BusinessMirror October 21, 2021

‘Palace-Senate row won’t delay budget bill’ B S P. M @sam_medenilla

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ALACAÑANG is confident chances of having a reenacted national budget next year are slim, despite the ongoing word war between President Duterte and some senators.

In a virtual media forum on Wednesday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said they expect that lawmakers themselves will push for the timely passage of the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) given the upcoming elections.

He noted the GAA will provide for the needed “resources” of many reelectionist politicians for their campaign needs next year.

“Let’s face it. They have personal stakes in that budget.

And they would have to pass it because they need the resources,” Roque said.

“And I want you to read between the lines. So the first people who want to see it [2022 GAA] passed will be the senators,” he added.

He think lawmakers are also unlikely to delay the passage of the 2022 GAA, which could result in public condemnation

since it will affect the government’s Covid-19 response.

“I don’t think Congress can take adverse public opinion if they resort to politicking as an excuse not to pass a Covidrelated budget,” Roque said.

“If they are not able to pass it on time the fault will lie [with] Congress and not [with] the President,” he added.

Last Tuesday, Duterte threatened to stall the approval of the 2022 GAA. This after some senators allegedly threatened to reduce to zero the budget of agencies of Cabinet officials who snub hearings of the Senate Blue

Ribbon Committee on the multibillion-peso purchases of medical supplies from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

“Will your money reach you if it will not go through me? What if I don’t release it? Tit for tat,” Duterte said, openly addressing the senators.

The House of Representatives earlier passed their version of the 2022 GAA, and senators are now holding budget hearings during the recess to fast-track the process.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III earlier said they are eyeing to finalize their version of the legislation by November.

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PEZA’S WFH PLEA NIXED AS BPOS EYE EXTENSION www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Thursday, October 21, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 13

P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

ADB OKS ENERGY POLICY TO GUIDE INVESTMENTS IN NEXT FIVE YEARS B C U. O @caiordinario

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PHYSICAL therapy interns listen to their instructor during a face-to-face class at the UST Medicine Building in Manila. Health allied programs started face-to-face classes on Monday, October 18, 2021. DepEd Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma said the Department of Health’s epidemiology bureau has so far assessed 638 schools for the pilot in-person classes and approved 59 after screening them, but only 30 of them will proceed because some local government units and parents changed their minds about it. NONIE REYES

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B B D. N  T J C. P

@BNicolasBM @Tyronepiad

HE Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) thumbed down the appeal by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to base the work-fromhome arrangements (WFH) on locators’ gross revenues instead of its work force.

The fiscal incentives regulator’s decision was issued as companies in the information technologybusiness process management (ITBPM) industry, many of which are regulated by the Peza, see employees spending less time working in offices.

Finance Assistant Secretary and FIRB Secretariat Head Juvy C. Danofrata said Peza’s request was not granted as this is “not consistent with the economic strategy of

the government to gradually and safely reopen the economy.”

“The members believed that the resolution issued by the FIRB regarding the WFH arrangement for the IT-BPM sector is already a reasonable one, considering that activities registered with Peza or any other economic zones should actually be conducted within their ecozones,” Danofrata said.

HE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved its 2021 Energy Policy which will guide its investments in the sector at least in the next five years.

In a presentation on Wednesday, ADB Energy Sector Group Chief Priyantha Wijayatunga said the main feature of the policy is the bank’s decision to cease financing for new coal-fired generation capacity in the region.

Wijayatunga said, however, that ADB’s last financing for coal-fired power plants was the Jamshoro Thermal Power Station in Sindh province in Pakistan. Based on ADB documents, the project is still active and has financing until June 2027.

“Our prohibition on financing new coal generation extends not just to the plants themselves but also to dedicated transmission lines, serving coal-fired generation plants as well as things like railway lines from the mine to the generation plants. So it is an integrated approach across [sectors],” ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change De-

partment Chief Sector Officer Robert Guild said during a briefing on Wednesday.

In paragraph 118 of the Energy Policy, ADB said a review will be conducted in 2025 to assess the progress in meeting the objectives of the policy.

“Human and financial resources will also be reviewed in 2025 to take stock of ADB’s development effectiveness and ability to meet the requirements of DMCs in their long-term energy transition.”

Apart from veering away from coal investments, Wijayatunga said the new Energy Policy aims to accelerate the development of sustainable and resilient energy systems that provide reliable and affordable access to energy for all.

This is part of ADB’s commitment to foster inclusive economic growth and social development as well as support the low-carbon transition in Asia and the Pacific. This, he added, will also ensure a just transition for those negatively affected by the energy transition.

“Support for natural gas and oil will depend on support for energy access, avoid carC  A

S “P’,” A

Bad weather, shipping woes dent nickel output in 2021 B J E Y. A @jearcalas

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RRATIC weather conditions and the global shipping problems, particularly the lack of vessels, may pull down the country’s nickel production this year below last year’s 27.17 million dry metric tons (DMT) level.

Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) President Dante R. Bravo explained that the mining industry has experienced a lot of rainfall this year, which he pointed out is something they never experienced before, causing operational problems to mines. Furthermore,

Bravo noted a “shortage” of vessels in the global shipping and logistics market, resulting in higher demurrage rates.

“For our own operations [Global Ferronickel] we will not be able to hit our target this year [of 100 vessels]. Our production is down by 10 percent, at most we will only hit 90 vessels,” he said in a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

“There’s also a limitation on the incoming vessels, there is a shortage of vessels and that is why the demurrage rate went up so high.

These are the two problems we are facing this year,” he added.

Given these problems, Bravo

BRAVO: “There’s also a limitation on the incoming vessels, there is a shortage of vessels and that is why the demurrage rate went up so high. These are the two problems we are facing this year.”

said he expects the industry’s overall production to be “less” than last year’s output.

“Our production is basically down. Most of the mining companies that supply nickel to China or produce nickel for export within the region share the same weather pattern, so the production will be down overall,” he said.

“Every year more or less the production is around 25 million DMT to 30 million DMT. We expect it is going to be slightly down in terms of volume,” he added.

Nonetheless, Bravo said they C  A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 50.7550 ■ JAPAN 0.4439 ■ UK 70.0165 ■ HK 6.5272 ■ CANADA 41.0672 ■ SINGAPORE 37.7501 ■ AUSTRALIA 37.9191 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.5329 ■ EU 59.0382 ■ CHINA 7.9527 Source: BSP (October 20, 2021)

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News BusinessMirror

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Bad weather, shipping woes dent nickel output in 2021 C  A

expect an increase in the value of the country’s nickel production as global prices for the metal have been increasing and currently holding strong at the $20,000 per MT average quotation.

“In terms of value, it is going to be higher than the previous years. We have seen prices growing steadily since the start of this year because of the increase in Chinese demand,” he said.

In 2020, the Philippines produced 27.17 million DMT of nickel direct shipping ore, which was 4 percent higher than the 26.212 million DMT recorded in 2019, based on government data.

In terms of value, nickel output last year was worth P38.387 billion, 21 percent higher than the P31.653 billion recorded in 2019.

For the first half, the country’s nickel output expanded by 43 percent to 12.549 million DMT from 8.779 million DMT recorded in the same period of last year. In terms of value, first half production nearly doubled to P21.419 billion from P10.793 billion recorded in the first half of 2019.

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DOTr hires China design firm as Mindanao Railway consultant

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B L S. M

@lorenzmarasigan

HE Department of Transportation (DOTr) has tapped China Railway Design Corp. (CRDC) as the project management consultant for the first phase of the Mindanao Railway.

In a livestreamed signing ceremony, transport officials highlighted the benefits of the future railway, which they claim should start partial operations by March 2022—the same month when they will also start construction.

“Based on the indicative timeline, the detailed engineering design will be from the first quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2022. Right of way acquisition and clearing by the fourth quarter of 2021, procurement stage is for the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, and the construction phase from the second quarter

of 2022 through 2023; partial operations by March 2022, and full operations by June of 2023,” Transportation Assistant Secretary for Project Implementation-Mindanao Cluster Eymard D. Eje said.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said he is “pleased” to hear that the construction phase will also coincide with the partial operations of the massive railway.

“This project will not only be started, but it will have partial operability by March 2022,” Tugade said.

The BM sought for clarification on what the DOTr

officials meant by “partial operations” as a one-month construction of at least two stations and the delivery of the needed trains might take more than a month to finish, at least when compared to historical timelines for railway construction.

Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran gave this explanation: “DOTr, in coordination with PNR, is pushing to realize partial operability of a segment within Tagum to Carmen, to be able to undertake a test run of Mindanao Rail. Designed to be interoperable with other long-haul passenger and freight lines, including PNR Bicol and Subic-Clark Railway, Mindanao Rail is able to utilize trains designed for these other lines. DOTr is working with the Chinese Embassy to expedite ODA procedures for Mindanao Rail, and is also working with Congress and the Senate to reinstate budget for Mindanao Rail for 2022.”

Under the consultancy deal, CRDC shall assist the Mindanao Railway Project Management Of-

fice (PMO) in the “preparation and management of the overall project implementation program.”

“This includes land acquisition activities, coordination with various government agencies, having authorities over or associated with the design and the works in the project, prepare and submit to the PMO cost estimates for budget approval and necessary updated and review of the detailed design for the project,” Eje explained.

According to its web site, CRDC has undertaken international projects such as Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway, Thailand Railway, China-Laos Railway, HungarySerbia Railway, and the Kenyan Mombasa-Nairobi Railway.

Once completed, the 100-kilometer Tagum-Davao-Digos Segment will link Davao del Norte, Davao City and Digos City with its eight stations.

It has a design capacity of up to 122,000 passengers and is expected to reduce travel time between Tagum to Digos from three hours to one hour and 15 minutes.

ADB OKS ENERGY POLICY TO GUIDE INVESTMENTS IN NEXT FIVE YEARS C  A

bon lock-in [in the case of gas], and strict screening criteria,” Wijayatunga added.

In a statement, ADB said the new policy is based on these principles—Securing Energy for a Prosperous and Inclusive Asia and the Pacific; Building a Sustainable

and Resilient Energy Future; and Supporting Institutions, Private Sector Participation, and Good Governance.

ADB said the principles also include Promoting Regional Cooperation and Integration and Integrated Cross-Sector Operations to Maximize Development Impact.

These principles will allow the new Energy Policy to meet the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 on achieving Universal Access by 2030.

“This new policy locks in our strong commitment that ADB will not fund new coal power production,” ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said. “Together with our elevated ambition to deliver $100 billion in climate financing to our DMCs in 2019-2030, it provides a clear path for ADB’s contribution to an environmentally sustainable energy future.”

ADB said progress on access to energy has been rapid across developing Asia and the Pacific. But roughly 350 million people in the region do not have an adequate supply and about 150 million people still have no access to electricity. Continuing economic growth and urbanization will require developing affordable and reliable energy systems with substantial additional electricity-generating capacity.

To respond, ADB said International Energy Agency scenarios suggest the region’s installed electricity-generating capacity could increase by about 7 percent per annum, from 3,386 gigawatts in 2019 to 6,113 gigawatts by 2030.

IEA added that investments in renewable energy generation in the region could reach $1.3 trillion per annum by 2030, doubling the amount from the previous decade.

Waste to Energy

ON Wednesday morning, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific recommended that the ADB delay voting on the current version of its Energy Policy. GAIA said in a statement that the current version of ADB’s Energy Policy supports Waste to Energy (WTE) incineration efforts, making the Manila-based multilateral facilitate the increase in emissions in the world.

The civil society group cited estimates that by 2050, plastic disposal will generate 56 gigatons of emissions, covering as much as 14 percent of the Earth’s entire remaining carbon budget.

“We are firm that WTE incineration should not have a place in ADB’s Energy Policy aimed at accel-

PRIYANTHA WIJAYATUNGA

erating Asia’s energy transition. Investment in WTE incinerators induces the exploitation of resources in the face of a climate emergency,” GAIA Asia Pacific said.

“We urge the Bank to delay the voting and consider [our] critical recommendations.”

These recommendations, GAIA said, include the suspension of all WTE projects in the ADB pipeline; committing to a gradual phaseout from WTE investments in the next five years; and declaring a no-go zone on WTE investments.

GAIA also recommended that the Manila-based multilateral bank align its WTE provisions with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidance on renewable energy.

“The Asia-Pacific region is home to Zero Waste solutions. Cities and communities have demonstrated that these Zero Waste strategies are more effective in reducing waste generation, improving collection and recycling rates, and creating jobs. We welcome support for these solutions,” GAIA Asia Pacific said. “We demand a path in favor of a toxic-free Covid-19 recovery towards a just and climate-resilient future.”

Based on Paragraph 71 of the R-Paper of the approved 2021 ADB Energy Policy, ADB said it will support WTE investments for heat and electricity “provided that the feedstock for combustion results from a prudent order of waste management priorities.”

ADB believes WTE investments can improve local environment and health by removing the hazards caused by “open waste dumping and open burning.”

The Manila-based multilateral development bank also committed to support projects that promote the circular economy and other “holistic” options.

These options include reducing waste generation; exploiting the options for reusing and recycling materials; using waste to recover energy or usable materials; and sanitary engineered landfilling, which will be the last option.

Peza’s...

C  A

The FIRB has approved the extension until March 31, 2022, of work-from-home arrangements for up to 90 percent of employees in the IT-BPM sector.

Business model

CELESTE ILAGAN, a member of the board of trustees of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap), said the industry is grateful for this extension as well as the original ruling.

Ilagan recalled that the “workfrom-home business model was sort of forced upon us by the pandemic.”

“And our partners in government responded quickly to our needs by allowing us to be able to take out our equipment from office and putting a policy that allows us to work 90 percent from home and 10 percent in the centers,” she added. However, Ilagan said “this may not be the right ratio” and cited the need to have “a continuation of this type of policy.”

“There should be an agreement between the industry and government as to what the best balance is,” she said. “But certainly, legislation that will sort of institutionalize the Philippines’s response to this global working trend is necessary.”

“There are existing laws that can be amended to specifically address the work-from-home vision of our industry for the long term, not just during the pandemic,” she said.

No comfort

THE Peza has appealed to the FIRB to base the threshold of WFH arrangements on the locator’s gross revenues instead of work force to help enterprises recover and lower the risks of employees getting infected with Covid-19.

The Peza maintained their proposal would allow IT-BPM enterprises to have a 100-percent WFH arrangement for their work force but only 90 percent of the revenues of the activity will be subject to incentives. The Peza law states that to avail of incentives, all activities of registered locators must be within the ecozone. The Peza, however, said IT-BPM businesses are still fretting over the FIRB resolution that 10 percent of the enterprise’s work force should be onsite.

Employees are worried amid the surge in Covid-19 cases and high hospital utilization rate, the Peza said, echoing employers’ concerns.

Tweaking laws

ILAGAN emphasized it is crucial for the IT-BPM sector to continue working remote even after the pandemic.

She pointed to certain laws that can be tweaked to meet this need.

Ilagan said that a portion of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (Republic Act 11534) can be amended to allow them to “liberally work from home” while enjoying the incentives as exporters.

“Another law that can probably [be tweaked to] help the industry is the Telecommuting Act [RA 11165],” said Ilagan, who is also senior vicepresident of SPi Global Holdings Inc. “The pandemic proved that it [work-from-home arrangement] can be implemented well and safeguards can be put into data privacy and all previous concerns by clients,” she added.

Positively-cautious

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

In terms of employment, the ITBPM industry projects an 8-percent growth with 1.43 million workers by the end of the year. Revenues, meanwhile, are expected to rise by 8 percent to $28.8 billion in 2021.

“With this optimistic forecast, we still need to keep in mind that the sector still needs to navigate the future through certain key strategic initiatives, strategic imperatives, including navigating digitization, the needs for talent up-skilling, the need for the right policy frameworks to support us amidst what is all happening,” he said. The employment in the industry grew by 1.8 percent to 1.32 million while revenues rose by 1.4 percent to $26.7 billion last year.

Meanwhile, Hernandez said they are currently working on the new IT-BPM road map as the current one being followed is set to expire next year. He said the new road map will be introduced by early next year.

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, October 21, 2021 A3

PNP chief: Let’s not set aside our ‘triumphs’ in war vs drugs

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) welcomed on Wednesday the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release the summaries of the 52 cases that it reviewed in connection with deaths related to the government’s aggressive campaign against illegal drugs.

PNP chief General Guillermo Eleazar said the decision of the DOJ under Secretary Menardo Guevarra is consistent with the PNP stand for transparency and accountability in the police organization.

“We welcome the decision of Department of Justice to release these documents to the public,” Eleazar said.

The PNP chief, however, noted both the sacrifices of policemen on the ground and the accomplishment of the campaign against illegal drugs.

Among them, he said, is the fact that the campaign against illegal

drugs resulted in the confiscation of multibillion-peso worth of illegal drugs, the neutralization of key players in the illegal drugs trade and the dismantling of shabu laboratories in the country.

Eleazar added that the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs also resulted in an unprecedented 64-percent decrease in index crimes since in the last five years.

He stressed a lot of policemen also died while performing their duties.

According to the DOJ, the summaries that will be released will include docket numbers, names of deceased

suspects, places and dates of the incidents, and the review panel’s summary of observations on the cases.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is set to conduct case buildup for the possible filing of criminal charges against erring police officers. The PNP and the NBI are set to ink a memorandum of agreement to jointly investigate drug war deaths.

Eleazar urged witnesses and relatives of the victims to cooperate in holding policemen who committed abuses accountable for their action.

He also reminded PNP personnel

to strictly and continuously adhere the Police Operational Procedures to ensure that they would not be put in trouble in the performance of their duties of maintaining peace and order in the country.

“Let this serve as a lesson to all our personnel that as police officers, we are law enforcers who are dutybound to uphold the law. Always remember that the true courage of a police officer is measured by how he keeps his integrity and moral values intact amid the temptation and the pressure to commit abuses and disregard the rule of law,” he stressed.

Ex-VP Binay urges release of HCW perks Senate leader endorses

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ORMER Vice President and senatorial aspirant Jejomar C. Binay on Monday urged the government to immediately release the long-delayed benefits for nurses and other health-care workers (HCW) provided by law.

Binay also batted for decent wages and job security for nurses as a longterm solution to the continuing departures of nurses and health workers for higher-paying jobs abroad even during the pandemic. This would make overseas employment “a personal choice rather than a necessity,” he said.

“I am certain that given wages and benefits commensurate to their skills and education, our nurses and other HWs will choose to stay home,” he added.

The former VP issued the call

after hospital administrators expressed concern over the continued resignations of nurses amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Hospitals in seven regions have also reported high occupancy rates.

Binay warned that unless immediately addressed, the shortage in nurses could turn critical in the coming months.

“In the event of another surge, its effects on our health-care system could be disastrous,” Binay said.

He added the government should immediately release the long-delayed benefits provided by Bayanihan 1 and 2 for nurses and other HCWs. Groups of health workers have complained that they have yet to receive these benefits.

Binay also expressed support for

legislative measures that would provide them additional allowances and benefits retroactively for the duration of the pandemic.

These include added hazard pay, insurance coverage, compensation should they get sick from Covid-19, and indemnification for their families in case of death as a result of Covid infection contracted from work.

“We have been providing other countries with nurses and other health workers, and now we are suffering from their absence,” he said.

Lunch break protest

HEALTH workers from Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center staged a lunch break protest on Wednesday to press senators to scrutinize and increase the 2022 Department of

Health budget and prioritize the health of the people above all.

They also demand the immediate release of their withheld and unpaid Covid-19 benefits such as the meal, accommodation and transportation allowance (MAT), special risk allowance (SRA), and active hazard duty pay (AHDP).

“Today, the Senate Committee on Finance headed by Sen. Pia Cayetano will hold its second briefing on the 2022 proposed budget of the DOH. We urge the honorable senators to scrutinize the DOH budget and prioritize the health and safety of health workers and the people,” said Cristy Donguines, president of Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center Employees Union-Alliance of Health Workers.

With Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Mayor Isko’s Palace bid

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ANILA Mayor Isko Moreno is the best candidate for the presidency because he has a clear vision for the country and the track record to back it up, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said Monday in a televised interview.

“We are offering the people in this election our brand of leadership and what program can he offer to the people,” said Recto, a stalwart of the Nacionalista Party.

As the country is still dealing with the pandemic, Recto said the top priority of the Moreno administration is health, as clearly shown by his choice of Dr. Willie Ong as his running mate.

The second, he said, would be economic recovery, with mass housing program playing an important role.

“We know that by investing in housing, at least, the multiplier effect is 17 times, so your peso will go 17 times much longer in housing. That has never been done in the Philippines in the past,” Recto noted.

“And there is a prototype in Manila to begin with. Aside from that, you may notice that Isko, even today, may bagong ospital na pinagagawa ulit sa Manila. Not to mention a few days ago, school buildings. Huge educational facilities as well, we will prioritize also under an Isko Moreno administration,” he said.

A4 Thursday, October 21, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

FDC backs ‘universal transformative social protection’ to hasten recovery

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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EPEALING the automatic appropriation law, cancelation of “illegitimate” debts, and taxing the wealthy will help most Filipinos recover from the pandemic, according to the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC).

These steps, if implemented, will create more available public resources that will allow the government to provide greater social protection needed by millions of Filipinos to cope with the pandemic.

Multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, said the pandemic is causing severe inequality in many parts of the world,

including Asian countries like the Philippines.

“Mahalagang unahin ng bayan o ng next government ang survival ng mga mamamayan through universal transformative social protection.

Ang proposal ko po social protection for all, jobs for all. Pwede naman icombine ’yun,” FDC President Rene Ofreneo said in a webinar on Tuesday.

“Ano ang ibig sabihin ng social protection for all? Walang dapat mabubuwal sa dilim tapos ’yung health, etc. nariyan. ’Yung jobs for all, tungkulin po ng gubyerno ang mag-create ng jobs.

Now’yung sa process na pag-create ng jobs, hindi naman dali-dali kaagad ’yun, pwede namang ’yung conditional cash transfer i-expand,” he added.

Ofreneo said the resources that

may be freed up by policies such as repealing the automatic appropriation law, canceling illegitimate debts, and taxing the wealthy will allow the government to provide a higher cash transfer.

He said he estimates that a universal transformative social protection would require the government to provide the 7 million jobless Filipinos with a minimum wage level of assistance while they are looking for work.

This level of assistance has a price tag of around P1.3 trillion, which, Ofreneo said, is the same budget allocated to the country’s debt service payments in 2022.

The cash transfers will not be unconditional, Ofreneo said. This will

be payment for these workers’ efforts to take part in the Covid-19 proofing and in climate change-related efforts at the local level.

Apart from the cash transfers, the government, he said, should provide workers with training as well as reskilling and retooling courses that would improve their chances in a very competitive job market.

“We don’t want na ang tao tatanggap ng pera na walang ginagawa sapagkat ang issue dito ay dignidad ng bawat isa. Now, is this sustainable in the long-run? It is because social protection for all and jobs for all are countercyclical. From this we can transform communities at doon magsisimula ang pagbangon,” Ofreneo said.

DOJ chief: No law on mandatory vaccination for job seekers yet

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra clarified on Wednesday that there is still no law that requires mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for job applicants prior to employment.

Guevarra issued the statement in response to calls of some business groups to allow them not to hire job seekers who refuse to get vaccinated against the virus.

The justice chief said people should give attention to Section 12 of the Covid-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 that could shed light on the request of some business and industry groups to allow them to restrict the movements of persons who have not yet been vaccinated.

Section 12 states that “…that the vaccine cards shall not be considered as an additional mandatory requirement for educational, employment and other similar government transaction purposes.”

He also mentioned that the Department of Labor and Employment had earlier issued some policy guidelines on the matter. Guevarra said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) might tackle the issue for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases in coming days.

The business groups earlier released a statement expressing their support to government’s mass vaccination efforts as a measure to curb the spread of Covid-19 and to help in the recovery of the economy.

“While we also steadfastly believe that everyone has the right to decide on vaccination, we do believe that the state and the private sector should be able to restrict the activities of unvaccinated persons for the common good,” they said.

TESDA MAN IN ILOILO CITY

Sen. Joel Villanueva (right), popularly known as The Tesda Man, takes a groupie shot at the office of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas during his recent short visit to the city. ARNOLD ALMACEN, ILOILO CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE

@joveemarie

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ATIONAL Security Adviser and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Vice Chairman Hermogenes Esperon on Wednesday revealed “there are only three guerilla fronts remaining in Region 4A, two of which were already considerably weakened by the administration’s security forces.”

He also announced the scheduled visit of President Duterte to the region today, Thursday, October 21, to put emphasis on the development programs implemented in support to counter-insurgency

Completion of Marawi City housing projects on track

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HE Department of Human Sett lements and Urban Development (DHSUD) remains confident that it will be able to complete housing projects in Marawi City by the first quarter of next year.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said 80 percent to 90 percent of housing projects in the war-torn Islamic City would be completed by December 2021.

Del Rosario said the remaining 10 percent to 20 percent would be completed in the January to March period next year. The target is to build 2,800 housing units by the time the President ends his term.

“Last October 16, nagbigay tayo ng 250 permanent shelter and before that, I think we had already given 370, plus 250. So more or less we have 600 plus permanent housing units,” del Rosario said.

“And out of our target of 2,800 almost 80 percent to 90 percent will be completed by December. So, the remaining 10 percent to 20 percent would be completed by the first quarter of 2022,” he added.

Del Rosario said even if the administration bets will not win in the next presidential polls, the rehabilitation of Marawi will continue.

He said that if by June, the rehabilitation of Marawi will only be 95 percent accomplished, the remaining 5 percent will be completed since there are funds that have already been allocated for these projects.

The funding allocation done by the current administration, Del Rosario assured, will be enough reason for the new administration to continue the project.

“Let’s say [for the project of building] classrooms, the funds are provided to DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways], who implements the project. Based on their target, they will complete 200 classrooms by June of 2022.

Assuming by June 30 of 2022, 90 percent completion, the funds are still with DPWH and they will be able to continue it for one or two

months, if ever [the project is only] 95 percent complete by June 30,” del Rosario explained.

Meanwhile, in terms of assistance to those affected by the Marawi Siege, del Rosario said the government has extended P73,000 worth of livelihood assistance last year for families living in the most affected area (MAA).

For those who are living outside the MAA, del Rosario said, the government extended livelihood assistance of P10,000 each.

He added that the government has also extended relief goods to those who were affected by the Marawi Siege as well as agricultural and medical assistance to these families.

The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Social Welfare and Development spearhead the livelihood assistance of the government.

In a news statement issued on Wednesday, DHSUD said of the 250 permanent shelters in Marawi that were turned over, 100 were constructed by the National Housing Authority (NHA), which also led in handling land acquisition, while the other 150 were carried out by UN-Habitat with funding from the Japanese government.

A total of 1,800 permanent shelters will be constructed on this site—1,500 will be produced by the NHA while the other 300

by UN-Habitat.

Representatives from the NHA and UN-Habitat, together with other local officials, witnessed the handover ceremony.

Another key project carried out marking the fourth anniversary of Marawi’s liberation was the breaking of ground for the Department of Information and Communications Technology digital transformation center as part of efforts in offering Internet services inside the MAA. The P72-million facility to be built on a 600-square-meter property in Barangay Datu Naga seeks to establish a network for reliable and fast online connectivity for barangay halls and other public offices.

Cocopea: BIR offices charging 30% income tax despite DOF freeze order

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

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HE country’s largest associations of private schools on Wednesday disclosed that some Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) offices in the regions are still charging 30-percent income tax rate despite the suspension of the order by the Department of Finance.

With this, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) called for the swift enactment of a clarificatory bill on income taxation of proprietary educational institutions.

“We received reports from our members that despite the ongoing legislative process and DOF’s suspension of BIR Revenue Regulation [RR] 5-2021, some BIR regions con-

tinue to impose a 30-percent income tax rate citing BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular [RMC]-67, Series of 2012,” said Dr. Anthony Jose M. Tamayo, chairman of Cocopea, which represents over 2,500 private educational institutions with over 300,000 school personnel.

These BIR regions, Tamayo stressed, continue to argue that RR 14-2021, which “suspended RR 5-2021 applies prospectively and does not apply to assessments involving prior fiscal years.”

Tamayo who is also the president of Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities added that these “unfortunate developments” only strengthen the urgency and significance of the enactment of the clarificatory bill expressed by its authors, which would serve as the lifeline of

these educational institutions from the incorrect implementation of Section 27B of the Tax Code that puts them on the brink of closure.

He said this is why they are appealing for the swift enactment of the bill which aims to secure with finality the grant of preferential tax rate of 10 percent for proprietary schools, including the temporarily lowered rate of 1 percent during the pandemic, under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE Act).

Once signed into law, the bill would make private schools qualified for a concessionary tax rate of 1 percent under CREATE Act, instead of the 150-percent increase imposed by a recent regulation by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

“As the Philippine economy

Esperon bares ‘weakening’ rebel influence in S. Tagalog amid BDP implementation

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

www.businessmirror.com.ph

operations in the area.

With P28.1-billion proposed budget for the Barangay Development Program (BDP) under the 2022 national budget, there will be a total of 1,406 barangay beneficiaries. This year alone, 822 barangays were included in the program.

In Region 4A, according to Esperon, there will be a total of 72 projects to be implemented under BDP in at least 30 villages.

Esperon added that a total of 35 local government units in have issued their resolutions or statements of support for the 2021 implementation of the BDP. Under the BDP, every barangay that has been freed of New People’s

Army presence or influence will be getting P20 million worth of development projects like farmto-market roads, health centers, school buildings, water sanitation and livelihood projects.

Through BDP, a program initiated under the Duterte administration, Esperon said the government enacts its vision that progressive communities arise from a peaceful and stable environment.

“A strong proponent of local government development, President Duterte has pushed for several development initiatives aimed at poverty alleviation and rural progress. These national development programs for bolstering community-based

approaches are the cornerstones of the President’s legacy of inclusive and bottom-up approach in attaining our country’s progress,” Esperon stressed.

Meanwhile, joining the President in visiting Region 4A are C abi net members a nd ot her high level officials from national government agencies, senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, and various officials from the NTF-ELCAC and member-agencies of the Regional Task Force-ELCAC. Members of Congress will likewise be in attendance. Beneficiaries of the BDP will be represented by barangay heads.

gradually and safely reopens, which includes the safe reopening of our schools to face-to-face learning starting November 15, 2021, the enactment of this bill would allow the educational institutions to focus on their efforts to ensure safety of students, teachers, and school personnel in campus,” said Tamayo.

He said the bill would give private schools the financial assurance and security to allow them to sustain their operations for the remainder of the academic year despite having suffered another substantial decline in enrollment since the pandemic began in March 2020, with enrollment dropping to 1.9 million students from around 4.3 million before the pandemic.

“The millions of stakeholders

of the private education sector and the linked ecosystem that depend on the continuity of our schools eagerly await the enactment of this landmark legislation,” Tamayo said.

More importantly, he stressed that the clarificatory bill will finally put to rest all ambiguities in the grant of preferential tax rate of 10 percent to proprietary educational institutions since the enactment of the National Internal Revenue Code in 1997, and even prior.

Other groups pushing for the immediate enactment of the bill are Davao Colleges and Universities Network Association of Private, State Colleges, and Universities in Region 11, Bicol Association of Private Colleges and Universities, and CESAFI Association of Cebu Private Schools.

