BusinessMirror September 29, 2020

DTI backs easing of quarantine levels in NCR

By Elijah Felice Rosales & Sam P. Medenilla

T ROWS of shipping containers converted into a Covid-19 facility are seen in Taguig City. Aside from housing the Lakeshore Mega-quarantine facility and national testing facility, it now hosts a new molecular laboratory that the Taguig local government says can process up to 600 specimens a day. ROY DOMINGO

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has proposed to relax the quarantine level in Metro Manila to increase the operational capacity in various sectors to the benefit of workers.

At the DTI’s budget hearing at the Senate on Monday, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez informed lawmakers he appealed for the easing of quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila. He said such a move, if approved, will allow business establishments to operate at 100-percent capacity.

In the process, this will allow employers to call all of their workers back to site and improve the private sector’s activity to the recovery of an economy in recession, Lopez added.

“I am in favor of MGCQ [in Metro Manila] but only for the purpose of reopening the economy. I made this proposal even to the IATF [Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases],” Lopez replied, when asked by senators for his opinion on the matter.

Metro Manila is placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) until September 30, but the investment community is hoping the region to slide to modified GCQ (MGCQ) in October.

In recommending the shift to MGCQ, Lopez explained he is just concerned for the livelihood of millions of workers who were displaced by the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the GCQ status of Metro Manila is hindering their return to work, citing the case of accountants and filmmakers.

Firms involved in legal and accounting, as well as those in film, music and TV production, can only operate up to 50 percent in GCQ areas, but 100 percent in MGCQ areas.

Even if Metro Manila shifts to MGCQ, minimum health standards observed under GCQ will be maintained, Lopez said. As such, the rules to wear face masks and face shields, to keep distance and to disinfect regularly will be enforced regardless of the quarantine level, he added.

The country’s unemployment rate in July nearly doubled to 10 percent, from 5.4 percent during the same period last year, based on the Labor Force Survey.

This translated to some 4.6 million Filipinos without work in a time of economic crisis. Notably, regions with the highest jobless See “DTI,” A2

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A broader look at today’s business

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 355

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PLAYERS IN MALAMPAYA D

By Lenie Lectura

SOLONS PUSH BETTER TRACKING TOOLS AS POVERTY SEEN RISING

ENNIS UY-LED Udenna Group wants no other new members in the Malampaya consortium, saying it will exercise its pre-emptive rights in order for the group, joined

by PNOC Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC), to secure full ownership of the Malampaya Service Contract (SC) 38.

MALAMPAYA Deep Water Gas to Power facility in Palawan

By Cai U. Ordinario

M

ORE Filipinos are expected to fall into poverty due to the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, erasing the gains of the past six years.

In the plenary hearing for the 2021 General Appropriations Bill, House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jose Sarte Salceda said he expects poverty to increase to around 24 to 25 percent when the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) is conducted next year.

This poverty incidence rate is higher than the 16.7 percent posted in 2018 and the 23.3 percent in 2015.

The country’s poverty rate is derived from the results of the FIES, which is conducted every three years.

“Pero kung ako ang tatanungin mo, dahil po sa ginagawa po natin, mukhang kaya po ng gobyerno na maibalik natin sa [if you will ask me, because of what we are doing, it looks like the government can bring back to] 24 to 25 percent ang poverty and not more than that from the current 16 percent. It is, I think, reasonable given the unemployment and correlation between unemployment, underemployment and incomes and poverty, I think it’s reasonable to say that poverty will go up from 16 back to 25 percent,” Salceda said.

This estimate is higher than the recent estimate made by Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, the head of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In a budget hearing at the Senate two weeks ago, Chua said the country’s poverty rate could be anywhere between 15.5 percent and 17.5 percent next year.

Chua added that the government estimates that the country’s unemployment rate could be around 6 to 8 percent next year. This means around 7 million Filipinos will still be jobless next year.

SHELL.COM

This after the Malampaya operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEx) announced plans to divest itself of its 45-percent interest in SC38 as part of its portfolio rationalization efforts.

At present, Udenna Corporation (UC) has a 45-percent interest in SC38, while PNOC-EC has 10 percent.

UC bought its shares from Chevron Malampaya Llc.

UC, being the majority shareholder, has the right to buy additional shares from a shareholder before these shares are made available to other interested firms.

“Should Shell not consider their existing partners but put forth a decision to sell its stake to another third party, Udenna will rely on its rights as stipulated in the agreement and as a member of the consortium, such as our pre-emptive and consent rights,” said Udenna Group spokesperson Atty. Raymond Zorrilla.

See “Udenna,” A2

Continued on A2

A CHILD passes by a tribute mural being done by local artists Kerwin Villena and Jhomarie Gabillete in Barangay La Paz, Makati City. NONIE REYES

2021 budget can rev up economy by Q2–Salceda

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

F

UNDING for health, education and infrastructure under the proposed P4.5-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2021 is enough to bring back consumer confidence and revive the economy by second quarter of next year, a leader of the House of Representatives said on Monday.

On the first day of plenary deliberations of the 2021 national budget, House Committee on Appropriations Senior Vice Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said next year’s budget is the primary policy instrument of the national government to pursue the goals for its people.

“With the 2021 national budget, the Bayanihan to Health As One, the Baya-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.4720

nihan to Recover As One, as well as the existing budget, we will be able to have minimum health standard that will allow the economy to return to normalcy. At least my own projection by second quarter of 2021,” said Salceda.

“The only benchmark that matters now is pre-pandemic levels. [Beyond that] it’s AmBisyon 2040,” he added.

According to Salceda, building

business and consumer confidence through providing health protocols is the first step to reviving the country’s economy.

In her interpellation, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo said a total of P106.9 billion was allocated as Covid-19 response for 2021. The P106.9billion fund has been distributed in the Continued on A2

MOA GOES BIKE-FRIENDLY. The SM Mall of Asia launches its

Bike-Friendly initiative through SM Cares to provide a safe, convenient and enjoyable experience for the growing number of bike commuters and enthusiasts. This includes bike lanes on all roads in the MOA Complex, enhanced bike parking, repair stands, a helmet depository and vendo machines carrying bike supplies, gear and refreshments. Gracing the event are Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles (second from left), Ambassador from Denmark Grete Sillasen (second from right) and Ambassador from The Netherlands Saskia de Lang. They are joined by Carol Sy (far right) and SM Engineering, Design and Development President Hans Sy Jr. (far left), who conceptualized and spearheads the initiative.

n JAPAN 0.4587 n UK 61.8745 n HK 6.2544 n CHINA 7.1053 n SINGAPORE 35.2011 n AUSTRALIA 34.0807 n EU 56.3681 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9245

Source: BSP (September 28, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, September 29, 2020

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DTI… House to nix new ‘savings’ definition in 2021 budget on fears over ‘pork’ Continued from A1

rates are mostly placed under GCQ up to now, such as Metro Manila (15.8 percent) and Southern Tagalog (12.4 percent).

Biz groups’ plea

HOPING to increase employment in the buildup to Christmas, business groups last week wrote a letter to the IATF pleading to ease travel and work restrictions in Metro Manila.

First on their recommendations is to permit public utility vehicles (PUVs) to ply the roads again. They lamented the current number of PUVs will fail to service all commuters when GCQ is lifted in Metro Manila, as they said at least 90 percent of the labor force is set to return to work once the region shifts to MGCQ. They also requested the government to consider practicality in enforcing workplace protocols, such as the wearing of face shields inside offices and factories.

Business groups said the requirement to wear face shields even in the workplace affects the vision, physical safety and productivity of workers. They cited the case of personnel in manufacturing plants who deal with minute parts and sensitive units requiring the clearest of eyesights during assembly.

The joint letter to the IATF was signed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., including the Philippine Silkroad International Chamber of Commerce.

However, Malacañang said Monday the new workplace requirements to stop the spread of Covid-19 will remain in place despite the complaints of employers on the said measures.

“If I am not mistaken, wearing of face masks is 94 percent effective in preventing [a person from being infected with] Covid. The face shields increase this by 3 percent so they have 97 protection,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing.

Furthermore, he said the prices of face shields have significantly gone down recently making it a affordable for workers and employers.

Roque also said companies will still need to comply with the mandatory isolation room for every 200 employees.

“If their problem is space [for the isolation room], they could coordinate with their local government unit because there could be an isolation facility in the barangay, where the factory is located,” Roque said.

Both requirements—the face masks, shields and the isolation room—are contained in the new guidelines of the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Trade and Industry, issued earlier this month.

A

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

HOUSE leader said they are willing to scrap the questioned provision on the new definition of savings under the proposed P4.506trillion 2021 national budget, which was criticized as providing a platform for “presidential pork barrel” if there are no parameters.

During the House plenary deliberations on the proposed national budget next year, House Committee on Appropriations vice chairman Joey Sarte Salceda vowed to remove the provision if no clear parameters qualifying the provision are put in place.

“We will take it out unless there are parameters; this should be taken out,” Salceda said.

These parameters are needed, he explained, so as to make sure that Congress is not giving

the Executive branch too much leeway or flexibility over the national budget.

This, after Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate urged the lower chamber to delete the provision, warning this will “cause more harm than good as it will give the executive unbridled power to take control of the national budget.”

Retaining the provision would also reduce the power of Congress over the national budget to a mere

“power of the coin purse,” according to Zarate.

Under the 2021 National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the Department of Budget and Management, the President of the Philippines, the Senate President, the House Speaker, the Chief Justice, the Heads of the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Elections, and the COA are hereby authorized to declare and use savings in their respective appropriations to augment actual deficiencies incurred for the current year in any item of their respective appropriations.

It refers to savings as portions or balances of any released appropriations in the proposed budget, which have not been obligated as a result of any of the following: completion, final discontinuance, or abandonment of a program, activity or project for which the appropriation is authorized; or implementation of measures resulting in improved systems and efficiencies and thus enabled an agency to meet and deliver the required or planned targets, programs and services approved in this proposal at a

lesser cost. Allotments that were not obligated due to the fault of the agency concerned shall not be considered savings.

Also per the NEP, notwithstanding the foregoing, the President may declare as savings funding in the final discontinuance or abandonment of a program, activity or project, whether released or unreleased, allotment for which remain unobligated, in case of a declaration of a state of national calamity as may be necessary to augment deficient programs, activities or projects in the Executive department or special purpose funds that are necessary to immediately address the existing calamity.

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado told lawmakers earlier that the savings provision in the NEP is similar to the provision of the Bayanihan law, in the event that a national emergency happens.

Under the Bayanihan law, the Chief Executive has the power to “reallocate and reprogram” funds in the P4.1-trillion 2020 national budget and use the money for combatting Covid-19.

2021 BUDGET CAN REV UP ECONOMY BY Q2–SALCEDA Continued from A1

budgets of Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Tourism, and social protection programs of the government.

Besides the said funding, Salceda also told Quimbo that P450 billion has been appropriated as infrastructure funds, saying this investment has high multiplier effects on the economy.

Crucial to recovery

FOR his part, House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Eric Go Yap, sponsor of the 2021 General Appropriations Bill, said the proposed budget is crucial to the country’s recovery from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic as it will serve as an investment for resiliency and sustainability.

“We stand along with the budget philosophy of this administration that more than our priorities for a responsive and dynamic governance, we have to focus our resources to the most urgent priority—to reset our momentum and action, rebound for the dev-

astating effect of the pandemic on the health and economy, and fully recover from the current and continuing impact of this crisis,” said Yap in his speech.

Yap said the pandemic has curbed the opportunities for socioeconomic growth and development as many Filipinos lost their jobs and livelihood, while many enterprises and companies closed down.

“This budget carries the aspiration of our Filipino people to recover from the hardship brought by the pandemic to our livelihood and to recover the country’s economic growth,” he added.

“The timely passage of the General Appropriations Bill will ensure that our government, through its programs and projects, will be able to rebound, reset and recover our lost momentum,” he said.

With the theme of “Reset, Rebound and Recover: Investing for Resiliency and Sustainability,” the 2021 expenditure plan is higher than this year’s budget by 9.9 percent and equivalent to 21.8 percent of GDP. By expense class, personnel services will receive the bulk of

next year’s allocation at 29.2 percent, reaching P1.32 trillion. This level considers the huge additional hiring of health workers under the Human Resource for Health Program of the Department of Health, the second tranche implementation of the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, and the increased pension requirements of military and uniformed personnel.

Capital outlays will come in second with P920.5 billion, accounting for 20.4 percent of the proposed budget and growing by 12.9 percent. The increase in capital outlays from this year’s budget is owed mainly to the increase in infrastructure programs of the Department of Public Works and Highways (14.7 percent) and Department of Transportation (42.6 percent).

Meanwhile, maintenance, operating and other expenditures will amount to P699.4 billion; debt burden with P560.2 billion; support to government-owned and -controlled corporations with P157.5 billion; and tax expenditures with P14.5 billion.

The Department of Education, including state universities and

colleges, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, remains the top agency with the biggest slice from the proposed budget with an allocation of P754.4 billion.

This is followed by Department of Public Works and Highways with a proposed budget of P667.3 billion; the Department of the Interior and Local Government with P246.1 billion; the Department of National Defense with P209.1 billion; the Department of Health with P203.1 billion; the Department of Social Welfare and Development with P171.2 billion; the Department of Transportation with P143.6 billion; the Department of Agriculture with P66.4 billion; the Judiciary with P43.5 billion; and the Department of Labor and Employment with P27.5 billion.

Based on the schedule of sponsorship and floor deliberations, the sponsorship will be finished by October 7.

The House wants to transmit to the Senate the 2021 national budget before the 18th Congress takes its break on October 17.

Solons push better tracking tools as poverty seen rising Continued from A1

Stella Luz A. Quimbo, Marikina City 2nd District Representative, said, nonetheless, the estimate made

by Salceda is lamentable given the difficulty faced by many Filipino families in graduating from poverty.

“It takes generations for a family to exit poverty. The intergenerational effect of poverty is significant [in the country]. You can become poor just by losing your job. In order to be considered not poor, so many things need to happen, including keeping your children in school and having access to healthcare and all those things. So I hope Neda would be able to continue monitoring the increase in poverty [in the country],” Quimbo said, partly in Filipino.

Monitoring poverty

IN order to better monitor poverty, Salceda and Quimbo expressed sup-

port for House Resolution 1241 filed by the Representative of the 2nd District of Bataan, Jose Enrique Garcia III.

The resolution urges the House of Representatives to increase the 2021 budget of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) to P2.5 billion from the proposed budget of P85 million.

Based on the resolution, the P85 million will only cover preparatory undertakings for the CBMS, which was instituted as a law in 2019. Financing the CBMS, according to the resolution, will be instrumental in providing services to the poor, especially those affected by Covid-19.

He said he will sign the “resolution that seeks to increase the budget of the PSA which was previously at P9.4 [billion] and has now been reduced to P8 billion to at least bring back the P2.5 billion for the CBMS.

How can you make a good decision, where will you allocate the funds if you do not know where the poor are?”

Salceda said he has been using the CBMS in his province because it took three years before the FIES data could be collected and released to the public.

Quimbo said if only the CBMS were fully in place, it would have helped the government better distribute the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) this year.

Earlier, the PSA said the CBMS was tasked to be implemented by local government units but there were no standards set and, due to the lack of funding, the conduct of the CBMS was highly irregular.

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa earlier estimated that the PSA would require at least five additional personnel per PSA field office to ensure that the CBMS is carried out.

With 81 field offices, the PSA

may require 405 new employees. This is a conservative estimate given that certain provinces have several highly urbanized cities (HUCs) which require more staff.

On top of the financing concerns, Mapa also said the confidentiality of the data for the CBMS is a concern. If the CBMS will be used for targeting various social services, the identity of the households will have to be bared.

But, Mapa earlier said, this is why PSA is looking forward to working with other government agencies in implementing the CBMS.

Neda Bill

THESE efforts, Quimbo said, should be accompanied by the passage of the proposed Neda Bill which aims to transform the Neda into an “independent economic and planning agency.”

Currently, the Neda is an oversight agency whose authority rests on the Neda Board. The Neda Board

is chaired by the President of the Philippines.

Quimbo said an independent Neda would be a good “referee” between the Department of Finance (DOF), tasked with raising revenues, and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), tasked with spending.

However, Salceda, who filed the bill and got it approved in the previous Congress, admitted there is now a lack of interest to have an independent planning agency.

“But right now, my view is, given the pandemic, we need a Neda, DOF, DBM, and other economic agencies, that is interdependent and coordinated,” Salceda explained.

Neda said passage of the proposed Neda Act is crucial to the implementation of the country’s development agenda, including the realization of the country’s long-term vision called Ambisyon Natin 2040.

Udenna…

Continued from A1

Only via bidding–SMC

CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said over the weekend that it is interested in acquiring the 45-percent stake of SPEx in the Malampaya gas-to- power project.

When asked if SMC would still pursue this intention after UC has declared it would use its preemptive rights, company president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said his company prefers to participate if it’s done via an auction.

“Only if it’s bidding, we will join,” Ang said in a text message Monday.

Zorrilla commented that a potential new consortium member would have difficulty in evaluating “complicated issues” that only existing partners can deal with in a timely manner.

He added that the transfer of Shell’s interest in Malampaya needs to be resolved as soon as possible, with the remaining consortium members as the logical choice to acquire the Shell stake in order to ensure continued employment and certainty for the local workforce; and just as important, for customers and stakeholders who rely on Malampaya’s continued safe and reliable operations in a manner which minimizes disruption.

Zorrilla said only UC and PNOC-EC are “the most suitable party” to assume Shell’s interest.

As such, UC is asking PNOC-EC to join in its pursuit to take over the gas field.

“The Udenna Group firmly believes that Malampaya is a high-quality asset, strategic to the future welfare and energy security of the country and welcome our partner PNOC-EC to join us in taking over the field on a 100-percent basis.

“We are keen to pursue this vision even with Shell’s exit, and that we, together with PNOC-EC, are the most suitable party to assume Shell’s interest. We will exercise this right as provided in our joint venture agreement,” stressed Zorrilla.

Too early–PNOC-EC

WHEN asked if PNOC-EC is interested in UC’s offer, company president Rozzano Briguez, in a text message, said there is no agreement yet following the recent announcement of SPEx.

“It is too early to comment. We have our own ongoing study on all the possible implications of Shell’s divestment,” Briguez said.

However, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who sits as the chairman of PNOC-EC, said a due diligence is already in progress.

He said the due diligence started last Friday. “We will try to finish it within the week. We will do a financial and technical evaluation.

So, it’s still under study,” Cusi said in a text message.

Zorrilla pointed out that the existing partners are free of any conflict of interest associated with ownership of downstream gas and electricity businesses.

Moreover, the Udenna Group firmly believes that the exit of Shell from the Malampaya gas field will in no way impact operations. It has further expressed its trust in the Filipino operating team that would continue operating the asset post any sale by Shell of their interest.

“We are fortunate that the Malampaya workforce composed of Filipinos have had the benefit of years of training by Shell and are in fact the lifeblood of the project; and it is the remaining consortium members’ responsibility to ensure that they remain secure in the knowledge that their service to the country shall continue,” he added.

Udenna’s business includes distribution and retail of finished petroleum products, as well as shipping and logistics. Udenna has, in the past few years, expanded and diversified its portfolio to include property development, education, food, gaming and tourism, infrastructure, and telecommunications.

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Comelec lists ‘hurdles’ in resetting 2022 local, natl polls

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

F

ILIPINO voters would still have to go out to vote in a plebiscite before the 2022 national and local elections could be postponed.

On Monday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) explained resetting the date of the upcoming polls requires amending a provision of the Constitution to allow the extension of the terms of the incumbent elected officials beyond June 30, 2022.

“To amend the [said provision in the] Constitution, the proposal should come from two-thirds of congressmen and senators. Another hurdle, is it will require a plebiscite,” Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas said in a television interview with PTV. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said this will defeat the purpose of the proposal to reset the date of the 2022 elections.

“You’re gonna hold an election [plebiscite] to postpone an election.

It will probably be ironic in that way,” Jimenez said.

Aside from term extension, Abas explained Congress must also pass the necessary law to change the date of the May 2022 elections since it will include the positions for president and vice president.

Sought for his comment on the matter, Malacañang said it will let Congress and the people decide if they want the next polls to push through or not.

“The President is not interested in extending his term. And he leaves it to the Filipino people, the sovereign people to decide if they want to amend the Constitution to postpone the elections,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in an online news briefing.

Under the Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution, such polls should be held every second Monday of May “unless otherwise provided by law.”

Last week, Pampanga Second District Rep. Mikey Arroyo proposed postponing the next elections due to concerns that Covid-19 could still be spread during the elections.

Abas said they are still continuing their preparations for the 2022 polls on the assumption that it will push through but he said they are not ruling out the possibility that it could still be deferred.

Comelec asked Congress to raise its proposed P14-billion budget next year to P30 billion so it could prepare the necessary contingencies for the 2022 polls, including requiring the filing of Certificate of Candidacy online, increasing the voting venues as well as the day to vote.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, September 29, 2020 A3

Duterte expected to meet with Cayetano, Velasco today amid speakership dispute

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

S

PEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco are scheduled to meet with President Duterte on Tuesday (today) at the Malacañang to address the speakership issue in the House of Representatives.

The Palace meeting between Cayetano and Velasco was confirmed by Deputy Speaker Dan Fernandez.

PDP-Laban Executive Director Ron Munsayac likewise confirmed the meeting with the President which is also expected to be attended by heads of the different political parties in the lower chamber.

This developed as political parties from the House majority and minority have signed two separate manifestos supporting Cayetano’s leadership until 2022.

As of this writing, at least 202 lawmakers from the majority and 16 from the minority have signed their manifestation of support to the current leadership.

Amid the political noise that has threatened to derail the smooth and immediate passage of the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in the lower chamber, lawmakers are now “called upon to act and put aside partisan bickering in favor of the larger people’s agenda that calls for a fair, balanced and equi-

table [decision] that will help the country recovery swiftly from the effects of Covid-19.”

Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte said he expects no changes for now as lawmakers are now focusing on the plenary deliberations of the proposed 2021 P4.5trillion national budget.

“No revamp, or changes being talked about now because our attention and focus is to pass the 2021 budget on or before October 15, 2020,” he said.

Under the term-sharing agreement for the speakership, Cayetano leads the Lower House for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress, while Velasco will assume leader-

ship for the last 21 months.

But Villafuerte said Velasco “lost the speakership” because of his alleged failure to prove to his peers his capability to lead as Speaker of the House.

“A Speaker should have a strong voice, a Speaker should have a principled stand on major issues which clearly Congressman Velasco does not have. He is pressuring Malacañang to order congressmen to make him Speaker because congressmen don’t believe he is competent,” he stated.

Despite the announcement of the term-sharing deal, Villafuerte said Velasco should not have assumed the support of the majority, which, he said, he should earn. “He

[Velasco] lost by default because of his own fault and actions.”

“He did not perform as congressman, he did not perform as chairman of the energy committee which convinced the supermajority his inability to lead the chamber. In most of the major issues surrounding the House, where was Congressman Velasco? Where was he when we passed the Anti-Terror law? Where was he during the deliberations on the ABS-CBN franchise? Where was he during the Bayanihan 1 and Bayanihan 2 when Congress worked double time and overtime to pass the said measures? Where was he on all major issues surrounding the House?” said Villafuerte.

No more hard copies please: Foundling welfare bill approved on 2nd reading SC shifts to full automation in lower court administration

T

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court-Office of the Court Administrator (SC-OCA) has advised all judges and personnel of first and second level courts that all official announcements, issuances, and periodic reports would be electronically sent to and from Court through the Philippine Judiciary Office 365 accounts.

In OCA Circular 162-2020, Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said the full utilization of Philippine Judiciary Office (PJO) 365 accounts for court issuances would start on October 1, 2020.

Marquez reminded all concerned judges and court personnel to regularly log in to their accounts at least once in the morning upon arrival in court and once in the afternoon before departure to check for newly released administrative orders, circulars and other Court issuances.

