BusinessMirror August 03, 2021 by BusinessMirror

By Jun Lomibao

vault—a López (roundoff, back handspring with half turn entry and front layout somersault with half twist), but was near flawless in the second with a final-best 14.866—a Dragulescu (a handspring double front with half turn)—for a total 14.716 performance. South Korea’s Shin Jeahwan lived up to his billing and won the gold medal with 14.783, with Russian Olympic Committee’s Denis Ablizian settling for the silver also with 14.783 but with an inferior score in his second vault. Armenia’s Artur Davtyan snatched the bronze medal with 14.733. “I was that close,” said Yulo, the

Sports Editor

OKYO—Carlos Yulo came so close to clinching a medal in his Olympic debut, finishing fourth in the men’s pole vault final of gymnastics at an almost empty Ariake Gymnastics Centre. The culprit was a misstep in his landing in his first vault. “I went outside in my landing in my first vault,” said the 21-year-old Yulo, the youngest among the eight finalists. “Had I not done that, it would have helped me land a medal because I did better in my second vault.” Yulo earned 14.566 in his first

PETECIO

2019 men’s floor exercise world champion. “It’s really disappointing.” On Tuesday, all eyes will be on Nesthy Petecio as she steps atop the ring for the biggest fight of her life. Petecio shoots for the country’s second medal after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz when she battles Japanese Sena Irie in the women’s featherweight final at the Kokugikan Arena. The fight is set at 12:05 p.m. (Manila time). Also on Tuesday, Carlo Paalam eyes a slot in the men’s flyweight medal round when he battles Olympic and world champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan at 12:15 p.m. (Manila time).

TOKYO OLYMPICS MEDAL COUNT RANK

TEAM/NOC

People’s Republic of China

United States of America

GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL

Japan

Australia

ROC

Great Britain

France

Republic of Korea

Italy

Netherlands

Germany

New Zealand

Czech Republic

Canada

Switzerland

Croatia

PHILIPPINES

SOURCE: OLYMPICS.COM | AS OF AUGUST 2, 2021 | 8:15 P.M

Yulo misses bronze, out Petecio targets PHL’foe s 2nd gold Marcial knocks Armenian

COVID IMPACT HAUNTS PHL FACTORY GROWTH T

By Bianca Cuaresma

Tuesday, August 3, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 293

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages |

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Philippine manufacturing sector continued to expand in July, albeit at a slighter pace, as lingering effects of lockdowns continue to affect the industry. In its latest report on Philippines Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), global think tank IHS Markit said the

country posted a PMI of 50.4 in July, down from the 50.8 reading in June. Continued on A2

BOC BEATS 7-MO GOAL WITH P359.93-B TAKE By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P359.93 billion from January to July this year, breaching its target collection for the said period. The bureau exceeded its P345.584-billion goal for the seven-month period by 4.2 percent. The revenue collection from

January to July this year was also 18.83 percent above its actual collection of P302.91 billion in the same period in 2020. “Indeed, the bureau continues to prove the intensified collective efforts of all ports this year, not to mention, the improvement of the volume of importation while maintaining border security and trade facilitation,” the BOC said in a statement on Monday. See “BOC,” A2

Hundreds of people—mostly seafarers and cruise-ship workers and some arriving as early as 2 a.m.—wait in line to get vaccinated against Covid-19 at The Tent at Vista Global South. The events venue, converted into a vaccination site, is the biggest of Las Piñas City’s 15 vaccination sites. Amid the rising number of Delta variant cases in the country, the House Committee on Health will begin hearing a bill seeking to impose mandatory vaccination against the virus, but government has been advised to first make sure it is vaccinating as many people as possible. The country recorded over 8,000 Covid-19 cases for three straight days from Friday to Sunday. NONIE REYES

DOLE eyes ₧4-B funds to aid workers in ECQ By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

170 YEARS Manila Archbishop Jose Advincula is joined by BPI President and CEO TG Limcaoco in a special Holy Mass to celebrate BPI’s 170th anniversary on Monday. The service was held at the RCAM Chapel at Archdiocesan Chancery Arzobispado de Manila Building, and streamed live to BPI employees and stakeholders in compliance with community quarantine guidelines. Story on A2.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.2230

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is eyeing to tap its funds of around P4 billion for its emergency employment program to provide much-needed cash aid for people to be affected by the two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila. It issued the statement as the national government aims to finalize the guidelines for its cashaid program on Tuesday amid appeals from labor groups to release the assistance before the end of the week. In an online press briefing on

Monday, Labor Undersecretary Dominique R. Tutay disclosed they may have to use their remaining Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) to provide the financial aid. She said the budget would have been used to provide emergency employment to marginalized workers, including those displaced by natural calamities, until the end of the year. “ Technically, if there was no ECQ we would have allocated it for that. But if we will be allowed, we can reallocate if for the purpose [of cash aid],” Tutay said. Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4581 n UK 69.7999 n HK 6.4618 n CHINA 7.7721 n SINGAPORE 37.1060 n AUSTRALIA 36.8536 n EU 59.6097 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3917

Source: BSP (August 2, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, August 3, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Despite Avisado ailment, Palace Worst likely over for PHL banking, says BPI prexy sending ₧5-T NEP to solons soon

By Bianca Cuaresma

ALACAÑANG said on Monday it will soon be submitting to Congress its proposed P5-trillion 2022 National Expenditure Plan (NEP). Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado was able to finalize the NEP before going on sick leave after he was afflicted with Covid-19. “The National Expenditure Plan is already being printed for submission to Congress,” Roque said in an online press briefing last Monday. This was confirmed by the DBM, but it noted it has yet to determine when it will be sent to lawmakers for consideration. Roque noted the NEP is expected to contain the stimulus package to allow the economy to recover from

the business disruption caused by the Covid-19. The Palace official said it is also expected to contain funding to allow the Philippine Genome Center, which is responsible for detecting new variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), to expand its operation in Visayas and Mindanao.

No reason for delay

ALSO on Monday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he sees no valid reason to delay the traditionally early submission to Congress of the annual

budget for next year, amounting to P5.02 trillion for year 2022. Lacson, in a statement Monday, maintained that even with the physical absence of Avisado, the DBM has an “abundance of competent and capable” career undersecretaries and assistant secretaries who can “avail of existing telecommunication technology for his guidance and direction.” He added: “I thus cannot see any reason for delay of the constitutionally mandated 30-day period submission of the National Expenditure Program to Congress,” after President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address last July 26. Lacson asserted the same could be said of the simultaneous public hearings on the budget bill in the House Committee on Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, even as Avisado is still on sick bay. Last week, the DBM started seeking President Duterte’s approval on the proposed P5.024-trillion 2022 national budget, and submitted the

memorandum to the President to seek his approval on Monday, July 26, the same day of the SONA. Avisado told reporters then the memorandum highlights the important features of the 2022 NEP. “We are in the process of having the Memo for the President for the approva l of the NEP signed by PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte] first then we will prepare the President’s Budget Message and have the NEP printed out and thereafter submit it to Congress within the period prescribed by the Constitution,” he said. Avisado also vowed to submit the 2022 NEP to Congress within the deadline stipulated under the Constitution. The budget department has 30 days after the opening of the regular session of Congress to make the submission to lawmakers. This means the DBM needs to submit the 2022 NEP on or before August 25. Sam Medenilla, Bernadette D. Nicolas,

Butch Fernandez

DOLE eyes ₧4-B funds to aid workers in ECQ Continued from A1

She noted the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) instructed DOLE and other concerned government agencies to provide a

possible source of funding for the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to be given to ECQ-affected individuals. Last week, President Duterte decided to place the National

Capital Region (NCR) under ECQ from August 6 to 20, 2021, upon the recommendation of health experts following the spike in Covid-19 cases in the region. The surge in new infections is

being seen as fueled by the Delta variant of Covid-19.

Early release

THE latest round of lockdowns in NCR is expected to displace at least 127,000 workers based on the administrative displacement data of DOLE. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), however, said it could be as high as over 400,000. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the national government will provide a P1,000 cash aid for qualified individuals with a cap of P4,000 per household in NCR during the said period to help them cope with the movement restrictions under ECQ. Tutay said the cash aid will be provided for both permanently or temporarily displaced workers and other qualified groups. Labor coalition Nagkaisa appealed to the government for the prompt release of the cash aid to “enables families to efficiently prepare for weeks of forced quarantine.” “We can recognize how hard it is to mobilize government resources for recurring emergencies, but we also are aware of the fact that billions of funds under Bayanihan 1 and 2 remain unutilized and left to expire without serving their purpose. So, if funds are there, then ayuda can be walked faster,” Matula said. “Late payout of ayuda [cash aid], insufficient as they are, defeats the purpose of it being an emergency assistance,” he added. The expired Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1) and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan) contained the funding for the government’s Covid-related measures, including financial aid for ECQ-affected individuals. Previous releases of the aid were plagued with delays due to administrative and logistics issues from the government.

BOC…

Continued from A1

Despite the impact of the continuing logical restrictions forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, Customs also reported revenues amounting to P58.183 billion, or 8.2 percent higher than its P53.751-billion collection goal. This was also a jump of 16.8 per-

@BcuaresmaBM

HE worst is probably over for the local banking system, as lending activities are indicating signs of recovery in recent months, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) president Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said. In a virtual presser on the 170th anniversary of the bank, Limcaoco said the bank saw increased activity in several sectors of the economy which has translated to higher banking availments in recent months. “Is the worst over? I think it is. I think our borrowers have adjusted. We are looking at manageable NPL (non-performing loans) levels going into the end of the year and into next year,” Limcaoco said. The BPI President said their recent numbers showed that mobility and economic activity was picking up. “We saw mortgages growing, car loans were growing. We are beginning to see interest in both our credit card transactions and even SME (small and medium enterprises) are starting to pick up,” Limcaoco said.

Corporate loans, however, were still weak. Limcaoco traced this to the fact that they have raised a lot of capital during the pandemic year. Just last week, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the bank lending contraction slowed for the second consecutive month in June. Cent ra l Ba n k d at a showed that outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks decreased by 2 percent in June this year from its level in the same month last year. While still in contraction mode, this is slower than the 4 percent decrease seen in May this year. Limcaoco, however, said that the industry should still be wary of the delta variant’s entry into the Philippines, which forced renewed lockdowns across the country. “This ECQ [enhanced community quarantine] that we will go into starting on the sixth is a set back. But Godwilling, hopefully the setback isn’t too great. Then we can bounce back quickly,” the bank president said. “I think we can, as we get the vaccination program up to speed and the people to cooperate on the lockdowns,” he added.

DOH: Vaccination drive to proceed despite ECQ By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

HE Department of Health (DOH) has assured the public that the government’s antiCovid-19 vaccination drive would proceed even in areas that will be placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that those who are scheduled to be vaccinated during ECQ should only present their vaccination card to authorities.

“Those who will be vaccinated and have schedules will be exempted from these restrictions,” Vergeire said in an online media forum. During ECQ, the DOH official stressed that vaccinees would be considered as Authorized Persons Outside Residence or APOR.

Red Cross: No halt

PHILIPPINE Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and CEO Senator Richard J. Gordon also said that PRC will not stop its vaccination program even during the ECQ.

COVID IMPACT HAUNTS PHL FACTORY GROWTH A country’s PMI is meant to gauge the health of its manufacturing sector. It is calculated as a weighted average of five individual subcomponents. Readings below 50 show deterioration in the industry while readings above the 50 threshold signal a growth in the manufacturing sector. For the Philippines, this is the second consecutive month that the country’s PMI is in the growth territory. “The rate of job shedding eased to the softest since March, while firms continued to add to their pre- and post-production inventory holdings in anticipation of greater demand,” the report read. “Vaccination efforts, meanwhile, fueled an improvement in output expectations, with respondents often mentioning hopes of a return to normality over the coming year,” it added. The dip was attributed to virusrelated restrictions, which persisted in the country. “[This] contributed to weak domestic demand, and a general reluctance to spend in July. That said, the decline in new order volumes was broadly similar to that seen in June, and only marginal

overall. In contrast, international demand for Filipino manufactured goods rose for the third successive months, and at a modest pace amid improvements in global economic conditions,” the report read. IHS Markit Economist Shreeya Patel said although the Philippine manufacturing sector recorded another improvement in operating conditions during July, latest data revealed domestic demand and production levels were still impacted by the pandemic. “Meanwhile, case numbers have moderated somewhat from earlier on in the year, but are far from under control causing some restrictions to persist,” Patel added. “Yet, encouragingly, vaccination efforts have provided a boost to the future outlook, in turn prompting input buying and rising stock volumes. Employment levels fell only marginally despite sustained declines in production. Moreover, anecdotal evidence suggested that this was mostly the non-replacement of voluntary leavers rather than redundancies,” the economist added. Patel also said that domestic demand must improve throughout the second half of the year to help underpin the growth of the sector for the year.

cent from last year’s P49.82 billion. Fourteen of the 17 collection districts were able to hit their target, based on the preliminary report from the BOC-Financial Service. These are the Ports of San Fernando, Manila, Naia (Ninoy Aquino International Airport), Batangas, Legaspi, Tacloban, Surigao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Davao, Subic, Clark, Aparri and Limay. The BOC is targeting to collect

P616.7 billion this year. This is significantly higher by 21.84 percent than the downgraded target set for the BOC at P506.15 billion last year. The bureau’s total revenue collection last year reached P539.8 billion, above its full-year revenue collection target by 6.6 percent. The downgraded goal for BOC last year was a 30.76-percent cut from the original target of P731 billion.

Continued from A1

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BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

A4 Tuesday, August 3, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Police arrest ASG ‘infiltrator’ in Sulu PNP By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

HILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief General Guillermo Eleazar ordered the PNPInternal Affairs Service to fasttrack the dismissal proceedings against a police non-uniformed personnel (NUP) who turned out

to be a finance and logistics liaison officer for the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu. Eleazar issued the directive as he tasked the PNP to conduct a deeper probe into the case of Masckur Adoh Patarasa and determine whether there are other policemen who could be involved with the ASG and other lawless groups in Mindanao.

Patarasa, an NUP assigned with the Banguingui Municipal Police Station in Banguingui, Sulu was arrested during an operation on Friday at Barangay Asturias in Jolo, Sulu by a joint team of policemen and soldiers. He had been the subject of arrest warrants for seven cases of kidnapping and serious illegal detention

and was also included in the Martial Law Arrest Order No. 1, which the government issued out of the Marawi siege in 2017. Patarasa is a brother in law of the late ASG commander Isnilon Hapilon, the “emir” of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia who was killed during the Marawi siege. Police records revealed that in May 2017, Pa-

tarasa, together with an unidentified individual linked with the ASG planned to transact the sending of funds to ASG members fighting in Marawi City through Hapilon. Eleazar said Patarasa joined the ASG in 2001 under Khadaffy Janjalani in Basilan and later shifted to ASG senior leader Radullan Sahiron in Sulu. Patarasa is known to have a direct contact with Jemaah Islamiyah

operative Amin Baco alias Guro Jihad and other ASG personalities. He had also received funds from Almaida Salvin, a designated terrorist included in the US Treasury’s sanctions list who was arrested sometime in April 2019 for illegal possession of explosives through Merhama Sawari, who was neutralized during a shootout in Parañaque City together with three suspected terrorists on June 20, 2020.

Cops now required to wear BWCs in serving of warrants By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

AW enforcers are now expected to wear body-worn cameras (BWC) in a bid to address allegations of harassment and extrajudicial killings (EJK) in case a shootout transpires during service of search and arrest warrants that may result in deaths. Supreme Court spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said that with the publication of the SC Resolution on the Rules on the Use of Body-Worn Cameras in the Execution of Warrants in two national newspapers last July 31, these rules are now in effect. The Rules were issued in order to ensure full compliance with Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution “that guarantees that no person shall de deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process and Article III Section 2 of the Constitution that mandates the right of the people against unreasonable searches and seizures.” It also noted that increasing reports of deaths resulting from the execution of warrants issued by trial courts, including the death of nine activists and the arrest of several others in simultaneous police and military operations conducted in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal (Calabarzon) in June, which are being perceived as alleged EJK incidents. The SC said the use of BWCs, or body cams, could produce video and audio recordings of the circumstances surrounding the execution of warrants. Under the new set of rules, upon find-

ing probable cause, a regional trial court (RTC) shall issue an arrest warrant with a specific order that will require the use of at least one BWC and an alternative recording device, or a minimum of two devices, or such number as may be necessary to capture and record relevant incidents during execution. By alternative recording device, the SC refers to an electronic camera system which is not a BWC that is capable of creating, generating, sending, receiving, storing, displaying and processing audio-visual recordings, and may be worn during lawenforcement activities. It may be used as a substitute for BWCs in case of unavailability. To be used as a functional equivalent, it shall comply with the following minimum standard requirements, including a video resolution of 720 or higher; built-in audio, data and time stamping, and GPS; and capable of storing eight hours of continuous audio-video footage. These alternative recording devices should be capable of capturing with reasonable clarity the events that transpire during the implementation of the warrant. In the case of search warrants, the applicant should state if there are BWC available in the execution of the search warrants, and in case BWCs are not available, they would ask for authority to use alternative recording devices. Multiple search warrant applications based on the same evidence filed in the same court shall be ground for denial.

‘Snack box’ yields smuggled plant-eating beetles, larva By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

IRPORT Customs authorities recently intercepted a parcel containing 14 pieces of live beetles and larva concealed in plastic tubes and hidden in the packages of snacks, biscuits, noodles and chocolates at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC). Beetles are planteating insects could potentially damage crops by creating numerous small round holes in plant leaves. Its larva consumes plant roots, causing wilting, yellowing and stunted growth of host plants. The parcel arrived on July 24 at CMEC and was subjected to physical examination on July 29, which resulted in the discovery AN airport Customs personnel shows one of the 14 live plant-eating beetles seized and seizure of 14 live recently at the Central Mail Exchange Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOC-NAIA beetles and larva. For lack of requisite clearance/permit agricultural crop pests and are capable of from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), causing injury to crops, is highly restricted, the insects were seized for violation of subject to quarantine orders, rules and reguRA 10863, otherwise known as Customs lations, thereby requiring BPI clearance prior Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), to importation. and Presidential Decree (PD) 1433, oth The seized items were immediately erwise known as the Plant Quarantine turned over to the BPI for quarantine and Law of 1978. immediate disposal to prevent the spread Under Section 4 of PD 1433, importation of possible plant pests that may adversely of potential animal pest, which could become affect the local agriculture industry.

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Fabian and monsoon spell damage to infra at P1.17B; crop toll climbs to P698.76M By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

& Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) estimates that the damage caused by Typhoon Fabian the southwest monsoon spell to roads and flood-control structures has reached P1.17 billion, even as the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that total agricultural damage and loss has reached P698.76 million, affecting 26,994 farmers in seven regions. In an advisory, the DPWH’s bureau of maintenance (BOM) reported that partial cost of damage to public infrastructure in Central Luzon is at P699.16 million, Region 4A at P224.2 million, Cordillera Administrative Region at P113.5 million, Region 4B at P65 million, the National Capital Region at P39.66 million, and Region 1 at P31.05 million. The DPWH noted that its quick response teams have cleared 32 national roads in Luzon. However, six roads remain closed to traffic due to soil collapse and flooding. The DA, on the other hand, said the weather disturbances affected 34,029 hectares of farms with an estimated production loss of 14,175 metric tons (MT) of rice, corn, highvalue crops, livestock and poultry and fisheries. The regions affected by Fabian and southwest monsoon are Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR),

Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region and Western Visayas. The rice sector incurred the bulk of the production loss at about P586.01 million as Fabian and the Habagat damaged 31,900 hectares of farms with an estimated volume loss of 11,918 MT, based on the August 2 report of the DA. Damage to the corn sector reached P37.57 million with a production loss of 1,538 MT from 841 hectares of affected farms while high-value crops sector lost P47.85 million worth of 719 MT produce from 1,288 hectares, according to the DA report. About P3.37 million of 5,336 heads of chicken, goat, cattle, swine, and duck were affected by the weather disturbances, while the fisheries sector recorded P14.2 million of damage involving fisheries produce, equipment and facilities. The DA said P9.53 million worth of irrigation facilities (diversion dam and irrigation canals) were also affected. The DPWH said road closures were imposed for the following roads: Baguio-Bontoc Road, Abra-Kalinga Road, Cong. Andres Acop Cosalan Road, Gov. Bado Dangwa National Road, Sto. Tomas-Minalin Road, and the San Simon-Baliuag Road. As of this writing, four national road sections have limited access due to flooding and structural issues. These four roads are the BaguioBontoc Road, the Junction Layac Balanga Mariveles Port Road, the Apalit Macabebe Masantol Road, and

DA field report

9 areas still positive for ‘red tide’–BFAR By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

OASTAL waters of Milagros in Masbate, Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol; San Pedro in Western Samar; Matariano Bay in Eastern Samar; Dumanguilas Bay in mZamboanga del Sur; Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte; Mucielagos Bay in Misamis Occidental, particularly Sapang Dalaga and Baliangao; Balite Bay in Mati City, Davao Oriental; and Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur are still positive for paralytic shellfish poison or toxic “red tide,” the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported on Monday. As such, all types of shellfish and Acetes sp. or alamang gathered from the areas are not safe for human consumption. “Fish, squids, shrimps and crabs are safe for human consumption provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and internal organs such

as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,” the BFAR through Shellfish Bulletin No. 23 dated August 2, 2021 read. Meanwhile, BFAR said that Sorsogon Bay in Sorsogon is now free of the toxic red tide. Other areas that continue to be free from toxic red tide are: coastal waters of Cavite, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Navotas, Bulacan, and Bataan (Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Hermosa, Orani, Abucay and Samal) in Manila Bay; coastal waters of Bolinao, Anda, Alaminos, Sual and Wawa, Bani in Pangasinan; coastal waters of Pampanga; Masinloc Bay in Zambales; Pagbilao Bay, Pagbilao, and coastal waters of Walay, Padre Burgos in Quezon; Honda Bay and Puerto Princesa Bays, Puerto Princesa City, and coastal waters of Inner Malampaya Sound, Taytay in Palawan; coastal waters of Mandaon in Masbate; Juag Lagoon, Matnog in Sorsogon; coastal waters of Gigantes Islands, Carles in

Dominating organizations: Are they looking after society?

the Mindoro West Coastal Road. “THE Department of Agriculture, through its Regional Field Offices, is conducting further assessment and validation of damage and losses brought by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Fabian in the agri-fisheries sector,” it said. “Moreover, the Department is in close coordination with concerned NGAs [national government agencies], LGUs [local government units] and other DRRM [disaster risk reduction management]-related offices for the impact of the southwest monsoon, as well as available resources for interventions and assistance,” it added. The DA said a total of 2,398 hectares of rice farms were harvested prior to the effects of the southwest monsoon and Fabian in Regions 2, 3 and Calabarzon with an equivalent production of 12,649 MT worth P227.94 million. The DA added that a total of 121,119 bags of rice seeds; 14,832 bags of corn seeds, and 2,199 kilograms of assorted vegetables will be distributed to farmers in CAR, Regions 1, 2, and 3. The DA said it has an available quick response fund to rehabilitate the affected areas and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. has sufficient funds to indemnify affected farmers. Interested farmers could also borrow through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council’s Survival and Recovery Loan program, according to the DA.

