BusinessMirror September 03, 2020

PHL rises to 50th in Innovation Index

By Lyn Resurreccion

AP/AARON FAVILA

A

THE BROADER LOOK » A4-A5

RECOVERY REQUIRES RESOLVE, RAPID RELEASE OF RESOURCES—ECONOMISTS

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year

BRIGHT light shines for the Philippines this year as it moved four ranks to 50 in the 2020 Global Innovation Index (GII), from 54th in 2019, and 73rd in 2018, among the 131 economies in the world, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) reported through a webinar on Wednesday.

“The country’s latest performance in the GII is a testament to its continuous commitment to innovation since 2014 when it ranked 100th place. The Philippines moved up by 50 notches in

just six years,” Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said.

The Philippines, together with three other economies—China, Vietnam and India—has made the most significant progress in the GII innovation ranking over time, de la Peña said.

Compared to other economies in Southeast Asia, the Philippines performed above average in two of the seven GII pillars: Business sophistication, and Knowledge and technology outputs.

“The latest GII ranking of the Philippines is a great source of hope and inspiration for all Filipinos who are facing uncertainties in

the midst of the current pandemic.

We look forward to sustain this momentum through future projects and collaborations among various stakeholders. This milestone has shown that doing and applying science for the people’s good is a good strategy and mission,” de la Peña said.

For her part, DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said the budget of research and development in the country today “is not that high.”

In fact, in the last four years, R&D budget has increased to about 10 percent only, Guevara said.

“But, the beautiful thing is

that in the [GII], in terms of Innovation Inputs, we are number 70, meaning to say, we have climbed up already in the Input side. But the more beautiful thing is that, we are number 41 in terms of Innovation Output. Meaning to say, Filipinos are efficient innovators.

We have more output even with less input,” Guevara explained.

The GII rankings are determined based on seven pillars, namely, Creative Outputs, Institutions, Human Capital & Research, Infrastructure, Market Sophistication, Business Sophistication, and Knowledge & Technology Outputs.

See “Innovation,” A2

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR (2017, 2018)

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

DATA CHAMPION

END-JULY NATL GOVT DEBT RISES TO P9.16T www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Thursday, September 3, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 329

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

PUBLIC-UTILITY vehicle drivers and market vendors take part in the pilot implementation of the pooled swab testing at the Makati Coliseum in Makati City. The method uses one polymerase chain reaction test on 10 individuals, bringing down the cost and allowing more people to be tested. National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon and Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay attended the event. NONIE REYES

T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

HE national government’s outstanding debt rose to P9.16 trillion as of end-July this year as the government continues to ramp up its borrowings to soften the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed debt stock soaring by 17.4 percent year-on-year from P7.8 trillion in end-July 2019.

From the end-December 2019 level of P7.73 trillion, the national government’s debt portfolio as of

end-July increased by 18.5 percent.

Of the total outstanding debt, 68.3 percent were domestic debt while 31.7 percent were sourced externally.

Domestic debt as of end-July was up by 19.2 percent to P6.26 trillion from P5.25 trillion a year ago.

To date, domestic debt rose by 22 percent from P5.13 trillion as of end-2019.

On the other hand, external debt amounted to P2.908 trillion, 13.9 percent higher than P2.55 trillion a year ago.

External debt as of end-July also increased by 11.7 percent from P2.6 trillion as of end-2019.

Meanwhile, total guaranteed obligations of the national government as of end-July this year also declined by 5.16 percent to P458.83 billion from P483.81 billion as of July 2019.

Since the start of the year, guarantees as of end-July this year have risen by 6.1 percent from P488.75 billion as of December last year.

The government borrows to finance its spending require-

ments as well as to cover its budget deficit.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) also expects the country’s debtto-GDP ratio this year to increase to 53.91 percent of GDP—a level it has not seen in over a decade— from a record low of 39.6 percent of GDP last year.

By the end of this year, the national government expects its outstanding debt to reach P10.16 trillion, up by 31.42 percent from last year’s amount.

As tax collections are down amid the pandemic, the Development Budget Coordination Committee is projecting the country's budget deficit to more than double to 9.6 percent of GDP or P1.815 trillion from only 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion last year.

Longer global lockdown’s toll: $2.2T

T

HE global tourism sector is projected to rack up losses of some $2.2 trillion, equivalent to 2.8 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), if international travel restrictions reach eight months.

The estimate was made by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) in a report in July. Under a worst-case scenario, or a 12-month break in international travel, Unctad estimated losses as high as $3.3 trillion or 4.2 percent of global GDP.

But the 2.8 percent seems to be most likely, according to Unctad, with the reimposition of travel restrictions

in many destinations, after their recent reopenings.

Travel restrictions in Europe, for instance, were lifted for the summer holiday season but are now being enforced anew with the rise in Covid-19 cases. Certainly, Unctad believes this would impact on global tourism’s recovery.

“Never before has tourism’s economic impact on global GDP been so sharply in focus. We cannot sleep while the third largest global export sector is threatened with collapse,” Unctad’s Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said in a news statement.

He also urged governments to

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.4760

protect workers, help tourism enterprises facing the risk of bankruptcy, such as hotels and airlines, and called on the international community to support access to funding for the hardest-hit countries. Just recently, Philippine lawmakers passed the Bayanihan 2 bill, which extends financial aid to tourism establishments struggling because of Covid-19.

For her part, Unctad’s Special Adviser for the Blue Economy, Dona Bertarelli, said there are opportunities to rebuild tourism and the hospitality industry in ways that benefit communities as well as the environment, including the blue economy.

“At this critical time, we have the possibility to help communities that depend on tourism for their livelihoods to rebuild their businesses in a more resilient and sustainable way,” she said.

“It’s vital to make the connection between government economic recovery packages, private sector investments and philanthropic funding, so as to collectively provide the resources and skills that coastal communities need to shift to a regenerative blue economy,” she added.

Yet, the United Nations in its August 25 report sees the Covid-19 See “Tourism,” A2

TAGGING DISTRESSED ASSETS FOR 3RD-PARTY SALE ALLOWED TILL ’21

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

E

XPECTING a further increase in nonperforming assets (NPAs), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that recognizing distressed assets qualified for third-party sale may be allowed until next year under the proposed Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act. BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said in a Senate hearing on Wednesday that the current applicability clause of the bill includes NPAs as of end-December 2020, but he clarified that the coverage period may be extended until next year.

“The FIST bill covers assets that have become nonperforming as of 31 December 2020,” Diokno said. “This can be considered to be moved to second quarter of 2021 in view of the impact of the Bayanihan II.”

NPAs refers to nonperforming loans (NPLs) and real and other properties acquired in settlement of loans.

The FIST bill allows financial institutions to get rid of their NPAs by selling them to asset management firms or FIST companies. That way, they can attain better management of their debt levels during this pandemic.

Diokno stressed that the enactment of the bill can ease the pandemic-induced stress on the banking system, noting that financial institutions would not have to incur expenses to manage their NPAs. This responsibility falls on the asset management companies already after the sale.

Unloading the NPAs to the FIST companies can also help boost liquidity because they “will no longer be tied up in NPAs,” Diokno said.

Free up capital

THE BSP chief explained that this can also help free up the banking industry’s capital, strengthening its risk-bearing capacity. At the same time, he added, it can also support investment and lending activities.

See “NPAs,” A2

n JAPAN 0.4576 n UK 64.8754 n HK 6.2551 n CHINA 7.1001 n SINGAPORE 35.6101 n AUSTRALIA 35.7462 n EU 57.7737 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9259

Source: BSP (September 2, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, September 3, 2020

Tourism…

Continued from A1

crisis as a way to harmonize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with government policies that protect the livelihoods of tourism workers and ensure a more resilient, inclusive, carbon-neutral and resource-efficient future.

It calls for a five-point roadmap to transform tourism in the following priority areas:

• Mitigate socioeconomic impacts on livelihoods, particularly women’s employment and economic security.

• Boost competitiveness and build resilience, including through economic diversification, with promotion of domestic and regional tourism where possible, and facilitation of conducive business environment for micro, small and mediumsized enterprises.

• Advance innovation and digital transformation of tourism, including promotion of innovation and investment in digital skills, particularly for workers temporarily without jobs and for job seekers.

• Foster sustainability and green growth to shift toward a resilient, competitive, resource-efficient and carbon-neutral tourism sector. Green investments for recovery could target protected areas, renewable energy, smart buildings and the circular economy, among other opportunities.

• Coordination and partnerships to restart and transform the sector toward achieving SDGs, ensuring tourism’s restart and recovery puts people first and work together to ease and lift travel restrictions in a responsible and coordinated manner.

Unctad will be meeting from April 25 to 30, 2021, in Bridgetown, Barbados, to map out the measures to grow global tourism in the wake of Covid-19.

Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Industry groups: New normal bill ties hand of govt, business

I

By Elijah Felice Rosales

NDUSTRY groups have asked legislators to reconsider their move to institute guidelines for the new normal, as this may just tie the hands of both the government and the private sector in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a letter to Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano, industry groups said they oppose the passage of House Bill (HB) 6623, or “The New Normal for the Workplace and Public Spaces Act of 2020.” The measure is now substituted by HB 6864, which the House of Representatives approved in August.

As much as they support the objective of HB 6623, they pointed out “there are other important matters that should be taken into account before the passage of the said bill.”

Likewise, industry groups

said numerous guidelines exist mandating the practice of minimum health standards in workplaces and public spaces. They said these regulations take the form of executive orders, department orders, labor advisories, among others, issued by state agencies from the local to the national.

Conflicting, confusing

BUSINESS owners, including foreigners, find these policies conflicting and confusing, as most of their provisions either counter or repeat the contents of another guideline.

European investors, for instance, listed unclear government policies and regulations among the reasons their operations here are struggling under Covid-19, according to a survey by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. In general, around 75 percent of them said they are “unsatisfied” with the state’s response to the pandemic.

The industry groups concluded there should be room for flexibility and adjustment in case new discoveries are made on Covid-19 and policies should be changed therefore.

“As such, we believe that the passage of the bill into law shall only limit government acts rather than being able to address the issue at hand freely and legally,” their letter read. “Once a bill is enacted into law, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for government agencies to address issues that are beyond the ambit of the provisions of law.”

The letter dated August 24 was signed by the Philippine Chamber

of Commerce and Industry, Employers Confederation of the Philippines and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. HB 6864 was passed by the House on August 10 and is now awaiting action from the Senate. If passed into law, the bill will institutionalize the practice of health and safety protocols against transmittable diseases, such as wearing face mask, staying one feet apart and recording body temperature before entering an enclosed space.

Moreover, the measure will continue to prohibit public gatherings, operation of motorcycle taxis and conduct of face-to-face classes, all supposedly in the name of containing the virus.

The proposed law will also mandate all private firms to reduce the number of employees going to the workplace by 50 percent, compelling business operations, whatever their industry is, to adapt flexible working arrangements. Should the bill be signed into law this year, it will expire in 2023 as indicated in its three-year sunset clause.

Jobless rate seen to hit 15-year high in 2020 Continued from A8

The requested budget is 53.74 percent higher than the agency’s P17.9-billion budget this year.

Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) director Ma. Karina Perida-Trayvilla said they proposed a P9,300,779,000 bud-

get for 2021 for their Tulong Pang­ hanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Worker (Tupad).

“This is the biggest budget we have requested for Tupad so far since we anticipate a slow economic recovery [next year], which may lead to some workers in the formal sector to fall in the informal sector of the economy,” Trayvilla told the BusinessMirror in a phone interview.

Under the program, DOLE provides temporary emergency employment for displaced workers, who may be tasked in cleaning or anti-Covid-19 measures in their area in exchange for minimum wage.

“Tupad [in their proposed 2021 budget] is expected to provide 15 days of work to 1,441,574 beneficiaries,” Trayvilla said.

As of April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimated that 7.3 million workers had become unemployed amid the pandemic. It will be coming out with updated unemployment figures on Thursday.

In its latest own monitoring report, DOLE registered 180,207 permanently displaced workers and over 3 million temporarily displaced employees from January to August 30, 2020.

Gradual decline

NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessMirror they expect fewer numbers of unemployed people as the government eases its lockdown measures.

“Yes, we expect the unemployment rate to gradually decline as we ease restrictions. This is also the figure consistent with the revised GDP growth numbers,” Edillon said in a message.

For this year, the DBCC expects the economy to contract by 4.5 percent to 6.6 percent as the country deals with the impact of the pandemic.

Asked why the economic team sees a higher unemployment rate in 2022 than in 2021, Edillon ex-

8

6

4

7.254 M

Continued from A1

Among the 29 economies that belong to the lower middle-income countries, the Philippines managed to reach the 4th place and ranks 11th among the 17 economies in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania, de la Peña reported.

The Philippines stands out for the innovativeness of its business sector and the innovation outcomes produced by its investments, with levels of outcomes that remain even above some high-income economies.

The country is also considered to be well integrated into global trade, ranking first in high-technology imports, third in high-technology exports, 8th in information and communications technology (ICT) services exports and 10th in creative goods exports.

Among its highest-ranking indicators, its productivity growth ranks 6th. It ranks 7th in terms of firms offering formal training, and 8th in terms of registered utility models by origin, de la Peña said.

The DOST has strongly supported the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through projects like the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), making them highly competitive even on the global stage.

It has prioritized initiatives that are proven to be extremely useful during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as locally developed test kits, biomedical devices, disease model, and other useful apps.

The country’s ranking in university/industry research collaboration is in the upper 25 percent of the GII 2020.

It ranked eighth in utility models by origin and this is consistent with the exponential increase in intellectual property (IP) applications and technology transfer supported

by DOST, and this can partly be traced to the significant increase in IP applications.

De la Peña said the improvement in the country’s GII ranking is important because it “helps place innovation firmly on the policy map of economies and can guide leaders in incorporating scientific innovation as part of their economic strategies.”

NPAs…

2

2.267 M April 2019

Innovation…

Continued from A1

April 2020

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE plained that they expect more college graduates for that year.

“For now, we think it will be driven more by the influx of labor market entrants. This year and the next, we do not have the regular number of college graduates, because the first batch of K-12 who went to college will graduate in 2022. The changes in the school calendar because of Covid-19 will mean that their vacation/graduation times will not coincide with the campaign period,” she said.

The PSA is set to release the latest Labor Force Survey results today, Thursday. Based on the previous LFS, the unemployment rate in April rose from 5.1 percent to a staggering 17.7 percent in the same period. This is equivalent to 7.254 million unemployed Filipinos in April this year from 2.267 million in the same period in 2019.

This represented a 220-percent increase in the number of unemployed Filipinos. A total of 4.987 million were added to the existing number of the unemployed.

It can be noted that in 2005, the government adopted the International Labour Organization (ILO) definition of unemployment.

Under the ILO’s definition, those unavailable to do work would no longer be classified as unemployed.

This means that the unemployed now included all persons 15 years and over as of their last birthday and are reported as without work and currently available for work, and seeking work or without work and currently available for work but not seeking work due to various reasons.

“BSP supports the laudable objectives of FIST Bill to induce economic activity and improve the liquidity of the financial system, enabling FIs [financial institutions] to respond to the looming increase in NPAs, and therefore, propel economic growth,” Diokno said.

“The enactment of the FIST law will assist the financial system perform its role of efficiently mobilizing savings and investments for the country’s economic recovery, as well as its sustained growth and development,” he added.

Early introduction

THE Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), meanwhile, welcomed the early discussion of the bill because this could prevent the banking industry from spiraling down.

BAP President Cezar P. Consing, in the same hearing, recalled that a related law—Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Act of 2002— was only introduced later on during the Asian financial crisis when NPLs had already reached beyond 18 percent in 2001.

“The banks did not realize how bad this could be.... The banks were a little too naive, a little too slow," he said.

If it was enacted earlier, the situation could have been mitigated, Consing explained. He said that NPL levels only showed signs of recovery in 2005, dropping to 4.9 percent.

As of end-June, the banking industry’s NPL level stood at 2.53.

Consing said the FIST bill could be deemed successful if 30 percent to 40 percent of NPAs will be sold to asset management companies. “If we ended up doing 30 to 40 percent of the NPAs via the FIST, that would be a good result,” he said.

Under the SPV law in 2002, around 28 percent of NPAs were transferred to SPV entities.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Popcom opens warehouses for FP goods in 4 key cities

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) has opened four warehouses for family planning (FP) commodities in the cities of Legazpi, Zamboanga, Davao and Cotabato.

In a news statement, Popcom said the warehouses will help augment the shortage of family planning products caused by the pandemic.

Popcom Executive Director and Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III said the warehouses will ensure the availability of FP information and services in health facilities deemed crucial in preventing unplanned pregnancies among couples and individuals amid quarantine and lockdowns.

“It is important to note that the pandemic has threatened the availability and accessibility of FP commodities and services in public health facilities that may result in unplanned pregnancies and their negative consequences,” Perez said. “Our warehouses will be instrumental in helping generate and fulfill demand where they are needed, and when they are needed.”

Popcom said family planning supply hubs in Regions 5, 9, 11 and 12 will serve not only their communities but also neighboring regions through the expanded provision of FP commodities.

The facilities will ensure the needed supply of the said items within the regions and surrounding local government units, especially those from the grassroots level, as well as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

Popcom Region 11 warehouse already started operations on August 12. Located inside the Southern Philippines Medical Center Compound along Dumanlas Friendship Road in Bajada, Davao City, the facility houses an FP and Wellness Clinic which provides free FP services, while currently fulfilling the FP requirements of nearby Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM. Meanwhile, the Popcom Region 5 Warehouse in Buraguis, Legazpi

City, and Albay formally opened its doors on August 28. It has ample space to store fresh supplies of pills and subdermal implants, among others, and enables restocking as needed by rural health units in Bicol, Regions 7 (Central Visayas) and 8 (Eastern Visayas).

Popcom said the Region 9 Warehouse in Cabatangan, Zamboanga City, will be the regional hub for storage and distribution of FP supplies and commodities for the entire Zamboanga Peninsula, as well as the provinces of Misamis Occidental, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The Region 12 warehouse/regional hub at the BARMM Compound in Cotabato City has been redistributing and repositioning FP commodities in four provinces and five cities of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos, or Soccsksargen.

“Through the warehouses, we are actively putting into action the storage, delivery and distribution of FP commodities in key areas mostly wanting of these, as evidenced by the monitoring reports generated by our population workers,” Perez said.

Earlier, the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said there could be a significant increase in the number of mothers dying from pregnancy, or childbirth, is expected to significantly increase during the pandemic, according to the preliminary study of the UPPI and UNFPA. In a news statement, UNFPA said preliminary results of the study by UPPI and UNFPA showed the pandemic could increase the number of maternal deaths by 26 percent this year.

This means 670 maternal deaths will be added to the data from the 2019 level. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, around 2,600 women died annually due to complications from pregnancy, or childbirth.

In February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said maternal deaths increased to 1,616 in 2018 compared to 1,484 in 2017, or a two-year high when maternal deaths reached 1,721 in 2015.

Government may allow foreign deployment of health-care workers on a ‘gradual’ basis

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

A

GROUP of Filipino nurses aspiring to land on jobs abroad have expressed their support to a proposal for the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to reset the cut-off date for exemption from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s (POEA) temporary deployment ban for medical workers.

In an online forum organized by the United Filipino Global, many of the 200 nurses who participated in the event said they support the proposal of POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia to request the cut-off date be moved from March 8, 2020 to August 31, 2020 instead.

More feasible option

OLALIA said the proposal is more likely to be approved by the IATF than the outright removal of the temporary deployment ban.

“Maybe they could request, through the intercession of the Secretary [of the Department of Labor and Employment] if [we] could change [the cut off] to Aug. 31, 2020. This means all the employment contract from Aug. 31, 2020, will be included in the exemptions,” Olalia said.

He noted the request for allowing more medical workers to be deployed abroad should be done “gradually” since President Duterte is against allowing their mass deployment due to concerns

on the country’s health-care system amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pending request

LABOR Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III agreed with Olalia, saying the proposal on the cut-off date should be accompanied with the necessary data.

Bello earlier sent a letter to IATF requesting for the exemption of 600 to 900 medical workers, who were unable to meet the March 8 exemption.

“On my own personal assessment, we can afford to send them away, but when it comes to statistics, if we will be sending 50,000 nurses away, that might be dangerous...we might be forgetting the fact that we are under a health emergency situation,” Bello said.

The IATF has yet to act on the said request from DOLE.

Deployment cap

BELLO said they are now trying to obtain the necessary data from the Department of Health, Professional Regulation Commission, and the Philippine Nurses Association on the actual demand and supply for nurses and other medical workers so they could defend to the IATF the exemption of more medical workers from the deployment ban.

“For example, we will extend it [cut off] to Aug. 31 and we will lose only about 2,000 to 3,000 or 4,000 up to 5,000 [nurses], maybe we could convince the IATF to consider it. But if it is beyond, it might be hard [to convince them],” Bello said.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, September 3, 2020 A3

Telcos reaffirm support to govt’s drive vs child porn as 2,521 web sites blocked

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE country’s telecom operators and Internet service providers (ISPs) have blocked a total of 2,521 child pornographic web sites as part of their commitment to help the government curb online child pornography and sexual abuse in the country.

In a position paper submitted to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, members of the Philippine Chamber of Telecom Operators (PCTO) have acknowledged its duty under Republic Act (RA) 9775, or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, to install a program, or software, that could block access to, or transmittal of any form, of child pornography in the Internet.

Section 9 of RA 9775 requires ISPs to notify authorities within seven days from discovery that any form of child pornography is being committed using their servers, or facilities.

PCTO is the umbrella organization of duly enfranchised telecommunication entities and ISPs, including telco giants PLDT Inc. and the Ayala-owned Globe Telecom.

Its members have been closely coordinating with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and law-enforcement agencies, such

as the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), in blocking child pornographic sites.

The NTC, which is an active member of the Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography established by RA 9775, has so far endorsed to the telcos and ISPs more than 6,000 web sites and links for blocking.

Aside from the 2,521 blocked web sites, the Globe Telecom invested in a software filtering system worth $2.7 million to support its “PlayItRight” campaign targeting illegal, or pirated content, and online child pornography.

On the other hand, PLDT and its subsidiary, Smart Communications, through their Cyber Security Operations Group (CSOG), have been actively identifying and blocking child pornography web sites when informed by the PNP and NBI. PLDT and Smart have also provided connectivity and technical assistance to enable services for the quick reporting of cases of online sex exploitation of children through text hot line 7444-64 set up by the PNP Women and Children Protection Center and the International Justice Mission.

