BusinessMirror May 11, 2020

DOF: Drivers tamed, inflation benign T

HE Department of Finance (DOF) believes inflation will remain benign in the coming months as the usual drivers of price increases will have minimal impact due to the lockdown and “new normal.”

In an economic bulletin, the DOF said these usual drivers include oil prices, which have been posting declines in the past few months.

The DOF said average prices of nonfood items decelerated to 0.7 percent year-on-year as the slump in global oil prices drove down domestic pump prices and, consequently, transport costs.

“Core inflation in April was 2.8 percent, down from more than 3 percent in March, indicating easing inflation in the next few months,” DOF said.

Core inflation, the PSA said, is used as an indicator of long-term inflation trend and future inflation. Long-term inflation is affected by demand conditions and influenced

A PICKUP truck loaded with bicycles is seen on Roxas Boulevard in Manila. As the country seeks to get its economy back on track after the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, bicycle use—which perceptibly became more popular during the lockdowns—is being encouraged as a way to avoid unsafe crowding on trains and buses. BERNARD TESTA

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by monetary policy.

It measures the change in average consumer prices after excluding items in the basket of goods with volatile price movements.

Core inflation excludes items such as rice, corn, meat, fish, vegetables, and petroleum and fuels for personal use, which together account for 22.8 percent of the Consumer Price Index, or basket of goods.

“Still, it is important that in this time of expanded community quarantine, the supply chain of basic goods and other necessary items, while subject to the requirements of public health, should not be broken,” the DOF said.

Earlier, Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd) Director Alvin P. Ang told the BusinessMirror that a 2.2-percent inflation rate was higher than his initial forecast.

However, Ang said inflation will remain low for the rest of the year given the extension of the lockdown and the generally slow

growth in the global economy.

University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa told this newspaper that if the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is lifted and the spread of the virus is contained, only then can demand recover.

This recovery could allow inflation—an indicator of demand—to rise in June and peak at around 2.8 percent to 3 percent by the end of the first semester.

Terosa said the recovery of spending and “pent-up demand” will allow inflation to increase beyond 3 percent.

Unionbank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion agreed, but said the recovery in demand may still be muted immediately after the ECQ and the general community quarantine (GCQ) are lifted.

A true recovery in demand, Asuncion told this newspaper, would only be possible if a vaccine is discovered and successfully administered.

“A vaccine discovered and its success-

ful administration to the population will definitely turbo-boost demand immediately,” Asuncion said.

Data showed inflation in NCR eased to 1.2 percent in April 2020, from 1.7 percent in the previous month. The year-on-year inflation in the area in April 2019 was higher at 3.1 percent.

The slowdown in inflation in NCR was due to declines in the annual rates posted in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 1.7 percent; and transport at 6.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the annual inflation in areas outside NCR (AONCR) also slowed to 2.5 percent in April 2020, from 2.7 percent in March 2020. In April 2019 inflation in AONCR was posted at 3 percent.

Further drop in the annual rate of transport index at 6 percent during the month primarily pushed down the inflation in AONCR.

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

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Monday, May 11, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 214

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MARCO POLO DAVAO CLOSURE SPOOKS TOURISM INDUSTRY

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror

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A CONSTRUCTION crane is silhouetted against the sunset in Pasig City. The government said it is banking on the resumption of bigticket infrastructure projects under its Build Build Build program to lift the economy battered by the pandemic. BERNARD TESTA

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By Elijah Felice Rosales

XPORTERS are pleading with lawmakers to approve within May the multibillion-peso stimulus bill filed in Congress, citing the desperate need for a rescue for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) after two months of Covid-induced lockdowns disrupted operations.

In a letter last week, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) asked legislators to pass the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA) bill within a month. The measure, with a proposed funding of P485 billion, seeks to inject cash in various sectors, including to MSMEs, to rejuvenate the economy in the lockdown aftermath.

“Because of the urgent nature and impact of this bill, we strongly call for the bill to be passed in a month’s time especially for the benefit of our MSMEs and their stakeholders, which account for some 60 percent of the country’s employment and 30 percent of our GDP,” read the letter mailed to the principal authors of the measure.

Further, Philexport detailed in the

letter its reservations on the PESA bill, and proposed several changes to it intended to expand its coverage. For one, the group is disputing the measure’s seeming concentration of assistance to firms based in Luzon, where the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has been in place since mid-March.

Reservations

IT argued that the ECQ may not be implemented in Visayas and Mindanao but its effects are felt there, as business operations in these islands are likely linked to the supply chains in Luzon.

Likewise, Philexport said that Negosyo Centers should be allowed to assess loan applications of MSMEs, as they are located across the country and can, therefore, reach firms in

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.5140

rural areas. The Small Business (SB) Corp., tasked to handle the PESA bill’s P20-billion funding for MSME lending, is apparently not present in all provinces.

In anticipation of the large number of MSMEs that will borrow from the government, Philexport recommended that the loans be distributed through bank transfers to reduce the movement of people and to facilitate the release.

Echoing the concern raised by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) last week, Philexport proposed that the P10-billion allocation for loans to farmers and fishermen be doubled. Increasing the amount will ensure that the issues of the agriculture sector on productivity, technology and climate change are considered, it argued.

Farmers, fishermen

IN a statement, the PCCI called on lawmakers to tweak the current version of the PESA bill and increase the allocation for loans of farmers and fishermen.

Doing so, PCCI President Benedicto V. Yujuico explained, will ensure a sufficient budget is available to cover for the agriculture sector’s needs.

Food producers, he noted, are already reeling from the income losses they suffered due to logistical barriers that come with the ECQ implemented in the whole of Luzon.

He said the lockdown restric-

tions in effect are making it difficult for goods, including perishable items, to be transported to markets. The national government has repeatedly admonished local government units against arbitrarily blockading the transport of produce, but even with relaxed checkpoints in major highways, farmers have said the restrictions in the community level make transporting goods a tough chore.

“Highly perishable produce have found it difficult to move their way into markets such that they have to be thrown away,” Yujuico added. “The downstream industries such as food processing, retailing and restaurants are similarly impacted, having to operate only partially, if at all.”

Also, Philexport suggested adding a provision to the PESA bill requiring all state agencies to do their part in hastening the computerization of their functions, particularly for purposes of trade facilitation, service continuity and ease of doing business.

The PESA bill is projected by government economists to swell the country’s budget deficit to 7 percent of GDP this year. The deficit target for 2020 is around P1 trillion, or about 5.3 percent of GDP, but the PESA bill is seen to add at least 2 percent.

The PESA bill, authored by Reps.

Joey S. Salceda of Albay, Stella Luz A. Quimbo of Marikina and Sharon S. Garin of AAMBIS-OWA Party-list, is now awaiting deliberations in the House of Representatives.

CHILLING effect.

That was how tourism stakeholders essentially described the closure of the 22-year-old Marco Polo Davao on the country’s tourism industry. The hotel, founded by a company of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III from which he has divested, confirmed reports over the weekend that it would close on June 15, due to the effect of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on guest bookings. The company that owns the hotel, Halifax Hotel Davao Inc., said it is giving retirement or separation pay to its 270 organic employees.

“Everyone was speechless. People really didn’t know how to react,” said Marge Munsayac, director of sales and marketing of Maribago Bluewater, which operates a hotel and resort in Mactan and Bohol. “Of all hotels, why Marco Polo? It’s an icon of Davao. We never had an inkling that business was pretty bad. Then you start to ask, if a big company like Marco Polo can close, what more the smaller companies? It’s a bit worrisome.”

For his part, Tourism Congress of the Philippines president Jose C. Clemente Jr. said, “This is a reality that most stakeholders are facing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, not only here, but around the globe. It shows that even the tallest of giants can also fall. Yet, we remain hopeful that tourism will again rise and we will see this and other properties that have ceased operations back in business sooner than later.”

Still, he said many hotels were already pondering their own possible closures since Covid-19. “If it was just being discussed before in hospitality circles, it’s now a reality, especially in places which cannot expect an immediate return of tourism, whether local or international. They probably have one to three months maximum to make a decision on how to proceed, not unless something miraculous happens [i.e., a vaccine],” he added.

‘Not a white flag of surrender’

COMMENTING on the closure, Dominguez messaged a colleague in the Cabinet that he had nothing to do with the decision because he already divested from Halifax. “The board’s decision is, however, very rational and responsible as they prioritized the interests of the employees and suppliers by paying them while they still could, instead of continuing operating at a loss and risking not having the funds in the future.”

He underscored though, “The action should not be taken as a signal to the rest of the economy, but only as a decision of one private enterprise that is acting in the interest of its employees. They have not raised the white flag but executed a strategic ‘advance to the rear’ as the US Marines did in a crucial battle during the Korean War. The hotel will reopen when the market signals a return of demand for its services.”

The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is a personal friend of Dominguez and has long been rumored to be a major investor in the hotel. As such, with seeming infinite resources, the hotel decision to shut down is telling about the immense impact of Covid-19 on the tourism industry, in the view of some stakeholders.

“There’s too much uncertainty. It is so hard to plan. And of course, all governments were taken by surprise and we know money is finite [in terms of financial assistance]. So I feel, more [hotels], will close, especially the smaller players,” said TCP’s Clemente. “If a large player [like Marco Polo Davao] has closed, although they said it was temporary, what more the smaller ones?”

He ventured that the large hotels are already thinking of going the way of Marco Polo Davao. “They are just surviving here in the NCR (National Capital Region) because they still service essential See “Marco Polo,” A2

n JAPAN 0.4753 n UK 62.5313 n HK 6.5172 n CHINA 7.1297 n SINGAPORE 35.7267 n AUSTRALIA 32.8038 n EU 54.7218 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4525

Source: BSP (May 8, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, May 11, 2020

Marco Polo…

Continued from A1

businesses. But for beach resorts, they’re probably considering it already. It’s about who has the longest lifeline, or would they continue flushing down money at this time,” he stressed.

Downturn began in 4Q 2019

FOR her part, Pearl Peralta Maclang, DOSM of Marco Polo Davao, told the BusinessMirror the hotel’s troubles began in the last quarter of 2019, when the city was hit by two earthquakes. “We were averaging at 60 percent occupancy then, but we were still breaking even, maybe not in the way we should, but our performance for the entire year was still pulled up by the earlier quarters.”

Then the ash fall from Taal Volcano in January 2019 happened, and soon after, Covid-19. “As business deteriorated, we reduced the number of staff, of course, we didn’t need casual employees anymore.

People were then asked to take their leaves. We cut on costs and all unnecessary expenses, only essentials [were allowed],” she explained.

Asked how much the separation pay will cost Halifax, she said, “sizable.” All employees of retirement age—“some have been here for 22 years”—will be paid one month for every year of service. For those not of that age, “we will follow what is in the law,” said Maclang.

But she stressed the closure was “indefinite,” and intimated there may be a chance for it to reopen.

Asked whether this means it will still be a partnership with Marco Polo or some other global hospitality group, Maclang said, “As far as I know, it will still be retained as Marco Polo Davao. I don’t know if there are discussions about reopening with other partners.”

House plans 2-step implementation of stimulus law to manage deficit

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O manage the country’s deficit, the House of Representatives plans to implement the economic response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in two tranches.

Citing the latest draft of the proposed Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA), House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said the new proposal is to implement the first tranche this year, amounting to P310 billion; and the second tranche amounting to P426 billion next year.

For mass testing, Salceda said P10 billion will be allotted this year and another P10 billion next year.

For workers, he said the allocation for wage subsidy will be set at P80 billion, while P30 billion will go to beneficiaries of the cash-for-work program of the Department of Labor and Employment this year.

The lawmaker said P30 billion and P50 billion will be alloted to the Small Business Corp. in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

He also said the Philippine Guarantee Corp. will receive P50 billion in 2020 and another P50 billion in 2021 as paid-up capital and as special fund to guarantee loans.

The lawmaker said P10 billion will be alloted to the Department of Trade and Industry to assist MSMEs, while the Board of Investments will receive P25 billion in 2020 and another P25 billion in 2021 as assistance to import/export industries through grants, trainings, loans to import/export industries.

He added that P25 billion in 2020 and P25 billion in 2021 will be allocated to the Department of Transportation as assistance to the transportation industry.

According to Salceda, P25 billion in 2020 and P25 billion in 2021 will be allotted as assistance to tourism, including incentives, loans, grants training for tourism enterprises.

Also under the plan, P25 billion will be allocated this year and another P25 billion in 2021 as capitalization for National Development Corp.

The proposed PESA will include an enhanced Build, Build, Build program worth P650 billion in three years starting 2021. He said this enhanced BBB is expected to create 1.5 billion jobs.

For next year, Salceda said the allocation for BBB will be P216.6 billion.

Salceda told the BusinessMirror, “…you cannot eat credit rating but it is foolish to just throw it away if you can think of a formation of weapons which can preserve it while meeting the needs of the people for jobs, thus saving SMEs which account for 60 percent and this also serves as the restoration of aggregate demand.”

Earlier, the BusinessMirror reported that the government’s economic team and several economists see the country’s budget deficit this year rising to over 7 percent of GDP if Congress passes the proposed P485-billion PESA of 2020, which is the original consolidated proposal of Salceda, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo and House Committee on Economic Affairs Chairperson Sharon Garin of AAMBIS-OWA.

In a five-page joint position paper on the PESA bill addressed to House Speaker Alan Peter S. Caye­ tano, the economic team expressed general support for the bill’s provisions to protect various sectors, but they pointed out that the consolidated bill “will add at least 2 percent of GDP to the present already high deficit.”

The economic team’s current deficit target for the year is around a trillion pesos or about 5.3 percent of GDP, according to Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil Beltran.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

www.businessmirror.com.ph

LTFRB to cut NCR bus routes from 96 to 29, beyond ECQ

A

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

S part of the “new normal,” the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation on Sunday announced that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will rationalize the land-based transport system for Metro Manila by removing overlapping routes in the country’s capital.

Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento, the panel chairman, said out of the “topsy-turvy” 96 bus routes in Metro Manila, including those traversing Edsa, only 29 bus routes will be given a special franchise and each will all be dedicated and non-overlapping routes.

Also, Sarmiento, in a statement, said from 61 Edsa bus routes, the LTFRB will now only provide a single route dedicated to Edsa if and when the National Capital Region finally transitions from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to general community quarantine (GCQ).

During the virtual committee hearing of the committee last Saturday, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra said the board decided to seize the opportunity to rationalize all land-based transport system and shorten routes to allow faster turnaround of buses and other forms of

public-utility vehicles.

Delgra told the panel that these newly “rationalized” routes will replace the old routes not only during the GCQ period but also “beyond GCQ.” “The public transport system, and I’m referring to the land-based public transport system, is in dire need of reform, even pre-Covid scenario. Part of that is having to improve the efficiency of our public transport system. What has happened in the last 30 or 40 years, the model of bus franchises is no longer relevant today and we have been saying that even at the start of this administration,” Delgra told the committee.

“It is operator-initiated and therefore, when franchises were applied and issued, it was mostly from the perspective of the operators. The longer the route, the more

expected commuters they will get and therefore in terms of profit, they would be able to be assured of the economic fundamentals of their operation. That model is no longer relevant today,” Delgra told the committee.

Delgra said that the LTFRB will implement a new bus route system in time for Metro Manila’s transition to GCQ, but this would still be in effect even when the pandemic is finally over.

Delgra said that the single Edsa bus route will only be dedicated to Edsa and all other trips that were previously served by buses that also traverse through Edsa will have to be served by separate and dedicated bus routes.

Sarmiento said the House will support the LTFRB move, which he described as identical with his proposed “centralized and synchronized bus dispatch system” which he hopes would permanently solve Metro Manila traffic woes.

“For me it is really the right time to reform the land sector. I will be supporting you but I’m hoping that you will plan it well and execute it well. The most important here is for the public to have the transportation system that they need come GCQ,” Sarmiento said.

Earlier, Sarmiento called on DOTr to conduct a dry run at least two days before May 15, which is supposed to be the end of the ECQ, especially for land transport, so that the system can be fully evaluated and tweaked before the actual lifting of the public transport ban.

Meralco explains outages; assures public supply’s OK

By Lenie Lectura

T

HE Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said power supply is sufficient with no signs of yellow or red alert notice.

“With sharp decline in demand due to ECQ [enhanced community quarantine], we’re not seeing yellow and red alerts in the coming months.

In fact, we have huge buffer of power supply in the coming months,” Meralco head of networks Ronnie Aperocho said at a recent virtual meeting of the company’s first-quarter financial and operating results.

A yellow alert is issued when operating reserves have dropped below the required 647-megawatt (MW) contingency in Luzon, or equivalent to the largest unit in Luzon, which is the 647-MW coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan. A yellow alert means thin power reserves.

A red alert notice is raised when there is severe power deficiency and zero contingency reserve. When the red alert is issued, power interruptions are expected to happen.

The ECQ peak demand of Meralco dropped by almost 40 percent to a low of 4,516 MW in March 2020 and further to 4,289 MW in April 2020, the company reported.

Based on the second-quarter Luzon Demand-Supply Outlook presented by Meralco last month, the grid’s available capacity stands at 11,201 MW every week of May.

Demand, on the other hand, is expected to reach 8,325 MW on Week 1; then, 8,337 MW on Week 2; and 8,370 MW on Week 3; and finally, 8,245 MW on Week 4.

Based on this data, there is a reserve of 2,876 MW on Week 1; 2,864 MW on Week 2; 2,831 MW on Week 3; and 2,956 MW on Week 4.

In June, the gross power reserve is expected to hit over 3,000 MW as available capacity is estimated at

11,569 MW every week.

Demand for the first week of June could hit 8,367 MW; 8,266 MW on the second week; 8,319 MW on the third week; and 8,397 MW on the fourth week. This leaves a gross reserve of 3,202 MW on Week 1; 3,303 MW on Week 2; 3,250 MW on Week 3; and 3,172 MW on Week 4.

Meralco attributed recent power outages in some parts of its franchise area to transformer overload and not because of inadequate supply.

Electricity rates

MEANWHILE, electricity rates for a typical household fell this month

by P0.2483 per kilowatt hour (kWh), from last month’s P8.9951 per kWh to P8.7468 per kWh this May. This is equivalent to a reduction of around P50 in the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh.

The reduction was brought about by lower generation charge as Meralco claimed force majeure from power suppliers, resulting in reduced fixed cost for certain baseload plants and suspension of mid-merit and peaking supply contracts.

These claims reduced the May 2020 generation charges to P4.3848 per kWh from P4.6385 per kWh last April.

“Because of the very significant reduction in power demand in its service area during the ECQ period, Meralco invoked the force majeure provision in its Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) for the duration of the lockdown, reducing fixed charges for generation capacity that would have been charged by suppliers,” Meralco said.

April’s generation charge reflected a P129-million reduction in fixed costs due to Meralco’s force majeure claim. This May, the force majeure claim totaled P877 million, equivalent to savings of P0.3452 per kWh, representing reduction in fixed costs and avoided charges from the tem-

porary suspension of the mid-merit supply contracts recently approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). For both April and May billing months, the reduction due to force majeure claim totaled to more than P1 billion.

PSA charges decreased by P0.2116 per kWh mainly due to the company’s force majeure claim. Cost of power from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) also decreased by P0.6418 per kWh due to higher average plant dispatch, lower fuel prices and peso appreciation. PSAs and IPPs accounted for 52 percent and 46 percent of total supply, respectively.

Meanwhile, charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) increased by P1.8502 per kWh due to the included line rentals related to Meralco’s supply contracts.

The share of WESM to Meralco’s supply needs was less than 2 percent.

Meralco also reported that there was no movement for the Feed-In-Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) for May as the ERC ordered another month of deferral of the FIT-All in consideration of the current ECQ.

Meanwhile, transmission charge registered a slight increase in May by P0.0175 per kWh due to higher ancillary charges, while taxes and other charges registered a net decrease of P0.0121 per kWh. Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 58 months, after these registered reductions in July 2015. It reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges. Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, while payment for the transmission charge goes to the NGCP. Taxes and other public policy charges like the Universal Charges and the FIT-All are remitted to the government.

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PHL ‘clean’ record in anti-piracy list may lead to trade deal with US—DTI

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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@alyasjah

HE Philippines has bolstered its chances of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States after staying out of the US government’s watch list on counterfeiting and piracy for seven straight years, according to the country’s trade chief.

In a statement last Sunday, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said he is hoping the country’s good standing in the Special 301 Report of the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) will reflect in trade ties with the US. For seven consecutive years, the Philippines stayed out of the USTR watch list in spite of intellectual property (IP) rights protection issues.

At present, the Philippines and the US discuss issues pertaining to trade under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, but the two parties find it imperative to elevate matters to an FTA given the long history of their bilateral relations.

Lopez added that the exclusion from the watch list will boost Manila’s chances of retaining its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status with Washington. The GSP allows for the duty free export of over 5,000 products to the US, and it is scheduled to expire in December.

For the country’s clean record in the USTR watch list, Lopez has the 12-member National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) to thank. The NCIPR, headed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), leads all government efforts “The strong cooperation within the NCIPR network has made this possible,” Lopez said.

Lopez committed to strengthen the NCIPR’s efforts to sustain the gains of the country in terms of IP rights protection.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, May 11, 2020 A3

Employment prospects dim as conglomerates slash capex

By Cai U. Ordinario

W

@caiordinario

ITH revenues expected to be lower this year, conglomerates have warned they would rein in capital expenditures (capex), which local economists said could dim employment prospects for the year.

Economists such as Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd) Director Alvin P. Ang said such condition will affect employment in the country.

Ang said due to the crisis, it is expected that the country’s unemployment rate would also increase to about the same rate in the United States. Reports showed the US jobless rate is now at 15 percent.

“All companies will lose at least 10 percent to 20 percent of their revenues,” Ang said. “The big companies can take care of their staff but smaller companies will struggle.”

UnionBank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion told the BusinessMirror that a double-digit increase in unemployment is high considering that many small-scale and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) are struggling.

SMEs, he said, would bear the biggest brunt of the negative economic impact of the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Asuncion said that while big firms can support their people, it will affect

EXCLUSIVE

economic growth.

“The possibility of a double-digit unemployment is high. We’re looking at aviation, tourism, export/import, and SMEs with tourism and SMEs taking much of the potential unemployed,” Asuncion said.

Economist Calixto V. Chikiamco told the BusinessMirror that lower capital investment will ultimately lead to fewer jobs. Lower capex usually means downscaling its investment plans for the year.

Chikiamco added that this is especially the case given that the economy is expected to contract 10 percent in the second quarter.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) told the BusinessMirror that it cannot yet comment on the employment numbers as the Labor Force Survey (LFS) is currently being conducted.

PSA Assistant National Statistician Wilma A. Guillen said the LFS results will, however, be delayed. The data will be released toward the end of June instead of June 5.

“We cannot speculate on the number of jobless Filipinos,” Guillen said recommending to wait for the results of the LFS April 2020 survey round on the effect of

Covid-19 on employment.

Last week, conglomerates such as Metro Pacific Investments Corp. announced it will cut its capex for this year by half (See: https://Businessmirror.com.ph/May 7, 2020/Pandemicprompts MPIC to cut 2020-capex-byhalf/in the BusinessMirror).

