BusinessMirror November 19, 2020

FARMERS in Pulilan, Bulacan, salvage what they can of their rice harvest, after a succession of typhoons brought heavy rains and flooded rice fields that were ready for harvest. The farmers said they will be forced to sell these at a much lower price of P12 per kilo. NONIE REYES

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Thursday, November 19, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 42

US firms keen on investing, but seek clear signs on perks

By Bianca Cuaresma

W

HILE the economy already saw a back-toback double-digit contraction in the last two quarters, economic managers are working on a national strategy to prevent a possibly worse-case scenario for the Philippines: a “slow-burn contagion”.

In a news conference on Wednesday, the Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) released its latest assessment of the local financial system operating in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.

The FSCC is an interagency body composed of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Department of Finance, the Insurance Commission, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The report reflected the economic managers’ concern about the possibility of a slow-burn contagion in the economy, where the shocks of the economic crisis may extend even after the crisis is over because each sector’s vulnerabilities may spread to another sector and each economic facet is interdependent on one another’s recovery.

The FSCC explained that damage from the pandemic may be “amplified” after the initial shock, because some sectors will impact the condition of other sectors, especially those with natural economic linkages.

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MICHALAK: “I think the passage of the CREATE bill is going to raise the chances of getting these investors to go to the Philippines.”

By Elijah Felice Rosales

A

POULTRY farm workers unload chicken feed for egg-laying chicken at a poultry farm in Barangay Bulusan in Calumpit, Bulacan, one of the areas heavily hit by flooding due to Typhoon Ulysses. ROY DOMINGO

NEDA: TYPHOONS COULD CUT P90-B EQUIVALENT OF GROWTH

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

HE recent typhoons could stave off 0.15 percentage points from full-year GDP growth, per estimates of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In a virtual presser on Wednesday, Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon told reporters that this estimate would amount to around P90 billion.

However, Edillon said this is only based on initial estimates and will be updated as soon as more updates are provided to them.

“Right now, we are seeing that the impact is a bit less than the impact of [Typhoon] Ondoy and we think

that it’s really because in areas like Marikina, where there was that initial inundation, we see that the floods actually subsided more quickly than it did than [during] Ondoy,” Edillon said.

Edillon said that while the government has yet to release its full­ year GDP estimates, some recovery in spending is likely in the last quarter of the year.

The Neda official said the gradual reopening of the economy would lead to higher consumption in the last quarter compared to previous quarters.

Edillon noted that the government has already loosened restrictions such as those imposed on restaurants and hotels, provided they Covid-19-proof their establishments.

See “Neda,” A2

MERICAN firms stand ready to invest in the Philippines next year on optimism brought about by the election of Joseph R. Biden, but policymakers here have to decide whether they will push through with the plan to introduce a new set of fiscal incentives.

Michael W. Michalak, senior vice president and regional managing director for the US-Asean Business Council, told the BusinessMirror investors from the US are eyeing the Philippines as one of their business sites in 2021.

He disclosed there is renewed interest in the country as a result of the investment roadshows initiated by the economic managers.

This shift in business confidence contrasts with earlier pessimism that the Philippines stands as one of the last beneficiaries of capital exodus from China in response to the tariffs slapped by the Trump administration on Chinese imports.

“I would have to say it’s changing a bit because I was not hearing a lot of investors from our group showing interest in the Philippines last year. However, I think the passage of the CREATE bill is going to See “US,” A2

Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.2400

n JAPAN 0.4631 n UK 63.9132 n HK 6.2226 n CHINA 7.3565 n SINGAPORE 35.9276 n AUSTRALIA 35.2056 n EU 57.2368 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8630

Source: BSP (November 18, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, November 19, 2020

Neda…

Continued from A1

She said that this will usher in the return of more Filipinos to the work force and will enable them to earn a living. Having incomes, Filipinos would already contribute to efforts needed to boost spending and economic growth.

“It will still be challenging because we still want people to practice social distancing,” Edillon said. “If you are talking about a year-on-year growth, then it would still be much lower than what we had last year because last year we didn’t have the Covid-19. But I suppose with respect to a quarter-on-quarter then hopefully it will be an improvement and that’s also what we hope to see.”

P3.6-T loss from virus, typhoons

ON Monday, former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the Philippine economy may have lost P3.6 trillion this year due to the ongoing pandemic and the three recent typhoons.

Recto said this accounts for the P1.8trillion losses due to Covid-19 and around P1 trillion to P1.8 trillion in opportunities lost due to the typhoons.

He said this makes it difficult to believe that the government’s economic growth expectations would be within reach for 2020 and 2021.

Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd) Director Alvin P. Ang said the country’s full-year GDP could contract by 11 percent by the end of the year.

Ang said in the fourth quarter, GDP could contract by around 12 percent. This takes into account typhoon losses which could amount to losses worth 5 percent to 8 percent of the fourth-quarter GDP.

While the Office of Civil Defense estimated that only P82 billion was lost from the typhoons, the amount could be higher at around P200 billion to P300 billion, Ang said.

US…

Continued from A1

raise the chances of getting these investors to go to the Philippines,” Michalak said in an interview.

Michalak is referring to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, shortly known as the CREATE bill, which last week triggered intense deliberations among senators. The House of Representatives approved its own version nine months ago, but the measure—already renamed twice—remains controversial on account of the second key plank, i.e., rationalizing fiscal incentives besides reducing corporate income tax by 5 percent.

Michalak noted how the Philippines has to reckon with its neighbors. “I’m hearing more people saying they will take a look at the Philippines, too. Last year it was all Vietnam, which is expected, since the country has a headstart against its neighbors,” he said.

However, Michalak warned policymakers have to consider the concern of existing investors in passing the measure.

The CREATE bill, on one end, seeks to reduce corporate income tax rate to 25 percent, from 30 percent, the highest among Southeast Asian nations. On the other hand, it will lift incentives, such as the 5-percent tax on gross income paid in lieu of all local and national taxes, granted to those currently operating in the country.

“Certainly, the lowering of income tax is exciting. However, there are concerns on the existing incentives being enjoyed by the current locators there. That must be studied because it won’t make sense if you get new investments and lose your current ones,” Michalak argued.

Michalak, who was former US ambassador to Vietnam, said American investors are optimistic about opening shops outside of the US with Trump now exiting the White House.

The removal of Trump from office, and hence the entry of Biden, signals a return for Washington in the multilateral trading system, he noted. As such, it means US investors can move freely in the international arena without the fear that their president may slap protectionist rules against trading partners.

Last year, investments from the US dipped by close to 9 percent to P11.72 billion, from P12.85 billion in 2018, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

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BSP now ‘under pressure’ to provide stimulus–economist

T

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) might be pressured to provide some form of stimulus as the economy is expected to sink deeper in the last quarter because of the recent onslaught of typhoons, an economist said.

ING Bank Manila Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said in a statement on Wednesday that the BSP is likely to consider the impact of the recent calamities that hit several parts of the country when it makes decisions regarding monetary policy.

The Monetary Board is set to announce its monetary policy stance today (Thursday). Overnight reverse repurchase facility currently stands at 2.25 percent.

“The recent spate of typhoons ensures that 4Q [fourth quarter] GDP [gross domestic product] will contract more severely than the 3Q [third quarter] drop of 11.5 percent, a development that BSP is

likely taking into account ahead of its decision,” he explained.

In the first nine months, the Philippine economy contracted by 10 percent on average. with dimming “[F]aced growth prospects and recognizing that fiscal help is not likely coming in the next few months, BSP Governor [Benjamin E.] Diokno may be under pressure to provide whatever form of stimulus he can muster,” Mapa said.

Still, the ING economist is urging Diokno to hold off on trimming the policy rates.

“We retain our call for a pause from BSP to limit a deepening of negative real policy rates,” he said.

Real policy rate is at -0.25 percent.

Mapa, however, said that the Central Bank might still provide some relief. "[W]e do not discount Governor Diokno opting to provide some form of easing, either via a reduction in reserve requirements or a surprise 25 bps [basis points] rate cut, to provide token stimulus amidst fiscal policy’s cost cutting efforts,” he explained.

Bank lending

SHOULD the BSP ease policy rates, Mapa said it will not do much to boost the demand for bank lending.

“We’ve also noted that additional conventional monetary policy easing may have a limited impact on bank lending with anemic loan growth tied more to lack of demand rather than lack of access,” Mapa said.

In September, BSP reported that growth in outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks slowed down to 2.8 percent from 4.7 percent in the previous month because of lower demand and weak business and income prospects, among others.

Mapa explained that demand for loans has remained weak because of lack of consumer and business confidence despite the market being flooded with liquidity. In addition, the economist also attributed this to high unemployment and dim economic forecast.

To recall, the BSP has implemented a series of measures to aid the economy, resulting in P1.9 trillion worth of additional liquidity into the financial system.

The Central Bank has trimmed policy rates by 175 bps and cut reserve requirements by 200 bps.

“BSP has also jumped into unconventional methods to provide stimulus, conducting quantitative easing (via secondary market bond purchases) and de facto debt financing (via cash advances to the national government) which have led to a substantial spike in liquidity,” Mapa noted.

“Despite all their efforts, the Philippines remains mired in recession amid an ongoing 10-month lockdown with the economy losing steam,” he added.

Evacuees with Covid symptoms to get testing priority

H

EALTH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Wednesday said that those who start to feel Covid-19 symptoms will be prioritized in the antigen test that will be conducted in the evacuation centers.

Although it is impossible to test everyone due to limited resources, Vergeire said that those experiencing symptoms like fever, cough, flu, and loss of smell and taste will be isolated right away and will undergo testing.

“Hindi naman po natin maikakaila na [We cannot deny that] there’s really a risk of this increased transmission kung sakasakali [ just in case] because of the situation [in the evacuation centers],” Vergeire said in a media forum.

She said that Health Emergency Response Teams have been deployed in typhoonstricken areas.

The DOH, she added, already sent medicines like ferrous sulfate and calcium carbonate for the evacuees.

Citing the report of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Vergeire said a total of 55,921 families or 223,378 individuals are now in the evacuation centers in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol and the National Capital Region.

RESIDENTS stay inside a dimly-lit classroom during a power interruption inside a school that was converted into an evacuation center after floods inundate villages in Marikina City due to Typhoon Ulysses on Thursday, November 12, 2020. AP/AARON FAVILA

Covid case updates

ON Wednesday, the Covid-19 cases surged to 412,097.

A total of 1,383 additional cases were logged with 143 re-

coveries and 95 deaths.

Of the total number of cases, 7.2 percent (29,474) are active, 90.9 percent (374,666) have recovered, and 1.93 percent (7,957) have died.

Seventeen laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Data Repository System on November 17.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Slow-burn contagion unseen recovery risk Continued from A1

“This is the point of looking at the system as intertwined chains of related and sequenced transactions. Each chain branches off to other transactions, effectively creating a network where the shocks can amplify or dampen, depending on how the chains are structured,” the FSCC said.

For example, if the financial sector destabilizes after the government-mandated stimulus is pulled out, the negative effects of this may spread to other sectors, like real estate, wholesale and retail trade and other areas, thereby hampering overall economic recovery long after the global health crisis is over.

“As significant and, thus far, as protracted the effects are of Co-

vid-19, the likely outcome is that there is some degree of amplified vulnerabilities that is percolating without evident data at this juncture. This is the notion of slowburn contagion,” the FSCC said in its report.

As such, the local economic managers are teaming up to craft strategies to prevent this from happening.

“Collective action calls for a longer-term view on how the economic activity fits into the New Economy. Together with the discussion on possible slow-burn contagion, this raises the need for ‘systemic-ness’ to be an additional credit element,” FSCC said.

Thus the economic managers announced a seven-point policy recommendation to retain financial stability while the economy

tries to recover from the global health crisis.

The report concluded on a seven-point recommendation for the financial sector. These are: (1) Defining the market landscape for the New Economy as the prerequisite condition; (2) Deciding the extent to which the New Economy reflects fundamental changes in the behaviors and confidence of both households and businesses, which will then impact the way fiscal, monetary, banking and economic policies are currently framed and executed; (3) Institutionalizing the interconnections between industries and between firms when assessing economic prospects and in managing the unfolding credit concerns; (4) Distinguishing welfare support expenditures from conventional fiscal policy account-

ing; (5) Assessing the viability of a multiyear perspective for our fiscal policy stance; (6) Managing risk aversion by addressing the uncertainty premium by institutionalizing spot yields which can be used in either credit or securities markets; and (7) Engaging all stakeholders on emerging systemic risks, including the need for more timely and granular data as well as the more frequent exchange of information.

“To move forward, there must be a vision of the future, against which economic agents can craft their transition. That vision anchors expectations and the transition must address the underlying effects of Covid-19,” the FSCC said.

“Absent of this, the economy may be facing a slow-burn contagion that no one would prefer,” it added.

House targets end-’20 OK of coco trust fund Continued from A12

Under the bill, the lawmaker said the plan shall set the directions and policies for the development and rehabilitation of the coconut industry within 99 years.

“[This will be guided] by the following objectives: to increase incomes of coconut farmers; to alleviate poverty and promote social equity; and to rehabilitate and modernize the coconut industry toward farm productivity,” he said.

“The coconut levy funds are special funds allocated for a specific purpose and can never be used for purposes other than for the benefit of the coconut farmers or the development of the coconut industry. Hence, the money now with the Bureau of the Treasury is not earning interest as it could not be invested or used,” he added.

Enverga said that Congress must first provide a law for the disbursements of the funds, in line with its constitutional authority, saying the absence of a legislative authority for disbursing public funds would render the funds idle and no income can be derived from it, and “the farmers are deprived of the help they most need, especially during this most difficult time.”

Earlier, the Bureau of the Treasury told Congress that the cash component of coconut levy assets now stands at P76.3 billion as of July 31, 2019.

Also, the Presidential Commission on Good Government told lawmakers that the coconut levy assets, including its properties, are now at P300 billion.

While the coconut levy is a priority bill of the Duterte administration, the President vetoed the Congress-approved coco levy bill during the 17th Congress for lacking vital safeguards to avoid the repetition of mistakes committed in the past.

Duterte pointed to the establishment of an effectively perpetual trust fund in the Senate Bill 1233 and House Bill 5745 as the provision which was considered violative of the Constitution.

Under Article VI, Section 29(3) of the 1987 Constitution, “All money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund and paid for such purpose only. If the purpose for which a special fund was created has been fulfilled or abandoned, the balance, if any, shall be transferred to the general fund of the government.”

Under the original House version of the bill, it mandates the creation of the CITF, which shall be for the ultimate benefit of coconut farmers and the coconut industry.

The measure grants to a reconstituted PCA the powers to supervise and manage the money and the new Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan.

The coco levy funds have been stuck in court disputes until 2012, when the Supreme Court awarded to the government the shares bought with the coco levy funds, so these can be used for coconut farmers and the industry.

A salient feature of the coco levy bill creates the trust fund, to consist of the trust principal and the trust income; and provides that no portion of the trust fund shall accrue to the general fund of the national government.

Under the bill, all proceeds or receipts from the sale of coconut levy assets shall be remitted to the trust fund.

The bill creates the trust fund committee, under the Office of the President, to monitor the implementation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan and approve disbursements from the trust fund.

The trust fund shall be deposited in the Bureau of the Treasury.

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Duque pushes issuance of EO for acquisition of Covid shots

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

T

HE Department of Health (DOH) is pushing for the issuance of an Executive Order (EO) that will fast-track the approval of novel coronavirus vaccine (Covid-19) to be used in the country.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III appealed to President Duterte to come out with the issuance authorizing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant emergency use authorization (EUA) to the said vaccines “through the process of reliance and recognition.”

“It will cut down the processing time [for the approval of Covid-19 vaccines] from six months to just 21 days,” Duque told Duterte during his public address on Tuesday evening.

He explained the process of “reliance” wherein FDA will rely on the evaluations done by regulatory authorities of other government to vet the efficacy of vaccine.

As for “recognition,” he said it is the routine “acceptance” of FDA of the regulatory decision of other countries.

The health chief, however, clarified that the granting of EUA must comply with several conditions.

These include that there is a medical health emergency number; serious or

life-threatening disease; there is proof that a product may be effective to prevent to diagnose, or treat the disease; there is positive risk-benefit balance; and there is no adequate or approved at available alternative for it.

“FDA will conduct a stringent post marketing surveillance activities and the EUA can be revised or revoked

by FDA if necessary to protect public health,” Duque said.

Chief Implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez endorsed the said recommendation from DOH.

Higher target

GALVEZ said FDA was already able to rank the 17 possible sources of vaccines to be purchased by the government for its planned mass Covid-19 immunization drive next year.

He said if the government is able to finalize which vaccines it will buy and sign the necessary advance procurement agreement in the coming weeks, they may be able to secure the financing for the purchase before the end of the year.

“So our recommendation is we enter into advance market commitment through multilateral arrangement with the World Bank and ADB [Asian Development Bank] as our finance manager,” Galvez said.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, November 19, 2020 A3

DND chief apologizes to VP Leni over ‘erroneous’ C-130 flight report

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

D

EFENSE Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana has apologized to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday over his earlier statement that Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo had used a military C-130 plane during her earlier visit to typhoon-ravaged Catanduanes to deliver assistance.

The Vice President had earlier debunked the claims, which she initially attributed to Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo as the source, and asserted it was a “fake information,” a “lie” that was fed to President Duterte and got his ire.

Duterte: Robredo ‘mentally dishonest’ LATE Tuesday night, the President preceded his Cabinet briefing and address to the nation by publicly scolding Robredo, mainly on account of her having supposedly ridden the popular social-media attacks on him through the hashtag, “#NasaanAngPangulo”?

Duterte said it is impossible for the Vice President not to know that duty called him to attend the Asean Summit of Leaders, which the pandemic forced into virtual mode. Thus, Duterte had to be at Malacañang early for the virtual conference that lasted till late at night. He said leaders facing crises at home had in the past skipped traveling to the Asean summit venues, but since this was virtual, he attended it since he was in the Palace and was in contact with key aides if necessary, to consult on developments with Typhoon Ulysses.

He called Robredo “mentally dishonest” for looking for him, thus fanning the critics’ spin of him as a lazy, uncaring leader.

As for whether he should have been at the scene of typhoon areas instead, Duterte said the good leader does not give orders to the troops “on the day of the battle.” The relevant measures to prepare people for the typhoon were issued “two, three days ago” and only an incompetent leader would think of giving such life-saving directives on the day the calamity strikes.

Acknowledgement

IN acknowledging his mistake, Lorenzana told military reporters that he issued an apology to Robredo’s office, through the Vice President’s chief of staff Rapa Lopa, on Tuesday afternoon, or hours after he had made the statement about Robredo’s use of the military’s cargo plane.

The defense secretary even sent to reporters his message to Lopa: “Hi Rapa, I made that statement based on the report to me by my staff that VP [Robredo] joined a C130 flight to Catanduanes. This afternoon after you called the attention of Sal Panelo about the falsity of the report, I requested the PAF to confirm through their flight manifest and this was their report.”

“There was no instance that VP Robredo boarded any military aircraft in going to Catanduanes, however, there was a mission performed by our Huey [jibed mission] that brought the relief goods of VP Robredo from Legaspi to Catanduanes…on 03 Nov ’20.”

Robredo earlier debunked claims, first

by Panelo, that she used a military plane duringherreliefmission,addingthatthese

are the kinds of information are “pure lies” allegedlybeingfedtothePresidentbysome people surrounding him.

Panelo’s claims were earlier supported by Lorenzana, only to apologize hours later.

“Yes, she [Robredo] is correct. She never was aboard a C-130. Only relief goods from OVP were ferried to Catanduanes by heli[copter],” Lorenzana said.

‘Unfortunate’

ROBREDO, who was in Ragay, Camarines Sur, on Wednesday to distribute assistance to typhoon-affected families, called President Duterte’s statement on Tuesday night as “unfortunate.” He ranted against the Vice President and even told her not to compete with him.

“Halata po natin na napikon siya.

Pero sa akin, wala kasing katotohanan iyong dahilan ng pagka-pikon siya. Ang sinasabi niya po hinahanap ko raw siya noong panahon na nagbabaha sa Cagayan. Hindi po iyon totoo. Bakit ako maghahanap na busyng-busy na nga tayo sa pagtulong at pagsagot sa mga distress calls?” Robredo said.

A4 Thursday, November 19, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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Palace prodded to facilitate unreleased P10-B Covid fund for small businesses T

Bill instituting 35-hour work week hurdles second reading

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

EN. Juan Edgardo Angara prodded Malacañang on the urgency to front-load release of an awaited P10-billion fund to assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) given the fast-approaching deadline of the law assisting affected business sectors recover from the Covid-19-induced recession.

Reminding that there was “just one month left before the expiration” of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, or Bayanihan 2, Angara appealed for timely intervention by the Executive branch to facilitate the release of funds intended for MSMEs. The senator noted during the Senate’s plenary deliberations Wednesday on the P4.5-trillion 2021 national budget, that the Department of Trade and Industry itself disclosed

Locsin rallies support for multilateral trading system

only P1 billion out of the P10 billion allocated for the Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) has been released so far.

Angara asserted that the P10 billion was intended as capital infusion to the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.) of the DTI specifically to assist MSMEs and the tourism industry through the provision of low-interest loans.

The DTI, however, admitted that a total of 1,660 loans have been approved so far, equivalent to P1.2 billion.

But senators were told over 26,000 loan applications are still pending because the balance of the funding under CARES has not been downloaded to the DTI. Angara asserted that “MSMEs are among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic due to the community quarantine restrictions,”

adding that a significant number of these enterprises have closed shop “because they could no longer sustain their losses and many others are at risk of suffering the same fate.”

The senator assured that “we provided this much funding under Bayanihan 2 precisely to help these struggling MSMEs so that they could continue operating and paying their employees,” noting that “the economy is slowly opening up again and our MSMEs will play a big role in its revival so we should provide them with the necessary assistance right away.”

Citing DTI data, Angara noted that “only 5 percent of business establishments remain closed at this time and that all of these are MSMEs.” Angara acknowledged that the DTI is quick in processing the loan applications, taking as little as a week to

approve them. “We hope the money can be released already so they can process…more of these loans. If the money is availabl,e then they can process all of these,” the senator said.

He added that the P10 billion under CARES is expected to benefit around 100,000 enterprises and 200,000 workers.

Moreover, the senator noted that based on information from SB Corp., the loan term of CARES can be up to four years with grace period of up to six months, adding that certain industries such as tourism can be granted a longer grace period of up to 12 months.

Noting that Bayanihan 2 is about to lapse, Angara expects the Senate would be discussing the possibility of extending the validity of some of the law’s provisions “so that all of the benefits would be distributed to their intended beneficiaries.”

Typhoon Ulysses farm damage climbs to ₧3.84B–DA report

F

OREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. urged the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum on Tuesday to affirm their support for a multilateral trading system that affords a predictable rules-based regime that furthers the agenda for easing trade flows.

Apec’s new vision is one of “hope, assurance and trust in people-centered principles; and the pursuit of sustainable and quality growth to address pressing inequities, including environmental crises, which hit hardest those least capable of weathering them.”

Locsin and Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez joined other ministers and representatives from all 20 other Apec Economies in the 2020 Apec Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on November 16, 2020 via a virtual platform organized by Malaysia as the Apec 2020 host economy.

Malaysia is concluding its hosting year with the theme “Optimizing Human Potential towards a Resilient Future of Shared Prosperity. Pivot.

Prioritize. Progress.”

Included are the following priorities: improving the narrative of trade and investment, inclusive economic participation through digital economy and technology, driving innovative sustainability, all under the mantle of shared prosperity.

During the meeting, ministers adopted a consensus joint statement, which endorses a new vision for the Apec community.

Secretary Lopez stressed that Apec must bring micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) advocacy to a higher level, citing the need for structural reform “to create an enabling environment that promotes innovation and inclusive growth, with innovation at the core of sustainable economic development.”

Apec comprises Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

Representatives from the Asean Secretariat, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and The Pacific Island Forum (PIF) also attended the meeting as observers, together with the Apec Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

TheHonorableDato’SeriMohamed Azmin Ali, Senior Minister for Economy and the Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia served as Apec 2020 AMM chair. Recto Mercene

HE House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill instituting a 35-hour work scheme as an alternative work arrangement for employees in the private sector.

Through viva voce voting, lawmakers approved House Bill 309 principally authored by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda.

The bill, which is expected to be passed on final reading next week, aims to strengthen the country’s economy through increased productivity of labor forces.

The measure establishes a voluntary flexible work week scheme to boost employee productivity and welfare.

The bill also requires employers to provide monetary and workrelated benefits to their employees under a 35-hour work week scheme such as: overtime pay and night shift differential, right to rest periods as stipulated in the Labor Code, and have an equivalent work load and performance standards comparable to other employees in the company.

It also necessitates a written information on the terms and conditions of the adopted working scheme for the information of both employer and employee.

The bill also provides grievance

2K OFWs working inside 2 American military bases in Afghanistan at risk of losing jobs after Trump order

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

M A FARMER in Pulilan, Bulacan sun dries his rice harvest following recent typhoons that inundated his paddies. After the sun-drying process, the farmer said the rice could be sold for P12 per kilo. Most of the rice fields in the area were submerged earlier with flood water. NONIE REYES

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Wednesday that the damage caused by Typhoon Ulysses to the farm sector has increased to P3.84 billion, affecting 104,733 farmers and fisherfolk in six regions.

In its latest assessment report on November 18, the DA said the fourth typhoon to batter the agriculture sector has affected 101,904 hectares of rice, corn, high-value crops (HVC), fisheries, livestock, irrigation facilities, and agricultural infrastructures.

The damage has brought an estimated production loss of 160,873 metric tons (MT), the DA added.

The affected regions are Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Bicol region.

Rice production incurred half of the total losses or about P1.93 bil-

lion with 68,374 hectares affected and 120,015 MT of production lost, according to the latest DA figures.

This was followed by the damage to the HVC sector that amounted to P795.74 million with 10,315 hectares and 33,467 MT of production damaged by Ulysses.

Ulysses also caused P710.79 million worth of damage in the fisheries sector, which include production of fin fish, milkfish, hito, tilapia, carp, crabs and prawn, based on the latest DA figures.

The damage to the corn sector has climbed to P365.68 million from P134.39 million. The typhoon affected 23,215 hectares and 7,391 MT of corn.

Ulysses also caused P27.83 million worth of losses in the livestock and poultry sector as it affected 53,122 heads of cattle, carabao, goat, swine, sheep, chicken, duck, quail and turkey, according to the DA. The DA earlier said the rice supply loss due to the series of typhoons

that hit the country is only minimal at about 4 percent of the projected 8.4 million metric ton (MMT) production this fourth quarter.

In a virtual news briefing on Tuesday, the DA said the three typhoons and a super typhoon that hit the country so far in the fourth quarter ­—Pepito, Quinta, Rolly and Ulysses —has resulted in production loss of about 314,928 MT of palay.

The losses were only minimal compared to the expected production in the October-to-December period of 8.4 MMT, according to the DA. The DA said the country lost about 63,158 MT of palay from Pepito, 111,995 MT from Quinta, 64,254 MT from Rolly and 75,521 MT from Ulysses.

The DA said the combined damage to agriculture caused by the three typhoons and super typhoon has reached at least P12.36 billion as of November 17 as figures for Ulysses-affected farms are still under validation.

mechanism within the company to resolve cases of conflict between the employer and employee in the implementation of the work scheme.

