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AERIAL view of Catanduanes ALEXPUNKER | DREAMSTIME.COM

By Cai U. Ordinario

CAT-LIKE shriek could be heard as typhoon winds blew and rain poured in torrents on the morning of November 1st. Supertyphoon Rolly had finally arrived in Catanduanes, the land of the howling winds. Rosemarie Yutan, a native of Catanduanes, and her family were staying with a friend in what was a relatively safe home with concrete walls and floors. But nothing could have prepared her for what came next. The entire house shook. At that point, she knew. This was no ordinary typhoon. As the storm raged, the heavy wooden doors of the home that took four men to install were gone with the wind and the glass windows of the home shattered into a billion pieces. It was their good fortune that all the chaos spared the second floor of the home where they were all staying. Supertyphoon Rolly battered the province from 3 a.m. in the morning until 8 a.m. Five long hours that brought flash floods as the heavy rains sent water racing down the mountains, causing rivers and creeks to overflow. The typhoon also brought a five-meter storm surge—at high tide—causing many people to drown. “Ang daming namatay. Hindi pa lang talaga nabibilang lahat. Dun sa isang barangay, 65 na daw ang namatay dahil nalunod, inanod mga bahay [Many people died but we have not been able to count all of them. I heard in one barangay, 65 people drowned because their homes were washed away],” Yutan added. Yutan said during their ordeal, the wind was so strong that they had to yawn periodically just to relieve the pressure from their ears. The winds were so strong that Caster Ubalde, another native of the province, said “Nakakatakot, nabibingi na kami [It was scary. The howling wind was deafening]!” he said in a video he sent to his brother after the storm passed. Ubalde was telling his brother

through the video that rainwater had already entered their house through the windows. All the rooms were wet, except for the room of their younger sister working as a nurse in Melbourne, Australia. As photos and videos of these harrowing experiences poured in on social media, memories of a cold and stormy night 14 years ago came rushing in to Charlaine Ubalde. She remembered typhoon Reming in 2006 which hit Virac, packing 190 kph maximum sustained winds and 225 kph gusts. The typhoon left Ubalde and her family with nothing. “Walang natirang tuyong damit sa amin (lahat) kami basang-basa, yung tipong bibigay na katawan mo. Sumisikip na dibdib mo sa sobrang lamig dahil walang matinong masisilungan talaga [We were soaked to the bone, all our clothes were wet. It felt like we were already getting sick. Our chests hurt because of the extreme cold since we had nowhere to go],” Ubalde recalled. “Washed out ang bahay namin. Tinangay ’yung mga di na namin nakayanan ilipat sa church kung saan kami nag-evacuate na muntikmuntik na din masira. Nakakatrauma [Our house was washed out. The storm took everything we could not bring with us to the church where we evacuated to. The church itself was almost destroyed by the typhoon. It was traumatic],” she added. Supertyphoon Rolly resurfaced a lot of memories for many others in the island province, which initial official reports said had been the hardest hit, with 90 percent of crops and infrastructure clearly wiped out or damaged, as seen from the first aerial sweeps by government helicopters. One Catandunganon recalled being

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.3500

THE remains of homes at a community after Supertyphoon Rolly passes by San Andres, Catanduanes, November 2, 2020. PHILIPPINE RED CROSS VIA AP

The ‘favorite’ entry point of most typhoons between 1947 and 2017, the island province of Catanduanes experienced yet another nightmare with Supertyphoon Rolly. But the folk who prefer to stay are raring for summer to come in this ‘land of the howling winds.’ cramped in a concrete bathroom with eight other people when Typhoon Rosing hit the province in the 1990s. She said it was the scariest moment of her life. The same typhoon, Yutan said, caused a huge landslide which killed many in Barangay Summit or Pedro Vega in Viga, Catanduanes. Another Catandunganon recalled her mother and grandfather pushing their piano against the front door to prevent the wind and rain from coming into their house during Typhoon Sisang in the 1980s. Her sister also recalled that during that particular typhoon, there was a minor earthquake, making it one of the most terrify-

ing experiences of her childhood. The experience in a more recent typhoon experience, Typhoon Niña, was shared by a couple who grew up in Catanduanes. They came to the island on a vacation with their children and when the typhoon hit, the house they were staying in became flooded and their children had to go on top of the dining table just to keep dry. The next day, they found the car they rented had been swept under a large mango tree. They had no choice but to take the C130 back to Manila. The horror of typhoons does not stop during the “siege” where rains and wind batter the province. Life

in the aftermath of a typhoon is another major challenge for many Catandunganons. Assessing the damage and finding out how much they lost is heartbreaking. On top of that, hunger and the lack of utilities that would persist for months is another difficult experience. A few days have passed since Supertyphoon Rolly ravaged Catanduanes. And those living in Virac like Caster Ubalde have to contend with the lack of resources. “Sobrang hirap na talaga dito [Life has truly become very difficult here],” he said. On Thursday, he decided to withdraw money from one of the ATMs that were left standing. He saw a very long queue but decided

to stick it out because he needed the money. But, after two hours of waiting in line, he decided to head for home. Maybe, he thought, going to the ATM earlier on Friday would mean fewer people in line. Other Catandunganons noticed that with the need to make immediate repairs to their homes, construction material prices have already increased. One Virac resident said it is taking P30,000 worth of materials just to fix parts of her roof and walls that were damaged by the storm. Due to Typhoon Rolly, Catanduanes is also without power and its residents do not have access to safe water sources. In typhoons past, it took months to get a sense of normalcy in the province. This is why the announcement of Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella in a briefing on Thursday morning came as a pleasant surprise. He said power could return in the province in one to two weeks. However, Fuentebella said, a 100-percent return of the electricity in the entire province will take longer. He said it is likely that this will happen before Christmas. Typhoons through the years have brought Catandunganons so much loss and pain. Poverty incidence in the province was lower at 20.3 percent in 2018. However, prior to that year, poverty incidence was increasing, reaching 43.4 percent in 2015 after posting 33.8 percent in 2012 and 29.1 percent in 2009. The primary source of livelihood in the province, abaca, may have been entirely wiped out by Typhoon Rolly this year. Catanduanes is the largest source of hand-stripped abaca in the Philippines and some Catandunganons believe they will have to wait for another three years to recover. An unofficial list of the most destructive typhoons circulating on social media showed that Virac was the entry point of many of these typhoons between 1947 and 2017. This may have been the basis of the cruel monicker “Land of the Howling Winds.” However, Catandunganons believe there is more to the province than just the harrowing stories of Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4673 n UK 63.5706 n HK 6.2367 n CHINA 7.3147 n SINGAPORE 35.8254 n AUSTRALIA 35.2085 n EU 57.1739 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8919

Source: BSP (November 6, 2020)

NewsSaturday BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, November 7, 2020

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Derailing of Jack Ma’s Ant IPO shows Xi Jinping’s in charge By Enda Curran, Sofia Horta e Costa & Lulu Yilun Chen

Bloomberg News

HINA’S move to abruptly halt the world’s biggest stock-market debut sends global investors a clear message: Any financial opening will only be done on terms that benefit President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party. Policy makers in Beijing shocked the investment world on Tuesday by suspending an initial public offering by Ant Group Co., a fintech company owned by billionaire Jack Ma—China’s secondrichest man. The decision came just two days before shares were set to trade in a listing that attracted at least $3 trillion of orders from individual investors. The timing of the decision showed once again that for Xi and the party, financial and political stability take precedence over ceding control of the economy—especially to a private company. In Beijing’s view, allowing the IPO to go forward could effectively give Ant too much sway over the financial system, posing broader risks that could ultimately undermine the party’s grip on power. “The party is flexing its muscle,” said Victor Shih, associate professor at UC San Diego and author of Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation. “It’s saying to Jack Ma, you are going to have the biggest IPO in the world, but that’s not a big deal for the CCP, which oversees the world’s second-largest economy.”

While the party has ample tools to quash political dissidents, local officials have struggled at times to contain outbursts of anger brought on by breadand-butter issues such as labor disputes, investment fraud, and environmental disasters. To mitigate any threats to the financial system, or the party’s authority, Xi’s government has demonstrated over the past decade that it has no problem taking down billionaires and private companies. For foreign investors, the Ant saga has raised questions about the viability of Hong Kong and Shanghai as premium financial centers. That’s particularly so after China last week signaled greater openness in a new five-year plan that put a timeline on moving forward with past promises of allowing greater foreign access and gradually relaxing controls over the yuan and capital flows. Both the sequence and timing of events of the IPO failure will raise doubts among foreign investors about China’s commitment to the kind of transparency needed in modern, open capital markets, said

Fraser Howie, author of Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China’s Extraordinary Rise. “It sends a number of signals, often conflicting,” Howie said. “Investors must therefore be concerned about the listing process in China, they will be concerned by disclosure, they will be concerned about arbitrary moves on the part of the regulators.” Many analysts saw the move as sensible, even if the timing was disruptive. Chinese regulators said Ant’s business model effectively allowed it to charge higher fees for transactions while state-run banks took on most of the risk. At the same time Ant sought to list, authorities were racing to develop rules that would subject financial holding companies to higher capital requirements. It’s also planning to create a digital yuan, which is part of its push to maintain control over the stability of its payment system. China Securities Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it supported a decision by the Shanghai Stock Exchange to block a “hasty” initial public offering. Changes in fintech industry regulations have a “huge impact” on Ant’s operational structure and profit model, it said in a statement.

JACK MA

BLOOMBERG

“The party is flexing its muscle. It’s saying to Jack Ma, you are going to have the biggest IPO in the world, but that’s not a big deal for the CCP, which oversees the world’s second-largest economy.” —Victor Shih, associate professor at UC San Diego and author of Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation

Ma’s risky speech

AT a conference in Shanghai on October 24, Ma blamed global regulators for focusing too much on risk, and criticized China’s own measures for stifling innovation. The remarks came after Vice President Wang Qishan—a Xi confidante— called for a balance between financial innovation and strong regulations to prevent financial risks.

“It appeared that, intentionally or not, Ma was openly defying and criticizing the Chinese government’s approach to financial regulation,” Andrew Batson, China research director at Gavekal Research Ltd., wrote in a note. Ma’s comments came right before the Communist Party held a key meeting to plan the country’s economy for the next 15 years, bringing the issues of technology, financial stability and economic growth to the top of the national agenda. After it ended last week, regulators released new rules affecting Ant’s businesses and summoned Ma to Beijing for a rare meeting on Monday. The IPO was suspended the next day. Within China, state-run media have highlighted Ant’s failures to comply with regulatory requirements while showcasing the government’s strong market supervision mechanisms and risk controls to protect consumers. In a commentary dated late Tuesday, the party-backed Economic Daily said suspending the IPO showed that “every link of the capital market has perfect rules and serious supervision methods.” “It’s understandable from the regulatory perspective and it is still a better outcome for investors than facing a black-swan event immediately after the listing,” said Lv Changshun, an analyst at Beijing Zhonghe Yingtai Management Consultant Co. “Policy-makers can tolerate innovation, but that should not be at the cost of a systemic financial risk. Avoiding that risk is an important foundation to push forward more capital market reforms.” Ant’s IPO prospectus was a bigger contributor to the timing of China’s moves than Ma’s speech in Shanghai, according to Gao Zhikai, a former Chinese diplomat and former China policy adviser for the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. Once regulators saw that Ant could do things that were off limits to commercial lenders,

he said, “someone rang the bell and brought it to the attention of the regulators.” “Traditional financial institutions, banks in particular, would probably welcome this decision when the dust settles,” he said. “It also does not create a regulatory disadvantage to Ant Group. It reminds Ant they need to treat certain parts of its operation as a commercial bank.”

Growing scrutiny

CHINESE authorities have been stepping up oversight of private companies for several years. In 2018, the central bank identified Ant and other firms as financial holding companies, putting them under increased scrutiny because of their growing role in the nation’s money flows and financial plumbing. That same year, regulators seized Anbang Insurance Group Co., which symbolized the recent era of mega-acquisitive Chinese companies, and imprisoned its former chairman for fraud. HNA Group Co. and Tomorrow Holding Co. were later taken over by the state or broken up, while China Evergrande Group in September is to have warned of a potential cash crunch that could pose systemic risks to China. Ostentatious and blunt, Ma is perhaps China’s most well-known entrepreneur in the communist nation. The globe-trotting tycoon is a special adviser to the United Nations, has debated Elon Musk on international forums, and is a regular at annual Davos gatherings. He’s created two multi-hundredbillion-dollar companies and has labeled himself a champion for the little guy and small businesses. On Wednesday, however, posts on Chinese social-media platforms were largely unsympathetic toward Ma. One anonymous Weibo poster wrote “if you don’t go out looking for trouble, trouble won’t find you.” Another quipped that “it’s time for Jack Ma to wake up, listen often and speak less.”

Despite Ma’s public dressing down and the reputational blow to China’s markets, many investors are still optimistic about Ant’s IPO. Higher liquidity requirements would hit sentiment, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for a listing that saw shares selling for a 50-percent premium in gray-market trading ahead of the IPO. Ram Parameswaran, founder of San Francisco-based Octahedron Capital Management, a hedge fund that holds shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and is planning to invest in the Ant IPO, saw the suspension as positive to stamp the speculation in the stock. Shares of Alibaba, which owns a third of Ant, fell 7.5 percent in Hong Kong, the most since its debut in the city last year. “What’s clear to me is that the lending business will grow slower over the next few years,” Parameswaran said. “That in the larger scheme of things is net positive for the sector and Ant. Steady growth is good.”

‘Strings pulled’

FOR global investors, however, the episode is likely to reinforce the notion that the party calls all the shots when it comes to major business decisions—and any opening measures will be carefully calibrated for the impact on the Communist Party. That could be all the more important in the years ahead as China seeks to develop its own core technologies in the face of growing pressure from the US, which is likely to continue no matter who ends up the winner of Tuesday’s election. “This sends a signal to the major tech players not to get too big for their britches and that the party is still in charge,” said Kendra Schaefer, head of digital research at the Trivium China consultancy in Beijing. “Internationally, however, moves like this do very little to alleviate concerns that tech companies going out are not having their strings pulled by Beijing.”

Typhoon country Continued from A1

typhoons past—and present. No matter how many typhoons come and how many times they are knocked down by disasters, Catandunganons know how to get up and continue living their lives. Typhoons are a one-day affair but real life happens in the other 364 days of the year. Currently, many private and

nongovernment organizations are coordinating and conducting relief operations. One organization, Tindog Catanduanes, in an update on its Facebook page as of November 4 at 10:34 p.m., has already received P326,481.50 in monetary donations. Other organizations, including batches of students who graduated from local high schools and colleges, are working to deliver water, food,

and other donations to the island. Indeed, the bayanihan spirit among Catandunganons is alive and stronger than ever before. The typhoons may have taken lives and property, but for those who remain, life goes on. Catanduanes is still their paradise. “We will not leave this place. This is still a beautiful place to live in. Just wait and see when summer comes,” Yutan said.