A week before, Aboitiz Group said a third of its P73 billion 2020 capex will also be cut (See: https://Businessmirror.com.ph/April 27, 2020/Aboitizgroup-slashes-2020-capex-to-P47-billion/in the BusinessMirror).

Earlier, in a document obtained by BusinessMirror, the labor department said of these affected employees, 1.77 million were employed by 74,645 companies, which implemented temporary closure (TC) because of the Covid-19 crisis.

The remaining 244,925 of the said employees employed by 6,307 firms were required to go on forced leave.

The same report that covered data from March 16, 2020, to May 6, 2020, also showed that 423,134 employees were able to work but under a limited scale.

These include those who were engaged under reduced workdays (270,702); rotation of workers (69,395); and other flexible work arrangement (FWA) such as telecommuting (83,037).

The labor department has yet to register any permanent labor dis-

placement, which could be attributed to the Covid-19 crisis.

With this, University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) School of Economics Dean Cid L. Terosa said each worker would lose an income of around P100,000 this year due to Covid-19.

ING Bank Manila Senior Economist Nicholas T. Mapa said this estimate made

by Terosa was not far from their own estimate of around P193 billion.

Terosa said the amount, which could also increase to around P210 billion or P105,000 per person would have been spent on various consumer goods such as food, clothing, water, and other needs.

De La Salle University Economist Maria Ella C. Oplas told BusinessMirror that the spending of the 2 million workers would likely decline to only 30 percent of what they were used to spending.

Oplas said the reason why she does not think a 100 percent decline in consumption among those who lost their jobs is because many of those who lost jobs may have found other ways to earn a living and, consequently, spend.

She added that among those who lost their jobs such as professional make-up artists and photographers were able to band together and find other ways to use their skills or adapt to the present needs of their communities.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, May 11, 2020 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

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Corn production falls to 4-year low in Q1–PSA

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE country’s corn output in the first quarter declined by 3.4 percent to 2.34 million metric tons (MMT), from last year’s 2.42 MMT, as low farm-gate prices discouraged farmers from planting more corn.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that corn production in the January-to-March period contracted by 82,169.71 metric tons.

Historical PSA data also showed that this is the lowest first quarter corn output in four years since the 1.92 MMT recorded volume in the January-to-March period of 2016.

The decline in output was also steeper than the 1.1-percent reduction projected by the PSA in March.

PSA data showed that the total value of corn output, at current prices, declined by 15 percent to P28.565 bil-

lion, from last year’s P33.593 billion.

At constant prices, value of corn production fell 3.4 percent to P32.451 billion, from P33.589 billion recorded last year, according to PSA data.

Philippine Maize Federation Inc. President Roger V. Navarro said low farm-gate prices discouraged farmers from planting corn. ”Farm-gate prices were really bad during harvest,” Navarro told the BusinessMirror.

The average farm-gate price of yellow corn in the first quarter declined 11.6 percent to P12.27 per kilogram, from last year’s P13.88 per kg, PSA data analyzed by the BusinessMirror showed. Also, the average quotation for white corn fell 5 percent to P13.87 per kg from P14.6 per kg. ”This year I believe corn production would decline as the lack of rain would delay planting. However, the reduction in output would be mitigated by lower demand by poultry

A CORN trader solar dries corn kernels on an idle road in Santiago City, Isabela, in this BusinessMirror file photo.

Govt to help ANI develop IP land in Mindanao for BigMa project

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) and AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) will develop 20,000 hectares of land in Mindanao owned by indigenous peoples (IP) into corn farms for the commercialization of ANI’s rice-corn blend project.

In a recent news briefing, the DA said it will undertake the development of IP lands in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for ANI’s bigasmais (rice-corn), or BigMa project.

The DA added that it will also shoulder the initial corn seed requirements to cover the target area.

The agency said ANI will purchase the rice requirement for its BigMa project from the National Food Authority (NFA).

The DA said ANI and NCIP will negotiate and work out the terms

for the development of the IP lands in one or two regions in Mindanao.

Only certain areas of IP lands would be planted with corn for ANI’s project, the DA added.

“That will be the help that DA will provide. ANI will handle all additional investments for its project,” said Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar. ANI President Antonio Tiu vowed to invest the company’s technical expertise and resources to ensure the success of its BigMa project.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with DA and our IP partners to help produce alternative staple food like the rice-corn blend to ensure food security,” he said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“ANI commits its technical expertise and resources to see to it that this project succeeds from

inception to full commercial operations,” he added.

In an earlier statement, Tiu said the rice-corn blend would be a “very good substitute” to rice, considering the perennial shortage of the staple in the Philippines, particularly during crises like the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Aside from being healthier and more affordable, corn is cheaper to produce and requires less water to grow compared to rice. With a similar four-month cycle, corn—unlike rice—can be planted anywhere without having to wait for the rainy season,” he said.

“Corn is 20 percent cheaper to produce and easier to grow and scale up since the Philippines lacks good water sources. While corn’s traditional yield is only 3 tons per hectare, ANI

Comelec suspends hearings . . .

Comelec’s operations have yet to normalize after President Duterte declared the ECQ in Luzon on March 17, 2020, in response to the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis.

The poll body said filing of pleadings, comments, motions, briefs, or memoranda is deemed “interrupted” effective March 17. It will resume once the community quarantine is lifted or if the Comelec declares it so.

Election offense complaints

DIOLA also issued guidelines for the Comelec Law department on the filing of complaint for election offense.

In ECQ areas, the notarized complaints should be filed through the department’s e-mail address (comelc. law@gmail.com) in PDF (portable document format) form along with the supporting documents.

For GCQ areas, the filing can be also done via e-

continued from a8

mail at the Office of the Regional Election Director (ORED) or through personal submission at the Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor (OPES).

Diola said the date when the Law Department receives e-mail-complaints will be deemed the official date of its filing.

All scheduled preliminary or fact-finding investigations during the period of the ECQ shall remain suspended and shall be rescheduled accordingly.

For cases with preliminary or fact-finding investigation originally scheduled from May 4, 2020, onwards, the investigation may proceed as scheduled, but the presence of parties or their authorized representatives shall be dispensed with.

The guidelines took effect on Sunday after being published in a newspaper of general circulation.

Samuel P. Medenilla

Vaccine drive falters, DOH vows catch-up. . . continued from a8 In February 2019, the WHO affirmed this earlier position saying that the PCV10 and PCV13 are equally effective in preventing overall pneumococcal diseases in children. The position paper also states that there is at present insufficient evidence of a difference in the net impact of the two available PCVs on overall disease burden.

For her part, DOH Undersecretary for Public Health Services Dr. Myrna Cabotaje said even if the country is in the midst of a pandemic, it is important to avail of the catch-up vaccines for children to make sure they don’t fall ill and spread infection.

According to Cabotaje, the priority vaccines that are still critical despite the pandemic include BCG, hepatitis B, polio, diphtheria pertussis, tetanus, and measles, and pneumonia, among many others.

Meanwhile, the President of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines also stressed the importance of vaccination, noting that the Covid-19 virus is “not relaxing.”

Dr. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim, who is also the Chief of the Infection and Tropical Disease department of the Philippine General Hospital, also reminded parents that children are not immune to Covid-19.

Dr. Ong-Lim said that even determining if a child has been infected is very challenging to parents and even doctors because its symptoms are just like normal flu.

“This disease is a treacherous one because

and hog sectors due to dampened demand for meat products caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 [Covid-19],” said Navarro.

Nonetheless, Navarro said average farm-gate prices for both yellow corn and white corn have been going up as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the global supply chain and deterred traders from importing feed substitutes.

“Yellow corn is now priced P16 per kg while white corn are now sold at about P18 per kg to P19 per kg, from P12 per kg,” he said.

In March, the PSA projected that corn output in the first quarter would decline due to the contraction in harvest area. ”Harvest area may reduce to 698,970 hectares, from 706,260 hectares in 2019,” it said.

The PSA reported that corn production last year rose by 2.7 percent to 7.978 MMT, from 7.771 MMT recorded in 2018.

its just like having an ordinary cough and flu or fever. If before we tend not to bother, now we have to be very careful with the health of our family members,” Dr. Ong-Lim said.

Dr. Ong-Lim said that parents should check if their sickness causes the appetite loss or if they are also weak.

“So, what I can remind our family, our parents is to check if the child is losing interest in eating, if [infants are] refusing to breastfeed or drink milk, always sleeping or weak. If we don’t see these signs then let us just monitor the child’s condition in the house for it would be more dangerous if we take them to the hospital right away,” she said, adding that the child might catch the virus in a hospital.

For expecting mothers, Dr. Ong-Lim noted that, based on published literature, there is no evidence yet that shows that an infected pregnant woman can pass the disease to her child, or what is known as vertical transmission.

Additionally, she explained that there is no evidence yet of transmission through breastfeeding.

Nevertheless, close contact with the child still makes them susceptible to transmitting the disease.

According to Dr. Ong-Lim, should the mother show symptoms of any kind, it is imperative that they follow health guidelines to keep their child safe. “Let us just be careful with our oral secretions.

Mothers should cover their nose, and mouth always,” she stressed.

plans to use hybrid corn seeds to double the yield,” he added.

The ANI executive said the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is a “perfect time” to promote the rice-corn blend, which is a Visayan staple, in other areas of country to reduce the Filipinos’ percapita consumption of rice.

“Planting corn for blending purposes with rice will also spur economic activities in areas with lots of idle labor and unirrigated farmlands,” said Tiu. “ANI is partnering with indigenous peoples to help them plant corn and make their idle labor and lands more productive,” he added.

The company said it recently launched its rice-corn blend product online. ANI is also part of the DA’s online Kadiwa system.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Senate to probe virus impact on oil and gas

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continued from a8

Gatchalian asserted the urgency of Congress being informed about government’s plans and steps being taken to ensure the country’s energy security is not imperilled.

“Importante na ngayon pa lamang ay malaman natin ang mga plano at hakbang na ating tatahakin upang siguruhin na hindi malalagay sa alanganin ang seguridad ng enerhiya sa bansa. Nakasalalay dito ang kapakanan nating lahat, lalo na’t kung walang sapat na enerhiya ay maraming maaantalang industriya na makakaapekto sa maraming trabaho [It’s important for us to know this early the plans and steps we should take to ensure the country’s energy security. Everyone’s welfare rests here, as lack of energy supply could

impact industries and affect jobs],” the senator stressed.

He recalled that the health crisis resulted in the postponement of the opening of proposals to develop potential oil and gas sources due logistical disruptions, adding that low demand for oil has also “weighed heavily on the decision to hold plans to drill and explore potential oil and gas sources.”

In a statement, Sen. Gatchalian also noted quarantine measures implemented to stop the spread of Covid-19 “caused the delay” of the proposed Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) import projects, which, he noted, was also expected to be “finalized by the DOE within the year.” Butch Fernandez

Bayer Crop Science unveils online academy for young agripreneurs

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N online agri academy was launched by Bayer Crop Science (BCS) to reach out to aspiring farm entrepreneurs and technocrats who wish to adopt best practices in planting high-yielding rice and hybrid corn.

Recognizing the need to keep farmers up-to-date on best practices related to using the latest technology in growing rice and corn to maximum yield and profitability, BCS unveiled the Bayer Agri-Academy.

BCS said now is the best time to popularize online agriculture learning considering the intensified need to produce more food due to the threat posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 to food production.

The food crisis that may ensue due to the pandemic is foreseen to pave the way for the rise of the new generation of farmers and farming investors.

“Bayer Crop Science ramped up its digital efforts. Aside from posting technical information on its products

for farmers planting rice, fruits, and vegetables, the team actively addresses queries on pest control, crop management, and where they could access farming products,” said Rex Bryan Rivera, Bayer Philippines Inc., Public Affairs and Sustainability head.

BCS is also targeting to reach farmers in Mindanao who are now battling the pervasive fall armyworm (FAW) that attacks corn and cuts yield. Solutions, such as Dekalb VT double Pro, can help fight FAW. Farmers nationwide have been taken aback by the FAW infestation.

North Luzon farmers have tried using even banned, environmentallydegrading pesticides just to combat FAW because of their absence of knowledge on new technologies.

But farmers that planted Dekalb VT double Pro, mostly participants to BCS’s corn-derby planting and government farm technicians, have evaded FAW infestation.

Going beyond sharing practical in-

formation on farming, Bayer created an online platform, via a Facebook group, where technical experts and farmers exchange ideas and experiences to gain insights on boosting and sustaining farmer productivity.

BCS takes advantage of online learning interest among young farming entrepreneurs, technocrats and investors as individual field visits have become restricted due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

In Agri-Academy, the team introduced Bayer Online Kapihan, which are live sessions to directly engage with farmers.

Topics covered in the first meetings were on the new Dekalb hybrid corn varieties suited for Mindanao and the portfolio of solutions for Arize hybrid rice farming.

Edward Limon, market development manager for Crop Science, hosts the program and gets support from his fellow experts in running the learning program.

‘Unhinged’ cattle ranchers look for answers in US price probe

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ANCHERS in the United States are looking forward to the results of an investigation into market manipulation as low livestock prices threaten their survival, an industry leader said.

Farmers “are becoming unhinged” as livestock gluts—exacerbated by a wave of slaughterhouse disruptions— are coinciding with record-high wholesale beef prices, American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said Friday.

He spoke at a roundtable that included Iowa Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, Vice President Mike Pence and senior meatpacker executives. While the senators echoed calls to close the cattle-

beef pricing gap, Pence congratulated meatpackers including Tyson Foods Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. for their “miraculous effort” in maintaining supplies during the pandemic.

The US Justice Department is investigating meatpacking companies for possible antitrust violations, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the industry comes under scrutiny over the plant shutdowns that have disrupted supply. Packer margins have surged in the last month as beef prices rose and cattle prices stayed low.

“We do have serious concerns about the potential market manipulation,” Duvall said. Ranchers are “frustrated

by this disparity between the rockbottom prices that we’re receiving and some of the sky-high wholesale prices that we’re seeing being charge.”

Earlier this week, Duvall urged authorities to do more to help farmers as bankruptcies in the industry accelerate.

Ernst said the coronavirus disruptions are prompting “a great awakening” as to where Americans’ food comes from. Grassley said hog farmers are stressed economically and emotionally from having to cull animals. Farmers ask why they’re losing hundreds on each of their cattle while prices for consumers are going up, he said. Bloomberg News

Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World BusinessMirror

Reopenings bring new infections as global virus cases hit 4 million

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OME—South Korea’s capital closed down more than 2,100 bars and other nightspots on Saturday because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses, and Italian authorities worried that people were getting too friendly at cocktail hour during the country's first weekend of eased restrictions.

The new flareups—and fears of a second wave of contagion—underscored the dilemma authorities face as they try to reopen their economies.

Around the world, the US and other hardhit countries are wrestling with how to ease curbs on business and public activity without causing the virus to come surging back.

Worldwide, 4 million people have been confirmed infected by the virus, and more than 279,000 have died, including over 78,000 in the US, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Spain, France, Italy and Britain have reported around 26,000 to 32,000 deaths each.

In New York, the deadliest hot spot in the US, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said three children died from a possible complication of the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems. At least 73 children statewide have been diagnosed with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease—a rare inflammatory condition—and toxic shock syndrome. But there is no proof the mysterious syndrome is caused by the virus.

Two members of the White House coronavirus task force—the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration—placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, a stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.

Elsewhere, Belarus, which has not locked down despite sharply rising infections, saw tens of thousands turn out to mark Victory Day, the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s de-

N. Korea completes building new ICBM missiles, Dong-A Ilbo says

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orth Korea has constructed several new intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo.

US authorities have detected the assembly and completion of ICBMs at an automobile plant in South Pyongan province, where North Korea launched ballistic missiles in 2017, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified US government official. They also observed the presence of “transporter erector launchers,” the paper said.

The official told the newspaper that the US is keeping an eye on future developments, and exploring multiple possibilities such as the test-firing of an ICBM, or a military parade as a show of force.

Pyongyang may attempt provocations before July, according to the newspaper. In a North Korean media report on January1, leader Kim Jong Un declared he would soon debut a “new strategic weapon,” adding to President Donald J. Trump’s foreign policy concerns in an election year. Bloomberg News

People exercise along Paseo de la Castellana after the lockdown measures imposed by the government due to coronavirus in Madrid, Spain on Saturday, May 9, 2020. Spain’s Prime Minister has cautioned the nation that the loosening of its nearly two-month lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus will be for naught if people do not obey social distancing rules and hygiene recommendations. AP Photo/Manu Fernandez feat in 1945. Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed concerns about the virus as a “psychosis.”

That was in contrast to Russia, which skipped the usual grand military parade in Moscow’s Red Square. This year's observance had been expected to be especially large because it is the 75th anniversary, but instead, President Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier and a show of military might was limited to a flyover of 75 warplanes and helicopters.

Germany and South Korea have both carried out extensive testing and contact tracing and have been hailed for avoiding the mass deaths that overwhelmed other countries. But even there, authorities have struggled to find the balance between saving lives and salvaging jobs.

Seoul shut down nightclubs, hostess bars and discos after dozens of infections were linked to people who went out last weekend as the country relaxed social distancing.

Many of the infections were connected to a 29-year-old man who visited three nightclubs before testing positive.

Mayor Park Won-soon said health workers were trying to contact some 1,940 people who had been at the three clubs and other places nearby. The mayor said gains made against the virus are now threatened “because of a few careless people.’

Germany faced outbreaks at three slaughterhouses in what was seen as a test of its strategy for dealing with any resurgence as restrictions ease. At one slaughterhouse, in Coesfeld, 180 workers tested positive.

Businesses in the US continue to struggle as more employers reluctantly conclude that their laid-off employees might not return to work anytime soon. Health

officials are watching for a second wave of infections, roughly two weeks after states began gradually reopening with Georgia largely leading the way.

Some malls have opened up in Georgia and Texas, while Nevada restaurants, hair salons and other businesses were able to have limited reopenings on Saturday or once again allow customers inside after nearly two months of restrictions.

The reopening of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the TennesseeNorth Carolina border was a bit too tempting a draw as scores of nature lovers crowded parking lots and trails and even trekked into closed areas, park spokesman Dana Soehn said. Many did not wear masks.

In Los Angeles, hikes to the iconic hillside Hollywood sign and hitting the golf links were allowed as the California county hit hardest reopened some sites to recreation-starved stay-at-homers.

Mayor Eric Garcetti urged “good judgment” and said the city would rely on education and encouragement rather than heavyhanded enforcement: “Not our vision to make this like a junior high school dance with people standing too close to each other,” he said.

In New York, a Cuomo spokesman said the governor was extending stay-at-home restrictions to June 7, but another top aide later clarified that that was not so; the May 15 expiration date for the restrictions remains in place “until further notice,” Melissa DeRosa said in an evening statement.

The federal government said it was delivering supplies of remdesivir, the first drug shown to speed recovery for Covid-19 patients, to six more states, after seven others were sent cases of the medicine earlier this week.

Italy saw people return to the streets and revel in fine weather.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala warned that “a handful of crazy people’” were putting his city's recovery at risk and threatened to shut down the trendy Navigli district after crowds of young people were seen out at the traditional aperitivo hour ignoring social-distancing rules.

The Campo dei Fiori flower and vegetable market was also bustling in Rome.

But confusion created frustrations for the city's shopkeepers.

Carlo Alberto, owner of TabaCafe, an Argentine empanada bar that was selling cocktails to a few customers, said that since reopening this week, police had threatened to fine him over crowds outside.

“Am I supposed to send them home?

They need a guard here to do that,” he said.

“The laws aren’t clear, the decree isn’t clear.

You don't know what you can do.”

Elsewhere, Pakistan allowed shops, factories, construction sites and other businesses to reopen, even as more than 1,600 new cases and 24 deaths were reported.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government was rolling back curbs because it can’t support millions who depend on daily wages. But controls could be reimposed if people fail to practice social distancing.

In Spain certain regions can scale back lockdowns starting Monday, with limited seating at bars, restaurants and other public places. But Madrid and Barcelona, the country’s largest cities, will remain shut down.

“The pandemic is evolving favorably, but there is a risk of another outbreak that could generate a serious catastrophe,” Spanish health official Fernando Simón said. “Personal responsibility is vital.” AP

Australia’s most populous states start to ease Covid-19 lockdowns A

ustralia’s two most populous states, responsible for 65 percent of the nation’s coronavirus cases, are edging toward easing social-distancing restrictions after Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged them to start reopening the crippled economy.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney on Sunday that the state would ease its lockdown from May 15. This would include permitting indoor gatherings of 10 people, which will enable retailers, small cafes and restaurants to allow access to some customers, albeit with strict social-distancing rules.

“We need to fire up our economy, we need to get people back into jobs, we need to see some semblance of normality come back,” she said. While the state reported just two new virus cases in the past 24 hours, down from highs of about 200 a day about a month ago, Berejiklian said “we have to keep our vigilance” and holidays within the region would remain banned.

In Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews

is expected to announce some easing of restrictions on Monday, News Corp. reported on Sunday.

Australia’s three-stage plan for reopening, announced by Morrison on Friday, is designed to be implemented by the eight states and territories at their own pace. Western Australia state on Sunday said that from May 18 it will allow indoor gatherings, including in restaurants, of up to 20 people.

Morrison is aiming for completion of the three steps by the end of July, putting the nation at the vanguard of developed economies emerging from the crisis. Australia has avoided the scale of sickness and death that’s ravaged countries including the UK, US and Italy.

New South Wales and Victoria, the engine rooms of the country’s economy, have been more hesitant to announce relaxations of lockdown measures than smaller states and territories, some of which have gone for days without recording new cases.

The two most populous states have been more cautious amid recent out-

breaks in a Sydney aged-care home and a Melbourne meat plant, which have been responsible for most of the nation’s new infections this month. Australia recorded 16 new cases of the virus on Saturday, a daily rise of 0.2 percent, bringing the total to 6,929.

The lockdown has taken a heavy economic toll: unemployment is poised to double by July to about 10 percent and the nation is veering toward its first recession in almost three decades. Morrison is seeking a balance of containing the virus and lifting restrictions that are costing the economy A$4 billion ($2.6 billion) a week.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday that Australia’s strict social-distancing measures, border closures and strong testing-and-tracing regime had put the nation in a good position to combat expected clusters of new virus cases as the lockdown eases.

“As we move back to work, to normality, some things cannot change,” he said in a Sky News interview. “We shouldn’t be near people and we have to get the advice and encourage people to have the testing.” Bloomberg News

Monday, May 11, 2020

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US approves new coronavirus antigen test with fast results

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S regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country.

The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity, the FDA said in a statement.

The antigen test is the third type of test to be authorized by the FDA. Currently, the only way to diagnose active Covid-19 is to test a patient’s nasal swab for the genetic material of the virus. While considered highly accurate, the tests can take hours and require expensive, specialized equipment mainly found at commercial labs, hospitals or universities.

A second type looks in the blood for antibodies, the proteins produced by the body days or weeks after fighting an infection. Such tests are helpful for researchers to understand how far a disease has spread within a community, but they aren't useful for diagnosing active infections.

