BusinessMirror November 18, 2021

Economic pause in Oct hobbles tax collection B B D. N @BNicolasBM

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PFIZER ALLOWS OTHER COMPANIES TO MANUFACTURE ITS COVID-19 PILL

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HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) fell short of its P171.22-billion collection target for October as mobility restrictions to curb the Covid-19 spread trammeled economic activity. BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel SD. Guballa told the BM government’s tax haul for the month settled at P162.99 billion, 4.81-percent short of the target for the month.

Guballa said they failed to hit the goal because the “economy [was] not yet in full throttle.”

The Alert Level 4 mobility restrictions imposed on Metro Ma-

nila during the first half of the month were only downgraded to Alert Level 3 from October 16 to 31. Several areas were also placed under varied conditions of community quarantine (CQ): “modified enhanced” CQ; general CQ, or GCQ, with heightened restrictions; GCQ only; and, “modified” GCQ. Nonetheless, Guballa said the October collection exceeded by 6.88 percent the P152.5 billion the BIR was able to raise in the same month in 2021.

Meanwhile, the bureau’s collection from January to October stood at P1.71 trillion, slightly breaching its P1.703-trillion goal by 0.41 percent. This was also a

7-percent jump from the P1.598 trillion the BIR collected in the same 10-month-period in 2020.

So far, the bureau has collected 82.2 percent of its P2.081-trillion full-year collection target for this year. The BIR collected P1.95 trillion last year, exceeding its downscaled revenue collection target of P1.686 trillion.

Guballa said the BIR is still “hoping to achieve” its target by the end of the year.

The government hopes to raise more revenues this year to cover the expected higher budget deficit. The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) projects the deficit to reach a new record high of 1.86 trillion or

9.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

As of end-September, the country’s cumulative budget deficit widened to P1.14 trillion.

The DBCC earlier slashed its growth projection for the Philippine economy this year to 4 to 5 percent from 6 percent to 7 percent previously, due to the re-imposition of lockdown measures.

Nonetheless, economic managers are optimistic that the Philippine economy is now on track to reach the high end of the revised government’s growth target following the 7.1-percent economic growth in the third quarter of this year. Year-to-date growth is at 4.9 percent.

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PCCI PITCHES 10 VITAL RECOVERY MEASURES www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Thursday, November 18, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 41

B T J C. P

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USING SCIENCE, NEDA SEEKS ‘SINGLE TRUTH’

@Tyronepiad

ITH the current administration nearing its conclusion, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is calling for more “economic activism” on the part of the government, listing 10 priority measures that can aid recovery from the pandemic.

The business group is hoping that its proposed policy resolutions will be put into action by the government, to not only recover but build back a more resilient and sustainable economy, as well. The wish list is set to be unveiled today (Thursday) during the 47th Philippine Business Conference and Expo (PBC&A).

First, the business group wants full reopening of the economy even before achieving Covid-19 herd immunity to revive the economy.

This, as it urged the government to assist the business sector to generate new jobs while maintaining the existing ones. PCCI cited a need to fully implement the law on ease of doing business in the country.

It is calling for the modernization of agriculture and boosting of food security. The business group wants to fast-track the Internet connectivity at competitive rates in the country while digitizing the education system.

Related to this is the institutionalization of innovation for economic development of the country. PCCI stresses the urgency of protecting the environment and reducing the carbon footprint, which is in line with promotion of a sustainable economy.

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HE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) intends to “walk the talk” and establish its own data science team to arrive at a “single truth” needed for policy-making.

In the Philippine Business Conference (PBC) plenary on Wednesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said apart from addressing the current crisis, the Neda is also employing “futures thinking” by looking beyond the pandemic.

Chua said these are just some of the innovations Neda is doing to support the efforts of the next administration. He said proposals for the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) will also include these innovations.

“I’m starting to build a data science team in [Neda] so that we can integrate all our databases, establish a single source of truth within the agency and I hope eventually all agencies will establish their own data science team,” Chua said.

“This will enable us to be more productive without working longer hours just searching or reconciling for instance data from different [sources]

are crucial for policy-making.

So with this, Neda would like to set the example to walk the talk when it comes to the government’s digital transformation effort,” he added.

Chua said that while the creation of a data science team within Neda is part of the national digital transformation strategy, it is not just about technology which, in his opinion, is only 10 percent of the strategy.

He said part of these efforts rests on governance, such as the creation of the legal and technical frameworks as well as system structures. This accounts for 30 percent of the effort.

The bulk or 60 percent of the effort, Chua said, will require a change in perspective and greater appreciation for futures thinking.

These efforts will be supported by the government’s push for the National ID. Chua said to date, 42.5 million Filipinos of the 50-million target this year have been able to submit their demographic and biometrics information to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Chua added that 6.1 million families have also enrolled C  A

THE traditional giant Christmas Tree was recently lit up on its 40th year at the Times Square Food Park in Araneta City in Quezon City. Businesses are optimistic of a steady return to normalcy ahead of the holidays, but are pitching 10 priority measures that they say government must pursue to ensure a sustained recovery from the pandemic. NONOY LACZA

Remote working setup key to keeping BPO employees

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HE business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms may lose employees if they do not offer remote working arrangements moving forward.

Nathalie Yatco, Philippines BPO leader at Prohance, said the workfrom-home (WFH) scheme has allowed BPO companies to maintain productivity amid the pandemic.

But this arrangement may change given the possibility of returning to workplaces amid the vaccination rollout. “[For] those who want to remain at home...what does that

PESO EXCHANGE RATES

YATCO: “I don’t think there’s going back to where we were. We’ve crossed a barrier that now we can’t go back.”

look for them if their organization is not open to a remote working arrangement with them?

Chances are, these people, if they are great contributors to existing companies, can fi nd home elsewhere,” she said at a recent event hosted by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap).

These employees may be able to fi nd new jobs again in the industry given that the recruitment and hiring process is continuous, she said. Last year, the employment in the industry grew by 1.8

percent to 1.32 million despite the pandemic.

“I don’t think there’s going back to where we were. We’ve crossed a barrier that now we can’t go back,” she said, referring to the implementation of WFH arrangements in pandemic.

She said that enforcing a hybrid workplace is the compromise that the BPO firms can make. This can allow them to continue operations while minimizing health risks to their employees, Yatco explained.

S “R,” A

■ US 50.2720 ■ JAPAN 0.4378 ■ UK 67.5203 ■ HK 6.4560 ■ SINGAPORE 37.0519 ■ AUSTRALIA 36.7086 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.4034 ■ EU 56.9230 ■ CHINA 7.8652

Source: BSP (November 17, 2021)

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BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Russian navy contingent docks at Manila port

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News

WO submarines and three ships from the Russian navy docked in Manila on Tuesday, two days after two Japanese destroyers departed from Subic.

The submarines, whose types the Philippine Navy did not identify but were believed to be Kilo class, berthed along with a corvette, a tanker ship and a support vessel.

The subs, corvette Gremyashchiy, tanker Pechenga and support vessel Alatau were from the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

Russia has been among the list of countries interested to supply the Philippine Navy’s submarine program by offering its dieselpowered Kilo class submarines.

The presence of the two Russian submarines in Manila could have been part of Moscow’s marketing effort, although the military said that the subs and the three accompanying vessels were here to replenish their supplies and for the rest and recreation of their crews.

The Kilo class is competing for the Philippine Navy’s attention against the Frenchmade Scorpene class submarine, which Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said was the standing choice of the military.

Last week, France Ambassador Michele Boccoz visited the Philippine Navy headquarters in Manila, and discussed bilateral security cooperation and training and even maritime issues with navy officials.

As France has offered its Scorpene-class submarine, its navy has also offered to help the Philippine Navy form its submarine force, especially in its design and project management program.

On Friday, Japanese destroyers Kaga and Murasame also berthed at Subic for a two-day port call.

Their docking followed the ongoing disaster response training exercises between Japanese and Filipino forces at the Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio. Rene P. Acosta

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOF to businesses: Hasten move to digitalization under new normal

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B B D. N

@BNicolasBM

HE Department of Finance urged businesses to quickly adapt to the digital economy for them to thrive under the “New, Better Normal,” especially if the country eases to Alert Level 1 status by the start of the new year.

According to Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran, the ecosystem for the digital push is being shaped by several government measures to support innovation.

Beltran said these measures include the following: a liberal regulatory regime for financial technology firms; digital innovations that improved the monitoring of capital markets; and, shifting government transactions, including tax payments, online.

Economic managers had earlier said they expect the country to achieve Alert Level 1 by the “onset of the New Year” “given the arrival of an adequate supply of vaccines and an ‘aggressive’ Covid-19 inoculation program” starting in the third quarter of the year.

Under Alert Level 1, all businesses are allowed to operate at full-site capacity, subject to minimum public health standards.

“We are all looking forward to the new and better normal. Our

businesses should prepare to thrive under the terms of this new economy,” Beltran said at the 47th Philippine Business Conference and Expo organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “[Businesses] must adapt more quickly to the new market realities created by digital technology.”

Beltran added the country should also take advantage of a “demographic sweet spot” wherein its work force is made up of “mostly young and talented people ready to swiftly adjust to the transformations taking place in the new economy.”

The DOF official noted that the government applied technological innovations such as the electronic filing and payment of tax dues initiated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Beltran also cited the ongoing modernization of the Bureau of Customs and the operations of the Overseas Filipino Bank, the Philippines’s first official digital-only bank.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the BIR have also been working together to ensure that financial technology companies are properly regulated and taxed while encouraging their growth and continued innovation, he added.

The finance official also urged businesses to “be green” and use more renewables, noting that climate change will hit the country harder than the pandemic did.

“We must prepare for severe weather, droughts and all other damaging effects caused by global warming,” Beltran said. “Our businesses must learn to thrive in the face of these conditions.”

He said the Philippines should “become a role model for other countries by mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in our business processes.”

Beltran vowed that government banks “stand ready to provide financing for green and environment-friendly projects.”

PCCI PITCHES 10 VITAL RECOVERY MEASURES C  A

The government needs to assure the public that the country has “reliable and affordable power supply to sustain economic recovery and accelerate industrialization postCovid-19 to retain and create new jobs,” PCCI noted.

Lastly, the private sector group urges the government to acceler-

ate the construction of the infrastructure projects under the Build, Build, Build program. This, as it calls for transparency in the bids and awards of contracts.

“We will not concede this projected future amid all the grim outlook from many sectors. We, at PCCI, believe we still have what it takes for a nation to become one of the most robust economies in

the world. The Philippine business sector will lead this change,” PCCI President Benedicto Yujuico said.

47th PBC&E Chairman Jeffrey T. Ng said these measures are not only addressed to the current administration but to the “aspiring new leaders” of the country, as well.

“What we continue to battle head-on is a complex social, economic, and health challenges and

there are no magic bullets,” he said.

“While there are, no doubt, many other proposals on the table, we offer these resolutions containing doable recommendations, proposed legislations and executive actions to guide our economic recovery and bring into the fore those who are in danger of being left behind as we bounce back from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Remote...

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Hybrid model

EARLIER, Ibpap said it expects the hybrid working model to stay until next year. The industry is implementing a 70-30 split between work-from-home and on-site work, respectively, to deliver services, the group said previously.

In addition, she said that such a move will allow business continuity amid the uncertainties in pandemic.

“The threat of a potential lockdown is always around the corner, whether it is a new variant or whatever, rising cases,” she said.

“BCP [business continuity plan] is a critical thing for outsourcing,” Yatco added. “We need to plan for the worst. If there is another lockdown, we’ll go through the same thing.”

This year, Ibpap Chairman Benedict Hernandez said the sector is “cautiously optimistic” in hitting a high single-digit growth.

In terms of employment, the IT-BPM industry projects 8-percent growth with 1.43 million workers by the end of the year.

Revenues, meanwhile, are expected to rise by 8 percent to $28.8 billion in 2021.

Among the growth drivers for the industry are pent-up demand, vaccine rollout, digital acceleration and need for cost optimization, he enumerated.

Hernandez also cited the following as emerging subsegments for the outsourcing sector: insurance BPO, life sciences BPO, health-care BPO, customer experience management and data and analytics, among others. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Using science, Neda seeks ‘single truth’ C  A

bank accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines while 3.5 million Filipinos have already received their National IDs. “This will enable us to achieve 100 percent financial inclusion, hopefully, at the family level by the end of the year and at the individual level in the coming years. This will allow us to roll out our social protection programs much better and much more efficiently with the least waste,” Chua said. “We will ramp this up because this is [a] game changer.”

Smart cities

APART from these, Chua said the Neda also intends to focus on the building of smart cities not only to allow the country to achieve the long-term vision of Filipinos under AmBisyon Natin 2040 but also reduce the country’s carbon footprint.

Chua said smart cities and smart infrastructure means weaving together the principles of urban mobility and infrastructure together with urban development. This covers transportation, digital communication, planning, land use, and environmental conservation.

This means focusing on applications that help move people faster, especially when workers return to office, and students to school. This will reduce traffic or help Filipinos better travel through a combination of technology and mass transport. “These will actually improve the lives of the people and...reduce

our carbon footprint because a big part of our emissions really is spending hours on the road and as we recover from Covid-19, we’re going to see more traffic back to our lives,” Chua said.

Leni’s support

IN her opening remarks at the PBC, Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, who is also running for President in next year’s polls, said she will support these efforts through the promotion of alternative transport.

Robredo said her administration is ready to back this up by increasing the budget for bike lanes nationwide to P14 billion from the current P1.6 billion.

The Vice President also said her administration will double the budget for agriculture to 3.4 percent of the National Budget from only 1.7 percent. This will support a sector, she said, that has been resilient during the pandemic.

“Much work remains to [be done to] ensure economic recovery for all. It gives me great comfort that Filipinos like you are ready to find solutions and work with the rest of the nation in pursuing a shared horizon of progress, sustainability and inclusiveness,” Robredo said.

Chua said agriculture innovation is another that Neda will endorse to the next administration through the PDP. This will also help climate-proof the Philippines.

“I have actually directed the Neda to look into the next Philippine development plan revolving around the issue of climate change and everything we do in infrastructure, in agriculture innovation, governance should be [for] the country and protecting the Philippines,” he said.

Earlier, Chua said the country’s next sixyear socioeconomic blueprint, the PDP, should focus on the environment. He said one of the possible recom-

mendations he can make in terms of crafting the PDP is to adopt the theme “saving our planet, saving our country.”

This is one of the ways that intergenerational fairness can be promoted in the Philippines. In a recent Senate hearing, Chua agreed with Sen. Pia Cayetano that achieving intergenerational equity is going to be very important moving forward.

This means that Neda must adapt to the times and modernize, he said. With this, the priorities of the oversight agency next year are on five key areas: the country’s economic recovery, smart infrastructure, innovation, regional equity, and climate change.

The Socioeconomic Planning Secretary said Neda will undertake studies, researches, surveys, and craft master plans to support the next planning process.

Chua has asked the staff to focus on agriculture, human development, government organization, and the labor market for the next planning process.

The Neda will also improve efficiency in terms of governance statistics framework; create a contract price escalation database; study the creative industries; measure awareness and perception with regards to AmBisyon Natin 2040; and non-tariff barriers on food to address the inflation issue today.

It will also provide macroeconomic analysis for all post-disaster needs assessment and work on reformulating rehabilitation and recovery programs.

The Neda will also spearhead the formulation and implementation of the national innovation agenda and strategy document in line with the Innovation Act. It will also start working on the SDG acceleration road map so the Philippines to can catch up with the goals given the pandemic.

Further, Chua said Neda will also help strengthen Regional Development Council (RDC) proposals and the support to their devolution transition.

Economy BusinessMirror

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, November 18, 2021 A3

Senate readies probe Business chambers, groups press into Malampaya deal passage of data transmission bill

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

S

ENATORS are poised to mount an inquiry into the controversial deal involving the “prized” Malampaya natural gas asset.

While backing the probe, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto indicated, however, that lawmakers may be tied up preparing for an upcoming campaign to pursue the probe full time.

“Yes. I think there will be a need to hear this,” Recto affirmed in a text message to the BusinessMirror.

He added: “Unfortunately, we may have no more time since campaign is around the corner; but let us see. It is a very important issue as it affects our energy security.”

For his part, Minority Sen. Francis Pangilinan indicated they are keen to know “why the prized Malampaya natural gas project went to the upstart Udenna Corp. when the government has the power to exert its stake over the

country’s crucial energy asset.”

Pangilinan recalled that during Tuesday’s marathon Senate deliberations on the 2022 budget of the Department of Energy (DOE) which lasted near midnight Tuesday he had asked Duterte administration officials to explain government’s failure to exercise its right of first refusal that, he noted, would have “given it the option to keep control of the natural gas field” that provides 40 percent of Luzon’s energy needs.

The opposition lawmaker lamented it was “very disturbing to listen to the reason given why the Department of Energy did not consider taking or exercising its right of first refusal on the basis of a sweeping, general statement of negative facts and constraints.”

Pangilinan rued that “we are given just a broad statement to justify the turnover to a private corporation of a billion-dollar worth of assets,” protesting, “This is incredulous. We deserve a better explanation.”

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By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

EVERAL foreign chambers and business groups called for the immediate passage of a bill that is expected to boost broadband services across the country.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, private sector organizations urged the enactment of the Open Access in Data Transmission bill soon. It seeks to build up more broadband infrastructure by attracting more firms to invest in the data transmission and broadband industry.

The signatories commended the House of Representative for the approval of House Bill 8910 on third and final reading.

SC orders Palace to reply to Senate suit. . .

The petitioner is also asking the Court to prohibit Medialdea and other officers of the Executive branch from issuing and implementing directives to law enforcement agencies,

such as the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation, that would obstruct the proceedings of the Senate and withhold assistance in the enforcement of the Senate’s

@TyronePiad

compulsory processes.

The Senate is also asking the Court to prevent Duque and other government officials from complying with the memorandum, issued on October 4, 2021.

Following this, they called on the Senate to begin tackling the same measure. The bill currently pending at the upper chamber’s Science and Technology Committee.

The business groups stressed that it is important to foster “economic recover y and more compet it ion a nd i nvest ment in broadband, especially in underserved areas throughout the Philippines.”

“Digital infrastructure in the

country lags behind infrastructure in competing countries in the region,” they said. Citing a report, the statement noted that the Philippines is behind Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam because of its “less robust and competitive digital infrastructure.”

“One major lesson of the ongoing pandemic is that developing competitive digital infrastructure is essential for better lives for everyone in the Philippines and certainly critical for investment, particularly foreign investments,” they stressed.

As such, these can help usher in better employment, education, finance, governance and health, among others, they added.

The private sector groups noted that the passage of the said bill would provide a competitive policy and regulatory framework, lowering the barriers and costs of

market entry.

“This will significantly improves data transmission services [faster Internet speed and lower Internet costs] throughout the country,” the statement read.

American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines signed the statement.

Other signatories include the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc., Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc., Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. and US-Asean Business Council.

issued during the term of former President Gloria MacapagalArroyo requiring officials to secure the President’s consent before attending legislative inquiries in aid of legislation.

The Senate also said the memorandum, if not declared unconstitutional, would weaken rule of law as it undermines the implementation of writs, processes, and warrants.

continued from a12 The Senate argued before the Court that the memorandum is unconstitutional because it was issued in defiance of the Court’s ruling in Senate v. Ermita, which invalidated Executive Order 464

The Nation

A4 Thursday, November 18, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

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Study: More than half of young Filipinos can spot fake news

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

LITTLE over half of young Filipinos can spot fake news, according to a study conducted by Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) led Boses, Opinyon, Siyasat, at Siyensya para sa Pilipinas, or BOSES Pilipinas.

However, the same study stated that this runs contrary to the perception of these respondents that they are “somewhat confident in identifying fake news.”

The data showed 52.5 percent of youth respondents only got six to eight correct answers or an average score of 6.9 in a 10-item fake news quiz but 63 percent of the respondents said they are somewhat con-

fident in identifying fake news.

“There is a big mismatch between the students’ perceived ability in identifying fake news from real news, and their actual performance in the face of fake news.

This means, their confidence did not translate to their ability when they answered the quiz,” BOSES Pilipinas convenor Imelda Deinla said in a news statement.

The study featured a novel fake news quiz that is composed of Facebook posts containing shared photos with quotes supposedly attributed to selected Cabinet members of the current administration.

The students were asked to classify the quote in the photo as true or false. BOSES Pilipinas used snowball sampling, a non-probability survey sampling technique.

While the majority of respondents were somewhat confident in identifying fake news, these respondents only scored an average of 6.9 on the 10-item fake news quiz.

The results also showed that only 23 percent said they are very confident and scored an average of 7.2 out of 10.

Further, 13 percent said they are not very confident and scored an average of 6.5 out of 10, while 1 percent said they are not confident at all and scored an average score

of 5.7 out of 10.

“Overall, we can conclude based on these figures that our students only have average skills in identifying fake news,” Deinla said.

Voting and Facebook

THE study also examined the relationship between the ability of respondents to spot real news and their likelihood to vote in the coming elections.

The results showed that 72 percent who said they will “definitely vote” in 2022 showed the highest ability in recognizing real news from fake news with an average score of 7 out of 10.

The data also showed that 1 percent or 215 respondents, said they will not vote in 2022 and scored an average of 6.3 out of the 10-item fake news quiz.

“This means that those who are politically engaged—especially

those intent on voting, would actively seek a variety of good information, and are therefore more likely seeking real news. However, those who are good at detecting fake news are not necessarily the ones very keen on voting,” Deinla explained.

“This also means that seeing or seeking real news can stimulate political awareness and engagement.

Detecting fake news by itself, has no effect on political engagement, unless this is accompanied by seeing real news,” she added.

Meanwhile, respondents who regarded the social-media platform Facebook as trustworthy were more likely to score lower in the fake news quiz.

Based on the data, only 2 percent or 384 respondents find Facebook as a very trustworthy source of information. The same respondents only scored 5.7 out of the 10-item fake news quiz.

In contrast, 26 percent or 6,388 respondents who find Facebook as an untrustworthy source of information showed the highest ability in recognizing fake news from real news, with an average score of 7.2 out of 10.

More than 20,000 students eligible to vote in 2022 took part in the Pinoy Voters’ Vibe (PVV): Youth Edition surveys conducted from August 23, 2021 to September 24, 2021 through 25 partner colleges and universities across the country.

Deinla said that this was already the second round of PVV surveys.

She explained that the results of the second round confirm the results of the first round, which somewhat showed very similar findings.

The first round of PVV surveys were conducted from May 17, 2021 to June 24, 2021 and involved 7,744 respondents through 18 universities and colleges.

PHL receives first shipment of anti-Covid pill Molnupiravir

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

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HE first batch of anti-Covid oral drug Molnupiravir, under the brand name MOLNARZ®, has arrived in the country, allowing RiteMed Philippines Inc. (RiteMed), in partnership with Faberco Life Sciences Inc., to start its distribution initially to hospitals that have secured compassionate special permits (CSP) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

RiteMed President Jose Maria A. Ochave is also hoping that Molnupiravir may also be made accessible

to drug stores in the Philippines, depending on the issuance of necessary approvals and conditions from the FDA and the Department of Health (DOH).

“It is our hope that Molnupiravir will also be cleared for distribution to drugstores nationwide soon so we can make it readily accessible to Filipinos, which is in line with RiteMed’s long-time advocacy of giving the public better access to quality affordable medicines,” Ochave said.

Ochave said Molnupiravir can be used to treat mild and moderate symptoms at home, but “we need to make sure that its use is

subject to supervision by doctors and comply with the requirements laid down by FDA.” At the moment, however, Molnupiravir, the first oral drug clinically proven to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death from Covid-19 by 50 percent, will only be made available in hospitals that were given CSPs by the FDA nationwide.

Molnupiravir, developed by Merck & Co. (known outside the US and Canada as MSD), prevents further replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by targeting its ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase—an RNAdependent enzyme.

RiteMed is distributing MOLNARZ® (molnupiravir) 200 mg capsule together with Faberco, which was appointed by Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., a licensed manufacturer of Merck & Co, to import the anti-Covid pill to the country.

Earlier, RiteMed and Faberco have agreed to a strategic partnership to help provide quality and affordable treatment solutions not only to Covid-19 but also to other diseases that impact on public health.

RiteMed will distribute MOLNARZ® (molnupiravir) to hospitals, medical institutions, and treatment sites under the CSP, which allows ex-

perimental drugs and vaccines to be prescribed by doctors and administered to patients as long as their use would be monitored for potential adverse reactions.

Faberco has initiated a rolling evaluation to the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization for Molnupiravir.

This comes after the United Kingdom granted an EUA to Molnupiravir.

Further distribution of this potentially life-saving drug to drugstores will be subject to the approval and conditions set by the FDA. Faberco also expects the FDA to approve its EUA application for the use of Molnupiravir in the country.

“We are anticipating the approval from the Philippine FDA in the coming weeks” said Faberco Life Sciences Inc. founding member and Chairman of the Board, Vinay Panemanglor.

For his part, Mr. Kishore N. Hemlani, the company’s founder and Vice Chairman of the Board, said that Faberco Life Sciences, Inc commits to the Filipino people to make available and accessible this life-saving drug, “bringing hope and giving our nation more reason to celebrate this Christmas and welcome the new year with more optimism and enthusiasm.”

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

TheWorld

South Korea pushes booster shots as Delta-driven infections worsen

S

EOUL , South Korea—South Korea on Wednesday reported 3,187 new cases of the coronavirus, nearly matching a one-day record set in September, a worrisome development in a country that eased social distancing rules in recent weeks to lessen the pandemic’s economic impact.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said more than 2,550 of the new cases came from the greater capital area, including a record 1,436 in Seoul. The country’s death toll is now 3,137, after 21 deaths were reported on Wednesday, the 16th consecutive day of double-digit fatalities, including a record 32 on Saturday.

T he De lt a- d r iven spread h a s raised questions about whether the country was too quick to ease pandemic restrictions at the start of November in what officials described as a first step toward restoring some pre-pandemic normalcy.

In allowing larger social gatherings and expanding indoor dining

hours at restaurants, officials had hoped that the country’s improving vaccination rates would keep hospitalizations and deaths down even if the virus continues to spread.

But there has been a rise in serious cases and fatalities among senior citizens who rejected vaccines or people in long-term care settings whose immunities have waned after being inoculated early in the vaccine rollout, which began in late February.

