BusinessMirror October 01, 2021

Bank lending snaps 8-month contraction C REDIT activity in the country finally crawled back to growth territory in August, after being in the contraction territory for eight months, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Thursday.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno reported that bank lending expanded by 1.3 percent in August following a 0.7-percent decline in July.

“This is the first reported expansion in outstanding loans after eight consecutive months of contractions amid improvements in sentiment brought about by the continued rollout

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of Covid-19 vaccines and the gradual easing of quarantine restrictions,” Diokno said.

Bank lending first collapsed into contraction territory in December 2020 by 0.7 percent as the restrictions brought about by the pandemic affected the local banking industry.

The contraction persisted amid the sustained all-time low monetary policy rate in place.

In comparison, the Philippines’s bank lending grew 13.6 percent before the onslaught of the global health crisis in March 2020.

“Together with the national government’s fiscal and health

interventions, the BSP’s prevailing accommodative monetary policy stance should help boost domestic demand and market confidence in support of economic activity,” Diokno said.

Contributing to the improvement in the total bank credit in August was the increase in outstanding loans for production activities, which grew by 3.1 percent in August from 0.8 percent in the previous month.

The BSP said expansion was driven by the growth in loans for real-estate activities at 7.2 percent; information and communication at 20.3 percent; manufacturing at 3 percent;

professional, scientific and technical activities at 89.8 percent; and transportation and storage at 9.5 percent.

However, the decrease in outstanding loans to other industries such as agriculture, forestry and fishing at 6.8 percent; wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles at 2 percent; and activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and services at 25.5 percent tempered the overall expansion in outstanding loans for production activities.

See “bank,” A2

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RECORD HIGH OF P11.6T T

2022 budget OK in House boosted by PRRD letter

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

HE outstanding debt of the national government has hit another record high of P11.64 trillion as of end-August this year, rising by more than a fifth from a year ago amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

From only P9.62 trillion as of August 2020, the outstanding debt has already gone up by 21.1 percent.

In just a month, it has also increased by P32.05 billion or 0.28 percent from P11.61 trillion recorded in July this year.

Taking the bulk of the debt stock as of end-August are domestic borrowings which cornered

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

F

70.6 percent while the remaining 29.4 percent were from foreign sources. Both domestic debt and foreign debt also grew year-onyear during the period.

Domestic debt has a lready reached P8.22 trillion, soaring by 22.5 percent from P6.7 trillion in August last year.

See “NG’s,” A2 China Airlines flew in 1,233,300 doses of Moderna vaccines on September 30, 2021. The government procured 863,800 doses and the private sector, 369,500.

President Duterte has approved the vaccination of the general population, including minors, against Covid-19. The government has so far prioritized the inoculation of medical frontliners, senior citizens, individuals with comorbidities, economic frontliners and indigents. NAIA MEDIA AFFAIRS DIVISION

OLLOWING the urgent certification from President Duterte, the House of Representatives was expected to approve both on second and third reading the House Bill 10153 or the proposed 2022 General Appropriations Act on Thursday.

This after the House of Representatives received late Wednesday a message from Duterte certifying House Bill 10153 as urgent, thus requesting its immediate approval.

See “2022,” A2

Investments boost hot money recovery

By Bianca Cuaresma

S

With the urgent need to help farmers due to the crippling effects of the pandemic, Sen. Cynthia Villar has expressed confidence President Duterte will soon sign into law the Cash Assistance to Filipino Rice Farmers Act of 2020 to benefit 1.6 million small rice farmers. Villar chairs the Senate agriculture committee. See story on A4 Economy. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

PESO exchange rates n US 50.9590

@BcuaresmaBM

HORT-TERM investments made by foreign investors to the Philippines climbed back to the net inflow territory in August due to higher investments coming into the country during the month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Thursday.

The BSP said the total gross i n f lo w s of $ 8 0 7 m i l l ion i n

August more than offset the $795-million gross outflows for the month, resulting in the net inflow that reversed the net outflows of $340 million recorded in July.

FPI are known as “ hot” or “specu l at ive” money because they are easily pulled in and out of the local platforms in the slight change of global and local sentiment.

The BSP attributed the recovery of FPI to various domestic

developments during the month, including the improvement in corporate earnings for the second quarter of 2021, the recomposition of Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) benchmark index and the narrowing of the National Government’s fiscal deficit for the month of July 2021.

This was accompanied by the release of data on Overseas Filipinos (OFs) personal remittances for the first half of the year, inflation for July 2021, and gross

domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2021.

O t he r d e ve lo pme nt s t h at might have influenced investor sentiment during the month on the other side were the reimplementation of strict quarantine measures in selected areas of the country, and the lowering of GDP growth target by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

See “Investments,” A2

n japan 0.4552 n UK 68.4277 n HK 6.5458 n CHINA 7.8744 n singapore 37.4368 n australia 36.5733 n EU 59.1073 n SAUDI arabia 13.5862

Source: BSP (September 30, 2021)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, October 1, 2021

Investments…

Continued from A1

The $807-million registered investments for August 2021 reflected a 10.6-percent increase compared to the gross inflows of $730 million in July.

About 64.7 percent of investments registered were in listed securities, mainly in food, beverage and tobacco companies, property companies, holding firms, banks and transportation services.

The remaining 35.3 percent went to investments in Peso government securities.

Broken down, the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Norway and Luxembourg were the top 5 investor countries for the month with a combined share of 79.3 percent.

The $795-million gross outflows for the month were also lower by 25.6 percent than the $1.1 billion seen in July. The US received 69 percent of total outflows during the month.

The positive August hot money performance of the country brought the total net outflows of the country to $298.56 million in the first eight months of the year.

This is significantly lower than the $4.09-billion net outflows seen in the same January-to-August period in 2020.

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BSP: Inflation may hit 4.8-5.6% in Sept on increasing food prices

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

@BcuaresmaBM

HE growth of consumer prices did not tame down, and could have possibly gone up significantly in September, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday.

In a virtual press briefing, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said their latest inf lation assessment shows that inf lation could have hit somewhere between 4.8 percent and 5.6 percent in September. The August inf lation was at 4.9 percent.

“Inf lation will be driven by the upward adjustments in domestic oil prices, Meralco electricity rates, suggested retail prices [SRP] of basic necessities and prime commodi-

2022…

Continued from A1

ties, and prices of selected fruits and vegetables as well as rice,” Diokno said. “ These could be partially offset by the decline in meat prices along with the slight appreciation of the peso,” he added.

The current eight-month inf lation average of the country is at 4.4 percent. If inf lation reaches the upper end of the governor’s monthly target, this could rise to 4.5 percent

The President, in a letter addressed to Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, stressed the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the fiscal year.

for the nine-month average.

T he gover nment ’s t a rget range for inf lation for the year is at 2 to 4 percent.

In its September policy meeting, the BSP said inflation is now expected to average 4.4 percent, representing an upward adjustment from the 4.1-percent forecast in August.

The BSP also said earlier that monthly inflation could hit above 5 percent in September and will still remain elevated in October before falling to within the target range of 2 to 4 percent in November.

With inf lation drifting further away from the target band, Diokno vowed to keep a close eye on developments.

“The BSP will continue to monitor emerging price developments to help ensure that its primary mandate of price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable eco-

nomic growth is achieved,” Diokno said on Thursday.

ING Bank economist Nicholas Mapa expressed confidence that despite the recent uptick in inflation, the headline print is widely expected to dip back within target by as early as November as base effects turn favorable.

“With the Central Bank helping support the recovery, we have always expected the eventual policy reversal to take place sometime in the second quarter of 2022, even if inf lation by then would have reverted back to target,” Mapa said. “ We e x pec t Diok no to meticulously time the start and pace of the exit strategy to help ensure growth and si mu lt a neou sly m a i nt a i n financial stability amidst well-anchored inf lation expectations,” he added.

Duterte also emphasized expeditious funding of various programs, projects, and activities for next year and ensured budgetary preparedness to enable the government to perform its constitutional mandate effectively.

With this certification from the Palace, House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Eric Go Yap said the 2022 national budget will be approved on final reading within Thursday.

Congress dispenses with the three-day rule for passage of a measure when a certification is issued. The budget bill will be immediately transmitted to the Senate.

Congress will go on a break starting October 1 to November 7 as candidates for all national and local positions are expected to file their certificates of candidacy.

With the theme, “Sustaining the Legacy of Real Change for Future Generations,” the P5.024-trillion NEP for 2022 is equivalent to 22.8 percent of gross domestic product [GDP] and is higher by 11.5 percent than this year’s national budget.

For 2022, the government expects to generate P3.290 trillion in total revenues, representing 14.9

percent of the GDP. Deficit as a share of GDP will reach 7.5 percent in 2022, lower than the 9.3 percent of GDP program this year.

According to the Department of Budget and Management [DBM], the 2022 national budget was carefully crafted to provide funding to support the country’s resilience against the Covid-19 pandemic, to sustain the trajectory of economic growth, and to continue the legacy of infrastructure development.

The DBM said bulk of the budget—P1.456 trillion or 29.0 percent of the FY 2022 NEP—will go to Personnel Services expenditures for hiring of health-care workers and teaching personnel, the implementation of the third tranche of the Salary Standardization Law V, and the requirements of the 2018 Military and Uniformed Personnel pension arrears, among others.

Capital Outlays are pegged at P939.8 billion while Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures, P777.9 billion next year, it said.

The agency said debt burden amounts to P541.3 billion, which corners 10.8 percent of the 2022 NEP and is lower by 3.4 percent yearon-year.

Bank…

Continued from A1

Household loans dip

Despite the positive development in loans for production activities, loans for Filipino households continued to fall during the month.

The BSP said consumer loans to residents remained subdued, contracting by 8.1 percent in August from an 8.2-percent decrease in July.

This was largely due to the continued decline in motor

vehicle and credit-card loans.

ING Bank economist Nicholas Mapa attributed the bank lending recovery to the cuts made by the BSP in monetary policy.

“Bank lending showed a pulse in August, 8 months after the last round of BSP policy rate reductions. Given the nature of monetary policy, any action taken by the BSP will generally need a good 6 to 9 months before feeding through to the real economy,” Mapa said.

“The expected lag from BSP rate cuts has finally been able to manifest in bank lending numbers with the aggressive policy accommodation finally bearing fruit,” he added.

Meanwhile, domestic liquidity continued to expand during the month.

Preliminary data show that domestic liquidity (M3) expanded by 6.9 percent year-on-year to about P14.4 trillion in August 2021.

This was faster than the 5.9-percent growth posted in July. Bianca Cuaresma

NG’s…

Continued from A1

Compared with P8.12 trillion in the previous month, domestic debt has also inched up by P100.7 billion or 1.2 percent.

On the other hand, foreign debt as of end-August amounted to P3.42 trillion, posting a double-digit growth of 17.9 percent year-on-year from P2.9 trillion.

Unlike domestic debt, foreign debt fell by 2 percent or P68.65 billion when compared to the previous month’s level at P3.49 trillion. The monthon-month decline in foreign debt was attributed by the Treasury to the net repayment of foreign loans amounting to P34.22 billion.

Apart from this, the peso value of external obligations was lowered due to the local and third-currency f luctuations against the US Dollar.

Meanwhile, total outstanding guaranteed debt also went down by 3.3 percent to P432.22 billion from P446.997 billion in August 2020.

Likewise, it also dropped by 2.7 percent from P444.31 billion in July this year.

According to the Treasury, net repayments on both domestic and exter na l g uarantees caused the decline in guaranteed obligations.

The government expects outstanding debt to hit P11.73 trillion by the end of this year and P13.42 trillion in 2022.

Debt crisis?

Freedom from Debt Coalition’s Rovik Obanil warned on Thursday that the country could be facing a similar crisis period in the 1980s given the spike in the country’s debts, the widening deficit as well as the drop in revenues.

“Considering what we noted as our ballooning debt in the face of declining revenue generation, such that our budget deficit is widening, I must repeat that there is a very real danger we could be entering another period of crisis similar to the 1980s,” Obanil said in a virtual forum.

Using Treasury data, Obanil pointed out that the average annual growth rate of outstanding debt of the national government under the Duterte administration is 3.5 times that of the Aquino administration.

To address the debt situation, FDC Board Member Racquel Castillo proposed some policy actions, including the imposition of wealth tax, revival of Congressional debt audit as well as cancellation of all debt interest payment and suspension of all loan principal payments for three years at the minimum, while the economy has yet to get back on its feet.

“It’s obscene that those who lend money during these times of Covid will still draw profit, from the interest on what they loan out,” Castillo said.

The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio this year is projected to rise to 59.1 percent 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.

The Department of Finance also sees the national government returning to its pre-pandemic debt and budget deficit levels as early as 2024 or by 2025, if the recommended fiscal measures are passed early by the next administration and if the economy quickly recovers.

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, October 1, 2021 A3

Lopez bats for biz opening, but in various operating capacities

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is proposing to allow all businesses to open but at different operating capacities depending on the alert level status of their location.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez is pitching for this option to avoid disruptions in business operations, which can delay the country’s economic recovery.

He admitted that an “open-closeopen system” is difficult for businesses, prompting many of them to just decide to close their establishments.

“So the good approach is to have continuity in operations and jobs, regardless of all levels. Changes only in operating capacity. So there’s continuity, not an open-close-open system,” Lopez said.

The DTI chief said moving from Alert Level (AL) 3 to AL 4, for example, need not necessitate business closures, but a mere reduction in operating capacity.

He said that while some businesses would not want to open at limited capacity given the possibility of not earning any profit, the majority of businesses they consulted supported the idea of continuing their operations even if they can only accommodate a few customers.

These businesses, Lopez said, believe that even if they will operate at

a reduced capacity, this would still lead to additional revenues that they can generate to pay for employee salaries and rental.

“At least there are some revenues coming in. So even if [it’s] at 10 percent indoor and 30 percent outdoor, they’ll take it,” Lopez said in a television interview on Thursday.

Lopez said allowing the operation of more businesses such as gyms and fitness centers will also help improve the health and immunity of Filipinos to diseases, including Covid-19.

However, Lopez said the government will remain open to the possibility of adjusting the operating capacities that will be allowed under various ALs. If allowing businesses to operate will not lead to outbreaks and a surge in cases, the government may consider adjustments.

Lopez told reporters on Viber that these adjustments could mean increasing the operating capacity of businesses to 20 percent or 30 percent for indoor activities in AL 4 areas, and increasing outdoor activities to 50 percent from 30 percent, regardless of vaccination status.

Another option is to use the Safety Seal system, which allows businesses to increase their operating capacity by 10 percentage points if they meet the criteria such as having all their employees vaccinated, among others.

“As mentioned, we are in a pilot stage. We continue to adjust and fine-

tune these rules so that we can really live with the virus, operate, and find that balance between the economy and the health side,” Lopez said.

At the height of the enhanced community qurantine last year, Lopez said 40 percent of businesses in the National Capital Region Plus area were closed. The number of closed establishments continued to decline to as low as 4 percent as the government eased mobility restrictions.

Lopez estimated that around 76,000 to 80,000 firms did not operate even under general community quarantine. This included businesses that are engaged in entertainment and other similar activities.

Further, he said, around 70,000 to 80,000 firms permanently closed because of the pandemic. However, despite this, Lopez said, the number of businesses continued to grow even during the pandemic.

Lopez estimated that there are now around 2 million businesses from around 1.7 million in the pre-pandemic period. Prior to this, there has been a steady increase in new businesses of around 200,000 annually.

He said many of those who lost their jobs decided to register their own online businesses, while other firms adopted new models that required them to operate under a different entity. This has led to the steady climb in the number of establishments in the country.

LGUs can impose vaccination sans existing natl law, DOJ chief says

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has declared that local government units (LGUs) may exercise police power and enact laws that would impose fines against their constituents who continue to refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra explained that LGUs may not wait for a law to be crafted by the legislative branch to implement mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 within their jurisdiction.

“Local government units, through their legislative organs, may also exercise police power. For example, a local ordinance prohibiting video game arcades within a certain dis-

tance from schools is an exercise of police power,” Guevarra said.

“Theoretically, a local ordinance compelling all residents within the territory of the LGU to get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19 may be enacted even without a national law on the matter,” Guevarra added.

But, like any other law, Guevarra said its legality or constitutionality might be questioned before a court. “…Like all other laws and ordinances invoking police power, it may be challenged in court by anyone on the issue of reasonableness, among others,” he added.

In his public address last Monday, President Duterte warned that he would use the State’s police power to compel people to get vaccinated.

However, Guevarra said a law is required if sanctions or penalties would be imposed in the exercise of police power.

“The President correctly invoked police power as the basis to compel anti-Covid-19 vaccination for everyone except those who have valid reasons. The power rests upon the inherent right of the State and the people to self-protection,” he said.

“But this power, especially if accompanied by penalties or sanctions to enforce obedience or compliance, must be exercised through the legislature,” the justice chief added.

Without an enabling law, Guevarra explained that the government may only urge, persuade or try to convince people to heed its call to get vaccinated.

Senators summon Pharmally accountant to bring documents in financial statement

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

ENATE probers are summoning face shield supplier Pharmally’s chief accountant Jeff Mariano to appear next week and produce records on three main items in the company’s financial statements submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as senators dug deeper Thursday into the 2020 audit report on budget utilization of the Department of Health (DOH), including expenditures to contain the Covid contagion.

This, as Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon sought the presence of Mariano at the ne x t hea r i ng , w it h i nst r uctions to bring documents supporting a P33-million deed of donation that Pharmally made to unidentified parties; the P7.486 billion in sales Pharmally declared in its financial statement sent to SEC; and the assets in foreign currencies which generated a declared foreign exchange gains of P63.2 million.

Drilon demanded the presence of Mariano after extensively grilling the external auditor who signed off on Pharmally’s financial statement

submitted to the SEC. The auditor, Illuminada Sebial, told senators she kept no copies of any documents, and that when she started asking Pharmally for these documents because she had been summoned by the senators, Mariano allegedly told her to just say Pharmally was keeping all the papers.

Senators Drilon and Richard J. Gordon, and later joined by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, separately warned Sebial she “could be in trouble” for signing as external auditor without carefully checking the basis for entries in the financial statement.

Special audit

ALSO at Thursday’s hearing, Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Michael Aguinaldo told senators COA has actually started a “special audit” of the use of pandemic funds, as requested of them earlier.

Aguinaldo said he initially targeted the special audit to be done by October, but from all indications, he estimates it could be done only by year-end.

The COA’s 2020 report on “deficiencies” in DOH’s use of pandemic funds had triggered motu proprio investigation by the Blue Ribbon, after

COA flagged the wholesale transfer

by DOH of P42 billion in pandemic response funds to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM). COA said this should not have been done

by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III without a memorandum of agreement between DOH and PS-DBM. PS-DBM’s negotiated contracts with Pharmally has emerged as the most notable among the PS-DBM deals because senators said the latter did not do due diligence on the legal, technical and financial capability of Pharmally, a P650,000 start-up that bagged some P12 billion in contracts from the P42 billion that DOH moved to PS-DBM. At the 10th hearing, two resource persons were a no-show: Krizle Grace Mago, the Pharmally executive who admitted to senators last September 24 that she instructed warehousemen to alter the manufacturing dates of face shields that Pharmally was to supply to DOH; and Rose Nono Lim, another Pharmally executive, whose lawyer said was sidelined by “abdominal pain.”

Mago has gone “missing” since Friday night, after the Senate offered to give her protective custody.

Economy

A4

Friday, October 1, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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PHL pork output to remain flat at 1 million MT in ’22–USDA-FAS

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE country’s pork production next year would likely remain flat at 1 million metric tons (MMT) as domestic hog raisers remain adamant to repopulate amid continuing outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF), according to an international agency.

The United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila) made the projection, noting that any production expansion made by some hog farms would only offset the reduced output in farms still facing ASF challenges.

“Post forecasts 2022 local production flat at 1.0 million MT carcass weight equivalent [CWE], as industry contacts report prospects remain uncertain amid continuing cases across the country,” USDA-FAS Manila said in its Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report published recently.

“While some commercial farms have started to repopulate to maintain their business, producers have generally remained cautious absent a commercially available vaccine,” USDA-FAS Manila added.

The USDA-FAS Manila noted that should the ongoing vaccine trials succeed it may “buoy local producers’ confidence in repopulation and boost domestic production.” However, citing industry contacts, USDA-FAS Manila added that total hog production recovery is not expected until 2024.

“Post maintains 2021 production at 1.0 million MT, as the recent ASF outbreaks in Cagayan Province and Ilocos Norte [both located in northern Luzon] are offset by active repopulation efforts of a few commercial pig farms in Tarlac.

Some ASF-free areas in Mindanao and the Visayas have also increased their production,” it explained.

The USDA-FAS Manila projected that the country’s pork imports next year would decline by 25 percent to 375,000 MT from 500,000 MT this year due to the expiration of the expanded

minimum access volume (MAV) and reversion of tariffs to higher levels.

The drop in domestic pork demand owing to anticipated higher pork prices is also a factor in the decline in pork imports next year, according to the agency.

“Post forecasts 2022 pork per capita consumption dropping to 12.2 kg [kilogram], as the scheduled expiration of the increased MAV allotment and the reversion of pork tariffs push pork prices higher. On the other hand, per capita consumption in 2021 is expected to be 13.5 kg due to the increased market access,” the USDA-FAS Manila said.

TheUSDA-FASManilaprojectedthat total pork consumption next year would decline by 8.33 percent to 1.374 MMT from 1.499 MT estimated this year.

The USDA-FAS Manila noted that the government’s twin measures of lowering pork tariffs and increasing MAV have led to a P20 per kilogram reduction in the retail prices of pork from P380 per kilogram in April to P360 per kilogram in August.

“Following the Philippine govern-

ment’s efforts to increase the pork MAV allocation and lower tariff rates for 2021, rising prices were averted and started to decrease,” it said.

In an earlier statement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said there has been a drop in the retail prices of fresh pork.

Citing its price monitoring reports, the DA said the prevailing price of pork kasim is now at P280 per kilogram compared to P360 per kilogram in January, while pork liempo is now at P340 per kilogram from P400 per kilogram in January.

“The DA projects a continuing downward movement of local pork prices at NCR [National Capital Region] wet markets. The retail prices generally follow the price movements of farm-gate prices of hogs,” it said.

“Available data from hog producers indicate that farm-gate prices have gradually declined since January 2021. If the trend continues, the DA projects retail prices may return back to the price level of September last year,” it added.

Jica-funded road project brings Marawi City ‘back to life’

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HE Depa r t ment of P ub l ic Work s a nd Highways (DPWH) has completed the 18.97-kilometer Marawi Transcentral Road Phase 1, a project financed through an official development assistance (ODA) grant extended by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said the project involves the rehabilitation of several road segments in Lanao del Sur.

“We did not just establish a landmark in a site facing scenic Lake Lanao but this monument area also reminds us that we have the rising and setting sun synonymous with renewal, hope, peace, and wonder for the City of Marawi is back to life,” Villar said.

The fully rehabilitated and improved road network covered by Marawi Transcentral Road Phase 1 are: Bacong-Iligan-Marawi Road, the Bacong-Poona-Marantao-Marawi Road,

GMA Terminal Access, Marawi-Cadre-New Capitol, Marcos Boulevard, Idarus Road Section, the MSU-GMA Road, and the Lumindong-Amaipakpak Avenue.

Marawi was devastated by a siege four years ago. The government has since been trying to rebuild the city through infrastructure development projects.

Jica financed the project through a P970.97-million grant.

For his part, Japanese Ambassador

Kazuhiko Koshikawa said “the rehabilitation and maintenance of roads is indispensable for the movement of people and transport of goods, which is the reason why Japan has been paying utmost attention to the cooperation initiative towards the recovery of Marawi City.”

Villar said the government will “continue to support Marawi City with the ongoing and future infrastructure projects to be the catalyst of growth and development.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

Villar optimistic Duterte will sign cash Velasco ends MWSS stint aid bill for rice farmers bill into law

C

ITING the urgency of helping our farmers due to the crippling effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sen. Cynthia Villar remains confident President Duterte would sign into law the Cash Assistance to Filipino Rice Farmers Act of 2020 that would benefit over 1.673 million small rice farmers.

Villar, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Food Committee, said the Cash Assistance for Filipino Rice Farmers Act of 2020 proposes that any amount in excess of the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) collection by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) shall automatically be given as cash assistance to rice farmers who are tilling 2 hectares or less of rice land, which is estimated at 1.673 million as listed in the Registry System of Basic Sectors (RSBS).

Villar noted that the country’s rice farmers are continuously facing

the many challenges brought about by the liberalization of rice importation in 2019, the series of destructive typhoons that hit their farms and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“So I strongly believe that our farmers need more support and assistance to cope up with the several challenges, especially now that we are in a pandemic, and their health is also at risk,” the lady senator said.

Towards this end, she said, the state shall provide monetary assistance to the hardest hit segments of our small farmers in the form of actual giving of cash to them.

“Any amount we give to our farmers will be a big help to augment their income and improve their poor living condition,” said Villar.

