez, 6-2, 3-6, 10-8, to snare the 16-U diadem and match her twotitle romp in Kabacan last week in the Mindanao swing of the country’s longest talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro.

The Cuas shared the Most Valuable Player honors and led the locals’ domination of the circuit, which resumes on Wednesday in Pigcawayan also in Cotabato. For details, contact event organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.

SIBLINGS Dhea (right) and Andre Cua pull off contrasting wins.

By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press

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ARIS—This French Open is the first Grand Slam tournament in a year with both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the field. And anyone who enjoys men’s tennis—or, indeed, sports—should be thrilled that those two titans of the game will face each other for a record 59th time.

Is it a shame Tuesday night’s match is “only” a quarterfinal, instead of something with more at stake?

Perhaps. Will that dissuade anyone from watching from afar or dull the atmosphere that’ll envelop Court Philippe Chatrier? Doubtful.

Could it decrease the intensity of each player’s performance? Not a chance.

“I’m ready for it,” Djokovic said.

“I hope to be able to give myself a chance to play at the highest level possible,” Nadal said, “and then let’s see.”

So then the question that Nadal will have on his mind—and we know so because he said so—and Djokovic might, too, is: How many more of these showdowns are there going to be?

First of all, Nadal turns 36 on Friday; Djokovic turned 35 on May 22, the first day of the French Open.

“I don’t know what can happen in the near future with my career,” Nadal said.

His body has been a big issue over the past 12 months. He missed the last half of last season, including Wimbledon and the US Open, because of chronic pain in his left foot that flared up again in recent weeks. After his 20-0 start to 2022, he missed three tournaments because of a rib injury.

“I can’t complain much,” Nadal said, noting that two and a half weeks ago he had no idea whether he’d make it this far.

“Being honest, every match that I play here, I don’t know if it’s going to be my last match here in Roland Garros.... That’s my situation now,” he said after edging 21-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets Sunday

NOVAK DJOKOVIC and and Rafael Nadal have played each other more frequently than any other pair of men in the half-centuryplus of professional tennis. AP

Sports

FAJARDO

BusinessMirror

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Philippine Cup title in June Mar’s mind

| Wednesday, June 1, 2022

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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DJOKO-NADAL 59:

IS THIS THE FINALE? night. “That’s why I am just trying to enjoy as much as possible.”

Auger-Aliassime said Nadal did not appear to be hampered or slowed at all during their fourthround thriller, which lasted nearly four and a half hours, almost twice as long as Djokovic’s straight-set win Sunday over 15th-seeded Diego Schwartzman.

Djokovic hasn’t dropped a set through four matches.

“He’s Novak,” Schwartzman said, “and if you are not 100 percent... obviously, the result is like this.”

As for Djokovic, his decision to not get vaccinated against Covid-19 prevented him from participating at the Australian Open and, while he’s been assured that won’t be a problem

at Wimbledon when it starts June 27, his status for the US Open is uncertain at the moment.

Whether statistics, aesthetics or any other measures is applied, both are among the greatest there’s ever been.

About that there can be no debate.

Both have won every Grand Slam tournament at least twice. Nadal owns a men’s-record 21 Slam titles, a number he reached with a tiebreaking triumph at the Australian Open in January. Djokovic, like Roger Federer, is one behind.

Djokovic has all sorts of other bona fides, including more weeks spent at No. 1 in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings than anyone else and the only man with at least two trophies from every Masters event. He also leads both Federer and Nadal head to head.

Djokovic and Nadal have played each other more frequently than any other pair of men in the halfcentury-plus of professional tennis.

Djokovic leads 30-28 overall; Nadal leads 19-8 on clay, including 7-2 at Roland Garros. Nadal is 109-3 at the French Open, with a record 13

championships, and two of those three losses came against Djokovic, including in the semifinals a year ago en route to the title.

“Playing him in Roland Garros is always a physical battle,” Djokovic said, “along with everything else.”

This one is such a big deal that it was scheduled for the night session, even though Nadal made it clear he prefers playing daytime matches on clay, and it’s been made available for free to everyone in France via a streaming service under a special arrangement.

Whoever wins will take on thirdseeded Alexander Zverev or sixthseeded Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.

The other men›s quarterfinals are No. 7 Andrey Rublev vs. No. 20 Marin Cilic, and No. 8 Casper Ruud vs. unseeded Holger Rune.

Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spaniard considered the Next Big Thing in men’s tennis, knows a significant match when he sees one coming.

“If I can,” Alcaraz said about Djokovic vs. Nadal, “I will watch it.”

By Josef Ramos

UNE MAR FAJARDO’S not on the list of Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidates for the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) 47th season, a rarity in the league for someone who’s won the most prestigious individual trophy for six straight seasons.

But that’s farthest—or absent— from Fajardo’s mind. He wants his team, San Miguel Beer, to bring back its domination of the Philippine Cup, the league’s all-Filipino conference.

“The MVP’s not my concern anymore and my focus is to help my team win the championship,” the 6-foot-11 Fajardo told BusinessMirror on Tuesday.

Fajardo wasn’t a hundred percent in the past two seasons—both plagued by the pandemic—no thanks to a broken tibia in his right leg that kept him in and out of rehabilitation. Now, he says he’s in the pink of health.

“After playing in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, my condition is getting better,” Fajardo, 32, said. “I feel very well and I can move since coming back from a leg injury for almost a year and a half.”

He was outstanding in Hanoi where he averaged 15.1 points in six games— although the country failed to defend the gold medal against Indonesia.

“I just have to keep my focus to each game in the Philippine Cup,” said Fajardo, who churned in 14.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 12 games in the import-laced Governors’ Cup. His head coach Leo Austria said that he’s excited to see his center back in top form.

“I’m very excited to see the old dominant June Mar Fajardo. He will definitely be a big help to our campaign in the Philippine Cup,” Austria said. “I have been monitoring him during the SEA Games and he progressed well..”

The Philippine Cup opens on Sunday with San Miguel Beer playing Phoenix Super LPG at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen were Philippine Cup champions five time from 2015 to 2019.

HANOI DONE, CAMBODIA SEAG NEXT–TOLENTINO LADY EAGLES WIN

The defending champion Ateneo Lady Eagles post a 25-20, 25-20, 25-20 victory to snap the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses’ four-game winning streak in University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 84 women’s volleyball action at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Rebisco brass praise volleyball teams’ performance in Vietnam

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WO bronze medals in beach volleyball and a tough, fighting and promising stand put up in volleyball and Rebisco stood firm to continuing its relentless support to the sport.

“Let’s look forward to more volleyball, more victories and more participation in Southeast Asian, Asian and world stages in the years to come,” Rebisco Group Vice Chairman Jonathan Ng told members of the national team—athletes and officials—who saw action in the Vietnam 31st Southeast Asian during a recent thanksgiving party at the Joy Nostalg Hotel and Suites in Mandaluyong City.

The beach volleyball duos of Bernadeth Pons-Sisi Rondina and Jovelyn Gonzaga-Dij Rodriguez in the women’s class and Jude Garcia-Krung Arbasto and Jaron Requinton-Ranran

Must-watch matches up WHEN Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic duke it out today (Wednesday), it would seem like this is the French Open Finals already.

As the heavily favored bets to clinch clay court’s premier

Abdilla in the men’s contest retained their SEA Games bronze medal the country first bagged in the 30th SEA Games in Subic in 2019.

Although the men and women volleyball squads missed the podium in Vietnam, the athletes displayed potential to improve further amid difficulties in training and preparation because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

Ng said the campaign yields positive goals and that Rebisco’s thankful to the athletes and officials for putting up a fight in the SEA Games.

“There is definitely much to be grateful for—the great health and well-being of our national team members, our volleyball community and especially the two bronze medals garnered in this year’s SEA Games by both the men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams,” Ng said.

trophy, their encounter is the tournament’s most awaited and should draw a championship-like crowd at Roland Garros.

Spain’s Nadal, 35, is aching to face Djokovic, 34, if only to avenge his semifinal loss here last year to the No. 1-ranked Serbian. That was only Nadal’s third defeat on the way to winning 13 French Open titles since his crownclinching 2005 debut.

But Djokovic himself appears razor-sharp as he has not dropped a set in his first four rounds going into today’s quarterfinal duel with Nadal.

In contrast, Nadal, barely recovered from a chronic foot injury, had to shake off some rust in surviving a five-set, four-and-a-half-hour clash with Canada’s youthful Felix Auger-Aliassime, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, on Monday.

