BusinessMirror October 12, 2020

PHL’S DEBT PAYMENTS

w

n

Monday, October 12, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 04

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages |

UP NEARLY 50% IN 8 MOS HOUSE, SENATE MOVE TO AVERT REENACTED BUDGET IN EARLY ‘21

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

& Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

F

SLOWLY, side street businesses such as this massage service in Sta.Cruz in Manila are coming to life. This man offers a half-body massage for 100 pesos per hour—a modest fee that he says has helped him make ends meet in the pandemic. NONIE REYES

G

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

OVERNMENT’S debt payments from January to August spiked by nearly 50 percent year-on-year to P760.65 billion as the country is battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed the debt service as of end-August rose by 49.35 percent from P509.295 billion in the same period last year.

Interestingly, the amount paid by the government for the eightmonth period is also nearing the total amount that the government paid for the whole year of 2019 at P842.449 billion.

This, as the state’s debt payments for the month of August this year jumped by almost five times to P152.396 billion from P31. 581 bi l l ion in t he sa me month in 2019.

Of the total debt service for January to August, almost 64.56 percent or P491.045 billion went to amortization payments while the remaining 35.44 percent or

P269.609 billion was spent on interest payments.

Amortization payments for the same period rose by 89.85 percent year-on-year from P258.648 billion in 2019. On the other hand, interest payments for January to August increased by an annualized rate of 7.57 percent from P250.647 billion in 2019.

For August alone, the government paid more for amortization payments amounting to P129.847 billion, exceeding a 10-fold increase from only P11.970 billion in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the state’s interest payments for the month grew by 14.98 percent to P22.549 billion from P19.611 billion in August 2019.

The national government’s debt service bill this year is seen to

reach a total of P1.005 trillion, up by 19.33 percent from last year’s actual total debt service.

Of the projected 2020 debt ser vice bill, P584.322 billion will go to principal amortization and P420.964 billion, for interest payments.

For this year, the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) expects the country’s debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio to increase to 53.91 percent of GDP—a level it hasn’t seen in over a decade—from a record-low of 39.6 percent of GDP last year. For 2021 and 2022, this is seen to surge to 58.1 percent and 59.9 percent, respectively.

Debt-to-GDP ratio is used to gauge the country’s ability to pay its debts.

O L LO W I N G Pre s i d e n t Duterte’s call for a special session, the House of Representatives will reopen on Tuesday to resume the deliberations on the proposed P4.5-trillion General Appropriations Act for 2021.

Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, in a statement on Sunday, appealed to lawmakers to focus on the passage of the national budget as requested by the President amid a power struggle in the lower chamber.

“The budget before politics. Let us pass the national budget as requested by the President for 2021 on third and final reading on Friday, October 16,” he said.

“I spoke to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea [Sunday]; he reconfirmed that President Duterte’s call for a special session under Proclamation No. 1027 is for Congress to resume the congressional deliberations on the proposed national budget,” he said.

Romualdez said the Speakership issue will be tackled after the passage of the national budget to ensure a smooth transition of leadership in the House of Representatives.

Session to cut break

SENATORS, meawhile, are poised to approve a proposal by Sen. Panfilo Lacson to have the chamber resume its sessions earlier than November 16, so its Committee on Finance has leeway to prepare for sponsorship of the 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) from the House, thus fast-tracking full plena-

ry deliberations by mid-November.

In an interview with DWIZ at the weekend, Senate President Vicente Sotto III indicated he would concur in Lacson’s proposal, and predicted that most senators would, too.

“Correct, agree. I’m okay with that, absolutely. I can resume that [session], it doesn’t have to wait till November 16,” Sotto said, partly in Filipino. “Oo, papayag lahat ng mga kasama namin doon [Yes, our colleagues will go along with that], I am sure. Approved without thinking,” he added.

In a separate interview, Lacson suggested that senators—who did not cut their session days as the House did, but nonetheless are scheduled to go on break from October 17 to November 16—can convene on November 9 to 13 to tackle the budget in plenary.

“Seven days, pwede na yan [is good enough],” Lacson added.

In the first place, Sotto told DWIZ, no senator is flying abroad.

And for those who may go to the provinces, “since our rules under a state of emergency are still in effect, even if they’re riding their cars in Sultan Kudarat or GenSan, or Davao, they can participate, virtually.”

However, Sotto stressed that the Senate’s ability to finish the budget on time still rests on the timely transmittal of the GAB by the House, or at the very least by late October, after its October 13 to 16 special session. President Duterte was forced to request the special sessions after the House prematurely suspended its sessions last October 6, in what was seen as a move to avert a turnover to enforce a term-sharing agreement for the speakership.

See “Reenacted budget,” A2

‘Udenna Corp must show it can run Malampaya’

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

T

HE chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy said Udenna Corp. of Davao businessman Dennis Uy must prove it has the technical expertise to operate the Malampaya gas facility should it secure full ownership of the Malampaya Service Contract (SC) 38.

“Udenna itself [has no] capability. It has to demonstrate that it

will develop or acquire capability.

But, as it stands, wala siyang capability [it doesn’t have it]. None in the Philippines has capability of running gas and oil rig. I am not saying that they can’t develop or acquire capability. They just have to develop that with utmost capability,” said Sherwin Gatchalian.

UC earlier declared it would exercise its preemptive rights to secure the 45-percent interest of the Malampaya operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEx).

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.3770

UC, being the majority shareholder, has the right to buy additional shares from a shareholder before these shares are made available to other interested firms. At present, UC has a 45-percent interest in SC38, while PNOC- Exploration Corp.

(PNOC-EC), has 10 percent. UC bought its shares from Chevron Malampaya Llc. UC is asking PNOC-EC to join in its pursuit to take over the gas field.

Gatchalian said even PNOC-EC is not fit to operate the gas field alone, nor does it have the financial muscle to possibly match the offer of UC to buy the shares of SPEx. “From a fiscal standpoint, we do not have the cash to buy the remaining shares because of Covid.

I have to emphasize that Covid has changed everything. Government will not have the cash from revenues and government will have to borrow to make sure we operate.”

See “Udenna Corp.,” A2

CHUA GETS PCCI'S HIGHEST AWARD Ambassador Francis Chua is the first recipient of the PCCI Presidential Excellence Award, the highest to be conferred by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country's biggest business organization. Chua, currently PCCI Chairman Emeritus, was recognized for his key role in the growth of the chamber movement, among others. In photo, PCCI President Benedicto V. Yujuico hands the award to Chua at the recent 46th Philippine Business Conference & Expo (PBC&E). Story on page B1. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

n JAPAN 0.4564 n UK 62.5611 n HK 6.2422 n CHINA 7.1153 n SINGAPORE 35.6132 n AUSTRALIA 34.6718 n EU 56.8865 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8967

Source: BSP (October 9, 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, October 12, 2020

PHL seeks to join ILO white list to help seafarers abroad

By Samuel P. Medenilla

T

@sam_medenilla

HE country is now seeking to be included in the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) “White List,” which will allow Filipino seafarers greater mobility abroad during the Covid-19 crisis.

Last month, the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) issued Resolution No. 3, series of 2020, which endorsed the Philippines’s application for inclusion in the list for complying with the requirements for the issuance of Seafarers’ Identity Documents (SID) under ILO Convention 185.

In the issuance, it noted that inclusion in the “white list” is timely because of lockdow ns caused by the pandemic, which restr icted the movement of Filipino seafarers, leav ing them stranded in ports abroad.

“The inclusion of the Philippines in the ILO White List will accord Filipino seafarers with the privilege of facilitated shore leave, transit, transfer from their ships to ports of Member States that have ratified ILO C185,” the NTIPC said in its two-paged

resolution.

Earlier this month, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported the number of deployed Filipino seafarers onboard sea vessel traveling on international waters has “normalized” after a significant decline due to Covid-19.

Led by the Department of Labor and Employment, the NTIPC has representatives from employers, labor groups, and government agencies and aims to come out with stakeholderaccepted government policies.

In an SMS, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told BusinessMirror the NTIPC Resolution No. 3 is currently with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

After being screened

by DFA, the resolution will be forwarded to ILO’s main office in Geneva for consideration, POEA administrator Bernard Olalia said.

ILO C185 was ratified by the country in 2012, which updated the security features to Filipino sailors’ SID. An ILO independent Audit Report found the country’s SID “fully compliant with the requirements of the ILO C185.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House members exit Cayetano camp to back Velasco–source

L

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

AWMAKERS are now jumping ship to support Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco against Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.

A highly realiable source said Velasco now has the support of 186 lawmakers from different political parties in the lower chamber. These numbers are enough for Velasco to secure the Speaker’s post.

The source also said Velasco’s close friend Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has started texting lawmakers asking them to support the Marinduque lawmaker’s speakership fight.

Last Friday, Velasco reportedly met with the President’s daughter in Davao City to pursue the 15-21 term-sharing deal.

In the view of Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza, in calling for a special meeting of Congress, President Duterte has “strongly rebuffed” Cayetano, who earlier aborted House sessions to avoid a termsharing agreement.

Atienza said Cayetano’s “highly

irregular” cancellation of House sessions until November 16 “had imperiled the passage of the budget bill,” thus forcing the President’s hand.

“Through all sorts of political machinations, Congressman Cayetano has shamelessly reneged on his solemn promise—made before the President—to step down as Speaker after 15 months and give way to Congressman Velasco,” Atienza said.

The President on Friday called Congress to a special session on October 13 to 16, a day after he warned that he would step in to solve the House leadership dispute that was stalling the approval of the budget bill. The nation cannot afford a 2020 reenacted budget for next year, because the 2021 money measure bears vital provisions for continuing to deal with the Cov-

id-19 pandemic, the President had said.

Atienza said that because Cayetano knew he could not muster enough votes on his own to get elected as Speaker in July 2019, he agreed to the term-sharing pact with Velasco, with the President acting as the go-between.

Moral authority

MEANWHILE,Oriental Mindoro 1st District Rep. Salvador Leachon said Cayetano has lost his “moral authority” to lead the House after he messed up in handling the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021.

“Speaker Cayetano has miserably failed in his duty to lead the House in its mandate to review and pass the budget in the manner provided for in the Constitution and rules of the House,” said Leachon at the weekend.

Leachon said it was such a shame that Duterte had to intervene and call for a special session in order for the House to rectify “major mistakes” made by the current leadership.

“The President issuing Proclamation No. 27 is a clear indication that the suspension of session for more than a month did not sit well with him for being unconstitutional. There could no other interpretation except that the suspension was illegal and unconstitutional especially when the President said that it is incumbent for Congress

Reenacted budget…

Sotto explained that the Senate Committee of Finance needs several days before the November 16 resumption of sessions to go over the proposed outlays for dozens of departments and attached agencies, so it can have a clearly organized presentation when sponsoring the budget in plenary session.

“Ideally,” Sotto said, they should have gotten the GAB “first week of October,” but as a result of the abrupt suspension by the House last October 6, this was pushed back by a month—until Duterte called the special session for October 13-16, which at least cut short the delay by at least two weeks.

“So, in that situation, we [senators] can stretch our work hours to finish the task. We can go home midnight or past midnight, as we’ve done before,” he said, adding: “You’ve seen that in the period of interpellation. But that isn’t even the longest part; it’s the preparation of committee reports of various subcommittees. Remember, there are almost 30 departments, I think 27 or 28.”

Under these departments, Sotto noted, “there are over 100 attached agencies, there are even GOCCs [government-owned and -controlled corporations]. There are government institutions that are not in that group. And then there are the SUCs, the state universities and colleges.

“So, when you put all that together, the Committee on Finance cannot do that alone, that’s why the Senate formed subcommittees to handle those. Those subcommittees handle certain departments, and their report isn’t easy to prepare, even though they’ve done initial hearings based on the NEP,” he said.

Sotto pointed out that the National

The committee would look into the impending transaction even if the seller and the potential buyer are not state-owned firms because the country’s energy security is at stake.

Continued from A1

Expenditure Program (NEP) is presented by the President to the House, but it’s not yet the General Appropriations Bill. “The NEP becomes the GAB when the House transmits it to us,” Sotto explained, partly in Filipino.

He admitted it was this laborious process— which he earlier stressed is never railroaded by the Senate —which got the Senate worried when the House suspended sessions offcalendar, as that meant it would only endorse the GAB to senators in late November.

“We [Senators] are used to burning the midnight oil on the budget, but when they said we would only be getting their version on November 16 or 17, we got worried. Because, while we’ve been holding so many hearings, our committee reports can’t be based just on the NEP because there will certainly be changes by the House. That’s why we got worried,” Sotto said. But with the special session called by the President on October 13-16 which cuts short the House suspension of its sessions, Sotto said the chance of a reenacted budget, is “highly unlikely, unless there are serious disagreements in the bicameral conference committee.”

‘Budget is priority’

IN a news conference on Sunday, Deputy Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte said the small committee tasked to receive amendments to the national budget will meet on Monday to continue finalizing the budget.

“The budget is our priority, when we resume session, politics later. We are strongly committed to pass the 2021 [GAB]. We feel that this budget

Udenna Corp…

to pass a budget through process that is legal and constitutional,” said Leachon.

Last October 6, the House abr upt ly ter minated plena r y deliberations and approved the budget bill on second reading and suspended the session until November 16.

Leachon said the move drew serious concerns from senators, economic managers and the business community, warning it could delay the passage of the spending plan designed to strengthen the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and may lead to a reenacted budget at the start of 2021.

After all that happened, Cebu City’s Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa said “Speaker Cayetano has failed in his sworn duty to uphold and defend the Constitution when he caused the railroading of the budget and suspended the session without giving all lawmakers the chance to scrutinize and allocate the budget properly,” Abellanosa said.

“With all due respect, I think the Speaker already lost his moral authority to lead the House,” added Abellanosa.

The Cebuano solon said the only option left for Cayetano is to resign.

Ako Probinsyano Party-list Rep. Jose Singson Jr. said Cayetano has failed House members and the people they represent in Congress following his mishandling of the 2021 budget.

Continued from A1

“Taking over the remaining portion of Malampaya triggers issues of energy security and us, being citizens of the country, deserve to appreciate and understand whether new owners can assure us of energy security,” he said.

Gatchalian stressed that whoever takes over Shell’s interest must immediately demonstrate its technical capability and, in the future, has the capability to explore and develop other potential areas.

“PD 88 requires the approval of the DOE [Department of Energy] and, of course, in turn, the President.

It is a highly technical business and national interest is at stake. The first

is the best stimulus for the people [amid this pandemic,” he added.

“Let’s approve the budget first. If anyone wants to invoke leadership change or any other matter, that should be secondary to the budget,” Villafuerte said.

According to Villafuerte, three days would be “more than enough” to pass the budget on third and final reading. The lower chamber has already approved on second reading the 2021 GAB. President Duterte has also declared the passage of the budget as urgen “I cannot preempt what will happen on Tuesday, it’s the call of the majority to pass it. If we revert it back, it will delay. That’s contrary to the [wish] of the President to pass the budget immediately,” Villafuerte adde “But we will pass a budget that is constitutionally legal and within the internal rules of the House,” he said.

Meanwhile, Villafuerte claimed that the Velasco camp is planning to hold session on Monday, October 12, a day before the start of the special session in the House “They [Velasco’s camp] want to have a session on Monday for leadership change. This totally disrupts what we have for Tuesday,” he .

For his part, Dasmariñas Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. reminded lawmakers that the President’s directive is very clear, “we will resume to pass the budget immediately.

“We shall stick to the order of the President to expedite the passage of the national budget for 2021 in order to address the pandemic problem in our country for the year 2021,” he said.

45 percent was a financial investment but the next 45-percent stake is a different story because [Udenna] would have full control of the operation of the Malampaya which plays a very big role in the development and economy of the country,” said Gatchalian.

What would make the situation more “sensitive” is if UC picks Chinese partners to close the Malampaya transaction.“For obvious reasons, we have issues with China on the West Philippine Sea and that angle may come in play. It will open up issues specifically related to national security,” added the senator.

China Telecom and UC earlier formed a joint venture to operate a telecommunications firm in the Philippines. UC also nominated to explore areas 7 and 8—exploration blocks in waters disputed by China.

A public hearing would be scheduled soon to tackle a proposed measure that seeks to scrutinize the impending Malampaya transaction if this poses any threat to the country’s energy security.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, October 12, 2020 A3

Nine million to get National ID by Dec

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) aims to preregister 9 million household heads by December to jumpstart the implementation of the National ID. National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis S. Mapa said this preregistration stage or the “Step 1” of the National ID process will involve capturing the demographic information of these Filipinos and logging in to the appointment system for “Step 2” of the process.

Initially, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) aimed to register 5 million families in the PhilSys. Mapa told BusinessMirror over the weekend that this is the same target set on the number of Filipinos that would have completed Step 1 and Step 2 of the National ID registration for the year.

“We will be targeting as many of these 9 million to complete the registration for Step 2, which is the capture of the biometric information and registration center and the validation for the documents that they submitted,” Mapa said in a recent briefing.

Assistant Secretary Rosalinda P. Bautista, Deputy National Statistician of the PhilSys Registry Office (PRO), said the first step of the PhilSys registration involves the collection of demographic data, such as name, permanent address, date and place of birth and blood type of the target registrant.

To obtain this information, PSA enumerators will go house-to-house and record these data through digital tablets. The information will then be sent directly to a secured PhilSys database.

Bautista said health protocols will be strictly enforced throughout the registration process to mitigate

risks. By the end of this step, registrants will be issued an appointment slip that they will need to proceed with Step 2 of the registration at a later date.

She said Step 2, which will be done in a registration site, involves capturing the fingerprints and iris scans of the registrants.

The PSA said this “will be done safely because of the appointment system, which will schedule and manage the number of people to proceed to registration centers.” Mapa said this will also allow the PSA to undertake regular disinfection of machines used for the biometric capture.

The last step in the National ID registration process involves the issuance of PhilSys Numbers (PSNs) and physical IDs to the registrants.

“Everyone will eventually be registered under PhilSys. However, we aim to register low-income households first, to improve the targeting and distribution of government

aid. We will start in provinces which more or less belong to the bottom 40 percent of the population in terms of income,” Mapa said in a statement.

To comply with health and safety protocols, the PSA enumerators and registration officers will go houseto-house and collect demographic information of a select sample of low-income household heads from 32 priority provinces this year.

These provinces include: Ilocos Sur; La Union; Pangasinan; Cagayan; Isabela; Bataan; Bulacan; Nueva Ecija; Pampanga; Tarlac; Zambales; Batangas; Cavite; Laguna; Quezon; and, Rizal.

The PSA said the list includes: Albay; Camarines Sur; Masbate; Antique; Capiz; Iloilo; Negros Occidental; Bohol; Cebu; Negros Oriental; Davao de Oro; Davao del Norte; Davao del Sur; Davao Occidental; Leyte; and, Tawi-Tawi.

In order to conduct the National ID, the PSA was granted a budget

of P27.8 billion. Mapa said the PSA already received a total of P7.1 billion to prepare the PhilSys, including the bidding and award of the five contracts.

This is composed of the following: P2 billion for 2018; P2.1 billion billion for 2019; and, P3 billion for 2020.

For 2021, Mapa said the PSA is proposing a budget of P4.1 billion.

If granted, this will lead to a total of P11.2 billion between 2018 and 2021.

This will leave P16.6 billion of the National ID budget to complete the registration of around 92 million Filipinos by 2022.

“Ang isa sa mga pinakamalaking gastos sa lahat ng National ID talaga ay ’yung registration process. Ito ’yung mga registration officers namin na pumupunta sa mga bayan-bayan, mga barangay para mag-collect ng information. [One of the biggest expenses in the National ID is the registration process. This is composed of the registration officers

who go to towns and barangay to collect information]” Mapa said.

“Pagkatapos, ang isang malaking component din ay ’yung pag-produce ng ID mismo. Ito ang dalawang major items in the budget for 2021. [After this, one major component is the production of the National IDs. These are the two major items in the budget for 2021]” he added.

Mapa stressed, however, that the registration for the National ID will be a continuing process since the goal of the government is to provide National IDs for all Filipinos.

Ensuring that all Filipinos are registered is key to the country’s achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Under SDG 16, by 2030, countries should provide legal identity for all, including birth registration. Under this target is to increase the proportion of children under five years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age.

Alternative to 13th-month Russians to update lawmakers on clinical trials for Sputnik V pay deferment proposed

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

HE chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means has urged the Department of Finance and the Department of Trade and Industry to craft loan products through government financial institutions (GFIs) at highly favorable rates and long maturity periods so employers can honor 13thmonth pay obligation.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has submitted an aide memoire to the leadership of the House of Representatives as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is pushing for exempting some businesses from following Presidential Decree 851, which requires employers to grant 13th-month pay to all its rank-andfile employees. (See related stories on 13th-month pay deferment and its impact, on page A8.)

“Our proposal is to allow enterprises to meet the 13th-month obligation by providing loans, through GFIs to allow them to distribute 13th-month pay to their rank-and-file employees, while exempting distressed businesses from providing these benefits to management-level workers and executives,” Salceda said.

“Considering that rank-and-file benefits are direct labor costs, their deductibility from taxable income is peso-per-peso. Should enterprises incur losses due to labor costs, the government has already extended the availment period for net operating loss carryover from three years to five years under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act,” he said. “This means that there is already a direct tax benefit for employers paying the 13th-month pay.”

Salceda, an economist, said suspending worker benefits to rankand-file employees sets an undesirable precedent that could erode worker rights and hinder broad-based growth and inclusive prosperity.

“Not distributing the 13th-month pay will also remove what could be the only source of annual savings for most working families. Sixty percent

of Filipino households have savings under just 30,000 annually,” he added citing the latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey. “ R a n k- a nd - f i le e mplo ye es spend the bulk of their income on consumption. Any reduction from their income could mean a depression in consumption, which would have negative impacts on aggregate demand. This is a temporary crisis in the present.

Measures that amount to private sector austerity will not help solve this crisis of lack of market confidence and depressed demand,” said the lawmaker.

According to Salceda, the 13thmonth pay and other bonuses usually result in an around 2 percent boost in household final consumption expenditure, a transaction of the national account’s use of income account representing consumer spending.

“Considering that the 4th quarter economy will likely be more open than the 3rd quarter, with far fewer quarantine restrictions, the economic impact of an infusion of cash into households will likely be magnified this year,” he added.

He, meanwhile, reminded that 13th-month pay as a legal obligation.

“Regardless of the economic impact, the 13th-month pay is a statutory obligation that enterprises must meet. Workers are by law entitled to this benefit, and they need it the most in these difficult times. At the same time, sales have been significantly depressed revenues this year, making it challenging for small and medium enterprises to meet this statutory benefit,” he said.

However, the lawmaker, citing a study commissioned by the World Bank in partnership with the DOF and the National Economic and Development Authority, said sales revenue has gone down by 64 percent on average between April and July 2020, with 89 percent of firms reporting a continued reduction in sales. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

M

EMBERS of the House Committee on People Participation will meet with officials of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Philippines on October 12 to update Congress on the latest developments on the clinical studies being conducted on Sputnik V, the vaccine for Coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19).

San Jose del Monte City Rep. Florida P. Robes said the meeting is a follow-through of the first one conducted last month with the Russian Embassy on the vaccine’s development.

“Since the Philippines is one of countries that is currently studying the vaccine, we want to be given updates on its trials to give our people information and to help to facilitate cooperation between the two countries to ensure its availability in the

country if the tests go well at the earliest possible time,” Robes, the panel chairman, said.

She added the committee has also invited officials of the Department of Health and the Department of Science and Technology to inquire into the status of the vaccine now being studied for Phase 3 of the clinical trials.

“I want to know if the Philippine government has already started with the third phase of the trials this October as earlier revealed during the meeting,” he added.

Robes had also earlier pushed for the approval of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. Currently, the drug is still in the “investigational phase” in the country and is administered only to those with severe cases of Covid-19.

In the first meeting, Russian Embassy officials led by Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission Tatiana Shlychkova and First Secre-

tary (Trade) Vladislav S. Mongush told the committee that a nondisclosure agreement had already been signed between Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology, manufacturer of Sputnik V, and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the DOST. The agreement, the officials said, allows the latter to study the vaccine for the third phase of clinical trials.

