BusinessMirror June 15, 2020

‘Demand for IT-BPO workers to recover in ’20’

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

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IN celebration of World Blood Donors Day, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) employees donate blood during a bloodletting ceremony held at the MMDA gymnasium in Makati City. The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) had recently alerted the public to the need to beef up the country’s blood supply during the pandemic, and aired a call for donors. ROY DOMINGO

EMAND for workers in the information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry is expected to recover this year as more countries relocate their operations to the Philippines because of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

This developed amid reports that hundreds of workers of the industry were placed on “floating” status or under a “no work, no pay” (NWNP) scheme as the Covid-19 crisis disrupted the operations of the IT-BPO industry in the last three months.

During the weekend, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it was informed by the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) of the improving

job prospects for the IT-BPO workers.

New prospects

IN a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III disclosed there are now countries eyeing Clark, Cebu, and Metro Manila as possible locations for their offshore operations.

“We received information that some big companies have already given notice for their requirements, one of which needs at least 4,000 seats to be filled up before September,” said Bello, referring to Optum Global Solutions.

Ibpap President and Chief Executive Officer Rey Untal said the new development will allow IT-BPO firms to hire more workers despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aside from Optum, there were other ITBPO firms seeking DOLE’s help to reach out to potential applicants, according to Labor Assistant Secretary officer-in-

charge Dominique R. Tutay.

“We are still checking the details [of the vacancies]...some, based on our discussions with them, have new accounts that they need to fill,” Tutay told BusinessMirror in a Viber message.

She noted that said companies have yet to release their available vacancies.

Disruptive impact

DOLE met with Ibpap in response to the online survey of the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN), which showed 4 in every 10 BPO workers were placed on floating or NWNP status.

In a Viber message, BIEN President Mylene Cabalona told BusinessMirror hundreds of IT-BPO workers, who were providing outsourced services in industries that were severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis, are now on floating status.

See “IT-BPO,” A2

JAN-APRIL NG SUBSIDIES

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n Monday, June 15, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 250

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages |

TO STATE FIRMS UP 4-FOLD

SEATS are rearranged, tables retrofitted with dividers, and distances between tables measured to comply with physical distancing rules, as restaurants prepare for Monday’s reopening for dine-in customers, in Quezon City (left) and Taguig City (right). Only one person per table will be allowed, with total seating capacity limited to 30 percent. NONOY LACZA/NONIE REYES

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

UBSIDIES extended by the national government to state-owned firms for the first four months of the year quadrupled to P70.570 billion from P14.419 billion in the same period in 2019, with state-run pension fund Social Security System accounting for more than a third of the total.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed a 389.4 percent year-on-year jump in subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) as of endApril this year compared to last year.

Of the total subsidies as of endApril this year, 59.26 percent or P41.821 billion went to major nonfinancial government corporations while 40.74 percent or P28.749 billion was distributed to other gov-

ernment corporations.

The SSS received the biggest chunk of subsidies, with P25.5 billion as of end-April.

It was one of the vital conduits of government aid during the Covid-19 pandemic, having been tapped to provide to qualified members two tranches of the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) of the Department of Finance, a government response to help sectors impacted by pandemic-forced lockdowns.

Getting the next biggest subsidy for the period was National Irrigation Administration (NIA), a major nonfinancial government corporation, with P13.577 billion; followed by Light Rail Transit Authority (P11.141 billion), National Electrification Administration (P11.015 billion) and National Food Authority (P5.8 billion).

The national government gives subsidies to GOCCs either to cover operations that are not supported by corporate revenues or fund specific programs or projects.

Among those that received more than P100 million in subsidies were Small Business Corp. (P500 million), Philippine Heart Center (P472 million), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (P342 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P324 million), Philippine Rice Research Institute (P323 million), National Kidney Transplant Institute (P300 million), National Housing Authority (P288 million), Lung Center of the Philippines (P198 million), Philippine Institute for Development Studies (P135 million), Philippine Coconut Authority (P104 million) and Cultural Center of the Philippines (P104 million).

Continued on A2

Millennials, Gen-X’ers ready to travel soon

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

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HERESA P. and her family were supposed to travel to Osaka this last Holy Week.

Covid-19 changed all that, of course.

Like many Filipino travelers, Theresa and her family members found themselves canceling their airline and hotel bookings, as soon as the Luzon-wide lockdown

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

was announced. While the Undas weekend is also a possible period to travel, she felt it was still too soon to herd everyone off for a vacation, even just to a local destination.

“Then I saw [airline’s name] offer its piso fares,” she says. “A trip to Boracay Island next Holy Week seems to be a good idea.” After keying in the travel period, she saw the roundtrip airfare come to less than P4,000. Theresa says her family now is definitely considering the trip.

Theresa’s sentiments echoes the results of recent survey, which indicated the imminent recovery of the leisure travel sector, with respondents showing a strong desire for travel in 12 months, even without a Covid-19 vaccine.

The survey showed 29 percent of the respondents want to travel within one to three months, after travel restrictions are lifted, while 61 percent said they were looking at a time frame of six to 12 months.

“[Of] 7,515 respondents, 74 percent indicated that their first trip would be leisure oriented. Overall, domestic travelers’s preferences for their travel have not changed post Covid-19. Travelers still prefer to book directly with hotels and airlines, and prefer full -service 3- and 4-star hotels. Their average budget per day per person is P1,000 to P3,000 including accommodations, transportation and tours.”

Continued on A4

AMLC, GLOBAL LABOR UNION JOIN PROS, ANTIS ON TERROR BILL

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AILURE to pass the controversial Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB) will put the Philippines in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) gray list, which would, in turn, echo negative effects on certain sectors in the economy, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said, as an international labor group joined the ranks of those objecting to it.

Over the weekend, the AMLC issued a statement, saying the highly controversial anti-terrorism bill has direct effects on the local economy due to its provisions to curb financial terrorism. The provisions on financial terrorism were in adherence to the international standards set by FATF. “If any or all of the proposed amendments are not passed and not implemented within the observation period, the country will be included in the FATF gray list, which will publicly identify the Philippines as a risk to the international financial system for having strategic deficiencies in its AML/CTF framework,” AMLC said.

“The pandemic is already adversely affecting our economy.

It would be prudent to mitigate

other risks and avoid problems gray-listing would further bring to our economy,” AMLC added.

The FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded to develop and promote policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation financing of weapons of mass destruction.

Inadequacies AMLC said FATF’s recent evaluations of the Philippines pointed to inadequacies in local laws on implementing United Nations Security Council Resolutions recommendations, particularly in the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) system.

The Philippines was then placed under a 12-month observation period by the FATF in October 2019, following the country’s evaluation. However, in view of the general pause in the review process due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, this 12-month observation period will now end in February 2021, instead of October 2020.

Continued on A2

US 49.9540 n JAPAN 0.4665 n UK 63.6864 n HK 6.4458 n CHINA 7.0733 n SINGAPORE 36.1279 n AUSTRALIA 34.9378 n EU 56.8377 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3157

Source: BSP (11 June 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, June 15, 2020

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PITC holds issuance of notice of award in G2G rice purchase

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HE Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) has held in abeyance the issuance of notice of award to prospective rice suppliers to the country pending the availability of funds from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

In a recent advisory, the PITC, an attached corporation of the Department of Trade and Industry, said the notice of award to winning bidders “will be held in abeyance pending the release of the budget.”

The government has allocated a P7.45-billion fund for the PITC’s 300,000-metric ton (MT) rice importation via a government-to-

government transaction to boost the country’s staple stocks during the lean months.

The PITC held the bidding for the rice imports last week via Zoom with the governments of India, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar participating in the tender.

“The Notice of Award will be held in abeyance pending the re-

lease of the budget. The contract of award shall be subject to availability of funds from the Department of Budget and Management of the Philippines,” PITC Vice President Mark Bryan A. Dela Cruz said in the advisory dated June 11.

“The submission of bids shall not be construed as a commitment to purchase on the part of PITC and shall not be bound to award contract to any entity based on bids received,” Dela Cruz added.

The PITC has also published the results of its evaluation of bids submitted by the four Asian governments.

The PITC document showed that only 105,000 MT out of the 300,000-MT target importation had qualified bids.

Only three lots - Manila, Cebu and Davao - had ranking bids, with the remaining lots of Tacloban and Zamboanga having no successful bids.

For the Manila lot, Myanmar, represented by the Myanmar Rice

Federation, was ranked 1 for its bid of P24,415.53 per MT for the supply of 33,000 MT. The PITC has allocated a total volume of 168,000 M for the Manila lot.

Myanmar also had the lowest bid for the Cebu lot at P24,665.05 per MT. Myanmar offered to supply the whole Cebu lot which has a total volume of 42,000 MT. Vietnam, represented by VinaFood 1, was ranked 1 in the Davao lot for its bid offer of P24,817.26 MT. Vietnam only offered to supply 30,000 MT of the 45,000 MT volume allocated for the Davao lot.

The PITC document indicated that Thailand’s bid for Manila was considered failed based on its evaluation. Likewise, Vietnam’s bids for the lots of Cebu, Tacloban and Zamboanga were considered failed.

The bids by India—represented by the National Agricultural Cooperative marketing Federation of India Ltd—for the lots of Cebu, Tacloban,

Zamboanga, and Davao also failed, based on the PITC document.

The PITC had earlier set the approved budget for the contract (ABC) at P24,833.33 per MT of 25 percent brokens, well-milled long grain white rice.

“This ranking is the result of the bids received and the documents submitted. The ranking here should not be considered as an Award of a Contract. Bidders will be notified accordingly,” the PITC said.

“These findings shall not be construed as a commitment to purchase on the part of PITC,” it added.

Under the PITC’s terms of reference, the Notice of Award shall be issued to the prospective supplier within three days from bid opening, unless otherwise advised by PITC in writing through an amendatory bulletin. Afterward, the PITC shall issue the supply contract and the notice to proceed to the foreign supplier. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

‘VISIT CHURCHES DESPITE CURBS ON HOLY MASS’ E

VEN if large congregations for holy mass remain banned in Metro Manila, Manila Archdiocese Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo urged the faithful to visit the churches to pray.

“Our churches are now open as quarantine rules are eased. Let us make it our habit to visit the churches and pray at the Sacred Sacrament,” Pabillo said during his homily at the Radyo Veritas office in Quezon City on Sunday.

The prelate issued the reminder especially for the faithful in the National Capital Region (NCR), where the physical celebration of masses have been suspended for three months due to the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

During the suspension, the faithful re-

lied on either online or television to beam the celebration of masses to households.

Pabillo noted, however, that such masses could never replace the traditional physical masses, which include Holy Communion.

“The Eucharist is so important for us and we have been deprived of that for the past three months or exactly 90 days today. We need the Eucharist to sustain us in our journey,” Pabillo said.

Limit removal

PABILLO was among the religious leaders who have been egging the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to remove the maximum 10-person rule for religious gatherings in areas under general

community quarantine (GCQ), which includes NCR. The church official questioned the decision of the IATF to impose such an arbitrary rule for religious gatherings, ignoring the fact that many churches are big structures that can hold hundreds. No such arbitrary cap was placed on people gathering in malls, except that people should always observe the one-meter distancing from each other. Offices allowed to reopen were given a 50-percent limit in the number of workers actually onsite at one time.

“It is not fair for them to limit our attendance in the GCQ to only 10 persons in respecting of the sizes of our churches.

Where is the scientific basis for limiting

us to 10 persons only? How come when people were allowed to work in the offices, they do not put a limit of only 10 people in the offices?” Pabillo said.

President Duterte is set to decide on whether to enhance, retain, or relax the community quarantine classification of NCR and other parts of the country on Monday.

This could determine if more people will be allowed in religious gatherings in NCR. Currently, the IATF has only allowed religious gatherings in areas under modified GCQ to have a maximum number of participants equivalent to 50 percent of the seating capacity of the venues for the said activities. Samuel P. Medenilla

AMLC, GLOBAL LABOR UNION JOIN IT-BPO… PROS, ANTIS ON TERROR BILL Continued from A1

Continued from A1

Under this 12-month observation period, the Philippines must address the recommended actions to avoid being included in the international ogranization’s grey list. Jurisdictions in the grey list are subject to increased monitoring due to strategic differences. ““Consequently, the Philippines’ inclusion in the gray list will result to an additional layer of scrutiny from regulators and financial institutions, thereby increasing the cost of doing business; delaying the processing of transactions; and blocking the country’s road to an ‘A’ credit rating,” AMLC said.

According to FATF’s data, 18 countries are currently on their grey list. These are Albania, The Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Iceland, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

“This observation period is the last opportunity for the Philippine competent authorities to address identified deficiencies in the mutual evaluation report [MER] to avoid gray-listing,” AMLC said.

“But it is not enough to just pass these amendments into law, since the Philippines is being assessed both on technical and effectiveness compliance. The country must also demonstrate effective

implementation of these amendments before the observation period ends in February 2021.”

“With the early passage of the ATA [Anti-Terrorism Act], the Philippines will be given a very good opportunity to implement the same and demonstrate progress in fulfilling our international commitments. So we hope that the same attention and commitment would be given to amendments to the AMLA, as amended, so that the country may finally avoid inclusion in the FATF gray list,” AMLC further said.

The FATF recommendations, according to AMLC, include provisions on the designation of terrorist individuals and groups, implementation of financial sanctions, evidentiary standards of “probable cause” when making designations; and criminality provisions for foreign terrorist fighters and the financing of the travel of terrorists.

As such, AMLC said the following sections are non-negotiables to the bill, which means that they should be passed as is for the Philippines to avoid being included in FATF’s grey list: (1) Sec. 3(b) on the definition of a designated person; (2) Sec. 11 (a, b, and c) on the unlawful acts of foreign terrorists; (3) Sec. 25 on the designation of terrorist individuals, groups of persons, organizations, or associations; (4)

Sec. 34 on the AMLC’s authority to investigate, inquire into, and examine bank deposits; (5) Sec. 35 on the AMLC’s authority to freeze; (6) Sec. 37 on safe harbor for any person acting on good faith when implementing targeted financial sanctions; and (7) Sec. 45(i) on the function of the Anti-Terrorism Council to take action on relevant resolutions.

Labor, human rights

THE government’s fight against terrorism need not negate protecting trade union and human rights.

This was the statement of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) as it joined the growing condemnation of the ATA of 2020, which is now with President Duterte for his signature.

Last Friday, ITUC Secretary General Sharan Burrow and ITUC-Asia Pacific head Shoya Yoshida sent a letter to Duterte urging him to veto the measure.

Both labor leaders were “extremely concerned” that the measure could “shrink and stifle civic space and rights at work placing workers, trade union activists, and other human rights actors and defenders.”

They noted this is contrary to the provision of international law as well as the International Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and the UN Interna-

tional Conventions on Civil and Political Rights (UN ICCPR).

They particularly cited the broadened definition of terrorism, which includes any damage to public facility, private property, and infrastructure; criminalization of expression of support to alleged terrorists; transfer of suspected terrorists to a foreign nation without court approval; denying a suspected terrorist from a warrant-based arrest; and the removal of compensation for people, who were wrongfully charged as terrorists.

“Mr. President, we have mentioned a few of these illegal and unreasonable anti-terror provisions in the Bills (Senate Bill 1083 and House Bill 6875) which violate international standards,” Burrow and Yoshida said.

“You have an obligation to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to organize, in law and practice, under the atmosphere of respect for human rights and civil liberties,” they added.

ITUC represents 200 million workers from 163 countries and territories. Its local affiliates groups include the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

With a report by Samuel P. Medenilla

“There are so many [workers] who are under floating [status]. There are approximately 450 [workers] from an airline account, who became floating. Less than a hundred of them were given a new account,” said Cabalona.

“There were also 600 in the hotel and accommodation account, who were also placed under the same status and another 300 in telecommunication accounts,” she added.

Tutay explained that workers under “floating” status could be classified among those placed under flexible work arrangement (FWA) since they are yet to be retrenched by their employers.

As of May 15, 2020, DOLE reported that 897,744 workers ere placed under FWA arrangement this year amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Of the said FWA workers, Tutay said IT-BPO workers fall under the administrative and support service activities (238,522); and information and communications (15,058).

Proper closure

UNTAL said the IT-BPO industry will continue to hire new workers even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ibpap is one of the key employment generators in the country since its more than 300 members employ over 1.3 million employees.

Cabalona said they welcomed Ibpap’s commitment, but she noted they hope the said companies will prioritize providing employment to those under floating or NWNP status.

“If they are no longer needed [by their employer], why not redundate them so they could be properly compensated so they could move on and apply [with] other companies,” Cabalona said.

The “floating” workers are unable to apply for the new vacancies since they are still stuck with their current companies.

Currently, she lamented that only a few of those under floating or NWNP status were able to return to work even if the government already relaxed the community quarantine nationwide.

PCCI reiterates call for relief to borrowers

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HE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest umbrella of business organizations in the country, is reiterating its call for banks and other financing institutions to grant temporary but indispensable relief to borrowers hardest hit by the pandemic through voluntary and negotiated loan term extension or restructuring.

Commending the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) support for the chamber’s proposal, PCCI President Benedicto V. Yujuico urged the BSP to incentivize lenders to adopt the approach of deferring or restructuring loans principal repayments for individual and corporate borrowers already heavily burdened by the effects of the prolonged community quarantines upon mutually acceptable and reasonable terms and conditions.

Rather than making loan deferments or restructuring prescriptive and mandatory, Yujuico called on the BSP to consider the grant of regulatory relief measures such as the relaxation of rules on loan loss provisioning and staggered booking of loan loss provisions as proposed in House Bill No. 6815, the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (ARISE) bill.

Yujuico said, “The key to obtaining relief for our members is for the BSP to encourage and help banks to be able to support the businesses and industries hardest hit by the pandemic.”

Reiterating the PCCI and the entire business community’s support to the ARISE’s provision to extend loan terms for a period of one to two years, Yujuico urged the banking sector to provide businesses more breathing room to help support trade and industry survive the pandemic.

“We are calling on the banks to review their guidelines with a request to align with the ARISE to allow longer payment extensions so that they can respond appropriately to the big negative impact of the pandemic on many borrowers,” Yujuico said.

Stressing that these are the same companies providing a steady stream of revenue during the good times, Yujuico appealed to the banks and other financing institutions to help revive businesses and get the Philippine economy to move forward.

During the lockdown, many member companies of the PCCI were unable to generate enough revenues to service their debts to banks. The willingness of bank to restructure loan, Yujuico said, will breathe life back into businesses and preserve employment.

JAN-APRIL NG SUBSIDIES TO STATE FIRMS UP 4-FOLD Continued from A1

Notably, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was not included among the list of GOCCs that have already received subsidies as of end-April.

However, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters that PhilHealth received just this June its first subsidy for this year worth around P27 billion.

6-fold April releases

MEANWHILE, the government released P34.416 billion in April this year, growing six-fold from P5.115 billion in the same month in 2019.

The amount of subsidies in April this year was also the highest since March 2018 when P35.240 billion was released by the government to GOCCs. Of the total April subsidy this year, 76.42 percent or P26.299 billion went to other government corporations while the remaining 23.58 percent or P8.117 billion was disbursed to major nonfinancial government corporations.

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Wage subsidies released to workers in small businesses hit P44B–DOF

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

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HE government has so far released P44 billion in wage subsidies to workers of small businesses to cushion the financial impact of state’s measures addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement over the weekend, the Department of Finance (DOF) said payouts are already at more than 97 percent completion for the two tranches of Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program.

Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said the implementing agencies were able to accurately target intended beneficiaries and quickly distribute the subsidies to millions of employees with zero faceto-face contact because the government’s SBWS program took advantage of available technologies, cloud computing and electronic databases of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

“As of June 11, around a month after the application deadline, payouts for both tranches of the program are at a combined 97.4-percent completion rate. For the first tranche, 3.05 million, or 98.8 percent of the 3.09 million qualified beneficiaries, have their SBWS ready for withdrawal from their bank or PayMaya accounts or for pick up from MLhuillier Kwarta Padala outlets,” Lambino said.

But he said the remaining employees—around 40,000—are awaiting confirmation requiring correction of their bank account numbers or cellphone numbers (for those who chose to receive their subsidy through PayMaya or MLhuillier).

“For the second tranche, 2.96 million, or 97.4 percent of beneficiaries, have their SBWS ready for withdrawal or pickup,” he said.

“This means that more than P44 billion-worth of subsidies for two months have been credited directly to the SBWS program’s intended beneficiaries in less than two months. What

has allowed the government to quickly distribute the aid relatively smoothly was the use of automated processing and digital technologies in running the program,” he added.

Under the P51-billion SBWS program, each qualified worker is entitled to receive P5,000 to P8,000 monthly for two months.

Sought to clarify what happened to the remaining P7 billion, Lambino told the BusinessMirror that payouts are still ongoing for those who needed to correct their account information and other beneficiary details as well as those who may avail of the grievance procedure.

“We have also been following up for a few weeks now for confirmation on a few thousand payouts from a handful of banks under the PESONet system; will update again when the payout process is completed,” he said in a message.

Jointly implemented by the DOF, BIR and SSS, the program supports qualified employees of small businesses who did not get paid for at least two months due to the work stoppages resulting from the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and other containment measures imposed by the national and local governments since mid-March to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The wage subsidies are either credited directly to the beneficiaries’ chosen banks or PayMaya e-wallet accounts or sent through cash remittance via MLhuillier Kwarta Padala.

The SBWS inter-agency task force is chaired by the DOF, represented by Lambino, and with SSS President-CEO Aurora Ignacio and BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa as members.

This SBWS program is among a set of initiatives that comprise the largest social protection program in the history of the Philippines that the Duterte administration has rolled out in support of poor and low-income families, workers of small businesses, and other vulnerable sectors hardest hit by the economic fallout of the ECQ.

Congress urged to give incentives to cyclists

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EP. Ronnie Ong of Ang Probinsyano party-list is proposing to Congress to grant incentives to people who use bicycles in their daily commute to their workplace.

Ong said that apart from the provision of protected bicycle lanes for cyclists, the proposed Bicycle Law should also include giving incentives in the form of tax perks, extra pay credits or food vouchers for people who use bicycles in their daily commute to their workplace.

He said by “incentivizing” the use of bicycles, the government may be able to convert people to continue using these nonmotorized vehicles in their daily commute even after the pandemic is over “and life as we know it is back to full normalcy.”

Ong said that creating a cycling culture in the Philippines can provide a long-term solution to the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized areas that cost the government an estimated P3.5 billion in economic losses per day.

This would also reduce government expense on health care, repair and maintenance, and pollution control.

“Providing incentives for people who bike-to-work is a small price to pay for [the] immeasurable benefits.

This would translate to billions of economic opportunities and billions of savings on capital expenditures.

More importantly, we are investing for the future of the next generation and the future of our planet. Maybe the coronavirus was nature’s way of reminding us that we have to protect our environment,” Ong said.

According to Ong, incentivizing people who “bike-to-work” has been in effect in many modern economies especially in Europe and the government could adopt the scheme of The Netherlands that pays their citizens $0.22 (about P11) for every kilometer they cycled, tax free.

In the United Kingdom, employees are given lease-to-own options when buying a bike and a “mileage allowance” is also given to British cyclists who use their bikes for business purposes, of around $0.26 per mile (equivalent to P13).

“Of course these are rich countries so we could instead provide incentives in the form of food vouchers, which can only be used to buy food commodities,” Ong said adding that many countries are now providing incentives for biketo-work people because they recognize the immense positive effects of cycling on their environment and their economy. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, June 15, 2020 A3

DHSUD eases rules to boost real-estate sector’s recovery

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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HE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has extended the compliance timeline for developers and will be issuing temporary licenses to sell (LTS) to jump-start the recovery of the real-estate sector.

In a webinar over the weekend, DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said the compliance timeline was extended by six months to one year to make up for the delays caused by the lockdown.

Del Rosario also said the DHSUD will soon release guidelines on the issuance of temporary LTS to enable real-estate brokers and agents to resume their work after a threemonth hiatus.

“The key is to trigger housing construction. If we have housing construction nationwide, we trigger the supply chain to move also.

And imagine the employment that it would generate with about 2 to 3 million workers, including our brokers and sales agents,” del Rosario said.

Under the extension of the project completion timeline, del Rosario said, developers only need to write to the DHSUD that they cannot comply to the timeline due to the

pandemic and the agency will give them an extension.

The extension of the completion timeline is important, del Rosario said, because developers can be fined if they do not meet their deadline as stipulated in their contracts.

He added that this measure is accompanied by efforts of the agency to fast-track the permitting process for developers.

Del Rosario said the DHSUD now encourages online processing of documents and submissions as well as removed redundant requirements to help developers to continue their work immediately.