According to Villar, excess collection in 2019 amounting to P2.135 billion and the P5.408 billion in 2020 were already allocated as cash assistance to our rice farmers under the

General Appropriations Act of 2021.

In their September report, she said the Bureau of Customs said it has recorded a collection from rice importation amounting to P11.69 billion in tariffs from the 1.74 million metric tons (MT) of rice imports from January to August this year.

Villar also said they opted to adopt the House version of the Cash Assistance for Filipino Farmers Act under House Bill 9950, which mandates the beneficiaries are rice farmers owning 2 hectares of rice land and below.

According to Villar, the House version follows the provision under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) that covers rice farmers owning 2 hectares of land and below.

Republic Act 11203 or RTL, seeks to improve the Filipino rice farmers’ competitiveness and income in the wake of the local rice trade policy’s liberalization.

Davao City grapples with vaccine hesitancy, outright refusal

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AVAO CITY—The number of residents who were unable or simply refused to get themselves vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus have reached 438,000, and the city health cluster here said areas where these persons reside have been mapped out.

The city government would be resorting to persuasion still, finalizing the strategy to “incentivize” the target backlog with food packs and even gift certificates. Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said the final strategy and form would be ironed out soon, and the rollout of the strategy would be done in pilot areas.

She said the backlog continued to mount each month with vaccinations going on almost daily. Feedback from the communities coming from the barangay health workers said many of

these unvaccinated residents in the priority list said the distance and the long queues in the vaccination areas have discouraged them.

“With many of them earning a living for their families, they would rather go to their workplaces than go to these places,” she said.

And there were residents who simply continued to refuse the vaccine.

Aside from incentivizing the vaccination, the city would continue with its mobile vaccination.

She said vaccination areas would also be opened near the barangays where these unvaccinated individuals are concentrated.

The city has an estimated population of 1.8 million, of which the city government has targeted to inoculate 1.2 million to achieve herd immunity or protection. As of Sep-

tember 27, the city has vaccinated 716,793 on their first dose, and 583,002 on their second dose.

“The task force on Covid-19 is looking at two areas to pilot these vaccination centers, both to bring the centers closer to them, and to pilot the giving of incentives,” she said.

Mayor Sara said continuing infection have shown strong evidence of morbidity among the unvaccinated sector. In two weeks from late August to early September. There was a week, August 29 to September 4, which showed 42 of the 46 who died were unvaccinated.

This trend has been repeating weekly, and on September 19 to 25, of the 85 deaths, 78 were not vaccinated. Of the active cases reaching 2,431, some 2,107 were not vaccinated, she added. Manuel T. Cayon

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

M

ETROPOLITA N Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Chairman and Administrator Rey Velasco ended his stint in the MWSS with a groundbreaking ceremony for the Million Trees Foundation Inc. (MTFI) plant and saplings nursery at the La Mesa Watershed area.

Velasco, a former police general, initiated the Annual Million Trees Challenge (AMTC) project of the MWSS, which aims to rehabilitate seven critical watersheds, namely, Angat, Ipo, Kaliwa, La Mesa, Laguna Lake, Umiray and Upper Marikina including Manila Bay that is essential in the water supply chain in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Also present during the event at the La Mesa Watershed area were incoming Administrator Engr. Leonor Cleofas, incoming Board Chairman Justice Jose Ricafort Hernandez, Maynilad Water Services Inc. President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Bulacan Bulk Water Head of Operations Emman Avengoza and Santa Clara International Corp. Founder Nick Linao.

Velasco will be leaving the MWSS with his pet project, the AMTC on track, achieving more than its target of 4 million trees in four years.

“We have to join hands to address the state of our watersheds as these greatly affect our water supply. I am grateful to the proponents of Million Trees Foundation Inc. [MTFI] for joining together for a noble cause,” Velasco said in news statement.

Velasco emphasized that water is not only used to sustain basic life but also to give more quality to the way of living. The outgoing MWSS chief also thanked MWSS concessionaires Manila Water, Maynilad, and Luzon Clean Water Development Corp.; and other project partners for supporting the AMTC. “AMTC would not have been as successful without the support of the concessionaires and other civic organizations.”

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Friday, October 1, 2021

Comelec reminds pols: Heed Covid health protocols during COC filing

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

A

SPIRING candidates for the May 2022 national and local elections must ensure that their supporters and companions adhere to Covid-19 health protocols during the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC), which will start on Friday (October 1).

Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas stressed the responsibility of election hopefuls, saying the poll body will implement necessary measures to lessen the number of people inside and around the COC filing venues.

The poll chief explained they would no longer allow the traditional "fiesta-like" mood to persist during the COC filing period from October 1 to 8, 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We already coordinated that with our partner agencies like the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) to ensure that people will not gather outside [the COC filing venues],” Abas said during a television interview last Thursday.

Companion restriction

TRADITIONALLY, relatives and numerous supporters accompany candidates during the filing of COCs. Under its Resolution 1071, Comelec

limited the number of companions for those running for national positions— President, Vice-President, and Senator— to just three persons.

In the case of party-list groups, their Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) may be filed by the chairperson, president, secretary general or authorized representatives, who may be accompanied by one person.

Other elective offices or their authorized representative would be allowed to be accompanied by a maximum of two persons.

The filing of COCs for national positions will be held at the Sofitel Garden Tent in Pasay City, while those for local positions will be held at the local Comelec offices in cities and municipalities.

Possible exemption?

THE Presidential Security Group (PSG) has already announced it will insist on being exempted from the restriction once President Duterte files his COC to run as vice president in the 2022 polls under the Partido Demorkatiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

PSG said it is mandated to always ensure the security of the President, which it said it cannot delegate to Comelec.

Abas declined to comment on the matter when asked about Comelec’s response on PSG’s pronouncement.

DOH probes dip into Covid testing output; 14,286 addl cases logged

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

T

HE Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday reported that the agency has launched an investigation into the 10-percent national weekly decline of Covid-19 testing output. “…[The decline] is also more evident in the National Capital Region [NCR] with a 14-percent decrease. Note as well that the testing output today [September 30] in NCR is lower than the seven-day moving average of test done in the region,” DOH said.

On Thursday, DOH logged 14,286 ad-

ditional Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 2,549,966.

There were also 8,268 recoveries and 130 deaths recorded.

Of the total number of cases, 5.4 percent (138,294) are active, 93.1 percent (2,373,378) have recovered, and 1.50 percent (38,294) have died.

Fifty-two duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 38 are recoveries.

Moreover, 81 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

Corn growers vs feed millers’ bid to cut tariff on yellow corn continued from a12

“We are not a cost-plus value chain. These are commodities and ever since any reduction in the feed costs do not translate to reduction in meat prices and yet farmers are always the ones being blamed,” he added.

Elias Jose Inciong, United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) president, said they will back the corn sector’s—an allied industry of the broiler sector—position on the matter.

“Anything that is not agreed upon with the corn sector will backfire. If it is something to which the corn sector is not amenable, it will backfire with corn farmers simply shifting their planting intentions,” Inciong told the BusinessMirror.

Inciong said they now get yellow corn at the price of P21 to P24 per kilogram for a bulk order of at least 10 MT. Prices were at P15 to P16 per kilogram earlier this year; and P13 to P16 per kilogram last year, Inciong added.

“I think it’s because production went down plus feed millers had a hard time sourcing feed wheat abroad,” he said. PSA data showed feed January-August wheat imports declined by 21.69 percent to 1.13 MMT from 1.443 MMT last year.

Nonetheless, Inciong agreed with Navarro that any increase in their farm inputs, such as feeds, would not necessarily mean an increase in the retail prices of poultry meat products since its value is determined “by the dynamics of the market.”

Nicanor Briones, chairman of the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. and representative of the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) party-list, said he is fine with the importation of yellow corn at reduced tariffs, as long as they do not coincide with domestic harvest.

Briones, who also has his own feed mill, said they now get yellow corn at prices of P21 to P23 per kilogram at the feed mill level. However, he played down talk of a shortfall in local corn supply. If there was indeed a shortage, then by this time they would have run out of yellow corn to feed their livestock and poultry animals, he said.

“But that’s not the case, we still have corn until this time,” he told the BusinessMirror.

“It is just the traders hoarding and calibrating the release of the yellow corn in the market, therefore raising the price of the commodity,” he added.

PSA data showed the average farm-gate price of yellow corn in the first half grew by almost 4 percent to P12.9 per kilogram from P12.41 per kg recorded last year.

However, the wholesale price of yellow corn in the reference period declined by 18.3 percent year-on-year to P17.32 per kilogram from P21.20 per kilogram, PSA data showed.

But the average retail price of yellow corn expanded by 14 percent to P28.37 per kg from P24.88 per kg in the first half of last year, based on PSA data.

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Friday, October 1, 2021

TheWorld BusinessMirror

Australian state’s 50% jump in cases blamed on sport fans

C

ANBERRA, Australia— Australia’s Victoria state on Thursday reported a jump of more than 50 percent in daily Covid-19 cases, which authorities largely blame on Australian Rules Football parties last weekend that breached pandemic regulations.

State capital Melbourne trad it ion a l ly host s t he a n nu a l grand final, which the footballobsessed city celebrates with a long weekend.

Because of Melbourne’s lockdow n, t wo Melbour ne teams played for the national premiership on Saturday in the coronavirus-free west coast city of Perth.

Contact tracers found a third of Victoria’s 1,438 new infections reported on Thursday had broken pandemic rules by attending social gatherings on the Friday public holiday and on game day, officials said.

Jeroen Weimar, commander of Victoria’s Covid-19 response, said time would tell whether the infection jump was “one big rogue day”

or part of a grave new trend.

“Today highlights the consequence of hundreds of people dropping their guards, dropping their guard for very understandable reasons and we’re all fed up with it,” Weimar said, referring to Melbourne’s lockdown.

“But this is a direct consequence of hundreds of decisions made on Friday and Saturday last week and the question now is how we manage this going forward,” he added.

Melbourne’s lockdown is set to end on October 26 when 70 percent of the state’s population aged 16 and older is expected to be fully vaccinated. Residents are becoming increasingly frustrated by the city’s sixth lockdown of the pandemic.

Australia’s second-most populous city will overtake Argentine’s capital Buenos Aires next week as the city that has endured the longest lockdown in the world, Melbourne’s Herald-Sun newspaper has reported. Buenos Aires stayat-home orders lasted 245 days.

Victoria’s infection rate has overtaken neighboring New South Wales where the spread in Sydney has plateaued with rapidly increasing vaccination coverage.

New South Wales reported 941 infections on Thursday and six deaths. The vaccination rate has also accelerated, with 63 percent of its target population fully vaccinated according to government data, since the Australian Delta variant outbreak was first detected in Sydney on June 16.

Only 49 percent of Victoria’s target populations were fully vaccinated, partly because the state has delayed second doses to make more vaccine available for first doses.

Victoria on Thursday reported five Covid-19 deaths in the latest 24-hour period. The state on Wednesday reported 950 new infections and seven deaths, which were both daily records.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said his government remained determined to end lock-

downs in Australia despite the worsening situation in Melbourne.

Frydenberg, a Melbourne resident, said the city had become despondent due to lockdowns, the latest beginning on August 5.

“Melbourne tragically and sadly has gone from being the most livable city in the world to the most locked down city in the world,” he said, referring to an Economist Intelligence Unit index that ranked the city at the top of its livability table for seven consecutive years until 2017.

The government has said its payments to workers who had lost hours due to lockdowns would end two weeks after 80 percent of a state or territory’s target population were fully vaccinated.

Frydenberg said such payments were costing his government 1.5 billion Australian dollars ($1.1 billion) a week.

State and territor y leaders agreed in July that lockdowns would no longer be necessary after the 80 percent vaccination benchmark had been reached.

But with the Delta variant stretching hospital resources in Sydney and Melbourne, some leaders have suggested they might maintain border restrictions until 90 percent of their populations are fully vaccinated. AP

Kim Jong Un warns US, offers olive branch for South Korea

N

orth K ore a n l e a d e r K i m Jo n g Un s e nt a f resh wa r n i ng to t he US and offered a concession to South Korea to restore communications links, just after P yong yang c la imed it tested a new hy personic missile designed to evade US defenses.

K im accused the US of being a “ fundamental danger” to the international community and said in a speech on the second day of a parliament meeting he would boost his nuclear capabilities. Pyong yang for years has been tr ying to drive wedges between Washington and its allies, hoping to use any discord to its advantage.

“As the actions of the past eight months of the new US ad m i n i st r at ion h ave c le a rly shown, the US militar y threat and hostile policy toward North Korea has not changed at all,” the official Korea Central News Agency on Thursday reported

K im as saying.

Washington’s Nor th Korea policy is becoming “more cunning,” he added, saying he would step up new weapon developments to deter a ny possible “militar y provocations by hostile forces.” K im called Biden’s engagement policy and dialogue proposal a “petty trick.”

T he Biden ad m i n ist rat ion has said the door is open for North Korea to return to nuclear disarmament talks stalled for more than two years. It has also indicated the US could offer incentives to help North Korea’s sanctions-hit economy in exchange for steps to wind down the state’s nuclear arsenal.

North Korea tested three new weapons systems in September that included the hy personic missiles, long-range cruise missiles that could hit all of South Korea and most of Japan, as well as firing ballistic missiles for the first time from train cars.

Prison riot death toll tops 100 as Ecuador decrees emergency

P

resident G u i l l e r m o Lasso declared the prison system under emergency for the second time since he took power in May after gang violence claimed the lives of 116 inmates at a Guayaquil penitentiary in one of the bloodiest jail riots in the history of Latin America. “ T his f ight bet ween organized criminal groups seeking internal power is a tremendous tragedy,” said Bolivar Garzon, the director of the prison service, in a radio inter view with Not i mu nd o. A ut hor it ie s at tribute the violence to clashes among gangs fighting for drug business.

Pol ic e , w ho s e a rc he d t he prison for weapons a week ago, continued finding bodies after regaining control of the facility following Tuesday’s riot, Garzon said.

Lasso, who traveled to Guayaquil to discuss the security situation, said about 80 more inmates had been injured. A plan to modify prisons to improve security will start with the Guayaquil penitentiary, he said.

The president previously declared a prison emergency in July when a riot left 18 dead between the Guayaquil and Latacunga prisons.

Under the 60 -day state of emergency, the government suspends prisoners’ rights to assembly and to privacy regarding their mail.

Lasso has earmarked close to $80 million to overhaul the pr i son s y stem. In Febr u a r y, around 80 inmates were killed in simultaneous rioting in prisons in Latacunga, Guayaqui l and the southern Andean city of Cuenca. Bloomberg News

Kim may be trying to increase his leverage through the weapons display if he returns to the bargaining table, according to Cheon Seong-whun, a former security strateg y secretar y at South Korea’s presidential Blue House. “Pyong yang is tr ying to have bigger bargaining chip so it can secure better position in the negotiation,” Cheon said.

North Korea has also been warming up to South Korea in the past week, perhaps looking to w in concessions from President Moon Jae-in before he leaves office in May. Moon has made reconciliation with Pyongyang a top policy priority and another summit with K im could help his legacy and give his progressive party a boost in presidential elections to replace him when his term ends next year.

In an olive branch for Seoul, K im said he would restore hotlines set up under Moon with

South Korea from early October that have been silent for months due to political rancor. Kim said the move was “part of the efforts for realizing the expectations and desire of the entire Korean nation to see the earlier recovery of the north-south relations from the present deadlock and durable peace,” KCNA reported.

Over the weekend, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, reached out to South Korea and said Pyongyang would consider taking part in another summit declaring an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War—if Seoul adopted a less hostile policy.

Moon reiterated his call for as halted by an armistice that South Korea d id not sig n at the time, which now limits its power in seeking a peace treaty to officially end the fighting.

Bloomberg News

While Kim Jong Un has shown little interest in talks since his

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

UN chief urges united action to prevent Myanmar catastrophe

U

NITED NATIONS—The United Nations chief is urging unified regional and international action to prevent the crisis in Myanmar from becoming a large-scale conflict and multi-faceted “catastrophe” in the heart of Southeast Asia and beyond.

Secretar y- Genera l A ntonio Guterres warned in a report to the UN General Assembly circulated Wednesday that the opportunity to prevent the army from entrenching its rule could be narrowing and said it is urgent that regional and international countries help put Myanmar back on the path to democratic reform.

When Myanmar’s army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, it claimed with scant evidence that the general election her party won last November in a landslide was marred by widespread fraud. The takeover almost immediately sparked widespread street protests that security forces tried to crush.

The pushback has left more than 1,100 people dead, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and right groups.

The United Nations has supported a five-point plan adopted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar, that calls for stopping violence, constructive dialogue, appointment of an Asean special envoy as mediator and humanitarian aid. It took until early August for Asean to pick Brunei’s Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as their special envoy, and he is reportedly still negotiating with the military on the terms of a visit.

In the report, Guterres welcomed Yusof’s appointment, called for “timely and comprehensive implementation of the five-point consensus to facilitate a peaceful solution,” and strongly encouraged Asean to work with the UN special envoy.

His urgent call for a united international and regional response indicates that w ith Asean’s slow movement, Guterres feels it is time for broader international action as well.

“The risk of a large-scale armed conflict requires a collective approach to prevent a multi-dimensional catastrophe in the heart of Southeast Asia and beyond,” the secretary-general said. “Grave humanitarian implications, including rapidly deteriorating food security, an increase in mass displacements and a weakened public health system compounded by a

new wave of Covid-19 infections require a coordinated approach in complementarity with regional actors.”

He said it is imperative to restore Myanmar’s constitutional order and uphold the results of the November 2020 election. He suggested neighboring countries could leverage their influence over the military to have it “respect the will of the people and to act in the greater interest of peace and stability in the country and region.”

Guterres said the international and regional effort must be accompanied by the immediate release of Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other government officials as well as immediate humanitarian access and aid, especially to vulnerable communities, including some 600,000 Rohingya Muslims still in northern Rakhine state and the more than 700,000 who fled a 2017 military crackdown and are now in camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

The report, covering the period from mid-August 2020 to midAugust 2021, said that since the military takeover, security forces have engaged in wide-ranging “brutal repression,” especially of those protesting Suu Kyi’s ouster, sparked a political crisis with wide implications for the region, and carried out serious human rights violations.

“Those expressing opposition to the military and joining democratic movements, as well as their relatives and associates, have been subject to arbitrary killings and detentions, disappearances, night raids, intimidation and torture,” Guterres said. “There have also been numerous reports of sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by the security forces.”

Between February 1 and late July, he said, “there have been at least 150 instances in which security forces reportedly used lethal force against unarmed protesters.”

Guterres said students and education staff have been primary targets of repression, pointing to reports by the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation that at least 70 students and five teachers have been killed by security forces, that 775 students and 76 teachers have been detained, and that more than 125,000 teachers and 13,000 school staff in higher education institutions have been suspended or dismissed.

T he secretar y-genera l said there have also been numerous reports of violence targeting security forces as well as killings of individuals suspected of collaborating with the military. AP

Vietnam to end virus lockdown in largest city after 3 months

V

UNG TAU, Vietnam— Vietnam will lift the lockdown in its largest city on Friday, ending nearly three months of restrictions on movement to curb a coronavirus surge.

People in Ho Chi Minh City, a metropolis of 10 million, will be able to leave their homes, restaurants can serve takeaway meals and other essential businesses can open, the city said on its website Thursday.

A social distancing order, however, will still be enforced.

Schools are closed, public transport remains suspended, travel in and out of the city will be controlled and public gatherings of more than 10 people outside is banned.

People who wish to attend social activities will have to

show proof of vaccination to be admitted to establishments, authorities said.

Ho Chi Minh City along with 18 southern provinces went into lockdown in midJuly when cases started to surge.

In the past three months, the delta variant of the virus has infected 770,000 people and killed over 19,000, according to the health ministry. Most of Vietnam’s Covid-19 deaths occurred in this wave, with Ho Chi Minh City accounting for the majority of them.

Other southern cities have also eased lockdown restrictions, gradually resuming activities as infections decline.

In the past week, Vietnam’s

average new cases dropped by a third compared to earlier in the month when 14,000 were being recorded daily, the health ministry said.

In Vung Tau city, 70 kilometers (45 miles) from Ho Chi Minh city, barricades set up on the streets to control traffic during the lockdown were taken down as local residents cheered.

“We will have to celebrate this day, that the city is removing the barricades so we can go out again and get back to our normal lives,” local resident Pham Van Thanh said as he helped officers remove a barricade on his street.

Vietnam is speeding up vaccinations in order to reopen the country, with priority for big cities and vulnerable

locations such as industrial zones.

Ho Chi Minh City’s health authority last week approved shortening the interval between two shots of AstraZeneca to six weeks, against the recommended eight to 12 weeks by the manufacturers, in order to fully vaccinate people quickly.

The health ministry says 98.5 percent of the city’s adults have been inoculated and 48 percent of them have received both shots.

However, Vietnam’s overall vaccination rate remains low with only 9.3 percent of its 98 million people fully vaccinated. The authority said short supply is the reason for the delay of virus inoculation.

AP

TheWorld

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Friday, October 1, 2021

A7

China’s Xi leads Martyr’s Day ceremony amid patriotism drive

B

EIJING—Chinese leader Xi Jinping paid respects at a solemn commemoration Thursday for those who died in the struggle to establish Communist Party rule, as he leads a national drive to reinforce patriotism and single-party authority.

Xi and the six other members of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee led aged veterans and government and military leaders in paying their respects at the Monument to the People’s Heroes in the center of Tiananmen Square while a military band played.

Xi, who heads the party and also serves as state president, made no remarks, although Premier Li Keqiang is scheduled to address a reception Thursday evening.

The Martyr’s Day ceremony underscores the stress Xi places on Communist traditions after establishing himself as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, who founded the People’s Republic in 1949 after sweeping to power in a bloody civil war. This year’s ceremony follows commemorations of the centenary of the founding of the party in 1921.

While building up a cult of personality, Xi has pushed a hardline on foreign policy and a crackdown on free speech and political opposition in the

semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.

Relations with the U.S. have sunk to their lowest level in decades, with Beijing issuing a bevy of complaints on issues from human rights to Washington’s support for Taiwan.

China claims the self-governing island democracy as its own territory and threatens to use military force to bring it under Beijing’s control. Xi, who also controls China’s vast military, has upped that threat by sending military aircraft into airspace near the island on a near-daily basis while ground troops conduct drills on the coast opposite.

Tiananmen Square and surrounding roads were closed off for Thursday’s ceremony, which began with a trumpet fanfare, the singing of China’s national anthem and a minute of silence.

Steps and the upper level of the monument, an obelisk standing 10 stories partially carved with images from the struggle to establish Communist rule, were covered in red carpet.

The ceremony also featured a choir of children wearing the white shirts and red scarves of the party’s Young Pioneers youth organization singing their anthem, “We are the heirs of communism.”

Martyr’s Day is commemorated on the eve of China’s National Day, which begins a 10-day holiday. AP

A8

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 1, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

1.

Regional Office No. IV-A 4th Flr. Andenson Bldg. II, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City Telefax No.: (049) 545-7362 October 01, 2021

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP)

Mold Approval Manager Monitor all operations that affect quality

Php30,000.00+++/month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. ROHAN RAMACHANDRA SHETTY Indian

General Manager Develop an effective and profitable organization by planning, prioritizing, deciding, implementing and following Php8,700,000.00+++/ up on the company strategy in line annum with the company, regional, segment and corporate strategies to ensure that business objectives and targets are achieved.

Mr. JUNGHWA KIM Korean

Name and Address of Employer: JOTUN (PHILIPPINES) INC. LISP 3, Santo Tomas, Batangas

Notice is hereby given that the following employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s.

Name and Address of Employer: BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC. Lot 4044 Molino Blvd. Niog III, Bacoor, Cavite

1.

2.

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Mr. WENJUN QI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer Php30,000.00+++/month service inquiries.

Mr. BAODING WANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer Php30,000.00+++/month service inquiries.

Salary Range

3.

Ms. HE TIAN Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer Php30,000.00+++/month service inquiries.

4.

Mr. ZHILIANG LIANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer Php30,000.00+++/month service inquiries.

Mr. XUANHAO CHEN Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer Php30,000.00+++/month service inquiries.

5.

1.

Name and Address of Employer: HONDA PARTS MANUFACTURING CORPORATION LTI, Biñan City, Laguna

1.

Ms. AIMEI CAO Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer Php30,000.00+++/month service inquiries.

7.

Ms. JU LI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer Php30,000.00+++/month service inquiries.

Name and Address of Employer: PRIME GLOVES MANUFACTURING INC. LISP III, San Rafael, Santo Tomas, Batangas

1.

2.

Position and Job Description

Mr. XIAOJUN TANG Chinese

Cutting Manager Plan and manage the cutting of materials into components for the production of textile products

$1,000.00+++/month

Mr. BO HUANG Chinese

Assistant Production Manager Plan and execute the production process

$1,000.00+++/month

3.

Mr. GAOPING HE Chinese

2.

4.

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. HIROAKI KIDA Japanese

Factory Manager Develop strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities, presenting assumptions, recommending objectives.

Php1,224,000.00+++/ annum

5.

Name and Address of Employer: CRONICS INC. Brgy. Batino, Calamba City, Laguna 6.

