BusinessMirror June 17, 2022

PHL now feeling impact of food crisis–DA chief PHL PHLto tofix fixweak weakspots spotsin inpath pathto to$500-B $500-Bdream dream

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas B S A @jearcalas B A C S A Bloomberg A News C

PT P

HE Bloomberg food crisis is now felt News HILIPPINES’S incoming ecoin the Philippines as prices nomic planning secretary ArHILIPPINES’S incoming ecoof goods continue to soar, senio Balisacan plans to bol-Arnomic planning secretary driven by global economic chalster thesenio economy’s weak spots as Balisacan plans topanbolcaused by 6-percent the Covid-19 helenges targets least ster the ateconomy’s weak annual spots as demic andatthe ongoing growth throughout the termUkraineof Preshe targets least 6-percent annual Russia Agriculture Secretary ident-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. growthwar, throughout the term of PresThe next administration William D.Ferdinand Dar said Thursday. ident-elect Marcosmust Jr. boostDar investment in agriculturein and Th e gave nexthis administration must assessment his manufacturing and build infrastrucboost investment in and speech addressed toagriculture management ture to grow the and economy between manufacturing build infrastrucofficials of the Department 6-8 percent annually to 2028,between Bali-of ture to grow the economy Agriculture(DA), which was delivsacan in an interview Wednes6-8 said percent annually to 2028, Baliered by Agriculture Undersecreday. sacan said in an interview Wednestary and Chief-of-Staff Leocadio Farm and industry output curday. rently account less than 40 perSebastian onfor his behalf.

Farm and industry output curcent of gross domestic product, while rently account for less than 40 per“In the last ManCom [Managecent ofCommittee], gross domesticthe product, while ment Secretary

the WorLd »a10

Fed’s aggressive rate hikes raise prospect oF recession

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

spoke contributes of a looming food crisis. services the majority.

Well, it’s like hereto now,” said Sebas“I would see those weakest services contributes the majority. tian, reading from Dar’s speech at points the priority of the adminis“Ias would like to see those weakest tration,” said 64-year-old, who’s the start ofthe the two-day points as the priority of theNational adminiscurrently of the nation’s Management Committee meeting tration,”chairman said the 64-year-old, who’s antitrust commission. currently chairman of the nation’s of the DA. Consistently growing the rate antitrust commission.

Dar noted that theat fertilizer of 6 percent for sixgrowing years will make Consistently at the rate prices havea tripled since the start Philippines half-a-trillion dollar of 6 percent for six years will make of the Ukraine-Russia war while economy, according to Bloomberg Philippines a half-a-trillion dollar food inflation in the West is reachcalculations. economy, according to Bloomberg Theasnation’s ing high asfi8rst-quarter percent. expancalculations. sion “Here of percent already among in thefiis Philippines, we Th8.3 e nation’s rst-quarter expanAsia’s thanksinflation the reopensionfastest, of percent istoalready among have an8.3 enviable of 5.4 ingAsia’s fromfastest, the pandemic.

Marthanks toStill, the reopenpercent, considering.

Still way cos’s team faces immediate challenging from the pandemic.

Still, Maroff-target for our Central Bank. es:cos’s inflation is at its fastest inchallengthree team faces immediate That isation driven bycit food energy years, budget hasand widened es: infl isdefi at its fastest in three prices,” he said. and the global outlook dimmed. years, budget deficithashas widened Still, said the the economy Dar added that and theBalisacan global outlook haspredicted dimmed. can expand by at least 7 percent this Still, Balisacan said the economy geopolitical shifts are happening can expand byfood at least 7 percent this already with export restric-

tions being by various year, within theimposed official growth esticountries tothe secure theirfrom supplies. mate, riding recovery year, within the official growththe esti“ The geopolitical shifts are record contraction in 2020 due to mate, riding the recovery from the the pandemic.

He saidinas he2020 will push moving as predicted well: India record contraction due to for more targeted support measures isthe rising as a food security superpandemic.

He said he will push topower easemore infl ation’s on the poor for targeted support measures and the burden next viable source while ensuring “tight” government to ease infl ation’s burden on the poor of wheat and rice for importing finances are managed properly. while ensuring “tight” government countries,” he said. canare achieve moreproperly. with less,” fi“We nances managed “Elsewhere, export bans are behe said, adding that a review and “We can achieve more with less,” ing instituted about 20 counstreamlining of by benefi are he said, adding that aciaries review and needed.

Theprotect nation af-are tries, to theircannot domestic streamlining of also benefi ciaries ford removal certain onafsupplies. palm oil, sunneeded.

ThWheat, e of nation also taxes cannot goods proposed by some sectors, ford asremoval certain taxes on flower oil, andoffertilizer compohegoods said. as proposed by some sectors, nents are scarce,” he added. he In said.

May, Dar warned of a loomExperienced economist ing food crisis that from the country BALISACAN will draw his exExperienced economist could feel in will the second half, perience in crafting a newfrom economic BALISACAN draw hisdue exdevelopment plan. economic Before taking to various chalperience in global crafting a new economic helm of the antitrust he served development plan.body, Before taking lenges that drove up prices of helm of thefood, antitrust he served domestic bothbody, locally-pro-

and imported. asduced economic planning secretary of “Thepresident Philippines’s precarious theas late Benigno Aquino of economic planning secretary position as2016. a net food-importing from the2012 late to president Benigno Aquino To sustain growth of not at country demands from 2012 toeconomic 2016. innovation least 6in percent, the nextactivities, administrajustTo our existing but sustain economic growth of at tion must addresslegislation,” rednext tape administraandhe build least percent, the also in6 related said. infrastructure needed attract intion must address redtotape and build The BusinessMirror broke vestment in manufacturing and ag-ininfrastructure needed to attract the story earlier that riculture, said whoFilipinos holds vestment inBalisacan, manufacturing and aagwill grapple with more PhD in Economics from the Univerriculture, said Balisacan, expensive who holds a rice comingfrom months as the sity of in Hawaii.

PhD inthe Economics the UniverGiven athe budget cit infl ated price stapledefi could increase sity ofofHawaii. bybypandemic-era Given a budget defiprograms, cit inflated as much assupport P6 per kilogram companies and multilateral develby pandemic-era support programs, due to higher production costs opment agencies may be tappeddevelto companies and multilateral both locally and internationally. finance roads, rail and irrigation, heto opment agencies may be tapped (R e l Balisacan a te d s to r y: h t t p manage s: // b u s i nthe e sssaid. finance roads, helped rail and irrigation, he mirror.com.ph/2022/06/06/higherAquino administration’s fl agship said. Balisacan helped manage the rice-produc tion-costsseen-to-spurpublic-private partnership fl infraAquino administration’s agship %e2%82%a76-kilo-price-hike/) public-private partnership infraS “PHL,” A S “PHL,” A A2 See “food crisis,”

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2006 National Newspaper of the Year CLUBNewspaper OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS 2011 ROTARY National of the Year National Newspaper the Year 2013 2006 Business Newspaper of theofYear National Newspaper the Year 2017 2011 Business Newspaper of theofYear Business Newspaper the Year 2019 2013 Business Newspaper of theofYear Business Newspaper of the Year 20212017 Pro Patria Award 20192018 Business Newspaper of the Year PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY Data Champion 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion

AAbroader look at today’s business look at today’s business A■broader broader look at today’s business Thursday, June 2, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 237

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Friday, JuneJune 17, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 252 Thursday, 2, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 237

n ■

ON NEW ECONOMIC TEAM’ ON NEW ECONOMIC TEAM’ RISK OF STAGFLATION’

A

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

MID rising commodity prices and the slow global economic recovery, the Philippines remains in no danger of experiencing “stagflation” in the near term, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

BSP said the economy is not in immediate risk of experiencing stagflation which is “an economic condition characterized by slow growth, high unemployment, and rising inflation.”

The BSP noted that the country’s GDP growth of 8.3 percent in the first quarter of the year and the steady decline of unemployment to 5.7 percent in April are good omens that the country’s economic recovery is well under way.

“The steady upturn in credit activity, ample domestic liquidity,

and favorable market sentiment should also help boost economic activity. Consumer confidence has improved in Q1 [first quarter] 2022, while the country’s foreign direct investments yielded net inflows in March,” BSP also said in a statement.

Domestic labor conditions, BSP said, are expected to improve and are now approaching prepandemic levels due to the eased mobility restrictions earlier imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

See “PHL,” A2

MIGRANTS’ REMITTANCE FLOWS BOOSTED BY DIGITALIZATION

M

Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (QCDRRM) and Quezon City Hall personnel conduct a nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill at City Hall grounds on Thursday, June 9, 2022. The drill trains participants on the during prepare them forand theUbo so-called “big one,” a major temblor deemed very possible for the Philippines, which lies on an earthquake belt. NONOY LACZA TILAPIA fish pens areproper seen inreactions Lake Sebu, the disasters ancestral and domain of the T‘boli indigenous people in South Cotabato. The lake is one of the prime ecotourism destinations in Mindanao. JOEL PAREDES

PHL’s competitiveness rank better, but problems flagged

IGRANTS worldwide

By Andrea E. San Juan who support their family memstructure ranking because it has are expected to send bers and communities of origin improved, there are other areas THE BRP Melchora Aquino, the second of two worth multi-role response vessels procured by the Philippine from Japan, is welcomed by the Philippine Coast Guard at the Port Areahave in Manila on Wednesday, 1, 2022, completing its maiden voyage from Japan. Constructed by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. in Japan, the ship, named LTHOUGH the Philippines home trillions through the money they government send that been left outJune under this after Sora, the Grand Woman ofofthe Revolution during thevessels Spanish colonialbyperiod, is part ofgovernment the Maritimefrom Safety Capability Improvement Project ofCoast the Coast Guard.

ROY DOMINGO THETandang BRP Melchora Aquino, the second two multi-role response procured the Philippine Japan, is welcomed by the Philippine Guard at the Port Area in Manila on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, moved two notches up in of dollars in remittances until back home. pillar or which are causes of con-completing its maiden voyage from Japan. Constructed by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. in Japan, the ship, named after Tandang Sora, the Grand Woman of the Revolution during the Spanish colonial period, is part of the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project of the Coast Guard. ROY DOMINGO its infrastructure ranking 2030, with theBflows boosted IFAD expects global remitcern, such as health and education.

C U. O @caiordinario based on the 2022 World Comby greater digitalization which tances to reach $5.4 trillion Khatiwada highlighted educaB C U. O @caiordinario petitiveness Yearbook (WCY), it blunted the adverse impact of in less than a decade. In 2021, tion because he said that “this is remains the weakest factor for the pandemic, according to the low- and middle-income coungoing to play out in the next few the country due to the underlying International Fund for Agricultries (LMICs) grew 8.6 percent years.” In fact, he added, there problems on social infrastructure tural Development (IFAD).

Citing the latest World Bank was already something called the which places education under the The report was made as the data, IFAD said remittances flow “learning crisis” even before the UTGOING Senate PresiDrilon moved to elect Majority microscope, among others. global community observed on at $605 billion was more than pandemic hit the Philippines.

B J M N. D C our political andthat dent Vicente Sotto III Leader Juanmoved MigueltoZubiri as the At a webinar on Thursday, Asian and strengthened June 16 the International Day tripled the total amount of interHe illustrated by saying UTGOING Senate PresiDrilon elect Majority B J@joveemarie M N. (ADB) D C and strengthened our political and declared at 7:41 Sotto pm ofIII acting Senate Pro Temdent Vicente Leader Juan President Miguel Zubiri as the Development Bank South- governmental of Family Remittances (IDFR), national official development “When you institutions. test students at differ“Despite the institutions. many challenges @joveemarie governmental as adjourned sinepm dieof pore fromSenate noon President of June 30 declared at 7:41 acting Prountil Temeast Asia Department’s Social Secan annual event to raise awareassistance at $178.6 billion. ent grade levels, they aren’t really Wednesday HE House of Representatives that “Despite happenedthe during mychallenges tenure many the third regular session of thedie July 25,from when the of 19th Congress Wednesday as adjourned sine pore noon June 30 until tor Specialist Sameer Khatiwada ness of the hard work and sacrilearning as much as they should be onHEWednesday ended the asthat your happened Speaker, we have risen and House of Representatives during my tenure See “Migrants,” A2 18th on thesession part ofofthe convenes. the Congress third regular the first July 25, when the 19th Congress pointed out that although he’s opfice of the millions of migrants 18th highlighting ourselves to be One Conon Congress, Wednesday ended the proven as your Speaker, we have risen and Senate, capping what Minority Earlier in the day, colleagues See “Rank,” A2 18th Congress on the part of the fi rst convenes. timistic over the country’s infraits 3-year achievements, including gress, ready to servetoour people,” 18th Congress, highlighting proven ourselves be One Con- Leader Franklin Drilon thatinZubiri had colleagues secured Senate, capping whatdescribed Minority signaled Earlier the day, laws to helpachievements, the country navigate histo colleagues. its 3-year including Velasco gress, told ready serve our people,” asLeader cabinet can handle the emerging scenario,” the In its latest Market Call report, First Metro “one of Franklin the most Drilon productive sesthe “votes” that of majority senators described signaled Zubiri of had secured emerge strongernavigate from “One Congress, ready to scrutilaws toand help the country Velasco told his colleagues. report stated.

Investment University of Asia First and the sions” of the chamber, an featSAUDI made who will sitSource: in 19th Senate, a cabinet handle n the japan emerging scenario,” In itsCorp. latestand Market Call report, Metro as “one of the most productive sesthe “votes” ofthe majority of senators n US can 53.3700 0.3988 then UKthrough 64.9566 n HK 6.7990 n CHINA 7.9470 n singapore 38.4954 n australia 37.3910 n EU 55.7556 arabia 14.2248 BSP (June 16, 2022) the Covid-19 pandemic. the national budget, pass through and emerge stronger from nize “One Congress, ready to scrutiOne of the major risks that post the most Pacifi c (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Markets Research remarkable by chamber, the fact that much confisit rmed

by Drilon. report stated.

Investment Corp. and University of Asia and the sions” of the a feat made matter who will in the 19th Senate, a In Covid-19 his valedictory laws, conduct hearings, the pandemic. speech, nizetothe national budget,totopropass ofremarkable uncertainty is the Russia-Ukraine saidPacifi thecgrowth momentum which gave rise to One to of the the economy major risks that post the most (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Markets Research it was in a pandemic.

Zubiri confi appears to be the by the fact that much matter rmednow

by Drilon.

Speaker Velascospeech, said vide oversight on the implementaIn Lord his Allan valedictory waruncertainty which willtomark its first 100 days.

The war thesaid 8.3-percent growth in the fiwhich rst quarter laws, to conduct hearings, to prothe economy is the Russia-Ukraine the growth momentum gave will rise to peers heaped praise on only Zubiri likely candidate to stand ofHis it was in a pandemic. appears now to befor the the 18th Congress was Velasco a key and of oversight laws, and on to generally make Speaker Lord Allan said tion began February 24 this anddays. will The reachwar spillthe over to the second quarter. vide the implementawar in which will mark its fiyear rst 100 8.3-percent growth in the first quarter will SottoHis for his leadership, and laudelection as the next Senate Presi-for peers heaped praise on only likely candidate to stand steady partner of President easier theand next 100began days on 3. FMIC-UA&P Capital However, of the economy in the 18th Congress was aDuterte key and it tion offor laws, to Congress generally and make edSotto in June February 24 this year and Markets will reach spill over tothe theperformance second quarter. and thanked as well theand seven after as Sen. Cynthia Villar, earfor his leadership, laud- dent, election the next Senate Presiinsteady passing lawsof that promoted Research saidoncommodity prices, particularly oil the third and fourth quarters will of bethe determined to continue the legpartner President Duterte itsitleadership, easier for the next Congress and other 100 days June 3. FMIC-UA&P Capital Markets However, the performance economy in “graduating” members of seven the lier touted a strong contender, ed and thanked as well the dent, afterasSen. Cynthia Villar, earprices, could remain elevated until the particularly war in East- oil by the the third policies be implemented the new economic development, work for the sake of our in passing laws thatstrengthpromoted islative Research said commodity prices, andtofourth quarters will by be determined its leadership, to continue thekaleg- chamber, including two other of pilwithdrawing other “graduating” members the announced lier toutedshe as awas strong contender, ernprices, Europecould is resolved.

This uncertainty lead economic will greet ened the administration justice babayans,” he added. remain elevated until the will war in Eastby the team. policiesMuch to beuncertainty implemented by thethenew economic development,ofstrengthislative work for the sake of our ka- lars—Drilon and Senate President from the race. chamber, including two other pilannounced she was withdrawing to an ation of above 5 percent in economic managers as the pandemicwill continues and thethe ruleadministration of law, enhanced the ernaverage Europe infl is resolved.

This uncertainty willthelead economic team. Much uncertainty greet the He said the ened of justice babayans,” hepandemic added. forced the Pro Tempore Ralph “Walathe nang [There is no] SP race,” lars—Drilon and Recto.

Senate President from race. country year. inflation of above 5 percent in the andeconomic commodity prices remain protection of labor andenhanced social welto anthis average managers as theelevated. pandemic continues to be dynamic, and the rule of law, the House Heleadership said the pandemic forced the As his “last offi cial act,” Drilon she told reporters, Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.

“Wala nang [Thadding, ere is no]“ISPwant race,” In April, “Thecommodity robustness in the economic country thisthe year.Philippine Statistics Authority and prices remain elevated.recovery, fare, improved of and and proactive. protection of the laborquality and social wel- innovative House leadership to be dynamic, introduced a resolution meant to a simple life” and explained she As his “last offi cial act,” Drilon she told reporters, adding, “I want (PSA) reported that infl ation nationwide increased founded“The heavily on employment gains, should In April, the Philippine Statistics Authority robustness in the economic recovery, increased access to “Despite the lingering threat fare, improved theeducation quality ofand and innovative and proactive. prevent a month-long leadership just wanted to “take care of my adintroduced a resolution meant to a simple life” and explained she to 4.9 percent in April 2022.

The average infl ation spillfounded over intoheavily Q2 [theonsecond quarter].

And while (PSA) reported that inflation nationwide increased employment gains, should information, enhanced our health increased access to education and “Despite the lingering threat gap in the aSenate, as the terms of vocacy, agriculture,” heradprevent month-long leadership just wanted to “takesignaling care of my for tothe4.9first four months of theThe yearaverage stood at a tighter fiscal andsecond inflation pose And serious percent in April 2022. infl3.7 ation spill over intospace Q2 [the quarter]. while C  A and emergencyenhanced response our system, information, health Sotto and endasatthenoon ofof desire to keep her chairmanship gap in theRecto Senate, terms vocacy, agriculture,” signaling of her headwinds anation economic for the first four months of the year stood at 3.7 a tighterinfiH2 scal[second space half], and infl poseteam serious C  A and emergency response system, S “H,” A Butch Fernandez June 30. and Recto end at noon of that committee.

Sotto desire to keep her chairmanship of of high-quality the new President’s headwinds intechnocrats H2 [secondinhalf], an economic team S “H,” A June 30. that committee. Butch Fernandez of high-quality technocrats in the new President’s

T T

HE performance of the Philippine HE performance of thehalf Philippine economy in the second the second half ofeconomy the year in will rest squarely of the yearofwill squarely on the shoulders therest incoming on the shoulderseconomic of the incoming administration’s team, administration’s economic team, according to a local think tank. according to a local think tank.

PESO exchange rates

A

Sotto closes ‘productive’ Sotto closes ‘productive’ PANDEMIC CHALLENGE PANDEMIC CHALLENGE session; Zubiri next SP? MARKS 18TH CONGRESS session; Zubiri next SP? MARKS 18TH CONGRESS

TT

O O

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 52.4120 ■ JAPAN 0.4073 ■ UK 66.0496 ■ HK 6.6799 ■ SINGAPORE 38.2625 ■ AUSTRALIA 37.6004 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.9750 ■ EU 56.2643 ■ CHINA 7.8555 Source: BSP (June 1, 2022) PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 52.4120 ■ JAPAN 0.4073 ■ UK 66.0496 ■ HK 6.6799 ■ SINGAPORE 38.2625 ■ AUSTRALIA 37.6004 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.9750 ■ EU 56.2643 ■ CHINA 7.8555 Source: BSP (June 1, 2022)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, June 17, 2022

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ILO: 96% of domestic workers still don’t enjoy full social protection

D

By Samuel P. Medenilla

ers have no coverage at all, with the remaining half legally covered by at least one benefit," ILO said in a statement issued on Thursday.

“Even where they are legally covered, only one-in-five domestic workers are actually covered in practice because the vast majority are employed informally,” it added.

Most of those who enjoy the comprehensive social welfare protection

are from Europe and Central Asia, while almost all of those employed in Arab States, Asia and the Pacific and Africa do not have such benefits.

This, it noted, makes the majority of domestic workers worldwide vulnerable compared to those employed in other sectors.

This became more apparent with the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, which led to the displacement or infections of many domestic workers.

"They were among the worst-hit during the pandemic, with many losing their jobs and livelihoods.

Many of those who kept their jobs were often exposed to the disease without sufficient protective equipment," ILO said.

To address the plight of these workers, ILO urged more countries to adopt the provisions of its convention No. 189 or the Domestic Workers Convention of 2011 or Recommendation 2011, which stipulate the basic standards for the protection for domestic workers.

The said convention and recom mend at ion set t he minimum labor standards for domestic workers, which should be on a par with those employed in other sectors.

Currently, only 35 of the 187 ILO member countries have ratified Convention 189. Among the countries which first enforced it is the Philippines.

ILO also recommended simplifying the registration and payment procedures for the enrollment of domestic workers in concerned government agencies, which provide them social protection.

It also proposed promoting inspection services, complaints and appeal mechanisms for domestic workers as well as information drive so both the affected workers and employers will be aware of the said measures.

800 million family members,” IFAD said.

“The digitalization of remittances, particularly through mobile channels, is a great opportunity to boost rural development as over half of these funds go to rural areas. Digitalization reduces fees and other transaction costs like travel time, making the process more convenient and safer while promoting digital and financial inclusion,” said

Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, speaking on the International Day of Family Remittances.

IFAD said that migrant workers send on average $200–$300 home every one to two months. This represents only 15 percent of what they earn, with the rest staying in their host countries.

However, IFAD said, what migrants send can make up as much as 60 percent

of a household’s total income representing a lifeline for millions of families.

“Remittances l if t people out of poverty, put food on the table, pay for education, cover health expenses, allow housing investments and many other family goals beyond consumption,” he added.

@sam_medenilla

ESPITE the enforcement of the international Domestic Workers Convention a decade ago, about 96 percent of such workers worldwide still do not enjoy a full range of social “protection,” according to a new study from the International Labor Organization (ILO).

In its "Making the right to social security a reality for domestic workers: A global review of policy trends, statistics and extension strategies" report, ILO said only 6 percent of the 75.6 million domestic workers worldwide are covered by medical care, sickness, unemployment, old age, employment injury, family, maternity, invalidity and survivors’ benefits.

"About half of all domestic work-

Migrants...

Continued from A1

“Money sent home by over 200 million migrant workers around the world this year is expected to reach $630 billion, providing a lifeline for more than

PHL remittances

On Wednesday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that remittances sent by Filipinos abroad to their families in the Philippines increased to a five-month high in April this year.

The BSP said cash remittances coursed through banks reached $2.395 billion in April 2022, some 3.9 percent higher than the $2.305 billion posted in the same month in 2021.

T he Centra l Bank ’s d ata showed this growth was the highest since November 2021 when cash remittances posted growth of 5.1 percent. (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2022/06/15/overseas-pinoys-sendhome-2-4-billion-a-5-month-high/)

Cai U. Ordinario

Rank..

Continued from A1

learning” and “they were attending schools but in terms of quality education, learning outcomes, there is much to be desired.”

Khatiwada said that if competitiveness of the Philippine economy going forward were a goal, “unless we invest in human capital development, unless we make sure that some of these learning losses are reversed or addressed with some targeted measures,” then “it would be very difficult to catch up.”

He noted that missing school during the formative years of one’s life is “very hard to reverse later” because according to him, that’s compromising foundation.

“Early childhood is a critical one because that builds the foundation for anything that comes after, and I think that’s where we need to make an investment,” the social sector specialist emphasized.

PHL...

Continued from A1

Unemployment peaked at 17.6 percent in April 2020.

Inflation, meanwhile, is also expected to taper. BSP said notwithstanding the recent spike in global commodity prices, the inflation target of 2 to 4 percent by 2023 remains attainable.

However, BSP said, inflation is expected to “lead toward the upside for both 2022 and 2023.” Inflation was at 5.4 percent in May 2022, the highest since November 2018 when the rise in commodity prices reached 6.1 percent.

“While domestic inflation is seen to remain elevated in the near term, as a result of supply-side factors linked to volatile global commodity prices, inflation is expected to revert to the government's target range of 2 to 4 percent by 2023,” BSP said.

Given these considerations, the BSP reiterated its support for urgent and coordinated efforts of government agencies to ensure adequate domestic food supply.

Direct and targeted interventions made by the national government will be critical in tempering the impact of persistent supply-side pressures on prices and wage-setting.

“The BSP will remain vigilant over emerging price and output conditions and will undertake necessary action to ensure that monetary policy settings remain appropriately calibrated, consistent with the BSP’s price and financial stability mandates,” the Central Bank said.

Consumer protection

BSP said the Philippines needs to do

Food crisis...

more to protect Filipino consumers by implementing the Financial Products and Ser vices Consumer Protection Act (FCPA).

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno acknowledged the World Bank ’s recommendation for stronger interagency coordination in implementing consumer protection programs, including the FCPA. The FCPA provides consumers with redress mechanisms, while ensuring equitable treatment, transparency, and data privacy.

“The BSP had long pushed for the enactment of the FCPA, but we recognize that consumer protection requires a whole-of-gover nment approach. We look forward to the implementation of this crucial reform in the digital age,” Diokno said.

The FCPA aims to empower financial regulators to take necessary steps against financial service prov iders that act in ways that are disadvantageous to consumer welfare.

The World Bank Report recognized that various agencies in the Philippines promote consumer protection in their respective fields including the BSP for electronic payments.

Other agencies that were recognized were the Department of Agriculture for agricultural and fishery products, and the Department of Health for food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices in terms of health and safety hazards.

“Policymakers should strengthen their regulator y and supervisor y framework for financial consumer protection, including cybersecurity, through the implementation of the FCPA,” the World Bank report stated.

Dar listed various priorities that the new DA leadership must focus on during the first 100 days of the administration of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The list includes executive and legislative actions to avert “political instability” in the country due to rising food prices.

Dar’s proposed executive orders include a 30-day rice buffer stock for National Food Authority (NFA), another 30-day rice buffer stock for local government units and the sale of NFA rice to 4Ps beneficiaries. The next DA administration must also direct the state universities and colleges (SUCs) to distribute vegetable seeds and planting materials and embark on an information dissemination on organic fertilizer and soil testing.

On the legislative front, the DA is pushing for the revision of the Land Bank of the Philippines charter, making credit to farmers the primary mandate of the state-run bank; as well as amendment of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. charter. The DA is also proposing the review and revision of CARP and the creation of the Bureau of Agri-fishery Industrialization Cooperatives.

Dar said Marcos Jr. must certify as urgent the bill creating the Department of Fishery and Oceans as well as the Livestock Development Competitiveness Act, which will create an earmarked fund to develop the local livestock sector.

“These proposed measures stay in the concrete and avoid the wishful thinking of rhetoric. They are also heavily based on evidence,” he said.

“Thus, it is in the spirit of a transition that we currently set our compasses for the crucial period after the proclamation by which our leaders are judged,” he added.

As the new administration comes in, Khatiwada said, the human capital development agenda has to be the central pillar of increasing and enhancing the country’s competitiveness.

Khatiwada also cited Indonesian President Joko Widodo who focused on infrastructure first, then on human capital. Khatiwada said in relation to this, “because human capital and infrastructure are your two basic ingredients for growth and investments.”

The learning loss because of school closures have to be taken seriously and “we have to come up with concentrated efforts,” he added.

Through the investor’s lens, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Senior Adviser John D. Forbes expressed optimism about the country’s competitiveness but shared his recommendations on how the Philippines could further utilize its potential as a country in Southeast Asia.

“Investors look at the Philippines, the region of Asia, as an extremely fast growing place to be, they have to be in Southeast Asia,” Forbes stressed.