The bill also said the parties to a 35-hour work week arrangement shall be primarily responsible for its administration. In cases of conflict during implementation of the scheme, the differences shall be resolved under the grievance mechanism of the company.

For companies without grievance machineries or whose mechanisms are inadequate, the grievance shall be referred to the Department of Labor and Employment for resolution, the bill said.

For this purpose, the measure added, employers shall keep and maintain, as part of their records, documents proving that the arrangement was adopted.

Salceda said the bill seeks to promote not only higher levels of productivity but also to promote the welfare of workers.

He said the flexibility in workplaces accommodated the special needs of families, mothers and older workers.

“Shorter work hours saved on utility bills and…fewer cars on the road during rush hours,” he said.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

ORE than 2,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) inside two US bases in Afghanistan-Bagram and Kandahar are in danger of losing their jobs amid President Donald Trump’s reported threat to withdraw the 5,000 American troops on January 15, 2021.

A former spokesman for the Filipinos in Afghanistan and Pinoy Bunker, said the defeated Republican President has recently ordered Pentagon to draw up the withdrawal plans of 2,500 American troops out of the 5,000 currently stationed in Afghanistan.

The remaining 2,500 are to train the Afghan military and police in anti-terrorist measures against the Taliban.

Despite the misgivings of former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the senior generals in the US Armed Forces, President Trump ordered the drawdown of the US troops by January 15, 2021 several days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

The 2,000 OFWs inside the US bases have been there since 2014.

“They were left behind after the US’s massive withdrawal of 150,000 troops ordered by former President Barrack Obama in 2014,” said the former spokesman and now recruitment consultant Manny Geslani.

He said the OFWs are employed by international contractors that provide maintenance services and logistical support like cleaning mess hall, motor services, clerical work and many other forms of manual labor.

Geslani said the OFWs receive more than three times the salaries of other OFWs in the region, “and they remain safe and secured inside the bases with good accommodations.”

Filipinos have been laboring in the war-torn country since 2003 when most of them were transferred from Iraq to Afghanistan by international contractors.

“And many more were able to enter Afghanistan using Dubai and Kuwait as jump-off points,” Geslani said.

“The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration [POEA] considers these OFW as undocumented workers and are no longer issued employment certificates if they want to go back to Afghanistan once they come home for vacation,” Geslani said.

The OFWs in Afghanistan grew to about 10,000 as 140,000 US troops poured in under President Obama, together with 50 other nations that joined the fight against the Taliban.

In 2011, the OFWs in Afghanistan were granted documentary privileges by the POEA to allow them to continue working in that country when the US Military threatened to kick them out until then President Benigno Aquino III issued an executive order legalizing their stay.

In Iraq, President Trump ordered the withdrawal of 500 troops out of the 3,000 US soldiers there to train the Iraqi Army. There are also about 1,000 Filipinos working in US bases in Iraq and many more inside the Green Zone, a heavily fortified zone in Baghdad.

Morente: No holiday season leave for BI personnel

By Joel R. San Juan

T

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said it would not allow its personnel assigned in various international airports to go on leave starting December 1, 2020 until January 15, 2021.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente justified the policy,

saying that it is necessary to ensure sufficient number of immigration officers on duty to attend to traveling public during the Christmas holiday season.

“We have to make sure that our immigration booths at the airports are adequately manned in anticipation of an increase in the number of international travelers who will enter and exit

the country during that period,” Morente said.

Morente, however, acknowledged that the agency does not expect a huge increase in the number of passengers arriving and leaving the country during the holiday season due to the threat of Covid-19.

He noted that many countries have yet to lift their travel restrictions that have been

imposed since the start of the pandemic early this year.

“Thus, we are confident that the number of immigration officers currently deployed at the ports are enough to facilitate the efficient conduct of immigration formalities for arriving and departing passengers,” Morente said.

Lawyer Candy Tan, BI port operations division chief, said

the leave prohibition applies to all immigration personnel assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as well as the airports in Mactan, Cebu and Clark, Pampanga, Kalibo, Iloilo, Davao, Laoag and the Zamboanga international seaport.

During this period, the BI will not accept applications for leave, or authority to travel abroad, by any of the said BI port employees.

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

The World

FDA allows first rapid virus test that gives results at home

W

A S HI N G T O N — U S regulators on Tuesday allowed emergency use of the first rapid coronavirus test that can be performed entirely at home and delivers results in 30 minutes.

The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration represents an important step in US efforts to expand testing options for Covid-19 beyond health care facilities and testing sites. However, the test will require a prescription, likely limiting its initial use.

The FDA granted emergency authorization to the single-use test kit from Lucira Health, a California manufacturer.

The company’s test allows users to swab themselves to collect a nasal sample. The sample is then swirled in a vial of laboratory solution that plugs into a portable device. Results are displayed as lights labeled positive or negative.

To date, the FDA has authorized nearly 300 tests for coronavirus. The vast majority requires a nasal swab performed by a health professional and must be processed at laboratories using hightech equipment. A handful of tests allow people to collect their own sample at home—a nasal swab or saliva—that’s then shipped to a lab, which usually means waiting days for results.

Health experts have called for options to allow people to test themselves at home, reducing turnaround times and the potential spread of the virus to others, including health care workers.

Rapid test results are critical to quickly quarantining those who are infected and tracing their contacts. But for months, US testing has been plagued by slow results due to bottlenecks at testing laboratories. There are other rapid tests but most require a small, special machine operated by a health professional to develop results.

“Now, more Americans who may have Covid-19 will be able to take immediate action, based on their results, to protect themselves and those around them,” Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s devices center, said in a statement.

Lucira did not immediately respond to a request for additional details after business hours on Tuesday.

The Lucira Covid-19 test grew out of research the company was doing to develop an at-home flu test, according to the company’s website. Lucira adapted its technology to detect Covid-19 after the outbreak.

The test uses technology similar to genetic laboratory-based tests that are the standard tool for

Covid-19 screening. That’s different than most rapid tests currently used in the US, which look for viral proteins called antigens—not the virus itself.

A nyone that tests positive should isolate and seek care from a health professional, the FDA said in its release. Those who test negative but still have coronavirus symptoms should consult a doctor; a negative result does not rule out Covid-19 infection.

The FDA said Lucira’s test was also authorized for use in doctor’s offices and testing sites. Currently all US testing sites must report results to state and federal health authorities tracking the pandemic.

Doctors will be required to report the home test results.

“If the results are not reported back, it may be difficult to figure out what is happening in the community at large,” said Dr. Alberto Gutierrez, former head of the FDA’s testing office, in an interview before the announcement.

More than two dozen companies have been racing for months to develop the first, rapid homebased test for Covid-19. However, the FDA outlined a number of study requirements for manufacturers.

These hurdles have less to do with Covid-19 specifically, and more to do with decades-long concerns about whether people without any medical training can accurately screen themselves and interpret the results.

The FDA has only ever approved one home test for an infectious disease—an HIV test. And even commonplace over-the-counter tests—such as home pregnancy kits—were subject to years of scrutiny before FDA allowed their use in the 1970s.

Experts say that careful approach is warranted for coronavirus.

“I think increased testing closer to patients, including in the home, is the way of the future,” said Dr. Robin Patel of the Mayo Clinic, in an interview before the announcement was made. “But there are considerations that have to be addressed to make sure that this is done in a safe and effective way.”

FDA regulators authorized the new test using their emergency powers to quickly speed the availability of experimental products during public health crises. In normal times, the FDA requires evidence of safety and effectiveness before clearing a new test. But during public health emergencies the agency can lower those standards.

The FDA release did not disclose the test’s accuracy or the study results that regulators used to make the decision. AP

India, US, Japan, Australia resume naval exercises

N

EW DELHI—The navies of India, the United States, Australia and Japan held exercises on Tuesday in the Northern Arabian Sea in the second phase of a naval drill seen as part of a regional initiative to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

The Malabar naval exercise “highlights enhanced convergence of views amongst the four vibrant democracies on maritime issues,” India’s Defense Ministry said.

This is the second time that the four countries—an informal grouping known as the Quad— have participated in a combined military exercise of this size. The first phase of the Malabar drill took place November 3-6 in the Bay of Bengal.

This phase consists of operations centered on the Indian n av y ’s V i k ra m ad it y a c a r r ier battle group and the US Navy’s Nimitz carrier strike group, the ministry said.

The Australian frigate Ballarat, Japan’s Murasame destroyer, and submarines and aircraft are also participating in the exercise.

Ind ia has been loc ked for months in a military standoff with China along their disputed border. It hopes the exercise will act as a deterrent against Beijing, analysts say.

The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian and US navies. Japan joined in 2015. This year the Australian navy is participating for the first time since 2007. AP

BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 19, 2020

A5

Pfizer reaches safety milestone for Covid-19 vaccine, CEO says

P

fizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said that a key safety milestone had been reached in the study of its Covid-19 vaccine, and the drugmaker is now preparing to seek an emergency-use authorization from US regulators.

Speaking at a virtual conference hosted by the New York Times on Tuesday, Bourla said the company was preparing to submit its data to the US Food and Drug Administration. Last week, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE reported that an interim analysis showed their experimental vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in preventing symptomatic cases of Covid-19.

“We are preparing now for submissions,” Bourla said at the conference without specifying when it anticipated to file for an emergency use authorization.

Nonetheless, Bourla added, important questions about the vaccine still remain to be answered. “When it comes to how durable the protection could be, this is something we don’t know yet,” he said.

Bourla added that Pfizer would soon release more detailed efficacy results.

Pfizer shares were up 1.6 percent at 3:22 p.m. in New York.

Safety data

Pfizer and BioNTech had been working to accumulate two months of follow-up safety data on volunteers who had received the full twodose regimen of their vaccine. The FDA requires the information for emergency clearance.

The safety data is one of the last hurdles needed before Pfizer and BioNTech can apply for emergency authorization. The New York-based drug giant will continue to monitor trial participants well after any authorization or approval in order to assure that safety concerns don’t crop up later, Bourla said.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is slightly ahead of one from Moderna Inc. in the race to the finish line.

Moderna announced on Monday that its own candidate was 94.5

percent effective. Moderna expects to get the safety data it needs by the end of the month, allowing it to file for emergency clearance in the coming weeks.

Bourla said at the New York Times conference that Pfizer had not been overly specific when it reported “more than 90 percent efficacy” because that number was likely to fluctuate as the trial gained more cases. The company will report out an additional number once it publishes fuller data, he said.

mRNA platform

The drug industry executive spoke alongside Bill Gates and Heidi J. Larson, director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, in a discussion about vaccine development, distribution and uptake.

The most recent trial results are “a glorious confirmation of the power of the technology,” Bourla said, referring the novel messenger RNA used in Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine.

Bourla’s tenure at Pfizer spans more than 27 years. He said at a later conference held Tuesday by the online media publication STAT that it was one of the best days of his life when he learned of the vaccine’s success.

“You’re relieved because the news that you’re expecting to hear will not only determine the future of the company, but the future of your

world,” Bourla said. “I felt that I was living a dream.”

Tumult, scrutiny

At other times throughout the pandemic, the company has faced political tumult and scrutiny, Bourla said.

The Pfizer chief rebutted concerns that he sought to report the effectiveness of the vaccine before Election Day, potentially influencing the outcome of the US presidential vote.

“I did not have any political or any artificial timelines in my mind,” Bourla said. Instead, at the start of the company’s work on the vaccine, he set an October goal after his scientists said the product would only be ready by mid-2021.

He pushed for the earlier date, he said, to have a vaccine ready for a possible winter surge of infections.

“I said, ‘Go back and see how many people would die’” if there were a new spike in cases. But the October timeline became publicly conflated with President Donald Trump’s political ambitions.

Bourla said he didn’t take US taxpayer dollars for the vaccine’s research and development in order to avoid politics that might be attached to the effort. “When you want to go from the middle of next year to the middle of October, you need to remove any bureaucracy,” he said. “And I knew this would become very political.” Bloomberg News

‘America is back’: Biden vows to rebuild US ties with world

P

resident-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would work to rebuild international institutions he said were damaged during Donald Trump’s presidency and that his message to world leaders is that “America is back.”

Biden met Tuesday with defense and intelligence experts, many of whom worked for President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president. He had gathered them together because the Trump administration has blocked him from getting the intelligence briefings traditionally granted the president-elect. “ We’ve been through a lot of damage done over the last four years, in my view. We need to rebuild our institutions and my workforce to reflect the full strength and diversity of our country,” Biden said. “We need to focus on readiness for whatever may come.”

Biden said he had spoken to around 13 heads of state since he was declared the winner of the election. On Tuesday, he had calls with the prime ministers of India and Israel—both of whom forged close ties with President Donald Trump.

“The message is America is

bac k. It ’s no longer A mer ica alone,” the president-elect said, descr ibing his conversat ions with world leaders.

Biden met with the foreign polic y ex perts for a br iefing via video conference, including retired Army General Stanley McChrystal, retired Navy Admiral William McRaven and David Cohen, the former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence during the Obama administration.

Biden’s transition efforts have been hampered by Trump’s refusal to concede the election. Tuesday’s meeting was not an official US government briefing because the General Services Administration has not yet made the “ascertainment” that Biden has won the presidential election.

“I’m not being critical—just stating the obvious—you know that I’ve been unable to get the briefings that ordinarily would have come by now. And so, I just want to get your input on what you see ahead,” Biden told the advisers.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris joined Biden for the session from Washington, where she

planned to cast votes in the Senate.

Without access to the agencies, Biden is relying on experts from the Obama administration—as well as people who left government during the Trump years and are cooperative—to plan for the new administration.

Biden will inherit a number of foreign policy challenges upon taking office, including a contentious relationship with China, heightened tensions with Iran and a North Korea that remains undeterred from expanding its nuclear arsenal despite Trump’s efforts to build a personal relationship with Kim Jong Un. Trump has also been rushing to leave his final mark on foreign policy by cementing moves that Biden may oppose.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday it would draw down US deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan to about 2,500 troops in each country by the end of the year. The Trump administration has slapped sanctions on Iran over terrorism and human-rights concerns and is preparing new penalties on Beijing for the Communist Party’s crackdown on Hong Kong.

Taken together, the aggressive moves could make it more

difficult for Biden to maneuver as he looks to rejoin international accords brokered under Obama, such as the Iran nuclear agreement, and repair frayed relations with US allies.

Biden said on Monday that further delays in the transition process could also risk increasing the coronavirus death toll.

Former Trump White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is among those who’ve warned that Biden’s lack of access could be a threat to national security.

“You lose a lot if the transition is delayed because the new people are not allowed to get their head in the game,” Kelly, a former Marine Cor ps general, told Politico last week. “ T he president, with all due respect, does not have to concede. But it’s about the nation. It hurts our national security.”

He added: “It’s not a process where you go from zero to 1,000 miles per hour.”

The 9/11 Commission Report found that the delayed transition in 2000 due to the Florida recount hurt the ability of George W. Bush’s administration’s to staff key national security posts ahead of the terrorist attacks. Bloomberg News

Thai protesters, police clash as MPs mull charter change

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ANGKOK—Pro-democracy protesters in Thailand battled police who sought to keep them from entering the grounds of Parliament on Tuesday to press for constitutional changes as lawmakers debated whether to back proposed amendments.

About 40 people were injured, including five who were shot, according to emergency services. It was unclear who fired the shots and whether they were live rounds or rubber bullets. Some of the injuries occurred during a brawl between the pro-democracy protesters and stone-throwing royalists who oppose constitutional change.

Police used tear gas and water cannons laced with irritating chemicals against the student-led demonstrators, who tried to push their way past barbed-wire barriers to enter the grounds of the legislature on the outskirts of Bangkok.

The chaotic street confrontations began in midafternoon and ended about six hours later, when protest leaders called a halt and sent followers home.

It was the worst violence during months of actions by the protesters, though police had previously employed water cannons at least twice. The protest movement has been staging increasingly determined mass rallies of thousands of people around the country.

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on seven proposed constitutional amendments during a twoday joint session of the elected House and appointed Senate. Constitutional changes require a joint vote of both bodies. Any motions that are passed will have to go through second and third votes at least a month after this week’s balloting.

Lawmakers adjourned a previous session without voting on proposed amendments, leading the protesters to accuse the government of bad faith.

The parliamentary session is an effort by the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to take the initiative away from the pro-democracy movement, which in addition to seeking constitutional changes and reforms to the monarchy wants Prayuth and his government to step down.

The protesters say that Prayuth, who as army chief in 2014 led a coup that ousted an elected government, returned to power unfairly in last year’s election because laws had been changed to favor a pro-military party. The protesters also say the constitution, written and enacted under military rule, is undemocratic.

Reform of the monarchy is a key demand of the protest movement, which believes the royal institution is too powerful and lacks accountability.

The unprecedented demand has touched a raw nerve in Thailand, where reverence for the royal institution is inculcated from birth and protected by a law that makes defaming the monarch and his immediate family punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Tuesday’s violence grew as about 1,000 protesters were pushed back by police water cannons as they tried to breach barriers set up on several streets to keep them from entering the Parliament compound.

Police also fired tear gas canisters, some of which were tossed back by demonstrators, many of whom wore helmets and other protective gear.

The Erawan emergency medical services group said 41 people were injured, including five who were shot in the leg, stomach or wrist. No further details were available. Police later denied firing any guns and said they had complied with laws and international standards.

A protest leader, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, announced at about 8 p.m. that the demonstrators had captured enough ground to declare they had achieved their goal of surrounding Parliament. Some lawmakers had already left the scene by boat from a pier behind Parliament.

Parit announced another rally on Wednesday afternoon at the busy Rajprasong intersection in the heart of Bangkok’s main shopping district.

Parliament is not expected to agree on specific constitutional changes at this point. The protesters back a proposal that would roll back aspects of the current 2017 constitution—enacted during military rule—that granted extra powers to unelected branches of government, such as the Senate. AP

BusinessMirror

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FIRST GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. Lot 5 Sta. Agueda Cor. Queensway Pagcor Drive Sto. Ni単o Para単aque City 75.

BAI, JUNWEI, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

76.

FAN, KAI, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

77.

JIANG, JIACHENG, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

78.

JIANG, ZHIHUI, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

79.

LAI, XIANRONG, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

80.

LEI, YUANDONG, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

81.

LIU, DEHUA, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

82.

LIU, SHAN, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

83.

SU, ZENGGUANG, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

84.

WANG, XIN, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

85.

YANG, CHUNHUA, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

86.

YANG, SHUNING, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

87.

ZHOU, YI, Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

88.

ZHU, CHAOZE, Chinese

XING, HONGFEI Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

39.

YAO, CHUNHE Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

GATEWAYSOLUTIONS CORP. 8/f Edsa Cor. Sultan Brgy. Highway Hills Mandaluyong City

40.

YU, MINGQIAN Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

41.

ZHANG, JINNA Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

42.

ZHANG, ZIQIAN Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

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

43.

ZHAO, GUOQING Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

91.

89.

WANG, ZHANXIAN, Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

GLOBAL CONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS PTY. LTD. - PHILIPPINE BRANCH 17/f Philamlife Tower 8767 Paseo De Roxas Bel-air Makati City 90.

YANG, JUN, Chinese

JIANG, TAO Chinese

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132.

GUO, YUE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

133.

HAN, JIABING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

CHINESE IT SUPPORT

134.

HE, XIAOCHUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

CHEN, KUI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

135.

HE, MENGTING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

97.

CHEN, YONGJIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

136.

HONG, RONGCHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

98.

CHENG, DIZHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

137.

HOU, HAIMEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

99.

LI, JIQING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

138.

HU, WENKE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

100.

LIU, KEBEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

139.

HU, RONGHUI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

101.

WANG, WEIKAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

140.

HUANG, GUOCONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

102.

WU, FANGYI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

141.

HUANG, KANGMING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

103.

YI, ZHIXIAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

142.

HUANG, LIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

104.

ZHANG, WEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

143.

HUANG, ZHENWU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

105.

BAO, ZHIYONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

144.

HUANG, JIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

106.

CHE, SHIQIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

145.

HUYNH HUE QUAN Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

107.

CHEN, BINGJIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

146.

JIANG, QIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

108.

CHEN, CHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

147.

JIANG, XINXIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

109.

CHEN, ZEDONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

148.

LEI, ZHENGHUI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

110.

CHEN, ZHENLEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

149.

LI, JIONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

111.

CHEN, ZHIYONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

150.

LI, HAORONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

112.

CHEN, XIANYI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

151.

LI, YINGHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

113.

CHEN, XUANHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

152.

LI, FUXIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

114.

CHEN, FENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

153.

LI, ZHIHUA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

115.

CHEN, JIANXIONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

154.

LI, XINWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

116.

CHEN, GUI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

155.

LI, DONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

117.

CHENG, CHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

156.

LI, MANYU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

118.

CHOONG WAI LOON Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

157.

LI, WANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

119.

CUI, JINGHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

158.

LI, XIAOWU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

120.

DAVID LIM Indonesian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

159.

LI, ZHIXONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

121.

DENG, CHENGBIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

160.

LI, ZHUANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

122.

DENG, ZHIHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

161.

LI, SENCAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

123.

FENG, SHAOHAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

162.

LI, LAIKUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

124.

FENG, WEIJIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

163.

LI, LIYAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

125.

FU, YUFENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

164.

LIN, XICAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

126.

GAN, XING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

165.

LIU, TAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

127.

GAO, LUTONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

166.

LIU, YIZHE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

128.

GAO, MAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

167.

LIU, QIONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

129.

GERI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

168.

LIU, YUANQUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

130.

GONG, DONGJUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

169.

LIU, HAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

131.

GUO, XIAOLIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

170.

LU, RIGUI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

92.

WU, JUN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT

93.

XU, DINGWEN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT

94.

YOU, QI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT

95.

ZHANG, XUELIAN Chinese

96.

STATION CONSULTANT

CHINESE IT SUPPORT

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

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ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

269.

DENG, QIUXING Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

316.

ROCHMAN SUPIAJI Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

270.

JIANG, JINHE Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

317.

RUDY Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

271.

LI, WENQIANG Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

318.

RUDY BANGUN Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

272.

LI, ZHOU Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

319.

TONY WILLIAM Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZONG, BOHUA Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

320.

YUCO SATURNUS Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

171.

LUO, JIYUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

220.

WU, WENWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

172.

LUO, XIAYU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

221.

WU, CHAOCHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

173.

LUO, HONGYA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

222.

WU, SIJIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

174.

LYU, BING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

223.

XIANG, FUPEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

273.

175.

MA, PENGYAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

224.

XIE, WEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

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

176.

MA, XUEFENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

225.

XIE, YONGJIAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

274.

MA, GUANGHUI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

XIE, HONGPING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

178.

NGUYEN THI THOM Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

227.

XIONG, QI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

179.

NING, JUNWU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

228.

XU, JING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

177.

226.

SZEPESI, JOZSEF ZOLTAN Hungarian

HEAD OF UNDERWRITING

HMR PHILIPPINES INC. Pioneer Cor Reliance Brgy. Highway Hills Mandaluyong City 275.

JACKSON, IAN SAMUEL British

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES PHILS. INC. U-5302, 53/f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave., Cor., V.a. Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City 276.

HU, JUN, Chinese

WIRELESS NETWORK PLANNING AND OPTIMIZATION TECHNICAL MANAGER FOR SMART WIRELESS NETWORK PROJECT

180.

NONG, LANYING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

229.

XU, QINGJIA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

181.

NONG, RUXUE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

230.

XU, NING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

ICTSI LTD. - ROHQ Ictsi Bldg. South Access Rd Mict Cmplx North Harbor Tondo I/ii Manila

182.

OUYANG, ZHIPENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

231.

XU, HAIYAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

277.

183.

PANG, RONGLI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

232.

XU, YINGYING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

184.

PI, RI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

233.

XU, JUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

185.

QIAO, JINGJIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

234.

XU, WEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

186.

QIN, HANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

235.

YAN, SONGHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

187.

QIN, HAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

236.

YANG, RANRAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

QIN, FENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

237.

YANG, SHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

189.

QIN, WEICHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

238.

YANG, DENGYUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

190.

QIU, QINGLIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

239.

YANG, FAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

191.

QU, AN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

240.

YANG, SHUANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

REN, LEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

YANG, YUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

193.

RONG, SHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

242.

YE, CHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

194.

RUAN, KUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

243.

YUAN, MABING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

195.

SAI, PENGCHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

244.

ZHANG, SHIHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

196.

SHEN, SONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

245.

ZHANG, HAITAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

197.

SHI, JIALONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

246.

ZHANG, MENGTING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

SHI, WENWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

247.

ZHANG, XIXIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

SHU, LANMING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

ZHANG, LIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

188.

192.

198.

199.

241.

248.

FOTHERGILL, ANTHONY JAMES British

PROJECT MANAGER

INFOSYS BPM LIMITED - PHILIPPINE BRANCH 19th-23rd Flr. Bgc Corporate Center 11th Ave. Corner 30th Sts. Taguig City 278.

MPEMBELE, ANTONIO KIALA Angolan

PROCESS EXECUTIVE

ITECHNO SPECIALIST INC. 9/f 100 West Building Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City 279.

CUI, FAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

280.

DENG, DEQIANG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

281.

HE, CHENGLIN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

282.

HUANG, FEIFEI Chinese

LERIB SERVICES CORPORATION U-3d Rose Industries Bldg. Choice Market Ortigas Kapitolyo Pasig City 321.

OH, WANGGEUN, South Korean

COMPUTER TECHNICIAN

LINDE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS CENTER PHILIPPINES, INC. 10th Floor Cyber Sigma Lawton Avenue Mckinley West Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 322.

KRASNOVSKY, THOMAS MAXIME French

SOLUTIONS DELIVERY ADVISOR

323.

ROY, PRADIP KUMAR Indian

SOLUTIONS DELIVERY ADVISOR

LOGICALSOURCE1 CALL CENTER INC. 8/f Sultan Cityland Central Brgy. Highway Hills Mandaluyong City 324.

NGUYEN LE QUANG, Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

325.

ZHANG, CAN, Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg. Edsa Cor. Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City 326.

LIANG, CHAO Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER

327.

WANG, YIZHENG Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER

328.

ZHOU, SHA Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower C4 Rd. Edsa Ext. Brgy. 076 Pasay City 329.

HUANG, CONG, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

330.

WANG, WENLONG, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

331.

ZHANG, ZUZHEN, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

283.

LAN, XIAOTING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

MONARK EQUIPMENT CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES 13 Calle Economia Bagumbayan 3 Quezon City

284.

LI, HANG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

332.

285.

LYU, XIN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION Sky Garage Bldg. Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City Tambo Parañaque City

286.

TIAN, MUQING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

333.

CAI, LICHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

287.

WAN, RUI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

334.

CHEN, DULI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

288.

XU, ZHONGBIN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

335.

CHEN, SHANGBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

289.

YIN, ZHEN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

336.

CHEN, YANFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

290.

YUE, QIQI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

337.

CHEN, KAILEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

291.

CHAN LI HAO Malaysian

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

338.

CHEN, LIYAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

292.

CHAN YEE SHENG Malaysian

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

339.

CHEN, XUMENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

340.

CHEN, TAIYUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

341.

CHEN, HAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

342.

DENG, WANXIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

343.

DENG, RAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

344.

DONG, JIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

345.

DONG, JUNJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

346.

DONG, YUNPENG,Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

347.