1.

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. JUNSUNG BAE Korean

Marketing Manager Develop current offerings and comes up with initiative for new product or services and work with marketing staffs to develop detailed marketing plans

Php420,000.00+++/ annum

2.

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. RYOTA IKEGAMI Japanese

Manufacturing Engineering Department Manager Evaluate manufacturing processes and apply knowledge of product design

Php158,648.00+++/ month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Mr. PU ZHANG Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative Field incoming help requests from end users from the People’s Php40,000.00+++/month Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards

Mr. MINGKUN YANG Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative Field incoming help requests from end users from the People’s Php40,000.00+++/month Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards

Mr. XIN LIN Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative Field incoming help requests from end users from the People’s Php40,000.00+++/month Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards

Mr. WENLIN LIANG Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative Field incoming help requests from end users from the People’s Php40,000.00+++/month Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards

Mr. KANG HU Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative Field incoming help requests from end users from the People’s Php40,000.00+++/month Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards

Mr. HAIBIN ZENG Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative Field incoming help requests from end users from the People’s Php40,000.00+++/month Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. KATSUNORI ONISHI Japanese

Mold Management Senior Manager Lead and manage production planning and customer service

Php176,000.00+++/month

Mr. YASUHIRO HAMAMURA Japanese

QC/QA Senior Manager Coordinate the activities required to meet the quality standards

Php149,000.00+++/month

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

1.

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. TOSHIKI OSHIGE Japanese

Sales Planning Manager Prepare an annual sales budget, and continuously monitor and report on its achievements on a weekly, monthly and annual basis.

Php1,320,000+++/ annum

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at the DOLE Regional Office within 30 days from the date of publication.

Please inform the DOLE Regional Office if you have an information of any criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

Name and Address of Employer: SUNG HYUNG PRECISION CO., INC. CEZ, Rosario, Cavite Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Salary Range

Name and Address of Employer: ISUZU PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Laguna Technopark, Biñan City, Laguna

Name and Address of Employer: FUNAI ELECTRIC PHILIPPINES INC. SEZ Lima Technology Center, Lipa City, Batangas

1.

Php8,400,000.00+++/ annum

$1,000.00+++/month

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Friday, October 1, 2021

A9

Climate activist Nakate seeks immediate action in Glasgow M

ILAN—Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate said Wednesday that youth delegates meeting in Milan want to see immediate action from leaders at the UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland—not cheap, last-ditch grasps at supporting polluting fuels before getting down to business.

Nakate is among 400 activists invited to Italy’s financial capital for a three-day Youth4Climate meeting that will draft a document for the 26th Climate Change Conference of the Parties, which opens on October 31.

“If leaders and governments are going to talk about net zeroes or cutting emissions, halving emissions by 2030 or 2040 or 2050, that means it has to start now,” Nakate told The Associated Press.

“It doesn’t mean, if we are going to do it by 2030, between now and 2030 let’s open a coal power plant, you know, let’s frack some gas, or let us construct an oil pipeline. That is not the real climate action that we want,’’ she said. “”If you are to go net zero by 2030, it has to start now.’’

Although the activists have traveled to Milan from 180 countries, Nakate said many have the feeling that their suggestions for the closing document that will be published Thursday are not welcome. She said the dynamic was “concerning.”

“It really feels like everything has been decided for us,’’ Nakate, a 24-yearold with a degree in business administration. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg similarly accused the organizers on Tuesday of bringing in “cherry-picked” delegates and pretending to listen.

But she said young people were speaking up, and had created their own working group on fossil fuels.

“Hopefully it’s something they can accept,’’ she said.

Nakate gave an emotional opening speech to the gathering on Tuesday, calling out leaders for failing to meet financial pledges and describing the

devastating impact of climate change at home in Uganda. While she said she was overwhelmed by the support she has received after her speech, she rejected the media’s tendency to dub leaders of the movement.

“It’s how people portray the climate movement,’’ Nakate said. “It is not just one face or two faces. It’s communities. It is people who are organizing in different countries. I think that is the true face of the climate movement. The people who are standing up for the planet and a better future.”

In 2020, Nakate was cropped out of an Associated Press photo at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The AP apologized and acknowledged mistakes in how it initially responded.

Pope Francis on Wednesday praised young environmental activists for challenging global leaders to make good on promises to curb emissions and insisted that political leaders make wise decisions to promote “a culture of responsible sharing.”

Francis thanked the activists for their “dreams and good projects” and encouraged them to form an educational alliance to help “rebuild the fabric” of humanity through care for the planet.

“This vision is capable of challenging the adult world, for it reveals that you are prepared not only for action, but also for patient listening, constructive dialogue and mutual understanding,” he said.

Francis has made care for “our common home” of the Earth a hallmark of his papacy and devoted an entire encyclical to the issue in 2015. The Scottish bishops conference has said it expects Francis to attend the Glasgow climate summit, though the Vatican hasn’t yet confirmed his presence.

“It is time to take wise decisions so that we can make use of the many experiences gained in recent years, in order to make possible a culture of care, a culture of responsible sharing,” Francis said in the message. AP

Draghi credits Covid vaccines for Italy’s economic recovery

M

ILAN—Italy’s vaccination campaign is a key factor behind its economic recovery from the pandemic, Premier Mario Draghi said Wednesday after signing a document that forecast a higher-thanexpected 6-percent growth this year.

Draghi called vaccinations “an ingredient that favored this recovery of the Italian economy.”

“The fact that you can work with tranquility at a business, that you can travel around, that children and students have returned to school ... this according to me is the fundamental ingredient for growth, which we must protect,’’ he said.

Italy has vaccinated 78.4 percent of its eligible population who are 12 years old and over. Beginning on October 15, health passes will be required for people to access all workplaces. The pass shows proof of vaccination, a recent negative test or proof of recent recovery from the virus and it’s needed for indoor leisure activities like theaters, museums and dining, as well as for long-distance domestic travel.

Italian budget figures initially projected 4.5-percent growth, after a contraction of 9 percent in 2020 when Italy’s economy was devastated by draconian lockdowns to contain the pandemic.

The Italian government boosted the 2021 forecast to 6 percent thanks to strong exports, the impact of government measures to support the econo-

my, improved consumer and business trust and a strong reduction in new virus cases, Economy Minister Daniele Franco told reporters.

The growth trend appears set to continue, with 4.2-percent increase in GDP expected in 2022.

“There is trust in Italy, among Italians and from the rest of the world toward Italy. That is the other important news,’’ Draghi said. Any new measures taken by the government must “contribute to a growth that is equitable and sustainable and durable,” he said.

Public debt is projected to drop to 153.5 percent of GDP this year, from 155.6 percent last year, which Draghi said was the “first quantitative confirmation” of what central bankers have long contended: that growth is the principal way to attack high public debt.

Draghi called “offensive” repeated questions about whether he would consider replacing Sergio Mattarella as Italian president when Mattarella’s term expires next year.

“It is parliament who decides the life, horizons and effectiveness of this government,’’ he said. “This government was created to respond to problems specific to a period, and it is doing its job.”

He also made clear that the government, with a legislative mandate into 2023, would not hang on to power beyond its usefulness. AP

A10 Friday, October 1, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

How to accelerate PHL vaccine rollout

H

ealth experts have repeatedly said that the key to control Covid infections is to speed up vaccinations, combined with sustainable testing, contact tracing, and observing health protocols such as mask wearing in public and safe distancing. The Philippines was one of the countries that implemented fairly strict measures early on, but it didn’t get vaccine supplies early enough to have stopped the raging Delta variant.

From Bloomberg: “The Philippines fell to last place in Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking of the best and worst places to be amid the pandemic, capping a steady decline over the course of 2021. The Philippines’s drop to No. 53 reflects the challenges it’s facing from the onslaught of the Delta variant, which has hit Southeast Asia particularly hard. The region, which recently had the worst outbreak in the world, populates the September Ranking’s lowest rungs, with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam all in the bottom five.”

Bloomberg said infections in the Philippines remain elevated as Delta continues to spread, bringing cases throughout the course of the pandemic to more than 2.5 million as of Tuesday. “The most significant impediment to the Philippines’s response has been its limited access to vaccines.”

“The Philippines needs to focus on ramping up its vaccination rate. Given the limited doses already in place, the government should seek further supplies either via programs like the World Health Organization-backed Covax, or through bilateral agreements. It’s also key for the Philippines to ensure vaccines are targeted at the most at-risk populations first to further weaken the link between cases and deaths,” Bloomberg said.

We wrote in our Editorial last week that the Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe disease and death, including against the Delta variant. Studies, however, have shown that the protection provided by two doses wanes after six months. Procuring booster shots should be the country’s next priority for us to recover socially and economically from the lingering effects of the pandemic (See, “Govt needs private sector help vs Covid,” in the BusinessMirror, September 20, 2021).

Inoculated countries in Europe, North America and the Middle East are now eyeing booster shots, especially those that are experiencing another wave of infections caused by the Delta variant. The Philippines is in a tight race between infections and vaccinations. We are now in the seventh month of our vaccination program, which means those that received the first jabs—our medical frontliners, elderly people, and friends and relatives with comorbidities—are now seeing waning protection and could be vulnerable to Delta and other variants. We don’t want to risk breakthrough infections to these vaccinated citizens.

In a BusinessMirror report on September 10, Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said the government should prioritize giving the third dose over herd immunity. “The third dose is what’s available now, therefore we should allow LGUs and the private sector to procure vaccines. They might be able to save us. Because if you talk about herd immunity—I’m sorry, even if 100 percent of the people are vaccinated for two doses there’s no herd immunity to talk about because of the Delta variant.”

We agree with Rep. Garin, a former Health secretary, that the government should let the local government units (LGUs) and private sector procure Covid vaccines, not just for the first two doses but also for the booster shots. And this should be done immediately. Other countries are already moving to secure additional vaccines for booster administration, which is expected to make supply availability a major issue.

At a media forum on September 15, Rep. Garin and Sen. Nancy Binay said the Vaccination Act of 2021, or Republic Act 11525, already covers procurement of vaccines by the private sector and LGUs for booster shots. They said the government can find ways and employ flexibilities to allow such vaccine purchases once Malacañang decides to do it. If the government does not have the money to procure booster shots, the private sector does. Corporations also have a faster turnaround in their procurement systems—they are willing and able. The government only needs to enable them through a policy shift—by allowing corporations to buy vaccines without the need for multi-party agreements.

As we said in our recent editorial, we sincerely hope that National Task Force Against Covid-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and the IATF, with continuous prodding from Rep. Garin, Sen. Binay and other like-minded policy-makers and experts will make this policy change fast. With the full and unhindered participation of the private sector, we can accelerate the country’s vaccine rollout and give booster shots to senior citizens and those with underlying medical conditions.

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Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

W

ith the Covid-19 pandemic still raging, many can’t help but ask how some countries were able to curb the deadly disease while others struggled (and continue to struggle) to do so and prevent exponential loss of life and livelihood. In this regard, a recent article in The New Yorker about Costa Rica’s public health-care system could prove to be informative.

The article first highlighted how Costa Rica has a life expectancy approaching 81 years old, which is much higher than ours at 71 years old, and even that of the United States’ at 79 years old. What is remarkable about the Latin American country was that it was able to ensure the longevity of its people, with a per capita income that is only a sixth that of the United States—an apparent exception to the trend where national income tracks closely with life expectancy.

In fact, a 2008 US National Center for Biotechnology Information publication stated that the mortality of 90-year-old Costa Ricans was “at least 14 percent lower than an average of 13 high-income countries.”

Considering that the country’s life expectancy was only 55 years in the 1950s, Costa Rica has indeed come a long way.

How is the country able to take care of its citizens so well? According

to the article, this can be primarily attributed to early investments made into public health. Early on, Costa Rica prioritized vaccinating their population against polio, diphtheria and rubella as well as ensuring that newborns, new mothers, and pregnant women are provided with care and nutrition since their government was able to identify that maternal and child deaths were the “biggest source of lost years of life.”

Even now, Costa Rica has maintained a high regard for health care— investing 7.5 percent of its gross domestic product for health expenditures in 2018. In comparison, during the same period, the Philippines’s health expenditure only accounted for 4.4 percent of GDP. What appears to be exceptional about Costa Rica isn’t really the amount, but the kinds of investments it made in public health. As early as the 1990s, Costa Rica was

already moving towards the implementation of a form of universal health- care coverage to merge public health services with health-care institutions, integrate health records across the entire system, assign every citizen to a primary health-care team, and mobilize community health workers to deliver services directly to households whenever needed. All these reforms resulted in the improvement of living standards and a considerable drop in mortality rates.

In 2019, the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law (Republic Act 11223) was enacted, containing similar reforms seen in Costa Rica such as the integration of local health systems within local government units. This also included the registration of every Filipino with a public or primary health-care provider of choice, aimed at promoting their health-seeking behavior but also detecting diseases early on to prevent them from worsening. Though the law’s full implementation has been delayed due to Covid-19, there is great hope that the reforms under it will result in a stronger and more efficient—and perhaps more pandemic resilient— health system much like Costa Rica’s.

But even with this delay, we believe there are some pointers that can be picked up from Costa Rica’s experience, particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. For instance, a pressing concern is the vaccination of Filipinos, particularly seniors and persons with disabilities. Currently, they are asked to line up together

with many others in vaccination sites.

Given their vulnerable state, it should be the objective of the government to ensure that this sector is protected.

In Costa Rica, not only are local health-care teams involved in scheduling vaccination appointments, they are also responsible for personally visiting households assigned to them to deliver basic services whenever needed. In the Philippines, our barangay health workers could take on this responsibility for the vulnerable sectors since they can be trained to administer Covid-19 vaccines and monitor recipients. They could also serve as “embedded” contact tracers that are able to track more closely those who get sick, given their personal ties to the community.

If anything, Costa Rica has shown how better health outcomes need not be fully dependent on a country’s income. They demonstrate how a developing country like the Philippines can improve its people’s health with limited resources. And that allows us to remain hopeful that with the full implementation of the UHC law as well as the other investments in our health system in light of the ongoing pandemic, our country would be able to not only curb Covid-19 but also build a better and healthier community.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 17 years. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.

E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

Possible credit rating downgrade next year?

Too scared of the credit rating agencies?

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Senior Editors

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Health-care lessons from Costa Rica

Dr. Joseph Anthony Y. Lim

EAGLE WATCH

T

he fiscal debt has generated some controversy on whether our economic managers are obsessed with the credit rating of the country and scrimping on funds used to alleviate our pandemic and economic woes.

The Philippine government debt was P11.6 trillion as of July 31 this year. It is expected by the Bureau of Treasury to be around P11.73 trillion, or about 51.88 percent of gross domestic product, by the end of the year. This is an increase from 37 percent of GDP in 2019 (before the pandemic) and from 47 percent in 2020 (in the first year of the pandemic).

The Bureau of Treasury predicts that Philippine debt will reach P13.41 trillion next year (2022), surpassing the

important threshold of 60 percent of GDP. This traditional threshold warns that the higher it goes up from 60 percent, the higher the chances of default. That is why the government is trying to slow down incurring debt by 20 percent.

Well-known economists (Professors Emmanuel de Dios, Solita Monsod, and Josef Yap) in a PCIJ article had criticized the government as scrimping over much-needed borrowings and being overly scared of

the credit rating agencies.

First, as the professors said, Philippine debt is made up of 70 percent domestic debt and doesn’t contain much foreign exchange risk. May I also add that the terms of the multilateral loans are long term (15 to 25 years), so they’re not an immediate threat in the early recovery years.

Credit rating agencies and foreign banks scaring us?

IN early 2021, Fitch and S&P had decided not to impose credit downgrades in 2021 and to start only in 2022.

But on July 12 this year, when the Delta variant surge just started here, Fitch gave us a “negative outlook” on our foreign debt, citing: a) lower medium-term growth as a result of “scarring effects.” These are the effects of long periods of unemployment which would lead to decreased physical and mental health, higher stress, and lower well-being.

This, in turn, will lead to lower pay and chances of finding a job later in life.

b) “challenges associated with unwinding extraordinary stimulus measures and restoring public finances” (using the exact words of Fitch Rating).

Recently, the international bank ING came up with an article that interpreted the negative outlook warnings of Fitch to the Philippines and Indonesia as possibly the first of a series which will slowly reduce confidence in these economies. The final credit downgrade in 2022, if it happens, may cause massive selloffs. ING says that if the Philippines does not improve, a credit downgrade may occur in July 2022.

Help from the IMF

One positive thing that will help our debt situation is the $2.8 billion worth of special drawing rights (SDRs), which the International Monetary Fund allocated to us from the total $650 billion it has distributed to the countries in the world in See “Eagle Watch,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, October 1, 2021 A11

Are decent young people Pagpupugay kay Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist (April 11, 1932-September 28, 2021) shunning politics?

Manny F. Dooc

Tito Genova Valiente

TELLTALES

W

hy is there a scarcity of young and decent people joining politics at present? Survey the field of the present crop of interested parties in both local and national levels who have expressed their desire to run for public office and you will be surprised by the paucity of honest and competent people who want to serve in government elective positions.

I refer to young and independent newcomers who are not scions of political dynasties who have regarded their provinces or political districts as their fiefdom. Not ambitious young men and women who have business interests to protect or political agenda to promote. W hy are they afraid to handle government responsibility and position of power?

Has public service lost its luster and glamour? Why don’t we see more of a Vico Sotto who had fought the windmills and emerged victorious?

We need a more quixotic and idealistic breed of public servants who are willing to answer the call of public service. We want young and selfless individuals who seek public office not to enjoy its trappings of power nor its perquisites but for the pure joy of serving our people.

During the American colonization when the country was being trained for self-government, young Filipinos held the mantle of leadership in the government, both elective and appointive positions. Osmeña, Quezon, Roxas, Laurel and Recto were all under 30 when they gained national prominence. In fact, during the Commonwealth years, an intrepid young student leader fresh from the UP College of Law, Wenceslao Q. Vinzons, challenged President Quezon and the establishment and got elected as the youngest delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention, youngest governor and youngest elected Congressman of the Philippines. Vinzons even organized his own political party aptly called “Young Philippines”, where the most promising young men and women of the country sought elective office under its banner. Carmen Planas and Lorenzo Sumulong, among others, fought their first political battles under this audacious and fledgling party. Unfortunately, Vinzons was the first to put up a guerilla outfit immediately after the Japanese forces landed in the Philippines. He won small battles and even liberated Daet for several days, but he was captured and executed by the Japanese. Up to now, his remains have not been located but his monument stands in front of the provincial capitol of Camarines Norte.

During the halcyon days when patriotism was a virtue among public servants, one signed up for public service out of sheer love for one’s country and the deep desire to help our people. The best and the brightest of our college students dream of serving in the government when they leave school. Many of them applied to become government pensionado and pursued further studies abroad to hone their knowledge and craft. Then they served the government upon their return. Many eventually ran for public office to be of greater service to our country. Making a difference, not fattening their wallets, was their lofty mission in life. They devoted their energy, talents and even their life in its pur-

Eagle Watch. . . continued from A10

August 2021. The $650 billion is the biggest disbursement and assistance by the IMF to the countries of the world, this time to help during the pandemic—as a funding source and part of foreign exchange reserves.

The disbursement of SDR’s had

Our young people should not be lukewarm to the idea of entering public service or running for elective posts. The great philosopher Plato once commented, “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” This was seconded by Edmund Burke who said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” suit. This is the spirit of public service that we now find sadly wanting among the present generation. They fail to realize that holding an elective public office gives them the vantage point to touch the lives of thousands, if not millions, of our countrymen depending on the office they hold.

Our young people should not be lukewarm to the idea of entering public service or running for elective posts. The great philosopher Plato once commented, “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” This was seconded by Edmund Burke who said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

What will ruin us are not the destructive acts of our enemies but the inaction of our friends. We cannot play ostriches and bury our heads in the sand. We have to get involved. Participation is the essence of democracy. We should keep the words of Albert Einstein alive in our hearts that ”the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

The 1940 movie The Great Dictator, a parody of Hitler produced

by Charlie Chaplin, ended with Chaplin’s speech where I lifted the following: “The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the people they took from the people will return to the people. …You the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power. …Let us unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill their promise. They never will!”

On May 9, 2022, the Filipino people will have the great opportunity to use their sovereign power.

Let’s install into office the few good men and women who have dared to end our country’s mess. How I wish there were more of them. Let Chaplin’s words reverberate in our minds as we enter our polling places. Never be hoodwinked by empty promises.

We’ve been taken for a ride last time.

Remember the saying, fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, Goodbye, Philippines! been suggested by economists Joseph Stiglitz and Jayati Ghosh when the pandemic broke out in early 2020. It took some time for the IMF to implement the plan.

Lack of international cooperation on financing

Many progressive economists, such as Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, have gone much fur-

annotations

H

ow does one honor a National Artist in his passing? Does his death mean partly the death of that nation which honored his arts or does the nation live on as if its arts and artists are the ephemera of an institution with geographical boundaries and material histories?

It is wise to ask those questions if the person whose demise is being talked about is that of a person like Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist for Literature, for whom literature and arts were as much about the life of a nation and the regions around it as well as the death—or slow decay—of literatures dominated by other forms, perishable in the face of other centralized expressions.

In tributes together with the wild and warm praises that now fill the sorrows of those whose lives and career he has influenced is the singularity of the importance of Bien Lumbera. Problematic perhaps is the notion of the national artist in a land where the concept and reality of nation is not only contentious but persistent, but in the title awarded to this man, that same doubt is partly diminished. The reason for that is found in Lumbera’s contribution to Philippine literature, which is located in his critique of the literary canons often considered as given and in his much admired fondness for regional writings. And yet, if that attitude to the writings from the periphery are merely reducible to an affection, then this grieving that now seeks to incarnate itself in more prose and more poetry, in a thousand and one criticism of literatures contemplating their origins and directions, will be a mere passing, a breath of a wind, strong and unusually battering our daily existence, but nevertheless inconsolably temporary.

There is, however, in Bien Lumbera, a thing that is lasting. We have a word for it—legacy.

This legacy is in his works that students often describe as awesome in range and breathtaking in their impact to all forms of learning and erudition. Think of Tales of the Manuvu, Rama Hari, and many oth-

ers. Where in their original settings, these pieces were almost untouchable artefacts of our link to earlier civilizations, Lumbera made them current and made them our own.

We know we cannot forget Bienvenido Lumbera. He was a part of numerous significant gatherings where literatures were perused; he was a massive intellectual force belying, this especially during the last few years, the physical weakness in that cane and slow gait.

Mang Bien, as he was fondly known, would honor all invitations to talks and festivals. He travelled alone to distant workshops, took the plane all by himself when in those times, he could well afford assistants or an entourage. In all of these journeys, Lumbera, on record, proved to be, in some places, the only National Artist students had seen and took selfies with. He charmed them with his name, the reputation preceding the august title. He signed books and conversed with all these young men and women who, perhaps, considered being with this academic, finally “instagrammable.” Observers would tell you Bien did not mind at all the attention and the lightheartedness of the situation. Proofs of these are the photos now gracing online postings and reminiscences not of the dreary thinker but of a gentle, old man who spoke low and slow but inspired all those who listened and who are now all saddened by the farewell.

To these young men and women, readers and writers or even listeners, their dear Mang or Tatang Bien lives on. He is there in his writings where he honors not only the geniuses of

our culture but also those standing on the wayside, not honored.

In his essay, Ang Kamalayang Katutubo at ang Kamalayang Filipino (The Native Consciousness and the Filipino Consciousness), Bienvenido Lumbera explores identity, consciousness, and worldview, by looking at the old kundiman, “Jocelynang Baliwag.” Labeled as “Kundiman ng Himagsikan” or Song of the Revolution, its creation in 1896 cemented its reputation as indeed an anthem for a cause. In the mind of Lumbera, the song about love for a woman whose allure is caught in the second metaphorical layer of a flower that is clean and pure cannot be a de-facto battle cry. How did this song become linked to a revolution? If we stay with the literal aspect of the song, Lumbera says, how can this

song ever be about the Filipino’s rise against the oppression? Is this an invention of a romantic scholar?

Here is where the keen theorist in Lumbera works as he writes: “Ang akdang pampanitikan ay walang sariling kapangyarihang pumukaw sa kamalayan ng mambabasa o tagapakinig” (A literary piece has no power to awaken the consciousness of the reader or the listener). For Lumbera, it is not in the nature of the words or languages to bring about a shift or development of consciousness.

“Wala sa salita ang himala” (The miracle is not found in language), Lumbera writes. Where then lies the

transfiguration? Is it in the writer to use the language to provoke and challenge?

For Lumbera it is the audience where the task of interpretation resides and this is not merely a site of miraculous awakening but of political revelation. This is not also the passive reader because for Lumbera the reader is independent: “May sariling pandama at pag-iisip” (possessing his own sensibility and way of thinking).

This is where Lumbera’s populist and popular realities are.

Bienvenido Lumbera has written numerous essays and papers presented here and abroad, like many other academics. Unlike many other thinkers, his works see praxis in the field and in communities. He sees literatures from the regions and those rendered to be national literature as “magkabukod” and “magkarugtong” (separate but connected).