Forbes explained that the amount of money coming into Southeast Asia every year is around $70 billion, which is generally as high as the money that’s coming in China, which according to him, creates lots of jobs.

However, he said the Philippines has only recently begun to get a fair share of that amount, illustrating that the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows steadily increased from Gloria Arroyo’s administra-

tion with $2 billion, to Benigno S. Aquino III’s administration with $3.6 billion, to Rodrigo Duterte’s administration with $8.9 billion, the highest FDI inflows among the three administrations.

Forbes said, however, that in terms of per capita income (PCI), the Philippines have been surpassed by Thailand in 1983, Indonesia in 2003 and Vietnam in 2020.

He emphasized that although “you got a workforce here, you have a location, you have foreign investors”, “have poor governance, lack of implementation.“ Moreover, despite having progressive tax laws, he said that there are “lots of collections”. He also noted the great deal of corruption in which tax revenue is wasted. Above all, he said, the rule of law is weak.

However, Forbes remains optimistic along with the American Chamber because of the good economic team coming in. Still, he highlighted that there are still vacant cabinet posts such as the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), which according to him “historically are very corrupt.”

He said that he remains optimistic, saying “I frequently call it the land of permanent potential. Think about it, it's blessed with men’s natural resources.” He added that “it can have as many major agriculture exports as Vietnam does but it only has bananas, pineapples, whereas Vietnam has fish and rice and cashews, and coffee,etc.”

Still, he said that each new administration one after another is going to be better at realizing this potential.

Continued from A1

First 100 days priority

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Namria exec voted in UN body on continental shelf

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig

T

HE Philippines was elected in the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a United Nations body that facilitates the expansion of continental shelve of coastal states beyond the 200-nautical mile limit.

The Philippine candidate is Efren A. Carandang, deputy administrator of National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria) and one of the country’s most eminent scholars on ocean governance.

“Efren is the Philippines’ foremost authority on the technical intricacies of the law of the sea, which is to say that he is one of the very best in the world,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said during a diplomatic reception at the UN headquarters in New York City last May. A continental shelf is the part of the continent that is under water. It used to be part of the land during the ice ages of the glacial period. Under the constitution of the seas called the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), coastal states can claim up to 200 nautical miles of continental shelf.

According to the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, this is the first time that the Philippines, an archipelagic state, will serve in the commission.

UNCLOS state parties held the elections for CLCS candidates at the UN General Assembly last Wednesday, June 15.

The Philippines won the seat in the Asia-Pacific Group. “[The Philippines] competed with eight other candidates under the APG, and successfully reached the required majority of votes, with 113 votes from a total of 164 [UNCLOS] states present and voting, after four tough rounds of voting,” the Mission said in a tweet.

Carandang will serve a five-year term, which will be from 2023 until 2028.

In 2009, Carandang is part of the core team that prepared the Philippine application to extend the continental shelf of the northeastern territory called Benham Rise or Philippine Rise. The CLCS approved the application in 2012.

The 13-million hectare Benham Rise is largely unexplored. Marine scientists believed it is potentially a rich source of natural gas and other resources such as heavy metals.

MMDA opens new motorcycle, bicycle repair station at Edsa

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

T

HE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday launched a motorcycle and bicycle repair station at the ground level of Quezon Avenue flyover at Edsa.

The repair station, which is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., is equipped with basic repair and tire vulcanizing tools, as well as trained MMDA personnel who will help bikers in case of a vehicle breakdown on the road.

Currently, there are two repair stations in Edsa and another one in Roxas Boulevard. “The thrust of this project is to provide free space and assistance in cases where emergency repairs are needed rather than towing the vehicles, outright. The only time the vehicle will be towed is when it is beyond repair,” MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said during the launch.

Artes said the agency would put up more motorcycle and bicycle repair stations in different strategic locations all over Metro Manila where cyclists and motorcycle riders usually traverse and will eventually expand the project to also cater to four-wheel vehicles.

Congressman-elect Bonifacio Bosita of 1Rider Partylist, who is also present during the event, expressed support for the project.

“This will surely make the rider community happy since they now have a place to go to in case they need emergency repairs,” Bosita said.

Artes also advised cyclists to practice road safety measures. He noted that the MMDA will continue to push for its proposal to construct elevated bike lanes and walkway and is still studying proposals and will consult stakeholders on whether to give motorcycles dedicated lane along major thoroughfares.

DOF rejects call to remove VAT on power generation charge continued from a14

An increase in deficit and debt, in turn, will potentially raise interest rates on government debt, thereby reducing much-needed fiscal space for funding crucial social and economic programs, more so now when the government needs to sustain and even boost the domestic economy’s recovery from the lingering pan-

demic and Russia-Ukraine conflict, it said.

It also pointed out that the suspension of fuel excise tax imposition will only largely benefit higher income households, and not the poor, given that the top 10 percent of Filipino households consume about half of the total petroleum products.

‘Travel firms’ return to ops boosts ’21 tourism rebound continued from a14 Meanwhile, in terms of tourism expenditures, inbound tourism expenditures or those made by foreign visitors and nationals residing abroad continued to contract in 2021.

The data showed the total inbound tourism expenditure in 2021 contracted 79.2 percent to P27.62 billion from P132.58 billion in 2020.

However, domestic tourism expenditures or those made by resident

visitors rebounded to P782.51 billion, or a 38.7-percent growth from the P564.24 billion in 2020.

The PSA said outbound tourism expenditures or those made by Filipinos abroad, also increased 27.1 percent in 2021.

The data showed Filipinos who travelled outside the country spent P100.39 billion in 2021, higher than the P78.95 billion they spent in 2020.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, June 17, 2022 A3

ATC designates 11 insurgents ‘terrorists’ T

HE Philippine government has designated a former peace negotiator and five other suspected communist rebel leaders as “terrorists” in a move that allowed the freezing of their financial assets, which officials said could be used to finance attacks.

The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) separately designated as terrorists five commanders of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), a small but violent Muslim terrorist group in the country’s south. They have been linked to the Islamic State group in an announcement made public Wednesday.

Long-running communist and Muslim insurgencies are among key security problems President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. stands to inherit when he takes office on June 30. Although considerably weakened by decades of offensives, infighting

and factionalism, the communist and Muslim insurgents remain national security threats.

The six rebel leaders accused of membership in the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) and related organizations were led

by Luis Jalandoni, a former Roman Catholic priest who joined the communist rebellion, one of the longestraging in Asia.

He gained national prominence as the chief rebel negotiator for decades in peace talks with the Philippine government brokered by Norway until he retired years ago. His whereabouts are unknown.

The ATC said Jalandoni and the five other high-ranking communist rebels were designated terrorists under Philippine law due to their alleged involvement in the rebel

movement and past and future acts of terrorism. It did not elaborate or cite any evidence.

The rebels condemned the government’s terrorist labeling of the 87-year-old Jalandoni and the others as a “gross perversion of the truth.”

“It was made without basis and cites no specific judicable facts. It aims to slander them and restrict their democratic rights,” the CPP said in a news statement.

The ATC also did not cite specific evidence against the five ASG commanders. But a military counterterrorism officer said Thursday on condition of anonymity that they were based in the southern provinces of Sulu and Basilan and linked to ransom kidnappings and other terrorist attacks.

The government has previously

designated the CPP and the NPA along with the ASG as terrorist organizations.

Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte took steps early in his presidency to foster peace talks with communist guerrillas, who the military estimates at 2,700 fighters. But both sides accused the other of pressing on with attacks and the negotiations eventually collapsed.

The Philippine government has never initiated any talks with the Abu Sayyaf, which has carved a brutal image for deadly bombings and beheadings, but has encouraged many of its fighters to surrender. The military has pressed on with decadeslong offensives against the militants, who are estimated to number less than 200 mostly in predominantly Muslim Sulu province and outlying islands. AP

House leader sees ‘brighter future’ for Pinoys under BBM-Sara tandem

T

ACLOBAN CITY—Filipinos can look forward to a better life under the leadership of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. and incoming Vice President Sara Duterte, according to House Majority Leader and Leyte First District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez.

“My kasimanwas [countrymen], a brighter future awaits all of us. Our new President and Vice President share with us our dream of a better generation for our children. Not only here in Tacloban and Eastern Visayas, but in all parts of the country,” Romualdez said in his inaugural address witnessed by Vice Presidentelect Duterte.

Romualdez made the remarks after his ceremonial oath-taking on Wednesday at the Remedios T. Romualdez Medical Foundation Gymnasium in Calanipawan Road.

He took his oath before Barangay 109-A Chairman Rodolfo Padillo.

Romualdez ran unopposed in the recent elections.

Tingog Representatives-elect Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez also took their ceremonial oath-taking.

In his speech, Romualdez highlighted the challenges the Marcos administration would face—the biggest being reducing poverty through the attainment of inclusive growth.

“Inclusive growth. All should benefit from the blessings of progress.

That is what we aim for in Tacloban and even in the whole of Eastern Visayas in the next three years under my next term as your Representative in the 19th Congress,” Romualdez said, partly in Filipino.

Achieving such a goal may be a “tall order,” he said, given the rising inflation, widening budget deficit and a bleak global economic outlook.

“But the election of dynamic and compassionate leaders at the highest levels of government gives us all hope of a brighter future,” Romualdez stressed.

“For the first time since 1986, we have elected a majority President in the person of Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. The overwhelming mandate that he received from the Filipino voters will surely help him steer the nation in the direction that we all desire—one that is anchored on his message of unity and his vision of Filipino nationhood,” he added.

Sara Duterte, he said, who is known for her strong conviction and compassionate leadership.

“Her tenacity in demanding quality service from public servants of Davao City is known—a legend of its own—not only in the region but in other parts of the country. Her concern for the welfare of the poor and the marginalized lies at the core of her character, guiding all her decisions as the city’s top executive. I have no doubt that she will serve as the best Vice President we will ever have,” he said.

For the first time in more than three decades, the country would

have a President and Vice President working as a team, Romualdez, one of the campaign managers of Duterte, said.

“I am fortunate to have seen, up close, the dynamics between President-elect Bongbong Marcos and Vice President-elect Inday Sara Duterte. Their relationship is one of mutual respect and one guided by the duty to serve the Filipino. This energetic tandem, I am sure, will work hand-in-hand to help improve

the living condition of our people,” he said.

He called the May 9 elections a “triumph of democracy, the power of one’s vote and the voice of the majority.”

He thanked all who helped the electoral exercise, including teachers and policemen, barangay officials, volunteers, campaign staff, the media, watchdog groups, and “millions of nameless and faceless Filipinos who made sure that the voice of the

people reigns supreme.”

Romualdez cited the victors for their “magnanimity” and their opponents for their “graciousness.”

Romualdez said he was happy that after two years of community quarantine and lockdowns, Filipinos could gather again “to see old and new friends, to hug family and loved ones, to commune as one people.”

He urged them to praise and thank the Lord for the “gift of life.”

A4 Friday, June 17, 2022 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DTI holds summit on prospects of PHL’s manufacturing industry A

Salceda to BBM: Don’t leave out small coconut farmers

By Andrea San Juan

T

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in partnership with the Board of Investments (BOI) will hold the annual Manufacturing Summit on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, to gather stakeholders from the public and private sectors across the country as they discuss the prospects for the Philippine manufacturing industry.

With the theme “Shaping the Future of Philippine Industries: The Road to Resiliency through Innovation,” the summit will focus on the nation’s industrialization journey and integration of digital transformation in the country’s industrial policy amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In addition, there will be a dis-

cussion on innovation and entrepreneurship strategies, policies, and programs being implemented by DTI, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and how these could be applied to enhance the competitiveness of the Philippine manufacturing industry in the post-pandemic future.

The summit will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Strengthening Collaboration and Cooperation on Innovation between the DTI and the US-Asean Business Council (US-ABC).

The US-ABC has been the premier advocacy organization for US corporations operating within the dynamic Asean region. Across the globe, the council’s membership of more than 170 companies generates al-

most $7 trillion in revenue and employs more than 14.5 million people.

Today, US-ABC’s members include the largest US companies conducting business in Asean, and range from newcomers to the region to companies that have been working in Southeast Asia for more than 100 years.

For his part, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said that the manufacturing industry has a significant role to play in the country’s economic recovery, highlighting that it remains the most important sector for long-term productive employment, among others.

“The Philippine manufacturing industry remains the most important sector for long-term productive employment, value-added generation, and innovation. We continue to be optimistic with the country now progressing towards economic recovery as proven by the expansion in our manufacturing sector… propelled by more economic sectors’ reopening,” said Lopez.

For her part, DTI-Competitiveness and Innovation Group (DTICIG) Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba said that the summit has always been the avenue to enable productive discussion and exchanging of insights among stakeholders from government, industry, and the academe, whose coordination and collaboration are crucial for advancing an innovative and competitive manufacturing sector.

The trade undersecretary said that the past six years was “quite

a journey,” especially with the onslaught of the pandemic. But she said that it has been worthwhile as they have “transformed every challenge into an opportunity to revisit familiar paths and make appropriate adjustments where necessary to meet the exigencies of the time.”

Aldaba noted that with relevant policy interventions in place, “our road to resiliency looks brighter than ever before.”

She also emphasized that with the ever-changing economic landscape, “the only way for us is to innovate in order to make our industries more adaptive, resilient, and competitive.”

In a report last month, S&P Global announced that the Philippines’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell “fractionally” from 54.3 in April to 54.1 in May. Despite the slower growth, this is the second-fastest rate of PMI in the country since November 2018.

Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence Maryam Baluch said that the survey data signaled a further expansion across the Philippines’ manufacturing sector.

“Growth remained strong despite output and new orders increasing at slightly softer rates,” she added.

A country’s PMI is meant to gauge the health of its manufacturing sector. It is calculated as a weighted average of five individual subcomponents: Readings above 50 show growth in the industry while readings below the 50 threshold signal a contraction in the manufacturing sector.

LBAY Rep. Joey Salceda is asking the administration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to ensure that “marginal farmers” or small coconut farmers, who are not members of coconut farmer associations, will still be able to benefit from the P75-billion Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund.

Salceda, also chairman of House Committee on Ways and Means, in a statement, said he hopes that the incoming Marcos Jr. administration will be open to “tweaking” the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP), which was approved by President Duterte under Executive Order No. 172, s. 2022, which he signed June 8 this year.

“There are two areas that are not very well-articulated in the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan, which is the guiding blueprint for the use of the Coco Levy Trust Fund. One is marginal or small-scale farmers, who are the poorest of the poor, both nationwide and as a subsector of the coconut industry. The second area of concern is crop diversification and inter-cropping, which is the best way to make coconut farmers more profitable and productive, peso-per-peso,” Salceda said.

The P75-billion Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund was created last year under Republic Act No. 11524.

Duterte issued EO 172 series of 2022 that approved the CFIDP that will serve as the overall utilization plan of the coco levy fund.

Under the CFIDP, the coco levy fund will be utilized for the following national programs: establishment of community-based enterprises; pro-

vision of social protection for coconut farmers, farmworkers, and their families; organization and development of coconut farmers; conduct of innovative research on coconut processing, production, and distribution; and integrated processing of coconut and downstream products.

The coconut sector is one of the largest sources of employment in the province of Albay, Salceda said.

“I have recently had a consultation on the agriculture sector early this week with key agriculturists, including national scientists, agricultural economists, agri-engineers, and others,” Salceda said, referring to discussions during a UP-Los Baños convocation where he was keynote speaker this week.

“We have come to the conclusion that the best way to lift coconut farmers out of poverty is to diversify their cropping, so that they are not so vulnerable to the price ‘cyclicalities’ of the sector. Estimates suggest that 50 percent of coconut farmers fall below the poverty line. More than double the national average.

So, to lift the coconut industry includes lifting the coconut farmers out of poverty,” he added.

“We are the largest or the second largest exporter of coconut products in the world, at around P15 billion annually. And we can do better with value-added. But you can’t do valueadd if farmers are not bankable, and to be bankable, they have to be, at the very least, non-poor. So, farmer income is key to developing the coconut sector,” Salceda added.

According to Salceda, the government should help small farm holders consolidate, either through farm consolidation, or through “cooperativism.” Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

News BusinessMirror

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Friday, June 17, 2022 A5

PHAPi head urges hospitals to beef up health staff

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

P

RIVATE hospitals have to increase the number of their nurses by 40 percent to 50 percent to cope with the expected increase Covid-19 cases, according to the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPi).

In a televised interview, PHAPi President Jose Rene D. de Grano disclosed that additional nurses would help replace the medical staff of private hospitals that resigned in the last two years since the onset of the pandemic.

“Our estimated number of nurses who left [their jobs] is about 40

percent to 50 percent...So if we will be able to double the present number [of nurses], that’s enough,” de Grano said.

Without the additional manpower, de Grano said private hospitals might be forced to reduce their bed capacity, especially if they will be overwhelmed with patients.

“Our problem is if there will be a rise in [Covid-19] cases, then we will have insufficient numbers of healthcare workers, especially the nurses,” de Grano said.

OCTA Research Group projected new daily Covid-19 cases in Metro Manila could rise to as high as 400 to 500 in the coming weeks amid the reported presence of the more infec-

tious subvariants in the region.

Deployment cap

UNLESS the said manpower shortage is addressed, PHAPi said it is supporting the extension of the deployment cap, which was imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) since last year for several classifications of health-care workers (HCW), including nurses.

The measure aims to ensure the country will have a sufficient pool of HCWs for its Covid-19 response.

“It [deployment cap] should not be excessive to the point that we will run out of nurses here in the country,” de Grano said.

For this year, the deployment cap is pegged at 7,500.

In a virtual news conference last Wednesday, POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia disclosed there are still many remaining slots for the deployment cap.

He noted the government might consider increasing it if the deployment cap slots are nearly depleted.

Olalia said the deployment cap would not be automatically lifted even after the state of national health emergency lapses by September.

“The Mission Critical Skills-Technical Working Groups [MCS-TWG] will first conduct an assessment to see if the deployment cap could be lifted once there is no longer any

state or emergency,” Olalia said.

Delayed release

IN a related development, de Grano called out the Department of Health (DOH) for the slow pace of the distribution of the One Covid-19 Allowance (OCA), which was promised by the government to public and private HCWs. Last February, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released the P7.92-billion budget for the said initiative, which aims to provide additional financial benefits to pandemic responders in health facilities.

Currently, de Grano said the majority of their members have yet to

get the OCA for their workers.

“Out of the P7.9 billion, supposedly only P86 million have been released by DOH,” de Grano said.

He noted the common reason given by DOH for the delayed release of the OCA is the lack of documentary requirements submitted by a hospital.

PHAPi said it hopes all of OCA funds will soon be released since it will help many private hospitals to retain their HCWs. “ These are benefits of our health-care workers, which will encourage them to stay. We hope [the government] will not make it hard for them to get the said benefits,” de Grano said.

Expert pushes PPP for Asean’s full-scale digital transformation

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

C

OLLABORATION between government and the private sector is the best option for Asean governments to build their capabilities towards digitalization.

“The private public partnership [PPP] is the best model to explore and manage the digital transformation of countries in Asean region,” said Sudev Bangah, managing director of International Data Corp (IDC) Asean, at an online briefing Wednesday afternoon.

“It is good to see the government and the providers developing connectivity because it is always faster

in the manner of rolling out the infrastructure,” Bangah added.

In its recent Future Enterprise Resiliency Survey (FERS) 2022, IDC listed the three top digital initiative priorities by governments in Asia Pacific policies that promote the development of technology, regulation around responsible use of artificial intelligence and the use of technology to develop smart cities.

Bangah observed that Asia Pacific countries are putting importance to achieve a digital first economy in Asia Pacific. He added it is a surprise given that in 2022 IDC expects more than half of the global economy will be based on or influenced by digital as most products and services utilize

a digital delivery model or require digital augmentation to remain competitive.

Just like the rest of the world, Asean economies have also been pummeled by disruptive forces such as global health crisis, rising costs, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions that have provided the impetus for these economies to re-think and re-align how business is conducted.

However, impetus alone will not be sufficient without a clear digital road map and priorities to drive Asean economies into a digital-first future.

“According to IDC’s Future Enterprise Resiliency Survey 2022,

around 70 percent of organizations in Indonesia and Malaysia still feel that their digital transformation strategy is more tactical and focused on the short term. However, a whopping 90 percent of those organizations agree that adopting a clear digital-first strategy is imperative to manage disruptions in the long run. This shows a huge potential, as those organizations understand the need to be digitally resilient and innovative. However, they need clear long-term digital transformation road maps and investment to successfully march towards a digital-first economy,” said Dharmaraj Sivalingam, Senior Research Manager, IDC Asean.

Bangah said Asean organizations would need to focus on building digital resiliency and innovation to be able to pivot quickly to any form of disruptions, which will help them to drive ahead the Asean digital economy and keep abreast with the rest of the world.

“IDC views such organizations as the Future Enterprise, those organizations that can capitalize on change by continuously deriving value from its core business activities, while symbiotically benefiting and contributing to all its stakeholders, within the enterprise, the broader ecosystem, as well as the larger society and environment,” Bangah said.

However, he said Asean organi-

zations will need support and close collaboration with the government to successfully drive towards a digital-first economy.

Bangah said clear national digital road map, digital infrastructure investment, upskilling of technology skillsets in the local work force and improved policies in data governance and privacy would be a huge factor to enable the base for a digital-first economy to be built upon.

“The digital-first economy will continue to bring disruption and opportunity in equal measure; therefore, it is imperative for Asean organizations to keep abreast and continue to derive and provide value in this form of economy,” Bangah said.

A6

BusinessMirror

Friday, June 17, 2022

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

21TH CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION #28 Lot 12 Blk 94, R. Papa Ave. Cor. P. Garcia St. Phase 6, Afpovai, Western Bicutan, City Of Taguig

WANG, ZHENMIN Auditing Manager 1.

Brief Job Description: Assist the in-house auditing team with their dayto-day functions

Basic Qualification: Advanced Knowledge of Accounting and Auditing Procedures; Strong Communication Skills; Excellent Project and Time Management Skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

24 INCH GAUGE CONSTRUCTION INC. L4 Blk. 4, Near Kay Buboy Bridge, San Dionisio, City Of Parañaque

ZHANG, JIUGE Marketing Specialist 2.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for coordinating with other marketing and sales professionals to implement innovative campaigns for branding or product launches

Basic Qualification: Ability to work under pressure and motivation to succeed in a competitive environment; Should have a bachelor’s degree in journalism, marketing, communications or a related field; Good communication and interpersonal skills

11.

BUI KHAC BINH Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 3.

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

DO THI MY THANH Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking

CHEN, BINQIANG Mandarin Site Technical Officer 12.

4.

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

HUYNH TU TRINH Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 5.

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

NGUYEN GIANG NAM Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 6.

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

NGUYEN THI NHUONG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 7.

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

NGUYEN VAN SANG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 8.

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

TRUONG HUU DAT Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 9.

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

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

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

Brief Job Description: Diagnosing equipment malfunctions and performing repairs.

SINGH, KAMAL KUMAR Staff Specialist Brief Job Description: Own the gar (global account receivable) platform agile software product development teams that realize gar business and technology strategies in a scalable iterative environment.

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Extensive previous experience building complex distributed systems and implementing processes throughout large technology organizations.

LIU, KELIN Chinese Customer Service Representative 14.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires.

21.

LUO, KAI Chinese Customer Service Representative 15.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires.

XIA, ZHENFANG Chinese Customer Service Representative 16.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write chinese language.

22.

BEBY Indonesian Customer Service 17.

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read write and type fluently in INDONESIAN language.

18.

Brief Job Description: Will be in-charge of helping the customers with complaints and questions, give customers information about products and services, take orders, and process returns.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months experience in the said field with good oral and communication skills, specifically english language knowledgeable in basic computer applications and software’s.

24.

25.

26.

27.

19.

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

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

LIN, JIN-SHENG Mandarin Speaking Marketing Supervisor

28.

10.

Brief Job Description: They ensure that the employees in the department adhere to company standards, policies, and guidelines; They create marketing campaigns, cascade these campaigns’ mechanics to employees, and manage the follow-through

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

20.

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

Brief Job Description: Develop strategies on purchase & reviewing contract

Brief Job Description: Supervise the material, labor & other other expenses FENG, KAI Tunnel Concrete Specialist Brief Job Description: Prepare method statement, safe work procedure

LI, HAILIN Tunnel Concrete Specialist Brief Job Description: Prepare method statement, safe work procedure

Brief Job Description: Assisting commercial manager in completing daily and monthly reporting.

DO VAN THAO Gaming Support Specialist

29.

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

GIONG MENH KHIN Gaming Support Specialist

30.

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

HUYNH NGOC HOANG Gaming Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Can research accounts and generate or follow through sales leads; can valuate customers skills, needs and build productive long-lasting relationships; can meet personal and team sales targets

Basic Qualification: Can research accounts and generate or follow through sales leads; can valuate customers skills, needs and build productive long-lasting relationships; can meet personal and team sales targets Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor Degree, Construction Experience, TBM Expertise Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor Degree, Equivalent Experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor Degree, Tunnel Construction Experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor Degree, Tunnel Construction Experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor Degree, Tunnel Construction Experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Experience in commercial management/fluent in Chinese and English.

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

DATACLICK INTERNATIONAL CORP. E. Rodriguez St., Roxas Blvd. St., Barangay 3, Pasay City

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

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

TANG, GUANGLU Field Sales Consultant

Brief Job Description: Over all in charge of project

DU, CHENXI Commercial Assistant

31.

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

LAM MAN SENH Gaming Support Specialist

32.

ACSTREAM MANAGEMENT INC. 2204b/2206, 22/f Pbcom Tower, Ayala Avenue, Bel-air, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: Good Oral and Written Communication Skills in Mandarin; Should Possess Outstanding Leadership Skills and Confidence; More Importantly, Must Be Resilient With a Solid Work Ethic

LIU, XIAOPING Construction Manager

Basic Qualification: Bachelor Degree, Construction Experience

CHINA ROAD AND BRIDGE CORPORATION Unit 2605, 2607, 2608, & 2609, High St. South Corporate Plaza, Tower 1, 9th Avenue Corner 26th St. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

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

LIU, WEITAO Field Sales Consultant

Brief Job Description: In charge of all batching plant activities

ZHAO, PENGHAO Quantity Surveyor Supervisor

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

CAO, YUAN Concrete Batching Plant Supervisor

XIA, CONGCONG Purchasing Manager

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

BOURAU ETHNIC CULTURE MARKETING INC. 9/f V. Corporate Centre, 125 L.p Leviste St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

LI, WUZHEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

23.

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

BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. Eastfield Center, Cbp1, Macapagal Blvd., Barangay 76, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: Can research accounts and generate or follow through sales leads; can valuate customers skills, needs and build productive long-lasting relationships; can meet personal and team sales targets

CHINA INTERNATIONAL WATER AND ELECTRIC CORP. (BRANCH OFFICE) 5/f, Two E-com Mall Of Asia Complex Bldg., Harbor Drive St., District 1, Barangay 76, Pasay City

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

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write chinese language.

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

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write chinese language.

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

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

TANG, HUIMEI Field Sales Consultant

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

ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f To 10/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D., Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

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

No.

AMERICAN EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL, INC. 15th, 25th To 30th/f Bonifacio One Technology Tower (e-square Information Technology Park), 3030 Rizal Drive, West Bgc, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

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

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Applications; At Least 6 Months Work Related Experience; Good Oral and Written Communication Skills in Mandarin

ALLIANTPRIME SERVICES INC. Unit No. Unit 2c Flr. No. 4f, One Ecom Center Building, Ocean Drive St., Moa Complex Subd., Barangay 76, Pasay City

13.

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

Brief Job Description: Develop and maintain standard operating procedures for all business functions

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5-10/f Tower 1, Pitx Kennedy Road, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

JEL VIN Mandarin Speaking Operations Specialist

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

NGUYEN AN KHANH Gaming Support Specialist

33.

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION SY CHAY MINH Gaming Support Specialist

34.

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

TRINH MINH HIEN Gaming Support Specialist

35.

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

TRINH TRUONG AN Gaming Support Specialist

36.

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fastgrowing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written

No.

48.

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written

49.

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent Communication Skills In Chinese, Both Spoken And Written

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

HUANG, PEIYING Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

LI, CHAOQUN Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

50.

LI, LELE Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative (CSR)

37.

38.

YUBONMAT, SUTHAT Mandarin Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls LEE, CHI-SIH a.k.a. LEE, CHI-SHIH Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage incoming and outgoing calls, chats and emails

51.

