Manila Standard - 2020 April 7 - Tuesday

WITH CASES SPIKE TO 3,660, GOV'T WAVERS ON LIFTING LOCKDOWN

By Macon Ramos-Araneta, Othel V. Campos and Vito Barcelo

cases in the country grew to 3,660 on Monday, with 414 new cases and a total of 163 deaths since March 8, when only 10 cases were recorded by the Department of Health.

THE number of coronavirus-positive Eleven new deaths to COVID-19

IN LIGHT OF THE HOLY WEEK, MANILA STANDARD WILL NOT PRODUCE ITS ONLINE EDITION STARTING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8. WE WILL RESUME OUR ONLINE EDITION ON EASTER MONDAY, APRIL 13. WE WILL CONTINUE TO POST NEWS UPDATES ON OUR WEBSITE, MANILASTANDARD.NET, THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK.

were recorded yesterday, along with nine new recoveries to bring the total to 73, the DOH announced via televised press conference.

The continued rise in the number of positive cases is one reason why Health

Secretary Francisco Duque III said it was too early to say if the Luzon-wide lockdown to control the pandemic should be extended.

He emphasized that the country Next page

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM APRIL 6)

3,660

NUMBER OF CASES

163 DEATHS

73

RECOVERIES

414

NEW CASES VOL. XXXIV • NO. 54 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Confusion mars subsidy delivery President to address concern, Nograles says poor aid target

By Vito Barcelo and Willie Casas

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte, anxious over the impact of the pandemic over his countrymen, will address the concerns hampering the swift delivery of the emergency subsidy for low-income households, Senate President Vicente Sotto III has disclosed.

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“I was on the phone with [Finance] Secretary [Carlos] Dominguez and we discussed the issues being pointed out by the senators getting their feedback from the mayors,” Sotto said in a message to reporters on Sunday.

At the same time, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles addressed concerns raised by many elderly that pensioners were excluded from the government’s

READY FOR USE. Health Secretary

Francisco Duque III (inset center) on Monday joins other inspectors in walking the hallways of the quarantine facility built at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila, which is ready to accept coronavirus patients this week. Manned by the AFP Medical Corps, the facility houses 112 beds and was built with private partners Prime BMD and the Razon group. Norman Cruz

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Big facilities ready to open as quarantine

EU turns tide as US in for more deaths LONDON—Europe’s hardest-hit nations saw some tentative signs of hope in the fight against the coronavirus Monday but the United States braced for its “Pearl Harbor moment” as the country’s death toll raced towards 10,000.

The virus has infected virtually every corner of the planet, confining nearly half of humanity to their homes and turning life upside down for billions on a deadly march that has claimed nearly 70,000 victims.

Queen Elizabeth II delivered only her fourth emergency address in a 68-year reign to urge Britain and Commonwealth nations to “remain united and resolute” as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalized with the disease.

But there was cause for cheer in some European hotspots, with Italy reporting its lowest death toll in two Next page

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

RELIEF WORK. Philippine Army personnel work with residents of Barangay Pinagsama in Taguig City to unload donations from the

A LAWYER has asked the Justice department to prosecute Senator Aquilino Pimentel III for his alleged violation of quarantine laws when he ignored his self-quarantine for a suspected and later-confirmed coronavirus infection.

In his Facebook post on Monday, Rico Quicho said he had emailed the department a letter-complaint against Pimentel “detailing the clear facts and circumstances that establish his direct violation of RA [Republic Act] 11332 and its implementing rules and other [Health department] regulations.”

Pimentel said he had yet to read the

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Asian Development Bank and the private sector. JJR Josue

Lawyer pushes rap against Pimentel

By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE Rizal Memorial Coliseum, the Philippine International Convention Center and World Trade Center Metro Manila are due to open this week as community quarantine facilities for COVID-19, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said after visiting the sites Monday.The three sites are among several sports complexes and convention centers being converted into community quarantine facilities to accommodate the rising number of suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Initially, Duque said all three community quarantine facilities will admit COVID-19 positive patients who are asymptomatic or those with mild symptoms only.

“This protocol may change depending

complaint.

“Haven’t read it. To be fair to me he could have furnished me with a copy so I could respond,” the former Senate President said.

“DOJ [Department of Justice], I think, will find a way to give me a copy.

This e-mail filing is new and I am not familiar with the procedure.”

Pimentel is said to be recovering from his COVID-19 infection but refuses to say if he is home or in a hospital.

Earlier, he vowed to reply to the charges to be filed against him over his alleged violations of the government’s home- quarantine protocols to contain the spread of COVID-19.

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Asian Hospital doctor latest fatality on frontline vs. COVID-19

By Willie Casas, Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta ANOTHER doctor has died of COVID-19, bringing fatalities among physicians to at least 17, the Philippine Medical Association said Monday.

News of the death of Dr. Mary Grace Lim, 40, came as the government said all public health workers on the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19 are entitled to a special risk allowance (SRA) of up

to 25 percent of their monthly basic pay.In a Facebook post Monday, the Asian Hospital and Medical Center announced Lim’s death.

“Sorrow befalls upon our hospital as we have lost one of our own in the fight against this pandemic, Dr. Mary Grace Lim,” the Facebook post said.

“Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family of our fallen hero. We have lost a remarkable doctor, a good friend, and mentor to our budding health care workers. Asian Hospital, especially the Department of Emergency Medicine and Quality Next page

Dr. Mary Grace Lim

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News

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020

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PH oil firms roll back prices again “PTT Philippines to implement the following price rollbacks effective 6am Tuesday, April 7, 2020: Gasoline, P0.35/liter and diesel, P0.70/liter,” PTT Philippines said.

Other companies that also cut pump prices include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Seaoil Philippines, PetroGazz,

Flying V, among others.

Unioil Philippines announced in its advisory over the weekend it expects fuel prices to go down for the week of April 7 to 13.

“Diesel should go down around P0.70 per liter. Gasoline should go down around P0.35 per liter,” the company said.

This is the fifth weekly consecutive oil price rollback, reflecting the global slowdown in demand due to COVID-19.

World oil prices have been on a downtrend as countries become severely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19), prompting demand to fall significant as people stay at home to avoid being infected.

“Looking forward, Asia’s oil demand is expected to see some recovery in the second half due to various stimulus measures introduced by various governments in the region and the outbreak starts to ease,” the Energy Department said in its monitoring report.

On March 31, the country’s oil firms cut the price of gasoline by P2 per liter,

Confusion... two-month emergency subsidy program.

Nograles said Monday the target beneficiaries of the aid were the poor who were not receiving any pension to help them stand up to the effects of the coronavirus.

In related developments, League of Cities of the Philippines president Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia is seeking the help of Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista to issue a clear and specific statement on the beneficiaries qualified under the DSWD guidelines to receive financial assistance from the government.

Leonardia said in a two-page letter to Bautista there was a “growing perception” and misinterpretation through the mass media that there is enough budget to “cover all lower-income households.”

Meanwhile, League of Provinces of the Philippines president Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. on Monday said the distribution of social amelioration benefits under the DSWD was becoming “problematic.”

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, heard nationwide, Velasco urged local government units to only include families qualified based on DSWD’s circular.

He pointed out that some residents were expecting all of them would receive the P5,000 to P8,000 aid earmarked for households affected by the Luzon Enhanced Community Quarantine.

Citing the DSWD memorandum cir-

cular, Velasco noted that the program prioritized beneficiaries of 4Ps, informal economy workers, and other households in vulnerable sectors.

Nograles said while the elderly or senior citizens were among the target beneficiaries of the program, they should come from low-income families.

“Pensioners are not included in the low-income families. So, the first criteria (sic) is low-income families and among the low-income families, priority is senior citizens,” he said in a virtual press briefing.

In his message to reporters, Sotto said: “All are well taken and, in fact, he called (me up) to tell me that the President wanted to inform us that they will straighten out the confusion brought about by the database of the Department of Social Welfare and Development that does not tally with local government units database.”

The subsidies, ranging from P5,000 to P8,000, aim to benefit 18 million poor Filipino families, including beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said 18 million families were expected to receive cash assistance on top of food packs.

Guidelines released by the DSWD on the social amelioration program state that families entitled to the cash grant would be approached by representatives of their respective local government units.

Aside from the elderly from low-income families, beneficiaries also include homeless Filipinos, “no work, no pay” workers, farmers and fishermen, and driv-

ers of public utility vehicles.

In his message, Sotto also said: “One of our suggestions is to broaden the coverage of the cash subsidy or amelioration. I know what he will say but let’s leave it to him tomorrow (Monday).”

In his first report to Congress Monday last, the President said the Department of Finance would “provide technical assistance to the DSWD in forming a consolidated database that will host COVID-19 social amelioration programs.”

“The database will be derived from existing beneficiary lists submitted by government agencies and LGUs, and will be used to determine the subsidy amounts for household beneficiaries,” the report said.

Bautista had said more than 700 Parañaque residents were among those who first received the P8,000 cash aid in Metro Manila last Friday.

Poor families in other regions are also qualified to receive cash assistance based on their daily minimum wage.

In the national capital, DSWD said Monday residents of Metro Manila would receive lockdown cash aid before April 9, Maundy Thursday, four weeks into the month-long lockdown to check the pandemic.

Some 18 million families in Luzon that barangay officials selected as beneficiaries would receive P8,000 each under the Bayanihan Heal as One Act. There have also been reports that the distribution of assistance in provinces have encountered initial delays due to difficulty in consolidating data on beneficiaries from island towns.

The DSWD revised its protocol to al-

low the distribution pending the submission of requirements, Bautista told dzMM, beamed nationwide.

Amid all these efforts exerted by the government, the labor group Associated Labor Unions lauded the government’s move to increase the budget of the Department of Labor and Employment intended for cash assistance and cash for work schemes for formal and informal sector workers who were rendered unemployed by the Enhanced Community Quarantine.

“The additional budget will help minimize restiveness among a huge swath of unemployed employees and their families desperate for cash assistance and those on the brink of starvation and poverty,” ALU executive vice president Gerard Seno said.

He said adding more budget into efforts of government to help workers get by the ECQ period will also put the country’s workforce at the heart of priorities of the nation’s battle to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

However, Seno said there was still a wide deficit on the number of beneficiaries who have yet to receive the cash dole three weeks into the lockdown due to constraints in payroll submission and other stringent requirements.

Meanwhile, Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro pushed yet once more for fast tracking the social amelioration programs like those after the Yolanda typhoon and the Bohol earthquake.

“The administration should learn the lessons of past aid programs: end the dilly-dallying and cut the red tape…”

Castro said.

Big...

With cases...

Since the government’s capacity to conduct testing has increased, he said it would be best to extend the ECQ so positive cases can be effectively isolated from the rest of the community.

"Let me remind everyone that we are up against an invisible deadly enemy.

Going out of your house remains dangerous at this time," said Go, chairman of the Senate health committee.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said he, too, is in favor of extending the current enhanced community quarantine to April 30.

“We are only beginning to see data of symptoms post-quarantine. And I see some data that shows it is effective.

But [it’s] too early to tell. An extra two weeks would help," Drilon said.

However, he said the food supply and movement of essential goods and services must be ensured during those two additional weeks.

"We can consider relaxing ECQ during May 1 to May 30. Still no travel to and from Luzon. Still no malls, churches, mass gatherings," he said.

He said some establishments and transport modes could also be opened next month to help people regain income.

More retail and consumer services could resume by June, he added.

Senator Joel Villanueva is also in favor of an extension of the lockdown.

He said the increasing incidence of COVID cases indicates that the pan-

demic is not yet over.

"At the same time, we have to consult our supply chain experts as we need to probably exempt some sectors in this lockdown, especially the food, manufacturing and delivery sector," he added.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said it would be best to relax the enhanced community quarantine only when the infection rate of the virus is proven to have decreased.

He added that mass testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients would be significant factors.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian likewise echoed Recto's view on mass testing, saying the implementation of the month-long quarantine would be wasted without mass testing.

"Mass testing of persons under monitoring and persons under investigation is the only way to determine if we are winning the war or not. Without mass testing, we are totally blind," he added.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said his department may endorse another twoweek extension of the enhanced community quarantine and gradual or modified lifting of the measure after that.

“I am for the extension as I don’t want to see a relapse and lose the gains of the ECQ. (We) need to see the flattening of the curve, and more health and isolation facilities, then followed by gradual lifting of other essential and job generating sectors,” he said Monday.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

HE country’s oil firms cut pump prices anew by P0.75 per liter for kerosene, P0.70 per liter for diesel and P0.35 per liter for gasoline to reflect the movement of oil prices in the world market.

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on the number of PUIs (persons under investigation) and PUMs (persons under monitoring), “ he said.

If a patient’s condition worsens, Duque said, he or she will be immediately taken to a hospital for proper management and treatment.

He said PICC can accommodate up to 294 patients, WTCMM can admit 502, and Rizal Memorial Coliseum can accept 112.

The PICC facility will be managed by the Philippine National Police Medical Corps while WTCMM will be managed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Both the PNP and AFP will supervise the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Duque said the DOH health care workforce will also be supporting these three quarantine facilities.

The conversion of the three quarantine facilities is a collaboration between government and private sector, composed of the DOH, Department of Public Works and Highways, the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the Bases Conversion Development Authority.

The DOH also cited the publicprivate partnership of The Medical City and Pasig City Children’s Hospital where “moderate” COVID-19 cases will be transferred to the PCCH so that more advanced facilities in TMC can be used to attend to severe cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire and TMC CEO Dr. Eugenio Jose F. Ramos discussed how TMC will serve as the acute care center for severe COVID cases while the PCCH’s 63-bed capacity will take care of mild to moderate adult cases.

She said staffing adjustments will also be made to facilitate the arrangement.

The pediatrics staff of PCCH will be transferred to other hospitals for nonCOVID cases. Adult medical doctor frontliners from other Pasig hospitals will be asked to be part of the PCCH, which will be designated as the Pasig City COVID Hospital.

“Many of our hospitals expressed interest in replicating this partnership in their areas,” Vergeire said.

The Health department on Monday appealed to the public not to discriminate against patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 or health care workers.

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could not afford to relax the government restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus disease.

Several senators, meanwhile, said they support an extension of the lockdown until the number of new COVID-19 cases begins to drop.

Duque on Monday said they could not tell if the number of cases has peaked, and said health officials needed another four or five days to establish a clear trend in COVID-19 infections.

He cited the need for sufficient epidemiological data due to an earlier lack of testing kits.

"So we still do not have a true picture of the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines," he said.

Because of this, Duque said it was too early to say how long would the Luzonwide community quarantine should last.

Under the enhanced community quarantine, the public has been urged to stay home, but three weeks into the lockdown, some residents are complaining they are running out of food and have no income because they cannot go to work.

Senator Chriatopher Go said he favors extending the Enhanced Community Quarantine for a few more weeks until the number of COVID-19 cases start to drop substantially.

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“I will respond to the specific allegations in due time after we read them,” he said.

On the same day, he announced he had tested positive for COVID-19, Pimentel accompanies his wife to the Makati Medical Center when he should have been under quarantine.

The hospital condemned his action.

Pimentel said he learned of his COVID-19 test result when he was already in the hospital, but then he left immediately and then apologized.

RA 11332 prohibits the “non-cooperation of persons or entities that should report and/or respond to notifiable diseases

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weeks, Spanish fatalities dropping for the third straight day and France seeing its fewest dead in a week.

“The curve has started its descent and the number of deaths has started to drop,” said top Italian health official Silvio Brusaferro, adding the next phase could be a gradual easing of a strict month-long lockdown.

kerosene by P1.95 per liter and P0.50 per liter for diesel.

Last March 24, the oil firms cut the price of gasoline and kerosene by P3.50 per liter and diesel by P2 per liter.

On March 17, the oil companies implemented price rollbacks of P4.25 per liter for gasoline and diesel, and P4.35 to P4.50 per liter for kerosene.

A week before that, the oil firms also cut gasoline prices by P1.20 per liter, kerosene by P1.05 per liter and diesel by P0.75 per liter.

Year-to-date adjustments stand at a net decrease of P14.72 per liter for gasoline, P13.39 per liter for diesel and P18.20 per liter for kerosene, according to latest data from the Energy department.

or health events of public concern.”

Violators face a fine of P20,000 to P50,000 and imprisonment of one to six months or both.

“As a lawyer and advocate of the Rule of Law, I cannot in good conscience allow the reckless actions of Senator Koko Pimentel to be brushed aside so easily,” Quicho said.