“The waiting period is consuming so much of their resources. And the longer they construct or complete their projects, housing projects, the longer that they will pay interest rates to the commercial banks,” del Rosario said.

Del Rosario added that the DHSUD is about to complete the guideline needed for the agency to issue temporary LTS. This will be done through an upcoming department order.

He said the DHSUD wants to champion ease of doing business by being strict when it comes to the maximum 20-day period before LTS are issued.

The country’s housing czar said that with this, the DHSUD and its regional offices will no longer accept incomplete submissions from developers.

This will allow the agency to meet the 10-day requirement to process applications at the local level and another 10-day processing at the national level of submissions.

“On the 21st day, it [application for LTS] becomes approved already.

But I have directed also my regional offices not to get or receive documents which are not complete,” del Rosario said.

Worst crisis

DEL ROSARIO said the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is the worst crisis to have hit the local housing sector.

He said the pandemic has affected 2 million to 3 million workers including construction workers and real-estate brokers and sales agents.

The agency reiterated that as a result of the moratorium it granted on all housing payments to its Key Shelter Agencies (KSAs), the government lost as much as P31 billion.

This is on top of the P10-billion stimulus extended by Pag-IBIG Fund to developers to help them during the three-month lockdown.

However, in so doing, del Rosario said 5.5 million Filipinos benefitted from the moratorium. He added these Filipinos need not worry that their payments to KSAs will automatically be collected after June 15.

Del Rosario said the payment for the three-month moratorium granted to them will be payable after their amortization period. This meant that if their Pag-IBIG loan is payable in 10 years, three months will be added to the end of the period.

Earlier, del Rosario said the DHSUD is preparing a 20-year housing road map to ensure that the government plugs the housing gap. The road map will be completed in October.

Currently, the housing gap is 6.5 million. This, he said, could reach 22 million by 2040 if government does not do anything to improve the situation.

With the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine, del Rosario said around 49,401 workers were already able to go back to various job sites and resume construction projects.

It was estimated that these workers are working in the construction of 300,000 housing units being undertaken by around 300 developers.

Puerto Princesa ‘incident’ calls for law Private school creating enforcement unit–DENR teachers need help –Rep. Herrera-Dy

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

T

HE brutality experienced by employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at the hands of policemen in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, recently could have been avoided had the agency mandated to enforce environment laws has its own enforcement bureau.

This was stressed by Assistant Environment Secretary Benny D. Antiporda who reiterated the appeal earlier made by Secretary Roy A. Cimatu for the enactment of a law creating an Enforcement Bureau within the DENR. “We call on Congress to help fast- track the passage of a law that will give the DENR the power to create the Enforcement Bureau. We could have avoided that situation if ever that we are equally armed with perpetrators. Life is more important than anything else. So the main thing that you will do is avoid confrontation if there is an Enforcement Bureau. Since the DENR personnel and officers are unarmed, basically, they are easy targets on situations like this. At that point in time, we are expecting that the PNP was there as our partner but, as it turned out, they became the perpetrators,” Antiporda said.

DENR field personnel are easy targets, not by policemen, but by illegal loggers in Palawan. Several DENR personnel have been killed in Palawan, prompting Cimatu to arm forest protection officers and eventually, appeal to Congress for the creation of a separate Enforcement Bureau within the DENR. But the incident involving Puerto Princesa City Police Director Col. Marion Balonglong and his men on June 10 was unexpected.

Instead of protecting the DENR employees as they investigated an alleged environmental crime being committed, Balonglong reportedly caused the unlawful arrest and detention of eight employees of the DENR and two others while they were doing fieldwork at Barangay Iwahig in Puerto Princesa City last June 10.

According to reports reaching the DENR Central Office in Quezon City, the DENR workers—together with a representative from the city

government’s Bantay Bakawan and a barangay watchman—were conducting an investigation on the illegal occupation and massive mangrove cutting at Sitio Bucana when they were intercepted

by Balonglong and his men.

Antiporda said such incident would never happen if the DENR, tasked to enforce various environmental laws, has its own environmental law enforcers who are armed and trained to defend themselves from so-called environmental criminals.

Nevertheless, Antiporda said the incident in Puerto Princesa City was an isolated case and that the DENR maintains a good relationship with the Philippine National Police.

Fortunately, Antiporda said when the incident reached the knowledge of the DENR chief, he was in Boracay with Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

“As Cimatu said, it was an isolated case and the DENR maintains a good working relationship with the PNP. It was very fortunate that at the time Cimatu received the information about what happened, he was in Boracay with Año. Immediately, the good DILG Secretary took action,” Antiporda said.

Antiporda said the DENR will not let the likes of Balonglong ruin the reputation of the PNP as an institution.

“He is just one bad egg and you now know, he was relieved and facing administrative charges,” Antiporda said.

The DENR official also said the DENR is not letting Balonglong and his men off the hook saying appropriate charges will be filed against him in due time, including alleged violation of the Wildlife Act. Balonglong, sources said, may be charged in connection with the illegal cutting of mangroves in the area, which is allegedly being developed for the construction of structures without the necessary permit coming from the DENR. “He is not getting away in case he is behind the illegal cutting of mangroves in that area. Our DENR field personnel are now conducting an assessment and we will definitely prepare and file charges against him for violation of environmental laws,” he said.

A

LEADER of the House of Representatives on Sunday asked the national government to look into the plight of an estimated 300,000 private school teachers who have been affected by the lockdown measures against Covid-19.

House Deputy Majority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy made a statement following reports that small private schools were disqualified from getting assistance from the government’s Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program. The program provides wage subsidies of P5,000 or P8,000 per month to eligible employees in the private sector.

Herrera-Dy said while teachers in public schools are guaranteed their salaries during the pandemic, the same cannot be said of teachers in private schools whose income are drawn from student tuition.

“Considering that there is much uncertainty on the enrollment of students, which would consequently affect the ability of many private schools to sustain themselves, teachers and non-teaching personnel in private educational institutions should also be given assistance to help them cope with the effects of the pandemic,” the lawmaker added.

“If these private schools are not qualified under the SBWS program, then how will the government provide support for their teaching and nonteaching personnel during this global public health crisis?”

Herrera-Dy asked.

Citing the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea), which serves as the unifying voice of private education in the country, the lawmaker said many private schools are financially bleeding and on the verge of permanently closing down due to delays in school opening.

Herrera-Dy said it was not surprising for private schools to suffer losses and resort to drastic measures since fees are collected per term and therefore teaching and nonteaching staff can only be remunerated when these fees are collected at the beginning of the term.

She also warned that permanent closure of private schools would render their teaching and nonteaching personnel jobless, Herrera-Dy said. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Prioritize bill to protect informal workers, Villafuerte urges peers

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EPUTY Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte urged Congress on Sunday to prioritize the approval of a measure that aims to guarantee the access to social protection and other safety nets of an estimated 16 million workers in the so-called informal economy.

In a statement, Villafuerte called for the passage of House Bill (HB) 3465 or the proposed Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy

as workers in the informal sector have been hit the hardest by the economic standstill because of government’s lockdown to stem coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection.

Villafuerte said workers in this sector should also be assured of job security, health-care services and other benefits enjoyed by employees in the formal sector.

Seven similar measures all promoting the

rights of workers in the informal economy are now pending before the House Committee on Labor and Employment chaired by 1-Pacman Party-list Rep. Enrico Pineda.

“The fact that informal sector workers were among the primary beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program [SAP] of the government during the lockdown, imposed by the government to shield us from the coronavirus

pandemic, highlights the inequality that they have to endure especially in times of crisis,” Villafuerte said.

“Our proposed [bill], which will mostly benefit those under the ‘no-work, no-pay’ setup, aims to correct this inequality. Protecting their rights and providing them access to the work-related benefits that workers in the formal sector enjoy is the simplest but most

effective way of introducing them to the economic mainstream,” he added.

Villafuerte believes HB3465 will also help achieve government’s goal of financial inclusion.

“In the advent of modern technology that empowers connectivity and mobility, as well as progressive legislation that encourages WFH [work-from-home] schemes and increased flexibility, development thinkers predict that the

informal economy shall be the accepted norm in the future,” Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte said his bill encourages the formation of organizations among marginalized farmers, fishermen, women and workers in the informal economy or employment whether in manufacturing, agriculture, transport, retail, services and home-based enterprises.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Agriculture/Commodities

A4 Monday, June 15, 2020 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

BusinessMirror

‘PHL poultry imports jump by 50% in 5 months due to demand surge’

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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OULTRY imports in the January-to-May period rose by 50 percent year-on-year to 178,334.181 metric tons (MT), due to an increase in orders for chicken cuts, leg quarters, and mechanically deboned meat (MDM), according to government data.

Latest data released to the public by the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) attached agency, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), showed that the 5-month figure was almost 60,000 MT higher than last year’s 118,616.864 MT. BAI data indicated that higher imports of chicken cuts, chicken leg quarters and MDM drove the increase in poultry shipments during the period.

Purchases of chicken cuts, which include wings and breasts, more than doubled to 22,941.333 MT, from last year’s 9,536.124 MT, DABAI data showed.

DA-BAI also showed that imports of chicken leg quarters during the fivemonth period reached 43,445.712 MT, which was 40.37 percent over last year’s 30,950.688 MT. Whole chicken imports during the reference period more than quadrupled to 545.406 MT, from 115.693 MT.

MDM, which accounted for almost 61 percent of total poultry imports, rose by 45.2 percent to 108,428.904 MT, from 74,669.669 MT recorded a year ago.

Chicken MDM is a raw material used by local meat processors to manufacture canned products like chicken nuggets and hotdogs.

‘Spillover effect’

MEAT Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham attributed the increase in overall imports to the so-called spillover effect.

Cham explained that shipments intended for arrival in December were delayed due to global shipping problems last year. The shipments entered the Philippines in January and March, he said.

The Mita official said there has been a growing demand for chicken cuts and leg quarters from the hospital, restaurant and catering industry (horeca) since last year.

“The horeca industry started to discover chicken cuts other than leg quarters because the economy was getting better. The consumers are now moving a little bit up in the market,” he told the BusinessMirror. “People are buying more wings, breasts and boneless products. They are starting to buy higher value items.”

Cham said overall meat imports, including chicken meat, are expected to decline as importers and traders reduced orders in recent months due to trade restrictions, including the limited movement of goods due to the Covid-19 induced lockdowns.

In a recent statement, the DA said it has observed a decline in imported chicken meat products, which “shows that local production is sufficient to satisfy national demand.”

The DA said chicken meat imports in May fell by 23 percent to 33,000 MT, from 43,000 MT in January.

The agency also said MDM does not compete with local broiler since this is used by meat processors.

However, United Broiler Raisers Association President Elias Jose Inciong said the decline in chicken meat imports on a monthly basis cannot be considered by the DA as an achievement.

“The reason for the decline is obvious: the entire world had a problem with the movement of goods, including the Philippines. This decline is not an achievement of the DA,” Inciong told the BusinessMirror.

The disruptions in food trade forced meat industry players to keep their stocks in cold storage facilities as demand plunged following the shutdown and the closure of the food service industry during lockdowns.

‘Suspend importation’

THE Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (PAFMI) has joined the call of local broiler raisers to suspend the importation of poultry given the glut in domestic supply.

The chicken glut caused by higher local production and imports was worsened by the decline in domestic demand for poultry.

PAFMI President Stephanie Nicole S. Garcia said the survival of the feed milling industry depends on the growth of the local livestock and poultry industry.

Garcia said feed demand has dropped by 30 percent as poultry raisers reduced production while hog raisers are still grappling with the impact of African swine fever.

“We survive if our customers survive. The feed milling industry does not live on feeds alone. Our survivability depends on the survivability of our allied industries,” she told the BusinessMirror.

“Imported meat does not eat feeds. The DA does not see the direct impact [of imports] on the whole value chain. If there’s reduced poultry production, then we will reduce purchases of corn, coconut oil and rice bran.”

Garcia said her group has received reports that more poultry industry players will cut output due to the supply glut.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Capping output to favor imports unfair to poultry raisers–Recto

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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ENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto added his voice to the protests by broiler raisers against plans by an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to jack up importation while advising local farmers to cap production.

The DA has “boasted” in its State of the Food Report on May 21 that chicken supply will reach a minimum of 160 days, and in a best-case scenario, 314 days. In an average scenario, the nation has a guaranteed 220-day supply.

“All of the three projections point to a surplus. If such is the case, why encourage imports? If the chicken sufficiency forecast ranges from 136 percent up to 183 percent, what is the sense in importing?” asked, Recto, former chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

He also demanded to know why an agency, referring to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), “whose sole mandate is to boost food production advise Filipino chicken raisers to scale down their output to give market space for dressed chicken coming from abroad?”

Recto was referring to the furor stirred by a top BAI official who asked local producers to limit their output of chicken, to give space to imports in the market. This has triggered an uproar led by the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra), and demands for heads to

“All of the three projections point to a surplus. If such is the case, why encourage imports?

If the chicken sufficiency forecast ranges from 136 percent up to 183 percent, what is the sense in importing?”

—Recto,

roll. Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co of Ako Bicol urged Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Friday to fire the BAI chief.

“If you are the coach of the national poultry and production is so good amid a crisis, why would you order them to resort to pointshaving?” Recto asked aloud over the weekend, by way of illustrating the sheer folly of the BAI official’s strategy.

“At a time when we have to ramp up agricultural production in order to put affordable food on the table of Filipinos who have lost jobs, why this counterintuitive suggestion to limit production of the country’s main protein source?”

Noting how a nation whipped by the Covid-19 pandemic had suddenly realized the key role of farmers as food supply chains got disrupted by lockdowns, Recto described the farm sector as “the economy’s savior and safety net, and a job generator amidst massive layoffs. The only way for the food industry to absorb the unemployed is for it to increase, and not decrease, its yield.”

Go: Agri sector crucial in helping Pinoys recover from pandemic

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EN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go appealed to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to assist more agri- and fishery-based micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to bolster food security as part of the efforts to help Filipinos recover from Covid-19 crisis.

“Sa crisis ngayon na dulot ng Covid-19, maraming industriya ang naapektuhan ngunit ang supply ng pagkain ay hindi dapat matigil. Umaapela po ako sa Department of Agriculture na tulungan ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda para masigurado na may sapat na pagkain para sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino,” Go said.

According to the DA through its Agricultural Credit Policy Council, the agency continues to enhance the provision of concessionary loans to marginal small farmers and fishers, including agri-based micro and small entrepreneurs through the Expanded SURE Aid and Recovery Project.

Go said that the DA should further promote their initiatives to meet their target beneficiaries most especially that the government is preparing to implement the Balik Probinsya, Balik Pag-asa program (BP2) after the health crisis.

Go also commended the DA for acting on his previous appeal to encourage local government units to buy agri-produce from local farmers and farmer-cooperatives that can be included in their relief operations for their constituents.

“Ilang mga LGUs rin ang nagpamigay ng gulay, prutas at isda sa kanilang relief operations. Dagdag tulong ito sa mga magsasaka at mangingisda para kumita, naging masustansya pa ang relief goods na naipamahagi sa mga Pilipinong nangangailangan,” Go said.

Since then, the DA has been coordinating and urging LGUs to purchase relief goods directly from farmers and farmers’ cooperatives. As of June 1, 425 LGUs purchased fresh produce from farmers for distribution as relief goods.

In order to provide proper education and technical or vocational skills training in agriculture, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) is collaborating with different state universities and colleges and the Department of Education to produce modules and classes focusing on sustainable agriculture.

“Lalo na sa panahon ngayon na apektado ng krisis ang ating ekonomiya,

‘back to basics’ po tayo. Nakita natin ngayon kung gaano kahalaga ang agrikultura sa ating bansa at sa ating kabuhayan,” Go said.

“Mabilis pong maibabalik ang sigla ng ating ekonomiya kung palalakasin natin ang sektor ng agrikultura sa ating mga probinsya.”

ATI is also partnering with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to develop training regulations for grains production, organic agriculture and artificial insemination.

Aside from the abovementioned, Go is also urging the ATI to further collaborate with more state colleges and organizations to look into urban farming and how to cope up with the growing demand of food both in big cities and in provinces.

“We have seen how the pandemic broke the global supply chains of the food sector. Now is the time to ensure that we are self-sustaining and reduce our dependence on global trade when it comes to food. Now, more than ever, we need to promote and support food security and agriculture in the country,” he emphasized.

Millennials, Gen-X’ers ready to travel soon. . . continued from a1 The survey also indicated that Millennials (26 to 40 years old) and Generation X’ers (41 to 55 years old) will be the first groups to travel domestically, and will start traveling in six months to a year. Air travel is still the preferred mode of transportation at 69 percent, largely owing to the country being an archipelago.

Among the top travel destinations were Boracay (14 percent), Palawan (12 percent), Other Luzon (9 percent), Cebu (8 percent), Baguio (8 percent), Manila (6 percent), Bohol (5 percent), Tagaytay (5 percent), Other Visayas (5 percent), and Batangas (4 percent).

The Domestic Travel Sentiment Survey conducted from May 8 to 26, 2020, was participated in by respondents across the Philippines, although majority, at 51 percent, were from Manila. Also, 31 percent of the respondents were in the tourism sector, while the rest were from banking, real estate and finance, health care

and undetermined industries. The largest group of respondents, at 62 percent, were those earning under P70,000 a month.

The survey, conducted by Chroma Hospitality and the Filinvest Hospitality Corp., in partnership with the Department of Tourism and its marketing arm, along with hotel, restaurant, and tourism stakeholders groups, indicated that many of the respondents’ state of income have affected their desire to travel as “66 percent experienced pay cuts resulting in 10 percent to 80 percent income reduction.”

Health, safety

HEALTH and safety were ranked as the most important factor in the respondents’s travel plans, followed by location and price. Only 22 percent said they were concerned about the availability of a vaccine, before deciding to travel again.

“The most important health and safety protocols for travelers were enhanced room sanitation, public area sanitation, and hand sanitizers being available in all public areas. While considering health and safety protocols, most respondents expected the following services: in-room dining, daily room housekeeping, hotel staff in PPE, mini-bar and gift shop.” Respondents were less concerned about availability of meeting rooms, swimming pool, buffet food service, spa and gym.

Meanwhile, demand for business travel is likely within the first three months with 26 percent of respondents indicating so. Essential and technical industries are expected to lead the business travel demand.

These include: Business Process Outsourcing, Electrical, Gas and Water, Mining and Quarrying, Professional, Technical Activities, Water, Sewerage, Waste Water Management, and Remediation Activities.

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

AstraZeneca agrees to make Covid-19 vaccine for Europe

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ONDON—Drugmaker AstraZeneca struck a deal on Saturday to supply up to 400 million doses of an experimental Covid-19 vaccine to European Union countries, the latest in a series of agreements as scientists, governments and pharmaceutical companies race to combat the virus.

AstraZeneca plans to begin delivering the vaccine to European countries by the end of this year under the agreement with the Inclusive Vaccine Alliance, formed this month by France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. All other EU member states will have the chance to take part under the same terms as the original alliance members.

The cost of making the vaccine,

which was developed by Oxford University, is expected to be offset by funding from the governments.

“This agreement will ensure that hundreds of millions of Europeans have access to Oxford University’s vaccine following approval,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a prepared statement. “With our European supply chain due to begin production soon, we hope to

make the vaccine available widely and rapidly.”

The deal is the latest in a series of agreements to produce the vaccine—even though it is not certain it will work to prevent coronavirus infections. Because of the desperate need for a vaccine amid the pandemic that has killed more than 426,000 people worldwide, AstraZeneca is scaling up manufacturing with human trials still under way.

The Anglo-Swedish company recently completed similar agreements with Britain, the United States, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a public-private-charitable partnership based in Norway, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, another publicprivate partnership headquartered in Geneva, for 700 million doses.

It plans to produce an additional 1 billion doses under a deal with the Serum Institute of India.

Soriot told reporters on Saturday that conversations were also

under way with the governments of many other nations, including Japan, Russia and Brazil.

“We are also looking at China,” he said, “China, as you know, are developing their own vaccines.

It’s important to make several bets on different vaccines in every country.”

The vaccine was developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute, working with the Oxford Vaccine Group.

Testing of the experimental Covid-19 vaccine began in April with a study involving over 1,000 healthy volunteers in Britain aged 18 to 55. Another round of testing with 10,000 volunteers began last month.

Other companies, including Moderna and Sanofi, are racing to develop and produce a vaccine to protect against the new coronavirus, a step experts say will be crucial to allowing countries to ease public health lockdowns and restrictions on public life. AP

Hong Kong’s rich prepare for a worst-case scenario

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ne Hong Kong businessman moved $10 million to Singapore and plans to transfer more. Another is eyeing London property, worried that prices in Hong Kong are too high. Well-to-do families across the city are opening offshore bank accounts and applying for alternative passports.

While it doesn’t add up to an exodus just yet, Hong Kong’s rich are increasingly hedging their bets as the financial hub suffers its worst economic and political crises since at least 1997.

Many high-net-worth investors are either reducing their Hong Kong exposure or taking steps to ensure they can withdraw assets at a moment’s notice, underscoring the challenge for Chief Executive Carrie Lam as she tries to maintain the city’s status as magnet for Asian wealth. Rich individuals are major players in Hong Kong’s equity and real-estate markets as well as big buyers of Chinese corporate bonds issued in the city.

Private bankers say their clients accelerated contingency planning efforts after China announced last month it would impose controversial national security laws on Hong Kong. The legislation threatens to erode the former British colony’s judicial independence, provoke sanctions from the US and revive street protests that battered the tourism and retail industries even before

the coronavirus outbreak plunged the economy into its deepest recession on record.

“What we’re basically seeing is a bit like a slow-moving train wreck,” said Richard Harris, chief executive of Port Shelter Investment Management in Hong Kong. “People who haven’t moved their money out may be tempted to think: ‘Well, maybe I should be moving my money out.’

That process is likely to continue.”

To be sure, there’s little evidence so far of widespread capital flight.

Hong Kong bank deposits increased to a record in April and the city’s currency has continued to trade at the strong end of its permitted band against the dollar. Hong Kong’s wealthiest billionaires have publicly endorsed the proposed security laws and expressed confidence in the city’s future. In private, however, many Hong Kong entrepreneurs and highearning professionals are sounding a more pessimistic note.

Cheng, the businessman who moved $10 million to Singapore, also secured his permanent resident status in the city-state this year and has been selling his Hong Kong properties. He has no concrete plans to emigrate yet, but is considering his options. He and his family have passports from the US, Canada, Australia and France.

Cheng, who was born in Hong Kong, said he worries about China’s tightening grip on the city and the

prospect for more unrest. Like several of the people quoted in this story, he asked not to reveal his full name because of the political sensitivity of the subject.

Sam, a senior investment banker in Hong Kong, has decided to leave the city. The 43-year-old is emigrating to Australia with his wife and two young boys in about three months, the second time he will have left Hong Kong during a period of political turmoil. Sam grew up in the city, but moved to Brisbane when he was 12 after his parents got spooked by China’s crackdown on protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

He came back to Hong Kong 20 years ago for his career but now sees no upside to staying.

“Things are looking bad and deteriorating,” he said. “We may as well pack our bags and move to Australia so that the kids can have a better environment growing up.”

Margaret Chau, a Hong Kongbased immigration program director for Goldmax Immigration Consulting Co., said inquiries at her firm have jumped about five-fold after news of the national security legislation. For now, most of her wealthy customers are more interested in setting up an escape route than leaving right away.

“They see this as a backup plan,” Chau said.

Kerry Goh, chief executive officer of multi-family office Kamet Capital in Singapore, said his clients have

shifted from asking generic questions about moving out of Hong Kong to making detailed inquiries about everything from schools to visas and bank accounts.

“What’s happened in Hong Kong has really sped up the timing of 2047,” Goh said, referring to the expiration date of China’s 50-year pledge to preserve Hong Kong’s autonomy after the handover from Britain. “As Hong Kong’s troubles shoot up, the benefits of Singapore have become more self-explanatory.”

Other more far-flung locales are also attracting increased interest from investors in Hong Kong. Puerto Rico’s Standard International Bank, a so-called International Financial Entity that expanded its footprint in Asia last year, has seen its deposits more than triple since December 2019, according to general manager Maria Diaz. “Turbulence in Hong Kong has changed the landscape,” she said.

Dennis, a 34-year-old executive at a Hong Kong-based consulting firm founded by his parents, said his family and many of their friends have started moving cash out of the city.

He’s looking to buy more properties in the UK, where he spent almost a decade attending boarding school and university.

