BusinessMirror September 17, 2020

₧3-T borrowing plan cut? ‘Let’s see’ T

HE government may opt to borrow less than the P3-trillion program it set this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic should the collection of state revenues continue to improve for the rest of the year, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

This, after the government’s two main revenue-collection agencies—Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC)—surpassed by 7.17 percent the P1.527-trillion adjusted combined target set by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

However, Dominguez was quick to point out that combined revenues collected by BIR and BOC are still down 12 percent year-on-year as businesses were affected by the pandemic. For January to August, the government collected P1.637 trillion, lower than P1.864 trillion in the same period last year.

“We are still short than what we would like ideally, but then again, revenue agencies have

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

shown that they are still very active and that they are taking their job very seriously and have, in fact, exceeded the revised targets. But again I want to emphasize we are still about 12 percent below last year, so our borrowing program will be informed by these new developments and if these new developments are of course positive and we may not need to borrow as much as we did; but again, we are waiting to see how the rest of the year goes by,” Dominguez told Finance reporters in a news conference on Tuesday following the signing of the ¥50-billion loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency for the second phase of the Post-Disaster Standby Loan (PDSL).

Because revenues are down due to the pandemic, the government needed to borrow more to finance its spending requirements and cover its budget deficit.

From an initial P1.4-trillion borrowing program, the government ramped up its borrowing program to P3 trillion this year and another P3 tril-

lion next year. The bulk of the borrowings will be sourced locally.

As of end-July this year, government’s gross borrowings have already doubled to P1.86 trillion from only P839.75 billion in the same period in 2019.

The Department of Finance has so far secured over $9.4 billion or roughly P455 billion in loans and grants from foreign lenders to beef up the government’s war chest against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The DBCC also expects the country’s debt-toGDP 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 DBCC projects 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.

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

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ARRIVALS DOWN 76%, BUT TRAVEL FAIR NETS BUYERS I www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Thursday, September 17, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 343

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

WB FLAGS BAD PHL SERVICES FOR KIDS’ EDUCATION, HEALTH

Special to the BusinessMirror

NTERNATIONAL tourist arrivals fell by a whopping 76.3 percent to some 1.32 million in January to August this year, as travel restrictions in the Philippines and around the world continued to prevent the movement of travelers.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT), a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, similarly showed inbound visitor receipts slumping by 75.2 percent to P81.05 billion. The arrivals were computed based on reports by the Bureau of Immigration, according to the DOT. The visitor receipts for 2019 were based on DOT’s Visitor Sample Survey, and were used to provisionally compute this year’s figures.

Despite these dire numbers, interest in the Philippines as a tourism destination appears to have been sustained, as 124 buyers from around the world are joining this year’s Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex 2020), the largest government-organized travel trade event in the country.

Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Chief Operating Officer Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones said in a virtual presser on Wednesday, “Many of the buyers, surprisingly, are from opportunity markets” and nontraditional markets such as Brazil, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic, Israel, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Turkey, among others.

The largest group of buyers, as per her presentation, are from key markets such as Indonesia (13), China (9), South Korea (9), Russia (9), the United States (9), and the United Kingdom (8).

Phitex, to be held from September 22 to 24, will be conducted on a hybrid mode, with most international buyers attending virtually and sellers presenting their proposed tours and packages in online meetings from Panglao, Bohol, the host of this year’s event. There are 161 confirmed sellers from Albay, Baguio, Batanes, Batangas, Bohol, Boracay, Cagayan de Oro, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Clark, Cebu, Davao, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, La Union, Laguna, Manila, Masbate, Palawan, Tagaytay, Rizal, Samar, Sorsogon, Zambales and Zamboanga, the bulk of which are hotels and resorts (92) and tour operators (63).

See “Travel,” A2

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

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

HE poor quality of education and health services received by Filipino children today will prevent them from achieving their full potential as adults, according to a report released by the World Bank.

In the Human Capital Index (HCI), the World Bank said the Philippines’s HCI score was only 0.52, lower than its HCI score of 0.55 in 2018. This means that children born in the country today will still fail to achieve almost half their potential.

The HCI ranges from 0 to 1. An economy where a child born today can expect to achieve complete education and full health will score a value of 1 on the index.

In its report, the World Bank said with some alarm that the Covid-19 pandemic is already threatening whatever gains were achieved by countries, including the Philippines.

Of the Philippine case, the report stated: “The importance that governments in the 1970s accorded to mass education in the country jumpstarted an expansion in school enrollment, with primary gross enrollment rates at about 100 percent and rates nearing 90 percent at the secondary level in 2017.”

The report added: “However, while access has increased, quality remains an issue, with 15-yearold Philippine students scoring lower than students in nearly all other participating countries in the latest round of PISA [Program for International Student Assessment] in 2018.”

Data showed that in the PISA 2018 examinations, about four-fifths of Filipino students or 81 percent recorded a below-minimum level in reading proficiency.

A similarly high percentage of students performed below the minimum level of proficiency in mathematics.

Continued on A2

A MAKESHIFT shelter housing a family of three on Delpan Bridge stands in stark contrast to the highrises undergoing construction in the background. Despite the government’s efforts to boost human capital development through programs such as the Conditional Cash Transfer and the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Philippines continues to be a laggard in terms of the World Bank’s Human Capital Index among its Asean neighbors. NONIE REYES

T

HE updating of the regular foreign investment negative list (RFINL) will have to take a backseat given government efforts needed to recover from the pandemic, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon said that Neda and other key government agencies are currently busy working on ReCharge PH, the government’s efforts to recover from the pandemic.

Edillon said, however, that the

Neda will start reviewing the existing RFINL which was released in 2018 and saw the opening of several professions to foreign nationals.

“The last RFINL was issued in 2018.

We would have worked on the new one, but we were overtaken by events,” Edillon told the BusinessMirror. “We’ll work on it next year. Hopefully, we will already be able to incorporate proposed amendments to FIA [Foreign Investments Act], PSA [Public Service Act] and RTLA [Rice Trade Liberation Act].”

The RFINL consists of a list of areas

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.4280

or sectors and professions where foreign investment is not allowed or limited in the country.

It consists of two categories and the first is List A, or areas of investment where foreign ownership is not allowed or limited by mandate of the Constitution and specific laws.

List B, meanwhile, cites areas where foreign ownership is limited due to national security, health, morals, and as protection for small and medium enterprises.

Edillon said that with the postponement of the RFINL updating moved to

next year, the existing RFINL will continue to be in effect.

She said the President does not need to issue a new Executive Order to extend the validity of the existing RFINL. The President signed Executive Order 65 on October 29, 2018, which promulgated the 11th RFINL.

Under RA 7042 or the Foreign Investment Act of 1991, Neda has “the right and sole responsibility to determine whether to recommend to the President to promulgate the area of investment” in the RFINL.

See “RFINL,” A2

ROY DOMINGO

Pandemic focus delays RFINL updating

THE BROADER LOOK » A4-A5

PRIVATE SECTOR’S JOURNEY AMID PANDEMIC MARKED BY FORTITUDE, INNOVATIONS

n JAPAN 0.4595 n UK 62.4334 n HK 6.2488 n CHINA 7.1409 n SINGAPORE 35.5905 n AUSTRALIA 35.3428 n EU 57.3823 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9111

Source: BSP (September 16, 2020)

A2 Thursday, September 17, 2020

News BusinessMirror

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Medical worker deployment ban to stay as pandemic lasts T

By Samuel P. Medenilla

HE temporary deployment ban of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for medical workers will likely stay until the end of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

In an online press briefing on Wednesday, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello

III said he will not recommend to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infec-

tious Diseases (IATF) the total lifting of the deployment restriction.

“God forbid, if the level of contamination and transmission will increase here. What will happen to us if all the good nurses are already abroad,” Bello said.

The head of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said he did recommend to the IATF, though, the extension of the exemption period for temporary deployment ban from March 8, 2020, to August 31, 2020. This means professionals whose papers were already perfected as of end-August are exempted from the ban and may fly out to fulfill their overseas contracts.

BELLO: “God forbid, if the level of contamination and transmission will increase here. What will happen to us if all the good nurses are already abroad.” AP

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said the IATF already submitted its recommendation on the matter to President Duterte, who will decide to approve or not the said policy.

The President has yet to act on the said IATF recommendation as of press time.

If approved by Duterte, Bello said the extension will allow the deployment of only around 1,200 medical workers abroad.

He noted this is acceptable since the country will still have thousands of other medical workers staying in the country.

In April, POEA issued Governing Board Resolution (GBR) 9, Series of 2020, which temporarily banned the deployment of professionals in 14 medical categories to ensure the country will have enough medical workers to help in the local efforts against Covid-19.

WB flags bad PHL services for kids’ education, health Continued from A1

The World Bank said that while several administrations have implemented programs that build the human capital of the population, these did not succeed.

Financing gap

ONE reason cited was inadequate

financing for these programs to ensure effective implementation.

The World Bank estimated that the Philippines spends 4.4 percent of its GDP on its health programs and 3.5 percent on education programs.

These are lower than the average of 6.5 percent for health and 4.5 percent for education programs

in countries at the same income level as the Philippines.

This has led to understaffed and overcrowded clinics and schools; underpaid medical and educational personnel; inadequate infrastructure; and lack of technical facilities in local education and health facilities.

The World Bank noted that the

lack of funds also failed to improve governance in the education and health sectors.

“Widespread fraud in the distribution of textbooks, theft of funds or supplies, and ghost workers [workers who are paid but do not carry out their jobs] in municipal health facilities are all reflected in the country’s outcomes,” the report stated.

The World Bank said the Philippines, with a population of 104.9 million, is the eighth most populous country in Asia and the most populous country included in its analysis. The country has a per capita GDP at 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of $8,123.

PPPs are used to convert and compare the size and price levels of economies around the world. PPPs make it possible to compare GDPs of economies in real terms by removing the price level differences between them.

The World Bank said efforts to boost human capital development in the country continue through programs such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program or the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The 4Ps provide cash to chronically poor households with children aged between 0 and 14 years old who live in poor areas.

The cash transfers are extended to ensure that beneficiary households send their children to health centers and schools. The CCTs also ensure that pregnant women go on prenatal checkups.

“Impact evaluation studies show that the program is resulting in improved education and health outcomes among beneficiaries, including enhanced food security, community participation, and women’s empowerment,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, compared to its Asean-5 peers, the Philippines is the laggard in terms of HCI. Singapore is the leader in the regional bloc with an HCI of 0.88 and a far second is Vietnam with an HCI score of 0.69.

These countries are followed

by Malaysia and Thailand, which both registered an HCI score of 0.61, and Indonesia, which has an HCI score of 0.54.

Pandemic’s toll

“THE pandemic puts at risk the decade’s progress in building human capital, including the improvements in health, survival rates, school enrollment and reduced stunting. The economic impact of the pandemic has been particularly deep for women and for the most disadvantaged families, leaving many vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

“Protecting and investing in people is vital as countries work to lay the

‘P

rotecting and investing in people is vital as countries work to lay the foundation for sustainable, inclusive recoveries and future growth.”

—World Bank foundation for sustainable, inclusive recoveries and future growth.”

Due to the pandemic’s impact, the World Bank said over 1 billion have been out of school and could lose out, on average, half a year of schooling, adjusted for learning, translating into considerable monetary losses.

The Washington-based lender also noted disruptions to essential health services for women and children, with many children missing out on crucial vaccinations.

The 2020 Human Capital Index also includes health and education data for 174 countries—covering 98 percent of the world’s population—up to March 2020, providing a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children.

The analysis showed that prepandemic, most countries had made steady progress in building human capital of children, with the biggest strides made in low- income countries.

However, even before the effects of the pandemic, a child born in a typical country could expect to achieve just 56 percent of their potential human capital, relative to a benchmark of complete education and full health.

“Today, hard-won human capital gains in many countries are at risk. But countries can do more than just work to recover the lost progress. To protect and extend earlier human capital gains, countries need to expand health service coverage and quality among marginalized communities, boost learning outcomes together with school enrollments, and support vulnerable families with social protection measures adapted to the scale of the Covid-19 crisis,” the World Bank said in a statement.

The Bank said there is a need to put in place ambitious, evidencedriven policy measures in health, education and social protection to recover lost ground.

This will also pave the way for today’s children to surpass the human capital achievements and quality of life of the generations that preceded them.

The World Bank said fully realizing the creative promise embodied in each child has never been more important.

RFINL… Continued from A1

“Section 9 of Republic Act 7042 states that amendments to the list cannot be made more often than once every two years,” Edillon said.

“We are focused on ReCharge PH [NEDA and the other government agencies]. Even then, we are still committed to the reform agenda on expanding more economic opportunities,” she added.

The 11th RFINL reflected amendments in existing laws such as reciprocity provisions in certain laws on professions, such as pharmacy and forestry, limitations on foreign participation in investment areas/activities provided in new laws (e.g., RA 10635 for marine deck/engine officers), and exclusions from limitations on foreign participation in some investment areas/activities identified that do not need legislative action.

The current negative list liberalized foreign participation in Internet businesses, which have been excluded from mass media; teaching at higher education levels, provided the subject being taught is not a professional subject (i.e., included in a government board or bar examination); and training centers that are engaged in short-term high-level skills development that do not form part of the formal education system.

The existing negative list also liberalized foreign investment in adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies and investment houses and wellness centers, which has been excluded in item 4 of List B.

EO 65 allows up to 40 percent foreign participation in contracts for the construction and repair of locally funded public works, subject to applicable regulatory frameworks, and private radio communications network. The 10th RFINL allowed only up to 25 percent and 20 percent foreign participation, respectively, in these areas. Cai U. Ordinario

Travel…

Continued from A1

At the same presser, Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap likened Phitex to a test case for the province, in preparation for his “bubble within a bubble” travel program, where Panglao will reopen to tourists from the rest of the Bohol first, before the rest of the Philippines. He added, a study showed Panglao’s carrying capacity is “3,000 people every day.”

At present, the new Panglao International Airport is open only to sweeper flights bringing in residents that had been stranded elsewhere in the Philippines. “But we don’t see any reason to open and ask for commercial flights at this point,” he stressed, as the province prepares for reopening by first certifying tourism establishments under his government’s Unique Bohol Experience (Ube) program, and still tightening its health and safety protocols for visitors. In fact, those physically attending Phitex in Panglao will have to undergo quarantine first and take an RT-PCR Covid test, such that most will be staying 10 days, even if Phitex is just for three days.

“We want to make sure that our tourists visit those areas that are safe, and our local constituents would also be seen as having cared for the visitors,” he added. “It’s easy to ramp up [tourist] numbers and to do projections when we have the safety paradigm all locked up and it’s already working, and all the procedures are in place, and we have shown that we can handle the visitors.”

Earlier, Yap had also expressed interest in partnering with other countries with little or no Covid-19 cases for an exclusive travel corridor.

(See, “Bohol eyes tourists by 4Q 2020,” in the BusinessMirror, July 31, 2020.)

According to Allones, “The provincial government of Bohol arranged the flight for those physically attending Phitex.”

Other than meetings between buyers and sellers via Travel Exchange, Phitex also features webinars, interviews, roundtable discussions, with tours among sellers held post-event. Qualified buyers, according to TPB, will be able to tour Panglao by the first quarter of 2021.

(See, “Long Road Back,” in the BusinessMirror, August 30, 2020.)

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AFP top brass assures support to VP’s projects in camp meeting

V

ICE President Leni Robredo visited Camp Aguinaldo on Monday and met with top military officials, including Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, who assured the military’s continuing support to her humanitarian programs.

The Vice President was personally received by Gapay in a customary arrival honors before both proceeded to the Office of the Chief of Staff for a meeting, which was joined by Robredo’s staff and the AFP Joint Staff.

During the meeting, Robredo expressed her gratitude to the military for its support to the many projects spearheaded by the Office of the Vice President.

The projects include the Oasis wherein military engineers are assisting in the construction of temporary shelters to provide comfortable sleeping accommodations to medical workers involved in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Vice President also commended the AFP in its efforts to fight the pandemic and noted how the organization has cared for its personnel, which allowed it to continue in supporting government efforts.

The AFP is also supportive of the Office of the Vice President’s livelihood programs for less fortunate youths in far-flung areas and barangays.

During the meeting, Robredo also emphasized the importance of good governance and education for the youth for them to have a better future and for the “deradicalization” of youths, especially in Mindanao.

The Vice President also noted the efforts of the AFP in protecting and preserving the country’s maritime interests in the West Philippine Sea. “The AFP is honored to have Vice President Leni Robredo who took time out of her busy schedule to visit the military’s general headquarters and convey her message of support to our entire endeavor,” Gapay said of the meeting.

“As the mandated protectors of the people and state, the AFP will continue to support the Office of the Vice President, as well as all humanitarian assistance programs anchored on maintaining peace and development in the country,” he added. Rene Acosta

PAF chopper crashes amid heavy rains in Basilan

A

PHILIPPINE Air Force (PA F) helicopter w ith four military personnel onboard crashed on Wednesday afternoon in Basilan, an initial report from the regional police of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR) said.

The sketchy flash report sent to Camp Crame said the chopper bearing Airman 2nd Class Benedicto Leal Jr. and three others went down at around 1:10 p.m. at Upper Manggas, Lantawan, Basilan.

The crash site, the report said, was a rubber plantation owned by Lantawan Vice Mayor Nasser Abubakar.

“Initial investigation disclosed that the Air Force helicopter believed to be flying from Zamboanga City to an unknown direction. Upon reaching Upper Manggas, the aircraft fell down and exploded,” the Police Regional Office report said. Heavy rain was reported during the crash.

Basilan police led by provincial director Col. Rodrigo Maramo were in the area doing further investigation. Rene Acosta

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, September 17, 2020 A3

After DITO telco deal, military vows to repel China spy missions in camps

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

T

HE military has stopped short of admitting on Wednesday that the country and its security apparatus may not be totally immune to Chinese espionage activities with the recent “co-location” of DITO Telecommunity Corp.’s cell sites inside military camps.

However, Armed Forces spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo assured that the military will take “extreme efforts” in order to ensure that the towers of the 40 percent Chinese-owned DITO inside camps will not be used for spying for the Chinese communist government.

“Walang 100 percent na makapagsasabing hindi tayo mapapasok pero ang sinisiguro natin [Nobody could say 100 percent that we will not be penetrated, but what we can guarantee], we will be on our toes,” Arevalo said at a virtual news briefing.

Hinting treason on the part of defense and military officials, Sen. Risa Hontiveros moved for a Senate investigation into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)-DITO deal, which Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had recently admitted that he had already signed.

The memorandum of agreement between the two parties covering the co-location of DITO’s cell sites and towers inside military camps was put

forward last year but Lorenzana then did not sign it following opposition raised by legislators.

“Nagpapasakop ba tayo [Are we allowing ourselves to be occupied]?”

Hontiveros asked, adding that the presence of a Chinese-owned telco inside military camps is very doubtful in light of she described as China’s “aggressive” claim to some parts of the West Philippine Sea. Hontiveros, quoting Article 7 of the Chinese National Intelligence Law, said Chinese corporations are obliged to support intelligence-gathering efforts. “Any organization or citizen shall support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work in accordance with the law.”

“There is also the Chinese Counter-Espionage Law that Chinese corporations cannot refuse to assist their government in this regard. This is already a warning signal, and yet the AFP seems to have forgotten the warning its mother department itself raised last year,” she added.

Without addressing the issues raised by Hontiveros, Arevalo said that if there are people who takes the issue of security with serious and utmost concern, it is the soldiers.

“If there are any groups, persons or entities who would want to protect our national security, it would be us. That big responsibility is upon our shoulders. We will not let it be compromised to the best of our abilities,” he said.

Arevalo said there would be “stringent requirements and security measures that would be observed” before DITO would be allowed to put up towers inside camps.

“All access or those who would enter areas or camps where there will be co-locations will have stringent security measures that will be implemented. There is a need to submit the full list of people and equipment that will enter [the camp] prior to the date… of access,” Arevalo said.

He said the military can also conduct unannounced physical and cyber-security inspection on any facilities of DITO inside camps.

“We are allowed to have a full access and visibility,” Arevalo said.

DTI to boost trade activities with EFTA, particularly Switzerland

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

T

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is leading a market study to improve the country’s trade activities with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), particularly Switzerland.

In a news statement released on Tuesday, the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) announced it has inked a tripartite memorandum with the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO) and the Embassy of Switzerland. The memorandum

binds the agencies to undertake a market study on three key export products of the Philippines: processed food, natural ingredients and natural fiber and textile.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year and it will be implemented by the DTI along with the embassy and Swisscontact, a nongovernment organization advocating for inclusive economic, social and ecological development.

According to EMB Director Senen M. Perlada, the market study aims to find out about EFTA markets’ trade regulation, market access require-

ments and market demand. It should also determine the unique selling position of Philippine products and acquire information on potential importers.

“The results of this study will guide our exporters, especially the MSMEs in the sectors of processed food, natural ingredients, and natural fibers, on how to effectively promote their products in these markets, thus, enabling them to maximize the benefits of our bilateral free trade agreement with EFTA,” Perlada explained.

The project was also made to show the economic cooperation between the Philippines and Switzerland,

which has been intensified over the years. Since 2018, the EFTA-Philippines Free Trade Agreement provides preferential treatment for trade in goods and services.

EFTA is made up of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland and was established during the Stockholm Convention in 1960.

EFTA nations make for a strong market for exporters with their population of 14.26 million people and a GDP estimated at $1 trillion.

Switzerland, for its part, has a GDP valued at $679 billion, the largest among EFTA economies. EFTA is

Lawmaker asks DOJ, BI to issue HDO vs PhilHealth execs named in graft suit

A

DEPUTY majority leader of the House of Representatives on Wednesday asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to immediately place embattled officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) under watchlists and hold departure orders (HDO) and Interpol red notices.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who personally attended the budget briefing of his agency, quickly insisted that he did not violate any law and performed to the best of his abilities in addressing allegations of corruption in PhilHealth.

Duque was not included in the filing of charges recommended by the President, notwithstanding a Senate committee of the whole report recommending charges against the health chief who is an exofficio chairman of PhilHealth.

Moreover, Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera said the processes leading to immigration watchlists, HDOs and Interpol Red Notices should be set in motion so that when time comes for those formalities to be done, actions will be swift.

The lawmaker also asked authorities to secure files and computers of PhilHealth, which may be used as evidence.

“As Congress conducts its hearings, I appeal to the DOJ and the NBI to imme-

diately cause the issuance of the needed legal authorization to secure the files and computers of PhilHealth to make sure evidence and witnesses do not suddenly vanish without any trace and so conveniently for the plunderers,” she added.

President Duterte said at least six former and current officials of the state health insurance agency will face charges for their involvement in the alleged anomalies.

For his part, Duque said, “Yes, I am ex-officio chair of PhilHealth but as mandated by the Universal Health Care law, I do not have voting rights and the Senate President should know that having passed that landmark law himself.

Second, the Board is a collegial body, the chair does not control the Board so to say I abandoned my duties and was negligent are malicious.”

“I did not abandon nor was I negligent,” argued Duque. “I do not understand why the Senate President keeps harping on me when I have not committed any crime, or violation of any law.

