BusinessMirror April 19, 2021.pdf by BusinessMirror

100 NEW MINING DEALS COULD NET P21B—MGB Feb debt

n Monday, April 19, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 187

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |

payments down 77% to ₧33.3B By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

Residents in Manila fall in line to get a few basic goods from the P. Noval community pantry, one of several such outreach projects inspired by the “Community Pantry” of a young entrepreneur on Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. The community pantry has a simple rule, written in Filipino: Take only what you need, give what you can spare. The initiative, fueled by donations from ordinary people, has helped families affected by the strict lockdowns forced by a surge in Covid 19 cases. NONIE REYES

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

ITH the lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects following the signing of EO 130 by President Duterte, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is looking at granting new mining contracts that could generate additional revenues and boost the economy within the next five years. Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Wilfredo G. Moncano said at least 100 new mining projects currently in the pipeline can generate additional revenue

of P20 billion in the form of excise tax and another P1 billion in annual revenue in the form of royalty tax. See “Mining deals,” A2

PESO exchange rates n US 48.4790

BIZ BACKS 3 LIB BILLS BUT FRETS OVER RETAIL FLOOR By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

& Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE business sector welcomed the recent Palace certification of three economic bills as urgent, but aired reservations over a provision lowering the capitalization requirement for foreign retailers. I n d u s t r y l e a d e r s i nt e r viewed by the BusinessMir-

ror said the pend ing bi l ls have been long awaited because their enactment spells more job opportunities and economic growth. President Duterte certified as urgent last week the following bills: amendments to Public Service Act (Senate Bill 2094), amendments to Foreign Investments Act (Senate Bill 1156), a nd a mend ments to Ret a i l Trade Liberalization Act (Senate Bill 1840). “We welcome the urgency the

administration is bringing to these three reforms, which the business sector has been advocating for a long time,” Makati Business Club Executive Director Coco Alcuaz said. Alcuaz said the bills can help the country attract job-creating investments, which is much more needed at a time when the economy is still reeling from the impact of the lockdown measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Continued on A8

EBT payments by the national government in February this year sank to P33.3 billion, dropping by almost 77 percent from P144.64 billion in the same month last year. Latest debt service data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed a significant year-onyear decline in amortization payments and the doubling of interest payments in February. The government only paid P2.13 billion for amortization this year, plunging by 98.4 percent from last year’s P129.28 billion. Meanwhile, its interest payments for the same month hit P31.17 billion, twice as much as P15.35 billion in February 2020. For the first two months of the year, the national government shelled out P253.09 billion, lower by 12.9 percent compared to P290.69 billion in the same period a year ago. Amortization payments from January to February this year settled to P174.9 billion, falling by 18.2 percent from last year’s P213.92 billion. Interest payments had also hit P78.19 billion, inching up by 1.85 percent from P76.77 billion recorded last year. In 2020, government’s debt payments reached a new record high of P962.47 billion as it needed to keep up with more financial obligations to fund its war chest against the Covid-19 pandemic. The national government’s outstanding debt as of end-February this year has also soared to a new record high of P10.406 trillion as the government continued to borrow more money to respond to the raging Covid-19 pandemic. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said they expect the national government’s debt this year to reach 57 percent of GDP. The country aims to borrow P3.03 trillion this year, almost the same amount it borrowed in 2020. As of end-2020, the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio surged to 54.5 percent—a 14-yearhigh—coming from a record-low 39.6 percent in the previous year.

n japan 0.4458 n UK 66.8477 n HK 6.2417 n CHINA 7.4336 n singapore 36.3302 n australia 37.5615 n EU 58.0245 n SAUDI arabia 12.9274

Source: BSP (April 16, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, April 19, 2021

RSA puts Pacquiao ‘endorsement’ to rest

USINESS tycoon Ramon Ang, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of San Miguel Corporation, recently clarified a statement that was erroneously attributed to him regarding the possible presidential bid of Senator Manny Pacquiao in 2022. “I was told that some people believe that I am endorsing Manny Pacquiao’s candidacy. That is certainly not the case,” he explained. During an online forum with journalists last week, Ang was asked by one of the attendees who he thought would be the likely winner in next year’s presidential elections. Although Ang himself never got a chance to answer, other participants brought up Pacquiao’s name, and the conversation steered towards this scenario. This led a business columnist to write that Ang made a “fearless forecast” that Pacquiao would be the country’s next president, which the same columnist has since corrected in a succeeding article. “Right now, it’s still a wide open race. (Presidential Spokesperson) Harry Roque said that, in the event Davao Mayor Sara Duterte and Senator Bong Go do not run in 2022, President Duterte will choose among Mayor Isko Moreno, former Senator Bongbong Marcos, and Senator Manny Pacquiao,” Ang noted. “I believe that the president’s endorsement is still the key factor to victory, given his outstanding trust rating. As such, the situation can change dramatically, depending on Mayor Sara Duterte and Senator Bong Go’s decision, coupled with the strength of President Duterte’s endorsement,” he stressed. In the latest presidential survey conducted by OCTA Research, the Davao Mayor topped the poll, with 22 percent of the respondents selecting her as the country’s next president. The presidential daughter, however, has publicly stated that she will not seek the presidency in 2022. On the other hand, Go has indicated that he will only consider running for president if the country’s current Chief Executive agrees to be his running mate next year. According to the latest Pulse Asia survey, a Go-Duterte tandem would be the team to beat, earning the highest respondent

PHL logs most number of Covid recoveries

HE Philippines on Sunday recorded the highest number of patients who have recovered from Covid-19 since the pandemic began with 72,607 recoveries. These recoveries were recorded under the Department of Health’s (DOH) “Oplan Recovery,” the timebased and symptom-based recovery strategies. It is an initiative that the DOH activated last year to monitor the status of confirmed Covid-19 deaths and recoveries. Under Oplan Recovery, a patient is tagged as recovered when certain conditions are met even without repeat RT-PCR testing and is recommended by the Philippine College of Physicians, and the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. It is characterized by enhanced data collection, validation, and reconciliation efforts between the DOH Central and Regional Offices, and the Local Government Units.

10,098 cases, 150 deaths

As of 4 p.m. of April 18, the DOH logged 10,098 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 936,133. There were also 150 deaths recorded. Of the total number of cases, 15.1 percent (141,089) are active cases, 83.2 percent (779,084) have recovered, 1.70 percent (15,960) have died. Moreover, 48 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation. Seven laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System on April 17, 2021. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

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Coco oil exporters affected by global shipping problems

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

LOBAL shipping problems have forced the country’s exporters of coconut oil (CNO), one of the Philippines’s prized agricultural commodities, to book vessels a month ahead of shipments to ensure that their contracts abroad are fulfilled. In an exclusive interview with the BusinessMirror, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said CNO exporters are booking their shipments in advance—about two weeks to a month before target shipment date—as a “stop-gap” solution to the ongoing global container and vessel imbalance. PCA pointed out that the impact of these problems were “greatly noted” in July last year when the country’s CNO exports “dropped to its lowest” at 7,863.15 metric tons (MT). “With this problem, to be able to deliver the goods as per agreed contract, what our exporters do is to book their shipment with the shippers in advance, two weeks to a month before the target shipment date,” said the PCA, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture. The PCA disclosed that the De-

partment of Trade and Industry is already looking into the problem and is looking to come up with a solution to mitigate the impact of the problems on one of the country’s top agricultural exports. “The Committee on Logistics of the Export Development Council of DTI has been conducting consultation meetings with the exporters, shipping and logistics companies to minimize the impact of this problem to our exports. Advance booking is still the stop-gap solution at the moment,” it said. The BusinessMirror broke the stories that the global container and vessel imbalance are hurting the country’s exporters as they experience delays in shipments, which results in reduction in profits. The ongoing global logistical problem adds another problem to the country’s CNO exports that has been suffering from supply prob-

lems in recent years. In fact, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the total value of the country’s CNO exports last year declined by 9.1 percent to $846 million despite a rebound in prices. World Bank Commodities Price Data or The Pink Sheet showed that the global average price of CNO last year recovered to $1,010 per metric ton from $736 per metric ton in 2019. PCA explained that the “lesser supply of CNO in the global market” caused the rebound in the export prices of the commodity. “The decline in CNO exports value in 2020 compared to previous years, despite the increase in price, was basically a result of the low volume of CNO exports,” it said. “The overall decline in volume was caused by two major factors: 1) the effect of the Covid lockdowns causing mobility restrictions in the first semester; and 2) the effect of the series of strong typhoons in the second half of 2020,” it added. The Pink Sheet showed that the average monthly quotation for CNO is sustaining its upward trend this year, reaching an average of $1,578 per MT in March, the usual price level the commodity had about four years ago. The global price of CNO started to tumble in 2017 due to the world vegetable oil supply glut. The Philippines is the world’s top CNO ex-

porter. “CNO is the second most expensive vegetable oil in the world next to olive oil despite the fluctuations in prices,” the PCA said. “However, as it only accounts 2-3 percent of the total vegetable oil supply in the global market, its price is greatly affected by the overall supply and demand situation of vegetable oils particularly by palm oil which accounts for 35 percent and soybean oil at 29 percent,” the PCA added. A Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report projected that the country’s CNO exports in market year 2021-2022 will continue to decline for the third straight year due to “logistical problems from importing countries as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.” The report noted that the country’s top markets for its CNO are Europe and the United States, which have been reeling from the impact of the global shipping problems. The GAIN report, prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila, estimated that CNO exports from October-to-September of next year would decline to 875,000 MT from 925,000 MT recorded in the previous market year. The GAIN report added that the United Coconut Association of the Philippines expects total CNO exports for calendar year 2021 to reach “roughly 875,000 MT.”

THOUSANDS EVACUATED DUE TO TYPHOON BISING By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

& Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Sunday that residents in low-lying areas threatened by Typhoon Bising are being moved into safer areas as thousands have been stranded in various ports in Bicol and Visayas regions. The NDRRMC, which is monitoring the effect of the typhoon, said 32 families or 136 persons were preemptively evacuated in Mapanas, Northern Samar.

Some 105 families or 340 individuals in Garchitorena, Camarines Sur were also moved to government-run evacuation centers. The NDRRMC was waiting for detailed reports from affected provinces, especially in Bicol region where the provinces of Camarines Sur, Albay and Catanduanes are on alert against Bising. The Philippine Coast Guard reported that at least 1, 183 individuals, six vessels and 531 rolling cargo were stranded in various ports in the Visayas; while another 840 passengers and 285 rolling cargo were stranded in Bicol ports. “The PCG has monitored a total of 2, 554 passengers, drivers

and cargo helpers; 50 vessels; 50 motor bancas; and 1,104 rolling cargoes stranded in Eastern Visayas, Bicol, Central Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao regions. While 56 vessels and 53 motor bancas are taking shelter amid the typhoon,” the Coast Guard said.

Funds on standby

Malacañang said over P556 million worth of funds are now on standby to assist those affected by Bising. In a statement on Sunday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said these available funds could be tapped by the Department of Social Welfare

and Development (DSWD) for its typhoon response. He said DSWD has an available stockpile of 370,058 Family Food Packs, or P188 million worth of aid as of 6 pm of April 17, 2021. Likewise, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) prepositioned its assets to assist communities affected by typhoon Bising. Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) alerted local government units in areas to be hit by typhoon. For its part, the Department of Health (DOH) is monitoring the management of evacuation centers to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among evacuees.

Wealth tax, junking ‘odious debt’ key to recovery–ngos Continued from A12

As of end-2020, the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio surged to 54.5 percent—a 14 year-high—coming from a record-low 39.6 percent in the previous year. FDC and the other panelists said this could lead to a “debt bomb,” and to avert this, the FDC and the panelists in the forum called for debt relief or the suspension of debt payments during pandemic. In particular, FDC is pushing for the re-audit and cancellation of 21 odious debts identified in Congressional committee hearings, in order to free up funds that can be used for immediate economic relief for the people and government’s Covid response.

Wealth tax

FDC and Ibon are advocating for passage of a Wealth Tax. Taxing the country’s top billionaires could bring in billions of pesos into public coffers, they said. In a recent statement, the Bu k lu ra n ng Ma ng gagaw a ng Pilipino (BMP) said, based on the 2021 Forbes Billionaires List, the combined wealth of the 17 rich-

est amounts to $45.6 billion or P2.2 trillion, equivalent to 12.7 percent of the 2019 pre-pandemic GDP. BMP said proceeds from a wealth tax would fund a sufficient national recovery program that could be a viable alternative to foreign borrowings. T he s e we a lt h t a xe s, BM P said, will not impoverish billionaires. Based on the data in the Forbes list, most of the dollar billionaires will still have a net gain in wealth despite a 25-percent one-time lev y. “The situation provides us with the opportunity for rethinking —therefore we are pushing for an alternative People’s Stimulus initiative from below,” Ofreneo said. “The pro-people development framework and philosophy in the country’s current pandemic response is missing.”

Stimulus

In a separate statement, Ibon said a real stimulus package that prioritizes emergency cash subsidies, support for small businesses

and farmers, and strengthening the health system, should be the priority of lawmakers. This means lawmakers should pass laws that contain the pandemic as well as help the sick and millions of jobless Filipinos faced w ith fa lling incomes. T hese k inds of laws should be pr ior itized over bills that seek to attract more foreign investments. Ibon said economic recovery is hampered by the spread of Covid-19 and the lack of fiscal stimulus. It said the 11.3 percent increase in government spending last year was below the average annual increase of 14.3 percent from 2017-2019. Earlier, Ibon proposed a P1.5trillion stimulus. This includes P540 billion in emergency cash subsidies for 18 million poor and low-income families or P10,000 per month for three months; and P101 billion in wage subsidies to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to support a P100 per day wage increase for three months. Last week, UP School of Econom-

ics Professor Toby Melissa C. Monsod said government spending that is not directed at boosting health capacity may do more harm than good. Based on her recent study, the lockdowns were not the reason for the economic contraction last year but the country’s lack of capacity to detect and respond to the pandemic. Monsod said, however, that the 2021 budget does not reflect this priority since the budget of the Department of Health (DOH) was reduced. This, while the infrastructure budgets for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) were increased. Investing in health capacity should be a priority moving forward since, Monsod said, the lack of investments in this sector 20 years ago could have saved the country billions. Based on her research, Monsod said, if the government in the 2000s only invested in laboratories, economic growth would not have plunged to 9.6 percent last year.

Mining deals… Continued from A1

These new mining projects can generate at least 42,000 new jobs in the mining sector which currently employs around 230,000 persons. While the new mining projects can generate 42,000 new jobs, the employment opportunity from the multiplier effect of 4 persons for every 1 person benefiting direct employment will give mining hosts the much-needed economic boost, officials noted. “In the memo that we submitted to the office of the President, with the lifting of Section 4 of E.O. 79, we estimate additional taxes of P20 billion and royalty of about P1 billion. Plus there will be about an additional P58 billion worth of export because most of the minerals are exported. We estimate 42,000 new employment,” Moncano said in a radio interview. Under the Phase 1 Priority Mining Projects, there are at least 35 mining projects that are a step or two steps away from gaining their Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA), he added. This includes the US$700-million Silangan Project in Surigao del Norte, the lone big-ticket project likely to get the MPSA this year. Under the Phase 2 Priority Mining Projects, Moncano said around 65 new mining project applications are in the pipeline. Moncano said the impact of the new mining project will be strongly felt once the mining operation starts commercial production, explaining that mining’s gestation period is between 1 and 5 years. For a big ticket project like Silangan, he said the gestation period will take at least 5 years. He said it will take time before mining’s contribution to the national economy could be felt but it will definitely impact on local economic development. Some municipalities, he noted, started as a 5th class municipality but eventually became a first-class municipality or even a city because of mining. Moreover, Moncano said the lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects will also boost the small-scale mining sector, as he vows to expedite the processing of Minahang Bayan applications, which will boost the processing of small-scale mining permits by the Provincial Mining Regulatory Boards.

Environmental measures

While conceding that mining has environmental impacts, Moncano assured the public the MGB will strictly implement environmental laws along with the mining law. Currently, there are 39 Minahang Bayans, mostly in Mindanao. He expects more Minahang Bayan to be established soon. “We have to admit that mining has an adverse environmental effect but we must also clarify that mining is a temporary activity and mitigation measures can be put in place,” he said. Some of the measures put in place by the Duterte administration include policies requiring mining companies to secure the topsoil and subsoil which must brought back as part of rehabilitation. This ensures that the minedout area will still be productive as the topsoil and subsoil are needed, particularly in agriculture as well as reforestation. The topsoil and subsoil, he estimates, is about a 1.5 meter-thick layer of soil on top of an area to be mined. Before, the topsoil and subsoil are simply scraped by a bulldozer, leaving the area’s soil barren and unproductive. “There should be designated topsoil and subsoil stock area. That’s part of an administrative order that we want to strictly enforce,” he said. Also, Moncano said a new policy strictly enforces progressive rehabilitation and limits an area to be disturbed by the mining company during operation. “At any given time, the mining company will have a maximum area to disturb,” he said. He said by next week, a team of DENR experts will start working on the implementing rules and regulation for EO 130.

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The Nation

briefs ‘WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT’ A PROPAGANDA–DND, AFP THE Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have denied any move by retired and active military officers to withdraw their support from President Duterte, calling it as an “irresponsible propaganda.” Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and AFP Chief of Staff General Cirilito E. Sobejana separately issued statements on Sunday in response to information that members of the military and retired officers in the Duterte Cabinet are set to break free from the President, owing to his silence on the presence of Chinese ships in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and West Philippine Sea (WPS). “We denounce the irresponsible propaganda being propagated in online posts alleging that a group of retired and active military officers are withdrawing their support for the President,” Lorenzana said in a statement. Rene Acosta

DOLE FAIR TO OFFER 7,000 JOB OPPORTUNITIES

AT least 7,000 job opportunities will be up for grabs during the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) online Labor Day job fair next month. Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said the vacancies are from 168 employers. The number of vacancies could still increase in the coming week since DOLE is still consolidating the data from its regional offices, Tutay explained. Most of the vacancies are for service representatives, production operator, technical support expert, factory workers and sales representatives. The initiative is expected to help reduce the number of permanently displaced workers from January to March, which has now reached over 118,000. Based from the latest displacement report of DOLE, 107,895 were retrenched by their 3,882 establishments, while the remaining 10,315 lost their jobs due to permanent closure of the companies. Samuel P. Medenilla

PRC, HOSPITALS ADDRESS RISING COVID CASES THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) announced it helped set up nine field hospitals at the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP). The PRC said these will address the increasing demand for beds in hospitals. The National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) announced it has a total of 960 additional beds dedicated to the treatment and recuperation of patients with mild and moderate Covid-19 symptoms. It also allocated three intensive care unit (ICU) beds for severe Covid-19 cases. A separate pavilion has been dedicated to the treatment of psychiatric inpatients who also need Covid-19 care. NCMH also collaborated with hotels in the vicinity to provide isolation and quarantine facilities for its health-care workers. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, April 19, 2021 A3

Report status of Bayanihan 2 projects, lawmaker repeats call

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

LAWMAKER on Sunday reiterated his call on the national government to report the status of projects to contain the prolonged pandemic under Republic Act (RA) 11494 (Bayanihan 2) as the health sector complains about the supposed lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs) despite billions of allocation under the law.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte asked the Department of Health (DOH), the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF) to submit to Congress the status of projects ostensibly funded by the Congress under Bayanihan 2. These include the establishment of temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs) and the procurement of PPEs, face masks and other medical supplies. Villafuerte said he wants to find out, in particular, the status of the fund releases and implementation of

the P4.5-billion appropriations under Bayanihan 2 for the construction and maintenance of isolation facilities, including the billings of hotels, food and transportation used for the Covid-19 response and recovery program by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD). Villafuerte also questioned the DOH for not spending P3-billion budget on PPEs that he said “are essential in their daily battle to save patients and their lives as well from the deadly coronavirus.” The lawmaker said the failure of health officials to use the P3 billion allotted in RA 11494 for the acquisition

PPEs are essential in their daily battle to save patients and their lives as well from the deadly coronavirus.

BM Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte of PPEs “smacks of criminal neglect.” Their continuing inaction has put our medical frontliners at serious risk of infection, great harm and even death on a daily basis in the absence or shortage of such indispensable protection against the highly infectious pathogen. “What makes this almost criminal negligence doubly infuriating is that P3 billion has been set aside in last year’s Bayanihan 2 for the purchase of PPEs for our medical frontliners and yet DOH officials have chosen to take their own sweet time in buying such protective equipment that are so essential in our health-care workers’ daily battle to save infected people and their lives as well,” Villafuerte said. The lawmaker added that the government needs to provide our health-care

workers with a constant and adequate supply of PPEs for their own protection, especially at this time of a surge in Covid-19 infections, which has been traced in part to the advent of new, more transmissible variants of the virus. Villafuerte,theprincipalauthorinthe HouseofbothBayanihan2andRA11469 (Bayanihan1),explainedthatBayanihan 2 funds is also for the purchase of including medical gowns, N95 masks, respirators, surgical masks, gloves and shoe covers for the use of health-care workers. Cristy Donguines, president of the Doctor Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center’s Employees Union, and Benjamin Santos, a staff member at the Philippine General Hospital, have been quoted in media reports as complaining about the supposed lack of PPEs.

Agriculture/Commodities

A4 Monday, April 19, 2021 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

BusinessMirror

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PHL rice stocks down 4.5% in March–report By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HE country’s rice inventory as of March 1 declined by 4.5 percent to 2.08 million metric tons (MMT) from 2.178 MMT recorded a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said. “Likewise, rice stocks inventory dropped by 5.2 percent from the previous month’s level of 2.193 [MMT],”

the PSA said in its monthly stock report published recently. PSA data showed that the bulk or about 59.1 percent of the rice inventory as of March 1 was stored in households while 28.1 percent were in the commercial warehouses. The remaining 12.8 percent were stored in National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses. Figures from the agency also showed that total rice inventory

held by households during the period reached 1.23 MMT while commercial warehouses and NFA accounted for 584,660 metric tons (MT) and 265,320 MT, respectively. “Relative to the previous year’s level, rice stocks in the households grew by 25.4 percent. On the other hand, rice stocks from commercial warehouses and NFA depositories were reduced by 18.3 percent and 44.9 percent, respectively,” the

PSA report read. “In comparison with the previous month’s level, rice stocks in the households rose by 4.1 percent. Stocks in commercial warehouses decreased by 17.5 percent and in NFA depositories by 12.3 percent.” In the same report, the PSA said the country’s total corn inventory as of March 1 fell by 20.8 percent to 628,370 MT from 793,280 MT recorded last year.

“Similarly, this recorded a decrease of 18.9 percent from the previous month’s level of 774,830 [MT],” the PSA added. The agency said the bulk or about 68 percent of the total corn stocks inventory was held by commercial warehouses while the remaining 32 percent were in households. It added that total corn stocks held by households reached 201,210 MT while the remaining 427,160 MT were

stored in commercial warehouses. “Corn stocks in all sectors for this month contracted by 0.8 percent in the household and by 27.7 percent in commercial warehouses compared with the record in the same period of the previous year.” “Compared with the preceding month’s level, corn stocks in both household and commercial warehouses contracted by 10.3 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively.”