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BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Rich Pinoys boost beach home sales near Manila

rices of seaside properties near Manila are rising, as rich Filipinos look for second homes away from the Philippine capital region, broker Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. said. Land values in gated resort communities in Batangas, a province south of Manila, increased between 20 percent and 46 percent in October from year ago, the broker said in a report on Friday. Non-listed transaction value for 400 to 800-square-meter lots go as high as P50 million, or $1.04 million. “High net worth individuals tired of being cooped up in Metro Manila and looking for investment opportunities have been driving purchases,” it said. They are also “seeking healthier environments” away from business districts amid high daily infections in the capital. Properties in gated villages in

suburbs in the capital and surrounds are also getting a boost, said Joey Bondoc, senior research manager at broker Colliers International Group Inc. in Manila. The rich are buying prime real estate to “preserve wealth,” he said. Prime property in beach and suburban communities is among the few real-estate segments to see an upside amid the pandemic. Manila’s high-rise residential condominiums, office and retail have been beat up by the recession. Leechiu said it sees increasing demand for resort properties in Subic and La Union, north of Manila, as new expressways are built and Internet connectivity improves. “Popularity of second homes and resort properties are not just impulse buys,” it said. “The pandemic has merely re-focused attention on these seaside havens.” Bloomberg News

MMDA, Save the Children bring relief to Bicol typhoon victims

ave the Children Philippines distributed on Friday lifesaving humanitarian support to thousands of displaced children and their families following the massive devastation of Typhoon Rolly in the Bicol region. Two truck loads of hygiene kits, family emergency items, and water kits have been distributed to thousands of households in four barangays in Tiwi, Albay, where the storm made landfall. Life-saving humanitarian aid will also be distributed to affected families in Camarines Sur and Catanduanes-the worst hit province of Supertyphoon Goni. C hi ld ren a re e x per ienc ing hunger and distress, missing out on classes a week after the world’s most powerful typhoon hit the coasta l and pover t y-str icken provinces of Bicol.

MMDA team deployed

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Friday deployed a team to Camarines Sur to provide rehabilitation assistance to typhoon-affected families. MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim said that the 17-man team will help in the rehabilitation efforts in Barangay Abo, Tigaon, Camarines Sur that suffered severe devastation brought by Rolly. “ We have to help out our kababayans who have been severely affected by Rolly. I want all of you to keep safe during the entire duration of the mission,” Lim said during the send-off ceremony at the MMDA headquarters. The team, composed of personnel from the agency’s Public Safety Division and Flood Control Sewerage Management Office, is headed by Task Force Commander Allan Longcop. For his part, Ret. Gen. A lfredo Andres, officer-in-charge of MMDA’s Metropolitan Public Safety Office (MPSO) said the contingent is equipped with water purifiers, solar panels, generator sets, chainsaws, among others. C a ma r ines Su r Fou r t h Dist r ict Rep. A r nie Fuentebel l a

requested for assist a nce f rom MMDA .

Children’s tales of destruction

“Our house was destroyed. I feel bad because we don’t have money for repairs,” said 16-year-old Rodelfa, whose house in the coastal town of Tiwi in Albay province was among those flattened by storm surges. She and her family now live in a makeshift shack with plastic sheets for walls. “We need food, and also help with our education. In senior high school, we use cell phones [for distance learning because of Covid-19]. But we don’t have money to buy phone credits, and I don’t have my own cell phone. I just borrow one,” she said. Atty. Alberto Muyot, chief executive officer of Save the Children Philippines, said: “Children from poor households, and those living in remote areas bear the brunt of the climate-related shocks. Its impact is killing our children, their loved ones, and ruining their homes and their chance to a future.” He said the humanitarian system in the country is stretched out as calamity funds of local government were depleted by their respective Cov id-19 response, and previous typhoons and calamities. Save the Children estimates that at least 1.3 million people, of whom 450,000 are children, were severely affected by Typhoon Rolly, the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines for 2020. Based on initial assessment, Save the Children identified immediate needs of children and their families that include clean drinking water, food security and livelihood, as well as learning and teaching materials of children and teachers which were damaged by the typhoon. These materials include the printed modules/activity sheets, books, supply of bond papers, computers, printers, and Risographs. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Saturday, November 7, 2020

DOLE readies delivery of cash aid to 800K ‘unserved’ workers

By Samuel P. Medenilla

whose employment was affected by Covid-19. Tutay said they hope to complete the distribution of their CAMP before December 19, 2020 before the Bayanihan 2 expires. For “unserved” CAMP applicants, Tutay said, they will no longer have to reapply again to avail of the program, but will simply have to register in their web site.

t least 800,000 people are expected to benefit from the latest round of cash aid from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for workers affected by Covid-19.

This after the department got its P4.7-billion share from the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) to implement its Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP). Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said 700,000 of the said target beneficiaries are those who already applied for the program

Priority regions

earlier this year, but remained “unserved” by DOLE due to lack of additional funding. “Hopefully even before Nov. 20, our applicants will be able to get the aid,” Tutay said during an online news briefing on Friday. CAMP is a one-time P5,000 financial assistance extended by DOLE to workers in the formal workers

Tutay noted they will prioritize the distribution of CAMP in the Bicol region, which is still reeling from the impact of Typhoon Rolly (international code name Goni). DOLE has allocated P150 million for the CAMP beneficiaries in the Bicol region, which will benefit 30,000 workers. “The amount [of CAMP benefits] we release per region is based on the proportion of the number

By Recto Mercene

ome $13,500 bills misdeclared as “correspondence” were seized by airport Customs operatives from two packages that arrived from the US at a courier’s delivery warehouse last October 30. Ninoy Aquino International

Airport (Naia) Customs district collector Mimel Talusan said the sender, a certain Jefferson, sent the package to himself, with an address in Poblacion, Muntinlupa City. She said the first package contains 75 pieces of $100 bills, while the other contained 150 pieces of $20 bills, 20 pieces of $50 bills, and 20 pieces of

of unserved beneficiaries of CAMP from Bayanihan 1 [Bayanihan to Heal as One Act],” Tutay said. Since the Bicol region is among the areas, which bore the brunt of Typhoon Rolly, DOLE also allocated P200 million to provide emergency employment to typhoon-affected informal sector workers in the region through its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Worker (TUPAD) program. L abor Undersecretar y A na Dione said DOLE would also allocated P100 million for regions of Calabarzon and Mimaropa, which were also devastated by Typhoon Rolly. “For Region 4A, we allocated P33 million and for Region 4B, P73 million. This is the fund we released for the emergency employment program,” Dione said in an interview with PTV.

Warning to the public: DOH-Calabarzon and RITM not asking for any donations By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

he Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and the Department of Health (DOH)-Calabarzon have warned against unscrupulous persons soliciting donations and financial assistance using the name of the RITM and DOH Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo. “We do not participate in any formal or informal solicitation activities. I have not and will not issue such orders, nor allow any representative, or staff of RITM to solicit donations—whether in kind or monetary—from any individual, party, or entity inside or outside the Institute,” RITM Director Celia Carlos said as she urged the public to stay vigilant

of suspicious phone calls, text messages, and social-media posts using the RITM. Carlos stressed that such incidents are misrepresentations after receiving several reports from suppliers and concerned citizens. She likewise emphasized that no such instruction originated from her office or from any other department within the institute. “We vehemently denounce such malicious activities exploiting the name of RITM for personal gain,” said Carlos. Carlos stressed that all legitimate correspondence from RITM bear the institute’s official letterhead and are duly approved and signed by the Office of the Director. The RITM official said that for

any questionable activities claiming affiliation to RITM, please get in touch with its Communications Office at communications@ritm.gov. ph or through the official Facebook page of the Institute. For his part, Janairo warned the public on the ongoing fraudulent solicitation and misrepresentation being done by some individuals or group of individuals using his name and posing as employees of the regional office to extort money for their personal profit. “We have received numerous reports from suppliers, contractors and other concerned offices that there are individuals claiming to be employees of the region and using my name soliciting funds to finance activities and

events for my upcoming retirement and for sponsoring programs/projects of the regional office,” Janairo said, stressing that he never ordered any solicitation nor allow such “imprudent act of impropriety.” “We have coordinated with the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to identify the personalities behind this scam and we will surely make them liable,” he accentuated. The public is advised to report any encounter of this kind to Hotline No. 8-249-2000 loc. 4400 or e-mail at chd4a_doh_calabarzon@yahoo.com or send message through Facebook page—Department of Health Regional Office IV-A Calabarzon.

PDIC pays ₧33.3M in deposit insurance for two rural banks

he Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) paid a total of P33.3 million in deposit insurance as of end September 2020 for depositors of two rural banks ordered closed early this year. Providence Rural Bank based in Camalaniugan, Cagayan and Rural Bank of Tibiao based in Tibiao, Antique, were ordered closed on February 27, 2020 and March 5, 2020, respectively, PDIC said in a news statement. Total payments made to depositors of Prov idence Rura l Bank amounted to P16.4 million for 1,901 claims, representing 82 percent of the bank’s 2,322 total insured deposit accounts. Meanwhile, payments made to depositors of Rural Bank of Tibiao amounted to P16.9 million, involving 831 claims, or 84 percent of the bank’s total insured deposit accounts at 984. Due to the community quarantines imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the PDIC did not conduct onsite payout operations for these banks. Mindful that claims needed to be paid promptly, despite and especially during, the

pandemic, the PDIC opened various convenient ways to receive claims from depositors. These included the filing of claims through e-mail, postal mail or courier service. While personal filing at the PDIC Public Assistance Center in Makati City was also an option, this was through appointment basis only to strictly comply with health protocols. The PDIC also coordinated closely with Land Bank of the Philippines for the claims over the counter payment of eligible depositors, and with the Philippine Postal Corp. for the postal money order (PMO) payments for qualified depositors with balances of P100,000 and below. PMO payments were dispatched to qualified depositors of Providence Rural Bank and Rural Bank of Tibiao in June, upon lifting of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila. Depositors who have not yet filed their claims for Providence Rural Bank and Rural Bank of Tibiao are encouraged to do so through the dedicated e-mail addresses: providence-pad@pdic. gov.ph and tibiao-pad@pdic.gov.ph, respectively.

When filing claims through email, the following should be sent as e-mail attachments: scanned copies or photo images of the 1) accomplished, signed and notarized Claim Form; 2) first and last pages of the passbook, or the front and back portions of the certificate of time deposit; and 3) one valid photo-bearing ID with the depositor’s signature. Claims may also be filed through postal mail or courier addressed to the PDIC Public Assistance Department, 6th Floor SSS Building, 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City 1226, or personally at the PDIC Public Assistance Center, 3rd Floor SSS Building, 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City. For claims filed personally or via postal mail or courier service, depositors are advised to submit the following: 1) accomplished, signed and notarized Claim Form; 2) original savings passbook and/ or certificate of time deposit; and 3) photocopy of one (1) valid photo-bearing ID with depositor’s signature. The Claim Form may be downloaded from the PDIC

Naia Customs seizes smuggled US dollar currency in warehouse

$100 bills. Last September, the airport Customs district similarly intercepted $8,000 concealed in every pages of a magazine also from US. The airport Customs this year has intercepted a total of $31,200 (P1.6 million at exchange rate of P50 per $1). The shipments were

concealed in different packages. Talusan reminded the public that under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Manual of Foreign Exchange Transaction, when importing foreign currencies, the importer must declare the amount intended to be imported using the prescribed Foreign Currency Declaration Form.

Talusan said the seized dollar currencies shall be subjected to seizure and forfeiture proceedings. Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero told his subalterns to continue to be diligent in carrying out the bureau’s mandate of strictly implementing regulatory laws and rules in the country’s border.

web site http://www.pdic.gov.ph/ files/New_PDIC_Claim_Form.pdf, for free. The PDIC also said that there is no fee for filing deposit insurance claims. Additional documents may be required by PDIC, as necessary, in the course of evaluation and processing of claims. The procedures and requirements for filing of deposit insurance claims are also posted in the PDIC web site. In accordance with the PDIC Charter, depositors may file their deposit insurance claims with the PDIC within two years from the date of PDIC’s takeover of the closed bank. For more information, or to request an appointment with the PDIC Public Assistance Center, depositors may call the PDIC Public Assistance Hotline during office hours at (02) 8841-4141, or the Tollfree hotline 1-800-1-888-PDIC or 1-800-1-888-7342 for those outside Metro Manila. Depositors may also e-mail the respective aforementioned e-mail addresses, or private message at the official PDIC Facebook account, www.facebook.com/OfficialPDIC.

Saturday, November 7, 2020

The World BusinessMirror

US hiring likely slowed for a 4th month as virus resurges

ASHINGTON—US employers may have slowed their hiring in October for a fourth straight month with confirmed viral cases reaching record levels and the loss of government aid deepening the hardships for many.

Economists have forecast that employers added 580,000 jobs last month, down from 661,000 in September and 1.5 million in August. If that estimate proves accurate, last month’s gain will have been the weakest since employers began calling some employees back to work in May. And it would mean that the economy has regained only about 12 million of the 22 million jobs that vanished when the pandemic paralyzed the economy in early spring. The unemployment rate is expected to have declined from 7.9 percent to a still-high 7.7 percent, according to data provider FactSet. That would mark further progress but also a smaller decline in joblessness than in any previous month since the pandemic erupted in the United States. A hiring slowdown has raised the prospect of a prolonged slump that extends unemployment for the jobless. Many temporary layoffs are becoming permanent as hotels, restaurants, airlines, retailers, entertainment venues and other employers anticipate a longer downturn than they initially expected. The resurgence of the virus would compound that threat, especially as colder weather sets in and keeps more people indoors. A rising proportion of jobless

Americans now describe their unemployment as permanent. Conversely, the proportion who say they are only temporarily laid off has tumbled from 80 percent in April to 40 percent. Millions of people have stopped looking for work, artificially lowering the unemployment rate. (People who are no longer actively seeking a job aren’t counted as unemployed.) Economists say they fear that many who have dropped out of the work force or who face permanent job losses will suffer an erosion of professional skills and personal networks. That will make it harder for them to find work again. Research by Stephanie Aaronson and Wendy Edelberg, fellows at the Brookings Institution, found that 65 percent of Americans who were temporarily laid off in the spring were back at work by September. But just 40 percent of workers whose jobs had been eliminated were able to find other jobs. Many people who have dropped out of the work force would be willing to work if a job were offered or if more were available. But only 9 percent of them had found jobs four months later. Back in the July-September quarter, when companies reopened from virus-related shutdowns, the economy rebounded sharply. It is now growing more slowly. Many

businesses, particularly restaurants that have depended in part on outdoor seating, face a more perilous future as winter grows closer. Consumers may also pull back again on shopping, traveling and other activities to avoid contracting the virus. Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, warned Thursday that the pandemic poses a worsening threat to the economy. “People who have maybe begun to engage in activities that they haven’t—flying, staying in a hotel, going to restaurants, going to bars...they may pull back in a situation where suddenly the cases are everywhere in your city, your state, your community,” the chairman said at a news conference after the Fed’s latest policy meeting. Powell acknowledged that the pandemic didn’t harm the economy in the summer as much as many had feared it might, in large part because the multi-trillion aid package that Congress enacted provided “essential” support. But he made clear his concern about the expiration of federal aid, and he reiterated his belief that Congress should approve more stimulus. Consumer spending on services like restaurants, health care and haircuts has slowed after having rebounded in May and June. It remains 7 percent below the pre-pandemic level—a decline that threatens many labor-intensive parts of the economy. The restaurant reservations web site OpenTable shows, for example, that just three-quarters of restaurants are now taking reservations, a decline from three weeks ago. The slowdown has coincided with the waning of $1,200 checks that were sent to most adults in the spring and a $600-a-week federal jobless benefit that expired in July. That was followed by an additional $300 that

lasted through mid-September. A study by JPMorgan Chase found that Americans spent roughly two-thirds of such money by the end of August. “The economy is on its own against the virus,” said AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at the job-posting web site Indeed. “Accelerating cases are an ever-present threat during winter, and a virus surge means economic uncertainty for businesses. Until that uncertainty is eliminated, the labor market will struggle to return to what it used to be.” Gregory Daco, chief US economist at Oxford Economics, said the elevated savings rate doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers will be able keep spending at current levels. About 14 percent of income was saved in September, roughly double pre-pandemic levels. That rate had briefly hit 34 percent in April as the stimulus checks were distributed. “I don’t buy that argument that the savings buffer will offset the absence of fiscal stimulus,” Daco said. “The people who need the savings are less likely to have it.” Much of the savings now likely reflect the reluctance of higher-income earners to go out and visit gyms and movie theaters as often as in the past. At the same time, some large companies are still shedding workers. ExxonMobil said late last month that it would cut 1,900 jobs, mostly at corporate headquarters. Chevron has said it will cut about quarter of the employees from its newly acquired unit Noble Energy. Boeing said it expects to cut its work force by 30,000 to 130,000. Still, some parts of the economy are recovering steadily. Manufacturing output is still rebounding, with Americans stepping up their purchases of cars, homes and housing-related goods like appliances and furniture. Home sales have also jumped. AP

Yuan halfway through erasing losses since trade war began

hina’s rallying yuan is more than halfway through its recovery from a selloff triggered by President Donald Trump’s trade war. Underpinning the recent strength in the Chinese currency are its wide interest-rate premium over the borrowing costs on the dollar and the country’s relatively fast economic recovery from the virus pandemic. The prospects of a win by Joe Biden in the US presidential election are also boosting confidence in the yuan because the Democrat is expected to be less hostile—or at least more predictable—in

his policies toward Beijing. The yuan is poised for a gain of 0.9 percent this week to 6.6303 per dollar, closing in on the key level of 6.6 for the first time in more than two years. The currency has jumped 8 percent since late May, trimming more than half of the declines since China-US disputes in everything from trade to intellectual-property protection sent the exchange rate to the weakest level in a decade. “Now is a good time to long the yuan,” said Gao Qi, a strategist at Scotiabank in Singapore. “The yuan rally will continue if a Biden win is secured.