That has been borne out in the Senate records courtesy of the Blue Ribbon Committee of Chairman [Richard] Gordon and even his bosom friend, Sen. Ping Lacson, who affirmed the same finding in the Senate President’s committee of the whole. Lacson even said in his recent press statement, ‘there may not be

enough evidence to recommend criminal charges against Duque.”

Duque is also heads the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which is composed of 27 government agencies that was convened last January 28 and currently made up of 34 government agencies.

“There is a public health emergency and my priority was to deal with the pandemic. Is the Senate President saying that I should have focused more in PhilHealth than build capacities, review the public health supply chain and logistics, put together policies and protocols, implement the National Action Plan, set up a data hub and the like? Am I being accused by the Senate President of focusing more on the pandemic? Is that wrong? Is saving lives not the priority, Mr. Senate President?” Duque asked.

The Task Force PhilHealth, headed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted their findings to the President last September 14, 2020.

The 177-page report contained testimony of 14 witnesses; reports and summaries of various cases whether under investigation or for resolution; documents submitted by resource persons and; reports and recommendations by other bodies including the Senate of the Philippines. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

DPWH seeks budget for CDO road project

T

HE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is seeking budget from lawmakers for the extension of a road in Cagayan de Oro (CDO), saying the proposed project would help promote trade and improve mobility in the province.

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said his group is proposing the inclusion of the CDO Coastal Road Phase 2 in its budget next year.

“To further ease mobility in the city, we hope to extend additional 9.30 kilometers [km] of road, which will be under Phase 2 of the project starting next year,” he said.

CDO Coastal Road Phase 2 will extend the existing road from Barangay Puerto

in Opol, Misamis Oriental to Barangay Gusa, CDO City.

It will cut travel time to and from Barangay Puerto and Barangay Igpit from the usual one hour and 30 minutes via Butuan City-CDO City-Iligan City Road (BCIR), to only 25 minutes via CDO Coastal Road Extension.

Villar said should Congress decide to include it in the budget for next year, “the project will be completed in the year 2024.”

“We also would like to include street lights, sidewalk, bike lane, trees and other public space component to further improve aesthetic of this road,” added Villar.

Currently, the DPWH is working on

the remaining civil works of 17.97-kilometer Cagayan de Oro Coastal Road Phase 1 Project at Barangay Puntod section. It includes the construction of a rotunda that will connect CDO’s 3rd Bridge to the remaining section of the project in the vicinity of the Philippine Ports Authority.

Villar noted that despite ongoing project status, its Gusa-Igpit section was opened to traffic in November 2017, traversing the local roads in Agora section to serve its purpose in catering passenger buses, cargo trucks and other heavy-loaded equipment, thus, helping reduce traffic congestion in the city proper.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

the ninth-largest trader in the world in merchandise trade and the fifth largest in trade in services.

Last year Philippine exports to EFTA reached $433.81 million, while imports hit $384.19 million. Two way trade with EFTA was valued at $817.99 million, while the balance of trade was pegged at $49.62 million.

Switzerland was the largest export market of the Philippines among the EFTA nations with a total value of $417 million, while imports were valued at $351.79 million. Philippine trade with Switzerland last year was recorded at $817.99 million.

TheBroa

Business

A4 Thursday, September 17, 2020 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

Private sector’s journey amid pandem

By VG Cabuag @villygc & Elijah Felice Rosales @alyasjah,

A

Reporters

T the same time a small store’s window is flung open in Muntinlupa, a woman crosses a narrow overpass in the eastern part of the metropolis; a bicycle in tow.

It’s another day of trudging on against the unknown but with a simple plan: both for Loida, the sari-sari store owner, and Elsa, the 30-year-old woman with the bicycle, it’s simply to earn something to get them through tomorrow. The fortyish Loida de la Cruz (not her real name) said earning something is better than shutting down the store entirely and surrendering whatever hope there is amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown.

These two women symbolize the fortitude and innovations that mark the private sector’s journey since the Duterte administration finally faced up in March to the realization that Covid-19 is a serious threat to public health and thus imposed restrictions. The gears of the economy slowed. A “New Normal” became a concept that must be operationalized immediately.

A nd like the woman on a fo ot br id ge a lon g M a rco s H ig hw ay, bic yc les a re becomi ng a n i nteg ra l pa r t of t h i s operat ion a l i z at ion.

Salary-deductible loan

ACCORDING to Elsa Garcia (not her real name), the bicycle is her only way of going back and forth from her home in Pasig to the office of DM Consunji Inc., the construction firm whose office is located along the stretch of the 117.5-kilometer Marcos Highway.

The series of lockdowns in Metro Manila and nearby areas constricted the movement of people but commuters, essential workers or not, who rely mainly on public transportation, were hit hard.

W hen asked for comment, DMCI, the listed engineering conglomerate led by the Consunji family, confirmed they have a bike-loan program to allow their workers to go to work when public transportation is impossible and remains a health-risk.

DMCI Homes, which also has several condominium developments along Marcos Highway, offered a bike loan program for qualified workers. According to the company, some 322 workers have so far availed themselves of the interest-free, salary deductible bike loan of a maximum amount of P8,000 (about $165.33), which they can pay for six months to seven months or more than P1,000 a month.

The developer said it is targeting some 4,981 of its workers as beneficiaries.

Expensive bikes

A PER SON familiar w ith the DMCI program said in response to BusinessMirror’s query said that DMCI Homes buys the bike and turns it over to qualified and interested workers.

“There’s no immediate cashout for workers,” the person said.

Workers can choose one of three types of bicycles the company offers. If they want more than the loanable amount, they will have to pay for the extra, the person added.

Using bicycles, one of the early technologies perfected by men, has become a great tool for commut-

ers. Before the pandemic struck and the lockdown measures were imposed, it was unthinkable for many to ride bicycles to and from work, the person said.

The relatively cheaper price also pushed many companies like DMCI, whose workers are strong enough to bike to work, to offer such loan assistance. Motorcycles are more expensive in terms of outright purchase and in terms of gasoline and maintenance, the person said when asked why DMCI Homes chose bicycles.

Motor bikes or scooters cost at least P43,000 each, which is five times more expensive than a regular bicycle. But the cost, plus the need to have a license to drive one, turns off many people, especially construction workers, in the case of DMCI, or daily wage workers who are needed on site.

Risk of infection

COMPANIES like D and L Industries Inc. are also finding ways to assist their workers going to the site of this manufacturer of food ingredients, such as the oil and fats used to cook food, sanitation chemicals, bio-diesel, exports specialty plastics and other chemicals.

Most of its factory workers live near the plants; so companies that should be operational, as these workers are vital to public sustenance shouldn’t worry about their workforce, according to D and L CEO Alvin D. Lao. “But those living far away need to sleep at the plants during the ECQ [enhanced community quarantine],” he said.

Living in a dormitory, which in principle should be near the workplace, has now become a critical form of urban affordable accommodation, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study of business school Insead (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires).

Developers also called this type of dwelling as co-living spaces.

“What has become a thriving real estate sector in normal times, co-living has now proven essential in times of crises,” the study said.

“The coronavirus pandemic not only impacts the economy but also affects how corporations operate and people live.”

With many employees unable to go to work or work productively from home, companies are forced to consider all facets of their business operations and craft business continuity plans beyond the corners of the office, according to the study.

“Both employers and employees have increasingly become conscious of the importance around the health and well-being of the workforce; and the coronavirus pandemic has reiterated the responsibility both parties have to ensure they help reduce the risk of community infections,” the study added.

Village store

CONSTRUCTION workers mainly account for the customers of De la Cruz’s store, which opens just before 9 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m.

In the village where her store is, those hours are the right time

to do business.

Construction workers patronize her store to eat canned sardines for lunch, chug energy drink in the afternoon and feast on biscuits for snacks.

However, that was before Covid-19 pandemic struck the Philippines and the government enforced quarantine restrictions.

Nowadays, De la Cruz opens her sari-sari store at 10 in the morning and closes it at 6 p.m. The construction workers who used to sit on benches or loiter in front of her store have all travelled home to their respective provinces.

De la Cruz expected her customers will be replaced by families ordered to stay at home during the quarantine. She thought the stay at home order would force people to go out less and buy more from their local neighborhood. She was wrong.

“Most of them go to the supermarkets and grocery stores to buy food and essentials,” she told the BusinessMirror. “They buy in bulk as if they are owners of wholesale stores, leaving me with fewer customers.”

Between shutting down the sari-sari store and sustaining it even with fewer customers, De la Cruz said the latter is always the best choice. In the heat of a pandemic, she knows how difficult it is to find an income source.

De La Cruz vowed to ride or die with her business.

Expecting uptick

SUPERMARKETS, for their part, are hanging on a ledge as well.

People may be buying in bulk under the health crisis, but their visits to the malls, grocery stores and brick-and-mortar shops have decreased, thereby negating any gains business owners made from the shift to volume buying.

Steven T. Cua, president of the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Inc., said in an interview that supermarket owners like him are waiting for Christmas to come and, hopefully, “save” their year. Cua said sales have been low the previous months, “ but they could just improve—a bit—during the holidays.”

Cua told the BusinessMirror: “Technically speaking, it looks like we’re headed for bleak Christmas sales. However, knowing the Filipinos’ penchant for celebration during this season, sales may not be anywhere near last year’s, but expect an uptick from previous months’ low sales,” If there’s one thing supermarket owners should do to trigger a holiday buying spree, it’s to hand consumers the best value they can get from whatever they have in a time of global crisis, according to Cua. For one, this could mean more items in the usual noche buena basket or this could also mean the presentation of alternative goods in place of the staples, he added.

“Retailers and consumers alike definitely have to be creative,” Cua said. “The latter will have to highlight substitute products for Christmas celebration: canned luncheon meat [versus] ham, cheese food for real cheese, mayo substitute for real mayonnaise.”

Throw anything

GONE are the days when Filipino families would just throw anything into a grocery cart during their holiday shopping.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the jobless rate in July rose to 10 percent, from 5.4 percent during the same period last year. Unemployment rates were at their highest in these growth areas:

As members of a youth group in Star Wars costumes “patrols” a road in the City of Malabon for quarantine violators, April 30, 2020, a woman on her pedicab, food in one hand and supplies in the cab, rides past. AP/Aaron Favila

Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon.

The unemployment rate in the nation’s capital stood at 15.8 percent, and in Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon, it swelled to 12.4 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively. With the jobless rate still in double digits, the prospect for economic growth remains dim for the Philippines, economists argued.

For Cua, the private sector and buying public can only do so much for business to recover. He pointed to the government as the key player in the reactivation of industries.

Holiday spending

FO R i n s t a nc e , he s a id con su mpt ion du r ing t he hol id ays may receive a boost if t he gover nment dec ides to rol l out a f ina l rou nd of its soc i a l a me l iorat ion prog ra m (S A P) for t he most a f fected household s.

“This may be helped if government is able to schedule another round of SAP or a form of soft loan nearing Christmas Day to inject

some life into our consumer-led economy,” Cua said. As optimistic as this proposal may be, however, the Duterte administration has made it clear it is no longer distributing another round of SAP. Duterte himself had repeatedly said he will no longer place Metro Manila under the strictest form of quarantine. His reason for such: the government has no capability to roll out another round of social amelioration. Further, locking down the nation’s capital would compel business establishments to shut down again to the detriment of the economy.

Without consumption boost from the national government, businesses are hoping to find an ally in their respective localities.

Extending help

In the case of Makati City, the Abby Binay-led administration in the country’s business center distributed its own version of SAP to its constituents during the first months of the quarantine.

Makati City Hall last month

announced it is now directing financial help to businesses in the city struggling to survive the ill effects of the lockdown and the pandemic.

The citymayor said she has ordered the release of a total P2.5 billion worth of grants to be allocated to registered businesses in Makati.

“I have endorsed to the city council today an ordinance for the P2.5 billion Makati assistance and support for the business program,” Binay said in a recent virtual briefing.

Under the portfolio, Makatibased enterprises can apply for up to P100,000 in grant from the city government depending on how many employees they sustain. The grant will not be given to the businesses in the form of cash. Instead, it will be paid out to shoulder the salaries of their workers and payment to suppliers.

In exchange, those who will receive assistance from the local government are required to keep their labor force for a period of two

aderLook

sMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace | Thursday, September 17, 2020

A5

mic marked by fortitude, innovations working at least eight hours a day, or 40 hours per week.

Experiments, trials

years. Further, they are mandated to sustain operations for until 2022, and are therefore prohibited to close shop.

Physical office

Filipino ingenuity is evident in this enterprising car owner’s unique way of promoting his wares, sticking boxes of face maks on top of his vehicle as he plies the streets looking for customers. NONIE REYES

BICYCLES may be of great use for many essential workers but not so for many white-collar workers or those working in offices in central business districts in Makati City or Taguig City.

Some big companies like the Aboitiz Group, for instance, are even discouraged from going to their physical office; they have to work somewhere else.

“You have to prove to them that you need to be at the office to even go there,” according to an employee of the Aboitiz group, whose office is located at Bonifacio Global City.

Before, the work-from-home (WFH) concept was avoided by employers and frowned upon by Human Resource departments, since work was then normally defined as physically going to the office,

TODAY, such concept of how one should work has been thrown out the corporate window after the government ordered everyone to stay at home. Serendipitously, the Telecommuting Act was already in place—but not quite taken too seriously in many quarters—by the time the pandemic struck. And one of its chief sponsors, Sen. Joel Villanueva, said it didn’t occur to him, when the law was signed a year ago, that a pandemic wold happen and it would become so useful to not just a few people, but the entire economy and work force as well.

(See another Broader Look article, “Work from home: Legislative foresight helps keep economy running amid pandemic,” pages A4-A5, August 20, 2020) Since the lockdowns started in mid-March, many office workers in Aboitiz have not seen each other, as they work elsewhere other than their office.

All coordination with everyone, such as staff members, are coordinated remotely.

Amy Melissa B. Malaluan of the Aboitiz Foundation Inc. said they coordinate directly with suppliers to pack goods for donation in specific quantities. For instance, she said a thousand pieces of face mask or medical gowns that will be given to a particular hospital must be packed in boxes from the source before these are picked up for delivery.

A chunk of the donation of companies passes through the Aboitiz Foundation, their corporate social responsibility arm.

Malaluan said the organization rents private vehicles or travel agents for delivery if their regular courier services are unavailable.

Private vehicles or travel agents were part of the network of the company, normally being utilized day-to-day when needed or when company’s resources are short.

Even before the pandemic, Aboitiz Group’s food unit Pilmico Foods Corp., headed by now Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. President and CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz, has been experimenting with the WFH concept for their office workers.

The Group allows its employees to work from home at least once a day every week.

The plan was, if the experiment is successful, to cascade the WFH concept to the entire business units of the conglomerate.

Office arrangements JAIME Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman of conglomerate Ayala Corp., admits companies will have to adjust to the new demands posed by the pandemic, which he said should go beyond installing new technologies in a firm’s premises.

The Ayala group, known as a conser vative company, has no choice but to implement a WFH policy.

The company said majority of its more than 50,000 employees adopted a WFH arrangement when lockdown measures were implemented mid-March on Metro Manila and key cities.

Zobel de Ayala said in a forum that the company is studying the feasibility of a hybrid work arrangement for their employees. He added they are also “re-imagining” the purpose of its physical office areas wherein only social activities, team meetings, town halls and tasks that require face-to-face interaction, such as collaborative projects and mentorship, should be done there.

Pandemic, possibilities

On the other hand, for tasks that require focus and concentration, such as writing and research,

“work-where-most-productive,” or work somewhere else other than the office is more appropriate.

“As it stands, redesigning the relationship between work and the office already requires a high degree of openness, f lexibility and trust,” he said. “ There is a need for balance in these discussions, particularly in taking into consideration different corporate cultures, the nature of roles and functions, as well as government regulation.”

Zobel de Ayala added that the pandemic “has opened new possibilities that both consumers and companies may not have previously realized.”

“I believe that this shift towards digital, preference for seamless transactions and purchases, and the increased focus on health and wellness will stick even after the pandemic,” he said.

Zobel de Ayala further explained that “perhaps more important than having new tools and gadgets is institutionalizing among our employees a mindset of agility, curiosity, experimentation, flexibility and trust.”

“This [institutionalization] will have significant implications to how our companies operate and how we work,” Zobel de Ayala said in his keynote address at the recent Ayala-Financial Executives of the Philippines summit.

Like a patch

IF foreign investors are to be asked, the national government has to put in more of ever ything—from funds to efforts to legislations—to pave the way for business recovery.

After all, it’s the national government that decides on the kind of protocols to be enforced in specific areas of the country. Take the recommendation of the dismayed European investors.

In a survey, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) reported nearly 75 percent of European firms in the country are disappointed with how the government is responding to the pandemic. As such, more than half of them declared they are either holding off investment plans or delaying business actions this year.

Nabil Francis, the chamber’s p r e s i d e nt , s a i d t h e p r i v a t e sector needs more than just a stimu lus now.

As listed in the survey, European firms want the government to relax business regulations, expedite infrastructure buildup and invest on health facilities. This way, they believe measures would be proactive to the pandemic developments rather than retroactive.

“Until this fear factor disappears, until we are happy to go back to the malls, happy to fly again to different regions, to visit the country, things will not recover,” Francis said in a webinar in August. “If we don’t restore consumer confidence, if we don’t restart spending, all the actions that we are taking are just like a patch.”

Essentials, erratic

MAYBE Zobel de Ayala and the ECCP chief are right.

Whoever is right, until the virus is contained and quarantine is lifted, the status quo—wherein people just go out once a week to buy their essentials or go to work on certain days—would remain.

And small enterprises, such as De la Cruz’s sari-sari store, will continue to teeter on the brink of permanent closure.

And Garcia would continue to ride her bicycle to and from work, like many workers similarly situated, who have so little means in a time of crisis, but have shown so much fortitude.

A6 Thursday, September 17, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Leaders must think outside the box

A

recent Bloomberg Opinion article—Financial anxiety is up around the globe—describes how people around the world are reeling from the fiscal shockwaves of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Author Ben Schott said a new 26-country survey suggests that many people are perilously unprepared for a major economic jolt.

Schott cited the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 2020 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy, which said 42 percent of the 125,787 adults polled reported worrying about meeting everyday expenses; 40 percent were concerned about their financial situation; and 37 percent reported they were just getting by.

Most concerning, according to the author, is the response to the question, “If you lost your main source of income, how long could you continue to cover your living expenses, without borrowing any money or moving house?” 28 percent said about a week; 25 percent said about a month; 15 percent said about three months; and 18 percent said more than six months. The remainder, just over 14 percent, reported not knowing—which the study’s authors suggest is “revealing of either unpreparedness to consider such eventuality or lack of resources for a financial cushion.” And the financial precariousness in this increasingly unstable world is far from evenly distributed.

According to the World Bank, the pandemic could push about 49 million people into extreme poverty in 2020. Although a large share of the new poor will be concentrated in countries that are already struggling with high poverty rates, middle income and rich countries are likewise affected. That’s the reason why governments are giving out cash to their citizens to help cushion the economic impact of the virus.

Some countries in Europe, for example, are paying citizens to stay home in their desire to control the spread of the virus. Some economists view such social programs differently. They said these programs serve as a powerful vaccine against the pandemic’s feared economic toll: recession.

Singapore has a novel version: The government is paying Singaporeans to keep healthy. To do this, the government has partnered with Apple Inc. on a two-year health initiative dubbed LumiHealth, which is built around tracking and rewarding user behavior through the Apple Watch gadget and an iPhone app. Through this scheme, Singaporeans will be able to earn as much as S$380 ($280) in rewards and vouchers by completing goals and tasks set within the app. Goals can be accomplished by walking or doing other forms of exercises, and the LumiHealth app will offer personalized coaching. Wellness challenges will nudge users toward making better food choices and improving sleep habits. “Even as all of us around the world are dealing with the challenges of Covid-19, we must keep investing in our future. There is no better investment than in our own personal health,” said Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

On top of the Social Amelioration Program, what can our government do to provide relief for the poor and the vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic? We should realize that even employees with incomes above the poverty line, and therefore not SAP beneficiaries, also need support now to be able to meet their basic needs. The government may want to copy Singapore’s example. However, the sad reality is that any move to reward citizens who stay healthy will be met with a huge hurdle: How to afford it? Until a vaccine is found, the months ahead will be difficult for the majority of Filipinos. We need leaders who can think outside the box to help ease the burden caused by the pandemic among our people.

Since 2005

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

Questions and answers

W

These are just five of the most commonly asked questions. There are more. So much more. You probably have questions yourself.

Send them to us via e-mail at eid@ comelec.gov.ph. Or if you want them answered via video, you can send them to jabjimenezblogs@ gmail.com. I put out explainer videos on my own Voter Education Central channel on YouTube, every Wednesday and Saturday.

And since we spend all our time answering questions on social media, I figured it stands to reason that legacy media should be conscripted into the effort as well. Hence, this Q&A article: “How do I find out if I need to have my voter registration record reactivated?”—Unfortunately, there is currently no convenient way of confirming that your registration record has been reactivated. You could try remembering when you last voted, and if it was more than two consecutive elections ago (counting the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan or SK elections), then it’s a safe bet that you need to file an application for

bassies and consulates worldwide, so people interested in registering will have to coordinate with the Philippine Embassy or consulate where they are.

In the Philippines, people who foresee that they will be abroad on May 9, 2022 can sign up to become an overseas voter by registering, in person, at the Office for Overseas Voting which is located in the Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros. Registration at the OFOV, however, is strictly by appointment only, so find them on Facebook and book an appointment there.

“I’m registered to vote in Cebu, but I live and study in Manila now. With the way things are going, I don’t think I can go home to Cebu to vote in 2022.

What should I do?”—You should seriously consider voting in Manila instead. If you do, then you’re going

James Jimenez

spox

ith voter registration in its third week, the channels we use for communicating with the public have been pretty active. The “Ask Comelec” group on Facebook has never been busier and—with more and more people sharing their firsthand experiences with actual voter registration—more helpful. And since this pandemic has all but eliminated the distinction between work and home life, answering questions from the public has become an all-day and all-night concern for me and my colleagues in the Education and Information Department of the Comelec. reactivation if you want to vote in 2022. But as I said, that may not be confirmatory at all since memory is a tricky thing. At the end of the day, the only way to be really sure if your record has been deactivated is to consult the Comelec office where you registered.

“I’m an OFW here in Saudi Arabia. How do I register online?”—For now, online registration is not an option for either overseas or domestic voting. However, since we’re on the topic, Filipinos who wish to vote overseas have to sign up for it, and the registration period for that started on September 1 as well. Overseas Voter registration is carried out at Philippine em-

Intellectual Yet Idiot

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OUTSIDE THE BOX

Lourdes M. Fernandez

W

hen you are a child you may often be asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I always had problems with even faking it like “I want to be a doctor.” I suppose that is the reason I have worked a “real” job—where they expect you to come on time and not leave early—only about three years of my adult life.

I liked American actor Jack Nicholson. He seemed like he was always having a good time. But the one person that I would encourage my four sons to understand and perhaps emulate is Nassim Taleb, he of his book and concept The Black Swan.