Shlychkova said their vaccine has been proven to be safe and efficient in providing immunity to the Covid-19 virus using human adenovirus vectors. She said these were highly effective in the tests for the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, coronavirus.

Shlychkova said she herself already received the vaccine because she believes in its safety and efficacy.

She explained the clinical trials may last for three months and, “if all goes well, the vaccine may be made available as early as January next

year” for the country.

“The speed to have the vaccine will really depend on the speed on how Philippine officials will conduct the tests on the vaccine,” the diplomat said.

Mongush said the Russian government is also open to allowing the establishment of a local manufacturing facility in the Philippines for the Sputnik V. He added this would not only enable the country to make their own vaccine but also complement existing efforts for vaccine production for other illnesses.

Robes, meanwhile, said the Lower Chamber will continue with the meetings and dialogues with different stakeholders in the development of a vaccine for Covid-19.

“We want to ensure that as long as their safety and efficacy are proven and established, the Filipino people will have access to the Covid-19 vaccine so that we can all start to recover and move forward,” she said.

Cooperation of sectors needed to close housing gap–DHSUD

T

HE government needs the help and cooperation of the private sector to close the housing gap, according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

In a statement on Sunday, the DHSUD said it will sign a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with the Philippine Association of Real Estate Boards (Pareb) to allow more Filipinos to own homes.

The DHSUD said the country’s housing gap is expected to widen to 6.57 million by 2022.

“The government can only do so much. We have to find comfort in recognizing that with the help of the private sector such as Pareb, the pooling of private and government resources, we can produce faster results,” DHSUD Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario said.

Del Rosario said public-private cooperation can help weather the challenges faced by the housing

sector, apart from the ongoing economic and health crises brought by the pandemic.

These other challenges include urbanization and the rise in the country’s population as well as the limited supply of government land for residential use.

The sector, Del Rosario said, is also faced with the adverse impact of climate change and limitations on the DHSUD budget for 2021.

Under the P4.506-trillion proposed 2021 budget submitted by the Executive branch to Congress, the DHSUD led the list of agencies facing the biggest budget cuts.

Under the Executive’s proposed 2021 budget, the DHSUD will receive only P632.601 million, which is 29.16-percent less than its budget this year of P893.06 million under the 2020 General Appropriations Act. “We appreciate this cooperation, this partnership, because I have been saying that the department, the gov-

ernment cannot survive without full cooperation and support from the private sector. So, this memorandum of cooperation is very much welcome on the part of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development,” del Rosario said.

The MOC, once signed, will become the second agreement signed by Pareb with the national government.

In 2018, Pareb signed the thenHousing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, which Del Rosario chaired, prior to its merger with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board last year.

In order to address the housing gap the DHSUD decided to create a 20year housing road map. Del Rosario said the housing road map, which is slated to be released in October, will identify short-term, mid-term and long-term strategies that will help boost the country’s ability to close the housing gap.

The official said the government is currently working toward increasing the number of housing units that need to be produced annually.

Del Rosario said to close the housing gap of 6.5 million between 2017 and 2020, the government needs to build 250,000 houses a year. But currently, the housing sector is only able to build 203,000 to 205,000 units annually between 2016 and 2019.

The housing czar said that while this is still short of the target, this has already been improved from the 172,000 houses built annually prior to the Duterte administration.

Del Rosario said priorities that the road map seeks to focus on are addressing the availability of funds for public housing; measures improve housing planning and development coordination; and streamlining process for permits and clearances including “unlocking government lands for housing.”

Cai U. Ordinario

Agriculture/Commodities

A4 Monday, October 12, 2020 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘PHL rice traders fail to use over 2,000 SPS-ICs’

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

O

VER 2,000 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC), representing some 1.9 million metric tons (MMT) of rice, have expired as traders were unable to use the permits beyond the 60-day deadline.

Documents from the Department of Agriculture (DA) obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that in the January-to-May period alone, 2,071 SPS-ICs for 1.879 MMT of rice lapsed.

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) National Plant Quarantine Services Division (NPQSD) con-

firmed to the BusinessMirror that unused SPS-ICs issued in June and July have expired as well.

An SPS-IC for rice, which certifies that the imported staple is safe for human consumption, lapses after a 60-day must ship-out date and could not be used for future importation, the BPI-NPQSD said.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar earlier said about 200,000 metric tons (MT) to 300,000 MT of rice will still enter the country in the fourth quarter, majority of which would arrive by December.

Dar said the DA-BPI has been in talks with rice traders and importers to refrain from importing rice for

October and November, when local harvest is in full swing, to prevent palay prices from declining.

In September, the DA-BPI only issued 14 SPS-ICs for 14,463 MT of rice to eligible importers, according to data from the BPI. The BPI-NPQSD told the BusinessMirror that it did not suspend the issuance of SPS-IC for rice imports and that it was “managing” the schedule of arrival “to prioritize the distribution of local palay/rice.”

“BPI also conducted a series of meetings with rice importers regarding this matter and has received a commitment that the importers will also manage their importa-

tions,” the agency said.

From January to October 2, about 1.817 MMT of rice was brought into the country by 190 eligible importers. The bulk of the volume or 1.583 MMT came from Vietnam, BPI data showed.

BPI data also showed that Puregold Price Club Inc was the top rice importer with 65,728.658 MT followed by Davao San Ei Trading Inc. with 64,636 MT. Aside from Vietnam, traders and importers bought rice from Myanmar, Thailand, China, India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Taiwan, Italy and Spain.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pared down

its total rice import forecast for the Philippines this year by 100,000 MT to 2.5 MMT due to the “slower pace of issuing import permits.”

Philippine rice imports this year may decline by 13.8 percent from last year’s 2.9 MMT, USDA data showed.

Due to the downward revision, global rice imports are expected to fall slightly to 43.003 MT from last year’s 43.428 MMT, based on USDA’s latest projections.

“Global trade is expected to contract slightly on lower Philippines imports,” it said in its October “Grain: World Markets and Trade” report published recently.

Likewise, the USDA revised down-

ward its rice import forecast for the Philippines next year to 2.6 MMT from a previous projection of 3 MMT due to “higher production forecast.”

With the latest projection, rice imports next year would remain flat but the Philippine would still be the world's largest importer for the third consecutive year.

The USDA forecasts the country's milled rice production to reach 11.7 MMT next year, 700,000 MT higher than its previous estimate of 11 MMT. Despite the upward revision, rice output next year would still be 2 percent lower than this year’s estimated output of 11.927 MMT, USDA data showed.

Ubra: Farm-gate price of broiler recovers after growers cut production

T

HE average farm-gate prices of broilers rose above the P85per-kilogram level after local raisers “involuntarily” reduced output due to anemic domestic demand, the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) said.

Ubra said farm-gate prices of broilers recovered for the second consecutive week. The industry has been grappling with a supply glut caused by high stocks of local and imported poultry coupled with low demand.

Latest Ubra price survey as of October 9 showed that the average farm-gate price of regular-sized broilers (1.5 kilograms to 1.69 kilo-

grams) was at P87.33 per kg, which was 17.5 percent higher than last week’s P74.33 per kg.

Ubra data also showed that regular-sized broilers in Tarlac were sold at P89 per kg while those in Bulacan and Batangas were sold at P88 per kg and P85 per kg, respectively.

The average farm-gate price of off-sized broilers rose by 17.88 percent to P85.67 per kg while prime-sized broilers were sold at an average of P88.33 per kg, P14.16 higher than last week’s prices, Ubra data showed.

Ubra President Elias Jose Inciong told the BusinessMirror the price recovery could be attributed to the

reduction in local output.

“The industry has involuntarily followed the desires of DA-BAI [Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry] to ‘self-regulate.’

We have reduced production because of losses in the face of cheap imports,” he said.

Inciong said local broiler output has been slashed by 30 percent to 40 percent to achieve a “supplydemand equilibrium where producers can earn some income and not suffer losses.”

“We lost the HRI [hotel, restaurant and institutional] market during the lockdown which is 30 percent.

Assume that 10 percent is back so

[we’re still mising] 20 percent for HRI,” he said.

“Household demand has also contracted because of income loss as a result of the Covid-19 quarantines,” he added.

Local chicken meat output this year is projected to decline by almost 14 percent to 1.25 million metric tons (MMT) from last year’s record-high 1.45 MMT due to anticipated production cuts by raisers, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

The USDA expects an output to recover next year as total chicken meat production may rise by 10 percent to 1.375 MMT. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

AN elderly vendor displays her inventory of dressed chicken at the Kamuning Market in Quezon City, in this BusinessMirror file photo.

Automated fare system will be interoperable by December–DOTr continued from a8

Subsidize cards

AS this developed, Move As One, a group of 134 organizations and 11,000 transport advocates, called on the government to subsidize the costs of providing commuters with beep or other stored value cards, which can be used for cashless fare payment in buses, rail lines, and eventually, all forms of public transport.

“We believe such subsidies are justified by the benefits of their widespread use to the health and convenience of the public,

particularly lower-income people who have no alternative but to use public transport. We also call on the government to ensure interoperability among the multiple cards already issued by different providers,” the coalition said.

Move As One noted that “there are potential sources of funds available” for the government to provide this subsidy.

“In 2020, a possible budget source is the President’s Contingent Fund; it can be tapped immediately,

for example, to procure 1 million cards for P80 million. Because President Duterte supports subsidized card distribution, we believe that he would be willing to use resources from the President’s Contingent Fund. In 2021, there should be a budget for additional fare card procurement and distribution; the proposal of the Move As One Coalition is to include in DOTr’s budget an amount of P240 million for the purchase of 3 million cards in 2021,” it said.

13th-month deferment sparks legal, economic, jobs issues continued from a8 Asuncion added that firms which are not in clear distress should still be mandated to provide a 13th-month pay. This will greatly increase consumption in the fourth quarter.

Better numbers?

THE economists as well as the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) have said that the fourth quarter will bring better economic numbers for this year.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the Philippine economy to contract 0.7 percent in the first quarter and 16.5 percent in the second quarter. This led to a decline of 9 percent in the first semester of 2020.

However, if the deferment of the 13th month would mean that workers would be able to keep their jobs, University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) School of Economics Dean Cid L. Terosa would side with the DOLE on the matter.

Terosa said the deferment is reasonable considering the impact of the pandemic on thousands of SMEs this year.

Based on the July 2020 Labor Force Survey, 4.571 million Filipinos were considered unemployed, an 87.5-percent increase from the 2.437 million it posted in July 2019.

In April, the number of unemployed Filipinos reached 7.254 million, a 220-percent increase from the 2.267 million recorded in April 2019.

“I believe it is better to secure jobs at this time than to guarantee momentary monetary benefits. Of course, this will cut purchasing power and its multiplier effects,” Terosa said.

“Also, it will deprive poorer households of an expected source of financial relief. I want, however, to take a long-term perspective and support short-term sacrifices for long-term gains,” he added.

IRR provision questioned

BASED on the Implementing Rules and

Regulations (IRR) of PD 851, employees covered the law may be exempt if they are employees of distressed firms.

Distressed firms, the IRR stated, are those “currently incurring substantial losses or in the case of nonprofit institutions and organizations, where their income, whether from donations, contributions, grants and other earnings from any source, has consistently declined by more than forty [40 percent] percent of their normal income for the last two [2] years.”

No basis–Drilon

MINORITY Leader Franklin M. Drilon affirmed on Sunday the existing law granting workers a 13th-month pay benefit does not allow exemptions, and said the IRR is questionable.

A former Labor secretary, Drilon added that paying the 13th-month benefit could not even be deferred.

In a text message to BusinessMirror, Drilon clarified that Presidential Decree 851 or the enabling law for 13th-month pay “does not allow any exemptions” Drilon pointed out that “it is only in its IRR where you find exemptions for compliance for distressed employers.”

In a radio interview on Sunday, he said, “While if it’s true that the IRR states that distressed employers are exempted from/ paying 13th-month pay to its employees, this IRR is questionable as going beyond the law.

He also noted that “the exemption must be per enterprise, and not a general exemption.”

According to Drilon, “the proposal of deferment of payment of 13th-month pay by agreement of the parties is invalid as well, because legal compliance cannot be the subject of an agreement between employee and employer.”

He cautioned that even if employers and affected workers agree to defer the 13thmonth pay, this cannot be sanctioned by government as it would set “a dangerous precedent.”

If such is sanctioned by government, then management can ask labor to discuss deferring payment of minimum wage; or benefits can be waived and there will be no sick leaves because of the pandemic. “Such agreement is invalid and contrary to public policy and can be a dangerous precedent.”

Labor’s take

THE country’s largest labor group said the proposed deferment or exemption of the payment of the 13th-month pay has no legal basis.

In a statement, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said, “There is no provision in the Thirtheenth Month Pay Law or PD 851 that allows exemptions or defers payment of.”

Even Secretary Bello admitted this earlier, but he noted that the provision for “distressed” companies is stated in PD 851’s Implementing Rules and Regulation.

He said the IRR will serve as their basis, when they present the two options before employers and labor groups this week for consideration.

“That’s what we would like to discuss with both labor and management on Tuesday on October 13 at 2 p.m.,” Bello said.

TUCP said it will be opposing the proposal, which it considers “moot” since the 13th-month pay “has been accrued and earned by employees since January 1, 2020, up to present.”

“It cannot be waived, forgone, cancelled, deferred or unpaid,” TUCP said.

Furthermore, the labor group said micro and small businesses, which are struggling from the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic, will be getting relief cash assistance under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Law (Bayanihan 2) and the pending Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy bill.

With Butch Fernandez and Samuel P. Medenilla

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Trump official says vaccine expected starting January

A

Trump administration official leading the response to the coronavirus pandemic says the US can expect delivery of a vaccine starting in January 2021, despite statements from the president that inoculations could begin this month.

And a growing, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers, experts and public health officials says the country is ill prepared for a projected winter surge of Covid-19.

Dr. Robert Kadlec said in an email on Friday that the administration "is accelerating production of safe and effective vaccines ... to ensure delivery starting January 2021." Kadlec is the Department of Health and Human Services' assistant secretary of preparedness and response. HHS says a vaccine could be approved before the end of the year but will take time to distribute.

President Donald Trump has said at rallies, debates and press conferences that a vaccine could arrive within weeks. "We think we can start sometime in October," Trump said at a White House press briefing last month.

Kadlec wasn't the first health of-

ficial to counter the president's optimistic timeline. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Thursday that there could be 100 million vaccine doses available by the end of the year "pending FDA authorizations." And Dr. Moncef Slaoui, who is leading the government's vaccine effort, told Marketwatch on Friday that researchers could know "by late October, or November, or in December" whether one of the vaccines in development is effective, but that it would then take weeks to get emergency authorization to administer it.

When asked about the disparity, the White House was not specific on a date but said Trump's priority is to distribute a vaccine "as soon as possible." Kadlec said, without elaborating, that it wasn't correct to conclude that this meant the country couldn't see a vaccine sooner than January.

Kadlec was responding to a series of questions from The Associated Press and FRONTLINE about the administration's response to the pandemic and, in particular, about shortages of critical medical supplies. AP

IMF and WB hold annual meetings with global economy in recession

T

he guardians of the global economy will gather this week under the cloud of the worst recession since the Great Depression, and a recovery dependent on scientists finding a coronavirus vaccine.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank will hold their annual meetings, with both calling on the Group of 20 largest economies to extend a freeze in debt payments from the world’s poorest nations that’s set to expire at year-end.

While the fund last month flagged a “small upward revision” to its 2020 growth forecast from its June outlook, it warned the rebound will be long and uneven.

The IMF has been encouraging governments to spend whatever they need to confront the crisis, even while warning that debt as a percentage of GDP will rise to about 100 percent for the first time.

Fund officials earlier this month proposed reforms to debt restructuring for countries that struggle to meet obligations, a burden likely to rise as the pandemic batters economies. Debt vulnerabilities will be a key theme of the meetings, according to first deputy

managing director Geoffrey Okamoto.

The G-20 agreed in April to waive billions of dollars in repayments by poorer nations until the end of the year under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative. The World Bank says this isn’t enough and wants borrowings reduced to prevent a bigger fallout.

The IMF has also been working to figure out how to transfer existing reserve assets known as special drawing rights from rich countries that don’t need them to poorer nations that do. A proposal to create $500 billion in SDRs was blocked in April by the US, the fund’s biggest shareholder, which criticized the plan as inefficient.

“With the virus count rising again in Europe, and stalled stimulus negotiations in the US, a better than expected third quarter is seguing into a worse than expected fourth. Looking into 2021, hopes for a strong rebound depend on containing the second wave of infections, a stimulus breakthrough in Washington DC, and widespread delivery of a vaccine by mid-year,” said Bloomberg chief economist Tom Orlik.

Bloomberg News

Doctor says Trump won’t transmit coronavirus, stays mum on tests

W

ASHINGTON—The White House doctor said that President Donald Trump was no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say explicitly whether Trump had tested negative for it. The diagnosis came as the president prepared to resume campaign rallies and other activities.

In a memo released Saturday night by the White House, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley said Trump met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by "currently recognized standards" he was no longer considered a transmission risk.

The memo did not declare Trump had tested negative for the virus. But sensitive lab tests—like the PCR test cited in the doctor's statements — detect virus in swab samples taken from the nose and throat. Dr. William Morice, who oversees laboratories at the Mayo Clinic, said earlier this week that using the PCR tests, the president's medical team could hypothetically measure and track the amount of virus in samples over time and watch the viral load go down.

Some medical experts had been skeptical that Trump could be declared free of the risk of transmitting the virus so early in the course of his illness. Just 10 days since an initial diagnosis of infection, there was no way to know for certain that someone was no longer contagious, they said.

Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist and department chairman at the Yale School of Public Health, said Saturday night that the White House appeared to be follow-

ing CDC guidelines for when it is appropriate to end isolation after mild to moderate cases of Covid-19.

But Ko cautioned that those who have had severe cases of the diseases should isolate for 20 days. He noted that Trump was treated with the steroid dexamethasone, which is normally reserved for patients with severe Covid.

Ko added that White House had issued "convoluted" statements about Trump's health that left many questions unanswered, including whether the president ever had pneumonia.

CDC guidelines note that most people do not require testing to decide when they can be around others. Ko said people who have had Covid-19 can continue to test positive for weeks or longer after they are no longer infectious.

The memo stated that Trump had reached day 10 from the onset of symptoms, had been free of fever for well over 24 hours, and that all symptoms had improved.

Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University, said the tight time frame laid out by the White House made it appear that "they're really just pushing to get him out of isolation" and back to campaigning.

The memo followed Trump's first public appearance since returning to the White House after being treated for the coronavirus at a military hospital. Hundreds of people gathered Saturday afternoon on the South Lawn for a Trump address on his support for law enforcement from a White House balcony. AP

Monday, October 12, 2020

A5

Brazil reaches 150,000 deaths; India cases approach 7 million

R

IO DE JANEIRO—Brazil’s count of Covid-19 deaths surpassed 150,000 on Saturday night, despite signs the pandemic is slowly retreating in Latin America's largest nation.

The Brazilian Health Ministry reported that the death toll now stands at 150,198. The figure is the world's second highest behind the United States, according to the tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

The milestone has rekindled the pain of Naiane Moura, a sales consultant, who lost her father Elivaldo to Covid-19 in April. The 58-year-old postman had no prior illness and battled Covid-19 for seven days in a public hospital in Manaus, Brazil's largest city in the Amazon.

"When I see 150,000, I see my father alongside many other faceless bodies," Moura said by phone.

"I didn't imagine that we would reach that number. I don't believe that we will ever be able to totally overcome this."

Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro played down the severity of the virus while deaths mounted rapidly in Brazil. The 65-year-old president flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence.

Bolsonaro rejected governors' and mayors' lockdowns and other tough measures to contain the virus' spread, even after he contracted it himself in July, and insisted that shutting down Brazil's economy would pitch the nation into chaos.

"Life goes on. Brazil needs to produce," he said on July 7 in Brasilia when he announced he was infected.

Moura's hometown of Manaus became a horror show early on in the pandemic. Between April and May, the health system collapsed in the city as patients were turned away from full hospitals and overwhelmed cemeteries were forced to dig mass graves. The capital of Amazonas state has had 122 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, far above the national average of 71 per 100,000.

The nation of 210 million people surpassed 5 million confirmed infections on Wednesday, according to official data.

There have been recent signs of relief in Brazil. Over the last month and a half, the viral curve has dropped. The average number of deaths sat at 598 over the last seven days, the lowest level since the beginning of May. The mayors of large cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro continue to reopen activities like cinemas and schools, even as public health experts warn of possible new outbreaks.

Manaus, where restrictions were relaxed, registered an increase in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks that led to speculation of a possible second wave. Local authorities

reinstituted restrictions on commerce and activity, and shut down the riverside beach.

Moura said she holds federal authorities responsible for the massive death toll.

"A lot of lives could have been saved if our leaders had taken rigorous measures in the beginning," she said.

Bolsonaro has faced fierce criticism of his handling of the health crisis, and changed health ministers twice in the midst of the pandemic. Yet his popularity is at its highest since he took office in January 2019, which political analysts attribute to his distribution of emergency cash to help tens of millions of poorer Brazilians withstand the economic downturn. Some 40 percent of Brazilians surveyed by pollster Ibope rate their government as good or excellent, according to a poll published Sept. 24 that has a margin for error of 2 percentage points.

"Bolsonaro helped the population to open their eyes. Health has to go hand in hand with the economy, "said Paulo Gomes, 54, a taxi driver who supports Bolsonaro.

In Sao Paulo, Ricardo Vieira, a doctor working in one of the city's largest working-class neighborhoods known as favelas, said the government's Covid-19 cash transfer program wasn't enough to shield the poor, who often have scarce access to healthcare.

To remedy the lack of support in the Paraisopolis favela, an NGO called G10 hired three private ambulances and eight health professionals, among them Dr. Vieira, who has been there since March.

"We are dealing with lives, and when we came to a poor community we saw that the government

cannot reach these people." Vieira told The Associated Press.

Despite the difficulties and the lack of resources, Vieira continues to fight to contain the pandemic's devastation.

"I do what I can, I do my best," Vieira said, as tears welled up then rolled down his cheek. "And I don't know what else I could do."

Meanwhile, India's confirmed coronavirus cases are nearing 7 million with another 73,272 reported in the past 24 hours.

The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported 926 additional deaths, taking total fatalities to 107,416.

The deaths remained below 1,000 for the seventh straight day.

India is seeing a slower pace of coronavirus spread since mid-September, when the daily infections touched a record of 97,894 cases. It's averaging more than 70,000 cases daily so far this month, while the recovery rate has exceeded 85 percent.

But health experts have warned that congregations during major festivals later this month and in November have the potential for the virus to spread.

"We have to work aggressively to make sure that during winter months and during the festive season coronavirus cases don't rise dramatically," said Dr. Randeep Guleria, a government health expert.

Ex perts say India's fragile health system has been bolstered in recent months but could still be overwhelmed by an exponential rise in cases.

Consumer activity is gradually rebounding and millions of factory workers who had fled cities when India imposed a 2-month-long rigorous lockdown on March 25 are returning. AP

North Korea unveils new weapons at military parade

S

EOUL, South Korea—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that his country would “fully mobilize” its nuclear force if threatened as he took center stage at a military parade that unveiled what appeared to be a new intercontinental ballistic missile and other weapons.

Kim, however, avoided direct criticism of Washington during Saturday's event, which celebrated the 75th anniversary of the ruling party and took place less than four weeks before the US presidential election.

Instead, he focused on a domestic message urging his people to remain firm in the face of "tremendous challenges" posed by the coronavirus pandemic and crippling US-led sanctions over his nuclear program.

Kim described the North's continuing efforts to develop its nuclear deterrent as necessary for its defense and said it wasn't targeting any specific country.

But "if any force harms the safety of our nation, we will fully mobilize the strongest offensive might in a preemptive manner to punish them," he said.

