If one solution does not work, try a dif

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

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

Business

BPOs eye 10,000 tourism workers

PSE INDEX

Thursday, September 11, 2020 65.57 PTS.

5,967.96

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

1,111,602,778 68,640 4,176,031,102.16 90 92 51

Foreign Exchange Rate

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

Currency Unit US Dollar Peso

United States Dollar 1.000000 48.5790 Japan UK Hong Kong Switzerland Canada Singapore Australia Bahrain Saudi Arabia Brunei Indonesia Thailand UAE Euro Korea China India Malaysia New Zealand Taiwan Yen Pound Dollar Franc Dollar Dollar Dollar Dinar Rial Dollar Rupiah Baht Dirham Euro Won Yuan Rupee Ringgit Dollar Dollar 0.009422 1.280800 0.129031 1.098901 0.758323 0.730087 0.725400 2.652238 0.266624 0.727431 0.000067 0.031949 0.272272 1.182400 0.000842 0.146331 0.013618 0.240269 0.664400 0.034171 0.4577 62.2200 6.2682 53.3835 36.8386 35.4669 35.2392 128.843 12.9523 35.3379 0.0033 1.5521 13.2267 57.4398 0.0409 7.1086 0.6615 11.6720 32.2759 1.6600

Source: BSP

IN BRIEF

By Othel V. Campos

MORE than 10,000 jobs in the business process outsourcing industry will be made available to displaced tourism workers nationwide in a job fair this September, the Department of Tourism said over the weekend.

“The DOT is taking this as a timely blessing for affected tourism workers. Our tour guides and frontline service providers certainly have an edge, especially those who speak foreign languages, as they find work in the BPO industry while tourism operations are still limited. Part-time jobs are also available, and have work-from-home arrangements in light of the new normal,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

The DOT and Concentrix will open positions for customer service representatives, technical support representatives, frontline/specialists, supervisors, trainers, managers and others for the human resources and recruitment, finance, IT and marketing sectors.

The virtual job fair “Mabuhay! Partnership: Overcoming Adversities Through New Opportunities” will provide on-site and work from home jobs in light of the new normal.

“Both the tourism and the BPO industries are people-oriented. We believe in your talent and skills, and we know you will rise above this crisis through this new and exciting undertaking,” Puyat said.

Applicants should be at least high school graduates, can comfortably converse in English, possess good computer skills and problem solving skills with pleasant personality when faced with multiple concerns.

The hiring process will be completed in less than 24 hours after a series of online interviews and assessments. Hired applicants will be compensated while on training.

TRB set to harmonize

NLEX, TPLEX roads

THE Department of Transportation, through the Toll Regulatory Board, plans to implement toll harmonization between North Luzon Expressway and Tarlac-Pangasinan La Union Expressway by the fourth quarter of 2020.

“We intent to start with NLEX and TPLex by last quarter of the year and we will be pushing for the others by 2021,” said TRB executive director of Abraham Sales.

Sales said TRB was in discussions with the San Miguel Group for the interoperability of its expressways in the north and south of Manila with other operators.

San Miguel operates Skyway, South Luzon Expressway, STAR Tollway and NAIAx, while MPTC runs Manila Cavity Expressway, C5 Link Expressway and Cavity Laguna Expressway.

The Toll Collection Interoperability project was launched in 2017 with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the DOTr, the Department of Public Works and Highways, Land Transportation Office-Philippines, Toll Regulatory Board, San Miguel Group, Metro Pacific Group and the Ayala Group.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Aboitiz backs DTI call to use local products

THE Aboitiz Group fully supports the appeal of the Department of Trade and Industry to prioritize the use of local materials in the administration’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) program to help jumpstart the economy and sustain jobs for Filipinos amid the health crisis.

Aboitiz, which is into cement manufacturing and property development, reiterated its support to government initiatives, boasting its capability to provide unhampered services, as well as competitive and quality products.

“As the country heals and slowly recovers from the current pandemic, the Aboitiz Group continues to look for ways to also address the economic impact of this health crisis. We will keep on investing resources to help the government fire up the economy through solutions and products that are proudly Filipino backed by global expertise,” said company president and chief executive officer Sabin Aboitiz.