Taleb is described as a scholar and mathematical statistician. The key to understanding Taleb is that he was a hedge fund manager and a derivatives trader of currencies and commodities.

Mark Twain is credited with saying “never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel and paper by the ton.” I would add something like “don’t mess with a man or woman

that makes his/her living successfully trading ‘The Markets.’”

United Kingdom politician, former member of the European Union Parliament and prominent figure in the campaign for Brexit, Nigel Farage is another example. His father was a stockbroker and Farage was a commodities trader at the London Metal Exchange and in the US. Love him or hate him, George Soros is one of the most prominent global political forces that made his first billion trading currencies. The point is that real-world experience with money, and the challenges money management brings, gives a practical advantage.

No wonder the world economy is a mess. Compare their resumes with our central bank governors and you will understand why the Philippine monetary system and by extension the core economy is as good as it is.

Nassim Taleb embodies the concept of “A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of sheep and does not turn when a small dog barks.” He is not afraid to say what he believes and does not care who might be “offended” by his views.

That is rare in a time when critical thinking outside of the mainstream perspective is considered blasphemy.

In his 2018 book Skin in the Game, he relates the idea of “IYI”— Intellectual Yet Idiot. These are people that do not know what they are doing but not only think that they do and expect everyone else to agree. “These self-described members of the “intelligentsia” can’t find a coconut on Coconut Island. Their main skill is the capacity to pass exams written by people like them.”

“The IYI pathologizes others for doing things he doesn’t understand without ever realizing it is his understanding that may

to have to file a request for Transfer of Registration. To do that, all you need is a valid ID showing that you are now a resident of Manila. For this purpose, any valid ID showing your Manila address will do. If you’re renting a place in Manila, then a copy of the lease contract in your name will serve the same purpose.

“My daughter registered for the SK elections in 2018. She’s 18 now. Does she have to register again?”—No, she doesn’t. SK voters are automatically included in the list of “regular” voters, i.e., voters aged 18 and up, as soon as they come of age.

“Why doesn’t Comelec have online registration?”—There are two major reasons why online registration isn’t available yet. First, Republic Act 8189 effectively requires that voter registration be accomplished in person; and second, gathering a person’s biometrics for the purpose of complying with Republic Act 1036—the Mandatory Biometrics Law—is currently possible only in person.

These are just five of the most commonly asked questions. There are more. So much more. You probably have questions yourself. Send them to us via e-mail at eid@comelec. gov.ph. Or if you want them answered via video, you can send them to jabjimenezblogs@gmail.com. I put out explainer videos on my own Voter Education Central channel on YouTube, every Wednesday and Saturday.

be limited. With dietary advice reversing after 30 years, macroeconomic analysis working worse than astrology, and the appointment of Bernanke who was less than clueless of the risks, people are perfectly entitled to rely and listen to their grandmothers.”

Jerome Powell is Chair of the Federal Reserve. One commentator said, “How could a man with such an undistinguished career of working as an underling on Wall Street and as a mid-level government bureaucrat, become the most important man in the world?”

His predecessors—Janet Yellen and before her Ben Bernanke—were both academics and government employees with no “Skin in the Game” of having to actually help turn a profit, meet a payroll, or manage either public or private money.

No wonder the world economy is a mess. Compare their resumes with our central bank governors and you will understand why the Philippine monetary system and by extension the core economy is as good as it is.

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

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Can ADB walk the talk on going green?

‘The last as first and the first as last’ Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

I

N 2009, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) came up with a “clean energy agenda.” The agenda was a response to the call of UN agencies and global civil society movement for the world to phase out deadly GHG-emitting coal and fossil-based power plants, the leading cause of global warming. Unchecked, rising global temperature has been causing monstrous planetary problems such as violent storms, drought, sea rise and so on. The Philippines is in the top 5 of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change risks.

The 2009 Energy Policy of the ADB envisioned a “transition” to a low-carbon economy while meeting the needs of the people for cheap and reliable power. The ADB links this transition to various development goals: poverty reduction, environmental protection, public participation, good governance, gender equity, food security, sustainable agriculture and so on. The ADB also outlines various programs promoting renewables in energy development. It wrote: “Support for energy efficiency improvements and renewable-energy projects will be prioritized and broadened to reach as many sectors in as many ways as possible. This will [a] ease growth in fossil fuel demand and upward pressure on energy prices, [b] improve energy security, and [c] reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.”

And yet, environmental groups that have been monitoring energy projects in Asia are puzzled over the green resolve of the Bank. They see that the Bank continues to fund coal and gas plants. Thus, the criticism of CSOs that the Bank is merely engaged in rhetorical “green washing.”

Proof: the adverse finding by the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development in its review and documentation of the Bank’s energy lending program since 2009. CEED concluded that the ADB’s involvement in dirty energy projects has remained huge. ADB-funded gasand coal-fired plants account for 50 percent of “total installed capacity of all ADB-funded energy generation projects in the past decade.” Yes, ADB has been involved in the construction of a number of renewable projects: solar, wind, hydro and geothermal. But this has not erased the fact that ADB’s involvement remains primarily with gas and coal. And this at a time when Europe and a growing number of developed countries have been exiting from gas and coal!

But end of last month (August), the ADB’s Independent Evaluation Department came up with a surprise announcement: “ADB should withdraw funding from new coalfired projects.” IED Director Nathan Subramaniam was quite blunt: ADB’s energy policy needs to be “aligned with the global consensus on climate change.” IED’s recommendation was also straightforward: “Revisit and update the Energy Policy by emphasizing climate change mitigation and adaptation as a core priority; formally withdrawing from financing new added capacity of coalfired power and heat generation plants, while helping DMCs [developing member countries] to phase out coal-based energy and mitigate the environmental and health impacts of the existing coal fleet; introducing sound screening cri-

teria for other fossil-fuels….”

So will the top management of ADB, which is holding its Annual Meeting this week, formally accept the above IED recommendation? If so, will it also introduce a “phasingout” program for the existing coal and gas plants, including those that have been erected only in the last 10 years?

What are the guidelines that should be followed in meeting the IED’s recommendation?

Along this line, CEED came up with the following proposals: 1. Align the Energy Policy with the 1.5 celsius goal under the Paris Agreement of 2015. The point is that ADB should not hide behind rhetorical generalizations such as “clean energy” or “climate agenda.” Alignment with Paris means measuring declines in emissions, a technical process which the ADB can easily facilitate, and partnership building with Member Countries on how to meet the Paris Agreement goal.

2. Declare a full commitment to divest from all coal mining and power projects, including coal infrastructures. For the existing coal and other carbon-intensive projects, the Bank must come up with a program for a “rapid phase-out starting with the adoption of an ambitious transition plan.”

3. Promote community microgrids. These grids have become viable given the dramatic fall in the costs of solar and wind technologies. Community microgrids are also good instrument for building solidarity and cohesion within the community, especially in depressed and underdeveloped areas.

4. Support innovations and enabling infrastructures. The idea is to give priority attention on renewableenergy technologies.

To the above CEED recommendations, one may add two more important points: First, partnership building in going green is a great idea. But it should be broadened and should involve the larger society. Hence, it should not be limited to ADB-national government partnership. Nor with the private sector, a favorite financing approach of ADB which many CSOs are questioning. Partnership building with civil society and people’s organizations such as trade unions should be extended. ADB should not meet with them just for the purpose of information sharing and nothing more.

Finally, ADB should come up with a green transformation program for the whole region as well as for the individual partner countries. A “decarbonized” Asian economy is in the best interest of the ADB and the 68 countries the Bank is supposed to be serving.

L

ife in our communities of faith eventually reveals the big difference between what we think is proper and what God thinks and does. The gospel parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) shows that our way of thinking is not God’s way, which we should appreciate more and more, and imitate.

Zealous disciples The context of the parable of the workers was again Peter’s question to Jesus: “What will there be for us?” who have given up everything and followed you (Matthew 19:27).

Jesus answered that His disciples who have followed Him “will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” in the new age and “will receive a hundred times more” than what they have given up. The focus of the discussion, however, shifted to the perplexing conclusion Jesus made: “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

And like a bracket this paradox also concludes the parable of the workers in the vineyard.

Interestingly, the parable of the workers in the vineyard is followed

Bloomberg Opinion

H

appiness is lower, insomnia is higher and there has been an increased incidence of mental health issues during the pandemic.

This raises the question of how people can find more ways to be happy during these difficult times. We humans are often creatures of habit, slow to adjust to new circumstances, so which changes

should we make?

One striking feature of the pandemic is that US personal savings rates have spiked. In April, the rate exceeded 30 percent. It has been falling, down to 19.5 percent in June, and will probably fall further yet. But it is still much higher than it was in the pre-Covid era, when it ranged from 3 percent to 8 percent.

Despite these falling rates, Americans probably ought to spend even more. Savings have been so high in part

by the story of the mother of James and John trying to secure for them special seats of honor in the company of Jesus (Matthew 20:20-23). Jesus clarified that being closely associated with Him entails indeed drinking the cup He drinks, but this means joining Him in His passion as He had just then once more predicted (Matthew 20:17-19). Their fellowship and communion together are not about worldly power, but service to others.

His mission and theirs is not how to be served, but to serve. Otherwise, zealous disciples can easily become jealous individuals bent in worldly rivalry.

The good master

The parable of the workers in the vineyard pictures the usual hiring

Sleeping with the enemy

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.

to private firms, for as long as tenants adhere to a lease contract with a corresponding rental fee, the same arrangement that has been entered into with Globe and Smart, both of which have also built towers inside military camps.

The crucial question to be answered remains: Is the DND deal with DITO beneficial to the Philippine government? Chinese companies are obliged by law to help the Chinese government in their intelligence operations. There are several Chinese laws that compel Chinese individuals and organizations to cooperate with Beijing in intelligence work, if and when asked. China has also been bullying its South Eastern neighbors to give in to its fictional nine-dash line, the vaguely located demarcation line used by Beijing in its bid to claim the entire South China Sea. The fact that China has already occupied major islands in the South China Sea that are within the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone, and its refusal to abide by the international law of the sea makes it technically an enemy of the Philippines.

In adjudicating our country’s case against China, the arbitral tribunal on July 12, 2016 ruled overwhelmingly in our favor, determining that major elements of China’s claim—including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other ac-

ings, whether conscious or not.

Those may well have been prudent decisions. Still, many of us are not spending enough money having fun. We have been too slow to develop new, Covidcompatible interests.

So think how you might achieve more pleasure from spending money. Ordering more books? Spending more time at the farmer’s market? Subscribing to more online newsletters? If you wish to see the new movie “Tenet,” for example,

but fear virus exposure, you and your friends may be able to rent out a whole theater for less than $200.

To some extent people are already doing such things. But it is a common result in empirical economics that consumption habits are slow to adjust to changing circumstances, especially unprecedented circumstances. It is not enough for you to develop new spending habits—you should double down on them.

You also should be giving more to charity. Remittances from the US to Mexico have risen recently, an unusual outcome in a typical recession. Part of the story is that Mexican migrants have fewer ways to spend their money in the US, due to Covid-related restrictions, and their relatives and friends in Mexico are in needier positions. So follow their lead and do more to help people around the world. It might prove more rewarding than buying more heirloom tomatoes.

‘D

umb.”

Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio couldn’t have chosen a better word to describe the decision of the Department of National Defense (DND) to allow DITO Telecommunity, a 40 percent Chinese-owned telecom company, to build cell towers inside military camps.

because people are hoarding resources for an uncertain future. But a lot of the explanation, especially for those with higher incomes, is that planned expenditures became impossible, dangerous or inconvenient. Instead of flying to Paris and staying at a hotel on the Seine, they drove to a cabin in Maine or West Virginia. Or maybe they postponed that purchase of a new car or spent less time browsing in a bookstore. In any case, the end result is less spending and more sav-

Alálaong bagá, the first hired

are envious that those who came in last receive as much as they do. Their standard is the common sense rule: “To each his due.” They do not appreciate the goodness of the master who offers them work at dawn and who hires others as well at the last hour, and who with his kindness gives everyone their “daily bread.” This undeserved goodness is emphasized as those hired last are paid first and full, not as a slight to those who have labored much more, whose grumbling must have contrasted visibly with the rejoicing and wonderment of those who have received so generously from the master of the vineyard.

Divine goodness is not a discussion about salary; it is about everyone being invited to the vineyard and given work, relying on the master’s judgment and generosity. There are those servants who may have come late and boast of nothing and just do their duty (Luke 17:10). These can turn out to be the first. Those jealous of their fellow workers and know better than the master make themselves last by their own estimation, like the older son who is unhappy with the goodness of his father toward his prodigal brother (Luke 15:11ff). God is just and good to all.

So as not to compromise Philippine security and the Filipino people’s interest, DITO may still engage in communications in the country, but certainly not inside our military camps, Salalima added. It is already a cause for concern that DITO is virtually 40 percent China-owned and controlled. The argument that DITO must be accorded equality in treatment like Globe and Smart/PLDT is fallacious because Globe, PLDT, and Smart are not owned or controlled

by China or any other foreign government.

For our military forces to depend on any China-owned communications network or system now is to tread on dangerous waters, should hostilities break out in the future between the Philippines and China.

Our country’s current South China Sea dispute with China is enough reason to guide how we should be relating with Globe and Smart on one hand, and DITO on the other.

Salalima said: “More and more, technological advances, such as physical wire-tapping and monitoring of wireless communications, are intruding into our daily lives to the point of invading individual privacy and compromising national security.

Why waste public funds and our soldiers’ loyalty to the Constitution and jeopardize the lives of Filipino citizens by providing foreign government and outside dangers with free access into our military camps?”

If other countries, which can boast of far-advanced technologies compared to ours, are always extraprudent when it comes to issues about privacy and security, why does our government seem unconcerned?

Given our “inutile… situation,” Salalima lamented, “is it too much to ask that [this administration] be more cautious and vigilant in protecting our national security and the survival of the Filipino people?”

Businesswise

China Telecom controls 40 percent equity in DITO in partnership with Filipino-Chinese tycoon Dennis Uy, one of President Duterte’s close friends and big campaign donors in the 2016 presidential polls.

DND has not fully divulged its contract with DITO, but based on scant reports it has been issuing to the media, it reasons that it’s only “fair” to allow DITO to build the cell towers as it is “providing telco services in the provinces where most of our camps are” and wanted to place them inside military facilities “for security and protection.”

This safety and protection concern sadly were not afforded to Globe Telecoms and Smart Communications when in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the firms’ cell towers located in remote areas were being burned and bombed by communist rebels for not paying revolutionary taxes.

AFP Spokesman MGen. Edgard Arevalo also stated that DITO will be paying rent “in kind,” but “either through trainings on how to maintain facilities, the use of new technology, as well as assistance from its information and communication technology experts. He said that even without collecting rental fees the arrangement is a “win-win situation.”

Military-owned real-estate properties are permitted to be leased out

of laborers at dawn, but also the unusual continuing hiring around 9 in the morning, at noon, and even at 5 in the afternoon. The payment of all hired hands is at 6. The focus is on the master of the vineyard; his peculiar behavior contains the intended teaching. The work in the vineyard is the traditional image for the task God gives His people. But not to be forgotten, God is the shepherd who seeks the lost sheep (Matthew 18:1214), and does not want that any of the little ones be disregarded and lost or be without part in the kingdom.

The way the master orders the payment of all the laborers is stunning and challenging. By beginning with the last and finishing with the first, the usual recognition of those who have worked earliest and longest is bypassed. And the generous payment of a day’s earning, a silver coin, to those who came in last and worked shortest at the head of the line underscores the natural expectation of those hired first that they would get much more. But they too receive the same coin. Shocked, these laborers feel they have been wronged. The master points out that is what they have agreed upon. The issue really is the master’s goodness to those who have been hired last and considered to be getting less.

tivities in Philippine waters—were all illegal.

Now isn’t the DND’s deal with DITO just like a bullying victim warmly welcoming a bully into his private sanctuary and, with nary a peep of resistance, access to everything in that room? Indeed, how dumb is that?

The DND’s position that Globe and Smart have also their respective towers inside military camps doesn’t make sense. While the two telecom companies’ suppliers come mostly from China, they are not Chinaowned and are not bound by Beijing to snitch on us. Suppliers have no access to whatever these two telecom companies do with their respective businesses.

Carpio says, “You ask any security analyst who’s familiar with cybersecurity, and they will tell you, absolutely do not allow towers to be installed in your military camps. Because it’s like allowing China to put a listening device in your conference room used by your commander…

I think it’s a no-brainer, we should not allow it.”

In a phone interview, Rodolfo Salalima, the first secretary of the Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology under the Duterte administration, pointed out that on matters of national security, particularly in protecting our national sovereignty, the rule in the military is and should be “caution.”

Should there be any doubt, Salalima said, the case must be resolved in favor of protecting our country’s security. Even though DITO was awarded a Congressional franchise —a franchise that many experts on national security believe should not have been granted in the first place —the safety of the Philippines remains paramount. “The totality of our military camps,” Salalima noted, “is not the sum total of the mobile business, a public service [that is in fact] clothed with public interest.”

Val A. Villanueva

How to be happy during a pandemic

By Tyler Cowen

Thursday, September 17, 2020 A7

For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com

A8 Thursday, September 17, 2020

As online transactions rise, cross-border body pitched

A

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

S more Philippine firms shift to the World Wide Web, an online dispute mechanism for cross-border Internet transactions may need to be created in the region, the former head of the semi-government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said.

In a presentation at the Asian Development Ba n k Inst it ute (ADBI) forum at the second stage of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Meeting, former PIDS President Mario Lamberte said settling disputes in online transactions is one of the policy issues in the increase in online firms. He was also former ADBI Director for Research.

In his slide, Lamberte said the number of online complained lodged at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) showed that as of August 31, the DTI already received

12,630 complaints, significantly higher than the 2,457 complaints received in the whole of 2019.

“As the number of Internet transactions rose significantly, so [did] the number of complaints. [There is a] need to establish an efficient online dispute resolution mechanism,” Lamberte wrote on his slide.

“Regional cooperation for linking online dispute resolution mechanisms to support cross-border Internet transactions in the region [must be created],” he added.

Based on DTI data, Lamberte said the number of Philippine on-

line businesses increased by over 40 times in the past five months to 75,000 after the lockdown from 1,700 before the lockdown.

Lamberte said that out of the 12,630 complaints received by DTI, 7,919 were endorsed and notices to explain were required from 2,366 firms complained at the agency. Only 847 complaints were dismissed.

The shift to Internet-based businesses was one of the coping mechanisms made by Philippine-based firms, according to Lamberte.

“Constrained by mobility and the need to comply with health protocols, many existing and newly established MSMEs [micro, small, and medium enterprises] have turned to the Internet platforms to sell goods and services and buy intermediate goods, learned to use the e-payment system,” Lamberte said.

Apart from settling disputes in online transactions, Lamberte said firms also encountered other policy issues when they shifted to online platforms. One of these is poor Internet connectivity.

Lamberte said this is behind the push to implement a common tower policy nationwide to allow greater access to the Internet by a larger number of Filipinos.

Further, he said these policy issues included the registration of online sellers where sales of over

P280,000 became taxable.

Lamberte also said the Central Bank is strongly encouraged to temporarily suspend all fees and charges imposed on the use of online banking platforms or electronic money.

“Covid-19 pandemic will likely accelerate the growth of e-commerce, including cross-border trade —a boon to MSMEs, so legal, regulatory and physical infrastructure should support it, including regional cooperation,” Lamberte said.

“As in previous crises, MSMEs are resilient, and therefore, policy and program support for them must be built on such resiliency.

Opportunities [exist] to reshape MSME’s business model including [the] adoption of new technologies,” he added.

Chua: Creative solutions

To this end, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said innovative and creative solutions are needed to recover and build resilience from crises.

In a statement, Chua said this can be done through the use of new technologies in developing tools that can make the delivery of public services more effective and efficient.

“What this crisis has made apparent is the need for us to innovate governance and the importance of effective coordination if we hope

not just to outlast but also build resilience against adversities such as this. Government must be the one to provide the direction and impetus for innovation to prosper.

We must set the example by recalibrating our systems and processes to suit the needs and demands of the new normal,” Chua said.

Chua said helping MSMEs is part of the priorities of the Duterte administration, especially with the passage of key economic reforms such as the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE), Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST), and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bills to aid in the recovery of the country.

The Acting National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) chief also underscored the importance of effective coordination and dynamic multistakeholder partnerships to maximize all available resources to respond to the pandemic.

“Building strategic partnerships with different sectors is an effective way to address resource constraints and tap all available wealth of ideas, technologies, expertise, and networks. These are crucial for governance innovation to happen especially in the new normal,” Chua said.

₧8.8B of DA stimulus fund to go to income enhancement projects

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) will spend a third of its P24-billion stimulus fund under the Bayanihan 2 for income-enhancement projects, which includes P5.5 billion worth of farm-to-market connectivity projects and P600-million worth of provincial trading centers.

A DA document obtained by the BusinessMirror showed the department is spending P8.790 billion on incomeenhancement projects meant to improve the country’s farm logistics, postharvest facilities, provide loan, farm clustering and farm-to-market connectivity.

The document showed DA is spending P550 million to form agri-industrial business corridors (ABCs) in a bid to entice private investment into agribusinesses.

The DA will use P100 million to kickstart its farm and fisheries clustering and consolidation program to help farmers achieve economies of scale and ensure efficiency of farm interventions.

The document indicated that the DA will spend a total of P940 million for postharvest facilities, including P320 million for packing houses with cold storage for fruit crops and vegetables; P280 million for poultry-cutting facilities; P200 million for reefer vans and P20 million for rendering trucks.

The DA will also spend about P120 million for food processing-related projects, according to the document.

The DA is spending P500 million for its inclusive Agribiz/Social Entrep Support/ Business Incubation in Agriculture (BIAG) project.

The DA is also allocating P200 million for its Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and P100 million for its digital agriculture-related programs and projects.

The DA will spend P100 million for its “Mentoring and Attracting Youth in Agriculture” program and another P100 million to fund its Agriculture Dialogue and Information Network Groups (ADING), which is its “integrity management implementation and advocacy program.”

Some P100 million is set aside for DA’s strategic and development communication programs and projects.

The DA is spending P8.71 billion for productivity enhancement projects that include a P5-billion rice resiliency project (RRP) for the dry season planting, which provides free fertilizer and seeds to farmers, among others.

The DA will use P750 million to rehabilitate the country’s Regional Integrated Agricultural Research Centers (RIARCs) to develop high-quality seeds/seedlings and even breed for livestock to improve yield in every region.

The DA is allotting P500 million to ramp up its urban agriculture projects and another P500 million to set up nucleus and multiplier breeder farms for poultry, swine and small ruminants. The DA will also spend another P500 million building aquaculture/seaweeds/sea urchin/glass eel hatcheries.

The DA is allocating P470 million for pests and diseases management-related projects and P234 million for the construction of the country’s first Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases, to improve the country’s biosecurity efforts.

The DA will also use P50 million for research on transboundary plant diseases.