We expect the yuan may rise to 6.4 by end of this year, or even stronger to 6.25, recouping all losses since the trade war started.” The rapid rally is a double-edged sword for Beijing. While it opens a window for policymakers to liberalize the foreign- exchange market, it also hur ts expor ters repatriating overseas funds. In October, China relaxed its controls on the yuan at the fastest pace since after a shock devaluation five years ago, easing curbs on capital outflows and giving banks more say on the reference rate.

The People’s Bank of China has set its fixing at levels weaker than analysts and traders had expected for 10 straight sessions, suggesting authorities could be seeking to slow the gains. On Friday, the gap between the official reference rate, which limits the onshore yuan’s moves by 2 percent on either side, and the expected rate in a Bloomberg survey was the largest since August 2019. While poised for weekly gain, the yuan declined as much as 0.4 percent on Friday morning.

Bloomberg News

Glass shortage threatens solar panels needed for climate fix

he world’s biggest solar power company says a shortage of glass is raising costs and delaying production of new panels, throwing a wrench into China’s plans to accelerate its shift to clean power. Prices for glass that coats photovoltaic panels have risen 71 percent since July, and manufacturers are struggling to produce it fast enough to keep more than a week’s worth of sales in inventory, according to Daiwa Capital Markets. The shortage comes as the solar industry turns toward bifacial panels, which increase both power output and glass requirements.

Solar panel producers like Longi Green Energy Technology Co. have asked the government in China, home to most solar manufacturing, to address the situation by approving new factories. Otherwise price hikes risk making solar power too expensive and halting the industry’s momentum. “If solar power generators see solar projects as uneconomical, they will delay investing in new projects and that will drag down solar demand,” said Charles Jiang, general manager of the supply chain management center at Longi, the world’s biggest solar company by market capitalization. “Solar power plant profits

will drop below acceptable levels without government subsidies if glass makers go on to push up the costs.” In 2018, with the energy intensive and polluting glass industry facing over-capacity issues, China’s government forbade companies from adding new production capacity. Longi and five other major solar companies on Tuesday met with government officials and appealed for them to remove the restrictions, at least for solar glass.

Bifacial panels Glass demand has also been rising within the solar industry because of the increasing prominence of bifacial panels, which coat both the top and bottom with glass, allowing for a slight uptick in power generation from sunlight reflected off the ground. Such panels are expected to make up half the market in 2022, up from about 14 percent last year, according to analysts at Sunwah Kingsway. Solar glass manufac turers have soared this year, with Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd. more than doubling and Flat Glass Group Co. nearly quadrupling in market value in Hong Kong. Shares plummeted Wednesday on speculation that capacity controls could be lifted and as a

Democrat sweep in the US elections failed to materialize. They extended gains Friday along with other manufacturers as a win for Joe Biden and a greener agenda in the US became more likely. Flat Glass gained 2.3 percent while Xinyi added 3 percent. Flat Glass declined to comment. Xinyi didn’t respond to requests for comment, although co m p a ny o f f i c i a l s to l d Ci t i gro u p a n a ly s t s the company could defend its market share with faster capacity expansion than others if restrictions are lifted. For panel makers, glass now accounts for about 20 percent of the total cost of production, up from about 10 percent, Longi’s Jiang said. Because glass factories take so long to build, the solar industry could be 20 percent to 30 percent short of the glass it needs next year, with the market not being back in balance until 2022, he said. The shortage is coming at an inopportune time as solar developers are rushing to finish projects by the end of this year to secure government subsidies. It also threatens to halt momentum just as the Chinese government considers increasing renewable power additions as the country aims to rein in pollution and become carbon neutral by 2060. Bloomberg News

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

Xi eyes sub-5 percent growth rate in new vision for Chinese economy

resident Xi Jinping is signaling his long-term vision for the Chinese economy likely requires it to expand at an average pace of less than 5 percent a year, well below the historical trend over the past 30 years. Xi told the Communist Party’s Central Committee last week the economy could double in size by 2035, according to state media. That would imply an annual average growth rate of 4.7 percent to 5 percent, according to a range of forecasts from economists. The Chinese leader was addressing the party’s top decision-makers at a closed-door meeting in which they laid out plans for the economy over the next five and 15 years. Officials didn’t disclose a numerical growth goal, although the economic planning agency has said it’s working on five-year targets. “Keeping growth above 4.5 percent for another 15 years is more ambitious for China than many assume,” Capital Economics Ltd. economists, led by Julian EvansPritchard, wrote in a note. With the external environment likely to be even more challenging in the coming decade, and returns to capital accumulation diminishing, China would need faster productivity gains, they said. China is likely to announce more specific targets when the plan is officially adopted by the national parliament, expected in March next year.

Growth estimates

When the last five-year plan was released in 2015, Xi’s speech to the Central Committee disclosed a growth goal of at least 6.5 percent over the period. This year, the only hints economists have are his broad ambition of doubling gross domestic product in 15 years and the plan’s mention of raising GDP per capita to the level of a “medium developed country.” Haibin Zhu, chief China economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong, says the Communist Party’s commentary so far suggests an annual average growth of 4.73 percent over the next 15 years, which he breaks down as follows: an 8.7-percent surge next

year from a low base in 2020; an average expansion of 5.3 percent in 2022-2025, 4.5 percent in 20262030 and 3.7 percent in 2031-2035. With China’s potential growth gradually slowing as the economy matures, growth of 4.7 percent-5 percent may still be too ambitious. The government’s current aim is to double the size of GDP and income by 2020 from the level in 2010, but doubling it again from a bigger base may be harder to achieve.

US tensions

The nation also faces an aging population, rising wages and a rapid increase in debt, all of which could hurt its growth potential. That’s not even counting a more hostile global environment as rivals like the US seek to curb China’s trade and technology ambitions. “It is extremely difficult to project growth 15 years out and, although we view growth of 5 percent-6 percent over 2021-2025 as likely, growth above 5 percent over 2026-2035 appears quite challenging,” Nomura Holdings Inc. economists, led by Ting Lu, wrote in a note. To overcome some of those challenges, the Communist Party is promising to build the nation into a technological powerhouse and focus on quality growth over speed. Key to that objective is developing a robust domestic market and becoming self-reliant in technology—especially in chips, the building blocks for innovations from artificial intelligence to fifth-generation networking and autonomous vehicles. What Bloomberg Economics says... The five-year plan “outlined a range of areas that need to be tackled to achieve higher-quality development, from strengthening the economic structure with a higher-end industrial base to raising household incomes, environmental standards, education levels and the quality of public services.” “These would move China’s economy in the right direction. The key, as always, will be effective execution and enforcement.” Bloomberg News

Washington will need Japan more as China tensions rise–Suga aide

riction between the US and China means Washington will need Japan more than before, regardless of who wins the presidential election, according to a foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. “US relations with Japan and East Asian policies are likely to become relatively more important” as China becomes more powerful, former diplomat Kunihiko Miyake said in an interview Thursday, while the US election result remained unclear. Friction between China and the US won’t dissipate under a new president, because both Democrats and Republicans are in agreement that China is the main strategic rival for the US, Miyake added. Suga must tread a fine line with Japan’s only formal military ally, the US, and its biggest trade partner, China. Democrat Joe Biden, a past proponent of engagement with Beijing, has adopted a more critical tone during the campaign and pledged to enlist allies to a coordinated effort to check China’s rise. Republican Donald Trump has been more assertive with China than any US president in decades, slapping tariffs on goods and moving to restrict its access to key technologies. Domestic opposition would

make it hard for Biden to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership abandoned by Trump, Miyake said, emphasizing that his views didn’t represent those of the Japanese government. While a Biden administration would be unlikely to push for the four-fold increase in host-nation support for US troops in Japan that Trump sought, it might nonetheless press Tokyo to pay more. Although some in Suga’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party have urged a tougher line on China, his government has avoided any actions that might throw relations off track. China may try to improve ties with Japan, as its feud with the US drags on, Miyake said. Unlike his long-serving predecessor, Shinzo Abe, who spent hours on the golf course with Trump, Suga has scant experience of diplomacy. Miyake said that may mean officials at the Foreign Ministry and the US State Department gain more importance as the channel for communications. Suga is thinking of visiting the US in January, the Mainichi newspaper reported, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi may make a trip to Japan as soon as this month, according to the Yomiuri newspaper. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Threats, protests leave poll officials worried

lection officials in several states said Thursday they are worried about the safety of their staffs amid a stream of threats and gatherings of angry protesters outside their doors, drawn by President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud in the race for the White House. “I can tell you that my wife and my mother are very concerned for me,” said Joe Gloria, the registrar in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas. He said his staff was bolstering security and tracking vehicles coming and going from the election offices. But he added that he and others would not be stopped from “doing what our duty is and counting ballots.” Groups of Trump supporters have gathered at vote tabulation sites in Phoenix, Detroit and Philadelphia, decrying counts that showed Democrat Joe Biden leading or gaining ground. While the protests have not been violent or very large, local officials were distressed by the crowds and concerned about the relentless accusations. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel tweeted a plea to “stop making harassing & threatening calls” to her staff. “Asking them to shove sharpies in uncomfortable places is never appropriate & is a sad commentary on the state of our nation,” wrote Nessel, a Democrat, referring to a false conspiracy theory that Trump supporters were told to fill out ballots with Sharpie markers instead of regular pens so that their votes wouldn’t be counted by the machines. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, speaking on CNN, said her main concern was staff safety but that sheriff’s deputies were providing protection. She said the protesters were “causing delay and disruption and preventing those employees from doing their job.” On Thursday, about 100 Trump supporters gathered again in front of the Maricopa County election center in Phoenix, some carrying military-style rifles and handguns. Arizona law allows

people to openly carry guns. Authorities at the center used fences to create a “freedom of speech zone” and keep the entrance to the building open. The crowd took turns chanting—“Count the votes!” and “Four more years!”—and complaining through a megaphone about the voting process. They paused to listen as Trump spoke from the White House, where he repeated many of his groundless assertions of a rigged vote. They whooped and clapped when the president said, “We’re on track to win Arizona.” The Associated Press has called Arizona for Biden. In Atlanta, roughly 100 chanting Trump supporters gathered outside State Farm Arena as votes were being counted. Several Atlanta police officers monitored the scene. Tom Haas, 50, who said he was visiting Atlanta from Chicago on business, said he was convinced Trump had won the election. “There’s obvious voter fraud, and it’s coming out of the larger Democratic-run cities,” he said. “Atlanta is one of them.” “Our democracy is under attack,” he said, echoing Trump’s language. “We’re losing America because we’re losing a fair election for the nation.” A few dozen Trump supporters gathered outside Detroit’s convention center Thursday morning as election workers counted absentee ballots inside. The protesters held signs that read, “Stop the steal” and “Stop the cheat.” In Las Vegas, about 100 backers of the president chanted as they stood along the road in front of the election offices. Meanwhile, Facebook banned a large group called “Stop the Steal” that Trump supporters were using to organize protests against the vote count. Some members had called for violence, while many falsely claimedDemocratsarestealingtheelection. The group had amassed more than 350,000 members before Facebook took it down. Thanawala in Atlanta and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report. AP

Trump sees ‘lot of litigation’ in bid to keep presidency

ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump is looking at a political map in which he might have to persuade the Supreme Court to set aside votes in two or more states to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. That’s a substantially different scenario than in the contested presidential election of 2000, which was effectively settled by the Supreme Court. Then, the entire fight was over Florida’s electoral votes and involved a recount as opposed to trying to halt the initial counting of ballots. Trump’s campaign and Republicans already are mounting legal challenges in several states, although most are small-scale lawsuits that do not appear to affect many votes. Judges in Georgia and Michigan quickly d i s m i s s e d c a m p a i g n l a w s u i t s Th u r s d a y, undercutting a campaign legal strategy to attack the integrity of the voting process in states where the result could mean Trump’s defeat. The rulings came as Biden inched closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Trump and his campaign promised even more legal action, making unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud. Speaking in the White House briefing room Thursday, the president launched into a litany of claims, without proof, about how Democrats were trying to unfairly deprive him of a second term. “But we think there’ll be a lot of litigation because we can’t have an election stolen like this,” Trump said, suggesting that the Supreme Court might eventually decide the election. Biden, for his part, has said he expects to win the election, but he counseled patience Thursday, saying: “Each ballot must be counted.” Earlier Thursday, a Biden campaign lawyer called the lawsuits meritless, more political strategy than legal. “I want to emphasize that for their purposes these lawsuits don’t have to have merit. That’s not the purpose.... It is to create an opportunity for them to message falsely about what’s taking place in the electoral process,” law yer B ob B auer said, accusing the Trump campaign of “continually alleging irregularities, failures of the system and fraud without any basis.” Trump is used to suing and being sued. A USA Today analysis found that he and his businesses were involved in at least 3,500 state and federal court actions in the three decades before he became president. In one case dismissed Thursday, a Michigan

judge noted that the state’s ballot count is over as she tossed the campaign’s lawsuit to get a closer look at local elections officials as they process absentee ballots. In Georgia, a state judge dismissed a case over concerns about 53 absentee ballots in Chatham County after elections officials in the Savannaharea county testified that all of those ballots had been received on time. Campaign officials said earlier they were considering similar challenges in a dozen other counties around the state. In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, the Trump campaign won an appellate ruling to get party and campaign observers closer to election workers who are processing mail-in ballots in Philadelphia. But the order did not affect the counting of ballots that is proceeding in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, as elections officials are dealing with an avalanche of mail ballots driven by fears of voting in person during a pandemic. Trump campaign officials, meanwhile, accused Democrats of trying to steal the election, despite no evidence anything of the sort was taking place. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, in a call with reporters Thursday morning, said that “every night the president goes to bed with a lead” and every night new votes “are mysteriously found in a sack.” It is quite common in presidential elections to have vote counting continue after election day. Trump’s campaign has also announced that it will ask for a recount in Wisconsin. Stepien previously cited “irregularities in several Wisconsin counties,” without providing specifics. The Trump campaign filed a new federal lawsuit after hours Thursday in Nevada, alleging that ineligible votes were cast in the Las Vegas area, the biggest Democratic stronghold in an otherwise predominantly GOP state. The Associated Press called Wisconsin and Michigan for Biden on Wednesday. The AP has not called Georgia, Nevada or Pennsylvania. The president’s law yers have asked to intervene in a pending Republican appeal to the Supreme Court over the three-day extension for the receipt and counting of mailed ballots ordered by Pennsylvania’s top court. Democrats in the state told the justices Thursday that they should put off granting the request because they “may well not need to hear and decide” the matter if Pennsylvania is not critical to the outcome or the late-arriving ballots wouldn’t make a difference. AP

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Presidential election exposes America’s ‘perilous’ divides By Steve Peoples

The Associated Press

EW YORK—Presidential elections can be revealing moments that convey the wishes of the American people to the next wave of elected officials. So far, the big reveal in the contest between President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is the extent of the cavernous divide between Republican and Democratic America, one that defines the nation, no matter which candidate ultimately wins.

