BusinessMirror November 29, 2021

‘Close borders, cut Omicron exposure risk’

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

C

LOSING the country’s borders is one of the most immediate courses of action the government must take to prevent the latest Covid-19 variant, Omicron, from reaching Philippine shores, according to local economists.

T he new var iant is a threat, e s p e c i a l l y w it h t he hol id ay s coming up and more foreigners being a llowed to travel to the Philippines, De La Sa lle Universit y economist Mar ia Ella Oplas told BusinessMirror.

The holidays usually bring in Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are eager to spend Christmas

with their loved ones, while foreigners living in temperate regions usually want to relax in tropical countries like the Philippines. This year’s influx of OFWs is expected to be heavier since many of them were unable to come home for the holidays in December 2020.

“My recommendation is to protect the borders. Do not allow people with a history of travel to countries with positive cases to enter,” Oplas said.

“We should be more restrictive. [We have to be] more protective in terms of our measures.”

Oplas said that while this will be a setback to some industries, this is a fair measure considering that this could help prevent placing the country in another strict lockdown,

Monday, November 29, 2021 Vol. 17 No.52

which, she said, the economy can no longer afford.

“It is better that we do protective preventive measures than get exposed again. We have a lot to lose,” Oplas said. “We should do it now so that we can open just before Christmas. If it gets contained, we can open it again.”

Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) Associate Director Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes said closing the country’s borders would be effective but should still adhere to the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

What is needed, Peña-Reyes told this newspaper, is for travel restrictions to be put in place swiftly and

for government to be proactive in imposing them.

Previous instances when the country had the opportunity to impose travel restrictions did not prevent the spread of Covid-19. That was mainly because the decision was not made immediately, he said.

“Kung papatay patay [If we’re slow] and we get caught flat-footed, [that’s risky] We were too reactive instead of proactive before.

We should learn from that,” PeñaReyes said. “It’s a delicate balancing act. We need to push testing and tracing to be properly informed of our decisions. Blanket/shotgun approaches could have dire consequences on the economy.”

See “Omicron,” A2

NATL GOVT BORROWINGS FOR 10 MOS DIP TO P2.75T w

n

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

Omicron risk spurs revival of quarantine rules in PHL

@BNicolasBM

HE national government’s gross borrowings as of end-October shrank by almost 6 percent year-on-year to P2.75 trillion.

By Samuel P. Medenilla

I

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government’s gross borrowings during the 10-month period fell by 5.99 percent from P2.92 trillion a year ago.

With only two months left for this year, the latest figure is already equivalent to 89.6 percent of its P3.07-trillion borrowing program.

Broken down, gross domestic borrowings from January to October settled at P2.23 trillion, down by 5.08 percent from P2.35 trillion in 2020.

The bulk of the amount was sourced from Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds (P1.19 trillion), followed by short-term borrowings from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (P540 billion), Retail Treasury Bonds/Premyo Bonds (P463.3 billion), Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds (P80.84 billion). In the same period, there was also a net redemption of Treasury Bills amounting to P43.94 billion.

Net debt redemption means there were more debts repaid compared to the amount borrowed during the period.

Meanwhile, gross foreign borrowings in the same period also contracted by 9.7 percent to P518.7 billion from last year’s P574.4 billion.

This was raised through global bonds (P146.17 billion), program loans (P139.98 billion), euro-denominated bonds (P121.97 billion), a project loan (P86.41 billion), and yen-denominated samurai bonds (P24.19 billion).

@sam_medenilla

PEOPLE walk past the mural of Gat Andres Bonifacio at Manila City Hall Underpass.

The country will celebrate the 158th birth anniversary of Filipino revolutionary hero Gat Andres Bonifacio on Tuesday, November 30. ROY DOMINGO

OVER 3-M FARMERS LISTED FOR P75-B COCO LEVY FUND

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

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ORE than 3 million coconut farmers and workers are now registered with the government’s registry, which serves as the basis for the number of people to be covered by the utilization of the P75-billion coconut levy fund.

Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Deputy Administrator Roel M. Rosales said about 3.11 million coconut farmers and farm workers have been registered with the government since it started up-

dating its registry following the enactment of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund law.

Rosales explained that about 500,000 coconut farmers and workers were added to the PCA’s 2018 list that had about 2.5 million coconut farmers and farm workers.

The PCA’s next step is to conduct an exclusion-inclusion procedure by making the updated farmers’ registry public, providing everyone the opportunity to check the veracity of the list, Rosales added.

“The list will be posted in public spaces where people can easily see

them. This allows everyone to see who are listed in the registry and if farmer doesn’t see his name then he shall coordinate with the PCA immediately,” he explained at a recent dialogue with coconut farmers.

“On the other hand, if people would see names on the list and they think they are not coconut farmers or their details are incorrect, they can report it to the PCA for immediate action,” he added.

The PCA official noted that the completion of the initial list of coconut farmers registry would be just in time for the expected rollout of coconut levy-funded

programs as President Duterte is expected to sign the industry development plan in early 2022.

Rosales said the PCA will not stop updating its list of coconut farmers and enjoined them to register in order to reap the benefits of the decades-long idled coconut levy fund. “We will not stop at 3.1 million. We hope that more individuals will register in our coconut farmers registry,” he said.

The updating of the coconut farmers registry is mandated by Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the Coconut Industry Trust Fund Act. See “3-M farmers,” A2

NTER NATIONA L concerns over the possible spread of the more infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant prompted the government to reimpose mandatory facility-based quarantine for all arriving passengers in the country.

Acting Presidential spokesperson Karlo B. Nograles announced on Sunday that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) suspended the implementation of its Resolution No. 150A (s.2021), effectively imposing stricter protocols for all inbound travelers.

To note, IATF Resolution 150A had allowed fully vaccinated non-visa travelers from Green List areas to enter the country without the need for facility-based quarantine as long as they secure negative Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) test within 72 hours prior to their departure.

“Except for countries classified as ‘Red,’ the testing and quarantine protocols for all inbound international travelers in all ports of entry shall comply with the testing and quarantine protocols for ‘Yellow’ list countries,” Nograles said, citing the provision of IATF Resolution No. 151-A. He noted Hong Kong, which has confirmed a case of the Omicron variant, will also fall under the Yellow list countries.

The suspension of the rules for “Green List” countries will be in effect from November 28, 2021 to December 15, 2021.

See “Borrowings,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.4600

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4374 n UK 67.2329 n HK 6.4722 n CHINA 7.9013 n SINGAPORE 36.8968 n AUSTRALIA 36.2807 n EU 56.5758 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4531

Source: BSP (November 26, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, November 29, 2021

₧15.7B in health worker benefits disbursed–DOH T

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

HE Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday reported that over P15.7 billion worth of benefits for health-care workers (HCWs) has been disbursed already as of November 26, 2021.

“The Department is committed to recognizing the important contribution of our healthcare workers in the fight against Covid-19; hence, we aim to provide them with the compensation and benefits they deserve as stated in Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act,” said Undersecretary of Health Leopoldo Vega, the DOH’s Administration and Financial Management Head, referring to the disbursement of the P15,719,085,923 worth of benefits for HCWs. Vega added that they continuously coordinate with local government units to fast-track the disbursement of the remaining SRA funds to eligible HCWs for the period of December 20, 2020 to June 30, 2020.

The disbursed amount is “based on the latest, reconciled figures ref lected in the Statement of Allotment, Obligation and Balances (SAOB) and is part of the P16,229,088,025.2 total amount disbursed as updated last Novem-

ber 23, 2021, of which the difference is for reconciliation.”

The DOH said P7,915,760,434 in Special Risk Allowance (SRA) of 486,585 HCWs has been disbursed, covering the period December 20, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

Meanwhile, P6,555,957,185 was disbursed as SRA and active hazard duty pay (AHDP) last year for 315,652 and 390,662 HCWs respectively.

Additionally, meals, accommodation, and transportation (MAT) benefits worth P1,231,098,680 have been received by 103,413 healthcare workers.

The DOH added that pending requests for additional SRA funds for Batch 5 and Batch 6 shall be evaluated by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) once releases for the previous batches have been fully disbursed.

Meanwhile, the DOH clarified that under Bayanihan 2, the provision of MAT benefits was for the convenience of healthcare workers, and to protect their families who

are at risk of contracting Covid-19 as they travel from their homes to health facilities.

“MAT benefits for healthcare workers were to be provided as actual transportation arrangements, accommodation, and meals in order to lessen their burden from traveling from their homes to work and vice versa. We also wanted to keep their families safe, to prevent healthcare workers from potentially infecting their family members at home by providing MAT,” explained Vega.

The DOH stressed that these benefits were originally intended to be provided in-kind or as actual services. Health facilities that were not able to disburse these amounts for such purpose have opted to return unspent funds to the DOH before the year ended, to prevent reversion of funds to the Treasury.

These funds, the DOH added, in turn, were used by them to support other requirements for t he pa ndem ic response.

Recognizing that a number of healthcare workers have not been able to receive the MAT benefits, the DOH assured that it is continuously working with DBM and the Office of the President to secure funding and appropriate authority to provide the MAT retroactively to those who have yet to receive it.

Proposed benefits for HCWs

THE DOH further explained that healthcare worker benefits have certain limitations as to their scope and coverage period.

In the case of the AHDP, it can no longer be granted beyond December 19, 2020.

On the other hand, the grant of SRA is only until June 30, 2021.

Moreover, under Bayanihan 2 entitlement to SRA has been limited to those directly catering or exposed to Covid-19 patients, as clarified by the Department of Justice; thus the said benefit cannot be provided to all healthcare workers.

Given these limitations, the DOH has supported ongoing legislative initiatives for the continued provision of benefits for healthcare workers.

The DOH is also improving and streamlining its processes to ensure that benefits are equitably and promptly distributed.

“Recognizing these challenges, the DOH supports the passage of Senate Bill 2421, otherwise known as ‘An Act Granting Continuing Covid-19 Benefits to Public and Private Health Workers during the Period of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Providing Funds thereof, and for other purposes.’ The bill grants a unified healthcare worker benefit to all private and public health workers based on risk categorization in the spirit of equity” Vega said.

Borrowings...

Continued from A1

For the month of October, gross borrowings plunged by 78 percent to P145.78 billion from P663.21 billion in the same month last year.

It was in October last year when the BSP lent P540 billion to the government. The government borrows to meet its spending requirements as well as to finance its budget deficit.

As of end-October, the country’s budget gap widened to P1.2 trillion from only P940.6 billion in the same period a year ago as state expenditures continued to outpace revenues.

The national government’s outstanding debt as of end-September this year ballooned to another record high of P11.92 trillion, already breac hing t he gover nment ’s e xpected level of debt stock of P11.73 trillion by the end of this year. This was also higher by 27.2 percent, or P2.55 trillion, than the P9.37 trillion in the same period in 2020.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said the country’s debtto-GDP ratio is projected to rise to 59.1 percent this year and peak next year at 60.8 percent—slightly above the internationally accepted threshold—before gradually tapering off to 60.7 percent and 59.7 percent in 2023 and 2024.

3-M farmers...

Continued from A1

Under the law, the PCA must, within 90 days from the effectivity of RA 11524 or until the middle of June this year, complete the farmers registry.

The law requires subjecting the registry to annual verification by the local government units in coordination with the PCA. The BusinessMirror earlier reported that Duterte is expected to sign the coconut industry development plan in early 2022, setting in motion the much-awaited utilization of at least P75 billion in coconut levy fund that promises to modernize the sector and uplift farmers’ lives. (Read more here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/11/26/ duterte-seen-to-sign-development-plan-for-%e2%82%a775b-coco-fund-in-early-2022/)

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Omicron risk spurs revival of quarantine rules in PHL Continued from A1

Nograles noted that the new policy will not affect arriving passengers coming from Green List countries/territories/jurisdictions who arrived prior to Nov. 28, 2021.

Yellow List protocols

UNDER IATF Resolution No. 149-A, travelers from “Yellow” list countries must undergo RT-PCR test within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

Upon their arrival, those with negative RT-PCR test will undergo facility-based quarantine with a third- day RT-PCR test, the date of arrival being the first day.

If their RT-PCR test result will be negative, they may be discharged from the facility quarantine, but will still be required to self-monitor up to the 14th day from the day of arrival.

Travelers from Yellow List countries who have no negative RT-PCR test before their departure will undergo facility-based quarantine upon their arrival and have a RTPCR test on the fifth day from the date of their arrival.

A negative RT-PCR test will allow them to be discharged from facility quarantine.

Stricter protocols

THE government adopted the stricter protocol after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Omicron variant, first reported in South Africa, to be a variant of concern since its mutations make it more infectious, as well as resistant to existing vaccines compared to other Covid-19 variants.

Last Friday, the IATF temporarily suspended the entry of international flights coming from South Africa, Botswana as well as Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, which are adjacent to the two former African nations, due to the possible public health risk posed by the Omicron variant.

During the weekend. Omicron cases were already detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

On Sunday, the IATF opted to expand the “Red List” areas or those with the highest risk in terms of Covid-19 infections.

The new list now includes South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique, which have risks related to the Omicron variant, as well as Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy.

Inbound international travel of all persons, coming from “Red List” areas within the last 14 days prior to arrival to any local port, will not

Omicron...

Former Socioeconomic Planning

Secretary Romulo L. Neri told BusinessMirror that there is “no harm” in preventing entry of travelers from countries where the new Covid-19 variant has been detected.

Neri added, however, that it would also be wise to ready alternative treatments should the Omicron variant reach Philippine shores.

He said reports have already stated that the symptoms of the variant were “unusual but mild” and could easily be overcome by the new pills that were developed to prevent Covid-19 positive individuals from progressing to a severe case.

The pills developed to fight Covid-19 at the early stages are Merck’s Molnupiravir and Pfizer’s Paxlovid. Molnupiravir is currently available at the Office of the Vice President’s Bayanihan E-Konsulta while the pill Paxlovid has yet to reach Philippine shores.

“My concern is the global stock market reaction showing a high level of concern. On the other hand, other sources are saying it’s overblown,” Neri said. “I would recommend Ivermectin because of its protease inhibitor capabilities. Same as the new pill from Pfizer (that is) very safe.”

Public health standards

APART from this, Action for Economic Reforms Coordinator Filomeno

be allowed entry in the country.

“Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated or non-government-initiated repatriation and Bayanihan Flights may be allowed entry subject to the prevailing entry, testing, and quarantine protocols for Red List countries/jurisdictions/territories,” Nograles said.

He added that passengers already in transit and all those who have been to the abovementioned Red List locations within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, who arrive before 12:01 am of Nov. 30, 2021, shall not be subject to this restriction from entry.

“They shall nevertheless be required to undergo facility-based quarantine for 14 days with testing on the 7th day, with day 1 being the date of arrival, notwithstanding a negative RT-PCR result,” Nograles said.

Local preparations

BESIDES border controls, the IATF also started strengthening its monitoring protocols to minimize the potential risk from Omicron through its resolution No 151 (s.

2021).

Nograles said this includes enjoining local government units (LGU) to heighten their alert for increasing and clustering of cases, contact tracing and isolation of cases detected from case surveillance among the community, including domestic and international travelers.

In line with this instruction, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) were told to identify and locate passengers who arrived within 14 days prior to Nov. 29, 2021, from countries classified as Red List areas.

Such passengers will be required to complete quarantine under a home quarantine set-up for 14 days from date of arrival and undergo RT-PCR if symptoms develop.

The Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units were also directed to ensure targeted selection of samples for sequencing and address declining submissions of laboratories and regions from domestic and international travelers.

Nograles said the Department of Health (DOH) was required to ensure existing health care capacity could accommodate the strain of a sudden influx of Covid-19 cases.

Last, the IATF also ordered the Sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics to begin preparing models to show potential impact of the Omicron variant to prevailing protocols.

Continued from A1 Sta. Ana III told BusinessMirror that whether it’s the old or the new Covid-19 variant, nothing beats maintaining public health standards.

These public health standards mean wearing masks, washing hands often, and observing social distancing. Efforts must include addressing ventilation issues, especially in enclosed spaces such as offices, Sta. Ana also said.

The government should also further increase vaccination as well as implement better testing and contact tracing efforts, among others.

Earlier, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua the only risk for the economy is a resurgence of cases which may or may not be brought by a new Covid-19 variant.

He said this in the context of the country’s better- than-expected 7.1-percent GDP growth in the third quarter of the year. This was faster than the contraction of 11.6 percent in the same period last year.

On Sunday, Bloomberg reprorted that Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the Covid-19 omicron variant may have already arrived in the United States.

Prior to this declaration, the US hadimposed travel restrictions on South Africa and seven other countries in the region to “buy time” for the US to prepare for the new variant.

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, November 29, 2021 A3

WTO services regulation talks to continue–DTI

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

T

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is optimistic that discussions on services domestic regulation will continue despite the indefinite postponement of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to the emergence of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told the BUSINESSMIRROR that the Philippines will continue talks on the services domestic regulation, which he believes “will advance given support from more countries” as well.

The measure, which seeks to remove “unintended trade-restrictive effects” on the services sector, was expected to be adopted for declaration during the now-cancelled WTO meeting. It was originally scheduled on November 30 to December 3 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WTO recently reported that the Philippines is the 66th member to participate in the said negotiation.

The initiative now covers over 90 percent of the world services trade.

The Philippine delegation, WTO said, shared that the regulations being finalized will complement its Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of

2018 and regional trade pacts.

Previously, Lopez said that the services sectors, which are major economic drivers, need further assistance to recover from the pandemic’s devastation.

“More than providing access to services markets, it is imperative that we also provide a transparent and predictable regulatory environment to help services firms engage in the international market,” he said.

In a statement over the weekend, the DTI said the WTO conference is expected to discuss key trade investment concerns to improve international trade regulations while tackling the Covid-19 situation.

The trade department noted that the meeting will allow for the conclusion of the Fisheries Subsidies negotiation and Ministerial decisions or statements on trade and public health including access to vaccines and medicines, e-commerce and investment facilitation.

Lopez said the “Philippines has been fully engaging and was looking forward to the said conference to secure its national interest amidst shared global challenges including on the pandemic.”

But he also understands and agrees with the cancellation of the conference for the safety of the participants.

The trade official said their pri-

mary agenda for the WTO meeting include those relating to making vaccines and therapeutics more inclusive, as well as the finalization of fisheries subsidies negotiation.

“Access to safe, effective affordable and high-quality diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines has been a consistent policy advocated by President Duterte, Foreign Secretary Locsin and DTI across all fora such as in the recent meetings of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and in bilateral engagements, and a concrete decision at the WTO forum on trade and health would have been a mile-

stone in addressing this objective.”

The DTI chief said the department has been inviting investors to put up projects in manufacturing, research, development and clinical trial test of vaccines and medicines in the country.

“Research and development is a critical component of this exercise as the virus continues to evolve and mutate. In the same manner manufacturing and distribution of vaccines must be sustained as the demand continues and the need for booster shots is now imperative.”

The DTI hopes to attract more investments in the said field with the new tax reform package.

‘Liberalized renewable energy sector to entice hyperscalers’ A

LIBER ALIZED renewable energy ecosystem is key to attracting hyperscalers— entities providing cloud, networking and internet services—to set up operations in the country, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said in a recent event that the DTI backs the measure allowing full foreign equity ownership for renewable energy projects.

“That is very critical when you talk about hyperscaler data centers.

We’re not trying to attract the ordinary data centers that have huge carbon footprint,” he said.

“Some of those that we’ll talk to would really want to put up renewable energy but own this 100 percent.”

In September, the DTI reported that at least two hyperscalers from the United States and China are expected to open their shops in the Philippines within the year. Rodolfo said they were in talks with several

ABOITIZPOWER’s 59-megawatt peak solar power facility in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

firms, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and Alibaba Cloud, at the time.

Apart from the green energy market, the trade official said potential investors are also studying the regu-

Davao cinemas to open as Covid-19 cases drop

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CITY—Movie houses would be the next batch of establishments to start operating again this week after the city government allowed more businesses and sectors to reopen due to the steady decline in Covid-19 cases.

Last week, the city sports office also disclosed that it was finalizing the guidelines that will allow residents to again engage in contact sports, such as basketball and volleyball.

Dr. Michelle Schlosser, chief of the City Covid-19 Task Force said her office has allowed the reopening of cinemas but subject to the required capacity to prevent the spread of the virus.

Schlosser said the businesses that were restricted during the pandemic, because of the nature of their operation to attract crowds and spread the virus through direct physical contact like sports and personal care, would be allowed at 50-percent capacity after the quarantine restriction was downgraded to Alert Level 2.

“Under Alert Level 2, cinemas are allowed. They are allowed to operate as long as they will follow the minimum public health standard and other necessary protocols,” she said.

The City Information Office said the national task force on Covid-19 allowed establishments to operate, including cinemas and movie houses, but for fully vaccinated individuals and those below 18 years of age, even if they are unvaccinated, “provided that all workers/employees of these establishments are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and minimum health protocols shall be strictly maintained.”

The information office noted that Gaisano Mall of Davao and NCCC Mall Buhangin announced on their

respective social media platforms that they would reopen their cinemas on December 1.

Schlosser said the city may have allowed cinemas to operate under Alert Level 3 at 30 percent capacity, but the city government opted not to grant them permit as a precautionary measure.

Last week, only 46 of the city’s 182 barangays have Covid-19 cases, she added. “We have a lot of barangays with zero Covid-19 cases. It’s been days that we didn’t have critical or high-risk areas from November 14 to 20.”

“Those with cases have only one to two cases. We no longer have establishments on lockdown. We are so thankful to all establishments in Davao City; the establishment owners have been very cooperative,” Schlosser said.

As of November 25, the city recorded 8 cases, lower than the 10 cases reported on November 24. The city currently has a total of 198 active cases. The city has logged a total of 53,741 Covid-19 cases and 1,777 deaths since March last year.

Also last week, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio disclosed that the number of residents getting their first dose has breached the one millionmark. This puts the city at less than 200,000 short of its target of achieving herd immunity. The city has an estimated population of 1.8 million.

As of November 19, some 1,010,811 Dabawenyos received their first dose. Of this figure, 908,101 got their second dose.

The city government has started administering booster shots, or the third anti-Covid-19 injection, to health care workers last week. It plans to start giving boosters to senior citizens (A2) and persons with comorbidities (A3) this week, but this will depend on the arrival of additional vaccine supply.

latory environment on data protection of the country.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, meanwhile, said hyperscalers support digital-native industries,

Group: Digital technology key to recovery

T

HE Philippine export industry is recovering from the pandemic’s impact and is expected to further grow as economies open worldwide while stakeholders embark on a digitalization and business continuity program.

The lowering of the alert levels toward the full reopening of the economy, coupled with fast-tracking of the vaccination program, are critical interventions to help achieve our recovery and growth targets, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) chair George Barcelon said during the Pilipinas Conference, held virtually on November 22 to 26.

Barcelon said exports have risen from a 50-percent plunge in April 2020 to an 18-percent yearon-year increase up to September this year, marking the seventh consecutive month of improved performance.

He said electronics is expected to continue to be the biggest dollarearner, with industrial, medical, automotive, and telecom electronics products as growth drivers.

With the sector’s continued recovery, Barcelon said the export industry group is implementing the Future-Ready (P30) program using two strategies: technology and closer collaboration with partners.

The program features five components—the AI-powered Philexport portal, business continuity plan, The Road to FIRe (Fourth Industrial Revolution) Project, Thematic Clusters, and Export Connect.

The portal features relevant information, business matching, online transactions with Philexport, and promotion and marketing, among others.

Philippine News Agency

including financial technology and digital banking. Both have seen increased usage since last year amid

mobility restrictions.

The trade chief said hyperscalers’ investments on tools and intellectual property will make cloud technology more affordable, benefiting the customers as a result.

Hyperscaler data centers are also seen to help boost the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), which Lopez identified as one of the country’s digital economy growth drivers.

The trade department launched in May the AI roadmap, which aims to increase adoption and utilization of AI in various sectors in the country to advance industrial development.

These include agriculture, automotive sector, smart manufacture, healthcare services and business process outsourcing.

Meanwhile, Rodolfo also raised the need to pass the bill amending the Public Services Act (PSA), noting that Elon Musk’s Starlink is taking its cue from its enactment.

“One investor that is very keen

to go to the Philippines is Starlink,” he said. “They are just really waiting for the passage of Public Services Act, with the accompanying liberalization on equity ownership for telco.”

Last October, it was reported that two Philippine telco firms were in talks with Starlink for an ultrafast satellite Internet project.

“That topmost priority for us to be able to have rebound for us next year would be to pass the amendments to the Public Services Act. We really have to put pressure in terms of the discussions that are currently ongoing at the Senate.”

The proposed measure limits the industries considered as public utilities—or those sectors that, if destroyed, will adversely impact national security. As a result, the industries outside of the scope will not be subject to the 40-percent foreign equity restriction, like public utilities are, thereby liberalizing the said sectors. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

The Nation BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, November 29, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Failing to give docs, Pharmally duo going to jail

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

T

HE Senate is proceeding with the transfer of Pharmally executives Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong from the Senate building to the Pasay City Jail after the duo did not honor a commitment to the Blue Ribbon Committee to produce “boxes” of company documents they were supposed to retrieve with the help of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms (OSAA).

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima noted, however, that the duo appeared ready to go to jail than give up other, possibly more powerful cohorts.

The OSAA informed Senate leaders they were unable to retrieve the documents because the two men refused to provide exact addresses where they were supposed to pick up the documents that Dargani told Blue Ribbon chairman Sen. Richard J. Gordon, at last Friday’s hearing, had been packed in boxes and moved from their old office when he was abroad.

Gordon warned Dargani and

Ong at the latest hearing there is a standing decision by senators to commit them to the Pasay City Jail, but he would hold such in abeyance on their promise to produce the papers, mostly financial documents on the cost of sales of the Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., the low-capital startup that bagged an estimated P8 billion to P10 billion in pandemic supply contracts in a batch questioned by the Commission on Audit (COA).

OSAA chief retired General Rene Samonte informed Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Gordon at the weekend that their team, assigned to escort Dargani and Ong, was unable to proceed with the retrieval mission because the two would not give exact addresses. The OSAA escorts were only told they could go to a warehouse, an office or a residence. The OSA A told them they could go to all three, but they needed exact addresses before leaving the Senate premises. Gordon had warned them earlier against leading the Senate

security officers “on a wild goose chase.”

Told that their lawyer knows the locations, the OSAA called up Attorney Donn Kapunan, but the counsel sounded surprised and did not know the venues.

At that point, the OSAA deemed it futile to engage the Pharmally executives and wrote the Senate leaders for authority to move the two to Pasay jail, which Sotto and Gordon approved.

With the commitment order, Dargani and Ong may be transferred to the Pasay City Jail on Monday (November 29), but Dargani’s younger sister Twinkle, whom he had named company president but claimed no involvement nor knowledge of the “operations, financials, transactions” of the firm, will stay in the Senate premises, so she can get medical attention.

Dargani has claimed she has mental health issues.

At the Friday hearing—the Blue Ribbon panel’s 15th on the investigation sparked by COA’s report on the

Department of Health funds transferred to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management—Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon reiterated their need to get hold of financial documents. He noted that many things in their regulatory filings, especially the financial statement and tax payments, “do not add up.”

Gordon noted last Friday Mohit Dargani’s evasiveness when senators asked him again about the whereabouts of the documents, which Gordon said was crucial to Pharmally proving its professed willingness to cooperate with the Blue Ribbon.