Whereas there is still much to be desired in acclaiming that this republic has indeed a national literature, the admission of regional writings valued at the same level as that which represents the “nation,” here, at least, we have the beginning of cultures that cannot be assumed to be just out there but to be translated.

Where this question leads us is up to the other thinkers still alive, with the materiality to wrestle with the fluidity of centers and margins, and the crucial problems of identities.

All these are thoughts engendered by a gentleman who went through incarceration during the dark days of martial rules and, after being released, cried upon seeing human beings working as living mannequins on display windows. In that videotaped interview, Bienvenido Lumbera compared ourselves to those mannequins pretending to be something else, someone else, when the strong arm of the dictatorship was upon us all.

Thriving on metaphors and subsisting on appearances, Lumbera, in his person and in his works, is the closest we can get to remember the true memories of a land, its past of oppression and the literatures written about them, our only path to foreseeable futures.

And for all this, we shall remember, Bien.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Japan’s next leader: Higher wages cure for pandemic doldrums

By Elaine Kurtenbach | AP Business Writer

M

ITO, Japan—Fumio Kishida, the man soon to become Japan’s prime minister, says he believes raising incomes is the only way to get the world’s third-largest economy growing again.

Nearly a decade after long-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to “make Japan great again,” Japan is in a holding pattern, stalled both by the pandemic and by chronic problems such as an aging and shrinking population, growing inequality and stagnant incomes.

Topping Kishida’s to-do list is another big dose of government spending to help Japan recover from the Covid-19 shock. Kishida says he wants to promote a “new capitalism” that would be more equitable, with fairer distribution of national wealth — the only way to get frugal Japanese families to spend more.

“Unless the fruits of growth are properly distributed, a ‘virtuous cycle

of growth and distribution’ cannot be realized,” he told reporters after he overwhelmingly was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday. “I would like to take economic measures to raise the incomes of many of you.”

Despite his ambitious talk, Kishida is viewed as an establishment choice, not a reformer. He’s a former banker and solid member of the political elite: his father and grandfather also were politicians.

Analysts say Kishida, who is allbut-certain to be elected prime minister by Parliament on Monday, is unlikely to stray far from Abe’s playbook of heavy doses of stimulus. Neither did the current prime minister, Yo-

ther and suggested that during this grave pandemic period, a temporary external debt payment moratorium be given to sovereign debts. This includes debts owed to multilateral lenders, sovereign creditors, and private investors. This has not happened, perhaps because many developed countries are also being attacked by Covid surges. But an initiative to help the really hard-

hit developing countries (like ours) must start to take shape soon as the Covid situation worsens in the second half of this year.

Integrity and accountability

This brings me to the most important point. Our economic managers have been quite prudent in borrowing funds to meet the health and economic challenges that this

shihide Suga, who is stepping aside after one year in office.

Kishida’s top priority? “The economy,” he told national broadcaster NHK. He said he plans to propose a spending package worth several hundred billion dollars soon.

His support for housing and education subsidies should boost consumer spending, said Naoya Oshikubo, senior economist at SuMi TRUST. He expects a “tailwind for the stock market, as it will make clear that ex-Prime Minister Abe’s economic policies will continue.”

Under Kishida, the Bank of Japan is likely to stick to its years-long efforts to spur growth by keeping interest rates near zero—making borrowing cheap—by pouring trillions of yen (hundreds of billions of dollars) into the economy through asset purchases.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4 percent in morning trading Thursday after data showed factory

output and retail sales weakened in August as the country buckled down to fight the pandemic.

Share prices are near their highest levels in three decades, but that wealth is not trickling down to average Japanese. Their incomes adjusted for inflation have been falling.

Meanwhile, jobs are growing less secure as companies increasingly rely on part-time and contract workers to keep costs low—the average minimum wage in Japan is only 930 yen ($8.30), while the cost of living is higher than in many Western countries.

The number of families relying on Japan’s meager welfare benefits surged during the pandemic, and poverty has increased, especially in families headed by single mothers.

What was labeled the “lost generation” during Japan’s long years of stagnation has become an “underclass” accounting for about four in 10 Japanese, says Waseda University professor Kenji Hashimoto.

pandemic has brought. But today, it seems that there are allegedly strong indications that the pandemic funds had been anomalously used to benefit people and companies close to top officials of the government. If true, this has also led to lower finances and overpriced medical supplies for the fight against Covid. This not only betrays the goodwill of the people but may

be used by the credit agencies as an excuse to give credit downgrades to the Philippines for deterioration in governance as well as anomalous use of borrowed fiscal funds. Thus, a very thorough and complete investigation of these cases should be a priority.

Dr. Joseph Anthony Y. Lim is a Professor of Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University.

A12 Friday, October 1, 2021

PALACE REVIEWING SSS RATE HIKE DEFERMENT

M

ALACAÑANG said it is now studying the proposed deferment of the contribution hike for Social Security System (SSS) members.

In an online press briefing last Thursday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque disclosed SSS has submitted to the Office of the President its recommendation on the matter.

“We are looking at the financial viability of the SSS at the same time the weakened business and livelihood during the pandemic,” Roque said.

“So you could expect we will come out with a decision on this at the soonest possible time,” he added.

Roque issued the statement in response to the appeal of employer and labor groups to President Duterte to issue an Executive Order (EO) suspending the implementation of the higher SSS contribution rate.

Under Republic Act 11548, the President is authorized to suspend the scheduled premium hike under the Social Security Act of 2018.

The first tranche of the increase took effect last January, which raised the SSS monthly contribution rate from 12 percent to 13 percent.

Without the EO, the higher SSS contribution rate will continue to take effect.

Stakeholders maintained the contribution hike is untimely, especially as companies are still reeling from the business disruption caused by Covid-19.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it is backing the position of employers and the labor sector on the said issue.

“Given the pandemic, we can support the call of the labor and employer groups to defer the increase,” Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said in a SMS.

3.9M jobless in August, but 20-mo net job creation is 1.7M

O

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

VER a million jobs have been created in the economy since the pandemic began, according to data released by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In a televised Palace briefing on Thursday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the net employment creation of the country reached 1.7 million between January 2020 and August 2021.

This, despite the government reporting 3.88 million unemployed Filipinos in August. This was 810,000 higher than the 3.07 million posted in July 2021 and 120,000 more than the 3.76 million in June 2021 (See: https:// busi ne ssm i r ror .com. ph/2021/09/30/800k-filipinos-join-ranks-of-jobless-inaugust-8-1-unemploymenthighest-since-april/).

“So far, we saw that our net employment creation since January 2020 up to August 2021, [was at] positive 1.7 million jobs [rep-

resenting jobs that we were able to bring back to the economy],” Chua said in his televised presentation.

Based on Chua’s estimates a total of 2.6 million net jobs were created between July 2021 and August 2021, despite Metro Manila being placed under ECQ. Between June and July, 3.4 million jobs were lost.

The net jobs created between July and August was the highest figure on net jobs created since the 2.2 million jobs reached between February and March this year.

Chua said job creation is highly correlated with the level of quarantine and lately, the heightened risk due to the Delta variant.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said this accounts for the need to ensure that businesses

continue operating even if they are sited in areas under Alert Level 4 or even 5.

Lopez said business closures automatically lead to job losses.

But the latest employment numbers show that the economy may already be on the path to recovery, despite the challenges.

“Yes there are sectors recovering but some are highly sensitive to the community quarantine classification especially if ECQ, MECQ or levels 5 or 4 are declared. These can lead to job losses as seen in the recent Labor Force Survey,” Lopez told reporters through Viber.

Jobs data

BASED on preliminary results of the Labor Force Survey for August, the unemployment rate was at 8.1 percent, the highest since the 8.7 percent posted in April 2021.

Underemployed Filipinos decreased by 2.21 million to 6.48 million in August 2021 from 8.69 million in July 2021. However, this was still higher by 0.07 million from the 6.41 million posted in June 2021.

PSA put underemployment rate in August at 14.7 percent, slower than the 20.9 percent

posted in July 2021. However, it was higher than the 14.2 percent posted in June 2021.

More Filipinos participated in the Labor Force in August.

PSA said the Philippine labor force increased by 3.38 million to 48.12 million in August from 44.74 million in July 2021.

This translated to a Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of 63.6 percent in August, higher than the 59.8 percent in July 2021.

However, compared to June, the labor force shrank by 0.72 million in August compared to the 48.84 million in June. The LFPR two months before was also higher at 65 percent.

Meanwhile, PSA said the services sector consistently dominated the employment hub, or 56 percent of the total employed persons in August 2021. The agriculture and industry sectors contributed 25.1 percent and 18.9 percent, respectively.

The top five industries with the largest increase were Agriculture and Forestry with an addition of 1.78 million jobs to 9.85 million in August from 8.07 million in July.

PSA data showed other sectors posting highest increase in employment as: wholesale and

Corn growers vs feed millers’ bid to cut tariff on yellow corn

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

C

@jearcalas

ORN growers are opposing the proposal of feed millers to review and reduce the tariff on yellow corn imports, arguing that the measure will only benefit a “few” and may even be detrimental to the domestic corn industry.

The broiler raisers, on the other hand, said they will not support any tariff reduction on yellow corn imports unless it is backed by corn growers.

However, a hog growers group leader said they will support a tariff reduction on yellow corn imports on condition that the volume is only the estimated shortfall and their arrival will not coincide with domestic harvest.

“We are opposing PAFMI’s proposal since they are anyway free to import provided that they pay the necessary [tariffs]. Just because of what is happening in the international market, they want to make us as a scapegoat,” Roger V. Navarro, president of the Philippine Maize Federation Inc., told the BusinessMirror.

Navarro noted that yellow corn imports have been dismal this year, forcing feed millers to procure more locally-produced corn, thus, putting pressure on the domestic supply side. Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data analyzed by the BusinessMirror showed corn imports from January to July declined by 73.53 percent to 94,951.748 met r ic tons (M T ) f rom 358,731.465 MT. On the other hand, PSA data showed yellow corn production in the first half soared to a record level of nearly 3.1

million MT, the first time domestic output breached the 3-MMT level.

PAFMI earlier claimed that “country’s yellow corn importation is now more than what is locally available, and has a more significant impact on consumer foods.” PAFMI urged the government to review the tariff structure, particularly for non-Asean yellow corn imports which are slapped with 50-percent tariff, and consider lowering them, as what neighboring countries are doing now.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier formed a technical working group to study possible reforms in the country’s yellow corn tariff structure, as well as necessary industry support to boost domestic yellow corn productivity.

Navarro lamented that since yellow corn prices have increased this year, feed millers want the government to intervene; but a year ago they were just sitting and enjoying the low prices of yellow corn.

The farm-gate price of yellow corn today ranges from P16 to P18 per kilogram, compared to P8 to P9 per kilogram last year.

“When yellow corn prices were at P8 to P9 per kilogram, feed millers did not do anything. Now that they have a problem, and even if they have an option to import anyway, they want us to suffer anew,” he said.

Refuting earlier claims of PA FMI, Nava r ro sa id any reduction in the tariff of imported yellow corn or costs of animal feeds will not translate to lower prices of meat products, with only few people in the value chain benefitting from such.

Continued on A5

retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles which generated an additional 992,000 jobs, amid ECQ; manufacturing, 169,000; other service activities, 148,000; and fishing and aquaculture, 128,000.

“When the weather improved, the jobs that were lost in agriculture returned and helped bring down the underemployment rate to 14.7 percent,” Chua said.

Industries that lost the most jobs in August were led by education, with 238,000 jobs lost. This brought down employment in the sector to 1.18 million in August from 1.42 million in July 2021.

This was followed by Administrative and support service activities with 183,000 jobs lost; Professional, scientific and technical activities, 110,000; construction, 85,000; and Human health and social work activities, 83,000.

“The PSA field offices are seeing...potential teachers are not yet able to find work, including tutors for online classes. We are seeing a pattern which showed there is an increase (in employment) toward the middle of the school year and gradually decline when the school year ends or begins,” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa explained in a briefing on Thursday.

Ransomware perils rising, Cybercrime Center says

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

D

ESPITE its miniscule resources, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said it remains on track to address growing threats of cybercrimes in the country.

“We have been allocated with a budget of P11 million for 2021 to meet the challenges of cybercrime. It is a small amount but we are working with Congress for additional funds,” Assistant Secretary and Deputy Executive Director of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center James Layug said in a webinar on Thursday organized by the BusinessMirror and the Philippines Graphic.

With the additional funds, we can acquire the equipment and upgrade the capabilities of our officers to fight cybercrime,” Layug added.

Layug said his office tries to innovate and be adaptive to current conditions by forging memorandum of agreement and memorandum of understanding with local government units, nongovernment organizations and the business community to have a stronger force against cybercrime.

Moreover, Layug said they have also formed partnerships with telecom companies and internet service providers to offset budgetary constraints.

Meanwhile, leading cybersecurity providers warned that ransomware is one of the top cyber threats. It is a type of malicious software that threatens to publish a victim’s personal data, or make use of encryption to block access, or hold hostage the victim’s files until a sum of money is paid.

According to a report from Kaspersky Security Network, cybersecurity threats in the Philippines increased by 59 percent with over 44.4 million detections for 2020 alone, and over 7,000 companies encountering ransomware attacks.

Meanwhile, United Kingdom-based cybersecurity firm Sophos revealed that local organizations spent an average of $820,000 to recover on attacks, including the ransom and cost incurred because of the system downtime.

“There is a need for the further strengthening of cybersecurity among businesses, especially now that cybercriminals are taking advantage of our non-standard operating mode and our increased reliance on digital platforms,” Marilene Tayag, Chief Information Security Officer of ePLDT, the ICT arm of PLDT Enterprise, said in press statement.

“Organizations have started investing more in cybersecurity. Enterprises have come to realize that protecting the company’s digital assets must be integral in the implementation and adoption of innovative technologies.”

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

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

1.

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

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write chinese fluently. Preferably, 6 months to 1-year customer service experience. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task.

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

2.

XIE, BING-JYUN Customer Service Representative (Chinese Accounts) Brief Job Description: Assists clients will all their concerns.

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write chinese fluently. Preferably, 6 months to 1-year customer service experience. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task.

12.

ZHANG, XUESEN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 13.

3.

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

14.

XU, DONGDONG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative 4.

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction

LANGBEMY, RODRIGUE BAMBI Collection Support Analyst 15.

HAO, JIANCHENG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 5.

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

THONG PHU DIN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 6.

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

LI, SHUAI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 7.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

LIU, TANGPING Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 8.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

17.

9.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

WANG, KANG Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 10.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

Brief Job Description: Responsible for culinary activities for the f&b outlets.

Oversees all activity in the kitchen, train employees, plan menus, direct product purchasing and manage culinary budget.

CHEN, BIAOTONG International Purchasing 18.

LEE YOON KIONG Marketing And Sales Agent 23.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in both French and English language

WONG LOKE XIANG Marketing And Sales Agent 24.

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

11.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

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

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas

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

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information, ideas, and research to help develop marketing strategies; can help to detail, design, and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered.

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

EXANET TELECOMMUNICATIONS INC. Unit 2905, 2906 & 2907 One San Miguel Avenue Condo., San Miguel Ave. Cor. Shaw Blvd., Ortigas Center, City Of Pasig

LIM, DONGJIN Technical Support 25.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree in culinary arts, hospitality management, hotel and restaurant management or similar degree. Minimum of 5 years experience

Brief Job Description: To undertake all the international purchasing for Boss Autolab Inc.

26.

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

Brief Job Description: Maintenance and monitoring of computer hardware computer systems and applications

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing Korean and English Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate, with 3 years experience in purchasing, knowledgeable in planning and forecasting system Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NGO CHI HAI Advisor I, Sales Brief Job Description: Provide professional responses and resolving technical issues for customers.

20.

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

CAI, WENYONG Customer Service Representative 27.

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

21.

Brief Job Description: Develop and create marketing materials and colaborate with the internal teams.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

WANG, MUYAN Customer Service Representative 28.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 WANG, ZHENYAO Customer Service Representative 29.

LIN, CHENG-HUNG Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist

Brief Job Description: Configure and maintain systems and networks

Basic Qualification: Proficient in both Vietnamese and English language

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

HE, WEIPING Mandarin Field Marketing Officer

LI, FANGYAO IT Technical Mandarin

Basic Qualification: Expertise in marketing and fluent in mandarin speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer applications Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

GATEWAYSOLUTIONS CORP. Unit 2306 Antel Global Corporate Center, Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

DA SUCCESS BUSINESS TRADING INCORPORATED 2503 The Finance Centre, 26th Street Corner 9th Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig WEI, ZEGUO Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information, ideas, and research to help develop marketing strategies; can help to detail, design, and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered.

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

CONCENTRIX DAKSH SERVICES PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Bldg. F, Ayalaland, Technohub, Quezon City

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas

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

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

BOSS AUTOLAB INC. 4/f Ptc Building Dona Soledad Avenue Cor., Argentina Street Better Living Subdivision, Don Bosco, City Of Parañaque

19.

OU, YANGDE Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking

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

BUTTI, WALTER Executive Chef

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

22.

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information, ideas, and research to help develop marketing strategies; can help to detail, design, and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered.

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

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

KEW WEN XUAN Marketing And Sales Agent

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503, Nueva St, , Binondo, City Of Manila

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ANCHOR LAND HOTELS & RESORTS, INC. G/f 69 Solemare Park Suites, Bradco Avenue, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

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

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for business-to-business customer service and billing account

REN, ZHONGLANG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 16.

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

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects recommend to senior management

No.

AMUSETECH BUSINESS OUTSOURCING 2/f Rivergreen Residences, 2217 Pedro Gil St., 096, Bgy 880, Santa Ana, City Of Manila

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

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5-10/f Tower 1, Pitx Kennedy Road, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

ACCENTURE, INC. 7f, Robinsons Cybergate Tower 1, Pioneer St, City Of Mandaluyong

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

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

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

ZHANG, YUANBAO Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking

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

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently. Preferably, 6 months to 1-year customer service experience. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and result

A13

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

YE, ZHENTIAN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking

Friday, October 1, 2021

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate; can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate; can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

A14 Friday, October 1, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ZHAN, SUZHI Customer Service Representative 30.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

31.

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

HE, AOTAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 32.

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

HUYNH KIM LIEN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 33.

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

LI, WEIHAO Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 34.

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

ZENG, YIXIN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 35.

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

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

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

41.

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

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

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

WANG, YUYIN Senior Site Coordinator 42.

36.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

37.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

43.

ESTERHUYZEN, PETRUS JOHANNES NEC Procurement And Contracts Specialist 38.

Brief Job Description: To provide specialised procurement services for the execution of sourcing and procurement strategies, policies, standards, and processed by the implementation and use of NEC family of contracts in support of the implementation of the GNPower SCM Strategy.

KADER, ANUSHIA NEC Procurement And Contracts Specialist 39.

Brief Job Description: To provide specialised procurement services for the execution of sourcing and procurement strategies, policies, standards, and processed by the implementation and use of NEC family of contracts in support of the implementation of the GNPower SCM Strategy.

SUBRAMINIAN, RUNGANAYAGIE NEC Procurement And Contracts Specialist 40.

Brief Job Description: To provide specialised procurement services for the execution of sourcing and procurement strategies, policies, standards, and processed by the implementation and use of NEC family of contracts in support of the implementation of the GNPower SCM Strategy.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

44.

Basic Qualification: At least three (3) years of experience as a site coordinator; fluent in mandarin/basic English

Brief Job Description: Installing and configuring computer hardware operating system and applications

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

WU, GUAN-SHIUAN IT Specialist Staff Brief Job Description: Assisting with network administration tasks.

Basic Qualification: Good communication ability, both written and verbal.

SANTIAGO GONZALEZ, ANGEL ANTONIO Sector Lead - Water

Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

SUN, CONG Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

56.

WAN, ZHENGXI Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

ZHI, DONGKE Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

45.

Brief Job Description: Leadership and Health and Safety Planning, project management

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services

LIN, YU-TING a.k.a. LIN, AN-YANG Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services

58.

BEH TZE HAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

59.

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

60.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 61.

WEI, JIE Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

48.

Brief Job Description: Technical support specialist provide technical support, advice and assistance to consumers and businesses.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Chinese mandarin, English and their respective native language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Atleast 19 y/old; Ability to speak write and communicate in Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate with experience in the related position, fluent in enlist and Korean Hangul.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

HUYNH GIA HUY Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

LE THI HUE Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

LI, XINXIN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

LIU, JIANQIU Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese/ Mandarin fluently

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

MIDAN CORPORATION 18e Fort Palm Spring, 30th Ave. Cor. 1st Ave., Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

CHO, KI JEONG Business Development Manager 62.

Brief Job Description: Oversee all operations from sourcing products from Korea to developing distribution channels.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Korean/English/ Chinese; Previous Experience in International Wholesale Trade & Business Development Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

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

WANG, JIN Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist 63.

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

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

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

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

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

CAO, YUHUI Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff

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

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

CHUNG, JONGHUN Technical Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Can speak chinese/ mandarin fluently

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

JIU ZHOU TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. 31/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Avenue, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

HUNG, CHING-YI Chinese Customer Service Representative

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Basic Qualification: Master’s Degree

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

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

NGUYEN THI BICH Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree, business or Engineering CIPS Certified (Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply Chain Management). Credible and extensive years’ experience as a P&SCM executive in a large organization

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree, business or Engineering CIPS Certified (Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply Chain Management). Credible and extensive years’ experience as a P&SCM executive in a large organization

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects ,recommend to Senior Management

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

55.

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree, business or Engineering CIPS Certified (Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply Chain Management). Credible and extensive years’ experience as a P&SCM executive in a large organization

54.

HOORAY E-COMMERCE CORPORATION Unit 4b 4/f #24 Ptc Building Doña Soledad Avenue Corner Argentina St., Better Living Subdivision, Don Bosco, City Of Parañaque

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and projects ,recommend to Senior Management

GNPOWER LTD. CO. 28th Floor The Orient Square, Don Francisco Ortigas Jr., Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

Brief Job Description: Plan and coordinate all management aspects of the project at site

CHE, XIAOJING Mandarin Technical Support Specialist

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

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree, business or Engineering.

CIPS Certified (Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply Chain Management). Credible and extensive years’ experience as a P&SCM executive in a large organization

No.

HITEX CENTRE CORPORATION 16/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

47.

WANG, WEIQI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

57.

46.

LI, SHANGHUI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking

Brief Job Description: To establish strategic leadership and direction in the areas of sourcing, procurement and supply chain management, and drawing synergies across divisions, bringing enhanced standards of excellence throughout the GNPower Group by leading innovation, inspiring overall P&SCM insightful vision and strategic focus to ensure security of supply and ongoing operations

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

HAMMERTIME CONSTRUCTION INC. Unit 203-s3 2nd Flr., Fbr Arcade Bldg., #317 Katipunan Ave. Loyola Heights 3, Quezon City

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

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

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

RICHARD HENRY DOUGLAS, DEWEY Supply Chain Manager

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

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

CAO, YONG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking

No.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

GUO, HAO Mandarin Marketing Specialist 64.

Brief Job Description: CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND MARKETING STRATIGIES TO DEVELOP AREAS OF THE BUSINESS OPPURTUNITIES

Basic Qualification: PROFICIENT IN SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING IN MANDARIN Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MIZUHO BANK, LTD. - MANILA BRANCH Units 1-8, 25/f Zuellig Bldg., Makati Ave. Cor Paseo De Roxas, Urdaneta, City Of Makati

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

OKABE, YASUYUKI Vice President - Business Development Department And Credit Analysis And Documentation Department 65.

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese/ mandarin fluently

Brief Job Description: Lead the team as department head, conceptualize & develop new businesses through the creation of & enhancement of corporate banking products

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

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business or related course, master’s degree preferred.

At least 10 yrs’ experience working in a Japanese bank, preferably held a relationship manager position, native Japanese speaker with excellent English communication skills

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

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

66.

HAN, MIAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

67.

68.

69.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION LAI, ZHUOBIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

TIAN, XIAOPING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

WU, YONGQI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

No.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

XU, MEIZHENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LI, MING Chinese Site Supervisor 84.

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

ZHANG, MAOLIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

ZHOU, YUNSHENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ZHOU, ZE Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ZHU, ZIZUO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

AMU, ZITI Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

HUANG, XIANG Chinese Customer Specialist 77.

78.

79.

80.

Brief Job Description: MANAGING INCOMING CALLS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE INQUIRES

LIU, YAN Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

RAO, JINGYE Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

WANG, JIANQIANG Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LIU, XIAOQIANG Chinese Site Supervisor

81.

82.

Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services inquiries; Identifying and assessing customer’s needs.

YULIANA Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services

83.

Brief Job Description: Overall management of the head office ensuring high quality business activities with maximum quality, service and profitability for the organization.

ZHANG, FUXING Operations Manager 86.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: A construction operations manager is responsible to oversee a construction project on behalf of the employer. Participate in the project planning, help determine the budget, select any necessary contractors.

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

ZHANG, HULIN Operations Manager

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language 87.

