BusinessMirror May 06, 2021

Compromise on pork tariff, MAV reached B J E Y. A @jearcalas

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HE Philippines is set to increase the tariff rates on pork imports by 5 percentage points and lower its initial proposal for minimum access volume (MAV) of 404,000 metric tons (MT) to just 254,210 MT after senators and economic managers reached a compromise on the issue.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) disclosed on Wednesday evening the details of the compromise

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GLOBAL SHIPMENT WOES: ADDITIONAL SHOCKS TO PHL’S FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

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between the senators, led by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, and economic managers, led by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. The DA said the tariff rates for pork imports as prescribed by President Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) 128 will be increased by 5 percentage points, both for in-quota and out-quota volume for the entirety of its duration or until April 7, 2022.

With the compromise, the in-quota tariff rate for pork imports until July 7 would

be 10 percent while outquota would be 20 percent for out-quota from the initial lowered rates of 5 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Likewise, the tariff rates for the last 9 months of EO 128 or from July 8 to April 7, 2022 would be increased by 5 percentage points to 15 percent for in-quota and 25 percent for out-quota imports.

Lower MAV

FURTHERMORE, the DA added that the economic team and the Senate also agreed that the MAV be

reduced from 404,000 MT to 254,210 MT. “The recommended revision is necessary to arrest the inflationary impact on millions of Filipino consumers due to the dwindling pork supply,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in the statement.

The DA said the economic team met with Senate President Sotto four times (on April 28, April 30, May 3, and May 4) to discuss a middle ground on the twin S “C,” A

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DATA CHAMPION

FOOD, OIL PRICES SEEN ■

P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

TO STILL FUEL INFLATION THE City Government of Manila recently broke ground to start the construction of a 336-bed Covid-19 field hospital at Luneta Park. The P154-million facility will accommodate mild and moderate patients and is expected to be completed in two months. Its total capacity may be still expanded by 100 beds when needed, with some 150 medical frontliners monitoring patients. ROY DOMINGO

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B C U. O

@caiordinario

LEVATED food prices and the spike in oil prices will work in tandem to put pressure on inflation in the months to come, local economists said on Wednesday.

One economist said, however, that since the country is in a reces-

sion, a little inflation will not necessarily harm the economy.

Dented by lockdowns, PHL April PMI region’s 2nd worst B B C @BcuaresmaBM

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HE Philippine manufacturing sector’s lockdown-induced slump proved to be one of the worst in the Southeast Asian region, a recent report showed.

In the latest report on Southeast Asia’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), global think tank IHS Markit said the Philippine manufacturing sector was the second worst performing in April among the seven economies in the region, beating only Myanmar.

In particular, among the seven constituent nations, Vietnam saw the strongest PMI during the month at 54.7 followed closely by Indonesia’s 54.6. Malaysia’s manu-

facturing sector also grew strongly during the month with an index of 53.9 while Thailand recorded a mild growth of 50.7.

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

Singapore dipped below the 50 threshold to hit a PMI of 49.5 during the month. The Philippines ranked the second lowest with a 49.0 PMI, while Myanmar had the worst performance due to political S “D,” A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 48.0430

Nonetheless, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it will remain watchful of price developments even after the country’s price growth recorded a steady pace in April.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said infl ation averaged 4.5 percent in April, the same rate recorded in March. Th is infl ation rate, however, is higher than the 2.2 percent posted in April last year.

“Yes, I believe both food and oil will shove inflation in the coming

months.

Food-related inflationary pressure will still be present because of possible supply disruptions and logistical issues,” University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics Dean Cid L. Terosa told the BM on Wednesday.

“Oil prices will exert upward pressure on inflation because better growth prospects in many countries around the world will fuel greater demand for oil in the C  A

DTI UNREELS ITS ‘AI’ ROAD MAP, EYES PHL AS BIG DATA HUB B T J C. P @Tyronepiad

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ITH the launch of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roadmap, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) intends to make big data processing the next sunny sector in the Philippines after the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said on Wednesday during a virtual event the strategy aims to increase adoption and utilization of AI in various sectors in the country to advance industrial development. These include agriculture, automotive sector, smart manufacture, health-care services and BPO. “Our country can also serve as a big data processing hub providing high-value data analytics and AI services to the world, and this can become our next higher value, higher paying service-winner after the BPO industry,” he said.

The national AI strategy aims to boost the regional and global competitiveness of the local industry with the use of AI to drive innovation. In ad-

dition, it targets to identify key areas in research and development and technology application for investment.

Lopez said the road map will recommend ways to enable collaboration among the government, industry and academe to foster national development.

The Trade chief said the strategy also aims to “put forward approaches for preparing the future work force for the jobs of the future” while attracting the “biggest industries to set up shop in the country,” which is seen to generate more job opportunities.

Lopez said that AI technologies are a boon for the business sector because they can help in cutting operating costs, improving efficiency, boosting revenues and enhancing customer experience.

“By deploying the right AI technology, businesses can save time and money by automating and optimizing routine processes and tasks,” he explained.

The road map also intends to set up the private sector-led National Center for AI Research S “DTI ,” A

■ JAPAN 0.4395 ■ UK 67.7221 ■ HK 6.1849 ■ CHINA 7.4232 ■ SINGAPORE 35.9523 ■ AUSTRALIA 37.0460 ■ EU 57.7141 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.8125

Source: BSP (May 5, 2021)

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Thursday, May 6, 2021

Compromise...

C  A

proposals of the Executive to address the country’s issues on pork shortage and rising pork prices.

“Given that we have reached a compromise, we will act without delay to reflect the features of the compromise in a corresponding executive issuance,” Dar said.

Dar said they will submit the revised pork import tariffs to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, through Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua.

The Neda Board will in turn make the final recommendation to the Office of the President, Dar added.

“We appreciate the quick resolution of this issue. A problem of this scale, especially when incomes and job opportunities have declined, needs immediate and urgent action,” he said.

DUTERTE PICKS ELEAZAR AS NEW CHIEF OF THE PNP

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RESIDENT Duterte appointed Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar as the new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In a statement on Wednesday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed the new assignment of Eleazar, who is currently the deputy chief for administration of PNP as well as the chief Administrative Support for Covid-19 Task Force.

“Gen. Eleazar’s track record of professionalism, dedication and integrity speaks for itself. We are therefore confident that he will continue the reform initiatives of his predecessors and lead the police organization to greater heights,” Roque said.

Eleazar will succeed PNP chief Debold Sinas, who retires on May 8, 2021.

Interior Secretary and National Police Commission (NPC) Eduardo Año earlier announced Duterte is expected to select the new PNP chief after they submitted their recommendation.

Eleazar is a member of Philippine Military Academy Hinirang Class 1987. His term is expected to last until November 13, 2021, when he is scheduled to retire from service. Samuel P. Medenilla

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4 countries near India now also under PHL travel ban

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B S P. M

@sam_medenilla

HE government imposed a ban on travelers from four more countries to prevent the entry of the more infectious Covid-19 variant which was first reported in India, B1617, and which has been blamed for the alarming rise of infections and deaths in that country.

In a two-page memorandum, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, with authorization from President Duterte, directed relevant government agencies to ban passengers who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the last 14 days from entering the country.

The travel restriction will take effect from May 7 to 14, 2021. Passengers from

these four countries surrounding India, who will arrive in the country before Friday, will still be allowed to enter the country to undergo an “absolute-facility-based 14-day quarantine period notwithstanding a negative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction [RT-PCR].”

The collected specimens from these passengers will undergo Genome Sequencing

to check if they are infected with B1617.

Those who will be transiting India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be deemed to have not been in these countries provided they stayed in the airport the whole time.

These passengers will be not required to take the full 14-day facility-based quarantine and instead, undergo the regular testing and quarantine protocols.

Malacañang came out with the new issuance after the Department of Health reported that six travelers who arrived in the Philippines before the travel ban for the South Asian country tested positive for Covid-19. It imposed a travel ban for travelers who came from India, last month amid concern B1617 could enter the country.

India is currently reeling from a surge in Covid-19 cases, which is being linked to the presence of the new variant.

Currently, there is still no reported B1617 detected in the Philippines.

‘PHL MUST CONTINUE MEGAPHONE DIPLOMACY WITH CHINA’

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ENATE Minority Leader Franklin Drilon prodded the Duterte administration on Wednesday to stick to “megaphone diplomacy” to match China’s gunboat diplomacy.

Drilon, in a televised interview, said the Philippine government should “continue to exert pressure on China,” putting at the forefront China’s illegal activities in the West Philippines Sea through megaphone diplomacy.

Noting it might be the only recourse left for the Philippines to match China’s “gunboat diplomacy,” the opposition senator said he “would rather that we continue with the megaphone diplomacy because of the gunboat diplomacy of China.”

He made the remarks a day after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. apologized to his counterpart, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, for his expletive-laden tweet on Monday, telling China to pull out its maritime

militia boats once and for all from the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone.

The senator stressed that the Philippine government “must continue to expose these illegal acts of China,” adding that this was “why megaphone diplomacy, as the Chinese foreign minister would call it, is maybe the appropriate course that we have today so that we can keep China on its toes insofar as the world forum is concerned.”

Drilon defended Locsin Jr.’s use of expletives against China on Twitter. “I know Secretary Locsin very well. He is very patriotic.

Maybe his emotional outburst is because of the frustration that he cannot do much except file diplomatic protests on this incursion of China,” said Drilon.

In defending the country’s top diplomat, Drilon said Secretary Locsin’s statement, as well as that of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana “reflects the sentiment of the major-

ity of Filipinos.”

Stressing that “we are all frustrated by what China is doing,” the Senate Minority Leader lamented that China is “not taking the country seriously.”

“Again, the megaphone diplomacy is probably the only weapon that we have today,” said Drilon, adding: “We must keep this in the consciousness not only of the Philippines but of the whole world.”

Drilon described as “quite unfortunate” that there seem to be “different voices” in the government when it comes to the issue of China’s illegal incursions.

“It is quite unfortunate, because you have two members of the Cabinet, Secretary Locsin and Secretary Lorenzana, taking a strong position on this issue. On the other end of the scale, President Duterte who asserts that we must continue our cordial relations with China.” Butch Fernandez

FOOD, OIL PRICES SEEN TO STILL FUEL INFLATION C  A

coming months,” he added.

Unionbank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion added that meat prices are expected to drive inflation. However, the increase in pork prices may be subdued once imports start arriving.

Further, Asuncion said “weather issues” between September and November could also increase commodity prices, particularly food. A series of disastrous storms in late 2020 had further dented an economy already walloped by the pandemic-induced lockdowns.

PSA data showed prices of food and nonalcoholic beverages increased 4.8 percent and accounted for 40.9 percent. This was driven by meat inflation nationwide which averaged 22.1 percent; fish, 6 percent; and other cereals, flour, etc. at 1.8 percent.

The oil price rally, Asuncion said, would also compound the Filipinos’ inflation woes as the global recovery gears up after more economies start recovering from the pandemic.

“It is likely that we have seen the peak.

However, I do not want to discount the risk posed by higher global oil prices due to stronger than expected economic recovery in advanced economies,” Asuncion said.

Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Coordinator Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III thinks the real problem with food prices is the shortage of pork, and that imports of pork should be allowed to ease food inflation.

Sta. Ana said this will help given that “world commodity and food prices are also rising due to a combination of increasing demand in big countries that have economically recovered and supply bottlenecks.”

Former Philippine Economic Society President and BPI Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri Jr. told BM that the global oil price rally could further increase the already elevated transportation costs.

The PSA data showed in terms of transportation, these commodities increased 17.9 percent and accounted for 32.1 percent of inflation in April. This was driven by higher tricycle prices at 48.4 percent; petroleum and fuels, 32 percent; and jeepney fares, 6.3 percent.

“Very likely [inflation to increase in the coming months]. Local petroleum prices

bottomed in May 2020, so we will still have base effects for the balance of the second quarter of 2021,” Neri added.

Weak demand

MEANWHILE, Ateneo Center for Research and Development (ACERD) Director Alvin P. Ang told the BM that as long as food supply remains stable, inflation may be muted.

Ang said if there are no other shocks, the country may have already seen the highest inflation for the year.

This also takes into consideration the muted domestic demand given the weakness of the economy.

Ateneo Eagle Watch Senior Fellow Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr. agreed, saying the weakness of the economy is one of the strongest arguments for inflation to remain muted.

This remains true, Lanzona said, even if lean months for rice production are fast approaching and oil prices have recently increased.

“I don’t think inflation is the issue. If we are able to raise economic performance and create new jobs, a little more inflation is not going to be too bad. The concern should be on the current recession and unemployment, not on inflation,” Lanzona said.

“Government should be aggressively spending to reduce the negative impacts of the health crisis and the lockdowns. If that is going to cause inflation, so be it,” he added.

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Fellow Roehlano Briones agreed that weak domestic demand would temper inflation. At the rate things are progressing, domestic demand could recover next year.

Terosa said recovering domestic demand this year will greatly depend on the government’s ability to implement the vaccination program.

If the program proceeds according to plan, Terosa said the country could see domestic demand recovery some time in the last quarter of the year.

“To cushion the impact of inflation, the government can resort to non-monetary and indirect interventions such as expanding social services, stimulating self-employment opportunities, and assuring reli-

able and accessible health care and related services,” Terosa said.

Pork prices

NATIONAL Statistician Dennis S. Mapa said despite the relative slowdown in food prices in April, pork prices remained elevated.

Data showed pork prices nationwide increased 57.7 percent in April 2021, higher than the 51.8 percent in March 2021.

In the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila, pork prices surged 68.5 percent in April, higher than the 54.4 percent posted in March 2021. However, this was still slower than the 72.2 percent posted in January 2021.

Mapa said pork prices in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) increased 55.5 percent in April, faster than the 51.5-percent increase recorded in March 2021.

“We performed some analysis on the trend and meat inflation is expected to continue increasing. So in the next few months, unless there is an intervention, we see that this would continue to go up,” Mapa said.

Meanwhile, inflation in NCR remained at its previous month’s annual rate of 3.7 percent in April 2021. Inflation in the area in April 2020 was noted at 1.2 percent.

Higher annual increments were seen in the indices of clothing and footwear at 0.8 percent; transport, 19.7 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.8 percent.

The same trend as the national level and NCR was observed in AONCR as inflation in the area at 4.7 percent during the month was the same annual rate recorded in March 2021. In April 2020, inflation in AONCR was posted at 2.5 percent.

Mixed trends of infl ation were observed among the regions in AONCR. The highest infl ation of 7.9 percent during the month was still observed in Region 5 (Bicol region), while the lowest remained in Central Visayas at 1.9 percent.

BSP to ’remain watchful’

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it will remain watchful of price developments even after the country’s price growth recorded a steady pace in April.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno told re-

porters that the Central Bank will continue to be vigilant of price movements and its impact in crafting the appropriate monetary policy response.

“The BSP remains watchful over the evolving economic conditions and challenges brought about by the pandemic to ensure that the monetary policy stance remains consistent with its price and financial stability objectives,” Diokno said.

In their first two monetary policy meetings for the year, the BSP kept the recordlow interest rate to support the ailing economy despite indications of a rising inflation. Diokno earlier said that they will continue the accommodative stance until there are clear indications of a solid and sustainable economic recovery.

In its February meeting, the BSP forecast inflation to overshoot their 2- to 4-percent target range for this year. However, Diokno said keeping monetary policy rates steady will still be appropriate given that the inflationary pressures are on the supply side.

Diokno said the April inflation outturn is consistent with their expectations that inflation will remain elevated this year due to supply side pressures, but will eventually settle close to the midpoint of the 2- to 4-percent range in 2022.

The BSP lauded the “timely approval” of the temporary cut in pork import tariffs as it is seen to help address the supply constraints.

“The balance of risks to the infl ation outlook remains balanced over the baseline path in 2021, while toward the downside in 2022. The ongoing pandemic continues to pose downside risks to the infl ation outlook and growth prospects,” Diokno said.

The governor expressed confidence, however, that improvements in external demand and the continued rollout of the government’s vaccination program along with other stimulus measures will bolster economic recovery.

“The Monetary Board will consider the latest price developments along with information from the first quarter national income accounts in its review of the monetary policy stance on May 13,” Diokno said.

The scheduled May 13 monetary policy setting meeting is the third for the BSP this year. With Bianca Cuaresma

Dented...

C  A

unrest at an index of 33.0.

“Both Singapore and the Philippines registered renewed contractions during April. For the former, the headline index signaled the first deterioration in conditions since last September, but one that was only fractional. In the Philippines, the contraction was the first in four months and, though marginal, was the fastest since October 2020,” IHS Markit said.

The deterioration in the Philippines manufacturing sector has bucked the trend for most economies in the region, as most manufacturing conditions show signs of recovery.

“Overall, the April PMI data point to a much improved performance for the Asean manufacturing sector, with clear signs that the recovery has began and the sector is beginning to make headway towards recouping any lost ground,” IHS Markit economist Lewis Cooper said.

Back home, local economists are also warning about further contractions in the manufacturing sector as movement restrictions are still in place to lower the elevated infection numbers.

“With the so-called NCR [National Capital Region] plus area still under partial lockdown in May while new daily infections remain elevated, we can expect another month of contraction for May, especially if the MECQ [Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine] status remains in place for the rest of the month,” ING Bank economist Nicholas Mapa said.

“Community quarantine measures are indeed costly and can almost single handedly knock the wind out of a manufacturing bounce back and in turn the economic recovery,” Mapa added.

DTI unreels...

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(N-CAIR), which will serve as the shared hub for research and development in AI. The consultancy services to be offered

by N-CAIR, Lopez said, will be beneficial for the government agencies, industries and other research centers in the country.

Apart from urging companies to build their AI capacity, the Center is also tasked with assisting the micro, small and medium enterprises in improving their efficiency and productivity through AI tools.

Lopez said that AI technology has been a very “critical tool” in adapting to the new normal in pandemic, noting it has been used in banks, chatbots, supply chain and knowledge management, among others.

The Trade chief clarified that while AI will automate many jobs, he said this should be viewed as opportunities for new and higher-income jobs.

AI council

IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) President Rey E. Untal said it is “urgent” to establish a national AI council wherein the government, academe and various sectors are represented following the launch of the road map.

“I think it is quite urgent that we quickly formalize the governance structure. I think we urgently need to form, identify the members and mobilize the national AI council,” he explained.

Untal said the council should have a “very clear charter and mandate” and create both short- and long-term goals that are “meaningful yet ambitious.”

The Ibpap head also stressed the need to have a multiyear budget allocation for the road map like other countries are doing to develop AI. “This [AI road map] endeavors require national level support. It would be ideal for the head of state or our president to make a pronouncement that this is a multiyear priority for the country. So that everybody will move along in their proper places,” he added.

Untal also suggested the creation of technical working groups (TWG) covering interests in education and industry alliances, among others. A TWG, he said, can also focus on legislations for responsible AI use in the country.

Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of regulatory measures for AI, citing data management and cyber security.

“Amid technological disruptions, regulators are faced with key challenges such as how to protect citizens, ensure fair market, address potential unintended consequences of disruption and enforce regulation while allowing these new technologies and businesses to flourish,” she said.

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DOH says samples of six India travelers who tested positive sent to genome lab

DOLE chief, labor stakeholders reject PNP’s proposed national police clearance requisite

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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As to these travelers from India that were quarantined upon arrival here—before the restrictions were imposed—110 of them were tested already and six turned out positive.

BM

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

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EALTH authorities have sent to genome laboratories the samples of six travelers from India—or connecting passengers from other countries who transited at Indian airports—and then tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Manila. This, amid rising anxiety about how long the Philippines can keep out the so-called Indian variant blamed for the surge in infections and deaths in that South Asian country.

The samples from the six passengers were sent to the University of the Philippines- Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) for sequencing to detect if they are positive of the B1617 variant, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Wednesday.

Vergeire also said a total of 117 travelers were quarantined, prior to the implementation of the travel ban on passengers from India, she said.

“As to these travelers from India that were quarantined upon arrival here—before the restrictions were imposed—110 of them were tested already and six turned out positive,” Vergeire said, partly in Filipino.

She also disclosed that six other travelers “are still being located.”

Vergeire stressed that the hope of the government is for the B1617 variant and other “specific variant” not to enter the country.

“That was also our objective before, when we imposed travel restrictions for the UK variant not to enter the country,” Vergeire added.

Vergeire stressed that “still the best defense to strictly observe the minimum public health standards.”

She thus urged people to “continue doing the public minimum health standards because that will protect you from these variants.”

Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) said that based on the latest whole-genome sequencing report, the DOH, UP-PGC, and the UP-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) revealed the detection of additional 289 B117 variant cases, 380 B1351 variant cases, and nine P3 variant cases from the 744 samples sequenced last week.

To date, UP-PGC has already sequenced a total of 7,167 samples, of which 5,917 were assigned lineages.

No B1617, or the Indian variant, was detected yet.

Covid cases

AS of 4 p.m. of May 5, the DOH logged 5,685 additional Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 1,073,555.

There were 8,961 recoveries and 178 deaths.

Of the total number of cases, 5.8 percent (62,713) are active, 92.5 percent (993,042) have recovered, and 1.66 percent (17,800) have died.

Moreover, 112 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

All laboratories were operational on May 3, 2021 while five laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System.

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has formally rejected an “illegal” proposal from Camp Crame to require the so-called National Police Clearances (NPC) for transactions in its offices.

The agency also said the proposed requirement is another layer of “red tape and financial burden,” opposed by employers and workers alike.

In a letter submitted to outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Debold M. Sinas last Tuesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said they would not mandate NPCs in their transactions.

Sinas made the appeal following the rollout of the National Police Clearance System.

@caiordinario

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HE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is now in talks with their Information Technology (IT) consultants to increase the capacity of the National ID site to allow more Filipinos to register in the PhilSys. Despite the glitch encountered by the PhilSys web site last Friday, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa explained they were able to complete the registration of some 25,000 individuals.

Mapa said the government aims to register some 50 million to 70 million Filipinos in the National ID this year. With this, the government aims to provide bank accounts to 100 percent of the population by year-end.

“We are working with international experts to increase our capacity,” Mapa said in a briefing on Wednesday. “The IT team is fixing the problem and we will make an announcement when the public can register again online.”

Mapa said since October 2020, the PSA 33.3 million Filipinos have already registered under Step 1 of the National ID. Of this number, 6.4 million have been registered under Step 2.

He said these numbers, particu-

larly for Step 2, could be higher now considering that the PSA is able to register around 200,000 Filipinos per day under Step 2.

Step 1 involved the collection of demographic data and setting of the appointment schedule for Step 2. Step 2 covers the provision of biometric information such as fingerprints and iris scans through registration centers.

Step 2 also allowed unbanked registrants to create bank accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank). Mapa said around 2.6 million registrants were already able to create their own bank accounts with the state-run bank.

“Every time they finish Step 2, National ID registrants without a bank account can just visit the co-located LandBank kiosk and open an account. We want all households to have at least one member with a bank account by the end of the year to ensure 100 percent financial inclusion by family,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said in a news statement.

The last step involves the provision of PhilSys Number and printing of cards. The PSA and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas are discussing the possibility of printing more than 160,000 cards per day

“There is no legal basis in requiring DOLE’s clientele to secure NPC. It may even violate pertinent provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Labor Code of the Philippines, as renumbered, and other existing legislations,” Bello explained.

Additional burden

HE also noted the NPC is also against the policy of the government to reduce red tape as stipulated under Republic Act 11032, also known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, and Executive Order 129, dated 13 April 2021.

The DOLE chief cited the result of its survey with 56 labor and employer leaders, where 94 percent expressed their opposition against the NPC requirement.

Bello said while he supports the

intent of the proposal of PNP to require NPC supposedly to serve as background check of its clients, he noted policy will “do more harm than good.”

“We are with the PNP in building a safer place for the Filipino. We can achieve this without adding burden to the transacting public and the people we serve,” Bello pointed out.

Stakeholders’ support

LABOR groups lauded the position of DOLE on the implementation of NPC, which they have opposing since it was first publicly disclosed.

Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) Secretary-General Joshua Mata said DOLE made the right decision on the matter, which may have only serve to fan labor unrest.

“The truth is, that’s the only deci-

sion we could accept,” Mata said.

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said while it appreciates the decision of DOLE, it also criticizing the agency for not immediately junking the proposed NPC. “It should have been junked outright and immediately at an early stage. It is incorrect for the DOLE to have even subjected the matter to a survey,” KMU Chairman Elmer Labog said.

For its part, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) urged the PNP to first consult employers and workers before considering such requirements.

“This can be done by establishing a tripartite consultation mechanism within the PNP similar to what the DOLE is doing in their policy-making and decision-making process,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.

Esperon hits Chinese Coast Guard’s risky maneuvers vs PCG ships at Scarborough

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

A

PHILIPPINE Coast Guard (PCG) vessel that took part in a maritime training exercise that went on patrol in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) challenged Chinese maritime militia (CMM) ships within the country’s exclusive economic zone, prompting the vessels to leave.

At the same time, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) protested the blocking and dangerous maneuvers made by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) against two other PCG ships at the Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough shoal).

Four PCG ships and four vessels from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) manned also by PCG personnel conducted two weeks of sea training exercises in the WPS at the Batanes waters and in the eastern portion of the country last month.

National Security Adviser and

After Friday’s glitch, PSA primes up capacity of Natl ID registration site

By Cai U. Ordinario

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, May 6, 2021 A3

starting this month.

Chua also emphasized that the National ID program will help accelerate social protection programs and the vaccination drive amid the pandemic.

“Since poor families will have access to bank accounts, subsidies like the Social Amelioration Program [SAP] can be given directly to beneficiaries without gathering in distribution centers,” he explained.

“The National ID can also be used to queue and register the adults belonging to Priority Group C or the general population once it starts later this year,” Chua added.

Last Friday, the registration web site encountered some technical issues as the number of users exceeded the capacity on the first day.

Some 46,000 Filipinos or three times the normal capacity wanted to register at the same time during the first minute. However, the web site is designed to accommodate only 16,000 simultaneous users per minute, peaking at 35,000.

Chua also apologized to the President and to the Filipino people for the glitch and affirmed that the National Economic and Development Authority and PSA are working with local and international experts to increase the web site’s capacity and to get the platform up and running as soon as possible.

NTF-WPS Chairman Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said PCG vessels BRP Cabra and two BFAR vessels went to Sabina Shoal on April 27, both for maritime exercises and law-enforcement operations.

Upon their arrival at the shoal, located 130 nautical miles, west of Puerto Princesa City, the ships sighted seven CMM vessels that are in “stationary linear formation,” prompting the BRP Cabra to issue a series of challenges to the Chinese ship, but got no response.

“After around 20 minutes, however, the CMMs vessels dispersed and left the shoal after being challenged by BRP Cabra,” the NTF-WPS said in a news statement signed by Esperon himself.

A separate statement issued by the Coast Guard, through its spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo, said that BRP Cabra informed the CMM vessels that they were within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and asked them to identify their markings during the challenges.

“This is the Philippine Coast Guard BRP Cabra [MRRV-4409].

You are within Philippine exclusive economic zone. You are requested to provide the following: name of vessel, intention, last and next port of call on channel 16,” Balilo quoted one of the challenges issued by Cabra.

The NTF-WPS said that two days later, or on 29 April 2021, the BRP Cabra returned to Sabina Shoal and again observed five CMM ships that have left the area upon the arrival of the PCG ship. “ The NTF-WPS emphasizes that the maritime exercises and patrols routinely conducted by the PCG and BFAR are part of the maritime law-enforcement activities of its member-agencies in the exercise of Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights over our territorial seas and EEZ, respectively,” the task force said.

“The Philippines is not deterred from defending our national interest, patrimony, and our dignity as a people with all

Police collar suspect who withdrew ₧450K from CEO’s ATM account

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

T

HE chief executive officer (CEO) of a store owned by a group of pilots filed qualified theft charges against a trainee suspected of having withdrawn close to half a million pesos using the CEO’s stolen ATM card.

Andrew Onglatco, 33, CEO of Sky Aerotrade, told airport policemen that last May 1, he noticed that his ATM bank card was missing, prompting him to immediately call the bank to inquire of any transaction using his card.

Following the submission of official request, the Metrobank branch at the Salem Complex Domestic Road, Pasay City, allowed Onglatco to view the CCTV, and positively identified Danilo Huerto Jr., a resident of Sampaloc, Manila as the culprit.

Onglatco filed charges of theft against Huerto based on the CCTV footage that showed the latter withdrawing money on several occasions, using Onglatco’s missing ATM card.

The bank informed Onglatco that there were unauthorized withdrawals of cash amounting to P450,000, according to the account transaction history as the withdrawals were made at the ATM Metrobank Domestic

Road branch at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Complex and immediately ask bank official to block his ATM to prevent further transactions.

Onglatco filed a formal complaint against Huerto, who is said to be mostly staying at the Salem complex.

The airport police launched a manhunt and collared Huerto at the Salem Complex on May 3, 2021.

Upon confrontation, Huerto readily admitted the allegations made against him of unauthorized withdrawal, and the police also found the ATM card of Onglatco in his pocket.

Huerto was brought to the police headquarters for the formal filling of qualified theft charges under the Revised Penal Code, and for violation of Republic Act 8484, otherwise known as the “Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, and Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.”

Police also recovered from Huerto’s possession receipts, assorted purchases for an Iphone 12 Pro and an Apple watch, and cash amounting to P2,220.

Huerto is now temporarily detained at the airport police detention cell pending inquest proceedings before the Pasay City Prosecutors Office.

that we have,” it added.