Of f icia ls are now pushing to speed up t he ad ministrat ion of booster shots for people who were f u l ly v acc i n ated more t h a n si x months ago. Prime Minister Kim Boo-ky um, Seoul ’s No. 2 behind President Moon Jae-in, said during a virus meeting Wednesday that the interval period will be reduced to four months for people who are in their 60s or older, and for patients in nursing homes or long-term care hospitals. People in their 50s will be eligible for booster shots after five months, Kim said. AP

Japan, US set plans for talks on resolving tariffs dispute

T

OK YO — US Trade R e pre sentative Katharine Tai and Japan’s trade and industry minister agreed Wednesday to work to resolve a dispute over American tariffs on steel and aluminum, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

Tai and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda met Wednesday for talks that followed a

visit earlier in the week by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The two US envoys have been visiting the region in a first obvious push by President Joe Biden’s administration to soothe frictions left over from Donald Trump’s days in office. The effort comes as prices for steel have surged as economies shift into high gear after slowing during the pandemic. AP

BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 18, 2021

A5

Pfizer allows other companies to manufacture its Covid-19 pill L

ONDON Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has signed a deal with a UNbacked group to allow other manufacturers to make its experimental Covid-19 pill, a move that could make the treatment available to more than half of the world’s population.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Pfizer said it would grant a license for the antiviral pill to the Genevabased Medicines Patent Pool, which would let generic drug companies produce the pill for use in 95 countries, making up about 53 percent of the world ’s population.

T he deal excludes some large countries that have suffered devastat ing coronav ir us outbrea k s.

For example, while a Brazilian drug company could get a license to make the pill for export to other countries, the medicine could not be made generically for use in Brazil.

Still, health officials said the fact that the deal was struck even before Pfizer’s pill has been authorized anywhere, could help to end the pandemic quicker.

“It’s quite significant that we will be able to provide access to a drug that appears to be effective and has just been developed, to more than 4 billion people,” Esteban Burrone, head of policy at the Medicines Patent Pool, said.

He estimated that other drugmakers would be able to start producing the pill within months, but acknowledged the agreement wouldn’t

This image provided by Pfizer shows boxes for its Covid-19 pill. Drugmaker Pfizer said on, November 16, it is submitting its experimental pill for US authorization, setting the stage for a likely launch in coming weeks. Pfizer via AP please everyone.

“We try to strike a very delicate balance between the interests of the [company], the sustainability required by generic producers and most importantly, the public health needs in lower and middle-income countries,” Burrone said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will not receive royalties on sales in low-income countries and will waive royalties on sales in all countries covered by the agreement while Covid-19 remains a public health emergency.

Earlier this month, Pfizer said its pill cut the risk of hospitalization and death by nearly 90 percent in people with mild to moderate coronavirus infections. Independent experts recommended halting the company’s

study based on its promising results.

On Tuesday, Pfizer asked the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize the pill.

Since the pandemic erupted last year, researchers worldwide have raced to develop a pill to treat Covid-19 that can be taken at home easily to ease symptoms, speed recovery and keep people out of the hospital. At the moment, most Covid-19 treatments must be delivered intravenously or by injection.

Britain authorized Merck’s Covid-19 pill earlier this month, and it is pending approval elsewhere. In a similar deal with the Medicines Patent Pool announced in October, Merck agreed to let other drugmakers make its Covid-19 pill, molnupiravir, available in 105 poorer countries.

Doctors Without Borders said it was “disheartened” that the Pfizer deal does not make the drug available to the entire world, noting that the agreement announced Tuesday also excludes countries including China, Argentina and Thailand.

“The world knows by now that access to Covid-19 medical tools needs to be guaranteed for everyone, everywhere, if we really want to control this pandemic,” said Yuanqiong Hu, a senior legal policy adviser at Doctors Without Borders.

The decisions by Pfizer and Merck to share their Covid-19 drug patents stands in stark contrast to the refusal of Pfizer and other vaccine-makers to release their vaccine recipes for wider production. A hub set up by the World Health Organization in South Africa intended to share messenger RNA vaccine recipes and technologies has not enticed a single pharmaceutical to join.

Fewer than 1 percent of Pfizer’s Covid-19 shots have gone to poorer countries.

Robbie Silverman of Oxfam America welcomed Pfizer’s agreement to let other makers produce its Covid antiviral, but he noted that billions would still be left without access, including to the company’s vaccine.

“This move also begs the important question: If Pfizer can share data and intellectual property on a medicine, why have they so far categorically refused to do so for their Covid vaccine?” Silverman said. AP

A6

BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 18, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

24/7 BUSINESS PROCESSING INC. 5th-6th-7th Flr., 81 Newport Bl Newport City, Brgy. 183, Pasay City

1.

OU, XINXUAN Customer Service Representative (Chinese Accounts) Brief Job Description: Assists clients will all their concerns.

Basic Qualification: *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently. *Preferably 6 months to 1 year customer service experience. *Detail-oriented and has the ability to multitask.

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

ZHENG, LIANBI Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant 15.

DANG, HUAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 2.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

HE, SHUZUAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 3.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking.

HU, SUHONG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 4.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

LIU, QINGHAO Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 5.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking.

LIU, ZHI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 6.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking.

XIA, QIANG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 7.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking.

YAN, DAYAN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 8.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin Speaking.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services ZHENG, LIANZHAO Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant

16.

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5-10/f Tower 1, Pitx Kennedy Road, Tambo, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services ZHOU, KUN Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant

17.

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

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services ZHU, XUNZHONG Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant

9.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services

HTET HTET SHWE MOE Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant 10.

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

JIANG, JUNJIE Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant 11.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services

LU, BAIYANG Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant 12.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services

NANG KHIN THIDA HNIN Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant 13.

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

YOU, LIANG Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant 14.

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

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written

AEON FANTASY GROUP PHILIPPINES INC. 6/f Salustiana D. Ty Tower, 104 Paseo De Roxas Cor. Perea St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

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

MASARU, TETSUHIRO Director Of Sales 19.

RYZHIKOV, NIKITA Hebrew Technical Sales Director

20.

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

Brief Job Description: Own and hit / exceed annual sales targets with in assigned territory and accounts / develop and execute strategic plan to achieve sales targets and expand our customer base / build and maintain strong, long lasting customer relationships /partner with customers to understand their business needs and objectives effectively communicate the value proposition through proposals and presentations.

MATSONASHVILI, OTAR Hebrew Technical Sales Manager

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 21.

Brief Job Description: Ability to go into customer’s locations and identify technical challenges and inefficiencies/ ability to provide solution based selling of customers / work independently as well as cohesively with employees and managers as part of a team / excellent problem solving and conflict resolution skills in order to resolve conflicts and problems.

BEN HAROSH, OR Hebrew Technical Sales Supervisor 22.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

Basic Qualification: bachelor’s degree in marketing or environmental courses, a minimum of 5 years sales and marketing exo toys for kids exp, exp in managing indoor playground for kinds, fluent in Japanese language fluent in English language

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business marketing or related field experience in sales marketing a minimum of 10 years exp 5 years sales environment level 5 diploma (ISMM) advance cert in sales (CIM) ability to work under pressure and handle uncertainty fluent in English and Hebrew preferred

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business marketing or related field / experience in sales and marketing 5 years sales environment / ability to make crucial decisions and evaluations to determine the need of clients / business communication skills / fluent in English and Hebrew preferred

Brief Job Description: Understand customer need and offer solutions and support / organize and coordinate sales representative schedules / research potential leads from business directories, web searches or digital resources / recruit, hire and train new sales representative / receive and report on all sales leads

23.

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

Brief Job Description: Contribute to the development of the regional distributor sales plan to ensure market conditions, competitor strategies and distributor relationships are effectively addressed

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

25.

26.

ABRAM GOPAS SIAGIAN Bahasa Indonesian Language-supervisor Customer Service Brief Job Description: initiate conversation to uncover customer needs

KANSIRIKUN, SASIKARN Thai Language-officer Customer Service Brief Job Description: initiate conversation to uncover customer needs

Brief Job Description: Must ensure their funds reporting requirements are met

Brief Job Description: Oversee financial transactions and act as due diligence officer of the company.

Brief Job Description: Perform rail operations risk management and enforce railway safety regulations ,manage staff

Basic Qualification: Degree holder must fluently speak and write Bahasa Indonesian language to center foreign market

TATIA, PRAVEEN Vice President - RCM Transformation And Automation 31.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for creating end to end value streams and linking process initiatives to the Hospital Revenue Cycle Management (HRCM) business strategy.

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, management, or any business course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: With prior experience as chief financial officer Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate, 5years experience in railway operations manager and fluent in Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Basic Qualification: BA/BS Degree is required, preferably in a Computer Science or Business discipline; PMP certification is a plus; 3+ years of experience working in project or program management role; Ability to excel in a highvisibility strategic capacity and get involved in detailed program management tasks when necessary

CRONYX INC. No. 4th-10th Flr. Yinhope Bldg., Dela Rama Cor. Zoili Hilario St., Seascape Village, Ccp Complex Subd.

Zone 10, Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City CHEN, JUNHONG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 32.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services DENG, ZHIPENG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

33.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services GUO, XINYU Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

34.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services HO KING YIN Chinese Speaking Admin Associate Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

LI, JIAHUI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

NGUYEN THANH TAM Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 37.

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

YAN, MING Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 38.

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

YAO, GAOYANG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 39.

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: degree holder, must fluently speak and write in Thai language to cater foreign market

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

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: degree holder, must fluently speak and write in Thai Indonesian to cater foreign market

Basic Qualification: Degree holder, must fluently speak and write Vietnamese language to cater foreign market

CONIFER GLOBAL BUSINESS CENTER INC. 8th Floor Citi Plaza Building, 34th St. Cor. Lane D Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

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

24.

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

30.

36.

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

Brief Job Description: Initiate conversation to uncover customers needs. Give Appropriate and relevant information to customers promote business and product

TRAN NHUAT MY Vietnamese Language-officer Fund Management

GUO, WEIDONG Operations Manager

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

BIGCAT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. 18/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Avenue Cor. Rufino Street, Salcedo Vill., Bel-air, City Of Makati NOVI PURNAMA SARI Bahasa Indonesian Language-officer Customer Service

Brief Job Description: Initiate conversation to uncover customer needs

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

CHINA RAILWAY DESIGN CORPORATION PHILIPPINE BRANCH 3/f Salcedo One Center, 170 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

35.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

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

29.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business marketing or related field / experience in sales, marketing, ability to manage complex projects and multi task / excellent organizational skills supervisory ability to drive ability to work under pressure and handle uncertainty fluent in English and Hebrew preferred

Basic Qualification: Relevant clinical / industry experience - preferably in respiratory therapy; 3-5 years sales experience preferred; facilitation and training skills; knowledge of FPH and competitor products

NGUYEN NGOC HOAI THUONG Vietnamese Language-officer Customer Service

JAYARAMAN, RAJARAM Chief Financial Officer

BAIVI OUTSOURCING INC. Suite 9-d 9/f The Valero Tower, 122 Valero St., Bel-air, City Of Makati FREEBAIRN, SCOTT HAMISH Territory Manager

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

BROWN & BURK PHILIPPINES, INC. U-501 5/f Seddco I Bldg., Rada Cor. Legaspi Sts., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

28.

AGELESS BEAUTY SANCTUARY CORPORATION G/f Glorietta 3, Ayala Center, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

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

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

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

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

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for planning, implementing managing and overseeing company’s sales and operations strategy.

27.

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

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

No.

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

18.

ACE VELOCITY CONSULTANCY INC. 37/f Lkg Tower, 6801 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati CHEN, CHUANJUN Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

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

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

YU, LIANGLIANG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 40.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION ZHU, HONGFEN Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

41.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services ZHU, ZHIGUI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

42.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services DOAN THI GIANG Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

43.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services FU, JIE Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

44.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services HUANG, CHUANZHUO Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

45.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers. Give customer information about product and services LI, HAOJIE Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

46.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services LIN, KE-YOU Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

47.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services LIU, HUI Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

48.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services LY NGOC YEN Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

49.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services WU, CHENGLONG Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

50.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customer information about product and services YANG, JINPENG Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

51.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services ZENG, YIJIE Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

52.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about products and services LI, YUANYUAN Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer

53.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customer information about product and services TANG, JIANMING Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer

54.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customer information about product and services WANG, XINYU Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer

55.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services ZHANG, SEN Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer

56.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help Customers, Give customer information about product and services

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience, good in oral communication and written

57.

Brief Job Description: Preparing and following general maintenance schedule.

SHI, YAQIONG Mandarin Site Technical Officer

58.

59.

Brief Job Description: Provide valuable information about products and services to consumers.

SONG, SHAOJUN Mandarin Site Technical Officer Brief Job Description: Preparing and following general maintenance schedule.

60.

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

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, Give customers information about product and services WANG, MINGMING Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

69.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, Give customers information about product and services ZHAO, JUNWEI Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

70.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services PENG, ZHUO Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

71.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6months customer service experience/ Good in Oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers. Give customer information about product and services LI, QIHAO Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6months customer service experience/ Good in Oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services HUANG, QIBIAN Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience, good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers. Give customer information about product and services CHEN, YONGSHU Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience, good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customer information about product and services YE, XIANG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers. Give customer information about product and services WAN, XIANGWEI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience, good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customer information about product and services SHI, JINGXIN Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience, good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Demonstrated competency in process & system design & delivery, needs assessment, process improvement project management of customer facing IT solutions & business logic

LI, XIANGLONG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience, good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming and outgoing calls, chats, and emails

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers. Give customer information about product and services SHI, YU Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

72.

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

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

ZHANG, ZHIHAO Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

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

73.

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

ECHOTECH SERVICES INC. 18/f Philamlife Tower, 8767 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6months customer service experience/ Good in Oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

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

74.

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

CAO, JIFENG Mandarin Site Technical Officer Brief Job Description: Reporting urgent maintenance and repair tasks

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

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

No.

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

Basic Qualification: Degree holder w/ at least 10 years of operational working experience in global forwarding/logistics company

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

77.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

75.

FU, HONGMIN Mandarin Customer Service Brief Job Description: To provide and maintain Mandarin customer service

78.

LIU, ZUDING Assistant Branch Manager 79.

80.

76.

Brief Job Description: *Studying company profile and operations to understand its marketing needs. * Implementing a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget.

Brief Job Description: Manage the business at a local level in accordance with the work instruction given by China Headquarters

CHEN, LIN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 81.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

LIU, DAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 82.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

SONG, SOL Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 83.

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

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written

XIAO, LIN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking

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

84.

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written

85.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

XUE, KANG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 86.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

AUNG NAING LIN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 87.

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

CHAN, IENG CHONG Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 88.

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

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

DING, XIAOYUN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin.

89.

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

Basic Qualification: *Preferably 6 months experience with the above position. *Can multi-task and keen to details. *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently.

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

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

LI, JUAN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 90.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in managing calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Preferably 6 months experience with the above position. Can multi-task and keen to details. Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently.

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

Basic Qualification: Experienced in the software & IT industry; experience in high level position; fluent in speaking and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 Basic Qualification: Experienced in the software & IT industry; experience in high level position; fluent in speaking and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

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

GRAND PREMIUM CREST HOLDING INC. 16/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

XU, RUI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: *Preferably 6 months experience with the above position. *Can multi-task and keen to details. *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently.

GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING Ground Level, Level 2-5 Floor, Silver City 4, Ortigas East, Ugong, City Of Pasig

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

WONG ZHENG YE Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 91.

FLY ASIAN INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION Eighty One Newport Blvd., Newport City, Va, Brgy. 183, Pasay City

CHEN, PO-AN Marketing Consultant (Mandarin Speaking Clients)

Brief Job Description: Assist in managing the business at a local level in accordance with the work instruction given by China Headquarters

LIN, CHANGMING Branch Manager

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

Brief Job Description: Studying company profile and operations to understand its marketing needs. Implementing a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

FUFU INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD. PHILIPPINES BRANCH Unit 2105 Robinsons Equitable Tower, Adb Avenue, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: *Studying company profile and operations to understand its marketing needs. * Implementing a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget.

YEN, CHENG-CHIEH Marketing Consultant (Mandarin Speaking Clients)

Basic Qualification: Assist/help customers. Give customer information about product and services Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION LIAO, YI-HUI Marketing Consultant (Mandarin Speaking Clients)

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

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

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

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience, good in oral communication and written

WU, PO-NI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

LOCKEY, DANIELLE MARION-LOUISE Global Carrier Manager

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience.

Good in oral communication and written.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A7

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

DSV INTERNATIONAL SHARED SERVICES INC. No.6 Five- Ecom Bldg., Harbor Drive Cor. Palm Coast Ave. St., Mall Of Asia Subd. Zone 10, Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

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

CURRENTCORE SERVICES INC. Unit 2c, Flr. No. 4f, One Ecom Center Bldg. Ocean Drive St., Moa Complex Subd. Barangay 076, Pasay City LU, ZHAOJIN Mandarin Site Technical Officer

No.

Thursday, November 18, 2021

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

ZHANG, CAN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 92.

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

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products / excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products / excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products / excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products / excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products / excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products / excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES PHILS. INC. U-5302, 53/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Cor., V.a. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

A8

BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 18, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

WU, CHEN Huawei Experience Store Operations Manager

93.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the operating results of experience stores to ensure continuous revenue and profitability; select products suitable for sales in experience stores and set the monthly sales targets; optimize the life cycle management process of experience stores; establish and train Huawei experience store personnel to develop based on the criteria such as appraisal, promotion, and dismissal; optimize dealer management standards for experience stores; establish and improve store operation labeling; establish and improve the replenishment mechanism of experience stores

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: With a least 5 years of experience in retail industry, store operation, consumer service, customer management and event planning; with technical skills on various store-level management including flagship store, experienced store, display zone, display counter, management of store site selection, design, and construction; with trainings and background in sales achievement management, partner and channel management, consumer service experience management, and online store sales improvement

No.

105.

FU, ZIJING Philippines Procurement Qualification Department Manager

94.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the material category procurement strategy; organize supplier commercial negotiation, qualification, and project supplier selection; analyze the resource distribution and technical roadmap key categories; support the acquisition of category competitiveness and cost advantages analysis; evaluate potential risks and establish models to make long-term strategy plans; control and monitor network operation and make sure fixed network is stable; develop supplier quality management strategies; familiarized with the production procurement industry trends and mainstream supplier resources; develop targeted supplier development plans and collaboration strategies

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

LI, JIAN Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) Product Manager For Telecom Network Planning

95.

Brief Job Description: Analyze the existing project transmission network; analyze the future traffic requirement for the network; manage the optimization and evolution regarding the high-level design (hld) for the existing and network modernization; oversee the backbone network evolution; responsible for the region network solution’s detailed configuration list and the price; coordinate with the customers about the schedule of the network modernization project

Basic Qualification: With intensive network experience in telecom operator’s transmission network planning design, analysis, optimization, and evolution; expertise in network solution and products, management system in MSTP and WDM/ OTN product line, network management system and software designed network; deep understanding of the future traffic requirement including the wireless 4.5g/5g, leased line and home broadband and how the existing transmission network evolution strategy

KARAN KUMAR Specialty Product Manager Ii 106.

HOU, ZHAODONG Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk 96.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services KOH EDDIE Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

97.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services LIN, RUIBIN Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

98.

Brief Job Description: assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services LIU, YONGHUI Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

99.

Brief Job Description: assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services NING, ZHIGUO Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

100.

Brief Job Description: assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services ZHANG, YUSHI Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

101.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services LI, YANFEI Chinese Speaking Program Designer

102.

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

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BARNARDO, JOHAN MARTIN Regional Sales Director 107.

103.

Brief Job Description: To manage the daily operations of the company

Brief Job Description: Understanding of tobacco industry environment. Deep understanding of sales and marketing business process.

Advanced selling & negotiation skills. Commercial, trade and financial planning skills. Advance knowledge on: Consumer marketing, shopper and retailer insights.

108.

Brief Job Description: Ensure end to end delivery across the full scope of marketing activities. New product development, brand reporting, strategic insights and TMA for Asia pacific and Americas region. Responsible for building the marketing department. Setting up the kpi’s and stablishing the service level agreements for the respective entities.

104.

Brief Job Description: Oversee the function of General Administration Group

JIANG NAN SHI FU FOOD CORP. 223 Nicanor, Garcia St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Must be a university degree holder. Must have at least 10 years of leadership experience in marketing and brand insights/management in similar industry.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

PENG, MINGSHENG Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist 109.

Brief Job Description: Conducting research and marketing strategies to develop areas of the business

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

110.

LIU, DAIGAO Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist Brief Job Description: Contribute in the implementation of marketing strategies

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

LERIB SERVICES CORPORATION U-3d Rose Industries Bldg., Choice Market Ortigas, Kapitolyo, City Of Pasig SEO, YONGMIN Systems Analyst 111.

Brief Job Description: computers and related systems to design new it solutions, modify, enhance or adapt existing systems.

Basic Qualification: college graduate with experience in the related position, fluent in English and Korean Hangeul.

PARK, JINSEOB Customer Support Representative 112.

Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative to manage customer queries and complaints

CHOI, KYUNGRAK Technical Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Must be Bachelor’s college degree in any fields at least 1-2years of working experience in the related positions abiliti to maintain higjh level of confidentiality

Basic Qualification: Must be bachelor’s college degree in any fields at least 1-2years of working experience in the related positions, ability to maintain high level of confidentiality

MARKETROLE ASIA PACIFIC SERVICES, INC. 26/f, 27/f, 28/f The Enterprise Center Tower 1, 6766 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

114.

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: with atleast 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication skills both in English and Nihongo

115.

116.

117.

Brief Job Description: Skilled candidates with excellent interpersonal skills for the technical support position

LE HIEU HIEN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service MO MY YEN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service NGUYEN THI TUYET LOAN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service WONG WEI YEN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

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

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / Mandarin fluently

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / Mandarin fluently

124.

125.

126.

POVEY, MARK Commissioning Manager 118.

Brief Job Description: Ensure conformity of all commissioning activities with company standards

RAFIQ IRMAN Cost Controller 119.

Brief Job Description: Assist to establish and maintain the project budget and cost code structure

127.

128.

129.

130.

131.

132.

133.

134.

135.

136.

137.

138.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 139.

Basic Qualification: Minimum of 10 yrs’ experience in the construction industry with significant exposure to design, costing, estimating & planning

140.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above Basic Qualification: Minimum of 10yrs experience in a major construction project management. Competent management and operation of account software packages Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg., Edsa Cor. Macapagal Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City

LI, YONGYING Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

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

Brief Job Description: Conducting research and marketing strategies to develop areas of the business opportunities

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

Brief Job Description: Committed to improving customer experience and operational efficiency

Brief Job Description: Committed to improving customer experience and operational efficiency

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

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / Mandarin fluently

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

WEI, KESHENG Mandarin Operation Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / Mandarin fluently

DU, QINGQING Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

CHEN, JUNYU Mandarin Operation Specialist

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

MC CONNELL DOWELL PHILS., INC. Level 4 Nol Tower, Commerce Ave., Mbp, City Of Muntinlupa

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

Basic Qualification: With good communication skills, oral and written

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

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

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

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

123.

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

MAGKING SERVICES CORPORATION Unit 5d Rose Industries Bldg., #11, Pioneer Street, Kapitolyo, City Of Pasig

CHENG, HANGFENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

CHEN, YINGLIN Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist

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

KWONG YUAN TRADING CORP. 16/f Tower 6789 Ayala Ave., Cor. H.v Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

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

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

113.

Basic Qualification: with atleast 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written

122.

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

JFE TECHNO MANILA, INC. 23/f Robinsons Cyberscape Alpha, Sapphire & Garnet Roads, Ortigas Center, City Of Pasig OKUAKI, SACHI Assistant Manager For General Affairs

Basic Qualification: MA/BA degree in Business, marketing management, economics, finance. 10+ years of experience in FMCG sales and marketing.

Senior filed operation, key accounts management and distribution management experience.

JTI GBS PHILIPPINES, INC. 14th And 17th Floor - Office A, Ten West Campus Building, Mckinley West, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig VOLKOV, VOLODYMYR Marketing Service Delivery Director

120.

121.

Basic Qualification: Responsible for managing projects and/or process to deliver business results.

High degree of independent decision making, autonomy and sound judgment.

Influences and drives key aspects of the business / function. May manage the work of direct reports

Basic Qualification: with atleast 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written

JAPAN PULP AND PAPER COMPANY LIMITED MANILA REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE 37/f Lkg Tower, 6801 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

NAKAYAMA, HISASHI Chief Representative

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management of specialty asset products and services such as estate and trust, alternative investments, trade finance or other specialty assests.

Manage a team in a 24x5 environment.

No.

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

JT INTERNATIONAL (PHILIPPINES) INC. Penthouse, W Office Building, 28th St. Cor. 11th Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

Basic Qualification: with atleast 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Can speak and write fluently in Chinese Mandarin speaking and at least 6 months experience as Cook specialized in Fujian Cuisine.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 INFOVINE INC. 8th, 9th, 10th/f Aspire Corporate Plaza Bldg., Macapagal Blvd. St., Zone 10, Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

Brief Job Description: As a Chinese Cook must be deep knowledge in every aspect of Chinese dishes.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.- PHILIPPINE GLOBAL SERVICE CENTER 23/f Net Plaza, 31st St. E-square Zone, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 Basic Qualification: Has negotiation experience and skills in complex environments and be able to lead negotiation strategy formulation for key projects; has in depth knowledge of supplier relationship management and be able to manage high-level relationships with suppliers; has skills in coding program; has skills in basic computer software such as MS office, pivot table; has good communication skills, teamwork spirits. Logical thinking ability; must have master’s degree in science and engineering degree in construction and engineering management; highly proficient in Chinese and English language

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION DU, ZHIQIANG Chinese Cook Specialized In Fujian Cuisine

www.businessmirror.com.ph

141.

142.

AUNG NAING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DIANTO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DU, LIULI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries KELWIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LI, RUWEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries PAN, HONGLIANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries PHILIP LAU Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WU, YONGCAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZENG, FUPING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHANG, QING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHANG, TENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHANG, YAOYAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHAO, WENXIANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CHEA, MENGLY Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires CHIEN, SAVDY Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires CUI, HAODONG Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LENG, CHOR Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

143.

