BusinessMirror May 26, 2021

LGU requests for MB opinion on loans rise 72%

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

M

ORE local government units (LGUs) have sought the opinion of the Monetary Board (MB) for their domestic borrowings in the second half of 2020, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday.

The BSP said it has processed 160 LGU requests for MB opinion with a total proposed loan of P42.8 billion. The number of requests in the second half of 2020 was higher by 72 percent than the 93 requests processed in the first half of the year 2020.

The prior opinion of the MB on the proposed borrowings of government entities, including LGUs, is mandated by law under the New

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Central Bank Act. This requires the government, its political subdivisions or instrumentalities, to request the MB to render its opinion on the monetary and external sector implications of their proposed loans prior to undertaking any credit operation.

This provision of the law stems from the BSP’s role as the government’s advisor on official credit operations.

The BSP said the requests for MB opinion processed in July to December last year came from 17 provinces with a total proposed loan of P18.9 billion; 21 cities with a total proposed loan of P9.2 billion; 120 municipalities with a total proposed loan of P14.6 billion; and 2 barangays with a total proposed loan of P4.2 billion.

Two of the biggest loans that sought an MB Opinion are from Cavite—one on a P2.5-billion loan to build a government complex and one on a P2.14-billion loan to finance Cavite’s Wi-fi project.

Other notable loans include a P2-billion borrowing plan from Nueva Ecija to finance its Palay Price Support Program, the construction of a commercial complex and a rice mill facility and a P1.7billion loan from Marikina to refinance its outstanding principal balance from the Philippine National Bank and fund the construction of a 5-story market building.

Of the total number of LGU requests, 140 requests or 87.5 percent were rendered an MB opinion, with a total loan amount of P38.2 billion. The processing of the re-

maining 20 requests was deferred due to incomplete documents or information submitted.

Among the 17 Philippine regions, the largest number of LGU requests that were rendered an MB opinion came from Central Luzon at 10.7 percent, with loan purposes that are mostly intended for infrastructure projects and acquisition of heavy equipment.

The BSP also said some proposed loans were intended to fund measures to address the Covid-19 pandemic, such as for the acquisition of health service vehicles, construction of isolation/quarantine facilities, procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE), hospital equipment, medicines, reagents and testing kits, as well as provision of food assistance and relief goods.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 224

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APRIL BUDGET DEFICIT DOWN 83.78% TO P44.4B n

USED FACE MASKS MAY BE RECYCLED– IN CEMENT MAKING

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Residents flock to the Marikina Sports Center, converted into a mega vaccination facility on May 25. The National Bureau of Investigation has joined the probe into the alleged sale of Covid-19 jabs and vaccination slots, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said earlier, following the request of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos to investigate the alleged selling of inoculation slots in Mandaluyong City and San Juan City— reportedly sold for as much as P12,000 depending on the vaccine brand. NONOY LACZA

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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@BNicolasBM

HE national government’s budget deficit in April this year narrowed to only P44.4 billion, plunging by 83.78 percent from last year’s P273.9 billion on the back of higher revenues and lower expenditures.

See “Budget,” A2

PESO exchange rates

PHL restos seek tax holidays, add’l indoor dine-in capacity

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

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HE Philippine food service sector is asking the government for tax holidays, additiona l 20 -percent indoor dine-in capacit y for the vaccinated population, and other relief measures as restaurants continue to face challenges amid the pandemic.

During a Senate hearing on

Tuesday, Restaurant Owners of the Philippines (RestoPH) President Eric Teng said they have reached out to legislators to push an initiative granting the restaurateurs tax holidays.

“We are asking for tax holidays for our F&B [food and beverage] members so that we can reinvest in our own business and hire people back,” he said.

HE d iscarded d isposable face masks may potentially be reused as alternative fuels and raw materials in cement production through co-processing, which can help the waste management of the mandatory wearable in pandemic.

The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (Cemap) said the local industry is awaiting the revision on the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 2010-06, or the Guidelines on the Use of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials in Cement Kilns, to include the used face masks as viable alternative input for cement production.

Cemap Executive Director Cirilo Pestaño II said the pronouncement will be coming from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The agency, he said, noted the increased usage of the face masks amid pandemic—and proper disposal is necessary.

“We are just waiting for the revision of the DAO which will allow the cement manufacturing companies or facilities to handle certain

types of medical waste,” he said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Pestaño said the EMB tagged the cement industry as a “suitable partner” in disposing of such a type of waste.

Currently, the DAO prohibits the reuse or recovery of health-care wastes in coprocessing. These include pathological wastes, such as tissues, fetuses, blood and body fluids; infectious wastes; and sharps including syringes and scalpels.

Co-processing, which is covered in the DAO 2010-06, refers to the reuse or recovery of mineral or energy content of waste materials while simultaneously producing cement in a single combined operation.

T he Cemap official stressed that using alternative fuels and raw materials—which are derived from waste—is beneficial as this lessens the use of non-renewable energy sources including coal, fuel oil and natural gas in cement making. As a result, it reduces the environmental footprint of the local sector, he explained.

See “Face mask,” A2

See “Restos,” A2

n US 48.0190 n japan 0.4415 n UK 67.9757 n HK 6.1848 n CHINA 7.4796 n singapore 36.1752 n australia 37.2195 n EU 58.6744 n SAUDI arabia 12.8061

Source: BSP (25 May 2021)

A2

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

HMOs, insurers, MBAs paid ₧3.9B in Covid-related claims in 2020–IC

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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@BNicolasBM

OTAL Covid-19-related claims paid last year by health maintenance organizations (HMOs), insurers, and mutual benefit associations (MBAs) hit P3.89 billion, with the bulk of the amount going to death benefit claims.

Based on the consolidated data from the three Cov id-19 -related claims surveys conducted by the Insurance Commission (IC), the HMO sector paid almost half or 49 percent of Covid-19 related claims last year at P1.91 billion.

It was followed by life insurers which paid P1.46 billion or 38 percent of the whole amount. Meanwhile, MBAs and non-life insurers paid P354.9 million (9 percent) and P160.2 million (4 percent), respectively.

In terms of types of benefit claims, most of the Covid-19-related claims paid last year were for death benefits at P1.22 billion, followed by in-patient benefits amounting to P1.18 billion and out-patient benefits amounting to P933.7 million.

“At any rate, we hope that the aggregate amount of Covid-19-related claims paid in 2020 by life and nonlife insurers, MBAs, and HMOs either within or outside of contractual obligations amounting to P3.89 billion, which by itself is no small feat, will continue to inspire consumer confidence in said four respondent sectors; and will educate our fellow Filipinos of the benefits of availing the insurance and HMO products,” the Insurance Commission said.

The IC conducted its third survey from October to December last year.

The first survey covered the March to April 2020 and the second survey, May to September 2020.

The third survey had 111 respondents, of which 69 reported receiving

Covid-19-related claims from October to December 2020. The total number of respondents in the third survey comprised 75.51 percent of 147 licensed life and non-life insurers, MBAs, and HMOs in the country.

Respondents in the third survey included 24 life insurance companies, 43 non-life insurance companies, 27 MBAs, and 17 HMOs. The results of the third survey showed P1.4 8 bi l l ion i n Cov id19-related claims were paid from October to December, of which 44 percent or P646.84 million were paid by life insurers; 40 percent or P592.47 million by HMOs; 9 percent or P132.88 million by MBAs and 7 percent or P103.65 million by non-life insurers.

Of the P1.48-billion claims paid, P1.27 billion was paid within contractual obligations and P209.38 million was paid ex gratia, or outside of contractual obligations.

O n p e r b e ne f it b a s i s , d e at h benefits took the biggest share of Covid-19 related claims paid during the same period, amounting to P602.07 million.

The rest of the amount was spent on in-patient benefits (P480.28 million), out-patient benefits (P220.88 million), other benefits (P141.72 million), medical reimbursement benefits (P12.36 million), and critical illness benefits (P3.7 million).

Face mask. . .

Continued from A1

“Since the early 2000, the Philippine domestic cement manufacturing industry has provided an alternative waste management solution through the use of various qualified waste as alternative fuel for its cement production. This is done through a method called cement kiln co-processing,” the Cemap official shared.

W h i le co - pro ces si ng re duces emission of carbon dioxide, he said it “prov ides efficient alternative solutions in the disposal of municipal solid waste and industrial waste.” Pestaño explained that it is not harmful because the process is

Budget. . .

Continued from A1

The narrower fiscal gap in April 2021 resulted from the 55.46 -percent surge in revenues in Apr i l wh i le e x pend it u res d ropped by 27.14 percent.

Budget def ic it occ u rs when government expenditures exceed revenues.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasur y showed revenues in April this year jumped to P291.9 billion from last year’s P187.8 billion, a feat attributed largely to the timing of income ta x pay ments.

In Apr i l t h is yea r, t he Bu reau of I nte r n a l R e ve nue ( BI R ) col l e c t e d P 2 19 b i l l i o n , p o s t i n g a 142.03 -percent increase from last yea r ’s P9 0. 5 bi l l ion.

Unlike last year, BIR did not extend this year the April 15 filing deadline for the annual income ta x returns.

Despite the triple-digit growth year-on-year in its revenue collection for the month, BIR still fel l short of its P235.23 -bil lion revenue collection goal due to the reimposition of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ ) in National Capital Region (NCR) Plus.

For its part, the Bureau of Customs’ revenue take in the same month hit P51.8 billion, exceeding its P34.4 -billion collection in April 2020 because of continued improvement in importation volume.

Non-tax revenues from Bureau of the Treasury, however, fell by 84.5 percent to P9 billion in April this year from P58.3 billion a year ago due to high base effect of last year’s remittances in compliance with the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

www.businessmirror.com.ph contained within the cement field, unlike incineration which emits gases and produces by-products that end up in landfills.

In addition, co-processing also avoids less favorable waste treatment solutions such as landfilling, which produces methane and causes water pollution, Pestaño said.

“To realize the needed efficient management of waste through coprocessing essentially, waste must be processed first to be acceptable for kiln processing. Also, materials recovery facilities must sort any waste that can be accepted for co-processing,” he explained, noting that partnership with the local government units (LGUs) is a must to address the concerns over solid waste management.

“The cement plants must fix comprehensive supply contracts with waste generators such as the [LGUs] and some manufacturing firms, indicating a clear specification for the waste-derived alternative fuel or raw material they can use,” he added.

Pestaño said the cement manufacturing industry’s co-processing capabilities have been improving and more developments are expected.

In Metro Manila, the cement g roup noted that 9,000 tons of waste are produced daily but only 85 percent of the solid waste is collected and brought to landfills and dumpsites. The remaining 15 percent, it shared, usually ends up in water ways and bodies of water.

Revenues from other offices, including privatization proceeds, rose to P10.8 billion, a 140.45-percent hike from only P4.5 billion in April last year.

On the other hand, government expenditures in April slid to P336.3 billion from P461.7 billion in April 2020 owing to the high base effect of releases for Covid-19 emergency response and Bayanihan 1 measures at the height of the Luzon-wide ECQ last year.

Primary spending in April this year declined to P312.5 bil lion, slipping by 28.94 percent from last year’s P439.8 billion.

However, interest payments during the month rose by 8.86 percent year-on-year to P23.8 billion from P21.9 billion in the same month last year.

From January to April this year, the national government’s cumulative budget deficit reached P365.9 billion, inching up by 1.63 percent from last year’s budget gap of P360 billion.

Yea r -to - d ate gover n ment re venues a mou nted to P 98 8.4 bi llion, a 3.95 -percent increase f rom P950. 8 bi l l ion i n t he sa me fou r mont h per iod i n 2020.

Likewise, expenditures from the January-to-April period also rose by 3.31 percent to P1.35 trillion from P1.31 trillion a year ago.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) last week raised its projection for the budget deficit-to-GDP ratio this year to 9.4 percent or P1.86 trillion, from 8.9 percent or P1.78 trillion previously.

UnionBank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion told the BusinessMirror a higher budget deficit is likely in the coming months given

that the higher revenues and lower expenditures that occurred in April are “one-off.”

“Higher revenues may be one-off because April is usually personal income tax time and the expenditures as well because of the fiscal stimulus implementation in the same period last year,” Asuncion said.

“We have not even mentioned the funding for Bayanihan 3, which incidentally the economic managers have not committed to fund as of this time,” he added.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda earlier admitted that the projected deficit w ill increase more or by .2 percentage points w ith passage of the P405.6 -billion Bayanihan 3.

Fi n a nce S e c re t a r y C a rlo s G .

Dominguez III earlier ex pressed concern on the projected rise in the country’s fiscal deficit, adding that any additional stimulus program has to be revenue-neutral.

Despite this, both Asuncion and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation Chief Economist Michael Ricafort shrugged off concerns on the projected rise in the country’s fiscal deficit.

Asuncion said there is nothing to be really worried about, especially if government spending is done well.

Ricafort said the expected wider fiscal deficit is fine “as long as the debt-to-GDP ratio maintained/ sustained around the international threshold of 60 percent, in view of the faster GDP growth expected in the latter part of 2021 and in 2022 onwards to also help sustain the ratio and the country’s overall fiscal performance.”

Restos. . .

Continued from A1

He lamented that the food service sector is among the worst-hit industries in the pandemic, apart from the airlines and tourism sector.

“For 2020, our transaction has declined by 60 percent and the outlet number for the food service sector has been down by 6 percent,” he said, noting that further uncertainties brought about by the lockdown measures and surge in Covid-19 cases are likely to continue threatening the industry.

The restaurant owners group also sought the discounts availed of by the persons with disabilities and senior citizens to be deemed income tax-deductible as these are being fully absorbed by the industry.

RestoPH, meanwhile, asked for “unhindered” market access for the farmers and food producers.

Teng said the group worked with the Department of Agriculture to set up a program to allow farmers to sell their produce directly to the market.

“We are requesting for tax holidays for our landlords so that they themselves continue rent reprieve and rent support to their tenants,” he added.

Teng hopes the requests will be granted by the third quarter.

The restaurants, he said, have focused on lockdown management as a response amid the

Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

uncertainties instead of lockdown prevention.

The RestoPH head said the g roup held d i a log ues w it h several mayors in the National Capital Region (NCR) and landlords to discuss ways on “ how we can bring more confidence and traffic back to the restaurants.”

“We can only grow and recover if all of us are still functional. In our view, Covid can be a permanent part of life and we have to survive in that Covid situation,” he explained.

Teng pointed out that it is not helpful “when [at the] first sign of trouble, [restaurants] are a lways single-handed ly pointed [to] as a problem.”

“Yet as we have asked for more data—and very few have given us—it has still to be proven that restaurants are one of the causes of the spread of the virus,” he explained.

Still, the group welcomed the current policy of 20-percent capacity for indoor dinein capacity under the general community quarantine (GCQ ), saying it can help curb the spread of the virus. Outdoor dining, meanwhile, is allowed at 50-percent capacity.

The NCR—along with Lag u n a , B u l a c a n , R i z a l a nd Cavite—is under GCQ with heightened restrictions from May 15 to May 31.

More indoor dine-in capacity

W hile rest au ra nt ow ners understand the 20 -percent capac it y l im it, Teng asked

the government for another 20 - percent i ndoor d i ne - i n allowance for the vaccinated population. “[W]e are hoping is that, if government limits us to 20 percent, to grant us another 20 percent for the vaccinated.

We are not taking it away from anyone whether they are vaccinated or not, we just want additiona l capacit y for the vaccinated so that we can hire back our people with increased capacity,” he said.

Citing situations in other countries, Teng said high vaccination rates allow restaurants to go back to normal operations. RestoPH wants the Department of Health to “adapt this finding” as the country rolls out its vaccination program.

With this, Teng is hoping for t he implement at ion of Bakuna Badge, a vaccination pass, by July or when more Filipinos are inoculated with Covid-19 doses.

“The vaccine pass that we are asking for is not for immediate application but will also wait for certain period of time for implementation. But we are preparing for that,” he explained.

He clarified that vaccine passes are not a discriminatory measure. “Our version of vaccine pass is not a door to keep people out. It’s a key to bring people in,” Teng said.

T he initiative, he sa id, is mea nt to a l low vacc inated senior citizens to go to rest au ra nts.

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, May 26, 2021 A3

‘Lifetime validity’ of birth, marriage certificates hurdles 2nd House reading

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By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading a measure providing “lifetime validity” of the birth, death and marriage certificates issued, signed, certified and authenticated by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Local Civil Registry Offices (LCROs) and National Statistics Office (NSO).

Voting through viva voce, lawmakers approved House Bill 9175 to establish an effective system in providing copies of civil registry documents by removing duplicitous processes and requirements involving the issuance and use of such essential documents.

The bill is expected to be approved on third and final reading next week.

House Committee on Population and Family Relations Chairman Rep. Ma. Lucille Nava M.D. said considering the confusion surrounding the validity of PSA-issued certificates, many government agencies and employers require applicants to submit the certificate of live birth, or death, or marriage printed on the latest security paper (SECPA) and issued within the last six months.

“This is burdensome to Filipinos as it imposes inconvenience and unnecessary expenses, most especially to those who live in remote areas in the countryside,” Nava said.

For his part, House Committee on Social Services Chairman Rep. Alfred Vargas said the bill seeks to eliminate the unnecessary costs, inconvenience and duplicitous burden of securing the most recent copy of the civil registry document.

“The expiration of this document results in additional unnecessary expenses for ordinary Filipinos who are

required to submit this basic requirement. In addition, this increases the struggle of first-time jobseekers who are required to submit a copy of their birth certificate in the course of their job applications,” Vargas said.

The bill also provides for the creation of a civil registry database.

It also establishes a virtual viewing facility in local civil registries and in the Philippine Foreign Service Posts to verify the authenticity of the certificates of live birth, death and marriage, and the reports of birth, death, or marriage submitted.

The bill prohibits national government agencies, government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, private companies, private and public educational institutions, and other nongovernment entities from requiring the submission of another or newer copies of these civil registry documents when a valid certificate can already be presented.

In the absence of a PSA-issued certificate, the measure said it will be acceptable for individuals to submit the original or certified true copy of the original certificates of live birth, death or marriage issued and signed by the local civil registrar or National Statistics Office (NSO) certificates printed in security paper and has the Birth Reference Number or BReN code or barcode.

10.09-M Pinoys complete Step 2 registration for National ID

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

O

VER 10 million Filipinos were able to complete their Step 2 National ID registration, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA said a total of 10.09 million Filipinos completed their Step 2 registrations in provinces nationwide as of May 21. Step 2 involves the collection of biometric information at registration centers.

Under Step 2, PhilSys captures registrant’s biometric information such as their iris scan, fingerprint scan, and front-facing photograph and the validation of information at their local registration centers.

“We owe this milestone to the enthusiasm and support of our citizens to the PhilSys program and the hard work of the PSA Field Offices in making sure that registration operations roll out smoothly and safely in their respective provinces. We assure everyone that all will have a chance to register, especially when we ramp up our operations by the latter half of the year,” Deputy National Statistician of PhilSys Registry Office of the PSA Rosalinda P. Bautista said in a news statement.

The 10.09 million Filipinos who have already completed their Step 2 Registration only need to wait for

Step 3 Registration or the delivery of their physical PhilID card and unique PhilSys Number (PSN) at their chosen address.

The PSA reported that over 100,000 PhilIDs were already distributed by Philippine Postal Corp., the official delivery partner, to successful registrants as of May, 15, 2021.

PSA started Step 2 Registration in January this year on a gradual, small-scale basis for an efficient and managed process to ensure the health and safety of both registrants and registration staff amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rollout of Step 2 registration will soon be available in all provinces nationwide in partnership with local government units, with strict adherence to Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) guidelines on health and safety.

In line with its goals of financial inclusion, the PhilSys also partnered with the Land Bank of the Philippines through a co-location for registrants to easily open bank accounts immediately after their Step 2 Registration.

In accordance with Section 12 of Republic Act 11055 or the PhilSys Act, the PSA enjoined government agencies and businesses to recognize the PhilID as valid proof of identity when used by the transacting public.

NBI given 10 days to file initial probe findings into ‘vaccine for sale’ scam

By Joel R. San Juan

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@jrsanjuan1573

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has given the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 10 days to submit the initial result of its probe into reports of illegal selling of Covid-19 vaccines and vaccination slots.

In a one-page department order, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the initial report should be submitted directly to his office.

Guevarra earlier ordered NBI officer in charge Eric Distor to instruct its Cyber Crime Division and other units to investigate the alleged illegal sale of anti-Covid-19 vaccines and/or vaccination slots upon the request of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos.

The DOJ secretary said the NBI has already in its possession excerpts of online communication between those selling and buying vaccination slots that might be useful in the bureau’s probe.

“The leads provided to us consisted of excerpts from certain online communications between the transacting parties,” he added.

Aside from the NBI, the Philippine National Police and various local government units have also agreed to look

into the possible illegal practice.

Abalos earlier reminded the public that all Covid-19 shots provided by the government are for free.

Slots for Covid-19 vaccination in Mandaluyong City and San Juan City were reportedly being sold for as much as P12,000, depending on the vaccine brand.

A4 Wednesday, May 26, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DOE pressed to justify Malampaya sale anew

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

EN. Sherwin Gatchalian is asking the Department of Energy (DOE) to justify the sale of Malampaya natural gas to a private company related to the Udenna Group led by Dennis Uy. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, called for a legislative review of the deal citing

Malampaya’s importance in providing vital power supply to 6 million homes, among others.

“It talks about 6 million homes in our country,” the senator stressed, noting this constitutes “20 percent of our power requirements.”

He noted that Malampaya “powers about 35 percent of Luzon power requirements. So it is a very important asset.”