FANG, DASHUAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

348.

FANG, YUTING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

JACOBS PROJECTS (PHILIPPINES), INC. 16/f South Tower Rockwell Business Center Sheridan Highway Hills Mandaluyong City 293.

YOUNG, JAMES ROBERT American

PROGRAM MANAGER

JDB MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTANCY CORP. 107 T & D House Magallanes St. 069, Bgy. 655 Intramuros Manila 294.

HUANG, SHENG-WEI, Taiwanese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

KE, JIAHONG, Chinese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

BAILEY, KIM EDWARD, Australian

SITE OPERATIONS AND PERFORMANCE SPECIALIST

SONG, TONGYANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

249.

ZHANG, JISHU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

201.

SONG, PENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

250.

ZHANG, WEIMIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

202.

SUI, JIAXING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

ZHANG, JIANWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

JIU ZHOU TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. U-3401 34/f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City

203.

SUN, BINGKUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

252.

ZHANG, YUE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

297.

LIN, CHU-HSIEN, Taiwanese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

349.

GAO, ZIJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

204.

TOE HLAING MYINT Myanmari

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

253.

ZHAO, GUODONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

298.

ZHOU, PING, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

350.

GAO, PAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

351.

GONG, TINGTING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

254.

ZHAO, QIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

VO VAN VIET, Vietnamese

205.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

299.

WANG, FENGLING Chinese

GUO, FENGRUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

206.

255.

ZHAO, LIHONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

352.

WANG, FEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

JSLINK INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION 803-804 Ri-rance Building Aseana Enclave Aseana City Tambo Parañaque City 300.

353.

GUO, JING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

207.

WANG, CHEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

256.

ZHAO, JUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

KONGANBUDDIES MARKETING INC. 48/f Lower Ground Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City

354.

GUO, PENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

208.

WANG, JUNHUA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

257.

ZHENG, GUOQUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

301.

ANDI SUSANTO Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

355.

GUO, QIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

302.

BENNY Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

GUO, XIAOJING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

258.

ZHENG, YONGYANG Chinese

356.

209.

WANG, XU Chinese

GUO, ZHOU Chinese

210.

WANG, HAITAO Chinese

259.

ZHOU, ZHICHENG Chinese

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

CHRIS RICHARD Indonesian

357.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

303.

304.

HAN, ZHENRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

211.

WANG, HAO Chinese

260.

ZHOU, YONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

358.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

DESSY ERIYANTI Indonesian

305.

EMMY Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

359.

HE, YUANXU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

HE, JUN Chinese

261.

306.

ERIC WONG Indonesian

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZHOU, JUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

360.

WANG, KAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

HOU, HUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

262.

ZHU, QUANYOU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

361.

307.

FARIDA RANI Indonesian

362.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

363.

HU, KAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

263.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

308.

ZHU, BEIBEI Chinese

FEBRIANTO Indonesian

HU, YONG Chinese

309.

GRISTIANTO Indonesian

364.

HU, BINGHE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

264.

ZHU, BAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

265.

ZHUANG, SHIHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

200.

212.

213.

WANG, KUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

214.

WANG, LEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

215.

WEI, KUNPENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

216.

WEN, XUPENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

217.

218.

219.

WEN, DANPING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

WILLIAM FOO WEI LAM Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

WU, BIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

251.

266.

ZHUANG, YINGYUE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

267.

ZUO, NIYA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

268.

CUI, YANLAN Chinese

MARKETING STAFF MANDARIN SPEAKING

295.

JIDA COMMUNICATION (PHILIPPINES) INC. 99 Comclark Reliance Center E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Ugong Pasig City 296.

ZHANG, HANNAN, Chinese

HE, YANGHUI, Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

CONSULTANT

310.

HERMAN NG Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

365.

HU, MING Chinese

311.

IGA NOVIANTI Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

366.

JIA, JIANDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

312.

KARTINI MANALU Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

367.

JIANG, WEIJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

313.

KENNY IRAWAN Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

368.

JIANG, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

369.

JIANG, ZHONGBAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

314.

MERLINDA Indonesian

370.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

315.

RIDWAN Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

JING, FENFEN Chinese

371.

KANG, JIANBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

A7

BusinessMirror

A8 Thursday, November 19, 2020

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FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

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ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

372.

KE, HAIBIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

441.

XU, YULAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

508.

WU, LEI, Chinese

373.

LENG, JIANQIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

442.

XU, XINPU Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

509.

YU, WEI, Chinese

374.

LENG, DAQIANG Chinese

443.

YAN, JIAJUN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CUI, GUANGLEI, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

444.

YANG, QI Chinese

510.

375.

LI, TIANXIONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LI, MING Chinese

LIU, DONG, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

445.

YANG, ZHICHENG Chinese

511.

376.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

377.

LI, WANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

446.

YANG, QUANZHOU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

512.

PAN, YUFEI, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

378.

LI, JIE Chinese

447.

YANG, YUNCHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

513.

QIN, SHAO, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

379.

LI, LANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

448.

YANG, PENGHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

514.

SU, YUHE, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

380.

LI, YESEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

449.

YANG, HUACHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

515.

TANG, SHAOSHUAI, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

381.

LIAO, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

450.

YANG, JIAYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

516.

XIA, TIAN, Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

382.

LIN, ZHENCAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

451.

YANG, XIAOTONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZHANG, JINGXI, Chinese

383.

LIU, HAODONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

452.

YIN, ZHUJUN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

384.

LIU, JIAYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

453.

YIN, HAO Chinese

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

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

518.

385.

LIU, MENGFAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

454.

YU, YUEJIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

386.

LIU, ZHENDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

455.

YUAN, YUNCHUN Chinese

S.C. JOHNSON PHILIPPINES ROHQ 1077 J.p. Rizal St. Poblacion Makati City

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

519.

387.

LIU, YINGQUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

456.

YUAN, WENXIU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

388.

LIU, SHIBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

457.

ZHANG, MENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SA RIVENDELL GLOBAL SUPPORT, INC. 9-11 Flr., The Biopolis Bldg. Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

389.

LIU, YANGUANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

458.

ZHANG, YI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

390.

LIU, FUQING Chinese

459.

ZHANG, HONGSHUO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

391.

LU, XINYI Chinese

460.

ZHANG, GEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

521.

392.

LU, LILI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

461.

ZHANG, LIANGCHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

393.

LU, HENGZENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

462.

ZHANG, XIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SEIKO IT SOLUTION PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit 2906 Antel Global Corporate Center Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas Ctr. San Antonio Pasig City

394.

LUO, XIAOMEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

463.

ZHANG, CE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

395.

MA, XIAOJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

464.

ZHANG, LONGYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

396.

MA, SHANSHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

465.

ZHAO, SHIXIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

397.

NONG, YAILI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

466.

ZHAO, XIANGJUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

398.

PAN, LIJUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

467.

ZHAO, SHUANGLI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

399.

PAN, HUASEN Chinese

468.

ZHAO, MENGHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

400.

PENG, KEJIN Chinese

469.

ZHENG, BOXUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

401.

QI, HUIMIN Chinese

470.

ZHENG, ZHILIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

402.

QIAN, CHENG Chinese

471.

ZHENG, WENFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

403.

QIU, HAODONG Chinese

472.

ZHONG, CHUANQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

404.

SHAO, BI Chinese

473.

ZHONG, JIAHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

405.

SONG, YANG Chinese

474.

ZHOU, LINJING Chinese

406.

SUN, MIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

475.

ZHOU, YINGCHAO Chinese

407.

SUN, JIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

476.

ZHOU, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

408.

SUN, DANDAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

477.

ZHU, JINHONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

409.

SUN, LIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

478.

ZHU, WANGWANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

410.

WAN, JILONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

479.

ZHU, XINGLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

411.

WANG, CONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

480.

ARR TI @ HTAY AUNG Myanmari

412.

WANG, QIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

481.

413.

WANG, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

414.

WANG, XIAOHAN Chinese

415.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

517.

520.

XU, CHANGMING, Chinese

PARK, YOUNG JOO South Korean

HOANG THI PHUONG LINH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SUPPORT

CUSTOMER FULFILLMENT ANALYST-KOREA

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

SDW REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT INC. 3/f Pioneer Cor. Reliance Hmr. Brgy. Highway Hills Mandaluyong City

522.

BROWN, THOMAS JOHN, British

OTEKI, TESSAI, Japanese

PROJECT DIRECTOR

ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT

SOMI UNLIMITED SOLUTIONS, INC. 6/f Filinvest Cyberzone Bldg. Cbp1 Bay City Brgy. 076 Pasay City

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

565.

TRINH NGOC THACH Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

566.

TRUONG NGUYEN KIM HUONG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

567.

VU VAN SON Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

STELLAR PHILIPPINES, INC. 24th Flr. Mdc-100 Bldg. J-garcia C5 Road Cor. Eastwood Ave. Bagumbayan 3 Quezon City 568.

HECHANOVA, PAUL PARK, American

COMMUNICATION ASSISTANT

T.G.K. TRADE CORP. 3/f Salcedo One Center 170 Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City 569.

QIAN, HONGLAN, Chinese

TREASURER

TIANYU TECHNOLOGY INC. 42/f Pbcom Tower Ayala Avenue Cor. V.a Rufino Street Bel-air Makati City 570.

HU, YAMEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

571.

LIU, NING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

572.

WANG, CONG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

573.

WANG, HUIYU Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

574.

WU, PING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

575.

XIAO, YANG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

576.

YU, SUWEN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

577.

YU, JIANMING Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

578.

ZHANG, JINMEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

579.

ZHENG, YU-JUN Taiwanese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

580.

ZHU, YUHUAN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

581.

CAO THAI SON Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

582.

CHUNG BOI NHI Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

583.

LE VAN PHUC Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

523.

CHOU, SIN-FEI a.k.a. ABBIE CHOU Taiwanese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

524.

HSU, TSUN-YA a.k.a.

KAREN HSU Taiwanese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

584.

MUN MIN EE Malaysian

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

525.

HUANG, FUXIN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

585.

THONG CHI CUONG Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

526.

TSAO, SHOU-JEN Taiwanese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

586.

TRAN BOI HA Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

527.

ARJARJA, MANAS Thai

THAI CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

528.

CHIMPALEE, CHUTCHAYA Thai

THAI CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

VISSIONARIES INC. 16/f Tower 6789 6789 Ayala Ave. Bel-air Makati City

529.

MINGMUANG, SUDARAT Thai

530.

587.

THAI CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

WANG, JIAQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SUPPORT TRAINOR

588.

PHONPASOEDYING, PATTHAMA Thai

ZHOU, YING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SUPPORT TRAINOR

THAI CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

589.

LIU, YAJIA Chinese

CHINESE MARKETING CONSULTANT

531.

SRIGASEM, PIMPISUT Thai

THAI CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

590.

WEI, FANGJIAO Chinese

CHINESE MARKETING CONSULTANT

532.

HA THU HANG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

591.

XIAN, LIHONG Chinese

CHINESE MARKETING CONSULTANT

533.

NGUYEN HA BAC Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

592.

XIANG, TIANZI Chinese

CHINESE MARKETING CONSULTANT

534.

BUI CHI CUONG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

593.

DESI NATALIA SAMSUDIN Indonesian

CUSTOMER SUPPORT TRAINOR (MULTI-LINGUAL)

535.

BUI MANH CUONG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

594.

HUANG, CHEN-WEI Taiwanese

CUSTOMER SUPPORT TRAINOR (MULTI-LINGUAL)

536.

BUI MINH TRI Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

595.

WONG SOKE WEN Malaysian

CUSTOMER SUPPORT TRAINOR (MULTI-LINGUAL)

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

537.

BUI THI LEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

596.

CHAU NHAN DU Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

AUNG NAING OO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

538.

BUI XUAN TA Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

597.

DAO THI HA Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

482.

AUNG THURA HTOO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

539.

CHU KHANH TUAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

598.

DO THI HIEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

483.

CHAW SU Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

540.

DUONG CHI THUAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

599.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

484.

HTET HTET SHEIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

541.

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

WANG, LILI Chinese

DUONG THI THU Vietnamese

HOANG MINH TRI Vietnamese

600.

WANG, MIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

485.

KYEIN LIN LI Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

542.

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

416.

HA QUOC TRINH Vietnamese

HUYNH THUY LINH Vietnamese

601.

WANG, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

486.

MA YAN LU Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

543.

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

417.

HO TAN DAT Vietnamese

NGUYEN THI LAN THO Vietnamese

602.

MYO KYAW HTOO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

544.

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

NGUYEN THI THU HUONG Vietnamese

WANG, WEI Chinese

HOANG DUC TOAN Vietnamese

MYO MYITE AUNG Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

545.

TRAN QUY CHI Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

603.

WANG, WENLONG Chinese

HOANG QUOC VU Vietnamese

420.

WANG, JUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

489.

PI SOE KHAM Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

546.

HOANG VAN TRINH Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

421.

WANG, SHENGNAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

490.

SAI LAO MAIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

547.

KHONG TOAN TIEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

604.

TRAN TUONG VY Vietnamese

VIETNAM-SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

422.

WANG, YINDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

491.

SAI LIN NAING OO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

548.

LE ANH TUAN PHUC Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

605.

VU HUY HIEN Vietnamese

423.

WANG, ZHIKUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

492.

SAI SENG WAN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

549.

LE THI ANH Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

VIETNAM-SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

424.

WEI, GEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

493.

SOE MIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

550.

LE THI TRANG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

WANFANG TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, INC. 6-9/f Double Dragon Plaza Edsa Cor. Macapagal Ave. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

425.

WEN, WEIHAN Chinese

494.

ZAW MIN TUN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

551.

LE VINH HIEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

426.

WEN, HAOLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

495.

DUONG DINH TONG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

552.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

496.

PHAM VIET TRUNG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

427.

WEN, YANZI Chinese

LU HA PHUONG Vietnamese

553.

428.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

497.

PHUN NGOC CUONG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

607.

WU, JIANG Chinese

NGO QUANG KHANH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

498.

SAM BUI CHAU Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

NGUYEN SY KIEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHARBIZ INTERNATIONAL, INC. Unit 15k 15th Flr. Cyber One Mall, Eastwood Ave. Bagumbayan 3 Quezon City

429.

WU, SHUAI Chinese

554.

499.

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

NGUYEN THI NGOC GIAU Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

608.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SU QUY MAI Vietnamese

555.

430.

WU, JIAN Chinese

431.

XIANG, CHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

500.

TAO HOANG SUONG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

556.

NGUYEN THI THAO Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

432.

XIAO, WENMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

501.

TRAN THI HOA Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

557.

NGUYEN TRUNG HIEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

433.

XIE, FENFEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

502.

VO KIM TUYEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

558.

NGUYEN VAN SON Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

434.

XIE, RUNFA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

559.

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FAMILY FIRST

SO many were surprised to see videos of a beautiful actress and her boyfriend abroad over the weekend. The actress has reportedly been there for two months now and it’s not for work but for her family. Those who know the actress well know that family is very important to her and it is sad that her grandmother, who is chronically ill, is reportedly dying. That is why the actress is abroad. She wants to spend more time with her grandmother and other family members. The actress could actually give a lecture on how to be in a super extended family and still be happy, generous and grounded. She may not be a perfect person but no one can say that she isn’t a good daughter or sister. She supports every family member in any way that she can.

UNFAITHFUL ONE

AT the center of this issue is an actor, who is good-looking and a magnet for girls. He has been with a starlet for about two years now and in that time, he has cheated on her with another starlet who was then the girlfriend of another actor.

The actor’s girlfriend can’t stand the starlet but she is really quite jealous of a beautiful actress who is also the guy’s ex.

It’s not even the guy’s other beautiful ex who is said to be the love of the actor’s life. Many of her friends are telling the starlet that she should live with the situation because it was she who chose the actor despite knowing what he is like in a relationship.

SHE STILL DIDN’T DESERVE IT

NOW it can be told that the pretty starlet cheated on her exboyfriend, which is why he physically hurt her. The third party was an older actor who the starlet worked with on a project.

He eventually became her boyfriend. It wasn’t the first time that the starlet cheated on her then BF. She also cheated with two other guys, one of them not a celebrity. After the incident, the starlet’s boyfriend had to transfer to another network out of disgrace. Besides, he knew that the starlet being the bigger star means the network would take her side, which was the right side anyway since whatever she did, it was wrong of him to use his fists on her.

RIVALS

THE rivalry of the two actresses, which is rooted in their love for one actor, has extended even to other projects that involve him. Actress 1 is the mother of actor’s child while Actress 2 is his favorite leading lady. Actress 2 is very competitive to the point that she believes she is a superstar and will not work on any project where she isn’t the leading lady. Actress 1 is usually very gracious but she’s not budging. She believes she is the original in the actor’s heart and mind and in the eyes of the public as an actress, so she refuses to play second lead or even colead to Actress 2. They were supposed to work together in a project but this rivalry has made that impossible.

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, November 19, 2020

Gillian Anderson brings uncanny ‘Iron Lady’ to ‘The Crown’

L

BY LYNN ELBE� The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—Gillian Anderson’s portrayal of British political leader Margaret Thatcher in The Crown was built step by step, from distinctive voice to helmet-hair wig to padded wardrobe. Olivia Colman, who as Queen Elizabeth II goes coif to coif with Thatcher, found Anderson’s Thatcher so uncanny that it was “quite scary.” The UK’s first female prime minister and Conservative Party leader died at 87 in 2013.

“Sitting opposite her, especially with the light behind her a bit, it was”—at which point the Oscarwinning Colman paused, shivering dramatically and widening her eyes—“like she was there.”

“It was like having a ghost around,” concurred Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Princess Margaret, the queen’s sister, in the drama’s 10-episode fourth season now on Netflix. Anderson is so arresting as Thatcher that even cynical late-night hosts became giddy fans when she was on as a guest. “I’m already giving you the Emmy for this,” Jimmy Kimmel said, asking if she’d called President-elect Joe Biden with official congrats. Stephen Colbert saluted her performance as “extraordinary.”

The actor, who gained fame and awards for The X-Files, is Chicago-born but spent her childhood in Britain. She’s made England her home for nearly two decades, appearing on a variety of TV shows and the London stage. While she moves easily between the accents of her native and adopted countries, Anderson worked at evoking Thatcher’s cadence and mannerisms with film and audio recordings as guides. The actor said she didn’t bring “massive preconceptions” to the role because her family moved back to America from Britain in 1979, the year Thatcher took office.

“Normally, when working on either a historical character or literary character, I find that it’s good to start from a blank slate anyway,” Anderson said. “It was helpful to have less to wipe away.”

Then came the wig and wardrobe fittings and make-up tests, which she called “a fun part” of the process but more involved than it might seem for the creative team involved.

“Everybody is deciding and discussing which particular hair color it [the wig] was going to be and

whether there’s going to be more than one wig in the season,” she said. Model No. 1 required a makeover after it flunked its screen test, with “huge chunks” of hair pulled out so that it didn’t appear to be “too much of a helmet,” Anderson said.

A bonus of Thatcher’s addition to The Crown: unexpectedly comedic moments involving her and the queen, including a scene in which the prime minister who became known as “the Iron Lady” executes a curtsy verging on Monty Python-esque.

Oxford-educated but with middle-class roots, Thatcher is portrayed as ill-equipped to meet the Windsor standard for fitting behavior. While she gets scant royal help, the future and well-born Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) passes with “flying colors,” as cast member Tobias Menzies puts it.

“It is a very ingrained English thing that we use class to put people in their places,” said Menzies, who plays Prince Philip. Thatcher’s treatment is perhaps “the royal family at their least beguiling,” he suggested. As depicted in The Crown, the queen and

Thatcher had something in common other than being less than a year apart in age: A shared distrust of women in authority, themselves exempted.

“Even though it’s an extraordinary moment in history, and certainly in British history,” Anderson noted, Thatcher appointed only one female cabinet member in her 11-year tenure. An exchange between Elizabeth and Thatcher on the subject plays as biting satire as crafted by series creator and writer Peter Morgan (Anderson’s off-screen partner).

“I’m assuming no women” will get a cabinet post, the queen says to the newly elected Thatcher.

Certainly not, the politician replies, and only in part because there are no “suitable candidates.”

“I have found women in general tend not to be suited to high office. They become too emotional,” she says. Elizabeth’s confident reply: “I doubt you’ll have that trouble with me.”

Jillian, in turn, hopes for the continuous support from their fans: “Super happy po and, at the same time, medyo anxious since eight months po kami nawala sa TV. Sana po ’di pa rin bumibitaw ang viewers namin lalo na po at marami pang mas exciting na mangyayari.”

Finally, the show’s esteemed director Gina Alajar describes how the team braced themselves for the new-normal taping: “We had a series of meetings.

Pinag-usapan namin kung ano-ano ang mga dapat namin gawin to take care of ourselves. We also talked with the actors and everyone concerned in the show of what’s going to

happen kaya when the protocols and guidelines came out, we were kind of ready na.”

Prima Donnas airs weekdays at 3:25 pm on GMA.

FORMER British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (left) and Gillian Anderson as Thatcher in Netflix’s The Crown.

■ AP Entertainment Writer Hilary Fox in London contributed to this report.

‘Prima Donnas’ now airing all-new episodes FOLLOWING its half-year hiatus, GMA’s well-loved and toprating afternoon drama series Prima Donnas has begun airing all new episodes. Prior to the suspension of tapings due to the Covid-19 pandemic, viewers were on the edge of their seats with the riveting and shocking plot twists in the family drama.

Kendra’s (Aiko Melendez) dirty antics to earn Jaime (Wendell Ramos) and Lady Prima’s (Chanda Romero) trust continue to put the life of Lilian (Katrina Halili) in great danger. Out of desperation and without Jaime’s permission, Donna Marie (Jillian Ward), Donna Belle (Althea Ablan), and Donna Lyn (Sofia Pablo) sneak out to visit Lilian who has an important revelation to the three Donnas.

With the continuation of the original series, the cast members—Katrina Halili, Wendell Ramos, Chanda Romero, Benjie Paras, James Blanco, Elijah Alejo, Aiko Melendez, Jillian Ward, Althea Ablan, Vince Crisostomo and Will

A9

Ashley—expressed their delight about working on highly anticipated brand-new episodes, their experiences during their 21-day lock-in taping, and what’s in store for the viewers as the story continues.

Says Katrina: “Dahil maraming nabitin na eksena, lahat ng mga katanungan masasagot na ng mga fresh episodes. Lalo po itong pinaghandaan ng buong production.”

Meanwhile, Chanda expresses her admiration towards her costars’ professionalism: “As an actor, bumilib ako sa lahat ng members ng cast. We stopped taping months ago noong mag-lockdown dahil sa pandemic. Pero hawak pa rin nila ’yung roles na ginagampanan nila. In fact, mas intense ang performance nila ngayon, mas may kulay ang characters.”

“Masaya na may nerbyos at kaba but confident na magugustuhan ng mga viewers ang aming pagbabalik kasi talagang pinaghirapan ng lahat—mula sa crew, staff, artists at directors,” assures Aiko.

‘finding inspiration’ BY ROGER MILLER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 It may be picked 4 O’Hare code 7 Aqua Lung gear 12 “I’ll handle that!”

14 Aptly shaped letter in “valley” 15 Add spice to 16 Ethical care for animals (see letters 3 to 7) 19 Magnetite, e.g.

20 Hotel room fixtures 21 Bread that may contain caraway seeds 22 Number across from four, on a clock 23 Indian lentil dish 24 One of 24 26 Energy from fission (6 to 8) 31 Test score, for instance 34 More than none 35 It’s a long story 36 Unconventional 37 Maui-to-Hawaii dir.

38 Sharp-tasting 39 “___ bien!”

40 Trash bag sealer

41 Nice touch?

42 Contest held the day before the MLB All-Star Game (1 to 5) 45 Polio vaccine developer 46 “That includes ___!”

47 Seal’s blubber 50 Clear the tables 53 Pizza order 54 Blow up, as a photo 56 Class where you may discover a painter, or a hint to the starred answers’ indicated letters 59 Sriracha and hollandaise 60 Pool stick 61 The “M” of YMCA 62 Respected one 63 Photo ___ (media events) 64 Blond’s secret, maybe DOWN 1 Like seven Nolan Ryan games 2 Accustom 3 Pumbaa’s friend in The Lion King 4 Ham it up 5 Share again, like a story 6 German article

7 8 9 10 11 13 15 17 18 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 37 38 40 41 43 44 47

Establishes Engine part Computer person?

Extremely thin Chip in chips Amy who wrote The Joy Luck Club Appetizing Small bump Natural gas component Set of prayers with beads Hospital heroes Made less stressful Decline Breakfast staples Some are ultraviolet Kind of IRA French bread?

Cherry throwaway Partner of hook and line ___ rasa Flowers in the Netherlands Chums Nicki Minaj or Cardi B Binoculars accessory Worn out mentally

48 49 50 51 52 55 57 58

Torment Past, for the verb “passed” An Angel may steal one Eurasia’s ___ Mountains Poker variety You can bank on it Card featuring an A Author Umberto

Solution to Tuesday’s puzzle:

A10 Thursday, November 19, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Damning the dams

F

ollowing the massive flooding in Cagayan, Isabela, Pampanga, Bulacan, Marikina, Rizal, and other parts of the country as Typhoon Ulysses struck, it was easy for everybody to blame the dams for the worst flooding in Luzon since Typhoon Ondoy. In Cagayan and Isabela, for example, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration gave a powerful description of the Magat Dam’s action: At its peak, the dam was releasing 6,706 cubic meters of water per second at maximum discharge.

In a span of 11 hours, the dam released enough water to fill 106,223 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or about two pools per second.

Apart from the Magat Dam, six other dams in various parts of Luzon—Angat, Ipo, La Mesa, Ambuklao, Binga, and San Roque—reportedly caused the heavy flooding. No wonder some lawmakers are already itching to grill officials of agencies responsible for the release of water from these dams even before the floodwaters had a chance to recede.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said he and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian would question the dam operators, including the National Power Corp. (NPC) and the National Irrigation Administration, when their proposed 2021 budgets would be taken up in plenary.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año is proposing the establishment of standard protocols for the release of water from dams for better preparation and response during times of calamities. He said local chief executives have voiced concern that dam administrators have different protocols on the release of water. Año said standard protocols during times of calamities should be under the supervision of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The NPC manages 22 dams all over the country and conducts semiannual inspection to the five major dams in Luzon and seven dams in Mindanao to ensure their integrity and the safety of the people that live downstream of the dams. The agency also practices efficient reservoir management with partner agencies to help conserve water while optimizing water utilization.

All over the world, dams are built for their potential benefits, which include water supply, electricity generation, flood control, recreation and irrigation. When dams fill, they are designed to release the excess water into the river system they are built on, like the Cagayan River in the case of Magat Dam. The Cagayan River, known as Rio Grande de Cagayan, is the longest and largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines, with a total length of approximately 505 kilometers. The river has a drainage basin covering 27,753 square kilometers and flows north to its mouth at the Babuyan Channel near the town of Aparri. Given these facts, Cagayan province should be spared from floods. Remember that Magat Dam only released water enough to fill 106,223 Olympic-sized swimming pools. In the 1960s, Cagayan River can accommodate more than the water volume recently released by the Magat Dam. However, siltation and government neglect killed the river.

Here’s what the people need to know: Magat Dam is nearly 40 years old and has not been upgraded in decades. Logging operations helped destroy watershed areas near the dam that could help prevent denudation. Magat Dam would have collapsed under the deluge of Typhoon Ulysses if excess water was not released. The result would have been catastrophic.