144.

145.

146.

147.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION NAN MWE NOOM OAI Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires THENG, SRENG Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires WAN SIKE CHIN Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WANG, ZHAO Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires YANG, JIAHUI Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

SJMZ GLOBAL ENTERPRISES, OPC #117, I.t.c. Cmpd., Bagbaguin, City Of Valenzuela

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

CHENG, LONG Chinese Marketing Manager

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

148.

Brief Job Description: Maintains the computer networks of all types of organizations, providing technical support and ensuring the whole company runs smoothly.

SUN, XIAOHONG It Technical Support 149.

Brief Job Description: Maintains the computer networks of all types of organizations, providing technical support and ensuring the whole company runs smoothly.

Basic Qualification: With bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or any related course with a minimum of 1 year IT experience and able to speak and write in MANDARIN. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or any related course with a minimum of 1 year IT experience and able to speak and write in MANDARIN.

150.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customer information about product and services HUANG, XUEYING Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

151.

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

159.

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

160.

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

161.

JOLLY, URMAN PREET SINGH Vice President, Workforce 152.

Brief Job Description: Manages assigned Workforce Management responsibilities in a manner that reduces operating costs, increases revenues, helps employee satisfaction and ensures customer expectations are exceeded.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

162.

KELVIN TANIAGO Bahasa Indonesian Language-trade Specialist 153.

Brief Job Description: Ensure all price changes and delivery of events are timely and accurate

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

STEVEN LAU Bahasa Indonesian Language-trade Specialist 154.

Brief Job Description: Ensure all price changes and delivery of events are timely and accurate

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business marketing and other relevant courses. Must fluently speak and write any of the following language: Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Thai to cater to foreign markets Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

163.

HOOI SENG WEI GM CP OPS IG/P/NE And Manila Delivery Center 155.

Brief Job Description: General Manager for shell’s Integrated Gas, Projects and New Energies Supply Chain operations and manila delivery centre

164.

165.

WU, MINGQIANG Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 156.

Brief Job Description: Assist/ help customers, give customers information about products or services

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

166.

157.

Brief Job Description: Direct and manage organizations business activities, develop and implement effective business strategies and programs

Brief Job Description: Contributing in the implementation of Marketing strategies for Chinese Clients

Brief Job Description: Oversee the performance of Chinese employees in the Marketing Department

Brief Job Description: Oversee the performance of Chinese employees in the Chinese Marketing Dep’t.

167.

168.

169.

GOH, GWANGMIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider KIM, CHANGHWAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider KIM, YOUNGKI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider

JIMBO, KENTARO Manager 170.

Brief Job Description: Sets up the budget, construction schedule and the methodologies for the project

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

No.

Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate

179.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate

180.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate, 18-25 years old

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

181.

182.

183.

Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate

184.

185.

186.

187.

188.

189.

171.

Brief Job Description: Customer service

WILKE, KRISTIN Mandarin Customer Service Specialist 172.

Brief Job Description: Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information

191.

WONG WAI HONG Mandarin Customer Service Specialist 173.

Brief Job Description: Prepare product or service report by collecting and analyzing customer

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

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati QIU, JIAWEN Bilingual Admin Support Specialist 174.

Brief Job Description: Handles administrative, Reading and writing in bilingual languages XIONG, HANJIAN Bilingual Admin Support Specialist Brief Job Description: Handles administrative requests and queries from senior managers/officers ZHANG, YUEHUI Bilingual Admin Support Specialist

176.

Brief Job Description: Handles administrative requests and queries from senior managers/officers

177.

Brief Job Description: Process and prepare financial business forms for the purpose of checking account balances, facilitating purchases.

SONG, CHUWEI Bilingual Finance Support Specialist

178.

Brief Job Description: Process and prepare financial business forms for the purpose of checking account balances, facilitating purchases.

192.

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

193.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in speaking, reading and writing in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages

Brief Job Description: Prepare products or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information TAENGTHAI, WANSIRI Thai-speaking Customer Service Officer

194.

Brief Job Description: Prepare products or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading, and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in speaking, reading and writing in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in speaking, reading and writing in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in Writing, Reading and Speaking in Bilingual Languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Foreign languages speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Foreign languages speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

W.E.W RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, INC. 50/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

195.

196.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in speaking, reading and writing in bilingual languages

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or enhancement by strong studying work load capacity SIMSON, PUNYADA Thai-speaking Customer Service Officer

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

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, Reading and writing mandarin

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or enhancement by strong studying work load capacity ZOU, KEYAN Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

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

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

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or enhancement by strong studying work load capacity ZHANG, QINGZI Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

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

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

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or enhancement by strong studying work load capacity ZHANG, JIANFU Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

190.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin both oral and written

Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying work load capacity WANG, ZHUO Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

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

Basic Qualification: At least University graduate.

At least with N2 level in Nihhongo. Preferably with minimum of 10 t0 15 years experience under the same capacity

Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying work load capacity TAN, XIAOGAN Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or Enhancement by strong studying work load capacity SHI, QIAOLI Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin both oral and written

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or Enhancement by strong studying work load capacity SHI, JIALIANG Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

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

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

Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying workload capacity PAN, WANHAI Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking and Advanced graduate in China

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or Enhancement by strong studying work load capacity HUNG, PEICHEN Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate, 18-25 years old Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or Enhancement by strong studying work load capacity HE, BIAO Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate, 18-25 years old Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Evaluates Expansion or Enhancement by strong studying work load capacity CHU, XIAODONG Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate, 18-25 years old Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Process and prepare financial business forms for the purpose of checking account balances, facilitating purchases.

CHEN, PINGJIN Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking, College Graduate, 18-25 years old

Brief Job Description: Process and prepare financial business forms for the purpose of checking account balances, facilitating purchases.

WANG, PENGFEI Bilingual Finance Support Specialist

SPEED QUALITY TECH INC. 20/f Techzone Bldg., 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati WEN, WEIHAN Mandarin Customer Service Specialist

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION SUN, SHAOPENG Bilingual Finance Support Specialist

SMCC PHILIPPINES, INC. 6/f Peninsula Court Bldg., 8735 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

LIN, WEIBIN Bilingual Finance Support Specialist Basic Qualification: Should account for all business activities, support staff development, enhance efficiency, drive sales and improve revenue, maintain relationships with clients, enhance the organization’s image and meet overall growth objectives

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

SKY DRAGON GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES CORP. 2f-5f, Unit 710 Shaw Blvd., Global Link Center, Brgy. Wack Wack, City Of Mandaluyong

SHIMIZU PHILIPPINE CONTRACTORS, INC. King’s Court Bldg. 1, 5/f 2129 P. Tamo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

HIRAMATSU, SADAKATSU General Manager

Brief Job Description: Contributing in the implementation of Marketing strategies for Chinese Clients

LIU, JIAQING Chinese Marketing Supervisor

175.

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ excellent mandarin communications skills

Brief Job Description: Contributing in the implementation of Marketing strategies for Chinese Clients

FAN, CONGJIAN Chinese Marketing Supervisor

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above SHEVRONE INC. Unit No. 2c, Floor No. 4/f, Zone 10, Barangay 76, District 1, Pasay City

Brief Job Description: Contributing in the implementation of Marketing strategies for Chinese Clients

ZHAO, YAYUN Chinese Marketing Staff

SHELL SHARED SERVICES (ASIA) B.V. 16/f-25/f Solaris One Bldg., 130 Dela Rosa St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: Extensive experience in Oil and Gas Supply chain, Familiarity with shell manage supply chain and contracting and procurement operations and proven track record of transforming supply chain organizations

Brief Job Description: Contributing in the implementation of Marketing strategies for Chinese Clients

ZHAO, XIN Chinese Marketing Staff

SHANG SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. 11/f Pbcom Tower, Ayala Avenue, Salcedo Village, Bel-air, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business marketing and other relevant courses. Must fluently speak and write any of the following language: Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Thai to cater to foreign markets

Brief Job Description: To Coach and Guide the Chinese Marketing Staffs.

XU, MINGXU Chinese Marketing Staff

RMS COLLECT PHILS., INC. 6th & 7th Flr. Sm Fairview Tower 5, Regalado Ave. Cor. Quirino Highway 5, Greater Lagro, Quezon City Basic Qualification: 8 or more years workrelated experience with a high volume electronic manufacturing-services company or call Center Company. Extensive background in forecasting, scheduling, and other workforce management areas.

LI, MING Chinese Marketing Manager

PAN, SHENLU Chinese Marketing Staff

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: To coach and guide the Chinese Marketing Staffs.

CAI, YUHE Chinese Marketing Staff

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

NEO INCORPORATED North Tower Centrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque CAI, HAITAO Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

158.

A9

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

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

NANTAI TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 3rd Floor Net One Center Building, 26th Street Corner 3rd Ave., Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig LU, YING It Technical Support

No.

Thursday, November 18, 2021

GU, LEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support for mandarin speaking client SUN, LEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support for mandarin speaking client

Basic Qualification: With knowledge in computer application Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With knowledge in computer application Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WISHLAND SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY INC. 28/f Techzone Condo Corp., 213 Buendia Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati AIDIL FIKRI Indonesian Language-marketing Staff 197.

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

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and Writing in Indonesian Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Nov 17, 2021

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

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A10 Thursday, November 18, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Filipino PDLs need a ‘Prisoner’s Friend’

W

inston Churchill was a British statesman, military officer and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945—during the Second World War—and again from 1951 to 1955. He became an ardent advocate for criminal justice reform after his experience as a prisoner of war during the Boer War. Churchill’s passion for prison reform earned him the moniker “Prisoner’s Friend.”

As one of the leading criminal justice reformers in the 20th century, his efforts to reform the penal system reflect concerns that are familiar to us today.

Churchill told the British Parliament: “The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country.”

A BusinessMirror columnist recently tried to create greater public awareness of the Philippine prison system today by painting a picture of the alarming congestion rate of our jails. Sen. Sonny Angara wrote: “During the public hearing on the 2022 budgets of the Department of Justice and its attached agencies, the Senate was updated on the alarming congestion rate of our jails and penal institutions. For one, the New Bilibid Prison, our national penitentiary, has a congestion rate of 344 percent. In exact figures, this means that Bilibid currently houses 28,545 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), which greatly exceeds its ideal capacity of 6,435. The same can be said for the rest of the Bureau of Corrections’ managed prisons since the average congestion rate for all seven operating prisons and penal farms, including the NBP, is already at 303 percent.” (Read, Decongesting Philippine prisons, in the BusinessMirror, October 28, 2021).

The senator added: “The state of our PDLs in district, city and municipal jails is also problematic. Based on the 2021 data submitted by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the congestion rate of its jails is at 397 percent. While this is a significant reduction from the 612 percent congestion rate in 2017, one could still imagine the deplorable conditions our inmates have to endure.”

According to The World Prison Brief, 75.1 percent of incarcerations within the Philippines’ incarceration system are pre-trial. In 2018, it said 141,422 of 188,278 prisoners were pre-trial detainees. Unfortunately, many people are serving sentences without conviction. Pre-trial detention is found in judicial systems all over the world. In countries like the Philippines, people may serve time that outweighs their crimes. On average, prisoners in the Philippines are detained for nine months without being sentenced.

During the Senate hearing, many senators offered suggestions on ways to decongest our jails—one of which was ensuring the timely release by the BuCor of the carpeta or the records of an inmate eligible for parole to the Board of Pardons and Parole. Senator Angara said: “The BPP said they have the capacity to review at least 1,000 petitions or recommendations in one month and facilitate the release of about 300 to 500 inmates during the same period.

However, the carpetas are only forwarded to the Board one to three years after the inmate has served his minimum sentence.”

From a news report: “The Netherlands has closed 23 prisons since 2004 because they don’t have enough criminals to fill them. As judges tend to rely on less severe penalties such as fines, electronic tagging or community service, it is quite rare for convicts in the Netherlands to face lengthy jail time.

Furthermore, the Dutch punitive system generally favors rehabilitation over punishment and considerably less criminals reoffend after serving their sentences than in other countries.”

There are global best practices that can help the Philippines reform its penal system. As Senator Angara revealed, there’s an urgent need to improve the inhuman prison conditions our PDLs wrongfully endure.

He said: “While we recognize that these people have committed crimes against man and country, we must also affirm that there is still hope for these people to be reformed and corrected through our justice system. Hence, where these PDLs serve their time must also reflect the aspiration of the country for them to be rehabilitated and be better citizens.”

It’s our duty as citizens to see to it that our PDLs are treated like human beings. In the coming polls, let’s look for candidates sincerely advocating prison reforms. We need to find a leader with compassion, one who can see PDLs as human beings similar to us, and then act to alleviate their suffering. Our PDLs need a crusader that can fight for decent prisons; one who can help decongest jails and prevent overstaying of PDLs.

Since 2005

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Convenient payment arrangements with the Enhanced Installment Payment Program Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

F

or this four-part series on the Social Security System’s (SSS) Pandemic Relief Restructuring Programs (PRRPs), I will continue to share various programs that we will be implementing to help our employers and members cope with financial difficulties brought about by the pandemic.

I am happy to inform you of our new program—the Enhanced Installment Payment Program or the PRRP 3. This Program will allow employers to settle their past due Social Security and Employees’ Compensation contributions in monthly installments. The SSS and the Employees’ Compensation Commission inked the circular providing the guidelines for this program.

PRRP 3 is open to all regular and household employers who are not capable of paying their delinquencies in full and/or have no other means to immediately settle their total obligations to the SSS, particularly those: 1. With unpaid Social Security and/or Employees’ Compensation contributions, for at least six applicable months either cumulative or consecutive, including penalties, as of date of application; 2. With unpaid penalties only on paid and/or late payment of contributions; 3. With pending applications for installment payment under Circular 2011-002 and 2018-008; and

4. With pending applications for Dacion en Pago.

To avail of the program, the Employer shall submit to the Branch Office (BO)/Large Accounts Department (LAD), within 15 calendar days from receipt of the notice of its delinquency, the following documents: 1. Application for Installment Payment; 2. Validated Contribution Payment Form/Payment Slip amounting to at least 5 percent down payment of the total delinquency; and 3. Supporting documents.

For the complete list of required documents, you may visit our official web site www.sss.gov.ph and socialmedia accounts.

The PRRP 3 provides a wider range of payment terms at seven brackets ranging from nine to 60 months compared to the SSS’ existing Installment Payment Scheme, which has six payment terms ranging from four to 24 months.

The schedule of monthly installment payments under the PRRP 3 is as follows: Total amount of delinquency and

their corresponding maximum number of monthly installments: n Up to 50,000—nine months n O ver P50,0 0 0 to P10 0, 000.00—12 months n Over P100,000 to P500,000— 18 months n Over P500,000 to P2,000, 000—24 months n Over P2,000,000 to P5,000, 000—36 months n Over P5,000,000 to P10,000, 000—48 months n O v e r P 10,0 0 0,0 0 0 — 6 0 months The monthly installment payments will be computed, as much as practicable, in equal amounts corresponding to the allowable installment term. Employers are allowed to pay in full the principal obligation first and the corresponding penalties to be paid in installment, apply the monthly installments to the principal ahead of the payment for the penalties, or pay in full the remaining delinquency at any time during the term of the Installment Payment Agreement (IPA), subject to re-assessment of the penalties, if applicable.

The Employer, within 10 calendar days from receipt of the Notice of Conditional Approval, shall submit to the BO/LAD five original copies of the signed and duly notarized IPA, together with the Installment Payment Schedule and post-dated checks (PDCs) as stated in the IPA. Otherwise, the Application will be considered as denied.

In addition, they may be allowed not to issue PDCs if the delinquency including penalty/ies, less the down payment, amount to P50,000 and below. In lieu of PDCs, the Employer

shall execute a duly notarized Undertaking in favor of the SSS to pay its delinquencies in accordance with the above-mentioned Schedule of Monthly Installment Payments.

Employer may submit PDCs issued by a Third Party, provided that a duly notarized Joint Undertaking in favor of the SSS shall be executed by both the Employer and the said Third Party.

Further, the Employer and/or Third Party may be allowed to replace or cancel the issued PDCs in case of any change in its authorized signatory or closure of bank account or in case of any advance payment/s to be made, provided that a written notice to the SSS shall be sent at least two working days before due date.

This program will start this November, after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation and the submission of the required copies to the Office of the National Administrative Register and will run for one year.

I hope that our employers will take advantage of these programs that we are implementing. We truly understand that the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges in keeping businesses afloat, making it hard to sustain daily operations. Now that the alert level has gone down and businesses are slowly opening up, we are one with them in helping them recover and get back on track.

Have a productive week everyone!

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.

Europe lacks natural gas; is it Russia’s fault?

By David Mchugh & Vladimir Isachenkov Associated Press

F

RANKFURT, Germany—Europe is short of natural gas—dangerously short. A cold winter could mean a severe crunch, and utility bills are headed higher, burdening ordinary people and weighing on the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to help fill European gas storages as energy prices soar— but supply shortages and political tensions have continued to rattle energy markets, keeping prices high.

That’s pinched businesses and forced them to pass along costs to customers already facing higher bills at home.

Moscow has been accused of using the volatile situation to push for a quick launch of a newly built Russian pipeline under the Baltic Sea: Nord Stream 2, which is awaiting German regulators’ approval and

has been criticized by Ukraine, the US and others.

With Europe dependent on imported gas and Russia supplying 40 percent or more of those imports, Putin has leverage. He’s said the new pipeline already is filled with gas and could help increase supplies “the day after” it’s approved.

Here are important factors behind the gas crisis: How did Europe get into this mess?

Multiple reasons. One was a cold winter that drained gas reserves,

which are used to generate electrical power and typically replenished in summer. That didn’t happen this year.

Hot weather drained more gas than usual through demand for air conditioning. Less wind meant less renewable electricity, leading generators to reach for gas fuel. Limited supplies of liquid natural gas, an expensive option that can be delivered by ship instead of pipeline, were snapped up by customers in Asia.

On top of that, Europe for years has pushed for day-to-day spot pricing, instead of long-term contracts.

Russian-controlled gas giant Gazprom has fulfilled those long-term contracts but hasn’t pumped additional gas beyond that. Putin says customers who have those contracts pay much less for gas than other buyers.

Prices were seven times higher in

October than they were at the beginning of the year and have eased to about four times higher lately.

How does the Nord Stream 2 pipeline play into this?

Gazprom invested billions into building the 1,234-kilometer (765mile) pipeline to Germany. It would allow Russia to sell gas directly to a major customer and circumvent a pipeline through Ukraine, which has faced relentless pressure from Russia following Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea peninsula and its support for separatist rebels in Ukraine.

Even before the 2014 hostilities, Moscow had launched efforts to diversify gas supply routes to the European Union, saying the Ukrainian system is dilapidated and accusing the country of siphoning gas.

Ukraine stands to lose $2 billion in annual transit fees. It and Poland, See “Europe” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Xi-Biden talks raise hope for better ties but strains remain

B

By Ken Moritsugu & Aamer Madhani | Associated Press

EIJING—China on Tuesday welcomed a virtual meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden as raising hopes for better relations, while the US was more muted on the talks as the world’s two biggest powers sought to ratchet down more than a year of tensions.

The leaders appeared to put aside the language of acrimony in their first formal meeting since Biden took office. Xi greeted the US leader as his “old friend,” and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the exchange was candid and constructive.

“If China-US relations cannot return to the past, they should face the future,” Zhao said, calling the meeting “conducive to increasing positive expectations... for US-China relations.”

However, both sides held firm to their positions on the issues that divide Washington and Beijing, with Xi warning that the US and Taiwan are playing with fire over the selfgoverning island that China considers part of its territory.

The two nations were aiming to end a sharp deterioration in relations that accelerated under former US President Donald Trump and had festered since Biden became president in January. The video conference, which lasted more than three hours, took place Tuesday morning in Beijing and Monday evening in Washington.

Both Biden and Xi seemed determined to lower the temperature in what for both sides is their most significant—and frequently turbulent—relationship on the global stage.

“As I’ve said before, it seems to me our responsibility as leaders of China and the United States is to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended or unintended,” Biden told Xi at the start of the meeting.

The White House set low expectations for the meeting, and no major announcements were made. Still, White House officials said the two leaders had a substantive exchange.

Xi echoed Biden’s cordial tone in his opening remarks, saying, “China and the United States need to increase communication and cooperation.”

The positive tone sets an example for officials in both countries to try to identify common ground rather than find fault with each other, whether on trade, climate change, or geopolitical issues such as Afghanistan and North Korea, said Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank in Beijing.

“I see this dialogue as a stabilizer of the bilateral relation,” he said. “I don’t expect this one summit to bring us back to the good old days, but certainly it stops the downward spiral.”

The two leaders had an extended discussion on Taiwan, the US said.

Tensions have heightened as China has recently dispatched a growing number of fighter jets toward the island, while the US and its allies sail warships though the Taiwan Strait.

Xi blamed the tensions on Taiwan seeking US support to achieve independence and some on the American side using Taiwan to contain China, a Chinese statement on the meeting said.

“Such moves are extremely dangerous, just like playing with fire.

Whoever plays with fire will get burnt,” the statement said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden reminded Xi that he voted as a senator for the Taiwan Relations Act that went into effect in 1979, legislation that shapes the parameters of the US-Taiwan relationship.

“So he understands deeply, firsthand, that the act makes clear that any effort to shape Taiwan’s future by other than peaceful means is of grave concern to the United States,” said Sullivan, speaking at a webinar hosted by the Brookings Institu-

tion, a Washington think tank, on Tuesday.

Chinese military forces held exercises last week near Taiwan in response to a visit by a US congressional delegation to the island.

The White House said Biden reiterated the US will abide by its longstanding “One China” policy, which recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. Biden also made clear the US “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” a White House statement said.

It said that Biden again raised concerns about China’s human rights practices and made clear that he sought to “protect American workers and industries from (China’s) unfair trade and economic practices.” The two also spoke about regional challenges, including North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran.

The meeting could put ties on a more stable footing in the near term, but the two countries have yet to address the long-term structural challenges in their relationship, said Paul Haenle, a former US official and China expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“This really was just an opportunity for the two leaders to make clear their intentions and priorities and concerns about their relationship and to begin really to set the terms of what is a new era in US-China relations,” he said.

The US president was joined in the Roosevelt Room for the video call by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a handful of aides. Xi, for his part, was accompanied in the grand East Hall of the Great Hall of the People by a number of advisers.

The high-level diplomacy had a touch of pandemic Zoom meeting informality as the two leaders waved to each other once they saw one another on the screen. Biden would have preferred to meet Xi in person, but the Chinese leader has not left his country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Both leaders gave nods to their history with the other. Biden noted that the two have spent an “awful ... lot of time” speaking to each other over the years, and have never walked away “wondering what the other man is thinking.”

Xi, who referred to Biden as his “old friend” when the then-vice president visited China in 2013, seemed interested in reviving the earlier days of their relationship, saying, “I am very happy to see my old friend.”

But the public warmth has cooled now that both are heads of state.

Biden bristled in June when asked by a reporter if he would press his old friend to cooperate with a World Health Organization investigation into the coronavirus origins.

Despite the tensions, there have been moments of progress in recent months.

Last week, the two countries pledged at UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, to speed up action to rein in climate-damaging emissions.

The White House has said it views cooperation on climate change as something the two nations should cooperate on despite their differences on other issues.

“None of this is a favor to either of our countries—what we do for one another—but it’s just responsible world leadership,” Biden told Xi. “You’re a major world leader, and so is the United States.” Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Colleen Long in Washington and Emily Wang and Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 A11

Can RCEP save the Philippine economy?

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

A

broad coalition of farmers’ organizations led by the Federation of Free Farmers are questioning the government rush to ratify Philippine participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. They are also questioning the lack of transparency and public consultation on the Philippine commitments to RCEP and their implications on the economy, particularly on the agricultural sector. RCEP, a trade pact involving the 10 Asean, 3 East Asian and 2 Down Under countries, is supposed to come into force on January 1, 2022.

The argument used by the proponents of RCEP is captured in their one-sentence slogan: “We cannot afford to be left behind.”

But have we not heard such a sweeping justification for trade liberalization before? In 1994, during the Senate deliberations on Philippine membership in the World Trade Organization, government trade negotiators, backed up by free-trade economists, warned that failure to join the WTO would be catastrophic to the country. “We cannot be left behind,” they said. And then to win over the debate, they came up with big promises: 500,000 new jobs a year in industry and 500,000 new jobs a year in agriculture as the reward for WTO membership. They added that agriculture would be a big winner not only in terms of jobs but also increased gross value added (as much as P60 billion) and huge export expansion.

The foregoing imagined gains from early WTO ratification never happened. Instead, the Philippines, beginning 1994 and 1995, has be-

come a net agriculture-importing country, with our agricultural trade deficits growing each year. In fact, both our industrial and agricultural sectors have become stagnant, to borrow the term of ADB’s Norio Usui (Taking the Right to Inclusive Growth, ADB), since.

In the 1994 Senate debate on Philippine membership ratification in the WTO, then Senator Wigberto E. Tañada cautioned against hasty ratification and called instead for a rigorous review of national preparedness to the social and economic impact, specifically on trade and employment, of various commitments to the WTO such as agricultural tariffication and lowering of the “water” or tariffs for industry. After all, integration in the global trading arrangements through membership in the WTO, RCEP and other trade pacts produces winners and losers.

As things have turned out, we have more losers than winners under economic globalization. This is clearly reflected in our growing trade deficits. In pre-Covid 2019, the

country registered a whopping trade deficit amounting to $45.5 billion, an increase of 12 percent from the 2018 deficit of $28.2 billion. This prodded then BOI Executive Director Corazon Dichosa to raise the alarm over the continuous surge in imports over exports from 2014 to 2019. She added that five countries accounted for the deficits: China (as the “bulk contributor”), South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Taipei. These countries happen to be all members of RCEP. With RCEP, they are likely to intensify their export offensives.

Thus, the demand of the farmers’ organizations for a review of the commitments to the RCEP, including the use of safeguards, is of utmost importance. Trade is a war of national interests. This is the meaning of Trump’s “America First” and Biden’s “Made in America”. India’s Prime Minister Nahendra Modi is now waging a campaign dubbed as “Make in India”. Incidentally, in 2019, India withdrew from the RCEP negotiations, arguing that India cannot abandon its industrial and agricultural producers. Modi also charged China of dumping and “trade protectionism.”