Kim's speech was punctuated by thousands of goose-stepping troops, tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers and a broad range of ballistic missiles rolled out in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square.

The weapons included what was possibly the North's biggest-yet ICBM, which was mounted on an 11-axel launch vehicle that was also seen for the first time. The North also displayed a variety of solid-fuel weapon systems, including what could be an advanced version of its Pukguksong family of missiles designed to be fired from submarines or land mobile launchers.

The missiles highlighted how the North has continued to expand its military capabilities during a stalemate in nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration.

Kim had previously expressed frustration over the slow diplomacy, pledging in December that he would continue to bolster his nuclear arsenal in the face of US pressure and soon unveil a "new strategic weapon to the world." He then said the North was no longer obligated to maintain a self-imposed suspension on nuclear weapon and ICBM tests, which President Donald Trump touted

This image made from North Korea's KRT broadcast shows a military parade with what appears to be possible new intercontinental ballistic missile at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Saturday, October 10, 2020. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned on Saturday that his country would “fully mobilize” its nuclear force if threatened as he took center stage at a massive military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the country’s ruling party. KRT via AP as a major foreign policy achievement.

The probable ICBM paraded Saturday was clearly the new strategic weapon Kim had promised to show, said Melissa Hanham, deputy director of the Austria-based Open Nuclear Network. North Korea had already demonstrated a potential ability to reach deep into the US mainland with a flight test of its Hwasong-15 ICBM in 2017, and developing a larger missile possibly means the country is trying to arm its long-range weapons with more warheads, she said.

“North Korea is pushing ahead with its nuclear strategy regardless of the tough year that it has had with regard to diplomatic talks, flooding from typhoons and Covid-19,” Hanham said in a telephone interview. “I also think that this is a message to the United States—he has already declared he no longer holds himself to the moratorium and he has something new as well he may wish to test.”

The celebratory event, which began late Friday, was not broadcast by North Korean state television until Saturday evening, when it aired a taped broadcast.

Goose-stepping troops were seen marching in the streets in front of a brightly illuminated Kim Il Sung Square, as a military

band performed while moving in formation, shaping “10.10,” “1945,” and “2020” in honor of the party anniversary.

The performers and tens of thousands of spectators roared as Kim, dressed in a gray suit and tie, appeared from a building as the clock struck midnight. Kim, flanked with senior officials and smiling widely, waved to the crowd and kissed children who presented him with flowers before taking his spot on a balcony.

During his speech, Kim seemed to tear up at one point as he repeatedly thanked his “great people” and military for overcoming “unexpected” burdens and carrying out anti-virus measures imposed by the ruling party and government to keep the country free of Covid-19, a claim that has been widely questioned by outside observers.

He also extended an olive branch to rival South Korea, expressing hope that the countries can repair ties once the threat of the pandemic is over. The North had suspended virtually all cooperation with the South during a freeze in larger talks with the United States.

After the speech, Kim waved and watched with binoculars as the military hardware was

rolled out in the square. He saluted as fighter jets flew in formation, using fireworks to form the Workers’ Party's symbol—a hammer, brush and sickle—and the number 75 in the sky.

Earlier Saturday, masked citizens lined up to lay flowers at the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the father of the current ruler, at Pyongyang’s Mansu Hill. A huge street poster read “Best glory to our great party.”

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said residents in Kaesong and other regions who had lost their homes to recent natural disasters marked the party anniversary by moving into newly built houses and that they praised Kim Jong Un for looking after them as “their father.”

This year’s anniversary comes amid deadlocked negotiations with the Trump administration and deepening economic woes that analysts say are shaping up as one of the biggest tests of Kim's leadership since he took power in 2011.

But many analysts believe North Korea will avoid serious negotiations or provocations before the US presidential election because of the chance that the US government could change. AP

A6

Monday, October 12, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Overacting in the press

I

T is expected that the press and media are going to attempt to find a different perspective or tone to an ongoing story like the pandemic. If the piece has an agenda or bias, that is fully acceptable. We should be smart enough to know when this is happening, and when the story is not simply “news.” Further, there is nothing wrong with a prejudiced point of view. We all have them, and reading one helps us think.

Yet we still should demand that legitimate and professional journalists should support story conclusions with complete facts and not just rely on drama. When the examples that are being used are not the “whole truth,” they substantially decrease the credibility of the point the author is trying to make.

Articles carried by two different international news agencies make the point.

“Virus shatters Latin America’s middle class dreams” highlights a ‘nanny’ for a wealthy family who lost her job and was forced to pawn her jewelry. She and her husband were earning 700,000 Chilean peso. The pandemic has been devastating. But the average “middle class” wage in Chile is CLP 1,870,000. The woman cited in the article is poor—in the lowest 25 percent of wage earners— not middle class. The woman is only considered middle class by the government, which sets the bar so low there is only a small amount of “official poverty.”

In fact, near the end of the article as sort of a conclusion the author writes, “The poorest have been hardest-hit in terms of job losses.”

Another example is about a part-time construction worker in Brazil, and again hardly middle class. Perhaps the title of the article should have been, “As usual in developing countries, economic problems crush the poorer people first.”

“Covid has wiped out the economic dreams of a generation in Asia.” A 26-year-old woman from Thailand just completed her license to be a commercial airline pilot like her father and now cannot find a job. Note that there are only about 300,000 commercial pilots in the world and the mean salary is in the top 20 of all global professions. Also, the average age of an airline pilot is 50.

However, if you want to talk about lost economic dreams of a generation, perhaps the author should have looked at a 26-yearold in Thailand in 1997. That economy suffered 24 months of contraction and the Thai economy did not return to pre-1997 levels until 2005.

In the Philippines, a 22-year-old Manileño graduated last year with a degree in Sociology hoping to get a job in marketing. Now, he is “setting his immediate sights much lower on work in a call center.” Recognize that Philippine call center agents are still the “frontliners” for anyone in the US that has a cellphone, bank account, or Internet service provider. Further, local call centers are still hiring even for work at home for P13,000 to P15,000 a month and more depending on the account.

Times are tough but much tougher for the countless millions worldwide that do not have a chance at a job for the time being.

Why is there a tendency among press and media people to constantly “overact”?

Since 2005

A call to curb stress from online learning

W

Studies have proven that all these extra workload lead to family stress, among other negative results. Now that we are all reeling from so many challenges and the struggles brought about by the pandemic, the call to curb stress rings louder than ever.

Not just stress on the part of students, but also on the part of teachers and parents.

In other parts of the world, students are also complaining about too much homework being given as part of schools’ distance learning programs. A student said, “Due to the outbreak, most activities are canceled, thus [teachers believe] we do not have much to do at home... therefore, tons of homework overwhelm us every day. However, we actually get much to do every day besides homework... homework is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

Another student shared, “The workload... has been overwhelming.

The thought process of my teachers seems to be ‘Oh they have all of

In the end we all must consider the overall well-being of our kids. Giving too much schoolwork tips the scale off balance, leaving them with no time for rest, personal projects, bonding with family members, and physical exercise. In the present context, these are necessary tools to help each individual cope with challenges.

Besides, too much schoolwork is essentially counterproductive.

Research has shown that when students are forced to deal with too much workload, it leads to significant stress both for the students and their parents.

In the US, the National Education Association and the National PTA recommend a standard of “10 min-

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

e’ve all read the heartbreaking news item about the senior high-school student in Koronadal who took his own life because he could not answer his modules from school. The teen was also frustrated because his family lost their income due to the pandemic. The economic worries combined with daily struggles with schoolwork drove the boy to commit suicide.

Batang Frisco

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Thomas M. Orbos

STREET TALK

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Senior Editors

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

Online Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

Creative Director Chief Photographer Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025.

(Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807.

(Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Printed by brown madonna Press, Inc.–Sun Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila MEMBER OF

this free time now, so I can assign them more work than I normally would.’” And yet others complain about spending too much time in front of the screen, “...it’s exhausting! I’m on the computer for about four to five hours at a time. Before the whole pandemic happened, I only spent about an hour, maybe two on the computer... I actually did some research and I found that I was suffering from computer fatigue.”

These are valid concerns that all sectors—the DepEd, schools and educators, parents and guardians— have to look into as we all try to navigate this new learning landscape.

I

am a bona fide “Batang Frisco.” I spent my childhood years in San Francisco Del Monte. I remember the tricycle rides to the Frisco market. I can still see the memories of a clean Del Monte River, the rice fields nearby and that old cigar factory in Roosevelt. Most of all, I cherish the memories of those Sunday family masses at the San Pedro Bautista parish, followed by a quick stop at that old bakery in Del Monte Avenue. San Francisco Del Monte or “SFDM” is forever carved in my memories as well as in the history of Quezon City.

It should be so. San Francisco Del Monte is older than the city itself. It traces its beginnings to 1591 when the Franciscan friars led by Pedro Bautista built a place of retreat and convalescence on this hilly area by a river on the outskirts of Intramuros.

That convent and church, now named as Basilica Minore de Sanctuario de San Pedro Bautista still stands; its catacombs and plaza reminiscent of our Spanish past. The old carriage trail is now the busy Del Monte Avenue leading all the way to Manila.

This roadway played crucial roles during the Philippine Revolution, the Philippine-American War, and in the battle to retake Manila by the joint Filipino and American forces during the last world war.

It comes as a concern then to hear about the proposed Senate bill to rename Del Monte Avenue, where the FPJ Productions is located, to Fernando Poe Jr. Ave. I understand where our legislators are coming from and there is no argument that the late Fernando Poe Jr.—who could have been our president, deserves to be given the proper honor and tribute. But with all due respect, such a move to rename Del Monte Avenue might not do justice not just to Quezon City but also to FPJ himself. FPJ is a man of history. He not only appreciated history but also understood its significance. We can see this in his use of mass media. FPJ was meticulously accurate and he collaborated with

the likes of Nick Joaquin and Erwin Castillo in injecting history in his films. And for many Filipinos, his movie persona provided us that image of nationalism, more than what any history book and school lesson can provide. His fight for justice and freedom for the motherland in the many characters he played also became our fight. In this regard, the historical significance of San Francisco Del Monte did not escape him. Many scenes of his movies, especially those that revolved around the Spanish period, were shot on location in these areas, the church most especially.

In the Senate hearing held on this matter, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines gave its reservations to the proposed measure, citing a provision in our Heritage law that street names in existence for more than 50 years are already considered historical.

Moreover, Del Monte is not just a road name but, as mentioned earlier, a reminder of the very creation of the settlement that is now Quezon City. A more suitable tribute to FPJ is an honest to goodness count of his votes in his only electoral participation no matter how late it may be. This is more forthright than having a road named in his honor, now being discussed by some of those who left him hanging in his presidential run.

Admittedly, though, the move for a name change will be more political

utes of homework per grade level,” on top of limiting after-school studying.

First graders, for example, will get 10 minutes of homework per night, while senior high-school students could get up to two hours of work every night.

At the rate we are going, however, high schoolers are already burning the midnight oil and working well into the weekends. This is not healthy. There is a plethora of evidence that shows homework over the recommended level is detrimental to the students’ attitude about school, their grades, their self-confidence, their social skills, and their quality of life, says Stephanie DonaldsonPressman, an international expert on Family Dynamics and coauthor of The Learning Habit.

Before Covid, the conversation on this issue has always been controversial. Before Covid, studies have proven that all these extra workload lead to family stress, among other negative results.

Now that we are all reeling from so many challenges and the struggles brought about by the pandemic, the call to curb stress rings louder than ever. Not just stress on the part of students, but also on the part of teachers and parents.

than anything. Most likely, the bill will be passed into law with the Senate bill now being approved on the committee level and its counterpart measure in the House having been approved last month. If this happens, we will not argue on the merits of the law and our legislative process.

But moving forward, if there is one thing that this exercise will reveal and hopefully change is the fact that we, as a race, are still shortsighted in giving due importance to our own history. And while we easily lose the significance of past events, landmarks and institutions, arguments on such matters may hopefully lead us to more awareness about our past. History is the bedrock of any nation. We just need to glimpse at our Asian neighbors— Thailand, Korea, Japan, China—to seen how they value their own heritage. Our past makes us stronger.

It is who we are and who we will become. Hopefully, the next time a similar measure is presented for discussion, a deeper consideration for our history is given due importance.

Only then will branding oneself as “Batang Frisco” or “Batang FPJ” will have a deeper sense of history and belonging.

Thomas “Tim” Orbos was formerly with the DOTr and the MMDA. He has completed his graduate studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University and is an alumnus of the MIT Sloan School of Management. He can be reached via e-mail at thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Studying in Madrid

Bully pulpit

BusinessMirror

A

Completing their oath with the phrase, “So Help Me God,” I expect leaders in government to always remain mindful of God’s presence in everything that they say or do. In so doing, some of these leaders might just get a 91 percent from me—possible but highly improbable.

President Duterte recently secured a 91 percent trust and approval rating as indicated by the recent Pulse Asia Ulat ng Bayan Survey. Such a rating reveals that a majority of the Filipino people set their trust and confidence in him.

I believe it was the same rating that the President obtained from a similar national appraisal in 2016.

The level of trust among his constituents just keeps on “soaring,” per commentaries anent the survey. For the Filipino to accord the Chief Executive with such a doable yet highly improbable lofty score, in the midst of a health pandemic and an organized chaos in one government agency after another (i.e. Bureau of Immigration, PhilHealth, Congress), he must have demonstrated great competence as to merit the trust of 91 percent of the respondents. In response to said survey result, Malacañang appears to be ecstatic if not ebullient, while the critics are despondent as expected.

Some have opined that the timing of the survey could have played a critical role in the 91 percent rating. Conducted nationwide for the period covering September 11-20 of this year, and while most areas of the country were under general com-

munity quarantine or its modified version, most of the respondents must have had a favorable view of the President as they were allowed to come out of their caves for work or essential services. The survey was likewise done during the time when the government cash aid—formerly known as Social Amelioration Program (SAP) was handed out anew, so something fortunately tangible was seen and likely felt by the survey voters. If the survey indicated the number of respondents who were beneficiaries of SAP as opposed to those who were SAPPED of time and energy complaining about much prolonged quarantine, the 91 percent rating would have greater credibility.

The nationwide televised press briefings that make the President physically available to the general public might have added to this 91 percent trust rating. A working paper written by Mr. Tristan Canare revealed the findings of the Ateneo School of Government regarding “herd behavior,” meaning “individual perceptions of the group’s satisfaction appeared to be linked to their own answer or satisfaction.” What the group perceives, the individual adopts. With access to the weekly press briefings and gov-

ernment information coming from the news, some of the respondents may have fleshed out their votes pursuant to the general perception as circulated. Note, however, that to most of the discerning viewers, content-wise, these briefings have become a series of non sequitur statements as the President keeps on mouthing off invectives, from time to time. More than establishing science and logic, he has talked in the past about using gasoline as a disinfectant and the injection of an anti-venom like vaccine coming from a horse or a cobra.

One must walk his talk, be consistent both in words and actions, lest he be called a hypocrite like the scribes and Pharisees of the Bible (Matthew 23:13). Being the highest official of the land, the President can make full use of the “bully pulpit” where anything and everything he says can have nationwide if not global impact. The leader who we should trust and place our confidence in, should not just articulate a vision for the country using the bully pulpit, but should seriously promote responsible behavior by example. In my own bully pulpit through this weekly column, I try to temper my words and deliberately use respectful language as best I can. I try not only to appeal to this paper’s discerning readers and followers but also to those less informed masses whose minds might be influenced by positive or inspirational writing.

In his own version of bully pulpit, Jesus Christ made clear his reasons for coming to us, as can be gleaned

velopment Program special budget, and stepped up the pace of implementation.

What inspires us most is that our citizens and companies have more confidence in Taiwan’s economic development. The long-term capital outflow trend has been completely reversed.

We have been welcoming the largest wave of reshoring in decades by Taiwan companies, with investments worth more than NT$1 trillion, along with over a hundred billion NT dollars in overseas funds being repatriated. Many foreign companies and well-known multinational corporations are also increasing their investments in Taiwan. And all of these are ongoing right now.

We have also made substantive progress in international economic and trade cooperation. Taiwan and the United States will hold a highlevel economic dialogue to identify future cooperation opportunities in the realignment of global supply chains, technological cooperation, infrastructure, and other areas.

Last week, Taiwan and the United States jointly announced the signing of a Framework to Strengthen Infrastructure Finance and Market Building Cooperation. Under that agreement, we will jointly participate in infrastructure projects in the Americas and the Indo-Pacific region. The deepening of Taiwan-US economic cooperation has thus entered the action phase—the beginning of our pursuit of comprehensive breakthroughs in international economic and trade cooperation.

But I also want to remind everyone: The global pandemic is not over yet. The complex economic and social challenges it has brought to all countries remain severe.

The future holds even greater challenges waiting to be overcome.

Post-pandemic global economic recovery, lifestyle changes, dramatic changes in global and regional trade, and the realignment of the global economic order will all test our economic staying power and overall adaptability.

To address the greatest internal and external changes we have seen in decades, Taiwan will continue to show resilience, and the government will take the helm and lead the way forward with three major strategies to create the new Taiwan economy we all aspire to.

First, we will fully and comprehensively participate in supply chain reorganization. The rapid dismantling and realignment of global supply chains is now irreversible, and Taiwanese businesses around the world are moving toward segmented markets, production base migration, and reshoring to invest in Taiwan at an ever-faster pace.

Our ongoing implementation of the 5+2 innovative industries plan, Six Core Strategic Industries, trillion NT-dollar investment program, New Southbound Policy, Taiwan-US economic cooperation, and participation in regional economic integration are all closely related to supply chain realignment.

We will link all of these related policies and programs while integrating government and private sector resources with cross-department capabilities to achieve full and comprehensive participation in the realignment process, making Taiwan an indispensable force in global supply chains.

Second, we want to make Taiwan a hub for international capital, talent, and digital technology. In the future, the critical factors in supply chain realignment will be capital, talent, and core technologies for the digital economy.

Myris Santos

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

was lucky enough to take my graduate studies in Spain for free, thanks to a scholarship from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development. Spain was not a common destination for education, which is probably the reason why I frequently get asked about my experience there. I often answer in bits or in an unsatisfying summary. This will be the first time I will try to condense everything in a few paragraphs.

grade of 91 percent is possible but highly improbable.

In my more than 20 years of teaching, handling classes for more than a thousand of students, both in the military and in several law schools, I might have given a grade of 91 percent or its equivalent, twice or three times at most. Not that my learners do not deserve it as a few have actually nailed some of my exams, but such a grade connotes great eminence, in my standards. For a tricky and complex legal specialty, say, Wills and Succession, it takes more than intelligence to secure a 91 percent average rating. More than the required know-how, a student has to exhibit comprehensive understanding of the nuances of the subject to earn the trust and approbation of his teacher.

THE PATRIOT

DEBIT CREDIT

I

Before I continue, I would like to say that I wanted to study in Spain since I was 19 years of age and I finally went when I was 25 years old in 2006. When you finally get the thing that you have been wanting for a long time, there is a strange melancholy that sets in. Sure, I was feeling exhilarated in the months leading up to it but when I finally was coursing through the master studies, it was funny that pensiveness hit me in the first month I was in Madrid.

My friend had the same emotional reaction when he finally got to Italy on full scholarship for his PhD studies, so I guess it was not so weird for me to have this feeling.

Middle September 2006, I arrived at the Madrid airport just in time to rush to my first class. The first lecture was an introduction to finance, which covered concepts on future and net present value. I was half attentive because of the jetlag, a new climate and new foreign faces.

I remember that the favorite topic of some of my classmates, the Europeans and Americans, was derivatives and we had around three subjects on it. Though the knowledge became handy for me later on when I was asked to value special stock options for employees, I just coursed through the classes since I did not see common usage for it back home.

I particularly enjoyed valuation topics and econometric classes. I also appreciated that we could print materials for free and each classroom has its own printer.

Other peculiarities I noticed in Madrid outside the university were: Groceries, public transportation, and

most utility bills were cheaper in Madrid than in Manila; hunting as a sport is almost equivalent to golf.

Recounting my Madrid experience would be incomplete without mentioning the friends I made. Most of my classmates came from Latin and South America, and from other European countries. A special camaraderie happens when you put together a bunch of twenty-somethings who would come together outside class for monthly parties that usually ended in early morning inebriation.

I apologize if I have nothing to say about the Museo del Prado and other cultural places. For most part I really did just study and was not able to take advantage of the tourism opportunities. What I can say though is that I preferred the bus over the underground metro since it was such a delight to appreciate the architecture and sights of the city.

To those who wish to study in Spain and apply for the scholarship of the Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional y Desarollo, please follow this link: https://www.aecid.es/ES/becas-ylectorados/convocatorias-maec-aecid I would advise that you must be armed with at least an intermediate level of Spanish to understand the information.

Myris Santos’s professional experience spans from being an analyst in the manufacturing, energy and banking sectors. She obtained a Master in Financial Analysis from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid through scholarship of the Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional y Desarollo.

‘Proud of Taiwan’

By President Tsai Ing-wen

O

ctober 10, 2020 is the 109th National Day of the Republic of China. This year, because of the pandemic, we have scaled back our celebration. But our fellow citizens, no matter where they are, all extend their heartfelt congratulations to the Republic of China (Taiwan) for making it through a year full of challenges.

Due to the threat of Covid-19, 2020 has been a turbulent year for Taiwan and the world. This global crisis, however, has allowed the international community to see Taiwan’s unique character and capabilities as an Island of Resilience.

We did not lock down our cities, or close down our schools. With pandemic control measures in place, we were one of the few countries in the world to still play professional baseball, and hold major arts and cultural events. We also showed impressive national strength by sending pandemic prevention supplies to countries around the globe.

Since March of this year, Taiwan’s pandemic control performance has been covered in over 3,300 international media reports. This has helped the world to see Taiwan more clearly, and our international image has never been better.

These achievements are a tribute to the unity and cooperation the people of Taiwan have shown. In addition to the medical and quarantine personnel who have worked so hard, we also thank the manufacturing industry for cooperating to produce pandemic prevention supplies, the high-tech industry for developing apps, our pharmacists and convenience store employees for helping distribute face masks, and the public for following our disease control measures in an orderly manner.

We also saw that citizens returning from abroad followed home isolation and quarantine regulations.

The hotel industry provided quarantine lodging, the car rental industry provided transportation for people under quarantine, and restaurants and entertainment venues implemented name-based tracing systems.

Through unity and a single-minded purpose, we held the line in the fight against the pandemic and made Taiwan a global model.

I know the Taiwanese people were inspired when former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Czech Republic Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Under Secretary of State Keith Krach all visited us to convey their respect for Taiwan.

Our successful response to the challenges of the pandemic has proven our nation’s viability during times of adversity and boosted public confidence. More importantly, we have united, because we are well aware of the importance of defending our homeland. So this year has been decidedly difficult, but also very rewarding. For this year’s National Day Celebration, we have invited heroes in the fight against Covid-19 from all walks of life to lead us in singing the national anthem.

Economic strategies for new circumstances

Because the pandemic was properly controlled, Taiwan became one of the few countries in the world that maintained positive economic growth. We have also prepared for economic development in the postpandemic era, proactively planning and promoting our Six Core Strategic Industries. We have already planned out the step-by-step allocation of our Forward-looking Infrastructure De-

Monday, October 12, 2020

We will continue to deepen reforms and eliminate obstacles to create an environment and legal structure to attract international capital and talent. We will also actively cultivate domestic industrial talent through international exchanges, industry-academia cooperation, and a bilingual nation policy.

In addition, we will leverage Taiwan’s strengths in ICT, semiconductors, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence to develop and control core technologies and accelerate digital transformation of industry and the economy.

Third, we will do our utmost to balance economic and social development. The post-pandemic economy and industry run the risk of unbalanced development, while there may also be repercussions from a massive increase in capital supply.

The government will therefore put greater emphasis on the reasonable distribution of resources, take care of the disadvantaged affected by our economic transformation, strengthen and spur youth employment, and encourage and effectively utilize funding to bring back Taiwan’s economic growth dividend for everyone to share.