Shielding bigger fish?–de Lima

MEANWHILE, Sen. Leila M. de Lima at the weekend raised the possibility that much bigger fish are being shielded by the Pharmally officials; hence, their apparent readiness to transfer to Pasay City Jail, rather than produce damning documents and risk reprisals from powerful cohorts.

“A truly curious, even suspicious,

turn of events happened in yesterday’s Blue Ribbon Committee hearing,” she said, noting that witnesses Dargani and Ong themselves signalled their willingness to be locked up at the Pasay City Jail. “This, of course, brings us to wonder: why are they willing to suffer the physical and mental indignity of being locked up in a City Jail? Only two possibilities come to mind,” de Lima said.

In a statement from her detention cell in Camp Crame, the senator added: “First, they have been reassured by higher authorities that they won’t really suffer as much indignity as they fear under the custody of the BJMP. Second, they are so overwhelmed with fear of reprisal that they would rather be locked up than testify about the whole truth of the Pharmally Scam. After all, it would appear that the money trail does not end with the Pharmally officials. So, have they been made aware in no uncertain terms that what they will suffer at the City Jail is nothing compared to what will be done to them if they start

Roque, Cebu mayors back BBM-Sara Uniteam

DENR seeks ₧181.6M for Covid waste management program

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HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is seeking a budget of P181.6 million to set up a preliminary treatment and storage facility for coronavirus-related healthcare waste.

The proposed budget for Covid-19 waste management forms part of its proposed P774-million solid waste management program budget for 2022.

Once its budget proposal is approved, through the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), the DENR is planning to provide funds for 227 local government units (LGUs) nationwide, representing 81 provinces and 146 cities, for the proper collection, treatment, storage and disposal of protective personal equipment, syringes, vials and other Covid-related healthcare waste from households, vaccination sites, and testing and quarantine facilities.

In a statement, DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said the plan will help address the increase in Covid-19-related healthcare waste in the country.

“While Covid-19 cases in the country have started to decline, healthcare wastes generated by the situation have continuously become a challenge among cities and provinces. Through this program, we hope to support LGUs in improving the collection of Covid-19 related healthcare wastes especially in remote areas and among small generators that are not serviced by treatment, storage and disposal [TSD] facilities,” he said.

Benny D. Antiporda, the DENR’s Undersecretary for Solid Waste and LGUs Concerns, said the proposed treatment and storage facility will serve as a temporary and transit point for Covid-19 related healthcare wastes such as personal protective equipment, syringes, needles, and vials for chemical dis-

infection and storage before these are transported to a TSD facility.

The proposed waste management program was announced by Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change chair Senator Cynthia Villar, who sponsored the DENR budget at the Senate plenary session on November 15.

“I hope in behalf of the Senate that this program towards giving to 81 provinces and 146 cities of treatment and storage facility of Covid-19 [related healthcare wastes] will be the first priority of the DENR. We have allocated a big part of the budget for solid waste management program of the DENR and they will use this budget for this," Villar said during the plenary session.

The proposal was developed by the DENR based on a recommendation of Villar and Senator Francis Tolentino during the Senate budget hearing last month to extend more assistance to LGUs for the management of Covid-related healthcare wastes.

The proposed P181.6-million budget will be coursed through the DENR regional offices. Each LGU will receive P800,000 for the establishment of special waste facilities.

T h e C o v i d -1 9 h e a l t h c a r e waste program for LGUs does not cover medical wastes coming from hospitals.

Aside from the preliminary treatment and storage facility, the solid waste management program budget for 2022 will include support for the establishment of trash traps, collection and disposal services for garbage patches, provision of solid waste management equipment such shredders, composters, and plastic recycling equipment for LGUs nationwide, and hauling services for solid waste collected in Boracay. Jonathan L. Mayuga

F

JABS FROM U.K., VIA COVAX Philippine officials received at the weekend the United Kingdom’s donation of 1,746,160 doses of

AstraZeneca, given through the Covax facility by the United Kingdom. On hand at the turnover of the vaccines as they arrived at Naia Terminal 3 Saturday afternoon were: Raymond Villaroman of Astrazeneca; Dr. Teodoro Herbosa of the National Task Force; Alastair Walton Totty, the British Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission; Dr. Ma. Paz Corrales of NTF/OPAPP; and Mr. Rein Dalumpines of Unicef. NONIE REYES

Ex-rebel leads soldiers to NPA arms cache in Agusan del N.

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

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HE military discovered and seized an arms cache after a former member of the New People’s Army led soldiers to its location in Agusan del Norte over the weekend.

Jonel Pasco alias Joel, a former member of Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda (SYP) 21C, Guerilla Front (GF) 21, Sub-Regional Committee (SRC) Westland, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee of the NPA, disclosed the location of the fireams in the hinterlands of Sitio Kaunlaran, Batangay Tagbongabong, Agusan del Norte.

Major General Romeo Brawner

Jr., commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division ( 4th ID), hailed the recovery of the weapons and Pasco’s surrender through the 901st Brigade under Brig. Gen. George Banzon.

Brawner said the insurgency group is ”crumbling” after the death of Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, the NPA’s top commander in Mindanano.

“There has been a ruckus within the CTG [communist terrorist group] in our Area of responsibility. They are anxious of what and where they are headed as they are always on the run to evade government troops,” he said.

“Their morale is low due to the recent surrender of 18 CTG leaders and members who brought

along 11 high-powered firearms last November 14 and 17. There is mass demoralization due to the apprehension and surrender of its key leaders aggravated by the death of Ka Oris,” he added.

Brawner said that since the death of Madlos, a total of 47 NPA leaders and members have surrendered to the different units under the 4ID, with 17 high-powered and low-powered firearms seized.

Major Frank Garello Jr., 4th ID spokesman, said since Brawner’s assumption as 4th ID commander in July this year, a total of 128 rebels have surrendered and 71 others have been either captured or killed during 88 government-initiated encounters.

Poor infra for bikes blamed for 48% spike in 2020 crashes

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OOR infrastructure for bikers is being blamed for a surge —48 percent rise—in bicycle road crashes recorded in Metro Manila alone in 2020.

I n a st ateme nt , R e p. M ichael Defensor of Anakalusugan warned on Sunday of “a creeping surge in bicycle road accidents”— some of them fatal—owing to the country’s severe lack of safe mobility infrastructure.

"The rate of increase in accidents this year is bound to be even higher, considering that more people are choosing to go to work in bicycles,”

Defensor said in a statement.

According to him, public transportation avoidance due to the Covid-19 pandemic and soaring fuel prices have led to a dramatic growth in bicycles on the road.

“We have to restructure and redesign our streets to accommodate the influx of bicycles,” Defensor said.

“Right now, bicycle riders have very little leeway to safely navigate through motor vehicle traffic in our heavily congested roads, thus causing many accidents,” Defensor said.

In the National Capital Region

telling the truth and revealing the identities of the Pharmally heist's ultimate beneficiaries?”

“Or, perhaps, the answer is both,” de Lima said.

There is, added the senator, “only one glaring and reverberating fact in this whole scenario: there is still a huge gap in the story that these Pharmally officials are so reluctant to tell, that they are willing to go into hiding, flee from the country and, now, even go to jail for. All these billions were not simply handed over to them by Lloyd Christopher Lao and the DBM-PS by sheer reason that they were suppliers. Some people bigger than the Darganis and Linconn Ong profited from this shameless rape of the nation’s coffers in the time of a pandemic.”

She supported the decision of Gordon and the Committee as a whole, “to use the full powers of the Committee and the Senate in going to the very bottom of the 8-billion peso heist, including the power to send the Pharmally officials to Pasay City Jail.”

alone, the number of bicycle road accidents zoomed to 2,606 cases in 2020—when the pandemic began—from 1,759 cases in 2019, based on data from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

“But the MMDA statistics are understated, since they cover only crashes that get reported and documented.We suppose that the real figures are much higher,” Defensor said.

Bike-friendly law

TO establish a secure travel environ-

ment for bicycle riders, Defensor is pushing for the passage of House Bill 10396, or the proposed BikeFriendly Communities Act, which seeks to build up the country’s cycling infrastructure.

Under the bill, the Department of Transportation is required to develop the country’s bicycle lane network, to include sidewalk upgrades, crossing improvements, parking racks, off-street shelters, service centers, as well as specialized traffic signs and signals.

Meanwhile, in Quezon City where Defensor is running for

mayor, his team has vowed to use new spending for bicycle lanes to create jobs for workers displaced by the pandemic.

Defensor’s tandem with vice mayoral candidate Winnie Castelo earlier proposed a P9-billion infrastructure program to stimulate Quezon City’s economy and provide new employment to residents.

“We will use a portion of the spending to expand and improve the city’s bicycle lane network,” Castelo, a former three-term Quezon City representative, said.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

ORMER Malacañang spokesperson Herminio “Harry” Roque Jr. endorsed the presidential bid of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the May 2022 elections.

In a November 25 letter to PFP chairman Marcos, Roque, a staunch defender of President Duterte, endorsed the presidential aspirant and aired his desire to accept his adoption by PFP as guest candidate for senator.

The BBM-Sara Uniteam, an alliance among PFP, Lakas-CMD, Pwersa ng Masa and Hugpong ng Pagbabago, is fielding a Marcos-Sara Duterte tandem, both leading by a wide margin in presidential and vice presidential formal (methodological) and face-to-face man-on-the-street surveys nationwide.

“Unity will make our country strong and stable. Let us not allow ourselves to remain divided by partisan politics before, during the campaign and after we have already installed new leaders in our government,” Marcos said.

Roque served as congressman, law professor and human rights advocate. He was tapped as Palace spokesperson from 2017 to 2018 and was reappointed in April 2020 until his resignation last November when he officially filed his certificate of candidacy for senator.

All44CebumayorsbackUniteam

MEANWHILE, 44 local chief executives from the Province of Cebu have endorsed the BBM-Sara Uniteam as their official bet in the upcoming 2022 national elections.

Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte were in Cebu on Friday as guests of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) at their regional planning conference.

“In behalf of all the 44 mayors of the province of Cebu, particular to the mayors of the 5th district, as well as my fellow mayors in the Visayas, for whom I am the national vice-president, we hereby express our unequivocal support to you, for your candidacy and we will do everything in our power to ensure an unequivocal victory in the coming elections," LMP-Cebu Chapter President Mayor Christina Frasco said.

The endorsement came a day after Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Lakas-CMD, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), and Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) forged a four-party grand alliance to support the BBM-Sara Uniteam.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, November 29, 2021 A5

PHL requires RFID tags for agricultural imports

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Philippines will start the electronic tagging of imported agricultural products as the government wants to establish a traceability system that will prevent smuggling and ensure food safety.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued memorandum order (MO) 71 which mandated the estab-

lishment of a traceability system for agricultural imports by requiring the use of radio frequency identifi-

cation (RFID) tags.

Dar said the department-wide adoption of a track and trace system will improve the country’s food safety measures by ensuring the traceability of imported farm products amid the Covid-19 pandemic, spread of African swine fever and emergence of other zoogenic diseases.

“The objective of adopting a track and trace system is to ensure food safety of imported agricultural produce by ensuring the traceability of their origin,” the memo read.

“It also aims at the mitigation of smuggling of agricultural produce and the real-time monitoring sys-

tem of goods.”

The new traceability system will be implemented across all imported commodities but the government will pilot the scheme in the rice sector, according to the MO. “For purposes of the application or adaptation of the track and trace system using RFID and similar system, the importance of rice shall be considered as the initial agricultural produce for its application,” Dar said.

Dar’s order, which took effect immediately, mandates regulatory agencies of the DA involved in farm imports to coordinate with other

government agencies, such as the Bureau of Customs, to establish their respective track and trace system using RFIDs or a similar system.

“All regulatory agencies of the Department of Agriculture with regulatory functions regarding the importation of agricultural produce shall adopt or use a track and trace system technology using Radio Frequency Identification tags or similar system,” he said.

“The DA regulatory agencies may enter into a memorandum of agreement with other government agencies to this effect.”

DA regulator y agencies in-

volved in agricultural imports include the Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the National Meat Inspection Service.

The BusinessMirror earlier reported that the country’s rice imports as of November 18 have reached 2.4 million metric tons (MMT), or 300,000 MT higher than the 2020 import volume.

Latest BPI data showed that rice imports as of November 18 hit 2.423 MMT, 15.45 percent higher than the 2.099 MMT imported by the country in 2020.

SBMA, DA ink MOA for PHL’s first agri border control facility

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

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UBIC BAY FREEPORT— The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday signed an agreement to put up a border control facility for the full inspection of fresh and frozen agri-fishery products entering the country through the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma and Agriculture Secretary William Dar formalized the deal here on Friday, following initial talks in July to establish

here the country’s first Cold Examination Facility in Agriculture (CEFA).

Eisma said the proposed facility in Subic will allow 100-percent inspection of agrifishery cargoes arriving in this free port, which had lately foiled several attempts to smuggle vegetables from abroad.

“It will also enhance industrial and commercial activities in Subic and foster the free flow of goods in the Freeport Zone.”

Dar said the Subic CEFA will cost P509.5 million and will be constructed in a 2,000-sq m area along the San Bernardino Road near Subic’s New

Container Terminal. The CEFA will be completed within eight months, he added.

The project supports the national government’s thrust to strengthen the food safety regulatory system in the country to protect consumer health as mandated by Republic Act 10611, or “An Act to Strengthen the Food Safety Regulatory System in the Country to Protect Consumer Health and Facilitate Market Access of Local Foods and Food Products.”

Dar said the DA will use the property strictly as a “first border facility” to thoroughly inspect

imported containerized agrifishery commodities and prevent the entry of transboundary agrifishery pests and diseases.

He said the facility will house examination areas and laboratories intended for the execution of quarantine and inspection protocols enforced by the agency’s Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Plant Industry, and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

“We have also taken into consideration the volume of cargoes arriving here,” Dar said.

“We expect 26,000 containers of meat, meat products, fisheries and plant commodities to enter

the Subic Freeport each year.”

With the proposed facility, Dar said the DA will be able to undertake 100 percent in-depth inspection of containerized animal, fish and plant commodities identified through the Risk Assessment Categorization, and will be complemented by the X-ray screening of the Bureau of Customs which will be subject to sampling and laboratory testing.

He said the facility will also have a crematorium to dispose of confiscated agricultural products and by-products, including those misdeclared, unfit for human

consumption, and contaminated and/or infected.

“I assure everyone that the emission from the components of the crematorium and its appurtenance will not cause harm to the health and wellbeing of the port workers and port users or cause adverse effect to the environment.”

Prior to the signing of the agreement, Dar had announced that the Subic CEFA will earn at least P130 million a year in testing and inspection fees.

The DA said similar facilities are being eyed for construction in the ports of Manila, Batangas, Cebu and Davao.

A6

Monday, November 29, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

health minister hopes New coronavirus variant spreads Germany patient transfers a ‘wake-up call’ to more countries, world on alert B

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ONDON—The new potentially more contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread.

The U.K. on Saturday tightened its rules on mask-wearing and on testing of international arrivals after finding two cases. New cases were confirmed Saturday in Germany and Italy, with Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong also reporting that the variant has been found in travelers.

In the US, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, said he would not be surprised if the Omicron variant was already in the United States, too.

“We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility... it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over,” Fauci said on NBC television.

Because of fears that the new variant has the potential to be more resistant to the protection offered by vaccines, there are growing concerns around the world that the pandemic and associated lockdown restrictions will persist for far longer than hoped.

Nearly two years since the start of the pandemic that has claimed more than 5 million lives around the world, countries are on high alert. Many have already imposed travel restrictions on flights from southern Africa as they seek to buy time to assess whether the Omicron variant is more transmissible than the current dominant Delta variant.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was necessary to take “targeted and precautionary measures” after two people tested positive for the new variant in England.

“Right now this is the responsible course of action to slow down the seeding and the spread of this new variant and to maximize our defenses,” he told a news conference.

Among the measures announced, Johnson said anyone arriving in England must take a PCR test for Covid-19 on the second day after their arrival and self-isolate until they provide a negative test. And if someone tests positive for the Omicron variant, then he said their close contacts will have to self-isolate for 10 days regardless of their vaccination status—currently close contacts are exempt from quarantine rules if they are fully vaccinated.

He also said mask-wearing in shops and on public transport will be required and said the independent

group of scientists that advises the British government on the rollout of coronavirus vaccines has been asked to accelerate the vaccination program. This could involve widening the booster program to younger age groups, reducing the time period between a second dose and a booster and allowing older children to get a second dose.

“From today we’re going to boost the booster campaign,” he said.

Britain’s Department of Health said the two cases found in the U.K. were linked and involved travel from southern Africa. One of the two new cases was in the southeastern English town of Brentwood, while the other was in the central city of Nottingham. The two confirmed cases are self-isolating with their households while contact tracing and targeted testing takes place.

The British government also added four more countries—Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia—onto the country’s travel red list from Sunday. Six others— Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe—were added Friday. That means anyone permitted to arrive from those destinations will have to quarantine.

Many countries have slapped restrictions on various southern African countries over the past couple of days, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States, in response to warnings over the transmissibility of the new variant. This goes against the advice of the World Health Organization, which has warned against any overreaction before the variant was thoroughly studied.

Despite the banning of flights, there are mounting concerns that the variant has already been widely seeded around the world.

Italy and Germany were the latest to report confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.

An Italian who had traveled to Mozambique on business landed in Rome on Nov. 11 and returned to his home near Naples. He and five family members, including two school-age children, have since tested positive, the Italian news agency LaPresse said. All are isolating in the Naples suburb of Caserta in good condition

Covid-19 positive Czech president discharged from military hospital

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R AGUE— Czech President Miloš Zeman was discharged Saturday from the capital’s military hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The 77-year-old Zeman had already been discharged following more than a month’s treatment for an unspecified illness on Thursday, but was readmitted only hours later after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The president received monoclonal antibodies, a standard treatment for people belonging to risk groups.

He is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, including a booster. Zeman has no symptoms of Covid-19, the hospital said.

He was rushed to the hospital on Oct. 10, a day after the election to the lower house of parliament, and was treated in an intensive care unit.

His condition was attributed to an unspecified chronic disease.

Zeman, a heavy smoker and drinker who has suffered from dia-

betes, has trouble walking and has been using a wheelchair.

The presidential office said that Zeman was planning to swear in Petr Fiala, the leader of a coalition that won the election, as the country’s new prime minister on Sunday.

The ceremony had been due to take place on Friday, but the president’s new hospitalization prevented that from happening.

The office said the ceremony will be organized in line with current coronavirus measures, but details were unknown. Those who test positive must isolate in the Czech Republic for two weeks.

The country has been facing a record surge in a new wave of infections. The new daily increase hit a record high of almost 28,000 cases on Thursday. The infection rate was at 1,207 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days.

Overall, the nation of 10.7 million has registered over 2.1 million cases with 32,744 deaths. AP

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a press conference in London on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, after cases of the new Covid-19 variant were confirmed in the UK. Hollie Adams/Pool via AP

with light symptoms.

The variant was confirmed by Sacco hospital in Milan, and Italy’s National Health Institute said the man had received two doses of the vaccine. Italy’s health ministry is urging all regions to increase its tracing of the virus and sequencing to detect cases of the new variant first identified in South Africa.

In Germany, the Max von Pettenkofer Institute, a Munich-based microbiology center, said the omicron variant was confirmed in two travelers who arrived on a flight from South Africa on Nov. 24. The head of the institute, Oliver Keppler, said that genome sequencing has yet to be completed, but it is “proven without doubt that it is this variant,” German news agency dpa reported.

The Dutch public health institute said the omicron variant was “probably found in a number of the tested persons” who were isolated after arriving Friday in Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa.

The institute said in a statement that further sequencing analysis is underway to determine for sure that it is the new variant. The results were expected Sunday. A total of 61 people were tested.

Israel said it detected the new strain in a traveler who had returned from Malawi and was tracing 800 travelers who returned recently from southern African countries.

And Australia said early Sunday its scientists were working to determine whether two people who tested positive for Covid after arriving from southern Africa are infected with the Omicron variant.

The variant’s swift spread among young people in South Africa has alarmed health professionals even though there was no immediate indication whether the variant causes more severe disease.

A number of pharmaceutical firms, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer, said they have plans in place to adapt their vaccines in light of the emergence of Omicron. Pfizer and its partner

BioNTech said they expect to be able to tweak their vaccine in around 100 days.

Professor Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, which developed the AstraZeneca vaccine, expressed cautious optimism that existing vaccines could be effective at preventing serious disease from the Omicron variant, noting that most of the mutations appear to be in similar regions as those in other variants.

“At least from a speculative point of view we have some optimism that the vaccine should still work against a new variant for serious disease, but really we need to wait several weeks to have that confirmed,” he told BBC radio.

Some experts said the variant’s emergence illustrated how rich countries’ hoarding of vaccines threatens to prolong the pandemic.

Fewer than 6% of people in Africa have been fully immunized against Covid-19, and millions of health workers and vulnerable populations have yet to receive a single dose. Those conditions can speed up spread of the virus, offering more opportunities for it to evolve into a dangerous variant.

“One of the key factors to emergence of variants may well be low vaccination rates in parts of the world, and the WHO warning that none of us is safe until all of us are safe and should be heeded,” said Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, and they stressed the importance of working together to help African nations vaccinate their populations, the State Department said in a statement. It said Blinken praised South Africa’s scientists for quickly identifying the Omicron variant and the government for its transparency in sharing this information, “which should serve as a model for the world.” AP

WTO delays key meeting amid concerns over Covid variant

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ENEVA—The World Trade Organization is postponing its conference of government ministers set to open Tuesday after Switzerland initiated new travel restrictions following the emergence of a worrying new coronavirus variant, officials said.

The MC12 conference at WTO headquarters in Geneva was set to take up key issues like a long-awaited agreement on subsidies for fisheries, seen as a major way to prevent overfishing in the world’s seas, and an effort to waive patent and other intellectual property protections linked to Covid-19 vaccines.

Ambassadors from the WTO’s 164 member states agreed Friday to delay the four-day conference after new Swiss travel restrictions meant all participants wouldn’t be able to attend in person, and a virtual meeting was not deemed to be an option, the Geneva-based trade official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

British ambassador Simon Man-

ley tweeted a photo of WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on a dais during the meeting of ambassadors, and wrote that it depicted her announcing the postponement over the health situation and “the inability of all delegations to attend.”

The European Union’s international trade office’s Twitter page said the conference “is postponed for now - a difficult but wise decision by @wto given the epidemiological situation.”

The Swiss health department said that all direct flights from southern Africa were banned, and as of Friday evening, all people arriving from that region as well as Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel—other places where the variant was detected—must present a negative Covid-19 test and go into quarantine for 10 days.

“This has not been an easy recommendation to make…But as Director-General, my priority is the health and safety of all MC12 participants—ministers, delegates and civil society. It is better to err on the side of caution,” Okonjo-Iweala said in a WTO statement. AP

ERLIN—Germany’s health minister said Saturday he hopes that the sight of air force planes transferring patients across the country will act as a “wake-up call” to millions who are still holding out on getting vaccinated against Covid-19.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said there has been a welcome increase over the past week in the number of people getting their first shots, with 450,000 recorded. He put that down to pressure from Germany’s worsening coronavirus situation and to increasing requirements to people to provide proof of vaccination or recent recovery to take part in many activities.

But it’s still not enough and “this figure of nearly 12 million unvaccinated adults is still far, far too high,” Spahn said at an online town hall event. So far, 68.4% of the population of 83 million people is fully vaccinated, below the 75% minimum threshold eyed by the government. There are significant regional variations.

Hospitals in southern and easter n reg ions of Ger many have warned they are running out of intensive care beds because of the large numbers of seriously ill Covid-19 patients. Germany is having to organize large-scale transfers of patients within the country for the first time since the outbreak began in early 2020, including with help from the military.

“This hopefully will give many people a wake-up call that vaccination is a pretty good thing,” Spahn said.

Germany has seen a relentless increase in coronavirus infections over recent weeks, with the infection rate hitting a new high every day.

On Saturday, it stood at 444.3 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days. Germany’s known Covid-19 death toll climbed above 100,000 on Thursday.

A new government is expected to take over in early December, and the transition period has been blamed for paralyzing Germany’s response to the pandemic. AP

South African scientists brace for wave propelled by Omicron

A petrol attendant stands next to a newspaper headline in Pretoria, South Africa on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. As the world grapples with the emergence of the new variant of Covid-19, scientists in South Africa—where Omicron was first identified—are scrambling to combat its spread across the country.

AP Photo/Denis Farrell

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OH ANNESBURG —Worried scientists in South Africa are scrambling to combat the lightning spread across the country of the new and highly transmissible Omicron Covid-19 variant as the world grapples with its emergence.

In the space of two weeks, the Omicron variant has sent South Africa from a period of low transmission to rapid growth of new confirmed cases. The country’s numbers are still relatively low, with 2,828 new confirmed cases recorded Friday, but Omicron’s speed in infecting young South Africans has alarmed health professionals.

“We’re seeing a marked change in the demographic profile of patients with Covid-19,” Rudo Mathivha, head of the intensive care unit at Soweto’s Baragwanath Hospital, told an online press briefing.

“Young people, in their 20s to just over their late 30s, are coming in with moderate to severe disease, some needing intensive care. About 65% are not vaccinated and most of the rest are only half-vaccinated,” said Mathivha. “I’m worried that as the numbers go up, the public health care facilities will become overwhelmed.”

She said urgent preparations are needed to enable public hospitals to cope with a potential large influx of patients needing intensive care.

“We know we have a new variant,” said Mathivha. “The worst case scenario is that it hits us like Delta... we need to have critical care beds ready.”

What looked like a cluster infection among some university students in Pretoria ballooned into hundreds of new cases and then thousands, first in the capital city and then to nearby Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city.

Studying the surge, scientists identified the new variant that diagnostic tests indicate is likely responsible for as many as 90% of the new cases, according to South Africa’s health officials. Early studies show that it has a reproduction rate of 2—meaning that every person infected by it is likely to spread it to two other people.

The new variant has a high num-

ber of mutations that appear to make it more transmissible and help it evade immune responses. The World Health Organization looked at the data on Friday and named the variant Omicron, under its system of using Greek letters, calling it a highly transmissible variant of concern.

“It’s a huge concern. We all are terribly concerned about this virus,” Professor Willem Hanekom, director of the Africa Health Research Institute, told The Associated Press.

“This variant is mostly in Gauteng province, the Johannesburg area of South Africa. But we’ve got clues from diagnostic tests... that suggest that this variant is already all over South Africa,” said Hanekom, who is also co-chair of the South African Covid Variant Research Consortium.

“The scientific reaction from within South Africa is that we need to learn as much as soon as possible.

We know precious little,” he said. “For example, we do not know how virulent this virus is, which means how bad is this disease that it causes?”

A key factor is vaccination. The new variant appears to be spreading most quickly among those who are unvaccinated. Currently, only about 40% of adult South Africans are vaccinated, and the number is much lower among those in the 20 to 40-year-old age group.

South Africa has nearly 20 million doses of vaccines—made by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson—but the numbers of people getting vaccines is about 120,000 per day, far below the government’s target of 300,000 per day.

As scientists try to learn more about Omicron, the people of South Africa can take measures to protect themselves against it, said Hanekom.

“This is a unique opportunity.