LIAO, ZHIMING Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

39.

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

52.

LIN, QIBANG Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative (CSR)

40.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas

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

53.

41.

Brief Job Description: Providing It Assistance To Staff And Customers WU, JINJIE Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

42.

Brief Job Description: Recommends Potential Products or Services to Management by Collecting Information and Analysing Customer Needs XU, HUIHUI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

43.

Brief Job Description: Recommends Potential Products or Services to Management by Collecting Information and Analysing Customer Needs

NGUYEN THI NGOC KHANH Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative (CSR)

54.

NGUYEN THI THANH Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (csr).

55.

Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative (CSR)

Basic Qualification: Excellent In Reading, Writing And Speaking Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

56.

Basic Qualification: Proficient In Speaking, Reading and Writing In Mandarin

NICHOLAS LEVINSON Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (csr).

57.

PHAN THI THUY Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (csr).

44.

Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

58.

VANNESS TAN Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (csr).

45.

CHEN, HAIXIANG Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

59.

WANG, MINLONG Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative (CSR)

46.

Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (csr).

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in chinese curriculum, can speak and write fluent chinese mandarin, can operate computer mandarin characters.

47.

GOH TECK KEONG Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (csr).

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

64.

Brief Job Description: Coordinate with account managers and sales executives to achieve sales and ensure clients satisfaction.

Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese Curriculum; Can Speak and Write Fluent Chinese Mandarin; Can Operate Computer Mandarin Characters

WANG, PEIYUN Customer Service Representative

65.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features

XIE, MINGCONG Customer Service Representative

66.

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in chinese curriculum, can speak and write fluent chinese mandarin, can operate computer mandarin characters.

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in chinese curriculum, can speak and write fluent chinese mandarin, can operate computer mandarin characters.

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in chinese curriculum, can speak and write fluent chinese mandarin, can operate computer mandarin characters.

Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese Curriculum; Can Speak and Write Fluent Chinese Mandarin; Can Operate Computer Mandarin Characters

60.

XIE, ZHIYUAN Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

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

61.

YANG, BIAO Customer Service Representative (csr) Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

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

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features

ZHANG, JIAN Customer Service Representative

67.

Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese Curriculum; Can Speak and Write Fluent Chinese Mandarin; Can Operate Computer Mandarin Characters

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in chinese curriculum, can speak and write fluent chinese mandarin, can operate computer mandarin characters.

Basic Qualification: can speak mandarin.

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

GATEWAYSOLUTIONS CORP. Unit 2306 Antel Global Corporate Center, Julia Vargas Ave., San Antonio, City Of Pasig

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features

ZHAO, TING Customer Service Representative

68.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features

Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

GLOBAL CATERING SERVICES CORPORATION Naia Inflight West Bldg., Access Road St., Merville, Barangay 201, Pasay City GAUME, JEAN-PHILIPPE CLAUDE ANDRE Executive Chef And Production Manager 69.

Brief Job Description: Implementing the established standards in inflight catering.

Basic Qualification: 5 yrs in culinary educ; 10yrs min. experience in similar position.

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

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES PHILS. INC. U-5302, 53/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Cor., V.a. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati WANG, PENG Huawei Philippines Marketing Director For Smart Device Sales Project 70.

Brief Job Description: Developed multiple sets of PR materials for the CBG quality series and trend series, which were used in multiple activities and brand communication.

Basic Qualification: Proficient In Speaking, Reading And Writing In Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

JFE SHOJI PHILIPPINES, INC. 17/f 6788 Ayala Avenue, Oledan Square, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

MOMOI, HIROSHI General Manager For Steel Department 71.

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

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in chinese curriculum, can speak and write fluent chinese mandarin, can operate computer mandarin characters.

TANG PEI WEN Mandarin Account Staff

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

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

DO THI THANH HANG Customer Service Representative (csr)

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese curriculum; Can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin; can operate computer mandarin characters

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

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese curriculum; Can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin; can operate computer mandarin characters

Brief Job Description: Customer service representative (CSR)

FLYING FUTURE SERVICES INC. 3/f Salcedo One Center, 170 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

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

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

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese curriculum; Can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin; can operate computer mandarin characters

ZHUO, YUELONG Customer Service Representative (csr)

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

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient In Speaking, Reading and Writing In Mandarin

63.

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

FAREAST OUTSOURCE PROCESSING INC. 7th, 8th, 9th Flr. Nu Tower, Moa Coral Way, Barangay 76, Pasay City

CHEN, HAIQIAN Customer Service Representative (csr)

Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese Curriculum; Can Speak and Write Fluent Chinese Mandarin; Can Operate Computer Mandarin Characters

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

NGUYEN TRONG QUYEN Customer Service Representative (csr)

Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese Curriculum; Can Speak and Write Fluent Chinese Mandarin; Can Operate Computer Mandarin Characters

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese curriculum; Can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin; can operate computer mandarin characters

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

EASYTECH SUPPORT INC. 9-11/f, 14/f Capella Bldg., Asean Drive Filinvest, Alabang, City Of Muntinlupa PHUI CHAN SANG Bilingual It Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative (CSR)

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

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

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information, ideas, and research to help develop marketing strategies; can help to detail, design, and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered

ZHANG, LEI Customer Service Representative (csr)

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese curriculum; Can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin; can operate computer mandarin characters

Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese Curriculum; Can Speak and Write Fluent Chinese Mandarin; Can Operate Computer Mandarin Characters.

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

62.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

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

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

No.

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

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

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503, Nueva St., Barangay 289, Binondo, City Of Manila

WANG, XINNING Marketing And Sales Agent

Basic Qualification: High school graduate in Chinese curriculum; Can speak and write fluent Chinese mandarin; can operate computer mandarin characters

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

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

ZHENG, XIAOTONG Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

DIGICHROM INC. Unit 2602 & 2603 26/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

A7

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

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

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

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin

Friday, June 17, 2022

Brief Job Description: Manage the operations of Steel’s existing clients and develop new business ventures. Execute strategic plans to achieve sales targets and expand customer base.

Basic Qualification: Manage the operations of Steel’s existing clients and develop new business ventures.

Execute strategic plans to achieve sales targets and expand customer base.

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

MABUHAY REHABILITATION CLINIC INC. Unit B2 2/f Two Central Tower 1, 109 Valero St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

WOHLGEMUTH, MICHAEL LEE Chiropractic Consultant 72.

Brief Job Description: Adjust and treat misaligned bone using spine manipulation

Basic Qualification: Graduated as Doctor of Chiropractic Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

MACH 86 TECHNOLOGIES CORP. 6th-13th Flr. Workspace Bldg., 1419 Industry St. Corner Finance St. Mbp Ayala, Alabang, City Of Muntinlupa

BusinessMirror

Friday, June 17, 2022

A6 A8

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

73.

74.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QIN, ZHIWEN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Interacting with customers queries

ZHOU, JINLONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Interacting with customers queries

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese dialect (Mandarin, Folkien, Cantonese)

75.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese dialect (Mandarin, Folkien, Cantonese)

76.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

CHEN, QIAN Chinese Customer Service Representative 77.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires REN, HAIBAO Chinese Customer Service Representative

78.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries TANG, JIN Chinese Customer Service Representative

79.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires TANG, QIUPENG Chinese Customer Service Representative

80.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires WU, TIANCAI Chinese Customer Service Representative

81.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires NGUYEN VAN HOANG Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

82.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

93.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 94.

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

95.

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

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower, C4 Rd. Edsa Ext., Barangay 76, Pasay City

JA AUNG Burmese Customer Service Representative

92.

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

MACRO EXCEL CONSULTANCY INC. 37/f Lkg Tower, 6801 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

HE, CHANG Chinese Speaking Technical Consultant

No.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, preferably with Customer Service or sales experience, fluent in Mandarin and basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

96.

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services ALVIN WONG CHEE HAU Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services WU, KENG-HSIN Taiwanese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services LUONG KIET LINH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services TRINH BOI NGHI Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

GUI, WUBIN Mandarin Technical Support 97.

Brief Job Description: Responsible For The Smooth Running Of Computer Systems And Ensuring Users Get Maximum Benefits From Them WU, MINXIA Mandarin Technical Support Specialist

98.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

KIM, YOSEP Korean Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Monitoring And Maintaining Computer Systems And Networks

RUDY Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 99.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to Speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.

83.

84.

85.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming phone calls IRWANTO WIJAYA Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming phone calls ZET ENDRYE CORNELIS RINDU Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming phone calls

Basic Qualification: Must be 4 years bachelor degree in any course

NGUYEN PHUONG BAO VY Vietnamese Customer Service Associate 100.

Brief Job Description: Professionally handle incoming customers inquiries and thoroughly and efficiently father required customer information

LE THI NGOC TRAM Business Lending Development Officer 101.

102.

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

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services LIU, HSIN-YI Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services WU, LIANG-HUNG Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

XIAO, FENGQIANG Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

YU, HAIBIN Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

SUWANDI Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Develop business proposals, analyze current and past expenses, develop creative strategies

YANG, ZHONGGEN Chinese Customer Service Representative 103.

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

SHI, MENGYUN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service 104.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for inbound and outbound service calls

107.

105.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give Customers Information about Products And Services

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English

YIN, WEI Mandarin Customer Support Representative 108.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English

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

Basic Qualification: Can Speak Mandarin

109.

Basic Qualification: At least 6 months experince in dealing directly with Vietnamese customers/culture and must be fluent in reading, writing, and speaking Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, preferably 6mos-1year customer service experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

110.

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

111.

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

106.

Brief Job Description: Develop client acquisition strategies, persuade client to buy the services

Brief Job Description: Define a region - specific marketing plan that supports the regional sales strategy

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages

Brief Job Description: Conduct market research to find answers about consumer requirements, habits and trends

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

LE QUANG HUY Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer 112.

Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats NGUYEN BA HIEN Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

113.

Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats NGUYEN THI THU HA Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

114.

Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats

Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WIKITECH SERVICES INC. 10/f Alphaland Corporate Tower, 7232 Ayala Avenue Ext. Corner Malayag St., Bel-air, City Of Makati WEN, FAN Mandarin Technical Support 115.

Brief Job Description: Monitoring and maintaining computer system and networks.

Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin.

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

WISHLAND SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY INC. 28/f Techzone Condo Corp., 213 Buendia Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati FENG, YANWEI Chinese Language - Marketing Staff 116.

Brief Job Description: Providing details to clients relative to services being offered.

LIU, YINPENG Chinese Language - Marketing Staff

117.

Brief Job Description: Providing details to clients relative to services being offered SHI, YIZHANG Chinese Language - Marketing Staff

118.

Brief Job Description: Providing details to clients relative to services being offered.

XIAO, LONG Chinese Language - Marketing Staff

119.

Brief Job Description: Providing details to clients relative to services being offered.

XU, HAISHUAN Chinese Language - Marketing Staff

120.

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

Basic Qualification: Proficiency In Handling Customer Questions About Services Or Products / Excellent Mandarin Communication Skills

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

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

CHAISORN, TANARAT Bilingual Marketing Specialist

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, preferably 6mos-1year customer service experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English, preferably 6mos-1year customer service experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information LEE KEAN YIM Mandarin Field Marketing Officer

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

Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

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

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in bilingual languages

PHAM TAN PHAT Bilingual Customer Service Officer

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

Basic Qualification: Can Speak Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

TOTAL CREST BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. 26/f & 27/f Alphaland Corporate Tower, Ayala Ave. Extn. Cor. Malugay St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

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

Brief Job Description: Providing details to clients relative to services being offered ZHANG, KAIKAI Chinese Language - Marketing Staff

121.

122.

Brief Job Description: Providing details to clients relative to services being offered.

NHIN TRINH LAN Vietnamese Language - Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Deal with and help resolve customer complaints

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Chinese.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Chinese.

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

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Chinese.

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Jun 16, 2022

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

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

MIRANDA RIBEIRO, PAULO RICARDO Vp Of Client Acquisition

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

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

SOCIALATEMYIND INC. Unit No. Unit 2c Flr. No. No. 4/f, One E-com Center Bldg., Lot No. 4/f Mall Of Asia Complex Ocean Drive St. District 1, District 4, Barangay 76, Pasay City

HUANG, WEIZHI Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

SUN, DAOSHUN Mandarin Customer Support Representative

SEAGULL-WORLD INC. Unit 2807 28/f Cityland, Pasong Tamo Tower, 2210 Chino Roces Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Develop business proposals, analyze current and past expenses, develop creative strategies

VU DAI DUONG Business Lending Development Officer

NOCMAKATI, INC. 8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18 & 19 Floors, Century Diamond Center, Poblacion, City Of Makati HUANG, WENJIE Chinese Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

TOMO TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION Unit S120 1st Podium Level Avida Cityflex Soho, Tower 7th Ave. Corner Lane 1, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be 4 years bachelor degree in any course

No.

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

REMITLY, INC. 8/f, Greenfield Tower, Mayflower Cor. Reliance, Highway Hills, City Of Mandaluyong

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be 4 years bachelor degree in any course

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese and English

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

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

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

OMNIWEALTH ENTERPRISE INC. 17th Flr. Citibank Square Bldg., No. 188 Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Eastwood City Cyberpark 3, Bagumbayan, Quezon City

Basic Qualification: Able to Speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

Basic Qualification: Able to Speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

OCEANIC SYMPHONY SERVICES INC. 3/f Salcedo One Center, 170 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Able to Speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Basic Qualification: Strong written & verbal communication, college degree, 6 months to 1 year experience in the same field Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph Republic of the Philippines

13

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Regional Office No. IV-A 4th Flr. Andenson Bldg. II, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City Telefax No.: (049) 545-7362

DENSO PHILIPPINES CORPORATION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

AICHI FORGE PHILIPPINES, INC.

OTSUKA, AKIO

Basic Qualification:

Tagaytay Road, Pulong Santa Cruz, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

Executive Vice President and Marketing Manager

At least 5 years working experience in sales/ marketing in automotive manufacturing industry

With experience in automotive parts manufacturing company.

Salary Range:

EPSON PRECISION (PHILIPINES), INC.

Responsible to manage associates monitor and business of company.

Php90,000 - Php149,999

YOSHINAGA, MAKOTO

Basic Qualification:

Printer Production Division General Manager

Fluent in Japanese with management skills and full knowledge in printer and projector assembly

AICHI FORGE PHILIPPINES, INC.

OKAUCHI, TOSHIAKI

Basic Qualification:

Brief Job Description:

Tagaytay Road, Pulong Santa Cruz, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

Vice-President-Quality Assurance

Must have at least 10 years of experience in forged auto parts manufacturing

An authority on matters related to the Printer Production Division

SEPZ, Lima Technology Center, Bugtong na Pulo, City of Lipa, Batangas

Php60,000 - Php89,999

Salary Range:

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

ZHAO, MINGLIANG

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

Handle the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services

FURUKAWA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS LIMA PHILIPPINES, INC. Blk. 2, J.P. Rizal Ave., Plaridel, City of Lipa, Batangas

KATAGIRI, TAKU

Basic Qualification:

Production Engineering Deputy Department Manager

Must have N2 Japanese Language Proficiency Certificate

Brief Job Description: Salary Range:

17

JT INTERNATIONAL ASIA MANUFACTURING CORP.

Salary Range:

Lots 1-10 Block 4

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Phase 3, Lima Technology CenterSpecial Economic Zone, Santiago, Malvar, Batangas

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

LIU, WEIXIAN

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Mandarin Customer Service

At least college level and able to speak, read write and type fluently in Mandarin language.

18

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients

Salary Range: Php90,000 - Php149,999

16

Brief Job Description:

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

KYAW ZIN MOE

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Myanmari Customer Relations Officer

Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Burmese, with related BPO experience

MASSPOWER PHILIPPINES ELECTRONICS INCORPORATED

Lead and oversee Production Engineering Department

Php30,000 - Php59,999

KARASULU, SERKAN

Basic Qualification:

Integrated Works System (IWS) Director

10 years of experience in tobacco leaf industry

Brief Job Description: Salary Range: Plan, execute and manage the making and packing processing from cut-filler to finished goods

Php90,000 - Php149,999

CHEN, AIHUA

Basic Qualification:

Operations Manager / Product Specialist

Can read and speak English, Chinese and Mandarin language and be able to interact with the China head office regarding manufacturing execution system

Blk 8 Lot 8 SEZ, FCIE Compound, Langkaan I, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

6

Manager-Business Planning Department

Brief Job Description:

Php60,000 -Php89,999

5

Basic Qualification:

Salary Range:

Manage and oversee quality assurance and finishing processes

Salary Range:

IWADATE, YUMI

Supervise and coordinate all aspects of production control, plan and coordinate annual production and sales plan

Brief Job Description:

4

DENSO PHILIPPINES CORPORATION 109 Unity Ave., CIP I, Canlubang, City of Calamba, Laguna

15

Brief Job Description:

3

With experience in automotive parts manufacturing company

Php90,000 - Php149,999 14

1

Coordinator - Manufacturing Unit

Manage associates, monitor and maintain product quality

Notice is hereby given that the following employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s.

ESTABLISHMENT

Basic Qualification:

A9

Brief Job Description:

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP)

NO.

SHIMMICHI, YUKIHIRO

109 Unity Ave., CIP I, Canlubang, City of Calamba, Laguna

June 17, 2022

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL, POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Friday, June 17, 2022

Brief Job Description: Ensure effective execution of the manufacturing operations and improve production output using MES platform

Salary Range:

Brief Job Description: Php30,000 - Php59,999 Handle the concerns of the people who buy the company’s products or services

Salary Range:

19

Php30,000 - Php59,999 7

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

NGUYEN VAN DUONG

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Vietnamese Customer Relations Officer

Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Vietnamese, with related BPO experience

MASSPOWER PHILIPPINES ELECTRONICS INCORPORATED

Basic Qualification:

SMT Technician/Specialist

Can read and speak both English and Chinese Mandarin Language and be able to troubleshoot Chinese-made equipment and its computer programs

Blk 8 Lot 8 SEZ, FCIE Compound, Langkaan I, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite Brief Job Description: Able to prepare SOPs and WIs in both English and Chinese translations.

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

CHEN, YOUBING

Salary Range: Salary Range:

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Php30,000 - Php59,999 8

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

NGUYEN XUAN HAI

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Vietnamese Customer Relations Officer

Excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Vietnamese language

20

MMS BULKSHIP MANAGEMENT (PHILIPPINES), INC. 302 MMS Bldg., Old NIA Road, Bayanan, City of Bacoor, Cavite

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

Basic Qualification:

General Manager- Business and Administration

Must have 15 years working experience in business and administration department

Brief Job Description: Salary Range:

Salary Range:

Coordinate and communicate with foreign shipowners for business matters

Php90,000 - Php149,999

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

HTAR, THET

Basic Qualification:

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Binakayan-Aplaya, Kawit, Cavite

Burmese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

OO, SAN

Basic Qualification:

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Binakayan-Aplaya, Kawit, Cavite

Burmese Customer Services Representative

Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

CHEN, FEI

Basic Qualification:

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Binakayan-Aplaya, Kawit, Cavite

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

JIN, YONGQI

Basic Qualification:

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Binakayan-Aplaya, Kawit, Cavite

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Php30,000 - Php59,999 9

BEPPU, TAKAYUKI

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

PHUNG THE ANH

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Vietnamese Customer Relations Officer

Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Vietnamese, with related BPO experience

21

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

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

10

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

TRAN DINH HANH

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Vietnamese Customer Relations Officer

Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Vietnamese, with related BPO experience

22

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

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

11

BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

DINH THI THOM

Basic Qualification:

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

Vietnamese Customer Service

At least college level and able to speak, read write and type fluently in Vietnamese language.

23

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

12

DAY 1 CRAFT PHILIPPINES INC.

NISHIGUCHI, YUKIKO

Basic Qualification:

125 Technology Ave., Laguna Technopark-SEZ, Loma, City of Biñan, Laguna

General Manager

Post graduate diploma and relevant experience in managerial position

Brief Job Description: Manage and lead the overall business activities and operations

24

Salary Range: Php90,000 - Php149,999

TheWorld BusinessMirror

A10 Friday, June 17, 2022

Fed’s aggressive rate hikes raise prospect of recession

By Paul Wiseman

AP Economics Writer

W

ASHINGTON—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has pledged to do whatever it takes to curb inflation, now raging at a four-decade high and defying the Fed’s efforts so far to tame it.

Increasingly, it seems, doing so might require the one painful thing the Fed has sought to avoid: A recession.

A worse-than-expected inflation report for May—consumer prices rocketed up 8.6 percent from a year earlier, the biggest jump since 1981—helped spur the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of point Wednesday.

Not since 1994 has the central bank raised its key rate by that much all at once. And until Friday’s nasty inflation report, traders and economists had expected a rate hike of just half a percentage point Wednesday. What’s

more, several more hikes are coming.

The “soft landing” the Fed has hoped to achieve—slowing inflation to its 2 percent goal without derailing the economy—is becoming both trickier and riskier than Powell had bargained for. Each rate hike means higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. And each time would-be borrowers find loan rates prohibitively expensive, the resulting drop in spending weakens confidence, job growth and overall economic vigor.

“There’s a path for us to get there,” Powell said Wednesday, referring to a soft landing. “It’s not getting easier. It’s getting more challenging” It was always going too tough: The Fed hasn’t managed to engineer a soft landing

since the mid-1990s. And Powell’s Fed, which was slow to recognize the depth of the inflation threat, is now having to play catch-up with an aggressive series of rate increases.

“They are telling you: ‘We will do whatever it takes to bring inflation to 2 percent,” said Simona Mocuta, chief economist at State Street Global Advisors. “I hope the [inflation] data won’t require them to do whatever they’re willing to do. There will be a cost.’’

In Mocuta’s view, the risk of a recession is now probably 50-50.

“It’s not like there’s no way you can avoid it,’’ she said. “But it’s going to be hard to avoid it.’’

The Fed itself acknowledges that higher rates will inflict some damage, though it

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

doesn’t foresee a recession: On Wednesday, the Fed predicted that the economy will grow about 1.7 percent this year, a sharp downgrade from the 2.8 percent growth it had forecast in March. And it expects unemployment to average a still-low 3.7 percent at year’s end.

But speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Powell rejected any notion that the Fed must inevitably cause a recession as the price of taming inflation.

“We’re not trying to induce a recession,” he said. “Let’s be clear about that.”

Economic history suggests, though, that aggressive, growth-killing rate hikes could be necessary to finally control inflation.

And typically, that is a prescription for a recession.

Indeed, since 1955 every time inflation ran hotter than 4 percent and unemployment fell below 5 percent, the economy has tumbled into recession within two years, according to a paper published this year by former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and his Harvard University colleague Alex Domash. The US jobless rate is now 3.6 percent, and inflation has topped 8 percent every month since March.

Inflation in the United States, which had been under control since the early 1980s, resurged with a vengeance just over a year ago, largely a consequence of the economy’s unexpectedly robust recovery from the pandemic recession. The rebound caught businesses by surprise and led to shortages, delayed shipments—and higher prices.

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

India, Asean seek to boost ties amid US-China rivalry

By Ashok Sharma

N

The Associated Press

EW DELHI—A special meeting between India and Southeast Asian foreign ministers opened Thursday with cochairs India and Singapore calling for strengthening ties amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a heightened rivalry between the United States and China that threatens peace and stability in the region.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations face geopolitical headwinds from the war in Ukraine and its knock-on effects on food and energy security as well as fertilizer and commodities prices and logistics and supply chain disruptions.

“India fully supports a strong, unified, prosperous Asean whose centrality in the Indo-Pacific is fully recognized,” he said.

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Russia’s actions have “upended the international system of rules and norms.”

Balakrishnan added that the rivalry between the US and China has direct implications for all of Asia.

“These developments, if unchecked, can threaten the sole system of peace and stability which we have depended on for the basis of our growth and development and prosperity over

In this photo provided by Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar’s Twitter handle, Jaishankar, center, stands with Southeast Asian foreign ministers at the start of a meeting in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, June 16, 2022. Jaishankar said India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations face geopolitical headwinds from the war in Ukraine and its knock-on effects on food and energy security as well as fertilizer and commodities prices and logistics and supply chain disruptions. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar’s Twitter handle via AP

many decades,” he said.

The two-day meeting marks the 30th anniversary of India’s dialogue relations with the 10-member regional bloc that includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Jaishankar emphasized the need for streng t hening l a nd and sea connectivity with Asean member states. The upgrade of the Ind ia-Myanmar-T hai land highway is part of the Asean-

India Connectivity initiative.

Trade between India and the Asean region amounted to over $78 billion in 2021.

India mainly exports organic chemicals, minerals, ships and boats, iron and steel, pharmaceuticals, cotton and tobacco to Asean countries, according to India’s Commerce Ministry. Top products imported by India from Asean include coal, palm oil, telephones, light vessels and electronic circuits. AP

China and Russia give differing accounts of Xi-Putin phone call

R

ussia and China gave alternative accounts of President Xi Jinping’s birthday call with Vladimir Putin, as both sides seek to manage perceptions of their relationship in the wake of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin readout said the two men, both 69, discussed increasing economic cooperation, trade and militarytechnical ties between China and Russia on Wednesday. Moscow’s version also implied the Chinese leader endorsed Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine, saying Xi noted the “legitimacy of Russia’s actions in protecting its fundamental national interests in the face of security challenges created by external forces.”

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, by contrast, said Xi “actively promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order” during the call. He pushed

all parties to find “a proper settlement to the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner,” the report added, making no mention of military ties or increasing trade links.

Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow and chair of the Russia in Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said the Kremlin’s readout of the call was geared toward a domestic audience. Putin is trying to project strength at home, after being forced to narrow his war goals to the east by his failure to quickly take Kyiv and other key cities. China’s version, Gabuev said, was clearly more mindful of the West, where its war response is under great scrutiny.

President Joe Biden warned China in March of “implications and consequences” if Beijing backs Moscow over the invasion, either by providing military support or

Nato defense ministers to discuss arms for Ukraine

B

RUSSELS—The West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the countr y’s militar y fight along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.

Opening a meeting in Brussels on supporting Ukraine, Austin urged more than 45 participating nations to demonstrate “our unwavering determination to get Ukraine the capabilities that it urgently needs to defend itself.” “ We m u s t i n t e n s i f y o u r s h a r e d commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense, and we must push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself, its citizens and its territory,” he said.

The meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a a two-day gathering of Nato defense ministers at the alliance’s headquarters.

Increased arms supplies can’t come soon enough for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their country’s industrial east after more than 3½ months of war.

In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defense systems.

Austin told the Brussels meeting he

was grateful for all the military aid the nations already have shipped or pledged to Ukraine, but cautioned that “we can’t afford to let up and we can’t lose steam.

The stakes are too high.”

The formal Nato meeting was set to open later Wednesday with a dinner where ministers also will discuss Sweden and Finland’s applications to join the transAtlantic military alliance.

The meeting, less two weeks before a summit of Nato leaders in Madrid, comes with Kyiv imploring the West to send more and heavier weapons to help fend off Russia’s onslaught in eastern Ukraine.

“Allies are committed to continue providing the military equipment that Ukraine needs to prevail, including heavy weapons and long-range systems,” Stoltenberg said.

He added that Zelenskyy would be invited to address the June 29-30 Madrid summit, either in person or by videoconference.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Tuesday that the invaded nation’s military had received only around 10 percent of the Western weapons it had requested “to create parity with the Russian army.”

Mike Corder in The Hague, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.

helping it avoid sweeping economic sanctions imposed by the US, the European Union and others.

While there’s been no sign of Beijing helping Moscow in either way, it has offered rhetorical support by repeating Russian conspiracy theories—such as the false claim that the US runs weapons biolabs in Ukraine—and diplomatically

through Xi’s continued contact with Putin.

The two men declared a “no limits” friendship in February, weeks before Putin brought war to Ukraine, and they spoke shortly after Russia’s invasion. In contrast, Xi still hasn’t spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite Beijing’s claims of a neutral position in the conflict. Bloomberg News

Friday, June 17, 2022 A11

N. Korea reports another disease outbreak amid Covid-19 wave

By Hyung-Jin Kim

S

The Associated Press

EOUL, South Korea—North Korea on Thursday reported the eruption of another infectious disease in addition to its ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, saying leader Kim Jong Un has donated his private medicines to those stricken with the new disease.