Asean endorses 4IR strategy

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HE Asean economic community (AEC) council ministers backed the consolidated strategy on the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) during the 20th council meeting, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported.

The trade department said in a news statement issued on Wednesday that the consolidated strategy provides the regional bloc a “wholeof-Asean” approach in taking advantage of the 4IR amid the pandemic.

In addition, DTI said it identifies cross-pillar initiatives in the areas of innovation and technology enablers, human capital, regulatory frameworks for e-commerce and e-government, connectivity and infrastructure, and inclusive and sus-

tainable growth, among others.

“The unprecedented global trends such as the rise of protectionism, 4IR, and the Covid-19 pandemic, has made it more important for Asean to look into the gaps and areas for development that are crucial to address emerging global trends,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said.

The consolidated strategy focuses on the following areas: technological governance and cyber security, digital economy and digital transformation for society.

It aims to develop an “open, secure, transparent, and connected Asean that harnesses technologies, embraces innovation in transforming society, and contributes to social progress and sustainable development.” Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Senate arrest of Pharmally officials illegal, lawyer says

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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LAWYER for one of Pharmally’s officials on Wednesday warned that senators ordering the arrest and detention of any witness not within the Senate premises when an alleged act of contempt was committed is liable for the non-bailable offense of serious illegal detention.

Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, in a virtual news briefing on Wednesday, gave his legal opinion a day after the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), at its 12th hearing into pandemic fund contracts involving Pharmally, cited two of the company’s executives in contempt—Mohit Dargani and his sister Twinkle—for refusing to heed subpoenas for documents sought by the senators.

However, staff from the Senate’s Sergeant at Arms Office who went to the siblings’ known addresses at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig failed to find them on Thursday.

Topacio, meanwhile, issued “my legal stand on the arrest order against the Darganis,” stressing that these take certain premises into consideration: 1. The President, as Commander-in-Chief of all the uniformed armed forces in the country, has already ordered the police and military not to follow arrest orders from the Senate.

2. This order is based on solid legal footing. In Neri v. Blue Ribbon Committee, the Supreme Court had already distinguished between the power of the Senate to detain and the power to arrest. The former can be done only if the person is in contempt of the Senate and he is within the premises of the Senate.

As to arrests, the same cannot be done because there is no statutory authority for the Senate Sergeantat-Arms to arrest anyone outside of the Senate premises.

3. Mr. Mohit Dargani is outside of the Senate. The Senate has no authority to take him into custody.

4. In light of the order of the President, neither may any law enforcement personnel arrest Mr. Dargani. A person can only be arrested under two circumstances: a. When he has a warrant for his arrest issued by a competent court; or b. When he is in flagrante de-

licto, meaning he is committing, just about to commit or has just committed a crime.

5. We are, therefore, warning the Sergeant-at-Arms, and any senator ordering the arrest of anyone outside of the Senate premises, that they can be charged with Serious Illegal Detention, a non-bailable offense, if they detain any person at large.

6. Also, any person who may be subject to such arrest may resist the same, including the use of reasonable force, in order to secure and maintain his liberty. He may also enlist the aid of police to prevent his detention.

Topacio also lambasted Blue Ribbon Chairman Sen. Richard Gordon for the “piecemeal release” of Senate probers’ findings.

“The piecemeal release by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee of its so-called findings on Pharmally should remove any doubts as to Gordon and his ilk’s conversion of the BRC into a kangaroo court,” Topacio complained.

“First, what took them so long?” he asked, noting that “the BRC has, for the longest time, been in possession of information sufficient to make a report.”

Second, he added: “Why don’t they release just one report, instead of releasing their findings piece-by-piece?”

Third, Topacio wants to know “why Sen. Gordon is the one interpreting his own findings, instead of allowing the proper government agency to act on the report,” reminding “the Senate is not a court [except of the marsupial kind] and that is why the report is addressed to the right agency concerned for appropriate action.”

“Fourth, why is there no completed draft of any proposed legislation that came out of the BRC’s comical exercise? All of these issues inescapably point to the fact that the inquiry was improperly used as a demolition job against the present administration, to project the candidacies of Gordon and company, and to milk the media mileage occasioned by the said investigation for political ‘pogi points.’ It was an abuse of authority of the most fiendish order. The BRC hearings and initial report, to quote Shakespeare, are nothing but “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing,” Topacio stressed.

BSP boosts ‘green financing’ for sustainable development

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has outlined its sustainable finance initiatives as part of its drive to boost the so-called green financing in the country.

The BSP said local banks and financial institutions need to further understand and manage climate change risks to fully maximize opportunities behind lending or investing in green or sustainable projects.

“For instance, banks can be innovative in designing sustainable finance instruments in mobilizing funds for sectors supporting pandemic response and recovery, and

other economic activities that contribute to sustainable development,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said.

To align with the national government’s approach toward sustainable finance, the BSP cochaired an Inter-Agency Technical Working Group on Sustainable Finance or the “Green Force.”

The inter-agency council is co-chaired by the Department of Finance (DOF) together with 16 financial sector authorities and critical government agencies. It aims to harmonize government policies on green and sustainable projects, establish an action plan to institutionalize and accelerate the growth of sustainable finance, and develop a pipeline of sustain-

@claudethmc3

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HE Department of Health (DOH) reported on Wednesday that a total of 3,416 minors aged 15 to 17 were already inoculated as of October 19, fol low ing t he rol lout of t he Covid-19 pediatric vaccination in the National Capital Region (NCR) last week.

Aside from the previous eight participating hospitals, which include the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, National Children’s Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Pasig City Children’s Hospital, Fe Del Mundo Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, St. Luke’s HospitalGlobal City, and the Makati Medical

Center, DOH said that there will be additional hospitals/sites that will be participating in the Phase 2 of the Pediatric A3 vaccination drive.

DOH said that children with fol low i ng comorbid it ies a re eligible for vaccination: 1) medical complexity (i.e. those with long- term dependence on technical support); 2) genetic conditions; 3) neurologic conditions; 4) metabolic/endocrine diseases; 5) cardiovascular diseases; 6) obesity; 7) HIV infection; 8) tuberculosis; 9) chronic respiratory diseases; 10) renal disorders; 11) hepatobiliary diseases; and 12) immunocompromised due to disease or treatment.

As part of the wider coverage of the Covid-19 vaccination rollout in the country, children in this age group

able investments.

The BSP also joined the Network for Greening the Financial System in July 2020. This is a group of central banks and financial supervisors that discusses best practices in developing environmental and climate risk management guidelines in the financial sector.

“As we advance sustainability initiatives and continue to collaborate with relevant government agencies and other multilateral development partners, we hope that the sustainability agenda will have a big leap for the next five years,” Diokno said.

According to Diokno, adopting green or sustainable finance principles and practices can unlock various opportunities for the BSP and

the banking sector.

“For instance, the BSP’s investment of a total of $550 million in the Bank for International Settlements’ green bond fund allows the diversification of the Gross International Reserves as it offers adequate returns compared to other fixed-income assets,” the BSP chief said.

“Sustainability, as a principle, is embedded in the charter of the BSP. We are committed to remain responsive and proactive in our stance towards these risks to maintain price and financial stability,” he added.

In April 2020, the BSP issued the Sustainable Finance Framework for banks and the launch of the Sustainable Central Banking Program.

Repatriated OFs from Macau hit 4,757 since March 2020

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HE Philippine Consulate General in Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) has successfully conducted its 24th repatriation flight on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.

The flight carried home 171 overseas Filipinos (OF), bringing the total number of Filipinos who benefited from the consulate’s repatriation program to 4,757 since March 2020.

Philippine Consul General to Macau SAR Porfirio M. Mayo Jr. led the Consulate’s Team at the airport to assist passengers on the flight.

He assured all Filipinos in Macau that the repatriation program of the Consulate will continue as long as it is needed. “Magpapatuloy po ang ating repatriation program habang hindi pa nagre-resume ang regular commercial flight pauwi ng Pilipinas,” said Mayo.

Consul General Mayo, likewise, assured that the Consulate continues to work towards the inclusion of Macau in the “Green List” of jurisdictions of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Under Resolution 144-A, Series of 2021, the IATF will no longer require facility-based quarantine for all fully vaccinatedtravelersarrivinginthePhilippines from jurisdictions included in the “Green List” subject to presentation of a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to departure from the port of country or port of origin.

PHILIPPINE Consul General to Macau SAR Porfirio M. Mayo Jr. (left) addresses queries from departing passengers at the Macau International Airport.

PHOTO BY V. SIY. MACAU PCG PHOTO

3,416 get Covid shots in initial vaccination rollout for minors

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Thursday, October 21, 2021 A5

with comorbidities are scheduled to receive the vaccines with the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization, namely, Pfizer and Moderna.

The initial run of the vaccination will also be conducted in hospitals where children will be screened and monitored by doctors, and facilitating referrals will be easier in case of serious adverse events following immunization. It will also be conducted in a phased approach, wherein part of the expansion plan is implementing it in regions where there is more than 50 percent coverage for Priority Group A2.

While the pilot implementation of pediatric vaccination has started, the DOH continuously encourages the adult population, especially

senior citizens, to get vaccinated as soon as the vaccines are available in their area.

Li kew ise, t he DOH urged everyone, even the fully-vaccinated, to continue practicing minimum public health standards to protect from getting infected and infecting others with Covid-19.

“TheDOHandtheCovid-19NVOC [National Vaccination Operation Center] have likewise conducted several town hall meetings with concerned stakeholders like hospital chiefs and directors, vaccination teams, and even parents to cascade the operational guidelines and other pertinent preparations that the DOH and implementing sites are undertaking for the pilot rollout,” DOH said.

Typhoon-stricken families in Ilocos Sur receive food items from PRC

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HE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) distributed food items to some 100 families affected

by Typhoon “Maring” in Barangay Nagtupacan, Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur. The weather disturbance has placed the entire province under a state of calamity.

In a news statement, PRC said it continues to assess the top 2 and 3 barangays greatly affected by Maring in coordination with the Municipal Disaster R isk Reduction and Management Office and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office. PRC Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard J. Gordon immediately mobilized and deployed PRC personnel such as the Emergency Response Unit to support PRC’s

intervention in the province during the first week of operations.

“I would like to commend the PRC’s staff and volunteers for their unending dedication to help the most vulnerable. Patuloy ang Red Cross sa paghahatid ng pag-asa sa mga naapektuhan ng Severe Tropical Storm Maring,” Gordon assured.

PRC recently provided 600 hot meals and disposable face masks for residents of Barangays Nanguneg West Narvacan and Sta Maria.

Each food pack contains: 5 kilos of rice 5 corned beef 5 beef loaf 5 sardines 5 noodles 12 sachets of coffee

DOE hopes for lower fuel price adjustments in next two months

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HE Department of Energy (DOE), led by Secretary Alfonso Cusi, is hoping for lower price adjustments in local pump prices in the next two months.

“Based on indication, the fundamentals that we are seeing, hinde po mangyayari,” Cusi said when asked in a television interview if the agency sees another P7 per liter increase

across all petroleum products until the end of the year.

Pump prices have increased for eighth straight weeks. Since oil firms adjusted gasoline price last August 31, this has gone up to P7.20 per liter while diesel shot up by P8.65 per liter.

Kerosene also increased by P8.05 per liter for the past eight weeks.

If excise taxes in petrol products

are suspended, Cusi said, motorists could save P8 to P10 in fuel prices.

“That suggestion is okay but we need a law to do that,” said Cusi.

The energy chief assured that the country has enough fuel supply and that the oil firms are in compliance with the Minimum Inventory Requirements (MIR) under Department Circular 2003-01-001.

The circular states that all oil companies, except refiners operating in the country, and bulk suppliers maintain a minimum inventory equivalent to 15 days worth of petroleum products’ supply, except for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Oilrefinersarerequiredtomaintain MIR equivalent to 30 days worth of supply, consisting of petroleum crude

oil and refined petroleum products.

Also a seven-days worth of supply must be maintained for LPG. “We are making sure there is enough inventory to last us for a month without importing,” he said.

The Philippines utilizes the equivalent of 425,000 barrels/day, which is around 0.4 percent of the world supply.

The DOE has also met with the oil

industry stakeholders to ensure supply while the problem persists, and asked if discounts could be extended to the public, especially to the public transport sector. Supply was assured and some companies agreed to extend discounts to the public transport industry on top of existing discounts currently given like vaccination and loyalty incentives. Lenie Lectura

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The World BusinessMirror

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Surge in new infections seen straining Singapore hospitals

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ingapore warned that Covid-19 cases are dangerously straining the city-state’s health care system, even as strict rules designed to curb the current outbreak are set to be reviewed within days.

New daily cases hit 3,994 on Tuesday, another record, with more patients needing intensive care, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. The increase was likely due to a post-weekend surge, the ministry said, though it will continue monitoring cases to determine if it was a trend.

“The number of persons requiring ICU care continues to rise, and this has put our hospitals under significant pressure and strain,” according to the ministry. It asked residents to limit their social activities, especially the elderly population, and go out only for essential outings.

The continuing surge in infections is likely to test the government’s resolve to proceed with reopening within the community, with officials set to review measures introduced nearly a month ago to curb the virus’s spread.

The spate of restrictions, including making work-from-home the standard and allowing a maximum of two people to meet in social settings, were put in place until October 24.

There are growing signs of fatigue with the curbs. A rise in activity levels was observed over the past week, including more visitors

South African regulator rejects Russia’s coronavirus vaccine

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OHANNESBURG—The South African drug regulator has rejected the Russian-made coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, citing some safety concerns the manufacturer wasn’t able to answer.

T he Sout h A f r ican Hea lt h Products Regulatory Authority, or SAHPR A, said in a statement Tuesday that the request for Sputnik V to be authorized could “not be approved at this time,” referring to past failed HIV vaccines that used a similar technology.

But the regulator added that its review process was continuing and that it was still open to receiving any further safety data from the Russian manufacturer.

A late-stage study published in the journal Lancet last year in more than 20,000 participants found that Sputnik V was safe and about 91 percent effective in preventing people from becoming severely ill with Covid-19.

Sputnik V uses two types of harmless viruses known as adenoviruses to carry the spike protein into the body, which then primes the immune system to produce antibodies against Covid-19. SAHPR A said concerns have been raised about the safety of Adenovirus Type 5, which is used in one of the Sputnik V doses. The other dose contains Adenovirus Type 26, which is also used by Johnson & Johnson.

South African officials pointed to two failed research studies testing an HIV vaccine also using Adenovirus Type 5, which found men who were vaccinated had a higher risk of being infected with HIV. The regulators said they had asked the Russian makers of Sputnik V to provide data proving the vaccine’s safety in a country with high rates of HIV but that “the applicant was not able to adequately address [their] request.” AP

to malls and a slight increase in use of public transportation, the health ministry said.

The seven-day average number of new infections in the Asian financial hub have more than tripled from a month ago and are now hitting more than 3,000 a day. Daily reported infections among unvaccinated seniors above the age of 60, a group that is more vulnerable to developing severe disease, has risen to well over 100, according to the ministry.

Key developments:

Bangkok hits 70 vaccination rate

Thailand’s capital has administered at least two doses of vaccine to 71 percent of its adult population, paving the way for the city to welcome back inoculated visitors without a mandatory quarantine from Nov. 1. The inoculation rate is projected to reach 80 percent by the end of this month, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Thailand is set to allow quarantine-free visits from five nations including the US, UK and Singapore starting next month

as it seeks to revive its tourismreliant economy. The country reported 8,918 new Covid cases on Wednesday, the lowest single-day tally since July 13.

New Zealand may ease quarantine measures

Chris Hipkins, Covid-19 Response Minister, said the changing nature of the pandemic in New Zealand may lead to changes to the country’s border controls, with the possibility of shorter stays in government-managed isolation facilities and increased use of selfisolation for people coming into the country.

Bidens not deemed exposed after Mayorkas tests positive

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden aren’t considered close-contact exposures to Homeland Securit y Secretar y Alejandro Mayorkas, who tested positive three days after attending an outdoor event with them.

Biden, who received his booster shot three weeks ago, isn’t considered at risk because his most recent encounter was more than 48 hours before the positive test and occurred outdoors, the White House said. The fully vaccinated Mayorkas tested positive Tuesday morning as part of routine check before a planned trip, according to his department. Mayorkas is experiencing mild congestion and will isolate and work from home.

Pregnancy changes immune response to vaccine: Study

Pregnant and breast-feeding women appear to respond relatively weakly to their first vaccine

dose, according to a study that indicates the importance of them receiving both doses of standard regimens. Immune responses to a single dose of vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and BioNTech SE were weaker than in a group of nonpregnant women, according to the study released Tuesday by Science Translational Medicine.

Pfizer shot prevents hospitalization in teens

Pfizer’s vaccine proved highly effective in keeping adolescents from being hospitalized with the disease, according to a new analysis from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among children age 12 to 18, two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot were 93 percent effective in preventing Covid hospitalization, the agency said. The real-world data was gathered from 19 children’s hospitals from June to September, after US regulators cleared the shot for people age 12 to 15.

The analysis of 464 patients compared those admitted with Covid to others in the hospital that didn’t have the disease.

Nearly all of those hospitalized for Cov id—97 percent—were unvaccinated, compared to about two-thirds of the control group that was unvaccinated.

The Delta variant predominated during the study period, and pediatric hospitalizations reached their highest levels in early September, the CDC said. About half of adolescents 12 to 17 have been fully vaccinated in the US so far.

Only the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is authorized for people under 18 in the US so far. Bloomberg News

Crowds wait outside Myanmar’s prisons to greet freed detainees

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ANGKOK—Crowds gathered Tuesday outside priso n s a r o u n d My a n m a r, waiting for at least a glimpse of friends and relatives who were being freed under an amnesty for people arrested for protesting against military rule.

The head of the army-installed government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, announced the amnesty covering more than 5,600 people on Monday. State television said it included 1,316 convicts who would be freed from prisons around the country and 4,320 others pending trial whose charges would be suspended.

The announcement came three days after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations delivered a rare snub by declining to invite Min Aung Hlaing to an upcoming summit, even though Myanmar is part of the 10-member bloc.

The move ref lected Asean’s frustration with the continued stalling of a visit to the country by its special envoy, who was appointed as part of an initiative to find a way out of the violent crisis that has gripped Myanmar since the army overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February.

The government had refused to grant the request of the special envoy, Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, to meet with Suu Kyi. She has been detained since the military takeover and is being tried on several charges that her supporters say are politically motivated.

At Insein Prison in Yangon, which for decades has served as the main place of detention for political prisoners, a stream of

buses carrying released detainees exited the gates and pushed slowly through a jubilant crowd. Some shouted with delight and handed roses through the vehicles’ open windows.

Family members hugged and wept as they were reunited after months of uncertainty for some, w ith the pr isoners’ isolation heightened by lockdown measures meant to help contain the coronavirus pandemic.

One released detainee, who declined to identify herself to avoid drawing the authorities’ attention, was crying as she stood outside the prison walls and spoke to her daughter on a mobile telephone.

“Your mother is free from the suffering,” she said, blinking away tears. “Please come and wait for me downstairs, my daughter. I am free.”

There were similar scenes on Monday night when the first of the releases began.

However, 11 of 38 people who were released Monday night from Meiktila Prison in central Myanmar were rearrested at the prison gate, said a person close to the family of a prisoner there. Those rearrested included officials and members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party as well as street protesters, said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared the authorities would punish him for talking to the media.

He said all were charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, though more details were not immediately available. The law punishes acts of violence and also “acts of exhortation, persuasion, propaganda and recruitment of

any person to participate in any terrorist group or activities of terrorism.” Leading groups opposed to military rule, including the underground National Unity Government, which considers itself the country’s legitimate administration, have officially been designated terrorist groups.

Phone calls to an official from the Prisons Department seeking comment went unanswered.

Min Aung Hlaing tied the timing of the amnesty to the upcoming traditional Thadingyut festival of lights, suggesting that it could help restore peace and stability. But it was seen by many people as a goodwill gesture meant to offset the unpleasant publicity from being chastised by fellow Asean members.

Min Aung Hlaing’s government is already a pariah to many Western nations, which condemn it not only for overthrowing Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government but also for using deadly force to suppress protests against its rule.

A detailed accounting by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners blames security forces for the killings of almost 1,200 civilians. The government now faces a growing insurgency in many parts of the country.

The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, welcomed the prisoners’ release but said on Twitter that it came “not because of a change of heart, but because of pressure.” He added that they had been detained “ illegally for exercising their fundamental human rights.” AP

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

IMF cuts Asia Pacific growth outlook on Delta, lagging jabs

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he International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for the Asia-Pacific region due to a surge of the Delta variant of Covid-19 and lagging vaccinations.

The Washington based fund now expects the region to grow 6.5 percent this year—down 1.1 percentage points from its April outlook, but still the world’s fastest growing area. The regional economy is expected to expand 5.7 percent in 2022, higher than its April forecast.

“Slower vaccination in Asia is one of the key factors for the slowdown in Asia’s growth momentum this year,” Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, said in a release.

Much of the downgrade was due to slower growth in India, which is now forecast to expand 9.5

percent this year, and Southeast Asia, where the virus continues to wreak havoc. The projection for Japan was cut to 2.4 percent and Australia’s was lowered to 3.5 percent, while the outlooks for South Korea and New Zealand were raised to 4.3 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively.

China’s forecast was trimmed to 8 percent from 8.4 percent to reflect ongoing outbreaks of the virus, fiscal policy tightening and stresses in the property sector.

“While our baseline projections ref lect the effects of financial tightening on real-estate investment in 2021, there are risks, given the large role that real estate sector plays in China’s economy and financial system, and we are watching developments closely,” Rhee said in the statement. Bloomberg News

N. Korea confirms missile test designed for submarine launch

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EOUL, South Korea—North Korea announced Wednesday that it had tested a newly developed missile designed to be launched from a submarine, the first such weapons test in two years and one it says will bolster its military’s underwater operational capability.

The test Tuesday was the fifth round of missile launch since September and came as North Korea steps up pressure on Washington and Seoul to abandon what Pyongyang sees as hostile polices such as joint US-South Korea military drills and international sanctions on the North.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said the latest test “will greatly contribute to putting the defense technology of the country on a high level and to enhancing the underwater operational capability of our navy.” It said the new missile has introduced advanced control guidance technologies inc lud ing f lank mobility and gliding skip mobility.

The North ’s neighbors said Tuesday that they detected the North’s missile firing and said the weapon landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. South Korea’s military described the missile as a shortrange, submarine-launched ballistic missile and said the launch was made from waters near the eastern port of Sinpo, where North Korea has a major shipyard building submarines.

KCNA said Tuesday’s launch was made from “the same 8.24 Yongung ship,” a submarine that North Korea said it used to conduct its first submarine-launched strategic ballistic missile test in 2016. Photos published by North Korea show a missile rising and spewing bright flames above a cloud of smoke from the sea. One image shows the upper parts of what looks like a submarine on the surface of the sea.

Tuesday’s launch is the most high-profile weapons test by North Korea since US President Joe Biden took office in January. The Biden administration has repeatedly said it’s open to resuming nuclear diplomacy with North Korea “anywhere and at any time” without preconditions. The North has so far rebuffed such overtures, saying US hostility remains unchanged.

The launch came days before Sung Kim, Biden’s special envoy on North Korea, was to travel to Seoul to discuss with allies the possibility of reviving diplomacy with Pyongyang.

At a meeting in Washington with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim emphasized US condemnation of the launch, which violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and

urged Pyongyang to refrain from further provocations and “engage in sustained and substantive dialogue,” the State Department said.

T he U N S e c u r it y C ou nc i l sc hedu led emergenc y c losed consultations on North Korea on Wednesday afternoon at the request of the United States and United Kingdom.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, said the North Korean weapon tested Tuesday was likely derived from its land-based, nuclear-capable KN-23 missile whose highly maneuverable and lower-trajectory flight provides it with greater chances of evading missile defense systems.

He said the new missile was likely a small-sized weapon displayed during a defense exhibition last week. The professor said North Korea likely plans to load this missile on a new submarine it disclosed in 2019 while placing bigger SLBMs on larger submarines it is pushing to build in the future.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi had said Tuesday that the North Korean missile flew on “an irregular trajectory” while traveling as far as 600 kilometers (360 miles).

Nuclear negotiations between the US and North Korea have been stalled for more than two years because of disagreements over an easing of crippling US-led sanctions against North Korea in exchange for denuclearization steps by the North.

Some experts say North Korea might continue its weapons tests for a couple of more months until it halts them in consideration of the Winter Olympics slated for February in China, its last major ally and economic pipeline. They say the North may even test-launch longrange missiles directly threatening the US mainland in a breach of a 2018 self-imposed moratorium on such weapons tests to maximize its pressure campaign.

North Korea has been pushing hard for years to acquire the ability to fire nuclear-armed missiles from submarines, the next key piece in an arsenal that includes a variety of weapons including ones with the potential range to reach American soil.

Acquiring submarine-launched missiles would be a worrying development because that would make it harder for the North’s rivals to detect launches and provide the country with retaliatory attack capability. Still, experts say it would take years, large amounts of resources and major technological improvements for the heavily sanctioned nation to build at least several submarines that could travel quietly in seas and reliably execute strikes. AP

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Study: Fossil fuel plans would far overshoot climate goals

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ONDON—The world needs to cut by more than half its production of coal, oil and gas in the coming decade to maintain a chance of keeping global warming from reaching dangerous levels, according to a UN-backed study released Wednesday.

The report published by the UN Environment Program found that while governments have made ambitious pledges to curb greenhouse gas emissions, they are still planning to extract double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what would be consistent with the 2015 Paris climate accord’s goal of keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Even the less ambitious goal of capping global warming at 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times would be overshot, it said.

Climate experts say the world must stop adding to the total amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere by 2050, and that can only be done by drastically reducing the burning of fossil fuels as soon as possible, among other measures.

The report, which was released days before a UN climate summit begins October 31 in Glasgow, found most major oil and gas producers—and even some major coal producers—are planning on increasing production until 2030 or even beyond.

It also concluded that the group of 20 major industrialized and emerging economies have invested more into new fossil fuel projects than into clean energy since the start of 2020.

The disparity between climate goals and fossil fuel extraction plans—termed the “production gap”—will widen until at least 2040, the report found.

This would require increasingly steep and extreme measures to meet the Paris emissions goal, UNEP said.

“There is still time to limit long term warming to 1.5°C, but this window of opportunity is rapidly closing,” said the agency’s executive director, Inger Andersen, adding that governments should commit to closing the gap at the Glasgow climate summit.

The report, which had more than 40 researchers contributing, examined 15 major fossil fuelproducing countries.

For the United States, they found that government projections show oil and gas production increasing to 17 percent and 12 percent, respectively, by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. Much of that would be exported, meaning the emissions from burning those fossil fuels would not show up in the US inventory although they would add to the global total.

US coal production is projected to decline by 30 percent over the coming decade compared to 2019. AP

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part of the work. It will reassure patients, researchers and regulators “that we’re moving in the right direction.”

The dream of animal-to-human transplants—or xenotransplantation—goes back to the 17th century with stumbling attempts to use animal blood for transfusions.

By the 20th century, surgeons were attempting transplants of organs from baboons into humans, notably Baby Fae, a dying infant, who lived 21 days with a baboon heart.

With no lasting success and much public uproar, scientists turned from primates to pigs, tinkering with their genes to bridge the species gap.

Pigs have advantages over monkeys and apes. They are produced for food, so using them for organs raises fewer ethical concerns. Pigs have large litters, short gestation periods and organs comparable to humans.

Pig heart valves also have been used successfully for decades in humans. The blood thinner heparin is derived from pig intestines.

Pig skin grafts are used on burns and Chinese surgeons have used pig corneas to restore sight.

In the NYU case, researchers kept a deceased woman’s body going

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hinese President Xi Jinping pledged to support development of key technologies while strengthening regulation of the country’s tech giants as part of his strategy to expand the digital economy.

The country needs to boost innovation in core technologies and step up research capabilities to achieve self-sufficiency as soon as possible, Xinhua reported, citing comments made by Xi at a Monday meeting of Communist Party officials. He also called for acceleration in the development of high-speed, secure smart infrastructure that can connect all aspects of the online economy as well as for breakthroughs in key software technologies.

“In recent years, the Internet, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies have accelerated their innovation and are increasingly integrated into the entire economy and society,” Xi said. China needs make its digital

economy stronger and better, so as to align the once-in-a-century transfor mation w ith the national priority of rejuvenating the countr y, he added.

China has identified the digital economy as a key driver for growth over the next few decades and made achieving tech self-sufficiency a top national priority.

To support that growth, Beijing has doubled down on funding for strategically important industries such as semiconductors and AI, while rolling out new legislation covering everything from data security to fair competition as part of efforts to bring the country’s once free-wheeling Internet giants in-line with the national agenda.

During the meeting, Xi called

on a ventilator after her family agreed to the experiment. The woman had wished to donate her organs, but they weren’t suitable for traditional donation.

The family felt “there was a possibility that some good could come from this gift,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery himself received a transplant three years ago, a human heart from a donor with hepatitis C because he was willing to take any organ. “I was one of those people lying in an ICU waiting and not knowing whether an organ was going to come in time,” he said.

Several biotech companies are in the running to develop suitable pig organs for transplant to help ease the human organ shortage.

More than 90,000 people in the US are in line for a kidney transplant.

Every day, 12 die while waiting.

The advance is a win for Revivicor, a subsidiar y of United T herapeut ics, t he compa ny that engineered the pig and its cousins, a herd of 100 raised in tightly controlled conditions at a facility in Iowa.

The pigs lack a gene that produces alpha-gal, the sugar that provokes an immediate attack from the human immune system.

In December, the Food and Drug

Administration approved the gene alteration in the Revivicor pigs as safe for human food consumption and medicine.

But the FDA said developers would need to submit more paperwork before pig organs could be transplanted into living humans.

“This is an important step forward in realizing the promise of xenotransplantation, which will save thousands of lives each year in the not-too-distant future,” said United Therapeutics CEO Martine Rothblatt in a statement.

Experts say tests on nonhuman primates and last month’s experiment with a human body pave the way for the first experimental pig kidney or heart transplants in living people in the next several years.

Raising pigs to be organ donors feels wrong to some people, but it may grow more acceptable if concerns about animal welfare can be addressed, said Karen Maschke, a research scholar at the Hastings Center, who will help develop ethics and policy recommendations for the first clinical trials under a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

“The other issue is going to be: Should we be doing this just because we can?” Maschke said. AP

46 dead after heavy rains, landslides in northern India

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UCKNOW, India—At least 46 people have died and several are missing after f loods triggered by heav y rains hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said Wednesday.

Rescuers worked through the night to retrieve bodies stuck in debris and to evacuate those in vulnerable areas, said S A Murugeshan, secretary of the state’s disaster management. On Tuesday, officials said 22 people were killed by the rains.

The mountainous state has seen incessant rains for the past three days, flooding roads, destroying bridges and causing landslides in which several homes were washed away. The situation has prompted

help from more than 2,000 members of the paramilitary and civil police.

T he Indian Meteorolog ica l Department said the rains were likely to recede in Uttarakhand on Wednesday, but warned of more heavy downpours in the country’s northeastern and southern regions.

The majority of the deaths in Uttarakhand were reported in the picturesque town of Nainital, where 28 people were killed on Tuesday, said Murugeshan. Most of the deaths were caused by homes and buildings collapsing in the torrential rains, he added.