We hope that the recent floods will finally bring about some real change.

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James Jimenez

spox

T

he 2019 National and Local Elections were considered to be among the most credible elections ever held in the Philippines, bar none. And yet, hanging like a cloud over that achievement are the seven hours on election night, during which media outlets stopped updating their reports of election results.

With our penchant for coming up with catch labels for these things, that period of time has since come to be known as the 7-hour glitch.

And to this day, those three words—“seven-hour-glitch”—are used as a snappy retort intended to negate any notion that elections in the Philippines could be trusted.

So what was it exactly that happened that night? What exactly was the seven-hour glitch? To understand that incident fully, we must first understand what happens at the end of election day.

When voting has ended, and before they do anything else, the vote counting machines print out eight copies of the summary of the votes garnered by each candidate. These documents are called the election returns, and all eight are distributed to eight designated recipients, including the watchers of political parties.

This means that at this point, the election results of each particular precinct are already known by both the Comelec and the representatives of the candidates.

Once the printing of the eight copies is done, the digital version (or a soft copy) of the returns is electronically transmitted to the city or

municipal canvassing center where the results from all the various precincts in the city or municipality are tallied up in a process called “canvassing.” The same data is also sent to the Comelec Central Server, which is the main repository of election results data. And finally, the soft copies of the election returns are sent to the Transparency Server. So, at the end of the voting day, the election results are printed and digital copies are sent to three (and this is an important point, so remember it) different destinations, each one separate and operating independently of each other: the canvassing center, the central server, and the transparency server. For the sake of our discussion, let’s call them Track 1, Track 2, and Track 3.

Track 1—or the data sent to the canvassing center—is the most important track of all because it is the

path that leads to election results being proclaimed. Once the election returns from the various precincts are received, the canvassing system at the city or municipality canvassing center outputs a canvass report, a soft copy of which is electronically transmitted to the provincial canvassing center. At the provincial canvassing center, all the canvass reports of the various cities and municipalities within the province are totaled up to produce the provincial canvass; all provincial canvasses are then sent to the National Board of Canvassers where all those results are once again totaled. So that’s three canvassing stations. At the municipal canvassing station, local election results are proclaimed; at the provincial, provincial elections results; and at the national, the results for Senator and Party-List. And all of these results flow from Track 1.

Track 2—or the data sent to the Central Server—is there to ensure that there is a back up of the data received by Track 1, but Track 2 data isn’t used to generate canvass reports at any level.

Track 3—or the data sent to the Transparency Server—like Track 2 is not used to generate canvass reports at any level. Instead, Track 3 data is served up to media outlets and the accredited citizen’s arm, so they can report out the progress of the counting. In effect, therefore, Track 3 data has no ability to affect the outcome of the results (only Track 1 data can do that), but it does give the general public the ability to track how the counting is going. And in 2019, it was Track 3 that went dark for about seven hours.

US election: Does it matter?

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Senior Editors

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Seven hours

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

S

O why is the global television sports industry—pre-Covid, of course—worth up to $100 billion a year? For the same reasons, my comments above are silly considering I watch every move on the global asset and financial markets. People want to know the results “first” in real time and more importantly want to feel they are part of the action.

“Pay-per-view” is as close as you will ever get to experience a punch to the face from Manny Pacquiao.

Politics became a television “sport” in the 1960s. Anyone who was alive then watched as John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev battled for the Championship of the Western Hemisphere. And politics is now—like sports—a firm part of the social media landscape. And if there is a World Cup of politics, it is the US presidential election. The

world watches for the same reason as viewing the Olympics; real-time results and virtual participation. No domestic politics can match what comes out of the US. However, the reality is that the occupant of the office of US president is becoming less and less important.

“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” The other reality is that the geopolitical world of the 21st century has substantially changed if not reduced the power of the United

States. The bipolar world of the 20th century between the USSR and the US no longer exists.

The “Cold War” has been augmented with the “G-7,” the G-20, the BRICS, and serious regional political and economic groupings and alliances such as Asean, Asean Plus 3, the European Union, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The world was also divided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, with their little cousin the Asian Development Bank. January 2016 saw the entry of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. “Pax Americana” now must share the global stage with the “Belt and Road Initiative.”

It is obviously not that the US and its president are unimportant. But the global game has changed in the past 20 years. Obama’s words could not keep the Chinese out of Panatag Shoal. Obama’s “red line” in the Syrian civil war was nothing more than chuckle to both the Syrian government and the rebels.

It is no longer effective for the US—or any country—to merely

What happened?

Track 3 data goes into the Transparency Server, right? From there, the data gets “pushed” out electronically to various media outlets, which then use the data they receive to report on the progress of the vote counting. Imagine, if you will, a big road which ends with multiple smaller roads branching out from it. That big road is where the election data coming from the various precincts—called election returns, remember?—comes into the transparency server. From the transparency server, the data is then supposed to be pushed to media, or in this example, the smaller streets branching out from the main road. Early evening of election day, unfortunately, that junction got overwhelmed with the amount of data coming in from all over the country, all at the same time. As a result of the congestion, no data could get through to the media, and with no data coming in, media reporting simply got stuck.

Important to note again that we are just talking about Track 3 data.

While all of this drama was going on, Tracks 1 and 2 were performing precisely as they were supposed to.

Track 1 was resulting in proclamations all over the country; and Track 2 was essentially compiling a backup record of election results. The gridlock on Track 3, or the now infamous “glitch,” on the other hand, meant that the news flash updates about the election results had all but stopped.

Next week: What did the Comelec do about the glitch, what did the media know, and why did it take so long to fix?

show an “Iron Fist.” That is useless unless the world knows that the country is willing to punch with it. Ask Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine. Does anyone doubt Russia’s resolve? Or China’s when Xi Jinping says he owns the South China Sea? Trump’s “craziest guy in the room”—and therefore the most dangerous—rhetoric worked with the Iranian “Mad Mullahs” and the “Little Rocket Man” in North Korea for a while. But now the US is not the only power, let alone “Superpower” on the planet.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made 16 trips to the US. President Benigno Aquino 3rd went there seven times. Duterte was the most traveled Philippine president in his first year of office, but not once to the US. The US election matters much more if you bet on the winner.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Opinion BusinessMirror

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PHL drowns in the flood King for the little ones of cyclical neglect

Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

Val A. Villanueva

M

Businesswise

embers of both houses of Congress are pushing for “the widespread probe on severe flooding” caused by Typhoon Ulysses, even as President Duterte ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to investigate illegal mining and logging activities in Cagayan Valley.

C

losing our liturgical calendar is the solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ as the King of the Universe. He is proclaimed as our irreplaceable Savior-King because He established the reign of God in the world, even as we pray that we be able to live by His Gospel and so be welcomed to the eternal joy of his kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46).

At the end of time Calling it a “vicious cycle,” lawmakers believe that the flooding and landslides were more a result of human activities and not just the scourge brought about by the successive cyclones that devastated the country, which continues to reel from a deadly pandemic.

I have heard all of it before. What appears to me as a vicious cycle are politicians acting as they if they really care about the welfare of their constituents whenever disasters strike year in and year out. How many investigations have been done through the years that have yielded actual productive and lasting positive results? Why do politicians insist on merely grandstanding and getting brownie points from the suffering of Filipinos in times of tragedies?

Our so-called “best-and-brightest” leaders point out that these disasters are caused by the lack of watersheds and catch basins, compounded by increasing and unabated illegal activities for the disaster.

Some even proposed to designate areas as catch basins to mitigate flooding. I really don’t understand what they mean by this. Catch basins are natural geo formations. It doesn’t take rocket science to caution, or totally prohibit, people from creating communities at the foot of mountains, in low-lying areas, or too close to the shore. What is there to designate? Are they saying we should dig humongous wells to catch the rushing waters from the mountain top? Pray, tell!

Provident Village in Marikina nestles on a natural catch basin.

It was inundated along with other low-lying areas during Typhoon Ondoy on September 23, 2009. Ulysses again swamped it this time, with déjà vu scenes of residents being plucked out of their rooftops. On cue, politicians quickly jumped in and ordered – what else? – an investigation. That flooded area, they said, was not even supposed to be zoned as residential.

Provident Village was built in the late 1960s. It took our esteemed leaders more than four decades to realize this? What gives?

Up north in Nueva Vizcaya, a landslide killed five people in the gold-mining village of Runruno.

Those who were killed, however, were not even in vicinity of the mining operation, but in an area that had been designated as geohazard by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) since 2018.

Again, what gives?

What I’m driving at here is that these things would not have happened without complicity with people with badges. Why was the developer allowed to build subdivisions in areas deemed as hazardous? Why are townsfolks up north allowed to mine without permits and in total disregard of the dangers that their activities pose, not only to them, but also to the general public and the environment?

I agree that illegal logging, unregulated or illegal mining, and illegal classification of residential areas are what have been causing tragedy after tragedy in those areas. Conducting useless investigations after costly investigations, year in and year out, I also believe, is another tragedy; a vicious cycle that government officials should break out off.

Catastrophes spawn pseudo activists who are just too willing to jump up for in order to get funding from non-government organizations, which are supported in dollars by

wealthy philanthropic foundations; grants from local, state, and federal agencies located mostly in the US, and private donations mainly from leftist organizations.

Here those pseudo activists go again, calling for a halt in all mining activities, instead of helping distraught people in dire need of essentials to survive the night.

These activists continually lump together small-scale illegal miners with the formal, large-scale sector.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines spokesperson Rocky Dimaculangan in a statement said: “These illegal operations do not follow the same stringent safety and environment standards required of legitimate large-scale mining operators, including tailings and water management, air and water monitoring, mine rehabilitation, and reforestation. For every tree that is felled to make way for mining, large-scale miners are required to plant 100 trees.”

Ticking off some MGB data, Dimaculangan said: “[A]s of May 2020, the Philippine large-scale mining industry has planted 36.87 million seedlings in 28,717.37 hectares of mined-out and other areas. Of these, 33.76 million trees have survived, or a survival rate of 91.58 percent. As of August 2020, large-scale mining companies spent over P380 million on personal protective equipment, disinfectants, and medical supplies, as well as on food assistance and supplies for the Covid-19 social amelioration measures. The effort has benefitted nearly 300,000 frontliners and 1.1 million households living in host-communities.”

Loss of lives and income are just too glaring to ignore: The Department of Agriculture said the three typhoons that hit the country one after the other caused P10.5 billion in damage to crops and farms, while the Department of Public Works and Highways placed the damage to infrastructure in eight regions at P8 billion. In Metro Manila, the Marikina local government estimated the damage caused by Ulysses at P30 billion. To date, Ulysses has claimed 73 lives.

Senator Risa Hontiveros pointed out that illegal logging and landgrabbing had increased the vulnerability of the country’s natural resources to intense typhoons. I couldn’t agree with her more.

Citing “shocking” images and audio recordings of Isabela residents crying out to be rescued after water that had been released from Magat Dam had inundated their villages, Hontiveros said, “Conservation experts from Masungi Georeserve said illegal activity in Upper Marikina Watershed and Sierra Madre [remained unabated], despite legal protection under the National Integrated Protected System.”

Certainly, our lawmakers know that these “lucrative activities” cannot easily be eradicated unless they act with utmost urgency and uncompromising political will. We know and they know that illegal loggers and illegal miners are acting in cahoots with people in power. For as long as we have leaders who are willing to sacrifice public health and environmental safety for silver to line their pockets, the whole country will forever be drawn into a vicious cycle of mumbo-jumbo.

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

IN His coming at the end of time, the Son of Man will solemnly intervene for the closure of human history.

Coming in glory with all the angels, he takes his throne to judge all nations. As the king of the universe, he will give to those blessed by His Father the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. For this kingdom He came to preach and to call all to repentance. He taught the people in words and deeds that the kingdom has been prepared for the poor and the little ones to whom God will do justice (Matthew 5:12). These blessed ones are those who actually live according to their faith, and not those who merely say “Lord, Lord.”

The judgment scene in the gospel is at the summit of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom. Those judged worthy to share in the eternal joy of communion with God and so to enter the kingdom of heaven are those who have been merciful to others.

These are those who accept that the first commandment of the love of God cannot be separated from the second commandment of the love of neighbor. Thus, for God’s adopted children inheriting the kingdom will be on the basis of what they have done or not done for those who are needy: the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, prisoners, elderly, abandoned, etc.

Thursday, November 19, 2020 A11

To them is to me The perplexity of people confronted with the facts of what they have done or failed to do for others in this life hinges on the surprising clarification that they have done so or not to our Lord Jesus Christ himself. When did they see him hungry and did not feed him? And the King will say, “You did to me” what you have done to your fellow human beings, and “You did not do for me” what you neglected to do for others. Jesus identifies himself with the little ones and the poor who are in need of help and compassion.

What we do to them and for them is the decisive factor in the divine judgment at the end.

Many will say on that day, “Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not perform mighty deeds in your name?” And they will be told, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers” (Matthew 7:21-23). So, the centrality of love and works of mercy will be most glaring at the final judgment. “For it is mercy I desire, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6, quoted in Matthew 9:13 and 12:7).

Our Savior is the Shepherd-King of His people, concerned with the frailest of His flock. God is full of mercy and compassion, and it is our task and privilege to be patterned after this divine image. “For He shall rescue

the poor man when He cries out, and the afflicted when He has no one to help Him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor, the lives of the poor He shall save” (Psalm 72:12-13).

Alálaong bagá, as the Son shares the love of the Father, we His people are called to share his concerns and ways. That is why he recognizes those who act like him and are animated with the same charity: His kapuso at kadiwa (one in heart and soul with Him). Our identifying features must be our works of love and mercy; that is what our King takes into account in dealing with us at the gate to eternity. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7). God who offers us His mercy and compassion in and through Jesus, wants us also to show mercy to one another. It would be fatal if said to any of us: “I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” (Matthew 18:32-33). As St. Augustine pointed out, we shall enter heaven not because we have not sinned, but because our deeds of mercy have expiated for our sins.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God

every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Yes, Mr. President, government has not done anything to stop illegal logging, mining Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

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N a situation briefing on the large-scale flooding that hit Cagayan Valley and Isabela, President Duterte fumed: the government has not done anything to stop illegal logging and mining. He then ordered Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to investigate and stop the nefarious characters behind these criminal activities.

We agree with the President with his observation. We also hope General Cimatu, with his military background and discipline, can make a difference in the decades-long campaign of civil society organizations (CSOs), Church and concerned citizens to stop the mindless harvesting of our forests and extraction of our mineral resources not only by the small players but also, and more importantly, by the big corporations.

As a starter, Secretary Cimatu should inquire among his Department of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretaries and Regional Directors: what has happened to the “National Greening Program.”

Under the Administration of President Benigno Aquino, the NGP was considered a “flagship” project. The DENR was allocated billions of pesos to implement the NGP in partnership with environmental groups across the country. The NGP target was ambitious: 1.5 billion trees to be planted on 1.5 million hectares

in six years. Under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 of the Duterte Administration, the NGP has been extended and “enhanced,” with an equally ambitious target area, 7.1 million hectares of deforested land to be “rehabilitated.”

What then is the scorecard on NGP? The targets of the original NGP program include the following: 12 percent increase in forest cover based on 2003 level, or 7.2 million hectares of reforestation, with 85 percent survival rate. Naturally, had the original NGP and the enhanced NGP programs been fully implemented, our forest lands would have larger holding capacity. There would be reduced downstream flooding and soil erosion that the country has witnessed with the arrival of Typhoon Ulysses.

Another area that Secretary Cimatu should investigate is the status of the different “Special Land Use Permits” that the DENR has been giving to projects of corporations and individuals that entail occupa-

tion and use of forest lands. Most of the wealthy applicants justify their projects by linking them to the government’s environmental programs, for example, establishing a mountain trekking project for the benefit of students and indigenous people who serve as guides. However, some of those given permits are reported to be using the privilege to occupy forest lands for highly questionable activities such as raising fighting cocks, establishing shooting ranges for gun lovers and so on.

The worst offenders are those who build permanent palatial homes in forest lands. There is even a report that one of the towns severely flooded in the boundary of Quezon and Camarines Norte was due to the road built by an influential family leading to their home right on top of the watershed area. Secretary Cimatu will do the nation a great service if he can publish who are the corporations and individuals given these special permits, what are the projects they have, the areas covered and what exactly is the status on the uses and possible mis-uses of forest lands by the lucky permit holders.

Another reality that Secretary Cimatu should reflect on: how to deal with the poor population living in forest lands. The truth is that almost all forest lands are populated. There are the indigenous peoples who have been fighting for the right to stay on what they consider as their ancestral lands. They have been the victims of land developers, dam builders, mining companies and other economic actors who have been driving them further and further from the lowlands.

There has also been a steady flow of migrant families, poor families who have difficulty surviving in the lowlands due to limited jobs available to the family breadwinners. Usually, these lowlanders build homes and farms without any legal titles or permits, only “posisyon’s” or occupation of small lots. Many of the migrant families are actually second and third generation families.

In recent years, the DENR, with the help of academic institutions such as the Visayas State University and CSOs like Haribon, have developed a win-win approach in dealing with the population living in the forest lands—“Transform the forest dwellers into forest keepers.” Give them financial assistance in keeping the forest. This is like the conditional cash transfer—except that cash for keeping the forest is real work.

This approach has been validated to be a good model in preserving, nurturing and yes, “growing” the forest. The problem happens when the DENR stops giving financial assistance, which means some of the forest keepers have no choice but to look for alternative sources of income.

This is why one of the tasks facing Secretary Cimatu is how to direct his Undersecretaries and Regional Directors to do wide consultations with all those living in the forests and come up with programs that are supportive of community development and sustainable forest management. The key is partnership building with the IPs, CSOs, Church and LGUs. After all, rebuilding the nation’s forests is a task that should involve all citizens of this flood-prone country.

The only thing worse than a big default is a surprise one

By Shuli Ren

Bloomberg Opinion

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n 2018, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited one of Tsinghua Unigroup Co.’s mega memory-chip factories in Wuhan, he said that semiconductor processing is the heart of a nation’s manufacturing industry. Well, that heart just skipped a beat.

Unigroup, a commercial arm of the prestigious Tsinghua University, Xi’s alma mater, missed a payment on a 1.3 billion yuan ($198 million) note on Monday, adding to a lengthening list of SOE defaults. Investors are now left guessing: What type of SOEs will Beijing support?

How much money can we claw back in the event of a default?

It will be a game of hide and seek.

There’s now a deepening suspicion that SOEs will transfer good assets out before

creditors drag them to court. A few days before its default, Unigroup pledged a 16.14% stake in smart-card chip designer Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics Co., worth about $1.4 billion, to Bank of Beijing for a 10 billion yuan credit line. But that credit line had already been signed at the beginning of the year, and Unigroup reportedly didn’t receive fresh loans in return. This echoes similar moves from two large regional SOEs. And where’s all the cash these companies claimed on their balance sheets?

Yongcheng Coal & Electricity Holding Group Co.’s default on a 1 billion yuan note on Nov. 10 came as a surprise. As of June, it sat on close to 50 billion yuan of cash; only 360 million yuan was restricted as term deposits with Ping An Bank Co., the company disclosed a month ago. In late October, Yongcheng raised a 1 billion yuan three-year note, with an AAA-rating from a local agency. So tra-

ditional credit analysis, such as looking at whether a company has enough cash to cover short-term debt, doesn’t work.

Investors all know SOEs’ ubiquitous AAA ratings are a joke. In the past, they tried to differentiate bond issuers by their geographical locations or the nature of their business operations. Companies from impoverished provinces that have a track record of defaults, such as Liaoning, Tianjin or Qinghai, were shunned.

Meanwhile, SOEs that controlled assets with national strategic value were sought after.

The latest wave of defaults proved them wrong. Yongcheng, which has 24.4 billion yuan of bonds outstanding, is an SOE from the fiscally healthy Henan province. Meanwhile, Unigroup controls one of the Chinese semiconductor industry’s two crown jewels: Its flash-memory chip factory in Wuhan is cutting-edge.

One question is why Beijing is allow-

ing SOE defaults now. Bear in mind, Xi always wanted to carry out this painful corporate deleveraging campaign. He started in late 2017, but got derailed by President Donald Trump’s trade war and then the Covid-19 outbreak. Now, both roadblocks are gone. From a politician’s eye, defaults can just be a quicker way to enforce SOE reform. As long as quality assets are hidden away, companies can go into bankruptcy court and emerge leaner. Local courts are part of the government, anyhow. Debtholders will just have to nurse their wounds.

Last Friday, when Unigroup was proposing to extend its due date, parent Tsinghua Holdings’ Chairman Long Dawei said “Unigroup is not standing alone” as a show of confidence, Debtwire reported.

That might be. But these SOE defaults and restructurings are also leaving investors isolated and in the dark, with no faith or assets to hold onto.

A12 Thursday, November 19, 2020

Japan seen to wrest back top banana importer status

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

APAN is poised to overtake China as the Philippines’s top banana export market this year as total purchase by Japan ending September grew 8.8 percent on the back of firmer consumer demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Preliminary Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) trade data showed that banana exports to Japan from January to September reached 1.138 million metric tons (MMT), which was 27 percent over the 893,628.177 MT shipped to China during the same period.

Latest PSA data showed that the country’s nine-month banana shipment to Japan was 8.8 percent higher than the 1.046 MMT it exported to the East Asian country in the same period of last year. However, banana shipments to China plunged by 32 percent from last year’s 1.178 MMT, PSA

data indicated.

PSA data showed that the value of banana exports to Japan rose by 6.3 percent to $571.283 million while those shipped to China fell by 28.2 percent to $365.363 million.

China has been the country’s top banana export market for two years now since it wrested Japan’s 30-year record in 2018. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/04/22/chinawrests-japans-30-yr-record-astop-buyer-of-phl-bananas/) Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA)

Executive Director Stephen A. Antig said Japan edged the Chinese market due to the country’s banana quality advantage that Japanese consumers prefer.

Antig explained that this comes at a time when China is also sourcing its banana supplies from other Southeast Asian producers like Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia that could have slashed the Philippines’s market share.

He added that small banana growers, who usually cater to the China market, have been drastically affected by Panama disease, cutting down their production.

“I guess Japan will be number one this year. Japan is very particular with the size and quality, which the Philippines supply,” Antig told the BusinessMirror.

Nonetheless, Antig noted that China remains a major market for the Philippines due to its growing demand for bananas.

The country’s overall banana exports during the nine-month period declined by 10 percent to 2.983 MMT from last year’s 3.236 MMT, based on PSA data.

In terms of value, banana exports fell by 13 percent to $1.281 bil-

Price freeze over Luzon as state of calamity is declared

A

PRICE freeze is now in effect in Luzon after President Duterte placed the entire Luzon under a state of calamity due to the recent typhoons which devastated the country.

On Wednesday, Duterte finally signed Proclamation No. 1051 to make the declaration based on the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

"This declaration will, among others, effectively control the prices of basic goods and commodities for the affected areas," Duterte said.

The state of calamity in Luzon will remain in effect until the President lifts it.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the price freeze will cover the following food items: rice, corn, cooking oil, dried and other marine products, fresh eggs, fresh pork, beef and vegetables, root crops, sugar and fresh fruits.

He said it will also include canned fish and other marine products, processed milk, coffee, laundry soap, detergent, candles, bread, salt, potable water in bottles and containers, and locally manufactured instant noodles.

For non-food items, he said the prize freeze will apply to firewood and charcoal, drugs classified essential by the Department of Health, household liquefied petro-

leum gas (LPG) and kerosene.

Duterte’s declaration also aims to hasten the rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts of the government and the private sector in areas devastated by typhoons Quinta (international name: Molave), Rolly (international name: Goni), and Ulysses (international name: Vamco).

"All departments and concerned agencies are working together towards the rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation of affected areas and residents," Duterte said.

To facilitate the rehabilitation efforts, Duterte signed Executive Order No. 120 creating the Build Back Better Task Force (BBBTF) to be led by the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The BBBTF will be vice chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from an initial 21 government agencies.

Roque earlier said the BBBTF will be led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Duterte said the BBBTF will serve as the "overall and central body to ensure the entire whole-ofgovernment implementation and monitoring of post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation efforts of the national government in typhoonaffected area." Samuel P. Medenilla

Atienza, others new House execs

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HE House of Representatives on Wednesday elected Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez as new deputy speakers.

Atienza, Villar and Rufus will replace Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu. Atienza said they will seek “to help provide avenues for economic progress for the nation and for the individual Filipinos. We will do everything we can using all the experiences we have in helping the Speaker with his vision of giving Filipinos a better life.”

Rodriguez felt “humbled by the trust and privilege to serve as Deputy

Speaker of the 18th Congress.”

Caloocan Rep. Dale Malapitan was elected to replace Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo as head of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal; Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo now chairs the Energy committee which Speaker Lord AlLan Velasco earlier chaired.

Former Batangas Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza is the new Secretary-General of the House with Jocelia Bighani Sipin’s resignation.

Meanwhile, Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo said upon the wishes of the late Rep. Raul del Mar, as communicated by his family and constituency, Speaker Velasco is designated the new caretaker of the 1st District of Cebu City.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

lion from $1.471 billion, PSA data also showed.

Antig said they expect fullyear shipments to fall between 15 percent and 20 percent from last year’s record-high volume of 4.403 MMT due to the impact of Panama disease to local output and rising production costs.

The country’s banana output from January to September fell by 1.7 percent to 6.656 MMT from last year’s 6.786 MMT due to the impact of Panama disease and climate change. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2020/05/18/bananaoutput-declines-to-4-year-lowin-q1/) Last year, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urged governments of banana-producing countries to intensify their interventions against the dreaded Fusarium wilt or Panama disease, as it puts exporters like the Philippines at risk of losing thousands of hectares of plantations by 2028. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/11/12/ disease-may-wipe-out-phl-banana-farms-fao-study/)

HOUSE TARGETS END-‘20 OK OF COCO TRUST FUND

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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@joveemarie

HE House of Representatives is eyeing to approve before the year ends the Duterte administration’s priority measure creating the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CITF), a lawmaker said on Wednesday.

House Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairman Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga said the passage of the bill is now long overdue.

“This is a priority of the President and the Speaker, so we are optimistic that the plenary will approve this before our Christmas break [on December 19],” he said in a news conference.

During a meeting of the appropriations committee also on Wednesday, the panel approved the budgetary provisions of the proposal.

Under the still unnumbered substitute bill, the CITF is separate and distinct from the regular funds appropriated to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) through the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).

As such, the PCA shall continue to pursue its mandate of imple-

menting programs and projects from the regular GAA appropriations and from funds under the Trust Fund.

“Our coconut farmers are in dire need of help yet the money could not be touched as there has to be a law passed by Congress before it could be used for the purpose it was intended,” Enverga said.

“This unnumbered substitute bill now for consideration seeks to consolidate all assets and benefits emanating from the coconut levy, and creating a Trust Fund therefrom, for the ultimate benefit of coconut farmers and farmworkers as embodied in the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan, found in Section 4 of the bill,” he added.

According to Enverga, the utilization of the Trust Fund created under this proposal shall be in accordance with the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan which shall be prepared by the PCA, in consultation with all the stakeholders concerned, and approved by the President of the Philippines.

He said the plan shall be subject to mandatory annual review.