The high value crops sector would receive P310 million worth of projects, according to the DA document. The DA will also kickstart a P98-million cattle feedlot fattening project and spend P16 million for the construction of dairy processing buildings.

Meanwhile, some P150 million will go to a massive seed/seedling production for vegetables and fruits. The department will also spend P132 million to procure mobile trucks with diamond deep well drillers.

Lastly, the remaining P6.5-billion stimulus fund of the DA will be devoted for social protection and social amelioration projects that includes a P4-billion worth of cash and food subsidy to marginal farmers and fisherfolk.

The remaining P2.5 billion will be used for the expanded SURE Aid & Recovery Project that offers a P25,000 no interest, no collateral, zero interest and payable in 10 years loan to Filipino farmers.

League of Municipalities of the Philippines National President Mayor Luis “Chavit” Singson shows Manila Mayor Isko Moreno the features of the Gracia automated payment machine (APM) at Manila City Hall on Wednesday. A project of the LMP in partnership with Gracia Telecommunications Corp. headed by CEO Charissa Singson, the APM aims to provide safer payment alternatives to Filipinos, and can be used for e-loads, bills payment, money transfer, and topping up of e-wallets. ROY DOMINGO

Poe pushes for farmers’ voice in coco fund agency

S

EN. Grace Poe on Wednesday moved to ensure legitimate small coconut farmers’ stake in the multibillion-peso coconut levy fund, pressing for guaranteed representation in the body that will be created to manage the funds under the remedial legislation being crafted by Congress.

In her interpellation on Senate Bill 1396, to be known as the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Law once enacted, Poe said this would guarantee small farmers a significant voice in the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Board that decides how the funds would be used to benefit the coconut industry as well as the growers“long deprived of the money that rightfully belongs to them.”

The senator suggested“some sort of a provision, if ever we consider including more farmers to the decision-making body of any group, let’s say the Philippine Coconut Authority, that the ones who will be considered as members from the coconut farmers will actually be the farmers who have owned 3 hectares or less for the past 10 years?”

Poe proposed that this be incorporated in the law “to avoid a scenario where big-time coconut farmers will buy parcels of 5-hectare lands and name the title under different persons for the sake of being able to comply with the faux small farmers definition.”

She noted that Senate Bill 1396, as endorsed for plenary consideration and early approval under Committee Report No.65, provides for the creation of a Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund to be managed by a board that will “craft plans on how to utilize the levy collected from coconut farmers’ since the 1970s which has now grown to an estimated P105 billion.”

The bill, she recalled, was passed in the 17th Congress, but vetoed by Malacañang, which cited lack of “vital safeguards” that could “disproportionately benefit wealthy coconut farm owners” because the law did not have a limit on the covered land area for entitlement of benefits.

Poe pointed out that “at the core of this bill are the coconut farmers and their dependents who have long been denied of what rightly belongs to them. We want a legislation that will show true justice at work for our farmers,” noting that the fund rightfully belongs to them.

Once enacted, the remedial legislation paves the way for the release by the Bureau of the Treasury of P5 billion for the Trust Fund and another P5 billion as initial allocation to the PCA. She expects that the PCA will be strengthened to ensure the participation of farmers, noting that under the proposal, its Board will be composed of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF), Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry; Administrator of the Authority; and three members from the coconut farmers sector representing Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, who will be appointed by the President.

Moreover, she added, the remedial legislation paves the way for the creation of a Trust Fund Management Committee with representatives from the DOF, DBM, and Department of Justice, with the DOF to be “designated as the Fund Manager.”

Coconut farmers and their dependents should be able to benefit from programs using the Trust Fund through scholarships, health and medical benefits, training, farm improvement and projects leading to empowerment of farmers’ organizations, Poe said. Butch Fernandez

₧44B in CHED budget for universal access

T

HE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has allocated P44.2 billion of its 2021 budget for the implementation of Republic Act 1093 or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education.

During the briefing on the CHED’s P50.9 billion 2021 budget, CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera III said bulk or P44.2 billion of his agency’s allocation for next year has been allocated for free higher education; P4.7 billion for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE); P1.2 billion for the Higher Education Development Fund Staff; P465.5 million for personnel services; and P195.8 million for capital outlay.

CHED’s P50.9-billion proposed 2021 budget is higher than its 2020 budget of 47.9 billion.

De Vera said P15.3 billion worth of discontinued allocations due to National Budget Circular 580 were inserted in the 2021 National Expenditure Program in order to continue more education projects.

“In 2018, over 1.18 million students no longer pay for their tuition and miscellaneous fees in SUCs. This has increased to 1.3 million students in 2019 in 112 state universities and colleges, and 103 local universities and colleges,” De Vera said.

“The issue of access in the assessment of the commission has improved in terms of the students who are benefiting,” he said.

According to De Vera, the overall number of beneficiaries of free higher education is now 1.79 million students.

Besides the implementation of Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education, other CHED programs that provide subsidy to students include student financial program, K to 12 transition program, research and scholarship project, information system strategic plan, Unifast, subsidy for medical students in SUCs, Legal Education Board, funding for SDG and Future Thinking, financial assistance to post graduate students, funding for improvement of quality

english in tertiary level and funding for enhancement of social science programs.

Moreover, De Vera said enrollment in higher education has risen as the first graduates of K to 12 program entered the higher level, and the total enrollment both in public and private institutions has reached 3.4 million.

He, however, admitted that at least 40 small private colleges and universities impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns are stopping operations this year.

He said challenges that the CHED is continuously facing include capacity building for faculty members, connectivity issues and preparation for potential limited face to face classes in January 2021.

De Vera said disbursing funds for reimbursement of tuition and miscellaneous fees due is a big challenge for CHED due to to administrative and manpower issues.

CHED’s manpower is less than 1,000 and about 600 are plantilla positions nationwide.

Meanwhile, Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago said 19 SUCs have cuts in their total budget next year.

She said these SUCs include Rizal Technological University, Bulacan State University, Batangas State University, Southern Philippines AgriBusiness and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology, Catanduanes State University, Northwest Samar State University, Davao Oriental State University, Tarlac Agricultural University, Mindanao State University, Surigao State College of Technology, Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology, Northwestern Mindanao State College of Science and Technology, Camarines Norte State College, Sultan Kudarat State University, Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Bataan Peninsula State University, Philippine Normal University, Tarlac State University and Carlos C. Hidalgo Memorial State Colllege.

Elago is asking the House to reverse the budget cuts of these SUCs. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSALM selling Pampanga property to pare down debts

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

he Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is selling its property in Pampanga for P803 million to raise funds so it could repay its debts.

In a bid invite, PSALM is inviting interested parties to participate in the auction of its 50,447-square-meter lot in Brgy. Lagundi in Mexico, Pampanga, for P803.151 million.

This is the minimum bid price (MBP) set by the agency. Bids below the MBP shall be automatically rejected at bid opening which is scheduled on October 20.

PSALM has set a pre-bid conference on September 24. A participation fee of

P100,000.00 is required.

Last month, the state firm said it has already raised over P36 million from the sale of its real estate assets.

“PSALM successfully privatized its real estate assets located in Agusan, Maco and Nasipit, raising a total of P36,233,308.00 that can be utilized to pay for remaining liabilities of the National Power Corp. (NPC).

Once remitted to PSALM, the proceeds

will be used by us to pay the remaining financial obligations that we got from the NPC,” said PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Irene Besido Garcia.

FG Bukidnon Power won the bid for the three lots, with a total area of 10,596-sq. m in Agusan, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. Its winning bid amounted to P28.61 million.

The Agusan property is an area where land development can be for mixed residential and agricultural purposes. It is also an industrial lot suitable for power plant operations.

PSALM’s 1,595-sq. m property in Maco, Davao de Oro City, was sold to Therma Marine Inc., which submitted a bid of P3.209 million.

The third property, a 3,395-sq. m lot in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, was also bagged

by TMI for P4.414 million.

The Maco property is in a coastal area with a small port, making it ideal for business ventures related to the fishing industry while the Nasipit property is in an area where land development is suited for industrial purposes.

PSALM has about P51.47 billion maturing debts and P23.95 billion of IPP (Independent Power Producer) Lease Obligations for the rest of 2020. Also, PSALM needs about P3.42 billion in operational expenses for the rest of the year.

PSALM is the entity created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the law that restructured the power industry by privatizing the assets of NPC. Funds in settling PSALM’s assumed financial obligations are sourced from collections from its power generation, privatization proceeds, and universal charge.

SC sides with MORE in Iloilo power rift

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court (SC), voting 8-6, has finally affirmed the control of More Electric and Power Corp.

(MORE Power) over the power distribution business in Iloilo City.

SC Spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said the Court en banc reached the decision during its regular en banc session held on Tuesday.

He said the Court ruled to reverse and set aside the order issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Mandaluyong City and declared Sections 10 and 17 of Republic Act (RA) 11212 (MORE Power’s franchise) as constitutional.

The said provisions give MORE Power

the powers of eminent domain and to expropriate any asset, including existing distribution assets in the city.

Panay Electric Co. Inc. (PECO) and MORE Power have been engaged in a legal tussle over the control of the Iloilo City power distribution.

MORE Power started the process of taking over PECO’s electricity distribution facilities after securing the 15-year franchise from Congress in 2019 following the expiration of PECO’s franchise on January 19, 2019.

MORE Power filed the expropriation case against PECO’s distribution assets after securing its congressional franchise.

Last December 2019, the SC issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the Mandaluyong RTC from implementing

its decision against MORE Power.

The TRO paved the way for the expropriation of PECO’s assets by MORE Power.

“In granting the petition, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City Branch 209…and declared Sections 10 and 17 of RA 11212 constitutional,” the SC said.

PECO’s camp has expressed disappointment over the Court’s decision favoring MORE Power, but it also noted the magistrates’ close vote on the issue.

The company said the ruling would have “reverberating consequences that open the power of expropriation to abuse.”

“The tight vote lends support to our position that the takeover of PECO’s properties is not the exercise of eminent

domain contemplated by our laws, but a violation of constitutional rights,” PECO lawyer Estrella Elamparo said.

Elamparo also questioned the timing of the release of the decision, saying it was done 4 days before Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr., who was the justice-in-charge of the case, retired from the Court.

“Curiously, the ponente proceeded with the decision just 4 days before his retirement from the judiciary. Although this is a massive hurdle, we will not give up on our fight and we will continue to pursue the available legal remedies to defend PECO’s constitutional rights,” Elamparo said.

“Despite this temporary setback, we remain optimistic that we will ultimately be vindicated not just for PECO, but for the people of Iloilo,” she added.

‘People are eating more Jollibee opens flagship stores in US, UK pizzas during lockdown’

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

T

RANSPORT network company Grab has seen a surge in food deliveries since the community quarantines imposed by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Grab Philippines Country Manager Ronald Roda told the BusinessMirror, “GrabFood has seen an increase in demand of up to three to four times during certain periods of the quarantine.”

He added, “We have also observed that basket size orders of our eaters have grown to up to 20 percent since the beginning of the lockdown.” Popular merchants are those in the fast food business, and those selling pizza, chicken, coffee, and milk tea.

Also, “We’ve seen tremendous growth on the small and medium business side, as opposed to the big restaurants.... Even prior to the lockdown, we’ve seen a number of small merchant and restaurant owners grow their business through the help of GrabFood. An example of this would be the ‘jollijeeps’ that you can find on the Grab app,” explained Roda.

GrabFood is supporting the Department of Tourism’s (DOT’s) Kain Na! Food and Travel Festival by making available participating restaurants and food businesses on its mobile application. It has rolled out a Kain Na tile on the homepage of the Grab app to increase the discoverability of partner merchants. In her opening remarks at Tuesday’s virtual launch of Kain Na, which features coffee, tea, and chocolate, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said, “I have been inspired about how communities have rallied together around food during the pandemic. From posting quarantine cooking videos that celebrate our culinary heritage, to donating meals to our frontliners, and supporting farmers, small entrepreneurs and restaurants by ordering for home delivery. People have found ways to keep livelihoods and the morale of our people alive. And food has been at the center of all of this. This festival recognizes the spirit of Filipino hospitality in the way we eat.”

The food festival from September 15 to 18 held in partnership with Ayala Malls, has gone virtual to be able to reach a wider audience. “We have crafted this year’s program to be responsive to the needs of our stakeholders. Kain Na 2020 endeavors to prepare our stakeholders for the transition to the new normal,” she added.

Food aggregator Zomato will also highlight Kain Na! in their Collections feature. “So we will be basically promoting the restaurants which are part of the DOT network, and through those restaurants, we’ll be promoting the overall festival as well,” said Zomato Philippines Sales Head Anurag Verma. “So if you go into our platform, you can see different advertising assets which are communicating different activities of Kain Na. We will be using our social media handles as well to promote this festival…for this month.”

Virtual symposiums during the ongoing Food Tourism Exchange will feature some of the most prominent chocolatiers, inspiring coffee entrepreneurs, and new and relaxing tea experiences around the country.

One of the key features this year is the Kain Na! Trading Post, an online store featuring Filipino products, which will go live at www.kainnastore.com for one month.

Also, online learning modules will offer muchneeded e-commerce training for food and farm tourism stakeholders and other micro, small and medium enterprises, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry’s CTRL+BIZ Reboot Now program with the help of Google, Facebook, Zomato, Eat In, GrabFood, Gcash, Air21, and Lazada.

For another, Food Tourism 101 features Chef Margarita Fores, food blogger JJ Yulo, food tour guide Ivan Man Dy, and Michelle Cruz of Klook, who will share their memorable experiences from food walks, market tours, foodie hotspots, and other inspiring food tourism anecdotes.

“Kain Na! is a celebration of our heritage and culture.

We are glad to share this opportunity for the past two years with the Department of Tourism, as we work together in promoting our country for both local and international tourism,” said Ayala Malls President Jennylle Tupaz.

To further promote the project, Guide to the Philippines [LIVE LINK to https://bit.ly/2FxkYVr] published an extensive guide on must-try tsokolate, kape, and tsaa binges around the country.

Contributed Photo

J

ollibee Foods Corp. on Wednesday said it opened its first flagship stores in Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and in the Greater Dallas Area in West Plano, Texas, in the United States.

Long lines of customers were seen in the Liverpool opening, with the first customer lining up as early as 2 am on opening day. In West Plano, Texas, the line of cars for the Jollibee drive-thru snaked around the parking lot continuing onto the highway, and hundreds of calls flooded the store for advance pickup orders.

The Liverpool opening achieved double its initial sales forecast, while the West Plano location also exceeded its target and served close to 2000 customers on its opening day. Long lines continue to be seen in both stores to this day.

“Jollibee continues to grow in both North America and Europe,” Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said. “In North America, the Jollibee brand is seeing double-digit growth, with our Chowking and Red Ribbon brands also performing well.”

“Smashburger’s company-owned stores have also seen double-digit growth for the past four months. The digital pivot happening has driven off-premise channels like delivery, drive-thru, and take-out to a higher level, enabling our brands to outperform the QSR [quick serve restaurant] industry in the US.”

He said the next Jollibee store will open in Leicester before the end of 2020, and the company said it is on track to have 50 restaurants in the next three to five years.

“The Liverpool store is showing how Jollibee is appealing to local communities and not just to Filipinos, and we are grateful for their warm welcome and the love they are showing for our food,” Tanmantiong said.

“What is really striking at Liverpool’s opening week was that 40 percent of customers were new to the Jollibee brand, and they were interested to try the food for the first time. This increased to 50 percent by the week after, which speaks to the positive reaction of local Liverpudlians to Jollibee,” said Dennis Flores, the company's president for Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Jollibee’s Liverpool location featured exclusive menu items catering to its local UK consumers, including Asian Slaw, Tropical Burger, Mango Coconut Sundae, and Asian Chicken Tender Rice Bowl. It also launched a fresh store look that is designed to better engage with the European market.

Jollibee’s store in Dallas marks the brand’s 45th store in the US, while the Liverpool location marks the third in Europe. The brand currently has over 1400 stores across the globe, with more stores scheduled this year as part of the Jollibee Group’s strategy to selectively open new stores in well-situated locations. VG Cabuag

Thursday, September 17, 2020

B1

SMEs urged to shift to digital payments

T

he small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are urged to shift to online payments amid the widespread digital transformation to thrive amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said in a statement that now is the time for the SMEs to start using digital payments as lockdown measures minimize physical interaction with customers.

Eric Luchangco, BPI's business banking head, said these companies should adapt to changing consumer behaviors as many customers are leaning toward contactless payments.

“The time is ripe for SMEs to transform their operations and their businesses by embracing digital payments,” he said. "It is the low-hanging fruit in their digital transformation that will make a great impact on them later on as they stabilize their operations and, in time, when the world is finally free from the pandemic.”

BPI said SMEs can maximize the electronic cash management tools to improve collection efficiency, payment handling and liquidity management. The digital payment platform also allows them to accomplish financial activities anytime, the bank added. BPI Luzon Sales Head for Cash Management Gerry Kahayon said the bank is offering an online business banking platform—called BizLink—that allows digital cash management for collections, disbursements and liquidity. “A cash management system reduces cash handling risks such as inaccurate payments and fraudulent activities, as well as limits any physical interaction, saves time, and lowers administrative costs, among others,” he said.

“An effective cash management tool may not be enough to ensure that SMEs will thrive in the future, but it will certainly help them cope with the demands of the business environment while ensuring security, safety, and peace of mind in these uncertain times,” Kahayon added.

In the first half, the Ayala-led bank saw its net earnings fall by 15 percent to P11.68 billion from P13.74 billion booked in the same period last year due to higher provisions for credit losses.

Allowance for bad debts for the period amounted to P15.01 billion.

This is markedly higher than the P4.23 billion earmarked in the first quarter and P3.48 billion set aside during the first half of last year.

Total assets as of end-June improved by 5.8 percent to P2.26 trillion year-on-year. Total equity reached P278.81 billion in the first half, translating to capital equity tier 1 ratio of 15.63 percent and capital adequacy ratio of 16.52 percent. Both ratios are above regulatory requirements. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

B2

Thursday, September 17, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

Companies BusinessMirror

September 16, 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 COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

45.05 88 64.2 21.8 8.21 35.7 8.15 23.95 49.5 16.3 94.45 54 0.79 24 2.79 1.38 0.59 155.1 1920

46.15 88.5 64.4 21.9 8.26 35.75 9.1 24 49.95 16.38 95 54.2 0.8 24.4 2.8 1.39 0.62 158 1978

46.15 90.5 64.35 21.8 8.26 35.75 8.87 24.05 49.9 16.5 96.4 54.05 0.78 23 2.76 1.02 0.62 158.2 1945

46.15 90.5 65 21.85 8.26 35.85 9.11 24.15 49.9 16.6 96.4 54.2 0.79 24.5 2.91 1.48 0.62 158.2 1945

45.05 88 64.1 21.75 8.21 35.4 8.87 23.7 49.5 16.22 94 54.05 0.77 23 2.7 1.02 0.58 155.1 1945

45.05 88 64.2 21.75 8.22 35.75 9.11 24 49.55 16.3 95 54.05 0.79 24.5 2.8 1.39 0.61 157.9 1945

2700 2306470 1436340 44900 162800 2652800 4400 1069300 800 82700 495010 3050 82000 26700 115000 2564000 33000 280 20

122225 -94985 205154786.5 -98150870.5 92,437,395.5( 32,124,624.5004) 979580 -148355 1341753 -554857 94774900 46597725 39958 25658055 -10830295 39785 1351600 -1267350 47398259.5 -3759163.5 165197 108400 64120 633970 314490 3516020 -308220 19520 44251 36382.9998 38900 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 3.09 3.1 3.06 3.14 3.03 3.1 14448000 44765030 ALSONS CONS 1.23 1.24 1.23 1.24 1.22 1.24 499000 615600 26.3 26.35 26.9 27 26.35 26.35 1059000 28071775 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.169 0.173 0.171 0.173 0.169 0.172 1610000 275220 24.85 24.9 25.3 25.3 24.9 24.9 272300 6834875 FIRST GEN 60.95 61.5 60.95 60.95 60.85 60.95 364610 22222947.5 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 269.8 270.8 277 277.6 269.8 269.8 431180 117975072 14.02 14.08 14.02 14.14 14.02 14.02 516300 7261906 MANILA WATER PETRON 3.04 3.05 3.09 3.09 3.05 3.05 2006000 6135400 PETROENERGY 3.1 3.3 3.32 3.32 3.32 3.32 2000 6640 10.72 10.96 10.72 10.96 10.72 10.96 10100 110672 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 17.4 17.42 17.76 17.76 17.38 17.4 476800 8340306 9.16 9.17 9.17 9.18 9.15 9.17 94400 864884 SPC POWER 12.88 14 14 14 14 14 100 1400 VIVANT AGRINURTURE 7.9 7.98 8.03 8.03 7.9 7.98 45500 362506 2.43 2.44 2.35 2.44 2.33 2.43 21691000 52057660 AXELUM BOGO MEDELLIN 76 92 76.1 76.1 76.1 76.1 20 1522 CNTRL AZUCARERA 11.4 11.5 11.44 11.44 11.4 11.4 1000 11420 17.72 17.74 18.1 18.1 17.7 17.74 2883400 51180820 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 4.7 4.75 4.72 4.92 4.69 4.75 91000 429690 5.7 5.74 5.58 5.8 5.51 5.74 4338400 24770045 DNL INDUS 9.87 9.9 9.91 9.91 9.81 9.9 506100 5004848 EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV 64 64.5 64.5 64.5 63.7 64.5 22720 1458193.5 0.65 0.66 0.65 0.66 0.65 0.65 207000 134560 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.26 1.29 1.23 1.32 1.23 1.29 21960000 28084300 49.5 50 46.6 50 46.6 50 164400 8112430 GINEBRA 133.3 134 134.8 134.9 133.2 133.3 1384520 185606340 JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG 7.82 8.26 8.2 8.27 8.2 8.27 400 3301 5.09 5.1 4.92 5.09 4.9 5.09 588000 2943120 MAXS GROUP SHAKEYS PIZZA 5.91 5.92 5.93 5.96 5.91 5.92 79500 471267 ROXAS AND CO 1.2 1.21 1.19 1.21 1.18 1.21 4326000 5173770 1.95 1.99 1.95 2.04 1.94 1.95 272000 538120 ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS 0.106 0.108 0.108 0.108 0.106 0.108 120000 12940 137 137.5 140 140.8 136.6 137 2567510 354237554 UNIV ROBINA 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.8 0.78 0.8 1801000 1428050 VITARICH CONCRETE A 51.8 52.45 51.05 52.45 51 52.45 4660 241045 51.15 54.8 52 54.85 52 54.85 20 1068.5 CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG 1.5 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.49 1.5 15962000 24019790 DAVINCI CAPITAL 3.16 3.45 3.16 3.47 3.15 3.46 38000 120670 13.5 13.8 13.8 13.9 13.44 13.8 740900 10061982 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 6.61 6.62 6.46 6.7 6.4 6.61 599900 3895818 5.53 5.55 5.73 5.73 5.5 5.53 7508600 41722803 HOLCIM 7.2 7.21 7.45 7.45 7.19 7.21 744900 5412711 MEGAWIDE PHINMA 8.48 8.6 8.5 8.79 8.49 8.49 17000 144583 0.71 0.72 0.68 0.8 0.68 0.72 4575000 3440250 TKC METALS VULCAN INDL 0.74 0.75 0.73 0.75 0.73 0.75 228000 168920 CHEMPHIL 110.8 140 111 111 110.8 110.8 260 28822 1.91 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.95 1000 1950 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 1.96 1.97 1.87 1.97 1.85 1.97 1431000 2785560 4.21 4.5 4.35 4.45 4.2 4.21 15000 63560 LMG CORP MABUHAY VINYL 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6 25000 115000 CONCEPCION 19.82 20 20.05 20.05 19.78 20 14100 281734 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.17 2.13 2.15 3728000 7991910 GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR 5.9 5.95 5.9 6.22 5.8 5.9 1335700 7993395 1.01 1.03 1.04 1.04 1.01 1.03 512000 525950 IONICS PANASONIC 4.48 4.89 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 1000 4900 SFA SEMICON 1.37 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.36 1.38 670000 914270 6.2 6.23 6.2 6.37 6.17 6.2 10889500 68057995 CIRTEK HLDG