It’s unclear how serious the new epidemic is, but some outside observers say North Korea likely aims to burnish Kim’s image as a leader caring about public livelihoods as he needs greater public support to overcome pandemicrelated hardships.

Kim on Wednesday offered his family’s reserve medicines for those diagnosed with “an acute enteric epidemic” in the southwestern Haeju city, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. The North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper separately carried a front-page photo showing Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju reviewing saline solutions and other medicines that they were donating.

KCNA didn’t elaborate on exactly what the epidemic is and how many people have been infected.

Some observers say “an enteric epidemic” in North Korea refers to an infectious disease like typhoid, dysentery or cholera, which are intestinal illnesses caused by germs via contaminated food and water or contact with feces of infected people.

Such diseases routinely occur in North Korea, which lacks good water treatment facilities and whose public healthcare infrastructure largely remains broken since the mid-1990s.

After North Korea last month reported a rising number of patients with feverish symptoms following its admission of the coronavirus outbreak, South Korea’s spy

agency said that “a considerable number” of those fever cases included those sick with diseases like measles, typhoid and pertussis.

“The outbreak of measles or typhoid isn’t uncommon in North Korea. I think it’s true there is an outbreak of an infectious disease there but North Korea is using it as an opportunity to emphasize that Kim is caring for his people,” said Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea. “So it’s more like a political message than medical one.”

Last month, Kim already sent his family’s medicines to Covid-19 patients, according to state media reports.

KCNA said more than 4.5 million out of the country’s 26 million people have fallen ill due to an unidentified fever but only 73 died. The country has identified only a fraction of those as confirmed coronavirus cases due to an apparent lack of test kits in the country. Many foreign experts question the North’s death toll, saying that’s likely underreported to protect Kim from any political damage.

During a ruling party conference last week, Kim claimed the pandemic situation has passed the stage of “serious crisis.” But the country still maintains elevated restrictions that some outside experts say will further strain the country’s already troubled economy hit by long-running pandemicrelated border shutdowns and UN sanctions.

Later Thursday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry renewed its offer of inter-Korean cooperation on health and medical issues. After the North’s admission of the Covid-19 outbreak, South Korea and the United States offered the humanitarian shipments of vaccines, medical supplies and other assistance, but the North hasn’t responded. AP

A12 Friday, June 17, 2022 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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Dengue cases in PHL rising; protect yourself

T

HE Philippines implemented a nationwide mass immunization program against dengue fever in 2016, becoming the first country in Asia to authorize the commercial use of Dengvaxia, the dengue vaccine manufactured

by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur. In December 2017, nearly two years since the mass vaccination started, Sanofi announced that Dengvaxia may actually cause “more severe disease” in those who have not had previous dengue infection. By then, over 800,000 schoolchildren had been inoculated.

The deaths of several children that received the vaccine became a focal point of a criminal investigation against involved health officials. The Public Attorney’s Office ran a highly publicized investigation, from televised autopsies to the PAO chief appearing alongside the grieving mothers in press conferences.

The resulting “crisis of confidence” against the Department of Health sent nationwide immunization rates plummeting to all-time low, and created vaccine hesitancy among parents. The growing distrust of vaccines precipitated a measles outbreak in May 2019—described as “one of the world’s measles outbreak”—that saw more than 33,000 cases and 466 deaths from the vaccine-preventable disease.

In August 2019, a national dengue fever epidemic broke out in the country, which saw more than 146,000 cases and more than 600 deaths from the vaccine-preventable disease.

Dengue fever is endemic to Southeast Asia, and the risk of transmission is highest during and immediately following the rainy season. A recent review of the epidemiology of dengue in the Philippines showed that the incidence rate of dengue was highest among children who are five to 14 years of age, with over 80 percent of dengue-related deaths occurring among those younger than 20 years old.

The dengue virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, found indoors, and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that prefer to stay in shrubs and trees. The virus enters the mosquito’s salivary gland, where it incubates for eight to 10 days. Then, the mosquito can pass the virus on to the person it bites.

From the Philippine News Agency, June 7, 2022: “The Department of Health in Central Visayas on Tuesday said the rise in dengue cases in the region is now a “cause of concern” amid the rainy season. Dr. Ronald Jarvik Buscato, DOH-7 dengue prevention and control program head, reported that the Central Visayas region has recorded a total of 4,623 dengue cases with 38 deaths from January 1 to May 28, 2022.”

PNA report, June 10, 2022: “Zamboanga Peninsula has tallied 3,743 dengue cases since January this year, the Department of Health-Region 9 reported Friday. Dr. Joshua Brillantes, DOH-9 director, said this city has the highest number of dengue cases in the region with 2,209. Trailing the city is Zamboanga del Sur province with 605 cases.”

PNA report, June 11, 2022: “The Department of Health in Region 5 on Saturday reported an increase in cases of dengue fever and new cases of Japanese encephalitis, both mosquito-borne diseases. In a report that was based on its dengue surveillance, DOH-5 noted that 77 dengue cases were recorded from May 22 to June 4, compared to 23 in the same period last year. This represents a 235 percent increase, the report said.”

PNA report, June 15, 2022: “Dengue fever cases in Eastern Visayas continue to rise this week with seven deaths and 1,856 patients downed by mosquito bites from January 1 to June 11 this year, the Department of Health reported on Wednesday. DOH regional information officer Jelyn Lopez-Malibago said 102 more cases were recorded from June 5 to 11, lower than the 217 new cases recorded from the last week of May to early June.

The number of cases this year is 545 percent higher compared to the same period in 2021 when we only had more than 200 cases, Malibago said.”

The peak of the dengue epidemic period is around June to August, during the rainy season. Experts say dengue mosquitoes tend to be most active during the daytime. Protect yourself from dengue fever. Destroy mosquito habitats. Learn how you can control mosquitoes inside and outside your home.

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Prosecutor’s finest hour in de Lima case

By Atty. Romulo B. Macalintal

A

GLIMMER of hope appeared in favor of Senator Leila de Lima’s long struggle and quest for justice w it h Just ice Secretar y Menardo Guevarra’s word that he w i l l e x a m i ne t he rem a i n i ng ev idence against her in v iew of the recantation of witnesses who had linked her to illegal drugs. He said that “the prosecution needs to reassess the strength of its overall evidence in the light of the recantation of certain witnesses.”

For sure, Guevarra is merely following that elementary rule in criminal cases that the prosecution must rely on the strength of its own evidence, and not depend its success upon the weakness of the evidence of the accused. For it is the pros-

THIS development in de Lima’s case brings to mind a 1974 case, where the Supreme Court reminded those in charge of the prosecution of criminal cases, that the “finest hour” of a prosecutor is not when he wins a case with the conviction of the accused but when he stands up and pleads for the acquittal of the accused when there is no evidence to prove the commission of the offense. ecution’s burden to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, not for the accused to prove his innocence.

Even incoming Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla gave the assurance of his willingness to review de Lima’s cases once he assumes office.

This development in De Lima’s case brings to mind a 1974 case, where the Supreme Court reminded those in charge of the prosecution of criminal cases, that the “finest hour” of a prosecutor is not when he wins a case with the conviction

of the accused but when he stands up and pleads for the acquittal of the accused when there is no evidence to prove the commission of the offense.

In that case, the Supreme Court commended the group of then Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza, when the Solicitor General, acting as the prosecutor in a criminal case, moved for the acquittal of the accused for “his noble task is to prosecute only the guilty and to protect the innocent.”

The Court said that: “This is

good a time as any to emphasize upon those in charge of the prosecution of criminal cases that the prosecutor’s finest hour is not when he wins a case with the conviction of the accused. His finest hour is still when, overcoming the advocate’s natural obsession for victory, he stands up before the Court and pleads not for the conviction of the accused but for his acquittal. For indeed, his noble task is to prosecute only the guilty and to protect the innocent. We, therefore, commend Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza, Assistant Solicitor Dominador L. Quiroz and Solicitor Sinfronio I. Ancheta for having correctly recommended the acquittal of the appellants Marianito Andres and Generoso Andres.”

Will Guevarra and/or Remulla have their own finest hour for the rule of law in de Lima’s case? Abangan.

It’s time to give domestic workers across Asia-Pacific the rights they deserve

By Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa

A

CCORDING to an ILO publication launched on June 16, “Making the right to social security a reality for domestic workers,” more than two thirds of domestic workers in the Asia and Pacific region are not covered by even one social security benefit.

Meanwhile, 3 in 5 domestic workers in this region are still excluded from labor law protections and over 70 percent have no legislated limit on working time.

The vast majority of domestic workers are women and therein lies the root cause of the lack of labor and social protection. Domestic and care work have long been done in the household by women, without pay or recognition. Today, women employed as domestic workers are mostly internal and international migrants. Barriers to improving the rights of domestic workers are deeply rooted in patriarchal and hierarchal systems, which undervalue women’s work and see homes as private spaces that should not be regulated as a place of work. Breaking down these barriers can be challenging for those who cling to such traditions.

Ratification of ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and the Violence and Harass-

Although the Domestic Workers Convention was adopted 11 years ago today and 52 percent of the world’s domestic workers are in Asia and the Pacific, only the Philippines has ratified this Convention in the region.

ment Convention, 2019 (No.190) would go a long way to building new norms where care and domestic work are respected and women workers are valued and safe at work. Although the Domestic Workers Convention was adopted 11 years ago today and 52 percent of the world’s domestic workers are in Asia and the Pacific, only the Philippines has ratified this Convention in the region. Meanwhile, only Fiji has ratified the Violence and Harassment Convention. We can do better.

Convention C190 - Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted existing inequalities. It also led to recognition that undervalued and low paid workers, including garbage collectors, care workers, domestic workers, and transport workers who risked their lives to keep our societies functioning during lockdowns, are indeed “essential workers.”

With whole families working and studying from home during lockdowns, domestic workers kept households running smoothly.

Many stayed on to do this work, even though their workloads and hours increased, as did their isolation from family, friends and support services.

Yet domestic workers were still dismissed because employers were worried about catching Covid from them. Most employers were not obliged to give severance pay, and, on top of that, domestic workers usually found themselves excluded from Covid-19 social assistance programs.

Migrant domestic workers were also stranded as international borders closed and returning home become impossible. As a result, families dependent on the remittances of domestic workers faced economic hardships.

Despite all the challenges, some progress is being made. For example, in Malaysia domestic workers can now be registered with the Social Security Organization, and in Thailand the regulation governing domestic work is under review by the Ministry of Labor with a view to ensuring better working conditions for domestic workers.

Domestic workers across the

region have formed their own g roups to advocate for their rights. The ILO has long supported domestic workers groups to share their experiences, learn from each other and lobby for protection under the law. The ILO also works to ensure domestic workers have access to legal services, social assistance, and training. No matter what country they are in, all domestic worker groups call for recognition of their work and regulated decent working conditions.

Governments of the region can and should take action to change the attitudes, laws and practices that have left domestic workers so vulnerable. Every household that employs a domestic worker must ensure they are paying at least minimum wage and overtime pay; that they sign workers up to social security and insurance schemes where they exist; that they work in safety and free from violence and harassment; and that workers have regular hours and rest days.

The essential work that domestic workers do must be acknowledged and rewarded by adopting and implementing legal frameworks guaranteeing their rights and by providing social protection that gives long-term security to domestic workers, their families and their communities.

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Nora Aunor: Superstar National Artist

Exorcism: The devil once more with feeling

monster inhabiting the young girl’s body. Then a most original idea was foisted by Blatty and that was the

whose soul in its terrifying cleanliness can counter It, which is gold and most rare in defilement—the Devil.

Not everyone can be an exorcist; only a few priests with sterling character can exorcize. While my source at this point of my position was fiction and cinema, it must be said that such a position is indeed tenable. How can a priest drive the devil from some human vessels if that person claiming spiritual ascendancy is himself not only flawed but constantly consorts with the Devil. The contradictions and the deceit that naturally come from the same are the warm beds for the horned being.

There can be no exorcist within a mile of my parish then, if these are the preconditions for that task.

No center can ever train a priest to; other centers—seminaries, wellness venues, meditation sites—can mold

condition that only priests who are spiritually strong and clean could battle it out with the Devil.

The Exorcist, if we are to believe the book and its imagination, is one

priests to be good, humble, upright.

Then the Devil and all his (is he always male?) cohorts shall think twice even when a good priest fumbles with his Latin.

Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

O

N June 10, 2022, Malacañang declared Nora Aunor, fondly called “Ate Guy”, as one of the 8 National Artists of the Philippines for 2022. It is the highest honor conferred to a Filipino who has made outstanding contribution to the development of Philippine arts and culture. This much-coveted award was created under Proclamation 1001 issued by the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos on April 27, 1972. Ate Guy was given the honor for her excellent accomplishments in film and broadcast arts upon recommendation of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In cinema and film, the first awardee was Lamberto Avellana. Only a small number have won as a National Artist in this category. The list also include Gerardo de Leon, Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, Eddie Romero, Manuel Conde and Fernando Poe, Jr.. National Artists De Leon, Brocka, Bernal, Conde and Poe were given the recognition posthumously. Most of them were prominent directors, except for Poe and Ate Guy who were noted more for their acting.

It’s been a long and tortuous journey for a little dark girl who used to sell boiled peanuts and ice-cold bottled water at the railroad station in her native town in Camarines Sur. Ate Guy, whose real name is Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, was born on May 23, 1953 in Iriga City where Mt. Isarog is located. She started her career as an amateur singer by joining and winning singing competitions in neighboring Naga City. She joined the Darigold Jamboree, then the top amateur singing contest in Bicol, to get the prize money to pay for her elder sister’s tuition fee who was graduating in high school. Wearing a second hand dress that her mother refitted with some frills, Ate Guy who was barely 12 years old belted “You and the Night and the Music” and swayed and swooned the audience. Back home in Iriga, her family who did not own a radio, nervously listened at their neighbor’s house. Ate Guy came home the big winner and pocketed P20, the grand prize that she gave to her sister. Encouraged by her success, Ate Guy participated in another major singing competition, the Liberty Big Show, which was also held in Naga City. Aspiring singers from the region took part, but Ate Guy proved that her earlier win was no fluke. Once more, she emerged the champion. Her maternal aunt, Belen Aunor, suggested to Nora’s mother to bring Ate Guy to Manila to try out in some radio and TV shows and singing contests. Her aunt, who lived in Nichols, Pasay City, acted as her guardian and introduced her as Nora Aunor in every audition or contest Ate Guy took part in. She became an undefeated champion for many weeks on the Darigold Bulilit Show. It was then decided that she would transfer her studies in Nichols Air Base Elementary School near her Mamay Belen’s house while she was pursuing her dream to be a singer. She completed her high school at Centro Escolar University in Parañaque. She then went for the biggest plum, the Tawag ng Tanghalan, which produced the likes of Pepe Pimentel, Diomedes Maturan and Cenon Lagman. Ate Guy was an undefeated champion for 14 weeks on Tawag before she was crowned as the national champion during the grand finals in 1967. Her winning piece was “Moonlight Becomes You”, a song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and popularized by Bing Crosby and written as a theme song for the movie “Road to Morocco.” There was no stopping Ate Guy after that.

Ate Guy is an accomplished and multi-awarded actress acknowledged as the Superstar of Philippine Cinema during her heyday. Even before Ate Guy was given the National Artist Award, she has been regarded as the People’s National Artist, especially when she was refused the award twice in the past due to some controversies surrounding her personal life. An American magazine and movie critic, The Hollywood Reporter, dubbed her “The Grand Dame of Philippine Cinema” for her splendid performance in the movie “Taklub” and her memorable performance in many other highly acclaimed films. Dr. Jose Perez of Sampaguita Pictures launched Ate Guy’s movie career. She debuted as an actress in the movie “All Over the World” where she mostly did musical numbers.

After this, she appeared in many other movies where she had guest or minor roles. She became a regular partner of

another young actor, Tirso Cruz III, and together they played supporting roles in Banda 24, Oh Delilah, Pabandying Bandying and Adriana, which were produced by other film outfits. It was independent director and producer Artemio Marquez who made her a star in the movie D’Musical Teenage Idols in 1969, which also featured Tirso Cruz III. It was the box-office movie that year. This was followed by other smash hit movies directed and produced by Marquez under his own outfit, Tower Productions. Ate Guy made countless forgettable movies that all made money at the tills. She became the top-grossing artist of the Philippine cinema. As she got older, she graduated from her teenybopper roles and took on more serious parts. Eventually, she formed her own movie production, the NV Productions, which produced quality films that won critics’ acclaim and numerous awards from practically all movie award-winning bodies locally and abroad. Among her outstanding film credits that won acclaim from critics are Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos, Banaue, Minsa’y Isang Gamugamo, Ina ka ng Anak Mo, Bona, Flor Contemplacion Story and Thy Womb. Her movie Himala won numerous international awards and was considered as the Best Asia-Pacific Movie of all Time. Her film, Bona, directed by Lino Brocka, is the only Filipino film cited as one of “The Best 100 Films in the World by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, USA in 1997. It’s also the only Philippine-made movie archived at the NY Museum of Modern Art. The Green Globe Film Award adjudged her as one of the 10 Best Asian Actresses of the Decade in 1910, together with Gong Li and Maggie Cheung. She is the winningest actor of all time in terms of acting awards she has received locally and abroad. In 1990, all the prestigious annual award-giving institutions such as FAMAS, Gawad Urian, Star Award for Movies, Film Academy of the Philippines and the Young Critics Circle conferred on Ate Guy the Best Actress Award for her movie Andrea and Paano Ba Ang Maging Isang Ina?. She also won her 5th FAMAS Best Actress trophy, which elevated Ate Guy to the Hall of Fame. She had the distinction of being directed by the best helmsman in the movie industry who all won the National Artist Award in cinema and film—Lamberto Avellana, Gerardo de Leon, Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal.

In her prime, Ate Guy was the Superstar of the Philippine movies, the concert queen and the box office champion. She has won practically all awards conceived to recognize a thespian.

She was awarded several Best Actress Awards and nominations from many countries of the world such as Hong Kong, Russia, Asia Pacific Awards Council, Egypt and others. In her acceptance speech at the 2013 Gawad Urian Best Actress Award where she received her 17th nomination and her 7th win for the movie, “Thy Womb”, Ate Guy said: “It’s great to win abroad but nothing beats being recognized by your countrymen.”

Finally, Ate Guy was honored as a National Artist by her own country. The long wait is over, and let’s rejoice that politics has not suppressed talent and art.

Friday, June 17, 2022 A13

E

XORCISM is alive in the country. It is in fact getting a structure that will house the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Liberation and Exorcism in the city of Manila. It is touted to be the first of its kind in Asia and maybe in the whole world.

The center is expected to provide training for priests in the art/ technology of driving away demons from bodies of humans. The center is also seen as the venue to conduct said rites and houses the Commission of Extraordinary Phenomena and the Ministry on Visions and Phenomena.

I am excited about the news. The last time I felt this giddy sensation was when the book The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty was released, a response heightened when a film based on the book became the boxoffice sensation of the decade.

Before the book and the film, the notion of Evil was just that, a notion.

The Devil was a strong metaphor for everything that ran counter to society’s general idea about the good and the truthful. In our Religion class, it was almost embarrassing to talk of the Devil as the horned creature.

Our teachers by then had evolved and the Devil, or the Evil in our lives, was an element that obstructed our destiny to do good. Even as we believed in a benevolent, supreme being, there was this element that did not fulfill the straight, the pure, the unblemished. That was the Devil, a name whose provenance in the Hebrew language and culture connoted “bent” or “deformed.” It also pointed to something that went astray.

Then the book and the film came and the Devil became once more a being, a material person perhaps disfigured but someone who could touch you and throw you out of the window. He did not only tempt human beings; he killed them, as in murder them, or cut off their head in the most gruesome manner that we could only say: Only the Devil can do this.

The Devil could also be difficult to defeat. He was unbeatable. In the film and in the book, the priest with a past fell for the mind game of the

We thus read the news about this Center of Exorcism and began to cast doubt on this new enterprise. In various press releases, we encounter bits and pieces for the reason why the Church has found the moment for this endeavor. One point raised is how the pandemic has brought about stresses, which include the spiritual kind, that provide the preconditions not for psychosis but possessions.

To Fr. Jose Francisco Syquia, the chief exorcist, has also been attributed the statement about how the center sees itself as ministering to those “in bondage to the devil’’. The statement speaks of those afflicted by evil possession as belonging to the poorer class.

I am not certain if the chief exorcist really spoke those words but if he did, there now seems to be another site for the Devil to thrive and that is the home of the poor. Poverty, which has been accepted by social scientists as social evil, is really the domain of the Devil. But how does one drive away hunger and lack of food from the table by ancient rites and by language that victims may not even understand? If this is economic evil, should we not employ economic methods? That instead of holy water, we could, perhaps, ask if there is water supply in the area—a presence of which is an indicator of economic well-being?

Along the way, news about this center for exorcism brings in thoughts about witchcraft but nothing about enchantment. I am comfortable that church authorities now believe in this truth: in our country —in cities and far-flung villages— individuals who start acting strangely are not necessarily diagnosed as being possessed by the Devil as defined by the Roman Catholic religion but enchanted by unseen beings. In this case, exorcism has no use. What we need to look for is a man or a woman with negotiation skills, who could offer to the Unseen One a gift so that he could return to the world of the Living—the world of malls, bad politics and polluted air—the mind of that person their prince, princess, soldier, handsome villager, took a fancy of. Shall we have a Center of Enchantment then?

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

In energy-strapped Europe, coal gets an encore

By Derek Gatopoulos The Associated Press

K

OZANI, Greece—At Greece’s largest coalmine, controlled explosions and the roar of giant excavators scooping up blasted rock have once again become routine. Coal production has been ramped up at the site near the northern Greek city of Kozani as the war in Ukraine forced many European nations to rethink their energy supplies.

Coal, long treated as a legacy fuel in Europe, is now helping the continent safeguard its power supply and cope with the dramatic rise in natural gas prices caused by the war.

Electricity generated by coal in the European Union jumped by 19 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 from a year earlier, according to the EU’s energy directorate, faster than any other source of power, as tension spiked between Russia and Ukraine and ahead of the invasion in late February.

Russian gas made up more than 40 percent of the total gas consumption in the EU last year, leaving the bloc scrambling for alternatives as prices rose and the supply was cut off to several nations. Russia also provided 27 percent of the EU’s oil imports and 46 percent of its coal imports. The crisis caught Greece at a difficult moment in its own transition.

For decades, the country relied on the domestic mining of lignite, a lowquality and high-emission type of coal, but recently accelerated plans to close down older power plants, promising to make renewables the main source

of Greece’s energy by 2030. Currently, renewables account for about a third of the country’s energy mix.

A newly completed solar park, one of Europe’s largest, is just a half-hour drive from the country’s biggest open-face lignite mine, near the northern city of Kozani.

While inaugurating the new solar facility, Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced a 50 percent hike in lignite production through 2024 to build up reserves.

Plans to retire more coal-fired power stations were paused.

“Not only Greece but all European countries are making minor amendments to their energy transition programs with short-term—and I stress short-term—measures,” Mitsotakis said at the April 6 event.

Officials in Greece say the country is naturally suited to developing solar and wind energy. It’s testing EU-sponsored battery technology to try and wean its islands off costly and polluting diesel-power local electricity plants.

The Kozani mine covers an area nearly nine times the size of JFK Airport in New York: A black basin sunk into land surrounded by forests and poppy fields. Excavators use clawed wheels taller than the side of a house to load coal into long lanes of belt conveyers.

“This was the heart of Greece’s energy production,” mine director Antonis Nikou said, speaking at the plant and standing near the Orthodox Christian church of Saint Barbara, the traditional protector of miners, firefighters and others who face danger at work.

Nikou views the end of Greece’s

coal era as inevitable, a belief shared for the rest of the EU by its own policymakers and many experts who argue that coal’s brief return will serve only as a backstop while countries ramp up renewables and update their power grids.

“Attempting to feel secure in terms of not getting cold next winter, that’s understandable but this is a very short-term arrangement,” said Elif Gunduzyeli, a senior energy policy coordinator at Climate Action Network Europe, a Brussels-based coalition of environmental campaigning groups.

Money needed to modernize the coal industry and find new deposits, she argues, is no longer attracting investors.

Western Europe’s postwar integration was largely driven by coal—the European Coal and Steel Community formed in 1951 eventually evolved into the European Union—but EU consumption has long been eclipsed by other nations.

China uses more coal than the rest of the world combined.

EU coal consumption plummeted by more than 60 percent in the last 30 years, the drop accelerating since 2018.

Regulation in Europe and how it reaches international climate goals are closely watched by other industrial powers, along with how it manages to rescue local economies in vanishing coal-mining communities.

Officially named the West Macedonia Lignite Center, the mine at Kozani now employs 1,500 workers, down from as many as 6,000 in 1990s. The 400-hectare (1,000-acre) solar park nearby hires just 20.

Greece’s power workers’ union is pressing the government to give coal a longer lease of life, instead of using gas imports that are now more expensive.

“It is clear that this transition did not take place on fair terms but in a way that supported the interests of natural gas,” union leader George Adamidis told the AP in an interview. “We have made a decision to move away from Russian natural gas, but the import of liquefied natural gas from the United States and elsewhere also involves a process that is polluting so it doesn’t serve our climate goals.”

The union wants to extend the life of modern coal-fired plants by about five years, through 2035, and even increase its share of electricity generation from currently less than 15 percent to about 25 percent.

The government says money from the European Union’s Just Transition Fund, set up to help coalmining communities and others hurt by the transition, will be used to help regions like Kozani with multiple schemes including the restoration of mined land.

But Pavlos Deligiannis, a retired mine worker, urged authorities to extend the transition and give alternative industries tax breaks and other financial incentives to invest in the region and create jobs.

“We all know that coal has an expiry date,” he said. “Our young people are leaving the city... If you want a smooth transition, you think about the next business before you close the existing one. That’s not what happened here—we did the opposite and we are not prepared for the green transition.”

A14 Friday, June 17, 2022

DOF rejects call to remove VAT on power generation charge

F

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

INANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III disputed the claim of Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Agnes Devanadera that there is double taxation in the government’s imposition of valueadded tax (VAT) on power rates.

Dominguez said "no double taxation" exists in the electricity power industry as he argued that "VAT is imposed separately in each stage of the production" because the Electric Power Industry Reform (EPIR A) law mand ated the pricing to be unbundled.

“But at the end of the day, if you look at the total bill, the entire electricity ser v ice is charged 12 percent VAT on the side of the consumer," Dominguez said in a statement.

“With this unbundled pricing mechanism, VAT is imposed on every level of the value chain and not integrated vertically like other sectors,” Dominguez said, which means “the VAT paid on the distribution charge only accounts for the value-added in distributing the electricity and does not include the generation and transmission of power," he added.

For double taxation to exist, two taxes must be imposed on

the same subject matter, for the same purpose, by the same taxing authority, within the same jurisdiction, during the same taxing period; and they must be of the same kind or character, Dominguez said.

T he finance chief issued t he st atement i n response t o D e v a n a d e r a’s p r o p o s a l to the incoming Marcos administration to remove the 12-percent VAT imposed on the generation charge. T he lev y, she said, shou ld be applied only on the distribution charge to avoid the supposed double ta xation.

The Department of Finance (DOF) said the electricity price in the country remains high compared to other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian) countries because of the high costs associated with power generation.

M e r a l c o ’s f i r s t - q u a r t e r 2022 report shows that generation charge is the largest component of an electric bill across all customer classes, DOF added.

D om i n g ue z a l s o a r g ue d that VAT removal will not result in a 12-percent reduction in fuel prices.

He explained that VAT-exempt businesses do not charge output VAT and they also could not recover the VAT they pay on their own inputs so input VAT "becomes an additional cost to them and to recover this, it is passed on to the consumers.”

“VAT exemption is not the solution. If the intention is to unburden consumers, the next administration needs to review the existing policies on power generation pricing,” he said.

Moreover, he said the gove r n me nt c a n not a f ford to give another VAT exemption because this will lead to "distortionary and less equitable tax systems" and it "creates discrimination among similar businesses."

Earlier, the DOF rejected calls to suspend fuel excise ta xes amid the increase in prices, warning that this will slash government revenues by P105.9 billion or 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, resulting in a higher deficit and debt for the government.

TRAVEL FIRMS’ RETURN TO OPS BOOSTS ’21 TOURISM REBOUND

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE ret u r n to operation of travel agencies he lped t he cou nt r y's Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) rebound in 2021, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

On Thursday, PSA said the TDGVA , which accounts for the total gross value added of tourism and other industries to the economy by means of visitors internal consumption, grew 9.2 percent to P1 trillion in 2021.