At the same time, the NTF-WPS welcomed the diplomatic protests filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) against the illegal Chinese activities in the country’s territory and its EEZ, while condemning the dangerous maneuvers made by the CCG against PCG vessels BRP Gabriela Silang and BRP Sindangan.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the shadowing, blocking, dangerous maneuvers and radio challenges conducted by the Chinese Coast Guard [CCG] against PCG vessels BRP Gabriela Silang and BRP Sindangan, during legitimate lawenforcement patrols and maritime exercises while in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc on 24-25 April 2021, as a violation of our sovereignty,” the task force said.

The two PCG ships were sailing toward the area along with a BFAR vessel to enforce Philippine fisheries laws and protect Filipino fishermen when the incident happened.

BI probes own men for alleged link in Syria human trafficking report

J

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is now probing the possible involvement of some immigration personnel in the reported trafficking of young women to Syria by tampering with their passports, also known as “Baklas Passport” scheme.

The investigation into the scheme, according to Guevarra, is part of BI’s ongoing effort to dig deeper into the sexual trafficking of 44 Filipino women to Syria.

“The alleged trafficking of women to Syria is already being investigated by the BI Board of Discipline. Their fact finding reports will be submitted to the DOJ [Department of Justice] for review and initiation of formal administrative disciplinary proceedings, if found warranted,” Guevarra said.

The BI’s Board of Discipline, he added, has already submitted its initial findings on the issue and would be submitting a complete report soon.

“This is a continuing investigation.

Some reports have actually been submitted to the DOJ for evaluation,” the DOJ chief added.

Earlier, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairman of the Senate Committee on Women and Children, claimed that young women, some as young as 14, were using tampered passports to travel to Syria. Joel R. San Juan

BusinessMirror

Thursday, May 6, 2021

A4

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

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

GULLAPALLI, RAMESH Indian

APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE MANAGER

2.

KUMAR, TUSHIMA Indian

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

3.

MELUPALLEPPA KRISHNAPPA, SAGAR Indian

CLOUD SUPPORT ASSOCIATE MANAGER

4.

KIM, SOOHYUN South Korean

SERVICE DELIVERY OPS SENIOR ANALYST

5.

EHABE, SAMUEL SUMELONG Cameroonian

SERVICE DESK ANALYST

AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore Brgy. 076 Pasay City 6.

NGUYEN THI TUYET MAI Vietnamese

MARKET RESEARCH SPECIALIST

AMDOCS PHILIPPINES INC. 23rd, 25th, And 26th Floors Eco Tower 32nd St. Cor. 9th Ave. Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 7.

CHANDHOK, ISHLEEN Indian

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SPECIALIST

BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. 5f-13f, Jiaxing Tower Building Aseana Avenue, Aseana Business Park Tambo Parañaque City

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

DAELIM MANILA BRANCH Unit 2204a West Tower Psec Exchange Road, Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City 27.

KIM, BYUNG CHUL South Korean

28.

HWANG, KYUTAE South Korean

www.businessmirror.com.ph

GEOTECHNICAL MANAGER STRUCTURAL SUPERVISOR

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

NO.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

64.

LI, HUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

108.

RONG, TINGBIN Chinese

CHINESE GUEST RELATION OFFICER

65.

LI, ZHIBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

109.

RONG, WOQIN Chinese

CHINESE GUEST RELATION OFFICER

66.

LI, MINGRUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

110.

WANG, KAI Chinese

CHINESE GUEST RELATION OFFICER

67.

LIANG, MIMI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

111.

XIE, SENWEN Chinese

CHINESE GUEST RELATION OFFICER

68.

LIN, JIANJIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

GLOBAL B2B CONSULTANCY, INC. 50/f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Avenue Bel-air Makati City

69.

LIU, HUITING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

112.

SRI AYU Indonesian

CUSTOMER SERVICE INDONESIAN SPEAKING

70.

LIU, YUZI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

113.

SOOKPAIBOON, PIMJAI Thai

CUSTOMER SERVICE THAI SPEAKING

71.

LIU, FANGZHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

72.

LIU, ZHANGYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

73.

MA, ZHIYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

29.

CHEN YEN HING Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

30.

FENG, JIAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

31.

GAO, XINGYUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

32.

HUANG, YIXUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

33.

HUANG, YUYAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

34.

JESSLIN ARPITA SANDIKA Indonesian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

74.

MA, XIAOMENG Chinese

35.

LIU, MEICHAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

75.

36.

LIU, DONGDONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING 2nd, 3rd & 6th Flr. Ortigas Technopoint 2 Ortigas Home Depot Complex #1 Doña Julia Vargas Ave. Pasig City 114.

ANTHONY JAYA Indonesian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

115.

HONG, KAIBAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

SHEN, ZHENBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

GOLDEN CHINA KITCHEN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT INC. Seascape Village, Ccp Complex Bldg. Zoilo St. Cor. Atang Dela Rama St. Barangay 076 Pasay City

76.

SONG, WENBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

116.

CHEN, MINA Chinese

TRADITIONAL FUJIAN CULINARY ADVISER

LI, WEI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

37.

LU, BAOZHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

77.

SONG, HENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

117.

LU, LIGANG Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

TRADITIONAL FUJIAN CULINARY ADVISER

38.

QIU, JUNKE Chinese

GONG, LIQIONG Chinese

78.

TANG, ZHENQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

118.

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

39.

SONG, XIAOHUI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

TRADITIONAL GUANGDONG CULINARY ADVISER

10.

MA, HONGRI Chinese

REN, HAOWEN Chinese

79.

TANG, WEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

11.

SUN, JIANWEN Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

40.

WU, LICONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

80.

TAO, MIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

12.

XIE, YUANQIN Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

41.

XUE, SHUAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

81.

WANG, JIALE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

13.

XU, SHIXU Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

42.

ZHANG, LIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

82.

WANG, BIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

43.

ZHENG, QIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

83.

WANG, WENJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

84.

WANG, GUANPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

8.

9.

BLOOMBERRY RESORTS AND HOTELS INC. Solaire Resort And Casino 1 Asean Avenue, Entertainment City Tambo Parañaque City 14.

CHAINANI, HARESH MOHANDAS British

VP, TALENT MANAGEMENT

BS IT SOLUTION CONSULTANCY GROUP OUTSOURCING INC. 306 Avida Citiflex Tower Corner Lane T Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 15.

CHUNG, HOONTAE South Korean

16.

YU, HYEONMIN South Korean

17.

ZHAO, LULU Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

S2P NEXTGEN DEPLOYMENT ADVISOR

CHIEF IMPORTATION OFFICER

CLOVERSENSE TECHNOLOGY INC. 29/f Robinsons Summit Center 6783 Ayala Center Bel-air Makati City 19.

20.

21.

MIELISA Indonesian

SPORTS TRADER - BAHASA SPEAKING I

SHINTA DEVI Indonesian

SPORTS TRADER - BAHASA SPEAKING I

OH YONGQIANG a.k.a.

HU YONGQIANG Singaporean

SPORTS TRADER - BAHASA SPEAKING III

COMMTECH (ASIA - PHILIPPINES) BRANCH, INC. 8/f Sunlife Center 5th Ave. Cor. Rizal Drive Bgc Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 22.

KIRK, STEVEN ALLAN British

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER

CONCENTRIX CVG PHILIPPINES, INC. 25/f Ayala North Exchange Tower 2, 6796 Ayala Ave. Cor. Salcedo & Amorsolo Streets Makati City 23.

CHANDHOK, ISHVINDER SINGH Indian

DIRECTOR, SERVICE DELIVERY

CROWN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INC. 5th-7th Floor Alhi Corporate Center Aseana Avenue Tambo Parañaque City 24.

25.

85.

WEI, HONG Chinese

45.

YU, CHENGFEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

86.

XIAO, BO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHOU, JINGJING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

87.

XU, JIANTAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

FIRST GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. Lot 5 Sta. Agueda Cor. Queensway Pagcor Drive Sto. Niño Parañaque City

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

IMPORTATTION HEAD

HC CONSUMER FINANCE PHILIPPINES, INC. 15th Floor, Ore Central 9th Ave. Cor 31st. Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 120.

HORVATH, ONDREJ Czech

LATE COLLECTIONS ANALYTICS MANAGER

IBM BUSINESS SERVICES, INC. 8th Floor, 1800 Bldg. Eastwood City Libis Quezon City

121.

RAMIRO, LILIANA HELENA NOVAIS DOMINGOS Angolan

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE ANA;YST - PORTUGUESE

122.

SERUMWE, ROSETTE FURAHA Congolese

HR - CONTACT CENTER FRENCH

123.

MALLIGARJUNAN, PRASHANTH KUMAR Indian

HR TRANSFORMATION LEADER

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

47.

89.

XUE, MENGMENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

48.

XU, MINGSHANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

90.

YANG, CHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

124.

91.

YOU, GANLIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

92.

YUAN, SONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

INVECH TREASURE PROCESSING CORPORATION 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Floor Six West Campus Mckinley West Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

ZHANG, JIANGHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, MENGFAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, XINYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, JUNQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, KAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

98.

ZHANG, PENGFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

99.

ZHAO, QIANGQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

100.

ZHAO, KAIMO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

101.

ZHAO, SHIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

102.

ZHAO, KAIXUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

133.

103.

ZHAO, GAWA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

KING-MERCHANT BUSINESS TRADING INCORPORATED Unit 2505-f The Finance Centre 26th St. Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

104.

ZHAO, LIRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

134.

DAI, MACHUNXU Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

105.

ZHOU, YANHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

135.

DENG, ZHIYONG Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. 4th-11th Floor Aseana 3 Building Aseana Avenue Corner Diosdado Macapagal Tambo Parañaque City

WONG MEI LENG Malaysian

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

125.

DONG, YU Chinese

INFORMATION SECURITY ANALYST

126.

LUAN, YATING Chinese

INFORMATION SECURITY ANALYST

127.

GAN, SHIWAN Chinese

IT TECHNICAL MANDARIN

128.

WANG, HAOTIAN Chinese

IT TECHNICAL MANDARIN

129.

CAI, CHANGSHUI Chinese

QA (QUALITY ASSURANCE) SPECIALIST

130.

LI, MENGQI Chinese

QA (QUALITY ASSURANCE) SPECIALIST

131.

LIAO, GUOWEI Chinese

QA (QUALITY ASSURANCE) SPECIALIST

132.

YANG, ZHIWEN Chinese

QA (QUALITY ASSURANCE) SPECIALIST

BAI, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

BI, WENJUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

51.

CAI, WEIBING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

52.

CHEN, FEIBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

53.

CHEN, ZIBIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

54.

CHEN, JINGUANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

55.

DOU, ZHENWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

56.

DU, JUNJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

57.

FENG, ZHIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

58.

GU, DEXUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

HONG, WEIMIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

HOU, XIAOWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

HUANG, XIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

62.

JIN, PENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

106.

LIN, JINMEI Chinese

CHINESE GUEST RELATION OFFICER

136.

HUANG, TINGTING Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

63.

LAI, YALING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

107.

QIN, FUBIN Chinese

CHINESE GUEST RELATION OFFICER

137.

JI, YUJUN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

49.

50.

59.

60.

KWE CHI Myanmari

COMPUTER SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

61.

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

XU, XIN Chinese

AN, HYUN KYUNG South Korean

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

CALL CENTER REPRESENTATIVE

CHEN, CHUNJUAN Chinese

88.

119.

XU, YINGNI Chinese

LIN, YUXIN Chinese

DA SUCCESS BUSINESS TRADING INCORPORATED 2503 The Finance Centre 26th Street Corner 9th Avenue Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 26.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

46.

CHG GLOBAL INC. 19 V. Mapa St. Barangay 122 District 2 Caloocan City 18.

44.

LIU, PEI Chinese

FINANCIAL MANAGER

CHEVRON HOLDINGS INC. 35/f Yuchengco Tower, Rcbc Plaza 6819 Ayala Ave. Bel-air Makati City KALA, NEHA Indian

FAREAST OUTSOURCE PROCESSING INC. 7th, 8th, 9th Flr. Nu Tower Moa Coral Way Brgy. 076 Pasay City

GOODMORNING INCREATED TRADING CORP. #921 A. Bonifacio Ave. Balingasa 1 Quezon City

93.

94.

95.

96.

97.

ITECHNO SPECIALIST INC. 9/f 100 West Building Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City LI, YANG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

NO.

138.

LAN, LIN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

179.

139.

LI, ZIXIAN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

140.

LI, ZHENWEI Chinese

141.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

ZHOU, QIJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

180.

CAI, WENTING Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

181.

LIAO, LIANG Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

142.

SONG, SHUQIN Chinese

143.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

NO.

230.

LAU SALLY Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

231.

TAN MING JIAN Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHEN, ZHANGPING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

232.

NYEIN CHAN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

182.

CHEN, RUIJIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

233.

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

183.

CHEN, GUIMIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHONG NGOC THU HIEN Vietnamese

234.

CAI, XIAOPING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

184.

CHENG, FUJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

273.

WAN, JIAN Chinese

DONG THI NHAN Vietnamese

235.

CHEN, HAIHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

144.

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

185.

DENG, XIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

274.

WANG, LULU Chinese

HA THI NGA Vietnamese

236.

186.

DING, ZHAOYING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

DONG NGUYEN DIEM MY MY Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

145.

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

275.

YAN, LI Chinese

LAU MY MY Vietnamese

237.

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

276.

187.

FANG, ZHENG Chinese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

146.

ZHANG, XUE Chinese

LE VAN NAM Vietnamese

FU, JINGWEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

238.

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

277.

188.

FENG, JIE Chinese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

147.

ZHANG, SHAOQI Chinese

LUONG THI XUAN Vietnamese

HARTONO Indonesian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHENG, HUI Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

189.

FENG, XIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

239.

NGUYEN THI KIEU OANH Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

278.

HUANG, JIANYI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

190.

HUANG, NING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

240.

NGUYEN THI QUYNH NHU Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

279.

LI, JIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

191.

HUANG, SANYAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

241.

PHAM THI LOAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

280.

LWAY AM Myanmari

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

192.

LI, JINCHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

NCH CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES, INC. 6f, 7f, Tower 3 West Bldg. Double Dragon Plaza, Edsa Ext. Cor. Macapagal St. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

281.

NGUYEN THI LOAN Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

193.

LI, XIAOFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

282.

OUYANG, DAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

194.

LI, MOJIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

283.

QU, SHUO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

195.

LI, SHAOBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

284.

SOE MOE Myanmari

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

285.

WANG, WENXIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

148.

LARKSPUR INC. 19/f Marco Polo Hotel Manila Sapphire Road Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City 149.

JIN, RI Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

MACH 86 TECHNOLOGIES CORP. 5th-13th Flr. Workspace Bldg. 1419 Industry St. Corner Finance St. Mbp Ayala Alabang Ayala-alabang Muntinlupa City

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

Thursday, May 6, 2021 A5

242.

RAHAL, JASON MICHAEL British

CPCC OPERATIONS MANAGER

ELVERS, TORSTEN German

CUSTOMER SUPPORT ADVISOR - GERMAN

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

271.

ZHENG, LU Chinese

BUSINESS LENDING DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

272.

WANG, JINGUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SUPPORT

SA RIVENDELL GLOBAL SUPPORT, INC. 9-11 Flr., The Biopolis Bldg. Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City 2741 P. Zamora St. Brgy. 097 Pasay City 5th & 7th Flr. Star Cruises Ce Andrews Drive Newport City Brgy.

183 Pasay City

150.

CHEN, XIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

151.

LIANG, GUOPEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

152.

LIU, ZHONGYUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

196.

LI, XIAOQI Chinese

153.

SUI, XIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

197.

LI, ZHIYI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

244.

CHEN, YONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

286.

WANG, JIANBO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

154.

XIE, MINGMIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

198.

LI, DONGJIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

245.

CUAN, ZONGYUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

287.

WU, YIPO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

155.

XUE, XINGYU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

199.

LIAO, YINSHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

246.

DING, YUYING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

288.

WU, ZHIREN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

156.

ZHANG, QIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

200.

LIN, HUAMIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

247.

FU, QUANGANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

289.

YANG, JIANFANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

157.

ZHANG, XIAOLIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

201.

LIN, YIZHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

248.

GAO, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

290.

ZE YAW SHU Myanmari

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

202.

LIN, ZECHUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

249.

HUANG, ZHENJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

291.

LIN, JIANQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, HAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

250.

LI, XIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

292.

ZHANG, XIAODONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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

243.

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION 1331 Pearl Plaza Bldg. Quirino Ave. Tambo Parañaque City Sky Garage Bldg. Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City Tambo Parañaque City

ZHANG, WEIYU Chinese

MANDARIN HELP DESK TECHNICIAN

203.

159.

ZHENG, BAOLI Chinese

MANDARIN MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE SUPPORT

204.

LIU, JINXING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

251.

LIU, PEIFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

160.

GAO, SHANG Chinese

MANDARIN MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

205.

LIU, JUNQIU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

252.

LIU, QI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

206.

LIU, YANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

253.

LIU, CHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

207.

LUO, QI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

254.

LIU, QIAOBIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SH&HS GLOBAL SYSTEM INC. Unit B 7/f 8 Rockwell Bldg. Hidalgo Drive, Rockwell Center Poblacion Makati City

208.

MA, ZHENGZHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

255.

LONG, MENGJI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

294.

209.

OU, DEGANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

256.

MENG, HUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SIEMENS HEALTHCARE INC. 10/f M1 Tower 141 H.v. Dela Costa St. Bel-air Makati City

210.

PENG, JUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

257.

MENG, QINGYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

295.

211.

PENG, YANHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

258.

SUN, ZHONGLEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

212.

PENG, CHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

259.

TU, LONGLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SUPREME CHENGHAO MANAGEMENT OPC Level 26-a Rufino Pacific Tower 6784 Ayala Ave. San Lorenzo Makati City

SU, GUIYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

260.

WANG, JINSHUAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

158.

METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST COMPANY Metrobank Plaza Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City 161.

HOLMES, DAVID PETER BUCKLEY British

HEAD, CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT GROUP

MHI ENGINE SYSTEMS PHILIPPINES, INCORPORATED Warehouse 4-c Sunblest Cmpd Km 23 West Service Rd. Cupang Muntinlupa City 162.

HONJO, KUNIHIRO Japanese

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

MIGHTY-MERCHANT BUSINESS TRADING INCORPORATED Unit 2505- E The Finance Centre 26th St. Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 163.

LUO, YUMING Chinese

SECURE SMARTER SERVICES INC. Unit A 9/ F Bpi-philam Life Bldg. 6811 Ayala Ave. Bel-air Makati City 293.

296.

LI, GUOLING Chinese

HU, MAOXIANG Chinese

DAMLE, AJIT KAMLAKAR Indian

YU, YU Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING SITE TECHNICIAN

CUSTOMER SUPPORT & TRAINING SPECIALIST

DIRECTOR, TREASURER AND FINANCE DIRECTOR

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

164.

QIU, HAIJUN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

213.

165.

TAN WENG SHING Malaysian

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

214.

SU, WEIHUANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

261.

WANG, YUE Chinese

166.

XIA, DONGMEI Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

215.

TAN, CUIZHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

262.

XIE, QICHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

297.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

263.

XU, YARU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

264.

YANG, DONGDONG Chinese

VERTEX DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Dd Dragon Plaza Dd Meridian P Edsa Ext. Cor. Macapagal Ave. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZHAN, BIAOTONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

NGUYEN THANH TUNG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

167.

ZHANG, QIAN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

216.

WANG, JIANQING Chinese

168.

ZHOU, BEILEI Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING MARKETING SPECIALIST

217.

WANG, HAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

218.

WANG, JINFA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

219.

WANG, XIAOMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

220.

WU, JIANLIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

221.

XU, MINGYI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

222.

XU, SONGFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MINDSCAPE CREATIVES INC. Unit 19-o, Burgundy Corporate Tower 252 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

265.

266.

HUANG, MINA Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

WANG, DONGLIANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

171.

NGUYEN PHAN HOANG LONG Vietnamese

MANDARIN HR SPECIALIST

172.

LI, WENXUE Chinese

MANDARIN MARKETING SPECIALIST

223.

XU, MEIHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

173.

VONG THUY QUYNH Vietnamese

MANDARIN PRODUCT DEVELOPER

RAINBOW PROMISE SOLUTIONS INC. Unit A 14/f B.a Lepanto Bldg. 8749 Paseo De Roxas Bel-air Makati City

224.

YU, HAODONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LI, HAOMING Chinese

MANDARIN TECHNICAL SUPPORT

268.

225.

ZHANG, WENJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

226.

ZHANG, YIJING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

227.

ZHANG, YANYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

269.

INTARARUNG, CHOMANAD Thai

FOREIGN LANGUAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE

228.

ZHOU, QIANJIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

270.

SUPAKAI, RATTATAMMANOON Thai

FOREIGN LANGUAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE

229.

ZHU, SHILU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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

169.

170.

174.

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower C4 Rd. Edsa Ext. Brgy. 076 Pasay City 175.

CHEN, LEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

176.

LI, PEITIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SU, MUSHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

177.

178.

ZHAN, YONGHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ODFJELL DRILLING PHILIPPINES CORP. 27/f Zuellig Bldg. Makati Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas Urdaneta Makati City 267.

BLIKRA, SONJA Norwegian

GE, QIAN Chinese

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER / GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES MANAGER

CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST (CHINESE SPEAKING)

RED DOT MARKETING AND BRANDING INC. Unit 1514 Burgundy Transpacific Place Taft Ave. 079, Bgy. 727 Malate Manila

THE 13TH BUREAU OF CHINA CITY CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Unit 1602 20th Drive Corp. Center Mckinley Business Park Fort Bonifacio Taguig City YANG, CHENG Chinese

FINANCE MANAGER

298.

SU, DEFU Chinese

CHINESE IT SPECIALIST

299.

XIE, CAIBIN Chinese

CHINESE IT SPECIALIST

300.

LEE YONG TING Malaysian

IT SPECIALIST

301.

NGU PING YIK Malaysian

IT SPECIALIST

WHEELSTRIP CORP. 40/f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City 302.

LI, WENXIAO Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

*Date Generated: May 5, 2021

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

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

TheBroa

Business

A6 Thursday, May 6, 2021• www.businessmirror.com.ph

Global shipment woes: Additional

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

I

@jearcalas

T will take about a foot for a spoonful of food to reach the mouth; to reach the dining table, it’s farther than that. Nearly 10,000 nautical miles: 9,629, to be exact. That is the distance between the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, and the Manila International Container Terminal, the Philippines’ busiest port.

That is also the exact length it takes for a container of pork products from the world’s top exporter of pork to arrive in the world’s ninth-biggest consumer of pork meat.

Vice versa, it’s also the same mileage that shipments of virgin coconut oil from the Philippines, one of two of the world ’s largest exporters, cover upon reaching Europe.

Prior to the pandemic year, it took about a month to a month and a half on average to complete one delivery; either of pork from Europe to the Philippines, or coconut oil from the Philippines to Europe. Today, it takes an eternity...of sorts.

The grounding of the Ever Given at the Suez Canal in March came at the worst time, compounding the persisting global shipping problems that stemmed from Covid-19related lockdowns and problems that started late last year.

After certain economies, such as China and the United States, reopened their economies in the latter part of 2020, global trade took one hellacious ride: lack of shipping vessels and container imbalance.

gained a bit of momentum last year, the shipping industry was overwhelmed with orders from developed countries like the US and China. This resulted in a container imbalance. Countries that are not major shipping points or routes, like the Philippines, were at the losing end, Ambalada told the BusinessMirror.

He added that container-turnaround is also delayed due to lack of drivers in Europe, which is experiencing its third wave of Covid-19, with the spread of more transmissible variants.

Ambalada said huge economies like China, Singapore and the US have been more aggressive in terms of imports and exports, thus concerning the bulk of the available vessels and containers in the world.

“The major problem is that our transshipment points are already congested. For example, Singapore and China ports are congested since these countries are sourcing a lot of raw materials,” he said.

Rising costs

SINCE most of the vessels and containers were docked in the West after global trade was put on halt due to the health pandemic, importers and exporters had to scramble in seeking to source their logistical needs.

The scrambling led from one problem to another; it has shaken industries and their captains on how to thrive amid today’s uncertainties: delayed shipping arrivals and near record-high freight costs.

For the Philippines, a country that is not considered a major trading port in the global trade, these problems mean a myriad of headaches.

Royal Cargo Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jet B. Ambalada was straightforward about it: the country is facing a “perfect storm.”

“We are facing shipping and logistics problems. For example in Europe, there are a lot of delays due to Covid-19 problems and cha l lenges such as lockdowns,” Ambalada told the BusinessMirror. “We are now encountering two weeks to a month ’s delays in our arrivals.”

He explained that the problem in the global shipping industry emerged last year when the global economy ground to a halt as the virus risked those operating the gears of the trade. Due to lockdown measures, the number of drivers and ship captains allowed to work were pared down and vessels and containers were grounded in major ports like those in Europe and the US.

DUE to this situation, shipping costs for exports have increased “10-fold” with outbound shipments being delayed by a month to three months at worst, Ambalada pointed out.

He said the cost of shipping one dry container from Manila to the European Union has ballooned to $5,000 from the usual $800 (about P38,424.40 at current exchange rates). Shipping one 20-foot container from Manila to the US West Coast used to cost only about a maximum of $1,000 (P48,030.50); it’s now hitting $5,000 (P240,152.50).

Inter-Asia shipping rates have also ballooned to unprecedented levels with the Philippines to China route costing now as much as $2,000 from the usual $200, since we are outside the “preferred routes” of shipping companies, Ambalada added.

“We are being outbidded by our neighbors who can afford $5,000.

The question is, who can bite the bullet among our exporters? Instead of catering to the Philippines, the vessels will just go to China en route to Europe since they can pay higher,” he explained.

Increase in shipping costs of importing goods from Europe and the US to the Philippines “is not significant” since there are available containers and vessels from these areas, Ambalada told the BusinessMirror.

He said they started to experience the problem in the last quarter of 2020 after countries like China started to buy more imports and were able to jump-start their economy again amid the pandemic; hence, exporting more goods than any other country.

HOWEVER, when global trade

FELIX Ishizuka, president and

Woes, headaches

Overwhelmed with orders

Key issues

CEO of Reefer Filipinas Express Line Inc., said it is undeniable that the industry was overwhelmed when demand surged in the latter half of last year.

“It is always supply and demand.

Obviously, the demand went up and the container supply is scarce in every port due to congestion,” Ishizuka added.

Also contributing to the delays, he said, are the rules of countries to quarantine cargo and shipments in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“China, for example, is getting heavy congestion for fresh produce. Normally they do not quarantine these; but now every container must undergo a minimum of three days,” Ishizuka said. “That is obviously going to pile up.”

He explained that the unavailability of space is felt across all segments of the shipping industry from dry cargo containers, break bulk to reefers.

Ishizuka pointed out that the cost of renting a reefer ship has now skyrocketed to $25,000 per day from the $9,000 per day to $10,000 per day recorded in June of last year.

“Freight cost is crazy right now; it is now at a level never seen before; never seen these reefer ship prices in the last 15 years of the industry,” Ishizuka told the

BusinessMirror. “The most affected businesses are the small players who ship 5 containers at maximum.”

He added that the cost of moving used cars from Japan to the West Coast, say South America, is now at $5,000 per container from $1,000.

Uncertain that unloaded imported cargo would have an export replacement, importers are now shouldering additional costs in the form of prepositioning fees, Ishizuka said.

Effect to consumers

CONSUMERS ultimately suffered, and still suffer, since rising freight costs and other additional costs are just passed on to them, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Agribusiness Committee Co-Chairman Christopher A. Ilagan told the BusinessMirror.

“Generally speaking, the global shipping and/or logistics issues we face today affect the cost effectiveness and efficiency of our supply chains,” Ilagan said. “The rising freight costs ultimately put pressure on general consumer prices as these are often just passed on to final consumers.”

He said some of their members “have been seeing delays in their imports and exports, ranging from a few weeks to a few months,”

forcing them to “create new ways of coping with these realities.”

“One such coping mechanism comes in the form of building up of buffer stocks—with clear implications on working capital and warehouse costs,” Ilagan told the BusinessMirror.

Restarting economies

ILAGAN added they observed that another way of coping has to do with shippers getting creative with inter-modal transport options. He cited as example: from the traditional full reliance on ocean shipping from origin to destination, a shipper has considered a mix of utilizing air freight to get to a transshipment site that can accommodate a shorter delivery time to the final destination port via sea.

Ilagan said it is becoming “clear” that the fastest countries that would reach herd immunity against Covid-19 would “emerge faster” in the new normal of global trade; thus, reaping benefits of the global economic restart.

“Because of this uneven return to the ‘new normal,’ it wouldn’t be surprising that the laggard countries may find themselves having difficulties coping with shipment and logistics delays and elevated costs,” he told the BusinessMirror.

“The faster we can move to the ‘new normal’ in the Philippines, the faster the Philippines can take advantage of the global economic restart,” Ilagan added.

Slowed down

THE global container imbalance and lack of vessels have caused shipments of meat imports to arrive in about three to four months.

This could derail the Duterte government’s plan to bring in cheaper imported protein sources with its pork tariff reduction and increase in the minimum access volume (MAV).

“We now are looking at three months to four months of arrival,” Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham told the BusinessMirror. “There’s a lot of congestion caused by Covid-19 pandemic. It has created an imbalance in trade with containers going one way and the others returning without a back-load.”

Cham added that North America is also reeling from the impact of severe winters that have slowed down the movement of people, trucks and cargoes in the West.

“We will know only of the additional charges when the cargo arrives; and they are delayed. Upon arrival, we will see the destination charges,” he said.

aderLook

sMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Thursday, May 6, 2021

A7

shocks to PHL’s food supply chain

“The CIF cost of a headless pork carcass has gone up to $3 per kilogram from $1.5 per kilogram,” Cham added.