Moreover, Gatchalian reminded

that Malampaya “generates P22 billion in government revenues to our government coffers. So it’s no ordinary asset.”

In short, he pointed out that “Malampaya powers about one in every five homes here. So it’s important that we keep our lights on, it’s important that we have a constant supply of gas.”

Gatchalian proposed that in order to do it, “we need to have very compe-

tent and financially strong operators.”

He noted, however, that “this is where the question comes in because in the law, it is very clear that you can do the sale, but the government needs to approve that at the end. And the reason for that is the need…[for] the public [to be sure] that the next operator is competent and financially strong.”

Gatchalian added that the Duterte administration, through the DOE, needs to evaluate the transaction,

“making sure that it’s legal, it’s financial and technically compliant.”

“It needs to be approved,” he said, “and the logic for this is that DOE needs to assure the public, all of us, that the nextnewoperatoriscompetentandhas the capability of running Malampaya andsupplyingelectricitytoourhomes.”

Gatchalian confirmed the Senate Committee on Energy will “definitely call” an upcoming energy committee hearing.

He recalled that in their first hearing, DOE officials claimed they were “still in the process of evaluation,” noting that “it was not very clear to us.”

“What are the sets of criteria, or the criteria that they will use in terms of evaluating these. It has to be very clear to the public, what are the criteria,” Gatchalian said, adding: “And then, number two, if the new company is competent, based on those cases.”

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News BusinessMirror

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 A5

Arta chief calls for streamlined logistics process amid ‘price fixing’ in Bicol port

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

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HE Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) sounded the alarm on price-fixing and extortion arising from port congestion in a major harbor in the Bicol region, stressing the need to streamline processes in the logistics sector.

In a news statement issued on Tuesday, the anti-red tape agency reported there are alleged fixers promising priority in on boarding of vessels in exchange of an exorbitant fee in Matnog Port, which is located in Sorsogon province.

Arta, citing reports by truck owners, said that fees as high as P8,000 are being collected so they can reserve a slot in the “priority list” to ensure quick loading of their vehicles in the port—one of the gateways to Mindanao.

A complainant said that the actual fee is only around P3,000 and the collected amount in excess of this goes to the fixers and corrupt officials. The

alleged fixers, Arta said, also reportedly asked the passengers for money to buy coffee and snacks.

With this concern, Arta is aiming to open a one-stop shop at the port

by June.

It hopes to eliminate extortion and price fixing with the establishment of a single place where stakeholders can process all the documents and permits required in shipping.

“More meetings will be conducted to identify which government agencies will be involved in the one-stop shop, but the initial list includes the Philippine Ports Authority [PPA], Philippine Coast Guard, and barge operators,” Arta said.

Arta Undersecretary Carlos Quita, in a recent meeting with the private stakeholders, said the agency coordinated with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and other concerned offices upon receiving information on the matter. The Matnog Municipal Police Station arrested three fixers in response in a recent entrapment operation.

Arta shared that officials of at least two shipping lines also flagged the intervention of a task force created by local government units (LGU).

The watchdog said the task force appeared to have bypassed the authority of the PPA in handling the operations and management of Matnog Port.

The Arta official said “LGUs have no jurisdiction over port operations and that cargo/hauling trucks should not be stopped or prevented from boarding vessels provided they have the necessary business permits, licenses, and pertinent documents.”

Citing the Joint Memorandum Circular 2021-01, Quita reminded that LGUs are prohibited from collecting fees and taxes on the transport of foods and products.

These fees include “charges for wharfage, tolls for bridges or otherwise, sticker fee, discharging fee, delivery fee, market fee, toll fee, entry fee, and/or mayor’s permit fee, or other taxes, fees, or charges in any

form whatsoever upon such goods or merchandise.”

T he Philippine Competition Commission is currently investigating potential price-fixing in the logistics sector amid surging freight charges due to shortage of container vessels.

Price-fixing is an anti-competitive practice wherein competing businesses agree to control the prices, which usually result in higher rates for the consumers. It is punishable by administrative fine and imprisonment according to the Philippine Competition Act. In addressing the increasing freight fees, the Department of Trade and Industry submitted earlier this month to the Congress and the Economic Development Cluster the draft bill of the Philippine Shippers’ Act. The proposed measure, which is currently in deliberation, seeks to grant the Maritime Industry Authority power to oversee the freight charges being imposed by the logistics service providers.

Three more vaccine developers apply for clinical trials in PHL

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

T

HREE more Covid-19 vaccine developers have applied to conduct clinical trials in the Philippines, an official of the Department

of Science and Technology revealed on Tuesday.

DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina Guevara said that West China Hospital , Sichuan University, Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., and

Eubiologics Co. Ltd. have submitted their application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Evaluation of the two new applications are now ongoing. West China Hospital and Sichuan University, Shenzhen Kangtai Biological

Products Co., while the Eubiologics Co. Ltd. have yet to complete their requirements,” Guevara said in an online media forum.

There are already three Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials that have already been approved in the country.

Telcos are public utilities, must be PHL-owned–solons What the, he asked, is the basis of limiting the definition of public utility to those three industries?

In reply, Poe pointed out that “supposedly...these three industries were classified as public utilities because it is a natural monopoly....

Meaning it would be less cost-effective and also more complicated to open it up to operators or providers.”

Lacson then drew attention to the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission on the provision on public utilities between August and September 1986.

He read aloud excerpts of the September 29, 1986 deliberations involving Commissioners Suarez and Christian Monsod. Recalling discussions on (Section 11 Article 12 national economy and patrimony), Suarez told Con-com President Cecilia Munoz Palma, “that when we voted on this particular section we were thinking in terms of public utilities ownership.

That was clearly understood and conveyed to the commissioners and we voted accordingly.”

Monsod said, “It was on pub-

lic utilities but we also made it quite clear that telecoms is part of public utilities.”

“As a matter of fact,” he added: “in the presentation of Commissioner Hilario Davide Jr., in his move to increase it to 75 percent [foreign equity] against local equity, 75-25, he complained about the fact there was an undue concentration of discussions on telecoms.”

Lacson noted, “This is a series of discussions and deliberations.

The debates centered on the foreign equity rather than the inclusion or exclusion of telecoms as defined under the classification of public utility. There’s no discussion or argument on telecoms being classified as public utility.”

He warned, “we might be open to some legal challenges later concerning this particular issue. So at the proper time, if I may propose an amendment, I would like to include telecoms in the definition of public utility if the sponsor and minority leader would be open to suggestion, just to avoid a possible legal challenge.”

Processed meat products’ prices may rise 20% for rest of the year continued from a10

Pampi has said that Dutch poultry product exporters are reluctant to export chicken MDM to the Philippines due to its “born-and-bred condition.”

Imports of chicken MDM from the Netherlands must come from poultry that were hatched and raised in bird-flu free areas in the European country.

The Netherlands alone accounts for about 40 percent of total Philippine chicken MDM supply.

“It simply doesn’t work that way in Europe because it is a contiguous land mass and it is not uncommon for livestock to cross borders, of course subject to stringent measures to prevent disease from spreading, in case there is,” Ong said.

Due to this, Pampi has sought the easing of the country-wide import ban slapped on the United Kingdom and Germany. Pampi argued that if it is allowed to import MDM from the UK, then there is a “good chance” that “UK producers may be able to supply some volumes” to the industry.

Poe affirmed that “in informal discussions with colleagues, that’s also their main concern, telecoms.”

She expressed confidence that Lacson can well illustrate “the concerns that might justify classifying telecoms as a public utility especially with the growing concerns of national security.”

Lacson added that besides the Con-Com deliberations showing the intent and purpose of Section 11 Article 12 under National Economy and Patrimony, “there were subsequent SC rulings” that were similarly based on this. “They defined utility. In fact, in a separate opinion penned by Justice [Dante] Tinga, he said legislation cannot define utility. It is a judicial function. In fact they are not also defining utility but are defining the nature of the business industry if it will fall under utility or services.”

Chinese control

FOR her part, Sen. Risa Hontiveros warned against increasing Chinese incursions “once 100-percent foreign ownership is allowed

The BusinessMirror broke the story this week that meat processing companies, whether small or big players, have started to limit their product distribution in the market given the lack of raw material supply. (Related story: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2021/05/25/ less-than-45-days-will-hotdogs-soonbe-hard-to-find/) Industry sources told the BusinessMirror certain brands of hotdogs and canned meat products are now absent from supermarket shelves while other companies are not anymore selling in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Domestic retail prices of chicken MDM seen by the BusinessMirror have risen to as much as P120 per kilogram, P40 lower than a kilogram of dressed chicken.

Due to the import bans imposed on European countries, the country’s chicken MDM imports from January to April declined by 34 percent to 55,778.675 metric tons.

continued from a10

in the Philippines.”

She conveyed concerns that amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA), which will allow 100-percent foreign ownership of public utilities, will “make way for China to own crucial infrastructure in the Philippines.”

Hontiveros warned that “China may use this as leverage against the Philippines when it comes to disputes in the West Philippine Sea.” It’s bad enough, she said, that “China has been relentless in its moves in the West Philippine Sea,” so, she asked, why should the Philippines even open the way for them to buy vital infrastructure?

The Chinese, she said in Filipino, “are already getting our natural resources in our oceans; let’s not give them the edge to control even our industries.”

Hontiveros noted that in the proposed amendments to the PSA, “the sectors to be opened up to 100-percent foreign ownership include telecommunications and transportation.”

A6

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

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

UN envoy warns of possible civil war in Myanmar as people arm themselves U

NITED NATIONS—The UN special envoy for Myanmar warned Monday of possible civil war in the country, saying people are arming themselves against the military junta and protesters have started shifting from defensive to offensive actions, using homemade weapons and training from some ethnic armed groups.

Chrisrine Schraner Burgener told a virtual UN news conference that people are starting self-defense actions because they are frustrated and fear attacks by the military, which carried out a coup on Feb. 1 against the democratically elected government, and is using “a huge scale of violence.”

A civil war “could happen,” she said, and that’s why for the past three weeks from her base now in

Thailand she has discussed with many key parties the idea of starting an inclusive dialogue that would include ethnic armed groups, political parties, civil society, strike committees and the army, known as the Tatmadaw, as well as a small group of witnesses from the international community.

“Clearly it will not be easy to convince especially both sides to come to a table, but I offer my good offices...to avoid more bloodshed and civil war which would last a long time,” Schraner Burgener said. “We are worried about the situation and clearly we want that people on the ground...decide how they want to see the country going back to normal.”

Calling the situation in Myanmar “very bad,” she pointed to

more than 800 people killed, over 5,300 arrested, and more than 1,800 arrest warrants issued by the military.

The UN envoy also cited reports of unconfirmed deaths, injuries, and damage to houses and civilian property in the town of Mindat in western Chin state, where the junta declared martial law because of armed resistance to military rule. She also pointed to new reports of increased violence in Kayah state—also known as Karenni state—in eastern Myanmar and in southern Shan state.

Myanmar for five decades had languished under strict military rule that led to international isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grip, culminating in Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to leadership in 2015 elections, the international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investment into the country. The coup took place following November elections, which Suu Kyi’s party won overwhelmingly and the military contests as fraudulent.

Suu Kyi appeared in court in person for the first time since the coup on Monday on a variety of charges, amid threats by the military to disband her National League for Democracy party which won 82 percent of the vote in November’s election.

Her lawyer, Min Min Soe, said Suu Kyi wanted to tell Myanmar’s people that the party was founded for them, and “the NLD will exist as long as

the people exist.”

Schraner Burgener called the military’s attempt to ban the NLD “unacceptable” and said, “I also hope the NLD will survive because this is the will of the people.”

The UN envoy had an hour-long meeting with the junta’s military commander, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, on the sidelines of a meeting last month of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as Asean, which includes Myanmar.

Asean issued a five-point action plan that calls for stopping violence, constructive dialogue, appointment of an Asean special envoy as mediator, humanitarian aid and the mediator’s visit to Myanmar.

But Schraner Burgener said a day later general Hlaing said he would consider the five points when the situation in Myanmar is stable. And on Sunday he reportedly said in an interview with Chinese television “that he doesn’t see those five points can be implemented.”

“So clearly it’s up to Asean how to react,” she said. “Clearly, we should be aware that time is ticking and we have not a lot of time to see action on the ground, because time will just play in the hands of the military junta.”

Schraner Burgener said the Tatmadaw declared on Sunday that it had changed the rules for the retirement age of the commander-inchief, which means Hlaing “could stay for life in this position.”

After her meeting with general

Hlaing, which they agreed to keep private, the UN envoy asked to go to Myanmar to continue the discussion, but she said he replied “still it’s not the right time.” She said she isn’t giving up her efforts because she believes people would probably be encouraged by her presence. She still has an office in the capital, Naypyitaw, and said she receives daily reports from many people in the country.

Schraner Burgener has been holding talks with regional leaders and individuals and groups in Myanmar.

She said she is flying to Japan on Tuesday to meet the foreign minister. She said she is also ready to talk to Chinese officials.

Schraner Burgener stressed that the UN is trying to stop the violence, which started with the military coup.

“Clearly it’s sad to see that people have to use arms,” she said.

Local citizens have formed a socalled People’s Defense Force with the National Unity Government, which “must try and bring them under a single command structure,” Schraner Burgener said, and protesters are shifting to offensive actions.

Every day, she added, “explosions” happen anywhere, which is scaring the people.

Schraner Burgener said ethnic armed groups told her in meetings that they support the people and now have “a common enemy,” but she said it’s difficult to see how their mainly home-made weapons can go up against “a very strong army who have a lot of lethal weapons.” AP

Malaysian trains collide underground, injuring more than 200 passengers

K

UA L A LU MPUR , Ma l aysia—Two l ight ra i l t ra ins col l ided i n a t u n ne l i n K u a l a L u mp u r, M a l ay s i a , i n ju r i ng more t h a n 20 0 people, i n t he f i rst m ajor c ra sh for t he 23 -yea r - old met ro s ystem.

Pictures on social media after the Monday night collision showed bloodied passengers, some lying on the floor of the carriage strewn with blood and shattered glass.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong told local media that a metro train carrying 213 passengers collided with a vacant carriage on a test-run in a tunnel near the Petronas Towers, one of the world’s tallest twin towers.

“One carriage was travelling at 20 kilometers per hour [12.4 mph] and another at around 40 kilometers per hour [24.8 mph] when the collision happened. This caused a significant jolt that threw some passengers out of their seats,” he was quoted as saying.

Federal Territory Minister Annuar Musa tweeted Tuesday that three passengers were in critical condition and have been intubated. More than 40 had serious injuries and another 160 had minor injuries.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin pledged a full investigation into the cause. Police said they suspected a miscommunication from the trains’ operation control center. The vacant carriage had a driver while the train with passengers was fully-automated and controlled by the operation center.

The crash affected one of three light rail lines connecting Kuala Lumpur and surrounding suburbs.

Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, a government-owned company that owns the metro system, said train services resumed Tuesday morning. AP

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi makes in-person court appearance

B

A NGKOK—Myanmar’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, appeared in court in person on Monday for the first time since the military arrested her when it seized power on February 1.

Myanmar state television MRTV broadcast on its evening news program the first photo of Suu Kyi, 75, since the coup.

It showed her sitting straightbacked in a small courtroom, we a r i ng a pi n k f ace - m a sk , her hands folded in her lap.

Alongside her were her two codefendants, former President Win Myint and Myo Aung, the former mayor of Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital.

One of their lawyers, Min Min Soe, told The Associated Press by phone that the three were able to meet with their defense team for about 30 minutes before the hearing began at a special court set up inside Naypyitaw’s city council building.

Suu Kyi’s only previous court appearances have been by video link and she had not been allowed to meet in person with any of her lawyers.

Min Min Soe said Suu Kyi wanted to tell Myanmar’s people that her National League for Democracy party will stand by them.

She said that “since the NLD was founded for the people, the NLD will exist as long as the people exist,” Min Min Soe said after the hearing. She appeared to be referring to the ruling junta’s threat to dissolve the party.

UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, called the military’s attempt to ban the NLD “unacceptable.”

“I also hope the NLD will survive because this is the will of the people,” she told a virtual press conference at UN headquarters in New York, noting that the NLD received 82 percent of the vote in November’s election.

Khin Maung Zaw, head of Suu Kyi’s legal team, said “she seems fit and alert and smart, as always.”

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is always confident in herself, and she is confident in her cause and confident in the people,” he said, using an honorific for a respected older woman.

Thein Hlaing Tun, a lawyer representing Myo Aung, was arrested after the hearing on a charge of spreading information that could cause unrest.

Monday’s hearing was largely procedural. The defense lawyers said their discussions with Suu Kyi involved all the charges against her. State television said the hearing concerned the charge against all three defendants of spreading information that could cause public alarm or unrest.

Suu Kyi also faces two counts of violating the Natural Disaster Management Law for allegedly violating Covid-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign; illegally importing walkie-talkies that were for her bodyguards’ use; and unlicensed use of the radios.

The most serious charge that Suu Kyi faces is breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a penalty of up to 14 years’ imprisonment, but that is being handled by a separate court.

Suu Kyi’s supporters say the proceedings are politically motivated and are meant to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power. If convicted of any of the offenses, she could be banned from running in the election that the junta has pledged to hold within one or two years of its takeover.

Also Monday, an American journalist working for a Myanmar news magazine was detained at Yangon’s airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Malaysia. Frontier Myanmar said it does not know why its managing

editor, Danny Fenster, was detained. The junta has arrested about 80 journalists, roughly half of whom remain detained awaiting charges or trial.

T he m i l it a r y ousted Suu Ky i ’s gover nment a f ter her party won a landslide victory in a general election last November that would have given it a second five-year term in office.

Before the start of democratic reforms a decade ago, Myanmar was ruled by the military for 50 years.

The junta claims it was justified in taking power because of alleged widespread election fraud, especially irregularities in voting lists. The Asian Network for Free Elections, a non-partisan poll watching organization, in a report issued last week rejected the military’s allegations of massive fraud, saying the results of the voting were representative of the will of the people.

The junta has accused Suu Kyi of corruption and presented on state television what it said was evidence that she took bribes, but has so far only said it intends to pursue charges for that offense. Her lawyers dismiss the allegations.

Several cases are also pending against other senior members of Suu Kyi’s party.

According to Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has been keeping a detailed tally of arrests and deaths since the coup, almost 4,300 people are in detention, including 95 who have already been sentenced.

Resistance to military rule is widespread. About 100 young people gathered Monday in a lightning protest in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, carrying banners and chanting pro-democracy slogans before hurriedly dispersing.

Flash mobs have replaced the mass demonstrations that were he ld i n Febr u a r y a nd March because of the deadly response of security forces. AP

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

A7

Blinken in Israel on Mideast tour to shore up Gaza truce J

ERUSALEM—US Secretar y of State A ntony Blinken has arrived in Israel at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza cease-fire.

He will face the same obstacles that have stif led a wider peace process for more than a decade, including a hawkish Israeli leadership, Palestinian divisions and deeply rooted tensions surrounding Jerusalem and its holy sites.

T he 11-day Gaza war k illed more than 250 people, mostly Palestinians, and caused widespread destruction in the impoverished coastal territory. Blinken is expected to focus on coordinating reconstruction without engaging with Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, who are considered terrorists

by Israel and Western countries.

The truce that came into effect Friday has so far held, but it did not address any of the underlying issues.

Blinken, who landed at Ben Gurion International Airport early Tuesday, is the highest-ranking US official to visit the region since President Joe Biden assumed office. He was welcomed on the tarmac by Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and other officials.

The administration had hoped to extricate the US from the region’s intractable conf licts and focus on competition with China and climate change. But like so many of its predecessors, it was pulled back into the Middle East by another outbreak of violence.

He will begin his visit in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for his political life after a fourth inconclusive election in two years. Netanyahu faces mounting criticism from Israelis who say he ended the offensive prematurely, without forcibly halting Palestinian rocket attacks or dealing a heavier blow to Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

The war was triggered by weeks of clashes in Jerusalem between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a f lashpoint holy site. The protests were directed at Israel’s policing of the area during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

The evictions were put on hold just before the Gaza fighting erupted, but the legal process is set to resume in the coming weeks. Police brief ly clashed with protesters at Al-Aqsa on Friday, hours after the cease-fire came into effect. The site

is revered by Jews and Muslims, and has seen several outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence over the years.

Netanyahu is unlikely to make any public concessions on Al-Aqsa or the evictions because it would be seen as giving in to Hamas’ demands.

Adding to the tensions, an Israeli soldier and a civilian were stabbed and wounded in east Jerusalem on Monday before police shot and killed the assailant in what they described as a terrorist attack.

Blinken will not be meeting with the other party to the war, the Islamic militant group Hamas, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Instead, he will head to the occupied West Bank to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has no power in Gaza and was largely sidelined by recent events.

Abbas, who called off the first Palestinian elections in 15 years last month when it appeared his fractured Fatah movement would suffer an embarrassing defeat, is seen by many Palestinians as having lost all legitimacy. A crowd of worshippers at Al-Aqsa chanted against his Palestinian Authority and in support of Hamas on Friday.

But Abbas is still seen internationally as the representative of the Palestinian people and a key partner in the long-defunct peace process.

Blinken will also visit neighboring Egypt and Jordan, which made peace with Israel decades ago and have acted as mediators in the conf lict. Egypt succeeded in brokering the Gaza truce after the Biden administration pressed Israel to wind down its offensive.

Biden announced the visit, saying Blinken would work with regional partners on a “coordinated international effort to ensure immediate assistance reaches Gaza.”