In Mukteshwar, a popular hill station in the state, five laborers died when a wall collapsed

A7

Xi eyes innovation and oversight to grow China’s digital economy

Pig-to-human transplants a step closer with new test cientists temporarily attached a pig’s kidney to a human body and watched it begin to work, a small step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants.

Pigs have been the most recent research focus to address the organ shortage, but among the hurdles: A sugar in pig cells, foreign to the human body, causes immediate organ rejection. The kidney for this experiment came from a gene-edited animal, engineered to eliminate that sugar and avoid an immune system attack.

Surgeons attached the pig kidney to a pair of large blood vessels outside the body of a deceased recipient so they could observe it for two days. The kidney did what it was supposed to do—filter waste and produce urine—and didn’t trigger rejection.

“It had absolutely normal function,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the surgical team last month at NYU Langone Health. “It didn’t have this immediate rejection that we have worried about.”

This research is “a significant step,” said Dr. Andrew Adams of the University of Minnesota Medical School, who was not

Thursday, October 21, 2021

on their shanty. In another hilly town, Ramgarh, nine members of a family died as the rains washed away their home, the official said.

Videos shared on social media showed the Ganges River bursting its banks at Rishikesh, and the scenic Nainital Lake overflowing with floodwaters.

Experts say the magnitude of the rains has been staggering. Uttarakhand saw 17.8 centimeters (7 inches) of rain in the first few weeks this month, but recorded nearly 58 centimeters (22.8 inches) within just 22 hours on Tuesday, said Bikram Singh, the director of the Meteorological Center in Dehradun, the state’s capital city.

He said climate change has not

only increased the frequency of the rains, but also their intensity.

India has seen worrisome rains across several regions this week.

Flooding and landslides caused by downpours over the week have killed at least 39 people in the southern Kerala state, which is on high alert for more rains in the coming days.

Landslides and floods are common in India’s Himalayan north.

Scientists say they are becoming more frequent as global warming contributes to the melting of glaciers there.

In February, flash floods killed nearly 200 people and washed away houses in Uttarakhand. In 2013, thousands of people were killed in floods there. AP

for greater integration of traditional industries and the digital economy, which covers everything from big data and artificial intelligence to cloud computing a nd bloc kc h a i n. C h i n a mu st cultivate a group of “specialized and innovative” enterprises and manufactur ing champions in order to achieve technological breakthroughs and ensure the competitiveness of the countr y’s industrial supply chain, he added.

The rapid growth of the digital economy also entails better supervision, Xi said, vowing to “correct” practices that harm the public interests and hinder fair competition. The rights of employees and customers of online platforms must be protected while oversight of the taxation regime should also be strengthened, he added.

“The tech industry is so important that the government is trying to impose compliance regulations on the industry,” said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater china at ING Bank NV. “This in fact highlights the government is still embracing tech industry growth.”

China’s wide-ranging crackdown has covered much of the vast

digital industry, including e-commerce, after-school education and online gaming. Beijing is moving to ensure the country’s sharingeconomy behemoths improve the welfare of the millions of lowwage workers they depend on to drive growth. Already, regulators have fined Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Meituan billions for antitrust violations, while ride-hailing leader Didi Global Inc. is currently undergoing a cybersecurity probe following its US listing.

Fintech has also been an area of focus, after regulators called a halt to Ant Group Co.’s initial public offering nearly a year ago and rolled out new rules that require fintech arms of tech giants to face tighter supervision similar to traditional banks.

China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission Chairman Guo Shuqing on Tuesday reiterated a pledge to implement strict regulations and break up monopolies in order to promote the healthy development of the financial sector. China will have “zero tolerance” for illegal financial activities, Guo said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV. Bloomberg News

Haiti gang demands $1M each for kidnapped US missionaries

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ORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti— A gang that kidnapped 17 members of a US-based missionary group demanded $1 million ransom per person, although authorities were not clear whether that amount included the five children being held, a top Haitian official said Tuesday.

The official, who was not authorized to speak to the press, told The Associated Press that someone from the 400 Mawozo gang made the demand Saturday in a call to a leader of the ministry group shortly after the abduction.

A person in contact with the organization, Christian Aid Ministries, confirmed the $1 million per person demand, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. That person spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

The adults range in age from 18 to 48, the children from 8 months to 15 years, according to a statement from the organization on Tuesday. Sixteen of the abductees are Americans and one Canadian.

“This group of workers has been committed to minister throughout poverty-stricken Haiti,” the Ohiobased ministry said, adding that the missionaries worked most recently on a project to help rebuild homes lost in a magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck on Aug. 14.

The group was returning from visiting an orphanage when it was abducted, the organization said.

Responding to the recent wave of kidnappings, workers staged a protest strike that shuttered businesses, schools and public transportation starting Monday. The work stoppage was a new blow to Haiti’s anemic economy. Unions and other groups vowed to continue the shutdown indefinitely.

In a peaceful demonstration Tuesday north of Port-au-Prince, dozens of people walked through the streets of Titanyen demanding the release of the missionaries. Some carried signs that read “Free the Americans” and “No to Kidnapping!”

“They built our schools. They pay our bills,” Zachary Celus said.

“They do everything for us. So now we can’t do anything because they kidnapped them.”

Meanwhile, an ongoing fuel shortage worsened, and businesses

blamed gangs for blocking roads and gas distribution terminals.

Hu nd re d s of motorc yc le s zoomed through the streets of Port-au-Prince as the drivers yelled, “If there’s no fuel, we’re going to burn it all down!”

One protest took place near the prime minister’s residence, where police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd demanding fuel.

In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the FBI was “part of a coordinated US government effort” to free the missionaries. The American Embassy in Port-au-Prince was coordinating with local officials and the hostages’ families.

“We know these groups target US citizens who they assume have the resources and finances to pay ransoms, even if that is not the case,” she added, noting that the government has urged citizens not to visit Haiti.

It is longstanding US policy not to negotiate with hostage takers, and Psaki declined to discuss details of the operation.

The kidnapping was the largest of its kind reported in recent years. Haitian gangs have grown more brazen as the country tries to recover from the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and the earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people.

Jean-Louis Abaki, a moto taxi driver who joined the strike Monday, urged authorities in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation to act. He said if Prime Minister Ariel Henry and National Police Chief Léon Charles want to stay in power, “they have to give the population a chance at security.”

At least 328 kidnappings were reported to Haiti’s National Police in the first eight months of 2021, compared with a total of 234 for all of 2020, according to a report issued last month by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.

Gangs have been accused of kidnapping schoolchildren, doctors, police officers, bus passengers and others. Ransom demands range from a few hundred dollars to millions.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said American officials have been in constant contact with Haiti ’s National Police, the missionar y group and hostages’ relatives. AP

A8 Thursday, October 21, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

PHL must prepare for global headwinds

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he global economy is currently facing a number of headwinds that will likely cause widespread economic growth deceleration. As the supply of natural gas, coal and other energy sources fails to adequately meet global demand, many countries are experiencing severe shortages of electricity. The energy crunch is expected to worsen if a severe winter further boosts energy demand.

From the Associated Press: “Power shortages are turning out streetlights and shutting down factories in China. The poor in Brazil are choosing between paying for food or electricity. German corn and wheat farmers can’t find fertilizer, made using natural gas. And fears are rising that Europe will have to ration electricity if it’s a cold winter. The world is gripped by an energy crunch—a fierce squeeze on some of the key markets for natural gas, oil and other fuels that keep the global economy running and the lights and heat on in homes. Heading into winter, that has meant higher utility bills, more expensive products and growing concern about how energy-consuming Europe and China will recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The rise in energy costs is pushing up inflation. For example, natural gas prices in Europe have soared 600 percent this year. Gas accounts for 40 percent of UK electricity generation, about 25 percent in the European Union, and is also a key fuel for industrial production and heating (80 percent of UK homes). UK’s wholesale electricity prices have already increased by about 300 percent because of the skyrocketing gas prices.

China, the world’s second largest economy, is currently facing a shortage of electricity that is threatening economic recovery. The power crisis in China will have a disruptive impact on global trade. Reports said that suppliers to several major Western technology companies have either stopped or reduced production at certain facilities due to the electricity shortage.

Production of semiconductors, which are in short supply globally, has also been further disrupted by the power crisis.

India is likewise suffering from power crunch caused by a shortage of coal. About 66 percent of India’s electricity sources come from coal power plants, and the decline in coal reserves has undermined the stability of the country’s power generation. The global shortage of coal has led to a surge in coal prices. Indian power companies are locked in longterm contracts and cannot easily pass their costs onto customers. Thus, there’s no incentive for them to increase output as they face negative profit margins.

The coal shortage in India comes at a time when the economy is recovering from a pandemic-derailed growth. As producers increase capacity, demand for electricity is rising faster than the ability of the market to supply coal. Unfortunately, alternative sources of power, such as hydroelectric, have been disrupted by inadequate rain during the monsoon season. Thus, India could face the same disruption to industrial activity that is already happening in China.

Governments are scrambling to respond to the power crisis. France and Italy have announced direct subsidies to consumer energy bills, while Spain imposed a windfall tax on energy companies that have benefitted from the price surge. The UK government is considering support for surviving energy suppliers to take on customers of failed suppliers, given that existing fixed tariffs do not cover the cost of supplying new customers.

If China slows down substantially in 2022, its major trading partners like the US, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Asean, and the European Union will all suffer slower export growth. On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for the Asia-Pacific region due to a surge of the Delta variant and lagging vaccinations. Covid-related economic slowdown and the adverse effects of the global energy crunch could deal a double whammy to the global economy.

Our policymakers and economic managers should have contingencies to insulate the Philippines from the effects of global headwinds and to cushion the impact of the global energy crisis on our economy.

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What would the next president do?

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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he past days have seen several “political pundits” addressing the 2022 election framed in terms of WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?). It is a good thing for society if we hang important decisions both individually and collectively on some sort of moral standard. We know that a participatory democracy is like two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.

Judeo-Christian ethics is acceptable for those “progressives” who still—in the words of Barack Obama—“cling to religion.” That is, as long as not much is said about the New Testament teachings on adultery, homosexual behavior, and divorce. But those are subjects for another time.

However, perhaps a more critical WWJD for these times should be the feeding of the 5,000. Two situations potentially warrant a “miracle of the five loaves and two fish.”

“How do you know when the government is lying? Its lips are moving.” The other way you know is when government makes fun of

Our staycation at Raffles Hotel

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or downplays an issue. We must give the government the benefit of the doubt, as they are prone to error like all of us. We cannot forget how that “two weeks to flatten the curve” in March 2020 morphed into two months, then more than a year. But in late February 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci did describe the risk of Covid to the US as “minuscule.”

We ordinary folk do not have the knowledge or the information to know whether government pronouncements are accurate. We must trust for at least a while.

Americans are going to supermarkets only to find essential items missing or in short supply. We saw the

same thing happen last year at the fresh meat counters and with certain staples in the grocery sections. US Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that supply shortages were nothing more than “The tragedy of the treadmill that’s delayed.”

“Stores are running out of food, medical supplies, supply driving inflation but Psaki reduces real world problems down to the example of a treadmill for a chuckle,” said one reporter. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said that US economic issues— including inflation and supply chain delays—are “high class problems,” affecting only the rich. However, carbonated drinks, chicken, coffee, and diapers, among other items, are being rationed by supermarket chains.

One Alabama school district is literally running out of food. “Alexander City Schools have started asking parents to feed their children breakfast at home because the district hasn’t received its normal food deliveries from vendors.” Big problem when “Of the district’s 2,870 students, 65 percent are enrolled in free and reduced-price meals.”

With supply disruptions come higher prices. Psaki tried to make the case that rising prices were good because it meant more people were buying things. US Department of

I

t’s the 61st birthday of my long-time partner, Fort Jose, and to celebrate we decided to go on a staycation within Metro Manila.

After making several phone calls, I found out that most of our favorite hotels were either not open to guests or catered solely to visitors under strict quarantine. According to the Department of Tourism, staycation is now allowed in accredited Metro Manila hotels as we slide down to Alert Level 3 from October 16 to at least the end of the month.

It was a delightful surprise, therefore, to hear a friendly voice from Raffles Hotel in Makati assuring me that yes, they were open to hotel guests, and that we can immediately check-in. The hotel reservation staff assured me that their hotel was among those accredited by the DOT for staycations and that all of their staff have been fully vaccinated.

Hearing this, we decided to reserve an overnight stay, and quickly packed our bags for our grand staycation.

Upon entering the quiet and near-empty hotel lobby, we sat for a few minutes on the plush sofa, waiting for our turn at the reception desk. Preceding us was a couple with

a little boy in tow, with the parents inquiring about amenities that their son could enjoy. We didn’t have to wait long for our turn because Rina and Sandra, the hotel staff, warmly greeted us by name and assisted us in a separate counter. I thought that’s good for social distancing, having a check-in counter so far apart from each other. We were also asked for our vaccination cards before checking in with health protocol forms to be signed.

It was obvious to us that the hotel was lean on staff, operating without a valet service, and with minimum staff. To use the swimming pool, one has to book an appointment, and can

stay a maximum of only an hour.

Even the use of the Fitness Center is limited to individual workouts, and users are asked to bring their own exercise mats for hygienic purposes.

Visitors other than registered guests are not allowed, so make sure to mention that to other family members or friends who may wish to unexpectedly drop by just to say hello. In the House Rules, it says that a medical team is available 24/7 and a hotel emergency number is also specified.

Face masks are provided for, in the bathroom, in case the guests forgot to bring an extra mask for the day after. Hotel guests are directed to wear face masks and face shields in all common areas. Knowing that these health protocols are in place enables guests to relax and feel safe.

It also helps for us to know that out of 16 rooms in our entire floor, only six are occupied and they are spaced quite apart from each other.

It is strange and even a little eerie to walk in hotel corridors and not hear the usual sounds of children laughing, and the squeaky wheels of hotel luggage carts. And yet, the quietude is also comforting, reassuring, and even delightful.

A staycation in a five-star hotel during this pandemic is a worthy investment in one’s mental wellness, and yes, physical health. Here, one can roam around without bumping

Labor: From a year before, “Americans are paying 42 percent more for gasoline, 10 percent more for eggs, meat, poultry, and fish; 27 percent more for propane, 5 percent more for electricity; and 24 percent more for used cars.”

Psaki said the increase in prices of common goods is due to “transitory effects” of the economy “turning back on.” The problem is that the US may already be in a recession that could be as bad as 2008, according to a study

by Dartmouth College professor David Blanchflower who served on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2006 to 2009. Every recession since the 1980s has been foreshadowed by 10-point drops in consumer sentiment indices from the Conference Board and University of Michigan.

The Conference Board has measured a 25-point drop in 2021, while UM has recorded an 18-point slump.

This compares to a 19-point and a 21-point dip for the indices, respectively, ahead of the 2008 global financial crash. WWJD? More seriously, what are we going to do?

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

into people like one would in a mall and have access to dependable Wi-fi as well as good, though pricey, food.

If you can’t afford to stay in a luxury hotel, then perhaps there are good “Air BnBs” in Metro Manila that can offer the same cocoon feeling without the hefty price.

Fort, my companion, said having a staycation to celebrate his birthday was the best idea ever. “It’s a good change from staying home and feeling locked up in isolation from the rest. Although Raffles Hotel is operating at less than its usual capacity, I didn’t feel anything lacking once I stepped inside the beautiful, luxurious room.” It’s the fantasy of being in such a nice place after the limitations of home that I, myself, found appealing. Staycations may be expensive but when done right, it makes a huge difference in one’s outlook and mindset. Hey, we all need pampering once in a while.

I would encourage everyone to plan and execute a staycation. Let’s help our economy by doing that, while also helping ourselves cope with the anxiety that Covid-19 brings.

Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues.

She also represents the OFW sector in the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, October 21, 2021 A9

Political economy with Chinese characteristics (Beijing Consensus vs PHL neo-liberalism: Four decades after) Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

C

hina’s embrace of marketization and global integration is described by neo-liberal economists as an improvement, not a repudiation of the Washington Consensus. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which led the market-oriented economic transformation of China after Mao’s death, never accepted the WC. China has a completely different economic model.

In understanding the China model, it is best to listen to what the Chinese themselves and the CCP are saying about it. In this regard, one good reference material was the report produced by the China Institute of Reform and Development in 2000, or 20 years after the launching of the “Four Modernizations” of Deng Xiaoping (CIRD, China’s Economic Transformation Over 20 Years, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2000).

The CIRD’s report was surprisingly straightforward in its criticisms of the WC. CIRD wrote that in drawing up a plan for reform, “it is important not to indiscriminately copy western economic theory of laissez faire.” Further, CIRD argued against “giving up macroeconomic control on the side of the government” in the reform process and in the transition to marketization. In

short, China never gave up the State’s “visible hand” in guiding economic development and in controlling the commanding heights of the economy.

On guiding economic transformation, CIRD wrote that Russia and other East European countries paid “exorbitant prices” when these countries implemented the “shock therapy” policy package (sweeping privatization and deregulation/liberalization of the economy) advocated by Western economists such as Lawrence Summers and Jeffrey Sachs. The said therapy halved the Russian gross domestic product in three years (45 percent), set back Russian development by 20 years, and caused massive unemployment and poverty. CIRD wrote that the assumption of the Western economists and the International Monetary Fund that the shock therapy would

lead to rapid economic transformation and growth for Russia was baseless and “based on pedantic wishful thinking.” Was this not the same assumption used by the IMF-WB team and the Filipino technocrats when they pushed for the so-called economic reforms in the 1980s, which were bundled into a “structural adjustments program” (SAP) with the goal of transforming the Philippines into a roaring exportoriented economy?

On control of the commanding heights of the economy, it should be pointed out that the CCP-led government never gave up their control over state-owned enterprises in strategic sectors such as power, telecommunications, transport, mining and so on. China limited the privatization program to the downsizing or auction/closure of several hundreds of SOEs, primarily those engaged in non-strategic areas and/or were too weak and inefficient to survive under marketization.

What is the size of the SOE sector today? In 2019, the US Congressional Research Service (China’s Economic Rise, Washington, June 2019), reported that China is one of the world’s “most active users of industrial policies and administration.”

Accordingly, China had 150,000 SOEs, which collectively account for 50 percent of non-agriculture GDP. Some of these SOEs have now become global behemoths and are assisting Xi Jinping in fulfilling

Flooding in Venice worsens off-season amid climate change

By Colleen Barry Associated Press

V

ENICE, Italy—After Venice suffered the second-worst flood in its history in November 2019, it was inundated with four more exceptional tides within six weeks, shocking Venetians and triggering fears about the worsening impact of climate change.

The repeated invasion of brackish lagoon water into St. Mark’s Basilica this summer is a quiet reminder that the threat hasn’t receded.

“I can only say that in August, a month when this never used to happen, we had tides over a meter five times. I am talking about the month of August, when we are quiet,” St. Mark’s chief caretaker, Carlo Alberto Tesserin, told The Associated Press.

Venice’s unique topography, built on log piles among canals, has made it particularly vulnerable to climate change. Rising sea levels are increasing the frequency of high tides that inundate the 1,600-year-old Italian lagoon city, which is also gradually sinking. It is the fate of coastal cities like Venice that will be on the minds of climate scientists and global leaders meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, at a UN climate conference that begins October 31.

Venice’s worse-case scenario for sea level rise by the end of the century is a startling 120 centimeters (3 feet, 11 inches), according to a new study published by the European Geosciences Union. That is 50 percent higher than the worse-case global sea-rise average of 80 centimeters (2 feet, 7 1/2 inches) forecast by the UN science panel.

The city’s interplay of canals and architecture, of natural habitat and human ingenuity, also has earned it recognition as a Unesco World Heritage site for its outstanding universal value, a designation put at risk of late because of the impact of over-tourism and cruise ship traffic.

It escaped the endangered list after Italy banned cruise ships from passing through St. Mark’s Basin, but alarm bells are still ringing.

Sitting at Venice’s lowest spot, St. Mark’s Basilica offers a unique position to monitor the impact of rising seas on the city. The piazza outside floods at 80 centimeters (around 30

inches), and water passes the narthex into the church at 88 centimeters (34.5 inches), which has been reinforced up from a previous 65 centimeters (25.5 inches).

“Conditions are continuing to worsen since the flooding of November 2019. We therefore have the certainty that in these months, flooding is no longer an occasional phenomenon. It is an everyday occurrence,” said Tesserin, whose honorific, First Procurator of St. Mark’s, dates back to the ninth century.

In the last two decades, there have been nearly as many inundations in Venice over 1.1 meters—the official level for “acqua alta,” or “high water,” provoked by tides, winds and lunar cycles—as during the previous 100 years: 163 vs. 166, according to city data. Exceptional floods over 140 centimeters (4 feet, 7 inches) also are accelerating. That mark has been hit 25 times since Venice started keeping such records in 1872. Two-thirds of those have been registered in the last 20 years, with five, or one-fifth of the total, from November 12 to December 23, 2019.

“What is happening now is on the continuum for Venetians, who have always lived with periodic flooding,” said Jane Da Mosto, executive director of We Are Here Venice. “We are living with flooding that has become increasingly frequent, so my concern is that people haven’t really realized we are in a climate crisis. We are already living it now. It is not a question of plans to deal with it in the future. We need to have solutions ready for today.”

Venice’s defense has been entrusted to the Moses system of moveable underwater barriers, a project costing around 6 billion euros (nearly $7 billion) and which, after decades of cost overruns, delays and a bribery scandal, is still officially in the testing phase.

Following the devastation of the 2019 floods, the Rome government put the project under ministry control to speed its completion, and last year start activating the barriers when floods of 1.3 meters (4 feet, 3 inches) are imminent.

The barriers have been raised 20 times since October 2020, sparing the city a season of serious flooding but not from the lower-level tides

that are becoming more frequent.

The extraordinary commissioner, Elisabetta Spitz, stands by the soundness of the undersea barriers, despite concerns by scientists and experts that their usefulness may be outstripped within decades because of climate change. The project has been delayed yet again, until 2023, with another 500 million euros ($580 million) in spending, for “improvements” that Spitz said will ensure its long-term efficiency. “We can say that the effective life of the Moses is 100 years, taking into account the necessary maintenance and interventions that will be implemented,’’ Spitz said.

Paolo Vielmo, an engineer who has written expert reports on the project, points out that the sea level rise was projected at 22 centimeters (8 1/2 inches) when the Moses was first proposed more than 30 years ago, far below the UN scientists’ current worse-case scenario of 80 centimeters. “That puts the Moses out of contention,” he said. According to current plans, the Moses barriers won’t be raised for floods of 1.1 meters (3 feet, 7 inches) until the project receives final approval. That leaves St. Mark’s exposed.

Tesserin is overseeing work to protect the Basilica by installing a glass wall around its base, which eventually will protect marshy lagoon water from seeping inside, where it deposits salt that eats away at marble columns, wall cladding and stone mosaics. The project, which continues to be interrupted by high tides, was supposed to be finished by Christmas. Now Tesserin says they will be lucky to have it finished by Easter.

Regular high tides elicit a blase response from Venetians, who are accustomed to lugging around rubber boots at every flood warning, and delight from tourists, fascinated by the sight of St. Mark’s golden mosaics and domes reflected in rising waters. But businesses along St. Mark’s Square increasingly see themselves at ground zero of the climate crisis.

“We need to help this city. It was a light for the world, but now it needs the whole world to understand it,’’ said Annapaola Lavena, speaking from behind metal barriers that kept waters reaching 1.05 meters (3 feet, 5 inches) from invading her marblefloored cafe.

China’s dream of encircling the world through its global Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI). One big SOE is the China State Grid Corporation, which owns 40 percent of the Philippines’ National Grid Corporation.

Now back to the CIRD report, another feature of the China reform process cited is the policy of “gradualism” or step-by-step implementation of reform measures (called “walking across the river by feeling the stones”). Thus, the modernization program started in the rural areas, with the dismantling of the backward commune w and the introduction of the “self-responsibility system” among individual farm families. The price system was also placed on “double-track,” meaning prices of essential commodities such as rice remained under the control of the government while other commodities were gradually loosened.

On opening up China to the world market and establishing special economic zones, the process started with the coastal provinces before involving the interior regions. As to the development of the “non-state sector” or private and enterprises industries, this was also allowed to flourish gradually but with the “state sector” maintaining overall dominance (still as much as 70 percent in 2000).

With the foregoing market reforms, CIRD concludes that what China was (and still is) trying to accomplish in the first two decades of

China’s economic transformation was the development of a balanced “mixed economy” led by the State based on the original Deng’s vision of “Four Modernizations.”

Now, has the CIRD’s outline of the China model in 2000 changed in the succeeding decades? Apparently not.

In 2017, two high-ranking Chinese political economists, Cheng Enfu and Ding Xiaoqin, listed the “eight principles” to explain China’s “miracle economy.” These are: 1) sustainability led by science and technology, 2) orienting production to improve the livelihood of the people, 3) public ownership precedence in national property rights, 4) primacy of labor in the distribution of wealth, 5) market principle steered by the State, 6) speedy development with high performance, 7) balanced development with structural coordination, and 8) economic sovereignty and openness. These eight principles are the main features of China’s “socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics” (Cheng Enfu and Ding Xiaoqin, “A Theory of China’s ‘Miracle,’” in Monthly Review, New York, January 2017).

There is no space here to discuss in detail each of these eight principles. But it is clear that the China model is clearly the opposite of the Washington Consensus. On the last principle, sovereignty and openness, Enfu and Xiaoqin wrote: “China should insist on the state

policy of two-way opening that integrates domestic and international politics, developing a higher-level open economy by taking advantage of domestic and foreign markets. It entails tailoring trade policy to find and exploit mutually beneficial deals, while protecting China’s development and actively guarding against risks to national economic security.”

From the foregoing, it is abundantly clear that China’s model holds China’s national interests first and foremost. These interests are at the center of economic planning, investment promotion, and so on.

In the case of the Philippines, an original WC guinea pig, assertion of the national interests and building up national capabilities are hardly taken up in the economic planning workshops. They are not reflected in the IMF-WB’s SAP program, a program which is continuously being pursued by Neda despite four to five decades of Philippine mal-development under neo-liberalism.

One explanation to the stubborn adherence of our economic planners to the failed WC/SAP program is the obsession of some economists to strategize growth based on one factor only—the “comparative advantage” of the country. More on this in the last installment of this series on BC vs WC. For inquiries, please e-mail reneofreneo@ gmail.com.

Biden focuses on climate, families in trimmed $2 trillion plan

By Lisa Mascaro, Alan Fram & Matthew Daly Associated Press

W

ASHINGTON—Scaling down his “build back better” plans, President Joe Biden has described a more limited vision to Democratic lawmakers of a $2 trillion government-overhaul package with at least $500 billion to tackle climate change and money for middle-class priorities—child tax credits, paid family leave, health care and free pre-kindergarten.

And he expects negotiations to wrap up as soon as this week.

The president met privately into the evening Tuesday with nearly 20 centrist and progressive lawmakers in separate groups as Democrats appeared ready to abandon what had been a loftier $3.5 trillion package for a smaller, more workable proposal that can unite the party and win passage in the closely divided Congress.

Likely to be eliminated or seriously shaved back: plans for tuition-free community colleges, a path to legal status for immigrants who are in the US without documentation, and a specific clean energy plan that was the centerpiece of Biden’s strategy for fighting climate change.

The details were shared by those familiar with the conversation and granted anonymity to discuss the private meetings.

Biden felt “more confident” after the day of meetings, said press secretary Jen Psaki. “There was broad agreement that there is urgency in moving forward over the next several days and that the window for finalizing a package is closing,” she said.

After months of fits and starts, Democrats are growing anxious they have little to show voters despite their campaign promises. Biden’s ideas are all to be funded by tax hikes on corporations and the wealthiest individuals, those earning more than $400,000 a year.

The president especially wants to advance his signature domestic package to bolster federal social services and address climate change by the time he departs for a global climate summit next week.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a progressive caucus member, said Biden urged the lawmakers to “get something done now” to show US leadership on climate change on the global stage.

“He really believes American lead-

ership, American prestige is on the line,” Khanna said.

A key holdout on Biden’s proposals, conservative Sen. Joe Manchin from coal-state West Virginia, has made clear he opposes the president’s initial Clean Energy Performance Plan, which would have the government impose penalties on electric utilities that fail to meet clean energy benchmarks and provide financial rewards to those that do—in line with Biden’s goal of achieving 80 percent “clean electricity” by 2030.

Instead, Biden focused in his Tuesday meetings on providing at least $500 billion in tax credits, grants and loans to fight climate change, much of it likely coming from a package compiled by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the Finance Committee. Those include the tax breaks for energy producers that reach emission-reduction goals.

That clean energy approach could better align with Manchin’s stated goal of keeping a “fuel neutral” approach to federal policy that does not favor renewable energy sources over coal and natural gas that are dominant in his state.

Other climate-change-fighting proposals being considered are a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels such as oil and coal or a methane emissions fee—though Manchin told reporters earlier in the day that a carbon tax was not in the mix.

Failure to act on climate change would have far-reaching consequences in the US and abroad. Inaction, proponents of big efforts say, could cost the US billions of dollars in weather-related disasters and threaten to uproot millions of Americans in hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and floods.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., another progressive caucus member, called the opposition from Manchin on

climate issues “one of the biggest challenges” threatening to stop a final bill.

On other fronts, Biden and the Democrats appeared to be more readily coalescing around a slimmeddown package.

Biden wants to extend the $300 monthly child tax credit that was put in place during the Covid-19 crisis for another year, rather than allow it to expire in December.

The policy has been praised for sending cash to families most in need. Democrats want to extend the credit for additional years, but limiting the duration would help shave the costs. It’s now to be phased out for single-parent households earning more than $75,000 a year, or $150,000 for couples, but those income thresholds could be lowered to meet demands of Manchin and more conservative Democrats. What had been envisioned as a months-long federal paid family leave program could be shrunk to as few as four weeks.

Biden also wants to ensure funding for health care programs, including new money for home- and community-based health care services, supporting a move away from widespread nursing home care.

And a new program to provide dental, vision and hearing aid benefits to seniors on Medicare proposed

by Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, is likely to remain in some fashion, said Khanna, a longtime Sanders ally.

Expected to still be included in the package are new subsidies to help families afford child care as well as increased subsidies put in place during the pandemic for people who buy their own health insurance.

Biden told lawmakers that after his top priorities there would be $300 billion remaining, which some suggested could be used for housing aid and racial justice issues. Biden also mentioned money could go for retrofitting homes of low-income people.

But Biden’s vision for free community college for all is falling by the wayside.

“It’s not the robust vision the president wants or that we wanted,” Khanna said. Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Darlene Superville, Alexandra Jaffe and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

A10 Thursday, October 21, 2021

SMALLER, COUNTRYSIDE BANKS STAY SOUND; BSP PUSHES COOP BANK BILL

T

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Wednesday that cooperative banks in the country remained “sound and stable” despite the economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BSP also called for immediate passage of the proposed Cooperative Banking Act, which aims to streamline the regulatory requirements for cooperative banks.

“Amid the pandemic, the cooperative banking industry remained sound and stable as shown by the sustained growth of the industry’s total assets,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

The governor also reported that in the first six months of the year, cooperative banking resources reached P23.9 billion, which accounts for 0.12 percent of the Philippine banking system’s total assets of P19.8 trillion.

The sector’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), meanwhile, stood at 19.7 percent, higher than the required minimum of 10 percent.