Antigen tests can diagnose active infections by detecting the earliest toxic traces of the virus rather than genetic code of the virus itself.

The FDA said that it expects to authorize more antigen tests in the future.

Quidel said on Saturday that the test can provide an accurate, automated result in 15 minutes. The FDA’s emergency authorization “allows us to arm our health-care workers and first responders with a frontline solution for Covid-19 diagnosis, accelerating the time to diagnosis and potential treatment,” Douglas Bryant, CEO of Quidel, said in a statement.

A genetic material test by Abbott Laboratories used at the White House also takes about 15 minutes.

The company said it specializes in testing for diseases and conditions including the flu and Lyme disease.

Quidel stock has more than doubled in value since the beginning of the year, closing on Friday at $158.60.

The US has tried to ramp up testing using the genetic method, but the country’s daily testing tally has been stuck in the 200,000 to 250,000-perday range for several weeks, falling far short of the millions of daily tests that most experts say are needed to reopen schools, businesses, churches and other institutions of daily life.

That’s led White House adviser Dr. Deborah Birx and other federal officials to call for a “breakthrough” in the antigen tests.

"There will never be the ability on a nucleic acid test to do 300 million tests a day or to test everybody before they go to work or to school, but there might be with the antigen test,” Birx told reporters last month.

Recently, the National Institutes of Health announced $1.5 billion in research grants aimed at fast-tracking the development of rapid, easy-to-use testing approaches—including antigen tests—by the fall. AP

Obama blasts Trump’s virus response as ‘chaotic disaster’

Former US President Barack Obama Bloomberg photo

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ormer President Barack Obama delivered a blistering attack on Donald J. Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it “an absolute chaotic disaster” as well as “anemic.”

Obama’s remarks, first reported by Yahoo News, came in a leaked call as the former president exhorted members of his administration to rally behind presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The comments were perhaps the most scathing criticism Obama has yet delivered of his successor in the White House.

Critics have said the US government wasted precious time in February by failing to ramp up testing and stockpile supplies as the coronavirus spread in Europe. The US now leads the world in confirmed Covid-19 infections, with nearly 1.3 million as of Saturday. More than 78,000 have died in the US from the virus.

However, Trump has defended his handling of the pandemic, repeatedly highlighting his January 31 decision to impose travel restrictions barring most non-US citizens from entering the US after recent visits to China.

“President Trump’s coronavirus response has been unprecedented and saved American lives,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement on Saturday.

“While Democrats were pursuing a sham witch hunt against President Trump, President Trump was shutting down travel from China. While Democrats encouraged mass gatherings, President Trump was deploying PPE, ventilators, and testing across the country.”

Obama, in Friday’s remarks, cast the US response to the virus as an outgrowth of tribalism as he sought to emphasize the urgency of the November election.

“What we’re going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party. What we’re fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided and seeing others as an enemy—that has become a stronger impulse in American life” as well as internationally, Obama said.

“And it’s part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty,” he said.

While coronavirus “would have been bad even with the best of governments,” Obama said, “it has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset—of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’—when that mindset is operationalized in our government.”

Obama said that’s why he will be “spending as much time as necessary” and campaigning as hard as he can for Biden.

Although Obama endorsed Biden in April and promised to hit the campaign trail in support, he’s generally shied from delivering sharp attacks against Trump.

However, that tone may change as Obama becomes a more visible cheerleader and surrogate for Biden. Bloomberg News

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Monday, May 11 , 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Economic costs of virus lockdown

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E are two months into the lockdown of the National Capital Region and it is time to look beyond the health issues. We know what the health “body count” is with more than 10,000 cases of Covid-19 and some 700 deaths.

However, we also need to take an objective and factual examination of the economic “body count.” The nation’s health is obviously critically important. But we cannot be caught in a sort of “Hobson’s Choice” between “life and economic well-being.” At this point we must find a way of balancing the health needs of the people with the economic needs that feed the people.

These are some facts: The Philippine economic output for 2019 was P18 trillion, rounded off for simplicity. Looking at this number in a different perspective, the country creates P50 billion of economic production each day. Another truth is that the NCR accounts for approximately 35 percent of the total economic output, or some P18 billion per day.

Let’s assume for the moment that the economic output of the NCR has been reduced by 50 percent as a result of the lockdown. In reality, decreased production could be much more—maybe 75 or 80 percent. But certainly, at the least, the drop is 50 percent from before the lockdown.

Therefore, the lockdown is costing the economy at least P10 billion per day in lost economic output just from the NCR alone. During the last 60 days, the Philippine economy has lost approximately P600 billion in production that can never be recovered. A week ago the National Economic and Development Authority estimated the loss for the entire Luzon area lockdown at P700 billion.

Not counted, however, is the informal/shadow economy numbers.

The World Bank estimates the size at 40 percent of the official GDP. By including losses from all the carinderias, tricycles, vendors, tuberos, and the like, we could already be looking at a P1 trillion overall GDP reduction.

Again in a different perspective, the total GDP for 2020 has been reduced by at least 1.5 percent every 30 days or 3 percent in total so far.

If this reduction continues for another 30 days or so, the economy as measured by the total amount of the GDP will return to the 2018 level. Another consideration is that the Philippine government generates through taxes an amount equal to about 15 percent of the GDP. Therefore, the government has lost about P90 billion in revenues.

Can the economy, the government, and the people survive this GDP decrease? Of course, but that is not the point. Also, do not think that we are suggesting some mindless “stop the lockdown now or we are all going to starve” nonsense.

Unfortunately, some businesses will not make it through the lockdown, particularly in the hospitality sector because hotels and restaurants are dependent on cash flow to survive. Some will reopen under new owners, being bought out at fire-sale prices. Banks will need to reassess bad loan provisions for the next six to nine months.

New loans to “save” companies will probably not be forthcoming.

The next 12 to 18 months are going to be challenging for both the public and private sector, and we all need to be prepared. We need to keep a close and careful eye on the short (and longer) term health considerations. We need to keep an equally close and careful eye on the damage to the economy.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

One expert’s opinion on ‘the new normal’

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Instead of the loud call on mass testing, she believes the people needs more information based on reliable studies about the “prevalence and deadliness” of the virus so that when local leaders implement the rules, people are going to follow because they understand. Governments must facilitate this, instead of protecting individual interests.

Because she saw it coming almost three decades earlier, it would be interesting to know what she sees now as the future waiting for all of us. Some of the information I will share in this column comes from a recent article published in The New York Times.

First, she says that remdesivir will most probably not save the world.

Because it does not really cure the disease, we are all still waiting for a vaccine or an effective cure for

People are going to change the way they look at many things and the way they think about certain issues, like travel, schooling, their use of public transport, and the importance of face-to-face interaction. The pandemic will affect everything, every area of our lives, and the changes that are forthcoming are going to be our new normal, says Garrett. There will be “a seismic shift in what we expect, in what we endure, in how we adapt... maybe in political engagement, too,” she says.

She warns us about “collective

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

aurie Garrett is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who is the author of several books, including her 1994 bestseller, The Coming Plague. All these years, she has been warning us through her books and talks that a pandemic could cause great damage to the world and its people.

Rethinking cities in pandemic times

e keep lamenting about the wrong direction we were taking in designing our cities for so long. Traffic congestion, crowded communities, urban migration, pollution, dying rivers were the results of our indifference and government’s neglect of what needs to be done in so far as city planning was concerned. We turned a blind eye and dulled our sensitivities to our environment as we preoccupied ourselves with the harsh demands of city life. This global pandemic has changed all of that.

Whether we like it or not, it is high time that we need to listen to our hearts and do what is right in our cities.

Our urban planners have been telling us to open up space and review the proper use of our lands. Part of this would be to strictly regulate commercial and industrial areas. All over the mega metropolis, pocket communities need to be self-sustainable. Places of work and community commerce are better to be within proximity of residences together with schools and health centers. As experienced during lockdowns, such a design would complement well the needed travel restrictions.

It is rightly so, as the way we have lived in our cities is a big part of the cause of why we find ourselves in this cataclysmic state. We have become the biggest ally of the virus.

Though there is that nonsensical theory about the virus being made in a lab and not in the seafood market in Wuhan, it nevertheless cannot be argued that the city—and it could have been any city globally—provided the conducive environment for hostile viruses to emerge and prosper. As cities became the centers of commerce, urban density grew exponentially.

People had to live close to where they work. And that does not only refer to those in the higher tiers of employment who bought the high-rise condos but more so the battalions in

what is right and demand from our institutions to do what they need to do along these lines.

Our urban planners have been telling us to open up space and review the proper use of our lands.

Part of this would be to strictly regulate commercial and industrial areas. All over the mega metropolis, pocket communities need to be self-sustainable. Places of work and community commerce are better to be within proximity of residences together with schools and health centers. As experienced during lockdowns, such a design would complement well the needed travel restrictions.

With regard to transport, greenways need to be prioritized over

Thomas M. Orbos

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Covid-19. Some experts say it will take months or even years before we actually see this. Garrett puts it at 36 months, and that is her optimistic estimate.

The disease will come in waves, says Garrett, affecting different places at various times rather than sweeping an entire area in one go.

The effects on society, lifestyle and livelihood are going to be devastating, as we probably can see and feel by now.

W

the blue-collar sector that crowded the many informal settlements in most cities. We had to feed them, hence, time and volume demand on food led to a lot of environmental damage. Transport had to address the unprecedented commuter demand, resulting in levels of pollution that has made respiratory illnesses the leading cause of deaths worldwide.

This pandemic has changed all of that. Survival has taken the pole position, ahead of economic gains and convenience. We need to rethink our urban way of life and redo our urban environment. The good thing is that our city blueprint for change is there. All we need to do now is allow ourselves to appreciate

rage” and unrest, when people start to struggle because of unemployment or underemployment. The gap between the rich and poor will most likely widen even further.

So what is needed at this time?

Well, Garrett speaks about America, but her ideas may also be logically applied to many countries around the world. First of all, she believes more investments in public health must be made, including people’s access to health care. More work should be done as far as keeping our air and water safe for all is concerned, in designing policies and systems to quickly detect outbreaks, to contain them, and to protect the population.

Instead of the loud call on mass testing, she believes the people needs more information based on reliable studies about the “prevalence and deadliness” of the virus so that when local leaders implement the rules, people are going to follow because they understand. Governments must facilitate this, instead of protecting individual interests.

motorways. Concretely, commuters must have the option to walk and bike “anywhere” to get to their points of destination. Public transport as we know it will take a heavy hit as people will cautiously go back to “mass commuting.” It will help to review routes and the corresponding transport supply and demand per route. Immediate push for low carbon transport needs to happen soon.

Supply chain leading to the urban centers needs to be reviewed as well, most especially food lines. In as much as these need to be prioritized, cities need to have a certain amount of control in terms of dependency on outside resources. Urban agriculture and cold chain logistics must therefore come into play. Also, areas of urban concern such as sanitation, proper waste management and renewable clean energy need to address not just demands brought about by a progressing metropolis but, equally important, the need for urban cities to be safe now and in the future.

The call for rethinking of our urban way of life in the wake of this pandemic cannot ignored. It is not just for a sustainable quality of life we all desire, but more so for our survival.

Thomas Tim Orbos was former DOTr undersecretary for roads and general manager of the MMDA. He is currently undertaking further studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University.

He can be reached via e-mail at thomas_orbos@ sloan.mit.edu

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The new normal in taxation Dura mater Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

Joel L. Tan-Torres

THE PATRIOT

DEBIT CREDIT Part One

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overnment, in particular the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC), faces great challenges in its tax collection efforts. The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and lockdown brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in economic slowdown (or even a meltdown) and massive loss of livelihood and jobs. This resulted in foregone business transactions and profits that can never be taxed.

The extension of the tax payment deadlines by about two months brought relief to taxpayers who were handicapped in complying with their tax obligations due to the restrictions on mobility and access to the work place. But the downside of such extension in the BIR’s tax collections is that this causes greater risk that the taxpayers, beset by the pandemic, will use the money originally intended for the payment of taxes for other needs that are perceived to be more urgent or important, such as medical expenses, relief or subsidy for impoverished relatives and families, loan and interest payments collateralized by properties that are at risk of foreclosure or forfeiture, and others.

The situation in tax collection providing the much needed funding for the Covid-19 pandemic crisis is quite dismal. On April 26, 2020, the Department of Finance announced that the tax collections of both the BIR and BOC dipped substantially amid the pandemic. Total collections of the BIR from January to mid-April this year dived further to P480.64 billion, which is P226.15 billion or 32 percent below what it collected for the same period last year. As for the BOC, preliminary data show actual collections dipping further to P160.98 billion for the period of January 1 to April 15, which is P3.42 billion or 2.08 percent lower than the amount of P164.4 billion collected in the same period last year. The combined tax collection of the two agencies for this period reached only P641.62 billion, which is P431.45 billion or 40 percent short of the target of P1.073 trillion for the period.

The BIR reported even more discouraging numbers for the April 1 to 17, 2020 period, with collections reaching only P25.01 billion, or just 8.66 percent of its target of P288.75 billion for the entire month. Compared to its April 2019 actual collection of P237.93 billion, the amount collected by the BIR from April 1 to 17 is 89.5 percent short. Meanwhile, the BOC collections from April 1 to 15 amounted to P15.57 billion, which is P6.96 billion or 30.89 percent below its collection of P22.53 billion in the same period last year.

The BOC is also P11.63 billion or 42.76 percent lower than the April 1 to 15 target of P27.2 billion. Compared to its April 2019 actual collection of P237.93 billion, the amount collected by BOC from April 1 to 17 is 89.5 percent short. The decline in the BIR tax collection can partially be attributed to the deferral of tax payments by taxpayers due to ECQ, which was implemented to contain

The situation in tax collection providing the much needed funding for the Covid-19 pandemic crisis is quite dismal.

On April 26, 2020, the DOF announced that the tax collections of both the BIR and BOC dipped substantially amid the pandemic. the spread of the Covid-19. The BIR had to extend the tax return filing and payment of taxes thrice. Included in the series of extensions of tax deadlines is the date for the filing of the annual income tax returns for 2019 from the original due date of April 15 to May 15 to May 30 and to June 15 as prescribed in Revenue Regulations (RR) 11-2020.

The BIR targeted to collect P175.8 billion or a substantial 7 percent of BIR collections from this source of taxes for the month of April.

The BIR made several issuances during the enhanced community quarantine. The more important guidelines include RR 9-2020 (rules on deductibility of donations), RR 11-2020, RR 10-2020 and RR 7-2020 that all prescribed the extended deadlines for the filing of tax returns and the payment of taxes. On the legislative end, the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act was approved by the House of Representatives in House Bill 4157 last September 2019 and endorsed to the Senate. The Senate Ways and Means Committee released Committee Report 50 dated February 17, 2020, endorsing Senate Bill 1357, in substitution of SB 535, 595 and 702. This is now pending in second reading in the Senate. This is a good opportunity to review the proposed bill to take into account the new tax requirements arising from the effect on local business of the Covid-19 pandemic and attract investments of foreign businesses, including Japanese firms that are leaving China.

Lawmakers should also consider legislating measures that will further protect taxpayer rights and improve tax administration.

Joel L. Tan-Torres is the Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. He was the former Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979.

This column accepts contributions from the business community. Articles not exceeding 600 words can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail. com.

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cience defines dura mater as a membrane that envelops the arachnoid mater, which surrounds and supports the dural sinuses and carries blood from the brain toward the heart. I had no idea what it was until my sister, Dr. Irene Ly Estores, wrote a poem in commemoration of Mother’s Day, as a tribute to our mother, Ione Bueno Mison.

“From the Medieval Latin Literally, hard mother The tough, outermost membrane Surrounding the brain And spinal cord.

It encloses.

It protects.

Hard mother Tough mother I’ve never heard her say “I love you” Never felt her hand Stroke my hair or cheek Hard mother It encloses It protects I always felt safe Be strong It’s alright Love expressed by presence She encloses.

She protects.”

Literally, my mother continues to enclose and protect her children, in her originally amusing and affectionate ways! Some are astounded by how my mother could raise six children practically singlehandedly due to my father’s frequent assignments outside of Manila. Ever wonder why

children, whenever TV cameras would impromptu roll up to them, would either say or show placards showing—“Hi Mom,” instead of “Hi Dad.” In all likelihood, the Philippines is commonly referred to as Motherland (as opposed to Fatherland for instance in Germany) since most Filipino mothers, compared to fathers, are undoubtedly more endearing to their children.

Incidentally, my mother’s favorite prayer, an adaptation of a prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr, is more known as the Serenity Prayer that goes like this, “God, grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Serenity is a gift of absence of mental stress. I suppose the word serenity is a more formal way of saying “keep calm.” In millennial lingo, serenity equates to “chill,” which allows us to understand that, while some government actions during this enhanced community quarantine can still be improved, we have to simply follow the decisions of our leaders. We have to accept, not necessarily embrace, an extension of the ECQ or a gradual transition to general community

Bloomberg Opinion

M

uch of our pre-coronavirus lives may be reclaimable with some modifications around how we work, socialize and travel. In one crucial way, though, the post-pandemic landscape will be very different: The individual’s autonomy over her data may be lost forever. Our mobiles will keep us safe—by spying on us.

This will have important consequences for the relationship not just between citizens and governments, but also between consumers and businesses.

Blame the coming end of privacy on success. South Korea and Taiwan

have won acclaim for flattening the Covid-19 curve by digitally tracking infected persons. As my colleague Anjani Trivedi described in March, no government was using dispersed databases as extensively to fight the spread of the disease as Seoul. Before an explosive outbreak in its worker dormitories, Singapore earned praise for TraceTogether, which claims to be the first Bluetooth contact-tracing app covering an entire nation. The 1.4 million users represent roughly a fourth of the island’s population.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed that enthusiastic adapters of such software are in East Asia where, as MIT Sloan School of Management professor Yasheng Huang and others note, “a collectivist spirit

quarantine (GCQ) in the coming days. There will be times, such as these public health emergencies, that we, as children of this society, should consider the cliché “a mother knows best.”

Most of us would be familiar with the biblical verse of Philippians 4:13, which says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

What most would not know, however, is the context of such powerful verse, as found in the preceding verse, Philippians 4:12, which says, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” Hardships befall us now, more will follow in the future as we fight against this virus. We have foregone a lot of things that we want, like eating out, watching a movie, or hanging out with friends. But, rest assured, our God will provide us with what we need. We must learn how to remain content under His protection and His provision. We have to let go and surrender to God, trust and obey Him, in the same manner that we trusted our own mothers during our childhood days. As Dura Mater, mothers will always protect and enclose their children!

Jochebed is a lesser known mother in Biblical history. Aside from being the mother of Moses, Jochebed, whose name means God’s glory in Hebrew, protected the life of her infant son after hearing the Pharaoh’s decree that all baby boys will be thrown into the Nile. Enclosed in a basket placed on the river Nile, baby Moses providentially ended up with the Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses eventually became the leader of his people who led them out of bondage in Egypt. As one pastor said, “a single act of faith can lead to a ma-

A7

jor breakthrough.” Jochebed’s act of faith led to the breakthrough story of Exodus. The subtle lesson of the life of Jochebed is more about how goodness can come to those who know how to trust in the maternal instincts of their mothers and obey in the supernatural instructions from our God given to our human mothers.

To my countrymen, let us continue to trust the current stewards of the Motherland. I pray that we all be granted with serenity so we can accept the things we cannot change.

I pray that we all trust in our leaders and obey what they tell us to do, ECQ or GCQ. More important, we need to keep praying for them, in the same way we pray for our mothers today and everyday.

To our leaders, we expect you to be a dura mater, a hard mother, during these trying times. We do not have to hear words of care and affection, just a deliberate intent to enclose and protect! As a de facto mother during this pandemic, may each leader, both in the public and private sector, be given a motherlike affection in the performance of duties. May your actions be guided in the same way my own mother took care of her children—DURA MATER. In the words of my sister, “Love expressed by presence. She encloses. She protects.”

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

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

Sharing the burden of attaining universal health care

By Tristan Canare

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mid the Covid-19 crisis, a controversy erupted in social media regarding a PhilHealth circular requiring and increasing the payment of premium of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Essentially, this policy has already been provided for in an earlier circular, released in November 2019, but the implementation was made clearer in the latter document.

There are two common sentiments: the premium increase is an unjust and unnecessary burden to OFWs, and it is useless because they are covered by their health insurance in their host countries anyway. An online petition for its repeal was even started. As a response, President Duterte ordered the suspension of its implementation.

The legal implications of the President’s action are not clear. The premium increase is provided for in Republic Act 11223, more popularly known as the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act. This implies that it cannot be unilaterally rescinded by the Executive Branch.

Nonetheless, notwithstanding the legal consequences, there are other social and economic arguments why higher and mandatory premium for OFWs are neither an unnecessary burden nor useless to them.

For one, the premium from OFWs will help pay for their dependents’ benefits under the UHC law. According to

a statement by PhilHealth, in 2019, it collected P1.02 billion in premium payments from OFWs and disbursed P 1.7 billion in benefits to them and their dependents. At its current form, OFWs and their dependents are already being subsidized. With the expected increase in benefits under UHC and without an increase in premium, we, Filipinos working in the Philippines, are set to subsidize them even more.

I do not mind subsidizing because, really, this is a key component of a universal health care system. Nonetheless, isn’t it better to equally distribute the burden among those who have the capacity to pay? A UHC system is where everyone—regardless of their capacity to pay—can access health services.

With the number of poor Filipinos and the high level of income inequality in the country, massive redistribution is needed to attain UHC. Indeed, according to the World Health Organization, the most successful UHC systems implement resources sharing and mandatory contributions from those with capacity to pay.

The data suggests that currently, the benefits that accrue to OFWs and their dependents are greater than their premium contributions. But one may ask, with such a significant increase in premium, will their contribution then far exceed their direct benefits? It most certainly appears so; but as I argued above, attaining UHC requires redistribution—and

The price of Covid-19 freedom may be eternal spying

By Andy Mukherjee

Monday, May 11, 2020

may encourage civic-minded embrace of and a more willing compliance with governments’ infection control.”

But while cultural differences can help explain the beginning, the end game may be more universal: power and profit. Safely restarting economies will require governments to restore trust in people mingling in factories, offices, cafes and trains. It can supposedly be done with data more granular than what can be obtained from cellphone networks. Hence states want access to phones, with or without informed consent. Turning the clock back will be hard, if not impossible.

Take India’s Aarogya Setu, or Bridge of Health, Covid-19 contact-tracing app. It’s got privacy warriors worried

because the country lacks a data protection framework. Among other things, activists want the government to ensure that “any data collected in an external server is designed to be deleted and that it won’t be integrated with other databases,” according to a working paper by the New Delhi-based Internet Freedom Foundation. For now, there are only assurances that the app will wither away once the outbreak is contained, but no legal guarantees.

The Singaporean app records physical proximity in an anonymized form on smartphones. Minimal data is stored on servers. Only if a user falls sick are his contacts tracked and alerted. Given that it’s been less than two years since the revelation that Prime Minister Lee Hsien

a fair redistribution means those with greater capacity to pay should pay more.