“He blatantly violated laws that put the lives and health of front liners and even ordinary citizens at grave risk.”

Quicho said Pimentel had admitted his breach “without remorse,” and yet “because of his position he is still not being made accountable.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Monday the complaint filed by Quicho against Pimentel would be promptly acted upon.

In Spain, nurse Empar Loren said: “The situation is more stable. The number of patients in intensive care is not growing much anymore, and we are starting to discharge quite a few.”

At a field hospital set up at a Madrid conference center, staff applauded whenever a patient was healthy enough to be sent home.

Builder Eduardo Lopez, 59, gave a “10/10” rating to the staff who cared for him “with tenderness and a great dose of

humanity.”

‘9/11 moment’ But while the curve was bending in Europe, there was little sign of let-up in the United States, where the death toll approached 10,000 and authorities warned worse was around the corner.

“This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly,” US Surgeon General Jerome Adams told Fox News.

“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor

DTI sets 30-day grace period for home, biz rents THE Trade department has released a memo granting a 30-day grace period for residential rent and a similar grace period for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises for their commercial rent during the Enhanced Community Quarantine period in Luzon.

“To provide economic relief to Filipinos and MSMEs during the COVID-19 public health emergency, DTI is implementing these guidelines to ensure their survival during the ECQ, as well as to help brace them afterwards,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in the memo dated April 4.

He says his department will enforce a 30-day grace period for commercial rents that fall within the duration of the quarantine to give a respite to the MSMEs that have temporarily ceased operations.

These enterprises will also not incur interest, penalties, fees and other charges under the grace period. Similarly, the department will ensure that a minimum 30-day grace period is granted for residential rent that fall due within the quarantine under the same terms.

PAGCOR gives LGUs P150m in aid from POGOs THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), together with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), poured in P150 million in aid to various local government units in Luzon that direly need assistance due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

PAGCOR delivered more than 47,000 food packs purchased by POGOs to communities in the National Capital Region, Benguet, Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac.

The first batch of 25,000 packs were delivered from March 21 to 24, while the second batch of 22,872 food packs were distributed from March 25 to April 3.

PAGCOR’s Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility Jimmy Bondoc, who personally oversees the repacking and distribution of goods to beneficiaries, said POGOs allotted P60 million for the procurement of food items for frontliners and affected communities.

“We have been distributing food packs to various cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and other nearby areas like Marikina, Calabarzon, Pampanga, Bulacan, and Tarlac,” he said.

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Management Department may have lost a great frontliner to COVID-19, but as one family, we promise her and our countrymen, now more than ever, that we will remain unfazed and will keep on fighting to finally put an end to this pandemic,” the post also said.

On Saturday, five doctors at Sampaloc Hospital in Manila tested positive for COVID-19.

The Department of Health reported on Monday 414 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive cases in the Philippines, bringing the total to 3,660.

The DOH also reported 11 new deaths, which brings the total to 163.

Nine new recoveries were reported, bringing the number of recovered COVID-19 patients to 73.

An administrative order signed by President Rodrigo Duterte grants a special risk allowance to public health workers who render work during the period of the Enhanced Community Quarantine.

“National government agencies, government-owned or -controlled corporations and LGUs are authorized to grant a one-time COVID-19 SRA, equivalent to a maximum of 25 percent of monthly basic salary/pay, to public health workers who have great exposure to health risks and physical hardships in the line of duty, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the AO said.

Medical, allied medical and other necessary personnel assigned in hospitals and health care facilities who are directly attending to or in contact with COVID-19 patients, persons under investigation or persons under monitoring are covered by the administrative order. moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized.”

The death toll in hardest-hit New York state rose to 4,159, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, up from 3,565 a day prior.

It was the first time the daily toll had dropped but Cuomo said it was too early to tell whether that was a “blip.”

Images from New York showed medics in protective gear wheeling bodies on stretchers to refrigerated trailers repurposed as makeshift morgues. AFP

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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IN BRIEF BI to suspend prov’l operations during Lent THE Bureau of Immigration said on Monday that it will suspend some of its provincial operations nationwide during the Holy Week to conduct disinfection.

According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, smaller field offices of the Bureau will be temporarily closed “to allow these offices to conduct much-needed disinfecting following the spread of Covid-19.”

Morente said that the move was to protect both BI personnel and the transacting public from contracting the disease.

Earlier, the BI placed its men on skeletal force, following the enhanced community quarantine. Vito Barcelo

Pampanga receives cash grant from PCSO CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The regional medical center in Pampanga is among the beneficiaries of the P447 -million grant by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to government hospitals as augmentation fund specifically for coronavirus cases across the country.

Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital received P10- million financial aid from the PCSO-Pampanga headed by Manager Maria Lourdes Siscar Soliman during simple rites held at the JBLMGH here.

Soliman said the financial aid would be disbursed for medical supplies essential in combatting the spread of COVID-19.

“The P10 million is part of the PCSO’s P447-million financial grant to 81 government hospitals across the country which is chargeable to the Agency’s Charity Fund under its Calamity Assistance Program budget ,” Soliman said.

Records released by the Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Unit revealed that a total of 15, 968 are listed persons under monitoring including 226 new cases and 11,421 completed the 14day mandatory quarantine while 4,727 still on tight watch as of April 5.

The number of persons under investigation has ballooned to 161 cases with seven deaths.. Jess Malabanan

BREAD DONATION. Workers unload sacks of flour worth P1 million donated by San Miguel Corp. to the city government of Navotas on Monday. Bakeries in the city got 10 sacks each and will then offer their breads at a discount to residents during the coronavirus lockdown. Andrew Rabulan

Canned ‘weeds’ seized in Clark

By Jess Malabanan

C

LARK FREEPORT—Some P13.2 million worth of smuggled canned marijuana, passed-off as herbal health formula, were seized by Port of Clark authorities shortly after the hot cargoes arrived at the Clark International Airport.

Port of Clark District Collector lawyer Ruby Alameda said marijuana leaves (Kush) were neatly concealed in 14 tins with label Herbalife Formula 1 and stuffed in two cartoon boxes

weighing more or less 11.569 kilos with a street value of P13.2 million based on Dangerous Drugs Board estimate.

“Two shipments contain “whey samples” from California, USA which were

later discovered containing marijuana inside cans of health meal formula,” said Alameda but she did not mention the consignee of seized items.

Alameda said she issued warrants and seizure and detention of the cargoes after BOC –Clark examiners discovered the hot cargoes. She said coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency was made shortly after.

“Through the strict profiling of shipments and X-ray examination by BOC-Clark personnel on the subject shipment containing 14 cans labeled as “Herbalife Formula 1 Healthy Meal

CHR hits ‘repressive’ action vs. The Dawn’s editor-in-chief

Villar distributes veggie seeds to LP residents TO remain productive and be able to afford eating healthy foods like vegetbles, Senator Cynthia Villar has included the distribution of vegetable seeds in her relief efforts to help the government alleviate the lives of people especially those rendered jobless due to the virus crisis.

Villar, chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, has started the distribution of packed seeds of tomato, eggplant, pumpkin, ampalaya, sweet pepper, hot pepper, corn, sitaw, and mungbean to 61 different barangays in Las Pinas, Cavite and Bulacan.

The packets of seeds distributed by Villar also come with instructions on how to plant and care for the plants.

“I’ve always advocated for home gardening as a strategy for food security and for the alleviation of nutrient deficiency,” said Villar.

“It will be a big help for families to have direct access to nutritious foods that they don’t have to buy,” added Villar. Macon RamosAraneta

By Rio N. Araja

KADIWA STORE. Vendors and buyers mingle at the Kadiwa rolling store project launched by the City of Manila at the Lambingan Ferry Station in Sta. Ana, Manila on Monday. Norman Cruz

DAR issues guidelines for farmers’ IDS 6k plus OFWs repatriated—DFA THE Department of Agrarian Reform has released guidelines on the issuance of identification cards for 352,211 farmer-beneficiaries from 2010 to 2020 under the enhanced community quarantine.

Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Office Luis Meinrado Pañgulayan said the agency has already released Memorandum Circular No. 4 to serve as guidelines on the issuance of ID cards to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in response to the current national health emergency measures arising from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“The ARB IDs will be issued for the purpose of facilitating the access of the ARBs on the various government assistance, especially during the strict implementation of the enhanced community quarantine,” he said.

Among the assistance being eyed to be facilitated by the agency for farmerbeneficiaries is an emergency subsidy program and a social amelioration program to provide cash or non-cash subsidy to 18- million household beneficiaries.

There are also programs providing benefits and services from the local government units and national government agencies, and from the public sector or private sector offering support services to the farmers and their organizations.

Comida Saludable”, Alameda said.

Alameda said dried marijuana leaves or Kush wrapped in transparent plastic emerged from the can when opened by BOC personnel.

Alameda said criminal charges are being prepared against the consignee for violation of R.A. No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act in relation to Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Alameda said the Port of Clark will remain consistent to its mandate in protecting the borders against illegal drugs despite the risks of COVID-19.

“The ARBs, who belong to the marginalized sectors of the society, are badly affected by the strict implementation of the government community quarantine, not only in the entire island of Luzon, but also in the other regions of the country due to the danger of pandemic COVID-19, which is rapidly transmitted from human to human and has already claimed thousands of lives,” the DAR undersecretary said.

The ID card would contain a control number based on the ARB’s title number and affixed with the official dry seal of the DAR, electronic signatures of Secretary John Castriciones and the regional directors to be countersigned by the provincial agrarian reform program officer.

“The memorandum circular cover all ARBs who have been issued with registered emancipation patents, individual or collective certificates of land ownership award, other titles issued under any agrarian reform program, and holders of registered leasehold contracts,” Pañgulayan said.

“The ARB IDs to be issued under this memorandum circular shall be valid until 31 December 2020 unless sooner revoked or extended by the secretary upon the recommendation of the regional director,” he added. Rio N. Araja

By Rey E. Requejo A TOTAL of 6,656 distressed overseas Filipino workers have been repatriated since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis started, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Arriola said 4,687 seafarers from 30 cruise ships and 1,969 land-based overseas Filipino workers had returned home.

Arriola said that the DFA and concerned agencies would continue to repatriate distressed OFWs but appealed for patience amid the global public health

emergency.

Some 802 more distressed workers are expected to return home on Monday.

The DFA official added that repatriations in Lebanon would continue once the lockdown there was lifted or once the Lebanese government allowed special flights.

Meanwhile, Arriola said many OFWs returned from Kuwait on free flights because of the Kuwaiti government’s amnesty program.

The DFA official asked undocumented workers to reach out to the Philippine Embassy for help in availing of the program.

THE Commission on Human Rights on Monday hit the supposed “repressive” actions against the editor-in-chief of the University of the East’s campus paper “The Dawn.”

“The CHR condemns this blatant disregard for Molo’s dignity and fundamental human rights. Right to freedom of opinion and expression are the lifeblood of a democratic society. Efforts by government and non-government entities to suppress nonviolent expression could lead to far more dangerous and compromising outcomes, as free speech is a necessary precondition to the enjoyment of other rights such as freedom of assembly and association, press freedom, and right to vote among others. Laws are meant to protect rights, not curtail them,” lawyer-spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said.

On his personal social media account, Molo criticized how the government was handling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, “but these remarks did not sit well with the opinions of his former teachers,” CHR said. One of them reported Molo to authorities and allegedly threatened to file a cyberclibel case against him if he would not issue a public apology.

Molo was summoned to the barangay hall of San Fernando Sur, Nueva Ecija.

“We reiterate that dissent and expression of grievance against government actions and views are not crimes -- but are constitutionally recognized rights. Instead of going after individuals and organizations who articulate their dissatisfaction to government response to the current crisis, addressing the main issues, such as hunger, unemployment, and other pressing concerns must be prioritized. Dissenting voices are necessary and should be given space in order to allow better leadership,” the commission said.

GSIS sets up online system for elderly pensioners GOVERNMENT Service Insurance System old-age and survivorship pensioners who were unable to comply with the personal appearance requirement or Activation of Pensioners Information Revalidation before March 2020 are now allowed to do it online.

GSIS president and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said that providing an online service for the personal appearance requirement for

pensioners is part of the pension fund’s efforts to protect and assist all its pensioners amid the country’s health emergency situation.

«The safety of our elderly pensioners, who are among the most susceptible to COVID-19, remains our top priority. To ensure that all of them receive their pension without letup during the enhanced community quarantine, GSIS has been adjusting its operational procedure,” Macasaet said.

Earlier, GSIS has extended to May 15, 2020 the deadline for pensioners born in March and April to comply with APIR. Under normal situations, GSIS requires all old-age and survivorship pensioners to report to the nearest GSIS office or GSIS kiosk during their birth month to ensure continued receipt of their pension. It has been a monitoring mechanism to prevent pension overpayment to deceased pensioners.

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Opinion

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Holy Week during a pandemic

HOW can we meaningfully celebrate Holy Week in these troubled times, when all the churches are closed, public masses are canceled indefinitely, and when we cannot even physically attend Holy Week Celebrations in church like we used to do? This Holy Week is one for the books because never before have we been unable to celebrate Lenten Season to gather together as a Christian Community for prayer and worship.

Let us embrace this cross by reaching out to those who are suffering and those most in need.

This situation is, however, giving us a unique opportunity to celebrate Holy Week in a more real way as the domestic church, in our homes. As Cardinal Chito Tagle said in his Palm Sunday homily in the Coleggio Filipino in Rome, this is an opportunity to encounter the Word for priests, religious and the faithful; unencumbered by our usual busy schedule of masses, chanting the pasyon, processions and other rituals, we can live the paschal mystery of Jesus, his dying and rising, during these days of the pandemic.

Together with all the members of our families, which in normal times may be unable to gather together as a family because of our busy sched-

ules, let us consider our relationship with Jesus as we face the life threatening coronavirus; to take stock of our lives in relation to God’s calling for holiness as we enter the final days of Lent and approach Holy Week.

In this time of anxiety, stress and fear, we can nurture a deeper relationship with Jesus through prayer for those who are suffering, for the lonely, the sick and the dying and their bereaved families, for our own survival; through acts of sacrifice in communion with the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ; and through acts of charity for those who are most affected by the pandemic —the poor and the hungry Most especially, let us pray most fervently for those who are dying alone without being able to say goodbye to their loved ones. As Cardinal Chito exhorted, let us offer our palms and sing our silent hosannas to accompany those who have died alone as they enter the new Jerusalem.

Cardinal Chito wisely reminds us that we do not deserve this pandemic in the same way that Jesus did not deserve to suffer and to die. That is why our Lord cried out in Calvary: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

In his own Palm Sunday homily, with an almost empty Saint Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis reminds us that Jesus experienced total abandonment. This was a situation our Messiah had never before experienced but He entered into it in order to be one with us in everything. Jesus did it for me, for you, to say to us: “Do not be afraid, you are not alone. I experienced all your desolation in order to be ever close to you.”

According to Pope Francis. Jesus did not hesitate to descend “into the

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Lessons for later A

S WE are still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are understandably focused on short-term responses that we hope can keep the number of deaths down. With just a week before the Luzon-wide lockdown expires, the immediate question is if we can afford to lift some of the restrictions that have not only kept infections down but also deprived a vast majority of people the means to earn a living.

But those who make the case for a selective lockdown—with communities unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak being allowed to go back to work—may be working on the wrong assumptions.

Medical experts agree that carriers of the virus may be asymptomatic, so how can we say with any degree of certainty—barring mass testing—that a community is truly COVID-19-free?

Assuming that even just one or two members of that community is an asymptomatic carrier, and that everybody in that community goes back to work, how soon before new outbreaks occur in areas we once believed to be COVID-free?

We have all seen how rapidly infections can spread—in the worst cases, doubling every two or three days. What is the danger that a modified lockdown could cre-

ate new hotspots of infection?

While we certainly agree that we can ill afford the economic cost of a prolonged lockdown, people tend to overlook the fact that there is a huge economic cost as well if we decide to let everybody go back to work and the outbreak worsens. How do we calculate the costs of medical treatment for the thousands of people who will get sick if we act too soon to lift the lockdown restrictions?

Beyond these short-term questions, there may be long-term lessons we might want to consider.

For example, do we want to return to the gridlock that has characterized our public transportation system, or can we incorporate and institutionalize some of the things we learned about enabling

workers to work from home? Are there ways to rationalize how we live and work to reduce the chances of another viral outbreak?