“All administrative orders, circulars, memoranda and other issuances by the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice and the Office of the Court Administrator shall now be posted and disseminated to the first and second level courts through the Official Announcements and Issuances Channel in the Philippine Judiciary Office 365 platform,” the circular read.

“These will no longer be individually distributed to the courts, either by registered or electronic main,” it added.

The SC stressed that starting October 1, hard copies of reports and documents will no longer be accepted.

“All judges and branch clerks of courts are directed to ensure compliance with this circular,” the circular said.

The OCA has provided the more than 1,000 single-sala courts with PJO 365 accounts to enable them to conduct trials through videoconferencing amid the pandemic.

HE House of Representatives on Monday approved on second reading House Bill 7679, or the proposed “Foundling Welfare Act,” to uphold the best interest of Filipino children amid the pandemic.

The bill, principally authored by Rep. Ronnie Ong of Ang Probinsyano, seeks to promote the rights of foundlings, or abandoned children, with unknown parents. House Bill 7679 also declares foundlings as natural-born citizens of the Philippines, as well as penalize acts inimical to their welfare.

The bill states foundlings would be entitled to all available government programs and services. Any individual found to be filing a malicious complaint for the purpose of harassing, persecuting, or injuring a foundling, would be penalized with a P1 million to P5 million fine and imprisonment of three months to two years.

House Committee on the Welfare of Children and Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, sponsor of the bill, said the bill seeks to promote and protect the rights of abandoned children.

The lawmaker added the filing of the bill was an offshoot of the absence of a legal framework that fully recognizes foundlings as bonafide Filipino citizens.

She said a foundling has to cope with the harsh reality of being abandoned by his/her family.

Moreover, Ong underscored the importance of the passage of the bill as the present laws require children whose parentage are unknown to present physical proof of blood relation to a Filipino parent before he or she is considered to be a natural-born citizen.

These legal barriers, Ong said, places foundlings at a disadvantageous position and tremendously disenfranchises them as the failure of the child to fulfill the legal requirements obliged by the law is tantamount to the denial of their full rights bestowed upon all Filipino children.

Un d e r t h e p r o p o s e d l aw, foundlings shall be recognized as natural-born citizens of the Philippines, without need of perfection or any further act, and shall automatically be accorded such rights and protection as those

belonging to such class of citizens. These include foundlings who are committed to orphanage and charitable or government institutions, or those who have undergone, or are undergoing adoption proceedings.

The measure provides that such natural-born status of the child, or infant, shall not be impugned in any proceeding all the days of his or her life unless substantial proof of foreign parentage is shown. Such status shall not also be affected by the fact that the birth certificate of the child is simulated, or that there was an absence of a legal adoption process, it said.

The bill tasks the Department of Social Welfare and Development or any of its duly licensed institutions or nongovernment organizations to conduct a proactive and diligent search and inquiry into the facts of birth and parentage of the child, or infant, within 15 days after commitment, or submission of foundling report by the finder, or other concerned person, unless more time is needed in view of significant developments.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

BI deports, blacklists 11 Chinese nationals for violating VUA program

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HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has blacklisted 11 Chinese nationals for violating visa upon arrival (VUA) rules when they overstayed in the country for almost a year.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the Chinese nationals were ordered to leave the country and pay corresponding fines and

penalties for overstaying.

“These aliens are now barred from reentering the Philippines for violating the conditions of their stay,” Morente said.

“They were allowed to come here by availing a visa upon arrival yet they abused that privilege by overstaying without valid reason and justification at all,” he added.

The VUA program has remained suspended since January following the Covid-19 outbreak, which was believed to have originated in Wuhan, China.

Under the rules, VUA grantees are not allowed to extend their stay beyond 30 days.

The program, which was implemented three years ago to attract Chinese tourists and tour groups,

permits them to enter the Philippines and stay here for not more than 30 days without the need to apply for visas at Philippine consulates in their places of origin.

VUA grantees apply for the scheme through tour operators accredited by the Department of Tourism.

Based on the records, the 11 blacklisted Chinese nationals ar-

rived in the country separately between November and December 2019 and January 2020.

They were discovered to be overstaying in the country after they appeared at the BI main office in Manila to apply for updating of their stay and presented plane tickets manifesting their intention to leave the country.

Joel R. San Juan

Weak demand, glut pull down broiler Army slays ASG bomb maker in Sulu price to three-week low at ₧67.50/kg clash; terrorist nabbed in Zamboanga

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE average farm-gate price of regular-sized broiler has fallen by 9.4 percent to a three-week low of P67.50 per kilogram (kg) as domestic demand remains anemic coupled by persisting supply glut.

Latest United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) price survey showed that average farm-gate price of regular-sized broiler as of September 25 declined by P7 per kg from P74.5 per kg recorded in the previous week.

Based on UBRA data, this is now the lowest average farm-gate price of regular-sized broiler in three weeks since it hit peaked at P76 per kg on September 11.

UBRA attributed to weak demand and higher chicken meat imports that has created a domestic supply glut this year.

UBRA data also showed that the price declines were also observed in

the average farm-gate prices of offsized and prime-sized broiler.

The average farm-gate price of offsized broiler was at P64 per kg, 10.5 percent lower than the previous week’s P71.5 per kg, based on UBRA data.

UBRA data also showed that the average farm-gate price of primesized broiler fell by P4.31 per kg to P69.19 per kg from last week’s quotation of P73.5 per kg.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced key broiler markets such as the hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) sector to shut down, or partially halt operations, resulting in the loss of 30 percent of total domestic broiler demand.

Broiler raisers have been reeling from low farm-gate prices since then with the industry isn’t expecting any signs of immediate recovery of both demand and prices even during the Christmas season.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to roll out a P4 billion

worth of cash and food subsidy to marginal farmers and fisherfolk to help ease the broiler glut and spur domestic consumption.

The DA will provide farmers and fisherfolk with P5,000 combined financial and food subsidy with P3,000 of which in cash while the remaining P2,000 would be in the form of food such as rice and locally produced dressed chicken.

Latest National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) data showed that nationwide dressed chicken inventory in accredited cold storages as of September 21 was at 73,127.42 metric tons.

NMIS data indicated that about half of which or around 33,740.45 MT were locally produced while the remaining volume of 39,386.97 MT were imported.

The latest volume was 11 percent higher than last month’s 65,859.76 MT and was 152.42 percent over last year’s 29,085.04 MT, based on NMIS data.

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

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BOMB maker and cousin of notorious Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Mudzrimar “Mundi” Sawadjaan was killed on Monday in a firefight with soldiers in Sulu.

Citing a report of the 102nd Infantry Brigade to Joint Task Force Sulu commander Brig. Gen. William Gonzales, Lt. Col. Ronaldo Mateo identified the slain terrorist as Arsibar Sawadjaan.

Mateo, spokesman of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said Sawadjaan was a subleader of the ASG and a cousin of Mudzrimar. He was also a bomb maker for the terrorist group.

According to Mateo, elements of the Army’s 45th Infantry Battalion encountered Sawadjaan and about 40 ASG members at around 9 a.m. in

a harboring site of the ASG in Barangay Maligay, Patikul, Sulu, which the soldiers overran.

The group was supposedly led by ASG chieftain Radullan Sahiron and Mudzrimar, the latter having been tagged as one of the brains behind the August 24 twin bombings in Jolo.

Meanwhile, a trusted aide of Mudzrimar was arrested by police intelligence agents in Zamboanga City on Sunday.

National Police chief General Camilo Pancratius Cascolan identified the suspect on Monday as Hashim Saripada, alias Ibnu Kashir Saripada, who was nabbed by operatives of Regional Intelligence Unit 9 and 84th Special Action Company (Seaborne) at Barangay Recodo, Zamboanga City.

Saripada is the subject of a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Danilo M. Bucoy of Regional

Trial Court Branch 2 of Isabela, Basilan for murder and multiple frustrated murder.

“Police records indicate Saripada’s key role in the July 31, 2018 bombing of a CAFGU detachment in Sitio Magkawit, Barangay Maganda, Lamitan City, Basilan carried out by Moroccan bomber Abu Kathir Al-Maghribi using a vehicle borne improvised explosive device [VBIED] that resulted to the death of 11 persons,” Cascolan said during a news briefing.

“Investigation revealed that Saripada facilitated AlMaghribi’s travel from Sulu to Basilan. Likewise, Saripada and Mundi Sawadjaan reportedly prepared the IED detonated by an Indonesian couple at the Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu on January 27, 2019,” he added.

A4 Tuesday, September 29, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

Other side of pandemic: Supply-chain disruption lowers prices of crabs, tuna

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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ISRUPTIONS caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to the country’s fisheries exports has led to more domestic supply, resulting in price declines of previously expensive products such as crabs and tuna, an advocacy group said.

Tugon Kabuhayan said exportbound fisheries products were diverted to the domestic market due to movement restrictions imposed in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as stoppage of international flights.

For example, the prices of 1-kilogram sized crabs which fetched for P2,500 to P3,000 per kilogram before the Covid-19 pandemic is now priced at P1,200 per kg, according to the group. Crabs of such weight and

size are usually exported to countries like Singapore, it added.

The same has been observed for the country’s tuna industry. Tuna catches that were usually shipped abroad such as to the European Union have been redirected to the domestic market, the group said.

The price of “huge” tunas in Quezon has gone down to P140 per kg to P150 per kg from P200 per kg due to the supply chain disruptions, according to the group.

Nonetheless, the group said the decline in prices have made these products more affordable to local consumers but noted that there is a need to improve the market’s demand for these types of products.

“Most of the consumers that eat these products are tourists. These

are not household staples. It is the high-end market that is really affected, hence, there is a need to encourage local consumption,” Tugon Kabuhayan said in a virtual news briefing on Monday.

“Instead of importing, we should promote consumption of local products so we would be able to help our local producers,” the group added.

The group disclosed that the fisheries industry was not spared from the loss of key markets due to consequences brought about by the pandemic.

For one, demand for bangus, or milkfish, that is used for processed dried fish has gone down by 30 percent to 40 percent since carinderias, or small restaurants, have been closed, worsened by job losses in the urban areas, the group said.

The group explained that the product is popular among workers and students as it is sold by eateries as bangsilog, or daing na bangus paired with egg and fried rice.

However, the group said they are seeing that demand for fisheries products is slowly picking up and they hope that the upward price trend continues on the back of anticipated Christmas consumption in the following months.

For example, prices of tilapia in Taal have went up to P90 per kg to P95 per kg from P75 per kg, the group said.

Tugon Kabuhayan is an advocacy group helping Filipino farmers by promoting domestic production, food safety and security and environmental protection, among others.

Govt awards last of 5 civil works contracts for NSCR

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HE Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) have awarded the last of the five civil works contracts for the Malolos-Clark extension of the the North-South Commuter Railway System (NSCR).

The last contract, tagged as Contract Package N-03, covers 12 kilometers (km) of elevated viaduct and one station building in the cities of San Fernando,

Angeles, and Mabalacat in Pampanga.

It was awarded to the Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd. “[A]nd now, the five contract packages are complete. The project is alive and well and we can say that there is no stopping us from attaining our goal to provide comfort and convenience to our fellowmen,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said.

The PNR Clark Phase 2 project is

the 53-km northern segment of the 147-km NSCR, which will run from Clark in Pampanga all the way to the town of Calamba in Laguna.

“What we see here is the coming together of an impressive league of the biggest and the best players in the construction industry here and abroad, funded by the Asian Development Bank with its largest-ever financing package for

a single project to build the Philippine government’s single largest project in history,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan said.

PNR General Manager Junn B. Magno added that as of August, the Malolos-Clark segment has an overall progress rate of 26 percent, which is still within target of the agency.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Drilon says worsening hunger crisis hounds Duterte administration

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

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ITING results of a recent survey, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has warned against a brewing hunger crisis following findings that over 7.7 million Filipino families now go to sleep without food amid the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, citing projections the situation is bound to worsen in the absence of timely government intervention.

The senator prodded the Duterte administration to promptly address the worsening problem before it gets out of hand.

Drilon admitted he was “alarmed by the worsening condition of poor Filipino families affected by the pandemic.”

“They are hungry, most of them women and children. This validates our concerns over the lack of ayuda in the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021,” he said.

The opposition lawmaker lamented the lack of government action to promptly address the problem before it worsens further wondering, “How can the government stomach their non-inclusion of a Social Amelioration Program [SAP] for 2021?”

Drilon, in a news statement issued on Monday, said the Duterte administration “must address this immediately before it spirals into a full-blown crisis.”

The senator suggested that the Duterte administration can “tap into around P9 billion in government’s

confidential and intelligence fund, the P16.4-billion anti-insurgency fund and the P468 billion alleged lump-sum appropriation in the proposed national budget, to fund the SAP next year.”

Citing recent survey results, Drilon noted findings that hunger incidence worsened amid the ongoing pandemic, adding that the families who experienced involuntary hunger jumped to 7.6 million families, a new record-high of 30.7 percent, in the September survey from about 5.2 million families, or 20.9 percent, in the July survey, which represents a 9.8-percent increase. “We expect the figure to rise in the absence of adequate financial aid to the poor,” said Drilon.

The Minority Leader earlier pressed for an increase in the budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to enable the agency playing a key role in the fight against the pandemic to address the plight of the poor, noting that under the 2021 National Expenditures Program, the agency is proposed to receive P171.2 billion.

Moreover, Drilon recalled the Department of Budget and Management did not provide any funding for the SAP, a program that provided financial assistance amounting to P5,000 to P8,000 to about 18 million poor Filipino families under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1), insisting the program “should be included in the 2021 budget” amid findings affirming worsening poverty.

The power of data–what do we do with it?

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By Henry J. Schumacher

ATA has become the new life force driving the world today, powered by digitalization.

Most of us have already access to a staggering amount of digital information, due largely to pervasive technology. More knowledge than ever is at our fingertips.

Humans and machines will only continue to accelerate the creation and storage of this growing amount of data and media to be searched, harvested, and rendered.

In the future, we will all have network access to easyto-use, massively powerful decision-making and planning tools running on common utility supercomputer grids, distributed across the Internet.

There are four componenttechnology clusters supporting the change from sparsely sourced to deeply informed decision-making and planning: Data mining is the use of statistical and visualization techniques to uncover trends and relationships within massive databases. Data mining is common with financial data, medical data, census data, and across the web as a whole. The trends sought after are often non-obvious and require substantial data manipulation, either through a directed search to test a particular hypothesis, or through less bounded exploration to find unexpected results.

Predictive analytics and data automation will be some of the hottest topics for business. Predictive analysis will allow business to assess future economic conditions, risk areas, climate trends, infrastructure maintenance and investment needs. It is obvious that companies have to train their staff in data analytics so that

to learn how to better process patterns, our computers will be able to interpret meaningful information from an otherwise opaque environment. Pattern processing is an integral part of voice recognition and biometric authentication techniques for confirming our identities based on retinal patterns, genetics, voice and fingerprints.

How does this impact the future of work?

they can respond to market opportunities faster and— at the same time—avoid disruptive innovation for the organization.

Knowledge visualization and simulation are specific graphical and tactile user interface techniques for interacting with massive and complex knowledge.

The greatest benefit of visualization is its ability to communicate concepts difficult to adequately describe or grasp in words: things that are too large (a galaxy), too small (an electron), too slow (an eon), too quick (a nanosecond), too complex (an engine), an ecosystem (a weather system), or too abstract (an equation, a heuristic, a process, a trend, or an analytic model). Knowledge visualization and computer simulations give us the ability to operate and manage otherwise unimaginable tasks.

Microsoft’s Excel and Power BI programs are of big help.

Our webinars are attracting hundreds of participants.

Pattern processing is the mathematical analysis of two-dimensional images like sensor patterns, photographs, satellite pictures, facial expressions, video images and voiceprints. As we continue

COMPARED to our still somewhat limited capabilities today, working people will have to be upskilled to be able to use the powerful capabilities to access, manage, manipulate, and visualize abstract processes and vast datasets.

Subsequently, each decision and plan we make will be based on a much deeper understanding of relevant data.

Mathematics will become a necessary resource for sorting this information by redefining our workflow processes.

Important is that machines will not replace humans but they will be necessary mediators between data overflow and human analysts. The employee of the future will have to have sharp analytic capabilities, able to make sense of the filtered data.

In conclusion, we are to be guided by Anticipation of likely future needs, trends and options (powerful data analysis); Articulation of these needs to build collective understanding and support for action (data visualization included); Adaptation so that there is continuous learning and the adjustment of responses as necessary (to stay ahead of the curve); and Accountability, including maximum transparency in decision-making processes and openness to challenges and feedback (inclusion is the name of the game).

Your feedback would be highly appreciated; contact me at Schumacher@eitsc.com

The World BusinessMirror

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

Death toll nears 1 million; no letup in U.S. virus cases

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he official death toll from Covid-19 neared 1 million, though exper ts say the real tally may be almost double that. India’s infections are set to top 6 million, while Russia is seeing a resurgence of cases.

US virus cases increased by 45,444 on Saturday to 7.08 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The 0.7 percent rise was in line with the average daily increase over the previous seven days. An additional 740 deaths nationwide were reported on the day, matching the average increase over the previous week.

Utah reported more than 1,000 cases for the fourth consecutive day, ending the state’s worst week since the start of the pandemic, according to state health department data.

New infections in Utah surged to record levels this month amid an outbreak in the Midwest and Mountain regions, reaching a peak of 1,411 new cases on Thursday.

The state reported a cumulative 70,615 cases and 453 deaths on Sunday.

New York City health officials said they’re alarmed at a continuing spike in Covid-19 virus transmission in sections of south Brooklyn and Queens with large Orthodox Jewish communities, on the eve of the Yom Kippur holiday.

Seven of the eight neighborhoods saw increases from the previous report on Saturday, based on preliminar y data, the city health department said in a statement.

Mask-wearing compliance in the neighborhoods has been much lower than elsewhere in the city and cases have outpaced the citywide average “at an alarming rate”—more than threefold—over the past 14 days, according to the department.

Key developments:

Vaccine likely to be ‘partially protective’: Gottlieb

Coronavirus vaccines now in development are likely to be “partially protective” but won’t prevent everyone who’s inoculated from becoming infected, said Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration.

“The expectation is that this vaccine is going to be partially protective, a lot like the flu vaccine, where for certain people it will provide full immunity, but for other people it’s not going to provide as much protection,” Gottlieb said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

G-20 Leaders Summit to be held ‘virtually’

The G-20 Leaders’ Summit, which had been planned for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will now be held “virtually,” according to a statement posted to the G-20 web site.

The G-20 summit gathers leaders of the world’s largest country together for a multi-day summit meeting. The agenda this year “will focus on protecting lives and restoring growth, by addressing vulnerabilities uncovered during the pandemic and by laying down the foundations for a better future,” according to the statement.

Morrison pleads for lockdown end in Australia hot spot

The leader of Australia’s second-largest state has announced the end of a nightly curfew in Melbourne sooner than originally expected as the pace of new coronavirus infections in the city slows.

That’s not enough for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is urgently seeking to reboot the stalled national economy and is pleading for Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews to quickly remove more lockdown curbs implemented almost two months ago.

Beijing urges halt to some frozen food imports

Beijing’s city government is requiring companies to stop importing frozen food from countries with serious coronavirus outbreaks, according to a statement on the local commerce bureau’s web site. The statement didn’t name any nations.

The city’s move is the latest restriction on imports in China. The nation has been investigating imported meat, seafood, packaging and containers as a potential source of Covid-19 since June.

Brazil cases, deaths slow

Brazil reported 14,318 cases, after a week in which the nation had the lowest number of infections since June, according to Health Ministry data. Total cases, in the country with the world’s third-highest number of infections, are now 4,732,309. Another 335 people died, for a total 141,741 fatalities.

Ireland cases rise

I r e land recorded 43O new infec tions on Sunday, the most in five months, with Dublin accounting for around half the cases. The g ove rn m e nt h a s re i nt ro d u ce d re s t ri c t i o n s in the Irish capital, as well as in a region along the border, to tr y and curb the spread of the virus.

France cases slow

F ranc e repor ted a third daily decline in new cases, falling to 11,123 on Sunday from 14,412 on Saturday. The seven- day average remained above 12,000 for the third day.

France repor ted 27 additional deaths, taking the total to 31,727.

Myanmar tightens restrictions

Myanmar has seen a spike in cases this month, prompting the government to order the construction of treatment and quarantine centers in Yangon and Mandalay.

Some 743 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed on Sunday, boosting the Southeast Asian nation’s total to 10,734, the Ministry of Health and Sports said. Fatalities increased by 28 to 226. All but six of the deaths were reported this month.

The government on Monday will further tighten curbs to minimize the movement of people in Yangon Region from one township to another.

Bloomberg News

China holds new drills in South China Sea amid rising tensions

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hina is holding new military exercises in the South China Sea amid an uptick in tensions between the Asian giant and its Southeast Asian neighbors and the US. The Maritime Safety Administration issued a pair of announcements blocking off seas around the area of the exercises running Sunday through Monday but gave no additional details.

China holds regular drills in the area and there was no immediate indication they had been prompted by recent events.

However, they follow a series of sorties earlier this month by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s airspace at the northern end of the South China Sea. Beijing said those were intended as a warning to the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if deemed necessary.

Earlier this month, an Indonesian patrol ship confronted a Chinese coast guard vessel that spent almost three days in waters where Indonesia claims economic rights and are near the southernmost part of China’s disputed South China Sea claims.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have also engaged in push-back against Chinese claims and actions in the area, while progress in talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China over the South China Sea appear at a standstill.

US calls Chinese outposts ‘platforms of coercion’

The US State Department is accusing China of going back on its word to not militarize the Spratly Islands, calling Beijing’s outposts in the area “platforms of coercion.”

Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus recalled Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s statement during a White House visit in 2015 that “China does not intend to pursue militarization” of the Spratly Islands, and that China’s outposts would not “target or impact any country.”

“China has instead pursued a reckless and provocative militarization of those disputed

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

A5

UN failures on coronavirus highlight need for reforms

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NITED NATIONS—The coronavirus that has claimed nearly 1 million lives has underscored the failure of the United Nations to bring countries together to defeat it, prompting renewed calls to reform the world body so that it can meet challenges far different—and more daunting—than those it faced at its birth.

As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week, “The pandemic is a clear test of international cooperation—a test we have essentially failed.” There is a “disconnect between leadership and power,” he said, warning that in the 21st century’s interconnected world, “solidarity is self-interest,” and “if we fail to grasp that fact, everyone loses.”

The first-ever virtual meeting of world leaders at the General Assembly highlighted increasing tensions among major powers, the growing inequality between rich and poor countries, and the escalating difficulty of getting the UN’s 193 member nations to agree on major issues—let alone unite on reforms.

Born out of the ashes of World War II with 50 members, the United Nations has since expanded dramatically. Seventy-five years after its founding nations signed the UN Charter in San Francisco and vowed “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,” conflicts continue to rage around a world beset by inequality, hunger and a massive climate crisis.

“We could criticize the UN for

this—but who are we really talking about, when we blame ‘the UN’?”

Switzerland President Simonetta Sommaruga asked. “We are in fact talking about ourselves, because the UN is its member states. And it is often member states that stand in the way of the UN’s work.”

Tensions were on display at a Security Council meeting when the United States and China—two of the council’s five veto-wielding permanent members—accused each other of mishandling and politicizing the coronavirus.

Russia backed Beijing, a close ally, as it has in recent years, leaving the UN’s most powerful body charged with maintaining international peace and security more deeply divided and unable to address major issues, including conflicts like the one in Syria.

The UN has had “such a hard time agreeing on so little” that it “ran the risk of impotence,” President Emmanuel Macron of France said.

“Our societies have never been so interdependent,” he added. “And at the very moment when all this is happening, never have we been so out of tune, so out of alignment.”

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta noted that “at 75, the United Nations is older than most of its member states, and more importantly older than over 96 percent of our global population.”

“A clear majority of the global population today cannot relate to the circumstances of its founding,” he said, and posed the question: “What does it bring to the world today?”