Of course, the ideal is for the Philippines to participate in a trade pact that, instead of eroding further its industrial and agricultural base, will build up its industrial and agricultural muscle. But we still need to be educated by DTI, DA and Neda if they have such a blueprint for this.

The best solutions to correct the trade deficits and imbalances are vigorous and sustained industrialization and vigorous and sustained agricultural modernization. But are these happening?

As it is, what we are seeing are programs that tend to weaken further our industrial and agricultural sec-

tors. For example, in agriculture, the free-trade economists and their principals in the executive and legislative departments are using inflation as an excuse to liberalize in an aimless way the importation of agricultural products such as rice, pork, chicken and vegetables. Listen to the farmers nationwide how these imports have flattened their farms and their willingness to continue the business of farming. Listen to the consumers nationwide of their complaints that these imports have failed to make agricultural commodities cheaper and affordable.

On industry, under Covid conditions, the country has the opportunity to develop its capacity to produce medical supplies such as face masks, face shields, coveralls, ventilators and so on. And yet, Filipino producers who were encouraged by the government in early 2020 to go into medical supply production were shocked when the Department of Health favored the importation instead of local production and creation of jobs in these industries. As the ongoing Senate inquiry on Pharmally shows, the foreign producers are the beneficiaries of billions of pesos allocations for the procurement of materials that can easily be produced at home.

So can RCEP save the economy? Or will our membership, like our experience with the WTO, only widen our trade deficits and weaken our industrial and agricultural sectors? Are we ready for RCEP? The government has some explaining to do to the farmers organizations, local industries and the Filipino people.

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo is a Professor Emeritus of University of the Philippines.

For comments, please write to reneofreneo@ gmail.com.

UK inflation surges to highest in a decade on energy costs

By Andrew Atkinson

Bloomberg Opinion

U

K inflation climbed faster than expected to the highest in a decade, heaping pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates and tightening a squeeze on living standards for households.

Consumer prices rose 4.2 percent from a year ago in October, driven by energy prices and the impact of broadbased supply shortages across the economy. That was the fastest pace since November 2011 and up sharply from 3.1 percent in September. Economists had expected 3.9 percent.

The BOE has warned that it’s likely to lift borrowing costs in the coming

Europe. . .

continued from A10

which sits on another bypassed pipeline, are fiercely opposed to Nord Stream 2. The United States and some other countries also have been strongly critical, warning the project would increase Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that he hoped “other European countries may recognize that a choice is shortly coming, between mainlining ever more Russian hydrocarbons in giant new pipelines and sticking up for Ukraine and championing the cause of peace and stability.”

Several analysts said they don’t expect Nord Stream to come on line this winter—though there has been speculation Europe might allow gas to start flowing while regulators review it, perhaps in exchange for sending more gas through Ukraine.

Has Russia withheld extra gas supplies?

Gazprom says no. The head of its export branch, Elena Burmistrova, said this month that “we aren’t interested in either record low or record high gas prices,” adding that “we want to see a well-balanced and predictable market.”

At least some analysts agree.

Thomas O’Donnell, an energy and geopolitical analyst at the Hertie

months to keep inflation in check, estimating that prices may leap 5 percent early next year, more than double its target. The pound rose after the report, with investors bracing for a move next month after stronger labor market data on Tuesday indicated upward pressure on wages.

“With high inflation sticking around, this may force a response from the Bank of England in just a matter of weeks,” said Sukhdeep Dhillon, senior economist at BNP Paribas Real Estate.

“UK inflation spiked in October and is likely to move higher over the coming six months. We expect it to peak at slightly more than 5% in April when the full impact of the

recent surge in energy prices hits households. With the labor market tight, the Bank of England is worried that high inflation could unanchor expectations. This will probably mean rates liftoff next month,” said Bloomberg economist Dan Hanson.

For now, inflation is largely driven by temporary factors linked to energy prices and the revival of global demand following the pandemic.

However, the BOE is concerned that it could take root more widely if left unchecked.

Growth in employment and wages this week reinforced views that the central bank will seek to prevent an upward spiral in prices from taking hold. Business groups sounded a

note of caution, highlighting weaker economic growth and signs of weakness in consumer spending and confidence. The pickup in inflation last month was driven by natural gas and electricity prices after regulator Ofgem allowed suppliers to hike tariffs by as much as 12 percent to offset rising wholesale costs.

The prices charged for food, motor fuel, used cars and at restaurants and hotels also contributed to the sharp increase in inflation.

Households face the prospect of another steep rise in April, along with a sharp increase in payroll taxes.

That could undermine the recovery by leaving people with less money to spend on other goods and services.

School graduate university in Berlin, said Russia had to fill its own gas reserves—just like the EU—after a cold winter.

While Putin relishes his role as the “gas godfather” and has exploited the shortage to press for approval of Nord Stream 2, “the more mundane reality is...there simply has been no spare Russian gas to export until Russia finishes filling its own domestic storage for winter,” wrote O’Donnell, who blogs at globalbarrel.com. “The godfather was bluffing.”

O’Donnell said the only way for Russia to help make up the gas shortage this winter would be to pump more gas through Ukraine—assuming Gazprom is willing to do that.

Putin ordered Gazprom to send gas into European storage after Russia finished filling its reserves last week, but “it’s limited,” O’Donnell said. “He could be making a show of doing much more.”

US officials agree.

“Russia can and should provide additional supplies through Ukraine, which has sufficient pipeline capacity, and they don’t need Nord Stream 2 for that,” Karen Donfried, the top US diplomat for Europe, said last week.

“And, if Russia fails to do that, obviously it’s going to hurt European energy security and bring into question what Russia’s motives are for withholding those supplies,” she said.

By underlining Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, Putin and Gaz-

prom may hope for more lenient EU market regulation of Nord Stream 2, O’Donnell said.

The pipeline hit a delay Tuesday when German regulators suspended the approval process because of an issue with the pipeline operator’s status under German law.

What impact could Europe’s gas shortage have?

Natural gas prices will sooner or later be reflected in home and business charges for electricity and gas.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, cited spiraling energy costs as a drag on the pandemic recovery because higher bills will take money away from consumer spending and business investment.

Europe’s tight market is echoing in the US, helping raise prices there, though the US market has not seen anywhere near Europe’s price spike.

What could it mean for the winter?

Analysts say it’s hard to predict.

Everyone hopes there isn’t a big latewinter storm that would threaten dwindled supplies.

Analysts have speculated that electricity could be rationed—perhaps for some industrial customers at first—if things get really bad.

An energy apocalypse—a total loss of electricity or heat if gas reserves are drawn to zero and can’t be substituted—would likely cause deaths among poor and vulnerable

populations, like what happened in Texas this year when a winter storm knocked out power, leading to more than 200 deaths.

What about Belarus’ threat to cut off gas supplies?

Poland and other EU nations accused authoritarian Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of using migrants trying to get to the EU through Belarus’ border with Poland as pawns to avenge sanctions over his government’s crackdown on protests.

With the EU threatening more crippling sanctions, Lukashenko threatened to cut off Russian gas supplies to Europe that pass through a pipeline in Belarus.

Although his statement further rattled the markets, it’s unlikely Lukashenko would be able to fulfill his threat, given his political dependence on Russia and Moscow’s desire to maintain the reputation of a reliable supplier.

Valery Karbalevich, an independent Belarusian political analyst, dismissed Lukashenko’s threat as bluster.

“The decisions are made in Moscow, not Minsk,” he said. “Lukashenko wants to scare the EU and drag Putin into the confrontation, trying to provoke the Kremlin to take a more radical action.” Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Associated Press journalist Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

A12 Thursday, November 18, 2021

US, PHL want more facilities for American forces in the country

LEFT photo: Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral and Asean Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Defense Undersecretary Cardozo Luna. In right photo: the Philippines and US delegations to the 9th Bilateral Strategic Dialogue witness the signing of the Joint Vision Statement for a 21st Century US-Philippines Partnership at the Department of State. They are: Kritenbrink, Ratner, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Valda Vikmanis-Keller, Assistant Legal Adviser for the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau Robert Harris, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Craig Hart, Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Kira Christianne D. Azucena, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo, Justice Undersecretary Adrian Ferdinand S. Sugay, Defense Assistant Secretary Teodoro Cirilo T. Torralba III and Philippine Ambassador Romualdez.

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By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

HE United States and the Philippines are keen to add more facilities to preposition US forces and defense materiel in the Philippines, the foreign and defense ministries of both countries said in a joint statement.

Philippine diplomatic and defense officials met in Washington D.C. for two days on November 15 and 16 and outlined a joint vision statement to reinvigorate the bilateral relations just three months after President Duterte resumed the Visiting Forces Agreement, which cloaks US soldiers coming to the Philippines with diplomatic immunity.

To complement the VFA, the Philippines also allowed the US to construct facilities and preposition defense assets inside Philippine military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in 2014.

The US has existing facilities inside these military bases — Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro, and Mactan-Benito Air Base in Cebu.

Besides adding more US facili-

ties, Manila and Washington also want to resume construction of US facilities in those bases.

“We intend to continue to implement infrastructure projects at current EDCA locations and explore additional sites for further development,” a part of the Joint Vision Statement for a 21st Century United States-Philippines Partnership reads.

The defense departments also committed to negotiate an agreement governing the manner by which both militaries can share intelligence and properly use equipment for joint use during combined military operations or training exercises.

“We intend to continue to build the capacity of the Philippine security forces, and prioritize concluding a General Security of Military Information Agreement [GSOMIA] in the next year to complement information-sharing and equipment

modernization efforts,” their statement added.

Both countries noted the need to improve the defense capabilities of the AFP “given prevailing geopolitical tensions especially in the maritime areas of the Philippines” —carefully omitting a specific threat but nonetheless impliedly referring to China’s growing expansion in the South China Sea. “We intend to promote interoperability of the US and Philippine armed forces” which includes establishing a coordination center, developing a joint command and control for operations, and finishing the maritime “framework” to enable their soldiers to execute joint operations more effectively.

Security and defense cooperation activities such as education and training, capacity-building, interoperability and modernization of defense and security institutions, as well as conducting regular high-level visits and dialogues, will also be strengthened.

On the diplomatic front, both countries have pledged to build “an international coalition supporting the international-based maritime order” including holding a “Maritime Dialogue” next year.

“The United States and the Philippines express their support for compliance with the international law of the sea and are continuing activities and cooperation to exercise and support safety and freedoms of navigation, overflight, and other

lawful uses of the sea in the South China Sea and around the world,” the two countries stated.

The US sided with the Philippine position that China cannot assert its maritime claim over Scarborough Shoal and Spratly Islands. It is one with the Philippines in saying that China’s “expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with the international law of the sea.”

The Joint Statement was signed

by Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez and Undersecretary of National Defense Cardozo M. Luna for the Philippine Government, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely S. Ratner for the US Government, as Co-Chairs of the 9th BSD. Aside from the Joint Vision Statement, both sides signed the Strategic Policy Guidance to the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board.

Joining the diplomatic and defense officials in the Philippine delegation were senior officials and subject-matter experts from the Departments of Agriculture, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice, National Defense, and Trade and Industry, as well as the Office of the President, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine Nuclear Research Institute.

SC ORDERS PALACE TO REPLY TO SENATE SUIT

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court has directed Malacañang to comment on the petition filed by lawmakers, led

by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, seeking to declare as null and void for being unconstitutional the Palace memorandum barring officials and employees of the Executive bra nc h f rom appea r i ng i n hearings in aid of legislation conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

The memorandum was issued

by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea upon the directive of President Duterte, who has repeatedly attacked senators, led by Blue Ribbon chairman Richard J. Gordon, for what he deems a useless prolonging of their inquiry into alleged misuse of billions of pesos for pandemic supplies.

SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said the Court issued the order during its regular en banc session last Tuesday.

“I’m confirming that respondents [Palace officials] were required to file their comments on the petition and plea for TRO [temporary restraining order] within a non-extendible period of 30 days from receipt of the resolution,” Hosaka said.

“The filing and service of said comment through personal service,” he added.

Aside from Medialdea, also named respondent in the petition was Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Blue Ribbon chairman Gordon joined in the petition.

The Senate is asking the Court to issue a TRO and/or a status quo ante order that would compel Executive department’s officials to attend the ongoing SBRC’s hearing on the 2020 Commission on Audit report on the alleged questionable procurement of medical supplies for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Continued on A3

DND asked: Explain unliquidated ₧8.5-B ‘parked’ funds

By Butch Fernandez

S

@butchfBM

ENATORS asked the Department of National Defense (DND) to explain the transfer of billions of pesos of funds from the Armed Forces of the Philippines parked at the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) and the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) which have remained

unliquidated, according to Commission on Audit (COA).

This includes at least P8.523 billion in funds of the Philippine Army that remain unliquidated or unaccounted for with the PITC, according to Senator Panfilo M. Lacson.

Hearing details of the 2022 budget of the DND late Tuesday, senators also reiterated their intent to strike out any new fund transfers from agencies to the

PS-DBM and PITC, described as a “mega parking lot” of state funds that caused dozens of important projects and services to remain untouched through the years even while government kept scouring for scarce resources.

Both agencies, especially PSDBM, have figured prominently in the current Senate Blue Ribbon inquiry into how P42 billion in pandemic funds were shifted by DOH to PS-DBM, which in turn awarded

negotiated contracts to controversial suppliers led by Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

At the marathon Senate deliberations on the proposed 2022 budget bill, Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon recalled a COA report as of December 2020 noting the unliquidated balance of the AFP at PITC amounting to P4.980-billion.

Drilon added this is apart from a still unliquidated P5.2-billion balance of AFP at the PS-DBM.

According to Drilon, this means over P5.2-billion to P10-billion AFP funds are “parked or sleeping at PITC and PS-DBM” even as the national government is having difficulty scouring for funds.

Lacson noted a COA report for fiscal year 2020 listed at least an P8.5-billion balance of the Army at PITC, from total fund transfers amounting to P16 billion.

At that point, Drilon wondered how the AFP can remain compla-

cent in transferring funds to the two agencies, starting in 2017 involving over P2.5 billion yearly fund transfers between AFP and PITC. The Senate Minority Leader conveyed concerns that the multibillion AFP modernization fund may be transferred to PS-DBM “even as it has no expertise” in vetting and procuring defense materiel, beyond purchasing simple common supplies for government agencies.

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Thursday, November 18, 2021

B1

Vista Land 9-month income expands by 9%

By VG Cabuag

V

@villygc

ista Land and Lifescapes Inc., the Villar-led property developer, said its income in January to September rose 9 percent to P5.98 billion from last year’s P5.5 billion.

Revenues, however, fell 7 percent to P23.68 billion from last year’s P25.66 billion.

The company reported real es-

tate revenues of P14.5 billion, down 20 percent due to slower construction activities in the provincial areas where various levels of lock-

down were implemented during the period.

“We remain optimistic with the industry especially with the sustained increase in overseas Filipino [OF] remittances which are currently at about 6 percent at the end of August. Demand from OFs remained strong, which contributed to the growth in our reservation sales to P43.9 billion for the period,” said Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. “With the holiday season coming up and the relaxation of the mobility restrictions across the country, we are excited to welcome more cus-

tomers to our commercial centers.”

The company said its leasing business has performed well amid the pandemic through its community-based malls with tenants that are majority essential services.

Leasing income rose 25 percent to P6.2 billion. The company’s newly opened commercial centers, where the majority of the tenants are essential, such as home store and supermarket, contributed to the topline growth.

“We are continually working on more initiatives as well as developing sustainable programs all aimed at providing better service to our

clients and also expanding our reach,” Manuel Paolo A. Villar, the company’s president and CEO said.

“The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of the company and created a landscape that encouraged innovation and creativity to remain competitive in the new economic environment, including the spearheading of the two biggest virtual expositions in the country.”

Total assets stood at P306.7 billion as of end-September.

Capital expenditure for the nine months of the year reached P18.4 billion mainly for construc-

tion and land development. Land acquisitions remained muted as the company said it is looking at maximizing its existing land bank.

The company had 2,937 hectares of land as of end-September.

A total of P7.2 billion worth of projects were launched during the period, comprising one high end project, five affordable projects and two mid-rise buildings.

Vista Land said in July that it is optimistic about its performance for the remainder of 2021 due to strong remittances from overseas Filipino workers, who comprise more than half of its buyers.

Moratorium on FIT interest extended Figaro IPO, Arthaland

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

T

he Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is extending for six months the suspension of the collection of interest on delayed feed-in-tariff (FIT) revenue owed by the government to eligible renewable energy (RE) players.

“We have decided to extend the moratorium on the imposition of interest for the partial or delayed payment of the actual FIT revenue for another six billing periods starting from November 2021 to April 2022,” said ERC Chairperson Agnes VST Devanadera.

Devanadera said eligible RE plants shall not impose any interest or penalty for any partial or delayed payment of the actual FIT revenue to them by the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) during the said extension period of the moratorium.

“When payments are delayed, eligible RE plants are entitled to interest, which is passed on to consumers.

With the moratorium, no interest will be imposed. We are temporarily relaxing the application of our FIT Rules only for the said moratorium period or until April 2022,” she said.

Investa unveils investment platform

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tart-up firm Investa, a finalist in the 2020 Emerge X Startup Competition, has launched its first investment platform built on Microsoft’s system.

Investa has over 1 million users and averaging 20 million views per month and has evolved into a full-fledged investment platform, from a mere learning tool from its initial deployment.

“We started Investa with the aim to empower Filipinos to achieve financial freedom,” Airwyn Tin, co-founder and chief technology officer of Investa, said in a statement.

“Investing in the stock market is a viable way to augment income towards financial security and success, but most people lack the knowledge and skills needed in stock trading. There is also a lack of user-friendly and affordable investment platforms, which ultimately led us to build our own.”

He said Investa wants to address theseby providing a wide array of learning resources, tools, analytics. The new Investa app, he noted, has evolved into a first investment platform designed for every Filipino.

“With the new Investa app, anyone can invest in the best-performing mutual funds in the country and even abroad, even with minimal funds. People can do so according to their risk profiles and financial goals. Whether they be conservative investors or high risktakers, they can choose the funds that suit their lifestyle,” Tin said. VG Cabuag

“If the moratorium on the FIT-All will not be extended, the consumers will bear the brunt of paying these penalties and interests should the FIT-All Fund be insufficient to pay the eligible generators.”

The ERC’s decision was anchored on its projection of a shortfall in the FIT-Allowance (FIT-All) fund starting November to cover the payments to the eligible RE plants.

Also, ERC’s decision to extend the moratorium on FIT-All interest is its way of showing support to the government’s directive to start opening the economy, and the need to help the public recover from the severe effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

“Where good cause appears, the ERC may allow an exemption from any provision of these Rules, if such is found to be in the public interest and is not contrary to law or any other related rules and regulations,” the agency said. The FIT-All is a uniform charge billed to all on-grid electricity consumers, reflected as a separate component in monthly electricity bills, to cover payments to RE developers who are assured of a fixed rate per kWh for electricity generated by their projects over 20 years.

Distribution utilities, the Nation-

al Grid Corp. of the Philippines, and Retail Electricity Suppliers serve as collecting agents, and the proceeds go to the FIT-All Fund, which is being administered by TransCo. TransCo is also tasked to make an annual determination of the FIT-All rate and file its application with the ERC not later than end of July each year for the FIT-All rate that will be implemented for the following year.

Last August, TransCo asked the ERC for approval of the proposed 2022 FIT-All rate of P0.3320 per kilowatt hour (kWh), higher than the prevailing rate of P0.0983 per kWh. TransCo’s proposed FIT-All rate for 2021 amounting to 18.81 centavos per kWh has yet to be approved by the ERC. The prevailing FIT-All rate now is the ERC approved 2020 FIT-All rate of P0.0983 per kWh. If the ERC approves TransCo’s 2022 FIT-All rate application, the rate would be P0.2337 per kWh higher than existing rate.

The grant of a provisional authority, TransCo said, will allow it to perform its duties and to make a timely payment of the FITs to FITeligible RE developers to which they are entitled, thereby allowing their continued operations.

TransCo has determined a total fund deficit amounting to P5,039,743,434.77. This is assuming there is no change in the prevailing FIT-All rate within the year and assuming the market prices for June to December 2021 are at the level of the cost recovery rate.

“It is estimated that the total FIT differential for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 generation, amounting to P107,828,456.03, P329,586,933.24, P43,195,971.96, P43,992,871.90, P88,496,244.89, P1,293,747,092.97, and P569,166,825.70, respectively, will be due in 2022,’ it said.

The numbers represent unpaid billings to RE developers. This has ballooned overtime because TransCo’s FIT-All rate applications have yet to be approved by the ERC. The ERC, for its part, said it needs to carefully evaluate TransCo’s applications since any amount would be collected from consumers.

The FIT-All mechanism was established pursuant to the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to spur the development of emerging renewable power sources such as wind, solar, run-of-river hydro, and biomass facilities.

‘Whole-of-society approach key to hitting net-zero goal’

A

yala Corp. Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala reaffirms the company’s commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050, as he speaks alongside global leaders at the Milken Institute’s Asia Summit on Tuesday.

“All of us have a responsibility to do whatever we can—whether you are a member of the private sector or the government. There has been huge global cooperation on climate action, and we see it as our role within the Ayala Group to do our bit,” Zobel said at CNBC’s “Sustainable Future” interview minutes before the summit.

Last October, Ayala Corp. President and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala announced the company’s net zero commitment, which aligns its business strategy with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to preindustrial levels.

Such an announcement came ahead of the recently held 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, where signatories to the Paris Agreement reported back on progress made since 2015.

Ayala Corporation and its core business units are signatories to the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and are currently working to implement the 11 recommended disclosures.

Ayala also partnered with South Pole, a leading project developer and global climate solutions provider, to have an accurate view of emissions across its core business units and a tangible roadmap for reducing them in line with its net zero by 2050 ambition.

During a panel discussion at Milken Institute, the Ayala Chair-

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala

man said financial institutions and investors also have a huge influence on the net zero transition. Its power platform AC Energy is also currently working with the Asian Development Bank to accelerate the early retirement of coal power plants, while creating cleaner energy sources.

“Many are moving out of traditional thermal assets and investing in renewables, but nothing is happening to those existing thermal assets. They are either being sold or still being run,” Zobel said.

With ADB’s help, AC Energy’s South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation is set to retire by 2040, 15 years ahead of its technical lifespan.

Other climate-action interventions done by Ayala and its core businesses include: n Ayala Land pushes for offsetting its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2022 for its commercial operations. n BPI will not finance new greenfield coal power generation projects.

The Bank will reduce its coal power

generation exposure to half of 2020 by 2026 and to zero by end of 2032. n Globe, a participant to the Race to Zero and a signatory to the Science-Based Targets Initiative, has shifted to buying energy directly from renewable energy producers for its headquarters in Taguig and six offices and facilities since 2019. n AC Energy is on its way to installing 5GW of renewable energy by 2025. n Ayala’s Project Kasibulan, a reforestation, forest protection, and biodiversity conservation program for carbon sequestration is to be piloted in the island of Mindoro.

Zobel noted that climate change is an existential crisis that affects governments, businesses, and every single lifeform on Earth. However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. The Covid-19 pandemic has sparked renewed cooperation among businesses and governments in the local, regional, and global scenes.

share sale secure nod

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he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the Liu-led Figaro Group Inc.’s initial public offering (IPO) and the P3-billion preferred shares offering of Po-led property developer Arthaland Corp.

Figaro, which will also include its stable of restaurants, will offer to the public up to 1.26 billion common shares up to P1.28 per share, with an overallotment option of up to 126 million shares. The shares will be listed and traded on the main board of the PSE. The company expects to net up to P1.69 billion from the offer, assuming the overallotment option is fully subscribed. Proceeds will be used for store openings and renovations, commissary expansion, debt repayment, IT infrastructure developments, and potential acquisitions.

The Liu-led company primarily operates restaurants, coffee shops, and refreshment parlors under the brands.

Figaro will include its brands Angel’s Pizza, Figaro Coffee, Tien Ma’s, TFG Express and Café Portofino, in its IPO. It currently owns a total of 90 stores across the five brands.

“As part of our growth plans, we plan to have a total of about 150 system-wide stores by the end of 2022 and more than 300 systemwide stores throughout the country by the end of 2029. As part of our store network expansion plan, we consider the viability of potential locations subject to various factors such as market and economic conditions, and results of our operations and performance,” the company said.

The company said it will expand its company-owned stores for the next three years. For Angel’s Pizza, it will expand to viable locations in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, Pampanga and Batangas, with 35 company-owned stores.

For Figaro Coffee, it will expand to six locations mostly in Metro Manila including malls, hospitals and mixed-use areas or central business districts and also Metro Manila for

Tien Ma’s, with two more branches and TFG Express, with 18 additional branches.

Figaro’s IPO is expected to run from December 16 to 22, with listing on the PSE scheduled for December 31, based on the latest timetable.

Figaro engaged Abacus Capital and Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and PNB Capital as joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters, and joint bookrunners for the offer.

Preferred shares offer

Arthaland will offer to the public up to 4 million series D preferred shares with an offer price of P500 per share, plus an oversubscription option of up to 2 million preferred shares.

The listed property developer expects to net up to P2.96 billion from the offer, assuming the oversubscription option is fully exercised.

Proceeds from the follow-on offering will be used for the company’s redemption of its series B preferred shares, as well as to fund additional investments in its subsidiaries.

The preferred shares are expected to be listed on the PSE on November 29, based on the latest timetable submitted to the SEC. Arthaland engaged BDO Capital as the sole issue manager, lead bookrunner and lead underwriter for the offer.

The company said its income for the nine months of the year was flat at P748 million from last year’s P740.1 million.

The company said its revenues rose 32 percent to P1.98 billion from last year’s P1.46 billion.

“Revenues attributable to percentage of completion rate for the period ended September 2021 were higher than that of the same period last year. In 2021, all construction activities at various project sites were uninterrupted unlike in 2020 when activities at the construction sites were halted for almost the whole of second quarter due to lockdown or community quarantine.” VG Cabuag

BAP starts anti-scam info drive

T

he Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) has launched an anti-scam information campaign to promote cybersecurity, cybersafety, and awareness among the Filipino banking public.

The anti-scam campaign will be carried out through various stakeholders, such as social media influencers, government agencies, and the media, to promote cybersecurity awareness throughout the country.