Economists back hike in MAV for pork, tariff reduction By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

& Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

HE Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) expressed support for the government’s decision to increase the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork and the reduction in tariff on imports. FEF said these initiatives will help prevent high pork prices from spilling over to other commodities which could further erode the incomes of low-income households. The group said Executive Order 128 issued by President Duterte is a temporary measure that provides the immediate and short-term intervention to “abnormal circumstances” and that it will be gradually phased out over the next 12 months. “If pork prices are not brought under control, elevated prices will cascade down to other commodities, and will add pressure on the already shrinking incomes of Filipinos families. We fear that this will exacerbate hunger of poor Filipinos who comprise

the vast majority of our consumers,” FEF said in a statement. FEF said hiking pork MAV to 404,210 metric tons (MT) from 54,210 MT combined with a reduction in pork tariffs to 5 or 10 percent from 30 percent for in-MAV imports, and 15 percent from 40 percent for outMAV could result in tariff revenue losses of P13.4 billion for the government. However, this will be more than offset by cost savings of P61.5 billion for over 95 million pork consumers. “This is low if we assume a lower prevailing pork price; but prices are now hovering between P350-400 and will break the P400 barrier if the status is maintained. Annual pork consumption of Filipinos is pegged at 15.9 kilograms,” FEF said. FEF said the recovery of the domestic hog industry from the adverse impact of African swine fever (ASF) will take time but, upon the expiration of the tariff measure, the industry will be back on its feet. The organization stressed that implementing the increase in the MAV and the reduction in pork tariffs are necessary to address hunger. FEF said millions of consumers currently have limited room to absorb major price increases in essential goods, as the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread loss of income and jobs. “The Filipino people cannot afford to wait for medium to long-term interventions to repopulate hogs locally and overcome ASF,” the group said. “Refusing to take immediate short-term action will

exacerbate the elevated hunger incidence in the country. The immediate task at hand is to give the people access to adequate and affordable food.” Last week, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) maintained on Thursday that the reduction in pork tariffs and the increase in the minimum access volume (MAV) will not “kill” the local hog industry. In a presentation at the Senate Committee of the Whole, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the temporary reduction in pork tariffs aims to reduce pork prices. Chua said temporarily reducing pork import tariffs to 5 to 10 percent will bring down the landed cost of pork to around P251 to P222 per kilo. This will translate to retail prices of P128 to P135 per kilo. The lower prices and the higher MAV would bring down inflation to around 3.8 percent, well within the Central Bank’s 2- to 4-percent inflation target this year, he said.

‘Root of pork crisis’

SENATE President Vicente Sotto III, affirming initial findings of the Committee of the Whole inquiry into the pork supply and price crisis, said ASF was but one aspect of the problem because the situation was worsened by corruption. Specifically, smuggling and misdeclaration, which allowed banned products to avoid inspection to reach local markets. For instance, the Senate leader lamented the “big blunder” right at the Department of Agriculture (DA), whose Compliance and Regulatory

Enforcement for Security and Trade Office (CREST-O) had made a presentation documenting the modus operandi in “smuggling and misdeclaration of agri and fishery products.” Therefore, he added in Filipino, the Bureau of Customs was “correct in saying they’re not the ones to blame largely for the smuggling. The anomaly lies in having imports made to appear as legal but actually include unregistered ones; these are not inspected.” Sotto noted in a radio interview ASF was discovered back in 2018, and wondered why authorities are cramming until now to cope with the problem. “Perhaps their reaction was understandable in 2018, but why, until now, are they still scrambling? Why are they so alarmed all of a sudden, racing to reduce tariffs and increase [MAV]?” Citing findings by an investigative group, he noted that certain operators were granted a license to operate cold storage warehouses for imported items said to amount to millions of pesos, but were found to be nonexistent. These were discovered because when the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances (SPS-ICs) were checked for various imported agri-fishery products, the cold storage warehouses listed on documents turned out to be either non-existent, or were not equipped for these. He said this clearly constitutes unauthorized diversion of the imported products. “That is clear, so it consists grave violations of existing Department of Agriculture and legislative orders,” he said, noting this

still does not include the complaints of both “local hog raisers and backyard hog raisers.” He added, “so our question to them was CREST-O, what did you do?” referring to the DA’s Compliance and Regulatory Enforcement for Security and Trade Office. In CREST-O’s presentation at last week’s hearing, the senators were updated on various modus operandi in smuggling/misdeclaration of agri/ fishery products. Modus No. 1 involved the “illegal entry of pork and other pork products from other countries, including: Hungary-porcine meal for feeds; Belgium-pork for human consumption; China-pork for human consumption; and, Germanyporcine meal for feeds.” Modus No. 2 involved spurious accreditation of defunct or non-existent cold storage warehouses. Modus No. 3 entailed the unauthorized diversion of imported agri-fishery products to other final destination or cold storage warehouses (CSW). To effectively address the problem, CREST-O submitted to senators these recommendations: 1) Pursue the establishment of a DA Agri/ Fishery products cold examination area; 2) Implement the national single window as databasing of all transactions and documentations of products’ importation; and, 3) Involve DA officials and personnel; Bureau of Customs personnel; importers and brokers; and CSWs in a formal or preliminary investigation, and if evidence warrant, the imposition of appropriate sanctions.

Meanwhile, Sotto added he is not ruling out a third hearing after conferring with Senator Panfilo Lacson, who first filed the resolution for a COW hearing on food security, with special emphasis on the pork crisis. Sotto is hopeful that after a third hearing, “we can solidify” plans on a best course of action and remedial legislation, “because as you know [these inquiries are in] aid of legislation.”

‘Corruption threatens food security’

LACSON lamented over the weekend “conscienceless” corrupt elements at the DA are threatening “not just the country’s food security but also national security.” “There is nothing more basic than food, especially in a pandemic. If corruption infects the Department of Agriculture that should be at the forefront of food security efforts, it goes beyond human conscience.” At last week’s Senate hearing, however, DA chief William Dar had flatly denied there was any “tong-pats” or kickbacks in the processing of import permits, as Lacson had hinted. Lacson affirmed his earlier warning that “such corrupt practices— compounded by EO 128 that brings down tariff rates for imported pork products—“may make local hog raisers and those depending on them vulnerable to recruitment by the New People’s Army.” He warned in the first hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole on food security that some P5.4 billion is the estimated foregone revenue from lowering tariffs as provided in EO 128.

China’s illegal fishing to worsen Cashing in on cashews: Africa PHL food security problem–solon must add value to its nuts

PPOSITION Sen. Francis Pangilinan warned of a serious fish supply shortage if Chinese presence remains in the West Philippine Sea that, he said, is the country’s traditional fishing ground. “The Philippines cannot afford a possible fish shortage if Chinese presence remains in the traditional Filipino fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea (WPS),” Pangilinan said over the weekend. If this is allowed to happen, he said it will worsen current food IN this BusinessMirror file photo, fish is unloaded from a commercial fishing supply problems facing the Duterte boat. administration. “May problema na tayo sa pork shortage. ’Wag action against the twin threats of territory naman pati fish shortage dahil sigurado, ’pag nangencroachment and fish shortage.” He reminded that “as early as now, we should yari ito, magmamahal din pati isda [We already heed the warning of our fishermen on the issue have a pork shortage problem. Let’s not allow a of their dwindling catch,” even as he added: “We fish shortage because for sure it will raise fish are glad that the DFA takes this into account in prices],” the Senator said. Pangilinan added: “Mahirap magmahal ang their diplomatic protests.” At the same time, the Senator suggested that pagkain, ’di lang heart-broken aabutin natin, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources kundi pati sakit ng sikmura.” He recalled that over the weekend, fishershould also step up and provide necessary supmen from Zambales on Saturday blamed their port to Filipino fishermen.“The Department of dwindling catch to the presence of at least 20 Agriculture as a whole must prepare for continChinese vessels anchored around 111 kilomegency to avoid a fish shortage.” The Filipino fihermen lamented that “in this ters from San Antonio, Zambales. The Senator noted that the affected fishersituation, China is not only violating our sovermen usually earn up to P4,000 per fishing trip eignty, it is also robbing us of income and food. but they are now coming back almost emptySmall-scale farmers and fishermen are always on handed due to the scarcity of their catch. the losing end. They are the poorest and almost As one of the proponents for the creation of a always taken advantage of,” Pangilinan added. Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources At the same time, he recalled economist Solita Monsod estimating that China is potenthat aims to better manage the Philippines’s tially profiting $6 billion a year from fishing in vast marine territory, Pangilinan prodded the Philippine territorial waters. Butch Fernandez Duterte administration to “take immediate

FRICA grows most of the world’s raw cashews but only processes a fraction of them, missing out on a wealth of opportunity offered by booming global demand. The global market for cashews is booming, but the A frican countries growing more than half the world’s supply aren’t cashing in due to their lack of processing industries, according to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report. Between 2000 and 2018, world trade in raw cashew nuts more than doubled to 2.1 billion kilograms, and African producers— led by Côte d’Ivoire—accounted for almost two-thirds of the growth. But the continent’s farmers and exporters get only a fraction of the final retail price, according to the report “Commodities at a Glance: Special issue on cashew nuts.” “Countries that grow cashews but don’t process them at a significant scale retain only a small share of the value created as the nut travels from the farm to store,” said Miho Shirotori, who leads UNCTAD’s work on trade negotiations and commercial diplomacy. “African farmers, exporters and workers are missing out on a wealth of opportunities,” Shirotori said. Cashews thrive in the tropical climates of 20 western and eastern African nations, where about 90 percent of the raw cashew nuts traded in the global market are grown. Behind Côte d’Ivoire, the main producers are Tanzania, Nigeria, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Ghana. But less than 15 percent of the continent’s nuts are deshelled on African soil. The rest is exported mainly to Asia, where 85 percent of the world’s cashews are deshelled, which adds value to the commodity. Just two Asian

nations—India and Viet nam—accounted for about 98 percent of the world’s raw cashew imports between 2014 and 2018. Even more value is added in Europe and North America, where 60 percent of traded kernels are roasted, salted, packaged and consumed as a snack or an ingredient in a drink, bar or other product.

Cost of limited processing

ALTHOUGH it’s challenging to calculate how much Africans are losing, the report provides indicative calculations. In 2018, for example, the export price of cashew kernels from India to the European Union was about 3.5 times higher than what was paid to cashew farmers in Côte d’Ivoire —a 250-percent difference in price. And after secondary processing in the EU, the price of the cashew kernels was about 2.5 times higher than when exported from India —and about 8.5 times more than when they left the farm in Côte d’Ivoire. “This shows the potential for value creation in African cashew-growing countries, 14 of which are classified as ‘least developed,’” Ms. Shirotori said. “And value creation can lead to better wages for workers and more money for the local economy.” The report highlights the potential for cashews to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the one on poverty reduction. “Since production typically takes place on smallholdings in rural areas, there is a direct link between value addition in the cashew sector and the achievement of poverty reduction,” the authors write, highlighting that cashews are a source of income for an estimated 3 million smallholder farmers in Africa.

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US, China agree to cooperate on climate crisis with urgency

EOUL, South Korea—The United States and China, the world's two biggest carbon polluters, agreed to cooperate to curb climate change with urgency, just days before President Joe Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue. The agreement was reached by US special envoy for climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during two days of talks in Shanghai last week, according to a joint statement. The two countries "are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands," the statement said. China and the United States are the world's top carbon polluters, pumping out nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that are warming the planet's atmosphere. Their cooperation is key to a success of global efforts to curb climate change, but frayed ties over human rights, trade and China's territorial claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea have been threatening to undermine such efforts.

Kerry's Shanghai trip marked the highest-level travel to China by a US official since Biden took office in January. From Shanghai, the former secretary of state flew to South Korea for talks. Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the April 22-23 summit. The US and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting carbon emissions ahead of or at the meeting, along with pledging financial help for climate efforts by less wealthy nations. It's unclear how much Kerry's China visit would promote US-China cooperation on climate issues. When Kerry was still in Shanghai, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng signaled Friday that China is unlikely to make any new pledges at next week's summit.

"For a big country with 1.4 billion people, these goals are not easily delivered," Le said during an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing. "Some countries are asking China to achieve the goals earlier. I am afraid this is not very realistic." On whether Xi would join the summit, Le said "the Chinese side is actively studying the matter." The joint statement said the two countries "look forward to" next week's summit but didn't say whether Xi would attend. During a video meeting with German and French leaders Friday, Xi said that climate change "should not become a geopolitical chip, a target for attacking other countries or an excuse for trade barriers," though he called for closer cooperation on the issue, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Biden, who has said that fighting global warming is among his highest priorities, had the United States rejoin the Paris climate accord in the first hours of his presidency, undoing the US withdrawal ordered by predecessor Donald Trump. Major emitters of greenhouse gases are preparing for the next U.N. climate summit taking place in Glasgow, U.K., in November. The summit aims to relaunch global efforts to keep rising global temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius

(2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) as agreed in the Paris accord. According to the US-China statement, the two countries would enhance "their respective actions and cooperating in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement." It said both countries also intend to develop their respective long-term strategies before the Glasgow conference and take "appropriate actions to maximize international investment and finance in support of the transition from carbon-intensive fossil fuel based energy to green, low-carbon and renewable energy in developing countries." Xi announced last year that China would be carbon-neutral by 2060 and aims to reach a peak in its emissions by 2030. In March, China's Communist Party pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 18 percent over the next five years, in line with its goal for the previous five-year period. But environmentalists say China needs to do more. Biden has pledged the US will switch to an emissions-free power sector within 14 years, and have an entirely emissions-free economy by 2050. Kerry is also pushing other nations to commit to carbon neutrality by then. AP

Monday, April 19, 2021

Saudi’s latest economic plan comes with big risks

audi Arabia’s latest economic plan comes with a big risk: while it might help boost investment, it could also hit the government’s finances. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants the kingdom’s biggest companies— including oil giant Saudi Aramco and chemical maker Sabic—to reduce their dividends, most of which are paid to the state, and spend the money locally. The idea is that their expenditure on new infrastructure and technology will be big enough to accelerate the country’s growth and cause a jobs boom. The de facto leader’s strategy amounts to a “sacrificing of current profits for future investments,” Karen Young, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said in an opinion piece. “There is a generational shift: a moment to build and create a post-oil era, but in the short-term, the government will be exhausting its resources.” Here’s a look at the likely impact on the budget and the economy, which was hit hard last year by the coronavirus pandemic and crash in oil prices.

Oil money:

Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, transferred $110 billion to the government in 2020 through shareholder payouts, royalties and income tax, a 30 percent drop from the previous year. Lower dividends from the firm, 98 percent state-owned, would “weigh on the government’s revenues,” according to James Swanston of Capital Economics. He’s unconvinced the extra investment in the economy would lead to a substantial boost in the government’s tax take from other industries, at least in the short term.

Still, Aramco has said it can sustain its dividend, which was the world’s biggest last year at $75 billion. It’s been helped by Brent crude’s rise of almost 30 percent since December to $67 a barrel as more nations emerge from lockdowns. And last week the firm announced a deal that will see a US-led consortium invest $12.4 billion in its pipelines. A stronger balance sheet and higher cash flow may enable it both to keep the dividend and invest more locally.

Wages and settlements:

Wages and pensions for state workers are expected to reach 491 billion riyals ($131 billion) this year, accounting for almost half of total spending of 990 billion riyals. Yet if oil prices stay above $60, Saudi Arabia might be able to cover salaries from crude sales alone, according to Ziad Daoud, chief emerging markets economist for Bloomberg Economics. Whether that happens is a crucial part of the 35-year-old Prince Mohammed’s initiative. The country managed to raise non-oil revenue from 166 billion riyals in 2015 to 358 billion riyals in 2020. But there’s a catch. Much of the improvement was down to settlements with some of the kingdom’s richest people that began in 2017 with what were known as the Ritz-Carlton arrests, part of the prince’s anticorruption drive. “Growth in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil revenue is only partially organic,” said Daoud. The agreements “account for a fifth of non-oil revenue. These settlements will conclude at some point. When they do, not only will nonoil revenue cease to rise, it’ll actually fall. To achieve sustainable growth, the kingdom must raise productivity and increase non-oil exports.” Bloomberg News

Monday, April 19, 2021

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Myanmar junta chief pardons 23,047 prisoners; to attend regional summit

ANGON, Myanmar—Myanmar's junta on Saturday released more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the traditional new year holiday, including at least three political detainees, and the military leader behind the February coup confirmed he would attend a regional summit later this month. It wasn't immediately clear if those released included pro-democracy activists who were detained for protesting the coup. State broadcaster MRTV said that junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing had pardoned 23,047 prisoners, including 137 foreigners who will be deported from Myanmar. He also reduced sentences for others. As security forces continued the deadly crackdown, unconfirmed but credible accounts with photos on social media said that three people were killed Saturday in the central city of Mogok, in Myanmar's gem mining region. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors casualties and arrests, government forces have killed at least 728 protesters and bystanders since the takeover. The group says 3,141 people, including ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are in detention. Among those released Saturday from Yangon's Insein Prison were at least three political prisoners who were jailed in 2019. They are members of the Peacock Generation performing troupe who were arrested during that year's new year celebrations for skits that poked fun at military representatives in Parliament and military involvement in business. Their traditional style of acting is called Thangyat, a mash-up of poetry, comedy and music with a sharp undertone of satire. Several members of the troupe were convicted under a law banning circulation of information that could endanger or demoralize members of the military. The actors may have drawn the special wrath of the military because they performed in army uniforms. Several members were also found guilty of online defamation for livestreaming their performances. It's not clear if all of them were released. Another freed prisoner was Ross Dunkley, an Australian newspaper entrepreneur sentenced in 2019 to 13 years on charges of drug possession. His release was confirmed by his ex-wife Cynda Johnston, The

Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported. Dunkley co-founded the The Myanmar Times, an English-language daily, but was forced to give up his share in it. He became well-known for co-founding or acquiring English-language publications in formerly socialist states that were seeking foreign investment, but was sometimes criticized for doing business with authoritarian regimes. Early prisoner releases are customary during major holidays, and this is the second batch the ruling junta has announced since taking power. Following the release of more than 23,000 convicts to mark Union Day on February 12, there were reports on social media that some were recruited by the authorities to carry out violence at night in residential areas to spread panic, especially by setting fires. Some areas responded by setting up their own neighborhood watch groups. In March, more than 600 people who were imprisoned for demonstrating against the coup were also released from Insein Prison, a rare conciliatory gesture by the military that appeared aimed at placating the protest movement. They were mostly young people caught in sweeps of street rallies while those considered protest leaders were kept locked up. Neither the military government nor those opposed to it show any signs of backing off. Western nations have tried to pressure the military through diplomatic and economic sanctions with little effect. Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbors, concerned about the prospects for regional instability, are also trying to get the junta to start back on the path to restoring democracy, or at least end its violent repression. A spokesman for Thailand's Foreign Ministry in Bangkok said Saturday that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has confirmed he will attend a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expected to be held on April 24. Tanee Sangrat said in a text message to journalists that Brunei, the current chair of the 10-nation body, confirmed it had proposed the date for a meeting at the group's secretariat in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Indonesia has taken the lead in calling for the special meeting to discuss the crisis in Myanmar. AP

China rebuffs Biden, Suga following sharp comments

hina rejected criticism of its policies by US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, saying their expressions of concern meddled in China’s affairs. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing was replying to a joint statement issued by the White House after the two leaders met, which said they “shared their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the international rules-based order.” The US-Japanese stance “severely violates basic norms governing international relations,” the ministry said on its web site on Saturday. “China deplores and rejects it.” The US and Japan are “ganging up to form cliques and fanning bloc confrontation,” it said. China loomed large on the agenda when Biden hosted Suga at the White House on Friday, his first in-person meeting with a foreign leader since taking office in January. “We committed to working together to take on the challenges from China, and on issues like the East China Sea, the South China Sea as well as North Korea to ensure a future of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Biden said at joint news conference. Suga said the leaders pledged “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait. Japan must strike a balance between deterring Beijing while keeping China, its largest trading partner, from lashing out. Suga, who took office in September, declined to provide details of his discussions about the Taiwan Strait when asked by a reporter, but the two leaders issued the statement hours later. It called for easing tensions over the strait, where China has escalated military activity, putting pressure on the government in Taipei. Biden and Suga also cited concern about Hong Kong and the Xinjiang region of China, areas where the US and its allies have accused Beijing of human rights abuses. The Chinese Embassy in Washington also questioned the US support of Japan’s decision to dump radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. “Do the US and Japan want to forge a nuclear contaminated Indo-Pacific?” a spokesperson said on the embassy’s web site.

laborate on technology, including the supply shortage on semiconductors that’s idled some US auto manufacturing and created shortages of some consumer products. “We’re going to work together across a range of fields,” Biden told reporters. “From promoting secure and reliable 5G networks to increasing our cooperation on supply chains for critical sectors like semiconductors, to driving joint research in areas like AI, genomics, quantum computing and much more.” The meeting’s timing, days after Biden announced a withdrawal from Afghanistan, provides the most visible sign yet that the American president is determined to shift the center of gravity of US foreign policy to the Indo-Pacific. And for Japan, being first into the White House gives Suga a prime chance to set the tone for ties with Washington over a slew of issues for years to come. Friday’s meeting builds on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s first visits abroad last month, to Japan and South Korea, and it comes amid China’s continuing aggression over Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea. China escalated its military intimidation of the government in Taipei by sending 25 fighters, bombers and other planes into the southwest section of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone early this week. Chinese military activity has steadily picked up around democratically-ruled Taiwan in recent months. Suga said he and Biden “agreed to oppose any attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East or South China Seas and intimidation of others in the region.” He added: “At the same time, we agreed on the necessity for each of us to engage in frank dialogue with China, and in so doing to pursue stability of international relations while upholding universal values.” Last month, Blinken, his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi and both nations’ defense ministers made unusually explicit references to China’s “coercion and destabilizing behavior” and to concerns over human rights. Yet despite Japan’s willingness to criticize China and to step up its commitments on climate change, the US and Japanese approaches aren’t entirely in lockstep.

Olympics, technology

While Japan is investing heavily in green energy and has set a zero-emissions target for 2050, it’s been criticized for not moving quickly enough to reduce emissions by 2030. Biden and Suga said they agreed to cooperate on climate change and green energy. Bloomberg News

On other topics, Biden expressed in the statement his support for Japan hosting the Tokyo Olympics, which are set to begin in July, despite the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Biden also said the two leaders agreed to col-

Emissions targets

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India’s daily infections hit record as army called up

ndia’s coronavirus epidemic worsened overnight, with the South Asian nation adding a record 261,500 new cases and 1,501 deaths.

The army has been called in to ramp up hospital capacity, with a 250-bed hospital established in New Delhi run by the military’s Medical Corps, as medical services across the country report critical shortages of beds, oxygen and essential medicine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been campaigning at election rallies in West Bengal over the weekend, is due to chair a meeting of top officials in the holy city of Varanasi— home to his parliamentary constituency—on Sunday. Key developments:

Indonesia warns of rising Covid cases

Indonesia warned of a potential increase in coronavirus infections as families gather during annual Eid holidays and planned to speed up inoculation on its older population. Six million more bulk vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. arrived in Jakarta on Sunday, which will be processed by state-owned PT Bio Farma to make about 20 million doses ready to be administered over the next month, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a briefing broadcast on YouTube. Indonesia is the worst infected country in Southeast Asia with about 1.6 million confirmed cases. It’s counting on the shots to be able to inoculate more than 180 million people within a year. Almost 11 million people have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccines, according to latest government data.

Thailand bans some alcohol, closes pubs

Thailand began enforcing a ban on sale of alcohol at restaurants from Sunday and closed bars, pubs, karaoke and massage parlor nationwide as a flareup in Covid-19 infections saw the Southeast Asian nation log a record number of new cases in the past 24 hours. New cases jumped to 1,767, taking the nation’s total Covid-19 infections to 42,252, official data released on Sunday showed. Authorities also reported two more deaths, taking the cumulative fa-

talities to 101, while 128 patients were reported to be in serious condition.

Hong Kong eyes tighter quarantine

Hong Kong’s government is considering whether to further tighten hotel quarantine measures and flight restrictions after a man who returned from Dubai and completed 21 days of quarantine tested positive for Covid-19, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Sunday according to broadcaster RTHK. Officials are assessing the situation and will discuss with experts before deciding whether to tighten restrictions, Chan said. The 29-yearold patient returned from Dubai last month, and health authorities said he tested negative for the coronavirus when he underwent the mandatory 21-day quarantine at a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. He later stayed at a flat in city’s Jordan district and more than 80 residents of the building have now been quarantine, according to RTHK. Authorities say a highly infectious strain was uncovered for the first time in the city, the broadcaster said.