“I could buy a much bigger flat in London, so why not?” he said. “I’m just trying to protect my money against any uncertainty.” Bloomberg News

World’s first 5G networks more patchy than powerful

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ifth-generation networking hype has been in full force since Qualcomm Inc. declared “5G is here, and it’s time to celebrate” in February of last year. The reality, however, has required patience from consumers due to the time needed to roll out the new networks and the dearth of applications to put additional speed to compelling use.

A year after South Korea launched the world’s first full commercial 5G network and months after China opened the world’s biggest, Bloomberg News reporters tested the leading carriers in both countries to see how far 5G has gotten. Tests in Hong Kong and Tokyo showed similar results—gaps in coverage that could leave most early adopters waiting for networks to reach full speed.

Smartphone makers have swept in with a flood of 5G devices this year, with Samsung Electronics Co., Huawei Technologies Co. and Xiaomi Corp. all pushing the new technology without asking for much higher prices or design compromises. Millions of 5G phones have already been sold, and for the billions of people not yet on the bandwagon, the new wireless standard will soon be the default option anyway.

Carriers aren’t moving quite as fast. They’re investing billions of dollars to set up and expand their 5G networks, but the technical design of this

new standard demands high network density to provide the advertised stratospheric speeds. Once they have enough masts in place, they aim to recoup the initial costs by offering more bandwidthhungry add-ons, such as Nvidia’s GeForce Now game-streaming service, which SoftBank Corp. launched in Japan on June 10.

Where it’s available, even without hitting its max theoretical speeds, 5G is an impressive upgrade for most consumer applications. For example, at a gigabit per second (1Gbps), a user could download a nine-hour audiobook in less than 1 second, according to Fastmetrics, a US-based Internet service provider. Even at 1/10 of that speed, 100 megabits per second, a 45-minute TV show takes only 16 seconds, Fastmetrics estimates.

Carriers in North America, Europe and Australia have also set up 5G, with so far underwhelming results for consumers. In March tests conducted by RootMetrics in the US, the choice appeared to be between fast speed with negligible availability—Verizon Wireless Inc. recorded a max speed of 846Mbps with 3.1 percent availability in Chicago—or wider availability without much of a speed bump—T-Mobile US Inc. covered 57 percent of Washington but at a less impressive 148Mbps.

To test download speeds and coverage, we sent four reporters out into Seoul, Bei-

jing, Tokyo and Hong Kong with 5G phones and speed-measuring apps. Here’s what those tests showed:

Seoul

KT, the No. 2 South Korean carrier, has improved 5G service since the commercial debut in April 2019, though it still lacks the high-frequency airwaves necessary to reach top download speeds in the range of 20Gbps. SK Telecom Co., the country’s largest carrier, achieves a download speed of 1.5Gbps inside its headquarters, which drops to 1Gbps in the same building’s lobby.

KT’s average 5G data speed ranges between 800Mbps to 1Gbps, the company said in an email. “It is hard to simply compare data speeds in South Korea, which has nationwide services, with other countries that only have test services or have services in a few cities,” the company said.

Beijing

In Beijing, tests using a Huawei P40 Pro phone showed 5G service was consistent enough to play high-definition (1080p) video while riding in a car. There was no 5G signal inside the subway and the shopping mall in Guomao, where luxury brands from Tiffany to Vacheron Constantin are sold. Most of the Zhongnanhai district, home of the central government, has no 5G coverage,

according to a map provided by China Mobile.

A China Mobile representative in Beijing emailed a video showing download speed exceeding 1.1Gbps at Beijing Daxing International Airport. The representative had no further comment.

Hong Kong

Tests using a Huawei P40 Pro showed streaming of high-resolution 4K video was smooth outdoors even in a moving vehicle. The fastest download speed was recorded in the carrier’s flagship store in the city’s central business district. The carrier expects its 5G network to “penetrate deeply” in Hong Kong, Alex Cheng, China Mobile principal engineer, said in an e-mail.

Tokyo

At two locations in the city, the 5G signal was strong inside the Docomo shop but became unstable a short distance away from it, using a Samsung Galaxy S20 phone and Netflix’s speed test app. Both of Tokyo’s main airports, two Olympics facilities and Tokyo Sky Tree are among the covered spots. Two more waves of 5G network expansion are planned by the end of July and end of October, the carrier said.

“The initial rollout is going as planned,” Docomo said in an e-mail. Bloomberg News

Monday, June 15, 2020

A5

Kim Jong Un’s sister threatens S. Korea with military action

In this March 2, 2019 file photo, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam. The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened military action against South Korea as she bashed Seoul on Saturday, June 13, 2020, over declining bilateral relations and its inability to stop activists from floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Describing South Korea as an “enemy,” Kim repeated an earlier threat she had made by saying Seoul will soon witness the collapse of a “useless” inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong. Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP

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EOUL, South Korea—The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened military action against South Korea as she bashed Seoul on Saturday over declining bilateral relations and its inability to stop activists from floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.

Describing South Korea as an “enemy,” Kim Yo Jong repeated an earlier threat she had made by saying Seoul will soon witness the collapse of a “useless” inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong.

Kim, who is first vice department director of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, said she would leave it to North Korea’s military leaders to carry out the next step of retaliation against the South.

“By exercising my power authorized by the supreme leader, our party and the state, I gave an instruction to the arms of the department in charge of the affairs with enemy to decisively carry out the next action,” she said in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

“If I drop a hint of our next plan the [South Korean] authorities are anxious about, the right to taking the next action against the enemy will be entrusted to the General Staff of our army,” she said. “Our army, too, will determine something for cooling down our people’s resentment and surely carry it out, I believe.”

Kim’s harsh rhetoric demonstrates her elevated status in North Korea’s leadership.

Already seen as the most powerful woman in the country and her brother's closest confidant, state media recently confirmed that she is now in charge of relations with South Korea.

The liaison office in Kaesong, which has been shut since January due to coronavirus concerns, was set up as a result of one of the main agreements reached in three summits between Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in 2018.

Moon's government had lobbied hard to set up nuclear summits between Kim and President Donald Trump, who have met three times since 2018. At the same time, Moon also worked to improve interKorean relations.

But North Korea in recent months has suspended virtually all cooperation with the South while expressing frustration over the lack of progress in its nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration.

Over the past week, the North declared that it would cut off all government and military communication channels with the South and threatened to abandon key interKorean peace agreements reached by their leaders in 2018.

They include a military agreement in which the Koreas committed to jointly take steps to reduce conventional military threats, such as establishing border buffers and no-fly zones. They also removed some front-line guard posts and jointly surveyed a waterway near their western border in an unrealized plan to allow freer civilian navigation.

In an earlier statement last week, Kim Yo Jong said that the North would scrap the military agreement, “which is hardly of any value,” while calling North Korean defectors who send leaflets from the South “human scum” and “mongrel dogs.”

Her comments on Saturday came hours

after a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official said that Seoul should drop “nonsensical” talk about the North‘s denuclearization, and that his country would continue to expand its military capabilities to counter what it perceives as threats from the United States.

In response to North Korea‘s anger over the leaflets, South Korea's government has said it would press charges against two defector groups that have been carrying out border protests.

The South also said it would push new laws to ban activists from flying the leaflets across the border, but there's been criticism over whether Moon‘s government is sacrificing democratic principles to keep alive his ambitions for inter-Korean engagement.

For years, activists have floated huge balloons into North Korea carrying leaflets criticizing Kim Jong Un over his nuclear ambitions and dismal human rights record. The leafleting has sometimes triggered a furious response from North Korea, which bristles at any attempt to undermine its leadership.

While Seoul has sometimes sent police officers to block the activists during sensitive times, it had previously resisted North Korea‘s calls to fully ban them, saying they were exercising their freedom. Activists have vowed to continue with the balloon launches.

But it‘s unlikely that North Korea's belligerence is about just the leaflets, analysts say.

The North has a long track record of dialing up pressure on the South when it doesn't get what it wants from the United States.

Its threats to abandon inter-Korean agreements came after months of frustration over Seoul‘s refusal to defy US-led sanctions and restart joint economic projects.

Some experts say North Korea, which has mobilized people for massive demonstrations condemning defectors, is deliberately censuring the South to rally its public and shift attention away from a bad economy, which likely has worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It‘s unclear what kind of military action the North would take against the South, although weapons tests are an easy guess.

Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from Seoul‘s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said North Korea could also be “planning something” near the countries‘ disputed western maritime border, which has occasionally been the scene of bloody clashes over the years.

Nuclear talks faltered at Kim Jong Un’s second summit with Trump in Vietnam in February last year after the United States rejected North Korea's demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

Trump and Kim met for a third time that year in June at the border between North and South Korea and agreed to resume talks.

But an October working-level meeting in Sweden broke down over what the North Koreans described as the Americans‘ “old stance and attitude.”

On the two-year anniversary of the first Kim-Trump meeting, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon said on Friday that the North would never again gift Trump with high-profile meetings he could boast as foreign policy achievements unless it gets something substantial in return. AP

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Monday, June 15, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Covid-19: The ‘Goldilocks wave’

A

fter the Covid-19 has presumably burned itself out, we will look back at the policies employed by governments to protect their citizens and determine what worked and what did not work. While hindsight is said to have perfect vision, even then the analysis will include some guesswork.

No government has complete, accurate data. Some nations prefer that data be “adjusted,” as China has always done with its economic numbers. You cannot compare a nation like Singapore with a 5.8 million population with India’s 1.4 billion people. The Netherlands and Israel have a nationwide population density of 420 per square kilometer. For Canada and Australia, it is 10 persons. The median age—equal number above or below—in Japan and Germany is 47 years. In the Philippines and Pakistan, it is 23 years.

Yet, overall, the basic policy decision in the past five months has been the timing, nature, and length of a national or local quarantine. And do not believe that this is a new health-care strategy as some people are saying. The northern Italian city of Verona lost half of its population in 1630 to the plague. The neighboring city of Ferrara did not have a single death due to a total lockdown.

As of June 12, Belgium has the highest “Deaths per One Million Population” at 844. On March 17th the government, recording 1,243 confirmed Covid-19 cases, placed a tight lockdown, with no nonessential travel, non-essential shops closed, and public and private gatherings banned. On March 20, Belgium closed its borders.

While many countries imposed nationwide lockdowns, such measures were prohibited by the Swedish constitution. Unlike many European countries, Sweden did not close its schools. On March 16, with 1,146 confirmed cases, the government recommended that people over 70 should limit contact with other people. As of June 12, Sweden is No. 5 in the highest “Deaths per One Million Population” at 472.

The first confirmed case in the Philippines came on January 21st. On March 12, President Duterte announced a lockdown covering Metro Manila, which was expanded on March 16 to cover all of Luzon. The number for confirmed cases by official record was 142. Currently, on “Deaths per One Million Population” the Philippines has 9.7, ranking 73rd.

But again, all comparisons are only an intellectual exercise, not determining any “scientific successes.”

Regardless of what quarantine strategy was used, all nations are now in the “Goldilocks wave.” “Goldilocks was tired and she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right.” Governments are in the difficult process of finding the right bed.

A “too hard” bed will completely destroy economies and each day of lockdown makes recovery longer and people “poorer” regardless of economic class. A “too soft” approach means there will be more deaths.

As mentioned earlier, the city of Ferrara did not have a single death due to a total lockdown. However, researchers at the University of Ferrara went through city archives and historical manuscripts. They credit Ferrara’s remarkable success to a combination of strict border surveillance, aggressive public sanitation, and rigorous personal hygiene regimens. As the restrictions are lifted, do not act foolishly. We all pick the bed we lie in.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Social media safety tips Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

B

ecause of the problems people are having now about the proliferation of fake accounts on Facebook, I decided to use this space today to remind my dear readers about the ways that we could use social media in a safer way. These tips are based on content from the web site www.securityinabox.org.

First of all, let us remember that the more information about ourselves that we reveal online, the bigger the risks for identity theft/ fraud become. So before posting personal information like birth date and contact numbers, ask yourself first: Is it really necessary to share these things? It might even be better to create a different account for each type of activity that you have.

When posting status updates,

Life in the bike lane Thomas M. Orbos

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don’t give out sensitive information like location, or make personal information accessible to everyone/ public. (Double-check your settings to make sure that your location is not being shared automatically.)

You can always change the setting for the audience of your posts. Remember, too, that there have been people who lost their jobs or were sued because of posts that they made, so be very careful about the things/topics that you post about.

T

he move to create bike lanes by the government is laudable, given that a lot of us have shifted to bicycles for our mode of transport in these Covid times. Bicycles provide ready transport for everyone, are affordable, and they are good for our health as well as for our environment.

And now that we are all doing social distancing in order to lessen the spread of the virus, biking allows us to travel from point A to point B in a safer manner than using conventional mass transportation.

But as much as government is right in promoting this low carbon mode of transport, we need to remind ourselves equally of the dangers posed by bike commuting in urban roads. This cannot be taken lightly.

Worldwide, 40 percent of all bike accidents result in severe head and brain injury with victims including non-bikers as well, such as pedestrians and motorists who collided or haplessly avoided cyclists on the road. Embracing bike commuting, therefore, requires authorities to put up first the proper environment that would allow it to be safer. And this includes building the proper infrastructure, the needed regulation and enforcement, and, equally

important, educating both the cycling community and the commuting public on how they can safely coexist on the road.

Infrastructure

AS for infrastructure, dedicated roads for bikes would be the most ideal. These can be the existing roads converted exclusively for cyclists, or putting up elevated ones, which are quite common in Europe. The next best thing would be a dedicated lane such as the one they plan to build in Edsa, complete with barriers. Pop-up lanes would only be adequate in less congested roads. Lanes need to be wide enough for two cyclists to bike side by side comfortably and paved enough for a safer ride, especially in areas where they cross rail tracks or bridges. Bike lanes must be well lighted to ensure safer commuting at night. Current traffic signaling systems need to

The same goes for links or posts that you share.

When posting photos and videos, always make sure that you have the consent of the people in the photos and videos that you are posting.

The privacy or security of people appearing in the pictures and videos is being compromised even if it’s not your intention, so it is always better to ask first. In the same way, there may be hidden and compromising information buried in the photos and videos themselves (date, time, location, camera type, etc.) that may be published without your knowledge, leading to unexpected risks and dangers.

As far as your social network is concerned, it is better to only connect to people that you know and trust. Be wary as well when joining groups or communities and ask the question: What does it say about me if I join this group? Do I know the people in this group? If not, then you might be compromising your security. Also ask: What kind of information am I required to share? In the same way,

when you open a community, also think about the risks people may be exposed to as they join your group.

Chatting is also another way that you are opening yourself up to risks, especially instant messaging or social-media chatting.

These channels do not use a secure connection and may reveal to other people who you are talking to and what you are talking about. It is better to use separate chat apps or plugins that use encryption for real-time communication.

Lastly, there are people who like to keep important content, like photos and videos, inside their social-media accounts. This is not safe because access to social networking channels may be blocked at any time (by the government or the social networking company itself) and when that happens, you would lose all of your important data.

Of course, this does not cover everything, but it’s a good reminder at this time. Following the tips stated above may just save you from a lot of trouble.

factor in bikers, separate from motorists and pedestrians. And definitely bike lanes cannot be utilized by motorcycles and scooters. Mixed use of lanes with pedestrians is done in other countries like Japan, but only in cities. It would also be convenient for bikers if bike racks were made available in key junction areas along the way.

riculum, and made part of motorists’ licensing exams. The key here would not just be on responsible and safe biking on the road but of developing the proper mindset— of being conscious and respectful of the road environment with the presence of all road occupants and the need to coexist with them. A good example is the fact that one of the most common bike injuries is “getting doored” or when a cyclist suddenly hits a car door because someone suddenly alights from a vehicle. This stems from ignorance or from being inconsiderate, ignoring that a simple action can cause a serious injury to someone, in this case a bike rider. It is necessary to know and respect co-occupants on the road and this is done best when road safety is inculcated in our general education system.

Bike riding is definitely one good thing brought about by this pandemic. It is affordable and accessible for everyone and would do our environment well. We just need to provide the proper infrastructure and the corresponding regulatory measures as well as the proper mindset to ensure the safety of everyone on the road.

Regulation and enforcement

New road regulations need to be crafted to accommodate bikers on the road to ensure their safety as well as that of other road occupants. Regulations should not just aim to protect bike commuting such as penalizing motorists getting in the way of bikers, but should also require biking discipline. It is common to see bikers violating the law by beating the red light, going in opposite traffic, and disrespecting pedestrian lanes. And regulations requiring biking safety equipment need to be strictly implemented.

The wearing of helmets and reflectorized vests must be made mandatory, especially when bikers use roads shared with other occupants.

In some countries, wearing dark clothing is prohibited, especially those commuting at night.

Education

Education for a safer city bike ride should not be limited to bikers but for everyone. It would even be better if a road safety program will be incorporated in our school cur-

Thomas “Tim” Orbos was formerly with the DOTr and the MMDA. He has completed his masteral studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University and is an alumnus of the MIT Sloan School of Management. He can be reached via e-mail at thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu

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Opinion

Gaining a foothold

The best exercise

BusinessMirror

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

Ethel V. Sanchez

THE PATRIOT

DEBIT CREDIT

T

he new industry of microenterprises is perhaps the Philippines’s only economic bright spot in the time of Covid-19.

The sis, mars, and the kuya that offered home-cooked meals, fresh produce, protective gear and disinfectants, children’s toys, etc. on Facebook or Viber; the village delivery fleets, errand runners, and personal shoppers—did so much more than keep Filipinos safe and sane in their homes.

These new microenterprises also brought food on the table as salaries froze. As supply chains broke down, their ingenuity in sourcing allowed small-scale producers and resellers, otherwise disadvantaged, to be found and given a fair chance.

Home-based skills, previously not converting to monetized labor, were unlocked and allowed to create and capture economic value. Entrepreneurial practice built financial and psychological resilience in the most important unit of society.

Imposition of quarantine measures that restricted people within the confines of their communities created a new shopping landscape of fewer local players. With this came renewed appreciation for local, homemade, or non-commercialized product presentation, casual servicing, and less formal transactions via social media. Buyers were ready to adjust to new modes of payment, long or uncertain delivery time, even exorbitant delivery fees. Amid the crisis, people demanded less. And despite being unfamiliar, the innovativeness and accessibility amid scarcity, capped by empathy and warmth that transcended social interaction and mobility restrictions, brought a refreshing experience that made it easy for people to adopt these new microenterprises into their daily lockdown life.

However, vulnerability looms as the conditions that worked for these microenterprises begin to shift.

Soon the entire playing field will reopen, and the usual plethora of choices will be back. The bar of quality, safety, and convenience will be raised. Bigger players forced to shut down will resume operations and woo old patrons back.

How can microenterprises survive what might just be the ultimate stress test of their right to play? Here are some key steps to take.

Secure relevance

Assess if the distinctive features of your product or service will continue to matter when the crisis eases out. If there is doubt here, it is best to rethink your offering now and strengthen, innovate, or pivot into something that holds greater relevance in the longer term.

Anticipate the bigger set of sellers you will soon be up against. Assume higher service expectations. Prepare to continue to be competitive. Understand what your current buyers love about your product and deliver on that without fail.

Have a strong brand

Have a brand that is unique and memorable. As a new player, you need one that suggests credibility.

And as people live and fight through

lingering threats to their health and safety, emphasizing trustworthiness and quality in your brand name will go a long way.

Be ready to diversify or find new modes of fulfillment

Prepare for when buyers are no longer willing to shoulder cost of delivery. Is there a way to maintain cost-efficient localized distribution? How can you continue to be available when your buyers are no longer constrained to home delivery or nearby options? This is the time to anticipate people’s shifting purchasing patterns, study alternative distribution channels and pricing scenarios, and work on necessary adjustments quickly.

Continue to be most accessible and easiest to find

Build an always-on digital hub— a page, a site, or an account where you can keep buyers informed, engaged, and interested in your product or service even as the lure of physical shopping or the array of choices comes back. Keep that warm and personal local brand touch upon which your current customer relationships were built.

Invest in quality

This is perhaps the biggest imperative of the post-pandemic product and service landscape. Expect people to switch from tolerant to highly scrutinizing of the safety and quality of ingredients and sources, processing and assembly, packaging and delivery protocols. Think of how you can secure and communicate that people are making an uncompromised choice in your young local brand.

Upskill and don’t stop learning

Never has the world so generously enabled learning the way that it does today.

Almost anything can now be learned online, some even for free, through sponsored content or peerto-peer advice. Keep learning and keep getting fresh inspiration to unlock possibilities for your enterprise.

Great challenges lie ahead but nothing that cannot be beaten by the same resilience, ingenuity, and charm that brought these microenterprises to life in the first place.

May the business community, the government, and the general buying public continue to support this new cohort of economic innovators that kept the local economy moving when all else stood still.

Ethel Sanchez is a part-time university lecturer for the MBA Program of the University of the Philippines. She is also the Head of Strategy and Analytics at NuWorks Interactive Labs and cofounder of Wheelhouse Collective PH.

D

uring the various community quarantine stages, people have been wary about gaining weight. Due to lack of physical activity, many of my gym enthusiast friends have resorted to creative ways to stay fit. Some have opted to repeatedly walk up and down a flight of stairs at their homes, engage others in a push-up challenge, or participate in online yoga and Zumba classes. Others have started home gardening as a hobby to augment their high protein diet. One dear friend even took the lockdown as an opportunity to intensify his intermittent fasting. He only ate one meal a day and ended up losing 60 pounds in three months! He is almost back to his fighting weight when he graduated from San Beda College of Law, more than 30 years ago.

Caring for our minds is just as important as caring for our bodies.

During the lockdown, a good friend enrolled in a Spanish language class while another friend took as many free online courses offered by prestigious universities abroad. Some friends in the faculty managed to finish writing their law textbooks in time for publication next semester.

Others have posted well-written insights about national issues on social media. Traditional mental exercises include crossword puzzles and Sudoku. Millennial mental exercises include “not too-common sense” math problems and visual trivia questions using emojis. We need to keep our minds preoccupied intellectually, as an idle mind can be considered as the devil’s workshop. In the Bible, Proverbs 16:27 tells us, “A wicked scoundrel wants to dig up dirt on others, only to spread slander and shred their reputation.” A scoundrel is indeed one who has an idle mind inclined to think evil ideas!

The lack of mental activity can result to negative ideas, which, in

turn, can lead to mental health issues. We should train our minds to think about everything that is good and positive for it is written in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Some who fall into depression fail in this regard and some end up taking their own lives, sadly. Depression is real and is often overlooked, even by those who are very close to the victim.

I have seen initiatives, both from the younger and older generations, which address this harsh reality.

Some friends come up with a Mental Health First Aid program whereby lay people can be certified to have the capability to identify those around them with mental health issues, initially respond and provide temporary comfort before endorsing the matter to the professionals.

Just like any illness, early detection spells a big difference.

Bloomberg Opinion

W

ould you adopt a fox?

The prudent answer is “no;” foxes are wild animals. Or are they?

In something out of science fiction, new research suggests that we are now starting to see two different kinds of foxes: the wild and the domesticated. The research tells us something about mammals in general, including the beloved Canine Lupus Familiaris (also known as the dog) and Homo Sapiens. It is also

uplifting—a hopeful sign in these dark days.

The relevant research, by Kevin Parsons of the University of Glasgow and colleagues, has a daunting title: “Skull morphology diverges between urban and rural populations of red foxes mirroring patterns of domestication and macroevolution.”

But the title contains a bombshell.

For some time, urban populations of red foxes have been domesticating themselves in London and its environs. True, they’re not dogs, but they have been moving in that direction.

In areas around London, fox

One effective way to minimize idle time is to plan ahead, as in write down the things we intend to do, and even go further by dedicating those planned activities to our God. In our quiet time, we can truly exercise and train our minds to be stronger. Meditation, as a mental exercise, generally requires our minds to focus on our breathing to reach a heightened spiritual awareness. It can do many wonders to our mind as well as to our souls. According to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), meditation “engages thought, imagination, emotion and desire in order to deepen our faith, convert our heart and fortify our will to follow Christ.” Meditation is another and better way to pray. I have seen others start their prayers by gazing at a beautiful sunrise/sunset and just engage God in an intimate conversation. Praying daily, reading His Word and devotions, and connecting with God-fearing people are excellent spiritual exercises that can complement our regular physical and mental exercises.

During these lockdown days, one simple exercise that requires zero physical energy but tons of spiritual energy is waiting. Due to restrictions, we now end up waiting in everything we do. We all wait for health-related guidelines from government. Some wait at grocery stores, knowing that social distancing guidelines can only accommodate a certain number of people inside any establishment.