There’s still time for people who did not get vaccinated to go and get the vaccine, and that will provide some protection, we believe, against this infection, especially protection against severe infection, severe disease and death,” he said. “So I would call on people to vaccinate if they can.” AP

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Monday, November 29, 2021 A7

Will flight restrictions help as new variant emerges?

A

new coronavirus variant identified in southern Africa is leading to a new round of travel restrictions just as many had finally begun to ease.

The risks of the variant, called Omicron, are largely unknown. But the World Health Organization has called it a “variant of concern” and governments around the world are not waiting for scientists to better understand the variant to impose flight bans and other travel restrictions.

The US said Friday it will ban travel from South Africa and seven other African nations by non-

US citizens beginning Monday.

European Union nations agreed earlier in the day to impose a ban on travel from southern Africa to counter the variant’s spread. The UK, Canada and other countries have imposed similar restrictions.

The moves have renewed a debate over whether flight bans and other travel restrictions work to prevent the spread of new variants. Some say at best the restric-

tions can buy time for new public health measures to be put in place.

At worst, they do little to stop the spread and give a false sense of security.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it strongly discouraged imposing travel bans on people coming from countries where the variant was reported.

Do travel restrictions slow the spread of the virus?

They might buy countries more time to speed up vaccination and introduce other measures, like masking and social distancing, but they are highly unlikely to prevent the entry of new variants, said Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh.

“Travel restrictions can delay

but not prevent the spread of a highly transmissible variant,” he said.

Johns Hopkins University infectious disease specialist Dr. Amesh Adalja says the travel restrictions only give the public a false sense of security and should stop being the “knee-jerk” reaction by public officials. Adalja noted imposing restrictions makes politicians “look as if they’re doing something” but doesn’t make sense when countries now have countermeasures such as rapid tests and vaccines.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell told a local news agency he does not believe that a travel ban would have any major effect, other than for countries with direct flights to the affected areas.

“It is basically impossible to

keep track of all travel flows,” Tegnell told the Expressen newspaper.

Could it be different this time?

Jeffrey Barrett, director of Covid-19 Genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, thought that the early detection of the new variant could mean restrictions taken now would have a bigger impact than when the Delta variant first emerged.

“The surveillance is so good in South Africa and other nearby countries that they found this [new variant], understood it was a problem and told the world very fast about it,” he said. “We may be at an earlier point with this new variant so there may still be time to do something about it.”

However, Barrett said harsh restrictions would be counter-productive and that the South African

officials should not be punished for alerting the world to the new variant. “They’ve done the world a service and we must help them, not penalize them for this.”

What does the science?

Sharon Peacock, who has led the genetic sequencing in Britain at the University of Cambridge, said any decisions to restrict travel were political decisions, not scientific ones. She emphasized that there was still great uncertainty about the new variant, including whether it is actually more infectious or deadly. Although some of the mutations detected appeared worrying, she said there is still no proof that the new variant is any more lethal or transmissible than previous versions.

Continued on A8

A8

Monday, November 29, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

Japan PM vows to step up defense amid China, North Korea threats

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi review an honor guard at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Asaka in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Kiyoshi Ota/Pool Photo via AP

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OKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, at his first troop review Saturday, renewed his pledge to consider “all options,” including acquiring enemy base strike capability, and vowed to create a stronger Self-Defense Force to protect the country amid growing threats from China and North Korea.

Kishida said the security situation around Japan is rapidly changing and that “the reality is severer than ever,” with North Korea continuing to test-fire ballistic missiles while advancing its capabilit y, and China

pursuing a military buildup and increasingly assertive activity in the region.

“I will consider all options, including possessing so-called enemy base strike capability, to pursue strengthening of defense

power that is necessary,” Kishida said in an address to hundreds of Ground Self-Defense Force members in olive-colored helmets and uniforms.

Kishida, who took office in October, served as top commander for the first time at Saturday’s Self-Defense Force troop review held at the main army base Camp Asaka, north of Tokyo. About 800 troops gathered for the inspection, according to the Defense Ministry.

“The security environment surrounding Japan has been rapidly changing at an unprecedented speed. Things that used to happen only in science-fiction novels are today’s reality,” Kishida said.

He said his government will lead “calm and realistic” discussions to determine what is needed to protect people’s lives and gain their understanding.

The possibility of possessing

so-called enemy base strike capability has been a divisive issue because opponents say it violates Japan’s war-renouncing Constitution.

Kishida has shifted his dovish stance to a more hawkish one, apparently to please influential leaders within his governing party, including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and to strengthen his grip on power. He now advocates increasing Japanese military capability and spending.

On Friday, Kishida’s Cabinet approved a 770 billion yen ($6.8 billion) request for an extra defense budget through March to expedite the purchase of missiles, anti-submarine rockets and other weapons amid rising concern over the escalation of military activities by China, Russia and North Korea.

The request, still pending parliamentary approval, is a record for an extra defense budget and will bring Japan’s military spending for the current year to a new high of more than 6.1 trillion yen ($53.2 billion), up 15% from 5.31 trillion yen in 2020. The combined budget for 2021 will be just over 1% of Japan’s GDP, keeping its customary cap.

Kishida has said he is open to doubling Japan’s military spending to cope with the worsening security environment. Critics also say Japan, as the world’s fastestaging country with a shrinking population, should allocate more money toward health care and other services.

Compared to past troop reviews, which included 4,000 soldiers, more than 200 vehicles and dozens of warplanes, Saturday’s event was significantly scaled down to minimize the impact on regular troop activity, officials said. There was no parade or public viewing, and only nine tanks and other vehicles participated in the online event. AP

Social-media firms ‘on the hook’ under new Aussie defamation law

S

ocial med ia pl at for ms will be required to reveal the identities of anonymous online trolls or face making defamation payouts under new legislation proposed by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

People who believe they have been defamed online will be able to get court orders directing online giants such as Twitter Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., the company formerly known as Facebook, to identify the individuals responsible for posts, Morrison said at a press conference Sunday. If the social -edia platforms fail to do

so, they will have to pay defamation costs. “ The online world presents many great opportunities, but it comes with some real risks and we must address these,” he said. The government “is making sure people are responsible for what they say” and ensuring companies “are on the hook” for damaging material posted to their platforms, he added.

Under the current law, socialmedia companies are not considered to be the publishers of material posted to their platforms. If a user makes defamatory comments

on a Facebook page, for instance, legal responsibility lies with the owner of the page. The bill is due to be discussed in parliament this week, and comes after the country’s highest court ruled that media companies can be held liable for comments left on their accounts by members of the public.

A spokeswoman for Meta said the company is waiting to see the proposals in more detail before commenting. Twitter didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment made outside of office hours.

Australia’s eSafety commis-

sioner, Julie Inman Grant, said previously that such a policy would be difficult to execute. “It would be very challenging, I would think, for Facebook for example to re-identify or identify its 2.7 billion users,” she said last year during a Senate Estimates hearing.

In February, Meta’s Facebook responded to a separate attempt to regulate how it does business in Australia with a show of force.

It briefly blocked all news sharing in the country in response to a proposal that it should be required to pay publishers for that content. Bloomberg News

Donations pour in for Missouri man freed after 43 years in jail

K

ANSAS CIT Y, Mo.— More than $1.4 million had been raised as of Saturday for a man who spent 43 years behind bars before a judge overturned his conviction in a triple killing.

The Midwest Innocence Project set up the GoFundMe fundraiser as they fought for Kevin Strickland ’s release, noting that he wouldn’t receive compensation from Missouri and would need help paying for basic living expenses.

The state only allows wrongful imprisonment payments to people who were exonerated through DNA evidence, so the 62-year-old Strickland

wouldn’t qualify.

Judge James Welsh, a retired Missouri Court of Appeals judge, ordered his release on Tuesday, finding that evidence used to convict Strickland had since been recanted or disproven. By Saturday evening, more than $1.45 million had been donated to help Strickland.

Strickland has always maintained that he was home watching television and had nothing to do with the killings, which happened in 1978 when he was 18 years old.

As he left prison, he said he was “thankful for God walking me through this for 43 years.” AP

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NATO chief warns Russia of ‘costs’ if it uses force against Ukraine

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RUSSELS—NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia Friday that any attempt to invade Ukraine would have costs, as concern mounts about a Russian military buildup near its former Soviet neighbor’s borders.

Ukraine says Moscow kept about 90,000 troops near their common border following massive war games in western Russia earlier this year. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said units of the Russian 41st army remain near Yelnya, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) north of the border.

Moscow denies that it’s planning any invasion and refuses to provide details about troop movements on its own territory.

“If Russia uses force against Ukraine that will have costs, that would have consequences,” Stoltenberg said, ahead of a meeting of the 30-nation military organization’s foreign ministers in Latvia Nov. 30-Dec. 1, where Russia’s activities will be high on the agenda. He did not say what those costs would be.

“This is the second time this year that Russia has amassed a large and unusual concentration of forces in the region,” Stoltenberg told reporters. He said it includes tanks, artillery, armored units, drones, and electronic warfare systems, as well as combat-ready troops.

“This military buildup is unprovoked and unexplained. It raises tensions and it risks miscalculations,” Stoltenberg said. He conceded that “there is no certainty about the intentions of Russia” but said that “this is a military buildup by a country that has invaded Ukraine before.”

Ru ssi a a n ne xed U k ra i ne’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after the country’s Moscow-friendly president was driven from power by mass protests. Weeks later,

French soldiers fire warning shots to disperse Niger crowd

F

rench soldiers who are part of a military convoy traveling from Burkina Faso in West Africa to Mali fired warning shots on Saturday to disperse a crowd that confronted them during a stopover in Niger.

Two people were killed and 18 injured when the convoy, escorted by military police, tried to leave, Nigerien authorities said in an emailed statement late Saturday. It wasn’t immediately clear who injured the protesters. An investigation is underway, according to the government statement.

A French army spokesman wasn’t immediately available for comment.

The French vehicles were in the village of Tera, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) northwest of the capital, Niamey, when they encountered an angry crowd, according to Pascal Ianni, an army spokesman.

The protesters attempted to raid

“It’s possible to keep infection out, but you would need very, very severe restrictions and only some countries would be willing to do this,” she said.

“Buying time is important and worthwhile, but this is a decision for policymakers,” she said. “At the moment, we won’t have any definitive scientific answers for a few weeks.”

Rich Sugg/The Kansas City Star via AP

the convoy, Ianni said by phone from Paris.

France has about 5,000 troops as part of a counter-terrorism force known as Barkhane in five West African countries -- Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Chad.

It’s been facing growing opposition in the region and protesters took to the streets of the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, on Saturday, calling for the French troops to leave.

President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year said France would scale down its military presence in the Sahel region to about 2,500 troops by 2022.

The convoy that was attacked on Saturday is heading to Gao in eastern Mali, where France maintains a presence. Its progress had already been delayed by protesters in Burkina Faso, where protesters blocked a road before soldiers fired shots to disperse them. Bloomberg News

Will flight restrictions help as new variant emerges?

Continued from A7

Kevin Strickland, 62, managed a smile while talking to the media after his release from prison on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, in Cameron, Mo. Strickland, who was jailed for more than 40 years for three murders, was released from prison Tuesday after a judge ruled that he was wrongfully convicted in 1979.

Russia threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency that broke out in Ukraine’s east.

Ukraine and the West accused Russia of sending its troops and weapons to back the rebels. Moscow denied that, say ing that Russians who joined the separatists were volunteers. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting that devastated Ukraine’s easter n industr ia l hear t l and known as Donbas.

A 2015 peace agreement brokered by France and Germany helped end large-scale battles, but efforts to reach a political settlement have failed and sporadic skirmishes have continued along the tense line of contact.

NATO would not be able to provide Ukraine with any substantial military support in time to make a difference against Russian forces, so economic measures like Western sanctions are more likely to be used to inflict a financial cost on Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday alleged that his country’s intelligence service has uncovered plans for a Russia-backed coup d’etat in Ukraine next week, something which the Russian government denied.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday spoke with the head of the Presidential Administration in Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. The two discussed their shared concerns about ongoing Russian military activities near Ukraine’s border and agreed that all sides should pursue diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement.

“Mr. Sullivan underscored the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement read. AP

What about the economic impacts?

If there’s anything the global economy didn’t need, it’s more

uncertainty.

A new highly transmissible coronavirus poses an economic as well as a health risk, threatening to disrupt the global economic recovery and worsen supply chain bottlenecks that are already pushing prices higher.

Markets plummeted around the world over wor r ies about the variant—and reaction from political leaders.

“The most worrying thing about the new strain at the moment is how little we know about it,’’ said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst for the currency trading firm OANDA. AP

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US shippers prepare for another pandemic crush of holiday gifts

P

ORTLAND, Maine—The last holiday season was far from the most wonderful time of the year for the US Postal Service: Sick and quarantined workers, a flood of packages from shoppers loath to set foot in stores and a last-minute dump of packages from overwhelmed private shippers.

Post a l workers who reca l l packages and letters piled up in distribution hubs are better prepared this time as they gear up for another pandemic crunch. But low product inventories, and port and supply chain disruptions are creating new uncertainty about getting gifts delivered.

Already, workers are seeing a surge in holiday packages that began several weeks ago.

“A lot of the workers are saying, ‘Oh no. Here we go again,’” said Scott Adams, local president of the American Postal Workers Union in Portland.

The US Postal Service and private shippers UPS and FedEx are bolstering their hiring—bringing in about 230,000 temporary workers—and taking other steps to ensure they don’t become overwhelmed by packages.

Nearly 3.4 billion parcels are expected to crisscross the country this holiday season, representing an estimated increase of about 400 million compared to last year, said Satish Jindel, from Pennsylvaniabased ShipMatrix, which analyzes shipping package data.

When cards and letters are included, the US Postal Service said it’ll be delivering more than 12 billion items.

“The pandemic is still here. The supply chain is a challenge that’s going to impact how people shop and how products move,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents more than 200,000 postal workers.

Despite the precarious situation, the Postal Service, UPS and FedEx are in better shape to handle the peak volume, and several trends could work in their favor, Jindel said.

More people are shopping in stores compared to last year, and people have been placing online orders earlier because they’re keenly aware of supply chain problems, Jindel said. Also, with workers returning to offices, there are fewer office supply shipments being made to homes, he said.

Most importantly, the shippers are adapting after their roughand-tumble experience last year, he said.

US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who faced withering criticism last year but reported ontime improvements and reduced operating losses this month, says the service is ready for the crunch.

“We are ready, so send us your packages and your mail,” he said.

A worker carries a large parcel at the United States Postal Service sorting and processing facility on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, in Boston. Last year’s holiday season was far from the most wonderful time of the year for the beleaguered US Postal Service. Shippers are now gearing up for another holiday crush. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

A year ago, more than a third of Postal Service first-class mail was late by the time Christmas arrived.

Tractor-trailers stuffed with mail were left idling outside some postal-sorting facilities. Packages and letters piled up in distribution hubs. Delays grew by days, and then weeks, in many instances.

Two things were painfully obvious. More workers and more space were needed—and both are being addressed.

To get a handle of the volume, the Postal Service is transitioning more than 30,000 non-career employees to the ranks of career employees by peak season, hiring 40,000 seasonal employees, and leasing extra space at more than 100 locations to ensure there’s room for parcels.

The Postal Service installed more than 100 new package sorting machines as of early November, part of $40 billion of planned investment over 10 years. Also,

more than 50 package systems capable of sorting large packages are expected to be deployed before December. Combined, these expand capacity by an additional 4.5 million packages per day, officials said.

UPS, for its part, is hiring more than 100,000 seasonal employees across the country and continues to add aircraft and automation. It expects nearly 90% of its packages to flow through automated facilities by year’s end.

FedEx, meanwhile, is in the process of boosting its nationwide workforce by 90,000 across its operating companies. Most of those new workers are expected to remain after the holidays, the company said.

Despite all those extra workers, the shippers agree that this is not the year for shoppers to procrastinate.

“Complete your holiday shopping as soon as possible,” said Jim Mayer, spokesperson for UPS. AP

Can Biden find the right balance on immigration?

By Colleen Long & Will Weissert The Associated Press

W

A SHINGTON—Democrats wielded demands to fix the nation’s broken immigration system as a cudgel against Republicans in the 2020 campaign.

Elect us, went the argument, and we’ll stop the cruel treatment of migrants at the border, and put in place lasting and humane policies that work.

A year into Joe Biden’s presidency, though, action on the issue has been hard to find and there is growing consternation privately among some in the party that the Biden administration can’t find the right balance on immigration.

Publicly, it’s another story. Most Washington lawmakers are largely holding their tongues, unwilling to criticize their leader on a polarizing topic that has created divisions within the party—especially as concerns mount over whether Democrats can hold on to power come next year.

It’s a hard balancing act to pull off, said Douglas Rivlin, spokesman for America’s Voice, an immigration reform group. Especially when Republicans are unrelenting in their negativity toward the president, even a little friendly fire can be a challenge.

“It’s hard but they’ve got to do it,” he said. “They’re going to face voters next year, all the people on the Hill. Biden isn’t, they are. And they have to be clear they’re pushing Biden to be the Democratic president we elected, rather than being scared of the issues because the politics are difficult.”

Democrats have pointed to the recent House approval of a huge spending bill backed by the White House that would allow for expanded work permits and some other, less ambitious immigration provisions.

When Biden took office, he promised a pathway to US citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally. Democrats say the measures in the spending bill are enough to show the party won’t shy away from the immigration issue during next year’s midterms.

“I don’t see it as the fault of the president per se or... these challenges that we’re facing today, solely falling on the shoulders of the president,” said Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents a district in El Paso, Texas, across the border from Juarez, Mexico.

“It is a collective obligation that we have and and I think Democrats have solutions and we need to lean in on them.”

Her Democratic colleague, Rep. Joaquin Castro, from San Antonio, ducked a question when asked if House members in swing districts will be forced to run away from Biden in 2022, saying “I’m going to wait on political discussions.”

But Castro added that the party had done as much as it could do on immigration this session, given Senate rules that have prevented larger legislation on the issue from advancing with the required minimum of 60 votes in that chamber.

“Right now, Democrats have control of the White House, the Senate and the House and we have pushed as hard as we can with the number that we have in the chambers to get protections from deportation, workplace permits, driver’s licenses, travel abilities,” Castro said.

Former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who recently announced he’d run for Texas governor, has been one of a few Democrats to put the border front and center, heading almost immediately to the US-Mexico border after he announced he was running, where he sug gested the W hite House is doing its party no favors.

“It’s clear that Biden could be doing a better job at the border,” O’Rourke said during an interview with KTVT TV in Dallas-Fort Worth. “It is not enough of a priority.”

L i k e mo s t to p D e mo c r at s , O’Rourke will have to counter the narrative pushed by Republicans that an increase in the number of people crossing the border illegally this year has reached “crisis” levels.

Incumbent Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign accused O’Rourke of supporting Biden’s “open borders” policies and financed billboards along the border featuring O’Rourke’s face morphing into that of the president.

Nick Rathod, Rourke’s campaign manager, sees “neglect, I think by Democrats across the board, not just the Biden administration, in engaging in an authentic manner in those communities” along the border.

“It’s sort of created a vacuum.

What we want to do is fill that space.”

But immigration is a complex issue, and no administration has been able to fix it. And Biden is trapped between the conflicting interests of showing compassion while dealing with migrants coming to the country—illegally—seeking a better life.

The administration has said it is focusing on root causes of immigration, and working to broker longterm solutions that make migrants want to stay in their homelands.

They’ve pushed through regulations that aim to adjudicate asylum cases faster so migrants don’t wait in limbo, and they’ve worked to diminish the massive backlog of cases.

But mostly, Biden has spent much of the past year undoing Trump-era rules widely viewed as cruel that clamped down on asylum seekers, gutted the number of refugees allowed to the US and then shuttered

the border entirely in the name of Covid-19.

Despite that effort, Biden has faced a heap of criticism from progressives and immigrant advocates who say he is still making too much use of inhumane Trump-era policies.

One of the most criticized is the “Remain in Mexico” program, where migrants are sent to wait for resolution of their immigration claims over the border to Mexico in fetid makeshift refugee camps. It was put on hold after a judge ruled it was improper, but according to court papers, the Biden administration is waiting on final agreements with Mexico to start doing it again.

“We reject a system where people facing life and death consequences are forced to navigate a complex legal system—in a language they may not speak and in a culture which they may not be accustomed to— alone,” the Catholic Legal Immigration Network said in a statement.

Another is a provision, known as Title 42, that gives federal health officials powers during a pandemic to take extraordinary measures to limit transmission of an infectious disease. The White House has appealed a judge’s ruling that ended the regulation.

The administration has used the provision to justify the deportation of Haitian migrants who entered Texas. After viral images surfaced of US Border Patrol agents on horseback using aggressive tactics, Biden’s team took heat from even the staunchest of allies.

Republicans are hammering border security, intent on keeping the issue in the headlines. The issue remains a high priority to some voters. A CNN poll earlier this month showed 14% of Americans identified immigration as the top issue facing the county, trailing behind the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic. AP

Monday, November 29, 2021

A9

New Covid pain upends global policy bets, to offer relief to euro

T

he new strain of the coronavirus might give the euro some pain relief.

The common currency has been battered this month as Europe looked set to be the only region heading for another winter of lockdowns, yet now fears of renewed travel curbs are spreading around the world from the latest Covid-19 variant.

Markets are already betting on a slower pace of interest-rate hikes from global policy makers. That could derail a popular trade for a slide in the euro, which has been based on other major central banks lifting rates far sooner than the European Central Bank.

The change in sentiment saw investors bid up the euro on Friday, making it a surprise winner of market turmoil, along with traditional havens such as the yen and Swiss franc. It rallied 1% to break above $1.13, recovering from a drop below $1.12 earlier in the week, leading analysts with calls for a weaker euro to reconsider their forecasts.

“We can expect some stabilization in euro-dollar for the time being between $1.12 and $1.14, if the market continues to revise their expectations for Fed rate hikes next year,” said Nordine Naam, a strategist at Natixis SA. He had previously seen the euro falling to $1.10 by the end of the year.

Investors will be watching for updates over the weekend as the World Health Organization and scientists in South Africa, where the new B.1.1.529 variant was first identified, try to ascertain how quickly it can spread and whether it’s resistant to vaccines. Traders aren’t taking chances, having dumped stocks Friday and piled into US Treasuries and European bonds.

That came as money markets pushed back the timing of a first 25-basis-point rate increase by the Federal Reserve, only seeing two hikes next year. It’s a similar story in the U.K., where the Bank of England is expected to tighten policy in February, after traders cut bets on a move next month.

While the market’s expectations for a move by the ECB also took a hit, they have a lot less room to fall than the more advanced wagers in other regions. Money markets are no longer expecting an ECB increase next year, having been pricing about 20

basis points two weeks ago.

Carry unwind

Also in the euro’s favor is market positioning. The hits to global sentiment trigger the unwinding of carry-trade positions that require buying back of funding currencies such as the euro.

Asset managers’ net positions had turned the least positive on the euro since June 2020, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the week through Nov. 16. Hedge funds have stayed largely underweight on the euro in recent weeks, and hence the currency was at risk of a short squeeze higher, according to Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief G-10 currency strategist.

Not everyone is convinced this could be a turning point for the common currency. BMO Capital Markets is looking for opportunities to sell it against the dollar given Europe’s pre-existing economic problems.

The outlook for Fed policy, too, is unlikely to return to its ultra-accommodative stance.

“Should we be concerned? Yes. Should we be irrational? No,” said Jordan Rochester, a currency strategist at Nomura International Plc, which has a $1.10 trade recommendation for the euro. “This will be a fade in euro-dollar eventually, perhaps next week if the spread of the variant remains low outside of South Africa.”

For now market participants are left in a similar position to earlier stages of the pandemic: studying epidemiological data to assess whether the new strain is more transmissible or lethal than previous versions, and predicting how policy makers might react.

Ima Sammani, an analyst at Monex Europe, was expecting policy divergence to leave the euro ending 2021 at $1.11, having cut her forecast from $1.15 just this week.

Should cases globally rise to such an extent that other countries choose to impose lockdown measures again, the euro may close the year around the $1.12 or $1.13 level, she said.

“This scenario was a tail risk in our view but the subjective probability of it playing out has now increased due to the latest news,” said Sammami. Bloomberg News

Afghan leader defends Taliban’s rule amid crisis

K

A BUL , A fghanistan—A fghanistan’s Taliban prime minister defended the group’s rule in a public address Saturday, saying it was not to blame for a worsening economic crisis and is working to repair the corruption of the ousted government. He also dismissed international pressure for the formation of a more inclusive Cabinet.

The half-hour audio played on state-run media was the first such public address by Mohammed Hassan Akhund since the Taliban captured Kabul and secured their rule over the country three months ago.

The Taliban takeover led to a shut-off of international aid to the government and the blocking of billions of dollars in Afghan assets held abroad, worsening an already crumbling economy.

Akhund said the problems of worsening unemployment and the financial meltdown had begun under the previous, US-backed government, adding that Afghans should not believe claims that the Taliban were to blame.

“Nation, be vigilant. Those left over from the previous government in hiding are ...causing anxiety, misleading the people to distrust their government,” he said.

The ousted government had run “the weakest system in the world,” he said, pointing to pervasive corruption. In contrast, he said, the Taliban are eliminating corruption and have brought security around the country.

“We are trying as much as possible to solve the problems of the people. We are working overtime in

every department,” Akhund said, adding that the group had formed committees to try to the resolve the economic crisis and pay salaries to government employees, who have largely gone without pay for months.

UN officials have warned of a humanitarian crisis with millions of Afghans plunging deeper into poverty and facing hunger—with increasing numbers on the verge of starvation. Afghanistan has been hit by one of its worst famines in decades, and the economic collapse has meant many people are unable to afford food.

Akhund urged people to pray for an end to the famine, which he called “a test from God, after people rebelled against Him.” The United States and other countries have refused to recognize the Taliban government until it includes more of Afghanistan’s ethnic and political spectrum—as well as women—and until it guarantees women’s rights.

All the ministers in the current Cabinet come from the Taliban’s ranks. The Taliban have not completely barred women from the public sphere as they did during their previous rule in the late 1990s. But they have ordered most women government employees not to come to work and have not let high school girls return to school, though they allowed younger girls.

Akhund dismissed the demands, saying the government has members from around the country. He insisted the Islamic Emirate—as the Taliban call their government—“has saved women’s dignity.” AP

A10 Monday, November 29, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Our vote: Ask us again later

A

public opinion poll is like beauty. It is in the “eye of the beholder.” Show a friend a picture and say that person is “beautiful.” Depending on the preferences of your friend, there will be one of three responses.

“Yes. That person is beautiful.” “Well, not bad but probably appeals to lower quality standards.” “Obviously, that picture has been Photoshopped and altered.”

If the polling results are in line with your own views, then the results are absolutely accurate and perfectly reflect the nation. Otherwise, the people that gave answers that are not like yours are not very smart.

The further the findings are from your own opinion, then it is obvious that the polling is a fraud with the results being manufactured.

A candidate for national office recently said this: “Don’t believe the surveys, don’t believe it. Believe me, today people are spending big money on surveys, depending on who’s paying for the survey, ay siya ang lalabas na panalo diyan.”

Current official and “unofficial” surveys of president/vice president candidate preference show about 10 percent of potential voters are undecided. That means about 90 percent are “definitely” going to vote for the person of their choice despite the election being 160 days away. Maybe.