“While the assets of cooperative banks represent a small portion of the banking system, they are at the forefront in the delivery of much-needed financial services, particularly in the countryside,” Diokno said. “Among their clients are hundreds of primary cooperatives and their individual members who usually have limited, or no access to banking services, other than those provided by cooperative banks.”

The governor also expressed his support to the immediate passage of House Bill No. 9541, or the pro-

posed Cooperative Banking Act. The BSP said the Cooperative Banking Act harmonizes regulations on cooperative banks being carried out by the BSP and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

“The BSP is supporting the Cooperative Banking Bill in line with our commitment to further promote a vibrant cooperative banking sector and foster the grow th of r ural economies,” Diokno said.

The bill provides that cooperative banks shall be under BSP supervision, but CDA shall still monitor their compliance with cooperative laws and regulations.

For rules on governance, the provisions of banking laws, rules, and regulations shall prevail.

Moreover, the bill grants incentives and privileges to encourage the formation and organization of cooperative banks; and provides rules on the registration, regulation, and operation of said financial institutions.

The proposed law also expands the definition of membership in cooperative banks, which is currently limited to cooperative organizations and associations.

“The legislative reform is expected to further promote the safety and soundness of the country’s cooperative banking industry,” Diokno said.

As of end-September 2021, there are 24 cooperative banks in the country with a network of 145 branches and other offices.

Cooperative banks are present in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Bianca Cuaresma

Amended SALN bill limits public access to records

T

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE Office of the Ombudsman has asked the Congress to restrict public’s access to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) by amending the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees or Republic Act 6713.

In the copy of the draft bill recently submitted to the lower chamber, the Office of the Ombudsman proposed to amend Section 8 of RA 6713.

Under the bill, such statements shall be made available for copying or reproduction after 10 working days from the time they are filed as required by law.

Provided, that each official repository shall have exclusive authority in approving any re-

quest for copying, reproduction, inspection of or any other form of access to such statements and shall enact reasonable conditions, guidelines, rules and regulations for this purpose.

Under the bill, the availability and access to any statement filed under this proposal shall not be approved if a finding is made by the official repository of the document/s that revealing personal and sensitive information

could endanger the individual who filed the statement or his/her family member.

It added that a statement may be redacted to the extent necessary to protect the individual who filed the statement or a family member of that individual and for as long as the danger to such individual exists.

Also, the bill bars any commercial purpose other than by news and communications media for dissemination to the general public; provided that such use by news and communications media shall be strictly limited to reporting of facts provided in the statement, and no further commentaries could be made thereon.

The Ombudsman also proposed that any issues on the statements required to be filed under this proposal, including allegations of willful misrepresentation, perjury, and incongruence of networth with earning capacity or inability to explain the changes in the SALN, shall be first brought to the review and compliance committee of each repository agency.

The bill provides that no criminal or administrative charges may be brought to the Office of the Ombudsman related to the state-

ments required under this proposal without an endorsement to this effect by the pertinent review and compliance committee.

Under the bill, violation of this proposal shall be punishable with imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding P5,000, or both, and in the discretion of the court, disqualification to hold public office.

Constitutional question

FOR his part, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said penalizing or jailing a media person for merely expressing an opinion or comment on the SALN of a government official or employee is certainly “very harsh, and, may even constitute an undue curtailment of a constitutionally guaranteed right.”

“This is more so since the phrase ‘no further commentaries could be made’ is very broad and vague,” Zarate added.

Earlier, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said he will not yield to pressure to have the SALNs submitted by government officials, including President Duterte, released to the public.

Since 2017, Duterte has not publicly released his SALN.

Govt should respect HCW needs to stem exodus–Carl Balita

A

KSYON Demokratiko senatorial candidate Carl Balita on Wednesday urged the government to provide for the needs of the country’s health workers, especially nurses, if it intends to prevent them from leaving the country and seek greener pastures abroad.

“Unless government do something about the welfare of medical health frontliners as they continue to struggle to care for patients affected by the coronavirus pandemic, many who entered the profession will eventually choose to secure better-paying jobs abroad,” said Balita, himself a registered nurse and licensed midwife.

Balita issued the statement in reaction to news reports that around 5 to 10 percent of nurses in private hospitals resigned in the past two to three weeks, severely limiting the capacity of health institutions.

Dr. Jose Rene de Grano of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) has pointed out that with a more relaxed deployment of nurses to foreign countries, coupled with few nursing board passers to replace them, the country may experience a shortage of nurses and this could severely impact admissions in hospitals.

Health-care professionals have protested in recent months over unpaid benefits, including the Covid-19 special risk allowance (SRA).

Balita pointed out that dissatisfied frontline heath workers will eventually leave as there are better opportunities in other parts of the world. “The Filipino nurses are the best for the Filipinos and the choice of the world,” said Balita, who has been instrumental in the licensure of many nurses all over the country through his review center and books published as reviewers.

He noted a report that even before

the pandemic, the world needed 6 million nurses—a 17-percent global shortage. This gap will reach 18 million by 2030 because of the pandemic. He proposes short-term and long-term solutions.

“They have so many big opportunities abroad, and there’s a lot of recruitment going on locally. We cannot match the salaries offered in the US, Europe, name it, our nurses especially. But, what will help keep them here? Our respect for their needs,” Balita explained.

Balita said health workers are also looking at the acronym M-A-T which stands for “Meal allowance, Accommodation allowance and Transportation allowance.” This, he said, should be given on top of the SRA, on time and without the hassle. “Can’t we be more generous to these front liners performing heroic jobs everyday?”

Balita added. He noted that many nurses received the SRA, either late, or with questions as to how they were computed.

Most international hospitals hire Filipino nurses from larger hospitals with ISO certification as they tend to be more experienced and more equipped with the skills needed in these facilities.

Balita said if the present government will not act immediately, it may be too late already. “There should also be long-term solutions for this, even legislative, because there has to be concrete action to prevent further crisis, not only in nursing but in other professions as well,” added Balita. We cannot ignore the healthcare professionals, especially those in the private sectors.

As an advocate for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise), Balita said it is his desire to help solve the three crises brought about by the pandemic—crisis in health, crisis in the economy and crisis in education.

PASSENGERS wearing face masks to protect themselves against Covid-19 board public-utility jeepneys in Tandang Sora, Quezon City, on Tuesday (October 19, 2021). The Department of Transportation has proposed to increase the number of passengers allowed in public transport, as jeepney drivers are urging the government to implement an increase of the minimum fare from P9 to P12. NONOY LACZA

Drilon: Chinese PPE supplier liable for tax evasion

By Butch Fernandez

S

@butchfBM

ENATE Minor it y L eader Frank Drilon pressed the Duterte administration on Wednesday to file tax evasion charges against a Chinese firm that the government paid almost P2 billion to as one of the awarded suppliers of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Drilon zeroed in on the XUZHOU Construction Machinery Group from which the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) bought the PPE supplies.

The Minority Leader maintained

that even if the supplier is based in China, it must still pay taxes on earnings from commercial transactions here in the Philippines.

During the 12th Blue Ribbon panel hearing on Tuesday, senators were told that XUZHOU had “no business permit, is not registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not listed as an accredited importer” at the Bureau of Customs.

Its Country Representative, Robin Han, admitted to Senate probers that XUZHOU has “no office in the Philippines and was not a direct importer,” adding that it was the DBM that “handled their clearances.”

Still, he added that the DBM

imposed a deduction to cover the standard value-added tax, as probers pressed for proof of tax payments. Senators, including Blue Ribbon chairman Richard J. Gordon, Drilon, and Sen. Panfilo Lacson were baffled by such a peculiar setup.

Drilon described this as an additional indication of lack of due diligence by Duterte administration officials involved in awarding contracts for pandemic supplies.

Much of the past several hearings have zeroed in on the low-capital startup Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which bagged over P8.7 billion in contracts from PS-DBM to supply face masks, shields and Covid-19 test kits that some sena-

tors suspected to be overpriced or substandard.

Three Pharmally executives are under fire for evasive testimonies before Senate probers, especially about how much exactly did the company—incorporated with only P625,000 capital—get exactly as financial assistance from President Duterte’s businessman friend and former economic adviser, Michael Yang, so Pharmally could shoulder the cost of delivering multimillionpeso supplies for each contract.

The three—Linconn Ong, and siblings Mohit and Twinkle Dargani—have been cited in contempt but only Ong is in Senate custody.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

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

LE DINH CUONG Seller Support Associate 12.

CHEN, HAODONG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 1.

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

HE, YUN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 2.

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

WANG, MINGKUI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 3.

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

YE, SHENGLIN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 4.

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

ZENG, YIJUN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 5.

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

ZHENG, JINGFENG Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 6.

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

SUN, LIN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 7.

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

ZHAO, FANG Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 8.

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

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

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

13.

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

ALLYSIA EMARIA LUNTUNGAN Customer Service Officer-Indonesian Speaking 14.

15.

16.

17.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management of adequate inventory of stocks for store operations

WIWI KRISTANTO Inventory Control Consultant

18.

10.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management of adequate inventory of stocks for store operations

19.

Brief Job Description: Pro active selling of products to both existing and new customers in order to achieve and exceed weekly, monthly and annual sales revenue targets and other performance targets NGO THI HA Telesales Marketing Officer - Vietnamese Speaking

20.

Brief Job Description: Pro active selling of products to both existing and new customers in order to achieve and exceed weekly, monthly and annual sales revenue targets and other performance targets NGUYEN NHAT LINH Telesales Marketing Officer - Vietnamese Speaking

21.

Brief Job Description: Pro active selling of products to both existing and new customers in order to achieve and exceed weekly, monthly and annual sales revenue targets and other performance targets NONG VU LAP Telesales Marketing Officer - Vietnamese Speaking

Basic Qualification: Can speak and understand Bahasa (Indonesian) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Pro active selling of products to both existing and new customers in order to achieve and exceed weekly, monthly and annual sales revenue targets and other performance targets

VU THI VUI Telesales Marketing Officer - Vietnamese Speaking 23.

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

AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex, Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore, Brgy. 076, Pasay City

Brief Job Description: Provides leadership for the team to come up with marketing strategies (digital or offline) that are aligned with the business goals NGUYEN HONG TRAM ANH Senior Telesales Marketing Officer- Vietnamese Speaking

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

Basic Qualification: Can speak and understand Bahasa (Indonesian)

Brief Job Description: Monitoring, analyzing and managing a monthly advertising campaign via Google ad words KEONG POK MUN Marketing Team Leader - Malaysian Speaking

22.

9.

Brief Job Description: Monitoring, analyzing and managing a monthly advertising campaign via Google ad words TRAN THU THU Marketing Officer - Vietnamese Speaking

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend to Senior Management.

Brief Job Description: Monitoring, analyzing and managing a monthly advertising campaign via Google ad words NGUYEN VINH HIEN Marketing Officer - Vietnamese Speaking

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend to Senior Management.

Brief Job Description: Handling phone calls involving selling, pacify and good service rendered NGUYEN THI THU HIEN Marketing Officer - Vietnamese Speaking

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

Brief Job Description: Provide service to Amazon sellers as part of their registration and on boarding process onto the Amazon Store.

Brief Job Description: Pro active selling of products to both existing and new customers in order to achieve and exceed weekly, monthly and annual sales revenue targets and other performance targets

BORSIL, KANYANAT Investigation Specialist I

11.

Brief Job Description: 1. Communicate Effectively via Email and/ or Telephone with our Customer base- Buyers Merchants and Internal Customers 2. Take Appropriate Action to identify and Help minimize the risk posed by fraud patterns and trends 3. Consistently Achieve /Exceed Weekly Productivity and Quality Standards and Participate in ad hoc Project/Assignments As Necessary

Basic Qualification: 1. Proficiency in both English and Thai Language 2. Adept with Microsoft Office 3. Communicate Effective with Customer Base-Buyers and Merchants 4. Consistently Achieve Weekly Productivity and Quality Standards Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Fluency in both English and Vietnamese.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Clear and effective oral and written communication in both Vietnamese and English fluently where required.

24.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails

HUO, YIZE Mandarin Customer Service Representative 25.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails

No.

26.

27.

28.

29.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails YAN, SHENYAO Mandarin Customer Service Representative

30.

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

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails YANG, YAZHOU Mandarin Customer Service Representative

31.

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

Basic Qualification: Possess program/project management skills

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails XIANG, XIN Mandarin Customer Service Representative

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails SUE WEI YANG Mandarin Customer Service Representative

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails LIU, JIAN Mandarin Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION KRISTIANTO Mandarin Customer Service Representative

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

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails YE, HONGQIAN Mandarin Customer Service Representative

32.

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

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails YIN, WEI Mandarin Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

33.

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

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails YIN, XIYOU Mandarin Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

34.

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails

SOORIYAARACHCHI, NUWAN CHATHURANGA Head Of Administration 36.

Brief Job Description: Directs and coordinates activities of one or more departments such as operations or sales of a major division of the business

YAMAZOE, TETSUJI MICHAEL Director, Business Development 37.

Brief Job Description: Manages the Company’s operation’s in the Philippines

WANG, HONG Chinese It Support Specialist 38.

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

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

More than 5 years of work experience in a similar role Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Considerable managerial experience in the filed of power and RE development Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

CAPSLOCK INC. 7th & 8th Flr. Y Tower Bldg., Coral Way Drive Cor. Macapagal Ave., Brgy. 076, Pasay City

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course

BRIGHTNIGHT PHILIPPINES SERVICES CORPORATION 41/f Gt Tower International, 6813 Ayala Avenue Cor. H.v. Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate in any course

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

BG FINANCE COMPANY INC. Lg-1 Cityland Condo Iii, 105 V.a Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and presentation skills

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service and managing the needs of customers through phone calls and emails YUAN, WEIZHONG Mandarin Customer Service Representative

35.

BAOLONG TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY GROUP LIMITED INC. 24th-27th/f Century Diamond Tower, Kalayaan Ave. Cor. Salamanca St., Poblacion, City Of Makati ERNESTINE JASPER Mandarin Customer Service Representative

A11

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

APRICUS TECHNOLOGY INC. 8/f Aguirre Building, 107 Aguirre St. Legaspi Village, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

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

Brief Job Description: Provide service to Amazon sellers and merchants including escalation of sellers’ issues.

PERMTHONG, PATUMRAT Seller Support Associate

ALFAMART TRADING PHILIPPINES, INC. Sm Corporate Office Bldg., E J.w. Diokno Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City

ARDONAL JACKSEN SIALLAGAN Inventory Control Consultant

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware

CATHAY UNITED BANK CO., LTD. MANILA BRANCH U/1 15/f Tower 6789, Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (Writing and Speaking) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

A12 Thursday, October 21, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

LIAO, CHIEH-LING Head Of Operations 39.

Brief Job Description: Manage current deposit operations & retail banking operations & products, including management & support of the deposit processing platform

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree major in any business related course, more than 5 years working experience of relevant corporate banking at a senior managerial position with international banking experience

No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

MISHRA, RAJESH Vice President - Technical Sales Solutions 52.

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

Brief Job Description: Provide electronic fund transfer, real-time payment technical solutions to existing clients and prospective clients. Provide upselling, cross selling for payment solutions, eft switches and mobile banking.

40.

41.

Brief Job Description: TO PREPARE REGULAR REPORT TO THE HEAD OFFICE

YU, HONGTING Commercial Manager Brief Job Description: To prepare regular report to the head office

Basic Qualification: FLUENT IN MANDARIN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE

WANG, HE Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer 42.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers , Give Information about product and services

WEI, WENGEN Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer 43.

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

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

53.

PEI, MING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service Representative

44.

Brief Job Description: Participating in marketing and sales seminars and conferences and making presentations alongside other trade write-ups MAO, SHIQI International Marketing Agent

45.

Brief Job Description: Participating in marketing and sales seminars and conferences and making presentations alongside other trade write-ups SONG, BIN International Marketing Agent

46.

Brief Job Description: Participating in marketing and sales seminars and conferences and making presentations alongside other trade write-ups

Basic Qualification: Can speak chinese language

FBM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. #747, C. Raymundo Ave., Maybunga, City Of Pasig

54.

55.

FURTADO DE LACERDA, IVANERY President And General Manager

Basic Qualification: Master’s Degree

Brief Job Description: Build the company’s image.

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

SU, YIXING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

DONG, JIAXUAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 56.

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese language

47.

Brief Job Description: Participating in marketing and sales seminars and conferences and making presentations alongside other trade write-ups

ZHANG, YIZHAO International Marketing Agent 48.

Brief Job Description: Participating in marketing and sales seminars and conferences and making presentations alongside other trade write-ups

KIM ( SPOUSE OF SHIN ), KYOUNGOK Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 57.

49.

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

LIU, ZHENHU Mandarin Customer Support Representative 50.

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

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

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WANG, RONGGUI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese language

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 YAO, JIAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese language

59.

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

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

DEXIN 999, INC. Red Hotel No. 345, Edsa Cor. Don Carlos Revilla St., Barangay 147, Pasay City

JEE KHANG LUNG Malaysian Customer Support Representative

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

ZHAI, HUAIFA Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 60.

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

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

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

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

ZHANG, KEJIE Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 61.

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

62.

ZHAO, YUANYUAN Mandarin Customer Support Representative 51.

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

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

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

EURONET TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, INC. Units E1 & E2 27/f Tower One & Exchange Plaza, Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

TOMIYAMA, JUNICHI Japanese Transformer Specialist

Brief Job Description: Customer service assists customers through chat or e-mail

ZHANG, XIAOYING Mandarin Customer Service Staff 63.

Brief Job Description: Customer service assists customers through chat or e-mail

Brief Job Description: 1. Supervises the repair of local items in the assigned site 2. Maintains supervision of transformers ( 700 MVA and up) 3. inspects transformers for defects such as cracked weldments, dismantles lamination assembly, preparatory to cleaning and inspection

TANG, ZHIQIANG Account Manager For Development Support Of Philippines Digital Energy Industry Project 67.

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

Brief Job Description: Understand the information, communication and photovoltaic technical structure of energy industry customers; Optimize the technology application to improved the efficiency power generation and operation; Establish the corresponding project team for different projects

QIN, ZHIYUAN Business And Project Financial Controller For Philippines Full Turnkey (FTK) Project 68.

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

Brief Job Description: In charge of pre- sales financial solutions; Give early warning on the contribution profit rate and cash flow; Assign the owner of the profitability metrics; oversee the project financial control; update regularly the expense management regulations

WU, KEJIE Product Manager For Access Network Rollout 69.

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

Brief Job Description: In charge with insights on telecommunication market. To provide network design based on customer’s requirements. Conduct training and representation to customer in understanding the solution of company.

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

CHEN, RUI Product Manager For Fusioncube Information Yechnology (it) Project

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

Brief Job Description: Develop telecom operator projects; Maintain good relationship with technicians from the end customer and partner side; Develop and recommend technical solutions and commercial strategies: Propose data warehouse on cloud solution that can match with the customer IT replacement requirements; Participate in request for proposal quotation and information responses tenders presentations consultation and commercial proposal; Initiate IT product improvements based on market needs and competitive environment

70.

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

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

ZHANG, YU Technical Director For 5g Network Performance Improvement Project Brief Job Description: In-charge of radio network performance improvement to improve user downlink; Plan the 5G network new site and ensure the new 5G sites to be properly designed; Manage the 5G/4G/3G/2G technique layer interaction strategy design

Basic Qualification: Mandarin speaking skilled using MS Office wih 1 year work experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

Basic Qualification: 1. solid experience in installation engineering of large transformers related to power supply 2. able to respond to consumer inquiries and communicate smoothly between the plant in japan and the customer 3. fluent in Japanese and English language (both written and oral)

Basic Qualification: With at least 3 years managerial work experience in digital transformation planning; with skills in enterprise digital, transformation planning ; with excellent understanding of energy industry and relevant project management experience, with excellent knowledge of electrical engineering and information an communication technology

Basic Qualification: With 2 years work experience as Finance officer; with budget and enterprise risk management skills; Knowledge in financial report analysis with financial risk; Must have a master’s degree in international trade and highly proficient in Chinese and English language

Basic Qualification: With at least 3 years work experience as a product manager responsible for fixed network solution.

Knowledgeable in R&D of fixed access network. Must have a bachelor’s degree in electronic information technology Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 Basic Qualification: Has at least 5 year work experience as it manager and has participated in the requirements analysis; Organize the technical solutions; development requirements; development plans and other input documents and compete the requirements import process operations with strategic planning skills.

Has knowledge with company software in managing and supervising project with excellent of communication engineering.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Mandarin speaking skilled using MS Office wih 1 year work experience

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as marketing specialist.

Demonstrable experience in marketing data analytics and tools. Fluent in Mandarin / Basic English.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as marketing specialist.

Demonstrable experience in marketing data analytics and tools. Fluent in Mandarin / Basic English.

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

GLVICTORY TECHNOLOGY INC. Unit 1, 14/f 6789 Tower, Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

TAN KAH LING Mandarin Customer Service Staff

Brief Job Description: Responsible for leading all activities related to conceptualizing and implementing marketing

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

HITACHI ASIA LTD. Unit 8 11/f Zuellig Bldg., Makati Ave Cor, Paseo De Roxas, Urdaneta, City Of Makati

71.

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for leading all activities related to conceptualizing and implementing marketing

WANG, QIUPING Marketing Specialist

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English

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

58.

YANG, YONGKANG International Marketing Agent

64.

66.

FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. 4th-11th Floor Aseana 3 Building, Aseana Avenue Corner Diosdado Macapagal, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

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

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

Basic Qualification: High School Graduate in Chinese Curriculum , Can Speak and Write Fluent Chinese Mandarin , Can Operate Computer Mandarin Characters

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

HONG, YANGYANG Marketing Specialist

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

DE AN INTERNATIONAL HOLDING COMPANY INC. Unit La 1&2 Hobbies Of Asia, #8 Macapagal Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City HE, YUE International Marketing Agent

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or any related field, preferably with MBA. With at least 15 years’ of solid experience particularly in financial services and technology solutions field such as (but not limited to) ATM’s switches, outsourcing services, realtime payments etc.

No.

65.

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

CRONYX INC. No. 4th-10th Flr. Yinhope Bldg., Dela Rama Cor. Zoili Hilario St., Seascape Village, Ccp Complex Subd. Zone 10, Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

FAREAST OUTSOURCE PROCESSING INC. 7th, 8th, 9th Flr. Nu Tower, Moa Coral Way, Brgy. 076, Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English language

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

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

CHINA ENERGY ENGINEERING GROUP GUANGDONG ELECTRIC POWER DESIGN INSTITUTE CO. LTD., (PHILIPPINES) BRANCH U-1205 12/f 6750 Ayala Bldg., Ayala Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

CHEN, HAOHAN Commercial Manager

www.businessmirror.com.ph

LAI, QIANG Technical Director For Wireless 4g To 5g Mitigation And Expansion Project 72.

Brief Job Description: Understand the current network from high level design and low level design; solve technical and nontechnical issues and ensure the network safety; work with product team together to define the network development strategy

Basic Qualification: At least 5 years experience of radio network planning and overseas delivery project; with good management skills as technical team leader; Highly proficient in Chinese and English Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Must have technical skills using genex cloud omstar software to solve optimization issues; Highly skilled in installing software systems; Proficient with data analysis and mitigation plan; must have a bachelor’s degree in electronical engineering; Highly proficient in Chinese and English language.

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

JIA, JUN Chinese Speaking Program Designer 73.

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

SAM SHYH HAUR Chinese Speaking Program Designer 74.

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

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

75.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls & Korean customer service representative YUM, DONGSIK Korean Customer Service Representative

76.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

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

77.

Brief Job Description: Design consultant that evaluate client needs and developing products and prototypes.

Basic Qualification: College graduate, speaks & write fluently (Korean & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, speaks & write fluently (Korean & English)

CHENG, GEJING Mandarin Operations Specialist 88.

78.

Brief Job Description: Verify and supervise the requisitions and purchase orders for supplies and equipment

LIANG, JING Mandarin Technical Support 89.

79.

Brief Job Description: Determine vision, roadmap, product backlog and acts as a single voice of the customer on behalf of many and various stakeholders

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

Basic Qualification: Strong planning and organizational skills

90.

92.

80.

Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service DO THI KIM ANH Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff

81.

Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service NG CHEW YEE Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff

82.

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

83.

Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

Basic Qualification: 15 years experience in Private Wealth Management platforms, agile product experience as product owner, excellent oral and written communication skills, and stakeholder management

84.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

85.

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

94.

95.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 96.

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

97.

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

98.

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

99.

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

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg., Edsa Cor. Macapagal Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City WANG, QING Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

93.

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

MARKETROLE ASIA PACIFIC SERVICES, INC. 26/f, 27/f, 28/f The Enterprise Center Tower 1, 6766 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati DANG PHUONG LINH Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff

100.

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

101.

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

102.

MEGAWOW FINANCE INC. Unit 3006 Antel Global Corporate Center, Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig LEE MENG THIEN President And Malaysian Operation Manager

86.

Brief Job Description: Provide inspired leadership for the organization.

Make important policy, planning, and strategy decision Develop, implement, and review operational policies and procedure. Assist HR with recruiting when necessary. Oversee hiring objectives and job description creation. Stay on top of employment trends, legal issue and best practices.

Brief Job Description: To troubleshoot, maintain and monitor the computer system

Basic Qualification: Extensive experience in Leadership organization.

Extensive experience in policy planning and strategic decisions.

Experience with operational policies and procedures.

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

MELCO RESORTS LEISURE (PHP) CORPORATION City Of Dreams Manila, Aseana Ave. Cor. Roxas Blvd., Tambo, City Of Parañaque

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

105.

106.

DANG QUOC CHUONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

103.

104.

FENG, ZAIDONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

HA UNG KHANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

HUANG, YICONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

LA THI HUONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

LI, XISHENG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

LIU, HONGYAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

LIU, NAYAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

NGUYEN VAN HAI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ONG THING CHUNG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

QI, ZHILONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

QIN, JIAQING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

TANG, JIXIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

TSAI, YU-LING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

VU QUOC DOANH Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

107.

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

108.

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

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

91.

MACQUARIE GROUP SERVICES (PHILIPPINES), INC. 29/f The Enterprise Center Tower 1, 6766 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

GOYDIN, DMITRY BORIS Senior Manager, Product Owner (digital Platforms Specialist)

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

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

Basic Qualification: Basic qualification: college graduate; preferably with 3 years’ experience in designing beach resorts, fluent in English.

Basic Qualification: Maximum of 10years professional experience, management experience in a 5-Star kitchen environment, successful completion of a 4yr apprenticeship or training, food safety training certificate (HACCP of ISO2000 preferred)

No.

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

JQ INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION INC. Unit 9 & 10, 2f Bttc Centre,, 288 Ortigas Ave., Brgy. Greenhills, City Of San Juan LI, YOUZHI Purchasing Manager - Mandarin Speaking

Brief Job Description: Responsible for leading & managing the functions of the culinary team for Chinese kitchens

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

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

JLG CONSULTING, INC. 4/f Crown Center, 158 Jupiter St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

NGUYEN BUI TU NGA NATHALIE Designer Consultant

87.

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

J-NA ALLOUT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP. 3/f Lipams Bldg., #48 President Avenue, Bf Homes, City Of Parañaque LEE, MINHO Korean Customer Service Representative

KHOO TENG JIN Executive Chef, Chinese

A13

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

INFOVINE INC. 8th, 9th, 10th/f Aspire Corporate Plaza Bldg., Macapagal Blvd. St., Zone 10, Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

Thursday, October 21, 2021

109.

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

110.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

111.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English

112.

113.

WEN, ZEBING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

WU, PENGBO Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

XIAO, SHUANGSHUANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

XIAO, WENWU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

XU, XIANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

ZHENG, HUIZHEN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ZHU, YONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

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

FAN, HU Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 114.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English

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

HE, JINFENG Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 115.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English

Brief Job Description: Customer Service

CHEN, XUAN Chinese Speaking Business Analyst

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English

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

WANG, YALING Customer Service Representative

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

HOU, YU Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 116.

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English

HUANG, SHANSHAN Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 117.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

118.

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

LI, JUNKUN Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 119.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English

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

KYAW CHIT SHWE Chinese Speaking Business Analyst

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

LI, KANG Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 120.

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/ Level and Fluent in Mandarin / Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NEO INCORPORATED North Tower Centrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

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

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

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

LIANG, ZHIBIN Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 121.

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

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

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

BusinessMirror

A14 Thursday, October 21, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION LIU, XINQI Chinese Speaking Business Analyst

122.

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

QIAO, JIANNING Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 123.

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

TANG, JIAJUN Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 124.

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

XIE, YI Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 125.

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

YAN, YONGZHI Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 126.

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

ZHANG, CHAO Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 127.

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

ZHONG, FAN Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 128.

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

ZHU, MIAO Chinese Speaking Business Analyst 129.

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

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

No.

NONG, FENGHAI Chinese Customer Service 137.

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

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

138.

139.

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

140.

141.

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

142.

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

143.

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

144.

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th/f, Pearl Marina Building Pacific Drive, Don Galo, City Of Parañaque

CHEN, MAOHUA Chinese Customer Service 130.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

CHENG, HAIRUI Chinese Customer Service 131.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

FANG, TING Chinese Customer Service 132.

133.

134.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

HAN, QIPEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

KONG, LINGJIAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

LIANG, YUNFENG Chinese Customer Service 135.

136.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

LYU, KUNKUN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

SONG, JI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

SU, QUANHE Chinese Customer Service

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

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

PANG, QINGKUN Chinese Customer Service

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

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

145.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

TAN, LIXIA Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

TANG, HAITAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

WANG, LIXIA Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

WU, XIAODAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

YAN, BO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

YANG, ZHONG Chinese Customer Service 146.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

ZHANG, CHENG Chinese Customer Service 147.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills

ZHANG, LONGJUN Chinese Customer Service 148.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills

ZHANG, SHUAI Chinese Customer Service 149.

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

ZHAO, SHUANGLI Chinese Customer Service 150.

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

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in COmputer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

HOANG CHI OAI Vietnamese Customer Service 151.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

No.

152.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

NGUYEN DINH DINH Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Bases Services

153.

GIAP THI MINH TRANG Vietnamese Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Deal with all customer queries / complaints should be fluent in Vietnamese and English speaking.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in COmputer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills

TRAN THI HANG Vietnamese Speaking Customer Service Representative

154.

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in COmputer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in COmputer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in COmputer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in COmputer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

155.

Brief Job Description: Develop administrative staff and resolve administrative problems

SK AFSAR RAHAMAN Sous Chef- Indian Cuisine 156.

Brief Job Description: Create new menus and dishes. Ensure food quality and food quality and food production

MAEKAWA, TETSUYA General Manager 157.

Basic Qualification: Preferably with 6mos.

- 1year experience with customer service experience.

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Experienced Sous chef for Indian cuisine degree in culinary Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: Over-all administration of project management & construction activities & resources; monitors project cost/s for financial planning; directs the activities of the project to achieve efficiency & effectiveness in the management of const. Projects.

Basic Qualification: License in level 1 piping construction management engineer (japan), 15 years relevant experience and skills.

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

POWERCHINA PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Unit 2101 21/f Bdo Equitable Tower, 8751 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati YAN, YIKUN Equipment Installation 158.