“PCTO condemns child pornography as a reprehensible crime that

should be rightfully curtailed by the state. Blocking of unlawful content is a state duty which ISPs support,” the group said.

During a meeting with the DOJ in March, PCTO—particularly PLDT and Smart—proposed that the government consider the use of a technology solution developed by Microsoft.

However, follow-up meetings between the DOJ, the ISPs, other stakeholders and Microsoft did not push through because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, PCTO urged the DOJ to push for the amendment of Section 9 of RA 9775 which, it said, contained conflicting provisions.

Section 9 requires ISPs to monitor the content passing through their servers and report to authorities any Internet address which may contain any form of child pornography.

It also provides that “nothing in this section may be construed to require an ISP to engage in the monitoring of any user, subscriber or customer, of the content of any communication of such person.”

This, according to PCTO, in effect nullifies and prevents ISPs from performing the duties imposed under Section 9.

PCTO likewise pointed out that RA 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, imposes strict privacy re-

sponsibilities on entities that collect, or process, personal information of customers, which contradicts the duties imposed on ISPs under RA 9775.

“Accordingly, we urge the [DOJ] to consider amending RA 9775 to rectify the statutory conflicts identified above, taking into account the paramount objective of protecting the welfare of children who are victims of child pornography and online sexual abuse,” it said.

It can be recalled that last May, the DOJ urged ISPs to comply with its obligation under RA 9775 after online child sexual exploitation reportedly went up more than 200 percent during the quarantine period.

The DOJ-Office of Cybercrime (OOC) noted a 264.63-percent increase in the number of reported online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) during the threemonth quarantine period imposed by the government to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

The data showed that from the period of March 1 to May 24, when the country has been placed under a state of public health, the DOJ-OOC said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) had received 279,166 reported incidents of OSEC compared to 76,651 that were reported last year during the same period.

Poultry growers reject DTI proposal to lift ban on Brazilian meat imports

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

HE United Broiler Raisers’ Association (UBRA) has expressed its support to a Department of Agriculture decision to ban the entry of meat products from Brazil to the Philippines following reports that samples of chicken wings imported by China tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19.

UBRA made an open letter to Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez after he wrote to Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar requesting the lifting of the import ban on Brazilian meat products to prevent any increases in canned goods prices.

“The Department of Agriculture [DA] and the Bureau of Animal Industry [BAI] do not exactly have a sterling record in interdicting the entry of animal diseases into our borders nor in containing its spread after it lands in our shores. We have seen this in its dismal handling of

the African swine fever [ASF],” the group said.

“However, on this matter it [DA] acted correctly in banning poultry products from Brazil based on the findings of China as a precautionary measure as allowed by the rules on food safety. The ban protects public health which should be the primordial concern,” he added.

The group said banning meat importation from Brazil will preserve public confidence in chicken as a product whether it is locally produced, or imported from other countries.

“The ban benefits, therefore, the general public, producers, importers, and even the processors. Remember when there was so much conflict about ASF that it affected confidence on both local and imported pork?” it added.

According to UBRA, there are other sources of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) aside from Brazil and these countries include Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Nether-

lands, Poland, Turkey, United Kingdom and America.

From January to July 2020, UBRA said the Philippines has already imported 159,745,948 kilos of MDM, representing 72 percent of the total importation of 219,061,866 kilos for the whole of 2019.

But the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) said MDM from Brazil is fixed at $680 per metric ton compared to $800 per metric ton from other sources.

Citing the DTI’s product monitoring, Pampi also warned that the industry’s MDM inventory as of August 14 will only last for up to 45 days. Even if the import ban is removed, it will take weeks before meat processors can refill their stockpile, as ships from Brazil to the Philippines crawl for up to 60 days.

Moreover, UBRA also asked the DTI to just let the technical processes at the DA to “proceed on its own and not interfere.”

“Please take note that for China to ban poultry products, in fact, also pork and beef products, from Brazil is indicative of a serious problem. China is not in a good place in terms of food security because of the damage wrought by ASF and the recent floods which ruined farms on a devastatingly grand scale. It needs as many food suppliers as possible to temper rising prices considering its conflict with the United States. Why would China, therefore, ban food products from Brazil if there is no possible threat to public health?” UBRA said.

“We are certainly the last organization that will defend the DA on any issue involving imports. Its decision not to touch chicken importation even in a time of oversupply has placed huge swaths of the industry under a ‘death sentence,’ most SME [small and medium enterprise] producers now among the ‘walking dead.’ Still, Covid-19 is an issue which transcends all commercial interests,” it added.

19 BI officers, personnel face House studying option to grant extra graft charges in connection power to Duterte, ‘reform’ PhilHealth with ‘pastillas’ scam at Naia T

T

HE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has recommended to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the prosecution of 19 officials and personnel of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for graft in connection with the “pastillas scam” that was exposed during a Senate inquiry early this year.

The complaint was filed before the Office of the Ombudsman by the NBI Special Action Unit against Grifton Medina, senior immigration officer and acting chief of BI’s Port Operations Division since October 2018; Deon Carlo Abad, Immigration Officer III; Deputy Terminal Head at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit; Naia Duty Immigration Supervisor Abdulhapez Dela Tonga Hadjubasher; Gabriel Ernest Mitra Estacio, Immigration Officer II assigned at the arrival and departure area of Naia Terminal 1; Ralph Ryan Macahilo Garcia, Immigration Officer II assigned at the Naia Airport Operations Division;

Phol Bendana Villanueva, Immigration Officer 1; Abdul Fahad Guro Calaca, Immigration Officer III; Danilo Caro Deudor Immigration Officer 1; Mark Dollete Macababad, Immigration Officer 1; Aurelio Somera Lucero III, Immigration Officer III and designated as Duty Immigration Supervisor at Naia; George Bituin, Immigration Officer III and designated as Duty Immigration Supervisor at the Naia Port Operations Division.

Also included in the charge sheet are Salahudin Pacalda Hadjinoor, Immigration Officer III; Chevy Chase Reyes Naniong, Immigration Officer II; Jeffrey Dale Salameda Ignacio, Immigration Officer II; Hamza Usudan Pacasum, Immigration Officer 1; Manuel Brilliante Sarmiento III, Immigration Officer II; Cherry Pie Payabyab Ricolcol, Immigration Officer I; ER German Tegio Robin, Senior Immigration Officer; and Travel Control and Enforcement Unit Deputy Head for Operations and security guard 2 Fidel Mendoza. Joel R. San Juan

HE House of Representatives is now studying the option to grant President Duterte emergency power to “reform” the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

(PhilHealth).

During Wednesday’s hearing of the House Committee on Public Accounts, panel chairman and Rep. Mike Defensor said the chamber already discussing the grant of emergency powers to the President amid reported multibillion-peso irregularities in PhilHealth.

“The committee is inclined [to endorse the proposal] and we are discussing about the emergency power to be granted to the President,” Defensor said. “[Emergency] power to reorganize [PhilHealth] is critical. Also to hire personnel and/or third-party providers for audit, legal, public health and finance. It will be limited like all emergency powers,” said Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, adding that the chamber hopes that the bill can be certified “urgent.”

Duque said the grant of extra pow-

ers to the Chief Executive to reform PhilHealth is “a good proposal.”

Duque’s defense

AFTER the Senate recommended the filing of criminal charges against him, Duque defended himself over his alleged complicity on the alleged misuse of PhilHealth funds.

Duque said he was not part of the group who studied the implementation of the controversial interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM) of PhilHealth, saying he was focused on his job as chairman of the InterAgency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to directly respond to the growing Covid-19 threat.

Duque said he never participated in any of the deliberation on IRM and did not sign the resolution on the matter.

“It is sad that I was impleaded on the IRM when I was not in fact involved in the deliberation and did not sign the said resolution, while those who took part in the deliberation and signed were not included,” said Duque. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

TheBroa

Business

A4 Thursday, Septermber 3, 2020 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

Recovery requires resolve, rapid r M

By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

OTHER Nature—if President Trump’s “kung-fu” virus allegation is disbelieved— could be a bitch, sometimes.

She made that point in 2020.

The year had a lot of “should haves” and “could haves,” according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua.

The new National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) chief said 2020 could have been the year the Philippines becomes an upper middle income country— a feat that for over 30 years has eluded the “sick man of Asia.”

An upper middle income country, based on the World Bank classification, is a country that has a per capita Gross National Income (GNI) of between $4,046 and $12,535 annually. The Philippines, as a lower middle income country, has a per capita GNI of between $1,036 and $4,045. The government estimated the country, at the end of 2019, had a per capita GNI of $3,512.

But former Finance Undersecretary Chua and many government officials didn’t account for Mother Nature: seven days after the Epiphany, Taal volcano erupted.

And then a “mystery illness” detected in Wuhan, China, reached the archipelago and became the rampaging train that is the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Businesses stifled

THE pandemic caused the most damage as the public health emergency prompted government officials to impose strict containment measures, stifling businesses and robbing millions of their jobs and livelihood.

The Philippine economy contracted 8.6 percent in the first semester of the year. This takes into consideration the 0.7-percent contraction posted in the first quarter and the 16.5-percent contraction in the second quarter.

Based on the April Labor Force Survey results, the country’s unemployment rate soared to 17.7 percent highest in the country’s history. The data pointed out that around 5 million Filipinos lost their jobs as of April. The July figures, economists believe would also not bring some reprieve as double-digit unemployment figures are still expected.

The number of employed Filipinos also declined.

And as September brings images of singer Jose Mari Chan on social media, figures for the second half of the year bring images of a grim Christmas.

Allow deficit

FORMER Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Solita C. Monsod noted in a presentation at the General Membership Meeting of the Chamber of Thrift Banks on Tuesday that the number of employed only grew 1.3 million between the second half of 2016 and 2019.

Monsod said data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that from 41.12 million employed Filipinos, as of 2019, this has increased to 42.43 million.

This is nowhere near the Duterte administration’s target to create 1.1 million jobs every year.

She said that while the government’s aims of becoming an UMIC, achieving a high level of human development and cutting unemployment to 3 to 5 percent would have been possible as of 2019, these may already be too difficult to achieve given the pandemic.

Monsod, the country’s Chief Economist in the last half of the debt crisis-ridden 1980s, blamed the government’s fixation of keeping the deficit in check for the current state of the economy. She said the government should allow the deficit to grow because the priority during these difficult times should be the welfare of people.

She said the debt crisis in the 1980s saw the country’s debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio shoot up to 98 percent. Monsod added that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wanted the government to bring down its deficit to zero, otherwise known as a balanced budget.

But she said it simply could not be done that time.

Growth path

HOPE springs eternal, according to University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) economist Bernardo M. Villegas, also dubbed the country’s ‘prophet of boom.’

For some economists, writing off 2020 could be the first step for that hope to spring.

The Philippine economy’s recovery will not happen this year, former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Dante B. Canlas told the BusinessMirror in an email.

According to Canlas, risk and uncertainty remain high, preventing any recovery in consumption the primary driver of the economy and new investments to take root.

ING Bank Manila Senior Economist Nicholas T. Mapa’s view is along the lines of Canlas’s.

Mapa told the BusinessMirror that with the impact of the pandemic on the economy, the country already lost all its economic gains since 2016.

“We are indeed headed to a lower growth path as the economy may take years to resume its organic growth where consumption drives investment, and eventually generates enough revenue to bolster government spending, achieving pre-pandemic balanced growth,” Mapa said.

Up the ante

CANLAS agreed with Monsod and said that any recovery from the pandemic would be hindered by the decision of the Department of Finance (DOF) to practice “austerity economics.”

This, Canlas said, will block any opportunity for an early recovery.

He said “given that market failures are pervasive, the government must actively lead in getting the economy out of a looming depression far worse than the 1984-1985 deep recession.”

Apart from these austerity measures, Villegas said the country’s bright prospects could be threatened by its long-term challenges.

He said these include low agricultural productivity and obstacles to doing business, especially for foreign investors.

He also said the Philippines is plagued with a shortage of technical skills, high electricity rates, corruption and poor governance and high frequency of natural calamities.

Accord ing to Monsod, t he economy continues to suffer from its worst beating since 1949; that was the time government started releasing the National Income Accounts (NIA).

A resident wearing a mask looks out from his house as their area is placed under stricter lockdown measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Caloocan City, August 14. AP/Aaron Favila

Important spots

SOME economists believe it is important to look at some bright spots, especially for the long-term.

Villegas said it’s no use to look at short-term prospects. As far as he is concerned, any short-term forecasts and projections are “guesstimates” and would be unreliable at this time.

Villegas said the countr y’s long-term opportunities remain.

These, he said, include the country’s young, growing and Englishspeaking population as well as the country’s unique geographic position in the region.

The UA&P economist said the country also has an inter-temporal dividend; meaning the timely shift from low middle-income status to upper-middle income status.

Villegas said the country could become an UMIC in three years to four years or, at the soonest, on Year 2023. This means reaching a per capita income of around $4,000 and a growth of 6 percent to 7 percent.

Villegas said the country still enjoys its abundant natural resources, especially for tourism; the country’s massive infrastructure program; and the faster growth being observed in regions outside the National Capital Region (NCR).

Meanwhile, Canlas said in terms of sectors, any economic recovery will be led by the agriculture sector, particularly crops and fishery. He also believes that manufacturing of chips and electronic components are also poised to recover.

In services, Canlas said domestic tourism and food manufacturing stand a chance at recovering while financial services continue to enjoy their good fortune.

Opportunities abound

BASED on Monsod’s analysis, the financial sector in the country has always grown faster than the country’s GDP. She said that in the second quarter, finance and insurance services subsector grew 6.8 percent. It was

already larger than the agriculture sector which only accounted for 10 percent of the economy.

Based on her estimates, the finance and insurance services subsector already account for 11.4 percent of GDP. “[The growth of the financial sector is] in light of Hong Kong’s problems; but antimoney-laundering measures in the Philippines are so inadequate they deter major money banks from migrating many of their financial operations here,” Canlas said. “Improving the digital infrastructure here is also a prerequisite to attracting big financial companies.”

Former Tariff Commissioner George N. Manzano told the BusinessMirror that industries that could be considered bright spots for the economy are food and agribusinesses; telecommunications; and logistics, especially last mile logistics, which requires recipient receives an item as quickly as possible.

Manzano added that these

bright spots include pharmaceuticals and the wellness industry, especially immunology as well as training, education and certification courses.

He also pointed out that information technology would also be an important sector that will become a “sunrise industry” for the Philippines.

Recovery areas

IN an email to the BusinessMirror, Krista Danielle S. Yu of the De La Salle University (DLSU) said now would be a good time to look at e-commerce in the country.

The pandemic has allowed the burgeoning of so many online businesses, so much so that it has hastened efforts to make online transactions the new norm in the Philippines, according to Yu, DLSU Economics Department Associate Professor.

She said online services such as food delivery, online groceries and other online retail businesses are the sunrise industries for the

aderLook

sMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace | Thursday, September 3, 2020

A5

release of resources–economists should get together and say, ‘you know how much do we need to spend?’ and produce the money and that’s what the Central Bank does,” Monsod said. “Don’t let money be the main impediment because that’s what governments are for.”

Mapa said the government should undertake “ag gressive spending” to boost aggregate demand. This is one of the ways to “revive the heart and soul of the economy” which is household consumption.

Bolster incentives

ACCORDING to Mapa, “a massive effort to address both short-term and medium-term goals should be put forth, with the single-minded drive to invest in the future while putting other aspirations, such as an ‘A’ credit rating on the backburner.”

He added that implementing reforms such as the National ID system, infrastructure spending and spending on IT across the sectors of healthcare and education would also be ideal for the economy.

Apart from spending, Mapa sees a need to pass key legislation that lower income taxes for corporates and bolster incentives for investment.

However, when it comes to taxes, Canlas said the DOF should “junk tax proposals that worsen income inequality and proposals for new commodity taxation, such as, the proposed taxes on some food items and digital services.”

He added that, more than spending, the government should enhance testing and tracking of those aff licted with Covid-19.

This will help improve confidence among consumers and investors, Canlas said.

Attain food security

Philippines. Yu said these industries provide the basic needs of households while allowing patrons and businesses to operate while maintaining social distancing.

Yu added online business platforms will continue to thrive. This will bring in demand for new services such as social media management, web development and digital marketing arise.

“This provides new employment opportunities. In addition, these are non-location specific jobs, which gives access for firms located in other countries to employ them also,” Yu said.

Mapa said that it was difficult to box certain industries as sunset or sunrise. He said, however, that businesses or industries that can maximize technology will surely achieve success in a new economy.

“It’s not so important which industry you belong to, but rather how willing an industry is willing to embrace technology to play ball in the new economy,” Mapa said.

Access impaired

HOWEVER, Dr. Alvin P. Ang of the Ateneo de Manila University said it was important to consider the access to technology of the greater number of Filipinos.

Ang, director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd), said the country’s existing infrastructure facilities would not fully support the digital economy. Based on the National ICT Household Survey (NICTHS), more than half or 63.7 percent of interviewed communities do not have telecommunication towers in their areas.

Fur ther, the NICTHS data showed majority (70.2 percent) of interviewed barangays (villages) do not have fiber optic cables installed in their communities. The data also showed 87.8 percent of these barangays don’t have free Wi-Fi. “The digital economy is limited to those who have access to it and it will take time to be maximized,” Ang said.

Pay back

MONSOD said that given the state of things, any hope of recovery would likely come in 2021 but mainly due to base effects. With second-quarter GDP contracting 16.5 percent this year, Monsod said it would likely lead to higher growth in the second quarter of next year.

However, Monsod said an economic recovery would not be possible without spending. She said the Central Bank has been doing its job well by allowing the financial sector to help keep micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) afloat at this time.

Monsod added that the financial sector should also pay back all the good fortune it has enjoyed in the past two decades when its growth was faster than the country’s GDP growth rate. She said thrift banks are among the most important players in keeping micro- and small businesses get back on their feet. “ T he e conom ic m a n a ge r s

CANLAS added that the government must be credible in stamping out corruption at the PhilHealth. “ The Chief Executive must come out of self-isolation and announce a rebooted comprehensive public-health plan and overhaul the implementation arrangement, including its [PhilHealth’s] leadership,” Canlas said.

Ang told the BusinessMirror that ultimately, attaining food security will help the country recover. This means giving not only national agencies the support they need but also local government units (LGUs).

He said LGUs are essential to boost food production because of the devolution of agriculture extension services. One of the ways to increase resources at the local level is the Mandanas ruling, which is set to be implemented by 2022.

However, Ang said, there is a need to improve the absorptive capacity of LGUs to ensure that they will be able to maximize the additional funds.

Technology use

ROSARIO G. Manasan, formerly of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said the national government can free up P247.583 billion worth of projects and programs to finance the additional items needed to meet the Mandanas ruling.

Further, the government should speed things up for the farm sector by offering incentives and helping farmers connect with markets nationwide, according to Manasan, former PIDS Senior Research Fellow. “[The] DA [Department of Agriculture] should work on the process of propagation to market access,” Ang said. “Marami na sila [they have an abundant]

technology like [those used for] land suitability; so funding support should follow.”

Apart from these, Yu said the government should develop a program to train farmers and provide them seed money to allow them to increase the value of their products.

Instead of throwing out produce that they are unable to sell, farmers, she said, can make processed fruit and vegetable products to prolong shelf life and provide additional revenue for them and their community.

Train farmers

YU added it is important to provide farmers with skills by training them in online business to help connect them to buyers of their products.

A more comprehensive program is needed to maximize the digital economy, according to the DLSU professor.

Yu said the government can provide capacity building opportunities through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda). This will help upskill workers for new jobs that can come through the digital economy, she explained.

Yu added that paperless transactions should be encouraged by both private and public sectors.

This will help reduce the probability of virus transmission, particularly for the financial sector, she said.

She added that “the government should capitalize on its biggest resource base – human resource – in preparing for post-pandemic recovery.”

“The development of a vaccine will make it safer for people to return to their previous activities,” Yu said. “It might take a year or two before things go back to normal, but to regain the losses, it would take longer than that.”

Leading the way

THE Neda aims to help the recovery process through a recovery program to be implemented within 2020 and into 2021. The program, which Neda dubbed as “ReCharge PH,” will also be incorporated in the “Updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.”

The Neda is currently leading the government’s inter-agency task force for ReCharge PH, which seeks to refocus, sharpen the design and accelerate the implementation of programs under the 2020 General Appropriations. This can help mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and get the Philippine economy recover from its sharp decline in the second quarter, the Neda said.

Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon earlier explained that ReCharge PH aims to work toward a healthy and resilient Philippines.

The program, she said, aims to address the negative effects of the pandemic such as the economic losses, psychosocial concerns and environmental concerns.

The program will implement projects that will help the country adapt to a new normal. Edillon said the priority projects and programs are those that are geared toward health system improvement; food security; learning continuity and digital transformation. These will be undertaken while fighting Covid-19 through the prevention of transmission and mitigating its ill effects.

Enhanced governance

EDILLON said these projects and programs will be undertaken with good governance efforts like the following: inclusive and peoplecentered measures; responsive

policies; and, graft-free and technology-enabled efforts.

Recharge PH builds on the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force Technical Working Group for Anticipatory and Forward Planning.

Led by the Neda, this group also produced the “We Recover as One” report containing the initial assessment of the socioeconomic impact of Covid-19.

Apart from this, the 18th Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) has focused on the theme “Bouncing Back Together: Innovating Governance for the New Normal.” With this, the PIDS aims to discuss innovative practices that can be adopted by the government and/or highlight the innovative practices of government agencies and LGUs in preparation for the new normal.

In the presentation at the DPRM Kickoff Forum, PIDS Research Fellows Aubrey D. Tabuga and Justine Diokno-Sicat said efforts to innovate governance are needed in the “New Normal.”

With this, the DPRM and the Annual Public Policy Conference (APPC), will discuss institutional innovations, innovations in civil service and the adoption of smart systems.

New spending

TO finance efforts that will help the country adapt to the “New Normal,” Budget Assistant Secretary Rolando U. Toledo said the government is willing to spend P7.6 billion in 2021.

Toledo said this is 35 percent of the P21.4 billion medium-term information and communications technology (ICT) harmonization initiative (or Mithi) expenditures for 2021.

Apart from the allocation for the new normal, Mithi includes the following: budget for ICT sustainability expense (worth P9.4 billion or 44 percent of the program total); other ICT expenses under governance (P2.5 billion or 12 percent of the total); and, support for financial inclusion (P1.9 billion or 9 percent of the total).

Toledo said the project with the largest allocation under Mithi is the P4.1-billion National ID system to be fully implemented next year by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The other big-ticket project is the P4.7-billion national broadband program to be undertaken by the Department of Information and Communication.