Continued on A2

4 Aetas in jail, sans bail, in 1st case under new terror law

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HE Bagong A lyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has informed the Supreme Court of the first case involving alleged violation of the controversial Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 with a plea to immediately act on the petitions seeking to immediately enjoin its implementation as well as its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

In a 16 - page compl i a nce and manifestat ion, Bayan through law yer Edre Olalia of the National Union of Peoples’ Law yers (NUPL) said two Aetas have been charged with violation of Section 4 (a) of R A 11479 before the Regional Trial Court of Olongapo City last September.

They were identified as Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos who are now detained at the Olongapo City Jail awaiting their trial for the nonbailable offense.

Gurung and Ramos and two other female Aetas are accused of being members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) as they were going down the moun-

tain in Sitio Lumibao, Barangay Buhawen, San Marcelino Zambales, where a recent encounter took place between a group of NPA members and soldiers.

In their manifestation, Bayan said the Aetas were merely evacuating from the area due to intense military operations and continued bombings in their ancestral lands.

They were accosted by elements of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army last August 21.

Ol a l i a sa id t he fou r A e t a s w e re a l l c h a r ge d w it h nonba i l able i l lega l posses sion of firearms and explosives, but only Gurung and R a mo s w e r e c h a r g e d w it h violation of the provision of the ATA. The military is accusing Gurung and Ramos of taking part in the firefight against the military that resulted in the death of one of its members.

The group said the filing of the case as well as the series of pronouncements of military officials threatening the prosecution of

several well-known individuals for supposed violation of the ATA should prompt the SC to immediately act on the petitions seeking to enjoin the enforcement of the said law.

“In view of these incidents, p e t it ione r s re ite r ate t he i r prayers for injunctive reliefs and the nullification of the Anti-Terrorism Act as well as its Implementing Rules and Regulations, which have all become even more urgent and imperative,” the group said.

Bayan also cited the admission of Armed Forces of the Ph i l i p p i n e s - Nat i o n a l Ta s k Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) and chief of staff of the S out he r n Lu z on Com m a nd Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade that lawyer Neri Colmenares and members of the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives were under surveillance for allegedly being members of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Colmenares is one of the petitioners in the SC seeking to de-

clare the ATA unconstitutional.

Bayan also cited Parlade’s statements warning actresses Liza Soberano and Angel Locsin against associating themselves with human-rights advocate Gabriela, which is believed to have links with the communist movement in the country.

Bayan also noted the admission of the members of the NTFElcac before the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation hearing that they have been targeting progressive party-lists and nongovernment organizations for allegedly being legal fronts of the CPP. “These baseless, blatant, and damaging vilification and redtagging by those who are key components of the Anti-Terrorism Council have escalated the petitioners’ well-founded fear that RA 11479 and its unbridled power of designation will be used arbitrarily, without recognition of the principles of due process, presumption of innocence and basis rules of evidence,” the group said.

Joel R. San Juan

Red Cross to cut Covid test price to help boost tourism

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

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HE Philippine Red Cross will be cutting the cost of its RTPCR test for tourists going to destinations which require it.

This was revealed by Senator Richard Gordon late Tuesday, during the plenary hearing on the budget of the Department of Tourism (DOT). Gordon, who also chairs PRC, told the senators online and DOT officials, “We are going to reduce the [cost of the] test to the lowest possible; we’re going to bring it down to P3,300 and eventually to P3,200, that would allow for more people to get tested.”

He said he reached this decision after speaking with private tourism businessmen such as Henry Chusuey of the Henann Group, which operates resorts in Boracay and Bohol. President Duterte had also

issued Executive Order No. 118 directing the Department of Health and Department of Trade and Industry to set a price cap on Covid tests, whether RT-PCR or antigen.

“We wish you could bring it down some more, but in the meantime, they [private tourism stakeholders] all agreed, [domestic tourists] will be tested, so that they can go, but precisely also not to overload this magnificent destination [Boracay], but be also supported by Bohol, the Chocolate Hills, and all that, and of course, Palawan, and Cebu. There are so many places that domestic tourism can immediately revive,” he added.

At present, PRC charges P4,000 for its RT-PCR test. Except for Baguio, which accepts antigen test results, most tourism destinations require tourists to submit RT-PCR test results. The DOT has also been pushing to pilot the saliva test, currently used in Japan’s airports, as an alternative to the more expensive and invasive

RT-PCR test. (See, “DOH sitting on DOT request for piloting saliva Covid test?”in the BusinessMirror, November 17, 2020.)

With international travel restrictions still in place, the DOT is focusing on a domestic tourism program, with the development and marketing of regional circuits all over the country grouped into: North Luzon Circuit (Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Cordillera Administrative Region); Southern Luzon (Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol); Visayas (Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Samar, Cebu and Bohol, Negros Island, Aklan, Iloilo); and Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen and Caraga).

(See, “DOT only has P1.4 billion to promote PHL as pandemic guts tourism,” in the BusinessMirror, September 18, 2020.)

The DOT has a proposed budget

of P4.14 billion, of which, P3.85 billion is allocated for the agency’s head office and regional offices, the Intramuros Administration at P96 million, and the National Parks Development Committee, at P224.5 million. There are separate budgets for its attached agencies such as the Tourism Promotions Board, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Duty Free Philippines Corp., which are mostly internally generated or allocations from travel taxes.

A former tourism secretary, Gordon also recommended the revival of “holiday economics,” a scheme pioneered by former President Arroyo, wherein holidays that fall in the middle of week are moved to Monday or Friday to allow the public to go on three-day weekend vacations.

No questions were asked of the DOT officials present; thus, the agency’s budget was deemed “submitted.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 19, 2020

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SMC: Solar facility to help power international airport

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

he power arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) will put up a 200-megawatt (MW) solar farm on the future site of its P740-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project in Bulacan.

The solar power facility, SMC said on Wednesday, will be built on its 2,500-hectare property to help power the international airport.

Aside from the solar farm, San Miguel Global Power will also install a battery energy storage system (BESS) capable of storing power when generation is high but power consumption is low, and can be released when the demand is high.

SMC President Ramon S. Ang said the solar farm will be one of the fa-

cilities in the country.

“This battery storage will be a viable solution to balancing electricity loads and storing unstable energy supply coming from the sun and other renewable sources of energy which we are looking to utilize for the airport,” Ang said.

SMC is investing heavily in battery storage technology in various parts of the country to help stabilize power grids, minimize power wastage and provide reliable and afford-

able electricity coming from a mix of renewable and traditional sources.

BESS also encourages the use of more renewable energy (RE) in the long term, as storing power can address one of the main hindrances to wider adoption of RE, apart from high cost—that is, limited power source, such as sunlight or wind.

“Our approach has always been to use cutting-edge technology to shift sustainably to better fuels while balancing the needs of our country, economy, and people for affordable, reliable traditional fuel-based power.

We continue to invest in technologies so that our power facilities would have as little impact as possible on the environment,” Ang said.

SMC maintains a mix of renewable and non-renewable facilities, with hydropower and natural gas facilities in its portfolio. Its brand new LNG (liquefied natural gas) plants are a first in the country and a viable alternative to fossil-based power generation, he said.

The circulating fluidized bed technology that SMC uses in its modern, state-of-the-art clean power plants ensures that emissions are way below both Philippine and international emission standards as it transitions to cleaner energy sources.

Meanwhile, its international gateway project in Bulacan is seen to not only solve the worsening airport and traffic congestion in Metro Manila but also give the Philippine economy a major boost.

The company said its airport project is projected to generate trillions of dollars in economic activity and job opportunities, potentially contributing about 9 percent to GDP by 2025. Estimated annual impact to the economy would amount to nearly P900 billion.

More than that, the airport project is also betting on a green economy to have a dominant role in building a sustainable economy past the pandemic.

Reporting framework for banks gets nod

By VG Cabuag @villygc

T

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved an industry-specific framework for the preparation of the audited financial statements of banks and other financial institutions under the supervision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

In its memorandum circular issued on November 17, SEC allowed the preparation of audited financial statements of the said entities in accordance with the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards, some of the sections of which were modified to apply relief measures issued by the BSP and approved by the SEC. “The industry-specific framework recognizes the necessity of the prudential accounting relief measures, as well as the other regulatory reliefs issued by the central bank, in countering or, at least, cushioning the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on banks and other financial institutions,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.

“These reliefs were intended to reduce the impact of losses that BSFIs [BSP-supervised financial institutions] may incur due to exposure to borrowers, industries and sectors severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the mark-to-market losses that may be sustained due to volatilities in the financial markets."

The new measure took into account the recent BSP memorandum that allowed the staggered booking of allowance for credit losses over a maximum period of 5 years and the reclassification of debt securities measured at fair value to amortized cost category, among others.

Without the said industry-specific financial reporting framework, the relief measures are considered deviations from the PFRS, which may lead to the issuance of a “qualified opinion” by the external auditor if such reliefs have a material impact on the fair presentation of the audited financial statements of banks and other institutions. Under the Revised Securities Regulation Code Rule 68, the SEC may allow a financial reporting

Aon generated nearly 15% of total premiums in 2019

T

HE local office of Irish-domiciled insurance broker Aon Plc. generated nearly 15 percent of the total P75.38 billion in premiums produced last year, the Insurance Commission (IC) said on Wednesday.

The IC said in a statement that insurance brokers also earned P8.48 billion in commissions as of end-2019. The IC said Aon Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Philippines Inc. topped insurance brokers in terms of premiums produced in 2019 amounting to P10.96 billion, or 14.54 percent of the total premiums generated.

Aon was followed by the following firms: BDO Insurance Brokers Inc.; Marsh Philippines Inc.; HSBC Insurance Brokers (Philippines) Inc.; and, Lockton Philippines Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Inc. According to the Commission, the rankings were based on the statements of business operations submitted by the brokers.

“In terms of product line, insurance brokers generated the most premiums in health insurance, amounting to P22.38 billion as of year-end 2019. This is followed by the fire insurance and life insurance lines, amounting to P17.60 billion and P11.53 billion, respectively,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said.

Based on commissions earned last year, BDO Insurance Brokers Inc. ranked first as it earned P1.73 billion. Aon followed

BDO in the list. Marsh Philippines, Intertrade Insurance Brokers and Lockton Philippines ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

“The top three lines where insurance brokers earned the most commissions are in the health insurance, with P1.86 billion; the motor vehicle insurance, with P1.64 billion; and, fire insurance, with P1.6 billion,” Funa added.

Meanwhile, reinsurance brokers posted a grand total of P2.19 billion in premiums and earned P128.62 million in commissions as of end of 2019.

PhilPacific Insurance Brokers & Managers recorded the biggest reinsurance premiums produced amounting to P769.17 million. It also garnered the biggest amount of commissions last year with P50.57 million.

KRM Reinsurance Brokers Philippines Inc. ranked second in terms of premium production for the same period, while Anchor Insurance Brokerage, Alsons Insurance, and Pana Harrison Reinsurance Brokers (Philippines) Inc. ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

“Reinsurance brokers generated the most reinsurance premiums in 2019 in the fire insurance line, with P1.24 billion; in miscellaneous lines, in the aggregate amount of P323.24 million, and in the engineering line, with P250.06 million,” Funa said. Bernadette D. Nicolas

framework, other than the PFRS, that complies with the regulatory reportorial requirements of the concerned regulatory agency.

The BSP gave the banks

and financial institutions options to prepare their financial statements using the industry specific framework or the PFRS, in full, for a specific period.

AirAsia offers 50% off on Manila-Bohol flights

By Recto L. Mercene @rectomercene

A

irAsia said it is offering 50-percent off on all flights from Manila to Tagbilaran, Bohol, following the recent announcement of the province that it is opening its doors to tourism.

The low-cost carrier said passengers may avail of the discounted tickets when they book on airasia.com or through the airasia mobile app from November 18 until November 22 for travel between December 1 and October 30, 2021.

AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla said, “We are pleased to reopen our services to and from Bohol for both essential and leisure travelers.

We hope that the resumption of connectivity between both regions will further assist local businesses and enterprises in Bohol. AirAsia will continue to support the national and local governments in their efforts to jumpstart the travel and tourism industries in the Philippines.”

As AirAsia resumes services to Bohol, the airline is reminding all its guests for Tagbilaran of the new health requirements, as well as any additional precautionary measures which are now in place to ensure the highest standards of safety and hygiene are observed throughout the entire journey.

All leisure tourists bound for Tagbilaran are required to present the following documents: a negative RTPCR test result taken within 72 hours prior to their departure date; filled up online registration form which can be found at tourism.bohol.gov.ph, to

receive personal QR code; and booking confirmation details for hotel/ resort located in the municipalities of Panglao or Dauis (with UBE seal or Certificate of Authority to Operate) The airline said leisure tourists are limited to guests attending meetings, weddings, conventions, exhibits, and other similar celebrations with at least 6 attendees from outside Bohol.

All locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) are required to present the following documents: medical certificate issued by a licensed physician; travel clearance issued by the PNP Covid Shield; and Certificate of Acceptance from the receiving local government unit (LGU).

All Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APOR) are required to present the following documents: company/mission order indicating work purposes; Certificate of Acceptance from the receiving LGU; medical certificate issued by a licensed physician; clearance from the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF); and a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 48 hours prior to their departure date for APORs staying in Bohol for less than 5 days only.

“APORs staying in Bohol for more than 5 days will not be required to take an RT-PCR test prior to departure but will be tested on their 5th day of quarantine in Bohol," the airline said.

“LSIs, APORs, and ROFs are reminded to contact and coordinate with the focal person of their receiving LGU before booking a flight to ensure the availability of the necessary facilities.”

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 19, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 18, 2020

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 PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

44.45 97.3 84.4 24.55 11.3 45.45 9.56 19.88 29.85 52.9 96 17.8 106.2 62.8 0.91 28 0.6 3.42 1.2 0.31 758 0.63 161.5 1894 1.06

45.05 97.35 84.45 24.75 11.4 45.5 9.78 20 29.9 53.3 97 17.88 106.3 62.95 0.95 28.3 0.65 3.5 1.23 0.315 850 0.64 162 2000 1.07

44.5 95.6 84 24.35 11 44.6 9.56 19.86 29.4 53.5 96 17.9 106.5 62 0.91 28.3 0.56 3.39 1.22 0.31 800 0.63 161 2080 1.06

45.1 97.85 85.95 24.75 11.4 45.5 9.56 19.88 29.95 53.5 96 17.9 107.3 63.1 0.95 28.3 0.66 3.5 1.23 0.31 800 0.64 162 2080 1.06

44.4 95.4 83.15 24.35 10.98 44.5 9.56 19.86 29.4 52.85 96 17.7 106.2 61.8 0.9 27.7 0.55 3.39 1.18 0.31 800 0.61 160.5 2000 1.06

44.45 97.35 84.45 24.75 11.4 45.5 9.56 19.88 29.9 53.3 96 17.8 106.2 62.95 0.95 27.9 0.65 3.5 1.23 0.31 800 0.63 162 2000 1.06

4500 13,436,650 1 7446580 188200 678900 5159300 500 800 1470400 1570 40 85600 1726000 135320 167000 2500 115000 2000 137000 20000 120 338000 1950 195 2000

200835 ,302,773,704.5 628461115 4614805 7504436 233295755 4780 15898 43867290 83226.5 3840 1519500 184053756 8399649 151800 69800 72800 6890 163800 6200 96000 211150 315315 391200 2120

INDUSTRIAL

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

4.93 1.36 26.95 0.207 28.65 64.2 306 15.4 3.3 3.45 12.8 17.88 10.36 8.17 2.92 76 20.3 17.96 5.21 7.27 10.04 64.25 0.66 1.4 52.35 196.6 52.1 7.7 7.18 0.174 8.36 1.24 4.76 1.75 0.112 148 0.88 2.25 52.05 1.76 5.3 15.94 7.63 6.68 9.28 8.44 0.82 1.09 1.92 2.13 4.38 4.32 21.65 2.73 7.77 1.08 5.17 1.56 6.34

4.94 1.37 27 0.209 28.8 64.35 306.4 15.42 3.31 3.47 13 17.9 10.4 8.29 2.94 85 20.4 17.98 5.25 7.28 10.06 64.5 0.67 1.44 52.4 196.7 62.5 7.99 7.19 0.179 8.4 1.25 4.77 1.85 0.117 148.3 0.89 2.48 55.2 1.77 5.45 15.96 7.64 6.69 9.3 8.73 0.84 1.1 1.98 2.15 4.59 4.41 21.7 2.74 7.82 1.09 5.48 1.57 6.35

4.6 1.4 27.1 0.212 28.8 64.4 309 15.1 3.2 3.48 12.88 17.6 10.42 8.3 2.94 70.6 19.8 17.9 5.21 7.05 10.04 64.9 0.66 1.42 53.45 196.9 64.5 7.99 7.3 0.15 8.23 1.24 4.78 1.78 0.12 149 0.89 2.36 55.3 1.71 5.5 15.68 7.72 6.56 9.3 8.77 0.82 1.01 1.94 2.11 4.5 4.41 21.8 2.69 7.35 1.09 5.48 1.54 6.45

5 1.41 27.5 0.212 28.9 65.5 310.4 15.46 3.4 3.48 13 18.04 10.66 8.31 2.95 86.95 20.75 18 5.25 7.29 10.08 64.95 0.67 1.45 54 198 64.5 7.99 7.34 0.182 8.48 1.25 4.78 1.87 0.12 152 0.89 2.43 55.3 1.77 5.64 15.96 7.72 6.78 9.7 8.77 0.87 1.09 1.99 2.13 4.59 4.41 21.8 2.74 7.9 1.09 5.48 1.6 6.46

4.56 1.34 26.8 0.207 28.55 64.2 300.4 15.08 3.2 3.41 12.8 17.6 10.28 8.15 2.92 70.6 19.1 17.9 5.2 7 10.02 64.1 0.66 1.4 52.2 196.3 62.5 7.99 7.1 0.148 8.12 1.23 4.77 1.74 0.111 148 0.87 2.35 55.3 1.7 5.12 15.4 7.6 6.56 9.03 8.73 0.8 0.97 1.91 2.06 4.5 4.3 21.6 2.61 7.26 1.06 5.46 1.51 6.2

4.93 1.36 27 0.209 28.8 64.2 306 15.4 3.31 3.43 13 17.9 10.4 8.29 2.94 85 20.4 17.98 5.21 7.27 10.06 64.5 0.67 1.44 52.4 196.6 62.5 7.99 7.18 0.179 8.36 1.24 4.77 1.8 0.117 148 0.89 2.4 55.3 1.77 5.3 15.96 7.64 6.68 9.3 8.74 0.82 1.09 1.92 2.13 4.59 4.3 21.7 2.74 7.82 1.08 5.48 1.56 6.35

48137000 7846000 4333100 5510000 1386100 139810 297740 2248500 5487000 38000 111900 4388600 524100 552500 892000 530 133500 1244500 125900 1985000 2606300 267420 314000 14150000 112520 451570 1730 1000 888100 19480000 683000 3549000 6000 209000 180000 1496970 5387000 97000 50 25893000 136200 395500 1838200 3412900 7736000 2000 1092000 8371000 87000 1198000 10000 22000 115000 8715000 3044100 667000 700 3216000 7880800

-8885 56963492.5 40960882 -88115 40230 -116785990 15898 -8763570 12440 -97285413 598498.5 16000 9760 -49910 10100 -

233614680 10686700 117088540 1151880 39856055 9000430 91231046 34465934 18026220 131400 1441274 78525104 5424594 4554730 2617370 41654 2709152 22,373,266( 655989 14347096 26205992 17252522 207380 20122320 5991134.5 88900822 111131 7990 6375339 3230160 5690012 4393040 28660 366810 20450 222512466 4746170 232640 2765 45004410 745082 6268124 14046674 22750712 72054024 17482 908000 8756170 167200 2513540 45540 96100 2496150 23389280 23403462 717350 3834 4980180 49789529

9936819.9996 68000 -15871625 42000 -15681555 -6831424 -55617502 1322516 641890 3410 -1898226 -173084 148228.9995 123170 -29800 3,801,639.9997) -108898 3920726 18640050 -13758100 81490 -530432.5 9724825 7100 -7420 41975 -975600 -2220 50387858 13050 -2070320 -842278 -5298390 1611966 -20935526 21900 -219470 2132620 -4132338 3100 1805072

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.54 0.55 0.56 0.57 0.54 0.55 16946000 9328720 8.75 8.86 8.82 8.89 8.62 8.88 18700 164980 ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP 846.5 865.5 848 865.5 838 865.5 595930 506638650 47.8 48.3 47.5 48.3 47.5 48.3 827800 39759620 ABOITIZ EQUITY 9.5 9.52 9.49 9.52 9.28 9.52 5594700 52539821 ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG 3.04 3.05 3.12 3.15 3 3.05 6916000 21142580 6.4 6.44 6.35 6.35 6.35 6.35 200 1270 ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.66 0.68 17000 11520 0.85 0.86 0.88 0.88 0.85 0.85 7286000 6247240 ATN HLDG A 0.88 0.89 0.85 0.88 0.85 0.88 222000 194580 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 5.38 5.41 5.35 5.49 5.35 5.38 3635000 19568397 5.39 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.36 5.39 5658400 30473075 DMCI HLDG 9.19 9.26 9.69 9.69 9.26 9.26 61400 571667 FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A 3.16 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 10000 38000 0.215 0.232 0.211 0.215 0.211 0.213 250000 53070 FORUM PACIFIC 545 548.5 545 558 545 545 237490 130545720 GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV 3.41 3.42 3.45 3.45 3.42 3.42 31000 106320 72.4 73.9 72.4 73.9 71.5 73.9 1766610 128439999 JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG 4.15 5.37 5.4 5.4 5.38 5.38 20100 108338 KEPPEL HLDG A 4.92 5.39 4.88 4.91 4.88 4.91 1100 5371 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.86 0.83 0.84 1082000 911140 LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG 2.69 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.68 2.7 5537000 14932730 12.96 13 12.98 13.1 12.82 13 9525200 123487458 LT GROUP 0.53 0.56 0.53 0.57 0.5 0.56 2088000 1122410 MABUHAY HLDG MJC INVESTMENTS 1.75 1.87 1.74 1.75 1.74 1.75 9000 15740 4.25 4.27 4.19 4.28 4.18 4.25 35019000 148798360 METRO PAC INV 4.3 4.32 4 4.34 4 4.3 307000 1326680 PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA 0.82 0.83 0.85 0.85 0.82 0.84 187000 154850 1.16 1.19 1.17 1.18 1.14 1.18 382000 447230 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 313.6 314 248 360 248 313.6 14950 4541776 SM INVESTMENTS 1014 1029 1005 1029 999.5 1029 579865 586511575 114.3 114.5 114 115 113.5 114.5 312850 35759250 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.72 0.74 172000 125610 136.5 144.6 137 144.6 135 136.5 8420 1152431 TOP FRONTIER 0.233 0.235 0.223 0.235 0.223 0.233 900000 209550 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.15 0.151 0.149 0.15 0.149 0.15 770000 115400

-865910 -5726190 -713200 -4707252 566660 128480 -5342135 1299440 -364125 -14752470 -102900 37052346.5 55076 -9328620 -75480626 -7140 7851680 324380 70050 -136762642.5 4661503 -881655 -

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP AREIT RT BELLE CORP A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV KEPPEL PROP CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME PTFC REDEV CORP VISTA LAND

0.64 7.9 39.1 1.08 26.45 1.58 0.84 0.8 0.15 5.8 4.72 0.41 0.38 14.38 5.71 0.305 0.088 1.02 0.87 8.24 1.6 2.98 0.69 3.88 0.475 0.4 1.31 16.04 0.25 1.52 2.68 1.9 38.5 4.27 1.42 38 4.05

0.65 8.2 39.5 1.09 26.5 1.6 0.85 0.81 0.154 5.98 4.74 0.415 0.39 14.4 5.72 0.31 0.09 1.03 0.88 8.33 1.61 3.25 0.73 3.89 0.48 0.42 1.32 16.1 0.255 1.54 2.7 1.92 38.75 4.3 1.43 49.45 4.06

0.64 8.2 38.95 1.08 26.3 1.61 0.85 0.79 0.154 5.98 4.77 0.41 0.385 14.7 5.61 0.31 0.086 1.04 0.88 8.35 1.56 3.25 0.73 3.78 0.465 0.4 1.3 15.92 0.25 1.56 2.7 1.92 38.4 4.22 1.42 39 4.05

0.65 8.2 39.55 1.09 26.5 1.61 0.85 0.81 0.154 5.98 4.77 0.415 0.385 14.7 5.75 0.315 0.09 1.04 0.9 8.35 1.6 3.25 0.73 3.89 0.48 0.42 1.35 16.16 0.26 1.57 2.7 1.92 38.75 4.28 1.46 39 4.1

0.63 8.2 38.65 1.05 26.3 1.58 0.83 0.79 0.15 5.98 4.73 0.405 0.38 14.34 5.55 0.3 0.086 1.01 0.87 8.23 1.56 3.25 0.73 3.73 0.46 0.4 1.26 15.84 0.25 1.52 2.69 1.9 38.05 4.22 1.39 37 4

0.64 8.2 39.5 1.09 26.5 1.6 0.85 0.81 0.154 5.98 4.73 0.415 0.38 14.38 5.71 0.31 0.088 1.03 0.88 8.23 1.6 3.25 0.73 3.89 0.475 0.42 1.31 16.1 0.255 1.52 2.69 1.91 38.5 4.28 1.43 37 4.05

3109000 1000 10291900 154000 1164100 2111000 1203000 66000 2270000 400 471000 16010000 4970000 1866800 1126000 2440000 490000 21494000 1464000 38700 3447000 2000 32000 39280000 79300000 310000 1245000 7761600 740000 839000 75000 201000 12278200 179000 4424000 5800 4058000

1989270 8200 403944825 167090 30789365 3366610 1011950 53030 342430 2392 2233880 6561650 1893750 26927068 6407349 754100 42990 22043040 1297420 320420 5441940 6500 23360 150743150 37483500 124200 1617320 124470128 189350 1291140 202440 384440 472262340 764200 6268680 220600 16419450

-17490 -8200 113433395 -3270 3294510 -1420410 -21250 217500 -139100 -16425820 -2445590 -9170700 -308880 110200 65164770 764350 -24560226 -7550 -419000 -99900 27778225 -8640 157060