The BAP said it has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas to help disseminate information on cybersecurity and data protection.

An MOU signing with the Department of Justice (DOJ) will also take place, with the partnership aiming

to train cybercrime enforcers and prosecutors in holding cybercriminals accountable for their actions.

“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. With this partnership with KBP, we are able to keep the public informed and educated on the latest trends and scenarios on cybercrime, considering the growing threats of cybercriminals. They have clearly stepped up their game as they try to take advantage of the rapid online migration of essential activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” BAP President Wick Veloso said.

BAP said the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) will also be the official partner in unifying the execution of the anti-scam campaign on social media by BAP’s member-banks. Bianca Cuaresma

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Plant operator warns of tight electricity supply next year

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

he operator of the 440-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant warned that electricity supply by the hot dry season next year will be “very difficult” as only one facility is expected to come online to serve Luzon’s growing demand.

“I think it’s going to be a very difficult summer. I think only one new power station has come into the energy mix in Luzon, up north a 660 megawatts (MW) super critical coal power plant. Aside from that, there are no new power stations coming into the market,” said Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. Co. (QPPL) Managing Director Frank Thiel during the Asian Power Thermal Energy Conference held Wednesday.

GNPD Unit 2 is expected to come

online in the first quarter of next year. Demand during the hot dry season is at its peak because of warmer temperature. The elections next year will also boost demand.

“The summer is going to be very challenging. We also have elections at that time. We’ve been given a directive by the government that we cannot take any shutdowns two months before and two months after the election period, which presents a bit of a challenge as well.

So I think, I think to summarize, this can be a very tight situation. I think we will have barely enough provided all the plants are there at the same time and we will not have any surprises.”

Electricity demand is fast recovering as the government has relaxed quarantine restrictions in the country, particularly the National Capital Region. “Next year, the demand keeps increasing. Pre-pandemic, we had a certain demand. During the pandemic, the demand dropped and I think a lot of projects were put on a lull because of that situation.

In Luzon, the economy started taking off again. Demand has increased and is back to pre-pandemic levels. Next year is going to be very tough,” Thiel said.

QPPL will be placed on planned outage next year for 45 days, the longest in 15 years. Thiel said the maintenance work is necessary to avoid “bigger problems” in the future.

“Normally, we only do about 2530 days of the most, but we have no choice. We have to do the mainte-

nance. We have been deferring for two years already. We cannot keep running the plant. We could have potentially bigger problems, so we have to do it. The plant missed the maintenance and we now have the opportunity to bring our technical advisors,” added Thiel.

QPPL has deferred its planned maintenance before due to strict travel restrictions.

“We were not able to bring technical advisors. We rely on technical advisors to come in and help us for maintenance during the planned outages of the units. We haven’t been able to do very much of that over the last two years. And so, next year, we’re going to try and basically do three years worth of maintenance in one outage and hoping that everything will come together and then we’ll be back then be available to the grid.

So when people ask me, what’s my forecast about next year’s power supply situation, I think it’s going to be very tight. I think it will be very challenging.”

SEC approves IPO of Citicore REIT

By VG Cabuag @villygc

T

he Securities and Exchange Commission has given its gosignal to the initial public offering (IPO) of Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT).

In its en banc meeting, the agency approved the registration statements of CREIT covering 6.54 billion common shares.

CREIT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) sponsored by Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) and Citicore Solar Tarlac 1 Inc. Citicore Holdings Investment Inc. is the parent company of Megawide Construction Corp.

The IPO will include up to 1.04 billion primary shares priced at up to P3.15 per share and 1.74 billion in secondary shares to be offered by selling shareholder CREC. It will also offer an oversubscription option of up to 418.33 million 9,000 shares.

The shares will be listed and traded on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

CREIT expects to net up to P3.17 billion from the primary offer, which will be used for the acquisition of properties in Bulacan and South Cotabato.Meanwhile, CREC will receive the entire proceeds from the secondary offer, which could amount to P6.61 billion, assuming the overallotment option is fully exercised.

This shall be reinvested in the Philippines, pursuant to the Real Estate Investment Trust Act of 2009.

New investors will corner 49 percent of CREIT’s issued and outstanding shares, while existing shareholders will retain 51 percent, assuming the full exercise of the overallotment option.

The offering will run from November 26 to December 3, in time for the shares to be listed on the PSE on December 13, according to the latest timetable submitted to the SEC.

CREIT, formerly Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Inc., aims to focus on income-generating renewable energy real estate properties, including land and properties used for harnessing power. The company owns the Clark solar power plant operating on land leased from the Clark Development Corp., pursuant to a 25-year lease which will expire in September 2039.

According to its REIT plan, the company’s renewable energy property portfolio consists of the leased properties. These include the lease of the 25 hectares of land for the Clark solar power plant in Pampanga and parcels of land leased to solar power plant operators, comprising of the company-owned 14 hectares of land in Brgy. Armenia in Tarlac, leasehold rights over the 73 hectares of land Toledo in Cebu, 43 hectares in Silay in Negros Occidental and 10 hectares of land in Dalayap in Tarlac.

These lands were leased to CREC, Citicore Tarlac 1, Citicore Cebu, Citicore Negros Occidental and Citicore Tarlac 2 Inc. The company said it will expand its renewable energy property portfolio by acquiring an additional two parcels of land from Citicore Bulacan of about 25.3 hectares and Citicore South Cotabato of about 8 hectares. These firms area wholly owned indirect subsidiaries of CREC through its ownership of Cleantech Solar Holdings Inc. and Sikat Solar Holdco Inc., respectively.

CREIT tapped Unicapital Inc. and BDO Capital and Investment Corporation as joint global coordinators for the offer. Unicapital will also serve as lead underwriter and issue manager.

BDO Capital will serve as lead local underwriter alongside PNB Capital and Investment Corp., while Investment and Capital Corporation of the Philippines will act as participating underwriter and CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and CLSA Limited as international bookrunners.

mutual funds

November 17, 2021

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

234.6

4.9%

-0.44%

-0.8%

3.26%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.7013

43.42%

7.67%

4.26%

29.57%

6.55%

-3.74%

-3.57%

4.42%

-3.6% n.a.

-6.93%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2716

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7565 -1.68% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7963 9.04%

0.97% n.a.

7.38%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

2.54%

1.15%

6.45%

4.91%

0.26%

5.2601

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

9.21% 0.7882

98.06

7.47%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

48.3486

6.33%

1.7%

0.83%

3.22%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

503.91

4.72%

1.52%

0.12%

3.06%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d

1.183

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.3331

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

36.7927

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

0.9487 4.981

-3.16% n.a.

-2.53% 1.52%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

13.47% n.a. n.a.

-3.74%

7.81%

17.92%

3.94%

2.29%

14.12%

9.6%

2.09%

1.57%

5.82%

5.75% n.a. n.a.

3.91%

7.18%

3.96%

2.52%

1.54%

831.77

7.01%

2.53%

1.48%

3.76%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.7658

8.61%

-1.77%

-1.6%

6.52%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7828

7.43%

-0.59%

-0.17%

4.38%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9487 6.57%

2.16%

1.24%

3.38%

United Fund, Inc. -a

1.75%

2.02%

4.54%

2.73%

1.98% 4.01%

3.4693

7.33%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

111.8649

7.04%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.1826

3.37%

7.93%

6.82%

-1.69%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8852

18.93%

16.48%

13.2%

12.7%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.7107

5.53%

2.35%

0.21%

2.52%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.276

2.98%

2.24%

0.29%

-0.41%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.7217

5.39%

4.19%

2.15%

3.61%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.2056

5.06% n.a. n.a. 3.79%

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

2.0184

4.06%

4.21%

2.39%

2.61%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.7675

0.78%

3.82%

1.18%

-0.59%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.8777

0.92%

3.51%

1.14%

-0.37%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.1299

2.86%

2.41%

1.14%

1.86%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6529 4.15%

1.25%

0.64%

2.23%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9915

-1.18% n.a. n.a.

-3.04%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9443

1.81% n.a. n.a.

-0.52%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9373

2.95% n.a. n.a.

0.45%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

9.56%

7.06%

0.9504

1.9%

0.89%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03788

-3.32%

2.97%

1.5%

-3.12%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0845

-1.64%

5.17%

4.14%

-4.03%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.8657 13.19%

11.81%

9.53%

7.82%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a $1.2262 5.19%

6.62%

5.06%

2%

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

372.3

0.78%

2.86%

2.5%

0.32%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9203

1.3%

1.22%

0.36%

1.05%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2427

1.08%

3.15%

4.02%

0.85%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2336

-2.41%

1.7%

1.4%

-2.82%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4147 -1.24%

3.11%

1.76%

-1.57%

-5.5%

4.3%

1.5%

-5.79% -0.61%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.3617

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

1.3132

-0.07%

3.75%

2.55%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9475

-0.37%

4.4%

2.57%

-1.34%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.016

-1.85%

4.86%

1.95%

-2.64%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1625

-0.62%

4.79%

3.22%

-1.36%

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

-1.37%

4.04%

2.48%

-2.22%

1.7161

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$488.38

1.47%

3.03%

2.43%

0.9%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є219.93

0.76%

1.07%

0.93%

0.32%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.1995

-4.82%

2.26%

1.69%

-6.27%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 -2.26%

1.46%

0.95%

-2.63%

-0.07%

-0.79%

-6.36%

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

$1.0207

-6.37%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.485

-1.37%

5.2%

2.66%

-2.17%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.0624152

0.71%

3.13%

2.02%

0.18%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1488 -2.14%

3.13%

1.46%

-2.32%

2.54%

0.86%

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

130.94

1.14%

2.88%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0565 0.96% n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3132

1.51%

2.66%

2.54%

0.8% 1.26%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0599

0.82%

1.5% n.a.

0.6%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d 1.3792

29.28% n.a. n.a. 22.1%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a,d

$0.98

1.03% n.a. n.a.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 17, 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 PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

22,500 158,631,628 103,603,183.50 1,175,785 4,195,501 146,767,322 7,740 10,624 7,897,745 22,690 3,403,020 40,721,545 14,568,925.50 3,727,040 52,320 3,280 19,500 180,000 388,820 41,200 1,408,820 40,560 63,000

29,139,722 12,799,450 -224,345 978,000.00 28,468,220.50 1,308,525 -249,200 1,322,775 -1,923,475 -172,130 9,700 -1,259,182 -27,040 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 12 12.04 12.1 12.16 11.98 12 30,234,800 364,303,602 ALSONS CONS 1.11 1.14 1.09 1.14 1.08 1.14 351,000 394,140 ABOITIZ POWER 31.65 31.7 31.55 32.1 31.25 31.7 1,251,700 39,633,750 BASIC ENERGY 0.68 0.69 0.67 0.71 0.66 0.69 18,601,000 12,785,050 FIRST GEN 30.3 30.5 30.25 30.8 30.1 30.3 488,600 14,816,645 FIRST PHIL HLDG 73.7 73.75 73.6 74.5 73.6 73.75 8,420 621,171 MERALCO 302.6 302.8 298.6 302.6 297 302.6 304,360 91,474,746 MANILA WATER 23.7 23.95 24.05 24.65 23.7 23.7 833,400 19,956,585 PETRON 3.61 3.62 3.53 3.62 3.53 3.61 1,595,000 5,721,910 PETROENERGY 4.3 4.34 4.35 4.35 4.3 4.3 44,000 189,780 PHX PETROLEUM 11 11.18 11 11.24 11 11.24 20,300 228,100 PILIPINAS SHELL 23.15 23.3 23.05 23.4 22.95 23.3 266,300 6,157,535 13.88 13.9 13.9 13.9 13.84 13.9 200,100 2,778,820 SPC POWER 4.12 4.28 4.34 4.34 4.29 4.3 14,000 60,230 AGRINURTURE 2.72 2.74 2.72 2.74 2.7 2.74 307,000 834,550 AXELUM 13.74 14.28 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 100 1,430 CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD 24.9 24.95 25.5 25.6 24.9 24.95 3,138,900 78,665,115 14.6 14.68 14.72 14.74 14.5 14.68 23,500 342,914 DEL MONTE 8.55 8.6 8.58 8.6 8.46 8.6 2,747,000 23,442,774 DNL INDUS 18.24 18.3 18.36 18.72 18.18 18.24 6,480,200 118,400,012 EMPERADOR 75.35 75.4 75.5 75.5 75.1 75.35 231,900 17,470,046.50 SMC FOODANDBEV 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.62 0.59 0.59 42,000 24,960 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.26 1.27 1.26 1.28 1.25 1.27 5,448,000 6,892,380 GINEBRA 103.5 104.7 102.6 105.8 102.6 103.5 11,940 1,236,343 JOLLIBEE 244 245.8 245.2 246.4 243.2 245.8 649,960 158,950,540 LIBERTY FLOUR 28.15 28.5 28.5 28.5 28.5 28.5 1,600 45,600 MACAY HLDG 6.33 6.7 6.33 6.33 6.33 6.33 200 1,266 MAXS GROUP 6.83 6.84 6.95 6.95 6.5 6.83 1,050,200 7,089,204 MG HLDG 0.166 0.17 0.165 0.17 0.165 0.17 140,000 23,300 MONDE NISSIN 18.1 18.12 17.74 18.18 17.7 18.12 55,010,100 990,982,890 SHAKEYS PIZZA 8.6 8.7 8.45 8.7 8.45 8.7 204,400 1,750,892 ROXAS AND CO 0.74 0.75 0.74 0.77 0.71 0.75 6,506,000 4,827,340 RFM CORP 4.51 4.59 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.59 7,000 31,980 SWIFT FOODS 0.115 0.117 0.117 0.117 0.117 0.117 110,000 12,870 133 133.3 133 134 132.2 133 1,392,240 185,252,862 UNIV ROBINA 0.78 0.79 0.76 0.79 0.76 0.78 903,000 701,790 VITARICH 48 49.5 48 48 48 48 4,200 201,600 CONCRETE A CEMEX HLDG 1.21 1.22 1.2 1.22 1.2 1.22 2,000,000 2,416,550 14.32 14.48 14.22 14.48 14.22 14.48 12,100 172,360 EAGLE CEMENT 6.31 6.47 6.6 6.6 6.31 6.31 1,118,600 7,156,467 EEI CORP 5.62 5.63 5.75 5.75 5.5 5.63 722,400 4,066,762 HOLCIM 6.08 6.1 6.11 6.14 6.04 6.1 145,000 883,362 MEGAWIDE 15.38 15.46 15.38 15.46 15.22 15.46 9,900 152,178 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.86 0.9 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.86 97,000 83,420 VULCAN INDL 1.16 1.17 1.16 1.2 1.14 1.17 3,316,000 3,884,510 CHEMPHIL 130.4 178.8 142 142 142 142 60 8,520 CROWN ASIA 1.71 1.73 1.71 1.71 1.71 1.71 21,000 35,910 EUROMED 1.51 1.57 1.6 1.6 1.57 1.57 38,000 59,790 MABUHAY VINYL 4.2 4.4 4.2 4.41 4.2 4.41 3,000 13,020 PRYCE CORP 5.75 5.8 5.74 5.85 5.74 5.8 132,500 765,040 GREENERGY 2.37 2.39 2.49 2.5 2.35 2.39 3,123,000 7,525,440 INTEGRATED MICR 9.1 9.18 8.94 9.25 8.94 9.18 1,892,100 17,219,908 IONICS 0.81 0.85 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.81 56,000 45,660 SFA SEMICON 1.11 1.12 1.11 1.13 1.11 1.12 69,000 77,500 CIRTEK HLDG 4.28 4.3 4.28 4.3 4.23 4.28 785,000 3,343,720

104,262,610 8,720 6,852,680 -473,730 -4,864,255 -452,941.50 2,495,370 833,580 -89,450 426,895 -1,798,450 -43,000 -27,400 -3,347,755 29,360 1,312,762 1,175,738 -16,557,262 1,260,000 -27,648 -21,635,608 -960,278 151,388,798.00 -1,023,600.00 662,980 -79,194,871 -10,140 969,230 -59,808 296,800 -1,360,771 -109,526 -170,910 1,113,120 3,455,876 292,710

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS

44.9 129.7 91.05 25.25 9.81 51.55 8.62 17.4 20.55 55.9 20.5 122.3 96.1 1.92 4 3.3 1.06 0.3 902.5 0.65 210 2,706 0.83

1.13 5.37 903 50.75 11.22 5.54 7.36 0.99 0.475 5.37 7.85 7.81 2.46 0.27 590 3.88 60.95 4.61 0.64 3.15 10.3 4.04 1.37 1.15 15.76 975 116.3 121.4 0.23

45 129.9 91.1 25.35 9.89 51.7 9 18.48 20.6 57.65 20.6 122.5 96.9 1.93 4.03 3.43 1.1 0.31 1,000 0.7 219 2,808 0.84

1.14 5.88 903.5 51 11.26 5.57 7.54 1 0.5 5.38 7.86 7.9 2.59 0.295 592 3.91 61 5.39 0.66 3.21 10.32 4.07 1.39 1.2 15.8 978 118 129.9 0.255

45 127.5 90.8 25.15 9.78 50.7 8.6 18.48 20.7 55.8 21.4 122 95.1 1.88 3.98 3.28 1.06 0.3 970 0.69 220 2,704 0.84

1.13 5.53 891 51 11.22 5.68 7.36 0.96 0.49 5.37 7.72 7.82 2.47 0.305 588 3.91 60.7 5.39 0.62 3.19 10.3 4.05 1.41 1.2 15.88 990 115.9 132 0.25

45 130.3 92.5 25.3 10.06 51.95 8.6 18.48 20.8 57.65 21.4 122.9 97.25 1.98 4.05 3.28 1.09 0.3 970 0.7 220 2,704 0.84

1.15 5.53 908 51 11.34 5.7 7.36 0.99 0.5 5.41 7.88 7.82 2.47 0.305 595.5 3.92 61.2 5.39 0.67 3.22 10.36 4.08 1.41 1.2 16.08 991.5 118 132 0.25

45 127.3 90.8 25.1 9.75 50.7 8.6 17.32 20.5 55.8 20.3 121.8 95.1 1.85 3.98 3.28 1.06 0.3 900 0.69 209.4 2,704 0.84

1.12 5.53 890 50.05 11.22 5.54 7.32 0.96 0.475 5.37 7.72 7.8 2.46 0.27 585 3.9 60.5 5.39 0.62 3.15 10.24 4.03 1.34 1.2 15.52 975 115 125 0.23

45 129.7 91.1 25.3 9.89 51.7 8.6 17.32 20.55 57.65 20.5 122.5 96.9 1.93 4 3.28 1.09 0.3 900 0.7 219 2,704 0.84

1.14 5.53 903 51 11.26 5.54 7.36 0.99 0.5 5.38 7.85 7.82 2.46 0.27 590 3.9 61 5.39 0.66 3.21 10.32 4.07 1.37 1.2 15.76 975 118 128 0.23

500 1,222,400 1,133,790 46,600 428,500 2,850,120 900 600 384,100 400 164,400 332,250 152,370 1,951,000 13,000 1,000 18,000 600,000 430 59,000 6,670 15 75,000

21,150,000 3,500 329,440 1,309,280 1,207,400 3,659,300 45,500 3,604,000 316,000 1,063,700 5,249,500 35,700 44,000 260,000 128,080 8,000 701,530 1,400 449,000 110,000 3,410,600 13,164,000 61,000 1,000 29,177,000 207,130 170,000 15,240 4,530,000

24,288,630 19,355 297,457,845 66,423,887.50 13,621,456 20,467,501 334,618 3,525,760 155,475 5,726,225 41,149,113 279,024 108,280 76,100 75,706,980 31,250 42,768,523.50 7,546 295,790 350,630 35,171,720 53,420,100 83,540 1,200 461,818,068 203,033,655 19,893,557 1,922,885 1,130,550

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.62 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.62 0.62 2,232,000 1,401,630 AYALA LAND 36 36.05 36.35 36.7 36 36 6,818,300 246,688,720 ARANETA PROP 1.01 1.05 1.01 1.03 1.01 1.01 59,000 59,730 AREIT RT 47 47.35 47.1 47.45 46.5 47 825,900 38,812,365 BELLE CORP 1.37 1.38 1.37 1.38 1.36 1.38 277,000 378,230 A BROWN 0.85 0.86 0.83 0.85 0.83 0.85 551,000 465,380 CITYLAND DEVT 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.78 197,000 153,900 CROWN EQUITIES 0.106 0.107 0.106 0.111 0.105 0.111 230,000 24,570 CEBU HLDG 6.43 6.67 6.42 6.43 6.41 6.43 47,000 301,740 CEB LANDMASTERS 2.9 2.91 2.91 2.92 2.85 2.9 907,000 2,614,230 CENTURY PROP 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.435 0.44 5,360,000 2,353,500 DOUBLEDRAGON 9.85 9.86 10 10 9.86 9.86 1,107,600 10,980,919 1.82 1.83 1.81 1.84 1.8 1.82 4,231,000 7,705,610 DDMP RT 6.75 6.89 6.97 6.97 6.78 6.89 94,500 648,165 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.27 0.275 0.28 0.28 0.275 0.275 520,000 143,100 EVER GOTESCO 0.32 0.325 0.335 0.335 0.32 0.32 8,150,000 2,614,700 7.69 7.7 7.73 7.74 7.69 7.7 3,772,000 29,066,312 FILINVEST RT 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.12 1.13 8,132,000 9,118,680 FILINVEST LAND 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.9 0.88 0.89 850,000 758,660 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 10.04 10.44 10.3 10.5 10.02 10.44 368,100 3,767,746 PHIL INFRADEV 1.17 1.2 1.21 1.21 1.17 1.2 421,000 505,680 0.89 0.91 0.92 0.92 0.89 0.91 91,000 81,370 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 3.37 3.38 3.38 3.4 3.35 3.38 9,696,000 32,749,970 MRC ALLIED 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.285 2,370,000 680,350 MREIT RT 18.28 18.3 18.3 18.32 18.24 18.3 3,508,100 64,219,608 PHIL ESTATES 0.47 0.475 0.47 0.47 0.465 0.47 2,020,000 946,850 PRIMEX CORP 1.76 1.78 1.75 1.82 1.73 1.75 40,000 70,260 RL COMM RT 7.32 7.33 7.32 7.34 7.19 7.33 4,255,700 31,037,631 ROBINSONS LAND 19.26 19.38 19.42 19.42 19.12 19.38 917,400 17,726,628 PHIL REALTY 0.217 0.226 0.229 0.23 0.226 0.226 600,000 137,660 ROCKWELL 1.52 1.57 1.53 1.53 1.5 1.53 606,000 919,070 SHANG PROP 2.6 2.61 2.61 2.61 2.61 2.61 19,000 49,590 STA LUCIA LAND 2.92 2.99 3.01 3.01 3.01 3.01 16,000 48,160 SM PRIME HLDG 36 36.1 36 36.45 35.85 36 4,969,200 179,005,150 3.81 3.92 3.8 3.92 3.8 3.92 8,000 31,190 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.43 1.44 1.42 1.45 1.41 1.44 346,000 490,930 3.75 3.76 3.71 3.76 3.71 3.76 450,000 1,683,110 VISTA LAND

SERVICES ABS CBN 13.82 13.98 14 14 13.82 13.82 328,300 4,567,630 GMA NETWORK 14.16 14.18 14.64 14.72 14 14.16 7,355,800 104,588,754 MANILA BULLETIN 0.41 0.43 0.42 0.435 0.42 0.435 140,000 59,750 GLOBE TELECOM 3,466 3,468 3,450 3,470 3,412 3,468 28,795 99,506,180 PLDT 1,708 1,726 1,755 1,798 1,708 1,708 275,905 482,300,455 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.073 0.074 0.073 0.077 0.072 0.074 216,880,000 16,132,470 CONVERGE 34 34.25 35.75 35.75 33.65 34 16,468,300 570,490,885 DFNN INC 3.02 3.03 3.09 3.14 3.02 3.03 860,000 2,610,520 DITO CME HLDG 5.6 5.61 5.9 5.9 5.6 5.6 20,360,100 115,741,278 IMPERIAL 1.42 1.5 1.42 1.42 1.42 1.42 2,000 2,840 NOW CORP 1.68 1.7 1.7 1.73 1.68 1.7 871,000 1,478,380 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.32 0.325 0.335 0.335 0.315 0.325 6,190,000 1,994,450 2.18 2.21 2.2 2.21 2.18 2.21 124,000 272,170 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 7.96 7.98 8 8 7.96 7.98 5,900 47,058 ASIAN TERMINALS 14.2 14.4 14.2 14.8 14.2 14.4 38,100 545,980 CHELSEA 1.88 1.89 1.93 1.93 1.88 1.88 962,000 1,826,600 48 48.1 48.7 49 47.55 48 391,300 18,904,920 CEBU AIR 191.8 194.8 195 195.9 191 194.8 794,570 154,210,267 INTL CONTAINER 21.5 22 21.5 21.5 21.5 21.5 2,200 47,300 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.91 0.97 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 3,000 2,730 6.08 6.09 6.25 6.37 6.05 6.08 1,957,700 12,111,828 MACROASIA 1.01 1.04 1 1.04 1 1.01 285,000 286,600 HARBOR STAR ACESITE HOTEL 1.45 1.48 1.42 1.47 1.42 1.45 19,000 27,200 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.13 2.17 2.13 2.17 2.13 2.17 36,000 76,920 WATERFRONT 0.48 0.495 0.49 0.49 0.48 0.485 320,000 156,000 IPEOPLE 6.91 7.48 7 7.48 6.81 7.48 42,400 292,029 STI HLDG 0.35 0.355 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 710,000 248,500 BERJAYA 6.12 6.15 6.12 6.4 6.11 6.15 95,600 592,496 BLOOMBERRY 7.3 7.31 7.53 7.7 7.28 7.3 3,111,000 23,121,449 PACIFIC ONLINE 2 2.1 2.12 2.13 2.1 2.1 27,000 56,830 LEISURE AND RES 1.5 1.54 1.54 1.55 1.5 1.55 550,000 829,970 MANILA JOCKEY 1.79 2.01 1.79 1.79 1.79 1.79 18,000 32,220 PH RESORTS GRP 0.86 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.85 0.88 2,214,000 1,930,060 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.45 0.455 0.46 0.465 0.455 0.455 6,450,000 2,946,600 0.81 0.82 0.82 0.84 0.81 0.81 126,990,000 103,837,900 ALLDAY 9.05 9.18 9.31 9.31 8.81 9.05 1,578,700 14,389,197 ALLHOME 1.35 1.39 1.36 1.39 1.35 1.39 411,000 564,400 METRO RETAIL 41.25 42.1 41.95 42.1 41 42.1 1,669,800 69,550,365 PUREGOLD 65.65 65.9 66.1 66.1 65.2 65.9 68,580 4,503,871.50 ROBINSONS RTL 91.4 91.5 92 94.9 91.5 91.5 34,460 3,153,897 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.24 1.25 1.24 1.26 1.23 1.25 401,000 499,760 SSI GROUP 29.45 29.5 28.85 29.5 28.85 29.45 701,700 20,538,350 WILCON DEPOT 4.25 4.6 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 1,000 4,300 EASYCALL IPM HLDG 6.98 7 7 7.02 7 7.02 12,000 84,040 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.61 0.62 0.6 0.63 0.59 0.62 10,228,000 6,296,570 SBS PHIL CORP 3.97 4.06 4 4.06 4 4.06 510,000 2,056,510