The reality (or maybe the problem) is that Philippine elections over time are becoming more like US political campaigns, using an “identity” checklist. You can see it in US opinion polling. Results are broken down in categories: Men, Women, White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, High school, College, Post Grad, urban, rural, white-collar, blue-collar.

The candidate then specifically targets an individual sub group (White male 40 years old, self-employed plumber, medium size metro area) with a specific campaign message and promise.

“What does the fisherman in Palawan want to hear?” “How can we get that state university fresh grad in Cagayan de Oro to vote for us?”

“Ten percent in the NCR are Senior Citizens. What promise will it take to get their vote?”

Imagine any of these news stories on Saturday, May 7, 2022. “Since its discovery in November last year, the Omicron Covid variant has wreaked havoc on Western government plans to get their economies back to growth. The US and Europe are virtual ghost towns due to the lockdowns.” Who will you vote for?

That’s depressing. Instead, how about “The Omicron Covid variant discovered last November has proven to be “all bark and no bite.” The existing vaccines were even more effective against “Omi” and the World Health Organization recently took the world down from Pandemic Status.” Now, who will you vote for?

“In the worst incident since 2001 when a US Navy intelligence aircraft and a People’s Liberation Army Navy fighter jet collided near Hainan Island, tensions between the US and China have never been any higher.

Both nations have recalled their ambassadors and effectively closed their embassies. Taiwan has put its military on the highest defense alert status.” Who will you vote for?

“With Biden’s approval rating the lowest by a wide margin of any US president since World War 2 and inflation at the highest since 1980, the Federal Reserve again raised interest rates sending the markets dramatically lower and US dollar significantly higher.” Who will you vote for?

“The negative trend for Philippine agricultural production in third quarter 2021 continues with crop weather damage and higher input costs limiting both supply and demand.” Who will you vote for? Ask us later.

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Gratitude for Ninoy’s legacy Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

L

ast Saturday was the birthday of our hero Benigno Simeon “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. He was born on the 27th of November in1932 in Tarlac. We must not tire of remembering him especially now that the younger population probably knows little about him. But if there is one thing to remember about Ninoy, it should be this: He led the nation’s opposition during the time of Ferdinand Marcos, leading to his imprisonment, exile, and eventual assassination in 1983 at age 50.

Ninoy died for the Filipinos, and his death inspired more people to support Ninoy’s wife, Cory Aquino, when she ran against Marcos in the snap presidential election of 1986.

When Marcos was falsely proclaimed the winner, the people went out to the streets to protest, starting what is known the world over as the People Power Revolution. Ninoy left us with this great legacy, and so we continue to honor his memory today as a way to show our gratitude for his

Thomas M. Orbos

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nnn

There are many places across the nation that have no or little access to reading materials—especially those written by Filipino authors—and likewise no space for libraries or reading areas. In an important initiative by the National Book Development Board (NBDB), 52 remote reading and storytelling spaces all over the Philippines have been set up in just a period of six months. Known as the

Book Nook project, it aims to provide access to local reading materials to young Filipinos, including members of indigenous communities, in remote locations.

There will be about 1,500 Filipino books in each of the 52 Book Nook sites, from children’s literature and young adult publications to contemporary fiction, graphic novels, comics, and many more. These books are in English, Filipino, and other

regional languages—all of them penned by Filipino authors.

Aside from the reading spaces themselves, the Book Nook sites will feature events such as storytelling sessions, arts and crafts workshops, book club meetings, and other related activities. Everyone is encouraged to take part in these events so that more Filipinos will be inspired to become lovers of books. Ultimately, the project aims to help Philippine literature thrive and promote the culture of reading among Pinoys, especially the younger population.

NBDB’s flagship program was officially launched last November 24, thanks to the efforts of the NBDB staff members, local publishers, government units, community partners, volunteers, civil society organizations, cultural workers, artists, and storytellers. The launch featured a ritual, community rites, balagtasan, and performances from storytellers, among others. To find out more about the project and to know where to find Book Nook in your community, please visit this link: https:// booksphilippines.gov.ph/thebooknook/ Kudos to NBDB for this worthwhile project!

The difficult plight of motorcyclists in our country

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

patriotism and sacrifices.

Ninoy died for the Filipinos, and his death inspired more people to support Ninoy’s wife, Cory Aquino, when she ran against Marcos in the snap presidential election of 1986. When Marcos was falsely proclaimed the winner, the people went out to the streets to protest, starting what is known the world over as the People Power Revolution. Ninoy left us with this great legacy, and so we continue to honor his memory today as a way to show our gratitude for his patriotism and sacrifices.

T

here are more than 18 million registered motorcycles in the Philippines, not to mention the many unregistered ones in the provinces and in our many subdivisions and villages. No doubt that these two-wheeled vehicles are considered as the main mode of transport in the country.

The moment ordinary Filipino families have enough money, buying a motorcycle is the first on the list. That’s because they will use this to go to work, bring their children to school, and in many instances, as their main source of livelihood.

Online deliveries grew at around 70 percent during the pandemic, with most deliveries being realized using these two-wheeled motorized vehicles. Motorcycle taxis, whether the legit ones or the habal-habals, have been the pivot occupation of many heads of families, especially during the public transport lockdown. Yet, despite their impact on many Filipinos’ lives, motorcycle usage in the Philippines remains to be spotty, if not dangerous. Life on the road for Filipino motorcyclists is not an easy one and not fair to the rider, at the very least.

Just go through a day riding a motorcycle—not the so-called expensive “big bikes” but just the ordinary ones with less than 125 cc or scooters, and you would understand how ostracized our motorcycle riderbrothers truly are. While we finally have bicycle lanes that protect bicycle commuters, there is no such accommodation for motorcycle riders. Motorcyclists have to contend with all other motorists, be it buses, jeepneys and private vehicles that can naturally ease them out of the lanes.

Lane splitting or weaving through vehicles become the natural recourse for our motorcyclists, which are both dangerous and illegal. But what can you do if you do not have your own lane. At the very least, other motor vehicle drivers must treat motorcycle riders as their equal, allowed to have their own space in the lanes. What

We do hope that we will have that one candidate elected that will indeed not just provide equal protection to our motorcycle riders but more importantly, give them the respect they deserve on the road, just like everyone else.

happens more often than not is that motorcyclists are tailgated, honked at, and definitely given the angry stare by four-wheeled motorists every time they stay in the lanes. No wonder, road mishaps between fourwheeled vehicles and motorcycles are common occurrences, with damage and injury more pronounced on motorcycles and their occupants. Then there are roads where motorcycles are not allowed, such as the tollways and the highways. Understandable, yes, as proximity to accidents would be greater for two-wheeled vehicles, but where would motorcycle riders go? The only option left for them are the potholed rough roads that would in fact pose the same danger to two-wheeled motorized vehicles.

But more unsettling are the checkpoints that sprout almost anywhere that “only” stop and check motorcycle riders, not the rest of us who ride comfortably in our cars and leisurely on our big bikes. Motorcycle riders have to contend with this every day, lining up and being scrutinized by our law enforcers, as if criminals only ride motorcycles.

There are a lot of problems that we have to contend with in terms of uplifting the state of transport in our country. Definitely among the priorities are modernizing our public transport system, making our roads safe for both motorists and pedestrians, reducing harmful carbon emissions from motorized vehicles, and continue pursuing the “Build, Build, Build” program, especially the building of roads that open more development in the countryside. But even before we begin making laws to help pursue these noble ventures, we should start ensuring that all road users, in whatever mode of transport, be given the same respect and treatment, both by the government and society in general. With the election season now in full swing and with many a candidate’s eyes focused on wooing the 18-million strong motorcycle-riding sector of our society, organizations of motorcycle riders are staples on any campaign sorties, warm bodies in caravans and included in the lists of their volunteers and supporters. We do hope that we will have that one candidate elected that will indeed not just provide equal protection to our motorcycle riders but more importantly, give them the respect they deserve on the road, just like everyone else.

The author may be reached at: thomas_ orbos@sloan.mit.edu

Opinion BusinessMirror

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The aftermath of a commercial aircraft crash

Iron Man vs. Rusty Men

By Reynaldo A. de Dios

P

roponents of commercial aviation always cite statistical data to show that the safety records of the airline industry is much more impressive than that of the other types of transportation such as cars, buses, trains and passenger sea vessels. But while they focus on the frequency factor, the proponents often overlook to mention the high severity rate of aviation accidents. Commercial airlines usually fly with a passenger load of several hundreds, and more often than not, it is not unlikely that an unwanted crash could cause the death of all the passengers on board that tragic flight.

If one wishes to reach a destination as fast and comfortable as possible (barring unexpected air turbulence), there is nothing like taking a plane, but in exchange for the time savings, one has to assume some risk as a trade-off. Besides, in this modern day and age where travelling is often times a business or personal necessity, how can we do it without the services of commercial airlines?

When there is a serious aircraft crash this is the likely scenario.

One can be sure that the aircraft was insured in the London market usually with Lloyd’s, whose intelligence is such that they knew of the aircraft crash even before the news came into print, and their representatives were at the crash site together with the other rescue team members.

After the burial of the victims and the mourning period, the aircraft owners will be called upon to indemnify the legal beneficiaries of the crash victims. Any aviation loss where many lives are involved sends ripples throughout the international reinsurance market because one principle is to spread the risk and most of the major reinsurers also reinsure (the technical word is “retrocession”) their surplus risks with other reinsurers.

Despite the best maintenance and the adoption of adequate safety measures by the airline industry, accidents do happen due to

Despite the best maintenance and the adoption of adequate safety measures by the airline industry, accidents do happen due to other causes beyond their control such as pilot error, extremely bad weather, and other unexpected causes. The role of insurance is to minimize the impact of financial loss due to unforeseeable and accidental events and it fully supports the continuous upgrading of safety standards by the airline industry to eliminate the occurrence of disasters. As a matter of fact, aircraft are insured only after being certified as airworthy by competent authority. other causes beyond their control such as pilot error, extremely bad weather, and other unexpected causes. The role of insurance is to minimize the impact of financial loss due to unforeseeable and accidental events and it fully supports the continuous upgrading of safety standards by the airline industry to eliminate the occurrence of disasters. As a matter of fact, aircraft are insured only after being certified as airworthy by competent authority.

The author is a risk management consultant and Editor of Insurance Philippines magazine.

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

A

nyone whose eyes are drawn to this rusty and ageing ship at Ayungin Shoal would readily think that its occupants are vulnerable to tetanus infection. Keel and hull visibly showing proof of corrosion after many years of neglect, this floating ironclad is a candidate for extinction.

Records disclosed that BRP Sierra Madre (originally USS Harnett County) is a World War II relic. She served the US Navy both in World War II and the Vietnam War. She served the Vietnam Navy before “moving” to the Philippine Navy, which renamed her BRP Sierra Madre. This “old lady” was deliberately run aground in Ayungin (or Second Thomas Shoal) in 1999 for strategic purposes. The book, Rock Solid, penned by Marites Vitug, comprehensively discussed the purpose of the presence on BRP Sierra Madre in one of the islands/shoals in our West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Up to this day, this relic serves as an outpost for Filipino troops defending our country from what former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario calls “illegal and oppressive incursions of Chinese forces in the West Philippine Sea.” On November 15, Chinese watercrafts blasted two Filipino boats with water cannons and blocked the boats from bringing food and other supplies to the Marine detachment on board BRP Sierra Madre. The water burst being a mere preface, China proceeded with its central act by demanding the removal of BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, claiming territorial rights over it—the same rehearsed line for Mischief Reef and other parts of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Drawn swords yet anew, China has insisted the Philippines should honor its “commitment” of removing BRP Sierra Madre in the area, a pledge that never existed per our

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. Fortunately, the presence of this once proud LST (Landing Ship, Tank) has allowed our country to assert its sovereignty over the Spratly Islands. Like a tarnished stray fence, this relic of a ship has practically foiled any attempt by the Chinese to violate our territorial integrity.

According to those stationed at the outpost, Chinese watercrafts are common scenes in this part of the West Philippine Sea, just like an edgy mouse waiting for the cat to depart. The recent event at Ayungin was not the first and will not be the last. Iron Man China, with its powerful Navy, will swarm the shoal unless the “rusty men” of the Philippine Marines on board a significantly rusted LST prevent it.

President Duterte unequivocally declared that there will be no abandonment of Ayungin Shoal. But Senator-Presidentiable Panfilo Lacson’s suggestion to “refurbish and reinforce BRP Sierra Madre” can be something worthwhile to consider.

Either fortify the vessel itself or support it with another operating Philippine ship. While plans to buttress the country’s sentinel at Ayungin should have been crafted more than a decade ago, the leaders of this country need to come up with a longer vision before Iron Man overpowers our rusty men. The Philippines has been fighting iron with rust, through a “relic,” that is, the BRP Sierra Madre. To me, the issue is not a matter of additional funding as my friends from the Philippine Navy are unanimous

Monday, November 29, 2021 A11

in saying that refurbishing the relic is not as important as to enforcing the Arbitral award, not necessarily in military ways. The greater issue is to change our mental orientation and make the long-overdue transformation.

Instead of focusing on the foreign “adversary” as far as claims over the WPS are concerned, we should consider looking how our own iron (strength) is affected by our own rust (weakness). Our country’s sovereignty, the decisiveness of our leaders, assertiveness in defending our territorial claims, and the call to action by ordinary citizens collectively comprise the “iron” within us. They all, however, stand vulnerable to corrosion with our apathy, irresolute resolve, corruption, timidity, and passive attitude, all forming the destructive “rust.” If truth be told, the real enemy might not be China after all, but our own sluggish posture on such a grave threat to our independence and existence as a nation.

President Duterte believes that it is unwise to stage any combat or confrontation with China as far as WPS is concerned. His mindset is not to go to war when you know you will lose! Just by looking at our “military” presence in these disputed islands compared to China, we are simply outmatched and outnumbered but not outfought!

With very little outside interaction and supply, a few dedicated Marines have survived years and months of outpost duty on board a rusty ship.

As such, the mindset of every Filipino should be focused on raising spears, not to throw at any foreign adversary, but to pierce the “oxides” of ignorance, apathy, indecisiveness, greed and all forms of shameless behavior. Our mentality as a people must be first transformed, that if we are to fight any giant, we must not have a defeatist attitude. We must take a hold of our strong points and manage our Achilles’ heel. Former columnist Arulsamy Thangaraja aptly described the pertinent quote made by the altruistic industrialist Ratan Tata: “Just like iron cannot be destroyed by anything other than its own rust, so also it is our own at-

High inflation? Low polling? White House blames the pandemic

By Zeke Miller | Associated Press

W

ASHINGTON—Inflation is soaring, businesses are struggling to hire and President Joe Biden’s poll numbers have been in free fall. The White House sees a common culprit for it all: Covid-19.

Biden’s team views the pandemic as the root cause of both the nation’s malaise and his own political woes. Finally controlling Covid-19, the White House believes, is the skeleton key to rejuvenating the country and reviving Biden’s own standing.

But the coronavirus challenge has proved to be vexing for the W hite House, with last summer’s premature claims of victory swamped by the more transmissible Delta variant, millions of Americans going unvaccinated and lingering economic effects from the pandemic’s darkest days.

All of that as yet another variant of the virus, Omicron, emerged overseas. It is worrying public health officials, leading to new travel bans and panicking markets as scientists race to understand how dangerous it may be.

Although the economy has actually been coming back, there are multiple signs that Covid-19 will leave its scars even if the pandemic fades.

For now, in the administration’s view, an intransigent minority that is resisting vaccination is spoiling the recovery for the rest of the country—forcing masks on the vaccinated and contributing to lingering anxiousness everywhere you look.

Asked why Americans aren’t getting the message that the economy is improving, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this past week: “We’re still in the middle of

fighting a pandemic and people are sick and tired of that. We are, too.”

The state of affairs, she said, affects everything from how people feel about sending their kids out the door to the price for a gallon of gas.

The administration views vaccination mandates as critical, not only to preventing avoidable illness and death but to safeguarding the economic recovery—and salvaging Biden’s political position.

“We have the tools to accelerate the path out of this pandemic widely available,” White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients told a coronavirus briefing. While he ruled out large-scale lockdowns like the United States experienced in 2020 and like those popping up again across Europe, Zients renewed the administration’s appeals for more Americans to get their shots.

But on Friday, the discovery of the new variant in southern Africa had much of the world acting to shut down travel from the region and contain a threat that the World Health Organization suggested could be worse than the ravaging waves from Delta.

Inside the White House and among allies of the president, there has been frustration for weeks over the slow government action to approve booster shots for all adults.

The regulatory process, they fear, contributed to misinformation and confusion around the boosters and means the nation isn’t optimally protected for the holiday season.

Biden on Friday appealed for unvaccinated Americans to be “responsible” and get the shot and for those eligible for a booster to get that, too. “That is the minimum that everyone should be doing. ... We always talk about whether this is about freedom, but I think it’s a patriotic responsibility to do that.”

Still, for all the hand-wringing over Biden’s sagging standing with Americans, Democrats say a turnaround may be within reach.

“From Trump to Biden, people have gone from feeling like it’s mourning again in America to feeling on the cusp of morning again in America,” said party strategist Jesse Ferguson.

“Getting past the pandemic unlocks the door for the economy, for our way of life and for people feeling less divided,” he added.

To Biden’s critics, though, it’s a stretch to blame all the nation’s problems on Covid-19 or to think that containing the virus will solve them.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in fact, puts the blame for high prices on Biden’s big pandemic relief package, saying recently: “There is no question what is keeping working Americans awake at night. Inflation. The runaway prices and unpredictability that Democrats’ policies have fueled.”

The lingering effects of the virus have taken a toll on the president’s approval ratings, even if his handling of the virus has been seen as a relative strength.

In an October AP-NORC poll, 54% of Americans said they approved of Biden’s job on the pandemic. That was somewhat higher than his approval rating overall and much higher than approval on his handling of the economy, at 48%

and 41%, respectively.

As recently as July, 66% had approved of Biden on Covid-19 and 59% approved of his job performance overall.

In last month’s poll, only about one-third of Americans said the nation was heading in the right direction, down from about half in late February.

Views of the economy have dimmed as well, with only about one-third saying conditions are good, compared with close to half

throughout the administration.

“As long as the pandemic continues, there will be pandemic-driven shortages, which is why the best way to fix that is to end the pandemic,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said recently, stressing the need for vaccination.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, speaking about the administration’s response to spiking gasoline prices, said getting people vaccinated was “the ultimate answer.”

Economists largely endorse the

Asked why Americans aren't getting the message that the economy is improving, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this past week: "We're still in the middle of fighting a pandemic and people are sick and tired of that. We are, too." The administration views vaccination mandates as critical, not only to preventing avoidable illness and death but to safeguarding the economic recovery—and salvaging Biden's political position. "We have the tools to accelerate the path out of this pandemic widely available," White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients told a coronavirus briefing. While he ruled out large-scale lockdowns like the United States experienced in 2020 and like those popping up again across Europe, Zients renewed the administration's appeals for more Americans to get their shots. in September.

To the White House, fixing blame on the pandemic is emerging as a modern version of the old “It’s the economy, stupid” mantra from the Bill Clinton years.

When Psaki was pressed on what the administration was doing to contain higher prices, she replied: “We know what the root causes of those are, right? Global supply chain issues.”

“The best thing we can do as the government is to get the pandemic under control. That’s what the president’s number one focus is.”

T he same message r ipples

sentiment, but caution that the solution is not simple.

“The root of the problems in the economy is the virus,” said Harvard economist James Stock, “and the best way to minimize the spread of the virus is to increase vaccinations. It’s the number one economic policy in my mind.”

But with experts predicting that Covid-19 is becoming endemic, Stock said, “you’ve got to be realistic that it’s not going to go away.”

Even if the virus fades, economists warn, there will be harmful lingering effects.

Goldman Sachs noted in a re-

titude that can make or destroy us.

More than enemies outside, we will have to first battle the more dangerous inner enemies of hopelessness, negativity, conceit, greed, lust and despair to become a fuller and more successful person.”

As a repository of truths, the Bible mentioned some gamechanging doctrines when it comes to renewing of minds, in particular, Romans 12:2 which states: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” I was taught that our patterns can be changed by, among other things, rejecting the patterns and routines that the world promotes as desirable and live with a heart for God by serving others. Our leaders in government, now and in the future, can have a renewed mind if they spend time in prayer, read the scripture, and, more importantly, serve others before themselves. This coming election, let’s focus on the extent of the “renewal” of the minds of our God-fearing candidates. It is easy for any candidate to proclaim his “Maka-Diyos” position in any issue.

So I urge voters to look beyond the words but more on his actions.

More than inviting our attention to foreign invasion or territorial grab, this rusty relic ship summons all of us, leaders in particular, to take the much-needed action of renewing our focus. After all, it may be the rust from within us and not the iron from the outside that we should be guarding against.

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

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

cent analysis that roughly half of the 5 million people who have left the labor force since the pandemic have retired, making it harder for businesses to regain lost jobs. Work

by Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom and others indicates that companies expect more people to keep working from home and shopping online, a problem for local retailers that depend on office workers to buy lunch and people to return to stores.

Just 5% of Americans’ total workdays were at home pre-pandemic, a figure that is now 25 percent, according to Bloom. More than three-quarters of workers surveyed by his colleagues and him would prefer to have at least one day a week working from home and nearly one-third would rather work from home for all five days. This could make it harder for employers to evaluate their workers and efficiently use office space.

The administration is also dealing with a global economy, so solving pandemic issues at home has its limits.

Coronavirus outbreaks in Asia shut down computer chip plants, worsening the shortage of semiconductors, one sign that vaccination worldwide could be as critical as the administration’s domestic efforts. One of the rationales for Biden’s infrastructure spending to strengthen the supply chain is to minimize the damage from these shutdowns.

“If a factory in Malaysia shuts down due to a Covid outbreak— which they have—it causes a ripple effect that can slow down auto manufacturing in Detroit,” Biden said in one recent speech. “Why? They can’t get the computer chips they need.” Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report.

A12 Monday, November 29, 2021

‘BALIKBAYANS’ SET TO COME HOME DESPITE ‘OMICRON’

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

B

ALIKBAYANS (homecoming Filipinos) are expected to continue arriving in the Philippines despite the discovery of a new, more infectious Covid-19 variant dubbed “omicron.”

This developed even as the planned entry of vaccinated leisure tourists from Green List countries has been put on the back burner as the Cabinet-level Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved on Sunday moving all countries in the Green List to the Yellow List from November 28 to December 15. The Yellow List indicates moderate risk for Covid-19.

Earlier, the IATF banned all flights from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

The IATF on Sunday also decided to keep the prescribed three-day quarantine period for arriving passengers from Yellow List countries, despite early indications the omicron strain was quicker in infecting even vaccinated individuals.

Separate government sources also told the BusinessMirror, “[The Department of Tourism] did not object” to the moving of Green List countries to the Yellow List, as it recognized “no tourists will come here because they will be quarantined on the way back to their countries.” Many European countries were also added to the Red List countries.

The DOT was hoping to jumpstart the recovery of the international tourism market with the earlier approval in principle of vaccinated leisure tourists from visafree countries on the Green List to enter the Philippines without quarantine.

Asked if balikbayans were inclined to postpone their homecoming this Christmas because of the new Covid variant, Tourism Congress of the Philippines president Jose C. Clemente III said, “I don’t think so. All those coming home are already booked.

As long as the quarantine period won’t be lengthened.” Many balik-

bayan tourists and their families come from the United States and Canada, both on the Yellow List.

Support for IATF

TCP expressed support for IATF’s quick action to limit the arrivals of foreign visitors. “Under the developing circumstances with regard to the omicron strain, we support moves to defer the proposal to exempt those coming from Green List countries from quarantine upon arrival into the country. We must be cautious until we learn more about the nature of the new variant. We support guidelines which would mitigate the entrance of omicron into the country,” he stressed. “This may prolong the resumption of tourism but we would rather be safe than sorry at this point.”

Meanwhile, an IATF insider assured, “Under current Yellow List protocols, if the passenger has a negative result from his predeparture RT-PCR test, he will be tested on the third day of quarantine [in the Philippines]. If he has no predeparture test, he will have to quarantine for five days and be RT-PCR tested on the fifth day.” A negative result will allow him to leave his hotel and continue his quarantine at home.

The source, however, could not make assurances that the currently accredited medical laboratories at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport already have the capacity to test for the omicron variant. The two accredited labs are Detoxicare Molecular Labs of Philippine Airlines, and the Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory. (See, “Tourism players rap ‘balikbayan’ testing, quarantine release delays,” in the BusinessMirror, November 23, 2021.)

The Philippines has lost over US$7.7 million in tourism receipts since the Covid-19 pandemic as visitor arrivals plunged to 1.48 million in 2020, from a recordbreaking 8.26 million just the year before. From January to August 2021, foreign visitor arrivals were recorded at 85,555, a 94-percent plunge from the same period in 2020, according to DOT data.

70% of adult Filipinos seen fully vaxxed by end-2021

By Cai U. Ordinario

M

@caiordinario

AJORITY of adult Filipinos may already be inoculated against Covid-19 by the end of the year, achieving the government’s targets, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In a recent presentation, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the government’s vaccination drive remains on target to vaccinate around 70 percent of the country’s adult population by year-end.

Chua said a total of 75.6 million doses have been administered, broken down into: 42

million doses administered as a first dose and 33.6 million as a complete dose.

“This is on track, given our rapid vaccination drive everyday, to achieve or get close to our target in vaccinating 70 percent or the adult population by the end of the year,” Chua said.

Chua has also credited the vac-

cination drive with bringing down infection logs nationwide. He said from a peak of 26,000 in September, the country was able to bring this down to around 1,000 new cases per day.

This is no small feat, Chua said, considering that the cases declined without the use of “blanket quarantines.” This allowed the economy to slowly regain its bearings.

He added that the three C’s— closed spaces, crowds, and close contacts—helped guide Filipinos and the government in handling the pandemic. This also paved the way for the easing of mobility restrictions in the country.

These eventually led to the 7.1-percent GDP growth recorded in the third quarter, said the Neda chief, who remained confident that given the progress in the vaccination and easing of mobility restrictions, fourth quarter GDP growth will also be robust.

“Even during the short ECQ in position we allowed the public transport to operate, we allowed workers to be exempted from curfew and allowed most sectors except those falling under the three Cs to operate at full capacity. And

with everyone’s cooperation, we expect the holiday season to also go through without danger or increase in the Covid-19 cases,” Chua said.

To sustain the growth, Chua said the Neda has recommended five key policies including the vaccination of children 5 years old and above, as well as placing the country under Alert Level 1 starting in January 2022.

The list of recommendations include the resumption of face-toface classes in all schools starting in January; allowing 100 percent capacity in public transportation; and streamlining local and international travel requirements.

In the medium-term, Chua said, policies and reforms will build on these and help the country finally become an upper middle income country in two years and achieve the Filipinos’ AmBisyon Natin by 2040.

Some of the policies to be pursued in the medium term include the use and promotion of smart infrastructure; regional equity distribution of resources; investments in innovation; and tackling of climate change.

DOH allows walk-ins for seniors, comorbidity cases in 3-day ‘bakuna’ drive

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

T

Correspondent

HE Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday said walkins are allowed, especially for senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, as it declared readiness for the “Bayanihan Bakunahan: Ligtas. Lakas. Buong Pinas.” Campaign, which runs from Monday (November 29) to December 1, 2021.