Brief Job Description: Assisting in planning, programming and implementing the company goals and making sure that the project undertaking are completed strictly on time

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English language both written and verbal and with working knowledge of the latest business policies and regulations Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

PRU LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF U.K. 9th/f Uptown Place Tower 1, 1 East, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

WONG ENG TENG President And Chief Executive Officer 159.

Brief Job Description: Sales the overall strategic direction and represents the organization for legal, tax and regulation purposes, manages the profitability and growth of the organization.

Basic Qualification: Experienced in developing strategic business plans, transformed or managed various aspects of the business, managed P&L, products, people of increasing scale, size and complexity Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

SINOMA CBMIPH CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION 37b Rufino Pacific Tower, Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

TANG, CHAOLI Mandarin Administrator 160.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin administrator will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

LIU, XUMING Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor 161.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin administrator, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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

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

WANG, SUIXIAN Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor 162.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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

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

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

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

PHPC CO., LTD. INC. Oledan Square 11/f, 6788 Ayala Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

Basic Qualification: Preferably with 6mos.

- 1year experience with customer service experience.

PHILIPPINE PLAZA HOLDINGS, INCORPORATED Ccp Complex, Roxas Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

Brief Job Description: Deal with all customer queries / complaints should be fluent in Vietnamese and English speaking.

LOH YUN SEEN Mandarin Administrative Specialist

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

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

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

PHILIPPINE FULL DEGREE COMMUNICATIONS CORP. 10/f Alphaland Makati Place, 7323 Ayala Ave. Cor. Malugay St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in COmputer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Applications with Good Oral And Written Communication Skills

NOVATECH (PASAY) LIMITED, INC. 4th Flr. W Mall Bldg., Diosdado Macapagal Ave. St., Zone 10. Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

LIU, ZHENSHAN Mandarin Electrical Supervisor 163.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin electrical supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin electrical supervisor, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

PENG, GUILIANG Mandarin Electrical Supervisor 164.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Electrical Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

GUO, SHIJUN Mandarin Mechanical And Electrical Maintenance Supervisor 165.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin mechanical and electrical maintenance supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

XIANGUO, ZHANG Mandarin Mechanical And Electrical Maintenance Supervisor 166.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin mechanical and electrical maintenance supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

YAN, WEI Mandarin Mechanical Superintendent 167.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin mechanical superintendent will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Electrical Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

168.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Mechanical Superintendent will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

YANG, PU Mandarin Technical Works Officer 176.

169.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Project Monitoring Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

170.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Project Monitoring Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin technical works supervisor, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

TIAN, ZHENGBIN Mandarin Technical Works Supervisor 177.

171.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Slip Form Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin mechanical and electrical maintenance supervisor, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin mechanical superintendent, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Mechanical Superintendent, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Project Monitoring Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Project Monitoring Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Slip Form Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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

QIU, JIAN Mandarin Special Heavy Equipment Supervisor 172.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin special heavy equipment supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Special Heavy Equipment Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

173.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Steelman Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Steelman Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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

SUN, ZHIJUN Mandarin Steelman Supervisor 174.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Steelman Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Steelman Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

ZHONG, LIANG Mandarin Technical Works Supervisor 178.

XIONG, XIANGYONG Mandarin Steelman Supervisor 175.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin steelman supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

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

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Technical Works Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Technical Works Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

SUEZ INTERNATIONAL PHILIPPINE BRANCH Unit Lz-2 19f Tower 1 Highstreet South Corporate Plaza, 9th Ave. Cor. 26th St., Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig SRI ROZY BIN ABU BAKAR Construction/commissioning Manager 179.

Brief Job Description: Manage construction, commissioning, process proving of a wastewater treatment plant and coordinate with French headquarters.

Basic Qualification: Min. 5-year experience; Experience on at least 3 international large projects in construction of water treatment plants (plant treatment capacity over 50,000 m3/day)

191.

192.

193.

194.

IKOMA, JOSEPHAT MISENGA French Operations CSR II

180.

Brief Job Description: Provides expedient and accurate customer service to French speaking clients and customers. Addresses French customer concerns, queries, issues, complaints and/or places sales orders and product information requests. Prepares reports by accessing account database, analyzing the information contained and providing useful accurate and appropriate data.

195.

196.

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

TELUS INTERNATIONAL PHILIPPINES, INC. Units 23/f, 31st/f - 37th/f Discovery Centre, Adb Avenue, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig Basic Qualification: Candidate must possess at least a Vocational Diploma in any field, Must be fluent in both written and verbal French and English language, At least 1 year of working experience as a BPO Professional, preferably with experience supporting a Bilingual Queue.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

WU, CAILIANG Chinese IT Support Specialist

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

197.

198.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients YUAN, ZHITONG Chinese IT Support Specialist Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients ALVINA IT Support Specialist Brief Job Description: The IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST is an Integral of the company infrastruction Application Support and of the IT Division and is Responsible for provided quality IT Support of Enterprise systems Throughout the Chinese clients AMELIA CHOW ZI WEI IT Support Specialist Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients FONG JIA YUN IT Support Specialist

181.

Brief Job Description: Provides expedient and accurate customer service to French speaking clients and customers

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

THE PENBROTHERS INTERNATIONAL INC. 6/f Opl Bldg., 100 C. Palanca St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati LYU, HAITAO Business Development Manager 182.

Brief Job Description: Planning and overseeing new marketing initiatives, researching organizations WANG, YANG Senior Service Engineer

183.

Brief Job Description: Install and communication critical power supply, provide supervisory and technical support LIU, CHAO Sourcing Specialist

184.

Brief Job Description: Interacting with professionals, reviewing online portfolios, identify candidates

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, preferably 6 months to 1 year to the same field Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, preferably 6 months to 1 year to the same field Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, preferably 6 months to 1 year to the same field Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TIANYU TECHNOLOGY INC. 14/f Socialdesk Tower, H.v. Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati FENG, ZICHAO Chinese IT Support Specialist 185.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients HU, QINGBO Chinese IT Support Specialist

186.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients LI, DETAO Chinese IT Support Specialist

187.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients LYU, MENGJIA Chinese IT Support Specialist

188.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients PENG, WEIMEI Chinese IT Support Specialist

189.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it supports of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

WANG, RUOCHEN Chinese IT Support Specialist

190.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin Cantonese and Fukien Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure. Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clients HENDY It Support Specialist

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it supports of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

NANY It Support Specialist Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist is an integral of the company infrastructure Application Support and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT Support of Enterprise systems Throughout the Chinese Clientele TANG HONG VAN It Support Specialist Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it supports of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin Cantonese and Fukien Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must have a 30 years of experience working in “K” line

Brief Job Description: Provide technical knowledge and advise to improve the effectiveness of the operations division of the Salary Range: company Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: ZHANG, WEN Excellent in speaking, Bilingual Admin Support Specialist reading and writing in 200. bilingual languages Brief Job Description: Handles administrative requests and queries from Salary Range: senior managers/officers Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: WANG, YUNPENG Excellent in writing, Bilingual Technical Support Specialist reading and speaking in 201. bilingual languages Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying Salary Range: work load capacity pf computer system Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 VXI GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V. (PHILIPPINES) Sm Cyberzone 2, Jupiter Cor. Zodiac Streets, Bel-air, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: WANG, STEVEN TSORNG-JENG College graduate, 8 years Chief Finance Officer experience in a BPO 202. company Brief Job Description: Oversee the administrative and financial affairs of Salary Range: the company Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 WHITERAIN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES INC. 20/f Zuellig Bldg., Makati Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas, Urdaneta, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: TAI SIEW WEI Proven work experience as Human Resource Team Leader-multilingual Speaking HR team leader or similar 203. role Brief Job Description: Support the development and implement of HR Salary Range: initiatives and systems Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 XUSHENG TECHNOLOGY CORP. Flr. No. 1-5 Bldg., No. 0050 F.b. Harrison St. Cor. Williams And Roberts St., Zone 4, Barangay 013, District 1, Pasay City Basic Qualification: MYAT NOE WAI Proficient in speaking, Bilingual Technical Support reading and writing in 204. bilingual languages Brief Job Description: Deals with hardware and application support queries Salary Range: and issues reported to the Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: TIAN, YUN Proficient in speaking, Bilingual Technical Support reading and writing in 205. bilingual languages Brief Job Description: Deals with hardware and application support queries Salary Range: and issues reported to the Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 LIANG, RIHUA Basic Qualification: Mandarin Speaking Technical Support Fluent in Mandarin 206. speaking Brief Job Description: Deals with hardware and application support queries Salary Range: and issues reported to the Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

207.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language

KANDA, SHUNICHI Consultant/owner’s Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language

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

VENTIS MARITIME CORPORATION G/f Ocean Breeze, Cpb1-ia Coral Way Drive, Barangay 76, Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Skilled in French language

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin, Cantonese and Fukien language

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

199.

UTUMPU, ALPHONSE French Operations CSR II

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin steelman supervisor, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

No.

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

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

SUN, ZHIWEI Mandarin Special Heavy Equipment Supervisor

Brief Job Description: The mandarin technical works supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

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

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

KONG, XIANGLIANG Mandarin Slip Form Supervisor

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin technical works supervisor, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin mechanical and electrical maintenance supervisor, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company, demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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

LIU, SHANCUN Mandarin Project Monitoring Supervisor

Brief Job Description: The mandarin technical works supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

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

LAN, CHANGBIN Mandarin Project Monitoring Supervisor

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A15

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

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

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

ZHOU, CHUANYOU Mandarin Mechanical Superintendent

No.

Thursday, October 21, 2021

OU, SHANDA Mandarin Speaking Technical Support Brief Job Description: Deals with hardware and application support queries and issues reported to the

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

*Date Generated: Oct 20, 2021 Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication.

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Thursday, October 21, 2021

B1

Filinvest Land aims to raise ₧10B via retail bond float

By VG Cabuag

G

@villygc

otianun-led property developer Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) on Wednesday said it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) its registration statement for its P10-billion fixed-rate peso denominated retail bond float.

The company said it will sell some P8 billion in debt and P2 billion as its over-subscription option, with maturity periods ranging from four to six years.

The said bond float will be the second tranche out of its P30-billion

shelf registration.

The company issued in November 2020 the first tranche of the bonds worth P8.1 billion.

The company mandated BDO Capital and Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital

Corp., East West Banking Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. as its joint lead underwriters and bookrunners for the offer.

RCBC Trust and Investments Group shall serve as the trustee and Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. as registrar and paying agent.

The bonds shall be listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. for trading.

For the first half, FLI’s income fell 22 percent to P1.87 billion from last year’s P2.41 billion as its rental, such as office and shopping malls, remained weak.

The company said its revenues fell 10 percent to P8.31 billion from last year’s P9.3 billion due to lower revenues generated from its leasing business, which were tempered

by higher real estate sales revenues from its residential business.

Real estate sales rose by 10 percent to P5.03 billion from last year’s P4.55 billion primarily due to higher construction percentage of completion achieved during the second quarter.

Rental and related services, meanwhile, plunged by 27 percent to P2.86 billion from last year’s P3.91 billion due to the decline in mall and office revenues as a result of lower occupancy and rental concessions provided primarily to mall and retail tenants.

“Reduced occupancy was caused by the pre-termination of leases by POGO [Philippine offshore gaming operators] tenants. The group expects new BPO [business process outsourcing] tenants to lease out the vacated office spaces in the remainder of the year,” it said.

AC Energy beefs up RE portfolio

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

A

C Energy Corp. (ACEN) is beefing up its renewable energy portfolio by acquiring its partners’ stake in Northwind Power Development Crp. (Northwind) and all the Philippine operating and development assets of UPC Philippines Wind Investment Co. B.V. (UPC Philippines).

ACEN is increasing its stake in Northwind to 100 percent through the acquisition of the 32.2 percent interest of its partners for up to P1.093 billion.

The sellers, in turn, will subscribe to up to 90 million shares of ACEN at a subscription price of up to P11.32 per share.

BOI approves ₧26-M health tracking system software project

T

he Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the P26-million health tracking system software project by Pivotal Peak Digital Health Solutions Inc. (PPDHSI), a spin-off company of UP Manila for the Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS) technology.

The BOI noted that PPDHSI was categorized as a new developer of software under innovation drivers based on Executive Order 226 or the Omnibus Investments Code.

The company, which is applying for the commercialization of CHITS technology, will build its facility in Barangay Moonwalk, Parañaque City.

Operations are slated to begin in April 2021, employing 48 workers in its full capacity.

CHITS is a certified electronic medical records (EMR) system, a crucial information system tool of health facilities and practitioners.

PPDHSI has obtained copyright protection for CHITs as it intends to continue to develop, maintain, upgrade and commercialize the software. “The use of EMR would allow healthcare facilities, both private and public, to provide faster and quality health care services, especially now that every Filipino is entitled to them under the Universal Health Care Law. EMR systems are useful in identifying Covid-19 trends and potential cases, while aiming to limit the spread of the virus by measuring the number of beds being used,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Known as the Bangui Windmills, NorthWind is the first wind farm in Southeast Asia that started commercial operations in 2005. The Bangui Windmills was also the first renewable energy project of ACEN. ACEN also said it will acquire the ownership of UPC Philippines and Stella Marie L. Sutton in various energy companies, including all of UPC Philippines’ interests in North Luzon Renewables, the owner of the operating 81 MW Caparispisan wind farm; Bayog Wind Power Corp., the owner of the 160 MW Pagudpud Wind that is under construction; and various renewable energy projects under development.

ACEN will purchase these assets for up to P4.5 billion.

UPC Philippines, in turn, will sub-

scribe to up to 390 million shares of ACEN for up P11.32 per share.

With the acquisition of UPC Philippines’ shares, ACEN will take full ownership of the 160 MW Pagudpud Wind and raise its stake in the 81 MW North Luzon Renewables wind farm to about 78 percent.

The acquisition also includes UPC Philippines’ renewable development pipeline totaling about 1,300 MW. “We have had excellent relationship and outcomes with our partners from Northwind and UPC Philippines, and would like to thank our partners for the trust and collaboration all these years,” said ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia. “These transactions enable us to leverage synergies across the ACEN portfolio and allow our

partners to benefit from ACEN in the long long-term.”

Jose Maria Zabaleta, ACEN’s chief development officer, said these acquisitions will prove to be an important catalyst in expediting the company’s shift to renewables.

“The additional 1,300 MW of renewables pipeline and expanded operations will accelerate our sustainable growth towards developing high value renewable energy projects,” Zabaleta said.

ACEN has about 2,600 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Australia. It aspires to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.

FNI: Bataan steel plant construction to start next year

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

L

isted mining firm Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI) said its $50-million rebar steel rolling plant project in Bataan will push through next year and that it intends to shoulder the entire cost of the project.

FNI President Dante R. Bravo said it will no longer push through with its earlier plan of partnering with another entity for the project. Construction of the steel plant has been delayed to next year given the challenges posed

by Covid-19-related mobility restrictions.

“We believe that we have the capacity to do that,” Bravo said during the virtual press briefing on the launch of the 2020 sustainable development goals report of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA).

“Only at this point we are hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But we will push with that. We cannot do construction this year, next year possibly.”

Two years ago, FNI announced that it has partnered with Hong Kong-based Huarong Asia Ltd. for the steel plant, with Huarong shouldering 51 percent of the total investment.

The start of the commercial operations for steel plant project,

which was unveiled by FNI in mid2019, was targeted to start by 2022.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic derailed the project’s timeline.

In October 2020, FNI disclosed that it has acquired a 40-percent stake in Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) port operator Seasia Nectar Port Services, Inc. to ensure that the company’s “easy and steady access to port services in relation to the importation of raw materials, especially during construction.”

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FNI said it had planned to start the construction of the steel plant in the first quarter.

With the steel plant project, the company is aiming to corner 5 percent of the 10-million metric ton local steel market. The rebar steel-rolling plant will have an annual production capacity of 600,000 metric tons, according to FNI.

‘Lazada, Shopee can be held liable for sale of illegal goods’

Subic firms open ₧72-M commercial complex

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

S

ubic Bay Freeport—While some companies here were forced to scale down their operations due to the pandemic, a number of firms continued with their usual business and had even managed to expand their operations.

Last Friday, Taiwanese investors here inaugurated the Subic Bay Gateway Park-Food Services, Inc. (SBGP-FSI), a two-story P72-miliion commercial project that housed specialty restaurants, shops and products showroom, a function hall, and the most popular feature of all—the country’s first 7-11 drive-through convenience store.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, who graced the opening ceremony for the project, pointed out the significance of this launch amid the lingering Covid-19 pandemic. The complex, which broke ground last year at the height of the pandemic-caused economic downturn, “demonstrates the resiliency of the Subic Freeport to rise amid the pandemic because of solid economic foundation,” she said. “[It also] proves that the Subic agency has taken the right response to the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic.” The newly-inaugurated commercial complex sits along Efficiency Avenue at one busy corner of the Subic Bay Gateway Park, an industrial enclave populated by mostly Taiwanese companies.

The two-story building top-bills the SBGP Food Services Inc., a joint venture between SBGP developer Subic Bay Development and Man-

Officials led by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Philippine Representative Michael Hsu, and Subic Bay Development and Management Corp. Inc. President Willy Wang prepare to cut the ceremonial ribbon to inaugurate the P72-million SBGP-FSI Commercial Complex. Henry Empeño

agement Corp. Inc. (SBDMC) and property developer and manager MCOM Subic Corporation.

SBDMC President Willy Wang, who also heads SBGP-FSI, said that aside from the high-end 7-Eleven convenience store drive-through, the complex also features the Royal Park Restaurant that offers authentic Taiwanese cuisine, a TECO home appliances store, a Taiwanese food specialty store that offers authentic Taiwanese food products, and a function hall with a capacity of 100 persons. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Philippine Representative Michael Hsu, who also graced the opening, commented that the SBGP-FSI project is “a testament of the strong relationship between the Philippines and Taiwan.”

“Now that the SBGP-FSI has opened, Filipinos here can savor the taste of Taiwanese cooking,” Hsu said, adding that cuisine from different countries can break boundaries and bring nations together.

In the same occasion, several Taiwanese firms also donated two ambulances, a police patrol car, and a vaccine refrigerator to the SBMA—

yet another indicator that the economy is picking up here.

According to the SBMA, Taian Subic Electric donated the vaccine chamber, while the SBDMC and MCOM Subic Corp. donated the two ambulances. Meanwhile, the police patrol pick-up truck was donated by members of the Subic Bay Taiwan Chamber of Commerce: SBDMC Inc., Universal Philippines Corp., Sky Movement Logistics Inc., Tailin Abrasives Corp., Haw Cheng Yen (Paul Gan), Le Charme Hotel, Upower Building Corp., Jack Metal Inc., Limech Mfg & Trading Corp., Tao Hang Corp., and MSK Group Work, Inc. The SBMA has consistently reported an uptick in business activities in the Subic Bay Freeport despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Early this year, the SBMA said that a total of 63 new projects were put up by business locators here in 2020, while 16 existing companies expanded their operations. Last August, the SBMA said that the number of registered Subic investors continued to grow from 1,691 in 2019 to 1,706 in 2020 and to 1,744 by midyear 2021.

Sen. Win Gatchalian

E

lectronic commerce or eCommerce platforms along with parties or merchants engaged in the sale of prohibited digital products can be held solidarily liable under the proposed Internet Transactions Act, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a show cause as well as cease and desist orders to Lazada, Shopee, and Facebook Marketplace after advertisements for the sale of SMS blast machines were found available in the sites.

“The reason why we included the joint and solidary liability in Senate Bill No. 1591 is to make these platforms responsible in protecting the interest of the consumers,” Gatchalian, principal author of the bill, said.

Under Section 17 of SB 1591 or the proposed Internet Transactions Act, if the online eCommerce platform knows or should have known that the digital products sold do not comply with the law or if the online merchant is not duly registered with the appropriate regulatory agencies and the online eCommerce platform per-

mits the online merchant to sell digital products, both shall share solidary liability.

The NTC said the sale of text or SMS blaster machines and similar equipment “appears to violate” the Radio Control Law and other regulations such as its Memorandum Order 01-02-2013 or the Prohibition of Portable Cellular Mobile Repeater and Portable Cell Site Equipment.

The bill at hand seeks to protect consumers from unethical, illegal, and unscrupulous business practices of those engaged in eCommerce, Gatchalian explained.

“Online shopping or eCommerce has radically changed the way we live our lives. Whether as a consumer or a seller, technology and the internet have dramatically transformed the way businesses and transactions are conducted,” the vice chairperson of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee added.

“Hangad natin na mapadali ang mga serbisyong iniaalok sa online ngunit meron at meron pa ring nagsasamantala sa ganitong platform at ito ang nais nating tugunan dito sa panukalang ito,” he said.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, October 21, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 20, 2021

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

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

45.2 131 85.95 24.3 9.5 49.65 9.33 20.6 56.85 19.82 120.9 90.5 0.91 4.23 3.31 1.1 0.65 219.2 2,600

46.35 131.5 86 24.4 9.52 49.9 9.88 20.7 56.9 19.84 121 90.75 1 4.24 3.51 1.14 0.66 225 2,800

43.65 130 86 24.3 9.55 49 9.37 20.85 56.85 20.05 124.9 91 0.91 4.25 3.47 1.1 0.65 225 2,598

45.2 132.3 86.5 24.4 9.55 49.9 9.37 21.1 56.85 20.05 124.9 92 0.91 4.25 3.51 1.12 0.65 225 2,600

43.65 129.1 85.9 24.1 9.49 49 9.33 20.3 56.8 19.8 121 90.25 0.9 4.24 3.27 1.1 0.65 225 2,598

45.2 131 86 24.4 9.5 49.9 9.33 20.6 56.85 19.84 121 90.5 0.91 4.24 3.51 1.12 0.65 225 2,600

2,200 98,735 2,285,180 298,912,927 1,488,860 128,087,460.50 74,300 1,801,340 582,700 5,547,679 2,284,100 113,512,030 5,200 48,520 376,700 7,830,745 1,370 77,869.50 34,100 676,840 1,232,270 150,766,881 52,710 4,797,612.50 169,000 153,100 99,000 420,210 232,000 811,030 11,000 12,120 53,000 34,450 1,520 342,000 365 948,810

INDUSTRIAL

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

11.86 1.12 31.75 0.69 29 75.5 292.6 25.95 4.02 4.25 10.66 23.8 13.78 4.85 2.81 25.1 14.42 8.36 18.16 77 0.61 1.33 114.2 228.6 27.85 7.55 0.179 15.5 8.23 0.77 0.117 140.1 0.75 2.41 51.05 1.27 14.7 6.3 5.95 6.18 14.56 0.92 1.16 1.68 1.6 4.4 22.45 2.39 8.59 0.84 6 1.12 4.62

11.88 1.16 31.8 0.7 29.05 75.6 293.8 26 4.03 4.42 10.88 23.85 13.88 4.95 2.82 25.5 14.48 8.37 18.18 77.1 0.62 1.36 115 228.8 29.75 7.58 0.182 15.52 8.27 0.78 0.119 140.3 0.76 2.48 58.9 1.28 14.72 6.4 5.96 6.19 14.76 0.93 1.17 1.69 1.64 4.5 22.95 2.4 8.6 0.85 6.02 1.13 4.64

12 1.14 31.35 0.75 29.2 76.1 297.6 24.9 4.02 4.32 10.8 24.3 13.98 4.95 2.83 24.95 14.94 8.38 18.16 76.2 0.61 1.32 115 228 29.95 7.4 0.177 15.78 8.19 0.79 0.117 139.9 0.75 2.48 51.05 1.28 14.7 6.29 6.03 6.2 14.72 0.91 1.11 1.68 1.6 4.01 22.4 2.42 8.71 0.84 6.06 1.15 4.4

12.38 1.18 32.3 0.79 29.2 76.1 298.2 26.75 4.09 4.47 10.92 24.5 13.98 4.95 2.83 25.5 14.94 8.45 18.22 77.3 0.61 1.36 115.6 230 29.95 7.6 0.181 15.78 8.27 0.8 0.12 141.2 0.76 2.48 51.05 1.28 14.76 6.3 6.03 6.2 14.76 0.94 1.2 1.7 1.66 4.5 22.45 2.45 8.71 0.85 6.06 1.15 4.65

11.84 1.12 31.35 0.68 28.95 75.5 291 24.3 3.86 4.25 10.7 23.3 13.8 4.85 2.79 24.95 14.32 8.35 18.08 76 0.61 1.32 113.5 227 29.95 7.4 0.175 15.32 8 0.77 0.117 139.8 0.75 2.41 51.05 1.26 14.7 6.26 5.95 6.14 14.7 0.91 1.11 1.68 1.6 4.01 22.4 2.38 8.59 0.84 6 1.12 4.37

11.88 1.12 31.8 0.69 29 75.6 293.8 26 4.02 4.3 10.88 23.85 13.88 4.95 2.82 25.5 14.48 8.37 18.18 77 0.61 1.36 115 228.6 29.95 7.58 0.179 15.52 8.23 0.78 0.119 140.3 0.76 2.41 51.05 1.28 14.7 6.3 5.96 6.19 14.76 0.92 1.17 1.69 1.6 4.5 22.45 2.4 8.6 0.85 6.02 1.13 4.64

46,051,300 102,000 2,790,300 219,929,000 1,129,300 265,690 188,840 3,804,700 7,683,000 152,000 382,100 1,445,400 47,000 100,000 136,000 2,255,700 49,300 2,573,200 768,300 270,050 60,000 10,438,000 18,030 532,410 200 734,400 3,560,000 51,144,800 123,900 505,000 1,190,000 819,740 1,824,000 23,000 30 2,236,000 23,900 5,384,400 1,446,100 809,500 15,000 132,000 4,557,000 51,000 45,000 28,000 500 2,047,000 258,800 388,000 6,100 525,000 8,431,000

36,510,426 3,785,641.50 717,208 16,008,535 -918,725 -34,835,565 -1,468,150.50 -7,700 948,810

555,209,694 115,970 88,806,470 161,783,560 32,766,830 20,061,344.50 55,619,484 97,662,545 30,657,260 653,800 4,103,790 34,679,190 650,338 494,270 382,010 56,751,365 713,778 21,596,993 13,939,782 20,793,726.50 36,600 14,020,820 2,072,423 121,566,238 5,990 5,514,673 629,840 792,583,134 1,000,158 390,130 140,960 114,976,250 1,377,010 55,500 1,531.50 2,848,160 351,744 33,920,773 8,638,642 5,006,643 220,820 122,030 5,324,800 86,290 73,100 125,510 11,205 4,938,050 2,225,130 328,510 36,824 591,840 38,373,330

-17,336,308 13,500,065 -804,510 10,852,100 49,142.50 6,270,942 -18,947,820 -1,380,500.00 21,600 -1,071,988 4,311,900 94,050 -137,820 27,370,760 1,885,229 -6,244,614 -117,095.50 -29,890 -51,300 1,059,134 51,248,324 1,982,513 -269,679,296 72,750 36,331,923 -312,360 382,270 -14,760 -32,413,500 -3,927,946 248,641 14,720 52,540 34,940 36,967 -265,230.00 -822,000

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 1.15 1.16 1.12 1.17 1.12 1.15 33,252,000 38,330,360 AYALA CORP 865 865.5 852.5 870 842 865 361,630 311,936,865 49.45 49.5 49.9 50.3 49.3 49.5 1,923,200 95,766,400 ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL 10.86 10.98 10.92 11.28 10.86 10.86 19,038,600 210,833,058 5.38 5.39 5.26 5.52 5.26 5.39 3,675,000 19,839,828 AYALA LAND LOG 7.15 7.25 7.22 7.25 7.2 7.25 75,700 548,431 ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.92 0.93 0.93 0.93 0.91 0.92 560,000 515,270 0.475 0.495 0.5 0.5 0.48 0.48 171,000 84,730 ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL 5.1 5.12 5.12 5.13 5.1 5.1 638,700 3,264,506 8.77 8.78 9.2 9.28 8.65 8.77 84,736,200 743,144,298 DMCI HLDG 7.71 7.89 7.7 7.89 7.7 7.89 130,000 1,004,650 FILINVEST DEV FORUM PACIFIC 0.29 0.305 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 100,000 29,000 562 562.5 579.5 579.5 561 562 162,640 92,136,045 GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV 3.64 3.65 3.64 3.64 3.64 3.64 24,000 87,360 JG SUMMIT 65.6 66 66.15 66.85 65.65 66 1,318,490 87,123,251.50 0.63 0.64 0.62 0.64 0.62 0.63 303,000 189,110 LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG 3.25 3.29 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 7,000 22,750 9.9 9.91 9.69 9.99 9.67 9.91 5,422,600 53,575,243 LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG 0.425 0.485 0.425 0.425 0.425 0.425 70,000 29,750 MJC INVESTMENTS 1.2 1.25 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 22,000 26,400 4.06 4.07 4 4.07 4 4.06 21,009,000 85,218,800 METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG 3.06 3.28 3.28 3.28 3.28 3.28 1,000 3,280 1.55 1.59 1.6 1.6 1.54 1.57 118,000 183,000 PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 17,000 20,230 SM INVESTMENTS 1,010 1,025 996 1,025 996 1,025 201,240 204,858,645 116 117 116.5 117 114.5 117 172,330 20,028,317 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.67 0.71 0.67 0.67 0.67 0.67 3,000 2,010 128.1 130 128.2 128.3 128.1 128.1 312,460 40,086,326 TOP FRONTIER 0.25 0.275 0.26 0.28 0.25 0.25 1,170,000 317,900 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.173 0.19 0.179 0.179 0.173 0.173 1,000,000 176,860

-3,933,960.00 124,327,090 61,421,190 14,006,104 96,251 2,389,312 33,667,411.00 -615,210 22,397,275 -10,263,280.50 18,210,795 38,987,570 -4,725,935 -102,390 12,810 24,420

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.63 0.64 0.66 0.66 0.63 0.63 211,000 133,740 ANCHOR LAND 6.9 7.1 7 7 6.9 6.9 3,000 20,970 37.95 38.15 37.5 38.15 37.25 38.15 8,737,100 330,871,975 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 1.06 1.09 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.06 3,000 3,160 42.55 42.9 41.9 43.45 41.6 42.55 532,300 22,576,815 AREIT RT 1.38 1.39 1.37 1.38 1.37 1.38 351,000 482,620 BELLE CORP A BROWN 0.87 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.88 0.89 380,000 334,570 0.75 0.76 0.75 0.76 0.75 0.76 326,000 247,300 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.115 0.117 0.117 0.118 0.115 0.117 930,000 107,660 6.26 6.98 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 8,800 54,560 CEBU HLDG 2.91 2.92 2.89 2.95 2.85 2.92 2,415,000 6,961,170 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.46 0.465 0.455 0.465 0.455 0.465 6,810,000 3,139,700 10.32 10.38 10.34 10.34 10.22 10.32 127,300 1,312,874 DOUBLEDRAGON DDMP RT 1.8 1.81 1.8 1.81 1.78 1.8 9,332,000 16,765,300 DM WENCESLAO 6.83 6.84 6.7 6.84 6.7 6.84 23,000 154,505 0.275 0.28 0.275 0.275 0.275 0.275 150,000 41,250 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.325 0.33 0.355 0.355 0.325 0.325 24,920,000 8,393,100 7.3 7.31 7.4 7.4 7.31 7.31 2,886,300 21,229,093 FILINVEST RT FILINVEST LAND 1.14 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.13 1.14 20,798,000 23,716,370 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.88 0.9 0.88 0.9 0.88 0.9 183,000 162,180 10.22 10.28 10 10.28 10 10.28 482,300 4,921,620 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.22 1.25 1.23 1.27 1.2 1.25 1,335,000 1,635,670 0.99 1 0.94 1.01 0.94 1 294,000 287,260 CITY AND LAND 3.12 3.14 3.19 3.19 3.12 3.12 10,014,000 31,559,100 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.305 0.31 0.3 0.31 0.3 0.305 41,280,000 12,546,250 17.78 17.8 17.82 17.84 17.78 17.78 1,785,500 31,788,312 MREIT RT PHIL ESTATES 0.53 0.54 0.5 0.56 0.5 0.54 14,554,000 7,796,910 2.21 2.3 2.33 2.42 2.2 2.3 789,000 1,840,990 PRIMEX CORP 6.7 6.71 6.7 6.71 6.68 6.7 5,571,400 37,326,086 RL COMM RT ROBINSONS LAND 17.6 17.7 17.62 17.7 17.06 17.7 2,003,900 34,915,630 0.239 0.242 0.241 0.242 0.239 0.239 1,520,000 366,080 PHIL REALTY SHANG PROP 2.61 2.66 2.65 2.67 2.6 2.66 112,000 295,570 STA LUCIA LAND 2.9 2.93 2.94 2.95 2.9 2.92 261,000 761,350 36 36.2 36.05 36.2 35.9 36.2 6,220,800 224,229,120 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 3.72 3.87 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 2,000 7,800 1.47 1.49 1.43 1.49 1.42 1.49 626,000 899,090 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 3.78 3.79 3.78 3.8 3.75 3.78 2,628,000 9,947,660