Solid national defense to maintain national security

Of course, Taiwan’s economic prospects also depend on regional peace and stability. We are aware that showing weakness and making concessions will not bring peace. Adequate preparation and reliance on the determination and strength of solid national defense capabilities is the only way to guarantee Taiwan’s security and maintain regional peace.

The guiding principles behind our current national defense strategy are to enhance national defense capabilities and lower the risk of military

A7

from Luke 4: 18-19—to bring good tidings to the humble; to bind up the broken-hearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives; to open the eyes of them that are bound; and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. His actions all throughout his entire journey on earth demonstrated humility and assertion in living out the things that He said and came here for.

In one of our daily videoconferences during the quarantine, my father once asked all the participants (my mother, my siblings, myself) who do we consider as the best leaders in history. Some answered Lee Kwan Yew, Margaret Thatcher, and Abraham Lincoln. Without a doubt, these leaders could have earned a 91 percent trust rating at their peak. My response was Jesus Christ whose rating goes beyond 91 percent or any other numerical value. In our biblical history, we have a servant leader who paid no attention to any popularity surveys as He simply walked the talk with much integrity.

We should likewise expect the same level of sincerity from any of our leaders as each of them dutifully sworn to “faithfully and conscientiously fulfill his duties;” “preserve and defend its Constitution;” “execute its laws;” “do justice to every man;” and “consecrate himself to the service of the Nation.” Completing their oath with the phrase, “So Help Me God,” I expect leaders in government to always remain mindful of God’s presence in everything that they say or do. In so doing, some of these leaders might just get a 91 percent from me—possible but highly improbable.

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

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

conflict. For some time now, harassment by air and sea from the other side has raised tensions in the Taiwan Strait. But our national military has closely monitored the situation and responded promptly, achieving their defense mission.

Over the past few years, whenever I have had time, I have visited the officers and enlisted personnel in our military units, from air force radar stations on distant mountain tops to naval fleets patrolling the seas, and from army unit artillery drills in the field to the academies training our young non-commissioned officers.

I do that not only to thank our military personnel working around the clock to protect the nation, but even more, to let citizens know that our military are our family, and the staunchest backers of our national sovereignty, freedom, and democracy. Throughout my interactions with our men and women in uniform, many stories strengthened my confidence. I remember being in the alert room at an air force unit on the front lines where the pilots, always prepared for emergency service, confidently told me that, “The air force has our air defense covered.”

I also remember at an army engineer training center, I saw a female officer lead her fellow engineers with the kind of spirit that can carve a road through any mountain or build a bridge over any body of water. At the Navy Underwater Operations Unit, men and women wearing heavy equipment fearlessly dove to the ocean floor to remove obstacles.

This is the Republic of China military. Whether they are on the front line or in logistics, male or female, they are all children of Taiwan and committed to safeguarding our nation.

To be continued tomorrow

A8 Monday, October 12, 2020

Automated fare system will be interoperable

by December–DOTr

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

A

U T O M AT E D f a r e c o l lection systems (A FCS) for land transportation should be interoperable by December, as the government finalizes a foreign-funded feasibility study that will create a central clearing house for cashless transport transactions.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran said the ExportImport Bank of Korea (Kexim) is funding a national feasibility study that seeks to enable commuters to use any AFCS in all land transport modes that accept cashless payments.

“With a centralized clearing house, DOTr can accredit multiple AFCS service providers and the cards will be interoperable across all modes of transport.

This will be convenient for the commuters and will avoid a situation where a particular service provider monopolizes a particular service,” Libiran told the BusinessMirror.

The feasibility study is due this month. “After finalization, the project will be submitted to Neda for approval, then for loan processing and eventual imple-

mentation with Kexim,” Libiran added, referring to the National Economic and Development Authority.

Aside from this, the government is finalizing a so-called national standard for card readers, cards, and communications protocol.

The national standard will be vendor-neutral and vendor-interoperable, which will ensure that each certified provider will be able to process transactions regardless of the issuer.

“The NS will be published within October, and operationalized by December,” Libiran said.

To recall, the government institutionalized the use of cashless transactions for land transport systems to lessen the risk of spreading Covid-19 through human interaction. However, issues pertaining to the affordability of this relatively novel payments system surfaced a few weeks ago.

This led to the government’s issuance of a directive to the leading AFCS player, AF Payments Inc., to issue its tap-and-go cards, called beep, for free to commuters. Each beep card is currently sold at P80, a cost that is still subsidized by the private company.

Continued on A4

13th-month deferment sparks legal, economic, jobs issues

By Cai U. Ordinario

L

@caiordinario

OCAL economists said deciding whether to defer the 13thmonth pay of employees working for “distressed” small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could either weaken the economy, lead to a legal question, or protect the jobs of millions.

These are just some of the possible implications should the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) decide to push through with exempting “distressed” firms from following the law of providing a 13th-month pay to their workers.

At the weekend, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon asserted that government officials must follow the law, and any agreement between certain workers and their management to defer payment of 13th month must strictly be between them. Drilon was former Labor secretary, as well as Justice secretary in the Cory Aquino administration.

Last week, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said DOLE is now considering this to help SMEs cope in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. “[A] case to case deferment [can be considered but not] diminished 13th-month,” former Labor Undersecretary Rene E. Ofreneo told BusinessMirror over the weekend. “[But an] honest serious dialogue [is needed].”

Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd) Alvin P. Ang told this newspaper that it is also important to consider the legal implications and the number of firms and employees to be affected.

Employers are required to provide their rank and file employees a 13th-month pay under Presidential Decree No. 851. Ang said the decision to defer the 13th-month pay would have to follow the letter of the law.

Definition vital

THERE also has to be considerations made in terms of which firms will be considered distressed

by DOLE. Former University of the Philippines School of Economics Dean Ramon L. Clarete said apart from this, workers who are entitled to a 13th month pay should “voluntarily give this up in exchange for a favor.”

Clarete said, if there is no favor involved such as keeping jobs or other kind of agreement, the DOLE may be violating the law. He added that it was important to define what “distressed” firm meant. “[This] takes us to define what distressed SME could be. It [distressed firm should have] filed for bankruptcy effective this year and served notice to separate its workers. This can then be the basis for a deal. SME [should also] continue to operate and not layoff the workers,” Clarete explained.

Another consideration for defining a distressed firm, according to Unionbank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said, could mean that the SMEs could be on the brink of closure.

Asuncion said maybe the DOLE could consider an SME distressed if the firm is at risk of closing within a period of six months to one year without any relief.

Further, Ang said, the number of affected firms and employees will also determine the impact of such a policy on the economy, especially in the last quarter of the year.

Historically, the fourth-quarter records the fastest increase in consumption spending in the Philippines. With this, it is common for a consumption-driven economy to post its fastest growth at this time.

“If the SMEs have already asked for help from the government especially with wage subsidies and at the verge of closing, maybe they can be considered. We cannot go for a blanket [coverage] because the workers [will suffer],” Ang said. If there is blanket coverage, he added, partly in Filipino, “consumption spending will further slow at a time when you want it to increase, especially since it’s Christmas.”

Continued on A4

Pinoy may spend Christmas with more debts, less funds

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

F

ILIPINOS may be having a gloomy Christmas this year, with tons of debt to be paid and less money to spend for the yuletide season.

Last week, the Department of Labor and Employment announced that distressed micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) may be exempted from releasing the 13th-month pay this year following the economic slowdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Labor department will be releasing an advisory outlining which companies are qualified for the exemption.

Around 2 million workers may be affected by the potential exemption, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) said.

This, along with the high unemployment and a slump in business activities, is seen to severely impact the Filipinos’ source of money in the last quarter.

More bad debts

WHILE this could cut Christmas spending, it could also exacerbate the already increasing nonperforming loans (NPLs)—or those borrowings left unpaid 30 days past the due date.

Both UnionBank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion and RCBC Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort warned that having no 13th-month pay could make it harder for them to settle their debts.

“Consumers need to pay existing household debt, and normally, the 13th-month bonus is the way out,” Asuncion said. “Without the said year end extra, household debts may remain unpaid.” Ricafort said households with tight finances are the more likely to have difficulty paying off financial obligations, especially without the aid of the annual bonus.

Still, he said that Filipinos could find some relief from the recently proclaimed 60-day grace period on principal and interest loan payments under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.

Ricafort added the debt moratorium could help the banks temper booking more bad loans for the rest of the year.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that gross NPLs surged to P305 billion as of August, which is 35 percent higher than P225.9 billion booked last year for the same period.

The total loans extended by the bank as of August stood at P10.75 trillion.

In the first eight months, NPL ratio—bad debts versus overall loan portfolio—stood at 2.84 percent, the highest in recent years.

Less money to celebrate THE pandemic has already forced households to cut consumption. But the potential exemption of 13th- month pay is seen cutting a bigger hole in the Filipinos’ pockets, prompting the usual grand celebration to be toned down.

“If firms are allowed to defer 13thmonth pay, this will definitely have an impact on consumption in the fourth quarter as Filipinos will have to tighten their belts further to deal with the loss of income,” ING Bank Manila Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said.

Historically, the economy is getting a boost from Christmas celebrations annually because this encourages household consumption, which accounts for around 70 percent of the gross domestic products (GDP).

With consumption expected to drop, Asuncion said that the impact on the economy will be “substantial.”

Household consumption in the first half dipped by 5.5 percent to P6.47 trillion from P6.84 trillion year-on-year, according to the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Spending on alcoholic beverages, tobacco, clothing and footwear, transport, recreation and culture, education, and restaurants and hotels decreased as well during the period.

Ricafort, meanwhile, said that the decrease in household spending—due to potential exemption of 13th-month pay—may be offset by those who have savings and separation pay.

“Christmas spending this year may not be like the past years because of Covid-19, and it will be difficult to imagine pre-Covid levels returning in investment and spending this year and the next,” Asuncion added.

Bank lending WITH less money amid the most awaited holiday, will Filipinos opt to borrow cash to put a plug on budget leaks?

Yes, but Mapa and Asuncion said it may not be enough to boost bank lending.

“In normal times, I would say a strong [fourth quarter] GDP could spark more bank lending with higher profits translating to investment outlays by both firms and households. But these of course are not normal times,”Mapa said.

He said households and companies are still reeling from the recession and job losses, which would force them to put off investment plans.

The Central Bank reported that growth in outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks decelerated to 4.7 percent in August from 6.7 percent in July. This, on weaker performance of the companies, decreasing demand for loan and risk aversion among banks.

A healthy bank lending growth can support capital formation and liquidity in the financial system, Mapa said earlier.

Trade-off ALLOWING MSMEs to be exempted from providing 13th-month pay to their employees can help the industry survive in the pandemic, Mapa said.

“If MSMEs, however, are forced to allocate for 13th-month pay, select firms may face financial distress and slash work force or even close down altogether, a situation we would like to avoid as well,” he explained.

“It will be a tight rope for the government to navigate as it looks to balance the health of MSMEs and the welfare of its labor force,” he added.

MSMEs comprise 63 percent of the total employment and 99.5 percent of total enterprises in the Philippines.

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, October 12, 2020

B1

UP study: Angkas a viable transport mode

A

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

study conducted by the University of the Philippines-College of Public Health (UP-CPH) approved the return of motorcycle taxis of operators that strictly observe safety protocols like Angkas.

According to the study, motorcycle taxis are a viable public transport means amid the pan-

demic, so long as health and safety guidelines are followed thoroughly by the driver and the passenger.

These include the wearing of protective equipment such as masks and helmet, regular hand hygiene, disinfection of commonly-touched areas, and the washing of protective equipment.

The study also recommends other layers of protection for motorcycle taxi use, such as the verification of identity through facial recognition, contact tracing capability; and immediate reporting to the platform provider in the event that virus symptoms break out and persist; and strict compliance with medical advice from a health-care provider.

“Angkas has taken the lead in

ensuring that motorcycle taxis are properly equipped and safe for public use, which makes them more than prepared to perform public transport once that door opens.

Motorcycle taxis can be allowed to operate if health and safety guidelines we have recommended are strictly implemented,” Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr., UP-CPH Dean, said.

Angkas and other motorcycle taxi operators may be allowed to return on the road, as the executive government actively supported the resumption of their operation to provide more transport options to commuters.

‘Phoenix now part of Big 3 oil firms’

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

D

ennis Uy-led Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is now among the so-called “Big Three” players in the oil industry.

From fourth last year, Phoenix is now the country’s third-largest oil company in terms of fuel market share, this year’s first-half data from the Department of Energy (DOE) showed.

Petron Corp. still leads with 24.88 percent, followed by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. with 18.25 percent, and Phoenix with 6.86 percent.

Fourth in the list is Unioil with 6.48 percent. Chevron Philippines, which used to be the third largest oil firm for so many years, slid to fifth place with 6.13 percent.

“This latest development in terms of market share affirms the results of the brand market study we implemented that illustrate Phoenix as an emerging and credible brand alternative to the ones Filipinos have been used to in the market.

It encourages and inspires us even more to carry out our vision to be an indispensable partner of Filipinos in their daily journey,” said Phoenix president Henry Albert R. Fadullon.

Phoenix has 660 service stations nationwide.

‘Malaysia Airlines may shut if restructuring talks fail’

M

alaysia Airlines Bhd. is prepared to shut down if ongoing talks with leasing companies about a restructuring plan fail, The Edge Malaysia cited the national carrier’s chief executive officer as saying.

A “sizable” number of creditors support the company’s plan, some are against it and others are still undecided, Izham Ismail told the business weekly in an interview Saturday.

The company needs “to get the 50:50 (undecided) ones with those who have agreed,” Izham was cited as saying in the publication.

Sunday is the deadline for creditors to decide, after which Malaysia Airlines will choose whether to proceed with the restructuring plan or execute “Plan B,” which may involve the passing of its air operator’s certificate to a new carrier under a different name, he added.

The company is working hard to get the cooperation of those involved so it can “move on to the next phase in making the business sustainable,” Malaysia Airlines said in a e-mailed statement Sunday. “The restructuring involves several stages and we will not be able to share more information at this point in time,” it said.

Malaysia Aviation Group, the holding company for the Malaysia Airlines, is pleased with the level of support it has received from lessors and is “confident that there are appropriate legal mechanisms available should that support not be universal,” it said in a statement Saturday.

Reuters reported on Friday that a group of leasing companies rejected the restructuring plan put forward

by Malaysia Airlines, citing people familiar with the matter and a letter from a London law firm.

The airline, wholly owned by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd., announced earlier this month that it had embarked on an “urgent” restructuring exercise that involves renegotiating with lessors, as it sees little sign of the pandemic easing.

The company has cut salaries for management and pilots, offered unpaid leave to employees, and has sought payment deferrals and contract renegotiations since March. It is now reviewing its network and fleet plans.

Malaysia Airlines was taken private by Khazanah in 2014 following the disappearance of one aircraft and the loss of another four months later.

Flight MH370, traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared on March 8 of that year with 239 people on board. Multinational searches have failed to find the plane.

On July 17, Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a missile allegedly fired from area controlled by pro-Russian rebels near eastern Ukraine. Four defendants went on trial for the incident in absentia in March this year after an international investigation that lasted almost six years. Bloomberg News

It said 90 percent of station networks remained operational, with no supply chain disruption at the peak of the lockdown.

“Despite the continuing challenges of Covid-19, we are grateful for the continued patronage of our loyal as well as new customers who appreciate the value that we provide through our high-performance and high-quality yet competitively priced products and services,” Fadullon said.

Phoenix Petroleum earlier reported that it reduced its net loss in the second quarter to P5 million, from the P386-million loss registered in the first quarter.

The same DOE report showed that Phoenix enjoys 6.57 percent

of the total LPG market share, up from 5.61 percent for 2019.

“We are pleased with the progress we've made in stabilizing the business as we are on track to bringing the business back into profitability by third quarter. We are confident and hopeful that the worst is behind us,” Fadullon added.

In an independent brand health study on fuels in 2019, Phoenix was found to be third in terms of brand awareness as well as brand used most often (BUMO). Phoenix was also recognized as Marketing Company of the Year at the 40th Agora Awards organized by the Philippine Marketing Association in January 2020.

PCCI honors top firms that helped it grow; Amb. Francis Chua gets highest award

T

HE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) on Wednesday recognized private sector leaders and top corporations that contributed immensely to the growth of the organization and the country's economy in general, with Ambassador Francis C. Chua receiving the PCCI Presidential Excellence Award.

Chua, a former president of PCCI and currently the chamber's chairman emeritus, now holds the distinction of being the first recipient of PCCI's highest award.

Chua, the Honorary Consul General of Peru to the Philippines and formerly Manila's special envoy to China, is credited for his programs that solidified and sustained the financial growth of PCCI. He sealed the alliance of PCCI and the International Chamber of Commerce, the world body that establishes, promotes, and oversees the implementation of Certificate of Origin and ATA Carnet (known as the Passport for Goods).

His initiatives made PCCI a truly global chamber and brought in a steady flow of income in the hundreds of millions of pesos, allowing the chamber to pursue more projects for the benefit of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country.

Chua, founding chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ICCP), said he is deeply honored to receive PCCI’s most prestigious award.

“Thank you, PCCI President Amb. Yujuico. I am deeply honored to receive this most prestigious award—an award that is most fitting for you, Mr. President.

I receive this on behalf of all the past Presidents of PCCI. I would also like to give special mention to my mentors— Hon. Secretary Titoy Pardo, Ramon S. Ang, Sergio R. Ortiz Luis Jr., Menardo R. Jimenez, entire Board of Directors, the secretariat of PCCI, and last but not

the least, my brothers in Club 630 Jess, Bobby, Rene, Ben. This award is the fruit of all our joint efforts and collaboration.

Again, thank you very much,” Chua said in receiving the award.

The PCCI, in presenting the Presidential Excellence Award, cited Chua “for his steadfast and unwavering commitment to the growth and development of the chamber movement and the Philippine business community.

“Ambassador Chua’s vision, business acumen and advocacies continue to push the PCCI to greater heights. His foresight has paved the way for the establishment of the Philippine Business Center, the home for start-ups and SMEs as they navigate their way to establishing their presence in the business community. The creation of PCCI’s e-commerce platform, under his guidance, is evidence of his commitment of growing and uplifting SMEs. The International Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, of which Ambassador Chua chairs, is his contribution to making the country an active participant in the international arena of the chamber movement. Beyond PCCI and his numerous business affiliations, Ambassador Chua’s philanthropic contributions have impacted the lives of scholars, frontliners, public servants and the less fortunate members of our society.” PCCI President Amb. Benedicto V. Yujuico said.

Receiving the ICCP Global Excellence Corporate Award from PCCI were San Miguel Corporation, Andrew Tan Group of Companies, and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

Also awarded by the PCCI during the two-day 46th Philippine Business Conference & Expo were Edgardo Lacson, ICCP Global Excellence Award; Don Emilio T. Yap Sr., ICCP Global Excellence Posthumous Award, and Alfonso G. Siy, ICCP Global Excellence Posthumous Award.

This, however, will entail the approval of Congress, as motorcycle taxis are still prohibited to legally operate in the Philippines due to existing antiquated laws. They were, however, allowed to provisionally operate in the past under a pilot study that will aid lawmakers to potentially update the Traffic Code.

With this, 5,000 bikers of Angkas took to the streets Sunday to show their thanks to the government for its support.

“This is a big thing for us Angkas drivers, as this shows that the government trusts us. I have been doing this for three years now,

and I never felt that I was taken for granted by Angkas,” said Ryan Rillera, president of motorcycle rider organization Taguig Spartans.

Angkas Chief Transport Advocate George Royeca said his group is ready to accommodate the demand for public transport during the pandemic.

“Now that the economy is slowly and safely reopening, 60 percent of workers are mandated to physically go back to work. However, there are only 40 percent public transportation that is available to them. Angkas would be happy to bridge that gap,” he said.

DOE allows power firms to conduct GIS

T

HE Department of Energy (DOE) has granted approval to two more firms to conduct their grid impact study (GIS) on their planned power projects.

Excellent Energy Resources, Inc., which, according to the DOE, is affiliated with the power unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is pursuing a power project in Batangas City. Sunwest Water and Electric Co. was also given the green light for 50MW Daraga Ancillary Reserve Diesel Power Plant, 100MW Kiwalo Diesel Power Plant and 50MW Namantao Diesel Power Plant.

Based on the agency’s latest list for August, Excellent Energy secured its clearance for a GIS for the “1,200megawatt (MW) Ilijan natural gas fired plant project” last August 27. Sunwest, meanwhile, secured its permit on August 20 and 26.

“Excellent Energy Resources, Inc. is affiliated with SMC. We just find it difficult to establish investment partnership,” said DOE Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Director Mario Marasigan.

The list did not include the details of the planned power project.

Prior to construction, a power firm must secure the go-ahead of the DOE for it to conduct a GIS. This is necessary in determining if the electricity to be generated by the power project can be absorbed by the country’s transmission system.

SMC Global Power earlier said it is expanding the 1,200-MW Ilijan combined cycle power plant in Batangas province by another 850 MW. This is expected to start commercial operations by 2023.

SMC Global shortlisted six EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors for the Ilijan power plant expansion. These are Siemens, MHPS, Formosa Heavy Industries, B&V, POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. and Dailem.

Moreover, the company will also construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal alongside the Ilijan plant. It was already in talks with AG&P for the construction.

“As of August 2020, the company is in advanced stages of executing a binding term sheet on the terminal use agreement with AG&P to provide LNG receiving, storage and regasification services to the Ilijan power plant and the Ilijan expansion,” SMC Global said.

The LNG terminal is expected to be commercially operational by June 2022, in time for the expiration of the Ilijan Independent Power Producer Administrator (IPPA) contract. Upon expiration of the Ilijan IPPA with the government, SMC Global subsidiary South Premiere Power Corp. will become the legal owner and operator of the Ilijan power plant.