The example of the United States may also be instructive for advocates of federalism here. In the United States, we have seen no significant national response to the pandemic, with each state fending for itself, with the unfortunate result that so many weeks into the pandemic, some eight or nine states still have not issued stayat-home orders that could save lives.

Worse, the states are now bidding against each other to obtain scarce medical equipment such as personal protective equipment and ventilators needed to deal with the pandemic, a situation that disadvantages smaller, less economically powerful states.

Would a federal system of government here not suffer from the same flaw?

Of course, these questions can be more seriously addressed much later, when we have finally weathered the COVID-19 storm. It is not too early to think about them now, however, from the safety of our own homes.

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All hands on deck to contain COVID-19 APART from the business sector, the Church, civil society groups and kindhearted individuals, the national government as well as other countries have all pitched in to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Congress held a special sessions on March 23 to enact the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which authorizes President Rodrigo Duterte to exercise powers necessary to carry out urgent measures to meet the current national emergency related to COVID-19. The law allows him to "reallocate, realign, and reprogram" a budget of almost ₱275 billion from the estimated ₱438 -billion national budget approved for this year to give the less fortunate a modest monthly subsidy to tide them over at this time when almost the entire economy has ground to a halt. Earlier, the national government allotted P27.1 billion to fund measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its economic impact. Aside from funding health initiatives, the package will also provide relief to people and sectors affected by the slowdown in economic activity.

The package includes: P3.1 billion for the Department of Health to help stop the spread of COVID-19, including the acquisition of test kits; P2 billion for the Department of Labor for social protection programs for vulnerable workers, to be used for wage subsidy and financial support to affected establishments and workers; P3 billion for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s Scholarship Programs to support temporarily displaced workers through skills training programs; and

P2.8 billion for the Department of Agriculture to provide loans of up to P25,000 each at zero interest for smallholder farmers and fisherfolk.

The Department of Trade and Industry will also get P1 billion to help affected micro entrepreneurs/micro, small and medium enterprises .

We're also getting much-needed help from abroad.

We’re getting much-needed help.

The Asian Development Bank has approved a $3-million grant to support the Philippine government’s response to the pandemic, including the purchase of emergency medical supplies and the delivery of effective health care services.

The assistance, incorporating ADB’s most flexible, expeditious procurement approaches, allows the government to purchase diagnostic reagents and equipment, materials for makeshift hospitals, and personal protection supplies for health workers managing severe COVID-19 cases, among others.

“ADB’s assistance will help the Philippines, our host country, address the immediate financial and logistical constraints on the provision of emergency medical services during this extraordinary public health emergency,” said ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa. “The assistance will allow the government to purchase key medical supplies and equipment, deliver health services, and minimize the social and economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

This is the first step in what will be a broader program of working with the government to respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 to health and Turn to A5

Each of us is accountable

ONE week until the tentative end of the Enhanced Community Quarantine or Luzon-wide lockdown, we are leaning toward an extension.

The good intent of the lockdown is clear—prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19.

But clearly now it is easier said than done.

The inter-agency task force headed

by Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque has listed at least five factors to consider in recommending a continuation or modification of lifting of the lockdown: The trend in the COVID-19 epidemiological curve, capacity of the healthcare system, social, economic and security factors.

Based on the same IATF guideline, we realize how grossly the incidence of infection had been under-reported, owing to the lack of COVID-19 testing kits. The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine reportedly only

had 2,000 testing kits. Some government officials readily availed themselves of these.

Additional testing centers have been established, and over a hundred thousand testing kits have been acquired. Still, these are definitely not sufficient to meet the requirements of the influx of patients needing to undergo COVID-19 tests.

We can turn this around if each of us does our part in our own home.

RITM and seven other testing centers are mostly located in Metro Manila. There are only a few sub-national testing centers in the Visayas and Mindanao.

In southern Mindanao, there is only one testing center, the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City. With the suspension of public transportation, how in the world can the poor people in the barrios get to the hospitals for initial evaluation and, eventually for a COVID-19 test

at the SPMC? More laboratories are reportedly being prepared but have to meet the standards of the World Health Organization and get the approval of the DOH and the Food and Drugs Administration.

Even in Metro Manila, a large number of possible COVID-19 may not be reported because people can hardly afford to get medical services even with the limited PhilHealth coverage.

The cases of harassment and growing discrimination against COVID-19 patients, persons under investigation and persons under monitoring), as well as health workers, have also discouraged possible patients to come out for medical checkup.

Unfortunately, such ignorance is due to the lack of public information about the coronavirus disease itself, the proper care and treatment, and support for recovery of patients.

Our people need to hear the stories of recovery of 64 or so COVID-19 patients so that we can appreciate what a great job the doctors, the nurses and other health workers did to help them beat the dreaded disease, away from their families.

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Opinion

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020

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The virus and federalism

ROUNDING into Week Four of the virus—which sadly coincides with Holy Week this year—it’s now the turn of Dr. Renato Velasco to be eulogized on behalf of all the victims last week, as someone who was both wellknown and particularly close to me.

Rene was a comrade from the student Left of the ‘60s and ‘70. He was also my fraternity brother in Alpha Sigma, as was his older brother Reggie, both of whom found themselves opposite each other across the aisle through much of their careers as political managers. But Rene was also well-regarded as a serious academic who taught in UP all his life and gained a reputation as a Japan, then China, expert.

While in the Left, Rene was charged with handling, among others, a former president’s daughter named Gloria Macapagal. As her political star ascended, he was always around to support her in various capacities—as her chief of staff and head of PIA and PMS, among others.

And when she decided the other year to revive the defunct Association of Philippine China Understanding from her student activist days, Rene was the natural choice to preside over it.

Rene’s passage was not the gift he would have preferred to leave with Mrs. Arroyo on her birthday last Sunday. But such choices are never ours to make. There are many of us who join her in wishing him a fond hasta la vista—till we meet again. *** As government scrambles to catch up with the escalating pandemic, armed only with a rickety healthcare infrastructure, some people are saying that this experience has sounded the death knell for federalism, i.e. for any initiative to delegate a lot more power downwards from the central government in Manila to local provincial and municipal governments, ideally mediated through a new regional level of governance.

These critics are saying that government could have responded as well as it did, only by being a centralized unitary state. This is of course begging the real question. What ought to be asked is this: Could the government in fact have responded BETTER if it had been a federal and not a unitary government? Better or

worse—which “what-if” is likelier, based on reasoning and evidence?

I’ll make the following points, summoned up partly in answer to the Business World piece last March 26, “China coronavirus killed federalism,” written by the estimable law professor Jemy Gatdula of UA&P, my younger comrade in the political and religious conservative stream: First, disaster response will always be the responsibility of the central government. In the United States, the agency responsible is the Federal Emergency Management Authority, which in a case like this would mainly be supported by the Atlanta-based

Could government have responded better if it had been in another form?

Centers for Disease Control. In the Philippines, the “Bayanihan” recovery act with all its cross-cutting powers and functions could only be written by a central legislature. And both military and police powers have always been intended by local federalists to remain with Manila.

Second, having said that, the actual execution of disaster response— especially in an archipelagic country like ours—will always depend heavily on the capacities of local governments, from provincial down to barangay levels. Judging from the nature of complaints we’ve been seeing, this is where the problem arises: Not just in the lack of resources and responsiveness of many local governments especially at the barangay level, but also in their frequent inability to coordinate well with national government agencies concerned.

On the last point, the blame runs both ways.

Precisely because of the extensively cross-cutting reach of the needed response to the epidemic—vertically between national and local governments, and horizontally among LGUs at different levels—my proposition is this: The response would have been best executed by and through a regional level of government that coordinates execution vertically between Manila and its subordinate LGUs, horizontally among those LGUs, and internally within each LGU. Any one of those regional governments would always be closer to its constituencies than Manila is, for execution, monitoring, and compliance purposes.

In his piece, Jemy makes the puz-

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Our people largely understand now the rationale of the community quarantine.

We must realize the need for more sacrifices with the likely extension of the lockdown in Luzon and those in the rest of the country as imposed by the local government units by virtue of the President’s Executive Order.

There are those who argue against continued lockdown, saying that it will further widen the gap between the rich and poor, as millions of Filipino workers and businesses have been displaced. That is true.

There are those who protest that more people have actually died from car crash and other diseases like tuberculosis, dengue and HIV, and we never had to lock down.

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abyss of our most bitter sufferings, culminating in betrayal and abandonment.” And today, in front of the tragedy of a pandemic, “in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts,” Jesus tells us: “Courage, open your heart to my love. You will feel the consolation of God who sustains you.”

With this global drama still unfolding and intensifying, Jesus is passing by, calling and inviting each and every one of us to unite with his suffering in Calvary, remembering that Easter follows Good Friday.

As Pope Francis suggests—“in

zling point that under US-style federalism, “it’s the local governments that take the lead in times of crisis.” He cites one John Yoo: “Washington D.C. has only limited powers to respond to a pandemic…The primary authority to fight the pandemic rests in the hands of our state governors.”

If Jemy is right, I’m quite happy to take back the very first point I made above about the US situation.

Because by doing so, I’m happier to emphasize the real point I’m making: That empowerment of local governments and resources is what really matters even in a crisis. Therefore, they should be properly resourced and led from a regional level—not only for short-term emergencies, but even more—after this crisis —to build long-term the health, public works, information, and logistics infrastructures that will better withstand any future return of the virus.

Jemy does advance an argument well. Unfortunately, it’s my argument, not his. *** The first reading today (Is 49: 1-6) has the prophet Isaiah exhort the people of Israel to turn away from evil ways and return to the holiness God reserved for them. This holiness was demanded by the role God had given to them as His people: “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

In the Gospel (Jn 13: 21-33, 36-38), the betrayal by Judas at the Last Supper quickens the pace of the Passion drama, prompting Jesus to sorrowfully tell Peter: “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later,” and then to admonish all His disciples: “I give you a new commandment: love one another…This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Since the people of the Old Book would not follow Isaiah’s exhortation to bring God’s light to the ends of the earth, it fell upon Jesus—and through Him, His disciples afterward—to shine that light upon others through the sheer force of their example of love even in the depths of persecution. But only after Jesus had to first open the door of salvation through His own Passion, when He could bring Himself to say to the retreating back of a treacherous Judas: “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.”

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@yahoo.com

Those may be true, too. But this global pandemic that has infected over one million people and killed thousands worldwide is a totally different animal—it is a monster that has killed doctors, nurses and policemen in the bloody frontline.

With everyone’s cooperation, though, we can eventually control the further transmission of this disease and flatten that curve while scientists scramble to discover an antidote.

Only when we attain the viable balance the continued threat of COVID-19 and our enhanced capacity to fight and stop it can we hope to get out of lockdown.

We need to believe we can turn this around if each of us does our part in our own home, and that is to strictly observe personal preventive measures against contracting coronavirus.

The bottom line is, under any circumstances, each of us is accountable for one’s own health and well-being.

these holy days, in our homes, let us stand before the Crucified One, the fullest measure of God’s love for us, and before the God who serves us to the point of giving his life, and let us ask for the grace to live in order to serve.”

Yes, we do not deserve this pandemic but as Cardinal Chito suggests, let’s own it as Jesus owned God’s plan for him—his passion, death, and resurrection. Let us embrace this cross by reaching out to those who are suffering and those most in need.

Let us not be concerned about what we lack, but what good we can do for others.

We are assured, according to the Pope, that the Father, who sustained Jesus in his Passion also supports us in our efforts to serve: “Loving, praying, forgiving, caring for others, in the family and in society: All this

can certainly be difficult. It can feel like a via crucis. But the path of service is the victorious and life-giving path by which we were saved.”

Pope Francis encourages us to look at the real heroes who come to light in these days of the pandemic: “they are not famous, rich, and successful people; rather, they are those who are giving themselves in order to serve others.”

Finally, the Pope exhorts us: “Feel called yourselves to put your lives on the line. Do not be afraid to devote your life to God and to others; it pays! For life is a gift we receive only when we give ourselves away, and our deepest joy comes from saying yes to love, without ifs and buts.

As Jesus did for us.”

Facebook page: Professor Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylavs

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Preventing closures and layoffs should be fiscal priority WHEN the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) started to be felt by their countries, central bank governors and treasury secretaries/finance ministers thought that they could cope with the incipient downturn—manifested by business closures, travel bans and employee layoffs. This they did by deploying their operational tools in the usual prudential way, with central banks easing up on the money supply and finance ministers/treasury secretaries tinkering with the amounts and directions of budgetary releases.

But with the passage of the weeks, as the rising tide of closures and layoffs began to tell them that their countries were facing a very serious economic problem, the central bank governors and finance ministers changed their attitude and the reality of the situation.

They remembered the old Spanish saying “Grandes males, grandes remedios.” The usual regimens for containing downturns were unlikely to do the job this time around.

The first major economic policymaker to react to the COVID-19 pandemic in massive fashion was the head of the world’s most powerful central bank, Dr. Jerome Powell of the US Fed (Federal Reserve Board). Three weeks ago, Dr. Powell announced that America’s monetary authority was prepared to do everything—deploy all the policy tools at its disposal—to stave off a deep US recession. Dr. Powell’s declaration went a long way to calm the US business community, especially the stock market, which had moved into bear territory for the first time since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Two or three other major central bank governors subsequently made announcements similar to the Fed chief’s.

But what the US economy and all the other coronavirus-hit economies needed most to arrest this increasingly rapid downturns, far more than assurances of greater banking-system liquidity, was the stoppage of the hemorrhage of revenues and incomes resulting from the lockdowns, the stay-at-home owners, the social-distancing orders and the travel bans. Economies were moving closer to recession with every new business closure and every new reduction of staff.

Clearly, something had to be done to sustain the hundreds of thousand of small businesses—service establishments of all kinds, restaurants, small traders and the like—and their millions of employees through

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economic activity.”

While the United States is also dealing with the contagion, it has nevertheless committed $2.7 million or P139 million in aid to support our response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The US assistance will be coursed through the US Agency for International Development, which will "collaborate with Philippine government counterparts to establish and implement internationally-recognized infectious disease threat prevention and response strategies, and enhance infection control.”

The assistance will also help protect health workers and patients by ensuring that hygiene products, masks, waste management supplies, and other necessary commodities are available, delivered, and managed appropriately.

And we're also getting help from China. Beijing has already donated medical supplies to assist efforts to control the epidemic. The assistance

the duration of the pandemic.

From both a humanitarian and an economic standpoint, it makes little sense for governments to be more concerned with observing fiscal prudence than with sustaining families—especially food and home security—and keeping businesses from going out of existence. It makes far more sense to incur fiscal deficits in order that small business establishments and their employees will still be around when the COVID-19 crisis is over. No one knows how many more weeks or months the pandemic will last; what is certain is that it will be gone one of these days.

It makes far more sense to ensure that small businesses and their employees will still be around when the COVID-19 crisis is over.

The US government and many other major governments have already taken or announced legislative action intended to provide billions of dollars in grants and benefit payments to small businesses and their workers, with the condition that the assistance-receiving establishments not lay off their employees. This is a perfectly rational condition, for what good would the assistance do if the assistance-receiving establishment no longer had employees when the COVID-19 is declared over?

Another point in favor of conditioning government assistance to business establishments on their retention of their employees in the obviation of need to give workers unemployment insurance fund. The $2 trillion CARES Act approved by the US Congress recently provides for both direct payments to workers and unemployment insurance benefits.

Undoubtedly, finance ministers and treasury secretaries around the world will be inclined to worry about the coming rise in their budget-deficit totals. But under the circumstances, they should stop worrying too much about their countries’ debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratios—this is one of the macro-economic fundamentals—and worry more about sustaining all the closed and closing small businesses so that these will not need to throw their workers out into the streets. For—to paraphrase Jesus Christ—what does it profit a government if it is able to maintain strong financial ratios but suffers the loss of its economies?

includes 100,000 test kits, 100,000 surgical masks, 10,000 N95 masks, and 10,000 sets of personal protective equipment. Last Sunday (April 5), a 12-member team of doctors and experts arrived from Beijing to share their experiences with our own doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, a Russian pharmaceutical company will donate free medicine for the disease, Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev recently announced.

The St.Petersburg-based pharma, Polisan, is willing to offer the country Cicloferon, which has been found to be effective in treating patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in China.

According to the World Health Organization, there is no specific medicine to prevent or treat the coronavirus disease. “However, those infected with the virus should receive appropriate care to relieve and treat symptoms, and those with severe illness should receive optimized supportive care,” it said. ernhil@yahoo.com

World

TUEDAY, APRIL 7, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

IN BRIEF

BOATFUL OF MIGRANTS.