Iloilo; coastal waters of Pilar, Panay, President Roxas, and Roxas City in Capiz; Sapian Bay (Ivisan and Sapian in Capiz; Mambuquiao and Camanci, Batan in Aklan); coastal waters of Altavas, Batan, and New Washington in Batan Bay, Aklan; coastal waters of E.B. Magalona, Talisay City, Silay City, Bacolod City, Hinigaran, and Victorias City in Negros Occidental; Tambobo and Siit Bays, Siaton, and Bais Bay, Bais City in Negros Oriental; coastal waters of Daram Island, and Zumarraga, Cambatutay, Irong-irong, Maqueda and Villareal Bays in Western Samar; coastal waters of Leyte, and Calubian, Carigara and Ormoc Bays, and Cancabato Bay, Tacloban City in Leyte; coastal waters of Biliran Islands; Panguil Bay, Tangub City and coastal waters of Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental; Taguines Lagoon, Benoni, Mahinog in Camiguin; and coastal waters of Hinatuan, Cortez and Lingig, and Bislig Bay in Surigao del Sur.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, August 3, 2021 A5

By Henry J. Schumacher

Digital capitalism

ON July 27, everyone saw immediately how well quasi-monopolists pay off—for themselves, not for society. You might get dizzy at the quarterly numbers of three American tech giants, but they’re well worth checking out. Alphabet, for example, parent company of Google, spells A for attack, B for boom, C for cash: sales of $62 billion, an increase of 57 percent, profit almost tripled. All collected from the world’s online advertisers. Apple with CEO Tim Cook in turn

reports an increase in sales of more than 36 percent to $81.4 billion. And Microsoft closes with $46 billion after $39 billion previously. Companies are bursting with strength here— clear winners of the pandemic. If you add Amazon and Facebook to this, the “Big Five” of digital capitalism now make up more than a third of the total market value of the 500 largest US companies. Facebook presented good numbers after the US market closed. Revenue in the second quarter of 2021 was $29.08 billion, 56 percent above the previous year with $18.69 billion and thus also above the estimates of the securities analysts, who had expected around $27 billion. The number of daily active users has increased by 7 percent to $1.91 billion. That makes Facebook by far the largest socialmedia platform. If you have read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, then you will know the world in which the makers of the “Big Five” live. The US writer describes avatars and a virtual world that both become the new reality and corresponds to the old reality. A “metaverse.” So

it’s no wonder that Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg calls his next “big thing” “metaverse” for short. His underlings are working on an artificial online world in which users can do everything: communicate, consume media, spend and invest digital money, work, act out eroticism. If you read the extreme success stories of these companies that are active in the Philippines also, questions come up: whether INTEGRITY is high on the agenda of these quasimonopolists—may be the Integrity Initiative should take a deeper look, whether FAIR COMPETITION is exercised—it would be interesting to know whether the Philippine Competition Commission is studying the behavior of these dominating companies, and whether DATA PRIVACY PROTECTION is taken seriously when these companies sell our data to clients—I assume that the National Privacy Commission is watching the behavior of these large companies with concern. What do you think? I am interested in your opinion; you can contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com

Grant of permit for Golden Rice cultivation in PHL lauded

OUSE Committee on Ways and Means Chairman and Albay Second District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda lauded the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) for granting the biosafety permit for the commercial propagation of Golden Rice in the Philippines, calling it a “potential game changer for the rice industry in the country.” “Rice accounts for one-fifth of the basket of goods for the poor. And agriculture in general accounts for 22.5 percent of the labor force, even though it merely contributes 8 percent to GDP. So, anything that raises value for the sector, such as golden rice, will make a difference,” Salceda said. “This is a milestone. This biosafety approval of Golden Rice is the first authorization for commercial propagation of genetically engineered rice in South and Southeast Asia,” the lawmaker added. Salceda, author of the Agricultural Biosafety Act (House Bill 9265) said that the approval of the program went through rigorous biosafety processes. The permit, issued on July 21, 2021, allows DA’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) to proceed with the production of Golden Rice on a commercial scale for human consumption. Golden Rice is a new type of rice

that contains beta carotene (provitamin A, a plant pigment that the body converts into vitamin A as needed). This compound is what gives this grain its yellow-orange or golden color, hence its name. It was invented by Professor Ingo Potrykus, then of the Institute for Plant Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Professor Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg, Germany, and was initially developed through genetic engineering by adding genes from maize and a common soil microorganism that together produce the beta carotene in the grain. Salceda added Golden Rice is a product of partnership among a diverse range of global and national collaborators who came together with the common goal of addressing an important public health problem through agricultural innovation. “The uniqueness of Golden Rice lies in its role of bridging the agriculture and nutrition sectors to come up with innovative products that address significant public health concerns in a sustainable manner,” he said. According to Salceda, extensive research revealed Golden Rice could help address vitamin A deficiency and battle blindness in the Philippines. Vitamin A can be obtained from fruits, vegetables, and animal food

products. However, limitations in terms of accessibility, affordability, and availability of these sources remain a challenge. Lack of sufficient Vitamin A in the diet results in a condition known as vitamin A deficiency (VAD), which weakens the immune system and increases one’s vulnerability to infections and diseases; it causes blindness and results in death if left untreated. The National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) in 2018 showed that VAD and other forms of micronutrient deficiencies continue to be a significant public health problem in the country where 16.9 percent of children below 5 years old and 25.8 percent among children in poorest households are affected. Existing nutrition interventions addressing VAD and other forms of malnutrition such as food fortification, vitamin A supplementation, promotion of balanced diets and breastfeeding have already been successful. However, Filipinos, especially in rural and poor communities, have an inadequate intake of food, leaving them vulnerable to macroand micro-nutrient deficiencies. “Golden Rice is intended to complement these existing interventions since rice is widely grown and eaten all over the country,” Salceda said.

Govt told: Tie up with fishery sector to increase food supply F

OOD security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan on Monday urged the national and local governments to partner with the fisheries sector to establish more aquaculture economic zones as a measure to boost the country’s food supply. “This move will boost production of processed and value-added aquaculture products for both domestic and export markets and generate local employment,” the group said in a news statement issued on Monday. The group cited the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, which provides fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as tax holidays and simplified import-export procedures to businesses located inside such zones.

The group said there are only 22 agro-industrial zones out of the 379 operating ecozones in the country based on the 2017 data of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza). The group pointed out that despite the numerous incentives that an ecozone provides, the “uptake for locating or establishing export processing zones for aquaculture and fisheries appears to be limited.” Peza industries enjoy income tax holidays, tax-free importation of capital equipment and exemption from national and local taxes on their importation as well as tax credit for import substitution, among others, the group said. “W hile tuna, seaweeds and shrimps remained as the country’s

top export commodity, accounting for 63 percent [153,667 MT] of the total export volume [226,821 MT] and 58 percent [$531,333 million] of the total export value of $909 million , no tuna or shrimp related industry is Peza registered,” the group said. “Of the 22 agro-industrial zones, only Shemberg Biotech Corporation and Alsons Aquaculture Corporation are Peza-Registered Enterprises. Shemberg is into seaweed processing, while Alsons is involved in the production of feeds, fish, shrimps and other aquaculture farm species for export,” it added. The group noted that the Peza and the Department of Agriculture (DA) forged an agreement in 2019 to industrialize agribusinesses as

part of government’s effort to “promote domestic production, manufacturing and exports, and reduce import dependence.” “We can become a dominant exporter while still caring for and providing gainful economic growth to local communities,” Tugon Kabuhayan said. “At the same time, with the recent approval of the interagency task force on the coronavirus on the increase of domestic sales allowance to 50 percent from the previous 30 percent, we can ensure that or local consumers will not be deprived of sufficient fish protein source,” Tugon Kabuhayan added. The group said local producers are “more than capable” to supply the country’s need for “accessible

and affordable food” if they are given the necessary support such production interventions and postharvest facilities. “With government support and provision of fiscal incentives, the fisheries and aquaculture industry can generate more jobs. We are ready to venture in the promotion of consumption of processed commodities both domestically and internationally,” it said. “This will definitely contribute to more job creation. In our estimate, even if only half of the urban population patronizes deboned milkfish [bangus], this will create additional 7,000 jobs in a year. What more if we sell deboned bangus and other value-added aquaculture products to other countries?” it added.

The group explained that there are aquaculture companies that are willing to invest and venture in processing and export of commodities but need technical support from various government agencies to acquire Peza registration. These documentary requirements, the group added, include favorable endorsement from the DA, environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from DENR, and endorsement from LGUs among others. “We’re confident that the Philippine aquaculture industry can be competitive globally. We have the untapped natural and human resource and technical expertise which can propel our growth in the international arena,” the group said. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

BusinessMirror

A6 Tuesday, August 3, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

24/7 BUSINESS PROCESSING INC. 14/f Capella Bldg. L-3&4 B2, Asean Drive Filinvest Alabang Muntinlupa City LI, XINPENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative 1.

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction LIU, MENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction LU, LAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction LYU, YANTING Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction SONG, HENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction SONG, XIAOYING Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction WU, ZHUO Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction ZHANG, LUXIAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction SIN HY PHU Vietnamese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responding promptly to the inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ROJPHATTANATRAKUL, KAWINWAT Investigation Specialist I 16.

THIEN JEE CHUNG Malaysian Customer Relations Officer 17.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

ABGPH CORP. U-1620 16/f Centuria Medical Makati Kalayaan Ave. Cor. Salamanca St. Poblacion Makati City

DAKHNOVSKIY, ALEXEY Sales Director 10.

Brief Job Description: Implement competitive marketing strategy; controlling costs to maximize revenue; creating and maintaining supplier relationships; reporting on weekly, monthly, quarterly performance; mentoring and training of sales teams to achieve sales goals

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

11.

Brief Job Description: Process managing various customer issues depending on account assign

24.

FU, ZILI Mandarin Online Payment Specialist 12.

Brief Job Description: Representative is to address customer issues resolve them in a timely efficient HO TUYET ANH Mandarin Operation Specialist

13.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management of workflow throughout all department within business XIANG, HONGSHENG Mandarin Technical Support Specialist

25.

14.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management of workflow throughout all department within business

26.

15.

Brief Job Description: Communicate with buyers, merchants and internal customers and take appropriate action to identify and help minimize the risk posed by fraud patterns and trends

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

MEI, HONGFEI Mandarin Customer Service 27.

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

WANG, XUELI Mandarin Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 28. Basic Qualification: Education and Experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

XIONG, LE Mandarin Customer Service 29.

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 YUAN, ZHIDAN Mandarin Customer Service

AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore Brgy. 076 Pasay City

HONGBINMA, ATCHARAWAN Investigation Specialist I

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

LIU, XINGDONG Mandarin Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Education and Experience

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services.

CHENG, BIN Mandarin Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Education and Experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services.

ZHOU, JIANGTING Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

ACSTREAM MANAGEMENT INC. 2204b/2206, 22/f Pbcom Tower Ayala Avenue Bel-air Makati City CHENG, JIAOJIAO Mandarin Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services.

ZHANG, LINGWEI Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Russian (mandatory), English, Chinese; master degree in Economics or related field; proficiency in accounting and taxation; experience in senior management position; proven record of meeting and exceeding financial targets; ability to make critical decisions under pressure; excellent organizational and communication skills; ability to travel a lot for company requirements

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services

WU, XIAOYUAN Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Vietnamese

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services

WANG, ZIMIN Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services

WANG, LINSONG Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services.

QI, DENGWEN Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Handles the concerns of the people who buy their company’s products or services

LU, XIN Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Communicate with buyers, merchants and internal customers and take appropriate action to identify and help minimize the risk posed by fraud patterns and trends

30.

Basic Qualification: Fluency in both english and thai Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Fluency in both english and thai

No.

32.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

YUAN, QINGBO Mandarin Customer Service 31.

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Malay, with related BPO experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in MANDARIN, with related BPO experience

33.

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

ZHOU, XIAOBIN Vice President For Player Development 34.

Brief Job Description: Prepares annual business plans that identify revenue potential by key market segments

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in MANDARIN, with related BPO experience

NGUYEN THANH NGOC Build Project Manager 35.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in MANDARIN, with related BPO experience. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read, write and type fluently in Mandarin language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read, write and type fluently in Mandarin language.

Brief Job Description: Project Leadership; Project execution, Project control, Business Results.

PREEDEEPOJ, PHIBU Administrative Supervisor 36.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read, write and type fluently in Mandarin language.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read write and type fluently in MANDARIN language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: with at least 10 years of managerial experience in casino marketing or player development Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree; 8 years minimum experience in building processing plants and storage facilities for food industry; OSHA-30 hrs certified; able to perform knowledge transfer and development of local team for future projects.

Brief Job Description: Supervises staff performing clerical and administrative support functions

Basic Qualification: four years of clerical and administrative work experience of which one year is in a supervisory role related to the responsibilities of the position

CHEN, CHENG-KUO Senior Trackwork Specialist Brief Job Description: Review and check railway alignments and profiles

CHEN, CHIH-HSIANG Senior Trackwork Specialist Brief Job Description: Review and check railway alignments and profiles

CHENG, YU-PIN Senior Trackwork Specialist Brief Job Description: Review and check railway alignments and profiles

HUANG, MAO-FENG Senior Trackwork Specialist Brief Job Description: Review and check railway alignments and profiles

LAI, KUN-CHENG Senior Trackwork Specialist Brief Job Description: Review and check railway alignments and profiles

TSAI, CHIH-HSIUNG Senior Trackwork Specialist Brief Job Description: Review and check railway alignments and profiles

Basic Qualification: college graduate; preferably 3 years trackwork experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: college graduate; preferably 3 years trackwork experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: college graduate; preferably 3 years trackwork experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: college graduate; preferably 3 years trackwork experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: college graduate; preferably 3 years trackwork experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: college graduate; preferably 3 years trackwork experience Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

CLOVERSENSE TECHNOLOGY INC. 29/f Robinsons Summit Center 6783 Ayala Center Bel-air Makati City SUGIANTO HOMAN Sports Trader-bahasa Speaking I 43.

Brief Job Description: Coordinate, respond and address inquiries of Bahasa Speaking customer

Basic Qualification: Good in statistic and probability. Excellent in writing, reading and speaking Bahasa and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

CROWN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INC. 5th-7th Floor Alhi Corporate Center Aseana Avenue Tambo Parañaque City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read, write and type fluently in Mandarin language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read, write and type fluently in Mandarin language.

Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read write and type fluently in VIETNAMESE language.

CHAN CHUN CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINES CORPORATION L2b B8 Belvedere St. Doña Manuela Subd Pamplona Tres Las Piñas City

Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read, write and type fluently in Mandarin language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in MANDARIN, with related BPO experience.

Basic Qualification: At least college level and able to speak, read write and type fluently in MANDARIN language.

CARGILL OIL MILLS PHILIPPINES, INC. 26th Floor W Fifth Building 5th Ave. Cor. 32nd St., Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

BLOOMBERRY RESORTS AND HOTELS INC. Solaire Resort And Casino 1 Asean Avenue, Entertainment City Tambo Parañaque City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

Brief Job Description: Offer full range of customer service to employer and clients.

LAM CAY PHAT Vietnamese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has excellent problemsolving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION ZHANG, JIANLE Mandarin Customer Service

BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. 5f-13f, Jiaxing Tower Building Aseana Avenue, Aseana Business Park Tambo Parañaque City

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

NIKEN DEVITASARI Indonesian Customer Support Representative 44.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in INDONESIAN and at least college level with related BPO experience. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

DAXIFA CORPORATION Mpire Center 93 West Avenue Project 7 Bungad 1 Quezon City CAO, RONGDU Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative 45.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION CHEN, YONGQING Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

46.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails CHENG, BINBIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

47.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails FENG, DING Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

48.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails HE, HUIXIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

49.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails LIANG, ZHIHAO Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

50.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails LIU, HAO Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

51.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails LU, XIAOQUAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

52.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails LU, HAIFENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

53.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails LUO, JUN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

54.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails MA, CHENGCHENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

55.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails MO, HUIDA Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

56.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails YANG, FAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

57.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails YU, BO Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

58.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails ZHOU, WENQIANG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

59.

Brief Job Description: Delivering excellent customer service & managing the needs of customer through phone calls and emails

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

60.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

LIANG, JUNJIE Mandarin Customer Support Representative 61.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

PAN, QUANHONG Mandarin Customer Support Representative 62.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

ZHANG, LICHOU Mandarin Customer Support Representative 63.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

64.

Brief Job Description: Develop and manage a multi channel strategy that incorporate digital, social teaching.

66.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

67.

68.

69.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment WAN, DENGQIANG Technical Software Support Representative

70.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

RAGHAVENDRA SADASHIVA President 71.

Brief Job Description: Manage and develop Galderma’s activities within the local market according to the Corporate strategy and under the supervision of the Head of JPAC

DAI, MEIZHEN Customer Service Representative 72.

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints. They’re the front line of support for clients and customers and they help ensure that customers are satisfied with products, services, and features.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

VONG A HUNG Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

73.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

YONG, LI Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 74.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN/FUKIEN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in Mandarin/Fukien and at least college level with related BPO experience.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in Mandarin/Fukien and at least college level with related BPO experience.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

YUAN, AIGUO Mandarin Network Administrator Analyst 75.

Basic Qualification: College graduate; preferably 6 months to 1 year experience in customer services; fluent in Mandarin/basic English

79.

Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

MILANDOU SEPT, DANIEL LEFEVRE IPB Client Service Support Specialist - EMEA 80.

81.

82.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Ten year experience in Pharmacy (hospital/ industry), acquired in Marketing and/or Sales departments mainly within an international environment Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

83.

84.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Network Administrator Analyst will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

WANG, CHAOLONG Customer Service Representative (mandarin Speaking) 76.

Brief Job Description: Provide information regarding the product , handle returns and complaints, etc.

85.

86.

87.

77.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

88.

YANG, LIANG Mandarin Customer Support Representative 78.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BAI, SHAOHUI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

CHEW LEE YING Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

CUI, JIAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

JIANG, HONGYUAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

JIANG, ZHEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

LI, HUI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls LI, NA Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

91.

LIN, JUNCONG Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

92.

LIU, MEIYAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

93.

OOI LAY KOON Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls WONG YIN SHION Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Basic Qualification: Good oral communication skills, knowledgeable in basic computer

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN/FUKIEN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

Brief Job Description: Research, explore, study different travel destination options,

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

94.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Will employ six sigma methodologies

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN/FUKIEN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

SINHA, NITISH Performance Improvement Manager, Vice President

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

95.