The administration had been roundly criticized for its perceived hands-off initial response to the deadly violence, including from Democratic allies in Congress who demanded it take a tougher line on Israel. Biden repeatedly affirmed what he said was Israel’s right to defend itself from rocket attacks from Gaza.

The administration has defended its response by saying it engaged in intense, but quiet, high-level diplomacy to support a cease-fire.

In an interview with CNN over the weekend, Blinken said the

Mali’s president, prime minister arrested by mutinous soldiers

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AMAKO, Mali—Mutinous sold iers a r rested Ma l i ’s transitional president and prime minister Monday hours after a government reshuff le left out two members of the junta that had seized power in a coup nine months earlier, the African Union and United Nations said.

A joint statement issued along with the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS and other members of the international community called for the immediate release of President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, who were taken to the Kati military headquarters.

Those who signed on to the joint statement called for Mali’s political transition “to resume its course and conclude within the established timeframe.” “ T he inter nationa l communit y rejec ts i n adva nce a ny act of coerc ion, i nc lud i ng forced res ig n at ions,” t he st atement sa id. “ T hey emph a si ze t h at t he i l lconsidered ac t ion t a ken tod ay

c a r r ies t he r isk of wea ken i ng t he mobi l i z at ion of t he i nter nat iona l commu n it y i n suppor t of Ma l i.”

The developments raised new alarm about whether the transitional government would be able to move ahead freely with plans to organize new democratic elections as promised by next February in Mali, where the UN is spending $1.2 billion a year on a peacekeeping mission.

The two leaders were sworn in last September after the ruling military junta agreed to hand over power to a civilian transitional government under growing international pressure.

T he ju nt a h ad g rabbed power a mont h ea rl ier a f ter mut i nous sold iers enc i rc led t he home of President I bra h i m Boubac a r K eit a a nd f i red shots i nto t he a i r. He l ater resig ned on n at iona l telev ision u nder du ress, say i ng he d id not wa nt blood to be shed i n order for h i m to st ay i n of f ice. AP

administration is now focused on trying to “ build something more posit ive,” say i ng Pa lest i n i a n s and Israelis deserve “equal measures of opportunity, of security, of dignity.”

He said the time is not right for an immediate resumption in negotiations, but that steps could be taken to repair the damage from Israeli airstrikes, which destroyed hundreds of homes and damaged

infrastructure in Gaza.

The narrow coastal territor y, home to more than 2 million Palestinians, has been under a crippling Israeli-Eg y ptian blockade since Hamas seized power from

Abbas’ forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep H a m a s f rom i mpor t i ng a r m s, while the Palestinians and human rights groups view it as a form of collective punishment. AP

A8 Wednesday, May 26, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Meat processors need govt action

A

S early as March, local meat processors have warned that in two months they will run out of a raw material needed for making food products that are popular with the “bottom 30 percent income households” (See, “Meat processors file pricehike bids with DTI,” in the BusinessMirror, March 29, 2021). At the time, the industry appealed to the government to help them ease the tightness in the domestic supply of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken—the primary material used by meat processors to manufacture products like hotdogs and meat loaf.

Meat processors urged the government to consider implementing again the measures it adopted in 2017, which enabled the industry to keep prices stable despite the outbreak of avian influenza in the country’s major sources of MDM in Europe. The government “regionalized” the import bans or confined it to areas that are no longer experiencing avian flu outbreaks and allowed members of the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) to import MDM provided that the shipments would go straight to their facilities and undergo heat treatment.

While the government had recently lifted the ban on MDM imports from the Netherlands—one of their top sources of the raw material—producers from the European nation remain hesitant to export MDM to the Philippines. This is because Manila had required that the chicken used in making MDM must be “born and bred” in the Netherlands. Processors were forced to turn to Brazil and North American countries and pay more for the raw material as supply has tightened with the import bans in place.

Compounding the sourcing woes of food processors is the surge in charter rates and freight costs due to the global container crisis (See, “Shipping charter rates up 65% in Q2, food importers hurting,” in the BusinessMirror, May 24, 2021). From $6,000 in the third quarter of 2020, charter rates in Asia have nearly tripled to $16,500 per 1,100 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessel in the first quarter. This situation is expected to persist until and unless lockdowns in food-exporting countries like Brazil are lifted and herd immunity via vaccination is achieved.

The possible delay in shipments due to the container crisis and the lack of sources for their raw material had prompted processors to warn that the Philippines is facing a shortage of processed meat products (See, “‘Less than 45 days’: Will hotdogs soon be hard to find?” in the BusinessMirror, May 25, 2021). The absence of these products from supermarket shelves will hurt minimum wage earners and the “Bottom 30” the most as canned goods and processed meat products have become their alternative to expensive pork and chicken.

Government officials must sit down with the processors and find solutions that will avert the shortage of processed meat products.

Concerned government agencies must take into consideration the proposals put forward by the processors, such as allowing MDM imports from the United Kingdom. The dilemma currently confronting meat processors should also serve as a wake-up call for the government to fast-track efforts to spur the local production of MDM, which will create more jobs and help the Philippines achieve food security.

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Revisiting the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security Second of two parts

L

ast week, I discussed the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program (SBWS), which is a collaborative project among three government institutions led by the Department of Finance (DOF), in cooperation with the Social Security System (SSS) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), to assist the more than 3 million workers of small and medium business enterprises negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The program—which opened on April 17, 2020 and ended on June 24 in the same year—was offered for only two months due to its limited budget allocation. SSS disbursed around P23.53 billion worth of financial aid to 3.08 million qualified workers in the first tranche. The second tranche covered a total amount of P22.08 billion and benefitted 3.05 million employees nationwide.

While this is the first time that SSS was tapped to carry out such a significant project, it is very inspiring to know these small business owners were delighted that the national government initiated extending financial assistance to them and their workers. The majority lauded

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SBWS helped millions of workers and provided SSS and our partner agencies quite a few valuable lessons in implementing subsidy programs.

First, an updated database is key to the success of a subsidy program.

Identifying the rightful beneficiaries who will receive financial assistance is indeed challenging, especially if the list is not readily available. SSS

Dennis Gorecho

Founder

Editor in Chief

Impact and learnings

Mutiny as ground for dismissal

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

the government efforts, pointing out that during this crisis, the wage subsidies served as a great relief for them and their employees who did not receive any salary during the lockdown due to temporary and permanent closures of businesses.

was tapped for the SBWS program primarily for its organized and extensive database of private-sector employers and members nationwide.

We know the value of an updated record in granting the benefits to the rightful beneficiaries. And this is why we are continually reminding employers and members to regularly update their SSS records.

Second, implementing the SBWS program amplified the need for government institutions like SSS to embrace digitalization. Using the latest technological advancements can increase efficiency and speed up the delivery of government services to the public.

For this reason, we have been intensifying our efforts to expand our online services portfolio as part of the ExpreSSS campaign with the tagline: “Mas pinadali. Mas pinasimple.

Mas pinabilis.” For the SBWS program, we successfully offered the required services online, from the application stage to disbursement of benefits.

Even before the pandemic, SSS has been working to make all its transactions available online. On May 31, 2021, even Maternity Benefit applications and reimbursement will be included as part of our digital services, along with sickness, unemployment, retirement, and death benefits. Even applications for loan offerings, like salary loans, can be facilitated through the My.SSS or SSS Mobile App.

M

utiny has become a common plot for blockbusters like the 1997 American historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg.

T he film centered on the 1839 revolt aboard the Spanishowned ship La Amistad during which Mende tribesmen abducted for the slave trade managed to gain control of their captors’ ship.

After their capture off the coast of Long Island, an international legal battle followed on the issue whether the Mendes are slaves or legally free. The case was ultimately resolved by the US Supreme Court in 1841.

Mutiny comes from an old verb, mutine, which means “revolt.” It is defined as conspiracy of overt act of defiance, oppose or attack upon ship authority by two or more seafarers subject to such authority.

Mutiny is regarded as a most serious offense, especially aboard ships at sea.

Wide disciplinary powers are given to the commanding officer be-

cause of the general view that the safety of the ship depends upon the submission of all persons on board to the will of the captain.

However, in some instances, Filipino seafarers who aggressively assert their rights are wrongfully accused of commission of fictitious offenses like mutiny, leading to the early termination of their contract.

Seafarers usually are adamant in standing for their rights for fear of retaliation from the company or its officers on board, including dismissal based on fabricated grounds.

Their concerted action to question in some cases are viewed as insubordination, desertion, mutiny or attempt to desert the vessel or refusal to sail with the vessel.

The Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 (MLC 2006) recognizes the seafarers’ rights to decent conditions of work on almost every aspect

of their working and living conditions including, among others, hours of work or rest, payment of wages, paid annual leave, repatriation at the end of contract, onboard medical care, accommodation, food and catering, health and safety protection and accident prevention.

The Supreme Court touched upon the issue of mutiny on the illegal dismissal case of NFD International Manning Agents v. Ilagan (GR 165389 October 17, 2008).

In their defense, the company argued that the seafarers were validly and lawfully dismissed from their employment for their acts of “mutiny, insubordination, desertion/ attempting to desert the vessel and conspiracy among themselves together with the other Filipino seafarers in refusing and or failing to join M/T Lady Helene in its next trip or destination to Mauritius without just and valid cause.”

The case emanated from the disagreement between the foreign captain and the Filipino chief engineer when the latter refused to resume his work in the Engine Room wherein the other Filipino crew sided with the Filipino chief engineer.

The Supreme Court ruled that the seafarers were illegally dismissed and awarded them for the payment of the unexpired portion of their respective contracts, unpaid wages, moral and exemplary damages and attorney’s fees.

Finally, the program gave emphasis to the use of digital payment methods to distribute government aid. A recent study conducted by a fintech payment company revealed that half of the online shopping transactions last year were coursed through cashless payment methods. Digital payment platforms are already gaining traction among Filipinos. We see it as an opportunity to shift from traditional face-to-face payouts to digital platform in disbursing government financial assistance.

In SBWS, we directly credited the wage subsidies to the workerassigned bank account or e-wallet account. In addition to the convenience it offers, direct crediting of government aid has also eliminated corruption and helped stem the spread of the dreaded Covid-19 among beneficiaries who used to congregate and line up to receive aid.

While we learned a lot from the SBWS experience, we at SSS are also honored to play a significant role in implementing the government’s Bayanihan to Heal as One Act Program to assist the Filipino workers through this health crisis.

Have a safe and healthy week ahead!

Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.

We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss. gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.

The minimum requirement of due process in termination proceedings consists of notice to the seafarers intended to be dismissed and the grant to them of an opportunity to present their own side on the alleged misconduct.

To meet the requirements of due process, the employer must furnish the seafarer sought to be dismissed with two written notices before termination of employment can be legally effected, i.e., (1) a notice which apprises him of the particular acts or omissions for which his dismissal is sought; and (2) the subsequent notice after due hearing which informs him of the employers’ decision to dismiss him.

The Ship Master is excused from furnishing a seafarer with the required notice of dismissal if doing so will prejudice the safety of the crew and the vessel, as in cases of mutiny.

Even if the Ship Master was justified in dispensing with the notice requirements, still, it was essential that his decision to dismiss the Filipino seafarers should have been entered in the ship’s logbook; and that a complete report, substantiated by witnesses, testimonies and any other documents in support thereof, duly sent to the manning agency.

The record of this case is bereft of any such entry in the ship’s logbook or journal and of any report and supporting documents.

See “Gorecho,” A9

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

When less has more

Were Trillanes’s backchannel talks with Chinese officials really a ‘tagumpay’?

Dr. Carl E. Balita

Entrepreneurs’ Footprints

H

is success may have been attributed to the surname “Reyes” which for the past three decades has been a brand in the Salon industry. But Les Reyes is more than just a brother to beauty icon Ricky Reyes. He has his fair share in reinventing the salon industry. And his colorful life shared with his family is the same that turned out to be a well-lived life of comfort and happiness. My family and I had an up close and personal encounter with the man who taught us the lesson that less is more.

Started life with less

Les recalls growing up in a broken family impoverished for many years.

He sold calamansi, kamatis, and anything in the streets and would sleep in jeepneys for nights in search for what he could contribute to the family’s basic needs. He admits to have sniffed rugby and engaged in other adventurous lifestyles while growing up, and in his quest for survival. He wasn’t able to finish high school and was married to a Thomasian nurse, Dina, who like many Filipino nurses had the opportunity to pursue the American Dream. He entered the US Army and learned the military life for nine years. The life was comfortable in the US for Les and his three children but his calling to be back was haunting. And he listened to his heart and went back to the Philippines, enjoying the dual citizenship and the lessons learned in the military.

Discovering the more with less

Clueless on what to do in the Philippines, initially, he became the Director of the Ricky Reyes School.

He became a witness to the many positive and negative aspects of how salons are operated. He got all those that are positive, engaged his Art of War, and set up his own, with the permission of his brother Ricky.

Reyes Haircutters Salon was born and made an irresistible offer of a haircut that costs P50 in a salon setting that is clean, classy and trendy.

It massified the salon industry and catered to the salon experience of ordinary men and women in communities. The P50 haircut became an attraction for people to try and avail of the services, and that opened the RHC doors to the greater mass of people who wanted the quality services for the amount that they could afford. “They deserve the best service as anyone else,” says Les. The services were by expert technicians whom they trained in hairdressing and treatment services, as well as nails and other pampering services. It wasn’t hard for Les to find people to train because he knew that there were women, mostly housewives who wanted a career in the beauty and hair industry. He searched for them and empowered them not only in skills but also in how they lived their lives. They pursued a decent career earning unlimited income based on their willingness to work.

Reyes Haircutters Salon became the leading brand that sprouted in major locations in the Philippines and some parts of the world. There was a time that he breached the 200 plus locations as he expanded efficiently through franchising. His franchisees were mostly women who were also in search for empowerment—including overseas Filipinos who reintegrated back to their families. Les transformed them to become the entrepreneurs they dreamt to be.

Knowing the “Art of War” as a trained military man, Les Reyes knew what he was doing and explored the territory beyond what is in the practice of the industry.

Gorecho. . .

continued from A8

The company failed to establish that the seafarers were guilty of mutiny or that, in any other manner, they posed a clear and present danger to the vessel and its crew which would have justified the Ship Master in dispensing with the required notices.

The total absence of any prior written notice of the charges against

Pivot for less to be more

Les Reyes admits that the salon industry suffered a severe blow due to the pandemic. In spite of the quarantine, he found his way to offer, whenever possible, haircut and salon treatment to the medical frontliners.

But his Art of War isn’t running out of ideas to survive and win the battle.

He claims that Covid gave RHC the chance to reinvent itself.

While some of his salons have closed, he offered his franchisees free franchise fee whenever they are ready to come back to business.

He also proposed that they can pay when they are able.

But more importantly, he recently launched innovations in the salon industry. He introduced the concept of a Garden Café Salon for those with small garden in their homes in residential areas. Similar to an Al Fresco dining, Reyes Haircutters now operate in Al Fresco settings of garages, gardens and home spaces where they are able to blend the sale of plants, coffee and other products made by these families. He increased the prize of their services to one P150, considering the limited social distancing services they are mandated to observe.

He predicts that the salon and pampering services will benefit more from its outdoor settings that gives more safety to customers and also provides for a unique pampering experience. He asserts that the beauty, hair and pampering services are all essential services because the crisis is challenging everyone to find reasons to smile, look good and feel good.

As a leader in the industry, Les models to the other salon owners the lessons on how to help other people stand up and to find ways through the use of what is available to earn enough to survive and thrive. He envisions bringing RHC in every subdivision to be able to serve the small community. “There are various Reyes Haircutters variants people will soon see around them,” he assures.

More life with Les

MY family and I had a close encounter with Les Reyes and his family in their vacation home in a residential village in Tagaytay. And the days spent with him were conclusive on how life could be—less for more.

While comfort was evident in the way he lives, there is simplicity with how it is spent. With no driver and only one maid, they are able to host guests with so much hospitality and care.

His spiritual life is most admirable, as I am witness to his early morning meditation and prayers, as well as his daily rosary routines. But most importantly, it is on how he treats other people like real co-equal. He didn’t miss on entertaining the house helpers and driver we brought along with us—ensuring that they are entertained in the same way we were.

Les Reyes and wife Dina made my family realize that friendship is one of the best treasures that families can keep in this life journey. And his footprints have always given people the reason to smile. them, the opportunity to defend themselves against such charges and a written notice of the subsequent decision of the Ship Master to terminate their employment establish the arbitrary and oppressive character of the dismissal from their employment.

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 A9

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

MAKE SENSE

A

mid the hardships brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, and despite the health, political and economic challenges the Philippines is facing in its post-pandemic development trajectory, resolving our West Philippine Sea (WPS) row with China peacefully must be a priority because this would be a win-win solution for all Filipinos.

On a personal note, as Chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), I believe that the sentiment of the country’s business and industry sector is for a peaceful resolution of the Philippine-Sino territorial dispute, amid rising tensions at the West Philippine Sea. A widely discussed topic today that is related to our WPS territorial dispute with China were the backchannel meetings of former Sen. Antonio Trillanes with top Chinese officials during the April 2012 Scarborough standoff between the Philippine Navy cutter BRP Gregorio del Pilar and two Chinese surveillance ships. The Chinese surveillance vessels took position at the mouth of the lagoon to prevent a BRP Gregorio Del Pilar team from taking into custody several Chinese fishing boats caught illegally extracting corals, giant

clams and live sharks from the shoal.

In an earlier television interview, Trillanes said, “tagumpay ang backchanneling” (the backchanneling was a success). However, I am confused, if not amused that Trillanes could claim “tagumpay” (success), when we don’t even know the purpose and what transpired in those meetings.

He never explained anything to the Filipino people. I find it repulsive for him to think that Filipinos are too naïve to take his “tagumpay” claim at face value. The former senator should have been more circumspect with his words.

Borrowing the statement of a prosecutor who was not an acquaintance of this columnist when he dismissed a libel case filed against me, he said, “The stature of a person is not what he says he is. It is what other people say he is.” With that,

Like my radio co-host and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, we’re all groping for answers on what was Trillanes’s role in those talks. Claiming that he was only required to report the details of his backchannel talks with China to then President Benigno Aquino III could be a Constitutional Oversight, if not an Unconstitutional Overreach.

I suppose the former senator is aware that “sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”

I find Trillanes’s “tagumpay” claim on his backchannel talks with Chinese officials a misnomer, if not self-serving.

First, for a credible measure of the backchannel talks’ rate of success, it is not for Trillanes alone to say that the talks were successful, but the people as well. Second, except for former President Benigno Aquino III and perhaps a select few, nobody knows about the former senator’s goals in those talks. So, how can Trillanes be rated for his “success” in the backchannel talks, when we don’t even know the things he was supposed to attain in those meetings?

And lastly, if Trillanes’s claim that his backchannel talks with Chinese officials were indeed “tagumpay”, why

was he not tapped or utilized in the succeeding efforts of the Aquino administration to resolve the country’s WPS row with China?

Like my radio co-host and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, we’re all groping for answers on what was Trillanes’s role in those talks.

Claiming that he was only required to report the details of his backchannel talks with China to then President Benigno Aquino III could be a Constitutional Oversight, if not an Unconstitutional Overreach. I suppose the former senator is aware that “sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”

As such, being a duly elected senator during the backchannel talks, with his cloak of sovereign authority at that time, Trillanes should tell the nation the boons and banes of these talks. This would not only enable the Filipinos to measure whether Trillanes’s backchannel talks were “tagumpay” or not. But most importantly, he would be performing his responsibility to keep the people that elected him into office informed about developments affecting the nation’s security and integrity.

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade; a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.

EU leaders agree on Belarus sanctions after plane diversion

By Raf Casert, Samuel Petrequin & Vladimir Isachenkov Associated Press

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RUSSELS—The European Union agreed Monday to impose sanctions on Belarus, including banning its airlines from using the airspace and airports of the 27-nation bloc, amid fury over the forced diversion of a passenger jet to arrest an opposition journalist.

Reacting to what EU leaders called a brazen “hijacking” of the Ryanair jetliner flying from Greece to Lithuania on Sunday, they also demanded the immediate release of the journalist, Raman Pratasevich, a key foe of authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

“We won’t tolerate that one can try to play Russian roulette with the lives of innocent civilians,” said EU Council chief Charles Michel, who presided over the EU meeting.

A brief video clip of Pratasevich, who ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organize huge protests against Lukashenko, was shown on Belarusian state television Monday night, a day after he was removed from the Ryanair flight.

Sitting at a table with his hands folded in front of him and speaking rapidly, Pratasevich said he was in satisfactory health and said his treatment in custody was “maximally correct and according to law.” He added that he was giving evidence to investigators about organizing mass disturbances.

In their unusually swift action in Brussels, the EU leaders also urged all EU-based carriers to avoid flying over Belarus, decided to impose sanctions on officials linked to Sunday’s flight diversion, and urged the International Civil Aviation Organization to start an investigation into what they viewed as an unprecedented move and what some said amounted to state terrorism or piracy.

The leaders called on their council “to adopt the necessary measures to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by such airlines.” In addition calling for the release of Pratasevich, they also urged authorities in Minsk to free his Russian girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, who was taken off the plane with him.

The text was endorsed quickly by the leaders who were determined to respond with a “strong reaction” to the incident because of the “serious

endangering of aviation safety and passengers on board by Belarussian authorities,” said an EU official with direct knowledge of the discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly about the private talks.

At least one European airline already diverted a flight around Belarus. British Airways flight 3599, which on Saturday and Sunday crossed over Belarus, bypassed the country Monday by using Russian airspace instead, according to the website Flightradar24.