A new hope

THE future of the Philippine economy remains uncertain. The pandemic and the thousands of Fi l ipinos suf fer ing f rom Co vid-19 and no clear signs a vaccine will be available to all in the near-term, makes it difficult to the optimistic.

“There is no perfect solution.

Many people would need support and we will endeavor to support as many of you in partnership with the private sector. But please also understand that we will have to make the best judgment on what are the priority areas that we will have to support,” Chua earlier said.

“We would like to help as many people today (but) our resources are not infinite. If this virus stays for a year or five more years then we will have to do that inter-temporal balancing,” he added.

Economists agree that the road to recovery will be long and painful. But if the government can muster enough courage and political will, the economy may be in for a better and faster recovery.

And, hopefully, Mother Nature would show off more of her nurturing side.

A6 Thursday, September 3, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

‘Tax us more, please’

T

he global economic devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is unprecedented. So many businesses have closed and millions of workers are now without jobs. Economists are not only talking about a recession, but about a global depression that could flatten the global economy. In response to the economic fallout, governments are racing to help citizens weather the economic impact of the health crisis.

Denmark will pay 75 percent to 90 percent of workers’ salaries on behalf of employers, as long as workers are not laid off. The UK government will pay up to 80 percent of workers’ wages, or around $3,000 a month. In addition, the British government has given free cash grants to small businesses.

France is offering self-employed workers up to $1,600. Around 600,000 French citizens can receive the money if lockdowns stopped them from working. Additionally, the country is spending $50 billion to pay businesses to keep workers employed. In Japan, every Japanese citizen will receive financial aid equivalent to $930. In Australia, over 6 million “low-income earners” will receive $750 cash payments from the government.

In the US, over 80 million Americans had their $1,200 stimulus checks direct-deposited. On top of that stimulus check, lawmakers have introduced a bill to give Americans $2,000 a month. Germany is offering aid to small employers and to freelancers—and freelancers in Berlin can get over $5,000 in assistance.

In Hong Kong, the government will pay 50 percent of workers’ salaries for six months. Each worker’s monthly subsidy is around $1,160.

The government will also funnel over $100 million into a program that helps workers learn new skills.

In the Philippines, the government has released a total of P199.975billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development to fund its Social Amelioration Program under the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.” However, the new economic stimulus program, Bayanihan 2, only got P165.5 billion, which critics say is not enough to help affected sectors and citizens.

Government cash handouts have been a part of the global fight against the pandemic. But government resources are not unlimited. President Duterte, for example, recently lamented the depletion of government funds allotted for those direly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Where to get more money?

Here’s an idea proposed by a coalition of some of the world’s wealthiest people calling themselves the Millionaires for Humanity: Tax the rich to pay for coronavirus impact. They have signed a letter urging governments to implement a wealth tax to fund Covid-19 relief efforts.

“We can ensure we adequately fund our health systems, schools and security through a permanent tax increase on the wealthiest people on the planet, people like us,” the letter read. It added that a “huge debt” is owed to frontline workers confronting the deadly virus at work each day.

The letter said: “Unlike tens of millions of people around the world, we do not have to worry about losing our jobs, our homes or our ability to support our families…. So please. Tax us. Tax us. Tax us. It is the right choice. It is the only choice.”

“Government leaders must take the responsibility for raising the funds we need and spending them fairly,” according to the letter. “We owe a huge debt to the people working on the front lines of this global battle.

Most essential workers are grossly underpaid for the burden they carry.”

As President Duterte himself admitted, the government desperately needs money to fund our fight against the pandemic. The plea of the world’s wealthiest people should give him some ideas: “Today, we, the undersigned millionaires and billionaires, ask our governments to raise taxes on people like us. Immediately. Substantially. Permanently.”

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua

Undiminished James Jimenez

spox

E

ighty years ago this month, the determination to have an independent Commission on Elections in the Philippines proved to be unwilling to keep to the slow pace of the US Congress.

Too impatient to wait for Congressional approval of the Constitutional Amendment that would later enshrine the independent electoral management body in our Charter, the fledgling National Assembly of the Philippines enacted a law—Commonwealth Act 607— that created a Commission on Elections that would be everything that they envisioned an independent and impartial election management body would be.

It was a promise to the Filipino people and the world, that although the Philippines’s Commission on Elections was truly a creation of elected officials, that those same elected officials would voluntarily hold the

Commission and its mandate as sacrosanct as though it were part of the Constitution itself. And a year later, when the US Congress finally approved the Constitutional Amendment creating the Comelec, that

Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor Senior Editors

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

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

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

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

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

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

promise was paid in full with its reorganization as a Constitutional body.

Since then, and until now, the Comelec has worked hard to remain true to the vision of its founders.

Through numerous hardships, the institution—especially the women and men who make it run—has shown great resilience and an eagerness to learn from the lessons of the past; to bounce back from adversity with a renewed commitment to the great words emblazoned on its Seal—Vox Populi Vox Dei; and to continue with the pioneering spirit and uncompromising audacity that

Covid quarantine madness

Founder Publisher

Eighty years ago this month, the Comelec was created as a guarantee that elections would be professionally managed, impartial, and truly reflective of the voice of the people. That guarantee remains to this day, undiminished and whole.

A

S I get older, I find myself being annoyed—and annoying other people—more often. My wife says I am masungit. The problem is that every day I see less and less critical thinking.

In fact, I see less and less thinking.

People like Cardi B and Ed Sheeran will soon be the go-to sources to discuss “String Theory.” “Bro, your Lola makes the best chicken/pork adobo I’ve ever tasted. So, does she still think the Philips Curve is applicable when nominal interest rates are negative?”

There are probably more people today that believe the Earth is flat than 100 years ago. Airplanes flying from Los Angeles to London do not travel due east as on a flat map.

They fly the shortest distance over the North Pole because the Earth is round. Mathematicians knew that concept even before the time of Columbus.

American professional basketball star Kyrie Irving said this in 2018.

“I do research on both sides. I’m not against anyone that thinks the Earth is round. I’m not against anyone that thinks it’s flat. I don’t know. I really don’t.” I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

The purpose of monitoring the number of Covid-19 cases is to get a foundation for the number of potential cases that are severe enough to require hospitalization. That is to help adjust public policy to avoid a strain on the health-care system.

However, the ultimate concern as in all serious medical issues is the mortality rate.

Yet there are those that are still obsessed with case numbers. The first issue, though, is the accuracy of the testing. All medical tests are

“What’s needed are coronavirus tests that are fast, cheap and abundant enough to frequently test everyone who needs it. It will catch the most transmissible people, including the super-spreaders. That alone would drive epidemics practically to zero.” classified something like this. “There is 100 percent confidence that the tests are 95 percent accurate.” That is a “good” test. But if we test 10 million people in the NCR, that means there will be some combination of false positives and false negatives for 500,000 people.

Further, a test for Covid-19 is not like “Congratulations Ms. Cruz. You are pregnant.” It is not an unqualified yes or no.

The New York Times reports: “Standard tests are diagnosing huge numbers of people who may be carrying relatively insignificant amounts of the virus. The most widely used diagnostic test, a PCR [Polymerase chain reaction] test, provides a simple yesno answer to the question of whether a patient is infected.”

But yes-no is not good enough. It is the amount of virus or viral load

allowed it to be born, 80 years ago.

This year, amid the catastrophes that have laid our beloved country low, we have seen the Comelec revealing a side to it that many people often overlook. Beyond just serving its mandate of conducting clean and honest elections, the Comelec has also shown that it serves with a heart. The institution itself, acting through the Commission en Banc, together with its various officers and employees, acting on their own, has extended its helping hand to the victims of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and pandemic. Both as individuals and as an institution, the Comelec has gone the extra mile to do its part in helping the country survive these trying times.

Eighty years ago this month, the Comelec was created as a guarantee that elections would be professionally managed, impartial, and truly reflective of the voice of the people.

That guarantee remains to this day, undiminished and whole.

that determines how contagious a person is and what the next treatment step should be. The test uses “amplification cycles” to find the virus and the fewer number of cycles needed, the more virus in the patient.

So, positive or negative does not give a complete picture.

Virologists are now saying that no more than 10 percent of positive cases may actually need to isolate and submit to contact tracing. However, any positive case using a lower cycle threshold—indicating less amount of virus—should then be retested a few hours or days later.

Therefore, “What’s needed are coronavirus tests that are fast, cheap and abundant enough to frequently test everyone who needs it. It will catch the most transmissible people, including the super-spreaders. That alone would drive epidemics practically to zero.”

Instead, we are filling out contact tracing forms in every store we enter.

Actually, not me. I am staying home until this quarantine madness ends.

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

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, September 3, 2020 A7

US and China should seek We are each other’s keepers A true brother imaginatively a truce in tech cold war seeks the assistance of others

By Wang Huiyao | Bloomberg Opinion

I

T would be easy to dismiss the Trump administration’s campaign against Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat as part of an election strategy to attack China from all angles. The moves, however, as well as China’s counter-response, are contributing to a deeper problem at the heart of the global economy—one that can’t be resolved unless the world’s two biggest economies work together.

Just as oil opened new possibilities for trade in the last century, data has become the lifeblood of trade growth in the 21st century. Trade in digital services, including apps such as TikTok, is booming. Data flows increasingly underpin trade in physical goods, too, supporting complex global value chains and emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. The amount of cross-border bandwidth in use increased 148 times between 2005 and 2017, according to consultants McKinsey and Co. Meanwhile, however, global trade rules have barely changed since the 1990s. In effect, the world is trying to run a 21st-century, cloud-based economy on the equivalent of Windows 95.

In the absence of shared global norms on how data flows should be governed, domestic policymakers everywhere are developing their own “patches” to regulate data and protect national security and their citizens’ privacy. The European Union implemented its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. China has passed a sweeping cyber-security law and, like India, is working on a major data protection law.

If the US has been slower to regulate data, this is partly because it still dominates the industries and network architecture that handle global digital flows. Yet, given rising concerns about China’s access to Americans’ personal data, the tide of opinion there, too, is turning.

According to the OECD, the number of data regulations has risen from around 50 worldwide in the early 2000s to just under 250 in 2019. The overall degree of data control, as measured by the European Centre for International Political Economy’s Digital Trade Restrictiveness Index, has doubled in the past decade.

The patchwork nature of these rules is creating complexity for firms and friction between nations. Just since the start of July, aside from Trump’s executive orders against TikTok and WeChat, India has banned 59 Chinese apps, and the European Court of Justice struck down the Privacy Shield mechanism, which US firms such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. had been using to handle personal data from the EU. Meanwhile, the US is locked in disputes over digital taxation with several European countries.

Different countries naturally have different views, values and capabilities regarding data governance. All should have the right to regulate data as they see fit for purposes of national security.

At the same time, the world needs to lay down some common rules for how to manage data, or such conflicts will only proliferate and stifle interoperability, investment and innovation.

Some bilateral and regional agreements have begun to forge such common standards. The e-commerce chapter in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership allows members to regulate data flows in a rules-based way that minimizes barriers to trade. If China were to join the agreement—an idea gaining traction in Chinese policy-making circles—this would help align the country with nextgeneration data governance norms and support the aspirations of Chinese technology firms to “go global.”

What’s really required, though, is a multilateral data governance regime that includes both China and the US. The first step is to complete ongoing World Trade Organization negotiations on e-commerce. These talks should aim to set global ground rules and exceptions for data, while upholding the centrality of the WTO system.

Next, the G-20 should build on last year’s Osaka Declaration on Digital Economy, which affirmed the need for international policy discussions to maximize the benefits of digitalization. A “Digital 20” (D-20), comprised of the world’s 20 largest digital companies, should bring together figures from government, industry, academia and non-governmental organizations to develop a workable, fact-based approach that safeguards national security while providing consumers with trust and privacy, and businesses with clarity and predictability.

The US and China are home to most of these big tech companies. Rather than treating each other’s firms as national security threats, leaders in both countries should seek industry consensus and best practices that can be used to establish global standards.

To reassure security hawks on both sides, the world will need clear standards to judge what constitutes secure data management practice. Countries should be encouraged to use international standards as benchmarks for domestic approaches, such as ISO 27000 information security standards.

Rules-based free trade was crucial in helping the global economy recover from the ravages of World War II. We now face the worst global recession since then. It is time to haul our multilateral trade rules into the 21st century and stem the tide of digital protectionism so that data flows can be a source of growth and opportunity, not discord.

Too many children are going hungry amid the pandemic

I

t’s hard to believe that America’s legislators, whatever their political leanings, would willingly allow millions of children to go hungry. Yet that is what’s happening during the Covid-19 crisis—and unless Congress acts quickly, the problem’s about to get worse.

In one of the world’s wealthiest nations, food insecurity should not be an issue. Yet it is. Even in good times, the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as food stamps) falls far short of reaching everyone in need. As of 2018, some 2.5 million children lived in households that reported being unable to give their kids enough to eat. Such deprivation has long-term consequences for health and broader well-being.

Now, Covid-19 is testing the safety net like never before. As of late July, children faced food shortages in 19 percent of the households where they lived, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. That’s about 16 million children going hungry, more than triple the peak of the 2008 recession. Black and Hispanic families have been among the hardest hit: Their rates of child food insufficiency were 31 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

Congress is making things worse by allowing relief measures to lapse. Expanded unemployment benefits, which provided an added $600 a week through July 31, reduced food insufficiency by

an estimated 30 percent. Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfers, which aimed to compensate families whose kids missed free or reduced-price lunches due to school closures in spring, had a similar effect through the summer. Without such supports, the number of kids going hungry is likely to double. It’s already on the rise.

Extending unemployment benefits and school-lunch compensation would help maintain the status quo. Ultimately, though, what’s needed is an ambitious commitment to food security. Congress should redesign the supplemental nutrition program to ensure adequate food for all who need it, and automatically boost benefits during recessions. This would have the further benefit of providing an especially effective countercyclical stimulus: Research suggests that each dollar of food assistance can generate $1.50 or more in economic activity, because it’s so well targeted to people who will use it.

At the very least, legislators should increase food assistance until the crisis recedes, as they did with good results during the last recession. The cost is relatively small. Even a 30 percent increase in the maximum benefit— which would get families close to what the Department of Agriculture defines as the cheapest healthy diet—would probably cost less than $50 billion a year while in effect.

This is a good use of taxpayers’ dollars. Congress should act without further delay. Bloomberg Opinion

Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

A

S a communion of believers in Christ, we have our community rules of life. Fraternal correction and communal prayer are two basic concretizations of our responsibility for one another particularly in the context of the reality of sin among us (Matthew 18:15-20).

A community uncompromising with sin Historically, the Christian-Jewish communities to whom Matthew was presenting Jesus’ teachings on community life were already a mélange of various, often contradictory, sorts of people. Although baptized but concerned only with self-survival in the world, there were among them those who could not be really looking for ways and means of serving others; some could not be said to seriously resist temptations to evil. There were Christians then, as now, who blatantly and scandalously lived in sin. As Jesus Himself reminds us, the reign of God is like a net that encloses both good and bad catches (Matthew 13:47), or like the seed sown among thorns, where worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word of the kingdom and so such seed bears no fruit (Matthew 13:19-23). And there is no question of permanently separating in this world the weeds from the good grain (Matthew 13:24-30).

But how could these members of

the community of faith be helped to see themselves honestly in the light of the Gospel and be converted? The community must do something for them; non-action is no option. St. Paul in his instruction to the community in Corinth pointed out that they were not to tolerate sin and must purge it from their midst by disciplining the culprit. For in clearing out the old yeast of malice and wickedness, the faithful must live with Christ’s unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

A community caring for the sinner

The uncompromising attitude of the Christian community toward evil in their midst is due to the love that must be there for God’s little ones imperiled by sin. Not one of them is expendable: “It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost” (Matthew 13:14). The point is made with the hyperbole: “Whoever causes one of these little ones…to sin, it would be better for Him to have a great mill-

who may have more influence with the erring member. Even informing the community about the case when nothing else helps, so that now the community through its leaders can exercise its responsibility for the member, should not be considered tattling (sumbungero). It may very well happen that what the sinner needs is some shock in the form of banning or public disciplining so that he can come to his senses, the evangelist believes, likewise for the edification of the community as a whole.

stone hung around His neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 13:6).

It is “your brother” who is in sin in any case. And the community must account before “our Father” for every such brother or sister who fell into evil. When God asks us where our brother is, we cannot do a Cain and answer, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). That is why if you are the one with the opportunity to do something for him on an individual basis, it is your privilege to “go and tell him his fault between you and him alone” and win him back for the Lord. It is our duty to be concerned and to correct each other in the community of faith (1 Corinthians 5:12); we are then not just meddling (pakialamero). And failure at this first instance does not justify washing

one’s hands of him. A true brother imaginatively seeks the assistance of others who may have more influence with the erring member. Even informing the community about the case when nothing else helps, so that now the community through its leaders can exercise its responsibility for the member, should not be considered tattling (sumbungero). It may very well happen that what the sinner needs is some shock in the form of banning or public disciplining so that he can come to his senses, the evangelist believes, likewise for the edification of the community as a whole.

Alálaong bagá, we cannot be unconcerned with what is happening to any of our community members.

Kanya-kanya, or each one to himself, as a rule is a denial of our Christian communion. But even as we do all things possible to assist someone erring, the community realizes the limitations of its efforts. The fight against evil is a mystery of grace.

Conversion is a gift of God. To be a caring community, we need to be a praying community. The subsequent words of Jesus assure us: “If two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.” We bear witness to Jesus in our midst, as we gather in his name and concretely care for each other and pray particularly for those gripped by sin among our brothers.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Solidarity tax as expression of corporate social responsibility Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

I

N the ADB’s approval of the Philippine application for a $1.5 billion loan under the Bank’s Covid-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support program, the Bank cited an International Monetary Fund assessment of the country’s debt management capacity as follows:

“Prudent fiscal management and strong growth are expected to reduce the general government gross debtto-gross domestic product ratio from 38.9 percent of GDP in 2018 to 37.5 percent in 2024.”

The ADB assessment note was made in April 2020. Today, the above figures have become meaningless.

The GDP contracted by 16.5 percent in the second quarter of 2020. The debt-to-GDP ratio of 40 percent in January now hovers around 50 percent, reversing a decade-long decline of the said ratio. The government’s original target of P9 billion national indebtedness due to the build-buildbuild expenditures program was eclipsed in the first semester of 2020.

By the end of the year, the government openly admits that the total outstanding debt will reach P10.16 trillion, and in 2021, will hit P11.9 trillion.

The “emerging” deficit for the entire year is P1.8 trillion or 9.6 percent of the GDP. This is partly due to the “emerging” decline of revenues, about minus 19.7 percent from 2019.

The deficit story will continue to 2021 and 2022, per assessment by the government’s budget people.

There is nothing surprising in the above figures being released by the government. The prolonged enhanced community quarantine/ modified enhanced community quarantine, together with the disruptions in the global economy, has flattened the economy. As a result, trade statistics (both imports and exports) show growth indices that are going southward. And so are the remittances of the country’s life savers, the overseas Filipino workers.

At home, the most affected sector is services, the economy being

a consumption-led one due largely to the overseas Filipino workers remittances and the surge in tourism and call center-BPO earnings.

The strict quarantine rules also hit badly the transport, aviation and logistics sectors.

Over one-fourth of businesses have closed, as reported by the Department of Trade and Industry. In manufacturing, there is a slight decline. On the other hand, agriculture registered moderate growth, as both government and the general population have realized the critical importance of growing and securing our own food.

Now where does the economy go from here?

Naturally, the government technocrats have remained positive.

Initially, they declared a quick “V”shaped recovery and a return to the “old normal.” Now, they are saying that the recovery is now in the shape of a “U” and the country is at the curve going upward.

But many in Congress, in the private business sector and in the civil society movement are sceptical. Majority are supporting the proposal of Congressman Stella Quimbo for the trillion-peso Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy bill that provides assistance and subsidies to businesses and workers in order to revive the flattened economy. And yet, the answer of government economic managers to the ARISE initiative is relatively weak and even evasive. The new economic stimulus program, Bayanihan 2, got only P165.5 billion, because the managers are worried that the deficit ceiling of 10 percent of the GDP and the sacred debt-to-GDP ratio of 50 percent will be breached.

The “creditworthiness” of the Philippines and the strength of the peso will be compromised.

The big problem is how does one grow jobs, livelihoods and businesses in a pandemic environment where social distancing and global distancing in international economic relations have become the norm? How can one rely on FDI investments when the UN agencies are projecting a drop of FDI worldwide by 40 percent and at a time when global value chains are being disrupted by laborsaving new technologies? How can government expect the private sector to lead in a recessionary period?

And how can a timid government, which openly admits it lacks money, lead the recovery when it says it cannot breach the ceilings for the budget deficit and the debt-to-GDP ratio?

It is against this overall backdrop that one can appreciate the efforts of labor groups such as the Nagkaisa Labor Alliance and civil society organizations such as the Freedom from Debt Coalition in their call on the government to impose a “wealth tax” on the super-rich.

Oxfam and FDC prefer to call this wealth tax “solidarity tax” because it is a tax to help save the economy and society as a whole. It is also a tax to help save the top 1 percent because their health and business/social stability are dependent on the health and business/social stability of the 99 percent.

But why target the 1 percent?

The simple reason: they can, in the words of Oxfam, “afford to be taxed.”

In what ways should they be taxed?

Oxfam recommends the following: n Temporary tax on excess profits for all companies with extraordinary profits (tried by US and Britain during World War I); n Taxes on wealth, luxury goods such as SUVs, carbon-intensive products; n Financial transaction tax to curb financial speculation; and n Digital sales tax on highlydigitalized businesses.

In the United States, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren made the wealth tax a major political issue when they raised this during the selection period for the Democratic Presidential nominee.

Warren proposes a 2 percent wealth tax on net worth between $50 mil-

lion and $1 billion, and a 6 percent wealth tax on net worth greater than $1 billion. On the other hand, Sanders has a graduated schedule of wealth tax, starting at 1 percent for those with net worth of $32 million to $50 million and ending with 8 percent for those with net worth exceeding $10 billion.

The call for wealth tax has been received positively by some super-billionaires. These include Warren Buffett, Marc Benioff, Ray Dalio, George Soros, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Pierre Omidyar and Eli Broad. One of the reasons for their support for the wealth tax is the need to reduce social and economic inequality and help spread wealth more equitably.