ZHANG, BOXUAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

INVECH TREASURE PROCESSING CORPORATION Ground, 2nd, 3rd And 4th Floor Eight West Campus Mckinley West Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

LIANG, HAI Mandarin Customer Support Representative

Brief Job Description: Member of client services team and their client base

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

90.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

RAMIRO, ADAO JOAO IPB-Spanish Client Service Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Network Administrator analyst, Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Strong Spanish, Portuguese, French or Italian language skills. Previous experience in a similar role within the financial services and/or Banking industry. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluency in Spanish and/or Portuguese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree. Lead six sigma black belt-certified Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: With good oral and written communication skills with knowledge computer application Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg. Edsa Cor. Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

89.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Will be part of a central team supporting the Client Services Team and their client base.

HE, LIJUN Travel Consultant

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN/FUKIEN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

K.B.C. DREAM TRAVEL AND IMMIGRATION CONSULTANCY CORPORATION (K.B.C. TRAVEL AND IMMIGRATION CONSULTANCY) U-ug02 Cityland 8 Condo. 98 Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Have patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.- PHILIPPINE GLOBAL SERVICE CENTER 23/f Net Plaza 31st St. E-square Zone Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

INTEGRITY GLOBAL GROUP, INC. 2/f-3/f Ayala Malls Circuit A.p. Reyes Ave. Carmona Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese, Mandarin and English in verbal and written communication skills.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION YU, YATING Mandarin Customer Support Representative

HECTECHURE CORP. Units A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. San Lorenzo Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in Mandarin/Fukien and at least college level with related BPO experience.

Basic Qualification: College graduate; preferably 6 montths to 1 year experience in customer services; fluent in Mandarin/basic English

GATEWAYSOLUTIONS CORP. Unit 2306 Antel Global Corporate Center Julia Vargas Ave. Ortigas Center, San Antonio Pasig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

No.

GALDERMA PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit 35th/f Joy Nostalg Center Adb Ave., Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

Brief Job Description: Customer service

ZHAO, MANZHU Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

SU, YUEMEI Customer Service Representative

TONG, DEYIN Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

Brief Job Description: Customer service

FENG, JUNNAN Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

FUWEALTH SERVICES INC. 18/f Techzone Bldg. 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. San Antonio Makati City

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers

EASY TALK LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTER FOUNDATION, INC. G/f Mezz, 2/f, 3/f & Penthouse 95 Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Palanan Makati City

LAM, HING LEUNG Chinese Bilingual Speaking Teacher

65.

Basic Qualification: Ability to communicate fluently in Mandarin Chinese with customers Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

LIU, GUIHONG Customer Service Representative

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FULL CHARGE SERVICES, INC. U 801 State Center Bldg. 333 Juan Luna St. 027, Brgy. 287 Binondo Manila

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

DEXIN 999, INC. Red Hotel No. 345 Edsa Cor. Don Carlos Revilla St. Barangay 147 Pasay City DONG, YUNLONG Mandarin Customer Support Representative

No.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

96.

NGUYEN CUU TUYET TRINH Vietnamese Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking , Reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MINDSCAPE CREATIVES INC. Unit 19-o, Burgundy Corporate Tower 252 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

97.

OUYANG, XIUZE Mandarin Customer Service Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, August 3, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

98.

99.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION CHAO, WENBIN Mandarin Operations Specialist Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

CHAI KHUN YEE Mandarin Technical Support Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

100.

101.

102.

103.

104.

105.

106.

107.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries AYE MWAY Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CHEN, SHIKUI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CHEN, HONGMEI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CHEN, ZHIWEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CHEN, CONGSHAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries CUI, TINGLIANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DENG, JIANGLONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DENG, HAOHUI Chinese Customer Service

108.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries. DENG, WENBIN Chinese Customer Service

109.

110.

111.

112.

113.

114.

115.

116.

117.

118.

119.

120.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries. DI, XIJING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries GAN, XUEMIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries HUANG, XINJIE Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries HUANG, LU Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LI, LIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LI, PENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries LI, YUANBO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LIU, YANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LIU, CHAOWEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LIU, DUANHUA Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LU, XINGJIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

121.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

122.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower C4 Rd. Edsa Ext. Brgy. 076 Pasay City AUNG KYAW SAN Chinese Customer Service

No.

123. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

124.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

125.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

126.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

127.

128.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

129.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

130.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

131.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

132.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

133.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

134.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

135.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

136.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

137.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

138.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

139.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

140.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

141.

142.

143.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MEI, ZHINA Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries MENG, LIANMING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries QIAN, HONGCHANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries QIU, CHUNTING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries REN, ZHENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries SHEN, HONGLIANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries SUN, MINGZHONG Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

144.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries. TANG, SHIJIAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries TUO, DAQIAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WANG, WANTING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WANG, CHAOFEN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WEI, ZHEPING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WU, BINGJIAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries WU, WENBIN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries XU, SHANJUN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries YAN, HUIQUAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries YAN, MENGFEI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries YANG, ZHONGFU Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries YANG, WEIJIE Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries YAO, JINGJING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries YE, CANYANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

YU, JINSONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ZAW NI HLAING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ZENG, KUN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

No.

145.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

146.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

147.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language

148.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

149.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

150.

151.

152.

153.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 154.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language 155.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ZHOU, MINQIANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

HUANG, HONGNING Chinese Customer Service 156.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

HUANG, PEIXING Chinese Customer Service 157.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

LI, FULONG Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

ZHENG, JINPO Chinese Customer Service

HUANG, YUEQIU Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

HE, NING Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

ZHANG, TUQIANG Chinese Customer Service

HE, XIAOSAN Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

FANG, YUNJIE Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language

ZHANG, JIAN Chinese Customer Service

FAN, RENZONG Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

CHEN, YI Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

ZHANG, BEI Chinese Customer Service

158.

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language

LI, YAN Chinese Customer Service 159.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

160.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

LI, WENMEI Chinese Customer Service 161.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

LI, WEI Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th/f Pearl Marina Building Pacific Drive Don Galo Parañaque City

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents

LIANG, HUI Chinese Customer Service 162.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (Mandarin & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speak and write fluently( native language & English ) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION LIU, ZHAOFENG Chinese Customer Service

163.

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

LIU, YANG Chinese Customer Service 164.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

LUO, YUNHE Chinese Customer Service 165.

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

LUO, SHIJIAN Chinese Customer Service 166.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

LYU, ZHANBIAO Chinese Customer Service 167.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

SHANG, XUANKAI Chinese Customer Service 168.

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

SHI, RONGXU Chinese Customer Service 169.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

TAN, TAO Chinese Customer Service 170.

171.

172.

173.

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents. ZHAN, HUIFENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHANG, JIANGBO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHANG, LEI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries BUI VAN BAO Vietnamese Customer Service

174.

Brief Job Description: Manages incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file documents.

NGUYEN THIEN DUC Vietnamese Customer Service 175.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

NGUYEN VAN DUC Vietnamese Customer Service 176.

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and inquiries, handling complaints, provide solutions, process customer accounts and file the documents.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written

No.

TANG, SONGSONG Mandarin Accounts Staff 179.

180.

181.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written

182.

183.

184.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

186.

187.

188.

189.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

190.

177.

Brief Job Description: To troubleshoot, maintain and monitor the computer system

178.

Brief Job Description: To check documents such as Shotuko Shoumeisho, Nouzei Shoumeisho, Yokin Zandaka, Koseki Touhon, Juminhyo written in either Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

YE, XIAOWEI Mandarin Product Developer

Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Grow company revenues by developing new products

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Monitoring and maintaining computer systems and networks

Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help request from users via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner

191.

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help request from users via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner TAN, MINGKAI Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

192.

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help request from users via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner TANG, BING Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

193.

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help request from users via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner TRAN AI NGOC Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

194.

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help request from users via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner TRAN CAM MY Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

195.

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help request from users via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

197.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WEI, CHUNLIU Bilingual Finance Support Specialist 198.

Basic Qualification: Knowledge in documentation such as Shutoku Shoumeisho, Yokin Zandaka, Koseki Touhon and Juminyo, writing Katanan, Hiraganan and Kanji. Familiar with Japanese Embassy procedures, Japanese Visa applications, process and remarks.

Brief Job Description: Process and prepare financial and business forms for the purpose of checking

YANG, BIN Bilingual Technical Support Specialist 199.

Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying work load capacity

ZHAO, JIANYING Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 200. URBANDIDEAS INC. Unit 17-m Burgundy Corporate Tower 252 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

Brief Job Description: Process and prepare financial and business forms for the purpose of checking account balances, facilitating purchases, etc.

Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying work load capacity

204.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking

Brief Job Description: Recommends potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin speaking

GUO, QING Chinese Language - Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Deal with and help resolved customer complaints

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Bahasa speaking

Brief Job Description: Providing details to clients relative to service being offered

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZIMI TECH, INC. 29th/f Burgundy Corporate Tower Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

205.

206.

207.

208.

209.

Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills

ANDREW ARIFIN Bahasa Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills

DAVID HALIM Bahasa Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills

ERIC KOERNIAWAN Bahasa Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills

FELIX WIRAGUNA JOHANNES Bahasa Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills

RAFAEL SRIWIJAYA Bahasa Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issue

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills with focus on issue resolution and customer satisfaction

DICK ALARIC GOVIRUTAMA Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative 210.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English

Brief Job Description: Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying work load capacity

TOMMY KLISMEN Indonesian Language - Marketing Staff

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills with focus on issue resolution and customer satisfaction

HENDRI SUDIRMAN Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative 211.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English

212.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills with focus on issue resolution and customer satisfaction

HENDRI YANTO MANALU Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills with focus on issue resolution and customer satisfaction

SANTRIA Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative 213.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English

214. Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English

215.

216.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in writing, reading and speaking English and Chinese

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling calls and providing customer support

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in writing, reading and speaking English and Chinese

RIA ERVINA Chinese Language Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing various customer issues depending on account assignment

MELVIN LUNARDI Chinese Language Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages

Basic Qualification: Good problem solving and critical thinking skills with focus on issue resolution and customer satisfaction

STEVEN Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor. Washington St. Pio Del Pilar Makati City LI, DONG Bilingual Finance Support Specialist

203.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages

WISHLAND SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY INC. 28/f Techzone Condo Corp. 213 Buendia Ave. San Antonio Makati City

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help request from users via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner

202.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin / English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

LAO SIN CAM Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

196.

TRAN DUN LIN Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

201.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION ZHONG, WEI Bilingual Technical Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written

RELI TOURS AND TRAVEL COMPANY 3/f Dusit Thani Hotel Ayala Center San Lorenzo Makati City

KUBO, YOSHIFUMI Japan Visa Processor

Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Maintain accurate sales records, reconcile delivery records with supplier

PHONG NGOC LINH Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

RED DOT MARKETING AND BRANDING INC. Unit 1514 Burgundy Transpacific Place Taft Ave. 079, Bgy. 727 Malate Manila DAI, FEI Mandarin Technical Support

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NGAN A PHUNG Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written

Brief Job Description: Opens customers account by recording account info.

LY DENH VAY Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1 year experience in the similar field, speaks and write fluently (native language & English)

Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin

LU, WEIWEI Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

LIU, CONG Mandarin Customer Service

LI, JIALI Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

VALUESERVICESTECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED G/f Horizon Bldg. Andrews Ave. Newport City St. Zone 20 Barangay 183, District 1 Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Opens customers account by recording account info.

ZHANG, JING Mandarin Technical Support Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written

Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Monitoring and maintaining computer systems and networks

No.

Basic Qualification: Can speak Mandarin

LI, SHILIANG Mandarin Customer Service

SUN, FAQIANG Mandarin Technical Support Representative 185.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

LI, LELE Mandarin Technical Support

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

Brief Job Description: Maintain accurate sales records, reconcile delivery records with supplier

HSU, CHIA-YUN Mandarin Operations Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, preferably 1yr experience in the similar field, must be fluent in Mandarin and English orally and written

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling calls and providing customer support

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

YANG, HAIRUI Sales Director 217.

Brief Job Description: Generate sales portfolio of accounts to reach companys target

Basic Qualification: Graduate of any business course Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

*Date Generated: Aug 2, 2021 Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE-NCR Regional Office located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication. Please inform DOLE-NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent in writing, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A10 Tuesday, August 3, 2021

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Tuesday, August 3, 2021 A11

Covid data swayed managers to accept ECQ

By Cai U. Ordinario

and MSMEs cannot bear another lockdown as this could raise closures again. We were against it. But the new set of data shown to us last Thursday was a concern,” Lopez said. “By imposing this ECQ, we can remove the possibility of an uncontrollable surge like what happened in our neighboring countries that claimed thousands of lives,” he added. Lopez, however, assured businesses that the government will allow agriculture, industry, and services to operate to preserve jobs and incomes. This is part of the efforts of the Duterte administration to help MSMEs grow and develop amid the throngs of the pandemic. Lopez said, for one, the government continues to vaccinate the country’s economic frontliners who are classified under the A4 priority category.

@caiordinario

HE return of the National Capital Region (NCR) to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which would trigger a new round of business closures, is necessary to eliminate the possibility of an uncontrollable surge, which would cost lives and further damage the economy.

On Monday, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the country’s economic managers were initially against the imposition of the ECQ. But upon examination of the data, Lopez said the economic team agreed

to impose more stringent mobility restrictions. The ECQ will take effect on Friday, August 6. “We take the view that the economy will again be affected, which would delay the recovery of our nation. We know that the economy

20-M vaccinated

HE said the number of fully vaccinated are poised to outpace the number of those infected with Covid-19. As of

August 1, Lopez said the government has vaccinated 20.8 million Filipinos. The Trade and Industry Secretary said this comprises 11.7 million who received their first dose and 9.1 million who were fully vaccinated. He said the government is delivering over 515,000 jabs per day or 3.6 million a week. The record highest was 659,000 jabs per day and this capacity continues to increase. Apart from these, the DTI is also helping MSMEs by pushing for the amendment of the Magna Carta on MSMEs, Lopez said. The amendment aims to extend the mandatory allocation of credit resources to MSMEs. Another bill he cited is the One Town, One Product (OTOP) bill which aims to institutionalize the OTOP program to guide LGUs on the comprehensive assistance and holistic approach to support MSMEs. Lopez said the 62 OTOP hubs nationwide have helped 50,323 OTOPreneurs and generated sales worth P5.5 billion. The DTI, Lopez said, is also push-

ing to legislate the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso (P3) program which aims to fight loan sharks and improve MSMEs access to credit. The P3 program, Lopez said, has released P8.8 billion worth of loans to over 200,000 microenterprise borrowers. This was provided to MSMEs even before the pandemic.

Economic toll: P105B

LAST Friday, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) estimated that placing Metro Manila under ECQ will cost the economy some P105 billion. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua told reporters on Friday that this will also increase the ranks of the poor by up to 177,000 people and render 444,000 Filipinos jobless. However, Chua said the impact would be mitigated by cash assistance that the government will be providing those who will be adversely affected by the lockdown. “These can be partly reversed if

we use the 3 weeks to accelerate vaccination of everyone in the high risk areas,” Chua said. “This way, the ECQ will be an investment to pave the way for a recovery once we control delta spread,” he added. Last year, Chua said, quarantine restrictions and the fall in consumption translated to a total income loss of around P1.04 trillion in 2020 or an average of P2.8 billion a day. Quarantine restrictions led to an average annual income loss of P23,000 per worker. However, he said this average masks wide differences across sectors and jobs, and some workers are hit much harder, especially those who lost their jobs. Nonetheless, he said the government’s response this year has improved visits to public transport stations to a contraction of 40 percent this year from a decline of 80 percent last year. More Filipinos, Chua said, have also started going back to work. Those going to work are only down by 25 percent this year compared to a decline of over 40 percent last year.

‘Only donor’s tax Peso may extend decline for Diaz’s rewards’ on risk of PHL rating cut

LYMPICS gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and other national athletes will not pay income taxes on pledges from private sector, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said on Monday. During a hearing, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda sought a clarification on the tax treatment of pledges to Diaz from the private sector, now amounting to at least P72.5 million. The matter has drawn controversy because the law only deems taxexempt the financial rewards granted by law from the government coffers.

Donor’s tax

By Lilian Karunungan

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

BIR, represented by Assistant Commissioner Larry Barcelo, said the bureau will only subject the donor to donor’s taxes, and that the pledges will not be part of the taxable income of Diaz or the other Olympians. Under the National Internal Revenue Code, the tax for each calendar year shall be six percent computed on the basis of the total gifts in excess of P250,000 exempt gift made during the calendar year. The donor’s tax is payable by the donor. “I say this because the tax code is not very clear as to what qualifies as ‘bequests.’ I am not so sure what basis BIR will use, because the tax code is unclear on this matter, and the BIR has not issued a revenue regulation either,” Salceda said. “So, I want an assurance that the BIR will consider the pledges as bequests and therefore not subject to income tax. In other words, Hidilyn and other athletes will not pay taxes under the current law,” Salceda said. Earlier, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III rejected the proposed measure to make tax-exempt the monetary donations and rewards given to national athletes and coaches who compete or win in international sports competitions. “All Philippine citizens and residents have an obligation to share in the cost of the provision of public goods to society,” Dominguez said. Also, in a separate statement last week, the BIR clarified the P10 million cash incentive that Diaz will be receiving from the Philippine government through the Philippine Sports Commission after winning the Olympic gold medal is excluded from income tax under Section 32(B)(7)(d) of the Tax Code. Also excluded from the computation of Diaz’s gross income under Section 32(B)(3) of the Tax Code are the donations given to her by businesses, private individuals and entities. However, the BIR clarified that this “presupposes that the generous donors have already paid the donor’s tax on these items.” “It’s a good thing that the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Law has finally lowered the donor’s tax rate to 6 percent in excess of P250,000. Otherwise, the maximum donor’s tax would be P1,004,000 + 15 percent in excess of P10 million,” it said. Meanwhile, the ways and means committe is now preparing a substitute bill to House Bill 9891, or the Hidilyn Diaz Law, entitled, an act exempting monetary donations and rewards in favor of national athletes and coaches from taxes authored by Salceda, alongside bills authored by Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo and Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero. “I introduced the broader classification of “emoluments” and not just winnings or awards, for our national athletes and coaches, within the exemption from any and all taxes, fees, and charges. This is to ensure that there is no room for interpretation or administrative discretion on the matter,” Salceda said. “The tax code is unclear as to what happens with the pledges of Ramon Ang, Manny Pangilinan, Mikee Romero and other donors. So we introduced a very broad definition that encompasses their donations,” the lawmaker added. Salceda said this is also proactive because the BIR tax-exempts “awards and winnings.” “If you’re not yet a winner, that’s not a ‘winning’ if you donate to our national athletes before the games. My bill makes even those donations made before the games exempt. That’s because we have to incentivize not just supporting athletes when they win. We have to encourage stakeholders to support them even while they prepare. That’s the more sustainable way to secure Olympic wins,” Salceda said.

Bloomberg

ULY was a brutal month for the Philippine peso and there appears to be little respite on the horizon. After capping its steepest monthly decline in over three years, the currency could extend losses due to a worsening virus outbreak and the risk of a sovereign rating downgrade. It may drop toward 51 per dollar, a level last reached in April 2020, according to ING Groep NV, Security Bank Corp. and Malaysian Banking Bhd. The peso’s resilience is being tested as the authorities struggle to contain the spread of the delta variant and slowing economic growth erodes government revenue. Volatility in the currency has increased, suggesting that traders could be bracing for more downside in the months ahead. “We do see the peso on the back foot from here on as growth will likely take a hit from the delta variant, while investors become more worried about the fast deteriorating fiscal metrics,” said Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING in Manila. “A stark drawdown in gross international reserves may also open the flood gates for further peso weakness.” The peso declined 2.3 percent in July, its

biggest monthly drop since January 2018 and the worst performance among Asian currencies after the Thai baht. It fell to as low as 50.5, its weakest level in more than a year. A key risk for the Philippine currency is the threat of a sovereign rating downgrade as the outbreak takes a toll on growth. Fitch Ratings revised the nation’s credit outlook to negative from stable in July, citing the impact of the pandemic on the economy and public finances. The Manila capital region, which accounts for about a third of the economy, will be in a strict lockdown from Aug. 6 to 20 and extra curbs on movements will be imposed in the interim, the authorities said last week. The restrictions on the capital will cost the Philippine economy 105 billion pesos ($2.1 billion) a week, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua. A slower pace of expansion could hurt public revenues and add to the debt burden. In its downgrade of the nation’s credit outlook, Fitch estimated that the general government debt-to-GDP ratio will rise to 52.7 percent and 54.5 percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively, from 34.1 percent in 2019. The peso closed at 49.970 on Friday. The median forecast of a Bloomberg survey of strategists is for the currency to climb to 48.5 by year-end.