Ryanair said Belarusian flight controllers told the crew there was a bomb threat against the plane as it was crossing through Belarus airspace Sunday and ordered it to land.

A Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane in a brazen show of force by Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for over a quarter-century.

Belarus authorities then arrested the 26-year-old activist, journalist and prominent Lukashenko critic. Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend were taken off the plane shortly after it landed, and authorities haven’t said where they’re being held. Ryanair Flight FR4978, which began in Athens, Greece, was eventually allowed to continue on to Vilnius, Lithuania.

“This is an attack on democracy,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the executive European Commission. “This is an attack on freedom of expression. And this is an attack on European sovereignty.

And this outrageous behavior needs a strong answer.”

Von der Leyen added that a €3 billion EU investment and economic package for Belarus will remain on hold until Belarus “turns democratic.”

US President Joe Biden said late Monday that he asked his team to develop appropriate options to hold accountable those responsible, in close coordination with the European Union, other allies and partners, and international organizations.

“This outrageous incident and the video Mr. Pratasevich appears to have made under duress are shameful assaults on both political dissent and the freedom of the press. The United States joins countries around the world in calling for his release, as well as for the release of the hundreds of political prisoners who are being unjustly detained by the Lukashenka regime,” Biden’s statement said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier that National Security adviser Jake Sullivan raised the issue in a call with the secretary of the Russian Security Council.

Two US senators urged the Biden administration to prohibit US airlines from entering Belarus airspace because of the incident. “We must protect innocent passengers from despotic regimes and stand in solidarity with dissidents who are being targeted,” Sens. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, and Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said in a joint statement.

EU leaders were particularly forceful in their condemnation of the arrest and the move against the plane, which was flying between two of the bloc’s member nations and was being operated by an airline based in Ireland, also a member. EU leaders have tried to bring Belarus closer to the bloc—to encourage democratic reforms and reduce the influence of Russia—but have failed so far.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he instructed the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority “to request airlines avoid Belarusian airspace in order to keep passengers safe.” He added he was suspending the permit allowing Belavia to operate in the UK. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered officials to move to cut the air link with Belarus and ban Ukrainian flights via the neighbor’s airspace.

The US and the EU have imposed sanctions on top Belarusian officials amid months of protests, which were triggered by Lukashenko’s reelection to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the opposition rejected as rigged. More than 34,000 people have been arrested in Belarus since then, and thousands beaten.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry bristled at what it described as “belligerent” EU statements, insisting Minsk acted “in full conformity with international rules.”

It ordered all Latvian diplomats

out of the country after the Belarusian flag was replaced Monday with the white-and-red one used by the opposition at the world ice hockey championship in Riga, Latvia. The event was moved from Minsk amid the international outcry over the crackdown.

Lufthansa said a flight from Minsk to Frankfurt with 51 people aboard was delayed Monday following a “security warning.” It was allowed to depart after the plane, passengers and cargo were searched.

On Sunday, flight tracker sites indicated the Ryanair flight was about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Lithuanian border when it was diverted. There were conflicting reports on what exactly happened.

Belarusian transport ministry official Artem Sikorsky said the Minsk airport had received an e-mail about the bomb threat from the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

But Ryanair said in a statement that Belarusian air traffic control instructed the plane to divert to the capital. The plane was searched, and no bomb was found. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary described the move as “a case of state-sponsored hijacking… state-sponsored piracy.”

Passengers described Pratasevich’s shock when he realized the plane was going to Minsk.

“He freaked out when the pilot said the plane is diverted to Minsk.

He said there’s death penalty awaiting him there,” passenger Marius Rutkauskas said after the plane finally arrived in Vilnius.

Pratasevich was a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app’s Nexta channel, which played a prominent role in helping organize the anti-Lukashenko protests. Nearly 2 million Belarusians in the nation of 9.3 million people have followed the channel. Belarus authorities have labeled the channel “extremist” and charged Pratasevich in absentia of inciting mass riots and fanning social hatred.

He could face 15 years in prison.

Amid the international outrage, Moscow quickly offered a helping hand to its ally.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the episode needs to be investigated—but that it couldn’t be rushed. Moscow and Minsk have close political, economic and military ties, and Lukashenko has relied on Russian support amid Western sanctions.

A10 Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Processed meat products’ prices may rise 20% for rest of the year

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

RICES of local meat products may increase by as much as 20 percent —on a staggered basis over the next eight months—as processors start to use more expensive raw materials due to depleting stockpiles and thin volumes of imported supply.

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) said the industry has “used up” all of its lower-priced mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken supply and has started to use the ones bought at $1.2 per kilogram to $1.4 per kilogram price tag since mid-May. “We can no longer absorb the impact to our cost. By June onwards, [chicken MDM] arrivals will be at $1.50 [per kilogram] to $1.60 [per kilogram],” Pampi Vice President and CDO Foodsphere Inc. President Jerome D. Ong told the BusinessMirror.

“Processors will have to increase prices by 15 [percent] to 20 [percent] to stay afloat,” Ong added.

Ong explained that the increase in their prices would not happen overnight but stretched in increments of 3 percent to 5 percent in the course of the next six to eight months.

The staggered increase in prices would provide sufficient elbow room for both meat processors and the government to work out solutions to ease chicken MDM supplies.

Dar: Helping Pampi

Sought for comment, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told the BusinessMirror they “have been helping” Pampi “and will continue to assist without sacrificing quarantine regulations.”

“We allowed the Netherlands following the concept of unaffected regional areas on avian flu,” Dar said via SMS. The prices of chicken MDM, particularly those from Brazil and North America—the ones currently available to the Philippines—have skyrocketed to $1.6 per kilogram, more than thrice its $0.5 per kilogram price last year.

Behind the price surge is a simple fact: local meat processors are now at the mercy of North American and South American suppliers who know that Europe cannot yet export to the Philippines due to existing temporary import bans.

“Just so that our margins do not completely collapse while working on easing MDM supply which in turn stabilizes prices. Then we stop increasing or even rollback to precrisis levels, if MDM prices go back to below precrisis levels,” he said.

In March, the BusinessMirror broke the story on rising chicken MDM prices threatening the local meat processing industry, with Pampi warning they could run out of low-cost priced MDM stocks in two months.

At present, Ong estimates that

the industry’s chicken MDM inventory ranges from 30 days to 45 days.

Industry players have noted that the rise in MDM price offset the economic benefits from the lower 5percent tariff on the imported raw material. The industry’s situation is also worsened by the persisting global shipping problems that delayed shipments for many months.

Due to this situation, several Pampi member-companies had filed price increase petitions with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for products that are classified as Basic Necessities & Prime Commodities (BNPC)— mostly canned meat products.

The local meat processing industry has been scrambling to look for raw material, particularly from Europe, which accounts for 60 percent of the country’s annual chicken MDM imports. Pampi has been talking to DA to ease import bans slapped on European countries with reported avian influenza outbreaks.

In April, the DA allowed meat processors to import chicken MDM from bird-flu free areas in the Netherlands subject to what the industry deemed stringent conditions.

Continued on A5

TELCOS ARE PUBLIC UTILITIES, MUST BE PHL-OWNED–SOLONS

By Butch Fernandez

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@butchfBM

WO senators have raised serious objections to a move to exclude telecommunications from the definition of public utilities in the amendatory bill for the 85-yearold Public Service Act now being rushed through the Senate.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the new PSA might run into a “constitutional challenge” for being against the intent of the 1986 Charter framers, as gleaned, he said, from minutes of the Constitutional Commission, which clearly stated telecommunications as a public utility the ownership of which must rest in Filipino hands.

For her part, Sen. Risa Hontiveros warned that allowing telecoms to be treated as a nonpublic utility, and therefore, exempt from the Constitution’s equity ownership limits, could give Chinese players greater control of a crucial sector—leverage that Beijing could use in its ongoing maritime disputes with Manila over the West Philippine Sea. Lacson and Hontiveros aired their misgivings Monday night

as the Senate opened plenary interpellations on the PSA, one of three major economic bills certified urgent by Malacañang.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate Public Services and Franchises panel, is sponsoring the measure to amend the Commonwealth-era PSA. Taking the f loor, Lacson reminded colleagues that “I have been very consistent in my position that in this day and age of global technology, the world is becoming smaller and smaller,” adding that: “if the country does not open up our economy to foreign investments, I am afraid we can never be competitive.”

He added, however, that “no matter how good our intentions are along this line, we might be open to possible legal challenges bordering on constitutional issues that may be raised later against this measure.”

L acson t hen e x pl a ined: “One of the salient features of the measure is to define public utility to include only three: distribution of electricity, transmission of electricity, water pipeline distribution systems and sewerage pipeline systems,” he said.

Continued on A5

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B1

Electricity demand in Meralco franchise area grew in April

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

lectricity demand in the franchise area of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for April this year has improved versus April 2020 as government ramps up its Covid-19 vaccination drive.

Meralco President Ray C. Espinosa said during the company’s stockholders’ meeting Tuesday that last month’s energy sales stood at 14,261 gigawatt hours (GWh), up 3 percent from the 13,856GWh in the same month last year. Net Systems Input (NSI) also improved by 2 percent to 15,001GWh from 14,655GWh in the same period last year.

“The first few months of the year show evidence of recovery and

healthy growth. Through April 2021, energy sales grew 3 percent and NSI by two percent compared with the same period last year. Likewise, we continue to energize more customers as shown by year-to-date customer count growth rate of 4 percent,” said Espinosa.

As of end-April, Meralco customer base grew 4 percent to 7.23 million from last year’s 6.96 million.

Moving ahead, Meralco said it

would continue to heighten revenue enhancement and expansion programs. Espinosa said Meralco would accelerate its electrification program, expand its business by serving new areas through key partnerships and also expand pole management operations to urban services and non-cable attachments.

“We are moving towards the electrification of Meralco’s vehicle fleet beginning this year. We will deploy electric pickups, vans, cars and motorcycles to serve our Metro Manila business centers.

We will also heighten our race to zero-waste program not only in the centers of our operations but also to the edges of our distribution network.

Going forward, 100 percent of our new distribution transformers will be powered by plant based natural ester oil, making these assets 99 percent recyclable and biodegradable,” said Espinosa.

Meralco reported in March that its profits fell by nearly a third in 2020 as the slight increase in demand for electricity from its residential customers could not offset the sudden drops in demand from its commercial and industrial clients.

Based on a regulatory filing, Meralco’s reported net income stood at P16.32 billion as of end-December, a 30-percent plunge from P23.29 billion the year prior, as its revenues declined by 14 percent to P275.30 billion from P318.32 billion.

The company said its income in the first quarter grew by 66 percent year-on-year to P4.3 billion, while core profit fell 11 percent year-onyear to P5.1 billion.

Meralco Chief Finance Officer Betty Siy-Yap said the company’s net income during the period was largely attributed to foreign exchange gain, re-evaluation of Meralco’s investment in Global Business Power Corp. and non-core expense adjustment.

PPA remits ₧3.77-B to national govt

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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he Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has raised its 2020 dividend remittance to the national government to P3.77 billion after it forwarded an additional P221 million to the National Treasury recently.

The additional dividends were remitted after a re-computation of its corporate tax income showed surplus payments, increasing its actual net income to P6.55 billion from the P6.32 billion reported earlier.

With this, the port regulator’s contribution now represents 57.5 percent of the agency’s net income last year.

According to PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago, the additional remittance will help the government in its initiatives in addressing the pandemic.

“PPA is bent on fully supporting the government in its anti-Covid-19 efforts. This additional dividend remittance will give the national government additional flexibility in managing our resources for our response efforts,” he said.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade thanked the port regulator for its prudence and agreed that the additional cash inflow is “critical” for the government’s Covid-19 response efforts.

“Once again, PPA proved that unparalleled public service results in positive de-

velopment not only for the agency but most especially to the national government, who in turn, can provide more for the people towards its desire to give Filipinos comfortable lives,” Tugade said.

Since 2016, the PPA has been consistent as one of the top-performing attached agencies of the DOTr and to date was able to remit a total of P17.391 billion in dividend to help in the implementation of various social and health programs of the government.

“PPA is celebrating its 47th Founding Anniversary in less than two months, and this signals our desire to uplift everyone as we continue to move forward, and recover and heal together as one nation,” Santiago said.

Cebu Pacific unveils improved Flexi product

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ebu Pacific (CEB) said it has enhanced its CEB Flexi product—a flight add-on that now allows passengers to voluntarily cancel their flights for free, up to 2 hours before departure, and store the value of the booking in a Travel Fund.

The amount may be used to book new flights or purchase other add-ons such as seat selection or travel insurance.

The enhanced CEB Flexi, which may be purchased for as low as P499 during initial booking on the CEB website or mobile app,

supports the airline’s goal to continue allowing guests to travel with peace of mind while supporting the industry in its efforts to rebuild passengers’ trust and confidence in air travel.

With this add-on, passengers will also be able to enjoy unlimited rebooking, following CEB’s permanent removal of change fees in March. A minimal fare difference may apply.

“We continue to listen and put our customers’ needs first as we work on developing products for everyJuan. We

understand that while there is still a pentup demand for travel in this new normal, plans can still change at the last-minute, and this product gives them added flexibility they need when booking flights with CEB,” said Candice Iyog, CEB Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience.

Passengers can also avail of the CEB Flexi product as a bundle through GO Flexi, and enjoy free cancellation, checked-in baggage with a combined weight of up to 20 kilos, and a standard seat.

PLDT employees buy rice from farmers

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LDT Inc. said its employees have bought more than P2 million worth of rice from nearly a thousand rice farmers through its program that allows small-scale farmers to sell directly to consumers through a digital platform.

The company said in a statement that it has been able to help farmers to directly market their produce through its #BuyLocal program in partnership with a certain digital platform.

Under the program, PLDT and Smart employees in Metro Manila can buy rice directly from the farmers through its partner digital platform, providing farmers an assured market, according to the statement.

“So far, #BuyLocal has generated more than P2 million in revenues from the sale of more than 36,000 kilos of rice, benefiting almost a thousand farmers,” the statement read.

“The campaign has also raised P180,000 for the Buy Local sustainability fund intended to provide capital to small-scale farmers, which Smart will be turning over P100,000 to 20 farmer beneficiaries in

Mindoro Occidental,” it added.

PLDT said the #BuyLocal Campaign is an offshoot of Smart’s Digital Farmers Program (DFP) in partnership with the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) that “seeks to empower Filipino farmers by providing access to digital tools and technologies.”

PLDT added that the program aims to boost efficiency, productivity and marketability of farmers’ produce.

“These tools are most relevant since Filipino farmers face a lot of uncertainties. In the last quarter of 2020 alone, Typhoons Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses left

more than P12 billion in damaged agriculture,” it said.

PLDT said the DFP partners with technology-savvy youth to help farmers access the digital space and establish a channel where they can exchange ideas.

“The basic DFP trainings are particularly useful to small-holder farmers who are unable to tap the vast resources of agriculture apps due to lack of basic digital knowledge. With the coronavirus pandemic creating a new normal, we need to empower our farmers with innovations that will help them live smarter for a better world,” said Stephanie Orlino, Smart Assistant Vice President for Community Relations.

The DFP has conducted 48 trainings in 47 municipalities for more than 1,200 farmers and youth, including 52 officers from the different DA-ATI offices, according to the company. PLDT added that the DFP has also produced 16 self-paced microlearning videos on basic ICT skills for farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Approval of ASPAs seen boosting power reserves of Mindanao

M

indanao is assured of additional power reserves following the Energ y Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval of Ancillary Services Procurement Agreements (ASPAs) in the first quarter.

“These ASPAs are necessary to support the transmission of power capacity and energy from generation sources to consumption loads.

These power reserves ensure and maintain the reliable operation of the transmission system in line with good utility practice and the Philippine Grid Code,” said ERC Chairperson Agnes Devanadera during the Mindanao Power Forum 2021 held Tuesday.

Ancillary service is being provided by qualified power generating plants and procured, managed by the system operator, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The ASPAs are only effective once approved by the ERC. According to the NGCP, the primary function of ancillary service is to maintain the load-generation balance of the system. It is basically a support service to sustain the transmission capacity and energy that are essential in maintaining the power quality, reliability, and security of

the transmission grid.

Based on ERC data, these ancillary service providers are King Energy Generation Inc., Therma Marine Inc., Western Mindanao Power Corp.

For the upcoming opening of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Mindanao—scheduled on June 26—the ERC approved with modification the application of the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.

(PEMC) for a new Price Determination Methodology (PDM) for the WESM. “Our decision was promulgated last December 2020. The said new PDM will also be used for the upcoming commercial operations of the WESM in Mindanao,” said Devanadera.

A key feature of the new PDM is the adoption of the enhanced WESM design and operations which provides a shorter dispatch interval of 5 minutes which will result in better pricing signals, as it instantly reflects the changes in supply and demand.

Projecting possible conditions in the next 5 minutes will result in a more accurate picture of the actual conditions as compared to projecting the possible market conditions in the next one hour. Lenie Lectura

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

US-based Cirtek unit to hike production of 5G antennas

Q

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

uintel USA Inc., the United States-based unit of listed firm Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp., said it is ramping up production of its 5G antennas after US regulators has awarded new telecommunication spectrum to carriers.

The company said it expects 5G subscription to grow from around 200 million in 2020 to about 3 billion in 2025, while the global number of connected devices is projected to increase to 43 billion in 2023, an approximated threefold increase from 2018.

By 2025, the total amount of traffic carried on mobile networks will grow to 4,150 exabytes, and 58 percent is likely to come from 5G

where Quintel is engaged in.

“In Quintel, we see the converging trend of connectivity encompassing various sectors of industry outside traditional telcos and continue to lead innovation and product differentiation to allow an ever-increasingly connected world,” the company said.

US carriers, it said, prepare ahead for much of the work on 5G network design while new spectrum

is cleared for commercial use in the coming months.

“Network designs are in the works with expected build to commence 2022 once airwaves become available for 5G usage as they are evacuated by satellite companies,” it said.

Quintel said it has a dedicated team to support its top tier carriers in North America for 5G complimentary product introductions.

The products include a total of 78 new antennas across 17 product families.

The global 5G base station market, where it operates, is anticipated to grow by a compounded annual growth rate of around 32 percent through 2028 and is estimated to cross market valuation of $177 billion by 2028, according to research and market study published in March.

“Quintel differentiates from the competition by empowering carriers with flexibility to maximize their existing 4G networks while

allowing the overlay of 5G services in parallel avoiding costly legacy network overhauls as well as option to deploy pure 5G from a bottom-up approach in new site builds, maintaining inter-operability between legacy and greenfield networks,” it said.

Laguna-based Cirtek earlier said it sees higher growth in the semiconductor and wireless, broadband business segments this year, fueled by the shortage of semiconductor chips worldwide.

The company said the growth this year will also come from the positive outlook on the end of the pandemic and the return of customer demand for various commodities including electronics parts for automotive application.

Quintel’s new 5G-model antennas of Quintel will start to roll out before the end of the 2021. Cirtek’s business projections take a higher turn with significant increase of orders from majority of its customers, it said.

Prime Media inks deal with broadcast firm

T

he parent firm of Prime Media Holdings Inc., a listed company that has minimal operations, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Philippine Collective Media Corp. (PCMC) for the possible merger of the two firms to create “a vi-

able and operational enterprise.”

In its disclosure, Prime Media said its parent firm RYM Business Management Corp. signed the deal with PCMC for a share-for-share swap deal.

PCMC shareholders will exchange their respective shares the company

for shares of common stock in Prime Media to gain majority ownership and control of the listed firm.

In turn, Prime Media will acquire PCMC, which will become its whollyowned subsidiary.

“Under the MOU, the PCMC share-

holders shall cause the appraisal of PCMC’s assets to enable the preparation of an audited financial statement and determine its valuation as of 30 April 2021. The parties are likewise given a period of 30 days to conduct their reMay 25, 2021 spective due diligence and thereafter execute such

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return definitive agreements to Stock Funds implement the share-forALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 199.34 7.76% -8.71% -4.92% -12.27% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2369 32.91% -6.61% -0.16% -5.8% share swap transaction,” ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.7333 10.04% -13.11% -7.3% -12.76% the company said.

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7101 10.47% -8.15% n.a.

-11.67% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.684 2.78% -6.85% n.a.

-7.77% PCMC is a domestic corFirst Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.4199 9.21% -6.22% -3.7% -10.55% poration currently engaged First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6261 -8.65% -17.6% 0.26% -10.55% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 93.86 26.6% -6.22% n.a.

-7.93% in the business of radio and PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 40.6705 10.03% -6.94% -3.84% -13.19% television broadcasting Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 428.76 7.65% -6.8% -4.18% -12.32% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.9903 17.02% n.a. n.a.

-9.75% with active radio stations, Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0602 11.51% -5.8% -2.92% -9.24% frequencies and permits as Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 30.7483 10.36% -6.21% -2.73% -11.57% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7922 8.18% n.a. n.a.

-13.23% well as a national franchise Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.1702 10.74% -6.44% -3.09% -12.96% granted through Republic

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 697.17 10.75% -6.37% -3.23% -13.03% Act 11508.

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6357 9.85% -10.27% -6.4% -11.57% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1856 7.72% -8.4% -4.49% -12.09% The company’s parSun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7957 10.18% -6.75% -3.4% -13.29% ent earlier made a deal United Fund, Inc. -a 2.9479 9.05% -6.24% -1.94% -11.18% Exchange Traded Fund with New Era Empire ReFirst Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 93.5272 10.78% -6.2% -2.61% -13.04% alty Corp. to pursue sev Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.2328 35.26% 3.96% 8.92% 2.49% eral highly capitalized Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7343 33.55% 10.29% 11.72% 3.68% businesses of property Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities development, media and ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.607 6.92% -2.08% -1.84% -3.69% entertainment, gambling ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1021 7.21% -3.1% -1.42% -8.02% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4501 5.12% -1.84% -1.76% -6.73% and investment in finanFirst Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1836 0.82% n.a. n.a.