Brief Job Description: A construction operations manager is responsible to oversee a construction project on behalf of the employer. Participate in the project planning, help determine the budget, select any necessary contractors.

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

XIE, LIBIN Project Coordinator 88.

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

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

ZHAO, DONG Project Coordinator 89.

Basic Qualification: ABLE TO SPEAK, READ, AND WRITE CHINESE LANGUAGE

Brief Job Description: Responsible for planning, organizing and direct the activities of a construction project, also supports the project manager in gathering equipment, resources and information to implement upcoming projects.

LI, JIANG Purchasing Department Officer 90.

Brief Job Description: Construction purchasing officers maintain stock levels, and may also conduct research, negotiate with vendors, and interview prospective suppliers

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

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

ZHOU, HAO Purchasing Department Officer 91.

Brief Job Description: Construction purchasing officers maintain stock levels, and may also conduct research, negotiate with vendors, and interview prospective suppliers

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

DONG, WEIYI Quality Control Manager 92.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for supervising staff and maintaning quality controll processes, analyzing the results and giving feedback and guidance to the production team under the direct supervision

Basic Qualification: Fluently speaking in Mandarin and English.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English

LI, YAOWEI Quality Control Manager 93.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent both oral and written Chinese Mandarin Speaking language and Direct the development of plans for the head office to include management to achieve targets Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Responsible for supervising staff and maintaning quality controll processes, analyzing the results and giving feedback and guidance to the production team under the direct supervision

94.

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential by answering product and service question, suggesting information about other product and services

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

KIM, MINSUNG Operations Manager Brief Job Description: To improve the operational systems process and policies in support of organizations mission

Basic Qualification: Experience in operations and management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TCK LINK INC. Unit A 9/f Bpi Philam Life Bldg., 6811 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

YU, WENHUA Chinese Speaking Site Technician 97.

Brief Job Description: Provide accurate information on it products and services

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

TRIVES TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION Tower 4 Bayport West, Naia Garden Residence, Naia Road, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

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

98.

Basic Qualification: Competent in conflict and crisis management.

Vocational/college level or graduate. Has good communications and interpersonal skills. Has negotiation skills and fluent in Mandarin and basic English

Basic Qualification: Has good project administration and management skills. Good negotation skills and fluent in Mandarin and basic English

ZHANG, HUICHENG Mandarin Customer Support Representative

Basic Qualification: Has good project administration and management skills. Good negotation skills and fluent in Mandarin and basic English

SONG, WANGXI Bilingual Finance Support Specialist 99.

100.

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

Basic Qualification: Familiarity of manufacturing methods and processes, excellent in reading, writing and speaking both and Mandarin and basic English.

Proven expertise or similar field. Keen to details and quality of work essential Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Familiarity of manufacturing methods and processes, excellent in reading, writing and speaking both and Mandarin and basic English.

Proven expertise or similar field. Keen to details and quality of work essential Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese verbal and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

HU, KANG Bilingual Technical Support Specialist 101.

Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying work load capacity pf computer system

JACKY TAN JUN JIA Mandarin-speaking Customer Service Officer

Basic Qualification: Solid analytical skills, with the ability to create financial reports and conduct cost analyses.

Able to speak and write in Mandarin and basic English

Basic Qualification: Solid analytical skills, with the ability to create financial reports and conduct cost analyses.

Able to speak and write in Mandarin and basic English

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

ZHAO, ZIZHENG Bilingual Finance Support Specialist

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

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

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN/FUKIEN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

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

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

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

SOMI UNLIMITED SOLUTIONS, INC. 10/f Tower 2 Double Dragon Plaza Bldg., Edsa Corner Macapagal Ave. St., Zone 10. Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

LE MINH THANH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese verbal and written

STUDYMATE ONLINE ENGLISH, INC. Unit 3a Dmet’z Apartment, 5004 P. Burgos St., Poblacion, City Of Makati

102.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Responsible for planning, organizing and direct the activities of a construction project, also supports the project manager in gathering equipment, resources and information to implement upcoming projects.

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential by answering product and service question, suggesting information about other product and services

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Basic Qualification: Competent in conflict and crisis management.

Vocational/college level or graduate. Has good communications and interpersonal skills. Has negotiation skills and fluent in Mandarin and basic English

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

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: Working knowledge of construction tools and equipment. Able to interpret blueprints.

Outstanding leadership skill and able to speak and write in both Mandarin and basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

POLYSTARWORLD-WIDE SERVICES INC. Unit 2319 High Street South Corporate Center Tower 1, 26th St., Bgc, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

WEI, WEI Head Office Leader

Brief Job Description: Responsible for monitoring the progress of construction projects and ensure compliance

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

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

Basic Qualification: Working knowledge of construction tools and equipment. Able to interpret blueprints.

Outstanding leadership skill and able to speak and write in both Mandarin and basic English

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION VONG KY YEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

96.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

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

No.

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

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

NOCMAKATI, INC. 8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18 & 19 Floors, Century Diamond Center, Kalayaan Ave. Cor. Salamanca St. Poblacion, City Of Makati

PROMVICHAI, VASSANA Chinese Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responsible for monitoring the progress of construction projects and ensure compliance

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

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

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

95.

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

A15

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

POWERCHINA PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Unit 2101 21/f Bdo Equitable Tower, 8751 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

85.

XIA, YAHONG Chinese Customer Service

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Friday, October 1, 2021

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

NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRAN Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer 103.

Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats

NGUYEN VAN NHAT Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer 104.

Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats

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

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

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

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

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

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

WISHLAND SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY INC. 28/f Techzone Condo Corp., 213 Buendia Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati

105.

GUI, XUYAN Chinese Language-customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Deal with and help resolve customer complaints

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

XUSHENG TECHNOLOGY CORP. Flr. No. 1-5 Bldg., No. 0050 F.b. Harrison St. Cor. Williams And Roberts St., Zone 4, Barangay 013, District 1, Pasay City

ZHANG, XIAOLING Mandarin Speaking Technical Support 106.

Brief Job Description: Deals with hardwre and application support queries and issues reported

Basic Qualification: ss Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

*Date Generated: Sep 30, 2021 Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication.

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Meralco to hold competitive auction for supply contract

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

he Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will conduct a competitive selection process (CSP) to procure 70 megawatts (MW) of power supply it needs from January 2022 to January 2037.

In a published bid invite, the utility firm said the power supply should be sourced from baseload power plants or those that continuously run on a 24/7 basis.

The third-party bids and awards committee has set the deadline for the submission of interest on October 15. It is poised to declare a failed bid if less than two expressions of

interest are submitted.

A pre-bid conference is scheduled on October 22 while the bid submission deadline is set on November 19.

The bids will be opened and evaluated on the same day.

The bid invite states that an annual ancillary service cost recovery cap, with a floor value of P0.28 per kilowatt hour, will be considered

in computing the Levelized Cost of Electricity. The bidders’ proposed price and LCOE are subject to a predetermined reserve price, which will only be revealed by the committee to qualified bidders during the opening of bids.

Meralco utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez said the conduct of the competitive bidding for the 70MW power supply requirement is in compliance with the 2019 Supreme Court (SC) ruling, which required all power supply agreements (PSAs) submitted with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) after June 30, 2015 to undergo a CSP. Meralco’s PSA with Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) was among the many PSAs affected by the SC decision in the petition filed

by Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas (ABP). In its May 2019 decision, the SC ruled that the ERC gravely abused

its discretion when it unilaterally postponed the implementation of the CSP—a requirement under a 2015 Department of Energy (DOE) circular—twice, from June 30, 2015 to November 7, 2015 and again to April 30, 2016.

Some 90 PSAs were submitted to the ERC for approval from June 30, 2015 to April 29, 2016.

ABP said these PSAs include seven midnight coal contracts worth $10 billion which Meralco allegedly entered into without the benefit of bidding on April 26, 2016, just before the extended deadline. The seven contracts were between Meralco and Central Luzon Premier Power Corp., St. Raphael Power Generation Corp., Mariveles Power Generation Corp., Global Luzon Energy Development Corp., PEDC, Atimonan One Energy Inc., and Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc.

Villar: IPO shows resilience of AllDay

By VG Cabuag @villygc

B

usinessman Manuel B. Villar Jr. on Thursday said the approval of regulators for the initial public offering (IPO) of supermarket operator AllDay Marts Inc. will boost confidence in the company’s resilience.

“This brings us closer to our vision to bring to the investing public another pandemic resilient business that continues to rapidly grow amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” Villar, AllDay’s vice chairman, said in a statement.

Last week, both the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission gave their green light for the P6.02-billion IPO of AllDay. The company will be the sixth to list on the PSE this year.

The company will sell some 6.85 billion in common shares as its primary offer and an over-allotment option of 685.71 million shares as its secondary offer. Both will have a par

value of P0.10 and will be sold at an indicative price of P0.80 per share.

The final price of the offer is scheduled on October 12, while the offer period is from October 18 to 25. It will be listed on the PSE on November 3.

Net proceeds from the sale could reach P5.82 billion, which the company will use for debt repayment, capital expenditures and initial working capital for store network expansion.

“We intend to retire our high-cost debt in the amount of P4.1 billion which were used primarily to fund our past and ongoing store network expansion. We believe that pursuing this strategy will increase the overall shareholder value of the company as this will decrease our financing cost by as much as P264.4 million per annum. Any balance of the net proceeds will allow us to partly fund our store network expansion,” the company said in its registration statement.

From incorporation in December 2016, the company has rolled out 33 stores as of June. AllDay intends

to have 45 stores by 2022 and 100 stores by 2026.

“We just entered the ‘ber’ months where the mood is typically upbeat as we head into the consumptiondriven holiday season,” Alvin Arogo, head of research of Philippine National Bank, said.

PNB Research Division expects the Philippine Stock Exchange index to finish at 7,490 to 8,100 this year on expectation that the relatively low yield environment will allow earnings multiples to remain elevated. This suggests a potential upside of 8 percent to 16.8 percent from Wednesday’s close of 6,934.11.

The benchmark index gained 18.70 points on Thursday to close at 6,952.88 points.

“The GDP growth starting the second quarter of 2022 will encourage positive sentiment and investors are looking forward to less strict pandemic curbs overall,” Arogo said.

PNB Capital and Investment Corp. has been appointed as sole issue manager for the transaction.

97.9 Home Radio celebrates 27th anniversary

O

ne of the country’s leading FM radio stations 97.9 Home Radio celebrated its 27th anniversary with a special edition of its weekly Friday Night Live program last September 24.

The avid listeners of the station were treated to performances by some of the country’s most promising artists, including Peaceful Gemini, Mc Julyo, LOIR, eevee, Nobrvnd, The Knobs, ST. WOLF, Clara Benin, Ciara Sotto, and Christian Bautista.

Entitled “Friday Night Live: The Unplugged Virtual Concert,” the event was streamed on air and online via Home Radio’s official Facebook

Page, @979HomeRadioOfficial.

Another highlight of the virtual concert was an exclusive performance by international pop artist Ed Sheeran of his new single, “Bad Habits.”

Home Radio currently has nine stations, including Mega Manila and in the key cities of Cebu, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Naga, Legazpi, Iloilo, Tacloban, and Davao.

True to its tagline, “feels good to be home,” 97.9 Home R adio brings its soothing music to Filipinos abroad via its website, www.979homeradio.com, and the Home Radio App which can be

downloaded from the App Store for iOS or Play Store for Android, to make them feel closer to home.

Home Radio is also intensifying its online presence through massive social media updates. The station is also excited to announce that it will soon have a new female jock that the avid followers should watch out for.

A recipient of the 27th KBP Golden Dove Award for Best FM Radio Station in Metro Manila, 97.9 Home Radio is part of the ALC Group of Companies founded by Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua and currently chaired by D. Edgard A. Cabangon.

PNB Capital, BDO Capital and Investment Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. were picked as joint underwriters and joint bookrunners.

Friday, October 1, 2021

B1

Cebu Pacific brings home 346 Filipinos via Bayanihan flights

C

ebu Pacific (CEB) brought home this week 346 Filipinos from Dubai via two Bayanihan flights, in response to the government’s call to repatriate overseas Filipinos who were stranded in the Middle East.

The Bayanihan flights on September 27 and 29 were mounted

by CEB in coordination with the Philippine government’s special working group.

Passengers on these f lights received an additional 25 kg baggage allowance, meal upgrades and a gift pack from Universal Robina Corp.

Upon arrival, the passengers were required to follow current health protocols, including a mandatory 15-day/14-night quarantine stay in a pre-booked, accredited facility. Another RT-PCR test will be taken in 7 days.

The cost of quarantine accommodation and testing for landbased overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are shouldered by Overseas Workers Welfare Administration; while the Philippine Ports Authority covered the cost for sea-based OFWs. CEB has coordinated with the hotels accredited by the Bureau of Quarantine to ensure that there are adequate facilities for OFWs

and their dependents.

The accredited hotels for the September 27 flight were Go Hotels Airport, Go Hotels Ortigas, Holiday Inn Galleria, Sheraton RWM and Go Hotels North Edsa.

For the September 29 Bayanihan flight, the accredited hotels were Go Hotels Ortigas, Go Hotels Ermita, Eurotel North Edsa and Lub d Makati.

“While we await the easing of restrictions for international travel, we are glad to keep assisting our government in its repatriation efforts. We know a lot of our kababayans abroad have been wanting to fly home and it is our honor to enable them especially as we enter the holiday season,” said Alex Reyes, Chief Strategy Officer at Cebu Pacific.

Since July, CEB has safely flown more than 4,600 Filipinos from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, India, Vietnam, Lebanon and Bahrain through bayanihan and DFA-arranged charter flights.

CEB operates the widest domestic network in the Philippines covering 31 destinations, on top of its 8 international destinations.

Its 74-strong fleet, one of the youngest in the world, includes 2 dedicated ATR freighters and one A330 freighter.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, October 1, 2021

AboitizPower to sell ₧12B in fixed-rate retail bonds

A

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

boitiz Power Corp. on Thursday said it filed its application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the issuance of P12 billion in fixed-rate retail bonds, which the company will issue later this year in either one or two series.

The said issuance is part of the P30 billion in debt paper shelf registration which the SEC approved in March.

“The proceeds of the bonds will be used to refinance the 2020 series E Bonds maturing in 2022,

partially fund the equity contributions for the construction of the 74-megawatt solar power plant in Pangasinan province, general corporate purposes and other future renewable projects,” the company said in its disclosure.

AboitizPower intends to list the bonds with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

The company appointed BDO Capital and Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp. and Security Bank Capital Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners.

Earlier this week, Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) announced that it will sell 25.01 percent of its stake in AboitizPower for at least $1.46 billion in cash to JERA Asia Pte Ltd., Japan’s largest power generation company.

AEV is selling some 1.84 billion common shares in the power unit, which accounts for a chunk of the holding firm’s revenues.

“The transaction and the resulting interest allow AboitizPower to benefit from the experience and expertise of Japan’s largest power generator, and releases significant cash proceeds to AEV that allows it to pursue the Aboitiz Group’s growth objectives,” the company said.

JERA will make a onetime payment in cash to Aboitiz Group at the close of the transaction.

The Aboitiz family’s privately held parent company has also agreed to sell an additional 1.99 percent stake in AboitizPower, bringing JERA’s total ownership to 27 percent.

AEV said the valuation of the shares was undertaken by JERA following due diligence review of AboitizPower’s assets.

AboitizPower Corp. said it will explore the possibility of investing in wind projects in countries where JERA is present.

The two companies are expected to explore collaboration in many power projects in line with AboitizPower’s goal of achieving a 50:50 clean energy and thermal capacity mix by 2030. AboitizPower is earmarking P190 billion in the next 10 years to build an additional 3,700 megawatts to achieve the goal.

Apart from wind and hydrogen power, AboitizPower is also exploring synergies with JERA in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business. The power firm earlier revealed plans to participate in the next competitive bidding of the power requirements of the Manila Electric Co., offering LNG as the fuel source.

mutual funds

September 30, 2021

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

221.33

15%

-3.82%

-3.78%

-2.58%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.5569

45.42%

4.15%

2%

18.58%

-7.63%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0483

-6.72%

-2.7%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7334 10.57%

-6.17% n.a.

-9.77%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7506 10.33%

-2.76% n.a.

1.21%

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

21.23%

-1.03%

-1.56%

1.39%

0.7445

15.59%

-3.47%

-5.49%

-6.18% n.a.

-6.04%

5.0099

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

17.97%

95.71

15.48%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

45.6023

18.37%

-2%

-2.39%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

475.87

14.77%

-1.84%

-2.88%

-2.67%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d

1.0909

25.82% n.a. n.a.

-0.58%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.2359

25.32%

-0.02%

-0.97%

5.8%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

34.7717

20.41%

-1.24%

-1.34%

0.01%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.8899

-2.64%

17.34% n.a. n.a.

-2.53%

19.06%

-1.76%

-2.24%

-1.22%

-1.78%

-2.24%

-5.54%

-4.98%

-1.84%

-3.38%

-2.93%

-0.37%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8945 18.74%

-1.57%

-1.94%

-2.53%

United Fund, Inc. -a

-1.83%

-1.17%

-1.7%

-1.06%

-1.3%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.684

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

783.69

19.16%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.7057

18.21%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.6104

19.13%

3.2621

18.13%

-1.3%

-4.11%

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

105.2605

19.19%

-2.13%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities $1.1476

10.74%

4.01%

4.63%

-4.6%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7943

ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

19.8%

11.1%

11.33%

7.26%

0.13%

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

1.6707

8.69%

0.61%

-1.57%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.21

9.32%

0.25%

-1.41%

-3.3%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6365

11.44%

1.73%

0.08%

0.37%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.1957 NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9647

8.03%

14.65% n.a. n.a.

2.53%

0.57%

-0.12%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.6729

7.6%

1.88%

-0.78%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.4478

7.83%

1.82%

-0.74%

-2.91%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.0592

9.14%

0.3%

-0.64%

-1.53%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.5624 11.02%

-0.53%

-3.09%

-1.38%

-0.31%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9859

7.05% n.a. n.a.

-3.59%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9056

11.21% n.a. n.a.

-4.59%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8942

13.15% n.a. n.a.

-4.17%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

14.84%

0.901

-0.78%

-1.68%

-1.21%

1.5%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03811

-1.93%

2.85%

1.13%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.069

4.07%

2.81%

2.53%

-2.53% -5.4%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.7225 14.94%

8.53%

7.92%

4.65%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a $1.2109 6.72%

4.88%

4.16%

0.72%

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

373.22

1.35%

3%

2.4%

0.57%

1.928

-1.16%

1.25%

0.17%

1.46%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.241

1.24%

3.37%

4.17%

0.8%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2574

-1.45%

2.1%

1.22%

-1.78%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4309 -0.67%

3.11%

1.67%

-0.91%

4.9%

1.18%

-3.82%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

4.4532

-3.56%

1.3169

0.45%

3.93%

2.63%

-0.33%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9744

0.56%

4.66%

2.1%

-0.67%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0324

-0.26%

5.23%

1.55%

-1.06%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2048

0.88%

5.13%

2.57%

-0.04%

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

0.07%

4.39%

1.86%

-0.72%

1.7423

ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$487.97

2.05%

3.09%

2.06%

0.82%

Є220.22

1.47%

1.1%

0.74%

0.46%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1967

-3.27%

2.2%

1.2%

-6.49%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.026 -1.14%

1.59%

0.71%

-2.26%

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

-4.59%

0.12%

-1.41%

-5.17% -1.94%

$1.0336

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.4908

0.1%

4.69%

1.69%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.0628701

2.49%

3.4%

2.05%

0.92%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1401 -1.19%

2.75%

0.45%

-2.59%

2.55%

0.74%

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

130.78

1.25%

2.97%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0554 0.99% n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3105

1.53%

2.75%

2.55%

0.7% 1.05%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0588

0.91%

1.57% n.a.

0.49%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d 1.3199

31.03% n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a,d

$0.98

4.26% n.a. n.a.

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

September 30, 2021

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

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

44 110.6 80.5 24.1 7.25 8.92 43.7 9.4 20.2 56 104 18.5 106 84.7 0.88 4.28 0.59 3.19 6.53 1.13 0.64 225

45 111.4 81.45 24.15 8.47 8.93 43.8 9.6 20.35 56.4 105 19 106.3 85 0.94 4.32 0.6 3.25 7.96 1.15 0.67 229

46 113.3 80.5 24.15 8.4 9 44 9.56 20.2 56.35 100 19.62 105.4 85 0.95 4.31 0.59 3.25 6.53 1.15 0.66 219.8

46 113.4 81.45 24.15 8.47 9.06 44.65 9.56 20.4 56.4 109.9 19.62 106 85 0.95 4.32 0.6 3.25 6.53 1.15 0.66 229.8

45 110.6 80.3 24.05 8.4 8.92 43.55 9.42 20.15 56.35 100 18.5 104.5 84.3 0.95 4.27 0.59 3.19 6.53 1.12 0.64 215

45 110.6 81.45 24.15 8.47 8.92 43.7 9.42 20.2 56.4 105 18.5 106 84.7 0.95 4.32 0.6 3.25 6.53 1.13 0.64 225

1,000 4,549,340 1,152,360 47,100 300 170,400 3,678,000 12,000 1,810,000 6,540 480 100,600 1,035,250 24,360 1,000 264,000 2,000 57,000 100 62,000 82,000 1,640

45,800 506,321,340 93,454,926 1,136,435 2,527 1,522,550 161,083,290 113,077 36,640,680 368,683 49,047 1,861,996 109,545,929 2,069,747 950 1,135,540 1,190 185,190 653 70,210 53,280 368,544

INDUSTRIAL

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

11.28 1.15 30.9 0.52 33.7 74.5 295.2 18.6 3.07 3.96 11.74 19.4 14.68 14.08 4.9 2.71 26.8 14.7 7.48 17.7 75.5 0.62 1.31 113.9 203.4 6.3 0.185 18.74 7.9 0.74 4.6 1.26 0.113 135.8 0.77 2.41 1.26 14.7 6.98 6.2 6.19 14.3 0.91 1.2 150.2 1.68 1.71 5.4 21.25 2.18 7.49 0.86 5.8 1.13 4.31

11.38 1.17 31 0.53 33.95 74.6 298 18.64 3.08 4.05 11.98 19.44 14.7 14.6 5 2.72 27.3 14.9 7.6 17.84 76 0.63 1.32 114 205 6.35 0.19 18.8 7.94 0.75 4.66 1.35 0.116 135.9 0.78 2.45 1.27 14.78 6.99 6.35 6.2 14.5 0.93 1.21 168.9 1.7 1.78 5.45 22.5 2.19 7.5 0.88 5.95 1.14 4.33

11.18 1.16 30.5 0.57 32.45 74.3 296.8 18.6 3.05 3.94 11.66 19.6 14.5 14.06 5 2.68 26.95 14.62 7.46 18 75 0.65 1.31 105.6 197 6.07 0.185 18.1 7.97 0.76 4.65 1.27 0.115 131.5 0.79 2.45 1.27 14.8 6.96 6.4 6.15 14.36 0.89 1.14 150.2 1.7 1.71 5.41 21.25 2.1 7.55 0.86 5.94 1.15 4.35

11.52 1.17 31.5 0.57 34.6 75.5 298 18.6 3.1 4.06 11.98 19.6 14.7 14.06 5.09 2.72 27.5 14.94 7.6 18.06 76 0.65 1.34 114 205 6.4 0.19 18.86 7.97 0.76 4.65 1.29 0.116 136 0.79 2.45 1.28 14.86 7.4 6.4 6.22 14.36 0.91 1.24 150.2 1.7 1.78 5.41 21.25 2.2 7.78 0.88 5.95 1.15 4.36

11.16 1.16 30.25 0.53 32.45 74.3 294 18.34 3.05 3.91 11.66 19.24 14.5 14.06 4.9 2.68 26.75 14.62 7.44 17.62 74.8 0.63 1.28 105.6 196.2 6.07 0.185 18.1 7.95 0.72 4.65 1.25 0.113 130.5 0.76 2.45 1.25 14.78 6.96 6.21 6.1 14.36 0.89 1.14 150.2 1.68 1.71 5.4 21.1 2.1 7.49 0.86 5.94 1.14 4.3

11.28 1.16 31 0.53 33.95 74.55 298 18.6 3.08 4.05 11.98 19.4 14.7 14.06 5 2.72 26.8 14.88 7.6 17.7 76 0.63 1.32 114 205 6.3 0.19 18.8 7.95 0.75 4.65 1.25 0.113 135.9 0.78 2.45 1.26 14.78 6.99 6.21 6.19 14.36 0.91 1.21 150.2 1.68 1.78 5.4 21.1 2.19 7.5 0.88 5.95 1.14 4.31

41,337,000 95,000 3,562,300 9,883,000 2,953,400 42,160 151,080 1,421,000 2,625,000 147,000 25,800 12,800 73,700 600 67,000 164,000 1,542,200 160,200 4,323,800 5,520,100 101,170 32,000 10,944,000 125,200 427,190 160,500 250,000 43,793,800 1,100 2,866,000 4,000 38,000 860,000 1,190,280 664,000 48,000 1,407,000 69,800 1,209,900 253,500 323,300 45,100 133,000 22,605,000 90 8,000 45,000 100,000 400 7,094,000 1,157,700 58,000 2,100 699,000 1,237,000