Voters from both parties turned out in droves to pick the next president, but as they did so, they found little agreement about what that president should do. Democrats and Republicans prioritized different issues, lived in different communities and even voted on different kinds of ballots. Whoever emerges as the winner, that division ensures that the next president will face significant gridlock in Congress, skepticism about the integrity of the vote and an agitated electorate increasingly divided by race, education and geography. Even the vote count itself threatens to further split Americans. Two days after polls closed, neither Trump nor Biden has earned the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. The Republican incumbent is encouraging his supporters to protest outside counting locations still sorting through mail ballots—the method of voting preferred by many Democrats—while pursuing an aggressive legal strategy that could lead to further delays. “Except for the Civil War, I don’t think we’ve lived through any time as perilous as this in terms of the divisions,” said historian Barbara Perry, the director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. Even after the 2000 election, when the Supreme Court ultimately intervened on Republican George W. Bush’s behalf, Democrat Al Gore quickly conceded and congressional leaders found areas of agreement on Capitol Hill. “To come out of something like this, you need to have a leader who can lead and willing followers,” Perry said. “I just don’t see willing followers on either side.” The yawning divides will threaten the next president’s ability to manage multiple crises: Daily coronavirus infections set a record this week, the economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic and many Americans are pressing for a reckoning on racial injustices. Trump and Biden voters, however, express strikingly different views on those challenges, according to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of the electorate. Biden voters overwhelming say they want the federal government to prioritize limiting the spread of the virus, even if that means further damage to the economy. But most Trump voters preferred an approach that focused on the economy. About half of Trump voters also called the economy and jobs the top issue facing the nation, while only 1 in 10 Biden voters named it most important. On race and justice issues, Biden voters almost universally said racism is a serious problem in US society and in policing. But only a slim majority of Trump voters, who are overwhelming white, called racism a serious problem. Biden has tried to bridge this gap, often appealing to a sense of national unity and the “soul” of America. Trump often casts himself as a defender of his voters. He has threatened to withhold

pandemic-related aid from states run by Democratic governors and disparaged cities run by Democrats. Many Democrats desperately hoped that Trump would suffer an embarrassing and broad defeat that would serve as a clear repudiation of Trump and his brand of politics. At the very least, they wanted

an unambiguous mandate that would allow Biden to pursue ambitious policies on health care, education and the economy. Trump may lose, but strong GOP turnout in battlegrounds and unexpectedly solid victories for Republican candidates in Senate and House races made Tuesday far from a thumping. “There’s certainly not a clarion call to go in one direction or another. There’s a lot of confusion and chaos,” said civil rights leader Martin Luther King III, who supported Biden. The election solidified the parties’ competing coalitions. Biden relied on urban and suburban voters, particularly women, college-educated voters and people of color. Trump exceeded his turnout numbers from 2016 by relying on thousands of new supporters from rural, GOP pockets of white voters across the country. Results in high-turnout counties underscore that trend: Republican-leaning places became more Republican and Democratic areas more Democratic. The Democratic margin increased in 70 percent of the counties that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and the Republican margin widened in 56 percent of counties that Trump won that year, according to an Associated Press analysis of all counties that by Thursday evening had tallied more votes than in the last presidential election.

That dynamic toppled some Democrats who had won seats in politically mixed areas by running as moderates. In Iowa, for example, Democrat Rep. Abby Finkenauer lost her reelection bid in the eastern part of the state as Trump bolstered his margins in rural areas such as Buchanan County just west of Dubuque. Trump won the rural county, which is 96 percent white, by 15 percentage points in 2016. That jumped to 21 percentage points this year. That geographic polarization is part of what worries those who see the culture of cooperation in Washington rapidly eroding. Former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, a leading Republican voice in the days after the Supreme Court decided the 2000 election, said it’s unclear whether congressional leaders will have an incentive to work with the other party. “There were people in the Senate like Ted Kennedy and Ted Stevens who held strong views but were there first and foremost to get things done and govern, so they did not fear their base and were willing to compromise,” said Gregg, who has emerged as a Trump critic. “I am not sure that type of leadership is there today because of the strident voices that dominate both parties. But Biden, if president, has seen how it can be done, so we can hope.”

A6 Saturday, November 7, 2020

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

DTI-EMB boosts MSMEs’ capacity to tap US market

By Gina T. Yap| Market Innovation Division DTI-EMB

HE Covid-19 pandemic has changed drastically the way consumers and enterprises do business. Due to lockdowns and the closing down of borders, micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) exporters were greatly hit generally in terms of loss of sales.

As a response to this, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) is implementing programs that will

help MSME exporters get back on track and adapt to the new normal of doing business. In August, the EMB partnered

with eCFulfill to onboard MSME exporters in various global e-commerce platforms. eCFulfill is a Philippine tech start-up that provides access to global market spaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy in the US. It also integrates e-commerce marketplace, warehouse logistics, order fulfillment, digital marketing, and digital payment methods in one platform that would make exporting easier for MSMEs. To date, there are over 150 Filipino brands with 900+ stockkeeping units (SKUs) listed on the platform and have been successfully enlisting more companies to join the platform. Most listed products include food (62 percent), health and wellness (34 percent), home accessories (28 per-

cent), and the rest represents clothing, garments, among others. Aside from helping MSME exporters take advantage of the online platform, DTI-EMB is also targeting to have their products sold to the physical stores in the US. Based on the analytics provided by eCFulfill, Philippine products like turmeric tea, caramel-coated mangoes, and “lechon wooden tray” are presently the top sellers and continuously gaining popularity with US consumers. For this partnership, DTI-EMB is aiming to have 100 MSME companies listed by the end of December 2020. Interested MSME exporters can email the DTI-EMB Market Innovation Division at mid@dti.gov.ph for more information.

South Korea export recovery continues in October with daily shipments rising

OUTH Korea’s exports recovery continued in October with daily shipments pointing to a continued pickup in overseas demand, even though a national holiday reduced working days and hurt headline figures. The value of total shipments abroad fell 3.6 percent from a year earlier, the trade ministry said Sunday. Economists had forecast a 3.5percent decline. Average daily shipments still rose 5.6 percent, with the

period having two fewer business days than last year. Overall exports to China fell 5.7 percent while shipments to the US rose 3.3 percent. Semiconductor exports rose 10 percent and car sales rose 5.8 percent. The increase in daily shipments suggests recent upward momentum in global trade remains intact as many economies reopen. Still, the outlook is uncertain as soaring virus cases in Europe forced France

and Germany to impose harsh restrictions, while some US states are seeing record outbreaks.

Key insights

SOUTH Korea’s economy emerged from a recession last quarter, propelled by the strongest export rebound in decades. Products like semiconductors and computers were among the best sellers. China’s broadening recovery bodes well for South Korean ex-

porters from Samsung Electronics Co. to Hyundai Mobis Co. China is the biggest buyer of South Korean goods used in the assembly of products sold globally. Semiconductors and automobile are “solidly propping up the exports,” Sung Yun-mo, South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said in a statement, pointing to the resurgence of the coronavirus and the US-China tensions as potential risks to trade.

Trade dept’s EMB holds webinar on import processes for exporters

N a move to keep its clients abreast of the changes in the import processes for exporters, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) held a webinar “Import Process for Exporters” on October 20, 2020, via Cisco Webex. The webinar featured speakers from the DTI-Bureau of Import Services (DTI-BIS) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and was attended by almost 200 participants. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, government agencies have implemented changes in their respective processes, mostly toward onlinebased transactions. Thus, this webinar aims to appraise exporters, would-be exporters, and customs brokers on the import processes and the corresponding documentary requirements,” said DTI Undersecretary Abdulgani Macatoman. DTI-BIS Director Luis Catibayan gave an overview of importation

and how the process differs for freely importable, prohibited, and regulated products. He advised exporters to visit the Philippine National Trade Repository via pntr.gov.ph to check a product’s classification and the documentary requirements to import it. He shared that the DTI-BIS can help importers facilitate their shipments since they can coordinate with foreign trade attaches who, in turn, can solve conflicts from the supplier’s side. Catibayan encouraged importers to e-mail bis_ifd@dti.gov.ph for these concerns. BOC Eva luator Junic hel le Hababag said that import accreditation applications are now online and can be accessed through client. customs.gov.ph. Accreditations are valid for one year after the date of approval. She reminded applicants to prevent submitting multiple times for the same application since multiple tickets can cause delays.

Hababag said that the requirement and regulations are covered by three Customs Memorandum Orders (CMOs), namely, CMO 112014 on guidelines and procedures for customs accreditation; CMO 31-2019 on the list of requirements for customs accreditation; and CMO 28-2018 on the processing of applications within seven (7) working days. Pearl Lyka Mohammad of the BOC Risk Management Office explained the selectivity lanes, particularly the new Orange Lane. The Green Lane is for low-risk shipment and just requires assessment. Medium-risk shipments and placed in the Yellow Lane and requires an additional document check. The Orange Lane is for medium to high-risk shipments that will undergo non-intrusive x-rays and a physical examination if the image is found to be suspicious. Shipments placed in the Red Lane will undergo

all these steps and a mandatory physical inspection. Meanwhile, Customs Operation Officer Salvador Seletaria Jr. reminded that the Province of Origin (Box 26 of the Single Administrative Document) is now a mandatory field for export declarations. He said that the move aims to enhance the capability and effectiveness of the BOC in monitoring all exportation. She also said that businesses outside Philippine Export Zone Authority and nonBoard of Investments registered whose export receipts account for more than 70 percent of their gross sales can apply for DTI-EMB Accreditation under the Export Development Act. This qualifies them for a Zero-Rated VAT incentive in the purchase of raw materials and packaging supplies. For other details, please e-mail eda@dti.gov. ph and for other export concerns, at exports@dti.gov.ph.

PHL eyes export market expansion T

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will continue building on free trade agreements (FTAs) and a generalized system of preferences (GSP) to expand export markets, as the country increases its production capacities to meet domestic and foreign demand. In a webinar, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said Philippine products will be sold with zero duty in other countries under FTAs, and in the United States and European Union market under GSP. “What is good about these, it can encourage foreign investors to locate in the Philippines because when they manufacture here, they can benefit in exporting [these goods at] zero duty to other countries,” he said in Filipino. The DTI chief said the country is still working on FTAs with South Korea, and is talking to India and Canada. “Hopefully, we can enhance further economic cooperation with India to go into a bilateral trade arrangement,” he said. “We have right now an FTA with Japan as well as EFTA [European Free Trade Association] countries.” EFTA memberstates are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Under Asean, the Philippines has preferential trade agreements with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. “And [we] will continue [to strengthen]…trade promotion to promote our products and deepen integration in global value chains,” he added.

Lopez cited as examples electronic products wherein all countries in the region are part of the value chain. “They are developing stage by stage when it comes to electronics. So all are trying to improve their portion to increase the value of the respective parts so we are also doing the same,” he said. “Right now, even in aerospace parts, we are doing it in Batangas, we are doing more of the designs now, meaning higher value in aerospace parts. Very technical and very high tech.” On the supply side, the DTI chief said the country is working to empower production capacities to capture demand. “Because it is difficult to sell and sell outside the country, then we have no capacity here. So it is very important that we really create our manufacturing capacity here, encourage more manufacturers to build their capacities here so that we have the capacity when there is a demand for our exports,” he added. To boost production capacities, Lopez said strategies include accelerating investment in sectors/areas that provide for basic necessities, support 4th Industrial Revolution and generate high value/job creation; intensifying implementation and widening coverage of supplier development programs; encouraging digital transformation; supporting businesses to provide necessities in the new normal; and promoting Philippine high-value exports of products and services.

PHL sees $31-M sales at CIIE

HE Philippine delegation is targeting to attract over 1,300 buyers and generate more than $31 million worth of export sales through a hybrid showcase of 40 food companies in the country’s third participation in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, China, from November 5 to 10. The delegation under the FOODPhilippines banner is led by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem). The FOODPhilippines pavilion will feature interactive conference pods for the first time in CIIE to enable virtual business-to-business (B2B) activities and videoconferencing. In place of actual Philippine exhibitors manning the booths, Philippine Commercial Counsellors will represent the government and exhibitors, promote exhibitor brands and products onsite, and relay all business leads and contacts generated during the show. “For this hybrid participation, there will be a mix of physical product presentation in the pa-

vilion that will be facilitated by onsite officers from our trade posts in China and online B2B matching activities between our companies in Manila and the Chinese buyers who will visit our booth in Shanghai,” said Citem Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan. With the theme “Healthy and Natural,” 40 Philippine companies will exhibit and sample the country’s wide range of tropical fruits and vegetables, processed fruits and nuts, healthy snacks, seafood and marine products, and other premium food selections. The participation in CIIE is organized in partnership with the Foreign Trade Services Corps, through the Philippine Trade & Investment Centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, and the Export Marketing Bureau. Government partners are the Department of Agriculture through the Office of the Agricultural Counsellor in Beijing and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The project is likewise supported by business associations such as the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry Inc.

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Carolina Esguerra-Colborn: Aging gracefully and living the RV dream

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

AROLINA ESGUERRACOLBORN has a sterling record as a top-level executive in the local technology and corporate sector. She was the former president and CEO of BayanTrade, an e-procurement hub of the Philippines; managing director of SAP Philippines; Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue; general manager of Megalink, the automated teller machine switch of Philippine banks; and vice president of the Development Academy of the Philippines. In 2004, she decided to fade away from the limelight. She packed her bags and went to the United States. Little did she know that her decision would lead to her next adventure that is full of excitement, love and fun. Before migrating to the US, Esguerra-Colborn also worked with Andersen Consulting, IBM and NCR. She was a two-time recipient of the Most Powerful Women in IT Award. She also represented the private sector in the National Information Technology Council. She admitted that the corporate world’s grueling pace has been taking its toll, and she planned in 2002 to slow down. “I had been leading an impossible life as a driven corporate executive, as a single parent raising three children, and as a UP doctoral student,” she said. Her plan to retire at 50 took a backseat when the BayanTrade opportunity came. After working full time, however, she decided to change the pace of her BayanTrade career by working as vice chairman, then as consultant, working fewer hours each year, in preparation for her retirement.