For many leaders, the UN’s most important role is its convening power—bringing all nations together to talk—but there are many frustrations about its rules, including requiring all 193 countries to agree on key documents such as the declaration commemorating the 75th anniversary, which took months of negotiations.

The most contentious debate, which began in 1979 and has gone on for 40 years with no end in sight, is over reforming the Security Council, whose five permanent members ref lect the international power structure at the end of World War II: the US, China, Russia, France and Britain. The council’s 10 other seats rotate among members who serve two-year terms.

While there is widespread support for revamping the 15-member council to reflect current global realities, efforts have remained mired in national and regional rivalries.

In 2005, deep divisions forced the General Assembly to shelve three rival resolutions on expansion.

One sought permanent seats without veto power for Germany, Japan, Brazil and India on a 25-member council. A group of middleranking countries including Italy and Pakistan wanted a 25-member council with 10 new nonpermanent seats. And the African Union wanted a 26-member council with six additional permanent seats, including two for Africa with veto power, and five nonpermanent seats.

That year, world leaders called for the early reform of the council so it would be “more broadly representative, efficient and transparent.”

St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet noted in his prerecorded address on Saturday that the 15th anniversary of the summit where that was adopted was also being marked, and he joined other countries “in encouraging text-based negotiations so the reform efforts will be expedited.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked in his speech Saturday: “For how long will India be kept out of the decision-making structures of the United Nations?” With 1.3 billion people, he said, India is the world’s largest democracy, has 18 percent of the world’s population and is strongly committed “to maintain the relevance of this great institution.”

Namibia’s President Hage Geingob said he expressed hope at last year’s in-person General Assembly meeting that the 75th anniversary would be “an opportunity” to conclude the council ’s reform—but lamented it hasn’t happened.

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said the UN not only needs Security Council reform but new energy to live up to its mandate.

“We need a United Nations 4.0, with its fundamental values intact and with the clarity to incorporate the immense technological changes underway, to make them more human, more democratic and more socially inclusive,” he said.

G er m a n C h a nce l lor A nge l a Merkel said “the Security Council is all too often deadlocked when clear decisions are called for” and reforms are needed so the UN is in a position “to master the global challenges of the 21st century.”

“At the end of the day,” she said, “the United Nations can be only as effective as its members are united.” AP

NY Times says Trump paid $750 in U.S. income taxes in 2016, 2017

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resident Donald J. Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in the White House, according to a report on Sunday in The New York Times.

Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not to make them public, paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years.

The details of the tax filings complicate Trump’s description of himself as a shrewd and patriotic businessman, revealing instead a series of financial losses and income from abroad that could come into conflict with his responsibilities as president.

The president’s financial disclosures indicated he earned at least $434.9 million in 2018, but the tax filings reported a $47.4 million loss.

The tax filings also illustrate how a reputed billionaire could pay little to nothing in taxes, while someone in the middle class could pay substantially more than him. Roughly half of Americans pay no income taxes, primarily because of how low their incomes are. But IRS figures indicate that the average tax filer paid roughly $12,200 in 2017, about 16 times more than what the president paid.

The disclosure, which the Times said comes from tax return data it obtained extending over two decades, comes at a pivotal moment ahead of the first presidential debate Tuesday and weeks before

a divisive election against Democrat Joe Biden.

Speaking at a news conference on Sunday at the White House, Trump dismissed the report as “fake news” and maintained he has paid taxes, though he gave no specifics. He also vowed that information about his taxes “will all be revealed,” but he offered no timeline for the disclosure and made similar promises during the 2016 campaign on which he never followed through.

In fact, the president has fielded court challenges against those seeking access to his returns, including the US House, which is suing to get Trump’s tax returns as part of congressional oversight.

During his first two years as president, Trump received $73 million from foreign operations, which in addition to his golf properties in Scotland and Ireland included $3 million from the Philippines, $2.3 million from India and $1 million from Turkey, among other nations. The president in 2017 paid $145,400 in taxes in India and $156,824 in the Philippines, compared to just $750 in US income taxes. The Times said the tax records did not reveal any unreported connections to Russia.

Trump found multiple ways to reduce his tax bills. He has taken tax deductions on personal expenses such as housing, aircraft and $70,000 to style his hair while he filmed “The Apprentice.”

Losses in the property businesses solely owned and managed by Trump appear to have offset income

from his stake in “The Apprentice” and other entities with multiple owners.

During the first two years of his presidency, Trump relied on business tax credits to reduce his tax obligations. The Times said $9.7 million worth of business investment credits that were submitted after Trump requested an extension to file his taxes allowed him to offset his obligations and pay just $750 each in 2016 and 2017.

Income tax payments help finance the military and domestic programs.

Trump, starting in 2010, claimed and received an income tax refund that totaled $72.9 million, which the Times said was at the core of an ongoing audit by the IRS. The Times said a ruling against Trump could cost him $100 million or more.

The president could also face mounting financial pressure in the years ahead. The tax records show he’s carrying a total of $421 million in loans and debt that are primarily due within four years.

Most of that debt comes from the Doral golf resort in Florida ($125 million) and Trump’s Washington hotel ($160 million), two properties that the Times said are struggling financially.

Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee who has tried unsuccessfully to obtain Trump’s tax records, said the Times report makes it even more essential for his committee to get the documents.

“It appears that the President has gamed the tax code to his advantage and used legal fights to delay or avoid paying what he owes,” Neal wrote in a statement. “Now, Donald Trump is the boss of the agency he considers an adversary. It is essential that the IRS’s presidential audit program remain free of interference.”

A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Alan Gar ten, and a spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on the report.

Garten told the Times that “most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate.”

He said in a statement to the news organization that the president “has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015.”

The New York Times said it declined to provide Garten with the tax filings in order to protect its sources, but it said its sources had legal access to the records.

During his first general election debate against Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, Clinton said that perhaps Trump wasn’t releasing his tax returns because he had paid nothing in federal taxes.

Trump interrupted her to say, “That makes me smart.” AP

outposts,” Ortagus said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Ortagus cited China’s deployment of anti-ship cruise missiles, expanded surveillance capabilities, and the construction of runways and hangars for fighter jets. The Spratlys are occupied by multiple countries, making them the most hotly contested of the South China Sea’s island groups.

China “uses these militarized outposts as platforms of coercion to assert control over waters to which Beijing has no lawful maritime claim, Ortagus said. “They serve as staging grounds for the hundreds of maritime militia vessels and China Coast Guard ships that regularly harass civilian craft and impede legitimate law enforcement activities, offshore fishing, and hydrocarbon development by neighboring states.”

China denies militarizing the region, saying the island developments are intended to increase maritime safety as well as assert Chinese territorial claims. It accuses the US of militarizing the area by sailing its ships nearby Chinese outposts in “freedom of navigation operations” and through other actions.

Brexit talks enter key week with time, trust running out

The Philippine president received rare praise from critics on Wednesday for invoking before the United Nations a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea. President Rodrigo Duterte made one of his strongest defenses of the Philippine victory in the arbitration case in his first address before the annual UN General Assembly. China dismissed the conclusions of the Hague Tribunal and has long refused to bring the issue to any international arena.

Duterte, who has nurtured close ties with China since taking office in mid-2016, has long been criticized for refusing to immediately and forcefully demand Chinese compliance with the ruling. It found China’s claims on virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds inconsistent with international maritime law. AP

he UK and European Union are starting a key week of Brexit talks, with the bloc stiffening its demands over how any trade deal will be enforced after losing trust in Boris Johnson because of his attempt to rewrite last year’s divorce agreement.

The final round of scheduled discussions between the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and his British counterpart, David Frost, begins in Brussels on Tuesday with officials on both sides expressing cautious optimism a deal can be reached.

If the two sides make enough progress by Friday, they could embark on a two-week period of intense discussions—the so-called Brussels “tunnel”—to hammer out an accord in time for a summit of EU leaders on October 15, Johnson’s self-imposed deadline for striking a deal.

If they don’t, Britain would be almost certain to crash out of the EU’s single market at the end of the year without a trade accord, potentially poisoning relations with the bloc for a generation.

Duterte invokes 2016 ruling against China

T

Businesses and consumers would be left grappling with additional costs and disruption as quotas and tariffs return for the first time in a generation.

The two main obstacles to an agreement remain deciding which of the EU’s state aid rules the UK will have to follow after leaving, and what access fishing boats from the bloc will have to British waters. But doubts about Johnson’s willingness to abide by pledges he has previously made have only added another layer of difficulty to striking a deal, two EU officials close to the talks said.

The prime minister’s Internal Market Bill would break some of the agreements the UK made when it left the EU to prevent customs controls between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, a move that the government in London concedes breaks international law.

EU officials say the disagreement can be ironed out—or made moot if the two sides reach a zerotariff, zero-quota trade agreement. But the bloc has

threatened Johnson with legal action unless the government amends or withdraws the legislation by the middle of this week. The row has cast a shadow over the negotiations over the UK and EU’s future trade and security relationship, the officials said.

The two sides will attempt to smooth things over on Monday afternoon when Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic hold separate talks on the implementation of the Irish border agreement.

Technically, the UK and EU are trying to keep that issue at arms length from Barnier and Frost’s negotiations over their future relationship—but officials privately acknowledge a row at Gove and Sefcovic’s joint committee on Northern Ireland could set the rest of the week’s discussions back further.

The controversy over the Internal Market Bill has convinced the EU, as well as many European countries, that there needs to be a stronger “governance” mechanism in the deal, the two

officials said. The EU doesn’t want to take the U.K’s commitments on trust; it wants to make them legally binding and accompany them with clear sanctions to stop Johnson from unilaterally breaking them in future.

That still leaves the two major sources of disagreement to resolve—the so-called level playing field, or rules to ensure fair competition between British companies and their EU rivals, as well as fisheries.

The former is still proving hard to resolve principally because of the British government’s reluctance to set out what its future policy on state aid will be. On the latter, the UK is seeking a completely different way of calculating fishing quotas that would allow British boats to catch far more than they do at present. The EU is still strongly opposed to this, with countries like France warning that it could destroy their own fishing industries. Bloomberg News

A6 Tuesday, September 29, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

2022

C

omelec Spokesman James Jimenez said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel that there are still about 4 million potential voters who need to get registered. They are the young people who have recently become eligible to register to vote in the May 2022 elections.

Voter registration resumed on September 1 in areas under general community quarantine or modified general community quarantine, but the turnout, according to the Comelec, has so far been disappointing.

Registration will run until September 30, 2021. Registrants must be at least 18 years of age on or before Election Day. They must be at least a one-year resident of the Philippines and must have resided in the place where they intend to vote for at least six months on or before May 9, 2022.

The Comelec is preparing various contingencies as many experts have predicted that we will not see the end of this pandemic until 2022.

According to a report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, which was reported by Bloomberg News, the pandemic is likely to last as long as two years and to continue in waves that could last beyond 2022. The report said it won’t be controlled until about two-thirds of the world’s population is immune.

The Covid crisis would clearly affect how elections are held. The Comelec said it could hold the elections in two or more days if necessary.

We are glad that the Comelec immediately thumbed down moves to postpone the 2022 elections.

Jimenez said conducting elections is a constitutional mandate that must be followed and there will most certainly be one held in 2022. He said they will do everything to make this possible, as well as to ensure that voters will not be at risk of getting infected, even if it involves having alternative modes of voting. This early we wish to congratulate the Comelec on its efforts.

Now, perhaps more than ever, the country needs a smooth transition of power to the next duly elected president. The last thing we need at this point is an election scandal or controversy. We need a credible election that could sustain democracy for the long term. We need stability that could lead to more jobs and opportunities, our best bets for economic development amid this pandemic or after it.

We need the government to remain faithful to the provisions of the 1987 Constitution. The administration should ensure a peaceful transfer of power to the next president, who, hopefully, would be up to the task of helping our nation recover and rise from this pandemic.

With much at stake in the 2022 elections, we urge everyone eligible to vote to register.

Filipino voters have been accused of being lazy, or of being stupid or ignorant about the issues facing the country. But much has changed over the years. Voters are no longer clueless, especially in this information age when there is an ever-increasing number of media platforms. Dynasties have fallen in the last elections, proving that people have been paying attention to the performance and track record of their candidates.

It is important to exercise your right to vote. We hope that many of those who doubt the integrity of our electoral system would register anyway. Let us remember, it is not up to one Filipino to save this country. There will be more of the same, government as usual, if we don’t vote honest and competent men and women into office; if we ourselves don’t get involved and help solve the problems of our country. We can help ensure a free, fair and credible elections in 2022.

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THE Entrepreneur

O

ne of the sectors that will lead the Philippine recovery once a vaccine becomes available to the public is tourism because of its direct linkage to economic development.

Every rich nation on the planet has a vibrant tourism industry, made possible by robust infrastructure and transport network, and the wide availability of amenities such as convention centers, hotels, resorts, restaurants and shopping centers.

Following months of lockdown, many residents of Metro Manila are apparently yearning for travel, as evident in the large crowd that swelled along Roxas Boulevard to witness the “white sand beach” of Manila Bay. Unfortunately, social distancing rules were violated during the event, which necessitated crowd control.

This only shows that we need to better prepare for the reopening of the tourism sector with the necessary protocols. For the meantime, let’s provide the required infrastructure to make sure travel to the country’s major destinations will be as smooth and orderly as required under the new normal.

There are good examples of responsible tourism in the time of the pandemic, and one is exempli-

fied by Baguio City, the summer capital. The Department of Tourism naturally wants to replicate the “travel bubble program” of Baguio City in other parts of the country.

Baguio City, the pilot area for the gradual reopening of tourism, will reopen its travel sites to visitors from other areas in Region 1 on October 1. The city plans to initially accommodate up to 200 tourists a day to set the pace for other local destinations that will also reopen.

The idea is to open the destination to a manageable number of tourists, learn from the experience on how to manage it, and build a higher level of confidence for more visitors in the future.

We need standardized protocols to ensure the safety of travel and tourism. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the private sector in the tourism industry, recently announced the Philippines became the 100th destination to use its “Safe

We need standardized protocols to ensure the safety of travel and tourism. The World Travel & Tourism Council, which represents the private sector in the tourism industry, recently announced the Philippines became the 100th destination to use its “Safe Travels” stamp— the world’s first global safety and hygiene fingerprint that was developed to help restore confidence among travelers and revive the ailing sector.

Travels” stamp—the world’s first global safety and hygiene fingerprint that was developed to help restore confidence among travelers and revive the ailing sector.

It employs protocols that follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the best practices from WTTC’s members. The specially designed stamp enables travelers to recognize destinations that have adopted health and hygiene protocols, so they can experience safe travels. It is now being used by several holiday destinations.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has welcomed the WTTC Safe Travels stamp, as the Philippines pursues the safe and gradual reopening of tourism destinations.

The stamp, according to her, will encourage stakeholders to adhere

It’s only about the money flow

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Manny B. Villar

Lourdes M. Fernandez

Senior Editors

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Time to prepare for tourism reopening

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

T

here have been some 33,306,022 confirmed Covid cases worldwide with some 1 million deaths. That is a mortality rate of 3 percent. Unvaccinated and untreated Ebola virus kills about 85 percent of all who contract the disease, but who cares.

It is primarily poor Africans that die. Leptospirosis kills from 5 percent to 30 percent of its victims, but the only ones we ever hear of are the cases of poor Filipinos.

But those are not as communicable as Covid-19, and the numbers are much smaller. Yet as many people have died in road accidents this year and I sort of consider that a “communicable” disease since you obviously “catch” (or give) an accident from another person.

The larger picture though shows that 7 billion people (even China, believe it or not) are infected by “money disease.” There is not a name for it yet because the powers-that-be would

prefer that it will remain nameless.

No name means it does not exist.

It is sort of like hearing a “thump” from the back of your car. It is sort of harmless until the mechanic names it “broken axle.”

In this case it might be called “broken money system.” For now that is “just a thump” and you are not worried that the wheels might fall off your currency’s purchasing power like on your car.

Understand that the value or the

worth of your cash is not how many orders of two-piece Chicken Joy you can buy with P500. It is not even how much you have to pay to borrow from your bank. In the “big picture” it is how much interest rate you receive by holding any specific currency.

Here the global system is sounding a deafening thump.

There are always differences— sometimes huge differences—between nations’ base interest rates primarily due to international trade flows. However, currently it all comes down to capital or money flow from countries you want to be in to countries you want nothing to do with. And even that is now distorted. Theoretically, a country with a low interest rate would be some place you want to be because of good economic growth.

To get someone to buy and own the Argentine peso, you have to pay him 38 percent interest. Turkey’s interest rate for holding the lira is 10.25 percent. By contrast, to own the Japanese yen, Danish Krone, or Swiss Franc, you have to pay the bank. Granted that the pandemic has distorted every projection of economic growth, even before

to health and safety standards and help rebuild travelers’ confidence to restart tourism and preserve and sustain jobs.

The move by WTTC has received the support of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, which noted that international visitor arrivals plunged 93 percent in June 2020 from a year ago, as the sector suffered from the severe impact of Covid-19. Data from the World Tourism Barometer also shows international arrivals fell 65 percent in the first six months of 2020, as nations around the world closed their borders and introduced travel restrictions in response to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, a growing number of global destinations in recent weeks have started to reopen to international tourists. As of early September, 53 percent of destinations had eased travel restrictions, but many governments remained cautious, according to the UNWTO. For its part, IATA, the group of airline companies, called for a systematic Covid-19 testing of all travelers before departure to give governments the confidence to open their borders without complicated risk models that see constant changes in the rules imposed on travel.

The UNWTO has estimated that the massive drop in international travel demand in the first six months of 2020 translated into a loss of 440 million international arrivals and about $460 billion in revenues from international tourism.

See “Villar,” A7

the illness, the relationship between interest rates and a “good” economy was gone. Rates are no longer the function of the market but what the government thinks would be good.

But good for whom?

I am normally a huge fan of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas policy. But the cap on credit-card interest rate is not good. Yes it might help spur economic growth in the short term. But in the long term, the absolute last thing we need is people using credit cards to buy things they cannot afford.

What we are seeing in some countries, including the Philippines, is an interest rate that is low enough to help increase economic activity, not too low to limit further policy changes as needed, and not so high as the only way to keep people from dumping the currency. The key factor to watch will be the capital flows early next year, through the peso exchange rate and the current account.

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

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Finding ways to continue The proxy of the prexy education during the pandemic

By Cynthia C. Abbang

N

ever before in the history of the Philippines have we seen millions of school children unable to attend classes.

With over 21 million elementary and high-school students affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, both the educators and students are pinning their hopes on a new normal type of education involving online learning.

Unfortunately, public school teachers are particularly in the dark on what to expect once the new school year virtually opens next week.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones, however, gave her assurance that with the introduction of the Learning Continuity Plan (LCP), this will serve as the guiding principle of the K-12 education system.

A learning continuity plan seeks to ensure that students’ learning progresses even amid disasters such as natural calamities, storms, fires, and pandemics. This plan overcomes obstacles created by the disasters through innovative means of teaching and learning, keeping students on track with their courses.

This educational framework is composed of different important pillars such as School Readiness, Human Resources, Infrastructure Readiness, Transition Program, Building Partnership, Teaching and Learning Modalities and Assessment centered on the Development of the Most Essential Skills and Values of the learners.

“We would like to emphasize that it will not necessarily mean that teachers and learners will undergo the traditional in-classroom set-up. In the LCP, the choice and contextualization of the learning delivery modality of schools will depend on the local Covid-19 situation as well as access to certain learning platforms. Even as we set policies in the central office, we will primarily consider local public health conditions in adjusting our LCP. Preventive measures will be put in place to secure the health and well-being of our personnel and our learners under this new normal,” Briones said in a statement.

“Access, as we are all aware, is another issue of utmost concern and we have devised various modalities to ensure that online learning is only one of the options among all others in this new learning environment.

Our field units will determine the most appropriate combinations or strategies for every locality as we look into addressing equity concerns of our constituents in this new arrangement,” she added.

Online teaching and learning

Since the Philippines is considered one of the world’s leaders in the use of social media, many teachers in elementary and high school are being

Villar. . .

Continued from A6

“This is around five times the loss in international tourism receipts recorded in 2009 amid the global economic and financial crisis,” the UN agency said.

The Asia-Pacific region was the hardest hit, with a 72-percent decline in tourists in the six-month period. This has resulted in massive job losses in countries such as the Philippines. The pandemic has affected 60,000 flights of Philippine Airlines involving 1.3 million passengers. Cebu Pacific’s flights were also reduced to just a tenth of its route network last year.

The fewer flights resulted in a 76-percent decline in international visitor arrivals in the Philippines in the first eight months of 2020 to just about 1.3 million, most of which were registered in January and February before the lockdown in mid-March.

The DOT in 2019 reported 8.2 million arrivals that brought $9.31 billion in tourism receipts.

Our economic managers agree

creative and resourceful in handing out modalities. Most of them are now using Facebook Messenger and Google Meet to interact with their students.

In the provinces, some schools formed partnerships with their local radio stations to reach out to students in far-flung barangays with no Internet connection.

The DepEd is optimistic and confident that “distant online learning” will work given that more than 80 percent or 700,000 of their teachers have laptops and desktops in their homes. This figure is based on a survey conducted by the DepEd. Likewise, the various approaches of blended learning will be adjusted based on the needs of the various localities where they are applied.

Thus, “blended learning” is “differentiated instruction,” where there’s a combination of online and in-person delivery. The online portion effectively replaces some of the face-to-face contact time rather than supplementing it.

Teachers, on the other hand, must acquire a certain level of IT competency and proficiency needed for distant online learning to be able to teach effectively. Otherwise, failure to adjust will become a barrier that may hamper the success and effectiveness of online learning. Hence, there will be a significant amount of extra work involved for teachers as they prepare themselves for the implementation of the “blended learning” program as schools re-open.

Lack of motivation in online learners

AS hard as distance teaching might be for educators, it’s likely even harder for our students. They’ve gone from classrooms explicitly designed to support learning, to bedrooms and kitchen tables where distractions are plentiful and expert support isn’t always on hand. It is no surprise then that more than a few students will be tempted to opt out this school year.

Clear, measurable goals are the best source of motivation. Teachers must set them regularly so that students have something to focus on.

Instead of setting an open-ended task and leaving students to do it by themselves, teachers must clearly specify the time that the students should spend on the task, a measurable or quantifiable outcome, and set some means of accountability. A due date for assignments and exams are needed.

Also, teachers must remember that parents can be their biggest assets when it comes to maintaining student motivation. It pays to get the parents involved in the virtual education of their children.

The author is Master Teacher 1 in Lal-lo National High School in Lal-lo, Cagayan.

there is a need to open up the economy in the safest possible way.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government would eventually rely less on determining a level of community quarantine and more on adopting specific measures, such as more granular lockdowns.

The Department of Public Works and Highways led by Secretary Mark Villar is also playing a crucial role in the reopening of the economy as the agency continues to lead the development of infrastructure projects as well as quarantine facilities that will protect the affected Filipinos and allow the healthy citizens to travel and work.

While we may not see the level of tourism traffic that we observed last year anytime soon, we should use the lag time to build more transport infrastructure, such as toll roads, bridges, railways and airports, as well as health care and tourism facilities to make sure we are ready to accommodate the influx of tourists once the pandemic is over.

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

I

voluntarily left the government service after working under two presidents of our Republic and I don’t envy the role of Atty. Harry Roque. Being the spokesman of President Duterte is a high wire act that requires the ultimate balancing skills particularly when the official line conflicts with one’s own personal conviction. For instance, such a disconcerting position came to fore when Atty. Roque was explaining the absolute pardon granted by his principal to US Lance Corporal Marine Scott Pemberton who killed transgender Jennifer Laude inside a hotel in Olongapo City after he realized that Laude was a man. As a former human-rights lawyer who even acted as counsel for the victim, I can only share Atty. Roque’s discomfiture as he appeared on TV salvaging a bad situation from the worst.

We all know where his heart is but his job dictates him to do otherwise.