However, a group calling itself “Millionaires for Humanity” is very explicit on their advocacy for wealth tax—“permanent tax increase on the very wealthiest to help pay for the global recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.” The group has millionaire members coming from different continents. Part of the manifesto they circulated reads as follows: “The problem caused by, and revealed by, Covid-19 can’t be solved with charity, no matter how generous. Government leaders must take the responsibility for raising the funds we need and spending them fairly. We can ensure we adequately fund our health systems, schools and security through a permanent tax increase on the wealthiest on the planet, like us.

“Our interconnectedness has never been more clear. We must rebalance our world before it is too late.

There will not be another chance to get this right.

“Unlike tens of millions of people around the world, we do not have to worry about losing our jobs, our homes, or our ability to support our families…

“So please. Tax us. Tax us. Tax us. It is the right choice. It is the only choice.

“Humanity is more important that our money.”

One wonders about the attitude of our own Filipino taipans and superbillionaires to the proposed wealth tax or solidarity tax. Agreeing to this tax is the newest and most important expression of the corporate social responsibility of the country’s super-rich.

A8 Thursday, September 3, 2020

House panel OKs ecozone adjacent to Bulacan airport

T

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE House Committee on Ways and Means on Wednesday approved a bill creating the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Zone adjacent to the proposed New Manila International Airport, in Bulacan proposed by the San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, the panel chairman, said members of his committee approved the unnumbered substitute bill to House Bill 7483, which would create the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Zone.

Once the bill is enacted, the Bulacan Ecozone will cover the domestic and international airport, the Airport City to be developed adjacent to the airport, and lands adjacent to the Airport City as may be determined after.

The bill was crafted in response

to Salceda’s request that the franchise for the San Miguel Aerocity Inc. and the ecozone bills be taken up separately.

The plenary of House of Representatives already approved on second reading late Tuesday a 50-year franchise bill granting SMC permission to put up “New Manila International Airport” in Bulacan.

“I asked the House leadership to separate the franchise bill and to remove any reference to the Gross Income Earned regime, which I am firmly opposed to. I also asked that the boundaries of the ecozone be made more definite, and that incentives for eligible enterprises be those incentives that are already in our standard tax incentives menu, under EO 226,” Salceda said.

“The House leadership accepted all my recommendations. Both in the ecozone bill and in the airport bill. So, I am confident that this is now a fairer bill than what was originally proposed,” Salceda added.

According to Salceda, the economic benefits of this proposal “clearly outweigh the costs, and we are not spending any funds on this project.”

The bill also creates the “Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority” or

Bacsezfa, which shall manage and operate the Bulacan Ecozone.

The measure said the Bacsezfa shall have an authorized capital stock of P2 billion no par shares at a minimum issue of P10 each, the majority shares of which shall be subscribed and paid for by the national government and the LGUs embracing the special economic zone.

Under the bill, registered enterprises operating within the Bulacan Ecozone may be entitled to the existing pertinent fiscal incentives granted under Executive Order 226, as amended, otherwise known as the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987, and to other fiscal incentives that may be provided by law. Salceda also insisted that tax incentives given under to and under the ecozone be subject to the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (Timta).

“It’s still performance-based, targeted, time-bound, and transparent. I wanted to make sure of that, as the main advocate of tax incentives reform,” Salceda said.

“At the same time, I want the investments that will come out of this bill to be realized. The airport will be the largest single-item investment in the country’s history,” Salceda added.

Also, the bill said any foreign

national who invests an amount of $200,000, either in cash and/ or equipment, in a registered enterprise shall be entitled to an investor’s visa.

For her part, House Committee on Economic Affairs Chairman Sharon Garin said the ecozone will enforce a different tax scheme, saying “any tax rates given to that franchisee is only for it.”

According to Salceda, “if it is owned by San Miguel, then it is governed by the franchise. If it is there and it is not owned by San Miguel, it is partaking of the area it is governed by the ecozone.”

The P740-billion new airport will be built in the coastal areas of Bu la k an, Bu lacan, around 30 kilometers north of Metro Manila. The plan is expected to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and support growth and development in Central Luzon.

“We are looking at foregone revenues of around P38 billion in national revenues from the period of construction, and around P1.5 billion to P2 billion annually once the airport begins to operate [due to tax exemptions]. Let me remind you, however, that most of this is notional. If the airport doesn’t happen, much of this would not be raised in the first place,” he said.

PHL Navy’s new frigate joins Rimpac in Hawaii

T

HE world’s biggest military war games Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 (Rimpac 20) culminated in Hawaii three days ago, marking the successful maiden participation of the Philippine Navy’s brand-new frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF150).

As part of the concluding ceremony, US 3rd Fleet and Rimpac 20 Commander Vice Adm. Scott Conn visited on Tuesday the area where the ships of the 10 participating states, including the Philippines’s BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) are docked to congratulate them for taking part in the exercise.

“We strengthened relationships and deepened our sense of trust in one another. Each one of our navies has something to offer and that diverse range of knowledge and professionalism is what makes us stronger, and allows us to work together to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific and ultimately, our collective prosperity,” Conn said, according to a statement from the Philippine Navy.

Conn also exchanged pleasantries and congratulated the commanding officer of FF150 and concurrent contingent commander, Capt. Jerry Garrido Jr., for the fruitful participation of the PN in this US-led naval exercise.

In his statement, Garrido lauded the members of Naval Task Group (NTG) 80.5 for their dedication, “[in] promoting the Philippine Navy’s objective of strengthening relationship and multilateral cooperation among regional and extra regional navies with their eager participation in this Rimpac Exercise.”

Navy chief Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo congratulated the NTG 80.5 for “completing all given serials of the exercise which demonstrates her [FF150’s] capability

to handle various operational requirements” without any derangements on the frigate’s weapons, communications, electronics and information system hull, machinery, and electrical systems.

“The Navy contingent took advantage of Rimpac 2020 to train as a team, put the ship at pace with possible real-world scenarios, and the crew to gel during this time,” Bacordo said.

Serving as a shakedown cruise shortly after its commissioning ceremony in July, the FF150—with the 125-strong men and women of Naval Task Group 80.5—successfully participated in serialized training, advanced integration, and free play training activities that were purely executed at sea amid the prevailing global pandemic.

Nav y spokesman Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas said this year’s Rimpac included 53 replenishment-at-sea events, 101 pallets of cargo distributed, over 16,000 rounds of small arms munitions shot, over 1,000 large caliber weapons fired, 13 missiles expended, and 1,100 pounds of mail delivered.

The multidimensional training exercises allowed the members of NTG 80.5 to work in conjunction as they tested the PN’s first fourdimensional warfare capable frigate that is on a par with those of other participating navies.

Roxas said the Navy’s participation in a naval exercise of such magnitude advances its maritime operational capability to multilateral level, thereby increasing readiness and interoperability with foreign navies. It further builds and strengthens mutual understanding through cooperative activities of multinational maritime forces. Rene Acosta

The Department of Public Works and Highways has closed for rehabilitation the southbound lane of Santo Niño Bridge in Parañaque City. A zipper lane will be placed at the northbound lane to curb heavy traffic in the area, which services the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. ROY DOMINGO

DOH lists priorities in P13.5-B Covid fund

A

S part of the government’s continuing efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19, a total of P21 billion was allotted for the response and recovery interventions for the pandemic, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Wednesday.

Speaking on the “Provisions in the Bayanihan to Recover as One on the Support and Benefits to Healthcare Workers,” she said at least P13.50 billion of the P21-billion budget was set aside for Health-related Responses.

A total of P4.5 billion was allotted to build temporary medical isolation and quarantine facilities, field hospitals, dormitories for frontliners, and expansion of government hospital capacity all over the country.

Meanwhile, P3 billion will be spent to buy face masks, personal protective equipment (PPEs), shoe covers, and face shields for local health workers, barangay officials and other indigent persons.

The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, also known as Republic Act No. 11469, has provided critical support to medical professionals in the form of urgently needed equipment and hazard pay, as well as the hiring of additional colleagues to bolster their ranks as they fight Covid-19, Vergeire said.

She stressed that they will continue to rally the support of the rest of government to ensure that health-care workers (HCWs) are protected and sufficiently provided for. Officially enacted from March to June 2020, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act is a crucial core initiative of the DOH to respond to the needs of HCWs. The DOH said that National Capital Region, Region 3, and Region 4 in particular have been classified as priority areas with elevated requirements for human resources for health (HRH) such as doctors, nurses, and other medical staff.

As of August 29, at least 73.86 percent of the DOH’s approved nationwide hiring slots have been filled.

Region 10 recorded the highest number of HRH slots filled with 100 percent while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recorded 33.89 percent.

During the enhanced community quarantine, P47 million was allocated for the funding of Special Risk Allowances. From this amount, 55,366 health-care workers received one-time special risk allowance.

Moreover, 36 HCWs who contracted severe Covid-19 infections while on duty received P100,000 each, while 31 qualified beneficiaries of fallen health-care workers received compensation of P1 million each.

The Bayanihan 1 also protected HCWs through the constant provision of protective equipment like face masks, PPE, shoe covers, and face shields.

It accorded them essential services like board and lodging, transportation, and regular Covid-19 testing.

Out of the P1.7 billion allotted for HRH hiring, P1.3 billion was allocated to health facilities such as DOH hospitals, Covid referral hospitals, and DOH-designated diagnostic facilities.

In addition to this, P433 million is being processed for transfer to other health facilities with approved health personnel slots for hiring. The remaining P4 million is set aside for future designation. Vergeire expressed the department’s strong support for the medical frontliners who continue to put their lives on the line, in fulfillment of their duties.

“We will protect our health-care workers as they have and will continue to protect us.

We continue to dedicate all our resources and our efforts in providing them the support and assistance they need. We will also continue to rally the support of the rest of government to ensure that our health-care workers are protected and sufficiently provided for,”Vergeire said. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Jobless rate seen to hit 15-year high in 2020

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM,

Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE government expects the country’s unemployment rate to surge to at least a 15year high this year, as indicated by the macroeconomic parameters under the 2021 budget documents.

The documents show the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) projects the unemployment rate to more than double to a range of 11

percent to 13 percent by year-end from only 5.1 percent in 2019.

Should this expectation hold true, this would be the highest since 2005 when the country’s unemployment rate was at 7.8 percent. The highest comparable unemployment rate so far was recorded in 2006 at 8 percent.

For 2021, this is expected to go down to 7 percent to 8 percent and rise to 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent in 2022.

DOLE braces for worst

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said the government is now bracing for the projected mass displacement next

year by expanding the capacity of its existing programs for unemployed workers.

Labor officials on Wednesday said they are looking to soften the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country’s work force through its interventions under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2, as well as its bigger 2021 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said the government is expected to assist over 2 million workers under the Bayanihan 2 programs this year.

“This will include assistance in

terms of financial support, livelihood and emergency employment.

It will also have a training component particularly for the tourism sector,” Tutay told BusinessMirror in a Viber message.

On Tuesday, Malacañang said the P165-billion Bayanihan 2 bill is now being reviewed by the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs before President Duterte can finally act on it.

If approved by Congress, DOLE’s proposed P27.53-billion 2021 budget will also focus on providing aid to displaced workers.

Continued on A2

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, September 3, 2020

B1

SMC to go on hiring spree for Bulacan airport

S

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

an Miguel Corp. (SMC) said it is looking at hiring local residents of Bulacan and its neighboring provinces, as well as returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for the construction of the New Manila International Airport, its president said on Wednesday.

Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said his group is prioritizing the local residents of Barangay Taliptip in Bulacan, where the airport will be built. All 60 residents will soon be trained by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) for the airport’s construction.

“We designed these skills training program with Tesda specifically to equip Bulakeños with the necessary skills needed to either work at the airport project, put up a small businesses to support airport workers, or even start on their own elsewhere if they choose to do so,” he said.

Ang added that his group expects the construction to generate “hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.”

"We will prioritize local residents, but there will be so many jobs and livelihood opportunities that ultimately, workers will come from all over Bulacan, Central Luzon, even Metro Manila and southern Luzon,” he said.

Likewise, his group is looking at hiring returning OFWs, who have been adversely affected by the global economic downturn.

“A lot of OFWs had to return to the country in recent months after they lost their jobs. Many are not sure if they will be getting new contracts from their foreign employers given the difficult economic conditions. With this world-class airport project, those who will opt to stay home will no longer be separated from families and will have a viable option,” Ang said.

To be built on a 2,400-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, just north of Metro Manila, the $15-billion airport complex will have 4 runways, 8 taxiways, and 3 passenger terminals. It also has provi-

Fruitas opens new stores, expands product offering

F

ruitas Holdings Inc. said it has opened less than half of its target of 25 new locations for the year as it is still finalizing agreements with other companies to carry their products.

“We have long-term confidence in the Philippine economy and like the Filipino in adversity, we will remain focused on building a better future,” Lester Yu, company president and CEO said.

“We will continue to be disciplined as both the retail and food business has changed, requiring new ideas.”

The company said of its 25 target openings for the year, it will complete the opening of 10 new stores by the end of the month.

It is also expanding its product line through agreements with existing companies that may lead to more synergies. Fruitas has entered into an agreement to carry Carmen's Best Ice Cream, a premium locally-made ice cream, in selected locations. Fruitas has also entered into a supply arrangement for Jim’s Recipe sponge cake from Malaysia and to have a Soy and Bean house brand of hopia delicacies produced by one of the oldest Chinese bakeries in Manila. A new production facility for Soy and Bean products is ready to come on line, it said. VG Cabuag

sions for future expansion to sport 6 runways and to accommodate 200 million passengers per year.

It also expected to help raise tourism levels to 30 million annually, generate over a million direct and indirect jobs, and contribute roughly P900 billion annually to Philippine GDP by 2025.

“Construction activities will have an immediate

economic impact on so many sectors. These create much-needed jobs that put money in people’s hands and allow them and their families to spend for their needs. This spending benefits many small and medium businesses, local eateries, sari-sari stores, groceries, and service establishments,” Ang said.

He added: “Apart from direct jobs, the company

also has to pay for suppliers of materials, equipment, or services, which then generates even more jobs and benefits more people. Short to medium term, we can help so many Filipinos with jobs and help kickstart our economic recovery. Long term, this airport will help create even more growth opportunities for our country.”

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, September 3, 2020

mutual funds

September 2, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 191.88 -26.41% -11.32% -5.5% -23.81% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0499 -32.65% -13.42% -3.79% -24.03% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.5625 -36.58% -16.09% -7.72% -30.33% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6612 -31.79% -13.07% n.a. -26.37% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6891 -20.63% n.a. n.a. -18.86% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.1322 -24.52% -9.57% -4.92% -22.45% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6424 -27.02% -12.52% n.a.

-24.74% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 80.13 -31.91% n.a. n.a. -22.37% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 38.2814 -27.22% -10.01% -4.4% -25.35% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 413.98 -24.34% -9.09% -4.42% -22.3% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8753 n.a. n.a. n.a. -15.03% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 0.9861 -25.56% -9.23% -3.94% -23.37% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 28.8246 -25.98% -8.93% -3.65% -23.94% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7566 -27.46% n.a. n.a. -25.69% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 3.908 -26.82% -9.56% -3.69% -25.18% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 653.34 -26.71% -9.57% -3.82% -25.07% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.5904 -35.9% -13.41% -7.8% -30.66% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0414 -29.83% -10.77% -4.98% -27.74% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7486 -26.94% -9.76% -3.89% -25.2% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.7271 -27.06% -8.62% -3.45% -25.35% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 87.7168 -26.63% -9.13% -3.03% -25% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.0827 16.26% 1.22% 4.32% 5.28% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5548 21.61% 9.77% n.a. 12.77% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5748 -6.26% -4.07% -2.83% 0.77% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0295 -12.55% -5.13% -1.66% -6.95% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3703 -11.46% -3.67% -2.59% -9.93% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.181 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-20.79% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8138 -7.86% -1.8% -0.06% -7.53% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4296 -10.57% -2.97% -1.23% -9.49% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.3014 -10.88% -3.24% -1.37% -9.78% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.8861 -12.81% -4.46% -1.43% -11.12% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2163 -17.92% -5.5% -2.65% -16.75% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9233 -10.54% n.a. n.a.

-9.1% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8161 -20.19% n.a. n.a.

-18.1% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.7896 -22.54% n.a. n.a.

-20.5% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.7917 -20.9% -6.72% -3.59% -18.78% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03875 0.21% 2.53% 1.85% 1.44% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.0584 9.95% 1.66% 3.76% 4.58% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.2226 12.85% 6.75% 6.29% 7.98% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1759 5.67% 3.46% n.a.

4.18% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 368.22 4.11% 3.17% 2.61% 2.87% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.949 1.89% 1.05% 0.11% 2.47% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1987 3.97% 4.9% 5.02% 2.59% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.3015 3.56% 2.93% 2.31% 3.51% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4547 4.42% 3.49% 1.96% 4.05% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6754 7.86% 4.69% 2.75% 6.92% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3112 5.77% 4.39% 2.47% 4.34% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9551 5.79% 4.33% 2.52% 4.41% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0371 8.63% 3.74% 1.94% 7.55% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1782 4.75% 4.84% 2.83% 3.34% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.7429 3.6% 4.18% 2.36% 2.46% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $477.7 2.99% 2.48% 2.86% 1.99% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є216.99 -1.53% 0.68% 1.16% -1.27% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2348 3.11% 2.9% 2.68% 2.29% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0263 1.54% 1.7% 1.59% 1.94% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0845 -1.92% -0.02% 0.31% -0.83% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4858 2.44% 3.47% 3.39% 3.42% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0609467 1.45% 2.03% 2.02% 1.07% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2111 0.61% 1.97% 2.63% 1.13% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 128.93 3.55% 3.3% 2.5% 2.46% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.044 2.23% n.a. n.a.

1.72% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2888 2.9% 3.04% 2.61% 1.88% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0479 1.58% n.a. n.a.

0.92% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0425 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

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

-4.04%

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

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

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

6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund).

7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

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

see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

LGUs receive ER 1-94 funds

A

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

boitizPower Corp. said its fund remittances to its host communities have reached P508.2 million, which they can use for initiatives to combat Covid-19 under the government’s ER 1-94 program.

The power firm and its partners have directly downloaded P148.2 million to 174 host beneficiaries across the countr y, with around P34 million still awaiting turnover. Meanwhile, another P359.97 million from various AboitizPower-led generation companies, accumulated as of 2019, has already been remitted by the Department of Energy (DOE) to the host beneficiaries.

Under the program, power firms set aside P0.01 per kilowatt-hour of their total electricity sales as financial benefits to host communities, which shall be allocated to 3 types of funds: onehalf of one centavo for the Electrification Fund of the concerned distribution utilities; 1/4 of one centavo for the development and livelihood fund; and another 1/4 of one centavo for the reforestation, watershed management, health and/or environment enhancement fund of the host local government units (LGUs).

It is a policy under the DOE Act of 1992 and Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Epira) which states that host communities will receive shares generated by power plants operating in its area.

Recently, the DOE issued a circular, stating that the remitted funds could be utilized for initiatives to combat the effects of Covid-19.

“We are glad that these funds are now with our communities as these will ensure they have the resources to fund crucial projects in their areas. Recent developments have also allowed them to use these remittances specifically to bolster their campaign

against Covid-19,” AboitizPower President and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio said.

With the new circular covering ER 1-94 funds, host LGUs can now use these shares to help manage the effects of the new virus, in accordance with the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. This includes the facilitation of mass testing by providing and constructing facilities, as well as acquiring proper medical testing kits.

“More than the fact that this is the obligation of power generation companies to its host communities, this is a manifestation of our commitment to supporting our partners in any way we can, especially during these challenging times,” Rubio added.

A boit i zPower subsid i a r ies Therma South Inc. (TSI) and Hedcor were the latest to remit to their host communities, with about P26 million already downloaded to Davao City alone.

Around P36 million has also been remitted by TSI and DOE to other various LGUs in the Davao region.