472,071,656 110,220 110,487,540 5,377,980 100,137,625 3,148,343.50 44,859,150 26,240,024 8,090,030 581,360 307,620 248,530 1,081,638 8,436 335,100 443,910 41,646,575 2,363,846 32,529,688 97,930,110 7,655,923.50 20,180 14,296,580 14,008,846 86,758,981 1,012,940 46,800 814,034,986 8,747 2,128,070 18,600 48,180 97,570 161,087,942 507,600 117,600 1,772,650 1,032,660 8,475,785 1,575,902 1,988,441 647,636 119,870 27,082,560 13,518 13,540 77,650 540,100 8,485 15,438,000 8,720,031 50,000 12,489 798,690 5,340,530

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER ZEUS HLDG

1.13 5.3 815.5 48.6 10.22 5.28 6.96 0.92 0.51 0.52 5 7.1 7.58 0.3 510 3.52 64.75 0.66 3.11 10.1 0.445 3.64 3 1.79 1.18 987 114.1 0.66 130 0.185

1.14 5.6 817 48.65 10.3 5.3 7.15 0.94 0.52 0.58 5.04 7.11 7.75 0.315 520 4 65 0.69 3.14 10.24 0.46 3.65 3.06 1.85 1.21 990 114.9 0.69 134.2 0.19

1.12 5.23 806 48.7 9.96 5.5 6.9 0.94 0.54 0.52 4.98 6.82 7.57 0.315 516.5 3.52 63 0.68 3.11 10.02 0.49 3.65 3 1.86 1.21 986 114 0.74 130 0.19

1.15 5.6 820.5 51.1 10.38 5.5 7.15 0.96 0.54 0.52 5.07 7.2 7.75 0.315 524 3.52 65.65 0.69 3.15 10.32 0.49 3.71 3 1.86 1.21 999 114.9 0.74 130 0.19

1.1 5.23 796 48.6 9.96 5.28 6.9 0.92 0.52 0.52 4.98 6.8 7.57 0.315 510 3.52 63 0.66 3.11 10 0.46 3.65 3 1.81 1.18 979.5 113.8 0.74 130 0.185

1.14 5.6 817 48.6 10.3 5.3 6.96 0.94 0.52 0.52 5.04 7.1 7.75 0.315 510 3.52 65 0.69 3.14 10.1 0.46 3.65 3 1.81 1.18 990 114.9 0.74 130 0.185

20,814,000 5,300 702,920 4,553,200 2,969,200 4,165,000 5,400 434,000 518,000 10,000 379,000 39,780,700 8,600 10,000 316,600 23,000 1,485,770 496,000 126,000 10,092,100 42,000 16,324,000 10,000 224,000 5,000 228,670 133,020 3,000 30 170,000

23,629,130 28,479 574,183,880 226,830,395 30,530,300 22,302,372 37,455 406,480 269,720 5,200 1,899,880 280,646,072 66,452 3,150 162,904,285 80,960 96,522,349.50 336,530 395,550 102,508,186 19,350 59,834,090 30,000 407,790 5,930 227,005,270 15,230,550 2,220 3,900 31,700

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 18,000 11,520 AYALA LAND 33.3 33.5 33.05 33.6 32.9 33.5 6,510,700 217,543,170 ARANETA PROP 1.03 1.07 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 30,000 30,900 AREIT RT 39.55 39.7 39 39.7 39 39.7 1,282,500 50,429,060 BELLE CORP 1.32 1.33 1.35 1.35 1.33 1.33 56,000 74,740 0.9 0.91 0.9 0.96 0.9 0.91 1,659,000 1,552,850 A BROWN 0.76 0.78 0.77 0.78 0.76 0.78 155,000 118,520 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.117 0.122 0.125 0.125 0.116 0.122 1,530,000 179,790 CEBU HLDG 6.05 6.2 6.05 6.05 6.05 6.05 1,700 10,285 2.93 2.95 2.9 3 2.89 2.95 870,000 2,573,750 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.43 0.44 0.43 0.44 0.43 0.44 6,660,000 2,897,450 DOUBLEDRAGON 10.26 10.4 10.26 10.46 10.2 10.26 225,800 2,323,878 DDMP RT 1.8 1.81 1.8 1.82 1.8 1.8 3,718,000 6,707,460 DM WENCESLAO 6.87 6.9 6.77 6.92 6.7 6.9 69,400 470,685 EMPIRE EAST 0.27 0.275 0.28 0.28 0.27 0.27 1,100,000 307,600 0.385 0.39 0.38 0.41 0.38 0.39 28,420,000 11,231,500 EVER GOTESCO 7.21 7.22 7.21 7.22 7.21 7.22 3,633,000 26,221,835 FILINVEST RT 1.1 1.11 1.09 1.11 1.09 1.1 2,655,000 2,909,390 FILINVEST LAND 0.96 1.02 1.01 1.02 0.96 1.02 685,000 690,490 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 9.2 9.21 9.5 9.5 9.2 9.21 533,700 4,963,892 PHIL INFRADEV 1.11 1.13 1.13 1.14 1.11 1.13 825,000 917,460 CITY AND LAND 1.07 1.09 1.07 1.08 1.06 1.07 170,000 181,820 MEGAWORLD 2.83 2.85 2.85 2.86 2.8 2.85 13,976,000 39,733,320 MRC ALLIED 0.285 0.29 0.29 0.295 0.285 0.285 2,280,000 656,300 0.485 0.49 0.49 0.5 0.485 0.485 1,490,000 728,150 PHIL ESTATES 1.73 1.74 1.72 1.73 1.72 1.73 19,000 32,740 PRIMEX CORP 6.87 6.88 6.75 6.89 6.75 6.88 12,426,500 84,476,455 RL COMM RT 15.98 16 15.92 16.2 15.9 16 2,504,100 39,918,880 ROBINSONS LAND 0.244 0.249 0.244 0.244 0.244 0.244 50,000 12,200 PHIL REALTY SHANG PROP 2.6 2.63 2.64 2.64 2.64 2.64 3,000 7,920 STA LUCIA LAND 2.85 2.89 2.88 2.89 2.85 2.89 283,000 813,470 SM PRIME HLDG 32.75 32.9 33.7 33.7 32.6 32.75 14,073,300 461,288,520 VISTAMALLS 3.62 3.77 3.77 3.78 3.77 3.78 14,000 52,880 SUNTRUST HOME 1.47 1.52 1.53 1.53 1.47 1.47 571,000 852,960 3.45 3.5 3.4 3.52 3.38 3.5 1,277,000 4,436,500 VISTA LAND

SERVICES ABS CBN 14.14 14.16 14.2 14.4 14.14 14.16 667,900 9,508,838 GMA NETWORK 15.84 15.86 16.06 16.58 15.84 15.84 6,394,000 103,555,592 MANILA BULLETIN 0.405 0.43 0.435 0.435 0.435 0.435 90,000 39,150 GLOBE TELECOM 2,982 2,984 2,946 3,016 2,944 2,984 74,710 223,034,300 PLDT 1,680 1,690 1,630 1,700 1,611 1,680 269,650 453,825,540 0.115 0.116 0.122 0.123 0.115 0.115 746,950,000 88,235,750 APOLLO GLOBAL 39.9 40 37.55 40.4 37.3 40 29,065,900 1,139,573,180 CONVERGE 3.52 3.6 3.65 3.78 3.51 3.52 483,000 1,712,900 DFNN INC 7.34 7.35 7.39 7.49 7.34 7.35 4,513,400 33,341,828 DITO CME HLDG 1.8 1.82 1.82 1.83 1.77 1.8 1,451,000 2,611,350 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.355 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.355 0.355 1,380,000 492,300 PHILWEB 2.24 2.25 2.22 2.27 2.22 2.25 164,000 368,650 2GO GROUP 8.14 8.18 8.12 8.15 8.12 8.14 3,800 30,949 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.6 14 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.6 5,400 73,440 CHELSEA 2.2 2.21 2.15 2.22 2.13 2.21 302,000 654,970 38.9 39 39.5 39.95 38.9 38.9 268,400 10,486,240 CEBU AIR 195 198 200 204 195 195 2,665,280 527,889,694 INTL CONTAINER 16 16.8 17 17 16.8 16.8 400 6,760 LBC EXPRESS MACROASIA 4.26 4.3 4.3 4.39 4.18 4.3 1,931,000 8,145,720 1.47 1.5 1.42 1.5 1.42 1.47 69,000 101,670 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 1.65 1.98 1.7 1.7 1.65 1.65 63,000 105,350 HARBOR STAR 1.05 1.07 1.03 1.07 1.03 1.05 702,000 750,530 ACESITE HOTEL 1.52 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.56 1,000 1,560 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.078 0.079 0.084 0.084 0.078 0.079 75,570,000 6,059,860 2.19 2.23 2.18 2.23 2.18 2.23 51,000 112,770 DISCOVERY WORLD 0.5 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.5 0.52 2,562,000 1,306,820 WATERFRONT FAR EASTERN U 510 550 500 550 500 550 300 159,465 STI HLDG 0.36 0.365 0.365 0.37 0.355 0.365 6,930,000 2,519,750 5.41 5.54 5.45 5.55 5.45 5.54 52,800 288,246 BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY 5.86 5.94 5.9 5.95 5.81 5.94 4,944,400 29,166,885 LEISURE AND RES 1.73 1.74 1.72 1.74 1.71 1.74 285,000 492,330 PH RESORTS GRP 1.18 1.2 1.22 1.23 1.18 1.2 1,004,000 1,198,440 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.415 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 290,000 121,800 ALLHOME 9.07 9.1 8.69 9.19 8.69 9.1 2,805,500 25,418,063 1.31 1.32 1.3 1.31 1.29 1.31 538,000 700,300 METRO RETAIL 44.35 44.5 43.95 44.7 43.35 44.5 3,099,400 137,639,900 PUREGOLD 51.7 51.8 50.4 52.2 50.2 51.8 755,500 39,008,516.50 ROBINSONS RTL 85.2 87 85.2 87 85.2 87 590 51,168.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.11 1.12 1.1 1.12 1.1 1.12 625,000 696,940 WILCON DEPOT 27.5 27.65 26.4 27.55 25.3 27.5 12,468,100 332,964,725 APC GROUP 0.255 0.275 0.265 0.28 0.255 0.255 5,570,000 1,452,500 EASYCALL 5.05 5.22 5.05 5.05 5.05 5.05 2,700 13,635 GOLDEN MV 524.5 535 520 535 520 535 3,690 1,964,735 6.8 7.06 7.08 7.08 6.8 6.8 200 1,388 IPM HLDG PAXYS 2.25 2.39 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 12,000 27,000 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.93 0.94 0.96 0.96 0.92 0.93 19,496,000 18,267,910 4.21 4.74 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.6 9,000 40,200 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

www.businessmirror.com.ph

16.85%

ATOK 6.8 6.83 6.88 6.88 6.6 6.83 61,000 410,983 APEX MINING 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.41 1.39 1.4 413,000 576,700 ATLAS MINING 5.95 6 6.02 6.02 5.91 6 173,700 1,037,864 BENGUET A 4.95 5.1 4.96 5.19 4.95 5.1 197,600 979,710 4.81 5.2 4.73 4.75 4.73 4.75 83,000 394,170 BENGUET B COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.29 0.275 0.29 0.275 0.29 300,000 83,850 CENTURY PEAK 2.7 2.75 2.7 2.75 2.7 2.7 11,000 29,840 6 6.14 6 6 6 6 21,800 130,800 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 2.11 2.12 2.1 2.12 2.08 2.11 1,206,000 2,523,960 LEPANTO A 0.13 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.13 0.13 17,300,000 2,258,770 LEPANTO B 0.136 0.148 0.138 0.138 0.137 0.137 770,000 105,690 MANILA MINING A 0.0096 0.0097 0.0097 0.0097 0.0096 0.0097 32,000,000 310,300 MANILA MINING B 0.0099 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 45,700,000 457,200 MARCVENTURES 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.92 12,000 11,040 1.09 1.1 1.07 1.1 1.07 1.1 118,000 127,750 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.27 5.29 5.29 5.31 5.24 5.27 5,711,900 30,122,485 0.86 0.91 0.87 0.87 0.86 0.87 473,000 411,300 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 4.99 5 5.06 5.07 4.99 5 1,773,900 8,878,695 20.95 21 19.18 21.4 19.18 21 12,890,800 264,679,884 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0069 0.0071 0.007 0.0072 0.007 0.007 33,000,000 231,300 ACE ENEXOR 15.38 15.4 15.46 15.6 15.3 15.4 147,100 2,276,498 ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 29,000,000 303,100 PHILODRILL 0.0099 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.0099 0.0099 6,900,000 68,410 6.15 6.18 6.09 6.15 6.09 6.15 168,200 1,025,957 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.3 101.8 101.8 101.8 101.8 101.8 68,460 6,969,228 AC PREF B1 513 520 520 520 520 520 40 20,800 ALCO PREF B 101.5 102.5 101.5 102.5 101.5 102.5 121,210 12,302,825 CEB PREF 38.95 39 38.95 39 38.9 39 47,600 1,855,995 CPG PREF A 102.5 103.5 103.5 103.5 103.5 103.5 140 14,490 105.5 105.6 105.5 105.5 105.5 105.5 2,000 211,000 FGEN PREF G GTCAP PREF A 995 1,038 1,000 1,000 997 997 105 104,850 GTCAP PREF B 1,030 1,040 1,030 1,030 1,030 1,030 1,090 1,122,700 MWIDE PREF 100.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 80 8,120 MWIDE PREF 2B 101.5 102 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 750 76,125 PNX PREF 3B 107 107.6 107.7 107.7 107.5 107.6 9,110 980,237 PNX PREF 4 1,009 1,010 1,012 1,012 1,009 1,009 560 565,570 PCOR PREF 2B 1,025 1,027 1,022 1,027 1,022 1,022 965 989,190 PCOR PREF 3A 1,130 1,135 1,090 1,139 1,090 1,135 16,215 18,349,205 PCOR PREF 3B 1,160 1,165 1,155 1,160 1,155 1,160 1,000 1,159,350 79.3 79.4 79.3 79.4 79.3 79.4 83,140 6,593,316 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H 76.1 76.95 76.1 76.1 76 76 34,700 2,637,400 SMC PREF 2I 79.2 79.45 79.2 79.2 79.2 79.2 42,570 3,371,544 SMC PREF 2J 76.25 76.95 76.25 77 76.25 76.95 906,160 69,097,855 SMC PREF 2K 76.1 76.15 76 76 76 76 610 46,360

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 13.5 13.7 13.2 13.5 13.2 13.5 81,300 1,093,110 GMA HLDG PDR 14.8 15 15 15.44 14.8 14.8 608,500 9,208,898

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 1.44 1.47 1.45 1.48 1.43 1.44 2,023,000 2,923,520

-203,034,055 -7,458,101 -58,918 -78,687,685 -406,680 2,817.50 48,100 -11,969,766 749,530 -30 1,150 272,198 -123,362,678 -45,240.00 11,578,605 -831,290 6,917,085 -337,126 9,496,998 -216,724 59,370 -152,146 3,742.00 224,990 -16,090,645 -20,175,606 -14,981,354 3,681,861 -69,820 -6,133,864 36,908,696 955,200 -81,888,374 882,440 44,272,800 -109,980 117,600 -980,826 -7,330,716 -1,331,296 152,750 -38,600 3,392,120 -4,843,981 41,040 -1,221,560 1,013,610 52,270,660 3,875,855 2,023,036 -4,840,568 433,820 -38,530,183 -24,027,145 12,547,702.50 -383,080 28,577,056 -21,545,440 2,241,355 1,065,645 -3,900 -13,944,970.00 -22,825,310 8,080 -167,680 -10,285 -97,390 21,500 257,750 1,491,790 36,850 8,100 -150,000 -7,165,032 408,980 43,104 21,400 -22,474,540 -69,200.00 88,150 -20,700 13,873,275 20,763,116 -288,000 -111,294,525 49,110 -1,530 530,320 29,299,320 74,951,140 -3,300,870 232,156,670.00 215,430 -4,154,931 30,570 -73,440 32,550 -5,352,560 -57,923,639 -35,450 -699,860 44,000 2,101,200 1,108 14,877,928 5,853,134 -279,500 75,486,860 2,217,156.50 55,500 -184,286,025 130,000 -212,000 -5,539,030 -69,500.00 -1,238 29,840 235,400 -11,003,271 -25,100 73,174,188 -301,955 -1,770,305 -2,030 - -6,631,836 -1,442,150

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

0% ALTUS PROP 17.2 17.38 17.2 17.46 17.2 17.2 65,200 1,123,800

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."

ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART

1.95 4.08 2.4 3.85

FIRST METRO ETF

105

1.99 4.2 2.74 3.86

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

105.7

1.9 4.2 2.4 3.84

2 4.2 2.4 3.93

1.9 4.08 2.4 3.84

1.95 4.08 2.4 3.86

355,000 8,000 16,000 3,597,000

683,820 32,880 38,400 13,978,300

278,770

105.4 105.7 104 105.7 9,710 1,022,532 35,251

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance

SSS awards employers, honors BusinessMirror

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

B

DO Unibank Inc., Makilala Medical Specialists Inc. and EVA Airways Corp. were named as this year’s Top Employers in the Social Security System’s (SSS) “Balikat ng Bayan” (shoulders of the nation) awards.

The awards are given to those who helped the SSS in achieving its mandate to provide social protection for Filipinos through their cooperation and compliance with the Social Security Law. The awards were classified into three employer account categories based on the number of employees: small, medium and large.

BDO Unibank Inc. won this year’s Top Employer for the “large account” category.

Meanwhile, Makilala Medical and EVA Airways were the top employers for the “medium account” and “small account” categories, respectively.

According to the SSS, the best employers must meet all of the following requirements: registered as an SSS web user; submits collection lists electronically or compliant with real-time processing of contributions

and real-time processing of loans with the date of coverage not later than January 2016; and, with paid contributions for applicable months July 2020 to June 2021.

For each category, eligible employers were ranked by the number of employees with paid contributions for applicable months July 2020 to June 2021.

Apart from bestowing three major awards to top employers, SSS also gave a major award to BusinessMirror for being its “Best Media Partner.”

To be recognized as Best Media Partner, the SSS said the media entity must be compliant with the provisions of the Social Security Law. It must also provide segments reports, commentaries and interviews about the SSS that have a big impact on the public in terms of significance to social security labor practices and workers’ concerns and must also adhere to journalism standards in terms of balance, accuracy and fairness.

Special citations were also given to media entities Bulgar and DXRD Sunshine Radio’s “Serbisyo Para sa Masa” (service for the masses) program.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Friday, October 1, 2021

B3

ADB to open debt-financing window for SEA economies

By Cai U. Ordinario

The Manila-based multilateral development bank announced having signed a memorandum of understanding with HSBC Holdings plc, Temasek Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. and Clifford Capital Holdings (CCH) Pte. Ltd. to create the debt-financing platform, which will initially focus on projects in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.

The platform’s current focus will be to finance projects on clean transport, renewable energy and energy storage and water and waste man-

agement. Projects linked to climate adaptation, agriculture and land use and technology-led solutions could be included in the future.

“As developing countries in Asia transition toward a greener and sustainable future, ADB is stepping up its engagement with governments and other aligned actors to expand the pool of bankable, sustainable infrastructure projects, increase their risk-return profile, and attract financing from private investors,” ADB Vice-President Ahmed M. Saeed

was quoted in a statement as saying. “[The] ADB will provide technical assistance in project development and sector reforms and work with our partners to use blended finance and other risk mitigation solutions to mobilize sustainable infrastructure financing across Asia,” he added.

The lender said the platform aims to turn marginally bankable projects into bankable ones by providing concessional capital and addressing policy and regulatory constraints hampering private investments in sustainable infrastructure.

Marginally-bankable projects typically face a range of barriers to accessing private sector finance. These may include a variety of capability, policy and economic issues that can impact a project’s ability to attract commercial financing.

Following an initial feasibility assessment, the ADB said HSBC and Temasek will be equity partners in the platform while the bank and CCH will be strategic partners.

“The initiative aims to bridge the financing gap by helping countries develop bankable sustainable infra-

By Bianca Cuaresma

mand, continues to underpin the BSP’s overall stance of providing policy support to ensure a sustained economic recovery,” Diokno told reporters.

The governor said that while improvements to global demand will have positive spillovers to the domestic economy, an earlier-thanexpected normalization in major central banks could lead to a sharp tightening of global financial conditions, with adverse effects on some emerging markets.

In the case of the Philippines, Diokno said the BSP remains prepared for “any potential volatility in capital flows and exchange rate movements: that could arise from the normalization process.”

“Overall, the Philippines remains in a robust position to withstand external headwinds on account of its sound macroeconomic fundamentals, which include a manageable inflation outlook, a prudent fiscal position, a sound banking system, ample external buffers, and a stable investment grade rating,” the governor said.

Diokno also said they will continue to be guided by domestic considerations, particularly the outlook for inflation and economic growth, in deciding the direction of the country’s monetary policy.

“The BSP stands ready to deploy appropriate policy measures as needed consistent with its price and financial stability objectives,”

S

@caiordinario

OUTHEAST Asian countries like the Philippines will be the first to be served by a new debt financing platform to help bankroll sustainable infrastructure projects, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced last Thursday.

structure projects based on global standards,” the ADB said.

The platform will apply international best practices for environmental, social, and governance, in line with safeguards standards set by international financial institutions.

It may also consider emerging initiatives such as the “Fast-Infra Sustainable Infrastructure” label.

Developing Asia needs to invest $26 trillion, or $1.7 trillion a year, from 2016 to 2030 to maintain its growth momentum, end poverty, and address climate change. Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change.

The public sector has financed most of Asia’s infrastructure projects, but it cannot meet the rising demand in the region. Increasingly, governments are encouraging the private sector to invest in infrastructure.

However, up to 65 percent of Asia’s infrastructure projects are not considered bankable, and it requires significant upfront cost and time on project preparation to get the projects to a bankable stage.

the central bank chief said.

In their September monetary policy meeting, the BSP decided to maintain the country’s all-time low monetary policy rates despite their expectation that the country’s inflation path is higher than earlier expected.

The BSP chief said despite the looming inflationary pressures, prevailing monetary policy settings remain appropriate as price growth remains “manageable” and growth outlook remains uncertain.

“Keeping a steady hand on the BSP’s policy levers will allow the momentum of economic recovery to gain more traction by helping boost domestic demand and market confidence,” Diokno earlier said.

Lower House OKs Senate version of school tax bill BSP Governor stands pat on monetary policy stance

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

O fast-track its enactment, the House of Representatives has adopted the Senate version of the proposed bill defining the tax treatment for proprietary schools.

Upon recommendation by (Albay 2nd district) Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda, the Lower Chamber adopted late Wednesday Senate Bill 2407 as an amendment to House Bill 9913, which seeks to clarify the income taxation on educational institutions.

According to Salceda, principal author and sponsor of the measure, they would be able to send the bill before the weekend to Malacañan for the President’s signature.

Earlier, Senator Pia S. Cayetano said the measure will clarify that all private schools—both ‘non-profit’ and ‘for profit’—are entitled to the 1 percent preferential tax rate under Republic Act (RA) 11534, otherwise known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act, which was enacted last March.

She noted that many private schools are in a critical state, citing data from the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (Cocopea) showing that enrollment among its member-schools has declined to 60 percent this school year, compared to 2020.

Meanwhile, Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said he will follow up

with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to ensure that the revenue regulations on the matter are released as soon as possible.

The measure, entitled an act clarifying the income taxation of propriety education insitutions amending for the purpose Section 27 B of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, seeks to apply the preferential tax rate of 10 percent on taxable income prospectively and allow proprietary schools to avail of the 1 percent tax rate under RA 11534.

According to Salceda, the legislative intent of their own version under HB 9913 can be reflected in a subsequent revenue regulation.

He added the measure will help private schools hire more teachers.

“Applying the Create [law] until 2023 would allow these schools to save an equivalent of 3.43-percent of compensation expenses, which could help them rehire at least 12,996 teachers at the start of the next school year,” he said.

“By this means, we are indirectly helping private schools teachers, whom unfortunately we were not able to extend direct financial assistance to during the Covid pandemic,” he added.

Earlier, the Cocopea said the legislative policy intervention, once enacted into law, will provide the needed stability to education not only in this time of pandemic but also for generations to come, as it aligns with all existing and future initiatives to revive the battered economy.

@BcuaresmaBM

T

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) stands firm that the country’s current accommodative monetary policy stance remains appropriate even as some central banks across the world are starting to signal a “normalization path” in the coming months.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said in a virtual news briefing last Thursday he is keen on keeping the country’s monetary policy stance supportive of the recovery path of the domestic economy.

“The prevailing manageable inflation outlook, together with the downside risks to domestic de-

Junior Chamber PHL taps fintech for digitalization

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

T

HE Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines Inc. announced it recently tapped financial technology (fintech) firm PayMaya Philippines Inc. to enhance its digital transformation efforts.