1312500 -42560 -13725520 -2330680 -22210761 -69158298 157704 -1802150 1245604 -7328 13549 282000 -2220490 -75440 -3866594 -89677 -1291923.5 -149470 2931815 -117112996 -142440 23837 -10100 -11880 -260585810 830 4658990 207000 -66612 -6816233 -275571 34000 -31700 64399.9999 -173900 635920 -1194012 126220

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.475 0.48 0.49 0.49 0.475 0.475 6660000 3199800 ASIABEST GROUP 7.72 8.1 8.08 8.09 7.65 8.09 10500 81700 697 698 705 706 696 698 165610 115730600 AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY 47.1 47.4 47.1 47.55 46.8 47.4 437100 20670005 7.08 7.1 6.99 7.15 6.94 7.1 15402800 109198023 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 2.3 2.32 2.24 2.4 2.16 2.32 5102000 11592650 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.33 6.7 6.32 6.5 6.32 6.5 1300 8432 0.55 0.56 0.55 0.56 0.55 0.56 20000 11180 ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A 0.57 0.59 0.61 0.61 0.58 0.59 1179000 690810 COSCO CAPITAL 5.2 5.23 5.27 5.27 5.2 5.2 516300 2694692 4.1 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.1 4.12 1752000 7201880 DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV 8.5 8.75 8.5 8.75 8.5 8.75 72100 612875 404.4 404.8 408 408 404 404.8 96980 39290144 GT CAPITAL 3.06 3.22 3.18 3.22 3.18 3.22 8000 25520 HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT 62.4 62.9 62.8 62.9 62.05 62.9 692270 43388221 4.41 5.2 5.37 5.37 5.37 5.37 1000 5370 JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR 0.6 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.59 0.61 200000 122000 LOPEZ HLDG 2.42 2.48 2.43 2.43 2.42 2.42 669000 1619480 8.68 8.79 8.7 8.79 8.64 8.79 816500 7097128 LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.52 0.5 0.52 94000 47480 3.51 3.52 3.56 3.57 3.5 3.52 7663000 27033480 METRO PAC INV 2.9 3.04 2.91 3.04 2.9 3.04 24000 69770 PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA 0.76 0.8 0.77 0.8 0.77 0.8 47000 36700 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 30000 78000 REPUBLIC GLASS SYNERGY GRID 155 164 153.1 165.9 153.1 155 160 24681 908.5 910 922 927 910 910 604070 553435975 SM INVESTMENTS 100 100.1 101.5 101.5 100 100 394180 39468711 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.65 0.66 0.64 0.7 0.64 0.66 229000 150730 126 129.9 130 130 130 130 1020 132600 TOP FRONTIER ZEUS HLDG 0.134 0.138 0.137 0.139 0.131 0.138 2190000 295710

-1429500 -63345125 -5839450 18292472 -211800 -148445 -444260 -12746284 -20909424.5 590 -1609760 889727.9999 -11169390 58000 417743605 -11668385 2600 -

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP AREIT RT BELLE CORP A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

0.53 8 31.4 0.98 25.65 1.37 0.8 0.79 0.127 5.74 5.02 0.37 0.265 14.44 5.89 0.265 0.086 0.91 0.75 7.2 1.23 0.72 3.13 0.246 0.29 1.13 14.9 0.224 1.51 2.63 1.92 28.5 3.8 1.22 3.25

0.54 8.3 31.45 1 25.7 1.38 0.81 0.84 0.131 5.93 5.03 0.375 0.28 14.48 5.9 0.27 0.09 0.92 0.77 7.3 1.24 0.74 3.14 0.247 0.305 1.14 15 0.233 1.55 2.68 1.95 28.55 3.81 1.23 3.28

0.53 8 31.55 0.98 25.65 1.38 0.81 0.81 0.134 5.7 5 0.365 0.28 14.46 5.9 0.27 0.085 0.92 0.77 7.44 1.24 0.73 3.19 0.247 0.31 1.13 15 0.225 1.5 2.68 1.94 28.55 3.81 1.21 3.25

0.54 8 31.7 1 25.75 1.38 0.81 0.81 0.134 5.93 5.04 0.37 0.29 14.6 5.9 0.27 0.085 0.92 0.78 7.44 1.24 0.76 3.19 0.249 0.31 1.14 15.08 0.225 1.5 2.68 1.95 28.9 3.81 1.23 3.29

0.53 8 31.25 0.98 25.55 1.36 0.8 0.79 0.127 5.7 5 0.365 0.265 14.42 5.85 0.27 0.085 0.91 0.75 7.12 1.2 0.73 3.11 0.246 0.285 1.13 14.9 0.225 1.5 2.65 1.94 28.5 3.72 1.21 3.24

0.54 8 31.45 1 25.7 1.37 0.81 0.79 0.131 5.93 5.03 0.37 0.265 14.48 5.89 0.27 0.085 0.92 0.76 7.3 1.23 0.75 3.14 0.247 0.285 1.14 14.9 0.225 1.5 2.65 1.95 28.5 3.8 1.23 3.25

580000 1000 9497600 58000 472700 39000 1202000 11000 400000 800 104000 1790000 160000 604200 766200 630000 40000 4808000 2126000 152000 1776000 108000 14693000 5270000 30000 145000 899500 40000 1000 12000 100000 7855400 77000 249000 947000

307680 8000 299119760 56930 12122670 53340 966680 8750 53200 4583 522210 660850 44750 8756682 4511421 170100 3400 4408150 1616730 1100638 2157080 80550 46089340 1300820 8800 164520 13448326 9000 1500 32010 194810 224380480 290930 303220 3089440

34892240 -1060910 -4150 -16200 -5618976 -43453 903710 -679248 2374600 -9659102 -29330 -154043910 -1306090

SERVICES ABS CBN 7 7.08 7.03 7.2 7 7 1108800 7827853 GMA NETWORK 5.08 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.05 5.08 429500 2181027 0.4 0.405 0.405 0.405 0.405 0.405 280000 113400 MANILA BULLETIN GLOBE TELECOM 2060 2062 2078 2080 2062 2062 30375 62781290 1395 1400 1401 1407 1388 1395 108405 151410000 PLDT 0.055 0.056 0.055 0.058 0.055 0.056 14910000 834220 APOLLO GLOBAL DFNN INC 3.16 3.19 3.05 3.2 3.05 3.2 110000 343700 3.61 3.62 3.64 3.65 3.56 3.61 16128000 58157420 DITO CME HLDG ISLAND INFO 0.068 0.073 0.073 0.073 0.07 0.073 230000 16490 JACKSTONES 1.62 1.66 1.58 1.76 1.58 1.66 207000 345890 2.33 2.34 2.45 2.45 2.33 2.34 7892000 18838420 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.178 0.18 0.179 0.179 0.177 0.178 1570000 279340 2.34 2.35 2.38 2.43 2.34 2.35 832000 1972370 PHILWEB 8.46 8.47 8.55 8.55 8.45 8.46 8300 70355 2GO GROUP CHELSEA 3.44 3.47 3.56 3.56 3.44 3.45 612000 2119540 37.8 38 38.1 38.25 37.75 38 177600 6746960 CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER 106 107.1 107.7 107.7 105.7 107.1 1157460 123608228 LBC EXPRESS 15.16 15.5 15.5 15.5 15.16 15.16 4300 65258 4.81 4.83 4.78 4.85 4.68 4.83 3127000 14913020 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 1.83 1.84 1.57 1.97 1.57 1.83 7945000 14483990 1.99 2 1.99 2.1 1.8 1.8 31000 61720 METROALLIANCE B PAL HLDG 5.8 5.83 5.8 5.89 5.8 5.84 7400 43087 HARBOR STAR 1.14 1.15 1.18 1.18 1.12 1.15 3073000 3512840 0.027 0.028 0.027 0.028 0.027 0.028 20400000 555900 BOULEVARD HLDG DISCOVERY WORLD 1.39 1.49 1.48 1.48 1.4 1.4 112000 157280 0.385 0.395 0.395 0.4 0.38 0.38 770000 303450 WATERFRONT IPEOPLE 7.34 7.4 7.41 7.41 7.4 7.4 8100 59951 STI HLDG 0.345 0.35 0.36 0.36 0.345 0.345 11190000 3923050 3.2 3.21 3.31 3.45 3.1 3.2 2700000 8717500 BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY 7.02 7.03 7 7.06 6.85 7.03 4353300 30442229 LEISURE AND RES 1.32 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.32 1.32 23000 30460 2.23 2.27 2.13 2.29 2.13 2.27 43000 97770 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.32 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.32 0.32 8510000 2741700 6.03 6.04 5.94 6.15 5.94 6.03 5981400 36268749 ALLHOME 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.39 1.4 520000 727540 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 47.65 47.7 48.55 48.55 47.7 47.7 4448800 213374015 67.9 68 67.95 68 67.75 68 269020 18271038.5 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 119.5 124 119.5 119.5 119.5 119.5 60 7170 SSI GROUP 1.16 1.17 1.21 1.22 1.17 1.17 4928000 5842420 15.9 15.98 16 16.08 15.88 15.9 2096500 33570626 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.295 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.29 0.295 2640000 773300 6.51 6.52 6.15 6.78 6.14 6.52 76400 496744 EASYCALL GOLDEN BRIA 287 310 284 310 284 310 1680 505868 PAXYS 2.04 2.08 2.04 2.04 2.03 2.03 5000 10190 0.23 0.231 0.221 0.232 0.22 0.231 12920000 2936140 PRMIERE HORIZON

-31871400 -79307675 43990 2143880 486020 -204500 11844 -4448400 -52135727 1540 -360950 79899.9999 -42000 -2216862 2640 -2130 -5299483 -32089015 -7402265.5 7170 -372470 -182854 1250 -161880 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.21 7.92 7.92 7.92 7.92 7.92 100 792 1.59 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.57 1.6 4312000 6840810 -950360 APEX MINING ABRA MINING 0.0008 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 0.0008 0.0009 120000000 97100 3.86 3.89 3.86 3.9 3.86 3.89 71000 275250 -81690 ATLAS MINING 2.75 2.77 2.75 2.78 2.75 2.77 41000 113080 BENGUET A BENGUET B 2.68 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.8 59000 160700 -118800 0.215 0.225 0.22 0.225 0.215 0.225 180000 39720 COAL ASIA HLDG DIZON MINES 7.84 7.87 7.9 7.9 7.73 7.87 10600 82194 FERRONICKEL 1.29 1.3 1.27 1.3 1.27 1.3 6708000 8643240 103220 0.229 0.232 0.23 0.233 0.23 0.23 40000 9240 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.146 0.148 0.147 0.148 0.146 0.147 3550000 520220 0.145 0.148 0.146 0.146 0.145 0.145 770000 112220 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.0095 0.0097 0.0097 0.0097 0.0096 0.0096 3000000 28900 MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 8000000 84000 0.93 0.95 0.93 0.95 0.92 0.95 822000 764870 950 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 2.08 2.1 2.08 2.12 2.08 2.08 539000 1126180 -107350 NICKEL ASIA 3.12 3.13 3.1 3.14 3.09 3.13 3726000 11615720 2710 0.37 0.385 0.385 0.385 0.385 0.385 20000 7700 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.56 0.58 0.57 0.58 0.57 0.57 167000 95330 4.3 4.31 4.25 4.32 4.24 4.3 2512000 10793360 2264630 PX MINING 9.81 9.85 9.94 9.94 9.81 9.85 1794300 17718215 -467361 SEMIRARA MINING ACE ENEXOR 5.8 5.95 5.95 5.95 5.95 5.95 100 595 0.0083 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 2000000 16800 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.0084 0.0086 0.0085 0.0086 0.0084 0.0084 37000000 312100 PXP ENERGY 5.37 5.39 5.59 5.59 5.33 5.37 597100 3229833 -515868

PREFFERED ALCO PREF B 100 101 101 101 101 101 25150 2540150 AC PREF B2R 506 512 506 506 506 506 1000 506000 100.6 101 100.9 100.9 100.8 100.9 25040 2526532 DD PREF GLO PREF P 503 508 515 515 503 503 1210 614740 101.3 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 40 4060 MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A 96.65 98.25 98.25 98.25 98.25 98.25 120 11790 PNX PREF 4 940 946.5 940 940 940 940 5000 4700000 1050 1060 1060 1060 1060 1060 100 106000 PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3B 1070 1088 1070 1088 1070 1088 65 69640 SMC PREF 2C 78.2 78.25 78.4 78.4 78.2 78.25 12380 969272 75.75 76 76.95 76.95 76.95 76.95 200 15390 SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F 76.5 76.8 76.2 76.8 76.2 76.5 85300 6516660 -6248910 75.4 75.8 76.4 76.4 75.8 75.8 82020 6233612 -5703800 SMC PREF 2H 76 78.95 79 79 79 79 150 11850 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 6.7 6.8 6.66 6.73 6.66 6.7 526900 3530174 -3517520 GMA HLDG PDR 4.81 5 4.99 5 4.99 5 500000 2495750 -375000

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.64 0.65 0.64 0.65 0.64 0.64 36000 23340

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 10.5 10.52 10.3 10.5 10.24 10.5 169100 1760892 -43008 ITALPINAS 1.96 1.97 2.04 2.04 1.94 1.97 3362000 6659980 -1960 5.28 5.3 5.48 5.54 5.3 5.3 127800 683536 KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE 2.01 2.69 1.96 1.96 1.96 1.96 1000 1960 3.03 3.04 3.04 3.09 3.02 3.03 9399000 28606060 -113830 MERRYMART 0.54 0.55 0.54 0.57 0.53 0.54 12107000 6629890 56000 XURPAS

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 90 90.7 90.95 90.95 90 90 17160 1554295 559437.5

www.businessmirror.com.ph

San Miguel expands roast chicken chain

S

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

an Miguel Foods Inc. on Wednesday said it is expanding its network of stores offering roast chicken under Magnolia’s Chick ’n Juicy brand to serve more customers during the pandemic.

San Miguel said it opened its 87th store in Bagong Barrio, Caloocan. In 18 months, the chain of stores has grown its presence in 12 out of 17 cities in Metro Manila and several nearby provinces. It has also recently expanded to Petron Treats stores in Diego Silang Taguig and Libis Quezon City.

“With the pandemic still a threat to lives and health, we’re emphasizing safety across all San Miguel businesses,” San Miguel President and COO Ra-

mon S. Ang said.

“In our food businesses, since the start of the quarantine to the present, we’ve introduced many ways for consumers to have continuous, convenient, and safe access to our products—from rolling stores, community selling, to online ordering,” he added.

Ang said the retail chain adopts high standards of safety, in much the same way Magnolia follows the strictest safety protocols for its poultry business.

Food produc t s a re a l so cooked and prepared by trained store personnel with emphasis on stringent safety and health measures. The food items are packed in resealable airtight bags to maintain safety, quality, juiciness, and flavor.

Ang said the strategy is a combination of outlet expansion, strengthening its delivery network, utilizing online ordering platforms, and initiating community selling.

Apart from standalone outlets, its roast chicken brand has also utilized the available network of San Miguel unit Petron Corp. to open more branches at fuel service stations to increase its reach.

The retail food chain has also beefed up its in-house delivery service, serving various areas in Metro Manila, even as it has partnered with third-party online food delivery services such as LalaFood, and soon to be on Grabfood and Foodpanda.

Pru Life UK unveils index tracker fund

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

L

ife insurer Pru Life UK launched its latest offering that aims to provide a stable investment portfolio with the potential for long-term capital growth.

Through Pru Life UK’s new investment-linked fund offering, PRULink Equity Index Tracker Fund, clients get to invest in the country’s 30 largest companies by market capitalization and the most actively traded stocks on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

As an index tracker, it seeks to replicate the performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi), the leading benchmark of the national stock market.

Pru Life UK President and Chief Executive Officer Antonio De Rosas said their latest offering provides investors with “a good starting point” when it comes to investments aside from the life insurance benefits that primarily come with the fund.

“We want our customers to have more choices on how to grow their money. The new fund will now be included in the selection of PRULink funds they can invest in when they purchase an insuravest plan,” De Rosas said.

Pru Life UK Vice President for Investment Marketing Head Mark Anthony Valino also said PRULink Equity Index Tracker Fund is a passively managed fund unlike the PRULink Equity Fund, which is actively managed.

While both are providing opportunities for medium-to-long term capital appreciation and income growth, Valino said PRULink Equity Fund invests in a stock of publicly-listed companies in the PSE while PRULink Equity Index Tracker Fund will focus on stocks comprising the PSEi. Aside from this, there is a bigger room for fund flexibility under the PRULink Equity Index Tracker Fund as the fund manager may invest in a single stock or issue of up to a maximum of 15 percent. This is lower than the maximum of 10 percent fund flexibility under the PRULink Equity Fund.

Valino said their latest offering comes with a lower management charge of 1.75 percent per annum compared to the PRULink Equity Fund with a management fee of 2.25 percent per annum.

The PRULink Equity Index Tracker Fund is managed by Pru Life UK Investments, a subsidiary of Pru Life UK incorporated in 2018.

It is also now available in Pru Life UK’s suite of pesodenominated insuravest products, namely, PRUMillionaire, PRULin k Investor Account

mutual funds

Plus, PRULink Elite Protector Ser ies, PRULink A ssurance Account Plus, PRULink Exact Protector (PEP) and PEP Low Premium, as well as in its PRULife Your Term with Variable Life Rider.

Existing policyholders may also top-up, redirect their premiums, or switch to the new fund.

September 16, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 197.69 -23.96% -11.07% -4.91% -21.5% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.078 -31.99% -13.19% -2.95% -22% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.6492 -34.54% -15.66% -6.81% -27.98% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.674 -30.72% -12.51% n.a. -24.94% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6847 -20.85% n.a. n.a. -19.38% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.2525 -22.43% -9.3% -4.35% -20.19% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6651 -24.48% -11.8% n.a.

-22.08% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 82.33 -30.13% n.a. n.a. -20.24% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 39.6936 -24.58% -9.7% -3.71% -22.6% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 425.74 -22.19% -9.09% -3.87% -20.09% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8793 n.a. n.a. n.a. -14.64% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0118 -23.68% -9.08% -3.42% -21.38% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 29.635 -23.92% -8.71% -3.1% -21.8% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7803 -25.12% n.a. n.a. -23.36% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.0523 -24.22% -9.07% -2.99% -22.42% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 677.51 -24.1% -9.17% -3.12% -22.3% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6102 -34.17% -13.15% -7.14% -28.33% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1244 -27.79% -10.73% -4.47% -25.77% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7764 -24.31% -9.36% -3.17% -22.42% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.8311 -24.17% -8.28% -2.67% -22.5% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 90.9914 -23.98% -8.73% -2.32% -22.2% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0601 9.46% 0.21% 4.04% 3.08% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5042 15.43% 7.84% n.a.

9.1% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5653 -6.28% -4.78% -2.79% 0.16% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0525 -11.43% -5.16% -1.23% -5.9% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4034 -10.13% -3.69% -2.39% -8.67% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1735 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-24.07% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8362 -6.74% -1.64% 0.21% -6.39% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4711 -9.26% -3.22% -0.96% -8.39% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.46 -9.65% -3.51% -1.11% -8.85% 1.9154 -11.27% -4.31% -1.15% -9.74% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2643 -16.51% -5.58% -2.33% -15.51% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9371 -8.73% n.a. n.a.

-7.74% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8378 -17.72% n.a. n.a. -15.92% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8133 -19.94% n.a. n.a.

-18.11% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8033 -19.15% -6.73% -3.18% -17.59% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03921 2.16% 2.75% 2.09% 2.64% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b 5.42% 0.79% 3.65% 3.28% $1.0452 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.1276 9.27% 5.45% 5.96% 5.55% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1639 4.8% 2.88% n.a.

3.12% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 367.91 3.99% 3.1% 2.61% 2.79% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9487 1.75% 0.86% 0.3% 2.46% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1993 3.82% 4.82% 5.01% 2.61% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2947 4.04% 2.75% 2.27% 3.21% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4482 4.75% 3.35% 2% 3.78% 4.6293 7.55% 4.13% 2.64% 5.86% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3088 5.75% 4.31% 2.43% 4.15% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9464 5.55% 4.22% 2.3% 4.18% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0312 8.51% 3.43% 1.85% 6.94% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1651 4.78% 4.66% 2.86% 2.91% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.7306 3.47% 3.88% 2.27% 1.73% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $478.7 3.05% 2.5% 2.85% 2.21% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є217.11 -1.39% 0.76% 1.17% -1.22% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2384 3.44% 2.64% 2.58% 2.99% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0264 2.33% 1.7% 1.67% 2.33% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0898 -0.67% 0.2% 0.32% -0.35% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4987 3.56% 3.55% 3.42% 3.96% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0611397 1.84% 2.11% 2.05% 1.39% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2176 2.06% 1.99% 2.6% 1.34% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.03 3.61% 3.29% 2.5% 2.54% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0445 2.2% n.a. n.a.

1.77% 2.87% 3.03% 2.61% 1.95% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2897 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0486 1.59% n.a. n.a.

0.99% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0215 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."

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

VRP Medical Center opens new E.R. for Covid-19 patients

By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

T

o accommodate the growing number of Covid-19 patients in Metro Manila, VRP Medical Center will be opening the extension of its Emergency Room (ER) this week.

This new extension will double VRP’s ER capacity and will be dedicated to Covid-19 cases.

Dr. Dan Luchangco, an ER consultant at VRP, related that it was in the middle of the pandemic when he and the other ER doctors were having a difficult time segregating people at the ER. They even reached a point where Covid-19 patents had to wait in the ER for several days just to get a bed in the patient floors.

“Sadly, it had come to the point where we had to turn away some patients because we simply had nowhere to put them. They did not have anywhere to lie down and so we had to stop accepting,” Dr. Luchangco said.

“We also had to maintain the capacity to treat the true emergencies that come in so we try to reserve beds for that as well.”

Vacant lot

To remedy the situation, the management acted decisively and converted the vacant long and narrow lot located beside the hospital into another ER facility. The existing ER has 16 beds and the ER Extension will have an additional 12 beds, a green zone and a nurse’s station.