“We envision a Philippines with strong and durable infrastructure that will serve Filipinos for generations to come,” he added.

The DTI has pushed for the use of local construction materials in BBB and other national and local infrastructure projects.

Othel V. Campos

LGU ASSISTANCE. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III (center) and Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Prospero de Vera (left) present surgical masks and personal protective equipment to Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro for use by front-liners in the city. The event, which held at the Animal Trail, Marikina River Park on Sept. 10, is part of CODE (Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic) Team’s visit to different local government units to get a first hand on the local situation and the interventions being implemented in the fight against COVID-19.

Toyota PH expanding automotive production this week

TOYOTA Motor Philippines said it will expand vehicle production starting this week by returning to two-shift operations to catch up on improving demand and comply with the required production volume under the automotive incentives program.

TMP president Atsuhiro Okamoto said manufacturing was expected to return to original pace before the COVID-19 outbreak.

“By Sept. 14, we will start to see two shifts in Sta. Rosa. That means that our production volume, our production efficiency will return to normal, same as before the COVID pandemic,” he said during the launch of the improved Toyota Hilux over the weekend.

Okamoto said improved production would continue in October but the company would decide either to maintain the current output or “play it by ear” in November, depending on the volume of demand.

He said demand for the Vios and Innova vehicles picked up, encouraging the company to operate in two shifts.

Toyota vice president for corporate affairs Rommel Gutierrez said the company saw the return to two-shift operations urgent to to catch up on missed opportunities for the Vios that were lost to the pandemic.

Vios was the enrolled model under Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program.

“It has always been a challenge to meet the target volume requirement of the program. So what Toyota does of course in relation to employment is that we have to keep the current number of workers, so that we will continue to produce the Vios, and of course the Innova. The current program is six years, and we are actually halfway. It is affected by the COVID-19, but we have to face the challenges,” he said.

“Of course we want government to extend the number of years of the CARS program because definitely we cannot comply with the volume requirement as originally said. That was set under normal circumstance at that time. But so many things have happened. It started from the introduction of the new excise tax, which affected the sales. Of course [came] the Taal Volcano eruption, and definitely the COVID-19. So as far as extension of the number of years of the CARS program is concerned, we definitely support that. In fact, we may have to ask that separately,” he said.

Villar’s AllHome notes rising sales

HOME improvement and furniture retailer AllHome Corp., said sales of appliance and other essential remain strong despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

AllHome vice chairman Camille Villar reported a significant increase in sales in the company’s wide range of products despite the imposition of a modified enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine.

“During the 2nd Quarter of this year, appliances contributed 40 percent of our sales, generated by our tactical pop-up stores placed near All Day Supermarkets. We recognized and capitalized on our AllValue retail ecosystem, of which AllHome is an integral part,” Villar said.

“As the country moved to a more relaxed GCQ, AllHome’s sales saw improvement, with shoppers resuming home projects and select businesses started reopening,” she added.

Because of the pandemic, Villar said shopOIL TAXES. The Department of Finance collects over P129 billion in import duties and taxes from fuel products from Sept. 1, pers had more time at home and that household 2019 to Sept. 10, 2020 under the Fuel Marking Program. Some 12.321 billion liters of diesel, gasoline and kerosene were marked for incomes were diverted from travel and nonessential entertainment to renovations as well as passion projects. Jenniffer B. Austria taxation by the government during the period. Petron Corp. accounted for 2.842 billion liters or 23.07 percent of the total, followed by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. with 2.528 billion liters or 20.52 percent, and Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc. with 1.297 billion liters or 10.53 percent. Japan Tobacco asks gov’t to impose on tougher penalties against cigarette smugglers

JAPAN Tobacco International Philippines, the local unit of Japan Tobacco International, asked the government over the weekend to impose stiffer penalties against people or groups found involved in illicit tobacco trade.

JTI Philippines general manager John Freda said in a statement the problem of illegal trade in tobacco was a growing one and required more attention. He said while the government was striving hard to stamp out the problem, the situation required absolute vigilance.