These financial benefits have funded several projects across AboitizPower’s host communities, including Covid-19 initiatives in some cities and municipalities, which AboitizPower and its partner LGUs work closely on to identify and implement.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

September 2, 2020

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

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

45.7 85.75 65.95 20.5 8.21 33.1 7.9 19.64 49.2 15.7 93.5 54.1 0.77 0.55 2.54 0.95 0.3 695 0.58 153.9

46 85.85 66 20.65 8.22 33.15 8.49 19.68 49.75 16.3 95 54.2 0.81 0.6 2.77 0.96 0.31 760 0.61 154

46 87.8 67.3 20.5 8.2 33.5 7.89 19.76 49 16 96.9 54 0.77 0.56 2.7 0.96 0.3 760 0.61 154

46 87.95 67.3 20.6 8.35 33.7 7.9 19.76 49.95 16 96.9 54.1 0.77 0.6 2.79 0.96 0.3 760 0.64 154

46 85.1 65.5 20.5 8.19 33.05 7.89 19.62 49 15.3 93.2 53.9 0.76 0.56 2.52 0.96 0.3 760 0.58 154

46 85.75 65.95 20.6 8.22 33.1 7.9 19.68 49.75 15.7 95 54.1 0.77 0.6 2.79 0.96 0.3 760 0.61 154

1000 3452360 840580 62600 349000 5560000 40300 49000 500 12500 340600 7590 87000 42000 78000 10000 230000 20 638000 16420

46000 298579503 55428050 1287470 2868852 184419145 317981 963482 24840 196014 32296067 409599 66630 23890 202320 9600 69000 15200 374640 2528680

46000 -83892129.5 -2649859 -281590 -75111.9997 -121263305 -236700 -338140 9970 -43960 -27409648.5 4320 -2499420

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.72 2.73 2.74 2.75 2.7 2.73 2642000 7189290 ALSONS CONS 1.28 1.29 1.27 1.3 1.26 1.29 785000 1001230 ABOITIZ POWER 25.7 25.95 26.35 26.75 25.65 25.95 879000 22968500 BASIC ENERGY 0.175 0.18 0.183 0.183 0.175 0.181 440000 78560 FIRST GEN 24.3 24.35 24.2 24.35 23.1 24.3 718800 17248600 FIRST PHIL HLDG 59.7 61 59.95 61 59.6 59.7 6300 383120 MERALCO 263 264 261.4 264 261 264 187500 49332984 MANILA WATER 14 14.1 14.2 14.2 13.84 14.1 1855400 25995382 PETRON 3.03 3.04 3.02 3.06 3.02 3.04 138000 418440 PETROENERGY 3.12 3.28 3.32 3.32 3.25 3.25 15000 49040 PHX PETROLEUM 10.8 11 10.9 11 10.8 11 80600 882130 PILIPINAS SHELL 17.72 17.76 17.66 17.78 17.58 17.76 3953800 70079860 SPC POWER 9.05 9.06 9.11 9.12 8.91 9.06 218700 1982487 AGRINURTURE 8 8.01 8.14 8.18 8.01 8.01 279500 2261276 AXELUM 2.38 2.39 2.45 2.45 2.38 2.39 17725000 42922360 BOGO MEDELLIN 77.05 93.3 76.9 76.9 76.9 76.9 30 2307 CNTRL AZUCARERA 11.44 12 12 12 11.44 11.44 5300 63544 CENTURY FOOD 16.62 16.66 16.5 16.7 16.4 16.62 4782500 79523568 DEL MONTE 4.87 4.89 4.9 4.9 4.88 4.89 47000 229780 DNL INDUS 5 5.04 5.08 5.08 4.85 5.04 1062000 5309550 EMPERADOR 9.89 9.9 9.97 9.97 9.87 9.9 896700 8876803 SMC FOODANDBEV 65.8 66 68 68 66 66 38900 2581614.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.65 0.66 0.66 0.67 0.65 0.66 526000 343610 FRUITAS HLDG 1.16 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.15 1.17 1978000 2295210 GINEBRA 43 44.5 40.3 44.5 40.3 44.5 169400 7182265 JOLLIBEE 136.8 136.9 133.6 136.8 133.6 136.8 477410 65019581 MACAY HLDG 7.75 7.97 7.72 7.98 7.72 7.98 5200 40267 MAXS GROUP 4.73 4.74 4.75 4.82 4.73 4.73 342000 1628790 MG HLDG 0.125 0.129 0.126 0.128 0.122 0.128 2150000 265960 SHAKEYS PIZZA 5.61 5.62 5.66 5.66 5.6 5.61 386300 2167261 ROXAS AND CO 1.16 1.17 1.16 1.17 1.14 1.17 2968000 3427050 ROXAS HLDG 1.57 1.64 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 21000 32970 SWIFT FOODS 0.105 0.11 0.106 0.11 0.105 0.105 100000 10820 UNIV ROBINA 139.4 139.7 140.5 142 138 139.7 839600 116902600 VITARICH 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.76 0.78 587000 452880 CONCRETE B 51.05 53.6 51.1 51.2 51.05 51.05 3070 156970.5 CEMEX HLDG 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.57 1.46 1.5 54728000 83374220 DAVINCI CAPITAL 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 2000 6600 EAGLE CEMENT 12.36 12.4 12.3 12.48 12.1 12.4 387100 4774736 EEI CORP 6.17 6.2 6.13 6.33 6.1 6.17 1718300 10593873 HOLCIM 5.87 5.89 6.13 6.14 5.83 5.89 3443400 20558272 MEGAWIDE 6.72 6.75 6.94 6.94 6.68 6.72 2023300 13684820 TKC METALS 0.67 0.69 0.69 0.7 0.65 0.69 95000 65050 VULCAN INDL 0.72 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.72 0.74 28000 20570 CROWN ASIA 1.96 1.98 1.98 1.98 1.96 1.96 23000 45400 EUROMED 1.8 1.86 1.89 1.89 1.79 1.86 351000 634660 PRYCE CORP 4.1 4.14 4.08 4.1 4.05 4.1 320000 1307900 GREENERGY 1.98 2 2.02 2.03 1.97 1.99 9574000 19162530 INTEGRATED MICR 5.03 5.16 5.2 5.2 5.01 5.03 486600 2507328 IONICS 0.95 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.96 0.97 67000 64450 PANASONIC 4.26 4.43 4.46 4.54 4.26 4.43 19000 82810 SFA SEMICON 1.32 1.33 1.31 1.35 1.31 1.33 1040000 1374090 CIRTEK HLDG 5.58 5.65 5.8 5.82 5.5 5.65 3539800 19812331

1700890 2662420 1527230 -37125 -21490852 9352906 -66660 -633426 29895 -871956 -36283200 2400 6941868 -34250 204413 -3428439 -2048704 -169360 5668950 -3834410 628710 41480 550589 76389.9997 -9770 -41779045 -8706650 4180144 61300 -3749452 90000 975399.9998 643140.0001 53950 295867

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.465 0.47 0.47 0.475 0.465 0.465 2110000 991000 ASIABEST GROUP 7.65 7.97 7.99 7.99 7.61 7.97 2300 17939 AYALA CORP 690 692 720 720 685 692 464970 323253495 ABOITIZ EQUITY 46.55 47 47.4 47.4 46.4 47 882800 41331610 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 6.07 6.08 6.2 6.23 6.06 6.08 11572300 70551378 AYALA LAND LOG 1.72 1.74 1.76 1.76 1.72 1.72 910000 1571780 ANSCOR 6.28 6.46 6.46 6.46 6.46 6.46 500 3230 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.52 349000 181540 ATN HLDG A 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.54 0.54 798000 431550 COSCO CAPITAL 5.07 5.08 5.04 5.09 4.93 5.07 827800 4176481 DMCI HLDG 3.96 4 4 4.08 3.95 4 4680000 18769880 FILINVEST DEV 8.42 8.5 8.4 8.55 8.4 8.55 2500 21075 GT CAPITAL 384.2 384.6 390 390 381.2 384.6 261840 100755246 HOUSE OF INV 3.07 3.18 3.18 3.18 3.18 3.18 3000 9540 JG SUMMIT 60.5 60.7 61.85 62.45 60.05 60.7 1565830 95178133.5 LODESTAR 0.59 0.61 0.6 0.61 0.59 0.59 73000 43290 LOPEZ HLDG 2.37 2.41 2.48 2.48 2.37 2.37 250000 603180 LT GROUP 8.4 8.43 8.39 8.43 8.3 8.43 2461000 20584648 MABUHAY HLDG 0.51 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 17000 9530 METRO PAC INV 3.28 3.29 3.33 3.35 3.24 3.28 7595000 24929090 PRIME MEDIA 0.75 0.78 0.74 0.78 0.74 0.78 105000 79820 SOLID GROUP 0.98 1.01 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 5000 4900 SYNERGY GRID 154 169.1 154 154 154 154 80 12320 SM INVESTMENTS 840.5 842 841 855 831 840.5 819440 688596360 SAN MIGUEL CORP 99.65 101.6 100.3 101.6 99 101.6 63520 6395779.5 TOP FRONTIER 122 129 131 131 129 129 200 26000 ZEUS HLDG 0.14 0.145 0.144 0.145 0.14 0.145 2700000 378320

-140450 -173263415 -19749240 9461159 -0 2839442 -2866060 -45266272 -50550846.5 30680 -135370 54516 -560 -6574670 323572690 -3020583 -16830 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.52 647000 336460 AYALA LAND 26.95 27 28.1 28.25 27 27 40418800 1104259620 ARANETA PROP 0.95 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.95 0.99 64000 62890 AREIT RT 25.35 25.4 25.5 25.5 25.3 25.4 1349800 34253010 BELLE CORP 1.34 1.37 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 30000 40500 A BROWN 0.79 0.8 0.83 0.83 0.8 0.8 3835000 3115870 CITYLAND DEVT 0.84 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.83 0.84 75000 63430 CROWN EQUITIES 0.12 0.124 0.12 0.124 0.12 0.124 190000 22980 CEBU HLDG 5.65 5.9 5.63 5.63 5.63 5.63 300 1689 CEB LANDMASTERS 5.08 5.09 5.15 5.15 5.05 5.09 751800 3832585 CENTURY PROP 0.365 0.37 0.37 0.375 0.365 0.37 1130000 415800 DOUBLEDRAGON 14.74 14.76 15 15 14.76 14.76 183700 2722952 DM WENCESLAO 5.95 6 5.92 6 5.92 5.95 1178000 6991150 EMPIRE EAST 0.25 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.26 10000 2600 EVER GOTESCO 0.088 0.092 0.088 0.09 0.088 0.09 90000 7940 FILINVEST LAND 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.93 5488000 5115030 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.79 0.82 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.79 37000 29230 8990 HLDG 7.32 7.64 7.7 7.7 7.64 7.64 62400 477585 PHIL INFRADEV 1.12 1.13 1.2 1.21 1.13 1.13 4227000 4891240 CITY AND LAND 0.7 0.72 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 152000 106400 MEGAWORLD 2.88 2.89 2.9 2.9 2.84 2.89 15065000 43341120 MRC ALLIED 0.237 0.239 0.239 0.241 0.233 0.237 28090000 6664150 PHIL ESTATES 0.285 0.3 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.285 70000 19950 PRIMEX CORP 1.16 1.19 1.22 1.22 1.17 1.19 166000 198110 ROBINSONS LAND 14.18 14.2 14.5 14.72 14.16 14.2 3074300 43797990 ROCKWELL 1.52 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 3000 4650 SHANG PROP 2.68 2.74 2.73 2.73 2.68 2.68 10000 27250 STA LUCIA LAND 1.83 1.86 1.85 1.86 1.84 1.86 80000 148640 SM PRIME HLDG 28 28.05 28.9 28.95 28 28.05 20799100 589256125 VISTAMALLS 3.78 3.81 3.8 4 3.66 3.78 189000 725070 SUNTRUST HOME 1.21 1.22 1.21 1.23 1.21 1.22 269000 326300 VISTA LAND 3.08 3.09 3.11 3.13 3.08 3.08 1045000 3242030

-781939050 -12355340 -37800 81000 8670 -22200 31030 -6000 -383090 -384975 -49900 -15653170 -27791716 45965840 -73160 -282120

SERVICES ABS CBN 6.76 6.77 7.18 7.18 6.66 6.76 730800 5082160 GMA NETWORK 5.04 5.09 5.13 5.15 5.02 5.04 318700 1614824 MANILA BULLETIN 0.39 0.4 0.395 0.395 0.395 0.395 190000 75050 MLA BRDCASTING 11.46 11.9 11.5 11.9 11.5 11.9 1000 11570 GLOBE TELECOM 2050 2052 2046 2068 2036 2050 30770 63193910 PLDT 1440 1450 1462 1462 1421 1450 181080 260540440 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.052 0.053 0.053 0.053 0.051 0.053 6720000 351450 DFNN INC 2.96 2.99 3.15 3.15 2.91 2.96 176000 538750 DITO CME HLDG 3.3 3.31 3.3 3.33 3.21 3.31 26822000 87658460 ISLAND INFO 0.068 0.07 0.069 0.07 0.069 0.07 1660000 115040 JACKSTONES 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.57 1.56 1.56 7000 10970 NOW CORP 2.2 2.21 2.26 2.27 2.2 2.2 5378000 11937400 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.176 0.178 0.177 0.178 0.176 0.178 1780000 313870 PHILWEB 2.18 2.19 2.01 2.23 2 2.18 2396000 5093910 2GO GROUP 8.24 8.3 8.25 8.32 8.22 8.3 32600 269607 CHELSEA 3.3 3.32 3.28 3.33 3.25 3.32 261000 852230 CEBU AIR 35.8 36 36.85 36.85 35.5 36 260000 9321795 INTL CONTAINER 102 102.5 103.3 104.7 101.6 102.5 714730 73356755 LBC EXPRESS 15 15.78 15 15 15 15 3000 45000 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.79 0.82 0.79 0.83 0.79 0.82 14000 11170 MACROASIA 4.79 4.8 5.01 5.03 4.8 4.8 2853000 13923430 METROALLIANCE A 1.57 1.6 1.55 1.6 1.55 1.56 160000 250400 PAL HLDG 5.74 5.75 5.78 5.78 5.7 5.74 20100 115581 HARBOR STAR 1.04 1.05 0.93 1.04 0.92 1.04 11177000 11287960 ACESITE HOTEL 1.13 1.23 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.12 1000 1120 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.028 0.029 0.027 0.029 0.027 0.029 20700000 594600 WATERFRONT 0.375 0.39 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.375 20000 7500 FAR EASTERN U 502.5 574.5 555 555 550 550 360 198235 STI HLDG 0.305 0.31 0.31 0.315 0.3 0.305 7170000 2201550 BERJAYA 2.2 2.23 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.23 167000 370010 BLOOMBERRY 6.6 6.61 6.3 6.64 6.22 6.6 13343000 87113634 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.9 1.95 1.93 1.99 1.91 1.99 40000 76960 LEISURE AND RES 1.2 1.25 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 56000 67200 PH RESORTS GRP 2.15 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 2000 4500 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.305 0.315 0.315 0.325 0.305 0.315 11250000 3551350 ALLHOME 6.03 6.05 6.09 6.1 6.03 6.05 1412500 8552252 METRO RETAIL 1.39 1.4 1.41 1.42 1.4 1.4 846000 1190930 PUREGOLD 51 51.05 51.9 52.05 51 51.05 2388860 122456257.5 ROBINSONS RTL 67.55 67.9 68 68 67.4 67.9 202380 13697073 PHIL SEVEN CORP 121.1 124.9 125 125 123 124.9 66300 8283383 SSI GROUP 1.01 1.02 1.02 1.03 1.01 1.02 2086000 2129130 WILCON DEPOT 15.82 15.88 15.92 15.92 15.8 15.88 1024900 16294438 APC GROUP 0.29 0.295 0.295 0.305 0.295 0.295 2780000 823650 EASYCALL 6.11 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.18 6.18 29300 181334 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.218 0.219 0.22 0.224 0.219 0.219 8470000 1866280

-14799490 -70922475 -652490 -2425500 -57420 97500 -4508665 -5694595 -619210 9760 -633550 641423 56700 -2060137 -308800 -80368298.5 -7845274.5 3139225 -900960 -2618490 250750 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.05 7.95 7.99 7.99 7.3 7.95 6100 48340 -23026 APEX MINING 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.64 1.59 1.63 5565000 8997600 25920 ABRA MINING 0.0008 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 683000000 614700 ATLAS MINING 3.45 3.48 3.59 3.59 3.4 3.48 970000 3354620 -1277900 BENGUET A 2.83 2.88 2.9 3.02 2.8 2.88 487000 1404690 BENGUET B 2.78 2.89 2.84 2.94 2.75 2.91 211000 603070 2900 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.213 0.216 0.214 0.217 0.203 0.213 1150000 241550 3150 CENTURY PEAK 2.59 2.6 2.57 2.6 2.52 2.6 663000 1698360 516250 DIZON MINES 7.73 7.89 7.9 7.9 7.66 7.89 5200 40434 FERRONICKEL 1.31 1.32 1.38 1.38 1.27 1.31 32061000 42238710 -11955930 GEOGRACE 0.23 0.232 0.231 0.236 0.23 0.23 220000 50930 LEPANTO A 0.154 0.155 0.159 0.159 0.152 0.154 13660000 2105520 LEPANTO B 0.155 0.156 0.156 0.156 0.155 0.155 1220000 189140 MANILA MINING A 0.0096 0.0099 0.0095 0.01 0.0095 0.01 36000000 347900 MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 3200000 32100 21000 MARCVENTURES 1.01 1.02 1.06 1.06 0.99 1.01 6899000 7005900 -15450 NIHAO 2.15 2.16 2.16 2.2 2.14 2.15 739000 1593980 NICKEL ASIA 3.29 3.3 3.39 3.4 3.24 3.3 7825000 25904190 346110 OMICO CORP 0.365 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.375 10000 3750 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.6 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.6 0.62 482000 294870 PX MINING 3.95 3.97 3.9 4 3.77 3.95 2845000 11136770 1912440 SEMIRARA MINING 9.8 9.81 9.86 9.9 9.76 9.8 2636100 25866917 5743576 ACE ENEXOR 5.53 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.7 60200 341350 3420 ORNTL PETROL A 0.0086 0.009 0.0088 0.009 0.0086 0.0086 13000000 115800 PHILODRILL 0.0091 0.0092 0.0092 0.0095 0.0085 0.0091 81000000 737600 PXP ENERGY 5.2 5.21 5.19 5.2 5 5.2 1425400 7284340 -792837

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.2 101.2 101 101 100.1 100.1 10980 1108962 AC PREF B1 511 519 519 519 519 519 20 10380 ALCO PREF B 100 103.4 100 100 100 100 7250 725000 AC PREF B2R 506 515 506 506 506 506 100 50600 CPG PREF A 100.7 102 101 101 101 101 500 50500 DD PREF 101 103 103 103 103 103 720 74160 PNX PREF 3A 96.45 96.75 96.75 96.75 96.25 96.75 1530 147957.5 PNX PREF 3B 99.95 100 100 100 100 100 13730 1373000 PNX PREF 4 945 949 948.5 949 940 949 16280 15366190 PCOR PREF 2B 1005 1080 1070 1070 1069 1069 55 58835 PCOR PREF 3A 1040 1061 1020 1061 1020 1061 4010 4210250 PCOR PREF 3B 1075 1089 1075 1075 1070 1075 80 85950 SMC PREF 2C 78.3 78.5 78.2 78.5 78.2 78.45 1830 143533.5 SMC PREF 2E 75.4 76 75.4 75.5 75.3 75.5 184910 13959965 SMC PREF 2F 77.2 79 79 79 79 79 100 7900 SMC PREF 2G 75.9 76.75 76.8 76.8 75.9 75.9 1010 76668 SMC PREF 2H 76 76.5 75.3 76.5 75.3 76.5 81610 6147165 SMC PREF 2I 78.3 79 78.95 78.95 78.3 78.3 12670 993989

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 6.6 6.8 6.8 7.15 6.7 6.7 129300 912240 GMA HLDG PDR 4.85 4.99 5 5 4.8 4.8 1553100 7,491,372( 6,860,983.9999)

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.6 0.63 - - - - - -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 12.08 12.1 12.48 12.5 12 12.1 591600 7220208 -2734768 ITALPINAS 1.81 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.78 1.81 905000 1631950 126150 KEPWEALTH 5.1 5.22 5.14 5.15 5.1 5.1 54400 278270 MERRYMART 3.05 3.06 2.85 3.1 2.76 3.06 74149000 220219050 -185660 XURPAS 0.53 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.52 0.54 1547000 822790 22260

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 86.7 89 91.65 91.65 86.7 86.7 44850 3937397.5 103187

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Tips to keep seniors engaged, healthy during the pandemic D

By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

eemed as the most vulnerable age group, senior citizens have been forced to stay home because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

To keep them healthy, it is important to establish a daily routine that will cover several aspects of their health.

In addition to practicing regular hand washing, the wearing of mask and physical distancing even at home, Dr. Eliza Mei Francisco, Program Director of the Asian Senior Wellness Institute and Chairman of the Department of Occupational and Family Medicine of the Asian Hospital and Medical Center, offered five tips to help keep senior citizens busy and in tip-top shape at home.

To look after their physical health, Dr. Francisco recommends that the senior members of the household allot 30 minutes every day for exercise. Additionally, they should eat home-cooked food with minimal preservatives and more phytonutrients for their nutritional health.

“Third, for their social health, it is important for our seniors to socialize with family and friends through virtual means,” Dr. Francisco said. “For the fourth aspect on mental health, the senior should exercise their minds regularly by reading and doing puzzles and memory games. It is also important for them not to dwell too much on stressful news and issues so that their health will not be affected.”

Spiritual health

Lastly, it is also important for them to have regular prayer time with the family so that they will be healthy spiritually as well as physically.

Dr. Francisco said she makes it a point to send messages to her patients to check on their health situation and to ask if they need any help. She also updates them on the hospital’s latest services that they might want to avail of.

“Asian Hospital as an eConsult Service where patients can be seen by their doctors online and receive advice, prescriptions, and laboratory requests without having to physically visit the clinic,” she said. “We also have plans to offer webinars on senior-related topics as part of our Senior Day Care activities and Senior Wellness Lecture series that we

launched last year.”

One of the problems experienced during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was the difficulty for some senior citizens to buy their maintenance medicines because the nearby drug stores had run out of stock. Dr. Francisco noted that most drug stores nowadays accept electronic prescriptions and that senior citizens can purchase three months’ worth of medications.

Online payments for meds

“If they have problems getting hold of their medicines, our Asian Hospital Pharmacy EPrescription Program allows our patients to request for medications online and our Pharmacy will source the items for them,” she related. “Once ready, the patient can pay online and the medicines may either be picked up or delivered to their homes.”

If there really is a need for the senior patient to consult a doctor in person, Dr. Francisco advised that the patient set an online appointment to see their doctor. Before proceeding to the hospital, the patient should fill up the health declaration form.

“If they have no symptoms or exposure, we can help facilitate their visit either to have laboratory tests or to consult with their doctor face to face,” she said. “We also have to remind the caregiver to wear face mask and face shield and to be at the clinic just a few minutes prior to their appointment.”

Dr. Francisco assured patients and their caregivers that Asian Hospital and Medical Center is a safe hospital because it has adopted the “Asian Hospital Tagged Safe” campaign where patients are pre-scheduled for their appointments, screened upon entering the hospital premises and are frequently reminded of safety precautions.

This campaign is a hospital-wide initiative, involving staff from all departments to assure patients and their families that Asian Hospital is a safe place for healing.

“The clinics are well ventilated and have sanitation and disinfection protocols in place,” she said. “Our staff have undergone trainings for infection control and prevention are in proper protective equipment when they attend to patients.”

Munti receives ambulance to augment Covid-19 fight

By Roderick L. Abad

T

HE Muntinlupa City government has received one ambulance that was personally donated by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade to help the city’s fight against Covid-19.

In a recent online turnover ceremony, Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi thanked Tugade for his support and assistance, saying the ambulance will be used for the transportation of Covid-19 patients and other emergency response activities.

Tugade bared that an additional five ambulances will be donated to Muntinlupa from the Department of Health in the coming months.

Operationalizing government services

He vowed to assist Muntinlupa in its Covid-19 response efforts and in operationalizing national government services in the city.

Recently, Cabinet members were assigned to Metro Manila cities and other provinces with high community transmission to strictly monitor health system performance, critical care capacity, and strict compliance to surveillance, isolation, and treatment protocols.

The DOTr chief was assigned as an overseer in Muntinlupa by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

During his virtual meeting with the city’s officials, they reported local initiatives for testing, tracing, and treatment, such as the construction of a molecular laboratory, testing efforts, construction of

additional isolation facilities, and contact tracing.

Increase in youth cases

Meanwhile, the Muntinlupa City Council for the Protection of Children (MCCPC) called for an emergency meeting to discuss what actions will be taken to address the alarming increase of Covid-19 cases among the youth.

The City Health Office (CHO) has recorded a growing number of cases among the 0-19 age group, wherein 62 children from the city’s eight barangays were confirmed positive for the virulent illness as of August 16.

It noted that possible transmission may have occurred while playing outside of their homes or visiting public parks and playgrounds.