The entrance to the ER Extension is located just across the entrance of the existing ER facility. Upon entry to the ER Extension, the first room across it is the resuscitation area which will accommodate patients who are dead on arrival or need to be revived. Next to the resuscitation area are four critical beds which are “equipped with mechanical ventilators, and all the critical care equipment that the patient needs. All rooms have cubicles with walls in between.”

“So this whole area, the ER Extension, will be considered what we call a hot zone so we know that we have Covid patients,” Dr. Luchangco said. “So you can imagine it is long and narrow, so two rows. There is a corridor down the middle and two rows of beds.”

Ventilation

As for the ventilation of the area, the air “will go through the hallway, out to the beds, through the exhausts on the

outer side and then out.” The ventilation is designed to protect not only the patients from the staff as well. The ER Extension will also have its own mobile X-Ray machine so that the patients will no longer have to be brought outside of the ER facility.

One interesting feature of the Extended ER is the green zone. Dr. Luchangco related that this is the area where the health-care workers and doctors will enter and exit the new ER facility. As the staff enter the green zone, they will be in the common area where they will change into their scrubs. Prior to entering the hot zone, they will have to put on their PPEs at the donning and doffing area.

“Donning means putting on your PPE and doffing is to remove and these are very important steps to controlling infection obviously because you have to put on your PPE carefully and also, even more important, is the doffing which is to remove your contaminated PPE,” he said.

“So there should be a dedicated area for this and it should be done very carefully in a step by step manner so that you do not end up infecting yourself as you are removing protection. After removing the PPE, the staff immediately takes a shower just to be sure they are clean prior to changing into their clothes,” he added.

Lounge chairs

Dr. Luchangco pointed out that the inclusion of the green zone in the ER Extension was a welcome move since “we don’t know when this will end and this can be used later on for other infection pandemics.” There is also a treatment room where doctors can do procedures like suturing and casting for broken bones.

There is usually a call room which has beds where the doctors and staff can rest. Since they have to wear PPEs and it is not really safe to lie down, lounge chairs have been provided at the nurse’s station where “the staff will be able to rest while maintaining their PPE.” “The ER Extension has been many months in the making but once the management decided to convert the vacant lot, a team was put together to plan for the ER Extension,” Dr. Luchangco said. “It went through the Department of Health permits and other government permits so this was constructed very fast to meet the needs of Covid-19 patients.”

Tesda-NCR to lead contact tracing training in PHL

T

By Roderick L. Abad

O help strengthen the country’s capacity to identify possible carriers of the Covid-19 virus and prevent them from spreading it, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in the National Capital Region (Tesda-NCR), through the MuntiParLasTaPat District Training and Assessment Center, has opened a Contact Tracing Level II Training Program in Taguig City.

“As the government continues to pursue aggressive testing, tracing, and treatment as among the strategies to fight Covid-19, Tesda welcomes the opportunity to be of service and at the frontline of these efforts, along with the Department of Health and other partner agencies like the local government units and the Red Cross,” Tesda Secretary Isidro Lapeña said during the launch of the facility.

There are 25 pioneer students who are currently undergoing their training there. He told the participants that it is important for them to focus and participate actively in their classes.

“Your role as contact tracers is very crucial. Your speed and competence in contact tracing will be one of our effective instruments to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country,” he added.

Other regions to follow

Lapeña is positive that other regions and provinces will follow and start opening their own contact tracing training programs in the next few weeks.

Tesda will provide each trainee with P2,400 for the whole training duration or P160 per day as a training support fund, with P500 for personal protective equipment and another P500 for their mobile data.

Most of the trainees are caregiving graduates or have other health-related qualifications coming from Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Taguig, and Pateros.

Contact Tracing Level II Training Program lasts for 15 days or 120 hours of full-online mode of training delivery with eight hours of training per day.

Here, students can learn how to develop competencies in conducting case investigation and contact identification, planning an investigation and interview, evaluating the results of their interviews, profiling of contacts and data recording, conducting referral to health facility or quarantine, coordinating with health workers and even drivers during the transport of close contacts, and monitoring the patient during transport.

The competency standards of Contact Tracing Level II were developed by Tesda last July.

Thursday, September 17, 2020 B3

D.O.H. targets 95 percent polio vaccine coverage

P

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

olio is a highly infectious disease that mainly affects young children who have not completed their vaccination schedules.

The disease is transmitted from person-to-person primarily through the fecal-to-oral route resulting from poor sanitation and hygiene practices, and less frequently through contaminated food or water.

Once in the intestine, the poliovirus multiplies, invades the nervous system and causes paralysis or even death.

That is why the Department of Health (DOH) is targeting 95 percent vaccination coverage of children under five years of age.

Round two The DOH announced that the 2nd round of Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP) in Region III and in three provinces of Region IVA, namely Laguna, Rizal and Cavite started on September 14, 2020 and that will run until September 27.

Two drops of the monovalent Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (mOPV2) will be given to children under five years of age for free, regardless of their immunization status.

Last July and August 2020, the DOH in

partnership with the local government units (LGUs) conducted the first round of the SPKP in the same regions. The results, however, were below the desired target of 95 percent vaccination coverage of children under five years of age—80.6 percent (Phase 1) and 81.39 percent (Phase 2) in Region 3, and 81.71 percent (Phase 1) and 70.88 percent (Phase 2) in the three provinces of Region 4A. “With the Covid-19 pandemic, the challenges of conducting an effective polio outbreak response immunization are numerous and unprecedented. Nevertheless, our health workers and vaccinators have worked tirelessly to reach every child and provide them with oral polio drops,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III remarked.

Polio drops The oral polio drops, Duque said, will provide additional protection to the children against the poliovirus and prevent a polio outbreak.

The SPKP is a series of polio vaccination rounds provided to children under five years of age in selected high-risk areas of the country, where each vaccination round is synchronously conducted within a two-week period. Since July of 2019, the Department has successfully conducted several rounds of SPKP in the National Capital Region and in all regions of Mindanao.

This year, the Department included two additional regions, namely Regions 3 and 4A, after polio cases were reported in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, and Calamba City, Laguna.

“I challenge our Central Luzon and Calabarzon Centers for Health Development and LGUs to replicate the successes and best practices of our previous SPKP campaigns. The outcome of this SPKP round will determine our next steps in addressing the polio outbreak,” Duque said.

Poliomyelitis is a disease with devastating and lifelong consequences such as paralysis or even death. There is no cure for the disease and vaccination is the best way to prevent polio.

“Our fight against polio is not over.

Since the mOPV2 is not commercially available and only given in government health facilities, I continue to urge parents and caregivers to have their children vaccinated against this disease during the said vaccination dates. Let us work together and ensure that no child is left

behind unvaccinated,” Duque said.

Patak Polio in Calabarzon The DOH—Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) has kicked off the second round of SPKP, a supplemental door-to-door immunization campaign to prevent the spread of the virus in the provinces of Laguna, Rizal and Cavite and to protect vulnerable children from the consequences of polio recirculation.

“The second round of immunization activity will ensure full protection of children against the poliovirus and is expected to improve the immunization coverage by providing all children under five years old with free doses of oral polio vaccine,” DOH Region 4A Director Dr. Eduardo C. Janairo stated.

“Administering multiple doses of OPV to children has been proven to be safe and effective in preventing the transmission of the virus. Kailangang magkaroon ng full vaccination ang isang bata, ibig sabihin dapat mayroon siyang four doses ng polio vaccine upang magkaroon sya ng full protection,” he emphasized.

The DOH recommends that children must get one dose at each of the following ages—two months old, four months old, six through 18 months old and four through six years old.

Janairo reminded parents of children zero to 59 months old to make sure their children are vaccinated against polio.

TMC South Luzon opens drive-thru laboratory to meet patients’ needs

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iving in to the requests of residents living in the hospital’s vicinity, The Medical City (TMC) South Luzon recently launched its Labworks Drive-Thru in a bid to provide its patients with a safer and more convenient option for laboratory services.

Dr. Cesar Ramon G. Espiritu, President and CEO of TMC South Luzon, said the drive-thru actually started on June 19, 2020 and at that time, the hospital only offered RT-PCR tests and Rapid Tests “because there was a high demand for it and there were very limited facilities in the area for which to go and have the tests done.”

The Labworks Drive-Thru services now also include blood extractions for the most common blood chemistry tests which are done in the comfort and convenience of the patient’s vehicle. For X-rays and ECGs, patients will be instructed to park in front of the clearly marked tent where the tests can be done in less than 30 minutes. Tests to be done at the drivethru are by appointment only.

Second hospital TMC South Luzon is the second hospital in the TMC Network to offer drive-thru laboratory services. The Medical City main hospital in Pasig City opened its Drive-Thru Lab Service for blood works, including ECLIA last August 24, 2020. The

ceived requests from other patients who wanted their tests done in the afternoon,” he said. “We studied the proposal and now the drive-thru is open every day from 8 am to 12 noon and from 4 pm to 7 pm.”

Home care services

X-Ray technicians checking the outcome of a patient’s X-Ray. service is available Mondays to Sundays, including holidays from 7 am to 6 pm at the back of TMC. “This program is our response to the growing requests of clients for a safe and convenient process to have their common lab exams done. Through this, we eliminate the need to have to enter the hospital just for simple tests,” Dr. Espiritu said. “Although this was spurred by the current health crisis, we foresee that this service will even outlive the pandemic because of its positive features and ad-

vantages.”

Consistent with The Medical City’s philosophy of patient partnership, Dr. Espiritu said that at TMC South Luzon, they serve their patients’ health-care needs with all the considerations of how they themselves would be treated.

“When we started the drive-thru, the operating hours were from 9 am to 12 noon. However, we started getting requests if we could start earlier because patients wanted to drop by for the tests before they go to the office. We also re-

TMC South Luzon also offers home care and teleconsultation services. Through a phone-in appointment, the home care staff will visit the patient at home at his requested schedule. Common home care services being offered are laboratory tests, ECG, nursing procedures, stoma and wound care, and physical medicine rehabilitation. Whether the patient’s reason be a physical disability, health limitation or just plain convenience, TMC South Luzon will gladly cater to their needs in the comfort and safety of their home.

Teleconsultations, on the other hand, allows doctors and patients to interact and, at the very least, provide immediate relief to common and even urgent problems with the aid of current technology and platforms.

“We will also be launching our mobile clinic soon and with this, we will be able to cater to more patients so that their health-care needs can be taken care of without having to go to the hospital,” Dr. Espiritu said. Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Outdoor Channel conducts first-ever Virtual Run in PHL

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utdoor Channel Asia, a channel dedicated to outdoor lifestyles and entertainment, is staging the first-ever Virtual Run in the Philippines.

The Outdoor Channel Virtual Run started on August 31, 2020 and will run until October 15, 2020.

It is organized by JLC Communications and Without Limits as a way to counter the social restrictions inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic and to bring in some much-needed activities and challenges right at the very home of the participants.

The Outdoor Channel Virtual Run 2020 will encourage communities across the Philippines to come together to promote fitness and well-being through online social sharing. Participants are encouraged to conquer virtual tracks by taking photos, making videos and sharing their stories of achievement during these unprecedented times.

There will be six run categories of 5km, 10km, 21km, 42km, 102km and 160km. Participants can register at www.outdoorchannelasia. com/VRPH. From there they can design their own course and location as they like and join the Outdoor Channel Virtual Run community

on Facebook and Instagram to connect with other runners. On their designated day run, participants can race, run or walk on the road, trail or treadmill and track their efforts using a GPS-tracking running app.

They then submit their time, distance, and screenshot on their own account where they registered to verify that they have completed their objective and will share across social-media channels. All finishers shall receive limited edition finisher’s medal, lightweight full sublimation technical shirt, and other entitlements. The first 60 registrants shall receive a premium item from Outdoor Channel.

The categories are as follows:

5km—Sierra Madre Trail

Sierra Madre Mountain Range has a lot more to offer besides one of the main attractions—Mt. Pinagbanderahan. In the trail, you will have the chance to hike, explore a cave, eat local food, swim and jump from a waterfall. All these fascinating natural works are possible to see because the trek is relatively an easy one and can be therefore rec-

ommended for beginners.

10km—Pinatubo Trail

Mt. Pinatubo is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The gem of Mt. Pinatubo is its crater lake, which lies at the end of a 2.5-hour trek. Long after its historic 1991 eruption, Mt. Pinatubo has become a place worth traveling to, most especially for people yearning for adventure.

21km—EDSA

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA is the main thoroughfare in Metro Manila passing through six cities. Edsa starts from the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City. Stretching for over 23 km, Edsa’s terminus is at a rotunda in front of the Globe of the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

42km—Military Run

This category is aimed at all those who have never raced in a full marathon (42 km distance) and those who cultivate the desire to try to participate in a military run, in a gradual and fun way.

102km—Bataan March

The Bataan March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000-80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war from Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan to Camp O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac. The transfer began on April 9, 1942, after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II. The total distance marched is reported to be 105 km.

160km—Freedom Trail

The 100-mile distance commemorates the 102 km march plus the train journey of the marchers towards their final destination in Camp O’ Donnell, Capas Tarlac. Many perished in this journey, as hundreds are fitted in a box car with a 50 person capacity. Survivor reports vary from 9,000 to 18,000 deaths from their departure in Bataan until their arrival in Capas, Tarlac.

Co-presenters of Outdoor Channel Virtual Run 2020 are Veterans bank Philippines and MG (Morris Garages). They are supported by Gatorade, Hahn Manila, Leatherman, Ledlenser, Toppcock, Bix, Crazy Carabao, Beanleaf Coffee and Tea, Guitar Apparel, Aquabest, Stradcom, EE, and Worth the Health. #PVBFreedomTrail2020 #MGPhilippines.

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Thursday, September 17, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Show BusinessMirror

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The great story continues: ‘A.D. Kingdom and Empire’

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

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CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Patrick Mahomes, 25; Danielle Brooks, 31; Doug E. Fresh, 54; Kyle Chandler, 55.

Happy Birthday: Care and share will sum up the way your year unfolds. How you present what you want to do will determine how well you do. Be bold, adjust to change and be passionate about your beliefs and plans as you move forward. Opportunity is within reach, but it will take effort by you to get things done properly. Focus on the future. Your numbers are 12, 19, 24, 27, 31, 33, 44.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Evaluate your relationships with others, and consider who is heading down a similar path. It’s time to revamp the way you do things and to monitor your time carefully.

Change is required, but it will require patience to get what you want. HHH

I

AM always curious about stories from the Bible.

Jesus Christ has always been—bar none— the most intriguing individual of all time.

For someone so historically significant and arresting, there are no clear proofs of the person who lived and caused trouble to an occupation force, that of Rome and the Jews of that age.

The contradiction in Jesus’s presence in the world is best summed up by the label for a juncture in our history—A.D. Anno Domini is roughly the Year of the Lord. It is a summation of the years that followed after Jesus passed on—dying on the Cross—and, believe it or not, rising again from the Dead and living forever.

The miniseries, which is titled A.D. Kingdom and Empire, now appears as one of the popular offerings from Netflix, cites its main source: the New Testament of the Bible for Christians. But the series has a huge impact on viewers because it attempts—and succeeds—to use its sources differently.

The series opens already in the middle of the Crucifixion. The storytelling is brisk as it grabs the tale from its throat. The scenes are in-your-face; the episode makes no excuses about how natural grandeur and not spiritual fervor attends the death of the Son of God. If you think you have seen the gore and blood in the controversial The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson, you are in for a treat in A.D and the Empire.

Clouds accumulate into the gravest formations, intense lights inflame the horizon and a massive earthquake rumbles when the Crucified Christ expires. Where the earlier versions downplayed the “supernatural” in the many retellings of Christ’s death, this series employs the extraordinary occurrences of that day to drive home the point: that Man on the Cross was no regular dude. And we believe his power and glory.

When at last this Christ is risen from the grave, we realize that A.D. Kingdom and Empire works because it is really an adventurous composite of two point-ofviews: the narrative of writers/filmmakers telling the story of the Christ within the accounts of the Roman empire, its greatness and failures, and the persistent perspective of chroniclers in the series who are bent on talking about the majesty and magic of conversion and martyrdom. If only for its depiction of the Angels, this series is already a winner.

The said POVs never run against each other but rather appear to work hand in hand to deliver the many messages of the great story. The material (data on empire and politics) and the supra-material/ spiritual (those fantastic images of might and apparitions) are given equal weight. It is a case of take it or leave it, believe in it or question it. Always, always the audience is left to judge, be in awe or even question the reports, but never to ignore them.

There is something fresh also in the manner by which scenes are staged and the characters are presented—they are never camp.

As the stories unfold, the Passion and Death are over; the Acts of the Apostles are about to begin.

This is post-Crucifixion and the psychic fortunes of those involved in the saddest crime of all are now

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A change may be necessary if you haven’t been getting along with someone you work alongside.

Either find a way to put your differences aside or remove yourself from the situation. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do something that stimulates you mentally. Stay focused on what’s important. If you overreact, take on too much or get involved in something that isn’t going to benefit you personally, you will have regrets. HHHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Let your emotions and intuition lead the way. Anger is a waste of time. Put your heart into something you want to pursue, and it will help take your mind off disruptive situations. Use your imagination, and good things will transpire. HHHH

falling apart. The problem, who is Christ, is supposed to have been eliminated already, but why the anxieties of the Roman officials and the Jews?

A.D. Kingdom and Empire covers the biographies of Caiaphas, the High Priest of the Sanhedrin; Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor lording over the boring Judea; and the followers of Christ, lost during the Crucifixion but gradually getting their bearings as they discover that their Master is alive and they are in contact with what they call the Holy Spirit. These disciples are led by Peter and John, brave men with lots of imperfections that, when surmounted, make them endearingly human and compelling.

Cluttering the minds of these principals are other recognizable names: Herod Antipas, a troubled kingguest of Pilate who now occupies the palace where he grew up, and his wife, Herodias (remember them for their beheading of John the Baptist); Claudia, the wife of Pilate, she who dreams and sees the future; Leah, wife of Caiaphas, who actively schemes and plots to support her husband and whose decisions pull him down, deeper into a conflict with his religion and the dominance of Rome; and Joseph of Arimathea, whose ideology urges him to offer his tomb as the place for the Christ. Joseph would be immortalized in many bas-reliefs and paintings as the man swaddling the Dead Christ as he takes him down from the Cross.

Between Caiaphas and Pilate, an uncanny détente would be formed because Rome is always represented by an emperor whose absolute power makes that person a madman. The two, however, are not prepared when a true madman becomes the emperor, the notorious Caligula appearing midway through the series.

As the makers weave the tales of the world after Christ or during the years presided by his teachings, the lines between history and the supposed inspirational memories of those people who lived in the era are blurred.

The actors are stellar. Richard Coyle as Caiaphas and Vincent Regan as Pontius Pilate are charming cads. Both play against the many caricatures available for them to imitate and share with us as rulers who are always undermined by events bigger than them.

Adam Levy as Peter is magnificent in his struggle to understand why he leads the followers of Christ.

He is never ready to assume management of a band

of men who are competing against each other in insecurities and lack of understanding. We root for them whenever they find the right path and soldier on with their decisions.

Joanne Whalley as Claudia, wife of Pontius Pilate, is always a sight and sound to behold. She used to be known as Joanne Whalley Kilmer, ex-wife of Val Kilmer, and was noted for films, such as Willow and Kill Me Again. For someone whose dreams are as powerful as they are real, her Claudia is equal to the Leah of Jodhi May. Whether in real historical times these two plotting wives did meet and broker a sisterhood does not matter. We love the message of women as the power behind the thrones of men. They sometimes make a difference.

There are impressionable filmic decisions in the series. One of them is to cast main personages like John and Mary Magdalene as black. Chipo Chung as Mary Magdalene and Babou Ceesay as John are quiet presences. Chung’s Mary Magdalene is imbued with active political power here and she escapes the allusion to her sinful past, which proves to be an unwanted modifier of a woman who emerges to be equal to the other men in the life of Christ.

What is cinema located in the Year of the Lord without Mary and Jesus. Here we have Greta Scacchi as Mother Mary who knows when to stop being dolorous and becoming the strong maternal support to the disciples. Scacchi’s Mary is elegant, compassionate and in full control of herself. Scacchi, a popular leading lady in the late 1980s and 1990s, is noted for her roles in Presumed Innocent, opposite Harrison Ford, and Shattered with Tom Berenger.

Jesus is played by an Argentine actor and singer, Juan Pablo Di Pace. He is the Christ as we imagine him as he was imagined by artists from the ancient and contemporary arts world. If there is a tradition maintained here, it is the fact that, like all the Christ of the past movies, Di Pace’s Redeemer has the best pair of eyes in the cinemas of Ancient Civilization.

A.D. Kingdom and Empire is created by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. It is directed by Ciaran Donnelly, Tony Mitchell, Brian Kelly, Rob Evans and Paul Wilmshurst. To have a rare pleasure out of this film, may I suggest that you view another Netflix offering, the documentary Roman Empire, where you could know more about the madness of Caligula. n

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Set rules to live by that will keep you heading down the right path. Don’t let what someone else decides to do influence you to take a risk. Put your energy into personal improvements, love and building a healthy home base. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Expand your awareness. Stabilize your relationships. Take an interest in what others do and say, and you will enlist the help of those who can help you excel.

Keep things in perspective, and pursue what’s doable.

Moderation and practicality are key. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stay focused on what’s important. Refuse to let anyone interfere with your plans or your personal life. Protect your self-worth from those who put demands on you.

Channel your energy into what matters most to you.

HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Reconnect with people you have enjoyed working alongside, and make a proposition that will help you all improve your quality of life. A change is way overdue, and making the first move will be energizing.

It’s time for a new adventure. HHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Put the past behind you, and start thinking about what you want. Positive changes at home will help you free up cash and encourage you to use your skills diversely. Avoid letting others interfere with your life, plans and future. HH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Do what has to be done, and don’t look back. Laboring over something you cannot change will be detrimental to achieving the success and happiness you desire. Be true to yourself, and live life your way. HHHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Look over your documents and investments to see where you stand. A joint venture with someone you love will bring you closer. An opportunity to excel is within reach. HHHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look for opportunities, and positive change will take place. Touch base with people who share your opinions, beliefs and values. A shift in the way you earn your living and handle your money looks promising.

HHH Birthday Baby: You are intense, resourceful and persistent.

You are engaging and persuasive.

‘left and right’ by fred piscop The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Letter before Bravo 5 DEA agents, e.g.

9 Arc de Triomphe locale 14 Shed one’s feathers 15 Arguing vehemently 16 Jong who wrote Fear of Flying 17 Simple Lionel layout 18 Lang of Smallville 19 Basket made on a rebound 20 *Chandeliers in a king’s castle?

23 Showed the way 24 Stair climber’s aid 25 Canine deliveries 27 Computerese, e.g.

30 Science series since 1974 31 Lotion additive 32 Warty amphibian 36 Heavy noble gas 39 Rug cleaner, for short 40 Work the midnight shift on a galleon?