An IPPA has the right to sell electricity generated by the power plants owned and operated by the relevant IPPs without having to bear any of the large upfront capital expenditures for power plant construction or maintenance. The IPPA also has the ability to manage both market and price risks by entering into bilateral contracts with offtakers while capturing potential upside from the sale of excess capacity through the wholesale electricity spot market. Lenie Lectura

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, October 12, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 9, 2020

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

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

44.5 87.7 64.4 21.65 9.2 39.9 9 23.75 51.1 96 17.1 90.5 54.3 0.75 26.7 3.31 1.12 0.295 0.58 156 1.01

45.1 87.8 64.5 21.7 9.22 39.95 9.47 23.8 51.7 104 17.16 90.65 54.5 0.8 26.95 3.35 1.13 0.3 0.59 156.9 1.07

45.1 88 64.65 21.65 9 39.3 9 23.7 51.8 96 17.3 90.65 54.3 0.8 26 3.38 1.13 0.29 0.59 156 1.01

45.1 88.5 65 21.75 9.2 39.9 9.25 23.85 51.8 96 17.3 90.7 54.3 0.8 26.8 3.38 1.22 0.325 0.59 156.9 1.07

45.1 87.65 64.35 21.65 8.9 39 9 23.5 51.8 96 17.16 90.2 54.25 0.73 26 3.38 1.13 0.29 0.59 156 1.01

45.1 87.8 64.5 21.7 9.2 39.9 9.25 23.75 51.8 96 17.16 90.65 54.3 0.73 26.7 3.38 1.13 0.295 0.59 156.9 1.03

1000 1241150 4421750 167100 619700 4923700 2200 102700 320 10 3700 774710 8750 4000 45300 2000 142000 6010000 19000 120 11000

45100 109149326 285224491 3,623,550( 5631285 195,221,3401 19900 2427295 16576 960 63530 70090617.5 474922.5 3060 1194380 6760 163700 1855150 11210 18738 11330

45100 -19725908 -58930933 1,265,375.0001) 26404 22954644.9997 186705 -41395820.5 15202.5 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 3.11 3.12 3.1 3.14 3.09 3.11 8404000 26108950 1.26 1.27 1.2 1.26 1.2 1.26 1828000 2258790 ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER 26.2 26.4 26 26.4 25.85 26.4 990000 25827640 0.162 0.163 0.162 0.163 0.16 0.163 310000 50000 BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN 23.25 23.4 24 24 23.25 23.25 1497200 35241995 60.2 60.25 60.5 60.5 60.1 60.2 110940 6678608 FIRST PHIL HLDG 273.6 275 276.6 276.6 272.6 273.6 346900 94926534 MERALCO MANILA WATER 13.98 14 13.78 14 13.48 14 2287200 31595924 2.99 3.01 3 3.01 2.99 2.99 945000 2829130 PETRON PETROENERGY 3.1 3.18 3.18 3.18 3.1 3.1 11000 34180 10.88 11.18 10.84 11.18 10.84 11.18 135700 1514920 PHX PETROLEUM 15.78 15.8 15.2 15.8 15.2 15.8 195900 3048666 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 10.22 10.32 10 10.3 10 10.3 451600 4595726 7.73 7.74 8.14 8.14 7.71 7.74 291400 2293273 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 2.62 2.7 2.64 2.7 2.6 2.7 969000 2564120 11.56 12.46 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 1000 12480 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.32 17.58 17.6 17.7 17.32 17.32 145500 2541032 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 4.64 4.68 4.65 4.65 4.63 4.65 60000 278920 5.39 5.45 5.27 5.45 5.27 5.45 748500 4027465 DNL INDUS EMPERADOR 9.88 9.89 9.83 9.89 9.82 9.89 482400 4762987 63.9 64.5 64.6 64.9 63.9 64.5 271850 17553599 SMC FOODANDBEV 0.64 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.62 0.64 213000 135400 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.19 1.2 1.17 1.21 1.14 1.2 15225000 17887190 45.55 46.65 46.5 48.95 45.5 46.65 109400 4985815 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 143.1 143.8 143 144.5 142.8 143.8 746480 107168189 7.56 8 8 8 8 8 1400 11200 MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP 4.85 4.9 4.73 4.85 4.73 4.85 107000 513430 MG HLDG 0.132 0.139 0.131 0.133 0.131 0.131 430000 56470 5.66 5.68 5.61 5.72 5.61 5.68 73700 416859 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 1.19 1.2 1.2 1.22 1.18 1.19 4611000 5493270 4.67 4.95 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 60000 294000 RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG 1.72 1.81 1.75 1.82 1.75 1.82 13000 22890 0.104 0.105 0.104 0.105 0.104 0.105 80000 8390 SWIFT FOODS 136 136.4 137.5 137.5 134.1 136.4 405700 55218703 UNIV ROBINA VITARICH 0.74 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.74 0.74 2073000 1559750 50.7 51.65 51.5 51.8 50.25 51.7 1300 67131 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 52 54 51.85 54.3 51.5 54 970 50225 1.57 1.58 1.58 1.61 1.56 1.57 15363000 24292000 CEMEX HLDG 4.7 4.96 5.39 5.39 4.7 4.7 512400 2473003 DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT 14.76 14.9 14.78 14.9 14.5 14.9 305000 4513558 7.1 7.11 7.13 7.17 6.9 7.1 504000 3558319 EEI CORP HOLCIM 5.27 5.3 5.26 5.42 5.25 5.27 886800 4713887 MEGAWIDE 7.21 7.22 7.25 7.4 7.01 7.21 3711500 26554654 8.04 8.34 8.48 8.48 8.1 8.34 9900 81062 PHINMA VULCAN INDL 0.7 0.71 0.71 0.72 0.68 0.7 512000 358250 1.85 1.9 1.88 1.9 1.88 1.9 5000 9460 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 1.82 1.86 1.87 1.87 1.82 1.86 162000 297470 LMG CORP 4.32 4.5 4.33 4.33 4.33 4.33 2000 8660 4.05 4.12 4.1 4.13 4 4.11 3007000 12029170 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 19.9 20.95 19.8 19.8 19.8 19.8 200 3960 2.42 2.43 2.33 2.45 2.3 2.43 11161000 26613050 GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR 5.77 5.88 5.76 5.88 5.73 5.77 230600 1332384 0.96 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.95 0.95 75000 72110 IONICS 4.71 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.27 5.27 30200 159435 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.42 1.43 1.4 1.5 1.38 1.42 5235000 7635510 5.3 5.34 5.5 5.5 5.26 5.34 3476200 18606136 CIRTEK HLDG

7057060 1240 -12741980 -26363590 -6481128.5 -36529238 -11225210 807300 -629410 -7460 -558332 73270 125704 -60420 93757 -280392 -1752218.5 -18800 23650 55140 31906614 9520 -7926 -655880 29400 -8540082 7280 -1171040 -427600 1203612 38748 1879530 29120 -12000380 -2343690 60360 1680210

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.47 0.475 0.485 0.5 0.47 0.47 35270000 17049950 -2146350 7.15 7.46 7.5 7.5 7.07 7.47 10100 75243 ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP 709 710.5 718 718 709 710.5 198740 141465395 -51774010 43.65 43.7 44.25 44.55 42.2 43.7 2032300 88304005 -35311875 ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL 7.02 7.03 7.03 7.05 7 7.02 5039200 35323577 22477274 2.42 2.43 2.55 2.58 2.42 2.42 1843000 4549960 AYALA LAND LOG 6.32 6.64 6.36 6.65 6.31 6.32 185200 1176281 ANSCOR ATN HLDG A 0.62 0.63 0.59 0.67 0.59 0.62 15365000 9688800 0.62 0.63 0.59 0.65 0.59 0.63 759000 463930 -120790 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 5.15 5.18 5.18 5.2 5.12 5.15 1689000 8709397 1001930 4.29 4.3 4.2 4.33 4.2 4.3 15390000 65982190 500400.0002 DMCI HLDG 8.55 8.74 8.51 8.74 8.51 8.74 4300 37415 2553 FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL 386.6 387 386.6 391.6 385 387 117330 45465742 -20167102 62.55 62.8 63.75 63.75 62.3 62.8 1277450 80228661 4928544.5 JG SUMMIT LODESTAR 0.61 0.63 0.63 0.64 0.61 0.62 5000 3130 2.79 2.8 2.86 2.86 2.7 2.79 4657000 12751580 -2253380 LOPEZ HLDG 8.91 8.98 8.87 8.98 8.8 8.98 1582600 14019886 162873 LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG 0.475 0.495 0.5 0.57 0.46 0.52 172000 84210 4.04 4.05 4.04 4.05 3.95 4.04 103110000 414,552,000( 113,942,029.9999) METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG 3.06 3.16 3.46 3.46 3.01 3.06 20000 62160 0.76 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 15000 11700 PRIME MEDIA 0.98 0.99 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 82000 80360 1960 SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS 893 899.5 887 899.5 887 899.5 157650 141037865 -22905680 98.9 100 99.95 100 98.75 100 166120 16588835.5 8354935 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.62 0.64 0.62 0.64 0.62 0.64 271000 172280 120 121 121 121 121 121 40 4840 -2420 TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS 0.189 0.198 0.188 0.19 0.188 0.19 240000 45300 0.135 0.138 0.13 0.135 0.13 0.135 540000 72290 ZEUS HLDG

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.55 0.57 0.57 0.57 0.55 0.55 1181000 654490 29.7 29.75 29.95 29.95 29.5 29.75 4994300 148612950 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 0.95 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.95 0.95 61000 57980 25.55 25.6 25.65 25.65 25.5 25.6 319700 8178320 AREIT RT BELLE CORP 1.37 1.38 1.35 1.38 1.35 1.37 52000 70710 0.78 0.79 0.77 0.8 0.77 0.79 2147000 1695060 A BROWN 0.8 0.81 0.79 0.82 0.79 0.82 29000 23250 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.129 0.132 0.129 0.129 0.129 0.129 200000 25800 4.77 4.79 4.78 4.79 4.75 4.78 1116000 5312430 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.36 0.37 0.36 0.37 0.355 0.36 3510000 1272950 0.295 0.31 0.295 0.3 0.295 0.295 300000 89000 CYBER BAY 13.98 14 14.02 14.04 13.94 14 376600 5274130 DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO 5.43 5.44 5.3 5.45 5.3 5.43 110100 597952 0.26 0.265 0.265 0.265 0.265 0.265 10000 2650 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 80000 7200 0.92 0.93 0.93 0.93 0.92 0.93 3441000 3199210 FILINVEST LAND 0.74 0.76 0.75 0.76 0.74 0.74 1378000 1022760 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 6.69 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.69 6.69 54900 370395 1.38 1.39 1.45 1.47 1.38 1.39 8052000 11365700 PHIL INFRADEV CITY AND LAND 0.7 0.71 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 24000 16800 2.94 2.95 2.99 2.99 2.92 2.95 7584000 22355140 MEGAWORLD 0.335 0.34 0.29 0.38 0.29 0.335 1074700000 364384400 MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES 0.315 0.33 0.34 0.34 0.31 0.31 40000 13000 1.14 1.17 1.11 1.16 1.11 1.16 35000 40550 PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND 14.46 14.74 14.54 14.74 14.2 14.74 887300 12852566 0.216 0.217 0.218 0.218 0.207 0.217 260000 56290 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.5 1.53 1.56 1.57 1.5 1.53 1095000 1673690 SHANG PROP 2.65 2.69 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 17000 45050 1.85 1.95 1.95 1.99 1.92 1.95 155000 303200 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 29.1 29.15 29.6 29.6 28.8 29.1 7027100 204277120 3.59 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.59 3.59 12000 43140 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.19 1.2 1.19 1.2 1.17 1.2 1114000 1317390 3.29 3.3 3.24 3.3 3.24 3.29 668000 2183860 VISTA LAND

-69726010 -1033300 -16539.9999 -2143272 -39113 783980 16500 -311175 427410 -6337440 17637700 242480 -539900 45050 -73672380 -506290

SERVICES ABS CBN 14.32 14.46 15.2 16 14 14.32 4280600 62758866 4.97 4.98 4.97 4.99 4.95 4.97 489000 2430490 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.39 0.405 0.395 0.405 0.39 0.405 1120000 442350 10.9 11 11 11 10.9 10.9 200 2190 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2046 2050 2070 2070 2016 2050 32735 66653520 1309 1310 1310 1316 1295 1310 143680 188050840 PLDT 0.055 0.058 0.062 0.062 0.055 0.055 247420000 14238790 APOLLO GLOBAL DFNN INC 2.91 2.97 2.96 2.96 2.91 2.91 30000 87450 6.16 6.17 5.9 6.22 5.82 6.16 115843900 700386967 DITO CME HLDG IMPERIAL 1.27 1.39 1.44 1.44 1.26 1.42 7000 9340 0.079 0.082 0.081 0.082 0.08 0.082 770000 62950 ISLAND INFO 1.56 1.6 1.56 1.61 1.56 1.56 184000 288230 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 4.77 4.78 4.65 4.85 4.46 4.77 27073000 126777850 0.235 0.237 0.225 0.245 0.22 0.235 49540000 11738300 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.45 2.47 2.36 2.58 2.35 2.45 9765000 24223960 8.4 8.59 8.6 8.6 8.3 8.34 16300 138912 2GO GROUP 5.58 5.59 5.4 5.6 5.35 5.58 8911300 48996628 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 37.15 37.5 37.4 38.8 37 37.5 338700 12725075 115.6 116.2 114.1 116.8 114.1 115.6 1252710 144761850 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 13.66 14.14 13.64 14.14 13.64 14.14 3500 48990 0.76 0.8 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.79 44000 34650 LORENZO SHIPPNG 4.36 4.42 4.6 4.6 4.35 4.36 1833000 8192220 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 1.79 1.81 1.89 1.89 1.78 1.79 926000 1674480 5.8 5.85 5.8 5.85 5.7 5.8 22300 129396 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.06 1.01 1.06 1149000 1194800 1.15 1.19 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 29000 33350 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.026 0.027 0.026 0.027 0.026 0.027 20700000 539200 1.39 1.48 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.38 2000 2760 DISCOVERY WORLD 10.1 10.48 10.5 10.5 10.48 10.48 1100 11530 GRAND PLAZA WATERFRONT 0.39 0.4 0.38 0.41 0.38 0.395 6350000 2519700 6.49 6.5 6.49 6.49 6.49 6.49 200 1298 CENTRO ESCOLAR FAR EASTERN U 492 500 495 500 495 495 250 124000 7.05 7.59 7.06 7.06 7.01 7.05 65700 463169 IPEOPLE 0.31 0.315 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.31 1570000 491150 STI HLDG BERJAYA 2.69 2.7 2.53 2.79 2.53 2.69 1916000 5154050 7.04 7.09 7.01 7.15 7.01 7.09 4851800 34368542 BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 1.8 1.85 1.8 1.85 1.75 1.8 214000 387740 LEISURE AND RES 1.44 1.46 1.45 1.55 1.41 1.46 2362000 3445940 2.9 2.93 2.8 2.95 2.8 2.9 270000 777060 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.31 0.315 0.305 0.315 0.305 0.315 9150000 2866300 5.9 5.92 5.99 6 5.82 5.9 642000 3787817 ALLHOME METRO RETAIL 1.33 1.34 1.34 1.35 1.31 1.34 2076000 2767010 PUREGOLD 45.45 45.5 46 46 45 45.5 2986900 135884065 63.55 63.65 64.3 64.3 63.5 63.65 567220 36094699.5 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 112.5 114.8 114.8 115 109 114.8 716160 80567020 1.09 1.1 1.08 1.12 1.07 1.1 5618000 6137960 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 15.42 15.48 15.52 15.52 15.38 15.42 1699000 26213818 APC GROUP 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.31 0.295 0.3 920000 275950 6.75 6.77 7 7 6.63 6.77 107300 733518 EASYCALL GOLDEN BRIA 289.2 303.8 289 303.8 289 303.8 240 71166 3.13 3.28 3.13 3.13 3.13 3.13 2000 6260 IPM HLDG PRMIERE HORIZON 0.23 0.236 0.225 0.255 0.223 0.236 55950000 13410430 4.11 4.35 4.02 4.35 3.97 4.35 355000 1474600 SBS PHIL CORP

-43008920 -94700740 26140 33082216 -944130 -7020 -810300 529773 -219090 -7066216 -23850 11500 31800 68850 1298 -5060 1592622 1800 -904800 -15250 60287 -481530 5147230 -17029084 -11480 -2159680 -525438 -67700 -5928 -225220 -541950

MINING & OIL

ATOK 7.62 7.7 7.35 7.7 7.34 7.7 19000 141720 APEX MINING 1.59 1.6 1.5 1.59 1.5 1.59 15944000 24650780 -767030 0.0009 0.001 0.0008 0.001 0.0008 0.0009 6820000000 6205400 76500 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 3.98 4 3.83 4 3.83 4 1199000 4754140 2.7 2.72 2.75 2.75 2.63 2.7 197000 532240 BENGUET A 2.58 2.92 2.69 2.98 2.55 2.96 31000 83990 BENGUET B COAL ASIA HLDG 0.24 0.248 0.231 0.25 0.231 0.25 920000 219860 7.4 7.62 7.67 7.67 7.39 7.63 3800 28206 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 1.23 1.24 1.27 1.29 1.23 1.23 7208000 9007720 -334330 0.226 0.227 0.225 0.229 0.225 0.228 200000 45190 GEOGRACE 0.144 0.145 0.134 0.147 0.134 0.144 43930000 6174360 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.144 0.145 0.133 0.144 0.133 0.144 3390000 472110 0.0098 0.01 0.0091 0.01 0.0091 0.01 74000000 728000 MANILA MINING A MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 0.0099 0.01 8500000 84940 0.94 0.95 0.92 0.95 0.92 0.94 3530000 3296320 -47000 MARCVENTURES 2.29 2.3 2.28 2.39 2.28 2.29 1235000 2853320 -2350 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 3.5 3.51 3.53 3.57 3.45 3.51 20398000 71765430 132670 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.355 0.35 0.355 120000 42150 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.56 0.58 0.58 0.59 0.55 0.58 1429000 816430 4.69 4.7 4.31 4.76 4.31 4.7 9716000 43807230 1267900 PX MINING 10.72 10.74 10.32 10.94 10.32 10.74 5270100 56258162 -1772572 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0049 0.0051 0.0052 0.0052 0.0049 0.0051 17000000 85900 5.95 6.05 5.98 6.2 5.81 6.05 173900 1050129 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.0084 0.0085 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 8000000 67200 0.0083 0.0085 0.0085 0.0085 0.0083 0.0085 10000000 84800 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.0079 0.0082 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.008 49000000 392000 48000 PXP ENERGY 5.31 5.32 5.05 5.38 4.95 5.31 2972000 15383760 345670

PREFFERED DD PREF 100.5 101.5 101 101 101 101 210 21210 508 510 508 508 508 508 20 10160 GLO PREF P MWIDE PREF 101.4 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 32880 3337320 101 102 102.2 102.3 102.1 102.3 4050 414220 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 975 985 976 985 976 985 560 550735 1059 1060 1057 1060 1057 1060 10290 10892000 PCOR PREF 3A 1076 1085 1075 1075 1075 1075 3800 4085000 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2C 77.55 78 77.5 78 77.5 78 370 28800 75.6 76.75 76 76 75.55 75.55 85800 6489852 997919.9999 SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F 77.2 77.5 77.2 77.5 77 77.5 31260 2410310

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 12.52 12.66 12.84 13 12.5 12.52 223800 2832842 -9192 4.81 4.94 4.81 4.81 4.8 4.8 4000 19220 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.73 0.75 0.67 0.8 0.67 0.73 1060000 774610 15200

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 10.7 10.76 10.2 11.5 10.02 10.7 3933100 42416254 -15696856 2.38 2.39 2.38 2.38 2.26 2.38 4819000 11259130 245380 ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH 4.98 5 4.95 5.1 4.91 4.96 61000 304450 2.51 2.75 2.05 3 2.05 2.51 10331000 25809160 MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.09 3.02 3.03 14060000 42790670 212410

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 89.6 90 90.3 90.5 89.25 89.6 13430 1205928.5 536897.5

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Converge ICT lowers IPO price to ₧16.80 per share

C

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

onverge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc., a company led

by Pampanga businessman Dennis Anthony H. Uy, has reduced the price of its initial public offering (IPO) to P16.80 per share.

The said price is very near the lowest end of its price range earlier placed at P16.50 to P24 per share.

At the said price, the company can raise only up to P29 billion, or 30 percent lower than the P41.55 billion in proceeds based on the top end of its price range.

The company is selling 480.84

million primary shares and 1.02 billion secondary shares and an over-allotment option of 225.79 million shares.

Of the offer shares, 70 percent are allocated for institutional investors which include the cornerstone investors.

The company is offering a chunk

of these shares to cornerstone investors including Genesis Investment Management Llp., Ghisallo Master Fund LP, Macquarie Funds Management Hong Kong Limited, Magna New Frontiers Fund, Oaks Emerging and Frontier Opportunities Fund, OMERS Administration Corp., Segantii Asia-Pacific Equity Multi-Strategy Fund and Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Warburg Pincus, through Coherent Cloud, made a commitment in 2019 to invest $225 million in Converge, all of which have now been invested, the company said.

Broker Abacus Securities Inc. said the telco hype may provide support for the stock in the first few days of trading, but many factors signal a limited upside for Converge ICT in the long run. It recommended selling the stock once its price rises.

It said at P16.50, the lowest band

of Converge ICT's price range and where the broker made its assumptions, the stock provide a wide premium over the two existing telecom companies, PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom Inc. “Therefore, we are not keen on recommending that clients subscribe to the IPO. We prefer having an exposure to the stock at lower levels. Those who reserved shares may want to sell on rally,” it said.

Converge will hold the offer period from October 13 to 19 and will be listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange by the end of the month.

Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. and UBS AG Singapore Branch were picked as the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners while BPI Capital Corp. and BDO Capital and Investment Corp. were chosen as the local underwriters and bookrunners.

Air Canada slashes price of Transat deal A

ir Canada slashed the purchase price for tour operator Transat AT Inc. to almost a quarter of its earlier offer, citing the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the air transport industry.

The Montreal-based airline said it is cutting the offer for Transat

to C$5 a share from C$18 when the deal was announced in August 2019, valuing the company at about C$190 million ($145 million). Transat’s investors can choose between receiving a cash payment or 0.2862 Air Canada shares for each stock they hold, according to the state-

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Share prices closed lower last week as investors remained passive for most of the trading sessions, while some were rattled by the ongoing leadership tensions at the House of Representatives which could delay the approval of the 2021 budget.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 67.79 points to close at 5,931.61 points.

Average daily trading for the week was higher at P8.9 billion as volume of trade was high throughout the week, with Thursday having the biggest at P19.04 billion, following the cross sale of the SM group, according to brokers.

Analysts said the high value of trade figures should not be taken as positive activity in the market as investors still remain at the sidelines.

Foreign investors continue to dump local shares and were net sellers at P5.13 billion.

Most of the subindices ended in the red, but the Mining and Oil index flew high last week gaining 705.87 points, or 12 percent, to close at 6,563.79 points, the broader All Shares index fell 22.42 to 3,563.85, the Financials index declined 12.72 to 1,159.70, the Industrial index was down 42 to 7,931.54, the Holding Firms index rose 2.86 to 6,202.68, the Property index retreated 67.18 to 2,732.88 and the Services index shed 23.47 to 1,455.72.

For the week, gainers led losers 132 to 97 and 21 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers for the week were ABS-CBN Corp., MRC Allied Inc., Da Vinci Capital Holdings Inc., Now Corp., Lopez Holdings Corp. and Transpacific Broadband Group International Inc. Top losers were IPM Holdings Inc., Apollo Global Capital Inc., Filipino Fund Inc., Metro Alliance Holdings and Equities Corp. A and B shares, Liberty Flour Mills Inc., Far Eastern University Inc., and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc.

This week

Trading may remain sluggish this week as investors may still remain on the sidelines in the absence of catalysts to trade.

The selling of shares for the initial public offering (IPO) of Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc., a company led by Pampanga businessman Dennis Anthony H. Uy, will start this week, which brokers said may impair the liquidity flow to the market.

Converge ICT is one of the biggest IPOs in recent years, which it will raise about P29 billion in proceeds.

“Coupling with near-term risks, investors must be wary of entry and exit points in the face of elevated volatility,” broker 2TradeAsia said.

The broker said the fourth quarter, which traditionally is the biggest among the other quarters during a non-election year, is expected to be softer for the year as employees' 13th month pay and bonuses are both in danger of being scrapped to preserve cash.

It said the Yuletide season is expected to remain underwhelming for the main index at about 36 percent fall year-on-year, but it will still be “a touch” higher quarter-on-quarter.

The broker sees immediate support for the main index at 5,700 points and resistance between 6,000 to 6,150 points.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. advised to buy when prices fall on the stock of SM Investments Corp. as its price rose last week which was fueled by a massive spike in buying volumes. This brought the stock 2 points below the nearest resistance at P890.

“Despite this upside, indicators are only just starting to shift to buy signs. With momentum and volatility climbing, it seems like the upward bias will reign. Monitor the strongest resistance at P900. Should buying momentum wane, this will be the most likely level for the stock to pull back,” the broker said.

SMIC shares closed Friday at P899.50 apiece.

Meanwhile, the broker advised to take profits on the stock of Nickel Asia Corp. as it saw buying momentum last week when it entered the overbought region.

“Investors who had a position prior to the breakout are advised to take profits, before a correction occurs. Once this happens, the support at P3.03, its 50-day moving average, could provide some respite,” it said.

Nickel Asia shares closed last week at P3.51 apiece. VG Cabuag

ment Saturday. The previous offer was an all-cash deal.

“Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on the global airline industry, with a material impact on the value of airlines and aviation assets,” Air Canada Chief Executive Officer Calin Rovines-

mutual funds

cu said in the statement. “This combination will provide stability for Transat’s operations and its stakeholders and will position Air Canada, and indeed the Canadian aviation industry, to emerge more strongly as we enter the post-Covid-19 world.” Bloomberg News

October 9, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 195.39 -21.94% -12% -5.06% -22.42% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0575 -29.75% -13.48% -3.15% -23.48% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.6427 -31.67% -16.1% -6.93% -28.15% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6695 -28.16% -12.78% n.a. -25.45% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6731 -20.56% n.a. n.a. -20.75% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.191 -21.24% -10.29% -5.05% -21.34% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6536 -23.34% -12.53% n.a.