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.36 11.4 11.5 11.5 11.26 11.36 215000 2437888 5.41 5.42 5.45 5.46 5.34 5.41 1338300 7210083 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 100000 41000 10.9 11.12 11.18 11.18 10.52 11.12 3200 34634 MLA BRDCASTING 2014 2016 2020 2026 2002 2016 75775 152534890 -20472360 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1388 1399 1388 1399 1380 1399 116210 161469350 -4926050 0.053 0.054 0.052 0.055 0.051 0.054 118070000 6278210 -9400 APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE 15.68 15.7 15.66 15.76 15.62 15.7 20245600 317702806 5534918 DFNN INC 4.25 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.25 4.3 304000 1306080 6.54 6.55 6.4 6.87 6.31 6.54 127933700 836848502 -5975157 DITO CME HLDG IMPERIAL 1.4 1.42 1.4 1.43 1.35 1.43 114000 158090 0.112 0.115 0.117 0.117 0.11 0.115 4470000 504060 ISLAND INFO 1.63 1.69 1.63 1.69 1.61 1.69 284000 462690 1670 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 4.34 4.36 4.42 4.42 4.27 4.36 6915000 30139210 -27450 0.275 0.28 0.28 0.29 0.27 0.275 40070000 11196900 -50700 TRANSPACIFIC BR 3.09 3.1 3.02 3.2 3.01 3.09 2802000 8671680 -169880 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 9.11 9.14 9 9.14 8.91 9.14 192700 1729662 17920 15.9 15.98 15.98 15.98 15.98 15.98 100 1598 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 5.68 5.69 5.9 5.9 5.5 5.69 12540400 71408530 530094 CEBU AIR 47.6 47.65 45.7 48.4 45.7 47.6 2223300 105726895 -2712875 127.8 128 127.3 128.9 127.3 128 1671050 213908392 -20823027 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 14.04 16.3 16.3 16.3 16.3 16.3 1500 24450 1.01 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.04 8000 8320 LORENZO SHIPPNG 7.3 7.31 7.1 7.37 7 7.3 6612600 47428227 3750783 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 2.09 2.13 2.15 2.16 2.07 2.09 1880000 3988070 2.01 2.1 2.15 2.15 2 2 79000 165450 -21000 METROALLIANCE B 7.26 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.2 7.3 139100 1009274 -80011 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.48 1.49 1.52 1.52 1.47 1.48 5715000 8496070 589250 1.41 1.48 1.45 1.49 1.4 1.4 111000 156050 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.03 0.031 0.028 0.032 0.028 0.031 261100000 7835900 14400 GRAND PLAZA 11.2 12.64 11.88 12.7 11.2 11.2 3500 42186 0.69 0.7 0.72 0.72 0.68 0.7 12612000 8832680 357000 WATERFRONT CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.63 7 7 7 7 7 1800 12600 570 576 575 575 575 575 120 69000 FAR EASTERN U 0.37 0.375 0.36 0.37 0.355 0.37 10320000 3762650 STI HLDG BERJAYA 4.03 4.04 4.06 4.06 3.99 4.04 247000 993370 52000 8.35 8.5 8.36 8.5 8.22 8.5 7057700 58,753,442( 37,145,171.0002) BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 1.91 1.98 1.97 1.98 1.91 1.97 91000 177670 19500 LEISURE AND RES 1.64 1.65 1.63 1.68 1.63 1.64 959000 1584310 -315660 2.2 2.47 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 30000 66000 MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP 2.96 2.97 2.9 2.97 2.76 2.96 31906000 92200800 617710 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.41 0.415 0.415 0.415 0.405 0.41 14870000 6108050 197350 6.65 6.66 6.77 7.19 6.66 6.66 44000 294131 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 7.75 7.83 8 8.02 7.75 7.75 1443700 11256470 2089378 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.55 1.53 1.54 2518000 3884020 -332800 METRO RETAIL 43.45 43.5 43.2 43.85 43.2 43.5 4773800 207676735 -9447915 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 67.5 67.55 67.2 67.5 66.7 67.5 195950 13211801 -702508.9997 107 108 109 113.1 108 108 53280 5798293 -510833 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.65 1.66 1.68 1.68 1.59 1.66 7876000 12968380 -481610 WILCON DEPOT 15.76 15.8 16 16.02 15.74 15.76 1056600 16732484 10279026 0.365 0.37 0.375 0.375 0.36 0.37 1440000 525200 86400 APC GROUP EASYCALL 7.26 7.3 7.35 7.35 7.2 7.26 31300 227343 3.51 3.76 3.61 3.76 3.61 3.76 5000 18350 IPM HLDG 2.12 2.18 2.18 2.18 2.18 2.18 4000 8720 PAXYS PRMIERE HORIZON 0.58 0.59 0.5 0.58 0.475 0.58 118028000 63434005 -1402990 4.4 4.45 4.36 4.45 4.36 4.45 76000 335430 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL ATOK 9.43 9.75 9.75 9.85 9.4 9.75 62400 594382 28500 APEX MINING 1.93 1.94 1.97 1.99 1.93 1.93 11295000 21957790 43330 0.001 0.0011 0.0011 0.0012 0.001 0.001 10626000000 10946800 141700 ABRA MINING 5.12 5.17 5.05 5.18 4.98 5.18 688300 3519334 35850 ATLAS MINING BENGUET A 3.15 3.2 3.25 3.25 3.15 3.2 184000 584190 3.11 3.28 3.12 3.13 3.11 3.11 24000 74900 BENGUET B COAL ASIA HLDG 0.255 0.265 0.265 0.265 0.265 0.265 50000 13250 2.45 2.47 2.51 2.51 2.47 2.47 73000 181430 CENTURY PEAK 8.11 8.3 8.33 8.36 8.09 8.3 15900 129415 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 1.75 1.76 1.7 1.81 1.68 1.75 10343000 18236160 837320 0.245 0.247 0.245 0.246 0.242 0.246 780000 190700 78400 GEOGRACE 0.156 0.158 0.158 0.159 0.156 0.156 24350000 3821850 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.157 0.158 0.159 0.159 0.159 0.159 500000 79500 0.0099 0.01 0.0099 0.0099 0.0097 0.0099 17000000 166600 MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 44000000 462000 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.11 1.12 1.12 1.14 1.09 1.12 6189000 6835190 5510 2.65 2.66 2.65 2.69 2.62 2.65 720000 1907700 -265000 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 4.28 4.29 4.33 4.33 4.23 4.28 7103000 30,285,890( 12,116,829.9996) OMICO CORP 0.33 0.335 0.335 0.335 0.335 0.335 50000 16750 0.69 0.71 0.68 0.71 0.68 0.71 614000 423840 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 5.13 5.14 5.35 5.35 5.05 5.14 4476600 22987371 150018 11.22 11.24 11.3 11.3 11.02 11.22 2720000 30427834 -6180688 SEMIRARA MINING 0.0051 0.0052 0.0051 0.0052 0.005 0.0052 13000000 66400 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 6.5 6.59 6.65 6.7 6.45 6.5 107600 700777 0.0099 0.01 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 31200000 313500 ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 3900000 42900 -33000 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.0084 0.0086 0.0084 0.0087 0.008 0.0085 35000000 284500 12.1 12.2 12.26 12.26 12 12.2 862700 10438288 848924 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED AC PREF B2R 506 510 506 506 506 506 400 202400 102 102.2 102.2 102.2 102.2 102.2 2000 204400 CPG PREF A DD PREF 100.7 103 103 103 100.7 100.7 50050 5040058 110.4 110.5 110.4 110.4 110.4 110.4 150 16560 FGEN PREF G 1029 1032 1029 1029 1029 1029 10505 10809645 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 100.6 101 101.4 101.4 100.6 101.3 2830 286473 986 995 990 990 985.5 986 2380 2355115 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 3A 1065 1067 1050 1067 1050 1067 1150 1218840 1095 1100 1097 1097 1097 1097 100 109700 PCOR PREF 3B 78.1 78.25 78.2 78.25 78 78.15 4530 353813.5 124307 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E 76.1 76.2 76.2 76.2 76.2 76.2 4890 372618 78.15 78.2 77.5 78.15 77.5 78.15 201400 15738890 SMC PREF 2F 76.1 76.15 76.2 76.2 76.1 76.15 80160 6100791.5 SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I 76.35 76.9 76.2 76.2 76.1 76.2 79000 6013300 76.1 76.5 76.1 76.5 76.1 76.5 1410 107305 SMC PREF 2J

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 11 11.16 11.2 11.2 11.14 11.14 25100 279800 5.3 5.32 5.29 5.3 5.17 5.3 16500 87339 26500 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.84 0.87 0.85 0.87 0.82 0.84 384000 323830

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 12.88 12.94 12.8 13.1 12.8 12.88 400000 5183668 -480744 3.17 3.18 3.21 3.21 3.1 3.17 4377000 13815820 -1434480 ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH 6.36 6.4 6.45 6.45 6.1 6.4 163300 1017471 5.15 5.16 4.75 5.17 4.58 5.15 74627000 368935880 10771330 MERRYMART

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 106 106.6 105.4 106.6 104.7 106.6 18300 1934946 253350

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Filinvest Land sells bonds to fund planned expansion

P

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

roperty developer Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) raised P8.1 billion from the sale of its bonds, which were listed on Wednesday at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

(PDEx).

The bonds of Gotianun-led FLI are due on 2023 and 2026. It had an oversubscription of P1.35 billion from its base amount of P6.75 billion.

“With this bond issuance, FLI is now well-prepared for its planned expansion. FLI is targeting to fur-

ther expand its recurring income portfolio particularly in the logistics and industrial and office space,” FLI President and CEO Lourdes Josephine Gotianun-Yap said.

She said the company’s entry into the industrial leasing space, which it

is currently building in Filinvest New Clark City in Clarkfield in Tarlac and in Calamba, Laguna, is the third leg of the company’s efforts to increase its recurring income which now comprise close to half of its net income from about 29 percent in 2013.

“We envision to be the preferred location of logistics, e-commerce hubs, light manufacturing and storage operations at New Clark City and Calamba,” she said.

“We will remain true to our core competency of meeting the needs of majority of the population by providing affordable and middle-income medium-rise buildings and houses.

Furthermore, we will be launching residential developments alongside mixed-used projects within integrated townships to further showcase

the dynamic synergies within our company and its affiliates.”

FLI’s 3-year bonds due 2023 have a yield of 3.3353 percent per annum while the yield of 5.5-year bonds due 2026 was at 4.1838 percent.

BDO Capital and Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., East West Bank and SB Capital Investment Corp. served as joint lead underwriters and bookrunners, while First Metro Investment Corp. was the co-lead underwriter.

The said listing brings the total amount of bonds issued by Filinvest and its subsidiaries and listed in the PDEx trading platform to P51 billion.

FLI’s bond issuance is the 33rd listing at the PDEx for the year, bringing the total amount that listed at the platform for 2020 at P356.25 billion.

ANI extends Pay8 due diligence period A griNurture Inc. (ANI), the agribusiness arm of businessman Antonio Tiu, on Wednesday said it is extending the due diligence period for its planned acquisition of Pay8 Inc., a unit of DFNN Inc. In its disclosure, the company said it was able to complete its due diligence on Pay8 Inc. as provided for under the memorandum of agreement signed on July 20 due to the supervening events, such as the intended listing of Hatchasia Inc. (HAI) in the Australia Stock Exchange.

Pay8 is majority owned by HAI, which in turn is owned by DFNN, a company that supplies software and technology to many gambling firms and also run its own gambling joints in the country.

Agrinurture said it is extending the due diligence period by 60 days.

“In view of the foregoing and pursuant to the consent of HAI and Pay8 to assign to the company’s affiliate or nominee, its rights and obligations under the MOA, the parties have agreed to finalize the terms and conditions of the assignment, including but not limited for the assignee to proceed and complete the conduct of the due diligence,” it said.

Agrinurture is acquiring 51 percent Pay8 Inc.’s authorized capital stock after increasing its capitaliza-

tion, through a share swap.

Based on current valuation, the deal is valued at P377.91 million, but is still subject to ANI’s due diligence, the company said earlier.

“The intended acquisition is part of completing the agricultural ecosystem being envisioned by ANI. The financial platform that will be introduced is anticipated to reach the farmers mostly in the unserved rural areas of the country,” it said.

Agrinurture said under the agreement, if after a period of 30 days from the execution of the share swap agreement, the shares of the foreign exchange listed company cannot be liquidated, the Tiu-led company will advance P30 million to be paid in two tranches within 60 days to fund the capital expenditures of Pay8.

“The advances shall be paid by Pay8 Inc. to the company upon liquidation of shares swapped by the company. If within a period of six months the shares swapped will not be liquidated, the P30 million shall be converted into equity in Pay8 Inc.,” it said.

Hatchasia and Pay8 are companies primarily engaged in the business of information and technology that provides multiple systems ad platforms to various industries, DFNN said in a separate disclosure.

“The financial platform that will

PSALM: 3 firms keen on real estate assets

T

hree power firms have signified interest to join the second round of public auction for the sale of 3 real estate assets of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).

PSALM said Sta. Clara Power Corp., SPC Power Corp. and Cagayan Electric Cooperative II (CAGELCO II) participated in the pre-bid conference last November 17.

They are vying for PSALM’s Loboc, General Santos City, and Camalaniugan properties valued at P26.34 million.

The bid submission deadline for these assets is set on December 2 at 2:00 p.m.

The pre-bid conference provided an opportunity for prospective bidders to raise any questions that they may have relative to the terms of the sale.

The bidding for the above-mentioned assets is on a “Cash” and “Asis, Where-is” basis.

The minimum bid price for the 13,204 sq. meters Loboc Property is set at P12,139,000. The General

Santos City Property with an indicative area of 1,868 sq. meters has a minimum bid price of P10,974,500.

Lastly, the Camalaniugan Property with an indicative area of 2,148 sq. meters is set at P3,222,000.

Meanwhile, PSALM said it will hold a pre-negotiation conference on November 19 for its Paco-Manila property.

The property, located in Isla de Provisor, Paco, Manila, is composed of 8 lots with an indicative area of 20,975 square meters.

The minimum offer price is set at P458,337,002.30.

Interested parties must submit their offer for the Paco-Manila Property not later than December 2. They are also required to post an Offer Security in an amount equal to at least 10 percent of the financial offer. Proceeds from the sales of all PSALM assets are utilized to settle maturing obligations and minimize the corporation’s borrowings. “Proceeds of the sale will be used to augment collections needed to settle PSALM’s financial obligations.” Lenie Lectura

be introduced is anticipated to reach the farmers mostly in the un-served rural areas of the country and is targeted to have a major impact in the drive for financial inclusion of the much neglected banking requirements of our agri- business sector by enabling farmers, producers,

mutual funds

distributors and end users to make cashless payments within its closed looped ecosystem,” DFNN said.

“More importantly, this platform should address the steady decline in revenue of the agricultural sector by providing much needed access to financial services.” VG Cabuag November 18, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 224.2 -12.27% -7.41% -1.6% -10.98% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2113 -18.56% -8.8% 0.26% -12.35% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.089 -19.45% -11.18% -3.42% -16.02% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7784 -15.45% -8.36% n.a. -13.32% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7366 -14.73% n.a. n.a. -13.27% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.848 -10.27% -5.92% -1.6% -9.01% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7519 -13.44% -8.04% n.a.

-11.91% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 91.87 -17.91% n.a. n.a.

-11% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 45.7341 -12.24% -5.55% 0.01% -10.82% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 482.38 -10.98% -5.34% -0.64% -9.46% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0487 n.a. n.a. n.a.

1.81% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1351 -13.47% -5.96% -0.35% -11.8% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 33.7691 -12.41% -5.32% 0.38% -10.89% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9028 -12.6% n.a. n.a. -11.33% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.6746 -11.81% -4.96% 0.75% -10.51% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 781.9 -11.66% -4.86% 0.68% -10.33% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.709 -20.01% -8.89% -3.46% -16.73% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.5396 -17.28% -7.08% -1.07% -15.91% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8954 -11.91% -5.17% 0.54% -10.53% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.2462 -12.56% -4.43% 0.9% -11.14% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 105.0998 -11.45% -4.54% 1.49% -10.14% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.1566 17.94% 2% 5.3% 12.47% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5943 20.43% 9.2% n.a.

15.64% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6313 3.21% -3.43% -0.88% 4.38% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.2209 -1.1% -2.56% 0.76% 1.82% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.5924 -2.07% -1.59% -0.69% -1.49% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1965 -16.2% n.a. n.a. -14% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9446 -1.19% 0.16% 1.96% -0.87% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.7442 -1.8% -0.76% 1.23% -1.18% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.7523 -1.8% -0.85% 1.16% -1.23% -3.55% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.0742 -1.9% 0.89% -2.26% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.5176 -9.62% -3.35% -0.14% -8.95% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0064 -1.64% n.a. n.a.

-0.92% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9318 -7.59% n.a. n.a.

-6.48% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.915 -9% n.a. n.a.

-7.87% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8702 -11.76% -4.23% -1.01% -10.73% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03922 3.54% 2.78% 2.05% 2.67% 9.47% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.1078 10.89% 2.17% 4.44% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.319 13.66% 6.64% 6.79% 10.44% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1912 7.46% 3.63% n.a.

5.54% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 369.44 3.78% 3.21% 2.75% 3.21% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.8958 -1.54% -0.09% -0.03% -0.33% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2079 3.33% 4.63% 4.9% 2.89% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.289 3.45% 2.81% 2.38% 2.95% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4449 4.28% 3.37% 2.07% 3.64% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6152 4.38% 3.02% 5.54% 6.46% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3138 5.29% 4.36% 2.5% 4.54% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9628 5.62% 4.29% 2.79% 4.61% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0349 8.45% 3.91% 2.46% 7.32% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1798 4.49% 4.62% 3.41% 3.39% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7376 3.42% 3.88% 2.79% 2.15% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $481.46 3.27% 2.68% 2.89% 2.8% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є218.31 -0.58% 0.8% 1.15% -0.67% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.261 4.86% 3.57% 2.86% 4.46% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0265 3.11% 1.96% 1.66% 2.71% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0906 -0.23% 0.32% 0.83% -0.27% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5191 5.7% 4.02% 3.55% 4.81% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0619851 2.92% 2.55% 2.25% 2.79% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2158 2.24% 2.23% 2.61% 1.28% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.46 3.35% 3.35% 2.54% 2.88% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0465 1.84% n.a. n.a.

1.97% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2938 2.68% 3% 2.62% 2.28% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0513 1.56% 1.76% n.a.

1.25% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0841 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.97 -3% n.a. n.a.

-2.02%

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

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

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

6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

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

latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, November 19, 2020

ARIGATO GOZAIMASU

Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines Koji Haneda (center) paid his farewell courtesy call on President Duterte on November 10. Both engaged in wide-ranging discussions to further strengthen Philippine-Japanese bilateral relations in maritime security, economic-development linkages, the Mindanao peace process, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges. During the call, Haneda was conferred the Order of Sikatuna, with the rank of Datu. EMBASSY OF JAPAN

VIELEN DANK The German Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission Laura Oexle (right) recently

took part in the handover of relief goods and protective gear for the Mangyans of Mindoro. With support from her country’s government, the group German Doctors is working with Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment Through Alternative Legal Services Inc., or IDEALS, in assisting the indigenous peoples to obtain civil-registration documents. GERMAN EMBASSY FB PAGE

TO-SIA Representative Peiyung Hsu (right) of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the

Philippines participated in the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines’s rice and relief goods distribution activity in Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City, on November 7, with more than 500 tricycle and jeepney drivers as recipients. Drivers also donated coins they had saved to give back to the victims of Supertyphoon Rolly. TECO MANILA FB PAGE

SFA welcomes 3 nations to Asean’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation

S

ECRETARY of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. welcomed the accession of three countries to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), as he expressed confidence in their future contributions to greater peace and stability in the region.

The Republic of Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Claudia Blum noted that her country’s accession stands to consolidate cooperation efforts with all Asean member-states and strengthen political and diplomatic ties within the region.

Meanwhile, the Republic of South

Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor described her country’s accession as honoring the expressed wish for friendship and cooperation by their former president Nelson Mandela during his Southeast Asian visit in 1997.

A

MANALO

One of the country’s most seasoned diplomats, Manalo has made important contributions to various international efforts for the advancement of

Sri Lanka, CCPI seek common business interests

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MBASSADOR of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Shobini Gunasekera paid a courtesy call on the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (CCPI) Jose Luis U. Yulo Jr. on November 10 in Intramuros, Manila.

Prospective discussions between Gunasekera and Yulo focused on the chamber’s history, initiatives, its engagements with the government and foreign-trade stakeholders, as well as opportunities for mutually beneficial trade initiatives with Sri Lanka.

The ambassador outlined opportunities for collaboration with Sri Lanka in the sectors of information technology/business-process management, agriculture, food processing, as well as maritime and logistics, among many others.

She invited the CCPI president and his officers to explore viable opportunities for trade with counterparts in her country.

On the other hand, Yulo expressed his interest to collaborate with Sri Lanka in its notewor-

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LOCSIN during the signing ceremony DFA

For their part, the Republic of Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla expressed pride for being the first Caribbean state to accede to TAC. He said his country is encouraged by the interest

regionalism, trade policy, gender and development, as well as culture and human rights. She is widely recognized as a champion of women’s rights in the Philippines, in the region, and in the international community. In the years of her service, the ambassador has acquired invaluable knowledge and vast expertise in various capacities both in the bloc and the UN. Manalo’s advocacies in her reelection include the continued promotion of women’s rights, particularly in the fields of politics and decision-making, diplomacy and development, inclusion of the contexts of climate change, culture, way-of-life, as well as the rights of indigenous peoples.

“Ambassador Manalo’s first-hand experience

of expanding areas of cooperation with Asean.

The new accessions bring to 43 the number of high-contracting parties to the peace treaty signed on February 24, 1976. DFA

EMBASSY-MANILA FB PAGE

thy development initiatives in the Philippines.

He also invited the envoy to participate in CCPI’s trade-promotion activities to spur awareness on the best products Sri Lanka can offer to the chamber’s member-companies.

In addition, the CCPI president also announced the chamber’s openness to study the possibility of engaging with their fellows in the South Asian country. SRI LANKA EMBASSY-MANILA FB PAGE

on the work of CEDAW [as well as] her steadfast advocacy for the promotion and protection of the rights and welfare of women and girls in the world, among others, have been her truly remarkable contributions to the international community,” Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, permanent representative of the Philippine Mission to the UN, averred.

CEDAW is the body of independent experts monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The convention is considered the most important human-rights treaty for women.

Adopted by the UN in 1979, it has 189 states-parties aimed at protecting and promoting the human rights of women under all circumstances. DFA

Japan, ILO, BARMM inaugurate Maguindanao water system

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CHAMBER of Commerce of the Philippine Islands President Jose Luis U. Yulo Jr. (left) and Ambassador Shobini Gunasekera. SRI LANKA

BUSINESS ENVOY

Steven J. Robinson AO Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines

Investing in women: Key to Covid-19 recovery

PHL reinstated to UN body tackling discrimination vs women

MBASSADOR Rosario G. Manalo, the Philippines’s expert-candidate to the United Nations’ (UN) Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), was reelected for another term starting January 1, 2021 until 2024.

A secret balloting was held during the 21st Meeting of States-Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on November 9 at the UN General Assembly Hall. Nineteen candidates vied for 11 vacant seats. Other successful contenders were those from The Netherlands, Bahamas, Nepal, Lithuania, Ghana, Australia, Mexico, Lebanon, France and China. Some 188 states-parties cast their votes during the election.

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HE Embassy of Japan’s Economic Minister Masahiro Nakata joined Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Labor and Employment Minister Romeo K. Sema, Mayor Renalbert O. Insular and International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Director Khalid Hassan in a ceremonial handover of a Level-II water system to the Timanan Central Elementary School (TCES) in South Upi, Maguindanao.

More than 1,000 children and hundreds of households in the locale will benefit from the water facility.

To generate employment during these challenging times, people in the community were engaged in its construction. In addition, the South Upi local government unit and the TCES Parents and Teachers’ Association were trained on the operations and maintenance of the unit. These undertakings will ensure ownership and sustainability of the project.

This initiative is under the ILO-Japan Water and Sanitation Project in the Bangsamoro Region, signed on March 6, 2019. The ILO intervention envisions developing a water infrastructure that will benefit an

estimated 11,814 households in the area.

According to the embassy, while the overall goal of this undertaking is peace and development in Mindanao, it will also contribute toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation, as well as Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth.

Around 1,750 informal-sector workers in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City and 63 barangays in North Cotabato were provided emergency employment with social protection. To ensure safety and health of workers, 70 handwashing facilities were established in the work sites, workers were taught proper hygiene, with pandemic-responsive occupational safety and health protocols in place.

Since 1974, Japan has had a longstanding cooperation with the ILO. The Asian country has supported a number of ILO projects on disaster response, sustainable livelihood, peace and security, as well as local economic development in the Philippines, among others. EMBASSY OF JAPAN

N this time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) spread, economic recovery is high on everyone’s agenda, as we all look to build back better and support conditions for broadbased and inclusive growth. Investing in women is key to a strong and sustainable recovery.

Australia’s development program in the Philippines has pivoted through its Covid-19 Development Response Plan to address health security, maintain social stability, and stimulate economic recovery—particularly for women and girls.

The Philippines and Australia share a strong commitment to gender equality, and we recognize that women and girls have been d ispropor tionately d isadvantaged by the socioeconomic fallout of the pandemic. Experience from past health and economic crises sug gests that women’s economic security, participation in formal employment, political representation, as well as health and education outcomes will be negatively impacted even more than those of men. Without significant additional effort, the current contagion will damage gender equality and women’s economic security for years to come, in the Philippines and elsewhere around the globe.

It is imperative then for governments and the private sector to ensure the investments they make to spur economic recovery take into account the different impacts this crisis is having on women and men.

Unlocking growth capital

THE Philippine economy is expected to rebound next year, driven by fiscal stimulus measures, public investments (especially from infrastructure), and consumer spending, but there remain issues regarding liquidity in the capital markets. Efforts are needed to unlock growth capital for economic recovery, especially for women.

Australia’s f lagship gender economic- empower ment pro gram, Investing in Women, is providing financial capital to women-led small- and medium-

sized enterprises (SMEs) to offset Covid-19 impacts and assist businesses to improve performance t h rough adopt i ng work pl ace gender-equality strategies. The Macquarie Group Foundation recently joined this initiative to establish the Macquarie-Investing in Women Responsive Interventions Supporting Entrepreneurs, or RISE, Fund.

The Macquarie Group Foundation is making a substantial investment to expand the number of women-owned and women-led businesses who can receive funding and grow their businesses. It has a significant presence in the Philippines, and I commend their initiative to provide innovative, philanthropic support to economic recovery here.

Working with local investing partners, the Macquarie-Investing in Women RISE Fund will serve to catalyze much-needed investments into women’s SMEs which will have a multiplier effect in the local economy, creating and sustaining more than 200 full-time jobs.

Working with a gender lens

THERE is also an important demonstrative effect from this initiative. Investment partners such as Foundation for a Sustainable Society Inc. and InBestCap Ventures are committed to strengthening the investing ecosystem in the Philippines, while encouraging other investors to also work with a gender lens.

The Macquarie-Investing in Women RISE Fund is a public-private alliance to unlock additional Australian resources for a stronger recovery in the Philippines.

The collaboration of these investing partners with the Australian government is a demonstration of how much more we can achieve by working together.

Australia places a high value on our strong and enduring partnerships. We are pleased to collaborate with the private sector to help the Philippines emerge stronger from this crisis. Investing in women will play a central role in reimagining a new Philippine economy: one that is more resilient, inclusive and broad-based.

TheBroa

Business

B4 Thursday, November 19, 2020 • www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Viral romance’ of Co challenges to Pinoys u T

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco & Dennis D. Estopace

HE world is your oyster; but don’t be one. For one, humans are far from being mollusks; for another, being sedentary doesn’t help, especially during lockdowns.

Being sedentary is doubly hard, and risky, for nearly four million Filipinos (3,993,300, according to the International Diabetes Foundation) with diabetes.

According to Makati Medical Center Endocrinology Section Chief and physician Jimmy B. Aragon, there is data that the prevalence of pediatric Type 2 diabetes mellitus is higher now compared to 10 years ago.