Cham warned that given the delays in shipments, the gover nment ’s pork-t a r if f reduction to as low as 5 percent for in-quota volume and 15 percent for out-quota volume may not be ma ximized.

“Only the pre-ordered [batch] will benefit but the new orders may not, since it takes us now at least three months for new orders,” Cham explained.

Upended process

AMBALADA, who is also a director of the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc., warned that the current shipping and logistics problem is worsened by the challenge of sourcing raw materials for food manufacturers, like processors.

Furthermore, delays in arrival of imported goods may pose food security problems for the country, he added.

For example, meat processors are now struggling to import mechanically deboned meat of chicken since the country lost about 60 percent of its import source after the government slapped temporary blanket bans on European countries over bird flu concerns,

Ambalada explained.

“This is really a perfect storm.

If this won’t be eased or resolved, then we’re up for a looming major food shortage. Take, for example, processed meat products,” he said. “What will be our alternative protein source if we lose processed meat products or they hike their prices amid rising pork and chicken retail prices?”

Noted problems

IN an exclusive inter view with the BusinessMirror, a staff of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PC A) said coconut oil (CNO) ex porters are booking their shipments in advance— about two weeks to a month before target shipment date— as a “stop-gap” solution to the ongoing global container and vessel imbalance.

The person familiar with PCA operations pointed out that the impact of these problems were “greatly noted” in July last year when the country’s CNO exports “dropped to its lowest” at 7,863.15 metric tons (MT).

“With this problem, to be able to deliver the goods as per agreed contract, what our exporters do is to book their shipment with the shippers in advance, two weeks to a month before the target shipment date,” the person familiar

with the PCA said.

The person said the PCA, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, disclosed that the Department of Trade and Industry is already looking into the problem and is looking to come up with a solution to mitigate the impact of the problems on one of the country’s top agricultural exports.

According to the person familiar with the PCA, the trade and industry department’s Committee on Logistics of the Export Development Council has been conducting consultation meetings with the exporters, shipping and logistics companies to minimize the impact of this problem to our exports.

“Advance booking is still the stop-gap solution at the moment,” the source at the PCA told the BusinessMirror.

Imports, exports

THE ongoing global logistical problem adds another problem to the country’s CNO exports that have been suffering from supply problems in recent years.

In fact, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the total value of the country’s CNO exports last year declined by 9.1 percent to $846 million despite a rebound in prices.

A Global Agricultural Infor-

mation Network (GAIN) report projected that the country’s CNO exports in market year 2021 to 2022 will continue to decline for the third straight year due to “logistical problems from importing countries as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The report noted that the country’s top markets for its CNO are Europe and the US, which have been reeling from the impact of the global shipping problems.

The GAIN report, prepared by the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Ser v ice in Manila, estimated that CNO exports from October-to-September of next year would decline to 875,000 MT from 925,000 MT recorded in the previous market year.

Tight margins

PHILIPPINE banana exporters are also reeling from rising shipping costs and shipment delays, which they estimate may slash the country’s profit from the prized yellow fruit by at least 15 percent.

Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) said the rising shipping costs, brought about by t he globa l shipping problem due to Cov id-19 -induced problems, are further “eroding” the “already tight margins” of exporters in

all markets.

PBGEA Chairman Alberto F. Bacani told the—their shipping costs have increased by 15 percent to 20 percent compared to last year’s average quotations.

For example, Bacani said the cost of shipping a container of bananas to Saudi Arabia has risen to $3,000 from the usual quotation of $2,600 (about P124,879.30 at current exchange rates).

Due to this, Bacani noted t hat prof its by t he industr y this year wou ld be slashed by double-dig it rates.

“You can assume the same amount of the increase in shipping costs—about 15-percent reduction,” Bacani, who is also the President and CEO of Unifrutti Tropical Philippines Inc., told the BusinessMirror.

“With market prices generally staying the same year-on-year, the rise in shipping costs have eroded the already tight margins of banana exporters in all markets,” he added.

Equally affected

WORSE, the rise in costs is coupled with shipping delays from Davao to the Middle East, with shipments arriving within 30 days to 33 days—from the usual average of 25 days, Bacani told the BusinessMirror.

He further explained that the transit delay was caused by the “continued spillover effect from the port congestions in China and Singapore that started at the end of 2020.”

The congestion, Bacani pointed out, caused feeder vessels to miss scheduled connecting dates with the intended mother vessels in Singapore and Shekou.

“This congestion has affected all shipping lines from Davao since all of them rely on the same feeder vessel ser vice from Davao offered by CMA and RCL, meaning all banana exporters from Davao are equally affected by the delayed transit time,” he said.

The increase in freight costs has put the Philippines in a tighter corner against its rising Vietnamese and Cambodian competitors in securing market share in the growing market that is China.

“Vietnam and Cambodia, given their proximity to China, are the last affected by these increased freight costs, making their bananas even cheaper now versus Philippine bananas compared to last year,” Bacani said.

Indeed, it appears it would take a long way for the Philippines to recover to a position of strength in matters of logistics.

A4 Thursday, May 6, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug A8

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PhilGuarantee widens credit support to MSMEs with ₧1.47-billion loans

S

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

TATE-RUN Philippine Guarantee Corp. (PhilGuarantee) has already guaranteed a total of P1.47-billion loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as of end-March this year to help cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

PhilGuarantee continued to grow its guarantee program for viable but pandemic-hit MSMEs for the third straight month since its launch in December, with guaranteed loans surging by 612 percent, from the P207-million pilot guarantee portfolio.

PhilGuarantee President-CEO Alberto Pascual reported to Finance

Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that there was a 312-percent jump in the number of MSME beneficiaries to 12,122 enterprises in March from 2,948 that have availed the guarantee program as of December last year.

Pascual attributed the rise in the number of MSME Guarantee Program (MGCP) beneficiaries to the implementation of improved pro-

cessing and evaluation parameters starting this year.

MGCP grants a 50 percent guarantee for working capital loans and a guarantee of up to 80 percent of the amount for term loans of up to seven years for capital expenditures.

From the start of the MGCP’s implementation last year, the PhilGuarantee Governing Board chaired

by Dominguez thus far approved a total of P37.7 billion in credit guarantee facilities to 34 banks.

“Majority of the MSMEs covered were from the wholesale and retail sector, which accounted for 67.26 percent of the total, or P503.5 million with 9,113 MSMEs assisted,” Pascual said in his report.

Next to the wholesale and retail sector is the manufacturing sector, which accounted for 7.77 percent, or P58.17 million with 1,048 assisted MSMEs. This was followed by agriculture

sector with 158 MSMEs assisted through guarantees amounting to P33.91 million, which is 4.53 percent of the loans covered so far under this program.

In the severely affected hotel and restaurant sector, Pascual said 573 MSMEs were assisted with guaranteed loans amounting to P28.45 million, while the personal services sector accounted for guarantees amounting to P31.82 million.

The average loan size under the MGCP is less than P1 million, with the minimum loan amount set at P100,000, which can be availed of mostly by micro businesses borrowing from thrift banks and rural banks.

By geographical distribution, all regions in the country had received assistance under the MGCP, according to Pascual.

Topping the list of regions which received assistance under the program are Calabarzon

(Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) or Region 4A with P135.76 million, Central Luzon or Region 3 with P118.87 million, and Ilocos provinces or Region 1 with P65.82 million.

From three active banks in December 2020, Pascual said, there are now 14 active banks participating in the MGCP as of end-March.

“Twelve more banks are expected to start submitting MSMEs for guarantee coverage as their facilities will be operational,” he said.

Under Republic Act (RA) 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), MSMEs account for P2 billion of the P5 billion appropriated for PhilGuarantee to aid pandemic-hit enterprises.

The Bayanihan 2 allocation for PhilGuarantee enabled it to further widen its guarantee headroom of economic activities and extend more assistance to viable but severely affected MSMEs, Pascual said.

Nueva Ecija ARB LTFRB READIES ‘SHOW CAUSE’ ORDER VS. ‘UNDERPERFORMING’ METRO BUS FIRMS groups get laptops and smartphones from DAR execs

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Wednesday announced the distribution of a total of 97 laptops and smartphones to clusters of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Nueva Ecija to boost their capacity through modern gadgets and Internet technology.

In a news statement, DAR said 44 of the ARB clusters received laptop computers and accessories, while 53 others got their android mobile phones to help enhance and modernize their trading business.

Engr. Romeo S. Cordero, provincial agrarian reform program officer, said each cluster was also given a modem for them to gain access to the Internet.

Cordero said the provision of laptops and android mobile phones to the 97 clusters of ARBs were carried out under the Convergence on Livelihood Assistance for ARBs Project (CLAAP).

CLAAP is a technical capacity development program of DAR aimed at raising the standards of living of the farmer-beneficiaries and developing them into potent partners for nationbuilding. It was launched by the DAR, in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in January 2018.

“The information and communication technology will help modernize the business operations and outlooks of our agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations [ARBOs]. Through it, they can buy farm inputs and sell farm products online with ease,” Cordero said.

IN this April 14, 2021, file photo, an Edsa Carousel bus waits for passengers at a loading bay on Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. The Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board on Wednesday said it is eyeing the issuance of show-cause orders against bus companies that may have failed to deploy sufficient units despite being authorized to operate during the pandemic. PNA/JESS M. ESCAROS JR.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

issue a “show cause” order against bus companies that have failed to deploy adequate units despite being authorized to operate during the pandemic.

Mar tin Delgra III, chief of

the reg u lator y body, said his g roup recent ly lea r ned t h at there are members of the t wo bus consor tia in Metro Manila that are now deploy ing enough units to accommodate the de-

T ADB to help DMCs meet climate goals A relative carbon tax of $25 per ton implemented over a 10-year period could reduce emissions by over 20 percent.

This augurs well for meeting the Paris agreement targets and generating additional revenues for a green recovery.

“A carbon tax of $50 per ton could generate annual revenue of around 1.4 percent of GDP for the region which could be used to compensate those who were negatively impacted by a carbon tax or to fund a broader scheme to promote reinvestment or to address rising inequality or support adaptation infrastructure,”

HE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) may

Dabra-Norris said.

Additiona l revenues are cr ucia l in meeting the Par is Agreement as wel l as the Sustainable Development Goa ls (SDGs), according to A DB Economic Research and Reg iona l Cooperation Depar tment Director Genera l and Chief Economist Yasuy uk i Sawada.

In a presentation, Sawada said the Asia and the Pacific region’s annual investment requirements to meet the SDGs between 2016 and 2030 could reach $1.5 billion annually or 4 percent of the region’s GDP. This amount is staggering,

especially if only governments and multilateral institutions will be working together to pool the funds. Sawada said private green and social financing for the SDGs would go a long way.

Globally, Sawada said, green and social finance have grown rapidly driven by factors such as changing shareholder preferences; hedging and mitigating sustainability risks; and greater resilience under shocks.

Part of the green financing initiatives are green bonds. Sawada said Asian green bond issuers improved their environmental scores after issuing green bonds by

as much as 17 percent a year after issuance and 30 percent two years after issuance.

Social impact bonds

MEANWHILE, social impact bonds, Sawada said, also improved various sectors, including the education of girls in India. These social impact bonds allow private investment to share the risk of green and social investments with the public sector.

“Asian governments can force the growth of green and social finance development through legislation regulation and various physical instruments,”

mand for travel.

“Insofar as the number of units is concerned, our current supply is sufficient to address the demand. W hat’s important is the utilization of the supply.

However, based on our monitoring, the number of authorized units, is not the actual number of running units,” he said in a phone interview.

This, Delgra said, results in commuters scrambling to board buses or waiting for units for longer periods of time.

“So I gave instruction to my people to further monitor and perhaps issue—if warranted—a show-cause order as to why there are insufficient number of authorized units deployed,” he said.

Currently, there are 4,600 city bus units authorized to operate within Metro Manila. They operate in 31 rationalized routes. Each route ends on Edsa.

Delgra said his group also learned that some members of the bus consortia refused to operate due to reasons pertaining to manpower.

“Some also say that their target revenues are not being hit on a dayto-day basis,” he said.

Delgra noted that the government would continue to review and rationalize routes based on the trends. It is also waiting for the completion of the Metro Manila Urban Transport Integration Study, which is being conducted by the Transport and Traffic Planners (TTPI) Inc. “That study will tell us the whole demand, how and where people move, look at supply, and look at the routes where the supply will be deployed. This is the ultimate solution insofar as the current situation is concerned,” he said.

Passage of ‘One Filipino, One Bank Account’ measure pushed in Senate

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

EN. Sherwin T. Gatchalian pressed Congress leaders to front-load deliberation for the early approval of the proposed One Filipino, One Bank Account law envisioned to propel digitalization of financial transactions soon as lawmakers reconvene regular sessions on May 17.

Gatchalian said the remedial legislation aims to ensure equal access to financial services by boosting digitalization of financial transactions in the country.

“We are pushing for financial inclusion because less than 20 percent of the population have personal bank accounts,” he said noting “this means majority still prefer cash amid the pandemic.”

“We are pushing for the passage of this measure on financial inclusion since only 20 percent of the total population have their own bank accounts. The rest remain unbanked, but the pandemic times dictate a shift to digital transactions, especially in digital banking payments. This is the prevailing global trend,” Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said in Filipino.

The remedial legislation embodied in the “One Filipino, One Bank Account” mandates the opening of a bank account or “virtual wallet’ for every Filipino that, Gatchalian pointed out, would serve as a payment platform of the government in distributing financial aid, including educational assistance and medical assistance, among many others, adding that the bill that he plans to file will not require a minimum deposit amount.

In a news statement, Gatchalian envisions that in making every Filipino a bank account or virtual wallet holder, “more Filipinos will be able to engage in cashless transactions” or digital payments, which have been the norm since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

The senator cited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s financial inclusion survey, stating that those who used their account for payment transactions more than doubled to 39 percent in 2019 from 18 percent in 2017.

“They cited that most of those transactions are receipts of salary and government benefits,” he said, noting that “while for those who do not use their account for payments, the topmost reason is preference for cash transactions, followed by lack of awareness that an account can be used for payments.”

He noted the survey also showed that Internet or mobile banking significantly lags behind other modes of transactions for all types of account. Bank and emoney accounts are mostly transacted via automated teller machines and only marginally are via online or mobile platforms. Over the counter is the most commonly used mode of transaction for all other types of accounts. Microfinance non-government organization accounts registered the lowest use of ATMs.

continued from a12 Sawada said.

On Monday, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said climate change must be addressed given that greenhouse gases (GHGs) have again started to increase.

The ADB President said the Asia-Pacific region is accountable for almost 50 percent of carbon dioxide gas emission. While there was a decrease in GHGs because of the lockdowns last year, especially in the first three quarters of 2020, CO2 emissions have increased by the fourth quarter.

Asakawa said efforts must be exerted to prevent these levels

from rising further, not only to protect the environment but also meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement.

ADB, he said, will do its part through its Strategy 2030 where it introduced two concrete numerical targets—it aims to devote 75 percent of its total operation in number to adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Another target is that between 2019 and 2030, the ADB will provide $80 billion in climate financing. This will lead to an annual allocation of $6.7 billion for climate adaptation and mitigation projects.

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

TheWorld

Myanmar forces disappearing young men to crush uprising

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AKARTA, Indonesia—Myanmar’s security forces moved in and the street lamps went black. In house after house, people shut off their lights.

Huddled inside her home in Yangon, 19-yearold Shwe dared to peek out her window. A flashlight shone back, and a man’s voice ordered her not to look.

Two gunshots rang out. Then a man’s scream: “HELP!” When the military’s trucks finally rolled away, Shwe and her family emerged to look for her 15-year-old brother.

“I could feel my blood thumping,” she says. “I had a feeling that he might be taken.”

Across the country, Myanmar’s security forces are arresting and forcibly disappearing thousands of people, especially boys and young men, in a sweeping bid to crush a three-month uprising against a military takeover. In most cases, the families of those taken don’t know where they are, according to an Associated Press analysis of more than 3,500 arrests since February. UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, is aware of around 1,000 cases of children or young people who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, many without access to lawyers or their families.

It is a technique the military has long used to instill fear and crush pro-democracy movements. The boys and young men are taken from homes, businesses and streets. Some end up dead. Many are imprisoned and sometimes tortured. Many more are missing.

“We’ve definitely moved into a situation of mass enforced disappearances,” says Matthew Smith, cofounder of the human rights group Fortify Rights, which has collected evidence of detainees being killed in custody. “We’re documenting and seeing widespread and systematic arbitrary arrests.”

The AP is withholding Shwe’s full name to protect her from retaliation by the military.

The autobody shop in Shwe’s neighborhood was a regular hangout for local boys. On the night of March 21, her brother had gone there to chill out like he usually did.

As Shwe approached the shop, she saw it had been ransacked. Frantic, she and her father scoured the building for any sign of their beloved boy.

But he was gone, and the floor was covered in blood.

Ever since Myanmar’s military seized control in February, faces of the missing have flooded the Internet. Recently, photos of young people detained by security forces also have begun circulating online and on military-controlled television, their faces bloodied, with clear markings of beatings and possible torture.

At least 3,500 people have been detained since the military takeover began, more than three-quarters of whom are male, according to an analysis of data collected by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors deaths and arrests. Of the 419 men whose ages were recorded in the group’s database, nearly two-thirds are under age 30, and 78 are teenagers.

Nearly 2,700 of the detainees are being held at undisclosed locations, an AAPP spokesman said.

“The military are trying to turn civilians, striking workers, and children into enemies,” says Ko Bo Kyi, AAPP’s joint secretary. “They think if they can kill off the boys and young men, then they can kill off the revolution.”

After receiving questions from the Associated Press, the military, known as the Tatmadaw, called a

Zoom press conference, during which it dubbed the AAPP a “baseless organization,” suggested its data is inaccurate, and denied security forces are targeting young men.

“The security forces are not arresting based on genders and ages,” said Capt. Aye Thazin Myint, a military spokeswoman. “They are only detaining anyone who is rioting, protesting, causing unrest, or any actions along those lines.”

Some of those snatched by security forces were protesting. Some have links to the military’s rival political party. Others are taken for no discernable reason. They are typically charged with Section 505(A) of the Penal Code, which, in part, criminalizes any comments that “cause fear.”

Myanmar human rights activist Wai Hnin Pwint Thon is intimately acquainted with the Tatmadaw’s tactics. Her father, famed political activist Mya Aye, was arrested during a 1988 uprising against military rule, and the family waited months before learning he was in prison.

He was arrested again during this year’s military takeover. It was two months before his family discovered he was being held at Yangon’s notorious Insein prison.

“I can’t imagine families of young people who are 19, 20, 21, in prison... We are this worried and we’re used to this situation,”she says. “I’m trying to hold onto hope, but the situation is getting worse every day.”

The military’s scare tactics have proven enormously effective. Across the country, residents regularly take turns holding night watches, banging pots and pans or yelling to neighbors from the street if soldiers or police are spotted.

“I am more afraid of being arrested than getting shot,” says one 29-year-old man who was arrested, beaten and later released, and who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. “I have a chance of dying on the spot with just one shot. But being arrested, I am afraid that they would torture me.”

Back in Yangon, Shwe tried to convince herself the blood on the floor of the shop wasn’t her brother’s.

He and three other young men from the shop had been hauled away. Neighbors said security forces may have targeted the boys because they spotted someone inside the shop with a steel dart slingshot.

At 2 a.m., a police officer called to say Shwe’s brother was at a military hospital and had been shot in the hand.

Shwe says her family told the police that her brother was underage. But on March 27, they learned that her brother and the three others had been charged with possession of weapons, and sentenced to three years in prison.

They were allowed one brief phone call with him when he was first hospitalized, and nothing since. Shwe remembers hearing her brother tell their anguished mother, “I am OK.” Shwe has no idea if that is still true. She worries for her brother, a quiet boy who loves playing games. She worries, too, for their mother, who cries and cries, and for their father, who aches for his only son.

For now, they can do little more than wait and hope: That he won’t be beaten. That he will get a pardon. That the people of Myanmar will soon feel safe again.

“Even though we are all in distress, we try to look on the bright side that at least we know where he is,” she says. “We are lucky that he was only abducted.” AP

BusinessMirror

Thursday, May 6, 2021

A9

Covid forecasters warn India deaths may double in weeks

T

he coronavirus wave that plunged India into the world’s biggest health crisis has the potential to worsen in the coming weeks, with some research models projecting that the death toll could more than double from current levels.

A team at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore used a mathematical model to predict about 404,000 deaths will occur

by June 11 if current trends continue. A model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington forecast 1,018,879 deaths by the end of July.

While coronavirus cases can be hard to predict, particularly in a sprawling nation like India, the forecasts reflect the urgent need for India to step up public health measures like testing and social distancing. Even if the worst estimates are avoided, India could suffer the world’s biggest Covid-19 death toll. The US currently has the largest number of fatalities at around 578,000.

India reported a record 3,780 deaths on Wednesday for an overall toll of 226,188, along with 382,315 new cases, taking its outbreak past 20.6 million infections.

In recent weeks, the scenes on the ground, with long lines outside crematoriums and hospitals turning away ambulances, have painted a picture of a nation overwhelmed by the crisis.

“The next four to six weeks are going to be very, very difficult for India,” said Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University School of Public Health. “The challenge is going to be to do things now that will make sure it is four weeks, not six or eight, and that we minimize how bad things will get. But in no way is India anywhere near out of the woods.”

A spokesperson for the health ministry couldn’t immediately be reached. The ministry said on

Monday that in about a dozen states, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, there are early signs that the number of daily new infections are starting to plateau.

The Indian rupee has declined about 1 percent this quarter in Asia’s worst performance as investors turned cautious ahead of an unscheduled speech by India’s central bank governor Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index is down about 2 percent as foreign funds sold about $1.7 billion of the nation’s stocks.

Economic impact

A prolonged crisis has the potential to dent the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as slow or reverse India’s recovery from last year’s economic recession. Bloomberg Economics lowered its growth projection for the year ending March 2022 to 10.7 percent from 12.6 percent, and even these numbers are flattered by a low base as activity ground to a halt due to a strict lockdown last year.

For public health researchers, a key concern is the relative dearth of coronavirus testing, which many scientists believe is causing a sharp undercounting of cases.

“It could honestly get a lot worse, which is hard to imagine given how staggering the impacts have already been when you see 400,000 new cases each day and you know that that’s probably an underestimation,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, Mar yland.

The main metric that officials are watching is the test positivity rate, which is the percentage of people with positive test results.

The overall positivity rate is 20 percent in India now, and in some parts of the country it tops 40 percent, a shockingly high number that indicates as many as threefourths of infections are being missed, said Jha. The World Health Organization considers anything above 5 percent too high, saying that governments should implement social distancing measures until positivity rates are below that level for at least two weeks.

“Despite scaling up testing considerably, it’s still not enough to capture all the infected people,” said Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization, speaking on Bloomberg TV. “So the numbers, while very high, are likely an underestimate of the true numbers of infections,” she said. “It’s a grim situation.”

Social distancing

The goal is to run enough tests that a large number of infected people aren’t going undiagnosed.

If only the sickest patients are tested, many people with milder disease or no symptoms at all may continue to unwittingly spread the disease.

“There are reports of tests being considerably delayed and of patients delaying having to go to hospital as much as they can, given the stresses on the health system,” said Gautam Menon, a professor of physics and biology at Ashoka University, who also works on modeling outbreaks. “We don’t know enough about Covid-19 spread away from the major cities, in the rural heartland of India, although reports from there suggest that the situation is dire.”

The US government, as part of a package of supplies for India, pledged last week to send one million rapid tests to India. There are several other things that could be done quickly to try to help staunch the outbreak. High on the list is wearing masks, a crucial element for disease control, said Catherine

Blish, an infectious disease specialist and global health expert at Stanford Medicine in California.

Major cities in India already require people to wear masks, but such rules can be harder to implement in crowded slums and rural areas. Several states have introduced lockdowns, although Modi has resisted a national effort after one imposed by him last year fueled a humanitarian crisis with migrant workers fleeing the cities on foot and in some cases bringing the virus with them.

Lockdowns

The Indian Institute of Science has estimated that with a 15-day lockdown deaths could be lower at 300,000, falling to 285,000 with a 30-day lockdown. IMHE estimates a lower death toll of around 940,000 by the end of July with universal mask wearing.

Vaccines will be the big way to remove risks, although it will take time to get there, public health experts say.

It takes several weeks for immunity to build after someone has been vaccinated. The process is even longer with those that require two shots, stretching the process out to six weeks to two months.

“The vaccines are working,” said Kim Mulholland, an Australian pediatrician and leader of the infection and immunity group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne. “They just haven’t got the capacity.”

Ultimately, cases will come down, it’s just a matter of when, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, and an adviser to US President Joe Biden.

Scientists still don’t have a good understanding of why Covid-19 comes in sudden, roller-coasterlike changes, he said.

“It will eventually burn itself through the population,” Osterholm said. “Within several weeks to a month and a half, you will see this peak come back down, and it’s likely to come down quickly.”

Bloomberg News

Biden aims to vaccinate 70 percent of American adults by July 4 New Zealand leader Ardern plans

W

ASHINGTON—President Joe Biden set a new vaccination goal to deliver at least one shot to 70 percent of adult Americans

by July Fourth as he tackles the vexing problem of winning over the “doubters” and those unmotivated to get inoculated.

Demand for vaccines has dropped off markedly nationwide, with some states leaving more than half their available doses unordered. Aiming to make it easier to get shots, Biden on Tuesday called for states to make vaccines available on a walk-in basis and he will direct many pharmacies to do likewise.

His administration for the first time also is moving to shift doses from states with weaker demand to areas with stronger interest in the shots.

“You do need to get vaccinated,” Biden said from the White House. “Even if your chance of getting seriously ill is low, why take the risk? It could save your life or the lives of somebody you love.”

Biden’s goal equates to delivering at least the first shot to 181 million adults and fully vaccinating 160 million. It’s a tacit acknowledgment of the declining interest in shots.

Already more than 56 percent of American adults have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and nearly 105 million are fully vaccinated.

The US is currently administering first doses at a rate of about 965,000 per day—half the rate of three weeks ago, but almost twice as fast as needed to meet Biden’s target.

“I’d like to get it 100 percent, but I think realistically we can get to that place between now and July Fourth,” Biden said of his new goal.

He said the administration would focus on three

areas as it tries to ramp up the pace of vaccinations: n Adults who need more convincing to take the vaccine. n Those who have struggled or are in no hurry to obtain a shot. n Adolescents aged 12-15, once federal authorities approve vaccination for that age group.

Acknowledging that “the pace of vaccination is slowing,” Biden predicted the inoculation effort is “going to be harder” when it comes to convincing “doubters” of the need to get their shots.

He said the most effective argument to those people would be to protect those they love. “This is your choice: It’s life and death.”

Biden’s push comes as his administration has shifted away from setting a target for the US to reach “herd immunity,” instead focusing on delivering as many shots into arms as possible.

Officials said Biden’s vaccination target would result in a significant reduction in Covid-19 cases heading into the summer.

To that end, the Biden administration is shifting the government’s focus toward expanding smaller and mobile vaccination clinics to deliver doses to harder-to-reach communities. It is also spending hundreds of millions of dollars to try to boost interest in vaccines through education campaigns and greater access to shots through community organizations that can help bring people to clinics.

Biden touted creative efforts to make it “easier and more fun” to get vaccinated, such as grocery stores offering discounts to shoppers who come to get shots and sports leagues that hold promotions to gets shots for their fans.

Ahead of the Food and Drug Administration’s expected authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for kids aged 12-15, the White House is developing plans to speed vaccinations for that age group. Biden urged states to administer at least one dose to adolescents by July Fourth and work to deliver doses to pediatricians’ offices and other trusted locations, with the aim of getting many of them fully vaccinated by the start of the next school year.

While younger people are at dramatically lower risk of serious complications from Covid-19, they have made up a larger share of new virus cases as a majority of US adults have been at least partially vaccinated and as higher-risk activities like indoor dining and contact sports have resumed in most of the country.

Officials hope that extending vaccinations to teens—who could get the first dose in one location and the second elsewhere, if necessary—will further accelerate the nation’s reduced virus caseload and allow schools to reopen with minimal disruptions this fall.

The urgency to expand the pool of those getting the shots is rooted in hopes of stamping out the development of new variants that could emerge from unchecked outbreaks and helping the country further reopen by the symbolic moment of Independence Day, exactly two months away. Though White House officials privately acknowledge the steep challenge, Biden sounded an optimistic note.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is actually growing brighter and brighter,” Biden said.

Biden’s speech comes as the White House announced a shift away from a strict allocation of

vaccines by state population. The administration says that when states decline to take all the vaccine they have been allocated, that surplus will shift to states still awaiting doses to meet demand.

Governors were informed of the change by the White House on Tuesday morning.

This week, Iowa turned down nearly three quarters of the vaccine doses available to the state for next week from the federal government because demand for the shots remains weak. Louisiana, meanwhile, hasn’t drawn down its full vaccine allocation from the federal government for the last few weeks.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Louisiana’s coronavirus vaccination rate is well behind most states. About 27 percent of state residents are fully vaccinated while 32 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the state health department.

The White House previously resisted efforts to distribute vaccine by metrics other than population.

Biden rebuffed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last month when she requested more doses as her state was experiencing a surge in virus cases. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at the time nearly all states were ordering at or near their population allocations, which is no longer the case.