MCCPC will submit a resolution recommending the review of existing ordinances on curfew hours and the strict wearing of face masks, including “incentivizing” best practices of communities with regard to the fight against the pandemic.

The local council also recommended for the mobilization of homeowners’ associations (HOAs) to augment monitoring activities in the communities and the creation of a series of social-media content and other information campaigns to bolster the information dissemination of city ordinances.

The Philippine National Police Station in Muntinlupa has augmented police visibility in public parks and hotspots of Covid-19 transmission as determined by the council.

Additional roving and stationary officers were deployed to ensure that no children will be roaming outside their homes and other public spaces.

Thursday, September 3, 2020 B3

BantAI Covid is the key to QC’s fight vs disease

C

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

ontact tracing, triaging, telemedicine and referrals to hospitals and quarantine facilities are now made easier in Quezon City as the local government unit (LGU) has partnered with the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and Vireo Loadworks for the activation of “BantAI Covid,” an artificial intelligence (AI)-based free SMS platform for all residents.

Dr. Loysa Orense, president of Vireo Loadworks Inc., said that the BantAI Covid will help boost the contact tracing efforts of the government.

“We can also separate the patients who are infected from the non-infected remotely and facilitate proper preparation for the frontliners’ interaction with Covid-19 positive cases,” Dr. Orense said, adding that the SMS platform leverages on AI-based text messaging through

mobile phones to provide contact tracing and daily monitoring of symptoms for all in-home quarantined suspected and probable Covid-19 cases.

Under the system, close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases, who tested positive through the RT-PCR test at the community-based testing center (CBT), are enrolled in BantAI Covid by the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU).

“It is a best practice to make use

of technology to improve health outcomes as well as a model partnership,” Orense said.

can be managed at home while those in need of hospitalization can be given proper attention.

Regular text messages

Real-time data

The enrollees will receive regular text messages reminding them of social distancing, frequent hand washing, and personal protection.

Through the SMS system, advance notices will also be sent prior to a patient’s arrival at the hospital or quarantine facility to enable health-care professionals and the facility to implement proactive measures.

To eliminate face-to-face interviews with close contacts, the platform has an interactive question and answer function.

PMA President Dr. Benito Atienza said the system deals with every person with a cellphone in a unique way and anyone, regardless of network and Internet connection, can use the system.

“The services provided can help patients, their families and close contacts manage mild Covid-19 cases at home,” Atienza said adding, “This way, they could receive timely medical advice and help contain spread of Covid-19.”

At the same time, he furthered, hospitals and health-care facilities will not be burdened by cases that

The BantAI Covid also provides national and local government leaders with a real-time picture of the situation, which can guide their resources allocation and management decisions.

For her part, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said that the BantAI Covid will allow them to have a common and efficient system to engage, trace, coordinate and interact with possible and infected patients.

“This system will also allow us to access and analyze real-time data to countercheck our initial efforts with patients, close contacts and our health facilities,” Belmonte said.

She added that BantAI Covid is also their way to protect health-care workers for they have a big chance to get infected due to exposure.

“I see their sacrifices. I know they are very vulnerable while performing their job. This platform is a great contribution for us to protect them,” Belmonte said.

Belmonte said that she is also hoping that other LGUs will use BantAI Covid to ensure safety of health professionals in their respective areas.

SweetHeart campaign drums up link between diabetes, heart disease

W

hile people experience many challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, now is the best time to listen to a loved one who has diabetes.

During the “For Your SweetHeart” Webinar, TV personality Kim “Kuya Kim” Atienza, the official campaign ambassador, said that while this is a difficult time for those who are diabetic, it is also the best time for the family to shower them with the love and care that they need.

“This campaign is very close to my heart,” Atienza said who admitted that diabetes runs in the family. Atienza was joined by his mother who is a diabetic. His grandparents had diabetes, too.

Atienza said during this pandemic it is important for family members to learn how to take care of a family member who has diabetes by being supportive and by helping them to make healthy changes.

By encouraging them to adopt a healthy lifestyle, Atienza said that you should be a good example yourself.

“You have to manage it properly with the help of family members. The family has to be in it together. You have to practice it so that the person will follow,” he added.

He said that it is also best to see a doctor for “a lot of Pinoys don’t see a doctor.”

“Like many Filipinos, I can relate to how we always want what is best for the health and well-being of our loved ones. I always check

up on my mother and make sure she’s leading a healthy lifestyle,” he added.

A health buff, Atienza said he was also surprised to discover that he had diabetes about “five or six years ago.”

“I was assuming that I was healthy because I was exercising regularly,” he said.

Show your SweetHeart that they are not alone

Dr. Orly Bugarin, President of the Philippine Heart Association, said that the life expectancy of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is reduced by 12 years as CVD is a common comorbidity in T2D. He noted that T2D is increasingly prevalent globally and in the Western Pacific Region.

“There are ways to minimize the risk of cardiovascular disease for those with diabetes.

Being aware of the impact of diabetes on heart health is a critical first step as well as consulting your doctor, so you know the best medical options to manage the disease,” Dr. Bugarin said.

Like Atienza, Dr. Bugarin, encourages people to spend more time with their loved ones who have diabetes for it is very difficult for them.

“Restricting their diet and getting them to exercise is really difficult. We really have to join them in their journey. Family support is very important,” he said.

He noted that knowing the link between diabetes and CVD can help patients and their

caregivers determine meaningful and necessary life-changing steps.

As a caregiver of a loved one with diabetes, Dr. Bugarin stressed that even the caregiver should be encouraged to adopt lifestyle changes. Find out more about how your loved one is dealing with diabetes so you know how to support them.

Critical link between diabetes and heart disease

The “For Your SweetHeart” campaign, spearheaded by Boehringer Ingelheim (Philippines), Inc. in partnership with medical societies and patient groups, urges Filipinos diagnosed with diabetes to be aware of the link between diabetes and CVD and how to manage the condition properly.

Diabetes, with the presence of its complications, has also been identified as a risk factor for increased severity of Covid-19 and poor outcome. One of the long-term complications of diabetes is CVD. According to a follow-up study among patients who participated in the World Health Organization (WHO) Multinational Study of Vascular Disease in Diabetes, a staggering 52 percent of deaths in T2D patients were due to CVD, confirming that CVD is the No. 1 cause of death of patients with diabetes.

Patients with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease.

Over time, uncontrolled high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and nerves, leading to the heart disease and ultimately raise blood pressure levels.

Diabetes also increases the level of bad cholesterol. All of these factors increase the risk of heart disease in patients with diabetes.

The three types of heart disease that patients with diabetes commonly develop are coronary heart disease, heart failure, and diabetic cardiomyopathy.

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), as of May 2020, there are nearly 4 million reported cases of diabetes in the Philippines. Alarmingly, many of those living with diabetes do not know of their increased risk for heart diseases.

The “For Your SweetHeart” campaign will focus not only patients but on the caregivers as well.

“It comes naturally for Filipinos to care of our loved ones. The campaign doesn’t just speak to those diagnosed with diabetes but also to the loved ones taking care of them,” said Dr. Greta Cortez, Boehringer Ingelheim (Philippines), Inc.’s Head of Medicine.

“Boehringer Ingelheim has always believed in empowering and equipping both the patients and their loved ones with important information so they can make the best decisions together for their health and well-being,” she continued. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Sandoz donates meds to Red Cross for COVID-19 response

S

andoz Philippines Corp. donated to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) a year’s supply of high-quality Sandoz generic medicines, which will benefit almost 1,000 patients with infections and patients with hypertension. The donation was formalized in a Zoom videoconference held recently and attended by top officials of the two organizations.

“From the very bottom of my heart, I would like to thank Sandoz Philippines Corp. for your timely humanitarian gesture of donating badly needed antibiotics and anti-hypertension medicines. During these difficult times, it is important that people see the light at the end of the tunnel, especially those who are unable to buy medicines because they have no livelihood at the moment. Your donation speaks well of your company’s corporate social responsibility. Maraming salamat, Sandoz,” said Senator Richard J. Gordon, PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“We thank Sandoz for your support and

generosity, as well as for your commitment to help our fellow Filipinos. The PRC is honored to be the humanitarian partner of an innovative leader in the pharmaceutical industry. We have a shared commitment to uplift human dignity through compassion and the provision of quality and affordable medicines,” said Ms. Elizabeth S. Zavalla, PRC Secretary General.

According to Gordon, the PRC will distribute the donated medicines to the most vulnerable communities through the organization’s chapters nationwide. The PRC Health Services department will ask their chapters in the National Capital Region (NCR), which is currently the country’s Covid-19 hot spot, to identify communities where the donated medicines are most needed, Zavalla explained. The PRC will distribute the donated antibiotics to 15 government hospitals, she added.

“Sandoz Philippines Corp. is privileged to partner with the Philippine Red Cross in supporting patients’ access to essential medicines and contributing to the country’s Covid-19 re-

sponse,” Eleanor Lopez, Country Head, Sandoz Philippines Corp.

Blood pressure control

Lopez stressed that optimal blood pressure control through anti-hypertension maintenance medications is crucial now more than ever. “Studies have shown that patients with uncontrolled hypertension are more likely to get Covid-19, have worse symptoms, and die from the infection.” She noted that with millions of patients affected

by Covid-19 across the globe, the pandemic has put enormous pressure on critical medicine safety stocks. Health-care workers are using every tool available to treat Covid-19 and related or secondary infections, resulting in heavy demand for several medicines, including antibiotics.

Sandoz as a global company has responded to these challenges by expanding manufacturing capacity to maintain a stable supply of generic medicines for patients. “We

took early action to ensure patients could access our portfolio of medicines, despite the crisis. Measures such as proactive increases in inventory of antibiotics and respiratory medicines are now helping our company navigate Covid-related supply chain issues and continue to meet patient needs,” Lopez said. All Sandoz manufacturing sites and suppliers have continued full production and delivery throughout this crisis. Sandoz has also committed to ensuring stable pricing for a basket of its essential medicines, which may help treat Covid-19 patients.

“The Philippine Red Cross and Sandoz have a shared goal of saving lives. This partnership is only the beginning, and we look forward to our continuing collaboration. Together, we can do more,” Zavalla said.

“Sandoz Philippines Corp. looks forward to our continuing partnership with the Philippine Red Cross in our shared goal of strengthening the country’s health-care system and caring for the health of Filipinos,” Lopez said.

B4

Thursday, September 3, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Nostalgia for justice: ‘Tokyo Trial’

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Rita Volk, 30; Shaun White, 34; Omi, 34; Garrett Hedlund, 36.

Happy Birthday: Take the road less traveled, and you’ll discover something that has been missing from your life. It’s time to explore what’s available and test your knowledge and experience to ensure that it is ready to take on something new and exciting. Forge into the future with optimism and enthusiasm. Build strong affiliations with people who share your goals. Your numbers are 7, 11, 19, 21, 25, 33, 43.

O

N August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender of Japan after years of hostilities in the “Far East” (strange how we still refer to these Oriental labels after all the deconstruction of colonial discourse).

In our country, the end was a sudden termination of brutal memories. “Filipinos have a short memory” was then a common saying. The more positive side to this was that the people craved for peace.

Tales of guerillas fighting each other or Filipinos acting as spies persisted both as rumors and proven facts. The infamous Bataan Death March was also a heroic tale not easily forgotten.

But who remembers the Tokyo Trial? Who recognizes the name Justice Delfin Jaranilla, the judge who represented the Philippines in that trial in Japan?

From Netflix, one can access a riveting documentary, called Tokyo Trial. That I would one night view the said documentary is fateful no less. It was the 3oth of August, barely two days before the anniversary of the formal surrender of Japan.

The documentary is interesting from many angles.

Its producer, to underscore what we can expect from this retelling, is NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster, working with the FATT Productions of the Netherlands and Don Cormody Television of Canada.

This is not, we are assured, a United States production.

The series begins with the arrival of justices and prosecutors from different allied countries. First there are 10 justices from Australia, Canada, China, France, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

They are joined later by a judge from the Philippines.

It is Justice Delfin Jaranilla, who is sent to be the voice of all the Filipino war victims.

American and Japanese lawyers stand for defense.

On April 29, 1946, the The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) is convened. It is also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. The aim is to bring to court the leaders of Japan to answer for the crimes committed during the war. But war for lawyers—because they are lawyers—is not simply “war.” They have to classify and categorize the wars into Class A, Class B and Class C. It follows also that the ones who committed the said crimes are ranged as either Class-A criminal, Class-B criminal, or Class-C criminal.

When the court convenes, it is barely a year after the war. The emotions are raw, if we are to paraphrase the words of the Filipino jurist.

The raw feelings are not only about the war but also the colonial experiences of the members of the team. There is the judge from England, Lord William Patrick, who, it seems, is always ready to bristle against the comments of the Indian lawyer, Justice Pal of India. On the surface, the two jurists are greatly at odds in the definition of war of aggression and war against humanity. Deep within, in the big picture of the country to which they belong, the Englishman stands for the harsh years of domination of India while Pal speaks for his county seeking independence from the England.

In the Tokyo trial, Lady Justice peeps through her pretend blindfold. Justice, after all, emanates from the rule of imperfect, opinionated men and never, as lawyers and judges would have us believe, from the rule of law. In the hands of lawyers, justice

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Make the most of your time. Spend more time physically making things happen and less time talking and trying to convince others to pitch in and help. Don’t waste time arguing with someone who isn’t likely to budge. Focus on achieving your goal. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll crave change. Don’t expect or wait for something to happen. Take charge, and put your plan in motion. How you deal with matters that affect work and home will determine how much you achieve. Dedication will lead to success. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be careful who you let into your circle. Don’t be fooled by someone promising you the impossible. Put your energy into unfinished business. You cannot move forward until you take care of the past. HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Dream a little dream, and turn it into reality. Approach uncertainty with an open mind, and you will discover a way to reach your objective. Serious talks with someone you share personal or professional plans with will be rewarding. HHHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take the lead, and do whatever it will take to live up to your promises. Don’t trust someone who uses emotional manipulation. Recognize when someone is trying to take advantage of you. HHH

as well as the notion of right and wrong are never eternal; rather, justice is a putty malleable and open to manipulating and mystification by the best legal minds. History proves also that these s0-called legal minds are not always for the greater good of societies—in war or in peace.

It is the end of war but not the end of discrimination and imperial dependency. From the side of all the jurists, the Charter provided by MacArthur is enough. But not for Judge Röling of the Netherlands and India’s Pal. The immediate implication of this is the call of Pal to exonerate all the Japanese officials, the reason being that there was never a systematic order from these ministers and officials to massacre and pillage the conquered territories. At most, the soldiers are going to be tried for their individual crimes. For Jaranilla, it is an unthinkable solution to the end of war. On the one hand, testimony after testimony point to the cruelty of the Japanese in particular situations.

The jurists are supposed to preside over the fate of Japan but things are not easy. Pal walks out and spends his time drafting his own decisions without listening to others and watching the proceedings; Judge Röling is embroiled in a relationship that would put at risk his objectivity and moral ascendancy; and, Justice Webb of Australia, at some point, is booted out for flimsy reasons. All the while, the shadow of General MacArthur and the new power of the US loom over the tribunal.

There is one more question? Where is Emperor Hirohito when the decisions for war are reached?

For all the compelling content of this series, the technologies of the production are for the books.

Using a generous amount of footage of the trial from the archives, the film seamlessly and in perfect color grading incorporates the actors with the real characters from that momentous event. At every juncture, it becomes an exciting game to distinguish the reel from the real, making Tokyo Trial a blend of documentary and feature film.

The performances are engaging: Paul Freeman as Lord William Patrick is imperial and subtly condescending; Marcel Hensema as Professor Bert Röling is human and conflicted; Jonathan Hyde, congenial in his characterization of Sir William Webb intrigues us with his weakness whose source we cannot pinpoint. Bert Matias, a US-based theater and TV actor, fleshes out a very passionate Filipino judge who, on the day of the testimonies on the abuses and violence committed in his country, refuses to be at the court. He tells his colleagues he is relying on his own experience of the war.

As Justice Pal, Irrfan Khan, a celebrated Indian actor, is a hardheaded yet clear-headed legal practitioner whose source of understanding is the intellectual practice of law. Ethics seems fuzzy to him as he steadfastly holds on to the legal rather than the moral. Could it be also that he, an astute scholar, believes the legal already shares the fount of the correct and proper?

When the tribunal was adjourned on November 12, 1948, two defendants were already dead. The guilty verdict was given to all the remaining defendants of at least one count each. The sentences varied from several years of imprisonment to execution. By the 1950s, the pressure to free some of those imprisoned was so strong that, one by one, they were released and integrated into the post-war Japanese society.

The series is codirected by Pieter Verhoeff and Rob W. King.

Tokyo Trial premiered on NHK in Japan in 2016. It was made available on the NHK On-Demand VoD service and subsequently by Netflix. The series premiered in 190 countries on Netflix in December 2016. The Netflix broadcast of the series includes subtitles in 20 languages.

Postscript: It is said that a memorial for the Indian jurist, Justice Pal, can be found in the Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto sacred site honoring the kamikaze pilots and the war criminals at the same time. This is another story. n

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Engage in something new and exciting. Your happiness is your responsibility, so make sure you do the things that bring you comfort and joy. Relationships look promising. Progressive action will encourage personal stability. Romance is favored. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Sit back and observe. Have patience when dealing with unreasonable individuals. Silence is your best bet until you come up with an alternative plan that offers something for everyone. Pay more attention to your health and emotional well-being. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take pleasure in the people and things that bring you the most joy. Be imaginative; what you come up with will capture the attention of someone special. Learn from the experience, and everything will unfold the way you want. Romance is featured. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep your thoughts to yourself, and your passwords, personal matters and possessions tucked away someplace safe. Don’t take a risk when it comes to money, health or contractual dealings. HH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take a moment to remember what’s happened in the past before you trust or engage in something similar.

Change is favored, but it has to be for the right reason.

Talk to someone you trust and love to help you make a decision. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your intuition will be right on target. Let your feelings lead the way, and you will avoid making a mistake.

When in doubt, you are always best to take a pass.

Making personal improvements and doing what’s best for you are encouraged. HHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Do something that you find entertaining. Join an online dance or fitness class, or reach out to someone you enjoy spending time with and share your feelings.

Personal improvements, along with love and romance, are in your best interest. HHH Birthday Baby: You are charming, adaptable and reliable.

You are creative and passionate.

‘look inside’ by peter a. collins The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Plus 6 Many of a vet’s patients 10 ___ out (get too scared) 14 Big name in roof racks 15 Thomas ___ Edison 16 French friend 17 With letters 5 to 7, maze runner 19 Spider egg pouches 20 Fast flightless bird 21 River that flows through Germany 22 Like close friends 23 Earth Day mo.

24 “I knew it was you!”

25 With letters 2 to 4, karate or jujitsu 27 Not even tipsy 29 Pig’s place, metaphorically 30 Originally named 31 Easy throw 32 Nonviolent protest 33 Windy City trains 34 With letters 4 to 6, antepenultimate driving place for many a golfer 38 Pickup truck make

1 They often involve counting calories 4 42 Spheres 46 First mother 47 One of the deadly sins 48 Brew in a teapot 49 With letters 4 to 6, Hefty purchase 51 Word with “blanket” or “suit” 53 Hair coloring 54 Cravings 55 Tractor surname 57 Ad ___ committee 58 Whoppers 59 With letters 7 to 9, some special agents 61 One of 2.2 million in Yellowstone 62 Unlike a rainforest’s climate 63 Go along the lines of?

64 Remainder 65 Hair stiffeners 66 Passover meal DOWN 1 Minimally 2 Shower cleaner?

3 Commuter’s destination, maybe

4 “Strange Magic” group 5 Paralyzing fear 6 Barbecue site 7 Tesla CEO Musk 8 Universal devices 9 Utter 10 Skeptical question 11 Envision 12 Archangel who defeated Satan in heaven 13 Tools used with mortars 18 Massage sound 22 16th-century council site 26 Comparable (to) 28 What makes fat fast?

29 Saintly trait 32 Quay employee 35 They pop into your head 36 PED ___ (road sign) 37 Flying off the shelves, so to speak 38 Pump option 39 Greediness 40 Big deals for companies 43 One with freckles, often

4 Lemonade artist 4 45 Ghost 48 Arterial inserts 50 Attack on all sides 51 Uses a hoe, maybe 52 Goof 56 “___ Ways” (Santana hit) 59 Comic’s bit 60 G.I. chow Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Parentlife BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SEPTEMBER 10 IS SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY

THE global coronavirus pandemic has wrought devastation not only on global economies but also on the emotional and mental well-being of communities throughout the world. Light a candle to remember a lost loved one and suicide survivors at 8 pm on September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day. The Natasha Goulbourn Foundation, the Philippine representative to the International Association for Suicide Prevention, is asking people to show their support for suicide prevention by lighting a candle near a window.

Health experts have raised concerns about a rise in cases of depression and, subsequently, suicide because of Covid-19 that resulted in a lengthy quarantine.

WHO: Children aged 6-to-11 should wear masks at times, too

BY JAMEY KEATEN The Associated Press GENEVA—Just as millions of children are heading back to school, the World Health Organization says those aged 6 to 11 should wear masks in some cases to help fight the spread of coronavirus.

The recommendations follow the widespread belief that children under 12 are not considered as likely to propagate the virus as much as adults.

Children in general face less severe virus symptoms than do adults, with the elderly the most vulnerable to severe infection and death.

Now WHO says decisions about whether children aged 6 to 11 should wear masks should consider factors like whether Covid-19 transmission is widespread in the area where the child lives; the child’s ability to safely use a mask; and adult supervision when taking the masks on or off.

“Luckily, the vast majority of children who are infected with the virus appear to have mild disease or asymptomatic infection, and that’s good news,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, technical chief of the UN health agency’s emergencies program.

She still cautioned that some children can develop severe cases of coronavirus and even die.

The shift comes as confirmed Covid-19 infections worldwide have surpassed 23 million and confirmed deaths have passed 809,000, according to a tally

by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say the tally understates the true toll of the pandemic due to limited testing, missed mild cases and other factors.

The UN health agency for months trailed many governments in backing the widespread use of masks, a point not lost on critics who said WHO was too slow to get on board with the benefits of general mask use. WHO had expressed concern that people who put on masks might unwittingly spread the virus from an unclean hand to their face, and insisted that health-care providers needed masks first amid some shortages.

Since then, researchers have found that the virus can be transmitted through aerosols—tiny droplets emitted when people talk, laugh, sing or sneeze—and mask-wearing can cut down on the amount of virus that people are exposed to.