Covid case rise seen in half of areas

N official of the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday disclosed that rise in the number of Covid-19 cases have been observed in “half” of the provinces and cities across the Philippines. Likewise, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they already flagged the increasing number of deaths related to Covid-19 “based on our analysis” but stressed that the country’s case fatality rate remains below 2 percent. “Dumadami po yung severe and critical cases... [Severe and critical cases are also rising],” she added. She said that in national level, the health-care utilization rate is at 50 percent but noted an increase in some areas. Asked for the list of these areas, the DOH, however, did not provide it to the media because Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III had yet to present it to President Duterte during the public address on Monday night. Vergeire stressed that there is already an “assumption” that Delta variant may be causing the rise in cases but reports that they gathered also showed that the non-compliance with minimum public health standards is one of the reasons behind this situation. “The assumption is there but we can’t declare because there is not enough evidence yet . . . . We need sufficient evidence for us to declare that there is already a community transmission, because there are international implications to this, we also have international definitions that we aligned to,” Vergeire explained. Vergeire also urged the local government units “not to give Delta variant a chance to spread” in the communities.

“Mag bahay-bahay na po tayo [Please do the house-to-house]...this way we can identify and isolate [the infected person]. Isolate first then test. Don’t delay the testing,” Vergeire stressed. Of the 216 Delta variant cases that were detected, 17 are active cases, 15 are local cases and two are returning overseas Filipinos. Nine have died.

Covid cases

ON Monday the DOH logged 8,167 additional Covid-19 cases—the fourth straight day it recorded over 8,000 fresh cases— bringing the total number of infections in the country to 1,605,762. There were also 9,095 recoveries and 77 deaths. Of the total number of cases, 3.9 percent (62,615) are active, 94.4 percent (1,515,054) have recovered, and 1.75 percent (28,093) have died. Ninety-four duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 20 are recoveries. Moreover, 19 cases previously tagged as recoveries have been validated to be active cases and 29 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation. One laboratory was not operational on July 31, 2021 but three were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System. Based on data in the last 14 days, the three non-reporting and one non-operating laboratories contribute, on average, 1.5 percent of samples tested and 1.0 percent of positive individuals. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

A12 Tuesday, August 3, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

‘The war has changed’

he arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine made us believe that we have gained the upper hand in our fight against the pandemic. But the Delta variant upended the global response to the health crisis, raising doubts about our chances of finding a sure way back to normalcy.

In the US, where the government bought enough Covid-19 vaccines for three times its adult population, tens of millions of Americans are choosing not to get vaccinated. These people are putting themselves in grave danger. From the Associated Press: “Florida registered 21,683 new Covid cases on Saturday, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic. The state has become the new national epicenter for the virus, accounting for around a fifth of all new cases in the US as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread.” The war against Covid-19 has changed because of the Delta variant, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An internal CDC document leaked to the media said the Delta variant, first detected in India and now dominant in many countries, is as contagious as chickenpox and far more contagious than the common cold or flu. Worse, it can be passed on even by vaccinated people, and may cause more serious disease than earlier coronavirus strains. The CDC document, dubbed “Improving communications around vaccine breakthrough and vaccine effectiveness,” said the Delta variant required a new approach to help the public understand the danger—to make clear that unvaccinated people are more than 10 times more likely than those who are vaccinated to become seriously ill or die. “Acknowledge the war has changed,” the CDC document said, an apparent reference to deepening concern that millions of vaccinated people could be a source of wide-ranging spread. “Improve communications around individual risk among vaccinated.” The CDC added that scientists who studied a big Covid-19 outbreak in Massachusetts concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots. When people get infected after vaccination, scientists call these cases “breakthrough infections” because the virus broke through the protective barrier the vaccine provides. People with breakthrough infections make up an increasing portion of hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths among Covid-19 patients, coinciding with the spread of the Delta variant, according to the CDC document. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, described the Delta variant as, in effect, a different virus, capable of generating outbreaks of infection even among some people who are vaccinated, although those are likely to be far less severe. “The Delta variant is showing every day its willingness to outsmart us and to be an opportunist in areas where we have not shown a fortified response against it,” she said. New data suggests that people who are vaccinated and have breakthrough infections from the Delta variant may have as much viral load as a person who is unvaccinated, which suggests they may be able to spread it to others, Walensky said. Such transmission did not happen in any significant way with earlier versions of the virus. Although the Covid-19 vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe disease and death, they do not form an impenetrable shield against the rampaging Delta variant. “To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission,” the CDC said. Dr. Gigi Gronvall, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the CDC document provides evidence that even as breakthrough infections are occurring, the vaccines remain highly effective. “Everybody is paying attention to breakthrough infections but the main risk is with the unvaccinated,” she said. “They are at risk from the virus and they are causing other people to have risks that they shouldn’t have to have.”

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Champions and accomplishments despite the pandemic Manny B. Villar

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would like to congratulate newly promoted Air Force Staff Sergeant Hidilyn Diaz for giving the Philippines our first gold medal in the Olympics for nearly a century. Her determination and strength to lift 97 kilograms in snatch and a record 127 kg in clean and jerk inspired a grateful nation, as we try to rise above the challenges brought about by the health crisis.

The entire Philippine contingent in the Tokyo Olympics deserves recognition for performing above expectations, as our participation this year in the quadrennial event gave us at least two medals. As I was writing this column, featherweight Nesthy Petecio secured at least a bronze and was fighting in the semifinals. I hope these momentous triumphs in the global sporting event will continue to inspire the Filipino people in surmounting the challenges of the global pandemic. We have a golden opportunity to build

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our path to the future, or the new global economy. And like what our champions have accomplished, we should train, prepare and build our capability to become world-class. Despite the threat of the pandemic, the government put in place the necessary infrastructure that will propel our economy once the crisis is over. These infrastructure projects will guide our way to a stronger Philippines. In his State of the Nation Address on July 26, 2021, President Duterte lauded the Department of Public Works and Highways under

couple of days ago, a comment was posted on Twitter. “If you are stocking up on booze before ECQ begins, you have a problem. Alcohol Drinking problem.”

The comments that followed were positive towards this person who is obviously concerned about the health and safety of his fellow men and women. He may have studied the research on people that have been locked down in the past year. We know that unhealthy habits have increased for many of us. It is also possible that the comment is not only about being locked down but also specifically about alcohol consumption. Perhaps he or a person close to him has battled against alcoholism or simply drinking in excess. Along with the “thumbs-up” type of comments, came others that expanded not only on the evils of alcohol, but also “Go Vegan,” “Don’t eat red meat,” and “Try intermittent fasting.” His post elicited “Public Service Announcements” by many

well-meaning individuals. In my younger days, I drank for both quantity and, when I could afford it, quality. A bottle of Mateus or a Portuguese rosé wine was a big payday date treat with dinner. More often, it was cheap Coors beer on poker nights and Budweiser for special occasions, sometimes in large quantities. Wealth and age moved me on to single-malt whiskey and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Tomorrow, I am expecting a delivery of two, not one, cases of beer. And I bought two cases in anticipation of the lockdown. I am sure my twitter “friend” and his friends might be horrified. I purchased two cases because I do business with an online shop that has “Buy One; Take One” on beer. Further, I drink beer virtually every single day. (More gasping

We must be cautious along the way, though, by avoiding missteps that could shackle the economy or worsen the health crisis. I continue to believe that a general lockdown would do more harm than good to the nation. We can do our part in the economic recovery by complying with effective health protocols, such as wearing of face masks and face shields outdoors, social distancing in work and market places, and proper hygiene at home to protect our people from the more virulent Delta variant.

the leadership of Secretary Mark Villar for its accomplishment from 2016 to 2020. In this period, the DPWH implemented three-times more projects than any administration had done in the last five decades. The agency accomplished infrastructure projects worth P2.5 trillion in the past five years, up 209 percent from P820.4 billion between 2011 and 2015. The projects resulted in the creation of 6.6 million jobs,

We live in a world where most thinking people would agree that what two consenting adults do in the bedroom behind closed doors is no one else’s business. Yet that same world is one in which too many people think they have the obligation, let alone the right, to tell people how to live their lives in many other respects. from the Twitter audience). Yes, every single day...one glass of beer with my dinner. “Public Service Announcements” like “Don’t Text and Drive” or “Never Run with Scissors” are specific suggestions that apply and are helpful to everyone. The fact that you might need—not simply want—to text while operating a motor vehicle because it is potentially a life-or-death situation is the exception that proves the rule. In Canada, research indicates that scissors are responsible for 10 percent of all eye injuries. Statistics from a hospital in Taiwan implicated scissors in nearly 14 percent of eye injuries. But the point is that—and we see it every day relating to Covid prevention and cure—people are adamant to tell the world that everyone should follow their advice on almost

mostly in construction, during the period. Under President Duterte’s watch, infrastructure investments climbed to an average of 5 percent of the gross domestic product, higher than those in any of the past four administrations. On the economic front, the Duterte administration accomplished reforms that lifted the burden of paying taxes from the poor. For example, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law reduced the personal income tax on wage earners, while the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act cut the corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 20 percent for micro, small and medium enterprises, and to 25 percent for other businesses. The TRAIN law and “sin” Tax reforms also raised the taxes on tobacco and alcohol three times, which raised the budget for universal health care in the country. Such tax reforms would not be possible without the strong leadership of President Duterte. The Philippines was one of the fastest-growing economies and on See “Villar,” A13

everything. Individual “Truth” is given out like condo-for-sale flyers at the mall whether anyone wants it, needs it, and regardless if it is useful at all. If not for Twitter, would the gentleman with words of wisdom about buying booze during the lockdown be going door-to-door to his neighbors making sure they were following his advice? We live in a world where most thinking people would agree that what two consenting adults do in the bedroom behind closed doors is no one else’s business. Yet that same world is one in which too many people think they have the obligation, let alone the right, to tell people how to live their lives in many other respects. A woman on an airplane pulls out a Kit Kat bar and eats it. Having missed lunch, she takes out another. The gentleman next to her points to her candy and says she shouldn’t do that, as it is unhealthy. The woman turns to the man and says, “My grandfather lived to 92 years old.” The man asks, “Because he ate chocolate?” “No,” the woman replies. “Because he minded his own business.” E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, August 3, 2021 A13

CREATE VAT confusion Direct democracy through e-governance Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Manny F. Dooc

Tax law for business

TELLTALES

he implementation of Revenue Regulations 9-2021 is in suspended animation. What happens now? Some believe that everything goes back to the rules before RR 9-2021 was issued. But some are more cautious, knowing that Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) has clearly laid down the limitations on what can be considered as zero-rated.

ection 1, Article II of the Philippine Constitution declares: “The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” This provision sets the democratic and representative system of our government and acknowledges that sovereign power is held by the people. We are a republican state governed by the duly elected representatives of the people. In a way, it is not a pure democracy where the people directly rule themselves, but that’s the most practical approach since the Philippines consists of 110 million people and the affairs of the state are varied and complex. It would be impossible to gather all its adult citizens to take up and discuss the problems of the country. Even if we can, such a deliberative body would be ungovernable and wild. Thus, most countries in the world, whether democratic or authoritarian, have adopted republicanism. Even in the smallest unit of our government, we elect the barangay chairman and his council members to govern our villages.

The first school of thought sees that everything goes back to what it was before, which means that the cross-border doctrine as we know it remains. An Ecozone company, although located inside Philippine territory, is considered existing in a foreign soil. Thus, sale to an Ecozone company, even without being actually exported, is considered constructively exported and is considered value-added tax zero-rated. What is the effect of this school of thought on local suppliers of Ecozone companies? If you are a local supplier that is located outside the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, you must not pass on VAT to a PEZA-registered entity. That is the general rule. In other words, an Ecozone company should not allow its suppliers to impose VAT on it because of the cross-border doctrine. If it does, the Ecozone company cannot recover the input VAT from the government. It can, however, file a claim for refund against its supplier. The second school of thought sees that CREATE is now the prevailing law. It explicitly states that to be considered zero-rated, purchases by an Ecozone company must be “directly and exclusively used” for its registered activity. There is now a limitation of what can be considered as VAT zero-rated. It is not a zero-sum game anymore. With CREATE, suppliers and buyers must determine if what is being bought or sold will be directly and exclusively used for the registered activity of the Ecozone company. Did CREATE diminish the crossborder doctrine? It is important to note that the PEZA Law was not amended by CREATE. The PEZA Law and the SC cases of Seagate and Toshiba state that ALL purchases by a PEZA entity are VAT zero-rated. There is no exception. But CREATE is now limiting it to those that are directly and exclusively used by an Ecozone company for its registered activities. The Implementing Rules of CREATE broadly defines “directly and exclusively used” in the registered project or activity as referring to raw materials, supplies, equipment, goods, services, and other expenditures necessary for the registered project or activity without which the registered project or activity cannot be carried out. The definition as it is now, will cause lots of confusion, and tax assessments in the future. The taxpayers will now be left with the burden of proving that what was sold to Ecozone companies fall within the definition of direct and exclusive use and are consequently zero rated. What if what is purchased is not “directly and exclusively used” for the registered activity of a PEZA company? What will happen with the VAT that is passed on to it? Can it file a claim for refund for these or it has no choice but to just consider it as part of cost? Yes, it can. But the Ecozone company must prove two points—that what was passed on to it is not directly and exclusively used for its registered activity AND that the same is attributable to its zero-rated sales. How can an input VAT that is not “directly and exclusively used” for a registered activity be considered as attributable to the same? This is a paradox that must be clarified by our legislators. The Tax Code speaks of attribution. The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) in the case of Toledo states that “directly” and “entirely” as stated in Section 112 of the Tax Code does not

The deferral of RR 9-2021 puts taxpayers in limbo. Should taxpayers still consider all sales to Ecozone entities zero-rated or should they now apply the “direct and exclusive use” rule under CREATE? Did CREATE diminish the cross-border doctrine? mean that only those purchases of goods that form part of the finished product of the taxpayer can be subject of an input VAT refund. According to the CTA, it is significant to note that the Tax Code did not limit input taxes to those purchases that only form part of the finished product of the taxpayer. To the extent possible, words must be given their ordinary meaning. The word “attribute,” the adjective form of which is “attributable,” is defined in the dictionary as “to explain as to cause or origin.” In other words, “creditable input tax due or paid attributable to such sales” simply means that the input tax is connected with the zero rated or effectively zero-rated sales. So, the Tax Code might have a brewing conflict with CREATE. Should we abide by the definition of the CTA in Toledo that does not limit zero-rating only to those that are directly and exclusively used but considers all purchases as attributable to zero-rated sale? In another case, however, the CTA has a different view which may be consistent with CREATE. It ruled that boarding houses that serve as housing of the PEZA company employees cannot be considered as “attributable” to the registered activity. The PEZA company is engaged purely in export sale of nickel. According to the CTA, materials used to construct the laborer’s row houses, dormitories and foreman’s duplex are not attributable to export sales. But a dissenting opinion said that the construction of these facilities is indispensable in the pursuit of its registered activity, moreso, as the PEZA company’s plant is located in a far-flung area, where public transport is scarce. If housing of employees is not considered as attributable to the zero-rated sale, what else cannot be considered as such, especially now under CREATE? Are the gasoline and the cars used by employees to go to the mining site pass the criteria of CREATE for zero-rating? If not, what will happen to the input VAT that will be passed on to Ecozone companies? The deferral of RR 9-2021 puts taxpayers in limbo. Should taxpayers still consider all sales to Ecozone entities zero-rated or should they now apply the “direct and exclusive use” rule under CREATE? Did CREATE diminish the cross-border doctrine? What is the categorical meaning of “direct and exclusive use” vis a vis the attribution rule? The government cannot afford to just throw in general definition of these terms. Vagueness will result in subjective interpretations, which will further dampen a plague-stricken economy. The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global.  The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.c.nideajr@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 330.

They may occasionally conduct town hall meetings but public participation is less encouraging. We have seen many of them held but there was hardly honest-to-goodness deliberation and resolution of public issues. One time we had it was during the Martial Law period when the 1973 Constitution was ratified by Citizens’ Assemblies conducted in each barangay with people raising their hands. The process was questionable and the result was suspect. The sovereign authority of the people is exercised by the enfranchised citizenry when they troop to the polls to elect their leaders who will run the government and manage the affairs of the state. These elected leaders who are chosen every 3 or 6 years, depending on the position they are aspiring for, derive their mandate from the people. There is no perpetual hold on elective positions in our government. If they desire to serve longer, they should seek reelection,

provided they are still qualified, or the sovereign people may boot them out and replace them with newfound leaders. We subscribe to the principle that “a public office is a public trust.” The paramount objective of those who aspire for a public position is to serve the people and promote their interests. Our Constitution clearly stipulates this under Section 1 of Article XI, which provides: “Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.” No question that the framers of our Constitution have set lofty standards of public service. If Diogenes, the illustrious cynic philosopher, were alive today, he would be frustrated looking for a candidate for a public office who possesses the qualifications prescribed by our Constitution. I wonder if he

The 2022 presidential election is less than 10 months away. Approximately 60 million registered voters will visit their polling places to elect the new president and other government officials. As the peoples’ representatives, the winners will swear to act on our behalf and look after our welfare.

would find a suitable candidate to fill an elective post. The 2022 presidential election is less than 10 months away. Approximately 60 million registered voters will visit their polling places to elect the new president and other government officials. As the peoples’ representatives, the winners will swear to act on our behalf and look after our welfare. They ought to conduct themselves in office according to the people’s will that installed them into office. And representatives should comport themselves accordingly once they have assumed office. Sad to say, however, even before they could warm their seats, they would turncoat and join the ruling party to enjoy the perks handed out by the administration. Without consulting their constituents, they would betray their trust and jump to the other side of the political fence for their personal interest and convenience. They would break every promise they made during the campaign and start feathering their nest for their reelection. They would vote or decide not based on the dictate of their conscience but as ordained by the vested interests that control them. They subscribe to the politics of convenience, not principles. Public service is dishonored by gross betrayal of public trust, disloyalty to the people and loss of integrity. Time and again, electorates have sent the wrong leaders to represent them and protect their interests. At

campaign time when they solicit our votes, candidates put up their best foot forward, brush up their credentials and hire angels to proclaim their integrity. But once sworn in, they become completely different men and are seized by amnesia, which makes them forgetful of their noble commitments. Is there a viable alternative to the republican system? Is there a way we can go back to the system of direct democracy practiced in Athens during its glory days? Some 500 years B.C., the Athens Ecclesia or Assembly acted as a public place and a sovereign authority. Athenians convened there to take up public issues like taxes, laws, health, education, peace and order and even war. Athens was then small and the Ecclesia could accommodate more than the majority of them. Any Athenian could hold public office and he got paid for his services. The rule of majority was strictly followed. Today, it is almost impossible to replicate the ancient Athenian model but there must be some ways to do it given the cyber technology that we have. Online voting is becoming more common in many contests and public surveys involving multitudes and IT has enabled massive commercial transactions regardless of volume. Even partially, we can practice genuine self-governance with the help of cyber technology. For instance, in the field of legislation, public hearing can be done online. The public can participate by linking to the site, which provides access to them. In fact, Congress now enacts laws through online facilities. The Internet has totally transformed our ways of doing things—business through e-commerce, education through online learning, health system through online medical consultation, and practically in all phases of our life. Governance may not be far behind. And we can go back to direct democracy, minus the evils that currently hound our republican form of government.

Tree-planting pledges fall short of climate change goals By Linda Poon | Bloomberg Opinion

T seems like every few weeks, there’s a new campaign somewhere to plant 1 million—or some other impressive number—of trees. These initiatives often are announced to great fanfare. After all, why wouldn’t a city want a massive boost to its urban tree canopy? Trees’ ability to store carbon makes them potentially powerful tools against climate change. And ample studies have shown they also alleviate air pollution, reduce the effects of urban heat islands and make streets more walkable.

But planting a million trees is not the cure-all for global warming that many leaders want it to be, especially when only a fraction of those trees mature, survive or even make it into the ground. And such large-scale initiatives are anything but simple. In our latest story for Bloomberg CityLab, my colleague Feargus O’Sullivan and I look at the pitfalls of these kinds of ambitious campaigns. We start with Copenhagen, which in 2015 had a more modest goal of planting 100,000 trees within 10 years but whose missteps are far

Villar. . .