-7.55% cial services.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8558 3.96% -0.13% -0.08% -5.51% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4591 4.42% -1.63% -1.32% -8.69% New Era also has the inPhilam Fund, Inc. -a 15.5074 4.67% -1.5% -1.39% -8.44% tention to takeover Prime Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9359 5.27% -2.6% -1.24% -7.55% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2822 4.94% -3.96% -2.44% -8.14% Media which may result in Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9395 4.76% n.a. n.a.

-8.13% its backdoor listing on the Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8332 6.01% n.a. n.a. -12.22% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8136 6.72% n.a. n.a.

-12.81% Philippine Stock Exchange.

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8062 4.73% -5.21% -3.16% -9.18% “This MOU with PCMC Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03795 -0.5% 2.98% 1.25% -2.99% is intended to implement PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.128 19.21% 2.63% 5.46% -1.93% the plan of the corporaSun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6201 25.03% 8.04% 8.48% 2.38% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1991 13.25% 4.57% 4.75% -0.25% tion to enter the media and Bond Funds broadcasting sector. The Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 371.16 2.15% 3.12% 2.5% 0.02% pending transaction with ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9158 -0.92% 0.81% 0.13% 0.82% New Era Empire Realty Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2246 1.53% 3.87% 4.38% 0.31% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2584 -0.73% 2.23% 1.59% -1.64% Corp.is not affected by this First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4348 0.39% 3.15% 1.73% -0.75% MOU and New Era has no Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4783 -0.9% 4.14% 1.75% -3.37% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3228 3.22% 4.27% 2.77% 0.12% objections to the execution Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9764 2.15% 4.42% 2.79% -0.62% of this new MOU,” it said.

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0271 0.52% 4.11% 1.78% -1.43% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1937 1.85% 5.24% 3.02% -0.38% Prime Media shares Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7435 0.77% 4.58% 2.35% -0.66% were last traded at P3.04 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $484.3 2.93% 3.12% 2.33% 0.09% apiece on Tuesday.

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.57 2.4% 1.09% 1.19% 0.18% The company said its ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.1764 -2.6% 1.91% 1.1% -8.12% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 0% 1.59% 0.95% -2.63% deal on the new businesses PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0488 -0.95% 0.57% -0.62% -4.02% include commercial and resPhilam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4854 2.98% 5.09% 2.17% -1.98% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0627824 4.72% 3.51% 2.21% 0.74% idential real estate developSun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1394 -1.09% 2.9% 0.97% -2.61% ment and real estate leasing Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities with leisure and hospitalALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 130.12 1.94% 3.08% 2.52% 0.24% ity; media and entertainFirst Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0516 1.24% n.a. n.a.

0.33% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.3039 1.89% 2.57% 0.56% 2.89% ment, by acquisition of an Primarily invested in foreign currency securities existing media or broadSun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0569 1.39% 1.7% n.a.

0.43% Feeder Funds cast franchise; gaming, by Primarily invested in Peso securities applying for a license from Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.2297 n.a. n.a. n.a.

8.86% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities the Philippine Amusement ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $1 9.89% n.a. n.a.

2.04% and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) or securing partnerships with an existing Pagcor licensee. VG Cabuag

mutual funds

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

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

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

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

7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the

newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

May 25, 2021

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

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

43.05 101.1 80.7 24.35 8.98 45.4 20.75 55.05 17.08 118 75 1.23 3.9 0.58 2.89 1.28 0.375 901 0.67 165

44.65 101.2 80.95 24.45 9 45.5 20.8 56.85 17.6 118.5 75.05 1.34 3.93 0.63 3.11 1.45 0.38 979 0.7 165.5

43.1 101.5 80.3 24.25 9.06 45.3 20.8 56.95 17.48 117.8 75.15 1.22 3.9 0.63 2.91 1.27 0.38 950 0.69 164.9

43.1 102.2 80.95 24.45 9.15 45.5 21 56.95 17.5 118.5 75.15 1.22 3.93 0.63 2.91 1.3 0.395 950 0.69 165.9

43.1 101.1 80 24.25 8.95 44.55 20.75 56.9 17.48 116.5 75 1.22 3.9 0.63 2.88 1.27 0.375 950 0.69 161

43.1 101.1 80.95 24.45 9 45.5 20.75 56.9 17.5 118.5 75.05 1.22 3.93 0.63 2.88 1.28 0.38 950 0.69 165

45,000 2,371,640 1,834,920 45,300 178,800 1,474,600 447,500 30 94,300 443,780 18,420 3,000 138,000 3,000 17,000 202,000 320,000 10 48,000 51,580

1,939,500 240,365,711 148,147,133 1,102,645 1,611,251 66,453,765 9,338,250 1,708 1,648,864 52,200,996 1,382,724 3,660 541,430 1,890 49,440 258,600 121,600 9,500 33,120 8,470,107

-87,523,628 2,911,229 319,315 -335,996 -13,297,820 674,960 -1,054,044 10,403,264 -966,902 -58,950 -887,695

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 6.98 6.99 6.96 7.01 6.94 6.98 12,436,000 86,785,829 ALSONS CONS 1.36 1.37 1.37 1.38 1.35 1.36 460,000 626,540 20.95 21 21.4 21.7 21 21 10,443,100 221,763,365 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.78 0.76 0.77 11,034,000 8,517,160 29.5 29.75 29.5 29.75 29.1 29.5 405,200 11,881,855 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 69 69.75 69 69 68.5 69 31,260 2,156,543 273 274 272.4 274 271.8 274 245,060 66,964,098 MERALCO MANILA WATER 14.2 14.38 14.26 14.64 14.2 14.2 1,592,000 22,847,198 PETRON 3.03 3.04 3.04 3.09 3.04 3.04 2,422,000 7,389,710 4 4.13 4.08 4.13 4.05 4.13 64,000 260,720 PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM 12.88 13.08 13.02 13.28 12.88 13.08 24,100 315,994 20.55 20.7 20.6 20.75 20.5 20.7 416,800 8,600,480 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 10.44 10.46 10.4 10.46 10.36 10.44 277,700 2,888,252 14.3 15.02 15.04 15.04 15.04 15.04 1,200 18,048 VIVANT AGRINURTURE 6.25 6.34 6.36 6.38 6.3 6.34 155,100 985,453 2.95 2.97 2.95 2.97 2.9 2.95 145,000 426,560 AXELUM 23.65 23.9 24 24.4 23.3 23.9 6,285,500 150,143,810 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 13.68 13.7 12.68 13.68 12.68 13.68 786,700 10,395,212 7.45 7.48 7.44 7.5 7.4 7.48 1,924,200 14,388,367 DNL INDUS EMPERADOR 9.39 9.4 9.4 9.4 9.2 9.39 4,390,900 41,069,868 69.5 70 69.5 70 69.05 70 165,320 11,529,473 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.61 0.63 0.61 0.63 0.61 0.63 11,000 6,730 1.33 1.35 1.35 1.36 1.31 1.35 5,224,000 6,967,420 FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA 72 72.95 73 73 71.5 72.95 29,140 2,106,673 JOLLIBEE 180.2 180.3 180 180.3 178 180.2 801,490 143,984,763 28.05 28.45 28 28.5 28 28.45 3,000 84,680 LIBERTY FLOUR MAXS GROUP 5.86 5.99 5.85 5.99 5.84 5.99 148,700 881,278 0.255 0.26 0.26 0.27 0.25 0.26 1,910,000 494,950 MG HLDG SHAKEYS PIZZA 7.95 8.02 8.1 8.1 7.97 7.97 310,900 2,490,843 1.02 1.03 1.02 1.04 1.02 1.03 306,000 314,550 ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP 4.52 4.63 4.54 4.55 4.52 4.52 86,000 389,330 SWIFT FOODS 0.127 0.131 0.127 0.127 0.127 0.127 690,000 87,630 127.9 129 128 130 126.1 127.9 1,051,360 134,484,151 UNIV ROBINA VITARICH 0.8 0.81 0.81 0.82 0.8 0.81 1,553,000 1,252,780 60.05 63.6 60.05 60.05 60 60 770 46,212.50 CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG 1.18 1.19 1.19 1.2 1.18 1.19 1,084,000 1,291,760 2.72 2.74 2.61 2.75 2.58 2.74 1,247,000 3,338,700 DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT 12.32 12.38 12.32 12.48 12.32 12.4 13,100 161,608 6.95 6.96 6.95 6.95 6.7 6.95 22,200 153,170 EEI CORP HOLCIM 5.41 5.5 5.48 5.5 5.4 5.41 27,600 150,899 MEGAWIDE 6.04 6.05 6.17 6.17 6.04 6.04 703,700 4,269,655 12.32 12.38 12.2 12.3 12.2 12.3 115,300 1,418,160 PHINMA TKC METALS 1.02 1.07 1.01 1.06 1.01 1.06 141,000 143,460 2.09 2.1 2.15 2.24 2.08 2.1 6,902,000 14,803,060 VULCAN INDL CROWN ASIA 1.78 1.81 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.77 27,000 47,790 1.86 1.9 1.86 1.86 1.86 1.86 11,000 20,460 EUROMED MABUHAY VINYL 5.27 5.46 5.46 5.47 5.3 5.4 16,900 91,886 PRYCE CORP 5.52 5.6 5.63 5.63 5.6 5.6 9,900 55,491 19.96 20.85 19.7 19.96 19.7 19.96 3,100 61,096 CONCEPCION GREENERGY 4 4.01 3.95 4.05 3.9 4 3,366,000 13,452,190 8.62 8.65 8.7 8.7 8.62 8.65 270,700 2,341,753 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.06 62,000 65,110 6.39 6.47 6.4 6.47 6.39 6.39 35,200 225,022 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.25 1.26 1.25 1.28 1.25 1.25 147,000 184,680 CIRTEK HLDG 5.44 5.49 5.58 5.59 5.43 5.49 316,700 1,745,108

9,167,044 -118,499,305 83,320 -4,146,020 -2,095,979 -14,901,434 -7,092,084 -4,271,880 -8,200 25,920 2,782,685 28,996 -436,084 29,500 44,263,755 377,200 -9,947,254 -1,281,534 304,733.50 699,900 165,472.50 10,212,108 -179,990 15,150 500,980 -40,800 -135,660 -35,611,539 -499,050 31,390 81,312 -45,469 -889,843 -1,414,500 -46,450 -78,710 -674,655 -279,021

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 1 1.01 1.01 1.02 1 1 4,471,000 4,483,660 ASIABEST GROUP 6.86 7.39 7.35 7.39 7.35 7.39 400 2,946 719 719.5 706 719 706 719 239,390 171,359,970 AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY 34.8 35 34.9 35 34.6 35 927,800 32,374,735 9.8 9.83 9.96 10 9.79 9.83 4,849,000 47,918,021 ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG 2.95 2.97 2.96 2.99 2.94 2.97 1,842,000 5,452,690 6.73 6.79 6.79 6.79 6.79 6.79 8,600 58,394 ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.69 0.7 0.7 0.71 0.69 0.7 381,000 264,600 ATN HLDG A 0.7 0.71 0.7 0.72 0.7 0.71 1,240,000 878,820 4.99 5.02 5 5.04 4.95 5.02 191,800 958,670 COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG 5.56 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.48 5.6 9,987,000 55,973,168 0.27 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 50,000 14,000 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL 532 533.5 538 539.5 530.5 533.5 212,000 113,516,420 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 60,000 198,510 HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT 49.5 50 49.5 50 49.15 50 2,087,300 103,990,655 0.83 0.84 0.82 0.84 0.8 0.83 1,570,000 1,293,670 LODESTAR 3.13 3.25 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 10,000 33,000 LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 13.3 13.4 13.14 13.4 13.12 13.4 1,183,300 15,752,218 0.45 0.475 0.46 0.475 0.45 0.475 60,000 27,700 MABUHAY HLDG MJC INVESTMENTS 1.58 1.63 1.41 1.58 1.41 1.58 2,000 2,990 3.7 3.73 3.65 3.74 3.62 3.73 22,008,000 81,575,310 METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA 3.03 3.04 3.02 3.05 2.95 3.04 1,301,000 3,940,780 2.5 2.89 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 20,000 50,000 REPUBLIC GLASS SOLID GROUP 1.19 1.22 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 62,000 73,780 SYNERGY GRID 370 398 398.2 398.2 370 398 890 337,392 912.5 915 905.5 917 904 912.5 321,060 292,860,825 SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP 113.9 114 114 114.5 113.5 114 77,560 8,838,843 128.2 133 132.9 133 132.9 133 340,420 45,275,843 TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS 0.244 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 1,710,000 427,500 0.203 0.214 0.202 0.217 0.202 0.203 420,000 85,530 ZEUS HLDG

-772,040 -36,794,590 288,050 -30,478,223 -4,676,990 51,180 -362,375 957,871 10,798,305 -198,510 -32,196,530 24,000 -13,200 -1,311,716 -32,807,840 -42,200 73,780 -115,288,015 3,179,087 -6,650 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.61 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.61 0.61 371,000 226,410 AYALA LAND 32 32.1 31.8 32.1 31.6 32 5,770,500 184,475,120 1.15 1.23 1.24 1.24 1.2 1.2 4,000 4,880 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 35.65 36 35.9 36.2 35.65 35.65 402,400 14,511,255 1.38 1.42 1.38 1.39 1.36 1.38 488,000 670,850 BELLE CORP A BROWN 0.94 0.95 0.92 0.95 0.92 0.94 723,000 676,810 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.86 0.83 0.86 522,000 441,110 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.123 0.127 0.127 0.127 0.127 0.127 80,000 10,160 CEB LANDMASTERS 6.66 6.68 6.9 7.05 6.44 6.66 5,153,100 34,871,039 0.39 0.4 0.395 0.41 0.39 0.4 13,600,000 5,373,900 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.32 0.33 0.31 0.33 0.31 0.33 70,000 21,900 11.92 11.98 12 12.06 11.86 11.98 189,800 2,263,806 DOUBLEDRAGON DDMP RT 1.94 1.95 1.94 1.96 1.93 1.95 4,636,000 9,034,990 6.74 6.8 6.86 6.86 6.74 6.74 27,000 182,880 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.26 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 30,000 8,100 0.176 0.177 0.182 0.182 0.173 0.176 8,940,000 1,585,200 EVER GOTESCO 1.08 1.09 1.07 1.09 1.07 1.09 3,989,000 4,296,330 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.84 146,000 122,640 7.3 7.65 7.58 7.8 7.18 7.69 72,800 546,039 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.35 1.36 1.35 1.36 1.33 1.35 1,463,000 1,975,850 2.89 3.48 2.9 2.9 2.88 2.88 13,000 37,620 KEPPEL PROP CITY AND LAND 1.47 1.49 1.47 1.52 1.46 1.47 415,000 614,710 2.75 2.76 2.72 2.78 2.71 2.75 60,882,000 167,471,110 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.36 0.365 0.37 0.37 0.365 0.365 7,550,000 2,766,350 PHIL ESTATES 0.51 0.52 0.5 0.52 0.49 0.52 2,255,000 1,134,925 3.32 3.34 3.24 3.35 3.18 3.32 4,258,000 14,001,900 PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND 15.66 15.8 15.74 15.8 15.5 15.8 1,446,100 22,715,098 0.236 0.244 0.236 0.244 0.236 0.244 140,000 33,680 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.49 1.5 81,000 121,350 2.6 2.63 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 30,000 78,000 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 2.51 2.55 2.58 2.58 2.45 2.55 913,000 2,288,930 SM PRIME HLDG 32.55 32.7 32.7 32.85 32.45 32.55 27,928,500 914,326,580 3.64 3.77 3.63 3.77 3.62 3.77 42,000 152,930 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.47 1.51 1.5 1.51 1.5 1.51 606,000 909,060 3.5 3.54 3.49 3.54 3.49 3.54 2,531,000 8,889,580 VISTA LAND

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.4 11.58 11.1 11.6 11 11.58 84,400 959,770 GMA NETWORK 9.03 9.04 9.07 9.14 9.04 9.04 876,600 7,945,258 0.42 0.455 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 20,000 8,400 MANILA BULLETIN GLOBE TELECOM 1,800 1,803 1,820 1,825 1,800 1,800 50,930 91,786,620 1,294 1,295 1,268 1,294 1,268 1,294 151,960 195,934,990 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.18 0.181 0.185 0.186 0.18 0.181 139,190,000 25,426,280 19.48 19.56 19.84 19.84 19.5 19.5 7,378,300 144,652,684 CONVERGE DFNN INC 3.8 3.86 3.82 3.97 3.75 3.86 575,000 2,189,090 DITO CME HLDG 9.26 9.27 8.7 9.35 8.57 9.26 15,460,100 140,141,337 1.98 2.14 2.14 2.14 2.14 2.14 1,000 2,140 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 2.24 2.25 2.24 2.28 2.22 2.24 493,000 1,103,860 0.4 0.405 0.425 0.45 0.405 0.405 125,150,000 52,833,850 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.43 2.48 2.45 2.51 2.43 2.43 387,000 960,480 8.08 8.1 8.29 8.29 8.08 8.09 1,400 11,383 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 14.88 14.9 14.9 14.9 14.9 14.9 17,500 260,750 2.89 2.96 2.99 2.99 2.86 2.89 473,000 1,375,370 CHELSEA 44 44.3 44.5 44.65 44 44 235,900 10,411,960 CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER 138 138.8 138.3 139.7 138 138 1,171,680 162,483,364 0.96 0.98 0.96 0.98 0.96 0.98 7,000 6,740 LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA 4.28 4.29 4.28 4.35 4.21 4.29 208,000 887,350 1.98 2.05 1.99 2.07 1.99 2.05 50,000 100,530 METROALLIANCE A PAL HLDG 5.5 5.55 5.6 5.6 5.45 5.55 13,600 75,215 1.14 1.15 1.17 1.17 1.14 1.15 282,000 325,350 HARBOR STAR BOULEVARD HLDG 0.087 0.088 0.091 0.095 0.084 0.087 290,800,000 25,598,710 DISCOVERY WORLD 3.07 3.14 2.79 3.3 2.79 3.14 254,000 770,860 0.54 0.55 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.55 269,000 145,050 WATERFRONT FAR EASTERN U 560 570 570 570 570 570 1,020 581,400 0.335 0.34 0.335 0.335 0.335 0.335 260,000 87,100 STI HLDG BERJAYA 4.67 4.85 4.65 4.8 4.65 4.8 4,000 18,900 6.23 6.26 6.4 6.4 6.22 6.26 2,228,500 13,994,109 BLOOMBERRY LEISURE AND RES 1.55 1.56 1.56 1.57 1.52 1.56 5,040,000 7,902,570 PH RESORTS GRP 1.81 1.82 1.8 1.84 1.79 1.82 1,659,000 3,003,370 0.395 0.4 0.39 0.4 0.39 0.4 510,000 200,650 PREMIUM LEISURE PHIL RACING 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 11,100 64,380 6.92 6.93 7.3 7.3 6.93 6.93 1,722,000 12,023,925 ALLHOME METRO RETAIL 1.22 1.23 1.23 1.23 1.21 1.23 283,000 345,790 33 33.2 34.85 35.1 32.8 33 10,260,700 343,560,150 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 50.75 50.8 49.8 51.1 49.8 50.8 1,101,300 55,834,725 100.1 106.5 107 107 105.6 106.5 216,750 23,192,089 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.14 1.15 1.17 1.17 1.14 1.14 1,450,000 1,657,340 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 17.96 18.02 18 18.02 17.98 18.02 1,316,800 23,722,540 0.355 0.36 0.35 0.355 0.35 0.355 110,000 39,000 APC GROUP EASYCALL 5.81 6.2 5.81 6.2 5.81 5.81 31,800 185,144 386 428 382 413 382 413 900 367,174 GOLDEN MV PRMIERE HORIZON 1.66 1.67 1.66 1.69 1.64 1.66 5,089,000 8,499,500 4.02 4.24 4.09 4.09 4.09 4.09 5,000 20,450 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL

-37,595,530 231,210 -426,800 8,400 -5,033,742 41,550 384,542 13,550 53,700 -1,779,130 -119,690 -23,980 -19,590 -38,197,800 10,950 1,500 4,939,830 2,163,912 2,600 572,175,800 83,720 7,467,240 -41,097,210 77,976,770 196,580 -7,579,750 253,600 2,836,863.00 -49,010 -690,500 344,440 -3,596,090 -5,894,865 12,280 1,680 -11,550 520,290 15,310 -11,400 -907,747 94,350 -5,824,720 65,190 -94,262,650 -3,720,755 -20,230 -1,017,440.00 -5,324,860 -57,850 872,440 -