Australia to speed up vaccinations

Australian federal and state leaders will discuss ways to speed up the coronavirus vaccination rollout and shift to alternatives to the AstraZeneca Inc. inoculation in their upcoming meeting, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday. Current vaccine supplies are sufficient to cover initial stages of the program currently under way, which target frontline workers and the elderly, Morrison said. The national cabinet meeting on Monday will focus on a strategy for the next phase, and will discuss bloodclotting cases associated with the AstraZeneca shot, which has led to Australia’s immunization advisory group recommending the government switch to Pfizer Inc. for people under 50.

Japan, Pfizer vaccine deal

Pfizer will increase supplies of the Covid-19 vaccine for Japan by the end

of September, Japan’s vaccine czar Taro Kono said in a Fuji TV program on Sunday. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla discussed increasing the supply on a recent phone call, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Pfizer’s vaccine is currently the only one approved for use in Japan, and the inoculation rollout that started in February has so far been slow. Fewer than 2 million doses have been administered to its population of about 126 million.

Brazil’s weekly deaths slow

New deaths in Brazil fell for the first week since mid-February, with almost 800 fewer fatalities compared with the week before, according to Health Ministry data. Local governments are easing restrictions on commerce and movement as intensive care admissions have slowed in the two largest cities. On Friday, the vice governor of Sao Paulo, one the hardest-hit states, announced non-essential businesses and services would be allowed resume in the coming days. Still, another 2,929 fatalities were reported on Saturday, ending a week with 20,344 deaths, almost three times higher than the peak of last summer’s surge. A total of 371,678 people have died in Brazil since the start of the pandemic, the highest toll after the US. In a further sign that the fight with Covid is far from over, the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro announced Saturday it would allocate an additional $268 million to help fight the pandemic, with the majority of the funds dedicated to expanding intensive care centers across the country.

South Africa moves to restart J&J

South Africa’s health regulator asked the government to lift the pause on administering Johnson & Johnson vaccines provided certain conditions are met. “These conditions include, but are not limited to, strengthened screening and monitoring of participants who are at high risk of a blood clotting disorder,” the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority said in a statement. South Africa halted J&J vaccines after health agencies on Tuesday called for their suspension in the US. The J&J shot is a key element to South Africa’s vaccination plan and has already been

used to inoculate health workers, with no reported adverse effects.

Ontario police balk at anti-Covid rules

Canadian police forces say they will not randomly stop motorists to enforce the province of Ontario’s stay-at-home campaign. On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he had no choice but to impose tough restrictions to curb a sharp rise in infections, including extraordinary powers to stop vehicles and individuals to ask why they aren’t at home. But police in Toronto, Waterloo and other cities quickly issued statements saying they won’t do random checks. Ottawa police said they would be involved with setting up checkpoints on bridges between Ontario and neighboring Quebec to enforce new constraints on travelers from other provinces. People will still be allowed to cross the provincial boundary for work.

France adds over 36,000 cases

France recorded 35,861 new coronavirus cases and 189 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll since the start of the pandemic to 100,593. The country, currently in its third national lockdown, earlier this week surpassed the threshold of 100,000 deaths, a humbling moment for President Emmanuel Macron, who had refused to lock down the country for a third time in January. France also said Saturday it administered 298,247 vaccine shots in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of shots to almost 17 million, 12.5 million of which are first doses. Macron, who is up for re-election next year, is walking a thin line after he pledged to start reopening some cultural venues, open-air restaurants and bars in mid May. Gabriel Attal, the French government spokesman, said Friday the country will stick to a target of reopening schools progressively at the end of April.

US cases highest in a week

The US added just over 80,000 new cases on Friday, the most in a week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The seven-day average has risen for five consecutive weeks; it’s at its highest point since mid-February as infections, particularly in the Midwest, continue to surge. Another 932 people died, the data show. Bloomberg News

Groups push ‘immediate’ exit of Chinese boats in reef Continued from A12

“For food security, our fish supply is severely threatened by Chinese illegal fishing. This severely depletes our fish supply, which we need for our own food security,” the group said. “For livelihood, the Chinese threatens us in our own seas by using water cannons, ramming our small boats ...and authorizing the Chinese Coast Guard to fire on our vessels within our EEZ,” the group added. Citing the latest sighting of at least 240 Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea, the AFA said its member stakeholders “vehemently protest the illegal and threatening presence of the Chinese maritime militia presence in our seas.” It added: “Our cherished principles of sovereignty, food security, and livelihood are violated by their continued illegal stay. We wholeheartedly support Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s call for their immediate withdrawal from our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea,” it added. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. earlier said in a tweet that the “really bad news” about the physical occupation by China of the Philippine waters is the depletion of available

marine supply. “The really bad news is NOT that they’re swarming as a prelude to legal possession—legally impossible; they really are fishing—everything in the water that belongs by law to us: fish, clams, and in such big quantities as to wipe out sustainability,” he said in a tweet last week. The AFA’s five coalitions cover a cross-section of agriculture stakeholders: farmers and fisherfolk (Alyansa Agrikultura —AA), agribusiness (Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc.—PCAFI), science and academe (Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines—CAMP), rural women (Pambansang Kilusan ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan —PKKK), and multisectors (AgriFisheries 2025). Meanwhile, a joint statement by two other groups—the Pinoy Aksyon for Governance and the Environment and Homonhon Environment Rescuers Organization (HERO) warned that the specter of hunger is very real owing to China’s “sea piracy.” Having hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels in the West Philippine Sea “is no longer just about dispute in territory, it is a gut issue for Filipino fishermen, long considered the poorest of the poor,” the

two groups said. They urged the government, particularly the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to do everything to “limit access to the fishery and aquatic resources of the Philippines for the exclusive use and enjoyment of Filipino citizens,” quoting Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998. “We need drastic action to protect Filipino fisherfolk. We do not understand why the government is dragging its feet on this very vital issue affecting the people,” said BenCy Ellorin, chairman of the Pinoy Aksyon for Governance and the Environment (Pinoy Aksyon). “The logic is simple, no fish catch, no income for the Filipino fisherfolk would result in hunger,” Ellorin said. “Low fish supply means higher fish prices,” he added. Meanwhile, HERO, which exposed the use of earth materials extracted in the country to Chinese Infrastructure projects in the WPS, said the problem with Chinese overfishing is larger than earlier thought. The estimate of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTFWPS) of 1 ton per day catch of the huge Chinese fishing vessels is low. When fish is abundant, a mere three-ton fishing

boat used by municipal fisherfolk could catch up to 300-400 kilos, said Villardo Abueme, president of HERO. “What we see in photos are huge, hundred-tonner fishing vessels,” he added. “The enormity of the problem necessitates a whole-of-government approach,” HERO and Pinoy Aksyon said in a joint statement. “It is no brainer, if this problem is not addressed the soonest, the bottom line is hunger,” they added. The country’s food security could be on a rapid dive. The early warnings are here. “This scorched sea policy of China would further increase our dependency to them. What’s next, increased import volume for fish?” said Ellorin, referring to the increased volume of pork importation and lowering of tariff for such importation. “We call on Congress, the Senate to investigate in aid of legislation and whatever oversight function they possess, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Armed Forces and most especially Malacañang,” the groups appealed. Pinoy Aksyon is a think-tank and governance watchdog. HERO is an environmental group based in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. With a report by Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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BIZ BACKS 3 LIB BILLS BUT FRETS OVER RETAIL FLOOR Continued from A1

Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) National Issues Committee Chairman Rizalina Mantaring said the bills will be a boon for the Philippines as these will plug the gap in foreign investments, given that the country is lagging behind its neighbors. The priority bills are also seen to bode well for the consumers as more industry players will be able to set up shop in the country. “They will foster more competition which usually results in lower prices and better service,” Mantaring explained. The MAP official added that “over the longer term, we may also benefit from technology transfer as companies bring in more modern facilities and processes.” The pending bill seeking to amend the 84-year-old Public Service Act aims to improve the quality of public services and goods by allowing more players. The proposed amendments provide the inclusion of public markets in the coverage of “public service”; and the definition of “public utility” in the following sectors: distribution of electricity, transmission of electricity and water pipeline distribution and sewerage pipeline systems. Meanwhile, the bill amending the Foreign Investment Act seeks to cut the minimum employment requirement to 15 from 50 direct local hires for small and medium local firms established by foreign firms with at least $100,000 in paid-in capital.

PCCI: Small biz will be hurt

As for the amendments to retail trade, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Chairman Alegria Limjoco expressed some concern. The Senate version of the bill seeking to revise the Retail Trade Liberalization Act aims to further loosen up foreign restrictions by removing investment categories. This, as it aims to lower the minimum paid-up capital requirement for foreign retailers to $300,000 from $2.5 million. Lowering the capital requirements for foreign firms will hurt the local micro and small businesses, Limjoco said, pointing to competition. “I want to Filipino micro and small retailers to thrive and grow,” said Limjoco, who is also the vice chairman of the Philippine Franchise Association and Philippine Retailers Association. Still, Limjoco said the other two bills will be beneficial for the Philippine economy, agreeing these will create employment opportunities and promote the welfare of the consumers. The German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (GPCCI) said these bills will complement the recently signed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE). “GPCCI is very delighted that these bills have been tagged as urgent. Reforms in these fields for more liberalization will support the recovery of the economy after Covid-19 and attract foreign investment,” GPCCI Executive Director Martin Henkelmann said. CREATE was signed last month before lapsing into law. It reduced the corporate income tax to 20 percent from 30 percent for domestic corporations with net taxable income of P5 million and below and have total assets of P100 million and below effective July 1, 2020. All other local firms and resident foreign companies are imposed with 25-percent income tax. Currently, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board is finalizing the implementing rules and regulations of CREATE. It is also coming up with a new list of investment sectors that can avail themselves of the incentives under said measure.

House members: 3 bills a boon

More jobs, improved quality of human resource, and sustainable economic growth are just some of the positive economic outcomes to expect should the New Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act be enacted into law this year, lawmakers said at the weekend. House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, AAMBISOWA Rep. Sharon Garin and Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera said economic liberalization will boost the government’s

Covid-19 response programs and bring new economic opportunities for Filipino. Salceda, principal author of all three bills, said the Palace certification signals to the economic community that the Philippine is serious about attracting foreign investments. “Currently, we are the most closed economy in the whole of Asean. It is no coincidence that we are struggling to gain foreign direct investments,” Salceda said. “In parallel with the Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, which would amend the economic restrictions in the Constitution, these bills will help us recover from the Covid-19 economic crisis,” Salceda added. In 2019, the lawmaker said the latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development FDI restrictiveness index shows the Philippines is among the world’s most restrictive countries to FDI. “The same index shows that we are the most closed economy in Asean. To be the worst in Asean, an international success story in lifting millions of people out of poverty, is shameful,” Salceda added. “The Philippines has locked itself out of significant foreign investments, and therefore job creation. We have spent hundreds of billions of pesos in foregone revenue for tax incentives, when we have not tried a simpler, cheaper solution: opening industries in need of capital to foreign investment through legislative action,” Salceda added. Also, Salceda said the loosening of FDI restrictions will work best with the new incentives law—the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act. “CREATE will definitely work better if it can accommodate even industries currently restricted by our FDI laws,” Salceda said. “Once the BOI finalizes the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan, or the list of incentivized industries under CREATE, having our doors open to investment will be the best way to invite foreign capital and technology,” Salceda said. Garin acknowledged that allowing the transfer of technologies and know-how from advanced countries will catalyze economic development and the productivity of the local workforce. With 1.5 million workers displaced during the two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), boosting government coffers to address the severe economic impact becomes imperative, she said. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has identified the three bills as crucial for recovery. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) revealed that global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are expected to contract between 30 and 40 percent this year. While the global projection for FDI remains grim, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) maintained that the country is off to a promising start by securing $961 million in net inflows of FDI in January 2021, a 41.5-percent increase compared to last year’s FDI inflow.

Swift ratification

Meanwhile, Herrera said she will work with the House leadership to get SB 2094 (Public Service Act), SB 1156 (Foreign Investments Act) and SB 1840 (Retail Trade Liberalization Act) swiftly ratified when session resumes on May 17. “As soon as the House receives the Senate-approved urgent measures, we will review it and ask the Committee on Rules to put it in the agenda for ratification. The review will be a simple process of due diligence by going through those three bills line by line,” she said. “Enactment of the amended Public Service Act plus the amendments to the Foreign Investments Act and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act would have the combined effect of releasing much of our economy—from the MSMEs to the large conglomerates—from many growthinhibiting chains,” she said. “These three new major pieces of legislation, together with the recentlysigned FIST [Financial Institutions’ Strategic Transfer] Act and the CREATE Act, would give our economy additional ways to recover and compete better in the new normal local and international economy,” she added.

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Banking&Finance

Tax perks for wealthy philanthropists sought By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

NAKALUSUGAN Rep. Michael T. Defensor wants to give lucrative tax benefits to private corporations and wealthy individuals that will sponsor the Covid-19 vaccination of public school teachers and students. In his proposed House Bill (HB) 9200, Defensor said private entities paying for the Covid-19 jabs of 933,000 teachers and 23 million children will be entitled to claim 150 percent of what they spent for the shots as “additional deduction” from gross income subject to tax. The bill seeks to include Covid-19 vaccines as qualified donations under the 23-year-old “Adopt-a-School” program. “We want to ramp up the immunization of our teachers and, later, our children, by encouraging the private sector to come in and help,” Defensor, vice chairperson of the House committee on welfare of children, said. “We recognize that many businesses and affluent families are already helping to suppress the pandemic in so many ways, such as by spending for the inoculation of their employees and their dependents,” he added. Defensor believes the bill will help prevent “donor fatigue” and “encourage more private entities to help some more by contributing to the vaccination of our teachers and children.”

The Adopt-a-School program was established by Congress in 1998 through Republic Act 8525 to help mobilize private funds in addressing the school system’s persistent resource gaps. Under the program, donors of qualified materials and supplies to public schools may further deduct from their gross income up to 150 percent of the value of their contribution. For example, should a corporation sponsor P10-million worth of supplies, it may claim an extra deduction of up to P15 million from gross income. For purposes of claiming deductions, the valuation of the donation other than cash is based on the acquisition cost or purchase price of the materials or services supplied as evidenced by official receipts. Earlier, Defensor said he expects Covid-19 shots for Filipino children below 16 years old to be approved by regulators and available in the country by the summer of 2022. “There is a high probability that we won’t have extensive face-toface classes in the School Year 2021 to 2022, considering that vaccine clinical trials abroad on younger children are just getting started,” Defensor said. The president has repeatedly said he will not allow large-scale faceto-face classes in public and private elementary and high schools until a vaccine becomes available.

SSS ranks high in resolution rate among govt agencies

HE Social Security System noted that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) announced the SSS achieved a 92.03-percent resolution rate for queries, complaints and requests, attaining the fifth-highest rank among government agencies in the country. In its “Contact Center ng Bayan” January to December 2020 report, the CSC said the pension fund resolved 1,166 queries, complaints and requests out of 1,267 calls endorsed through the CCB from the said period. SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said that as of January 28, 100 percent of the endorsed cases in the previous year were settled with an average turnaround time of four working days. “We want to commend our employees in all concerned units for their dedication and strict monitoring of each referred case, despite resorting to alternative work arrangements due to lockdowns imposed last year.” Among the top three concerns referred to SSS involve maternity benefits, loans and unemployment benefit and/or involuntary separa-

tion applications. The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) earned the top spots with a 100-percent resolution rate. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) placed second with 98.81 percent, while the Land Transportation Office ranked third with 92.74 percent. The “Contact Center ng Bayan” is a government feedback mechanism established by the CSC and the Communications Technology Office-National Computer Center (ICTO-NCC) to support the implementation of Republic Act 9845 or the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) of 2007. In October 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 6, which institutionalized the Citizen Hotline 8888 and established the 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center to provide another feedback mechanism where members, pensioners and beneficiaries can lodge queries and other concerns for immediate action. In keeping with this, the SSS said it resolved 21,233 queries, complaints and requests out of 22,349 calls endorsed by Citizen Hotline 8888 last year.

briefs

➜ Civil society leaders call for debt relief

Freedom from Debt Coalition President Rene E. Ofreneo and other leaders of civil society groups are calling for a debt relief as one of the efforts to stimulate the economy. The leaders called for debt relief or the suspension of debt payments during this time of the pandemic, a statement by the FDC said. The FDC said it is pushing for re-audit and cancellation of 21 odious debts, already identified in Congressional committee hearings a number of years back, to free up funds that can be used for immediate economic relief for the people and government’s Covid response. For 2021, the government is planning to borrow another P3 trillion, the FDC said. “Our debtto-GDP ratio reversed from a pre-Covid of 39.6 percent to a 14-year high of 54.5 percent in 2020. Ofreneo and the other leaders “cautioned that a ‘debt bomb’ can explode and transform the present recession-depression into a full-blown economic catastrophe.”

➜ Mapfre, PHL Red Cross ink partnership

MAPFRE Insular Insurance Corp. announced it has inked an agreement with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) “to provide Filipinos with world-class care amidst the challenges of unprecedented times by extending the benefits of insurance to the PRC’s‘prestige membership’program.”“The partnership introduces a form of donation from MAPFRE to the PRC [program] with both life and non-select life insurance coverage; the life insurance also covers death due to Covid,” the insurer said. The PRC program includes priority assistance on blood requests and priority access to ambulance services. With the MAPFRE partnership, the membership now includes: accidental death and disablement cover worth P200,000; unprovoked murder and assault

BusinessMirror

Monday, April 19, 2021

Incentives for investors, FIRB functions to be issued May

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE government would issue new details on the new menu of tax perks awaiting investors and also the expanded functions of the agency granting the incentives, the Department of Finance (DOF) announced in a statement.

The DOF said these would be contained in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the recently-signed Republic Act (RA) 11534, or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (Create). The DOF said the newly-reconstituted Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) is targeting to finish the IRR by the third week of May, two months before the 90-day deadline set under the law. The DOF said that the IRR will include details on the new menu of tax perks awaiting investors and also the FIRB’s expanded functions as overseer of the grant of investment incentives. According to the law, the IRR should be completed by July 11. In the same period, the finance and the trade secretaries, the FIRB chairman and co-chairman, respectively, should also jointly promulgate the

provisions under Title XIII of the law. This section covers the expanded functions of the Board and the fresh menu of tax incentives available to investors and enterprises under this law. The DOF said the FIRB held its first meeting last April 14 to discuss the board’s broader functions and the proposed set of industries qualified to get tax breaks in the upcoming Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP). The DOF said that during the meeting, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez agreed to set May 17 as the target date for the signing of the IRR on Title XIII of RA 11534. Finance Assistant Secretary Juvy C. Danofrata, who was designated as head of the FIRB Secretariat, said the board aims to submit the IRR of Title XIII by May 10 for final review by the FIRB chairmen.

Two initial discussions on the draft IRR have been held this week by the DOF together with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Board of Investments (BOI), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. They are also set to hold their final meeting next week. Meanwhile, the DOF and the DTI will also be consulting the various investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in the final week of April to discuss the draft IRR. The FIRB is in charge of the grant of tax incentives to projects or activities with investment capital of over P1 billion while applications for tax incentives for projects or activities with investment capital of P1 billion and below will be approved by the IPAs. As the new SIPP has yet to be completed, the DOF said the FIRB agreed that the current 2020 Investments Priorities Plan (IPP) will be adopted as the transitional list of priority sectors to be promoted for investments and qualified for tax incentives. In December last year, President Duterte approved the 2020 IPP through Memorandum Order 50. It listed the preferred areas and activities for investment including all qualified activities relating to government’s program addressing the Covid-19 pandemic; investment activities supportive of programs to generate employment opportunities outside of congested urban areas; all qualified manufacturing activities

including agro-processing agriculture, fishery and forestry; and, strategic services, including integrated circuit design, creative industries, and maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft. The list of preferred activities also includes healthcare and disaster risk reduction management services; mass housing; infrastructure and logistics; innovation drivers; inclusive business models; environment or climate change-related projects; energy; export activities; those covered by special laws; and, those cited by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Aimed to encourage more foreign direct investments in the country, RA 11534 reduced the corporate income tax rate (CIT) in the country and rationalized the tax incentives system by making it “performancebased, time-bound, targeted and transparent.” It drastically cut the 30 percent corporate income tax rate to 20 percent for small-scale and mediumscale corporations. The CIT rate for large corporations, meanwhile, was also cut to 25 percent from 30 percent. Officials expect cutting the CIT would cost the government P1 trillion in foregone revenues over the next 10 years. However, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez said they believe the entities given incentives would “reinvest” the tax savings into the economy.

Bangko Sentral to banks: Manage ‘reputational risks’ By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced over the weekend that it has approved guidelines for banks’ management of reputational risks. The BSP said this is a “prudential requirement” that is part of their corporate governance reform agenda to foster good governance and encourage prudent management of risks toward building the resilience of the financial system. Under the new guidelines, banks are asked to identify, assess and manage reputational risks that are commensurate to their size, nature and complexity of operations, overall risk profile and systemic importance. “As the financial sector continues to evolve and face challenges arising from digital disruption and stiffer competition, financial institutions must be increasingly sensitive to and vigilant in addressing potentially more damaging reputation events,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said. “With the right tools and perspective, financial institutions will be more equipped in preventing and managing reputational threats. If not properly managed, these reputational concerns may lead to financial losses, negative publicity and loss of stakeholder confidence, any of which could have a lasting debilitating impact on the institution,” he added. The BSP said reputational risks to banks are closely interlinked with other risk exposures such as credit, market, liquidity, and operational risks, including those arising from cybersecurity threats and negative information in the social media. A shortfall in any of these segments may also trigger reputational risks. Under the new guidelines, banks must report to the BSP within five calendar days any reputation event, including issues arising

cover worth P200,000; term life coverage worth P200,000; and, fire cash assistance worth P20,000. These benefits cover emergencies, sicknesses, disasters, and even death subject to insurance cover terms and conditions.”

➜ BancNet elects new directors, officers

THE shareholders of electronic banking consortium BancNet Inc. elected the company’s directors and officers during their annual stockholders’ meeting held last April 16. The new directors for the term 2021 to 2022 are: Henry Bremridge, CEO of Savings Bank (Philippines) Inc.; Manish Chawla, Director and Operations and Technology Head of Citibank N.A. (Philippines branch); Renato A. Claravall, president and COO of Philippine Veterans Bank; Fabian S. Dee, president of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.; Emmanuel G. Herbosa, president and CEO of Development Bank of the Philippines; Jaime C. Laya, president of Philippine Trust Co.; Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco, president and CEO of Bank of the Philippine Islands; John Howard D. Medina, COO of Philippine Bank of Communications; Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso, president and CEO of Philippine National Bank; and, Sanjiv Vohra, president and CEO of Security Bank Corp. Re-elected were Eugene S. Acevedo, president and CEO of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.; Edwin R. Bautista, president and CEO of Union Bank of the Philippines; Cecillia C. Borromeo, president and CEO of Land Bank of the Philippines; Nestor V. Tan, president and CEO of BDO Unibank Inc.; and, William C. Whang, president of China Banking Corp. During the Board’s organizational meeting that followed, the members re-elected Tan as chairman and elected Dee as new president to succeed Cezar P. Consing, who has retired after serving three terms, and Veloso as Treasurer.

within the different social media platforms, that may have an adverse effect on its relevant stakeholders and lead to a full-blown crisis if not responded to in a timely and effective manner. Meanwhile, in cases of operational risk events, major cyber-related incidents, disruption of financial services and operations, or liquidity shortfall, banks shall comply with the notification and re-

porting requirements prescribed under existing regulations. Banks are also given the flexibility to design and implement their reputational risk management function. This may be a stand-alone function or integrated with other risk management functions depending on how reputational risk exposures are being managed.