Some policy-makers, including public transport authorities in Europe and elsewhere, have set the bar for mask-wearing in crowded places like buses and trains at age 12—with everyone older required to put them on. Acknowledging gaps in both research and understanding of the virus, WHO said kids under age 6 should not wear masks, while those 12 to 18 should wear them just like adults should—notably in cases where physical distancing cannot be ensured and in areas of high transmission.

WHO advises a “risk-based approach” for kids aged 6 to 11 that balances various factors.

“Everyone agrees how important it is that schools are operating safely,” Van Kerkhove said. “We’ve outlined how that can be done in terms of physical distancing and hand hygiene stations, respiratory etiquette, the potential use of masks by either the workers or the children themselves.”

FINE Guard Comfort and Fine Guard N95 Masks take personal protection to a higher level.

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, September 3, 2020

B5

3 security tools for the new normal students PROMIL Organic Mom and Child Ambassadors Andi Manzano-Reyes and Olivia

T

HE global health crisis that the coronavirus has wrought will push about 27 million learners in the Philippines to rely largely on an Internet connection as they shift to a new normal of learning in the next quarter.

Consequently, this also significantly increases unsupervised screen time.

Practicing cyber hygiene should be more emphasized, recommends cybersecurity company Kaspersky (www.kaspersky.com). Using stronger passwords, two-factor authentication, and virtual private networks (VPNs) are among the top three security tools to use, according to the multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider.

■ STRONGER PASSWORD, TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION. In a Kaspersky survey, it showed that 38 percent personally use their computers while 47 percent personally use their laptops. For each person using the same device in one household, the company recommends that each user account should have its own separate password. Distrust is not an issue here, but family members may be tricked to give the password away or just accidentally leak it.

Experts at Kaspersky recommend that kids never create usernames out of their real names that may reveal their other personally identifiable information (PII) such as location or age. On the other hand, enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) is like having a door with two locks in the account login process— one is a traditional password and the second one could be something else. When enabled, it means that an attacker has to figure out your password and be in possession of your device to be able to login into your account. Second authentications are usually codes sent via e-mail or SMS. There are also authenticator apps and hardware tokens which provide more features and useful options.

Which online accounts of individual users need two-factor authentication? Maybe not all. But for children going back to school soon, this additional layer of security will have to be enabled on their primary and secondary e-mails, as well as on their social media accounts which are being required by teachers for them to be able to join online classes.

Meanwhile, parents or guardians will find that twofactor authentication is useful for securely accessing their online bank accounts and such.

■ WHAT’S A VPN AND HOW DOES IT WORK? Another

security tool that is often overlooked is VPN. Short for Virtual Private Network, a VPN works by encrypting your online presence.

A VPN masks your IP address by rerouting it through a specially configured remote server run by the VPN host, where the VPN server becomes the source of your data. This makes it impossible for your Internet service provider or any other third party to see what web sites you are visiting or what information you are entering. A VPN also works like a filter that turns all the data you are sending and receiving into gibberish. Even if someone did get their hands on this data, it would be useless.

Web-savvy users utilize VPNs for these top 4 reasons: ■ Security—for protection against phishing, manin-the-middle attacks, etc.

■ Privacy—to prevent spying and data theft ■ Changing/hiding the virtual location—so that the websites a user connects to can only see the VPN server’s IP address and location, not the user’s ■ Bypass local bans and blocks—so a user can still access websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia in countries where these are restricted, like in China.

Longtime Internet users have found that VPNs are among the best ways to protect online privacy and hide personal information from prying eyes.

■ HOW DO I GET A VPN ON MY SYSTEM? There are different ways to implement a VPN. One is to get a standalone which is advisable for home and small

businesses. VPN extensions can also be added to most web browsers, while others like Opera come with their own already built-in. Having several devices on a single Internet connection would work best with a router VPN. Large enterprises have their VPNs customized. A number of VPN options are also available for mobile devices.

Security software providers like Kaspersky also provide comprehensive solutions with VPN features such as Kaspersky Total Security, which guarantees maximum security.

The VPN feature of this multi-device family security solution uses an “encrypted tunnel” to help protect the data you send and receive online. It helps you to hide your browsing—even from your Internet service provider—and stop hackers from reading your e-mails, bank details and personal data.

“Filipino children and their families, just like their counterparts in other parts of the world, are now bracing for a different learning experience. To succeed in the new way of learning, browsing the Internet safely and privately will have to be a part of their new student life. By incorporating the security practices of using stronger passwords, 2FA, and VPN into their digital life, it will be easier to just focus on learning and not really think about getting into trouble,” comments Mary Grace Sotayco, Kaspersky Territory Manager for the Philippines.

The latest version of Kaspersky Total Security is available in the Philippines for PC and Mac, and retails for P1,390 from leading IT stores nationwide. ■

Toy retailer goes online PARENTS have valid concerns about taking their kids to crowded public spaces these days, but they can continue to provide their little angels with the tools and toys that aid in their growth. Kids and kids at heart can still enjoy an amazing shopping experience with Toy Kingdom’s recent launching of its very own shopping web site at www.toykingdom.com.ph.

As one of the leading toy stores in the Philippines and the largest toy store chain in the Asia- Pacific region, Toy Kingdom continues to deliver its mission of providing amazing childhood for kids and creating lasting memories for families even during these trying times.

Through the retailer’s official e-commerce web site, consumers can now conveniently shop online and choose from a wide variety of toys for babies, kids, tweens and big kids at heart. There are creative play sets, cuddly plush toys, dolls, action figures, innovative arts and crafts sets, as well as indoor and outdoor toys from various brands.

Toy Kingdom offers various payment options such as credit/debit card, over-the-counter payments, online bills payment, BPI Online, UBP Online, GCash and Grabpay. The brand also has guaranteed delivery services and a 15-day return policy for online purchases.

PLAY Doh’s Kitchen Creations Delightful Donuts set for little foodies.

KIDS will have fun and also improve their constructive skills with Lego’s Classic Disney Pixar Toy Story 4 RV Vacation Building Blocks.

Self-disinfecting face mask now available in PHL WITH the global pandemic and increasing positive cases in the Philippines, face masks, face shields and gloves have become the go-to protective outfit for those venturing out of their homes. With safety as our utmost concern, the usual basic gear may not be as effective as the latest in health and hygiene technology.

Now available in the country is Fine Guard (www. fineguard.me), created and manufactured by Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH), one of the world’s leading wellness groups and manufacturers of hygiene products in the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region. For years, the company has been continuously developing innovative products and hygiene solutions, while producing patents for new processes and technologies.

Launched earlier this year, Fine Guard masks is now exclusively distributed locally by RPG Distribution Services Inc. Using breakthrough virus control methods by Swiss hygiene technology company Livinguard Technology, Fine Guard’s new face masks come with self-disinfecting properties.

It is the world’s first and only reusable mask brand in the market utilizing the multi-patented Swiss Livinguard technology, clinically proven to immediately neutralize and kill viruses and germs on contact, including the coronavirus, with the added benefits of comfort, eco-friendliness, and cost-efficiency.

Fine Guard masks have obtained multiple FDA certifications from around the globe and are recommended

in countries such as Singapore, Australia, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in their fight against Covid-19.

“We are very happy to be able to bring the Fine Guard brand to the Philippines. In doing so, we will be able to help protect more Filipinos against the threat of Covid-19 as we head toward the new normal,” says Anton Huang, president of RPG Distribution Services Inc. Maintenance is easy with washing done by soaking the mask in cold water and a small amount of hand soap for 30 minutes then air-dried without wringing. The Fine Guard N95 valve, it should be noted, is sensitive under water and should be handled delicately when wet. With these simple washing steps, the masks will be ready for its next use as protection against the threat of the coronavirus.

LET your kids learn the basics of piano with Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Piano.

B6 Thursday, September 3, 2020

Social Security System Mobile App covers over 22M transactions in the first half of 2020

SM Foundation instills agri-based skillsets in farmers amid the pandemic

S

M Foundation’s Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) on Sustainable Agriculture expanded its reach by welcoming new batches of farmer trainees in Tarlac and Pampanga.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the KSK program aims to provide the marginalized farmers with agri-based skillset and livelihood opportunities through market linkages, enabling them to secure healthy food for their family and even for their communities.

The recent KSK launches were held at the following partner farm schools: Castro Tomas Farm School in Camiling, Tarlac; St. Isidore “the farmer” Learning Center in Sta. Ana, Pampanga; and Talete Ping Panyolong Kapampangan, Inc. (TPKI) in San Fernando, Pampanga.

SM Foundation noted that social distancing, wearing of masks, and other health and safety protocols were observed during the onsite launch.

Others attended virtually via an online videoconferencing platform.

In her speech, SMFI AVP for outreach programs Cristie Angeles shared that in the past months, KSK farmer-graduates from Sta. Ana, Pampanga were able to sell their produce to SMDC condo owners under the Good Guys Market—which is a collaboration between the developer giant and SMFI. This initiative meant to not only help ensure food security of condo residents but also provide livelihood to local farmers during this pandemic.

This was seconded by SM Markets SAVP Reynaldo del Valle in his video message for the farmers, “Kami po ay maaring bumili ng inyong mga produkto base po sa aming pangangailangan. Ito po ay mangyayari sa pamamagitan ng pakikipag-ugnayan sa SMFI at sa inyong host farm.”

Through the collective efforts of SM

SMFI’s KSK program launch in Camiling, Tarlac

Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Tourism, SM Markets, SM Supermalls, and St. Isidore "The Farmer" Learning Center, among others.

Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) program aims to bring modern and sustainable farming skills in both rural and urban communities to help farmers have food on their table and have potential economic opportunities. To date, the program has trained more than 26,700 farmers from almost 3,360 barangays in 880 cities/municipalities.

Effects of climate change on agriculture in the Philippines

B

EING on top of global surveys is good. However, if we are talking about the country which is most threatened by climate change, then being number one is not the happiest place to be.

According to the Global Peace Index 2019, the Philippines was named the country with the highest risk of climate hazards in Asia-Pacific. Aside from the annual onslaught brought upon by an average of 20 typhoons, the country is also vulnerable to floods, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and droughts.

Climate change is a serious problem that may exacerbate the challenges the Philippines is facing.

Climate Trends

It is undeniable that summer in the Philippines is getting hotter than before.

Based on the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) report, temperatures may rise by 0.9 degrees Celsius to 1.1 degrees Celsius this year, and by 1.8 degrees Celsius to 2.2 degrees Celsius in 2050. This means the country can experience a maximum temperature exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.

Although frequent heavy daily rainfall

Figure 17 Credit Source: pagasa.dost.gov.ph

is a possibility, specifically in Luzon and Visayas, the number of dry days is also expected to increase across the country in 2020 up to 2050.

Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture

A planet with skyrocketing temperature is bad for living things, particularly crops that inhabit it. Crops need the right amount of temperature and rainfall to attain favorable yields in production. If there is an excess in the standard threshold values, there will be a reduction in crop yield. This is why floods and droughts brought on by climate change can damage fields, and trigger outbreaks of pests and diseases in both humans and animals.

Moreover, it may result in low preference for jobs in the agriculture sector because farmers would rather find work in the city rather than fight an unpredictable enemy that is climate change. As reiterated by PAG-ASA, decreased yields and inadequate job opportunities in the agricultural sector could lead to migration and shifts in population, resulting to more pressure in already depressed urban areas, particularly in mega cities.

payment and filing of maternity notification for female SSS members. They can also pay their contributions using PayMaya through the SSS Mobile App,” Ignacio added.

"Among the transactions on SSS Mobile App, checking member's salary loan status garnered the highest number of transactions.

From January to June 2020, the SSS Mobile App recorded 7,628,068 transactions on salary loan status," Ignacio added.

Meanwhile, Ignacio revealed that the SSS Mobile App is among the most downloadable applications in its category on Google Play Store, Apple's App Store, and Huawei AppGallery. As of July 2020, SSS Mobile App accumulated 7,485,817 downloads in the three mobile app markets.

The SSS Mobile App ranked as the most downloadable free app in Google Play Store under the productivity category, with 6,032,977downloads from Android phone users. It is among the top three most downloadable under the utilities category in Apple's App Store, with 726,840 downloads from iOs phone users. Likewise, the mobile application is the third most downloadable app under the finance category among Huawei users, with 726,000 downloads.

"With the use of modern technology and with SSS’ digitalization efforts, we further encourage all our members and the employers as well to use this mobile app to enjoy a simple, fast and easy way of conducting your transactions with SSS," Ignacio concluded.

CCP lights up in red to support global live events industry cause

SMFI’s KSK program launch in San Fernando, Pampanga

Foundation and different government and non-government organizations, the program was recently further enhanced and now provides greater learning opportunities, including the inclusion of TESDA scholarship, and market exposure for the participants.

SMFI’s partners in this social good initiative include the Department of Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Science and Technology,

T

HE Social Security System (SSS) disclosed that the SSS Mobile App recorded nearly 22.4 million transactions from its members for the first half of 2020.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said that the pension fund's mobile application facilitated 22,363,413 transactions from January to June 2020, with an average of 124,24 transactions daily.

Launched in 2018, the SSS Mobile App is a free downloadable app for smartphone users.

It is designed to provide a more convenient way for members to transact with SSS without the hassle of queuing in the branches. In 2010, SSS also had implemented the Text-SSS facility for members to obtain information on their contributions and loan records. A member may register in Text-SSS by sending their SSS number and birthdate using the format "SSS REG <SS Number> <MM/DD/YY>" to 2600.

"We are delighted that our members and employers have been using this app with their various SSS transactions, which is userfriendly and easy to access. Members can now view their contributions record, membership information, and SSS branches' location. They can also check the status of their benefit claim and salary loan applications, their remaining loan balance, and update their contact information as well. Through the years, we have incorporated other services in the SSS Mobile app, like the generation of Payment Reference Number (PRN) needed for SSS contribution

How to Mitigate Climate Change in Agriculture?

PAGASA stated in the same report that management technologies, “which incorporate the use of weather/climate information in agricultural operations” like “climate-friendly agricultural technologies,” can help alleviate the detrimental effects of climate change.

Recently, an app that was launched in the Philippines called Yara FarmWeather.

Yara FarmWeather is an easy-touse and convenient smart weather app that provides farmers with reliable and hyperlocal weather forecasts down to a 4-kilometer radius of their farm. This includes 7-day forecasts for hourly rainfall, daily temperature, humidity, and wind speed and direction. Yara FarmWeather also provides historical rainfall data for the past 30 days and predicts upcoming rainfall for the next 15 days.

With all this information on hand, farmers can now make more informed and smarter decisions for their farms.

Farming got smarter with Yara FarmWeather. Download it for free in Google Play Store and App Store. For more information, you may check out https://bit.ly/2xteUJZ.

T

HE façade of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ main building was illuminated in red color starting September 1. The lighting event is CCP’s support to a worldwide cause of the live events industry led by the National Live Events Coalition (NLEC-PH).

The live events industry is a wide network of collaborators - planners, organizers, suppliers, talents, and freelancers. NLEC-PH was formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its critical impact on the live events industry to amplify the voices, to empower, and to be advocates for every event practitioner.

While the NLEC-PH has made strides in coordinating with the government (with the Inter-Agency Task Force, in particular) in seeking support for the industry, thousands are still unemployed and companies are still struggling. Millions of our counterparts across the globe in the live events industry are still seeking aid, unemployment benefits and government assistance.

In the past couple of weeks, there have been campaigns across Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the United Kingdom in support of the Live Events Industry where many event venues, outdoor spaces, theaters, arenas, iconic buildings and landmarks were lit red to shine a light

on the crisis during the pandemic. Movement in the United States also lighted red hundreds of buildings on the first day of September, to call for urgent government assistance.

In order to raise awareness in the Philippines, the NLEC-PH encouraged its fellow technical providers and rental companies to join in the campaign “Light up in Red” on the same date and time in support for all live event stakeholders.

The CCP fully supports these initiatives; and, as convenor of the Association of Philippine Performing Arts Spaces (APPAS), enjoins all its member-art spaces to participate in solidarity with NLEC-PH. Ariel S.R. Yonzon, Associate Artistic Director for Production and Exhibition, CCP, said: “The live events industry sector is a unique conglomeration of talent, skilled labor and service supply chain - many of whom have been direly affected by the pandemic; with mass gatherings embargo and quarantine protocols, in place.

We are all eager to get back to work and do what we love most - to interact and socialize, to present and perform, to fully experience live events with all our senses beyond mere virtual substitutes. With Red Light September 1, let the light shine on our plight."

Experts push for digitalized PhilHealth

E

XPERTS asked the government to digitalize the operations of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

(PhilHealth) to weed out corruption at the country's biggest government owned and controlled corporation.

Anti-corruption advocates discussed the risks and made recommendations to ensure that the massive funds being spent for the people's health insurance will not fall prey to an organized corruption at a recent virtual forum hosted by Stratbase ADR Institute in partnership with Transparency International Philippines and Democracy Watch.

"Now that the value of technology as a productivity tool for communication, collaboration, and efficiency has been proven, our government must now harness digital technologies as a weapon against corruption.

Fast development of our digital infrastructure now becomes a critical element of our recovery strategy," said Dindo Manhit, President of Stratbase ADR Institute.

This position was supported by Prof. Heidi Mendoza of Ateneo School of Government and a former commissioner of the Commission on Audit, giving emphasis on the case of Philhealth.

Mendoza pointed out that when the Commission on Audit was allowed to view the IT system of PhilHealth, they were given the database of claimants from 2011 to 2015.

When they compared the database with the information available in the Philippine Statistics Office, the auditors discovered that a lot of the claimants were already dead, with at least 300 hospitals still claiming reimbursements for patients who are already dead.

The proposed national government budget of P4.506 trillion for 2021 focuses government spending on improving healthcare systems, ensuring food security and increasing investments in public and digital infrastructure, among others.

President Rodrigo Duterte also ordered government agencies to improve connectivity and internet services in the country by removing red tape in the approval of telecommunication projects.

Last month, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Anti-Red Tape Authority, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration issued a joint memorandum circular to remove five prerequisites for the construction of passive telecommunications towers and reduce the timeline of permit issuance from 200 days to only 16 days.

Sen. Sonny Angara on Sunday said there is an urgent need to digitize PhilHealth database and upgrade its information technology (IT) system to reduce fraud and improve efficiency.

Angara, who chairs the Senate committee on finance, called for a strengthening of the anti-fraud mechanisms in PhilHealth to include a special audit on its funds, following the most recent controversy faced by the state health insurer involving its allegedly overpriced IT system and the controversial P27-billion Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM).

“They (PhilHealth) should likewise look into strengthening their manpower complement by hiring more medical reviewers, anti-fraud officers, data scientists, data analytics personnel, and even experts in artificial intelligence and big data,” Angara said.

The senator has been pushing for the digitization of both the government and private sector as part of the national digital transformation program to improve efficiency in the delivery of services and prepare the country for the requirements of a rapidly changing world.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL Embassy-Tokyo boosts accord on economic recovery

Thursday, September 3, 2020

B7

US sends ventilators to DOH; PPEs, hygiene kits to Davao

T

OKYO—Embassies of Asean member-countries in Tokyo and the Asean-Japan Centre organized the online symposium “Beyond Covid-19: Moving into the New Normal” to commemorate the bloc’s 53rd anniversary on August 20.

AMBASSADOR Sung Y. Kim (second from right) led the turnover of the ventilators to Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea (second from left), as Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III (left) and USAID Philippines Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II looked on. US EMBASSY

In his keynote address from the headquarters in Jakarta, Asean Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi expressed confidence in the region’s resilience, noting it will recover from the effects of the pandemic— the same way it overcame previous challenges such as the 1998 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global economic meltdown.

Lim discussed various regional initiatives to strengthen Asean’s capacity to withstand the economic effects of the pandemic, including the establishment of an Asean Co-

vid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) Response Fund and the Hanoi Plan of Action, a comprehensive recovery framework in response to the global health crisis.

A panel of experts led by Dr. Fukunari Kimura of the Keio University Faculty of Economics and Dr. Maria Bautista of the University of the Philippines’s School of Economics outlined various policies and action plans to help ensure the region’s economic recovery. Among these include prioritization of social protection, delivery of essen-

PHL, UK to further biz exchanges

‘Pandemic threatens gains in peacebuilding, vulnerabilities’

T

HE Philippines and the United Kingdom have renewed their commitments to boost trade and investments amid the pandemic, following the second Economic Dialogue held between the two governments.

In a joint statement, both countries commit “to support the global health response and efforts toward an inclusive, green and sustainable economic recovery.”

The economic dialogue with the UK is the Philippines’s first bilateral meet outside Asean since the onset of the current health crisis. Said event will herald the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two in 2021.

“We move a step closer to 75 years of Philippine-UK friendship, and we look forward to an even stronger collaboration between our nations working together to shape the UK’s dynamic partnership with Asean and the wider region,” Ambassador of the UK to the Philippines Daniel Pruce said.

Pruce added that despite the pandemic, the two countries will continue to pursue closer ties for an “inclusive, green, and sustainable economic recovery.”

The commitments will particularly cover sectors of aerospace, electronics, automotive and pharmaceuticals; pursue innovation and industrial collaboration; foster micro-, small- and medium-enterprise development; enable key reforms and deepen program partnerships—including those through the UK Prosperity Fund in areas like health, education, low-carbon energy, infrastructure, finance, business environment, intellectual property and digital economy.

In February 2020, the UK prime minister’s trade envoy to the Philippines Richard Graham visited Manila to reinforce economic ties between the two countries, despite his country’s transition to leave the European Union by end of the year.

Graham, who is also a British Parliament member, said his government will pursue independent trade agreements around the globe, as he sees strong potential for Philippines-UK free-trade agreement in the future. Kris Crismundo/PNA

N

EW YORK—At the United Nations (UN) Security Council High-Level Open Debate on “Pandemics and the Challenges of Sustaining Peace” under the Council Presidency of Indonesia, the Philippines recognized that the health crisis might adversely impact on the gains already achieved in finding just and lasting peace in conflict-affected areas.

“Recognizing the potential impact of the [coronavirus disease 2019] Covid-19 pandemic on the work to achieve peace, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its affiliates from March 19 to April 15—days before the UN secretarygeneral issued his appeal for a global ceasefire on March 23,” Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, the Philippines’s permanent representative to the UN, said on August 12.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who recognized the initiative, conveyed in late March 2020 that “upholding these commitments will be crucial to enabling an effective response to, and recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.” He encouraged “both sides to build on this momentum and translate these expressions of good will into a lasting political solution.”