“This is largely due to a more sedentary lifestyle,” Aragon told the BusinessMirror. “Children are glued to computer screens and television [sets] and, with the online school happening because of the pandemic, this will potentially increase prevalence of obesity and diabetes.”

Aragon, the past president of the Philippine Chapter of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (Aace), replied to the BusinessMirror’s inquiry on the prevalence of diabetes among children.

“Children who are unable to play outside tend to just play with video games or watch online shows,” he said. “Without exercise, sedentary lifestyle will prevail.”

Remain active

DIABETES has been the leading cause of morbidity in the Philippines; the 6th in 2017 according to the Department of Health (DOH).

It [diabetes] “is a matter of concern for many Filipinos,” Abbott Laboratories Inc. (Philippines) General Manager Robert Wagner told the BusinessMirror.

Wagner cited a recent report by the Philippine Heart Association Inc., which stated that over four million Filipinos with diabetes are at a significant risk of developing cardiovascular complications.

Diabetes is also a major cause of mortality in the Philippines, he added.

Wagner said that countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, have witnessed the highest rate of diabetes globally.

“What’s particularly worrying is the earlier onset of Type-2 diabetes, which brings with it increased risk of co-morbidities over the lifetime of a young individual.”

He noted that Philippine data show that visceral adiposity the fat enclosed by the body cavity containing the viscera i.e., the thorax, abdomen and pelvis is an important risk factor for diabetes. Wagner also pointed to previous studies that also underline low levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein or good cholesterol) among Filipinos.

“In recent months, Covid-19 has

made a difficult condition complicated to manage [as] enhanced quarantines have limited movement, and those with diabetes are finding it difficult to remain active or visit their doctor regularly for regular consultations,” Wagner said. “Cooped up at home, away from friends and social interactions [have been] emotionally tough [for people].

Exposed to Covid

SANS the lockdown, the coronavirus disease 2019 is unforgiving to diabetics, according to Dr. Rima Tan, vice president of the Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation.

“At this time, we already know that when Covid-19 affects a person with diabetes, the symptoms are more severe and the mortality rate is higher than in those without diabetes,” Tan told the BusinessMirror. “Filipinos are resilient, resourceful and, especially for those that have the means, most have actually adjusted well to life in quarantine.”

She said that the “challenges at the start were availability or access to their maintenance medications and to their health care providers.”

“Regular follow-ups were delayed and even for those who had symptoms or signs of other medical conditions, consultations and, hence, therapy was delayed because of fear of exposure to Covid-19, when going to the hospitals,” Tan said.

Aragon agrees, saying that the correlation of Covid infection and diabetes is established in medical literature.

“This information has spilled to the general public, most of my patients know this and they have taken measures to avoid being exposed to the virus,” he said. “However, life in lockdown has its consequences: patients feel anxious and sometimes terrified.”

Modified medication

ACCORDING to Philippine Society of Diabetologists Inc. Vice President Dr. Richard Elwyn, “diabetes and Covid-19 is a ‘viral romance.’”

“Surveys, observations [and] scientific journal articles all attest that diabetes is a comorbidity that worsens Covid-19 outcomes,” Fernando told the BusinessMirror.

“Let us leave these bad outcomes to the intensivists [critical-care physicians] and see the ‘viral romance’ outside the hospitals and intensive care units.”

He explained that the general community quarantine and lockdown forced all to stay home and a significant few were stranded

away from home.

Fernando echoed Tan’s observations that “many who have diabetes had problems procuring their medical supplies, food and other needs; many stopped or modified their medications.”

“Dialysis patients were doubly challenged; doctor follow-up, check-up and laboratory exams all had to be postponed. Those in isolation may experience anxiety and depression,” he said.

Indeed, Aragon said that those who have no strong family support are at risk to be in depression. He cited as an example people living alone because of isolation.

“W hen there is no one to do the market r uns, they order from fast-food restaurants and it can ruin their sugar and blood pressure control.”

“There were changes in diet and exercise,” Fernando reiterated. “A lot discovered the convenience of ordering food online and having [these] instantly delivered to doorsteps; and they gained weight and poor control.”

A costly treatment

THE downward spiral into a sedentary lifestyle may be good for oysters and those selling these as a luxury dish; it’s costly for those with diabetes.

And the cost of treating diabetes is costlier than treating Covid-19 patients, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire.

“Treating Covid-19 is less expensive compared to treatment of diabetes,” Vergeire told the BusinessMirror.

According to her, diabetes “requires long-term care including daily intake of maintenance medicines and, if with complications, will result in more financial difficulties.”

DOH data reveals that the highest first case rate for diabetes mellitus with coma or ketosis the state when a body gets fuel from ketones or the byproduct of fat is at P15,800 with healthcare institution fee at P11,060.

The lowest first case rate for the same group is at P12,600 with healthcare institution fee at P8,820.

The professional fee ranges from P3,780 to P4,740 per case, the DOH data revealed.

According to Vergeire, the DOH has not “costed” yet the impact of diabetes with Covid-19.

“Our case rates remain up to this moment,” she told the BusinessMirror. “This applies for Covid-19, diabetes and all others.”

Aragon told the BusinessMirror he’s unaware of local data for cost of diabetes treatment.

He noted, however, that in the US, this can reach hundreds of billions of dollars.

“This is because the complications of diabetes range from the minor wound infection to heart attacks and stroke, which can be devastating and can affect lifelong quality of life,” Aragon said. “So the key is prevention before the complications set in and education for patients and their families.”

In reality

ACCORDING to Wagner, the biggest hurdle in managing diabetes effectively is self-awareness of one’s condition.

He noted that Filipinos in urban areas who responded to a survey

by Abbott Laboratories claimed that they manage diabetes well.

“In reality, their post-meal glucose levels and HbA1c levels told a different story,” Wagner said�.

“This needs to get better.”

The Global Diabetes Community website said the term HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin.

“It develops when haemoglobin, a protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body, joins with glucose in the blood, becoming ‘glycated’.”

According to Wagner, another barrier in managing diabetes is the technology for monitoring glucose levels of people living

with diabetes.

The technology hardly evolved for thirty-odd years and the only feasible option for a quick result was the finger-sticking method, Wagner said. He noted that the survey by his company “also highlights this, with surveyed doctors stating that finger-sticking during blood glucose monitoring is generally rated as a hindrance for effective diabetes management.”

“Glucose-monitoring technology has been a massive enabler for people living with diabetes, globally,” Wagner said pointing to the company’s technology as used by over 2 million people with diabetes, across 46 countries.

“The digital nature of this technology today enables real-world insights that make diabetes management more effective,” he said.

Nonetheless, Wagner admits that awareness is still key to

diabetes management.

“While technology has been an enabler, it is the doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals, clinical bodies and patient associations and governments across the world that have recognized the need to drive awareness about diabetes and continue to make life better for the more than 460 million people living with this condition.”

Not managed well

A RECENT consumer survey commissioned by Abbott Laboratories among 200 urban area-based Filipinos with diabetes, their caregivers and doctors shows that 8 out of 10 people with diabetes surveyed believe that they manage diabetes ‘well’, Wagner said.

However, he said that 9 out of 10 respondents have high post-meal glucose, or sugar, levels greater

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Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Thursday, November 19, 2020

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ovid-19, diabetes adds under lockdown “We now know that for some medical conditions, like diabetes, virtual consultations will work and we were forced to adapt quickly.”

According to the physician, virtual consultations “answered a need [that] was seen in the early days of the quarantine.”

“And moving forward, I believe this practice of telemedicine is here to stay.”

Tan added that “coupled with remote monitoring technologies such as Abbott’s flash glucose monitoring and other CGMs, telemedicine is now a powerful tool to overcome distances imposed by the pandemic.”

Celsopupo | Dreamstime.com

Right priorities

than 140 milligrams per deciLiter (mg/dL).

Wagner said that the American Diabetes Association advises a normal fasting glucose level less than 100 mg/dL and a post-meal level less than 140 mg/dL. The survey also highlights that 62 percent of the survey’s respondents have HbA1C of 7 or more, indicating that diabetes is not being managed well over the longer term, he added.

Since 2011, the HbA1c has been endorsed by the WHO for the screening, diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes mellitus, which refers to a group of diseases that affect how the body uses blood sugar (glucose).

To track their glucose levels, most Filipinos would have to endure multiple, painful finger pricks each day to ensure they are in a normal glucose range,

Wagner said.

“The hassles involved with this traditional technology were a significant barrier to knowing one’s glucose levels and consequently, being able to manage it effectively,” he explained.

Thankfully, technology has evolved.

Significant reduction

OVER the past five years, new-age glucose technologies have transformed how people are living with monitor glucose levels without the hassles of routine finger-sticking, according to Wagner.

For instance, clinical trials and real-world data show that users of the Abbott’s technology have improved glucose control, decreased time in hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia as well as reduced hospitalizations, HbA1C levels and improved quality of life, he said.

Wagner also pointed to recent findings from a study in France that showed use of his firm’s technology it calls “continuous glucose monitoring” dramatically decreases diabetic ketoacidosis-related hospitalizations in people living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

The study, according to him, was the first largest retrospective analysis of its kind of nearly 75,000 people living with diabetes.

Real-world data recently presented at the ADA’s 80th Scientific Sessions suggest people w it h Ty p e 2 d i a b e te s u s i n g Abbott’s CGM technology can ac h ieve si m i l a r outcomes to adding insulin therapy, for both long-acting insulin users and non-insulin users, Wagner said.

The results demonstrated overall lower HbA1c levels associated with the use of our technology, he said. Wagner said there was a

0.8-percent drop after six months (from 8.5 percent to 7.7 percent) and 0.6-percent drop after one year of using Abbott’s system (from 8.5 percent to 7.9 percent).

He noted these are clinically significant reductions of average glucose levels over time toward the ADA’s recommended A1c goal of 7 percent for adults with diabetes.

“These results are similar to outcomes typically seen when adding insulin therapy to treatment regimens, indicating people may be able to manage their glucose levels with CGM technology instead of adding insulin,” Wagner said.

Telemedicine, technology

TECHNOLOGY is also in the mind of Tan. “I think one best practice that has been identified or pushed forward is the use of telemedicine,” she told the BusinessMirror.

TAN personally thinks that the government is not doing much in the battle against diabetes, especially with the current Covid-19 pandemic.

“Today, prevention of diabetes is more important, than therapy,” she told the BusinessMirror.

“Although some medications for diabetes have been made available for free by DOH, the promotion of healthy lifestyle and prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases (like diabetes) should be a priority. Setting the right priorities will be very helpful.”

According to Vergeire, provision of free maintenance medicines like Metformin, Gliclazide and insulin vials through city health offices and/or rural health units nationwide is also in place.

“Currently, diabetes services are continuously being given especially in primary care facilities since it is considered as an essential health service,” she said.

Still, Vergeire admits “government support can still be markedly improved.”

“At the moment, we need to strengthen the centralized registry of diabetes and its complications and more importantly, we need a nationwide campaign for diabetes prevention through healthy lifestyle,” she added.

The DOH expects the number of cases of diabetes in the Philippines to triple to 12 million in 20 years or by 2040.

Opportunity for unity

TAN noted that inequity differentiates the public and private responses to diabetes as a major health concern.

“The main issues are access to all kinds of resources: laboratory exams, educational and clinic and/or hospital facilities, medications, diabetes-trained health care providers, etc.,” she told the BusinessMirror.

Tan said the Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation has been working on the awareness and education side “so that we can help the public sector somehow adjust to their needs and, despite the limited resources, still improve care for persons with diabetes in their centers.” “ To have an integrated approach, the government should lead and all private diabetes-concerned organizations in the Philippines should come together, work hand-in-hand in this fight against diabetes.”

He also noted the opportunity for a unified approach.

“Both the public and the private sectors want the best for patients with diabetes; both work together for patient education and screening,” Fernando said. He said that the differences “may be obvious in choices for intervention.”

Newer agents

FERNANDO explained that government physicians treat the poorest and the most financially-challenged portion of the population.

“To be able to treat more, they have generic diabetes tablets and human insulin vials that are cheaper but also efficacious and safe,” he said. Fernando pointed out that almost all of the newer agents, tablets and injections are available “but at a cost.”

“Fortunately, guidelines in the management of diabetes from reputable international diabetes organizations, which we generally follow, also consider this real issue,” he said. “Diabetes organizations may have different programs and activities but all are focused on the patients and how their lives can be improved.”

According to the physician, urban institutions that treat patients with diabetes mostly have access to specialized referrals.”

“As this remains to be a challenge in rural areas, it is an opportunity to bring technology accessible to patients in these far areas,” Fernando said.

He noted, however, that there is a government integrated plan or approach for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases by the DOH and involves many medical specialties and subspecialties.

Getting serious

THE bigger challenge is still in the basic practice of people with or without diabetes, Fernando said.

And according to Aragon, to meet these challenges, “the best practices, though hackneyed, are still social distancing and wearing masks.”

Fernando agrees: “The proper wearing of face masks cannot be overemphasized.”

“You can still see people wear masks below the nose or under the chin [and] not all have accepted the fact that transmission can occur through the eyes so they need to have their eyes shielded in areas of high risk.”

He added that “sanitizing hands before touching the face must be a habit and physical distancing needs to be realized and practiced at all times.”

But people with diabetes seem to be more careful and compliant with health protocols, Fernando said.

The physician emphasized that every Filipino should adhere to these measures as “nobody can be definite if the country has reached the height of the epidemic or how much longer it will last.”

Nonetheless, Fernando said physicians and health workers in the private and public sectors “will continue to respond to this challenge with determination.”

B6 Thursday, November 19, 2020

Mariwasa releases new heavy duty product for wall tile applications

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AVING problems with your tile applications? Don’t worry, Mariwasa has you covered.

Mariwasa Siam Ceramics, Inc., the no. 1 tile manufacturing company in the Philippines, recently released its new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Heavy Duty, formulated for big-sized, n on-absorptive, and wall tile applications.

“The onset of the new decade marks the testament of Mariwasa’s commitment to be a complete home building solutions provider.

Early this year, to complete our tiling solutions, we launched the new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Regular, and we deemed it necessary to release another variant, this time catering to bigger tiles, which post

common problems caused by wrong adhesive use and way of installation,” said Mariwasa President and SCG Country Director, Mr. Jakkrit Suwansilp.

In the Philippines, many residential owners and contractors choose to use sandcement mortar to bond tiles during tile applications. This traditional practice has led to several setbacks that make it questionable in terms of cost-worthiness. Due to this, many professional tile setters now prefer and recommend the use of tile adhesive instead.

Tyler, the tile expert, recommends the following checklist to consider in choosing the right tile adhesive for your tile installation needs -- fast and easy application; thick consistency; wall application; slip

resistant; high adhesive strength; high tensile strength; prevents tile cracks and breakage; fits interior and exterior usage; and cost saving.

Making sure that its products adhere to the International Organization of Standardization and the Philippine National Standard, Mariwasa’s new Tile Adhesive is composed of bonding material, filler aggregate, and polymer additive.

With the new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Regular and Heavy Duty, you can be assured that it is fast and easy to apply, thereby saving precious time that a worker can use for other construction work. The adhesive's thick consistency, which is indicative of its bonding strength, is suitable for wall application with its slip resistant property, assuring that the tiles stay glued to their base for decades. Also, the new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Regular and Heavy Duty's high adhesion strength prevents debonded tiles and high tensile strength can resist a lot of tension and allow the tile application to last long. This prevents tile cracks and breakage and saving money and effort for repairs in the future. Available in select home depots, tile stores, and hardwares nationwide.

Visit mariwasa.com for more information.

ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Mylene Kasiban: Game-Changer

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NYONE who has ever worked in a company with a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) might have the perception that the CFO is cold, distant, and everyone’s enemy. They not only monitor the books; they also screen what gets charged into them. They get stereotyped because this perception is shared among people in different organizations.

But Mylene Kasiban — CFO of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. (RRHI) and the 2020 ING-FINEX CFO of the Year awardee — not only breaks this stereotype, she also breaks the glass ceiling.

“Being in a company with the Gokongwei Group is inspiring and it’s always energizing,” Mylene begins when we ask how she is, post-typhoon Rolly. “I just got off a Gokongwei Group Conversations video with Lance, and it’s all about entrepreneurship and stewardship. I’m feeling good. The way we look at all these challenges is something of learning.”

Mylene speaks with eager and open eyes, as if she does not yet have a career spanning 28 years and working with some of the biggest companies in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar. She went from auditor to finance manager in three years, and from finance director to group financial controller to CFO in 15 years.

When asked how she feels about winning, Mylene dedicates her achievement to Robinsons Retail. Her personal achievement comes second. “First of all, I wanted it for RRHI. I said I’m gonna do it for Mr. John, for Mr. James, for Lance, for Robina, and for RRHI,” she says.

“She is my adviser. She helps me run our business,” attests Ms. Robina Gokongwei-Pe, CEO of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., when asked about having Mylene as a CFO. Mylene changed the way I looked at Finance. She has malasakit (empathy). She’ll say, ‘You know, I think we can increase sales if we do this,’ ‘I think we can cut costs if we do this,’‘I think we should get into this business,’‘I think we should get out of this business’.”

The game-changing mindset

IF we were to simplify what made Mylene win the award, it is that — simplicity. She looked at processes and simplified them, benefitting both company and employees.

It was a project she did even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit to simplify the accounting and inventory processes — changing from manual to automated — that helped RRHI and their companies stay afloat while other companies suffered immensely.

“The stores used to have logbooks after logbooks after logbooks,” Robina recalls. “And when the pandemic hit, people were having a hard time going to work. Sales of non-essentials went down. Would you have wanted to burden them with logbooks still?”

“I think even with the pandemic, I’ve managed to preserve our cash. In any business, cash is king,” Mylene says thoughtfully. “There were a lot of interventions that I had to do, but I believe I've built a strong finance team as well.

I did a mix of hiring people and at the same time growing people from within, and developing them.”

As the second woman to win the award in its 14-year tradition, Mylene also brings women empowerment into the picture. “I really believe that women are leaders on their own, they just have different styles,” she says.

Mylene is the CFO she is today because of the challenges she has overcome, both professionally and personally. As a daughter, she shared with us prior to the recording of the interview that she looks after her

parents who are safely and happily settled in Laguna.

As a finance professional, Mylene says there are two achievements that changed her for the good.

“First is my Indonesia experience,” she says. “Because I had worked in the Philippines and had a short stint in the US, I had this picture of what good looks like, and what it feels like working in a multinational company.”

“Although my stint in Indonesia was with multinational companies as well, it’s a much less-developed country during that time, from a business perspective,” Mylene continues. “I didn’t realize that there were a lot of improvements or changes that I needed to make in Finance.”

“It taught me lessons in humility, and socializing — or understanding the culture — for you to be successful. You cannot just come in as somebody who knows everything and impose whatever you learn,” she says, eyes looking up as if she was reliving her time in Indonesia. “You have to understand the culture and adapt.

Really be with them and be like them, so I went to the extent of speaking Bahasa.”

The second achievement is when Mylene completed her studies in Bath, United Kingdom. “People were asking me, ‘Why did you choose Bath and why didn’t you go to universities? Like Ox-bridge, Oxford or Cambridge’.”

“Bath was a very nice city, and it gave me the opportunity to relax, travel, study at the same time,”Mylene recalls.

“It was a good break, a good reflection. I learned a lot about myself. I learned about religion. I view religion differently now than it was before. I think it was very liberating for me.” Lockdown learnings During the lockdown, RRHI launched GoRobinsons, their e-commerce platform, and negotiated the acquisition of Rose Pharmacy. “It wasn’t as difficult for me personally, because I’ve been in difficult moments,” Mylene shares.

In the ‘90’s during the political unrest in Indonesia, Mylene was with Johnson & Johnson, and had to move from one office to another despite prevalent bombings. During 9/11, Mylene was with The Hershey Company, and was one of two passengers on a plane to Pennsylvania to present a business plan.

It is her reflective nature and centeredness (other people call this balance) that has helped and still helps Mylene move forward. And, of course, her simplicity. Simplicity is not downplaying the gravity or importance of a situation.

It is clearing the clutter and noise to focus on what needs to get done, get it done, and to do it well.

Ways of working in the now

“WE'VE always been liquid but I wanted to make sure that we continue that. How do we make sure we provide and make sure that our employees are safe, that they’re able to work while they’re at home?” Mylene shares, when asked how they coped with the first few months of lockdown.

“So I worked with Robina on that, in approving budgets for the business units.”

“Until now, of course, for everyone it’s a challenge, but I think it’s normalized already,”she continues.“When I say it’s normalizing, I’ve already transitioned that this is the next normal. I think people’s habits have changed; even the way people shop has changed. You just need to be agile.”

One such proof of agility is the transition to mobile work, with technologies that help them do meetings “face-to-face” albeit virtually. “Now, you have to feel the voice, and rely on facts. We’ve adjusted to that,” says Mylene. “We were more or less set up on that before, we just fast-tracked it. We’re also focused on our online, our e-

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAY SECRETARY MARK VILLAR inspects the Marcos Bridge in the aftermath of Typhoon Ulysses to check the structural integrity of the bridge after a barge hit one of its piers. The DPWH has been checking its various projects since the start of typhoon season in the coun try.

Coverage of hemodialysis in excess of 90 sessions

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HE PhilHealth Board of Directors has approved on November 11, 2020 the continuing coverage of hemodialysis sessions beyond the 90-session limit to a maximum of 144 sessions which can be availed of until December 31, 2020.

PhilHealth will immediately issue the guidelines for the special package through a Circular. For the meantime, it is directing all its regional offices and concerned healthcare facilities to continue honoring all availments beyond the 90-session limit as duly prescribed by a licensed physician.

Sun Life presents exclusive art exhibit to raise funds for typhoon victims

S MYLENE Kasiban

commerce, on how we’re gonna fasttrack it.”

What Mylene has learned from Robina that she applies in her daily life is to be a steward of the business — hands-on and entrepreneurial. “You have to care for the business, you have to act like an owner,” Mylene says.“You need to think beyond just getting a salary. You need to think,‘What does it do for the company if I make this decision? Will it help if I do this?’.”

A win to celebrate CFOs

A once-in-every-100-years pandemic coupled with an unprecedented lockdown and economic crisis really requires a different mindset, approach, and playbook. For ING Philippines Country Manager Hans Sicat, Mylene demonstrated a very agile approach to the issues RRHI was facing.

“I think it was also apparent that her various contributions made a relatively larger impact on the health and welfare of her firm. She was resolute in these initiatives,” he says. “It also was impressive that her relationship with her CEO is extremely close, and she is valued as an internal trusted advisor.”

“All candidates (for the award) were asked the same set of questions and Mylene concisely articulated strong evidence of performance, initiative, and behavior across all four CFO qualities of Strategist, Catalyst, Steward, and Operator,” adds FINEX President Jose Jerome Pascual III. “She developed a very strong partnership with her CEO looking at future scenarios, opportunities, and recovery strategies. She engaged her internal stakeholders effectively and changed their perception on the role of Finance. She established a culture of compliance while adapting to the corporate culture.”

“I see my partnership with Mylene going ahead, going strong, going, and going,” says Robina with a laugh.

This game-changing CFO will indeed keep going, with grit and grace. “I make sure that I train my Finance team to be a business partner, and to have a customer service orientation,” Mylene says. “I’m very much a business partner. I collaborate with the business lead heads and the general managers.”

“I thank Robina for believing in me, for giving me a chance to be part of her team. I’ve always been excited about working for the company, because it’s such a good company and it's still growing,” Mylene tells us, in closing.

“To ING-FINEX, I am honored that I am the second female CFO of the year, and I will work on living up to the expectation.”

Patients who have paid for their hemodialysis sessions are requested to file their claims with the nearest PhilHealth office.

For the information and guidance of all concerned.

(Sgd.)ATTY. DANTE A. GIERRAN, CPA President and CEO

UN Life Philippines, in cooperation with Salcedo Auctions, is raising funds for the benefit of the recent typhoon victims with a special preview of Betsy WestendorpBrias’ limited edition Giclée on canvas collection for select clients on November 23, 2020 from 6:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. During the preview, guests will be able to purchase the featured works of Betsy at a special rate and will have the chance to interact with the artist herself to ask questions about her masterpieces.

“Art has the power to bring people together, and Betsy's inspiring works give us the opportunity to unite and bring hope to those who have been affected by the onslaught of the recent typhoons,” says Benedict Sison, Sun Life CEO and Country head. “This is but one way for Sun Life to express its unwavering commitment to the Filipinos amid these difficult times.”

For his part, Salcedo Auctions Managing Director Victor Silvino expressed his appreciation to Sun Life for this alliance. "We are greatly honored by the chance to collaborate with Sun Life and an esteemed artist like Betsy Westendorp-

Brias. Through this exhibit, Sun Life clients who are art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to delve deeper into the messages that Betsy conveys through her masterpieces," Silvino said.

Born Isabelle Maria Westendorp, Betsy started painting at a very young age by creating portraits of her family. This passion paved the way for her fame as she connected with influential personalities. At the age of 21, she moved to the Philippines after marrying her husband Antonio 'Tony' Brias. In one of her trips to Spain, she was invited by then Philippine Ambassador to Spain to represent the Philippines during the Filipino Week of the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica in Madrid, where she wowed the crowd. One milestone of her career as an artist is when Don Juan Carlos, then King of Spain, commissioned her to paint his son, Don Felipe.

Betsy's art career continues to flourish as she holds several art galleries here and around the world. Notably, she is one of those few artists in the country to receive cultural distinctions from two nations.

“Betsy Westendorp’s Limited Edition Giclee on Canvas Collection” will run 24/7 from November 23 to 28 for select Sun Life clients, with public access available on the last day. For more updates, visit www.sunlife. com.ph or www.facebook.com/sunlifeph.

Midas lights Christmas Tree to shine hope

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IDAS Hotel and Casino recently unveiled its Sparkling Christmas Tree in an intimate ceremony shared with the Midas staff. The tree, adorned with white and blue ornaments aims to shine hope to hoteliers based locally and abroad.

“For the past years, we’ve held grand Tree Lighting events. Today, we are celebrating it with the simplest but most important way of welcoming Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas is to give hope, understanding, help, and goodwill to those who need them. It is our mission to help and shine hope to people, especially in this time of uncertainty,” said Midas Hotel and Casino General Manager Ms. Lily Santos-Adrid.

Currently, the hotel’s Midas Café and Yanagi restaurants offer dine-in and take-away services for selected menu items. More promotions are underway as the NCR lockdown eases to revive the country’s economy.

As the hotel continues to brave the new setting, the Midas staff ensures its guests that their health and safety remain to be

the priority. Proper safety guidelines have been implemented in the hotel premises to welcome vacationers soon.

Midas Hotel and Casino hopes to have a more fruitful and vibrant 2021 with the support of its patrons, partners, and media friends.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Self-care is the key to dealing with WFH mental health issues

By Rory Visco

T

Contributor

he work from home (WFH) arrangement that companies were forced to adopt because of the Covid-19 pandemic is starting to take its toll on the mental health of employees.

Dr. Ma. Gia Grace Sison, Head of the Women’s Wellness Center of Makati Medical Center, said the WFH setup gave rise to more household work and childcare for both parents and amplified certain social divides such as health and economics, among others.

She pointed out that among stressors in the WFH arrangement are financial concerns, physical health, mental health, work performance, family pressures, and time management, a very common issue among employees.