This was a rebound from the contraction of 63.4 percent in 2020. However, this is the lowest single-digit growth posted by the TDGVA since 2009, during the Global Financial Crisis. “ The contribution of Tourism Direct Gross Value Added ( T DGVA) to t he Ph i l ippi ne economy, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),

is estimated at 5.2 percent,” PSA said.

“Among the tourism characteristics industries, TDGVA from industries classified under travel agencies and other reservation services registered the fastest growth at 38.4 percent. This was followed by Miscellaneous (33.4 percent) and Shopping (32.9 percent),” PSA also said.

However, PSA said the entertainment and recreation services as well as accommodation services for visitors continued to contract by 39.3 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively.

The data also showed employment in tourism characteristic industries was estimated at 4.9 million in 2021, higher by 4.6 percent compared with 4.68 million in 2020. “(The) share of employment in tourism industries to total employ ment in the countr y was recorded at 11.1 percent,” PSA said.

Continued on A3

COA cites anew lack of insurance for Intramuros artworks, antiques

Continued on A3

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

W

ORKS of art and other antiques in Intramuros remain uninsured due to the lack of appropriations by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The insurance deficiency was again pointed out by the Commission on Audit (COA) in its latest evaluation of the Intramuros Administration’s (IA) financial statements for 2021. “ The insurance of IA’s physical assets with Net Book Value of P227.36 million only covers up to P219.56 million. The [audit] also noted that Works of Art or high value antique items in custody of IA amounting to P36.16 million were not covered by insurance policies.”

COA reiterated its recommendation that IA management “continue to make representation with DBM to allocate funds and incorporating in the annual budget of the agency the amount necessary for the appraisal of antique items and to cover increase in premiums relative to the additional insurance coverage for all of its insurable assets with the General Insurance Fund of the GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) to ensure that the government will be indemnified for any damage or loss of these properties.”

However, DBM again failed to make any relevant appropriations for this in IA’s budget for 2022.

Intramuros administrator Guiller Asido told the BusinessMirror, “Despite our constant pleas,” DBM cut out the P8 million the agency requested for insurance. In fact, IA’s total approved budget this year is just a “paltry amount of P62 million,” P206 million off its total requested budget.

Slow court cases delay collections of ARs

COA also cited close to P15 million in account receivables (ARs) which were “doubtful of collection” because of the slow pace in ongoing court cases with former tenants and lessees who owe the agency some P12.11 million, while P2.83

million were still owed by some concessionaires, which the agency has yet to sue.

COA said IA management agreed to “exert more effort” in demanding the collection of long-outstanding receivables from said concessionaires, many of these pending from two to 10 years. “If warranted, seek the assistance of other government offices that can provide information needed in serving demand letters and/or may opt to submit to the Office of the Solicitor General for the filing of cases as deemed necessary.”

Unmodified opinion

The government audit agency did give an “unmodified opinion” of the fairness “in all material aspects” of presentation of IA’s financial statements as of December 31, 2021. It also said the agency “was able to fully accomplish or even exceeded its targets in 13 of the 17 activities under four Organizational Outcomes. Four of the activities fell below target due to the Covid-19 restrictions, and resulted in lower visitor arrivals; lower occupancy of commercial properties; less occupancy of IA event facilities; a larger decrease in revenue; and a dip in the number of building, repair and other ancillary permits process/issued within three days.

Despite the physical restrictions during the quarantine period, IA was able to hold important online activities last year, “with a view to sustain the tourism promotion program of Intramuros. It was able to accomplish 68 events in this aspect, which surpassed the target of 28 events,” according to COA. Other significant observations

by COA was its inability to ascertain the accuracy of IA’s properties and equipment as no physical inventory was made last year; delayed procurement process and project implementation resulted in the obligation of just 76.8 percent of IA’s P112.06-million total allotments; no funding for projects for seniors and persons with disability; delayed remittance to GSIS of withheld premiums and loan payments of employees; and an outstanding balance of some P2.18 million in audit disallowances.

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Friday, June 17, 2022

Vivant allots bulk of capex for wind, solar projects

C

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

ebu-based publicly listed company Vivant Corp. expects to spend P30 billion for capital expenditure (capex) projects until 2027, the bulk of which would be set aside to achieve its target of reaching a 30-percent renewable energy (RE) portfolio by 2030.

“For the group, total capex to 2025-2026, maybe even 2027, will be around P30 billion. How we finance each project will be different, but that’s how the kind of capex we’ll be looking at,” said Vivant President Emil Andre Garcia during a virtual news briefing after the company’s stockholders’ meeting held Thursday.

Of the amount, P25 billion will be used to beef up its RE portfolio, mostly wind in Visayas and solar in Luzon.

“Most of the RE will be developed solely by Vivant. There may be one or two projects that we’ll be looking

at partnerships, especially the wind projects we’re looking at since these are more technically challenging,” said Garcia.

The company is currently in talks with local and foreign potential partners for wind power projects and deals could be finalized within the year.

“Aside from wind, we’re looking at something that would be 100 percent owned by the company. We have some projects in the pipeline that we expect either acquisition by next year or some solar projects that we can hit completion by next year as well.”

Also, Vivant is interested to

bid for hybrid plants for off-grid areas. “For the hybrid plants, we’re looking at joining more bidding…It’s now best for a mix of conventional, batteries and solar, or possibly wind, but most likely solar. It will be for future off-grid plants,” said Garcia.

Vivant Vice President for Infrastructure Jess Anthony Garcia said the remaining P5 billion of the total capex will be spent for infrastructure projects.

“For infra, most of our initiatives right now are concentrated in water. We’d like to be present in the different segments of the industry, namely bulk water supply, water distribution, waste water and water engineering. We are also looking at transport but the initiatives are very preliminary now.”

Vivant had been awarded a 25year bulk water supply contract by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District following a successful bid for the Cordova bulk water supply project. Garcia said the P1.8-billion desalination plant in Cebu will be ready for commercial operations next year.

Vivant Chief Executive Officer Arlo Sarmiento said the power business would still be a major

contributor to the company’s growth.

“By 2030, we will still be primarily driven by Vivant Energy although infra will grow. We will still primarily be a power company, or most of our revenues will be generated by power.

By then, we hope the infra business would have increased contributions. Personally, I would like to see 80-20 if possible, 80 (percent) power, 20 (percent) infra, primarily water in 2030,” he said.

Vivant reported a net income of P1.8 billion in 2021, an increase of 23 percent over 2020’s P1.4 billion.

The increase is attributed to improved performance of subsidiaries, particularly in power, amid better generation output and increased business activities.

The company expects an increase in demand for energy solutions, particularly rooftop solar, as more consumers see the need to better manage their energy-related costs.

Garcia said that while the damage caused by super typhoon Odette dampened Visayan Electric’s performance in the first quarter of 2022, the prolonged outage due to damaged power infrastructure has raised awareness on the benefits of solar energy.

Broiler farm project gets BOI nod

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

T

he Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the P118.5-million broiler chicken farm project of RCB Poultry Farm in South Cotabato which is projected to reduce the need to import chicken amid global supply disruptions.

The BOI said Thursday that the project can produce 3.36 million kilograms of broiler yearly.

The operation of the farm is seen insulating Region 12 and its nearby regions from the threat of supply disruption caused by avian influenza, as the localized source of chicken or chicken meat entails less

biosecurity risk.

The agency said RCB Poultry Farm will use modern technology for poultry growing “that will be beneficial to the growth and health of broiler chicken while minimizing cost for feeds,water, and energy.”

The Department of Agriculture (DA) endorsed the proposed project to the BOI. It involves the production of broiler chicken under a contractgrowing agreement with a large food company.

The project also aims to reduce the country’s reliance on imported chicken given the ongoing global supply disruptions and biosecurity risks, according to the BOI. According to the Philippine Statis-

tics Authority (PSA)’s Supply Utilization Accounts, chicken is the second most-consumed meat after pork.

The project is seen to increase the region’s chicken production by 1.21 percent to 2.71 percent.

Although the shortage of chicken meat is not in sight this year, the DA said local production needs to reach at least 1.34 million metric tons to achieve at least 90 percent local selfsufficiency.

“The innovative broiler chicken farm project has proven that we in the Board of Investments have offered relentless support to the country’s poultry sector,” Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement.

“We are making headways happen already, as we will continuously pursue our goal of attracting more investments.”

Last week, Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP) President Antony S. Dizon said the absence of certain commodities in the domestic market is not caused by supply shortages but by the long-standing global logistical crunch.

The lack of vessels and port congestion delayed the arrival of a number of commodities, including chicken leg quarters.

Dizon also said the bird flu outbreak in the United States, one of the country’s major sources of poultry products.

SEC: Stop MBC elects new board members investing in Omnimeta T

T

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against investing in Omnimeta Global Solutions as the company’s investment activities, which involves the direct selling of vitamins and other health products, are not registered with the agency.

The agency said illegal solicitation activities are being conducted by YDYS Trading OPC under the new trading name “Omnimeta” and both are owned

by Mar Albert Hidalgo.

The company is soliciting investments from the public through its Facebook group with a minimum amount of P5,000 and is promising passive earnings of 20 percent per month or 240 percent per year.

Its investment package ranges from P5,000—which will include bottles of vitamins and coffee—to P250,000, which will involve more company products. VG Cabuag

he Makati Business Club (MBC) elected Dr. Aris Alip, CEO of CARD Microfinance, and Cosette Canilao, CEO of Aboitiz InfraCapital as new members of its board of trustees.

“Doc Aris will be a great guide in strengthening our push for economic inclusivity,” said MBC Chairman Ed Chua. “Cosette brings public and private experience in improving and expanding infrastructure, a key factor to boosting investment and jobs, which is our number one priority.”

Alip received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2008 for his work in microfinance. CARD is the country’s biggest microfinance organization, with over P9.8 billion in outstanding loans and 2.4 million borrowers served.

Canilao was the executive director of the Public Private Partnership Center (2010-2016). She was previously a Principal at PriceWaterhouseCoopers Philippines.

Alip and Canilao succeed former

Finance Sec. Roberto F. de Ocampo and Guillermo D. Luchangco, chairman of Investment and Capital Corp. of the Philippines group.

Alongside Alip and Canilao, the following were re-elected to the board for two-year terms (20222024): Chua; Amb. Jose L. Cuisia Jr., Chairman, Covenant Car Co. (Chevrolet); and Manolito T. Tayag, country managing director, Accenture Philippines.

On the board for 2021-2023 terms are Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (Chairman, Ayala Corp.), J. Carlitos G. Cruz (former SGV Chairman and CEO), Doris M. Ho (President and CEO, Magsaysay Group of Companies), Rizalina G. Mantaring (former Sunlife Philippines Chairman and CEO), Jose Victor Paterno (President and CEO, Philippine Seven Corp.), and Ramon del Rosario Jr. (Chairman and CEO, PHINMA Inc.).

Canilao’s election also marks the first time there will be three women on the MBC board. Women also lead two of MBC’s five committees. Diver-

sity: Aileen Judan-Jiao, President, IBM Philippines. Governance: Atty.

Patricia Bunye, senior partner, Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia. MBC has partnered with UN Women, Investing in Women, Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment on projects to operationalize diversity in organizations.

The election was held at MBC’s annual meeting at the Ayala Museum on June 15, 2022. The event was followed by a reception, to mark the association’s first membership meeting since February 2020.

In welcoming the members to the reception, Zobel de Ayala said: “I believe that we all share the hope that we should all embrace and apply the lessons of the last two and a half years. We hope that as leaders of our own respective organizations that we can continue keeping this hope alive with our people that indeed our people and county are certainly capable of great things and that we should be proud of even as we strive for progress and equity.”

B1

Nlex sets capital spending for 2022

BusinessMirror file photo

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

E

xpressway operator Nlex Corp. plans to spend P1.2 billion on capital investments this year to enhance and maintain the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) System.

Nlex Corp. President Luigi L. Bautista said the capital outlays will be used for various initiatives to upgrade its infrastructure, toll collection system, and account management system.

These include the upgrade of the expressway’s core system and equipment, providing for a faster processing of lane transactions for RFID users, which constitute 70 percent of the expressway’s customers.

“We keep on investing in innovative solutions to make our processes more efficient and most importantly, make the experience of our motorists more pleasant and comfortable as possible,” Bautista said.

Aside from conducting software upgrades and system migration, Nlex Corporation will also replace its toll system equipment within the year.

Roughly 100 toll system equipment along the Nlex will be upgraded such as toll fare indicators, lane status indicators, traffic control gates, automatic vehicle classification devices, and loop detectors.

Likewise, the company will also equip its toll plazas with new traffic control gates, automatic vehicle classification devices, lane status indicators, and loop detectors, boosting operational efficiency and transaction accuracy.

Nlex Corp. started the upgrading program last year, when, Bautista said, the expressway operator deployed “new technology devices.”

He added that the “currently upgraded system has significantly improved the RFID transactions from reloading to checking of account balances after passing at the lanes.”

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Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, June 17, 2022

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

June 16, 2022

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

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

192,151,811 342,725 212,611,266.50 2,497,465 2,925,908 50,348,426 22,418 30,436 1,382,880 86,671.50 542,266 36,153,427 14,388,248.50 947,190 10,440 74,580 32,540 25,500 38,917.50 54,000 72,977 80,330

-4,065,468 1,810 30,576,789.50 1,332,825 -2,119,113 1,959,254 127,484 490,734 11,065,754.50 3,884,154.50 22,400 8,800 3,840 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 7.4 7.44 7.3 7.46 7.3 7.44 5,967,400 44,145,727 ALSONS CONS 0.98 0.99 0.97 0.98 0.97 0.98 163,000 159,460 ABOITIZ POWER 29.15 29.5 29.35 30 29.15 29.15 769,800 22,608,760 RASLAG 1.73 1.74 1.82 1.83 1.73 1.73 2,351,000 4,129,690 BASIC ENERGY 0.375 0.38 0.385 0.39 0.37 0.375 1,440,000 544,350 FIRST GEN 16.8 17 16.72 17.1 16.72 16.8 579,700 9,779,026 FIRST PHIL HLDG 65 66.5 65 67 65 65 123,110 8,106,258 MERALCO 361 365 358 365 357 365 146,180 52,926,444 MANILA WATER 16.62 16.78 17 17 16.62 16.78 187,100 3,146,802 PETRON 3.27 3.28 3.27 3.29 3.26 3.28 420,000 1,375,170 PHX PETROLEUM 9.51 9.86 9.53 9.86 9.51 9.86 18,100 177,739 SYNERGY GRID 12 12.02 11.96 12.18 11.96 12 2,150,600 25,842,962 PILIPINAS SHELL 18.42 18.5 18.6 18.6 18.34 18.5 50,700 936,352 SPC POWER 8.91 8.92 8.4 8.91 8.4 8.91 619,500 5,403,611 SOLAR PH 1.56 1.57 1.57 1.61 1.55 1.57 19,770,000 31,154,840 AGRINURTURE 4.57 4.58 4.67 4.67 4.58 4.58 47,000 216,700 AXELUM 2.23 2.3 2.29 2.3 2.2 2.3 295,000 666,020 CNTRL AZUCARERA 10.1 11.08 10.1 10.1 10.1 10.1 300 3,030 CENTURY FOOD 21.85 22 21.75 22 21.7 22 701,100 15,387,450 DEL MONTE 13.26 13.28 13.28 13.28 13.26 13.28 21,000 278,680 DNL INDUS 6.8 6.89 6.75 6.89 6.7 6.89 1,883,100 12,742,182 EMPERADOR 17.74 17.8 17.48 17.8 17.12 17.8 347,100 6,076,796 SMC FOODANDBEV 55.5 56.15 57 57.1 55 56.15 98,030 5,492,709 FIGARO COFFEE 0.57 0.58 0.54 0.6 0.54 0.57 26,948,000 15,593,570 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.56 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.56 0.59 39,000 22,040 FRUITAS HLDG 1.1 1.12 1.11 1.12 1.09 1.12 2,703,000 2,990,570 GINEBRA 105 105.8 107 107 105 105.8 14,580 1,542,100 JOLLIBEE 198.2 200.2 199 202.6 197 200.2 325,760 65,183,048 KEEPERS HLDG 1.15 1.16 1.16 1.18 1.15 1.16 1,528,000 1,776,560 LIBERTY FLOUR 19 20.95 19 19 19 19 2,300 43,700 MACAY HLDG 3.33 6.4 3.06 3.06 3.05 3.05 3,000 9,160 MAXS GROUP 4.68 4.7 4.95 4.95 4.7 4.7 531,000 2,511,810 MG HLDG 0.117 0.122 0.117 0.117 0.117 0.117 790,000 92,430 MONDE NISSIN 13.96 14 14.04 14.06 13.7 14 4,148,400 57,710,940 SHAKEYS PIZZA 6.82 6.85 6.8 6.9 6.8 6.9 5,800 39,510 ROXAS AND CO 0.52 0.54 0.53 0.54 0.52 0.52 769,000 400,630 RFM CORP 3.97 4 4 4 4 4 33,000 132,000 ROXAS HLDG 1.26 1.34 1.33 1.35 1.33 1.34 44,000 59,040 SWIFT FOODS 0.095 0.099 0.099 0.099 0.095 0.095 350,000 33,490 UNIV ROBINA 96.8 96.95 96 98 95 96.8 1,738,880 168,042,314.50 VITARICH 0.61 0.63 0.61 0.61 0.6 0.6 53,000 32,100 VICTORIAS 2.54 2.75 2.53 2.76 2.53 2.76 22,000 58,420 CEMEX HLDG 0.66 0.67 0.67 0.69 0.65 0.66 2,192,000 1,464,310 EAGLE CEMENT 12.04 12.2 12.2 12.2 12.02 12.2 37,800 456,366 EEI CORP 3.25 3.3 3.34 3.35 3.25 3.3 296,000 977,270 HOLCIM 5.14 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.14 5.3 100,000 522,337 MEGAWIDE 3.58 3.6 3.35 3.73 3.35 3.6 248,000 885,040 PHINMA 19.12 19.7 19.72 19.72 19.1 19.72 11,500 225,608 VULCAN INDL 0.8 0.83 0.82 0.83 0.79 0.83 3,575,000 2,884,160 CHEMPHIL 130.2 149.9 130.2 130.2 130.2 130.2 350 45,570 CROWN ASIA 1.72 1.77 1.82 1.82 1.73 1.75 167,000 292,040 EUROMED 1 1.08 1 1.01 1 1 47,000 47,330 MABUHAY VINYL 4.4 4.98 5.03 5.03 4 4.4 12,200 52,597 PRYCE CORP 5.25 5.49 5.3 5.3 5.25 5.25 63,000 333,320 GREENERGY 1.69 1.71 1.63 1.74 1.63 1.71 9,391,000 15,995,700 INTEGRATED MICR 6.45 6.51 6.51 6.52 6.5 6.51 130,200 847,140 IONICS 0.54 0.57 0.55 0.55 0.54 0.54 83,000 45,070 PANASONIC 5.75 6 6.02 6.03 5.7 6.01 7,400 43,140 SFA SEMICON 1 1.05 1.05 1.07 1 1 202,000 205,080 CIRTEK HLDG 2.75 2.76 2.73 2.8 2.7 2.75 1,315,000 3,561,760

6,577,455 1,940 -3,159,235 -23,140 68,400 -4,751,510.00 -789,316.50 9,853,510 -371,078.00 -75,210 -2,201,852 -262,988 880,272 -2,159,120 -92,560 -63,250 5,268,395 -5,593,891 1,453,898.00 -4,750,181.50 1,622,280 150,586 997,368 661,050.00 -1,631,960 -5,634,788 32,000 -50,058,339.50 -172,930 -31,800 18,400 36,750 -10,000 133,250 29,000 227,650

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

123.8 9.05 94.5 26.75 7.06 50.4 7 16.5 18.12 55.55 19.84 91.35 77.4 2.3 3.48 2.13 0.69 0.28 865 0.6 192 2,264

1.26 631 48.7 9.42 8.8 0.83 0.44 0.435 4.35 8.74 7 495 3.41 48.15 0.51 2.94 8.22 3.61 2.62 2.9 0.82 801 101.6 108 0.25 0.17

124 9.13 96 26.85 7.07 50.45 7.77 18 18.26 56.9 19.86 91.4 78 2.38 3.54 2.18 0.83 0.31 1,000 0.64 192.1 2,380

1.27 638.5 50 9.43 8.99 0.85 0.46 0.475 4.37 8.75 7.08 498.6 3.5 48.5 0.53 3 8.23 3.65 2.65 3.19 0.83 809.5 104.7 111 0.29 0.174

123 9.12 92.1 26.65 7.13 50.6 7.02 16.04 18.1 56.85 19.96 91 79 2.31 3.48 2.14 0.7 0.28 880 0.62 192 2,262

1.26 650 48.7 9.85 8.77 0.85 0.44 0.43 4.45 8.54 6.91 485 3.41 49 0.58 2.94 8.3 3.59 2.55 2.9 0.83 808 102.8 108.2 0.26 0.175

124.9 9.25 96 26.75 7.13 50.6 7.02 16.04 18.28 56.9 19.96 91.7 79 2.45 3.48 2.14 0.7 0.31 880 0.62 192.1 2,378

1.3 650 50 9.93 8.8 0.85 0.46 0.43 4.45 8.77 6.91 498.8 3.49 49.25 0.58 3 8.37 3.66 2.69 2.9 0.83 824 104.7 111 0.29 0.175

122.3 9 91.8 26.65 7.06 49.85 7 16 18.02 55.15 19.82 89.5 77 2.3 3.48 2.13 0.69 0.28 860.5 0.6 192 2,262

1.24 630.5 48.7 9.43 8.77 0.85 0.44 0.43 4.35 8.54 6.91 485 3.41 48 0.58 2.93 8.12 3.59 2.55 2.9 0.83 789 101.5 108 0.26 0.17

123.8 9.05 96 26.75 7.06 50.4 7 16 18.26 56.9 19.86 91.4 77.4 2.3 3.48 2.13 0.69 0.31 860.5 0.6 192.1 2,378

1.27 638.5 50 9.43 8.8 0.85 0.46 0.43 4.37 8.74 6.91 498.6 3.49 48.5 0.58 3 8.23 3.61 2.62 2.9 0.83 809.5 104.7 111 0.29 0.174

1,557,210 37,700 2,275,570 93,500 414,000 1,002,650 3,200 1,900 76,400 1,530 27,300 396,640 186,000 406,000 3,000 35,000 47,000 90,000 45 89,000 380 35

6,541,000 206,540 2,864,800 2,092,100 1,100 90,000 530,000 50,000 340,000 5,704,400 3,200 159,670 11,000 1,790,200 9,000 14,000 1,702,600 13,399,000 1,818,000 6,000 178,000 401,920 170,000 1,460 150,000 160,000

8,239,810 131,644,825 140,695,540 20,006,223 9,674 76,500 235,650 21,500 1,485,690 49,679,818 22,112 79,052,596 38,150 86,871,610 5,220 41,240 14,050,605 48,509,600 4,775,990 17,400 147,740 323,510,620 17,661,270 159,420 41,400 27,410

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 0.53 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.53 0.53 21,000 11,460 ANCHOR LAND 4.6 6.67 6 6.67 6 6.67 700 4,267 AYALA LAND 28.3 28.4 28.8 28.9 28.2 28.4 11,302,500 320,856,270 AYALA LAND LOG 3.55 3.6 3.4 3.68 3.38 3.55 727,000 2,554,530 ALTUS PROP 12.7 14 12.6 12.72 12.6 12.7 22,300 283,070 ARANETA PROP 1.89 1.92 1.84 1.94 1.84 1.89 2,462,000 4,653,110 AREIT RT 36.9 37 37.5 38 36.8 37 520,500 19,364,420 A BROWN 0.75 0.79 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 10,000 7,500 CITYLAND DEVT 0.69 0.71 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 30,000 20,700 CROWN EQUITIES 0.084 0.087 0.085 0.087 0.084 0.084 16,900,000 1,435,880 CEB LANDMASTERS 2.62 2.65 2.63 2.65 2.62 2.65 38,000 99,740 CENTURY PROP 0.385 0.395 0.385 0.39 0.385 0.39 2,280,000 879,000 CITICORE RT 2.38 2.42 2.36 2.42 2.35 2.42 6,171,000 14,582,600 DOUBLEDRAGON 8.08 8.23 7.72 8.26 7.71 8.08 721,900 5,811,884 DDMP RT 1.48 1.49 1.47 1.5 1.47 1.49 888,000 1,321,160 DM WENCESLAO 6.78 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 18,500 125,800 EMPIRE EAST 0.204 0.215 0.209 0.209 0.204 0.204 150,000 30,660 EVER GOTESCO 0.28 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.275 0.285 2,120,000 598,550 FILINVEST RT 7.08 7.13 7.11 7.14 7.08 7.08 1,210,200 8,588,813 FILINVEST LAND 0.87 0.89 0.88 0.9 0.87 0.89 7,773,000 6,840,490 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.84 0.88 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.84 43,000 36,120 GOLDEN MV 616 675 615 675 615 675 110 71,840 PHIL INFRADEV 1.03 1.05 1.05 1.05 1 1.03 644,000 668,080 CITY AND LAND 0.75 0.79 0.81 0.81 0.73 0.8 169,000 130,940 MEGAWORLD 2.37 2.38 2.46 2.49 2.28 2.37 32,743,000 77,452,790 MRC ALLIED 0.202 0.203 0.202 0.208 0.202 0.203 10,760,000 2,228,070 MREIT RT 16 16.02 16.1 16.16 16.02 16.02 1,220,700 19,570,882 PHIL ESTATES 0.38 0.405 0.385 0.385 0.38 0.38 60,000 22,900 PRIMEX CORP 1.97 1.98 2.11 2.11 1.98 1.98 1,727,000 3,463,400 RL COMM RT 6.58 6.59 6.5 6.67 6.5 6.59 1,054,900 6,962,214 ROBINSONS LAND 17.08 17.5 17.5 17.52 17.02 17.5 2,746,700 47,835,924 PHIL REALTY 0.214 0.239 0.216 0.216 0.214 0.214 260,000 55,840 ROCKWELL 1.22 1.37 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 50,000 61,000 SHANG PROP 2.51 2.57 2.5 2.57 2.5 2.57 5,000 12,780 STA LUCIA LAND 2.86 3.05 2.9 3.07 2.86 3.05 21,000 62,870 SM PRIME HLDG 37.8 37.9 36.8 38 36.8 37.9 18,890,700 712,068,660 SOC RESOURCES 0.51 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.5 0.5 149,000 76,280 VISTAMALLS 3.3 3.62 3.25 3.69 3.18 3.69 70,000 238,890 SUNTRUST HOME 0.89 0.99 0.92 0.99 0.87 0.99 46,000 41,510 VISTA LAND 2.03 2.1 2.1 2.11 2.03 2.03 1,000,000 2,051,730 VISTAREIT RT 1.71 1.72 1.74 1.75 1.68 1.72 12,252,000 21,061,740