Individual states have made similar shifts internally to account for changing demand. Last week, Washington State changed the way it allocates coronavirus vaccine to its counties. Previously the state doled out supplies to counties proportionate to their populations. But now amounts will be based on requests from health care providers. AP

to marry partner over the summer

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ELLINGTON, New Zealand—New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to marry her longtime partner during the southern summer.

In an interview Wednesday on the Coast radio breakfast show, Ardern said she and Clarke Gayford have finally set a date for their wedding after announcing they were engaged two years ago.

But Ardern wouldn’t be drawn on the exact day other than to say it would be during the Southern Hemisphere summer, which runs from December through February.

“When I say we’ve got a date, that doesn’t mean we’ve actually told anyone yet,” Ardern said on the show. “So, I feel like we should probably put some invites out.”

Ardern and Gayford have a 2-year-old daughter, Neve. Ardern in 2018 became just the second elected world leader in modern history to give birth while holding office.

Gayford is Neve’s primary caregiver and a presenter on a TV fishing show.

Ardern was asked on the show if she was going to be modern and have a bridesman at her wedding rather than the more traditional bridesmaid.

“I feel a bit too old to have a bridal party,” said Ardern, who is 40. “I don’t know if it’s just me, but for some reason I just feel like there are some things that, because I’m getting on a bit, I just need to forego.”

Ardern had previously joked about the awkwardness of Gayford’s proposal atop a hill in the coastal town of Mahia.

In this October 17, file photo, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, right, is congratulated by her partner Clarke Gayford following her victory speech to Labour Party members at an event in Auckland, New Zealand. Ardern plans to marry her longtime partner during the southern hemisphere summer. The couple announced their engagement two years ago. AP/Mark Baker What was supposed to be a romantic moment was gate-crashed by a police protection officer, some locals, and a couple of dogs that tried to eat the chocolate Gayford had brought with him, she said at the time.

The Coast radio interview offered a chance for some lighter and more personal discussion than Ardern’s typical political interviews. The hosts also asked if Ardern had plans for Mother’s Day on Sunday.

“I know of none, except for the fact that I said something to Clarke about it yesterday, and there was a long pause. He said, ‘When is it?’” Ardern said. “And so, I’m not expecting much.” AP

Opinion BusinessMirror

A10 Thursday, May 6, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Averting a protracted Covid-19 pandemic

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ovid-19 has not been an equal opportunity pandemic. It goes disproportionately after the poor whose means of livelihood expose them to greater contact with other people.

As the pandemic continues to spread around the world at different rates, rich countries hoarding a billion doses of excess Covid vaccines are lifting lockdown measures.

From the Associated Press: “Some Las Vegas Strip casinos have been allowed to open at 100 percent capacity, officials said on May 4, after showing Nevada state regulators that at least 80 percent of their employees have received at least one shot of coronavirus vaccine.”

European Union officials announced a proposal on May 3 to relax restrictions on travel to the 27-nation bloc this summer, though the final decision is up to its member-countries. “Time to revive EU tourism industry and for crossborder friendships to rekindle—safely,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “We propose to welcome again vaccinated visitors and those from countries with a good health situation.”

The improving picture in the West contrasts with the worsening disaster in India and other developing countries. On May 1, India reported a record 401,993 new cases in the prior 24 hours, while deaths reached a new high of 3,689 the following day. The nation’s hospitals and crematoriums could hardly cope with the sick and the surging number of deaths. Compounding the crisis, health-care facilities are also facing a shortage of medical oxygen, making them unable to treat patients with virus-infected lungs gasping for air at their doorsteps.

From Bloomberg: “It’s not just India. Fierce new Covid-19 waves are enveloping other developing countries across the world, placing severe strain on their health-care systems and prompting appeals for help. Nations ranging from Laos to Thailand in Southeast Asia, and those bordering India such as Bhutan and Nepal, have been reporting significant surges in infections in the past few weeks.

The increase is mainly because of more contagious virus variants, though complacency and lack of resources to contain the spread have also been cited as reasons.”

Although nowhere close to India’s flare-up in scope, the spikes in these nations have been far steeper, signaling the potential dangers of an uncontrolled spread. Bloomberg said the resurgence heightens the urgency of delivering vaccine supplies to poorer countries and averting a protracted pandemic. Ranked by the change in newly recorded infections in the past month over the previous month, Laos came first with a 22,000 percent increase, followed by Nepal and Thailand, both of which saw fresh caseload skyrocketing more than 1,000 percent on a month-over-month basis. Also on top of the list are Bhutan, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Cambodia and Fiji, as they witnessed the epidemic erupt at a high triple-digit pace.

“It’s very important to realize that the situation in India can happen anywhere,” said Hans Kluge, the regional director at the World Health Organization for Europe, during a briefing last week. “This is still a huge challenge.”

The virus thrives and flourishes in the face of political divisions and lack of cooperation. That’s why the World Health Organization said global cooperation is needed to mitigate the health and socio-economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Global solidarity is essential to winning the fight against the deadly virus.

As rich countries recover from the pandemic, thanks to rapid inoculation, we need to remind them that they have a duty to contribute to a more equitable global distribution of vaccines, medicines, diagnostic tests, and oxygen. Unfortunately, the world has yet to see a concerted global response. And that’s a big concern. As we have said in this space before, none of us will be safe until everyone is safe.

There are compelling arguments on the possible consequences of leaving developing countries behind when it comes to vaccinations. As long as Covid is here, international trade and global supply chains will be severely disrupted. If vaccination does not reach the developing world fast enough, these disruptions can cost the global economy an estimated $9 trillion, and most of that cost will be borne by the advanced economies.

A scary scenario: The longer it takes to globally eradicate the virus, the more it will mutate, possibly reducing the effectiveness of the vaccines. Let’s hope that the vaccinated rich countries can look within themselves and figure out what they need to do to help those suffering from new virus surges.

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The coming cash tsunami John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

R

egardless of what you are being told, the Philippine Stock Exchange is not going to react meaningfully or sustainably to inflation, unemployment, or government pronouncements.

Those are all excellent during normal times; not now.

More seriously is the on/off/on/ off severity of the quarantines. I do not blame government because they are caught between a rock and the hard spot of the “experts” on what to do. These decisions are extremely difficult. “Germany hopes for opening-up by late May.” But Germany also recorded 10,279 new cases on Monday, has 311,000 active cases and has 1,000 deaths per million population. “Monday, May 3rd, marks the first stage of the gradual reopening of France from lockdown measures. Secondary schools and high schools return to largely fulltime in-person teaching. A nighttime curfew remains in force.” France posted 900,000 active cases and

5,600 serious cases, both the highest in Europe on Monday.

Do not read in any comparisons with the Philippines. Those are just facts, which in the Age of Covid always need a political angle. I don’t do “politics.” The pay is terrible, unlike with the stock market.

Buying anything and everything runs on and is motivated by your expectations. You buy a pair of shoes expecting that for some pre-determined period of time— you get to decide—the shoes will still work to keep your feet off the worm-infested ground, will be comfortable, and look terrific. You do not buy thinking “Gee, I hope they will still be good by tomorrow.” The

Once the uncertainty begins to dissipate significantly, we will see a growing kaboom! in the stock market. That is because there is a massive amount of cash sitting on the sidelines.

Global personal savings has exploded in the past year.

same is true when buying stock market issues.

The problem right now is the same monster that always haunts the market—uncertainty. You do not buy shoes if you are uncertain if they are going to last. You do not buy stock if you are uncertain what will happen generally and specifically in the future. And it is not worrying about bad news. “Bad news” can be just as profitable as “good news” if you know what to do.

It is like I said in my interview on ANC the other day. What if you won P5 million in the Lotto today? Which five-star hotel are you taking the whole family for dinner to celebrate?

Are you really interested in fighting the paperwork nightmare to go to Hong Kong or Boracay?

Are you going to use the money to buy some siomai kiosks? How about

opening a beauty salon or clothing store? Or are you going to wait to invest as your cash does not have an expiration date and there is no time urgency? The same is true for the stock market.

However, once the uncertainty begins to dissipate significantly, we will see a growing kaboom! in the stock market. That is because there is a massive amount of cash sitting on the sidelines. Global personal savings has exploded in the past year.

Oxford Economics calculates that over the course of the crisis, US households saved $1.6 trillion more than they would have done. HSBC estimates that households in the Eurozone saved €470 billion more than in 2019.

From a total Personal Savings of less than P5 trillion in January 2020, as of January 2021, that has increased by P730 billion. This cash sets up for a major spending and investment boom once the virus is suppressed. Be ready for the cash tsunami.

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

Jobs are coming back but it’s still a long road for some

By Enda Curran | Bloomberg Opinion

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ompanies are hiring and unemployment is falling across most advanced economies on hopes that vaccines will eventually contain the coronavirus. But not every job is coming back. The pandemic has pushed out older employees and is deepening inequality as lower income workers feel the brunt of the crisis.

Economists warn that there’s still a way to go before global employment is back to where it was before the pandemic.

Here’s a snapshot of the jobs recovery in the biggest advanced economies: A resurgent US job market is creating more opportunities at a faster clip than many economists and employers expected. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 916,000 in March, blowing away economists’ median estimate of a 660,000-job gain. But there are gaps. There are still nearly 2 million fewer US women in the labor force than before Covid. Black women in particular are falling behind other groups in job gains. Bloomberg Economics sees US unemployment dropping below 6 percent in the current quarter then heading toward 5.1 percent in the fourth quarter before falling to 4 percent at the end of 2022.

Japan’s resilient employment is masking underlying weakness. The proportion of available jobs is still sharply down from pre-pandemic levels, reflecting weak hiring in hotels, restaurants and bars. The

unemployed are outnumbered by people furloughed or on leave, and the number leaving the working force altogether is rising. Bloomberg Economics expects Japan’s jobless rate to rise to around 3.0 percent in the second quarter as renewed viruscontainment measures hits the services sector.

German employment has been more resilient than in other European countries due to a greater reliance of the economy on manufacturing even as thousands of businesses remain affected by recently-extended pandemic restrictions. Yet many businesses are strained by nearly six months of lockdowns, and the labor market has a long way to go before a full recovery. Bloomberg Economics expects Germany’s unemployment rate to fall to 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter and to be at 4 percent at the end of 2022.

The UK labor market weakened unexpectedly in March as company

Australia is one of the first nations to regain all jobs lost through the pandemic, reflecting a successful early suppression of Covid-19 and a massive fiscalmonetary shot that’s sent the economy roaring back. Participation is at record highs and the unemployment rate is moving quickly in the right direction.

payrolls fell for the first time in four months and more people dropped out of the workforce. Long-term youth unemployment has been highlighted as a particular concern. Overall employment remains about 800,000 below where it was before the pandemic struck. Bloomberg Economics expects UK unemployment to peak at 6 percent in the fourth quarter before declining to 4.8 percent in the final quarter of 2022.

While the number of job-seekers in France has declined from an alltime high in the first lockdown, the count remains above pre-crisis levels and around two million people were still on the short-term working scheme in February. A surge in registrations for training suggests French workers are anticipating fundamental shifts in the labor market. Bloomberg Economics expects France’s unemployment rate to rise

to 8.3 percent in the third quarter before declining to 8.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Italy has lost about 896,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic last February. It was one of the first countries hit by the virus with harsh lockdowns that caused economic output to shrink almost 9 percent last year.

The unemployment rate declined to 10.1 percent in March from 10.2 percent a month earlier. Women and the young and the services sector remain the most damaged from pandemic fallout. Bloomberg Economics expects Italy’s unemployment rate to fall to 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter before declining to 8.9 percent at the end of 2022.

Canada’s economy has recovered about 90 percent of nearly 3 million jobs lost during the first wave of the pandemic, versus just over 60 percent in the US. For months, the data have shown a rebound that has surprised even the most optimistic analysts— a resilience that forced the Bank of Canada to be the first major central bank to signal its intent to reduce emergency levels of monetary stimulus. Bloomberg Economics expects the jobless rate to fall to 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 and then to 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

South Korea’s jobs market has just See “Jobs,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL’s political, economic, A community of friends and risk outlook Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

Val A. Villanueva

Businesswise

F

or the past two years, global economic growth has been stifled by the pandemic. Covid-19 has wreaked havoc worldwide, most specially in developing economies, exacerbated by their respective governments’ poor pandemic response.

The yardstick of recoveries from hereon in will be anchored on the speed and efficiency that a country could sweep the virus out of its backyard, and the viability of the revitalization plan that each government could institute.

US-based risk analyst Eric Jurado—born in the Philippines and educated in the US—shared with BusinessWise how foreign investors see the country’s political, economic and risk outlook. He is the Managing Partner of a US-based hedge fund and had stints at GE Capital and The Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corporation.

Before the pandemic, the Philippines had one of the most dynamic economies in Southeast Asia. With increasing urbanization, a growing middle-class income, and a large and young population, the country’s economic dynamism was rooted in strong consumer demand that was supported by improving real incomes and robust remittances.

Business activities were buoyant with notable performances in the services sector (including business process outsourcing), real estate, finance, and insurance industries. The country was also fast becoming a fintech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency hub. This is largely due to the relatively accommodating stance that financial authorities have taken toward cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption.

But the imposition of strict community quarantine measures in the country due to the pandemic, Jurado said, has significantly reined in the country’s real economic growth.

“Growth contracted significantly in 2020, driven by significant declines in consumption and investment growth, and exacerbated by the sharp slowdown in exports, tourism, and remittances,” he noted.

Nevertheless, Jurado anticipates the country’s economic growth to rebound gradually from 2021 to 2022, “assuming the virus is contained domestically and globally, and with more robust domestic activity bolstered by greater consumer and business confidence, and the public investment momentum.” He cautioned, however, that “regulatory restrictions on foreign participation in certain industries, the large presence of state‑owned entities throughout the economy, and poor logistical connectivity from island to island remain key structural hindrances for private businesses and foreign investors.”

On the political front, Jurado believes that President Duterte “is expected to retain a strong grip on power even as his term approaches its end in 2022 [since the] coalition that backs him will subsequently remain cohesive under the leadership of his daughter, Sara Duterte.”

He said Duterte has consolidated power in traditional Philippine political fashion by marginalizing his opponents: “The brutality of his crackdown on illegal drug trafficking reflects authoritarian tendencies. Duterte was strengthened politically when his allies swept the 2019 midterm Senate elections.” Jurado called Duterte’s downplaying of the tensions between the Philippines and China “an effort to improve economic relations between the two countries.”

For Jurado, the Philippines would benefit from continued strong remittances, as well as receipts from the business process

For Jurado, the Philippines would benefit from continued strong remittances, as well as receipts from the business process outsourcing sector, which offset the country’s substantial trade deficit. He said the country’s longterm economic growth prospects have also improved markedly. outsourcing sector, which offset the country’s substantial trade deficit.

He said the country’s long-term economic growth prospects have also improved markedly: “The economy will be propelled by fiscal stimulus through 2021, while external conditions remain somewhat challenging. The monetary easing of 2020 will filter through into looser lending conditions, which should help support domestic demand. However, the country’s stalling reform momentum risks deterring foreign investment at a time when manufacturers are relocating or diversifying supply chains away from Mainland China. The country is expected to post a V‑shaped economic recovery in 2021 on the back of a P4.506 trillion 2021 budget. But then again the ongoing Covid‑19 outbreak still poses a substantial risk to the economy, particularly if lockdowns are reintroduced countrywide.”

The Philippines—in comparison to peers, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and China—is a less attractive market for businesses, according to Jurado. “In particular, while a large population size of over 109 million people and a regionally high fertility rate elevate its labor market profile, high security risks weigh heavily on the economic structure and operating environment. Furthermore, regulatory restrictions on foreign participation in certain industries diminish investment opportunities for private investors.

At the same time, the country has a disjointed transport and utilities network, with varying but often poor degrees of connectivity from island to island, which hampers the operational efficiency of supply chains. Taken together, these factors mean that there is a high likelihood of investors looking toward more favorable and welcoming markets in the region, such as Malaysia and Vietnam.”

Sovereign, currency, and banking risks are vulnerable to change, he said: “The budget deficit will remain wide as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic-induced recession linger in 2021. However, the country’s external debt will remain low, despite recent borrowing, as the economy starts to recover, which mitigates the risk of default. Although the peso is likely to experience some volatility as the current account slips into deficit in 2021, support from growing foreign exchange reserves and a recovering economy will prevent disorderly movements in the peso to US dollar exchange rate. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will keep benchmark interest rates at record lows throughout 2021.

This will help to shore up businesses struggling to weather the continued domestic outbreak of the coronavirus, but could also further jeopardize banks’ profitability amid a rising ratio of nonperforming loans.”

For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com

T

he union between Jesus and His followers is not a hierarchy of power, but a flowering of friendship and love (John 15:9-17).

The full import of the allegorical metaphor of the vine and its branches is here interpreted through an ecclesiology of love.

Divine example “AS the Father loves me” sets the tone for Jesus. It is divine love that explains the mystery of the incarnation of love in Jesus. From within the procession of love in the Trinity, the Son brought redeeming love into the world for humankind to learn and imitate. This love Jesus bears for humanity is the direct fruit of the Father’s love for the Son. “Remain in my love”—love means communion. Jesus Himself remains totally with all His will in the love of His Father, as the Father is completely in the love of the Son. Jesus wishes the same intimacy with His disciples. Whereas God is love and lives in perfect unity from within, humankind needed to be called to love and needs still to prioritize love and live by it. To remain (a favorite expression in St. John) is to abide, to live on in Jesus who is God’s love

for us; it is sharing in the life that unites Jesus with the Father. Not to remain forgoes sharing in that vitality and grace; it is to die like branches cut off from the vine.

Like the sheep that follow the voice of the good shepherd, Jesus’ disciples need to listen to His voice and keep His words and commandments; the branches remain on the vine when His words remain in them. Jesus Himself remains in His Father’s love by keeping His commandments and living according to His words. Communion of love expresses itself in the fidelity that is between the lovers.

The commandment of love

The foremost commandment Jesus entrusts to His disciples is “Love one another as I love you.” The flow and circle of love originating in the love of the Father and the Son in the Holy

Thursday, May 6, 2021 A11

The life of communion with Jesus is to be in a community of persons bonded together by the love of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. It is a joyous katipunan (church), a gathering of friends obedient to the divine words and whose norm is “my life for others.”

This union of life in love rests on the awareness that Jesus is in each one and that the image of the Father is in all.

Spirit and incarnated in the love of Jesus for each of us is replicated in our love for one another. Thus is created Jesus’ community (ecclesia, katipunan) with us and among us. The command to love indicates that it is not something out of our natural human power, rather it depends solely on Jesus and God who commands it.

To be so God-like is to move beyond human nature in a supernatural imitation of the Son of God. This Christian love is as extraordinary as to die for someone. Where our natural drive is to hang on to life, Jesus sets before us His own example as the standard: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” A friend is someone worth offering one’s life for, and Jesus calls us friends, not slaves who do not share in the inmost

life of their master. Jesus assures us that He has told us everything He has heard from His Father; in loving us, we are in intimacy with Jesus and in community with the Father who gives us whatever we ask Him in Jesus’ name. It is a community of encircling and self-offering love, of fidelity and obedience to one another. It is a communion in the Spirit of joy, divine joy shared with us and remaining in us until it is completed in eternity. For our part, we are Jesus’ friends who do what He commands us. He has chosen us and appointed us to bear fruit, privileged to share His life like the branches on the vine bearing abundant fruits of love.

Alálaong bagá, the life of communion with Jesus is to be in a community of persons bonded together by the love of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. It is a joyous katipunan (church), a gathering of friends obedient to the divine words and whose norm is “my life for others.” This union of life in love rests on the awareness that Jesus is in each one and that the image of the Father is in all. It is the gathering where a neighbor is a friend, and so where society becomes the neighborhood of friends you offer your life for.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

US parents excited over prospect of virus shots for children

By Heather Hollingsworth & Todd Richmond Associated Press

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ISSION, Kansas—After more than a year of fretting over her 13-year son with a rare liver disease, Heather Ousley broke into tears when she learned that he and millions of other youngsters could soon be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine.

“This day is the best day in the history of days!!! I love this day!!!” she texted, joining other parents and educators in welcoming the news that the Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s vaccine by next week for children ages 12 to 15.

Ousley, who is president of the school board for the 27,000-student Shawnee Mission School District in Kansas, plans to get her 13- and 15year olds promptly vaccinated and then celebrate with ice cream. They have been learning from home with their younger brother since the start of the outbreak.

Pfizer is also anticipating the FDA will endorse use of its vaccine in even younger children sometime this fall. And results are expected by the middle of this year from a US study of Moderna’s shots in 12- to 17-year olds.

Officials are hoping that extending vaccinations to children will drive down the nation’s caseload even further and allow schools to reopen with minimal disruption this fall.

It could also reassure parents and teachers alike. While children rarely get seriously ill from the coronavirus, they can still get sick and spread it to others.

“I don’t even think we realized how much energy is spent on worrying until we are able to set aside the worry, and then thinking about what this means for all of our kids in the district,” Ousley said.

Pfizer in March released preliminary results from a study of 2,260 US volunteers ages 12 to 15, showing there were no cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated children compared with 18 among those given

Jobs. . .

continued from A10

started to recover, but much of the increase is being driven by temporary and daily workers—employment and labor force participation remain well below pre-Covid levels. Wage growth remains subdued and youth unemployment remains the highest among all age groups while hiring for those

Pfizer in March released preliminary results from a study of 2,260 US volunteers ages 12 to 15, showing there were no cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated children compared with 18 among those given dummy shots.

dummy shots.

That is welcome news for Robin and Aaron Perry of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, who have five boys, ages 5 to 17. Their oldest, Cooper, has been battling leukemia and contracted Covid-19 in November, in what his mother described as a “terrifying” time for the family. The disease spread to the rest of the family.

They all pulled through, and Cooper and his parents have all since been vaccinated. But his mother can’t wait for her 15-year-old, Reece, and 12-year-old, Tucker, to get their shots so their brother is as protected as possible.

“Our personal situation, it feels like more security around Cooper with a compromised immune system,” Robin Perry said. “It’s just being part of the solution. That’s what excites me the most. It’s an added level of protection. Maybe you can take a deeper breath.”

Educators have already embraced vaccines for students 16 and up, with some scheduling vaccine clinics during school hours and dangling prize drawings and other incentives.

In New York’s Erie County, a promthemed vaccine clinics were held this past weekend, including one with a tropical feel where health care workers wore grass skirts and 16- and 17-year-olds went home with gift bags of masks and hand sanitizer.

Similar efforts are expected to draw in 12- to 15-year-olds.

Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, said the anticipated authorization to vaccinate younger students would help make parents feel more comfortable to send their children back to class-

rooms and ease concerns among some teachers.

“Say you have a class where every student is vaccinated and so is the teacher. That becomes a very different environment,” Domenech said.

“Schools were very pleased when the CDC came out with the 3-foot spacing as opposed to the 6-foot spacing, because that immediately allowed them to have more students in school at one time. This will have a similar effect,” he said. “If now you can have a significant population of your students in middle schools and high schools vaccinated, that makes it even safer for greater numbers of students to be in school.”

Seventy-four-year-old Pat Shepard, a retired Spanish teacher from Lincoln, Nebraska, who has worked as a substitute during the outbreak, is eager to see eligibility expand, saying students are increasingly resisting wearing masks.

“You are starting to see more and more of them wearing them down below their nose because they are just tired of it,” she said. “And then, too, they want to get out and do more things.” Keri Rodrigues, a cofounder of the education advocacy group the National Parents Union, said she rushed out to get vaccinated after becoming eligible but has more trepidation about immunizing her oldest son, who is 13.

She plans to go ahead with it, though, in part because he is demanding it.

“He has cabin fever and he wants to get out,” explained Rodrigues, who lives near Boston.

The group’s survey from March of 1,100 parents around the country

aged 60 and above has been the least impacted throughout the pandemic.

Bloomberg Economics expects South Korean unemployment to average about 4 percent this year.

Australia is one of the first nations to regain all jobs lost through the pandemic, reflecting a successful early suppression of Covid-19 and a massive fiscal-monetary shot that’s sent the economy roaring back.

Participation is at record highs and

the unemployment rate is moving quickly in the right direction. But wages growth is sluggish and while underemployment has fallen, there’s plenty of people that want additional hours. Bloomberg Economics expects the decline in Australia’s unemployment rate will slow over the second half of 2021 and doesn’t see the unemployment rate dipping below 5 percent until 2024.

The takeaway:

found that others are also conflicted.

Forty percent planned to get their children vaccinated immediately, 21 percent eventually and 24 percent never, and the remaining 15 percent were unsure.

“Obviously parents are torn right now because you are watching your kids really go through an emotional struggle, especially our teens,” she said. “I think we are all taking a leap of faith, but I think what we have to do is trust science in this moment.”

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that if the FDA authorizes the use of Pfizer’s vaccine in children as young as 12, the administration is prepared to ship doses to 20,000 pharmacies around the country and directly to pediatricians.

Coy Marquardt, associate executive director of Iowa’s teachers union, said his 14-year-old son is excited to get vaccinated and has been asking for months when he would be eligible. Marquardt said that because of vaccine hesitancy, it doesn’t look as if herd immunity is going to be achieved anytime soon.

“That makes it even more important to expand the use to 12- to 15-year-olds, including my son, just to protect him,” he said.

Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camp Association, which accredits 3,200 camps and works with about 12,000 others, said he has ben deluged with messages since the news broke.

Last year, 40 percent of day camps and 82 percent of overnight camps didn’t operate, but many were gearing up to reopen this summer, with masks and socially distancing, he said. He said the vaccine would offer another layer of protection and might persuade some hesitant parents to sign up their children.

“It could be a game changer,” said Rosenberg, who plans to get his own 13-year-old vaccinated.

Associated Press journalist Carolyn Thompson reported from Buffalo, New York. Richmond reported from Madison, Wisconsin.

“The beginning of a rapid recovery in the US, and furlough schemes keeping workers attached to jobs in Europe, mean the labor market landscape is not as bleak as it could be,” said Tom Orlik, Chief Economist of Bloomberg Economics. “Still, with the pandemic accelerating the ‘Amazon-effect’ shift from small, labor intensive firms to their bigger, tech-savvy rivals, the path back to full employment will be arduous.”

A12 Thursday, May 6, 2021

Microinsurance now covers more than 50-M Filipinos–IC

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE estimated total number of lives covered by microinsurance products in the Philippines breached the 50-million mark last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Insurance Commission said in a statement on Wednesday that the number of insured lives by microinsurance products last year hit 50.35 million, surging by 11.56 percent from 45.13 million in 2019, based on unaudited Quarterly Reports on Selected Financial Statistics (QRSFS) from microinsurance providers.

“We hope that these figures will be confirmed by the later submission of audited annual statements for the year 2020 by our microinsurance providers. If the QRSFS will be confirmed, then the Insurance Commission will have reached its target of 50 million microinsured lives two years earlier—a target that we initially foresaw will be reached by 2022,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said.

However, Funa pointed out that the non-life insurance sector saw a 20.96-percent drop year-on-year in the number of estimated lives under microinsurance, down to 6.69 million in 2020 from 8.47 million in 2019 But he said this was offset by the 12.88-percent increase in the MBA sector and the 33.48 percent rise in the life insurance sector.

“Based on data available, the

number of estimated lives insured by the MBA sector grew from 25.66 million as of 4Q 2019 to 28.96 million as of 4Q 2020; while those microinsured by the life insurance sector increased from 11.01 million to 14.70 million year-on-year,” he said.

On the other hand, the microinsurance sector’s aggregate contribution or premium production shrank by 14.5 percent year-onyear to P7.8 billion in 2020 from P9.12 billion in 2019.

“It is highly likely that the decrease is due to the effects of the implementation of community quarantine protocols to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

“Further, it is also likely that the inverse relationship of the decrease in contribution or premium production of the microinsurance sector, on the one hand, and the increase in the estimated number of lives insured by microinsurance, on the other, may be attributed to the effects of the extension of grace periods in microinsurance products and the grant of similar extensions in payment of microinsurance premiums or contributions due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Funa added.

Among the sectors, the non-life

insurance industry took the largest hit due to the continuing implementation of stricter quarantine measures. Its premium production fell by 25.46 percent year-on-year to P913.51 million in 2020 from P1.23 billion in 2019.

Apart from the non-life insurance industry, the MBA sector’s contribution production also contracted by 15.13 percent to P4.46 billion in 2020 from P5.26 billion in the previous year, while the life insurance sector posted an 8.17-percent decline year-on-year to P2.42 billion from P2.64 billion in 2019.

“Nevertheless, we are hopeful that these adverse effects are only temporary; and that the situation will improve in the succeeding months,” he said.

As of end-2020, there were 44 entities actively engaged in providing microinsurance products: 23 MBAs, 10 life insurers, 11 non-life insurers.

The Insurance Commission also announced that CARD Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. topped the list of MBAs with the most number of estimated lives insured and the highest microinsurance contribution production last year.

Trailing CARD Mutual Benefit Association in terms of estimated number of lives insured are Pag-Asa ng Pinoy MBA, Inc.; Tulay sa Pagunlad Mutual Benefit Association, Inc.; Alalay sa Kaunlaran (ASKI) Benefit Association, Inc.; and CCT Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. Capping the top five MBAs for total microinsurance contribution are Pag-Asa ng Pinoy MBA, Inc.; Tulay sa Pag-unlad Mutual Benefit Association, Inc; Simbag sa Emerhensiya

Asin Dagdag Pasegurohan MBAI; and Alalay sa Kaunlaran (ASKI) Benefit Association, Inc. Leading the life insurance companies in terms of the number of estimated lives insured by microinsurance for 2020 is Pioneer Life, Inc., followed by CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative; United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation; 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines; and Paramount Life and General Insurance Corporation.