Continued from A12

its way to become an upper-middle country by 2020 until the Covid-19 pandemic stalled our momentum. After locking down our borders at the onset of the pandemic, the government gradually reopened the economy to allow our workers to return to work and resume our infrastructure development. As a result, we saw the completion of major infrastructure projects such as the North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link, the Skyway Stage 3, several sections of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, a section of Central Luzon Link Expressway, the EstrellaPantaleon Bridge, Kalayaan Bridge, among other projects that will facilitate faster and easier movement of people and products. Our other champions during this

Planting a million trees is not the cure-all for global warming that many leaders want it to be, especially when only a fraction of those trees mature, survive or even make it into the ground. And such large-scale initiatives are anything but simple.

too common among cities across the globe. Just six years into the city’s campaign, many of the planted saplings have withered and died. “People bash into them with bikes and cars,” Sandra Hoj, an urban tree campaigner in Copenhagen, told us, “and they often don’t have proper protection.” The bark gets slashed, or they get poisoned in the winter because the municipality has put salt on the roads instead of some alternative that’s safe for the trees. “Meanwhile, the city is still replacing some beautiful mature trees

with tiny little twigs, which die, are replanted, and then die again,” she said. In other cities, million-tree campaigns never realize their goals after cities recognize, sometimes too late, that it’s not just about getting the saplings planted. A look at Los Angeles’ initiative revealed the perils of a “throw-everything-in-thekitchen-sink” approach that relied on tree giveaways and nonprofits to get trees into the ground. By the end of the campaign in 2013, the city had reached less than half its target. “It’s not just about planting a million trees,” said Lara Roman, a US Forest Service researcher who

pandemic are the overseas Filipino workers who defied the global health crisis to toil in other countries and send money to their families in the country. OFW remittances increased 6.3 percent in the first five months of 2021 to $12.28 billion from $11.554 billion a year ago, infusing substantial liquidity into our financial system that supports the growth of various sectors, such as banking, real estate, health care, retail, transportation, travel and tourism, education, automotive and e-commerce. I believe that with the inspiration provided by our athletes, the government’s infrastructure rollout, steady remittances from OFWs and aggressive vaccination program, we can sustain our gains through the pandemic and emerge as a stronger nation ready to take on the golden opportunity of the new global economy. There are clear signals that the

economy is on a rebound. These include the 7-percent increase in energy sales volume of electricity retailer Manila Electric Co. in the first half of 2021 to 270 gigawatthours. Power demand from the commercial segment surged 54 percent in May and 29 percent in June from the same months last year, as public confidence grew with the gradual increase in the number of people vaccinated. Industrial sales volume also rose 23 percent on higher demand from the electronics and construction sectors. We must be cautious along the way, though, by avoiding missteps that could shackle the economy or worsen the health crisis. I continue to believe that a general lockdown would do more harm than good to the nation. We can do our part in the economic recovery by complying with effective health protocols, such as wearing of face masks and

studies tree mortality. “It’s about planting and taking care of a million, and in the right places.” Now, with an ever-growing climate crisis that’s heightened the allure of trees but that’s also made the urban environment more hostile to them, it’s even more urgent for policymakers to rethink how they will grow their tree canopies and take care of them. That includes careful consideration of not only where they plant—in the US, the poorest neighborhoods have 41 percent less canopy than the wealthiest ones—but also what they plant. Amid droughts and diseases that can wipe out an entire species of trees, cities need to think ahead to planting more resilient trees, ones that require less water and can withstand increasing heat. Success can no longer be measured solely by whether a city meets that million or hundred-thousand target—although many cities haven’t succeeded at that, either. face shields outdoors, social distancing in work and market places, and proper hygiene at home to protect our people from the more virulent Delta variant. So far, over 6 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, representing 10.5 percent of our target to achieve herd immunity. Another 11 million Filipinos received their first doses of the six vaccine brands approved by the Food and Drug Administration. We as a nation will survive this pandemic. We have kept our economic fundamentals intact despite many challenges, and with the many accomplishments of this administration, especially on infrastructure, we have built the foundation to face the new global economic order. For comments, send e-mail to mbv_secretariat@vistaland.com.ph or visit www.mannyvillar. com.ph

Sports

OBIENA CHILLING OUT IN PREPS FOR FINALS OF MEN’S POLE VAULT

BusinessMirror

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| Tuesday, August 3, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

BIANCA PAGDANGANAN, works on her putting during a practice round prior to the women’s golf event at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe on Monday. Pagdanganan and US Women’s Open champion are favorites to add to the country’s medal haul. The women’s golf event starts on Wednesday. AP

Knott melts in Tokyo heat

OKYO—Kristina Marie Knott missed her modest target and crashed out of the women’s 200 meters of athletics on Monday—no thanks to the Japanese summer heat—at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium. Knott aimed for a sub-23 seconds run to better her Philippine record of 23.01m, but could only do 23.80 seconds to wind up in 37th place out of 41 runners. The Tokyo heat got the better of the 25-year-old Knott in her group as she bowed out from the women’s 200-meter run in the Summer topped by American Jenna Prandini, who clocked 22.56. “This is her first Olympic Games. She could have been battling a lot of things. It could have been the extreme heat. It could have been nerves,” Knott’s coach Roshaan Griffin said. “I’m not trying to pinpoint an excuse, or give a set of answers. It was an awful performance. It wasn’t what we expected. But people need to realize this is the world stage,” Twenty four runners advanced to the semifinals slated later the day. Knott was rushed to the Medical Station immediately after crossing the finish line, vomiting and nauseated due to heat stress coming from an extended exposure to the summer heat in the Japanese capital. “She suffered heat exhaustion and has to stay at the stadium medical station for about an hour to rehydrate,” Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association Marketing and Communications Director Edward Kho said. “After crossing the finish line she was vomiting and she was dazed.” “Thanks for the prayers of support. She is resting in her room now,” Kho added. Namibia’s Christine NBoma clocked 22.11 for the heats’ best time. Other topnotchers of their respective heats were Côte d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou (22.30), Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (22.22), Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji (22.26), Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan (22.76) and Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel (22.74).

Jun Lomibao

NESTHY GOES FOR SPORTS IMMORTALITY By Jun Lomibao

OKYO—For Nesthy Petecio, all roads lead to the fabled Kokugikan Arena as she steps atop the ring for the biggest fight of her life on Tuesday. That’s extremely strange. Never in Philippine history has its great sportswriters written about the nation seeking a second Olympic gold medal. Never. But because of weightlifter Hidilyan Diaz who won the country’s very first Olympic gold medal two Mondays ago and Petecio going unscathed in four fights in these Games, Filipinos back home will be glued to their television sets starting at 12:05 p.m. (Manila time) to witness Petecio fight for sports immortality. Standing between a gold medal—and the windfall of incentives that comes with it—is a young Japanese, 20-year-old Sena Irie, who, like Petecio, 29, would be fighting for her flag and country in

these Olympics where the boxing competitions are supervised by a special International Olympic Committee body and not the controversy-marred International Boxing Associaton or AIBA. She had a rousing Olympic debut by overwhelming the Republic of the Congo’s Marcelat Sakobi Matshu, 5-0. Petecio then booted out the biggest thorn in her weight category, using cunning speed and talent to beat Olympic top seed and world No. 1 Lin Yu-Ting, by a close 3-2 score. At 5-foot-2, Petecio used her quickness in toppling the 5-foot-8 Taiwanese. In her third fight, Colombian Yeni Marceloa Arias Castaneda found the Filipino one tough nut to crack, giving Petecio a ticker to the medal round where another taller opponent waited for her. Last Saturday, Petecio again had to contend with a for six inches taller than she is. After giving away the first round to measure her opponent, Petecio cracked the whip and again with her speed and relentless punching, beat Italy’s

Doncic’s Olympic debut getting rave reviews

LUKA DONCIC’S impact is all over the court. AP

SPORTS WITHOUT BORDERS

Japanese sports with Shinkawa lot you can’t control, like the firing of Wizards Coach Scott Brooks, and the hiring of Wes Unseld Jr. as the new Head Coach, and the trade involving one of the team’s stars, Russell Westbrook. However, there are crucial aspects of marketing a professional

Irma Testa, 4-1, to advance to the gold medal play. That alone was already history as it marked the first time since Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco settled for a silver medal also in boxing at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. “I’ll go for the gold with everything I’ve got, and I know that if I follow my coaches, I won’t go wrong,” she said, referring to Nolito “Boy” Velasco as well as Australian Consultant Don Abnett, Ronald Chavez, Reynaldo Galido and Elmer Pamisa. “If we boxers are working hard, the more are out coaches working hard,” said Petecio, one of three boxers from Mindanao who are championing the country’s bid for gold medals in boxing. The other two are Eumir Felix Marcial, who advanced to the men’s middleweight final, and Carlo Paalam, who is also on boxing’s schedule on Tuesday. Paalam will go for the men’s flyweight medal round when he battles Olympic and world champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan at 11:15 a.m. (Tokyo time).

AITAMA, Japan—Luka Doncic’s first Olympics have not been perfect, despite what the basketball standings say. He was defeated. Once. By the rules. Doncic was looking for tickets to go watch men’s tennis when Novak Djokovic was playing in the men’s semifinals. Ordinarily, the world’s top athletes have no problem getting into other Olympic events when their schedules allow. But at the Tokyo Games, amid a pandemic, there are very strict policies about what athletes can do and where they can go. As such, Doncic’s plea for tickets went unfulfilled.

He settled for watching “everything on TV,” Doncic said. Another marquee event is coming up Tuesday, that being the men’s basketball quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games. Doncic won’t have tickets to those, but won’t need them, either. He’ll be on the court when Slovenia takes on Germany for a berth in the medal round, a step that would put his basketballcrazed homeland even more on the sport’s map and potentially send his stock soaring even higher. “We have, obviously, the best player in the world,” Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said. Doncic is certainly in the conversation about being the world’s best. As far as being the best player in the Tokyo Games, there’s no argument. Through the group stage, Doncic led the Olympic men’s field in scoring at 28.3 points per game, 6.0 points ahead of Japan’s Rui Hachimura. He’s second in

rebounding at 10.7 per game, behind only Slovenian teammate Mike Tobey’s 13 per contest. And he’s third in assists at 7.0 per game; Tomas Satoransky of the Czech Republic averaged 8.7, Spain’s Ricky Rubio is averaging 7.3. No men’s player has ever finished an Olympics averaging Doncic’s current numbers. And nobody has averaged 28.3 points in an Olympics since Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt—the Olympic standard for just about every men’s scoring mark—averaged 42.3 per game at Seoul in 1988. “We’re making history for our country,” Doncic said. His impact is all over the court. Nobody in this men’s tournament has drawn more fouls, by a wide margin, than Doncic. He’s also tied for the Olympic lead in blocked shots, is shooting a ridiculous 75 percent on two-pointers, is one of five players in the Olympics

sports team that Shinkawa can control like making sure the atmosphere at Wizards games continues to be family oriented and Wizards fans and visitors have a good experience worthy of a return to the Capital One Arena. Shinkawa is also a member of the Wizards’ global digital media team. Speaking of global, Wizards small forward and Japanese international, Rui Hachimura, was Japan’s flag bearer at the opening ceremonies. Hachimura is half-Beninese because of his father, Zakari Jabil, and half-Japanese because of his mother, Makiko. Shinkawa was an interpreter in Major League Baseball for five years before working in the Wizards organization, so as far as the

culture of professional athletes and professional sports, Ryo is already familiar with the lay of the land. Talking to Ryo, I began to realize that today’s age, as far as Japanese sports is concerned, is The Land of the Rising Sun’s golden age. We remember the likes of former professional tennis player Kimiko Date, Yuta Tabuse of the Phoenix Suns, 29-year baseball veteran Ichiro Suzuki, and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo. Now, you have the aforementioned Rui Hachimura of the Wizards, and Yuta Watanabe of the Toronto Raptors. Shohei Otani of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. Professional tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic flame at the opening ceremonies. Another professional tennis player,

Kei Nishikori, a contender in any grand slam tournament, and Naoya Inoue, unified bantamweight world champion. There must be a measure of pride and resilience among the Japanese for pushing through with the games despite the pandemic and criticism from quarters to go on with the games despite the onslaught of Covid-19. On a personal note, Ryo and I are first time fathers who had a child during the pandemic. If the games didn’t push through, us Filipinos will never know if Hidilyn Diaz would have won our country’s first ever Olympic gold medal.

VINCENT JUICO @VJuico, Instagram vpjp_j, vince.juico@gmail.com

IT was a day after the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ opening ceremonies, held this year, 2021, that I had a conversation with Washington Wizards Marketing Manager and Japanese national Ryo Shinkawa. In Ryo’s line of work, there’s a

the women’s featherweight final. Irie is a familiar for Petecio. The Japanese beat the Filipina in the Asia and Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan, early in 2020, denying Petecio of an Olympic berth. Petecio, however, earned her ticket to Tokyo by virtue of her ranking in the Olympic Task Force Ranking of the International Olympic Committee. But Petecio will be a prepared and inspired boxer on Irie’s home soil. “This means a lot to me, it’s my dream and this as importantly my father’s dream,” Petecio said. Petecio comes from a poor family in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur. Her father Teodoro toils a small piece of land while her mother Prescilla tends to the family. “A victory will not only be for me but for my family, and to Filipinos who pray for me,” said Petecio, whose Japanese rival won’t have the hometown advantage because fans are not allowed in all competitions in these pandemic Olympics. Petecio stitched together close to convincing victories in

NESTHY PETECIO fights for the women’s featherweight gold medal against a Japanese opponent. AP

OKYO—Ernest John “EJ” Obiena was “chillin out” on the eve of the men’s pole vault final of athletics when chanced upon by Filipino sportswriters at the Conrad Tokyo. Obiena squares off with a starstudded cast led by world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden and Rio de Janeiro Olympics champion Thiago Braz in his quest for a gold medal, potentially the third for the Philippine campaign in these pandemic Games. “I’ll talk to coach Vitaly [Petrov] for the game plan,” Obiena said. Obiena is No. 11 in the order of play after ranking fifth in his group in the qualifying round behind KC Lightfoot of the United States, Kurtis Marschall of Australia, Renauld Lavillenie of France and Emmanouil Karalis of Greece. The pole vault finals start at 7:20 p.m. at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium. Obiena was one sluggish gold medal hopeful in Saturday’s qualifying. He cleared 5.75 meters on his last try to join 11 others in the gold medal showdown. And everything boils down to everyone starting from scratch in the finals. “Erase the qualifying stage, back to zero, start from scratch,” said his father-coach Emerson Obiena, adding the young Obiena is determined to make up for his disappointing start Saturday. “I’m relieved that EJ was able to get his rhythm in his last jump [qualifying], where he became relaxed,” Emerson said. But to realistically make the podium, Obiena needs to soar higher than his personal—and the Philippines—best of 6.87m and clear 6.00m. Also in the final cast are Menno Vloon of the Netherlands, Christopher Nilsen of the USA, Bo Kanda Lita Baehre of Germany, Harry Coppell of Great Britain, Oleg Zernikel of Germany, Ersu Sasma of Turkey and Piotr Lisek of Poland. Zernikel was the last final qualifier from Obiena’s group, making 5.65m. Qualifying from Group B were Baehre, Nilsen, Duplantis, Vloon, Braz and Lisek all at 5.75 and Coppell and Sasma at 5.65. Duplantis is the man to beat, being the world record holder of 6.18 with a season best of 6.10. Braz (6.03), Lisek (6.02) and Lavillenie (6.16) have also breached the 6.00m mark, making them among the top medal contenders. Jun Lomibao with at least 10 makes so far on three-pointers. He had a 48-point Olympic debut, tying him for the second-highest scoring game in Olympic history, and was one assist shy on Sunday against Spain from posting what would have been the third triple-double ever at the Games. “He is the best player in the world, including the NBA,” Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said. “If there was any doubt in my mind, it is there no more.” For as good as Doncic is with the Dallas Mavericks, he’s been impossible to beat in his nation’s colors. AP MEGAN TAPPER’S no Usain Bolt and her medal’s not gold but a silver, but the Jamaican sure does know how to strike a pose after the women’s 100-meter hurdles final at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. AP

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

SM Prime profit up 12% in January-June By VG Cabuag

@villygc

hopping mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc. on Monday said its net income rose 12 percent to P11.6 billion in the first semester, from P10.4 billion last year, thanks to its residential business. For the April to June quarter alone, the company reported that its income grew more than double to P5.2 billion from last year’s P2.1 billion. However, its consolidated revenues in the first semester declined by 6 percent to P41.1 billion, from P43.7 billion last year. “In these challenging times, we are committed more in providing a safe environment to all our stakeholders by strict observance of health and safety protocols across all our developments. Along with this commitment is our initiative to support the national government’s vaccination program in our malls nationwide as well as providing free inoculation to thousands of our employees,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said. The company said its residential business continued to improve in the first half, as well as its shopping malls business in the second quarter of the year despite the reimplementation of stricter community quarantine from March to May in key areas, such as Metro Manila and nearby provinces. SM Prime’s residential business, which now accounted for 60 percent of SM Prime’s consolidated revenues and led by SM Development Corp., registered a 3-percent increase in revenues to P24.5 billion in the first six months of 2021 from P23.7 billion a year ago. Its operating income improved by 8 percent to P10.4 billion in the first half from P9.7 billion last year. SMDC’s net reservation sales rose by 30 percent to P55.1 billion in the first semester from P42.4 billion last year. Construction works on SM Prime’s new and latest residential projects remain ongoing while following safety protocols implemented by the national government. SM Prime’s domestic shopping malls business now only accounts for 26 percent of the consolidated revenues. For the first half, the malls business reported P10.7

SMC to inoculate 35K workers in 5 weeks

onglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Monday said it is targeting to inoculate over 35,000 of its employees and its extended work force in five weeks as the company fast-tracks its vaccination program. SMC President Ramon S. Ang said the company had already delivered an initial 26,700 doses to various provinces where it operates. Vaccination of more Metro Manila-based employees commenced at the San Miguel Sports Complex in Pasig last July 27. The conglomerate has also accelerated its vaccination campaign in Isabela, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Laguna, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao and Cagayan de Oro until August 27. “We are in a race against time to have all of our 70,000 employees fully-vaccinated and I firmly believe that we are on track to achieve micro herd immunity in our offices and facilities nationwide in a few months. Our goal is to work quickly, efficiently and safely to have everyone completely vaccinated and protected against Covid-19, and the emerging Delta variant, which is more transmissible according to our health experts,” Ang said. Ang said some 35,855 employees have signed up for their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, which it procured under its P1-billion vaccine program. Majority of the workers will get their jabs at the San Miguel Sports Complex in Pasig City and the province of Cavite. At the moment, it has 12 vaccine sites that are simultaneously operating in Laguna, Cavite, Batangas (Mabini and Lipa), Pampanga, Pangasinan, Isabela, Bataan, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro. Ang said the company has more than enough vaccines to vaccinate its work force as it recently received 150,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine good for 75,000 direct and indirect workers. The conglomerate is expecting another batch of 150,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to arrive next year under the tripartite agreement that the private sector signed with the government and the British-Swedish drug maker last November 2020. It expects to administer the second doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for its employees starting in the middle of September. Under the Department of Health guidance, the standard interval for AstraZeneca doses is four weeks to 12 weeks apart. “We are striking a balance between getting as many employees fully vaccinated as soon as possible while not affecting the maximum protection that the vaccine will provide. We will continue to seek guidance from the experts on the best interval or the middle ground, given the new strain of the virus,”Ang said. To assist in the national vaccination effort, particularly in the National Capital Region, the company has employed over a hundred doctors and nurses. They are currently deployed at various local government sites in Mandaluyong, Manila, Malabon, Parañaque and Quezon City and have helped administer some 444,673 doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of July 26. VG Cabuag

billion in revenues, down by 26 percent from the previous P14.4 billion as the reimplementation of the strictest quarantine classification in the Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal from March to May slowed mall activities.

It registered revenues of P4.8 billion for the second quarter alone, a 55-percent increase from the P3.1 billion recorded in 2020. The company’s shopping malls in China recorded a 48-percent growth in revenues to P3 billion from last year’s P2 billion.

SM Prime’s other business segments, which include hotels and convention centers, contributed P3.1 billion to the company’s consolidated revenues. SM Prime opened the south wing of Park Inn by Radisson Clark in the first half, which added 100 new rooms to the company’s hotel portfolio.

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Phoenix net income grows by 9% in Q2

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

hoenix Petroleum said it recorded a 9-percent increase in net income in April to June on account of higher volumes. It said Monday that net income in the second quarter reached P132 mi l lion, w ith revenues higher by 38 percent. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)

surged by 73 percent from the prior quarter to P1.07 billion. Operational expenses per liter were down by 17 percent. Overall volume grew 32 percent from the prior quarter as the

growth of the domestic business picks up pace. Domestic volume rose 27 percent quarter-on-quarter. Commercial, alongside other B2B segments, strengthened from the prior quarter as select industries, such as manufacturing and trading drove the momentum. Its LPG business also accelerated on strong canister volume and as industrial LPG returned to growth. Meanwhile, its overseas business was up 37 percent quarteron-quarter led by the growth in the Vietnam LPG business. “Our second quarter perfor-

mance shows that our domestic growth is accelerating and we are solidifying our market positions as evidenced by the recent market share expansion. Despite challenges, we are able to continue to expand our network via a capex-light model, win new B2B accounts, and keep our costs in line,” Phoenix Petroleum President Henry Albert R. Fadullon said. The oil firm’s recovery in retail has been slowed down by the continued challenges in mobility with the new spikes in Covid-19 cases, the slower-than-expected rollout of the nationwide vacci-

nation program, and the threat of new Covid variants. Phoenix Petroleum’s market share in the second quarter stood at 7.8 percent while its LPG market share grew to 7.2 percent. The number of its service stations reached 680 during the period. The oil company continues to deliver meaningful balance sheet initiatives with the continued debt reduction and successful refinancing of short-term liabilities. The company said these have enhanced liquidity and lengthened its debt maturity profile. It also settled P3.08 billion in commercial papers, which was

partly financed by internally generated funds. Cash generation improved through active working capital management and shorter cash cycles. “We are confident in our path to long-term, sustainable growth, and will continue to implement high-impact activities to further strengthen the company’s fundamentals. We are encouraged and inspired to see progress over the past quarters with all the work the team has been putting in. With all these operational gains, we will probably see even more opportunities going forward,” Fadullon said.