A10 Monday, April 19, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Why PHL is not like Vietnam

ll of us are different. Some are fun to be with. Someone else walks into a room like a storm cloud. One person you trust without much question; others you make sure that you have your cellphone with you when you leave them. Everyone of us have good qualities as well as bad characteristics. A close friend might also be someone you don’t want on your group project team. You might go into business with people because they are sharp, except you won’t let them have easy access to the bank account. Everyone is good at something and not so good at something else. Countries are the same. Vietnam News Agency: “Philippines records FDI growth of 41.5 percent in January. Foreign direct investment poured into the Philippines in January increasing 41.5 percent year-on-year to 961 million USD.” Global FDI went into a coma during and after the Global Debt Crisis in 2008. In the Philippines, FDI started picking up around the end of 2012 as the economy and political stability improved. This increasing trend continued until the last half of 2018 as it then decreased and leveled off until the 2020 global economic pandemic. Everyone’s brother-in-law is an expert on foreign investment and what the Philippines should do to get more. FDI is important to an economy, and we look at the numbers from our Asean neighbors like we wonder how our neighbor can get a new car every year. And by “neighbor,” we mean Vietnam. How can we be like Vietnam? The first big disadvantage the Philippines has is that we are in the middle of the ocean. That is a big advantage for Vietnam because sea shipping cost to/from the Philippines is high. Also being in the middle of the ocean, the Philippines gets an average of 20 typhoons per year. Vietnam is hit with 4.3 “Tropical Storms” each year. Typhoons turn off the lights, cost money, and disrupt business. We can also lower the minimum wage to match Vietnam. As of January 2020, Vietnam’s daily minimum wage in US dollars is between $5.36 and $6.04. In our NCR, that wage is $9.81 to $10.54. Even in Region 4A the minimum is $6.22 to $7.85. Local activists and unions have been calling for higher wages. But that is not going to happen often in Vietnam. “Labor unions that are independent of the ruling Communist Party” are banned in Vietnam, and by Communist Party, they mean “The Government.” Vietnam does not have armed insurgents trying to overthrow the government. No foreign investor pays “revolutionary tax” to spare their equipment from being burned. You will never read this in Vietnam: “Surigao City Mayor Ernesto U. Matugas Jr. condemned the communist New People’s Army for disrupting a farm-to-market project by destroying the contractor’s heavy equipment.” Vietnam has a law that allows the government to “jail people for abusing democracy and freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state.” Post comments that are negative about the government, go to jail for six months. Spread “anti-state propaganda,” it is 11 years in the slammer. International companies are not much into things like human rights. Just ask Apple, which is lobbying against a US bill aimed at stopping forced labor in China. Vietnam has advantages over the Philippines in attracting FDI. We can change some of our “bad characteristics” but not all. Too bad everyone’s brother-in-law has no idea at all on how to promote our “good qualities.” Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

My father-in-law as guide and inspiration Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

or many people, fathers-in-law have come to mean an additional challenge to overcome because of difficult relationships with them. But I am blessed that this is not the case with my father-in-law, Atty. Ignacio Bunye, and me. Few men are fortunate like me, whose father-in-law is also a father figure, offering the wisdom of experience and a shoulder to lean on during tough times. As my father-in-law is himself a seasoned public official, lawyer, leader, and executive, I find in him a reliable and wise counselor, an inspiring model, and a warm friend. He has a very rich experience in public service and governance arising from the years he served as Mayor of Muntinlupa City, Chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (now MMDA), Congressman, Press Secretary, Presidential Spokesperson, and Monetary Board

Thomas M. Orbos

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I am awed by everything that he has achieved in the field of government service, banking and management, and the legal profession—his achievements are truly impressive. Being in his family gives me absolute pride and joy. He inspires us to be hardworking as he himself used to be a working student and a diligent worker who climbed his way up the success ladder through sheer determination and his many abilities. Through his achievements as a news reporter and war correspondent in Vietnam, he inspires us to be courageous, too. He teaches us to serve our fellow-

Time to take care of ourselves

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

Member of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Wisdom, indeed, comes from experience, and this is true for my father-in-law. He plays a unique role in my life and in our (Trisha and me) life as a married couple. He makes every family gathering livelier and more delightful in many ways. So we make sure that time with him and the family is always valued and cherished. There is no doubt that he is the one who binds us all with his affection and warmth. As someone who has experienced life with all its ups and downs, I give so much value to his ideas and his words, to his advice and opinions.

As someone who has experienced life with all its ups and downs, I give so much value to his ideas and his words, to his advice and opinions. I am awed by everything that he has achieved in the field of government service, banking and management, and the legal profession—his achievements are truly impressive. Being in his family gives me absolute pride and joy.

ne glaring revelation in this pandemic was our country’s overdependence on many things foreign. Foremost are the jobs of millions of our countrymen that help keep the Philippine economy afloat. Millions of them work overseas, or work at night at the call centers answering customer queries from abroad. Equally worrisome is our dependence on foreign goods to feed the demands of more than 100 million Filipinos. At a time when countries worldwide are prioritizing the need of their citizens by regulating the flow of their exports or worse totally closing their borders, plus the restrictive logistical barriers brought about by the pandemic, the Philippines still relies heavily on imports. And we are not just talking about our oil importation but other essential items such as food and medicine. If we are to move with a better chance of surviving in this new normal times, then we need to work on our self-reliance—and the sooner we do this, the better.

This over dependence on foreign goods generally fosters underdevelopment. We are supporting foreign producers instead of our own. Just go to any market and you will see apples and oranges sold beside locally grown bananas. How about poultry and livestock? We do have domestic grown supply in our markets, but try checking out what’s cooking in restaurants. Even the pork rinds of our chicharon are apparently sourced overseas, just like the potatoes used

to make french fries in our fast food outlets. But on top of the list is rice, the one food item that we Filipinos cannot live without. We all know the storyline of how we were the ones who taught our neighboring countries how to grow rice scientifically. Now we are heavily dependent on importation from these very countries that even our farm cooperatives are given import quotas to augment their livelihood. We were, in fact, in a brief quandary last year when our

Southeast Asian neighbors almost stopped their rice exports to have enough of the staple for their country’s domestic consumption. That would have been a major disaster for us amid the pandemic. Equally worrisome is our import dependence on medical supplies and medicine. Remember last year when there was a short supply of facemasks and PPEs, only to find out we had no domestic capacity to fulfill our needs? Imagine if our brewery tycoons did not pivot to alcohol production. And we all hear our healthcare capacity in terms of the number of hospital beds occupied. But no one is asking about medical supply. Not the medicines for Covid but the regular ones— the antibiotics, even the vitamins and others that we need to have in our own medicine home cabinet. For most of these, we are counting days of adequate supply, not weeks, as most of them are not produced locally. But the most glaring of all are the vaccines. While Indonesia, Vietnam and India have their own vaccines produced in their own backyard, we have virtually none. The unfortunate part is that we are not in short supply of talent with our world-class scientists and doctors in infectious diseases and other related fields. While our neighbors are ramping up their vaccine numbers, we are now in a national discourse debating on alternative medicines to

men and love our people through his actions and decisions as Mayor —transforming Muntinlupa from a fifth-class municipality into a highly urbanized, business-friendly community—and through his work in Congress during his time as a lawmaker. I admire his versatility and talent. From mastering law and management to serving the Bank of Philippine Islands as an Independent Director, from writing his numerous columns to authoring books on banking and history—he is truly a man of many gifts and expertise. The highlight of our relationship as in-laws is, of course, his daughter whom he loves so much and who is the light and inspiration of my life. She was raised by her parents to be the amazing woman that she is, and this is what I appreciate most about my father-in-law. I celebrate the role that he has in the life of my spouse, in her development and success, in the beautiful blossoming of her character and personality. Of course, this is partly due to the father’s influence and guidance, for which I will always be grateful. Happy birthday to my father-inlaw, Atty. Ignacio Bunye!

augment the need for a Covid cure. For us to survive in this new global environment, it is high time that we take care of our own. Our government policy-makers and lawmakers must give their utmost attention on this. Trade barriers or increasing import duties will not work, as we cannot afford the corresponding backlash. Policies must come out to support the foundation of self-reliance in both our food and medical sectors. This can be in the form of subsidies and tax incentives to those willing to invest in domestic production. Top corporations with government concessions must be made to venture into these areas. Treat manufacturing of these essential items as missionary opportunities and reward those who venture accordingly. Provide long-term government loans with minimal interests. Award the real scientists and innovators who break our foreign dependency. Yes, we do have the talents but we need to upgrade the environment for them to proceed. We need to be deliberate in pursuing this. We should not wait for the next pandemic to happen. We need to begin now.

Thomas “Tim” Orbos is currently a transport policy advisor for an international organization and worked in government on transport and urban development matters. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University and the MIT Sloan School of Management. He can be reached via e-mail—tmo45@ georgetown.edu /thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The vital role of non-life insurance

Steal, kill and destroy

By Reynaldo A. De Dios

he role of the non-life sector of the insurance industry is not being given the recognition that it deserves! As a matter of fact, without the services provided by nonlife insurance, the world of business and life in general would be greatly affected. To illustrate, loans for the construction of industrial and housing projects would not be granted unless such assets are insured in favor of the banks and other financial institution to protect their mortgage interest. In addition, contractors who bid for public construction projects are normally required to put up performance bonds as required in the contract. Importation of vital capital equipment and necessary food products such as rice cannot be carried out without marine cargo insurance, which is required by banks in issuing their Letter of Credit. The aviation industry also is mandated to purchase insurance for the protection of passengers. Owners of motor vehicles have to purchase liability insurance in order to obtain a license. Almost every facet of business requires some form of non-life insurance protection. On the personal side, cars purchased under installment plans are insured in favor of car dealers or the banks. Also, personal accident and health insurance are available at reasonable cost. In the official report of the Insurance Commission, the non-life sector as of the quarter ending September 30, 2021 generated gross premium of P57,479.0 million compared to the P64,830.6 million written in 2019, a decrease of 11.31 percent. For net premiums, 62 out of the 66 non-life insurers earned P38,634.9 million as against the P40,137.7 million earned in the same period of 2019, a modest decline of 4.17 percent. The total assets of the non-life insurers improved by 9.92 percent to P274,496.9 million compared to P249,714.2 million in 2019. On the other hand, liabilities also rose by 8.44 percent to P172,271.0 million from P158,858.7 million in the same period of last year. Thus, the net worth increased by 12.51 percent. The paid-up capital also increased

by 16.03 percent from P32,001.9 million to P37,131.0 million. It is not common knowledge that non-life insurers contribute substantially to the nation’s development as their investments total P1,558,125.2 million, a good percentage of which are invested in government bonds and treasury bills. Despite the disruptive problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the non-life sector has performed rather well and its growth prospects remain high according to AM Best Rating Agency that focuses solely on the ratings of insurance companies globally. However, the buyers of non-life policies are subject to the following taxes: documentary stamp tax of 12.5 percent, VAT of 12 percent plus local government unit tax of 0.5 to 0.75 percent. In addition, policyholders of fire policies are burdened with an extra 2 percent fire service tax. This results in a 24.5/24.75 percent tax on non-fire policies and 26.5/26.75 tax on fire insurance buyers. These taxes are on top of the basic premium. This is perhaps the highest tax in Asean imposed on policyholders who purchase insurance to cover their homes, cars, or other assets. With the approval of Republic Act 11534 known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises law, the non-life insurance sector looks forward to a more favorable tax treatment for the buyers of property and liability policies. We thank the Department of Finance for their role in crafting the CREATE bill.

The author is the Editor of Insurance Philippines magazine.

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

If only to make theft into a lighter conversational topic, allow me to share one of the better jokes I heard about thieves: Juan: “Oh crap! The police are here! Quick, jump out the window!” Pedro: “What!? We can’t, we’re on the 13th Floor!” Juan: “Hurry up, man! Now’s not the time for superstitions!”

ither Juan is dim-witted or he probably prefers breaking a bone than getting caught (still dim-witted). On the other hand, Pedro is just as dim-witted for responding that way. As hilarious as this situation may seem, both are guilty of theft, by itself. Under our penal laws, when stealing is accentuated by force or intimidation, theft turns into robbery! In common law, larceny is similar to theft. Either way, both are downright atrocious and evil at the outset. There is larceny ongoing in our midst since more than 200 Chinese vessels were seen moored in formation at Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef—well within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Interestingly, a US-based research company called Simularity Inc. reported that it first documented the Chinese vessels in November 2020 and that a large number had been “mooring, arriving and departing at Whitsun Reef since mid-December 2020.” While Philippine military forces believe that the vessels are manned by maritime militia, the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines was quick to retort that these are merely fishing vessels seeking shelter at the reef because of bad weather. Incidentally, no international report of any inclement weather can be found. Assuming there were some rough conditions at sea that forced the Chinese vessels to anchor at the reef, the mooring period should not extend beyond 5 days! And yet more than 30 days have passed, the supposed fishing vessels, or a number of them, still refuse to depart. What is quite perplexing is that no official communication came from Chinese officials to inform the Philippine government of this purported intention to “seek shelter.” Another possible land reconstruc-

‘Accelerating Covid response in BARMM through the humanitarian-development-peace nexus lens’

By Dr. Selva Ramachandran

ith more than 130 million Covid-19 cases globally, the virus has spread everywhere, including different parts of the Philippines. With cases rising in urban areas like Metro Manila, many had thought other regions with recorded low cases will be spared. A year later, we see how regions like BARMM—with fewer Covid-19 cases—are still equally affected by the indirect consequences, both to the economy and the efforts to contain the virus, including higher poverty and food insecurity, lower life expectancy, less education, and more child death. For BARMM, lockdowns and quarantines have caused work stoppages, reduced working hours and unemployment, hitting those in the informal sector—predominantly women—the hardest. Reduction in income has led to difficulty in accessing food, education, and health care. Almost 40 percent of respondents in a UNDP survey have family members dropping out of school. And 62 percent felt that access to hospitals became more difficult. In addition to socioeconomic conditions, the pandemic has affected the peace and transition process. Together with pressures to social, economic, and political dynamics in BARMM, the Covid-19 crisis is aggravating existing and emerging vulnerabilities in the region. Fortunately, the BARMM government has responded swiftly, pivoting its resources and adopting a “Wholeof-Government” approach, with fewer cases as a result. In a recent UNDP assessment of the socio-economic impact of Covid-19, this speedy support from the regional government to communities has created a sense of optimism and strengthened trust between the

government and citizens. While time will tell if the government will maintain this favorable outlook, one thing is certain—Covid-19 is shaping up a new social contract in BARMM, as in many other parts of the world. By supporting equal and inclusive services, we can jointly strengthen that trust—a fundamental element for mobilizing society-wide efforts to combat the virus and lay the foundations for a strong recovery. Our report indicated that the region has the potential to recover by 2022 with an average regional GDP growth rate of 7-8 percent. Sadly, with this lingering crisis and limited capacity for local government to respond and recover, unless the necessary human and financial resources are brought together through effective partnerships, it is likely that the most vulnerable will be left behind or this trajectory will not be met. To achieve this goal, these partnerships must happen. Now more than ever, the Covid-19 crisis calls for an acceleration of the ‘‘Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus,” a common phrase in government, UN and aid sectors. Intended to bring together the efforts of many, it is a concept that aims to address people’s vulnerability before, during and after crises. Naturally, a more coherent approach ensures that immediate needs are met at the same time, ensuring longer-term investments like infrastructure development. By doing this, we can address urgent needs and underlying causes of conflict and vulnerability, like poverty, inequality, and limited basic services. It also has a better chance of reducing the impact of recurrent shocks and supporting the peace that is so essential for sustainable recovery and long-term development.

This would involve rethinking finance mechanisms from government, partners and the private sector, as well as new ways of working, the expertise needed, and leveraging the Filipino diaspora—and reflecting on how to develop and implement the roadmap for BARMM’s recovery. While government plays a major role in both the response and recovery, community engagement is key in the context of BARMM, whether to address the immediate health threat or to support and rebuild livelihoods. UNDP has developed tools to enhance citizens participation, including youth, women, informal workers, and marginalized groups. Effective use of such tools in the response and well into the recovery phase could help in the designing, implementation, and monitoring of programs. Experiences from other countries show that community engagement and effective communication are critical as the region charts its pathway out of the Covid-19 crisis. Regardless of the efforts made, we know the coming months and years will be acutely challenging, especially in regions like BARMM. So, we must match the challenging situation with exceptional action. Jointly marshalling large public and private investments in high productivity sectors as well as health and social protection spaces is just one of the steps we must take. While the pandemic has caused one of the greatest disruptions of all time, the recovery effort offers a unique opportunity to change the course of development in BARMM towards a humancentered, greener future, and allow the region to address inequalities that were prevailing before the pandemic. Dr. Selva Ramachandran is the UNDP Philippines Resident Representative.

tion may be in the offing to solidify China’s claim, similar to what happened in the other disputed territories in the Spratly Islands. Remember Scarborough Shoal? Hardly anyone should call China a thief. After all, it is asserting its claims of ownership in these islands just like the other countries around us. But if the claim has already been settled, then any action to justify any presence without permission from the rightful owner is the same color as stealing, killing and destroying. Most lawyers would agree that the arbitral ruling using the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is valid and binding under international law, contrary to a ridiculous claim by an Army general who opined that such ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration is a mere “piece of paper” that embodied a “kangaroo ruling”! In our joke, if China is Juan, then this general is Pedro! Both are dim-witted, yet are trying to evade liability from their acts of stealing, killing, and destroying! Satellite images reveal that the said Chinese vessels have been coming into our EEZ for more than 100 days, without any prior consent or permission, until an “Intruder Alert” went off, although belatedly. Whether the vessels are manned by militia,

Monday, April 19, 2021 A11

Most lawyers would agree that the arbitral ruling using the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is valid and binding under international law, contrary to a ridiculous claim by an Army general who opined that such ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration is a mere “piece of paper” that embodied a “kangaroo ruling”! military, or civilian fishermen, they came to steal, either the land itself or the aquatic resources around it. This armada of long-staying vessels likewise signifies an attempt to kill or exterminate either the peace between China and the Philippines or the sovereignty of the Philippines over its EEZ, or both. Moreover, the “fishing fleet” seeks to destroy the ecosystem in the area, which presence, according to the National Task Force to the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) indicate “possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation.” I wish our diplomatic channels remain open and both China and the Philippines will continue to engage in meaningful dialogue over maritime territories. Such unwanted presence of vessels, as echoed by both Defense and Foreign Affairs departments, steals joy, health and wealth, alienates affection and trust, and separates citizens literally and figuratively speaking. It strips the Filipino of even the slightest semblance of dignity. It gravely affects the economy, causes an international divide, and paralyzes crossnation operations. The threat of an escalating rift and even hostilities is always imminent. Top leadership appears to be stubbornly refusing a more aggressive stance other than an international protest. The way I see it, there are thieves within. This continuing deception from some government officials calling the arbitral award as a “kangaroo ruling” and sowing that unbridled fear of an unnecessary confrontation can only be described as the “devil within us.” I am reminded about how Jesus Christ made reference to the devil as a singular expression of a thief.

In the Bible, John 10:10 tells us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” So whatever kind of theft a person or country may experience or is experiencing, the same can only be the work of the evil one, and not of Our Creator. Whenever joy, peace, good relationship, is lost or stolen, I was taught that it can never come from the good shepherd who only wants his sheep to be well and prosperous. While there may be some trials sent our way, these build our character and perseverance, not to steal and kill and destroy. As for our maritime issues with China, our real enemy is the devil that has long been lingering to seek a divide between China and the Philippines. I still believe in the goodness of a few good men from both countries. But the devil within feeds on inequality among nations, on greed and ambition, and even on laxity and fear. Against these machinations, we should remain watchful, just like how our Coast Guard tries to watch over our coastlines. Some have recommended that our country should continue to monitor unoccupied reefs and areas of our EEZ either through patrols, drones, and satellites. Some have appealed to top leadership to simply enforce the Arbitral ruling in whatever way possible. The bottom line is to gather strength from within ourselves to fight against the devil within our community, whose actions aim to steal, kill and destroy. This we can do by simply staying away from a devil like Juan who wants to steal from the outside or by not being a Pedro who cooperates with Juan from the inside. A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

What do start-up founders really need?

ave you ever been in a situation where you almost lost your cool or confidence? Or you have started to think that maybe people were actually right in telling you to quit? Or, worse, your loved ones are against your start-up dream? Well, these realities have become part of the journeys of start-up founders. Just imagine the fear, tension, and pressure behind their grit and determination. But what exactly do founders really need to hear? Or, who should they listen to in order to survive, thrive, and eventually fly? Working with start-up and social enterprise founders as a mentor/ coach made me realize that they need to have both affirmations and criticisms. It doesn’t need to be a balance of the two, but a good mix depending on the founders’ personality and type of start-up they are building. They need affirmation not necessarily because they lack confidence or they are unsure of the idea. It’s mainly driven by the fact that they have put in so much effort already, and they need the people around them to be more understanding in order to keep them going. Yes, it may sound cliché, but it’s a reality. Personally, I don’t think that this is too much to ask because, frankly, it’s what everybody needs especially now. Secondly, “reality talks” help a lot in the reflection process. Asking them the most critical and difficult questions often lead to answers of deeper meaning or even new purpose. This process works a lot to founders with technology-based innovation. It provides them the opportunity to test the willingness of a potential customer to consider accessing their technology or product. For service-driven social enterprises, the process creates a space to revisit processes and key features of services. On the other hand, criticisms shape, break, and

Norby R. Salonga

DEBIT CREDIT

eventually build them. Founders need to understand that while it’s hard to disengage their personal biases whenever their idea is put in the spotlight of rejection and criticism, it is always about the idea or the product, not them. One important lesson I learned is that there should be a clear line that separates the founders from their start-ups. This way, criticisms will be taken as inputs. Another difficult situation is when the pressure from family and friends get into the heads of the founders. It’s usually challenging! The intention of the former is always good, but most of the time, it puts too much weight on the learning process. One thing that we need to remember is the fact that establishing a start-up is already a huge decision, which requires a certain level of confidence. Sustaining and building it is a clear manifestation of maturity. Hence, family members and friends need to look at these things from that angle. Like in any other circumstance, family and friends are the first level of support. Allowing learning to happen organically

Working with start-up and social enterprise founders as a mentor/ coach made me realize that they need to have both affirmations and criticisms. It doesn’t need to be a balance of the two, but a good mix depending on the founders’ personality and type of start- up they are building. They need affirmation not necessarily because they lack confidence or they are unsure of the idea. It’s mainly driven by the fact that they have put in so much effort already, and they need the people around them to be more understanding in order to keep them going.

with the possibility of failing is always part of the process, because failure is something that cannot be romanticized. But what exactly do founders really need to hear? The answer is everything. They need to listen to other people’s ideas or comments. They need to learn to decide for themselves which ones to consider or not. Who should they listen to? The people who understand the whole context. I learned that founders need that safe space where they can just truly talk. Discuss quick wins, success, and failures as freely as possible without sugar coating them. It’s a breath of fresh air for them. Yes, the process makes them vulnerable, but it also keeps them grounded. Norby R. Salonga, MCD, teaches social innovation, social entrepreneurship and sustainable business at De La Salle University Manila.