Earlier, Roque found himself in a difficult position when Maria Ressa was convicted by the court in the libel case lodged against her. I believe his fellow international human-rights activist, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, who has championed the cause of Maria Ressa, has said it all when she stated: “Ladies and gentlemen, the President’s own spokesman, Harry Roque, has stated that freedom of speech is a “cherished right” essential to truth, democracy, and the ability to go after “despotic regimes…. The spokesman argued that the cyber libel law used to convict Maria is “draconian,” “infringes freedom of expression”, and shows that the government is “insecure and unable to compete in the marketplace of ideas.”

Eating one’s words is hard to digest.

The herculean task of Roque is more complex than just cleaning the stables. Tackling the coronavirus and the myriad woes it brings is not a job of one man. It requires the entire government machinery backed up by all the myriad resources we can raise and borrow from all available sources. And communicating all the government programs and policies to overcome this worst crisis that has engulfed our country fell on the lap of hapless Roque. There is no place for miscommunication or lack of communication under the current exigency. This pandemic calls for decisiveness; it will not brook incoherence, which only creates confusion and chaos. What is required is a communicator who can spell out the government message in simple

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 A7

terms. And Roque is up to that and, whether speaking in English or Pilipino, he can transmit clearcut policies that the public can understand and rely upon. As an experienced barrister, he can think on his toes and parry complex questions raised by the media and the public. As a respected professor of law for many years, he is updated with the current trends and can read the public pulse. What is warranted is clear messaging to avoid any confusion and misinterpretation of the rules adopted by the authorities. This is an overwhelming challenge to our leaders who seem to speak with as many voices as the experts that they have. The public can only respond properly and correctly if they are fully informed of the true state of affairs. The authorities can get full cooperation if a rule or requirement is clearly transmitted without any room for misinformation or doubt.

Timely and accurate information are needed. With the advent of social media, the public is swamped with news.

In this age of digital media, we are bombarded with information from multiple sources 24/7 and unless the public is discerning, there is hardly any opportunity to distinguish facts from fake news; to sort truth from lies. Access to information is not an issue. The issue is how reliable and accurate the information is. People’s anxiety and pressure are minimized when the critical information originated from a trusted source. The source should be honest, candid, trustworthy and credible.

He has committed faux pas as our official communicator but who wouldn’t under the circumstances?

Like when he announced that we

had defeated the virus after the UP predicted numbers did not happen.

He has been our most enthusiastic cheerleader and he’s ready to claim small victories in our fight to overcome the coronavirus. And we can forgive him for that. We all love to be winners. A ray of sunlight can brighten up our dreary day.

The first spox of President Duterte, the former evangelist Ernesto Abella, took his job as a pastoral duty. His words and demeanor were antithetical to the President whose coarse language never fails to invite controversy. Atty. Sal Panelo, his successor, was his exact opposite. As a trained lawyer who is faithful to his craft, he could not avoid being a legalese which is greek to many. Returning to his old job as the President’s Special Counsel is the ideal place for him. When Atty. Roque took over the position from former Congressman Karlo Nograles, I think he knew the awesome responsibilities that he would be facing. While the mild-mannered and soft-speaking Nograles was a picture of calm in the face of the rampaging pandemic, the leadership needed a more active and assertive spokesman who can communicate the message with force and aplomb. It is imperative that the government conveys that it is in complete control of the situation. Atty.

Harry Roque, whether you like him or not, is the face of our government’s war against the pandemic. He may have his flaws and shortcomings, but he’s got what it takes to tussle with the virus. He has the gift of gab and prodigious talent to confront the issue. As Marshall McLuhan had stated many decades ago, “the medium is the message.”

Setting up a company’s internal compliance program for trading strategic goods under the Strategic Trade Management Act Atty. Lino Ernie M. Guevara

Tax law for business

I

N this last part of my article featuring the “Strategic Trade Management Act” or Republic Act 10697, I will now focus on the Internal Control Program (ICP) needed to be established in accordance with STMA. Previously, I gave an overview of the general features of the STMA enacted to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). This it does by managing and regulating the trading of strategic goods (i.e., products that, for security reasons or due to international agreements, are considered to be of military importance that their export is either prohibited or subject to specific conditions), including software and technology. The Strategic Trade Management Office, headed by its Director, Atty. Luis M. Catibayan, and ably assisted by Assistant Director Atty. Janice Sacedon-Dimayacyac, is an attached bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). It serves as the executive and technical agency to establish the management systems for trading strategic goods. Subsequently, I discussed the STMO’s conduct of ICP pre-authorization audits on all covered entities (e.g., registered entities determined by STMO to be eligible for a global authorization; applicants for global authorization and individual authorization relevant to Intangible Technology Transfer; applicants of governmental end-use assurance relevant to ITT; and other persons as determined by STMO).

The establishment of an Internal Compliance Program is required as a precondition for the issuance of a global authorization. It may also require a Technology Control Plan (TCP) for applicants of individual authorizations and governmental end-use assurances relevant to Intangible Technology Transfer. ICP is a system intended to prevent the transfers of strategic goods to prohibited end-users, whether intentional or otherwise.

It is a set of different policies and procedures designed to assist an entity in its compliance with the Strategic Trade

Management Act or RA 10697 and its implementing regulations.

Per STMO’s guidelines, the various elements of a sound ICP are as follows: 1. Management commitment 2. ICP structure and responsibility 3. Screening procedures 4. Shipment control 5. ICP training 6. Internal audit 7. Standard operating procedures manual 8. Recordkeeping 9. Reporting and corrective action 10. Technology control plan, if applicable I will try to explain briefly each one of these relevant elements.

Management commitment refers to the support given by the top management to properly comply with STMA and its implementing rules. Such commitment must be declared through a document stating that the company and all its personnel are aware of the STMA, its rule and regulations. Such document must be furnished to employees and posted inside company premises.

An ICP structure refers to its composition, which includes having a Chief Strategic Trade Control Officer primarily responsible for the ICP implementation, possessing an authority to require employee compliance and is knowledgeable about ICP. Large companies having voluminous transactions may also appoint Strategic Trade Control Manager/s and Strategic Trade Control Officer/s.

Note that the number of personnel in an ICP structure depends primarily on the size of the company as well as the volume and nature of the strategic goods being traded.

The screening procedures would

include four elements: product classification, end-use screening, end-user screening and risk assessment. Product screening is the process of determining whether an item or technology is controlled and requiring STMO authorization. End-use screening determines the reason why the goods are exported or the purpose of utilization by the enduser. End-user screening is the process of identifying the ultimate end-user of the strategic goods. Risk assessment identifies and evaluates the risks present in a transaction after product classification, end-use and end-user screening. It is considered a “catch-all” check.

Shipment control is a system of preventing diversion of goods from one party/country to another by checking, confirming and ensuring the trustworthiness of the shipper, forwarder and all other persons involved in the shipment undertaken through proper screening.

The ICP training provides the employees the skill and/or knowledge development in preparation for tasks concerning STMA. It may involve functional as well as awareness training.

Internal audit is the process for the company to assess its own ICP, and in the process, strengthen it.

The Company’s Standard Operating Procedure should contain the detailed procedures to be followed by employees to ensure compliance with the ICP rules and policies. It must be clear, understandable and implementable and should be constantly updated. Recordkeeping is the system by which the company maintains its records as the STMA expressly requires the company to keep all records and/or books of accounts for 10 years from the completion of the transaction.

Companies should report to the STMO any act violating STMA and its rules. Voluntary self-disclosure could merit some consideration in the imposition of administrative penalties. If a clear violation of the STMA is shown, it should be reported not only to STMO but also to other government agencies such as the Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police or Philippine Coast Guard. The company must implement preventive measures and corrective actions so that violations will not be repeated.

As STMA covers not only shipment of strategic goods (tangible) but also transmission of software and technology (intangible), either by electronic

media or non-electronic means (i.e., face-to-face communication), a Technology Control Plan may also be required.

A TCP is designed to prevent unauthorized access, transmission or sharing of sensitive or controlled information, software or technology. Among those to be considered are the proper screening of personnel involved, inclusion of nondisclosure clauses in their employment contracts and the physical security plan for the premises.

Having a sound and viable ICP could well be one of the vital cogs in ensuring success in the STMA implementation.

I agree with the STMO’s view that the company’s size, nature of business, financial resources, consciousness for company’s reputations, and company policy, among others, are just some of the main factors influencing a company’s effort and involvement in promoting the legitimate trade of strategic good. Certainly, a highly compliant company with the STMA’s provisions could already spell half the success in the law’s implementation.

Let me close by quoting from STMO’s Assistant Director, Atty. Sacedon-Dimayacyac’s letter to this writer on the critical role of STMA during this time when international trade is likewise affected by this health crisis: “The effective implementation of STMA distinguishes the Philippines as a safe and secure trading market compliant with global standards, thus, providing confidence to investors and boosting our country’s competitiveness in the global market. Consequently, this will allow companies to expand their business, attract investors, and create new jobs.”

Indeed, the STMA’s positive impact is one ray of hope that all stakeholders could work on, especially so for our country to rise up against the economic havoc mercilessly heaped upon us by this global pandemic.

The author is a Special Counsel of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at ernie.guevara@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-201 local 160.

A8 Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Btr upsizes T-bill awards to P22B, rates go sideways

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

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HE Bureau of the Treasury has upsized the volume of Treasury Bills (T-bills) it awarded to P22 billion as rates went sideways ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s policy meeting on Thursday.

The Treasury decided to double the accepted noncompetitive bids for the 90-day T-bills to P4 billion as Monday’s auction was oversubscribed by nearly 3.6x as total tenders reached P71.9 billion.

Compared to the rates in the previous auction, average rates for both 90-day and 182-day securities dropped while the average rate for 364-day Tbills went up.

“There is still good liquidity as shown by high bid to cover. But given expectations for a pause on policy rates, slight movement in one year,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters in a message.

The 90-day T-bills fetched an average rate of 1.121 percent, down by 3.5 basis points from 1.156 percent in the previous auction. The security fetched total tenders amounting to P26.580 billion, more than five times the initial P5-billion offer.

According to the Treasury, the maturity for the security was adjusted a day earlier as December 30 falls on a holiday.

For the 182-day T-bills, the average rate settled at 1.601 percent.

This is lower by 1.4 basis points from

1.615 percent previously. Bids for the security reached P15.683 billion, equivalent to more than thrice the P5-billion offer.

Lastly, the 364-day T-bills posted an average rate of 1.858 percent, inching up by 0.8 basis point from 1.85 percent previously. The tenor attracted bids amounting to P29.678 billion, nearly thrice the P10 billion offer.

For this month, the Treasury is set to borrow a total of P160 billion from the local debt market this month. This is slightly lower than the P170 billion it programmed in August.

As of end-August, gross borrowings of the national government have already reached P2.47 trillion, equivalent to more than 80 percent of the all-time high P3-trillion borrowing program set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government borrows to finance its spending requirements as well as to cover its budget deficit.

As tax collections are down amid the pandemic, DBCC is projecting the countr y ’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.

The DBCC also expects the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio this year to increase to 53.91 percent of GDP—level that it has not seen in over a decade —from a record-low of 39.6 percent of GDP last year.

PACC probes ₧866-M stock investments of PhilHealth

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE Presidential AntiCorruption Commission (PACC) is now investigating the alleged anomalies in the stock investment of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica said they are now looking into a 2017 report of the Commission on Audit (COA), which f lagged PhilHealth’s supposed

investment of P865,927,169 in common stocks as of December 31, 2016.

This, he noted, supposedly violated Republic Act 10606 or the

PhilHealth charter, which limited its investments to “preferred stocks” only.

“There appears to be allegations that the income in these investments is being divided among the members of the Board and the Executive Committee while reflecting in their financial statement that the investments have zero interests earnings at the end of the investment period,” Belgica said in online press briefing.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque welcomed the initiative since he said PhilHealth’s investment is currently not covered by the independent investigation on PhilHealth being conducted led by the Inter-Agency Task Force, Congress and Senate.

Aside from PhilHealth’s invest-

ments, he said PACC is also probing the state insurer’s supposed overpriced testing packages for novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and information technology (IT) projects.

Belgica said currently their investigation in PhilHealth covers 40 officials including those from its regional office as well as members of its Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

He said they plan to file charges against the some of the erring officials after two months.

“We don’t want to file a case, which will later be junked by the Court because of lack of evidence and substance. That is why we want the right document in place before we submit it to the Ombudsman,” Belgica said.

Macalintal prods DOTr on toll discount for SCs, PWDs T S

HE Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Tol l R e g u l at or y B o a rd (TRB) should immediately imple-

ment the law granting 20-percent toll discount to persons with disability (PW Ds) and senior citizens (SCs) on skyways and expressways since the use and installation of radio frequency identification (RFID) in all toll lanes had been mandated by the DOTr effective November 2, lawyer and advocate Romulo B. Macalintal said.

In a letter dated September 28, 2020, to DOTr Secretary and TRB Chairman Arthur P. Tugade which his office received on the same date, Macalintal requested for the immediate implementation of the law by issuing the corresponding circulars and directives to all toll operators in the country as mandated by the law.

According to him, Section 6.6, Rule 4 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9442, the Magna Carta for PWDs clearly provides that PWDs shall be entitled to “at least 20-percent discount on toll fees of skyways and expressways” provided the vehicle is registered in their names as owners thereof. The same provision directs the DOTr and the TRB to issue the corresponding directives to toll operators for the implementation of the said privilege of PWDs. The senior citizens are similarly situated with the PWDs. Article 7 of the IRR of R A 9994, Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, provides that the SCs are entitled to 20-percent discount on public land transportation.

Toll operators should therefore likew ise grant such discount to SCs provided the vehicle on which the RFID is installed is registered in the name of that elderly person. The 20-percent discount on RFID for the SCs is

pursuant to the “important role of the private sector in the improvement of welfare of senior citizens and to actively seek their partnership [Section 2(f ), R A 9994],” he said, adding that the objective of the law is to “establish a program beneficial to the senior citizens, their families and the rest of the community they serve” (Section 2, par 4[3], R A 9994).

The toll operators will not be greatly affected by the grant of the said 20-percent discount to PWDs and SCs since only a fraction of these sectors have vehicles registered in their names, Macalintal said. Furthermore, the toll operators may claim the discounts as “tax deductions” as provided for by law. Violation of the law carries with it criminal and civil liabilities; and if the violator is a corporation, the officials thereof shall be the ones liable. Penalties are fine and one to two years’ imprisonment, said Macalintal.

He suggested that the discount be deducted from the total amount of RFID load or be added to the load he is credited with.

For example, if the SC or PWD loads P1,000, he either gets the P200 discount, or the P200 may be added to the total amount of load he buys, in which case his total load will amount to P1,200. To avail of such discount the SCs or PWDs shall be required to present the original copy of their car registration showing them as owners thereof and, for the SC, any original copy of government-issued ID which shows the SC’s date of birth; for the PWDs, the original copy of their PWD ID, copies of which will be retained by the toll operators.

Fuel prices going up Sept. 29

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

O

IL fir ms announced on Monday a price increase in petroleum products for the second consecutive week.

Gasoline prices will go up by P0.20 per liter, diesel by P0.05 per liter and kerosene by P0.45 per liter.

Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell, Phoenix Petroleum, PTT Philip-

pines, Cleanfuel and Petro Gazz said they will implement the price hike at 6 a.m. of Tuesday, September 29.

Other oil firms will follow suit.

Last week, they raised pump prices by P0.60 per liter for gasoline, diesel by P0.20 per liter and kerosene by P0.55 per liter.

They adjust their prices every week to reflect movements in the world oil market.

‘At ₧12/kilo at farm-gate, palay cheaper than a mask’ ENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Monday pressed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to take a closer look into reports on “low buying price of palay” as affected farmers griped on social media that a newly harvested kilo is bought at P12—a price that, the lawmaker lamented, was “lower than the price of a face mask.”

Recto recalled that as of the first week of September, the Duterte government’s official reports pegged at P17.64 the average farm-gate price of a kilo of palay, suggesting to concerned officials that “this should be verified, because this may not be what is happening on the ground.”

The least the Department of Agriculture can do, he added, is to “spot areas where palay is being bought at bargain prices and recommend measures on how to shore it up so that farmers will not be at the losing end.”

Recto noted, in a statement, that at that price point, rice farmers will not be able to recoup their production cost.

He computed that at P20.40 a kilo, a farmer will net P33,355 average per hectare, based on a 2018 season cost-returns study on rice production by the government. “But at P12 a kilo, wala siyang kita [he has no income], as in zero,” Recto added.

Some rice production inputs may have increased this year on account of lockdowns, which have made transportation harder and more expensive.

Noting that rice accounts for 18 percent of value produced by Philippine agriculture, the senator observed that in terms of area, around 4.65 million hectares planted to the country’s food staple account for the biggest share in cultivated land.

Palay income is an economic driver in many rural economies, which have been absorbing the recent urban unemployed, he said, even as Recto pressed for a DA to study to what extent imports are depressing farm prices, “and call for the pulling of the brakes if needed.”

Recto added: “Akala ko ba, our suki rice exporting countries have adopted a policy of rice nationalism wherein they are limiting, if not banning, the export of rice as a buffer during the pandemic?”

The senator suggested that if this is the case, then share of imports, about 13 percent of national consumption, should be filled in by local production, “but it will be impossible to ramp up production if low prices are a disincentive,” Recto said .

Butch Fernandez

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

B1

SEC revokes lending license of FCash

T

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revoked the certificate of authority of FCash Global Lending Inc. to operate as a lending company for its unfair debt collection practices.

In an order dated August 25, the SEC Corporate Governance and Finance Department (CGFD) found FCash liable for multiple violations of the agency’s rule on the Prohibition on Unfair Debt Collection Practices of Financing Companies and Lending Companies.

The company, which operates online lending platforms Fast Cash and Fast Cash Loan, has made multiple attempts to collect loan payments by contacting or threatening persons other than those that the borrower has identified as guarantors or comakers, the SEC said.

For instance, the SEC said FCash has sent messages threatening borrowers with charges for estafa, complaints before the National Bureau of Investigation, and service of writ of garnishment or writ of attachment.

It also threatened to report borrowers to their respective employers and used abusive words when talking to them over the phone. The CGFD also noted how FCash took advantage of borrowers’ lack of awareness of legal terminologies to compel them to pay their loans.

“Respondent was bound to comply with its provisions at the time it became effective—with respect to new and existing loan accounts, insofar as the latter remain pending and demandable,” the CGFD said.

“In any case, even before the effectivity of SEC MC [memorandum

circular] 18, there was neither right nor obligation on the respondent’s part to harass or employ abusive tactics in conducting its collection. It is basic that in the exercise of rights and performance of duties, one must act with justice, give everyone his due and observe honesty and good faith.”

The Commission initially imposed a fine of P25,000 against FCash for its first violation of SEC MC 18 on September 25, 2019, and another fine amounting to P50,000 for its second violation on September 26, 2019.

On December 12, 2019, the CGFD formally charged FCash for its third violation of its circular.

FCash contended that it should not be charged with violating the rule based on complaints involving loan transactions consummated prior to the effectivity of the circular.

Tower Club to close permanently T

he shareholders of Tower Club Inc. (TCI), an exclusive event place and dining area for business executives at the Philamlife Tower in Makati, have decided to permanently shutter the establishment due to its mounting losses.

“It was foreseen that these losses will continue to rise and become more unsustainable because of the [Covid-19] pandemic’s devastating impact on the dining, entertainment and leisure sector,” the company said in a statement.

The said decision was made during the club's annual shareholders' meeting last Friday, when they voted

to shorten the Tower Club's corporate life by the end of January 2022.

“The shareholders also approved the permanent closure of the club’s food outlets and gym, which have been closed due to the pandemic” it said.

“The club’s financial statements showed rising operating losses through the years, due to declines in patronage and higher delinquency rates from the non-payment of monthly dues, which outweighed efforts to maintain operating expenses.”

It added that the anticipated higher losses were exacerbated by the pandemic and are projected to make

club capital deficient by next year.

Due to the pandemic, the club’s revenues fell by 28 percent in the first half of the year.

“The club, through the years, had implemented measures to boost revenues particularly in banqueting operations, and to collect unpaid membership dues, but the overall drop in income has worsened due to the covid pandemic,” it said.

“The TCI board will work on the Club’s orderly closure and ensure compliance to regulatory obligations.”

Tower Club, which occupies about 2,707 square meters over two floors of the Philamlife, is

the one of the preferred venues of businessmen for meetings, corporate launches, social functions and fine dining. Members have access to two private dining rooms, two world-class restaurants and a bar of international standards. It also has a fitness center and spa.

It was established in 2001 as the sole executive business club in the Philippines and is owned

by TCI, which was incorporated in August 3, 2001. The club is managed by Asia's Unique Resort Alliance (AURA) Hotels and Resorts and is governed by a board of governors, which consists of local senior executives. VG Cabuag

SMIC bags PLDT: Clarify provisions in law against child porn award in P 2019 ASRA

C

onglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) won the bronze prize in Asia’s Best Sustainability Report (Digital)—the SMIC Sustainability Microsite category at the 5th Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA), considered as the most prestigious awards for reporting.

Lender BDO Unibank Inc. also clinched the bronze prize for Asia's Best Sustainability Report (First Time) category.

“SMIC’s report demonstrates the organization’s leadership in sustainability reporting and its commitment to creating long-term value for stakeholders,” the company said.

The winners were selected from 461 entries received from 16 countries in Asia. The 2019 ASRA saw 80 shortlisted companies from 13 countries competing in the finals across 19 awards categories. “As institutional investors require greater accountability regarding a company’s sustainability performance, sustainability reporting has become an essential tool for communicating how the reporting organization manages its material economic, environmental and social impacts, risks and opportunities,” the company said.

ASRA has continuously raised the bar for quality and authenticity of reporting introducing a healthy competition among companies in Asia. The body recognizes and honors sustainability reporting leaders in Asia. The awards are open to all types and sizes of private, public and nonprofit organizations in all sectors which produce a sustainability report or an integrated report in Asia. An independent panel of judges evaluates the entries to select the winners. VG Cabuag

LDT and its wireless unit, Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), are urging lawmakers to amend “conflicting provisions” of Republic Act (RA) 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 to boost efforts in curtailing online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

“We want to do more in protecting children on the internet.

But some provisions in the AntiChild Pornography Law are holding us back because they encroach on the rights of citizens and contradict existing laws particularly RA 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Law,” said Smart Vice President for Legal and Regulatory Affairs Roy Cecil Ibay. He also concurrently serves as the Vice President of the Philippine Chamber of Telecom Operators (PCTO).

Section 9 of the law mandates internet service providers (ISP) to actively monitor and block any material that promotes child pornography passing through their servers. It also orders them to install software that will filter out illicit content.

But PLDT and Smart, together with other members of the PCTO, pointed out in a position paper submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that this contradicts another sentence in the same section declaring that “nothing in this section may be construed to require an ISP to engage in the monitoring of any user, subscriber or customer or the content of any communication of any such person.”

The Philippines’s largest and only integrated telecommunications company also noted that traffic data or information about the message’s origin, destination, route and size among other things are considered property, thus they

should be protected against unreasonable searches and seizures under the Bill of Rights. The Constitution also guarantees privacy of communication.

The PLDT group has found a compelling argument in the 2014 Disini vs. Secretary of Justice case where the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional Section 19 of the Anti-Cybercrime Law that says “when a computer data is prima facie found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act, the DOJ shall issue an order to restrict or block access to such computer data” because it gives the department virtual power to search and seize private data without the requisite judicial warrant.

In their position paper, PLDT and Smart argued that if the Secretary of Justice, who is supposed to be the bastion of legal knowledge and despite prima facie finding, cannot order the blocking of the offending computer data without a judicial warrant, how much more private entities such as ISPs, including the PLDT group.

PLDT and Smart also want the government to clarify the terms “blocking” and “filtering”. They say “blocking” may refer to an instance when a subscriber attempts to access a website but is prevented from doing so, which makes it a technical measure intended to restrict access.