This scheme is not limited to health care. In fact, many public services in the Philippines are partially or mostly funded by taxpayers who do not directly benefit from the service. Students of UP, or any state university for that matter, are subsidized by taxpayers who never studied in these schools. Riders of MRT and LRT can pay fares below cost because it is subsidized by taxpayers who do not take these forms of public transport.

OFWs who experience abuse can seek assistance from OWWA staff based abroad —for free. The list goes on.

Funding public services with money from those who do not directly benefit from them is economically sound under certain conditions. Normally, when the consumer incurs all the costs and benefits of a service, the “user pays” principle will produce the most efficient outcome.

But with services that exert positive externalities, some forms of subsidy are usually needed to reach the most socially efficient outcome. Public health is one service with important positive externalities. A healthier population means smaller chance of contracting diseases for everyone. A healthier population means more productive manpower and less absenteeism at work, which translates to higher profits and smaller cost.

A healthier population attracts tourist and investors. These are benefits that accrue to almost everyone, including

those who pay the largest premiums in a UHC system.

This piece addressed two of the common misconceptions about the higher PhilHealth premium for OFWs—that it is useless to them and that it is an unnecessary burden. It is not useless because the OFWs and their dependents can benefit; and it is not unnecessary because it distributes the burden of attaining UHC by capacity to pay. I understand that this is a sensitive issue for many OFWs and their families. However, this step is just one of many in attaining UHC. To close, I would like to point out that this is by no means the most important PhilHealth-related matter in attaining UHC. Rather than questioning PhilHealth on the OFW premium increase, which is a component of the UHC Act, we should question PhilHealth’s ability to manage a much larger fund and to offer much wider services. As it is, PhilHealth is hounded by allegations of mismanagement, corruption, and slow disbursement. These raise questions on its ability to be an expanded national health insurer and implementer of a UHC system. Reforms and capacity building are needed to ensure that effective UHC can be attained.

Loong’s health records were hacked, I’d hesitate to brand the experiment as foolproof. But it’s at least a voluntary exchange. India’s app is anything but.

As the country tentatively reopens after a 43-day lockdown, it’s been made mandatory—first for public-sector employees and now for private-sector workers. Company bosses are liable to ensure their workers download the app, though nobody is accountable for misuse of data.

TraceTogether’s building blocks are in the public domain. The source code of Aarogya Setu is yet to be opened. The Indian government recently denied a French security researcher’s claim that the privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake. Hours later, the so-called ethical

hacker who goes by the name of Elliott Anderson tweeted that five people were feeling unwell in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office.

Where boundaries between private and public are thin to begin with, a pandemic can make them disappear.

A New York Times analysis of China’s Alipay Health Code software, which mixes a cocktail of data to color-code a person’s health status, found that some information is shared with the police. The digital prowess of Alibaba Group Ltd. or its rival, Tencent Holdings Ltd., has no match in India. But firms are eager to harness the online footprints of the country’s 1.3 billion people. Covid-19 might give those plans a fillip.

Tristan Canare, PhD, is a lecturer at the Economics Department of the Ateneo de Manila University.

The views expressed here are his and do not represent the official position of any institution. Comments are welcome at tcanare@ateneo.edu.

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Senate to probe virus impact on oil and gas

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HE Senate Committee on Energy is mounting an inquiry into the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the oil and gas sectors to assess the need for remedial legislation to “ensure the country’s energy security,” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the panel chairman, confirmed over the weekend.

To pave the way for a prompt panel probe, Sen. Gatchalian filed Senate Resolution (SRN) 389 soon after learning from the Department of Energy (DOE) that 10 percent or 900 oil stations out of the 9,003 service stations nationwide have already suspended operations since the imposition of t he en h a nced com mu n it y quarantine (ECQ ).

Gatchalian cited reports that the strictly enforced quarantine measures triggered the “reduction of transport, industrial, and commercial activities leading to an overall decrease in energy consumption and a drastic drop in global oil demand.”

He said the drop in global oil demand has also been experienced in the country, noting that “strict mobility restrictions diminished demand and threatens the viability of small and independent retailers which currently account for 41.7 percent of the domestic market.

The senator pointed out that since the country is mainly dependent on imported fuel, “Congress has to know about the short-medium-, and long-term effects and implications of Covid-19 on the oil and gas industry, in particular, the status of oil and gas exploration projects towards energy security.”

Despite global disruptions, PHL meat processors’ supply stable

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

OCAL meat processors have assured Filipino consumers that they have sufficient raw materials to produce two months’ worth of processed goods despite the closure of meat-packing plants in the United States.

However, local meat importers have incurred losses close to P1 billion since the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the closure of the food service industry and lack of cold storage space.

Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) Vice President Jerome D. Ong said the closure of US meat-packing plants will not have an immediate detrimental impact on the country’s raw material supply since there are more available import sources.

“We won’t really feel their loss but ultimately there would be an impact if the shutdown is prolonged as it may affect other markets and

sources,” Ong told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

“In our recent board discussions, we feel that the plant closures will be temporary. It will be brief because they won’t allow themselves to be paralyzed for a long time,” Ong added.

Several US meat-packing plants, including those owned by big players Smithfield Foods, JBS and Tyson Fresh Foods, have been shut down after their employees tested positive for Covid-19.

The United States was the country’s top meat import source in 2019 with a total volume of 146,121.931 metric tons (MT), bulk of which are prime cuts which are not used by

meat processors.

In terms of raw materials, such as mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken which is used for various processed meat products, the Netherlands remains as the top supplier for the Philippines at over 87,500 MT. The US, in comparison, only exported 16,070.161 MT of chicken MDM to the Philippines, ranking fifth among all import suppliers.

No price increase

DESPITE a possible tightening of global meat supply, particularly for raw materials used in processed meat products, Ong said they do not see any immediate price increase for their products.

Ong, who is also the president of CDO-Foodsphere Inc., said the industry has a consolidated raw material supply enough to last 45 days to 60 days of production, based on current demand and allocation for processed meat products.

Latest Bureau of Animal Industry data showed that total chicken MDM imports from January to March expanded by 40.4 percent to 84,852.008 MT from 60,436.856 MT, Furthermore, Ong disclosed that local meat processing plants have remained free from Covid-19 as

the industry players have observed stringent health measures since the imposition of ECQ. Ong added that the industry’s capacity utilization rate has slowly returned to 80 percent to 85 percent from the previous 70 percent to 75 percent after the government allowed full manpower operation in certain businesses.

Importers endure losses

IN a separate interview, Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham said many industry players are now facing a “cash crunch” after incurring huge losses since the start of the ECQ due to shutdown of clients and lack of cold-storage space to store their goods.

Meat importers are now losing about P4.785 million daily for imported frozen pork and dressed chicken stored in local cold storages which they cannot unload since clients like the hotels, restaurants and institutional (HRI) entities are paralyzed by ECQ, based on Mita estimates.

Furthermore, importers are incurring additional daily losses of about P107,000 for every container on shore for shipping charges, detention charges and plug-in costs,

DWIZ marks 29th year T

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Comelec suspends hearings

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HE Commission on Elections has suspended all of its hearings amid the ongoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ ) in some parts of the country.

“All hearings, preliminary conferences and marking of exhibits shall be suspended and thereafter rescheduled, re-set to a later date upon the resumption of the regular work schedule in the Commission,” Comelec Acting Secretary Consuelo B. Diola said in recently published guidelines.

The guidelines, based on a Comelec en banc resolution, said the Clerk of Court will notify the affected parties on the new date of the hearing.

“Attendees of the hearings shall be strictly limited to the parties and their respective counsel with strict observance of the guidelines to the Comelec Office Building set forth by the Commission and the Intramuros Administration,” Diola said.

Also suspended during the Covid-19 crisis is the sealing, delivery of ballot boxes, recount/revisions and technical examination for election contests; promulgation of resolutions or Decisions Issuances of Orders, Summons, Subpoenas, Certificate of Finality, and Writ of Execution; and the payment of administration fees at Comelec’s Campaign Finance Office.

Continued on A4

Cham said.

Cham said there are about “few hundreds” of containers at present that are on shore, bringing total daily losses to at least P10.7 million for 100 containers.

In total, meat importers and traders are incurring losses of about P15.485 million everyday. This is equivalent to cumulative losses of nearly P700 million to P929 million, based on the lockdown duration of 45 to 60 days. “[These are already] sunk costs,” Cham said. “The situation is difficult to read. Our cold storages are bursting and there is now a queue to unload.”

Cold Chain Association of the Philippines President Anthony S. Dizon told the BusinessMirror that local cold storages are already 95 percent full, with meat products accounting for bulk of the content.

The country’s frozen pork inventory as of April 20 is estimated at a record 51,126.71 MT, 43,350.19 MT of which are imported, National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) data showed.

NMIS data also showed that dressed chicken inventory reached an unprecedented 71,864.86 MT, about 36,422.13 MT of which are imported.

RESIDENTS of Barangay Mauway, one of Mandaluyong City’s communities to be placed under total lockdown starting Monday, wait at a basketball court for financial aid from the local government.

Sunday was the last day that the DILG has set for local government units to complete their distribution of cash under the Social Amelioration Program. NONIE REYES

Vaccine drive falters, DOH vows catch-up

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

L

Correspondent

ESS than 10 percent of targeted children were immunized against the usual top killer diseases, as some areas in the country are placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or general community quarantine (GCQ), according to an official of the Department of Health (DOH).

Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, gave assurances that the DOH is making sure that no children will miss out on vaccinations amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Less than 10 percent of targeted population [were covered by the

vaccinations conducted by DOH],” Vergeire told BusinessMirror in a text reply to a query. The question was raised following warnings of some sectors that the focus on the raging Covid-19 pandemic might take away focus and resources from the national immunization campaign, which could create more problems.

In 2019, when polio clusters were detected in some parts of the country, reports said the vaccination rate against the debilitating disease that strikes mostly children had steadily slipped the past several years.

Infants and children less than five years old are covered by vac-

cinations to protect them from, among others, diphtheria, pertussis, tuberculosis, measles and polio.

Beyond the ballpark “less than 10 percent,” Vergeire, however, did not disclose the number of targeted children.

To increase immunization coverage, Vergeire said that the healthcare workers and barangay health workers are adopting different strategies to make sure that the vaccination will not be disrupted.

One of the strategies, she said is going house-to-house.

Outbreak within an outbreak

EARLIER, Vergeire stressed the importance of vaccination because

the country cannot afford to have an outbreak within an outbreak.

“Vaccination is for all and works for all. According to the WHO [World Health Organization], vaccination saves millions of lives yearly. It is known as the most successful and cost-effective health intervention,” Vergeire said in a virtual press conference stressing that vaccination remains critical amid the pandemic.

In the Philippines, pneumonia remains to be the No. 1 killer disease among children five years old and below. There are two pneumonia vaccines in the market, PCV10 and PCV13.

Continued on A4

RUE to its slogan (“Ang himpilang may todong lakas!”) DWIZ 882 continues to make progress to reach a wider audience and disseminate quality news and current affairs nationwide through its crisp and clear broadcast that is powered by a 50,000watt transmitter.

Now on its 29th year in service, DWIZ 882 strives to reach more people, both here and abroad, through its maximized social-media sites, mobile application, and web site.

Regular and high definition live streaming of the trusted station’s programs, hosted by its credible broadcast journalists, can now be heard—and viewed—through its official Facebook page, YouTube channel, and the DWIZ 882 web site, reaching millions of netizens around the world. DWIZ 882 also continues to deliver factual and ethical news in real time through popular microblogging site on Twitter.

Through its various online platforms, DWIZ 882 is able to bring comprehensive news updates, feature articles, and public service announcements to Filipinos working and living in various parts of the globe, including the United States, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Qatar, United Kingdom, and Taiwan.

DWIZ’s live streaming reaches over half a million audience (more than 655,000 video views) weekly, while its news updates and posts reach almost a million readers (more than 973,000) worldwide.

Aside from its social-media pages, DWIZ 882 can also be heard through the DWIZ 882 App, which can be downloaded on Google Play and the App Store. As it celebrates another milestone, DWIZ 882 vows to continue its public service and responsible journalism in the years ahead.

DWIZ is operated by Aliw Broadcasting Corp., headed by its chairman and president, D. Edgard A. Cabangon.

Established in May 1991, it is a member of the ALC Group of Companies founded by Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, May 11, 2020

B1

SEC warns public against online investment scams

By VG Cabuag

T

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again warned the public against online investment scams, mainly using Facebook and other social-media platforms for their illegal investmenttaking activities.

In separate advisories issued last week, the SEC warned the public against dealing with Bayanihan Program of Billy Ford Andrada, My Gold Rev/My Gold Rev Philippines, Friend$hip/Friend$hip Philippines and World of Captcha (WOC), all of which are not even registered with the agency.

Under its program, Billy Ford Andrada solicits a minimum investment of P2,000 and promises a 50-percent return plus a 5-percent direct referral bonus.

To entice more investors, Billy Ford Andrada ran promotions for a 15-percent direct commission and a P300 bonus for every investment

of P2,000 to generate more interests from would-be investors amid the quarantine measures implemented to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The SEC earlier identified Billy Ford Delos Santos Andrada as the owner of Billford Trading and Bill Ford VIP Trading Inc., which also had an investment-solicitation activities in the guise of a piggery business that have been the subject of an earlier advisory.

My Gold Rev, meanwhile, offers business plans for $20 to $100,000.

Investors may supposedly earn a daily profit of 2 percent to 3.5 percent for 80 to 100 days, or a 260-percent to 450-percent annual return on in-

vestment. SEC said Friend$hip collects a subscription fee of $7.99 or P385. Members receive $1 for every referral in the first to the fifth levels of their network.

Friend$hip recently launched its second investment option—a subscription plan with landing page at $11 or P935. Under this plan, investors may earn $1 per successful referral and another $1 per purchased landing page up to the fifth level.

Friend$hip claims to be an American company with a business address in New Jersey, United States. The group is headed by Rodnelio “Ron” Chang Capua as president and chief executive officer, according to various Facebook posts.

The agency noted that WOC also solicits investments from the public in the guise of an online business. It offers plans worth P200 to P1,000 wherein members could supposedly earn P300 to P1,500 by typing Captcha, or short for Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart.

It is a program that protects web sites against web robot, or bot, by generating and grading tests that humans can pass, but current computer programs cannot.

The WOC promises bonuses

ranging from P20 to P100 for direct referrals and P5 to P25 for indirect referrals up to the fifth level. It also offers a program where members can purchase 75 codes and get 10 free codes for P15,000 for the purpose of reselling them.

Both plans expire after eight days, pushing members to purchase new plans or upgrade to continue earning under the scheme headed by a certain Charles Serrano.

“The SEC warned that those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of fraudulent investment schemes may be held criminally liable and penalized with a maximum fine of P5 million or imprisonment of 21 years or both under the Securities Regulation Code,” the agency said.

Those who invite or recruit others to join or invest in such ventures may also incur criminal liability, or penalized.

Republic Act 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, further penalizes those participating in cyber incidents that make use or take advantage of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic to prey on the public through scams, phishing, fraudulent e-mails, or other similar acts with two-month imprisonment or a maximum fine of P1 million or both.

‘OSHA to shield workers from Covid-19’

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

L

eaders of the House of Representatives called on the national government to strictly implement the Republic Act (RA) 11058, or the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Act (OSHA), to protect workers when they return to work as businesses reopen.

Lawmakers also said the lower chamber is working on investments in minimum health standards as part of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) economic recovery plan.

House Committee on Labor and Employment Chairman Eric Pineda of 1-Pacman said RA 11058 was passed to strengthen compliance with occupational safety and health standards of Filipino workers. RA 11058 was signed into law last August 17, 2018.

Earlier, BusinessMirror reported that senators are monitoring the progress of a bill set to be filed in the United States Congress granting “liability shield” which American businessmen are seeking as they reluctantly reopen for business.

However, Pineda said, “we don’t necessarily need a similar measure in the Philippines, as we have the RA 11058, or the OSHA.”

“The Philippines is different from the US. We cannot bring civil suits on just any grounds,” Pineda told the BusinessMirror.

According to Pineda, the InterAgency Task Force on Emerging Infection Diseases should consider RA 11058 in issuing guidelines for those conducting business under enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine.

“As long as employers and employees follow these, then we can prevent the rapid spread of the virus,” he said.

Also, Pineda said it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the workplace is safe as required law.

“Also, we need to balance the interest of the employer and labor sectors. We all need to help each other in times like these. We cannot sacrifice the safety of our workers. It is likewise the responsibility of each individual to ensure that they themselves do not spread the virus,” he added.

Under the law, failure refusal of an employer, contractor or subcontractor to comply with the required occupational safety and health standards may be penalized up to P100,000 per day until corrective measures are put in place.

Recovery plan

For his part, House Committee on

Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said the proper role of the State is to protect all its citizens through minimum health standards.

“Social justice demands that the state should instead enhance the bargaining position of labor through training and education and through labor standards and working conditions, the rich have their lawyers and access to power,” he said. According to Salceda, this "liability shield” will only limit the liability or duty of the business owner to their workers.

“I do not believe something similar is necessary. First, the context is different. The American system is hyperlegalistic, such that everything is resolved by way of lawsuit.

We do not share this characteristic,” Salceda told the BusinessMirror.

“Second, the Philippines business community has wisely taken the high road, and has actually stepped up with testing, providing protective equipment, and assisting workers by providing alternative arrangements. In other words, our business community, by and large, is not shying away from solidarity with their workers,” he added.

Meanwhile, Salceda said the economic cluster of the Defeat Covid-19 Committee of the lower chamber is now working on investments in

minimum health standards as part of economic recovery plan against Covid-19. “What I think we should do is urgently provide the investments in frontliner protection and hazard pay so that workers exposed to the highest risk are also given the highest corresponding protection,” he said.

“It is bizarre, and borderline immoral, to confront a problem like worker risks and respond to it by limiting liability instead of just addressing the root of the problem directly,” he added.

House Committee on Labor and Employment Vice Chairman Michael Aglipay of DIWA party-list said the government is doing its best to protect both businesses and workers amid the pandemic.

“I have been listening to a lot of briefings lately on the committee on economic stimulus and monitoring the action of the executive department on the Covid-19. I can say with certainty that our government is doing is best given the limited funding,” he said.

“So I think the programs for business of the US cannot be applied at the same level here in the Philippines as what is happening in the US because funding issues. The government will put people first in front of business,” he added.

CNN Worldwide names leader of new global post

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

A

VETERAN of American news-based pay television channel CNN has been named by its owner as president of CNN Commercial.

Rani Raad was appointed by CNN Worldwide to lead the newly created position to widen the company’s new business streams and grow the value that CNN provides to commercial partners globally.

By centralizing CNN’s management and strategy of its commercial activity in one operation, the network is creating a more integrated, agile and global approach to the way it assesses market requirements, develops solutions and works with partners.

With his new designation, Raad will work closely with WarnerMedia sales and interna-

RAAD

tional on its CNN advertising and distribution activity.

He will also lead international business via CNN International Commercial, maximize CNN Worldwide’s directly controlled revenue operations, and optimize the commercial potential of the development of new products.

Effective immediately, Raad reports directly to Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports and president of CNN Worldwide.

“There has never been a more important time to be strategic and purposeful about revenue generation across the platforms of CNN Worldwide,” said Zucker.

“By aligning Rani and his team more closely with the rest of the CNN organization, there is no doubt it will make a big difference in our ability to find new ways of doing business and enhanced opportunities for our clients around the world,” he added.

Raad started his career at CNN in New York.

He had worked there for 22 years prior to his holding a number of senior international roles with CNN and WarnerMedia.

In 2013, he combined all business operations of CNN’s properties outside of the United States within the division of CNN International Commercial (CNNIC), including advertising, sponsorship, content sales and licensing, out of home, marketing, and audiences and data.

Since then, as president of CNNIC, he has developed the business by launching a crossplatform and data-led strategy with increased digital capabilities, designed for a broad range of client and market needs across more than 200 countries and territories.

“I don’t think I have ever seen a time when CNN has been so influential, both in the US and internationally. An era of structural change in the media market, the increased demand for verified news and the economic impact of Covid-19 is fundamentally changing the way we need to work with our business partners,” Raad said.

“With our premium brand, sophisticated solutions and worldwide reach, it’s now more important than ever before that our business partners, wherever they are, have greater and faster access to CNN’s full suite of global capabilities,” he stressed.

LRMC details safety guidelines for LRT 1

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

L

@lorenzmarasigan

i g h t R ail M anila Cor p.

(LRMC) is now preparing to resume its commercial operations through the implementation of health guidelines set by the government in anticipation of the possible easing of the lockdown in Metro Manila in the next few days.

Juan F. Alfonso, who sits president of the company, said his group will comply with the directive of the Department of Transportation to implement health and safety guidelines for both passengers and employees of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 amid the continued increase of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the country.

“We look forward to serving once again our passengers who rely on the LRT 1 for their daily commute. We are committed to keeping you safe and giving you peace of mind as you ride our trains and return to your routine.

Now more than ever, we appeal for your cooperation as we all face this new normal,” he said in a statement over the weekend.

Measures to be implemented in all stations and train coaches include requiring everyone to

wear protective gear, such as masks, thermal scanning, physical distancing, placement of sanitation facilities, and using handheld metal detectors for security purposes. Passengers are also encouraged to use their beep cards instead of buying single journey cards to lessen the risk of contamination.

Trains area also scheduled to be disinfected per trip, and commonly touched areas such as booths, ticket vending machines, handrails, mobility facilities, and platform benches will also be cleaned every 30 minutes.

Reminders and safety instructions from the Department of Health and the World Health Organization will also be plastered and shown in the screens and trains to remind passengers of physical distancing and health protocols to avoid contracting the virus.

Alfonso added that his group encourages passengers to check the train line’s mobile up to plan their trips and get updates. The app may also be used to send concerns about Covid-19.