Cebu Pacific starts vaccination drive C

ebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’s leading carrier, rolled out last July 28 its vaccination program which will inoculate employees and their dependents, and third-party workers for free. This is part of the Gokongwei Group’s COVID Protect Program which kicked off on July 6 with the vaccination of frontliners from Robinsons Retail. The conglomerate-procured vaccines were administered to Cebu Pacific’s first batch of 300 employ-

ees at the airline’s headquarters in Pasay City. CEB expects to complete administration of first dose this August and fully vaccinate all employees and third party workers by October this year. Prior to the COVID Protect, CEB has been championing vaccination, citing that the earliest vaccine is the best vaccine. Therefore, it forged partnerships with the Pasay local government unit (LGU) and the Project Balik-Buhay of Cebu, alongside LGU vaccination

The airline continues to intensify its safety drive to inspire passenger confidence as more Filipinos gear up for the easing of requirements and restrictions for air travel. “We are thankful to the CEB management for always ensuring we fly safely amid this pandemic, so we can also make sure we deliver the best service to our passengers,” said Cebu Pacific pilot Capt. Joey Mananghaya. The employee vaccination initiative is also in line with the airline company’s shared vision with Ingat Angat, a private-sector led campaign that promotes safety measures and vaccination to help foster a nationwide economic recovery.

programs where employees reside. To date, 51 percent of CEB’s total work force has been inoculated; while 58 percent of its flying pilots and crew have received their vaccine doses. “Even before the pandemic, the safety and overall flight experience of our passengers have been topmost priorities. With the pandemic, now more than ever, health is of primordial concern. Rightfully so, we continue to ensure everyJuan will feel confident to fly with CEB thus our championing vaccination efforts not only for organic employees but also for dependents, and our third-party workers,” said Felix Lopez, Cebu Pacific Vice President for People Department.

mutual funds

August 2, 2021

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

202.46

3.27%

-8.7%

-6.16%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.3562

35.3%

-2.9%

-0.51%

3.29%

5.99%

-12.68%

-8.79%

-10.9%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.7915

-10.9%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7364 9.21%

-7.27% n.a.

-8.4%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7133 8.93%

-6.41% n.a.

-3.82%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

6.23%

-6.65%

-4.34%

-9.44%

0.665

0.45%

-9.51%

-8.37%

-3.9% n.a.

-5.9%

4.4748

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

95.93

24.78%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

41.2637

4.85%

-7.28%

-5.23%

-11.92%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

435.5

2.99%

-6.78%

-5.52%

-10.94%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5

1.0188

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.0824

8.57%

-5.72%

-4.03%

-7.34%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

31.182

18.41% n.a. n.a. 6.28%

-6.21%

-4.01%

-10.32%

-7.15%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.8016

3.03% n.a. n.a.

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.2337

5.68%

-6.69%

-4.45%

-11.64%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

708.29

5.53%

-6.61%

-4.58%

-11.65%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.6512

7.49%

-9.93%

-7.39%

-9.42%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2514

4.67%

-8.37%

-5.66%

-10.28%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8084 5.04%

-6.96%

-4.73%

-11.91%

United Fund, Inc. -a

-6.69%

-3.8%

-10.2%

-6.41%

-4.06%

2.9805

5.63%

-12.48%

-12.2%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

95.0742

5.51%

-11.6%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1977

16.51%

4.55%

6.54%

-0.43%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8217

25.67%

12.2%

11.97%

8.9%

-1.98%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.6356

4.85%

-1.42%

-2.64%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.1071

3.08%

-3.08%

-2.66%

-7.8%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4584

2.57%

-2.44%

-1.93%

-6.42%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1831

-0.44% n.a. n.a.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.871

-0.95%

1.92%

-0.18% 0.94%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.503

-1.48%

-2.35%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

15.6904

1.52%

-1.33%

-2.32%

-7.36%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

1.9591

2.77%

-2.64%

-1.92%

-6.45%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3363 2.51%

-7.53%

-3.77%

-3.3%

-6.63%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9475

1.28% n.a. n.a.

-7.34%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8433

1.05% n.a. n.a.

-11.16%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8248

1.98% n.a. n.a.

-11.61%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

3.49%

0.8277

-4.5%

-7.8%

-4.74%

-3.77%

-6.76%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03827

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1027

-2.6%

2.79%

1.24%

-2.17%

7.13%

2.98%

3.59%

-4.13%

18.8%

9.28%

8.34%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2258 8.8%

5.36%

4.57%

1.97%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.7836

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

373.1

1.57%

3.18%

2.42%

0.55%

1.9245

-1.11%

1.15%

0.15%

1.27%

3.61%

4.25%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.235

1.18%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2696

0.63%

-1.45%

2.31%

1.23%

-1.15%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4443 -0.41%

3.35%

1.68%

-0.36%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.4951

-3.59%

4.55%

1.1%

-3.01%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6

1.3188

1.17%

4.05%

2.71%

-0.18%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9835

0.5%

4.62%

1.77%

-0.44%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0385

-0.03%

4.9%

1.51%

-0.34%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2184

1.19%

5.31%

2.06%

0.39%

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

0.33%

4.64%

1.39%

-0.18%

1.7518

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$487.06

2.07%

3.16%

2.12%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є220.32

1.76%

1.08%

0.88%

0.52%

$1.198

-3.15%

2.39%

1.28%

-6.44%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0261 -1.14%

1.72%

0.7%

-1.88%

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

$1.0475

-3.55%

0.41%

-1.18%

-4.14%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.5141

0.72%

1.74%

-0.85%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.0630869

3.5%

3.59%

2.11%

1.23%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1843 -1.68%

3.32%

0.62%

-1.22%

2.53%

0.46%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b

0.66%

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

130.41

1.42%

3.01%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0539 1.04% n.a. n.a.

0.55%

Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

0.79%

1.3069

1.65%

2.81%

2.55%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0581

1.12%

1.63% n.a.

0.54%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.3244

31.25% n.a. n.a.

17.25%

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

$0.99

4.21% 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."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Private school tax rates get Congress’ focus

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz Claudeth S. Mocon-Ciriaco

@joveemarie & @claudethmc3

HE House Committee on Ways and Means endorsed for plenary approval last August 2 a substitute bill defining the tax rates for proprietary schools.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said his committee already transmitted House Bill (HB) 9913 to the House Committee Committee on Rules for immediate plenary deliberations. Salceda said that they will sponsor this measure in the House floor by Tuesday, August 3. “Hopefully, before the year ends, this bill will be on President Duterte’s desk.” Under the substitute bill, the preferential tax rate of 10 percent imposed on proprietary educational institutions would be reduced to 1 percent from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, after which the tax rate shall be set to 10 percent. Salceda said the bill intervenes in the implementation of the recent regulation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) increasing the tax rate of private educational institutions to 25 percent from 10 percent. He said

HB 9913 must be passed to help private schools hire more teachers and keep existing staff. “During the briefing, we reached a consensus and came up with a draft which also adopted some recommendations of the Cocopea [Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations],” Salceda said. “The draft clarified that the preferential tax rate, now 1 percent of their taxable income under the Create [Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises] law, applies to all proprietary schools.”

Help institutions

THE lawmaker said they sent the draft Committee Report along with the notices and invitations. “However, there were several concerns this weekend. Cocopea wanted the retroactive application specified while the BIR reminded that certain

income of non-stock, non-profit educational institutions are also covered by Section 27 (B) of the Tax Code,” Salceda said. “There were also some formatting edits to ensure the clarity and consistency of the measure, so we addressed those measures.” According to the lawmaker, applying the reduced 1-percent preferential rate under the Create law (Republic Act 11534) until 2023 would allow these schools to save an equivalent of 3.43 percent of compensation expenses, which Salceda believes could help these institutions rehire at least 12,996 teachers at the start of the next school year. “It will help private schools keep their teachers. They already had to fire teachers due to the pandemic,” Salceda said. “I think the whole committee agrees we should provide them relief.” Likewise, the solon said the bill will also “absolve the private schools of the legal liability pay back taxes during the period when the law was unclear as to their treatment.” “But the aim is also to ensure that the BIR is also absolved from any refund liabilities. It’s a good compromise and was the premise of the agreement between me and the BIR,” Salceda added in response to a request from private school associations that the clause in the bill preventing refunds due to the rate reduction be removed.

Order suspended

LAST week, the BIR suspended the implementation of certain provisions of its tax regulation that would have hiked the corporate income tax rate of private schools from 10 percent to 25 percent. BIR Revenue Regulation (RR) 14-2021 suspended its RR 5-2021 pending the passage of appropriate legislation. “To ease the burden of taxation among proprietary educational institutions, especially during this time of Covid-19 pandemic,” the BIR RR 14-2021 said. The order, issued July 26, said it takes into account the pending bills in Congress seeking to amend the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, “to finally clarify the income taxation of schools.” Private schools have protested the BIR’s “unilateral insertion” in its RR 5-2021 of a condition that proprietary educational institutions must be “nonprofit” to enjoy the reduced rate of 1 percent as a result of the passage of RA 11534. Private schools earlier filed a petition before the Court of Tax Appeals in a bid to stop the implementation of RR 5-2021.

Policy conflict

SALCEDA’S proposed bill and one at the Upper House, Senate Bill (SB) 2272, received support from the

Cocopea, which called for the enactment of the measures. The Cocopea, which counts over 2,500 private educational institutions as members, issued the call after the BIR issued RR 14-2021. Cocopea Chairman Anthony Jose M. Tamayo emphasized the urgency of these corrective measures “to address the confusion that the conflicting policies are causing and to alleviate the precarious state of the private education sector consequent to the pandemic crisis.” “It is critical that the bills be passed as soon as possible, before the new school year starts in September,” Tamayo, who is also president of the Philippine Association of Colleges and University, said. “This will allow the private education sector to focus all of our time and resources on our highest priority, the very grave learning crisis that our country is now struggling with, rather than on correcting erroneous interpretations of the law and the Constitution.” Cocopea Managing Director Joseph Noel M. Estrada emphasized the need to pass these laws because of the suspension of the implementation of BIR RR 5-2021.

Extending lifeline

ACCORDING to Estrada, who is also a lawyer, while the suspension “is

a step forward, the suspension is merely temporary and we cannot lose sight of our main objective of pushing for a law to finally remove any doubt as to the right of proprietary educational institutions to the preferential tax rate of 10 percent, which has been in the Tax Code since 1968, and the concessionary tax rate of 1 percent for three years under the Create Act, to provide temporary relief during the pandemic.” He further explained that “without this curative legislation, the suspension may be withdrawn again or reversed anytime by the BIR and DOF given the history of revenue issuances on this matter.” Cocopea, nevertheless, said in its statement it will “remain vigilant on future developments on this important tax policy to ensure our proprietary educational institutions are securely protected from illegal tax burdens.” “In addition, we shall continue to advocate for the fulfillment of the objectives of the Create Act’s authors: to extend a lifeline to our struggling schools during this pandemic, and guarantee the continuity of learning for our students, jobs for our employees and livelihoods for the many small businesses e.g. carinderias, tricycle drivers, who are dependent on our schools,” Cocopea said.

On money scams and how to avoid them BTr fully awards P15B in T-bills; bids reach P50.8B

HE title of my column now may sound like a popular movie about finding magical creatures. In real life though, there exists individuals who are able to trick people into investing their hard-earned money on their highly dubious schemes. At a certain time, when you need your money back, these individuals have a tendency of magically disappearing, together with yours and other people’s money. Even if the long arm of the law catches up with these types of people, often the money is already gone; and you are only left with disappointment and tears. Today, I will be discussing some of the most popular financial scams, and how you would be able to avoid them.

Advance fee scams

IN the days when e-mail messaging was still new and spam folders did not exist, you may have received an e-mail from a certain prince who is about to receive his due inheritance. The problem is, he needs your help (and your money) to be able to access it. Once that is done, you get a big share of his wealth (much bigger than the money you are about to pay to him). If you had paid him money, chances are you would not get any returns on it. This is a scam wherein you pay for something in advance without getting anything in return at all.

Ponzi scheme

THIS is a type of fraud that lures early investors with consistent, high and guaranteed returns over the course of time. The problem is, there is no legitimate business that can support giving out these high returns. Plus, the money that is used to pay off the early investors comes from the funds being invested by the newer investors.

Raymond Anthony Quisumbing

personal finance When fresh funds no longer come in, the company cash quickly dries up, and everyone loses their money. In other words, the money used to compensate investor A, comes directly from the money that Investor B and C invested. Investor A has no clue that the money actually came from the latter investors.

Pyramiding scheme

THIS type of scheme takes on a different approach as opposed to Ponzi and legitimate multi-level marketing. In pyramiding, Investor A is rewarded if he or she is able to successfully convince Investor B and C to invest in the company. Investors B and C would then be able to earn by successfully recruiting Investors D, E, F and G to their ranks. Once no new recruits or source of fresh funds comes in, the scheme collapses. In a legitimate multi-level marketing program, compensation relies more heavily on product sales rather than simple recruitment. No product sales equals no compensation.

Coaching schemes

IN this type of scheme, instead of paying money to earn money, you will be investing money for the promise of knowledge that actually allows you to make money. They will offer you a fantastic promise and a rags-to-riches type of story. They will back their claims with testimonials and entice you to invest, often with a sense of urgency. Once you take the course, you may

be left with knowledge that has little value in the real world. Note that not all coaching programs are scams. There are in fact, very good mentors out there, but you need to study what they offer first. How then do we avoid falling into these kinds of money traps? Here are some of the things you can do: 1. Know how your money will be managed by the company you will invest in. If you do not understand the risks involved, it would be best to take a step back. 2. Know what is the risk-free interest rate. If you had invested your money on government bonds or treasury bills, what interest per month or per annum will you get? Note that treasury bonds and treasury bills are guaranteed by our government and you will certainly get both your interest and principal back after the bond period, making it risk-free. 3. Compare the risk-free interest rate with the ‘guaranteed rate’ a company offers you. If our government can only guarantees so much a return, how can a much a smaller company assure both your returns and capital? What are they investing in that make your returns so lucrative? 5. For the money you are investing in a course, what kind of knowledge will you learn? Is your mentor experienced and knowledgeable in that industry? To end, allow me to quote this verse: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” (Proverbs 13:11 ESV) Raymond Anthony Quisumbing is a Registered Financial Planner of RFP Philippines. Quisumbing would soon publish an e-book on starting a food business. Follow him at Twitter at @OhMyFinancePH. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 91st RFP program this July 2021. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text at 0917-6248110.

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P15 billion (T-bills) in Treasury Bills (T-bills) on Monday as rates moved sideways. The average rates for 182-day and 364-day T-bills were lower compared to the previous auction while the 91-day T-bills fetched a slightly higher rate. The rates were all lower than secondary market levels. Nonetheless, the auction was still thrice oversubscribed as total bids for the auction reached P50.8 billion. National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon attributed the mixed results in the average rates on Monday’s auction to expectations that inflation for July will settle within the target range of monetary authorities. The Philippine Statistics Authority is set to report the July inflation data on August 5, Thursday.

“Rates moved sideways with inflation expected to stay within BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] band at 4 percent for July,” De Leon said. She added the Treasury also did not open the tap facility for an additional offering. The 91-day T-bills’ average rate inched up by 0.3 basis points to 1.053 percent from 1.05 percent. The tenor cornered P16.25 billion in total bids, equivalent to more than three times the P5-billion offer. The 182-day T-bills slipped to an average rate of 1.401 percent, down by 0.6 basis points from 1.407 percent previously. Tenders for the security amounted to P19.48 billion, nearly four-fold the P5-billion offering. Likewise, the 364-day T-bills’ average rate fell by 0.6 basis points to 1.632 percent from the previous auction’s 1.638 percent. Bids for the debt paper were capped at a total of P15.03 billion,

thrice the P5-billion offer. For August, the Treasury has set to borrow P200 billion from the local debt market, slightly lower than the P235 billion it programmed in July. This year, the national government programmed to borrow a total of P3.1trillion, of which around 75 percent is expected to be raised through domestic sources. The outstanding debt of the national government has already piled up to P11.166 trillion as of end-June this year, swelling by 23.3 percent from P9.054 trillion a year ago. Finance officials have said the ratio of debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) this year is projected to rise to 59.1 percent from 54.6 percent in 2020. It is also expected to peak next year at 60.8 percent—slightly above the internationally accepted threshold—before gradually tapering off to 60.7 percent and 59.7 percent in 2023 and 2024.

Fuel marking raises ₧264.5B since 2019

UTIES and taxes collected by the government from its fuel marking program have reached P264.5 billion. This is P46.54-billion more than the P218.05 billion government said it was able to collect as of April 15. The government has so far marked 27.27 billion liters of fuel since the fuel marking program was implemented in September 2019 until June this year, based on an infographic from the Department of Finance. The bulk of the haul from the fuel marking program came from the Bureau of Customs at P234.74 billion in duties and taxes. Meanwhile, the remaining P29.78 billion in excise taxes was collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. In terms of fuel type, diesel comprised most of the fuel marked at 16.69 billion liters. This was followed by gasoline and kerosene at 10.44 billion liters

and 144.92 million liters, respectively. A huge chunk or 73.33 percent of the total volume of fuel marked was in Luzon at 20 billion liters. Next to Luzon is Mindanao with 5.78 billion liters or 21.2 percent while the volume of marked fuel in the Visayas reached 1.49 billion liters or 5.47 percent. A total of 25 petroleum companies have participated in the fuel marking program. Topping the list of companies that had the most volume of fuel marked is Petron Corp., cornering 22.59 percent or 6.16 billion liters of the total. Trailing Petron are: Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. with 19.13 percent or 5.22 billion liters; Unioil Resources & Holdings Co. Inc. with 10.3 percent or 2.81 billion liters; Seaoil Philippines Inc. with 8.04 percent or 2.19 billion liters; and, Insular Oil Corp. with 7.99 percent or 2.18 billion liters. The latter edged

out Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., which reported to have 7.68-percent of fuel volume or 1.72 billion liters marked as of April 15. In February, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Albay Rep. Joey Salceda revealed that the government lost P357 billion due to fuel smuggling from 2010 to 2019. While fuel marking helped lower smuggling, foregone revenues are still rising, Salceda said, because the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law (Republic Act 10963) raised taxes on fuel products in 2018. Fuel marking makes use of a unique chemical marker that can be embedded at a molecular level in petroleum products—gasoline, diesel, and kerosene—thereby enabling authorities to test, identify and distinguish petroleum products with paid excise taxes.

Bernadette D. Nicolas

Bill increasing DBP’s authorized capital gets House OK

HE House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill increasing the authorized capital of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to P100 billion from the current P35 billion. Voting 219 affirmative, 6 negative with 0 abstention, lawmakers approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 9556 providing a new charter of the DBP. It repeals Executive Order 81 or the 1986 revised charter of the DBP, as amended. The bill or the proposed “New DBP Act”

increases the authorized capital of DBP to P100 billion divided into one billion common shares, to be fully subscribed by the national government. It stipulates that any further increase in authorized capital stock shall bear the approval of the Chief Executive upon the recommendation of the bank’s board of directors and the concurrence of the Secretary of Finance. The bill also exempts DBP from capital charges on loans to government borrowers such as the national government, line agencies with no separate legal personal-

ity, government-owned and controlled corporations and their subsidiaries or affiliates, government financial institutions, government instrumentalities with corporate powers, and local government units. Earlier, DBP President and CEO Emmanuel G. Herbosa told lawmakers that amending the DBP’s charter will strengthen the bank’s primary objective as a premier government development financial institution while provide stiffer penalties to violations of the charter. Moreover, the bill also enhances the au-

thority of DBP to engage in traditional and non-traditional modes of financing business such as financial leasing of properties, and to exercise other powers provided under Republic Act (RA) 11232, or the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, including the power to acquire or establish subsidiaries and to enter into joint venture agreements for purposes of developing or disposing acquired assets without need of approval from the National Economic and Development Authority.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

‘CO-OPETITION’ This undated photo courtesy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

shows BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno (right) and BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier (top left) with other participants of the “AI+ Financial Services, Future of FinTech” forum.