They also noted “ filtering” may refer to an instance when a subscriber uploads an offensive material and telcos are expected to be able to screen and immediately remove them once posted.

Both contend that these responses “reek of all the elements of censorship or prior restraint, which violates constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech and of expression.”

The PLDT Group cited the same

landmark case (Disini vs. Secretary of Justice 2014), where the High Court struck down Section 12 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act referring to the real-time collection of traffic data by authorities because “the power is virtually limitless, enabling law enforcement agencies to engage in ‘fishing expedition,’ choosing whatever specified communication they want.”

The company is banking on several legislative measures that seek to amend the Anti-Child Pornography Law to further boost its own efforts in curtailing these crimes.

While waiting for their enactment, the PLDT Group assures the government and its subscribers that it is actively blocking domains linked to child pornography.

“O ver t he yea rs, we h ave blocked 2,909 websites mandated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), including those that were reported to us by concerned individual social media users, and based on the information we got from our cyber threat intelligence operations,” said Angel Redoble, Chief Information Security Officer and First Vice President at PLDT, ePLDT and Smart.

It’s also working out a subscription to Internet Watch Foundation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to further boost its efforts in protecting children.

During a meeting with the DOJ back in March, PCTO members, including PLDT and Smart, proposed that the government consider the use of a technology solution developed by Microsoft to help flag child sexual abuse materials.

The PLDT group is also in talks with the Interpol for a possible partnership to expand the list of domains linked to child pornography.

The circular, which took effect on September 8, 2019, was in response to several complaints for unreasonable, abusive, and unfair practices that lending and financing companies used to collect debt from borrowers.

FCash has had one of the most number of complaints for collection harassment since 2017, according to the CGFD. “[The SEC] has consistently reminded the public to be cautious and mindful of the terms and conditions of a loan contract before consenting to the same, especially the interest rates, penalties, and other charges,” the CGFD said.

“On the other hand, the commission is not blind to the pernicious effects of the abusive collection practices of some lending companies—loss

of employment and livelihood, psychological trauma, domestic strife, and even loss of lives.”

Earlier this year, the SEC ordered four online lenders CashAB, CashOcean, KwikPeso and Little Cash, to cease operations for lack of authority to operate as a lending or financing company. The online lending operators were also found to have employed abusive collection practices.

“While the commission fully supports the growth of lending and financing companies and recognizes the significant role they play in terms of financial inclusion and access to credit, it shall remain relentless and steadfast in its mandate to crack down abusive lending companies that prey on the desperate and vulnerable,” the CGFD said.

PAL to increase flights from Davao to Manila

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lag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it is expanding services between Manila and Davao to cater to the growing demand for essential travel out of the commercial heart of Mindanao.

Starting October 3, PAL will increase its Davao-Manila flights to 8 times per week. PAL will also operate 3 flights from Manila to Davao per week.

From Davao to Manila, travelers may take: n PR1810, departing at 6:30 AM every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The flight arrives in Manila at 8:30 AM, giving travelers a convenient full day in the national capital. n PR1818, departing from Davao every Saturday at 4:00 PM and arriving in Manila at 6:00 PM. n PR1814, departing from Davao every Monday and Thursday at 1:05 PM, arriving in Manila at 2:55 PM. From Manila to Davao, travelers may take: n PR1817, departing from Manila every Saturday at 1:25 PM and arriving in Davao at 3:20 PM. n PR1813, which flies from Manila every Monday and Thursday at 10:15 AM, arriving in Davao at 12:05 PM. The flag carrier will also introduce 5 weekly all-cargo flights from Manila to Davao.

PAL’s all-cargo flight, PR 1809, will transport goods and supplies every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,

Saturday and Sunday with an earlybird departure of 3:35 AM from Manila, arriving in Davao at 5:35 AM. Travelers bound for Davao are advised to secure a negative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result issued at least 72 hours before the flight, a travel authority, a medical certificate and a valid ID. However, a passenger without RTPCR testing can still be accepted on the flight to Davao but will need to undergo the swab test at Davao Airport upon arrival.

Travelers bound for Manila must secure a travel authority and a medical certificate issued by the local government unit and to present these upon check in for the flight.

Recently ranked among the world’s top 10 airlines for its health and safety protocols against Covid-19, PAL assured the flying public of its adherence to the highest safety protocols on all phases of the flight.

The flag carrier’s planes are equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air filters which disinfect cabin air of bacteria and viruses with 99.99 percent efficiency, as well as an advanced air flow system that replaces cabin air every two to three minutes.

PAL said its cabin crew wears personal protective equipment on flights. Aircraft surfaces, from tray tables to walls and seat belts are thoroughly disinfected before and after every flight. Recto L. Mercene

JFC opens first Tim Ho Wan store in China

Contributed Photo

J

ollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) on Monday said it opened mainland China’s first Tim Ho Wan store in Shanghai, as part of a series of store openings in the world’s second-largest economy in the next five years.

Located in the Jing’an Kerry Center, just a few minutes away from the famous Jing’an Temple, Tim Ho Wan is the latest addition to the portfolio of brands being directly operated by the Jollibee.

The said operation is a joint venture with the Tim Ho Wan Group.

Tim Ho Wan is often called one of the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, with its Sham Shui Po branch in Hong Kong being awarded a Michelin star for 11 straight years.

“The core of Tim Ho Wan is to serve delicious authentic Hong Kong dim sum to more people at

a good value for money, and this is why we believe that Tim Ho Wan is a great addition to the Jollibee Group’s portfolio,” Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said. “Opening in Shanghai, one of the busiest global hubs, is an excellent starting point for our expansion plans for Tim Ho Wan in Mainland China, and our near-term goal is to open 100 restaurants in the next five years.”

“Given the response we are seeing, we are planning to open the second store by the end of this year. Aside from Shanghai, we will also open in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou,” Jollibee China Chairman Carl Tancaktiong said.

Jollibee Group has entered into a joint venture agreement with the Tim Ho Wan Group to open and operate Tim Ho Wan restaurants in mainland China. VG Cabuag

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

September 28, 2020

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

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

44.2 86.4 63.95 21.6 8.15 38.2 9.35 24 50.15 16.4 91.9 54.15 0.79 25.4 0.56 3.14 7.42 1.3 0.285 0.58 154.1 1.03

44.85 86.45 64 21.65 8.16 38.25 9.43 24.15 51.9 16.46 91.95 54.4 0.81 26 0.58 3.15 8.31 1.33 0.295 0.6 157 1.1

45 87 63.9 21.8 8.15 37.6 9.31 23.35 51.95 16.5 92 54.1 0.74 25.8 0.58 3.03 8.31 1.27 0.285 0.62 157.6 1.03

45 87.7 64.7 21.8 8.19 38.4 9.47 24.6 51.95 16.54 92.4 54.45 0.81 27 0.58 3.14 8.31 1.37 0.285 0.62 157.6 1.03

44.1 86.45 63.65 21.65 8.14 37.6 9.31 23.35 50.05 16.18 91.6 54.1 0.74 25.4 0.58 2.91 7.34 1.23 0.285 0.62 153.5 1.03

44.2 86.45 64 21.65 8.15 38.25 9.35 24.15 51.9 16.4 91.9 54.15 0.81 25.4 0.58 3.14 7.34 1.3 0.285 0.62 156.9 1.03

1700 2255100 1355350 75300 162100 4594800 11900 456500 690 118700 279630 2890 3000 109300 2000 31000 700 151000 70000 1000 2120 320000

75620 195710943 86834083.5 1634960 1321959 175367775 112261 11032375 34795 1948402 25680731 156658.5 2360 2794290 1160 93720 5235 188670 19950 620 326431 329600

-53300 -62467713 -10070062 -1104920 -167283 47273115 -1201090 -776112 -9332635.5 -76480.5 -6940 -19090 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 3.15 3.17 3.15 3.22 3.12 3.15 11989000 37908970 1.23 1.24 1.24 1.24 1.22 1.24 573000 703590 ALSONS CONS 26.45 26.5 26.2 26.5 26.1 26.5 673800 17812720 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.161 0.164 0.161 0.165 0.16 0.165 1380000 223110 23.5 23.75 23.75 23.9 23.35 23.75 1721000 40657020 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 60 61 61.6 61.6 60 61 4050 244770 277.6 277.8 277 277.6 274 277.6 181780 50197494 MERALCO 14.5 14.52 14.9 15 14.42 14.5 3850200 56148582 MANILA WATER PETRON 3.07 3.08 3.05 3.08 3.05 3.08 767000 2358160 PETROENERGY 3.11 3.2 3.1 3.21 3.1 3.1 22000 68530 PHX PETROLEUM 10.9 10.98 10.76 10.98 10.76 10.96 49000 534920 16.58 16.68 16.84 16.84 16.6 16.6 246500 4113002 PILIPINAS SHELL 9.75 9.8 9.7 9.8 9.5 9.8 249600 2406542 SPC POWER 13.02 14.18 13.02 13.02 13.02 13.02 700 9114 VIVANT AGRINURTURE 7.78 7.9 7.94 7.94 7.78 7.78 25700 201737 AXELUM 2.7 2.72 2.68 2.72 2.65 2.71 3115000 8404100 17.24 17.34 17.2 17.4 17.04 17.24 2205700 37827850 CENTURY FOOD 4.66 4.77 4.63 4.77 4.63 4.66 137000 638380 DEL MONTE 5.78 5.8 5.72 5.89 5.72 5.8 4519300 26244200 DNL INDUS EMPERADOR 9.83 9.88 9.89 9.89 9.8 9.88 256100 2525330 SMC FOODANDBEV 64.5 64.55 63.95 64.8 63.55 64.55 4640 298525 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.64 907000 575290 1.18 1.2 1.2 1.21 1.18 1.2 5822000 6936000 FRUITAS HLDG 49.1 51.2 50 51.2 49.15 51.2 128870 6579759 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 139 139.1 138.5 139.4 138.2 139.1 465940 64764702 MACAY HLDG 7.62 8.08 8.1 8.2 8.1 8.2 2000 16210 4.98 5 5 5.05 4.97 5 168600 842100 MAXS GROUP 5.86 5.89 5.81 5.98 5.81 5.84 31500 184666 SHAKEYS PIZZA 1.15 1.16 1.14 1.16 1.14 1.16 1977000 2273990 ROXAS AND CO 4.76 4.77 4.79 4.79 4.76 4.77 3000 14320 RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG 1.7 1.73 1.75 1.75 1.71 1.71 49000 85150 0.106 0.11 0.107 0.107 0.106 0.106 150000 15980 SWIFT FOODS 133.4 133.8 134.1 134.1 132.5 133.8 732710 97690090 UNIV ROBINA 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.77 1042000 798640 VITARICH 2.23 2.34 2.35 2.35 2.35 2.35 1000 2350 VICTORIAS CONCRETE A 51.55 53.9 54 54 51 53.9 230 11947 1.44 1.45 1.43 1.46 1.43 1.45 3806000 5487020 CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL 3.1 3.32 3.13 3.13 3.1 3.1 59000 183370 14 14.18 14 14.18 13.88 14.18 671200 9421674 EAGLE CEMENT 6.84 6.85 6.69 6.91 6.69 6.85 1063100 7276840 EEI CORP HOLCIM 5.31 5.34 5.36 5.4 5.3 5.31 657400 3495635 MEGAWIDE 7.17 7.18 7.43 7.44 7.15 7.17 2440000 17585489 PHINMA 8.37 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.6 500 4300 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.7 0.74 315000 229240 TKC METALS 0.71 0.73 0.71 0.73 0.7 0.73 231000 162980 VULCAN INDL 114 132 118 118 113.1 113.1 70 8064 CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA 1.89 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 5000 9500 1.86 1.88 1.86 1.9 1.86 1.86 145000 270530 EUROMED 4.28 4.79 4.21 4.22 4.21 4.22 5361000 22569830 LMG CORP 21.05 21.4 21.7 21.7 21 21.4 3400 72035 CONCEPCION 2.21 2.22 2.14 2.23 2.12 2.22 16144000 35313420 GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR 5.94 6 6.18 6.4 5.9 5.94 1824100 10990512 IONICS 0.99 1 1 1.03 0.99 1 871000 874900 PANASONIC 4.6 4.86 4.6 4.87 4.6 4.87 2000 9470 1.41 1.42 1.41 1.44 1.41 1.42 661000 941280 SFA SEMICON 5.7 5.71 5.81 5.81 5.67 5.7 1544400 8813109 CIRTEK HLDG

-468680 2599350 -38568950 -20786 -21758524 -269266 -230270 -3100 -2917792 -3864 76020 1954510 -845262 -219490 -3099521 -328628 -15550 -6400 -7140 5155236 17481392 -2945 -4760 -10582563 2126440 -1418654 -28939 39213.9998 214737 -29900 -506020 -495630 -222200 51932

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.465 0.47 0.465 0.47 0.465 0.47 5310000 2471900 7.5 7.8 8.06 8.06 7.6 7.8 84100 648752 ASIABEST GROUP 685 690 699 699 685 685 157040 108306765 AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY 45.05 46 46 46.5 45.05 45.05 450000 20400075 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.09 7.04 7.05 5825300 41086665 AYALA LAND LOG 2.42 2.44 2.43 2.49 2.38 2.42 1491000 3629780 0.54 0.56 0.57 0.57 0.54 0.54 27000 14880 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.58 0.59 0.57 0.59 0.57 0.59 1161000 673280 ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B 0.55 0.59 0.59 0.59 0.59 0.59 51000 30090 5.1 5.12 5.1 5.1 5.04 5.1 221200 1121550 COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG 4.03 4.04 4.1 4.1 4.03 4.04 2992000 12,091,280( 8.51 8.71 8.5 8.75 8.5 8.7 20500 177305 FILINVEST DEV 3.34 3.75 3.33 3.34 3.33 3.34 14000 46740 FJ PRINCE A 0.179 0.2 0.178 0.178 0.178 0.178 150000 26700 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL 396 397 395.8 399 390.6 397 67330 26590028 HOUSE OF INV 3.17 3.2 3.17 3.17 3.17 3.17 3000 9510 60 60.2 60.6 60.9 59.15 60 860960 51680205 JG SUMMIT 0.6 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.6 0.62 6000 3740 LODESTAR 2.29 2.3 2.3 2.32 2.29 2.3 1309000 3,009,360( LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 8.96 8.97 8.95 8.97 8.9 8.97 643300 5749275 METRO PAC INV 3.49 3.5 3.48 3.5 3.42 3.5 9893000 34509820 PACIFICA HLDG 2.91 2.99 2.91 2.91 2.91 2.91 6000 17460 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.79 21000 16190 PRIME MEDIA 0.97 0.99 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 19000 18620 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 155 159 156 156 155 155 260 40500 876 895 881 895 869 895 74000 65663015 SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP 98.95 99 99 100 98.5 99 124520 12340903 0.62 0.64 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 1000 620 SOC RESOURCES 1.82 1.96 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 3000 5460 SEAFRONT RES 0.132 0.133 0.132 0.133 0.132 0.133 640000 84540 ZEUS HLDG

-255800 7640 -67287590 -16280405 23382918 1211350 -391247 8,086,280.0001) -19665 -7485960 -34542512 2,477,689.9997) -3599509 -3043490 -6375300 -3385248 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.52 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.52 0.53 195000 103050 29.8 29.85 30.25 30.4 29.75 29.8 6079900 182038395 AYALA LAND 25.6 25.65 25.55 25.65 25.45 25.6 1570300 40113130 AREIT RT BELLE CORP 1.34 1.35 1.37 1.37 1.32 1.34 864000 1150750 A BROWN 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.78 0.76 0.78 1046000 810600 CROWN EQUITIES 0.131 0.133 0.129 0.134 0.129 0.133 1210000 160070 5.84 6 5.8 6 5.8 6 1900 11040 CEBU HLDG 4.86 4.9 4.93 4.93 4.85 4.86 43000 210270 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.37 0.375 0.38 0.38 0.37 0.37 8260000 3085500 0.27 0.275 0.275 0.275 0.275 0.275 100000 27500 CYBER BAY 13.98 14 14.16 14.2 13.9 14 3174300 44579120 DOUBLEDRAGON 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.5 82000 444920 DM WENCESLAO 0.26 0.27 0.255 0.27 0.255 0.27 2630000 693550 EMPIRE EAST 0.91 0.92 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.92 4550000 4156510 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.74 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.75 0.75 24000 18230 6.83 6.88 6.9 6.9 6.88 6.89 16300 112305 8990 HLDG 1.1 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.1 1.11 3032000 3350060 PHIL INFRADEV 2.97 2.98 2.98 3.02 2.95 2.98 19652000 58500440 MEGAWORLD 0.23 0.231 0.228 0.235 0.228 0.23 20910000 4832610 MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES 0.3 0.31 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 350000 105000 1.23 1.25 1.28 1.28 1.21 1.25 623000 773580 PRIMEX CORP 14.3 14.32 14.58 14.58 14.32 14.32 1948900 27972998 ROBINSONS LAND 0.207 0.218 0.208 0.218 0.206 0.218 250000 52530 PHIL REALTY 2.6 2.67 2.68 2.68 2.53 2.67 12000 31610 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 1.85 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.85 1.95 170000 330100 28.5 28.85 28.75 29 28.5 28.5 6858200 196901495 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 3.75 3.84 3.84 3.84 3.75 3.75 7000 26340 1.15 1.17 1.15 1.16 1.15 1.15 1467000 1687390 SUNTRUST HOME 3.46 3.5 3.55 3.55 3.46 3.46 2190000 7682330 VISTA LAND

21200 -45184975 -19526130 324680 -56210 -0 -27469426 -339358 33150 -932180 -97149 -18037320 -16310 -18733244 34773415 -1784430

SERVICES ABS CBN 7.08 7.1 7.08 7.12 7.05 7.1 751400 5306839 5.07 5.08 5.08 5.08 5.06 5.07 274000 1388909 GMA NETWORK 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.395 0.395 0.395 70000 27650 MANILA BULLETIN MLA BRDCASTING 10.82 11.34 10.72 11.38 10.62 11.38 5300 56784 2086 2088 2112 2112 2086 2086 19395 40569730 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1361 1367 1356 1371 1356 1361 117620 160614930 0.056 0.057 0.057 0.057 0.056 0.057 22650000 1270800 APOLLO GLOBAL 2.91 3.01 2.91 2.91 2.91 2.91 1000 2910 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 4.49 4.5 4.25 4.55 4.24 4.49 111269000 493100590 IMPERIAL 1.18 1.29 1.12 1.38 1.12 1.38 12000 13860 0.078 0.083 0.081 0.089 0.079 0.083 18660000 1574930 ISLAND INFO 1.59 1.65 1.66 1.66 1.58 1.59 31000 49500 JACKSTONES 3.2 3.21 2.97 3.21 2.85 3.2 35778000 108866100 NOW CORP 0.196 0.197 0.19 0.208 0.19 0.197 12110000 2380620 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.19 2.2 2.2 2.21 2.16 2.19 485000 1058820 8.45 8.6 8.68 8.68 8.45 8.6 43100 367900 2GO GROUP 3.95 3.99 3.95 4.15 3.95 3.95 9832000 39630230 CHELSEA 36.95 37 37.15 37.55 36.95 37 371800 13791850 CEBU AIR 108 108.5 107 108.6 106.5 108 1006070 108605785 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 13.04 15.28 15.3 15.3 13.04 13.04 25700 339306 4.7 4.71 4.71 4.71 4.66 4.7 1683000 7876460 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 2.06 2.1 2.15 2.15 2.02 2.1 1601000 3342930 2 2.08 2.09 2.09 2 2 20000 40360 METROALLIANCE B 5.8 5.85 5.73 5.85 5.73 5.85 26500 154067 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.04 1 1.03 859000 874770 1.11 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 1000 1220 ACESITE HOTEL 0.028 0.029 0.029 0.03 0.028 0.029 69000000 1962900 BOULEVARD HLDG 10.6 11.56 10.6 10.6 10.6 10.6 1100 11660 GRAND PLAZA 0.4 0.41 0.415 0.42 0.395 0.41 1720000 688200 WATERFRONT 7.07 7.34 7.06 7.34 7.06 7.34 10400 73637 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.33 0.335 0.34 0.34 0.33 0.335 3940000 1318650 BERJAYA 2.9 2.96 3.02 3.11 2.9 2.9 875000 2618000 7.13 7.16 7.09 7.18 7.08 7.13 6667500 47576248 BLOOMBERRY 1.91 1.92 1.94 1.94 1.85 1.91 80000 150220 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.26 1.31 1.3 1.3 1.26 1.26 196000 247520 LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY 2.07 2.09 2.09 2.09 2.08 2.08 9000 18770 2.17 2.35 2.23 2.35 2.22 2.35 57000 128500 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.31 0.315 0.315 0.315 0.305 0.31 15650000 4855800 5.75 5.8 5.85 5.85 5.75 5.75 2765900 16020757 ALLHOME 1.38 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.38 1.38 1303000 1806950 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 48.85 49.3 48 49.3 48 49.3 932900 45772995 ROBINSONS RTL 66 66.5 68 68 65.95 66.5 178720 11954990.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 112 113.9 116.8 116.8 110 113.9 750 83341 1.14 1.16 1.18 1.19 1.14 1.16 2304000 2671600 SSI GROUP 15.7 15.9 15.74 15.9 15.7 15.9 511000 8092634 WILCON DEPOT 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.305 0.29 0.3 2410000 713400 APC GROUP EASYCALL 6.53 6.7 6.51 6.69 6.45 6.6 104100 678966 GOLDEN BRIA 284 307.6 307.8 307.8 307.8 307.8 30 9234 0.226 0.227 0.227 0.233 0.226 0.226 5110000 1168290 PRMIERE HORIZON 3.99 4.17 3.94 3.94 3.94 3.94 1000 3940 SBS PHIL CORP

-17955640 -34560210 6401859.9999 22410 139460 -41800 -10900300 -757584 19680 -8120 600 6600 90600 -5036223 -2660 4440 358000 -8516052 8671970 -8055366 1089 526860 -7288596 6450 22600 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.31 7.9 8 8 7.22 8 6900 51348 1.38 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.37 1.39 5987000 8295970 296699.9997 APEX MINING ABRA MINING 0.0008 0.0009 0.0008 0.0009 0.0008 0.0008 394000000 335200 3.78 3.83 3.87 3.87 3.76 3.78 257000 971610 ATLAS MINING 2.5 2.53 2.5 2.51 2.5 2.5 51000 127560 BENGUET A 2.42 2.53 2.42 2.42 2.42 2.42 24000 58080 BENGUET B 0.23 0.235 0.237 0.238 0.236 0.236 300000 71080 COAL ASIA HLDG DIZON MINES 7.31 7.5 7.65 7.65 7.5 7.5 300 2274 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.16 1.13 1.15 6215000 7123660 12610 FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.223 0.227 0.229 0.23 0.223 0.226 700000 158060 0.127 0.129 0.128 0.129 0.127 0.127 8120000 1036020 LEPANTO A 0.127 0.13 0.128 0.13 0.127 0.13 360000 45850 LEPANTO B 0.0089 0.009 0.0091 0.0093 0.009 0.009 26000000 235800 MANILA MINING A MANILA MINING B 0.0096 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.0096 0.0096 16600000 173760 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.86 0.84 0.85 2306000 1959920 MARCVENTURES 1.97 1.98 2 2 1.96 1.99 99000 196280 NIHAO 2.99 3 3.02 3.04 2.97 2.99 4062000 12157690 -2830 NICKEL ASIA 0.355 0.37 0.365 0.365 0.36 0.36 180000 64850 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.55 218000 115700 3.92 3.93 3.94 3.96 3.8 3.92 1288000 5032390 1470700 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 10.02 10.04 10.04 10.1 10 10.02 1328100 13310760 -4489786 0.0043 0.0046 0.0045 0.0045 0.0044 0.0044 12000000 53000 UNITED PARAGON 5.9 5.95 6.1 6.1 5.95 5.95 156600 940515 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.0083 0.0084 0.0083 0.0083 0.0083 0.0083 2000000 16600 0.008 0.0082 0.0081 0.0081 0.008 0.008 36000000 288400 PHILODRILL 5.19 5.25 5.25 5.3 5.15 5.19 1693600 8803943 244811 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED ALCO PREF B 100.7 103.2 100.9 100.9 100.9 100.9 3750 378375 -378375 514 515 514 514 514 514 200 102800 AC PREF B2R 102 102.9 102.9 102.9 102.9 102.9 30 3087 DD PREF FGEN PREF G 106.6 106.8 106.5 106.5 106.5 106.5 100 10650 505.5 515 508 508 506 506 600 303620 GLO PREF P 101.3 101.5 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 1580 160212 MWIDE PREF 97.1 98.4 98.4 98.4 98 98 1020 99968 1968 PNX PREF 3A 100.9 102.5 102.5 102.5 100.9 100.9 310 31759 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 950 957 949 957.5 949 957.5 2030 1939970 1022 1050 1050 1050 1050 1050 70 73500 PCOR PREF 2B 1057 1058 1057 1057 1050 1057 2205 2329635 10570 PCOR PREF 3A 1075 1088 1080 1080 1070 1075 600 644700 PCOR PREF 3B 77.6 78 78 78 77.5 77.5 3420 266454 SMC PREF 2C 75.65 76.5 75.95 76 75.95 76 19670 1494085 -225720 SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F 77 77.5 77.8 77.8 77 77 24640 1900202 75.75 76 75.8 76.2 75.8 76 455980 34744080 SMC PREF 2G 76.2 78 76.2 76.2 76.2 76.2 850000 64770000 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 6.7 6.95 7 7.1 6.68 6.7 433200 3004084 -580969 4.76 4.99 4.76 5 4.53 5 730000 3425720 -3405760 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.62 0.64 0.65 0.65 0.62 0.62 53000 33490

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 9.9 9.91 10.04 10.12 9.78 9.91 742200 7399945 -1545526 2.09 2.1 2.09 2.15 2.06 2.09 7828000 16389550 ITALPINAS 5.28 5.3 5.14 5.28 5.14 5.28 24900 130855 KEPWEALTH MERRYMART 3.07 3.08 3.07 3.09 3.02 3.07 26595000 81465890 -6827750

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 88.5 89.25 89.25 89.25 88.5 88.5 13120 1167665.5 9790

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Smart activates 5G in key cities in Visayas, Mindanao

S

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

mart Communications Inc. on Monday claimed it is the first Filipino telco to launch its 5G services nationwide, as it rolls out 5G services in key cities in Visayas and Mindanao.