Meanwhile, CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative had the highest microinsurance premium production among life insurance companies last year. It was followed by Pioneer Life, Inc.; United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation; 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines; and Country Bankers Life Insurance Corporation.

For the non-life insurance sector, Pioneer Insurance & Surety Corporation topped the list in terms of number of estimated lives insured by microinsurance. Completing the top five are Visayan Surety & Insurance Corporation; CARD Pioneer Microinsurance, Inc.; UCPB General Insurance Company, Inc.; and The Mercantile Insurance Company, Inc. On total microinsurance premium production, the non-life insurance sector was led by CARD Pioneer Microinsurance, Inc.. It was trailed

by The Mercantile Insurance Company, Inc.; Pioneer Insurance & Surety Corporation; UCPB General Insurance Company, Inc.; and Visayan Surety & Insurance Corp.

GARMENTS INDUSTRY PITCHES PLAN TO BOOST LOCAL PPE PURCHASES

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

T

HE garment industry is urging the government to set up a

supply chain committee ensuring the procurement of locally made medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE).

The proposed committee should be led by the Department of Health and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to work with the local industry in planning and implementing a national PPE sourcing plan, the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (Conwep) and the Coalition of Philippine Manufacturers of PPE (CPMP) said in a joint statement.

“The Committee shall be tasked to draw up the measure of each critical steps, plan the logistics, and set up a cohesive procurement and planning program sourcing medical grade PPE produced locally, and supporting local employment,” Conwep and CPMP said.

This is part of the garment’s call for the government to establish a “comprehensive” stockpiling sourcing program as only few of the locally made PPEs are being purchased by the public sector while foreign supplies flood the domestic market.

The repurposed garment manufacturers, CPMP, participated in the government procurement of PPE through a bidding process around November to December last year.

However, they noted the local capacity was “not maximized” as only 27 percent of the monthly capacity for coveralls and gowns (815,000 units) and 69 percent (41.3 million) of the monthly mask capacity by the CPMP members were used.

These products have been produced and delivered by around January or February this year.

“A comprehensive procurement program which provides a gestational period for local manufacturers to source and stockpile on raw materials, within a calendar year should be in place,” the joint statement reads. “The Government can plan the requirement projections to ably address the bottlenecks in the PPE supply chain management mechanism.”

Repurposed factories ON the onset of pandemic, CPMP repurposed its factories heeding the call of DTI to boost the supply of medical grade PPEs and invested $35 million. This helped in retaining 7,450 jobs to produce minimum of 3 million pieces of gowns/coveralls, 60 million pieces of masks and 10 million units of PPE accessories every month.

CPMP was able to supply an annual capacity of 720 million masks, 36 million units of medical grade coveralls and isolation gowns, and 120 million units of PPE related accessory cover by third quarter of last year.

“The local PPE manufacturers employ an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 workers and could considerably increase once the Government’s national PPE requirements are exclusively sourced from the local medical-grade PPE manufacturers,” Conwep and CPMP said.

Earlier, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez backed the garment industry’s plea for the government to have a preference over locally produced PPE during procurement.

He expressed the need to have a legislative measure that will prioritize the purchase of “critical products” made locally such as the PPEs.

ADB to help DMCs meet climate goals

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed to help its Developing Member Countries (DMCs) to meet and even exceed their targets under the Paris Agreement.

In a statement, ADB said this can be done by ensuring that 75 percent of the total number of ADB’s operations support climate action.

The ADB also plans to increase its climate finance resources to $80 billion by 2030.

These investments will be crucial since, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said, the Asia and the Pacific region is already experiencing a sharp increase in climate shocks and stresses.

“Floods, droughts, cyclones, and heat stresses are already impacting livelihoods, food and water security, and the health of millions of people, especially vulnerable populations including women and children and the poorest of the poor,” Asakawa said.

“More than 60 percent of the people in the region work in sectors highly susceptible to changing weather patterns. We must invest more in climate adaptation. We are now dangerously close to the point where action could come too little, too late,” he added.

ADB aims to take a holistic approach to enhancing adaptation and resilience. In addition to making physical infrastructure climate-proof, it will invest in more projects with climate adaptation as a primary purpose, while promoting strong integration of the ecological, social, institutional,

and financial aspects of resilience across its operations.

The Manila-based multilateral development banks aims to increase adaptation and resilience investments including naturebased solutions such as mangroves for coastal resilience, flood risk management-related infrastructure, and climate-smart livelihood practices such as agroforestry.

ADB is also working with partners such as the United Kingdom, the Nordic Development Fund, and other financial institutions and global climate funds to roll out an ambitious community resilience partnership program that will support both governments and communities in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to scale up pro-poor resilience investments at the local level.

“These actions will complement ADB’s ambitious climate finance target,” ADB said. “[This will] help developing member countries achieve, and even increase, their Paris Agreement commitments while charting a fair and equitable path to net-zero and climate-resilient development.”

Carbon taxes

MEANWHILE, carbon taxes should now be in the radar of countries if they want to pursue a green recovery, according to experts at the 54th Asian Development Bank (ADB) Governors Meeting.

In the Joint ADB-IMF Webinar: Policies to Support a Green and Inclusive Recovery on Tuesday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief to Vietnam and Division Chief Era Dabla-Norris said raising the price of carbon can be an effective way to reduce emissions.

Continued on A8

MARKET stalls in Paco Market in Manila offer a variety of meat, vegetables, and fish. Reports said some groups plan to go on food holiday because of what they deem an unsatisfactory government response to the African Swine Fever. Inflation in April remained unchanged from the previous month, as food prices began to stabilize after rising for several months. Story on page A1. NONIE REYES

DOH: Govt-led Covid vaccine drive proceeds steadily

By Samuel P. Medenilla

N

@sam_medenilla

EARLY 2 million Filipinos have already been vaccinated against Covid-19 under the ongoing inoculation drive of the government, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

In an interview with PTV on Wednesday, National Vaccination Operation Center chairperson Myrna Cabotaje disclosed 1.7 million people already received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccines.

However, of these individuals, only 320,586 got their second dose making them fully immunized against Covid-19.

Cabotaje said 1.11 million of those vaccinated are health-care

workers, followed by senior citizens (329,650), and those with comorbidities (293,312).

She noted that economic frontliners currently account for fewest number of vaccinated individuals with 7,342.

Chief implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said the consistent vaccination of economic frontliners will start next month with the expected arrival of the vaccines ordered by the private sector.

No adverse effect

IN a related development, Cabotaje said the government already secured 4 million Covid-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical firms Sinovac Biotech; AstraZeneca, and Gama-

leya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

Of these vaccines, she noted the one from Russia’s Gamaleya, Sputnik V, is the latest. It arrived last Saturday.

Of the first 15,000 doses of Sputnik V, at least 2,634 were already administered in Parañaque (2,100), Manila (165), and Makati (269) last Tuesday.

No incident of severe adverse effect from the recipients of the vaccine was registered during the first day of its deployment, according to Cabotaje.

“For today [May 5], we will start vaccinating it in Taguig and Muntinlupa,” Cabotaje said.

Those who were given the Sputnik V are expected to get their sec-

ond dose 21 days after their initial jab.

Cabotaje noted the government is conducting the limited deployment of Sputnik V vaccine to test its proper deployment, especially since it is the first Covid-19 vaccine handled by the government which requires a temperature of minus 18 degrees Celsius.

“We have this precaution because once we [thaw] the vaccine, we only have two hours to inject it. After this, you could no longer return it to a freezer or cold-chain.

So you will no longer be able to use it,” Cabotaje explained.

She said the government is targeting to deploy all of the 15,000 doses of Sputnik V within the month.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, May 6, 2021

B1

LT Group sets aside ₧9.7B for capex program this year

L

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

T Group Inc. (LTG) has allotted P9.7 billion in capital expenditures this year, a chunk of which will be earmarked for the digitalization of its banking unit and for its projects that were halted last year due to the lockdowns.

This year’s capex is almost double than the previous year’s P5 billion, according to the holding firm of most businesses of tycoon Lucio Tan. Lender Philippine National Bank will have almost half of this year’s budget at P4.6 billion; Eton Properties Philippines Inc., P2 billion; liquor firm Tanduay Distillers Inc., P1.5 billion; the joint venture between

Eton and Ayala Land Inc., P1 billion; and beverage firm Asia Brewery Inc., P700 million.

“This year will still be a tough one, but hopefully better than 2020.

Vaccination is a crucial step towards the path to normalcy. It is crucial for opening up the economy. While we may not entirely and immediately get back our old life, it is an important

step to get back some of what we once had,” Michael G. Tan, the company’s president and COO, said.

He said LTG has secured vaccines to cover all of its employees and service providers of the company, and has also provided access to these vaccines for their families.

Tan said the gradual opening-up of the economy in 2021 should bode well for all businesses in general.

LTG said it expects the demand for consumer goods, particularly for the products of Tanduay and Asia Brewery, to show some volume growth or at least remain steady.

“But the volume of PMFTC Inc.’s products might still be impacted, as price increases are needed to pass on the annual increase in excise taxes, the last of which was in October 2020. Philippine National Bank will see some more NPLs [non performing loans] booked as Bayanihan 1 and 2 that provided a grace period for borrowers ended in

2020, but a better economy should pave the way for the need for more loans,” he said.

PMFTC is the combined company of Philip Morris Philippines Inc. and Tan’s Fortune Tobacco Inc. Property developer Eton, with most of its leasing portfolio in office space, will not be as affected as other developers who are more reliant on retail space.

LTG said its attributable income last year fell 9 percent to P21.02 billion from the previous year’s P23.12 billion.

The tobacco business accounted for P16.83 billion or 80 percent of its income, followed by lender Philippine National Bank which contributed P1.55 billion or 7 percent to the income, liquor firm Tanduay Distillers Inc. contributed P1.1 billion or 5 percent, Eton Properties Philippines Inc. accounted for P799 million or 4 percent, while Asia Brewery Inc. contributed P583 million or 3 percent.

SMIC income up 5% in Jan-March

S

M Investments Corp. (SMIC) on Wednesday said its income in the first quarter rose by 5 percent to P9.5 billion, from P9 billion last year, partly as a result of its cost-reduction measures.

Consolidated revenues in the January-to-March period stood at P96.9 billion, lower by 13 percent, from P111.2 billion in the same period last year, due to the retail sales slump.

Banking accounted for 54 percent of SMIC’s reported net earnings from core businesses, followed by property at 33 percent, and retail at 13 percent.

“As our businesses adapt to a challenging operating environment and

CEB unveils single-use travel voucher

B

UDGET carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) introduced on Wednesday the CEB Super Pass, a single-use one-way travel voucher that allows passengers to fly to any of its destinations in the Philippines.

Passengers may redeem flights for travel between May 12, 2021 and May 31, 2022. The travel vouchers, being offered from May 5 to May 12, cost P99. Each pass only includes the base fare for the flights.

According to Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience, the CEB Super Pass provides passengers with “flexibility and accessibility.”

“On our 25th anniversary, the CEB Super Pass is a timely option for guests who would want to travel whenever they want, wherever they want in the country, at a guaranteed low fare.

With the widest network in the Philippines, we offer this one-of-a-kind product that enables us to fulfill our commitment of providing fast connectivity and value-for-money deals for everyJuan.”

Customers may redeem flights through Cebu Pacific’s website as early as 30 days before their intended departure date or until seven days before their intended flight date.

A maximum of 10 vouchers per transaction is allowed, however there is no limit to the number of total vouchers each passenger can avail.

Cebu Pacific currently flies to 32 domestic destinations, mainly from its hubs in Manila and Cebu.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

broader economic uncertainties, we continue to innovate and find new ways to service our customers’ needs. We have reduced our operating costs and are benefiting from the high levels of cost efficiency that we focused on during the last 12 months,” SMIC President and CEO Frederic C. DyBuncio said.

“We continue to invest in the well-being of our employees with our upcoming free vaccination initiative and provide critical support to our business partners, who are mostly small and medium enterprises. We strongly support health recovery efforts and remain optimistic about a strong recovery in due course.”

SM Retail reported first quarter rev-

enues of P70 billion, lower by 14 percent compared to the same period last year.

Retail net income, however, grew 36 percent to P1.6 billion from P1.2 billion in the same quarter last year, boosted by cost reductions. In food retail, significant savings were realized in utilities with the shift to more energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration.

Specialty stores likewise benefitted from cost reductions as net earnings grew 58 percent for this segment.

Shopping mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s income during the period fell 22 percent to P6.5 billion from the previous year’s P8.39 billion, as the economic effects of the pandemic af-

fected many of its businesses.

Lender BDO Unibank Inc.’s income rose 19 percent P10.39 billion, from the previous year’s P8.76 billion due to the robust performance of its service fee businesses which compensated for the weak demand for loans. Loans dipped by 1 percent year-on-year to P2.2 trillion while total deposits went up by 2 percent to P2.6 trillion. China Banking Corp. sustained its profitability in the first quarter, posting a 61-percent increase in net income to P3.6 billion, from last year’s P2.2 billion. Net interest income rose 16 percent year-on-year to P9.2 billion, mainly due to the 52-percent drop in interest expense. VG Cabuag

PNB appoints new board members

P

hilippine National Bank (PSE: PNB) announced that PNB’s Board of Directors approved the appointment of Federico C. Pascual as chairman and Leonilo G. Coronel as vice chairman following the bank’s Annual Stockholders Meeting last week.

Pascual was first appointed as an independent director of the Bank in 2014 and currently serves as independent director of five of PNB’s subsidiaries and affiliate. He is also a member of the Bureau of Customs’ Multi-Sectoral Governing Council and holds key leadership positions in various businesses.

His past experiences include a 20-year stint at PNB as well as leadership roles in organizations such as Government Service Insurance System, National Reinsurance Corporation, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippine Stock Exchange, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Philippine National Construction Corporation, San Miguel Corporation, among others.

Pascual obtained his undergraduate degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines, and a Master of Laws degree from Columbia University.

Coronel, on the other hand, was appointed as director of PNB in 2013. Presently, he is also an independent director of DBP-Daiwa Capital Markets Philippines and a director of Software Ventures International.

His past experiences include executive director positions at Bankers Association of the Philippines and RBB Micro Finance Foundation; directorships at Philippine Depository and Trust Corporation, Philippine Clearing House Corporation, Philippine Dealing System, Capital Markets Development Council, various consultancy positions; and a 20-year stint at Citibank, Manila.

Coronel obtained his undergraduate degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and took an Advance Management Program at the University of Hawaii.

PNB also welcomed Lucio C. Tan III, Wilfrido

Federico Pascual

Leonilo Coronel

E. Sanchez, and Angelito M. Villanueva to its board of directors.

Tan III earned his bachelor of science in electrical engineering and master of science in computer science from Stanford University, from which he garnered multiple awards and citations. The son of the late Lucio “Bong” Tan, Jr. and the grandson of taipan Dr. Lucio C. Tan, he is currently director, president, and chief operating officer of Tanduay Distillers, Inc. Appointed as an independent director of PNB, Sanchez is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. He is also a tax counsel at Quiason Makalintal Barot Torres Ibarra Sison & Damaso Law Offices and independent director at JVR Foundation, Inc. and on the board of several other companies. He received his bachelor of arts and bachelor of laws from the Ateneo de Manila University and a Masters of Law from Yale Law School.

Also appointed as independent director of PNB, Villanueva was previously a director at Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, Philippine Savings Bank, and Philippine Clearing House Corporation, among others. He was also senior executive vice president and head of operations group of Metrobank. A certified public accountant, he obtained his business administration degree from Mapua Institute of Technology.

PNB’s roster of Board members include Florido Casuela; Edgar Cua; Estelito Mendoza; Sheila Pascual; Carmen Tan; Lucio Tan; Michael Tan; Vivienne Tan; Wick Veloso; and Domingo Yap.

Coco-based products boost DNL Q1 profits

C

hemical manufacturer D and L Industries Inc. (DNL) on Wednesday said its income in the first quarter rose 35 percent to P695 million, from the previous year’s P515 million, as all of its business segments saw a recovery.

At this rate, Alvin Lao, the company’s president and CEO, said DNL may surpass the company’s full year income in 2019.

The company said, however, it would be hard-pressed to repeat its performance in 2018.

“It’s been a year into the pandemic and we find ourselves back into another round of enhanced community quarantine [ECQ] for two weeks and modified ECQ after. While the business environment continues to be less than ideal, we also find ourselves, as well as many of our customers, in a much better position operationally to navigate the current situation with minimal business disruption,” Lao said.

Unlike last year’s lockdown measures, he said this year’s return to ECQ and a “much moderate” MECQ are both less restrictive.

“Notwithstanding an apparent hiccup in the road to recovery, we believe that medium- to long-term business prospects are still intact. Our products generally serve basic industries. From our past experience, after every crisis, when recovery starts, we usually start seeing good growth in the businesses we are in,” Lao said.

Sales for the 3-month period rose 23 percent to P7 billion from last year’s P5.67 billion, as all of its businesses posted a double-digit increase led by its food ingredients group which grew 37 percent as many food companies are now better-equipped to service customers on a 100-percent takeout or delivery basis.

Chemrez grew at 17 percent; specialty plastics, 27 percent; and the aerosols group, which they now call consumer products, rose 35 percent, though still smaller in volume compared with the other groups.

In addition, lower income taxes due to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act also boosted the company’s bottom line for the quarter

by P32 million. The effective tax rate in for the first quarter stood at 18 percent as against last year’s 24 percent last year.

The company saw growth in its high margin products at 7 percent, the first time since the first quarter of 2019 when it increased by a mere 2 percent.

Revenue contribution of its exports rose to a record high of 34 percent to P2.3 billion from the previous year’s P1.3 billion. Coconut-based products under food and oleochemicals were the main drivers behind the robust export growth as coconut oil continued to gain traction in the global market due to its perceived natural antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Coconut-based products are also sustainable substitutes for petroleumbased raw materials used in many applications such as personal hygiene and home cleaning products. The company sees continued strong coconut oil-based exports, which should offset some of the weakness in the domestic market in the near term.

The company said the expansion of its Batangas plant is in full swing. The company has so far spent about P4.5 billion for the project. Remaining capex to be spent this year and in the early months of 2022 stands at about P3.5 billion.

The said facility will mainly cater to the company’s growing export businesses in the food and oleochemicals segments.

It will add the capability to manufacture downstream packaging, thus allowing the company to capture a bigger part of the production chain.

The company, meanwhile, has appointed Franco Diego Lao as its new chief financial officer, replacing Amorsolo Rosario, who retired after more than a decade with the company.

Franco Lao, the cousin of Alvin, has 21 years of experience with the company. He started his career with DNL as a product representative for Oleofats Inc., moving up to product manager then to supply chain manager for the business segment and then as the supply chain director for the entire company.

He holds an accounting and marketing degree from the University of Western Australia. VG Cabuag

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Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, May 6, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

May 5, 2021

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

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

43.5 104.5 81.4 24.75 9.58 44.75 21.6 28.05 56 17.9 113 73.7 1.41 3.9 0.59 3.01 1.49 950 0.71 153 2,400

44.3 104.8 81.5 24.9 9.59 44.8 23.4 28.1 56.65 18.2 113.3 73.8 1.45 3.93 0.64 3.23 1.51 995 0.72 160 2,496

43.75 104.8 82 24.7 9.54 45 21.6 28.4 56 17.56 115 73.65 1.43 3.9 0.59 3.15 1.49 950 0.72 153.1 2,400

44 104.8 82.25 25 9.75 45 21.6 29.3 56.65 18.2 115 73.7 1.45 3.93 0.59 3.15 1.49 950 0.72 153.1 2,400

43.75 103.6 81.5 24.7 9.51 44.5 21.6 27.8 56 17.56 112.8 73.5 1.43 3.9 0.59 3 1.49 950 0.72 153 2,400

44 104.8 81.5 24.8 9.59 44.75 21.6 28.1 56.65 18.2 113 73.7 1.43 3.93 0.59 3 1.49 950 0.72 153 2,400

500 1,342,960 913,790 285,300 17,000 1,414,100 300 1,443,200 2,420 44,900 216,280 27,410 121,000 156,000 14,000 28,000 30,000 890 62,000 3,400 95

21,925 140,434,960 74,667,976 7,077,600 162,992 63,335,780 6,480 40,940,945 135,962 808,500 24,508,432 2,019,183.50 175,050 608,610 8,260 85,720 44,700 845,500 44,640 520,206 228,000

-28,774,893 -51,666,318.50 25,784.00 -44,415,305 -11,994,955 9,000 -3,717,431 -8,110.50 -9,450 845,500 43,200 -9,186 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 6.82 6.83 6.9 6.92 6.79 6.82 32,265,000 220,798,207 1.32 1.35 1.33 1.36 1.32 1.35 307,000 410,330 ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER 23.2 23.25 23.2 23.6 23.05 23.25 2,085,600 48,477,090 0.81 0.82 0.8 0.82 0.79 0.82 27,508,000 22,327,630 BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN 31.45 31.5 31.3 31.5 31.05 31.45 1,678,000 52,611,300 67.75 67.85 68 68.1 67.7 67.75 12,490 847,989 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 272.6 273.8 274.6 274.6 272 272.6 76,000 20,723,024 15 15.02 15.02 15.06 14.9 15.02 921,300 13,832,908 MANILA WATER 3.47 3.48 3.54 3.59 3.45 3.47 2,101,000 7,430,300 PETRON PETROENERGY 4 4.1 4 4 3.99 4 179,000 715,930 12.14 12.4 12.4 12.4 12.4 12.4 3,000 37,200 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 21.6 21.7 21.8 21.8 21.55 21.6 34,600 748,360 10.38 10.44 10.38 10.44 10.38 10.38 43,600 453,568 SPC POWER VIVANT 14.04 14.98 14.5 14.5 14 14.5 45,300 644,824 6.54 6.72 6.76 6.82 6.43 6.56 7,434,400 49,968,451 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 2.96 3 2.98 3.01 2.94 3 1,306,000 3,885,890 CNTRL AZUCARERA 13 13.02 13.06 13.06 13.02 13.02 7,900 103,038 19.9 20 19.62 20 19.62 19.9 1,669,300 33,120,148 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 14.44 14.5 13.4 14.6 13.4 14.5 2,044,100 29,224,508 7.66 7.67 7.44 7.73 7.44 7.66 5,323,300 40,672,727 DNL INDUS EMPERADOR 9.69 9.7 9.95 9.95 9.67 9.7 1,737,900 16,939,012 64.4 65 64.1 64.4 64.1 64.4 11,000 708,284 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.61 0.63 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 52,000 31,720 1.38 1.39 1.4 1.43 1.39 1.39 10,140,000 14,276,770 FRUITAS HLDG 57.2 58.2 58 58.25 57.4 58.2 49,890 2,897,032.50 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 177.5 177.6 177 178.2 176.1 177.5 313,470 55,544,912 29.75 31.45 30 31.3 30 31.3 118,700 3,561,705 LIBERTY FLOUR MAXS GROUP 5.95 5.96 5.99 5.99 5.9 5.96 147,400 875,307 0.29 0.295 0.295 0.3 0.29 0.295 4,290,000 1,256,900 MG HLDG SHAKEYS PIZZA 7.17 7.3 7.19 7.3 7.17 7.17 43,300 313,212 1.01 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.01 1.03 335,000 339,260 ROXAS AND CO 4.54 4.73 4.73 4.73 4.73 4.73 1,000 4,730 RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG 1.43 1.53 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 101,000 151,500 0.138 0.139 0.138 0.139 0.137 0.139 4,240,000 585,500 SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA 128 129.9 131.5 133 128 128 461,380 59,879,332 0.82 0.83 0.81 0.83 0.8 0.82 3,212,000 2,628,610 VITARICH VICTORIAS 2.4 2.49 2.49 2.5 2.49 2.49 22,000 54,810 54.6 59.7 54.6 54.6 54.6 54.6 10 546 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 60.1 62.8 60.1 60.1 60.1 60.1 10 601 1.16 1.17 1.15 1.17 1.15 1.17 674,000 780,170 CEMEX HLDG 2.71 2.72 2.73 2.79 2.68 2.71 775,000 2,106,400 DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT 11.7 12 11.9 12 11.24 11.7 71,400 827,240 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.25 7.23 7.24 49,500 358,520 EEI CORP HOLCIM 5.44 5.53 5.55 5.55 5.43 5.43 106,700 580,176 6.75 6.77 6.75 6.79 6.65 6.77 170,100 1,148,025 MEGAWIDE PHINMA 12.28 12.36 12.2 12.28 12.2 12.28 20,300 248,484 1.11 1.14 1.12 1.14 1.11 1.14 284,000 317,010 TKC METALS 2.41 2.42 2.55 2.55 2.4 2.41 7,623,000 18,761,450 VULCAN INDL CROWN ASIA 1.82 1.85 1.86 1.87 1.85 1.85 22,000 40,890 1.92 1.93 1.94 1.94 1.91 1.93 78,000 150,830 EUROMED PRYCE CORP 5.35 5.4 5.35 5.4 5.35 5.4 23,800 127,490 21.9 22 22 22 22 22 400 8,800 CONCEPCION GREENERGY 3.85 3.86 3.78 3.87 3.74 3.86 25,845,000 98,746,740 9.91 9.95 10 10 9.9 9.91 1,313,800 13,046,841 INTEGRATED MICR 1.06 1.09 1.06 1.09 1.05 1.09 37,000 39,500 IONICS SFA SEMICON 1.3 1.33 1.31 1.34 1.31 1.33 24,000 31,590 5.9 5.91 5.93 6 5.86 5.9 592,000 3,490,681 CIRTEK HLDG

87,691,423 -6,538,125 1,204,000 32,243,045 -357,546.00 -10,160,846 -9,054,964 -244,830 30,190 4,164 2,826 13,060 95,130 -10,192,406 -3,742,324 -2,665,226 -2,605,184.00 5,148 2,448,843 -28,056,112 194,436 217,776 -16,220 -29,448,463 -119,520 23,070 -60,848 -97,551 866,680 -48,300 -4,400 -174,920 -12,101,169 269,740

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.08 1.05 1.06 5,612,000 5,973,090 7.25 7.49 7.49 7.5 7.49 7.5 2,000 14,999 ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP 745 753 754 754 745 745 74,750 56,068,365 35.2 35.3 35.65 36.2 35.3 35.3 704,000 25,013,145 ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL 10.38 10.4 10.5 10.5 10.34 10.38 1,161,500 12,067,458 2.92 2.94 3 3.03 2.91 2.92 4,009,000 11,885,670 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.85 6.87 6.85 6.85 6.85 6.85 2,100 14,385 0.8 0.81 0.81 0.82 0.77 0.81 6,200,000 4,938,520 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.7 0.71 0.69 0.71 0.69 0.71 218,000 153,620 ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B 0.69 0.72 0.7 0.72 0.7 0.72 203,000 142,160 4.99 5 4.99 5.02 4.98 5 296,800 1,481,716 COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG 5.34 5.35 5.37 5.38 5.34 5.35 2,513,000 13,459,819 7.99 8 8 8 8 8 39,900 319,200 FILINVEST DEV FORUM PACIFIC 0.29 0.31 0.295 0.315 0.29 0.31 4,140,000 1,251,000 522 523 520.5 525 520 522 20,550 10,716,795 GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT 50.9 51 52.4 53 50.9 50.9 1,255,030 64,455,076 KEPPEL HLDG A 4.26 5.5 5.94 5.94 5.52 5.52 10,600 61,132 0.9 0.91 0.93 0.93 0.89 0.9 6,226,000 5,613,830 LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG 3.34 3.44 3.4 3.4 3.33 3.34 43,000 143,890 13.06 13.1 13.08 13.16 13.06 13.1 537,900 7,045,052 LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG 0.465 0.49 0.465 0.465 0.465 0.465 30,000 13,950 4 4.03 4.09 4.09 4 4 4,821,000 19,390,430 METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA 2.72 2.74 2.73 2.76 2.7 2.72 412,000 1,120,450 1.19 1.24 1.19 1.27 1.19 1.19 260,000 309,560 SOLID GROUP 370 376 370 370 370 370 110 40,700 SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS 951 955.5 955 957.5 950 951 184,070 175,441,450 114 114.5 115.9 115.9 113.4 114.5 47,360 5,425,232 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.67 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.67 0.67 136,000 91,250 130 131.7 129.2 131.7 129.2 131.7 110 14,462 TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS 0.25 0.255 0.26 0.26 0.25 0.255 3,080,000 779,100 0.248 0.25 0.243 0.255 0.242 0.25 13,420,000 3,368,070 ZEUS HLDG