“Mental health problems are complex, a balancing and a dynamic act, or a combination of work stressors and our personal lives. We say that it has to be separated but sometimes, it can’t be done,” she said.

Dr. Sison was one of the speakers in the third and final installment of the “Lifespaces” webinar series “Let’s Talk About Stress: Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace” organized by Colliers International, together with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) and the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines.

the importance of company culture in managing mental health and stress.

Dr. Sison said mental health problems can have an impact on both employers and employees. For employers, it can be increased absenteeism, decreased productivity leading to reduced morale, high staff turnover, early retirement, and/or complaints.

On the employee side, it can be decreased quality of life, economic effect and worse, stigma and discrimination.

But perhaps the biggest change that the pandemic and the WFH arrangement created is it diminished the dynamism of interaction between officemates in an actual office.

“By nature, people are social beings so the changes like physical distancing can have its toll on one’s mental health. Support networks are important to help build that safe space either at the physical office or at home so we can talk to someone when loneliness hits us. That is something that everyone has to start to live with, especially now,” Dr. Sison said.

Employee engagement

For MaAnn Reyes, Vice President of Human Resources at Everise, as a BPO company, Everise is alive 24/7 and the office is bursting with life, but then the pandemic changed everything.

Now, 90 percent of their work force are WFH but 10 percent actually live

Industry and medical experts were present to shed light and provide guidance on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of employees, redefining employee engagement on a digital level and

Home away from home

in the office.

“We literally provided a home away from home to ensure that the 10 percent can continue earning because they can’t work from home. Not everybody can work from home because of several issues like the right work environment or connectivity,” Reyes said.

She noticed that for those who WFH, there is a very thin line between managing stress in the household and during their shift. For those who think WFH is easy, it is not. It’s even twice or thrice as hard, especially from a human resources perspective.

“It’s harder to engage people you don’t see so we try to check our staff doing WFH from time to time to find out how we can help them in this pandemic,” Reyes said.

As for Globe Telecom, Victoria Marquez, the telco’s Employee Experience expert, said the telecom industry’s work environment is quite busy so Globe started preparing even before the pandemic. They came up with a Covid-19 tracing “bot” to ask employees how they are doing, with an open design so they would know if they have Covid-19 symptoms. The bot, however, became a reporting platform for employees with possible mental health issues.

“So we started loading the bot with services they can access like telehealth consultation for psychiatric services,” Marquez said.

Chat service

They also started a chat service for those who may have mental health issues but are afraid to discuss with an actual person. “Even if it’s just a chat service, the most important thing was we kept communication lines open for the employees to express freely what they are feeling,” Marquez said.

In terms of best practices that companies can adapt to engage its em-

ployees and maintain the company culture despite WFH, Dr. Sison said short online conversations can work.

At Globe, Marquez said their policy was “Ask, Listen and Respond.” But with this pandemic, the number of WFH issues raised in the bot alarmed them. They discovered that people were having difficulty establishing boundaries for themselves because they did not know what they can ask for, and there is always the lingering fear of being seen as unproductive.

She said people at Globe are very competitive and customer oriented so they will really burn themselves out if they don’t draw the line. “So we came up with meeting guidelines like no meetings during lunchtimes or weekends. Since engagement protocols vary between teams, the guidelines make teams aware if they are violating a culture that another team has.”

Dr. Sison stressed that self-care should be an important aspect in an employee’s life, even if under a WFH setup. For Reyes, it’s about creating a dedicated space at home as work place. “As soon as you’re off the shift, get out of that place and be with the family. It should be a conscious effort to draw the line that separates work life from family life.”

With Marquez, it is to build a habit of paying attention to the body. She said people should learn to listen to their bodies to know when it’s the right time to stop or scale back. “If you’re a go-getter, learn when it’s time to let go especially in this pandemic. We were used to doing so many things at the same time, like having a social life, pursuing our dreams, or trying to be fit. But I believe that the world is asking us to reevaluate and reassess what matters to us so find an activity or control mechanism that works best for you.”

PMA’s ‘Doctors on Boat’ help typhoon-affected families

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

olunteer doctors from the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) have been making the rounds to provide medical, psychosocial, and relief goods to typhoonaffected areas.

From its Bicol Region mission, the group moved to the National Capital Region, targeting typhoon victims in Tumana, Marikina City over the weekend.

Doctors on Boat have been on the go since Typhoon Quinta battered Luzon in October. Quinta was followed by Siony and Supertyphoon Rolly which badly affected the Bicol Region.

With the havoc wrought by Typhoon Ulysses, PMA held a mercy mission at the H. Bautista Elementary School along JP Rizal Street in Barangay Tumana, Markina City.

Dr. Benito Atienza, the group’s president said in a statement that the PMA Doctors on Boat has served 430 families who are currently housed at the H. Bautista Elementary School, one of the city’s most crowded evacuation centers.

“We have distributed various medicines including vitamins and also the much-needed relief goods for everybody in the evacuation center. The PMA is grateful for the support of the Philippine National Police Maritime Group,

Doctors on Boat led by Philippine Medical Association President Dr. Benito Atienza with Philippine National Police personnel conduct a mercy mission at H. Bautista Elementary School, JP Rizal Street, Tumana, Marikina.

Mercury Drug, and also our partners at the ongoing PMA free nationwide telemedicine service DOC-PHILIPPINES ( www.docph.org), particularly the Clean Air Philippines Movement, Beta Sigma Fraternity Medical Group, and the League of Data-privacy and Cybersecurity Advocates of the Philippines for making this humanitarian mission possible

nationwide,” Atienza said.

The group was scheduled to visit Barangay Kasiglahan, Montalban, Rizal next before finally visiting Cagayan Valley, which has been 80 percent flooded as of Sunday.

“Some of the ailments we saw at this evacuation center are mild cases of respiratory and gastrointestinal problems common mostly in

these precarious situations,” he said.

Atienza reminded evacuees to observe the minimum health standard protocol for the protection of those currently housed at evacuation centers.

He noted that in Tumana, Marikina, the evacuees are distributed at the average ratio of 8 to 15 families in a room “so we have strongly advised for social distancing and other minimum health standard protocol to be strictly observed at all times.”

Tumana Barangay Chairman Ziffried Ancheta acknowledged the observation and expressed his gratitude to the volunteer doctors.

The PMA Doctors on Boats project started last 2009 in response to the disastrous events of Typhoon Ondoy.

The group made its presence felt during post Yolanda and others natural calamities including the torments of perennial “Habagat” seasons that resulted in floods.

The humanitarian project targets basically unserved, isolated and inundated areas affected by storms unreachable by land transport.

While it is called “Doctors on Boat,” the project also involves land-based operations to deliver charitable medical and psychosocial services to victims of disasters, including delivery of relief goods and potable water, temporarily relocated in evacuation centers nationwide.

PDRF receives app as technical support for pandemic response

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

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HE Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) has received an application developed by SGV & Co. in collaboration with SAP for its logistics and response needs to counter the Covid-19 pandemic.

The SAP Customer Experience solutions, which include SAP Sales & Service Cloud, also known as C4C, aim to give maximum logistical support and responses to organizations assisting the PDRF in supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and medicines to partner hospitals and other health-related organizations.

The app will also help in channeling donations from private institutions and individuals to hospitals through an integrated platform in order to provide them with these muchneeded supplies.

PDRF Chief Resilience Officer Bill Luz lauded the technological support for fulfilling its duties as the country’s major private sector vehicle and coordinator for disaster response improvement.

“Our Covid response has required us to send a wide variety of items such as PPEs, ventilators, as well as providing meals to a large number of health-care institutions all over the country,” he said.

“This technology enables us to manage our supply and deploy the resources in a timely manner to different organizations,” he added.

Commitment assured

Meanwhile, SGV & Co. Chairman and Managing Partner Wilson Tan assured the company’s commitment to the development and implementation of the much-needed application.

Covid-19 cases have been steadily rising in the Philippines, thus driving the constant need for hospital supplies, medicine and PPE. Due to this, the PDRF continues to manage donations to address this concern via its web site.

SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler Panlilio emphasized the importance of technology’s role in assisting the country’s Covid-19 relief efforts.

“SAP Customer Experience solutions go beyond the back-end to support nongovernment organizations [NGOs] such as the PDRF with intelligent technologies that can drive efficiency in facilitating the donations and providing access to necessary supplies,” the top executive said.

“This is an example of how we remain true to our purpose of helping Filipino enterprises including NGOs to run better and, thus, improve the lives of Filipinos,” he stressed.

Thursday, November 19, 2020 B7

Public warned of health hazards of generator use

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

D

id you know that using generators at home can cause carbon monoxide poisoning which can be very lethal and can cause death in minutes?

The Department of Health (DOH) revealed that two persons died in Albay after some families used their generator sets indoors when typhoon “Ulysses” battered Bicol and other parts of Luzon.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said generator sets “emit carbon monoxide which displaces oxygen in our body.” “The gas is odorless and cannot be seen.”

At least 20 feet

Vergeire said generators should be at least 20 feet away from the house to ensure the safety of family members.

This was echoed by DOH-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo who said owners of generator sets should make sure that these are placed safely outside and not in a confined area.

“Be sure that your unit is placed at least 20 feet away from your house, away from your windows and doors to avoid the gas getting into your home,” he said.

The DOH—Calabarzon head also

issued the same warning on the use of generators at home which can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

“We have received reports of alleged carbon monoxide poisoning in the province of Rizal due to the use of generators which was placed indoors and we have already sent out our epidemiology team to investigate and verify the incident,” Janairo said.

Colorless, odorless

Portable back-up generators produce carbon monoxide gas which is colorless and odorless and kills without warning when inhaled at high levels.

“Also, check your sets for any leaks in its exhaust system and make sure it is properly maintained before using it.

Always read the manual and follow the safety precautions listed,” he added.

For those using generators at home and are experiencing headache, dizziness, shortness of breath, confusion and vomiting, Janairo encouraged them to proceed to the nearest health facility for consultation.

He also warned people not to use their vehicles as a portable airconditioned room.

“Please do not sleep inside your vehicles as this is also dangerous to your health for it also emits carbon monoxide and you can be at risk of inhaling it,” he emphasized.

DOH, private sector strengthen Covid-19 info drive in Mindanao

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revention is part of the country’s National Action Plan to defeat Covid-19.

Aside from being cheap, easy and effective, it is also the most crucial and most important among the strategies.

With this, the Department of Health’s (DOH) trusted partners Procter & Gamble (P&G) Philippines, a leading manufacturer of health and hygiene products, and NCCC Supermarket, a homegrown retail company in Mindanao, have teamed up to strengthen the BIDA Solusyon sa Covid-19 campaign in Davao.

DOH launched its nationwide education and promotions campaign in July to enable and empower Filipinos to have healthier and safer homes.

BIDA, which stands for Bawal Walang Mask, Isanitize ang Kamay at Bahay, Dumistansya, and Alamin ang Totoo, is an easy to remember acronym of healthy practices each Filipino can do to be part of the solution to fight Covid-19.

Home sanitation

On top of these mandatory preventive protocols, the BIDA Campaign with P&G promotes expert recommended everyday home sanitation activities such as handwashing with soap for 20 seconds, taking a bath upon arrival at home, laundering clothes worn outside, and cleaning the kitchen areas and meal utensils.

“We are helping our health sector and its system recuperate from a hard-fought battle. We are rebuilding our country to be stronger and more resilient, simply by exercising minimum health precautions and hence protecting ourselves from getting sick,” said Dr. Abdullah Dumama Jr., DOH Undersecretary of Health, Field Implementation Cluster Team for Visayas and Mindanao, in an online partnership launch forum.

He also thanked all responders and partners like P&G Philippines and NCCC Supermarket for advocating the BIDA Solusyon campaign.

BIDA sa Bahay

P&G is using its trusted health and hygiene brands, expertise in media, marketing and sales, its network and reach to be a “force for good.” It has sponsored the production and airing of the “BIDA sa Bahay” mass education song and video to educate Filipinos about home sanitation practices.

“As the government continues to maximize our limited resources, we are grateful that P&G found a way to use its trusted hygiene brands to amplify the DOH’s campaign. With their technical and marketing expertise, they have assisted us with the various mass education videos and the BIDA sa Bahay song to help us spread the BIDA practices as well as the right home hygiene practices. We were also able to respond positively to the needs of 70,000 low income households who have been badly hit by the pandemic, and for whom the P&G BIDA home hygiene kits have been most useful. Today, the partnership with P&G is now the gold

standard for all our private partners,” said Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, DOH Health Promotions Bureau Director.

P&G also donated to the DOH and USAID 70,000 BIDA home kits for Filipino families in 36 provinces across the country to help them practice the prescribed behaviors for Covid-19 prevention. Each kit contains a two-week supply of P&G products such as Safeguard bath soap, Head and Shoulders shampoo, Joy dishwashing liquid, and Ariel laundry detergent.

“P&G Philippines is very honored to be in partnership with two of our long-time partners from the government and from the private sector. We have always committed to promoting health and hygiene in the country to be a force for good and we have been partnering with DOH since the 1990s. We are also equally grateful to NCCC Supermarket for helping us carry out our primary mission of serving our consumers with essential health, hygiene and sanitation products, which are critically needed by Filipinos as we all fight the transmission of the virus,” said Kristine Tang, P&G Marketing Vice President for Fabric and Home Care.

Promotional collaterals

Meanwhile, NCCC supported the DOH by producing its on-ground BIDA promotional collaterals to help local government units disseminate the Covid-19 prevention messages.

NCCC was able to provide more than P3.3 million worth of BIDA tarpaulins and standees in Tagalog and Bisaya versions for the communities in Davao and Palawan. This has been particularly helpful for DOH as they aim to intensify their efforts to bring the communication messages closer to the local communities through below-the-line executions.

Through this BIDA sa Mindanao partnership, P&G and NCCC will be able to educate and empower more local Davao citizens to participate and support the DOH’s campaign.

NCCC will use its grocery stores and allocate spaces for Hygiene Solution Centers which will promote the BIDA messages and give citizens a faster way to shop for their P&G hygiene product needs in one place, preventing long waiting lines and enabling physical distancing.

With NCCC Cares Inc., the non-stock, nonprofit organization of NCCC that advocates different programs for family and community social development, the partnership will also help over 500 families in nearby high risk NCCC communities in Davao and Tagum with P&G donation of hygiene kits.

“As we face the New Normal, we wish to extend our help to some of the affected communities in Mindanao and at the same time, provide support to our local government in strengthening the BIDA Solusyon sa Covid-19 campaign through partnering with DOH and with the leading consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble Philippines,” said Lafayette Lim, NCCC Supermarket Chief Operating Officer. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

ZARAGOSA GRABS LEAD R

UPERT ZARAGOSA went on an early birdie-binge and shot a 69 then pounced on Joenard Rates’s late meltdown to grab a one-shot lead over the erstwhile frontrunner and two others halfway through the rich International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Riviera Invitational Challenge at the Couples course in Silang, Cavite, on Wednesday.

What he lacked in height, the 5-foot-2 Zaragosa made up with his superb shotmaking and putting as he birdied three of the first holes then held sway in tough conditions, finishing with a two-birdie, two-bogey game the rest of the way for a 34-35 and a 141.

“I hit it pretty good off the mound and got some good lies for approach shots,” said Zaragosa, whose opening 72 was marred by a double-bogey on No. 11, a par-5 hole which he birdied yesterday to storm ahead of the compact field in pro golf’s resumption after an eightmonth break due to pandemic.

Aware of the expected charge of the top guns in the last two rounds, the 23-year-old Zaragosa stressed the need to play it smart to gain a crack at a first pro crown which he blew when he lost in a five-man playoff in the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Asia Pradera Verde last January.

“I’ll just go for the fairways and greens, minimize my mistakes and make the most of my chances,” said the former many-time national champion, one of the very few who had tapped a caddie in coach-father Boyet.

In the accompanying Ladies PGT, Princess Superal slowed down with a 72 after a 67 but

stayed safely ahead by five over rookie Abby Arevalo heading to the final round of the 54hole championship.

After sparkling with an eagle-spiked five-under card in the first round capped by a birdie-birdie finish, Superal struggled trying to find her rhythm and range in a late tee-start, hitting just two birdies on Nos. 7 and 18 against bogeys on Nos. 1 and 15.

But with a safe margin over Arevalo with a 139 total, the reigning OOM winner could be on her way to adding the crown to her long list of victories that have marked her winning campaign before the pandemic.

Arevalo actually pulled to within four with a birdie on No. 13 but the 2020 Philippine Ladies Open titlist bogeyed the 15th then birdied the next to shoot the day’s best of 71 for a 144 aggregate.

Pauline del Rosario holed out with a doublebogey on No. 18 for a second 74 for third at 148 while Chihiro Ikeda hardly improved with a 75 after a 76 and lay 11 shots off at 151 while Chanelle Avaricio, another rookie pro, faltered with a second 76 for a 152 and Daniella Uy skied to an 81 for a 154.

After an impressive opening 69 in the Tour’s return in new normal, where the pros do away with the caddies and abide by the strict health and safety protocols, including wearing of face masks, the 5-foot-3 Rates scrambled to salvage a oneunder card after 16 holes and hold on to the lead.

But he fumbled with back-to-back bogeys for a 73, enabling the other diminutive shotmaker to take command of the P2.5 million tournament, the first of two events put up by ICTSI to mark the PGT’s restart.

Tough draw for Manila Chooks

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ANILA Chooks TM found itself bracketed with world No. 1 Liman and home team Lusail in Pool A of the International Basketball Federation 3X3 Doha World Tour Masters that starts Friday at the Al Gharafa Sports Complex in Qatar on Friday.

Liman is a familiar foe for the Filipinos when in 2019, Pasig Chooks of Joshua

Munzon, Taylor Statham, Nikola Pavlovic and Angelo Tsagarakis with Troy Rike as reserve stunned the top-ranked team in the pool stages, 19-16.

In the same tournament, Balanga Chooks, then composed of now-Manila players Alvin Pasaol and Santi Santillan along with Karl Dehesa and Travis Franklin, bowed to Liman in

RUPERT ZARAGOSA shoots a 69 for a one-shot lead in the second round as Princess Superal stays safely ahead by five strokes.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8

| Thursday, November 19, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

GAB special guest license, boon or bane?

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Still, Rates stayed within a shot at 142 in a tie with another surprising pair in Fidel Concepcion and Rico Depilo, who fired 68 and 71, respectively, as the fancied bets continued to figure out the course while trying to recover from the effects of a long layoff since mid-March.

While Zaragosa banked on a solid start to seize control, Concepcion turned in a late charge to get into the mix alongside Rates and Depilo, the unheralded Davaoeño hoping to sustain his charge against the expected assault of the favorites in an attempt to finally gain a crack at a first crown in turning pro at 31 in 2004.

Concepcion, a former Southern Utah University standout who grew up in Sydney and placed 15th in the Order of Merit in his PGT debut last year, actually hit two birdies in the first 11 holes then bounced back from a bogey misfortune on No. 12 with three straight birdies the quarterfinals, 9-21.

Pasig and Balanga finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively, last year.

The country’s top 3x3 player Munzon and No. 5 Rike are ready for the rematch.

“It’s definitely going to be a test for us to square against these European teams. We’re ready mentally

from No. 13 for a 35-33.

Depilo, meanwhile, matched his opening round 71, spiking his 34-37 card with an eagle on No. 7, a feat he also did on No. 16 in a 36-35 start Tuesday.

Dutch Guido Van der Valk missed joining Rates and company at second with a last-hole bogey, his 71 instead dropping him to joint fifth at 141 with multi-titled Miguel Tabuena and Tony Lascuña, who both matched par 72s, and young Ira Alido, who failed to duplicate her rousing windup of three birdies in the last six holes for a 70 Tuesday with two bogeys against and physically,” said Munzon as the stakes are high in the Level 10 tournament with $40,000 prize going to the champion.

Liman, which faces Manila on Friday at 11:55 p.m. (Manila time), is composed of 2017 Fiba 3X3 World Tour Most Valuable Player Stefan Stojacic, world No. 3 Stefan Kojic, No. 4

a birdie in the last seven for a 73.

Albin Engino also fumbled with a 73 for solo ninth at 145 while 2018 PGT Order of Merit winner Jobim Carlos rebounded from a 75 with a 71 to wheel back into contention at 146 with Gerald Rosales, who carded a 72.

Angelo Que, one of those tipped to crowd for the top P350,000 purse in the first of two events in PGT restart owing to his power, talent and experience, made two bogeys in a birdie-less 74 that dropped him to joint 12th at 147 with Korean Park Jun Sung and Richard Sinfuego, who both fired 73s.

Mihailo Vasic and No. 6 Aleksandar Ratkov.

Lusail, which Manila plays on Saturday at 1:35 a.m., has 36-year-old Greek Vasileiadis Kostantinos; 23-year-old Senegalese Ousseynou Mbow and homegrown talents 32-year-old Mame Ndour and 18-year-old Hamza Radi.

TNT ESCAPES PAST PHOENIX J

AYSON CASTRO stood tall at crunch time to help TNT Tropang Giga secure a 95-92 victory over Phoenix Super LPG in Game 1 of their semifinals series in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Pampanga.

With the Fuel Masters threatening at 88-90 with 54 seconds left, Castro grabbed an offensive rebound and nailed a coldblooded three-pointer over Calvin Abueva to put the Tropang Giga up by four with only 26 seconds remaining.

TNT hung tough from there to gain the headstart in the best-of-five series.

“Jayson really stepped up tonight and he proved his seniority. His leadership, execution and making good decisions are what we need from him.

We’re very fortunate that he scored the very important basket,” TNT head coach Ferdinand “Bong” Ravena said.

Castro scattered 12 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points on top of six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Bobby Ray Parks Jr. tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Tropang Giga.

Phoenix didn’t give up easily as RJ Jazul knocked in a three-pointer to slice the deficit to 91-92 with 20 ticks left. But Simon Enciso’s split free throws gave TNT a 93-91 lead. The Fuel Masters had a chance to force overtime, but Jason Andre Perkins also split his charities.

Castro calmly made two free throws with five seconds left before Phoenix’s Alex Mallari muffed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

Roger Pogoy nailed 16 points and collected nine rebounds while John Paul Erram dominated the paint.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

MATTHEW WRIGHT proved to be the right man for Phoenix Super LPG after leading the team to a second straight semifinals stint in the Philippine Cup. In one of the biggest games of his career and in Phoenix franchise history, Wright rose to the occasion and delivered big time in the clutch when he hit the game-winning three-pointer in a thrilling 89-88 win that slammed the playoffs door on Magnolia.

The 29-year-old Wright finished with 32 points and nine assists to help the second seeded

HE Games and Amusements Board (GAB) is offering a special guest license (SGL) to student athletes who intend to play in professional leagues—basketball, volleyball, among others— without losing their amateur status.

The GAB clarified its intention for the SGL— to help the student athletes not only in honing their skills, but also to augment their income, in their case allowances as varsity scholars.

But is the program a boon or a bane? Does the SGL eliminate the school spirit that makes the collegiate leagues more vibrant than the pros? Is the spirit of amateurism losing its grip?

University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) directors Dean Francisco “Kiko” Diaz of the University of the Philippines and Fr. Aldrin Suan of Adamson University said they prefer to protect the spirit of amateurism in sports.

“On a personal level, we protect the amateurism status of college players. It’s clear with us. Actually if you want to play professionally, you have to forfeit your amateur status,” Diaz said. “But we haven’t talked about it yet among ourselves in the board.”

“If it’s professional, you should be forfeiting your amateur status since you are receiving money which is contrary to the policy of amateur sports,” Suan said. “We are protecting amateurism in sports.”

For Far Eastern University’s Mark Molina, also a UAAP board member, the SGL is an “interesting concept” and could “probably work.”

“I haven’t seen the details of the special license but personally, it should be okay as long as the UAAP is part of the process of acquiring the license,” Molina said. “The UAAP intends to work with the GAB on this so it won’t violate any existing UAAP rule.”

“That’s good. It is a welcome development, because nowadays, student athletes are getting high allowances to play for their schools so it will help them a lot especially those who are bread winners of the family. It’ll be a big help for them,” PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez said “I think it’s an opportunity for the students athletes to level up without compromising their amateur status and I’m hoping competition rules of college sports will allow such an arrangement,” PSC Executive Director Atty.

Guillermo Iroy said.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Willie Marcial also offered a positive outlook on the SGL. “If it will help the student athletes and nothing will be compromised, then it’s good for them,” Marcial said.

Marcial, however, stressed that the PBA will stick with its policy of drafting rookies from amateur leagues and not directly from schools.

Fuel Masters reached the All-Filipino semifinals anew against No. 3 TNT Tropang Giga.

The 6-foot-4 gunner averaged 20.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists as the Fuel Masters went 2-0 in the final week of the eliminations to clinch a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.

Wright’s heroics and numbers made him the unanimous choice as Cignal TV–PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period November 9 to 15.

Wright’s consistent showing also steadies his hold on the players’ statistical race with 35.9 SPs behind norms of 22.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists. Josef Ramos TNT’S Jayson Castro tries to score on the reverse against Phoenix’s Justin Chua.

Sarno bags 3 gold medals in online weightlifting tilt

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ANESSA SARNO is in no rush to get into next year’s Tokyo Olympics after her victory in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Online Youth World Cup 2020 hosted by Peru on Monday.

Inspired and motivated by her family, the 17-year-old Sarno drew a long-term plan for the 2024 Paris Olympics instead because it’s unrealistic for her to pile up enough Olympic points to qualify for Tokyo.

“I really want to play in the Olympics, but not next year. I set my goal for the 2024

Olympics,” Sarno told BusinessMirror on Wednesday. “It’s hard on my part to qualify next year because you need to compete in more tournaments to obtain points.”

Sarno bagged three gold medals in the online competition in the women’s 71-kg class with a 93-kg lift in the snatch and 118-kg in the clean and jerk for a 211-kg total, enough to shove her rivals from Uzbekistan and Nauru below her.

“I am not expecting to win the gold because the lineup is competitive especially with the presence of an Uzbek. But I was

Pacquiao donates Globe fees

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EN. Manny Pacquiao vowed to donate his fees as Globe’s newest brand ambassador to victims of typhoons Rolly and Ulysses.

Pacquiao offered to give his earnings to support relief efforts after the contract signing ceremony with Globe President and

CEO Ernest Cu and Globe Chairman and Ayala Corp. Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala at the Mireio, Raffles Hotel in Makati City.

“I said yes to Globe because I believe in the company, and I use the company’s services,” Pacquiao said. “Not only that, I am given another God-given opportunity to be of

motivated well by my family and my coach,” added Sarno, who also won two gold medals in last year’s Asian Youth and Junior Championships.

Uzbekistan’s Nigora Suvonova bagged three silvers—snatch (91 kg), clean and jerk (117 kg) for a 208 kgs total, while Nauru’s Nancy Genzel Abouke lifted 90 kg in snatch, 110 kgs in clean and jerk for a total 200-kg total.

Eleven lifters competed in her weight category, while the online event drew a total of 366 participants from 61 countries. Josef Ramos help to our kababayans in any way I can.”

The contract signing between Globe and eight-division world champion Pacquiao as its brand ambassador was live streamed on Facebook on Tuesday night, a new standard for events marketing in the new normal.

The partnership paves the way for Filipinos from all over the world to see Pacquiao’s upcoming fights live via Upstream, the newest transactional video-on-demand platform, and GMovies.