SERVICES ABS CBN 14.82 15 15.2 15.22 14.82 14.82 427,900 6,407,996 GMA NETWORK 14.68 14.7 14.76 14.92 14.68 14.68 1,530,900 22,592,004 0.41 0.435 0.435 0.435 0.435 0.435 10,000 4,350 MANILA BULLETIN GLOBE TELECOM 3,050 3,060 3,110 3,140 3,050 3,050 67,875 208,904,740 1,635 1,640 1,624 1,655 1,624 1,635 214,645 352,103,830 PLDT 0.099 0.1 0.097 0.101 0.095 0.1 282,320,000 27,969,910 APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE 32.8 32.85 32 33 31.5 32.85 18,976,900 614,897,730 3.1 3.14 3.09 3.17 3 3.1 1,238,000 3,801,410 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 7 7.01 7.05 7.1 7 7.01 9,422,200 66,284,149 1.95 2 1.93 2 1.93 2 28,000 54,110 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 1.81 1.82 1.83 1.87 1.82 1.82 1,885,000 3,451,700 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.305 0.31 0.305 0.315 0.305 0.31 2,780,000 863,700 2.24 2.28 2.2 2.32 2.19 2.29 601,000 1,346,760 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 7.93 8 8 8 7.85 7.93 7,500 59,079 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.22 14.24 14 14.2 13.06 14.2 20,000 271,420 1.97 1.98 2 2.05 1.95 1.97 1,831,000 3,618,710 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 43.95 44 44.9 44.9 43.95 44 340,100 15,044,535 175 175.2 180.1 183 173.1 175 2,839,790 503,164,534 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 19 20 20 20 20 20 3,300 66,000 MACROASIA 5.53 5.54 5.25 5.55 5.25 5.54 1,383,600 7,493,106 1.61 1.64 1.6 1.68 1.6 1.64 24,000 39,410 METROALLIANCE A HARBOR STAR 1.05 1.06 1.04 1.06 1.04 1.05 43,000 44,800 1.52 1.56 1.54 1.56 1.51 1.51 28,000 42,780 ACESITE HOTEL DISCOVERY WORLD 2.23 2.29 2.25 2.35 2.2 2.29 587,000 1,317,780 WATERFRONT 0.53 0.54 0.52 0.54 0.52 0.54 497,000 263,870 6.88 7 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.1 100 710 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.355 0.36 0.355 0.36 0.355 0.355 1,700,000 606,350 5.43 5.56 5.41 5.56 5.4 5.56 81,200 439,042 BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY 6.8 6.81 6.33 6.85 6.28 6.8 9,652,100 64,354,984 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.06 2.13 1.96 2.13 1.96 2.13 19,000 39,260 1.65 1.69 1.74 1.74 1.65 1.69 87,000 147,700 LEISURE AND RES PH RESORTS GRP 0.91 0.93 1 1 0.91 0.91 17,182,000 16,135,110 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.43 0.435 0.425 0.435 0.425 0.435 2,920,000 1,259,600 5.8 5.95 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 3,100 17,980 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 10 10.08 10 10.44 10 10 552,000 5,586,298 1.34 1.35 1.33 1.36 1.33 1.35 407,000 548,530 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 41.5 41.7 41.25 41.8 41.25 41.7 629,700 26,169,175 ROBINSONS RTL 60 60.2 59.8 60.5 59.45 60 690,740 41,387,903 93 97 96 97.7 96 97 385,150 36,975,402 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.23 1.24 1.24 1.25 1.22 1.24 1,052,000 1,299,580 28.95 29 28.65 29.3 28.6 29 1,771,200 51,247,960 WILCON DEPOT 0.25 0.265 0.246 0.25 0.245 0.25 340,000 84,020 APC GROUP EASYCALL 4.6 4.99 4.65 4.65 4.65 4.65 4,000 18,600 525 539 525 539 525 539 1,300 700,140 GOLDEN MV IPM HLDG 7.02 7.04 7.06 7.06 7.04 7.04 7,400 52,230 0.93 0.94 0.9 0.97 0.89 0.94 48,807,000 45,602,640 PRMIERE HORIZON 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 207,000 869,400 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL

ATOK 6.67 6.7 6.91 6.91 6.67 6.67 158,000 1,073,966 1.45 1.46 1.45 1.45 1.44 1.45 395,000 572,400 APEX MINING ATLAS MINING 6.35 6.39 6.55 6.55 6.31 6.35 1,503,900 9,614,133 5.3 5.33 5.36 5.36 5.26 5.33 93,300 498,063 BENGUET A BENGUET B 4.81 5.3 4.74 4.74 4.74 4.74 3,000 14,220 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.29 0.295 0.28 0.295 0.28 0.295 270,000 78,900 2.7 2.78 2.7 2.78 2.7 2.78 4,000 11,040 CENTURY PEAK DIZON MINES 5.26 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 1,000 5,500 2.13 2.14 2.18 2.2 2.13 2.13 1,998,000 4,289,530 FERRONICKEL 0.133 0.135 0.133 0.134 0.132 0.134 10,910,000 1,443,270 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.138 0.143 0.141 0.143 0.141 0.143 1,110,000 157,620 0.0092 0.0093 0.0092 0.0093 0.0092 0.0092 42,000,000 387,200 MANILA MINING A MARCVENTURES 0.9 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.9 0.93 851,000 769,440 NIHAO 1.01 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 2,000 2,060 5.58 5.59 5.71 5.73 5.55 5.58 4,091,900 22,969,031 NICKEL ASIA ORNTL PENINSULA 0.82 0.84 0.83 0.84 0.82 0.84 182,000 149,860 5.4 5.44 5.47 5.47 5.36 5.44 425,200 2,289,303 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 27.2 27.4 27.8 28.6 26.75 27.4 9,149,700 251,646,790 UNITED PARAGON 0.0066 0.0069 0.0069 0.0069 0.0066 0.0068 11,000,000 74,000 18.98 19.5 17.6 19.78 17.6 18.98 2,018,600 37,822,644 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 30,300,000 333,300 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 2,000,000 22,000 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.0097 0.0098 0.0098 0.0098 0.0097 0.0097 34,000,000 330,300 PXP ENERGY 6.52 6.55 6.5 6.55 6.42 6.55 431,000 2,804,767

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 101.2 101.9 101.5 101.9 101.5 101.9 350 35,645 HOUSE PREF A 101 101.9 101 101 101 101 330 33,330 520 525 520 520 520 520 2,090 1,086,800 AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B 101.5 102.6 102.6 102.6 102.5 102.5 290 29,734 524.5 525 525 525 525 525 5,000 2,625,000 AC PREF B2R CEB PREF 43.4 44 44.55 44.55 42.85 44 220,400 9,554,555 FGEN PREF G 105.4 105.6 105.6 105.6 105.6 105.6 4,820 508,992 1,030 1,045 1,030 1,030 1,030 1,030 15 15,450 GTCAP PREF B JFC PREF A 1,060 1,090 1,035 1,100 1,032 1,060 2,135 2,326,860 1,033 1,038 1,028 1,033 1,028 1,033 20,400 21,061,275 JFC PREF B MWIDE PREF 101 101.4 100.6 101.4 100.1 101 3,970 397,724 PNX PREF 4 1,004 1,005 1,007 1,008 1,004 1,004 3,565 3,585,570 1,111 1,145 1,111 1,111 1,111 1,111 5 5,555 PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B 1,175 1,186 1,170 1,189 1,170 1,189 600 703,900 SMC PREF 2F 79.25 79.35 79.35 79.35 79.25 79.25 170 13,487.50 76 76.3 76 76 76 76 390 29,640 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 79.25 79.5 79.2 79.2 79.2 79.2 22,600 1,789,920 76.5 77 76.25 77 76.25 76.5 802,490 61,386,562.50 SMC PREF 2J

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 14.12 14.48 14.12 14.12 14.1 14.12 69,500 980,940 GMA HLDG PDR 14.24 14.4 14.24 14.3 14.22 14.24 27,100 386,086

WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 1.37 1.38 1.24 1.41 1.24 1.37 3,988,000 5,415,590

50,387,400 135,620 -54,560 419,670 518,148 -305,700 -10,245 -70,300 -1,517,595 12,182,460.00 592,212 -26,460 -4,700 -1,303,260 521,900 -1,043,020 -10,070 -20,570 -24,361,794 6,562,382 2,940 -43,869,710.00 -21,750 541,040 -55,782,190 54,033,900 -951,190 -23,786,915 18,750 11,611,965 23,620 -12,400 23,709 -257,220 23,970 -2,657,120 8,891,554 -443,636 -41,580 -97,200 3,179,941 863,990 -39,200 -17,980 1,351,802 -7,527,280 -4,771,340.50 93,075 -7,720 12,757,270 -107,400 59,016 -20,031 11,040 428,790 -9,135,308 434,700 36,959,150 -166,260 -78,000 5,707,680 -15,450 - -310,640 - 30,100

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

ALTUS PROP ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART

17.1 1.88 3.9 2.4 3.42

FIRST METRO ETF

110.5

17.9 1.9 3.95 2.7 3.43

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

110.8

17 1.91 3.9 2.49 3.4

17.94 1.91 3.93 2.75 3.49

17 1.85 3.9 2.49 3.36

17.1 1.9 3.93 2.7 3.43

11,400 343,000 4,000 3,000 4,425,000

196,512 644,530 15,690 7,940 15,205,650

1,059,890

110.5 110.8 110.2 110.6 17,520 1,937,189 87,436

www.businessmirror.com.ph

AVID: Pinoys bought fewer imported cars in September

I

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@TyronePiad

mported car dealers sold fewer units in September amid “volatile market conditions,” the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) reported on Wednesday.

The automotive group said in a statement that its sales for the month dropped by 12 percent to 4,946 units from last year’s 5,617 units.

Sales for the passenger car (PC)

segment recorded the steepest decline at 28 percent. Only 1,432 units were sold for the period, fewer than last year’s 1,992 units.

Car dealers saw their commercial vehicle (CV) sales slide by 13

percent to 26 units from the previous 30 units.

Light CV (LCV) sales, meanwhile, was trimmed by 3 percent to 3,488 units from 3,595 units in September 2020.

Year-to-date, however, total imported car sales rose by 26 percent to 43,947 units from 34,980 units a year ago.

PC sales dipped slightly to 11,596 units in January to September from last year’s 11,750 units. Suzuki Philippines Inc. led the segment with 5,768-unit sales, followed by Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. which sold 3,829 units.

Sales of CVs grew by more than

fourfold to 917 units in the ninemonth period. Nearly all of these are accounted for by Hyundai trucks and buses.

LCV sales registered 37-percent growth after selling 31,444 units year-to-date. Ford Group Philippines was the top distributor with 13,258 units, followed by Suzuki and Geely with 8,677 units and 3,818 units, respectively.

“We have weathered the volatile market conditions of the third quarter. With improving health conditions and a more stable outlook, AVID is optimistic and driven to wind up this last quarter on a strong note,” AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

Century Pacific enters pet food market

By VG Cabuag @villygc

C

anned food manufacturer Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) on Wednesday announced its foray into the pet food sector, which it will house under its newly developed brand called Goodest.

The company, which manufactures Century Tuna and other sardines canned goods, said its pet food begins with an affordable cat food range. Its main products are all formulated with essential nutrients and minerals cats need for their daily food intake, meeting the gold standard in pet nutrition set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials.

“Pet food is one of the fastestgrowing consumer goods categories in the Philippines and around the world. With long-term trends such as rising incomes as well as demographic trends of people staying single longer or having children later, as

well as people spending more time at home due to the pandemic, we see pet ownership on the rise,” Christopher Po, CNPF’s executive chairman, said.

“More Filipino households are now caring for pets and treating them as family. Moreover, the penetration of pet food is still very low in the Philippines versus our more affluent Asean neighbors. We expect this category to continue growing going forward.”

CNPF said its entry in pet food is another step towards further diversifying the company’s portfolio. The company has its roots in unbranded export tuna manufacturing. Over time, the company has built a strong portfolio of market leading brands in shelf-stable marine and meat categories.

In the past five years, CNPF has been beefing up its presence in emerging categories, such as dairy, coconut and plant-based meat alternatives.

“Our entry into the pet category

Criminal raps filed against a member of Yanson 4

A

dditional criminal charges were filed against one of the members of the so-called Yanson four siblings and their lawyer, in connection with the family’s in fighting to control Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), the country’s largest bus company.

In a resolution dated September 20 released by the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office, Emily Yanson and one of their lawyers, Anna Isabella C. Galvez of Fortun Narvasa and Salazar Law Office, were both indicted on one count each of falsification of public documents and perjury.

The Yanson Four, composed of Roy V. Yanson, Ricardo V. Yanson Jr., Emily V. Yanson and Ma. Lourdes Celina Yanson-Lopez, tried to wrest control over the bus company in 2019, by unseating their youngest brother, Leo Rey, as president of the family business, and naming themselves as the new officers of the company.

The four unseated their brother and filed separate documents with the regulators such as stock transfer books and general information sheet to show that they were in control. They also initiated company’s stockholders’ meeting using these documents.

“As a lawyer she [Galvez] knows that she could be held liable for perjury by not declaring the truth therein. And yet, she made a statement in said GIS [general information sheet], under the guise of good faith, that Celina is the president, Roy, Emily and Ricardo as corporate officers, while Atty. [Carlo Joaquin T.] Narvasa, as VP for Legal and she as assistant corporate sec-

retary when she knew for a fact that the true president is Leo Rey and Emily is not even a stockholder and not even one of the Y4 is an officer of VTI, among others,” according to the Makati Prosecutor.

An earlier resolution of the Department of Justice-Manila in March also said that mere inclusion of one’s name in a GIS does not automatically make one a stockholder of a corporation.

In two resolutions dated March 15, the DOJ-Manila found probable cause for five counts of falsification and five counts of perjury against Emily for her untruthful statements in the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and Amended 2018 GIS of Rural Transit Mindanao Inc. (RTMI), and additional three counts of falsification and three counts of perjury for her untruthful statements in the 2017, 2018 and Amended 2018 GIS of Bachelor Express Inc. (BEI).

The said two bus companies are units of Vallacar Transit, which has at least nine bus companies.

The DOJ-Manila found that mere inheritance of shares of stocks does not make a person a stockholder. “[T] o be considered as a stockholder, a certificate signed by the corporation’s president or vice-president, countersigned by the secretary or assistant secretary, and sealed with the seal of the corporation shall first be issued.”

“In the instant case, respondent Emily failed to show any certificate of stock of BEI/RTMI issued to her name. Thus, it is clear that she failed to provide evidence of her interest and/or status in BEI/RTMI.” VG Cabuag

is another output of the company’s innovation thrust that led to recent new product launches. We are hopeful that this and other innovations will become future growth drivers for the company,” Po said.

“We think we have found an attractive opportunity where we believe we can offer compelling val-

ue to the market. We see this as a strongly synergistic and accretive business unit that can leverage our manufacturing and brand-building know-how. We look forward to building our pet food business and are excited for the vast opportunities that are available for the company in this high-growth category.”

mutual funds

October 20, 2021

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

230.88

17.22%

-1.69%

-2.93%

1.62%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.6168

48.15%

5.21%

3.11%

23.14%

19.7%

-5.39%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2005

-5.68%

2.15%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7519 10.65%

-4.76% n.a.

-7.49%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7742 14.44%

-1.18% n.a.

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

5.174

4.4%

22.18%

1.17%

-0.67%

4.71%

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

0.7792

17.88%

-0.91%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

100.9

17.43%

-3.07% n.a.

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

47.7275

20.38%

0.35%

-1.52%

1.89%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

496.12

16.98%

0.31%

-2.05%

1.47%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d

1.1467

24.76% n.a. n.a.

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.2809

26.95%

1.72%

-0.07%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

36.1426

22.17%

0.67%

-4.25% 0.36% -0.95%

4.5% 9.65%

-0.45%

3.95%

0.9411

20.67% n.a. n.a.

3.08%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.9153

21.37%

1.15%

-0.81%

2.59%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

820.64

21.2%

1.16%

-0.87%

2.37%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.7437

20.73%

-3.36%

-3.99%

3.45%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7216

20.02%

-1.66%

-2.33%

2.7%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9365 20.73%

0.8%

-1.04%

2.05%

United Fund, Inc. -a

0.8%

0%

3.89%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

3.4478

21.38%

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

110.3427

21.45%

1.34%

-0.37% 2.59%

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

$1.1734

8.9%

7.49%

5.39%

-2.45%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8227

16.22%

13.75%

11.96%

8.96%

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

1.6849

8.33%

1.57%

-1.22%

0.98%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.2422

9.32%

1.39%

-0.94%

-1.89%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6937

12.32%

3.06%

0.85%

2.54%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.1981

8.91% n.a. n.a. 0%

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

2.0067

9.04%

3.84%

1.07%

2.01%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.751

8.26%

3.42%

-0.22%

-1.03%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.7883

8.33%

3.23%

-0.23%

-0.9%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.1107

10.14%

1.61%

-0.07%

0.94%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6156 11.07%

0.53%

-0.9%

1.18%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9888

5.51% n.a. n.a.

-3.31%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9399

12.97% n.a. n.a.

-0.98%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9301

14.95% n.a. n.a.

-0.32%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

16.67%

0.9293

1.05%

-0.92%

4.69%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.0375

-4.36%

2.68%

0.95%

-4.09%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.075

1.21%

4.6%

2.97%

-4.87%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.7591 11.58%

10.12%

8.35%

5.46%

5.65%

4.3%

0.92%

0.35%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a $1.2133

4.7%

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

372.43

1%

2.95%

2.46%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9229

-1.53%

1.17%

0.12%

1.19%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2423

1.18%

3.28%

4.11%

0.84%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2435

-2.38%

-2.17%

2.02%

1.27%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4201 -1.13%

3.05%

1.67%

-1.35%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

5.37%

1.21%

-4.92%

4.4022

-4.98%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

1.3159

0.27%

3.95%

2.59%

-0.41%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9587

-0.05%

4.67%

2.43%

-1.06%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0221

-1.52%

5.55%

1.61%

-2.05%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1782

-0.13%

4.95%

2.8%

-0.87%

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

-0.85%

4.18%

2.14%

-1.42%

1.7301

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$488.14

1.49%

3.07%

2.18%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є219.9

0.99%

1.03%

0.76%

0.31%

$1.1917

-4.74%

2.07%

1.22%

-6.88%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b

0.85%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 -2.26%

1.46%

0.71%

-2.63%

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

-0.11%

-1.47%

-6.45% -2.31%

$1.0197

-6.73%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.4813

-1.62%

5.15%

1.93%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.062516

1.05%

3.21%

1.98%

0.35%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1453 -2.02%

3.02%

0.81%

-2.43%

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

2.54%

0.78%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0563 0.99% n.a. n.a.

0.78%

2.55%

1.14%

Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1

130.83 1.3117

1.19% 1.52%

2.95% 2.72%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0591

0.84%

1.53% n.a.

0.52%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d 1.3473

29.08% n.a. n.a. 19.27%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a,d

$0.98

3.16% n.a. n.a.

0%

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

1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

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

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, October 21, 2021 B3

Govt allows non-life insurers to offer agri insurance

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

T

HE Insurance Commission (IC) has finally approved the guidelines on the adoption of a regulatory sandbox framework in a bid to encourage greater private sector participation in agricultural insurance.

According to Circular Letter No. 2021-60 signed by Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa, “agriculture insurance in the country is mostly provided by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation” (PCIC) and the country has a “low” insurance penetration rate among farmers—8 to 14 percent for rice and only 2 to 6

percent for corn in 2013 to 2017.

Funa said a regulatory sandbox is a framework set up by a regulator that allows fintech start-ups and other innovators, such as insurance companies, to conduct live experiments in a controlled environment under a regulator’s supervision.

Under the guidelines, the IC said non-life insurance companies shall be allowed to provide agriculture insurance, independently or in collaboration with PCIC, or any of the following: national and international public and private sector insurers, reinsurers, technology providers, and multilateral agencies.

As defined by IC, agriculture insurance shall refer to the insurance

of the produce of or assets used in cultivation of crops, livestock, rearing, animal husbandry, poultry farming, dairy farming and fisheries including all value chain activities like production, transportation, storage processing, packaging, preservation and marketing.

The increased capitalization of insurance companies enables them to cover catastrophic risks that are usually present in agriculture production and related activities, according to the commission.

“The development and availability of new technology platforms enable private insurers to more accurately determine the risks associated with agriculture and improve cost

efficiency in the delivery of agriculture insurance to farmers located in remote areas,” it said.

“PCIC is willing and interested to share relevant data and information, as well as to provide and share capacity to private insurance companies that would like to provide agriculture insurance.”

Any non-life insurance company intending to apply for participation in the regulatory sandbox shall submit a formal proposal to the IC. The IC also said the agriculture insurance products under the proposed pilots can also be distributed through licensed insurance or microinsurance agents or brokers as well as other distribution channels like

agriculture input providers, microfinance nongovernment organization and banks engaged in agriculture finance, even if they are not licensed insurance agents or brokers.

Should an insurance company engage an unlicensed intermediary, a copy of the signed agreement between the insurance company and the unlicensed intermediary, providing specifically that the insurance company shall take full responsibility for the misconduct of the intermediary, should be submitted to the commission.

Sought for comment, Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) Executive Director Michael Rellosa welcomed the development

although he said he has not yet seen the circular.

“I have not yet seen the circular of the IC, however, our current laws do not allow the private sector to receive subsidies, and if you look around the world almost all agri insurance programs, if not all, are highly subsidized, he said.

“Only the PCIC can do this so we have to work with the PCIC as reinsurers and perhaps later as coinsurers and maybe even later as an alternative to the PCIC. It depends on how and if the laws would be amended.

Be that as it may, PIRA members are interested, willing, and able to work on agri insurance in collaboration with the PCIC.”

PCBI launches nationwide plant a coffee fund drive Lawmaker pushes program

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE Phi l ippine Cof fee Board Inc. (PCBI) launched on Tuesday a nationwide donation drive that will allow Filipinos to adopt coffee plants and shoulder a share of farmers’ production costs in a bid to boost domestic production.

In a virtual press briefing, PCBI unveiled its nationwide sustainable coffee planting program dubbed as the “Plant Coffee, Pilipinas” that seeks to plant at least 1 million coffee plants over the next three years.

“Let’s propagate coffee plants in the country. Instead of awaiting government budget, let’s start massive planting already,” PCBI President Chit Juan said on Tuesday. “Anyone who loves Philippine coffee can be part of this program.”

Under the planting program, interested individuals may donate P600, which is called “seed money,” to adopt a coffee seedling which will bear the name of the donor. Donors

COFFEE beans sit in a cup. BLOOMBERG NEWS

can locate their adopted seedlings via online maps and apps since the plants are geotagged.

Juan said they came up with the “seed money” value through consultation with coffee farmers who in turn made the calculation and suggestion for the ideal dona-

tion amount.

She added that the amount would be used by farmers to shoulder some of their expenses, such as planting materials and labor costs.

Juan said the planting program will not have a profit sharing component since it will purely run on

kawang-gawa or charity. However, donors may opt to purchase coffee beans directly from their partnerfarmers, Juan added.

Under the program, coffee farmers will initially receive P300 of the donated money. They will get the remaining amount once the coffee plant fully becomes a fruit-bearing tree.

“The donors may choose which part of the Philippines their coffee seedlings will be planted from a list of areas we have. The areas include Benguet, Sagada, Mindanao, Bacolod, Davao del Sur, Bukidnon, among others,” Juan said.

“This program also provides opportunities for our coffee nurseries as it create a new market for them.”

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the costs to produce coffee in a 1 hectare of land have been continuously increasing since 1997.

PSA data showed that production cost of coffee on a 1 hectare basis reached a record-high of P46,465 last year. This translated to a cost of P86.79 per kilogram.

DENR teams up with LGUs, C-Joy Poultry for Tigiro River rehabilitation

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Calabarzon has recently formalized its partnership with concerned local government units (LGUs) and C-Joy Poultry Meat Production Inc. for the protection and rehabilitation of the Tigiro River.

The partnership agreement under the Adopt-A-River program of the DENRwassignedbyDENR-Calabarzon Regional Executive Director Nilo B. Tamoria,DENR-EnvironmentalManagement Bureau (EMB) Calabarzon, C-Joy PoultryMeatProductionInc.andLGUs ofBarangaySta.TeresitainSantoTomas City and Barangays Plaridel, Lumbang and San Lucas in Lipa City.

It covers the protection, rehabilitation and safeguarding of a 4-kilo-

meter portion of Tigiro River that is connected to San Juan River.

The private sector has agreed to lead the conduct of river cleanup activities in the area during environmental celebrations and the conduct of information drives regarding the importance of riverbank stabilization and river protection.

They will coordinate with the barangay LGUs and landowners on the stabilization of the riverbanks and improvement of the river’s water quality. They will be the one to provide tree guards and quality bamboo planting materials and other suitable forest tree species, participate in tree planting activities in the area, and ensure the survival of bamboo and trees planted.

The barangay LGUs will lead the site preparation, pass and implement an ordinance for the protec-

tion of the newly planted trees from stray animals and other man-made destruction, work with the private sector in ensuring the survival of the bamboo and trees planted, actively participate in all other activities for the protection, conservation and development of the river, and endeavor to relocate the informal settlers along the riverbank by informing the proper agency that has jurisdiction on the matter.

Tamoria highlighted the important roles of the LGUs in the initiative and emphasized the need to work hand-in-hand with the concerned stakeholders for the overall success of the program.

“At the end of the day, ang local government units ang naiiwan sa area. Sila ang nandoon 24/7 kaya po kami sa national government agency, nandito po ang aming mandates,

pero ang success ng effort natin for the protection and conservation of the environment lies sa pagtutulungtulong po nating lahat,” he said.

The DENR-Calabarzon through the Regional EMB and Provincial and Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices concerned are responsible for the provision of technical assistance in riverbank stabilization, capacity building, and all other activities pertaining to the rehabilitation, protection, conservation, and management of Tigiro River.

Though the agreement encompasses four barangays, Tamoria said the department “knows no boundaries in implementing its mandate.”

He also said the agreement is a step toward sustainable development.

The agreement, which will be in force for one year, may be renewed by the parties.

for planting of 1-M cacao trees

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

A

SENIOR lawmaker has proposed the establishment of a national program to fasttrack the development of the cacao industry with an eye on planting 1 million cacao trees in the Davao region and other parts of Mindanao.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said his House Bill 1771 will support the goal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) of raising cacao production to 100,000 metric tons (MT) by 2022 to transform the Philippines into a key player in global market.

“Capitalizing on the growth of the cacao industry would increase livelihood for Filipinos, especially in agriculture-rich areas,” Villafuerte said in his bill.

Villafuerte issued the statement following the signing by President Duterte of a law declaring Davao City as the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines and the Davao region as the Cacao Capital of the country.

According to Villafuerte, HB 1771 remains pending before the House Committee on Agriculture and Food.

He said using a mere 100,000 hectares for intercropping cacao with coconut trees would potentially create 1,000 jobs for Mindanao residents and more options for coconut farmers.

Villafuerte said the Philippines should capitalize on the increasing global demand for cacao, which is mostly grown in the Davao region, and should be able to meet domestic requirements to reduce importation costs for local chocolate producers.

“The climate and fertile soil in the Philippines is well suited for growing cacao. Yet, the current state of cocoa business is a disappointment to the crop’s historic roots. The homegrown cacao industry has deteriorated into small to medium scale enterprises.

As a result, local production is declining,” Villafuerte said when he filed his bill in 2019.

According to DA, the increasing global demand for cacao is spurred by various factors: a rising awareness of its health benefits, expanding applications in food beverage, cosmetics, and medicine, and an increasing disposable income of the middle class.

In his bill, Villafuerte said the Philippines now makes up for the dwindling domestic supply of cacao by importing large amounts annually, which, he said, is lamentable given that the crop could be a major export product for the country.

When he filed his bill two years ago, Villafuerte said the country produces 10,000 to 12,000 metric tons (MT) of dried cacao beans, enough to make the country to earn the spot as the 18th-largest cacao producer worldwide, but not enough to secure the local demand of 30,000 MT annually.

“With production unable to keep up with demand, international prices for cacao beans are steadily rising.

This makes importing cacao products costlier unless we can supply our own,” he said.

The lawmaker said Southern Mindanao is the country’s largest cacaoproducing region with nearly 4,000 hectares dedicated to the crop.

Although the country’s contribution at present to the global market is relatively small, he said the Philippines already supplies cacao to the United States, Singapore, New Zealand and Europe.

He added chocolate from Philippine cacao beans is used by international brands such as Mars, M&M’s, and Barry Callebaut.

According to DA data, cacao is also grown in some parts of Luzon (llocos, Bulacan, Laguna, CamSur and Camarines Norte) and the Visayas (lloilo, Bohol and Negros Occidental).

HB 1771 seeks to implement a national program for the education and training of stakeholders in the cacao industry, and collection of relevant research, scientific studies and market strategies for the proliferation of the local cacao industry.

San Miguel opens regional food hub for farmers in Quezon S

AN Miguel Corp. (SMC) formally inaugurated the San Miguel Market, one of the key components of its relocation model that provides at-risk and displaced fisherfolk families in Sariaya, Quezon disaster-resilient homes, a safe community complete with amenities and facilities to support their livelihood.

The San Miguel Market, a public market built by SMC for fisherfolk beneficiary families of its San MiguelChristian Gayeta homes, is envisioned to be part of a larger food supply hub in the province, where both fishermen and farmers can sell their produce to bulk buyers from all over Quezon province, neighboring provinces, as well as from Metro Manila.

“Sariaya, Quezon is an important growth area for San Miguel. In par-

ticular, through our planned agroindustrial zone here, food production and agribusiness will be among our major activities. Helping to capacitate and enable local fishermen and farmers, and strengthening local agriculture, is a priority for us,” said SMC President Ramon S. Ang. “With the San Miguel Market, farmers and fisherfolk who reside at our sustainable housing community, those in neighboring areas and barangays, now have their very own marketplace nearby, where they can sell their goods without spending much to transport these to other markets. This means more income in their pockets for their families and, for customers, more affordable food choices.”