Vaccine recipients of primary dose series, the DOH said, should bring any valid Identification Card (ID), medical certificate for immunocompromised, individuals with comorbidities, pregnant in their first trimester and children with comorbidities, and additional documents for the rest of the pediatric population as provided in DOH DC 2021-0464.

The DOH encouraged Filipinos to participate in the 3-day vaccination and reminded them to register with their respective local government units (LGUs).

On the other hand, vaccine recipients requiring booster/additional doses must bring their original vaccination card showing completion of the primary series of vaccine, valid ID Card, and medical certificate for immunocompromised individuals.

The DOH-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) also announced that their regional office together with the local health officers are already organized and well equipped to address any concerns regarding the 3-day vaccination campaign.

Regional Director Ariel I. Valencia said that health workers from various hospitals in the National Capital Region including volunteers from private organizations have joined to extend service during the event.

Valencia also said that the regional office has been delivering the logistics needed, and as requested by various LGUs, to augment their supply.

“As of now, we have strategically placed manpower in areas where there are large numbers of eligible populations to vaccinate. We have also sufficient supply of vaccines to carry out the vaccination service and meet the 3 million targets for the next days,” he added.

New Covid log

MEANWHILE, the DOH logged a total of 838 additional Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 2,831,807.

There were also 1,217 recoveries and 156 deaths recorded by the DOH.

PEOPLE soak in the nightlife mode at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City over the weekend as alert levels in Metro Manila are now more relaxed. On Sunday, however, authorities reimposed stricter quarantine rules on inbound travelers from certain countries on account of the alarm set off by the Omicron Covid-19 variant in several countries. ROY DOMINGO

Online gambling wrecking lives, families–Ping

S

EN. Panfilo Lacson warned over the weekend that E-Sabong, or online gambling, is “wrecking lives and families.”

“It [online gambling] is resulting in ugly consequences for many Filipinos, so it is time for the government to give the problem urgent attention,” Lacson said, speaking mostly in Filipino.

The senator aired the warning during a “Kumustahan” press conference in San Rafael, Bulacan, pointing out that online gambling is high on the list of “society’s serious problems” now afflicting more Filipinos.

“A father of a family in Pampanga racked up debts of P600,000 because of E-Sabong. He killed himself, leaving his children behind.

Spo, the social problems follow” this, Lacson told reporters.

Echoing serious concerns that online gambling is more addictive than actual gambling, the senator stressed: “It’s more addicting to engage in online gambling compared to actual gamling because the player does not feel the actual move of bringing out money; the government also cannot fully regulate online gamling because the law is limited in governing this kind of activity.”

Lacson cautioned that in online gambling, “bettors do not see the actual cash bet going out, so they just go ahead and that is where the social problems arise.”

He said they will also look into “E-Sabong” along with all other betting games using the internet.

“No law governs E-Sabong and the proposal to have government craft rules for this remains pending in committee level at the Senate,” he said.

For his part, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Lacson’s running mate in the 2022 race, foresees the lawmakers getting pinned in the

middle in crafting a law regulating cockfights.

My view there is, we’re caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Why? If you don’t give that a franchise, they will still go ahead and operate, but illegally.

And when we say illegal, since it’s online, cheating is possible.”

On the other hand, Sotto added: “If you give them a franchise, then you face the problem that Senator Lacson is pointing to—it becomes a problem of many people. It’s not just at the national, but also international level, right?”

Butch Fernandez

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, November 29, 2021

B1

PLDT intensifies campaign against text spam scams

T

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

he PLDT Group on Sunday said it has intensified its fraud protection and mechanisms by four times, claiming to “outpace perpetrators by aggressively blocking malicious domains and activating filtering systems that weed out spam messages.”

Angel T. Redoble, Chief Information Security Officer of PLDT and Smart, said the group has blocked 19,000 mobile numbers in November that are found to have been linked to a “global syndicate” that has been scamming Filipinos for the past few weeks.

Aside from this, the group has also blocked 5,693 user access to

these sites and uncovered over 100 domains which are directly related and involved in the ongoing text spam scam.

“The cybercriminals have mischievously capitalized the high unemployment rate in this pandemic to make money. To avoid falling victims of financial loss, we urge the public to delete, block, and not click such too-

good-to-be-true job offers,” Redoble said in a statement.

The government has linked the smishing scam to a global syndicate that offers Filipinos non-existent jobs that offer thousands of pesos in salary per day, asking them to deposit money to cash-out prizes.

Redoble said the group has also partnered with banking institutions, e-commerce firms, other telecommunications companies, and the government in coming up with a unified strategy to combat the scam.

“PLDT and Smart recognize how crucial data privacy has become, and we have convened with various sectors regarding the matter—a recognition that this issue requires a multisectoral approach. We assure the government agencies and other sectors that PLDT and Smart will take an active role in protecting Filipinos against cybercrime by strengthening our cybersecurity reinforcements,” said Leah B. Jimenez, the Chief Data

Privacy Officer of PLDT and Smart.

PLDT and Smart said they respect their subscribers’ fundamental right to privacy and commit to safeguarding their personal data.

As stated in its privacy commitment, the PLDT Group will never rent or sell its subscribers’ personal data to third parties. When personal data is shared, it is done in accordance with the law or in special circumstances where the users have provided their consent.

PLDT said in March that it expects its telco core income to grow by about 6 percent to as much as P30 billion this year, driven mainly by the projected growth of its home, wireless and enterprise businesses.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, the company’s president and chairman, said the profit guidance of P29 billion to P30 billion is in line with the continued growth of the telco’s bottomline, as it continues to surmount the negative effects of the pandemic.

‘Megawide execs did not violate the law’ M

egawide Construction Corp. subsidiary GMRMegawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) will “exhaust all legal remedies available” to counter the alleged Anti-Dummy Law violations that have been hurled against its directors.

Emphasizing they are innocent and are compliant with the law, the directors said they are confident that the case will be dismissed, given the “baseless allegations” against them.

“The case is now in court. With the help of our legal team, we can finally clear our names and disprove all the baseless allegations against us,” the directors said.

On November 25, despite the timely filing of the omnibus motion for the dismissal of the case for lack of probable cause and due

INAEC submits climate pledge

I

NAEC Aviation Corp., a member of the Lopez Group of Companies, is the first general aviation operator in the country to submit its Climate Neutral Now Pledge to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC Pledge).

Jay Lopez, the company’s president, called this a “natural step” for INAEC, as the Lopez Group is strengthening its efforts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050 or earlier.

“The Lopez Group has firmly established itself as firm advocates of environmental protection and climate action, as manifested by our ‘no-to-coal’ declaration way back in 2016. While the global aviation industry accounts for a mere 2 percent of the total GHG emissions, 5 percent if you consider the other gases and water vapor trails produced by aircraft, conventional flying is nevertheless still a damaging way to travel for the climate,” he said.

Lopez added that the aviation industry is an ever-expanding market, with more and more people expected to travel by air in the future.

By submitting its pledge, he said the company commits to “plan and implement actions to reduce these emissions, and consider contributing to the reduction of GHG emissions through credible carbon credits.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

process, the Regional Trial Court of Lapu-Lapu issued warrants of arrest against the Megawide officials Edgar Saavedra, Louie Ferrer, Oliver Tan, and Jez dela Cruz.

GMR officials who were also included in the case are Andrew Acquaah-Harrison, Srinivas Bommidala, P. Sripathy, Vivek Singhal, Ravi Bhatnagar, Ravishankar Saravu, Michael Lenane, Sudarshan MD alias Sudarshan, Madhav Doddathota, Kumar Gaurav, Magesh Nambiar alias Magesh, Perayil Kanneth, and Rajesh Madan.

Lawyer Larry Iguidez Jr. filed the case last year, alleging that GMCAC violated foreign equity restrictions.

“Prior to receiving the resolution, none of the private respondents obtained or received any subpoena or order from the Office of the Om-

budsman directing the submission of their respective counter-affidavits.

As a result, the private respondents were not given the opportunity to present their defenses and participate in the preliminary investigation,” Megawide said.

The respondents have also filed a petition for review with the Department of Justice assailing the finding of probable cause.

“This is the latest development in a long line of attempts to bring down Megawide’s reputation and credibility that, will be recalled, began with its bid for the rehabilitation of Naia,” Megawide said.

Megawide previously submitted an unsolicited proposal to develop and operate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), banking on its experience and expertise in mod-

ernizing and operating the MactanCebu International Airport (MCIA).

“We will not allow this case to distract us from our mission of providing first-world services and facilities to passengers of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. We also assure the public that it is business as usual in the country’s award-winning airport terminals,” the directors said.

The airport will continue to operate despite the issues against its directors. “GMCAC transformed MCIA into the Philippines’ only internationally-acclaimed and awardwinning airport. The feat was accomplished with a firm adherence to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, especially since Megawide and GMR are both widely-held publicly-listed companies,” the directors said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Toyota bags highest PHL Quality Award

T

oyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) was honored with the 2019 Philippine Quality Award (PQA) for Performance Excellence by the national government through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The country’s leading automotive company attained the PQA Level 4, the highest level of national recognition for exemplary organizational performance in Total Quality Management (TQM).

The award was presented by President Duterte, together with DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez and DTI-Competitiveness Bureau director Lilian Salonga, during the 2019-2020 PQA Conferment Ceremony.

“I am with you in honoring public and private sector organizations who have embodied excellence in their pursuits. I call on all the awardees to continue your work that redound to the benefit of our people,” said Duterte in the PQA Conferment Ceremony. TMP is the first automotive manufacturing company in the Philippines to become a PQA recipient. Moreover, TMP is the second Philippine organization in PQA’s 22-year history to achieve Level 4, the “Philippine Quality Award for Performance Excellence.”

TMP Chairman Alfred V. Ty said, “TMP is honored to receive such high distinction in the PQA history, as well as to share TMP’s best practices that can serve as benchmark for other Philippine industries.”

In its sharing of best practices,

TMP underscored that the company’s consistent industry and market leadership would not be possible without its customers trust over the past three decades. TMP’s achievements are the result of its strong commitment to total quality and excellence embedded in every aspect of its operations.

TMP said its stable base of business also lies in its Toyota core values, creative ways of managing resources, as well as rich experience in manufacturing, logistics, sales, and aftersales operations.

The country’s largest carmaker is responsible for the development of domestic automotive manufacturing industry. TMP currently produces the best-selling Vios and Innova models. It ensures the timely delivery of Toyota vehicles across the nation through its expansive logistics facilities, including the newly inaugurated Batangas Vehicle Center. Through its highly skilled team members employed in the Toyota Network, TMP works to create an outstanding customer experience while serving the nation’s mobility needs.

For his part, TMP President Atsuhiro Okamoto said, “The PQA award further inspires us to continue to improve and ultimately help our business become more sustainable, especially with new ventures that we are taking on.”

“The PQA’s focus on customercentricity reminds us to be much interlinked with the rapidly changing market, especially as we develop

a total mobility solution that will be an enabler of inclusive growth for more stakeholders,” he added.

“We are also thankful to the DTICompetitiveness Bureau for its motivation to companies, regardless of size or sector, to uphold quality and contribute to national competitiveness,” said TMP Vice Chairman David Go. “With the strong and continued support from the Government, we believe local manufacturers like TMP can develop the capability to compete in the global arena and drive economic growth.”

Established in August 1988, TMP is the largest automotive manufacturing company in the country with a work force composed of over 3,500 team members. It has the widest vehicle line-up and most extensive distribution network with over 70 dealers nationwide.

The PQA is a national award program that recognizes achievements of organizations in their journey towards performance excellence. It was the centerpiece program of the National Action Agenda for Productivity in 1997, the blueprint for the country’s integrated approach to improve economy-wide productivity.

The PQA was institutionalized in 2001 through the signing of Republic Act 9013, also known as the Philippine Quality Award Act. The PQA sets a standard of excellence to help Filipino organizations achieve worldclass performance, and serves as a template for competitiveness based on the principles of TQM.

‘Cebu Pacific becomes greenest airline in Asia’

B

UDGET carrier Cebu Pacific on Sunday said it has earned the title “greenest airline in Asia” after receiving a long-haul airliner that has a higher capacity versus other jets and even similar models.

Cebu Pacific Chief Strategy Officer Alex Reyes said the Airbus A330 neo of the Filipino budget carrier features 450 lightweight Recaro seats, which allows “more travelers to be carried in a single flight, resulting in the lowest carbon footprint per passenger.”

This, he said, makes Cebu Pacific “the greenest airline in Asia.”

“Cebu Pacific’s first A330neo brings us closer to our target of having an all-neo fleet by 2027, and shows our commitment to making air travel accessible, while ensuring environmental and social sustainability,” he said in a statement.

The plane uses 25 percent less fuel than previous generation aircraft,

consuming as little as 1.4 liters per seat per 100 kilometers.

The jet, powered by Trent 700 engines, also reduces its exterior noise footprint by almost 60 percent, emitting sounds 3 decibels lower than competitors.

“We believe that growth and sustainability are not mutually exclusive and should in fact be inclusive if we want to work towards the greater good. This is why we will always choose the greener options—increased aircraft efficiency, reduced noise and carbon emissions, to ensure that more low fares will be available for everyJuan,” Reyes said.

Airbus Asia Pacific President Anand Stanley added that the aircraft is compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) standards for emissions, making its operations more “sustainable for the future.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, November 29, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 26, 2021

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

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

200 9,060 3,932,730 500,494,867 1,073,810 96,560,211 321,200 8,157,905 100 850 340,200 3,270,790 4,289,260 214,408,400.50 20,000 178,000 225,900 4,584,095 220 12,694 41,400 831,545 917,080 107,361,647 146,930 16,061,649 600,000 1,029,420 206,000 828,260 13,000 7,670 9,000 29,980 600 3,912 235,000 219,420 538,000 338,940 170 36,548 72,000 59,120

-108,786,126 -23,543,478 5,060 20,242.00 -122,874,764 -380,120 -20,941,701 1,846,980 484,820 277,380.00 29,780 -27,950 41,000

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 11.72 11.74 11.96 11.96 11.7 11.74 70,164,400 832,373,298 ALSONS CONS 1.1 1.14 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 30,000 33,000 ABOITIZ POWER 30.5 30.55 30.65 30.65 30.3 30.55 1,629,500 49,607,890 BASIC ENERGY 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.65 0.62 0.63 6,969,000 4,421,640 FIRST GEN 29.35 29.45 30 30 29.35 29.35 512,300 15,090,990 FIRST PHIL HLDG 73 73.1 72.9 73.2 72.9 73 8,050 587,230 MERALCO 294 299 299 300.4 294 294 169,210 50,159,838 MANILA WATER 25.35 25.65 25.45 26.1 25.35 25.35 1,648,000 42,439,585 PETRON 3.31 3.33 3.38 3.38 3.3 3.33 1,650,000 5,476,190 PETROENERGY 4.25 4.3 4.25 4.25 4.25 4.25 18,000 76,500 PHX PETROLEUM 10.76 11.12 10.9 11.12 10.74 11.12 130,100 1,421,130 PILIPINAS SHELL 21.3 21.35 21.45 21.55 21.25 21.3 395,400 8,442,655 SPC POWER 13.94 14 14 14 13.94 14 128,800 1,802,620 AGRINURTURE 3.83 3.98 3.92 3.98 3.8 3.98 240,000 932,680 AXELUM 2.72 2.75 2.7 2.75 2.69 2.75 982,000 2,668,570 CNTRL AZUCARERA 13.6 14.1 13.7 13.7 13.6 13.6 8,000 109,294 CENTURY FOOD 26.3 26.4 26.45 26.45 26 26.4 724,200 19,092,965 DEL MONTE 14.66 14.74 14.64 14.78 14.6 14.74 25,800 377,804 DNL INDUS 8.75 8.76 8.98 8.98 8.7 8.76 4,188,400 36,787,242 EMPERADOR 17.8 17.96 17.78 18 17.54 17.8 657,200 11,642,786 SMC FOODANDBEV 75.25 76 76.1 76.1 75.2 76 19,470 1,476,777.50 FRUITAS HLDG 1.24 1.28 1.24 1.29 1.23 1.28 37,661,000 47,521,730 GINEBRA 102 102.3 103 104 102 102 75,070 7,724,147 JOLLIBEE 243.6 243.8 244.6 244.8 241.4 243.8 357,870 87,050,702 LIBERTY FLOUR 28.2 28.45 28.2 28.2 28.2 28.2 2,600 73,320 MAXS GROUP 6.84 6.85 6.88 6.93 6.84 6.85 143,300 982,944 MG HLDG 0.157 0.16 0.164 0.165 0.157 0.16 370,000 59,340 MONDE NISSIN 17.6 17.72 18.06 18.34 17.6 17.6 73,281,400 1,311,036,314 SHAKEYS PIZZA 8.41 8.48 8.85 9.1 8.36 8.41 633,800 5,404,476 ROXAS AND CO 0.68 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.67 0.7 1,534,000 1,054,760 ROXAS HLDG 1.18 1.34 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 20,000 23,800 SWIFT FOODS 0.114 0.117 0.114 0.114 0.113 0.114 2,760,000 314,080 VITARICH 0.76 0.78 0.75 0.78 0.75 0.76 10,675,000 8,216,220 VICTORIAS 2.28 2.4 2.28 2.28 2.28 2.28 4,000 9,120 CEMEX HLDG 1.19 1.2 1.2 1.21 1.19 1.2 493,000 591,240 EAGLE CEMENT 14 14.06 14.1 14.28 14 14 113,500 1,596,066 EEI CORP 6.5 6.51 6.56 6.56 6.5 6.51 119,000 775,011 HOLCIM 5.58 5.6 5.58 5.69 5.4 5.6 698,200 3,893,175 KEEPERS HLDG 1.64 1.65 1.65 1.68 1.63 1.65 63,324,000 104,169,870 MEGAWIDE 5.42 5.43 5.5 5.5 5.24 5.42 3,092,800 16,622,178 PHINMA 17.2 17.3 16.88 17.2 16.6 17.2 59,600 1,015,154 VULCAN INDL 1.04 1.05 1.08 1.1 1.04 1.05 3,681,000 3,908,910 EUROMED 1.5 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 11,000 17,050 LMG CORP 3.58 4 3.99 4 3.99 4 46,000 183,980 MABUHAY VINYL 3.9 4 4.1 4.13 3.3 4.13 123,000 419,860 PRYCE CORP 5.65 5.67 5.66 5.8 5.66 5.67 35,500 201,346 CONCEPCION 21.5 22.45 21.5 21.5 21.5 21.5 200 4,300 GREENERGY 2.43 2.45 2.43 2.45 2.38 2.45 3,447,000 8,383,720 INTEGRATED MICR 8.94 8.95 8.99 8.99 8.92 8.95 141,400 1,264,668 IONICS 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 26,000 19,500 PANASONIC 6 6.02 5.9 6.02 5.9 6.02 5,600 33,296 SFA SEMICON 1.1 1.11 1.1 1.11 1.09 1.11 322,000 353,960 CIRTEK HLDG 4 4.04 4.24 4.28 4 4 6,673,000 27,163,580

267,379,564 1,554,385 640 9,842,565 -43,066 -38,352,570 -12,573,475 -834,010 -4,127,085 -1,010,800 -189,700 680,050 8,155 58,820 -4,760,414 -913,012 -137,084.00 -291,150 7,087,002 -10,119,450 -16,920 37,775 84,219,354 -2,107,217 24,480.00 -16,720 -101,064 6,500 -3,000,956 -6,530,110 -78,557 117,060 -7,980 -397,710 583,028 11,000 -1,251,620

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG MJC INVESTMENTS METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SEAFRONT RES TOP FRONTIER ZEUS HLDG

45 126.9 90.35 25.35 8.48 9.59 49.85 8.9 20.25 55.9 20.05 116.4 107.5 1.67 4 0.59 3.24 6.52 0.93 0.62 210 0.81

0.97 5.5 871 51 11.66 5.62 7.35 0.93 0.47 5.15 7.69 7.8 0.27 575 3.65 57 5.96 0.64 2.95 10.96 0.405 1.1 4.06 3 1.32 2.76 14.88 976 113.1 2.02 125 0.175

45.3 127 91 25.4 8.5 9.63 49.9 9 20.35 57.7 20.1 116.5 108 1.69 4.02 0.63 3.38 7.52 1.09 0.63 214 0.83

0.98 5.75 874 52 11.68 5.72 7.49 0.95 0.485 5.16 7.7 8 0.29 577.5 3.69 57.6 6.2 0.67 3.02 10.98 0.415 1.2 4.07 3.09 1.36 2.96 14.9 979.5 114 2.18 129.7 0.188

45.3 130.4 90.8 25.5 8.5 9.63 50.55 8.9 20.35 57.7 19.9 119 106.2 1.79 4.09 0.59 3.27 6.52 1.01 0.63 217.8 0.83

1 5.28 884.5 51.7 12 5.61 7.25 0.95 0.495 5.2 7.71 7.8 0.27 610 3.7 58.3 5.98 0.64 3.03 10.96 0.415 1.2 4.08 2.95 1.39 2.95 14.9 975 114 2.02 125 0.175

45.3 130.4 91 25.5 8.5 9.69 50.8 8.9 20.5 57.7 20.1 119 112 1.79 4.09 0.59 3.38 6.52 1.01 0.63 217.8 0.83

1.01 5.79 884.5 52 12 5.73 7.41 0.95 0.495 5.24 7.85 7.8 0.27 610 3.7 58.5 5.98 0.67 3.03 11.12 0.415 1.2 4.08 2.95 1.39 2.95 15.12 990 114.6 2.02 125 0.175

45.3 126.7 88.5 25.3 8.5 9.59 49.85 8.9 20.25 57.7 19.9 116.4 106.2 1.66 4.02 0.59 3.27 6.52 0.91 0.63 214 0.82

0.98 5.28 866 50.35 11.62 5.51 7.25 0.93 0.47 5.12 7.7 7.8 0.27 572 3.69 56.65 5.96 0.64 2.95 10.92 0.415 1.2 4.04 2.95 1.29 2.95 14.86 974.5 112.9 2.02 122.3 0.175

45.3 127 91 25.4 8.5 9.59 49.9 8.9 20.25 57.7 20.05 116.5 107.5 1.67 4.02 0.59 3.38 6.52 0.91 0.63 214 0.82

0.98 5.7 874 52 11.68 5.72 7.4 0.95 0.485 5.15 7.7 7.8 0.27 575 3.69 57 5.96 0.67 2.95 10.98 0.415 1.2 4.07 2.95 1.36 2.95 14.9 979.5 114 2.02 124.8 0.175

21,432,000 4,500 208,100 873,050 3,544,500 2,995,200 23,900 255,000 40,000 464,000 3,505,600 2,400 10,000 344,300 20,000 1,867,500 2,000 21,000 262,000 14,768,200 10,000 2,000 22,021,000 1,000 45,000 13,000 5,385,000 256,170 170,030 23,000 311,130 300,000

21,489,410 25,671 182,186,270 45,017,300 41,630,774 16,970,645 175,918 238,830 19,200 2,391,884 27,140,493 18,720 2,700 200,880,480 73,970 107,072,872.50 11,956 13,500 779,260 162,982,790 4,150 2,400 89,422,120 2,950 60,550 38,350 80,628,270 250,939,480 19,322,749 46,460 38,889,585 52,500

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 8,000 5,120 ANCHOR LAND 6.9 6.91 6.92 6.92 6.91 6.91 1,500 10,367 AYALA LAND 36.15 36.2 36.6 37 36 36.2 14,954,700 544,562,070 ARANETA PROP 1 1.03 1.02 1.03 1.02 1.03 14,000 14,400 AREIT RT 49.4 49.45 49.7 49.75 49.35 49.45 1,052,900 52,080,410 BELLE CORP 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.38 1.38 162,000 223,930 A BROWN 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.84 0.82 0.82 296,000 242,880 CITYLAND DEVT 0.74 0.76 0.75 0.75 0.74 0.74 116,000 86,140 CROWN EQUITIES 0.103 0.107 0.107 0.109 0.103 0.108 630,000 65,460 CEBU HLDG 6.3 6.5 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 9,700 60,916 CEB LANDMASTERS 2.9 2.91 2.93 2.93 2.9 2.91 482,000 1,402,480 CENTURY PROP 0.425 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.425 0.425 4,680,000 2,007,250 DOUBLEDRAGON 8.35 8.36 8.81 8.81 8.3 8.36 1,759,400 15,005,673 DDMP RT 1.82 1.83 1.83 1.83 1.81 1.82 6,039,000 10,989,490 DM WENCESLAO 6.85 6.9 6.9 6.92 6.85 6.9 82,600 570,439 EMPIRE EAST 0.265 0.27 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.27 420,000 113,450 EVER GOTESCO 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.325 0.315 0.32 1,600,000 512,650 FILINVEST RT 7.9 7.93 7.93 7.94 7.88 7.93 6,584,000 52,186,452 FILINVEST LAND 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.12 1.12 2,539,000 2,848,100 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.85 0.86 0.89 0.89 0.85 0.86 869,000 749,090 8990 HLDG 9.95 10 10.36 10.46 9.95 10 65,900 672,059 PHIL INFRADEV 1.14 1.15 1.15 1.19 1.15 1.15 436,000 510,090 KEPPEL PROP 3.07 3.47 3.47 3.47 3.47 3.47 1,000 3,470 CITY AND LAND 0.88 0.9 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 3,000 2,640 MEGAWORLD 3.13 3.14 3.31 3.31 3.14 3.14 46,935,000 149,316,120 MRC ALLIED 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.285 6,690,000 1,908,900 MREIT RT 18.3 18.32 18.32 18.34 18.28 18.32 876,200 16,048,824 PHIL ESTATES 0.6 0.61 0.63 0.68 0.6 0.61 56,018,000 35,401,310 PRIMEX CORP 2 2.01 2 2.04 1.86 1.99 647,000 1,254,850 RL COMM RT 7.46 7.48 7.42 7.46 7.37 7.46 4,097,800 30,480,195 ROBINSONS LAND 18.74 18.76 19 19 18.68 18.76 1,802,600 33,810,272 PHIL REALTY 0.217 0.224 0.225 0.225 0.217 0.217 230,000 50,310 ROCKWELL 1.5 1.56 1.5 1.57 1.5 1.57 22,000 33,350 SHANG PROP 2.6 2.62 2.6 2.62 2.6 2.62 905,000 2,353,100 STA LUCIA LAND 2.86 2.9 2.96 2.96 2.86 2.9 1,905,000 5,461,910 SM PRIME HLDG 36.4 36.6 36.5 37 36.2 36.6 14,082,000 515,155,235 SUNTRUST HOME 1.34 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.34 1.34 6,469,000 8,853,300 VISTA LAND 3.7 3.73 3.83 3.83 3.7 3.73 1,615,000 6,001,320