Art

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 3, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Evangeline Lilly, 42; Michael Ealy, 48; Martha Stewart, 80; Tony Bennett, 95. Happy Birthday: Your generosity and kindness are honorable, but don’t lose sight of your needs and the risks involved when you allow relationships to become imbalanced. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Observe how others react and give back. Equality matters if you want to maintain good working and personal relationships. Take an aggressive position regarding financial, medical and legal matters. Your numbers are 8, 12, 19, 24, 28, 34, 40.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Express yourself and initiate plans. A friend or relative will have suggestions that need careful consideration. Say no to unsafe situations, health risks and emotional manipulation. Opportunities should benefit everyone involved. Protect your reputation and position. HHHH

A public art rendering of JEFRË’s award-winning design that will be the new centerpiece of Jacksonville River Park in Florida, along with the artist’s recently unveiled 12-foot permanent installation in SM Megamall, titled Time Sculpture.

JEFRË, creator of city icons

OU may not know it but visual artist JEFRË has already made you look. Unveiled last week along Edsa, at the façade of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, was a towering art installation that has captured the attention and imagination of the general public. The 12-meter-tall artwork made of mirror stainless steel resembles a human figure looking at its watch, consumed by the mad pace of living in an urban spread like Metro Manila. Titled Time Sculpture, the piece is a collaboration between SM Supermalls and US-based Filipino artist Jefre Manuel Figueras, simply known as JEFRË, who is on a mission to help shape the identities of localities worldwide through art. “Cities are always defined by public art, just like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in New York City,” JEFRË says in a statement. Born and raised in Chicago, the artist traces his Filipino roots to his parents’ home provinces of Laguna and Ilocos Sur. He was a former urban

planner and designer before shifting into public art. JEFRË focuses on creating modern, site-specific artworks that celebrate local history and culture. His landmark creations are located around the world, including London, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Abu Dhabi and San Antonio. In the Philippines, JEFRË’s new head-turner on Edsa is just the latest in his growing list of impressive artworks. His most recognizable pieces around these parts include the Tree of Life in Robinsons Place Naga, the Sculpture Contour Series at SM Aura Premier in Bonifacio Global City, The Victor at Robinsons Bridgetowne, and Hometown Heroes at Double Dragon. “JEFRË approaches each new landscape with an act of questioning, as building context for the location is an essential way to begin to know the community,” according to the artist’s web site (www. jefre.org). “Combined with a deep understanding of the historical, environmental and social relationships influencing the site and the architecture, JEFRË’s activation of public spaces remain committedly responsive to the aesthetic and community elements anchoring each work.” The artist’s approach has also won him numerous competitions around the world. Most recently, the artist bagged a multimillion-dollar sculpture competition by the Jacksonville Downtown Investment Authority (DIA). The contest gathered architecture and design firms with partner artists from around the world to present their creative concepts to the city. JEFRË was part of the One Park Jax team put

together by Chicago-based firm Perkins & Will. With two teams going head-to-head in the final scoring of the competition, JEFRË’s work proved to be the difference-maker, generating the most public feedback out of all the design proposals. “The inclusion of that monumental piece of art [by JEFRË] really threw Perkins and Will over the top,” said DIA CEO Lori Boyer during the virtual awarding ceremony. “To me, it becomes the symbol of Downtown and it becomes the gathering place for everyone.” JEFRË’s winning design is slated to become the new centerpiece of the four-acre Jacksonville River Park. The piece is valued at $12-18 million and is expected to be completed by 2023. Inspired by St. Johns River, which stretches through Florida and into the City of Jacksonville, JEFRË’s stainless steel sculpture pays tribute to the city’s history. The installation is set to be 151 feet tall, or 1822 inches, which corresponds to Jacksonville’s founding date on June 5, 1822. The total linear length of the sculpture is 310 feet, which represents the length of St. Johns River in nautical miles. JEFRË referenced these numbers to form abstract images and shapes to create the sculpture. The initial image he had in mind was that of an anchor, with a series of nautical knots in the shape of a heart, the figure eight, and an “X.” From an elevated angle, the image looks like it spells out “JAX,” which is short for Jacksonville. From another angle, it could be seen as “I love X” or “I love Jacksonville.” “That’s the beauty of public art,” JEFRË says. “It creates dialogue and discussion. Everyone has an interpretation for it.” n

Week-long event celebrates role of art in pandemic PANDELIKHA: Arts, Community and Creativity in the Pandemic and Beyond delves into conceptual and performative digital media, workshops on puppetry and printmaking and discussions on art and society, featuring award-winning visual artists, art educators and studentartists in week-long events. The events are being hosted by the Design Foundation Department of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts. An exhibit on art pieces exemplifies the skills and techniques learned and honed by the students from their

lectures and studio classes. With the aim to create public awareness on the essential role of art, they will showcase distinct interpretations and applications of various culture and arts practices on pandemic narratives. The display opens on today, August 3, at 3 pm. Another part will feature an online demo-workshop on puppetry to be facilitated by visual artist, puppeteer, dancer, chanter, musician, ceramist, researcher and art educator Carlito Amalla. Multimedia artist Noell El Farol, whose practice borders the disciplines of archaeology and fine arts, will likewise conduct a class

on printmaking without press. Both workshops are scheduled on August 5, 11:20 am, for puppetry and 2:40 pm for printmaking. The week will conclude with conversations on art in relation to community-based projects, social engagement, social justice, creative pedagogies, and traditional and folk crafts as categories in diverse creative industries. The talk will be headlined by award-winning theater and visual artist, educator and cultural activist Dr. Brenda Fajardo; internationally established painter Emmanuel Garibay; painter, writer and organizer

Alee Garibay; and visual artist, curator and art educator Karen Flores. The discussion will be moderated by researcher, cultural worker, and assistant professor Maria Angelica Viceral. It is slated on August 6 at 12:30 pm. The program will be spearheaded by Palanca awardwinning playwright, scholar, and Design Foundation chairman Timothy Dacanay. It will be directed by educator Lara Angelica Rosario. Pandelikha is a free public event to be held via Zoom. More information is available at www.facebook.com/ benildearts.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You may not welcome change, but it will be a wake-up call to tidy up loose ends. A lecture from a friend or relative will be insightful and encourage you to take physical action to improve your lifestyle. HHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself. Sharing personal information will give someone a competitive edge. Reveal what’s necessary, and work diligently to achieve superior results. Sidestep emotional interference by doing things for yourself. HHHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take the initiative to put your ideas in motion. Refuse to let the decisions or changes others make disrupt your day. Follow through as planned, and you’ll discover how much better things turn out when you follow your heart and instincts. HHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Get involved in something that moves you. Helping others will encourage you to see life through a different lens. Make a change to your daily routine that will stabilize your life and bring you closer to the ones you love. HHHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Embrace what you can accomplish, and walk away from situations that are bringing you down. Discipline and hard work geared toward looking and feeling your best will lift your spirits and help you attract people who offer positive support. HH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Let your mind wander as your imagination takes over and your plans fall into place. An adventure will spark your interest and revive your enthusiasm for life, love and learning. Positive transformation begins with informative discussions. HHHHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Deal with friends, relatives and peers diplomatically. People who don’t share the same beliefs or opinions will be looking for a fight. Think outside the box, and you’ll find solutions that will suit everyone. HH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Pay attention to the way you handle your financial affairs. Keeping tabs on what things cost and how you can reduce your overhead will bring you peace of mind. HHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Embrace change and don’t look back. Focus on health, fitness and putting deals in place to ease stress and secure better days ahead financially. A disciplined approach to work and getting along with your peers will pay off. HHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Turn your home into a place of comfort. Relaxation will encourage a healthy attitude and a clear mind. Knowing what you want will help you avoid being a follower. Consider what makes you happy. HHHHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Strive to control emotional mayhem. Stay calm and be a good listener. Once you understand how others feel, it will be easier to come up with a workable solution. Nurture relationships that matter to you. HH Birthday Baby: You are compassionate, resilient and curious. You are resourceful and precise.

‘give this puzzle a shot!’ by ross tredeau and malaika handa The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 “So close!” 7 Promotion on a podcast, say 11 Rx from Dr. Mom 14 One may devour “Chocolat” 15 Flight-related prefix 16 Snicker syllable 17 When to sample wedding desserts 19 Night before a holiday 20 Pronoun for Rihanna 21 Sitter’shandfuls 22 Bert’s foil on Sesame Street 24 Know by intuition 26 Exams scored from 1-5 28 ___ gobi (Indian dish) 30 When to present a case 32 Like a trampoline 35 They’re capped above two feet 36 Snip 37 Tracking device 39 Fir fluid 42 Suspicious 43 Lead-in to “intellectual” 45 When to test an app 49 Exchange of cross words

0 Common autobiography subtitle 5 51 Arrange, as a shawl 54 Like proofed dough 55 Mask or cloak 56 Softball stat 59 “___ get over it” 60 Taxing periods, and a hint to 17-, 30and 45-Across 64 Boyz n the Hood actress Long 65 Tablet some take to bed 66 Gloria Estefan’s Cuban birthplace 67 What an electric car doesn’t use 68 They may be stroked or inflated 69 In, now DOWN 1 Story trajectories 2 Rachel’s biblical sister 3 Gets to first base 4 Reverent poem 5 Take effect 6 Streetcars 7 Rewards for “good boys” 8 Floral garland 9 Decorative vase 10 Very enterprising people

1 Cryptography org. 1 12 Actor Joseph Gordon-___ 13 Nacho topping 18 Design detail, for short 23 Some lipstick shades 25 For-ev-er 26 Julia Roberts, to Emma Roberts 27 Before surgery, informally 28 Jackson 5 hit with an alphabetical title 29 “Skip to My ___” 31 Gives the green light 33 Grade school semiformal accessory 34 Nintendo dinosaur 38 Blacken 39 Powerful DC figure? 40 Computing pioneer Lovelace 41 Drum for a toddler, maybe 42 Renown 44 Clairvoyance, e.g., briefly 45 Revealing, as one’s soul 46 Clarke who played Mother of Dragons 47 Certain electric cars 48 Perfect garden

2 This way: ---> 5 53 Place to exchange rings 55 TikTok content, casually 57 Stretch, as the truth 58 “My word!” 61 D&D, e.g. 62 NBA legend Ming 63 “___ been drinkin’...” (Beyonce lyric)

Solution to today’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Tuesday, August 3, 2021

This thespic family is on a roll B

ing Pimentel and her actor-children Sid Lucero and Max Eigenmann are all set to enter the second-round cycle of locked-in work for their respective new TV series. Pimentel is part of the main cast of GMA’s To Have and To Hold, headlined by Rocco Nacino and Carla Abellana. “I am happy to be working again despite the new normal in the work landscape for local TV. I am doubly glad that my children and I are all working for GMA during this time. It’s the first time this has happened in the family, that all three of us are working on our respective new shows for one network. Isn’t that great?” she enthused. Major adjustments in the home front have had to be made since their schedules overlap and they have to be away from home for long period of time. Pimentel’s daughter lives with her including Eigenmann’s two young boys Alessandro and Massimo. “We have to really plan since my other son Diego becomes the household head when me and Max are both at work,” she volunteered. But Pimentel is enjoying this new set up of locked-in work at a selected safe location outside the metropolis. “Safety and the health of every one on the set are the primary goals for all productions now. And I perfectly understand the strict protocols being implemented at work. Of course, the end goal is also to come up with a wonderful narrative to share with our viewers who hunger for new, out-of-the-box programs and fresh faces on television.” After many years, Lucero is back on the GMA camp, with a meaty role in the ongoing TV series The World Between Us. “It is nice to be back in GMA. As actors, we have to always be grateful for work, especially during these extraordinary times when life is not as easy as a few years back. We all have to adapt and make major adjustments. We have to care for each

other while working, and protect each other from the unseen enemy that threatens our existence and humanity in general.” An internationally recognized actor, having brought honor to the country from festivals in the US and Greece, Lucero says he is happy to be able to work with the likes of Alden Richards, Dina Bonnevie and his “Aunty” Jaclyn Jose. “Their talents are all recognized and to be in one show with them inspires me to always be on my toes, and to always level-up with their acting prowess.” According to Lucero, playing dad to his lovely daughter Halo is his all-time favorite role. He has gotten used to a shared parenting set up with the mother, a former member of the now disbanded allwomen music group Heneral Luna. “My daughter is precious. I will do anything and work my butt off just to provide a good life for her. Of course, I also want to give my mom a good life, for taking care of us singlehandedly when my parents separated when we

were still kids. She has been our anchor up to this day.” For her part, Max Eigenmann is also thankful that she is back on track and working on her latest GMA drama anthology, Stories from the Heart: Never Say Goodbye. “I play a lesbian in the series,” she shared. It’s something that is not new to her, having won a CineFilipino acting award for the movie Ned’s Project, where she played the role of lover to the lead, the tattoo artist played the highly esteemed Angeli Bayani. Eigenmann trusts that she will be given the chance to play wonderful roles in shows produced by the GMA Entertainment Group. “I won’t mind if they give me roles like the ones played by my Tita Cherie [Gil] a decade or two ago. Ang sarap kaya maging main contravida!” Bing Pimentel, Sid Lucero and Max Eigenmann are all powerhouse actors. It is just wonderful that all three of them are working on exciting shows for GMA at this time. n

Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over ‘Black Widow’ release By Lindsey Bahr & Andrew Dalton The Associated Press LOS ANGELES—Scarlett Johansson is suing the Walt Disney Co. over its streaming release of Black Widow, which she said breached her contract and deprived her of potential earnings. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the Black Widow star and executive producer said her contract guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of the lawsuit. Johansson’s potential earnings were tied to the box office performance of the film, which the company released simultaneously in theaters and on its streaming service Disney+ for a $30 rental. “In the months leading up to this

lawsuit, Ms. Johansson gave Disney and Marvel every opportunity to right their wrong and make good on Marvel’s promise,” the lawsuit said. “Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the Agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel.” Disney said the lawsuit has “no merit whatsoever.” “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Disney said in a statement. “Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional

compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date.” After its release was delayed more than a year because of Covid-19, Black Widow debuted to a pandemic-best of $80 million in North America and $78 million from international theaters three weeks ago, but theatrical grosses declined sharply after that. In its second weekend in release, the National Association of Theater Owners issued a rare statement criticizing the strategy asserting that simultaneous release lends itself only to lost profits and higher quality piracy. Once taboo, hybrid theatrical and streaming releases have become more normal for many of the biggest studios during the pandemic, with each adopting its own unique strategy. This weekend, Disney is employing the same strategy with Jungle Cruise, and

next weekend Warner Bros. big budget The Suicide Squad opens both in theaters and on HBO Max. The revised hybrid release strategies over the 16 months have occasionally led to public spats from not just theater owners, but stars, filmmakers and financiers who are unhappy with the potential lost revenues and the alleged unilateral decision-making involved. The WSJ said Warner Media, for instance, paid over $200 million in “amended agreements” with talent over its decision to release its entire 2021 slate simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. But none have been as public as Johansson’s lawsuit. The actor, who has been in nine Marvel movies going back to 2010’s Iron Man 2, quickly became a trending topic on Twitter on Thursday after news of the lawsuit broke.

‘Catch Me Out Philippines’ returns with more thrills, bigger surprises GMA’s reality game show Catch Me Out Philippines made a big comeback on July 31, bringing even more spectacular performances from the amateurs and a stellar roster of celebrity guests. The show is hosted by no less than wellloved comedian Jose Manalo. Adding more fun and sometimes biting commentary after the performances are Celebrity Spotters Derrick Monasterio and Ai-Ai de las Alas. Following the show’s three-month hiatus, Jose promised to viewers: “Marami po kayong dapat abangan dito sa bagong episodes of Catch Me Out Philippines. Ang mga guest spotters natin ay may ipapakitang mga talent na ikabibigla ng lahat dahil hindi natin aakalain na magagawa nila. ’Yung mga bago rin nating amateurs, marami rin silang inihandang performances na ikalilito talaga ng viewers.” Derrick reveals the great camaraderie he has established with his cohost despite not seeing each other for months, “’Yung personality kasi ni Kuya Jose ’pag nakita mo siya, parang ang tagal niyo nang magkakilala. Nandoon na agad ’yung banter so nadadala namin ’yun on-cam. Nakakapanibago pero ’yung mga

JOSE MANALO

kasama ko naman very professional. Basta may bond ka lang talaga with your coactors, walang adjustments. Na-miss lang talaga namin ’yung isa’t isa.” For its comeback last Saturday, international stage performer Mark Bautista joined in the fun as guest Celebrity Spotter. This week’s Celebrity Catchers included some of the network’s brightest

DERRICK MONASTERIO

young stars: Ysabel Ortega, Thea Astley, Jamir Zabarte, Miggy Tolentino, Jennifer Maravilla along with five previous winners of the show. Catch Me Out Philippines is produced by GMA’s Entertainment Group, and directed by the esteemed Rico Gutierrez. It airs every Saturday, 7:15 pm, right after Pepito Manaloto: Ang Unang Kuwento on GMA.

Broadway to require vaccinations, masks for audience members NEW YORK—Broadway theatergoers will need to prove they’ve been vaccinated for Covid-19 and masks will be required when theaters reopen in the coming weeks, producers announced on Friday. Audience members will have to wear face coverings and show proof they are fully vaccinated by a Food and Drug Administration or World Health Organization authorized vaccine when they enter the theaters until at least the end of October, the Broadway League said in a news release. “Get vaccinated, and we’ll see you in the fall,” tweeted Broadway and TV star Jeremy Jordan. Composer Jason Robert Brown also agreed with the move: “That’s right. That’s where we’re at.” There will be exceptions to the vaccine rule for children under 12, who are not yet eligible for any of the approved shots, and for people with a medical condition or religious belief that prevents vaccination, the theater operators said. Those individuals will need to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test. Masks are required for the audience except while eating or drinking in designated locations. The League said theater owners anticipate a review of the safety policies in September and may include a relaxation of certain provisions if the science dictates after October. “This is what we have as a community on Broadway decided and then we’re going to reevaluate it in October. It’s still fluid,” Bonnie Comley, board president of The Drama League, told The Associated Press. “This should be a positive thing. All these different unions that don’t always agree have come together to be able to do this before people come into the theater.” The move comes a day after Actors’ Equity Association, the union which represents nearly 52,000 actors and stage managers, said it would require cast and crew members to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Company members who are not vaccinated, including those under the age of 12, must continue to wear masks, practice physical distancing when possible and undergo testing at least twice a week. The protocols apply to both Broadway productions and Equity-backed shows across the nation. Bruce Springsteen’s one-man show is the only performance currently running on Broadway. Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over is set to open Wednesday at the August Wilson Theatre. Most other theaters will open in September or October after being shuttered since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020. Ticket holders for performances scheduled through October 31 will be notified of the vaccination policy, Broadway League officials said. For performances in November 2021 and beyond, the theater operators will review the policy and make changes if science dictates, they said. “As vaccination has proven the most effective way to stay healthy and reduce transmission, I’m pleased that the theater owners have decided to implement these collective safeguards at all our Broadway houses,” Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement. AP

FROM left: Bing Pimentel, Sid Lucero and Max Eigenmann

B6 Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Globe Rewards gives out essential vouchers for healthcare and protection

PWU alumna tops nursing board, augments healthcare professions

HAYDEE Soriano Bacani with PWU nursing students

HE COVID-19 pandemic revealed among others, the lack of medical and health care professionals not only in the country but also in other parts of the world. The Philippines however is fortunate to have nursing schools that produce nurses who are dedicated to their work. Among these schools is the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) School of Nursing. Its students are educated following a “curriculum centered on holistic character formation, the preservation of cultural and national heritage, family solidarity, ethical professionalism and service to the country.” In the recently concluded Nurses Licensure Examinations (NLE) given by

HAYDEE Soriano Bacani the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), PWU alumna Haydee Soriano Bacani garnered first place among 5,008 board passers from 7,746 examinees. First time takers of the NLE from PWU registered a 100% passing rate. In 1950, PWU initiated its collegiate nursing education. It was in 1960 when the PWU College of Nursing started and a five-year integrated curriculum leading to Bachelor of Science in Nursing was offered. The degree prepares students for a career in the health and wellness industry. Haydee Soriano Bacani, was determined to achieve her dreams to serve. Initially she took a certificate course in midwifery and had a short stint working in a hospital in the Middle

East. Inspired working professionals, doctors and nurses who she said remained humble, approachable e and appreciative she came home to pursue a nursing course at PWU. Her mentors and professors were as caring and helped them tackle every problem they encountered. More reason she said to go on even with the uncertainties of the pandemic. Today, Haydee plans to take post graduate studies while working in a hospital and do research work. She wants to inspire the next generation of nurses that despite the difficult times they are here to serve and make a difference. The heart of a PWU patriot, as envisioned by the seven women founders 102 years ago. DR. SUZIE M. BENETIZ, PhD

USTOMERS can achieve their wellness goals and address their health concerns through their Globe Rewards points. They may easily avail a unique set of special promos for health protection, medicine delivery, and video or voice teleconsultations from GoHealth, HealthNow, and KonsultaMD. “Filipinos are now more concerned about their health. We want to help ease their worries by making healthcare more accessible to them and their families. We consistently enhance our Rewards portfolio to provide our customers with offers that are relevant to them,” said Joey Kilayko, Head of Globe Rewards said. KonsultaMD is a 24/7 health hotline service operated by skilled and licensed Filipino doctors who provide medical assessment and information through voice or video. HealthNow is a primary care aggregator platform that offers telemedicine consultations, medicine delivery as well as clinic and diagnostic testing bookings. GoHealth, on the other hand, offers medical insurance coverage with telemedicine service from KonsultaMD and health insurance from Pacific Cross Philippines. Under the GoHealth promo, Globe Postpaid, Platinum, Globe Prepaid, and TM customers can get protection coverage ranging from P1,000 to P4,000 for diagnosed COVID-19, dengue, and leptospirosis valid for three months until December 3, 2021, for 15-55 Rewards points. In addition, they can get from P5,000 up

to P20,000 insurance coverage for emergency in-patient treatment for pneumonia, bronchitis, urinary tract infection, respiratory tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, tonsillitis, and cancer valid for three months until September 30, 2021, for 30-75 points. For just 90 Rewards points, customers can also take advantage of a P150 discount offered by HealthNow on medicine deliveries and video health consultations until the end of the year. Customers can, likewise, redeem a one-month KonsultaMD subscription for unlimited voice teleconsultation with one free video consultation, e-prescription, e-laboratory request, and e-medical certificate until the end of 2021 for only 60 points. To redeem the vouchers, customers need to download and use the Globe Rewards app on Android or iOS, and register to GoHealth, HealthNow, or KonsultaMD.