“Illegal tobacco makers are directly stealing from the state. As legitimate businesses, we are a very effective tax collector and clearly we can’t do that if there is an illicit problem. Illegal trade cheats everyone―governments, consumers and legitimate businesses,” Freda said.

“In my previous role, I had seen situations where if the issue is not mitigated early, things can go badly wrong like Malaysia where over 60 percent of the cigarette market is illegal,” he said.

Freda said for a country with so many islands like the Philippines, it was a huge challenge to control the problem, but the deterrents needed to be stronger.

“Stiffer sanctions are required - we need to see people being caught and brought to justice in a way that deters others from being part of this criminal endeavor,” he said.

“The illegal tobacco trade is a feast for criminals who make huge profits often with very low risk of being caught and insignificant penalties. A lucrative business indeed for anyone who has the logistics in place and can copy our products and import without paying the taxes, which is unacceptable,” Freda said.

Freda said with JTI products, quality was assured throughout all stages of sourcing, manufacturing, storage and distribution in full compliance with regulatory and legal requirements.

He said JTI’s factory in Batangas ensured that all products passed rigid qual ity checks before they were released in the market. Julito G. Rada

BIR, Customs exceeded new collection target for 8 months

By Julito G. Rada

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs raised P1.636 trillion in the first eight months, up 7.17 percent over the revised P1.527- trillion target set by the interagency Development Budget Coordinating Committee.

Citing preliminary BIR and BOC data, the Department of Finance’s Revenue Operations Group said the two agencies collected P109.5 billion more than the revised collection goal set by the DBCC in July.

The DOF said the BIR collected P1.289 trillion in the first eight months, exceeding by P96.44 billion or 8.08 percent the DBCC target of P1.192 trillion for the period. It did not provide year-on-year comparisons.

The Customs collected P347.6 billion over the January-August period, which was P16.97 billion or 5.13 percent more than the DBCC target of P330.63 billion.

The BIR and BOC also exceeded their DBCC-set collection targets for August despite the curtailed economic activities in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal from Aug. 4 to 18, when these areas were placed under a strict modified enhanced community quarantine.

Combined collections of the BIR and BOC reached P216.65 billion in August, which was P61.38 billion or 39.53 percent more than the DBCC target of P155.27 billion for that month, the DoF said.

The BIR collected P172.06 billion in August, exceeding the DBCC target of P118.2 billion by 5.5 percent or P53.87 billion.

A total of P44.59 billion was collected by the BOC in August, topping the DBCC target of P33.68 billion by P10.9 billion or 32.58 percent.

The DOF reported earlier that budget deficit climbed by 86.21 percent in July to P140.2 billion from the P75.3-billion shortfall a year ago, as expenditures increased 10.4 percent and revenue collection dropped 11.2 percent during the month.

“The higher deficit for the month reflects the 10.40-percent growth in government expenditures, boosted by the implementation of various COVID-19 rehabilitation and recovery measures vis-à-vis an 11.22-percent drop in revenue collection,” the Treasury said in a statement.

Gov’t prohibits pork products from Germany

THE Department of Agriculture over the weekend issued a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild pigs, pork products and by-products from Germany.

It said the ban was imposed after the confirmation of the first case of African Swine Fever in Schenkendöbern, Spree-Neiße, Brandenburg which affected wild boar, as reported by Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (National Laboratory).

The official report was submitted on Sept. 10, 2020 by Dr. Dietrich Rassow, director for animal health and animal welfare and chief veterinary officer of the Directorate of Animal Health and Animal Welfare, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Berlin, Germany, to the World Organization for Animal Health.

Aside from the temporary ban, Agriculture Secretary William Dar also issued an immediate suspension of the processing and evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance to domestic and wild pigs, pork products and by-products from Germany.

The department said all shipments of pigs, pork and pork products from Germany to the Philippines would be confiscated by all DA-Bureau of Animal Industry veterinary quarantine officers at all major ports of entry.

The DA lifted on Sept. 7 the ban on poultry imports from Brazil after the Brazilian government presented coronavirus prevention measures.

Brazil earlier complained that the Philippine government committed trade violations for imposing the im port ban on poultry meat without following the necessary and mandatory principles and steps under Article 5 of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. Othel V. Campos