-23.43% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

84.64 -26.81% n.a. n.a.

-18% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 39.1686 -23.25% -10.68% -3.97% -23.62% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 420.89 -20.7% -10.03% -4.08% -21% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.9027 n.a. n.a. n.a. -12.37% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0021 -21.71% -10.01% -3.63% -22.13% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 29.3409 -22.3% -9.73% -3.28% -22.58% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7735 -23.51% n.a. n.a. -24.03% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.0003 -22.87% -10.17% -3.27% -23.42% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 668.83 -22.75% -10.11% -3.38% -23.3% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6086 -31.63% -13.78% -7.12% -28.52% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0768 -26.62% -11.68% -4.78% -26.9% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7662 -22.97% -10.39% -3.46% -23.44% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.8064 -23.27% -9.2% -3.01% -23.18% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 89.8027 -22.63% -9.81% -2.62% -23.22% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.0751 14.51% -0.06% 3.59% 4.54% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5347 20.45% 8.29% n.a.

11.32% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5362 -3.84% -5.66% -3.06% -1.7% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0346 -9.74% -5.66% -1.46% -6.72% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3861 -8.97% -4.31% -2.95% -9.33% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1809 -20.83% n.a. n.a.

-20.83% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8314 -5.98% -2.18% 0.15% -6.64% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4505 -7.99% -3.84% -1.07% -8.94% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.4272 -8.27% -3.99% -1.16% -9.04% 1.9052 -10.39% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a -4.98% -1.33% -10.22% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2387 -15.63% -6.23% -2.48% -16.17% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9324 -7.57% n.a. n.a.

-8.2% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8238 -16.99% n.a. n.a.

-17.32% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8007 -19.06% n.a. n.a. -19.38% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.7931 -18.24% -7.47% -3.41% -18.64% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03902 0.75% 2.68% 2.17% 2.15% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.0522 7.69% 3.02% 3.97% 0.88% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.1876 12.29% 5.89% 6.2% 7.08% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1677 5.59% 3.05% n.a.

3.46% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 368.48 3.85% 3.08% 2.63% 2.94% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9523 1.76% 0.86% 0.3% 2.64% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2035 3.78% 4.77% 4.96% 2.75% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2933 3.71% 2.65% 2.23% 3.14% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4506 4.84% 3.39% 2.18% 3.88% 7.69% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6432 4.33% 2.77% 6.18% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3126 5.72% 4.38% 2.48% 4.45% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.956 5.54% 4.18% 2.35% 4.43% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0384 9.06% 3.63% 2.1% 7.68% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1824 4.79% 4.71% 2.98% 3.47% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7459 3.93% 4.07% 2.36% 2.63% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $479.37 2.87% 2.56% 2.8% 2.35% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є217.27 -1.44% 0.75% 1.18% -1.15% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2393 2.93% 3.05% 2.5% 2.66% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0264 1.93% 1.83% 1.67% 2.33% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0863 -1.72% 0.26% 0.23% -0.67% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5016 3.21% 3.77% 3.38% 4.08% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0615399 2.08% 2.34% 2.11% 2.06% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1857 0.02% 1.87% 2.39% 0.33% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.22 3.49% 3.32% 2.52% 2.69% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0456 2.13% n.a. n.a.

1.88% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2913 2.79% 3.03% 2.62% 2.08% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0497 1.58% n.a. n.a.

1.1% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0224 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.95 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-4.04%

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

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

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

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

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

latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

DOF-backed bill tweaking tax incentives to top Senate gab

PHL banks use cloud in digital shift–study

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

T

he Philippine banking industry has been implementing initiatives to boost its cloud usage, which is deemed necessary amid the shift to digital, according to a report.

In a joint study by International Data Corp. (IDC) Financial Insights and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., it was noted that Philippine banks were among the financial institutions in the Asia-Pacific region that were using cloud as means of storage management.

The report said there were “some positive developments in markets such as the Philippines and Korea but many still held back by regulatory fear.”

IDC and Huawei said that cloud is flexible storage because it allows data to be accessed digitally. At the same time, it serves a platform of services and tools which provides quick access to analytic tools and development tools, including artificial intelligence (AI).

“Flexible capacity for development work, testing and simulations mean that new products can be rolled out and brought to market at an accelerated rate, bypassing the need to wait for internal resources to be freed up first,” they added.

Cloud usage in banks comes in different forms—public, hybrid, and private—which depends on the purpose, the study explained. Still, all these types aim to provide security for the banks’ financial data and

transactions.

While the pandemic forced the digital shift, the report said that it has also given the opportunity to test the internal controls and cyber security of the banks.

“Threat profiles have changed due to both internal and external factors and weaknesses have been exposed in the behavioral history method of detecting fraud which has spurred banks to think how they could improve in security and controls to better account for undocumented behavior in general while maintaining service levels and security standards,” the study noted.

With this, banks have turned to AI and machine learning to reconfigure their analytical models and improve threat detections and response actions, it added.

In May, IDC, along with banking software developer Backbase Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd., released a study saying that 60 percent of the bankable customers in the Philippines are willing to shift to more digital banks.

Riddhi Dutta, Backbase regional head in Southeast Asian region and India, said that the digital solutions have offered flexible and quick banking services and platforms for the customers during the current pandemic.

With the increasing presence of neobanks and financial technology, the report said that the unbanked and underbanked segments in the Philippines are anticipated to be reduced by half to around 20 percent in five years.

Perspectives

A new operating model for HR

T

o meet the growing challenges head on, we know that the new Human Resource (HR) function must start to be more project based, agile and digitally enabled, all while reducing operating costs. But that can be tough to achieve on top of day-to-day tasks.

To remain of value to the business, and in order to maintain a strong leadership position, it’s vital that HR itself rises to the opportunity to drive people change.

With the right operating model for HR, this need not be as far out of reach as it may currently seem.

Stop relying on the cloud alone

Many HR teams look to the cloud as a panacea —but simply plugging into the cloud alone will not necessarily deliver the data-driven insights, smarter decision making, real value for the bottom line or anything near the cloud’s actual vast capabilities to redefine HR and engage more effectively with its workers. This requires proactively changing the culture and underlying operating model of HR itself.

Start developing an operating model for tomorrow

HR organizations looking to jump-start with the cloud need an operating model built for tomorrow and beyond—enabling them to envisage and deliver on drivers of change, such as: 1) timely and affordable deployment of Human Resources solutions 2) an intuitive user experience and greater engagement of those systems across the business 3) new levels of mobile accessibility between the business and its workers 4) smarter decision-making between teams and departments 5) work force efficiencies that can pre-empt the demands of tomorrow.

Ensuring success

Our research has highlighted that 90 percent of failed HR transformation initiatives surveyed had not identified measures of success.

(Source: “HR Transformation: Which lens are you using?” KPMG International, 2017) It’s clear that to help ensure success requires a well-defined sense of where you are going and what you expect to achieve.

This can be best envisaged with a “future-state operating model.”

This vision of the organization of tomorrow can enable improved clarity when changing roles and structures in line with your transformation, and help ensure you have the right change management capabilities in place. With a map of the “end-state,” streamlined processes and improvements in cost efficiency provided by new systems can often be brought forward.

A future-state vision not only speeds delivery; it helps stakeholder collaboration and extends the strategic conversations you are able to have—all without losing focus on your day job.

The excerpt was taken from “KPMG Thought Leadership, Consumers and the New Reality.” © 2020 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent member-firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the Philippines.

For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may visit www.kpmg.com.ph.

Monday, October 12, 2020 B3

S

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

enators will hold a caucus on Monday to ensure that all priority measures are tackled and approved within the remaining tight schedule of the chamber in its last week before going on a scheduled break.

Top of the agenda, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said, is the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act, which will lower the corporate income tax (CIT) from the current 30 percent to 25 percent, while rationalizing fiscal incentives.

At the same time, Sotto III said in an interview with DWIZ, he sees the franchise of San Miguel Aerocity, the Bulacan airport project of the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) group, hurdling third-reading approval before session break.

According to Sotto, they set the session at 2 p.m., “so we can attend to housekeeping matters before going to the period of amendments for Create.”

He predicted “lengthy” deliberations on Create, noting that its sponsor, Senator Pia S. Cayetano,

had expected “spirited discussions” by members.

If they cannot finish deliberations on Create by Monday night, Sotto expects the crucial tax reform to be finished nonetheless by Tuesday or Wednesday.

There is universal support for the CIT reduction, but the second plank of Create has divided government and business sectors, many of whom believe that “rationalizing”—or removing—fiscal incentives are illtimed when economic sectors have been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sotto noted that Create, which has been pending in the Senate for eight months, was “certified as urgent since March.”

The certification of Create by the President would allow senators to skip the mandatory 3-day interval

between the second reading and third reading. Sotto, nonetheless, expressed confidence of its passage.

MSMEs

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III last week weighed in anew on the approval of Create, saying the reduction of the CIT means tax breaks for 99 percent of business enterprises, which are MSMEs. “The small and medium enterprises in this country have never had a tax break. It’s the big ones that go and register with the Peza [Philippine Economic Zone Authority]” [that are given tax] incentives,” Dominguez told a recent briefing by the Development Budget Coordination Committee before the House appropriations committee.

The statement of the chief of the Department of Finance (DOF) was an apparent jab at ecozone locators, who have been most vocal in opposing Create because of its second plank, i.e., the tax perks reforms.

Dominguez said the passage of Create will align the corporate tax rate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) average and, thus, make the Philippines the only government to provide tax breaks to MSMEs. Under the current system, about 3,000 big companies enjoy incentives that let them pay discounted tax rates of between 6 percent and 13 percent of net income only, while small en-

terprises that make up 99 percent of local businesses and employ majority of Filipino workers pay the regular CIT of 30 percent; the highest in the region. The CIT-cut alone will free up around P42 billion in capital for businesses in the first year of Create’s implementation, Dominguez said.

Aerocity

Meanwhile, despite its secondreading passage by the Senate last week, the franchise for SMC’s ambitious Bulacan airport continues to draw cautionary remarks from some sectors.

In a comment sent to media outlets, the nongovernment Action for Economic Reforms group lamented that calls to revisit the generous incentives given to the Aerocity proponent were ignored when Senators passed it on second reading.

Cayetano, head of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, had cautioned peers against rushing Aerocity’s incentives without considering these alongside the provisions of Create. She added this runs the risk of having two sets of incentives, with the aerocity proponent enjoying perks as a class of its own.

Cayetano had said she fully supports the setting up of an airport in Bulacan but wondered aloud why the franchise’s sponsor, Sen. Grace Poe, did not get the DOF comment on the matter of the special class of incentives.

Surge in UITF clients amid crises recorded

R

izal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) saw a surge in unit invest trust fund (UITF) clients amid the ongoing economic and health crises following the digitalization of the application process.

As of July, the Yuchengco-led bank said that UITF online clients rose by more than sevenfold.

This translates to UITF online investment volume rising by 294 percent year-to-date, RCBC said.

Meanwhile, the UITF assets under management in all channels climbed by 56.98 percent as of July 2020 year-

on-year. “The pandemic has definitely increased the propensity of our clients to save and invest and our online platform has made it easier for them to do that,” RCBC Head of Trust and Investments Group Robert Rol Richard Raymond B. Ramos said.

The bank said that the end-to-end process of its UITF module in RCBC Banking Online covered the enrolment of new accounts, placements, and redemptions.

Meanwhile, Rizal Balanced Fund (RBF) was recently recognized as the Best Balanced (Peso) Fund by the

Chartered Financial Analyst Society Philippines. RBF is a UITF managed by RCBC’s Trust and Investment Group.

It is considered as one of the “most affordable and accessible investment products available in the market.”

Last month, London-based financial publication Global Economics Limited awarded RCBC as the country’s “Most Innovative Internet Banking Service Provider.” This, after being named as the Philippines’ “Best Digital Bank” by Hong Kong-based institutional investment magazine Alpha Southeast Asia.

“From bricks to clicks, through the years RCBC has been among the industry’s leaders in shaping what we now know as the digital today,” said Angelito M. Villanueva, executive vice president and chief innovation and inclusion officer of RCBC. RCBC saw its net income in the first half climb by 17 percent to P3.1 billion from P2.66 billion last year because of higher trading gains, which surged by 80.3 percent to P5.9 billion. As of endJune, total assets and capital stood at P718.75 billion and P84.44 billion, respectively. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Sale of Heart Center assets declared void

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court (SC) has declared null and void the sale at public auction of the 11 real properties of the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) by the Quezon City government after the local government unit charged PHC with failure to settle tax obligations amounting to P36.5 million in 2014.

In a 25-page decision, the SC’s First Division held that the PHC is exempt from payment of real property taxes; being one of government instrumentalities as mandated under Section 133 of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of the Philippines.

“Indeed, real properties owned by the Republic, whether titled in the name of the Republic itself or in the name of agencies or instrumentalities of the national government, are exempt from real property tax,” the SC said in a decision penned by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier.

The SC said the PHC passes the two criteria to be classified as a government instrumentality: it performs governmental functions and enjoys operational autonomy.

It noted that the PHC is under the supervision of the Department of Health (DOH) and carries out government policies in pursuit of its objectives.

“Certainly, the PHC’s functions

PHOTO BY NONNIE REYES

are less commercial than governmental, and more for public use and public welfare than for profit-oriented services,” the SC pointed out.

The Court also explained that the properties of the PHC are considered public dominion devoted to public use and welfare; thus, exempt from real property taxes and levy.

In fact, the SC said in the pursuit of its mandate, the PHC reported it had served 60,000 cardiology patients, performed around 94,000 radiology procedures and provided free heart surgery for 82 mission beneficiaries, among others.

Despite reporting revenues of P3.03 billion in 2018, the SC said the PHC still operated at a loss of P504.5 million.

Thus, the government annually allocates funding to the PHC and, in 2018 alone, providing P888.7 million in financial assistance to the hospital.

“The hospital fees which the PHC charges are simply too meager to cover operating expenses. To divest the PHC of other sources of income may, therefore, impede, if not paralyze its operations altogether,” the SC said.

“And to allow the Quezon City government to confiscate the PHC’s properties would be nothing short of ironic, if not self-destructive, as it would kill the very patient the government so desperately seeks to revive,” the SC ruled.

The SC, however, agreed to the

position of the Quezon City government that the 11 properties of the PHC in the city are subject to real property tax since the PHC granted the beneficial use of these properties to commercial establishments such as Globe Telecom Inc., Jollibee Corporation and several others. But “this does not automatically validate the acts of assessing, levying and selling the 11 properties of the PHC,” the Court said.

It emphasized that the “taxable person” with beneficial use of the properties being leased should be held responsible for payment of real property taxes due on government properties.

“Otherwise stated, government units are precluded from availing of the remedy of levy against properties owned by government instrumentalities, whether or not vested with corporate powers, such as the PHC,” the SC said.

“Indeed, it would be the height of absurdity to levy the PHC’s properties to answer for taxes the PHC does not owe. This leaves the Quezon City Government with only one recourse–judicial action for collection or real property taxes against private individuals with beneficial use of the PHC’s properties,” it added.

The SC’s decision reversed and set aside the Court of Appeals ruling issued March 15, 2016, which denied PHC’s petition on the ground of technicality.

B4

Monday, October 12, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Style

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Miss Universe Philippines 2020 most likely CLOCKWISE: Iloilo City Rabiya Mateo (Remjo Debil), Davao City Alaiza Flor P.Malinao (Josh Tolentino), Parañaque Ysabella R. Ysmael (Guilly Valenzuela), Cagayan de Oro Vincy L. Vacalares (Argie Padilla Yañez), Bohol Pauline C. Amelinckx (TJ Medrana) and Sorsogon Maria Isabela B. Galeria (Rxandy Capinpin)

W

HOEVER gets crowned on October 25 will have the honor of being called the first-ever Miss Universe Philippines. Officially. Though Janine Mari Tugonon was the first to wear a sash with that designation, she won in 2012 when the pageant was still organized by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI).

This year marks the first time since 1964, when the BPCI under Stella Marquez Araneta chose the winner until 2019, that a standalone pageant will be held to select our representative to the Miss Universe pageant. The first Binibining Pilipinas Universe winner was Maria Myrna Panlilio.

“With vigor and a vision aligned with the transformative purpose of Miss Universe,” the Miss Universe Organization announced its partnership with the Miss Universe Philippines Organization in 2019, a “fresh team” composed of Miss Universe 2011 Third Runner-Up Shamcey Supsup, national director; Albert Andrada, Design Council head; Binibining Pilipinas Universe 2006 Lia Andrea Ramos, head of Women Empowerment Committee and Charity; Atty. Nad Bronce, head of legal affairs; Mario Garcia, business development/marketing head; and Jonas Gaffud, creative director.

I can enumerate the 15 former Soviet republics and can name a decent number of the 50 US states.

Alphabetically. Back in high school, I can place the provinces of the Philippines on a blank map (thanks to my history teacher, Evelyn Gomez—Happy World Teacher’s Day, ma’m!). But with new provinces being carved from existing ones for political expediency of some powerful dynasties, I don’t know all of them anymore. With the encouragement of the MUP organization for every locality to be represented, pageant fans like me can now brush up on our everchanging geography. Of the 81 provinces, 35 are represented. And of the 33 highly urbanized cities, 16 have representatives.

From 2010 to 2019, the Philippines had a phenomenal showing at Miss Universe, winning two crowns courtesy of Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach in 2015 and Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray in 2018. This year’s preliminary evening gown and swimsuit competition is set on October 23 while the finals will be on October 25. The pageant will most likely be at the Mall of

Asia Arena, with no live audience and with a limited production staff. It will be aired on GMA. Who will follow in Pia’s and Catriona’s highheeled, giant footsteps among the 51 candidates?

My sentimental favorites are my hometown girls, Cagayan de Oro’s Vincy L. Vacalares and Misamis Oriental’s Caroline Joy C. Veronilla. They’re admittedly raw in national pageantry but they have the primal desire to win.

Rabiya Mateo (Iloilo City), a striking chameleon, is half-Indian like Maria Venus Raj (Miss Universe 2010 fourth runner-up). She also has that MiddleEastern radiance like the half-Arab Mary Jean Lastimosa (Top 10, 2014) and half-Palestinian Gazini Ganados (Top 20, 2019).

Black Girl Magic and Black Lives Matter can be wonderful platforms for ebony beauties like Apriel Smith (Cebu Province) or Skelly Ivy Florida (Biliran).

If either snatches the title, it will be a first in the Philippines.

Caucasian mestizas like Pia, Catriona and Rachel Peters (Top 10, 2017) perform exceptionally, which bodes well for the beautiful Belgian-Boholana Paulina Amelinckx and Catriona’s BFF Sandra Lemonon (Taguig City). A strong modeling background like

Kimberly Hakenson’s (Cavite) also provides an edge, as she’s a Renee Salud devotee like Maria Desiree Verdadero (third runner-up, 1984), Sara Jane Paez (1989), Germelina Leah Padilla (1990) and Gionna Cabrera (2005).

A possible double-national titlist is Michele Theresa Gumabao (Quezon City), Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2018 and Top 15 at the world finals.

What helps her cause is her showbiz background, as the daughter and niece of 1980s sex symbol Dennis Roldan and Isabel Rivas, and the sister of heartthrob Marco Gumabao.

A myriad ladies named Maria/Marie/Mary have gone to Miss Universe, and among the present crop the biggest contenders are Maria Isabela Galeria (Sorsogon) and Maria Ysabella Roxas Ysmael. Isabela, a nurse and Covid survivor, is a dusky eye-catcher.

Ysabella (Parañaque), a ballerina, is also the closest to a legacy, as she is related to Maria Margarita Roxas Moran, Miss Universe 1973, besides being the granddaughter of actress Marita Zobel.

Alaiza Flor Malinao, the dazzler from Davao City, was in the same fabled batch as Pia in 2015. Her constant high-fashion pasabog on social media has made her the runaway favorite to win the crown.

But, under-the-radar contenders are as capable to win and can snatch the crown from any of the overly hyped front-runners. That’s when I live for the shocks, upsets and surprises. With only one crown in contention, this initial edition of Miss Universe Philippines will be epic. ■

A brow collection that speaks of its creator’s artistry

I MUST confess there are days when I am so sad that I don’t even want to get up in the morning. The idea of just burrowing under a comforter in an dark air-conditioned room is so tempting. But, of course, reality sets in and you know you have to get up and be an adult.

On one such day, I received a box containing five eyebrow products from Strokes Beauty Lab owned by Momoi Supe, who is considered the best in the country as far eyebrow artistry is concerned. My mood was instantly lifted by The Brow Artist Collection as I have long been curious about Supe’s work and this was a good way to look at it from another angle.

I know someone who had her brows microbladed by Supe before she was diagnosed with cancer. When she started to lose her hair due to chemotherapy, my friend was grateful for the extra boost of confidence that her microbladed brows gave her. I’ve seen Supe’s work on so many friends and acquaintances and I have only admiration for his artistry.

The Brow Artist Collection, which consists of five products, is Supe’s way of bringing his artistry to the world.

Not everyone can afford microblading but more people can buy eyebrow products.

The Microblade Pen Perfector is definitely the collection’s hero product. It is a bleed-proof and long-wearing detailing pen that fills in and defines natural-looking brows, with an ultra fine brush tip that creates the thinnest hair-like strokes for microblade-worthy effects without the blade. This was my

@STROKESBEAUTYLAB ON INSTAGRAM

favorite because it was easy to use.

The Microblade Pen Perfector comes in Graphite and Bronzite. To use, draw hair-like strokes on areas where brows are sparse. If you prefer a more natural look, don’t apply too much pressure when drawing in your brows. No level of expertise is required for this. I also like how natural it looks after application.

My second favorite from the collection is the Brow Sculptor Duo, an easy-to-apply waterproof microfine brow pencil that combines the benefits of powder, pencil and wax to effortlessly fill brows. On the other end of the 1.4mm pencil is a spoolie that’s perfect for fixing your brows. I like this product because it reminds me of Precisely My Brow from Benefit Cosmetics, one of my favorite brow products of all

time. This is a good product for actually drawing in a stronger brow if you have sparse brows like mine (in Tagalog, “mag drawing ng kilay”). It comes in Soft Brown, Warm Brown, Deep Brown and Ash Grey.

The Brow Painter in Ash Brown is a water-resistant, smudge-proof and long-wearing brow shading pen that fills in and defines brows. You can’t overdo your brows with this because of its translucent formula and sheer finish. To use, make a sheer outline of the brow shape then draw strokes where hair is sparse or shade the inner areas of the brow outline. Strokes expert tip for The Brow Painter: Pay attention to the brow arch and tail. Build color and shade intensity through repeated application.

The Brow Fixer is a strong-holding and long-wearing invisible brow gel that instantly shapes and sets hairs in place.

The formula is long-lasting and flake-proof. To use, brush the wand through eyebrows in the direction of hair growth.

The Brow Colorist is a tinted pomade that builds color and volume and is paired with a unique dual-sided brush. The formula is fade-proof, clump-free. To use, brush the wand through eyebrows in the direction of hair growth. This comes in Coal Black, Neutral Brown and Lucid White.

All the products are phthalate-free, paraben-free, BPA-free, mineral oil-free, vegan-friendly, fragrance-free and cruelty-free. The main ingredients include vitamin E, Squalane, Inca Inchi, Hydrolyzed Rice Proteins and Hyaluronic Compounds.

Honestly, it would be difficult to dislike anything about this collection. It’s a well-considered lineup of brow products for different needs and looks.

Here are my likes about this collection: The items are well priced. Nothing is above P500. Prices start at P378. The colors are spot-on. What I don’t like about inexpensive brow products is that the colors are either too red or too gray. That’s not the case with this collection.

The products don’t give you that over-the-top Instagram look. You can layer them to achieve that look, should you wish. The products are long-lasting, even if you sweat under that mask and face shield.