Most wait at checkpoints knowing that every border crossing will require some questions and answers regarding reasons for travel. Some wait longer these days in drive thru restaurants knowing that dine-in customers are still not allowed. All of us wait for the day when the vaccine against the virus will come. All these waiting can test our patience. People can actually “get tired” of waiting

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even though they hardly exert any physical effort. But people close to Him should never get tired waiting.

In fact, waiting should make them more energized!

Being in the military before, I am prone to take things under control.

Back then, waiting was a useless and unproductive exercise for me. Now, I consider waiting as a challenging exercise that requires a lot of energy within, spiritual energy, to prevent me from taking charge. Waiting allows me to “exercise” my heart and soul to simply wait on Him. He has everything under control, anyway.

“Let go and let God” has been a mantra for some. “Take a chill pill,” as my son would say. “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord, as the Bible tells us in Psalms 27:14. Ironically, waiting can be the best exercise!

Physical exercises are good as they make us fit and healthy, something we dearly need to combat the virus.

Mental exercises are better as they allow us to stay productive and engaged to combat an evil mind. Spiritual exercises are the best as they give us that genuine connection to Him, the only one who can give us the physical and mental stamina to perform all other exercises. Let’s keep on waiting patiently, the best spiritual exercise, as often as we can, so we can stay truly connected to the One who made things happen in the past and will let things happen in the future.

A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission.

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

Libya’s civil war has turned a corner, but it’s far from over

By Bobby Ghosh |Bloomberg Opinion

I

t’s been a long time since the news from Libya warranted optimism, but the beleaguered Government of National Accord in Tripoli finally has grounds for cheer—for now, anyway. Its nemesis, the rebel commander Khalifa Haftar, no longer stalks the periphery of the capital: His Libyan National Army has been retreating for weeks.

Haftar’s bid to take all of northwestern Libya by force of arms has ended, and his allies are calling for a cease-fire. The GNA and its backers have brushed aside offers of parley and are advancing toward the “oil crescent,” a string of northeastern ports vital to the country’s hydrocarbon exports.

In addition to relief, joy and the anticipation of triumph, Tripolitans will also derive some schadenfreude from the news that Western mercenaries and arms dealers bilked Haftar out of more than $50 million.

But Libya’s civil war, pitting east against west, is nowhere near done.

Although most of the foreign powers involved have called for a negotiated peace, they can’t necessarily bring the principal belligerents to the table. The GNA and LNA still have military objectives to attain, and points to prove.

US President Donald Trump in-

jected himself into the conversation on Libya this week, speaking with the leaders of Turkey and Egypt, the main backers of the GNA and Haftar, respectively. But Trump is unlikely to get involved in a foreign war, even in a diplomatic effort, in the run-up to the US presidential election. With no troops on the ground, neither Washington nor Brussels can wield real leverage over Libya’s antagonists, and they have only limited influence over their sponsors.

One reminder of the war’s unfinished business came this week, when gunmen shut down two of the county’s biggest oil fields, which had only recently been brought back online. A natural-gas pipeline to Italy was also briefly closed down.

Libya’s energy industry has been mostly moribund since January, when Haftar blocked exports and halted most production. Even allowing for the plunge in oil prices,

Here’s something we can learn from the urban fox

By Cass R. Sunstein

Monday, June 15, 2020

populations are looking different from their rural counterparts. Their snouts are shorter and wider. The differences between males and females are less pronounced. Their brains are smaller.

These changes are characteristic of a process identified by Charles Darwin and known as the “domestication syndrome.” If you compare dogs with wolves, you will see the same kinds of differences that are now separating urban foxes from rural ones.

Urban foxes are able to find shelter in built-up areas, and over one-third of their diet consists of scavenged

food. Their home ranges are much smaller than those of rural foxes, meaning that they are likely to breed with one another.

Intriguingly, Parsons and his coauthors speculate that because they have taken up residence near people, urban foxes might show reduced levels of stress and fear—and hence “urban tameness,” signaling a capacity to trust.

As it happens, the new research fits well with pathbreaking work

by Duke’s Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods on the domestication of dogs, bonobos and human beings.

Haftar’s blockade has cost the NOC billions of dollars.

The civil war’s focus has now shifted to the port of Sirte, the gateway to the oil crescent. (It is also the city of Muammar Gaddafi’s birth and death.) The LNA seems to be digging in for a long fight, conjuring up memories of 2011’s bloody, street-by-street battle for another port, Misrata.

It is not clear whether Haftar will be able to call up some of his best fighters: Russian mercenaries and Syrian militias who relocated inland from the outskirts of Tripoli last month. Even more important will be the Russian military jets that have recently been made available to him. The GNA has its own contingent of Syrian mercenaries, in addition to Turkish troops and arms.

The rebel commander’s closest allies, Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, seem keen on some kind of negotiated settlement that would effectively partition Libya.

In his conversation with Trump, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah ElSisi extracted American support for a cessation of hostilities. (Trump had earlier encouraged Haftar’s assault on Tripoli.)

But the GNA’s principal backer, Turkey, smells blood in the water:

Ankara has dismissed Cairo’s ceasefire offer as “a call to save Haftar.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Haftar out—not just from Sirte but also from any peace process. For Erdogan, Libya is the one bright spot in an otherwise miserable economic and foreign policy landscape. After his conversation with Trump, he also claims to have reached “some agreements” over Libya’s future.

Turkey says it wants the US and NATO to take on a more active role, but this may be mostly an attempt to spook Moscow into coming to an understanding with Ankara. President Vladimir Putin also spoke with Erdogan this week, and talked up a cease-fire. Still, there’s no indication the two leaders are cooking up a GNALNA compromise, like the one they attempted in January.

Then, it was Haftar who walked away, gambling that he could get better terms at the gates of Tripoli.

With the Egyptian cease-fire plan a non-starter, the rebel commander— the besieger turned besieged—might want to achieve a face-saving battlefield victory, or at least to grind down the GNA advance at Sirte, before he agrees to any deal.

In the b attle for the oil crescent, optimism could be an early casualty.

In a recent book, Hare and Woods focused on the origins of dogs and lightly suggested that the idea of “survival of the fittest” might be replaced by that of “survival of the friendliest.” In a forthcoming book with that title, Hare and Woods focus on people—and contend that of the many human species, Homo Sapiens survived and prospered because it too engaged in a process of self-domestication, fueling trust and cooperation.

Hare and Woods note that if you traveled back 100,000 years, Homo Erectus would have been the best bet

for the ultimate survivor among the multiple human species. They controlled fire, with which they cooked and warmed themselves. They were the first human species to use advanced stone tools. They had been around for 1.8 million years and so outlasted many other human species.

If you flashed forward 25,000 years, you would switch your bet to the Neanderthals. As tall as Homo Sapiens but stronger, the Neanderthals triumphed during the Ice Age. They made paintings and had advanced tools. They were accomplished hunters, using long, heavy spears.

A8 Monday, June 15, 2020

Airlines rush to mount flights for stranded folk

By Recto Mercene

T

@rectomercene

HE Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (Acap) said its members are working with the Department of Transportation, Civil Aeronautics Board, Manila International Airport Authority and other government agencies to find ways to expedite the mounting of additional flights.

Acap made the statement on Sunday after photographs of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) made it to newspapers’front pages, showing them sleeping on the airport curbside or under the Naia Interchange (Naia-X). The LSIs have since been moved to an empty lot at the Villamor Air Base.

“We understand the concerns of the national government and local government units (LGUs) with regards to the risks surrounding the surge of travelers from Metro Manila and Acap is preparing to fly the LSIs back to their respective home provinces at the soonest time possible,” the organization said in a statement.

It noted the situation is very fluid “as travel restrictions by the Inter-Agency Task Force [IATF] and LGUs constantly change as they manage the current public health situation.”

Acap said flights are still limited at the moment as airlines comply with these restrictions. “In the meantime, we appeal to all our passengers to proceed to the airport only when they have confirmed flights.” Airport security will bar entry to terminal premises for guests who arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) but whose flights are cancelled or have a different travel date.

Similarly, those unable to present boarding documents at the terminal entrance will also not be allowed to enter the airport premises.

“Passengers are strongly urged to check the e-mail address and mobile numbers provided to the airlines upon booking their flights for any changes to their flight schedules. Those who booked through travel agencies or asked others to book their flights should also check with them for any updates.” The reminder is a reference to past instances where airlines claimed they had promptly notified passengers of flight changes, only to find out there were errors in the contact

details provided by the latter.

For guests booked with AirAsia Philippines, they may check their up-to-date flight status at airasia.com/flightstatus. They may also reach out to the AirAsia support team via support.airasia. com or Emergency Hotline number (02)8722-2742.

Cebu Pacific or Cebgo guests may check their real-time flight status via https://bit.ly/ CEBFlightStatusCheck. For other concerns, they may message via the official Cebu Pacific Facebook or Twitter accounts, or through http://bit.ly/ CEBrequest. They may also call +632-8702-0888.

Passengers can also rebook their flights online via http://bit.ly/CEBmanageflight.

Philippine Airlines and PAL Express passengers may check their up-to-date flight status through the Flight Status Tab in PAL’s web site (www. philippineairlines.com/PALFlightStatus) or our updated public advisories in PAL’s official Facebook Page. They may also call PAL’s hotlines (+632 88558888 or toll free number 1-800-I-FLYPAL) and press 2 (Arrival and Departure Information).

LSIs are advised to reach out to the NCR Crisis Intervention Unit Hotline at (02)8734-8635 and the Naia through text hotline 0917-8396242 or 0918-9186242 or call the voice hotline 88771-1111 for inquiries. Passengers travelling during GCQ are reminded that necessary travel documents must be secured before proceeding to the airport for one’s confirmed flight, and a Travel Authority or Travel Pass issued by the Joint Task Force Covid Shield, as well as a medical certificate from the municipal or city health office, is required to travel across provinces or regions.Other travel documents required by LGUs may be applicable. Guests are strongly advised to check with the LGU of their destination for local travel requirements.

“We appeal for cooperation and understanding from our guests as we find ways to combat the spread of Covid-19, uphold the safety and well-being of guests while ensuring smooth and safe travels,”Acap said. Its member-carriers have strictly implemented safety measures for their guests and crew, it added.

Travelers are advised to read more on the safety measures implemented by AirAsia Philippines, Cebu Pacific and Cebgo, and Philippine Airlines and PAL Express.

DOH: Deaths from Covid-19 in PHL below global trend

T

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | Correspondent

HE Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday reported a downward trend in Covid-19 mortality in the country for mid-June and noted that, in fact, the case fatality rate (CFR) of victims of the virus is now at, 4.24—or below the global CFR of over 5.

This is despite the recorded increase in validated case figures reported in the last two days, the DOH said.

Likewise, during the DOH Beat Covid televised press conference, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that the rise in reported deaths this June is due to a delay in the submission of validated mortality cases from the local government units (LGUs) to the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau.

“Last June 12 we reported 16

deaths. Yesterday, June 13 we reported 22 deaths,” Vergeire said, adding that these figures may bring the public to worry.

“We apologize if you feel worried. That is why we want to explain to you the numbers,” Vergeire said adding that, “Some may ask if the situation is getting worse? Based on our fatality case data, the answer is no!”

According to Vergeire, of the 22 reported deaths on June 13, only four, or 18, percent, died in the month of June, one each on the following dates: June 3, 4, 6, and 9. The remaining 18 deaths occurred in the previous months but were only recently submitted to the DOH Epidemiology Bureau.

Reporting challenge INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE (ITCZ) AFFECTING PALAWAN, VISAYAS, AND MINDANAO as of 4:00 am - June 14, 2020

“THE pandemic we are experiencing right now is a first in many ways.

And, as such, the reporting and validating of cases is an evolving science which is why we encounter several challenges along the way,” she added.

This was echoed by Dr. John Wong of EpiMetrics Inc., Ateneo professor and part of the InterAgency Task Force’s data analytics expert group.

“With improved reporting efficiency by the COVIDKaya app, cases appear to be rising. However, adjusted for late reports, deaths have actually been decreasing,” Wong said during the televised press conference.

“Deaths have increased over the

past two days although the median is still 10 per day. However, the recent increase has been due to late reports coming in to the DOH,” he added.

According to Wong, the good news is that the Philippines CFR is 4.24, which is below the global CFR of over 5.

Vergeire said big case logs were recorded in March and April but improvement was observed. For instance, in the past, delays in the reporting for deaths on average reached over 20 days. “Now it’s only around seven to eight days,” she said.

The good news, she added, resulted from the the sacrifices made by each person, especially the protocols protecting the senior citizens and vulnerable group.

She also saluted the local government units (LGUs) for being proactive and (keep) moving on the ground; to our laboratories and hospitals for submitting their data early.

Vergeire, however, reminded the public to remain vigilant to ensure the downward trend continues by practicing social distancing, frequent handwashing to prevent the spread of the virus.

Covid cases

AS of 4 p.m. of June 14, the DOH reported a total of 25,930 Covid-19 cases.

The DOH said 539 cases were reported on Sunday; of the number 366 were validated as fresh cases while 173 were detected as late cases.

Sunday’s fresh cases are based on the daily accomplishment reports submitted by only 44 out of 54 current operational laboratories.

D OH a n nou nce d 24 8 re coveries. This brings the total number of recoveries to 5,954.

Fourteen deaths were recorded.

The death toll stood at 1,088.

“Total cases reported may be subject to change as these numbers undergo constant cleaning and validation,” the DOH said.

Cignal may decide soon ABS-CBN channel lease

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

C

IGNAL TV, an affiliate of PLDT Inc., may decide within this week if it will allow ABSCBN Corp. to rent a channel on its pay TV platform.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, who chairs Cignal, said discussions between the two groups are ongoing, with ABS-CBN making the first move to offer its content to the pay TV operator.

“That’s currently under discussions between the two. I don’t know where we are. That’s been offered not only to us but [to] other pay TV operators in the country.

I think some of them have already accepted,” he said in a virtual press briefing on Saturday.

ABS-CBN went off air in May, on the eve of the expiration of its congressional franchise to operate, to comply with a cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and amid a loud public debate over whether such shutdown was regulatory clout masking a political vendetta by the administration.

The House of Representatives has conducted four hearings on the new franchise application of the Lopez-led network, but things remain uncertain.

Since its networks were shut down, ABS-CBN turned to social media and streaming apps to continue operations. It is also airing its shows in SkyCable, its subsidiary and Cignal’s rival.

“I think Cignal is still assessing it. Hopeful to decide by next week. We are open to it, but there’s other factors to consider,” Pangilinan said.

He noted, however, that “there are no discussions with respect to TV5.”

Win: Taxing online sellers now a losing proposition, ‘insensitive’ T HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was asked at the weekend to defer the imposition of taxes on“small-time online traders,” as Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian lamented over the weekend its timing in the midst of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, implored the BIR to suspend slapping online sellers with the new tax, adding that the proposed taxation “at the height of the economic and health crisis is ill-timed and insensitive.”

BIR had said all online sellers only have until July 31 to register with the tax agency.

Citing a looming recession and recordhigh jobless rate, Gatchalian aired serious concerns that “imposing taxes on the digital economy will only add unnecessary burden to ordinary Filipinos who are trying to make ends meet to feed their families who are hit hard by the ramifications of strict quarantine measures.”

He added that taxing online goods and services during the pandemic will also “prompt digital entrepreneurs to pass on the additional expenses to their customers, mostly belonging to the middle-class brackets.” Gatchalian prodded government to prioritize running after big tax cheats like the online gaming operators. Similar

advice was made last week by Sens. Joel Villanueva and Risa Hontiveros.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Gatchalian warned that premature taxation on online sellers at the height of economic turmoil will impede the growth of the country’s...digital economy.”

The senator quoted a recent study

by Google and Temasek, showing the Philippine Internet economy posted a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of $7 billion in 2019, adding that the value pales in comparison with Malaysia ($11 billion), Vietnam ($12 billion), Singapore ($12 billion), Thailand ($16 billion), and Indonesia ($40 billion).

He noted that “the Philippines has not yet generated unicorns—a tech start-up company that reaches a valuation of $1 billion—nor has our economy reflected the dynamism the Indonesian and Vietnamese e-commerce markets have reached, at 2.9 percent and 4.0 percent of GDP, respectively.”

Noting that the Philippines’s e-commerce market remains at 1.6 percent of GDP, the senator stressed the importance of“right timing”of new tax impositions. “It is wrong timing for BIR to impose tax on online sellers, many of whom are just starting to recover after losing jobs or

livelihood during the enhanced community quarantine [ECQ],” he said.

He pointed out that in fact, in the absence of a vaccine and the continued advice for people to observe social distancing at all times, “we are encouraging people to turn to technology and migrate to the digital economy,” he added, in a mix of English and Filipino.

Gatchalian suggested that instead of running after small online sellers, the government can “help create a vibrant digital economy by resolving some of the key concerns of the e-commerce industry such as lack of trust, improving Internet and logistics infrastructures, and lack of governing entity at the regional level that can fight cybercrime and settle cross-border disputes.”

He earlier asked Congress to frontload for early consideration the recently filed “Internet Transactions Act” to make online transactions easier and faster and strengthen the country’s digital economy.

At the same time, he prodded the Duterte government to crack down “on erring big time business establishments” such as certain Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) which owe the government some P50 billion in unpaid taxes, rather than going after online start-ups. Butch Fernandez

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, June 15, 2020

B1

SEC again asks lending firms to extend relief to borrowers

By VG Cabuag

T

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again called on lending companies, financing companies and microfinance nongovernment organizations to provide relief to their borrowers on top of the mandatory grace period required by the Bayanihan Act. In a notice dated June 11, the SEC “strongly encouraged” the said small lenders to implement debt relief measures, such as lowering

of interest rates, waiver or reduction of penalties, charges and other fees, payment holiday, debt consolidation, extension of loan terms

and provision of flexible payment schedules.

Lenders may likewise develop and implement their own programs or schemes that will provide relief to their borrowers, the SEC said.

The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act has required lenders to implement a minimum 30-day grace period for the payment of all loans.

Under the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) issued in April, all lenders, including those under the supervision of the SEC, shall apply an initial 30-day grace period to all loans with principal and interest falling due within the enhanced community quarantine period.

The IRR also provided the automatic extension of the grace period should the President extend the ECQ period. All financing compa-

nies, lending companies and microfinance NGOs were required to apply the mandatory grace period to all loans with principal or interest falling due between March 17 and May 31.

Aside from providing grace period, all covered institutions were prohibited from imposing interest on interest, fees and other charges to future payments or amortizations.

Borrowers were likewise given the option to pay the interest accrued during the grace period on a staggered basis over the remaining life of the loan This is the second time that the SEC appealed to the small lenders to give some relief to their borrowers, and warned that it will penalize companies that failed to follow the law.

Phoenix leans on digital tools to fortify brand

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

P

hoenix Petroleum moves to strengthen its brand with the rollout of its digital transformation program in response to the business challenges of the ongoing pandemic.

“Companies should resist the instinct to forego brand building when finances run tight, which is based on the thinking that marketing is not an essential expense. The truth is that a brand’s resiliency should be put on full display precisely during times of crisis,” said Celina Matias, assistant vice president and head of integrated marketing and strategies for Phoenix and its portfolio of brands.

The independent oil firm said when the pandemic kicked in, the company sharpened its focus on digital communications by intensifying its presence on social media and coming up with compelling content to keep their respective followings steadily growing.

“Consumers as well as the general public will remember brands that were with them in difficult times.

When the dust settles, they will gravitate toward the familiar, the tried-and-

tested, and the true. Sustaining and fortifying brand equity when the going gets tough is the mission that any company worth its salt should take to heart,” said Matias.

In terms of digital transformation in its operations, Phoenix has fortified its online sales channels, such as the delivery ordering portal on the Phoenix SUPER LPG website. It has also pioneered contactless payment solutions in the industry starting with 100 of its fuel retail stations in Luzon, with those in Visayas and Mindanao to follow.

At present, Phoenix is the only gasoline station that accepts four epayment merchants—GCash, Alipay, Grab Pay and WeChat. These digital solutions are all geared toward ensuring the safety and welfare of Phoenix’s customers.

The company said it will expand its contactless payment option to its gas stations in the Visayas and Mindanao. This method of payment will be implemented within the month amid concerns over the possible transmission of Covid-19 through paper bills and coins.

“The move came as part of the company’s tightened safety protocols

across its businesses to help stop the pandemic,” said Phoenix Petroleum President and COO Henry Albert Fadullon.

"Phoenix has always been an advocate of safe and secure service. While we continue to provide quality products to our customers, we are also very serious in our rally towards stopping the spread of Covid-19."

Phoenix has also evolved its marketing activations into the digital sphere. Its Young Drivers Program, which is an annual search for new Filipino race car driving talent, transformed into an E-Sports Virtual Charity Race during this time of community quarantine. The virtual race is a competition geared toward online race gaming enthusiasts in collaboration with long-time partner Tuason Racing.

“This crisis serves as an eye opener to the role of brand and marketing in business resiliency and a large part of marketing these days and in the foreseeable future will all be happening in the digital arena,” said Matias.

Adding timely relevance to the activity is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) component, which had Phoenix donate a FamilyMart food

pack for medical frontliners for every participant who registered in the race series. Thus far, a total of 1,300 food packs have been distributed to various hospitals in Metro Manila.

On the Kwentong Phoenix corporate Facebook page, meanwhile, inspiring real-life narratives of the lives that the company continues to touch through its CSR initiatives have garnered record-breaking engagements.

From a homegrown company established in Davao City nearly two decades ago, Phoenix has become a tough contender for the mythical top three big players in the local oil market.

In 2019, an independent market study showed Phoenix landing third spot in the category of brand used most often (BUMO). Its brand supremacy was also affirmed when it received the coveted title of Marketing Company of the Year at last year’s Agora Awards by the Philippine Marketing Association.

“All these were a result of Phoenix’s focus on building brand equity through intensive marketing efforts,” said Matias.

Phoenix currently has 660 retail stations, 11 storage facilities and 72 FamilyMart stores. With Manuel T. Cayon

Free delivery service via Araneta City Assist

San Juan City, and Pasig City (including Ortigas Center).

“This is our way of introducing this latest offering to our patrons. We are giving them the chance to be among the first clients of the Araneta City Assist service, and we’ll reward them with a week-long free delivery promo together with iSend,” said Marjorie Go, assistant vice president for marketing of Araneta City.

P

atrons of the City of Firsts are in for a treat with a limited-time free delivery offer for items to be purchased and delivered through the Araneta City Assist service.

From June 15 to 19, customers can order any goods at participating Araneta City stores through the Araneta City Assist platform, and have the items delivered for free.

Araneta City Assist was launched this month as an

online delivery support service dedicated to tenants and customers of the City of Firsts. Through this service, anyone can now buy an item at Araneta City, talk to the stores directly, and arrange the delivery of order—all from the comforts of their homes. Araneta City Assist partners with iSend Delivery Service to ensure that items reach the customers’ doorsteps conveniently.

To join the free delivery promo: 1. Check out Araneta City Assist on the Araneta City mobile app or on web site (https://delivery.aranetacity. com) to view the list of all stores registered in the delivery platform.

2. Contact the preferred store to place an order and discuss mode of payment.

3. Mention the promo code ARANETACITY to avail the free delivery service.

Promo applies only for items to be delivered by iSend from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. iSend can only accept bookings for deliveries in Quezon City, Marikina City,

‘Pandemic to increase demand for Taiwanese smart machines in PHL’

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

T

he need to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in a factory setting will boost the demand for Taiwan's smart machinery in many countries, including the Philippines, according to Taiwanese businessmen and experts.

“Covid-19 has made companies stop their operation for a while due to the lack of manpower,” Celine Tseng, representative of Solomon, told the BusinessM irror in an e-mail interview.

“In that case, companies are forced to speed up their plans to replace jobs with automation.” Smart manufacturing and industry 4.0 solutions enable businesses to set up in a fully automated manner with unmanned production lines and minimize the impact of a similar crisis in the future.

Adopting information and communication technologies, smart machinery can also improve production performance, reduce misses by human factors, create an effective production management system and reduce operating costs and manpower.

“With constant focus on improving the quality and productivity in upgrading the machines with automation to offer value added to customers, demand for Taiwan machinery could see a spike after Covid-19,” said Simon Liao, manager of HIWIN Technologies Corp.

“The demand for machines with automation will increase to [also] avoid the risk of group infection concerns happening in the production line,” added Valen Fann, representative of Tongtai Machine & Tool Co. Ltd. Taiwan is one of the top five machine tool exporting countries in the world recognized for providing high

quality products with refined technology and consistent performance.