42 Green org.

43 Bracelet spot, perhaps 45 Every newborn gets one 46 Newborn’s napping place

47 Oregon-to-Idaho direction 49 Exploits, like a privilege 51 Heart-related 54 Evidence of a wound 55 “The Joy of Signing” subject 56 Get a new grip, say, or what the starred answers do?

61 Ermine, in the summer 63 Portending disaster 64 Reid of Sharknado 65 Weaken, as confidence 66 Arab League dignitary 67 Gem from an Australian mine 68 Like an all-weather stadium 69 Bench press counts 70 Have a conniption DOWN 1 2-Down, in Mexico 2 Valentine sentiment 3 Patriotic lapel pin 4 Not yet captured 5 Be victimized by, as a trap 6 Cyber Monday transactions 7 Kitchen timer’s sound 8 Lesley of 60 Minutes

9 Place to buy chew toys 10 Shapiro of radio 11 Ones most likely to tear their pants?

12 Not as congenial 13 Makes smooth 21 Vientiane native 22 Oz woodman’s makeup 26 Hydroelectric power agcy.

27 Morning joe 28 Arkin of Argo 29 Weaving device with a built-in comfy chair?

33 Part of BYOB 34 Taking after 35 Flood controller 37 The Andy Griffith Show boy 38 Captures 40 Stood up to 41 Golf pros, e.g.

44 Wee Scot 46 Museum VIP 48 Shooting marble 50 Scrooge’s cry 51 Checked out before a heist 52 One of a Texas team punished for

sign stealing 3 “Hard” or “sweet” drink 5 54 Temporary money 57 Smartwatch display 58 Auto parts giant 59 Party pooper 60 Cyber Monday event 62 Suffix for fruity drinks Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Parentlife BusinessMirror

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Thursday, September 17, 2020

Clockwise: SEA Games medalist Eric Brando at the 30th SEA Games Saber Competition; Brando (third from left) with Coach Kim (sixth from left) and the Philippine Fencing Team; Marcus with Coach Eric at the Mini Me National Leveling at Ultra in September 2019; Republic Fencing Club at Greenhills; and Brando with official volunteer Meagan at the awarding of the 30th SEA Games.

Easy ways to use oats as natural source of iron to help build immunity FOOD trends on social media are nothing new, but it seems quarantine has transformed many of us into home chefs.

We’ve been trying our hands at different recipes for drinks, pastries and baked goods.

Being able to create something delicious ourselves while staying conscious of its health benefits are key considerations for our daily diets in the new normal.

The world’s No. 1 oatmeal brand, Quaker seeks to make quarantine kitchen experiments equally delicious as they are nutritious. Known as a supergrain, oats are a natural source of iron, which is essential for building immunity against diseases. To help you meet or fulfill the daily recommended intake of iron in your body, oats can easily be integrated into your meals. Apart from breakfast, oats can be taken as a complement to savory meals, and of course they can make your desserts a little less sinful, proving their versatility.

Inspiring everyone to get creative in the kitchen, Quaker partnered with Chefs Miko Aspiras, Nicco Santos and Allen Buhay to create Quaker Oats #QuakerStrong Recipes (www. quakeroats.ph), a variety of sweet treats and savory dishes that you can easily mix with oats for a healthy twist. Starting off with the Quaker Oats Cream Pie by Chef Miko Aspiras, the recipes are here to give everyone tasty and simple ways to make your food better for your body.

Quaker Oats Cream Pie

Serves: 14-15 cookie sandwiches

Cookies Ingredients: 3 cups (240g) Quaker Rolled Oats* 1 and 1/4 cups (2.5 sticks; 290g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 tablespoon dark molasses** 1 and 1/2 cups (187g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*** *Use Quaker Instant Oats as an alternative. **Use honey as an alternative. ***Use nutmeg as an alternative.

Procedure 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.

2. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 1 minute.

Beat in the egg, vanilla, and molasses, scraping down the sides as needed. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and oats.

4. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. The dough will be quite thick and you may have to mix it all by hand after a few seconds in the mixer. Drop dough with a large cookie scoop, or make sure each ball of dough is 2 tablespoons. Cookies will spread in the oven, so drop each ball of dough three inches apart.

5. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream filling Ingredients: 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks; 175g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar 3 tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract salt, to taste Procedure: 1. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat butter on high speed until creamy, about one minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium speed for one to two minutes.

2. Pour in heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat on high for two to three minutes until fluffy. Taste and add a pinch or two of salt, as needed. If filling is way too thick, add a couple more teaspoons of heavy cream.

3. Spread one-a-half tablespoons of cream filling on the bottom side of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies, right side up.

B5

Let’s go: Sports ‘kidspirations’

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AST week, I shared how I value the role of sports in developing happy, healthy and resilient kids. I saw how both my daughter Meagan and my son Marcus have developed both skills and character through their years of training. This week, I would like to give tribute to coaches in every athlete’s life. I believe coaches play great roles in inspiring kids to aim higher.

Let me do this by spotlighting on two coaches that have helped make my kids want to fully pursue their dreams in sports. I hope you and your kids would read this 2-part column and get inspired, as well.

My spotlight this week is on my kids’ fencing coach, SEA Games medalist Eric Brando. Below are excerpts from our interview: When did you start being interested in fencing?

Did you try different sports first? How hard did you work to be good at this sport?

Since I was young, I have loved sports though not specifically fencing at the time. First, I tried basketball and badminton when I was in high school. When I moved to college in 2004, I gave fencing a shot in my PE class and that’s when I got passionate about the sport. The Philippine Fencing Team inspired me to push even harder. I wanted to compete to represent my country. My discipline got better as I took fencing seriously. My routine was to study first, go to school

early (University of the East), finish class and then go straight to Ultra in Pasig to train until 11 in the evening. I ended up with a sore body each time but it was so worth it.

What would you say is your happiest moment in fencing?

My happiest moments and good memories in fencing are whenever we have training camps abroad.

We meet a lot of fencers from different countries, make really good friends and learn a lot of fencing techniques. It inspires us to be better in our sports and at the same time build good friends with world-class fencers.

You have won in the SEA Games. Share with us your experience on how you practiced, how it felt during the games, and how it felt to bring home a medal for the country?

The experience of the 2019 SEA Games is one of the things I’ll treasure in my fencing life. It was special because finally we had a fencing coach dedicated to preparing everyone for the 2019 SEA Games. In the course of my fencing life, there was a period when there was no coach provided to fencing athletes by the Philippine government, so it was exceptional when we had one from South Korea from 2018 to 2019. His name is Coach Seung Jun Kim. He is really a great coach and mentor to all of us. We went through intensive training with Coach Kim and all fencers had training in South Korea for three months. It was a mix of pressure and excitement to bring honor to our country. During the game, I was pressured because our country was hosting the 2019 SEA Games and the expectations were high on Filipino athletes, and we wanted to show that the support was worth it especially since they gave us Coach Kim who pushed us very hard and inspired us to bring another honor to our country. Bringing home a medal meant a lot to me.

There are no words to describe it.

Today, you are both a national athlete and a coach. Why did you decide to go into coaching kids?

I decided to maintain my national athlete status (until the time I retire in few years) and at the same time pursue coaching to share my fencing knowledge and skills to young Filipinos. Sports is a big part of my life and having acquired the breadth and depth of experience, capacity and skills through the years, I decided it’s good to teach and make it a business too. I got the opportunity to study in Europe for Professional Fencing and Coaching and so I started coaching kids equipped with better knowledge.

I believe that Filipino athletes can excel in this sport and give honor to our country. I envision the great potential, talent and dedication of young Filipinos who loves sports and it will bring them better opportunities. Through fencing, they can make themselves and their families happy, and they can also serve as an inspiration and make our community and our country proud.

How do you advise parents to make their kids interested in sports?

I encourage parents to be open and allow their kids to explore their passion in sports. They should try fencing and pursue the training and dedication, because the sport brings a different level of discipline and honor, along with the values of sportsmanship and the development of emotional intelligence.

For kid athletes today, what are your top tips for them?

Discipline, work hard, never give up and, most importantly, dedication to your sport. n Coach Eric is cofounder and head saber coach of Republic Fencing, which aims to produce world-class fencers in saber, foil and epee. Republic Fencing can be found in Shoppesville, Greenhills Center, in San Juan.

Study: Pandemic-induced stress could be increasing the risk of child abuse

By Samantha M. Brown Colorado State University PARENTS and children surveyed about the Covid-19 pandemic in late April and early May of 2020—when most schools and day care providers closed their doors—said they had become more stressed-out. In response to our questions about their feelings and thoughts, these 183 parents in Western states who were between the ages of 18 and 55 years old replied that their mental and physical health and interactions with others have deteriorated. Most of the families who participated were white (66.7 percent), 21.3 percent were Latino, 7.1 percent identified as mixed race or “other” and 4.9 percent were Black.

Parents who had lost their jobs and other sources of income, were unable to see family or friends, struggled to oversee their children’s schoolwork or had many anxiety and depressive symptoms were more likely to feel stressed, as indicated by responses to 10 items each on a scale of 0-4. They were also more likely to be at risk for abusive parenting.

At the same time, parents said they were finding ways to alleviate stress and its consequences. For example, parents who perceived that they had more control over their lives during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic and who felt like they had enough people who they could rely on for comfort, support and encouragement were less likely to feel stressedout or exhibit signs that they were at risk of abusive parenting.

n WHY IT MATTERS. Officially, reported child abuse cases are declining, according to the initial data.

That’s consistent with other data showing declines in child maltreatment reports when school isn’t in session, because when children stay home, abuse is more likely to go unnoticed. But this trend doesn’t necessarily mean that incidents are down. Indeed, hospitals are reporting that they are seeing more evidence of children injured due to abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic. n WHAT OTHER RESEARCH IS BEING DONE. The pandemic has increased the prevalence of many common sources of family stress, placing children at risk of abuse and neglect. Several studies indicate that when parents can’t secure child care or housing or get jobs, it can increase children’s vulnerability to maltreatment.

However, it is promising that families are also using several strategies to deal with the pandemic, such as turning to hobbies or other activities to make the situation better or seeking comfort or advice from others. n WHAT STILL ISN’T KNOWN. Many communities, including those in districts sticking with distance learning as the 2020-2021 school year gets underway, are increasing their efforts to protect and support vulnerable children. We believe that some of the best ways they can do their part is by offering counseling services and free food as well as consistently checking in with families to spot evidence of extreme family stress. THE CONVERSATION

Fulfill your cravings for gravy at home

Remember when eating out meant heading for the family’s go-to fast-food place to eat your all-time-favorite fried chicken? Nobody could have enough of the crunchy breaded fried chicken smothered with delicious gravy.

Gravy reminds families of fun and laughter, and relishing comfort food—the stuff unforgettable meals are made of. These days, even as families need to be safe and socially distanced, the cravings do not really go away.

Fortunately, consumers can now enjoy delicious gravy any time and any day with UFC Gravy Sa Sarap, the pioneering and innovative ready-to-eat gravy product from leading producer and distributor NutriAsia that tastes just like every Pinoy’s favorite restaurant gravy. With UFC Gravy Sa Sarap, NutriAsia believes it can make mealtimes memorable and fun once more. “We want Filipinos to relive that joyful feeling they had when eating out—this time right in the comforts of their home.

UFC Gravy Sa Sarap helps them to reconnect with these simple and precious memories,” says NutriAsia Senior Group Category Manager Jean Reyes.

The first of its kind, UFC Gravy Sa Sarap is handy and convenient—no need to prepare or cook before enjoying it. This delicious gravy is not just for fried chicken.

To add flavor to home-cooked meals, it can be paired with different viands.

B6 Thursday, September 17, 2020

EU summit ‘Defending and Exercising Rights in Online Spaces’ in October 2020 to tackle children's rights

Many industries can benefit from Secure SD-WAN

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D-WAN has been one of the most rapidly adopted technologies of the past decade, with the market expected to increase by 168% between now and 2024. The earliest adopters of SD-WAN were retailers, and for good reason. Retail chains have a critical need to maintain cohesive connectivity across all locations to manage inventory, monitor on-site devices such as refrigeration units or POS units, and collect and correlate sales data in real time. And because margins can be thin in the retail sector, this all needs to be done as efficiently and as cost effectively as possible. SD-WAN is the perfect solution.

Large enterprises with numerous branch and satellite offices are realizing significant savings by replacing their existing WAN solution branch with an integrated Secure SD-WAN device. SDWAN solves several challenges at the same time, including rapid deployment, fast connectivity to cloud applications and resources, and unified management to reduce IT overhead. It also enables organizations to add more bandwidth to inexpensively, while providing users with direct and high-quality access to internetbased resources.

By selecting an SD-WAN solution with integrated security, they not only get ease of deployment and accelerated access to critical business applications, but they can apply a full stack of security on-site designed to see and protect all branch connections, whether out to the cloud, back to the core data center, or directly to the internet.

In the manufacturing world, SDWAN is an excellent solution for reducing overall networking costs and managing traffic flows. However, the security implications of direct access to cloud and internet resources can potentially have an even greater impact in an OT environment than they would in a typical SD-WAN deployment. As IT and OT

networks converge, for example, the OT environment is no longer protected by the air gap of the past, leaving critical Industrial Control Systems vulnerable to malicious actors trying to access them from the IT side of the house.

Advanced traffic control is integrated with security features like next generation firewall (NGFW), advanced threat protection, application inspection, IPS, URL filtering, and botnet protection. For those industries that rely on OT, Secure SD-WAN not only provides an extra level of security beyond what may already exist in an IT/OT gateway, but weaves them together into a single, integrated solution.

A truly secure SD-WAN solution will not only provide WAN savings, it will also furnish a single cybersecurity approach that reduces complexity, extends needed visibility and control deep into the OT network, and prevents the exploitation of OT system vulnerabilities that can lead to costly production downtime.

Secure SD-WAN provides financial services organizations with the highspeed application performance they need to compete effectively in today’s digital marketplace, combined with built-in next-generation firewall functionality to maintain the integrity of transactions and back-end intellectual property.

This scalable, easy-to-manage approach provides financial services organizations with high-speed access to cloud and internet-based resources and applications, while securing those transactions that need to travel across multiple connections between branches and headquarters.

Single pane of glass management provides centralized control and reporting to ensure regulatory compliance, while zero-touch deployment allows FS organizations to easily deploy Secure SD-WAN at their branch locations. This reduces the need for additional IT staff, while improving visibility and control

across the entire network infrastructure.

Application steering intelligently identifies applications, determines the optimal path for an enhanced application experience, and continuously monitors those connections to make adjustments when performance degrades.

Integrated NGFW functionality, including deep SSL inspection capabilities, ensures transactional integrity without compromising on performance.

Ensuring High-Bandwidth Connections in the Healthcare Industry with Secure SD-WAN According to one recent study, researchers found that the current pandemic is reshaping the delivery of healthcare through the adoption of new services such as telemedicine. They forecast a sevenfold growth in telehealth between now and 2025, with a predicted five-year compound annual growth rate of nearly 40%. This will include things like providing remote exams via video, combined with user-friendly sensors and remote diagnostic equipment, to enable better patient outcomes. And as AI and robotics come into play, reliable, high-speed connections will only become increasingly important.

Secure SD-WAN can ensure highbandwidth connections to support realtime video and diagnostics information to pass between patients and healthcare providers. This will not only enable quality healthcare to be extended to remote locations, but also ensure that patients receive the care they need without exposing them to undue health risks. And at the same time, data and transactions can be reliably secured, ensuring compliance with regulations governing the privacy of medical records and patient PII. And the efficiencies provided by SD-WAN also help ensure that these new services can be provided without the usual skyrocketing costs associated with healthcare services.

Discover a whole new game at home with NBA League Pass powered by PLDT Home

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HE much-awaited 2019-20 NBA Playoffs are upon us and Filipino fans are in to watch a whole new game.

However, the pandemic has changed the way we enjoy entertainment and sports.

We can no longer go to packed stadiums to watch our favorite sports teams, feel the buzz in our body as the cheers, music and drums pump into our ears, listen to the sports announcers’ thrilling commentaries, and feel the excitement of seeing our

favorite players up close.

With the NBA Playoffs under way, nothing should stop Filipino fans from supporting their favorite players and teams compete for the NBA championship. Good thing, PLDT Home partnered with NBA to bring a whole new game to the fans with NBA League Pass,the league’s premium live game subscription service.

With PLDT Home FIBR’s NBA League Pass, basketball fans can be closer to the

game as they enjoy the thrilling NBA action without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes. Priced at only P485/month, fans can subscribe to a 30-dayaccess to all NBA games and cheer for their favorite teams.

Fans can catch all the marquee matchups between the best teams of the Eastern and Western Conference as they watch the games live and ondemand on their TVs, computers, and mobile devices. They can also immerse themselves with the high-level plays on the courtand 24/7 NBA coverage including game analysis, player features, and more!

Additionally, fans can also watch the condensed highlights of NBA games, so theycan save time by watching the game’s most pivotal moments. And with PLDT Home Fibr’s strongest connections at home, basketball fans can have a seamless streaming experience as they follow the NBA postseason.

To learn more and subscribe, visit pldthome.com/nbaleaguepass.

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HE European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines is mounting the virtual edition of its annual Children’s Rights Summit on October 17, 2020 in celebration of the 31st anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Entitled “My Space, My Rights,” the virtual summit for children by children, will highlight children’s invaluable rights during this pandemic, with a focus on these four basic clusters: survival, protection, participation, and development in online spaces.

Thomas Wiersing Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to the Philippines said this is especially relevant today because of the many adjustments brought about by COVID-19 that have caused many students to shift to digital platforms to continue their studies.

“In an era where technology has become such an integral part of the lives of young people, we, at the European Union, want to address the need for children and youth to understand and speak about their rights as they navigate online spaces,” he said. “We hope that this virtual children’s rights summit will encourage the youth to become active advocates of their rights in their own families and in their communities.”

The summit will gather over 300 students nationwide who will be imparted with the importance of knowing their rights and exercising them in order to be agents for social transformation and to protect themselves in online scenarios.

Co-presented by the Ateneo Human Rights Center, the summit will be led by youth rights advocates who will share with the summit’s participants how to uphold and promote their own rights.

For more information on the upcoming children’s rights summit and other activities of the EU, please follow the Facebook page of the European Union Delegation to the Philippines at https://www.facebook.com/ EUDelegationToThePhilippines.

Patients get special privileges during fortuitous events

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N view of the passage of Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2) signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on September 11, 2020, and which recognizes the existence of a continuing national emergency due to the unabated spread of Covid-19 and the ensuing economic disruption therefrom, PhilHealth hereby assures all its members and their qualified dependents of their continuing special privileges during fortuitous events.

The continuing state of national emergency in Bayanihan 2 provided the basis for the provision of special privileges such as exemption from the 45-days limit or the 90-session limit per calendar year in the case

of hemodialysis patients as prescribed by a licensed physician.

All accredited health care facilities are enjoined to honor all availments including those that are already beyond the abovementioned limits.

All patients who have paid for their confinements or sessions are encouraged to file their claims with the nearest PhilHealth local health insurance office within 120 days after discharge/applicable session. This extended filing period is also among the special privileges afforded to members during times of natural or man-made calamities and catastrophes.

These privileges are valid within the effectivity of Bayanihan 2 or until December 19, 2020 as specified in the law.

For concerns and further guidance, please contact your local health insurance office or link with us through the following: 24/7 Action Center :84417442; Facebook: PhilHealth Official; Text line: 0917-898-7442; Email:actioncenter@philhealth.gov.ph

CTB to hold ‘virtual’ annual convention

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HE Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB), the umbrella organization of thrift banks across the country, will hold its ‘virtual’ annual convention with the theme “Thrift Banking in the New Decade” on October 13 to 15, 2020. Originally scheduled last March 13, the convention was postponed because of the onset of the coronavirus. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno will deliver the keynote address.

The convention will tackle not only the challenges of the ‘new normal’ but also the growth opportunities for member banks in the new decade. Forum topics include banking technologies for thrift banks, consumer and SME lending, and the BSP’s digital banking initiatives among others.

For more information on the convention, please contact the CTB Secretariat at 88103692, 88127704 or email lbilo@ctb. com.ph, rmission@ctb.com.ph.

PCSO delivers charity services in Cagayan Province

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VEN on a Sunday, PCSO never stops delivering charity services. To enhance the delivery of emergency health services to the public, PCSO Vice-Chairperson and General Manager Royina M. Garma, headed the donation of two Patient Transport Vehicles (PTV) to Tabuk City, Kalinga and Iguig, Cagayan Province under the Medical Transport Vehicle Donation Program (MTVDP) of PCSO. MTVDP aims to equip qualified LGU’s, hospitals and government institutions with an immediate and safe transport vehicle for patients to, from, and between locations with most efficient access to places of treatment.

In addition, GM Garma together with Cagayan Branch Manager, Heherson Pambid and Kalinga Branch Manager, Rommel Ramos, distributed medicines worth Php100,000.00 to five municipalities in Cagayan Province. The five municipalities who received P20,000.00 worth of medicines are Amulong, Sta. Ana, Aparri, Tuao and Tuguegarao. The PCSO Medicine Donation Program (MDP) is the provision of basic medicines and supplies to qualified LGU’s, for an effective health care services to the people.

The event took place at the PCSO Cagayan Branch on September 13, 2020.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, September 17, 2020

SFA Locsin, FM Wang Yi lead Asean-China Ministerial Meeting

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ECRETARY of Foreign Affairs (SFA) Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, cochaired the Asean-China Ministerial Meeting on September 9 by videoconference.

tion Fund, which will be used toward strengthening joint efforts and projects addressing public health emergencies. China also reiterated its previous pronouncements to make its Covid-19 vaccine a global public good.

Locsin reiterated the Philippines’s commitment to push forward negotiations toward an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. The country’s top diplomat highlighted the completion of the first reading of the Single Draft COC Negotiating Text and the commencement of its second reading in 2019.

“As a community of law-abiding nations, we emphasize that disputes should be resolved in a peaceful

ANZCHAM, SaferKidsPH partner vs online sexual abuse, exploitation

Delivering dividends: Covid-19 fast-tracking digitalization

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HE Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce (ANZCHAM) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) on behalf of the SaferKidsPH Consortium to help address online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) in the Philippines.

SaferKidsPH is the Australian government’s initiative implemented in partnership with Save the Children Philippines, The Asia Foundation, and Unicef Philippines.

OSAEC is a borderless and complex crime that requires a coordinated and multisectoral response from all governments and stakeholders, including the private sector. Under the SaferKidsPH partnership, ANZCHAM commits to support advocacies, volunteerism and fund-raising activities to keep Filipino children safe online.

The vulnerabilities of Filipino children and their families have increased because of the pandemic. According to reports, children and the youth are more at risk of OSAEC during this quarantine period as they spend more time online. Likewise, the economic strain on families can make them and their children more vulnerable to engaging in or falling victim to OSAEC. The Philippines has also seen an increase of about 260 percent in reports of online child abuse materials from March to May 2020.

According to the Philippine Kids Online Survey supported by the Australian government and conducted by Unicef in 2016, nearly half of child respondents said the Internet is not safe for them. Two in 10 children are vulnerable to OSAEC, and that boys are just as unsafe as girls. In 2018, at least 600,000 child abuse materials of Filipino children—including those of infants—were shared and sold online.