Alfredo S. Panlilio, the company’s president, said Smart is adding Boracay, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao to Smart’s list of 5G-powered areas in the country, which include Metro Manila, New Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, among others.

“The commercial launch of 5G underscores our commitment to bring the best digital technologies

to our customers across the country.

As we continue to lead the way in 5G in the Philippines, we are now bringing Smart 5G’s super-fast data service to even more customers as we expand into Visayas and Mindanao and extend our Smart 5G service to our Prepaid customers as well,” he said.

The roll out of 5G in more areas,

he added, complements the 4G and fiber infrastructures of Smart.

“Combined with our fiber and 4G/LTE resources, we are providing our customers with the widest range of powerful connectivity services, as the country’s only fully integrated telco and digital services provider,” he said.

Smart’s parent, PLDT Inc., has been developing its 5G products for the past 3 years, partnering with different vendors to test out the best fit for its network and the demands of its Filipino consumers. It has also tied-up with different groups to create the Smart 5G Alliance.

5G is seen to enable machineto-machine communication via mobile. Its use cases worldwide span in different industries such as retail, transport, manufacturing, logistics and warehousing sec-

tors, as well as intelligent solutions for customer support and smart homes, among others.

PLDT said its telco core income in the first half reached P13.9 billion, a 5-percent increase versus the P13.2 billion registered the year prior as its individual, home, and enterprise businesses also posted positive results during the period.

Its net income was flat at P12.2 billion.

The company’s service revenues rose by 7 percent to P82.8 billion, from P78.3 billion, driven by a 16-percent increase in revenues from the consumer wireless individual business group to P39.8 billion, the 7-percent growth in home revenues to P19.6 billion, and the 5-percent rise in revenues from the enterprise group to P20.3 billion.

Cirtek board OKs stock rights offer

T

he board of semiconductor firm Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. has approved the company’s stock rights offer with a bonus detachable warrant for each rights share.

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said it will issue up to 250 million in common shares.

At Monday’s close of P5.70 per share, the company can raise as much as P1.42 billion from the exercise.

A stock rights offer allows existing common shareholders to buy additional shares of the company in proportion to their holdings. A detachable warrant, meanwhile, is a derivative that is attached to a security which gives the holder the right to purchase the underlying asset at a specific price within a certain time frame.

Cirtek said that before the stock rights offer exercise, the company will have to increase first its authorized capital stock, which the board also approved during its special meeting on Monday, to accommodate the new shares.

Cirtek’s board also approved the amendment of article four of its articles of incorporation on corporate terms from 50 years to perpetual term.

The company said its officials will have to fix the terms and conditions of the rights offer, including the entitlement ratio, the offer price, the payment terms, the terms of the detachable warrant including the exercise price, the procedure for lodg-

ing the application to subscribe, the details and procedures for the various rounds of offer, among others.

Cir tek ’s board earlier this month also approved the company's issuance of preferred shares which will be made through private placement.

It will put up for sale some 33 million of its preferred B2 sub-series shares through private placement to qualified buyers. It has set the price for the said sale at $1 per share.

The said shares will come from the unissued existing preferred B2 shares. The first tranche of the said shares were issued in 2017 consisting of 67 million shares.

Preferred shares are non-voting but holders have priority over common stockholders when it comes to dividends, which is commonly higher than those given to common stockholders.

Cirtek said its net income more than doubled in the first six months of the year to $4.98 million from last year's $2.28 million, despite a decline in revenues.

The company said it had consolidated revenues of $42.3 million for the period, some 13 percent lower than last year's $48.64 million.

“The decrease accounted for was mainly due to the 25-percent decrease in revenue contribution of Quintel, a US-based product and R and D (research and development) company acquired in 2017 and 12 percent decrease in revenue contribution from semiconductor business,” the company said. VG Cabuag

China’s largest chipmaker sinks after US restrictions

S

emiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) retreated to a 4-month low in Hong Kong after the United States imposed export restrictions on China’s largest chipmaker.

The shares declined 3.9 percent on Monday, adding to their 25-percent loss for the month. Also listed in Shanghai, SMIC’s stock there slumped 7 percent to the lowest level since its July debut. US firms must now apply for a license to export certain products to the chipmaker, the Commerce Department said in a letter dated Sept. 25, reviewed by Bloomberg News. SMIC and its subsidiaries present “an unacceptable risk of diversion to a military end use,” the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security wrote.

The US stopped short of placing SMIC on the so-called entity list, which means the restrictions are not yet as severe as those imposed on China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Still, the ruling against the chipmaker marks a further escalation in the tensions between

the world’s two most powerful countries that have already ensnared other Chinese tech companies including ByteDance Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. “The restriction, once implemented, will severely damage SMIC’s existing and future manufacturing capabilities, and customer trust,” Bernstein analysts led by Mark Li wrote in a note. “Without steady supply and service from the US, the yield and quality of SMIC’s capacity will degrade, as early as in a few months for more advanced nodes.”

SMIC has not received an official notice of the sanctions, has no relationship with the Chinese armed forces and does not manufacture goods for any military end-users or uses, the Shanghai-based company said in an emailed statement over the weekend. Commenting on the actions against SMIC, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a briefing Monday that Beijing will “continue to take necessary measures to safeguard Chinese businesses’ legitimate rights and interest.” Bloomberg News

mutual funds

September 28, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 192.43 -24.44% -12.17% -4.89% -23.59% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0786 -30.65% -12.51% -2.52% -21.95% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.5837 -35.06% -16.45% -6.9% -29.76% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6612 -30.44% -13.04% n.a. -26.37% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6735 -21.38% n.a. n.a.

-20.7% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.1337 -23.89% -10.35% -4.78% -22.42% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6451 -25.74% -12.88% n.a.

-24.43% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 83.2 -28.74% n.a. n.a.

-19.4% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 38.5068 -25.9% -10.72% -3.74% -24.91% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 414.63 -23.22% -10.06% -3.92% -22.18% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8641 n.a. n.a. n.a. -16.11% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. - a 0.9856 -24.42% -10.14% -3.55% -23.41% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 28.8588 -24.87% -9.91% -3.17% -23.85% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7592 -26.36% n.a. n.a. -25.43% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 3.9321 -25.55% -10.47% -3.12% -24.72% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 657.35 -25.44% -10.31% -3.23% -24.61% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.5969 -34.64% -13.94% -7.04% -29.89% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0327 -29.1% -11.82% -4.56% -27.95% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.753 -25.66% -10.63% -3.32% -24.76% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.7604 -25.51% -9.28% -2.76% -24.44% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 88.2735 -25.3% -10.02% -2.44% -24.52% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.0231 7.6% -0.55% 3.41% -0.52% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.4598 13.63% 7.05% n.a.

5.88% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5317 -6.31% -5.63% -2.92% -1.99% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0213 -11.79% -5.61% -1.33% -7.33% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3656 -10.93% -4.35% -2.67% -10.1% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1708 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-25.25% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8187 -7.17% -2.14% 0.23% -7.28% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.416 -9.7% -3.84% -1.03% -9.85% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.2649 -9.96% -4.04% -1.13% -10% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.8863 -11.95% -5.04% -1.25% -11.11% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2098 -17.26% -6.3% -2.41% -16.92% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9211 -9.48% n.a. n.a.

-9.31% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8132 -19.21% n.a. n.a. -18.39% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.7896 -21.34% n.a. n.a.

-20.5% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.7841 -20.34% -7.56% -3.37% -19.56% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03889 1.2% 2.53% 2.07% 1.81% 4.17% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.0209 0.3% 3.31% 0.88% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.0352 7.72% 4.89% 5.7% 3.18% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1458 3.49% 2.53% n.a.

1.52% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 368.06 3.89% 3.06% 2.59% 2.83% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9505 1.8% 1.12% 0.27% 2.55% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2013 3.76% 4.79% 4.99% 2.67% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2876 3.78% 2.55% 2.17% 2.89% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4464 4.82% 3.31% 1.98% 3.7% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 7.74% 4.13% 2.49% 5.76% 4.6247 Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3106 5.86% 4.34% 2.46% 4.29% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9517 5.54% 4.15% 2.29% 4.32% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0346 8.95% 3.54% 1.83% 7.29% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1757 5.24% 4.72% 2.81% 3.25% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7399 4.11% 3.94% 2.31% 2.28% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $477.67 2.65% 2.43% 2.81% 1.99% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є216.97 -1.53% 0.75% 1.15% -1.28% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2371 3.09% 2.97% 2.63% 2.48% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0263 1.94% 1.7% 1.59% 1.94% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.084 -1.36% 0.05% 0.29% -0.88% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4822 2.88% 3.42% 3.28% 3.27% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0613454 2.05% 2.24% 2.1% 1.73% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1638 -0.06% 1.47% 2.27% -0.36% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.12 3.57% 3.29% 2.51% 2.61% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0449 2.18% n.a. n.a.

1.81% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2904 2.82% 3.02% 2.62% 2.01% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0491 1.57% n.a. n.a.

1.04% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 0.9833 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.93 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-6.06%

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."

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Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

PNB to sell assets to get more stake in subsidiary

T

he Philippine National Bank (PNB) announced it would sell some of its prime real estate properties in exchange for P46.68billion of additional stake in PNB Holdings Corp.

In a disclosure on Monday, the Tan-led bank said it would be subscribing to 466.77 million shares of the holding firm for P100 per share.

The subscription price was based on the par value per share of PNB Holdings.

The shares to be issued are coming from the increase in the holding company’s authorized capital stock, which is subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

PNB’s shares climbed by 85 centavos, or 3.65 percent, to settle at P24.15 apiece amid the 0.39-percent uptick for the benchmark index on Monday.

Upon approval of the transaction, the additional subscription will be equivalent to 99.46 percent of PNB Holdings’s outstanding shares.

“The subscription forms part of a series of transactions which will

be undertaken to realize the market value of the Bank’s prime properties and reduce low-earning assets to strengthen the Bank’s financial position,” PNB said.

PNB Holdings is one of the local subsidiaries of the listed bank.

In the first half of the year, the listed bank suffered a 65-percent drop in its net income after booking higher provisions for impairment, credit and other losses. Net earnings fell to P1.4 billion for the period from P4 billion last year. This as reserves for potential losses rose to P8.4 billion.

Topline figures, meanwhile, climbed by 24 percent to P23.6 billion due to better lending and trading activities, according to the bank.

As of end-June, its loan portfolio and deposit liabilities were flat at P602.6 billion and P790.7 billion, respectively.

Capital as of end-June stood at P154.3 billion, which is 13 percent higher than last year’s P136 billion.

This brought the bank’s capital adequacy ratio and common equity tier 1 ratio to 15.86 percent and 14.99 percent, respectively. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 B3

Tax incentives for physicians doing pro bono work pushed

A

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

deputy speaker is pushing for the passage of a measure granting tax breaks or incentives to doctors rendering pro bono or free health care and medical services to indigent patients.

Under his House Bill (HB) 7631, Deputy Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte said the tax credits will be deducted from the gross income of physicians providing pro bono services.

Under the bill, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) are tasked to evaluate these pro bono

services, compute the hours rendered and the nature of treatment involved.

It added the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), in consultation with the DOH and the PMA, shall promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for the effective enforcement of the provisions.

“While there is a wide gap to quality healthcare access among the

poor and marginalized, some physicians have taken it upon themselves to volunteer to render free health services to people who cannot afford to seek medical attention,” Villafuerte said.

“This bill recognizes and incentivizes, through the grant of tax credit, the invaluable pro bono services physicians in the country. It intends to encourage our physicians to put hours and services for such purpose,” he added.

Villafuerte said the Constitution guarantees that the health needs of the underprivileged sick, elderly, disabled, women and children shall be given priority and that the State shall endeavor to provide free medical care to the poor.

“However, the Philippines does not even have a sufficient number of doctors to cover the population. The global average of a doctor to patient ratio is 1:6,000. In 2019, the Philip-

pines has a doctor to-patient ratio of 1:33,000,” Villafuerte noted.

Earlier, Villafuerte filed HB 7007 establishing a medical reserve corps (MRC) that will be on stand-by mode to supplement, if and when needed, frontliners in the healthcare system during times of national health emergencies and disasters such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The House committee on health had formed a technical working group (TWG) to consolidate 11 bills, including HB 7007, similarly seeking the creation of an MRC. Villafuerte said the lack of medical personnel during the initial stages of the country’s fight against the unprecedented Covid-19 contagion has “underscored the urgency of establishing a medical reserve corps to ensure that the healthcare system is never overwhelmed during emergencies.”

Is freelancing right for you? GSIS reopens Covid-19 emergency loan facility

I

S freelancing right for you? How do you know if you’re ready to become a freelancer? More importantly, do you have what it takes to be successful at freelancing?

Around 2002, I was invited by a friend to join in a project as a freelance programmer. The pay is very good and the hours, flexible. I accepted even though the work is only guaranteed for nine months and it may or may not continue after that.

My friend didn’t accept the job, but fortunately for me, the project continued for another 2 years. However, after that gig, I switched back and forth between corporate jobs, freelancing and a mix of both.

If you were my friend back then, would you have accepted the invitation and joined me or not?

Some are terrified of being a freelancer while others would pick flexibility of freelancing over the stability of a regular day job. Others simply follow the money.

Freelancing offers a lot of benefits like more money, more control of your time and, finally, a chance to make decisions without worrying about your not-so-smart boss’ comments. Are these enough to motivate you?

Motivation will get you started but the journey towards self-employment and success is a long and arduous one. You need to assess your values, beliefs and skills to find out if your personality fits the life of a freelancer.

Here are some questions to ask yourself: Are you excited about the idea of being responsible for your destiny?

I bet you would say you are in charge of your destiny. As an employee, are you sure you’ll get promoted next year and get that raise so you could finally buy a Nissan Z? You don’t.

Freelancing neither guarantees the Nissan Z as well. But it does guarantee control of your time and making your own decisions. If you’re not comfortable thinking where and when you’re going to get your next paycheck, then freelancing may not be for you.

Can you work under pressure?

I bet you can, but freelancing has pressure you don’t normally get at work—irregular income. Whatever stresses you out at work, at the end of the month you still receive a paycheck, which (ideally) should be more than enough to buy a couple of beers or a Thai massage.

With freelancing, you deal not only with the pressure of deadlines and commitments, but also with cash flow problems, delayed payments (God forbid), taxes and other moneyrelated mumbo jumbos.

S

Fitz Gerard Villafuerte

personal finance The ugly truth is freelancing is more demanding than a regular day job.

Do you like to be alone?

Freelancing requires you to be comfortable with working alone. Although there will still be instances where you need to work with another person but for most of the time, you are on your own.

From the important things, like preparing for a project bid onto the stuff you normally take for granted if you had a day job like the kind of paper and the design your business card. All these things will be done by you.

Freelancing could also take a toll on your social life that you may want to go back to a normal day job if only to be able to work with other “normal” people. (Yes, you’ll miss having officemates).

Are you persistent and disciplined?

Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you could take a vacation anytime you want to. If you are freelancing, chances are you can’t take any.

In the corporate world, the business still runs when you take a vacation because someone else takes over your tasks. In the freelance world, your tasks just pile up when you take a break.

But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a break but between meeting a deadline and taking a vacation, you would choose the former.

The good news is since you have control in a lot of things: being organized can solve many of your problems; but t hat ’s another story.

In summary, going freelance requires responsibilities beyond what you normally have as an employee.

Your day job provides the structure, resources and support system so you could get things done. If you go into freelancing, all these corporate advantages will go away. So if you are reluctant to take additional responsibilities, freelancing may not be for you.

Remember that freelancing is not a job replacement. It’s an entirely different ball game—you need to think long and hard whether it’s the right move for you.

Fitz Villafuerte is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 86th RFP program this October 2020. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph.

tate pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced it reopened its Covid-19 emergency loan program last September 28 until December 27 this year to its members and pensioners.

In a statement, the GSIS said it reopened the loan window after President

BPI AMTC offers UITF in support of PERA law

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subsidiary of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is offering unit investment trust funds (UITF) in support of the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Law. In a statement on Monday, BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. said its PERA UITF products cover different asset classes to address the varying investment goals of its clients. UITFs are pooled funds managed in-house and invested in various financial instruments. The offering of BPI AMTC includes a money market fund, a government bond fund, a corporate income fund and an equity fund. BPI AMTC President Sheila Marie U. Tan said that the PERA Law made investment for pension funds accessible for Filipinos, noting that one can start investing with P1,000.

“The various BPI PERA products also cater to the different investment needs and risk appetites of clients, covering fixed income for the moderate investors and equities for the more aggressive ones,” she said.

Tan said that the main advantage of investing in PERA funds are tax benefits which can be availed when the investor reaches 55 years old, given that he or she already contributed for at least five years. “These tax benefits can make a difference to maximize the savings or investments that they can enjoy in their retirement years,” Tan added. Meanwhile, the BPI AMTC chief commended the efforts of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] in promoting PERA. “It [BSP] has supported product providers like ourselves in encouraging personal investments to prepare for retirement, and achieving our goal of improving the financial well-being of Filipinos,”Tan said.“As BSP Governor [Benjamin E.] Diokno said, around 80 percent of Filipinos don’t have pensions; and we hope to change that in the future.” Earlier this month, the Central Bank launched the digital PERA in collaboration with the Trust Officer Association of the Philippines.

Diokno said that this would allow investors to place an investment on PERA products using mobile phones and other devices, which is parallel with the BSP’s initiative of promoting digitalization. As of end-December 2019, BPI AMTC has P730-billion worth of assets under management.

It is regulated by the BSP as trustee and investment manager.

Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation 1021 extending the state of calamity in the country due to the pandemic.

GSIS President and General Manager Rolando L. Macasaet said in Tagalog they also wanted to give comfort “to active members and old-age and disability pensioners who are affected by this

pandemic and have not yet benefited from this privilege.” Macasaet added that, to date, there are still 700,000 of GSIS’s 1.3 million qualified members and pensioners who have yet to file their emergency loan application.“Hopefully, the 3-month application period will give them ample time to prepare the

requirements and submit them to us,” he said.“We are mobilizing our resources to help members and pensioners who need financial assistance.” Macasaet said that of the P43.01 billion that GSIS has set aside for this loan facility, it already released P18 billion to nearly 600,000 members and pensioners.

B4

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Art

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

❶ Parallel

History, Parallel Struggle, Parallel Heart (King of All Kings), Louie Cordero and Kawayan de Guia, 2018, mixed media, 72”x72”

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kevin Durant, 32; Roger Bart, 58; Bryant Gumbel, 72; Jerry Lee Lewis, 85.

Happy Birthday: Pay attention to expiration dates, personal documents and money matters. Aim to be fully prepared to take on an unexpected change. Leave nothing to chance, and it will put your mind at ease. A disconnect with someone you’ve known a long time will encourage you to take control and do things your way. Romance and a lifestyle change are favored. Your numbers are 7, 15, 23, 29, 32, 46, 48.

❷ Untitled

(Lockdown Set), Gary-Ross Pastrana, 2020, collage on board, 177.80”x127”

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take pride in what you do. You will be judged by what you complete and what you leave unfinished. Put a plan in place that will ensure you take care of business before moving on to preferable pastimes. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A change of mind will lead to benefits. Follow your gut feeling when dealing with work-related situations. Refuse to put your health at risk. Protect children and those most vulnerable. HHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Align yourself with like-minded people. There is safety and strength in numbers. If you want to bring about change, you have to fight for what you want. Don’t let a smoothtalking outsider take advantage of you or your loved ones. HH

❶

d

❷

Silverlens and its two mosaics

F

RAGMENTS are pieced together in an ongoing pair of exhibitions at contemporary art space Silverlens. One show collates collectors artworks to examine how art has grown through the years, while the other pieces plans shattered by this plague year.

In the main exhibition, titled Collectors Plus, the gallery presents artworks created in the past two decades from several prominent collectors living in Manila and Singapore. The show features diversity in terms of medium and style, bookended by an early Geraldine Javier oil in 2001 and a pair of recent Pow Martinez abstracts.

According to Silverlens Director Isa Lorenzo, in the nearly 20 years between these works, it is “electrifying to witness through the pieces in the show how art has grown and expanded through the years.”

“Collectors Plus is a show made possible by the passage of time,” Lorenzo said in the show’s catalogue. “It is an invigorating demonstration of the prosperous artistic culture in the Philippines, and is a reminder that despite the country’s modest size, a heterogeneous wealth of creative talent thrives within.”

The show also features artworks by other Filipino and Western artists. Among them are Marie Harnett’s photo-realistic pencil sketches and, Louie Cordero and Kawayan de Guia’s sublime mixed media collaboration.

The other participating artists, include James Brown, Mariano Ching, Chati Coronel, Melvin Culaba, Patricia Perez Eustaquio, Dina Gadia, Nona Garcia, Dennis Gonzales, Maria Justus, Lou Lim, Wawi Navarroza, Bernardo Pacquing, Yvonne Quisumbing, Arturo Sanchez Jr., Julião Sarmento, Yasmin Sison, Maria Taniguchi and Rosemarie Trockel.

Alongside Collectors Plus is a solo show by GaryRoss Pastrana, titled some recent (& disrupted) projects.

The title is a literal presentation of Pastrana’s projects intended for this year but were shelved due to the pandemic.

Pastrana cites up to five shows he was set to join this year that were called off, including Art Basel Hong Kong that was scheduled in March. There was also a planned exhibition at UP College of Fine Arts with his batch mates Lyra Garcellano, Louie Cordero

and Nona Garcia, among others, to mark their 20th year of finishing art school.