“Basically some regions would grow after Covid-19 due to a need to shift from the original center of manufacturing, while some could be trapped by the pandemic. We will continue to seize the chance wherever it’s available,” said Anny Lee, regional sales representative of Chin Fong Machine Industrial Co., Ltd. Among the export markets of Taiwan, the Philippines is its 18th top importer. Based on data from Customs Administration of Taiwan, the value of exported Taiwanese machineries here reached $56.6 million from January to April. However, the figure is lower by 17.43 percent compared to last year's $68.5 million.

Since the local manufacturing sector has just reopened with the easing of lockdowns in Metro Manila and other parts of the country, majority of industry players now seeks operational upgrades and strictly adheres to safety measures to prevent infection.

It is expected, therefore, that there will be a big requirement for Taiwanese smart machineries domestically amid the pandemic.

“For developing countries like the Philippines, industry upgrading and automation can efficiently improve the production quality and quantity, effectively boost the industry development of the nation, and increase the attraction of international funds to invest in the Philippines,” said Mark Wu, executive director of Strategic Marketing Department of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council.

“For Taiwanese machinery companies, the Philippines is a great market for them to expand their business; and Taiwan’s advanced machinery techniques will also be helpful for boosting the Philippines’s industry.”

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Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, June 15, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

June 11, 2020

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

45.9 104.4 73.05 20.65 7.68 40 9.41 17.5 21.95 47.25 18.5 103.5 54.8 0.74 17 0.57 2.5 0.95 0.3 0.58 165.8 1700

47.2 105 73.5 20.7 7.69 40.05 9.88 19.3 22 48.4 18.72 103.6 55.2 0.78 17.18 0.58 2.61 0.99 0.315 0.59 170 1750

47.5 104.9 75 20.8 7.65 40.25 9.81 18.88 22.3 48 18.72 102 56.75 0.69 17 0.58 2.62 0.95 0.3 0.6 170 1700

47.5 105 75 20.8 7.69 40.35 9.88 18.9 22.4 48.85 18.72 106 56.75 0.69 17.1 0.58 2.62 0.95 0.3 0.61 172 1700

45.9 101 73 20.3 7.41 39.2 9.81 18.88 21.9 47.15 17.02 100 54.5 0.69 16.9 0.57 2.62 0.95 0.3 0.58 170 1700

45.9 105 73.5 20.7 7.68 40 9.88 18.9 22 47.2 18.5 103.5 55.2 0.69 17.1 0.57 2.62 0.95 0.3 0.59 170 1700

2400 2355010 2260250 58800 1101200 3693100 2800 2000 850500 1900 30900 1129490 4160 1000 34900 3000 15000 1000 400000 336000 5680 700

110890 245663194 165893282 1212680 8337119 147306015 27553 37788 18732000 90405 565930 116784054 229059 690 593050 1720 39300 950 120000 198620 965690 1190000

-4590 -75081025 -52917365.5 -41410 -449338 -29361555 -3924035 4668 -784304 5650 7000 -600130 1190000

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.2 2.22 2.23 2.23 2.16 2.2 8142000 17920670 286310 ALSONS CONS 0.88 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.89 0.89 162000 144210 ABOITIZ POWER 28.55 28.9 28.85 28.9 28 28.9 882200 25279495 14548455 BASIC ENERGY 0.165 0.17 0.169 0.17 0.165 0.165 840000 140530 FIRST GEN 21.15 21.3 20.9 21.3 20.8 21.3 643900 13581390 -1394290 FIRST PHIL HLDG 59.2 60 60.5 60.5 59.15 60 107550 6407635.5 -5080569.5 MERALCO 291 292 292 292 286.2 292 262480 76365600 -27575080 MANILA WATER 12.38 12.4 12.3 12.5 12.08 12.4 1470300 18084440 4485806 PETRON 3.21 3.22 3.24 3.24 3.13 3.21 2611000 8332710 489820 PETROENERGY 2.53 2.89 2.6 2.9 2.5 2.89 59000 161760 PHX PETROLEUM 10.92 11.2 11.2 11.2 11 11.2 59500 664498 PILIPINAS SHELL 19.8 19.82 19.84 19.9 19 19.8 659000 12930142 107200 SPC POWER 8.1 8.12 8.11 8.16 8.1 8.1 48000 390057 12991.9998 VIVANT 13.64 14.96 14.96 14.96 14.96 14.96 200 2992 AGRINURTURE 7.37 7.4 7.2 7.45 7.2 7.4 321600 2375254 143809 AXELUM 2.77 2.78 2.73 2.79 2.65 2.77 1309000 3564640 -67970 BOGO MEDELLIN 75.65 83.95 75.65 75.65 75.65 75.65 10 756.5 CNTRL AZUCARERA 12.5 12.98 12.6 13.2 12.5 12.5 1300 16394 CENTURY FOOD 15 15.02 14.98 15.04 14.9 15 2168100 32521206 1055222 DEL MONTE 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.46 4.46 78000 350600 -62600 DNL INDUS 5.57 5.58 5.5 5.58 5.21 5.58 2028000 11062333 6805923 EMPERADOR 8.32 8.35 8.36 8.5 8.25 8.32 51696700 432,897,736( 429,592,252.9997) SMC FOODANDBEV 69.7 70 70 70 67 70 51980 3575509 -543289 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.55 0.56 0.57 0.58 0.55 0.56 313000 174280 FRUITAS HLDG 1.3 1.31 1.35 1.35 1.3 1.31 9114000 11954430 153220 GINEBRA 35.5 36 36.85 36.85 35 36 36300 1308190 442350 JOLLIBEE 145 145.1 144 145.3 140.5 145 2809030 404936553 204047770 MACAY HLDG 6.4 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.38 6.8 11500 74187 -32500 MAXS GROUP 6 6.05 6.1 6.1 5.89 6 1917400 11484688 -3742199 PEPSI COLA 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.65 1.69 506000 858280 -107100 SHAKEYS PIZZA 6.35 6.36 6.65 6.65 6.12 6.36 1775200 11303467 2392528 ROXAS AND CO 1.81 1.82 1.81 1.82 1.79 1.81 484000 876480 ROXAS HLDG 1.61 1.63 1.51 1.6 1.51 1.56 35000 55090 -4530 SWIFT FOODS 0.108 0.115 0.107 0.107 0.107 0.107 100000 10700 UNIV ROBINA 142 143 143 143 138.1 143 670390 94888332 3643125 VITARICH 0.86 0.88 0.87 0.88 0.83 0.88 5632000 4806400 -500 CEMEX HLDG 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.16 1.12 1.15 6569000 7503460 -79480 EAGLE CEMENT 9.95 9.97 10 10 9.94 9.95 13450000 133835946 -125172338 EEI CORP 5.36 5.38 5.43 5.43 5.15 5.36 1247900 6646696 -157845.0003 HOLCIM 7.71 7.72 7.69 7.84 7.52 7.72 3067300 23519948 1570 MEGAWIDE 7.61 7.62 7.21 7.78 6.9 7.61 12223300 89382869 5379792 PHINMA 8.8 8.98 8.8 8.98 8.8 8.98 1300 11656 TKC METALS 0.75 0.78 0.8 0.8 0.73 0.78 305000 232940 VULCAN INDL 0.72 0.73 0.71 0.72 0.7 0.72 1556000 1107530 CROWN ASIA 1.82 1.83 1.84 1.84 1.82 1.82 72000 131640 EUROMED 2.42 2.43 2.54 2.54 2.41 2.43 902000 2211700 -59370 MABUHAY VINYL 3.55 3.6 3.59 3.64 3.59 3.64 9000 32390 PRYCE CORP 4.25 4.3 4.34 4.34 4.3 4.3 7000 30300 CONCEPCION 22.2 22.5 22.25 22.5 22.25 22.5 7700 171625 -169400 GREENERGY 1.63 1.64 1.69 1.7 1.62 1.63 5645000 9389090 -756850.0001 INTEGRATED MICR 5.61 5.63 5.69 5.79 5.5 5.63 198400 1113342 234125 IONICS 1.16 1.18 1.25 1.25 1.16 1.16 1416000 1685670 SFA SEMICON 1.39 1.4 1.43 1.48 1.38 1.4 3724000 5305350 -9940 CIRTEK HLDG 8.45 8.47 8.24 8.77 8.02 8.45 6807300 57679285 -598093.9998

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.51 0.52 0.54 0.54 0.5 0.51 20438000 10407330 ASIABEST GROUP 8.7 8.75 9.54 9.96 8.3 8.7 174500 1570304 AYALA CORP 782 790 780 793 765 790 398890 313389220 ABOITIZ EQUITY 49.05 49.95 49.5 49.95 48.05 49.95 1041800 51585265 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 7 7.04 7.08 7.08 6.8 7 45990400 320748143 AYALA LAND LOG 1.76 1.78 1.78 1.78 1.7 1.78 1853000 3219500 ANSCOR 6.2 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.2 6.23 5800 35980 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.53 0.55 0.54 0.55 0.52 0.52 109000 58950 ATN HLDG A 0.6 0.61 0.6 0.61 0.58 0.61 1124000 663620 ATN HLDG B 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.62 0.6 0.61 480000 291910 COSCO CAPITAL 5.52 5.57 5.62 5.62 5.44 5.57 3147300 17417634 DMCI HLDG 4.4 4.43 4.48 4.49 4.31 4.43 4615000 20399930 FILINVEST DEV 8.49 8.99 8.5 8.6 8.5 8.5 33900 288248 FORUM PACIFIC 0.185 0.199 0.2 0.2 0.199 0.199 230000 45850 GT CAPITAL 490 491 490 498 480 490 566170 277180912 HOUSE OF INV 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 4000 13600 JG SUMMIT 64.95 65 63.2 65 62.15 65 1593470 102679923 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.63 5.64 5.64 5.64 5.63 5.64 38500 217136 LODESTAR 0.52 0.54 0.52 0.55 0.52 0.52 229000 120210 LOPEZ HLDG 2.69 2.71 2.65 2.71 2.65 2.69 479000 1276160 LT GROUP 8.82 9.13 9 9.13 8.7 9.13 1137800 10111148 METRO PAC INV 3.51 3.52 3.47 3.51 3.37 3.51 36659000 127330110 PRIME MEDIA 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.87 0.82 0.85 288000 246640 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.54 2.79 2.51 2.54 2.51 2.54 7000 17600 SYNERGY GRID 156.1 160 160.1 160.1 158 158 850 134641 SM INVESTMENTS 941.5 951 930 951 911 951 198000 184837280 SAN MIGUEL CORP 104.6 104.7 104 106 102.1 104.6 512750 53533178 SOC RESOURCES 0.64 0.66 0.65 0.65 0.64 0.64 38000 24370 TOP FRONTIER 137.6 138 139.1 139.1 138 138 13750 1905453 WELLEX INDUS 0.185 0.195 0.19 0.195 0.19 0.19 120000 22900 ZEUS HLDG 0.141 0.149 0.152 0.152 0.14 0.149 110000 16570

-696380 -2970 89456740 8084375 -20108342 3500 29140 -8100 -58200 591284 -3009130 -285698 -71001794 -9624412.5 36660 -801830 30358 42351720 3201 4689630 1349491 -315693 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.58 0.59 0.59 0.59 0.57 0.58 1241000 716650 ANCHOR LAND 8.53 9 9 9 9 9 600 5400 AYALA LAND 37.15 37.4 36.3 37.4 35.2 37.4 8390900 305890850 ARANETA PROP 1.03 1.07 1.03 1.03 1.01 1.03 42000 43110 BELLE CORP 1.44 1.47 1.43 1.47 1.4 1.44 288000 410280 A BROWN 0.59 0.6 0.61 0.61 0.59 0.6 660000 394970 CROWN EQUITIES 0.124 0.126 0.122 0.126 0.122 0.124 70000 8730 CEBU HLDG 6.1 6.36 6.1 6.36 6.1 6.36 1600 10124 CEB LANDMASTERS 3.92 3.95 3.97 4.01 3.9 3.97 353000 1405830 CENTURY PROP 0.39 0.395 0.4 0.4 0.39 0.39 6850000 2694150 DOUBLEDRAGON 19.9 20 18.1 20.9 18.1 20 3114500 62721082 DM WENCESLAO 6.69 6.7 6.66 6.7 6.6 6.7 1562800 10346160 EMPIRE EAST 0.285 0.29 0.29 0.3 0.285 0.29 7140000 2069550 EVER GOTESCO 0.096 0.099 0.093 0.099 0.093 0.096 1610000 153070 FILINVEST LAND 1.03 1.04 1.04 1.04 0.97 1.03 17152000 17389410 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.82 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.81 0.83 218000 178560 8990 HLDG 10.1 10.26 10.3 10.3 10.08 10.1 32200 327258 PHIL INFRADEV 0.89 0.91 0.88 0.91 0.86 0.91 1543000 1357590 CITY AND LAND 0.68 0.72 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 1000 700 MEGAWORLD 3.34 3.39 3.2 3.39 3.1 3.39 50148000 166775090 MRC ALLIED 0.151 0.152 0.154 0.154 0.15 0.152 11360000 1716790 PRIMEX CORP 1.43 1.48 1.42 1.49 1.42 1.49 14000 20330 ROBINSONS LAND 19.08 19.58 19.3 19.68 18.34 19.58 3888500 75092012 PHIL REALTY 0.249 0.25 0.255 0.255 0.242 0.249 140000 34870 ROCKWELL 1.56 1.6 1.59 1.61 1.53 1.53 106000 168520 SHANG PROP 2.69 2.75 2.72 2.75 2.69 2.75 176000 475220 STA LUCIA LAND 1.89 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1542000 2929800 SM PRIME HLDG 32.6 33.25 32.8 33.25 31.9 33.25 24280900 787954420 VISTAMALLS 3.9 3.98 4 4 3.9 3.9 48000 188870 SUNTRUST HOME 1.3 1.31 1.34 1.34 1.29 1.31 4877000 6406740 VISTA LAND 4.1 4.12 4.19 4.19 3.89 4.1 3842000 15607090

22731465 11400 -113270 -6994529 -38574 -660450 -284620 -206104 85180 48850470 -10131128 -17070 27400 437271645 -2933210

SERVICES ABS CBN 15.64 15.66 15.68 15.72 15.6 15.66 334800 5234464 GMA NETWORK 5.05 5.09 5.11 5.12 5.01 5.05 641900 3248016 MANILA BULLETIN 0.365 0.38 0.365 0.365 0.365 0.365 30000 10950 GLOBE TELECOM 2210 2218 2176 2218 2140 2218 59540 131176400 PLDT 1233 1249 1225 1249 1195 1249 199370 244880885 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.053 0.055 0.055 0.057 0.053 0.055 30960000 1722390 DFNN INC 2.9 3.03 2.99 3 2.99 3 15000 44970 DITO CME HLDG 2.71 2.72 2.76 2.76 2.65 2.72 32327000 87552000 ISLAND INFO 0.08 0.082 0.078 0.082 0.078 0.082 1190000 93540 JACKSTONES 1.6 1.85 1.75 1.85 1.75 1.85 3000 5350 NOW CORP 2.1 2.11 2.02 2.18 2.02 2.1 8248000 17213610 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.19 0.192 0.184 0.192 0.183 0.19 1120000 209700 PHILWEB 2.42 2.44 2.5 2.5 2.36 2.42 1874000 4538390 2GO GROUP 11.1 11.14 11.5 13.46 11 11.14 3307500 40517550 CHELSEA 3.76 3.8 3.9 3.91 3.64 3.76 1756000 6593770 CEBU AIR 48.9 49 48.5 49.3 46 49 783700 37766900 INTL CONTAINER 101.7 103.3 103 103.1 99 103.1 2435950 246479760 LBC EXPRESS 14.2 14.28 13.8 14.9 13.8 14.28 66000 935536 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.75 0.84 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1000 800 MACROASIA 6.54 6.55 6.51 6.8 6.21 6.55 14546100 94461487 METROALLIANCE A 2.47 2.49 2.61 2.61 2.42 2.47 3064000 7597330 PAL HLDG 7.15 7.16 7.14 7.15 7 7.15 87100 621023 HARBOR STAR 0.87 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.85 0.88 749000 650420 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.026 0.027 0.027 0.028 0.026 0.027 9800000 257200 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.66 1.7 1.65 1.65 1.65 1.65 5000 8250 GRAND PLAZA 12.06 13 13 13 13 13 3300 42900 WATERFRONT 0.395 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.395 0.395 130000 52550 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.4 6.48 6.1 6.49 6.1 6.48 1700 10637 FAR EASTERN U 965 1010 1010 1010 995 995 260 259240 IPEOPLE 7.71 8.8 6.6 8.88 6.6 8.8 13700 107908 STI HLDG 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.32 0.305 0.315 4570000 1424150 BERJAYA 2.18 2.25 2.19 2.27 2.17 2.25 107000 235280 BLOOMBERRY 7.64 7.72 7.8 7.8 7.28 7.72 9461500 71248492 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.98 1.99 1.97 1.98 1.96 1.98 221000 436330 LEISURE AND RES 1.68 1.7 1.67 1.68 1.65 1.68 503000 840660 PH RESORTS GRP 2.7 2.85 2.48 2.86 2.43 2.85 346000 941860 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.345 0.355 0.36 0.37 0.335 0.345 20790000 7207100 ALLHOME 7.3 7.38 7.65 7.65 7.11 7.3 7123000 52357835 METRO RETAIL 1.6 1.61 1.6 1.61 1.54 1.6 4926000 7819440 PUREGOLD 46 46.4 46.7 46.8 45.3 46.4 1407200 65058035 ROBINSONS RTL 68.5 70 69.9 70 68 70 63170 4400764.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 129 130 130 130 129 129 1720 222562 SSI GROUP 1.23 1.25 1.22 1.27 1.22 1.23 7499000 9329910 WILCON DEPOT 16 16.22 16.2 16.48 15.92 16 2643200 42386458 APC GROUP 0.33 0.36 0.355 0.37 0.34 0.355 1390000 493400 EASYCALL 7.06 7.5 7.26 7.5 7.03 7.5 110000 790825 IPM HLDG 3.02 5 4.21 4.21 4.21 4.21 2000 8420 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.22 0.231 0.225 0.231 0.218 0.231 6200000 1386060 SBS PHIL CORP 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 10700 57780

9013600 77508920 44970 -6704990 572639.9998 35680 118020 16608 -1085160 -13841130 -35827355 95328 933664 -29750 6100 9950 750 -15500 -39420 3808329 1980 -599480 188800 9072545 -815820 4023735 -893578.5 -50760 -1444150 9718304 -18000 -50370 -

MINING & OIL

ATOK 9.71 10.18 10 10.18 10 10.18 4800 48326 APEX MINING 1.07 1.08 1.03 1.08 1.03 1.08 2131000 2240330 -282320 ABRA MINING 0.001 0.0011 0.001 0.0011 0.0009 0.001 1145000000 1145000 -100 ATLAS MINING 1.95 2 1.97 2.05 1.95 1.95 555000 1105190 -19900 BENGUET A 1.18 1.19 1.27 1.4 1.1 1.18 680000 810610 BENGUET B 1.14 1.29 1.15 1.15 1.14 1.14 13000 14900 5699.9999 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.191 0.195 0.195 0.196 0.187 0.19 710000 137700 CENTURY PEAK 2.7 2.71 2.66 2.7 2.64 2.7 477000 1272620 270000 DIZON MINES 7.12 7.22 7.15 7.15 7.11 7.11 1000 7130 FERRONICKEL 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.87 0.91 5902000 5315180 226060 GEOGRACE 0.202 0.203 0.214 0.214 0.202 0.202 270000 54680 LEPANTO A 0.074 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.073 0.074 2250000 166660 MANILA MINING A 0.0063 0.0066 0.0065 0.0066 0.0065 0.0066 51000000 335000 MANILA MINING B 0.0068 0.0084 0.0066 0.0068 0.0066 0.0068 7000000 47400 MARCVENTURES 0.61 0.62 0.62 0.63 0.6 0.61 510000 314080 NIHAO 1.05 1.07 1.06 1.08 1.05 1.05 63000 67190 NICKEL ASIA 1.95 1.96 1.94 1.96 1.89 1.95 8079000 15554440 631390 OMICO CORP 0.36 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.38 20000 7600 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.5 0.53 0.5 0.53 0.5 0.53 56000 28060 PX MINING 2.47 2.49 2.42 2.5 2.41 2.49 1010000 2476260 -278120 SEMIRARA MINING 13.5 13.52 13.52 13.58 12.96 13.52 3370900 45196434 -354988 UNITED PARAGON 0.004 0.0043 0.0039 0.0039 0.0038 0.0038 4000000 15500 ACE ENEXOR 6.53 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.51 6.6 195800 1291451 10560 PHILODRILL 0.0076 0.0079 0.0079 0.0079 0.0079 0.0079 1000000 7900 PXP ENERGY 4.98 4.99 5.1 5.1 4.86 4.98 1960700 9757401 -21314

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 98 99 97.5 99 97.5 99 500 49485 AC PREF B1 506 519 520 520 519 519 540 280790 ALCO PREF B 100 101.5 100 100 100 100 10350 1035000 -1035000 AC PREF B2R 502.5 504 504 504 502.5 502.5 400 201300 CPG PREF A 100.1 100.2 100.1 100.2 100.1 100.2 4000 400406 400406 DD PREF 101 101.5 101 101 101 101 4580 462580 FGEN PREF G 108.8 110 108 108.8 108 108.8 2330 253240 FPH PREF C 490 500 495 495 495 495 290 143550 GLO PREF P 510 520 520 520 520 520 10 5200 GTCAP PREF B 1010 1020 1012 1012 1010 1010 650 656600 MWIDE PREF 99.4 100 100 100 100 100 40600 4060000 PNX PREF 3A 99.2 100 99.2 99.2 99.2 99.2 20 1984 PNX PREF 3B 103 106 106 106 106 106 1260 133560 -16960 PNX PREF 4 999 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 2755 2755000 PCOR PREF 2B 1000 1030 1030 1030 1030 1030 130 133900 PCOR PREF 3A 1045 1048 1045 1048 1045 1048 585 612810 PCOR PREF 3B 1050 1065 1050 1050 1050 1050 5 5250 SMC PREF 2C 78 78.8 78.5 78.8 78 78.8 5900 464308 SMC PREF 2E 75.75 76.35 76.3 76.3 75.75 75.75 4000 303555.5 SMC PREF 2H 76.1 76.45 76 76 76 76 15000 1140000

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 14.9 15 15.3 15.3 14.8 15 122300 1826864 -227964 GMA HLDG PDR 4.88 4.95 4.95 4.95 4.91 4.91 302000 1484640 -456770

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.78 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.79 0.79 61000 48590 2370

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 1.97 1.98 2.02 2.02 1.93 1.97 1698000 3349470 1360 KEPWEALTH 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.35 6.6 62800 407064 XURPAS 0.6 0.61 0.62 0.63 0.6 0.61 1095000 672730

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 97 97.5 97.65 97.65 95 97 26080 2500718.5 325316

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Losses prompt Subic firms to cut costs, lay off workers

By Henry Empeño

S

Correspondent

ubic Bay Freeport—Financial losses and supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have thus far forced at least 20 companies here to retrench workers.

A report from the Labor Department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) showed that the affected firms applied cost-cutting measures like forced leave, compressed workweek schedules, or outright termination of workers since February when the Covid-19 outbreak began to hurt business activities worldwide.

As of June 2, the SBMA said a total of 2,435 workers have been placed on forced leave while 124 others were bumped off by compressed workweek schedules because of low demand for company products, or due to lack of materials and supplies for production.

Meanwhile, a total of 883 workers have been terminated from employment since mid-February due

to financial losses suffered by their companies.

The companies with most number of separated employees during the pandemic were computer dev ice manufacturer Wistron Infocomm (Philippines) Corp., with 551 affected workers; port operator Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., with 121; theme park operator Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium, Inc., with 110; and importer Simon & Stanley International Trading & Development Co., with 74.

Wistron also placed hundreds of workers on forced leave in February and March before finally letting go of 551 employees last April.

Business executives here said more lay-offs could be expected in

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Share prices was almost unchanged last week, but trading volumes improved, thanks to some foreign inflows.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 11.11 points to close at 6,476.24 points during the four-day trading week.

“The trend was the same all week, it would start the day with minor losses as there would be more sellers than buyers and then it would recover towards the end of the trading session and close near, or at its high for day. It ended with gains almost everyday last week except for Wednesday as more investors took profits,” said Christopher Mangun, research head at AAA Securities Inc. The main index hovered around the 6,500 level all week, but struggled to climb as investors have started to secure profits after several weeks of substantial gains.

Turnover value for last week was P34.18 billion, or an average of P8.54 billion per day trade, despite having only four trading days.