Life in the US

ESGUERRA-COLBORN settled in Seattle, Washington where her eldest daughter lived. Her initial work was babysitting a grandson. Then she decided to join the academe as an adjunct professor in business at the Seattle Central Community College, Central Washington University, and Renton Technical College. She even volunteered at the Service Corps

romance ended in marriage in 2008. Mr. Colborn sold his business, and they went around North America in an RV. To keep in touch with her friends and followers, EsguerraColborn maintains a blog about their journeys, five posts of which have been published elsewhere. From their base in Phoenix, Arizona, the couple plans their itineraries. She has written three books about their travels. The first, Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream, was a travelogue of their first five years of RVing across 49 American states, nine Canadian provinces, and six Mexican states. The second one is a handy booklet, Cruising in an RV: The basics you need to know. It is a primer for those who want to start RVing. The third book, Cruising Past Seventy. It’s Not Only about Outer Journeys. It’s Also about Inner Ones, is now on preorder at Amazon and to be released on November 28. “It focuses on the inner journeys when we are not able to travel much, just like today, or when we may increasingly not be able to, when we get older.” “Those journeys have three great themes: lessons learned, changes made, and insights gained. They are the deep and long-lasting benefits of travel,” she added.

Memorable experiences

ESGUERRA-COLBORN

of Retired Executives (SCORE) as a small business counselor and marketing lecturer. SCORE is an organization of about 13,000 volunteers across the US counseling small businesses. Later, Esguerra-Colborn was hired to teach at Renton Technical College and Central Washington University. She worked as an adjunct professor for “Project Management in Business” and “Diversity Issues in Business.” Comparing her Filipino students at UP-Diliman and her American students, Esguerra-Colborn said there’s a big difference because her UP students were younger and fulltime in their studies, while the American students were older and are already working. She found it more enjoyable teaching those wide-eyed undergraduates in Manila.

Romance and adventure

ESGUERRA-COLBORN found love for the third time when she met Bill Colborn online in 2007. The virtual

ESGUERRA-COLBORN had a lovely time visiting 38 countries during her retirement. And the Colborn couple had unforgettable RV trips to the Arctic Circle in Canada’s Yukon, eastern and western Canada and its islands, the Last Frontier of Alaska, along Big Sur in California, 39 US national parks and 114 other parks, through the Florida Keys, and the car trips around Mexico. “But we also will always remember the months’ cruise we took around Scandinavia, Iceland, and the British Isles and the months of train rides across continental Europe,” she said. Esguerra-Colborn said she definitely misses the barkadahan. She said friendships are not as intimate and warm in the US and it’s only the family that has become her main support system. Since her children live in three different countries, it is just her and Mr. Colborn who are there to enjoy each other’s company. “But I love the efficient systems, the open roads, and the libraries. And life spans are more than a decade longer in the US because of great health care [free when you reach 65],” she said.

Aging gracefully

ESGUERRA-COLBORN believes in aging gracefully. Although she is

starting to encounter health issues, she now has smaller goals, simpler and healthier relationships, and more fulfilling passions. “And it was all those inner journeys that have led me to this. That’s the essence of my third book,” she said. She said traveling is no longer about more new places “but how to travel as we grow older in more comfortable but not extravagant ways” because there will be less time, energy and perhaps even money.

Grandparenting style

SHE also enjoys being a grandmother as she has more time doing it now. “It is a second chance at motherhood because I was more a father to my daughters. But they are so far away since my daughters chose to be Canadian, Australian and American,” she said. Esguerra-Colborn makes sure that her grandchildren get important lessons from her during this pandemic. She conducts Zoom classes in science, writing, and reading for the 5 to 6-year-olds. For the 13-yearolds, Esguerra-Colborn teaches them science and engineering such as how airplanes fly, etc. “And for the 20-year-olds, we vacationed [safely] in a mountain resort,” she said.

The ever-supportive Mr. Colborn

ADJUSTING to the Filipino culture was not a problem for Mr. Colborn, according to his better half. That’s because he immersed himself in the family culture in Seattle, Calgary, and Melbourne. As a matter of fact, the older grandchildren told her that they would not talk to her if she didn’t choose him from among those she was dating then. In their 12 years of marriage, Mr. Colborn has visited the Philippines three times. Esguerra-Colborn’s friends also established good rapport with Mr. Colborn and even asked him to introduce them to his brother, if he has one (he only has a sister). “He loves our country, especially the Visayas islands and the Mountain Province. But he tried driving in Metro Manila and he does not want to go through all that traffic,” she said. Esguerra-Colborn said she receives a lot of positive feedback regarding her husband, because of his warm personality. “People say he understands a lot about the Filipino culture. And he eats all the Filipino food I cook for us,” she said. As she continues experiencing new adventures with her husband, she said her life now has “more ups than downs, more laughs than tears, more usefulness than wastefulness.”

Tarlac City offers free flu China Alzheimer drug seeks vaccine to senior citizens global legitimacy with US trial

ARLAC CITY, Tarlac—More than 2,000 senior citizens in this city have been given free flu vaccine to protect them against flu viruses. Immunization from the flu can help the elderly stay healthy and avoid medical costs. The City Health Office, in partnership with the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs, has already vaccinated for free a total of 2,005 senior citizens from the 31 barangays here since the program started on October 27. Mayor Cristy Angeles believed that through the immunization program, the cases of Covid-19 in the city will decline especially among the senior citizens. The mayor, likewise, assured

that safety protocols against the spread of Covid-19 are being implemented while conducting the vaccination activities. Meanwhile, Tarlac province logged eight confirmed cases, six of whom came from this city. This brought the total number of cases to 806, wherein 231 are active as confirmed by the Department of Health on Tuesday. On the other hand, the total number of recoveries remained at 542 while the total number of deaths is 33. The mayor reminded her constituents to strictly observe the minimum health standards to stem the spread of the dreaded disease. PNA

NEW Chinese therapy for Alzheimer’s is embarking on a much-anticipated US study— the latest bid to revive hopes in the multibillion-dollar search for an effective medicine against the incurable disease. Shanghai Green Valley Pharmaceutical Co. said this week that researchers have identified the first patient from a screening process for the US arm of the 4 billion yuan ($600 million) global Phase III trial. The US Food and Drug Administration in April gave the green light to study whether the drug can produce lasting cognitive improvement among patients in the mild and moderate stage of the debilitating neurodegenerative disorder. The trial’s launch underscores the little-known Chinese drugmaker’s ambition to seek global legitimacy for its therapy, which takes a radically new approach using brown algae

to treat the disease. The medicine received China’s regulatory blessing last November, becoming the first approval worldwide in 17 years for a new drug treating Alzheimer’s, a disease that plagues 5.8 million in the US and nearly twice as many in China. The trial seeks to sign up 2,046 peopleacrossChina,theUSandEurope, with the first 600 expected to enroll in the next six months. Dosing of patients will begin in four weeks, according to study researchers in the US. With no medications currently able to change the course of the disorder, a successful drug could open a market worth as much as $30 billion in the US alone, according to analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Pharmaceutical giants from AstraZeneca Plc to Eli Lilly & Co. have spent billions of dollars over the years on more than 190 experimental drugs, only to see them fail one after another. Bloomberg News

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, November 7, 2020 A7

Unmasking our human moments

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

HILE the pandemic has forced us to cover our faces with masks when in public places, it has also unwittingly unmasked our hidden lives, opening the window into our privacy, little by little. Client, boss, colleague, officemate, business partner—they all have their human moments. Tao rin pala, katulad ko. Just the other day, I and my fellow participant in an online meeting were having a casual chat while waiting for the appointed hour. His camera showed him grooming a big dog while talking to me and then he panned the camera of his laptop to show his other six dogs in cages. I was surprised to discover that he is a breeder of expensive dogs! During the conversation, I mentioned that we have many stray cats in our yard. He said that having cats around is good because they absorb the negative vibes in our household and then gave me other useful tips about them. In that short casual exchange we connected in a way that we never did during our in-person meetings before the pandemic. Now that many of us no longer need to leave home to go to work, we get to see and talk with our bosses and co-workers through virtual meetings, which have now become an everyday thing. This more personalized way of communication has helped break down barriers and build bonds among colleagues and co-workers. It’s like being invited into their homes. Participants in these meetings notice objects in the room and many times it’s a pleasant way to start and to connect meaningfully. In one virtual meeting, each of us rotated his laptop camera to give everybody a tour of his workspace, commenting on photos, pictures or painting on the wall, design of the curtain and so on. T he most a musing t hing about it is when children would wander unannounced into conference calls or a pet dog or cat would jump on someone’s lap. We laugh about it and it breaks the monotony and seriousness of the meeting. Sure, we knew who had kids and who had a beloved pet they spoke about often, but within the confines of an office, they were far more abstract topics. Seeing their kids in real time, watching as serious topics were discussed with pets sitting on laps and everyone just accepting it as normal—it’s this human side of seeing into the lives of colleagues we wouldn’t have had a chance to really see. We get to educate ourselves about each other. Virtual meetings are supposed to be “artificial” because they are mediated by technology but in a way they create authentic, safe, and personal conversations that allow us to experience our common humanness. The other guy we used to argue with is just like us. He must be paying a hefty rent for that condo unit. He also wants to have a better life for his family. Your buttoned-up supervisor is a collector of antiques or a good cook. We all carry the same burden of domestic responsibilities and face the same. Boss and employee, we are all juggling pets, kids, bandwidth, technology, worries, fears and anxieties about health and

money. We talk about the food that we order for delivery and share our comments. We talk about the movies we watch on streaming platforms. We share beginner’s tips on how to care for indoor plants or grow a backyard garden. Most of all, we commiserate with people who have relatives that succumbed to the virus. These human moments have become our connection. Sharing these unguarded moments freely and guilelessly with one another serves as nourishment for the soul at a time when such act is vital to sustaining our humanness. This is an interaction in which we feel accepted, understood and supported. We feel heard and cared for. We have a sense of belonging. This is why in the light of all this, we were all so shocked and outraged when we saw a viral video showing a highly esteemed diplomat maltreating her house help behind closed doors. Where is the humanity in her as she kept on beating that poor helper? Did she not regard her as a fellow human being? I hope the generosity of spirit and support for one another that now sustain us will endure beyond this pandemic. Will people be more compassionate and more empathetic and understanding after this? The next question is, will this regained sense of humanity lead to transformation and to create and build more human organizations and entities in the socalled next normal? While the pandemic has had a negative impact over all, hopefully it should be the catalyst we need for longterm social change to heal the world by embracing compassion and empathy, and build a more caring society. Corporations keep saying they value their people but in most cases it was just lip service, a nostrum good for the company brochure or annual report. Now we must rediscover the real value of employees. Instead of viewing people as the weakest link in a crisis, we need now to see them truly as an organization’s single greatest potential strength. Let us walk the talk. Before the pandemic, we embraced the notion that work comes first—above one’s own health, and above the health of one’s peers. Supervisors would compel employees to go to work by saying: “Konting sipon lang yan. Hindi ka mamatay dyan.” Because of that attitude among supervisors, employees had to lie about why they needed a day off. The greater focus should now be on the safety and well-being of the employees. Workplaces have to be reinvented and redesigned to make safety and hygiene a top priority. Health care must now be regarded as a human right. Then there’s the realization that employees and bosses also have families. They need to balance their work and family. Paid leaves to enable them to be with their families should now be the norm. While investors are important, people’s lives do matter. It took a pandemic to reveal that behind our impersonal masks of labels and office designations, we are first and above all, human beings.

Education BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, November 7, 2020

Editor: Mike Policarpio

Valenzuela distributes grants to scholars

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

the city government of Valenzuela, via Ordinance 418, S. 2017, has included all income it generated from rentals and other fees being paid by businesses within the compound of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela as an additional source of funds. This is on top of the annual appropriation of at least 1 percent of the aggregate taxes collected by the LGU from registered businesses for scholarships. Gatchalian expressed his gratitude to the city’s taxpayers and lauded the students for qualifying in the scholarship grant. “Congratulations for making it to the top. [I know that thousands took the exam to qualify for the Dr. Pio Valenzuela scholarship],” the local chief executive said in Filipino. “You showed your intelligence and skills that made you qualify for this program. Please take care of your scholarships.”

HE local government unit of Valenzuela City recently awarded disadvantaged yet deserving students with financial assistance worth P21.51 million, which will cover for their school expenses within Academic Year 2020-2021.

In a recent awarding rite, Mayor Rexlon T. Gatchalian personally handed over the monetary aid to 717 new grantees of the Dr. Pio Valenzuela Scholarship Program. Three batches of scholars will each receive P30,000 allotment, or P15,000 per semester. The Dr. Pio Valenzuela Schol-

arship Program was instituted in Valenzuela City in 1995 through Ordinance 95-12. Since then, it has assisted many of the city’s underprivileged students in their pursuit of higher education. With a growing number of students wishing to avail of financial support from subsidies and grants,

MAYOR Rexlon T. Gatchalian (center) hands over educational aid to a beneficiary.

US unveils academy for Filipina entreps Japan opens applications for young leaders’ program T A HE United States is lending a helping hand to microbusinesses in the Philippines owned by women entrepreneurs, as its embassy recently launched the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) by activating a free Massive Open Online Course for more than 150 early-stage business owners in the country. AWE is part of the White Houseled Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative, which empowers women worldwide to fulfill their economic potential and create conditions for increased stability, security and prosperity. W-GDP aims to reach 50 million women by 2025. This year, more than 5,000 from more than 50 countries are earmarked to participate in AWE. In the Philippines, the American Corners Ba-

ASSISTANT Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce (left) discusses the learning program with participants. US EMBASSY

colod and Marawi are facilitating the program, with three more cities expected to launch the program in 2021. “AWE comes to Marawi City at the most opportune time,” said American Corner Marawi Director and Fulbright alumna Elin Anisha

Guro. “[The academy] is strategically positioned to train, equip, empower and guide these new and experienced entrepreneurs as they struggle to adapt to a new business normal in achieving their personal and community goals.” “AWE Bacolod will help aspir-

ing young women entrepreneurs, housewives and out-of-school youth build networks,” affirmed American Corner Bacolod Director Ma. Girlie de Guzman. The first cohort of 160 Filipina AWE students are expected to graduate by the end of the year.

Mapúa’s online courses arm more students with premier engineering, IT degrees

APÚA University is enabling working students and those living in the provinces to complete a premier engineering and information technology (IT) degree with its fully online degree programs. These include computer engineering, electrical engineering, electronics engineering, industrial engineering, computer science, and IT, which are all approved by the Commission on Higher Education. The online programs are similar to its oncampus counterparts; thus, students will receive the same quality of education.