“I was supposed to co-organize it with my friend and another batch mate, Alvin Zafra, who early on had already suggested a somewhat—in light of what we know now—painfully ominous title: 2020: Perfect Visions,” the artist said in the exhibition catalogue.

Pastrana said he hesitates to label the presentation as a proper exhibition. Rather, “it is more accurately a gathering of fragments.” Alas, presented in the ongoing show are the artist’s collages from canceled shows, a frame of collages he created at the onset of the quarantine; and individually framed pieces from his ongoing (@collage_a_day_everyday) project.

“I see no reason to even attempt to thread an overarching narrative, or force a deeper connection between these elements,” he said. “Perhaps, the only organizing principle one could infer is that they are all excerpts from disrupted projects, vestiges of floating narratives and precarious ideas of a practice currently in limbo.”

“They could very well be the last iterations of concerns and trajectories that have gone thus far and may no longer be sustained. If so, may this chance encounter serve either as a fitting send-off or, better still, an opportune moment where new paths may begin to emerge.” some recent (& disrupted) projects and Collectors Plus are on view on-site and online until October 10. n

temporary borders. We remain in one place and yet, we go around. The exhibition features works by Renz Baluyot, Ralph Barrientos, Sydney Bautista, Cian Dayrit, Timmy Harn, Veronica Lazo, Tekla Tamoria, Marija Vicente, and FAKE zine.

From a blank plane to a surface that depicts images to communicate,

convey meaning, is a form of metamorphosis.

Then, the meaning it is trying to impart also shifts according to how the artist creates them, and to how the audience sees it.

In Shift, the artists Elijah Santiago and Shalimar Gonzaga, are saying one thing but probably meant another.

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Keep a close watch over your possessions, finances and domestic situation. Aim to please, but not at the expense of your health or position. Anger will not help you get your way, but preparation and organization will. Romance is encouraged. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Different directions will entice you. Listen to what others say, and you’ll get a sense of what will work in your favor. A systematic move will help build a strong base to implement the changes you want to bring about. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t argue over something you cannot change. Consider every angle, and you will recognize how best to get around someone who is trying to take advantage of you. Focus on self-improvement and meaningful relationships. Romance is on the rise. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Bring about the changes that make you happy. Let go of situations that are holding you back or making you miserable. Use your imagination, and create a plan to help you achieve a lifestyle geared toward personal growth and inner peace. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Think twice before you share personal information.

Someone will be searching for a way to make you look bad. An emotional situation will escalate if you act on an assumption or get involved in gossip. HH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It’s OK to do things differently. A unique idea will encourage you to diversify and, use your skills and knowledge to up your income. A domestic change will push you to make adjustments that will bring you peace of mind. HHHH

k

Kaida Contemporary presents ‘Neck of the Woods,’ ‘Shift’ THE exhibit Neck of the Woods maps through the different engagements, urgencies, or their absence in a time when we are compelled to maneuver within constrained parameters.

Here, we contemplate as well on the virtual landscape that produces a similar domain where we correspond with what lies beneath these invisible

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Strive to make a change that allows you to use creative skills to get ahead. A partnership will change the way you view life and how you live. Don’t settle for less when a slight adjustment can make your experience better.

HHHHH

Their works are opposing, a positivenegative, in a sense of what they mean, or what they don’t mean.

Neck of the Woods and Shift are on view at the gallery Kaida Contemporary, 45 Scout Madriñan Street, South Triangle, Quezon City.

More information is available at kaida529@yahoo.com.ph.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Evaluate your lifestyle, relationships with others and the ways you keep fit. Setting up a routine will encourage better health, proper diet and achieving your goals. Putting romance back in your life will bring you closer to someone you love. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Use your imagination, strive to be unique and don’t be afraid to share your thoughts and insights into trends. A change will improve your vision regarding how you handle your money, health and contractual matters.

HHH Birthday Baby: You are passionate, intense and unpredictable.

You are assertive and energetic.

‘flip-book’ by debbie ellerin The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Common Portland forecast 5 Rover’s cry 8 Around the Horn channel 12 Up the ___ (risk more) 13 Dangly lobe 15 Greiner of Shark Tank 16 Where to record a phone call? (see letters 5 to 8) 18 Linseed oil source 19 Decorator’s sample 20 Grandson of Eve 22 Altar words 23 Vegas wager 24 Ask to be excused? (2 to 5) 26 Toddler’s “I’ve finished eating!”

29 ___ A Sketch 30 Color similar to avocado (1 to 4) 32 “Here comes trouble!”

36 “___ the season...”

37 Aussie gems 40 Audiologist’s study 41 Fully fill 43 Losing it (5 to 8) 46 Tool holder 50 “Yep, unfortunately”

1 Person who’s usually blamed (3 to 6) 5 55 One may end with .org 56 Pooch with wrinkles 57 Spiritual song 58 Kudos 61 Online auction site 63 Read you can’t put down, and a hint to the starred answers’ indicated letters 65 Give in 66 Oscar winner Swinton 67 Sub seller 68 Had the facts 69 Tennis court need 70 Capri or Wight DOWN 1 Team at California’s SoFi Stadium 2 From the beginning 3 “So much fun!”

4 Golden years fund 5 NYC’s Park, e.g.

6 Currency in Kolkata 7 Projecting rim on a pipe 8 Pointy-eared being 9 3D shape 10 Home for many Goyas

11 Emmy winner Cynthia who had a gubernatorial campaign 13 Cry of revulsion 14 Take in, as a pet 17 Chadwick Boseman was one 21 Anatomical pouch 24 (Honk!)

25 P, to Plato 26 Rental units: Abbr.

27 Princess in Star Wars 28 The Matrix role 31 Pester persistently 33 Attention grabbers in newspapers 34 Snoozes 35 Layered cookie 38 Gallery locale, perhaps 39 Address for a certain general 42 Clairvoyant’s “ability,” for short 44 Third-smallest country 45 Phillies manager Joe 47 Chuckle sound 48 Good country to run a pyramid scheme in?

49 Realm 51 Mote 52 Havana resident

53 Tequila source 54 A 54-degree one is acute 58 School support grp.

59 “Buy low, ___ high” 60 The “E” of HOMES 62 Tree whose name sounds like a vowel 64 Summer hrs. on Cape Cod

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Tuesday, September 29, 2020

B5

Alden Richards has got all the aces IN this June 2017 photo, members of Britain’s Royal family join Queen Elizabeth II (fourth from right) watch a fly past as they appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, after attending the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony in London. AP

Queen Elizabeth II to trim costs as Covid-19 hits income

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MONG the handful of certified A-list matinee idols in local entertainment, Alden Richards has perhaps widened his lead over the others. If the number of projects is the barometer, then Richards is definitely on a roll.

Hot on the heels of the latest documentary from GMA Public Affairs that aired over the weekend, Alden is proud that he was tasked to work on Lockdown: Food Diaries, which featured the key players and frontliners in the food sector facing down the ongoing pandemic.

In the special documentary, Richards also presented current food trends that have gained popularity during the quarantine season, and showcased the creativity, ingenuity, perseverance and resilience of the survival instinct Filipino at this time.

As a restaurateur (Richards is one of the majority shareholders of a Filipino restaurant named Concha’s), he admitted that the challenges remain daunting. “I guess all restaurant owners were hit hard by this pandemic and for us, we have to find ways to adapt to the new normal, try to implement changes which will ensure that operations continue and, more importantly, that your staff is cared for because they are the true heart of our business.”

His fans are also looking forward to watching Richards in the maiden episode of the new GMA drama anthology I Can See You. Richards topbills the initial offering, “Love on the Balcony,” playing a photographer who falls for his neighbor, played by Jasmine Curtis. “We had to observe very strict rules at work,“ he volunteered, adding, “The new normal is something all actors should get used to, because health and safety are of utmost importance at this time. I am very fortunate that I continue to take on a lot of work, and I’m grateful that GMA is taking really good care of me.”

Richards divides his time between his many work commitments carefully. He also did a cohosting job recently for the Century Superbods competition.

GMA’s prized artist continues to be a favorite celebrity endorser of many popular brands.

He is glad that his bosses in the noontime show Eat Bulaga understand when he has to take a few days

off to work on another project. He and his erstwhile popular tandem with Maine Mendoza still have very loyal fans up to this day.

Despite his busy schedule, Richards makes sure that he stays healthy and keeps in shape. “It is very important to take care of oneself, especially during these times when the world is still working on finding a cure, a vaccine for the virus. We cannot take things lightly. We always have to be cautious and careful.

I have to exercise and workout regularly in order to keep fit. I have to have ample sleep and rest hours. I have to eat healthy. With whatever limited resources

LONDON—Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her family are facing a £35 million ($45 million) hit from the coronavirus pandemic, partly due to a shortage of tourists, the monarch’s money-manager said Friday.

Releasing the royal household’s annual accounts, Keeper of the Privy Purse Michael Stevens said a lack of income from visitors to royal buildings was likely to bring a general funding shortfall of £15 million ($19 million) over three years.

He said the impact of the pandemic is also likely to cause a £20 million ($25.4 million) shortfall in a 10-year, £369-million-program to replace antiquated heating, plumbing and wiring at Buckingham Palace, the queen’s London home.

Officials have said the palace’s aging infrastructure, which had its last major upgrade after World War II, is at risk of a catastrophic failure if it’s not replaced.

Stevens said the royal household would not ask for more government money but would “look to manage the impact through our own efforts and efficiencies.”

Buckingham Palace has already introduced a staff pay freeze and a halt to hiring.

The accounts show that the monarchy cost British taxpayers £69.4 million ($88.2 million) in the year to the end of March, an increase of £2.4 million ($3.1 million) on the previous financial year.

The accounts also show that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, paid an undisclosed sum to reimburse the public purse for rent and refurbishment of their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle. The exact sum will appear in next year’s accounts. The renovation costs alone for the home were £2.4 million ($3.1 million).

Harry, 36, and the former Meghan Markle, 39, married at Windsor Castle in May 2018. The couple announced early this year they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said was the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California.

Harry and Meghan signed a lucrative deal this month to produce nature series, documentaries and children’s programming for streaming service Netflix. AP

we have at the moment, we have to keep our bodies and minds healthy so we can keep our homes and environments safe not only for ourselves but for others, as well.”

Alden Richards has kept his feet on the ground and his heart in the right place, despite the many successes he has been blessed with over the past 10 years that he has been in the business. And he continues to be ready for more interesting and quality work output that will come his way. Whoever will sweep him off his feet in the near future will indeed be a very, very lucky person, because Alden Richards has got all the aces. n

❶ Thomas

Wiersing, charge d’affaires, delegation of the European Union to the Philippines and wife SeungAh Wiersing-Lee

❷ Florabel

❶

Pasay City Mayor Hon. Imelda “Emi” Calixto-Rubiano, with the SM Mall of Asia’s Senior Assistant Vice President for operations Perkins So and SM Cinema VP for Corporate Marketing Ruby Anne Reyes

To ensure #SafeAndFunMovieWatching, SM Cinema follows the best safety practices and sanitation protocols. Pursuant to the IATF Guidelines and Safety Protocols, only individuals between 21 and 59 will be admitted to enter the SM Cinema Drive-in.

“Pong” Aureus, US Embassy Cultural Affairs specialist and SM Senior VP for Marketing Communications Group Millie Dizon

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Movies by the bay at SM Mall of Asia MEMBERS of the diplomatic corps, government officials, and members of the media recently gathered as SM Cinema brought the drive-in movie experience to the metro in Movies By The Bay at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds Block 16.

This brings back the attraction of watching movies under the stars, this time with the beautiful Manila Bay Sunset and the modern Mall of Asia Complex skyline. The opening film was Train 2 Busan:Peninsula, the most anticipated horror movie from South Korea.

Guests were thrilled to be part of this new way to watch the movies. “In this new normal, and in consideration of the current health situation, I congratulate SM for finding opportunities to keep cinema alive as an industry, an art, a form of entertainment,” enthused Martin Macalintal of the Embassy of France.

“Drive-in movies bring together the lifestyle of the good old days and the technology of tomorrow.’

Tomoko Nakamura of Japan Foundation, Manila, went to the drive-in theater for the first time, saying they “totally enjoyed it.” She was likewise impressed with “SM Cinema’s dedication to security and safety.

There were a lot of staff to make the operation smooth before/during/after the screening. It was indeed a safe and fun entertainment.”

Rollie dela Cruz of the Australian Embassy describes it as “a one-of-a-kind experience. It was completely different and exciting, and it felt good to watch a movie again with friends but in a safe way because you’re in a car and far away from other people.” He confessed to wondering how the audio would work, but the setup deployed by SM Cinema made the experience feel “like we were in the cinema

again—the quality of the sound was amazing.”

Florabel “Pong” Aureus of the US Embassy expressed her “huge congratulations to SM Cinema for allowing us to experience a whole new level of entertainment. It is something to look forward to and I would encourage everyone to check it out.”

The SM Cinema Drive-in is now open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Entry to the SM Cinema Drive-in will start at 5 pm. There will be one movie screening per day, which starts at 6:45 pm on a 20-meter by 8.5-meter larger-than-life outdoor screen raised 4 meters above the ground. To ensure guests have an optimal viewing experience, the cinema will use a dual projector for sharper and more crisp images.

For the best movie-viewing experience, two persons are allowed per vehicle with a maximum of

four persons.

Once parked, guests will be instructed to turn on their car’s FM radio to a specific frequency to broadcast the sound straight into their vehicles.

Guests are also welcome to bring their own radio and other devices with FM capabilities.

All tickets must be purchased online in advance.

Each ticket costs P400 per person, and this already includes a Snack Time bundle consisting of bottled water, regular-sized popcorn, and beef franks. Food concessions will be available on-site.

Tickets for SM Cinema’s “Movies by the Bay” must be purchased online in advance at www.smtickets. com to ensure an uninterrupted viewing experience.

No tickets will be sold at the venue, and viewers are advised to arrive at least 30 minutes before their scheduled screening.

B6 Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Cagdianao Mining Corp. finds inspiring alternative to rice

JESSIE D. Dumanig, agriculturist at Cagdianao Mining Corp., says sorghum is an exciting alternative to rice. It has less sugar content that makes it healthier. He added that sorghum is easier to grow -- can be planted all year round with less water requirement – which means it could give better income for the farmers at Dinagat Islands.

I

N mining communities, the challenge has always been growing value crops in lateritic areas where the soil naturally lacks enough nutrients for them to propagate.

So, imagine the excitement at Cagdianao Mining Corp. (CMC), when sorghum, an ideal alternative to rice, starts propagating in a mined-out area.

The excitement about sorghum is shared by farmers from all over the world who think sorghum adds optimism for the industry, that despite the pandemic that stifled many commodities, exports and revenue are strong for grain sorghum.

At CMC, with operations in barangay Valencia, Dinagat Islands, value crops are successfully grown in lateritic soil such as – onions, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce and radish; and fruits such as papaya, dragon fruit, etc. But not without aggressive intervention, applying scientifically-proven agricultural processes to improve the soil nutrients in mining areas. The growing of sorghum in CMC’s mined-out area is the company’s most recent accomplishment.

CMC, a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), proudly claims that the company has its very own and dedicated agriculturist in Jessie Dagami Dumanig – a proof that as a mining company, CMC takes agriculture very seriously.

The idea of sorghum growing came to Jessie’s immediate boss, Marine Biologist Phoebe Jean G. Alac, CMC’s Environmental Manager, who started looking for seedling for other value crops when the availability of seedlings for rice became hard to come by due to the pandemic.

“The uncertainty the pandemic has brought to the communities compelled farmers to re-assess their farming techniques to ensure food security for their family, so the circulation of the seedlings became a bit controlled and were kept in smaller groups. We had to look for alternatives, and sorghum is perfect,” Alac explains.

Sorghum seeds are easily available and there is an abundance of supply available to anyone.

“We want alternatives to rice and sorghum saved the day. Sorghum is rich in fiber, protein and calcium, it’s good for the heart and bones and easy to grow and can be planted all year round with less water requirement,” Dumanig excitedly shares.

The Department of Agriculture is currently campaign for farmers to grow crops with market potential to raise their incomes and to address the threat to food security.

“Especially because of the pandemic, CMC has stepped up its efforts to protect food security by encouraging the people in the mining communities

to consider high-value crops. Sorghum is good because it can withstand heat and the dry season plus it is in demand even in international markets so we are promoting this in the communities” says Engr. Arnilo C. Milaor, Resident Mine Manager for CMC. Milaor says CMC is introducing sorghum to the communities by showcasing how the mining company is growing them its mined-out areas.

“Sorghum has no season, its grows all year round, it does not need special irrigation, the rain is enough, our only problem are the birds who love to feast on them,” says Milaor.

Dumanig is also introducing to the communities the concept of calendar farming.

“This basically means farmers would shift from being supply-oriented to demand-driven, planting and harvest will be paced accordingly to ensure continues supply of rice and/or sorghum grains plus there be income from other crops because the soil is healthy enough to yield the entire year,” explains Dumanig.

CMC is excited to promote sorghum in the communities.

“It has less sugar content compared to rice and corn, so it’s healthier. It will be in-demand soon when more people learn of its benefits, so that means good income for the farmers,” shares Dumanig.

RWM hotels now ready to accommodate guests, join HSMA’s grand online sale

HOLIDAY Inn Express (HIEx) Manila Newport City

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HREE Resorts World Manila (RWM) hotels offer major accommodation and F&B deals as part of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association’s (HSMA) September Online Sale. Huge discounts and special promos are available from Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport City (HIEx Manila), Belmont Hotel Manila, and Savoy Hotel Manila.

“The hotels in the property are now ready to accommodate guests, especially now that the Tourism Board has allowed staycations in areas under general community quarantine. We have employed enhanced and stricter health and sanitation protocols to ensure the safety of guests and employees alike,” says Kathy Mercado, RWM’s Senior Director

for Hotel Sales and Marketing. RWM underwent stringent and regular property-wide disinfection and sterilization, especially of high-touch areas, since the quarantine started.

This initiative is in line with the #PinasMunaTayo campaign, which RWM has initiated in June.

The #PinasMunaTayo campaign, a partnership with private sector groups and several government agencies, aims to boost the local tourism and businesses and advocates for a “Bayanihan” among Filipinos to support local businesses through domestic consumption on travel, food, and shopping.

HSMA September Online Sale promo period is until September 30, 2021, only. The special sale is accessible through the HSMA website at https:// hsma.org.ph/sos/.

To know more about other RWM promos and updates, visit www. rwmanila.com or follow @rwmanila on social media. Download the RWM Mobile App for free on Google App and Apple App Store.

DepEd-CAR ready to open its doors for more than 400K learners

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HE Department of Education (DepEd) - Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is all set and ready to open its doors to around 400K public school learners ahead of the opening of classes next month.

During the Readiness Shout-out or Regional Kick-Off for the New School Year held on September 23, DepEdCAR officials showcased their ongoing projects and initiatives to ensure that learning opportunities are available for all Cordilleran learners.

As of date, there are already 400,099 learners enrolled in both public and private schools with 356,907 of the total enrolment coming from government schools, 96.78 percent compared to last year’s public school enrolment.

Benguet Province incurred the highest number of enrollees with a total of 86,230 based on the total enrolment data from Schools Division Offices and the Policy, Planning, and Research Division of DepEd CAR. The province is followed by Baguio City with 75,346 and Abra with 57,888.

Ifugao province has the fourth highest enrollment with 48,108 followed by Tabuk City with 38,549 and Mt. Province with 37,179. Apayao province has 33,319 learners and Kalinga province has the least number of enrollees with 23,480.

DepEd-CAR Regional Director May B. Eclar said that the readiness of public schools in the region is due to the concerted efforts of education stakeholders in supporting as well as bringing across DepEd’s advocacies on learning continuity to all sectors.

“Our initiatives from crafting our Learning Continuity Operational Plan, training of teachers and school heads, conduct of mental health and psychosocial activities, to preparations of materials and delivery of learning packets would have gone in vain without the support of our stakeholders from all sectors of society–the ‘binnadang’ or ‘bayanihan’ spirit is very much active in this region,” RD Eclar said.

Highlighting some initiatives during her Readiness of Basic Education in CAR Address, Director Eclar cited DepEd CAR’s partnerships with the Philippine National Police Regional Office–Cordillera (PROCOR) in the delivery of instructional packets from the school to the homes and facilitation of learning for families especially in far-flung areas DepEd-CAR also got the services of the

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology for the learning of Persons Deprived of Liberty; the Armed Forces of the Philippines 503rd Infantry in the delivery of learning modules; and the Bureau of Fire Protection in the delivery of instructional packets and disinfecting of schools and offices.

“Our partnership initiative also went global with the coming in of Tata Consultancy Services, an Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company with their goIT program for grades 9 and 10 learners which is currently being piloted in the Cordillera Regional Science High School and will involve more schools offering Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics strand until April 2021,” Eclar added.

The Regional Office also recently launched its DamiKnow which is a YouTube channel that serves as an access point and repository of locally-developed and qualityassured learning resources in an audio and video formats for online and offline learning as well as the DepEd CAR Online Help Desk for engagement with stakeholders relative issues and queries.

A project to advocate health protocols in schools and offices through various means and media dubbed Project Safe Working and Learning Spaces or “Handang Paaralan, Ligtas na Kinabukasan” was likewise set in motion and tasks health personnel, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) coordinators and information officers to continuously advocate and monitor adherence to policies to mitigate COVID-19.

“All these efforts and more are linked with our division offices and at their level, concrete efforts and actions are being undertaken or operationalized,” she said.

Meanwhile, the schools' division offices, through their superintendents, gave updates on modular learning, and blended learning, TV/Radio-based instruction, psychosocial support, and mental health awareness preparation, health, and safety protocol adherence, and partnerships with their local government units.

Simultaneous division kick-off will be held on October 2 and will also be livestreamed on social media to allow provincial or division offices to showcase more of their packaged initiatives and projects at their level.

On the other hand, DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones lauded DepEd-CAR and again emphasized the importance of learning continuity despite the pandemic.

LPC enjoys portable hand-washing stations

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EN. Cynthia Villar has set up portable hand-washing stations in areas where people usually converge such as tricycle terminals, market and crowded communities to provide a way for people to keep clean outside their homes.

The portable hand-washing station is made of steel with angle bar framing and plain sheet cover. It features a stainless steel sink with faucet and liquid soap dispenser.

It is operated by foot pedal for easy handsfree washing. Water supply is tapped from the water line and the liquid hand soap is provided by the barangay. “We installed these portable stations to make sure that people who frequent crowded areas have a way to wash their hands whenever the need arises. We cannot overemphasize the fact that handwashing is the most effective way to slow down the spread of diseases, such as COVID-19,” Villar said.

As of latest count, 50 portable handwashing stations were installed in barangays in Las Pinas City. These include Ilaya (beside entrance/exit of Balite Balon and in front of Multi-purpose Madrigal); Manuyo 1 (along Tramo beside barangay outpost, Cleanville entrance and Boracay entrance); Manuyo 2 (Greenvalley entrance/ exit at Pineapple and Purok 5 Exodus St. near barangay satellite office); D. Fajardo; E. Aldana (entrance/exit at De Castro) Pulanglupa 1 (Bernabe and Evergreen); Pulanglupa 2 (Beside Health center and basketball court of St. Joseph and Entrance gate of Topsville and Sandigan); CAA (tricycle terminal–Sampaguita, Balikatan tricycle terminal, Receiver Talipapa, Pagsasarili Talipapa & Narra); Zapote (Basa 1 & Pagasa); Pamplona 1 (Florante kaliwa, BonifacioJ.P. Rizal Sts. and Long Beach); Pamplona 2 (entrance of Batibot Compound & Kaimito St., Verdant Village); Talon 1 (Talipapa at Golden Acres & Barangay Health center at Gonden Acres Annex); Talon 2 (tricycle

terminals at Sunshineville, Sta. Cecilia and Cecile’s Restaurant, Manggahan, Carvaggio, Nursery & Satima) Talon 3 (entrance at St. Louie Phase 1 and entrance at Urbanville Phase 3 Subd.); Talon 4 (entrance gates of Everlasting Homes and Christ the King); Talon 5 (Samata and Emmaus Sto. Niño); Almanza 1 (St. Mary’s Homes & San Isidro); Almanza 2 (Pugadlawin and Rebecca); Pilar (Gloria Compound Silver St. gate and Pagasa Compound Doña Josefa entrance); and Pamplona 2 (Castillo and Talango).