Foreign investors were net buyers at P120 million.

All subindices ended higher with the exception of the financials index that was down by 5 percent or 69.90 points to close at 1,291.29 points. BDO Unibank Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands, among the biggest banks in terms of market capitalization, ended in the top losers for the week.

The broader All Shares index was up 25.88 to 3,799.16, the Industrial index soared 324.81, the Holding Firms index gained a mere 0.15 to 6,611.86, the Property index rose 21.50 to 3,280.98, the Services index added 46.09 to 1,443 and the Mining and Oil index climbed 265.53 to 5,212.53.

This week

Share prices may start going down this week as there are signs that the investors are ready to cash in on their gains made during the previous trading sessions.

“Last week’s trading and performance is a clear indication that the recent rally has run out of momentum and we may see it start to pull back and test a stronger support level.

We may see it lean on its 6,350 support level this week or perhaps break below it and test its next major support level at 5,950,” said Mangun.

“There is also some concern that the sell off in global equities last week will also dampen the sentiment."

Market will be busy this week. Aside from the online annual stockholders' meeting of several bluechip firms, all eyes will be on the listing of Merrymart Consumer Corp., a small grocery chain led by Edgar “Injap” J. Sia II. The company has braved the market conditions and continued with its P1-billion listing despite the pandemic that hit the economy.

Meanwhile, investors will also watch President Duterte's announcement on Metro Manila's quarantine restriction measures, which he may lift, modify or extend.

“There is recent emphasis to intraday turnover build-up as funds continuously seek the fulcrum for nascent recovery, once conditions improve,” broker 2TradeAsia said.

The broker said there's reason enough to buy market laggards and take exit points. It sees immediate support for the main index at 6,200 and resistance between 6,500 and 6,600.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. advised to trade the range on the stock of Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) as it remained far from breaching its strong resistance level of P153.37 per share.

“At this point, indicators are beginning to reach overbought levels. If this is the case, then JFC will likely just return to the consolidation range of P135.38 to P148 until momentum either recovers or breaks down.

Jollibee shares closed Thursday at P145 apiece.

Meanwhile, the broker recommended to buy when its support price of P7.10 per share holds for the stock of Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the listed holding firm of businessman Andrew Tan. “The gradual ascent of AGI from its base of P5.90 to as high as P7.72 earlier last week finally reached its end, as it closed back to the P7.10-level. Fortunately, this is the same support back in mid-April that helped AGI above water, before a large breakdown entering May." “Whether this support will hold is yet to be seen, but indicators are now at overbought levels. If AGI can sustain consolidation between P7.00 to P7.10, it can regain momentum towards the next resistance at its 100-day moving average at P8.17."

AGI shares closed last week at P7 apiece. VG Cabuag

the future, even as the Subic agency began allowing more business operations under the general community quarantine (GCQ).

Ship repair firm Subic Drydock Corp. (SDC), for example, is scheduled to separate 52 employees on June 25 after implementing mandatory leave for 149 workers on May 1 to 15.

Subic Drydock Administrative Manager Diana Ross Mazo explained that the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) last March and the cancellation of project bookings “forced the business to shut down for two months without revenue.”

Mazo added that the SDC has recalled back to work 40 percent of its employees as the company reopened in a staggered fashion starting May 18 and was set to “gradually increase capacity in support of the ‘new norm’.”

“However, based on careful review of our operation, we need to reduce manpower by separating some of our employees effective June 25,” she said.

Mazo said the company will give the separated workers the applicable 13th month and service incentive leave pay, as well as half month pay per year of service, and with sever-

mutual funds

ance pays to be given in two separate checks: one dated June 26 and the other dated July 26.

According to the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), as much as 96 percent of the 200 Freeport businesses surveyed by the SBFCC last April said they were affected by the Covid-19 crisis, with 60 percent totally shutting down their operations and 36percent being forced to slow down since the start of the ECQ. Among those allowed to operate, more than 45 percent did so with a workforce equivalent to only 10 percent of their original operational requirement, the SBFCC said.

SBMA Labor Department Manager Melvin Varias said the department is closely monitoring the implementation by Subic companies of their retrenchment measures to ensure compliance with labor laws.

Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, various locators in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone employed a total of 138,940 workers, with close to 70 percent in the services sector and more than 15 percent in manufacturing, Varias said. The terminated workers comprise about 0.6 percent of the total number of workers in this freeport.

June 6, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 212.74 -20.69% -8.23% -4.74% -15.54% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0306 -37.28% -13.72% -6.38% -25.43% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8728 -31.5% -12.86% -7.3% -21.9% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7286 -23.87% n.a. n.a. -18.78% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6935 -22.81% n.a. n.a. -18.34% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.5591 -18.41% -6% -4.23% -14.44% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7238 -19.26% -8.8% n.a.

-15.21% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 76.55 -37.47% n.a. n.a. -25.92% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 42.9319 -19.5% -6.47% n.a. -16.28% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 455.49 -17.8% -6.02% -3.87% -14.51% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.9142 n.a. n.a. n.a. -11.25% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0737 -20.61% -6.44% -3.44% -16.57% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 31.6895 -20.14% -5.81% -3.08% -16.38% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.847 -20.99% n.a. n.a. -16.81% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.3755 -19.1% -5.9% -2.63% -16.23% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 731.78 -18.97% -5.9% -2.84% -16.09% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6637 -29.95% -9.99% -7.06% -22.05% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.3872 -23.35% -7.23% -4.08% -19.53% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8405 -19.03% -6.02% -2.76% -16.02% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.0737 -19.64% -4.59% -2.15% -15.87% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 98.2671 -18.73% -5.38% -1.98% -15.98% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.9578 0.65% -0.93% -2.25% -6.87% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.3571 9.79% 5.33% n.a.

-1.57% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5691 -10.58% -4.23% -3.64% 0.4% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1206 -9.48% -3.68% -1.63% -2.77% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4903 -7.1% -1.68% -2.65% -5.37% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1916 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-16.15% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8759 -3.68% -0.59% -0.2% -4.44% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.5711 -4.72% -1.58% -1.27% -5.75% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.9203 -5.82% -1.84% -1.44% -6.13% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9788 -8.74% -2.79% -1.14% -6.92% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.4033 -13.07% -3.51% -2.25% -11.92% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9684 -5.34% n.a. n.a.

-4.66% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8885 -13.2% n.a. n.a. -10.83% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8688 -14.97% n.a. n.a. -12.53% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8428 -15.95% -4.43% -3.42% -13.54% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03841 4.72% 2.53% 1.62% 0.47% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $0.9726 2.42% 0.37% -0.73% -6.29% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.8133 5.42% 3.68% 2.88% -2.49% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.0989 2.17% 1.67% n.a.

-2.65% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 363.94 4.21% 3.01% 2.47% 1.72% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9363 2.55% 0.88% -0.08% 1.8% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1821 4.68% 5.15% 5.11% 2.11% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2785 4.98% 2.74% 2.21% 2.4% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4319 6.43% 3.19% 1.88% 3.09% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.5486 10.88% 3.89% 2.29% 4.02% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a, 6 1.2879 6.77% 3.89% 2.11% 2.48% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9231 7.82% 4.16% 2.16% 3.56% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0233 10.03% 3.39% 1.58% 6.12% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1501 7.79% 4.7% 2.86% 2.41% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.7348 6.91% 4.13% 2.37% 1.98% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $472.23 3.48% 2.42% 2.59% 0.86% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є215.03 -0.53% 0.57% 0.86% -2.14% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2135 3.44% 2.67% 2.31% 0.52% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.026 2.36% 1.45% 1.2% 0.78% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0645 -1.25% -0.35% -0.03% -2.8% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.428 5.74% 3.05% 2.81% 1.01% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0602707 2.64% 1.83% 1.73% -0.07% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1661 4.45% 2.01% 2.2% -0.29% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 127.73 3.79% 3.13% 2.37% 1.55% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0397 2.66% n.a. n.a.

1.31% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.281 3.27% 3.03% 2.56% 1.3% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0439 1.7% n.a. n.a.

0.65% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.93 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-6.06%

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

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

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

6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund).

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance

Declaring dividends still iffy for EastWest

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otianun-led East West Banking Corp. (EastWest) may hold off declaring dividends until next year due to expansion plans, its top chief said.

“We don’t expect to declare dividends this year or maybe next year too. [It] also depends on our future expansion plans,” EastWest CEO Antonio C. Moncupa, Jr. said in a recent stockholders’ meeting.

While Moncupa did not explain further the initiative, he said that the expansion could benefit the shareholders in the future as well.

EastWest “is in a state of expansion, which means that it’s with consumer capital... [E]xpansion is a very positive project for our shareholders,” he explained.

Apart from this, the EastWest chief said that the bank has become more conservative in terms of capital management with the coronavirus pandemic.

Moncupa clarified, however, that there was still a chance to declare dividends this year given that the bank was earning well.

According to its 2019 annual financial report, the listed bank has total unappropriated retained earnings available for dividend declaration amounting to P20.97 million.

The last time EastWest declared dividends was in 2018, according to its disclosure to the local bourse, issuing them in the form of 750 million stocks.

In the same meeting, Moncupa revealed that the bank was seeing around P10 billion in provisions

for bad debts this year as it gears up from the financial impact of the government measures addressing the pandemic.

This estimate is close to 4 percent of its projected total loan portfolio this year.

As of April, EastWest has booked provisions for nonperforming loans amounting to P4.5 billion, which is nearly half the anticipated 2020 full-year figure. Comparing this to the first quarter, provisions grew by almost twofold from P2.4 billion.

With this estimate, Moncupa said that EastWest’s income for 2020 would take a hit.

EastWest is projecting its net income to only reach around P5 billion to P6 billion this year, which is lower than its earlier target of P12 billion prior the pandemic. The bank’s latest estimates are lower than its last year’s net income amounting to P6.24 billion.

“The bad news is we will not have the banner year we’d hoped we will this year,” he added, noting there were still many uncertainties. Still, he said that the bank’s “balance sheet is resilient, and it could churn good profits.”

Moncupa reported that the bank’s net income amounted to P2.7 billion as of end-April.

As of quarter ending-March, EastWest’s total assets inched up 3 percent to P384.1 billion while loans jumped by 6 percent to P261.4 billion. Deposits, meanwhile, hiked by 3 percent to P294.3 billion for the period. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Perspectives

Automating the security function

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e’re seeing a convergence of data in the interest of automating security from identity authentication through threat detection and response.

A broad set of know-yourcustomer (KYC) data is being gathered and analyzed by many sectors, including financial services, eCommerce/retail, technology, media and telecommunications, and automotive, among others. This information typically has been heavily siloed.

But companies are beginning to realize they are sitting on a treasure trove of data that—if better organized and made more efficiently accessible—can be extracted and analyzed for a variety of value-added purposes.

The landscape as we see it

Companies are working hard to automate functions that until very recently have been purely manual, by pulling together historically disparate data sets.

Not only are businesses better able to confirm that digital customers are who they say they are, they are also acquiring deeper information, such as who has a virus on their computer, who recently received a phishing email and who tried to enter a network to which they don’t have access.

Security professionals are combining third-party tools and in-house solutions to automate as much of the overall cyber playbook as possible, and align it with the organization’s business development and customer experience objectives. Companies are looking to automate the first and second lines of defense via the cloud to better respond to threats across the enterprise without a human having to do that work, while simultaneously

confirming that the security controls they expect to have in place are indeed operating as expected.

What we believe you should do about it

Always remember: Whoever controls the data has the power.

With that firmly in mind, the first step is to transfer your critical enterprise data from the different third-party vendors that so many companies maintain across their systems into a centralized, accessible location.

We also suggest advocating for a data normalization initiative within the organization to scrub and properly label the data so you understand what data you have, how it’s being posted, and what features are available within the datasets.

Organizations in the early stages of maturity in terms of data normalization may not be equipped to jump right into insight extraction through AI and machine learning. For these companies, it’s important to prioritize the use cases they want to address—fraud detection, customer experience enhancements, operational efficiency improvements, for example—and determine how to plug in the right tools, technologies, and advanced analytics to leverage the data once it’s available.

The excerpt was taken from KPMG article, “All hands on deck: Key cyber security considerations for 2020.” © 2020 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent member-firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG International), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

Printed in the Philippines.

For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may visit www.kpmg.com.ph.

BusinessMirror

Monday, June 15, 2020 B3

S&P: Balance-sheet strength may help banks weather financial shocks

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By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@Tyronepiad

&P Global Ratings is counting on the banking industry’s balancesheet strength and support measure to cushion the financial shocks as government imposed lockdowns addressing the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

In a recent statement, the global debt watcher said that it has downgraded ratings for many banks in the past month as businesses were ordered closed to stem the Covid-19 contagion.

“We continue to expect that bank rating downgrades this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be limited by banks’ strengthened

balance sheets over the past 10 years, the support from public authorities to household and corporate markets, and our base case of a sustained economic recovery next year,” the credit-rating agency firm said.

Analysts have been saying that the Philippine banking system’s capitalization can withstand the

pandemic. As of end-April, the banking sector’s capital account reached P2.35 trillion, which was nearly 9-percent higher compared to P2.16 trillion for the same period last year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, meanwhile, has been providing relief by cutting policy rates and reserve requirements.

S&P Global Ratings Credit Analyst Alexandre Birry said that the firm has taken 212 rating actions on banks related to pandemic and oil shock recently, and 76 percent of these were outlook revisions. The analyst added that around 30 percent of banks were now tagged with a negative outlook.

“We expect that second-quarter results will shed more light on the relative impact of the pandemic on banks across the globe, but the full effect on asset quality will likely only become clear much later in the year,” Birry explained.

2nd round of cash grants completed–LandBank

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tate-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) has completed the payout for the second round of cash grants worth over P6.74 billion to 1.3 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program beneficiaries of the government’s social amelioration program.

With the completion of the payout for the second wave of cash assistance to LandBank cash cards of intended beneficiaries on June 11, the bank said they may now withdraw the cash grant from more than 2,000 LandBank automated teller machines (ATMs) available nationwide free of charge and from more than 20,000 ATMs of BancNet-member banks.

They may also use their cash cards for cashless purchases in groceries, supermarkets and drugstores through the point-of-sale machines at the cashier or check-out counters.

“Through the LandBank cash cards, we already delivered the second wave of cash grants to 1.3 million beneficiaries in an immediate, safe and secure manner. Rest assured that LandBank will continuously work with the national government to ensure that future beneficiaries will receive their emergency subsidies quickly, while strictly adhering to the quarantine measures in place,” LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo said in a statement.

LandBank’s distribution of cash grants is in line with the passage of Republic Act 11469 and the issuance of DSWD-DOLE-DTI-DA-DOF-DBM Joint Memorandum Circular 1, series of 2020 or the “Special Guidelines on the Provision of Social Amelioration Measures” in a bid to ease the impact of lockdowns. Bernadette D. Nicolas

Bond investors face enigma over Europe’s safest asset

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he rally in German bonds in the past week has reminded fund managers why betting against Europe’s safest assets is a risky business.

The debt slid last month as economies showed signs of recovering from the ravages of the coronavirus epidemic, leading some analysts to predict yields would soon turn positive after a year below zero. Instead, worries over a second wave led investors to dump stocks and turn to havens such as bunds.

Now, funds are in a quandary. An economic recovery, increased German borrowing and regional stimulus are all factors that suggest higher bund yields down the road. But those shorting bunds in the past have been badly burned, and for some, German debt just isn’t worth touching.

“We have no position in bunds,” said Patrick Armstrong, chief investment officer at Plurimi Wealth LLP. “Don’t see the attraction of owning negative 0.3 percent, but not a good level to short.”

While the negative yields mean investors lose cash if holding the debt to maturity, traders can make money if it keeps rallying. That has led German bonds to return more than 7 percent since the start of 2018, through the turmoil in Italian politics and Brexit, trade wars and the pandemic, according to Bloomberg Barclays indices.

They serve as a proxy for European risk, and tend to rise on concerns about the stability of the euro area. So the huge European Central Bank asset purchases and a plan to jointly issue euro debt provides stability and a new challenger, something money managers haven’t had to deal with before.

“Investors could substitute for bunds with the new European Commission issuance,” said Ross Hutchison, an investment director in Aberdeen Standard Investments’ fixed-income

team. “We think central bank support will keep yields low, but we don’t think bunds are an attractive place to hold these overweights right now.”

Still, with the risk of a second virus wave and central banks vowing to do whatever it takes, investors are grabbing longer maturity returns wherever they can. Demand for European sovereign debt sales via banks last week topped $300 billion.

Germany initially pulled in more than $50 billion of bids for its sale of 30-year bonds, the only tenor offering positive yields, allowing it to cut pricing on the deal.

“What makes bunds unique amongst other defensive assets is that they offer investors downside protection specifically against a breakup of the euro area,” said Wolfgang Bauer, a fund manager at M&G Plc. While demand for such a break-up hedge has been reduced, he “wouldn’t write bunds off just yet.”

Lurking risks

The bloc’s groundbreaking issuance plan isn’t confirmed yet. There are signs northern European nations could revolt, with Austria the latest nation to declare its opposition, not wanting to be on the hook for rebuilding badly-hit southern countries.

All sorts of supportive global risks are lurking. The chances of a no-deal Brexit this year, the resumption of US-China tension and the US election, to name a few.

That could be good for Mark Dowding, chief investment officer at BlueBay Asset Management, who is adding exposure to bunds because he expects the ECB to hold yields down. But even he’s not feeling particularly enthusiastic.

“To be honest we have no strong conviction,” he said. “Ultimately we think yields aren’t really going anywhere.” Bloomberg News

Last month, S&P affirmed its “BBB+” long term and “A-2” shortterm sovereign credit rating for the country as it projects the economy to have an above-average growth over the medium term.

“The ratings are also supported by the economy’s sound external settings. These are weighed against the Philippines’ lower-middle-income economy,” the debt watcher explained.

Its long-term outlook remains stable on the back of normal policymaking seen to support credit metrics and anticipated economic recovery next year.

While S&P forecast that Philippine economy is likely to decline by 0.2 percent this year, it noted that gross domestic products might rise by 9 percent next year if the virus will be contained by the first half of 2021 across the world. The growth will be driven by investment and exports, it added.

Survey: Majority of Pinoys open to enrolling bank accounts online

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ajority of Filipinos are open to enroll a financial account via digital platforms, a survey revealed, noting that more local consumers are embracing mobile banking.

In the Consumer Digital Banking Survey conducted by global analytics software firm FICO, it was shown that 76 percent of Filipinos said they would open a financial account online.

Forty percent of respondents were opening online financial accounts for everyday transactions, 38 percent for credit cards and 33 percent for personal loans.

“As consumers’ reliance on online services grows in response to Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), we expect further shifts in adoption and indeed an acceleration and acceptance in opening bank accounts digitally,” said Subhashish Bose, FICO’s lead for fraud, security and compliance in Asia Pacific.

Bose added that Filipino consumers have become digital natives, explaining that 26 percent of them prefer to open a bank account via smartphones. This percentage is higher compared to 18 percent in the United States and 25 percent in the United Kingdom.

The FICO official said that around 40 percent of the Filipinos own a smartphone and spend 4.58 hours a day on their phones on average according to a recent study.

Looking at the demographics, FICO said that older consumers were more likely at the forefront in promoting use of digital banking platforms.

Nearly half or 46 percent of those over 55-year old said they would enroll a bank account online. Around 40 to 45 percent of 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 age brackets shared the same sentiment. Only 28 percent of the 18-24-year-old group claimed they would do the same.

“Younger Filipinos are adept at using smartphones and computers, however, many do not have the required identification forms to open bank accounts at a young age, don’t have regular income or are presented with bank account options that are not appealing,” Bose explained.

The survey also revealed that a substantial portion of Filipino respondents were expecting to accomplish all processes of opening accounts digitally.

FICO noted: “67 percent of Filipinos thought they should be able to prove their identity by scanning documents or providing a “selfie,” 47 percent expected to prove where they live without going offline and 45 percent said they should be able to set up a biometric such as a fingerprint scan at account opening.”

Only 41 percent said that they would accomplish necessary offline application processes as soon as possible if the other requirements could not be completed online.

Overall, FICO said that banks and financial institutions that don’t employ complete digital account opening processes could lose over 40 percent of their new clients.

“Banking executives should review the application completion for authenticated versus non-authenticated applications, as well as how many applicants with saved or abandoned applications return to complete the process,” Bose added.

FICO conducted the survey with 5,000 respondents across Brazil, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, UK and the USA. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

B4

Show BusinessMirror

Monday, June 15, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Adulation and accolades pour in for Anita Linda Writer-director Ronaldo Carballo had the pleasure of writing memorable characters for Linda when he was actively creating narratives for television drama anthologies, like The Maricel Drama Special and Maalaala Mo Kaya from 1988 to the early 1990s. “The most memorable episodes I did were ‘Bisikleta,’ where she played a loving grandmother who, despite being poor, found ways to buy her grandson a bicycle that became the cause of her grandson’s tragic passing.� Carballo also recalled another episode, titled Baril-barilan, where Linda played the scheming and selfish mother of her gay son played by Fanny Serrano. “Ms. Anita Linda was a brilliant actress I had the privilege to work with on television. On film, the most memorable for me was her performance in the Hello Soldier episode of Lino Brocka’s omnibus film Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa. I still kept the original DVD copy of that film,� Carballo shared.

Film Development Council of the Philippines Chairman Liza DiĂąo-Seguerra recalled her memorable encounter with the legendary actress and she vividly recalled what Linda told her: “Liza, life has been good to me. I am old. My vision is not as clear anymore. My hearing has diminished. But I’m still here, I don’t want to leave yet because to be alive is beautiful.â€? DiĂąo-Seguerra wrote, “Those words will forever be in my heart. The industry is blessed to have you.â€?

Actress Alessandra de Rossi shared that she will never forget the beautiful words Linda told her during a break time of a film shoot: “Never lose your sunshine. Just be yourself.� “It’s more than difficult to be happy in these times. Very dark times. But her laughter and her beautiful words will be my eternal sunshine and pride,� de Rossi said.

Not many know that Linda had 21 cats when she was living in Alabang Hills. The family sold that big house last year and moved to Las PiĂąas. She would pick up stray kittens on the road and nurse them to health and take care of them. “She liked how cats are generally loyal, independent and calm, how these creatures can retreat from the madness of the world and create their own little space of peace and calm,â€? a close friend of hers told us once.

Anita Linda cared for her cats, her work, her coworkers, her friends, her family, her industry. She outlived many of her peers and when it was time for her to finally take her quiet exit, she left behind not only beautiful memories but a lasting legacy just by being herself—the great Anita Linda. â–

H

AILED as the oldest active actress of Philippine cinema for many years, Anita Linda had to quietly let go of this “title� when she breathed her last on the morning of June 10. She was 95.

After news broke out on different social-media platforms, many wrote tributes and posted their experiences and encounters with her. And the adulation and accolades continue to pour in for this exquisite actress.

Actor-director Gina Alajar was part of the cast of Linda’s last commercially released film, Adolf Alix Jr.’s Circa, where she played her daughter. “It’s a huge honor and a great privilege to have known her and to have worked with her in her last film. Her contributions as an actor are innumerable and priceless. Perhaps the one dearest to Linda’s heart is Alix, the filmmaker who created many unforgettable roles for the iconic thespian in films, like Presa, Mater Dolorosa, Alamat ng China Doll, and Adela, among others. It was Alix who made sure that his “muse� would be able to grace an international film festival and that happened in Toronto in September of 2008. “She was like my lola. She had a career that spanned more than seven decades and crossed over three ‘golden ages’ of Philippine cinema. She never stopped working. Her memories will live on with the films she left us. I will miss her. I love her dearly,� he told us, almost choking with emotion.

Cinema One channel head Ronald Arguelles wrote, “With almost 400 film titles under her filmography which include exceptional performances in Adela, Lola, Mater Dolorosa, Babae sa Bubungang Lata, Sisa, Bakit Bughaw ang Langit, Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo, her dedication as a true professional and one of the industry’s most enduring actors will always be remembered.�

Viewers of GMA told to rescan digital TV box LEADING media company GMA Network sent out an advisory recently for Filipino viewers to rescan their digital TV boxes to continue enjoying a clearer and more colorful reception of GMA’s channels. In addition to a further improved viewing experience of the network’s flagship channel GMA and the country’s leading news channel GMA News TV, viewers can also start catching the newest company’s newest channel Heart of Asia upon rescanning. To rescan a digital TV box, follow these simple steps: press “Menu� and go to “Settings;� under “Installation,� press “Factory Default� and press “OK;� if an

“Input Password� appears on the screen, enter “0-0-0-0� on the dialogue box and select “YES� to confirm the Factory Default; if an “Input Password� doesn’t appear on the screen, just select “YES� to confirm the Factory Default; choose “Auto Search� or “Auto Scan,� then press “OK;� wait for the auto scan to be completed or until “Search Completed� appears on the screen, then press “OK� or “Exit;� search for GMA, GMA News TV, and Heart of Asia using the remote control’s up and down buttons Digital TV users will also need to rescan, while cable and satellite subscribers need not do so.