The Yuchengco-led university noted that unlike regular programs, the fully online degrees are self-paced—ideal for working students and adults who want to finish their bachelor’s degree. Likewise, they are applicable to students living outside Metro Manila or in other countries who want to attain a Mapúan education. Being a digital-ready univer sit y, Mapúa will use various online education platforms where students can access the recorded lectures, references, modules and assessments anytime. Some of these learning tools include METIS e-textbooks,

Coursera, Wiley Plus, Cengage MindTap, McGraw Connect, Aleks, and Labster, among others. Studying in a fully online program costs less, as it eliminates other school associated fees such as miscellaneous fees. Students enrolled under the said programs will also be assisted by life coaches who will guide them through services related to student concerns. Interested parties may enroll at any term of the academic year through the Mapúa Digital Academics web site: www. mapua.edu.ph/DigitalAcademics/.

Pinoy educators, engineers carry on fight versus Covid-19 in Ethiopia

THIOPIA—In response to the scarcity of face masks in this African country, Filipino local-garment technology experts in Addis Ababa have produced reusable face masks for staff members and students of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and later for the community in the capital city. Michaela Esturas Gelizon and Rebecca Jallores recently teamed up with their Indian colleagues to produce 300 reusable face masks which were distributed among TVET staff members and students, while additional pieces were later made and distributed to the community. At the Wollo University-Kombolcha Institute of Technology (WU-KIOT) in north-central Ethiopia’s Amhara Region, the team of Engrs. Alain Vincent M. Comendador, Eunelfa Regie F. Calibara, Jolan B. Sy and Marlon G. Rojo initiated

A TEAM of Filipino teachers and engineers from campuses in Ethiopia extends their support through various initiatives and technological designs. MICHAELA E. GELIZON, REBECCA JALLORES/DFA

an innovative, sensor-based, non-contact automatic handwasher—a sequel to the pedal-operated handwasher earlier de-

signed in Addis Ababa. To operate their invention, users need to position their hands over the sensor and

within seconds, hand soap and water will flow. The prototype of this Pinoy-innovated handwashing machine is installed at the Office of the President of Wollo University for further testing and improvements. A total of 10 units of the said machine will eventually be installed in other offices of the university. Moreover, in WU-KIOT, the fabrication of a disinfecting cubicle is already in the works. Earlier in April, Alfredo “Jhong” Villafuente, the Filipino engineer behind the pedal-operated handwasher, shared his design and illustration online, and many fabrications have been made since then. “There are no patent rights, and the steps to build the handwasher is very easy to follow,” said Villafuente. Those who would like to request for a copy of the machine and the list of materials needed may send an e-mail to avillafuentejr18@ gmail.com. DFA

Y E A R-LONG ac adem ic program launched by the government of Japan, the Young Leaders’ Program (YLP) aims to contribute toward the development of national leaders from various countries through deepening their understanding of the East Asian country. Grantees of the YLP may choose to specialize in one of the following areas: (1) business administration, (2) law, (3) School of Governmentpublic administration, and (4) local governance. Classes will be conducted primarily in English. Commencing around September and October 2021, a Master’s degree will be conferred to participants upon successful completion of the program. The Embassy of Japan in the Philippines hopes that the program will help not just in the professional growth and development of its par-

ticipants, but also enable them to form strong connections with fellow peers and future leaders. It said that “the ideal is for these future leaders to work together in contributing significantly to the economic, social and political development of their home countries.” Interested applicants must be Filipino citizens, Bachelor’s degree-holders with excellent academic records, highly proficient in English, between 35- and 40-years-old or below (depending on the chosen field of study), and have been employed with at least 3 to 5 years of work experience. Applications for the 2021 YLP must be coursed through the specific recommending authorities for each course, who will also advise on the deadline of application submissions. For more details, visit https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/ itpr_en/00_000350.html.

Turnitin acquires assessment platform ExamSoft

EADING provider of academic integrity and assessment solutions Turnitin announced in October that it has acquired ExamSoft, a softwarebased assessment platform, from Spectrum Equity. ExamSoft empowers educational institutions and certification, as well as licensure programs that protect exam integrity, streamline assessment processes, and improve learning outcomes. ExamSoft further expands Turnitin’s portfolio of leading academic integrity and assessment products, including a broad assessment platform serving education, certification, and licensure programs. Together, they will offer institutions further flexibility when delivering assessments at all educational and professional levels. By joining forces, Turnitin and ExamSoft have become a single destination for institutions upholding integrity at every stage in a student’s journey: from book reports and problem sets, to highstakes exams and professional licensure. As one company, they provide expanded product offerings that allow customers to choose the combination of tools

and services that best serve their assessment needs. This is particularly important as educational institutions and professional organizations adapt their instruction and assessments for online settings. “Turnitin and ExamSoft are both committed to safeguard integrity in education,” said ExamSoft CEO Sebastian Vos. “We look forward to working with the Turnitin team to continue to advance integrity solutions across all levels and modalities of education to improve learning outcomes.” “Turnitin and ExamSoft share a passion for student success and delivering innovative assessments,” Turnitin CEO Chris Caren confirmed. “Turnitin expanded its assessment capabilities beyond our historical essay focus when [it] acquired market-leading assessment solution Gradescope two years ago. ExamSoft’s robust testing platform meaningfully complements and grows our existing assessment offerings. Together, we form an even stronger company that meets the ever-changing needs of the educational and professional organizations we serve. We’re thrilled to welcome the ExamSoft team to the Turnitin family.”

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Saturday, November 7, 2020 A9

Take Me to Tagaytay, Again

Laid-back and cozy, the View Park Hotel has an outdoor pool and restaurant.

The View Park Hotel welcomes guests with Neo Italian architecture and interiors.

Story & photos by Bernard L. Supetran

ith the easing up of transport restrictions across the archipelago, traveldeprived Metro Manilans have been scouting for accessible, inexpensive, and hassle-free destinations.

And since most of the top tourist magnets require travel passes, medical certificates, the expensive anti-gen, swab tests, and whathave-yous, domestic travel has become as tough as securing a US visa. Fortunately, Tagaytay City has discarded these stringent requirements to lure guests, never mind if you’ve been going here since time immemorial. It may have its own set of mind-boggling policies, but it is still your best bet for a staycation to soothe your mental health and get a whiff of crisp, cool air. Mobility isn’t a problem since the mountain resort is reachable by public transport, motorcycles, and even mountain bikes. With a scenic ridge stretching from the towns of Silang, Cavite to Laurel, Batangas, there is always something new to discover in this old-time favorite. Start your day at Fire Lake Grill which recently rolled out special power breakfast treats on Saturdays and Sundays that cater to the weekend vacationers. Snag an al fresco table with a stunning view of the Taal Volcano and Lake, and choose from Blueberry Pancakes, Tagaytay Breakfast, or Shakshuka, a Mediterranean-style hearty, savory dish that packs a punch with baked eggs in tomatored bell pepper sauce and toast. You can also go for the ultimate showdown of Steak and Eggs,

grilled US Angus top blade steak generously served with two eggs, hash brown potatoes, and salsa verde. At other times of the day, the place is ideal for sipping barako coffee and munching on pastries in the afternoon, or a romantic steak-and-wine dinner with your special someone. Situated at The Cliffhouse lifestyle cluster in Tagaytay’s central commercial district, this intimate dining haunt is a creation of corporate executive-turned-chef Paul Huang. Having turned 15 years old this March, its grand celebration was rudely interrupted by the volcano eruption and the nationwide lockdown. This time, the Fire Lake Grill is back on the groove to rekindle the fire of romance and make up for lost time. After breakfast, you can linger around the ridge road to gaze at the surreal and evolving contour of the legendary volcano. Come lunch time, feast on the upland signature delicacies offered by the D’Bas Bulalohan Restaurant, such as the must-try steaming bulalo beef broth, caldereta, adobo, or sinampalukan kambing. There’s also an assortment of vegetables, seafood, freshwater catch from Taal Lake, grilled meat, and popular dishes such as the sizzling sisig, which goes well with the cool climate.

Wake up to a Shakshuka breakfast at the Fire Lake Grill.

D Bas Bulalohan Restaurant serves native dishes with affordable rates.

With a no-frills but comfortable setup, this native-themed resto evokes a country-style ambiance which blends well with the environment. The open-air setting and moderate visitor density ensure good air ventilation to prevent transmission of the dreaded virus. It also has individual bamboo hut cottages to provide physical distancing and privacy among diners. The best thing about it is that you need not hurt your budget to enjoy a hearty and tasty meal with your family, or friends.

With classical bistro elements, Fire Lake Grill is also known for its top notch grilled meat dishes.

And when it’s time to hit the sack, you can find refuge at View Park Hotel, a boutique lodging which exudes the charm of Asian and Neo-Italian architecture and interiors, and whose Meditteranean motifs and garden landscapes are like slices of the postcard-pretty seaside towns. Each comfy room, tastefully painted with bits of prose and poetry, has a veranda that affords guests a view of the roadside scene on one side, and a poolside, garden, and farm on the other.

Sit u ated l itera l ly a stone throw away from the Tagaytay Picnic Grove, the city’s iconic recreational park, it’s also just a jogging distance away from other tourist spots such as the People’s Park in the Sky, the Orlina Glass Museum, prayer gardens, and the city’s public market, and pasalubong stores. Meanwhile, the hotel’s cozy Siglo Restaurant takes you on a gustatory journey across the Philippines, with its menu of curated regional dishes from north to south.

If the situation normalizes next year, the View Park will be formally opening a new wing with a more contemporary look designed for special events and conferences. Just a reminder, if you’re already making travel plans: tourist establishments in Tagaytay City are closed on Mondays for disinfection against the virus. That means you have to dine, shop, or stay in the city’s neighboring towns. Other than that, you are practically ready to take on Tagaytay again, for the nth time.

SEDA LIO IN LIO, EL NIDO OFFERS PRE-CHRISTMAS BEACH ESCAPE E

Seda Lio, El Nido Palawan pool

Seda Lio, El Nido Beach

scape the confines of home and revel in the majesty of the world’s most beautiful island! Seda Lio in El Nido, Palawan is accepting stays for November 20-23, 2020 with a special package that includes accommodations, meals and airfare. It’s the perfect pre-Christmas treat for the family! Prevention measures under Seda Hotels’ Safe at Seda health and safety program are in place to keep everyone’s mind at ease throughout. Travelers are required to submit swab test results taken 72 hours prior to departure date, and safety protocols are enforced by the airline. The Seda Lio Beach Escape package includes: round-trip ticket ManilaLio-Manila via Air Swift (Naia Terminal

3); airport transfers (Lio Airport-Seda Lio-Lio Airport); a three night accommodation with breakfast, lunch and dinner; use of pool, gym, game room, e-lounge, children’s play room; complimentary Wi-fi, and complimentary one hour of snorkeling. Seda Lio is a sprawling beachfront resort located in the vast Lio Tourism Estate just five minutes from Lio Airport. Aside from its own leisure facilities, it is just a few steps to the beach and offers non-motorized water sports. Resort operations follow community quarantine guidelines and local government regulations. For package rates, reservations and other details, please call (0917) 819 0852 or e-mail lio@sedahotels.com.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Saturday, November 7, 2020 A11

Lucky 7 or Strike? F

OR gamers who’ve played Final Fantasy 7, I’m pretty sure you remember that one special Easter Egg status, called “All Lucky 7s” or “All 7 Fever” (Ōru Sebun Fībā). This happens when one of your character’s HP lands on exactly 7,777. That “fevered” character will always strike for 7777 damage, even if an enemy has special defenses. This “Lucky 7” attack also appears in Final Fantasy 9 as an ability used by Zidane from the Skill command. If Zidane’s current HP ends in 7, the skill randomly inflicts 7, 77, 777 or 7777 damage to a single enemy. It’s a nice trick, but something that’s not so easy to pull off—much like the tricky situation realme Philippines finds itself in with the release of the realme 7 series. It’s been less than four months since the realme 6 trio and their entry level-lineup of C11, C12 and C15 helped catapult them into the second spot of the top smartphone brands in the country. It’s the fastest growth in local smartphone history and their record-breaking achievement of 97 percent quarteron-quarter growth, as reported in the Q2 2020 SEA study of Counterpoint Research, was very impressive considering the lockdown and global pandemic. While it may seem like a marketing move to “strike while the iron is hot,” the arrival of the realme 7 series actually follows the brand’s release cycle as the realme 5 was released almost the same time last year. Still, isn’t it too soon for a follow-up? And can the luck of the “7” prevent it from striking out? First let’s check out the differences between the realme 6 Pro and the realme 7 Pro. The realme 6 Pro has a slightly bigger screen size at 6.6-inch with a 90Hz refresh rate, compared to the realme 7 Pro’s 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel with an 80Hz touch sampling rate. As for the design, the realme 7 Pro looks more like a 2020 phone with its rectangular rear camera module, compared to the previous horizontal layout. As much as I loved the lightning back design of the realme 6 Pro, the mirror space design of the realme 7 Pro makes it look more premium. Both the 6 Pro and 7 Pro sport quad rear cameras and the same 64MP main camera, but while the former uses the Samsung GW1 sensor, the latter has the Sony IMX682. The realme 7 pro also replaces the 12MP telephoto lens with a B&W sensor. Other upgrades include an in-display fingerprint scanner, a slightly larger battery and faster charging and better speakers. So is the 7 Pro way better than its predecessor? Not exactly. If you just got a realme 6 Pro, don’t worry as

it’s still one of the best value phones of the year. But for those looking for an upgrade, here are some reasons why the realme 7Pro is worth checking out. The realme 7 Pro’s claim to fame is being the Philippines’s fastest-charging smartphone as evidenced by the main theme of its launch. It can charge its 4500mAh battery from zero to 100 percent in just 34 minutes thanks to its 65W SuperDart Charge. It’s like those workaholics who seemingly never gets tired, and only needs a moment to recharge. Even during heavy gaming, the 65W SuperDart Charge can charge to 43 percent in just 30 minutes; or 13 percent in only three minutes—that’s equivalent to three rounds of PUBG (1.22h), two hours of Instagram, 150 minutes of YouTube (2.54h) and four days on standby. During my seven-minute challenge, I was able to charge it to 26 percent, the fastest among all the phones I’ve used. It comes with 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor with an Adreno 618 GPU making it a formidable gaming device. This is made even better by a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED screen. The display has a 2400 x 1080 FHD+ resolution, 90.8 percent screen-to-body ratio, 600nits peak brightness, 98 percent NTSC color gamut. Overall, display quality is great with excellent

colors and viewing angles, arguably one of the best from the brand. For those who are active in online content engagement—whether it’s livestreams, vlogs or photography, the realme 7 Pro’s 2nd Gen 64MP Sony IMX682 Quad Camera and 32 MP selfie cam can help your photos stand out. It might have lost the wideangle selfie cam, but it does have the brand’s highest resolution front camera. The 32MP camera with AI beautification can take clear selfies even in dark nights using the Night Mode setting. As for the main rear cameras, you get a 64-megapixel main camera; an 8-megapixel 119-degree ultra wide-angle lens, ultra macro lens and a new black and white Portrait lens that detects a wider array of light, and assists the main lens to capture light better, enhance image contrast, create retro-style images and add texture to portraits. The resulting photographs are really good, with excellent amounts of detail and true-to-life colors with minimal noise. I do miss the telephoto lens a bit as you only get digital zoom in the realme 7 Pro. The macro camera is actually fun to use especially if you want to create those super closeup shots of everyday objects. Even more fun are the addition of three new

night filters: Cyberpunk, Flamingo and Modern Gold. I know filters aren’t usually a selling point, but these new additions will definitely give your photos a distinct visual effect. I think I’ve abused the Cyberpunk filter a bit too much. Also worth noting is AI Color Portrait mode, where you can keep part of the portrait colored while the rest of the color is changed to different shades of gray to highlight the people in the video. Speaking of video, the realme 7 Pro’s front and back cameras support UIS Video Stabilization, RealTime Bokeh Effect Video, 1080P/120fps slo-mo video recording while the rear cameras also has UIS Max Video Stabilization, Pro Nightscape Video, AI Color Portrait Video, Ultra Wide-Angle Video, 4K/30fps video recording. The realme 7 Pro is the first smartphone to receive a TÜV Rheinland Smartphone Reliability Verification. This covers 22 major tests (12 daily-use scenarios, four components reliability and six extreme environment) and 38 minor tests so you can be assured about its quality. Overall, the realme 7 Pro presents a substantial upgrade from the realme 6 Pro with its Super AMOLED display, improved cameras and superfast charging. ■