Ang added that the long-term plan for the San Miguel Market is to expand it to 10,000 square meters, and

have it serve as a wholesale market or “bagsakan” center for produce coming from Sariaya and other parts of Quezon province.

It is complemented by an earlier completed Fishermen’s Dock, also built by SMC, which Sariaya fishermen now use as a base of operations—serving as a place where they store their boats, engines, and fishing implements and supplies. A Fishermen’s Hall in the dock also serves as their rest and storage area.

In recent months, Ang said the company has taken steps to address farmers’ loss of income and ensuring stable food supply by ramping up purchases of corn and cassava used in many of the company’s products while putting up traditional and non-traditional markets where more food can be accessed by consumers at affordable prices.

“Our farmers and fisherfolk truly need all the support they can get during this pandemic. Many instances, a lot of them have no recourse but to throw away their freshly-harvested fruits and vegetables, or sell these at a loss due to lack of buyers, limited access to markets, and possibly, lower demand, for various factors.”

Currently, vendors at the San Miguel Market consist mainly of relocatees who sell fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, seafoods and meats. The market also has a health and wellness stall, cell-phone repair shop, pharmacy, bakery, shoe store, and the San Miguel Food & Beverage Hub. The blessing and formal opening of the market was attended by Bishop of Lucena Mel Rey Uy; Rev. Fr. Everett Calvendra, Mayor Marcelo Gayeta, Vice Mayor Alexander Tolentino,

members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Sariaya and SMC Special Projects Manager Atty. Mikee Rosales, and other SMC representatives.

The San Miguel Market is managed by the Malasakit Management Inc., composed of relocatees of SMC’s San Miguel-Christian Gayeta Homes and others who moved to safer and newly built homes elsewhere in Sariaya.

“By giving our relocatees the responsibility to manage the San Miguel Market, we are empowering them to set the direction for its further growth. We have prepared them well through our business and entrepreneurship seminars tailored for this purpose, and will continue to guide them as we move to fulfill our bigger goal to build an agro-industrial complex,” Ang said.

SMC’s planned agro-industrial

complex in Sariaya includes a brewery, grains terminal, feedmill, a ready-to-eat food manufacturing plant, high-tech poultry facility, a fuel tank farm, and port facilities.

“These projects are all interconnected. With SMC food production plants to be set up in Sariaya in the coming years, we can source food ingredients from local farmers and provide employment to many residents. San Miguel Market can then serve as a major food distribution outlet for agriculture and San Miguel products in South Luzon, and even as far as the Bicol region.”

To further boost its stature as a major food supply hub, SMC has donated 18 fishing boats to be used by MMI for its members’ livelihood, so they can better ensure a stable supply of fresh fish in the market.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

B4

Thursday, October 21, 2021

PHL, Israel harness innovations in solving water, sanitation crisis

F

ILIPINO and Israeli experts gathered in an online knowledgesharing session as they explored potential solutions that will address the Philippines’s water supply and sanitation concerns.

More than 200 participants from local and international organizations attended the “Diving Deep into the Israel Water Sector: Technology and Solutions for Water Safety and Sanitation” webinar on October 13 organized by the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), the Embassy of Israel, and Israel’s Economic and Commercial Mission to the Philippines.

The event was part of the ongoing Philippine Water Challenge (PhlWC) launched by the Safe Water Project of the United States Agency for International Development or USAID, PDRF, Manila Water and Maynilad which engaged various sectors in finding solutions to the country’s water crisis.

The embassy believes there are

numerous opportunities to discover solutions in addressing water and sanitation-supply challenges. Key innovations from the Israeli water sector may serve as a springboard for new ideas.

Deputy Chief of Mission Nir Balzam said more than half of his country is covered in desert, and lacks rainfall. Due to limited resources, it developed policies and unconventional solutions to improve water sufficiency. Thus, Israel has become “one of the best in the world in the field of water and sanitation and technologies.”

“Once you arrive in Israel, you realize how developed the water sector is, with great achievements in our land, fruitful in agriculture and water-sufficient,” Balzam ex-

plained. “We developed our most impressive water innovations, including irrigation, filtration, leak detection, and much more. Israel is also a world leader in water recycling, as we reuse nearly 90 percent of our wastewater.”

Head of the Water Security and Emergency Division of the Israel Water Authority Danny Lacker also emphasized that preparation is key to overcome hurdles and create solutions to any challenge: “You cannot fall into any challenge in the water system without being prepared in advance... thinking about it, using technology, drilling, and operating in times of crisis,” Lacker said. “In Hebrew, we have a...saying: ‘Whoever cooks on Friday will eat on Saturday.’ So that’s what [we] should keep in mind: Be prepared.”

Economic Counselor and Head of Israel’s Economic and Commercial Mission to the Philippines Tomer Heyvi encouraged Filipino participants to explore Israeli technologies and solutions, and take inspiration in addressing the local water crisis.

He also emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries using innovation and ap-

plication of Israel’s best practices in water management suitable for the archipelago.

The PhlWC is a yearly competition and platform for generating water supply and sanitation solutions for water-service providers and users. By recognizing promising solutions, it will help achieve objectives of the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan for improving access to water-stressed communities.

The 2021 Sustainable Development Report ranks the Philippines at a low 103rd out of 193 countries in terms of achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

It has completed only one out of five Clean Water and Sanitation Goal indicators, particularly 1.9 m³/capita of water consumption embodied in imports. For the Israeli embassy, key hurdles remain for the country’s access to essential drinking water and sanitation services, available freshwater resources, as well as adequate wastewater treatment.

Submission of applications for the PhlWC has been extended until October 31. Visit www.pdrf.org/ philippinewaterchallenge/ for details.

Canadian Navy’s ‘Winnipeg’ returns for goodwill visit, naval operations T HE Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) recently conducted a goodwill visit to further demonstrate the friendly relations between Canada and the Philippines, while also reflecting the North American country’s commitment to its vibrant partnerships in Asean and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg arrived on October 11 and docked at the Port of Manila until the next day. Its last visit was in 2017.

“I [was] pleased to welcome HMCS Winnipeg, its officers and crew [in] Manila,” Ambassador Peter MacArthur said during arrival ceremonies.

“As a maritime nation, the Philippines has always been a very good host to our fleet, and I know this visit will further strengthen a relationship that bridges the Pacific Ocean.”

He added: “Operations conducted by...Winnipeg, together with our allies and partners in the region, demonstrate Canada’s ongoing commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Deployment

SINCE August HMCS Winnipeg has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific.

It will conduct forward navalpresence operations in the region and cooperative deployments, as well as participate in international naval exercises with allied and partner-nations until December

AMBASSADOR Peter MacArthur (left) welcomes Commander Doug Layton.

2021. Manila is the vessel’s fourth of its seven port visits.

“The deployment...is aimed at working with partner-nations to enhance military cooperation,” MacArthur explained. “As a Pacific nation, Canada’s deployment of Winnipeg to this region is part of our contribution [in] making the world more secure and stable.”

Commander Doug Layton, the ship’s commanding officer, made a virtual courtesy call on Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Caesar Bernard N. Valencia to discuss issues of mutual interest.

“HMCS Winnipeg [delivers vast capabilities working with our partnernavies to boost global] partnerships and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Layton said.

The commander stated that the RCN has a long history of deploying around the world in peacetime and during conflicts: “In line with [our Defense] Policy of ‘Strong, Secure, Engaged,’ Canada’s naval forces work both independently and in support of allied or partner-missions.”

During its deployment, Winnipeg will also support “Operation NEON,” Canada’s contribution to the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2375 and 2397 on North Korea.

Background

THE ship’s namesake is the City of Winnipeg: the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is where some of the very first Filipino immigrants to Canada arrived in the 1950s

and 1960s—including women who worked as nurses and teachers in the health sector, and later technicians, office workers, and doctors.

Many of those came to the said city to renew their visas from the United States, and decided instead to stay and make Canada their home.

Today Winnipeg has the third-largest Filipino community in the North American country.

Canada is also home to one of the biggest concentrations of Filipinos in the world. It enthusiastically celebrates the contributions Canadians of Filipino descent have made, and continue to make to the social, economic and cultural fabric of the said country. The naval vessel and the city share a common motto: Unum Cum Virtute Multorum (“One with the strength of many”) to highlight the power of many people working together to achieve a common goal.

According to the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines, HMCS Winnipeg has 262 highly trained and professional sailors, including 11 of Filipino descent—all well prepared to meet the challenges of their deployment.

While conducting Operations “PROJECTION” and “NEON,” the ship continues its seven port visits in four different countries including Japan, South Korea and the US, apart from the Philippines, in line with Canada’s diplomatic efforts in the region.

Czech Republic, DND set to bolster defense front

O

N the basis of the 2017 Defense Cooperation Agreement, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of the Czech Republic and the Department of National Defence (DND) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a framework for future linkages in the defense sector.

Ambassador Jana Šedivá, on behalf of the Czech MOD, and Undersecretary for National Defense Cardozo Luna signed the MOU on October 12.

In her remarks, Šedivá noted that “there is a need to cooperate, and the MOU acts as a critical instrument for this. [The memorandum] commits our countries to work together and find solutions to a wide range of security issues. It also provides support for the exchange of expertise and technology between our countries for the betterment of our... respective defense industries and economies.”

Under the MOU, the Czech

Republic and the Philippines will cooperate in various areas, such as sharing of technical knowledge in the defense sector and logistics, as well as providing assistance for pro c u re me nt — i nc lud i n g export of defense material and equipment.

It is expected that the MOU, together with the 2017 Defense Cooperation Agreement, will largely contribute to the improvement of mutual relations between the two countries in their defense sectors.

Relatively, the Czech Republic has repeatedly expressed its strong interest in providing aid to the Philippines as a defensetechnology exporter for the ongoing modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In response, the DND has guaranteed its openness to cooperate with the European country and its embassy in Manila on the development of its defense capabilities.

This was also mentioned by Luna in his remarks at the ceremony.

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US Embassy execs, PHL solons launch congressional caucus

UNITED STATES Embassy officials and Filipino lawmakers kick-off the inaugural meeting.

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FFICIALS from the United States Embassy and Filipino legislators held a hybrid virtual and in-person event on October 13 to launch the inaugural meeting of the US-Philippines Congressional Friendship Caucus.

Said caucus is a cross-party group of members from the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives seeking to strengthen bilateral ties of the two nations.

Established in 2021 in honor of the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, the caucus will sponsor events in partnership with the US Embassy and help deepen links between the Philippine legislative branch and the US government.

Membership is open to any senator or member of Congress interested in joining.

At the launch, the embassy shared insights on ways the pandemic has affected the US, and how the experiences have shaped its local assistance.

Participants heard from presenters in the State of California about their experience with the pandemic, as well as representatives from US vaccine manufacturers.

Officials from the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, also presented information about US support to the Philippines both bilaterally and through the CO-

VAX facility that delivers vaccines around the globe.

The embassy said its government is proud to support pandemic-relief efforts in the Philippines since the outbreak began. Through COVAX, the US has facilitated local delivery of more than 24.3 million vaccines, including more than 16.4 million doses provided by Americans.

Since the beginning of October the Philippines has received more than 7.4 million doses jointly provided by the US and COVAX. At the pandemic’s onset, the US had also provided more than P1.9 billion (or $39 million) to support the Philippines’s pandemic response.

This has helped train health-care workers, establish quarantine facilities, improve public-health communication, enhance vaccine rollout, and support economic-recovery efforts.

The US, the embassy added, is the leading donor to the COVAX facility, and has contributed about $4 billion to fund equitable vaccine access around the world. With the financial aid and those of other contributors, COVAX has already shipped millions of doses of AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to the Philippines. By the end of 2023 COVAX will have provided vaccines to one in every three Filipinos.

PCW, EU boost pact on gender equality, women empowerment

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HE Philippine Commission on Women and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in the Philippines recently converged for a reinforced commitment in gender equality and women empowerment.

Ambassador of the Netherlands and EU Gender Champion Saskia de Lang, as well as EU Ambassador Luc Véron, met Chairperson Sandra Montano of the Philippine Commission on Women at Malacañang on October 18. They had the opportunity to present and discuss gender equality and women empowerment in the country, as well as ways the EU Delegation and member-states can contribute.

Talks focused on priorities and areas of engagement captured in the EU Country Level Implementation Plan outlining the roll out of the global EU Gender Action Plan III in the Philippines: (1) Addressing challenges and harnessing opportunities by the green transition and the digital transformation; (2) Integrating the women, peace and security agenda; (3) Ensuring freedom from gender-based violence (and access to justice); (4) Promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights; as well as (5) Promoting equal participation and leadership.

“In many ways, we have seen the Philippines’s progress toward gender equality across sectors, despite challenges and setbacks,” said de Lang. “We support those who are working to bring a gender-equal world closer to home, as we share our values and experiences based on the universality of rights.”

“The new EU implementation

AMBASSADOR Saskia de Lang (from left), Chairperson Sandra Montano and Ambassador Luc Véron

plan translates our commitment and strategy to concrete interventions toward gender equality and women empowerment in our partnership with the Philippines,” seconded Véron. “We wish to do more, and in a more systematic way.

Closely cooperating with the PCW is key to successfully improving gender equality and the situation of women in [this country].”

The third phase of the global EU Gender Action Plan is boosting the engagement of the EU and its member-states in the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment in their relations with partner-countries.

Access to highlights of the EU Gender Action Plan III countrylevel implementation plan for the Philippines is available via https:// eeas.europa.eu/delegations/philippines/1693/about-eu-delegationphilippines_en

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Parentlife BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, October 21, 2021

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How to nurture creativity in your kids P

BY JAMES C. KAUFMAN University of Connecticut

ARENTS who want their kids to be more creative may be tempted to enroll them in arts classes or splurge on STEM-themed toys. Those things certainly can help, but as a professor of educational psychology who has written extensively about creativity, I can draw on more than 70 years of creativity research to make additional suggestions that are more likely to be effective—and won’t break your budget.

1. Be cautious with rewards. Some parents may be tempted to reward their children for being creative, which is traditionally defined as producing something that is both new and useful. However, rewards and praise may actually dissuade your child’s intrinsic interest in being creative. That’s because the activity may become associated with the reward and not the fun the child naturally has doing it.

Of course, I am not saying you should not place your child’s artwork on your fridge. But avoid being too general—“I love every bit of it!”—or too focused on their innate traits—“You are so creative!” Instead, praise specific aspects that you like in your child’s artwork—“I love the way you made such a cute tail on that dog!” or “The way you combined colors here is pretty!”

Some rewards can be helpful. For example, for a child who loves to draw, giving them materials that they might use in their artwork is an example of a reward that will help them stay creative.

It is also important to note that there are many activities—creative or otherwise—for which a child may not have a particular interest. There is no harm— and much potential benefit—in using rewards in these cases. If a child has an assignment for a creative school activity and hates doing it, there may not be any inherent passion to be dampened in the first place.

2. Encourage curiosity and new experiences.

Research shows that people who are open to new experiences and ideas are more creative than those who are more closed off. Many parents have children who naturally seek new things, such as food, activities, games or playmates. In these cases, simply continue to offer opportunities and encouragement.

For those whose children may be more reticent, there are options. Although personality is theoretically stable, it is possible to change it in subtle ways. For example, a study—although it was on older adults—found that crossword or sudoku puzzles can help increase openness. Childhood and adolescence is a natural period for openness to grow. Encouraging curiosity and intellectual engagement is one way.

Other ways might include encouraging sensible risk-taking—such as trying a new sport for a less athletic child or a new instrument for one less musically inclined—or interest in other cultures.

Even very simple variations on an evening routine, whether trying a new craft or board game or helping cook dinner, can help normalize novelty.

BRING A TASTE OF HONG KONG TO THE FAMILY TABLE

PHOTO BY AARON BURDEN ON UNSPLASH

3. Help them evaluate their best ideas. What about when children are actually being creative? Most people have heard of brainstorming or other activities where many different ideas are generated. Yet it is equally important to be able to evaluate and select one’s best idea.

Your child might think of 30 possible solutions to a problem, but their creativity will not be expressed if they select the one that’s least interesting—or least actionable. If giving praise can be tricky, feedback can be even tougher. If you are too harsh, you risk squashing your child’s passion for being creative. Yet if you are too soft, your child may not develop their creativity to the fullest extent possible.

If your child seeks out your input—which in adults can be a good indicator of creativity—make sure to give feedback after they have already brainstormed many possible ideas.

Ideally, you can ensure your child still feels competent and focus on feedback that connects to their past efforts: “I like the imagery you used in your poem; you are getting better! What other metaphors might you use in this last line?”

4. Teach them when not to be creative. Finally, creativity isn’t always the best option. Sometimes,

straightforward solutions simply work best. If the toilet is clogged and you have a plunger, you don’t need to make your own from a coat hanger and bisected rubber duck.

More notably, some people, including teachers, say they like creative people but actually have negative views of creative kids without even realizing it.

If your child is in a class where their creativity is causing some blowback, such as discipline issues or lowered grades, you may want to work with your child to help them understand the best course of action.

For example, if your child is prone to blurt out their ideas regardless of whether they are related to the discussion at hand, emphasize that they should share thoughts that are directly relevant to the class topic.

If, however, you get the feeling that the teacher simply does not appreciate or like your child’s creativity, you may want to suggest that your child keep an “idea parking lot” where they write down their creative thoughts and share them with you—or a different teacher—later in the day.

Creativity has a host of academic, professional and personal benefits. With some gentle nudges, you can help your child grow and use their imagination to their heart’s content. THE CONVERSATION

How to protect kids from Covid-19 amid threat of new infectious variants THE highly contagious Delta variant has changed the pandemic landscape, making kids even more vulnerable to Covid-19.

With no vaccine developed for the young, parents should be extra protective of their children. “Despite the unpredictability of the pandemic, there are still many simple ways parents can keep their kids safe and healthy,” says Maria Angela Nicole Perreras, MD from top hospital in the Philippines Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed, www.makatimed.net.ph).

Here are some tips to protect kids from Covid-19.

■ TAKE THE COVID-19 VACCINE ONCE AVAILABLE. The single most important thing parents can do for their kids is to get vaccinated and encourage other adults at home to do the same as soon as the Covid-19 vaccine is available to them.

“Data from all over the world confirm that all vaccines are safe and effective, even against the more virulent Delta variant. They reduce the risk of Covid-19 and prevent severe complications from the disease,” says Perreras.

■ REINFORCE GOOD HAND HYGIENE, AND MAKE MASKING A HABIT. Whether vaccinated or not, it’s a must to follow minimum public health standards.

“Handwashing is one of the most effective ways to help prevent the spread of any kind of disease.

It’s a habit parents should teach their kids from an early age.” She points out that “wearing a face mask properly also helps cut down contagion. Make sure to wear a high-quality, well-fitted mask like a surgical mask when going out. Kids over two years old who will go out of the house for essential reasons should also wear a mask.”

■ KEEP KIDS INSIDE, VISITORS OUT. Parents should keep their kids indoors. “Avoid doing nonessential activities that require you to interact with people

WE may not be able to travel at the moment, but we can surely pretend. And the newly opened Cantonese style roastsinspired restaurant, Fook Yah, should easily transport you and your family’s taste buds to the busy and exciting streets of Hong Kong. Fook Yah, brought to Manila by the Viray Family—the same family that gave you Ebi 10, Joe’s Brew, Nokal, Kampai and The Spirits Library—opened on October 1 with their cute little shop in the middle of Poblacion, Makati.

Inspired by the family’s travels to Hong Kong, Fook Yah takes pride in their house speciality roasted dishes such as their Cantonese Style Roast Duck, Roasted Crispy Pork Belly, HK Roasted Pork Shoulder (Charsiu), Roasted Honey Spare Ribs, Simmered Chicken with Dark Soy Sauce, Simmered White Farm Chicken and Roasted Goose, to name a few.

Reminiscent of Cantonese-style Hong Kong roast stalls, a step into the restaurant quickly spirits you to the former British colony.

“One of the things we love to do as a family, and with our friends, is to travel—and Hong Kong has always been a main staple. There are some people that plan their travels according to museums they want to visit or attractions and sites, and for us we like to plan our travels based on where we want to eat. We have always loved the vibrance and playfulness of Hong Kong, not to mention that it was also easy to grab a bite anywhere and it didn’t always have to be expensive. That’s why we wanted to open Fook Yah, because we wanted to share the memories we had of the food we ate and loved and pretend like we could travel again with our taste buds,” says Celine Viray, the youngest of the Viray siblings.

Meats are roasted daily in their kitchen, following a traditional Hong Kong-style recipe, to ensure a fresh batch every day for every order. Each meat, sold on its own in either small, half or whole servings, are also made available over fresh house made noodles (stewed or with soup) and, of course, over rice with a side of their special rice sauce made from the drippings and bones of the roasted meats.

Customers are also given the option to add traditional side dishes to accompany the orders such as Marinated Tofu, Century Egg, Spicy Cucumber, Jellyfish with Sesame Oil and Poached Vegetables, much like a traditional Cantonese-style restaurant would. The interiors are vibrant and inviting with a giant Mahjong Wall that takes you back to a pre-pandemic time where our titas would meet for their monthly Mahjong games.

Currently, dine-ins are limited to fully vaccinated customers, but the restaurant does take phone orders for pick-up and delivery. Orders can be made via 0927-0458640 or 7943-6685.

STERILIZED soilless Potting Mix and Seed Raising Mix from Ramgo for transplanting and seed rootings.

HOME gardening is fun and easy with ACE Hardware garden essentials.

THE JOYS OF GARDENING MADE EASIER

outside your household like going to crowded areas, playing sports, and staying in a hotel,” says Perreras.

She also reminded to keep visitors out of the house. “Masks make breathing harder for infants and toddlers. It’s best to protect them by just refraining from accepting visitors, especially those who are yet to get vaccinated. Instead, have a long-awaited catchup with family and friends over online video calls for the health and safety of everyone.”

■ SHOULD A CHILD SHOW COVID-19 SYMPTOMS, DON’T PANIC AND CONTACT A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY. While Covid-19 among the young is generally mild, pediatric hospitalizations because of it has also been on the rise. “It’s best to get the child tested once symptoms appear. These include fever or chills, cough, shortness

of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, nausea, and diarrhea,” Perreras explains. “Make sure to quarantine the child for 14 days and keep monitoring their oxygen saturation level and severity of symptoms. Keep in touch with your doctors and follow their advice.”

To further help parents, MakatiMed offers TeleMD consultation packages for children 12 and below as well as for adults who are experiencing mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms.

The package includes five to 10 days of consultations from Mondays to Saturdays and a Covid Care Pack containing a digital thermometer, pulse oximeter, medicines and vitamins.

IT can be said that the passion for gardening bloomed even more during the pandemic. The homebound discovered the joys of gardening, and became plantitos and plantitas almost overnight. And with more time in their hands, longtime enthusiasts transformed their spaces into amazing greenscapes.

This is not surprising as gardening is both healthy and healing: a good source of vitamin D, a mood booster, and an enjoyable aerobic exercise. And, of course, it provides nutritious veggies and fruits for the dinner table and beautiful flowers to decorate it. Whether you’re designing a pocket garden in your condo unit, creating an aesthetic edible garden in your backyard by mixing edibles with existing ornamental beds and borders, or growing fields of flowers, ACE Hardware has a wide selection of high quality, affordable garden supplies, tools and equipment.

And always helpful, consumers can now purchase these in the comfort of their home via the store’s hotline #11223 or its official online stores at ShopSM, Shopee and Lazada.

There are Black and Decker grass trimmers, Makita leaf blowers and ACEbranded garden tools that will help keep lawns lush, green and weed free. ACE Hardware sprayers to apply water, fertilizers and pesticides products to plants are also available.

Create the garden you’ve always wanted now with Ramgo seeds for fruits, herbs, flowers and vegetables. Ensure the plants’ growth and nutrients with Ramgo soil conditioners that are best for seeds and seedlings, as well as Ramgo fertilizers rich in nitrogen for cultivating healthy crops. Putting an eco-friendly and organic Vermicast soil conditioner in the potting mix is also a great addition.

B6 Thursday, October 21, 2021

TELUS PH celebrates the service milestones of 1,776 team members

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ELUS International Philippines (TIP), leading Philippines-based provider of digitally enabled customer experience and business process solutions, recently celebrated 1,776 employee milestones at a well-attended virtual Service Milestone Awards ceremony during which, for the first time, a 20-year veteran was awarded. Celebrated annually since 2013, the Service Milestone Awards recognize TELUS International Philippines’ tenured employees and their contributions to the company.

Honored virtually were staff with 20year, 15-year, 10-year, and 5-year Service.

The awardees celebrating a decade or more with the company received home-delivered meals for them and their families along with a plaque, and everyone received a special token to mark their milestone.

Atop the long list of 2021 awardees is the company’s first-ever 20-year awardee, Country Vice President Mirei Magallona, who began her career with TELUS International Philippines as Human Resource Manager, supporting HR, training, and quality.

“Our team members are the foundation of our strong corporate culture which makes our annual employee awards celebration a very important event,” said Mirei. “Our culture value chain begins and ends with them.

Because of this, every initiative at TELUS International Philippines is team member centric so that every person feels valued and appreciated. This, in turn, results in higher productivity, performance and financial success. I know that as Country VP, I have a voice in the company. I also know that every team member, regardless of role or position, has a voice and will be heard. I’ve witnessed and experienced this over the last 20 years.”

Joining 20-year awardee Mirei Magallona in the spotlight at the Service Milestone Awards ceremony were 180 15year awardees, 246 10-year awardees, and 1,349 five-year awardees representative of

the seven TELUS International Philippines sites: TELUS House Araneta and Vertis North in Quezon City; TELUS Discovery in Pasig City; Market! Market! and McKinley West in Taguig City; McKinley Exchange in Makati City, and Iloilo City.

The eight per cent growth in the number of awardees this year is testament to the company’s ability to retain their talents, and the growing number of tenured team members year-on-year rings true to the TELUS International Philippines tagline – that its workforce is indeed #happyhere.

Andrea Belen-Angeles, one of this year’s 15-year awardees, shared "I can’t believe it’s been 15 years! When I joined TELUS International Philippines, I immediately felt a sense of belonging and I knew that I made the right choice. TIP has helped me hone my career and, at the same time, it has been a venue where I was able to cultivate solid friendships that would last a lifetime.

This company has not just been my bread and butter but my second home! I will forever be grateful for the opportunities it has given me”.

Dennis Tolentino, a leader from TIP’s Digital Solutions team and a 15-year awardee shares, “My 15 years at TELUS International has been amazing, fulfilling and fruitful. I grew to become the person and leader that I am now because of the values I gained through the years here. I found an extension

of my home with my teammates, and witnessing how the senior leadership team really takes care of our ever-growing family is something I personally find incredible.”

Paolo Potenciano, a team member from our support group and 10-year awardee shares, “It gives me a sense of pride to work for an organization that knows how to value its team members. At the same time, it's also humbling to be part of a company that fosters a caring culture which inspired me to be involved in activities that allow me to make a positive difference in our community. I left the company a few years ago but quickly came back after I realized how much I missed the work environment and camaraderie I had in TELUS International Philippines. I wanted to return to an organization where the leaders show genuine care and provide a workplace that is conducive to continuous learning.”

“We at TELUS International Philippines are proud of our caring and diverse company culture through which we bring our world class services to our clients. We are successful because of the professionals who make up our team, many represented by the awardees we celebrate this year – innovatively creative thinkers who have a passion for growth, believe in spirited teamwork, and embrace change and initiate opportunities,” said Manny Jao, Regional CFO for APAC and 15-year awardee.

P&G Philippines wins as Champion for Gender-Inclusive Workplace

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ROCTER & Gamble (P&G) Philippines earns the highest award for the Gender-Inclusive Workplace Category in the prestigious United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (UN WEPs) Awards in the Philippines.

The recognition is given to AsiaPacific businesses and corporations that have demonstrated exemplary adoption of relevant gender inclusive measures in the workplace.

The company was recognized for its industry-leading policies, inclusive programs, and equitable practices under their We See Equal program.

“For P&G, we are committed to putting words into action. We have boldly changed policy to go beyond what’s standard and mandated. For instance, our industry-leading Share the Care policy removes gender bias in a companywide paid parental leave policy because we recognize that caring for family and

the home has no gender. It is a shared responsibility. It also leads to positive change in perceptions around parental roles and outdated stereotypes of women as the sole, full-time primary caregiver in the early stages of a child’s life,” said Anna Legarda-Locsin, Communications Director of P&G Philippines.

Share the Care is P&Gs industryleading global paid parental leave program that provides a minimum of 8 weeks fully paid parental leave and offers all kinds of parents an equal opportunity to care for and bond with biological or adopted children new to their family.

New fathers are now enabled to share and support in caregiving duties beyond the standard 7 days mandated by Philippine law. The groundbreaking parental leave program applies to all employees who are welcoming new children to their families, regardless of gender or marital status.

Meanwhile, birth or adoptive mothers continue to receive the 105 calendar days

EQUALITY and Inclusion group photo during one of their events in 2019.

of fully paid maternity leave.

P&G also enables equal opportunities and access for women and men via inclusive programs that are employee-led, HR-enabled, and leadership-sponsored.

The UN WEPs Awards are organized

by WeEmpowerAsia, a UN Women programme funded by the European Union, which promotes women’s participation and leadership in the workplace, marketplace, and the community. UN Women is the UN agency for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

“Employers have a critical role in fostering gender equality and inclusion in the workplace and society. The time to do it is now. There is a real opportunity and responsibility for businesses to use what we have all learned this year about agility and flexibility to push equality and inclusion in the workplace and remove the barriers that prevent its advancement.” Legarda-Locsin added.

CHAMBER OF THRIFT BANKS CONVENTION 2021. The Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) recently convened its virtual three-day annual convention, with the theme ‘Thrift Banks: Moving Forward to the Next Normal’ as it pursues its commitment that its members’ organizational strategies are updated in the face of continually evolving technologies and accelerated customer demand for digital solutions. The CTB has helped its member-banks weather the coronavirus pandemic by assuming a stabilizing role and facilitating the sustainable transformation of the thrift banking industry.

In photo are (clockwise from top left) CTB President Cecilio “Paul” D. San Pedro, keynote speaker Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno, Convention Chair Lorenzo T. Ocampo, and CTB Trustees Jose Vicente L. Alde and Alberto Emilio V. Ramos.

Social enterprise teams up with global players to bring innovative healthcare solutions

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ARGETED mass access to testing is used in countries that successfully managed to control the spread of COVID-19 while reopening their economies.

“Studies supporting mass testing as a sound strategy for reopening communities and businesses are wide and deep, but the challenge in the Philippines is access and capacity. The missing pillar in the country’s COVID-19 strategy is the supply of reliable, rapid, and affordable diagnostic testing,” said Dr. Werner Liepach, former Director General for Central and West Asia, of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) who has called the Philippines home for over 29 years.

The urgency to reopen the economy has never been more critical as more organizations around the country suffer from prolonged lockdowns and restrictions. Bloomberg recently released its latest COVID Resilience Ranking where the Philippines fell to last place out of 53 countries, rated according to the country’s ability or inability to handle the pandemic effectively with minimal social and economic upheaval.