More information is available at www.gmanetwork.com/ digitalhowto.

Queen Elizabeth’s birthday marked with smaller ceremony LONDON—Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday was marked on Saturday with a smaller ceremony than usual, as the annual Trooping the Color parade was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The extravagant display of pomp and pageantry, a highlight of the royal calendar that typically attracts thousands of tourists to line the streets of central London, has only been canceled once before during almost 70 years of the queen’s reign—in 1955, during a national rail strike.

This year, a small number of soldiers and military musicians paid tribute to the monarch at Windsor Castle. The queen received a royal salute, before watching a display by soldiers who marched on the castle

grounds in accordance with social distancing rules. It was Elizabeth’s first official public appearance since lockdown measures were imposed in March. The queen celebrated her 94th birthday on April 21, but her “official� birthday has always been marked with the Trooping the Color parade in June. The ‘colors’ refer to the flags representing the different regiments of the British Army.

The event usually features hundreds of parading soldiers and horses, a carriage procession by the royal family, and a Royal Air Force flypast over Buckingham Palace.

An event like this marking the sovereign’s birthday has not been staged at Windsor since 1895, when a ceremony was held in honor of Queen Victoria. AP

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Neil Patrick Harris, 47; Ice Cube, 51; Courteney Cox, 56; Helen Hunt, 57.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Take a closer look at your options and what you can do to ensure that things unfold to your liking as the year progresses. Take responsibility for your happiness, health and reputation. Stick to the truth, and demand the same from others. A change of heart regarding someone you looked up to will lead to personal freedom and better days ahead. Your lucky numbers are 9, 15, 22, 27, 33, 42, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Reflect on the past before you make a promise that will have emotional consequences attached. Selfdiscipline will be necessary to remain on course and not lose sight of your main goal. Self-improvement projects will boost your ego and improve your health. ★★★

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Backing down isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. Don’t let anyone bully or pressure you. Use common sense and intelligence to get your way. You’ll feel passionate about life, love and achieving happiness. ★★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Put greater emphasis on how you feel, the way you look and living a life geared toward proper diet, exercise and longevity. Say no to anyone trying to persuade you to try something illegal or not in your best interest. ★★★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t let emotions dictate change. Think before you act; you’ll end up with what you want. Rely on fond memories to help you see clearly during situations that are challenging. ★★

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Spice things up a bit.

Look around you, and you’ll discover a way to maximize your space to fit your current needs and lifestyle. Adding discipline, structure and a healthier routine to your life will boost your vigor and enthusiasm. ★★★★★

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It’s easy to miss an important detail or signal when your daily routine faces challenges. Look at what you have to work with, and make adjustments that give you a clearer vision. ★★★

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Make personal growth and improvements your priorities.

Refuse to let your emotions mess with reason.

If you overreact or take on too much, you will have difficulty retracing your steps and living up to the promises you make. ★★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Learn from your mistakes, and move forward carefully.

Money matters will not be clear-cut or go your way if you let someone interfere or take control.

Use your head, and make changes that encourage your success. ★★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A positive change at home will bring you closer to someone you love. A little charm will go a long way when trying to convince a loved one to see things your way. ★★★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take a moment to evaluate what’s going on around you. Consider the best way to keep everyone you live with happy. Working alongside those close to you will make your life easier. ★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put some muscle behind your ideas, and turn a dream into a reality. Make a change because you want to, not because someone is pressuring you.

Personal growth will come from making hard decisions.

Do what’s right and best for you. ★★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A creative outlet will ease stress and help you turn a difficult situation into something workable. Don’t drown your sorrows doing something destructive. Shoot for the stars, and do something constructive and meaningful.

Do your best to help those in need. ★★★ BIRTHDAY BABY: You are charismatic, influential and persuasive.

You are intuitive and disciplined.

‘an end to food waste’ BY KYLE DOLAN The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Like a foot that’s asleep 5 Quarterback’s throw 9 Food ___ (feeling after a feast) 13 Drummer Ringo 15 Comic-Con, e.g.

16 Bakery fixture 17 Skin rejuvenation treatment 19 Certain fossilized plant 20 From what place 21 Without punishment 23 CRISPR can edit one 25 We ___ Never Meeting in Real Life (Samantha Irby book) 26 Gives the green light 29 Place for roasting ribs 35 Peanuts character Peppermint ___ 37 Take a load off 38 Neat, like a bed 39 Lemon source 40 Castle defenses 41 Early operating system 42 Cleric, in a mosque 43 Saint Louis landmark

44 45 48 49 50 52 57 61 62

Eve’s profession in Killing Eve Truck bed cover Vegas opener? ___ chi Tomato variety Early 20th-century women’s objective Blow a gasket Madama Butterfly solo Eco-friendly container that may hold the ends of 17-, 29- and 45-Across 64 Distillery grain 65 Common clog cause 66 Connect with 67 Its January 2020 cover featured Beyonce 68 Humble reply to praise 69 Brag DOWN 1 Warning letters next to a link 2 Provo’s state 3 Pocket protector?

4 ___ to the table 5 Energy 6 Firefighter’s tools

7 8 9 10 11 12 14 18 22 24 26 27 28 30 31 32 33 34 36 40 44 46 47 51

Detail in a plan, briefly Lizzo and Adele Break room vessel Walkie-talkie sign-off Trifling Hathaway of Les Miserables Pass quickly Singer/activist Horne Capote nickname Mistakes Fiber-___ cable Concept of universal justice Wrinkle remover?

Temporary castle site Old Testament heroine Group of speakers Tony-winning Menzel Types with the thumbs, say Ask for trouble Band at a quinceanera, perhaps “So close!�

Musician’s gift Nike’s swoosh, e.g.

Bit of funny business

52 53 54 55 56 58 59 60 63

“Me too!�

Risk territory east of Ukraine Replenish, as a gas tank Petting zoo critter Kuwait’s leader Lyft competitor ___’s Handmade Vodka Rare winter forecast in a desert Ask uncomfortable questions

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

Style

BusinessMirror

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Monday, June 15, 2020

Pivot or pause: How Pinoy global designers are responding to the pandemic

O

UR local fashion designers have adapted as well as they could during this pandemic. But what of their creative counterparts overseas? Some, like the ones in the US and UK, not only have to deal with the impact of Covid-19 but also the massive protests against racism and police brutality.

The designers know that they need to evolve to survive, either by pivoting to protective clothing or resetting their business platform to adapt to a changing financial climate.

Here are five inspiring global Filipino fashion entrepreneurs in their own fighting words: ■ REYNIER ABELLO (PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA).

Since all the shows and collection launches this year are canceled, we are trying to divert onto online platforms. At the moment we are in the process of creating a motion capture lookbook to be streamed later this month.

Clients are more conscious when it comes to spending and they need clothes that could last long, something they can maximize and use for varied purposes and occasions. The major challenge for me as a designer is that supplies are not coming in because of the logistics challenges. However, this is also an opportunity for me to be more adaptable and creative by sourcing materials locally. It is when the constraints are high that one strives for innovation.

My brand, Armada by Abello, launched in 2014, is looking at going for Normcore fashion. Something unpretentious and egalitarian to accommodate the current socioeconomic climate. Once the situation improves, our plan is to transition toward digital marketing and maximize our presence in the e-commerce sphere.

■ LEN NEPOMUCENO-MORTEL (BANGKOK, THAILAND).

My brand name is L. (short for Len Nepomuceno Mortel). The company name is L.Official Corp., launched 10 years ago, and under it are L.Shoes, BridesbyLen (RTW bridal gowns), Len Nepomuceno Mortel (made-to-order), and in November 2019, I opened La Cesta del Pan (couture bread, stylish sandwiches, fashionable shop-resto).

My fashion line is on hold. Weddings scheduled for this year are postponed, and social functions are canceled. My clients for fashion are all requesting to put their orders on hold, and even shipments of shoes are on hold, too, since they are coming from other countries, and Thailand’s borders are closed. Some clients are requesting for a virtual fashion show, which I am planning to do soon, with Dong OmagaDiaz directing via Zoom.

Also early on in this pandemic, I started to design and make masks, but they are not for sale. I give them

away to clients and friends here in Bangkok, since people are not allowed to go anywhere outside their homes without a mask on.

Even though Thailand is slowly getting back to normal, I guess I will still practice social distancing with my clients, limiting the number and scheduling fittings to later dates. I am just fortunate and thankful to still have pending work for next year, some weddings to finish, and resetting the business to the “new normal” is something that I will have to get used to. I guess the masks will stay on for a long time, hand sanitizers and masks are freebies that are included when my clients receive their orders.

■ RC CAYLAN (MICHIGAN, USA). I am patiently waiting for this pandemic to subside. Since my business RC Caylan Atelier, established in 2016, was deemed nonessential, our governor asked us to temporarily close. In the meantime, I created an initiative making masks with other volunteers.

We made 1,857 masks that we donated to our local frontliners at hospitals, and essential market employees.

It is a very difficult and challenging time. Besides Covid-19, there are Black Lives Matter protests in Grand Rapids. I’m one of the lucky ones that didn’t get looted because my studio is in the third floor, while all businesses that were on street level were all damaged.

Most of my clients who were getting married this year postponed their plans. That affects my income. Literally, no income for three months. But our governor issued in early June an executive order allowing partially opening up businesses.

■ PAULA FIGUERAS (LISBON, PORTUGAL). My main business, apart from the production of the bags

called GustoKo, launched six years ago, is the distribution of our bags to various luxury stores around Portugal and to our stockists around the world. I consider the owners of the shops that we work with as my main clients.

During the lockdown period here, I felt fortunate that I made that decision of closing my own store in 2016 to focus on penetrating a larger market by partnering with more established boutiques who already have a vast and loyal client list. My partner told me about their difficulties of having their shops closed for two months and still they needed to continue paying their fixed costs without any sales coming in. Most of them have requested for slightly longer payment terms as they slowly recuperate from the financial blow because of the pandemic.

During the last few months, we all saw the importance of having a strong online presence for brands and retail shops. We are quite active on social media through our Instagram account, but our brand doesn’t have its own web site yet. I had been working closely with an online fashion boutique here in Portugal, www.meliestore.com, for online sales, and it has saved me a lot of time, money and effort to let them handle our online sales.

With the pandemic effects, though, I realized that we need to be more solid with our online presence. To grow as a brand, we need to show our own identity to our clients through our own web site. So as part of our adaptation to the recent effects of the pandemic, we are now constructing our own web site.

I would say financial and moral difficulties are what I am dealing with the most now. I expected so much from 2020 because we had such a fantastic in 2019. I have the pandemic to blame but there’s

no point in dwelling and feeling sorry for what happened. We are taking things slowly now. As I said before, we are assessing our businesses practices and brand positioning in the market to see how we can improve our work and our brand. My goal now during this downtime is to be able to pinpoint our weaknesses and address them. We plan to come out of this crisis stronger and with a better perspective and sustainable plan. Hopefully, Lisbon resident Madonna will notice our brand soon!

■ CABRINI ROY (LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM). My namesake brand has actually hit a pause due to the pandemic. For example, my fabric and material supplier has had issues with production, so I’ve had to put my online shop on pause. However, if anyone wants to order, just send us an e-mail at info@ cabriniroy.com and we can add you to the VIP list of first orders to complete when we open up.

As we are a made-to-order brand, we only order the fabrics we need, so we have low spoilage. Still, it’s been extremely hard especially as we only launched in February right before lockdown happened here in the UK. However, I’m staying positive and I know this time will pass.

I would love to help (make protective gear and face masks). If I were to do this, I would make face masks for free for every client, make free face masks for the National Health Services, or if I was to sell it I would donate all the money to our health heroes. However, this is not possible because I’m unable to get to my studio due to the lockdown. With everything opening up again, this could change in the near future.

I will reset my business by continuing how we were before the pandemic, but changing the way of work in my studio. ■

JUNG EUN-CHAE’S CHIC STAPLES FEISTY Prime Minister Goo Seo-ryung (played by popular Korean actress Jung Eun-chae in The King: Eternal Monarch, now streaming on Netflix) has been serving us powerful looks throughout the series.

Being the charismatic and sassy leader that she is, we can’t help but notice her favorite items—from long coats or a stylish top to structured bags and eyecatching heels.

Crazy about the look? Girl, you can easily channel the look with just the pieces from the world’s top brands, all of which are carried by the SSI Group around these parts—from Alexander McQueen and his Ottoman High Neck knit top, Jimmy Choo and his Love 100 mm Zebra print pumps, to Prada and her Kid Mohair coat with beaded embroidery and Salvatore Ferragamo and his BOXYZ bag.

Go rule in style.

➜ SALVATORE FERRAGAMO BOXYZ leather top handle bag

➜

PRADA Kid Mohair coat with beaded embroidery

➜

JIMMY CHOO Love 100mm Zebra print pumps

Things you should know if you wear contact lenses

IF you’re a contact lens wearer, you should be going through at least 12 bottles of those cleaning solutions in a year and as many lens cases.

I’ll be honest. I go through three bottles at most every year. That’s nine bottles short!

“Properly caring for contact lenses is very important and that includes not sleeping in them unless your eye doctor has given you the clearance to do so; cleaning and deep cleaning them regularly; and being compliant with replacement schedules,” said Dr. Jeannette Romualdez, professional affairs consultant at Alcon.

Alcon offers contact lenses and cleaning solutions for different eyes and varying lifestyles.

Their offerings include Air Optix Colors, Freshlook Colorblends (monthly), Freshlook One-Day, Dailies Aqua Comfort Plus and Air Optix Hydraglyde.

They also have AOSEPT Plus, a deep cleaning solution for contact lenses; Systane, which provides relief for dry eyes; and Opti-Free Puremoist Disinfecting Contact Solution.

During an online press conference, Romualdez

answered a question commonly asked by contact lens wearers. Is it safe to wear contact lenses during a pandemic?

“Yes, it is. According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, there is currently no scientific evidence that contact lens wearers have an increased risk of contracting Covid-19 compared with

those who wear glasses,” she said.

But Romualdez said good hygiene is important.

Beyond proper handwashing and drying, contact lens handling is important.

For instance, did you know that you should deep clean your contact lenses regularly to rid them of deposits and debris?

Romualdez said you can do this with AOSEPT Hydra Glide, which contains hydrogen peroxide to deeply clean lenses. She also advises rinsing the contact lens case with solution after every use and drying the case on a dry tissue or cloth. Not doing this, warned Romualdez, you’re just topping off, meaning adding new solution to an old one in the case.

There is also a proper way of cleaning your lenses (using Opti-Free Puremoist Disinfecting Contact Solution), and that is with the ball of your pointer finger. It’s 20 strokes on the front of the lens and another 20 strokes on the side that touches the eye.

Never rinse your lenses with water or soak them in water. Another advise that Romualdez has for contact lens wearers is for them to take off the lenses before bedtime. I’ve worn contact lenses since the 1990s and I must say that recent technologies have really been helpful for me. Dailies Aqua Comfort Plus is a gamechanger. It gives you convenience and piece of mind because you put it on in the morning, remove it at night and throw them away. “The Dailies have blink activated technology for exceptional comfort. They’re for those with sensitive eyes because the lenses feel like nothing,” said Romualdez.

Freshlook and Air Optix color contact lenses are for those who want to transform their eye color. I used the Pure Hazel color and it looked so natural that you’d barely notice unless you looked closely.

Air Optix HydraGlyde are the best if you’re looking for comfort and good vision. They’re the lenses to wear if you’re going to have a long and busy day.

Talking to Dr. Romualdez definitely changed my contact lens wear and care habits. I wish I had done the things she had said sooner.

B5

B6 Monday, June 15, 2020

Bayanihan@AIM Hackathon finals bared winners

Nutrition, relief efforts top Odyssey Foundation's priorities

N

UTRITION and relief efforts topped the social activities of Odyssey Foundation Inc. (OFI), the corporate social responsibility arm of Foodsphere Inc., in the fiscal year 2019-2020.

Jerome D. Ong, President of OFI, said the foundation continues to expand the reach of the NEELS program which stands for the five pillars of Nutrition, Education, Environment, Livelihood and Service to Humanity.

"Continuing passion for service has been the theme for Odyssey Foundation's fiscal year 2019-2020 covering April 1, 2019 until March 30, 2020," said Ong who is also the President of CDO-Foodsphere Inc. "This has been the shared vision of Odyssey Foundation and its parent firm.

Giving back to the marginalized sector is in support of the company's core values and Project NEELS is one of our advocacy campaigns," Ong said.

OFI Executive director Dindo A. Danao said the foundation will continue to sustain the goals under NEELS as a part of its social responsibility.

"In the face of the challenges this fiscal year, Odyssey Foundation continues to provide relevant and significant services to communities and families in need," said Danao.

OFI conducts community-based, schoolbased and church-based supplemental

feeding programs for underweight kids under Gabay Nutrisyon which focuses on addressing child hunger and malnutrition.

The Foundation reached more than 6,700 children in the National Capital Region(NCR), Batangas and Oriental Mindoro in FY 2019.

Meanwhile, more than 4,400 beneficiaries in five communities in NCR, Pampanga and Batangas benefitted from the Gabay Edukasyon program in the same year. Gabay Edukasyon provides first-aid trainings, seminars and disaster preparedness kits to public schools.

OFI also established two school gardens in Valenzuela and one in Malvar, Batangas under Gabay Kalikasan, its environmental pillar. A special gardening project was also launched in an Aeta community in Floridablanca, Pampanga to help them become more resilient after an earthquake devastated their community.

Gabay Hanapbuhay, the livelihood pillar of OFI, sustained its communitybased, small-scale livelihood trainings.

OFI administered 18 trainings to 432 beneficiaries in FY 2019, providing them with skills to earn for their families.

Under Gabay Lingkod, its fifth pillar focusing on service to humanity, OFI provided assistance to evacuees displaced

by Taal Volcano eruption in evavuation centers in Batangas. OFI distributed 6,000

Jerome D. Ong

meal packs to 2,000 individuals in the early part of 2020, representing the final quarter of OFI’s FY 2019.

OFI also provided 500 boxes of canned goods to partner organizations towards the end of FY 2019 in March when the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic struck the country with fear and uncertainty.

Danao said that in the face of these challenges, OFI continues to respond and provide relevant and significant services to communities and families in need.

"This has been and will always be OFI’s commitment to the Filipino people," he said.

BAVI distributes free meals to OFWs stranded outside NAIA

C

HOOKS-to-Go operator Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. (BAVI), on the eve of Independence Day, gave free meals to passengers -- many of them overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) -- stranded outside Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Staff distributed food packs and drinks to approximately 200 passengers whose flights back home had been canceled.

Once BAVI president Ronald Mascariñas heard that the majority of the stranded came from Mindanao, he immediately sent over packs of ready-toeat meals to all of them.

According to BAVI President Ronald Mascariñas, "OFWs are our modern-day heroes sacrificing to work in foreign lands, so we can enjoy prosperity in our country.

It is our utmost responsibility to [help them] in whatever way we can especially that most of them are from my birth place in Mindanao."

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar to reopen doors after 3-month lockdown

H

ERITAGE site Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is set to re-open its doors on June 16, 2020, three months after the lockdown brought about by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The province of Bataan, where Las Casas found its home, has continued to register optimistic recovery statistics for the virus. And in cooperation with the local government, Las Casas is hopeful that the

possibility of “flattening the curve” within the community may be at hand.

With its recently launched “Secured Stays at Las Casas” campaign, the brand aspires to redefine cleanliness and safety measures to bring back guests’ confidence in hotel stays and traveling in general.

Deriving guidance from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Tourism (DOT), stringent

protocols were initiated to assure hotel guests that the heritage site adheres to optimum standards of sanitation.

Marivent Resort Hotel, Inc. President Paul Kerr emphasized the property gives utmost attention on the safety of its guests and employees more than anything.

For updates, visit www.lascasasfilipinas. com or check Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar on Facebook and Instagram.

T

HE “Bayanihan@AIM: Restarting Philippine Business and Society after COVID-19” virtual hackathon ended on a very optimistic note after the live virtual presentations by the finalists last May 18, 2020.

A total of sixty-seven teams participated in the Institute’s first ever virtual hackathon. AIM organized the hackathon to generate innovative solutions to help address three challenges that Philippine business and society will face post COVID-19: Food Security, Jobs and the Future of Work, and Support for MSMEs. Participants were given two weeks to work on their hacks. A distinguished list of mentors led by AIM professors Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, Jamil Paolo Francisco, Rene Domingo, Gaston Ortigas, Felipe Calderon, and Sandeep Puri, were joined by external mentors Joseph Ian Gendrano and Kristine Dara Ever Juan from PLDT Innolab, to provide critical guidance and advice to all the teams as they relentlessly pursued the most original, practical, and fitting solution to the specific challenge they have chosen.

The panels of judges for each of the challenges were composed of: Challenge 1: Food Security Cherrie D. Atilano - President and CEO and Founding Farmer of AGREA Philippines; Gregory Francis H. Banzon – EVP and COO, Century Pacific Food, Inc.; Pacita Juan, Founder, ECHOstore; and Ma. Estela O. Nievera, President and CEO, Cabalen Group of Companies.

Challenge 2: Jobs and the Future of Work Paolo Azzola, COO and Managing Director, PayMaya Philippines; Catherine S. Ileto, Social Impact Lead and Senior Director, Sutherland Global Services Philippines, Inc.; and Chito S. Maniago, Country Head for Communications and Government Affairs, GSK Philippines.

Challenge 3: Support for MSMEs Carlo O. Asuncion, Chief Economist, Union Bank of the Philippines; Jonah de Lumen-Pernia, Trustee

and Vice President, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines; Jorge Lindley S. Ong, Group Head, Security Bank of the Philippines; Anna MelotoWilk, President and Co-Founder, Human Nature; and Primitivo Paypon, Executive Director, AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator.

The top three finalists for each challenge were selected based on the following criteria: Originality (30%), Alignment to national objectives and SDGs (30%), Practicality (30%), and Presentation (10%).

The final round was a well-attended virtual event via Zoom. The proceedings commenced with AIM President and Dean Dr. Jikyeong Kang’s welcome remarks, followed by Associate Dean Jamil Paolo Francisco’s introduction of the mentors and judges. ARO Executive Managing Director Bernie Jiao served as the event’s host.

Each of the finalists’ video presentations was played for the judges’ further scrutiny and review. After each presentation, judges had the opportunity to ask questions from the team members, or comment on the ideas/solutions presented.

Adjudged as the best among the finalists, and the grand winners in their respective challenges were: Team GulayIsLife for Food Security.

Team members are: Amherstia M. Ojerio and Rodette A. Astoriano Team WTF: Workforce of the Future for Jobs and the Future of Work. Team members are: Kevin Anthony Sison, Carmelita Esclanda, Elijah Justin Medina, and Naman Punit.

Team Syft for Support for MSMEs. Team members are: Michael Glenn Kakumoto, Jann Skyler Teng, Ariel Silva, Jr. and Florentino Gonzales, IV. Each winning team received PhP50,000 in cash courtesy of Gold Sponsor Security Bank Corporation, and each team member was gifted a mobile phone by PLDT Enterprise.

Antique Balik Probinsya Program

A

S support to the Balik Probinsya Program of Governor Rhodora "Dodod" Cadiao and Congresswoman Inday Loren Legarda for the people of Antique, FastCat will bring locally stranded individuals from Manila to Culasi, Antique and back starting June 7-June 18, 2020 with specific trip schedules arranged especially for the Antiqueños.

The Province has provided a hotline

number (0995 823 8180/0917 890 5927) for the stranded Antiqueno's to call and avail of the free trip.

This initiative is a welcome news especially to those who have long wanted to be reunited with their families or go back to work.

FastCat is likewise happy to extend its services and be a part of such a noble endeavor by the Province of Antique at this time of crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Incredible India on wheels

Naan w mutton kheema and Vege with ground gravy sauce

A

S the metropolis got quarantined for more than two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a popular but unassuming restaurant quietly marked its 17th year of offering authentic Indian dishes.

Swagat Indian Cuisine was unable to extend its warm hospitality to its diners, but continued to food reach its patrons in the comfort of their homes via Grab Food, Honest Bee, Food Panda, and Lala Food delivery service.