Google ad costs, not its alleged monopoly, irks businesses BY JOYCE M. ROSENBERG The Associated Press NEW YORK—When asked about Google, Bryan Clayton voices a familiar lament among small business owners. “You keep getting squeezed further and further down the search results page,” says Clayton, CEO of GreenPal, a company that operates an app to help homeowners find lawn care. “As a start-up, you don’t have a million-dollar advertising budget.” The Justice Department sued Google on October 20 for anticompetitive behavior, saying the company’s dominance in online search and advertising harms rivals and consumers. Owners such as Clayton have a different beef. What’s unfair about Google, they say, is the way it gives the greatest prominence in search results to the companies that spend the most on advertising. Companies covet the top spots in Google search results—the first page of rankings, and the top of subsequent pages. But if too many companies vie for one of these spots, the cost can jump out of reach for a small business, just like the price for prime time TV commercials. Google controls about 90 percent of global Internet searches. The Justice Department sued

Google, alleging it uses monopoly power in search to squelch competition. Business owners’ concerns about the cost of advertising aren’t directly related to the government’s lawsuit, although the company’s dominance of the search market has been alleged to be a factor in driving up the price to buy ads in its vast digital marketing network. But even if prices were lower than they are now, larger companies with more money to spend, in theory, could always outbid smaller businesses vying for the prime advertising spots on Google. Businesses have two main ways of trying to get their listings high in Google rankings. One is to buy an ad that’s seen at the top of the search result pages; the cost for the ads depends on how often a computer user clicks on the ad and how much a company is willing to pay per click. The more a company can pay, the more likely it will get a prized spot in search results. Google has different types of ads, and whether an ad appears locally or nationally can also affect pricing. So can the time of day an ad appears. There’s also what’s called paid search, where companies bid on keywords to get a higher ranking. For example, a sporting goods store might bid on words like “baseball” and “hockey” in hopes of landing higher in search results and being more easily seen by customers looking for equipment for those sports.

The problem businesses face is they can be outbid by companies with deeper pockets. So the sporting goods store that can only afford to pay $2 a word can lose out to stores able to pay $10. Mark Aselstine has spent as much as $30,000 a year on Google advertising, but he’s not sure his wine gift basket company will be able to afford Google ads this holiday season. He expects an already competitive time of year to be even more intense as more wine retailers seek customers over the Internet due to the coronavirus outbreak and use Google advertising to make themselves more visible. “I don’t think we’ll run a single Google ad this year. I suspect it will be well out of our price range,” says Aselstine, owner of Uncorked Ventures, based in El Cerrito, California. If Aselstine can’t afford Google, he has alternatives. Microsoft’s Bing search engine, cheaper but not as popular among computer users, is one. Aselstine can also increase his use of Google’s unpaid search. Like the paid version, he’d seek to use keywords in his ads that prospective customers are likely to search for; depending on the words he chooses, he might get a good ranking, although it will still fall below ads and paid listings. R.J. Huebert, who buys Google ads on behalf of the law firms, manufacturers and a credit union that are

his clients, also sees prices going up because of the competition among advertisers, but the owner of HBT Digital Consulting says, “I think it’s the cost of doing business.” Huebert, whose company is based in Pittsburgh, sees Google as an important tool for small businesses because of its reach. And when people begin a search on Google, they’re already interested in a product or service; they have what’s known as high intent, a high likelihood that they’re going to make a purchase. And they’re more likely to buy than someone who happens on an ad as they scroll through Facebook. Aselstine says he’ll advertise on Facebook and Instagram if he can’t afford Google, although he’s likely to get more sales from people who search on Google. “Those people are more ready to buy that day,” he says. Clayton, the GreenPal CEO, spends about $100,000 a year on Google advertising. That’s a big number for a small company—GreenPal has 23 employees—but Clayton lists giants Angie’s List and HomeAdviser among his competitors that have much bigger advertising budgets. GreenPal, based in Nashville, Tennessee, and serving homeowners in most of the states, spends about $3 or $4 per click for ads. But, Clayton says, “it’s getting harder to advertise—the price keeps going up and up.”

BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, November 7, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CIC taps Oracle for its digital pivot strategy BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES TO ensure the success of its digital pivot strategy, Concepcion Industrial Corp. (CIC) has selected Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications to enable the local industrial powerhouse to have a stronger presence in the local market. Under the Oracle platform, CIC Chairman and CEO Raul Joseph Concepcion recently told reporters the company will be able consolidate its sales, service and commerce on Oracle Cloud Applications to adopt new service-oriented, direct-to-consumer business models that create new revenue streams and enhance the customer experience. Moreover, he said CIC needs to provide solutions to complex needs of the market. Being a company

providing several brands and services, he also pointed out that CIC needs to have a robust needs to handle these challenging needs. “The recent lockdowns demonstrated that we needed to urgently upgrade and unify our front and back-office processes. Our traditional business model depended on our distribution partners, but more than 50 percent of them were not allowed to operate due to the pandemic. With more consumers purchasing online, we knew a change in the way we operate was imminent,” Concepcion explained. “We selected Oracle Cloud Applications to provide us with one single platform that could unify across our front and back-office operations and provide realtime insights. This includes feedback from consumer interactions, both online and via field service. Oracle

gives us new possibilities to redesign our business operations,” Concepcion added. He also pointed out that an Oracle-powered infrastructure enables the company to achieve an end-to-end engagement with customers through friction-less interaction. With new business models emerging, he said the CIC has to be there to keep pace with developments. He added this will enable the company to pivot and respond to the new situation. Just like most of the businesses in the country, CIC has also experienced business challenges. Concepcion said growth has been affected as sales declined during the first half of the year especially in the second quarter. Nevertheless, he said there will be improvement in the third quarter as the economy opens up. He hopes it would be strong as the 2019

level. Right now, he said the important thing for CIC is to pivot. He added Oracle would also allow CIC to look at different areas for possible growth opportunities. “Changing customer demands are driving companies to reconsider traditional business models and how they serve their customers. As a recognizable brand in the Philippines, CIC is not only creating new revenue streams and service offerings with technology, but also engaging with customers directly to ensure that it remains a household name into the future,” said Siva Ganeshanandan, head of Oracle Cloud CX, Asean. “Only Oracle Cloud Applications has the ability to tie finance, supply chain and customer experience together on a unified cloud platform, supporting CIC in both its short and long-term goals.”

A�ter PSJ, who’s next as telco’s endorser?

PORTÉGÉ X30L-G

WORLD’S SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT LAPTOP UNVEILED

MANY tablets and gadgets claim theirs are the lightest, most ultraportable. However, Toshiba’s Dynaboook range recently added to its portfolio the Portégé X30L-G laptop—not a tablet but, yes, a laptop which can readily claim as being the lightest in the market of tablets and laptops. Weighing just 870 grams, the Portégé X30L-G is "the world's lightest 13.3-inch fully featured business laptop with an Intel 10th generation processor. The last ultraportable laptop was another US brand with a starting weight of 1.2 kg, tipping toward 1.27 kg. Aside from its lightweight features, this laptop offers more than just portability. The Dynabook Portégé X30L-G runs on 10th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors with up to 24GB of RAM. The display is a non-reflective FHD IGZO panel from Sharp, consuming less power than a standard LCD, which no doubt contributes to the laptop's impressive battery life. Users, adult and children, will easily agree the Portégé X30L-G's FHD screen is perfect for mainstream knowledgeworker tasks—web browsing and document creation/editing. The laptop measures just 308.8mm wide by 211.6mm deep, with a 17.9mm thickness. Consumers can choose from colorways that include Onyx Blue, Black, and Silver, with the Dynabook logo in one corner of the lid and the silver hinges catching the eye when the laptop is closed. The stereo speakers deliver audio through grilles on the underside of the front. Volume gets reasonably loud, but can get rather top-heavy and trebly. Headphones or external speakers are recommended if high-quality audio is required. Overall, the Dynabook Portégé X30L-G is not just a super lightweight gadget, but a useful, amazing must-have for kids and adults nowadays, especially with school and work getting done mostly remotely from home. More information on the Dynabook product range can be found at asia.dynabook.com. RENI SALVADOR

HEN Smart Communications Inc. made its big announcement that actor Park Seo-joon was the face of its new Giga K-Video data pack (a partnership with streaming service Viu), there was one thing I wanted to know: Who’s next for Smart? I remember two months ago, friends asked me if I could confirm whether Smart had enlisted the services of a super popular Korean boy group to be its endorsers? Of course, my friends in Smart would not confirm nor deny anything about this. Anyway, during the PSJ press conference on Facebook, someone asked who’s next and I’m not 100 percent sure here because I was taking down notes and not recording (as I should have). From my end, I heard someone reply that something about this would be announced before the end of the year. For a longtime K-pop and K-drama fan like myself, living in these times is surreal. I remember that in 1999, I never imagined that I would be able to see Korean actors and idols in real life. But in 2010, thanks to Happee Sy of Pulp, I covered the first full K-pop concert in the Philippines: Super Junior’s “The 2nd Asia Tour: Super Show 2.” Before I go off to another direction, Alfredo Panlilio, Smart president and CEO and PLDT chief revenue officer, said Smart’s Korean endorsers Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin have “helped grow the business for sure.” Expectations are high for Park Seo-joon because the actor is a favorite in the Philippines and his dramas She Was Pretty and What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim are some of the top titles among Filipinos on Viu, a leading pan-regional streaming service operated by Viu International Limited. Smart Giga K-Video is the first-ever prepaid data pack in the Smart Giga family that comes with a Viu Premium subscription, allowing subscribers to

KOREAN star Park Seo-joon

enjoy their favorite Korean content with unlimited downloads and an uninterrupted, no-ads experience. In the first of two TV commercials that Park Seojoon is committed to doing for Smart, he says “K-Lang Yan,” which kind of assures Filipinos things will be fine. When he accepted the Smart endorsement,

Messaging platform expands into fintech ONE of the world’s leading apps for free and easy communication, Viber is moving beyond messaging by expanding into fintech and offering Chatbot Payments through a partnership with Google Pay. This feature will soon be available for all users in the Philippines and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, as roll-out plans are scheduled to be announced on a later date. Launched in time of its 10th anniversary, this move also marks another milestone for Viber as it continues to develop an end-to-end platform catering to all of its users’ needs, underscored by impeccable privacy-preserving measures. As messaging and social platforms grow and develop, users are beginning to express a demand for additional features that go beyond chats, emojis,

GIFs, and video calls. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in a December 2019 report estimated that there had been 470 to 490 million digital transactions every month in the Philippines, which is nearly 20 times more than the number of monthly digital transactions in 2013. That number has grown since then, with the pandemic accelerating the need for solutions to do just about everything remotely. Viber recognizes that need, announcing its expansion into utilities and fintech with a digital payments debut emphasizing preserving user privacy. Viber’s Chatbot Payments feature enables users to purchase the products and services of the merchants securely and directly through the app. The user simply registers a bank card to their native

smartphone wallet. The payment option becomes available for any chatbot built on Viber’s native chatbot application programming interface (API). On the merchant side, businesses seeking to accept payments simply need to connect to a payment service provider supporting this type of payment, create a chatbot on Viber, and enable payments on it. The company is also working with trusted bot developers and payment service providers to include other native mobile wallets for the Chatbot Payments feature next month. Viber’s Chatbot Payment platform is secure, as all confidential payment information is encrypted and not disclosed to chatbots, Viber, or any third party; time-saving, since it enables transactions with a few taps; all-encompassing, because end users can now pay for the services (utility bills,

deliveries, transportation, etc.) they’ve been already managing via a chatbot; good for business, as it’s an easy way for any small, medium, or large enterprise to have a channel on Viber where they can collect payments; and scalable, since it’s easy market to any country where mobile wallets are available. “We’re thrilled to move Viber beyond messaging and position ourselves on the global stage as an end-to-end platform that actually values its users as people, not ad targets. That’s true not only in the transfer of information through messages, but in payments and other aspects of digital communications. We’re here to ensure users have access to a secure alternative to handle their payments,” said Djamel Agaoua, CEO of Rakuten Viber.

Park Seo-joon had one request: that his campaign be different from those of Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin. Thus, Smart went the romantic route with the actor shown comforting a heartbroken girl. During the Smart-hosted virtual press conference, media guests were shown a video of Park Seo-joon replying to questions including what Korean food he likes that he’d recommend to foreigners. “Based on a show I did where I ran a restaurant abroad [Youn’s Kitchen], I found that bibimbap is the most popular. It is one of the tastiest dishes for me. But I think foreigners also like that it’s a complete and healthy meal so I would recommend that.” But personally, Park Seo-joon’s favorite dish is his mom’s Dwenjang soup or soybean paste stew. He also did a quick Q&A and there we learned that a role Park Seo-joon would like to take on is that of a villain and that he spends his day-off sleeping. We also learned that the actor is a night owl who loves hanging out with friends “outside if the times were different.” Aside from his dramas, Park Seo-joon would like to recommend Youn’s Kitchen to his Filipino fans. The Giga K-Video 99 data pack, which is available to all Smart Prepaid and TNT subscribers, comes with a 7-day Viu Premium subscription, 1 GB of data for Viu every day for 7 days, plus 2 GB of open access data. Subscribers can register for Giga K-Video by dialing *123# and will soon be available via the GigaLife app. Smart customers who have registered for Giga K-Video can enjoy the full Viu-ing experience with a Viu Premium subscription, which enables them to enjoy the latest shows as quickly as eight hours after their respective Korean telecast, unlimited downloads, and access to all content on Viu without advertisements. They can download Viu for free on the App Store, Google Play Store and selected smart TVs, as well as on the web at www.viu.com to access a wide selection of Korean and Asian movies and TV shows. “Korean dramas have seeped into our local pop culture and turned into a big passion for many Filipinos. We know that Viu has played a pivotal role in bringing the best of Korean entertainment to the country, so through this partnership, we aim to make it simpler and easier for our subscribers to immerse in their love for K-life with the latest content on Viu,” said Jane Basas, senior vice president and head of consumer wireless business at Smart. ■

Sports BusinessMirror

A12 Saturday, November 7, 2020

TOKYO-BOUND ATHLETES PRAISE GOVT, POC HEAD T

By Josef Ramos

HE country’s Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes heaped praises for both the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and President Duterte for bringing back the allowances of national team members to the normal 100 percent level. Boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno and world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo thanked President Duterte and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino for supporting the cause of national athletes and coaches. “I will do my best to give back to President Duterte, Congressman Tolentino and the whole country by winning a gold

medal in the Tokyo Olympics,” Marcial, who just turned 25 last October 29, told BusinessMirror via overseas call from his base in Los Angeles, California, on Friday. “I am dedicating my effort to the Philippines for their continuous support. I want to make the country proud,” the middleweight boxer, who would be fighting as a pro soon, added. Featherweight Magno said she felt relieved upon hearing the good news. She is the breadwinner in her family. “Even though there’s a pandemic, our government didn’t forget to help us by bringing back our usual monthly allowances,” said Magno, who trains at home in her hometown of Janiuay, Iloilo. “Since our monthly salary will return 100 percent, I will do my best in all my competitions.”