This handout photo taken and released on April 5 by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency shows a wooden boat carrying suspected Rohingya migrants detained in Malaysian territorial waters off the island of Langkawi.

Malaysia detained 202 suspected Rohingya Muslims who arrived illegally by boat, a top official said, raising fresh fears that people smugglers may be back in action. AFP

Apple to produce 1m face shields SAN FRANCISCO—Apple has said it will soon be producing one million face shields a week for medical workers battling the coronavirus pandemic.

The tech giant had already sourced 20 million surgical masks from around the world to help address a global shortage, chief executive Tim Cook said in a video posted to Twitter on Sunday.

But the company had also designed its own transparent protective face shield and begun mass production at its factories in the US and China, he added.

“We plan to ship over one million by the end of this week,” said Cook.

Initial distribution would be focused on the US but the company hoped to “quickly expand distribution” to other countries, he said.

Apple joins several global firms that have modified their production lines to meet demand for protective gear, including Italian luxury brand Prada.

US President Donald Trump last month issued a federal order forcing auto giant General Motors to manufacture ventilators after a shortage of the hospital equipment, which is crucial for treating critical COVID-19 cases. AFP

Russian kills five for ‘talking loudly’ MOSCOW—A man in central Russia shot and killed five people for talking noisily at night under his windows, investigators said Sunday.

The shootings took place in the Ryazan region during stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

A 32-year-old man from the small town of Yelatma opened fire on a group of four young men and a woman who “were talking loudly in the street under his windows” at around 10 pm on Saturday, investigators said.

Yelatma is located near the city of Ryazan, which is situated some 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of the capital Moscow.

The man went to his balcony to complain to the group and a dispute erupted before he reached for his single-barrel hunting rifle, the Investigative Committee said.

“They all died of their injuries on the spot,” it said in a statement.

The suspect whose name was not released has been arrested. His apartment has been searched and the weapon seized.

Deputy Ryazan region governor Igor Grekov travelled to the scene of the shootings on Sunday. AFP

Monster Pacific storm intensifies US Navy officer fired over virus plea tests positive P WASHINGTON—The US naval commander whose widely publicized plea for help for his coronavirus-affected crew led to his dismissal has reportedly himself tested positive for the disease.

Captain Brett Crozier’s COVID-19 test result was reported Sunday by the New York Times, just hours after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended the captain’s firing.

Esper told ABC that Navy Secretary Thomas Modly had “made a tough decision, tough call” in deciding to fire Crozier from his command of the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt, now docked in Guam.

Asked about a report that President Donald Trump wanted Crozier fired, Esper replied, “This was the secretary’s call. He came and briefed me ... It was the secretary’s call. I told him I would support it.”

The firing was widely condemned as a callous and

unfair punishment of a respected officer who was looking out for the welfare of his crew when he implored his superiors to let him quickly vacate the ship after it docked in Guam.

“We are not at war,” Crozier wrote in a letter that leaked to the press. “Sailors do not need to die.”

But some senior Pentagon officials said Crozier erred by letting his plea go public.

Crozier “demonstrated extremely poor judgment in the middle of a crisis,” needlessly worrying family members and undermining the chain of command, Modly said. AFP

19 dead in gang clash in Mexico CIUDAD JUÁREZ—A gang battle in Mexico has left at least 19 people dead in the northern state of Chihuahua, officials said Saturday.

At least five armed clashes have occurred in the Madera community so far this year, local authorities have said.

“The state attorney general, in conjunction with the public safety office and Mexican Army, launched an operation to investigate and locate armed groups that staged a confrontation that left 19 people dead yesterday in the town of Madera,” authorities said.

According to early reports, the bloodshed occurred Friday evening when alleged hitmen of the Gente Nueva group, part of the Sinaloa Cartel, were driving on a dirt road in Madera.

There they were ambushed by men from the opposing group La Linea, part of the Juarez Cartel.

Responding authorities seized 18 long firearms, one short, two vehicles and two grenades at the site of the clash.

The Mexican government has blamed the La Linea cartel for the massacre of nine Mexican-American Mormons last November when they were traveling on a rural road between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, which borders the United States. AFP

US Navy Captain Brett Crozier gives a speech during his first day of command of the of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (inset) in this file photo. Crozier received a strong ovation and cheers from hundreds of sailors as he left the USS Roosevelt docked in Guam after his controversial firing by the Pentagon, videos showed Friday. AFP

UN chief to gov’ts: Protect women NEW YORK—UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged governments to include the protection of women in their response to the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic.

Reports of domestic violence have surged globally in the wake of massive lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of the disease.

“Violence is not confined to the battlefield,” said Guterres in a statement and video released in multiple languages, days after his call for a worldwide ceasefire in the wake of the outbreak.

“For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest.

In their own homes,” he said.

Describing the rise in domestic violence as “horrifying,” he urged all gov-

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres holds a press conference on April 3. AFP

ernments “to make the prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19.” AFP

Pandemic sparks boom for fresh food producers in HK HONG KONG—After a coronavirusfuelled wave of panic-buying briefly left Hong Kong’s supermarket shelves bare, residents are turning to local producers for fresh food in a city almost entirely reliant on imports.

COVID-19 has threatened global supply chains as countries impose lockdowns and border restrictions, but for Hong

Kong’s dwindling farming community, the pandemic has sparked a sudden boom in business.

The twice-weekly market at Mapopo Community Farm in suburban northeast Hong Kong has doubled takings since the outbreak became a major public health issue in February.

“All of a sudden, so many people came

to our fair for vegetables that our supply could not meet the demand,” said founder Becky Au, who gave up her job in the city’s financial heart a decade ago.

The pandemic has prompted more people to rethink what can be produced in Hong Kong, said Mandy Tang, who runs a campaign group that rallies behind the city’s farmers by promoting local produce. AFP

In this picture taken in Hong Kong on March 18, Mandy Tang (center right), who used to be an interior designer and is now a housewife, picks up a locally grown beetroot at Ma Po Po Community Farm. After the coronavirus triggered a wave of panic-buying that briefly left Hong Kong’s supermarket shelves bare, residents are turning to local producers for fresh food in a city almost entirely reliant on imports. AFP

Startup platform ‘Quibi’ goes live SAN FRANCISCO—The “quick bites” of video from deep-pocketed startup Quibi could become a new entertainment form for on-the-go smartphone users. The question is whether this is the right time.

With consumers ready or not, Quibi began streaming short-form comedies, dramas and entertainment on Monday in an effort to win over audiences in the mobile age.

The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically shifted the landscape for Quibi, as the short-form video platform must now appeal to audiences with time and opportunity to watch films or long television shows on big screens at home.

Quibi chief technology officer Rob Post said the new service is still relevant in a pandemic-obsessed world.

“We’re doing our best to adjust to the world as it has changed in the past month,” Post told AFP. “Now, telling stories seems more important than ever.”

Major studios have poured in some $1 billion for the service, which has already attracted Hollywood names such as Steven Spielberg, Guillermo Del Toro and Jennifer Lopez. AFP

Quibi CEO Meg Whitman speaks about the short-form video streaming service for mobile Quibi during a keynote address January 8 at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

ORT VILA, Vanuatu―A deadly Pacific cyclone intensified as it hit Vanuatu on Monday, threatening a natural disaster that experts fear will undermine the impoverished nation’s battle to remain coronavirus-free.

Tropical Cyclone Harold, which claimed 27 lives when it swept through the Solomon Islands last week, strengthened to a scale-topping Category 5 superstorm overnight, Vanuatu’s meteorology service said.

The cyclone is now packing winds of up to 235 kilometres per hour (145 miles per hour), prompting red alerts across several provinces.

It made landfall on the remote east coast of Espiritu Santo island on Monday morning and was heading directly for Vanuatu’s second-largest town Luganville, which has a population of 16,500.

The slow-moving storm is expected to pass north of the capital Port Vila early Tuesday.

“For now, we don’t have any reports of injury, but lots of damage,” Red Cross Vanuatu secretary general Jacqueline de Gaillande told AFP. Another concern is the impact a large natural disaster could have on Vanuatu’s attempts to remain one of the world’s few countries without any reported COVID-19 infections.

The nation has sealed its international borders to avoid the virus but emergency measures including bans on public meetings have been temporarily suspended so people can gather in evacuation centres.

“There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Vanuatu, but a significant disaster at this time could present serious logistical challenges to delivering life-saving aid,” Oxfam’s Vanuatu director Elizabeth Faerua said. AFP

UK prime minister taken to hospital LONDON—British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken to hospital after failing to shake off coronavirus symptoms, as Queen Elizabeth II said a united effort would defeat the outbreak.

The government announced within an hour of the monarch’s rare special address Sunday to the country and Commonwealth nations that Johnson had been admitted for further tests as a precaution.

Johnson, 55, had been due to reemerge from seven days of self-isolation on Friday, a week after announcing he had tested positive for COVID-19 and had mild symptoms.

But he said in a video message on Friday that he would continue to stay at home because of a persistent high temperature.

Downing Street called it a “precautionary step” and it is understood his admission was not an emergency and he was taken to hospital on medical advice.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is designated to take over if the prime minister is unable to perform his duties but government sources said Johnson was still in charge. AFP

Business

A7

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market soars; URC, Globe rise

T

HE stock market jumped Monday as some of the world’s worst-hit countries reported falling death rates, providing some muchneeded hope in the battle against the coronavirus.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index soared 223.84 points, or 4.2 percent, to 5,570.81 on a value turnover of P4.8 billion. Gainers beat losers, 119 to 76, with 41 issues unchanged.

Universal Robina Corp., the biggest maker of snack foods, surged 13.3 percent to P116.70, while Globe Telecom Inc., the largest telecommunications firm, advanced 12.2 percent to P2,300.

Manila Electric Co., the biggest retail-

er of electricity, advanced 8.3 percent to P260, while conglomerate Ayala Corp. rose 6.4 percent to P480. Puregold Price Club Inc. of retail tycoon Lucio Co climbed 5.9 percent to P41.

The rest of Asian markets rose Monday, though oil prices dipped after a meeting of top producers was delayed.

While the disease continues its deadly sweep across the planet, with more than 1.25 million now infected and nearly 70,000 dead, news out of Europe that fatalities were easing has lifted spirits on trading floors.

Italy reported its lowest daily toll in two weeks, while Spanish officials said deaths fell for the third straight day and France reported its lowest daily toll in a week.

Meanwhile, South Korea saw its fewest new cases in six weeks, Australian new infections were also dropping and Donald Trump said the US was show-

employment benefits.

Tokyo and Sydney rose more than four percent, while Seoul and Singapore gained almost four percent. Hong Kong and Jakarta rallied more than two percent, while Taipei added 1.6 percent.

However, observers remain cautious as the US enters what Trump said would be “a time that’s going to be very horrendous” with “some really bad numbers.”

The country’s Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned on Fox News: “This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment.”

Erik Nielsen, of UniCredit SpA, said: “There is light at the end of the tunnel but it’s still a long tunnel.”

Attention this week will be on a planned meeting of OPEC and other key crude producers aimed at easing a supply glut that has sent oil prices crashing.

With AFP

ing signs of stabilizing, despite the number of cases there passing 335,000—the highest in the world.

“Focus in markets will now turn to the path out of lockdown and to what extent containment measures can be lifted without risking a second wave of infections,” said National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland.

And Lindsey Piegza, at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., told Bloomberg TV she was hopeful the crisis could be brought under control and the US economy reopened “by the end of April, early May.” “If that does occur, it’s likely that we’re able to control the downturn from a depressionary scenario into a recessionary scenario.”

The relatively upbeat news lifted Asian markets, which shrugged off data Friday showing a massive drop in US jobs in March that added to news that millions of people had applied for un-

Manila Standard BuSineSS daily StockS review Monday, april 6, 2020

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

46 61.4 100 0.56 20.1 15 7.6 0.5 0.28 37.5 0.68 19.46 169.5 42 17.68 109 1,619 53.7 0.99

47 62.15 102.6 0.56 20.1 15.8 7.88 0.5 0.32 37.6 0.68 19.5 170 42 17.68 109 1,619 53.8 1.11

44.05 60.5 99.6 0.55 19.98 15 7.59 0.5 0.28 37 0.68 19.08 167.5 42 17.3 105.2 1,580 53.6 0.99

FINANCIALS 47 26,200 62 3,846,260 102.5 2,204,440 0.55 10,000 20 56,400 15.2 22,500 7.78 150,600 0.5 3,000 0.28 1,460,000 37.15 4,767,200 0.68 1,000 19.4 370,000 167.5 420 42 100 17.4 5,600 106 810,880 1,580 70 53.8 2,340 1.11 13,000

1,203,530 236,301,832 223,829,474 5,510 1,127,798 346,280 1,178,728 1,500 417,600 177,504,465 680 7,178,658 71,045 4,200 97,238 86,673,063 111,365 125,547.50 12,990

313,400 -86160394.5 -74,583,393 -265,917 -13,342 -92,034,145 -4869285.9998 -3,400 10,468 -28,604,133 -

ABOITIZ POWER AC ENERGY AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS AXELUM BASIC ENERGY BOGO MEDELLIN CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CROWN ASIA DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR EUROMED FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA GREENERGY HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PEPSI COLA PETROENERGY PETRON PHINMA PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VULCAN INDL

28.2 2.01 6.47 0.52 0.97 2.55 0.16 74.1 1.05 13.9 6.45 13.8 25.05 1.85 3.49 4.81 7.55 5.2 8.08 1.91 17.18 49 1.19 32.9 0.78 11.98 4.5 0.94 104.6 37 6.2 9.79 4.62 6.11 241 0.112 1.8 2.55 2.6 8.8 10.4 18.7 4.38 4.35 1.39 0.74 4.91 50.5 7.95 0.107 0.76 104.4 2.78 0.85 0.56

28.85 2.04 6.49 0.52 1 2.64 0.169 97.65 1.05 14 6.59 13.8 25.05 1.91 3.49 5.06 7.6 5.47 8.08 1.98 18.16 53.5 1.27 32.9 0.79 12.3 4.5 0.99 106.4 37 6.2 10.5 4.8 6.35 260 0.144 1.81 2.55 2.61 8.8 10.4 18.9 4.4 4.42 1.45 0.77 4.91 50.5 8.03 0.107 0.76 116.7 2.78 0.86 0.59

28.05 1.98 6.02 0.51 0.97 2.51 0.16 74.1 1.04 13.88 6.29 13.8 25.05 1.85 3.18 4.81 7.53 5.13 7.9 1.91 17.18 49 1.19 32 0.75 11.8 4.43 0.94 103.5 37 6 9.66 4.4 6.09 240 0.112 1.78 2.4 2.48 8.8 10 18.52 4.38 4.35 1.39 0.73 4.85 49.5 7.55 0.101 0.7 104 2.35 0.84 0.56

INDUSTRIAL 28.5 1,724,600 2.03 36,059,000 6.49 171,600 0.51 1,785,000 1 331,000 2.51 3,752,000 0.169 2,020,000 97.65 160 1.05 3,567,000 13.88 2,790,500 6.55 820,900 13.8 200 25.05 1,200 1.91 13,000 3.49 18,000 4.9 5,515,000 7.53 42,700 5.17 268,600 8 6,442,200 1.95 722,000 18.16 1,147,500 53 26,600 1.26 12,373,000 32 451,700 0.78 638,000 12.3 157,300 4.45 2,132,000 0.97 230,000 106 1,865,350 37 100 6 9,000 10.3 5,011,300 4.4 2,040,000 6.27 544,500 260 433,720 0.144 3,610,000 1.8 379,000 2.44 12,000 2.58 3,742,000 8.8 500 10.28 92,400 18.7 424,700 4.4 130,000 4.42 52,000 1.45 283,000 0.77 196,000 4.9 1,087,000 50 201,400 7.95 230,300 0.107 11,200,000 0.7 102,000 116.7 2,657,460 2.7 73,000 0.85 1,112,000 0.57 601,000

49,260,765 73,143,090 1,093,403 910,690 322,000 9,682,900 323,290 12,091.50 3,736,220 38,762,148 5,327,260 2,760 30,060 24,350 61,520 27,080,770 323,044 1,395,197 51,819,835 1,402,490 20,469,520 1,343,795 15,239,620 14,455,650 484,630 1,920,760 9,490,600 220,590 196,347,114 3,700 55,307 50,882,519 9,170,050 3,356,383 109,955,446 404,640 682,120 29,600 9,526,680 4,400 940,980 7,967,116 571,200 226,270 399,170 146,650 5,320,300 10,059,565 1,797,448 1,198,230 71,990 295,685,394 191,880 946,060 341,850