The unassuming restaurant was opened by Indian migrant Komal Khanchandani in the summer of 2003 in Rada St., Legazpi Village in Makati on a wing and prayer, at a fortuitous time of a Hindu religious feast.

Literally meaning “welcome” in the Hindi language, Swagat helped make Indian food a staple in the country’s financial district.

Now at its new home at The Columns at Amorsolo St. cor. Arnaiz Ave., it continues to tickle the local palate with its healthy, homestyle dishes and Khanchandani’s personal touch which has made Swagat hold its own against its fancier competitors.

For appetizers, there is bhel puri and sev puff rice, or methi aloo matter potatoes with green peas cooked with fenugreek leaves and flavored spices or palak pakora, deep fried spinach and spices rolled in chickpea flour.

Main dishes worth trying are malai kofta, a North Indian dish of cheese and vegetable patties cooked in butter sauce; Chicken tikka, tender, skinless and boneless chicken marinated in ginger and garlic; fish palak,

cooked in mild spices, with spinach and sauce; mutton masala, goat meat cooked in onions, tomatoes and spices.

An all-time favorite is sangam biryani or flavored spicy Indian rice with lean, tender pieces of chicken, lamb, cooked in herbs and spices. It has variants such as murgh (chicken), mutton, anda (scrambled egg), and shrimp.

Lassi yoghurt drinks with milk and flavored with either strawberry, mango or rose petals is the standard refreshment.

For customer’s satisfaction, food is prepared based on their preference of mild, medium, hot or extra hot.

A resident of the Philippines for more than 20 years now, Swagat has captured the preferences of her regular guests, as well as the Filipino taste buds.

It is a “halal” restaurant ideal for Muslim diners, and has a wide array of vegetable dishes for vegetarians, which include the metro’s Indian community.

The restaurant occasionally brings in ingredients, implements and paraphernalia, and food concepts from Andra Pradesh state where the owner hails.

And with the gradual opening up of restaurants for dine in customers, guests can experience dining under quarantine health protocols.

Seventeen years and one pandemic later, Khanchandani still exudes with confidence and poses the same challenge to diners since day one: “Don’t pay if you are not satisfied with the food.”

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Monday, June 15, 2020 B7

The coronavirus chronicles: Communicating with children S

By Millie F. Dizon

to Children About Coronavirus.

“And with families sequestered in their homes day and night, it leaves little room for parents to vent their frustrations or concerns without little ears overhearing.”

So, true! How, indeed, do you explain to the little ones that they can’t go to school or go out of the house because of something unseen that is so dangerous and deadly? Or that they have to wear face masks and stay apart from others when they do get out?

According to Schuman, “brands catering to families, and especially children, need to remember to tweak their normal methods of communication, particularly in a time of crisis.”

Not surprisingly, children’s brands are leading the way, and many have stepped up to the plate to educate children to and bring parents some relief.

On March 30, actress Kristen Bell hosted a one-hour Q & A special on Nickelodeon, called #Kids Together: The Nickelodeon Town Hall.

In it, “Bell’s soothing voice provided a soothing space for many children. Celebrities revealed how they are spending their time in quarantine, and health and economic experts discussed everything from how to stay healthy to concerns about a toilet paper shortage.”

Sesame Street, on the other hand, created a remix of the popular “Brushy Brush” dental PSA starring Elmo. The video “Washy

Insight: Harnessing the power of tech and examining the state of our digital nation on PHL Independence Day

By Jason Inocencio

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—On Philippine Independence Day 2020, 122 years after declaring our independence, the country is ravaged by the coronavirus with the number of infected reaching 18,000.

Digital advertising company AdSpark released a study entitled “Digital: The Flag of Freedom in 2020.” In it, they examine how Filipinos have used digital to continue living despite the quarantine period that has covered Metro Manila for three months.

The study notes that the Philippines has seen an increase in Internet penetration by 10 percent from last year. It now sits at 67

percent well above both the global (59 percent) and Apac (56 percent) average.

Using AdSpark Intelligence, AdSpark marked four key areas that were examples of how Filipinos harnessed the power of digital to overcome difficulties:

Digital is key to essentials like health

The ECQ’s limitations prevented Filipinos from leaving their household except for things such as food, medicine and vitamins while supply runs became tough due to low supplies in stores. Fear of going out due to anxiety over contracting Covid-19 made it worse but food and medicine were still necessary to survive.

Thus, some Filipinos saw Viber groups or community threads online to ease the delivery of food within a neighborhood.

Health-care workers were able to utilize digital channels to improve their reach through services like telehealth. Online conversations regarding telehealth and online medical consultations peaked during the start of the ECQ and have been steadily talked about since.

OPOLJA | Dreamstime.com

PR Matters

INCE the coronavirus pandemic began, PR pros have been on overdrive testing and honing their communications skills as they address their stakeholders: employees, customers, business partners, community members.

Needless to say, this has been most challenging as we are experiencing this kind of crisis for the first time. Perhaps most challenging is how we can communicate with children, who are now homebound, restless, anxious and wondering why their lives have been changed so much.

“If coronavirus is scary for adults, we can only imagine the confusion and uncertain fear it sparks in the minds of children,” says Nicole Schuman in a PR News online article, Communicating

Wash” which features Elmo teaching children the proper way to wash their hands currently has over 1 billion views on YouTube.

“Sesame Street is there for children and families whether it’s a sunny day or a stormy one,” says Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of US social impact, Sesame Workshop in a statement. With many families currently facing unprecedented social challenges, Sesame Street remains “committed to supporting families for the duration of this crisis and beyond—equipping them with the tools they need to get through this together and look to the future with hope and optimism.”

Other institutions, meanwhile offer tips on how to communicate with curious and anxious kids during this time.

The Public Broadcasting Service or PBS published an article on how to talk to children when so much

information is swirling between them, the television, Internet, and their own friend groups. It recommends to “think about your youth audience and what they may be most fearful of. Explain things to them in scenarios to which they can relate.”

The CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on the other hand, has dedicated a section on its web site to talking with children about the coronavirus disease. Schuman notes that brands can learn from some of its communication tips: n Avoid language that may blame others and lead to stigma.

Remember that viruses can make anyone sick, regardless of a person’s race or ethnicity. Avoid making assumptions about who might have Covid-19. n Provide information that is honest and accurate. Talk to children about some stories on Covid-19 on the Internet and social

The March lockdown forced many schools who were winding down their academic year to either move online or end prematurely. Yet the move to e-learning/distance education hasn’t been smooth with both teachers and students being thrust to try it with zero preparation time.

Many Filipinos who now had to stay home, also decided to spend their time wisely by hopping on the Internet and taking online courses to upskill for their career and their hobbies. One example even took over 20 different online courses in one month from 14 different universities.

While the majority consumed more career-related training and online classes such as digital marketing, web programming, and emarketing, others wanted to learn more about their hobbies such as cooking, sewing, and even playing the guitar.

tion over banana bread emerged with the term and its ingredients to break into the top 10 searched in the food category. #Bananabread on TikTok alone reached almost 80 million views because of its simple instructions and use of very common ingredients: bananas, flour, sugar and eggs. This led to banana bread and the ingredients to break into the top 10 searches in the food category in the Philippines.

With shopping malls and restaurants closed, Filipinos have been finding ways to entertain their mouths and stomachs by learning how to bake and try new dessert recipes. ​ Among the top 20 search topics during the months of the ECQ, search topics were dominated by desserts and simple recipes for sweet food and beverages. This included banana cake, banana bread, Maja Blanca, Dalgona coffee, coffee jelly, cookies, and others.

Dessert recipes galore

Making work, work

The transition to online learning

As food remains an essential commodity due to limited supply, Filipinos have found ways to learn more about cooking, using limited ingredients in creative ways. A fixa-

“Work From Home” became a reality that many only dreamed of due to the pandemic. After all, the economy still needed to move because people still needed their

media that may be based on rumors and inaccurate information. n Make yourself available to listen and talk. Be sure children know they can come to you when they have questions.

We can also learn a lot from the Poynter Institute of Media Studies, which “recalled a list of talking points for children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders” which can be helpful for brands: n Don’t volunteer too much information, as this may be overwhelming. Instead, try to answer your child’s questions. Do your best to answer honestly and clearly. n Be reassuring. Children are very egocentric, so hearing about the coronavirus on the news may be enough to make them seriously worry that they’ll catch it. It’s helpful to reassure your child how rare the coronavirus actually is,

salaries but social distancing and restrictions to contain human movement altered the landscape.

Most businesses weren’t prepared for the shift but some entrepreneurs were able to do the digital pivot to meet the needs of an adjusted marketplace.

Risa’s Chocolates owner Pam Cinco talked about how digital has become an enabler for her business and is now an integral part of it that can thrive with current restrictions with online delivery as her current reality and the future of her business.

Former freelance digital artist Sam Lara was forced to move from her creative freelance job to a frozen meat supply. She added that there are more clients and income now, but still not as much as before Covid-19.

Pinoy ingenuity faces new challenges but armed with technology

Whatever the terminology for the status of quarantine, it seems less and less likely that Filipinos will be able to roam around their cities like they used to. Unless a vaccine is discovered and distributed, the freedom of movement that we

and that kids actually seem to have milder symptoms. n Focus on what you’re doing to stay safe. An important way to reassure kids is to tell them the safety precautions you’re taking.

Jamie Howard, a child psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, said, “kids feel empowered when they know what to do to keep themselves safe.”

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.

We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations.

Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

enjoyed becomes less realistic.

Yet dogged determination coupled with inventiveness in the use of technology and online channels as embodied in the Filipino term diskarte is giving our countrymen at least some semblance of hope that this very difficult situation can be overcome or, at the very least, managed.

The global effects of this pandemic are clearly unprecedented and have led to several chaotic scenarios, yet Filipinos have survived world wars, dictators, natural calamities (several times a year), and other adverse situations. Covid-19 has been a sobering lesson for Filipinos on proper hygiene, respect for health-care workers, frontliners, and first responders.

Yet as we celebrate Independence Day in 2020, far removed from Aguinaldo waving our flag for the first time in Kawit, Cavite, the pandemic has also taught us that digital can be a great equalizer for different facets of our lives. In spite of so many restrictions, both forced and unforced, that we have suddenly been confronted with, digital has allowed some of us to still live and even flourish in ways we did not think possible.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Monday, June 15, 2020

By Doug Ferguson

F

The Associated Press

ORT WORTH, Texas—The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour went three months without playing. It took three days to show fans what they were missing, even if all they could do was watch on TV. Eight players had at least a share of the lead at some point Saturday in the Charles Schwab Challenge. When the third round at Colonial ended, 14 players were separated by three shots.

And not just anybody.

Xander Schauffele, among the growing roster of young stars in golf, finished off his six-birdie round with a 12-footer on the last hole for a four-under 66.

The six players one shot behind included Jordan Spieth, whose short game helped him navigate some early trouble and nerves. He had the lead until going not making a birdie on the back nine. Still, his 68 gave him his best 54-hole position since Colonial a year ago as he tries to end three years without winning.

Also one shot behind was Justin Thomas (66) and US Open champion Gary Woodland, who quickly got into the mix with birdies on his last two holes for a 66.

Rory McIlroy (69) and Justin Rose (68) were among those three shots behind. Patrick Reed, who had to birdie three of his last six holes Friday to make the cut with one shot to spare, shot 63 and was three back.

All this with hardly any noise.

“I don’t have like a huge effect on the crowd I’d say, so not having fans isn’t the craziest thing to me,” Schauffele said. “It just does feel like I’m playing at home with some of my buddies. It’s quiet. You make three birdies in a row, you can kind of give yourself a pat on the back.”

This wasn’t entirely a TV show. A few houses in the Colonial neighborhood put up their own hospitality tents to see limited golf, the rowdiest behind the 16th tee and another down the 15th fairway. Fans gathered on the balcony of an apartment complex along the 14th, which also brought ou the first, “Get in the hole!” since the PGA Tour returned for the first since since March 12 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the course, there were no bursts of cheers as Spieth rammed in a 40-foot putt on the eighth hole or stuffed his approach to 3 feet on No. 9 to take the lead. A few dozen of the essential personnel—broadcast crews, volunteers for scoring—were around when Schauffele made his birdie for the lead at 13-under 197.

But there are leaderboards that show only the score—no need for updates on FedEx Cup

STARS IN THE HUNT AT COLONIAL GOLF

FANS watch from the fence and on an improvised grandstand outside the course as Xander Schauffele grabs the third round lead on Saturday. AP

leaders or statistical data for each player as he prepares a shot because that’s for the fans, and there are none.

That will be the only way anyone knows where they stand in what figures to be a wild chase to the finish.

“When you have spectators and things, you get on a roll, and most of the time you feed off of that,” said Branden Grace, whose third straight 66 left him one shot behind. “I remember when I won Hilton Head and played well in the majors, the crowd started getting behind you and you start feeling like you can’t do anything wrong. At the moment, it’s just you and your caddie out there.”

Colonial is the first of five tournaments in the return to golf that doesn’t allow spectators.

Players have had three days to adjust to the lack of sound. Sunday is different, everyone trying to generate their own momentum

next tee shot was right and banged off a cart— one the loudest sounds of the day—leaving him blocked by a tree. He punched it low into a back bunker and saved par.

But he didn’t make a birdie over the final nine holes, and the 15th cost him when he decided to wait for the players to hit on the 16th tee and started thinking too much about an 81-yard wedge. He hit it fat and made bogey. “ I feel comfortable going into tomorrow that I can shoot a good score,” Spieth said. “If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But I learned a bit about what was going on when I really felt kind of the nerves kick in today, and hopefully compensate for that tomorrow and hit some better shots.”

The field was the strongest Colonial has seen, not surprising because so many players stuck at home for the last three months were eager for competition. And this week has made clear that so many of them came to play.

without the energy typically delivered from outside the ropes.

“When you get into contention and have a chance to win a golf tournament, that adrenaline starts pumping,” Woodland said.

“It’s been a little different. The first two days there wasn’t too much adrenaline. There will be adrenaline going, which you have with fans or without fans. Tomorrow should be fun.”

Spieth passed a big test, with another to come as he tries to end nearly three years without a victory. Five times last year, he started a tournament with two rounds in the 60s and was left behind when he couldn’t break par on Saturday.

There were a few anxious moments for him, such as an iron off the fifth tee that would have finished on the practice range if not for a fence in place for the tournament. He got up-and-down from short of the green to escape with birdie. His

HOOYAH! PAWIE FORNEA

PSC to stage online certificate courses for coaches in Visayas in July

H

ER name is Mary Pauline “Pawie” Fornea.

She’s a 26-year-old from Davao City and a member of the national duathlon team, sharing a bronze medal with individual gold winner Monica Torres, Doy Commendador and Efrain Inigo in mixed relay at the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Subic last December.

And here’s more.

Fornea recently graduated at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis with merits in two, yes two, degrees—Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and Robotics and Controls Engineering.

“I’m so happy. My dream to serve our country as a Navy officer has been fulfilled,” said Fornea, who was one of 17 cadets the USNA picked from all nominees across the globe. “I just achieved my long-term goal and that is to serve my country in my own way.”

“My sponsor and foster father inspired me to pursue my dreams. He is a from the Philippine Marine Corps. So, I wanted to be like him,” said the five-foot-two Fornea, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 2019.

At the age of nine, Pawie—as her friends call her—started decorating herself with medals from her conquests in sports, particularly swimming. She entered the University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao and in 2013, became a full-time national athlete. But she quit the national team in 2014 to join the PMA. Fornea had to take a leave of absence from the USNA to focus on the SEA Games, training under Ernesto “Judes” Echauz’s Philippine NavyStandard Insurance team.

It was during her early stint as a duathlete when she got enamored with the PMA and later, the USNA, thanks to then Philippine Marines Commandant Gen. Joseph Cuison.

“I didn’t know about the PMA at that time, but I just heeded the advice of Gen. Cuison, who I consider to be my second father,” she said.

Fornea qualified for the 2020 World Duathlon Championships in The Netherlands after landing in the top 10 percent of the 2019 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Rankings where she topped her age group.

A

DD Northport team owner Rep. Mikee Romero to the growing list of officials and coaches critical of Gilas Pilipinas Program Director Tab Baldwin, whose solicited comments were described as detrimental to Philippine basketball.

“Since he’s only a guest in the country, Baldwin should not say anything that will distort Philippine basketball history particularly that of Philippine Basketball Association [PBA] which is the oldest professional league in Asia,” said Romero, also a House of Representatives Deputy Speaker representing the 1-Pacman Party-list.

“PBA has been very successful since the beginning so he can’t destroy our history in basketball,” the former PBA chairman. “Despite this pandemic, the PBA will continue to grow and sustain its popularity among Filipinos because we love the game, we love the PBA.”

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

T MARY PAULINE “PAWIE” FORNEA strikes a pose with Standard Insurance Group Chairman Ernesto “Judes” Echauz.

She was named a Duathlon All-American by the USA Triathlon AllAmerican with her title run at the Cedak Creek Duathlon in New York, Delaware Duathlon, Northeast Maryland Duathlon and New York Duathlon.

But she’s not just all duathlon and triathlon. She’s a sharpshooter both with the pistol and rifle and adding more to her accomplishments was the distinguished Order of Lapu-Lapu.

Now that she’s back at home, Fornea started immersing procedures at the Philippine Naval Academy in Iba, Zambales.

She thanked Echauz and Standard Insurance for its continued support from the moment she was involved in the sport and the Philippine Navy and praised her cycling and duathlon coach Bernie Llantada and USNA running coach Karen Boyle.

“I’m very grateful to all of them,” said Fornea, who vowed to advance her training both indoor and outdoor in compliance with quarantine protocols.

HE prolonged pandemic has urged the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to go online in serving the community beginning with a free clinic for coaches in Central, Western and Eastern Visayas next month.

PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez told the PSC Chatroom on Saturday that the online coaching courses should fill the lull as faceto-face interaction remains banned with the Covid-19 virus still posing a major threat.

Fernandez also said going online would be virtually at no cost to the PSC, whose shares from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. are reaching rock bottom with the casinos still shuttered.

“The PSC would not spend that much with this program. We also don’t have to bring the coaches to a specific place classes,” Fernandez said.

The PSC draws much of its funds from Pagcor. But because casino operations have been shut, Pagcor’s average monthly remittance to the sports agency went from

PBA TEAM OWNER BLASTS BALDWIN “As a guest in the country, he has no right to question the PBA’s format, much more the integrity of the league and its officials,” Romero added.

Baldwin earned the ire of PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial when he told a video podcast that using only one import in the league’s reinforced conferences is a “big mistake.”

Marcial said he will meet his technical staff on Monday to discuss possible sanctions on Baldwin, who is one of the assistant coaches at TNT KaTropa.

Like NLEX Coach Yeng Guiao and Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines President Louie Gonzalez, Romero also took

offense on Baldwin’s remarks bordering on the “tactical immaturity” of Filipino coaches. The Kiwi-American also said foreign players get more fouls than the locals.

“For me it sounds like racism,” Romero said. “While he helped steer Ateneo to UAAP [University Athletic Association of the Philippines] championships, he’s not entitled to underestimate the capabilities of our local coaches.”

Romero also backed San Miguel Corp.

Sports Director Alfrancis Chua’s tirade against Baldwin’s opinion that playing two—and even three—imports in the league would make local players better.

Despite making critical comments on Philippine basketball, Baldwin told the same

podcast that he loves it here.

“The Philippines has traditionally been one of the most difficult places for foreign coaches to be able to enter, to make an impact and to stay long term,” Baldwin said.

“Having said that, I love the Philippines and I think one of the most endearing aspects of the Philippines as a basketball coach is this is a basketball paradise. Everywhere you look there are players, there are teams, there are competitions, there are fans, there are facilities and resources.”

He added: “This is the mecca of basketball.”

REP. MIKEE ROMERO smells racism in foreign coach’s comments.

P150 million in February, P99 million in March and a measly P9 million in April.

The trend could approach zero if Pagcor’s operations remain locked.

The five-day coaching course commences on July 27 with lectures would be held in morning and these would be followed by examinations in the afternoon.

The topics to be covered include sports science, nutrition, physical fitness and conditioning and physiology.

The PSC would award Level 1 Coach Certificates to successful participants. The new coaches could facilitate training for elementary students or beginners.

Fernandez, who oversees the PSC’s operations in the Visayas, said the courses are free but participants need to be endorsed by the sports office of their local government units (LGUs).

Because of an expected heavy turnout, the PSC would limit participation to only two aspirants for each LGU. The program would last until November. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Rick Olivares bleachersbrew@gmail.com

Bleachers’ Brew

Unforgettable 2010 Suzuki Cup takeaways Ten years ago (this coming December), the matches played by the national men’s football team changed the fortunes of the sport in this country. Forever.

That was when the Azkals made waves in the 2010 Suzuki Cup both in Vietnam and Indonesia with their best ever showing in the biennial tournament. The Philippines finished with a 1-2-2 record and crashed the semifinals for the first time.

Although the Southeast Asian championship has yet to be won let alone book a finals berth, the Philippines made the semifinals in three of the next four editions of the tourney as well as in Asian Football Confederation competition, affirming its arrival as an emerging regional football nation.

I have started this Usapang Football webcast last Saturday and my first guest was former Azkals midfielder Chieffy Caligdong (we have a lot of other key players lined up). I am doing this sort of countdown to the 10th anniversary of that literal game-changing tournament.

When I reflect on that tournament, there are so many things to recall outside the matches. There was the triumphant return from Vietnam where the nationals read a statement about the then-leadership of the Philippine Football Federation. There was the nonhome game that proved to be a massive advantage of the Philippines’ semifinal foe—Indonesia. There was the team being feted during half time of a Philippine Basketball Association match at the Araneta Coliseum.

If I were to sum up the entire sweeping fervor of that month of December, I will point to two things—one, the stunned silence of the capacity crowd at the My Dinh National Stadium after the 2-nil win over Vietnam and their crowds that lined up along the side of the road in shock and silence, and the crowd that sent them off in the final practice at the University of Makati (UMak).

During the press conference prior to the start of that tournament, the coaches of the group—Raddy Avramovic of Singapore, Henrique Calisto of Vietnam and Park SungHwa of Myanmar were asked what they thought of the Philippines’ chances. Avramovic spoke for them all when he said, “Win a game and we will talk.”

After the 1-1 draw, back in the Sheraton Hanoi Hotel where the three squads were billeted, the Serb was still in denial. Following the victory over Vietnam, he led the teams of Singapore and Myanmar with a guard of honor at the hotel. And he hung out with us up to the early hours of the morning talking football. Imagine that!

The silence of the crowd—the shock of the Philippines’ showing—if you could register that in a Richter Scale for sports, the Azkals’ results were seismic! And it would continue as the Philippines continued to beat other teams.

And that is another takeaway. If previously teams didn’t even take us seriously knowing that a win was automatic, now, they were preparing for the Azkals. They had to grind out wins.

The second thing I would point out as a summation of the entire month’s madness was the send-off at UMak. It was the final practice before the team was to fly off to Jakarta the next day. And UMak was filled with fans. Security was non-existent and it was difficult to control the crowd that entered the pitch. I recall the entire team and I (as media officer) talking at the center of the pitch. What do we do? We collectively assessed the situation and agreed on a simple course of action.

Team captain Aly Borromeo said, “We have to thank them. They took the time to come over.” And so the team, tired, sweaty and yet excited, met up with fans for pictures and autographs.

I had not seen that sort of reaction from the fans prior to that. That was reserved for basketball teams, actors and rock stars. Azkalsmania was in full swing.

By the time the team went to Panaad to face Mongolia for the AFC Qualifiers, the venerable stadium was packed to the rafters with more outside unable to purchase a ticket.

Overnight, it was hard to book football pitches for pick-up matches. Even the artificial turf pitch at BGC was loaded with people just playing the game. The UAAP football tournament—long neglected—was suddenly on television (Silverstar previously showed some matches but not much). And there was more. The United Football League was popular, and on television too. It could have used better marketing, but nevertheless, club football was on television, and players could earn a living.

If you drove along Edsa or C5, you would see not one, not two, not even three but more billboards featuring the Younghusband brothers, Misagh Bahadoran or Chieffy Caligdong.

Within years, foreign squads came over including a David Beckham-powered Los Angeles Galaxy for an exhibition game. Then a galactico like Fabio Cannavaro, Brazilian legend Zico and players from Manchester United among others came over for visits or exhibition matches.

It was a great time to be a football fan. And well, it still is. What that team (and previous ones too) sowed should be harvested in this third decade of the new millennium. These are the kids who were in school during the 2010 Suzuki Cup. And they will blaze a new trail to much higher ground.