A12 Monday, April 19, 2021

Groups push ‘immediate’ exit of Chinese boats in reef By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Agri-Fisheries Alliance (AFA), a coalition of various agricultural groups and stakeholders, has joined the call for the “immediate withdrawal” of the hundreds of Chinese maritime militia vessels from the West Philippine Sea. “Our call is based on the principles of sovereignty, food security and livelihood that are critical for our agriculture and fisheries sectors,” the AFA said in a statement endorsed by the Makati Business Club on Sunday, adding that they support the position of the Department of Defense regarding the issue. AFA said “it is clear that the unwanted Chinese military presence violates the Philippine jurisdiction over our 370-kilometer Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).” “This was definitively decided in the 2016 ruling based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos),” it said. AFA claimed that the Philippines loses P300 billion worth of fish supply—with a volume of 3 million metric tons (MMT)—due to Chinese illegal fishing in the West Philippine Sea annually. Continued on A8

Arta to ease up processes for local vaccine makers

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

HE Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) vowed it will help in easing the process of securing necessary permits for the local vaccine manufacturers amid the recent call of President Duterte to establish a “green lane” for them. Arta Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica said in an online briefing over the weekend that the agency will extend support to vaccine manufacturers given the urgency in producing Covid-19 doses. Arta will continue to monitor the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies tasked with clearing the vaccine manufacturer-applicants for production, Belgica said. In addition to the vaccine, the Arta official said the agency will also monitor the process in securing permits for important drugs and medicine. “At hindi naman kaila sa marami sa atin na ang [FDA] ay isa sa mga prayoridad na ahensiya na tinututukan talaga ng [Arta], lalo na sa oras ng pandemya; ang sabi nga natin ang red tape ay nakamamatay

kaya kinakailangan talagang magtulung-tulong tayo para pabilisin ang proseso (Everybody knows that Arta gives focus on FDA processes, especially during this pandemic, as red tape can kill; this is why we should come together in speeding up the process),” Belgica said. Belgica said Arta is in talks with pharmaceutical companies as well to identify potential bottlenecks in the processes of FDA. Last week, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that United Laboratories Inc. (Unilab) confirmed its commitment to produce Covid-19 doses last April 7. “If partnership with technology partner is concluded by 2022, a form, fill and finish plant can be operational by 2023,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a recent presentation.

Unilab also plans to export its products to other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) region, DTI added. Glova x Biotech earlier announced its partnership with Korean vaccine manufacturer Eubiologics to produce EuCorVac-19 in the country. It has an annual capacity of 100 million doses and can allocate 40 million to the Philippines. Lopez said the proposed location of the P7.5-billion Glovax facility is in Clark, Pampanga, with start of operations eyed by October 2022. The DTI official said that IP Biotech and IG Biotech also expressed interest in producing and distributing Covid-19 vaccines, in addition to influenza multivalent vaccines and pneumococcal polyvalent vaccines. These firms will enter into a memorandum of understanding with the National Development Co. and Board of Investments for support and investment facilitation. Lastly, Lopez said DTI is in talks with Dr. Zen Biotech Inc. to produce second-generation recombinant vaccine for Covid-19, monoclonal antibodies and general injectables. Its project costs amount to $20 million for phase 1 and another $20 million for phase 2.

WEALTH TAX, JUNKING ‘ODIOUS DEBT’ KEY TO RECOVERY–NGOs By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

AXING wealth and cancelling “odious debts” could help the Philippines get back on track to a better development path, according to the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) and Ibon Foundation Inc. In a statement, FDC President Rene Ofreneo said taxing the country’s top billionaires and cancelling debts would help finance efforts to carve a better development path. Ofreneo said bringing back the economy to the “old normal” would not benefit Filipinos because socioeconomic inequality was already high at that time. “Technocrats are hoping to open up the economy to bring it back to the ‘old normal.’ And yet, the old pre-Covid normal failed to deliver a balanced and equitable economic order as reflected in deepening social and economic inequality and trade deficits,” Ofreneo said. “With the Covid pandemic likely to remain untamed until 2023, this approach can only create endless sufferings for

the people who are given token ‘ayuda’ by a government ineffectually piloting a sputtering economy,” he added. In a recent forum, Ofreneo along with Ibon Foundation Inc. Executive Director Sonny Africa and Roland Simbulan of Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) lamented the weak government response to the pandemic despite increasing the national debt. The Department of Finance (DOF) earlier said the government secured $15.49 billion or roughly P752.3 billion in loans and grants from foreign lenders to fund the government’s response to Covid-19 pandemic. The total amount already includes the $1.2-billion or P58. 5 -bi l l ion f ina nc ing it recently secured from multilateral lenders for the countr y’s purchase of Covid-19 vaccines. The DOF said they expect the national government’s debt this year to reach 57 percent of GDP. The country aims to borrow about P3 trillion this year, almost the same amount it borrowed in 2020. Continued on A2

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Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, April 19, 2021

Petron allots ₧11B to fund ongoing projects this year

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

etron Corp. is setting aside about P11 billion in capital expenditure (capex) this year, higher than the P8.5 billion it allocated for 2020. “ T he Company’s estimated consolidated capital expenditures for 2021 are about P11,048 million, primarily to fund ongoing capex projects,” Petron said in its final offering circular. This year’s capex will be financed by a combination of internal cash generation and external financing sources. Petron said the amount is just an estimate as projects are constantly being reviewed and the contracts entered into are subject

to various factors. These include market conditions, the general state of the Philippine and Malaysian economies, the company’s operating performance and cash flow, and the company’s ability to obtain financing. Over the past several years, Petron has made significant capex to maintain and upgrade the Petron Bataan Refinery, to expand its retail service station network in the Philippines, and to upgrade its service stations in Malaysia.

In 2018, 2019 and 2020, Petron’s capex stood at P10.42 billion, P19.8 billion and P8.5 billion, respectively, which primarily related to expenditures for refinery, depot and service stations. It has funded its capex with net cash flows provided by operating activities and debt or equity financing. Pet ron tempora r i ly c losed down its 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery in May last year and reopened in October. It again ceased refinery operations last February 10 and will reopen either May or June this year. It is now seeking to complete the requirements cited by the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan to make Petron’s Bataan refinery one of the registered enterprises of the freeport zone. This involves an additional investment of P3 billion in the next 5 years.

It also plans to build a Refinery Solid Fired Boiler (RSFBB-3) Phase 3. The P11-billion “Petron Refinery Special Projects” will consist of two 200 tph Circulating Fluidized Broiler (CFB), two 22megawatt Backpressure Turbine Generators, 500-meter fuel transfer line. Petron is expected to raise $550 million worth of senior perpetual capital securities within the month to repay debt and fund corporate programs. The securities would have an initial rate of distribution of 5.95 percent per annum until April 19, 2026, payable semi-annually in arrears on April 19 and October 19. After 2026, the securities will have a step-up rate of 2.5 percent per annum. The securities will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. and sold in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines.

Phoenix cuts 2021 capex to ₧800M P

hoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has slashed its capital expenditure (capex) this year to P800 million to conserve cash and rationalize spending. “Capex this year is historically lower as we focus our expansion plans, making most out of our existing assets, and on our capital line strategy,” said Phoenix Petroleum Vice President for External Affairs Raymond Zorrilla. The oil company already slashed its 2020 capex by half to P1.5 billion to conserve cash while the country is grappling with a health crisis. It originally programmed a capex of P3 billion last year. This year’s capex, which would be sourced from internal funds, includes carry-over capex from 2020 and growth capex for LPG and retail. Phoenix Petroleum’s LPG business has been a major revenue driver for the company. The oil firm ended 2020 with P63-million net income, largely attributed to its strong LPG business that saw a 32-percent year-on-year volume

growth. Phoenix’s bullishness extends to its overseas ventures as well, with triple volume growth recorded in Vietnam by its subsidiary Phoenix Gas Vietnam LLC. The LPG segment has also proven to be a bright spot despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with cooking fuel deemed an essential by Filipino consumers. Its LPG market share has improved with the launch of Phoenix Super LPG that caters to low-income consumers. It is more lightweight and less expensive. With a capacity of 200 grams of fuel, it can provide up to two hours of cooking time depending on its use. This canister format aims not only to make the cooking fuel more affordable for Filipinos but to enhance household safety as well, encouraging users to move away from traditional wood, kerosene or charcoal fuel, as well as single-use butane canisters. Latest data on the overall Philippine LPG industry has further shown an uptrend in

Phoenix SUPER LPG market share from 4.49 percent in 2017 to 4.84 percent in 2018 and 5.61 percent in 2019. The oil firm’s market share is estimated at 6.87 percent as of third quarter of 2020. While incremental, Phoenix is the only firm that has exhibited an uptick in market share in recent years, with all other players showing a downtrend in the past 10 years. The canister format was launched under a partnership with Philippine Eco-Gas Producer Cooperative (PEPC). As of December 2020, PEPC estimates total output of 500,000 stainless steel canisters and 200,000 aluminum canisters in Visayas and Mindanao. Lenie Lectura

Converge adds topnotch women execs to team

eading fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. announced the appointment of two female executives to drive higher performance and support the company’s strategic goals while strengthening governance and applying industry best practices. Former Chief Financial Officer of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), the largest corporate-led social development foundation, Christine Renee Blabagno has been appointed as Treasurer and Deputy Chief Finance Officer. Meanwhile, Atty. Laurice EstebanTuason, former Compliance Director for media giant ABS-CBN Corp., has been named as Corporate Compliance Officer. “Starting as a small homegrown company, Converge looked for passionate individuals who are aligned with our aspiration of delivering the best value to our customers,” said Converge Founder and CEO Dennis Anthony H. Uy. “At the same time, as a rapidly growing company, we need talented leaders at the top of their field who share our ambitious goal of bringing world-class fiber connectivity to every Filipino household and help build the nation.” Blabagno will bring her expertise to manage Converge’s financial health and performance needed to support the company’s growth and expansion. She has over 25 years of experience as a financial leader and strategist, with 14 years of her career spent at Globe Telecom in various leadership positions, the last being Vice President of Consolidated Core Business Controllership.

Blabagno

Esteban-Tuason

At PBSP, Blabagno was responsible for the prudent management of the foundation’s billions of pesos in annual grants. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City and earned her Master in Business Management from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) while working as an Audit Director at SGV & Co. (Ernst and Young). Esteban-Tuason will oversee Converge’s regulatory and legal compliance and ensure the organization continues to adhere to the highest standards of corporate governance. Prior to ABS-CBN where she held several leadership roles, Atty. Esteban-Tuason was a Legal Officer for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and also served as a legal staff at the House of Representatives. A product of the Ateneo School of Law, she started her career with prestigious law firms Del Rosario and Del Rosario Law Of-

fices and SyCip Salazar Hernandez and Gatmaitan. “The new additions to our leadership team will help promote initiatives that raise organizational standards of governance and compliance,” said Converge President Grace Y. Uy. “We are excited to see our leadership team bringing the organization to greater heights as we continue to pursue our goal of enabling more communities to thrive in a digital and hyperconnected environment.” Converge ranked third among the 20 fastest-growing companies in the Philippines according to the Financial Times Asia-Pacific’s High-Growth companies list released recently, compiled in partnership with Nikkei Asia and global research provider Statista. Known to have had among the largest Philippine IPO in recent history, Converge reported a year-on-year revenue growth of over 71 percent in 2020.

AirAsia ties up with group to revive tourism in Bohol

o boost tourism and economic recovery in Bohol, AirAsia announced on Friday that it has partnered with the Bohol Association of Hotels Resorts, and Restaurants (BAHRR) and the Bohol Tourism Office under the Provincial Government of Bohol “to further promote safe domestic tourism.” Prior to this partnership, AirAsia said it has consistently shown its full commitment to various initiatives by the local government to boost the service and tourism industry in the province. AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla said, ”We at AirAsia remain optimistic about the revival and the future of the tourism industry especially in Bohol, which is at the forefront of our efforts in revitalizing the tourism sector while assuring safe travels for all guests.” He added that when travel restrictions were lifted in December 2020, AirAsia took the initiative of flying a number of media personalities, influencers and celebrities, the most recent being Ms. Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, to entice local tourists to visit and rediscover Bohol. “Our commitment to this advocacy continues

as we now partner with hotels and restaurants and other industries in the province, offering more travel options and value added services to support the people of Bohol.” The virtual event on April 16 and was attended by Josephine Cabarrus, Head of Bohol Tourism Office; Atty. Lucas Nunag, chairman of the Provincial Tourism Council; Joy Angeli Uy, President of BAHRR; and stakeholders from Bohol’s hotel, resort, and food and beverage services industries. Josephine Cabarrus said, “Our current challenge is to effectively propel Bohol in the midst of this pandemic and beyond by offering relevant, sustainable, authentic and unique tourist experiences to the widest possible market.” She said the carrier is working on developing year-round tourism products that promote “common good value” through integrated marketing, aligning our branding guidelines with that of the DOT, and collaborating with partners in the industry.” Nunag welcomed AirAsia’s effort to come up with innovative approaches to entice guests to travel again and visit Bohol. Recto L. Mercene

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, April 19, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

April 16, 2021

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

BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

103.9 82.55 22.85 9.52 44.55 9.47 22.05 22.9 55.35 17.06 118.7 70 1.65 3.94 3.15 1.47 0.4 950 0.73 146 2,338 0.97

104.8 83 22.9 9.59 44.7 10.3 23.45 23 55.5 17.5 118.8 70.05 1.68 3.95 3.25 1.51 0.425 995 0.77 147.9 2,346 1.04

104.5 83 22.85 9.62 44.4 10.28 23.4 22.85 55.5 17.5 119 70.05 1.63 3.96 3.15 1.45 0.4 995 0.75 146 2,346 0.97

104.8 83.5 22.9 9.62 44.8 10.28 23.4 23 56 17.5 119 70.1 1.7 3.96 3.15 1.47 0.43 995 0.77 148 2,346 0.97

103.2 82.55 22.85 9.51 44.35 10.28 23.4 22.75 55.5 17.04 118.5 70 1.61 3.94 3.14 1.44 0.4 995 0.72 145.8 2,346 0.97

104.8 83 22.9 9.52 44.7 10.28 23.4 22.9 55.5 17.04 118.8 70 1.7 3.95 3.14 1.47 0.43 995 0.77 148 2,346 0.97

1,072,000 1,084,170 143,400 266,800 3,124,900 5,000 500 113,000 4,590 12,500 254,630 2,560 357,000 185,000 29,000 75,000 70,000 10 272,000 9,110 10 11,000

111,782,312 89,959,346.50 3,283,810 2,554,626 139,466,345 51,400 11,700 2,585,255 254,795 213,314 30,274,400 179,222.50 591,760 731,640 91,200 109,680 29,300 9,950 201,270 1,336,968 23,460 10,670

22,561,746 20,500,613 -3,208,290 -755,222.00 -31,063,320 -1,569,625 -10,811,642 -16,112 -3,300 -526,100 -69,150 -94,970 881,211 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 7.2 7.22 7.2 7.26 7.13 7.2 10,952,000 78,659,909 ALSONS CONS 1.3 1.31 1.36 1.37 1.3 1.31 972,000 1,293,440 ABOITIZ POWER 23.5 23.55 23.65 23.85 23.55 23.55 465,400 10,975,160 1.06 1.07 1.02 1.07 1.01 1.06 136,814,000 143,804,280 BASIC ENERGY 30.9 31 30.8 31.1 30.6 30.9 1,353,000 41,859,395 FIRST GEN 67.3 68.3 69 69.2 67.1 67.25 6,760 459,724 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 273.8 274 275.2 277.6 273.2 273.8 119,900 32,869,074 MANILA WATER 14.48 14.5 14.4 14.78 14.4 14.5 910,400 13,192,292 PETRON 3.21 3.22 3.24 3.27 3.21 3.21 395,000 1,278,010 11.92 12.22 11.82 12.24 11.82 12.22 11,400 139,350 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 20.5 20.55 20.65 20.75 20.4 20.55 360,900 7,419,705 SPC POWER 10.78 10.8 10.8 10.82 10.78 10.8 226,600 2,447,300 VIVANT 13.92 14.8 14.8 14.8 14.8 14.8 15,300 226,440 AGRINURTURE 6.84 6.99 7.05 7.05 6.8 6.99 1,180,300 8,232,486 3.41 3.43 3.41 3.46 3.41 3.43 590,000 2,020,160 AXELUM 13.22 13.4 13.4 13.42 13.2 13.2 3,400 45,354 CNTRL AZUCARERA 19 19.02 19 19.08 18.7 19 815,100 15,324,310 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 9.8 9.88 9.75 9.91 9.73 9.88 125,500 1,232,197 DNL INDUS 7.13 7.15 7.15 7.23 7.12 7.13 958,500 6,839,978 10.44 10.46 10.32 10.46 10.32 10.46 1,551,000 16,212,906 EMPERADOR 68.75 68.8 68.25 68.8 67.95 68.8 267,080 18,339,838.50 SMC FOODANDBEV 0.63 0.65 0.64 0.65 0.62 0.65 430,000 275,400 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.37 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.37 1.39 2,922,000 4,052,650 GINEBRA 54.5 54.75 54 55 54 54.5 180,130 9,754,897.50 JOLLIBEE 179.5 179.9 180 180.1 179.2 179.5 180,960 32,530,922 31.45 31.95 32.05 32.05 31.95 31.95 1,000 31,985 LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG 7.32 7.83 7.83 7.83 7.83 7.83 2,000 15,660 MAXS GROUP 5.93 6.03 6 6.04 5.92 6.03 75,400 451,024 MG HLDG 0.33 0.335 0.345 0.345 0.33 0.335 12,730,000 4,246,050 SHAKEYS PIZZA 7.2 7.26 7.2 7.3 7.1 7.2 55,400 396,848 1.06 1.07 1.07 1.1 1.05 1.07 2,408,000 2,568,260 ROXAS AND CO 4.65 4.74 4.74 4.74 4.74 4.74 2,000 9,480 RFM CORP SWIFT FOODS 0.138 0.139 0.133 0.139 0.133 0.139 7,660,000 1,026,440 UNIV ROBINA 128.4 128.5 130 130 128.2 128.5 746,670 96,116,263 VITARICH 0.81 0.83 0.82 0.83 0.81 0.81 799,000 652,400 VICTORIAS 2.28 2.3 2.28 2.28 2.28 2.28 4,000 9,120 56.3 60 56.3 56.3 56.3 56.3 500 28,150 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 59 63.95 59 64.9 59 64 20,480 1,210,281 CEMEX HLDG 1.21 1.22 1.19 1.22 1.19 1.21 2,081,000 2,510,930 DAVINCI CAPITAL 2.97 3 3.04 3.09 2.92 3 3,314,000 9,899,810 EAGLE CEMENT 11.52 11.62 11.5 11.62 11.4 11.62 10,700 122,890 7.36 7.63 7.63 7.63 7.28 7.36 1,884,300 13,859,409 EEI CORP 5.57 5.69 5.56 5.69 5.56 5.57 82,300 462,372 HOLCIM 7.29 7.3 7.15 7.3 7.14 7.3 1,424,900 10,313,808 MEGAWIDE PHINMA 12.22 12.36 12.34 12.36 12.34 12.36 47,900 591,864 TKC METALS 1.21 1.24 1.19 1.25 1.17 1.21 929,000 1,113,880 2.46 2.47 2.52 2.52 2.44 2.47 2,422,000 5,996,940 VULCAN INDL 1.85 1.87 1.9 1.9 1.84 1.87 1,348,000 2,549,880 CROWN ASIA 2 2.01 2.02 2.02 2 2.01 93,000 186,880 EUROMED LMG CORP 4.5 4.88 4.35 4.35 4.35 4.35 225,000 978,750 MABUHAY VINYL 4.52 4.64 4.6 4.6 4.53 4.53 9,000 41,110 PRYCE CORP 5.24 5.48 5.23 5.24 5.23 5.24 187,900 982,747 21.55 21.95 22.05 22.05 21.15 21.95 17,700 385,650 CONCEPCION 3.78 3.79 3.77 3.84 3.7 3.79 12,615,000 47,980,480 GREENERGY 11.1 11.3 11.34 11.34 10.9 11.3 336,700 3,730,992 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 1.11 1.13 1.1 1.13 1.1 1.11 77,000 85,530 PANASONIC 5.65 5.77 5.65 5.77 5.65 5.77 1,800 10,182 1.37 1.4 1.44 1.44 1.36 1.4 131,000 186,410 SFA SEMICON 5.92 5.93 5.99 6 5.91 5.92 1,036,900 6,158,911 CIRTEK HLDG

-1,604,934 -81,300 -4,112,620 2,782,510 -3,790,285 1,251 -15,725,402 -8,644,574 -98,510 912,950 17,136 41,733 -267,420 6,600 1,057,168 -2,025,278 -722,264 1,221,172.50 1,370 3,873,702 -1,802,939 -18,486 -615,450 147,984 1,353,380 -52,077,402 8,200 -30,650 171,490 7,020 12,387,775 -97,216 2,377,592 -481,860 181,840 -557,390 2,318,020 42,570 1,338,870 -88,646 -2,220 -23,800 304,925

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 1.16 1.17 1.2 1.21 1.17 1.17 22,595,000 26,911,210 ASIABEST GROUP 7 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.35 7.35 300 2,213 AYALA CORP 756.5 758 764 764 756 758 124,260 94,165,290 35 35.5 35.5 35.85 35 35 874,100 30,717,905 ABOITIZ EQUITY 10.9 10.94 11.08 11.08 10.88 10.9 1,855,000 20,305,266 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 3.32 3.33 3.2 3.34 3.19 3.32 6,037,000 19,951,920 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.6 6.64 6.7 6.7 6.6 6.64 21,400 142,648 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.75 0.71 0.72 3,137,000 2,287,130 ATN HLDG A 0.73 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.73 0.74 1,322,000 972,240 0.74 0.77 0.74 0.78 0.73 0.78 151,000 111,280 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.2 5.17 5.18 697,200 3,615,216 DMCI HLDG 5.27 5.28 5.27 5.29 5.22 5.27 2,510,900 13,163,749 FILINVEST DEV 8.34 8.69 8.9 8.9 8.35 8.35 26,600 222,660 FORUM PACIFIC 0.255 0.29 0.3 0.3 0.29 0.29 20,000 5,900 536 536.5 531.5 538.5 530 536.5 101,540 54,426,870 GT CAPITAL 3.63 3.74 3.58 3.79 3.58 3.79 15,000 56,010 HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT 58.4 58.5 60 60 58.4 58.4 2,292,160 134,750,672.50 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 4.68 4.99 4.53 4.99 4.53 4.99 5,400 26,106 LODESTAR 1.1 1.12 1.08 1.12 1.06 1.12 3,937,000 4,257,990 3.32 3.48 3.32 3.48 3.32 3.48 16,000 54,780 LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 13.52 13.62 13.6 13.62 13.44 13.62 1,189,600 16,025,658 0.475 0.5 0.495 0.495 0.495 0.495 50,000 24,750 MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV 4 4.05 3.95 4.05 3.93 4.05 4,784,000 19,099,930 PACIFICA HLDG 3.67 3.85 3.75 3.75 3.67 3.67 22,000 81,560 PRIME MEDIA 3.2 3.21 3.06 3.22 3.04 3.2 7,139,000 22,586,690 2.33 2.78 2.33 2.33 2.33 2.33 5,000 11,650 REPUBLIC GLASS SOLID GROUP 1.23 1.28 1.24 1.31 1.23 1.23 248,000 308,240 SYNERGY GRID 367 373 369 369 368 368 120 44,190 SM INVESTMENTS 975 978 980 982.5 970.5 978 108,850 106,362,555 SAN MIGUEL CORP 116.2 116.8 117 117.5 116.2 116.8 165,120 19,287,228 0.72 0.76 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.72 10,000 7,200 SOC RESOURCES SEAFRONT RES 2.18 2.46 2.17 2.49 2.17 2.46 19,000 46,530 TOP FRONTIER 133.5 136.8 132.1 137.3 132.1 136.9 6,430 855,513 WELLEX INDUS 0.255 0.265 0.265 0.265 0.255 0.255 4,260,000 1,100,550 ZEUS HLDG 0.216 0.226 0.228 0.228 0.212 0.226 200,000 44,510