-18,844,955 -1102139.9997 -452,664 -4,577,820 -2,606,840 -8,170,896 -15,265 -13,150 -7,264,210 -52,297 -737,083 -48,825,320 9,814,550 402,505 551,820 14,406,400 2,960 -182,618 -490,420 -53,580,071 31,000 -27290416.9996 -7,274,050 -420,928 42,613,540 12,610 -1,581,130 -6,620,766 152,250 -36,450 -1,262,440 -1,260,860 77,910 5,340 80,144,430 -2,600 27,200 25,650.00

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ANSCOR ASIABEST GROUP ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP AYALA LAND LOG COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA SAN MIGUEL CORP SM INVESTMENTS SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID TOP FRONTIER ZEUS HLDG

0.52 39.95 7.03 0.5 6.24 5.75 0.5 0.51 460 1.54 5.19 3.84 8.5 4.08 0.18 403 3.8 53.4 0.4 2.93 7.45 0.53 2.51 2.75 0.69 95 827.5 0.81 210 137.4 0.13

0.53 45 7.03 0.5 6.24 5.83 0.5 0.51 480 1.57 5.19 4.07 8.5 4.08 0.18 409.8 3.8 55 0.425 2.93 7.59 0.53 2.55 2.75 0.75 95.2 850 0.92 210 153 0.13

0.5 39.95 6.85 0.5 6.22 5.46 0.39 0.45 458 1.54 4.9 3.8 8.5 4.06 0.18 399 3.6 52.05 0.4 2.82 7.26 0.465 2.48 2.75 0.69 93 804 0.81 180 136 0.13

HOLDING FIRMS 0.51 1,953,000 45 1,128,100 6.92 3,163,600 0.5 100,000 6.22 1,500 21,500 5.82 0.43 47,451,000 0.47 1,394,000 480 556,850 1.55 1,228,000 5.05 1,887,000 4.02 32,635,000 8.5 13,800 4.06 2,000 0.18 4,020,000 400 265,180 3.71 117,000 55 957,300 0.425 20,000 2.85 353,000 7.4 1,584,300 0.465 5,000 2.53 39,362,000 2.75 2,000 0.75 309,000 93 337,850 850 371,730 0.92 516,000 180 8,670 153 6,100 0.13 260,000

1,001,390 48,387,460 21,894,001 50,000 9,334 123,094 19,499,595 660,945 260,135,426 1,896,730 9,504,576 130,584,150 117,300 8,140 723,600 106,154,744 432,110 51,356,455 8,250 1,001,940 11,694,117 2,480 99,230,490 5,500 221,370 31,656,183 310,246,145 468,260 1,689,816 877,672 33,800

12,899,810 -19,390,712 268,550 -29,148,164 -532,920 -3170073.9997 -8,222,640 -63,064,766 -409,910 -10439907.5 -956,250 -8,744,639 -34,831,060 1,105,061.50 1,305,880 3,860 -430,368 -

8990 HLDG A BROWN ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DM WENCESLAO DOUBLEDRAGON FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL INFRADEV PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND

11.6 0.52 1.01 0.6 32 1.33 3.8 5.9 0.36 0.75 0.8 0.135 0.241 7 16 0.91 0.75 2.58 0.143 0.37 0.73 1.73 13.98 1.52 2.92 29.05 1.89

11.88 0.53 1.07 0.6 32.75 1.33 3.9 6.04 0.36 0.75 0.8 0.135 0.241 7 16.14 0.94 0.76 2.6 0.146 0.37 0.73 1.74 14.78 1.52 2.95 30.15 1.98

11.6 0.52 0.95 0.58 31.8 1.32 3.73 5.6 0.36 0.75 0.71 0.135 0.241 6.5 15.4 0.9 0.75 2.54 0.139 0.37 0.69 1.55 13.98 1.49 2.88 28.5 1.86

PROPERTY 11.6 73,900 0.53 526,000 1.07 2,157,000 0.58 2,416,000 32.5 8,315,000 1.33 133,000 3.8 1,294,000 6.04 1,400 0.36 490,000 0.75 3,000 0.71 548,000 0.135 40,000 0.241 300,000 6.7 520,500 16.14 310,100 0.93 11,524,000 0.76 269,000 2.58 87,604,000 0.139 5,330,000 0.37 160,000 0.72 1,091,000 1.73 26,000 14.5 3,564,400 1.5 338,000 2.88 187,000 30.15 10,310,600 1.98 453,000

857,510 276,410 2,212,310 1,403,580 268,021,265 176,790 4,875,540 8,272 176,400 2,250 391,640 5,400 72,300 3,451,860 4,926,400 10,620,170 202,150 225,811,600 751,640 59,200 764,870 41,920 50,738,296 506,050 539,510 304,091,420 856,570

-8,268 56,024,540 143,640 581,600 3,600 22,500 3,123,480 -263,044 5,146,390 -64,582,230 57,030 -1,700 15,146,390 -90,000 8,760 32,983,115 -

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SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND VISTAMALLS

1.15 4.04 3.54

1.22 4.14 3.6

1.15 4.03 3.41

1.22 4.08 3.57

880,000 1,914,000 67,000

1,036,830 7,798,390 234,870

-5,277,930 -

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ALLHOME APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CHELSEA DFNN INC DISCOVERY WORLD DITO CME HLDG EASYCALL GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GRAND PLAZA HARBOR STAR INTL CONTAINER ISLAND INFO JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PH RESORTS GRP PHIL RACING PHIL SEVEN CORP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

5.98 16 4.8 0.275 0.038 2.1 5.84 0.028 46.6 2.56 2.7 1.87 1.6 4.85 2,050 5.09 9.17 0.75 71.15 0.084 1.41 11.98 1.33 4.25 0.38 1.7 1.49 1.46 1.58 10.2 1.61 1.7 6.49 2.14 3.99 7.8 135 1.55 1,121 0.3 0.198 39.1 57 5.6 1.3 0.395 0.154 0.39 12.7

6.01 16.68 4.8 0.275 0.039 2.28 5.9 0.028 48.4 2.65 2.95 1.87 1.68 4.88 2,300 5.15 12.58 0.8 74 0.084 1.78 11.98 1.33 4.35 0.38 1.7 1.58 1.46 1.63 10.2 1.65 1.79 6.8 2.2 3.99 8.5 135 1.58 1,170 0.3 0.201 41 64 5.6 1.3 0.395 0.158 0.39 12.72

5.98 16 4.53 0.27 0.038 2.1 5.76 0.026 46.05 2.56 2.7 1.85 1.6 4.8 2,050 5.08 9.12 0.74 71 0.084 1.4 11.6 1.3 4.15 0.34 1.6 1.47 1.41 1.55 10.2 1.58 1.7 6.38 2.14 3.99 7.8 130 1.5 1,121 0.29 0.195 38 56.1 5.02 1.25 0.38 0.154 0.39 12.5

SERVICES 6 16.58 4.58 0.275 0.038 2.27 5.89 0.027 48.1 2.65 2.76 1.85 1.68 4.8 2,300 5.1 12.58 0.78 74 0.084 1.78 11.6 1.33 4.24 0.365 1.6 1.58 1.42 1.55 10.2 1.6 1.79 6.75 2.2 3.99 8.5 132 1.57 1,170 0.3 0.201 41 64 5.03 1.3 0.385 0.154 0.39 12.6

33,700 922,900 4,289,000 600,000 22,600,000 31,000 3,016,900 68,900,000 140,500 879,000 9,000 2,000 22,832,000 18,000 116,125 223,200 4,400 492,000 1,579,380 30,000 11,000 4,000 142,000 2,441,000 1,000,000 9,000 1,857,000 443,000 9,000 800 1,254,000 41,000 54,600 15,000 1,000 3,300 118,950 320,000 127,280 3,830,000 750,000 4,223,400 259,270 33,300 864,000 1,000,000 370,000 70,000 1,597,500

202,096 15,041,630 19,879,250 162,250 858,900 66,200 17,646,133 1,864,700 6,655,805 2,286,640 25,460 3,720 37,485,250 86,930 248,100,510 1,137,551 41,192 377,520 114,387,304 2,520 16,290 46,538 188,470 10,383,340 343,950 14,900 2,866,420 634,220 14,150 8,160 2,006,370 69,790 357,603 32,160 3,990 25,810 15,694,044 491,960 146,871,195 1,139,300 149,730 167,058,230 15,503,838 168,006 1,112,170 386,750 57,860 27,300 20,074,112

-99,610 -1,472,080 8,100 -6,178,861 95,585 129,310 14,600 3,678,050 31,431,340 -8,953,344 1,330 -3,198,060 -527,200 62,590 90 -13,806,342 -154,150 9,725,775 -180,000 38,000 22,375,930 -2,527,944 -241,090 -225,150 -6,229,850

ABRA MINING ACE ENEXOR APEX MINING ATLAS MINING ATOK BENGUET A BENGUET B CENTURY PEAK COAL ASIA HLDG DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE LEPANTO A LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A MARCVENTURES NICKEL ASIA NIHAO OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA ORNTL PETROL A PHILODRILL PX MINING PXP ENERGY SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON

0.0011 5.27 0.73 1.85 10.9 0.78 0.81 2.58 0.201 6.03 0.6 0.185 0.074 0.073 0.0062 0.56 1.57 0.9 0.34 0.46 0.0082 0.008 2.05 3.98 11.82 0.0036

0.0011 5.4 0.73 1.85 10.9 0.78 0.81 2.63 0.201 6.2 0.64 0.186 0.074 0.083 0.0062 0.57 1.62 0.98 0.34 0.46 0.0082 0.008 2.05 4 11.98 0.0039

0.001 5.13 0.7 1.7 10.86 0.78 0.81 2.58 0.201 6.03 0.59 0.184 0.07 0.073 0.0062 0.54 1.54 0.89 0.34 0.455 0.0082 0.008 2.01 3.93 11.7 0.0036

MINING & OIL 0.001 54,000,000 5.16 155,000 0.71 1,364,000 1.7 54,000 10.86 6,200 0.78 18,000 0.81 90,000 2.63 716,000 0.201 1,000,000 6.2 65,600 0.62 6,826,000 0.185 400,000 0.071 4,700,000 0.083 4,740,000 0.0062 8,000,000 0.57 381,000 1.56 4,216,000 0.9 1,327,000 0.34 1,550,000 0.455 2,140,000 0.0082 8,000,000 0.008 25,000,000 2.02 1,319,000 3.96 783,000 11.84 1,417,300 0.0039 63,000,000

54,300 813,654 970,130 93,840 67,340 14,040 72,900 1,873,200 201,000 406,618 4,230,320 74,000 331,370 385,650 49,600 215,710 6,614,640 1,185,030 527,000 974,150 65,600 200,000 2,653,570 3,102,570 16,779,118 245,400

5,600 7,400 880,400 -2,065,950 -3,324,320 -980 22,550 -87,730 -2,502,206 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2R ALCO PREF B CPG PREF A DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 4 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H

14.06 498 490 99 99.5 97.4 108 499.8 4.9 998 987 95 99 996.5 75.6 73.45 74.4 74.8 74.75

14.8 498 490 99 99.5 97.4 108 499.8 4.9 998 987 95 99 996.5 76.1 73.75 74.4 74.8 74.8

14.06 498 490 99 99.4 97.4 108 499.8 4.9 998 987 94.95 99 995 75.6 73.45 74.4 74.6 74.75

PREFERRED 14.8 150,400 498 1,280 490 200 99 1,200 99.4 870 97.4 110 108 40 499.8 10 4.9 107,000 998 10 987 10 94.95 360 99 3,100 995 110 75.8 12,760 73.75 310 74.4 10 74.8 78,550 74.8 5,000

2,150,470 637,440 98,000 118,800 86,525 10,714 4,320 4,998 524,300 9,980 9,870 34,183 306,900 109,465 966,003 22,859.50 744 5,875,080 373,915

295,600 -524,300 -

LR WARRANT

0.84

0.84

0.81

WARRANTS 0.81 3,000

2,460

MS ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH XURPAS

1.9 6 0.48

1.91 6 0.49

1.84 5.75 0.48

FIRST METRO ETF

81

85

81

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2

9.9 9.85

9.9 9.85

9.9 9.7

Trading Summary

SHARES

FINANCIAL

14,446,877

INDUSTRIAL

119,657,321

HOLDING FIRMS

140,235,880

PROPERTY

141,875,619

SERVICES

147,875,619

MINING & OIL

191,949,960

GRAND TOTAL

757,004,283

1.85 5.98 0.48

SME

177,000 92,500 560,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 85 27,920 9.9 9.7

DDS

50 4,100

328,390 543,272 271,050 2,305,322.50 495 39,777

28,500 -38,800 -22,887.50 -

VALUE 1,204.21 (up) 20.53 778,410,861.92 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 6,866.33 (up) 432.36 1,072,965,579.96 HOLDING FIRMS 5,841.28 (up) 215.76 1,180,890,985.06 PROPERTY 2,897.86 (up) 73.70 1,261.42 (up) 72.52 854,818,479.77 SERVICES MINING & OIL 4,298.23 (up) 36.36 854,818,479.77 PSEI 5,570.81 (up) 223.84 42,215,651.6892 All Shares Index 3,360.75 (up) 101.09 4,856,961,063.24 Gainers: 119; Losers: 76; Unchanged: 41; Total: 236

Aboitiz gets P10b worth of loan from Metrobank

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONGLOMERATE Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. obtained a P10-billion term loan facility from Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. that will partially refinance maturing debts and fund capital expenditure requirements.

Aboitiz Equity said Monday in a disclosure to the stock exchange it signed an agreement over the seven-year term loan with Metrobank.

“The proceeds of the loan will be used to refinance AEV’s maturing bonds, finance its capital expenditures, and for general corporate requirements,” the conglomerate said.

The group earlier said it would spend P73 billion in 2020 to sustain expansion plans to boost the economy despite uncertainties over the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This year’s capital spending plan is a 37-percent increase from P53 billion spent in 2019. the conglomerate allocated P41 billion to Aboitiz Power Corp. from the P73-billion spending plan.

About 80 percent of the Aboitiz Power capital expenditures will be used to complete the GNPower Dinginin Power Plants as well as other new businesses.

Infrastructure unit Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. earmarked majority of its P16billion allotted capital spending for the construction of water businesses and its foray into airports and common tower businesses.

Unit Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. in 2019 spent P3 billion. Once online, the Davao bulk water project will supply 300 million liters of water daily to the Davao City Water District for the benefit of over a million Davaoenos.

Meanwhile, Republic Cement Group is anticipating a nine-percent business growth this year amid stable cement prices..

Aboitiz Land Inc. is expected to spend P11 billion mainly for land banking efforts as it continues to expand property developments in several parts of the country.

The Aboitiz Group is allotting the balance for the provisions of the remaining strategic business units.

Shakey’s improved net income by 10% last year to P923m SHAKEY’S Pizza Asia Ventures Inc., the Philippines’ leading chain of fullservice pizza restaurant, registered a 10-percent increase in recurring net income in 2019 to P923 million from P841 million in the previous year.

Including the impact of Philippine Financial Reporting Standard (PFRS) 16, the company’s earnings stood at P862 million, up two percent from the 2019 level.

PFRS 16 is an accounting standard on leases that took effect at the start of 2019, accelerating the recognition of non-cash expenses.

Shakey’s said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday systemwide sales, a combined measure of company-owned and franchised stores’ sales, climbed 11 percent to P10.4 billion.

Same-store sales rose one percent.

Operated 276 stores throughout the Philippines as of end 2019, comprising of 246 Shakey’s and 30 Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken outlets The restaurant chain in 2019 opened 18 net new Shakey’s stores, including 17 outside of Metro Manila, and seven new Peri-Peri stores.

Shakey’s has maintained partial delivery and carry-out operations despite closing majority of stores amid the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine order throughout Luzon following the new coronavirus (COVID-10) pandemic, Select Shakey’s and Peri outlets remain operational for delivery and carry-out services using a limited menu, shortened hours and a reduced and voluntary workforce.

It plans to gradually re-open more select outlets over the next few weeks, while strictly implementing enhanced safety protocols aligned with World Health Organization recommendations.