583,000 -20,294,620 -11,512,255 -8,438,916 1,136,080 67,320 -586,250 525,674 -311,200 -7,195,145 -18,373,595.50 -3,442,596 4,650 -15,557,300 34,230 -30,581,280 -569,774 10,000 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.62 0.64 0.63 0.64 0.62 0.62 85,000 52,930 31.95 32 31.85 32.25 31.8 32 10,994,000 352,100,615 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 1.2 1.27 1.25 1.26 1.25 1.26 12,000 15,100 33.9 34 34.05 34.1 33.85 34 1,678,200 57,003,645 AREIT RT BELLE CORP 1.39 1.41 1.4 1.41 1.39 1.39 422,000 590,490 0.93 0.95 0.93 0.96 0.91 0.95 1,855,000 1,734,730 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.97 0.98 0.94 1.01 0.93 0.98 2,125,000 2,065,790 0.132 0.133 0.131 0.133 0.13 0.132 3,200,000 421,540 CROWN EQUITIES 6.06 6.6 6.2 6.6 6.2 6.6 1,100 6,860 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 5.73 5.75 5.77 5.77 5.71 5.73 245,000 1,401,972 0.395 0.405 0.41 0.41 0.4 0.4 1,540,000 618,950 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.32 0.33 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.325 620,000 201,500 12.52 12.72 12.72 12.74 12.42 12.72 819,000 10,352,806 DOUBLEDRAGON DDMP RT 1.96 1.97 1.91 1.98 1.91 1.97 8,929,000 17,513,060 6.86 6.87 6.86 6.87 6.8 6.87 23,300 159,545 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.275 0.28 0.285 0.285 0.275 0.28 490,000 137,000 EVER GOTESCO 0.192 0.194 0.208 0.208 0.19 0.192 52,060,000 10,171,250 1.11 1.12 1.11 1.12 1.09 1.12 2,804,000 3,102,040 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.82 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 30,000 24,900 7.13 7.34 7.13 7.13 7.12 7.12 7,000 49,872 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.31 1.34 1.32 1.34 1.31 1.34 453,000 596,940 1.92 1.93 2.08 2.13 1.91 1.93 12,131,000 24,510,530 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 3 3.01 3.06 3.12 3 3 52,747,000 160,001,800 0.42 0.43 0.43 0.435 0.42 0.42 21,010,000 8,898,400 MRC ALLIED 0.57 0.58 0.55 0.58 0.54 0.58 11,301,000 6,303,670 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 3.39 3.4 3.35 3.4 3.2 3.4 5,334,000 17,595,950 16.52 16.54 16.4 16.58 16.34 16.54 358,700 5,911,746 ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY 0.25 0.255 0.249 0.25 0.249 0.25 190,000 47,400 1.49 1.5 1.48 1.49 1.48 1.49 6,000 8,920 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.6 2.68 2.68 2.68 2.68 2.68 8,000 21,440 2.3 2.33 2.22 2.33 2.22 2.33 37,000 86,010 STA LUCIA LAND 33.65 33.95 34.2 34.2 33.5 33.65 4,749,200 160,514,740 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 3.8 3.85 3.72 3.85 3.65 3.85 30,000 114,260 1.46 1.48 1.45 1.48 1.45 1.48 246,000 363,300 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 3.46 3.48 3.52 3.52 3.46 3.46 763,000 2,648,390

SERVICES ABS CBN 10.96 11 11 11.02 10.92 10.96 60,200 661,262 8.3 8.32 7.95 8.43 7.91 8.3 3,687,400 30,116,196 GMA NETWORK GLOBE TELECOM 1,833 1,834 1,825 1,849 1,825 1,834 28,205 51,783,475 1,250 1,258 1,260 1,264 1,250 1,250 64,015 80,182,945 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.192 0.193 0.191 0.194 0.184 0.193 321,170,000 60,544,080 19.16 19.18 19.14 19.22 19 19.16 2,963,300 56,668,340 CONVERGE DFNN INC 4.03 4.04 4.01 4.18 3.96 4.04 925,000 3,758,780 9.76 9.77 9.65 9.9 9.64 9.76 7,920,200 77,030,134 DITO CME HLDG 2.32 2.35 2.38 2.38 2.3 2.37 87,000 201,500 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 2.64 2.65 2.64 2.67 2.61 2.64 775,000 2,035,900 0.385 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.375 0.385 9,060,000 3,460,050 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.58 2.6 2.62 2.62 2.56 2.6 259,000 672,980 8.3 8.37 8.3 8.37 8.25 8.37 8,600 71,382 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 15.7 15.8 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7 1,208,900 18,979,730 2.97 3 2.98 3.03 2.95 3 705,000 2,098,340 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 48.1 48.3 48.05 48.3 48 48.1 188,200 9,049,125 INTL CONTAINER 128.5 130 130 130.7 128.5 128.5 1,174,720 152,133,320 16 16.98 16 16 16 16 1,200 19,200 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.99 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.04 2,000 2,080 4.75 4.76 4.9 4.9 4.76 4.76 225,000 1,077,120 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 2.15 2.23 2.24 2.34 2.15 2.24 388,000 849,870 6.02 6.1 6 6.1 6 6.02 14,800 88,908 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.25 1.27 1.25 1.31 1.25 1.25 373,000 468,310 1.6 1.63 1.56 1.66 1.55 1.63 65,000 103,610 ACESITE HOTEL 0.091 0.092 0.094 0.095 0.09 0.091 163,810,000 15,027,450 BOULEVARD HLDG DISCOVERY WORLD 3.08 3.1 3.2 3.28 3 3.1 356,000 1,088,590 0.54 0.56 0.55 0.57 0.54 0.56 1,776,000 985,930 WATERFRONT IPEOPLE 6.81 7.97 8 8 7.97 7.97 400 3,197 0.36 0.365 0.36 0.37 0.36 0.365 920,000 334,750 STI HLDG BERJAYA 4.62 4.9 4.52 4.79 4.52 4.79 13,000 62,000 6.37 6.45 6.4 6.5 6.37 6.45 14,024,600 89,621,219 BLOOMBERRY 1.51 1.53 1.56 1.58 1.5 1.53 5,641,000 8,763,480 LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY 2.09 2.1 2.08 2.08 2.08 2.08 5,000 10,400 1.92 1.93 1.99 1.99 1.9 1.93 1,962,000 3,770,140 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.405 500,000 200,700 5.9 6 5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9 1,000 5,900 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 7.71 7.75 7.75 7.77 7.7 7.75 617,600 4,785,180 1.28 1.29 1.3 1.3 1.27 1.29 329,000 421,490 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 36.7 36.8 37.05 37.4 36.7 36.7 717,400 26,553,175 ROBINSONS RTL 51.65 51.7 52.9 52.9 51.65 51.7 3,499,230 181,547,852 107.5 107.9 107.5 107.5 107.5 107.5 1,060 113,950 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.18 1.2 1.22 1.22 1.18 1.18 749,000 889,100 18.04 18.08 17.9 18.04 17.7 18.04 432,500 7,762,596 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.38 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.38 0.385 90,000 34,450 6.25 6.49 6.23 6.5 6.21 6.49 6,000 38,254 EASYCALL IPM HLDG 4.95 5.1 4.95 4.95 4.95 4.95 1,000 4,950 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.1 2.02 2.05 11,620,000 23,774,730 PRMIERE HORIZON

-72,676,380 4,793,955.00 -376,960 -40,920 -8,910 -92,585 -3,609,284 1,320,530 -27,480 22,000 -275,920 -19,540 27,056 -7,840 20,730 -58,349,480 -263,500 -6,800 3,495,930 -1,685,478 8,040 -101,000,975 20,380 -34,810 -36,827,820 -44,845,360 226,280 35,058,820 503,110 -265,172 4,760 -107,880 399,500 -33,930 -6,070 5,147,575 -18,693,190 28,650 12,000 -17,560 -323,020 15,400 -67,127,079 -1,208,330 132,650 -12,000 2,146,374 1,300 -7,911,170.00 -54,209,763.50 113,950 75,440 1,502,144 2,607,240.00

MINING & OIL ATOK 8.71 8.8 8.52 8.9 8.52 8.8 333,800 2,943,107 -115,694 APEX MINING 1.68 1.69 1.66 1.7 1.65 1.68 1,148,000 1,924,460 -453,570 8.16 8.19 7.95 8.25 7.95 8.16 1,310,600 10,698,632 773,902.00 ATLAS MINING BENGUET A 3 3.18 3.02 3.18 3 3.18 36,000 108,470 3.15 3.16 3.16 3.16 3.16 3.16 60,000 189,600 31,600 BENGUET B COAL ASIA HLDG 0.32 0.335 0.33 0.335 0.32 0.335 300,000 99,550 -10,050 2.85 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.75 2.9 1,560,000 4,294,150 86,500 CENTURY PEAK 6.95 7.29 7.44 7.44 7 7.38 42,000 297,507 10,530 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 2.51 2.52 2.54 2.6 2.51 2.51 2,258,000 5,706,950 880,510 0.365 0.37 0.38 0.385 0.36 0.37 1,980,000 738,850 167,200 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.187 0.188 0.179 0.187 0.178 0.187 76,920,000 14,108,460 0.192 0.193 0.184 0.192 0.18 0.192 4,590,000 861,080 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.015 0.016 0.014 0.016 0.014 0.015 822,600,000 12,258,000 0.015 0.016 0.015 0.016 0.015 0.015 66,900,000 1,013,700 52,500 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.3 1.32 1.32 1.34 1.28 1.32 913,000 1,184,450 -54,250 NIHAO 1.5 1.51 1.5 1.52 1.47 1.51 212,000 317,780 5.53 5.54 5.61 5.67 5.45 5.53 3,109,500 17,297,167 726,611 NICKEL ASIA OMICO CORP 0.4 0.41 0.395 0.415 0.395 0.415 120,000 47,600 0.94 0.98 0.97 0.99 0.94 0.98 616,000 591,370 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 6.91 6.95 6.56 6.95 6.5 6.91 4,572,700 30,898,510 288,452 12.62 12.64 12.56 12.64 12.52 12.62 1,378,100 17,365,554 1,506,794 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 117,300,000 1,279,100 17.12 17.5 17.02 17.76 17 17.48 309,000 5,367,928 -354,612 ACE ENEXOR 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 35,100,000 410,500 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.011 0.012 1,998,400,000 23,034,500 60,000 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 32,200,000 390,100 103,200 PHILODRILL PXP ENERGY 7.39 7.45 7.4 7.46 7.4 7.45 524,400 3,902,898 694,460

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.6 101.4 100.5 100.5 100.5 100.5 10,000 1,005,000 502 540 501 501 501 501 1,000 501,000 AC PREF B2R CEB PREF 44.5 44.55 44.5 44.55 44.4 44.55 44,900 1,997,370 1,188,255 103.5 104 103.5 103.5 103.5 103.5 100 10,350 CPG PREF A DD PREF 100.6 101.3 100.9 101.4 100.9 101.4 940 95,051 107 108 106.9 106.9 106.9 106.9 120 12,828 FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P 508 510 510 510 510 510 10 5,100 999 1,020 1,000 1,020 999 999 540 539,970 GTCAP PREF A 1,035 1,040 1,035 1,035 1,035 1,035 1,000 1,035,000 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 101.6 102 102.1 102.1 102 102 2,480 253,194 99.5 100 99.5 100 99.5 100 610 60,750 MWIDE PREF 2A PNX PREF 4 1,005 1,008 1,008 1,008 1,008 1,008 10 10,080 1,020 1,039 1,020 1,030 1,020 1,030 105 108,000 PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A 1,081 1,119 1,081 1,081 1,081 1,081 200 216,200 1.66 1.84 1.65 1.68 1.65 1.66 13,000 21,710 SFI PREF SMC PREF 2C 79.3 79.8 79.9 79.9 79.8 79.8 14,630 1,167,490 78.7 79.2 79.15 79.15 79.15 79.15 34,950 2,766,292.50 SMC PREF 2F 77.15 77.5 77.5 77.5 77.5 77.5 2,000 155,000 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 78 78.95 78.95 78.95 78.95 78.95 1,500 118,425 76.9 77 77 77 76.9 76.9 40,600 3,126,150 SMC PREF 2J SMC PREF 2K 76 77 76 76 76 76 500 38,000 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.52 10.88 10.88 10.88 10.88 10.88 2,100 22,848 -22,848 7.74 7.8 7.5 7.85 7.46 7.74 291,700 2,262,108 -347,238 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.71 1.72 1.72 1.78 1.71 1.72 714,000 1,234,370 -34,610

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 17.68 17.88 18.8 18.8 17.54 17.88 27,300 483,680 -26,776 2.34 2.4 2.37 2.48 2.32 2.4 69,000 161,740 -16,420 ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH 5.24 5.42 5.25 5.25 5.25 5.25 1,800 9,450 4.73 4.74 4.7 4.84 4.65 4.74 6,217,000 29,575,740 -19,640 MERRYMART

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 95.45 97 96.55 97.05 95.45 95.45 50,740 4,888,683.50 425,814

www.businessmirror.com.ph

MPIC Q1 income falls 26% as restrictions affect units

C

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

onglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) on Wednesday said its consolidated core net income for the first quarter declined 26 percent to P2.5 billion from last year’s P3.4 billion mainly due to quarantine restrictions which constrained economic activity.

MPIC’s consolidated reported attributable net income rose more than tripled to P7 billion in the first quarter from last year’s P1.89 billion as it benefitted from the sale of Global Business Power and Don Muang Tollways.

Group-wide revenues slid 6 percent to P85.6 billion, some P3.8 billion of which was MPIC’s share in operating core income.

Power accounted for P2.5 billion or 66 percent of the total, toll roads contributed P0.8 billion or 21 percent, water contributed P0.5 billion or 14 percent and other businesses, mainly hospitals, light rail, and lo-

gistics, incurred an overall loss of P49 million.

“Consequently, while we remain committed to our ongoing priority projects, we have also recalibrated our capital expenditure plans for the year and have decided to defer or discontinue previously announced discretionary investments. This will allow us to focus more on investments that will enable economic growth from infrastructure development without putting additional strain on future our cash flows,” Jose Ma. K. Lim, the company’s president and CEO, said.

Core income of power distributor

Manila Electric Co. fell 11 percent to P5.1 billion, driven by lower energy sales, lower interest income on cash investments, and higher operating expenses.

Global Business Power’s income grew 19 percent to P522 million, despite the 10-percent fall in revenues to P5 billion, mainly as a result of the lower income taxes from the implementation of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE).

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.’s core net income dropped 15 percent to P788 million because of the decrease in traffic volumes, higher interest expense and amortization from expanded capital expenditure initiatives in the construction of new roads. There was also the reduction in contribution from international toll roads owing to the divestment of Don Muang Tollways in Thailand in February.

Revenues declined 1 percent to P4.2 billion due to reduced traffic stemming from mobility restrictions.

West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s core net income fell 24 percent to P1.2 billion.

Revenues declined 6 percent to P5.3 billion reflecting lower average tariffs. Residential demand at a lower

average tariff remained strong and continued to offset lower demand in commerce and industry with the implementation of stricter quarantine measures, the company said.

Light Rail Manila Corp., the operator of LRT 1 and LRT 2, incurred losses of P104 million for the period as revenues declined 57 percent to P302 million due to reductions in capacity as a result of the implementation of physical distancing protocols.

Average daily ridership declined by 68 percent to 136,520 compared with 422,703 a year earlier owing to a cap of 30 percent on overall ridership capacity.

Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. reported an income of P285 million, some 6 percent higher than last year’s driven by the growth in revenues, which was further augmented by the positive impact of the tax reduction from CREATE. Revenues increased 14 percent to P4.5 billion driven largely by the growth in Covid-19 admissions and testing.

In-patient admissions dropped 42 percent to 24,508 while out-patient visits fell 14 percent to 751,895.

These reductions were made up for by higher revenues per patient due to more complex engagements of Covid-19, the company said.

Phoenix: Fuel demand gradually picking up

P

hoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is slowly recovering from the slump in fuel demand brought about by the pandemic.

Its top official said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting that Phoenix expects to hit near pre-Covid-19 numbers starting April.

“April is looking like it’s going to be our first month very close to preCovid levels, if not pre-Covid levels already. So, I’m quite pleased with what we’re seeing in our April monthly performance,” Phoenix President and CEO Henry Albert Fadullon said.

The first quarter numbers, he added, are “much better” than the previous quarter. “January was a slow start for the year, but we had very strong February, March results,” he added.

Fadullon said the company’s core petroleum business will be strongly supported by emerging digital and e-commerce channel through its app-based lifestyle rewards program called Limitless.

“Given the changing consumer landscape vis-a-vis our existing portfolio of brands and our over 18,000 retail touchpoints comprised of retail service stations, LPG retail outlets,

FamilyMart stores and Posible retailers, we are identifying Limitless and e-commerce as our new pillar of growth that could drive close to 30 percent of our revenues in the future,” he added.

Limitless currently has over 119,000 users.

“Over the next few years, from a lifestyle rewards program, Limitless will evolve into a revenue-generating digital platform that will complement our traditional B2B and brick- and-mortar B2C channels,” said Fadullon.

The oil company is earmarking around P1 billion in capital expenditures annually over the next few years, to be funded by internally generated cash. It vowed to expand its retail business by leveraging on existing strategic partnerships such as the joint ventures, as well as monetizing brands through franchising.

“We will improve margins and returns, increase savings and promote efficient use of our resources.

We will maximize the yield of our touchpoints and harness the potential of e-commerce, which we see growing continuously,” said Fadullon. Lenie Lectura

Nat Re net income falls by 24% in 2020

T

he National Reinsurance Corporation of the Philippines (Nat Re) said its net income dropped by 24 percent to P120 million last year from P157 million in 2019 as lower investment income weighed down stronger underwriting results.

The country’s national reinsurer said in a statement on Wednesday that their Total Comprehensive Income last year reached P387 million, including P267 million from Other Comprehensive Income.

“While Nat Re’s financial performance in 2020 reflected financial market volatility caused by Covid-19 especially in the first half of the year, the company ensured operational resilience to continue delivering reinsurance-related services and serve its customers efficiently,” said Allan R. Santos, Nat Re President and Chief Executive Officer.

Due to the growth in reinsurance pre-

miums from life and non-life domestic business, Nat Re’s gross premiums written grew by 3 percent to P4.47 billion from P4.34 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, its net underwriting income before administration expenses more than doubled to P341.7 million in 2020 compared to P136.4 million in the previous year as a result of higher reinsurance premium income and lower loss ratios.

Nat Re’s combined ratio, which is the sum of loss, commission, and expense ratios and a measure of the profitability of the company’s insurance operations, improved to 98 percent from 104 percent in 2019.

A combined ratio below 100 percent indicates the company is making an underwriting profit, while a combined ratio above 100 percent means the company is paying more claims and expenses versus premiums. Bernadette D. Nicolas

mutual funds

May 5, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 204.49 11.08% -7.48% -3.86% -10% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2681 33.64% -6.67% 1.41% -3.42% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8085 13.47% -12.01% -6.07% -10.36% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7219 13.92% -7.42% n.a.

-10.2% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6707 2.48% -6.86% n.a.

-9.56% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.5043 12.24% -5.36% -2.85% -8.84% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6454 -9.07% -7.75% -15.06% 3.8% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 95.94 28.4% -5.78% n.a.

-5.89% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 41.8941 13.91% -5.58% -2.48% -10.57% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 439.79 11.13% -5.66% -3% -10.06% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0155 20.61% n.a. n.a.

-7.45% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0814 14.25% -4.8% -1.86% -7.43% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 31.5544 13.93% -5.04% -1.55% -9.25% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8142 11.63% n.a. n.a. -10.82% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.2923 14.6% -5.01% -1.8% -10.41% 717.89 Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 14.66% -4.92% -1.95% -10.45% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6515 13.6% -9.35% -5.26% -9.38% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2571 10.79% -7.21% -3.32% -10.12% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8198 14.08% -5.29% -2.09% -10.67% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.0327 13.36% -4.8% -0.67% -8.63% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 96.3188 14.75% -4.73% -1.27% -10.45% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.2607 41.1% 4.99% 8.7% 4.81% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7687 42.48% 11.63% n.a.

5.73% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6162 8.7% -1.49% -1.31% -3.14% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1311 9.49% -2.44% -0.72% -6.75% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4754 6.86% -1.2% -1.37% -5.77% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1854 0.98% n.a. n.a. -6.65% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8802 5.66% 0.6% 0.6% -4.27% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.5053 6.46% -0.86% -0.67% -7.47% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.7185 6.78% -0.77% -0.65% -7.19% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9646 7.68% -1.86% -0.58% -6.18% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3311 7.26% -3.2% -1.79% -6.78% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9511 6.49% n.a. n.a.

-6.99% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8529 8.9% n.a. n.a. -10.15% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8353 10.01% n.a. n.a. -10.48% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8208 7.24% -4.34% -2.47% -7.54% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.038 0.03% 2.76% 1.31% -2.86% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.1375 21.41% 2.63% 5.12% -1.1% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6966 30.6% 8.86% 8.77% 4.07% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2085 15.85% 4.75% n.a.

0.53% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 370.87 2.28% 3.13% 2.52% -0.05% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9119 -0.92% 0.9% 0.18% 0.61% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2229 1.69% 3.95% 4.45% 0.26% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2564 -0.71% 2.25% 1.57% -1.72% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4308 0.48% 3.13% 1.75% -0.91% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4677 -0.59% 4.1% 1.77% -3.6% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3212 3.41% 4.28% 2.74% n.a.

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9627 2.02% 4.41% 2.52% -0.96% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0263 0.69% 4.16% 1.84% -1.51% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.183 2.12% 4.98% 2.81% -0.72% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.736 0.67% 4.26% 2.14% -1.08% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $483.71 3.36% 3.08% 2.38% -0.03% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.72 2.66% 1.05% 1.21% 0.25% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.173 -1.49% 1.68% 1.07% -8.39% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 0.78% 1.46% 0.95% -2.63% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0504 -0.15% 0.51% -0.63% -3.87% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.4821 3.9% 4.79% 2.23% -2.11% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0627041 5.28% 3.48% 2.21% 0.62% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.137 -0.57% 2.62% 1.06% -2.69% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 130 2.06% 3.14% 2.52% 0.15% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0509 1.31% n.a. n.a.

0.27% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.3028 1.95% 2.89% 2.57% 0.48% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0566 1.45% 1.73% n.a. 0.4% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.2268 n.a. n.a. n.a. 8.6% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.99 10% n.a. n.a.

1.02% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

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

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

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

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

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, May 6, 2021 B3

PHL frozen pork stocks down 5.5%–NMIS

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

& Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

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HE country’s frozen pork inventory as of April 26 fell by 5.5 percent to 24,273.5 metric tons (MT) from the previous month’s 28,862.84 MT, latest National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) data showed.

NMIS data also showed that the latest figure was slightly lower than the previous week’s 27,463.4 MT inventory. Data also showed that the bulk of the frozen pork inventory, or about 25,318.48 MT, were imported, while the remaining volume of 1,955.02 MT was locally produced.

Data from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that the frozen pork inventory as of April 26 was 35 percent lower than the 41,909.51 MT recorded last year.

NMIS noted that the data only covers inventory in accredited commercial and in-house cold storage, which include slaughterhouses and

meat processing plants.

The low pork inventory is an indication of the extent of the pork shortage in the country. The DA’s latest price monitoring report indicated that the price of fresh pork has reached as much as P400 per kilogram.

Consumers who are looking for a cheaper alternative may avail of frozen pork in select Metro Manila wet markets. Frozen pork is 25 percent cheaper than fresh pork, according to the DA. The DA price monitoring report showed that frozen pork liempo and kasim/pigue are now being sold in at least six Metro Manila markets as of May 4.

DA data showed that frozen pork kasim/pigue are being sold for P235 per kg to P270 per kg, or at least 30 percent lower than the price of fresh pork. Frozen pork liempo is being sold for as low as P275 per kg to as high as P300 per kg, or at least 23 percent lower than the price of fresh liempo.

NMIS data also indicated that the country’s dressed chicken inventory as of April 26 grew by 7.8 percent to 25,238.98 MT from 23,419.67 MT

in the week of April 19.

The latest inventory was also 36.6 percent higher than the 18,477.69 MT recorded last March 29.

NMIS data showed that more than half of the dressed chicken inventory or about 14,916.04 MT were imported while the remaining 10,322.94 MT were locally produced.

Proposals

TWO economist-lawmakers on Wednesday called for the immediate passage of the proposed Affordable Pork Act of 2021 and the proposed Animal Biosafety Act. Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo and Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said they are pushing for House Bill 9256 or Affordable Pork Act of 2021 and House Bill 9265 or the proposed Animal Biosafety Act, respectively, as latest inflation figures highlight the urgent need for policies that can help bring down commodity prices.

“The PSA [Philippine Statistics Authority] today [Wednesday] announced an inflation rate of 4.5 percent for April 2021. The main

contributor continues to be the inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which made up 40.9 percent of the overall inflation. This was driven mainly by the inflation in meat, such as pork [with the rate of] 22.1 percent,” Quimbo said.

“Last week, I filed House Bill 9256 or the Affordable Pork Act of 2021 to authorize the government to directly procure pork meat for purposes of price stabilization in times of emergency such as this.”

At this point, Quimbo said, local production is struggling due to African swine fever (ASF).

“Hog raisers need to be able to sell at a price that’s reasonably high enough for them to recover costs.

At the same time, we need to bring down retail prices for consumers.

Government can provide temporary support and ‘buy high’ from producers and ‘sell low’ to consumers. It can ensure that prices are fair and competitive by temporarily bringing supply directly to the market,” she said.

“But government intervention through procurement should only

be done on a temporary basis, during this state of emergency.”

To improve the resilience of the local pork industry in the longer term, the bill also earmarks funds for measures against ASF and to develop the industry’s productive capacity, which will ensure that local hog raisers can withstand competition from cheaper imported meat.

“I call on my colleagues in government to support these measures.

Inflation has been averaging a high 4.5 percent from the start of the year to present, but we can very well act swiftly to stabilize commodity prices moving forward. We cannot have a situation where income has fallen and prices have risen. We need economic stimulus to raise income levels and emergency procurement by government to stabilize prices,” Quimbo said.

The proposed Affordable Pork Act of 2021creates the pork competitiveness enhancement fund and to authorize the President to directly procure pork in times of emergency.

The bill also provides that all tariff revenues from pork imports for

SMFB income rises by 66% as sales recover in Jan-March

By VG Cabuag

@Villygc

S

AN Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) said its income in the first quarter rose 66 percent to P9.68 billion from last year’s P5.82 billion, as it implemented programs to adapt to changing market conditions.

Consolidated sales in the Januaryto-March period reached P76.36 billion, up 11 percent from last year’s P69.01 billion.

“Our first quarter results reflect the resilience of SMFB throughout the crisis. The group has proven its agility and ability to control costs, manage cash, and stay on track to deliver long-term profitable growth while ensuring our products are always available to our customers and vulnerable communities that need them the most,” SMFB President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said.

Beer brewer San Miguel Brewer y Inc. posted a net income

growth of 45 percent to P5.46 billion for the period.

Consolidated revenues of P28.84 billion for the first quarter was up by only 2 percent from last year.

Volumes remained depressed with the continued closure of most on-trade channels and the lingering impacts of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Liquor maker Ginebra San Miguel Inc.’s income more than doubled to P1.04 billion for the period, as revenues grew by half to P11.34 billion from the previous year’s level.

The company said it posted a 29 percent year-on-year increase in volumes, the highest sales volume in a single quarter in the company’s history.

San Miguel Foods, meanwhile, had a net income of P3.39 billion, more than double from the same period last year.

First quarter consolidated revenues reached P36.18 billion, up

PHOTO FROM WWW.SMFB.COM.PH

9 percent from the same period in 2020. Growth was driven by demand and more stable pricing across all business segments.

It said it posted an 11 percent year-on-year growth of its protein segment, which continues to recover given improved market demandsupply dynamics.

The company said it was able to adapt to changes by launching its

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

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HE National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has completed the Barbar Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (Barbar SRIP) in Barangay Barbar, San Juan, Ilocos Sur. The P631-million Barbar SRIP involves the construction of Earthfill Dam across the Bical River with a height and length of 25 meters and 344.15 meters respectively, with a storage capacity of 0.861 million cubic meters.

Irrigation facilities of the project consist of a 5-kilometer main canal and a total of 16.28 kilometers of lateral canals.

“Access roads were constructed simultaneous with the lateral canals having the same length with the latter, providing mobility and accessibility for farmers and their farms inputs and products,” NIA

said in a statement.

The Barbar SRIP with 846-hectare service area aims to provide sustainable development to the 1,156 farmers and their families of the 11 barangays of Barbar, Camangaan, Nagsupotan, Nagsabaran, Muraya, Immayos Sur, Guimod Sur and Bacsil in the town of San Juan, and the barangays of Macatcatud, Caraisan and Barbarit in the neighboring town of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. Aside from the increase in agricultural production through additional areas of around 319 hectares and yield increase up to 5.2 metric tons, it also helps in mitigating flood by impounding typhoon waters for use as irrigation. It strengthens watershed recharging the aquifer in the area that will reestablish the vegetation and helps enhance the biodiversity.

TC probes merits of hiking tariff on pork imports

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community resellers program, now totaling close to 11,000 active resellers, to improve availability and consumer access to its poultry and other products.

Its prepared and packaged food segment, meanwhile, remained as a bright spot for the business, growing 6 percent as consumers continued to prefer at-home dining.

“As we continue to navigate

the pandemic, we remain optimistic about the future and stay focused on driving investments in products and innovate on systems that will better address the needs of Filipinos. We will work hard with greater efficiency and flexibility in order for our country to emerge from this pandemic stronger and more formidable,” Ang said.

Iron ore’s blistering rally sets sights on $200 as steel booms

NIA completes ₧631-M Barbar SRIP in Ilocos Sur

the next 6 years shall be earmarked towards a swine competitiveness enhancement fund (SCEF).

As meat remains the major contributor to inflation, especially food inflation, decisive action is now needed, Salceda said.

“We need long-run investments in biosafety, better feeding, and value-chains for the domestic pork industry. But long-run solutions take time. I have proposed measures to expand crop insurance for livestock, invest in biosafety facilities, and develop value chains for agriculture. But for now, immediate supply stabilization via a balance of imports and domestic supply management is the key,” the lawmaker from Bicol said.

Salceda also called on the DA to help small players, farmer groups, and the domestic swine industry participate in the import market.

“I support their effort to distribute freezers to small players. We must also have a mechanism to allow farmers’ cooperatives to import pork meat by consolidating smaller import orders.”