SERVICES ABS CBN 8.7 8.85 8.7 8.98 8.7 8.85 19,000 168,186 GMA NETWORK 12.26 12.28 12.1 12.4 12 12.28 1,408,300 17,228,578 MANILA BULLETIN 0.34 0.36 0.37 0.37 0.34 0.34 170,000 58,500 GLOBE TELECOM 2,238 2,240 2,280 2,318 2,234 2,240 54,555 122,955,890 PLDT 1,760 1,770 1,820 1,827 1,760 1,760 72,935 129,843,015 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.041 0.042 0.043 0.043 0.041 0.041 123,800,000 5,137,200 CONVERGE 21 21.05 22.05 22.2 20.7 21 11,493,300 244,936,705 DFNN INC 3.18 3.24 3.15 3.25 3.15 3.24 40,000 127,540 DITO CME HLDG 3.75 3.76 3.64 3.77 3.56 3.76 6,294,000 22,952,800 NOW CORP 1.27 1.28 1.24 1.3 1.24 1.27 436,000 552,190 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.28 0.29 0.275 0.285 0.275 0.28 3,370,000 951,750 2GO GROUP 6.81 7.2 7.2 7.2 6.8 6.81 4,200 30,042 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.5 13.84 13.88 13.88 13.4 13.4 2,200 30,056 CHELSEA 1.36 1.38 1.37 1.39 1.36 1.38 124,000 170,470 CEBU AIR 41.95 42 41.3 42.45 41.3 41.95 32,300 1,356,710 INTL CONTAINER 186.4 186.9 190 190 178.5 186.4 6,302,540 1,164,223,047 LBC EXPRESS 22.1 22.2 22.15 22.15 22.1 22.1 3,400 75,190 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.455 0.5 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.44 31,000 13,640 MACROASIA 4.19 4.25 4.23 4.37 4.15 4.25 836,000 3,514,960 METROALLIANCE A 0.91 0.98 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 60,000 54,600 METROALLIANCE B 0.9 1.34 0.93 0.93 0.9 0.9 32,000 29,250 PAL HLDG 5.51 6.04 5.88 5.9 5.5 5.51 141,300 807,098 HARBOR STAR 0.86 0.95 0.89 0.98 0.86 0.95 148,000 133,480 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.09 0.091 0.093 0.096 0.089 0.091 44,270,000 4,079,050 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.62 1.75 1.66 1.85 1.66 1.78 131,000 234,260 WATERFRONT 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 50,000 21,000 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.54 6.78 6.83 6.83 6.83 6.83 300 2,049 FAR EASTERN U 530 540 530 530 530 530 40 21,200 IPEOPLE 6.66 7.22 6.55 7.22 6.55 7.22 4,400 29,884 STI HLDG 0.325 0.35 0.335 0.345 0.32 0.345 300,000 99,600 BELLE CORP 1.23 1.24 1.22 1.24 1.22 1.23 188,000 230,350 BLOOMBERRY 5.9 5.94 5.98 6 5.88 5.9 3,630,500 21,548,763 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.38 1.4 1.35 1.38 1.34 1.38 25,000 33,950 LEISURE AND RES 1.37 1.38 1.37 1.37 1.36 1.37 257,000 351,710 PH RESORTS GRP 0.91 0.92 0.95 0.96 0.91 0.92 1,609,000 1,477,720 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.395 0.4 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.4 3,140,000 1,256,050 PHILWEB 4.8 4.81 4.39 4.81 4.37 4.8 15,738,000 73,134,450 ALLDAY 0.325 0.335 0.335 0.335 0.33 0.33 5,250,000 1,738,300 ALLHOME 4.55 4.62 4.55 4.7 4.53 4.62 1,545,000 7,132,950 METRO RETAIL 1.44 1.45 1.44 1.44 1.44 1.44 352,000 506,880 PUREGOLD 31.95 32 31 31.95 30.9 31.95 1,210,400 38,366,485 ROBINSONS RTL 49.65 49.95 49.7 49.8 49.5 49.65 425,500 21,127,710 PHIL SEVEN CORP 50.55 53 51 51 50.55 50.55 104,990 5,353,712 SSI GROUP 1.18 1.19 1.23 1.23 1.16 1.18 4,489,000 5,351,800 WILCON DEPOT 24.5 25.15 26.2 26.2 24.5 24.5 1,743,200 44,258,700 APC GROUP 0.201 0.214 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 470,000 98,700 EASYCALL 3.88 4.49 3.88 3.88 3.88 3.88 7,000 27,160 IPM HLDG 6.5 7 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7,000 45,500 MEDILINES 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.73 0.66 0.67 5,350,000 3,722,050 PAXYS 1.81 1.98 1.81 1.81 1.81 1.81 1,000 1,810 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.46 0.47 0.455 0.47 0.45 0.46 1,210,000 558,950

MINING & OIL ATOK 6.39 6.6 6.8 6.9 6.02 6.6 148,800 931,696 APEX MINING 1.55 1.56 1.53 1.55 1.51 1.55 1,099,000 1,695,560 ATLAS MINING 5.75 5.77 5.8 5.83 5.75 5.75 108,600 626,412 BENGUET A 6.68 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.68 6.68 21,700 145,206 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.216 0.228 0.229 0.238 0.228 0.228 250,000 57,220 CENTURY PEAK 2.65 2.75 2.74 2.75 2.74 2.75 32,000 87,700 DIZON MINES 3.83 4.24 3.81 3.81 3.8 3.8 5,000 19,030 FERRONICKEL 2.38 2.4 2.35 2.44 2.35 2.38 534,000 1,269,770 GEOGRACE 0.176 0.194 0.176 0.176 0.176 0.176 200,000 35,200 LEPANTO A 0.138 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.139 0.139 7,240,000 1,011,780 LEPANTO B 0.138 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.138 0.138 2,100,000 293,800 MANILA MINING A 0.0094 0.0098 0.0097 0.0098 0.0095 0.0097 34,000,000 326,300 MANILA MINING B 0.0094 0.011 0.0093 0.0093 0.0092 0.0092 4,000,000 37,100 MARCVENTURES 1.64 1.67 1.72 1.72 1.64 1.64 4,479,000 7,379,040 NIHAO 0.96 0.99 0.94 0.99 0.94 0.99 120,000 116,900 NICKEL ASIA 6.75 6.77 6.9 6.91 6.7 6.75 1,335,000 9,063,575 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.7 0.71 0.7 0.71 0.7 0.71 261,000 183,750 PX MINING 4.26 4.33 4.36 4.36 4.25 4.26 291,000 1,240,080 SEMIRARA MINING 34.9 34.95 34.6 35.05 34.4 34.95 3,126,900 108,765,215 UNITED PARAGON 0.006 0.0065 0.0061 0.0061 0.006 0.006 8,000,000 48,400 ACE ENEXOR 8.3 8.4 8.65 8.65 8.3 8.4 203,700 1,724,726 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 17,300,000 189,000 PHILODRILL 0.0088 0.009 0.009 0.0091 0.0089 0.0089 17,000,000 152,100 PXP ENERGY 4.5 4.78 4.57 4.84 4.45 4.5 408,000 1,878,260

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 98.7 99.5 98.5 98.5 98.5 98.5 4,000 394,000 AC PREF B1 500.5 501.5 500.5 501 500.5 501 8,000 4,007,500 ALCO PREF C 100.8 108.3 105 105 105 105 100 10,500 ALCO PREF D 505 508 505 505 505 505 190 95,950 AC PREF B2R 500 502 502 502 502 502 2,000 1,004,000 BRN PREF A 104.5 107.5 104.6 107.8 104.5 104.5 1,500 158,080 CEB PREF 42 43 42 42 42 42 2,200 92,400 CPG PREF A 101 102 102 102 102 102 10,090 1,029,180 DD PREF 98 99 99.5 99.5 99.45 99.45 110 10,944.50 EEI PREF B 104.3 106 104.5 106 104.5 106 5,050 527,800 GTCAP PREF B 1,020 1,030 1,022 1,022 1,018 1,020 1,300 1,326,220 MWIDE PREF 2A 94 98.85 93.4 93.4 93.4 93.4 10 934 MWIDE PREF 2B 95.5 100.1 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 1,000 99,500 MWIDE PREF 4 97 99.6 97.5 99.6 97 99.6 840 81,680 PNX PREF 3B 99 100.5 100.9 100.9 100.9 100.9 20 2,018 PNX PREF 4 975 980 978 980 978 980 120 117,560 PCOR PREF 3A 1,046 1,051 1,051 1,051 1,046 1,046 1,935 2,033,510 PCOR PREF 3B 1,070 1,082 1,082 1,082 1,082 1,082 5 5,410 SMC PREF 2H 75.5 76.2 76.2 76.2 76.2 76.2 50 3,810 SMC PREF 2J 74 75.8 76 76 76 76 7,000 532,000 SMC PREF 2K 72.5 74 74.05 74.05 74 74 400 29,602.50 TECH PREF B2C 51.5 55 54.95 55 54.95 55 1,000 54,975 TECH PREF B2D 54.1 54.5 54.5 54.5 54.5 54.5 189,700 10,338,650

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 8.23 9 8.23 9 8.23 9 61,700 554,376 GMA HLDG PDR 11.76 11.92 11.76 11.92 11.76 11.92 156,300 1,853,344

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.53 0.51 0.52 209,000 108,130

620,830 -36,654,860 18,234,830 -8,125,072 -942,940 26,797,344 35,605,652 -27,920 16,024,905 6,000 -6,283,579 -20,327,000 121,233,035 -344,245 -179,514,485 -309,030 -80,900 -130,985 -389,840 107,733 -303,890 -41,854 -6,339,430 5,320 -5,923,380 -363,596.00 15,200 1,124,026 -9,989,294 344,588,670.00 -31,020 -1,423,120 -69,120 -51,465,280 -35,658,405 -61,203,615 650,000 -16,470 -105,450.00 -306,830 -383,023,827 145,730 240,710 7,920 -2,715,945 -876,620 -2,322,880 -503,770 -17,095,550 5,274,100 -126,203.50 2,364,140 -25,346,235 -28,600 -72,190 -59,871.00 87,700 -15,440 -26,400 3,300 2,767,565 8,520 25,315,475 12,200 -346,580 -43,120 -323,950 36,610 -419,650

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES CTS GLOBAL HAUS TALK ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MERRYMART XURPAS

0.89 0.97 0.75 2.26 1.29 0.305

0.91 0.99 0.78 3.1 1.3 0.325

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

98.1

99

0.89 1 0.79 2.58 1.32 0.305

0.93 1 0.81 3.1 1.37 0.305

0.88 0.97 0.75 2.25 1.28 0.305

0.91 1 0.78 3.1 1.29 0.305

6,404,000 187,000 590,000 10,000 1,403,000 650,000

5,763,410 184,950 452,470 24,430 1,835,270 198,250

() -54,096 44,870 36,830 -18,000 6,750 44,340 -

98.2 99 98.1 98.1 33,460 3,296,238.50 791,536

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Alliance Global sets budget for capex program this year

A

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

lliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding firm of the businesses of Andrew Tan, said it is allocating P60 billion for capital expenditures this year, some 33 percent higher than the previous year.

The bulk of the capex of about P50 billion is allocated for property developer Megaworld Corp., which it will use to carry out its investment activities.

The company’s real estate arm plans to offer to the market 14 new projects this year valued at P30 billion. The company also intends to launch about four townships during the year, covering some 500 hectares of land in Metro Manila, Calabarzon

and Mindanao, to provide the fresh source of revenue for the company.

“We are a conglomerate in motion.

We believe that with the sectors we are in, we will very much benefit from pent-up spending resulting from the further reopening of the economy,” company CEO Kevin Andrew L. Tan said.

Another P4 billion will be allocated for Travellers International’s ongoing expansion projects, mainly

in leisure and entertainment as eased quarantine restrictions brought its gross gaming revenues to a 26 percent year-on-year increase, propelled by its reinvigorated VIP business.

The entire Newport City complex is now open to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions activities, while its world-renowned hotels such as Marriott Manila, Sheraton Manila, Hilton Manila, and Hotel Okura Manila, accept more visitors.

Meanwhile, around P3 billion will be set aside for Emperador’s ongoing expansion projects overseas. Since the pandemic, Emperador continued to grow from strength to strength, driven by its international operations through Whyte and Mackay for whisky, and Bodegas Fundador for brandy.

Last year, the group’s spirits subsidiary registered another record revenue of P55.9 billion and a profit of P10 billion as its premium whisky and brandy products gained fur-

ther recognition in various markets around the globe.

Some P3 billion will be spent by Golden Arches Development Corp., the operator of the McDonald’s franchise in the country and is majority owned by the George Yang Group.

The company said is looking to further expand its store network as it plans to launch 45 stores this year, after opening 36 new stores in 2021.

“Our group anchored itself on stability and recovery over the last two years of grappling with the impact of the pandemic. We have since focused on renewal and revitalization—both pointing to our upbeat, more confident view of the future. This shift in mindset would not have been possible without the insights and innovations derived from such challenging times, and the affirmation that our businesses continued to stand on strong ground,” Tan said.

FGEN: Gas project encounters delays F GEN LNG Corp. (FGEN LNG), a subsidiary of First Gen Corp., is moving the target completion of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project after it encountered delays.

The company has asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to extend the validity of its Permit to Construct, Expand, Rehabilitate and Modify (PCERM) for its Interim Offshore LNG Terminal from September 23, 2022 to March 2023.

“The request is due to projected delay in the completion of the project caused by events and circumstances not within the reasonable control of FGEN LNG,” it said.

Separately, FGEN LNG and its Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) provider, BW FSRU IV Pte Ltd (BW), have agreed to move the delivery of the FSRU BW Paris from the first quarter of 2023 to the end of the second quarter or early third quarter of the same year.

FGEN LNG is developing the Interim Offshore LNG Terminal to accelerate its ability to introduce LNG to the Philippines, to serve the natural gas requirements

of existing and future gas-fired power plants of third parties and FGEN LNG affiliates.

“FGEN LNG believes the Project will play a critical role in ensuring the energy security of the Luzon Grid and the Philippines, particularly as the indigenous Malampaya natural gas resource is expected to decline in the next few years,” it said.

The gas facility, in fact, is already experiencing restricted output since last year.

First Gen has earmarked a capital expenditure (capex) of around $550 million this year. Of which, $266 million will be allocated for Energy Development Corp.’s “growth initiatives, drilling programs and upgrades.”

About $135 million of this year’s capex is needed to finish its LNG terminal.

First Gen has also set aside about $70 million for its Aya PumpedStorage project; about $50 million is for the pre-development work on Santa Maria gas plant; $30 million for maintenance of its other gas plants. Lenie Lectura

San Miguel investors urged to push for RE

E

xpressing concern over the environmental impact of gas use for power production, three Catholic bishops of Caritas Philippines urged San Miguel Corp.

(SMC) shareholders to junk gas investments and push for renewables instead.

Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin M. Bagaforo, Marbel Bishop Cerilo U. Casicas and Butuan Bishop Cosme R. Almedilla made the appeal in a letter they sent to SMC stockholders last Tuesday during the company’s scheduled annual stockholders meeting.

In their joint letter, the prelates claimed that gas investments are an attempt by “fossil fuel proponents” to delay the mainstreaming of renewable energy (RE) sources, such as solar and wind.

“SMC’s leadership would be keen to tell you that these projects are profitable, a bridge to both an energy transition and to bring in profit in-

creases quarter by quarter,” Caritas Philippines said.

The social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), however, called on SMC shareholders to consider the risks involved in the gas market.

“We invite you to examine how accurate such profitability projections are, considering the volatilities experienced by the gas industry from the Russia-Ukraine war,” Caritas Philippines said.

It also raised concern on the pollution produced by gas use worldwide.

“We are in the middle of a climate emergency. We need to restrict the increase in global temperatures to no more than 1.5 (degrees) Celsius to prevent a global catastrophe. This means that we must restrict the emission of greenhouse gases radically everywhere possible,” Caritas Philippines said. Samuel P. Medenilla

mutual funds

June 16, 2022

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

per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 204.06 -8.83% -8.65% -5.92% -12.45% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3407 -4.06% -6.36% -3.23% -19.44% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8082 -8.86% -12.28% -8.41% -13.27% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7037 -10.65% -9.6% n.a.

-6.98% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6487 -11.79% -9.91% n.a.

-15.85% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.5995 -6.38% -6.13% -3.59% -11.25% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.6812 -4.73% -8.62% -6.54% -13.03% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 77.3 -21.83% -14.14% n.a.

-18.14% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 41.7759 -9.06% -7.73% -4.56% -13.2% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 437.65 -9.09% -7.44% -4.46% -12.59% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.2574 8.86% -2.21% -0.91% -7.29% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 31.9623 -7% -6.81% -3.47% -12.66% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8247 -7.97% -8.17% n.a.

-12.4% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.3249 -8.1% -7.06% -3.94% -12.82% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 720.35 -8.6% -7.13% -4.01% -13.05% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6478 -9.39% -11.5% -6.62% -13.93% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2426 -8.87% -9.72% -5.31% -14.11% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8201 -8.91% -7.43% -4.26% -13.17% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.0308 -7.68% -7.18% -3.14% -11.83% Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a 1.0374 -4.03% n.a. n.a.

-10.78% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 877.72 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Exchange Traded Fund (shares) First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 97.1013 -8.21% -6.92% -3.62% -12.9% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.9374 -26.61% -1.34% -1.01% -16.79% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.4453 -19.05% 4.18% 4.48% -21.72% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5435 -8.68% -4.19% -2.97% -8.78% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0963 -7.26% -3.61% -2.48% -8.12% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4953 -4.57% -2.37% -1.04% -7.27% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.1928 -1.53% n.a. n.a.

-7.75% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8687 -4.85% -1.36% -0.51% -7.34% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4226 -7.6% -3.11% -1.85% -9.1% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.3269 -7.76% -3.28% -1.93% -9.02% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9586 -5.45% -3.31% -1.93% -7.67% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2843 -7.13% -5.69% -2.89% -9.95% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8512 -4.54% -5.45% -2.52% -10.79% Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a 0.8913 -10.07% -4.56% n.a.

-9.95% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a 0.8202 -10.34% -7.16% n.a.

-13.16% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a 0.8075 -10.6% -7.55% n.a.

-13.53% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03291 -13.85% -3.92% -1.71% -13.26% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $0.9296 -19.06% -1.47% -0.93% -12.89% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.9159 -17.03% 1.86% 2.7% -18.45% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,2 $1.005 -16.08% -1.63% -0.15% -16.15% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 371.98 0.02% 2.08% 2.21% -0.62% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.8897 -1.89% -0.01% 0.05% 0.27% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2266 -0.02% 1.95% 3.32% -0.54% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.1706 -3.94% -0.11% 0.59% -3.59% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.3941 -1.91% 1.3% 1.55% -1.31% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.1851 -6.92% 0.34% 0.52% -4.79% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.3082 -1.28% 2.62% 2.62% -0.83% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.8556 -2.95% 1.71% 2.01% -2.78% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0068 -2.8% 2.43% 1.63% -2.08% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1327 -2.45% 2.11% 2.58% -1.72% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.6931 -3.12% 1.15% 1.86% -2.17% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $481.22 -0.94% 1.73% 1.78% -1.71% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є211.24 -4.05% -0.84% -0.06% -3.99% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.0658 -10.3% -3.3% -1.02% -11.47% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0243 -6.9% -1.59% -0.49% -6.54% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $0.8956 -15.12% -6.06% -3.69% -12.44% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.2066 -12.03% -1.68% -0.24% -11.94% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0608048 -3.43% 1.07% 1.25% -2.39% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $2.7276 -14.33% -3.68% -1.93% -14.66% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 131.93 1.34% 2.3% 2.51% 0.56% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0632 1.02% 1.6% n.a.

0.52% Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3249 1.54% 2.18% 2.48% 0.71% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0635 0.58% 1.17% n.a.

0.27% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a 42.5305 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a 1.1591 -7.78% n.a. n.a.

-16.18% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a $0.8189 -18.11% n.a. n.a.

-15.58% 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 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

2 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last November 25, 2021.

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Call to suspend PhilHealth’s premium hike gains support

A

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

N assistant minority leader on Thursday backed the call of teachers to suspend the premium contribution hike of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France L. Castro said the premium hike already disrupted teachers’ payment of loans and other bills with their measly salaries.

“We strongly urge the suspension of the PhilHealth premium hike amid the soaring prices of basic goods, commodities and services,” Castro said. “The hike has already caused the failure of payment of teachers’ loans with their measly salaries barely suf-

ficient for their daily needs following the implementation of the premium hike last June 15.”

According to the solon, the Makabayan bloc filed House Joint Resolution 34 in January 2021 mandating the immediate suspension of the increase in the PhilHealth premium rate amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resolution remained pending in the Committee on Health in the last Congress, Castro said.

The teacher-solon said the incoming 19th Congress should find the urgency and prioritize the immediate suspension of the increase in PhilHealth’s premium rate.

“Government must prioritize wage hikes for our workers instead of imposing increases in contributions, especially in agencies with massive corruption issues,” Castro said.

She urges Congress to “urgently hear House Joint Resolution 34 filed by the Makabayan bloc, seeking to defer the looming PhilHealth premium hike amid massive price hikes and glaring unresolved issues in the PhilHealth.”

Increase is vital

EARLIER, PhilHealth told lawmakers that this increase is “vital” in the attainment of the goals of Universal Health Care (UHC) Act. The premium increase was introduced this year through PhilHealth

Advisory 2022-0010 as authorized

by Section 10 of Republic Act 11223 and with the support of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The PhilHealth has said it is dutybound to collect the higher premium rate of 4 percent this year since Congress has yet to pass a new law allowing the deferment of scheduled premium adjustment in the UHC Act. Under the UHC law, premium rates should gradually increase starting from 2.75 percent in 2019 until it reaches 5 percent for both 2024 and 2025. The premium rate for this year should be at 4 percent, with the income floor fixed at P10,000 and the income ceiling set at P80,000.

PhilHealth last year agreed to postpone the premium hike to 3.5 percent from 3 percent in 2020 under an “interim arrangement” that will be good only until Congress passes a new law allowing for the deferment.

GSIS total loans reached ₧221B

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

T

HE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced it disbursed a total of P221 billion in loans in the past 16 months and 15 days ending May 15.

The state-run pension fund manager revealed in a statement issued last Thursday that the bulk of the total amount disbursed from January last year to May 15 this year was multipurpose loans hitting P165 billion and owed by more than 468,000 borrowers.

The GSIS explained multipurpose loans were extended to active members who have reached their borrowing limit and were not able to pay their loans. It consolidates members’ existing loans and waives surcharges on in-default loan accounts.

IPOPHL gets highest COA mark for 9 yrs straight

T

HE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has received the highest mark anew from the Commission on Audit (COA).

“As a self-sustaining agency, it is paramount for IPOPHL to comply with the law in managing its funds. Our compliance ensures that we utilize them properly to upgrade our services and fulfill our mandate of promoting intellectual property for the progress of the country’s innovative and creative sectors,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said.

IPOPHL has been receiving an “unqualified or unmodified opinion” from COA for nine consecutive years or nearly a decade now. An unqualified or unmodified opinion is the best auditing mark given to offices with financial statements that are free from “material misstatements” whether due to fraud or error.

The IPOPHL chief added: “Obtaining the highest COA mark is not an easy feat due to the exacting standards that they have to observe in each financial transaction.”

But he noted that having pulled through with a nine-year streak all the more proves IPOPHL’s commitment to clean governance and quality public service. Andrea San Juan

In effect, these members were allowed to borrow to pay for debt they were unable to pay.

The GSIS launched in April of this year an “enhanced version” of its multi-purpose loan facility it calls “MPL Plus.” Under this version, members may apply for up to 14 times their basic monthly salary, but not to exceed P5 million, depending on their premium payments. The loan carries an interest rate of 7 percent and its term has been extended to 10 years.

Apart from the multi-purpose loan, the GSIS said it also released P27.8 billion through its financial assistance program to help members settle their outstanding loan balance with other lending institutions with reduced interest rate and longer payment term.

The GSIS said it also released P8.8 billion in regular policy loans and

P5.519 billion in emergency loans in the past 16 months and 15 days ending May 15.

The GSIS said about P7.6 billion were released under a loan program wherein members may allowed to borrow P30,000 to buy a computer unit for work-from-home arrangement or online classes. The loan is payable in three years with 6-percent interest per annum. In effect, about 253,333 borrowed from this facility.

This year, the GSIS extended the program implementation for another three months or until June this year to give more time for the 1.56 million qualified members to avail of the loan.

GSIS President and General Manager Rolando L. Macasaet encouraged their members and pensioners to take advantage of the agency’s loan programs.

“By doing so, they are also helping

GSIS sustain its actuarial life and enable us to pay our members and pensioners their benefits as and when they fall due,” Macasaet was quoted in a statement as saying.

Other loans released by the GSIS during the period included the following: enhanced pension loan (P4.6 billion); pensioners’ emergency loan (P204 million); and, educational program (P175 million).

Inactive members were also given the chance to restructure their loans through the agency’s debt restructuring and repayment program wherein a total of P203 million was released to nearly 1,500.

The agency explained this is a onetime condonation and restructuring program for inactive GSIS members with outstanding loans and members who are already out of government service and deemed “financiallyincapable.”

‘5C’ aspirational traits for an association leader Association World Octavio Peralta

M

Y friend, Lowell Aplebaum, is an avid reader of any publication that covers topics on strategy, leadership and management. He is the founder and CEO of the US-based Vista Cova, a group of expert facilitators who support strategic planning, member engagement and governance design for associations.

One of Lowell’s sharing in LinkedIn was an article by Melanie Fine that came out on Forbes magazine.

Entitled “What Leadership Will Look in a Post-Pandemic World,” the article lists ten traits that ten entrepreneurs said successful leaders should possess. All are relevant to association leaders but I have picked and adapted only five to come up with “5C” traits that post-pandemic association leaders may consider emulating: 1. Communicator: “Communication is the key pillar to success in most aspects of our lives,” says Greg Moser, president of The Moser Group, an investment firm. “From first impressions to personal relationships, good communication leads to business success and poor communication leads to business failure.”

An association leader needs to develop, among others, a good communication plan to relate with its board, staff, members and volunteers. This defines who should be given specific information, when the information should be delivered and what communication channels to use to deliver it.

2. Collaborator: “Post-Covid leadership is collaborative and is based on setting examples and guidance rather than enforcing rules,” says Mitch Ngo of Golden Ark, a crypto token firm.

The pandemic has strengthened an association leader’s resolve to undertake collaboration among associations, as well as between associations and likeminded organizations, with great results and impacts such as in sharing knowledge and expertise, in co-creating new initiatives and in new ways of delivering services to members.

3. Customer-centered: “Knowing our target audience and industry trends is the essential element to success,” says Al Freshko the Creative Art Director for Elemonkey, the clothing division of Golden Ark. The main customers of an association are its members. Providing solutions, building capacities, getting members together and representing them in advocacy campaigns are critical services an association leader has to deliver with clear focus and results.

4. Curious: “Asking questions and learning about your target cus-

tomer is one of the key ways to generate leads,” says Joey Golliver, CEO of PowderX. We are blessed with two ears and only one mouth for a reason—it’s to listen more than we speak.”

A good starting point for an association leader is to engage with members, i.e., to listen and be curious of what they expect and need from you. Associations that thrive use curiosity to innovate and be relevant to its members.

5. Credible: “Leadership should be driven by high integrity, transparency and a long-term vision that steers your industry towards positive social and environmental impact,” says Hussein Abu Hassan, cofounder and president of HIT Holdings.

“In 2022, as more people and companies are using social media to try to get the same pool of clients, having an authentic message, authentic personality and authentic results, will keep your clients coming back to you for years to come,” says Vito Glazers.

Integrity and honesty are traits that lead to credibility and credibility is an association leader’s passport to success.

Octavio Peralta is currently the executive director of the Global Compact Network Philippines and founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives, the “association of associations.”

E-mail: bobby@pcaae.org.

Friday, June 17, 2022 B3

Insular Life plans to hire 4k agents I

NSULAR Life Assurance Co. Ltd. announced it aims to double the number of its agents to 8,000 this year as it aims to attract new clients and meet the growing demand for life insurance products.

Insular Life President and CEO Raoul Antonio E. Littaua said in a news briefing the Covid-19 pandemic heightened awareness on insurance products, which they expect will turn into a “higher demand for both life and health protection products.”

“We need to really expand more aggressively in the agency channel because you will see a direct relation between new business-premium income growth and the growth of your agency channel,” Littaua told reporters last Thursday.

Littaua revealed that they currently have 4,000 agents but he said they needed to expand more. Hence, the insurer launched a recruitment campaign the firm calls it the “InLife Agency Model,” or “I AM” to encourage more Filipinos to pursue the financial advisor career.

Under the new model, the insurer will be offering the “most attractive commission” and a flexible agency structure to empower financial advisors to grow their insurance business based on their desired career path as it aims to target young women professionals, members of the Generation Y (Millennials) and Generation Z, high net-worth individuals and returning overseas Filipinos to join the life insurance business.

Littaua promised these financial advisors will enjoy a one-of-akind compensation package in the industry.

“They [would be] provided with the blueprint to succeed in the business through our industry-leading in-house learning academy,” he added. “They are also enabled with the latest digital end-to-end sales tools and are afforded with foreign travel opportunities as part of our comprehensive agency recognition program.”

The insurer said its model also features a customizable life insurance product with investment component to provide higher protection benefit equivalent to a minimum of ten-

times the annual regular premium or the policy’s fund value, whichever is higher.