-1,211,690 -43,941,905 2,138,525 -3,074,130 150,450 -58,470 -2,330,805 -2,843,990.00 -217,320 13,495,315 -40,923,553 16,050 -13,613,932 -4,175,700 465,190 -19,738,405 -3,404,958 -285,048 25,500 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.65 0.67 0.65 0.67 0.65 0.67 1,541,000 1,005,100 ANCHOR LAND 7.5 8.24 7.47 8.26 7.47 8.26 400 3,067 AYALA LAND 33.2 33.25 33.85 33.9 33.1 33.25 17,399,000 578,902,730 1.21 1.23 1.21 1.23 1.2 1.23 12,000 14,540 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 33.8 33.9 33.9 34 33.6 33.9 337,800 11,420,675 1.56 1.59 1.54 1.61 1.54 1.6 232,000 369,650 BELLE CORP A BROWN 0.9 0.91 0.9 0.92 0.9 0.91 289,000 260,560 CITYLAND DEVT 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 0.95 1.01 4,138,000 4,103,250 CROWN EQUITIES 0.132 0.137 0.137 0.138 0.132 0.137 7,210,000 960,570 6.33 6.4 6.31 6.32 6.31 6.32 1,600 10,111 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 5.6 5.62 5.57 5.62 5.53 5.6 708,500 3,939,820 CENTURY PROP 0.38 0.385 0.38 0.4 0.37 0.38 27,160,000 10,366,450 CYBER BAY 0.335 0.345 0.34 0.36 0.335 0.345 3,680,000 1,254,400 DOUBLEDRAGON 13.3 13.32 13.2 13.38 13.18 13.32 541,800 7,186,948 2.19 2.2 2.19 2.2 2.17 2.19 15,202,000 33,167,040 DDMP RT 6.85 6.87 6.7 6.87 6.7 6.87 30,800 211,532 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.28 0.29 0.28 0.29 0.28 0.29 130,000 36,700 EVER GOTESCO 0.122 0.125 0.13 0.13 0.122 0.125 12,050,000 1,489,830 FILINVEST LAND 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.11 1.13 6,270,000 7,040,140 7.19 7.36 7.07 7.2 7.07 7.2 1,300 9,347 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.39 1.4 1.37 1.4 1.37 1.39 2,046,000 2,835,040 2.03 2.04 2.14 2.25 1.97 2.03 21,428,000 43,996,400 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 3.37 3.38 3.4 3.44 3.37 3.38 26,724,000 90,998,260 MRC ALLIED 0.395 0.4 0.405 0.415 0.395 0.395 23,690,000 9,551,900 PHIL ESTATES 0.68 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.68 0.68 32,583,000 22,414,530 3.11 3.12 3.26 3.29 3 3.11 13,180,000 41,150,630 PRIMEX CORP 17.36 17.52 17.8 17.8 17.36 17.36 3,736,000 65,498,840 ROBINSONS LAND 0.265 0.27 0.265 0.27 0.265 0.27 1,360,000 360,700 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.53 1.55 1.58 1.6 1.53 1.55 85,000 132,770 SHANG PROP 2.66 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.66 2.66 18,000 47,940 2.24 2.27 2.29 2.29 2.29 2.29 7,000 16,030 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 35.85 35.9 36.5 36.5 35.8 35.85 3,839,700 137,989,035 3.73 3.9 3.89 3.9 3.89 3.9 12,000 46,790 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.58 1.59 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.58 1,578,000 2,487,940 VISTA LAND 3.71 3.72 3.79 3.79 3.7 3.72 1,076,000 4,021,490

-299,890,550 -5,191,260 183,800 55,800 91,250 -75,488 -2,762,300 52,750 489,920 -283,660 2,124,950.00 -2,190,400 -171,650 -70,000.00 9,253,820 -39,556,820 -33,980 -9,214,230 -18,960 -550,590

SERVICES

ABS CBN GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN GLOBE TELECOM PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG IMPERIAL JACKSTONES NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG DISCOVERY WORLD WATERFRONT FAR EASTERN U STI HLDG BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE PHIL RACING ALLHOME METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP EASYCALL IPM HLDG PRMIERE HORIZON SBS PHIL CORP

10.96 8.96 0.46 1,846 1,255 0.224 18.46 4.13 10.68 1.6 2.13 2.84 0.435 2.67 8.6 15 3.33 50.1 127.9 16.02 0.97 4.96 2.4 2.32 6.06 1.28 1.72 0.09 3.76 0.64 580 0.38 6.99 2.05 1.81 1.98 2.12 0.45 6.03 7.9 1.32 36.5 54.4 100.1 1.22 17.6 0.405 6.33 5 2.21 4.28

10.98 8.97 0.47 1,850 1,260 0.225 18.48 4.3 10.7 1.79 2.17 2.85 0.44 2.7 8.64 15.48 3.35 50.15 128 16.24 1.04 4.98 2.45 2.77 6.15 1.31 1.78 0.091 3.78 0.65 595 0.39 7 2.09 1.85 2 2.13 0.455 6.2 7.99 1.33 36.65 54.45 103 1.23 17.62 0.415 6.39 5.09 2.22 4.5

11 9.15 0.46 1,836 1,253 0.239 18.2 4.18 10.62 1.74 2.19 2.84 0.445 2.68 8.43 15 3.34 48.4 126.2 16.24 1.01 4.9 2.41 2.41 6.15 1.3 1.74 0.09 3.73 0.66 585 0.39 7 2.07 1.77 2 2.17 0.465 6.15 8 1.3 36.7 55.35 102.1 1.23 17.6 0.4 6.68 5.09 2.25 4.24

11.1 9.15 0.47 1,850 1,264 0.247 18.5 4.35 10.86 1.86 2.19 2.84 0.445 2.71 8.6 15 3.47 50.7 128 16.24 1.04 5.05 2.45 2.81 6.15 1.34 1.74 0.092 3.84 0.66 585 0.395 7.02 2.07 1.9 2 2.17 0.465 6.15 8 1.33 36.7 55.35 103 1.23 17.66 0.415 6.68 5.09 2.25 4.5

10.94 8.91 0.46 1,835 1,240 0.221 17.98 4.13 10.42 1.74 2.19 2.8 0.435 2.64 8.42 15 3.31 48.35 126.2 16.24 1 4.9 2.38 2.41 6.06 1.26 1.7 0.088 3.73 0.63 585 0.38 6.99 2.05 1.77 2 2.11 0.445 6.15 7.9 1.29 36.3 54.05 102 1.21 17.22 0.4 6.3 5.09 2.19 4.24

10.98 8.96 0.46 1,850 1,255 0.224 18.48 4.3 10.7 1.79 2.19 2.84 0.435 2.66 8.6 15 3.33 50.1 127.9 16.24 1.04 4.96 2.45 2.81 6.15 1.31 1.72 0.091 3.78 0.64 585 0.38 7 2.05 1.81 2 2.13 0.45 6.15 7.99 1.33 36.5 54.45 103 1.22 17.62 0.415 6.39 5.09 2.21 4.5

61,000 6,850,400 80,000 34,925 106,930 2,863,830,000 2,551,300 1,575,000 13,158,700 51,000 10,000 2,262,000 9,150,000 789,000 258,400 10,500 914,000 437,000 2,187,980 800 94,000 1,107,000 204,000 6,000 7,600 500,000 195,000 137,870,000 184,000 4,269,000 30 1,300,000 4,154,700 4,000 4,196,000 205,000 2,802,000 14,930,000 400 853,700 1,371,000 2,371,100 810,750 1,120 602,000 442,400 500,000 53,800 400 12,722,000 6,000

672,202 61,726,651 37,000 64,490,360 133,388,290 671,094,640 46,947,444 6,668,970 139,871,296 92,320 21,900 6,388,630 4,006,200 2,092,340 2,196,730 157,500 3,086,720 21,686,960 279,190,576 12,992 94,880 5,484,230 489,450 14,860 46,402 657,940 333,690 12,416,500 695,340 2,732,090 17,550 506,100 29,068,314 8,240 7,675,480 410,000 5,986,900 6,783,600 2,460 6,806,164 1,790,860 86,531,045 44,136,412.50 114,640 731,410 7,765,872 205,250 342,014 2,036 28,143,450 25,730

22,644,400 -58,188,760 -2,857,570 16,043,096 -609,140.00 2,182,120 183,700 -4,350 8,626,095 90,879,610 1,624.00 -2,328,820 -58,820 -1,702,290 7,560 195,000 -7,787,285 4,120 -195,300 -19,170 8,650 412,482 -19,950 -25,077,880 -20,740,675.50 9,193 95,310 -259,254 798,160 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 9.79 9.98 10 10 9.6 9.98 1,000,200 9,846,702 -127,147 APEX MINING 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.64 1.55 1.56 7,843,000 12,446,120 -77,820.00 6.46 6.47 6.28 6.48 6.28 6.47 3,037,700 19,428,873 -23,341 ATLAS MINING 2.83 3.1 3.1 3.13 2.8 3.12 392,000 1,193,510 BENGUET A BENGUET B 2.82 2.9 2.98 2.98 2.6 2.82 111,000 318,120 -94,280 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.315 0.325 0.32 0.335 0.31 0.315 4,660,000 1,507,500 -16,300 CENTURY PEAK 2.75 2.79 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.8 64,000 178,200 55,000 DIZON MINES 8.4 8.48 8.5 8.5 8.41 8.41 134,400 1,141,928 -776,050 2.72 2.74 2.8 2.88 2.71 2.72 15,769,000 43,849,540 -126,560 FERRONICKEL 0.36 0.37 0.39 0.39 0.36 0.37 7,680,000 2,915,400 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.16 0.161 0.16 0.167 0.151 0.16 264,820,000 42,532,110 LEPANTO B 0.157 0.158 0.152 0.164 0.152 0.157 16,570,000 2,622,950 78,000 MANILA MINING A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.013 0.011 0.011 1,572,400,000 17,987,000 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.013 0.011 0.012 176,200,000 2,126,900 -91,200 MANILA MINING B 1.37 1.38 1.36 1.42 1.36 1.38 4,421,000 6,132,740 -82,550 MARCVENTURES 1.86 1.88 1.99 1.99 1.84 1.89 1,738,000 3,360,240 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.45 5.46 5.51 5.6 5.41 5.45 22,112,300 121,520,977 -13,496,498 OMICO CORP 0.41 0.415 0.445 0.445 0.41 0.41 680,000 281,500 1.01 1.02 1.04 1.07 0.99 1.01 7,947,000 8,179,230 -11,210 ORNTL PENINSULA 5.1 5.11 5.31 5.46 5.06 5.1 4,347,000 22,804,888 -290,942 PX MINING 12.16 12.18 12.2 12.28 12.14 12.16 500,400 6,098,688 -510,628 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0097 0.0098 0.0098 0.011 0.0095 0.0098 830,000,000 8,372,500 -429,000 ACE ENEXOR 22.75 22.8 22.9 23 22.15 22.75 128,800 2,924,335 4,570 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 60,700,000 748,800 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 1,100,000 13,900 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 105,900,000 1,332,900 PXP ENERGY 8.15 8.18 8.1 8.36 8.1 8.15 2,086,100 17,115,662 1,009,720 PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 100.4 101 100.3 100.4 100.3 100.4 50,500 5,065,200 HOUSE PREF A 100 101 100 101 100 101 370 37,100 AC PREF B1 517 534 517 534 517 534 4,090 2,116,060 102.5 109.9 102.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 780 79,950 ALCO PREF C CEB PREF 47.15 47.5 45.4 47.5 45.4 47.5 230,600 10,666,440 2,325,555 101.4 103.5 101.5 103.5 101.5 103.5 1,500 153,250 CPG PREF A DD PREF 100.5 101 100.5 102 100.5 102 490 49,845 MWIDE PREF 101.1 101.6 101.6 101.6 101.6 101.6 1,150 116,840 MWIDE PREF 2B 100.6 102 101 101.1 101 101.1 12,100 1,223,290 192,090 102 104.6 104.6 104.6 104.6 104.6 30 3,138 PNX PREF 3B PCOR PREF 2B 1,020 1,039 1,040 1,040 1,020 1,030 1,010 1,038,895 SFI PREF 1.64 1.84 1.68 1.68 1.62 1.62 6,000 9,840 SMC PREF 2C 78 79 79 79 78 78 166,330 12,975,895 SMC PREF 2E 76.3 77.8 76.25 77.8 76.25 77.8 5,700 435,710 79 79.85 78.5 79.9 78.5 79.9 49,000 3,879,250 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H 76.95 78 77 78 76.9 78 292,560 22,543,827.50 SMC PREF 2J 76.65 77.1 76.9 76.9 76.65 76.65 23,300 1,791,695 SMC PREF 2K 76.55 77 77 77 77 77 500 38,500 - PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.6 10.92 10.46 10.6 10.46 10.6 501,800 5,318,940 -1,980 GMA HLDG PDR 8.5 8.6 8.56 8.6 8.49 8.5 470,700 4,008,007 1,298,354 WARRANTS LR WARRANT 2.1 2.11 2.12 2.14 2.05 2.11 2,132,000 4,433,000 42,000 SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 19.58 19.62 19.44 19.7 19.42 19.62 67,400 1,315,338 83,944 ITALPINAS 2.5 2.52 2.49 2.53 2.43 2.5 626,000 1,542,790 14,350 KEPWEALTH 5.35 5.5 5.45 5.55 5.35 5.5 5,200 28,200 5.58 5.59 5.34 5.59 5.22 5.58 18,299,000 99,170,996 -480,282 MERRYMART EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 98.35 99.75 100 100 98.35 98.35 29,790 2,943,885.50 427,887

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Plants on extended outage to limit Luzon power supply’

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

power shortage in Luzon looms mainly due to thin supply during the hot dry season until August, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) warned. “Thin operating margin is forecasted in the Luzon grid from April to August 2021 due to multiple power plants on extended outage, thereby providing limited power supply. Technical limitations brought about by the pandemic such as delay in delivery of materials or spare parts, temporary work stoppage, and travel restrictions were stated as some of the reasons for the plants’ extended outages,” said NGCP. With this, the grid operator is asking industry stakeholders to intervene to avert an impending power supply shortage. NGCP maintains an annual Grid Operating and Maintenance Pro-

gram (GOMP) which schedules the preventive maintenance of power plants, taking into consideration the needed supply vis-a-vis projected demand. “We continue to urge the authorities to look into this impending power situation in Luzon during this summer season. As the transmission service provider, NGCP can only guarantee the dispatch of all and any available grid resources. It cannot intervene on matters concerning power generation,” NGCP said. The projected shortage may not occur if the forecasted peak demand for this year will not be realized as a result of the quarantine restric-

tions placed in several parts of the country, particularly in Metro Manila which is the load center of the Luzon grid, and assuming no further plant outages will occur during the period. Luzon peak demand is seen to shoot up to 11,841megawatts (MW) in May, higher than the actual 2020 peak load of 11,103MW, which occurred last March 9, 2020. For Visayas and Mindanao, peak demand for both regions occurred in January 2020, and not during the usual months of November or December, mainly due to the effect of the pandemic. Visayas peak demand is seen to hit 2,394MW from 2,201MW last year. For Mindanao, peak demand is estimated at 2,098MW from 1,977MW. The Luzon grid needs around 4 percent of the peak demand, or around 475MW in regulating power to stabilize the grid. It also needs to maintain power equivalent to the largest plant online of about 647MW as contingency power to support the grid in case of an emergency power plant shutdown. Once the net operating

margin falls below these numbers, NGCP will issue grid alert notices. To certain conditions, this would mean implementation of manual load dropping or rotating power interruptions to protect the integrity of the power grid. In line with this, NGCP also appeals to the public to use electricity efficiently and help prevent any occurrence of power interruptions due to the lean supply especially in the summer months. The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), for its part, said it continues to work with the rest of the energy sector to monitor the power supply situation, especially during summer, and to make the necessary preparations, as well. The Luzon Grid has been on “White” status, indicating that there is adequate reserve in the grid. This, despite the almost 1,000MW increase in grid demand from February to March due to power plant outage incidents. In March this year, the capacity on outage averaged 3,400MW versus around 2,000MW only in March 2020.

San Miguel board amends bylaws, names Ramon Ang as CEO

he board of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has approved the amendment of the company’s by-laws, which transferred the title of chief executive officer (CEO) to SMC’s long-time president and COO, Ramon S. Ang.

The CEO position has remained vacant since the demise of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. last June 2020. Ang, the company’s long-time president and COO, has been on top of the day-to-day operations of the company for several years as the conglomer-

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Share prices fell last week after foreign investors flocked back to the United States market following strong bank earnings, as trading patterns among local investors were seen as “directionless” despite the easing of quarantine restrictions. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 50.36 points to close at 6,494.81 points. The main index was only up for only 2 trading days during the week, as investors were selling their positions after making small gains. Average daily value for the week was low at P5.03 billion, while foreign investors were net sellers at P4.11 billion. Foreigners accounted for 36 percent of the total trade. Other subindices ended mixed. The broader All Shares index fell 17.43 points to close at 3,981.51 points, the Financials index rose 5.85 to 1,393.32, the Industrial index declined 283.41 to 8,607.48, the Holding Firms index dropped 15.48 to 6,616.88, the Property index shed 54.36 to 3,199.31, the Services index was up 12.77 to 1,442.11 and the Mining and Oil index plunged 472.94 to 8,971.25. For the week, gainers led losers 135 to 95 and 20 shares were unchanged. Top gainers were Manila Mining Corp. B, Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. A and B shares, Benguet A and B, DFNN Inc., Seafront Resources Corp. and Oriental Peninsula Resources Group Inc. Top losers City and Land Developers Inc., Cityland Development Corp., Ever-Gotesco Resources and Holdings Inc., Philippine Estates Corp., Acesite (Phils.) Hotel Corp. and Universal Robina Corp.

This week

Share prices may further decline this week as issues related to the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic have not lifted investors’ sentiment. “Threat of ECQ [enhanced community quarantine]-inducing Covid spikes and escalating geopolitical tensions in the West Philippine Sea cast rain clouds over the horizon, which might pull index lower from its current base-building phase at around at 6,500 points,” broker 2TradeAsia said. It said funds tend to follow market activity as some of the listed companies will start to release its first quarter earnings. This week will also feature the annual stockholders’ meetings of the Ayala group and property developers SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Filinvest Land Inc. 2TradeAsia said the current situation makes the case for the mid- and small-cap listed companies appear appealing for trading. “Mining shares, for instance, became market darlings after mining moratoriums have been lifted. In line with this, there may be spillover momentum towards provincial plays where mining tenements are present, as mine sites provide labor opportunities and local government unit revenues,” the broker said.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. advised to take profits on the stock of Apollo Global Capital Inc., which became a darling for retail investors for the past months, as all indicators are showing a spike in buying pressure. “All things considered, we do not expect another massive breakout anytime soon— sadly, likely no replay of the mid-January mining party—but Apollo Global could still rally intra-day. Whether or not gains will be pared come closing depends on market volume,” the broker said. It advised to monitor the stock’s 50-day moving average currently at P0.22, as it is this level where it could settle its price for the near-term. Apollo Global shares closed Friday at P0.224 apiece. Meanwhile, the broker advised to sell during rallies on the stock of BDO Unibank Inc. after it gained buying momentum after two weeks of sideways movement, breaching its initial resistance at P104 per share. “Momentum indicators, however, are still showing a bias to the downside. This, plus the relatively low volatility, means that any rally BDO could possibly be capped at the next resistance at P106,” the broker said. BDO shares closed last week at P104.80 apiece. VG Cabuag

ate expanded its empire to food and infrastructure including its multibillion peso international airport project in Bulacan. In its disclosure, the company said it is amending the roles of its chairman and chief executive

mutual funds

officer, and president and chief operating officer. It said the role, functions and duties of chairman of the board will now be focused on the nonexecutive functions, and will be separated from the president and CEO. VG Cabuag

April 16, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 209.7 7.64% -8.01% -3.97% -7.71% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2804 33.63% -7.39% 0.38% -2.48% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8813 10.38% -12.28% -6.28% -8.03% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7364 9.7% -7.87% n.a. -8.4% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6764 1.65% n.a. n.a. -8.79% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.5941 9.31% -5.89% -3.01% -7.03% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6643 0.11% -9.69% -7.81% -12.57% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 96.72 31.82% -6.3% n.a. -5.12% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 43.0933 9.82% -6.12% -2.74% -8.01% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 451.05 8.04% -6.15% -3.28% -7.76% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0216 17.9% n.a. n.a. -6.9% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0979 10.37% -5.54% -2.2% -6.02% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 32.2238 10.15% -5.76% -1.79% -7.32% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8371 7.47% n.a. n.a. -8.31% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.4125 10.45% -5.62% -1.97% -7.9% 738.23 10.54% -5.51% -2.11% -7.91% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6667 10.91% -9.73% -5.62% -7.26% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.339 7.51% -7.74% -3.51% -7.86% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8435 9.96% -5.86% -2.23% -8.09% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.0903 9.78% -5.28% -1.13% -6.89% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 99.0538 10.55% -5.28% -1.45% -7.9% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.2629 42.72% 4.07% 8.2% 4.99% 11.12% n.a. Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7506 44.69% 4.65% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6291 10.43% -2.35% -1.43% -2.37% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1591 10.23% -2.71% -0.8% -5.53% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.5025 6.49% -1.69% -1.46% -4.74% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1882 0.7% n.a. n.a. -5.24% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9013 5.56% 0.15% 0.46% -3.19% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.5562 6.47% -1.35% -0.81% -6.12% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.9421 6.6% -1.27% -0.86% -5.87% -2.14% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9985 6.42% -0.53% -4.57% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3862 5.38% -3.69% -1.77% -5.23% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9557 5.74% n.a. n.a. -6.54% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8702 6.49% n.a. n.a. -8.32% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8549 7.04% n.a. n.a. -8.38% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8371 6.83% -4.57% -2.39% -5.7% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03801 0.16% 2.46% 1.3% -2.84% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.1383 25.06% 2.38% -1.03% 4.93% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6599 32.61% 8.23% 8.48% 3.26% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2024 17.23% 4.1% n.a. 0.02% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 370.22 2.47% 3.08% 2.55% -0.23% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9102 -0.62% 0.74% 0.19% 0.52% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2198 1.98% 4.05% 4.47% 0.16% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2484 -0.21% 2.17% 1.61% -2.07% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.428 1.71% 3.11% 1.7% -1.03% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4482 0.55% 1.68% -4.02% 3.79% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3168 4.12% 4.21% 2.65% -0.33% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9556 3.45% 4.26% 2.77% -1.14% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0267 3.6% 4.11% 1.86% -1.47% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1727 2.73% 4.59% 3.01% -1.04% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7308 1.31% 3.86% 2.18% -1.38% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $482.82 3.41% 2.9% 2.29% -0.22% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.7 2.71% 1% 1.19% 0.24% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.177 0.97% 1.73% 1.1% -8.08% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0258 0% 1.33% 0.88% -3.01% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0528 0.89% 0.26% -0.63% -3.65% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4726 4.39% 4.13% 2% -2.48% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0626004 5.43% 3.34% 2.19% 0.45% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1275 -0.71% 2.06% 0.84% -2.98% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.93 2.22% 3.18% 2.52% 0.09% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0502 1.43% n.a. n.a. 0.2% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.3016 2.03% 2.89% 2.58% 0.39% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0556 1.45% 1.74% n.a. 0.3% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.2305 n.a. n.a. n.a. 8.93% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.99 10% n.a. n.a. 1.02% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019. 6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020. "While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

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Managing a chronic complainer

By Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries

Research shows that chronic complaining has physiological effects. Through the repetition of bad, sad, mad and powerless feelings, the neurotransmitters in the brain can go through a neural “rewiring,” which reinforces negative thought patterns, making it easier for unhappy thoughts to repeat themselves and leaving little room for the more positive feelings of gratitude and appreciation. Over time, complainers become addicted to negativity, attracted to the drama that comes with a complaining attitude. They are also prone to blackand-white thinking. Compromise isn’t part of the equation. No wonder that chronic complainers are more likely to see problems instead of solutions, making it very difficult to work with them. Given their negativity, it is hard for them to make decisions and solve problems. Ironically, complaining about things creates more things to complain about. C h ron ic compl a i ne r s a l so have a damaging effect on those around them. When people are thinking and reacting in nega-

tive and pessimistic ways, without realizing it, they transfer these feelings onto others in a process psychologists call “projective identification.” It is as if they were using other people as some kind of garbage can for their negativity, making those around them feel weighed down and exhausted. Interestingly, it is very likely that this kind of “transfer” is part of our evolutionary makeup. Some neuroscientists have suggested that humans possess what are called mirror neurons in their brain that are important for survival. As social beings, our brains unconsciously mimic the moods of the people around us, which can be an advantage when we are faced with danger. It can also serve as a form of social cohesion. This neuronal mirroring, however, has a flip side. People who complain about everything become contagious and, before we realize it, can turn us too into complainers. Complaining isn’t all bad. Occasional venting and expression of negative emotions to a col-