Operations of the train system have been suspended since March 17 due to the imposition of lockdowns brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, May 11, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

May 8, 2020

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 PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

47.05 97 57 19.7 7.61 36.75 22.8 42.6 16.98 100.5 54 15.4 2.53 0.9 0.31 0.59 167.7 1580

48 97.05 57.7 19.72 7.64 36.95 22.85 42.8 17 100.6 54.6 15.8 2.62 0.95 0.325 0.6 168.8 1642

48 98 59.65 19.8 7.74 37.2 23.15 42.7 16.6 101.7 54.5 15.8 2.62 0.95 0.33 0.6 168.9 1600

48 98.75 59.65 19.8 7.74 37.2 23.15 43.5 16.98 102.9 54.5 15.8 2.62 0.95 0.33 0.6 168.9 1600

48 97 56.75 19.7 7.6 36.55 22.75 42.7 16.6 100.5 53.65 15.8 2.53 0.95 0.33 0.58 168.8 1580

48 97 57 19.72 7.62 36.75 22.85 42.7 16.98 100.6 54 15.8 2.53 0.95 0.33 0.6 168.8 1600

100 1294450 6199560 91100 238200 2722400 83500 2900 55300 316450 7370 2700 80000 3000 10000 1658000 510 485

4800 125853801 357256374 1796392 1817606 100347955 1906360 124540 922398 31946268 396937 42660 203570 2850 3300 973510 86117 772900

INDUSTRIAL

AC ENERGY ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER AGRINURTURE AXELUM BOGO MEDELLIN CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VICTORIAS CEMEX HLDG EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CROWN ASIA EUROMED CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

2.32 26.5 0.162 18.38 57.4 252 12.68 3.06 2.45 11.16 18.7 8.15 7.9 2.86 75.1 12.22 14.5 4 5.15 7.82 58.85 0.53 1.34 30 136 6.21 6.16 1.9 6.47 1.68 0.111 122.8 0.82 2.22 1.08 8.51 5.24 11.2 5.92 8.26 0.79 0.66 1.66 2.49 23.6 1.27 5.32 1.17 4.01 1.24 7.66

2.33 26.55 0.169 18.48 57.45 253 12.7 3.07 2.5 11.36 18.72 8.2 7.97 2.87 90 13.18 14.58 4.1 5.19 7.83 59 0.54 1.35 31.3 136.7 6.8 6.21 1.91 6.48 1.69 0.114 123 0.83 2.46 1.09 8.59 5.25 11.3 6 8.48 0.82 0.69 1.76 2.5 24.5 1.28 5.41 1.19 4.94 1.25 7.69

2.27 26.2 0.17 18.6 57.5 254 11.96 3.11 2.48 10.8 18.66 7.89 7.82 2.84 75.1 11.16 14.5 3.97 5 7.85 58.95 0.55 1.39 31.35 138.5 6.2 6.36 1.9 6.5 1.66 0.116 124.4 0.84 2.22 1.08 8.7 5.24 11.3 6.17 8.48 0.78 0.66 1.75 2.65 23.4 1.27 5.3 1.14 4.02 1.2 8.35

2.36 26.7 0.17 18.8 57.5 256.6 12.78 3.15 2.51 11.36 18.82 8.3 8.35 2.89 75.1 13 14.66 4 5.19 7.86 59 0.55 1.4 31.35 139.5 6.8 6.36 1.91 6.5 1.69 0.116 126 0.85 2.22 1.09 8.7 5.34 11.3 6.17 8.48 0.83 0.7 1.76 2.68 23.4 1.3 5.43 1.2 4.02 1.26 8.47

2.27 26 0.161 18.32 57.4 252 11.74 3.05 2.48 10.54 18.66 7.89 7.8 2.79 75.1 11.16 14.32 3.97 4.97 7.81 58 0.53 1.35 30 135.2 6.2 6.15 1.9 6.38 1.61 0.111 120.1 0.82 2.22 1.07 8.51 5.22 11.12 5.92 8.48 0.78 0.64 1.75 2.38 23.3 1.23 5.26 1.13 4.02 1.17 7.55

2.33 26.5 0.169 18.48 57.4 252 12.7 3.07 2.51 11.36 18.72 8.2 7.97 2.87 75.1 13 14.5 4 5.19 7.83 59 0.53 1.35 31.3 136 6.8 6.15 1.91 6.47 1.69 0.111 123 0.82 2.22 1.09 8.59 5.25 11.3 5.92 8.48 0.82 0.66 1.76 2.49 23.4 1.28 5.32 1.19 4.02 1.24 7.66

10364000 1641100 460000 204400 3120 243500 16426200 1552000 54000 470700 431000 1041800 961500 1557000 80 1300 2303400 46000 971000 1117600 192150 1039000 8525000 7900 626350 200 355500 930000 751400 8699000 1290000 1560650 3696000 10000 1877000 60000 394700 1049300 1182900 100 635000 1047000 15000 1904000 1900 1997000 257000 343000 1000 2171000 6587000

-37696295.5 -131500523 -969908 -232955 -35789470 -180210 -742500 -14683901 (97,101 950 -

24061740 43279905 75170 3762644 179131 61605100 203710222 4795820 134960 5288538 8072196 8455668 7821107 4406210 6008 15742 33409574 183900 4926640 8751084 11320273.5 551970 11667630 238895 85801443 1300 2208991 1767980 4856496 14455430 147930 191249139 3100160 22200 2029760 514564 2073124 11,789,446( 7052834 848 497840 705030 26380 4799410 44370 2541800 1359232 401920 4020 2651450 51450245

-332330.0001 -11159990 -2468046 -57400 -30385738 51586100 -855920 -2731090 -32750 -248341 845490 -7819350 -15950 -2528640 -8613000 7831841.5 -428580 -18659608 -144194 -1323820 483097 -250500 -114527969 -113850 52199.9998 -520444 5,713,006.0003) -4774885 21730 3770 -48346 40200 -31350 -1162336

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.55 0.56 0.55 0.56 0.54 0.55 1377000 751580 ASIABEST GROUP 7.8 7.82 7.78 7.94 7.5 7.81 11100 86992 701.5 704 659 709 651 704 1087160 756943260 AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY 38.3 38.75 38.65 39.4 38 38.3 697000 26711815 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 6.22 6.27 6.24 6.3 6.2 6.27 3348700 20921932 1.91 1.92 1.85 1.91 1.82 1.91 1855000 3474960 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.01 6.08 6.07 6.08 6 6.08 14200 86114 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.51 0.53 0.5 0.54 0.5 0.53 7000 3680 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.54 0.51 0.51 995000 520000 ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.55 537000 296060 COSCO CAPITAL 5.05 5.08 4.95 5.08 4.9 5.08 610000 3034310 4.14 4.15 4.15 4.19 4.12 4.15 3274000 13586550 DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV 8.17 8.25 8.17 8.17 8.17 8.17 600 4902 FJ PRINCE A 3.07 3.85 2.93 2.93 2.93 2.93 3000 8790 0.159 0.194 0.192 0.192 0.192 0.192 10000 1920 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL 412.2 415.6 420.4 424 408 412.2 168710 70081614 HOUSE OF INV 3.6 3.69 3.69 3.69 3.6 3.6 39000 140640 49.05 49.3 49.6 49.65 48.95 49.25 1506200 74029995 JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.31 5.59 6.68 6.75 5.28 5.6 69700 424210 LODESTAR 0.52 0.54 0.51 0.55 0.51 0.53 69000 35980 2.75 2.76 2.69 2.79 2.56 2.76 4935000 13239690 LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 7.52 7.56 7.6 7.7 7.52 7.56 288600 2182785 MABUHAY HLDG 0.455 0.48 0.465 0.465 0.455 0.455 50000 23050 2.85 2.86 2.75 2.9 2.75 2.86 81825000 232787690 METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA 0.83 0.84 0.83 0.83 0.81 0.83 146000 119310 0.98 0.99 0.98 0.99 0.98 0.99 10000 9810 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 158 162 161 162 161 162 90 14550 SM INVESTMENTS 803.5 804 828 838 802 804 499150 406917385 96.3 96.5 96.65 96.65 96.1 96.5 111310 10729159.5 SAN MIGUEL CORP 0.67 0.68 0.7 0.7 0.68 0.68 27000 18380 SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER 135.1 138 138 138 136 138 6690 911470 0.178 0.19 0.176 0.176 0.176 0.176 10000 1760 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.146 0.155 0.146 0.155 0.143 0.155 320000 46520

-53800 140450080 -23418580 -3980256 16740 -557520 -2482170 -32635722 -43380 -17277315 -2215130 -679510 24639000 -83620415 -2191673.5 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP BELLE CORP A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

0.56 32.65 1.03 1.34 0.56 0.74 5.5 4.06 0.35 0.28 16.02 6.99 0.29 0.94 0.79 10.3 0.8 2.58 0.159 0.3 1.48 14.88 2.7 1.92 30.85 3.83 1.22 3.92

0.57 32.8 1.08 1.38 0.57 0.75 5.9 4.14 0.355 0.29 16.06 7 0.295 0.95 0.8 10.4 0.81 2.59 0.16 0.31 1.49 14.9 2.83 1.93 31 3.9 1.23 3.95

0.57 33.6 1.01 1.34 0.57 0.72 5.9 4.06 0.35 0.28 16 6.99 0.29 0.96 0.85 10.5 0.8 2.64 0.162 0.3 1.48 15.04 2.84 1.93 31 3.83 1.27 3.94

0.57 33.65 1.05 1.36 0.58 0.75 5.9 4.15 0.35 0.28 16.1 7.1 0.29 0.96 0.85 10.5 0.8 2.66 0.162 0.3 1.49 15.38 2.84 1.93 31.3 3.92 1.29 3.95

0.56 32.65 1.01 1.32 0.56 0.72 5.9 4.06 0.345 0.28 16 6.8 0.29 0.94 0.8 10.4 0.78 2.57 0.157 0.3 1.48 14.9 2.7 1.92 30.5 3.83 1.21 3.89

0.56 32.65 1.04 1.35 0.57 0.75 5.9 4.14 0.35 0.28 16.06 6.99 0.29 0.94 0.8 10.4 0.8 2.59 0.16 0.3 1.49 14.9 2.79 1.93 31 3.83 1.23 3.92

100000 11277100 131000 84000 302000 23000 300 303000 780000 10000 90400 85200 30000 3499000 1036000 20500 365000 16177000 1090000 230000 9000 1990600 185000 50000 9641700 61000 1232000 1243000

56380 371107855 135910 111990 171930 17160 1770 1246450 272800 2800 1448874 586904 8700 3313370 832300 213420 288920 42005760 172890 69000 13330 30117662 500740 96440 298350190 235950 1522600 4865960

-2945435 5350 -1180 -265600 -627620 -6883 -754120 -8825980 401178 17800070 -3232270

SERVICES GMA NETWORK 5.15 5.17 5.4 5.45 5.1 5.17 5200100 27138886 MANILA BULLETIN 0.365 0.38 0.375 0.375 0.365 0.365 360000 133700 15.4 17.4 19 19 15 17.4 12100 210312 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2148 2150 2202 2240 2150 2150 103990 225710480 PLDT 1207 1214 1243 1250 1207 1207 204550 249557620 0.039 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.039 0.04 2800000 111200 APOLLO GLOBAL DFNN INC 2.76 3.03 3.07 3.07 3.07 3.07 1000 3070 DITO CME HLDG 2.1 2.11 2.2 2.2 2.05 2.1 37810000 80073990 1.2 1.43 1.12 1.26 1.12 1.25 52000 64480 IMPERIAL ISLAND INFO 0.081 0.083 0.081 0.081 0.081 0.081 30000 2430 NOW CORP 1.83 1.84 1.89 1.89 1.82 1.84 1825000 3359660 0.185 0.19 0.185 0.189 0.185 0.185 1700000 315150 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.46 2.5 2.49 2.58 2.41 2.5 2545000 6335210 2GO GROUP 9.82 9.86 10.32 10.58 9.54 9.82 258500 2539405 13.1 16.78 17.38 17.38 17.38 17.38 100 1738 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 3.2 3.25 3.24 3.27 3.19 3.2 630000 2019930 CEBU AIR 44.5 44.65 46.8 47 44.5 44.5 404800 18294580 82.8 83 83.5 84.95 81.8 83 4263570 354821326 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 13.32 13.98 13.98 13.98 13.98 13.98 5300 74094 MACROASIA 4.36 4.37 4.32 4.41 4.32 4.37 3884000 16966120 2.41 2.43 2.55 2.59 2.4 2.41 1804000 4400770 METROALLIANCE A PAL HLDG 6.9 6.95 7.2 7.2 6.95 6.95 8800 61610 HARBOR STAR 0.87 0.88 0.9 0.9 0.87 0.87 493000 436180 1.16 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 14000 16660 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.026 0.027 0.027 0.027 0.026 0.027 700000 18600 GRAND PLAZA 9.54 12.4 9.11 12.44 9.11 12.42 2000 20613 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 900000 360000 WATERFRONT CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.04 6.29 6.04 6.04 6.04 6.04 400 2416 0.34 0.345 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.345 1380000 475650 STI HLDG 2.16 2.2 2.16 2.27 2.16 2.2 74000 163430 BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY 5.27 5.28 5.18 5.34 5.17 5.28 15018600 78654098 1.95 2 1.96 2.01 1.95 2 33000 64560 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.47 1.51 1.47 1.51 1.47 1.51 346000 516980 MANILA JOCKEY 2.05 2.19 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 14000 28840 2.84 2.9 2.98 2.98 2.81 2.9 55000 159080 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.315 0.305 0.31 630000 195750 ALLHOME 6 6.03 6 6.03 6 6 345600 2075954 1.79 1.8 1.8 1.84 1.75 1.8 3475000 6202190 METRO RETAIL 47.7 47.8 46.45 47.9 46.05 47.8 7338300 343925115 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 66.45 66.6 67 67 66.45 66.45 174620 11649514 126 128 129.8 129.8 126 126 240 30541 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.19 1.2 1.21 1.25 1.17 1.19 3497000 4178880 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 15.86 15.88 15.4 16.6 15.4 15.86 2654100 41722524 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.31 0.3 0.3 390000 120200 APC GROUP EASYCALL 7.66 7.79 7.71 8.45 7.61 7.66 311700 2525519 GOLDEN BRIA 309.2 311.8 312 312 311.8 311.8 110 34310 2.1 2.14 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 9000 18900 PAXYS PRMIERE HORIZON 0.22 0.224 0.233 0.233 0.22 0.22 9450000 2124730 SBS PHIL CORP 5.9 5.98 5.9 5.98 5.9 5.98 4500 26558

-114690990 16090225 -2169260 9100 73010 188978 -159500 -14260935 -136912569.5 -6332550 700 -16600 -75900 -398248 1510 898025 -606540 44139540 -6138241.5 -25382 -428230 14999712 107520 -

MINING & OIL

ATOK 9.51 10.66 10.68 10.68 10.66 10.66 100000 1066800 0.9 0.91 0.9 0.93 0.89 0.9 1132000 1017190 APEX MINING ABRA MINING 0.001 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.001 0.0011 61000000 63100 ATLAS MINING 1.76 1.88 1.9 1.9 1.85 1.88 4000 7500 0.193 0.199 0.193 0.199 0.193 0.199 150000 29010 COAL ASIA HLDG CENTURY PEAK 2.69 2.74 2.73 2.73 2.73 2.73 70000 191100 191100 DIZON MINES 7.02 7.15 7.01 7.16 7.01 7.15 1200 8441 0.83 0.84 0.84 0.85 0.82 0.83 3155000 2625710 -428210 FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.2 0.205 0.201 0.205 0.201 0.205 20000 4060 -2050 LEPANTO A 0.079 0.08 0.079 0.08 0.079 0.079 2830000 223590 0.082 0.085 0.083 0.085 0.083 0.083 910000 75550 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.0064 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 1000000 6500 MARCVENTURES 0.55 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 1000 560 0.99 1.04 0.98 1.06 0.98 0.99 159000 160830 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.57 1.52 1.54 5074000 7788610 -1871740 OMICO CORP 0.35 0.44 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 20000 8000 2.3 2.34 2.29 2.34 2.29 2.34 14000 32590 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 11.76 11.8 11.98 11.98 11.58 11.8 783700 9203540 -1313088 UNITED PARAGON 0.004 0.0044 0.0041 0.0041 0.0041 0.0041 2000000 8200 6.6 6.77 6.54 6.84 6.54 6.77 270500 1826663 ACE ENEXOR PXP ENERGY 4.2 4.22 4.22 4.3 4.16 4.2 730000 3067160 -527050

PREFFERED ALCO PREF B 99.8 100 100 100 100 100 50 5000 99.1 100 99.1 99.5 99.1 99.5 12010 1194991 991 DD PREF FPH PREF C 496 600 495 505 495 505 1170 590410 GTCAP PREF B 980 998.5 998.5 998.5 980 980 650 639775 1000 1010 997 1000 997 1000 1960 1959970 -800000 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 2B 1000 1029 1029 1029 1029 1029 5 5145 PCOR PREF 3A 1015 1016 1016 1016 1016 1016 50 50800 76.6 77.3 77.3 77.3 76.5 76.5 1110 85253 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D 74.7 75 75.1 75.1 75.1 75.1 10 751 SMC PREF 2E 75 75.1 75 75 75 75 50 3750 3750 75.75 75.9 75.9 75.9 75.9 75.9 1000 75900 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2I 75 76.95 75 75 75 75 160100 12007500

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS GMA HLDG PDR 4.97 5.05 5 5.1 4.91 4.97 112600 562498 74620

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.73 0.75 0.79 0.79 0.72 0.79 24000 18610

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 1.93 1.94 2.05 2.08 1.9 1.93 8106000 15888310 118650 7.2 7.35 7.44 7.44 7.13 7.2 67000 480950 KEPWEALTH XURPAS 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.64 0.61 0.63 2254000 1401470

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 86 86.05 87 87 85.95 86.05 13020 1122319.5 860.5

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Filinvest exec: Pandemic to change property sector

T

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic will change the behavior of consumers and also property sellers in the country, as office developers may reverse its densification strategy and allocate more open spaces, such as parks, to their projects.

Josephine Gotianun-Yap, Filinvest Development Corp.'s (FDC) president and CEO, said people are now expecting to find several features within the development, such as convenience stores and telemedical consultations, so they will not have to go far to find these services.

“So we’re really actually quite happy that our developments in Filinvest are less dense and our MRB (medium rise building) projects allocate quite a big percent-

age—60 percent--to open spaces, our buildings are not as tall, I think the consumers will appreciate that more,” Yap said.

FDC owns property developer and shopping mall operator Filinvest Land Inc. Selling properties will also change, she said, as the company will now devote more budget on digital marketing, online marketing tools, such as 360 degrees model viewing, drone project inspection, which will now become

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Share prices fell last week, but the decline was not as steep as expected, with investors already pricing in the low economic data for the first quarter and the market being appeased by the speech of President Duterte.

In a briefing on May 4, the President apologized to businessmen Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Manuel V. Pangilinan for his "hurting words."

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 78.77 points to close at 5,621.94 points on Friday.

There was a huge sell-off on Monday, but investors were calmed after President Duterte offered a hand of reconciliation to the Ayalas and the group led by Pangilinan.

Most of the share prices of the companies led by the Ayalas and Pangilinan rose the next day.

“We also saw GDP growth for the first quarter come in at -0.2 percent which came as a surprise to most. Analysts and investor expected some growth in the first quarter as the lockdown only started at the middle of March. This revelation dulled the sentiment which caused investors to take some money off the table causing the market to end the week lower,” said Christopher Mangun, research head at AAA Securities Inc. Also, inflation for April settled at 2.2 percent, which is closer to the lower-end of the government’s target due to lower oil prices.

Average daily trading for the week was low at P5.01 billion, and foreign investors were still net sellers at P2.46 billion.

All of the sub-indices ended in the red, with the exception of the Property index that rose 13.05 points to close at 2,934.97 points. The broader All Shares index was down 42.03 to close at 3,403.80, the Financials index declined 40.59 to 1,148.08, the Industrial index shed 148.14 to 7,326.79, the Holding Firms index fell 12.02 to 5,532.27, the Services index dropped 51.14 to 1,322.68 and the Mining and Oil index slid 187.72 to 4,520.85.

For the week, losers outnumbered gainers 157 to 65 and 20 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers for the week were Manila Broadcasting Co., Ayala Corp., Da Vinci Capital Holdings Inc., Manila Water Co. Inc., SBS Philippines Corp. and Discovery World Corp.

The top losers were Mabuhay Holdings Corp., Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp., Imperial Resources Inc., Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp., Bogo-Medellin Milling Co. Inc. and Macro Asia Corp.

This week

Share prices may still move sideways or may even go down this week as investors start to digest the economic figures released last week.

“Investors are still mainly focused on the sentiment rather than fundamentals, which are seen to get worse before getting better,” Mangun said, adding that the main index may remain between 5,500 points and 6,000 points as investors observe the effects of lifting quarantine restrictions.

“On the local front, the recovery has been broad as most companies have gained 30 percent to 50 percent from their lows several weeks ago. Telecom and consumer-based companies have led the charge while property and the banks have remained laggards.

This trend will continue in the medium term until we succeed in the battle against Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019),” he said.

Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financials Inc., said the local market is seen to have a downward bias as the economic outlook remains dim due to the adverse effects of the Covid-19 spread.

“With the second quarter still suffering from the same pandemic with an even longer enhanced community quarantine period especially in our major regions in terms of economic contribution, deeper losses could be expected. In short, our first quarter GDP figures are hinting that the worst is yet to come primarily in this current quarter,” he said.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital and Development Corp. advised to buy the stock of PLDT Inc. when its support price holds between P1,222 and P1,172 per share.

“A sudden shift to sell signs pushed the stock closer to its immediate support at P1,222.

Expect some challenges to this lower bound, seeing as selling momentum looks to be climbing,” the broker said.

“Nevertheless, the downward pressure likely won't be enough to push TEL significantly lower—hence, the next support at P1,172 will likely hold,” it said.

PLDT share price closed Friday at P1,207 apiece.

Meanwhile, the broker recommended to take profits on the stock of Ayala Corp. (AC) as the stock's rally is not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon, especially with indicators still pointing to strong buy signs.

“After having breached the initial resistance at P648, there is increasing likelihood of AC managing to sustain the breakout,” it said.

Ayala shares closed last week at P704 apiece. VG Cabuag

the norm. Yap said the company already have these selling tools.

“On the office-tenant side, we will see that the previous trend toward open space planning and densification may reverse, so there’s more demand now for more space, for social distancing reasons but this may also be offset a bit by work-from-home arrangement,” she said.

On the retail side, Yap said the company expects its tenants mix would change as e-commerce will be accelerated, but this in turn this will create a demand for logistics space.

“I think the most that will be heavily affected is the hospitality industry, we are expecting going forward there will be more domestic demand rather than international travel in the medium term,” she said.

The company also operates shopping malls, but Yap admits that it is not a major mall player in

mutual funds

the country compared with other developers as the retail spaces that it maintain are meant to serve its township development.

“From the very beginning, since we are not a major mall player, our emphasis is different. Our emphasis was really more on lifestyle, a lot more lifestyle activities. We had predicted that there will be more e-commerce going forward so we made sure our malls are there,” she said.

Yap said she hopes that jobs generation will return, mainly from the government's infrastructure program dubbed "Build, Build, Build" as well as the stimulus packages that can support small and medium-sized enterprises and other badly hit-industries.

“And we hope that the consumers will overcome their fear so that they will get used to go under the new normal and consumption can bring back the demand for goods and services,” she added.

May 8, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 186.76 -29.25% -11.83% -7.94% -25.86% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 0.9592 -40.75% -14.46% -9.02% -30.59% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.5222 -38.51% -16.32% -10.59% -31.43% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6479 -30.94% n.a. n.a. -27.78% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6578 -24.63% n.a. n.a. -22.55% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.0655 -26.08% -9% -7.19% -23.7% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6305 -28.26% -12.92% n.a.