Around the city, people were seen excitedly lining up to try the newly-installed handwashing stations. Barangay leaders and tricycle drivers have also expressed their gratitude to Villar for this project. Villar said ten more units will be installed in other areas.The portable handwashing station is a project of Villar and her daughter, Las Pinas Rep. Camille Villar for the people of Las Pinas as a model that can be replicated by other LGUs.

Sports BusinessMirror

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 B7

SPORTS WITHOUT BORDERS Vincent Juico @VJuico Instagram vpjp_j, vince.juico@gmail.com

Fatherhood THE Miami Heat are going to the Finals—surprising many, perhaps, but not themselves. AP

Ardina falters, ties for 35th spot in Florida meet

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OTTIE ARDINA stumbled in the first of a two-Symetra Tour event buildup for the KPMG Women’s Professional Golf Association (PGA) Championship, ending up tied for 35th with a 70 in the IOA Classic won by Laura Wearn via playoff over fellow American Haylee Harford in Longwood, Florida, on Sunday.

Ardina fought back from a double-bogey mishap on No. 12 with three birdies in a five-hole stretch from No. 16 but flubbed a couple of birdie chances the rest of the way to settle for a 34-36 and a 54-hole total of two-under 211.

That was eight shots behind Wearn, who birdied the 18th in regulation to fire a 69 and force a playoff at 203 then parred the first extra hole to frustrate Harford, who carded a 70, and nail her third career crown.

Filipino-American Clariss Guce saved her best for last and shot a 68 to earn a share of 30th at 210 worth $1,275. Ardina received $1,065.

Ardina, who had two missed cut stints and a best tied for 20th finish (Marathon Classic) in the LPGA Tour this year, had aimed at a solid finish in the IOA Classic at the Alaqua Country Club where she finished tied for second in 2018 as she gears up for the LPGA’s second major—the PGA Championship in Pennsylvania from October 8 to 11.

She limped for tied for 64th in the British Women’s Open in Scotland last month and wound up joint 42nd in last week’s Portland Classic.

The Canlubang pro, meanwhile, hopes to redeem herself in the Symetra Classic firing off Thursday, also in Florida.

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AKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—It was exactly one year ago Sunday when Jimmy Butler walked into the Miami Heat practice gym, took a seat on a makeshift stage and said he wanted to be part of the team’s next title run.

He’ll have that chance.

The Heat are going to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals— surprising many, perhaps, but not themselves. Bam Adebayo scored a seasonhigh 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Butler scored 22 points and the Heat won the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth time by topping the Boston Celtics, 125113, on Sunday night.

“This group, more than anything, they just love to compete,” Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said during the trophy celebration.

The Heat won the series 4-2—and now, they’ll see LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for the title. Game One of that series is Wednesday night.

Tyler Herro scored 19 points, Duncan Robinson and Andre Iguodala each had 15 and Goran Dragic added 13 for the Heat.

Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 24 and a career-high 11 assists, and Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker each scored 20 points for Boston—which fell in the East finals for the

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

Amputee duathlete Patrick Lee, wearing a national cycling team jersey replica, makes the peace sign to BusinessMirror photographer Bernard Testa as he descends Marilaque Highway from Antipolo City on Sunday. Interestingly, Lee observes health protocols amid the Covid-19 pandemic by wearing a face mask—even while physically distanced on the road.

HEAT MAKE NBA FINALS third time in the last four seasons.

Miami was down by six early in the fourth before regaining control. A 6-0 burst—Herro had the last five of those points, needing only 31 seconds to do so—tied it at 96. Boston took the lead twice more, with Adebayo answering both times, first with a dunk, then a goahead three-point play with 6:16 left.

He smacked the floor in celebration.

It’s like they knew what was coming.

They never trailed again. Herro had a pair of baskets in a 9-0 burst that put the Heat up by 10, Adebayo found Butler for a layup and a 116-102 lead everyone on the Heat bench

was on their feet.

The Heat are the only NBA franchise with six Finals appearances in the last 15 years. They’re seeking their fourth title, and this chance didn’t come easily.

The Heat had a 5-for-5 stretch from three-point range in the first quarter, but otherwise struggled again from beyond the arc in the first half. They were 6 for 14 from deep in the first 24 minutes, Boston was 11 for 23 before the break and the Heat took a 62-60 lead into halftime.

And the margin remained two going into the fourth.

Iguodala’s fourth 3-pointer—in

as many attempts—with 4:20 left in the third put the Heat up eight, before Brown had five points in a 10-2 Boston spurt to tie it. Dragic had a go-ahead layup on Miami’s final shot of the quarter and it was 88-86 Heat with 12 minutes remaining.

The Celtics scored 10 of the first 12 points of the fourth, surviving a scare in there as well when Brown took an ugly fall after scoring in transition. Brown thought Butler took him out at the legs, no foul was called and—after the Celtics’ medical staff checked out his left knee—Brown stayed in. AP

PBA: BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY IN CLARK

THREE weeks ago, I became a father and I think I speak for all first-time fathers when I say that the experience and feeling is surreal.

Your priorities and perspective changes. Your view of life and the world changes. You now enter a world and a life of worry and paranoia but an eternity of joy and happiness.

In sports, a lot of successful fathers have advised, guided, taught and mentored their sons and daughters into whether intentionally or unintentionally, follow in their footsteps.

First that comes to my mind is former National Basketball Association (NBA) sharpshooter Dell Curry and his famous son, Steph or Stephen of the Golden State Warriors. Steph has carved quite a career for himself so far and at still a young age, has his whole life and career ahead of him and still has plenty of basketball left to be played.

According to yardbarker.com, “Dell had a fine NBA career, even winning Sixth Man of the Year. And yet to many, he is best known as the father of Steph and Seth Curry. Seth is a fine player, one of the best three-point shooters ever by percentage, but Steph is on his way to being a Hall of Famer. Dell is primarily seen these days in the stands rooting on his sons.“ All father-son and father-daughter journeys are different and unique. My relationship with my daughter will be dictated by how me and my wife raise her, and we will try our hardest to raise her to be pleasing to the Lord’s eyes.

My guess about Dell’s relationship with his son Steph is that he gave Steph a lot of room to choose and make choices. Dell was there to guide him even in times of poor decisions Steph has made, which don’t seem to be a lot.

If God forbid, my daughter trips or falls or stumbles, I will not chastise her or make her wrong, but I will ask her if she wants to stop or if she wants to continue, I can tell her what may happen at the arrival of either decision, but it will still be her choice.

I wouldn’t want her to give up easily though.

I’d like to think I speak for all the fathers and parents out there when I say, we’ll do everything humanly possible to raise them the right way and hope they turn out alright.

Casimero in forum

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ORLD Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero banners an all-boxing discussion in the online session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday.

Fresh from his thirdround demolition of Ghana’s Duke Micah to retain his 118-lb crown, Casimero will be accompanied by Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions President Sean Gibbons to talk about the plans for the 30-year-old pride of Ormoc City.

Also on the menu is the first “bubble” boxing to be held in the country on October 7 in Mandaue City. Cebuano promoter Joe Romero and two of his fighters will grace the 10 a.m. sports program to expound on the first fight promotion in the Philippines since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The weekly Forum is presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and powered by Smart with Upstream Media as official webcast partner.

The session is livestreamed via the PSA Facebook page fb.com/ PhilippineSportswritersAssociation and also shared by Radyo Pilipinas Facebook page.

MAGNOLIA Hotshots players undergo Covid-19 tests upon their arrival at the Quest Hotel at the Clark Freeport Zone as a hotel personnel disinfects the team members’ luggage and bags. PHOTOS BY CDC-CD

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AGNOLIA and Meralco team members arrived one after the other in Clark on Monday and everyone had to undergo another round of swab testing for Covid-19, prompting Hotshots Head Coach Chito Victolero to say he couldn’t anymore remember how many times his team underwent the procedure.

“I just can’t remember anymore how many times we were tested,” Victolero told BusinessMirror in a phone interview from

the lobby of the Quest Hotel, the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) home for the next 49 days in the bubble at the freeport zone.

But for a league that was shuttered for seven months and clamoring to resume its stunted 45th season, it’s better to be safe than sorry as the country still counts virus infections to the thousands each day.

“It was like the regular thing upon our arrival—checked in at the hotel and asked for

our details,” Victolero said. “The difference was— and what we all anticipated—we went directly to QR [coding] and sanitation and we lined up for another swab testing even though we already had one last Wednesday.”

“We have been tested [again] and we will have to remain in our rooms for two days until the results come out. Practices are scheduled for Wednesday,” the Bolts’ Coach Norman Black said through a text message.

Everyone on the bubble will have to be confined to their hotel rooms for two days until the tests results are available.

After that, the team members who test negative can roam the hotel and use its amenities, including the golf course and swimming pool.

Alibaba Cloud digitalizes events via AI solutions

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LIBABA Cloud launched recently the Fan Video Hub to enable sports fans from all over the world to support their favorite teams and athletes more personally regardless of their location.

The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology could act as an efficient aggregator, collecting and filtering realtime videos uploaded by fans from all over the world to a variety of social network platforms, before broadcasting them onto designated online platforms, or in venues

where the event being enjoyed is going on.

Organizers of sports events could initiate special projects, encouraging fans to create motivating and personalized videos that will eventually be displayed in sports stadiums.

“As a global leading cloud service provider, we are excited to see our mature technology innovations to be used to support the digital transformation of some of the largest international sports events,” said Selina Yuan, president of International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

“For example, with Alibaba Cloud’s trusted infrastructure and services, we are able to work with stadiums and event managers to create even more thrilling and immersive experiences for fans, wherever they’re based,” Yuan said.

“More importantly, health and safety has to be front of mind at all venues and events, and our solutions help event organizers deliver on their post-pandemic responsibilities through reduced and unnecessary travel,” she added.

Scrimmages will start on Thursday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in nearby Angeles City.

Also arriving in the bubble on Monday were Phoenix Super LPG, TNT Tropang Giga and Terra Firma Dyip. Due on Tuesday are NorthPort, San Miguel Beer, NLEX, Rain or Shine, Blackwater, Alaska and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

There will be a total of 90 games in the bubble as the PBA restarts the Philippine Cup on October 11 also at the Angeles University Foundation Gym. No one will be allowed to leave the bubble with violators being fined P100,000 by the league. On top of the fine, a player who breaks the rules will be suspended for five games next season.

The bubble closes on October 11.

Yuan said the company wanted to maximize the thrill of sporting achievements, while enabling event organizers to work safely and even more efficiently with fans and global broadcasters.”

Alibaba Cloud is committed to digitalizing sports events. In September 2018, together with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), Alibaba Cloud launched OBS cloud, which was developed to transform the process for bringing the Olympic Games to viewers.

Alibaba Cloud is also the official cloud services partner of the International Olympic Committee.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Tuesday, September 29, 2020

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

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MOLA, Italy —Julian Alaphilippe soloed to victory at the road cycling world championships on Sunday, becoming France’s first holder of the rainbow jersey since 1997.

Alaphilippe had time to punch the air before raising his arms above his head as he crossed the finish line on Imola’s auto racing circuit to finish first in the men’s road race.

Belgian rider Wout van Aert won a sprint for second, 24 seconds behind Alaphilippe, with Marc Hirschi of Switzerland third at the end of the tough course.

It was an emotional win for Alaphilippe, whose father died in June, and the 28-yearold was in tears after he crossed the line and on the podium.

“At this moment it’s really hard to say something,” he said. “I want to say thank you to all my teammates who really believe in me today. Everybody did a great job.

“It was a dream of my career. Sometimes, I was so close, and I was never on the podium.

I came here with a lot of ambition and it’s just a dream day for me,” he added.

Laurent Brochard was the last French rider to win the world road race title.

The final race of the championships featured a total of 5,000 meters climbing in 258.2 kilometers. Nine laps of a circuit started and finished on the city’s auto racing track.

There were two brutal climbs on each lap—the Mazzolano and the Cima Gallisterna—and Alaphilippe attacked on the final ascent of the Gallisterna, with 12 kilometers remaining.

He swiftly established a slim advantage over a world-class chase group and held them off to secure victory.

The race took place exactly a week after the Tour de France ended with Tadej Pogacar becoming the youngest winner in the event’s 116-year history.

The 22-year-old Slovenian led Sunday’s race into the final lap, with an advantage of about 20 seconds, after attacking with just over 40 kilometers remaining.

However, Pogacar was caught by the peloton on the Mazzolano.

The worlds were moved to Imola after Swiss host Aigle-Martigny backed out because of a government ruling limiting mass gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The revised event featured only elite men’s and women’s categories, eliminating junior and under-23 races.

BACH ALL PRAISES FOR CYCLING

INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach praised cycling for showing that major events like the Tour de France and World Championships can be held during the Covid-19 pandemic, with an IOC task force keen to learn from cycling to help ensure the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games go ahead.

Bach spoke to international media, including Cyclingnews, in Imola while attending the road race World Championships. He again insisted the Tokyo Olympic Games would be held in July next year, admitting that different scenario exist depending on the status of the Covid-19 pandemic next summer and on the availability of a vaccine.

Road, track, BMX, BMX Freestyle and mountain bike events will all be part of

Wawrinka sends Murray home in champs’ duel at French Open

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ARIS—That Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka were back together on Court Philippe Chatrier, all these years and operations later, was something of an accomplishment—not to mention a rare first-round matchup between past Grand Slam champions.

Only one, Wawrinka, played like it.

Having no trouble smacking his onehanded backhand and other strokes through the thick air as the fall-time French Open got going Sunday, the barrel-chested Wawrinka needed just 97 minutes to overwhelm Murray, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

The six games collected by Murray equaled the fewest he has managed in any of his 237 career Grand Slam matches—that also happened in a loss at Roland Garros in 2014 against 12-time champion Rafael Nadal.

“I’ll need to have a long, hard think,” said Murray, ranked 111th as he works his way back from two hip surgeries, “and try and understand what happened.”

One big problem: He didn’t serve well, putting only 36 percent of his first serves in play.

Another: He didn’t return particularly well either and won only 25 percent of points in Wawrinka’s service games.

Murray said those things weren’t related to his artificial hip.

“It’s going to be difficult for me to play the same level as I did before. I mean, I’m 33 now and I was ranked No. 1 in the world, so it’s difficult with all the issues that I have had,” Murray said. “But, yeah, I’ll keep going. Let’s see what the next few months holds, and I reckon I won’t play a match like that between now and the end of the year.”

This was the first time two men with Grand Slam titles—Murray and Wawrinka each own three such trophies—played each other in the first round at Roland Garros since Yevgeny Kafelnikov against Michael Chang in 1999, and at any major tournament since Novak Djokovic faced Juan Carlos Ferrero at Wimbledon in 2012.

Murray and Wawrinka met in the 2017 semifinals in Paris and neither has been quite the same since.

“Many things happened to him,” said the 35-year-old Wawrinka, who is seeded 16th.

“To me, also.”

But 2015 French Open champion Wawrinka’s road back from two procedures on his knee has been less arduous than Murray’s journey.

And Wawrinka’s path in Paris continues for at least another match.

the Tokyo Games, with the men’s road race scheduled for July 24, six days after the end of the Tour de France. The women’s race is scheduled for July 25, followed by the time trials and then track racing.

“Cycling has played a very particular role. There was the Tour de France and now the World Championships, the two most complex events so far at international level. The success of these events gives us and the entire sports movement a lot of confidence. I’d like to thank the UCI [International Cycling Union] for taking on this responsibility and organizing in a very responsible way,” Bach said.

“It makes all us very confident because we’ve seen in the last couple of months that you can big sporting events in a safe environment, even without a vaccine,” he added.

Bach has always defended his determination to hold the Tokyo Games. After they were postponed to 2021, he is hoping a vaccine and rapid testing can help ensure the Games go ahead but is aware the Covid-19 pandemic is still evolving.

Bach is simplifying the Olympics and refuted a tag of the “Pandemic Games” for Tokyo.

“Tokyo will not be the Pandemic Games,

GAUFF OUSTS 9TH-SEEDED FOE

PREPPING in the relative warmth of a gym before heading out with leggings and long sleeves to make her French Open debut against the tournament’s No. 9 seed, Coco Gauff got a pep talk from Dad. “His goal was to become an NBA [National Basketball Association] player, and he didn’t make it.

He told me: ‘You’re living your

ANDY MURRAY: I’ll need to have a long, hard think and try and understand what happened. AP

IT’S an emotional win for Julian Alaphilippe, whose father died in June, and the 28-year-old falls into tears after he crosses the line and on the podium. AP

dream. Not everybody gets to do that. Just have fun on the court.’ That really changed my perspective,” the 16-year-old Gauff recounted. “I was really nervous going into the match. That just calmed me down. I realized it’s just a tennis match. I’m doing some things that people wish they could do.”

On a rather unusual start to things at Roland Garros—postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Day 1 arrived in September instead of May, with only 1,000 spectators allowed instead of more than 30,000 as Covid-19 cases rise in France—Gauff offered the latest proof that she can do most of what she wishes to on a tennis court.

Using forehand slices to throw off her older, more experienced opponent, and unbothered by her own 12 double-faults, Gauff stayed steady at the most crucial moments to beat Johanna Konta, 6-3, 6-3, and reach the second round.

This was already Gauff’s fourth victory over an opponent ranked in the Top 20.

Such a far cry from last year’s French Open: Gauff failed to make it out of qualifying, while Konta was making her way to her third Grand Slam semifinal.

Soon after, Gauff had her breakthrough at Wimbledon, becoming, at 15, the youngest qualifier ever there on the way to the fourth round.

She also made it to the fourth round at this year’s Australian Open, beating 2019 champion Naomi Osaka en route.

Only recently was there a bit of a bump in the road for Gauff: She lost four of five matches before arriving in Paris, including a firstround exit at the US Open.

“When I’m on the court, I can act like I’m used to it,” she said. “When I’m off the court, I’m just happy to be here.”

Gauff joked afterward about having grown up in Florida and Georgia and not being accustomed to the sort of weather this French Open is being played in, with drizzles and temperatures in the 50s Fahrenheit.

She figured she hadn’t competed with so many layers of clothing on since she was 10. OK, not that long ago in the scheme of things, but still.

Konta, a 29-year-old from Britain who showed up to her news conference wearing a puffy red coat, observed: “Kind of as rainy and windy and rubbish weather like it is at home.” AP

they will be Games fit for the post-corona world,” he said. “We have to adapt to the new world we are living in. This will have an influence on the Games but they will keep their character of uniting the entire world.”

UCI President David Lappartient sat quietly as Bach spoke to the media. He has to secure the much-sought IOC member status and so was happy to hear Bach praise the role cycling will have in a postCovid-19 pandemic world.

“Cycling is a very important sport and the importance of cycling has grown tremendously in the last couple of months. If you look at the exploding number of people cycling, be it in real life, be it virtually, then you see a growing popularity. We hope this also extends to some Continents in the world where there is potential for cycling to grow,” Bach said.

Bach only had one caveat: the sustainability of velodromes built or used for the Olympics. To save costs, the track cycling and mountain bike events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will take place in Izu, some 120 kms away from the Japanese capital.

“It means prioritizing the use of existing venues. The velodrome can be the center of an Olympic park or outside. The priority is for sustainability,” he said. AP and Insidethegames

Govt to Premier League: Help struggling clubs

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ONDON—The British government increased the pressure on the Premier League on Sunday to provide financial assistance for football clubs struggling financially in lower divisions, with supporters still not allowed into stadiums.

Premier League clubs will hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss whether to provide further funds to the English Football League, which features 72 clubs across three divisions.

“We’re all agreed the Premier League needs to step up to the plate and they’re having intensive discussions with the EFL over how they can support those clubs,” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told broadcaster Sky News on Sunday. “The direction is clear, we understand the Premier League needs to play its part. I’m in close consultation with them and I’m hopeful they will be able to reach a deal and provide that level of support.”

The EFL has estimated that its 72 clubs will lose £200 million ($255 million) if there are no crowds for the rest of this season, which began earlier this month. The EFL said they have lost £50 million during last season’s pandemic disruption.

Fears about a second wave of coronavirus infections forced the government to abandon plans to start letting spectators back into

sports events from October, denying clubs a key source of revenue.

“We keep the situation under constant review,” Dowden said. “We are also investigating the use of new technology, working with the clubs who have done a fantastic job until now.

“If it’s all possible of course I would like it to happen [for fans to return], but, in this rapidly moving situation with the virus, we just need to exercise a little bit of caution which is what we’ve done in relation to October 1. Most people would agree against this backdrop of rapidly rising cases now is not the time to bring back crowds.”

Last season, the Premier League’s 20 clubs agreed to advance funds of £125 million ($150 million) to clubs in the EFL and fifth-tier National League. AP

BOTTAS TOPS RUSSIAN GP, HAMILTON MISSES F1 RECORD

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OCHI, Russia—Lewis Hamilton’s toughest opponents in the Russian Grand Prix weren’t even on the track. They were in the stewards’ office.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas cruised to the win Sunday after Hamilton, who was leading, was penalized 10 seconds for practicing his starts in the wrong place before the race.

Hamilton came into the race looking to match Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins in Formula One but had to settle for third behind Bottas and Max Verstappen. Bottas built a sizeable lead over Verstappen with ease and eased to his first win since the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was already under investigation by the stewards when he started the race from pole position. Before the race he twice stopped to perform practice starts at the exit of the pit lane, rather than in the designated area.

That eventually earned him two five-second penalties, dropping him as low as 11th at one stage.

Hamilton said he and Mercedes were under “a lot of scrutiny” from officials and that it sometimes felt as if that they were being targeted by the stewards “to keep the racing exciting” because of their dominant position in the championship.

“It feels like we’re fighting uphill. But it’s OK. It’s not like I haven’t faced adversity before.

So we just keep our heads down and keep fighting and keep trying to do a better job and be cleaner and squeaky clean,” he said.

Hamilton had asked Mercedes over the radio if he could perform the starts at the pit exit, and was told he could. He later said he had been doing similar practice starts “for years,” though not in Sochi. The designated zone had too much rubber left from other drivers’ tires and was “not representative of what it’s like on the grid,” he said.

It was the second time in three races that a miscommunication with Mercedes cost the British driver a shot at victory. Hamilton was leading at the Italian Grand Prix when he was given a penalty for entering the pit lane while it was closed, after a radio message from the team warning him was sent too late.

Hamilton’s championship lead over Bottas was cut to a still-healthy 44 points with seven scheduled races remaining on a calendar heavily modified because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bottas, who also claimed the bonus point for fastest lap, said he wanted to “thank my critics” after ending a run of eight races without a win despite having, with Hamilton, by far the fastest car.

“There’s been people telling me that, you know, I should not bother and I should give up. But you know how I am. I will never do that,” he said.

He tried to take the lead off Hamilton at the start using the slipstream but braked too late for the second turn, allowing Hamilton to retake first. Bottas later said a “massive bee or something” had obstructed his vision at the crucial moment.

Two first-lap crashes brought out the safety car as McLaren’s Carlos Sainz clipped a barrier while trying to rejoin the track from a run-off area and Lance Stroll’s Racing Point span into a barrier after contact with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Russia allowed far larger crowds than at any other round of the F1 season to date. Fans wore masks in stands filled to around half of normal capacity and had their temperatures measured when entering the venue, Organizers said 30,000 people on average were in the Olympic Park that includes the track for each day of the race weekend. That’s more than 10 times the previous highest daily attendance for an F1 race this season, set at Mugello earlier in the month. AP

Valtteri Bottas cruises to the win on Sunday. AP