SURGE in steel consumption as the world emerges from its pandemic-induced slump is set to drive iron ore to an unprecedented high as the biggest miners struggle to keep up with the frenzied pace of demand.

Expectations are building that benchmark prices can get to $200 a ton—topping the record $194 hit more than a decade ago—as Chinese steelmakers ramp up production in defiance of government attempts to rein in output to control the industry’s carbon emissions. That’s tightening an iron ore market that hadn’t fully recovered from a supply shock more than two years ago.

“Iron ore prices could go higher in the short-term and exceeding $200 a ton is definitely possible,” said Kim Christie, a senior analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie Ltd. It would only take extra supply concerns, or additional strength in Chinese steel production, for prices to get there, she said.

At the heart of spot iron ore’s 14-percent climb last month, helping drive the supercharged commodities rally, has been rising steel prices from Asia to North America. Particular focus has been on China, where the economy has boomed and a swath of measures aimed at cleaning up the world’s biggest steel industry pushed

mill profitability to the highest in more than a decade.

“What these high margins do is incentivize mills to build up stocks and to charge more high-grade ore to lift productivity,” said Erik Hedborg​, principal analyst at CRU Group. “We have seen a bit of an ‘additional iron ore demand’ for the purpose of increasing inventories.”

Iron ore futures on the Singapore Exchange advanced 0.4 percent to $186.50 a ton on Wednesday amid muting trading, with China shut for a holiday.

Benchmark 62 percent spot iron ore was at $187.20 a ton on Friday, while 65% ore was at $223.30. Mills typically turn to material with higher iron content during periods of steel production restrictions as a way to lower emissions. Morgan Stanley has called China’s supply reforms a possible “game changer” for demand for premium ore, with grade differentials unlikely to normalize any time soon.

Citigroup expects benchmark prices to hit $200 within weeks.

There will be a deficit of 18 million tons during the first three quarters of 2021 amid improved global steel demand and a slight miss in top miners’ shipments. The bank had previously predicted a 1 million-ton surplus.

BHP Group and Rio Tinto Group said last month that quarterly shipments dropped on weather-related disruptions in Australia, though both maintained full-year guidance.

Vale SA churned out less ore than expected, highlighting its struggles to boost volumes after a tailings dam disaster in early 2019.

Defying cuts

CHINA is on track to make more than 1 billion tons of steel for the second year in a row despite production curbs in several provinces. The government’s recent changes to rebates on export taxes are also unlikely to be sufficient to deter output, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Christie.

“If China wants to slow steel production, it needs to temper domestic demand” which is highly leveraged toward construction, Christie said.

“We expect to see additional measures from the government aimed at cooling steel demand, especially in the property sector, and that will likely be the catalyst for a correction in iron ore prices.”

More broadly, Chinese authorities have flagged plans to strengthen controls on raw material markets.

The China Iron and Steel Association has said steelmakers are facing operational pressures due to elevated input costs. Bloomberg News

HE Tariff Commission (TC) has launched its investigation to determine the merits of increasing the tariff on pork imports to as high as 44 percent.

In a notice published on its website recently, the TC said it is conducting the investigation after the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) filed a petition before the agency to increase the in-quota pork tariff rate to 40 percent and out-quota rate to 44 percent.

Currently, pork imports within the minimum access volume (MAV) and outside of MAV are slapped a tariff of 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

The TC, an attached agency of the National Economic and Development Authority, said interested parties may submit their comments, inputs, and/ or positions on the proposed tariff modification on or before May 7.

The agency, however, disclosed that the schedule of the public hearing for the petitioned “will be announced at a later date.”

The investigation is being conducted after the government’s decision to reduce the tariff on pork imports to as low as 5 percent via Executive Order 128 issued by the President was opposed by lawmakers and local producers.

The group first floated their proposal to increase the tariffs on pork imports as a way of “shaving off” traders’ profits and to boost government’s tax collection in March.

SINAG proposed the tariff hike in a letter to TC Chairperson Marilou P. Mendoza. However, Mendoza told the group that the agency is “constrained” to put the tariff hike petition on hold until the petition made by the Department of Agriculture to lower pork tariffs was resolved.

The group claimed that “importers are raking in profits at the current tariff rate with no corresponding reflection on the retail price of prime pork cuts.”

Citing Bureau of Customs (BOC) data, the group said the landed cost of pork belly and kasim is P81 per kilogram from January 2020 to 2021.

The group argued that at these prices, importers are making P200 to P250 per kilogram as pork belly and kasim retail for P350 to P400 per kg.

“As late as January to February this year [2021], when retail prices of local pork spiked, imported pork was being sold between P350-450/kilo. Importers claim that they are not violating any law and are just following the retail price of pork,” the group said in its letter to Mendoza last March.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

B4

Thursday, May 6, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL calls for closer ties in sci-tech Highlights concern over developments in SCS/WPS

F

OREIGN Affairs Acting Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and Asean Affairs Elizabeth P. Buensuceso—the Philippines’s Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) leader—represented the country at the 23rd Asean-India Senior Officials’ Meeting on April 28.

Buensuceso led discussions on the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine research and development; science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics, or STEAM education; smart cities; health and biotechnology; agriculture and food sustainability; climate research; digital economies; as well as information and communications technology.

She also spoke about the presence of foreign militia vessels in the country’s maritime zones which not only infringe upon Philippine sovereignty, sovereign

rights and jurisdiction, but also threaten the region’s security and stability.

The meeting’s participants reiterated calls for adherence to the rule of law—including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS; exercise of self-restraint; resolution of disputes by peaceful means; as well as undertaking cooperative activities to build trust and confidence.

Other matters discussed during the meeting, aside from developments in Asean and India, include ways to strengthen co-

FOREIGN Affairs Acting Undersecretary and Senior Officials’ Meeting Leader Elizabeth P. Buensuceso (center row, second from left), with her regional counterparts and Asean secretaries DFA

operation in the region and the subcontinent’s economic matters, enhancing regional connectivity, addressing terrorism and violent extremism, sustainable development as well as disaster

risk-reduction and management, the need for a closer and coordinated response to the pandemic; and enhancing cooperation in several areas of public health such as ramping up research and

development for medicines, vaccine production and distribution, among other measures.

Thailand’s Permanent Secretary, SOM Leader and Country Coordinator for Asean-India Di-

alogue Relations Thani Thongphakdi, as well as India’s Secretary (East) of the External Affairs Ministry and SOM Leader Riva Ganguly Das cochaired the meeting. DFA

The Polish tradition of freedom Envoy underscores Australia’s well-rounded relations with PHL A

By Professor Zdzisław Krasnodębski

By Recto L. Mercene @rectomercene

A

MBASSADOR of Australia to the Philippines Steven J. Robinson AO expressed his country’s principle-based stance surrounding current tensions in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea, as he remarked that all countries should subscribe to laws that govern free passages through international waters.

“Australia will say what it needs to say in support of those rules, norms and conventions,” Robinson insisted in Thursday’s webinar with members of the local media, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Philippines’s and Australia’s diplomatic relations, which also coincided with World Press Freedom Day. The diplomat was concerned of any action taken by any country that seeks to inhibit free passage, as well as freedom of navigation and overflights: “If we see anything unfortunate along those lines, then Australia will express its views— which we have done in the past, and continue to do so.”

Robinson said certain countries might not like Australia’s views, “but we are taking our principles to this… We are saying [that] all countries should adhere to the rules and norms and the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea [Unclos].”

He stated it would be up to other countries “to interpret whatever action they wish to take as a result of that. But I would hope that, as we do with all countries, we have positive discussions about issues, and find ways through [them].”

Australia, the United States, Japan and India comprise the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or “Quad,” that aims to address Chinese behavior in the Indo-Pacific region.

Containing ‘Covid’

IN the two-hour long discussion, Robinson expressed his amazement by the fortitude of the Filipinos against the pandemic, as he said Australia has committed AU$500 million to support access to safe and effective vaccines, as well as the promotion of health in the Indo-Pacific region—including the Philippines.

The diplomat said Canberra has contributed AU$18 million to the Covax facility, which has committed to deliver vaccines to the most vulnerable sectors in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. According to him, the Philippines has received 525,600 doses of the vaccine, “the second highest delivered so far in [the region].”

He added Australia was able to redirect funding for a cooperation program to reinforce the Philip-

pines’s response to the pandemic.

Robinson noted that the commonwealth’s development program in this country is one of the largest in the world, focused on contributing to the Philippines’s prosperity, stability and resiliency.

For one, Australia has supported the Philippine Red Cross to establish the largest local molecular laboratory for coronavirus disease 2019 testing that helped the poor in Manila. It has the capacity to accommodate 12,000 samples a day.

Australia’s highest envoy in the country said he is looking forward to a week before friendship day this May, when he—together with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr.—will witness the lighting of the LED globe in front of SM Mall of Asia to signal the 75th year of friendship between his country and the Philippines.

Trade and business

AS an update, Australian Embassy officials shared that there are currently 300 Australian companies operating in the Philippines employing 44,000 locals, mainly in the business-process outsourcing sector, or BPOs. These firms are also responsible for the interior design at Clark International Airport and the Philippine Arena, they confirmed.

Robinson revealed that the construction of the four-lane Cavite-

Laguna Expressway, as well as the engineering and architecture for the Manila-Clark railway project, were done by Australian enterprises.

In education, the envoy said his country is a preferred destination

by Filipino students, where 17,000 of them enrolled in 2019.

There were 300,000 Filipino visitors in the “Land Down Under” supporting a booming tourism industry before the pandemic, as Robinson hopes to see it peak anew in due course.

The Philippines is part of the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA; and recently, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The latter seeks to broaden and deepen Asean’s engagement with Australia, China, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. Together, these RCEP-participating countries account for about 30 percent of the global gross domestic product, serving 30 percent of the world’s population.

“These agreements move 99 percent of their goods and trade tariff-free,” Robinson claimed, as he added Australia is the Philippines top source of beef and lamb, as well as top-table grapes, citrus and “stone” fruits (referring to a variety of fruits that have a pit, or “stone” in the center, encased in a fleshly outer area), and the secondtop supplier of wine.

Kazakhstan, PHL commit to keep mutual cooperation clicking

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MBASSADOR-designate of the Republic of Kazakhstan Daniyar Sarekenov paid a virtual courtesy call on Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. early in April, as both sides reaffirmed their governments’ commitment to further strengthening overall ties, both in bilateral cooperation and mutual support in international bodies.

Locsin expressed appreciation for Kazakhstan’s support to the Philippines in United Nations discussions. The secretary also took

LOCSIN (left) and Ambassador-designate Sarekenov. DFA-ASPAC

the occasion to congratulate the former for its current chairmanship in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building

Measures in Asia, and welcomed opportunities for greater interaction with Kazakhstan as an important partner of the Philip-

pines in the Central Asian region.

Meanwhile, Sarekenov underscored the Philippines’s integral role in the security architecture of Asia, and conveyed his country’s interest in further enhancing economic cooperation.

Both countries established diplomatic relations on March 19, 1992 and are slated to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their bilateral ties next year. Sarekenov, who is currently based in Jakarta, is also the concurrent ambassador of Kazakhstan to Indonesia and Asean.

S a great act of freedom of its times in the late 18th Century, Poland’s May 3 Constitution went down in history as the second-written fundamental document after the American Constitution. It put in order the principles of the political system of the state, ascertaining at the same time that “all power in civil society should be derived from the will of the people.”

Our constitution provided that all Poles have equal rights, even though it fell short of making all inhabitants of Poland cautious regarding the issue of changes within social structure. What actually was considered an advantage at the era of the revolution was soon attempted to institute equality by means of the guillotine.

The constitution guaranteed civil liberties: “Consequently, we regard the preservation of personal security and property, as by law ascertained, to be a tie of society, and the very essence of civil liberty, which ought to be considered and respected forever.”

However, unlike the American Constitution, it was not an act to establish the state and grant fundamental rights upon the nation that had been just taking shape. In the case of Poland, the Union of Lublin of 1569 was a founding act. And it is the union that may be considered to be the first Polish constitution, since it created a new political unity, the Republic, and set the principles of governance.

But this entity was also only to sum up the stages of the process of uniting the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been taking place for long.

Unlike other European countries, Poland did not evolve from the state monarchy to the absolute monarchy, but toward the Republic, with a mixed political system, as it was both an elective monarchy and the Republic, where 10 percent of the inhabitants had the right to elect the king and their deputies to the Sejm and sejmiks (i.e.: regional assembly, occasionally translated as a “dietine,” which is a diminutive of Sejm).

The notion of freedom that was predominant in the expansive territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as it was called, resembled what historians of ideas found in the Italian cityrepublics. Its citizens were happy to compare the Republic to that of the ancient Romans’. In their understanding, the state was a “commonwealth” sustained by common effort, while freedom was comprehended as not just as the liberty of an individual, but as an opportunity to decide jointly about statutory laws.

The Inquisition never operated in Poland, and religious dissenters were not persecuted there; it was only in reaction to the devastating invasion by the Protestant Sweden in 1655 that tolerance began to be restricted. It can be said without exaggeration that citizens of the Republic were the freest people in Europe— and they considered themselves to be so. From their point of view, absolute monarchies were not free countries, but intimidating examples of captivity, where there was no freedom of speech, a nobleman could be imprisoned without a court

KRASNODĘBSKI

verdict, and the government interfered in an individual’s businesses.

For Europe’s intellectual luminaries of the 18th Century such as Diderot or Voltaire—who admired enlightened despots such as Catherine II or Frederic II—Polish freedom was tantamount to excesses—something contrary to reason.

Kant similarly grumbled that Poland is a country where everyone wants to be a master, and no one wants to be a subject. Meanwhile, Poles were reproached for attributing freedom to just one estate: the gentry.

Indeed, the Polish experiment with freedom had grown increasingly risky, threatening the existence of the state. This political system demanded many virtues from citizens to prevent freedom from turning into lawlessness and anarchy. The May 3 Constitution was an attempt to regain control and at the same time to protect the state against external invasion and internal decay. It limited freedom in order to save it by introducing a hereditary monarchy, depriving the landless gentry of political rights, and extending the rights of the townspeople.

Those who opposed the Constitution and asked Tsarina Catherine II to intervene invoked “cardinal rights” and old freedoms. Out of fear of an alleged internal despotism, they appealed to Europe’s greatest despotism. Foreign armies— Prussian and Russian—were all too eager to “restore order” and “rule of law,” thus destroying this unique space of freedom.

If the Republic had survived, the history of Europe would have taken a different course: Traditions of Classical Republicanism would not have so easily passed into oblivion, Russian despotism would have remained beyond its borders, and Prussian militarism would have been curbed.

Having lost independence and having realized there is no complete personal freedom without independence either, Poles fought for it throughout the 19th Century, starting with the Kosciuszko Insurrection in 1794.

This Polish commitment to freedom also manifested itself in the 20th Century: in 1920, by stopping the Bolshevik invasion of Europe; by the armed struggle against the Third Reich in 1939; by the rise of the Solidarity Movement in 1980; and by overcoming Communism in 1989.

(Courtesy of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. The Central European country celebrated its National Day and Constitution Day on May 3.)

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, May 6, 2021

Guipit family faces another crisis in ‘Owe My Love’

THE Academy Award-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher

No great lesson from ‘My Octopus Teacher’

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or those not feeling buoyant as they sail over the waves of life (indulge me with this hokey phrasing), I do not recommend diving for many days to look at an octopus and, from it, learn how to cope with the verities of human existence. Note the italicized “human.” If you are a shark, maybe you could take some tips on hunting from watching this film—that is if sharks can apprehend the visuals of cinema.

But if you want to have an hour or so—give and take the minutes spent by the narrator on land as he summarizes the events under the sea—of stunning visuals, then this documentary, My Octopus Teacher, is the film for you.

This is not the first time underwater scenes of such breathtakingly glorious dimensions have been filmed and shown on-screen. Easily coming to mind are the classic narratives from National Geographic, just to cite a major model. But there is something about My Octopus Teacher, which draws you into the recesses of a kelp forest somewhere in South Africa, down into the caves where an octopus retreats (in the documentary, the octopus is a “she”) from what is identified as its predator.

The narrator, Craig Foster, is a filmmaker. We know where he is coming from and why he develops such an obsessive—and compulsive—desire to dive into the sea, and, after encountering an octopus, pursues a creature the way an avid male courts an alluring female. The man seeks a way out, or a way in to another life. Not on land but in the depths and shallow of a sea.

Would an octopus provide a warmer/cooler companionship? This is not being flippant but that question has to be asked if we want to make sense of the premise and the conclusion of this film.

And so he sees an octopus.

I know what you would ask: How do you know that the octopus you see one day, or on first dive, be the same being you view and meet again the second day?

But get to know the octopus, the man does. Like any human being encountering another human being, the first is a literal eyeballing. Then, he dives the next day, and the next day...and the next days. Until, one day, on-screen we witness one of the tentacles of the octopus outstretched, touching the hand of the man.

Nothing magnificent about that unless you interpret that as the octopus offering a friendship. Which the man articulates to be such, a being from the sea engaging with a being—a human—from the land.

The outstretched tentacles and the sensitive suctions on the tentacles begin to assume human touch—all this from the perspective of the documentarian.

In a tale of friendship and love, however, there should be a villain. The poor sharks (and here they are called “pajama sharks” because of the stripes around their body) are once more the bad guys.

In one awesome scene, a shark pursues the “poor” (modifier as commentary entirely mine) octopus and bites off one of its tentacles. For the first time, I see a cut tentacle the way I see it on a table in a market as fish vendors chop octopus to selling bits. Whether it was ever taught to us in our Biology class or I forgot, the tentacle eventually regrows and, according to the documentary, after some 100 days resumes a fullpledged status as a tentacle again.

By the way, while the shark is trying to get away with at least one part of the octopus, the documentarian is a bothered and anxious observer: “Should I intervene?” he asks. At a certain point, we share his nervousness as he quickly surfaces for fresh air (he is human after all), and goes down again to find out what happened to his friend, the octopus.

As the shark runs away with a bitten-off tentacle, we are aware this pursuer-pursued drama does not end there. That between the shark and the octopus, this dynamic relationship will continue. That we cannot call this a conflict between a predator and its prey because this is how things go under the sea. Let it also be said that while with the shark, the octopus is the object of pity, with other fishes and sea creatures, the same prey—the octopus—becomes the powerful predator, an object of derision from us human viewers.

Enough lessons or insights or exciting knowledge

can be derived from the aforementioned scenes between predators and prey. There is also the discomfort that we do not have the right to intervene in the “fight” between the shark and the octopus.

Perhaps, these are not even fights. But because we go into the sea, we take it upon ourselves to critique the shark, the octopus and the corrals the way we elucidate on the dirty politics of the human groups.

This is my problem with this documentary, when it anthropomorphizes the creatures of the sea. Attributing to them human traits make me lose interest in the lessons this unknowing octopus has supposedly given the documentarian.

While I am not judging and will not judge the human emotional and psychosocial problems the man/documentarian has gone through, I find it a source of pathos if we humans have to dive into the sea, observe and be friends with octopuses so that we could feel human again. There is enough wisdom and data we can collate and analyze from the sharks and empty shells of our own societies.

As for the visuals of this film, a big credit should go to Roger Horrocks, who is cited for the cinematography of My Octopus Teacher.

According to his bio in IMDb.com, Horrocks is an underwatercinematographer specializing in wildlife sequences for documentaries and features. He has worked on projects for National Geographic, Disney Films and the BBC. My Octopus Teacher is a 2020 Netflix Original documentary film directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. It won the award for Best Documentary Feature at the recently concluded 93rd Oscars. n

Bruce Springsteen receives this year’s Woody Guthrie Prize TULSA, Oklahoma—Bruce Springsteen has won the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize, which is given to an artist seen as carrying on the spirit of the folk singer whose music focused on the plight of the poor and disenfranchised.

Guthrie, who grew up in Okemah, Oklahoma, was one of the most important figures in American folk music and penned hundreds of songs, including some that The Boss has performed over the years.

“Woody wrote some of the greatest songs about America’s struggle to live up its

ideals in convincing fashion,” Springsteen said in a statement on Tuesday. The New Jersey rocker called Guthrie, who died in 1967 at age 55, “one of my most important influences.”

Springsteen and previous prize recipient Pete Seeger performed Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” at Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential inauguration.

Deana McCloud, who heads the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, said in a news release that, “As an observer of the human condition and a reporter about the plight

of common people, Bruce Springsteen is a true child of Woody Guthrie.”

“The Woody Guthrie Center is proud to present Bruce with this well-deserved recognition for his lifetime of speaking for the disenfranchised and inspiring generations to find the power of their own voices,” she added. Joan Baez, Chuck D, John Mellencamp, Norman Lear, Kris Kristofferson and Mavis Staples are among the past recipients of the award.

Springsteen will be honored during a virtual ceremony on May 13. AP

This week in GMA’s Owe My Love, another misfortune falls upon Sensen’s (Lovi Poe) family.

Shocked that Lolo Badong (Leo Martinez) would bequeath half of his wealth to a total stranger, Divina (Jackie Lou Blanco) acts quickly to eliminate Oryo (Pekto Nacua). This leads to the greatest tragedy in the lives of Sensen and the Guipit family.

With their father in critical condition, the Guipits are shaken to the core. They hang on to their faith and to each other.

Doc Migs (Benjamin Alves) does what he can to save Oryo from mortal danger. He reenters Sensen’s life after her tough breakup with Doc Kenneth (Rocco Nacino), hoping that they can reignite their budding romance.

But Fate has other plans. Doc Migs is accused of medical malpractice and faces the possibility of losing his license.

This development endangers his fragile relationship with Sensen. Trixie (Winwyn Marquez) uses this opportunity to be by Migs’ side.

Owe My Love airs weeknights at 9:35 pm on GMA.

Owe My Love, starring Benjamin Alves and Lovi Poe, weeknights on GMA Telebabad

B5

B6 Thursday, May 6, 2021

CSC extends deadline of filing of SALN GCash offers safe and seamless online payments via QR on Demand

PASSENGERS can now enjoy safe and seamless online payments using personal QR code.

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HESE days, social distancing is one of the best and consistent safety measures implemented to prevent further transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Because of this, businesses and individuals are now forced to shift their transactions online, be it to buy goods, pay bills, send money, and even donate.

To provide small businesses with a faster and more secure mode of payment

for their products and services, GCash has launched the Personal QR or QR on Demand as a safe and effective alternative to send/receive money without inputting one’s mobile number.

Since its launch last February 2021, GCash has seen more than 100,000 users who transacted using the Personal QR. By March, the superlife app has managed to convert at least 10,000 informal sellers to

generate their own QR codes.

Without a doubt, the Personal QR has been a game-changer in the pandemic, as it allows users—from online sellers and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to individuals like doctors and taxi drivers—seamless transactions with their customers.

Now, they are sharing their Personal QRs on their websites, social media accounts, and print outs by their stalls, without the need to share their mobile numbers. What’s more, they can personalize the QR by indicating the amount that their customers should be paying them.

Like them, you too, can generate your own QR code. Simply download or log-in to the GCash app. Tap Receive via QR option on the Send Money icon.

Download the GCash app for free on Google Play for Android, Apple Store for iPhone and iPad users, or Huawei Gallery. Funding a GCash account is easy and can be done through multiple cash-in kiosks in partner stores like Globe Stores, Ministop, 7-Eleven, Alfamart, and Villarica Pawnshop or supermarkets including Puregold, Robinsons Supermarkets, SM Supermarkets.

With social distancing becoming the new normal, and everyone shifting digitally to minimize face-to-face transactions, using a Personal QR code via GCash is the most convenient and safest payment option for individuals, online sellers and even SMEs, without having to input one’s mobile number.

To know more or create a GCash account, visit https://www.gcash.com/.

PLDT Home treats subscribers to bigger and better rewards

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HE Civil Service Commission (CSC) has extended the deadline of filing of the 2020 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) until 30 May 2021.

In its Resolution No. 2100339 dated 12 April 2021 on the filing and submission of the SALN under exceptional circumstances, the Commission has ruled that all public officials and employees are given an additional period of 30 days from the original deadline of 30 April 2021, or until 30 May 2021, to submit their 2020 SALN with their respective departments, agencies, or offices.

Furthermore, government agencies/ offices, through their respective Personnel/ Administrative Division or Human Resource Management Office, are also given an additional period of 30 days from the original deadline of 30 June 2021, or until 30 July 2021, to transmit all original copies of the SALNs received to the proper repository agencies.

CSC Resolution No. 2100339 allows

online oath-taking of the SALN and online filing of the SALN by all public officials and employees. It also provides an option to physically or digitally submit the SALNs to the proper repository agencies.

For further guidance, inquiries may be directed at ola@csc.gov.ph.

Toyota offers 20% savings on sanitation products and services this May 2020

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EADING automotive company Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) recognizes the need for safe and reliable transportation in the delivery of essential goods and services. Vehicle sanitation has become more important to ensure the safety of the drivers and passengers by helping reduce the risk of virus transmission.

In order to help Filipinos move forward, Toyota is offering customers up to 20% in savings on selected sanitation products and services in all Toyota dealerships nationwide from May 3 to 15, 2021.

Included in the special promo is the Toyota BactaKlenz service, an anti-bacterial treatment proven to eliminate 99.99% of bacteria, molds, and fungi inside the vehicle. Once servicing is done, the sanitation process is performed just before the vehicle is turned over to the customer. Its effectiveness can last up to three (3) months.

Likewise, the UV Lamp is a Toyota genuine accessory designed to regularly sanitize the car interior from virus,

bacteria, and harmful organisms using ultraviolet light.

It is portable and safe to use with a 60 second delay function which allows the occupant to safely leave the car before disinfection starts.

The Air Purifier on the other hand, uses plasma cluster technology to deactivate airborne virus and bacteria by releasing positive and negative ions. It is a great companion for daily drives by keeping the cabin air always fresh and clean. It conveniently fits the cup holder and can be plugged via USB for power source.

Owners just need to press power button and select from operation modes: low, medium, or turbo to start.

Toyota owners can take advantage of the following discounts by visiting any Toyota dealership nationwide and enjoy the following discounts: 20% less on Toyota BactaKlenz Service; 20% less on UV Lamp and Air Purifier Bundle; and 10% less on UV Lamp and Air Purifier if purchased separately.

Visit https://toyota.com.ph/promos/vehiclesanitation for the more details.

A landmark US study shows users of non-combustible tobacco have biomarkers similar to non-smokers

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S

TAYING is rewarding! As a treat to its valued subscribers, PLDT Home launches its improved loyalty program, PLDT Home Rewards.

With this new program, subscribers can earn and use crystals to pay for PLDT and Smart products and services, get bill rebates from Cignal, Maynilad and Easytrip, accumulate raffle entries and instantly avail of exclusive deals and discounts from various partner merchants.

“PLDT has always valued its customers’ trust and loyalty. We want to continuously thank them for supporting and staying with PLDT all throughout these years. With the new PLDT Home Rewards, our subscribers can easily earn points that we call ‘crystals’ and win huge and exciting raffle prizes every month. The earned crystals can be used to shop, purchase food online, and make better moments at Home,” said Patrick Tang, Vice President and Head of PLDT Home Customer Management.

Signing up is easier than ever

TO register, just simply go to the MVP Rewards website at mvprewards.ph/

signup or download the MVP Rewards mobile application and click the SIGNUP button. The MVP Rewards sign-up page will open, and it will take no time at all to fill-out the required details.

Register, accept, and continue! At the MVP Rewards Home Page, look for the PLDT Home logo and click it, link your PLDT account and encode the details needed. Users can enroll up to five(5) accounts.

Different ways to earn and use crystals. As a member, subscribers can automatically earn crystals in many ways.

A member gets 20 welcome points for every PLDT Home account enrolled.

Paying in-full and on-time also earns crystals. One (1) crystal will be earned for every Php250 spent.

An additional 20points can be received by enrolling your PLDT account to auto-charge arrangement, and another 20 points if you go green or enroll your account to paperless billing.

You will also receive 20 crystals if you purchase any PLDT Home gadget or avail any value-added services like a Cignal subscription.

Account upgrades earn the highest number of crystals with a total of 50 for getting a higher plan or migrating your line to another technology (e.g.

DSL to Fiber).

Soon payments made via the accepted digital channels such as electronic wallets like Paymaya, internet and phone banking, credit card, debit card etc. will be granted five (5) crystals.

If you want to use your crystals, you can simply go to the MVP Rewards Homepage (website or mobile application), click ‘Redeem’ and choose the PLDT Home logo. These points can be used to avail deals and discounts from Shopee, Nike Park, Planet Sports, Din Tai Fung, Gong Cha, National Bookstore and more.

“This bigger and better loyalty program is just one of the many exciting rewards for our loyal subscribers. Powered by the fastest and strongest connections, our subscribers enjoy better and more meaningful digital experiences at home,” said Tang. To learn more about this loyalty and rewards program, visit bit.ly/3dUbe4Y.

OBACCO harm reduction advocates in the Philippines have welcomed the results of a landmark study in the U.S. which found that the biomarkers of those who exclusively use non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes have similar profile to those who do not smoke.

The study entitled “Association of Cigarette and Electronic Cigarette Use Patterns with Levels of Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers among US Adults” and published in the journal Circulation spearheaded by Andrew C. Stokes and other researchers, found that “participants who vaped exclusively showed a similar inflammatory and oxidative stress profile as people who did not smoke cigarettes or use e-cigarettes.”

Peter Paul Dator, president of the consumer group The Vapers Philippines, said that with no less than scientific researchers in the U.S. confirming the almost nil impact of using noncombustible alternatives on health, “adult smokers should be given a choice to switch to these safer alternatives, so that the almost certain adverse effects of using combustible cigarettes could be avoided.”

The Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines said this is why the Philippines Food and Drug Administration should carefully prepare the guidelines to implement Republic Act No. 11467 and Executive Order No. 106 which allow but regulate the sale, distribution and taxation of vapor and heated tobacco products in the Philippines.

With a sample of more than 7,100 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, the study looked at the association of cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use with inflammation and oxidative stress as biomarkers, which recent literature considers among key contributors to smoking-induced cardiovascular disease.

The data came from the PATH Study (Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study) Wave 1, conducted from 2013 to 2014, which included blood and urine sample collection. The data were used to explore the cardiovascular toxicity of e-cigarette use by measuring biomarkers known to predict heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular events.

"It is the smoke from cigarettes that kills smokers.

If smokers could not give up nicotine, they should be allowed to switch to smoke-free alternatives," Dator said.

Dator said it was not the first time that scientific studies have found non-combustible alternatives to be

better than cigarettes, noting that Public Health England reported as early as 2015 that vaping is 95-percent less harmful than smoking combustible tobacco.

The NUCP said, however, that health organizations like the American Heart Association should interpret the results of the landmark study accurately, without mudding the data.

In a press release on the landmark study, the American Heart Association said “people who smoked traditional cigarettes in addition to using e-cigarettes experienced health effects as harmful as those who smoked cigarettes exclusively; [and] those effects are associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and death.”

“The American Heart Association completely missed the point of the study—that those who vaped exclusively showed a similar inflammatory and oxidative stress profile as people who did not smoke cigarettes or use e-cigarettes. It is too bad that a scientific body would forget to mention the most important conclusion of the study,” the NUCP said.

The study is among the first nationally representative studies of e-cigarettes to include measurable early indicators of the health impacts of nicotine products, according to Stokes, an assistant professor of global health at Boston University School of Public Health in Boston.

The analysis found that compared to participants who smoked exclusively, those who vaped exclusively had significantly lower levels of almost all inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers.

However, participants who used cigarettes and e-cigarettes at the same time had levels of all inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers comparable to those who smoked exclusively.

The authors of the study said the large population sample of makes the findings applicable to the U.S. adult population.

The NUCP said this also highlights the importance for Filipino smokers who could not give up nicotine to switch completely to non-combustible products.

It said that in other countries such as the United Kingdom and Japan, millions of former smokers have already switched to e-cigarettes and HTPs. Nearly a third of Japan's smokers have already switched to HTPs, the NUCP said.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Stakeholders unite, reiterate need for vaccination even in a pandemic

By Rory Visco Contributor

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he World Immunization Week was celebrated from April 24 to 30, 2021. It was a most significant and timely celebration now that the world is in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic that continues to sow fear in people around the world.

There is no better time than now to emphasize how important vaccinations are, not just for Covid-19 but for all diseases treatable through immunization.

This is why a group of stakeholders expressed and reiterated the value of being vaccinated, aside from properly informing the public, even the media, about other health issues even despite a raging pandemic.

In connection with the celebration of World Immunization Week, the Department of Health (DOH), the Pharmaceutical and Hospital Association of the Philippines (PHAP), together with the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) presented the 7th installment of Health Connect, to help enlighten the public and other concerned groups regarding this celebration.

The DOH called on both the medical community and the private sector to engage in building a strong and resilient immunization program so that more lives are protected, and that families and children can be together again.

Bringing people closer through vaccines

“Vaccines bring us closer to a world where no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease. So in this year’s activities for World Immunization Week, we focused on routine immunization, especially the children who missed their doses during the pandemic. As Covid-19 continues to challenge access to essential health services, the need to provide people with life-saving vaccines becomes all the more critical,” explained National Immunization Program Manager Dr. Kim Patrick Tejano.

In his presentation during the webinar, Dr. Tejano emphasized the value of improving vaccine coverage to prevent the outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio and measles so that more children’s lives will be protected.

“The fear of people of transmitting Covid-19 when outside their houses, alongside redeployment of our health workers to respond to the pandemic notably affected the immunization uptake, from 69 percent in 2019 to 62 percent in 2020. The DOH is working towards reversing these figures. The DOH has safety protocols in place to minimize risk of transmitting Covid-19 while continuing the immunization drive against vaccine-preventable diseases like polio and measles,” he assured.

Dr. Samuele Anton Quizon of the DOH Health Promotion Bureau, for his part, highlighted the role of local governments and organized communities, and emphasized the importance of providing an enabling and supportive environment for people to make health-supportive decisions, including the choice to get vaccinated.

So that local decision-makers are better guided in addressing various concerns during vaccination campaigns, the DOH developed the “Health Promotion Playbook on Bakuna Champions” to support and empower local social mobilizers that are trained to address the issue of hesitation against vaccines. “The DOH’s immunization program will only be truly victorious if the public trusts in vaccines, which have already been proven in containing or limiting outbreaks of infectious diseases,” said Quizon.

Do not delay

On the other hand, the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) lauded the efforts of the DOH in their efforts to intensify routine immunization. PPS President Joselyn Eusebio urged parents not to delay their children’s immunization schedule.

“One fully immunized child is a step towards a healthier community. We support the DOH in leading a strong collaboration of parents, caregivers, and local leaders to protect more lives against vaccine-preventable diseases,” Eusebio remarked.

Meanwhile, theAsianparent Philippines General Manager and BakuNanay Founder Frances Ang welcomed the plans of the DOH, and at the same time acknowledged her fellow BakuNanays’ role in creating a safe space to discuss vaccines and other health topics.

“We founded BakuNanay because we love our children and believe that vaccines will protect them from diseases. We want to be able to offer our children a healthy start to life so that they can be whomever they want to be when they grow up. We want to encourage all moms and caregivers to spread love and show care for their children by having them vaccinated,” explained Ang. The PHAP and its members are also in full support of the DOH in its initiatives to conduct a nationwide mass immunization campaign despite the challenges of the pandemic, PHAP Executive Director Teodoro Padilla averred.

“As a private sector partner representing the people who develop the vaccines, we stand side by side with the government, our medical community and various organizations in helping protect the people and children from vaccine-preventable diseases. PHAP remains committed to research and development of needed vaccines, and to partner with the DOH, PMA, PFV and our advocates so that vaccines could finally bring us closer once again.”

Thursday, May 6, 2021 B7

Don’t forget other ailments, do self-assessment, doctors advise

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By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

o much attention has been given to Covid-19, but what about other dreaded diseases?

Dr. Helen Ong-Garcia, Section Head of the Stress Laboratory, St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City, said during the Talk to Doc: A Zoom Round Table Discussion (RTD) recently that Covid-19 is “not the only disease in our midst.”

She also noted that Covid-19 changed the way doctors managed patients with diabetes and hypertension.

Dr. Garcia cited the global survey conducted among 202 health practitioners from 47 countries, showing how routine care for chronic diseases is facing an ongoing challenge globally.

Diabetes was the condition reported to be the most impacted by the reduction in health-care resources due to Covid-19 with 38 percent, followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD (9 percent), hypertension (8 percent), heart disease (7 percent), cancer (6 percent), and depression (7 percent).

“This is quite alarming,” Dr. Garcia said stressing that these diseases may also cause mortality.

Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes is a chronic condition that causes abnormally high blood sugar levels.

It develops when the body either does not produce enough insulin or does not use it properly.

Risk factors of Type 2 Diabetes n Lifestyle—being overweight or obese, being inactive n Medical—prediabetes (sugar level is higher than normal), p ol yc y s t ic o v a r y s y nd rome, pregnancy-related risks, blood lipid levels n Others—people aged 45 or older, family history

Signs of Type 2 Diabetes A patient may have type 2 diabetes for years without even knowing it as symptoms often develop slowly.

When signs and symptoms are present, the patient may feel any of the following: n Increased thirst; n Frequent urination; n Increased hunger; n Unintended weight loss; n Fatigue; n Blurred vision; n Slow-healing sores; n Frequent infections; n Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet; and n Areas of darkened skin, usually in the armpits and neck.

Hypertension H y pert ension, com mon ly known as high blood pressure, is a common condition where the force of blood against the artery walls is consistently high.

When left untreated or uncontrolled, hypertension may eventually cause heart problems, such as heart disease.

There are two main types of high blood pressure: Primary—A type of hypertension which develops gradually through the years. Most patients with primary hypertension have no identifiable cause for such.

Secondary—Patients with underlying condition/s may have secondary hypertension. It also appears suddenly and causes the patient to have higher blood pressure than that of a primary hypertension.

Risk factors of Hypertension Factors associated with hypertension include:

Lifestyle—Being overweight, not physically active, cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, unhealthy diet (too much salt, too little potassium in food intake) Medical—Kidney disease, diabetes and sleep apnea Others—People aged 64 or older, family history

Signs of Hypertension Most people with hypertension do not have signs or symptoms, even if their blood pressure reading reaches dangerously high levels.

Some who exhibit signs or s y mptom s e x p e r ie nce he ad aches, shortness of breath or nosebleeds.

However, these symptoms are not specific and usually occur when the patient’s blood pressure has reached a severe or life-threatening stage.

COPD COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a progressive lung disease which causes blocked airflow from the lungs.

The most common conditions that contribute to COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Patients with COPD have these two conditions but can vary in severity.

While COPD is a progressive disease that can get worse over time, it is treatable.

Risk factors of COPD include: n Exposure to chemicals and fumes n Long-term exposure to air pollution and inhaling dust n Cigarette and cigar smoke, pipe smoke, secondhand smoke n People at least 40 years old with history of smoking

Early symptoms of COPD are mild which the patient might mistake for just an ordinary cold: n Occasional shortness of breath, especially after exercise n Mild but recurrent cough n Needing to clear your throat

often, especially first thing in the morning

Patient behavior During the discussion, it was stressed that globally, the Covid-19 pandemic has altered the behavior of patients when it comes to seeking medical attention or preventive health checks.

Many have deferred or avoided hospital visits or check-ups with doctors due to fear of exposure if they leave their homes.

The Philippine health system was not also spared from the pandemic.

Filipinos changed their careseeking behavior due to the fear of contracting the virus.

Patients also had difficulty in accessing health-care services due to travel and border restrictions.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently released a report stating that the leading causes of death among Filipinos in 2020 were heart diseases, cancer and cerebrovascular disease. Incidentally, these were also the top causes of death in 2019.

There were 99,680 deaths from heart diseases in 2020.

It is a 2.3-percent increase from the 2019 heart disease-related deaths.

Cancer-related deaths for 2020 were 62,289.7 while Cerebrovascular disease-related deaths were 59,736.

Talk to Doc To encourage patients to talk to doctors, pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim established “Talk to Doc” so that patients may get appropriate and timely care during this pandemic.

The doctors encouraged the public to do a self-assessment to determine if they have the underlying conditions rather than wait for an emergency to happen.

This program also aims to provide tips to patients on how to navigate through the new normal of medical consultations for a healthier community to battle this pandemic.

Go Negosyo kicks off vaccine education drive Immunity boosting tips for women in the time of Covid-19

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

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O help save more lives and livelihood, Go Negosyo has kicked off the” Let’s Go Bakuna” campaign amid vaccine misinformation and hesitancy among Filipinos.

During its launch last April 30, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Founder Joey Concepcion underscored the important role of vaccines for the economy to bounce back following the crippling effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The success in winning this war is not just in being able to buy the vaccines. It’s being able to convince every Filipino out there that it is their duty to get vaccinated. It is like being called to war as a soldier, but the weapon you carry is the vaccine. It protects yourself and it will protect others. This is the solution to saving both lives and livelihood. The vaccine is the solution,” he said.

The campaign provides a platform for the public to discuss issues and answer questions pertaining to the Covid-19 jabs.

It also seeks to address vaccine hesitancy and to increase confidence among Filipinos through a series of educational fora, webinars and townhall meetings, and multiplatform information materials based on expert advice and testimonials.

“It will also help communities understand their role in the nationwide vaccination initiative—why getting vaccinated will make a huge impact in accelerating the recovery of the Philippine economy,” added the campaign’s chief proponent.

Gaining support

OVER 1,000 companies have already thrown their support behind the “Let’s Go Bakuna” campaign.

Relatedly, Go Negosyo conducted a special episode of its coaching and tutoring program “Mentor Me Online” where panelists discussed how vaccination created an impact on livelihood and jobs generation. Aired during Labor Day, it also gave away P5,000 start-up capitalization each to 10 lucky would-be entrepreneurs.

“We know that our unemployment rate today is alarming. That’s why we have doubled our efforts in addressing the health issue so we can further open our economy and generate jobs in the process,” Concepcion noted.

According to him, Go Negosyo, which traditionally centers on assisting Filipino entrepreneurs, pivoted towards focusing on health when it saw the urgency of the situation and how health is always connected with livelihood and the economy.

“We recognize that we have to address this health crisis because it is only through vaccinations that we could save the lives of the Filipino, then ramp up livelihood in the process,” he said.

Herd immunity

LIKE any pandemic in the past, vaccination is the only way to achieve herd immunity, hence, the Philippines and the rest of the world are racing against time to inoculate the majority of the population to curb the further transmission of the novel coronavirus.

For Concepcion, this, in turn, will help the country’s economy return to the old normal and restore jobs and other means of livelihood of the people.

“From the start of the pandemic, we have been doing everything to ensure that the business sector will survive in this pandemic. At this crucial stage, I call on the labor sector to join us in making our employees realize that we need everybody to be able to get through this pandemic. We need to convince our employees that we must take the vaccine so we would be able to save lives and livelihoods,” he said.

Addressing concerns on the use of Covid-19 shots, the entrepreneurship czar cited that health experts globally have vouched for the safety, efficacy, and benefit of all approved vaccines.

“I understand that many of us are afraid given the false information circulating online.

But I assure you that before a vaccine is even approved for release, they have gone through three phases of trial and under stringent regulatory processes,” he said.

He explained that vaccines that have already been approved in their host countries before undergoing further examination by the Philippines’s Food and Drug Administration.

“I, myself, have been vaccinated because it is my civic duty to do so,” Concepcion said.

“Every qualified Filipino should be vaccinated not just for themselves, but also for their families and our country,” he said. “It is only by being vaccinated that we can win this battle against Covid-19.”

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n the Philippines, the leading causes of death among women are heart disease and cancer.

However, the third leading culprit in claiming the lives of women may surprise many­—and that is pneumonia.

With people all over the world living under the Covid-19 pandemic for over a year now, it is important for the threat of pneumonia to be taken seriously as well. While symptoms can include cough, fever, and difficulty in breathing, pneumonia is far from a simple flu.

As Covid-19 is a respiratory illness, studies have shown that pneumonia is one of the most common diseases associated with contracting Covid-19. The effects of Covid-19 pneumonia can be quite severe, ranging from fluid accumulation in the lungs, difficulties taking in oxygen or expelling carbon dioxide from the body, and lung damage due to inflammation.

What can women do to prevent the onset of pneumonia? One way is to boost your immune system— the body’s natural line of defense against bacteria, viruses, parasites, and more. However, the immune system is precisely what it is—a system—and different steps must be taken to ensure it functions as best as it can.

Fortunately, a lot of general healthy living strategies have been seen to help boost immunity. Here

are a ew little tips, tricks, and lifestyle changes you can do to strengthen your immunity:

to help prevent the spread of the flu, pneumonia, and other major illnesses.

Eat a balanced diet

Exercise regularly

A healthy, balanced diet composed of fruits and vegetables plays a vital role in staying well. Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons are high in vitamin C, which are key to fighting infections. On the other hand, vegetables such as broccoli are packed with antioxidants to help immune responses, while treats like yogurt can be a good source of vitamin D to help boost the body’s natural defense against diseases.

Stop smoking

In the South East Asian region, the Philippines has the 4th highest smoking prevalence rate among female adults, and the highest among female youth. Numerous studies have established the harmful effects smoking has on the body, particularly the lungs. Further studies have also revealed that both male and female habitual smokers who smoke 20 cigarettes daily were almost three times more likely to catch pneumonia than non-smokers.

Wash your hands

Keeping your hands clean is one of the simplest yet most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs. Hand washing with soap has been proven

Studies have shown that regular exercise is beneficial for immune function. The short-term benefits of exercise include helping the body locate pathogens, and in the long term, regular exercise slows down changes to the immune system that occur with aging—possibly reducing the risk of getting infected by a serious disease.

Get vaccinated against pneumonia

Aside from making these lifestyle changes, doctors also recommend getting vaccinated against pneumonia. Vaccines work by introducing antigens into the body, for the immune system learns to recognize the invading bacteria and produce antibodies, for them to remember in the future.

Much like a diet plan, or a commitment to fitness, getting vaccinated is one of many measures that works together to ensure your immunity functions at its best. By keeping yourself healthy, not only do you have more strength and energy to work on your goals, but also to enjoy the fruits of your labor with your loved ones.

Take #AShotForEveryJuan and help yourself and others stay healthy.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, May 6, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Strong winds, high waves cancel Day 1 of rowing OQT

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By Josef Ramos

TRONG winds and high waves forced the cancellation of the first day of the World Rowing Asia and Oceania Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta on Wednesday at the Sea Forest Waterway in Shinagawa-ku in Tokyo.

The cancellation forced all athletes—including 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Melcah Jen Caballero and four others on Team Philippines— to go indoors and train on rowing machines.

Organizers said they will announce on Thursday morning if races could go on, according to Philippine Rowing Association president Patrick “Pato” Gregorio.

“We did indoor training in the morning to maintain our weight while still waiting for further announcements from organizers,” Caballero said.

“It’s still the same movement in water when you’re using a rowing machine.”

Caballero and Jonie Delgaco were in harness for the lightweight women’s doubles sculls event but waves as high as three feet forced organizers to call off all races for the day.

Head Coach Edgardo Macabitas Maerina told BusinessMirror that the athletes need to focus on their rowing muscles for the next two days of the competition.

“The winds were very strong and the cancellation would be tough for everyone because of the adjustment in schedule,” Maerina said.

Had the races been staged, Maerina said his wards would have been in their comfort zone.

“Our athletes have been competing in coastal rowing and even at La Mesa Dam, so we are used to this kind of situation,” he said.

Caballero, a Seaman Second Class at the Philippine Navy, and Delgaco will be up against athletes from South Korea, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Thailand, host Japan, Indonesia, Kuwait,

Chinese-Taipei, Iran and Uzbekistan in their quest for a slot in the Tokyo Olympics.

The top three finishers in the men and women doubles sculls and the top five in the singles sculls will qualify for Tokyo.

The other members of the team are lightweight men double sculls Also seeking Olympic qualification are Zuriel Sumintac and Roque Abala in men’s double sculls and Cris Nievarez, who also won a gold in the 2019 SEA Games, in men’s single sculls.

“Every race is crucial. If the weather doesn’t cooperate and they cancel the race again especially the finals, standings and times will possibly be the basis for determing which country will qualify for the Olympics,” Caballero, 25, said.

The team thanked the PSC for supporting their campaign as they hope to join Rio weightlifting silver medalist 2016 Hidilyn Diaz, gymnast Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena and boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam on the growing list of Tokyo Games qualifiers.

“We thank the PSC for its support and trust and help in our preparations,” Caballero said. “We are grateful for the online consultations in sports psychology and physiology which we needed so much while training.”

The PSC, through chairman William Ramirez, extended a P1.4-million assistance for the rowers’ campaign. The funding covered the team’s hotel accommodation, allowances and airfare.

MELCAH JEN CABALLERO and Jen Delgaco train at the Sea Forest Waterway in Shinagawa-ku in Tokyo.

THUMBS UP FROM COE

RUNNERS participate in a half-marathon text event for the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday in Sapporo, Japan. AP

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APPORO, Japan—Sebastian Coe, the head of the world governing body of track and field, said a half-marathon test event run in Japan’s northern city of Sapporo on Wednesday made him confident that the Olympic marathon can be held successfully in the city when the Tokyo Games open in just under three months.

Spectators were encouraged to stay off the streets and not watch the race in person. Security officials held signs on the roads that read: ”Please refrain from watching the event from here.”

The smattering of competitors from abroad were largely restricted to their hotel rooms while not competing or training. Coe said strict protocols measures against Covid-19 were followed.

Coe said “today Sapporo demonstrated the highest level of capability to organize successful” marathon and race walk events.

Those events are being held outside of Tokyo because of the city’s hot summers.

Coe, who is seen as a possible candidate to head the International Olympic Committee after Thomas Bach, was

outwardly laudatory. He will be on hand on Sunday when Tokyo organizers hold another test event at the new $1.4 billion National Stadium in Tokyo.

Tokyo organizers have held a series of test events in the last several days and have reported few problems. The largest problem is convincing the Japanese population that the Olympics, with 11,000 athletes and thousands of others, should take place in the middle of a pandemic.

In polls, 70 to 80 percent in Japan say they don’t want the Olympics to take place. That sentiment has not moderated with Tokyo, Osaka and other areas under emergency orders with cases surging, particularly the more contagious variants.

Only about 2 percent of Japan’s population has been vaccinated for Covid-19. The country

has reported just over 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

“You can understand the concern,” Coe told a news conference. He tried to reassure by saying that one-fifth of the athletes in the Olympics represent track and field—and that World Athletics can meet the challenge.

Tokyo is officially spending $15.4 billion to hold the Olympics, and some estimates say it is twice that much. The IOC is pushing on with the games, partly because 73 percent of its income is from selling broadcast rights.

Organizers have said they are not likely to decide until June if fans can attend Olympic events. Fans from abroad have already been banned.

“Everybody, the athletes particularly, will

Abdilla remains sharp despite 2-year lull

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ANRAN ABDILLA played true to form in last week’s beach volleyball tryouts in Subic to earn the admiration of Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) officials.

PNVF beach volleyball commission chair Charo Soriano, also Creamline’s program director for the event, was delighted to see the 6-foot-2 Abdilla back and perform well during the tryouts.

“Ranran’s athletic prowess and court maturity will definitely elevate the roster of Creamline Beach,” Soriano said. “His teammates

will greatly benefit from Ranran’s experience as he shares his experience to the youngsters.”

Abdilla last played beach volleyball in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1-Star Boracay Open in May 2019 where he was paired with Air Force teammate Jessie Lopez. His partnership with Lopez led to four consecutive Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour leg championships.

“I was excited the night before ng tryouts that I hardly had any sleep,” Abdilla said. “Finally after two years we’re back in the sand.”

Abdilla, a member of the silver medalclinching men’s volleyball team in the 2019 SEA

hope for spectators,” Coe said. “But I think they recognize that if that’s not possible then the games will still take place and the competition will still be extremely good.”

He said athletes had become used to competing at stadiums where there aren’t any crowds.

Coe, a two-time Olympic gold-medalist at 1,500 meters, also headed the 2012 London Olympics. He said he did not envy Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo organizing committee.

“The challenges are big. I don’t believe any Olympic Games has been delivered under more difficult circumstances,” Coe said. “These games have an overlay of complexity that is beyond most comprehension.” AP Games, said that earning a slot in the national beach volleyball team is not an easy picking.

“A player has to be disciplined, dedicated and committed to be part of the national team, those are the qualities coaches are looking at,” the 29-year-old Abdilla said.

“I’m blessed to be part of Creamline and I hope to boost its men’s beach volleyball program,” said the La Salle-Dasmariñas who was signed by the team in March.

Avelino brings passion to LuponWXC

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ETERAN film and television actor Paulo Avelino has taken his passion for gaming into business as the newest partner of esports and streaming company LuponWXC. Founded by local gaming icon Nico “KuyaNic’’ Nazario in 2015, LuponWXC offers streamers, esports players and professional groups in the country new and diverse opportunities to connect with their viewers.

Avelino came in with his extensive background in production and experience in the media industry to help position LuponWXC for its entry into the mainstream.

Avelino was a longtime fan of Nazario

before they met through a mutual friend.

“One day, our common friend asked me if I had any supplies lying around for a certain product that was out of stock everywhere,” Avelino said. “I asked who needed it, and he said it was KuyaNic. Knowing who he was, I offered to give him the product for free.”

“I’ve always believed that gaming is the future,” said Nazario, who first broke into the scene in 2016 with his groundbreaking idea to create a broadcast platform for gaming called WomboXCombo.

As a key partner in the company’s development, Avelino will share his knowledge and use his experience to improve the quality of

Jump Men TESSA JAZMINES | tessa4347@gmail.com

PART OF THE GAME RAY ALLEN. Derek Anderson. Vin Baker. Michael Finley. Eddie Jones. Those guys were the original Team Jordan Starting Five in 1996, the year Jordan Brand shoes were ready to carry on the legacy of the GOAT they were named after, even though he was no longer active on the hardcourt.

The five were chosen to be the first signature athletes of the Nike sub-brand that was described as “a pure, authentic basketball brand of premium, high-performance basketball footwear and apparel inspired by the performance legacy, vision and direct involvement of Michael Jordan.”

Other National Basketball Association (NBA) greats stepped into more Jordan shoes: Jason Kidd, Reggie Miller, Gary Payton and Dwayne Wade. They shot hoops wearing those shoes with the Jumpman logo, and redefined the game on court a bit more in the name of the man who revolutionized both the game and the sneaker world with ever evolving colorways, patterns and innovations.

More followed. Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin were given their own signature Jordan Brand shoes with special colorways for the playoffs of 2013.

La Marcus Aldridge, Mike Conley, Jr., Jimmy Butler added more oomph and power to the brand. Maya Moore, the WNBA great, became the first female hooper to become a Jordan athlete—providing power and inspiration to female ballers everywhere. Kemba Walker, who used to play for the Charlotte Hornets—owned by the JumpMan himself, also signed up in 2015.

But these days, Jordan Brand is even more dominant and dynamic. Said to “represent the passion and flight of the game,” the brand has cornered all the wunderkinds of the NBA and made them into the newest, brightest Team Jordan yet. Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic and Rui Hachimura. Just to roll those names off the tongue is an exciting exercise.

Williamson launched his first signature shoe with Jordan Brand in April. Called the Jordan Zion 1, which features a “Z” on the lateral side to “harness power in the heel and help with speed in the forefoot,” the shoe has been described as “the culmination of his supernatural game and down to earth personality,” and has his “ZNA.” Jayson Tatum who has been having an other-worldly game of late has been hailed by no less than Jordan Brand president Craig Williams as “one of the league’s most promising young players, with a work ethic and mindset that reflects what Jordan Brand stands for.”

Doncic “rounds out a roster of incredible new talent” that will represent Jordan Brand for the next generation, Michael Jordan himself reportedly said. Outstanding female ballers Kia Nurse, Satou Sabally and Kia Nurse are part of the family too.

Into this dynamic enters Kiefer Ravena— the first Filipino athlete and personality ever to be part of the Jordan Brand. It was probably an easy choice. Kiefer’s stellar high school career with the Ateneo Blue Eaglets where he won three titles and two finals MVP awards, then another spectacular career in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Seniors Division (Mythical Five member thrice, league MVP twice), and a thriving career in the pros where he easily became an All-Star, speaks well of The Phenom. His basketball smarts, values and work ethic are gold.

Add to that his work with the national team that has five gold medal finishes in the Southeast Asian Games from 2011 through 2019, his participation in the Fiba Asia Champions Cup 2017, Fiba World Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2019 and several Fiba 3x3 tournaments, such as the 2013 Fiba Asia 3x3 Championship and 2017 3x3 Fiba World Cup, and we see a well-rounded, accomplished athlete worthy to be counted among the world’s best achievers.

PAULO AVELINO and Nico “KuyaNic’’ Nazario enter into a partnership. the company’s curated content and coverage of all current gaming events.

Later this year, Avelino and Nazario will be looking forward to the completion of their worldclass gaming facility in General Trias, Cavite, with 11 broadcast studios.

LuponWXC currently has six operational studios focused on original content, Mobile Legends, DotA 2, original show concepts with Kumu, event activations and major broadcast productions.

“We’re inspired by Manila’s basketball culture and are thrilled to welcome our first Filipino athlete to the Jordan family,” says Craig Williams. “Basketball has a powerful influence on youth culture around the globe, and Kiefer can inspire future generations of ballers to make an impact in their hometowns and beyond. We are united by a shared love for the game, and Kiefer—a two-time UAAP MVP and Champion—represents the passion and love for basketball that you see all over the Philippines.”

“I’m both thankful and excited to be the first Filipino to be a member of the Jordan Brand.

Seeing how MJ played during his time in the NBA, I collected his shoes and wanted to be a part of his camps in the US. My first pair of basketball shoes were Jordan 9s,” says Kiefer.

What an honor indeed to be in such stellar company. Proud of you, Kief! nnn

MY colleague, sportswriter Lito Cinco, has launched an effort to raise funds in cash and kind for both regular and differently-abled national athletes numbering about 1,500. Called AYUDA SA ATLETA, my big-hearted friend conceptualized the campaign and got full cooperation from Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chairman Tom Carrasco to put up a “community pantry of assistance” to help the athletes who are in much need of sustenance and support during these trying times. They have been joined by POC official Karen Tanchanco Caballero, sports science whiz and former national archer Nino Sinco, sportsman Alex Wang and other former national athletes. Cebuana Lhuillier President/ CEO Jean Henri Lhullier has jumpstarted the program with a P250,000 donation. Assistance needed apart from cash can come in the form of vitamins, sports drinks, energy bars and personal hygiene items.

“I was inspired by what I have seen about this community program that has grown all over and I thought, why not initiate one for athletes,” Lito said.

“Our national athletes who have brought us honor certainly deserve to be helped during this pandemic,” Carrasco said.

Interested parties may contact the organizers here: Carrasco (0917) 899-2999; Cinco (0920) 924-1981 and lito_cinco@yahoo.com; Tanchanco dsgkarencaballero@olympic.ph and Wang (0943) 011-9811. Thank you in advance!