In the Philippines, Unicef is supporting a targeted program to strengthen the capacity of government systems, parents, caregivers and community members to protect children from all forms of online sexual abuse and exploitation.

“Children have the right to be protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation,” Unicef Philippines Country Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said. “Addressing online sexual abuse and exploitation of children is a top priority of Unicef’s Program of Cooperation with the Philippine government for 2019 to 2023.

Together with our partners, we are committed to improving child protection systems to address and prevent OSAEC.” “OSAEC is everyone’s responsibility to fight against. [Our] business community is committed to bringing the conversation to our members’ respective organizations, and eventually in their employees’ own homes,” ANZCHAM President Daniel Alexander averred. “With more than 350 ANZCHAM member-companies, we will continue to educate our members on [ways] we can create a safer online environment for every child.”

SECRETARY Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. (center), with the Chinese and Asean foreign ministers DFA

manner in accordance with international law, including the 1982 [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or] Unclos,” he stated.

While noting that the outbreak of Covid-19 as well as the ensuing restrictions imposed on travel and movement precluded scheduled face-to-face meetings, the SFA encouraged fellow member-states and China to resume discussions.

“It is imperative to bring everyone back to the negotiating table [and] demonstrate to the world that we are sincerely committed and de-

Business Envoy

Steven J. Robinson AO

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HE pandemic may have forced us apart physically, but digital solutions are providing innovative ways to keep us connected, to learn and do business. Delivering digital support to our citizens is an important priority for governments, as it is being fast-tracked by the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

In Australia, our myGov e-government platform has provided a streamlined and secure way for nationals to access government services online. As a long-standing partner, we are also supporting the Philippines’s Covid-19 response, which is delivering digital dividends to many Filipinos.

Through our development assistance program, Australia has partnered with the World Bank (WB) to provide support to the National Economic and Development Authority to design and deliver a secure, fit-for-purpose Philippine Identification System, or PhilSys. This will lay the foundation for integrated e-government services long after the health crisis is over.

Our partnership with the WB has also assisted the Department of Social Welfare and Development to design and roll-out digital solutions for social protection.

It has helped improve online registration, verification and digital payment processes, as well as built an online grievance redress mechanism. These measures allow emergency support to reach those most in need safely, quickly and more accurately.

In order to realize digital div-

EHEF 2020: Excellence in higher education goes virtual

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The foreign ministers reviewed the progress in their dialogue relations and discussed ways to deepen their cooperation across the political-security, economic and sociocultural pillars. They also exchanged views on regional issues, including the situations surrounding the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and in the South China Sea. The Philippines serves as the country coordinator for AseanChina Dialogue Relations from 2018 to 2021.

Officials from the bloc expressed appreciation for China’s announcement of its $1 million contribution to the Asean Covid-19 Response Fund and the allocation of $5 million to the Asean-China Coopera-

idends, digital infrastructure must be robust, and the Internet widely accessible. Through our Coalitions for Change initiative, Australia supported the passage of the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, which is expanding Internet access to public spaces and remote locations all over the Philippines. SpeedCast, an Australian firm with world-leading expertise in remote connectivity, has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, with an aim to rollout 6,000 Wi-Fi hot spots across the country by mid-2021.

Even with the right infrastructure, digital dividends only pay out if people are equipped to make the most of digital tools. Access to quality education is crucial. To help ensure that Filipino children are not left behind, Australia has contributed to the training of local teachers so that they can effectively deliver their lessons remotely.

Speaking of education, my country is also connecting Filipinos with world-class Australian universities that offer virtual instruction on diverse subjects.

Online learning can bring opportunity: A recent Austrade and FutureLearn collaboration saw almost 23,000 Filipinos enroll in free online Australian university courses.

For industry innovators, remote work and lockdowns have accelerated the use of digital solutions. Like so many Filipino firms, our 300-plus Australian

termined to arrive at a conclusive result, one way or the other; but we must get down to sincere and serious work,” he exhorted.

The parties also reaffirmed implementing commitments under the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement, or ACFTA, to mitigate the adverse economic impact of the pandemic, as well as boost greater economic and trade cooperation. These efforts will support the joint target of two-way trade of $1 trillion and $150 billion in investments by the end of 2020. DFA

companies based here have embraced work from home arrangements. Many are using this time to upskill their local work force while accelerating the digitalization of their products and services. These include leveraging on artificial intelligence and building up their online presence through e-commerce platforms.

Companies are moving up the value chain from voice assistance to more comprehensive digital offerings. This is an important step in future-proofing the Philippine economy, including the important sector of business-process outsourcing, or BPO. More Australian companies are also directly contributing to local digital priorities which are included as part of their Covid-19 response. Aussie firm No Moss has supported major telecommunications corporations with their digitalization initiatives, while Niftie is mapping local transport routes to help businesses get their staff to and from work safely. Virtual Psychologist is offering Filipino workers textbased mental health counseling for the first time.

A not her compa ny, iOm n iscient, has developed the iQ FeverCheck: an end-to-end solution that can detect an individual’s elevated body temperature, even while wearing a mask, in a crowd, or at a distance. KeyOptions, together with British company Virolens, has conducted successful trials at Heathrow Airport for their five-second virus pathology screening with 99.84-percent accuracy. KeyOptions is now looking to introduce this in the Philippines.

Solutions like these will be va luable tools for promoting sustainable economic growth, embedding recovery, and shaping a more resilient future. They offer a path to a “new normal” that maintains the safety and wellness of Filipinos while boosting economic opportunity.

(Steven J. Robinson AO is the Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines. Follow him on Twitter: @AusAmbPH.)

B7

ITH the pandemic bringing the world to a halt, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to the Philippines sees a great opportunity to champion higher education as an essential tool for young people to influence the world today and in the near future.

With that in mind, the EU Delegation will host the first-ever virtual European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) on October 2 and 3, embracing digital transformation by staging the much-anticipated annual education fair live online. This makes the event more accessible to Filipino students and members of the academe, while extending its reach to other provinces in the country.

This year’s theme, “Study in Europe: The Future is EUrs,” further establishes the EU as the Filipino youth’s gateway to excellence in higher education. The bloc is known as one of the world’s ultimate hubs for cross-fertilization of ideas, cutting-edge technology, and innovation coming from its many outstanding universities and European higher education institutions (EHEIs).

EHEF 2020 provides the best platform to link Filipino students with EU universities and EHEIs. This year’s online fair will feature webinars on research programs,

sponsorships, and mobility opportunities. There will also be country presentations and live chats with EHEI representatives, alumni and scholars. Virtual meeting rooms will be set up for Philippine higher education institutions and their EU counterparts. Students will have a chance to explore opportunities for distance learning, with many EHEIs offering postgraduate degrees through distance education programs.

As EHEF 2020 goes virtual, it will also go regional for the first time, and in real time. Regional partner institutions Ateneo de Manila University for Metro Manila, Wesleyan University for Luzon, Silliman University for Visayas, and Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan for Mindanao will host clustered presentations for their students and other interested parties in their respective regions. A virtual networking event will also take place on October 2 at 7:30 p.m.

EHEF 2020 is organized by the Delegation of the EU to the Philippines, together with EU memberstates’ embassies, in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education and is supported by BusinessMirror’s Envoys&Expats as well as other media partners. Interested parties can now preregister via ehefphilippines.com.

SoKor streams Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Park Seo-jun into Filipino homes via 21-day Korean Film Festival

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OT even a pandemic can stop the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines from putting together its most sought-after annual spectacle for the Korean cineastes.

This year though, to ensure all K-culture fans’ safety while still sharing joy, entertainment and the Korean culture, the Korean Film Festival (KFF) will be taking on a different form. Instead of the usual packed, opening nights and the whole-cinema experience, KFF 2020 will be more intimate these days as it will be heading into everyone’s gadgets and televisions screens through its first-ever online run.

For 21 days, Filipinos will be treated to films of their favorite stars who are now considered household names in the Philippines following the increased streaming of their shows Crash Landing on You and Itaewon Class during the months of quarantine. Aptly-themed “Celebrity Spotlight,” K FF 2020 w ill be headlined by no less than three of Korea’s biggest stars who have been well-loved by Filipinos these days: Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin and Park Seo-jun.

While KFF 2020 will take place on a different platform, the same concept of free film access to the “best of the best” Korean films from then and now remains. Until October 2, viewers may binge, enjoy and repeat—for as many times as they like—two of the best films from each star for a week.

Ever y body ’s f avor ite oppa Hyun Bin will be opening the festival with the screening of his two films: The Swindlers and Confidential Assignment until September 18.

“BinJin” fans may want to take note that Son Ye-jin will be following suit with the screening of her flicks Be With You and

Last Princess from September 19 to September 25.

Finally, to wrap up the almost monthlong festiva l, Midnight Runners and The Beauty Inside with Park Seo-jun will run from September 26 to October 2.

The first online free KFF will be exclusively available for KCulture lovers in the Philippines through KCC’s official web site: http://phil.korean-culture.org/.

The film festival is one of the landmark events of KCC’s “Korea at Home” campaign, which aims to bring musical performances, food, arts, pop culture, movies, museum exhibits and tours right on the screens of K-culture enthusiasts to enjoy anytime, anywhere and while staying safe at home. Co-organized with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, KFF 2020 is in partnership with the Korea Tourism Organization, Viva Networks and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Follow KCC in the Philippines on Facebook: KoreanCulturalCenterPH and on Instagram and Twitter: @kccphil for more updates about the embassy as well as KCC’s events and activities.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Thursday, September 17, 2020

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ILLARD-DE-LANS, France—After coming close to a first Tour de France stage win last week, Lennard Kamna did not miss his second chance.

The 24-year-old German rider won the rollercoaster Stage 16 featuring five categorized climbs after pulling clear of a group of breakaway riders as the race entered the Alps on Tuesday.

Kamna was beaten by four seconds for the stage win by Daniel Martinez on Stage 13.

“It was a fight from the beginning on and I knew I had to make it to the finish alone,” said Kamna, who also won a stage last month at the Criterium du Dauphine.

There was no significant change in the overall standings ahead of Wednesday’s mammoth summit finish in the high mountains as yellow jersey holder Primoz Roglic kept his 40-second lead over second-place Tadej Pogacar intact.

The Slovenian pair enjoyed a quiet day in the pack of main contenders and crossed the finish line 16 minutes, 48 seconds behind the stage winner, who is not a threat in the overall standings.

Rigoberto Uran of Colombia remained in third place overall, 1 minute, 34 seconds off the pace.

Pogacar tested Roglic’s legs on the final ascent but could not gain time on his rival.

“It was a good warmup for tomorrow, the queen stage of the race,” Pogacar said.

Pogacar, a 21-year-old Tour rookie, will have another chance to unsettle Roglic during Wednesday’s Stage 17—arguably the toughest—featuring the Col de La Madeleine and the Col de La Loze, the highest point this year at 2,304 meters. The last six kilometers of the climb are particularly difficult, with very steep sections and sharp turns.

“There will be gaps and a mix-up on the GC [general classification],” Pogacar continued.

“We see everyone is exhausted.”

The 24-year-old Kamna, who rides for the Bora-hansgrohe team, made his decisive move on the penultimate ascent to drop former race leader Julian Alaphilippe, Richard Carapaz and Sebastien Reichenbach, three rivals with a strong pedigree.

Kamna was part of a group of 15 riders who broke away from the peloton early in the 164-kilometer trek.

Among them, Frenchman Quentin Pacher also tried a solo escape but his effort was short lived as he was easily caught and then dropped

by Alaphilippe, Carapaz, Reichenbach and Kamna. Carapaz, the Giro d’Italia champion, made Alaphilippe and Reichenbach crack with a couple of biting attacks but could not respond when Kamna countered before the summit.

The German was faster than his remaining rival in the downhill and on the flat sections as he sped toward Villard-de-Lans to post the biggest win of his career.

“When I saw that Carapaz was dropping the speed, I thought now it’s the time to go and went all in to the end,” Kamna said. “It’s a big relief also for the team and for me. I can almost not imagine it. The step I made this year is huge and I’m so blessed to win today.”

After losing more than seven minutes in the Jura mountains Sunday, defending champion Egan Bernal went through another day of hardship at the back of the race, getting dropped by the main contenders in the 11.1-kilometer steep climb where Kamna built his success. AP

Johnson

Johnson PGA Tour player of the year

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AMARONECK, New York—Another week, another big trophy for Dustin Johnson, this one without any cash.

One week after he captured the FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize, Johnson was voted Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour player of the year for the second time in the last five years. He also won the Jack Nicklaus Award, which comes with a bronze of Nicklaus famously raising his putter, in 2016.

Johnson joins Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Nick Price and Fred Couples as the only players to win the award multiple times since it began in 1990.

Johnson was on the ballot with Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, PGA champion Collin Morikawa and Webb Simpson. The tour historically does not release the tally of players who voted. It was the second straight year the award went to someone who did not win a major during the season.

In this year of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was only one major.

The PGA Tour has not had a repeat winner of

German rider posts solo win in Alps stage

Lennard Kamna makes sure he doesn’t miss his second chance. AP

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

Adiwang wants Muay world champ’s hide

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EAM Lakay phenom Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang is a huge fan of One Super Series and the former Warrior Series product admitted he would love to test his mettle against the world’s best striking talents.

Adiwang’s aggressive and explosive offensive style would no doubt hold up well against the world’s top Muay fighters and kickboxers and tops in his radar is reigning flyweight muay world champion Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon.

The fiery Thai warrior is known for his incredible speed and thunderous knockout power and Adiwang would want nothing more than to turn a fantasy matchup between “Thunder Kid” and “The Iron Man” into reality.

“I love fantasy matchups. Me against Rodtang shouldn’t just be a fantasy, it should be a reality. I respect Rodtang a lot. I love the way he fights and the energy that he brings into the arena. I really respect him as a true fighter and a real champion,” Adiwang said.

NUGGETS COMPLETE COMEBACK L

AKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—Denver’s dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led another stunning turnaround as the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009.

Murray scored 40 points, Jokic had a triple-double by the third quarter and Denver again overcame a double-digit deficit to shock the Los Angeles Clippers, 104-89, in Game Seven on Tuesday night.

Denver became the first team in National Basketball Association (NBA) history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same postseason.

Even more history: The Nuggets are the third team in the US major pro sports to rally from a pair of 3-1 deficits in the same playoffs, joining the 1985 Kansas City Royals and 2003 Minnesota Wild.

Denver will face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.

Bam Adebayo meanwhile, pulled off the biggest moment of his young NBA career as Miami’s All-Star big man more rose to the occasion.

Jimmy Butler’s three-point play with 12 seconds left put Miami ahead for good, Adebayo finished it off with a stunning rejection of Jayson Tatum at the rim on the ensuing Boston possession, and the Heat struck first in the Eastern Conference finals with a 117-114 win in Game One also on Tuesday night.

“When you have great competition like this, you just have to make plays that you can’t even really explain,” Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And that was Bam tonight.”

The Heat were down by 13 in the opening minutes, down by 14 in the final quarter and felt like a bad call took the lead from them in the final seconds. They found a way in overtime, improving to an NBA-best 9-1 so far in these playoffs.

Goran Dragic scored 29 points, Jae Crowder scored 22, Butler had 20 and Adebayo had 18. the Jack Nicklaus Award since Tiger Woods in 2007.

Thomas won the PGA of America’s award that is based on points—10 for every PGA Tour victory, along with up to 20 points depending on where the player finished on money list and the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average.

Thomas won three times. Johnson won three times including the Tour Championship, which did not count for the PGA of America because Johnson started with a two-shot lead.

Xander Schauffele had the lowest score at the Tour Championship, though he played the final round trying to make up a five-shot deficit, while Johnson played the final four holes trying to protect a two-shot lead.

Scottie Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Award as rookie of the year on a ballot that included Viktor Hovland, Harry Higgs and Maverick McNealy. Hovland was the only other viable candidate from winning the Puerto Rico Open. Scheffler didn’t win, but he had seven top 10s, including a tie for fourth in the PGA Championship, and he finished No. 5 in the FedEx Cup. AP

The 7-foot Jokic had a monster game with 16 points, 13 assists and 22 rebounds, which were the most by a Nuggets player in an NBA playoff game.

He broke his record of 19 that he set last season and shared with Marcus Camby.

In a familiar trend, the Nuggets found themselves down by 12 in the first half. They also trailed 61-54 with 10:50 let in the third when they caught fire. The Nuggets went on a 35-13 run to build up a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.

They led by as many as 20.

Murray helped the Nuggets pour it on down the stretch to give Coach Michael Malone a 49th birthday present.

The team also rallied back from double-digit margins in their last two games as well to stun the Clippers.

Despite the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Clippers fell short of the conference finals, where they’ve never been. They fell to 0-8 alltime in games where they could clinch a trip to the conference finals.

Leonard finished with 14 points on 6-of-22 shooting, while George had 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

It was Denver’s talented twosome that stole the show.

Jokic insisted the third-seeded Nuggets weren’t feeling any pressure. He said Game Seven was just another game. After all, this was Denver’s fourth straight Game Seven dating to the playoffs last season.

After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, the Nuggets worked their way back into the game behind the shooting of Murray. He scored 25 before intermission as the Clippers elected to doubleteam Jokic. AP

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media. But there was no official statement given to the Tokyo organizing committee,” Tokyo CEO Toshiro Muto said on Tuesday in an online news conference. “So I am not in a position to make any comment on that. I am just simply confused.”

IOC Vice President John Coates, who oversees planning for Tokyo, also brushed aside the Oxford study.

“I’ve taken the view that I’ve got more productive things to do with my time than to analyze that report and respond to it,” Coates told the Australian Financial Review newspaper on Tuesday.

Flyvbjerg got a similar response from the IOC when the report came out unofficially a few days ago. The IOC criticized his work, questioned the numbers and methodology. In response, Flyvbjerg sent an open letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, offering detail.

Flyvbjerg said on Tuesday the IOC had not

Rodtang has emerged as one of the most exciting martial arts superstars in Asia since his debut in the world’s premier striking martial arts league. He remains unbeaten in the Super Series action with eight thrilling victories on his resume.

Adiwang has studied Rodtang’s style extensively and believes he has a good grasp on the Thai action star’s strengths and weaknesses.

“His strength is in his powerful strikes. He has powerful kicks and punches, and has that demolition style. He will come forward and put the pressure on his opponent, looking to destroy them with powerful combinations,” Adiwang said.

If the opportunity to face Rodtang would arise, Adiwang would jump all over the chance.

“My dream is to fight the best of the best and become a champion and Rodtang is one of the fighters on my shortlist to test myself against,” he said. “If we fight in Muay, I know it’s going to be a good show. Of course I will do my best to get the victory.”

OBIENA SLAMS ONLINE MAGAZINE

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rnest John “EJ” Obiena slammed the Olympic Channel for publishing a headline article without the online sports magazine interviewing the Tokyo Olympicsbound pole vaulter.

Worse, the magazine quoted Obiena as saying “Armand [Duplantis] is good but I can be the best.”

Obiena aired his disgust on his Facebook account and called the article as “irresponsible journalism.”

The article was entitled “Filipino eagle EJ Obiena: Armand Duplantis is good, but I can be the best’ and was written by one of the magazine’s staff, Ken Browne.

“I just read something today and I was quoted in the article with some provocative statements.

To be clear: I have never spoken with the Olympic Channel nor did I EVER make such statements,” Obiena said in his post.

NIKOLA JOKIC has a monster game with 16 points, 13 assists and 22 rebounds in the victory. AP

Tokyo, IOC dismiss study showing Games costs rising OKYO—The CEO of the Tokyo Olympics and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) member in charge of Japan’s Games have dismissed a new study from the University of Oxford that finds Tokyo is the most expensive Summer Games since 1960.

Tokyo, postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, is only a small part of economist Bent Flyvbjerg’s study which was published on Tuesday and titled, “Regression to the Tail: Why the Olympics Blow Up.” The analysis in the journal “Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space”—the third in a series following editions 2012 and 2016—looks at Olympic costs and finds they keep increasing despite claims by the IOC that costs are being cut.

Cost overruns for the Olympics have averaged 170 percent, and Flyvbjerg says Tokyo is over 200 percent.

“Well, I am aware of the report in the

Adiwang

replied. On Monday, the IOC told the Associated Press it would have no further comment.

According to the Oxford numbers, Tokyo’s spending is at $15.84 billion, already surpassing the 2012 London Olympics, which were the most expensive Summer Games to date at $14.95 billion. Flyvbjerg says the meter is still running and expects several billion more to be added to the cost.

Tokyo organizers say officially they are spending $12.6 billion. However, a national auditor says the actual costs are twice that high, made up of some expenses that the Oxford study omits because they are not constant between different Olympics.

“The Olympics offer the highest level of risk a city can take on,” Flyvbjerg told the AP in an interview this month. “The trend cannot continue. No city will want to do this because it’s just too expensive, putting themselves into a debt that most cities cannot afford.” AP

“To the people who know me, they know through personal experience that I would never say such a statement.

Whilst I am of course confident in my own OBIENA capabilities and potential, I respect all of my competitors and most of them are my friends. I would never say anything to disparage my competition,” added the 24-year-old in his post.

Obiena has requested the Olympic Channel to correct the article and remove the statements attributed to him.

“I definitely did not make this statement, even privately. I believe it is irresponsible journalism to quote someone who has never even been asked for comments!” he said. “As I am writing this post, I have sent a parallel a request to Olympic Channel to remove the quote and correct the article.”

Obiena is training at the World Pole Vault Centre in Formia, Italy, and his hard work recently earned him a gold medal at the 59th World Athletics Continental Tour Gold circuit in Ostrava in the Czech Republic.

Obiena cleared the bar at 5.74 meters, his season-best, in winning the gold over London 2012 Olympics champion Renaud Lavillenie of France and 2017 World Championships winner Sam Kendricks of the US. Lavillenie also cleared 5.74m but Obiena won the countback. Kendricks clinched bronze with 5.64m.

The gold was a fitting followup to the silver he clinched at the 13th Triveneto International Meeting in Trieste, Italy, last August, and the bronze medal he bagged at the Monaco leg of the Diamond League later in the month.

Annie Abad

Sports library relaunch up

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HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will relaunch Philippine Sports Library as the agency intends to intensify the Philippine Sports Institute Program after the Covid-19 pandemic.

PSC Chairman William Ramirez said the library aims to produce scholar athletes on top of providing information on sports-related literature, history and sports development.

“We aim for the rebirth of the Philippine Sports Library so we can cater to our scholars, athletes, sports professionals and enthusiasts who may be needing information resources in the field of sports right at the heart of the city,” Ramirez said.

The library is located at the fourth floor of Building A at the PhilSports Complex in Pasig City. But because of the general community quarantine, the facility is closed.

Philippine Sports Institute Program Head Abigail Marie Rivera said they are targeting no less than 3,000 physical book titles for Physical Education students, faculty and academic researchers.

“We are working on finalizing the library’s operations manual and preparing our mid-term plan for this facility,” Rivera said. “We aim to submit these for approval before December.”

Annie Abad