Called “Wealth Assure Plus,” this product provides faster fund growth because of its low insurance cost, the insurance firm’s documents explained. At the same time, it is anchored on different investment outlets locally and globally.

This product may be personalized through attachment of various needed benefits, set-up of preferred payment and payout options, and access to fund selection to suit different risk appetites and investment horizons, the insurer said.

Insular Life placed 12th among life insurance companies last year after recording P1.42 billion in total New Business Annual Premium Equivalent (NBAPE), the unaudited quarterly reports submitted to the Insurance Commission (IC) revealed.

A life insurer’s NBAPE is computed by obtaining the sum of the value of first-year premiums from products newly sold in a specific year (or the initial annualized premium) and 10 percent of single premiums written.

According to the IC, it adopted NBAPE as an international standard to more accurately measure the life insurance industry’s sales performance.

Meanwhile, Insular Life also reported that Covid-19-related death claims in the first quarter this year declined by 7 percent to P94.4 million compared to the same period in 2021.

The insurer said individual death claims for the first three months of the year accounted for P206.5 million for 543 policies, of which 229 were Covid-19 related.

“Even as Covid-19 peaked in January due to infections brought about by the Omicron strain, we recorded fewer Covid-related death claims,” Littaua said. “However, we remain vigilant and observe all safety protocols but, at the same time, we remain hopeful that things will get better.”

The life insurer said it paid a total of P682 million individual claims in the first quarter of the year, mostly coming from maturity benefits and anticipated endowments. Bernadette D. Nicolas

SBC bares corporate, CSR actions

S

ECURITY Bank Corp. (SBC) announced through separate statements a corporate decision and a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) program by its CSR arm Security Bank Foundation Inc. (SBFI).

The lender said it has hired actor and model Solenn Heussaff as its brand ambassador, joining her brother Erwan.

“With Solenn taking on more roles, including businesswoman, making the most out of her time and being smart about her priorities and finances are a must,” the lender said.

“I’ve seen how he’s managed his personal and business banking needs with them,” she was quoted in a statement as saying. “Erwan’s trust in Security Bank has helped him thrive and venture into other projects.” SBC said Ms. Heussaff “became a client herself after seeing her brother’s decade-long relationship with the bank.”

The bank added that “the siblings are multi-hyphenates in their own ways, but parenting is something they’re experiencing together, both having two-year-olds.”

“Having new responsibilities and challenges means shifting the way they spend and save,” it added.

SBC cited as example that Ms. Heussaff calculates her grocery purchases, which helps her validate the importance of a big-ticket item purchase.

“For Erwan, sticking to lists and budgets works best,” the bank said.

“I’ve always been financially independent. Now it’s just a matter of managing money better with a kid around, a household to maintain, and

This undated photo courtesy of Security Bank Corp. (SBC) shows Solenn Heussaff with brother Erwan. SBC said it has hired the siblings as brand ambassadors. Security Bank Corp.

businesses to run—all while enjoying life,” Ms. Heussaff said.

To kick off their joint campaign for the bank, “the siblings will go up against each other on more fun challenges as they share more of their budgeting and spending hacks.”

Scholarship program MEANWHILE, SBC said its CSR arm is currently accepting scholarship applications for Academic Year 2022-2023.

The lender said its scholarship program provides educational assistance to underprivileged and deserving students enrolled in eight partner schools in Metro Manila: Ateneo de Manila University; Chiang Kai Shek College; De La Salle University-Manila; Far Eastern University-Manila; Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila; Polytechnic University of the Philippines; University of the Philippines-Diliman; and, University of Santo Tomas.

B4

Friday, June 17, 2022 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Relationships BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

❶ TENDER and

juicy lamb ribs in Merlot sauce. PHOTOS

By Eugenia Last

BY STELLA ARNALDO

❷

THE warm and inviting interiors of Amare by Chef Chris.

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Venus Williams, 42; Will Forte, 52; Greg Kinnear, 59; Barry Manilow, 79.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Think matters through, and plan your year based on your needs. You’ll develop a strategy that makes what you want to achieve doable.

Expand as you go instead of trying to do everything at once. Take care of tedious details yourself so you don’t fall behind. If you count on others or expect everything to fall into place, disappointment will follow. Your numbers are 8, 14, 23, 25, 31, 37, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Call those you can count on for help. Don’t limit what you can do because you lack experience. Do your research, and you’ll figure out how to reach your objective. Be confident, ask questions and do your best. HHHH

❶

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ve got time.

Relax, go over every detail and leave nothing unfinished or open to criticism. Hide your disappointment if things don’t unfold the way you want.

Work with what you have, and don’t take unnecessary risks. HH

❷

Amare is love CHEF Kristine Lou Baltazar now at the helm of the popular Italian restaurant in Clark.

R

IGHT before the Philippines-wide Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, I received news about the passing of our chef-friend, Chris Locher. While I knew he had been ill for some time, I thought he was still in his element running a new restaurant, Amare by Chef Chris, at the Clark Freeport. I deeply regretted not being able to return for another meal after my first visit in December 2015.

Chef Chris would sometimes chide me that I had forgotten all about him. As it always is, life just happened and I was unable to hop quickly in a car to motor down with friends to Pampanga. We lost touch when he quit Facebook to keep him free of mental stress, as he was undergoing more treatments after his illness returned, and complementing it with a healthier diet.

I first met Chef Chris in February 2007, when the 501 gang and I went to the Clark Freeport for a weekend of card games and also a late joint birthday celebration, where our hosts introduced us to some of the popular restaurants in the area.

The Swiss-born Chef Chris was still overseeing C’Italian Dining then, just located outside the perimeter of the freeport, and introduced us to his

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Consider options, and remind people to honor their promises. Be the one to finish what you start. Enhance your chance to be victorious by staying on top of what’s possible. Rule out nothing, and do your best to stay on track. HHHHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Do what comes naturally. Align yourself with people and positions that intrigue you. You’ll figure out how to utilize what you have to offer in effective and diverse ways. You’ll make headway by paying attention to contracts, investments and health matters. HHH

famous panizza, a super-thin crust rectangular pizza with various delicious toppings, and sliced diagonally.

It’s a convenient way of eating the pizza, which you could just roll up and pop into your mouth. That time, Chef Chris absolutely thumbed down the idea of expanding to Manila.

But as fate would have it, Chef Chris began rolling out his sumptuous pizzas and pastas at The Oasis Hotel in Paco Park, serving up lamb ribs and pavlova at Recess along Jupiter St., and, for a time, consulting for the F&B department at The Tower Club. I would snort in laughter and poke fun at him for eventually eating his words about expanding to Manila.

But, oh, we were so blessed with his food.

Chef Chris created dishes inspired by his Italian grandmother and made sure these were served generously, family-style, which was common among Filipino and Italian households. A meal at any of his restaurants would often provoke good-natured life discussions and boisterous laughter in between forkfuls of comfort food and drink.

I somehow stumbled on a Facebook post that showed Amare was still open, as I was preparing for a recent trip to Clark. I immediately messaged the restaurant to ask who was running the kitchen, and found out to my delight that Chef Chris’s significant other—Kristine Lou Baltazar—had taken over.

Chef Tin is an incredibly talented pastry chef—her lemon cheesecake is to die for!—and when I met her for the first time at their Makati restaurant, Chef Chris was already undergoing chemo treatment for a brain tumor. I knew the supercharged drug treatment would eventually result in the loss of one’s palate.

When I asked about it, he said it was Chef Tin who was helping taste the dishes, and ensure they are exactly the same way as he had prepared them.

The thing about Chef Chris, according to Chef

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Avoid letting anyone draw you into something unsettling.

Don’t make a change for the wrong reason, especially to please someone else. Patience will pay off, and speaking from the heart will bring you closer to someone who has something to offer. HHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Look inward, assess your situation and the changes you want to make, and prioritize what’s most important to you. Don’t feel obligated to be a follower when taking the road less traveled will help you establish yourself as a leader. HHH

Tin, is that he had prepared and trained his kitchen staff well. Thus, when he passed, it was as if nothing changed except the chef-patron’s absence in the kitchen. Royce Hotel, where Amare is located, wanted to keep the restaurant open and offered Chef Tin to run it.

To her credit, Chef Tin has been behind the most popular flavors of the rollizas (yes, the former panizza, which they cannot use because it was apparently trademarked by C’s owner), so Amare’s menu is as much her own.

My food buddy Joyce and I started out with a classic Caesar salad to give us the health profile in what was to be a dinner of major carbs. We were

Continued on B5

Father’s Day treat for dads everywhere AS a treat to all dads, popular restaurant brand Mang Inasal treats all dads with unlimited rice on Father’s Day. “Dads are among Mang Inasal’s most loyal customers and their energy to support and delight their families deserves no less,” said Mang Inasal Business Unit head Mike V. Castro. “And this Father’s Day, we want them to just sit back, relax and celebrate with their families’ love and their unlimited serving of rice for free.”

Mang Inasal’s Father’s Day free unlimited rice treat will be available at all Mang Inasal stores nationwide from June 17 to 19. This exclusive in-store promo

can be enjoyed for every purchase of Mang Inasal’s Father’s Day treat which includes a Mang Inasal Pork Sisig meal with Small Drink, and your choice of Extra Creamy Halo-Halo or Crema de Leche Halo-Halo.

Aside from the free unlimited rice dine-in treat, red-letter day celebration extends the fun at home with an exclusive Dad’s Day Blowout Promo for customers who will order via the Mang Inasal delivery app or www.manginasaldelivery.com.ph from June 17 to 19. Customers can enjoy Pork BBQ Family Size with Peanut Sauce at a discounted price with savings up to P97.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Plan to travel, look for something entertaining and socialize with people you find mentally stimulating. What you learn while interacting with people from different walks of life will help you redesign how you move forward.

Protect your health and financial well-being. HHHHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Handle disagreements cautiously. Listen carefully and reserve judgment until you have all the pertinent facts. Take a positive approach to relationships and how you deal with people who are different from you. Let the uniqueness of others shape what’s to come. HH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Put your heart into finishing what you start. Dedication and discipline will win out when it comes to outmaneuvering anyone who tries to compete with you.

Use your resources wisely, and be careful when dealing with situations that pose health risks. HHHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Monitor what’s being said and done. Stick to the facts, and don’t tolerate exaggeration or aggression. Concentrate on what and who matter to you, and change only what will improve your life substantially. Romance is favored and will enhance your life. HHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Be a witness, not a participant. Protect against loss, illness or misguided individuals trying to tamper with your life. Be true to yourself and your dreams, hopes and wishes. Focus on home improvement and expanding your interests. HHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Choose your words carefully. Leave nothing to chance, and don’t risk your reputation or position. Focus on what matters to you most. Sort out any lingering problems that need to be addressed before moving forward with your plans. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are dedicated, loyal and steadfast.

You are compassionate and friendly.

‘what the dickens?’ BY ADAM H. MACK AND AMANDA RAFKIN The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Letters on some fast-food buckets 4 Certain stock holders?

10 Main M.D. 13 Timeline sections 15 Approach slowly 16 Hubbub 17 Transferred nest egg 19 Old tape player 20 Shelter made of snow 21 Some people with he/him pronouns 22 Symbol of a bad rating on Rotten Tomatoes 24 Target, like a wide receiver 27 Civil rights activist Parks 28 Pal 31 High-ranking 33 Picked-out hairstyle 35 Person giving a Lab report?

36 Scottish girl 37 Soccer player who can use their hands 39 Contact for contacts 42 Flaky mineral 43 Transcript fig.

45 46 50 51 52 54 56 57 61 62

Task list heading Portable wrinkle removers “___ with the program!”

Feature of a bagel or donut Strands at a chalet Kate of Grey’s Anatomy Fish in fish-and-chips Accomplishments Letters on an Aquafresh tube Dickens boy who asked for more, and what’s found within 17-, 31- and 46-Across 65 Salted part of a margarita glass 66 Genre for The Onion 67 Brief cause for celebration 68 Gossip that can be “spilled” 69 Nevertheless 70 “___ you kidding?”

DOWN 1 Actress Russell 2 Kermit, e.g.

3 Ring up 4 Tyler of Armageddon 5 Sea ___ (jellyfish relative) 6 “Whatever, I give up!”

7 8 9 10 11 12 14 18 23 25 26 28 29 30 32 34 38 40 41 43 44 46

Japan’s native belief system Your and my Places to get massages Salivating animal in a famous psychology experiment Jewel box Gateway for Rick and Morty, often Coin opening ___ and aahs Car radio button Discloses New ___, Louisiana Groceries holder Sci-fi vehicle Rhyming term for a person prone to theatrics Produce, like an egg Tapenade ingredients Rocks in a drink ___ to Richmond Hill (Rajiv Mohabir poem) Camp bed No. 1 hit by the Young Rascals Toner and dehydrated milk, e.g.

Foil the plans of

47 48 49 53 55 58 59 60 63 64

Band’s helper Provoke De-lump, like flour Novice, in gaming lingo Stockings Verdi opera set in Egypt Old Russian ruler Eye sore Washroom, for short ___ Speedwagon

Solution to today’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, June 17, 2022

B5

‘REGAL STUDIO PRESENTS’ SEASON 4 TELLS MORE HEARTWARMING STORIES

GMA Network and Regal Entertainment’s weekly anthology Regal Studio Presents kicks off its fourth season with fresh episodes. The program never fails to bring laughter, inspiration, excitement and good vibes to viewers every Sunday afternoon.

The new season kicked off on Sunday, June 12, with the episode “Open-minded,” headlined by GMA stars Kate Valdez and Paul Salas. It told the story of Mona (Kate), a college student who was enticed by Gino (Paul) to invest money in a marketing company selling health and wellness products.

In celebration of Father’s Day on June 19, the anthology presents “Long Distance” top-billed

by Kapuso actor and comedian Benjie Paras as Emerson, Prince Carlos as Sonny, and Hailey Mendes as Jenny.

The episode tackles the sacrifices of Emerson (Benjie), who had to leave his child Sonny (Prince) to work abroad. When Emerson finally comes home after a decade, he is eager to bond and create new memories with his son. However, the two are estranged from each other.

While his father was away for years, Sonny took comfort from his close friend Jenny (Hailey). But what will happen when Sonny finds out that Jenny is set to reside in another country?

For its final episode this month, viewers will see a new and intriguing love team. Beauty queen and actress MJ Lastimosa and award-winning actor Elijah Canlas team up for the episode “She Likes Me, She Likes Me Not.” In this feel-good story airing on June 26, Paul (Elijah) is a young professional who decides to stay out of town and escape the city life. He then meets the resort caretaker, Deena (MJ), whom Paul is instantly attracted to even though she is quite older than him.

Deena is very affectionate, friendly and hospitable, which makes Paul even like her more. But does Deena have feelings for him too, or is she just really nice to anyone like Paul?

Don’t miss the fourth season of Regal Studio Presents on Sundays at 4:35 pm on GMA. More information is available at www.gmanetwork.com.

ELIJAH CANLAS and MJ Lastimosa in the Regal Studio Presents episode “She Likes Me, She Likes Me Not.”

Amare is love Continued from B4 extremely pleased with the Rolliza Amare, with its sweet figs balancing out the salty prosciutto and pungent bite of the Gorgonzola cheese. At this point, I had to order a glass of the house red, to compliment the savory tastes of our meal.

For our main, we had the Lamb Ribs in Merlot Sauce, which was vintage Chef Chris. It was one of my favorite dishes at My Kitchen, although it has had similar iterations in the chef’s former restaurants.

Every flavorful bite was so tender, and went well with the mashed potatoes on the side. (Usually, this dish is served with lentils but the restaurant graciously accedes to requests for a starch change.)

To cap our sumptuous dinner, Chef Tin served her trio of desserts—a lemon cheesecake, pavlova, and molten lava chocolate cake. What makes her desserts so appealing is that their sweetness is even-tempered.

Nothing cloying and overly sugary that would make the teeth hurt. These are light desserts that leave one longing for more spoonfuls, even if the tummy no longer has room.

“I’m lucky that many of Chef Chris’s staff, either in Manila or here in Pampanga, chose to remain with us,” says Chef Tin. “They honor him by doing everything the way he wanted,” she adds, with each dish being as perfect and well-prepared as if he was there in the kitchen.

Still, I must congratulate Chef Tin for holding her own. The restaurant business is not for the faint of heart, but she has managed to guide it and the staff through the pandemic. On the Monday when we were there, there were tables of families, heartily dining on the restaurant’s popular fare.

This Father’s Day, you might want to honor your dearest papa with a great Italian feast. A meal at Amare by Chef Chris will show exactly how much you love him. n

D.W. GRIFFITH

BUSTER KEATON

CHARLES CHAPLIN

Learning from directing

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N a film industry that is actor-centric, it is heartwarming to discover a simple—and succinct—book on directors. Written by Dian G. Smith, the book is about the Great American Film Directors, a categorization that is also the title of this exciting resource.

In listing, one always has to encounter the question: Who are these top directors? The sub-title of the book, From the Flickers Through Hollywood’s Golden Age, settles that inquiry. You guessed it: there are ten of them—D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, John Ford, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, George Cukor, Orson Welles, and John Huston. At this point, you may be ransacking the files in your brain in search of those names missed but it cannot be denied we do have a sterling and blockbuster list.

The directors are arranged according to historical appearance—a short history, according to Smith, which includes from D. W. Griffith’s The Adventures of Dollie to John Huston’s Prizzi’s Honor.

Thin and yet encyclopedic, the book sums up each filmmaker’s biography vis-a-vis the life history of Hollywood cinema, a tradition that certainly informs all kinds of cinemas in other parts of the globe.

There may have been resistance later from so-called national cinemas of Europe, i.e. Italian and French cinema, but it is precisely the massive machine that was Hollywood that provided the impetus for other nations (and cultures) to come up with their own templates and traditions of filmmaking.

The book has this opening salvo: “Griffith was not just a director of film masterpieces. He directed the very first film masterpieces.” Quoting the critic James Agee, the book says: “To watch his work is like being witness to the beginning of melody, or the first conscious use of the lever or the wheel; the emergence, coordination and first eloquence of language: the birth of an art.” We learn from the book how Griffith was concerned with realism: “With the camera so close, he urged his actors to be more ‘subtle and

expressive’ than they would be on the stage.

In The Birth of a Nation, we learn the range of techniques now common that Griffith as a director introduced: the fade-ins and fade-outs as way to create transitions and “masking,” which was the crude (by present standard) technique of covering the camera lens to block off part of the image, the main aim of which was to create drama.

Who can imagine cinema without invoking the name of Charles Chaplin? Who can think of Chaplin without the image of the Tramp? According to the book, Mack Sennet, the film comedian and founder of Keystone Comedies, had some gags in his mind and asked Chaplin to put on “comedy makeup.” Chaplin went to the dressing room and rummaged through the available costume. Smith writes of the result of that auspicious moment, quoting Chaplin describing the meaning of the “accidental costume”: “The derby, too small, is striving for dignity. The mustache is vanity. The tightly buttoned coat and the stick and his whole manner are a gesture toward, gallant, dash and ‘front.’” The writer further articulates this point: “He is trying to meet the world bravely, to put up a bluff, and he knows that, too. He knows it so well that he can laugh at himself, and pity himself a little.” All those words from Chaplin and Smith sum up the art and tragicomic narratives from the Tramp.

Lost in the icon and celebrity of Charles Chaplin and his Tramp is a classic comic, Buster Keaton.

We always think of Keaton as the Face, the Actor, forgetting in the process that he was first a filmmaker.

Having been born in an age where the new artistic medium of cinema was being judged against the theater, Keaton’s take on this comparison was how he saw filmmaking and the camera as allowing the filmmaker to “show the audience the real thing.”

Keaton did his own stunts, which was ironic given his popular portrayal of a weakling. He also preferred locations instead of using sets. Smith talks of the power of Keaton’s works by referring to the structure of his narrative: “The structure of Keaton’s films is also a source of laughter. They are often symmetrical, moving back and forth, with endings neatly tied to endings.” Smith gives as an example Keaton’s Seven Chances, which begins with the character running after potential brides and ending with the brides chasing him.

When Chaplin and Keaton are mentioned, there is bound to be a debate as to who was the greater comedian. The book sort of resolves this by stating that Keaton was the greater filmmaker. It cites the parodies made by Keaton out of D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance, certainly a near-sacred artifact for film

enthusiasts.

Buster Keaton would have a resurrection in the 1950s and 1960s courtesy of film critics who saw gems in his works. To the celebrations organized around his celebrity, Keaton is described in the book as responding with modesty. This humility seems to be found in these words from the comic: “I never realized I was doing anything but trying to make people laugh when I threw my custard pies and took pratfalls.”

From the same book on the great American film director, a wonderfully poignant quote from Buster Keaton’s autobiography closes the chapter on the comic: “I think I had the happiest and luckiest of lives.... I had always known life was like that, full of uppercuts for the deserving and undeserving alike.”

It is true what they say: comedians, with their gift of humor, can be the saddest beings in this world.

More on the other filmmakers and the lessons they never taught that we would learn from. Geniuses like John Ford, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, George Cukor, Orson Welles, and John Huston will be part of my gallery in this column next week. n

DOLLY PARTON GIVES $1M TO INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH, AGAIN NASHVILLE, Tennessee—Dolly Parton is donating $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the organization announced on Wednesday.

The new gift is one of several Parton has made to the center over the years, including a $1 million gift in April 2020 for Covid vaccine research. That gift helped Vanderbilt researchers test an array of drugs aimed at reducing the lifethreatening symptoms associated with Covid-19, the center said in a news release.

Researchers are also looking at entirely new therapies to both treat Covid-19 and prevent infection. Parton’s new gift will support a variety of ongoing research at the medical center, including understanding how viruses and bacteria cause disease, understanding and preventing antibiotic resistance, preventing and treating infections, diagnosing and treating infections in children with cancer, and gauging the impact of childhood infections throughout the world, according to the news release.

“Dolly’s previous support to infectious disease research, and also our pediatric cancer program, has already saved countless lives,” said Dr. Jeff Balser, president and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “This new gift will bolster our defenses against future threats to the safety of this region and society as a whole.”

Parton said she supports the work because she loves children.

“No child should ever have to suffer,” Parton said in a news release. “I’m willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible.” AP

CNN Philippines’s ‘The Final Pitch’ kicks off 8th edition

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor CNN Philippines’s The Final Pitch (TFP) has launched its 8th season, which will showcase an all-tech lineup of start-ups and entrepreneurs.

This edition is timely to the booming local startup ecosystem, with a 179 percent growth in funding raised in 2021 to as much as $1 billion, generating interest from both local and international investors.

UBX president and chief executive officer (CEO) John Januszczak, Digital Pilipinas and World Fintech Festival-Philippines convenor Amor Maclang, and Wilcon Depot senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Rosemarie Bosch-Ong will reprise their roles as the program’s investor-judges.

Joining them as new financier-jurors are Coins. ph CEO Wei Zhou, PayMongo cofounder and CEO Francis Plaza and Fredley Group of Cos. founder and CEO Avin Ong. Streamlined Campaigns Philippines

managing director Kaiser Estrada will serve as one of the mentors.

“This will be our biggest season yet,” John Aguilar, creator and host of TFP, said during the show’s press launch online on June 6. “The 8th season of the show is a very deliberate slant toward tech and we are looking forward to backing start-ups that will help our economy transition back to pre-pandemic growth levels.”

The upcoming installment will focus on how new technology like blockchain solves problems, according to Zhou. He said: “We’re looking for startups that have creative solutions for real problems.

We want to work with a founding team with a strong vision, clear goals, and the drive to get things done.”

Januszczak added that they are searching for a “ruthless product that fits the market,” such as blockchain-enabled, cryptocurrency and DeFi (decentralized finance)-focused ideas, as well as “looking for people who are willing to do the hard

work.” What’s more, the investor-judges will find “founders who share the same grit as we do and work together to make changes in the community,” Plaza shared.

Giving tips to the contestants, Fredley Group’s Ong advised them that “it’s essential that we stay hungry, stay curious, and do more to achieve more.”

Interested applicants for The Final Pitch’s Season 8: Tech Edition can fill up the application form at www. thefinalpitch.ph/application or get in touch with the show at submit@TheFinalPitch.ph or admin@DragonsNest.co.

The deadline for submission of applications is by June 24.

Filming of TFP will be held on July 5 and 6 in Okada Manila. Premier of the show produced by Streetpark Productions Inc. will be on July 31 at 8:30 pm on CNN Philippines. This will serve as a prelude and a run-up to The Final Pitch: Asean, which will involve Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam by 2023 and filmed and broadcast across Asia.

B6 Friday, June17, 2022

Puregold expands retailtainment in the digital age

Cebuana Lhuillier, Element tie-up to boost digital & e-money services

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EBUANA Lhuillier and Element will increase financial inclusion across the country through AI technologies supporting KYC, digital onboarding, and fraud risk assessment services.

Element, Inc., is a privacy-led, modern AI pioneer in digital identity services. Its partnership with Cebuana Lhuillier, the Philippines largest micro financial services provider with 30 million

customers and over 3,000 branches, will provide electronic Know-Your-Customer (eKYC) services to all Filipinos, enabling online registration for digital financial products.

With its initiatives in the E-Money ecosystem, Cebuana Lhuillier has made leaps and bounds towards the improvement of financial inclusion in the Philippines. “We are steadfast in our commitment to provide the right financial

services to the local communities. As we are starting to bring our services into the digital space, this partnership can significantly cater to a larger audience that could benefit from our innovative offerings,” Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier said.

“Our partnership with Cebuana Lhuillier is an important opportunity to deliver large scale adoption of financial services in the Philippines, to create greater access to commerce, and greater control for customers over their financial lifestyles,” said Adam Perold, President & CEO of Element Inc. The partnership will include Cebuana Lhuillier’s Cebuana Xpress- a digital pawning and remittance service mobile application, providing access to digital financial products to grassroots communities. Element’s advanced technologies including eKYC, digital onboarding, and fraud risk assessment, enabling a fully digital and mobile-first experience that cuts the processing time to minutes from the prior cycle of three to five days of manual validation and verification.

The SM Green Movement: Creating practical solutions to make green living easier for Filipino communities

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HE SM Store recently launched the SM Green Finds initiative to make everyday living better for the planet and for Filipinos. Through the Green Finds badge, customers can now easily find products that promote clean beauty, sustainable fashion, green technology and eco-friendly home tools. Alongside SM retail affiliate brands, SM Green Finds offer products made from natural ingredients, resourcefully made, promote local artisans and support community livelihood.

According to the UN Environment Program, in order to live sustainably, one must have an understanding of how our lifestyle choices impact the world around us.

Through the SM Green Finds initiative, it is easier for customers to choose products that consider the wellbeing of our communities and our planet every day.

"We find ourselves with a very unique opportunity - to bring both our customers and our supplier partners toward a greener shopping experience - one that prioritizes the welfare of our communities and our common home, our planet. By making greener options easier to find and making it more affordable, we can easily shift to

living green," says SM Retail Inc. President Ponciano Manalo Jr. Customers can visit the flagship SM Green Finds pop-up at The SM Store in SM Mall of Asia and increasingly throughout more SM Stores nationwide, later on.

The SM Green Movement

FOR more than 60 years now, SM has pursued initiatives through long-term partnerships to be of better service to the Filipinos nationwide. It has been investing in green solutions like water catchments facilities and solar energy panels. It continued to work with thousands of supplier partners for locally and sustainably made products. It has engaged its customers and communities to take part in keeping the environment clean through its programs like Trash to Cash and coastal clean-ups.

It has protected our natural environs by rehabilitating hectares of mangroves and working towards the declaration of marine protected areas.

Green Spaces for a Green Planet

From installing solar panels with 10.6MW capacity to recycling an average of 8.7

million cubic meters of water in 2021; building malls with water catchments to innovating designs such as building SM Marikina on stilts for climate resilience; SM has been in the business of creating green spaces for Filipinos to enjoy.

The newest addition to SM group's roster of green spaces is the new and green SM Retail Headquarters.

Sustainably designed, the 2-tower, 14-storey office, is designed with Insulated Glass Unit (IGU) panels which has thermal resistance, lessens noise transmission and reduces condensation. For responsible management of resources, it is equipped with automated lighting systems to lessen power consumption, water recycling facilities for water closets in employee washrooms and proper waste management facilities where recyclables are endorsed to the Trust International Paper Corp (TIPCO) in Tarlac. To promote air quality, indoor plants surround the spaces, ensuring proper oxidation. All buildings have designed back racks for employees to encourage green mobility.