WWW.FREEPIK.COM

isa couldn’t take it any longer. Every time she met her colleague Peter, one of the senior executives at the retail chain where they both worked, he would begin an endless lament about his work, the government and his personal life. It didn’t help that whenever Lisa tried to reframe Peter’s situation more positively, he reverted to negativity. Peter’s constant grumbling and whining were toxic for everyone, himself included.

league about difficult situations allow us to get our concerns out into the open, and in doing so, lessen possible stress reactions. Repressing our feelings may stop us from naming our problem and getting to the bottom of it. People also complain in order to feel better about themselves. Returning to Peter, perhaps he wanted Lisa’s validation regarding how unfair or annoying his situation was, and hoped to establish some kind of emotional connection. But complaints can also be used as a way to exercise power and influence perceptions. Especially within organizations, which can be hotbeds of political

intrigue, people use complaining in order to gain people’s support. So Peter might have also been trying to recruit Lisa to his point of view concerning what he thought was wrong with others in their organization. In many cases, chronic complaining starts early in life, as a means of gaining visibility and establishing rapport in the family. These early experiences can become deeply ingrained patterns of behavior and may become part of a person's identity. Attempts to help chronic complainers often have little or no effect. Most likely, Peter would continue to be absorbed by the

downside of his situation, rather than seek solutions. It’s what makes dealing with these chronic complainers so exasperating. It’s better to begin by setting clear boundaries. Lisa should tell Peter that she is prepared to listen and to talk, but not to engage in a fruitless conversation. Repeating the same point over and over again isn’t doing either of them any favors. She should tell him that while she recognizes that he feels bad, his constant complaining is upsetting everyone in the organization. She should acknowledge that everyone complains at some point, but also point out that

most people do so in moderation and that there is a right and a wrong way to complain. Complaining is useful in situations where he thinks that he could affect real and positive change, but to complain the way he does is not constructive. Next, Lisa should make clear to Peter that he would be much better of f if he adjusted his perspective. Pur poseful complaining—ta k ing a proactive stand—will give him a road map to transcend his negativity. After all, if he has the time to whine and complain about all the bad things happening to him, then he should also make the time to do something about it. He should be complaining in order to fix and solve something, not just to win sympathy. Lisa could also suggest that Peter cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Whenever he feels the urge to complain, he should see this as a red flag to shift his attention from complaining to counting his blessings. In doing so, he might find his mood improved; he might have more energy and feel less anxious. Of course, creating such a behavioral change takes time. He could get help along this journey from a coach or psychotherapist, who could work with him to explore his tendency to embrace victimhood, the reasons he seeks validation from others and ways he could work on alternative responses when he feels the need to complain. W hile chronic complainers appear to be harmless on the surface, they owe it to their colleagues and themselves to regulate their behavior. Eventually people will tire of their negativity. Peter needs to realize that the squeaky wheel doesn’t always get the grease. It can also be replaced. Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries is the distinguished clinical professor of leadership development and organizational change at INSEAD in France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

What your Asian employees need right now I

By Shalene Gupta

n the wake of the Atlanta spa shootings and the skyrocketing increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans, I waited for an outpouring of corporate messages in support of the Asian community. I was optimistic, given how many companies renewed their commitment to diversity and social justice last summer in reaction to the Black Lives Matter effort. Instead, the response seems to have been mixed. Some organizations have done a great job. Etsy, for example, donated $500,000 to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and implemented bystander training for American employees. And Coca-Cola gave $1.85 million to Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations. But others have floundered by remaining silent. I wanted to understand how employees were feeling about these mixed results, so I reached out to my networks, asking people how they felt about their employer’s actions in response to the rise in anti-Asian racism. I received an outpouring of replies

from friends, friends of friends, acquaintances and acquaintances of acquaintances. The majority of the respondents were Asian American; overall, they wished their employers had done more. Drawing on their responses, I have developed this set of best practices for senior leaders and managers to be better allies to their Asian employees:

Acknowledge

The most common theme I heard from people was surprise over how leaders were silent, or disappointment that only the CEO had spoken up. They wondered what the silence meant. An Asian American employee at a biotech firm mentioned feeling let down because his company sent out a single email from the diversity office, and it wasn’t signed by any visible leaders or anyone he knew. “I’m happy to have strangers reach out and be supportive, but I wish it wasn’t just strangers,” he said. He also pointed out that several of his managers who hadn’t commented on the events had pride stickers and “support BLM” in their email signatures. This made him question the authenticity of their

commitment to social justice. Leaders up and down the chain of command should send a clear and firm message that anti-A sian racism and hate crimes are unacceptable and that they stand in support of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Don’t stay silent, dilute the message or hide behind the diversity office. A favorite approach among the people I spoke to was Hubspot’s unequivocal Instagram post, which simply read: “We stand in solidarity with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. We always have. We always will. Period. #StopAAPIHate.”

Be available

You can show your support in many ways, whether it’s by letting the team know that your door is open, allowing people to take time off to process their feelings or simply giving them their space. Not everyone on your team will have the same response. An Asian pathologist I spoke with mentioned that she would have felt uncomfortable if she’d been asked to share her feelings at work. A programmer said he would have liked to have a dis-

cussion with his direct manager. To meet this range of needs, let everyone on your team know the resources that are available and that you’re there for them if they want to talk. That way, employees who want and need support can initiate the conversation. This will also prevent you from singling out or tokenizing team members based on their race. Remember that it may not be immediately obvious who on your team has ties to Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and is struggling: Some of the people I interviewed were not of Asian descent but had spouses that were. A hate crime impacts the entire community.

Discuss

Create a voluntary space for discussion. Some employees may want to talk about how they are feeling, while others may not want to. A white law associate was disappointed that her firm hadn’t created a space for discussion, particularly since they’d created well-thought-out programming for Black Lives Matter. An Asian American designer at a different company said she was grateful her organization

had a discussion forum, because it brought everyone closer together. While the designer’s boss hadn’t personally said anything to her, she said that seeing that person at the company discussion made her feel supported. An Asian American health care employee mentioned that he didn’t attend his company’s discussion but knowing that it was there made him feel like the company took racial disparities seriously.

Commit

Several employees wanted to know about their company’s long-term plan to make a greater change in society. What this looks like will vary from company to company. “I genuinely enjoy my job, but what does it mean to ethically move through the world?” a law associate asked; she wished her company had made donations to groups supporting the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. In contrast, a manager at a pharmaceutical company was impressed by his company’s willingness to send out a message immediately. People also wanted to know more about their company’s long-term commitment to di-

versity, equity and inclusion. Cultural sensitivity training? Improvement in hiring practices? More representation at the C-suite level? An Asian American partner at a consulting firm who leads diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at his company commented that in the long run, the most important step was for companies to think about how to make long-term changes to eradicate systemic biases. “We have to change as a firm, but like any change in corporate culture, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So, we need to be committed to this for years.” Taking a strong stance against anti-Asian racism should be noncontroversial and is an easy way to show compassion, make employees feel supported and earn trust. Failing to do so shows callousness, and at worst can result in losing employee trust. Research shows that 68 percent of Americans expect corporations to take a stance on social issues. Remaining silent in the face of injustice is no longer a viable option. Shalene Gupta is a research associate at Harvard Business School.

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Monday, April 19, 2021

Thanks for everything, Alan Turing

ESIDES an apology, the world owes Alan Turing a tremendous amount of gratitude. Sir Winston Churchill, as historical records show, praised Turing for “making the single biggest contribution to Allied victory in the war against Nazi Germany.” As a code-breaker and mathematician, Turing helped accelerate Allied efforts to read German Naval messages enciphered with their Enigma machine, a crucial breakthrough to shortening World War II and saving millions of lives. But in 1952, he was charged with gross indecency. It was a time when being gay was a criminal offense in homophobic United Kingdom. In 2009, thenBritish Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a public apology on behalf of the British government for their horrible treatment of Turing. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon. Before the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Turing was celebrated in the news for his forthcoming £50 note to be released by the Bank of England. Incidentally, I was able to visit the Alan Turing Memorial in Manchester’s Gay Village in 2019. This development excites me no end. “Alan Turing represents so much of what we fight for and how far we still have to travel before we are living in a truly inclusive world,” Mark Fletcher, the chief executive of Manchester Pride told BBC.com. “It’s only right his legacy is honored by those who know and respect his work and brought forward to help educate those who may not be aware of the significant impact he had on society and the way we live today. And, equally as important, how he was treated for simply being himself.” BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IN ‘THE IMITATION GAME’ (2014) IN Morten Tyldum’s Oscar Best Picture nominee,

Cumberbatch plays the code-breaker. The film and Cumberbatch’s performance may be acclaimed, but the LGBT community wasn’t as ecstatic. Turing’s homosexuality was barely hinted at. He was portrayed as humorless and friendless. And was so not into fashion. The last part may be true, though. What do code-breakers wear? The model-thin Cumberbatch wore periodappropriate clothing, inspired by suits bearing the label CC41 that was rationed during the war. Turing was said to prefer wearing pajamas even in public but the film opted to highlight his habit of wearing checked ties with checked shirts, suits or vests. Thus, the linear graphic prints and geometrical patterns in the ensembles. Sammy Sheldon Differ, the film’s costume designer, was nominated for the film at the BAFTAs and at the Costume Designers Guild Awards. Milena Canonero won both prizes for Grand Budapest Hotel. TIA KOFI EARLIER this year, there was a mini-scandal in the LGBT community after the airing of the “Gay Icons” episode of the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Tia Kofi, a Nigerian-British contestant, chose

Turing as her icon. On the recap show Fashion Photo Review (FPR), host Raja (US Drag Race Season 3 winner) told The Vivienne (UK Season 1 winner): “I’m going to assume that maybe this Alan Turing person might have been a cross-dresser too?” Viv replied: “Well, girl, just like you I haven’t got a clue who Alan Turing is.” The gay community gagged, but the Welsh drag queen immediately apologized in a tweet: “As an LGBTQ+ person I apologise for not knowing the reference in @TiaKofi’s look on the FPR this week. This shows the power of drag to educate and teach. I’m still learning and growing as a person, so thank you Tia for educating me about Alan Turing and his importance in history.” Tia replied: “I agree! Drag can definitely educate and teach. This is exactly why I chose to do a tribute to Alan Turing this week on Drag Race UK. I’m soooo happy more people are learning about his genius and [his] impact on all of our lives.” Tia, who lives in Nottingham, explains her choice: “My hero. Alan Turing was a genius. His work is thought to have reduced the war by years and saved so many lives. Despite his work, he was prosecuted in 1952 simply for being gay. He received a posthumous royal pardon in 2013, the same year homosexuality

was fully decriminalised in the UK. That’s only eight years ago. Read up on your history, support others in their struggle and learn about the continuing fight towards equality.” BANK OF ENGLAND IN 2019, then-Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced that Alan Turing will appear on the new £50 polymer note, a switch from paper money. Turing was chosen from 227,299 nominations, covering 989 eligible characters. The bank note will begin circulation on June 23, the mathematician’s birthday. “Alan Turing was an outstanding mathematician whose work has had an enormous impact on how we live today. As the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, as well as a war hero, Alan Turing’s contributions were far ranging and path breaking. Turing is a giant on whose shoulders so many now stand,” Carney said. “Turing was embraced for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay,” the UK’s intelligence agency GCHQ Director Jeremy Fleming told BBC.com. “His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive.” ■

Quarantine shifts focus from makeup to skin care BEING in quarantine has shifted the interest of beauty enthusiasts from makeup to skin care. The availability of more skin-care brands on e-commerce platforms, such as Lazada and Shopee has given people access to products that can’t be found in store shelves. Limited access to salons and aesthetic centers have also compelled people to DIY beauty treatments, from hair color and mani-pedis to facials. While sales of makeup are low, skin care is booming. French beauty giant L’Oréal, for instance, reported a 22-percent increase in sales of its skin-care products in the first quarter of 2021. L’Oréal sees a demand for skin-care products that are high quality and high safety, recommended by dermatologists and at accessible price points. These include products from brands like Cerave. TikTok has also contributed to the growing interest in skin care. Brands like Cerave, Neogen and Dr. Jart have become even more popular because of TikTok. In quarantine, our skin-care needs and concerns also changed. Most of us wanted to look younger instead of fairer, and also dewier instead of matte. Meanwhile, some of us had maskne and stress-related breakouts. Here’s a rundown of the skin-care products we’ve been loving since the pandemic started. All three products can be used on their own or combined with others. ■ SHISEIDO ULTIMUNE POWER INFUSING CONCENTRATE. One bottle of Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate is sold every seven seconds. This product has won over 179 beauty awards globally since it first launched in 2014. I’ve loved this even pre-pandemic but in quarantine, it has become an essential. Ultimune is a non-comedogenic, paraben-free and mineral oil-free pre-serum that’s been improved with Shiseido’s proprietary ImuGeneration Technology. This technology is a blend of antioxidant-rich Reishi mushroom and iris root extracts. The product claims to help strengthen skin, restore firmness and defend against daily damage. This pre-serum also contains an exclusive Ultimune Complex of Bulgarian rose water and yeast extract that claims to protect and strengthen skin against the signs of aging, while a powerful blend of gingko biloba leaf extract, shiso and thyme is said to maintain healthy-looking skin. I consider this an essential not only for anti-aging purposes but because it really makes my skin look and feel better. In quarantine, I’ve changed my skin-care routine so many times but Shiseido Ultimune is really

a constant. ■ ESTÉE LAUDER ADVANCED NIGHT REPAIR SERUM. This is another iconic product from an iconic brand with 22 bottles sold per minute. Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair was relaunched last year with the exclusive Chronolux Power Signal Technology, which boosts the skin’s cell renewal and collagen production processes. The new formula is based on years of epigenetic research led by The Estée Lauder Companies Vice President, Skin Biology and BioActives Global Research and Development Dr. Nadine Pernodet. This research was inspired by the late Dr. Paolo Sassone-Corsi, an epigenetic expert. Dr. Sassone-Corsi, who was director of the Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism in the University of California, said only 25 percent of aging is predetermined by genes, while the remaining 75 percent is influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors. The new technology behind ANR involves the natural synchronization of nighttime skin renewal and maximizes the skin’s natural night and day repair and protection rhythm.

What I like about Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum is that it works for day or night, and is OK under makeup. In fact, there’s a hack where you mix this with loose powder and it makes you look polished if your skin is already relatively good. Another good thing about this product is that it works in any weather. ■ DR. JART+ CICAPAIR CREAM. This isn’t the TikTokfamous Cicapair Re-cover SPF 40/PA++ CC Cream. That one I have not used yet. I bought the Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Cream when I was having skin sensitivity issues last year. This cream comes from Dr. Jart+’s popular Cicapair line which contains the Centella Asiatica (Tiger Grass) complex to calm sensitive skin, reduce redness and soothe irritation. This cream is very rich but not to the point of greasiness. I still don’t use this during the day though and much prefer it at night as a moisturizer. It has no scent and absorbs quickly. If you have extremely dry skin, you’d probably need a thicker moisturizer. This cream works better for sensitive skin that’s prone to redness than on dry skin. When we’re no longer compelled to stay at home, I’d love to try the Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Re-cover SPF 40/PA++ CC Cream and see if it would work under makeup.

ALAN TURING (from left) on the Bank of England £50 note BANKOFENGLAND. CO.UK; Tia Kofi

paying tribute to Alan Turing on Rupaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2; Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game WENN.COM

SMOCK dress with ethnicinspired blue and white prints

PRINTED palazzo pants worn with a white tank top.

THE SPIRIT OF SUMMER

WHILE traveling to your dream destination is currently on hold, you can still add a bit of sunshine to your wardrobe with Kultura’s summer collection. Capture the spirit of summer with the perfect sundress—pretty smock dresses, breezy umbrella dresses—in exotic tropical prints and colors that highlight everything bright and beautiful. There are also ethnic-inspired wrap pants worn with tank tops that make stylish statements. For men, there are linen tops in graphic prints and Aztec designs that will keep them cool and casual during sizzling summer days. Perfect for lounging at home, taking time out at the family farm, or shopping for essentials in the city, the Loungewear collection is available at Kultura Stores which can be had via www.kulturafilipino. com or the Call to Deliver service (09175174096). The brand ships overseas, as well.

COOL and casual white linen top with sea turtle print.

B6 Monday, April 19, 2021

The summer of luxury continues

O fill your days with incredible luxury and amazing new experiences as you get back on the road again, Lexus is giving exclusive rewards and exciting limited offers for the month of April. Lexus is turning up the heat by offering its customers sizzling deals on its ES 350 and LS 500 (2020 model) sedans. Summer is now in full swing and these models await their next adventure with you. With an enticing 30% downpayment, 24-month term, and 0% interest, you can look forward to more amazing new experiences behind the wheel. The Lexus ES 350 (SRP P4,478,000) is an expression of the new generation of Lexus vehicles which offer an exciting driving experience coupled with unparalleled luxury. When it was first introduced, it instituted a fresh era of design and performance. The engineering

team had one clear goal when it came to the ES: Turn a sedan known primarily for comfort and quietness into one that is equally capable of delivering classleading handling and power that you can feel and hear. The ES is built on the GA-K platform, which demonstrates high torsional rigidity and a low center of gravity. It also features a sleek and bold exterior, a spacious, plush interior, and exciting driving performance--all longstanding Lexus trademarks. The new platform/powertrain combination delivers flawless silky, smooth ride comfort, inheriting and further enhancing the DNA of past ES models. With sharp handling response and rock-solid stability, the ES exemplifies the successful pairing of two contradictory ideas—its smooth, silky ride yet sharp handling.

Lexus ES continues the expression of the brand's design direction and commitment towards crafting vehicles with heightened excitement, emotion, and passion expanding that vision of the brand's future to a broader audience. Traditional buyers will find the new ES more spacious, quieter, and safer than ever before while a new generation of customers will be introduced to a sedan with sharpened performance, classleading safety technology, and a level of craftsmanship rarely found in this segment. To learn more about this promotion visit the Lexus website at https://fal. cn/3eHlv or visit our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram @lexusmanila To arrange a consultation with your personal sales consultant, visit the Lexus Remote page at https://www.lexus.com. ph/en/lexus-remote.html

CHAMBER OF THRIFT BANKS VIRTUAL COURTESY CALL ON THE BANGKO SENTRAL CHIEF. The 2021 Board of Trustees of CTB made a virtual courtesy call on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno (top left). The visit is in line with the 2021 CTB national convention slated on October 12, 2021 with the theme “Thrift Banks: Moving Forward to the Next Normal,” where the Governor is the keynote speaker. With Governor Diokno in photo are (top row, from left) CTB president Cecilio San Pedro (Sterling Bank of Asia), first vice-president Jose Ma. Lopez-Vito III (Isla Bank), second vice-president Francisco Dizon (Sun Savings Bank), secretary Maria Cristina Go (BPI Family Savings Bank) and treasurer Alberto Emilio Ramos (Malayan Bank); (second row from left) auditor Mary Jane Perreras (CARD SME Bank), trustee and past president Amb. Alfredo Yao (Philippine Business Bank); trustees Jose Vicente Alde (Philippine Savings Bank), Luis Chua (Bank of Makati) and Margaret Ruth Florete (Queen City Development Bank); (third row from left) trustees Roman Leus (LOLC Bank Phils.), Argeo Melisimo (First Consolidated Bank), Jerome Minglana (BanKo, a Subsidiary of BPI), trustee and convention chair Lorenzo Ocampo (City Savings Bank), trustee Maria Consorcia Tamayo (University Savings Bank), executive director Suzanne Felix and consultant Benjamin Yambao.

INC to hold Lingap Covid-19 Relief Drive in NCR Plus

HE Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) is stepping up its Covid-19 pandemic assistance by allocating close to P10 million worth of relief goods to cities and provinces in the NCR Plus bubble, a Church official said on April 18, 2021. INC‘s humanitarian drive, under its Lingap sa Mamamayan program, will distribute “goody bags” to densely populated areas most affected by the corona virus starting April 18, 2021 until April 30, 2021. “Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo and the entire INC continue to act on the spirit of Bayanihan that our government is spearheading. We as a Church will do our share in providing assistance to our countrymen in need – those who have lost jobs, those who need food and basic supplies, those who need upliftment during this ongoing health emergency,” said Bro. Glicerio P. Santos IV of the INC's Finance Department. Santos IV explained that they are partnering and closely coordinating with the respective local government units of the beneficiary areas for an organized and targeted distribution of goods. The initial phase of the Lingap initiative, with an allocated budget of Php 9.8M, will involve the following LGUs and provinces in the NCR Plus bubble: Quezon City (Php 1.6M worth of goody bags), Manila (Php 500T), Caloocan (Php 500T), Las Piñas (Php 300T), Makati (Php

300T), Malabon (Php 300T), Mandaluyong (Php 300T), Marikina (Php 300T), Muntinlupa (Php 300T), Navotas (Php 300T), Parañaque (Php 300T), Pasay (Php 300T), Pasig (Php 300T), Pateros (Php 300T), San Juan (Php 300T), Taguig (Php 300T), Valenzuela (Php 300T), Rizal (Php 1M), Laguna (Php 500T), Cavite (Php 500T) and Bulacan (Php 1M). “We're driven by our Executive Minister Manalo's malasakit sa kapwa. He is our guide and inspiration in the entire assistance effort. This is only the first phase of our Covid Lingap. More are planned immediately after this one. We are finalizing the contents of the goody bags but they will definitely include food and hygiene items and possibly basic medical supplies,” Santos IV stressed. The INC official pointed out that the current Lingap is a continuation of the series of humanitarian initiatives supervised by former General Auditor Bro. Glicerio B. Santos, Jr. for several years. Successful Lingap and Aid to Humanity campaigns had been held throughout the Philippines, in various parts of Asia, Africa, Australia-New Zealand, the American continent and in Europe. The Iglesia Ni Cristo said it will focus its resources this time on local needs, as the country continues to battle the Covid-19 virus.

Savor the taste of two cultures: Blending PH mango with Thai Mango Sticky Rice

Globe At Home’s new postpaid plans come with free COVID-19 insurance

T is not uncommon knowledge that the internet has become more central in every Filipino household since the country went into lockdown more than a year ago. From work and school to doctor consultations and the way movies are premiered these days— everything has gone digital in the name of keeping everyone safe from the deadly virus that has so far taken almost 3 million lives worldwide. Needless to say, the need for faster and more reliable connection in every home has never been more essential, and as a response to this, Globe At Home has, for months now, been working on providing Filipinos just

this. The company recently announced the launch of UNLI FIBER UP, its enhanced postpaid broadband plans. Each plan under this new line has, of course, upgraded speed. But more than that, what’s really fascinating are the freebies that come with it. Frontlining the free modern essentials that come with every new Unli Fiber Up plan is a medical insurance for Covid-19 and Dengue via GInsure. Fulfilled in partnership with digital life insurer, Singlife, the added perk provides subscribers with GCash assistance medical coverage of up to PhP140,500 for three months. In addition to this, Unli Fiber Up

plans also gives subscribers access to 24/7 online doctor consultation via KonsultaMD, as well as 3-month subscription to streaming services, Viu Premium, HBO Go, and Amazon Prime Video. “Unli Fiber Up represents Globe At Home’s leveled-up commitment to help the nation win against Covid-19 and its ripple effects,” shares Barbie Dapul, VP for Marketing of Globe At Home. “We continue to reinvent not just our offerings, but also how we operate in order to effectively respond to new challenges. I am proud to say that now—more than ever—Globe at Home is Powered by Care. And we shall continue to move towards that direction in the days to come.” The telco provider believes that in the case of the new reality we live in, winning starts at home, so they designed the new Unli Fiber Up postpaid plans to make it easier for everyone to power through despite all the odds. “We understand the worries of our customers as they go through the new normal. That's why our efforts have been geared towards levelling up customer experience with proactive care at the core of everything we do. More than connectivity, we aim for reliability and consistency in our services—from application to retention—to give them the best care they deserve,” says Darius Delgado, Globe VP and head of Broadband Business. To learn more, visit https://www. globe.com.ph/broadband. Download the Globe At Home app and follow on Facebook.