ATOK 8.91 8.99 9.12 9.12 8.81 8.99 305,200 2,747,489 57,333 1.69 1.7 1.74 1.75 1.69 1.69 2,674,000 4,575,580 APEX MINING ATLAS MINING 7.29 7.3 7.32 7.49 7.25 7.3 1,601,300 11,774,288 -223,825 2.95 3 2.99 3 2.93 3 26,000 77,150 BENGUET A BENGUET B 2.8 2.99 2.79 2.99 2.79 2.99 29,000 83,320 2.8 2.84 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.85 7,000 19,950 CENTURY PEAK DIZON MINES 6.7 6.99 6.99 6.99 6.7 6.99 19,500 131,509 6,840 FERRONICKEL 2.53 2.54 2.59 2.6 2.51 2.54 815,000 2,073,160 -15,300 0.31 0.32 0.305 0.335 0.305 0.32 230,000 72,400 -16,000 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.156 0.158 0.156 0.16 0.156 0.156 30,380,000 4,766,330 0.161 0.166 0.161 0.168 0.161 0.161 810,000 130,680 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.014 0.015 0.015 0.015 0.014 0.014 43,500,000 615,000 0.014 0.015 0.014 0.015 0.014 0.015 74,100,000 1,110,100 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.23 1.24 1.22 1.24 1.22 1.24 61,000 74,840 -36,780 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.42 1.39 1.4 1,145,000 1,603,310 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.09 5.11 5.09 5.13 5.05 5.11 7,284,100 37,179,376 6,652,378 OMICO CORP 0.37 0.385 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 60,000 22,200 0.96 0.99 0.98 0.99 0.96 0.99 223,000 217,920 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 6.98 7 7 7.22 6.93 7 3,528,400 25,021,012 925,488 12.8 12.9 12.7 13.16 12.66 12.9 2,281,800 29,465,948 1,949,552 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0096 0.0098 0.0097 0.0099 0.0095 0.0096 27,000,000 259,800 16.38 17 17.48 17.48 16.24 16.38 43,800 732,776 -35,720 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.011 13,100,000 144,400 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 8,600,000 103,200 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 11,100,000 125,900 PHILODRILL PXP ENERGY 7.65 7.67 8.21 8.21 7.64 7.65 2,275,400 17,710,709 249,902

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 101.7 101.8 101.5 101.7 101.5 101.7 40,500 4,114,750 HOUSE PREF A 101 101.5 101 101.5 101 101.5 24,330 2,465,335 10,100 523.5 534 534 534 534 534 10 5,340 AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B 100.5 102 101.8 101.8 101.8 101.8 120 12,216 41.9 42 42.1 42.15 41.9 42 149,000 6,258,270 -5,875,825 CEB PREF CPG PREF A 103.5 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 10 1,044 101.1 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 9,810 995,715 DD PREF GTCAP PREF B 1,018 1,044 1,019 1,019 1,018 1,018 300 305,520 MWIDE PREF 100.5 101 100.5 101 100.3 101 1,200 120,560 100 104.9 105 105 105 105 100 10,500 MWIDE PREF 2A MWIDE PREF 2B 100.1 101.8 100.1 101.8 100.1 101.8 510 51,068 103.5 107 106 107 106 106 260 27,610 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1,000 1,005 1,008 1,008 1,000 1,005 2,520 2,520,980 1,020 1,036 1,020 1,036 1,020 1,036 1,955 1,994,180 PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A 1,096 1,099 1,099 1,099 1,095 1,095 1,020 1,116,980 1,146 1,159 1,146 1,159 1,146 1,159 1,750 2,010,050 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2C 79.2 80 79.9 80 79.9 80 68,090 5,446,189.50 SMC PREF 2F 78.6 79.1 78.8 78.8 78.55 78.55 25,090 1,974,254.50 78 78.45 78.45 78.45 78.45 78.45 460 36,087 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2J 77 77.2 77 77 77 77 750,000 57,750,000 75.85 75.95 75.85 75.95 75.85 75.9 37,080 2,814,687.50 - SMC PREF 2K

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.2 10.78 10.78 10.78 10.78 10.78 10,000 107,800 GMA HLDG PDR 8.6 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.69 8.69 5,400 46,940 -

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.53 1.55 1.46 1.55 1.41 1.53 552,000 828,710 14,600

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 16.5 16.76 16.64 16.66 16.4 16.62 15,100 248,426 -4,992 ITALPINAS 2.28 2.32 2.25 2.39 2.25 2.3 25,000 57,590 5.04 5.29 5.04 5.04 5.04 5.04 1,000 5,040 KEPWEALTH MERRYMART 4.14 4.15 4.06 4.17 3.95 4.15 4,401,000 17,943,680 1,836,100

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 94 95 94.95 95 94 94 47,810 4,510,247.50 464,746

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, May 26, 2021 B3

OFW couple establishes rewarding ‘pandemic-proof’ enterprise in Doha

By Roderick L. Abad

@rodrik_28

Contributor

S

TORIES of Filipino resiliency can be heard from any corner of the globe, especially now that the world is facing an unprecedented health crisis that affects the lives and means of so many here and abroad.

Take it from couple Jobiegaile Jun and Stephane Mae Aquino, who are currently based in Doha, Qatar as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and owners of a health and wellness products and services food supplement distribution business.

Living under the new normal, they were brave enough to gamble in a business that they describe as “pandemic-proof” despite the uncertainty as to when the Covid-19 pandemic would end and everything will just go back to the old ways.

Finding ‘greener pastures’

BORN and raised in Tacloban, Leyte, Jobiegaile went to Metro Manila to work as an accountant in Ortigas, Pasig City. Just like many ordinary employees who seek a better life for their families, he left the country after six years for a “greener pasture” abroad.

“I came from a big family. At that time, I was helping my parents provide for the needs of my nine other siblings. That is why when I got the opportunity to work abroad, I grabbed it so that I can continue providing for my family,” he recalled.

Jobiegaile has been an OFW for almost 12 years. He spent his first

ILO, J.P. Morgan program sharpens digital tool skills of Pinay entreps

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

A

total of 300 Filipina small business owners will receive their training from the International Labor Organization (ILO) on using digitals tools to boost their operations amid the pandemic.

Dubbed as Rebuilding Better: Fostering Business Resilience PostCovid-19, the ILO program, in partnership with J.P. Morgan, aims to give access to critical support services, such as financial resources, training, market information and networks through the use of digital tools.

ILO media officer Minette Rimando said the project was launched on Tuesday, May 17, 2021, will run until June 30, 2022.

“So far…the International Training Centre in Turin and Google Primer has worked with us to jointly develop resources to support women entrepreneurs targeted by the project,” Rimando told BusinessMirror in a text message.

Aside from Philippines, she said, the project will also benefit 600 other people in Malaysia and Thailand.

“The targeted sectors in the Philippines are F&B and food manufacturing, wellness services as well as handicraft, design and fashion trade,” Rimando said.

ILO said it came out with the project as the novel coronavirus disease compelled more businesses to become more reliant on the Internet to continue their operations.

seven years in Qatar as a senior accountant for a steel company and then transferred to a Canadian firm based in Doha as a finance manager. With his progressive career, though, he did not forget to practice his faith that paved the way for him to meet Stephane, a Davaoeña whom he is married for about five years now.

“I also went abroad to look for greener pastures. I used to work in the Philippines as a nurse but I was not earning enough for my family.

Fortunately, I got the opportunity to work here in the Middle East. I have been an OFW for about 10 years already and, currently, I work here as a school nurse,” Stephane shared.

Business foray in time of crisis

DESPITE establishing their own careers overseas for more than a decade, the Aquinos were not exempted from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide.

“No one was able to prepare for the pandemic. When the authorities here imposed the lockdowns in March 2020. It greatly affected our jobs. We needed to stay at home, not knowing when everything will go back to normal. We lost almost half

of our income,” Jobigaile narrated.

Looking for other ways to earn while isolating themselves at home, he was fortunate to have already known about Santé at that time— thanks to a friend who introduced him to this Philippine-grown provider of premier natural and organic health and wellness products and services that, eventually, became the couple’s saving grace.

At first, he was an avid user of this supplement and even became a member primarily to avail discounts.

Seeing that some of his officemates also learned and used it, he turned this as an opportunity to generate additional income by offering different Santé Barley products to them online.

“As days went by, I received many orders from my friends and colleagues—this was when I decided to dedicate more time to this business. I even decided to invest and become a Santé Business Owner,” Jobigaile said.

Hardwork breeds success

IN these trying times, it’s still hard work and the willingness to take risks that will bring success to a starting entrepreneur, according to him.

This served as a guiding principle for Jobigaile, who studied how to run his venture on the web during the strict lockdowns in Doha by attending webinars, training sessions, and product orientation provided

by Santé through its Santé Engage.

Such platform offers all business owners the vital educational programs to help them in growing their businesses, improve their leadership skills, and even develop their own personal growth.

But the assistance doesn’t end there. Santé also came up with strategies to help business owners like him

Husband-and-wife business tandem Jobiegaile Jun and Stephane Mae Aquino, who are both Santé business owners, proves that Filipinos always have the resilience to rise from any challenge that comes their way wherever they are in the world.

adapt to the ever-changing world. For instance, the Santé Mobile App provides them easy ways to handle their business and have a user-friendly web site for hassle-free and convenient shopping of customers.

Supportive of her husband, Stephane also became much more involved in their business as they received orders from their fellow Filipinos in Doha. This led to her membership also in Santé and later the kick off of her own business.

“What’s good about this business is that you can manage it whenever and wherever you are because it is ecommerce ready. While Jun delivers the products to our customers, mostly our neighbors and friends, I will answer all the inquiries we receive in our online store. And then, eventually, I decided also to become a Santé Business Owner. It was our Santé business that filled our lost income during these trying times,” she said.

Pandemic-resistant

MORE than the profits, the couple

chose Santé as their business partner because they share the same values and way of thinking.

“As a company, Santé wants to help people live better lives. This mindset solidifies our belief that we found the right business to partner with. As Santé business owners, we are glad that we can help our customers maintain their healthy lifestyles with the natural and organic health and wellness that we offer, particularly during this global health crisis,” Stephane said.

Considering that this is the top producer of barley grass products in the Philippines and soon worldwide, its partners have a business model that revolve around the certified organic Santé Barley grass grown in Canterbury, New Zealand. This Biogro and Halal certified organic barley grass can be found in all Santé product offerings, such as nutraceutical vitamins, health beverages, health, and wellness, among others.

Likewise, they contain natural ingredients filled with a broad spec-

trum of vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, and carotenoids—pivotal in boosting the immune system to the smallest cellular level.

For Jobigaile, helping others to also reach their dreams via their Santé business is his greatest achievement so far. He said: “I am grateful to all our mentors for guiding us to become great leaders and business owners. Through this business, we are also helping other people have other sources of income. This is important because we are all greatly affected by the pandemic. Some even lost their livelihoods.”

The Aquinos added that all these factors, particularly its products, core values, and willingness to help its distributors through trainings, webinars, and e-commerce readiness, make Santé indeed a “pandemicproof” business. Giving back the favor to its valuable business partners, the company, through its compensation plan, gives incentives like bonuses in repeat purchases, infinity bonus, free gadgets, and a car and house perk with free downpayment and monthly amortization.

Starting from just being Santé business owners more than a year ago, they are now Executive and Platinum Executive Directors, respectively, and among the leading Santé distributors in Doha, Qatar. Their families in Leyte and North Cotabato have also started their own Santé businesses.

Established by its founders more than 70 years ago, Santé is now one of the fastest-growing distribution and direct selling companies internationally, with a strong presence in the Philippines and New Zealand, as well as key global cities such as Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Abuja, Lagos, and Cyprus.

Tesda, Nestlé tie up aims to upgrade farmers, IPs’ skills in coffee cultivation

By Claudeth S. Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

T

he Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and Nestlé Philippines announced their partnership to upgrade workers and trainers’ skills in the agriculture sector through the Tesda registered Coffee Production Level II Program and Scholarship targeting farmers and Indigenous Peoples (IP).

“With this program, we will enable the farmers and our IP coffee growers to produce quality beans that are at par with the standards of Nestlé Philippines. We will also be able to help them increase their yields and help them pursue a more sustainable livelihood. This partnership will scale the impact of the work we do in Tesda for the farmers and IPs. We also commit our pool of highly-skilled trainors and Tesda facilities as additional learning sites to ensure that we can accommodate as many farmer-beneficiaries as possible,” said Tesda Secretary Isidro Lapeña.

Lapeña said that the progressive Robusta coffee production training program provides enterprise-based competency training in coffee farming to aspiring agripreneurs, particularly smallholder farmers and IPs. Under the program, Tesda will train trainers for effective conduct of the curriculum, and provide a scholarship fund under Tesda’s Program on Accelerating Farm School Establishment (PAFSE) so that eligible farmers can enhance their knowledge and skills in planting, maintaining and harvesting coffee.

Moreover, enrollees will learn to adopt an entrepreneurial approach in managing small farm operations of one to 10 hectares, and gain the skills to effectively market their coffee beans to buyers such as Nestlé.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to help uplift the lives of Robusta coffee farmers by improving their coffee yields and incomes.

Since 1962, Nestlé Philippines has been working alongside farmers to develop the coffee-growing industry through a value-chain approach that emphasizes the value of

multi-sectoral collaborations, said Kais Marzouki, chairman and CEO of Nestlé Philippines.

Marzouki said that their partnership with Tesda aims to “upskill more farmers through meaningful interventions that enable sustainable and profitable coffee production.”

For its pilot phase, the Coffee Production Level II program will be initially offered to farmers located in Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat where 80 percent of the country’s coffee is grown.

Tesda granted a Technical Vocational Education and Training Certificate to Nestlé’s Bukidnon Integrated Coffee Center (BICC) to serve as the hub for all coffee production training to be conducted for farmer beneficiaries sponsored by Tesda scholarships.

Located in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, the BICC was established in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the National Convergence Initiative and was approved by the Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) as a Learning Site for Coffee Production.

Coffee production in PHL

Tesda noted that for many years, coffee production in the Philippines has been on the decline, with locally grown coffee meeting only 19 percent of demand in 2019.

Coffee production showed signs of recovery earlier this year after it posted double-digit growth in the first quarter. The Coffee Production Level II program, as well as Tesda’s scholarship fund and support aim to accelerate this momentum and foster inclusive growth, particularly among Robusta coffee producers.

Tesda and Nestlé hope to nurture the next generation of coffee farmers in an effort to ensure supply sufficiency in coffee.

Currently, the average age of Filipino coffee farmers is 57 years old so the agriculture sector needs to attract a new generation of farmers who can capitalize on the growing demand for coffee and successfully grow profitable coffee farming ventures. The curriculum of the 176hour certification program is based on proven competency standards developed by Nestlé with the assis-

tance from Tesda.

Course content was derived from Nestlé’s Better Farming Practices for Robusta production, along with modules from the Farmer Business School for Coffee jointly developed by Nestlé and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) for Project Coffee+, an agripreneurship initiative of the NESCAFÉ Plan.

Key elements of the curriculum will focus on teaching farmers modern farming practices that follow sustainability standards and optimize resources to enhance productivity.

The program will also provide training in financial and marketing skills to help farmers ensure the profitability of their farms.

At the end of the course, smallholder farmers are expected to have the tools and skills to establish better-integrated and sustainable coffee-based farming systems.

Through this joint program, Tesda and Nestlé aim to help spur inclusive growth in the coffee sector and transform coffee farming into a high-yield, high-income industry in the future.

DTI chief says PHL exports ‘doing well’ amid pandemic

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epartment of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez on Thursday (May 20, 2021) said the country’s export industry is still doing well amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and prolonged community quarantine measures.

During the Laging Handa public briefing, Lopez said the export revenues in March 2021 showed that the industry is performing well despite headwinds due to the ongoing

pandemic.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported earlier that export revenues for March this year rose 31.6 percent to $6.68 billion from a 15.8-percent decline in March 2020 at $5.08 billion.

Lopez added that export revenues in March this year is even higher than the pre-pandemic level.

“We can’t say that it’s only positive growth because 2020 was low since this is the beginning of the pandemic.

LOPEZ

But even versus 2019, we really saw growth on our exports,” he said.

The trade chief attributed the growth of exports to the government’s policy to allow 100 percent operation of companies in export activities.

He added that the electronics sector that accounted for 60 percent of the country’s exports and the information technology and businessprocess outsourcing (IT-BPO), which is one of the top dollar earners for the country, continued to post growth despite local lockdowns as they were

allowed to operate at full capacity.

Lopez said electronics industry rose 5 percent while IT-BPO sector grew by 2 percent, although lower than the outlook for each sector at 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

“This shows resilience despite the pandemic,” the top trade official said.

“I would say [our export industry is] doing well.”

He added that the exports will continue to pick up with the country’s solid economic fundamentals. PNA

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

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BSP issues rules to boost Islamic banking

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By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that it has approved a liquidity risk management framework for Islamic Banks (IBs) and Islamic Banking Units (IBUs).

The BSP said the issuance is in line with its “thrust to provide a comprehensive set of regulations that will encourage investor and consumer

participation on Islamic banking and finance.”

“The aim is to create an enabling environment that will allow Islamic

banks to operate alongside the conventional banks under the same regulatory approach, taking into consideration the unique features of Islamic financial activities or transactions,” the BSP said.

According to the Central Bank, the new regulatory issuance is anchored on the existing liquidity risk management framework for conventional banks with additional provisions to cover the specificities of Islamic banking.

In particular, the guidelines emphasize Shari’ah compliance in liquidity risk management including the choice of instruments and tools to mitigate

liquidity risk.

It also provides guidance on the treatment of Islamic banking accounts such as profit and loss sharing investment accounts.

The BSP provided an observation period from the effectivity of the circular until December 31, 2024.

“This will provide ample time for IBs and IBUs to familiarize and strategize on the choice of liquidity tools to mitigate risks arising from their business activities,” the BSP said.

During this period, the IB and IBU are required to submit quarterly reports to the regulator for monitoring purposes.

BSP backs banks in shift BPI vows more support to low-carbon economy to agri-based businesses

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced it will be issuing the second-phase regulation to allow the banking industry to be more responsive to risks arising from the transition to a low-carbon economy.

This second-phase regulation follows the BSP’s issuance in April 2020 of the “Sustainable Finance Framework,” which encourages the offering of green and sustainable finance instruments.

“This issuance will provide granular expectations on the integration of climate change and other environmental and social risks in banks’ credit and operational risk management frameworks,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.

In their April 2020 issuance, the BSP said it expects local banks to embed sustainability principles in their corporate governance framework, risk management systems and

strategic objectives including those covering environmental and social risk areas in their corporate.

“The framework safeguards the stability of the financial system against potentially significant and protracted impact of climate change and other environment related risks,” the governor said.

“Central to the climate change mitigation goal is the need to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations by shifting fossil fuels to renewable sources. We should note, however, that a successful transition is not just a matter of isolated changes in the energy sector. We must also consider the potential risks associated with this transition given the interplay among economic activities,” Diokno added.

Further details to the secondphase regulation, as well as the timeline of issuance, were not bared. Bianca Cuaresma

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HE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) vowed to increase its funding support to micro-, small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in the agriculture sector.

The listed bank said in a statement on Tuesday there are plans to increase presence in the area of agricultural enterprises, as the bank recognizes ‘agripreneurs’ as “essential drivers for economic resilience and recovery.”

“We are reaching out to show our interest to support the agricultural value chain including logistics, distribution, storage, and retail and wholesale trade,” BPI Business Banking Head Eric Roberto M. Luchangco said.

By expanding their presence in agricultural areas, BPI aims to encourage the so-called “agripreneurs” to use its targeted funding solutions to meet their financial requirements for working capital, trade, or plans for business expansion.

“BPI wants agripreneurs to set up a business deposit account and take advantage of its online banking platform for easy transactions with their clients and sup-

pliers given the mobility and quarantine restrictions,” the bank said.

BPI also aims “to reduce the challenges in borrowing money by coming up with a SME term loan program, which requires fewer documents, with no collateral requirements, and faster turnaround time,” it added.

Earlier this year, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey revealed that local banks voted the mandatory credits to the agriculture-agrarian (agri-agra) sector as the most challenging in terms of regulatory compliance.

In order to evaluate the impact of local banking regulations, the BSP recently asked banks to rank five areas which they find challenging in terms of regulatory compliance. The results showed that except for rural and cooperative banks, compliance with mandatory credits to agri-agra remains as the “most challenging.”

The other regulations that banks cited in their top five include anti-money laundering requirements, credit risk management, operational risk management and information and technology risk management. Bianca Cuaresma

Total funeral benefits SSS issued in 2020 drops 27%

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HE Social Security System (SSS) said it has disbursed P3.07-billion worth of funeral benefits in 2020—about 14.25-percent lower than the P3.58 billion released in 2016—to over 135,600 beneficiaries.

Over the years, SSS recorded the release of P3.79 billion to 170,358 members in 2017, P3.91 billion to 175,024 members in 2018 and P4.23 billion in 2019 to 186,730 members.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said the 27-percent drop in funeral benefit disbursements was due to the nationwide implementation of community quarantine since March 2020. These measures, according to Ignacio, prohibited movements of transacting members to various government offices, including SSS. “Since Covid-19 has been a global health pandemic, precautionary measures are strictly being implemented in our branches such as wearing of face masks, face shields, accomplishing health declaration slip, and maintaining social distancing,” Ignacio was quoted in the statement as saying. “However,

we have implemented new policies such as the number coding scheme and submission of benefit applications through the drop box system. In compliance with Civil Service Commission (CSC) guidelines, only 50 percent to 70 percent of our workforce has been deployed in our offices while some are on alternative work arrangements (AWA) to protect our employees and transacting clients from the virus. Also, the majority of our members have postponed their personal visits to our branches for fear of being exposed to Covid-19, while some still wait for the availability of their supporting documents too, hence the decline of disbursements.”

The funeral benefit is a cash grant given to anyone who paid for the burial expenses of the deceased member, amounting to a minimum of P20,000 to a maximum of P40,000 depending on the contributions paid effective August 2015, the SSS said.