SERVICES ABS CBN 13.66 13.7 13.88 13.9 13.66 13.7 161,600 2,224,242 GMA NETWORK 13.9 13.94 14 14.06 13.9 13.92 603,200 8,409,226 MANILA BULLETIN 0.405 0.435 0.43 0.44 0.43 0.44 150,000 64,950 GLOBE TELECOM 3,400 3,422 3,502 3,524 3,400 3,400 85,685 295,186,130 PLDT 1,699 1,700 1,745 1,745 1,697 1,699 133,135 228,494,265 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.073 0.074 0.076 0.078 0.074 0.074 137,250,000 10,301,170 CONVERGE 30.15 30.2 30.45 30.55 30.15 30.15 8,256,000 249,912,080 DFNN INC 2.81 2.83 2.82 2.83 2.8 2.83 102,000 287,360 DITO CME HLDG 5.61 5.62 5.99 5.99 5.6 5.61 9,976,800 57,010,061 NOW CORP 1.67 1.68 1.66 1.69 1.66 1.67 510,000 856,430 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.315 0.325 0.32 0.325 0.32 0.32 1,010,000 323,950 PHILWEB 2.02 2.07 2.05 2.07 2.03 2.03 126,000 257,070 2GO GROUP 7.79 7.99 7.79 7.99 7.79 7.99 9,300 72,467 CHELSEA 1.68 1.7 1.7 1.71 1.65 1.7 930,000 1,566,090 CEBU AIR 48 48.4 48.4 48.6 47.6 48.4 799,100 38,424,420 INTL CONTAINER 195.3 195.5 197 197.2 195 195.5 690,650 135,160,043 LBC EXPRESS 20.35 22.8 22 22 22 22 2,800 61,600 MACROASIA 6.04 6.07 6.3 6.33 6.04 6.04 2,383,400 14,522,455 METROALLIANCE A 1.35 1.42 1.41 1.41 1.35 1.35 15,000 20,730 METROALLIANCE B 1.43 1.72 1.76 1.77 1.69 1.69 31,000 53,240 HARBOR STAR 0.94 0.97 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 30,000 28,200 ACESITE HOTEL 1.47 1.54 1.54 1.54 1.54 1.54 3,000 4,620 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.06 2.14 2.09 2.09 2.06 2.06 83,000 172,070 WATERFRONT 0.485 0.5 0.485 0.485 0.485 0.485 380,000 184,300 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.52 6.96 6.98 6.98 6.51 6.51 1,900 12,839 STI HLDG 0.345 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.345 0.345 920,000 317,750 BERJAYA 6.24 6.54 6.34 6.7 6.2 6.54 68,900 442,793 BLOOMBERRY 7.62 7.65 7.9 7.9 7.55 7.65 2,153,800 16,484,766 PACIFIC ONLINE 2 2.09 2.01 2.1 2.01 2.09 7,000 14,600 LEISURE AND RES 1.53 1.54 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.55 491,000 750,710 MANILA JOCKEY 1.81 2.06 2 2 2 2 1,000 2,000 PH RESORTS GRP 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.86 0.83 0.86 909,000 767,730 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.445 0.45 0.455 0.455 0.445 0.445 760,000 339,750 PHIL RACING 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 61,600 357,280 ALLDAY 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.77 0.73 0.73 107,890,000 80,094,490 ALLHOME 9.15 9.2 9.78 9.78 9.2 9.2 192,700 1,807,755 METRO RETAIL 1.43 1.44 1.44 1.44 1.42 1.43 732,000 1,044,770 PUREGOLD 40.1 40.85 40.6 41.35 40.1 40.1 1,081,500 43,760,405 ROBINSONS RTL 64.6 65 66 66 64.55 65 176,400 11,463,301.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP 90.3 93 93 93 90.1 90.4 670 60,569 SSI GROUP 1.21 1.22 1.22 1.24 1.2 1.22 929,000 1,127,350 WILCON DEPOT 31.1 31.15 31.15 31.4 31 31.1 1,573,000 48,951,540 APC GROUP 0.225 0.23 0.236 0.236 0.23 0.23 1,010,000 237,400 EASYCALL 4.2 4.54 4.2 4.6 4.2 4.6 4,000 17,200 GOLDEN MV 508 530 515 530 510 530 1,970 1,038,400 IPM HLDG 6.9 7 7.02 7.02 7 7 4,500 31,530 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.72 0.73 0.8 0.82 0.72 0.72 58,832,000 45,042,770 SBS PHIL CORP 3.92 3.95 3.9 3.99 3.9 3.95 17,000 66,440

MINING & OIL ATOK 5.92 5.99 6.02 6.02 5.9 5.92 16,200 95,873 APEX MINING 1.38 1.4 1.42 1.42 1.38 1.38 580,000 806,060 ATLAS MINING 6.28 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.28 6.28 723,400 4,575,082 BENGUET A 5.06 5.08 5.1 5.1 5.05 5.05 8,000 40,450 BENGUET B 4.8 5.39 5.39 5.39 4.8 4.8 200 1,019 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.275 0.285 0.275 0.275 0.275 0.275 20,000 5,500 DIZON MINES 5.12 5.49 5.12 5.49 5.12 5.49 4,800 24,618 FERRONICKEL 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.2 2.17 2.17 9,207,000 20,170,120 GEOGRACE 0.203 0.21 0.202 0.203 0.201 0.203 370,000 74,640 LEPANTO A 0.124 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.124 0.124 3,240,000 402,480 MANILA MINING A 0.0089 0.0092 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009 1,000,000 9,000 MARCVENTURES 1.37 1.38 1.48 1.48 1.34 1.38 5,986,000 8,341,340 NIHAO 1.02 1.05 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 35,000 35,700 NICKEL ASIA 5.17 5.19 5.3 5.31 5.17 5.19 2,600,000 13,651,271 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.74 0.75 0.79 0.79 0.75 0.75 360,000 274,150 PX MINING 4.91 4.96 4.9 4.96 4.9 4.9 170,000 839,770 SEMIRARA MINING 23 23.15 23 23.4 22.5 23 1,404,900 32,310,695 UNITED PARAGON 0.0063 0.0066 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 5,000,000 32,500 ACE ENEXOR 22.7 23 23.9 23.9 22.1 23 379,700 8,823,395 ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 21,100,000 211,000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.01 0.012 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 2,200,000 22,000 PHILODRILL 0.0091 0.0093 0.0093 0.0093 0.0091 0.0091 13,000,000 118,500 PXP ENERGY 6.05 6.1 6.18 6.2 6.03 6.05 119,400 734,886

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 99 100 100 100 100 100 10 1,000 AC PREF B1 521 526.5 521 521 521 521 2,300 1,198,300 AC PREF B2R 510 525 515 521 515 521 11,590 6,024,290 CEB PREF 47.65 47.7 48.2 48.5 47.7 47.7 8,300 400,755 CPG PREF A 100.5 101 100 101 100 101 61,940 6,194,100 DD PREF 100.6 100.7 100.6 100.7 100.6 100.7 30 3,020 FGEN PREF G 105.4 109.7 109.7 109.7 109.7 109.7 50 5,485 GTCAP PREF A 1,010 1,019 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,010 3,795 3,832,950 GTCAP PREF B 1,030 1,040 1,040 1,040 1,040 1,040 300 312,000 JFC PREF A 999 1,010 1,000 1,000 999 999 485 484,615 JFC PREF B 1,005 1,028 1,000 1,005 1,000 1,005 670 670,400 MWIDE PREF 2B 99.2 99.6 100 100 98 99.2 36,980 3,650,766 PNX PREF 3B 103.5 104.7 102.2 104.7 102.2 104.7 1,410 146,627 PNX PREF 4 997 999 999 999 998 998 190 189,740 PCOR PREF 3A 1,044 1,099 1,050 1,100 1,040 1,099 1,235 1,318,425 PCOR PREF 3B 1,106 1,107 1,108 1,108 1,107 1,107 500 553,700 SMC PREF 2I 79.4 79.45 76.75 79.45 76.75 79.45 14,910 1,164,562.50 SMC PREF 2J 76.4 76.9 76.9 76.9 76.9 76.9 50 3,845 SMC PREF 2K 75.9 76.3 75.9 75.95 75.85 75.95 762,500 57,835,677.50

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 12.64 13.34 13.32 13.34 12.64 12.64 189,500 2,485,422 GMA HLDG PDR 13.42 13.68 13.42 13.42 13.42 13.42 1,500 20,130

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.96 0.97 1.02 1.04 0.96 0.97 2,602,000 2,552,820

-7,563,440 -115,085,955 -11,725,662.50 -4,806,012 -453,438 77,948 105,536 5,904,195 13,919,835 -66,742,324.50 -403,160 9,729,106 -1,972,770 -2,079,808 -94,027,605 -14,320,974 12,300 691 -56,496,800 27,227,860 -56,520 150,770 -51,950 -12,375,014.00 -1,264,950 20,832,198 -30,510.00 17,200 -300,900 -62,683,470 430,350.00 -8,925,696 107,120 1,202,476 -20,329,138.00 80,688,500 -64,340 43,519,310 -18,252,800 798,300 -115,815,740 -4,168,534 -64,000 6,730 1,946,200 -46,463,121 897,757 72,500.00 -5,461,140 -15,000 8,300 1,505,220 -465,365.00 -58,630 -26,266,705 -3,927,297.00 20,729 13,168,040 -9,240 -106,000 -580,450 8,400 474,490 -12,456,080 130,020 -2,176,803 -79,220 13,266,985 3,628,245 9,100 -61,139 -454,645 28,000 - -2,484,088 -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MERRYMART

18 2.12 3.58 3.08

18.34 2.14 3.65 3.09

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

111

112

18.52 2 3.65 3.15

18.7 2.21 3.65 3.15

18 2 3.6 3.08

18 2.12 3.6 3.09

13,400 3,103,000 7,000 1,908,000

245,034 6,566,280 25,300 5,905,350

9,240 48,560 92,800

112.2 112.2 111 111 13,200 1,473,507 94,976

www.businessmirror.com.ph

URC to acquire Malaysia’s Munchy Food for ₧22.9B

U

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

niversal Robina Corp.

(URC), the food group of the Gokongweis, said it is buying Malaysia’s Munchy Food Industries Sdn Bhd for P22.9 billion or RM1.92 billion on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

In its disclosure, the company said the acquisition will make the local unit of URC in Malaysia the market leader in the oil-producing Southeast Asian nation.

URC Snack Foods Malaysia, the company’s local unit, signed an agreement with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to acquire Crunchy Foods Sdn Bhd, the owner of Munchy Foods and

Munchworld Marketing Sdn Bhd. Crunchy Foods is in the business of investment holding and the manufacture, distribution, sales and marketing of biscuits, confectionary and related food products. It was incorporated on April 25, 2018 as an investment holding company.

The boards of directors of URC Malaysia and Crunchy approved the transaction on November 24 and the

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK

said transaction does not need board approval of URC. The deal is expected to close by December.

Established in 1991, Munchy’s is Malaysia’s top biscuit brand that has now flourished into a recognized and successful brand across the region. Munchy’s offers a wide variety of offerings across all key biscuit segments with brands that include Munchy’s Cream Crackers, Lexus Cream Sandwich, Oat Krunch, Muzic Wafer, and Choc-O cookies, are available in most retail outlets in Malaysia and more than 50 countries globally.

“Munchy’s, with its strong brands, talented organization, and operational excellence, is a great strategic fit with URC. Together, we will be able to further expand the footprint of URC and Munchy’s brands and unlock growth synergies in Malaysia as well as across the ASEAN region,” Irwin C. Lee, president and CEO of URC, said.

“This move will allow Munchy’s

mutual funds

Last week

Share prices fell for the second straight week as profit-taking continued due to the new South African Covid-19 variant which spooked investors.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index closed 2.13 points lower to close at 7,278.44 points.

The main index was up during the first three days of trade, reaching as much as 7,419.10 points on Wednesday. All of these gains, however, were erased on the last two trading days of the week as the new variant may again affect emerging economies, such as the Philippines, as governments may again impose mobility curbs and lockdowns.

Foreign investors returned to the market and accounted for almost half of the trades for the week at 47 percent. They were, however, net sellers at P737.01 million.

All other sub-indices ended mixed, led by the broader All Shares index that fell 6.72 points to close at 3,871.39 points, the Financials index gained 8.25 to 1,586.50, the Industrial index lost 85.58 to 10,621.42, the Holding Firms index rose 28.29 to 7,040.27, the Property index was down 10.05 to 3,324.31, the Services index declined 3.97 1,976.48 and the Mining and Oil index surged 177.10 to 9,485.32.

For the week, losers edged gainers 132 to 90 and 29 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were Italpinas Development Corp., Manila Broadcasting Co., Marcventures Holdings Inc., Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp., Union Bank of the Philippines and Manila Jockey Club Inc. Top losers were Benguet Corp. A and B shares, I-Remit Inc., Metro Alliance Holdings and Equities Corp. A, Megawide Construction Corp., Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corp. A and B shares, Doubledragon Corp. and Anchor Land Holdings Inc.

This week

Trading may become muted this week on fresh concerns that the new South African variant of Covid-19 may spur another wave of infections and impair economies, especially in emerging markets.

“Relaxed policy measures, such as allowing minors more mobility and schools to reopen, will be out into question as these will make the management of a would-be case spike much more difficult,” broker 2TradeAsia said.

“More visibility o the new variant will be paramount for players aiming to position ahead of 2022, as this might spell the difference between going full blast for cyclicals versus putting defensives and lockdown plays as solid alternatives, for early 2022 at least.”

Meanwhile, Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financials Inc., said investors are expected to watch out for the government’s decision on the social restriction measures of the country by December. Investors would be watching out for the government’s strategy in reopening the economy in light of the new variant.

“Chartwise, the local bourse has again closed the week below the 7,300 level. Next week, the local bourse may attempt to get back above 7,300. If it is able to do so, the trading range seen for the market is from 7,300 to 7,500. If not however, the market’s trading range is seen from its 50-day exponential moving average of 7,177.85 as of November 26 to 7,300,” he said.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. advised to take profits on the stock of Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp. since it had a breakout after a month of a downtrend, backed by the spike in last week’s buying pressure.

“Even though all indicators are bullish, the momentum is slightly moving downwards mimicking the drop in selling pressure,” it said, placing a price target on the stock at P0.85.

Premiere Horizon shares closed last week at P0.72 apiece.

Meanwhile, the broker gave a buy on breakout recommendation on the stock of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) as it was one of the few stocks that bucked last week’s fall in prices.

The broker said its technical readings show that ICTSI’s shares are still far from approaching the overbought region.

“Meaning, ICTSI’s price may stage a break-out soon as supported by the pick-up in momentum,” it said. It gave a weekly target on the stock at P199.90 per share.

ICTSI shares closed Friday at P195.50 apiece. VG Cabuag

to have access to research and development expertise in multiple categories, enhance market knowledge, route to market, and manufacturing capabilities in countries outside of Malaysia. This will translate to development of innovative forwardthinking offerings to our consumers and strengthen our presence in the Asean market,” Rodney Wong, Munchy’s CEO, said.

URC reported that its profit in January to September rose 38 percent to P11.2 billion from last year’s P8.11 billion, despite sluggish sales.

Sales for the period reached P102.6 billion, up 3 percent from P99.61 billion last year.

“Operating income continues to be challenged by higher input costs and production inefficiencies brought about by Covid-related supply disruptions in several markets. However, higher pricing and cost savings initiatives helped reduce impact to margins,” the company said.

November 26, 2021 NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds Growth Fund, Inc. -a

236.57

4.23%

-1.22%

-0.39%

ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

235.08

5.11%

-1.62%

-0.52%

3.47%

1.6919

31.01%

7.48%

4.51%

28.86%

-5.2%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2688

-3.26%

4.33%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.757 -4.02%

-5.04% n.a.

-6.87%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.8042 7.93%

-0.65% n.a.

8.44%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

5.4%

5.2582

8.21%

0.56%

1.4%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.7882

4.66%

-1.51%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

6.41% -2.38% 1.52%

97.48

2.97%

-4.45% n.a.

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

48.3615

5.15%

-0.08%

1.14%

3.25%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

504.96

4.95%

-0.1%

0.47%

3.28%

-4.31%

8.01%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d

1.1852

12.14% n.a. n.a.

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.3434

17.33%

2.71%

2.72%

15%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

36.8281

8.41%

0.64%

1.83%

5.92% 4.36%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.9528

6.07% n.a. n.a.

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.9833

5.99%

0.71%

1.82%

4.01%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

832.13

5.81%

0.71%

1.77%

3.81%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.7649

6.86%

-3.3%

-1.35%

6.4%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7899

6.38%

-2.06%

0.13%

4.58%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.949 5.37%

0.36%

1.52%

3.41%

United Fund, Inc. -a

0.23%

2.48%

4.86%

0.93%

2.26% 4.06%

3.4798

6.84%

ALFM

4.12%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

111.9165

5.93%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1594

-1.48%

7.07%

6.27%

-3.62%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8451

14.96%

16.44%

12.42%

10.3%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.7008

3.17%

1.22%

0.36%

1.93%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.2873

1.93%

1.62%

0.66%

0.08%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.7222

4.78%

2.89%

2.37%

3.63%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.2072

5.45% n.a. n.a. 4.59%

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

2.0192

3.45%

3.41%

2.66%

2.65%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.7801

1%

2.73%

1.61%

-0.26%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.9264

1.09%

2.49%

1.49%

-0.08%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.1311

2.97%

1.44%

1.28%

1.91%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6588 3.56%

0.22%

1.08%

2.39%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9922

-1.8% n.a. n.a.

-2.97%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9488

1.37% n.a. n.a.

-0.04%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9398

2.23% n.a. n.a.

0.72%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

8.83%

7.43%

0.9537

0.97%

1.27%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03767

-3.76%

2.71%

1.45%

-3.66%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0691

-5.1%

3.52%

3.91%

-5.39%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.7835

9.88%

11.7%

9.03%

6%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a $1.212

3.05%

6.53%

4.75%

0.82%

0.61%

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

373.39

0.97%

2.93%

2.6%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9226

1.29%

1.4%

0.42%

1.17%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2436

1.06%

3.14%

4%

0.88%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2435

-2.38%

-2.04%

1.81%

1.79%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4202 -1.17%

3.16%

1.89%

-1.35%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.17%

1.96%

-5.09%

4.3944

-4.98%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

1.3159

-0.02%

3.78%

2.59%

-0.41%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9543

-0.63%

4.29%

2.76%

-1.17%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0247

-1.16%

4.92%

2.32%

-1.8%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1745

-0.48%

4.78%

3.9%

-0.99%

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

-1.32%

4%

3.23%

-1.88%

1.722

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$488.55

1.31%

3.02%

2.47%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є219.61

0.5%

1.13%

0.95%

0.18%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2025

-5.08%

2.32%

1.78%

-6.04%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 -2.26%

0.94%

1.46%

0.87%

-2.63%

-0.22%

-0.71%

-6.64%

-1.61%

5.18%

2.77%

-2.14%

3.12%

2.03%

0.16%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1514 -2.01%

3.18%

1.51%

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

$1.0176

-6.75%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.4856

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.062398 0.47%

-2.24%

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

2.56%

0.92%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0568 0.94% n.a. n.a.

131.01

0.83%

Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3137

1.14% 1.5%

2.87% 2.65%

2.54%

1.3%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.06

0.81%

1.48% n.a.

0.61%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d 1.3645

24.82% n.a. n.a. 20.79%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a,d

$0.97

0% n.a. n.a.

-1.02%

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

1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance

BSP to ‘refresh’ financial inclusion strategy in 2022

T

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced over the weekend that they will be launching a “refreshed” financial inclusion strategy early next year.

In a statement, the BSP said an updated version of the current National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI), which has served as the main guide of the country’s financial inclusion initiatives in the past six years, will be launched in January 2022.

The updated NSFI is set to cover a six-year timeframe from 2022 to 2028, with strategies translated into priority initiatives, key performance indicators and targets.

“This marks a departure from the current NSFI which provides the guiding principles for promoting financial inclusion but has no timeframe and targets,” the BSP said in a statement.

The BSP also said they are currently holding consultation workshops with stakeholders from various sectors to solicit feedback and inputs on the updated NSFI with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

BSP Governor Benjamin Dio-

kno said “much work” remains to be done to make formal financial services accessible to all, especially as the pandemic and the rapid advancement of digital technology are bringing new possibilities and challenges in the pursuit of financial inclusion.

Earlier this year, Diokno said the BSP achieved its target of reaching 20 percent of digital payments volume by 2020, due largely to the behavior shift catalyzed by the pandemic.

According to BSP’s latest data, 20.1 percent of monthly payments volume were done digitally by the end of 2020, improving from the 17 percent digital transactions in the first six months of 2020.

“As the landscape has evolved, so must the strategy. This impetus compels us to revisit the original strategy document and ensure that the NSFI remains a responsive framework for driving financial inclusion as a whole-of nation undertaking,” Diokno said.

The NSFI was launched on July 1, 2015 to foster public-private coordination and harmonize policies and programs on financial inclusion in the country. Bianca Cuaresma

Perspectives It’s time to decarbonize the technology industry

T

ECH companies tend to weighting. However, “board have complex, decenand management are insuffitralized footprints that ciently engaged” and “investors make measuring emissions are more focused on shortdifficult. A decarbonization term goals; not asking us to destrategy must address a varicarbonize” were cited slightly ety of elements, including ofmore frequently than other fice space, warehouses, supply responses and combined reprechain, distribution, and data sented 35 percent of the total. centers. Since service compaConversely, “Carbon prices too nies do not own many of the low to be effective” and “Coassets they operate, they may vid-19” were the barriers least face their own chalfrequently cited by lenges in measurTypically trendsetters, respondents. While ing decarbonization most technology the survey results efforts. Even larger that tech companies are still suggest companies that have companies are lagstriving to develop ging in their decarbeen vocal about carbon-reduction bonization efforts, their corporate-level green strategies new regulations plans. have been chaland market demand lenged, leading to tactical immay begin to force them to be plementation at the businessmore aggressive in their overall unit level. green strategies.

Many tech companies simply The survey found that tech do not view climate change as a companies are struggling to top consideration when it comes define and navigate a strategy to funding projects. Only 24 that effectively meets decarpercent of tech companies said bonization objectives. Most climate change considerations are trying to decide what their significantly factor into their next steps will be; others have funding decisions, while 42 perstarted but are unsure of what cent said it does not factor in. to do next.

For small technology companies But tech companies cannot where it is harder to scale, this afford any further delays in number rises to almost half (47 their decarbonization jourpercent). neys. Regulators, investors, KPMG conducted the Surand consumers are ramping vey of Sustainability Reportup the pressure for environing at Technology Compamentally friendly policies, nies and found only half of creating financial and reputaglobal tech companies even tional risk for those that fall acknowledge the risk of clibehind. mate change in their financial The good news is that green reporting, much less assign a strategies, while helping the quantitative impact to it. The planet, can also offer positive vast majority of tech compabusiness outcomes. There are nies overall have not implemounting recognitions that mented remuneration inceneffective net-zero transformatives for directors to achieve tions can unlock new markets, decarbonization targets. Only products, revenue, and value 13 percent have incentives in propositions. place. However, by company The excerpt was taken from the KPMG Thought Leadership publisize, large companies lead the cation entitled, “It’s time to decarway with 32 percent indicating bonize the technology industry.” they have incentives in place.

And public companies outper© 2021 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine form private companies on this topic (26 percent versus 6 partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG percent). global organization of independent memberThe survey asked responfirms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, dents to identify the barriers a private English company limited by guarantee. to decarbonization that their All rights reserved. company is experiencing. Most For more information on KPMG in the Philipof the choices received similar pines, you may visit www.home.kpmg/ph

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Monday, November 29, 2021

B3

‘Deficit in ’21 will be ₧200B less than DBCC projection’

A

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

the record of landmark reforms we enacted.”

S government revenues recover and spending mildly decelerates, the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means said the national government’s deficit this year will be P200 billion less than expected by the Development Budget Coordinating Committee.

In a statement over the weekend, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said the government is very likely to see the deficit hit just P1.7 trillion when the year ends.

“The deficit cap is P1.9 trillion this year, or around 9.3 percent of gross domestic product. As of October, we are just at P1.2 trillion. That’s around 63 percent of the deficit, with just one quarter left,” Salceda said.

“That’s lower by around P200 billion, which is of course good for our fiscal space,” he said. “It’s mostly good news, because the lower-thanexpected deficit is largely due to revenue recovery.”

However, the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed the

shortfall from January to October this year was 27.94 percent higher than the P940.6 billion in the same period in 2020.

In 2020, Salceda said the government raised P2.855 trillion in revenues.

“After three quarters, we are now at 87.2 percent of that figure, or 2.49 trillion. I am confident we will be very close to 2019 levels, or prepandemic revenues, once all the revenues are totaled in,” Salceda added.

Credits tax reforms

“I credit this recovery in revenues to the resiliency of our tax system due to the comprehensive tax reform program,” Salceda said.

Strengthen enforcement

“WE are probably hitting 14.8 percent tax effort this year. That’s higher than anything we have had since 1997. Every administration that confronted a crisis saw its tax effort decline. This administration actually improved tax effort during the crisis.”—Rep. Joey Salceda, House Ways and Means Committee chairman

The lawmaker said tax effort is likely to be the highest since 1997, the year when the first Comprehensive Tax Reform Program was enacted, under the Ramos administration.

Tax effort is the ratio of tax collections to gross domestic product.

“We are probably hitting 14.8 percent tax effort this year. That’s higher than anything we have had since 1997. Every administration that confronted a crisis saw its tax effort decline. This administration actually improved tax effort during the crisis. That’s commendable, and partly due to the reform-induced resiliency of our tax system due to

Meanwhile, Salceda said the Committee on Ways and Means will continue its efforts to strengthen enforcement and administration.

Salceda noted that the committee successfully initiated changes such as the Task Force against Fuel Smuggling, joint enforcement efforts by the Bureau of Customs and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to prevent the abuse of ecozones as smuggling conduits, and stricter policies to prevent cigarettes for export from leaking to the domestic market.

“We were able to work with the tax agencies and other government offices to make changes to tax administration even without legislated reforms. This kind of partnership will continue in these final months of the administration.”

Salceda said his committee next targets are improved enforcement against food smuggling, coast guard and customs coordination, and the abuse of customs bonded warehouses.

“We’ll keep at it. I accept the reality that raising new taxes during these times is difficult. We will have to be stronger at enforcement and administration. The committee will persist on these areas, too,” he added.

BOC Subic is not vs tobacco products transhipment

B

UREAU of Customs Port of Subic District Collector Maritess T. Martin said they do not oppose the proposed abolition of the transhipment of cigarettes through the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

If Congress sees fit to abolish the practice, they will abide by it and enforce it if the law so warrants, Martin said in a statement.

The District Collector’s statement came on the heels of issues raised by tobacco companies that transhipment of goods through the nation’s ports was being used as a means to sneak in illegally imported cigarettes to the country to sell them locally at lower prices.

Martin maintained that port personnel are fulfilling their mandate to ensure that the privilege granted to locators and transhipers is not abused. She said they are closely monitoring the entry of all these transhipped goods and coordinating with legitimate tobacco firms like Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco

International to make sure that the transhipped items do not leave the Freeport and enter the domestic market through illegal channels.

In terms of revenue collection, Martin allayed fears that stopping the transhipments will pose an impact on collections. She explained that revenue generation will not be affected much since cigarette imports through transhipment do not generate revenue for the government.

Amid issues being hurled against the Port of Subic, she stressed the BOC Port of Subic’s crackdown on all illegal importations remains a top priority.

She cited the PoS’s performance in intercepting attempts to smuggle in cigarette products through the port this year where the Port of Subic made history by intercepting three refrigerated container vans containing tobacco products.

Martin said there has never been an attempt to import cigarettes

Angara tells PhilHealth: Expedite payment of sums due to hospitals

S

EN. Juan Edgardo Angara prodded the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) over the weekend to settle its unpaid obligations, particularly to private hospitals, “amounting to billions of pesos” over time.