Workout in style WITH good health as a top priority today, keeping yourself active is one way to keep fit and boost your immune system. And whether you want to hit a new sociallydistanced gym, or exercise in favorite workout spot at home, you’ll look fit and fab in the Surplus active wear collection that is a combination of style, performance and comfort.

Be ready for your yoga practice with your friends through video call, learn new jump rope tricks, join a fun cycling online class, or do your usual cardio or strength training with a snug fit sports bra or sweat-wicking gym tees and tanks and a pair of leggings for a free flow of movement. Level up your workout routine with Surplus essentials, such as extra thick yoga mats in fun colors, Bluetooth speakers, quick-dry towels, caps and socks.

Workout jackets will protect your skin from the sun, worn of course with protective face masks and face shields for outdoor activities, such as running or biking.

While outdoors, take your important items with you with waist packs or messenger bags and always stay hydrated with tumblers in different sizes and designs.

The active collection, versatile fashionable pieces and protective essentials are available in Surplus stores located in most SM Supermalls.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

HarvardManagementUpdate BusinessMirror BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, July 13, 2020 B Monday, October 12, 2020 b5

How to Manage a Hybrid Team

Y

By Rebecca Knight

our employees’ needs are always varied. But right now, as many companies navigate a return to the office in some shape or form, your team members are likely contending with vastly different situations. Some have limited or no child care or are managing their kids’ online schooling; some have health issues that preclude them from returning to in-person work; and some are eager and excited to get out of the house and head back to their cubicles.

Offer support

Your primary role as a manager is to support your employees, especially amid a global health crisis, economic uncertainty and ongoing social unrest. “Employees are under immense stress,” says Davey.

It’s incumbent on you to reach out.

Have socially distant conversations with colleagues at the office and

one-on-one video calls with your remote workers. Ask them about their individual circumstances.

Allow people to admit how they’re feeling, and give them space to open up about their anxieties, says Hill.

Listen and offer support.

Create and set expectations

Talk with your team about creating new practices and protocols.

“Have an explicit discussion about how and when you’re going to communicate, who has access to what information, who needs to be in which meetings, and who needs to be in on which decisions,” says Hill.

Discuss, too, how employees plan to structure their working hours.

“The end of the day is becoming nebulous,” Hill adds. “People out of the office may want flexibility and the freedom to rework their hours, and the people in the office may want more structure. Sometimes compromises will be necessary.”

Prioritize with flexibility in mind

The only certainty right now is that the future is unpredictable.

Schools might close; health guidelines might shift; certain towns and cities may have to go on lockdown.

The best way to prepare is to set clear priorities so that everyone on your team knows what’s most important, says Davey. She suggests holding a regular “Monday

www.pexels.com

As a leader, how do you manage these various circumstances while treating everyone fairly?

Having a team in which some employees are in the office and others do their jobs remotely presents a number of challenges for managers, says Liane Davey, author of You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done. Some of these challenges might feel familiar. For instance, there could be some of the same kind of communication, engagement and coordination issues that are common with geographically distributed teams.

But other challenges are new, according to Linda Hill, co-author of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader. For example, working under the shadow of a global pandemic adds another layer of stress and complexity. That’s why it’s critical to lead with compassion during this time.

Here are some tips to achieve that:

huddle,” where you prioritize the most important work that needs to get done that week. In addition, you should discuss the deliverables that would be nice to have if workers have discretionary time. Focusing on the most important work builds flexibility into the system.

Emphasize inclusion

Building a fair and equitable workplace is more complicated when you’re running a hybrid team, says Hill. There’s a proximity bias that leads to the incorrect assumption that the people in the office are more productive than those who are not, she explains.

As a leader, you need to put in place practices to counteract this tendency. Davey suggests establishing the basic ground rule that all-team meetings take place over Zoom—even though some people may be together in the office.

You should also make sure team members in the office don’t communicate in a way that even inadvertently excludes remote colleagues,

adds Hill. You need to make sure that everyone on your team is given the opportunity to weigh in. She suggests saying something simple like, “Let’s get Jane on the phone to discuss this.”

Strive for equity

Another risk in a hybrid environment is that it will exacerbate your own biases about particular employees, says Davey. In other words, you’ll continue to hold your star employees in high regard and to see workers you’re adversely predisposed to in a negative light.

It may be human nature, but that doesn’t make it right.

The first step is to pay attention, says Davey. Are you inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to the employee you think is terrific?

And do you discount the needs of the employee who annoys you?

“Ask yourself, are there people on this team that I have not given a fair shake to, and what would it look like if I did?” she says. Next, make a concerted effort to do bet-

ter. Think about ways you can position all your team members for success. Make sure that you’re using objective data to evaluate their performance.

Watch for signs of burnout

It’s critical that, throughout these transitions, you pay close attention to your team members’ stress levels. Many people are irritable and exhausted — including you. But if you notice that someone is not behaving like his usual self, consider the possibility of burnout.

Davey recommends taking steps to help your employee. For instance, if team members tell you they are overwhelmed, try helping them prioritize. “They may have seven big things on their plate, but of those, only two things really matter,” she says. “Focus and connection are the antidote to burnout.”

Make it fun

It’s also worth thinking about how to bring some playfulness into the workday. Many of us miss the

laughter and levity from our prepandemic lives. Davey suggests holding an informal Zoom meeting every day around lunchtime so that people can chat freely about books they’re reading, their kids or their latest Netflix obsessions—like they would in the office lunchroom.

Your aim, adds Hill, is to make people feel connected and create a sense of community.

Take heart

Finally, don’t expect any of this to be easy. There will be bumps along the way. Be humble and patient. “It’s a new time,” says Hill.

“It requires a whole new level of being present, being agile and being able to adapt.” But look at the bright side. “This crisis is forcing you to develop skills and implement practices that will stand you in great stead for the rest of your career,” says Davey.

Rebecca Knight is a freelance journalist in Boston and a lecturer at Wesleyan University.

It’s time to rethink corporate bereavement policies V

By Mita Mallick

alentine’s Day 2017 was one of the most devastating days of my life.

Without any warning, without any sign, without any notice, my father had died. More than three years later, I recall every detail of my mother’s frantic call to tell me she couldn’t find him. I remember scrambling into the car with my husband and our then two- and four-year-old children; the long drive from New York to Massachusetts, stuck in traffic, as my daughter repeatedly vomited all over me; and then walking up the garage stairs into the house very late in the evening, praying that my father would be alive at home waiting for us. He was not.

The days that followed seemed like a nightmare we could not wake up from. While my parents’ finances were fortunately in good order, we had a long list of to-do’s: choosing a casket, arranging the cremation, selecting a burial suit for my dad, declining or accepting an autopsy, canceling dad’s cellphone and his Social Security benefits, transferring bills into my mom’s name, writing an obituary. Then

there was the task of telling family and friends, a lifetime’s worth, knowing that with every conversation we would be reexperiencing the trauma of his death.

I had my husband call my manager’s executive assistant to let my company know I would be out.

I took the paid time off I needed and felt supported by my bosses and my team. I will never forget the outpouring of support I received from my work community.

Unfortunately, I know this is not everyone’s experience.

While many organizations are rushing to rethink parental leave policies, wellness benefits and the role that remote work will play after this pandemic, bereavement policies probably haven’t been at the top of many lists. Maybe this is because many of us are uncomfortable embracing death, grief and loss in the workplace.

But this is the right time to consider bereavement leave. How can organizations better help grieving employees? Here are five things to keep in mind:

Give them more time off

According to research conducted by the Society for Human

Resource Management, 88 percent of businesses offer paid bereavement leave. However, these mourning periods typically extend from only three days to the more generous five. There are no federal laws requiring employers to provide workers with paid or unpaid time off following the death of a loved one. In fact, Oregon is the only state that requires employers to offer bereavement leave, thanks to legislation passed in 2014.

Given all the tasks associated with arranging a funeral, sorting out finances and mourning one’s loss, a few days off from the demands of our jobs don’t cut it. Organizations need to step up and give employees more support.

Facebook set the bar in 2017 when it doubled its bereavement leave to 20 paid days following the loss of an immediate family member and up to 10 for an extended family member. It seems likely that the decision was informed by the experience of Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s chief operating officer, who lost her husband in 2015 and subsequently wrote a book, “Option B,” about the experience of coming to terms with her loss.

Remember, too, that bereavement, or grief, tends to come in several stages. So people might want to take time off intermittently, maybe 10 days now and 10 days later for a belated memorial service or trip, or to celebrate a date important to the person they have lost.

Expand the definition of family

Many bereavement leave policies distinguish between immediate and extended family members. The best ones are flexible and cover the loss of any loved one, including a partner, child, parent, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends and neighbors.

Miscarriage should also be included. Some companies, like Uber and Reddit, have taken this step.

According to the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 29 percent of women experience post-traumatic stress disorder, 24 percent experience anxiety, and 11 percent experience moderate to severe depression after a miscarriage. Bereavement leave is an opportunity for organizations to support people through all types of loss.

Don’t ask for proof

Do not ask to see a death certifi-

cate, obituary or letter from a funeral home or hospital. This is uncomfortable and unnecessary, and it assumes bad intent on the part of someone asking for leave. Chances that someone would lie about the death of a loved one to abuse a company’s bereavement leave policy are very small. Don’t use this as a moment to create mistrust and conflict with your employees. Believe employees when they say they are grieving, and give them the space and time they need.

Offer grief counseling

Many organizations already provide some type of mental health support to their employees, and this is the right time to remind people what options are available to them. Employee assistance programs are designed to help people through issues that might affect their performance at work and ultimately their well-being, and most of them include some form of assessment and counseling. Some organizations also provide subsidies for grief counselors that employees may choose on their own. If your company isn’t offering these benefits, encourage human resources to consider it.

Take the individual’s lead

When I came back to work after my dad died, I wanted to throw myself into existing projects and new initiatives. I needed to feel useful and find the new normal, to learn what life after Dad would look like. Other people might need less work, a slower pace or different tasks, even after they’ve returned from leave. Don’t make decisions for those grieving. If they want to take on more work, give it to them. If they don’t want to take their full bereavement time off, don’t insist that they do. If they want to talk about the loss, listen.

If they don’t, respect their wishes.

And if they need time to recover, support them.

These are the moments that matter in a workplace. Six months into a pandemic that has killed more than a million people worldwide, organizations must rethink bereavement leave and grief support. How we show up for our employees during the most painful and traumatic periods of their lives is something they will never forget.

Mita Mallick is the head of diversity and inclusion and cross-cultural marketing at Unilever.

B6 Monday, October 12, 2020

DICT’s career roadshow highlights the BPO industry giving opportunities, hope to Filipinos

T

HE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)’s online career roadshow highlights the job opportunities available in the contact center industry. The roadshow, held through ICT Industry Development Bureau and in partnership with the IT & Business Process Association Philippines (IBPAP) and National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP), is part of an ongoing Webinar Series on various ICT-related topics scheduled to air until December 2020.

Sitel PH-ANZ Chief People Officer, Haidee Enriquez and Sitel Associate Omar Tolentino joined the recently concluded session entitled, “Career Opportunities in the Contact Center Sector. It was held in partnership with the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) and aimed to showcase the wide variety of career opportunities available in the dynamic and constantly evolving BPO sector.

“Despite the challenges brought on by the global pandemic, the BPO industry continues to provide opportunities and hope to Filipino workers,” shared Enriquez. “These job opportunities are available to everyone.

There is no discrimination in contact center hiring. It’s all about competencies and honing these competencies over time. If you exhibit passion in your work and a dedication to continuously learn and improve, you’ll have endless chances for growth within the company.”

Enriquez expounded on the Sitel associate journey highlighting the main skills integral to landing the job including technical proficiency, personal

BLANKET DONATION TO FIRE VICTIM. Sen. Cynthia A. Villar donated blanket to more than 60 families who were rendered homeless following a fire in Brgy. Tuktukan, Taguig. The fire victims earlier sought help from the senator who has been known for providing assistance to victims of fire and other calamities.

A Quintessential dreamer becomes Asia’s Writerpreneur

A

AT the virtual IT-BPM Industry Career Roadshow, top row, from left: Jomari Mercardo, Consultant – Sales Marketing and Customer Relations and Executive Coach; Jojo Uligan, President, Contact Center Association of the Philippines, (second row:) Haidee Enriquez, Chief People Officer, Sitel Ph-ANZ; Omar Tolentino, CXpert/Associate, Sitel Philippines

aptitudes like communication skills and critical thinking, and social skills such as adaptability and being customer-oriented.

She encouraged aspiring contact center professionals to apply even if they are worried about not passing the recruitment process as candidates who may not make it the first time can join BPO training programs. The free skills development program, Sitel Academy, offers training for near-hires, far-hires, students, and differently abled individuals. The program is available online and in partnership with various academic institutions.

Tolentino shared his career journey.

“Working at Sitel has helped me grow as a person,” said Tolentino. “I began working

with Sitel in 2015 and in my time with the company I have been given ample opportunities to expand my skills, learn new things and even help the communities where we operate. My hard work and commitment even got me recognized as a CXpert and gave me opportunities to collaborate with our company’s managers and vice presidents.”

Tolentino’s story is one of many inspiring success stories in the Philippines and the industry is still seeking new contact center professionals. Despite these challenging times, BPOs have remained resilient as they quickly pivoted to respond to the pandemic and help drive the country’s economic recovery.

writerpreneur, a portmanteau of the words — writer and entrepreneur, is more than just a writer who makes money online through writing. A writerpreneur is a writer who has a mind of a businessperson.

Jonah Chipeco, the Chief Trainer and Founder of Writing Hacks Academy, is an epitome of this word. Hence, in the Philippine freelancing world, she is known as Asia’s Writerpreneur.

Jonah uses her creative gifts to form income-generating opportunities as an entrepreneur. She utilizes the power of writing as her foundation in solving her clients' and students' problems. Her writing skills are the building blocks of her business. As a Writerpreneur, she combined her passion for writing and entrepreneurship to produce and deliver information products that clients can study, use, or sell.

Jonah helps her clients and students promote their brand by teaching writing.

She believes that content drives today's digital age. She emphasizes that writing and content marketing are the keys to promote one's business and services online. Jonah

Zonta Club of Makati and Environs recognizes Security Bank’s commitment to women empowerment

D

URING a virtual event, Security Bank Corporation received the centennial community award from the Zonta Club of Makati and Environs which recognized the bank’s commitment and support for the club’s projects namely the Bravo Awards and the FilipinaZ Fair.

The award is given to individuals, businesses, organizations, or agencies in the Zonta Club community with a proven track record of empowering women.

In a move to actively promote women empowerment, the majority of Security Bank employees are women, with many holding key management positions.

TOP row: 2019 Bravo judges led by Justice Conchita Carpio - Morales (center) with Bravo Awards committee members from Zonta Club of Makati & Environs and Security Bank. Bottom row: 2019 Bravo winners, from L-R: Margarita Ochoa, Dr. Rosario Oreta-Lapus, Waya Araos-Wijanco, Mona Magno Veluz, Lourdes Reyes-Montinola, Ma. Rhodora Fresnedi, Bae Arlyne Salazar, Magnolia Yrasuegui, and Rachel Marjorie Renucci-Tan

Many of its clients and business partners are female business owners and decision-makers.

“Women Empowerment has always been important to Security Bank as an organization. We make it a point to give back and support women and communities. After all, BetterBanking is also about creating better opportunities for all, and this includes women,” said Ceres Joyce De Jesus, SAVP, Head of Brand and Communications of Security Bank in her acceptance speech.

Since its founding over 69 years ago, Security Bank’s mission has been to enrich lives, empower businesses, and build communities. It has been a partner of the Zonta Club for several years and has supported many of their projects. The Bravo Awards is a principal advocacy project honoring women in various fields of endeavor, while FilipinaZ Fair is an annual fundraising bazaar showcasing products made by women entrepreneurs.

To learn more about Security Bank’s various advocacies in Education, Healthcare and the Arts, you may visit Securitybank.com

High Breed Lifestyle Clothing: functional fashion

I

N the middle of the ongoing pandemic, only the strong can rise to go against the norm. While a lot of companies have been forced to stand down and close shop, High Breed chose to rise to the challenge and so High Breed Lifestyle Clothing was born.

Keeping comfort in mind and the penchant of Filipinos for wearing hoodies at the slightest sign of rain or cold, High Breed Lifestyle Clothing delivers what Filipinos look for in a piece of clothing: fashion, function, and comfort.

Ian Pantig, the owner of High Breed Lifestyle clothing, wanted something that Filipinos can wear all year round. He also made sure that each piece is affordable but durable, meaning these shirts can last for along time. He recognizes that times are hard and want to make sure that people are buying something

that is worth their hard earned money.

All the shirts have basic designs on them which makes them wearable anywhere. The shirts come in basic black and white. They are very comfortable and even when you sweat through the shirt, it doesn't feel uncomfortable.

The hoodies, on the other hand, comes in S-XL which makes it perfect for almost everyone. It's made of quality clothing, perfect for those chilly nights or when rainy season sets in. This will definitely keep you feeling warm.

High Breed is now open to accept orders here and they ship nationwide. You can also check their Facebook page here.

Website: https://highbreedph.com/; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/highbreedclothingph/

JONAH Chipeco

is the go-to person of the Filipinos who wants to begin with their writing journey.

She empowers coaches, consultants, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and working professionals, unleash the potential of writing to elevate their authority in their chosen industry and attract clients.

Jonah’s story as an entrepreneur began in 2011. She did multiple sideincome projects in freelance writing, event organizing, and selling branded bags on top of her day job as a marketing manager.

A life-changing accident in 2015 made her acknowledged her dream of becoming a resource speaker. She desired to coach people and write books.

In 2016, she crafted her path to achieving her dream of becoming a global speaker after recovering from the accident by starting as a freelance writer and trainer in the Philippines. Jonah eventually founded Writing Hacks Academy — an online school where she launched her workshops, ebooks, and online courses to help entrepreneurs and freelancers use their writing skills in realizing their personal and business goals.

Since then, Jonah delivered more than 70+ public seminars in partnership with credible training institutions in the Philippines. She became a thought leader featured by media organizations such as Inc. Southeast Asia, Marketing in Asia, WheninManila.com, Eagle News Philippines, and DWBL 1242 AM. Indeed, Jonah Chipeco proves that you can be who you want to become in today's digital age. Being transparent and honest about what you want in life while taking action is worth it. Your passion can be your profession once you exert efforts to look at how you can serve through your skills.

Smile Train Philippines celebrates World Smile Day

W

ORLD Smile Day, a day devoted to smiles and acts of kindness, is celebrated all over the world every 2nd day of October. Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft organization, through its local entity, Smile Train Philippines, hosted an online event to raise awareness for children with clefts. Together with Smile Train ambassadors Marian Rivera, Catriona Gray, and Megan Young, the charity launched #540Today to convey and champion the 540 babies around the world who are born with a cleft every day.

The crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions all over the world, including children born with a cleft lip and/or palate. With the global lockdown pushing for cities to establish stringent rules and regulations, thousands of babies are left untreated. It is estimated that COVID-19 has forced Smile Train partners to put more than 33,000 cleft surgeries on hold this year.

“Despite the pandemic, Smile Train is keen on celebrating all of the people who have contributed to their work and help change the lives of babies born with untreated clefts in the Philippines,” said Smile Train South East Asia Director Kimmy Flaviano. “We’ve adapted various avenues and utilized technology to reach more patients and communities in the Philippines.”

The event, hosted Live on the Smile Train Philippines Facebook page at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, brought more smiles into the homes of the Filipinos. More Smile Train ambassadors such as Tim Yap, Barbie Forteza, and Paul Marney Leobrera took part in the festivities to encourage people to raise awareness for #540Today. They all shared their experiences working with Smile Train and raise awareness for access to proper medical care and financial assistance needed by children born with cleft lip and/ or palate.

Smile Train’s Team Empower will also took part in the celebration by inviting

everyone to Ride for Smile Train Home Edition. Ride for Smile Train Home Edition is a virtual experience that utilized two fitness platforms, Strava and Zwift, to challenge, engage, and grow the community of Smile Makers. Moreover, Smile Train long-standing fitness partners, Beyond Yoga and Electric Studio, offered classes to help promote the cause. Beyond Yoga hosted a free yoga class on Facebook while Electric Studio offered their Ride, Box, HIIT, Strength, and Flow classes for the benefit of Smile Train Philippines.

“Smile Train has always been and will continue to remain steadfast in advocating for children with cleft and to providing free surgery and comprehensive cleft care to them. With the help of all our partners, we can truly make a difference to create more smiles,” shared Flaviano.

For more information about Smile Train’s global efforts and to donate, visit smiletrain.org. To learn more about Smile Train’s local programs in the Philippines, visit smiletrain.ph.

Marketing BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, October 12, 2020 B7

The coronavirus chronicles: Is this a good time to start your own business?

A

By Millie F. Dizon

www.pexels.com | by Ketut Subiyanto

PR Matters

MID all the economic difficulties, as well as the growing anxieties brought about by the effects of the pandemic, there could be a spark of hope, a silver lining ahead of us.

Looking back in history, Geoffrey James recalls in an Inc.com article “5 Reasons Now Is the Best Time to Start Your Own Business” that Fortune 500 companies like GE, General Motors, IBM, Disney, HP, Hyatt, Trader Joe’s, FedEx, and Microsoft had their beginnings during hard times. “A lousy economy didn’t stop their founders,” he says.

Closer to home, SM Founder Henry Sy Sr. started his company by selling shoes after World War II. He then established a shoe store, which grew into a department store, evolved into a chain of retail stores, shopping malls, and eventually into the dynamic conglomerate it is today.

He encountered many challenges along the way, but with vision, hard work, and optimism opened his first shopping mall in 1985 amid the political and economic crisis the country was undergoing, and prudently grew his company, unfazed by global events like the Asian crisis.

It is said that in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity. This is perhaps why James believes that this is the best time to start a small business. He cites five reasons:

1. There are unmet needs everywhere

James recalls that a famous entrepreneur once told him that, “every time you hear a person swearing when using a product or service, it’s an opportunity to sell them something better.”

Or, he wittily puts in another way, “misery loves companies.” James notes that “while there are some products (like smartphones) that satisfy needs that people didn’t know they had, most successful products fulfill needs of which people are potentially aware.”

With plenty of pain—and complaints—out there right now, there are also “endless opportunities to create sustainable businesses that help people cope with this perfect storm of disruptions.”

2. There’s a huge pool of available talent

When businesses and industries collapse,

n Travel: Cebu Pacific rolls out self-bag tagging process; enhances contactless procedures for travelers

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—With everyJuan’s safety in mind, the Philippines’s leading carrier, Cebu Pacific (PSE: CEB), enhances its existing contactless flight guidelines to further minimize physical interactions between passengers and staff.

In line with the airline’s commitment to provide a safe and seamless passenger journey, CEB deploys 21 self-bag tag kiosks at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. These machines allow passengers to print bag tags and attach them to their luggage, before proceeding to the bag drop counters.

Having this additional step under contactless flights not only lessens point of contact, but even makes queue time for passengers shorter.

“Safety remains our topmost priority. As we gradually see more destinations opening up for travel, we continue to improve our processes to ensure a safe and convenient travel journey for our passengers,” said Candice Iyog, CEB VP for Marketing & Customer Experience.

Online check-in is also mandatory to go hand-in-hand with this enhancement. Guests may easily check-in via the CEB web site or mobile app seven (7) days up to one (1) hour before the scheduled time of departure.

These guidelines have been implemented with everyJuan’s convenience in mind, as process will be made faster and safer. Passengers may simply scan boarding passes they generated online to activate the self-service check-in kiosks; follow directions shown on the screen, until ready to print bag tags.

Passengers will then have to attach these on their own, before depositing their bags at the designated counters.

“This multi-layer approach to safety

unemployment grows. This means millions of valued, experienced, hard-working employees are in the market for a new job.

Under these circumstances, “creating a business that hires people is a good deed on its own merits. And with so much talent to choose from, you should be able to assemble a team that can take on any challenge.”