For more information, visit smgreenmovement.com

Listen and enjoy “Escape: Stories from the Road” podcast

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HE Department of Tourism (DOT) presents its first podcast, “Escape: Stories from the Road,” showcasing the best destinations in the Philippines through stories from different personalities.

This five-episode podumentary, a combination of podcast and documentary, infuses an element of storytelling, veering away from the usual question-and-answer formats of podcasts. Through these stories, the DOT hopes to reach out to various audience and inspire them to participate in meaningful tourism through unique experiences and local interactions.

Each episode follows a theme, such as adventure, identity, fiestas, music and food. Among the notable individuals interviewed for this podcast are National Artist Kidlat Tahimik; Dr. Felicidad Prudente, who is one of the leading Filipino ethnomusicologists in the country today; and former Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

The first episode on adventure features some of the best outdoor experiences in Nueva Vizcaya, Kalinga,

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UREGOLD has reinvented its way of serving its customers. With 435 stores nationwide, more than a million app downloads and over three million social media followers, Puregold expands its retailtainment with a series of original content as a way to reach out to multitudes of digital users and spur them to a unique shopping experience.

Speaking on its latest successful undertaking on digital that is Puregold Channel, Vincent Co, President of Puregold Price Club, Inc. says, “We want to share nostalgic and engaging stories online that appeal to the organic audience we’ve built.”

Its first series, “GVBOYS,” garnered more than five million collective views from Facebook and YouTube. It has since earned a feature in Euromonitor International, highlighting Puregold’s pioneering of a megatrend in the Philippines.

The Company’s digital pivot is very timely with its Puregold Mobile app, and complemented with original content in Puregold Channel. Such initiatives are poised to entertain consumers while leaving them with a strong brand perception. Not only does it appeal to new and broader demographics, Puregold’s distinct online presence is vital for staying ahead of the curve.

Co has buoyant expectations.

“Storytelling is a powerful tool. Combining content with modern retailing, gives us more opportunities to connect with our customers,” Co explains.

PRESIDENT of Puregold Price Club, Inc. Vincent Co Following up with an all-new offering, Puregold Channel has started airing its new digital series, “Ang Babae Sa Likod ng Face Mask” last June 11. In this fresh romantic comedy series, the iconic sari-sari store will be highlighted again. It is Puregold’s way to uphold its advocacy and support to small and medium enterprises— crossing over the digital space.

AmCham Philippines strengthens Gender Inclusivity in society in celebration of Pride Month this June to ever hold an ambassador-level position, Wong serves as an inspiration to everyone, providing versatile support to ensure the greatest impact on the community.

Amb. Wong discussed her journey and career in government and international institutions as well as her aspirations as a proud female leader. Throughout the gathering, members and guests had the opportunity to interact with the ambassador and hold conversations with their fellow business executives, discussing the value of inclusivity in the workplace and its importance in all aspects of work and life.

Building Connections

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S a premier and enduring professional organization that has been contributing to the country’s civic and economic development, the American Chamber of Commerce Philippines will be holding two important events this June to strengthen its community and members the Amcham General Membership Meeting and NAPNN: North American & the Pacific Networking Night.

June is Pride Month thus in the upcoming AmCham General Membership Meeting, Ambassador Chantale Wong, the United States Director to the Asian Development Bank, took the center stage.

Sharing her profound professional and personal experience, Amb. Wong is the first openly lesbian, Senate-confirmed ambassador in U.S. history. She has had a long and distinguished career in public service and was a leader-participant in some of the most significant events in U.S. history. A proud LGBTQ person of color

IN collaboration with the Embassy of Mexico, the Philippine-Mexico Business Council, and the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, AmCham Philippines will be organizing the NAPNN: North American & the Pacific Networking Night on June 21, 2022, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Chantara, Dusit Thani Manila.

The Networking Night is a great avenue for members and guests to network with key industry leaders and practitioners. Among the distinguished guests at the event include the Ambassadors of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico who will share their democratic values, common interests, and cultural affinities.

Through this event, the guests will be able to interact with a variety of individuals from different backgrounds in various fields, providing the opportunity to gain valuable insights on trends and issues affecting their industry as well as contribute to their professional and personal growth.

To learn more about the organization, visit amchamphilippines.com.

PVB holds Stockholders’ Meeting and Board Election

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ONE of the special guests, National Artist Kidlat Tahimik, shared stories about Baguio—his home and a UNESCO Creative City. Photo courtesy of Kidlat De Guia. and Camotes Island; while the identity episode brings audience from Baguio to Davao to share stories of people who, in finding the path to gain their identity, found the path to greatness.

DOT’s “Escape: Stories from the Road” podcast is hosted by travel filmmaker

and photographer Aaron Palabyab along with guest co-hosts, national athlete Maureen Schrijvers; designer, musician, and filmmaker Kate Torralba; and sports broadcaster and podcaster Cesca Litton.

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Castro, Overcast, and Anchor.

HILIPPINE Veterans Bank (PVB) will hold its 2022 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting (ASM) on June 17, 2022, face-to-face after two consecutive years of holding it virtually due to restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

About 3,000 Filipino World War II veteransstockholders or their compulsory heirs are expected to attend this year.

With the theme “Guerilla Resilience,” stockholders shall be updated on the latest development on the Bank’s strategies especially as it deals with the ongoing pandemic and how it successfully handled the challenges in the past year. Part of the activity is the election of the Bank’s Board of Directors for another one-year term. The present Board is composed of the following: Chairman: former Finance Secretary Roberto F. de Ocampo, OBE; Vice Chairman: former Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs Commissioner Guillermo L. Parayno Jr.; Board Members/Directors:

seasoned banker Renato A. Claravall, seasoned banker Gerardo Manuel Luis B. Anonas, former Labor Secretary and former Asian Institute of Management President Ma. Nieves R. Confesor, former Chairperson of Isla Lipana & Co. Judith V. Lopez, former RCBC President Francisco S. Magsajo Jr., former Development Bank of the Philippine Chairman Jose A. Nunez Jr., former Buenavista (Agusan del Norte) Vice Mayor Percianita G. Racho, seasoned banker Cesar A. Rubio and son former PVB Director and WWII hero Michael Democrito C. Mendoza.

As part of the Bank’s vaccination program, a booth will be opened during the event for those attendees who are qualified and want to avail of the free covid-19 vaccine.

For ASM concerns, send an email to stockcertificate@veteransbank.com.ph. Or call PVB Office of the Board Secretary at (02) 8840-0026; (02) 7902-1600, local 2952 to 2956 and mobile nos. 0921-5596909 and 0915-7906101.

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Sports BusinessMirror

Editor: Jun Lomibao | Friday, June 17, 2022 B7

KERR: BEEN THERE … DOING THESE

By Bryan Mahoney The Associated Press

B THERE’S no blinking for the referee during the Canada-Belgium match. NONIE REYES

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By Josef Ramos

ANADA, Poland booked bounce back victories as action in Week 2 of the Volleyball Nations League turned feverish on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Canada recorded its first victory on Philippine soil—a 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 conquest of Belgium— and so did Poland—a hard-earned 22-25, 27-29, 25-16, 25-16, 15-13 win over Thailand, 22-25, 27-29, 25-16, 25-16, 15-13.

Alexa Grey had 24 points, including the match-winner, and collected 10 digs, while Kiera Van Ryk had two service aces to finish with 22 points that went with 11 digs for the

PBA scribes install Santos king of defense

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RWIND SANTOS remains as one of the top defensive players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) even at 41.

The evergreen big man will be hailed by the PBA Press Corps as Defensive Player of the Year during its 2022 Awards Night at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center on Monday.

Santos, who turned a new leaf just two weeks ago, will be receiving his third Defensive Player of the Year trophy after similarly bagging the same award in 2008 and 2011, respectively.

The NorthPort veteran became only the third player to be bestowed the honor after Chris Jackson and Marc Pingris.

At 41, he’s also the oldest to win the accolade given by the men and women regularly covering the PBA beat.

The award is just the latest to be received by the former University Athletic Association of the Philippines MVP out of Far Eastern University, who’s obviously getting his second wind in his PBA career.

He was earlier named part of Season 46 Mythical First Team and member of the All-Defensive team during the Leo Awards.

Now an eighth time All-Defensive Team member, Santos will be in the company of some of the league’s best defenders of all time such as Marc Pingris, Jerry Codiñera and Glenn Capacio.

Santos missed being named part of the All-Defensive Team the last six seasons after initially being part of the select team seven straight times since turning pro in 2006.

The pride of Pampanga averaged 14.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and a league-best 1.5 blocks per game last season playing for San Miguel, and later with NorthPort.

The numbers were impressive enough that Santos was in the running for the Best Player of the Conference award during the Governors’ Cup. In his 16-year pro career, Santos won MVP honor in 2013, is a nine-time champion, twice Finals MVP by the PBA Press Corps, two-time Best Player of the Conference, a 10-time Mythical First Team member, and 11-time All-Star.

CANADA, POLAND BOOK BOUNCE BACK WINS Martyna Czyrnianska and Weronika Szlagowska each scored 18 points, Kamila Witkowska had 15 points while Klaudia Alagierska also logged double-digit scoring for the 10th-ranked team in the world with 13 points.

Chatchu-On Moksri had 26 points, including five blocks, 15 receptions and 11 digs, while Pimpichaya Kokram added 13 points and 12 digs before sitting out the fourth set due to injury for the 14th-ranked Thais.

Canadians who improved to 3-3 wonlost from Week 1.

Canada produced a better effort this time, unlike in their Quezon City debut against Thailand the other day, especially with its attacks.

“I was really excited on what our team did today,” Grey said. “I thought we did our game plan and this is a big win and big three points for us moving forward in the tournament and I’m just proud of the way we really battled today.”

Hilary Howe and Emily Maglio also played big for the Canadians with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Belgians suffered their fifth

loss in six matches.

The short-handed Poles staved off an early Thailand uprising to send the match to the limit.

“It feels great that we won the match. We know that they (Thais) are a really good team so we have to do our best,” said outside hitter Olivia Rozanski, who took the scoring mantle for Poland with 20 points, including two blocks, 16 digs and six receptions.

“I’m really happy that we won and we showed that we too, are really a good team and we can fight until the end,” she added.

Poland and Thailand now sport similar 4-2 records.

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YULO ON TRACK IN DOHA

ORLD champion Carlos Yulo was on course to stamping his mark anew by leading the qualification round of the men’s all-around of the Ninth Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships on Thursday at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar.

Yulo, world floor exercise champion in 2019 and vault in 2021, Yulo amassed a front-running 41,833 points built around a competition leading 14,800 points in floor exercises, fifth-running 14,100 points in the rings and 12th-ranked 12,933 points in pommel horse.

“So far, everything is on track for Caloy [Yulo],” Gymnastics Association of the Philippines President Cynthia Carrion-Norton told BusinessMirror through a text message from Doha.

The vault, horizontal bar and parallel bars were set late Thursday while the finals will be played on Friday and Saturday.

Three Chinese gymnasts—Yin Dehang (41,800), Yang Jiaxing (41,700) and Cong Shi (41,300)—trailed Yulo, while three Japanese—Koki Maeda (40,933), Shiga Tachibana (40,900) and Tsuyoshi Hasegawa (40,300)—were at No. 5 to 7 spots.

Yulo, 22, won gold medals in men’s individual all-around, floor exercise, rings, vault and horizontal bars and silvers in parallel bars and men’s team event at last month’s 31st Southeast Asian Games, making him the most successful athlete in Vietnam.

Avaricio fumbles in 2nd round, but keeps Pradera Classic lead

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HANELLE AVARICIO checked an early stumble with a big backside charge but lost her momentum at the finish, bogeying two of the last three holes to hobble with a three-over 75 but still stayed four strokes clear of Chihiro Ikeda in a topsy-turvy second round of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Pradera Verde Ladies Classic on Thursday in Lubao, Pampanga.

Avaricio turned from nearflawless to flawed with three bogeys in the first seven holes while fighting off a bout with heartburn, enabling Ikeda to rally from seven down and threaten to within one with a three-birdie roll after six

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HE Asics Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series is taking place this Sunday, marking the first time the series is held in Asia.

Known for lining up race routes with live bands and cheer teams, the event is ready to welcome close to 5,000 regular or leisure runners and weekend racers to the rousing night race.

The centerpiece 42K event drew 1,316 entries while the 10K run will

The men’s team composed of Yulo, John Matthew Vergara, Juancho Miguel Besana, Justine Ace De Leon, John Ivan Cruz and Jan Gwynn Timbang ran fifth in men’s artistic team competitions with 111,967 points. China (126,000) was No. 1, followed by Japan (123,533), Kazakhstan (118,233) and Iran (116,267) after three apparatus.

The Asian championships are a qualifier for the world championships in Liverpool, England, from October 29 to November 6. The worlds, in turn, are the qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Josef Ramos

feature 1,273 participants. Runners can look forward to performances such as DJ Bling One, Moranos band and Kahilom Drumbeaters, among others, for a block-party atmosphere, bringing fun to the run unique to each Rock ‘n’ Roll Running series that is held in various countries around the world.

“We are excited to add the City of Manila to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series as the first new host city in Southeast Asia,”

THE Steve Kerr Dynasty—player or coach, Golden State Warriors boss just wins. AP Game 6 on Thursday night, forget about another banner being hung in Boston. Instead, Kerr will be celebrating underneath them.

If so, he will credit Curry and Klay Thompson, just as he did as a player with Jordan and Scottie Pippen, or Tim Duncan and David Robinson, when trying to explain his success.

“Just hanging around the right

CHANELLE AVARICIO hangs tough in Lubao.

championship put up by ICTSI virtually unscathed.

With a five-under 139 total, Avaricio kept Ikeda, who pooled a 143, at bay as she moved 18 holes away from extending her impressive run of exploits on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour where she won twice and posted a couple of runnerup efforts in the last four legs.

“I struggled at the front, mostly on my to-the-green shots and unlike yesterday (Wednesday), my putts weren’t dropping,” said Avaricio, who, despite the three-over card, still zeroed in on a third championship this year after edging Princess Superal in sudden death at Hallow Ridge and repelling Ikeda by one at Caliraya Springs.

The former Alabama State U product placed second to Ikeda at Mt. Malarayat and shared runner-up honors with Sunshine Baraquiel and Harmie Constantino at Splendido Taal, won by amateur Mafy Singson.

said Princess Galura, general manager of the organizing The Ironman Group.

The world’s largest running series, backed by ASICS as title sponsor for the Manila edition, Gatorade as official hydration partner and Alaska, Lightwater, Regent and Sante, will fire off the 21K and 42K events at 5 p.m. while the 10K and 5K races will be flagged off at 5 a.m., both at Rizal Park.

Meanwhile, a virtual presscon will be held at 3 p.m. today (Friday) via facebook live. For details, visit www. facebook.com/RockNRollMNL.

As part of the host city’s founding anniversary celebrations, the event, supported by the Philippine Star, One Sports, Cignal and Sportograf.com as media partners, will also showcase Manila’s famous sights and landmarks.

“We are very happy and excited to host the series in the streets of Manila. We are proud to be the first city in the Philippines and in Asia to stage the event, which also marks the conclusion of the city’s 450th founding anniversary on June 24,” Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said.

holes in another scorching day here.

But Avaricio, who posted a Tour record of eight-under 64 in a sterling start Wednesday, pounced on Ikeda’s bogey slips linking both nines of the well-maintained Pradera layout and recovered from another miscue on No. 11 with birdies on Nos. 12 and 15, only to falter with bogeys on Nos. 16 on a three-putt miscue and 18 on a failed bid off the bunker.

But that hardly mattered as Ikeda also bogeyed the 16th and ended up with a 72 while erstwhile second-running Pamela Mariano limped with a 75 marred by three bogeys in the last eight holes, enabling Avaricio to go into the final round of the P750,000

Asics ‘RnR’ run all set for Sunday blast

OSTON—He hit a championship-winning shot with Michael Jordan.

He calls the shots for Stephen Curry.

From clutch to coach, Steve Kerr has done it all for some of basketball’s biggest winners. Any team that can claim to be a dynasty across the last 30 years of the National Basketball Association (NBA) has some link to Golden State’s coach.

Now back in Boston, the winning Warrior is a victory away from a ninth NBA championship. It used to be that to win that much, you had to be a Celtic.

Kerr just has to beat them.

If the Warriors win

people,” he said with a smile. “You hang around superstars long enough, you’re going to get some residual success falling your way.”

There’s more to it than that, of course. Talent may take a team to the top, but staying there—and then getting back again after being knocked down—demands more than that. It requires understanding the personnel on the court and the personalities in the locker room.

It means thinking the game as well as playing it, and Kerr does that with the best of them.

“The man’s knowledge for the game is second to none,” Thompson said.

Kerr hasn’t won quite like Bill Russell, the Celtics Hall of Fame center who pocketed 11 rings as a player. Nor as much as Phil Jackson, who won 11 of his own as a coach.

Yet, when it comes to combining winning as a player and a coach, few have done it better than Kerr.

He won five titles in uniform with Chicago and San Antonio.

Add in three as Golden State’s boss on the bench, and he is the first person in NBA history to win at least three championships as a player and a coach.

Throw in a couple stints as an analyst for TNT around his time as general manager of the Phoenix Suns, and Kerr has seen NBA basketball from almost every angle.

“I mean, Steve has had such an incredible, unique career, from player to coach, GM. He just knows how to jell talent together,” Thompson said.

“Then he draws from his playing days, which is really cool to hear and talk about, playing with Mike and Scottie, the Twin Towers in San Antonio.”

Kerr wasn’t a player like those Hall of Fame talents. A second-round pick in the 1988 draft, he started only 30 games in his career. He never averaged double figures in any of his 15 seasons, sticking around that long by being a good teammate and a better shooter.

Most players aren’t superstars, and because he wasn’t, Kerr makes it a point of reaching out to players like himself.

Celtics guard Derrick White remembers Kerr helping make him comfortable when he was promoted to the US roster for the 2019 Basketball World Cup after originally only being a player on the team practicing against the Americans.

“Any time I needed a question or anything during that whole USA experience, he was there for me,” White said.

Said Kerr: “I definitely identify with role players more than I can identify with a star player, just because I have the experience of coming off the bench and trying to figure out a role and all that stuff.”

Being a role player doesn’t mean Kerr didn’t have a big role.

Curry may be considered the greatest outside shooter ever, but it’s Kerr whose 45.4 percent career mark from three-point range is tops in NBA history. He knocked down the jumper to secure the Bulls’ 1997 championship, joking during the victory celebration in Chicago that he stepped up to take the shot because Jordan didn’t feel comfortable doing so.

The confidence Kerr showed on the floor then is the same he demonstrates in the huddle now, a resolve that Draymond Green says makes the Warriors feel “invincible.”

“There are times where we get a little rattled as a team and he’s just right there, steady force, like ‘Hey, man, just calm down, settle down,’” Kerr said.

No surprise. He’s the same guy who once got in a fistfight with Jordan at practice.

These Warriors needed that steadiness more than during their run of three titles in four years from 2015-18. With Thompson still recovering from injuries well into the season and then Curry and Green going down after he returned, Golden State was hardly at full strength before the playoffs and certainly not the powerhouse of recent years.

“We’ve had to figure some things out on the fly,” their coach said.

Teams with Kerr usually do.

Motoring BusinessMirror

B8 Friday, June 17, 2022

Editor: Tet Andolong

Hi-rider and revolutionary in its true sense

W

Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

ITH 3.5 million units sold globally, the HR-V nameplate is no stranger in the subcompact crossover segment.

Years before its segment became one of the dominant placers today; the HR-V has been around for Honda to offer as a revolutionary vehicle for active individuals. Since the introduction of the 2nd generation and its updated version in the Philippines, the model has already achieved more than 7,000 units sold, showing the warm reception of the brand’s subcompact crossover.

After witnessing the successful local debut of the latest generation, it is time for us to experience the significant enhancements the model now possesses. Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) recently hosted a drive event for select members of the motoring media to test both the top-spec V Turbo CVT and entry S CVT variants. We drove these models to the Tagaytay Highlands and Aiyanar Dive Resort in Mabini, Batangas.

Completely redesigned inside and out

Overall, the latest generation’s frame has gone more chiseled, with sharp body lines complementing the fastback-like profile.

It suits Honda’s concept of “Amp Up Your Life.” We like the latest aggressive character highlighted by newly shaped LED headlights integrated with LED turn light signals and Daytime Running Lights (DRL) and fog lamps. Moreso, the new pronounced grille design with varying patterns depending on the variant.

The rear end received a striking cue thanks to the new LED Tail Light Bar and the two variant’s contrasting rear bumpers, with the top variant’s dual tailpipe finish. Of course, the 17-inch alloy wheels with gray (V Turbo CVT) and black/silver (S CVT) finishes.

The all-new HR-V’s interior also received

a complete overhaul, now presenting a human-centric cabin with good ergonomics and quality materials. The center dashboard’s eight-inch touchscreen display infotainment system, six-speaker sound system, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto connectivity functions support, and the seven-inch (V Turbo CVT) and 4.2-inch (S CVT) digital display instrument clusters are all enhanced. Not to mention the new clustered controls and aircon vents.

The top-spec has all leather-draped seats while the entry variant received fabric seats, but both have soft materials with betterpositioned cupholders. We like the segmentexclusive ULT seat’s function composed of Utility, Long, and Tall modes to accommodate various cargo setups.

The spirited V Turbo CVT

We tested first the top-spec variant in Ignite Red Metallic powered by a 1.5-liter VTEC Turbocharged engine with CVT, and we already knew what to expect, delivery-wise.

The initial leg was to Tagaytay Highlands, and as expected, the entire freeway run was nothing short of blissful.

We like the stable feel at high-speed limits with minimal road noise and tire rebounds.

Of course, with 174 hp and 240 N-m of maxi-

The all-new HR-V’s fresh look exuding chiseled profiles

mum torque (on paper) at our disposal, not even the load of three adult occupants plus luggage hindered the unrelenting acceleration whenever needed. We utilized the paddle shifters more on engine braking, as needed.

Things became exciting when we started traversing the winding roads inside the Highland property. There, the vehicle’s nimble Civic platform became more evident. Thanks to the excellent steering feedback, the higher center of gravity became null on every turn while being completely controlled. Playing around with the paddle shifter to stay in the optimum range was another excitement.

Hearing the turbocharged engine’s grunt while feeling the high torque was sheer fun.

On the way to the resort for the next leg, the constant turns of Ligaya Road again highlighted the vehicle’s impressive agility and excellent steering control. We never hesitated on overtaking on the provincial road as the boosted motor took control whenever pushed.

The last stretch became steady and swift, and we reached the resort feeling relaxed.

Honda Sensing is the way to go

Like the all-new Civic drive, we also tested Honda’s proprietary suite of driver-assist functions. At the entire stretch of CALAX, we were able to test Honda Sensing entirely and convincingly. While traversing the freeway, we enabled the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow (LSF) and set the speed within limits. Amazingly, the system was actively keeping the pace based on the

pressing the “+” button. Also demonstrated were the Hill Descent Control (HDC) and Hill-Start Assist (HSA), which both worked seamlessly.

The smooth-operating S CVT

Completely redesigned interior

vehicle upfront, picking up and slowing down by applying brakes to keep a safe distance.

The Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS) was astounding as our previous test. The system actively operates the steering within visible lanes, even on long bends. As for the Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) with Lane Departure Warning (LDW), applied slight resistance and movement during lane changes without using the turn signals. Of course, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) was always active in flashing warnings on the screen for collision alerts.

At the Highlands property, we also tested the system and Lead Car Departure Notification System (LCDN). Even at 30 kph, the system still worked seamlessly. Without stepping on the pedals, the vehicle maintained speed while keeping a safe distance even when the car went to a complete stop. Even on corner turns, the system maintained a safe distance, applying brakes depending on what was up ahead. Resuming the function was as easy as

REASON TO RUSH; BARKADA FOR BR-V

I

T is still practically a new kid in town but already, it has assaulted the market in maverick fashion. I refer to Rush that was rolled out of Toyota’s massive assembly lines not too long ago.

Known to unleash models/variants almost in wild abandon even amid the pandemic, undisputed mobility leader Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has just unfurled the new sub-compact SUV Toyota Rush through the model's GAZOO Racing Sport (GR-S) variant.

“The New Toyota Rush GR-S now serves as the line's top-grade vehicle,” says Sunshine Cabrera, TMP’s newly-minted frontliner on communications. “A favorite among customers who are intending to buy their first sevenseater SUV, the 2022 motorsports-inspired Rush is now styled with the official emblem and enhancements from the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) line.”

I can’t wait to ride this muscle—a rascal upstart I must insist.

"The Toyota Rush has been a preferred SUV for young people seeking to fully live their active lifestyle with a car that can keep up with their desire to break away from the everyday," said Sherwin Chualim, TMP's First Vice President for Vehicle Sales Operations.

"That is why it is very fitting that the Rush now comes with a GR-S variant that follows TGR's philosophy of pushing the limits for a better mobility platform. For our customers,

this means added thrill, excitement, and style in their everyday drives."

Sunshine’s full disclosure:

“The new Toyota Rush GR-S catches attention everywhere with its GR-branded front bumper spoiler, rear bumper spoiler, and side body moulding. It comes in three TGRmatching colors: Dark Red Mica Metallic, Black Metallic 1, and White 2.

“It is powered by a gasoline engine with 4-speed automatic transmission. Its modern features include Smart Entry functionality and a 7-inch display with an Apple Carplay and Android Auto working with its 8-speaker audio system.

“It also comes with standard safety and security functions like Anti-Lock Brake System, Vehicle Stability Control, Hill-Start Assist Control, Toyota Vehicle Security System and more, plus other features like built in camera and back sonar.

“The new Toyota Rush GR-S retails at P1,176,000 and is now available in Toyota's 72 dealerships nationwide.”

So there. It’s a steal, if you ask me.

7 reasons

BRYAN Aaron Rivera tells me the Honda BR-V is perfect for long road trips.

“Since they are often filled with fun and excitement as you create wonderful moments

Meanwhile, we drove the S CVT on our way back to Manila. Honda fitted this variant with a 1.5-liter DOHC i-VTEC engine with CVT. With the same displacement but minus the turbo, we knew that its 119 hp and 145 N-m of maximum torque (on paper) bears a significant difference, delivery-wise.

As expected, this variant’s manner on the road manifested the same as that of the topspec. Likewise, it was benign on curves with good steering feedback and had the same comfort and quietness inside. However, in situations where power delivery was necessary, it was when we realized the significant adjustments needed to meet the vehicle’s load demand. The absence of the turbocharger prompted us to rely on its peak performance on higher engine RPMs – shifting to e sport mode was the available option.

Despite the significant difference in torque output, the all-motor engine was relatively smoother on acceleration and loved to rev.

Nevertheless, it does the job. While its turbocharged counterpart provided more power, the all-motor option was superior in fuel efficiency, at least based on the theoretical readings on the gauge. Nevertheless, both engine options performed an excellent double-digit figure theoretical averages during our drive. with your family or friends, the BR-V is your perfect ride,” says Bryan.

Here’s Bryan in full:

“As always, it’s not about the destination but rather, it’s about the journey. Admittedly, Filipinos love seven-seaters, and the Honda BR-V does qualify as a highway warrior for a couple of reasons.

“One, exterior-wise, the Honda BR-V exhibits a fine mixture of sporty and rugged appointments. It’s treated with chrome embellishments and an extensive application of black cladding, giving the BR-V that SUV vibes. It also comes with 201 mm ground clearance which rewards drivers with better visibility and added confidence on the road.

“Two, opting for the 1.5 V CVT adds LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL) for added style and functionality. Standard across both the 1.5 V CVT and 1.5 S CVT variants are a set of 16-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 195/60 tires. “The Honda BR-V has the SUV appeal, although it still boasts of the practical traits of an MPV. This then translates to a generous amount of cabin space, allowing it to accommodate up to seven passengers comfortably.

“Cargo loading is also no problem for the family and barkada; fold the third-row of the BR-V and you get 470-liters of space. You can even increase it by up to 520-liters by tumbling the second-row seats up.

“The BR-V is currently the most powerful in its class, thanks to its tried and tested 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine paired with Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT). This combo allows a 22.58 km/L trip.”

Wow!

PEE STOP

The unrelenting increase in fuel prices does not surprise anymore. No use whining. Hazardous to your health. Plan, limit, your travels.