Citing the increasing unsettled subsidies provided to PhilHealth—from P71.3 billion in 2021 to P79.9 billion in 2022, the lawmaker lamented this was ‘In spite of complaints lodged against PhilHealth for its delayed reimbursements of claims by the hospitals.

Angara reminded the agency that the increase in subsidies was necessary to ensure that all Filipinos are covered by health insurance under the Universal Health Care Law. He underscored that “universal health care [was] already a problem to fund even before the pandemic, so we should aim to increase that funding over time to cover the entire country.’”

Angara advised PhilHealth “should act faster in processing the claims of the hospitals, which he recalled was “at one point pegged at around P20 billion.”

“The delays in the settlement of the claims has led to fears of possible downscaling of operations of the affected hospitals and even closures depending on their financial health,” the senator said over the weekend.

Angara recalled that recently, “many of these private hospitals have also aired their intention to end their partnership with PhilHealth because of the delayed payment of claims.”

The lawmaker lamented that “in the end, all of these issues, if not addressed, will adversely affect the patients, particularly the less fortunate who will have fewer options for their health-care requirements.” Butch Fernandez

through refrigerated containers but because of their requirement to place reefers through 100 percent x-ray scanning, they were able to detect the illegal shipment.

“Smugglers will always try to find a way to sneak in their illegal goods. They are getting more and more innovative with time. But because of our strict crackdown on illegal shipments, we were able to nab them,” she said. The apprehension was part of BOC Port of Subic’s P299,982,143.28 haul for smuggled cigarettes this year.

On the issue of agricultural smuggling, the BOC admitted that there have been more attempts to sneak in misdeclared agricultural products these past two years, owing mainly to the Covid-19 pandemic which has affected businesses greatly.

However, strict monitoring and coordination with Freeport authorities, other law enforcement agencies, affiliated government agencies, as well as partnerships with agriculture

stakeholders have helped the bureau intercept P238,714,940.00 worth of illegally imported goods which would have flooded the market to the detriment of local farmers this year. Consignees found in violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act have immediately been referred to the BATAS for the filing of criminal charges.

“We welcome the probe from the House of Representatives on these issues because we believe that they will see that we are very transparent,” Martin said.

“Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are truthfully doing our jobs in facilitating trade without sacrificing enforcement, manning our ports, strictly protecting our borders, and continuing to collect rightful revenue for our country and our people. We remain vigilant and we are working together with other agencies to fulfil our mandate. Our performance will speak for itself,” she added.

SSS short-term member loan condonation runs from November 15 till February 14

M

EMBER-BORROWERS with past due short-term loans may apply for the Social Security System’s (SSS) Penalty Condonation Program via online using their My.SSS accounts starting November 15, 2021 up to February 14, 2022.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said the Short-Term Member Loan Penalty Condonation Program (STMLPCP) is part of the Pandemic Relief and Restructuring Programs being offered by SSS. “We continue to respond to the needs of our members who were greatly affected during this pandemic. Through the STMLPCP,SSS offers conditional loan condonation by waiving their accumulated penalties once their loan principal and interest are fully paid,” Ignacio said.

Included in the program are those with outstanding Salary, Calamity, Salary Loan Early Renewal Program, Emergency Loans and Restructured Loan under the Loan Restructuring Program implemented in 2016 to 2019.

Qualified to apply are the following: n Members with short-term member loans that are past due for at least six months as of the first day of the condonation availment period; n Members who have not been granted any final benefit such as permanent total disability or retirement; n Members who have not been disqualified

due to fraud committed against the SSS; n Members who will file their final benefits application for permanent total disability or retirement, whose contingency date is on or before the last day of the availment period of the condonation program; n Heirs or beneficiaries of deceased member borrowers who will file the death benefit application, whose contingency date is on or before the last day of the availment period of the condonation program; and n For member-borrowers who will pay their consolidated loan under installment basis, their age must be under 65 years old at the end of the installment term.

“We encourage our member-borrowers to avail of our short-term member loan condonation program. With this program, they can update their loans and avoid further accumulation of penalties,” Ignacio added. Other terms and conditions under the loan penalty condonation can be viewed in SSS Circular 2021-014 which can be accessed through this link https://bit.ly/3GEzwhf.

For accurate information and updates on SSS programs and benefits, visit and follow SSS on Facebook and YouTube at “Philippine Social Security System,” Instagram at “mysssph,” Twitter at “PHLSSS,” join its Viber Community at “MYSSSPH Updates,” or visit the uSSSap Tayo Portal at https:// crms.sss.gov.ph/.

B4 Monday, November 29, 2021

Explainer BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Is China to blame

for Solomon Islands unrest?

In this image made from aerial video, smoke rises from burning buildings during a protest in the capital of Honiara, Solomon Islands, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare declared a lockdown after about 1,000 people took to the streets in the capital for a second day, demanding his resignation over a host of domestic issues, according to local media reports. Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP, File

By Rod McGuirk

T

The Associated Press

HE Solomon Islands’ decision to switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing has been blamed for arson and looting in the national capital Honiara, where protesters are demanding the prime minister’s resignation.

Australian police, troops and diplomats are helping local police restore peace and order while trying to keep out of the domestic political dispute.

Here’s a look at some of the reasons behind the turmoil:

Ethnic tensions open old wounds

The Solomon Islands are famous as a battleground of World War II, the pivotal Battle of Guadalcanal named after the country’ largest island where the restive capital Honiara is located.

It was then known as the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and became the Solomon Islands before independence in 1978. The South Pacific nation of 700,000 people—mostly Melanesian but also Polynesian, Micronesian, Chinese and European—is, like neighboring Australia and New Zealand, a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II the head of state.

A migration of settlers from Malaita, the country’s second biggest island and most populous province, to the economic opportunities on Guadalcanal and Honiara stoked ethnic tensions and eventually unrest.

In the late 1990s, native Guadalcanal islanders, know n as Guales, launched a campaign

of violence and intimidation to drive the Malaitans off the island.

The Malaita Eagle Force militia was formed to protect them in a conflict that led the government to declare a four-month state of emergency in 1999.

Australia and New Zealand rejected the government’s request for help. With the police force ethnically divided, law and order on Guadalcanal collapsed.

In 2000, the Malaita Eagle Force kidnapped Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa’alu, a Malaitan, because they did not consider he was doing enough for the Malaitans’ cause.

Ulufa’alu resigned in exchange for his freedom, and the current Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare began the first of his four stints as the unstable nation’s leader.

What’s China’s role in the current unrest?

China has provided another cause for the community to divide, with the government supporting Beijing and the Malatian leaders supporting Taiwan.

The self-ruled island of Taiwan split from mainland China after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing claims it as part of its territory and has persuaded all but 15 countries,

US troops from the 160th Infantry Regiment are seen as they disembark from a landing craft during amphibious training on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, in Mar. 1942. AP Photo, file

most of them small and poor in Africa and Latin America, to switch recognition to the mainland.

But experts say the unrest on the Solomon Islands is driven by the same underlying causes that have undermined the social fabric for decades: inter-island and ethnic tensions, a perceived lack of sharing of resources between Guadalcanal and Malaita, widespread poverty and high youth unemployment.

“Geopolitical tensions have been the spark but not the major driver,” said Jonathan Pryke, Pacific Islands program director at the Lowy Institute international policy think tank. “’I’m sure there is some degree of affection for Taiwan in Malaita, but it’s also another way for Malaitans to express their frustration at the national government,” he added.

Pryke said it was too soon to judge whether the Solomons would benefit financially from their 2019 switch in diplomatic relations to Beijing.

While Beijing’s financial inducements to cut ties with Taiwan have not yet borne fruit, the Solomons had closed its borders

New Zealand troops stand guard over a crowd of more than 200 Solomon Islanders that gathered outside Honiara Magistrates court on the Solomon Islands, Tuesday, April 25, 2006, as Charles Dausebea fronted on the charge of intimidation and managing an unlawful society or assembly. AP Photo/Rob Griffith

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, left, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. The Solomon Islands’ decision to switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, has been blamed for arson and looting in the capital Honiara, where protesters are demanding the prime minister’s resignation.

Thomas Peter/Pool Photo via AP, file

throughout the pandemic, which limited Chinese engagement.

Resentment against Chinese business people is longstanding on the Solomons and resulted in much of Honiara’s Chinatown being burned in 2006, and again this week.

“The Chinese communities are vulnerable in the Solomon Islands

because they don’t have the traditional support base,” Pryke said.

“They don’t have the tribes the families that would would given them some extra degree of cultural isolation from this sort of unrest.”

How did Australia become involved?

Australia and the Solomons

signed their first bilateral security treaty in 2017. It provides a legal basis for the rapid deployment of Australian police, troops and associated civilians in the event of a major security challenge.

Australian police were in the air aboard a military transport plane within hours of Sogavare invoking the treaty on Thursday.

Australia had led a force of Pacific Islands police and troops under the Regional Assurance Mission to Solomon Islands, or R AMSI, from 2003 to 2017. It included 2,300 police and troops from 17 nations, invited by the Solomons’ government. The deployment successfully ended the conflict that killed 200 people.

In the five years of ethic and civil unrest before RAMSI arrived, the Solomons was close to becoming a failed state.

The bilateral treaty acknowledges that underlying causes of the unrest remained and posed development challenges.

“The Solomon Islands will need ongoing support to retain the gains made under RAMSI and to help build long-term stability and enduring growth,” the Australian government said in 2017.

Style

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Monday, November 29, 2021

B5

Cindy and Maureen: Homecoming Queens VICTORIOUS QUEENS The Miss

Globe 2021 Maureen Ann Montagne (in June Ador) and Miss Intercontinental 2021 Cinderella Faye Obeñita (in Chico Estiva).

CHINESE FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER IN DIOR CONTROVERSY APOLOGIZES

HONG KONG—A renowned Chinese fashion photographer has apologized for her past work after online critics called it insulting to the Chinese people and fashion house Dior removed one of her photos from a show in Shanghai.

Chen Man acknowledged the criticism of her earlier work, including “Young Pioneers,” a series of images of a young model with backdrops of major landmarks such as China’s massive Three Gorges Dam or with an image of the country’s first lunar orbiter flying out from under her dress.

The criticism was reported by the state-owned Global Times newspaper, which said that comments on social media had called her work “implicit child pornography and insulting the young pioneers,” the name of a Communist Partyaffiliated youth organization.

“I have reflected deeply and blamed myself for my naivety and ignorance at the time. I think that I must still formally apologize to everyone,” Chen wrote this week on her social media account.

“I’m a Chinese person, born and raised, I deeply love my motherland,” she wrote. “And I know, deeply, that as an artist, I have a responsibility to the mission to record and spread the Chinese people’s culture.”

She joins numerous Chinese and foreign celebrities, brands and artists who have made public apologies following criticism of their work in state media. Some have been boycotted for refusing to apologize or if the apology is deemed insufficient.

Chen’s apology came more than a week after Dior was attacked over the photo at its exhibition in Shanghai, which pictured a model of Asian descent with tan, freckled skin and darkened eyelids holding a Dior purse.

Critics deemed the photograph contrary to East Asian beauty standards of fair skin and said it perpetuated Western stereotypes of Asian faces, such as slanted eyes.

At least one photo editor has praised her work in the past for creating an aesthetic that was neither aping Western magazines or Japanese and South Korean ones. And in 2019, the Global Times described Chen as China’s answer to US photographer Annie Leibovitz, calling her a “shining star” with a unique perspective.

Dior removed the photograph, adding that it was part of an art project and not an advertisement. In a statement on its Chinese social media account, Dior said it “respects the feelings of Chinese people” and “strictly abides by Chinese laws and regulations.”

Other luxury brands have previously been embroiled in controversies in China. In 2018, a Dolce & Gabbana advertisement sparked public outrage after the Asian model in the ad was instructed to eat spaghetti, cannolis and pizza with a pair of chopsticks. The videos were later removed.

Chen’s social-media post said she accepted criticism of her work including that for a certain brand, but didn’t specify Dior.

The photograph taken down from the Shanghai exhibit was shot in a similar style to a series of covers Chen did for British fashion magazine i-D that featured 12 young Chinese women from different ethnic minorities. Many of the women did not fit what has become a common definition of beauty in China—some had small eyes and others had freckles.

Ding Yining, a photo editor at Sixth Tone, praised Chen’s work in a 2018 article for the state-backed English-language features web site.

“From her works, it would seem that Chen prefers female models with narrow, single-lidded eyes and a sense of traditional East Asian elegance,” Ding wrote.

Chen told Sixth Tone that “as a professional visual artist, I believe that I should help more people recognize the face of modern Chinese beauty with greater confidence.” AP

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BRUCE CASANOVA

F

OR my first in-person presscon since the pandemic started, I opted to attend the heartwarming homecoming of two Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. queens— The Miss Globe 2021 Maureen Ann Montagne of Batangas and Miss Intercontinental 2021 Cinderella Faye Obeñita of Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental.

Unlike other national pageants, BPCI graciously granted me the privilege to interview their titleholders.

MAUREEN: GLOBAL GLAMAZON YOU competed at all major pageant systems.

Excluding Binibining Pilipinas, which has been most enjoyable to you?

For me, I love Miss USA. It was such a fun experience. And competing with 62 girls in Miss Arizona and winning and then competing with 51 girls in Miss USA was so eye-opening. And it really was the pageant that made me say, “Wow, I’m absolutely in love with pageants!”

And you were Top 15 in 2015 [at Miss USA]. With Olivia Jordan (second runner-up to Pia Wurtzbach at Miss Universe] and Anea Garcia, Miss Rhode Island who eventually won Miss Grand International (but was dethroned).

Yeah, we’re actually still good friends and we message each other often.

Would you encourage other Fil-Am beauties who competed at Miss USA to join Binibining Pilipinas?

Yes, why not? If they enjoy living in the Philippines, then, I say yes, go. It’s been such a rewarding career move for me with modeling, commercials, everything. So it’s been a great joy. And I’m an island girl now. So there’s no going back.

There’s a Fil-Am competing in Miss USA, Miss Nevada Kataluna Enriquez? Yes. Do you have any thoughts or message for her?

She’s the trans competitor, right? Yeah, I’m so proud of her for breaking barriers. For being you know, one of the first girls to do this. And own it. I know she even made her own evening gown; I also sew, so I have so much respect for her. And I’m excited to watch her journey. I’ll be rooting for her all the way.

Who are you wearing?

Right now I’m wearing Jun Ador. [The gown is] blue. I actually have sapphires in my crown, and so they match. I think from now on I’ll be wearing a lot of blue and a lot of this pinkish red just to match the crown.

Did you get a message from Ann Colis (The Miss Globe 2015) before the pageant?

Yes, She was actually the most helpful queen. She gave me all of the best tips and tricks from making

sure you look gorgeous every day to wearing heels whenever you can. Just to really be a queen, and to act like you’re already the winner before the game even started. So she gave me some of the best advice.

So when you won, what were her thoughts?

She said, “I knew it!” And that amount of love and support from her was so sweet, because not all queens are like that. So for me, Ann Colis is a true queen. And I really am thankful for her support and love.

Where are you supposed to be based and what are your immediate duties and responsibilities?

The Miss Globe is based in Albania. I actually had a Media Week a full week after my crowning. And I’ll be traveling all around the globe. So I’m already scheduled to go to the Dominican Republic, Greece, back to Albania, Canada, and we have some other countries planned for our travels as well.

As of now I’m their ambassador of goodwill. So my advocacy for this year will be feeding the hungry and I’ll be working with Hands on Manila and trying to work with as many organizations as I can.

CINDY: INTERCONNECTING THE CONTINENTS IN 2015, you joined Miss Camiguin. Who encouraged you to join Miss Cagayan de Oro in 2019?

Actually, my mentors, because I already said no to pageantry. Yes, way back in 2019, I said that I want to focus on my work. So 2017, I graduated. I was an academic scholar all my life, so I said to myself, “I want to enjoy. I want to have a vacation. I want to rest—a well-deserved rest.” That’s why I said to myself that, no, I’m not joining any more pageants. I wanted to focus on my career. And then 2017, I got the job at

the local government unit of Misamis Oriental. My work is in the tourism industry. So that’s my field— event organizing like helping the tourism industry thrive. I had put an end to pageants already. But then my mentors told me that, “Your journey won’t be complete if you won’t step on the Binibining Pilipinas stage.” So, I told them, “Why not?” I didn’t want to have regrets in the near future.

But I convinced I’m not ready for Binibining Pilipinas yet. I wanted one more try in the local pageant scene. If I could do it there, then I will proceed to Binibining Pilipinas. Parang naging assurance ko ’yung [winning] Miss Cagayan de Oro, that I still have that eagerness to compete.

What was the reaction of Governor Bambi Emano, who lamented the he was going to “lose” you as an employee? How are you going to reconcile your responsibilities as a tourism officer while doing your duty as Miss Intercon?

Actually, I’m so happy because the flagship program of Governor Bambi is tourism. Having won the crown means that I can boost tourism. So, it’s aligned. The Civil Service Commission has been very understanding also with my position. So, yes, from time to time we will apply for leave once necessary.

Miss Canada and Miss Spain have been to the Philippines. Who else are you encouraging to visit?

Miss Egypt has also been here. Miss Korea, my roommate, heard a lot about Boracay. Miss Kenya will be coming. There will be more. I want to tour them around the Philippines, including Misamis Oriental. n

Andrea Brillantes believes in taking care of her mind and body

YOUNG actress Andrea Brillantes said something very insightful during her launch as the ambassador of Reiken and Kenzen Beautéderm Health Boosters, a line of health supplements from Filipino lifestyle brand Beautéderm Corp.

She pointed out that Gen Z, a generation to which she belongs, suffered mentally and emotionally during the pandemic. “So many of us had insomnia.

Studying and working online, being cooped inside the house, not seeing other people, the whole situation was difficult,” said the 18-year-old actress.

It’s not surprising that Andrea’s favorite in the new FDA-approved, made-in-Japan line she is endorsing is the Reiko Valeriana Officinalis + L-theanine (Sleep

Enhancer) SomNest, which contains Valeriana Officinalis extracts, 98 percent L-theanine and GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid) that are all in perfect combination to treat insomnia. She also takes Kenzen Vitamin C + Zinc (Immunity Booster) Z Plus, which contains Vitamin C or ascorbic acid, as well as Zinc that are necessary for the growth, development and repair of all body tissues. Other favorites are the Reiko Vitamin D +Grape Seed (Sun Protection Enhancer) PrestoSol, which contains Vitamin D, Grape Seed extracts, Amla extracts and Rosemary extracts; and the Kenzen BioDopa + Rosemary (Energy Booster) VivaGen, which contains Mucuna Pruriens extracts, Rosemary, and Maca and Guarana extracts, which helps in lowering stress and help maintains physical and psychological vitality.

The line also includes Kenzen Bacopa Monniera + Centella Asiatica (Memory Booster) MeMax, which contains Phosphatidylserine, Bacopa Monniera, Centella Asiatica and Lutein, as well as Silicone Dioxide Starch, Stearic Acid, and Calcium for boosting brain function, enhancing memory function and preventing memory loss. Reiko Coffee Bean + Salacia (Diet Enhancer) Slimaxine contains Coffee Bean extracts, Salacia extracts and Ginger extracts, while Reiko Andrographis + Ginger (Digestion

Enchacer) Fitox, contains Andrographis and Ginger Plus Curcumin that helps prevent flu viruses from binding to the cells of the body and acts as a natural appetite suppressant while regulating sugar levels,

respectively.

Other ways that Andrea employs to help reduce her anxiety is by going on a social-media detox once in a while and taking up a new hobby. She also keeps in touch with her friends via messages and phone calls.

“The pandemic has taught me that it’s very important for me to keep my mind and body healthy,” said Andrea. The Reiko and Kenzen Beautéderm Health Boosters were launched a day before the birthday of Beautéderm Corp. Rea Anicoche Tan’s birthday. She wanted it to be a happy and festive occasion because November 2020 was very difficult for her due to the pandemic, just as it was for many Filipinos. The launch is also part of the Pampangabased brand’s 12th anniversary celebration.

“During my birthday week last year, so many of my staff got Covid and it was scary and overwhelming.

That’s when I thought it would be good to have a line of health boosters so, yes, we have been working on Reiko and Kenzen for over a year now,” said Tan. “I’m very proud to represent Beautéderm Corp. So many of my close friends are already ambassadors of the brand so it kind of feels like home,” said Andrea.

“I welcome Andrea to the Beautéderm Corp. family and we are one in the belief that we should take care of not just of our bodies but our minds, as well,” said Tan.

B6 Monday, November 29, 2021

Sub Rosa invites readers on Hanihara’s Poetry Collection

Everything is grand at SM’s 78th supermall in historic Caloocan City

CALOOCAN City officials Mayor Oscar “Oca” G. Malapitan (3rd from right), 2nd District Representative Edgar R. Erice (3rd from left), and Vice Mayor Macario "Maca" Asistio III (2nd from right) graced the recent opening of SM City Grand Central. Joining them are SM Prime Holdings, Inc. President Jeffrey Lim (2nd from left), SM Engineering Design and Development President Hans Sy Jr. (left), SM Prime Director Herbert Sy (right), and Reverend Father Jeronimo Cruz (center), Rector of the Cathedral and Vicar General of the Diocese of Kalookan.

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ALOOCAN is a historic city that date back even before the Philippine Revolution. This was the place where the Katipuneros, a secret militant society, was formed during the Spanish colonization in the country. It was here where they held their clandestine meetings, and where the members of the Katipunan, made their iconic “Unang Sigaw” which served as the starting point for the revolution.

It’s another date with history in Caloocan on November 26, 2021 when SM City Grand Central opens its doors, bringing great shopping, leisure and entertainment to this storied city. SM City Grand Central is SM Prime Holdings Inc. 78th supermall and second SM mall in Caloocan after SM Center Sangandaan in 2015.

Caloocan today is a first class and highly urbanized city, the fourth most populous in the Philippines. It is among the top cities in the Philippines with highest equity ratings due to infrastructure, transportation, communications system, and educational attainment of human resources. The city continues to enjoy rapid economic growth today from new waves of investors coming in including shopping malls.

Strategically located in a 22,901.80 square-meter site along Rizal Ave Ext. corner Bustamante Street in Caloocan City, SM City Grand Central will serve

shoppers in Caloocan, as well as those from other parts of the CaMaNaVa sub-region - Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela; Manila, and Quezon City. More than that, it will be a catalyst for employment and business opportunities in the area.

The six-level mall 116,000 square meter mall is a destination to everything grand. A series of dynamic geometric forms creates a bold backdrop that emphasizes a strong street presence. The random, vertical pattern provides a playful touch further enhancing the main elevation with dynamic flair. Colors are bold and powerful, strategically applied to enhance the grand, impressive building frontage.

The interiors of SM City Grand Central are organized around a large, curved atrium and a perpendicular mall corridor that intersect to create a clear line-of-sight to all shops on all levels at all times. Carefully placed bridges provide access to all portions of the mall, supplemented by a centrally located glass elevator, dynamic stairs, and elevators for optimal customer convenience.

The main interior features a sophisticated, modern palette of colors and materials with light gray and wood accents.

Pops of color are provided through planting and seating. Large skylights above the main atrium and wrap-around clerestory provide glare-free daylight to all areas of the mall.

The SM Store and SM Supermarket are SM City Grand Central’s major anchors along with SM Appliance Center, ACE Hardware, Our Home, Watsons, Surplus Shop, Sports Central, Pet Express, Uniqlo, The Body Shop, Crocs, and Miniso. It will also have fashion boutiques, jewelry stores, bookstores; as well as a Cyberzone and service and wellness centers.

Eating out options include a Food Court and a variety of specialty restaurants.

SM City Grand Central will also have four state of the art cinemas and two Director’s Clubs that offer a premium movie experience, leather recliners, and a crystalclear laser projection system.

The top floor of SM City Grand Central features the Skylight Park, an indoor sky garden with open green spaces. Shops and restaurants line the curved, circular paths where customers can shop and dine while enjoying the Skylight Park ambiance. A Chapel and Multi-Purpose space bookend and anchor additional green space. These spaces are designed as compliments to the overall concept and further enhance its unique and grand character.

For the customer’s convenience and enhanced malling experience, SM City Grand Central has a total of 700 parking slots including regular car slots, PWD car slots, and motorcycle slots.

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UB ROSA: The Crucifix of a Poet and other Poems is a collection of written works by Maria Linda Hanihara, an award-winning creative writer, editor, lawyer, wife and a devoted mother to her special child, Mina Ellen. Launched recently via online, the poetry book is the author’s open vault containing a compilation of her thoughts, feelings and experiences about her personal life, and more importantly, her journey with her daughter.

First printed in May 2014, Sub Rosa features poems she has written over a span of several years that the poet had kept to herself.

For Linda then, writing was more of a hobby while she pursued other fields of study, but her brilliance with the pen shined through even without the grind.

“Writing has always been her life’s passion.

She would write poems everywhere she goes, especially when she’s travelling,” according to Milagros F. Viernes, Linda’s sister.

The poetry book offers 125 poems, including the masterpieces that first appeared in Focus magazine, 1976, 1980; Literary Apprentice, 1981-82; Inspirations in Ink, 1992, and Caracoa III, 1983.

The second printing of Sub Rosa in June 2017. “The collection gives a picture of a woman who is intelligent, very emotional and passionate, and very hurt. Frailty and strength mix in her like soda and gin, though her strength is usually a front and takes more force with each betrayal and searing disappointments in her love affairs, whether romantic or otherwise… (Sub Rosa) is interesting for the stuff in it,” wrote Filipino poet Ricardo de Ungria.

As readers would decipher from her pieces, Linda’s success in life is one wherein the author depicts her loneliness and yearning while caring for her special child. Amidst that,

MARIA Linda Hanihara she carried on with her life in gratitude and in God’s grace. Mina Ellen Felipe-Hanihara was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1994. A special child who can not speak or talk, she had her first solo exhibition entitled “Let Us Blend and Brew, Three in One for Kalikasan in 2017”, sponsored by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in celebration of the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week. Featured were 13 beautiful paintings of trees, mountains, flowers and the environment among others.

In 2019, she had her 2nd solo exhibition dubbed “September to Remember” again at the DENR where a total of 13 acrylic painting on canvass were displayed at the Biodiversity Management Bureau, Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife under the leadership of Ms. Julie Gorospe-Ibuan, Chief of the Stakeholders Management and Conflict Resolution Division. Mina’s paintings were also exhibited at the Philippine Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany. The exhibition was titled Art Beyond the Spectrum of a Girl with Autism.

Sub Rosa is available only in Amazon.

Please click https://www.amazon.com/Sub-RosaCrucifix-Other-Poems-ebook/dp/B09K37YHXW

11th Asian Excellence Awards lauds MPIC with six coveted recognitions

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ETRO Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) recently won big at the 11th Asian Excellence Awards, earning six coveted recognitions for corporate governance, investor relations, and corporate social responsibility.

Accolades included Asia’s Best CEO (Investor Relations) for Mr. Jose Ma. K. Lim, Asia’s Best CFO (Investor Relations) for Ms. Chaye Cabal-Revilla, Best Investors Relations Professional for MPIC VP for Investor Relations Maricris AldoverYsmael, Best Investor Relations Company (Philippines), Best Environmental Responsibility, and Asia’s Best CSR. Since its inception in 2011, the Asian Excellence Awards have bestowed merits designed to recognize the achievements and excellence in management acumen, financial performance, corporate social responsibility, environmental practices and investor relations. For over a decade, they have honored individuals and companies.