3.Marketing has never been cheaper

As businesses encounter difficulties or eventually close shop, they naturally lessen or stop advertising. Inevitably, this means that ad rates may go down.

This, James says, means that “it won’t cost your start-up all that much to achieve local, national, or even international visibility.”

should result in our passengers’ regaining confidence in air travel, so #EveryJuanWillFlyAgain,” added Iyog.

CEB has intensified safety protocols across its operations through stringent onground and in-flight preventive measures, in accordance with global safety standards.

All CEB aircraft undergo extensive daily disinfection before, during, and after every flight. Airbus jets are equipped with HighEfficiency Particular Arrestor (HEPA) filters that keep contaminants, including the novel coronavirus, at bay with 99.9 percent efficiency.

For more information on CEB’s contactless flights, safety protocols, and other travel requirements, passengers are encouraged to visit: https://bit.ly/CEBFlightReminders

n Brand & Business: BBH Singapore welcomes back employees with a giant virtual office pet

SINGAPORE—This week the staff of BBH Singapore were in for a big surprise as they entered the office after seven months of lockdown. Greeting them at the agency’s Magazine Road office entrance was a giant virtual pet sheep.

Following the easing of lockdown, the Singapore government has announced that more people will be allowed in offices from this month.

Christened Dotty, the virtual sheep is modelled after BBH’s famed Black Sheep logo and is the brainchild of the creative technology team at the agency.

In most respects, Dotty behaves like a real pet and needs to be fed when hungry, entertained when bored and cleaned up when it makes a mess. When treated right.

Dotty is also able to extend birthday greetings, greet clients, give lunch recommendations and even take a selfie with office friends.

The sheep also has its own e-mail address, so should anyone ignore it, it can resort to sending passive-aggressive reminders.

To give Dotty a tactile effect and closer to the look and feel of modern virtual pets, the team used Flip-dot display, an electromechanical dot matrix display technology commonly used for large outdoor signs and airports. Depth sensors have also been used

to detect user proximity to trigger a response from Dotty.

Virtual pets became a part of pop culture in the mid-1990s when a Japanese toy maker created a handheld digital pet that inspired a generation to care for inanimate objects.

The craze for these pets has seen a sudden resurgence in the last few years.

Past studies on the effects of pets in the workplace have shown a decrease in stress.

That is the reason why creating a pet which the agency has to take care of as a collective was seen as something that could inject a sense of shared responsibility or even fun distraction.

John Hadfield, CEO, BBH Singapore, said: “How do you have all the benefits of an office pet with none of the downside? You can tell our creative tech team had a bit of fun with this one. And it’s even compatible with our new working pattern.”

Xander Lee, creative director, BBH Singapore added: “When we were given the brief to create something for our office entrance we were sure that we wanted to make it interactive and fun as opposed to just another mural with our mantra on the wall. That was the starting point for Dotty. We are hoping that Dotty will constantly keep us on our toes and remind us of the importance of keeping our “Black sheep” spirit alive.”

n Events: Chris Gardner, the inspiration behind “Pursuit Of Happyness,” to close Sun Life’s virtual conference

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Internationally renowned speaker Chris Gardner, whose story was the inspiration for the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, will close Sun Life Philippines’s series of webinars dubbed SUN Talks Virtual Conference on October 17, 2020.

A homeless man who rose above adversities and became a billionaire, Gardner has made it his mission to remind everyone that, “If I can do this, then you can do that.” This makes him a fitting speaker for SUN Talks, which banners the theme “Rise Together: Paving the Way to a Bright New World.” The event has four tracks, with each one featuring a remarkable lineup of speakers.

The Money for Life Track, which aims to

4.Potential competitors are in disarray

While James says some large companies like Amazon or Zoom lucked out because they provided a product or service that exactly matched a major need resulting from the pandemic, others have not been so lucky.

This means that “you can start a company even in a market that has dominant players without worrying about them squishing you like a bug because, frankly, they’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

5.The post-Covid recovery is inevitable

As awful as things are today, “there will inevitably come a time when the pandemic and resulting depression will be over.”

James believes that it is then that “com-

help one have funds for every life stage, will feature Property Guru Carl Dy, Sun Life Asset Management Channel Manager Queenie Rose Ornedo, and Sun Life Philippines Digital Partnerships and Fintech Solutions Head Ton Patron.

The GoWell for Health Track, which targets to empower one in pursuing his health and wellness goals, will have on its virtual stage Fitness Coach Chappy Callanta, Personal Development and Well-being Coach Avril Rodriguez, and Nurture Wellness Village Founder Cathy Turvill.

The Partner for Business Track, which will address the specific needs of entrepreneurs, will be graced by Messy Bessy CEO Krie Lopez, Leechiu Property Consultants CEO David Leechiu, and VCargo Worldwide CEO Paulo Tibig.

Finally, the Partner for Overseas Filipino Track, which was created to help overseas Filipinos come home for good, will have at its helm Life and Personal Finance Advocate Randell Tiongson, Qatar-based OFW couple and Financial Literacy Advocates Engr.

Bernard and Rhea Anduyon, and Seafarer and Certified Investment Solicitor Engr. Arjay Magpantay.

Those who wish to join the SUN Talks Virtual Conference simply need to register via bit.ly/suntalksvcon.

The previous runs of the Sun Talks Virtual Conference enjoyed a high attendance rate, with attendees reaching 4,200 in June and 4,300 in August. Those who wish to view previous SUN Talks events may visit bit.ly/ suntalksonline.

Updates on the Sun Talks Virtual Conference and other events will also be shared on Sun Life’s official Facebook page at www. facebook.com/SunLifePH.

n Brand & Business: Avon Femme-Powerment Fashion Show Gives Support to Women of All Shapes and Sizes

MANILA, PHILIPPINES– Avon Intimate Apparel had a great afternoon filled with celebration with the Avon Femme-Powerment Fashion Show last September 26. Prior to the event, Avon conducted a casting call for real women with real bodies. After a fun search, 50 models

panies that will have adapted to thrive in these troubled times will be perfectly positioned to take off when the nightmare is over.”

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdombased International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.

We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

were handpicked to walk the very special runway.

The Avon Femme-Powerment Fashion Show was the culminating event for the brand’s campaign, Shaped For More. The campaign aimed to encourage women to #JoinTheBoobment and empower them to love the breasts they’re blessed with, no matter what shape or size they may be.

Avon believes that nothing is in their way toward achieving their purpose, all they need is the right support. Wave 89.1 DJ Debbie Then served as the host, and joining the fashion show were content creator, model and entrepreneur Chelsea Robato, TV and sports reporter Roxanne Montealegre, and TV and events host Patricia Reyes.

Roxanne shares during the Q&A session with Debbie, “Ask yourself, “what goes into my mind when I look in the mirror, naked?”

Is it positive, accepting, and affirming? If it is, confidence will easily follow. You only have one pair of breasts; be proud of it! Dress it, flaunt it however you want.

Take care of it and give it the right support. “ The models proudly and happily walked the runway with the help of Julie Ann San Jose’s femme-powering tunes. The top Filipina artist sang a set featuring songs about loving yourself and being unapologetic about it.

Julie Ann also starred alongside the models in special performance videos, proving her support to this wonderful cause. To keep the viewers’ going, Avon also held a mini contest throughout the show and gave prizes to lucky viewers.

Avon’s online fashion show wouldn’t have been complete without some words by the brand’s Marketing Director, Anna Garces. “In this time when you feel the least, we believe you are shaped for more. Whether your breasts are large, round, small, flat, saggy, or perky—nothing will ever stop you from achieving greatness. Those are life-giving pairs, a testament to your unique beauty, a reflection of the journey you’ve triumphed and the milestones ahead; they’re no way your labels and boundaries.”

She ended by calling on more people to join the boobment and to let more women know that they are shaped for more.

Follow Avon Philippines’s official pages on Facebook and Instagram, and visit avon.ph.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Monday, October 12, 2020

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

SWIATEK, 19, CHAMP

IGA SWIATEK is the first player from Poland to win a Grand Slam. AP

P

ARIS— Minutes after suddenly becoming a Grand Slam champion at age 19, while ranked just 54th, Iga Swiatek held a microphone during the French Open trophy presentation and was hesitant for pretty much the only time over the past two weeks.

“First of all, I’m not very good at speeches,” Swiatek began, haltingly, “so, sorry, because I won my last tournament like two years ago, and I really don’t know who to thank.”

When she’s got a racket in her hand, it’s a whole different story. With the poise of a veteran and the shots of a champion, Swiatek wrapped up a dominating run at Roland Garros, grabbing the last six games to beat Sofia Kenin, 6-4, 6-1, in Saturday’s final.

“Two years ago, I won a junior Grand Slam, and right now I’m here. It feels like such a short time,” Swiatek said, her voice cracking. “I’m just overwhelmed.”

Swiatek (pronounced shvee-ON’-tek) is the first Polish tennis player to win a major singles trophy and said, “I know it’s pretty crazy back home”—where one newspaper’s front page was splashed with the headline “Poland Garros” ahead of the final.

When she smacked one last heavy-topspin forehand winner to claim her first tour-level title of any sort, Swiatek placed her right hand over her mouth and crouched, shaking her head.

Hard to believe?

Maybe. This was, after all, only her seventh major tournament; she’d never been past the fourth round.

“It’s, like, a life-changing experience,” Swiatek said. “Yeah, I just feel like I kind of made history.”

The way she played these two week with those great groundstrokes, the occasional drop shot, terrific returning and impressive court coverage—made this outcome less of a surprise.

Kenin said Swiatek’s “spinny forehand up the line” bounces high enough to make things difficult for opponents.

Swiatek lost 28 games across seven matches and is the first woman to triumph in Paris without ceding a set since Justine Henin in 2007.

She’s the first teen to win the women’s title there since Iva Majoli in 1997.

“She’s, like, really hot right now,” said Kenin, who was hampered by an injury to her upper left leg, an issue that first cropped up during a practice session last weekend.

Swiatek beat both 2018 champion Simona Halep and

2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova, 6-1, 6-2.

So it made sense that Swiatek would handle the fourth-seeded Kenin, even if the 21-yearold from Florida won the Australian Open in February and entered Saturday 16-1 in Grand Slam play this year.

She had yet to face the composed Swiatek, who only recently completed her high school studies and listens to “Welcome to the Jungle”

by Guns N’ Roses through her black headphones before walking on court.

Swiatek travels with a sports psychologist and meditates during changeovers, breathing slowly with her eyes closed. That helped her deal with the stage and the stakes.

“Everybody is stressed when they’re playing Grand Slam finals. I just knew that Sofia may also be stressed, that she’s not a machine. I was aware that we can both, like, struggle, and we’re probably not going to play our best tennis, because it’s hard with so much pressure,” Swiatek said. “But I just did everything I’ve done in the previous rounds. I focused on technique and tactics. I tried to get rid of expectations, you know—just play one ball after another.” AP

Blackwater takes on tough NorthPort five

B

LACKWATER is aware that Northport is going to be a difficult first assignment in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup’s second playing day inside the bubble at the Angeles University Foundation.

Raoul Cesar “Nash” Racela, who was appointed Elite head coach in lieu of interim Coach Aries Dimaunahan, considered their 6:45 p.m. game against the Batang Pier a tough one.

“A tough team with [Christian] Standhardinger and [Sean] Anthony, both players battled it out for the Best Player of the Conference last year—then they also have Kelly Nabong. So it would be a tough matchup for us,” Racela told BusinessMirror on Sunday.

But Racela said he tinkered with his play book in the hope of putting the cuffs on the two explosing Batang Pier. “[But] we will give ourselves a chance tomorrow [Monday],” said Racela, who will be missing Carl Bryan Cruz (knee) and James Sena (knee) due to injuries. Both players are not in the bubble along with rookie playmaker Chris Bitoon.

“We have a lot of guards so we decided

not to include him [Bitoon] in the 15-man lineup,” Racela said.

For NorthPort’s Alfredo “Pido” Jarencio, the Batang Pier are prepared mentally for their first game of the postponed season.

“We prepared but we don’t know how our opponent will play. We will adjust one game at a time. We will check the situation and the flow of the game,” Jarencio said. “We’re ready mentally, but we don’t know how our bodies react in the game.”

Meralco tangles with Phoenix Super LPG in the 4 p.m. first game.

The Fuel Masters are hoping to see the return of Calvin Abueva, who hasn’t played for 17 months since the PBA indefinitely suspended him last season. Josef Ramos

Smart 5G powers PBA Clark bubble

S

MART Communications Inc. achieved another milestone in mobile technology and innovations as it brought the country’s first 5G-powered sports broadcast of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) AllFilipino Cup on Sunday in Clark in Pampanga.

With its fiber-like speeds on mobile devices, Smart 5G made it so much simpler and more efficient to capture and broadcast all the hardcourt action. As a result, fans could watch more angles and content on their favorite teams and players.

Smart 5G would also power ball-tracking cameras and enable heat-sensing cameras to constantly monitor the health and safety of all the members of the 12-team league and the working teams behind the PBA. Media and bloggers covering the games inside the bubble could reach more audience powered by Smart 5G. “Both technology and basketball are in the DNA of Smart. In this unprecedented PBA league, we are bringing these two together with the

STAGE WINNER

British rider Alex Dowsett claims Stage 8 honors, his first Giro d’Italia victory in seven years, on Saturday, as João Almeida holds onto the pink jersey symbolic of the overall leader. AP

country’s first ever 5G-powered sports broadcast, paving the way for new exciting experiences for organizers, players, and fans of the sport,” PLDTSmart Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“This reset is huge for Filipino basketball fans all over the country who have been missing the sport since we had that opening and ‘last’ game in March. Our support for PBA is in line with our thrust to bring Filipinos closer to their passions powered by mobile innovations made simple by Smart,” said Al S. Panlilio, PLDT chief revenue officer and Smart president and CEO. “The PBA board worked hard for the league to restart and I thank all teams for the support.

All these for the fans,” PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said. “It’s an honor for the league to be the first to experience 5G-powered sports broadcast in the country.”

Smart recently became the first mobile services provider in the country to roll out Smart 5G sites in key locations nationwide as it gears up to turn the Philippines into a “Smart 5G country.”

G

REG SLAUGHTER admitted a declining all-around performance forced him to skip the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) 45th season that got under way on Sunday with the Philippine Cup at the Clark bubble.

And as important, the 7-foot Slaughter declared he only plans to play for two teams in his cateer—Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the national team.

“Ginebra has my rights in the Philippines. The only other team that I am interested in the Philippines than Ginebra is the national team,” Slaughter told BusinessMirror on Sunday from his home in Mandaluyong.

Slaughter quietly returned home two weeks ago from the US, where he soul-searched and entered the DME Sports Academy of world-renowned scout Gary Boyson in Daytona Beach, Florida.

THE Lakers’ Anthony Davis shoots between the Heat’s Jimmy Butler (left) and Andre Iguodala in Game Five. AP

HEAT UNDETERRED ENTERING GAME 6

L

AKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—The Lakers’ Anthony Davis and Miami’s Jae Crowder both ended up on the floor midway through the third quarter of Game Five of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. As Davis scrambled to get back to his feet, his right elbow swung out toward Crowder’s face.

Crowder wasn’t fazed.

The moment epitomized how Friday went: The Los Angeles Lakers, even when they got within a few seconds of winning a championship, couldn’t knock out the Miami Heat. LeBron James was brilliant for the Lakers with 40 points, Jimmy Butler was as brilliant if not more so for the Heat with a 35-point triple double, and Miami survived to send the title series to Game Six on Sunday.

“We ain’t backing down,” Butler said. “We ain’t shying away.”

Everything still favors the Lakers. They lead the series, 3-2. James hasn’t been part of losing two potential close-out games in the same series since 2006, his first postseason year. The Heat still don’t have starting point guard Goran Dragic because of a foot injury, a torn left plantar fascia.

They are most undeterred.

“Everybody counted us out since the beginning of the playoffs,” Heat rookie guard Tyler Herro said. “We don’t really care what people have to say.”

Miami kept finding ways in Game Five to keep the series—and its season—alive, then caught a break in the final seconds when the

Lakers’ Danny Green missed a wide-open 3 that could have delivered the NBA title and Markieff Morris threw the ball away after the offensive rebound.

The Heat have talked since the NBA Finals started about a need to play almost perfect basketball against the Lakers. And now James, who has spoken with great respect for his former franchise throughout the series, indicated that the Lakers might be feeling a similar way.

“One thing about this team that we are playing, they make you pay for every mistake,” James said after Game Five. “It’s the same as when I was playing against Golden State all those years, you make a mistake, they make you pay. So, we have to understand that.”

James is about to set the record for NBA playoff game appearances. He’s already the leading scorer in playoff history. Has the most wins. The most steals. Most shot attempts.

Most free throws taken.

Here’s a record he didn’t want.

For as great as he is, James still needs help.

Nobody has had more 40-point NBA Finals games in a loss than he has—the recordsetting fifth entry on that list coming Friday in Miami’s 111-108 win. In fact, James’ last three 40-point finals efforts, two against the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and now the one against Miami in Game Five, all ended up as losses.

“He steps up in big moments,” Lakers guard Alex Caruso said. “It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t make one more play for him either

Slaughter: Expect a different ‘Gregzilla’ Fortunately, Slaughter would miss only the all-Filipino conference this year because the PBA shortened the season because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I wasn’t satisfied with my level of play so I had to take a step back and realize that I wasn’t getting better. I felt I was actually declining,” said Slaughter, noting he needs a lot of time to hone his skills with the help of one of the world’s best trainers, Boyson.

“I needed time to work on myself individually and I’m very happy with my decision because I learned things from some of the best basketball minds in the world in my journey,” he said.

The 32-year-old former Ateneo big man bagged the Best Player of the Conference award

in the 2017 Governors’ Cup averaging 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds after the semifinals.

He couldn’t sustain his dominance in the following conferences due to injuries. But Slaughter guaranteed to be a different “Gregzilla” when he returns next season.

“If ever I do return to the PBA, my mentality of doing what needs to be done to win will remain the same. Physically I’ve learned and developed better movement literacy and skills,” added Slaughter, who signed up with the world’s largest basketball agency, BeoBasket last July.

“It all depends on what situation I am put in, but my ability, conditioning and body composition are very different than my last couple years in the PBA,” he said. Josef Ramos

Saso blows bid with meltdown in final round

Y

UKA SASO came threateningly close to producing a stirring comeback but fumbled at the finish, settling for a 68 for joint 12th in the storm-hit Stanley Ladies Golf Tournament

defensively or offensively to help him out, because he was giving it his all.”

His all wasn’t enough.

The Lakers have a clear big two in James and Davis, who combined for 68 points. The Lakers had been 14-1 when they each scored 28 or more in the same game; 5-0 when they combined for at least 68 points. The Heat staved them off by playing seven players and getting balance; Butler had a 35-point triple-double to lead the way, five of the other six scored in double figures led by Duncan Robinson’s 26.

For his four years in Miami, James helped make the Heat better.

He’s doing the same now—with the Heat knowing it’ll take everything to claim this championship.

“Well, we have a goal: We’re fighting for a title,” Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s what it’s going to require and our guys have an understanding. Through the first two games of this series we realized, ‘All right, this is a different level, we’re going to have to get to a higher level.’

Our guys are extremely competitive, so this level of play that the Lakers have brought is bringing out something different.”

The Lakers had a three-point lead midway through the final quarter of Game Five and let it get away. They led by one after a basket by Davis with 21.8 seconds left and were one stop from winning the title; Davis ended up fouling Butler, a call the Lakers said shouldn’t have been made.

The NBA disagreed Saturday, saying Butler was fouled on the play. AP

won by Mone Inami via playoff in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan on Sunday.

The money race leader came out of a rest day following the cancellation of the second round due to stormy weather with a bogey to fall five shots off the pace but pulled to within one after 14 holes with a cluster of birdies and an eagle, reigniting hopes for another win after sweeping the NEC

Karuizawa and Nitori Ladies titles last August.

But she lost her touch and momentum when it mattered most, bogeying Nos. 16 and 18 to drop out of contention.

Saso wound up with a 143 for a share of 12th with six others, including last year’s winner Au-Reum Hwang, who shot a 70, four strokes behind Inami, who birdied the par-5 18th twice,

SLAUGHTER

the first to close out a with a bogey-free 67 and the other to edge Korean Seonwoon Bae, who also fired a 67, and Saki Asai, who turned in a 68, on the first playoff hole for the crown worth Y13.5 million. The three finished with 139s.

Na-Ri Lee placed fourth with a 140 after a 68 while Japan Women’s Open champ Erika Hara rallied with a 66 to tie for fifth at 142 with Mamiko Higa (67), Ayaka Furue (68), Player of the Year frontrunner Sakur Koiwai (70), Lala Anai (70), Miyuu Yamashita (71) and Naruha Miyata (71).

Rick Olivares bleachersbrew@gmail.com

Bleachers’ Brew

Fifteen strong BusinessMirror celebrated its 15th year of publication last October 8 and I am proud to be associated with this newspaper having written for them in the past 14 years and five months (as of this writing). That means, I have been with them from almost the beginning as a columnist, part-time reporter and occasional music writer.

I have broken a lot of stories for the paper and am really glad to be with them with their growth.

I started out writing for the Philippine Daily Inquirer while I was in third year college. I was doing feature articles about bands, trends, comic book artists, ambassadors, and well, ghost writing etiquette pieces. Then I did some sports writing for News Today before I stopped completely as my advertising work kept me so busy.

It was only during my return from the United States and I was working at Solar Sports as a marketing manager when this opportunity came by to write a weekly column for BusinessMirror.

One of the Vice Presidents, Ricky Alegre, and my editor, Jun Lomibao, met up with me to do some plugs on Solar Sports. And in our discussions, they offered me a column, as well.

Since my first column in May of 2006, I have probably missed only two columns. Sometimes, though, I would contribute two or three a week so that more than made up for it.

As a kid, my first skill—next to kicking a football, was illustration. I was one of the class artists during my early school days at the Ateneo. The only writing I liked doing was poetry, haikus, and well, the occasional song. I guess, the seeds were sown.

It was only in third year high school where it only dawned on me that I could write. By then, I stopped drawing and played more sports and spent more time playing a bass guitar and a piano.

We had an English class one time, and my teacher handed back to me my paper that was marked in red. “F” was my grade with a stern order, “please see the Prefect of Discipline.”

I was stunned. I immediately went up to her (she is the mother of Parokya ni Edgar’s Gab Chee Kee) and asked what I did wrong. She said, “You plagiarized this. A third year high-school student could not have written this.”

The funny thing is, I wrote an essay about the late American baseball player Babe Ruth 10 minutes before class. And everything I wrote was completely made up. Absolute BS, I must say.

The prefect reviewed the essay and did his research. He found everything completely false and made up. Now my teacher was in a quandary whether to give me an “A” or still fail me because everything I write about Ruth was fabricated.

I guess that sort of made me because some of my classmates would paid me to write their essays or term papers. And it was cool because it allowed me to afford to buy records, comics, and well, go out on dates.

When I think about it, I wanted to be rock star, a soldier, and a teacher. I sort of ticked off that first dream as I had my school bands. I never got to do the second although I recall, I almost enlisted in the US Army in 2003 (I was asking to be sent to Iraq—for real). And I did teach. In Brooklyn, in Ateneo for several years, and now online.”

I never knew that writing would be a career for me. I never even thought I would write books. I did want to write the X-Men and Daredevil for Marvel Comics and I did stalk their former editor-in-chief Joe Quesada outside their Park Avenue South offices in Manhattan for a few weeks.

I never thought that my writing would land me on television and on radio too; and as a byproduct, travel and experiences all these neat things such as cover football in other continents while meeting and working with people I only saw on television or read about.

In fact now I not only write about sports, but I do a lot of heavy music, food, travel, and even showbiz writing.

Perhaps, more importantly, it put my sons through school in my alma mater (where the tuition is so darn expensive) and food on the table.

And BusinessMirror also provided that platform to be seen and read. So I am extremely grateful.

Happy 15th Anniversary, BusinessMirror.

Here’s to the next.