-26.14% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 75.68 -39.99% n.a. n.a. -26.76% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 37.3017 -28.61% -10.54% n.a. -27.26% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 401.89 -26.1% -9.74% -6.95% -24.57% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8567 n.a. n.a. n.a. -16.83% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 0.9599 -27.29% -9.66% -6.24% -25.41% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 28.1082 -27.67% -9.12% -6.11% -25.83% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7421 -28.8% n.a. n.a. -27.11% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 3.799 -28.23% -9.98% -5.97% -27.27% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 635.08 -28.13% -9.97% -6.17% -27.18% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.5875 -37.21% -13.45% -9.96% -31% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 2.9953 -31% -10.62% -7.05% -28.84% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.729 -28.24% -10.1% -6.11% -27.16% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.7348 -26.65% -7.74% -4.9% -25.14% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 85.1733 -27.98% -9.48% -5.34% -27.17% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$0.8781 -14% -2.48% -3.91% -14.61% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.2406 -4.26% 3.04% n.a. -10.02% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.492 -13.45% -5.68% -5.05% -4.53% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 1.9632 -15.02% -5.91% -3.64% -9.99% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3358 -11.77% -3.36% -4.53% -11.24% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1841 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-19.43% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.7875 -7.09% -1.98% -1.67% -8.95% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.3279 -9.65% -3.78% -3.12% -12.17% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 14.8676 -10.63% -3.95% -3.24% -12.34% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.8394 -14.1% -5.03% -2.98% -13.47% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.1374 -18.74% -5.82% -4.23% -18.8% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9005 -10.26% n.a. n.a. -11.34% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.7943 -20.85% n.a. n.a. -20.28% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.77 -23.11% n.a. n.a. -22.47% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.779 -21.07% -6.69% -5.68% -20.09% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03795 4.52% 2.25% 1.36% -0.73% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $0.9217 -6.05% -0.91% -2.17% -11.2% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.5792 -3.94% 2.15% 1.63% -8.48% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.0574 -2.88% 0.83% n.a.

-6.33% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 362.78 4.21% 3.01% 2.44% 1.39% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9309 2.32% 1.05% -0.14% 1.52% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1713 4.82% 5.19% 5.12% 1.76% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2767 5.24% 2.88% 2.24% 2.32% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4239 6.88% 3.04% 1.87% 2.75% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.5099 11.16% 3.6% 2.23% 3.13% 1.2816 6.86% 3.75% 2.02% 1.98% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.8787 7.31% 3.75% 1.96% 2.39% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0203 10.78% 3.33% 1.58% 5.81% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1217 7.82% 4.55% 2.78% 1.49% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.7275 7.58% 4.1% 2.35% 1.55% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $468.23 2.89% 2.28% 2.44% 0% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є213.97 -1.03% 0.49% 0.65% -2.62% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.197 2.39% 2.3% 2.05% -0.84% 1.06% 0.96% -0.39% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0257 1.58% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0539 -1.1% -0.44% -0.68% -3.77% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.3973 5.51% 2.83% 2.45% -0.27% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0595918 2.17% 1.49% 1.44% -1.2% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1416 5.21% 2% 1.89% -1.06% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 127.43 3.81% 3.11% 2.34% 1.31% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0376 2.71% n.a. n.a.

1.1% 3.35% 3.01% 2.53% 1.08% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2783 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0417 1.66% n.a. n.a.

0.43% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.9 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-9.09% 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 January 3, 2019. 2 - Launch date is January 28, 2019. 3 - Launch date is February 1, 2019. 4 - Launch date is November 15, 2019.

5 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 6 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.).

7 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 8 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Monday, May 11, 2020 B3

Gold trading seen bullish EXCLUSIVE in PHL amid pandemic

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

G

old is seen to trade within $1,800 to $1,900 per troy ounce in the coming months, an asset-backed digital gold-token trading firm said, noting that such investor activity is seen to be bullish in the Philippines as investors seek low-risk investments amid the market volatility due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

DigixGlobal Pte. Ltd. Chief Operating Officer Shaun Djie told the BusinessMirror that the pandemic has forced portfolio managers in Asia, including the Philippines, to shift to risk-free or low-risk assets such as gold.

“Going forward, I think if this coronavirus doesn’t actually really slow down, given the lockdown situation that is happening across Southeast Asia, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that the demand for gold in Asia and the Philippines, in general, would increase,” Djie said.

Djie added he sees the Philippines, in general, likely “see a lot more buying either coming from a central bank perspective or coming from high net worth individuals.”

While there are only few active gold players in the Philippines, Djie said that the country is one of the biggest gold producers in the Southeast Asian region, which can drive demand for gold trading locally.

According to Mines and Geosciences Bureau, gold production in the Philippines slightly declined to 20,646 kilograms in 2019. This accounted for 26 percent or P47.36 billion of the total metal production last year.

Gold metal price advanced to $1,290.91 per troy ounce in 2019 from $1.269.15 per troy ounce in 2018. Despite the expected increase in demand, however, the Philippines is still lagging in terms of gold trading volume in Asia, according to Djie.

China, India and Hong Kong are leading the region, he added.

The COO, meanwhile, said it was advisable to place investments in gold despite the ongoing pandemic.

“I believe that investment in gold itself is a long term placed solution; by long term, I would mean anywhere between perhaps a two-year to fiveyear period where you could actually look to have an actual return on this precious metal amidst the pandemic,” he said.

Investors are even likely trooping to gold trading and away from fixed-income and equities market, Djie explained, because of less market volatility.

“It is not only just less volatile but it has a lot more room for appreciation in this particular volatile period,” he added.

But the Digix official warned that gold supply chain is currently constricted as many refineries have scaled down operations in the last three to four months following the pandemic.

Precious metals storage solutions provider J. Rotbart & Co. said that 20 percent of its transaction during the first quarter of last year came from the Philippines, signaling a demand for gold trading in the country.

The firm said that it is trading $200-million worth of gold every year, which would translate to $10-million share for the Philippines for the period.

LandBank to lead distribution of cash aid for displaced OFWs

T

he Land Bank of the Philippines Inc. (LandBank) announced it is gearing up to distribute cash assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been displaced as host countries addressed the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

LandBank said this is in line with its designation as the disbursement arm of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) of the government for the implementation of Republic Act 11469.

Citing the labor department’s program, LandBank said around 135,720 displaced land-based and sea-based OFWs will each receive a one-time financial assistance of P10,000 or $200, or its equivalent currency in the host country. Beneficiaries are composed of about 85,720 on-site OFWs based abroad, and 50,000 repatriated OFWs already in the country.

The LandBank said eligible repatriated OFWs from the National Capital Region (NCR) will be able to claim their cash aid (P10,000) from Landbank branches free of charges

via the Philippine electronic fund transfer system and operations network.

Meanwhile, the 85,720 OFWs based abroad will receive their cash aid from their respective Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (Polo) processed via Landbank’s outgoing telegraphic transfer, free from bank commissions and cable charges, the bank said.

The LandBank said that as of May 5, it has released P24.68 million for the cash aid of 2,468 OFWs. The LandBank is also the labor department’s distributor for the former’s “Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program,” or Camp, which provides a one-time P5,000 financial support to employees of companies or business establishments that have adopted flexible work arrangements or temporary closure due to the current health adversity.

As of May 5, NCR-based workers that benefited from the Camp have reached 18,222 totaling P91.11 million in cash grants released, according to the LandBank.

Subsidies to state-owned firms tripled in Feb, BTr data reveals

S

By Cai U. Ordinario

ubsidies extended by the national government for stateowned firms tripled in February 2020, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

Data showed GOCC subsidies reached P10.487 billion, a 278.73-percent growth from the P2.769 billion posted in February last year.

It is also the highest amount received by government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) since December when the government extended P25.402 billion.

P

their loved ones is top-of-mind for our overseas Filipinos–our modernday heroes.”

“Every hard-earned peso counts especially when so many of our countrymen are not able to work due to the enhanced community quarantine,” Veloso said adding such was the reason for the extension of the waiver until the end of May. He added that PNB also extended the coverage to the Middle East by waiving the back-end remittance fee.

“There are many [compatriots] from the Middle East who need this kind of support in sending cash to their families,” Veloso said. “This is very timely given that the observance of Ramadan is ongoing.”

The waiver covers over-the-coun-

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said there were no subsidies extended in January.

“There were no releases yet made last January. Yes [this is normal at the] start of year since GOCCs need to submit requirements to the DBM [Department of Budget and Management],” de Leon told the BusinessMirror on Sunday.

The total subsidies extended to major non-financial institutions accounted for the bulk of the subsidies at P9.04 billion or 86.2 percent of the total for February.

This is a 416.28-percent increase from the P1.018 billion posted in the same period last year.

The non-financial institutions that received these subsidies were the National Irrigation Administration and the National Food Authority (NFA) at P5.89 billion and P2.979 billion, respectively. “[Subsidies for] NFA [is] usually for local procurement of rice. NIA [subsidies could have been] for irrigation fees for farmers,” de Leon explained.

Under non-financial GOCCs, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) also received P170-million worth of subsidies from the national government.

Meanwhile, BTr data showed that the rest of the subsidies were extended to other GOCCs worth P1.447 billion in February.

This was a 42.14-percent increase from the P1.018 billion posted in the same period last year.

The Small Business Corp. (SBC) received the highest allocation at P355 million followed by the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) at P236 million. The SBC subsidy grew 70.67 percent from the P208 million posted in February 2019 while PHC subsidy increased 151.06 percent from P94 million last year.

Other GOCCs that received over P100 million in subsidies were the Philippine Children’s Medical Center at P156 million; National Kidney and Transplant Institute at P150 million; and, the Philippine Rice Research Institute at P108 million.

British multinational bank donates PPE sets

T

he local office of British multinational bank Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Plc. announced it has donated protective personal equipment (PPE) sets to help augment the limited medical supplies in the Philippines.

In a statement, the SCB said its local office plans to distribute more than 6,600 PPE sets, which include reusable coveralls, shoe covers and face shields to 20 hospitals and treatment centers in the National Capital Region.

SCB Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing Mai G. Sangalang, together with employee volunteers, recently led the distribution of 800 PPE sets to the San Juan De Dios (SJDD) Hospital in Pasay City and the Victor R. Potenciano Medical Center (VRPMC) in Mandaluyong City. The bank said the PPE sets were received by SJDD Medical Director and physician Mirla Severino and VRPMC Nursing

Photo courtesy of Standard Chartered Bank shows SCB Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing Head Mai Sangalang (fourth from left) leading the delivery and distribution to Victor R. Potenciano Medical Center in Mandaluyong City recently. She was joined by VRPMC Nursing Division Head Mabel Oamil (second) and other bank officers.

Division Head Mabel Oamil.

“There is a global shortage of medical supplies and equipment

and many Philippine hospitals are trying to supplement with improvised PPEs,” Sangalang was quoted

in a statement as saying. “Healthcare workers rely on PPEs to protect themselves but shortages endanger the lives of medical doctors, nurses and other frontline workers. The bank-donated PPEs will help keep healthcare workers safe and somehow relieve the shortage.”

“The bank has always been passionate about going beyond banking and we are pleased to be able to extend support for the safety of our health workers,” SCB Philippines CEO Lynette V. Ortiz was quoted in the same statement as saying. “Globally, the bank’s priority is to immediately get the essential products and services to the front line through a $1 billion loan financing on preferential terms to companies that are providing goods and services to help fight Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019].”

There are 18 other hospitals expected to receive the SCB donation.

E-money transfers seen to grow even after ECQ

E

lectronic money transfers coursed through InstaPay is seen to continue increasing even beyond the lifting of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), after posting double-digit growth in April alone.

Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI) reported that retail e-payments in April grew by 32.18 percent to 8.86 million from 6.71 million the previous month.

In value, transactions reached P53 billion, averaging at P6,128 per transfer. Maximum amount that can be transferred is P50,000 per transaction.

In a recent statement, PPMI Gen-

PNB extends waiver on remittance charges hilippine National Bank announced it is extending up to May 31, 2020, the waiver on the remittance fees for various channels.

The bank said the waiver applies to cash transfers that will be credited to PNB deposit accounts in the Philippines. PNB understands the situation our country is experiencing because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the bank said in a statement. It quoted President and CEO Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso as saying the bank is committed to making remittance transfers convenient and hassle-free for customers.

Veloso cited PNB director Lucio Tan as saying that, “in these difficult times, being able to care for

@caiordinario

ter transactions done at the following PNB overseas branches: Los Angeles, New York, Guam, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Global Hong Kong, Canada (through PNB-Remittance Company Canada) and Europe. For PNB Europe, remittance fees are also waived for the Web Remit and Phone Remit channels, the bank said.

Mail-in remittance is covered by the waiver in the areas of New York and Japan. For Japan, remittance fees are also waived when done via ATMs of Mizuho Bank and Japan Postal Bank.

Remittances done through Remittance Centers Inc. branches are also free of charge when done overthe-counter and via Web Remit and Phone Remit, the bank said.

eral Manager Carmelita R. Araneta noted that InstaPay fund-transfer transactions only recorded 10-percent growth in February and March prior the lockdown, averaging at 200,158 per day.

After the announcement of ECQ until April 30, the average climbed to 263,588 per day, Araneta said.

“People’s limited mobility under lockdown made them shift to electronic fund transfer through InstaPay which they found convenient and safe as they did not have to leave their homes,” she added.

Araneta said that InstaPay were used to send money to relatives, to pay for online purchases and extend

donations for pandemic-hit sectors.

“I see this trend to continue until the ECQ is lifted, perhaps even beyond, as long as the risk of Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] persists.

It will be the new normal,” PPMI President Abraham T. Co said.

InstaPay is an electronic money transfer service allowing customers to send money to accounts in other banks and e-wallets via online banking websites and mobile applications.

It was launched by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in April 2018 in a bid to boost digital payment transactions to 20 percent of total payment transactions this year.

PPMI, meanwhile, is the BSP-

assigned payment system management body promoting e-payments under the National Retail Payments System Framework and directly supervises the InstaPay automated clearing house. Electronic banking network BancNet, clearing switch operator of InstaPay, assured that transactions coursed through the platform are secure.

“Your bank or e-wallet will send you a one-time code to authenticate your identification before finalizing your transaction after which it shall inform you immediately that your money transfer was successful,” BancNet CEO Aristeo P. Zafra said.

Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Gold drops with jobs data bolstering bet on easing impact of coronavirus

G

old futures slid after US payrolls fell less than economists had expected, reducing demand for the metal as a haven asset.

While government’s report last Friday showed US employers cut 20.5 million workers in April, propelling the jobless rate to its highest since the Great Depression, it fell short of estimates for a loss of 22 million jobs.

Equity futures and yields on 10-year Treasuries rose.

Bullion has come under pressure recently as some government officials push for states to begin reopening their economies, fueling market optimism that the worst of

the fallout from the coronavirus is over. Still, April’s employment losses erase roughly all of the jobs that the economy had added in this past decade’s expansion and lay bare just how precarious employment is for vast swaths of Americans.

“The initial takeaway is that the unemployment rate was less bad than the expectations,” Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, said in an email. “The initial move in the gold price was to the downside but one needs to keep in mind that the US unemployment rate is incredibly high.”

The metal for June delivery fell

0.7 percent to settle at $1,713.90 an ounce at 1:32 p.m. on the Comex in New York.

“Now that the number wasn’t as bad as expected, gold’s just taking a breather,” Phil Streible, chief market strategist for Blue Line Futures LLC, said by phone of the unemployment figure.

Gold still managed an advance of 0.8 percent for the week, a rebound from the prior week’s loss, helped by signs from central bankers in the US and Europe of increased monetary easing and bets that the Federal Reserve will cut its policy rate below zero. Bloomberg News

B4

Show BusinessMirror

Monday, May 11, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Daniel Fernando’s most challenging role to date

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Holly Valance, 37; Amanda Freitag, 48; Frances Fisher, 68; Eric Burdon, 79.

Happy Birthday: Take things in stride. Concentrate on what you want to accomplish instead of stressing over what others are doing or want you to do for them.

It’s time to be shrewd and to offer suggestions instead of taking over. Your happiness is your responsibility, and learning to say no when necessary is essential if you want to achieve your goals. Your lucky numbers are 7, 13, 22, 27, 29, 34, 46.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Start a hobby.

Invest time in learning, getting in touch with your feelings and sharing your thoughts with someone special. Be proactive; find a way to make a difference. A strong will and an industrious mind will encourage positive change. HH

G

OV. Daniel Fernando of Bulacan is turning a year older tomorrow. And like many people around the world, his wish is for this pandemic to be contained soon and for it to eventually end. “The enemy is strong and invisible, and until such time that a medical solution is presented to us and to the world. Whether it is a medication to cure, or a vaccination to prevent people from getting it, all we can do is to pray and find ways in order to prevent its spread,” he said.

He and his team have been working day in and day out when this crisis started. Selflessness is not even close to describing how the unassuming and very humble Fernando performs his role as governor. He has always been like this ever since he started as a Kabataang Barangay chairman in his younger years— working quietly and getting things done efficiently.

When he was still vice governor, we saw for ourselves how he worked without fanfare during one of the biggest floods that hit Luzon, submerged in knee-deep murky waters with his team, calling the shots for rescue operations, truly altruistic to the core.

“We will overcome,” he affirmed, adding, “We will continue to keep the faith, we will continue to combine strategic actions and a strong will, so more people will be protected and shielded from the enemy.

It’s shaping up to be a tough year, but we will make it through.”

Twenty-twenty has been extremely challenging for Fernando. In February, he lost his mother Luningning, who passed on due to a lingering illness.

We were privy to how much Fernando loved and cared for his mother even during his active years as an actor. When she was confined for many months before her passing, Fernando would make time to be with her after his daily activities as a governor. We recall him telling us early this year when we checked on him: “It doesn’t matter even if I have to sleep only for a few hours, I make it a point to see her in her hospital bed, because we only have one mother, and we try to love them and care for them the best that we can, as long as they are still with us.”

A few days ago, Fernando’s heart was bruised once more when he learned of the passing of acclaimed filmmaker Peque Gallaga, director of his very first

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t give in to boredom. There is so much to see and even more to learn if you make an effort. Your attitude will make a difference to personal growth, a better lifestyle and how you move forward physically, intellectually and financially. HHHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do what you need to do. Embrace responsibilities, and put greater emphasis on detail, precision and quality work.

Be suspicious of anyone boasting or putting pressure on you to get involved in questionable activities. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Share your thoughts, and you will find solutions. An adjustment can improve productivity, as well as your relationship with the people you deal with regularly.

Don’t let self-deception lead you down a rabbit hole.

Recognize what has to be done, then proceed. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Inconsistency will be the enemy when dealing with others.

Don’t say anything that’s not verified or make promises you aren’t sure you can deliver. Your charm, coupled with confidence, will be inviting to those considering doing business with you. HHH

film, Scorpio Nights.

Thirty-five years ago, Fernando was still a student at the University of the East when he mustered enough guts to go to his very first film audition.

Gallaga saw him and personally picked him from among the many hopefuls to play the role of Danny, the peeping Tom that has now become an iconic character in this Gallaga classic.

With obvious sadness in his voice, Fernando shared that Gallaga took care of him very well in his debut movie. “Direk Peque made me feel that I could deliver, that I would be able to deliver and to meet his expectations. He was a teacher and he knew how to motivate a then-newcomer like me. He made me go through a rigid workshop. He was very patient, and very clear about what he expected from a scene.

On the set, he was like a father figure—strict but not scary. The concern was real, the caring was sincere.

I am just saddened by his passing. I heard he had not been well for the past few months, and I also feel sad that because of the present pandemic, we cannot even go see his remains to pay our respects for one last time. It is a great loss for local cinema because he was

such a wonderful and intelligent storyteller onscreen.

In so many ways, Direk Peque changed the course of my life, and I will always be grateful.”

We found out that Fernando has also been quietly helping many in show business who are currently displaced because of the current crisis. His last regular TV series was still sometime in 2017 and he remains in touch with some friends from way back.

“Daniel never forgets. He has always been there for me specially when I am at my lowest,“ shared someone we know very well who has been a recipient of Fernando’s kindness and generosity.

It has been almost a year after Fernando assumed the governorship of one of the largest provinces of Luzon, and he continues to lead his constituents with such passion, integrity and commitment. “Especially at this time, I have to admit that this is perhaps the most challenging role I have ever taken on in my life, but public service is a calling. I heeded the call, and I will do my best to continue serving the public.”

We can only hope that other politicians be like him. Have a healthy, hopeful and happy birthday, Daniel Fernando. n

GMA: Our 25-year franchise renewed before expiry GMA Network Inc. clarifies the case of its franchise renewal as it has been cited several times recently in light of the current situation of fellow broadcast network, ABS-CBN. Formerly known as Republic Broadcasting System Inc., GMA Network obtained its original 25-year franchise through Republic Act 7252, or “An Act Granting the Republic Broadcasting System Inc. a Franchise to Construct, Install, Operate and Maintain Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations in the Philippines.”

The said act was signed into law on March 20, 1992, and became effective on May 12, 1992—15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette on April 27, 1992; and as such, was valid until May 12, 2017.

On April 21, 2017, 22 days prior to the expiry of the original franchise, President Duterte signed Republic Act 10925, or “An Act Renewing for Another Twenty-Five [25] Years The Franchise Granted to Republic Broadcasting System Inc., Presently Known as GMA Network Inc., Amending for the Purpose Republic Act 7252, Entitled An

Act Granting The Republic Broadcasting System Inc. a Franchise to Construct, Install, Operate and Maintain Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations in the Philippines.”

Given this, it is important to note that that there is no parity of circumstances between the two broadcast networks.

And that there is no truth to statements claiming that GMA continued its operations despite the expiration of its franchise, which was in fact renewed earlier than its expiry date.

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Put updates in place. A trendy look or new technology will give you a positive attitude and a jump-start on what you want to do next. New opportunities are heading in your direction. HHHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take care of your responsibilities, and stay out of everyone else’s affairs. Catching up on projects you’ve left unfinished will ease stress. Physical activity is favored, and spending more time with someone you love is encouraged. HH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Step up to the podium and share what’s on your mind.

Whether in your personal or professional world, how you articulate what you think, feel and want will capture an audience. HHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s time to reap the rewards. Put in the time and effort to turn your dream into a reality. Don’t give in to distractions or tempting offers to indulge; refuse to ignore your responsibilities, and don’t get involved in something you shouldn’t. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Address partnerships, domestic matters and personal gains swiftly. Keep situations in perspective, and don’t let your feelings lead you astray. Do what’s necessary to keep moving forward. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Listen, observe and distance yourself from anyone who is pushy, looking for a fight or unstable.

Put greater emphasis on your physical well-being, personal environment and the people and things that make you happy. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look for common ground when dealing with others, and it will help you sidestep a conflict that can hurt your chance to advance or your reputation. Listen attentively, and consider what you can suggest or offer that will encourage a favorable compromise. HHHH Birthday Baby: You are diligent, insightful and curious.

You are proactive and engaging.