Marcial and Magno receive P43,000 a month in allowances as Class A athletes, the same amount Yulo and Obiena are getting. Tolentino announced on Thursday that the national team members are expecting to receive their monthly allowance in full starting next week following the passing of the Bayanihan Act 2 that provided P180 million for sports. The Bayanihan Act 2 also provides each athlete and coach a one-time P5,000 pandemic assistance. Tolentino convinced Congress to include the athletes and coaches’ allowances in the act, saying the 50 percent that was deducted from the nationals’ pay since June would be given back to them. “This is a big help for us because my father lost his job after the closure of their

Sports linked to connectivity, corporate life - Panlilio

PORTS and the corporate life may consist of dissimilar activities, conducted in totally different environments but their essence is basically the same. Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT chief revenue officer and Smart president and CEO, said in his speech at the recently concluded #PHDigicon2020, the biggest virtual business convention of the year. “Sports—which is deeper than its competitive aspect—is strongly linked to connectivity and corporate life,” said Panlilio, a prominent sportsman and sports advocate being the head of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the MVP Sports Foundation. “Sports engenders a sense of belonging and builds solidarity between you, your teammates, your coaches, and your wider community.... Being a sportsman means exhibiting respect for your competitors and to everyone around you,” he said. “As a telco executive, I realize that there exists an inextricable link between connectivity, corporate life, and sports. While the squeaky hardwood of the basketball court feels completely different from the low-key carpet of the boardroom and the office, both environments prize similar values,” he added. Panlilio noted that working in PLDT-Smart is actually not at all different from managing a sports team. This includes speaking to key players about the need to level up and to work as a team and maximizing the use of data analytics, monitoring top-ups, regional performance, geographical demand and a number of other metrics to make better decisions.

“We have enhanced our capacities by investing in better fiber systems, LTE and 5G. How these values manifest in business and in sports may look very different, but the core philosophies and strategies are the same,” he said. On accountability, Panlilio said the same value is instilled among employees and athletes. “The accountability we inculcate among our employees is the same accountability we like seeing on the court—players admitting their mistakes and vowing to play harder—and smarter—during the next game,” he said. According to Panlilio, the late Kobe Bryant’s famous Mamba Mentality—which encourages people to focus on preparation, hard work and developing new skills despite setbacks and challenges—is that same courage, resolve,and strength of character that he has seen in the best people he has worked with. “It is the grit that has gotten them through the most excruciatingly difficult times of their lives, both at home and in the office,” Panlilio said. He said the biggest similarity between sports and corporate life is single-mindedness. “While the methodology in sports might be complex—training, nutrition, memorizing plays, forming a capable team—the usual goal of playing is winning.” Panlilio said he believes in approaching business with the same single-minded obsession. “The question for all of us at PLDT-Smart is: What does winning look like? And I am inspired by our answer to it: a satisfied customer,” he said. “It is simple and true. Customer satisfaction is to our business, as winning is to sports.”

AUL LEE unleashed the form that made fans call him the “Lethal Weapon” to put Magnolia in the thick of the fight in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup. Magnolia was off to an ugly 1-4 won-lost start in the Clark bubble, but with Lee taking charge, the Hotshots are in playoff contention after winning three consecutive games. Known for his booming triples, the former University of the East main man was lethal in Magnolia’s victories over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (102-92) last October 25, erstwhile unbeaten TNT Tropang Giga (102-92) last November 4 and Terrafirma (103-89) on Thursday. “I’m just playing my game—and sticking to the system of coach Chito [Victolero] offensively and defensively. I am just playing composed all the time,” said Lee, adding Magnolia’s physical therapists and masseurs have been keeping the team in fighting condition. “What the therapists and masseurs are doing is very important for our full recovery as we play everyday,” added Lee, noting their previous losses were not lopsided—81-87 loss

to Alaska last October 17, 104-109 setback to Meralco last October 20 and 84-91 to Phoenix Super LPG last October 23. Lee averaged 20.5 points in eight matches, highlighting his game in the bubble with a 29-point performance he marked with five three-pointers against Terrafirma and a 27-point with four triples against the Tropang Giga. After getting a rest on Friday, Magnolia squares off with Rain or Shine (4-3) on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Northport (1-7) on Sunday also at 4 p.m. at the Angeles University Foundation gym. They wrap up their elimination-round campaign against Blackwater on November 11 at 4 p.m. Lee said that he is healthy at the moment despite soreness in his body. With a healthy Lee in the bubble, Magnolia is bound to improve its present 4-4 win-loss record with only three games left in their elimination round schedule. “It’s not about me but the team and how we play defense,” he said. Victolero, who steered Magnolia to the 2018 Governors’s Cup title, said the Hotshots’ well-being in back-to-back games were put to a “tough grind.” “It’s too difficult to play everyday, but we have

PCSO remits to PSC amid pandemic

HE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) remitted to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) the fifth tranche of the sports agency’s share from state lotteries and the horseracing industry. The turnover ceremony was staged at the PCSO’s main office in PCSO Charity Assistance Department officer-in-charge Jerusa Corpuz

turned over the check. The fifth remittance for 2020 was pegged at P359,672.07, bringing this year’s PCSO remittances to P1,816,527.03. “The PSC is so happy that despite the [Covid-19) pandemic, the PCSO generously gives its share for the development of sports” Kiram said. The PCSO turned over P1,456,854.96 to

Tancontian makes sambo world juniors trip to Serbia minus foreign travel order

MARCIAL

YULO

company since four months ago due to the pandemic,” said Yulo in a message relayed by his mother Angelica. “I will do my very best in training to repay our government and win the gold next year.” Pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, on the other hand, stressed he always gives his best for the country as a responsibility for being a national athlete. “I believe I am very motivated for the Olympics. I am doing whatever I can. To be honest, I think it is not all about the money for me,” Obiena said. “It’s more about what I set and what I accept as my responsibility on my own. It’s not going to change if I don’t get my allowances but definitely it helps.” Rio Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, who have yet to formally qualify for Tokyo

SPORTSMAN and sports advocate Alfredo Panlilio says being a sportsman means exhibiting respect for your competitors and to everyone around you.

MAGNO

after qualifiers for weightlifting were overran by the pandemic, thanked the government but also emphasized on her responsibility as a national athlete. “I am very happy. But as we, an athlete, whether there’s an allowances or none, I will continue what I am doing, and I will do my best in training because I am representing our country,” Diaz said. Women’s world boxing featherweight champion Nesthy Petecio also praised the government and the POC. “I salute our government for that effort. In return, I will fight for glory for our country because that’s the only way I can repay our nation by bringing home more medals,” Petecio said. Like Diaz, Petecio will compete in the Tokyo qualifiers in May.

Covid-19 patients getting fewer at PSC quarantine sports facilities

OVID-19 patients quarantined at two government sports facilities in Manila and Pasig City have drastically dropped—with no record of death. Philippine Sports Commission Security Supervisor Angel Dayag told BusinessMirror that from the thousands that were admitted at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum (RMC) and Ninoy Aquino Stadium (NAS) in Manila and PhilSports Arena (formerly Ultra) in Pasig City at the onset of the pandemic in March, the head count for recuperating patients are down to just several dozens. As of November 6, Dayag said only 36 patients are left at the NAS and just 25 at the RMC, while 32 are quarantined at the PhilSports. Figures were much higher last summer with the RMC accommodating 1,015 patients and the NAS 1,128 individuals. The PhilSports became the temporary home to 510 patients. The Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center Operation PSC Covid-19 facilities are supervising operations at the

PSC facilities. These were converted to quarantine or healing centers at the height of the pandemic, along with several other government facilities. “We are happy because the number of patients are getting fewer, they are getting better,” Dayag said. “And so far, no deaths have been recorded.” PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, who is in charge of monitoring the facilities, said that the sports agency is hopeful that the RMC, NAS and PhilSports Arena would be returned soon to the sports agency for the use of national athletes. “We are thankful that the PSC is able to contribute to the welfare of our kababayans. We’re hoping that in due time, the PSC will be able to make use of these facilities to start our Olympic campaign training,” Fernandez told the BusinessMirror. The PSC, meanwhile, conducted another round of periodic RT-PCR swab testing for its skeletal work force at the PhilSports complex on Thursday. Annie Abad

Tokyo hosting four-country, one-day gymnastics meet to test Covid safety

‘LETHAL WEAPON’ UP TO TASK By Josef Ramos

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

no choice. What is important is the proper mindset and the recovery of the players,” Victolero said. “We need to preserve the legs of the players, but we’re happy to cover the first two games so we will try the same formula again.” Victolero thanked the team’s physical therapists Nick Ocampo, Arcee Cua and Nathan Futalan and masseurs Ayot Vivo, Maning Vilbar and Gilbert Janiola for keeping his players fresh and ready. Meralco (5-3) and TNT Tropang Giga meet in Saturday’s second game set at 6:45 p.m. PAUL LEE is delivering the goods for Magnolia.

the PCSO a month before the start of the lockdown in March. In 2019, the PCSO released a total of P2.3 million to the PSC, the same year when the country hosted and dominated the 30th Southeast Asian Games. The PCSO is mandated by Republic Act 6847, the law that created the PSC, to remit annually to the government sports arm 30 percent of the charity fund and proceeds of six sweepstakes lottery draws.

YMNASTS from the United States, China and Russia will join counterparts from Japan in a oneday meet on Sunday in Tokyo, believed to be the first international sports event in the country since the Olympics were postponed seven months ago. The meet itself involving 30 gymnasts is largely meaningless. What’s important is for Japanese government and Olympic officials to show that foreign athletes can enter Japan safely and not spread Covid-19. This is another step in attempting to illustrate that Tokyo will be able to hold next year’s Olympics—even without a vaccine—in the midst of a pandemic. About 2,000 fans will be allowed to attend the meet at the iconic Yoyogi Gymnasium, which was the venue for swimming in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It will be the venue for handball when the Olympics open on July 23, 2021. Last weekend a

Japanese professional baseball team filled a 30,000-seat stadium to show that fans could attend events safely. The Olympics are gigantic and another story. They will involve 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and thousands of staff, judges, officials, media and broadcasters. It’s also unclear if Japanese and non-Japanese fans will be allowed to attend. Just over 1,800 deaths in Japan have been attributed to Covid-19. Japan has largely closed to borders since the outbreak to control the virus. The athletes this weekend underwent a two-week quarantine before entering Japan. They are traveling between the venue and their hotel in special buses. They are also taking many precautions including reports that they will have to bring their own chalk during their competitions—not using a communal supply as is usual. Two-time defending Olympic gold-medalist Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who reported a positive test last week for Covid-19, subsequently tested negative several times. He is expected to participate.

By Annie Abad

YDNEY SY TANCONTIAN kicked off her campaign in the World Sambo Juniors Championships in Serbia against an opponent from Ukraine on Friday. But here’s the hitch. Tancontian flew to the Serbian city of Novi Sad early this week without a travel order (TO) from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). National athletes need a TO in order for them to train or compete abroad. Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy said the PSC asked Tancontian for a health clearance or letter of approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) but she didn’t submit any. “We did not issue a TO. They [Philippine Sambo Federation] asked for a travel order from the PSC, but we required them to submit health clearances because the IATF has yet to allow competitions in amateur sports,” Iroy told BusinessMirror. “Unless they have a letter from the IATF, they’re good to go.” Tancontian is no ordinary athlete of sambo, a sport that resembles Olympic wrestling that traces its roots in Russia. She clinched a bronze medal in the Romania 2018 world juniors and a gold medal at the India 2019 Asian championships. She is the lone Asian competitor in the Serbia tournament. She is also an elected member of the International Sambo Federation Athletes Committee at a young age of 20 and an officer of the World Sambo Athletes group. She is also a competitive judo and kurash athlete. “Privately, she flew [to Serbia] because she is a member of the sport’s athletes commission and will also participate in a tournament,” Iroy said. But Tancontian said that she secured the needed requirements for her to travel, including Covid-19 tests results. “I secured all the needed requirements including the PCR results and other documents. And non-essential travels are already approved in the Philippines,” Tancontian told BusinessMirror. Iroy said that the PSC will ask the PSF to submit a report on whether or not they secured an IATF clearance as well as Serbia’s travel guidelines. Tancontian, a Bachelor of Sports Wellness and Management major at the University of Santo Tomas, Tancontian faced Ukraine’s Kateryna Chovhun in the junior women 80+ category in the tournament that also gathered athletes from Belarus, Russia, France and the United States. “This is one of the competitions where I really got motivated, especially at this time of pandemic,” Tancontian said. “Not everyone is given the chance to compete. I am very happy I was able to get here to compete here.” SYDNEY SY TANCONTIAN opens her world junior championships campaign against a Ukrainian.

Saso 5 shots adrift in Toto Classic 1st round

UKA SASO churned in a two-under 70 to find herself five strokes behind local ace Saiki Fujita and Korean Bae Seon Woo in Friday’s opening round of the Toto Japan Classic of the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour in Ibaraki Prefecture. The favorites—world No. 6 Nasa Hataoka, defending champion Ai Suzuki and Japan Tour leg winners Shin Jie, Erika Hara, Mone Inami, Yuna Nishimura and Ayaka Furue—beat the Taiheiyo Club Minori course with a run of low rounds in calm conditions. Saso, however, failed to join the top guns, dropping below half of the select 78-player starting field with a two-birdie, two-bogey

card after 13 holes. Birdies on Nos. 14 and 17, however, put some semblance of hope for the 19-year-old FilipinoJapanese, the tour’s money race leader with two victories. But the International Container Terminal Services Inc.-backed Saso drifted too far behind the leaders at joint 29th. Forty-seven players broke par 72 with Fujita gunning down six birdies against a bogey. She capped her stirring 33-32 round with an eagle on the par-five 17th. Bae came away with three back-to-back birdies (Nos. 1, 5 and 14) then added another on the 17th for a bogey-free 32-33 round. The duo grabbed a one-stroke lead over Fujitsu Ladies winner Shin Jie, also of Korea, and

Momoko Osato, who turned in identical 66s. Katsu settled for a 67 and dropped to joint fifth with Nozomi Uetake, Maiko Wakabayashi, Reika Usui and Korean Lee Min-Young. Hara shot 68 for joint 10th with Mami Fukuda, Mao Saigo, Ayako Kimura, Ayaka Takahashi and Suzuki, who hit five birdies against a bogey to get into the mix. Hataoka, the winner here in 2018, carded a 69 for joint 16th with 12 others, including Desant Tokai Classic titlist Furue and Stanley Ladies champion Inami. Joining Saso at 70 were Sakura Koiwi while world No. 15 and 2019 British Women’s Open winner Hinako Shibuno continued to grope for form and submitted a 71.