“This is an extraordinary time, but we are able to manage through by prioritizing a strong cash and liquidity position, and slowly increasing delivery and carry-out accessibility,” said Shakey’s president and chief executive Cicente Gregorio.Jenniffer B. Austria

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

A8

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020

Business

Razon Group retrofits Manila stadium into health facility PRIME BMD, an affiliate of Prime Infrastructure of the Razon Group, said it expects to complete the first phase of the transformation of the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila into a coronavirus treatment facility this week.

Prime BMD said it mobilized resources and personnel to implement the building works on the Ninoy Aquino Stadium at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex for it to become a level 2 Covid-19 emergency facility.

Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc., the social responsibility arm of Bloomberry Resorts Corp., is funding and overseeing phases 1 and 2 of the project.

It said the project was being sped up with Prime BMG initiating works on phase 1 on April 1.

Phase 1, which is 75-percent into completion, involves the construction of 116 patients’ cubicles, two nurses’ stations, drywall partition wall, installation of temporary furniture and conversion of facility common areas.

The second stage, commencing on April 7, will create an additional 108 patients’ cubicles.

Prime BMD has 180 direct workers and 30 staff working on the project 24/7 and established strict guidelines to ensure proper social distancing and advanced hygiene practices on the project.

The project has been delivered at breakneck speed to quickly respond to the urgent requirement to provide additional treatment.

“We feel it our duty to provide as much support as possible to the interagency task force and to the Filipinos to respond to this crisis. The combined resources of Solaire’s social responsibility arm and our construction company, Prime BMD, puts us in an ideal position to continue working hand in hand with the government agencies to deliver much-needed facilities,” said Prime BMC chairman Enrique Razon Jr. “Prime BMD is very proud to be part of this project, and would like to thank all its staff and tireless workers who are delivering critical works and are going the extra mile to ensure that this much-needed infrastructure is delivered quickly. Prime BMD also thanks our key suppliers and subcontractors for their ongoing support,” Razon said.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Prime BMD, an affiliate of Prime Infrastructure of the Razon Group, mobilizes resources and personnel to implement the building works on the Ninoy Aquino Stadium at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex for its conversion level 2 Covid-19 emergency facility.

Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc, the corporate social responsibility unit of Bloomberry Resorts Corp., is funding and overseeing phases 1 and 2 of the project. Prime BMD has 180 direct workers and 30 staff working on the project 24/7. It has established strict guidelines to ensure proper social distancing and advanced hygiene practices on the project.

Lower expenditures cut February budget deficit T

By Julito G. Rada

HE budget deficit narrowed by more than 50 percent in February to P37.6 billion as government expenditures fell 12 percent and revenue collections rose 2 percent ahead of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in the country.

Data from the Bureau of Treasury showed the February shortfall was 50.8 percent lower than the P76.4-billion deficit a year ago, but a reversal of the budget surplus in January. The figure reduced the budget deficit in the first two months by 54 percent to P14.6 billion from P31.8billion deficit in the same period last year.

Revenues improved by 2.4 percent or P4.8 billion year-on-year to P206.8 billion in February, with tax collection making up for 92 percent of the total.

Total revenues in the first two months reached P501.5 billion, up by 9.3 percent or P42.6 billion from a year earlier.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue collected P142.2 billion in February, up 4.8 percent or P6.5 billion from a year ago.

BIR’s revenue performance also improved by 5.1 percent to P337.1 billion in the first two months.

Customs collection increased 1.3 percent in February to P44.8 billion as imports from China slowed amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The slow growth for the month was mainly due to the slowdown of importation from China amid the coronavirus outbreak. Nevertheless, the agency’s cumulative collection of P100.7 billion for the first two months of the year also surpassed the previous year’s level by 8.74 percent or P8.1 billion,” the Treasury said.

The Bureau of the Treasury’s income slid 36.25 percent in February to P5.9 billion because of lower dividend remittance for the period. In the first two months, BTr’s total income surged 82.26 percent to P34.2 billion driven by early dividend remittance from the Bangko Sentral ng

Chemical Technologies expects bigger and better prospects in 2020 as it moves to its new home in Camangyanan Road, Barangay Camangyanan, Santa Maria, Bulacan.

Santa Maria Mayor Russel Pleyto (right) is pleased over Magna Prime’s decision to invest in the town as he welcomes Magna Prime chief executive Derrick Tan to his office. Tan says the decision to relocate in Sta. Maria is strategic in terms of distribution because of its close proximity to Metro Manila. With the new headquarters, Magna Prime is expected to grow bigger as a business and improve its fill rate to customers and replenish stocks in retail outlets.

Garments exporters set to produce PPEs for health workers THE Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines agreed to start the local production of medical-grade personal protective equipment coveralls for healthcare workers in response to the repeated call for increased provision of protective gear against coronavirus disease 2019.

The Board of Investments said while the Philippines was not a producer of PPEs, member companies of CONWEP, in coordination with the government, decided to manufacture PPEs. The BOI helped link the industry and the health sector in developing a medical-grade prototype that can be used even in the high COVID-risk hospital situations.

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE construction of Clark International Airport’s new passenger terminal building is on track despite the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, according to project builder Megawide Construction Corp.

“Construction of the new terminal, access roads, bus station and car parks is 96-percent complete with only minor works remaining. Despite any challenges we are facing, we were actually ahead of schedule before the ECQ was implemented in Luzon,” Megawide chairman and chief executive Edgar Saavedra said.

Saavedra said the new terminal building shell was substantially completed while the installation of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire-protection works and the construction of the landside works were in the final stages.

Construction of the new Clark Airport PTB is being undertaken by Megawide GMR Construction Joint Venture Inc. MGCJV won the construction package of the Clark International Airport expansion project in December 2017 by submitting the lowest bid of P9.36 billion under a hybrid public-private partnership scheme.

Saavedra said Megawide is confident the project would be turned over to the Bases Conversion and Development Authoritybefore the July 31, 2020 completion date if the lockdown was lifted on April 14.

“The ECQ has minimal impact on our construction timelines for Clark International Airport primarily because engineering and construction are Megawide’s core strengths and the fact that we leveraged on what we learned from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport expansion,” he said.

2 1700

MAGNA’S NEW HOME. Magna Prime

By Othel V. Campos

Bigger Clark airport terminal 96% finished —Megawide

Under the partnership, CONWEP executed the design prototype of the PPE coveralls. After several tests, CONWEP refitted the design prototypes until its final approval by the Health Department and the Philippine General Hospital.

The BOI said while there were constraints in the availability of raw materials, as medical-grade fluid impermeable textiles needed to be imported, CONWEP was able to secure medical-grade materials, including the face hoodie part and garters, which has fabric importation certificates from an international accreditation company.

The materials will be air-shipped by April 9 and the rollout of production at the garment factories will immediately start after the Holy Week.

According to the PGH Hospital Infection Control Unit, “locally-made PPEs which meet standards are exactly what we need during this pandemic period which further complicated by limited access to stocks from traditional supplier.”

We at the PGH HICU have seen and tested a sample of the CONWEP-BOI PPE. Its material and design meet our strict requirements for PPEs to be used by our health force,” the PGH unit said.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said highlighted the initiative for re-purposing manufacturing by linking of resources and capabilities across different sectors where “we have to complement the production capacity of CONWEP with financial resources which lie elsewhere in the private sector.”

Pilipinas in January and higher Bond Sinking Fund investment performance.

Non-tax revenue from other offices went up by 7.46 percent to P11.2 billion in February, pushing up the cumulative collection in the first two months by 5.58 percent to P23.5 billion.

Government expenditures shrank 12.22 percent in February to P244.4 billion from a year ago, largely due to the base effect of Internal Revenue Allotment of local government units for January 2019 which was released in February last year, as well as lower interest payments.

“Net of the said amount, disbursement for the month of February grew by 6.04 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, total expenditures as of end-February increased to P516.0 billion, beating last year’s P490.7 billion outturn by 5.17 percent,” the Treasury said.

Excluding interest payments, productive spending amounted to P229.1 billion in February, down by 9.51 percent year-on-year. The two-month primary expenditures exhibited a 4.72-percent or P19.8-billion expansion from P419.4 billion posted a year ago.

Voyager gets $120-m pledge from 5 groups VOYAGER Innovations, the company behind cashless payments platform PayMaya, received a new funding commitment of $120 million from PLDT Inc. and four international groups to support expansion.

The investors—PLDT, global investment KKR, internet services firm Tencent of China, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund, a fund managed

by IFC Asset Management Company—signed agreements and committed up to $120 million in new funding towards the expansion efforts of Voyager.

The infusion follows KKR’s, Tencent’s, IFC’s and IFC Emerging Asia Fund’s initial investments of $215 million made to Voyager in 2018, and underscores the investors’ support of Voyager and its strategy to provide greater access to digital financial services across the Philippines through financial technology unit PayMaya Philippines.

The fresh funding comes as government, businesses and consumers are turning to cashless transactions and digital finance as part of a broader response to present-day challenges.

The $120-million investment is part of a broader fundraising for Voyager to support PayMaya’s rapid growth as it pursues its mission to accelerate digital and financial inclusion in the Philippines and enable the wider Filipino population to participate in the digital economy.

The company said it was also in talks with other strategic and financial investors.Darwin G. Amojelar

IN BRIEF ERC limits NGCP’s ‘20 revenues to P47b THE Energy Regulatory Commission granted transmission operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines interim relief to implement an interim maximum annual revenue of P47.052 billion this year.

The ERC said in a statement the interim relief would effectively reduce the current transmission charge by P0.0413 per kilowatt-hour to P0.4701/kWh for 2020 from P0.5114 per kWh in 2019.

“The interim relief granted by the Commission to NGCP reflected a lower Interim maximum annual revenue (iMAR) for 2020 which caused the reduction in the transmission tariff.

The approved iMAR amounted to P47 Billion, which is lower (by P11.8 billion) than the NGCP’s proposal of P58.8 Billion,” ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera said.

The ERC noted in its evaluation that NGCP’s last adjustment of the maximum annual revenue, which reflects a utility firm’s profitability, was in 2016.

It said the increase in revenues from the 2016 level to the 2020 level would allow NGCP to augment its capital expenditures requirements in order to address the forecast increase in demand this year. Alena Mae S. Flores

Smart puts fast Wi-Fi facilities in virus hubs

SMART Communications Inc. said it installed fast, free and 24/7 Smart Wi-Fi to several major newly-activated COVID-19 facilities as part of efforts to equip medical front liners with reliable data connectivity.

Smart has rolled out carrier-grade fiberpowered Smart WiFi to the Ninoy Aquino Stadium at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, the Philippine International Convention Center tent and the World Trade Center.

These large venues have been converted into COVID-19 treatment facilities that will handle patients under monitoring (PUMs) and patients under investigation (PUIs).

Smart also installed Wifi connectivity at the La Salle Greenhills campus in Mandaluyong, which now houses health workers from nearby hospitals.

These WiFi installations, which have a capacity of 1 gigabyte per second, are the latest in PLDT-Smart’s ongoing efforts to provide communications support to frontline agencies and their personnel, such as the departments of health, transportation, public works, the armed forces and police, local governments and nongovernmental organizations in different parts of the country. Darwin G. Amojelar

SM Foundation gives ventilators to hospitals

SM FOUNDATION delivered several intensive care unit-grade ventilators to medical institutions in the country in a bid to support the full recovery of COVID-19 patients.

It distributed ventilators to the Philippine General Hospital, Lung Center of the Philippines, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and San Lazaro Hospital.

SM also provided ICU-grade ventilator units to West Visayas State University Medical Center in Iloilo and Baguio General Hospital.

The provision of much needed ICU-grade ventilators will help many patients in critical care.

The donation forms part of P170 million in allocations pledged by SM Foundation to help front liners and medical institutions nationwide in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

Sports

SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020

B1

Ninoy Aquino Stadium now under AFP

By Peter Atencio

PAY CUTS. Fiji’s players huddle after losing its Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool D match to Fiji at the Oita Stadium in Oita. Fiji Rugby said contracted players and staff had agreed to pay cuts of 40 percent as part of a cost-cutting drive to remain viable during the COVID-19 pandemic. AFP

Spit, sweat, shaking hands: Changes in sports habits loom Virus scrapped your marathon?

In Japan, there’s an app for that TOKYO—When the coronavirus outbreak forced organizers to cancel marathons in the Japanese city of Nagoya, they turned to tech to ease the disappointment, offering runners the chance to race alone.

The Nagoya Women’s Marathon and Nagoya City marathon were scheduled for March 8 and expected to attract some 20,000 runners— a potential health hazard during a global pandemic.

So instead of having racers run together, organisers have offered up two apps to allow participants to complete the marathons alone, tracked online.

“It’s the first time the annual marathon events were cancelled, and it’s the first time we launched apps to replace the real ones,” one of the organizers of the Nagoya city marathon told AFP. Instead of running the original route, registered participants can run wherever they like—keeping an appropriate social distance— and the apps measure and verify their performance.

There are two apps—one for those who want to finish the marathon in one go and another for those who want to complete it by running over several days.

Runners can complete the marathons between March 8 and May 31, the official race website says.

The organizers said on their website that they wanted to respond to the spirit shown by those who trained for the now-cancelled races.

But they “don’t recommend running in a big group,” the official warned.

Those who are registered for the women’s event and complete the marathon via the app will receive a T-shirt and a necklace as originally promised for finishers. AFP

P

ARIS—As the coronavirus brings the international sports calendar to a grinding halt, AFP Sport looks at three long-standing habits which could change forever once competition resumes.

Saliva to take shine off swing bowling —It’s been a tried and trusted friend to fast bowlers throughout the history of cricket.

But the days of applying saliva to one side of the ball to encourage swing could be over in the aftermath of COVID-19.

“As a bowler I think it would be pretty tough going if we couldn’t shine the ball in a Test match,” said Australia quick Pat Cummins.

“If it’s at that stage and we’re that worried about the spread, I’m not sure we’d be playing sport.”

Towels in tennis-no touching —Tennis players throwing towels, dripping with sweat and blood and probably a tear or two, at ball boys and girls, has often left fans sympathising for the youngsters.

Moves by officials to tackle the issue took on greater urgency in March

when the coronavirus was taking a global grip.

Behind closed doors in Miki, ball boys and girls on duty at the Davis Cup tie between Japan and Ecuador wore gloves.

Baskets, meanwhile, were made available for players to deposit their towels.

Back in 2018, the ATP introduced towel racks at some events on a trial basis, but not everyone was overjoyed.

“I think having the towel whenever you need it, it’s very helpful. It’s one thing less that you have to think about,” said Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas when he was playing at the NextGen Finals in Milan.

“I think it’s the job of the ball kids to provide towels and balls for the players.”

Let’s not shake on it —Pre-match handshakes were abandoned in top football leagues just before

the sports shutdown.

Premier League leaders Liverpool also banned the used of mascots while Southampton warned against players signing autographs and stopped them posing for selfies.

Away from football, the NBA urged players to opt for the fist bump rather than the long-standing high-five.

“I ain’t high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this,” NBA superstar LeBron James told the “Road Trippin’ Podcast”.

“No more high-fiving. After this corona shit? Wait ‘til you see me and my teammates’ handshakes after this shit.”

Basketball stars were also told not to take items such as balls or teams shirts to autograph.

US women’s football star Megan Rapinoe says edicts to ban handshakes or even high-fives may be counter-productive anyway.

“We’re going to be sweating all over each other all game, so it sort of defeats the purpose of not doing a handshake,” she told the New York Times in March. AFP

Lee: Zamboanga a worthy challenger “UNSTOPPABLE” Angela Lee sees Denice “The Menace Fairtex” Zamboanga as a worthy adversary as she defends her ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title against the Filipina sometime this year.

Zamboanga is currently unbeaten in The Home Of Martial Arts, and she earned her shot following an impressive performance over former contender Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE last February. The 23-year-old has won all her six professional bouts in impressive fashion while showing a balanced skill set of excellent striking and well-versed ground prowess.

Those skills are not lost on Lee. “I think Denice is a talented rising star.

She is a well-rounded mixed martial arts fighter and I’m excited to face her in the ONE cage,” Lee told ONEFC.com “Denice is a young and hungry fighter.

She is very well-rounded, and I feel like she is a part of the new generation of mixed martial arts. I’ve seen her previous fights, and she is constantly

Denice Zamboanga

evolving her technique and fight game.”