JCI Philippines said the move would allow the association to implement online collection of fees for conferences and payments for merchandise.

JCI Philippines President Jude A. Acidre said members can pay for their dues and event fees using PayMaya, any Visa, Mastercard and JCB credit or debit card as well as other ewallets. The organization is equipped with PayMaya’s terminal for face-toface transactions; payment links for email, SMS and messaging apps with

PayMaya’s digital invoice. Soon, JCI said, it would be able to use PayMaya’s checkout for web-based payments.

“Today, equipping our association with the right digital payments platform has never been so critical because we are still facing this pandemic,” Acidre was quoted in a statement as saying. “PayMaya has truly helped JCI Philippines to efficiently collect funds for various projects—ranging from conferences, merchandise sale, and even charitable activities.”

To further encourage its members to practice safer contactless transactions, Acidre said JCI Philippines will encourage its over 5,000 active members nationwide to open a PayMaya account. Acidre said they would begin distributing PayMaya physical cards to members before October.

PayMaya Managing Director and

The future-ready association: Mindsets and skillsets

‘C

HANGE can be disruptive at the best of times, but the kind of massive and unprecedented change we’ve experienced from Covid-19 is especially challenging and will be with us for a long time. There’s no doubt we need a new mindset and skillset to manage, embrace, and thrive in the future.”

These lines attracted me to attend a webinar entitled “Future Mind,” reckoning that associations may also learn a thing or two.

Webinar speaker Gihan Perera, futurist, online presenter, conference speaker and author, drew inspiration from the book of Howard Gardner, 5 Minds for the Future, and

Association World Octavio Peralta presented them as follows (with my short annotations relating to associations): 1. The disciplined mindset makes sure to learn and be up-todate on the area of discipline they are working on. To be relevant, an association, be it a professional society or trade association, has to remain focused on its specific area

of expertise.

2. The connector mindset sees things and connects them with others in new and interesting ways. An association has a built-in connector role of linking ideas, people, and communities which it needs to amplify and communicate constantly.

3. The creative mindset gets ideas from nowhere and generates more new ideas from them. Developing better services to members entails that an association breeds and nurtures creativity.

4. The respectful mindset always thinks of other people. As a people organization, an association’s work calls for addressing issues such

as diversity, equity and inclusion, empathy, and wellness.

5. The ethical mindset looks at the big picture and thinks bigger than itself. An association has to participate in conversations like climate change, sustainability, and its impact to future generations.

While each association may have strengths in one or more mindsets, developing a balance of all five minds is essential. Those who succeed in cultivating these mindsets are most likely to thrive in the future.

On skills, Gihan cited the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report 2020 and presented the following six emerging skills, among others:

Head of Enterprise Business and Sales Mario M. Lazaro said they “salute” JCI Philippines “for providing their members with the knowledge of how digital payment platforms can help level up their businesses.”

Acidre said PayMaya has also been an ardent supporter of their advocacies such as digital transformation and entrepreneurship. Since majority of the JCI Philippines members are business owners, he said PayMaya has been active in participating in their regular townhall, where the fintech firm has been a regular resource.

He added PayMaya officers have been regularly sharing tips, insights and various solutions that business owners can avail of as they plot out their business’ digital transformation during lockdown measures.

“We appreciate PayMaya’s efforts

to go beyond being a tech enabler. It has been extending support by sharing its expertise to empower our members with the knowledge and tips they need as they equip their businesses with digital payment solutions,” Acidre said.

PayMaya has accelerated its efforts to equip merchants, communities and government agencies with digital payment solutions as more Filipinos prefer cashless and contactless transactions as part of its financial inclusion mission.

Through its enterprise business, PayMaya is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country, including “every day” merchants such as the largest retail, food, gas and electronic commerce merchants, as well as government agencies and units.

1. Analytical thinking and innovation is being able to determine a problem, solve it, and innovate from it.

2. Active learning is learning and re-learning as well as unlearning what used to be true and which is not true anymore.

3. Critical thinking is being logical and scientific in making decisions.

4. Leadership and influence is leading and influencing people around you in teams, in the organization, and in the community.

5. Technology skill is being competent, adaptable and all-embracing on the use of technology.

Emotional intelligence is about intrapersonal skill (understanding one’s self) and interpersonal skill (understanding others).

It may not be possible to futureproof your association, but by being future-ready with these mindsets and skillsets, you will be able to leverage change, thrive in chaos, and act with clarity and confidence in an uncertain future.

Octavio Peralta is founder and CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives and concurrently, President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The views Peralta expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org.

B4

Friday, October 1, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Relationships BusinessMirror

Vaccinate, then celebrate

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

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CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Brie Larson, 31; Julie Andrews, 85; Jimmy Carter, 96; Zach Galifianakis, 51; Greg Davis Jr., 36.

PHOTO BY ISMAIL MOHAMED-SOVILE ON UNSPLASH

Happy Birthday: Make adjustments that make a difference. Expand your interests or master a skill that will ease the stress of buying you freedom or peace of mind. Enjoy the people who put a smile on your face, and put an end to debilitating situations. It’s up to you to look out for your best interest. Don’t procrastinate; act now. Your numbers are 7, 15, 21, 26, 34, 39, 42.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You can advance if you are willing to make a move. Consider what you need to brush up on to ensure your qualifications and skills won’t let you down. Preparation will lead to beginnings and self-satisfaction. Personal gain looks promising. HH

P

INOYS are feeling less confident to make travel plans these days, according to the latest Finder’s Travel Index.

As of September, only 22 percent of Filipinos surveyed said they planned to travel in the next three months, compared to 35 percent in August.

According to data, September recorded the lowest percentage of Filipinos making short-term travel plans since Finder’s Index was started in February this year. Finder is a personal finance and consumer products comparison web site.

Finder’s editor at large Angus Kidman attributed the sudden travel hesitancy of Filipinos to the tightening of quarantine restrictions, which lasted from August 6 to September 15. “Our September survey coincided with the extension of enhanced quarantine guidelines, so it’s not at all surprising that fewer Filipinos are making travel plans.”

But with the easing of pandemic travel restrictions in many areas, “it will be interesting to see if this leads to an uptick in travel interest next month, or if we’ll see another decline as Filipinos decide to put travel plans on hold until the Covid situation improves.”

Metro Manila was hit the most by the lockdown.

Sadly, many leisure destinations in the country are dependent on Metro Manila residents for their respective tourist arrivals. So even when many of them were already under less restrictions, having been put on general community quarantine or modified GCQ status, they still recorded a massive decrease in the number of guests.

Last August, for example, only 24 tourists arrived on Boracay Island. This surged immediately to 5,732 from September 1 to 28 with close to 70 percent coming from Metro Manila.

Those arrivals are still far from the normal number of tourist arrivals in Boracay, which at one time reached close to 1 million in just domestic guests.

For sure, there continues to be a real fear among most Pinoys of getting sick with the Delta variant of the

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Confusion will set in regarding money, joint ventures, and dealing with institutions, government agencies or medical issues. Be persistent, and get to the bottom of matters before it’s too late. Don’t let someone take over. Handle matters yourself. HHHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take a chance and explore what interests you, and you will discover something remarkable. It’s up to you to provide what makes you feel good and keeps you content. You have more options than you realize. Personal growth and love are encouraged. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Slow down, view what’s happening around you, think outside the box and make decisions that suit your needs.

Get along with your peers, but don’t share information that might incriminate you. You are better off separating your personal and professional lives. HHH

coronavirus, aside from the fact they provably have less extra income to spend for holidays with family and friends.

As per Department of Health data, Covid-positive cases continue to be recorded, though perhaps growing at a slower rate. We hear of so many cases among friends and colleagues who are vaccinated but becoming sick, even being hospitalized, because of Covid-19.

Finder noted that in the previous seven months, the percentage of Filipino adults making short term travel plans hovered between 35 percent and 43 percent. So it was quite a surprise that in September, less than a third of the population have made travel plans. (As per its previous indexes, the survey in the Philippines was carried out via “convenience sampling.” This means those surveyed were easy to contact, and were willing to be surveyed. As such, it does not represent a national sample. There

were 2,003 respondents to the survey, which was conducted in the first week of September.)

Kidman said that of all the 12 countries they surveyed, the Philippines had recorded the steepest decline in the number of people planning to travel.

“Since we began this survey, travel plans in the Philippines have consistently been higher than almost all other countries included in the research.”

He noted that in August, for instance, “the Philippines had the highest percentage of people planning travel of all 12 countries, despite experiencing an eight-percentage point drop in travel interest from July.”

Countries like the United States, Australia and Hong Kong, on the other hand, posted drops of just 1 to 5 percentage points in September. Other countries, including South Africa, Singapore and India, saw

Continued on B5

Samantha Bernardo continues celebration as beauty queen, brand ambassador

By Leony R. Garcia SAMANTHA BERNARDO

www.businessmirror.com.ph

“I am Samantha Bernardo, and I am so honored to be Mestiza Philippines’s newest brand ambassador. I am one with the brand in promoting our message to young Pinays out there: ‘With Mestiza, achieve ang healthy glowing skin!’ Kaya naman sama-sama nating i-achieve ang healthy glowing skin and together we can be confident and fearless to face the world,” said Filipina beauty queen Samantha Bernardo during the recent virtual press conference and a meet-and-greet with media friends, bloggers and influencers.

Sam exemplified the same glowing confidence at the international pageant she joined last year. That confidence made her win the first-runner up of Miss Grand International 2020 and the perfect choice to be the face of the brand.

Bernardo was a strong contender for the local Bb. Pilipinas crown. After all, she has a solid advocacy, and she can carry a conversation and herself well.

Moreover, she thirsts for a title. She wants to win one, and this became her best asset.

A two-timer second runner-up (2018 and 2019 editions), Sam’s chance to shine and grab her rightful place came when the Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) appointed her as the country’s official

representative to the 2020 Miss Grand International contest in Bangkok, Thailand. And the rest, as they say, is history. International audiences definitely appreciated her glowing morena looks coupled with a friendly attitude, wit and determination.

Likewise, Mestiza Philippines passionately advocates for self-confidence and individuality among the new generation of young women in the country.

It was notable for the brand to be represented by its newest “Grand Ambassador” who embodies these attributes backed up by a beautiful story of confidence and perseverance.

Samantha took the lead in re-introducing the brand’s variety of soaps and their benefits to the skin.

Its best-selling product “Original” variant is suitable for sensitive skin with 33 percent extra premium virgin coconut oil, while their “Prime” variants are designed to help young Pinays with common skin issues like having oily-to-dry skin—Earth Brown, Green Serenity, Bountiful Violet, and Scarlet Rose all contain 40 percent extra premium VCO which makes these beauty soaps a total stand-out in the market.

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Listen, and you’ll find out something that can help you better understand someone you love. Reach out to those you share work, expenses or common interests with, and the information received will help you decide which path you want to pursue. HHHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be careful how you treat those close to you. A lack of empathy will turn into a battle. Focus on selfimprovement instead of trying to change someone else.

Personal growth will help you accept others, regardless of their shortcomings. HH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Know what you are up against, then forge ahead. Take charge of whatever situation you face, and work diligently toward a goal that will put a smile on your face. Stick to a budget, and use intelligence to excel. HHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Think twice before you take on something you cannot afford. Look for alternative ways to satisfy your needs without giving in to demands or temptation.

Keep personal information to yourself. Don’t feel obligated to be a follower; do your own thing. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Slow down and think. Change may entice you, but going through the proper channels will be necessary if you want to accomplish what you set out to do. Don’t trust someone offering shortcuts when you know the journey is what matters. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Think big, but budget wisely. It’ll be much easier to keep the peace if you do so without arguing. Take the road less traveled, and implement the changes that make you happy. Choose passive persuasion, not aggressive action. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Talk to an expert before you invest in something risky.

Choose to look inward and to make your health and well-being priorities. Once you map out a long-term plan, it will take the pressure off and set your mind at ease. HHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): An emotional incident will confuse you. Go about your business, take care of responsibilities and give unstable situations a chance to settle. Keeping busy will allow you to mull over concerns and come up with a rational solution. HH Birthday Baby: You are engaging, resourceful and outspoken.

You are convincing and persistent.

‘all over the map’ by steve faiella The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Mississippi River source hidden in “Fujita scale” 7 Soup purchases 11 Perform 14 Manufacturer’s nightmare (Theme hint: Notice a stack of words in each pair of starred clues’ answers) 15 Canal to the Hudson River 16 Lead-in to “carte” 17 Radiohead song with the lyric “This is what you’ll get” 19 Letters after “DVD” 20 ___ pork (Chinese dish) 21 No longer knotted 23 Fifth tire 25 Small bills 26 Tax pros 28 Deliberately delay 32 Not me or them 33 Prepare to tackle something 37 Briskly, to Brahms 41 High in the sky 42 Foliage tour sight 44 Diamonds, informally

5 “Get Here” singer Adams 4 46 ___ browns 48 “Stat!”

51 Early ___ (morning person) 54 Emphasize 57 LGBTQ+ supporters 60 No one hates to break it 61 Occasion for a pillow fight 65 Part of a Freudian trio 66 Sketchy numbers on fake IDs 67 Jumper’s cord 68 Alternative to pre-owned 69 “Do the ___!” (“Figure it out!”)

70 Muscle jerks DOWN 1 Vex 2 Side in a baseball game 3 Height: Prefix 4 Triangular Indian pastry 5 Jewelry fasteners 6 Letter before beta 7 Collectible cartoon frame 8 NPR’s Shapiro 9 Preemie’s ward, for short 10 “As ___ on TV”

1 Alphabetically first name, perhaps 1 12 Genetic equal 13 Brings under control 18 More than my 22 Creed II actor Lundgren 24 That, in Madrid 26 Pepsi or RC 27 Orange juice option 29 Cyndi Lauper’s “___ Colors” 30 Intensify, with “up” 31 Caesar’s lang.

32 Candied root vegetable 33 Refuge in a snowball fight 34 Flowery wreaths 35 Gateway ___ (St. Louis structure) 36 Previously named 38 Marry secretly 39 Solidify 40 Hwy. 43 Corn serving 46 Assist after a fall 47 “Thank U, Next” singer Grande 48 Quaking tree 49 All the world, to Shakespeare 50 One of Cupid’s can bring love

2 Response to “Are you ready?”

5 53 Hunks of marble 55 Junk email 56 Complicated story 58 Work units 59 It may bear fruit 62 Li of “Mulan” 63 Volcanic powder 64 Affirmative answer Solution to today’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, October 1, 2021

B5

Movies in my (pandemic) mind SET FOR RETIREMENT

WHO is this TV personality and former network executive who is said to be leaving the country very soon for good?

This means she will be leaving behind one of the country’s longest-running shows and her other commitments. This is a huge blow to the network where she belongs, even if she’s more of a talent these days than an executive. The TV personality reportedly wants to really retire and enjoy life abroad as a private citizen, something she can’t do here even if she is semi-retired. She has been working for decades and is a household name already. The pandemic and being cooped indoors have only hastened her decision to live a quiet life abroad.

FAVORITISM

THIS network is considering letting go of this talent from one of their top-rated shows but continues to give work to another talent whose personal endeavors are not aligned with their interests. Talent 1 has been under criticism for several gaffes made on air. While most of the criticism is warranted, Talent 1 can still grow as an artist. Meanwhile, Talent 2 has been a coddler of certain elements whose political leanings have not been good for the network she represents. Yet, it is a surprise that she continues to be a favorite of the network and actually has a lot of new projects. Meanwhile, Talent 1 is in danger of losing her one and only project.

BRIDEZILLA

A RECENT celebrity bride is being called “bridezilla” by some of her wedding suppliers who resent it that they gave discounts or offered their services for free and yet she was so demanding and unpleasant in dealing with them and their people. The celebrity is rich but very thrifty to the point that to call her a cheapskate may be warranted. She wanted most of her wedding expenses to be so-called X-deals but she isn’t a superstar. Some suppliers agreed to X-deals but most just gave her discounts and conceded to her (many) demands. But she wanted more than concessions. She wanted many extras and she is not about asking nicely. The celebrity was such a bridezilla that they rejoiced once the wedding, which was postponed many times, was finally over.

THEY HAVE BEEF

THIS beauty queen has always had a beef with this actress and many thought it was just jealousy. Apparently, it is more than that. When the actress was already a big star and the beauty queen was still struggling, the former was mean to the latter a number of times. This was because people would always comment that the beauty queen resembles a popular actress who is considered to be the mean actress’s rival.

So, yes, the actress has always felt threatened by the beauty queen. She even felt slighted that an ex-boyfriend expressed admiration for the beauty queen. They could be civil in public but the truth is they can’t stand each other.

Vaccinate, then celebrate Continued from B4 slight increases in the percentage of people making plans in the next three months.

Finder’s survey indicated that only 15 percent of Filipino respondents were planning a domestic holiday in September, compared to 25 percent in August. Also, only 9 percent said they were planning to travel abroad in the next three months, compared to 14 percent who responded in August.

Interestingly enough, more men (at 27 percent) said they were planning to travel in the next three months, compared to just 19 percent among women. In Finder’s July travel index, there was almost an equal number of men (48 percent) and women (43 percent) respondents who were planning to travel from August to October.

What is clear is that mass vaccination will help ease the travel hesitancy of Filipinos, not just the removal of lockdowns. And while airlines like Air Asia Philippines are supportive of moves to remove RT-PCR tests as a travel requirement for the vaccinated, I personally think it is still too early for that. Even if one is vaccinated, one can still be a Covid carrier. Rightly so, many local government units (LGU), like Bohol, Boracay and El Nido, continue to require a RT-PCR test regardless of a tourist’s vaccination status.

This is because many cities and provinces have yet to reach herd immunity. Not because their residents don’t want to get jabbed, but because there continues to be a supply problem, with government not allowing LGUs to purchase their own vaccines. And while the Department of Tourism has been able to fasttrack the vaccination of tourism workers, this is not equivalent to the entire population. In the Phuket Sandbox experiment, for instance, their benchmark in reopening their doors was the vaccination of 70 percent of the entire island’s population, not just its tourism workers.

So let’s vaccinate more, so we can finally travel and celebrate. n

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HE poster shows three young people standing. They have their masks on. It is 2009 and the film is Carriers. After watching it, where did you go? Maybe, you had a lovely dinner, or post-movie cocktails. Then you talked with friends about the merits of the film and thanked your god that it was not happening in reality.

But the plot of Carriers is now with us through this film that has terrifically imagined for us the same dark future.

The story begins with a virus. It is spreading fast and worldwide and killing population after population. Two brothers, Brian and Danny, are looking for refuge. They are looking to their vacation home and the brothers bring with them a friend and one of the brother’s girlfriend.

Other people are also looking for places where they could be saved. One of them is a man who is with his daughter who happens to be infected by the virus.

First, the group tries to run away from the father and daughter but an incident brings them together.

The father also knows of a place where supposedly a serum that would provide an antidote to the virus exists.

During their escape, one of the two brothers realizes he is infected with the virus.

In 1999, a film about a medical nightmare on a global level was released. It is a “medical disaster film.” Its title? Outbreak.

Directed by an important filmmaker, Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, In the Line of Fire), Outbreak opens in an African jungle, in 1967, where a virus that causes a very deadly fever has infected a camp, which is then destroyed.

Some 28 years later, an American virologist travels to another African state to investigate the spread of a virus.

In another event, a capuchin monkey, a favorite pet and the host of the virus, is brought into the country.

The virus spreads from one person to another. The virus also mutates into an infection that comes across as flu. The army and the laboratories know that the capuchin monkey is the source of the virus. The next move from the Army is to quarantine an area and martial rule is imposed.

The government knows all this time about the virus. Welcome to the world of conspiracy theories, of a government aiming to use the virus as part of biological warfare.

Outbreak stars Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland, and costars Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey and Patrick Dempsey.

The sterling cast could be the reason for its success in the box-office. Looking back, fiction is indeed stranger than fact, and that science and fiction can really work together. From Zaire in Africa to California in the

United States as the distance with which a virus can travel is preposterous then, but not now.

The film has prepared us for concepts of quarantine, mutations, and the different ways by which the government controls the population to give people a sense that something is being done about the epidemic. Simultaneous with the release of the film was the outbreak of the Ebola virus somewhere in Zaire.

Another film hits closer to home. Released in 2011, Contagion maximizes the terror of how one can be contaminated by a single touch through a multiple narrative commonly attributed to the directorial style of Steven Soderbergh.

The story begins with a woman returning from Hong Kong, arriving in the US and stopping in Chicago. There, she has a tryst with her lover. Back in her home, this woman has a seizure. The husband brings her to the hospital where she dies from an unknown virus. The husband goes home to find that his stepson has also been infected and dies.

The husband is left with his daughter and they are quarantined in their own home.

In another state, members of the Department of Homeland Security meet with the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they talk about this unknown disease that is spreading. Is it being caused by a virus that has been transformed into a bioweapon? The center assigns a woman in charge of epidemic intelligence to probe the phenomenon. This officer begins her investigation by tracking down individuals who had contact with the woman who died. In the process of getting down to the bottom of things, she experiences hostile

responses from local bureaucrats. The virus then spreads and become a full-blown epidemic. Cities are placed under quarantine as looting and other violent acts erupt.

The next task is to find a vaccine to fight the virus.

Scientists, however, have difficulties in coming up with a cell culture from which they can grow the newly identified—novel—virus. The scientists are sure of one thing at this point: the virus is spread via respiratory droplets and objects like clothes and utensils, those things which are used and touched by people.

The horror is yet to come: scientists in the film warn that in the mutation of the virus, it is projected that “one out of 12 of the world population” will be infected and the mortality rate will be significant.

A flashback assaults us showing how and where it all begins. The company in which that woman works for is shown clearing a rainforest in China. The operation disturbs the bats in the area. One of the bats flies to a pig farm and drops a piece of banana, which is then eaten by a pig. That pig is butchered and is made into a cuisine by a Macau chef. Without washing his hands, the chef shakes the hand of the woman who gets infected via that brief touch.

The stellar cast of Contagion, includes Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet.

It has been written that its writer, Scott Z. Burns, had consultations with the World Health Organization and other recognized health experts.

The result is this film praised by critics and the scientific community, and scary for being so prescient. n

KATE WINSLET in the scarily prescient medical thriller Contagion, the 2011 film directed by Steven Soderbergh.

GMA News marks 10 million subs milestone on YouTube Multi-awarded broadcast news organization GMA News marks another digital milestone with 10 million subscribers on YouTube, making GMA Network the first in the Philippines and the second television network in Southeast Asia to have three Diamond Creator Awards.

GMA Entertainment and GMA Public Affairs hit the 10 million subscriber mark in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The GMA Entertainment channel now has 24.6 million subscribers, while GMA Public Affairs has 16.7 million subscribers.

With a daily dose of breaking news and exclusive digital content, GMA News is now the third fastestgrowing YouTube account in the country under the News and Politics category, according to video analytics firm Tubular Labs. As of September 20, the channel has 8,523,279,860 total views. “This latest YouTube Diamond Creator Award represents our commitment to ‘Serbisyong Totoo,’ the hallmark of GMA News and Public Affairs. This commitment remains on any platform, from television to online,” said senior vice president for News and Public Affairs Marissa L. Flores. Launched in 2011, the GMA News channel hit the 100K subscriber mark in 2013 and the 1 million subscriber feat in 2016.

It offers diverse and original content—from in-depth explainers to interviews, breaking news coverage, and rundowns of the biggest news of the day here and abroad that matter to every netizen.

24 Oras anchors Mel Tiangco (from right), Mike Enriquez and Vicky Morales

Dishing out the latest news and information for Filipino viewers around the world are the “Express” versions of 24 Oras, Saksi, Unang Balita sa Unang Hirit, State of the Nation, Balitanghali, and 24 Oras Weekend.

Driving growth to the channel as well are its original digital shows GMA News Feed, snackable video alerts featuring breaking news updates; Need to Know, an explanatory journalism series distilling complex issues into easy-to-understand animated videos; The Mangahas Interviews, featuring hardhitting conversations led by veteran journalist Malou

Mangahas; The Howie Severino Podcast, featuring GMA News and Public Affairs’ Howie Severino and guests in compelling conversations; and Chika Minute Exclusives, which features special showbiz news and stories.

“This is a great reward for our team, which works hard to deliver the most relevant news and information to Filipino viewers online—whatever device they may be using, whatever app they may choose,” said Jaemark Tordecilla, senior assistant vice president for News and Public Affairs Digital Media.

B6 Friday, October 1, 2021

‘Distance-caring’ now possible for employees via RiteMed packs SERBISYONG TUPAD in Pasay. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III and Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano (upper photo) lead the awarding of 150 bicycles during the launch of DOLE’s Bikecination Program under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD)-DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) held at Epifanio Delos Santos Elementary School in Pasay City on September 21. The bike, which is intended for food business delivery start-ups, also comes with accessories and mobile phone with load cards, for a total of PhP25,00 are given as incentives to informal workers who have already completed two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Photo by REGIE D. MASON, DOLE-IPS)

Enhancing dine-in options with deals, discounts

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S one of the most awarded advertising and communications agencies in the country, IdeasxMachina Group of Hakuhodo and the Hakuhodo agencies in the Philippines are well aware of the dangers people now face in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working with the pharmaceutical company RiteMed, the group created what is known as the “distance-caring” of employees by sending out RiteMed health care kits composed of vitamins to boost the immune system, medicine, as well as hygiene essentials.