MINING & OIL ATOK 6 6.2 6.01 6.27 6 6.19 549,300 3,307,955 APEX MINING 1.42 1.44 1.45 1.45 1.42 1.42 687,000 983,490 ATLAS MINING 6.78 6.8 6.79 6.82 6.69 6.8 2,758,500 18,653,071 BENGUET A 6.15 6.18 6.2 6.3 6.15 6.18 698,500 4,322,500 BENGUET B 5.91 5.99 5.78 6 5.78 5.99 521,000 3,101,320 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.29 0.275 0.295 0.275 0.29 480,000 136,750 CENTURY PEAK 2.53 2.66 2.66 2.66 2.66 2.66 2,000 5,320 DIZON MINES 5.15 5.45 5.12 5.49 5.12 5.47 2,700 14,439 FERRONICKEL 2.09 2.1 2.09 2.1 2.08 2.1 832,000 1,740,390 GEOGRACE 0.214 0.219 0.219 0.219 0.219 0.219 40,000 8,760 LEPANTO A 0.13 0.131 0.131 0.133 0.13 0.132 3,880,000 508,860 0.133 0.134 0.133 0.136 0.133 0.134 680,000 90,930 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.0092 0.0093 0.0092 0.0092 0.0092 0.0092 6,000,000 55,200 MARCVENTURES 1.02 1.04 1.04 1.07 1.02 1.02 1,631,000 1,711,720 1.01 1.04 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.01 205,000 207,310 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.22 5.23 5.26 5.34 5.2 5.22 5,315,200 27,854,844 0.325 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 170,000 56,100 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.8 0.78 0.79 210,000 164,540 PX MINING 5.01 5.07 5 5.08 5 5.01 581,500 2,930,302 23.5 24 22.7 24 22.55 24 3,950,200 92,071,140 SEMIRARA MINING 0.0063 0.0066 0.0063 0.0065 0.0063 0.0065 7,000,000 45,100 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 20.8 20.85 19 21.35 19 20.85 1,760,700 36,381,563 ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 10,200,000 105,200 ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 500,000 5,500 PHILODRILL 0.0091 0.0092 0.0092 0.0092 0.0091 0.0091 15,000,000 137,300 PXP ENERGY 6.49 6.5 6.18 6.52 6.18 6.5 633,900 4,088,393

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.1 101 100.1 100.1 100.1 100.1 2,000 200,200 AC PREF B1 520 526.5 525.5 525.5 525.5 525.5 120 63,060 ALCO PREF C 104.1 108 108 108 108 108 80 8,640 AC PREF B2R 520 525 520 520 520 520 2,000 1,040,000 CEB PREF 48.1 48.4 48.05 48.5 48.05 48.4 11,300 544,415 CPG PREF A 102.5 103 102.5 103 102.5 103 320 32,835 DD PREF 100.8 100.9 100.8 100.8 100.8 100.8 1,620 163,296 FGEN PREF G 105.4 107.3 106 106 105.4 105.4 1,700 179,318 GTCAP PREF B 1,030 1,060 1,050 1,050 1,050 1,050 500 525,000 JFC PREF A 1,000 1,020 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,010 150 151,500 JFC PREF B 1,033 1,040 1,033 1,033 1,033 1,033 1,050 1,084,650 MWIDE PREF 4 100.6 100.9 100.6 100.6 100 100.6 11,850 1,185,300 104.7 104.9 104.7 104.7 104.7 104.7 500 52,350 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1,000 1,005 1,004 1,004 1,000 1,000 14,940 14,959,955 1,151 1,185 1,187 1,187 1,187 1,187 55 65,285 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2F 79.3 79.7 79.5 79.5 79.3 79.3 688,180 54,574,839 76 76.8 76.05 76.8 75.9 75.9 52,600 3,997,837.50 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 79.5 79.6 79.55 79.55 79.3 79.5 65,960 5,237,900 SMC PREF 2J 77 77.5 76.4 77.8 76.4 77 13,300 1,032,066 SMC PREF 2K 75.9 76 76 76.1 76 76 8,380 636,890

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS GMA HLDG PDR 13.22 13.48 13.62 13.62 13.1 13.48 152,500 2,044,514

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 1.05 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.04 1.07 321,000 337,460

-5,689,580.00 86,556,150 18,897,990 -2,826,986 -330,382 477,865 -55,425 -128,236 -3,905,970 -2,217,875 -6,420 15,974,706 -2,793,640 -67,267,126 -2,757,665 -1,577,041 -11,331 3,780 -92,763,645 8,367,220 35,360 -323,670 -240,450 -5,905,466 -98,150 -175,050 9,107,564 134,900.00 302,500 2,495,070 -79,800.00 -39,248,452 -8,710 6,647,829 -3,806,716 25,670 -13,371,640 141,000 793,350 37,063,030 -24,036,540 149,400 -17,298,380 -1,634,890 19,214 67,600 26,250 66,650 -3,668,770 81,552,509 -1,820 740,292.00 84,000.00 -720,971 300,000 -32,220 -411,460 151,200 -1,479,080 -228,048 276,000.00 -32,964,615 -713,945 -3,123,534 10,000 5,802,510 14,140 4,270 -39,150 -773,148 -3,047,410 5,320 525,180 -58,710 -5,662,353 -2,115,308 14,159,665 -6,099,105 -110,432 481,490 1,008 65,650 -500,000 10,020 -54,240,939 -

0% SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

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).

"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

ALTUS PROP ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MERRYMART

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."

FIRST METRO ETF

1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

17.92 1.72 3.65 3.14

18.3 1.73 3.85 3.15

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 112

112.3

17.9 1.7 3.85 3.18

18.32 1.73 3.85 3.2

17.9 1.69 3.85 3.15

18.32 1.73 3.85 3.15

4,700 122,000 10,000 4,704,000

85,174 208,140 38,500 14,931,760

-66,000 452,200

112.5 112.8 112 112 24,780 2,787,978 197,894

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, November 18, 2021 B3

‘RCEP will expand exports of local farm goods’

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

T

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has warned that the local farm sector, which has expressed opposition against the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), may miss out on the opportunity to export more products via the world’s biggest trade pact.

Trade Secretar y R amon M. Lopez said in a virtual event on Wednesday that RCEP, which ac-

9-month coffee output surges to 4-year high

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ORE than a year after the eruption of Taal Volcano which affected major coffee-producing areas in Calabarzon, the sector is now showing signs of recovery based on the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA data showed that coffee production in January to September rose to a four-year high. Nine-month output went up by 6.5 percent to 30,720 metric tons (MT), from 28,850 MT recorded a year ago.

Historical PSA data showed that this is the highest coffee production for the January-to-September period in the past four years.

Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) President Pacita U. Juan attributed the increase to better farm management practices adopted by farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Since the farmers were under lockdown, they had more time to take care of their coffee plants. They had time to do pruning and other measures. The pandemic made the farmers go back to their farms and take care of the plants,” Juan told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

Juan added that farmers in Batangas that were affected by Taal Volcano last year have started to recover.

Last year, the PCBI said it will start planting barako coffee in other areas in Visayas and Mindanao to preserve the heirloom variety amid the threat of Taal Volcano to traditional growing areas in Cavite and Batangas.

Some of the areas initially identified by the group as suitable for growing barako coffee include Bataan, Bohol and Basilan.

PCBI estimated that coffee farmers in Cavite and Batangas lost at least P600 million in revenues and this could even go up to P1.2 billion as 40 percent of their annual output of 5,000 metric tons in green coffee beans were damaged by Taal Volcano.

Despite the recovery in output this year, the average farm-gate price of coffee during the reference period declined by 3.5 percent to P48.91 per kilogram from P50.71 per kg last year.

A separate PSA report, which was released recently, showed that the country’s coffee self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) last year declined to 26.8 percent—the lowest level in history—due to higher imports.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

counts for about 30 percent of the global GDP, will provide the agriculture sector “good market” access for their products.

“Some agri groups are opposing the RCEP and I think that is very inward looking. What they would miss is the opportunity to tap the market abroad,” Lopez said. “Inputs to agriculture will be affected.”

In a recent position paper, representatives of farmers, fishers, workers, civil society organizations and private sector said they were against the ratification of RCEP

(Read related article: Position Paper on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Trade Agreement,https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/11/16/ position-paper-on-the-regionalcomprehensive-economic-partnership-trade-agreement/) They said the trade deal was finalized without consultations with the agri-fisheries stakeholders and now, there is “no more opportunity” to possibly suggest revisions.

Also, the agri representatives

said no “clear and consistent basis for classifying agricultural tariff lines” was provided.

“Joining RCEP now means that 75 percent of our 1,718 agricultural tariff lines will be set at zero.

About 15 percent of tariff lines will be subjected to tariff reduction, while 9 percent will be exempted from any tariff change,” they said.

Meanwhile, Lopez reiterated their call for the Senate to ratify the RCEP. This not only grants the country greater market access but it also makes it more attractive for

gapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have sent their Instrument of Ratification/Acceptance (IOR/A).

The Philippines, along with Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia and South Korea, have yet to submit their IOR/A. Lopez earlier said he is hoping for the Senate to ratify RCEP this month. RCEP was signed in November last year.

The signatories will not be able to reap the benefits of the trade agreement without the ratification.

PHL rice self-sufficiency rate hits 85% in 2020–report

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

F

OR every 1 kilogram of rice available in the country last year, 850 grams came from Filipino farmers, as the Philippines’s rice self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) improved to 85 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

PSA’s latest report showed that the country’s rice SSR last year improved from the 79.8 percent recorded in 2019.

“This ratio indicates that 85 percent of the domestic supply of rice came from the country’s own production,” the PSA said in its report titled “Agricultural Indicators System: Food Availability and Sufficiency.”

The PSA defines SSR as the “magnitude of production in relation to domestic utilization.” It is the extent to which a country’s supply of commodities is derived from its domestic production or the extent to which a country relies on its own production resources.

The Philippines posted a record palay output of 19.44 million metric tons (MMT) last year, while imports reached nearly 2.1 MMT, based on official government data.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier claimed that the record-level palay harvest last year has raised the country’s rice SSR to 90 percent.

The increase in rice SSR last year

meant a reduction in the staple’s import dependency ratio, or the extent to which a country’s supply of commodities came from imports, according to the PSA. “Import dependency ratio of rice was down to 15 percent in 2020 as compared with the 20.2 percent in 2019. This implies that 15 percent of the domestic supply of rice came from imports,” the PSA said.

‘Review SSR formula’

FEDER ATION of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said the PSA must revisit its formula in computing SSR as “it doesn’t provide a realistic picture of the supply situation.”

Montemayor said the SSR formula is not benchmarked or pegged on the estimated total domestic requirement for a specific commodity.

Due to this, the SSR will remain dependent on the volume of commodity imported in a given time period, he added.

The denominator of the PSA’s formula for SSR is the total supply of commodities as a result of the combination of production and imports less exports.

“If imports go down, there will be a tendency for the SSR to go up even if there is little increase in production,” he told the BusinessMirror.

“For me, the measure should be local production divided by total utilization for the year for food,

PHOTO shows NSIC Rc 222, one of the rice varieties developed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). NSIC Rc 222 is known to have “moderate” resistance to pests.

feeds, waste and others. Meaning, what percent of our total requirement for rice was supplied by domestic production.”

Given these issues in the formula, Montemayor said the government’s SSR figures are “misleading” to policy-makers and even

N. Cotabato farmers get veggie seeds from DAR

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has turned over assorted vegetable seeds along with drip irrigation system facilities worth P402,901 to groups of farmers in Alamada, North Cotabato.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Rodolfo Alburo, said the agri-productivity interventions were provided to help the vegetable growers enhance their farm yields.

A total of 127 farmers will directly benefit from the project.

“The sustaining project, implemented under the department’s Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets and Microfinance [LinkSFarMM] program, is being coursed through the four DAR-assisted organizations,” he said in a statement.

Alburo identified the recipient organizations as the Rangayen Vegetable Growers Association (RVGA), Rangayen Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) Association, Matin-ao Integrated

Farmers Association, and Dimaampao Native Inhabitants ARB Cooperative.

Emelita Mayol, Chief of agrarian reform beneficiaries development support program, said this support from LinkSFarMM is expected to boost the productivity and profitability of the farmers, especially the ARBs. LinkSFarMM is an innovative program of the DAR to make smallholder farmers increase agricultural productivity and effectively manage their agricultural production by applying a value chain process.

Metodio Ybañez, RVGA president, said they are grateful for the additional assistance provided by the DAR as they are planning to cultivate about 10-hectare vegetable production area to supply the needs and demands of the local markets and neighboring municipalities.

The delivery of inputs was witnessed by DAR-Commission on Audit Auditor Urduja Untal, Provincial Agrarian Reform Committee Representative Alyn Leysa and project staff of DAR provincial office and DAR Alamada municipal office.

Mayor Isko: Cutting cost of production ensures food security

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investments, he explained.

“Companies from non-RCEP countries will locate in our country to be part of this global value chain, especially the RCEP chain.

And definitely, it will boost investment, it will boost more jobs and provide more income for the Filipinos,” he said.

The trade deal is set to enter into force by January next year after meeting the minimum number of ratification by signatories. As of writing, the Asean Secretariat said Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Sin-

ANIL A Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Monday said he would institute policies that would cut the cost of food production, leading towards a more sustainable food production that would ensure food security for the country.

“Food security is the number one threat to national security pero nakasalalay tayo sa bigas sa ibang bansa, ironically,” Moreno said during a consultation with agriculture and organic farming stakeholders at the Mimaropa Regional Office of the Agricultural Training Institute in Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro.

“The next government should focus its

resources in ensuring food security in our own country because we cannot have the same pandemic at aasa tayo na padadalhan tayo ng bigas ng ating mga inaangkatan ng bigas,” said the Aksyon Demokratiko presidential candidate.

If elected, Moreno said one of the first thing his government would introduce under the “Buhay at Kabuhayan” platform of governance is to cut taxes on oil and electricity by 50 percent that, among others, would bring down the cost of food production, especially rice, raise the income of farmers and fisherfolk, bring down the prices basic commodities and sustain food production.

Agriculture is one of the major users of petroleum products. Farmers are heavily dependent on oil products for fuel, fertilizers and pesticides to achieve high crop yields.

Fisherfolks are also reliant on petroleum for their motorized boats.

Petroleum is also a key source of energy for transportation and power generation. While the government may lose around P130 billion in revenues due to the proposed tax cuts, Moreno said the same amount will immediately benefit the people in terms of savings—savings that would subsequently return to government as people spend more due to their stronger purchasing power.

to market players.

“Assuming zero imports and exports, then SSR will be 100 percent even though domestic production is not enough for local demand. Meanwhile, even if domestic production is increasing, SSR will go down if imports grow faster.”

In 2018, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol criticized the PSA’s formula for deriving the SSR. He said the PSA includes rice imports in computing the SSR, which would always yield results that would indicate that local production is insufficient.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

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Thursday, November 18, 2021

PHL, US hold 9th BSD

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HE ninth Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) between the Philippines and the United States was scheduled on November 15 and 16 in Washington, D.C. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink was earmarked to jointly chair the robust in-person and virtual discussions on initiatives across the broad spectrum of US-Philippine cooperation, alongside Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner.

Counterparts from the Philippine government: Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel G. Romualdez and Defense Undersecretary Cardozo M. Luna, were supposed to join the US representatives.

In addition to Kritenbrink and Ratner, the US delegation was to

include senior leadership from the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, as well as the US Agency for International Development, or USAID. Since January 2011 the BSD has brought together senior leaders to discuss cooperation on defense, economics, rule of law, and regional diplomacy between the two countries.

The most recent was held in Manila on July 15 and 16, 2019. The last dialogue in the American capital took place in November 2017.

In this July 2019 file photo, former undersecretary Enrique Manalo (left) and former assistant secretary David Stilwell jointly led their respective delegations in the eighth PhIlippine-US Bilateral Strategic Dialogue.

South Korea, GGGI, devt partners urge agri value-chain innovation D

EVELOPMENT partners and sectoral players, led by the South Korean Embassy, called for collaborative efforts to address the Philippines’s pressing issues in agriculture.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) local office jointly hosted the climate-talk webinar series: “Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agribusiness: MSMEs and Value Chain Innovation in the Philippines.”

Industry leaders from the public and private sectors, as well as domestic and international organizations—including the Department of Trade and Industry, the World Bank, the United States Embassy in the Philippines, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), and Nestlé Philippines participated in the recent virtual meeting. “[The series was] designed to build a closer coordinating platform, which will accelerate climate actions among development partners,” said Lee Kyoo-ho, the embassy’s consul general.

The discussion addressed major issues in terms of employment, poverty reduction—particularly in the context of the pandemic, as well as climate-change adaptation and mitigation.

According to the embassy, 24.8 percent of total national employment in the country—equivalent to

9.75 million Filipinos—is anchored in the agriculture sector, which contributes only 10 percent to the local gross development product.

Likewise, the value of agricultural production declined by 1.2 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Majority of the poor, moreover, are found in rural areas where agriculture is the dominant source of livelihood. Farmers are also improperly compensated in the value chain.

“There is a need to forge a partnership to support…innovation and upgrading of agriculture-value chains toward resiliency, sustainability and digital transformation,” highlighted Trade Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona.

KOICA Country Director Hwang Jae-sang shared the grant-program agency’s current value chain-focused project collaborated with GGGI in Oriental Mindoro, which “provides direct investment and technical support to…agri-[micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as farmers living below the poverty line. It also] develops an online tool that will provide an analytic and objective basis for planning, in relation to climate vulnerability and risk for the agriculture sector.”

PBSP Executive Director Elvin Uy also noted the key role of a convenor, influencer and implementer who can quickly respond to the needs of marginalized groups in the said industry.

According to Climate Watch, the local agricultural front accounts for

26 percent of the country’s greenhouse-gas emission. It is included as one of the main sectors in the Philippines’s nationally determined contribution submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Ryan Bedford, acting agricultural counselor for the US Embassy, highlighted his government’s efforts on the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate initiative.

He also introduced innovative approaches applicable locally, such as an artificial intelligence-based app which can diagnose crop diseases for banana farmers.

Angel Bautista, corporate affairs executive for Nestlé Philippines, presented the company’s pledges to achieve “Net Zero” by 2050 through three impact areas: responsible ingredient sourcing, transforming of operations, and shaping a wastefree future. She also shared the “Nescafe Plan”—the flagship initiative on rural development which has trained more than 8,000 farmers since 2012.

In terms of climate impact, the agriculture sector is the most vulnerable in the Philippines, which has faced frequent typhoons, floods, and drought. According to one research, the annual net-welfare loss of the sector due to the climate crisis is $64 million per year, based on the International Food Policy Research Institute. Thus, the enhancement of adaptive capacity is important to prevent the exacerbation of risks.

Eli Weiss, World Bank Philippines senior agriculture economist, shared the experience of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP)—the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) flagship project with national-level financing of $850 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The program is dedicated to science-based planning based on vulnerability analysis, infrastructure development, and enterprise development.

Weiss stated the “DA-PRDP takes [on a holistic approach in promoting sustainable and equitable growth in productivity, as well as the] income of farmers and fisherfolks responsive to climate impact.”

Finally, Kim Ju-hern, GGGI’s country representative who moderated the session, added “there is still untapped opportunity in the sector…related to agri-tech innovation and green entrepreneurship acceleration ecosystem, which can mobilize private-sector investment.”

“Development partners and private sectors need to further collaborate to design bankable projects in the [agriculture sector, which will create a bigger impact to address… economic, social and environmental issues surrounding it],” said Lee. The participants agreed that well-crafted government policies, together with catalytic investments from donors and private entities, can accelerate the sustainable transition of Philippine agriculture.

DTI-BITR, BMWi deliberate future of PHL-Germany trade, investments

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ART of the culmination of last year’s Joint Economic Commission (JEC), the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of International Trade Relations (DTI-BITR) Director Angelo Benedictos as well as the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) Deputy Director-General Dr. Andreas Nicolin discussed in mid-October the Philippine economic recovery—including future trade and investment activities where Germany can participate in.

“We are pleased to be involved in activities... [promoting business relations betweenourcountries],”saidGerman-PhilippineChamberofCommerceandIndustry (GPCCI) Executive Director Christopher Zimmer. “Despite several uncertainties brought by the pandemic and imminent political changes for [Germany and the Philippines],wetrust...themeetinghasfurther encouraged both sides to continue key

dialogues on trade agreements, as well as exchange important updates on economic reforms [helping foster prospective investment efforts].”

In the meeting, GPCCI Deputy ExecutiveDirectorCharlotteBandelowpresented the position of the private sector and the interventions of the chamber in different economic reform measures, as well as provided inputs on various topics from the recentAHKWorldBusinessOutlookSurveys.

Germany is the top trading partner of the Philippines in the European Union, with a total trade volume of €5.3 billion in 2020, according to Außenhandel 2020, Statistisches Bundesamt.

The inaugural JEC meeting was held in September 2020 organized by DTI, BMWi, the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, the AsiaPacific Committee of German Business, together with the German Asia-Pacific Business Association and GPCCI.

Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City handed souvenir items such as a Dagoy doll and hablon to Ambassador Laure Beaufils of the United Kingdom during her recent courtesy call to the Visayan capital. ARNOLD ALMACEN

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL, Holy See to mark 70 years of diplomatic ties

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HE Holy See and the Republic of the Philippines are set to celebrate seven decades of diplomatic ties this year.

One of the activities for this milestone is a virtual lecture: “An Overview of the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Holy See and the Philippines,” organized by the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila in collaboration with the University of Santo Tomas. It will be livestreamed via UST’s official YouTube channel and Facebook page on November 18 at 3:45 p.m.

Delivering the lecture is Fr. Nestor Impelido, SDB, who teaches Church History at the Don Bosco School of Theology, and concurrently serves as the Archivist of the Salesian of Don Bosco Archives.

This webinar will feature messages from Holy See Secretary for Relations with States Most Rev. Paul Gallagher, DD; Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr.; Archbishop Charles John Brown, DD—the apostolic nuncio to the Philippines and dean of the Diplomatic Corps; as well as UST Rector Very Rev. Fr. Richard G. Ang, OP, PhD. Most Rev. Julito Cortes, DD, who

is the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Church Cultural Heritage chairman and bishop of Dumaguete, as well as UST’s Secretary-General and Asst. Archivist Rev. Fr. Louie R. Coronel OP, EHL will serve as members of the panel of reactors.

As the nation with the largest Catholic population in Asia, the Philippines has maintained diplomatic relations with the Holy See in high regard. Key moments in their 70-year-long joint history include four papal visits: first by Pope Paul VI in 1970; then-pope and now canonized John Paul II in 1981 and 1995; and most recently, Pope Francis in 2015. UST, as the Pontifical and Royal University and the Catholic University of the Philippines, has hosted Eucharistic Celebrations or encounters with the youth on campus in each of the Roman pontiffs’ pastoral and state visits.

Diplomatic ties between the Holy See and the Philippines began on April 8, 1951. The 70th anniversary coincides with the 500th year of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines—a country where more than 80 percent of its population profess the Catholic faith. Filipinos are recognized as the third-largest Catholic population in the world.

Switzerland, partners revive ‘Angels for Angels’ this Xmas

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HE Swiss Embassy in Manila, in partnership with SM Supermalls and the Samahan ng mga Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunlaran (SPARK Philippines), recently banded together for a solidarity-action effort amid the ongoing pandemic.

Started by the Embassy of Switzerland in the Philippines in 2020, “Angels for Angels” is geared toward women empowerment, livelihood, and nutrition. Now in its second year, the effort continues to work with various women-communities around the country to produce sustainable Christmas ornaments.

“We wanted to build on the experience of supporting a communit y, simi lar to our work with the Negrense Volunteers for Change [NVC],” Ambassador Alain Gaschen shared. “[We] are now working with and supporting seven different communities... producing their own angels made from different sources.”

NVC is once again a beneficiary of the project, along with womencommunities from Quezon City, Taguig City and Pasig City, as well as Cebu province and the Bicol Region, plus HABI, or the Philippine Textile Council. Each community, aside from having its own kind of “angels” made from their native materials, also has a unique identity that brings its members together.

For one, 75 persons deprived of liberty from the Quezon City Female Jail Dorm worked together to craft beautiful angels using red eco bag cloths, black garters, cardboards, silver metallic foils and gold glitters. Each is priced at P100.

“More than showcasing the creativity and skill of these communities, ‘Angels for Angels’ aims to provide another source of income to their members, as proceeds from the sale of these ornaments go directly back to the producers themselves,” Gaschen explained.

“Now more than ever, we have seen [the way] the pandemic can affect jobs and livelihoods; thus, for some, this effort serves as sort of a lifeline.”

He added that funds raised by the action will also help finance children’s nutrition projects by World Vision. SPARK Phils. is likewise a vital partner of the embassy in mounting this effort, having connected the organizations to the Swiss representation.

A SAMPLE of angels produced by womencommunities, with each made from locally sourced sustainable materials.

“We can all agree that 2021 has [so far been] challenging and unpredictable, more so for women who bore the brunt of the pandemic. This holiday season is a time to provide women and children in need an opportunity to feel the care and generosity of the community,” said SPARK Philippines Executive Director Maica Teves. “We...support the ‘Angels for Angels’ initiative, which not only reminds us to take care of our planet but at the same time, empower women.”