“We would like to remind our member-claimants that they may now submit their funeral benefit claim application online,” Ignacio said. She added it is also important that member-claim-

ants have a unified multi-purpose ID (UMID) or an SSS digitized ID and an enrolled disbursement account under the disbursement account enrollment module (DAEM) for checkless payment of cash benefits.

If with UMID card enrolled as ATM, the funeral benefit payment shall be credited to the latter by default, the SSS statement said. If none, memberclaimants may choose their preferred disbursement account from payment channels like PESONet participating banks and e-wallets, among others.

If they have UMID cards enrolled as ATM, the funeral benefit payment shall be credited to the latter by default.

However, they can access the complete step-by-step procedures for the DAEM through a web link.

To submit applications online, member-claimants should log in to their SSS web accounts, proceed to the E-Services Tab and select “Submit Funeral Claim Application” to encode all the required information. They should click “Proceed” for SSS validation of provided information and confirmation of eligibility to funeral benefit. The

civil status of the deceased member, relationship with the deceased member, and disbursement account enrolled in DAEM should also be provided.

In addition, the following supporting documents must also be uploaded: proof to establish membership of deceased member; death certificate duly registered with the local civil registry or issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); and proof of payment of funeral expenses, including official receipts from memorial park or funeral parlor. Only images and PDF copies with a maximum size of 2 megabytes may be uploaded per document.

One must read the “Certification” carefully and click confirm before submission. Applicants will receive an e-mail notification upon successful submission of the claim.

Meanwhile, non-SSS members and SSS members without UMID or SSS Digitized ID must submit their duly accomplished applications, together with the above-mentioned supporting documents, plus a photocopy of the claimant’s two valid IDs to the nearest SSS branch via the Dropbox system.

Lawmakers OK extending estate tax amnesty period

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O fast-track its enactment, the House of Representatives has adopted a Senate bill extending the period of the estate tax amnesty.

The plenary of the lower chamber adopted late Monday Senate Bill 2208 as amendment to the House Bill 7068.

This means the bill can now be transmitted to the Palace for the President’s signature.

The adoption was done after the Senate unanimously approved also on Monday SB 2208 extending the availment period of estate tax amnesty for two years, or until June 14, 2023.

It seeks to amend the Tax Amnesty Act, which set a June 14, 2021 deadline for the filing of estate tax returns.

Sen. Pilar Juliana “Pia” S. Cayetano, who chairs the sponsoring Ways and

Means Committee, said the proposed measure is essentially identical to House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda’s House Bill 7068.

Salceda, for his part, said the approval of the estate tax amnesty extension is a “win-win” for all stakeholders.

“Estate tax amnesty extension, as far as it releases land for productive use and raises revenues for the government, should be considered a stimulus bill,” Salceda explained. “The extension of the estate tax amnesty acknowledges the plain reality that it has become very difficult to process papers because of Covid-19.”

Salceda said amending RA 11213 will enable those who want to take advantage of the program to have ample

time to recoup their resources and get back on their feet so they can still apply and pay their estate tax dues.

He said this is the reason why everyone who has outstanding estate tax liabilities as of December 31, 2017, “is encouraged to take advantage of this excellent and rare opportunity offered by the government.”

For her part, Cayetano said that SB 2208 updates the existing law by amending Section 6 of Tax Amnesty Act. He recalled that the existing law passed in 2019 as RA 11213 gave taxpayers a one-time opportunity to settle their tax obligations, including an Estate Tax Amnesty program, adding that filing of estate tax amnesty returns took effect on June 15, 2019, granting a reasonable tax relief to estates with

outstanding tax liabilities.

“In particular, estates of decedents who died on or before December 31, 2017 and whose estate taxes have not been paid or have accrued as of December 31, 2017 are given the period of June 15, 2019 until June 14, 2021, to file their estate tax returns. This deadline is only a few weeks away,” she added.

Cayetano said that due to the strict travel restrictions and stalled economic activities in the time of Covid-19, many Filipinos have been unable to file their tax returns and settle their tax obligations. She added that the community quarantines imposed in different parts of the country prevented taxpayers from availing of the tax amnesty mandated by law. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

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AN ACCESSIBLE WAY TO INVEST

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Evaluating counteroffers

BY PAULINE JOY M. GUTIERREZ THERE’S a new wave of young investors online, and GCash is banking on their growing numbers to expand its digital operations.

The mobile wallet of Globe Telecom Inc. recently rolled out GInvest, an investment marketplace feature within the GCash app that allows young Filipinos to invest in local and global funds for as low as P50.

“Investments can be intimidating, and the reason why we launched GInvest is to break that thought. So, with just a click of a button, we make everyone an investor,” said GCash Head of Investments Maxine Pinpin in a webinar series, titled GCash Money Talks.

She was joined with finance advisor and content creator Thea Bautista in educating viewers on the fundamentals of investing, starting with an overview of what an investment fund is.

Investment funds are pools of money from multiple investors who agree to invest collectively by entrusting their money to a professional fund manager, who then invests the money in different financial instruments like stocks, bonds and currencies.

“Remember that when you press ‘buy’ on a fund, you’re actually buying a unit or a share of the fund—not a specific stock interest—but just a fund that invests in those assets,” explained Pinpin.

There are currently two local funds available on GInvest (Money Market Fund and Philippine Total Return Bond Fund) and three global funds (Philippines Smart Equity Index Fund, Global Technology Feeder Fund and Global Consumer Trends Feeder Fund).

“The Money Market Fund is a conservative fund for short-term investments like time deposits and Treasury bills. We also have the Philippine Total Return Bond Fund. This is a moderate fund which gives you exposure to bonds from local companies and the local government,” she noted.

“The Philippines Smart Equity Index Fund is an aggressive fund that invests in the companies that are in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index [PSEi]. The Global Technology Feeder Fund is an aggressive fund that invests in companies trailblazing in tech, like Apple, Samsung and Google. The Global Consumer Trends Feeder Fund is another aggressive fund that invests in companies innovating for consumers, like Amazon, Alibaba and Shopee,” Pinpin added.

“Ideally, you pick investments with risk ratings that match your appetite,” quipped Bautista.

Asked when is the best time to invest, she answered that it will depend on an individual’s financial situation and needs. “They have to consider their income and expenses and see how investing fits into that.”

Convenience is the main selling point of GInvest, with a fully digitized module integrated into the GCash platform.

To start investing, all you need is your verified GCash account, a valid ID, and to meet the minimum age requirement of 18 years old.

“Everything is done through the app, so there’s no more hassle of going out to fill out papers and going to the bank,” said Pinpin.

To assure new and experienced investors, GInvest also gives users complete control and transparency over their investments and those handling their investments. It further guarantees safety on the platform through its tech platform partners, ATRAM and SEEDBOX Philippines.

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RESIGNED after three years in a previous organization. I felt my professional career was not going anywhere and I wanted to do more than what was assigned to me. When I talked to my manager, she said they had started making plans of making me a supervisor, and that I would oversee my colleagues in the different branches. She asked me to think about it and I ended up staying another four years. While my experience taught me that counteroffers can be good for my professional career, these can also be disastrous for others.

Counteroffers are tricky especially when you have firmly decided to leave the company that currently employs you. Some reasons are irreconcilable while some are negotiable. When your employer gives you one, ask yourself why you are resigning in the first place. List what initially prompted you to think of resigning and then write down the other reasons.

Some are not given counteroffers, but if you are a valued and significant member of the team, they will likely propose it. List your reasons so that when they do, you are in a better position to negotiate because you already have a list of what you need.

After listing your reasons down, another consideration is to ask yourself if your current employer is still aligned with your own professional and personal goals. If the counteroffer supports those, then you must carefully consider if you will accept it.

If you do not give it proper consideration, you might end up changing from one company to the next with the same set of issues and you will not stop looking for other opportunities.

The bottomline issue you need to address when given a counteroffer is to know what is mutually beneficial for both you and the company. This could be an opportunity for you to upgrade your professional skills or a missed opportunity for career progress.

So, before you decide if you will take the counteroffer or go, there are several considerations you need to evaluate.

If your primary consideration for leaving the company is for better pay, evaluate the salary differences between your current job and your future employer, and note how much you should receive based on industry standards, your current skill set, certifications and experiences. In evaluating your salary, do not forget to take into account your variable pays, existing benefits and bonuses, and how they factor into your annual salary. Compare the counteroffer and the offer from your prospective employer, and decide which one you are comfortable with. Your current organization might not be in a good financial condition to give you a salary increase or provide other benefits or opportunities like other companies in the same industry. In that case, you need to ask yourself which one you are willing to accept.

You also need to look at company culture and the work-life balance practices because these also affect your productivity and efficiency. You might reconsider especially when company culture and the work-life balance practices matter significantly in the way you do your work and are among the reasons why you are thinking of leaving in the first place. Some people are willing to take a pay cut for better work culture and better work-life balance.

If you are leaving for better professional opportunities, is your prospective company an

Making the switch to clean beauty AS the no. 1 health and beauty retail brand in Asia, Watsons touts its commitment to take steps to fulfill its goal of sustainability, helping ensure that our planet will look look good and feel great for the future generations.

With this, Watsons recognizes brands and products that were mindfully created to better serve its customers and the planet.

Known as Clean Beauty products, these do not contain any toxins or harmful ingredients. Instead, ingredients from responsibly managed forests or plantations are used to assure a sustainable future. The brands have also come up with better packaging for their products to further help in lessening plastic and paper wastes which eventually end up in the ocean.

The Clean Beauty products say no to these 10 unwanted ingredients: ■ Hydroquinone, used for skin lightening may cause skin discoloration; ■ Triclosan and Triclocarban, used as an antibacterial and preservative may cause hormone disruption; ■ Quaternium-15, used as an antibacterial and

preservative may cause skin allergies; ■ Chloroacetamide, used as an antibacterial and preservative may cause skin allergies; ■ Phthalates, used as a fragrance ingredient may cause hormone disruption; ■ O-phenylphenol, used as a preservative and fragrance ingredient may cause respiratory problems and skin irritation; ■ Borates, used as an emulsifier or preservative may cause skin irritation and hormone disruption; ■ Methylene Glycol, used as a preservative may be a carcinogen; and ■ Microplastics, used as an exfoliator which absorbs toxins in the water are hazardous to marine life.

Watsons has lots of Clean Beauty brands and products, including Naturals by Watsons, Herbal Essences and Nanny Roses; personal care brands, such as Dove, Nivea, and Palmolive; and skin-care products from Aveeno, Thayers, QuickFX, and Luxe Organix.

More information can be found at bit.ly/ShopWatsons CleanBeauty-Nationwide.

industry leader? If they are, it will help you get the experience and expose you to their organization’s network. You also need to ascertain available career opportunities within that organization and how they can maximize your growth and enhance your potential. Understanding what your prospective employer can offer will help you decide if you will receive the counteroffer, especially if your current employer does not provide the same opportunities.

When you do decide to accept it, you still need to consider several things which will affect your work.

When your current company gives a counteroffer, they would have already made the decision that they need you in the company and your work is valuable to the entire organization, along with your institutional knowledge and the network you have built while in the company. But putting your employer in this position could also pose potential problems.

This begs the question: Why did it have to come to this point where you need to give your notice for your current employer to give you a counteroffer?

Employees may have several reasons for leaving the organization and one of them might be the feeling that their work is not appreciated or valued. If it comes to a point where you have to resign for you to be appreciated and valued, the organization has to deliberately evaluate their performance appraisals and engagement initiatives. And you have to decide

whether you want to stay in an environment where your contribution has been glossed over.

Even if organizations employ changes in how employees are evaluated, most who receive a counteroffer eventually leave the company in the next year or so because their reasons for leaving most likely have not been resolved. It becomes counterproductive and puts a strain on the employee who decided to stay, only to suffer the same conditions that made him want to leave in the first place. This puts undue pressure on both the employee and the organization.

When an employee accepts a counteroffer, it also puts the loyalty of the employee under scrutiny. And with this, there would be significant changes in the office dynamics and how your manager and peers relate to you. If your loyalty comes into question, the company can just start having someone train under you and then replace you with the same person. Or, hire somebody with the same qualifications and experiences as you do. It all depends on how your role and function is essential to the entire organization.

In the end, counteroffers provide the catalyst to propel your professional career in the direction you point it to. Knowing how to decide, and the effects of your decision, can help you manage your own expectations and help you navigate your career toward better opportunities. ■

PHOTO BY FRANK MCKENNA ON UNSPLASH

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B6 Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Wilcon Depot opens its Official Lazada Flagship Store

The Manila Hotel’s lobby lounge reopens

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S Wilcon Depot aims for a safer and more seamless home shopping experience for all its valued customers nationwide, the giant retailer has successfully launched another shopping alternative with its newest Official Flagship Store on LazMall.

In partnership with Lazada Philippines, the top choice for online shopping, customers can easily find and purchase their home improvement and building needs in just a few clicks, hassle-free!

Wilcon also guarantees that more product offerings will be made available soon on its Official Flagship Store. Currently, the Wilcon Flagship Store offers two brands exclusively available at Wilcon:

Hamden

HAMDEN offers a wide array of kitchen appliances, perfect for an efficient cooking and baking experience in the kitchen.

Customers can shop for top-notch kitchen items including kitchen gas burners, electronic hotplates, range hoods, induction hobs, cooktops, built-in hob, and ovens.

Most Hamden products are distinctly developed with Italian SABAF burners that guarantee high-level performances with an excellent flame distribution.

Ariston

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S quarantine restrictions have been eased a bit in NCR+, The Manila Hotel is reopening its Lobby Lounge starting May 24 after the temporary suspension of dining services due to the enchanced community quarantine implemented in March this year.

The reopening of The Lobby Lounge gives valued guests a perfect opportunity to enjoy its perks again: great food, meeting and endless conversation with both friends and business partners, excellent service, and free Wi-Fi internet connection.

More than a typical café set up, the Lobby Lounge is quiet, comfortable, and spacious, which also means that guests

are kept at a distance from each other and enjoy a bit of privacy with high-backed seats. Cleaned and sanitized daily, the health and hygiene protocols put in place

by The Manila Hotel includes fresh air dampers that circulate fresh outdoor air into the lobby, which is also sanitized by air micro filters.

The Lobby Lounge is also a grand heritage setting for a relaxing afternoon, with its white Doric columns, Philippine mahogany furniture with elegant chandeliers made of brass, crystal, and capiz seashells. More than the stellar interior, it serves hot meals like Sinigang na Salmon, Kare Kare, Crispy Pata, and other local delights. You can also enjoy the lavish “Merienda Especial” Filipino Afternoon

Tea that includes native delicacies like Bibingka and Puto Bumbong paired with our specialty grade coffee beans, hot chocolate, or tea. Try the filling Manila Hotel club sandwich or assorted pastries.

And escape the punishing weather outside when you relax in the cool interiors and enjoy fruit teas, or our Halo-Halo.

The Manila Hotel’s The Lobby Lounge is known for its exceptional facilities and warm service. It also gives its guests an assurance that “You are safe here” as we strictly adhere to stringent health and safety protocols.

The Lobby Lounge is open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, and dinner from Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm. For more information, call 85270011.

WalterMart launches Palengke Fresh with Mayani to support local farmers and uplift communities

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O strengthen its agricultural supply chain while relieving the plight of our local farmers, WalterMart Supermarket – one of the biggest supermarket chains in the Philippines -- launches Palengke Fresh with Mayani, the fastest-growing farmto-table digital platform.

Through this program, WalterMart will procure directly from Mayani’s network of over 12,000 smallholder farmers to provide fresher produce with better value to all its shoppers.

“Our commitment to the communities and our customers is to win through malasakit from farm to market,” says Rose Caalam, General Manager of WalterMart Supermarket.

“Malasakit to ensure a sustainable income for our farmers during this pandemic through Mayani, malasakit to our customers by providing them quality and affordable fresh produce assortment, and malasakit to employees by making our proud local ambassadors

of fresh and healthy products.”

WalterMart has been helping various farmers cooperatives and associations since the roll-out of Palengke Fresh in 2019. Given WalterMart’s expansive network of community shopping malls across Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and South Luzon, the program sought to leverage such footprint to aid more rural farming communities by integrating Mayani into WalterMart’s responsible, “support local” value chain.

“This team-up is a huge leap forward for our smallholder farmers not only in terms of higher rural incomes for them, but the predictability of it during these volatile times,” remarked JT Solis, the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Mayani.

Solis also pointed out that because of Mayani’s role as the direct platform conduit between farmers and big commercial customers such as WalterMart and other reputable retailers, the pricing of fresh produce

on supermarket shelves becomes even more competitive drawing from supply chain efficiencies and lowered transaction costs.

On Palengke Fresh weekends, WalterMart Supermarket mounts a “bagsakan” market in the parking lot of WalterMart malls, thereby making it a safe and preferred shopping destination among customers.

On top of this, for the whole month of May, WalterMart is also supporting various community pantries that sprouted in different parts of Luzon.

It encourages all of its shoppers to purchase the local produce in its Palengke Fresh and have them donated to different community pantries in areas where WalterMart is. For as low as P50, customers can get a Chopsuey Pack to uplift those grassroots communities.

WalterMart is available both online at www.waltermart.com and in-store with 39 WalterMart Supermarket branches in Luzon.

ARISTON carries a great selection of water heaters made with high-grade quality, technology, and design. Trust Ariston to provide premium comfort and

satisfaction in the shower area with its slim body, adjustable temperature, and easy installation features.

Explore a great selection of Hamden and Ariston appliances at Wilcon Flagship Store on LazMall by clicking here: https:// www.lazada.com.ph/shop/wilcon-depot Adhering to health and safety protocols to fight against COVID-19, Wilcon continuously implements necessary precautionary measures inside all of its 65 stores to ensure their employees and valued customers’ safety, health, and well-being a priority.

Browse the Digital Catalogue and shop conveniently while at home through your personal shopper with the Browse, Call, and Collect/Deliver service. BROWSE the items you want to purchase at shop.wilcon.com. ph and www.wilcon.com.ph, CALL/Viber/ text the Wilcon branch of your choice, and schedule a COLLECT/DELIVER. For the list of participating stores with their pickup and delivery contact details, click this link: www.wilcon.com.ph/content/328-bccbranches.

Those opting for Wilcon Virtual Tour may contact the nearest Wilcon store via Facebook Messenger App. The Wilcon team will take you on a virtual tour where you can explore the available products inside their physical stores.

Contactless payment is also available via bank transfers, GCash, PayMaya, InstaPay, PesoNet, WeChat, and Alipay for customers’ convenience.

ABAPI supports the F&B industry, provides subsidies to affected employees of bar partners

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HE once-vibrant F&B (food and beverage) scene—bars and night hotspots that shaped Manila’s hospitality culture and entertainment scene, has been dealt a heavy blow by the pandemic with a growing of list of nightlife hubs indefinitely closing shop. Conscious of the pandemic’s impact on the F&B sector across the country, the Alcoholic Beverages Alliance of the Philippines (ABAPI) reached out to its bar partners to provide subsidies for affected employees.

ABAPI is an organization comprised of the leading international alcohol beverage producers, as well as importers and distributors in the country such as Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Moët Hennessy and Brown-Forman—owners of alcohol brands such as Johnnie Walker, Absolut Vodka, Hennessy and Jack Daniels.

“The vibrant bar scene and the entrepreneurs behind this have been instrumental in increasing the popularity of imported wines and spirits in the Philippines. During this difficult period, we stand alongside our partner bar establishments by helping ease the burden on the bartenders and other staff,” said John O’Sullivan, President of ABAPI and Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Philippines.

Over 700 employees of 45 bars such as The Spirits Library, The Belle and Dragon, Oto, Polilya, Futurist, Kondwi, Ms Gee, LIT, Versus Barcade, Nokal, Kampai, Bank Bar, Rue Bourbon, Sage Bar, Yes Please, Dillinger, Tipsy Pig and Reserve Fort received a subsidy from ABAPI in the form of vouchers from Grab worth over PHP2,000 each Bartenders Enrico Adolfo and Carina Gonzales, who work at The Spirits Library and Kampai, respectively, said the subsidy helped especially as their incomes had been drastically reduced with the closure of bars.

“There was little to no option for many of us to earn a living. The vouchers from ABAPI helped us get by for weeks during the lockdown,” said Adolfo.

“We’re barely open so that’s less pay

but we have the exact same bills—which takes a toll, so we had to be stricter with what money we had. The subsidy helped me and helped put food on the table for my loved-ones,” added Gonzales.

From an economic driver prepandemic with revenues hitting an estimated PHP1-Billion in 2019, the F&B sector faces an unprecedented situation.

To revive the sector, ABAPI members support measures that will enable the sale re-opening of bars and restaurants with adherence to social distancing and safety guidelines.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Raising the bar in cement manufacturing through DSAI

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 B7

A Taste of Life in Tagaytay CitiGlobal shares why Tagaytay is a top real-estate investment spot

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

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@brownindio

eading local cement manufacturer Republic Cement is thinking out of the box, according to its President and CEO Nabil Francis.

In a recent webinar, Republic Cement told reporters that the company is using data science and artificial intelligence (DSAI) to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and produce stronger and higher quality cement. According to experts, the strength of cement is typically measured only after a 28-day waiting period, wherein samples cast from one batch of cement are molded into cubes, cured, and tested for its strength using a compressive strength testing machine. Moreover, the compressive strength testing machine applies pressure to the cement cube until the sample breaks, making the load or weight at which the sample breaks the strength of the cement batch.

The 28-day test has been around since the reinvention of cement in the late 1800s. This is done to ensure that the quality of the cement used will lead to safe and strong structures that conform to Philippine National Standards, as well as the standards required by the project.