It was most evident in her win over Yamaguchi as she stuffed most of the Japanese athlete’s attempts to take the

match to the ground, and when “V.V” was successful, “The Menace Fairtex” more than held her own in grappling.

On the feet, though, it was a total mismatch.

Training out of the famed Fairtex Gym in Pattaya, Thailand, Zamboanga looked crisp on the feet as she methodically picked Yamaguchi apart while striking.

“I think Denice and her team came up with a very smart game plan, and she managed to execute that in the fight,” Lee said.

“Denice is definitely a dangerous fighter, and I won’t be underestimating her.”

For now though, Lee is focused on seeing the world win its battle with COVID-19.

“I hope everyone tries their best to take preventative measures to stay healthy,” Lee said.

“My prayers are with the people who have been affected by the coronavirus.”Catch all the ONE Championship action live and for free by downloading the ONE Super App.

THE Ninoy Aquino Stadium at the Rizal Memorial Complex is now under the control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Health.

Senior Executive Assistant and National Training Director Marc Velasco of the Philippine Sports Commission said this after the stadium became operational as an “instant hospital” yesterday.

“No PSC staff is involved here. This area is now controlled by the AFP and the DOH,” said Velasco.

The facility will now be ready to accept coronavirus (COVID-19) positive patients with mild symptoms and those who are asymptomatic by Wednesday.

Around 112 beds have been installed, to be manned by the AFP Medical Corps.

The beds will be in individual airconditioned cubicles, with plug-in outlets, free internet connection and round-the-clock monitoring by the medical staff.

Free food will also be provided to both patients and frontliners in all quarantine facilities being readied by the national government.

Officials said the establishment of instant hospitals in Metro Manila and other parts of the country is a joint effort by the national government and the private sector to reduce the community spread of COVID-19.

This will also help in decongesting hospitals in Metro Manila and ensure protection of both patients and frontliners from the disease.

Velasco explained that the facilities at the Philsports Complex will be part of the plan of the government to be converted into instant hospitals.

“It was not put on the table after the coordination meetings,” added Velasco.

Chess arbiter dies after heart attack RENOWNED international chess arbiter Gene Poliarco passed away at the age of 77 last Sunday.

Poliarco suffered a heart attack on his way to a hospital Dagupan, while undergoing first aid inside an ambulance in Alaminos, Pangasinan.

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines, led by its president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, has offered its condolences to Poliarco, who served the NCFP for many years.

Poliarco has given many lectures on officiating the game of chess and supervised numerous international and national tournaments for many years.

“I got this sad news from his son Louie. Leaving his seven bereaved siblings and wife. He was 77 years old,” said NCFP official Jayson Gonzales in a message.

Chess players, led by Grandmaster Janelle Frayna, have offered their tributes to Poliarco and his family.

“Your memories will be with us always as a legend! In one way or another, he helped establish and direct the shape and form of Philippine Chess! May our Good Lord Take Care of you! Rest in Peace, Sir Gene,” said Frayna in her Viber statement.

“Nabanggit ko na po sa aking facebook post na kung may GMs tayo sa paglalaro, si Sir Gene ang maituturing nating Super GM naman sa arbitration. Paalam sir, Gene. I first met him when I was 13. I believe almost all the age-groupers ay nakilala at nakasalamuha si Sir Gene Poliarco. Tunay na nakakalungkot at nakakabiglang balita,” added Frayna. Peter Atencio

With no competition, golfers play waiting game

In this file photo Georgia Hall of Team Great Britain and Ireland tees off on the eighth hole during the four-ball match in the 38th Curtis Cup match at the St. Louis Country Club on June 7, 2014 in St. Louis, Missouri. The 41st Curtis Cup, a biennial women’s amateur golf showdown between US and British and Irish teams set for June 12-14 in Wales, has been postponed until 2021. AFP

PARIS—From honing their short games in the garden to giving their children dubious haircuts and chatting to footballers, golfers have been finding ways to fill the time without competitive sport.

The world’s major golf tours have all been suspended until late May at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the Masters and PGA Championship suspended indef initely and three of the f ive women’s majors rescheduled.

Former Ryder Cup winner Edoardo Molinari is in his native Italy, which has been one of the hardest-hit countries by the COVID-19 outbreak, with the virus causing over 15,000 deaths in

the European nation.

“Golf is not a priority. The most important thing right now is to make sure we all behave in a way that can help this situation get under control,” Molinari wrote in his blog for the European Tour website.

Top golfers find it easier to get through the lockdown than most people, with many having personal gyms, practice facilities and swimming pools at their homes.

Major champions Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer have joined fundraising efforts to help those suffering from the disease.

Molinari has been doing a daily quiz on Instagram to help give fans something to do and raise money for his local hospitals in Turin.

“The only thing we ask is that in order to be able to participate, you have to make a donation on our gofundme page, which goes to help hospitals in Turin,” he said.

On a lighter note, English Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter used his spare time to cut his son’s hair “like Ronaldo’s.”

Unfortunately for his son, the end result, shown in an Instagram video, was a copy of Brazilian star Ronaldo’s infamous trim from the 2002 World Cup, not the style worn by five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

He isn’t the only golfer keeping busy on social media, with numerous Tour pros taking part in the ‘bounce’ golf ball keepy-uppy challenge, while

others have been answering questions from fans, or doing interviews with other famous sportspeople.

“I love golf, but I think I love the competition more. If there’s no competition and there’s nothing to look forward to, I don’t really see the point in going out and practising,” world number one Rory McIlroy told former England international footballer Jamie Redknapp.

The players don’t know when the tours will resume, with the potential for a packed schedule later in the year.

“Potentially you’re looking at four majors, the Ryder Cup and the FedEx Cup in the space of 12 weeks,” said McIlroy. AFP

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

B2

Entertainment

TUESAY, APRIL 7, 2020

Arjo thanks fans for prayers, support after parents test positive for COVID-19

Kapuso Network leads March numbers game

In his lengthy post on Instagram, Arjo Atayde, on behalf of his siblings Ria, Gela, and Xavi, took the opportunity to thank those who have extended their prayers and well wishes for their family.

SHTICKS JOSEPH PETER GONZALES

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CCORDING to Arjo Atayde, he and his siblings are grateful that they haven’t shown any symptoms of COVID-19 despite their parents having been tested positive for the deadly virus.

Their mom, actress Sylvia Sanchez, recently took to social media to share the sad news that she and husband Art Atayde have contracted the virus.

In an attempt to allay the fear of his followers and people close to their family, Arjo posted a statement on his condition as well as his siblings Ria, Gela, and Xavi.

He accompanied this with their family picture.

The actor admits that it’s not easy to take that his folks tested positive for COVID-19 but is grateful for the support and concern they receive from friends and a lot of people.

“We’d like to thank everyone for their overwhelming love and support. Although it is difficult and anxiety-inducing knowing that both our parents are positive with COVID-19, all the well-wishes and get well soon messages have definitely uplifted our family---especially them.”

The Kapamilya talent assures their friends that his parents are doing well after they were tested.

“A week into their self-isolation and a week after having their swab tests done, our parents are slowly getting better. Although it’s taking longer than their usual recovery time, we are happy to see them with their spirits still high.”

It is also relieving for the 29-year-old

star that the people who came in close contact with Sylvia and Art don’t manifest symptoms of the coronavirus. This holds true for him and his siblings.

“It has enlightened us to know that no one that they have come in contact with before the quarantine and no one else here at home is showing symptoms. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.”

At this point, Arjo asks for more prayers for the eventual healing of his parents and that no one from their family gets contaminated with the virus.

“Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. From my siblings and me, we ask that you continue to pray for our parents, our household that nobody else contracted it, every other individual and family dealing with this same ordeal and of course, all our front-liners who continue to risk their lives every day for our safety,” he ends. *** Elmo Magalona recently took to social media to share some of his sweet photos with his new love life and expressed his happiness celebrating their first anniversary. However, he deleted them right away.

“I did it to protect the privacy of the girl who makes me happy at present. I feel like I need to share to [sic] everyone why I removed my post from yesterday.

I should have been more considerate. I posted without telling anybody,” Elmo explained.

The Kapamilya star, who is a mainstay of the drama-action soap A Soldier’s Heart also asked apologies from his girlfriend’s family.

“Honestly, it was irresponsible thinking. I’d like to apologize to her, and her family for my actions and putting them in such a position. I don’t want to be taking away anybody’s privacy from them.”

The talented actor-singer appealed to his fans and followers to understand his decision.

“To everyone reading this, please disregard what I had to share last night.

Let’s just focus on what matters right now.

Peace to everyone.”

According to AGB Nielsen’s latest ratings data, ‘Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho’ was the most-watched TV program in March.

GMA Network kept its winning streak in the nationwide television ratings for March despite the recent programming changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the network remained resolute in delivering reliable news and information to the public across all its platforms, it has suspended temporarily the production of its entertainment programs in complicompli ance with the government’s implementation of the enhanced comcom munity quarantine. This resulted to the airing of a new programming line-up which include re-runs of well-loved Kapuso programs.

Citing the latest data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement in March (with March 22 to 31 based on overnight data), GMA regreg istered 33.8 percent average total day people audience share in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) while ABS-CBN got 29.4 percent. The Network consequently won in all dayparts which include the morning, afternoon, and evening blocks.

GMA continued to dominate in key urban areas including Urban Luzon and Urban Visayas. The Network recorded 35.4 percent total day people audience share in Urban Luzon while its competitor postpost ed 26.5 percent. In the recently-clinched Urban Visayas, GMA also posted a bigger lead with 35.9 percent versus rival network’s 32.5 percent.

With official data from March 1 to 21, the Network likewise won in Mega Manila with 37.7 percent total day people audience share, outscoring ABS-CBN’s 25.1 percent.

In the list of overall top-rating programs, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) still reigns as the number one show nationwide as well as in the respective lists of Urban Luzon, Urban Visayas, and Mega Manila.

Notably, GMA’s flagship newscast 24 Oras was also the most watched news program nationwide and in all the said areas, which further proved that the Kapuso Network is the Filipinos’ top news source especially during these times.

Making it high in this month’s list of top-rating Kapuso shows is the replay of Encantadia followed by Descendants of the Sun (The Philippine Adaptation), Centerstage, Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko, Wowowin Primetime, Pepito Manaloto, Magpakailanman, Daddy’s Gurl, the re-run of Kambal Karibal, Anak ni Waray vs Anak ni Biday, Amazing Earth, Prima Donnas, Eat Bulaga, Bulaga and Love of my Life.

Nielsen TV Audience Measurement's client pool covers a total of cli37 clients/subscribers consisting of local TV networks, regional cli ents, blocktimers, advertisers, and agencies.

Enjoying your favorite K-Drama at home NOW is the best time to catch up on your favorite movies and TV series at home. Whether you’re just new to the K-drama land or already a fan seeking for more streamable shows, you got a lot of reasons (and time) now to settle in and binge-watch with your family.

Fans can now enjoy a month-long k-drama marathon as PLDT Home brings unlimited VIP access for one month to everything on iflix. Pick any genre – Korean rom-coms to thrillers, historical fiction and more – because you can find binge-worthy k-drama that will suit you and your family.

Existing subscribers of PLDT Home Fibr Plan 1899 and up in Luzon can now enjoy a one-month subscription to iflix VIP usable until April 30. Here are some of the titles you can catch when you get your free month on the streaming service: Confidential Assignment K-drama fans who loved Crash Landing On You will definitely love Confidential Assignment, an action film that also stars Hyun Bin as a North Korean officer who must work with South Korea to track down a criminal. It’s got the perfect blend of action and comedy—plus Hyun Bin—to keep everyone entertained at home.

Rich Man If you’re looking for a dose of kilig as you spend time at home, this quirky K-drama is for you. Kim Jun-myeon plays a genius CEO and game programmer who hires a college student with excellent memory, played by Ha Yeon-soo, because he is unable to remember people’s faces—especially that of the woman he loves. This intriguing premise and the chance at love is sure to hook people in for a good week or two.

To automatically enjoy these titles and enjoy access to everything on iflix for 30 days, just follow these simple steps: Log in to their PLDT Home account; Update your info; and Receive an EDM with the iflixVIP voucher.

To redeem the voucher, go to iflix.com via web/mobile browser or iflix Android app, create a new account or log in to an existing one, click on the burger menu and go to 'Redeem Voucher' and hit 'Submit.'

For more updates, follow PLDT Home on Facebook at facebook.com/PLDTHome or visit pldthome.com.

Paying tribute to modern-day heroes The Last Princess In this epic 2016 South Korean movie, Son Ye-Jin plays the real-life Princess Deokhye, the last princess of the former Korean Empire’s old Joseon dynasty. The movie follows the princess’s life from her teenage years, when she was forced to move to Japan, to her attempts to return to her homeland in her later years. Historical drama fans will love this masterful and moving performance from Son.

Youth-focused streaming platform launched amid lockdown Videos and photos in ‘Pag-ibig Ang Hihilom Sa Daigdig’ music video are courtesy of various organizations and individuals fighting together against the pandemic.

HEROES rise in the most trying of times—this was proven by the global response to the pandemic that is COVID-19.

To recognize the valiant efforts of these modern-day heroes and rally them in this battle, ABS-CBN launches its music video tribute "Pag-ibig Ang Hihilom Sa Daigdig," on TV Patrol on April 3.

It illustrates how love propels Filipinos to actions that help overcome any adversity, even one the scale of this massive health crisis.

The music video features touching scenes of health workers and frontliners who tirelessly care for the sick despite the risk to their own health and ordinary citizens who shell out not just money but their time and effort to protect our health workers and the vulnerable.

It also shows officials stepping up to go above their duty, people from all over the world giving words of encouragement, and people turning to prayer and faith in this uncertain time to send out a message of hope that humanity can win against COVID-19.

The song’s lyric was written by Des Parawan, Robert Labayen, and Lloyd Corpuz, who also headed music production with co-composer Raizo Chabeldin. Its vocals are by Raizo Chabeldin and Biv de Vera. Music video production was headed

by Faith Zambrano-Pascual, with lead producer Happy Adiova. Core group producers are Christian Abuel, Des Parawan, Love De Leon, and Nathan Perez. Celina Hidalgo and Karlo Victoriano served as lead editor and lead motion graphics artist, respectively.

QUIBI, the multi-billion-dollar streaming platform launching Monday, is betting it can transform entertainment with short, Hollywood-quality clips to watch "on the go"—even as much of the world is trapped at home.

Industry legends and stars from Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro to Jennifer Lopez and Reese Witherspoon have lined up to make movies and shows for the youth-focused, smartphone-only service.

Tapping into the boom in mobile video viewing, all content will be delivered in clips of no more than 10 minutes—or "quick bites."

Every show must be made in both horizontal and vertical formats, automatically flipping between the two as viewers rotate their phones.

But Quibi's plans were set long before the coronavirus pandemic prompted stay-athome orders for billions of people around the globe—mean-

ing nobody is quite sure how to measure success in the months ahead, its CEO told AFP. "Honestly, we don't know, because we are launching in unprecedented times," said Meg Whitman, who previously led eBay. "I don't think any of us have ever seen anything quite like this."

While presumably fewer people will now watch during commutes or coffee breaks, self-isolation could prompt its own need for quick distractions, Quibi executives say.

A formidable lineup—50 shows at launch, with 175 originals in its first year—helped make Quibi's decision to stick with its long-established April 6 launch a lot easier, said Whitman.

Big Hollywood names have committed to work with Quibi thanks to its founder, Jeffrey Katzenberg, a towering figure in Tinseltown who ran Disney Studios for a decade and cofounded DreamWorks. AFP

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MStandardLIFE

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

By Steph Llarena

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AVE you looked up in the sky recently? If you look carefully, you’ll slightly get a view of the Milky Way galaxy from the city—which previously was only visible away from Metro Manila.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020

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Milky Way

now visible in Metro Manila

STARRY CITY. The galactic center of the Milky Way is visible over the city lights of Makati and Quezon City in this photo by Philippine Astronomical Society president Kashogi Astapan.

The Philippine Astronomical Society recently shared a photo of the galaxy taken from Manila. With “some minor enhancements,” the galactic center was slightly visible over the city lights of Makati and Quezon City in the photo taken by PAS president Kashogi Astapan using Fujifilm X-E2 with Samyang 12 mm f2 lens.

According to the organization, the visibility was due to the clear sky, new moon, less air pollution, and less light pollution.

PAS’ statement has been confirmed by experts, saying that the air quality in Metro Manila has improved after the Luzon-wide, government-imposed enhanced community quarantine.