Sustainability is another key theme of the project, which is not only limited to the materials utilized, but also extends to the way the “angels” may be purchased by the general public. Recognizing their nationwide presence, the embassy is working with seven SM Supermalls: Megamall, Mall of Asia, Aura, The Podium, Seaside City, and Lanang Premier to help make the craftworks more accessible. Ornaments made by the community closest to the mall are also brought closer to interested buyers who can use SM’s “Call to Deliver” platform to purchase the beautiful creations.

Angels may also be bought online via Lazada, but the final design to be delivered to buyers will be random in design to evenly distribute all the ornaments produced by the women-communities.

Gaschen concluded that “Angels for Angels” is envisioned to be a source of hope in these unclear times: “Solidarity has always been a Swiss value that we continue to embody, and we hope that this undertaking could serve as a bright light to those who need it this Christmas season.”

Parentlife BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, November 18, 2021

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How parents can foster ‘positive creativity’ in kids to make the world a better place ‘TIS THE SEASON TO SHARE

SHOPPERS can play Santa to less fortunate kids this Christmas with The SM Store and Toy Kingdom’s Share a Toy project, ongoing until December 31.

Share a Toy booths with bag of toys, play sets, educational board games and novelty will be set up in all The SM Store and Toy Kingdom branches nationwide.

Here, shoppers will have the chance to bring and donate pre-loved or brand-new toys that they can purchase from The SM Store’s Toy Express and Toy Kingdom.

They will be entitled to a P100 discount coupon for every item donated, which can be redeemed on a minimum single-receipt purchase worth P1,000.

These toys will be donated to thousands of less fortunate children from The SM Store and SM Foundation’s partner organization within the branch vicinities. These include organizations catering to kids 10 years old and below, schools, socio-civic and government organizations and NGOs. Through the Share A Toy campaign under the SM Share Movement, The SM Store and its loyal customers join together to celebrate the holiday season with a generous heart and bringing smiles to children to nurtue happiness and hope in them even amid pandemic. Other SM Store campaigns like Donate a Book and Share a Gift have received overwhelming support from customers.

Share A Toy purchases and donations are valid with in-store and Call To Deliver transactions. More information is available at www.thesmstore.com.

LITTLE boys from Looc Elementary School in Batangas happily raise their new plush toys.

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BY SAREH KARAMI Mississippi State University

REATIVITY involves the production of ideas that are both new and also useful or effective. This definition makes it sound as though creativity is quite positive. And often it is. During the pandemic, creativity gave birth to new ways to work, attend school, tour museums, experience concerts and more—not to mention to develop vaccines and cutting-edge Covid-19 treatments.

As university professors who have collectively studied creativity for over 50 years, we know the many personal and social benefits of creativity. But we also know that there is a dark side of creativity, too.

Cybercriminals, for example, used their creativity to take advantage of the disruption and fears caused by the pandemic to attack countries, businesses and institutions, and steal personal information from people. Or think about how hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin were promoted as Covid-19 treatments.

Some people gained something from these novel treatment ideas—perhaps money, power or the prospect of reelection—but the drugs had no empirical support and people who took them may have bypassed drugs that could have actually helped them.

The point is, creativity is not always socially desirable. So, merely teaching kids to be creative does not cut it in the modern age. Here, we offer tips for parents and caregivers on how to minimize the negative forms of creativity in children—and themselves—and foster positive creativity instead.

1. IDENTIFY THE PURPOSE OF A NEW PRODUCT OR IDEA. Discuss with children the objectives of innovations—their own or ones they use in everday life. Assess the objectives not only for novelty and usefulness or meaningfulness, but also for how they contribute to the common good. Like criminal hacking, creativity can be used to benefit the inventor but harm other individuals. Hacking itself is not bad unless done with the wrong intention. Ethical hackers use their creativity to help companies locate weaknesses and vulnerabilities of their information systems by using the same skills and tactics of criminal hackers.

Encourage kids to think about what the common good is—not just what’s good for the members of one’s own team—and how to reach it. These discussions apply to the projects or activities that kids are involved in, too. How will the project contribute, even in a small way, to a better world? For example, if the child is writing a short story for a class in school, might there be a beneficial lesson in the short story that readers could take away.

2. PROBE FOR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. Discuss different ways people can use a product or idea. Most ideas or products can be used in a positive way at one time or in one place but have a negative effect in another. Or it may be some of each at any given time. For example, social-media outlets allow for communication, connection and community-building in a way that was never possible before their advent. But people can also use social media to spread misinformation and hate.

3. THINK LONG-TERM, TOO. Discuss both short-term and long-term consequences of creative products and ideas. When plastics were first invented over a century ago, they were seen as miracle products for their strength, flexibility, durability and insulation. Today, however, much of that plastic is used once and thrown away. Plastics that don’t biodegrade break down into small pieces that can be toxic and ruin ecosystems.

4. PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF POSITIVE CREATIVITY. Parents and children together can come up with examples of positive creative ideas and projects. Discuss how creators came up with those ideas and how they influenced people’s lives. Compare

examples of positive creators with examples of negative creators. For example, people who specialize in Internet security can use their training either to protect the security of people’s information stored in their computers or to try to access that information to steal the victim’s money or identity.

5. PROMOTE PERSPECTIVE-THINKING AND EMPATHY. There are plenty of books and other creative activities for children that aim to promote empathy and perspective-taking along with creativity. Creative empathy involves feeling as someone else feels whom you do not know or know only vaguely. Creatively taking multiple perspectives means putting yourself in the place of someone— perhaps someone of a different culture, race or ethnic group, or simply someone you do not know—and asking why they may see a problem, such as of racism, differently from the way you see it. Role-playing is a great way to teach these skills, as it involves actively embracing a role rather than just passively reading about it.

We believe the best future for the world lies not with those who are merely creative, but rather with those who are positively creative. THE CONVERSATION

Take the natural route for oral care

SHOPPERS at The SM Store and Toy Kingdom can play Santa to less fortunate children this Christmas through its Share A Toy campaign ongoing until December 31.

IF we are careful about the products we apply to our skin, we should be more mindful about the oral care products we use. Toothpaste and mouthwash are products we could swallow accidentally so we need to be aware of the ingredients used in these products.

Switching to a natural toothpaste, natural toothbrush and other complementary products is a good way to update your dental care routine.

Going natural is safer and healthier and it’s also kinder to the environment.

A pioneer in natural oral care in European

and Asian countries, SPLAT is finally in the Philippines. The Russian brand provides natural and healthier oral care while saving the environment.

SPLAT is a family-owned and -operated company that has grown into a leading global manufacturer of oral care products sold to more than 60 countries, including the Philippines. The company has been recognized by Stanford University as among the Top 30 fastest-growing global brands. Every product in the SPLAT range for adults and children has been created

in collaboration with leading dentists and specialized institutions from different parts of the world for highest efficacy. Each one offers solutions to specific oral care concerns.

The brand’s toothpastes, mouthwashes and foams contain natural ingredients, essential oils and medicinal plant extracts in therapeutic dosages. All its products are 100 percent vegan, use plant-based components and are not tested on animals.

In the Philippines, SPLAT is exclusively distributed by ABGPH Corp. and available exclusively at selected Watsons stores.

Family ‘bonding-in-beauty’ time COVID-19 prevention limited many of our skincare appointments for facials and other personal care regimens. In the past, I never gave attention to personal care products. I never even used such products on my face, and would only occasionally visit Facial Care Center. As there was no choice but to handle personal care at home at this time, I began trying products for our family to discover which could provide quality effective care. Below are some of our discoveries: ■ AVEENO BABY DAILY MOISTURE LOTION AND SOOTHING RELIEF CREAM—I discovered that this product is not just for babies but for adults, as well. The Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion is designed to protect and moisturize baby’s sensitive skin for 24 hours.

The whole line is formulated for babies with normal to dry skin. Aveeno (www.aveeno.com.ph) also has more specialized products, like the Soothing Relief Cream that provides rapid soothing relief for baby’s very dry, itchy skin from first use because of its natural colloidal oatmeal plus Portulaca Oleracea Extract formulation.

For babies with signs of Atopic Dermatitis or Eczema, moms’ go-to rescue regimen consists of Aveeno Baby Dermexa Moisturizing Cream, and

the Cleansing Therapy Moisturizing Wash. Both are formulated with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal plus Ceramides that’s clinically proven to relieve skin dryness, itchiness, redness, tightness and flaking.

Both products are awarded with the National Eczema Association Seal of Approval.

■ PIGEON NEWBORN MILD BABY CONDITIONING SHAMPOO AND BODY WASH—My kids have always used Pigeon 2-in-1 Sakura. However, since my kids started doing more sports activities, they have been showering more often. I wanted to have an alternative that was milder. My toddler nephew tried the Newborn Mild earlier this year, so I also tried

it for my kids. I chose it because it is paraben-free, sulphate-free, skin pH-friendly, hypoallergenic, and dermatologically tested. The ingredients of the conditioning shampoo have natural plant extracts of chamomile, rosehip and olive oil, and has a good mild fragrance.

■ CETAPHIL PRO DERMALCONTROL OIL REMOVING FOAM WASH—My daughter is 15 now. She is in her acne period. We have tried a number of products but found that the Cetaphil Pro DermalControl Oil Removing Foam Wash was the most suitable to minimize her breakouts. It is clinically proven to effectively remove oil, impurities, and makeup from oily and acne-prone skin. It has innovative zinc technology that reduces surface oil and shine in acne-prone skin, as well as maintains pH balance for healthier skin.

■ GARNIER VITAMIN C SERUM—I have been watching a lot of K-dramas and always see my favorite actresses Song Hye-kyo and Son Ye-jin apply serum. I recently discovered the Garnier Vitamin C Serum. Since its launch in 2020, it has earned the crown of Most Loved Serum of 2021, awarded by Watson’s Philippines.

I guess there’s a reason why over 100,000 Filipinos have tried this product, dubbing it as the Holy Grail of their skin-care routine. It has 30x vitamin C

concentration of typical vitamin C serums, making it Garnier’s most concentrated formula and giving it the brightening power to fade and lighten dark spots and acne marks in just three days.

It is good that the Garnier Vitamin C Serum is easy to add to skin-care routines and is best used between toner and moisturizer. Many reveal how the lightweight texture and nonsticky formula makes application easy and suitable for both day and night.

Just squeeze a pea-sized amount on your cupped palm and spread it evenly on a cleansed face and neck.

■ L'OCCITANE PURIFYING FRESHNESS SHAMPOO AND SEBAMED ANTI-HAIRLOSS SHAMPOO—For our personal hair care needs, I used to only use a clarifying shampoo brand, but it was discontinued in 2019. I was lucky that during my surprise birthday party last February 2020, a good friend gifted me with L’Occitance Purifying Freshness Shampoo. I love the feel of the peppermint extract on my scalp especially after workout. We have been interchanging this with Sebamed Anti-Hairloss Shampoo. The pH 5.5 promotes the natural barrier function of the scalp’s acid mantle and helps to protect the hair’s structure.

It is good for all hair types and is dermatologically tested, as well.

PHOTO BY CALEB WOODS ON UNSPLASH

B6 Thursday, November 18, 2021

Shop for the holiday with a parcel-lubong from Buyandship PH

Qwote launches first-ever B2B virtual trade show this November

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WOTE, the newest B2B procurement platform in the country, is set to kick off the first and biggest B2B virtual trade show in the Philippines this November.

Qwest 2021 will gather entrepreneurs, business leaders, company decisionmakers and innovators on November 26 to discuss industry insights and explore strategies on how to fast-track the digital transformation journey.

The one-day virtual event will also feature industry experts to talk about key issues and share their experiences on major topics such as business resilience and growth during this global health crisis, digital solutions, data analytics and B2B marketing.

Attendees can connect and interact with other participants anytime during the open networking event through its unique format. Over 50 exhibitors and speakers will have their own virtual booths to showcase their services and meet potential business partners.

“Qwote's mission is to make B2B easy.

With Qwest 2021, we aim to provide a unique virtual experience for companies to learn more about accelerating their digital transformation journeys while sourcing partners to work with amid the challenges and restrictions that we face today," said Qwote Co-Founder and F(DEV) CEO Xavier Marzan.

One of the companies under the start-up portfolio of F(DEV), a leading corporate-backed venture builder in the Philippines, Qwote aids companies by digitalizing business buying workflows, centralizing purchasing records, and making other processes such as e-bidding and item check out much easier and more efficient.

Qwote’s growing market ecosystem now includes more than 700 suppliers and over 30,000 product listings. It supports more than 100+ procurement teams. Brands currently on-boarded as

DON’T miss the first B2B virtual trade show in the country! Register now for free. buyers include EastWest Bank, WalterMart, Republic Cement, and Maxicare, and a whole lot more.

“Entrepreneurs and businesses face numerous considerations from sourcing through delivery, whether it be delivering or procuring a product or service. Qwote makes the entire process much more seamless and efficient. Adding Qwote to our continuously growing start-up portfolio enables us to address clients’ needs in this space while helping them in their digital journey,” said Qwote Co-Founder and COO Ian Sanchez.

Discover, connect and engage at Qwest

QWEST 2021 lets participants touch base with local and international entrepreneurs, the best suppliers nationwide and wellknown industry leaders in a unique virtual setting that simulates real-life trade shows.

Qwest 2021 will run on Gather.Town, a fun and immersive platform designed to enable participants to explore the virtual venue and engage with different groups and booths. This new trade event experience simulates the real-life setup to allow participants to make the most of the conference as they would in a physical event

but safely in the comforts of their homes.

The event will have three main tracks –Discover, Connect and Engage. The Discover track will be about B2B buyer and supplier showcase. Connect will be the networking area while Engage will host live talks and Q&A sessions.

Exhibitors from technology, corporate supplies, IT, manufacturing and logistics industries will showcase their products and services.

Industry experts such as Bain and Company Associate Partner Bennett Aquino, GlobalLinker Co-Founder and CEO Sameer Vakil, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Senior Account Director Elaine Tan, Plug and Play Co-founder Jojo Flores, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Head Of Business Development, Big Data & Analytics, ASEAN Ganamanas Das, Microsoft Customer Success Manager Chester Coronel and Bounceback PH Cofounder Jason Dela Rosa will lead the panel discussions and keynote speeches.

Qwest 2021 is open with limited slots only. Secure your slot now and be part of the first B2B virtual event of the year.

Register for free at https://forms. gle/eq486EFj3q7wVz698. Visit Qwote’s Facebook page and website for more details.

Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence names Las Casas as 2021 Best Historic Hotel in Asia and the Pacific

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AS Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan, is awarded the 2021 Historic Hotels Worldwide Best Historic Hotel in Asia and the Pacific

by Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence.

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is one of more than 300 hotels and resorts worldwide that is recognized by Historic Hotels of Worldwide for preserving and maintaining its historic integrity, architecture and ambiance.

The 2021 Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner was held at The American Club Resort Hotel (1918) in Kohler, Wisconsin on Thursday, November 11.

Awards were presented to recipients before an audience of more than 200 senior management, industry leaders, owners and representatives from the finest historic hotels around the world.

The Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence are presented to historic hotels and hoteliers demonstrating

innovative leadership, stewardship, and contribution to furthering the recognition, preservation, and celebration of these preeminent historic hotels and their histories.

Founder and owner of Las Casas Filipinas, Mr. Jose “Jerry” Acuzar accepted the award through a special video message that was shown during the ceremony.

“It’s incredibly humbling to stand before such an esteemed audience, and receive this prestigious award. From the bottom of my heart, I thank everyone from the Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence Nominations Committee, for recognizing our efforts at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. With all the hardships in our country, it became scarce to give support and importance to heritage and restoration. That’s why we are deeply thankful for this attention,” said Acuzar.

“We are delighted that the efforts of our artisans, carpenters and the people

MR. JOSE “Jerry” Acuzar, founder and owner of Las Casas Filipinas

who supported us are now recognized, especially their skills. None of our accomplishments are possible without the exceptional team behind Las Casas Filipinas and New San Jose Builders, Inc., who built my vision of collecting and restoring these ancestral homes that were in a state of neglect and decay,” he added.

Las Casas Filipinas boasts the timeless elegance of 63 heritage houses and 34 historically significant structures. The restored heritage homes are a distinctive fusion of traditional grandeur and modern influences. Acuzar looked back at his journey in developing the 400-hectare heritage destination that first opened in 2010.

Today, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar serves not only as a heritage and leisure destination but has established itself as a landmark of pride for Filipino heritage and history. Visit https:// lascasasfilipinas.com/

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HRISTMAS is just around the corner, and gifting our loved ones with a parcel-lubong from the brands and stores you love from the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) is now made convenient and hassle-free with Buyandship Philippines.

Buyandship, a Hong Kong-based company established in 2014, provides global shipping services to customers who wish to shop across the UK, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, Canada, and the US with ease and comfort.

Recently launched in the Philippines, Buyandship aims to bring worldwide deals to Filipino customers from the US-based shops they love, such as Walmart, Amazon, Ebay and Etsy, through efficient and affordable delivery services.

Filipinos can now use the Buyandship. ph platform to shop from these stores, have their items shipped via Buyandship location warehouses from 12 locations worldwide and have it delivered right to their doorstep.

Here’s how to shop online for Christmas’ parcel-lubongs from your fave US stores this Black Friday and Cyber Monday with Buyandship.ph: Mark your calendar and set that shopping alarm on these dates in the Philippines.

Celebrate Thanksgiving on the 26th of November by shopping holiday gifts for your family and get Black Friday deals on the 27th for fashion and home brands you loved from Walmart, Anthroplogie and Amazon. On the other hand, Cyber Monday deals on the 30th will let you update to the latest gadget from Apple and Samsung.

Don’t forget the time zones of the shops you love. Have your alarm set on these countries’ time zones to shop from your fave stores in the US and even from the online shops in the UK, Japan, and Australia that

offer Black Friday discounts.

Keep an eye on Flash Deals. Black Friday flash promotions happen a day or two before the holiday, so make sure to buy it quickly and have it shipped to Buyandship location warehouses before it runs out of stock.

Make shopping online a breeze by jotting down your shopping list and creating an account from the online stores you wish to shop. Don't forget to put the nearest Buyandship warehouse address for shipping to get more savings and deals from Buyandship.ph.

Have a Paypal account, or you may use your Credit Card for a hassle-free payment method upon checking out the items on your cart. For Bulk B2B transactions, pay via Virtual cards like GCash Mastercard, GCash AmEx and Paymaya.

Sign up for a Buyandship account now and get more savings and deals this Black Friday.

Shop and ship from US-based online stores such as Amazon, Walmart, Ebay and Etsy. Enjoy up to 90% off discounts this Black Friday deals with BuyandShip Philippines. For more info and online discounts, check out their website at www. buyandship.ph or follow them on Facebook at Buyandship Philippines or on Instagram at Buyandship.ph.

‘FedEx Ship Manager Lite’ adds shipping convenience

WITH FedEx Ship Manager Lite (FSM Lite), customers can conveniently create their shipment’s air waybill and commercial invoice online.

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EDEX Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, recently launched FedEx Ship Manager Lite (FSM Lite), a tool that provides added convenience for customers this holiday season.

FSM Lite is a comprehensive shipping tool which enables non-account holders to easily create their shipment’s air waybill and commercial invoice online. To increase efficiency and accuracy, it can save the recipient’s address, item details, and the sender’s shipment history for succeeding shipments. Customers are assured of a safe,

fast, and convenient transaction that can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

FedEx is offering promotions and discounts as an early Christmas treat to all walk-in customers at FedEx Worldwide Service Centers (WSC) and select SM and 2Go outlets. From November 15 to 30, exclusive FedEx premium items such as face masks and drink pouches will be given away to the first hundred (100) users of FSM Lite with shipments dropped off at any of the WSCs located at the FedEx Zuellig Building, FedEx Manila Gateway, FedEx Berthaphil, Pampanga and the FedEx Clark Gateway.

FedEx is also collaborating with SM to make transactions more rewarding. Walkin customers with an SM Advantage Card (SMAC) will get 15% off on shipments sent through select SM Bill Payment centers in SM Malls, supermarkets, and select 2GO outlets nationwide.

For 37 years, FedEx Express Philippines has remained committed to connecting people and possibilities through seamless transactions and deliveries to over 220 countries and territories around the world. This Christmas, FedEx continues to offer customers the same reliable service it is known for in the busiest and most wonderful time of the year.

PANA announces PANAta Awards 2021 jurors

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HE Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) announces the final list of honorable jurors for the PANAta Awards 2021.

Brand Building experts and industry luminaries make up the PANAta Awards 2021 roster with Arthur Peña, Group Director for Media – Procter and Gamble, heading this year’s jurors. The panel consists of Menlou Bibonia (San Miguel Corp.), Mick Atienza (Smart Communications), Riza Sacay (Pascual Consumer Health), Mike Villa-real (Phil.

Veterans Bank), Elbert de Guzman (STI), Aileen Magdaluyo (URC), Marc San Juan (Julie’s Bakeshop), Gino Borromeo (SM Supermalls) and Mike Tandas (Vouno Trade and Marketing). Robbie Aligada (ASC), Liam Capati (Facebook), Tina Reyes (PSRC), David Guerrero (BBDO), Jos Ortega (Havas Ortega), Jeff Saez (NuWorks), Alvin Carranza (DOOH), Herman Basbaño (Bombo Radyo), Amrei Dizon (Vitalstrats Creative Solutions), Donna Abrina (Ateneo de Davao University) and Tessa Albaña (UP Visayas) also join the roster.

“As we are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and laying the path for recovery, we, the PANAta Awards 2021 jurors, look for the most appropriately creative and effective communication campaign. This year's theme, Hilaraya, which signifies moving forward together with courage toward new realities is a recurring message we have observed in

ARTHUR Peña, Group Director for Media – Procter and Gamble, heading the panel for PANAta Awards 2021. most entries. The brand campaigns reflect a higher purpose such as giving Filipinos hope for a brighter future amid crisis,” shares Arthur Peña.

The PANAta Awards 2021 will go live on December 8, 2021 via PANA Facebook live and PANA Youtube channel and other live stream partner associations. To find out more about the event, visit https://pana.com.ph/.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

PGH ready for next pandemic–Legaspi

By Rory Visco Contributor

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he medical care system was the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hospitals in the Philippines suddenly grew ill as they had to deal with the huge number of people with Covid-19 brought to them daily. With the constant influx of Covid-19 patients, they became worried about how to take care of the non-Covid-19 ones as well.

The non-Covid patients themselves became anxious. How will they go to the hospital for treatment or consult their doctor without getting Covid-19?

The hospital in the limelight last year was the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila. When it was chosen as one of the country’s Covid-19 referral hospitals last March 2020, it was unprepared to deal with Covid-19.

During the most recent webinar organized by the University of the Philippines titled “Hospital Design: Nakakatulong ba sa Pandemya,” under its “Stop: Covid Deaths” series, Dr. Gerardo “Gap” Legaspi, PGH Director, said they now intend to use their experience with Covid-19 as preparation for future pandemics.

Effective response

He credited the PGH personnel at that time for their able handling of the hospital’s operations. Looking back, Dr. Legaspi said for a hospital to effectively respond to a pandemic like

Covid-19, special attention should be given to infrastructure elements.

The most important part was ventilation, since the PGH is a nonairconditioned facility. The PGH has high ceilings and big windows. They had only seven days to prepare the wards so they knocked on the doors of exhaust fan makers to supply PGH with almost 250 fans.

Together with architects and engineers, they studied the airflow design to optimize the air flow as it passes through the wards. They came up with the “unidirectional natural air flow” system where fresh air is sucked from one side. This causes a negative pressure effect, then pushes the air to the other side or upwards, which was done through the fans.

“To know if the air flow is really directed towards the open garden area, we only used strips of tissue paper to show us that windflow to the wards is adequate. We’ve done this since March last year, and it is still operational up to now,” Dr. Legaspi said.

Open spaces

Another element to consider were the open spaces in terms of storing equipment, food, donations, PPEs. He said the PGH was fortunate enough to have a lot of open spaces which they utilized to their advantage. The Atrium, which was built in 2019, became a bike parking area and dropoff point for mostly donated supplies.

“We even used the atrium as venue for our Christmas party last year amid the pandemic that allowed us to enjoy the camaraderie, and vaccination

site as well.”

With regards to isolation, Dr. Legaspi admitted it was all makeshift at the start, mostly plastic and wood.

Now it is all aluminum and glass. As a response to long-term Covid-19, the PGH came up with the “Bayanihan Na! Isolation Unit,” an isolation ward composed of 42 beds, 11 of which are ICU-capable, with a negative pressure ventilation system, and air is Hepa filtered and UV treated. It is separated from the main pavilions to make them Covid-free and with no disruption in operations flow and processes.

Visibility was also increased through windows so doctors can see the patients, limiting PPE use.

Refuge areas

Refuge areas were also provided to deal with health-care workers’ longingness, anxiety, stress, overall mental health. The garden was refurbished with a coffee shop in the middle of the hospital. “This is not something we’ve had in the PGH in the past, but our health-care workers needed intervention, including accommodation facilities.”

Structures are not enough, he said, so the PGH provided a human touch to the refuge areas to make caring for health-care workers complete, from reminders to moisturize after prolonged wearing of face masks, including psychosocial and spiritual/emotional care.

Also in the offing is the construction of a 15-storey multispecialty building designed to be pandemicready, with features that can be ac-

tivated during a pandemic.

Dr. Legaspi also said the PGH came up with a proposal for a Service Delivery Network (SDN) called “One Ward,” a model composed of hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR). The network is composed of a “Command Center” that will dictate which patient goes to what hospital, a link that connects all the hospitals. What will also make the SDN concept work is through common “financing,” an assurance that they will get paid for whatever services they rendered. “ The concept was borne out of the ability of hospitals to commit what type and how many beds they can to a common pool of beds that will be used as a virtual, NCR-wide hospital that will assure patients they have a hospital to go to,” he explained.

Another option is to have an actual hospital facility, where one hospital in the SDN can be closed down completely and turned into a “Mega Cov id Hospital ” to relieve other hospitals of Covid patients so these hospitals can serve the non-Covid ones, with the Mega hospital being provided with pooled resources such as manpower, logistics and training coming from the other hospitals.