While the process is a commonly accepted practice, Republic Cement thought it if it’s possible to push the envelope further and posed the questions: What if we can eliminate this wait time? How would it affect the manufacturing process, the customer’s projects, and the cement industry as a whole?

Data science tool to instantly predict cement strength To start the ball rolling, Republic Cement established a comprehensive

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Republic Cement Teresa Plant

Republic Cement President and CEO Nabil Francis wants to show to the world that Filipinos are capable of producing green cement.

data infrastructure to collect relevant data about the various states and chemical compounds present in cement across the whole manufacturing process and identify its qualities after curing for 28 days.

Aside from collecting and digitizing data, there was also a need to advance this data into relevant information. Up until a year ago, the data was simply sitting in a database with little to no role in decisions that affected the 28-day strength testing results, which largely relied on reactive decisions based on these results.

The consequences of not utilizing data to support the cement manufacturing process resulted in the inefficient use of raw materials, which translated to higher costs.

In exploring how to turn its data into relevant information, Republic Cement teamed up with the Aboitiz Data Science (ADI) to build an ar-

tificial intelligence (AI) tool for its cement manufacturing operations.

The product is designed as a DSAI application to help operators and quality managers optimize concentrations of raw ingredients in the cement mix by instantly harnessing complex algorithms, thus saving time and resources. Dr. David Hardoon, managing director of the ADI pointed out the development of the product also led to innovative datadriven adjustments making it important for the company to embed the tool as part of daily operations.

“The application of DSAI in Cement is extremely exciting as it demonstrates that DSAI can be a core differentiator in traditional industries while also allowing them to flourish digitally. This is just the start, our focus is to innovate and systematically operationalize DSAI benefits in areas such as customer engagement, operations and in materializing ESG [Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance] goals,” Hardoon said.

As of May 2021, two of Republic’s manufacturing plants are now utilizing the AI tool as part of the overall process strategy, yielding positive results. Improvements on the first deployment are also under way, while expansion to all Republic sites is ongoing.

Reduced CO2 emissions As part of its commitment in pro-

moting sustainable development, Republic Cement has always sought to reduce CO2 emissions through manufacturing greener cement. In the manufacturing process, this is done through using alternative fuel that substitutes for non-renewable fuels, continuously upgrading to more energy efficient technologies, and embedding sustainability throughout the manufacturing process.

Through the application of data science and being able to accurately predict 28-day cement strength, Republic has been able to further optimize its manufacturing process. By better managing its resources, coupled with the increased efficiency of raw materials used in cement production, the company effectively reduces CO2 emissions while maximizing cement quality and strength. These adjustments, coupled with Republic’s numerous greening initiatives, will also lead to more sustainable operations in the long term.

“Sustainability and building a greener environment for generations to come remains a top priority at Republic Cement. Through this, we intend to do our part in restoring and preserving our environment while producing the best quality cement for the Filipino consumer, ” Republic Cement’s Vice President for Manufacturing Lloyd Vicente said.

Learn ideas of purchasing your dream home in OhTalks’ webinar

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t might be hard to imagine any good resulting from the pandemic—a real-life horror story that has been impacting our lives for more than a year now. With so much uncertainty around jobs, employment, and financial security, most Filipinos have pressed the pause button on their dreams and goals. Milestone events such as weddings, starting a family or launching a business have likewise been put on hold.

However, experts argue that the current crisis brings to the fore opportunities that could, in fact, yield tremendous benefits once the pandemic is behind us. Investing in property is one. According to top industry players, now is a good time as any for Filipinos to earnestly look into this, saying that there is actually much to gain from this decision.

Property solutions Ohmyhome (https://ohmyhome.com/en-ph), with its own objective of making housing transactions easy and efficient for Filipinos, is well aware of this and resolutely brings potential property investors up to speed through OhTalks, its free webinar series on Facebook that tackles financial literacy, investment and real estate, among other relevant topics.

For its fourth episode, OhTalks is set to air on May 29, at 3 p.m., featuring the topic “OhTalks! Why Invest in Property Despite the Pandemic?” The webinar will feature Noli Alleje, an industry expert, who will discuss important points on the subject. Known in the property sector as “El Subastahero” for establishing the auction sales system in the Philippines, Alleje has bid out thousands of real-estate assets—worth billions of pesos—in the country.

Today, Alleje is widely recognized as the Philippines’s leading auctioneer. He is currently the managing director of The Property Forum Philippines and heads the international real-estate promoter recruit-

ment of Landco Pacific. He has also worked with United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and purchased the asset management company of GE Money Bank.

In the forthcoming episode, Alleje will enlighten listeners on details concerning property investment such as the best time to invest, financing options, the need-to-know issues before purchasing a property, best locations to live in, and best properties to invest in depending on their budgets.

In line with the topic of property investment, OhTalks will likewise discuss various projects accessible through the Ohmyhome platform such as Camella Sierra Metro in An-

tipolo, Rizal; SMDC Mint in Makati City; Bria Homes in Magalang, Pampanga; Lumina Homes in San Juan, La Union; and Avida Cloverleaf in Quezon City, all ideal options for future investors.

As in past OhTalks episodes, proptech platform Ohmyhome reaffirms the company’s objectives, which is to equip Filipinos with the knowledge they need to achieve financial stability. “Property investment is just one way,” cofounders Race and Rhonda Wong point out, “but it is a great source of passive income.”

To join the webinar and find out how property investment in the time of a pandemic can benefit investors in the long run, interested viewers simply have to register through http://bit.ly/OhtalksPH and await access to a private group, Ohmyhome Philippines Facebook Group—Ohtalks by Ohmyhome Philippines, where the episode will be shown.

For hassle-free and efficient housing transactions, prospective investors may download the Ohmyhome application or visit the Ohmyhome website to check out the platform’s numerous features and services. Reni Salvador

s a tropical country, the Philippines has always delighted everyone with its perfect beach weather, particularly during Summer. But the warm weather is just not meant for everyone. Some prefer living somewhere where they can ex per ience t hat idea l weather that is not too cool nor too hot.

Fortunately, Filipinos can experience the refreshingly cool weather in a place not too far from the Metro— Tagaytay City. With its refreshingly cool weather, affordable fine dining restaurants, leisurely parks, and quick travel time, especially for Manileños, Tagaytay is a perfect location for people looking to relax during the weekend but also a place of permanent residence.

Living in Tagaytay means living in the perfect combination of an urban jungle and the relaxing life outdoors. Effortlessly and continuously progressing, here are five reasons why Tagaytay should be your top choice for your next real-estate investment:

Cool, fresh environment Tagay tay ’s cool weather is one of its most appealing features that attracts numerous people. Its weather also means that the city’s environment is less congested and less polluted, which is a change of fresh air for people living in heavily urbanized cities. You don’t have to crank up the air conditioning, and you get to save money from your electricity bill.

Stress-free lifestyle Tagaytay has always served as a quick retreat for people seeking to unwind from the stress of Metro life and the per fect place to retire. It offers a laid-back lifestyle that everyone desires. You can wake up to the pleasant chirps of birds and experience life near nature. The basic necessities and utilities are also relatively affordable in Tagaytay.

A life full of leisure Tagaytay is the perfect leisure spot for local and foreign tourists alike. The city holds the tallest Ferris wheel in the Philippines at the Sky Ranch and houses local delicacies such as bulalo, tawilis, and delectable tarts. People can also simply chill at the picnic grove or any coffee shops and restaurant in the city to relax and forget the hassle of urban living.

New highways, lesser traffic Every Filipino, especially from Manila and its neighbor ing prov inces, k now

that the construction of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) is making traveling to Tagaytay extremely easy even with only a portion of it open.

Another highway in the w or k s i n t he c it y i s t he C av ite -Tagay t ay-B at a nga s Expressway (CTBex), crossing tow ns such as Silang, A madeo, Indang, Mendez, Alfonso and Nasugbu. Other than lessen traffic congestion, it will also bring potential leisure properties like malls and restaurants along the way.

Growing selection of residential communities With all these benefits of living in Tagaytay, it has created itself as a potential area for real estate developments.

Its residential communities truly elevate the quality of life since it is ingeniously located near hospitals, shopping centers, churches, schools, and other essential establishments, ensuring a trouble-free residency.

Investing in real-estate properties in Tagaytay has shown progress for investors with its accessibility and livable environment. With natural characteristics like fresh air, high land, rich soil, delicious fruits, lu xurious v iew, and serene env ironment, Tagaytay properties became valuable and desirable to live in.

As a Filipino real-estate developer offering affordable and income-generating proper ties, CitiGloba l Realty and Development Inc. boasts of its master-planned c o m mu n it y d e v e l o p m e nt as it took advantage of the uniqueness found in Metro Tagaytay.

Built along with Alfonso, Cavite near CTBex, CitiGlobal’s Tagaytay Clifton Resort Suites (TCRS), and Tagaytay Fontaine Villas (TFV) allow middle-class families to enjoy luxurious country living. They also won’t lose touch with any primary institutions such as malls, theme parks, hospitals, schools, and churches.

T he TCR S and TF V are o n l y t w o o f C it i G l o b a l ’s re a l - est ate de ve lopme nt s revolutionizing the Filipino mindset on leisure properties while giving new investment opportunities for ordinary working-class Filipinos, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

To learn more about CitiGlobal, visit its web site at https://citiglobal.com.ph/ or send them an e-mail at info@ citiglobal.com.ph for inquiries.

If you have properties to offer, you may reach them via Viber (0949-889-3252).

Sports

BEACH volleyball is serving and spiking in Ilocos Norte through Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba’s tournaments.

BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, May 26, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao AL MENDOZA alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

Beach volleyball new Ilocano sport

Mickelson makes memories rush back

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HEY are playing beach volleyball up there in Ilocos Norte and they are passionate about the sport.

“What is great about beach volleyball is that the sport magnetizes people to watch and it relies on the natural environment so the flora inherent to the area remains protected,” Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba of the Second District of Ilocos Norte said.

“Sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors in tourism as more and more tourists are interested in sport activities,” Barba added.

Barba pioneered and organized beach volleyball in the province.

He launched the first AMB Beach Volleyball Tournament dubbed “Palaro sa Dalampasigan sa TagAraw 2018” in April 2018 when he was the province’s vice governor.

It was an inter-town competition in the province’s Second District held at the Playa Tropical Beach front, Barangay Victoria, Currimao, Ilocos Norte.

“Beach volleyball is most well-known in the beaches in the US, especially in California, but it is also a popular sport in Brazil and Phuket in Thailand in Asia,” he said. “But I am convinced that our beaches in Ilocos Norte are at par or even surpass the beauty of these beaches and they need to be seen by the world.”

A significant development, Barba said, was the AMB Beach Volleyball Tournament being commissioned by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) as the official grassroots beach volleyball authority in Ilocos Norte.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Barba pushed for the 2021 AMB Beach Volleyball Tournament.

The AMB Beach Volleyball Clinic was conducted last April 18 by the PNVF-Ilocos Norte Volleyball to ensure the growth of local beach volleyball technical and officiating crews by learning the latest developments of the game.

The AMB Beach Volleyball District 2 Tournament was played last April 24 and 25 at the Playa Tropical in Barangay Victoria in Currimao and the AMB Beach Volleyball District 1 Tournament was conducted last May 14 and 15 at Villa Del Mar in Barangay Saud in Pagudpud.

The Crossover Match will be on June 19 at the D’Coral also in Currimao.

Barba stressed that all tournaments and activities adhere to health and safety protocols.

“As we are all managing anxiety and stress related to the pandemic, we should consider using physical activity and sport events as a strategy to maintain our physical, mental and emotional health during this challenging times,” Barba said.

ATHLETES RECEIVE VACCINES FRIDAY M EMBERS of Team Philippines to the Tokyo Olympics in July and the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games in November will get their first dose of anti-Covid-19 vaccine starting on Friday, according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

The proceedings are set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Manila Prince Hotel along San Marcelino Street in Manila.

Chief Implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 head Secretary Carlito Galvez, Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Covid-19 testing czar Secretary Vince Dizon will witness the vaccination of the athletes, coaches and delegation members.

“The good news is the athletes, coaches and delegation members will get their vaccines this Friday,” Tolentino told the online session

of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday.

“Rollout begins on Friday,” he added. “Let’s get vaccinated.”

The development couldn’t have come at a better time for national team members During the SEA Games Federation meeting last week, the Hanoi Organizing Committee announced a “No Vaccine, No Participation” policy for all athletes and officials seeing action in the November 21 to December 2 games Vietnam is hosting for the second time since 2003.

The rule prompted Tolentino to write Duque and the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases last May 18 asking for the prioritization of athletes and coaches for the vaccine.

Two days later, the POC’s request was approved.

For the Tokyo Olympics set from July 23 to August 8, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach

Olympics will go on–Araneta

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HE country’s chef de mission to the Tokyo Olympics believes the Games will go on scheduled from July 23 to August 24 despite the state of emergency being enforced in Japan because of the Covid-19

pandemic.

And Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, tasked to oversee the country’s participation in the Olympics, believes there would be more Filipino athletes qualifying for the “greatest show on earth.”

“Those are strong indications that the

THE Philippines’s Jere Samuel Era Dela Cruz beats Sri Lanka’s Jeewantha Wimukthi.

Dela Cruz, Panuayan book convincing wins in Dubai meet opener

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OUNG gun Jere Samuel Era de la Cruz hurdled Sri Lanka’s Jeewantha Wimukthi on Monday night to advance to the men’s lightweight quarterfinals of the Asian Boxing Confederation Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships on Tuesday at the Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai.

The 20-year-old De la Cruz made his townmates in Murcia in Negros Occidental proud as he aggressively counterpunched his way to a 4-1 victory on opening day of the tournament that gathered 150 boxers from 17 countries.

“It was my first time to step on a boxing ring since 2019. We only had a few training equipment before we got here, no [punching] bag, other training stuff,” De la Cruz told BusinessMirror on Tuesday. “But I was determined to win for my family and for my country and I kept my spirits alive

during the match.”

The national boxers settled for virtual and individual training from their respective homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They only got together for team training early this year at the Inspire Sports Institute in Calamba.

“I want to compete in the Vietnam SEA [Southeast Asian] Games that’s why winning here is important,” said Dela Cruz, a national team member for two years. He won the gold in the China-Asean Boxing Championships in Guangxi in November 2019.

Up next for De la Cruz is India’s Varinder Singh on Tuesday.

Light welterweight John Panuayan also had little problem disposing of local bet Majid Alnaqbi, scoring a unanimous 5-0 win to advance to the men’s quarterfinals against Tajikistan’s Bakhodur Usmonov on Tuesday.

But flyweight Marvin Tabamo lost, 2-3, to Afghanistan’s Ramish Rahmani for a 2-1 won-lost performance for Team Philippines.

“I was really surprised with the way Jere [Dela Cruz] and John Paul [Panauyan] fought,” Head Coach Roel Velasco said. “They weren’t cocky in training, but they unleashed what they learned from their training.”

Top seed Eumir Felix Marcial climbs the ring against Mongolian Otgonbaatar Byamba-Erdene in the men’s middleweight quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Byamba-Erdene is coming off a 4-1 victory over Iraqi Ridha Talib Jabbar also on Monday.

Light flyweight Mark Lester Durens faced Kuwait’s Mansour Khalefah in a quarterfinal match, and Junmilardo Ogayre collided with Rukmal Prusanna in a men’s bantamweight quarterfinals clash on Tuesday night. Josef Ramos

announced athletes don’t need to be vaccinated.

But the POC chief encouraged all members of the Philippine team qualified to both international meets, including para athletes, to have themselves inoculated with whatever brand that will be administered— especially those who are currently in Manila.

“With the surge, like in India and elsewhere in the world, it’s ‘get the vaccine as early as possible,” Tolentino, the congressman from Cavite’s Eighth District, told the forum presented

by San Miguel Corp., Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Tolentino, also head of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines or PhilCycling, said those who are reluctant to get vaccinated have no choice—or lose their slots to the Hanoi SEA Games.

“We cannot force those who

Olympics would be held on schedule as long as we follow all safety health protocols,” Araneta told BusinessMirrror on ARANETA Tuesday. “It’s really a big morale booster also for the IOC [International Olympic Committee].”

Araneta said that because international sports events are being staged all over the world, there is a slim chance that the Tokyo Olympics would be cancelled.

“I don’t see any cancellation I think, despite several survey reports from Japan,” Araneta said.

Among those Araneta cited as strong indicators for a greenand-go Tokyo Olympics are the Olympic qualifiers in weightlifting (Uzbekistan), rowing (Tokyo) and taekwondo (Amman).

Tokyo has also hosted test events in gymnastics, shooting, diving, athletics, BMX freestyle, among others, in the last month or so.

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino announces the good news to the sports community.

refuse to be vaccinated, but if they don’t, they can’t participate in Vietnam,” he said.

Tolentino said the POC already coordinated with the national sports associations to provide the Olympic body with a provisional list of their athletes and coaches bound for the SEA Games.

“For those NSAs which have yet to conduct their national championships to determine their lineup for the SEA Games, they would have to be vaccinated at a later date,” Tolentino said.

The delegation to the Tokyo Olympics, Tolentino said, is easier to handle.

“Qualifiers in karate [Paris], the ongoing boxing competition in Dubai, pro boxing, basketball, football and golf events are also strong indications that the Tokyo Games would go on,” he said.

The Tokyo organizers, Araneta added, also designed a specific “Playbook” for everyone to follow once the Olympics get going. The book indicates the dos and don’ts during the entire Games.

Araneta also stressed that more Filipinos would qualify for the Olympics, including golfers Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan, karate’s Junna Tsukii, judo’s Kiyomi Watanabe, athletics’ Eric Cray and Kristina Knott and skateboarder Margie Didal.

The cutoff for Olympic qualifiers is in June.

Boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Irish Magno, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, rower Cris Nievarez, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and taekwondo jin Kurt Bryan Barbosa have qualified for the Olympics.

Josef Ramos

Interactive BEST clinics set

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HE pioneering Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training (BEST) Center will hold interactive clinics for basketball and volleyball from May 30 to June 21.

The clinics will be for basketball and volleyball. They will be held in honor of BEST Center founder and former president Nicanor Jorge, a former national coach who died in June 13, 2020.

Jorge was also a former coach of the University of the Philippines Maroons in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, Mapua in the National Collegiate Athletic

Association and coached teams in the amateur leagues and the Philippine Basketball Association.

He was a champion coach in the Southeast Asian Games and produced a good number of basketball stars before his demise.

The basketball clinics will be for children five to eight years old (1 to 2 p.m.) and for nine years old and above (4 to 5 p.m.).

Volleyball lessons are given from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

A maximum of eight students per class will be entertained. The clinics are backed by Milo.

For details, call 0917 801 3533 or email: bestcenter. inquiry@gmail.com.

WHEN you are 40 years old, you are almost done. When you are 50, goodbye.

Not in golf.

Phil Mickelson, turning 51 on June 16, won the 103rd PGA Championship two days ago to become the oldest winner of a major in 106 years.

He finished with a one-overpar 73. Not that rosy, but it was enough to make him steal a twoshot win and earn his sixth major, tying him with Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo.

And he beat the toughest field ever assembled, achieving the improbable feat at the longest (7,876 yards), most treacherous course in Grand Slam history.

The Kiawah Island Ocean Course in South Carolina off the Atlantic was designed by Pete Dye, notorious for tough-asnails layouts that punish rather than make the golfer happy— habitually sending the vanquished moping over his beer at the bar.

There is a Dye course in Cavite. Any bloke that has played that course will tell you his round was nothing but almost an eternity of torture. Include me.

Mickelson had his own woes to conquer, but Brooks Koepka and Louie Oosthuizen, both in their early 30s, bowed to Kiawah’s killer hazards in the moment of truth.

Playing in pain, Brooks, a fourtime major winner, was hampered by a knee surgery just two months ago. His birdie magic almost all week on the par-5s deserted him, succumbing to bogeys instead in the final round.

And Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champ, saw his rally getting drowned in the waterlaced course to lose steam in the homestretch.

Oosthuizen settled for a 73 and Brooks 74 to share second behind Mickelson, whose 6-under-par total gave him his 45th title and put him in a place that money can’t buy: pantheon of greatness.

Before Mickelson, Julius Boros was the oldest major winner at 46 when he won the PGA in 1968 at San Antonio’s Pecan Valley, which became dormant in 2012.

And Mickelson wasn’t even supposed to win as he was a 200-to-1 long shot with his so-so 115th ranking—having won his last major in the 2013 British Open.

Mickelson survived losing his 54-hole lead by bogeying No. 1 that Koepka had birdied.

But he soldiered on, chipping in a birdie from the sand on 6.

Egged on by his brother-caddy Tim, he reclaimed the lead at the turn by answering three bogeys with three birdies.

Then he went 4 up with 6 holes to play, only to bogey 13 and 14 on missed green miscues.

But after parring 15, Mickelson birdied 16 on a massive 337-yard drive to restore his three-shot lead with two holes to go.

Although he bogeyed 17, the hardest hole, his two-shot margin going 18 carried him to a summit many thought was impossible for him to scale.

“I hope that this inspires… because there’s no reason why you can’t accomplish your goals at an older age,” said Mickelson. “It just takes a little more work. I will cherish this for my entire life.”

Who wouldn’t?

THAT’S IT Memories rushed back following Phil Mickelson’s historic PGA win on Monday. He was my pro during the ProAm preceding the 1996 Toyota World Match Play won 3 & 2

by Ernie Els over Vijay Singh in Wentworth, England (the incomparable Vince Socco authored that unforgettable trip). “Too bad there was no selfie shot back then,” rued Dan Isla, texting from his base in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s all framed in the mind now, Sir John.