T’S official: summer is finally here. And with it, we’re always on the hunt for something sweet to energize us. One refreshing treat that you can whip up at home is your own version of Thai Mango Sticky Rice. This dessert gives you a taste of Thailand’s authentic flavors, and with the help of Royal Umbrella and its fragrant aromas and distinct textures, you’ll definitely enjoy it even more. Also known as Khao Neaw Mamuang, Thai Mango Sticky Rice combines the sweetness of ripe mangoes and the creaminess of coconut milk with glutinous (or sticky) rice. Now that Philippine Mangoes are in season and Royal Umbrella is available nationwide, you can easily infuse two cultures into one plate and elevate the experience. Royal Umbrella uses Hom Mali Rice, long-grains that are harvested only once a year from the best rice fields in Thailand. These top-grade grains are known for their distinct Jasmine fragrance and fluffy texture when cooked. A Safe, Clean, and Quality Choice. Royal Umbrella is sourced from the finest natural resources, and the quality of the grains is sustained through advanced technology that keeps them safe and clean. It is quickly becoming a preferred choice for Filipinos as it’s contaminant-free. Aside from Thai Hom Mali Rice (Royal Umbrella Red), you can also choose between Thai Jasmine Rice (Royal

Umbrella Green) or Fragrant Rice (Royal Umbrella Orange). All products are now available in all local supermarkets in the Philippines and online via LazMart on Lazada. Royal Umbrella Red is sold in selected branches of Rustan’s Supermarket, Landers, Tropical, All Day, and Shopwise.

18th Quill recognizes FEU and its students for successfully transitioning to flexible and adaptive online learning

AR Eastern University (FEU) has long pioneered adaptive learning in the Philippines and is known as one of the first institutions to adopt Canvas, a premier Learning Management System used by Yale, Stanford, and Harvard. As a result, FEU was well-equipped to deal with the challenges brought about by distance learning, as evidenced by the award-winning FEU Learning Journey, along with award-winning student-led projects and initiatives. FEU bagged a total of six Quill Awards honoring exemplary communication research, programs, skills, and creative works of professionals and students measured by International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)’s global standards. Merit Award for FEU Learning Journey. FEU won a merit award for its response to the educational challenges brought by lockdowns across the country. The FEU Learning Journey was designed to provide a more holistic online learning environment by focusing on a student’s purpose, capability, resourcefulness, connectedness, and culture and takes into account each individual student’s learning capacity and resources. Professional and Student Category: Excellence and Merit Awards for Tatak Tamaraw. FEU also won an award for its annual Tatak Tamaraw program. Designed to welcome freshmen and instill pride in the Tamaraw spirit and promote safe and inclusive learning spaces,

Tatak Tamaraw was fully experienced online in 2020. FEU student Thomas Jefferson Cauzon also won a Merit Award for his role as project coordinator. Excellence Award for CovidComms2020 – MULAT 2.0: Visual Communication Exhibit 2020. FEU student Airam Tanparia won for his entry to the Visual Communication Exhibit of the FEU Department of Communication. With the theme, Visual Expressions of Quarantine, the exhibition was an initiative that encouraged students to create visual art projects and expand their artistic endeavors while tackling the nation’s struggles in a pandemic. Merit Award for Fact Check 101: A Video Campaign to Combat Fake News. Students John Vernard DM Valiente, Steven Kyle Bilgera Poblete, Nickey Zacate, Juan Pablo Parian, Lovely Joy Baylosis, Angela Busayong, and Shane Trisha Tan won for their video campaign to combat fake news. Fact Check 101 aimed to educate students on how to evaluate news stories. Merit Award for CovidComms2020 - ‘Proyekto Para sa Bata: Laro’t Kaalaman sa Panahon ng Epidemya. Students Mariel Neral, Ira Teresa Bautista, Irra Bulalacao, Jeannine De Polonia, and Vincent Umali won for the social media campaign, which highlights students’ dedication to help out and speak up on the pressing issues of the country. To know more about the different initiatives of FEU, check out its official Facebook page.

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Monday, April 19, 2021 B7

Working with patient groups in addressing vaccine hesitancy

PR Matters

By Karen Alparce-Villanueva

T has been a year since the pandemic devastated the entire world and patient groups stand with the global community in its fight against Covid-19. So many things have happened amid the tragic loss of lives as well as the impact on our families, our livelihood, and our health including our emotional and mental well-being. Now that we have regulators licensing several vaccines, we need to ensure that our patient groups can support the immunization programs in national unity and global solidarity. Through patient engagement and co-creation we can have safe, quality, accessible and patient-centered vaccination programs globally. Today, in many parts of the world including the Philippines, the Covid-19 vaccination program has been rolled out and while supply issues still persist, vaccine hesitancy is now the next biggest hurdle facing many countries. The WHO defines vaccine hesitancy as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services.” In 2019, the WHO identified it as a top threat to global health. It is a continuum ranging from complete acceptance to complete refusal. A Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy in the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies further defines it as: A behavior, influenced by a number of factors including issues of confidence [do not trust vaccine or provider], complacency [do not perceive a need for a vaccine, do not value the vaccine], and convenience [access]. We need to ensure that our pa-

Awards: PAGEONE CEO appointed judge in Golden World Awards of IPRA

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—The United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra) has appointed Ron F. Jabal, APR as one of the international judges in the 2021 Golden World Awards (GWA)—one of the most prestigious awards for PR campaigns in the world. Mr. Jabal is the chairman and CEO of PAGEONE Group which has been awarded its 5th Agency of the Year last March 2020 by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines. This is Mr. Jabal’s third time to join global communications leaders

the annual Ipra GWA which recognizes excellence in public relations practice worldwide in a variety of categories. Recipients of the award take particular pride in the recognition granted to their entry as meeting international standards of excellence in public relations. Jabal has more than 25 years of professional experience in public relations. He currently manages the five-year old award-winning communications consulting agency, PAGEONE Group that has already won five Agency of the Year Awards; has helped clients win four Grand Anvil Awards and three Platinum Award from the Public Relations Society of the Philippines. PAGEONE won Asean Agency of the Year Award in Malaysia in 2019. To date, the agency has already been recognized in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada and the Philippines with more than 200 metals.

tient groups can support the immunization programs in national unity and global solidarity. Around the world, FEAR has paralyzed the vaccine landscape and in the Philippines, the Deng ue vacc ine cont roversy h a s damaged the government’s vaccination program. According to data from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2018) in 2015, there was 93-percent acceptance or agreement on the importance of vaccines. In 2018, vacc i ne con f idence dropped to 32 percent. Patient organizations now have a critical role to play to counter Covid-19 related infodemic and reduce the vaccine hesitation by become effective advocates and messengers. What are the ways to increase vaccine confidence?

tancy ensuring they are confident to communicate effectively Covid-19 vaccines. Creatively use all media channels especially social media and use all available languages and dialects when possible. Provide platforms where people can ask questions and address their anxieties. When information is not available, explain that it is so and don’t assume that the public cannot comprehend these. Ask the help of patient groups and the public to act responsibly and ensure that only information from reliable sources are posted or shared.

Engage other stakeholders

Invest in running surveys and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)to establish the Vaccine Confidence level so that issues are surfaced. Once information about the cause of distrust as well as the stakeholders who enjoy a high level of trust, it will be easier to plan the communication and messaging about the vaccination program.

Look beyond the public health community in order to gain support and expand the sphere of influence. Work with trusted influencers—from national and international celebrities, to socialmedia influencers to convey information and facilitate dialogue in compelling ways. Remember that it is not always obvious who is locally trusted. In the Philippines, Church leaders are effective influencers and will be important for building public trust and confidence, especially where vaccine confidence is already low.

Communicate to build trust

Monitor

Establish baseline trust levels

Communicate with transparency in the planning and implementation of the vaccination program by engaging patient groups and the community. Work with frontline health-care workers, including non-biomedical health providers to address vaccine hesi-

Mr. Jabal is also a globally recognized PR professional serving as Lead, Crisis and Risk Management Working Group of the Asia Pacific Association of Communications Directors and a thought leader of the UK-based International Public Relations Association. He is also a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators. He was President of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines in 2016. He is currently finishing PhD in Sociology at Dela Salle University Manila and has just been accepted to pursue a research-based PhD in Business Management at the Swiss School of Management. In December 2020, the PAGEONE executive was recognized as People of the Year 2020 in the Golden Flag Awards (GFA)—the most prestigious award giving body for public relations and communication professionals in China.

Continuously collect and analyze feedback from communities to understand emerging and evolving misconceptions, rumors and concerns. In parallel, monitor perceptions of the vaccination campaigns and of the vaccination experience.

The GFA People of the Year Award is bestowed on visionary, strategic, and innovative communication professional elites who lead the development of PR and communication professions in China and the Asia-Pacific. Winners were chosen among nominees based on their contributions, achievements, reputation, team influence, PR thoughts, and innovations in the marketing field.

People: Ripple8 executive promotion, Mich Ople is now Managing Partner

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Integrated PR solutions agency Ripple8 recently announced the promotion of Michelle “Mich” Ople to managing partner. Joining Ripple8 nearly four years ago as media relations and activations director and concurrently serving as such, Ople is a familiar name in the quad media of TV, radio, print,

Co-create solutions with patient groups

Now is the time to increase dialogue and planning with patient groups and advocates, especially what vaccine deployment may look like, especially when there are complexities of multiple vaccines and working in different ways. Patient organizations can engage their broadcast and social media effectively and work on deploying our members, networks and other social capital to support the national and global immunization programs.

Tripartite partnership to boost vaccine confidence

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the International Public Relations Association (Ipra), and the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) have joined forces to provide a platform for collaboration between the government and the private sector on vaccine acceptance. A webinar aptly called Vax Populi: Driving Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance will be featuring medical experts from the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), the Department of Health and Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat Communications Advocacy. Tomorrow April 20, from 4 pm to 6 pm, learn from the experts by registering via this link: https://docs. google.com/forms/d/1OZ8uxOf86

and online. Her many years as a journalist proved instrumental in continuing to build relationships with Ripple8’s media partners and clients at a time of shelved campaigns and curtailed budgets since the pandemic started in 2020. Ople also plays an important role in Ripple8’s Crisis Management team where she helps assess and manage issues with immediate, data-based recommendations and media intelligence. More recently, Ople helped expand Ripple8’s media coverage to the international community for the Department of Tourism (DOT), helping build strategies to keep the country’s tourism sector relevant to targeted emerging markets. This, despite the current lull in leisure travel, is made possible through strategic relationshipbuilding initiatives, and innovative visits using virtual technology and other efforts.

UN597rvRvGXOZT_tJV-VySNGB 4 Yn 0 - r 0 N c / v i e w f o r m? f b c l id= IwA R 1 B MG 0 F S r z o R z Wc q7 f Ft f BiGk a RY UQ g g Q n F Y S V M 2 h U U 5 -7 W C I q k b A - 9 n O A & e d i t requested=true#responses. Attending this webinar and cascading our learnings will help boost vaccine confidence. Accepting vaccination will lead us to herd immunity and the path towards ending this pandemic. After all, no one is safe until everyone is safe. PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Karen AlparceVillanueva is a board member of the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO), the global alliance of patient organizations based in the UK and treasurer of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO), the national alliance of disease-specific patient groups in the country. She is also a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Immunization Coalition (APIC) which is advocating vaccine acceptance in the region. We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

“Mich has been an integral part of Ripple8’s strategic growth and continued success by fortifying our relationships with media to the extent that what we have with them are no longer transactional, but rather personal—almost familial—relations. And this benefits not just us, but our clients,” said Ripple8 Head and Managing Director Bobby Vito. “This promotion is merely a formality. In the years that I’ve worked with her, she has acted like a partner long before she received the title.” The public relations arm of DDB Group Philippines, Ripple8 is one of the most sought-after PR firms in the country, with a clientele that includes energy and water utilities, telecom, QSRs, consumer staples, beverages, mass transportation, airlines, healthcare, banking and finance, resorts and hotels, government agencies, and even the globally famed Miss Universe Organization.

Sports

KO COMPLETES SURGE, SASO TIES FOR 6TH SPOT

BusinessMirror

| Monday, April 19, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

APOLEI, Hawaii—Lydia Ko is golfing like she is a kid again. In other words, she’s tough to beat. No one came close at this week’s Lotte Championship. Ko torched Kapolei Golf Club and tournament records in the process. A final-round 65 Saturday left her at 28-under 260 and seven shots ahead of everybody. It brought back vivid memories of the teenager from New Zealand who became the youngest golfer—female or male—to rise to No. 1 the world in 2015. She is the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s (LPGA) youngest-ever winner, major winner, Rookie and Player of the Year.

DEPUTY House Speaker Mikee Romero (1Pacman Partylist) wants to cleanse sports of manipulators.

Romero disgusted over controversial VisMin Cup game

ORMER amateur basketball “godfather” Mikee Romero said players, coaches and officials involved in the controversial VisMin Super Cup match between the LapuLapu City and Siquijor should be meted the severest possible penalty under the law once proven guilty of game fixing. Romero, who represents 1Pacman Partylist in the House of Representatives where he is a Deputy Speaker, said the players showed utter disrespect to the sport closest to the heart of Filipinos “so they deserve to be fined and banned from competing in any league at all.” “For showing disgraceful acts the players, staff, officials and the persons behind these shenanigans must be severely punished,” said Romero, who is vigorously batting for the passage of a measure imposing penalties on game fixing. “They have no place in Philippine sports, basketball in particular,” added Romero, who was also aghast with what he saw in the game where both teams, especially the Siquijor Mystics, dubiously missed free throws. In video clips that circulated in social media

after that game last Wednesday in Alcantara, Cebu, one player even failed to convert an open layup. Romero is also calling on all law enforcement agencies to step up their investigation on the controversy. “What transpired in the VisMin Cup is tarnishing the image of Philippine sports,” he said. While Romero admits that it will take time before one could be proven guilty of such horrible act, the House members, he said, already approved on third and final reading a bill on game fixing with a vote of 211-0. House Bill 8870, which Romero authored, seeks to protect the integrity of any sport because of the proliferation of enterprising individuals who want to make money through manipulation of results of matches. The bill, according to Romero, covers pro and amateur sports. Convicted game fixers, according to Romero, will suffer three to six years of imprisonment and be fined from P1 million to P5 million. The league expelled the Siquijor Mystics while several players and officials of the LapuLapu Heroes were fined and suspended.

LYDIA KO is in her best elements as Yuka Saso finds herself inside the top 10. AP

PBA looks at June to open 46th season

By Josef Ramos

HE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) meets online on Monday to tackle crucial issues foremost of them a potential June opening for the league’s 46th season. Commissioner Willie Marcial told BusinessMirror on Sunday that the league is now looking at a June opening—still with a two-conference format—after the implementation of the enhanced community

quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ prevented them from an initial April 18 start. “I think we can start by the first week of June depending on the situation and the result of our meeting,” said Marcial as he remained optimistic the PBA could hold an All-Filipino and an import-laded second conference this year despite the rising Covid-19 cases. The governors, Marcial added, will also discuss whether they will again go into a bubble or a closed-circuit environment (home-gymhome), as well as on the progress of the PBA’s intention to secure vaccines. League chairman Ricky Vargas of

Ko, who turns 24 next Saturday, won 14 times in her first 81 starts, including twice as an amateur in 2012 and 2013. But she had only won once since—three years ago—until Saturday. “When it doesn’t happen you do doubt,” Ko said. “If I said I didn’t doubt myself at all it would be a lie. I wondered if I’d ever be back in the winners’ circle, but obviously I’m grateful for all that’s happened in my career so far.” “It’s been a fun week in Hawaii and to be back in this position is obviously super cool,” she added. Ko came up three strokes shy of the LPGA record of 31 under. That was set by Sei Young Kim, who finished tied with Inbee Park, 22-year-old Nelly Korda and Irish rookie Leona Maguire at 267. Park and Kim, both from South Korea, are ranked 2-3 in the world and Korda is fourth. Kim beat Park in a Lotte playoff six years ago, while Maguire was in the midst of a brilliant college career at Duke. Park, who vacationed in Hawaii as a child, now has five Top-Five finishes at Lotte, but no wins. With her 63, she shared low-round honors Saturday with Jenny Shin. Shin tied for sixth another two shots back with Wei-Ling Hsu, Sarah Schmelzel, reigning US Women’s Open champ A Lim Kim and 19-year-old Yuka Saso, making her sixth LPGA start. Saso led after two rounds. Ko and Korda surged ahead Friday, with Ko’s 21 under score after 54 holes a shot better than Lotte’s 72-hole tournament record. That was set at Ko Olina Golf Club, which hosted Lotte its first eight years. Saso closes out with a 70, an improvement TNT Tropang Giga will convene the online meeting at 1 p.m. Rain or Shine co-team owner Raymond Yu said he doesn’t want to be pessimistic, but stressed he wanted to see his players to be back in action soon. “We have an obligation to the fans and the country,” Yu said. “I don’t want to give a time line, but I want to see Season 46 to start as soon as possible because I am really excited.” But Yu admmited that he doubts an import-laden conference could still be played this year. Terrafirma governor Bobby Rosales, also the league’s vice chairman, said the league should ideally start in May but not later than June.

Multibillion-dollar test of survival amid lingering Covid-19 pandemic By Paul Newberry The Associated Press

N 1964, less than two decades removed from World War II, Japan used the Summer Olympics to showcase its astonishing recovery from a horrific defeat. It was an undeniable triumph for the host nation. This time, the Tokyo Games will be a multibillion-dollar test of survival in the midst of a lingering pandemic. Despite the mixed messages coming from top officials, not to mention the steadfast opposition of the vast majority of Japanese citizens, these Olympics will take place this summer. There’s too much money at stake for there to be any other outcome. But it’s clear this will be an Olympics in name only, stripped of the joy and charm and lofty ideals that make it a tradition unlike any other (sorry, Masters), leaving only the stench of well-deserved cynicism. Forget about tens of thousands of people from every corner of the globe transforming the streets of Tokyo into a potpourri of humanity. Foreign fans are not allowed. Forget about the athletes hanging around to absorb the culture and cuisine of the hosts once their competitions are over. They’re being told to arrive late and get out of town as soon as possible. (Of course, Ryan Lochte probably wishes he had followed that advice in Rio.) Forget about the stories that would’ve been shared in the years to come—the frenzied bartering of the pin traders, the embarrassed remembrances of far too much money dropped in the Olympic superstore, the chance encounter that opened your heart to someone who looked and sounded different. For Katie Ledecky, one of the most

enduring memories of her two previous Olympics was having NBA stars from the US men’s basketball team turn up in the stands when she was swimming for gold. In 2016, it was Kevin Durant, Kyle Lowry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan who transformed into awestruck fans as they cheered on Ledecky and Michael Phelps. Afterward, they all posed for pictures. “They typically come to at least one of our sessions at the Olympics,” Ledecky said ruefully. “I know this year it probably won’t be able to happen.” With coronavirus cases surging in Japan, the prospect of canceling an Olympics that already has been pushed back a year was raised again this week by a leading politician. Toshihiro Nikai, the No. 2 person in the ruling political party, was asked during an interview if cancellation was still an option. “Of course,” he replied, adding that if the Tokyo Games piled on to the misery already wreaked by Covid-19 “there would be no meaning to having the Olympics.” But the swiftness with which Nikai backtracked and a bunch of other powerful officials jumped in to say his comments were off the mark only solidified the reality that these games are going forward—no matter what happens in the next three months. “There are a variety of concerns but as the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee we are not thinking about canceling the games,” said Seiko Hashimoto, who heads up the Tokyo organizing committee. But Hashimoto acknowledged that Nikai has a right to be concerned, and that sort of thinking is right in line with a Japanese public that has polled as high as 80 percent against holding the Olympics during the pandemic.

GAMES mascot Miraitowa poses with a display of the Olympic symbol after an unveiling ceremony on Mt. Takao in Hachioji to mark 100 days before the start of the Olympics. AP

on the 71 she carded in the third round. The Jakarta 2018 Asian Games gold medalist nailed five burdies to somehow offset a double-bogey six at No. 13 and a bogey at the par-three No. 4. It was Saso’s best finish in the LPGA Tour, having tied for 13th place in last year’s US Open. The two-time Japan LPGA winner pocketed $54,848 (around P2.6 million). It wasn’t a huge surprise. In Ko’s last round two weeks ago she closed the ANA Inspiration, the year’s first major, with a 62. In her last 100 holes she has just one bogey. Korda struggled early and when Ko missed a long birdie putt at No. 8 she was three shots ahead. That flipped a switch. She birdied the next four holes and six of her last 10. She was flawless, again. Low rounds were common this week, but no one came close to catching Ko, who tried to “keep it simple” and admitted she was inspired by Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth’s recent wins. “I think I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I know there were expectations,” Ko acknowledged. “I slept great last night. I just said, ‘Hey, my fate is already chosen.’ I’m just going to play the best golf I can today. I hung in there.” Ko’s $300,000 first prize pushes her over $11.5 million for her career. “I think it’s a great on her,” Park said. “She definitely had her really good times and she really definitely struggled in the middle there, and to come back strong like this is great to see.” Canada’s Brooke Henderson, who won the last two Lotte championships, finished in a tie for 27th. AP

RICK OLIVARES bleachersbrew@gmail.com

BLEACHERS’ BREW

Missing the point THE events that transpired at the VisMin Cup bubble last April 14 leave more questions than answers. As everyone knows, the match between Lapu Lapu City and Siquijor was suspended with the former leading, 27-13, in the second quarter. That match was marred by deliberately missed free throws, layups and bizarre turnovers. Were the match not shown on livestream, it might have gone unnoticed. But the comments and diatribes on social media brought so much attention to the league—just not the kind they wanted. The next day, the VisMin Cup kicked out the Siquijor team while fining and suspending some of the coaches and players of Lapu Lapu. Two days after that infamous match, the league announced that two of the Siquijor players were absolved of any wrong doing as they were not present during the match. And currently, some of the Siquijor players are appealing the decision handed down on them. Names have been dropped and reported in media and no doubt, this will hound all participants for the rest of their lives. While Filipinos are said to have short memories, there will always be that doubt. I have no idea how they conduct their business but I would surmise they would watch the tape of the game with both teams so they can explain, offer their excuses and rebuttals on the spot. Then after that, deliberate and make their decisions on what happens. Instead, a blanket decision was made that I think makes the league look unprofessional. Coming out with statements and decisions that aren’t equitable or correct or even a lack thereof do not help one iota. As it is, what’s next? Was an investigation done into this alleged match fixing? Where does this lead to? Don’t you want to find out where it leads to? How come we never heard from Siquijor especially whoever owns the team? In fact, who are the team owners? We heard they are young people. This reminds me of another local league which have problems of their own but there is a startling lack of transparency. After the events surrounding April 14’s match, I heard all sorts of whispers and rumors from people outside and on the ground but all off the record. And until it is clear, they remain just that— whispers and rumors. Why is it when these things happen, no one wants to confront the bull in the china shop? The idea of the VisMin Cup is something that everyone embraces. I like the fact that it provides opportunities for a lot more people. With the Philippines Basketball Association and the main collegiate leagues—University Athletic Association of the Philippines and National Collegiate Athletic Association—crowded beyond belief, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and the VisMin Cup provide more opportunities for coaches, players and staff to showcase their capabilities. People and sports organizations should make the most and get the best out of every opportunity. To be conferred by the Games and Amusements Board with a professional license to operate and to play is a privilege especially in this ongoing pandemic. I wonder how they missed that.