“What we learned from this pandemic is that we can never do it alone.

For us to get through this, let’s fight our fears, believe in good science, not put our guard down any time and let us take care of each other. Maybe then, we can be really resilient against anything that comes our way.”

The Medical City secures 6th JCI accreditation amid COVID-19 pandemic

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espite the Covid-19 pandemic, T he Medica l Cit y (TMC) Ortigas submitted itself for assessment and testing by the Joint Commission International (JCI) and subsequently earned its Gold Seal of Approval for a record sixth time.

The Gold Seal of Approval is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. Since its first accreditation in 2006, TMC has been continuously fulfilling and maintaining the required criteria of JCI, the world’s premier health-care quality improvement and accreditation body. With the JCI’s gold seal, each person who comes to TMC is assured of receiving healthcare services that are at par with the best hospitals in the world.

TMC’s Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Program also retains its status as the first of its kind in the Philippines and currently one of only 15 around the world that is certified by JCI. These recent achievements reiterate TMC’s commitment to offer the highest quality care and ensuring utmost safety for patients even in the face of this global health crisis.

“We are indeed proud of this international recognition for the 6th time in a row for our JCI accreditation and for the third time for our Acute Myocardial Infarction Clinical Care Program. And as we celebrate these accomplishments, we remain mindful that we need to maintain our excellent quality of service.

From our mission and vision, the key phrase there is to always keep patients on center stage and to deliver to them service of greater worth— this is what patient partnership is all about,” says Jose Xavier “Eckie” B. Gonzales, TMC Chairman of the Board.

“This JCI Seal of Quality & Safety is a reflection of the level of professionalism, service, and leadership mindset our team has achieved over the years—a culture of excellence that is a cut above the rest and is getting better as the years pass,” says Dr. Eugenio Jose F. Ramos, TMC President and CEO. “Our shared vision and collective collaboration have led us to where we are now. Regardless of the exigencies of the times, our grit and resilience keep us ahead; we have proven that to ourselves, particularly in this global pandemic,” adds Dr. Ramos.

not only involve a rapid response and nationally recognized expertise but also advanced treatment options, specialized nursing care, cardiac rehabilitation, and comprehensive lifestyle modification program.

TMC’s AMI Program targets rapid reperfusion which means that a heart attack patient who walks through the doors of the hospital’s Emergency Department should have the blocked coronary artery opened in the Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab) within 60 minutes.

TMC received its first certification for its AMI Program in 2015 and was re-certified in October 2018.

Lilibeth Manlulu, TMC-JCI Survey Coordinator and Department Head of Medical Continuous Improvement Hub, hands over the final survey report for TMC’s 6th JCI accreditation to TMC President and CEO Dr. Eugenio Jose F. Ramos and Assistant Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ruben G. Kasala. On background are the five JCI certificates since 2006.

From this unprecedented crisis and with Covid-19 posing challenges in health-care service delivery emerged an inspired and undaunted response from TMC. TMC has boosted its processes and implemented initiatives to adapt to the new normal as it continues to ensure adherence to the strictest standards of quality and safety.

Notwithstanding the pandemic and under severe limitations, Dr. Ramos says The Medical City has coped, survived, and continued to deliver quality care and safety measures to its patients. With the same vigor it had during preparations for previous accreditations, TMC braced for the tedious JCI virtual survey which took place last October 11 to 14.

JCI has started conducting most surveys as either a hybrid or a virtual survey due to continued travel restrictions and the fluid nature of Covid-19 in general. The virtual survey which was utilized during TMC’s reaccreditation process proved to be just as effective as it maintained the same rigor as a JCI on-site survey.

During the virtual sur vey, a tea m of JC I e x per t su r ve yors evaluated TMC’s compliance with hospital standards under the updated 7th edition which has now expanded to 13 chapters, 282 standards, and 1,200 measurable elements related to a variety of areas.

As part of the accreditation program, every three years JCI re-evaluates the hospital against the JCI standards. This involves a comprehensive inspection of the facility, review of practices, processes and procedures,

interviews, and examination of records for evidence of sustained compliance and improvement.

Specific enhancements in the 7th edition of the JCI Accreditation Standards for Hospitals include new or revised standards in International Patient Safety Goals, Care of Patients, Prevention and Control of Infections, Facility Management and Safety, and Management of Information Chapters, as well as clarification of sentinel events, adverse events, and near misses.

“This 2021, it would have been acceptable had we decided to postpone the JCI survey because of the 3rd surge of the pandemic, the safety restrictions to movement, plus the fact that we were launching our new Hospital Information System just a few months before the scheduled virtual survey. But we looked outside and into ourselves, and just as we had prevailed over the pandemic chaos, we knew that our team was strong and solid. So we opted to submit ourselves for testing. We never doubted ourselves,” Dr. Ramos remarks.

Re-certification of TMC’s Acute Myocardial Infarction Program

TMC Ortigas recently secured its third JCI certification for its AMI Clinical Care Program following a highly successful virtual assessment last October 18 and 19.

AMI is the medical term for heart attack. The TMC Cardiovascular Institute’s AMI program was established to treat heart attack patients effectively and rapidly. It is a holistic approach to AMI care which does

TMC’s 54 years of service

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the care seeking behavior of patients but The Medical City has set the standards for a two-in-one hospital system that makes it a safe place for all. Its recent accreditation and certification add to the assurance that patients are safe and protected when they are at The Medical City. Thus, there is no reason for them to delay seeking care for their medical concerns, whether Covidrelated or not.

“What a way to celebrate our 54th Anniversary this week, made even richer by the fact that we pursued the JCI survey in the middle of the Covid-19 global pandemic,” adds Dr. Ramos.

Formerly known as ABM Sison Hospital, The Medical City was established in October 1967 as a tertiary doctor-owned hospital in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.

In June 2004, the hospital moved to its current location, a 1.5 hectare lot along Ortigas Avenue. Merely two years after its transfer to its Ortigas home, TMC submitted itself to the rigorous review and accreditation process of the JCI. Joint Commission International (JCI) was established in 1997 as a division of Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a wholly controlled, not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Through international accreditation, consultation, publications, and education programs, JCI extends The Joint Commission’s mission worldwide by helping to improve the quality of patient care. JCI assists international health-care organizations, public health agencies, health ministries and others in more than 100 countries.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 B7

Pharma launches ‘Kidney Patrol’ to fight against kidney disease

By Claudeth Mocon Ciriaco

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iabetes continues to be one of the leading causes of death among Filipinos, and is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the Philippines.

In addition to diabetes, multiple factors that contribute to the progression of kidney diseases include age, obesity, and smoking.

During a public briefing for World Diabetes Day, AstraZeneca emphasized the importance of understanding the causal link between diabetes and CKD, as well as the importance of seeking medical care for early detection and management. The presence of high blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes increases the risk of damaging vital organs, including the kidneys. This may cause CKD, which may progress to kidney failure.

“One Filipino will develop CKD every hour, adding to over two million Filipinos who already have this disease. Most Filipinos will not know that they already have kidney problems until it’s already too late.

CKD is deadly, but it’s not completely unstoppable,” said Dr. Carlo Trinidad, a nephrologist.

Complications

Dr. Trinidad said that the many complications and deaths can be prevented with “early screening, regular checkups and a healthy lifestyle can win us the battle against CKD before it has even started.”

Global data from AstraZeneca found that the majority of patients with CKD are not aware of their condition, as most do not show any symptoms, resulting in kidney failure, advancing to dialysis and rising death rates.

It is estimated that around 76 percent of patients with CKD are undiagnosed.

Unfortunately, the Philippines is not an exception as data from the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) showed that diabetes is the top cause of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) among Filipinos.

ESRD is a condition where the kidneys can no longer function on their own. This resulted in increased prevalence of dialysis and the need for kidney transplantation.

According to the Philippine Renal Disease Registry (PRDR), 41.6 percent of new dialysis

patients in the Philippines suffered from diabetic kidney disease in 2017. The burden of CKD affects the patients, the family and community—from loss of productivity, poor quality of life to significant healthcare expenditure from the government

Kidney patrol

To address the unmet need of alleviating the possible financial and mortality burden on CKD patients, AstraZeneca Philippines has launched an advocacy campaign called the Kidney Patrol.

The three-pronged approach of the campaign includes increasing access to CKD screening with partner medical societies, building capacity for physicians through continuing medical education on early detection and management, as well as providing reliable information on social media for the general public.

Through these three key initiatives, Kidney Patrol will also seek to help identify more undiagnosed patients who are at risk of CKD to be able to address them early and delay progression to dialysis and other complications.

Patient centered

A testament to AstraZeneca’s patient-centered philosophy, Kidney Patrol is one of the many initiatives beyond the Covid-19 vaccine that tackles the holistic healthcare needs of Filipinos— from diagnosis to treatment— across AstraZeneca’s multiple therapy areas.

“AstraZeneca is committed to provide support in improving health-care of Filipinos.

This Kidney Patrol initiative will help increase early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) through expanded screening programs, transform management through continuing medical education of health-care professionals and raise awareness about the disease burden through var ious channels,” shares Lotis Ramin, country president of AstraZeneca Philippines.

The Kidney Patrol advocacy campaign is provided by AstraZeneca Philippines as a service to patients and there is no intent to replace the advice of a healthcare professional. Patients should not self-medicate and should consult their physicians regarding their condition and treatment.

Tap locally made syringes to address supply shortfall–Bongbong Marcos

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residential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. urged the government to prioritize the use of locally made syringes to address the supply shortage that threatens to impede the country’s vaccination program.

The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer said there is a need to address the problem as the government is now getting closer to its goal of inoculating 50 percent of the Filipinos by the end of the year.

“We are doing well in the vaccination program but we might encounter problems because of a shortage of syringes. We have to solve this problem soon because it involves the health of the Filipino people,” Marcos said.

The Department of Health (DOH) said there is already a global shortfall in syringe supply, which prompted them to use an alternative needle. That syringe was initially intended to test patients for tuberculosis but is now being used for the mRNA vaccines, specifically Pfizer and Moderna.

Marcos added that it would be better if the national government procured the syringe from the local manufacturers instead of letting LGUS source it.

He added supporting local manufacturers of medical supplies would create more jobs and help stimulate economic recovery.

Marcos also said sourcing the syringes locally will ensure consistent supply and replenishment since the country will not rely on outside sources that may be affected by global supply chain issues.

“It is important that we support our own and that our supply of syringes will arrive. We have to support our own so that we will be able to give employment opportunities to the Filipino people,” the presidential aspirant said.

As of now, there are only three local manufacturers of syringes in the country, which is why Marcos said there is also a need to establish start-up companies that will help develop local production.

The National Task Force A ga i n st Cov id-19 sa id t he country has already received a total of 123,258,340 Covid-19 vaccine doses since February.

Of this number, 69,713, 994 were already administered to Filipinos.

“We have to work closely so that we will be able to rise from this pandemic,” he said.

Sports

Panlilio targets ‘Fiba 2023 World Cup to remember’

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HE Philippine hosting of the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) 2023 World Cup are a good two years away but Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio aims for a Philippine edition to remember.

“I hope we do an excellent job in hosting a championship that will be remembered by the Fiba,” Panlilio, president and CEO of PLDT and Smart, said. “Hopefully, based on research, the biggest crowd in a Fiba game is 35,000 to 36,000. So if we’ll have 55,000, it will be a record.”

Panlilio is referring to the 55,000 seat Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, where the SBP intends to hold the post-group stage games—the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

The 2023 World Cup is scheduled from August 5 to September 10 in 2023 with Japan and Indonesia as co-hosts.

Panlilio said he is hopeful that the world could have recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic within two years and that sports venues would be allowed to accommodate fans at 100 percent capacity.

The other Philippine venues are the Smart Araneta Coliseum (16,500 seats) and Mall of Asia Arena (15,000 seats).

“Do you follow the National Basketball Association? Do you watch baseball games? Do you watch F1 races? People are no longer wearing masks,” Panlilio said, referring to the major leagues and sports events in the US. “Everybody’s an expert in basketball, they know that the quality of the games are very high.

It’s going to be a different level of basketball.”

The top 32 teams in the world are playing in the World Cup with the Philippines hosting 16 countries in the group stage and Okinawa and Jakarta hosting eight nations each. After the group stage, the tournament will be concentrated in the Philippines.

Panlilio, also the First Vice President of the Philippine Olympic Committee, said a 500-day countdown will start in March 23 next year. Josef Ramos SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio wants a best-ever hosting of the World Cup in 2023.

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| Thursday, November 18, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

COLLEGE LEAGUES PREFER ‘BUBBLE’

By Josef Ramos

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HE country’s top collegiate leagues are bound to send their varsity athletes back to face-to-face training but aren’t about to open their doors wide open despite the significant easing of health and safety protocols.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Wednesday approved the requests of colleges and universities for their athletes to return to the gym, a welcome development as Metro Manila and most of the country are down to Alert Level 2 in safety protocols.

But both the National Collegiate Athletic Association and University Athletic Association of the Philippines are adamant about open training and competition.

“As of now, the safest way to do it is inside the bubble and then follow health and safety protocols,” said College of Saint Benilde’s Dax Castellano,

management committee chairman of NCAA Season 97. “It’s still the ideal setup, whether it’s a pure bubble training or closed-circuit setup to avoid a possible surge.”

“But before resuming bubble training, we have to seek approval from the CHED, sworn statement from the school or a proof that we’ll adhere to all the safety protocols,” Castellano said. “Then you have health

JAMIE LIM scores on counter punch against Russian Alana Kochieva

Lim gets chance for bronze medal

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AMIE LIM stayed in contention for a bronze medal despite losing in the quarterfinals of the women’s – 61 kgs class of kumite on Wednesday in the World Karate Federation (WKF) Senior World Championships at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Lim, one of only four Filipino athletes competing in Dubai, bowed to Ukrainian Anita Serogina, 1-2.

But lucky for her, Serogina beat Canada’s Haya Jumaa by majority decision in the semifinals, giving Lim a shot at the bronze medal in the repechage. The Ukranian was scheduled to face Olympic champion Jovana Prekovic of Serbia in the finals.

Lim was seeded third in repechage where she will face Haya Jumaa in the battle for bronze.

Lim, gold medalist at the 2019

Manila dribblers 1st team in FilBasket semifinals ICC Manila booked a semifinal berth while PasigSta. Lucia forged a do-ordie quarterfinals affair against Nueva Ecija in the FilBasket Subic Championship at the Subic gym Tuesday.

The Manila dribblers trounced MTrans Batangas City, 75-65, to become the first semifinalist in the tournament while the Pasig-Sta. Lucia Realtors routed the Nueva Ecija Bespren, 99-79.

Both AICC Manila and Nueva Ecija enjoy twice-to-beat quarters advantages after finishing the round-robin eliminations at first and fourth places.

Champions League unfurls on Saturday

BusinessMirror

But AICC Manila refused to waste time with Hesed Gabo and Michael Mabulac leading the charge.

Gabo paced with 16 points while Mabulac chipped in 14 points and 11 boards for AICC Manila, who limited MTrans with nine points in the second quarter to pad its 23-21 first-quarter lead to a 39-30 halftime cushion.

Jeff Viernes pumped in 20 points and eight rebounds for eighth-seeded MTrans, but his efforts went futile.

Meanwhile, the fifth-seeded Pasig lived for another day by imposing its might against Nueva Ecija early on with a 25-20 opening-quarter lead.

Nueva Ecija closed the gap in the

Winter Fire MIXED martial arts (MMA) never stops. Or at least it seems that way with Singapore-based mixed martial arts organization ONE Championship.

Still in the thick of the action with its ONE: Next Gen series, where proud Igorot warrior Lito Adiwang is set to face brash and supremely confident Jared “The Monkey God” Brooks on Friday, November 26, ONE is already uncorking an exciting event that will feature not one, not two, not three, but four Team Lakay warriors in one night.

It’s called ONE: Winter Warriors II. To be recorded live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on the first week of December, the world will see this event that is much-awaited by Lakay fans and Filipino MMA enthusiasts on December 17.

Pinoy MMA superstars Kevin “The Silencer “Belingon”

last 6:01 of the second period after James Martinez completed a threepoint play, 33-all, but Jeckster Apinan led Pasig-Sta. Lucia’s assault to regain the 51-45 upperhand at the half.

Six players scored in double digits for the Realtors with Justin Arana erupting for 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Ryan Costelo chipping in 16 points, six boards and nine assists.

Cedrick Ablaza added 13 points, Jerald Bautista and Apinan had 12 points each, and Rudy Lingganay posted 10 points.

The do-or-die match will be on Thursday.

and Danny “The King” Kingad are making their respective comebacks in the ONE Circle. Young Lakay warriors Stephen Loman and Jhanlo Sangiao are going to have their baptism of fireworks in ONE. Former undisputed ONE bantamweight world champion Belingon last saw action in October 2020 against hardhitting Brazilian John Lineker. Lineker took out Belingon in that one with a second-round stoppage, starting with a crunchy left jab, followed by a right uppercut and more punishing lefts to end it all at the 1:16 mark.

Since then the fast and ferocious Belingon—former undisputed ONE bantamweight world champion— has not seen action. But this time he’s back and still ranked No. 2 in the same division. He will face South Korea’s “Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il, a dangerous striker who scored a first-round knockout on Indonesian star Anthony Engelen when he debuted in the circle. It will be striker vs. striker, and the action is expected to be furious. (“It may be bloody,” cautioned Coach Mark Sangiao in a media availability of the four Lakay.)

Also making his comeback in ONE is former ONE flyweight world title challenger and current No. 2-ranked flyweight Danny Kingad. Last seen inside the Circle in January 2020, Kingad’s last fight was against Chinese heavy-hitter Xie Wei, called “The Hunter” in ONE: Fire and Fury. Kingad showed why he’s called “The King” after applying superior grappling skills to the Chinese striker.

In Winter Warriors Kingad will face former flyweight king Kairat Akhmetov of Kazahkstan, now fourth-ranked flyweight and a Graeco-Roman wrestling expert. Kingad has long been waiting for this opportunity. If he wins, he could

T DE VERA

declaration forms and you have to write the local government unit where you’ll be resuming training.”

The NCAA, Castellano said, sees a February opening of it’s 97th season but only basketball, volleyball and online chess and taekwondo will be played.

“The other sports will be played perhaps in 2023,” he said. The NCAA has 11 sports in its annual program before the pandemic struck.

Adamson University athletic director Fr. Aldrin Suan, CM, also welcomed the CHED approval as he bared the UAAP’s plan to also open in February but only in men’s basketball, women’s volleyball and cheerdancing.

“It’s a good development for collegiate sports,” said Suan.

“But we will be in bubble training too and during the competition, but it may change depending on the situation.”

He said CHED representatives will visit the university on Thursday morning to inspect their venues.

CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera III told BusinessMirror also on Wednesday that the commission’s decision to allow face-to-face training was in response to the request of colleges and universities who stressed the pace of vaccination especially in Metro Manila is reaching full level.

“What I was told by UAAP and NCAA is that they will be starting training by December in basketball and volleyball,” de Vera said. “But it is up to them when and where to hold their respective training and competitions.

De Vera said the schools must establish health and hygiene protocols that include keeping a monitoring log book, providing personal hygiene kits and following a regular disinfection schedule.

The Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee stood on the same page in allowing national athletes to train face-toface, while the Philippine Basketball Association hinted at returning to Metro Manila and allowing fans to watch the games live in the forthcoming Governors’ Cup.

Southeast Asian Games, defeated Alana Kochieva of Russia, 4-2, in the opening round and Japanese Sarara Shimada of Japan by majority decision in the second round and Laura Sivert of France in the third round.

Despite falling short of the gold medal, Karate Pilipinas President Ricky Lim was satisfied with Lim’s performance.

“I am super happy because this is her first time to compete on the world stage and she surpassed four rounds,” Ricky Lim said in a

message. “Plus a fact now that her Ukrainian rival, a Tokyo Olympian, won her seminal match, Jamie has a chance for the bronze.”

Junna Tsukii, also a gold medalist in the 2019 SEA Games, was scheduled to face Sara Radicevska of North Macedonia in the preliminaries of the -50 kg division later on Wednesday.

The kata competitions are set on Thursday with Joco Vasquez taking the mat at 9 a.m. (Dubai time) and Sarah Pangilinan at 1:30 p.m.

Josef Ramos

2-LEG RIVIERA SWING UP O

NE year after the first restart following an eight-month hiatus due to pandemic, the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) returns to Riviera for another twoleg swing starting next week with a promise of a tight, fierce title chase that has marked the circuit’s third resumption in Cavite and Tagaytay a couple of weeks back.

Harmie Constantino and Sunshine Baraquiel, who pulled through in scrambling fashions at Eagle Ridge-Aoki and Highlands, respectively, top-bill the cast in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Riviera Ladies Challenge from November 24 to 26 at the Couples course and in the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship from December 1 to 3 at the adjacent Langer layout with a slew of others beefing up the cast that has stepped up its buildup for the two of the last three events the organizing Pilipinas

Golf Tournaments, Inc. has lined up for the touring ladies for the rest of the season.

The circuit will head back to Tagaytay for the ICTSI Midlands Ladies Classic from December 14 to 16.

Constantino, who marked her pro debut with a victory over multititled Princess Superal at Aoki last March, made a triumphant return to one of Eagle Ridge’s four championship courses by outduelling amateur Mafy Singson in the stretch on her way to a one-stroke victory.

But the former national champion, along with the rest of the field, succumbed to Tagaytay Highlands’ harsh challenges although one player stood out in the end of a punishing week to accomplish a personal mission.

well be up for another challenger role in the division. As No. 2, who else is there to fight but No.1?

MMA fans, however, are hardly breathing until they see the two new Lakay lads put on their show inside the Circle, even as they avidly cheer on vets Kingad and Belingon in their respective battles..

Former bantamweight champion Stephen Loman (142), nicknamed “The Sniper” is a young gun in his prime.

Playing in the Middle East in Brave, he beat Gurdashan “Saint Lion” Mangal to win the Brave CF Bantamweight Championship in Bahrain in 2017 and succeeded at defending it four times. Now after a long wait, Loman’s promotional debut in ONE is finally here and his first assignment is No. 3-ranked Russian bantamweight Yusup Saadulaev, a dangerous grappler.

Loman is confident he will fare well playing Saadulaev’s game. “I want to take my opponents down,” he says, departing from the prevailing image of Lakay fighters as expert strikers whose weak spot is their ground game. Loman believes he can do the grind on the ground as well if not better than the next man “I can take my opponents down, I also have my defense and offense in wrestling. I am confident about my basic knowledge on the ground.”

He has always wanted to go up against the contenders,” he says, “so I can test and also showcase my skills.” I am confident about my skills,” he adds, showing the confidence and desire to unleash his warrior spirit on the global stage. “I have been looking forward to this (first fight) for a long, long time.”

Also in the Winter Warriors mix is the son of Team

HE country’s first-ever volleyball Champions League kicks off with the women’s tournament on Saturday (November 20) followed by the men’s contest a week after at the Aquamarine Recreational Center gym in Lipa City, Batangas.

The Champions League is the only national sports association-organized league during the Covid-19 pandemic outside of the professional basketball tournaments.

Six clubs are competing in the six-day, single-round robin women’s side that will be staged in a bubble setup, according to the organizing Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF).

PetroGazz will test the mettle of Baguio City at 10 a.m., while F2 Logistics will take on California Precision Sports at 1:30 p.m.

Chery Tiggo and Tuguegarao Perlas Spikers cap the opening day tripleheader at 4 p.m.

There will be three games every day until November 25. The team with the most number of victories will claim the bragging rights as the first-ever title holder in the Champions League.

“This is the first time that the country is staging its Champions League, which is a staple among members of the International Volleyball Federation or FIVB,” PNVF Ramon “Tats” Suzara said. “And we’re glad that health protocols have eased and we have a very cooperative local government unit in Lipa City.”

The men’s Champions League will start on November 29 with a threematch schedule featuring Go for Gold-Air Force against VNS, Sabong International Spikers against MRTNegros and Global Remit against Team Dasma Monarchs.

The men’s contest will use the same format as the women’s competition. The bulk of the PNVF delegation entered the bubble on Wednesday morning, while the teams will arrive in batches starting on Thursday afternoon.

All participants—players, coaches, team managers, officials, media and other personnel—are fully vacinnated and were made to undergo PCR tests before entering the bubble.

Everyone will also be Antigen tested before entering the bubble.

The PNVF Champions League has Rebisco, Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Pitmaster Foundation Inc., Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors and F2 Logistics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation, Asics, Mikasa, BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Puso Pilipinas and Lipa City as gold sponsors.

The games will be streamed over iWantTFC for local and international audiences, and Smart Sports Facebook pages and YouTube channels.

Details on the Champions League are also available at the PNVF official web site volleyballphilippines.com.

SUNSHINE BARAQUIEL is one of the ladies to watch in the Riviera Ladies Challenge and Ladies Championship.

Lakay Head Coach Mark Sangiao: 19-year old Jhanlo Sangiao, dubbed “The Machine” (or “The Little Machine”) after his father who bannered the same name for his relentless, meticulous and no-retreat, no-surrender style of fighting during his active days as an athlete.

The youngest Lakay will face Indonesian Paul “The Great King” Lumihi. The former featherweight champ, steeped in kung fu, taekwondo, wishu and Muay Thai skills doesn’t faze the eager young warrior though. All set up and ready to go, the younger Sangiao admits he is a bit kinakabahan. “But this is something I have long waited for and something I have trained for ever since I was little. So I am very, very excited.”

“We are the new breed of Lakay,” he explains. “We will do our best to show you what we’ve been working hard on.

We’re not just strikers. We have sharpened our skills and know other fighting styles like jiujitsu, for one.”

He has studied his opponent, he says, and seen that he is weak in his ground game. “I’m just so eager to show what I know, and I believe that up or down, kaya ko siya.”

But I am not underestimating him.”

“Our warriors will be going up against a handful of very tough opponents, so it’s not going to be easy. Rest assured that we are working double time in the gym to produce a favorable outcome. Through our hard work and dedication, we will triumph,” said Jhanlo’s father Mark Sangiao.

Jhanlo chimes in exuberantly from the background.

“Please support our fight,” he tells all the Filipino fans out there. “Watch out because Team Lakay will win,” he adds with brimming, youthful confidence.