It marked only the third time in Nadal’s 17-year, 112-match career in Paris that Nadal was forced into a five-setter.

“I can’t complain much,” Nadal said. “Two weeks ago, I did n’t know if I would be able to be here.”

And today, he’s facing his main nemesis in Djokovic,

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HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is looking at the next stop: Cambodia—now that all things written and said about the country’s “very successful” participation in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi are starting to wane.

It’s almost exactly a year from now when the nation of just over 17 million people hosts the 32nd edition of the SEA Games for the first time, and with no realistic shot at the overall title, POC President Rap. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino sees a wide-open race.

“It’s anybody’s ballgame,” Tolentino told Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

“With due respect to Cambodia, of course,” added Tolentino, who vowed to send a full contingent to the next SEA Games, which comes 12 months after the Hanoi edition that was rescheduled from 2021 due to the pandemic.

The Philippines is coming off a fourth-place finish in Hanoi with

its 52 gold, 70 silver and 104 bronze medals, which is actually its biggest medal haul in the last 11 editions when it was not the host.

“We are proud of our athletes. Thank you, athletes. It was very successful,” said Tolentino barely eight days after the Hanoi Games, where Filipino gymnastics world champion Caloy Yulo won five gold medals, came to a close.

Again, Team Philippines will shoot for a podium finish or something better than that in Hanoi where the Philippines won 70 silvers, 40 of them in subjective sports and 27 of them against Vietnamese athletes.

“We have to accept reality that they [Vietnamese] were the host,” added Tolentino in the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Milo, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Amelie Hotel Manila, Unilever and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Tolentino said that Cambodia will

present the final list of events next month and from there, the national sports associations (NSAs) in coordination with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will plan ahead.

Proper training, overseas or on home soil, and under foreign coaches should be on top of the agenda as Team Philippines prepares to challenge Vietnam, Thailand and the host country.

The incoming administration, and perhaps a new set of officers in the government sports agency, should also play a key role preparing the athletes for the next SEA Games, a tune-up for the Asian Games, which will be held next year after its postponement this year.

“Our athletes can now train longer,” added Tolentino, who lauded the Filipino athletes for performing well in Hanoi despite limited time to train and in the absence of foreign exposure.

“We’ll join all events in Cambodia.

We’re just waiting for the final list of events,” he said.

MEMBERS of the national volleyball teams celebrate with Rebisco Group Deputy Finance and of Field Sales head Liz Co, ARC Director Rollie Delfino, Rebisco Group Vice Chairman Jonathan Ng and daughter Jamie and niece Ania Ng and Philippine National Volleyball Federation director Charo Soriano

describing the match as maybe his last in Paris.

“To be honest, I don’t know if it’s going to be my last match…I went through a tough process with my foot…I don’t know what can happen with my career,” Nadal said.

Meanwhile, Game One of the NBA National Basketball Association Finals is to be played on Friday between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. Another must-watch.

With a much-deeper bench anchored on the Splash Brothers Steph Curry and back-in-form Klay Thompson, the Warriors are hard to beat. Their main back up of Green, Poole, Wiggins and Looney are simply too massive to match up.

Sure, the Celtics carry a deadly frontline in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. But save for Al Horford, the supporting cast lack the knockout punch needed to grab the championship.

Boston being not really a total package showed in the way it survived Miami, prevailing only after seven difficult games—its 100-96 Eastern Conference clincher on Monday

secured against an undermanned Heat led practically by a lone ranger in Jimmy Butler. Butler banged home 35 points but he missed the go-ahead three with 16.6 seconds left.

“My teammates like the shot that I took, so I’m living with it,” Butler said.

Boston will immediately be thrust into tough territory as Game One is set in San Francisco’s home court.

That’s like being led to the slaughterhouse.

THAT’S IT Birthday greetings (Thursday) to Coach Dayong, one of head coach Leo Austria’s six assistants at San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Basketball Association. Wishing him well are his dearest Mayo, Dada and Migel. Shang’s hugs matter much, of course. Of equal warmth-laden greeting would come from Dayong’s Nanay Soly, lone sister Malaya, bayaw Ricky and pamangkings MayaSoh and Ilak. Half a century is a milestone to achieve, indeed. From this humble dude, happy birthday, Coach Dayong. May God be with you, always.