‘let the games begin!’ by evan kalish The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Anjou alternative 5 Not exceeding 11 Cry loudly 14 One may get bleeped out 15 Goldberg whose first name sounds like a cheer 16 Multimedia artist Yoko 17 Point of difficulty 19 Unopened 20 Poetry’s counterpart 21 No longer in stock 23 Revealing beachwear 25 Ang Lee film featuring a Bengal tiger 26 Many Jeeps, for short 27 Arborist’s concern 29 Florist’s vessel 30 Get on in years 31 Lisa who sang “Stay [I Missed You]” 32 Cubes in a freezer tray 34 Insurance companies analyze them 38 Take to court 39 Defense group since 1949 40 Close out a bar tab 43 Animal that may balance a ball

46 PlayStation maker 47 Walk off with 48 “C’mon, what’s the big news?”

51 Mystical glows 52 Can afford to wait 53 Bored with everything 55 Comedian’s asset 56 “It was just an innocent question!”

60 Musical DiFranco 61 Geologic layers 62 Strauss of jeans 63 Founding Father Franklin 64 Noted test pilot Chuck 65 Took a gander at DOWN 1 Spam sender 2 Rowing need 3 Break in a trip 4 Makes some butter 5 Hole-punching tools 6 “My country, ‘tis of ___...”

7 Rapper ___ Def 8 “I made a boo-boo!”

9 Parody 10 This puzzle’s is “Let the Games

Begin!”

1 “Why you little...”

1 12 Outdoes 13 Neckwear for Bill Nye 18 Mire 22 Capital of the First State 23 LAX (but not lax) org.

24 Fit tightly around 25 Israel’s northern neighbor 27 Puff of cannabis 28 NFL official 31 Baton Rouge sch.

32 ___-bitty 33 Vocalize like a pigeon 35 Archipelago part 36 Six-pack component 37 Means of entry for an Airbnb guest, perhaps 41 Abbr. before an alias 42 Si, in English 43 Investor Charles 44 Julia’s Seinfeld role 45 Capital of the Lone Star State 46 Environmentalism’s ___ Club 47 Small skirmish

9 Rapper ___ Elliott 4 50 Go overboard on stage 51 Small battery 53 Storage unit?

54 Person who makes things up 57 Car wash cloth 58 First mother 59 “You ___ what?!”

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

Style

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PEPE QUITCO

RONALDO ARNALDO

JONTIE MARTINEZ

Monday, May 11, 2020

B5

NICKKY MARTINEZ

A virtual Flores de Mayo 2020 A

FTER its spectacular 40th anniversary in 2019, it will be a rather sedate observance this year of the Flores de Mayo.

Spearheaded by the Congregacion del Nombre de Jesus, the festival was held in recent years at the SM Mall of Asia, where fashion designers honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Flores de Mayo is the highlight of all May festivities, and this year’s edition is just one of the casualties of the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic. There will be no parade or stage presentations. There will also be no competition, where titles, such as Rosa Mystica, La Flor de Manila and Reina de las Flores are much coveted.

Undaunted, Ogee Atos, a Congregacion member and the longtime director of the annual activity, will continue this beloved tradition in a safer way.

“This year’s theme is ‘Velo at Rosaryo: The Seven Joys of Mary,’” Atos says.

The Seven Joys of Our Lady are The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Birth of Our Lord, The Adoration of Jesus by the Magi, The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple, The Resurrection of Our Lord, and The Assumption of Mary in body and in soul into heaven.

“I am entertaining the thought of doing a virtual Flores de Mayo to continue and celebrate this annual tradition of honoring the Virgin Mary, the beloved Mother of our Lord Jesus,” Atos says over Facebook.

A Mass to offer these creations to Jesus and the Virgin Mary will be celebrated at the Sto. Niño de Violago Chapel in Quezon City, slated on May 24.

Hopefully, the proceedings will be streamed live.

Atos asked designers from all over the Philippines to participate and submit sketches of their artistic interpretations of the theme. Founding members of the Congregacion, such as Ben Farrales, Nolie Hans, Toni Galang and Steve de Leon lead the lineup composed of Renee Salud. Pepe Quitco, Louis Pangilinan, Chico Estiva, Adam Balasa, Arielle Agasang, Ranel Espaldo, Leslie Rivera, Buddy Reyes, Obet Orajay, Vince Borja, Roy Aquino, Patty Valle, Ramil Estrope, Ronaldo Arnaldo, Jon Fernando, Marlo Javier, Nickky Martinez, Mikee Andrei, Rian Fernnadez, Rowell Panlilio, Russ Cuevas, Danika Damo, Roland Lirio, OlE Morabe, Rey Lazaro, Pencil Dietsra, Vince Sityar, Paolo Blanco, Sonny Boy Mindo, and Jontie Martinez.

Here are some of the entries, which will be made into garments when the pandemic is contained: PEPE QUITCO MY Filipiniana terno comes in pale lilac mikado silk with a deep square neckline and clean A-line silhouette. The butterfly sleeves are encased in a mesh (also in lilac) off-shoulder panuelo effect with silver beadworks in floral cabuchon design. There will be more elaborate beadworks on the bodice and hipline. The veil is of pale aqua-blue illusion tulle that is tucked on the lower back hips to form a poof effect that falls into a fully shirred back-to-front hip overskirt sprinkled with beadworks and crystals. The sagala will carry a silver antique rosary.

NICKKY MARTINEZ IT’S a Maria Clara-inspired gown in blue, white and gold which is considered the colors of Mother Mary. It will be made of Mikado silk in turquoise and gold and white duchess satin with gold lace appliqué with stone

beadworks of gold and silver.

JONTIE MARTINEZ INSPIRED by Gloria Romero’s wedding gown created by the great Ramon Valera, my Flores de Mayo entry adheres to the theme by featuring a cocoon-like veil that gently envelopes the terno, clinches at the knee and continues as a serpentine skirt and train, edged with antique corded lace and accentuated with seed pearls, cut beads and crystals.

I first joined the Congregacion’s Flores de Mayo in the mid-1990s as a designer under Leonard Co’s tutelage, but it wasn’t until 2000 that I joined under my own label. Since then, I probably have been featured as a participant more than 15 times, and I’ve won thrice (La Flor de Manila in 2009, and Reina de las Flores in 2012 and 2017). My sagalas are mostly my beauty-queen “daughters” like Mutya ng Pilipinas 2003 Jamie Liz Castillo, Miss Philippines Earth 2007 Jeanne Harn, Miss Tourism Queen International 2006 Justine Gabionza and Miss World Philippines 2011 2nd Princess Chloe McCulley. I have also dressed up young actresses Ann Curtis and Janna Victoria.

RONALDO ARNALDO MY creation is an overlapping multilayered modern baro’t saya in black French alencon lace with pewter gray silk base. A matching veil completes the ensemble. I have been joining for more than a decade.

I won two Rosa Mysticas and one La Flor de Manila as far as I can recall.

OLÉ MORABE I’VE won La Flor de Manila in 2001, Rosa Mystica in 2006, and Reina de las Flores in 2014 and 2018.

My creation is a 1960s trapeze silhouette terno in ivory, bubblegum pink and aqua cutting with crystal snowflakes beading in fan design. It will be in poie de soie and duchess satin. A silver lattice net veil completes the ensemble. n

OLÉ MORABE

Natural beauty products and wearing makeup after a long time

IT’S so nice to see actress Sylvia Sanchez back from having been sick of Covid-19 for over a month.

Sanchez and her husband Art Atayde tested positive and based on her Instagram posts and that of her daughter Ria’s, it took them longer than most people to recover. The good thing is that Sanchez is in good health and is endorsing a line of Philippine-made natural beauty products.

“My Covid-19 experience taught me to be more conscious of my health, and this is why I am honored to represent Beautéderm’s all-natural line of products.

We need to take care of our bodies in the best way that we can,” said Sanchez, who is the face of two new products from Beautéderm Corp.

I’m also glad that companies are launching new products because that means jobs for Filipinos and we need these right now.

Beauté L’ Tous and Beauté L’ Cheveux are Beautéderm’s response to the clamor of customers for natural beauty products.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work over the past year to develop a line of serious skin care without harsh chemicals. We wanted products that deliver the best and most visible results without compromising safety. We wanted to use only the most powerful ingredients to produce results exceeding the quality and effectiveness of synthetic mainstream products.

We finally did it,” said Beautéderm Corp. President and CEO Rhea Anicoche-Tan. Beauté L’ Tous is natural whitening hand and body lotion safe for everyone and is pocket- and pursefriendly. Beauté L’ Cheveux, on the other hand, is a natural hair oil that tames unruly tresses without the weight of synthetic silicone.

Beautéderm based its new natural skin care on verified studies that showed about 60 percent of what we apply on our skin is absorbed by our bodies. This means that those who use a lot of beauty products could potentially have an annual absorption rate of about 5 lbs. worth of chemicals in their bodies.

Anicoche-Tan said process used in manufacturing these products is what makes Beautéderm Corp.’s natural beauty products a game-changer.

“As we use only the most powerful and effective natural ingredients, our main consideration is to respect their integrity during the manufacturing

process. As such, we only use Cold Process Manufacturing so as to preserve the potency of our natural active ingredients.”

If you’re looking for beauty products without health-threatening substances such as parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and triclosan, as well as synthetic colors and fragrances, Beautéderm Corp.’s natural line is for you. Aside from Beauté L’ Tous and Beauté L’ Cheveux, Beautéderm Corp. is currently gearing up for the launch of other exciting natural beauty products in the months to come. For information and updates, follow @beautédermcorporation on Instagram and like Beautéderm Corp. on Facebook.

So last week, I took part in a quiz night sponsored

by PLDT Home. The topic of the quiz was the phenomenal Korean drama Crash Landing on You. But that’s not the story.

The thing is that it was the first time I’d worn makeup in a bit since the “event” took place on Google Meet and there was video and audio.

The makeup wasn’t anything earthshaking. I didn’t even apply anything on my brows, which were so thick and unruly it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I just run a spoolie over it. I applied some blush (Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek in Quickie) and lipstick (AboutFace Lip Locker in Claim To Fame). I must say it felt good to wear makeup, even if I didn’t even leave the house. Do I want to go out again? Not really. Not until there is a vaccine.

SYLVIA SANCHEZ

B6 Monday, May 11, 2020

NHMFC remits its highest dividends to NG INC heightens fight against Covid-19, provides quarantine, testing & housing for returning OFWs

T

he Iglesia Ni Cristo has pledged "all-out aid" to underprivileged families and frontliners involved in efforts to contain the Covid-19 outbreak and said on Tiesday that it has ramped up "direct assistance and sustained enabling efforts" to members and non-members alike by distributing food packs for the whole country and providing PPEs for frontliners in medical institutions.

According to INC Auditor-General Glicerio B. Santos Jr., with its strategicallypositioned Ecclesiastical Districts around the Philippines, the INC continues to mount massive food distribution programs across the country while observing rules prevailing under the ECQ. "INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo has directed the Church to give all-out aid and assist government efforts to quickly alleviate hunger by distributing food packs around the country, maximizing the logistics advantages of having Churches and District offices all over the archipelago," said Santos Jr..

In addition to this, Santos Jr. said the Church would also provide all-out aid in efforts to prevent the spread of the virus by providing "tangible and usable assistance to our brave frontliners."

The INC recently donated one thousand pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) and a thousand gallons of disinfectant to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) worth two million pesos, with NKTI expressing gratitude for Church initiatives aimed at helping doctors, nurses and medical personnel.

INC likewise also recently donated 1,000 PPEs and 500 cavans of rice to the Malasakit Movement, whAich was received by MMDA Spokesperson Asec.

Celine Pialago. The Church previously provided hospitals in Quezon City with 13 million pesos' worth of PPEs and disinfectant.

"This batch of PPEs and equipment is the latest wave of supplies we have been giving to our hospitals. We won't stop here.

We are in fact already preparing our next set of donations," explained the INC official.

When the ECQ started, the INC initially donated five million pesos to the Quezon City local government for Covid-19 related relief as well as three million pesos to the local government of Davao City on top of earlier equipment donations to various QC hospitals.

Santos Jr. likewise stressed that the INC has been closely coordinating with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious

Diseases (IATF-EID) for the use of the Philippine Arena, the Philippine Sports Stadium, the Garden Suites, and various facilities inside the Ciudad de Victoria in Bocaue, Bulacan as a "mega facility" for centralized medical operations and massive testing facility by the government.

Ciudad de Victoria’s Garden Suites shall likewise be used to house and quarantine around 150 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) that have been repatriated from various parts of the globe. More OFWs are expected to arrive at the INC's multipurpose compound in the coming days.

Santos Jr. emphasized that the INC leadership wants the INC "to be pro-active in helping the Filipino, especially at this crucial time when national public health and safety is at stake. We continue to work with both public and private sector stakeholders in coordinating assistance efforts because we recognize that everyone must pitch in so we can overcome this outbreak."

"Lahat po tayo ay Pilipino, ano man ang estado natin sa lipunan at ano man ang paniniwala ng bawat isa sa atin. Kailangan nating magtulungan sa panahon ng krisis (We are all Filipinos, whatever our social status and beliefs. We need to help each other during this time of crisis). When we work together as one, we can heal as one."

SM completes seven emergency quarantine facilities in Metro Manila

As a swift response to the need for more appropriate accommodations to house and treat patients affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), SM, through SM Foundation, constructed seven (7) insulated emergency quarantine facilities (EQFs) in Pasay and Quezon City.

The facilities, built by the SM Engineering Design and Development (SM EDD) and WTA Architecture and Design Studio, are located at the Air Force General Hospital – Villamor Air Base in Pasay City; and at AFP Health Service Command – V. Luna (two facilities) and Camp Crame (four facilities) in Quezon City.

President of SM EDD, Hans ‘Chico’ Sy Jr., shared that the SM Group sat down and talked with health authorities to identify how the company can further participate in the country's collective efforts against COVID-19.

“As the confirmed cases of coronavirus grow in the country each day, hospitals, with their medical frontliners and staff, are working tirelessly to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The construction of these quarantine facilities with the needed amenities to provide proper care to COVID-19 patients, is SM’s meaningful contribution—aside from the medical supplies donation—to fight COVID-19,” Sy stated.

The facilities were completed within a span of around six to ten days and will

feature a total of 156 beds, air conditioning units, ceiling fans, exhaust fans, restrooms, shower areas, and nurse lounges. The EQFs are set to accommodate COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

In the Camp Crame EQFs, each bed has a built-in call system and patients will have an access to Wi-Fi connectivity.

The construction of these seven insulated EQFs cost almost Php 5 million in total.

Venue for volunteeriSM Aside from contributing to the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, this social good initiative also served as a platform for volunteeriSM for SM employees, especially those from SM EDD. Through this project, SM EDD employees were able to volunteer their time and expertise in constructing the insulated EQFs. This initiative has received encouragement and strong support from Chico Sy. Project Engineer Felix Borja shared the reasons why he chose to offer his skills in this social good initiative, “I want to personally be part of the fight against COVID-19. To do good and to do what is right are the main reasons why I’m volunteering,” Borja said.

Borja further expressed his hopes of inspiring others to also help, even in their own little ways, in curbing the spread of

coronavirus. ”Our world needs more acts of kindness,” he ended.

Thank you, our courageous frontliners!

Furthermore, the Leadership team of SM Foundation thanked all the frontliners for their hardwork and sacrifice, “We’re extremely grateful to every health care professional fighting this pandemic, caring and unselfishly trying their best to serve if not save people’s lives.”

“We are also equally proud of SM EDD’s support and contribution at this time of need. We are also thankful to our partners, the Air Force General Hospital, AFP Health Service Command and the WTA Architecture and Design Studio.

Saving lives is critical during this pandemic.

By collaborating with partners, we will be able to combat the health impacts and mitigate the most severe consequences of COVID-19. We are happy to collaborate with them [partners] together with our employees especially in difficult times like this,” the team added.

To help medical front liners and institutions to counter the coronavirus outbreak, SM, through SM Foundation donated over PHP170 million as it focused its efforts on giving timely personal protective equipment, testing kits and intensive care unit (ICU-grade) ventilators to over 100 hospitals and medical institutions.

T

HE prime state-owned secondary mortgage player, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), remitted to the national government its highest ever dividends totaling P264 million comprising of dividends for CY2019 net earnings and back dividends for prior years.

This is a 49% increase from last year’s P177 million for CY2018.

NHMFC has remitted a total of P937 million dividend contributions from 2012 to the present. Additionally, it expects the remaining prior years’ dividends to be paid out next year.

Pursuant to R.A. 7656 known as the “GOCC’s Dividend Law,” GOCC’s are required to declare and remit at least 50% of their annual net earnings as cash, stock, or property dividends to the national government on or before May 15th of each year. However, with the COVID-19 outbreak challenging our country, GOCC’s are requested by the Department of Finance (DOF) to remit their dividends a month earlier in support to the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. “Given the current health emergency, our early dividends remittance will help our government in its effort to lighten the economic situations faced by our people most affected by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development

(DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, who also chairs the NHMFC Board of Directors.

NHMFC is one of the government’s key shelter agencies under DHSUD. “We assure you that we at the housing sector are also committed to working with our government in sourcing more funds to battle this pandemic,” he added.

This year, NHMFC’s dividends are paid through the transfer of government securities carried at fair value, in which any under or over remittance of dividends due to market fluctuations shall be reflected as an adjustment to dividends in arrears. This scheme has been approved by DOF. Moreover, NHMFC continuously proves its strong financial performance as it is also set to pay its highest corporate income tax for CY2019 amounting to Php83,430,349 on June 12, 2020. This amount overshadowed the previous year’s remittance by 119% or equivalent to Php45.38 million.

The corporation also paid its Percentage Tax levied from its gross sales/receipts amounting to Php34,344,165. This again is 160% or equivalent to Php21.13 million higher that its 2018 remittance.

Secretary Del Rosario said that NHMFC is among the GOCCs that steadily contributes to the national treasury through its yearly increasing annual payment of dividends and corporate taxes

Toyota Motor Philippines’ dealer network restarts operations after the Enhanced Community Quarantine

Floor markers are installed to maintain proper social distancing and PPEs are provided for the dealer team members (Toyota General Santos)

A

S the Enhanced Community Quarantine transitions into the General Community Quarantine, Toyota Motor Philippines, together with its dealer network, has prepared new SOPs and comprehensive precautionary measures in accordance with DOH & WHO protocols to ensure the safety of all customers and employees.

Dealers will exercise temperature checking of customers and employees and perform regular disinfection of the entire facility, with higher frequency for common areas. To ensure strict observance of social distancing, dealers changed the layout of showrooms and service reception areas, and will control the number of persons inside the facility at any given time.

Customers are highly encouraged to set appointments before visiting the dealer to avoid inconvenience. Dealers will only be accommodating confirmed service appointments which can be easily booked through the recently launched digital tool MyToyota PH (mytoyota.ph).

In consideration of customers’ current difficulties during the ECQ period, Toyota Financial Services Philippines’ extended payment terms for their customers, expiring insurance policies under Toyota Insure and warranty coverages for Toyota vehicles are likewise extended until after the ECQ is lifted. Toyota vehicles scheduled for Periodic Maintenance Services are also given a grace period after the quarantine is lifted.

“While we are facing challenging times, this also presents

an opportunity to come back better and stronger, to review our current processes and find improvements, to constantly provide ever better products and services, and to make our team members’, customers’, and partners’ lives safer and more convenient.” says TMP President Mr. Atsuhiro Okamoto, “The new normal will take a while to get used to but together we can overcome this. Stay home, stay safe, and please observe precautionary measures if you need to go out. We are working hard to prepare our dealerships and ensuring that everyone will be safe upon their visit. We look forward to serving our valued customers again. See you in our dealerships!”

To date, the following Toyota dealer outlets located in areas under General Community Quarantine have resumed operations: Luzon

Toyota La Union Toyota Isabela Toyota Tuguegarao Toyota Calapan Toyota Puerto Princesa Toyota Camarines Sur

Visayas Mindanao Toyota Roxas Toyota Cagayan De Oro Toyota Negros Occidental Toyota Iligan Toyota Tagbilaran Toyota Valencia Toyota Tacloban Toyota General Santos Toyota Calbayog Toyota Kidapawan Toyota Dumaguete Toyota Butuan Toyota Aklan

Check out https://toyota.com.ph/news/ToyotaAdvisory for updates on advisories and daily dealer reopening schedule. For more Toyota updates, visit www.toyota.com.ph or check out Toyota’s official social media pages at ToyotaMotorPhilippines (Facebook and Instagram), and @ToyotaMotorPH (Twitter).

Sun Life Grepa revitalizes branches around the country

I

N a bid to continuously offer a meaningful service to its clients, Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc. (Sun Life Grepa) has revitalized its Makati, Quezon City, Binondo, and Bulacan branches to reflect a modern, multi-functional, and ecological design.

The new design enhances collaboration and innovation with an agile mindset, while also sporting energy-saving capabilities within flowing, open space layouts. The facilities and infrastructure were also updated to work for multi-generational groups, making it suitable for Sun Life Grepa’s diverse community.

According to Richard S. Lim, President of Sun Life Grepa, the redesign symbolizes the company’s journey forward. "We are now

more equipped to cater to the dynamism and ever changing needs of our clients, financial advisors, and employees,” he said.

Additional branches will be renovated this 2020, with more down the line in the years to come.

With over 65 years in the industry, Sun Life Grepa serves more than 2.9 million Filipinos in their pursuit of lifetime financial security and healthier lives. “With a steadily growing agency force and revitalized branches, we are gunning to expand our reach even further,” Lim said. “All these are a testament to our commitment of providing Filipinos with a brighter future.”

For more information on Sun Life, visit www.sunlifegrepa.com.

Marketing BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, May 11, 2020 B7

How PR professionals

can move on—post-pandemic W

PR Matters

By Joy Lumawig-Buensalido

ITH a nationwide quarantine disrupting our professional lives for almost two months, one drastic change we’ve had to adjust to is our near-zero mobility. Suddenly, no more zipping from client presentations to staff meetings to social lunches to—at day’s end— big-budget, high-profile events. A cramped social agenda or the label “workaholic” has lost its appeal.

For the career-driven among us, however, quarantine safety protocols, like “sheltering in place,” serve as a speed bump. We now have more time in our hands yet employ more judicious ways to use it. Flexibility has become a work ally, and so has our ability to intuit how we may continue to flourish during this crisis.

Many people are hoping that we will “wake up” to a kinder world after the lessons shall have been learned.

Social distancing may compel us to stop being touchy-feely like hugging, shaking each other’s hands or giving each other a buss on the cheek. Yet, we can be more emotionally connected with those who are in our life journey by sharing wisdom, kindness, and even humor.

There may be no going back to “normal” because the pandemic has altered the course of global economies, including ours. How do we now turn this crisis into an opportunity and navigate the tricky waters of Public Relations, post-pandemic?

We asked several of our Ipra colleagues to give us their personal opinions on how they think Covid-19 has impacted the communications industry and the Philippine business landscape. Here’s what they said:

Abigail Ho-Torres AVP and Head, Advocacy and Marketing, Maynilad Water Services Inc.

The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has forced me, as a PR and marketing practitioner, to rethink communication and engagement strategies. Since it is currently impossible to hold events and personal meet-ups, we have to resort to virtual channels for our

n Brand & Business: The U.N. COVID-19 Response Creative Content Hub Selects 2 Entries from 22feet Tribal Worldwide of DDB Mudra Group The UN Covid-19 Response Creative Content Hub, a joint initiative of the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO), has selected two entries from 22feet Tribal Worldwide, part of the DDB Mudra Group, to help stop the spread of Covid-19. The entries were submitted by the agency in response to UN’s open call out to creators across the world.