Champions with a Purpose

LIM, a seasoned Best CEO winner from various award-giving bodies, has been integral in the progress that MPIC has made

for over a decade now. Under his leadership, MPIC has transformed from humble beginnings to an internationally recognized corporation with a goal of uplifting the lives of every Filipino.

“Our commitment to good governance is borne out of our belief in its importance to our success. Robust corporate governance policies translate to a higher level of trust from stakeholders and are key drivers of creating long-term value,” says Lim. Cabal-Revilla, who has already taken significant strides to reinforce MPIC’s sustainability thrust in her first year with MPIC, is no stranger to such accolades.

Earning multiple Best CFO distinctions from various organizations, her passion to integrate profit with purpose truly sets her apart.

“Our investments in the country are a mutual integration of developing infrastructure and creating a pervasive and positive impact in the lives of both our countrymen and our planet,” says Cabal-Revilla.

In line with being named Asia’s Best CSR and Best in Environmental Responsibility, MPIC has always integrated environmental

and social responsibility into all its business operations, making it a point to design, build, and operate its businesses with the least environmental and social disruption. The company always conducts business in a manner that places emphasis on the social and environmental impact on the communities where it operates.

Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF), the company’s corporate social responsibility arm mobilized various initiatives through a collaborative social response by managing key partnerships to ensure the success of all its efforts. MPIC and MPIF developed long-term, sustainable programs that ensured food security including physical and mental wellbeing for its beneficiaries.

The company’s commitment to the environment remained unfaltering despite the challenging times. Shore It Up!, its flagship program for the environment, provided alternative livelihood to its partner coastal communities protecting the environment Guided by its Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s mindset, MPIC and MPIF continuously create initiatives fueled by their ability to reach out and change more than one life.

MPIC and MPIF not only promote a green environment but create sustainable programs that ensure its conservation and protection; not only promote education and training, but mobilize initiatives that provide learning opportunities for students, as well as individuals who wish to improve their bankable skills; and go beyond providing handouts to those in need, and instead organize efforts that will help them attain self-sufficiency in the long run.

PHA SUPPORTS THE NATIONAL CHILDREN’S MONTH. The 2021 theme is: New Normal Na Walang Iwanan. Karapatan ng Bawat Bata ang Ating Tutukan. Three pediatric cardiologists-members of the Philippine Heart Association, namely Dr. Monette Pasumbal, Past President, PHA S. Mindanao-Davao; Dr. Shelah Salaya Ruffert, Member, PHA Western Visayas; and Dr. Aurora Gamponia, Director, PHA Head, Pediatric Department Philippine Heart Center; shared their experiences in handling children with Rheumatic Heart disease and Congenital Heart Disease. At the zoom event on November 24, the PHA Council on RF/RHD and Council on Congenital Heart Disease will embark on the Expansion of the PHA 52100 (5 servings of vegetables/fruits; not more than 2 hours of video times/not more than 2 gms of added salt; 1 hour of physical activity daily; 0 sugared beverage and 0 smoking) by infusing it with the Heart Health Chart for Kids. The PHA also expressed support to the Expansion of the COVID Vaccination in children.

It‘s time for the changing of the guard of the PFA

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RESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion welcomed the new leadership of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), saying this comes at a critical time for the PFA and its membership as MSMEs now are adjusting to a post-pandemic business environment.

“This passing of the baton is meaningful in many ways, as the new PFA must now guide its members in adapting

to a business environment changed by the pandemic,” he said.

At the ceremony held last November 24 at the Manila Polo Club, outgoing PFA Chairman Richard Sanz turned over the chairmanship of the organization to Sherill Quintana. Also sworn in was incoming PFA President Sam Christopher Lim, who replaces Quintana as the PFA’s president.

Mr. Lim is the son of PFA Chairman Emeritus Dr. Samie Lim.

AT THE TURNOVER CEREMONY. (bottom row, L-R): Dr. Samie Lim, PFA Chairman Emeritus; Ms. Sherill Quintana, Outgoing PFA President and Incoming Chairman; Mr. Chris Lim, Incoming PFA President, PA Joey Concepcion; Atty. Rowel Barba, Director General of IPOPHIL; Dr. Bing Sibal-Limjoco, PFA Vice Chairman; Mr. Robert Trota, PFA Vice Chairman; (top from left to right): Mr. Joe Mari Del Rosario, PFA Director for Foreign Franchises (Non-Food); Dr. Carl Balita, newly elected PFA Board of Trustee; Dr. Alan Escalona, PFA Director for Education; Mr. Richard Sanz, Outgoing PFA Chairman; Mr. Vicente Gregorio, newly elected PFA Board of Trustee.

Marketing BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, November 29, 2021 B7

The coronavirus chronicles: Workplace habits shouldn’t return post pandemic

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PR Matters

By Millie F. Dizon

ITH the easing of restrictions as cases decline, offices that have been on a work-from-home mode are slowly opening again. And employers are spending a lot of time determining how to bring people safely back into the office.

However, in an article in Inc.com, Katie Burke, Chief People Officer of Hubspot, says “health and safety measures aren’t the only aspects of workplaces that need to evolve. “ Instead, “leaders should use this opportunity to part ways with office norms that no longer serve their employees—and maybe never did.”

While it’s natural to want to return to “the way things were,” she suggests that “instead of harping on nostalgia, you need to think about the long-term changes you can make in your office works rather than temporary changes driven by the pandemic.

Burke lists “four things I believe will make the office better if we leave them in the pre-pandemic area in her article 4 Workplace Habits You Shouldn’t Bring Back to the Office Post-Pandemic.” Here are her suggestions on creating a workplace we want in the future.

While Covid restrictions may force us to rethink meeting rooms, Burke challenges us to rethink the meeting itself. “Let’s make better use of our time and energy by sending a pre-meeting memo and using our time together to align on actions and decisions,” she suggests.

Rather than spending a lot of time on updates, Burke says “considering a Loom video and allowing folks to react and respond asynchronously” may be a better option.

Burke also recommends rethinking of those long and laborious meetings that marked the pre-pandemic era. She cites the National Bureau of Economic research which indicates that the number of meetings per person has risen by 12 percent since the pandemic, yet the average length of a meeting has declined by 20 percent.

“That means that despite people’s calendars booked more often, there’s a bigger appetite for bite-sized meetings over the longer 60 to 90 minute sessions,” she says.

2. Scheduling after-work events

Time was when we would rush to cocktails, dinners, or meetings after office hours.

Those of us that belong to several civic and trade organizations would hop from one meeting after another. Remember the time we would plan our workday wardrobes with clothes that would take us from the office and beyond?

The pandemic, of course, has changed all that.

Insight: Southeast Asia’s digitally savvy shoppers drive retail reinvention and spur optimism for a tech-driven future according to Zalora report

SINGAPORE—ZALOR A, part of Global Fashion Group (GFG) and Southeast Asia’s leading fashion and lifest yle e-commerce player, forecasts robust growth and reinvention in Southeast Asia’s retail landscape going into 2022.

In its latest TRENDER 2021 Report, the company outlines key technological shifts in digital payment and consumer experience that come hand in hand with shoppers’ rising digital savviness and taste for luxury and sustainability, among others.

ZALOR A’s Southeast Asia TRENDER Report 2021, publishes findings against the backdrop of the region’s gradual travel resumption and retail recovery, especially as vaccination programmes continue gathering pace across markets like Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Forecasting key megatrends and demand patterns to inform retail strate-

WWW.FREEPIK.COM

1. Hosting long and laborious meetings.

While these events were essentially for bonding and networking and had good points, Burke says, “we have to be more intentional about creating meaningful connections with our colleagues while still allowing folks to keep their life-work balance.”

Instead of events after five, she suggests “to add breaks within the workday—where teams can connect and socialize—that don’t start super early or end late so everyone can attend whether they are in the office or working remotely.

3. Coming to the office when you are sick

Time was when coming in with a high fever was a badge of honor that highlighted our dedication to our work. Not anymore.

Today, we all have, as Burke puts it “an existential dread of walking into a conference room with someone who is coughing and sneezing.”

Many companies have guidelines on work protocols, one of which is advising those not feeling well to take a leave and stay home.

Others even require those feeling under the weather to report to the clinic.

If your company does not have such

gies for 2022, the report is based on a comprehensive analysis powered by ZALOR A’s retail intelligence and data analytics solution, Data by GFG. It includes intel from over 59 million monthly visits, complemented by insights gleaned through a partnership with Google and other partners.

“The dawn of a new era of retail is already here in Southeast Asia. As consumers become more discerning and connected, we are seeing incredible innovations happening in the retail sector that completely reimagine the shopping experience,” said Gunjan Soni, Chief Executive Officer, ZALORA Group. “Our f lagship state-of-the-industry report helps facilitate the industry’s evolution by allowing more brands to understand the changing market and anticipate what the future holds. Our focus continues to be on consumer behaviours [vs. market size outlooks] and how these are evolving.”

Shoppers of tomorrow: Digital and diverse across Southeast Asia

n Digital diaspora: According to Google, 40M new Internet users came online in 2021, bringing the internet penetration in Southeast Asia (SEA) to 75%.

In fact, 8 out of 10 Internet users in the region are digital consumers. Recognising this shift in adoption, brands quickly expanded their online presence to reach these new digital consumers, with ZALOR A reporting a 19% increase in new brands that joined the platform in 2021.

n Start online, browse more online: 90% of Southeast Asians referred to at least one digital channel while researching their online purchase, according to Google data. The average shopper browses across 7.9 websites before making a decision, up from 5.2 in 2020. n Indonesia: Indonesian shoppers are most likely to spend on beauty products and sports equipment as a form of leisure, despite a dip in consumer sentiment due to the pandemic. n Philippines: Filipino shoppers spend the highest average number of hours online, at close to 11 hours, and are most likely to make purchases based on sustainability considerations. n Malaysia: With the highest percentage of digital natives at 88% (or 22 million), Malaysian shoppers spend close to 9 hours online on average, and are the most likely to be value-driven. n Singapore: As spending on international travel and out-of-home entertainment both dipped by over 60%, shoppers in Singapore are most likely to invest in luxury purchases. Google search data show a 21% year-on-year increase in Singaporeans’ searches for luxury goods.

Signs of the times: Beauty and Luxury on the rise

n Sweet scent of escape: Fragrances dominated ZALOR A’s Personal Care category, overtaking face serums and haircare. This is coupled with a continued increase in the average basket size for

guidelines, avoid the office when you have fever, coughs, or colds. “No one should be expected to show up and tough it out, and no one should be rewarded for doing so,” says Burke. “It simply isn’t worth putting other employees and teammates at risk.”

4. Sitting through painful commute times.

With the easing of restrictions, we see traffic building up again. Lines to trains and public transport have become long and winding again, and Edsa is beginning to look, well, like pre-pandemic Edsa. This means longer time in our daily commute, not to mention increased exposure to other people.

In the US, Burke cites a report which states that the average American worker spent 225 hours, or well over nine full calendar days, commuting before the pandemic.

Seventy five percent of Americans typically travel by car to get to work, which also has a negative impact on carbon emissions.

She noted that there are “definitely advantages to a commute, including separation between work and home and time to think or read, but for many people, commuting for hours at a time is something

Beauty products on the platform. n Luxury pursuits: Google searches for luxury products saw a pronounced increase—especially in Singapore, with a 1.5x uptick versus pre-Covid levels. n Lockdown shopping: Ref lecting the acceleration in the adoption of ecommerce shopping in the region, the average basket size on ZALOR A across Southeast Asia increased from US$77 and 2.18 items pre-Covid to US$85 and 2.37 items during periods of Low Alert, and even further to US$96 and 2.70 items during periods of High Alert. n Keeping it casual and fit: Consumers are investing more in casualwear and focusing on their fitness. As demand for dressier pieces went down, both men and women across the region have spent more on sportswear compared to other product categories. n Almost time to dress up: As consumers start planning their social calendars, forgotten categories are seeing a rebound. For example, when Singapore announced its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) pilot with Germany, search terms for “winter wear” increased by 275% on ZALORA, and searches for thermal clothing rose by 325%.

Here to stay: Digital payments and AR, VR paving the hybrid future

n Rise of alternative payment options: With 290 million ‘unbanked’ people in the region, offering alternative payment methods became a must for online retail-

they would like to avoid doing every single day.” We couldn’t agree more.

For this, she asserts, “Providing options for employees to work when and where they work best will be the best strategy for hiring and retaining top talent, and less congestion on the road in the process.”

All in all, the return to the office “is an opportunity to rebuild what worked and rethink what didn’t. Regardless of what you choose to keep or leave behind, your strategy should be rooted in empathy, clear communication, and a mission to create a better workplace than the one we left.”

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.

We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

ers. One of the more popular options that emerged this year is the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment option. In Indonesia, for example, Google saw a ~10x increase in searches for e-wallet services and ~15x rise in BNPL services over the last five years. Other appealing payment options, like monthly instalments and 0 percent interest fees on credit cards, provide access to quality products and services while also improving financial inclusion. nThe future of retail is virtual: Augmented reality features are no longer a bonus but an expected prerequisite for online retailers. AR has become sought after by various retailers for its ability to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds. In a time where social distancing is still common, the technology is highly sought after.

Now in its second edition, ZALOR A’s Southeast Asia TRENDER Report builds on the strong momentum from ZALOR A’s inaugural report in 2020. Driven by ZALOR A’s data and expertise built over nearly a decade in pioneering Southeast Asia’s e-commerce transformation, the report is positioned as a reference point that helps ZALORA’s 900 brand partners navigate the region’s diversity and evolving retail landscape.

The ZALOR A Southeast Asia TRENDER Report 2021 is supported by the following partners: Google, Mastercard, H&M, Lush, Paula’s Choice, Habib, Atome, Reverie.AI, Visenze, BeLive Technology, TaFF, Finix Wear, Joannalsm, Lily and Lou, and CrescentRating.

Sports

Avaricio goes for title sweep of Riviera Ladies golf crowns

BusinessMirror

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| Monday, November 29, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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Miller confident of doing better in Beijing 2022

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By Josef Ramos

OUR years older and wiser and Asa Miller is more confident this time of conquering China’s snowy mountains in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

“I was 17 in my first Olympics and now I’m 21, I believe I have gained a lot of insight and knowledge around the sport while also being able to improve my overall abilities,” Miller told BusinessMirror from his base in Salt Lake City on Sunday.

The Filipino-American Miller made his Winter Olympics debut in Pyeongchang 2018 where he wound up 70th out of 110 participants with a time of two minutes and 49.95 seconds.

Figure skater Michael Martinez was the only other Filipino in Pyeongchang.

Miller is the country’s lone qualifier for Beijing for having surpassed the International Skiing Federation threshold of 160 points. He has since 2018 been honing in the US and Europe.

“My experience will help separate me from the others and give myself a better chance to ski my best in February,” he said. “I’m so excited, I think the last time was when I’m just getting the experience to represent the Philippines.”

“Now at 21, I have a much better understanding or perspective of what’s going to anticipate there,” he added.

He will be competing against 150 other athletes in the February 4 to 20 Games, the second Olympics Beijing is hosting after the 2008 Summer Games.

Athletes from Norway, Austria, France and the US dominate Miller’s event but he said he’s prepared for the competition.

“I have no placement goals, but I hope to showcase the best of my abilities in the competition, and give a proud representation of the Philippines at the Games,” said Miller, an Economics Major at Westminster College also in Salt Lake City.

He is coached and trained by American Will Gregorak, a top 50 giant slalom skier in the world.

Miller’s father is American, Kelly works at Microsoft as a program manager, while his mother, Polly Bisquera, is originally from Manila. His 16-year-old sister Kaia is a competitive gymnast and volleyball player.

ASA MILLER is competing in his second consecutive Winter Olympics.

NEW VARIANT

HOUNDS SPORTS

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APE TOWN, South Africa—Golf, cricket and rugby became the first major sports to be affected by the new Covid-19 variant heading into the weekend, prompting fears of renewed travel restrictions and disrupted events just as they were returning to normal nearly two years into the pandemic.

European golfers withdrew midway through the season-opening DP World Tour tournament in Johannesburg and were scrambling to catch flights out of South Africa.

Visiting cricket and rugby teams were doing the same.

Golf was the first to be hit by the emergence of the new B.1.1.529 variant that was initially identified in South Africa and is causing concern over fears that it may be more transmissible than current variants and resistant to vaccines.

It has already been detected in Israel, Hong Kong and Belgium as well as several other countries in southern Africa.

While the start of the World Tour was ruined, rugby games in South Africa in a new EuropeanSouth African tournament were postponed “due to the sudden developments,” organizers said.

A tour to South Africa by India’s cricket team next month was likely

Sultan joins Ancajas in LA training camp

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ERWIN ANCAJAS will have rising star Jonas Sultan at training camp when he preps for his bid to annex Kazuto Ioka’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) belt to his International Boxing Federation super flyweight crown.

Ancajas’s 155-pount unification fight with the Japanese Ioka is set on New Year’s Eve in Ota-City in Tokyo.

“It’s time to return the favor to Jerwin after he helped me in my recent fight,” said Sultan, a potential world champion from Tampilisan, Zambonga del Norte. “I will help them there. This

OW unburdened by expectations and pressure to deliver a first win, Chanelle Avaricio bursts with confidence as she heads to Langer course, hopeful to make it backto-back in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Riviera Ladies Championship beginning Wednesday in Silang, Cavite.

Avaricio ended a two-year title hunt that included a couple of runner-up finishes this year, routing the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Challenge field by seven behind an early birdie and eagle feat in the final round that rallied her from two down to post one of the most lopsided victories on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) the last eight years.

Admitting her seven-shot victory over Harmie Constantino and Chihiro Ikeda last Friday exceeded her expectations, Avaricio hopes to build on her romp as she tries to complete a sweep of the Riviera swing of the ICTSI-sponsored circuit on a tougher, exacting course that puts premium on everything.

fight is very big for Jerwin, he waited for this for a very long time.”

Ancajas was on Sultan’s camp when he fought a heavily-favored Top Rank fighter Carlos Caraballo, beating the Puerto Rican via unanimous decision last October 30 to capture the WBO bantamweight inter-continental belt at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Sultan believes Ancajas can win the unification bout.

“One hundred percent Jerwin can unify those two belts,” Sultan said. “I know how Jerwin trains and prepares

Food for thought for PCAP

SO the maiden season of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) is done. All wrapped up after the San Juan Predators gained their redemption and revenge of playoffs tormentor Iloilo Kisela Knights last November 2 with a two-set sweep.

I think this has been an incredible season, warts and all.

I love the conference where it’s all Filipino players. I love the Wesley So Cup where there are foreign guest players. And I certainly love the idea of guest foreign teams.

For someone who previously never wrote about chess, it was a revelation, fun, interesting and challenging. I met and made new friends. And tried to help out by teaching

to be reconsidered, although there was no official comment yet.

The Dutch cricket team, already in South Africa for a series, was considering whether to cancel its remaining games and return home early. The Royal Netherlands Cricket Federation said it was looking at options but was “unlikely” to be able to find flights at short notice.

“The physical and mental health of the players is the first priority,” the federation said.

Organizers of golf ’s Joburg Open, which started Thursday, said it would continue even after at least 23 mostly European players pulled out in the hours after South African health authorities announced they had detected the new variant. The tournament was later reduced to a 54-hole, three-round event ending on Saturday “to help non-South African resident players, caddies and tournament support staff return to their home countries,” the organizers said.

The Joburg Open was scheduled to be the first of three events in South Africa to start the new season on the circuit formerly known as the European Tour. But next week’s South African Open will now only be a South African tour event with international players likely to head home to beat travel restrictions. The

Alfred Dunhill Championship set for December 9 top 12 was canceled.

Many of the players who withdrew from the Joburg Open were from Britain or Ireland and reacted following the British government’s announcement that it would reimpose a ban on visitors from South Africa and five other southern African countries from 4 a.m.

Sunday. Returning residents would have compulsory 10-day quarantine periods in designated hotels.

The European Union and the United States later said they also would stop air travel from the southern African region as countries across the world began putting in place new travel restrictions.

Irish golfer Paul Dunne, one of those to withdraw, told RTE Radio that he had managed to get a flight home via Dubai and the only ones now available went through Ethiopia, where a yearlong conflict now threatens to reach the capital, Addis Ababa.

“Nobody fancies traveling through there either,” Dunne said. “Bit of a minefield at the minute.”

Not all were leaving. Scottish golfer David Drysdale said he had decided to keep playing in the Joburg Open and then stay in South Africa with his wife, who is also his caddy, and make a vacation of it. AP

that’s why I trust him in this fight.

Sultan will fly to Los Angeles on December 6, five days ahead of the 29-year-old Ancajas and trainer-manager Joven Jimenez.

He has fought twice in Japan— he beat Go Onaga via unanimous decision in November 15, 2015, in Tomigusuku and Tatsuya Ikemizu via technical knockout in March 27, 2016 in Kadoma.

“I experienced fighting there twice and the Japanese people are very fair and reasonable unlike in other places,” he said. “So I believe Jerwin will have no problem there.”

Sultan has an 18-5 won-lost record with 11 knockouts. Josef Ramos

A RESIDENT from the Alexandra township in Johannesburg gets tested for Covid-19. AP

them simple methods to help their teams and players.

The league and its exceptional leadership have done great work and have seen what needs fixing for the second season.

Here is my unsolicited advice to what needs doing heading into the second year.

Some team owners need to seriously think about their squads and what they are doing.

You cannot simply form a team and not think about budgets, return of investment, marketing, as well as short and long term goals.

It must be excruciating for the bottom tier teams to be fed to the lions twice a week. The questions are—how do we get better and do we even want to compete?

Teams must have financial flexibility to participate and it should be reviewed. And if they cannot, the players must go to a dispersal draft.

I even think teams should pay a bond for them to compete for at least two seasons. If they have no infractions, team penalties, or even sanctions, then the entire bond should be refunded in full.

The draft.

In my opinion, all players who did not participate as a professional player in PCAP’s maiden year, cannot be free agent signings. They should all go to draft with the teams from the bottom getting the first crack at the top talent.

Now this is the tricky part. Why will players want to go to the bottom teams? They have to show ambition, financial wherewithal and proper organization and

CHANELLE AVARICIO ends a two-year title hunt by posting a convincing seven-shot victory last week.

“Hope to score more wins,” said the Alabama State U product, who produced great shots and drained long putts to anchor her breakthrough win aided by her rivals’ breakdown in the closing holes.

But she will need to double her effort to score a repeat since Langer remains a daunting challenge and the likes of Constantino, Ikeda, Sunshine Baraquiel, Marvi Monsalve, Daniella Uy, Florence Bisera and Korean Jane Jeong are all coming into the event eager to rebound and prick Avaricio’s growing bubble.

The 54-hole, P750,000 championship will also feature not only another spirited chase for low amateur honors but a fierce battle for the overall crown as well as Mafy Singson and Laurea Duque scale up their respective bids to upstage the pros and become the first amateur to win an LPGT crown in two years.

But Avaricio, along with Constantino, Ikeda, Baraquiel and Uy, won’t have any of that as they go all-out to impose their will over their amateur counterparts, who, however, have so far stepped up and provided the challenge that have brought out the best from the touring ladies in the last few tournaments.

Constantino, for one, is going all-out to atone for her Couples foldup and re-set her drive for a third crown in a prolific rookie season that saw her mark her pro debut with a victory over multi-titled Princess Superal last March. She followed it up with a oneshot escape over Singson early this month, both at Aoki.

Ikeda also believes she’s due for a big finish after back-to-back joint runner-up efforts at Aoki and Highlands while Baraquiel hopes to sustain her steady form despite a fourth place finish at Couples following a breakthrough win at Highlands in windy play.

The Tour winds up with the ICTSI Midlands Ladies Classic set December 14 to 16.

PNVF Champions League returns with men’s tourney in Lipa City

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HE men’s clubs take centerstage in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League on Monday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center in Lipa City.

Seven teams are expected to go all out as they chase the bragging rights as the inaugural men’s champion of the country’s first-ever Champions League, a historic feat achieved by F2 Logistics in the women’s contest on Thursday.

The winner in the men’s tournament will join the Cargo Movers as the country’s representative to the Asian Men’s and Women’s Club Volleyball Championships in May next year.

Go For Gold, Basilan Steel and

esprit de corps. There should be contracts. Hey, this is a professional league, right?

So there’s the dispersal draft and the draft for the newcomers and that should include any of the guest players.

There should be control measures for player movement and to prevent player piracy and those looking for unfair advantages. There should be release forms.

Before you transfer you must seek a release. Now, there should also be a measure to prevent teams from unjustly holding back a player.

The guest teams—well, it was nice giving exposure to the junior players—but getting their butts kicked doesn’t look good score-wise and professionally for the league.

Pengcheng was an eyesore. Having its ass routinely handed back to them, 21-0, is as bad as those 14-1 hidings by the Loyola Meralco Sparks of inferior competition during the United Football League’s 2011 season.

Maybe if teams have different levels of talent and muscle, should there be Division 1 and Division 2?

What if there is promotion and relegation? The lower two teams of north and south groups of Division 1 get relegated to Division 2 while their top four teams get promoted? That number of course, can be pared down to the cellar dweller of the north and south.

That way, there is a sense of urgency even in the lower boards.

As for the competition, I don’t think any grandmaster should be competing on the homegrown board. Even if they

VNS are bunched in Pool A, while Pool B is composed of Global Remit, Sabong International Spikers, MRTNegros and Team Dasma.

Go for Gold-Air Force and VNS will open hostilities at 10 a.m., followed by the MRT-Negros and Sabong International Spikers duel at 1:30 p.m.

Global Remit and Team Dasma cap a three-match schedule at 4 p.m.

Basilan Steel Spikers Amin-Anak Mindanao drew an opening day bye and will play Go for Gold on Tuesday in the tournament that has Rebisco, Pitmaster Foundation Inc., Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors and F2 Logistics, Asics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation and Mikasa as gold sponsors and BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Lipa City, Davis Paint and Emerald PVC Pipes, Fittings and Doors as silver sponsors with PNVF godfather, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Champions League, giving his full support.

The teams will be figure in a round-robin preliminaries with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the semifinals.

The games are live streamed over the PNVF official web site volleyballphilippines.com, iWantTFC for local and international audiences, Puso Pilipinas and Smart Sports Facebook pages and YouTube channels and Gigaplay.

are from that particular hometown. They should compete anywhere from the top four boards. Homegrown, uh uh.

I think players when they compete should be dressed properly. They cannot and should not be wearing inappropriate attire. And while we know they are at home, maybe they can fix their backgrounds into something more palatable to the eye.

We have recommended this to the league’s leadership of having a game separated from the main Wednesdays and Saturday games. Sort of like the National Football League’s Monday Night Football that is like the featured Game of the Week. It is the big match of that week and you want everyone watching it.

Having said that, work on a rivalry week—Iloilo versus Negros. Manila versus Quezon City. The Cebu teams should go at it.

The National Hockey League has its Winter Classic and that is reserved for the intense rivalries between hockey clubs. That would be interesting.

Chess is such a faceless sport. Are all our local grandmasters known? Does the common tao know what they look like? The players—titled or not, and of both sexes— should be promoted by their teams. You want people rooting for them especially for the cities and towns whose names they carry. Do those cities and towns even know they exist?

There’s a lot to ruminate on but it can only make PCAP much better. And the second season should be exciting because everyone knows about it now.