For RiteMed and IdeasxMachina,

boosting our immune system by eating healthy food,regular exercise, taking much needed vitamins and being extra careful with hygiene should be essential habits to protect us and our families from COVID-19. This is because when the immune system is compromised, people are at risk of contracting not just COVID but other types of illnesses. And with employees who need to show up for work, they face exposure to Covid-19 every day. They are in essence at the front lines for their families and are in need of extra protection.

“Prioritizing the health of employees

and providing them with extra care comes with great benefits for all employers.” said Ly Sepe, HR Head of IdeasxMachina. For them this mindset not only keeps people safe, but will also increase productivity. As such, they believe that employers have to take this need to heart. Other than providing safe shuttles to minimize exposure from public transportation, employers should also give them health insurance, better HMO coverage, and free vaccination.

These benefits are not only timely, but will also keep employees happy and do their tasks better.

INAUGURATION. Las Pinas City Mayor Imelda “Mel” Aguilar and Vice-Mayor April Aguilar led the inauguration of two buildings that were renamed “Mayor Nene Aguilar Main Health Building” and Mayor Nene Aguilar DRRM Building” in honour of the late Mayor Vergel “Nene” Aguilar. The inauguration was witnessed by City Hall officials.

CHI Batangas employees do volunteer work for sea turtles, join International Coastal Cleanup Day 2021

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MPLOYEES and contractors from Chevron Philippines Inc. or CPI, marketer of Caltex fuels and lubricants, recently celebrated ‘Volunteer Week’ by cleaning up the two-kilometer coastline in San Pascual, which straddles

the Chevron Batangas Terminal.

The terminal in Batangas has long been a major facility of Chevron for over 65 years now and its lengthy shoreline has been home to various marine animals such as sea turtles. As such the

EMPLOYEES, maintenance contractors, and security personnel volunteered to help keep the two-kilometer coastline of San Pascual, Batangas free from debris in time for the sea turtle nesting season.

activity was timed for the expected nesting season of the endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles that have started coming ashore to lay eggs on the terminal’s sandy beach front since 2012. The annual initiative also coincides with the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day. The recent cleanup saw a total of 65 volunteers combing the coastline of any trash or debris that could prevent sea turtles from laying their eggs on the beach. About 210 bags of non-biodegradable trash and 100 bags of biodegradable waste with a total gross weight of 755 pounds (.3422 metric tons) were collected by the volunteers.

Volunteers were split into two small groups to ensure that social distancing was enforced. The participants also strictly followed health and safety protocols like wearing face masks and face shields, regular disinfection and taking of BP and thermal scanning prior to the activity.

All biodegradable wastes were dumped in a DENR-accredited facility for composting while plastics, rubber, metals and other nonbiodegradables were hauled off-site for recycling and proper disposal.

OME delivery is a convenient way to enjoy your meals, but sometimes you just want to experience the simple joys of eating at your favorite restaurant again. To add to the pleasure of eating out (with proper social distancing, of course), foodpanda is pleased to announce that foodpanda dine-in feature is now officially available in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao. Loaded with irresistible deals and promos, dinein is the newest pandapro perk that lets you enjoy your next sit-down meal with exclusive discounts of up to 40% off!

As a subscriber, “hack it like a pro,” with discounts on total restaurant bill inclusive of food and drink orders at partner establishments. Chili’s and Motorino in Manila, Harbour City and Casa Verde in Cebu,and Koi Cafe by Malagos Garden Resort and BBQ Nation in Davao are only some of the hundreds of partner restaurants to look forward to.

It is also a convenient and contactless transaction, allowing for customers to redeem their deals on the spot using the restaurant’s QR code. Redeem rewards and deals with these four easy steps: 1. Log on to the app and check out dine-in deals. 2. Confirm the restaurant discount with the server before placing the order. 3. Redeem the selected deal via QR code provided. 4. Pay the bill at the restaurant.

Aside from dine-in, pandapro also offers benefits like exclusive discounts and free delivery on thousands of other restaurants making for one very fulfilling and worthwhile experience.

“I am glad that I am a pandapro member, because I get to avail of all these privileges and perks to indulge the foodie

in me! With the membership experience, I can always count on foodpanda to give great deals every day, from free delivery on my first five orders each month, extra 5% off on pick-up orders, and vouchers with 10% off at foodpanda shops.” said Digital creator Vern Enciso. foodpanda Philippines Managing Director, Daniel Marogy, meanwhile, says that pandapro is the answer for customers who are always on the lookout for sulit everyday deals such as free delivery and discounts on pick-up and now, dine-in.

“We want to give our customers the best benefits from the monthly subscription, which is why we include discounts on restaurant dine-in as part of our perks. This is also part of the foodpanda commitment to support the F&B industry. pandapro is only available on the foodpanda app and not on other platforms such as web or mobile web, so download the app, subscribe, and hack it like a pro!” he said.

For more information and updates on exciting foodpanda promos and pandapro membership, visit www.foodpanda.ph.

You heard it right: Markdown madness is back!

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NJOY discounts up to 70% off on your favorite footwear brands Skechers, Merrell, Sperry, Keds, and more!

One of Manila’s biggest footwear and apparel sale events is back in full-swing this month!

Enjoy up to 70% off your favorite footwear brands on October 4-31 2021 at the Glorietta 4 Activity Center and at the Trinoma Activity Center. Score great deals from your favorite brands such as Skechers, Merrell, Sperry, Keds, Saucony, Pony, Polo Ralph Lauren, and No Fear.

As part of the health protocol to ensure the health and safety of customers, the event entrance is equipped with a

temperature check and all attendees are to wear a face mask & face shield. Moreover, QR code and health declaration forms are available at the event entrance and the event area will only hold up to 30% of its full capacity. Alcohol dispensers will be installed at the entrance and within the premises. The area will also be cleaned and disinfected prior to opening and every three hours during mall hours, with safety protocol officers deployed within the activity area to reinforce these rules.

For more information and updates, visit Markdown Madness on their official Facebook page and on Instagram @ markdownmadness.

Sports BusinessMirror

Editor: Jun Lomibao

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Friday, October 1, 2021 B7

BEERMEN IN SEMIS S

JINKEE PACQUIAO tells Manny Pacquiao: Babe, we are always and forever here by your side. I love you.

WIFE JINKEE KNOWS BEST T

By Josef Ramos

HE wife knows best and in the case of Jinkee Capeña Jamora Pacquiao, her husband Manny Pacquiao quitting boxing is the best decision that he made at this point in time.

It didn’t take long for Jinkee— loved by many and spurned by those envious of the fame and fortune her family has achieved— to openly thank the boxing legend for deciding to retire and embark on a higher level political career.

“After watching your ‘Goodbye Boxing video,’ I remember how worried I [am so much] in every one of your fights especially if your opponent is taller and bigger than you,” Jinkee, who was Sarangani vice governor from 2013 to 2016, wrote on her official social media account.

“But you were always full of faith and you faced all your opponents with courage. I thank the Lord every day that he kept you safe.

Thank you for the success. We are filled with gratitude and love, Jesus.

Babe, we are always and forever here by your side. I love you,” she concluded in her post.

Jinkee and Pacquiao’s equally celebrity mother Mommy Dionesia or Mommy D, have long asked the Filipino boxing icon to quit when he was knocked out cold

by Mexican archrival Juan Manuel Marquez in their third

confrontation in December 2012.

Pacquiao didn’t heed and instead fought 11 times more after that. He won eight of those fights.

But in his last fight last August 21 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao no longer showed the ring savvy and quickness—even his punches weren’t lethal anymore.

He staked his 26-year boxing experience but with a 42-year-old body against 35-year-old Cuban Yordenis Ugas, hoping to get back his world welterweight crown taken away from him by the World Boxing Council for not fighting the entire pandemic year 2020.

Pacquiao lost—thanks it was via unanimous decision—and the world, especially Filipinos, wept his misfortune.

And then came Wednesday’s announcement on Facebook.

“Goodbye, boxing…Thank you for changing my life. When my family was desperate, you gave us hope. You gave me the chance to fight our way out of poverty,” Pacquiao told the world.

“Because of you, I was able to inspire people all over the world.

Because of you, I have been given the courage to change more lives.

I just heard the final bell. Thank you to all of you.”

Next up on the Pacquiao watch will be the filing of his certificate of candidacy for the presidency on Friday.

A WOMAN adjusts her face mask as she walks by a statue featuring the Beijing Winter Olympics figure skating on display at the Shougang Park in Beijing. AP

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ISBON, Portugal—Girls from the Afghanistan national soccer team who were recently granted asylum in Portugal have had a surprise visit from the captain of the senior team.

Farkhunda Muhtaj, a professional player who from her home in Canada spent weeks helping arrange their recent rescue from Afghanistan, flew into the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, for an emotional reunion with the girls’ team late Wednesday.

As the sun set over the River Tagus, the girls aged 14 to 16 and their families gathered on the riverbank and hugged and kissed Muhtaj amid smiles and tears.

“They have dedicated so much, they have been so resilient, and to finally see them in person has been so emotional because I knew how much they went through,” Muhtaj said.

After the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the girls and their families tried to leave their country. They feared how their lives might change under the Taliban—not only because women and girls are not allowed to play sports, but because they were advocates for girls and active members

AN MIGUEL Beer was true to form on Thursday afternoon and beat NorthPort, 100-95, behind a calculated game the Beermen dedicated to San Miguel Corp.’s celebration of its 131st anniversary.

“Coach [Leo Austria] told us that we really need to win because it’s San Miguel Corp.’s anniversary,” said CJ Perez, the main man for the Beermen who set themselves up for a race-toseven semifinals showdown with TNT KaTropa in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. Perez had 21 points with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in leading the Beermen to the semifinals—also the first in the Pangasinan pride’s three-year pro career.

“I am speechless and excited to play in my first semifinals,” Perez said from the league’s bubble venue at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

The Batang Pier put up a gallant stand practically the whole game

with seven-foot Greg Slaughter holding fort for 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

But the Beermen’s vast championship experience went to work each time their opponents challenged their defense.

After trailing 17-19 at the end of the opening period, the Beermen buckled down to work with Perez igniting the team’s offense and Alex Cabagnot and Terrence Romeo joining the attack.

San Miguel Beer was in control, 7461, with 1:51 left in the third quarter behind Marcio Lassiter’s three-point bomb. NorthPort narrowed the gap to 93-97 with 34 seconds left, but the Beermen refused to wilt.

Moala Tautuaa racked up 17 points, while Lassiter scattered 15 points spiked by four triples, and June Mar Fajardo tallied 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Beermen.

Romeo, coming off an Achilles injury, came up with 11 points, while Chris Ross produced 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three

steals. Arwind Santos also finished with 11 points on top of 13 rebounds for San Miguel Beer.

“We all know that it will not be an easy game because this is do-or-die for NorthPort,” San Miguel Beer Coach Leo Austria said. “We consider NorthPort as a strong team. They are not only young, but they are very talented and ready to play.”

Rookie Jamie Malonzo had 17 points for the Batang Pier, but starting playmaker Robert Bolick struggled on a 6-of-18 shooting and wound up with 12 points and 14 assists, numbers messed up by his six turnovers.

The Beermen won Game One of their race-to-two quarterfinals series with the Batang Pier, 88-87, last Tuesday behind Cabagnot’s jumper in the final 1.5 seconds.

The Beermen won the Philippine Cup from 2015 to 2019, but exited in the quarterfinals in the Clark

bubble last season.

No. 1 seed TNT Tropang Giga booted out defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 8471, last Wednesday.

The giant San Miguel Corp. turned 131 years on Wednesday.

Josef Ramos

CJ PEREZ is excited to see action in his first semifinals as a pro.

MSU confers Ramirez Doctor of Humanities

T

HE Mindanao State University (MSU) Marawi Campus conferred Doctor of Humanities Honoris Causa to Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez for his contribution to the Mindanao Sports for Peace movement.

The ceremony was held Thursday during the university’s celebration of its 60th founding anniversary at the MSU Convention Center in Lanao del Sur. MSU System President Habib Macaayong presided over the ceremony along with Executive Vice President Rasid Paca, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Alma Berowa and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Alizedney Ditucalan.

“You have touched the hearts of many. On behalf of the whole MSU System community, we honor

the unrelenting support you have afforded our institution,” Macaayong said.

“I am humbled at the privilege of esteem being RAMIREZ bestowed on me today with this conferment of a Doctor of Humanities Honoris Causa by this prestigious and respected educational institution,” Ramirez said. “I thank President Macaayong and the whole Mindanao State University for recognizing our efforts and contributions to the university and the Mindanao Sports for Peace movement.”

Ramirez said that President Rodrigo Duterte made it clear to him when he assumed office to bring sports to the periphery.

“Although Marawi is not in the periphery, it is an urban society beset by the sad realities of strife. That is why we continued supporting this city, by rehabilitating the MSU track oval to an Olympic-standard facility and helping accelerate sports development, we hope to shore up the spirits of the people and spark inspiration among the youth through sports,” Ramirez said.

In July 2017, just two months after the siege, the PSC helped more than 300 displaced children in Barangay Buru-un in Iligan City to conduct the PSC’s UNESCO-recognized project Children’s Games.

The following year, the agency brought the program inside MSU to more than 500 children from

all over the city.

Through the PSC, sports was played by more than 20,000 children in Marawi, down to the coastal islands of Limasawa. Ramirez assured that it will continue to reach more places, even in the challenges brought by the pandemic.

“I am beholden to you and the country to continue to work towards the development of sports and our youth,” he said.

Ramirez will return in Marawi for the official unveiling of the refurbished MSU track oval next month.

IOC, Beijing detail Covid-19 rules for 2022 Winter Olympics PSC features

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AUSANNE, Switzerland—A 21-day quarantine for non-fully vaccinated athletes, officials and workers at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Daily testing for vaccinated people. No tickets sold to anyone living outside China as Olympic venues open their doors again.

Restrictions imposed to control the Covid-19 pandemic at the next Winter Games in February were announced Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

While not imposing a vaccine mandate, organizers in Beijing plan stricter rules than applied at the Tokyo Olympics where vaccination was advised though not demanded within a strict regime of testing.

“Games participants who are not fully vaccinated will have to serve a 21-day quarantine upon arrival in Beijing,” the IOC said in a statement.

Olympic athletes can ask to avoid quarantine, the IOC said, for a “justified medical exemption”—a phrase that appeared to exclude ideological objections to vaccines.

It will be the second straight Olympics during the pandemic where families of athletes cannot visit the host country to watch the events.

The IOC acknowledged “all parties feel for the athletes and the spectators from around the world.”

Residents of the host country, however, should be able to attend the 109 medal events after spectators were barred from nearly all of the 339 events in Tokyo.

“Tickets will be sold exclusively to spectators residing in China’s mainland, who meet the requirements of the Covid-19 countermeasures,” the Olympic body said, though details were not given.

Guests of stakeholders such as sports bodies, sponsors and broadcasters will also be excluded again.

Olympic organizers plan to operate a health security bubble— called a “closed-loop management system”—even for vaccinated people from January 23, almost two weeks before the Winter Games open February 4.

It will stay in place for almost two months until after the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games close on March 13.

“Within the closed loop, participants will be allowed to move only between games-related venues for training, competitions and work,” the IOC said, promising a “dedicated games transport system.”

The Beijing plan should allow vaccinated people freer movement within the Olympic bubble than the 14-day restrictions that applied on arrival in Tokyo.

The rules were announced after a meeting between the IOC and International Paralympic Committee with organizers in China.

The Beijing Winter Olympics are being held from February 4 to 20. The Paralympic Winter Games will be held from March 4 until 13.

Preparations have been affected with nearly all international sports competitions at games venues canceled since the Covid-19 outbreak spread from China in January 2020. AP

Afghan girls soccer team in Portugal gets surprise visit of their communities.

What made the rescue mission harder was the size of the group—80 people, including the 26 youth team members as well as adults and other children, including infants.

“You are a fantastic nation for impacting the lives of so many girls and for supporting us in so many ways and providing these girls with asylum,” Muhtaj said, thanking Portugal for taking them in.

The rescue mission, called Operation Soccer Balls, was coordinated with the Taliban through an international coalition of former US military and intelligence officials, US Sen. Chris Coons, US allies, and humanitarian groups, according to Nic McKinley, a CIA and Air Force veteran who founded Dallas-based DeliverFund, a nonprofit that’s secured housing for 50 Afghan families.

On Thursday, the girls were heading to a local soccer stadium for a practice session with Muhtaj. AP

MEMBERS of the Afghanistan national girls soccer team and their families visit a park by the Tagus River in Lisbon on Wednesday. AP

Sarangani IP

T

HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will conduct a pre-recording of traditional sports and games of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) from October 8 to 12 in Sarangani Province.

The project is in line with the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (QCP), which will feature eight traditional sports and games—blowdart, kmisong (fire-making drill), skuyah (track and field), javelin throw and pana, among others.

The program will also highlight the traditional dance common among the Tagakaulo, T’boli and B’laan Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) at the Municipality of Malungon.

“The activity aims to promote the traditional sports and games of the Sarangani IPs through a pre-recorded mini-documentary,” said Commissioner Charles Raymond Maxey, PSC oversight for the Indigenous Peoples Games program.

Maxey said that the PSC already secured permission from the Sarangani Provincial Tribal Council to proceed with the documentation of the traditional sports and games.

“We will observe the health and safety protocols implemented by the Provincial Government of Sarangani and Municipality of Malungon,” he said.

The video output will be streamed live on PTV4 and the National Quincentennial Committee Facebook pages.

The activity is supported

by Pocari Sweat Otsuka-Solar Philippines, Inc. in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Provincial Government of Sarangani and Municipality of Malungon.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

B8

Editor: Tet Andolong

Friday, October 1, 2021

Here comes the new Mitsubishi Mirage G4 A

Story by Randy S. Peregrino

FTER much anticipation, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) has finally launched the updated version of the Mirage G4. This smart and practical subcompact sedan now showcases the brand’s renowned “Dynamic Shield” design signature bearing a more aggressive and sportier style set to capture the market’s attention.

Since its introduction in 2013, global sales of the Mirage G4 have surpassed 360,000 units. This subcompact sedan is one of MMPC’s top-selling nameplates in the country, achieving more than 92,000 units sold. In 2017, MMPC started local production of the Mirage G4. It was the first vehicle to go into production under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (C ARS) program. Since then, the company has manufactured more than 54,000 cars—a testament to the Mirage’s excellent built quality and overall value.

“While we maintain the key pillar features that make our Mirage G4 a real-life partner for customers, we added a bolder and aggressive look that will project a more confident stance,” said Takao Kato, president of MMC. “Ever since we started local manufacturing in February 2017, we have generated local job opportunities through MMPC’s plant in Santa Rosa and various auto parts suppliers that exist with its operation. By introducing the new Mirage G4, Mitsubishi Motors will enhance its local production and commit to the Philippine market furthermore.”

Dynamic Shield design and then some

None other than Mitsubishi Motors Design Division General Manager Seiji Watanabe stated how Filipino customers are essential to Mitsubishi. “Inspired by our “Robust and Ingenious” design philosophy, we are building on your trust and looking to the future to capture more Mitsubishi-ness in our designs,” he said.

According to the design division head, the new look embodies the brand’s core design values of dynamic strength, robustness, and functionality. “Our design work began by listening. You told us you wanted dynamic and distinctive, athletic and agile, serious and exciting, and of course, Mitsubishi robustness. Our answer is a new design concept: Geometry of Cool. Clean lines, keen angles, and subtle curves.”

The front end received the major revamp, now donning the notable Dynamic Shield design cue. Its wide and bold look stems from the headlamp’s arrangement and larger grille spanning the vehicle’s full width. Further, the headlamp’s overlapping placement on the outer edges

Now donning the renowned “Dynamic Shield” design signature. Photos

Mitsubishi Philippines

variant are the ABS, EBD, reverse camera, and foglamps.

Practicality and “G” for anything

added to the broader look. Along with the exterior upgrades are the stylish taillights, 15-inch alloy wheels, and fog lamps.

The top-spec GLS CVT variant offers convenient features such as a keyless operation system, push start button, electric power steering, auto climate control, and audio-mounted controls. Its seveninch Smart Phone Link Display Audio (SDA) touchscreen multi-media system is compatible with Apple Carplay and Android Auto.

Motivation comes from the existing and efficient 1.2-liter three-cylinder MIVEC gasoline engine generating 76 horsepower and 100 N-m of maximum

torque paired to an INVECS-III CVT or a five-speed manual gearbox (base model).

How small the exterior dimension may be, the interior is spacious enough to accommodate five adults comfortably.

Moreover, generous trunk space is ready to take on luggage and cargo.

Safety-wise, the new Mitsubishi Mirage G4 offers many safety features that provide the driver and passengers a worry-free drive. There is Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) Body, Dual SRS Airbags, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), and Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD).

Moreover, there is ISOfix anchorage, reverse camera, automatic off headlights, and foglamps. Exclusive to the GLS CVT

To further enhance the G4 experience, MMPC offers a free Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS) Package up to two years or 25,000 km (whichever comes first) with free sanitation service to all customers who purchase a Mirage G4 from August 28 to November 30, 2020.

The added offer intends to promote a better customer experience and strengthen brand love.

With the new sporty and confident look, fantastic comfort features matched with its known practical characteristics, the G4 is undoubtedly value for money. It is a car that delivers reliable performance suited to fit any lifestyle, life stage, and persona, making the Mirage G4 “G” for anything.

Pricing, color, and availability

The top -spec GL S C V T reta i ls at P899,000, while the mid variant GLX CVT sells for P819,000. As for the base model GLX MT, it is affordable at P769,000. Available colors to choose from are Red Metallic (GLX CVT and GLS variant), Titanium Gray Metallic, Cool Silver Metallic, and White Solid (advanced firm order for GLX CVT and GLS CVT variants only). The new Mitsubishi Mirage G4 is now available in all 57 Mitsubishi Motors dealerships nationwide.

Lexus hits sporting spotlight again

M

IGUEL Tabuena scored big for Lexus last weekend as he won America’s Idaho Open Golf championship in runaway fashion.

Hep! Hep! Hooray! for both Alfred V. Ty and Raymond T. Rodriguez for Tabuena’s rare feat carved out at Quail Hollow Golf Club, Boise, Idaho, USA. Alfred aka AVT is the dapper chairman of Lexus Philippines and Raymond aka RTR the president of Lexus Manila.

Both AVT and RTR combined to make Tabuena a Lexus endorser, succeeding Japan campaigner Juvic Pagunsan upon the bidding of former Lexus president Danny “Sir John” Isla. Pagunsan himself hit pay dirt on the global stage, winning recently Japan’s Mizuno Open that earned him a slot both in the July British Open and the just-

ended Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Among the perks if you are a Lexus endorser is, you are chauffeur-driven while in Japan. Upon disembarkation in Manila, you are fetched at the airport and a Lexus model will be at your disposal in the Philippines. A lucrative cash incentive caps the contract.

In winning the Idaho Open, Tabuena, who turns 27 on October 13, began with a 5-under par and then grabbed the lead after firing a 7-under par in Round 2 punctuated by 9 blazing birdies.

Up by 5 strokes going to the final round of the 54-hole competition, Tabuena, a two-time Philippine Open champion and a veteran of the 2016 Rio Olympics, coasted along in the last 18 holes to cruise to a 4-shot victory.

The win was doubly important as it made Tabuena the second Asian Lexus endorser to hit it big on the world stage this year after Hideki Matsuyama of Japan won the Masters in April.

Matsuyama, 29, first played as a 19-year-old phenom in the Masters in 2011 after an earthquake struck his home in Sendai, Japan.

Tabuena might not have pocketed as much as what Matsuyama had amassed ($2,070,000 from the total pot of $11,500,000) in winning the Masters, but the victory proved once more that Filipino athletes making waves

internationally has become almost commonplace.

Recall that weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz captured the first OIympic gold for the country in Tokyo 2020, with Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam garnering boxing silvers and Eumir Marcial a boxing bronze.

Aside from incentives of millions of pesos given to them by the government and businessmen like BMW PHL owner Ramon S. Ang, Diaz, Petecio and Paalam also were each awarded Foton variants by Foton chieftain Rommel Sytin.

And who would forget Yuka Saso’s stunning victory in the US Open last June 7, making her the first Filipino to win a major golf trophy?

And so, with Tabuena’s latest achievement in Idaho, America’s potato capital, the Filipino fighting spirit continues to roar and soar even amid the still-raging pandemic.

Lexus couldn’t be prouder.

PEE STOP While at it, the Lexus ES, first unleashed in 1989, will launch its 7th generation this month. Jade B. Sison says visit lexus.com.ph, Facebook and Instagram @lexusmanila, or https://fal.cn/3eSWW for more details...Happy birthday to Hi-Lux driving Bob Corrales of Ayala Alabang.

Cheers!