The WHO, which leads and coordinates the global health response to coronavirus, invited creators/ artists across the globe to produce and submit artwork that will educate, uplift, and inspire individuals and communities through this global crisis. The creative brief was to create an impactful illustration, audio, video, concept etc. to convey one of the UN messages, such as personal hygiene, physical distancing, know the symptoms, kindness contagion, myth-busting and do more, donate.

An illustration talking about our “Everyday World Heroes” and an 8-bit Game concept, Saving Sumbo, created by the team at 22feet Tribal Worldwide were some of the selected entries among a whopping 17,000 submissions from 143 countries in 20 different languages.

Speaking on the achievement, Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide said,

stakeholder engagement.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Filipinos are mostly social beings who are wired to respond more positively to face-to-face interaction than to emotionless messages or static social media posts. Take away the physical interaction element, and you’ve lost a key ingredient in engaging your stakeholder in a more personal way.

Given what seems to be the “new normal,” communicators who rely heavily on chika-chika and pa-cute interaction to develop meaningful relationships with their publics will have to beef up their engagement arsenal with other strategic and creative approaches that do not require physical interaction.

On a personal note, I think the ECQ has made me realize that I may be a closet introvert. I like the work-from-home scheme and find that I accomplish more when not chained to my office desk. I still miss my friends, and look forward to the day when I can have another lunch outing with my teammates, but I now understand the appeal of a hermit life.

chartered waters; with flexibility to adjust to the times, and with a greater heart for others.

Karen Alparce-Villanueva Board Member of International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO); Board Member of Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO); former PhilHealth Board Member; and Consultant of the DOH Health Promotions and Communications Services Unit

PR practice, post-pandemic, will follow the new norm of physical distancing and more use of technology and virtual meetings. For sometime, we will not expect big gatherings but we will need to connect with our audiences through different communication channels. In terms of messaging, we will see a shift in focus on the values of solidarity, caring for others, and respect for the environment. It will not be business as usual. I foresee a gentler, kinder, and more mindful approach in doing business and in relating to others. The Covid-19 pandemic is a wake-up call to everyone and as PR professionals, we need to steer the future toward a more humane society.

Jingjing Villanueva-Romero Founder and CEO, Stratos Public Relations Consultancy

I am loving this new normal. The lockdown has proven that WFH is workable. Technology has so liberated the work force that there is no need for physical presence for meetings to happen with the staff and client. There is Zoom, FaceTime, e-mail, Viber, Messenger and many others. The outputs do not fall short of expectations. The staff need not go through time-consuming traffic; outputs are delivered even before deadlines. Clients get results early and are happy. Meetings need not be set up days in advance as we now work on flexitime. It can be first thing in the morning or during the peak of the usual rush hour traffic or even after the traditional office hours. I think the staff are happier working from home. We can all work in our jammies, eat regular meals, and spend more time on bonding with family members.

Not to mention having more time for personal prayers.

“This is one of the reasons we came into the industry to begin with, isn’t it? When UN issued a call to arms and provided a tinderbox of tools, the challenge was inspiring—it tested our ingenuity to create something effective, accessible and shareable with a strong emotional tug. The fact that this was not tokenism fired us up even more. We are very proud to have contributed to this global effort.”

The selected artworks can be downloaded from the official site and can be repurposed by giving credits to the creators.

n People: CNN Worldwide Unifies Global Commercial Strategy Under Rani Raad as New President of CNN Commercial ATLANTA, USA – CNN Worldwide has appointed Rani Raad as President, CNN Commercial, in a new global po-

Millie Dizon Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications of SM

Communications in the coronavirus age is still evolving, so I think it would be premature to make any blanket speculations on its impact on public relations. But one thing is sure: things will never be the same again. With this, change should begin in each of us as PR practitioners face a brave new world. Hopefully, this will come with an attitude of gratitude for all blessings and opportunities we have received; with creativity, ingenuity and inspiration as we navigate through unsition to broaden the company’s new business streams and increase the value that CNN provides to commercial partners around the world.

By centralizing the management and strategy of its commercial activity in one operation, CNN is creating a more integrated, agile and global approach to the way it assesses market needs, develops solutions and works with partners.

To achieve this and ensure that CNN is best positioned to continue its commercial success into the decade, Raad will work closely with WarnerMedia Sales and International on its CNN advertising and distribution activity, lead international business through CNN International Commercial, optimize CNN Worldwide’s directly controlled revenue operations and maximize the commercial potential of development of new products.

Effective immediately, Raad reports directly to Jeff Zucker, Chair-

Claire Papa AVP for External Affairs of Unilab Inc.

Traditional PR planning will change.

Strengthening the digital infrastructure is a prime concern of organizations at this point to ensure the viability of the business and the daily rigors of operating it. Social distancing, even when the enhanced community quarantine is lifted or eased, will remain in force but in a calibrated way. The usual face-to-face engagements such as product launches, trade exhibits, and press conferences will not be favored at this time for health and security purposes. Hence, presence in the digital world and connection would be critical. And since the digital world defies time constraints, it follows that the way we do PR will also change. The traditional timelines for holding press briefings may no longer be followed given the instant nature of online news and social-media platforms.

Budgets for the usual physical requirements of events will not be necessary. Access to information and sources of information will be more open. Creativity will be at its peak given the limitations of our current situation.

Critical key messaging. With Covid-19, people have become more concerned with what is essential and with what will help them survive. The public will now be more concerned about health and security. It is therefore a challenge for PR practitioners to be more critical about key messaging: to be able to present compelling values for a product, a service, an investment or even a luxury to be preferred or consumed. With the sudden shift of priorities, people will become more discerning with their choices and, to a certain extent, perhaps become more conservative about their lifestyle and even with their perception of who gives the real best value among influencers.

Corporate Social Responsibility will take an active role. Being Fili-

man, WarnerMedia News and Sports & President, CNN Worldwide.

“There has never been a more important time to be strategic and purposeful about revenue generation across the platforms of CNN Worldwide,” said Zucker. “By aligning Rani and his team more closely with the rest ofthe CNN organization, there is no doubt it will make a big difference in our ability to find new ways of doing business and enhanced opportunities for our clients around the world.”

Raad, a CNN veteran of 22 years, started his career at the company in New York before holding a number of senior international roles with CNN and WarnerMedia. In 2013, Raad combined all business operations of CNN’s properties outside of the United States within the division CNN International Commercial (CNN IC), including advertising, sponsorship, Content Sales & Licensing, Out

pinos, we have always been known for our bayanihan spirit. Our resilience is brought about by our strong sense of family and community. Now, more than ever, is the time to be united in helping most especially the vulnerable and the underprivileged. With Covid-19, while the world stood still and the economy slowed down, corporations and even individuals are exerting efforts to extend help to those who need it. It should be anticipated that more companies and organizations will consider implementing leveled-up shortand long-term programs for corporate social responsibility that will ensure more security measures in times of pandemic. There will also be more coalitions among government agencies, corporations, and even NGOs.

Edd Fuentes President and CEO of Fuentes Manila

The PR landscape will drastically change. Most agencies will downsize or close shop. There will be fewer clients with less budget but with more demands. So it will be more work for less money.

Print will be limited so we will be going digital. Because of social distancing, almost everything will be online—meetings, seminars, forums, events.

Survival will be the top priority of PR agencies, so we just have to work harder, be more creative, and more than ever start thinking out of the box.

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kimgdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premiere association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the President and CEO of Buensalido & Associates Public Relations.

PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com. of Home, marketing and Audiences & Data. Since then, as President of CNNIC, Raad has developed the business by introducing a cross-platform and data-led strategy with increased digital capabilities, tailored for a wide range of client and market needs across over 200 countries and territories.

Raad said, “I don’t think I have ever seen a time when CNN has been so influential, both in the US and internationally. An era of structural change in the media market, the increased demand for verified news and the economic impact of Covid-19 is fundamentally changing the way we need to work with our business partners. With our premium brand, sophisticated solutions and worldwide reach, it’s now more important than ever before that our business partners, wherever they are, have greater and faster access to CNN’s full suite of global capabilities.”

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Monday, May 11, 2020

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

UFC BACK IN ACTION! J

By Mark Long

The Associated Press

ACKSONVILLE, Florida—Kicks, punches and grunts echoed through the empty arena. Coaches, commentators and camera clicks resonated like never before.

Blood, sweat, swollen eyelids and face masks signaled the return of UFC, the first major sporting event to resume since the coronavirus shuttered much of the country for nearly two months.

UFC 249 ushered in a new look for sports, too. One without fans and amid several safety precautions.

It was definitely different—two fighters adjusted their approaches because of what they heard announcers say—and a welcome reprieve for a sports-craved country that went nearly eight weeks with few live events.

“We did this for you, to bring sports back,” fighter Tony Ferguson told fans following his loss in the main event.

Five hours after President Trump congratulated UFC for restarting the sports world, Justin Gaethje stunned heavily favored Ferguson (26-4) in the finale. Gaethje earned a TKO in the fifth and final round of the headliner that was deemed an interim lightweight title bout. It essentially gives Gaethje (22-2) the right to fight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov next. Nurmagomedov was unable to fight this weekend because of travel restrictions.

Gaethje flipped over the top of the cage and back in following the biggest victory of his career. He then screamed repeatedly.

“I want the real one,” he said as he threw down the interim belt. “There’s no other fight I want right now.”

The stacked card saw 33-year-old Henry Cejudo, with blood gushing from his forehead and running down his chest, defend his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz and then announce his retirement in the middle of the octagon.

“I really do want to walk away, but money

A WORKER sprays sanitizer in the octagon between bouts on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. AP

talks,” said Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in 2008. “It gets stagnant. I want to leave on top.”

The event also included heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou pummeling another opponent, former National Football League defensive end Greg Hardy winning for the sixth time in eight fights and former welterweight champion and fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone losing his fourth straight.

Trump grabbed the spotlight early. His taped message was played during ESPN’s broadcast of the undercard.

“I want to congratulate [UFC President] Dana White and the UFC,” Trump said. “They’re going to have a big match. We love it. We think

Yao Ming sees hoops’ return

T

EIJING—Yao Ming, the former Houston Rockets star and now president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), says the league has three options for resuming the season that has been on hold since February 1 over the coronavirus pandemic.

Yao said the league might play out the full schedule; play a shortened season with some games dropped; or end the regular season and go straight to the playoffs based on teams’ current rankings.

Yao told state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday that he hopes as much as the season can be played as possible, but that public health and fairness were the key considerations. A tournament to restart the season was also being considered if not all scheduled games could be played.

Teams would also be isolated in hotels and fans barred from stadiums, he said.

In formulating a restart plan, the CBA received advice from a unique source, Yao said.

Zhong Nanshan, who heads a national virus control team and is married to a former national player, provided “many useful suggestions,” Yao said. “With their help, we are more confident of the CBA’s return.”

As in most countries, professional sports in China has been largely put on hold during the pandemic. The national football association said last week it would be mandating a temporary 30 percent to 50 percent pay cut for all players and hoped to restart competition on a staggered schedule. AP

EJ OBIENA recalls first meeting with the legendary Sergey Bubka in 2014 that made him soar to greater heights.

B

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

OKYO Olympics-bound EJ Obiena couldn’t be where he stands—or soars to be precise—right now in his athletic career if not for one inspiring moment of his life in 2014.

The legendary Sergey Bubka, the Ukrainian who has set pole vaulting standards to great heights—was in town to attend an official function of the International Alliance of Athletics Federations, now called World Athletics.

Bubka’s role was to entice Filipino sports officials to go grassroots in their sports development.

it’s important. Get the sports leagues back. Let’s play. Do the social distancing and whatever else you have to do. We need sports. We want our sports back.”

UFC 249 was originally scheduled for April 18 in New York, but was postponed in hopes of helping slow the spread of Covid-19.

The mixed martial arts behemoth will hold three shows in eight days in Jacksonville, where state officials deemed professional sports with a national audience exempt from a stay-at-home order as long as the location is closed to the public.

The UFC came up with a 25-page document to address health and safety protocols, procedures that led to Jacaré Souza

testing positive for Covid-19 on Friday. His middleweight bout against Uriah Hall was canceled that night. Souza’s two cornermen also tested as positive, the UFC said.

All three men left the host hotel to selfisolate elsewhere, where UFC’s medical team will monitor their conditions remotely and provide assistance with necessary treatments.

The positive results surely increased the focus on the event. Every other sport is watching closely to see how it plays out.

“The whole word is weird right now.

Everything’s weird. This event’s weird,” White said. “It’s different. We live in a different world than we did two months ago. The bottom line

is the system worked. What you don’t want to do is two days after the fight say, ‘Awe, Jacaré tested positive.’ So it worked. The system worked that we put in place.

“Without sounding like a jackass, we’re really good at what we do. We’re very, very good at what we do. We’ll just get better. The longer this goes, the better the testing technology’s going to get and the faster it’s going to get. We’re going to prove by next Saturday that professional sports can come back safely.”

White didn’t want to postpone any fights. He tried to host the event on tribal land in California and still hopes to create a “Fight Island” for future cards.

He settled for Jacksonville for at least a week—without fans and with social-distancing rules in place.

Judges and broadcasters worked from separate tables. Fighters, trainers, referees, judges, UFC staff and even outside media had to undergo Covid-19 testing to get inside Veterans Memorial Arena.

Many of those in attendance Saturday wore masks and gloves, although several were seemingly exempt from the mandate. Referees, ring announcer Bruce Buffer, other officials inside the octagon and the ring girl were unmasked.

Play-by-play commentator Joe Rogan, who initially was supposed to interview winners remotely, ended up doing them inside the octagon.

The cage floor was disinfected between bouts, and the padded parts of the octagon were wiped down between rounds.

Without fans, though, sounds that usually would be muted or completely drowned out filled the desolate arena. Fighters said it affected their bouts. Hardy and Carla Esparza said they altered their approach after hearing commentators during early rounds.

“It’s hard to assess without the crowd,” Anthony Pettis said after beating Cerrone in a wild welterweight fight. “When I land stuff, I hear the crowd and know it was a good one. This time, there was no crowd. I saw his head pop, but there was nothing behind it, so it’s hard to tell.”

OBIENA: BUBKA MAKES ME FLY Back then, Obiena was a budding national athlete a little fresh out of college. But he was already deeply in love with pole vault that he wouldn’t miss the chance to see his idol in person.

“I asked if I could meet him, hoping to get a photo and to have my shirt signed. In the end, I got a whole lot more,” Obiena said in his by-lined piece in the athletics site Spike.

“I went with my family to see Bubka, who was so welcoming.... He told me if I could jump 5 meters I’d qualify for an IAAF scholarship to train at the World Pole Vault Centre in Formia, Italy.”

Obiena followed Bubka’s advise to the letter and found himself honing his skill at the Italian city near the Mediterranean Sea. From a 4.90-meter leap that made him settle for fourth at the Myamar 2013 Southeast Asian Games, Obiena progressed to 5.25m two years later for a silver medal in the same Games in Singapore. In the Doha 2016 Asian Indoor Championships, he went better with 5.40 meters, though he missed the podium.

At the 2017 Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, India, Obiena made his presence felt with a bronze medal-clinching 5.50m.

Although his performance dipped at the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games, no thanks to an injury, for a 5.30m effort, he came back with a flourish the next year.

Obiena collected four gold medals in 2019—at the Asian Championships in Doha in April with a record-smashing 5.71 m, Universiade in Naples with 5.76 m and right before his countrymen at the New Clark City where he set a SEA Games record of 5.45m.

Obiena outdid even his own expectations when he cleared 5.81m in an Italian meet that earned him a ticket to Tokyo.

“I had never been outside Asia, and when I arrived in Formia, the facilities blew my mind.

I saw world-class athletes, I was completely star struck,” he said in his article.

He was then handed over to Vitaly Petrov, the renowned coach who molded Bubka,

the first pole vaulter to clear 6 meters and set the event’s record 35 times, not to mention his six consecutive world championships victories and his Seoul 1988 Olympics gold medal.

“There have been many setbacks along the way. In 2017, I landed awkwardly in the pit, twisting my knee and tearing two ligaments. That took six months to get over,” he said.

Obiena is currently stuck in Italy, once the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic. He was in Beijing preparing for the Asia Indoor Championships and had to immediately fly back to Italy.

In March, things got serious and lockdowns were imposed.

“No one was sure how to react. We tried to stay fit so when everything went back to normal, we won’t be coming from zero,” he said.

As Italy slowly creeps back to the “new normal,” Obiena said he regularly keeps in touch with his family in Manila.

“I worry most about the situation back home,” he said. “My family is okay, they’re staying home and doing fine. But the Philippines is a developing country and we don’t have the resources to handle the virus if the cases increase.”

But he kept his outlook positive.

“There’s always an opportunity, even in crisis. It’s more time to prepare, a chance for me to be better when the Olympics come in 2021,” said Obiena, who launched his own fund raiser for Filipinos struck hard by the pandemic by collaborating with a local company to sell t-shirts of his image at P450 each. The proceeds are donated to indigents.

NBA squads start to reopen as test plan begins to emerge

M

IAMI—The National Basketball Association (NBA) took tiny steps toward a return to normalcy Friday, as a small number of practice facilities reopened for workouts and at least one team received permission from the league to test players and staff for the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took part in a teleconference with members of the National Basketball Players Association on Friday night. Silver, according to a person familiar with the call’s details, told players that the league is still aiming to hold full best-of-seven playoff series should the season resume and that playing without fans is an obvious possibility.

Silver also spoke about the well-known notion of having the season resume in a centralized location, though cautioned that no decisions may be made for another several weeks, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the call were not publicly released.

Cleveland and Portland were open for players who wanted to get voluntary workouts in, with Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman among the first to be back on an NBA practice court since the league ordered those facilities closed seven weeks ago.

“Great to be back,” Osman wrote on Instagram, as he took a selfie standing in

what appeared to be an otherwise-empty practice gym.

Another good sign: the Orlando Magic revealed that they have been authorized by health officials in Orange County, Florida to test players and staff. In a letter obtained by AP, Orange County told the Magic it has more than enough testing resources for health-care workers and asymptomatic individuals.

“With the Orange County Department of Health authorization, the NBA has advised us that we are able to have our players tested,” Magic spokesman Joel Glass said.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are expected to be able to follow suit and test players and staff with the approval

of local officials soon as well. Lakers players were tested several weeks ago and two players were positive; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said last week that all residents of Los Angeles County are now eligible for free testing.

The NBA has yet to implement a full-scale testing program for all teams, a step that must be taken if there is going to be a return to play this season. But the league has also advised teams that they may be permitted to test, with NBA approval, if local health officials say “robust” testing already exists for at-risk healthcare workers in that community and other conditions are met.

The NBA, like other major US leagues, also is trying to avoid any sense that it is jumping the

testing line by getting players tested in cities where necessary resources are scarce. Orange County health officer Dr. Raul Pino told the Magic that they can “rest assured” that would not be the case in Orlando.

Toronto said it would welcome players back for workouts starting next week. The Raptors will be using rules even more strict than the NBA mandates right now; only one player will be allowed in the facility at a time, and the court will be the only place open to players.

Everything else, including locker rooms and weight rooms, will remain closed.

Other NBA teams, when they open, may have as many as four players in the facility at once. AP

Rick Olivares bleachersbrew@gmail.com

Bleachers’ Brew

The Isiah Thomas Dream Team omission I CERTAINLY believe that Isiah Thomas should have been on the 1992 US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. But of course, in selecting a team, talent and accomplishments are but one thing. The ability to mesh with others means just as much; maybe more.

During the telecast of The Last Dance, Thomas’s omission has become an issue. Michael Jordan has gone on record to say that he had nothing to do with Thomas non-selection.

It should be known that Jordan wasn’t the only one who had issues with Dream Team players. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Scottie Pippen had their own issues with Thomas.

The 13-man committee that selected the players included CM Newton who was the Athletic Director of the University of Kentucky, Wayne Embry who was the Vice President and General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bob Bass who was the head coach and Vice President of Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs, Quinn Buckner a former Olympian and National Basketball Association (NBA) player who was a broadcaster then, Seton Hall head coach PJ Carlesimo, Miami Heat partner and former NBA player and Olympian Billy Cunningham, Charles Grantham who was the Executive Director of the NBA Players Association, Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyewski, Detroit Pistons General Manager Jack McCloskey, University of Southern California Head Coach George Raveling, NBA Vice President for Operations Rod Thorn, Boston Celtics Executive Vice President and General Manager Jan Volk, and Indiana Pacers President Donnie Walsh.

Buckner and McCloskey withdrew but only one replacement was added in the person of New Jersey Nets Vice President for Operations Willis Reed.

Chuck Daly, the head coach of the Dream Team listed seven players per position that he thought should be included in the team. That was as far as Daly’s participation was.

As Daly surmised about the committee, “This was a very solid group of basketball people who were committed to making the right decisions for the right reasons. Obviously, just about anybody you talk to is going to agree or disagree about one or two players, but that is understandable. You’re never going to get total agreement on the makeup of the team. You just have to accept that fact and go on from there.”

During the selection, Daly was asked who he wanted on his staff. How did he want to play in terms of systems on offense and defense? What was his plan to cover opposing countries’ three-point marksmen?

Do you want specialists (e.g., defensive specialists)?

The committee solicited Daly’s thoughts on the composition of the team to which the coach requested players who were flexible. Those who can play and cover multiple positions.

Daly admitted to taking heat for the non-selection of his own players from the Detroit Pistons. He listed three—Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Dennis Rodman.

However, when the first 10 players were announced, none of them were on the list. The three Pistons were obviously disappointed. Clyde Drexler was the 11th NBA player added while Christian Laetnner was the sole US college player added as he had won two national titles with Duke.

I am sure that the committee took into consideration the testy relationship that Jordan had with Thomas (including the other players).

I thought that at that time, Dominique Wilkins and Thomas would be listed in lieu of collegian Christian Laetnner and John Stockton (although he deserved to be there as well). It’s just that in a 12-man line-up there will be some glaring omissions. It’s like the annual NBA All-Star Game... some deserving players will miss it. It is just some of those unfortunate things in life.

However...this was more than a Dream Team. It was a legacy team. Larry Bird was on the tail-end of his career. In fact, after the Barcelona Olympics, he retired. He just summoned enough of his strength and game to play pretty well. But in the previous NBA season, Bird only suited up for 45 games. Reggie Lewis had become the team’s go-to player as their kids asserted themselves (including Kevin Gamble, Dee Brown, and Brian Shaw).

This was a legacy team also intended sell the NBA brand of hoops.

The previous two NBA seasons as well as the NCAAs were used as the trials for the team.

With The Last Dance, a lot of old hurts have been rehashed. Some are making mountains out of old hurts. Maybe people are in need of talking points in this pandemic. But it isn’t right.

As for Thomas? He was rebutted pretty well by Michael Jordan about the former walking off. And right now, he would just do well to apologize for the tactless walk-off and just keep quiet about the Dream Team snub. After all, there is nothing that you can say to get.... The Last Word in.