Citing data from Airtoday.ph, the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology at the University of the Philippines Diliman reported a 180 percent decrease in PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers) since the first day of the ECQ. Aside from causing shortness of breath and aggravating pre-existing respiratory conditions, high levels of PM2.5 can also reduce visibility in the sky.

Records from Airtoday.ph showed decrease of PM2.5 in various areas in Metro Manila. For instance, the air quality at the monitoring station located at the Lung Center of the Philippines during the first week of the ECQ (March 1622) has improved by 80 to 180 percent from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. versus data two weeks before the quarantine (March 2-8).

The same trend was observed at Airtoday.ph’s monitoring station in Edsa Muñoz which showed a 70 to 90 percent reduction of PM2.5 since the ECQ. The improved air quality was attributed to the imposed road restrictions, according to UP Environmental Pollution Studies laboratory head Dr. Mylene Cayetano.

“Majority of the air pollution comes from vehicle emissions. Cordoning off East Avenue and Quezon Avenue, both hospital zones, brings positive feedback of cleaning the air,” said Cayetano.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources likewise confirmed the air quality in Metro Manila has improved based on data from their monitoring stations.

Citing records on March 22, the DENR said, “The 24-hour average level for PM10 in Las Piñas and Marikina went down to 31.67 and 27.21 micrograms per normal cubic meter (ug/Ncm) from a high 57.81 and 31.28 ug/Ncm, respectively, on March 9.”

“The acceptable threshold standard level of PM10 is 60 ug/Ncm,” said the Environment department.

Meanwhile, the PM2.5 levels in Muntinlupa and Parañaque on March 22 were 10.78 and 14.29 ug/Ncm, respectively, which the DENR said were much lower when they were recorded at 28.75 and 27.23 ug/Ncm, respectively on March 10.

“This explains why our sky now is clear and looks clean,” said Undersecretary Benny Antiporda in a statement.

Earth Hour 2020 goes digital dsfasdfadsffasdfsdf

COMPUTERS on, vocacy; it should lights off as the be our second naWorld Wide Fund ture. It is the only for Nature (WWF) way we can change Philippines celebratthe ending,” said ed this year’s Earth WWF-Philippines Hour online. chairperson Maria The annual Isabel Garcia. switch-off event, Solidarity, which held globally on the event has long March 28, invited been promoting, everyone to come becomes much together for the enmore vital as the vironment while at world battles a dishome in light of the ease that has discurrent coronavirus rupted and taken disease pandemic. the lives of many.

“In this hour of cri“In the midst of sis, we need to unite this crisis we are all now more than ever reminded that we are to safeguard our fuconnected and we ture and the future can only address this of our planet,” said The World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines joins the global if we act as one. Earth celebration of the Earth Hour through online shows and WWF International Hour calls for our programs. director general Marunited and sustained co Lambertini. response to care for He continued, “It our environment. We is a time for solidarneed to realize what ity and a time to reis important,” said spond to challenges WWF-Philippines more creatively and executive director work more collaborJoel Palma. atively, which is why The organization Earth Hour is being urges everyone to marked through digi#ChangeTheEndtal events across the ing on the current globe.” environmental crisis.

– Joel Palma, WWF-Philippines executive director Prior to the Earth Hour Philipswitch-off, WWFpines 2020 serves as Philippines national a rallying point for the ambassadors Marc next five years of conNelson and Rovilson Fernandez hosted an Insta- servation work for the organization, as it seeks to instill a gram Livestream, entitled “Conservation Conversa- sense of urgency in the public for the most pressing envition.” ronmental issues, while urging governments, businesses, The two ambassadors talked about the environ- and individuals alike to contribute in solving them. ment, climate change, and volunteerism, as well as Meanwhile, across the globe Earth Hour 2020 saw their experiences working with WWF-Philippines. people raise their voice to invite action on pressing The show concluded at 8:30 p.m., to give way for environmental issues in their countries. Digital parthe Earth Hour switch-off. ticipation was observed in 190 countries and territoAfterwards, WWF-Philippines held a watch par- ries, and #EarthHour2020 and its related hashtags ty of video clips from Our Planet, a British nature made 3.1 billion impressions globally. Earth Hour documentary series made through the collaboration 2020 also trended on Twitter and Google Search in of Netflix, Silverback Films, and the WWF Interna- 37 countries. tional network. The critically acclaimed series highSouth Africa launched a digital “Power to the lights conservation issues and humans’ impact on People” campaign for a renewed focus on clean and the environment. reliable sources of energy.

“Under the crisis of this pandemic, WWF’s Earth Singapore went fully digital for the first time ever, Hour signals a powerful call for solidarity with each airing Earth Hour 2020 - Live and Unplugged, a liveother and with our planet. We need to affirm it now streamed, digital-only performance bringing together more than ever. Conservation is not just another ad- Singapore’s diverse voices for the environment.

“In the midst of this crisis we are all reminded that we are connected and we can only address this if we act as one.”

Airtoday.ph’s monitoring station records air quality in its location. (Photo from Airtoday.ph)

Graph shows the concentration levels of PM2.5 at the Lung Center of the Philippines two weeks before, a week before, and the first week of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. (From Airtoday.ph and Environmental Pollution Studies Laboratory)

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020

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ARIS—In Europe, officials, doctors and engineers are looking at how smartphones could be enlisted in the war against the spread of the new coronavirus.

One obvious attraction for health officials is the possibility of using smartphones to find out with whom someone diagnosed with COVID-19 has been in contact.

But can this be done without intrusive surveillance and access to our devices that store a wealth of private information?

ANONYMISED AND AGGREGATED Firms can “anonymise” location data received from your smartphone by stripping out personal identifiers. It can then be presented in an “aggregate” form where individual and identifiable data points are not accessable.

Your location data is already likely being used that way by mobile operators to feed traffic information to map apps.

And it is such information that the European Commission has requested from mobile operators, which can determine the location of users by measuring the phone signal strength from more than one network tower.

In fact, mobile operators have already been providing such data to health researchers in both France and Germany.

Google, which collects large amounts of data from users of its myriad services, plans to publish information about the movement of people to allow governments to gauge the effectiveness of social distancing measures.

In particular, it will display percentage point increases and decreases in visits to such locations as parks, shops, and workplaces.

BLUETOOTH SLEUTH Anonymised and aggregated only get you so far. To get practical data like the people with whom an infected person has had contact, you need to get invasive.

Or do you?

Singapore pioneered a method using Bluetooth. This is the technology that allows people to connect wireless headphones or earbuds to their smartphones.

If you’ve ever connected a pair to your phone in a public place you’ll probably have noticed the devices of others nearby.

It is this feature of Bluetooth that the Singaporean app TraceTogether exploits.

Someone who has downloaded the app and kept their Bluetooth enabled will begin to register codes from all people who have the app on their phone and come within range.

Germany is looking at rolling out a similar system.

PRIVACY CONCERNS The Singaporean app is designed to reduce privacy concerns.

For one, the app is voluntary.

Globe addresses loading concerns of customers WITH the majority of Filipinos now at home due to enhanced community quarantine, Globe is providing its customers with a way to borrow load or subscribe to promos so they can remain connected with their loved ones and social circles during this time of crisis.

Globe’s load and promo loans provide a safer alternative that Globe and TM customers may avail of since they cannot go out to the store or any loading center to buy prepaid load. Service fees are temporarily waived to ease the burden customers are faced with at this time.

“We are constantly looking for ways to support our customers especially with the current health situation. We understand that many of our customers may be struggling financially or have no access to load or mobile services because of the ECQ in many areas.

Through Globe’s load and promo loans, we hope we can help our customers especially at this time,” said Diane Bautista, VP, Globe Feel Valued Tribe.

Eligible prepaid customers can avail of loan products from P5 to P50 in the form of load and promo. Those not qualified for load and promo loans may avail of emergency services comprising 5MB of data for P5 or 3 texts to Globe/TM and 1 load for P4. The borrowed amount will only be collected once they top up.

Customers may dial *143# on their mobile phone and choose “Loans” for Globe or “Utang” for TM to check the available load loan, promo loan and emergency text or data services.

Although customers may still see a service fee in the menu description when they visit *143#, Globe gives the assurance that the said fees are waived until April 15, 2020.

TECH & Gadgets

Free LinkedIn postings to accelerate hiring in fight vs virus

Smartphone vs virus:

Is privacy always the loser?

Cases of Apple’s new iPhone 5c smartphone are pictured at the Apple Store in Paris. Can our smartphones, and the wealth of data they contain on our trips and our meetings, help to fight against the coronavirus, without dragging us into the surveillance society?

Another is that it doesn’t track your location, rather it just collects codes from the phones of people with whom you come into relatively close contact.

That information is only uploaded to the operator of the app when a person declares himself or herself as having come down with COVID-19.

The TraceTogether app then matches up the codes (non-identifiable except to the operator of the system) with the telephone number of owners, and then messages them they had been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

SPIES IN CHARGE The other means to get practical information is to utilise the location data of phone users.

This is the method chosen by Israel, which put internal security agency Shin Bet in charge of obtaining the data from mobile phone operators.

It also gets access to data on the movement of people for a two week period to help track down people exposed to the coronavirus.

Shit Bet does not get access to a person’s phone, however.

‘PROPORTIONATE AND TEMPORARY’ Putting the fox in charge of guarding the henhouse is unlikely to sit well with rights and privacy groups, although they don’t exclude the use of technology to help combat the crisis.

“However, States’ efforts to contain the virus must not be used as a cover to usher in a new era of greatly expanded systems of invasive digital surveillance,” said a statement issued Thursday by 100 rights groups including Amnesty International, Privacy International and Human Rights Watch.

HOSPITALS and nonprofits working on Coronavirus disaster relief and essential services (such as supermarkets, package delivery and warehousing companies), can now post new mission critical jobs for free for the next three months, on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network.

This is to help these organizations connect with professionals with the relevant skills and experience to fill critical frontline roles.

Starting today, LinkedIn will do its part to support companies on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response.

Accelerate hiring for urgent roles: LinkedIn is offering companies and organizations in healthcare (including hospitals, medical device, medical practices and mental healthcare companies), disaster relief nonprofits, warehousing, supermarket and package delivery companies, the ability to post new mission critical jobs for free for the next three months (April 2 to June 30) so they can find and hire the people they need to meet the surge for urgent roles.

Connect medical professionals to critical healthcare roles: LinkedIn is also helping job seekers with the right skill sets quickly find these open roles by additionally promoting them on the LinkedIn homepage and the Jobs page. Frontline healthcare roles, such as doctors and nurses, will be automatically added to a list of urgent jobs and will be surfaced through a special banner to reach members with relevant skills and experience.

Scale hiring with Recruiting for Good: To help healthcare organizations and disaster relief nonprofits who are managing the secondary effects of Coronavirus, such as unemployment, childcare, and mental health issues, LinkedIn has expanded its Recruiting For Good program. Already more than 100 LinkedIn recruiters and talent professionals are working to help source and screen talent so that these organizations can fill urgent paid and volunteer positions.

Gain insights: LinkedIn has also heard from healthcare staffing firms that they need tools to identify critical healthcare professionals efficiently.

To help support their surge in hiring needs, LinkedIn is offering access to LinkedIn Talent Insights for free for the next three months to give these healthcare firms access to real-time data and insights on the talent market.

Stay informed: A new Navigating Coronavirus microsite can help LinkedIn’s customers stay informed, connected and productive amidst a rapidly changing hiring landscape.

Learning @ Home with Girls4TechConnect MASTERCARD extended access to its signature STEM curriculum, Girls4Tech™, through a suite of new online, creative educational resources. The program has been designed to help parents and teachers engage and inspire kids, ages 8-12.

Through the newly launched website Girls4Tech Connect, as well as through activities made in collaboration with our education partner Scholastic, teachers and parents can download lessons to help students learn about STEM topics, from the comfort of their homes or anywhere around the world.

These activities are built on global science and math standards—and incorporate Mastercard’s deep expertise in payments technology and innovation—to enable children to discover a range of STEM careers, such as Fraud Detective, Data Scientist and Software Engineer.

Now in its sixth year, Girls4Tech has engaged more than 800,000 students across the globe through inquiry-based activities and real-world challenges, all with the goal of inspiring more girls to pursue STEM careers and reduce the gender gap in these fields.

“We know that these are challenging times for parents and teachers on many fronts and hope that these learning resources are a fun way to engage and inspire kids about STEM while at home,” says Susan Warner, vice

Mastercard provides free online STEM lessons to children, teachers and parents.

president of Community Engagement at Mastercard, and founder of Girls4Tech. “The easy access to the website enhances what we’ve done in so many workshops. We look forward to building on both efforts when it’s once again safe to gather in person.”

Beginning this week, new activities will be posted on a weekly basis at the Girls4Tech website, Facebook page and Twitter handle. Lessons are currently available in English,

with additional Spanish and Chinese language content to follow in the coming weeks.

While all lessons are designed for students to work independently, materials are also available for teachers to guide online sessions.

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST SIX YEARS To date, Girls4Tech has reached more than 800,000 girls in 27 countries and on 6 continents.

The program has engaged more than 4,400 employee mentors worldwide.

Mastercard has partnered with Scholastic, Be Better China, Major League Baseball, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), R&A and YCAB in Indonesia to further scale the program and offer STEM skills in unique ways to girls ages 8-16.

• As technology skills evolve, a new curriculum was launched in 2019 to give students deeper exposure to the growing fields of cybersecurity and AI – Girls4Tech Cybersecurity & AI. • Girls4Tech programs also extend to girls ages 13-16 with Girls4Tech 2.0, as well as a 20-week coding program, Girls4Tech & Code for girls 8-10.

To learn more about Girls4Tech and access the online lessons, please visit Girls4Tech Connect.

Workplace Redefined: Is your workplace ready for future?

By Randy Escuyos, Head of Wireless Business Unit, Fujitsu Philippines THE workplace, as we have known it, is changing into a non-physical environment.

Gone are the days when employees go to the office every day to work in front of a desk and a computer loaded up with various technologies, selected and managed by Information technology (IT) departments. Nowadays, offices are becoming more diverse and smarter, with differing needs and challenges.

Desk sharing, working from home, and virtual collaboration have been changing offices beyond recognition. Modern professionals want spaces where they can collaborate easily in ad-hoc meetings, with easy conferencing hook-ups, instant plug-and-go screen sharing, and clutter-free desks that leave more space to increase productivity.

And now, the IT departments’ job is more about enabling interoperability between diverse technologies to ensure professionals can remain productive and able

to collaborate wherever they are.

This trend, which employs the latest technologies to connect, collaborate, and engage people by creating a virtual workspace, is called a Smart Workplace. It is enabled through a connection of networked platforms, software, IoT technologies, and sensors. Smart Workplace is becoming a new norm since it serves as a central piece in today’s workplace strategy.

Current trends redefine the game The world’s current megatrends are driving the change in the way people live and work. For instance, the number of people around the world using the Internet has grown to 4.54 billion, a seven percent increase compared to January 2019, says the Digital 2020 report of social media research firms We Are Social, Inc., and Hootsuite.

The same report also revealed that globally, more than 5.19 billion people now use mobile phones, with user numbers up by 124 million over the past year. These people online are becoming more and more connected by the Internet of Things (IoT).

As these megatrends continue to create massive disruptions, they also bring challenges. With the rise of cloud computing, Augmented Reality (AR), and Hyper-Connectivity, among others, organizations are concerned about security threats.

Society, on the other hand, is faced with challenges in providing empowerment, flexibility, user innovations, and new leadership styles that go along with the disruptions. And with younger generations starting to penetrate the workforce, organizations are pushed to create new workplace strategies to cater to their needs.

A Fujitsu study, called Workplace 2025: The CXO View, revealed that most corporate executives are now planning to bridge the gap between their current work environment and the strategy that will support the new demands of the business in 2025. Some of the highlights of the study are as follows: The rise of Millennial and Gen-Z workforce Millennials and their younger “Gen Z” counterparts will dominate the workforce

and redefine corporate cultures by 2025. Millennials, also called Generation Y (born between 1980s2000), will comprise 50 percent of the workforce.

Generation Z (born between 2000-2009), on the other hand, will represent more than 20 percent.

With the change in workforce demographics, organizations are also pushed to recalibrate their approach to become more attractive employers. Workforce structures will become more fluid in terms of layers of management and flexible working practices as organizations adopt more project-based than role-based work. By 2025, one-third of organizations will also have more than 50% of their staff working remotely.