According to the secretary-general, the ceasefire demonstrated the Philippine government’s commitment to the swift and unimpeded provision of public health assistance, especially the safe movement of health-care workers and stricken communities in dire need of imme-

DEPUTY Chief of Mission Robespierre L. Bolivar (top), Asean Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi (bottom left) and Keio University’s Dr. Fukunari Kimura. TOKYO PE/DFA

tial goods and services, as well as increasing the use of information and communications technology for e-commerce, e-learning, and egovernment.

Philippine Embassy in Tokyo

diate medical care.

“To bridge the gap between today’s crisis and the future we want, we must address the vulnerabilities Covid-19 has exposed,” Manalo added. “The Philippines believes that addressing the challenges of sustaining peace in a Covid-19 context is anchored on sound strategies, with a clear political vision for the UN field missions and integrated into a culture of accountability.”

Toward this end, the ambassador cited a number of measures that governments as well as its domestic and overseas partners can take: “Giving special priority to countries plagued with internal conflict in terms of financial aid, humanitarian assistance, and vaccines against Covid-19 will ensure that the gains of the peace process and peacebuilding shall be sustained.”

He also described in his statement the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on the vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society, the important role of women and youth in peacebuilding, the role of regional and international organizations—particularly the Asean and the UN—in helping conflictridden communities cope with the impacts of Covid-19, and the role of peacekeeping, particularly in the humanitarian response.

“The [UN] should encourage cooperation among its member-states in addressing the fissures that were magnified by Covid-19. These are heavy on development, but have lasting impacts on peace,” Manalo explained. “Channeling resources to health, education, socioeconomic

Deputy Chief of Mission Robespierre L. Bolivar, who also serves as council director for the Philippines at the Asean-Japan Centre, represented the country at the symposium. DFA

development and environmental protection will benefit the quest for peace in the long term must be encouraged.”

The open debate aimed at exchanging views on the impacts of Covid-19 on sustaining peace, and explored ways effective support can be harnessed for countries affected by or emerging from conflicts. Security Council Resolution 2532 adopted on July 1 demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations supporting the UN secretary-general’s appeal for a global ceasefire to combat the pandemic.

Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno L.P. Marsudi, who chaired the meeting, said that sustaining peace “must be a part of our comprehensive response to this pandemic,” and that it “requires synergy between the works of all UN systems” and “smart use of resources.”

Guterres, in turn, emphasized that “the challenges of this pandemic underscore like never before the imperative of coherent, multifaceted and cross-pillar responses along the integrated logic of the Sustainable Development Goals, further emphasizing that “multidimensional, coordinated and conflict-sensitive responses and whole-of-society approaches are crucial.”

“Given the multidimensional risks to sustaining peace, global leadership and cooperation, more than ever, are needed to combat the biggest test that the world has faced since World War II,” Manalo concluded. DFA

CALL ON THE VP

Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines Peter MacArthur recently paid a courtesy visit to Vice President Ma. Leonor G. Robredo. Both had the opportunity to discuss the relations of the Philippines and Canada, as well as the responses of both countries to the pandemic. The Office of the Vice President is hopeful the meeting would lead to further partnerships around shared advocacies of the two countries.

OVP FACEBOOK PAGE

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio, (top-left photo) virtually receives the donated items from Kim (top-right photo, middle). US EMBASSY

T

HE United States has donated 100 new, state-of-the-art ventilators and associated supplies to assist the Philippines’s fight against the pandemic.

The donation delivered on President Donald J. Trump’s offer of the supplies as it supports the Philippines’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The ventilators, produced in the US, include leading-edge and in-demand technologies. According to the embassy, they will be a life-saving resource to patients requiring oxygen support. “[The] ventilators are part of the continued partnership between the American people and our Philippine friends, partners and allies,” Ambassador Sung Y. Kim said. “We will continue to work together to overcome Covid-19.”

In addition to the ventilators, USAID will provide clinical training and technical assistance to support health facilities which will operate the said equipment. In coordination with USAID and the Office of Civil Defense, the Department of Health will facilitate the delivery of the ventilators to hospitals across the country.

This set of donation brings the total US contribution to the Philippines’s Covid-19 response to more than P1 billion, or about $22.6 million, provided through the US State Department, USAID and the US Department of Defense. US assistance bolsters health systems, supports economic recovery and delivers vital humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations.

Through a comprehensive approach that includes both the US public and private sectors, the embassy said its government is providing timely support to provide critical supplies in coordination with its counterpart in the Philippines and other partners.

Davao City vs Covid

MEANWHILE, the US government also provided personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene kits to support Davao City’s efforts in addressing the contagion. Kim symbolically handed over the items to Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio during a

virtual event on August 26.

USAID, together with US company Procter & Gamble, will provide 1,450 hygiene kits for the city, which will then be distributed to facilities caring for vulnerable sectors. The kits each contain face masks, soap, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, toothbrushes and sanitary napkins.

Meanwhile, the PPE donation is part of the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s previously announced almost P15 million worth of PPE and medical supplies to hospitals across the country.

This donation will augment ongoing US government efforts in Davao City in response to Covid-19. USAID assistance enhances laboratory and specimen transport systems, infection prevention and control, risk communication, healthcare waste management, disease surveillance, contact tracing and case management. With local counterparts, the agency is also working to ensure the continued provision of vital tuberculosis, family planning as well as maternal and child-health services.

The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency has supported Davao City’s Bureau of Fire Protection with decontamination training and equipment, as well as boosted biosecurity efforts in both human and animal populations.

“These efforts are the result of a longstanding special partnership between the US and the Philippines,” Kim said. “While the pandemic tests all of us, I know from my four years in the Philippines that the deep bond between our two countries will help us meet this challenge. In fact, I’m confident that we will come through this stronger together.”

The US has provided more than P228 billion, or roughly $4.5 billion, in development assistance to the Philippines over the past 20 years, including more than P29 billion or around $582 million in health assistance.

For decades, the US has been the world’s largest provider of bilateral assistance in health. Since 2009, the said country has provided more than $100 billion in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance worldwide.

UNDP helps BuCor contain Covid-19

T

HE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines, spearheaded by Deputy Resident Representative Enrico Gaveglia, turned over 5,000 washable face masks and 5,000 bar soaps to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to support efforts in preventing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) inside the New Bilibid Prison.

The donation of the personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene supplies was facilitated through UNDP Philippines’s initiatives, which support the reformation work of the BuCor for detainees.

“The reason for UNDP’s reaffirmed commitment to support the rehabilitation and reformation programs of the [BuCor, despite the additional challenges brought

by Covid-19], is because we want to humbly, but firmly, add a voice to our quest to shed light to the rights of detainees,” Gaveglia said. “We believe in the dignity of human beings above all.”

Aside from the donation of the abovementioned supplies, UNDP Philippines also turned over 1,000 comic books featuring the winning works of New Bilibid Prison detainees that were submitted to the comic-making contest hosted by the global organization in December 2019. The contest highlighted illustrated literature as an effective medium for

inmates to convey positive values aligned with the goals of reformation and transformation. The comics emphasized narratives about family, trust and faith in God, service, perseverance and hope, as well as the inmates’ aspirations for a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

In turn, BuCor Deputy Director General for Administration Assistant Secretary Milfredo M. Melegrito expressed his gratitude to UNDP Philippines’s contributions to BuCor: “[We acknowledge their help] because it will definitely help us in addressing and performing our mandate and mantra: ‘Reforming Lives, Community Thrives.’”

UNDP also donated learning equipment such as laptops and projectors to support these educational and reformation programs. Its partnership with the BuCor was supported through the UNDP Funding Windows project “Strengthening National and Local Deradicalization Efforts through Community and Women’s Participation in, and Cooperation with, National Security Institutions and Processes.” The project has worked with the BuCor in strengthening the reformation and reintegration programs for persons deprived of liberty toward their transition to peaceful, productive and resilient lives.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Thursday, September 3, 2020

VINTAGE MURRAY IN FULL DISPLAY

Roglic showcases strength on Tour’s 1st major climb

O

RCIERES-MERLETTE, France—After just four stages at the Tour de France, the balance of power is already clearer: Primoz Roglic and his Jumbo-Visma team are looking like the ones to beat.

Roglic, the Spanish Vuelta champion, used the race’s first summit finish Tuesday in the ski resort of Orcieres-Merlette to erase any lingering doubts surrounding his form.

Following an impressive collective performance from his teammates, the former ski jumper from Slovenia won a sprint to secure his third career stage win at the three-week race. Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe managed to follow the late accelerations and kept the race leader’s yellow jersey after crossing the line in fifth place.

“It was quite a fast day, it was hard but the guys again did a really good job,” Roglic said, thanking his teammates for their support in the final climb. “I was always in a good position and so could do a nice sprint, so I’m very happy.“ Roglic completed the 160.5-kilometer ride in four hours, seven minutes and 47 seconds.

With a strategy used in previous years by defending champion Egan Bernal’s Ineos squad, Roglic’s teammates Wout van Aert and Sepp Kuss set a very fast tempo on the final 7-kilometer climb, preventing any attack from the likes of Alaphilippe, Thibaut Pinot, Nairo Quintana or Bernal.

“The Jumbo-Visma train was really hard to follow,” Alaphilippe said.

Roglic couldn’t drop any of his rivals but used his power to prevail in the sprint launched

by Frenchman Guillaume Martin with 500 meters left. Roglic, who moved third overall thanks to the bonus time awarded to the stage winner, reached a speed of 52 kph (32 mph) as he raised both arms to cross the line.

Tadej Pogacar secured a Slovenian one-two and Martin completed the podium.

Overall, Alaphilippe kept a four-second lead over Adam Yates of Britain, with Roglic three seconds further back.

Roglic’ participation at cycling’s marquee race was in doubt only weeks ago after his withdrawal from the Critérium du Dauphine because of injuries he sustained in a crash.

“I’m coming back,” Roglic said. “We can see that I can race and every day I feel a little better. It’s nice to be able to ride again. I already got proof that I was ready for the start. Now we need to continue the whole team with good job.”

Bernal crossed with the same time as Roglic in the ski resort where Luis Ocana handed fivetime Tour winner Eddy Merckx a resounding defeat back in 1971.

Trailing 17 seconds behind Alaphilippe overall,

Bernal said the longer climbs in the big mountain stages that will come later in the race will be more suited to his pure climber’s style.

“It is not good when another GC [general classification] rider takes some seconds, but you need to be really patient and to know that our aim is to reach the third week without losing too much time, and then try and regain a bit of time on the long climbs,” he said. “For us, it will be all about minimizing the time lost and arriving as fresh as we can for the last week.”

Before the final battle took shape, a group of six riders attacked from the start outside the city of Sisteron. But with Frenchman Alexis Vuillermoz a threat in the overall classification, Alaphilippe’s teammates did not let the breakaway riders build too much of a gap.

The sextet did not collaborate well as German Nils Politt tried to drop his companions twice in downhills. As he tried to bridge the gap, Belgian Tiesj Benoot escaped unscathed from a spectacular crash with 26 kilometers left after he misjudged a curve and went over a guardrail at full speed. His bike was broken in two but he was given a replacement and returned to the race.

The six breakaway riders were all caught by the pack before the final ascent.

Stage 5 will take riders from Gap to Privas on a mainly flat route suited for sprinters. The three-week Tour, which was postponed from its usual July slot due to the coronavirus, ends in Paris on September 20. AP

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

WITH dog in tow, Serena Williams watches her older sister Venus’, which doesn’t work out well. AP

I’ve played since 2019, really.”

And so many of the sport’s biggest names were there to witness it.

They included Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Naomi Osaka, Garbiñe Muguruza and others, some noshing while sitting on the balconies of their personal

N

EW YORK—THIS was the sort of match Andy Murray came back for, the sort of competition and comeback he always lived for, the reason he went through two hip operations and all the hard work that followed.

And it was the type of vintage Murray performance—undaunted by a deficit, adjusting on the fly, muttering all the way— that was too compelling not to watch, so while there are no fans allowed into this US Open because of the pandemic, fellow pros made their way into the stands to see the popular 2012 champion save a match point Tuesday and, eventually, win.

Playing his first Grand Slam match in nearly 20 months, toiling on his metal hip for four hours and 39 minutes in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Murray put together his 10th career comeback from two sets down and beat Yoshihito Nishioka, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-4.

“It was pretty emotional straight after the match finished, when I got back to the locker room—sort of look at my phone, see the messages from family and friends, the team and stuff. They’re the people that have kind of seen me go through everything, been there, seen the tough times,” said Murray, who next plays 15th-seeded Felix AugerAliassime, a 20-year-old from Canada.

“I don’t know how many of us actually believed I’d be back kind of winning matches like that.”

Murray’s big concern after the match was whether he could get permission to use the ice bath in the Ashe locker room (he later said he did).

“They said it’s for emergencies. For me, this is an emergency right now. My body hurts,” said the 33-year-old Murray, who was treated for blisters on his two big toes by a trainer during a medical timeout. “That’s by far the most tennis

“lounges”—Ashe suites that normally bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars during this tournament but were assigned to seeded players because of the ban on spectators.

The Murray match provided the most entertainment in the afternoon of Day 2 at Flushing Meadows, where his lengthy victory was followed in Ashe by a straight-set win for Serena Williams.

“Usually when you’re waiting for a match [and] someone is down two sets, you root for the person that’s ahead so you can get on the court and get off,” said Williams, who defeated Kristie Ahn 7-5, 6-3 for her 102nd match win at the US Open, breaking a tie with Chris Evert for most in the professional era.

“I was rooting for Andy the whole time. I really wanted him to win,” Williams said. “Gosh, when he was down in the third set, I was like, ‘All right!’ I was just rooting for him so hard.”

She then went out and sat in the stands herself to watch her older sister, Venus, take on 20th-seeded Karolina Muchova at night.

Muchova won, 6-3, 7-5, making it the first loss for Venus in the opening round in New York in 22 appearances.

SERENA WINS, VENUS LOSES

MATCH quick work of an opponent for a change,

Serena Williams wrapped up her 102nd career US Open match win to break a tie with Chris Evert for the most in the professional era.

Then Williams headed back out to the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands Tuesday night, her dog in tow.

Williams had a match to watch—her older sister’s, which did not work out as well.

Serena Williams, who turns 39 this month, defeated Kristie Ahn, 7-5, 6-3. But Venus Williams, who is 40, lost in the US Open’s first round for the first time in 22 appearances, beaten 6-3, 7-5 by No. 20 Karolina Muchova.

It is the fourth time in the past five Grand Slam tournaments that Venus exited in her opening match.

“I just ran out of time today,” Venus said.

Venus, who won two of her seven major singles championships in New York, was trying to become only the third woman in her 40s to win a US Open singles match.

“We would have never thought we would still be out here, to be honest,” Serena said.

“I love my job. At the end of the day, I love what I do. I’ve always said, ‘You can’t do it forever,’” she said after delivering 13 aces and dropping only six points on her serve.

“One of these days,” Serena said, “it’s going to end.”

She has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the professional era, which began in 1968; only Margaret Court collected more, with 24.

Six of Serena’s trophies came at the US Open, and she also was the runner-up four times, including each of the past two years.

Entering Tuesday, Serena had been 3-2 since tennis matches resumed after a hiatus because of the coronavirus

HORSE RACING BACK IN ACTION H

Primoz Roglic and his Jumbo-Visma team are looking like the ones to beat. AP

ORSE RACING makes a much-awaited return after six months of inactivity with regular races set to start on Sunday at the Metro Manila Turf Club Inc. in Malvar, Batangas.

The Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) got the go signal to resume action from Kenneth Ronquillo, head of Secretariat of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The IATF agreed to resume horseracing activities after the modified enhanced community quarantine was relaxed in favor of a modified community quarantine in the National Capital Region, Batangas and Cavite.

Also approved by the IATF are Telebet and Off-Site Betting in areas under general community quarantine.

The Philracom said in a statement that all public health standards approved by the Department of Health should be strictly observed in all races, including those scheduled at the San Lazaro Leisure Park of the Manila Jockey Club in Carmona and the Saddle and Clubs Leisure Park of the Philippine Racing Club in Naic. Both are located in Cavite.

Only club employees and race participants— Philracom personnel, horse owners, jockeys, trainers and special guests— would be allowed at the venues. Fans are barred at the races.

Jockeys would also wear special face masks and eye gears, while trainers and other personnel at the stables would be wearing

hazmat suits and other protective equipment.

“We will be strict in our enforcement of the health protocols set by the DOH, such as social distancing, the wearing of face masks and shields, and the washing of hands,” the Philracom statement added. “We owe it to the sport to keep everyone involved as safe as possible. We want horse racing to be back on its feet so that we can continue helping our government raise funds for its various programs.”

Horse racing in the Philippines is a billion-peso industry. In the last decade, the industry contributed more than P1.3 billion annually to the national coffers. Figures from 2019 were pegged at P1,352,930,422.

Stakes races will actually begin on September 13 with the rescheduled 3YO Maiden Stakes Race and Road To Triple Crown (originally set last March 15, 2020), sparking a 15-week stretch, divided equally by the three clubs hosting five racing days each.

A total prize money of P34.5 million will be allotted by the Philracom for the rest of the year’s stakes races, with the scheduled racing days at the SLLP, Saddle and Clubs and Metroturf getting P11.5 million each.

The biggest stakes races are the Triple Crown Series (October 4 and 31 and November 29), Ambassador Eduardo “Danding” M. Cojuangco Jr. Cup (November 15) and the Juvenile Championship (December 13). AP

Nuggets edge Jazz to complete comeback from 3-1 down

L

AKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—Nikola Jokic made the tiebreaking basket with 27 seconds left and the Denver Nuggets advanced to the second round of the playoffs by the slimmest of margins, beating the Utah Jazz, 80-78, in Game 7 on Tuesday night when Mike Conley’s 3-pointer spun out at the buzzer.

The Nuggets became the 12th team in National Basketball Association (NBA) history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series, but only after they blew a 19-point lead in this game.

After Jokic’s basket, the Jazz got the ball to Donovan Mitchell following a timeout. The Nuggets stole it from him and raced down for a fast break, but Torrey Craig missed the layup. Utah rebounded and pushed the ball up the floor to

Conley, whose jumper looked good all the way until it fell out.

Jokic had 30 points and 14 rebounds and Jamal Murray scored 17 points. No. 3 seed Denver advanced to face the second-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points and Rudy Gobert finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds after a huge second half for the Jazz.

A series that featured historic offensive fireworks between Murray and Mitchell turned into an oldfashioned Game 7 defensive struggle. Murray shot only 7 for 21, far off his performances of the past three games.

So the Nuggets turned more to Jokic, their All-Star center who tossed in a short hook shot in the lane after

the Jazz had tied it at 78.

Murray and Mitchell became the first pair of players to have two 50-point games in the same series, but the men in the middle were the biggest factors in this one.

After a quiet first half in which Mitchell was all the Jazz had going, Gobert began dominating the paint, keeping possessions alive on offense and stopping Denver drives on defense.

But the Nuggets prevailed in their third Game 7 in the last two years, having defeated San Antonio in the first round last year before getting knocked out by Portland.

They played three more do-or-die games in the bubble to extend their stay.

Marcus Smart, meanwhile, scattered 34 points as the

Boston Celtics put the reigning champion Toronto Raptors in serious trouble with a 102-99 victory also on Monday night, taking a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup.

Smart made five 3-pointers in a three-minute span, turning the last of those into a four-point play as the Celtics erased what had been a 12-point deficit late in the third. Kemba Walker scored 11 of Boston’s final 16 points from there, the last of them a stepback jumper in the final minute, and the Celtics added to a season of mastery over Toronto.

Not only do they lead the series 2-0, but they’re 3-0 against the Raptors in the NBA’s restart bubble and 5-1 against them this season.

“One game at a time,” Tatum said. “This series is far from over. You’ve got to win four.”

Smart scored 19 points, Walker had 17 and Jaylen Brown scored 16 for the Celtics. AP

pandemic—and all five went three sets.

So Tuesday’s match was a welcome change.

“It’s been years—since the ’90s—since I won a match in straight sets,” Serena joked.

“I’ve been playing a ton of tight matches,” she said. “I felt like, all right, I just wanted to be ‘Serena-focused’ from the first point to the last point, no matter what happens.”

Her career mark at the hard-court event is 102-13, a winning percentage of .887.

“In a weird way, I feel like every time I come here, I’m being told I broke another record,” Serena said.

“It’s cool. I don’t think I appreciate it enough, which is unfortunate,” she said. “But I’m in the middle of a Grand Slam, so it’s not the time to be focused for me on records when I’m thinking about winning a tournament.” AP

MANY of tennis’ biggest names are there to witness Andy Murray pull off a thriller. AP

What’s keeping body from divulging UST’s inquiry on ‘bubble?’

T

HE multiagency body looking into the alleged training “bubble”the University of Santo Tomas (UST) men’s basketball team conducted in Sorsogon City remain tight-lipped despite the embattled school proving true to its word to present its findings on the controversy.

Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Abraham Mitra said it could be “unfair” to come up with a quick judgment saying the body only received a copy of the UST report on Tuesday.

UST’s lawyer Atty. Alfonso Verzosa and legal coordinator Atty.

Elgin Perez presented the results of the school’s probe but declined to give media a copy or hint on the report’s conclusion.

In the middle of the controversy is UST Head Coach Aldin Ayo, who allegedly ordered for the “bubble” at a gym called “Ayo Basketball Camp” in his native Capuy in Sorsogon City. They reportedly returned to Manila late last month after spending three months in the “bubble.”

Sorsogon City officials earlier denied knowledge of the “bubble.”

Besides the GAB, the body is also composed of Philippine Sports Commission Chief of Staff Marc Velasco, Rodley Carza of the Department of Health, Committee on Higher Eduation Chairman Prospero de Vera III and Executive Director Atty. Cindy Jaro and University Athletic Association of the Philippines Executive Director Atty. Rebo Saguisag and Season 83 President Emmanuel Calanog of De La Salle.

The body met online late Tuesday and also tackled a similar case involving National University, whose Athletic Director Rustico “Otie” Camangian explained the reported workouts by the school’s women’s volleyball squad at their Sampaloc and Laguna campuses.

Saguisag didn’t expound on the issues but bared an official statement from the UAAP. “The UAAP acknowledges the efforts of UST and NU in participating at the meeting requested by PSC, GAB and DOH concerning compliance with government-issued guidelines and protocols on the conduct of school and athletic activities during the community quarantine,” the UAAP said in a statement.

“A copy of the report from UST concerning its basketball team was submitted to the concerned government agencies. UST also reported that UAAP was likewise given a copy. NU answered queries on the incident regarding its volleyball teams and will likewise provide a report to the UAAP,” the statement added.