Bloomberg also cited the Philippines’ issues around testing, stating, “The Philippines faces a perfect storm in that it’s grappling with the more ferocious Delta variant at the same time as it works with an inadequate testing regime and sees disruptions to its economy and people’s livelihoods as the pandemic continues to rage.”

The world’s best solutions brought into the country

“WE scoured the world for solutions that have already been proven effective. Based on our research, what countries such as the Philippines need is a mass access to testing program. We

liaised with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change to develop a viable program for our country. Under such a program, a reliable antigen test kit, administered regularly and frequently, is paired with a platform to analyze data in real time – all three need to be present for a mass testing strategy to work in the Philippines,” Dr. Liepach explained.

This led to the formation of Biologic Life Sciences (BLS), a local social enterprise that offers innovative solutions to expedite the economy’s reopening through the programmatic testing of business, schools and communities.

The company is spearheaded by Dr. Liepach, together with Jun Lozada, a veteran of the IT and communications sector, as Chief Technology Advisor, and Roman Azanza III, who previously led infrastructure and water initiatives at a major conglomerate, as Chief Finance Officer.

BLS has earned the exclusive distributorship for high-quality and competitively-priced rapid antigen diagnostic test kits from Global Access Diagnostics (GAD), a social enterprise recently acquired by the Global Access Health (GAH) initiative backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and several philanthropic investors.

BLS will also be offering its institutional clients the BEACON Health System — the country’s first antigen testing-as-a-service solution. BLS has developed its proprietary BEACON Health Pass app, an end-to-end cloud based system designed to capture the results of antigen test kits on users’ smartphones while providing real-time data and analytics to businesses and community leaders. Armed with timely and accurate data, institutions and business leaders will be able to proactively manage their re-opening strategies.

Base Bahay, 4P team up to build Filipinos a better future

30 HOUSES at Rejoice Village’s Phase 2 under construction in Nasugbu, Batangas.

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F a village is what it takes to raise wellestablished children, then imagine the possibilities that an environment-friendly village offers—sustainability, self-sufficiency, job security. In short, it’s a community that basically builds a better future for everyone.

That is the ultimate vision of alternative building solutions provider Base Bahay Foundation, Inc. and humanitarian organization 4P for People, which have teamed up to create Rejoice Village, a sustainable community for vulnerable Filipinos in Nasugbu, Batangas, that consists of children’s homes and affordable housing made from bamboo (the main construction material which Base Bahay is advocating), agricultural infrastructure, and livelihood activities. Their goal, says Base Bahay Foundation general manager Pablo Jorillo, is to both show the possibilities of using bamboo for different kinds of structures, and to help the community build a healthy and resilient life for themselves.

“We want them to be self-sufficient— to make their own energy, food, water, job opportunities, livelihood projects, and more,” adds Ingar Akerlund, President, 4P for People.

Rejoice Village’s first beneficiaries will be from Happyland in Tondo, Manila, where 4P has been helping some of the most marginalized members of Philippine society, addressing issues such as poverty, unemployment, lack of security and education, unsanitary living conditions, poor physical and mental health, starvation and

malnutrition, sexual harassment and abuse, crime and violence, and pollution. Happyland is one of Manila’s most densely populated slum areas, where around 80 percent of its more than 630,000 residents live off sorting garbage.

The first phase of the green village is the “children’s village” or the orphanage, which will be built using Base Bahay’s cement bamboo frame technology. This safe haven for young ones without a place to call home will serve as the centerpiece of Rejoice Village.

“Through this sustainably built orphanage, we will be able to give the kids a healthy, inspiring, loving, and safe home, as we draw wisdom from years of psychological and architectural research,” says Ingar. Thirty houses are also currently being built for the families who will form the foundation of Rejoice Village.

All of the bamboo being sourced for the village are sourced and treated in Nasugbu through Base Bahay’s supply partner, ensuring a sustainable value chain for the material in the area. Local labor will also be utilized and reducing energy consumption will be a priority during design and construction.

From there, the possibilities for bamboobased infrastructure for Rejoice Village are endless, says Jorillo. Schools, clinics, and community centers—on top of affordable housing—are all in the pipeline, which would make Rejoice Village a “fullworthy society.”

For more information, visit http://www. base-builds.com.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Thursday, October 21, 2021 B7

It’s now safe and fun to travel in PHL–DOT

By Rory Visco

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Contributor

he good news is that the national vaccination program is rolling at a brisk pace. The existing Alert Levels System has been downgraded in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The downgrade allowed restaurants, grooming services, sports and training centers and most recently, movie houses, to open at 30 percent capacity starting October 16.

But what about travel? Are there guidelines available for those who want to travel to favorite domestic tourism destinations like Boracay, Baguio, Tagaytay and Siargao? Can those fully vaccinated go to these places already?

Is it already safe to move around despite the threat of Covid-19?

Major pillar For Depar tment of Tour ism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Ro-

mulo-Puyat, travel and tourism will still be safe and fun even in the middle of a pandemic. “As a major pillar of the Philippine economy and a provider of millions of jobs, we must continue to find ways so that tourism operations will resume across the country,” she said during the recent webinar organized by the University of the Philippines titled “Travel in the time of Covid-19.”

Under the government’s Alert Levels System for NCR, residents aged 18 to 65 years old can do inter-zonal travel, which means eligible family members can now travel to local destinations that have re-opened. “The best way to

restore confidence and to inspire travel is to ensure that those who work in the tourism sector, those in the frontlines of the tourism industry, are fully vaccinated.”

Puyat said the DOT is ramping up to vaccinate the A1 and A4 tourism workers, particularly in the major destinations. In the NCR, she said 99 percent of tourism workers employed in hotels have already been vaccinated, and overall, 98.31 percent of all tourism workers, including those working in DOT-accredited restaurants, have been fully vaccinated as well. Nationwide, 55.31 percent of tourism workers have been fully vaccinated as of October 1, 2021.

She noted that the DOT is also building other domestic tourism initiatives to hasten the industry’s recovery. The DOT regional offices are re-calibrating tourism offerings and creating new products and the so-called “tourism circuits.” At the start of Year 2020, a total of 44 tourism circuits have already been validated, from food crawls to bike trails, to heritage tours and historical caravans. She added that 72 more circuits are in the pipeline for development.

She likewise pointed to the re-

cently launched “Wellness Workation Program,” which caters to the work-from-anywhere crowd looking to add some nature and wellness components to balance out their lives. “Initial destinations for this program are Boracay, Tagaytay and Batangas.”

Some people already tried the program to cure “cabin fever” and seek health improvement.

Safe tourism The DOT has issued about 50 guidelines in the operations of tourism-related enterprises under the various levels of community quarantine restrictions. Since only DOT-accredited facilities are allowed to operate and re-open, there was a deluge of applications since the pandemic began.

From 9,942 accredited tourism enterprises in 2019, there are now 11,557 accredited facilities across the country, or an uptick of 22.4 percent. “Having DOT accreditation shows that enterprises complied with safety standards to help raise consumer or traveler confidence.”

Establishments can also show that they comply with global health and safety standards through the

World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) “Safe Travels” stamp.

In September 2020, the Philippines became the 100th country awarded with the “Safe Travels Stamp.” “We were given the role of safe travels ambassador to our stakeholders, advocating for the use of the stamp to rebuild confidence among travelers. Eligible destinations can use the stamp once health and hygiene protocols outlined by the WTTC have been implemented. As of October 1, the DOT has issued the stamp to three destinations—Baguio City, Boracay Island, and Ilocos Norte.

And in 216 accredited accommodation establishments nationwide, the Central Visayas region has the greatest number of recipients.”

Due to the virus’ unpredictability and its many mutations, the industry’s recovery has been subjected to many starts and stops, she said. However, she said that on a positive note, as of October 15, 2021, the Philippines already received 90.61 million doses of vaccines since February, with 51.48 million doses administered as of October 14. The total number of fully vaccinated individuals in the country is already at 23.98 mil-

lion or 31.09 percent of the target population.

Romulo-Puyat said the DOT will continue to push for vaccination, the promotion of safe domestic travels, and the continued development of tourism products and circuits that reflect the change in preferences of the new normal traveler.

Covid-19 has been a particularly tough adversary but it’s now understood much better than when it first emerged. And with more promising medical breakthroughs, the country is becoming better equipped to deal with Covid-19 and hopefully, one day, eliminate it altogether.

“While it’s still around, let’s all do our part to stay safe but let’s all remember that we can still have some fun and travel to reopened destinations for as long as we follow the prescribed health and safety protocols. But it would be best if we are all fully vaccinated to protect not only ourselves but others as well. Let us all travel safe and show how responsible tourism can help stop Covid-19 deaths and contribute meaningfully to our national recovery,” Romulo-Puyat declared.

Make online learning more enjoyable with these tips

Eyes forward to better eye health in an ophthalmologist’s eyes

W

he Philippines is a signatory to the United Nations Resolution on Vision (#2030 InSight). The UN resolution was signed last July 23, days before we, at the National Committee for Sight Preservation (NCSP), celebrated Sight Saving Month. For us who have been working on eye health for the last two decades, this was a watershed moment that can positively impact 1.1 billion people globally and about 4 million Filipinos who have undiagnosed eye problems.

The resolution makes eye health part of and integral to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. For patients, this also means full access to eye care services through their country’s public health-care system.

ith most children at home all day and attending online classes, it is more challenging for pa rents to ma int a in t heir child’s healthy habits during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Licensed psychologist, professional teacher, and mom of two Kara Crisostomo shared that among the biggest challenges in distance learning is how to keep students engaged while they are battling pandemic fatigue.

Similarly, parents who need to report the office for work will also need to have the energy to keep up with their child’s schoolwork.

To help parents and their kids everywhere conquer another school year at home, Crisostomo, together with Nestlé Wellness Campus (NWC) and KOKO KRUNCH shared four crucial tips to help make distance learning easier than ever: Start the day right with a delicious, healthy and affordable breakfast. Good nutrition, health and wellness are essential for healthy body and mind.

Starting the day with a delicious and nutritious breakfast is vital now more than ever for children so that they have the energy they need for a great day of learning.

“A healthy breakfast will help keep kids active and engaged during online learning, especially when they’re sitting in front of a laptop without any physical interaction. Since our mornings are usually short and rushed, breakfast consists of quick and easy to prepare meals like cereals, sandwiches, and milk which our kids would love,” shared Crisostomo.

P rov ide a more conducive learning environment at home. It can be as simple as setting up a table, computer, and chair for them in one part of the house or even transforming one room into a designated study or workplace. Their books, art materials, and any other relevant school materials can be organized here. The children can also place their own décors that will keep them inspired when they work.

Crisostomo explained, “Having a proper set-up prompts them to know when and where to do their schoolwork. This can also help them alleviate distractions and be more focused when

needed in completing their assignments.”

Serving delicious, healthy and affordable snacks during breaks may also help kids think better and concentrate on their lessons. Parents do not have to worry with the nutrients their kids are getting because one serving of KOKO KRUNCH already provides 38% of iron1 and about 60%of Vitamins B3 and B6 that are needed for the day.

Keep connected with the children’s school and teachers. Whether it’s messaging through the school’s learning platform or staying active in a parent’s group chat, establish lines of communication to stay up to date with requirements and gather support for schoolwork.

Crisostomo shared that in her son’s school, parents can communicate with teachers through their learning management system and can also e-mail the school administration for other concerns. They also have a chat group for parents which has been very active since the pandemic started.

“Having this communication line with co-parents can also help when guiding our children with their schoolwork,” she said.

Find time to be proactive in a child’s learning development. Despite having a long day at work, it’s crucial for a parent to be on top of their child’s learning. This can be done by being familiar with their children’s lessons, helping with assignments daily, or simply checking on them.

Crisostomo said parents cannot expect the same things from their children as they did before the pandemic.

“We cannot pressure our children to make sure that they get everything right in school.

Let us give them the space they need especially when they want to relax,” she said.

This, she said, can be supported by having a family movie night at home, ordering food from a place the kids usually enjoy, or even as simple as dancing to Nestlé Wellness Campus’ Dancercise program.

Find a ny t h ing t h at c a n help the children unwind and recharge. Doing so can help ma inta in t heir mot ivat ion and engagement in school.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

By Dr. Noel Chua

T

A short history of eye care delivery

Before Bayanihan #2030InSight, NCSP, along with the Department of Health (DOH), civil society, and private sector partners, worked within the VISION 2020 framework, focusing on the people’s “right to sight.” It outlined the same ambitious goal of eliminating avoidable blindness through cost-effective disease control, human resource development, and technology adaptation. The World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness laid the foundation for VISION 2020 in 1999.

The VISION 2020 framework paved the way for the DOH to develop an administrative order for the implementation of the National Prevention of Blindness Program (PBP). The DOH PBP Administrative Order resulted in good outcome cataract surgeries, provincial and regional hospitals getting equipped with appropriate technology for surgeries, distribution of eyeglasses, the establishment of refraction centers, and timely intervention for children with visual disabilities. One of our biggest wins was the full coverage of cataract surgeries by PhilHealth.

In the policy arena, the Philippines did particularly well by establishing all the mechanisms and the funding necessary for the delivery of eye care services—but it does not always mean that things roll out smoothly on the ground.

Eye doctors like myself are mostly practicing in urban centers.

For us to successfully conduct missions in geographically isolated areas, we have to hurdle logistical and financial challenges. First, we need to reach patients, the patients then need to undergo preoperative exams, and finally, we need them to come to the nearest public health facility where the operation is feasible.

There have been significant improvements in medical techniques and technologies over the last three decades but the challenges in service delivery still remain.

I witnessed and experienced the

evolution of the ophthalmology practice in my 37 years of active service. Technological advancements in surgical and diagnostic equipment made surgeries and diagnoses faster and simpler. A cataract surgery, for example, used to take one to two hours, and the patients were confined to the hospital for about three to five days.

At present, the surgery takes less than 30 minutes, and outpatients would only need a day to recover.

Our laser refractive surgery made people spectacle-free with excellent outcomes.

A combination of effective policy and technology should have closed the gap. But after years of on-groundwork, there is a very crucial thing missing: effective advocacy.

A call to doctors and advocates

To start the process of fixing one pair of eyes after another, the doctors must be available to the patients, and the patients must actively come to us. If patients defer their consultations and surgeries, the backlog of eye services increases and the patients are prone to loss of vision and, consequently, have poor quality of life.

For this reason, we have intensified the communication work with partners like Fred Hollows Foundation (FHF), Physicians for Peace, Vitreo-Retina Society of the Philippines (VRSP), Philippine Society of Public Health for Occupational Optometry (PSPHOO), EYE hEAR

Foundation, other eye health stakeholders, and Novartis Philippines in pushing for quality information on how to actively care for the eyes.

We launched a campaign called Maging MATAlino last August in a bid to teach effective eye care habits, to aid parents in conducting vision screening at home, and to lead patients to facilities where they can access clinical care. All these actions are meant to start and shorten the “patient’s journey,” from the time symptoms appear to the first contact with a health-care provider, treatment, and recovery.

NCSP partner organizations had to pivot and make changes from the usual practice to continue vision screening even with the temporary closure of screening sites due to community quarantine restrictions. The Covid-19 pandemic may have delayed our plans but as a practicing ophthalmologist and public health professional who has labored for the cause since the early 2000s, I say this is not the time to slow down.

In celebration of World Sight Day this October, we encourage everyone to start a habit of actively taking care of their eyes. After all, better eye health is a Bayanihan effort among doctors, public health workers, development partners, and, most of all, patients.

Dr. Noel G. Chua is the Chairman of the National Committee for Sight Preservation and has been practicing ophthalmology for 37 years.

Cigarette smoking is hazardous to your mental health–expert

By Claudeth Mocon Ciriaco

M

ark, 36, handles over 100 to 300 calls during his eight-hour workday at a business-process outsourcing (BPO) company.

“I am so stressed. I need to resolve the complaints of the customers as fast as possible,” Mark said.

For Mark, the most stressful day is when he receives not only around 300 calls but calls from irate clients as well. To relieve his stress, Mark will smoke.

Same goes with Leo, 45, who works at a grocery store. Smoking, he said, helps him to be calm.

Does smoking a cigarette really relieve a person’s stress?

Increases tension

While some people smoke to reduce stress because it provides a sense of relaxation, research points out otherwise. Smoking actually

increases tension.

HealthJustice Philippines, a non- prof it orga n i z at ion, a l so warned that smoking can affect one’s mental health.

Former Health Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, a trustee of HealthJustice Philippines, noted that the feeling of relief while smoking is just temporary and that it would just lead to nicotine addiction.

Dr. Galvez-Tan explained that when a person smokes, nicotine will travel to the person’s brain though the bloodstream. It will then release several neurotransmitters including dopamine.

“That positive feeling you feel?

It is when dopamine is released.

This is just temporary. Once the dopamine levels decrease, you will have that bad feeling again,” he said.

Smoking and mental health

According to Dr. Galvez-Tan,

the World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as a “state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

Likewise, the WHO in Europe also stated that “smoking makes people more vulnerable to mental illness and mental illness makes people more likely to smoke.”

“Compared w ith the general population, adults with any mental health condition have a shorter lifespan of five to 10 years and are more likely to smoke.

Population surveys suggest that having a mental health condition makes a person approximately twice as likely to be smoking, after adjusting for other factors affecting smoking behavior,” the WHO added.

Quit smoking

To achieve good mental health, Dr. Galvez-Tan said it would be better to quit smoking and practice natural methods to fight stress to feel better.

After quitting, he added that it is important to “try to have a positive outlook, exercise, have a strong relationship with your family and the people around you, get enough sleep, take time to relax and slow things down if you feel pressured.”

“The best thing to do for your mental health is really to quit smoking,” Dr. Galvez-Tan said stressing that smoking has behavioral risk factors that can lead to major noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus.

“Relax, pray and slow things down,” Dr. Galvez-Tan also recommended.

Sports

BVR on Tour returns on Santa Ana beach

BusinessMirror

T

HE Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) returns after a twoyear hiatus with the first of a two-leg tour in a bubble setup on Friday at the famed resort town of Santa Ana up north in Cagayan.

Twenty-five teams—14 women and 11 men—are vying in the four-day tournament that opens its matches at 8 a.m.

The second leg will be played from

B8

| Thursday, October 21, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

NCC Aquatics Center hosts swim tryouts

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HE New Clark City in Capas will host the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) National Selection Bubble starting on Friday.

A total of 71 swimmers are joining the national tryouts at the world-class Aquatics Center in a bid to qualify for the 15th Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Swimming Championships 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in December, and the 19th FINA World Championships 2022 in Fukuoka, Japan in May next year.

The three-day tryouts were originally scheduled for August 28 to 30—as approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases—but was postponed due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases.

Atty. Aristotle Batuhan, Officerin-Charge of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), said the event not only showcases the world-class facilities in Clark, but also signals the country’s resilience amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As a home for Filipino athletes, New Clark City is proud to host this swimming event and help the country’s hopefuls go for gold in international competitions,” Batuhan said. “Through the PSI bubble, our countrymen can see that the country is on the path towards healing, with our athletes serving as icons of determination and strength despite the odds.”

PSI President Lani Velasco said that the event seeks to inspire athletes to continue their efforts despite the pandemic.

“We hope that the event can show to the youth that we can rise again and recover from this pandemic,” Velasco said. “We hope to encourage current swimmers to train even more to reach their dreams.”

The tryouts are hosted by the BCDA, its subsidiary Clark Development Corp. and PSI. Athletes, coaches and staff will be billeted at the Hotel Stotsenberg at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.

BCDA, in partnership with CDC, has hosted sports bubbles including the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup last year, Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers in June and the PhilCycling National Trials for Road in July.

Both agencies also managed the pre-Tokyo Olympics training camp of the Israel national swimming team last August at the New Clark City Aquatics Center.

In case a participant tests positive inside the bubble, Hotel Stotsenberg has rooms allocated for isolation. Partner hospitals, namely The Medical City Clark and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Medical Center Clark, will also be on standby to provide medical care.

October 28 to 31 also in Santa Ana. Charo Soriano, one of BVR’s founders, said the restart will boost the sport as it tries to sustain the gains achieved from the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019 where the men’s and women’s squads clinched bronze medals.

The BVR on Tour is part of the national beach volleyball teams’ preparations for the Asian Seniors Beach Volleyball Championship set from November 23 to 27 in Phuket, Thailand.

“Besides sports really trying to come back, the message that we want to send to the public, the majority and the audience, as well as the stakeholders of volleyball is that sports is a catalyst of hope,” said Soriano, the Philippine National Volleyball Federation’s (PNVF) beach volleyball commission chair.

This will be the fifth time that Santa Ana will host the BVR on Tour, which is sponsored

by Puso Pilipinas, Smart Sports, Santa Ana, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan Board Member Aj Ponce, Cagayan First District Rep. Junjun Nolasco, TikTok Phlippines, EVI Construction, Savepoint Plus, Xentro Mall, Toyota Tuguegarao, Ibuprofen Paracetamol Alaxan FR and the PNVF. The event will be held under strict health and safety protocols where everyone will undergo RT-PCR test three days before entering the bubble and antigen test upon entry.

Competing in the women’s division are Creamline, PLDT, TM, Biogenic, Eastern Communications, Toyota-Tuguegarao, Black Mamba Army, Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors, Boysen, Delimondo and Good Health-CDO. The men’s roster include Creamline, PLDT, ARMY-FSD Makati, DeliRush, Tuguegarao, EVI Construction and Negros Occidental Beach Volleyball Club.

The games will be streamed live on the Puso Pilipinas and Smart Sports Facebook pages and YouTube channels.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL action makes a comeback up north in Cagayan.

TO JAB OR NOT TO JAB?

N

ATIONAL Hockey League (NHL) Commissioner Gary Bettman let out a faint cough and assured those seated at least 6 feet away that it was allergies, not Covid-19.

He had tested negative for the coronavirus three times in the previous week.

It allowed the fully vaccinated 69-year-old the opportunity to underscore the message that the virus is still part of the NHL and other professional sports leagues 19 months into the pandemic.

“It’s no joke,” Bettman said.

“We’re still dealing with Covid, although not in the same ways.”

US sports have successfully forced more athletes and staff to get vaccinated than many other industries, in part because the threat of losing pay is so severe. Yet, the outliers have and will continue to get more attention and generate outrage from fans who want to see stars play.

JULIAN MACARAEG vies in first of four World Cups that serve as qualifiers for the Beijing 2022 Games.

75 carats THE 75th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) has begun and it’s business as usual. For basketball and NBA fans, God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world.

As is to be expected, the global league provides superb entertainment—A-1 basketball, hoopla and intriguing plot twists. As the Bucks dismantled the Nets on opening day yesterday, and the league prepares to unveil 50 more names to complete its 75 greatest players list for the Diamond Year, there are rumblings underneath the surface.

1. The Kyrie Thingy. There’s the “To vax or not to vax” issue, with Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving at the center of the roar. He is adamant in his refusal to get the vaccine and

Basketball’s Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal, football’s Kirk Cousins, Cole Beasley and Chase Young, baseball’s Chris Sale and hockey’s Tyler Bertuzzi have all held out, with varying degrees of outspoken skepticism.

On Monday, the NHL suspended San Jose’s Evander Kane 21 games for submitting a fake vaccination card and Washington State University fired football coach Nick Rolovich for failing to comply with a state government vaccine mandate, providing two more reminders of the impact the coronavirus is still having on professional and college sports.

They’re in the shrinking minority.

Major League Baseball (MLB), in the middle of its postseason, reports 87.4 percent of players and key staff are fully vaccinated. The National Football League (NFL) through six weeks of its season is at 94 percent, with 133 active players who have not had at least one dose.

UNVACCINATED players in the sports world are in the shrinking minority. AP

National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver said Monday his league is at 96 percent with the chance for that number to tick up. Bettman noted last week the NHL had only four unvaccinated players out of more

than 700—well over 99 percent fully vaccinated.

“If given grades, those are A-pluses,” said former women’s basketball player Iciss Tillis, who is now a labor and employment attorney at the law firm Hall Estill.

Macaraeg starts Beijing Winter Olympics bid

J

By Josef Ramos

ULIAN MACARAEG starts his quest to become the first Filipino speed skater to race in the Olympics when he vies in the first of four qualifying tournaments for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games at the Capitol Indoor Stadium in Beijing on Thursday.

The road to Beijing for Macaraeg means making the grade in four World Cups heading to the Winter Olympics China is hosting for the first time from February 4 to 20.

“These four World Cups are going

to be the pinnacle of my career and the deciding factor whether I qualify for the Beijing Olympics,” the 18-year-old Macaraeg told BusinessMirror on Wednesday. “I am very excited to be competing. I’ve worked very hard this summer, and I’m going to put in all the work that I’ve done in my racing.”

After Beijing, the International Skating Union will bring the World Cup to Nagoya (Japan) from October 28 to 31, then to Dordrecht (Hungary) from November 18 to 21 and finally in Dordretch (The Netherlands) from November 25 to 28.

The Queens, New York-based Macaraeg expects tough challenges from skaters from Hungary, host China and South Korea.

“I’ll be competing with the best skaters in the world, and it will be interesting to see how this competition plays out,” he said. “I’m happy and proud to be representing Team Philippines.”

Macaraeg will try to accomplish what fellow Filipino Sofia Frank and Edrien Celestino failed to do in figure skating.

“I would say if everything comes to plan, I should get good results

DepEd to conduct first-ever virtual sports skills meet

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HE Department of Education (DepEd) will conduct its first-ever Virtual Sports Skills Demonstration Contest on November 19 to provide an avenue for public school studentathletes to showcase their skills.

Dubbed Talentadong Pinoy, the

it’s placed the Nets in a no-safety net situation.

“Nobody should be forced to do anything with their bodies,” Irving had declared. And thereby hangs a tale. The Nets who do biz in the State of New York can’t let Kyrie play, by state laws since he has rejected even just the very notion of getting vaxxed.

The resulting fallout is, well…it’s complicated. Irving is pissed for not being able to play. But his and the Nets’ owners hands are tied. Trade him? Not a perfect solution because “he has limited trade value,” says SB Nation.

“Despite his greatness on court..and generosity off it— Irving is seen as damaged goods (and) large segments of fan bases ultimately sour on him.” Not trade him? Well, he still can’t play. And if he gets an extension, the Nets can’t trade him (should they want to) till April.

On the other hand, if he doesn’t sign an extension, he becomes a restricted free agent in July if he declines his $36.9 million player option. What team would opt to pick up that huge sum?

And then again, he can opt to retire because he doesn’t like the idea of being traded. What then? Wait for the next new episode of this story on Nets Flicks. Maybe next week.

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin David Simmons.

Oooh, this is hot. The Philadelphia 76ers are at the epicenter of one of the most intriguing player situations in the league.

As we all know the 2018 Rookie of the Year is no stranger to controversy. Even his ROY title was controversial since he was drafted in 2016 but sat out the

contest will feature student-athletes’ skills in sports played in the Palarong Pambansa such as synchronized kicking for taekwondo, dribbling drills for basketball, routine for rhythmic or aerobic gymnastics and dance performance for dancesport.

“The department supports the promotion of school sports even in this time of pandemic through activities that can be done using online modality,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said. “This contest is a very good opportunity

season because of an injured foot. Then he was assessed as a rookie the following season and edged out crowd favorite Donovan Mitchell for the award.

Well, he’s experiencing even stronger tremors now.

According to cbssports.com, a situation was triggered way back in the last playoffs when Simmons bombed out from the foul line in two crucial games against the Wizards and the Hawks.

The problem actually goes farther back in January when the Sixers dangled his name as a trade piece in exchange for James Harden, although the trade didn’t push through.

From the missed-foul shots-at-the-playoff incident, things went progressively downhill. Simmons showed he wasn’t happy with how he was regarded by his team.

Comments from his coach, that much talked about “I’m not sure if [he] can be the point guard for the future of the 76ers” hurt and riled him.

He withdraws from the Olympics. He asks to be traded.

The Sixers go through the motions but with a stiff asking price. Long story short, no trade happened.

Still part of the Sixers, Simmons starts the new season by opting out of Media Day. He misses training camp.

Where before his teammates express their desire to have him back and still be part of their brotherhood, Joel Embiid now expresses his frustration.

Early this month, Simmons was to have received a quarter of his contract for the 2021-22 season, but the Sixers withhold it. Simmons does not participate in preseason games.

“It’s been really interesting to watch the transition over the past year and a half go from extreme skepticism to, I guess, people being able to see friends and family go ahead and get the vaccine first and sort of see how they react to it. I think that’s playing a huge role in this shift that we’re seeing towards people pretty much just giving in and just going ahead and taking the vaccine.”

None of those leagues has a full mandate, but all imposed rules treating differently players who are fully vaccinated. In addition, some cities and states put further requirements on players and coaches, especially those at state universities such as Rolovich. Daily coronavirus testing, mask wearing and restrictions on movement made more players choose to be vaccinated—as did the threat of losing pay.

The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets begin the season without Irving, who cannot play or practice at home because of a New York City vaccine mandate. The team told him he couldn’t play—even in road games—until his status changes.

Irving and other unvaccinated players around pro sports don’t get paid for the games they miss. AP this weekend,” said Macaraeg, whose mother Irene and father Jesus trace their roots to Balagtas, Bulacan, and Villasis, Pangasinan, respectively.

“I’m hoping I’ll finish this first competition without any falls and penalties, because that would be extremely crucial to my placing.”

A Filipino has yet to qualify in speed skating in the Winter Olympics. Cousins Juan Cipriano and Ben Nanasca competed in alpine skiing in Sapporo 1972, Raymond Ocampo vied in luge in Calgary 1988, Michael Teruel was the country’s bet in alpine skiing in Albertville 1992 and Michael Martinez in Sochi 2014 and again in Pyeongchang 2018 in figure skating along with another alpine skier Asa Miller. in engaging our student-athletes in sports who sorely miss participation to various activities and competition like the Palarong Pambansa.”

The program is open to all secondary public schools nationwide, preferably with existing sports clubs or varsity teams. Participating teams should consist of six to 12 studentathletes aged 16 to 18 years old.

Finally he returns, but the situation gets worse. Per The Athletic, Simmons says he is “not mentally ready” to rejoin the team. He refuses to participate in defensive drills. Doc Rivers throws Simmons out of practice and suspends him for one game.

Then Joel Embiid unleashes the most candid, cruelest, straight off the cuff comments at the following presser. “I don’t care about that man.” “Our job is not to babysit.”

What’s going to happen next in the Simmons-Sixers Saga?

What’s up with the dude? The Sixers play the Pelicans in their first game for the season today and Simmons will definitely not be in it. Will he ever come to play?

3. Sparkling Diamond. The NBA’s 75th Diamond Season has just begun and it’s so full of drama and intrigue already. Lots of good things are in store. The league will resume its normal 82-game season, there are a lot of exciting player rigodons and the best 75 players will be revealed soon.

How will Russell Westbrook perform alongside King James and Anthony Davis? How will Kyle Lowry heat up Miami? How will Lonzo Ball play ball with the Bulls?

Who will join Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Dirk Nowitzki, Hal Greer, Bob Pettit, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Elvin Hayes, Jerry Lucas, Willis Reed, Nate Archibald, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, James Harden, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin McHale, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan, John Stockton, Steve Nash, Charles Barkley, Julius Erving, George Gervin, Moses Malone and David Robinson in the Diamond List? Find out soon!