CCP commends Visayan cultural and artistic workers, announces the recipients of the 1st KSSLAP Awards

Shop online at your favorite fashion and beauty brands and get rewards and savings with GrabPay

HOPPING for beautiful things that you love can be fun and fulfilling, and can take your fashion game to the next level. GrabPay, the in-app wallet of Grab, the leading superapp in Southeast Asia, makes online shopping easy through secure and reliable cashless payments. In addition to using GrabPay for rides, groceries, and deliveries. You can also use your GrabPay wallet to shop online for hip and cool finds for yourself, the family or the barkada. Be it the hottest skincare items or soothing scented candles, the latest trendy pieces, or fashion finds from your favorite brands, you can use your GrabPay wallet to buy the things you need and want. Even better, you can even earn exciting rewards and discounts when you shop online using your GrabPay wallet! Online shopping platform Zalora has long been a haven for beauty and fashion enthusiasts, featuring a slew of local and international brands that cater to a wide range of preferences. Zalora frequently holds fashion sales for die-hard fashionistas so don’t miss out on the chance to elevate your style from head to toe by browsing and shopping through Zalora’s extensive catalog of stylish apparel, shoes, and other accessories and check out using your GrabPay wallet. Shein is a go-to online shopping platform for both fashionable and affordable picks. Check out Shein and the brands it houses, from Emery Rose for all your cottage-inspired looks, Sheglam for your makeup needs, and Dazy for casual and cool streetwear. With GrabPay ready to offer you exclusive discounts, you’re guaranteed to get amazing discounts on your shopping cart! Avail of your favorite brands from BeautyMnl such as COSRX, The Ordinary, Dear Klairs, and so much more with your GrabPay accountShoppers can also get up to 10x GrabRewards points for every P100 they spend per transaction. With hundreds of merchants

offering fashion and beauty finds, your next shopping haul just might be with ShopSM, also available for purchase through GrabPay. Reward yourself with new outerwear from Forever 21, comfortable jeans from Levi’s and affordable yet quality sweatshirts and windbreakers from Surplus with GrabPay today. Bata Shoes has your footwear covered with trendy yet affordable pieces. Offering a wide array of options – from sandals for that casual yet relaxed look, blocked heels that make a bold statement, to cozy slipons that can match any style- be sure to check out Bata Shoes and don’t miss out on exclusive promos you can get when you check out using your GrabPay wallet! For those wanting to up their wardrobe game and feel as unstoppable, Kraken Apparels is also available with GrabPay as they offer tees, hoodies, sweaters, and snapback caps perfect for anyone wishing to channel influence on the basketball court. If you’ve been in search of cozy loungewear that can improve your comfort at home, take your pick of Private Storey’s handmade dress sets, long pants sets, shorts sets, and robe sets. It even has

collections for those who prefer themed sets – at present, you can find sets featuring Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty and My Melody; so if you’ve been a Sanrio enthusiast for quite some time, best not to miss out on this limited-time collection! Another benefit to using GrabPay is how it helps you support local brands. Goods from Habi Textile, established with the goal of preserving and promoting Philippine textile and the Filipino indigenous culture, are also available for purchase with GrabPay. Help Habi Textile achieve its goal of cultural preservation by looking through its selection of everyday outerwear, accessories such as earrings, rings, and hats, down to bags and shoes – all locally-made. Besides the variety of shops and merchants you can transact with through GrabPay, every transaction enables you to redeem GrabRewards Points, which you are free to use for both in-app offers, such as discounts on your next GrabCar, GrabFood, GrabExpress, or GrabMart purchase, and also exclusive deals with partner brands, ranging from discounts from partner-stores. For more information, check out this: https://www.grab.com/ph/pay/. Terms and conditions apply.

HELP promote Philippine textile and the Filipino indigenous culture by patronizing Habi Textile

THE AWARDEES FOR THE 1ST KSSLAP AWARDS ARE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Ian Rosales Casocot, Dr. Elizabeth Susan Vista-Suarez (both from Dumaguete), Dennis Sugarol from Cebu, Alphonsus Tesoro from Capiz, Jess de Paz from Tacloban, Dr. Jesus C. Insilada from Iloilo, Lutgardo Labad from Bohol, Marilyn Gamboa from Negros Occidental, and Peque Gallaga from Bacolod.

HE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Kaisa Sa Sining (KSS) Visayas Network announces the recipients of the 1st KSSLAP (Kaisa Ini sa Sining, Lunsay nga Artistang Pilipino) Awards. Due to the present quarantine and travel restrictions, the KSSLAP Awards Ceremonies will be held virtually this August 24-27, 2021 and will be aired via the CCP FB page in September. The awardees are Lutgardo Labad (Bohol/theater and cultural administration), Alphonsus Tesoro (Capiz/cultural administration), Marilyn Gamboa (Negros Occidental/cultural administration), Ian Rosales Casocot (Dumaguete/literature), Peque Gallaga (Bacolod/film and theater), Jess de Paz (Tacloban/dance), Dr. Jesus C. Insilada (Calinog-Iloilo/literature and cultural education), Dr. Elizabeth Susan Vista-Suarez (Dumaguete / music), Dennis Sugarol (Cebu/ music), Negros Cultural Foundation, Silliman University Culture and Arts Council, Calbayog City Arts and Culture Office, and the Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts (Dumaguete). The Kaisa sa Sining Regional Arts Centers is a partnership program of the CCP thru its Cultural Exchange Department (CED) that was launched in 2014 and is aimed at strengthening further the CCP’s linkages and cooperation with regional educational institutions, non-government organizations and local government units in order to broaden public participation in the arts, promote and showcase artistic excellence and facilitate a vibrant collaboration between and among communities. In the past seven years, the cooperation and exchanges between and among CCP and the KSS network have become more dynamic. To date, the KSS network has already grown to a total of 56 organizations in 46 areas/communities in the regions: 21 in Luzon, 17 in Visayas and 18 in Mindanao. The KSSLAP Awards aim to give recognition to deserving Visayan individuals

and/or organizations who have exemplified commendable work and services in cultural and artistic endeavors, and have been in the forefront of the research, development, preservation, education and promotion of arts and culture in Mindanao for at least ten (10) years or more. The general criteria indicates that an awardee must have made exceptional accomplishments in creative work, leadership, resource management, education, artist support, audience development, community service, solidarity and partnership. The 17 members of CCP KSS Visayas network are: Province of Capiz, University of Antique, Central Phil. University-Iloilo City, Municipality of Sta. Barbara-Iloilo, University of St. La Salle-Bacolod City, Negros Cultural Foundation, City of Bago, City of Himamaylan, Municipality of Murcia, Silliman University-Dumaguete City, Holy Name University-Tagbilaran City, Arts Council of Cebu, Calbayog City Arts and Culture Office, University of Eastern Phils.-Catarman Samar, Leyte Normal University-Tacloban City, City of Ormoc, St. Joseph College-Maasin Leyte. “In our four decades of community cultural outreach work, we have experienced the unique and exceptional artistry, dedication and perseverance of many Visayan artists and cultural workers. It is indeed high time to institutionalize an awards program that will give recognition to outstanding achievements of Visayan artists, cultural workers and organizations. The KSSLAP Awards, an initiative of the CCP KSS Visayas Network and facilitated by the CCP Cultural Exchange, will serve as an inspiration for the artistic and cultural communities in the Visayas to aim for excellence and do public/community service,” CCP CED Department Manager, Chinggay J. Bernardo said. For more information, contact the CCP CED at ccp.ced2014@gmail.com

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

The World

Malaysia lawmakers denounce Parliament closure as PM ploy

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Florida breaks record for Covid hospitalizations as Delta rages

UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Police blocked opposition lawmakers from marching on Monday to protest a two-week lockdown of Malaysia’s Parliament, which they consider another ploy for the embattled prime minister to dodge a noconfidence vote. With the crucial parliamentary session due, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin instead postponed it and Parliament will be shut for two weeks. The health ministry said Parliament was deemed a high-risk venue because four of 11 Covid-19 cases detected among staff and others were suspected to be the fastspreading Delta variant. Muhyiddin has led an unstable, unelected governing alliance since March 2020 after he initiated the downfall of the reformist government that won the 2018 elections. Parliament has been suspended for much of that time due to the pandemic and hasn’t acted on the no-confidence motion filed by opposition lawmakers. They questioned the timing of the announcement of Parliament’s closure, which came after the king rebuked Muhyiddin’s government for misleading Parliament on the status of ordinances it issued during the seven-month coronavirus state of emergency. Dozens of lawmakers gathered near Parliament on Monday held a banner calling for the resignation of Muhyiddin and his Cabinet. They slammed the government over its cowardice and said they must eventually face the people. “This government has failed to carry out its duties but is continuing to cling to power,” said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. Apart from mismanaging the pandemic, he said Muhyiddin has also abused

his power to bypass Parliament and the king in withdrawing the emergency ordinances. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad called for the resignation of the entire Cabinet. “Only through this way, this prolonged political turmoil can end and focus can be fully given to efforts to resolve the health, economic and social crises that has plagued the country for more than 17 months,” Mahathir said in a statement. The lawmakers dispersed peacefully, as a water cannon truck and riot police armed with shields and batons shut off the road heading to Parliament. Last week ’s sitting of Parliament was the first of the year and was held after Muhyiddin caved to pressure from the king, but debates were banned in the session held only to brief lawmakers on the pandemic and related issues. King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Abdullah said on Thursday he did not give his consent to annul emergency ordinances but told the government to debate them in Parliament. Muhyiddin said that the king has to act on the Cabinet’s advice and insisted his administration didn’t violate the constitution. Any debate in Parliament could test Muhyiddin’s support with his alliance holding a razor-thin majority. P ubl ic a nger has bu i lt up against the government as Malaysia’s Covid-19 cases this year jumped eightfold to more than 1.1 million. New daily infections breached 10,000 on July 13 for the first time and have stayed there since. Total deaths have risen to above 9,000. Nearly 20 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. AP

Brisbane extends lockdown as Covid-19 infections surge

Virus flares again in Wuhan as Delta Asean diplomats discussing challenges China’s pandemic defense crisis envoy, aid to Myanmar

RISBANE, Australia—A lockdown of Australia’s third-largest city Brisbane was extended until Sunday because of a growing Covid-19 outbreak. Brisbane and several surrounding municipalities in Queensland state were due to end a threeday lockdown on Tuesday. But the Queensland government on Monday announced the extension after 13 locally acquired infections of the highly contagious Delta variant were detected in the latest 24-hour period. Australia’s largest city, Sydney, and surrounding cities in New South Wales state are in their sixth week of lockdown. The New South Wales government on Monday reported 207 new locally acquired infections. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Peter Dutton said he was quarantining at home in Brisbane and would attend Parliament remotely. He said in a statement he has tested negative but must quarantine because of a virus cluster at his sons’ school. Dutton was infected with the coronavirus in March 2020 during a trip to Washington, D.C. He has since been fully vaccinated. Lawmakers who attend Parliament in person face daily saliva tests for Covid-19, must wear masks and must practice social distancing.

New Zealand easing border controls

New Zealand’s government plans to slightly ease its strict coronavirus border controls to allow migrant workers from the Pacific to harvest crops and wine grapes. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday it plans to allow some workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu to enter without them going through the usual requirement to spend two weeks in quarantine. AP

hina is confronting its broadest Covid-19 outbreak since the pathogen first emerged there in late 2019, with the Delta variant spreadi ng to pl aces t h at h ad been dec l a red v ir us-f ree for ma ny m o nt h s , i n c l u d i n g o r i g i n a l epicenter Wu ha n. Delta has broken through the country’s virus defenses, which are some of the strictest in the world, and reached nearly half of China’s 32 provinces in a number of weeks. While the overall number of infections—more than 300 so far—is still lower than Covid resurgences elsewhere, the wide spread indicates that the variant is moving quickly. It’s the biggest challenge to China’s strategy since the virus was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, the central Chinese city that saw the world’s first lethal outbreak. The country’s strict anti-virus measures, which include mass testing as soon as a case appears, aggressive contact tracing, widespread use of quarantines and targeted lockdowns, have crushed more than 30 previous flareups over the past year. The arrival of the more infectious Delta variant, however, is testing even that approach. The new strain may be exploiting an easing off in masking and social distancing in some places, since much of the country has been Covid-free for months. That, along with increased travel for summer vacation, created a viable environment for Delta to gain a foothold. China reported 99 infections on Monday, including 44 who tested positive but have no symptoms. By number of cases, it’s the biggest outbreak since a flareup in

RLANDO, Florida—A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available.

The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed Covid-19 cases, according to data reported to the US Department of Health & Human Services. The previous record was from July 23, 2020, more than a halfyear before vaccinations started becoming widespread, when Florida had 10,170 hospitalizations, according to the Florida Hospital Association. Florida is now leading the nation in per capita hospitalizations for Covid-19, as hospitals around the state report having to put emergency room visitors in beds in hallways and others document a noticeable drop in the age of patients. In the past week, Florida has averaged 1,525 adult hospitalizations a day, and 35 daily pediatric hospitalizations. Both are the highest per capita rate in the nation, according to Jason Salemi, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida. The hospitalizations and increasing cases have come as the

Hebei province in northern China in January, when 2,000 people were infected. The broad spread is more concerning, with infections having reached the highly protected capita l, Beijing , and Wuhan, whose v i r u s - f ree st at u s h a s been a source of pride in China. The city said Monday that seven migrant workers tested positive, the first cases in Wuhan since China brought its original wave under control by locking down the city of some 11 million and the surrounding Hubei province. The initial delta infection arrived via an overseas flight from Moscow into the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing in mid-July, and spread on to a group of airport cleaning staff. Within weeks, cases have also popped up as far away as Hainan island in China’s south, 1,900 kilometers (1,180 miles) from Nanjing. China’s vaccination rate is close to 60 percent and among the highest in the world, but it remains to be seen whether the country’s locally developed shots can slow Delta’s spread.

Delta challenge

Most of those infected in Nanjing were immunized, and the vaccines—which have been found less effective than Messenger RNA shots in clinical trials—do appear to be providing protection, with only 4 percent of those infected in this current wave battling severe disease so far. Many of those have pre-existing conditions such as asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure, Guo Yanhong, an official with the National Health Commission, said at a briefing in Beijing

new, more transmittable Delta variant has spread throughout Florida, and residents have returned to pre-pandemic activities. “The recent rise is both striking and not-at-all surprising,” Salemi said in an e-mail late Saturday. Federal health data released Saturday showed that Florida reported 21,683 new cases of Covid-19, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic. The latest numbers were recorded on Friday and released on Saturday on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The figures show how quickly the number of cases is rising in the Sunshine State: only a day earlier, Florida reported 17,093 new daily cases. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has resisted mandatory mask mandates and vaccine requirements, and along with the state Legislature, has limited local officials’ ability to impose restrictions meant to stop the spread of Covid-19. DeSantis on Friday barred school districts from requiring students to wear masks

on Saturday. While all Covid vaccines are proving less effective against Delta, concerns are high that nonmRNA vaccines like the Chinese ones and AstraZeneca Plc’s shot will be less able to slow transmission. State-owned Sinopharm said its inactivated Covid-19 shot, given widely in China, is 68 percent effective against Delta, citing a study in Sri Lanka. Sinovac Biotech Ltd., the other major Chinese supplier, said the antibodies induced by its inactivated Covid vaccine can still neutralize the Delta strain in laboratory studies, the state-run Global Times reported, without providing more detail. Delta is providing a reality check for the world, especially countries that thought they were emerging from the pandemic through virus containment or high vaccination levels. Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed its earlier position and said fully vaccinated people should go back to wearing masks indoors in places where infections are rising. Australia, which like China had managed to snuff out Covid with strict border curbs, is battling its own Delta-driven resurgence, with major cities back in lockdown.

Flooded city

“Delta accounts for 80 percent of cases in the US, and they reinstituted a requirement for masks,” said Wang Huaqing, chief immunization expert at the Chinese CDC, at the Saturday briefing. “That means Delta’s spread is severe and personal protection can not be slackened even with vaccination.” AP

when classes resume next month. Florida’s Democratic agriculture commissioner, Nikki Fried, who is seeking to run against DeSantis for governor, on Sunday urged unvaccinated Floridians to get the shots. She said she was heartened by a recent uptick in vaccinations in the state. “We are already behind the curve and in a worse spot every time the numbers come out,” Fried said at a news conference in Tallahassee. “This surge is and will impact every single one of us.” Throughout Florida, from Jacksonville to Miami to Tampa, hospitals have become overwhelmed. Barr y Burton, the Pinellas County administrator, told the Tampa Bay Times that some local hospitals are already having to divert ambulances to different locations because of capacity concerns. There has been a startling rise in the number of children with the virus at hospitals in Miami, many of them requiring intensive care. Memorial Health’s Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood had seven patients with Covid-19. At Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, there were 17 patients with Covid-19 on Friday, including six in the ICU and one who needed a ventilator, Dr. Marcos Mestre, vice president and chief medical officer, told the Miami Herald. About half of the patients were under 12, Mestre said, and the rest were older and eligible for the vaccine. But none of the patients with Covid-19 at Nicklaus Children’s on Friday were vaccinated. Most

ANILA, Philippines— Southeast Asia’s top diplomats were meeting on Monday to appoint a special envoy to help deal with the political crisis and violence gripping Myanmar and finalize an emergency plan to help control a coronavirus outbreak that many fear is spiraling out of control in the military-ruled nation. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were also expected to announce after their video meeting some progress in four years of painstakingly slow negotiations with China to craft a nonaggression pact aimed at preventing conflict in the disputed South China Sea. The 10-nation bloc, frequently dismissed by critics as an ineffective talk shop, has been under increasing international pressure to act on the troubles unfolding in Myanmar, an Asean member where the military in February toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The grouping, however, is hamstrung by its policy of noninterference in the domestic affairs of member nations as well as its requirement to reach a consensus among members. In Monday’s online meeting the ministers were to decide who among at least three nominees from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia should be designated as the bloc’s special envoy to try to broker a settlement between the country’s ruling generals and rival parties led by Suu Kyi, a Southeast Asian diplomat told the Associated Press. Myanmar prefers the candidate from Thailand, former Thai

children who get Covid-19 do not need hospitalization, Mestre said. In the state capital, Covid-19 hospitalizations reached 70 patients on Sunday at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, a jump of 11 people in two days. “This is the most we’ve ever had,” Stephanie Derzypolski, a hospital spokeswoman, told the Tallahassee Democrat. The Mayo Clinic hospital in Jacksonville said it had exceeded its capacity of 304 licensed beds due to Covid-19 cases and asked the Agency for Health Care Administration for permission to operate overcapacity until the current surge ends, First Coast News in Jacksonville reported Sunday. At the UF Health North hospital emergency room in Jacksonville, Covid-19 patients once again were being put in beds in hallways due to a surge in visits. For many hospital workers, up until a month ago, it looked like there was light at the end of the tunnel, as people got vaccinated and hospitalizations decreased. But then the summer surge, powered by the new Delta variant, hit Florida in July. “That light did turn out to be a train in this case,” Marsha Tittle, a nursing manager at UF Health North, told The Florida Times Union. “We’re taking more patients than we normally would take.... My staff is wonderful. You walk out there, they’re going to have smiles on their faces and they’re doing a great job. But there’s a sense of defeat, like they’re just defeated.” AP

ambassador to Yangon Virasakdi Futrakul, but it remains uncertain when its military leaders would decide to accept the envoy and if access to Suu Kyi, who has been detained with other political leaders and put on trial for a slew of charges, would be granted, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of lack of authority to discuss the issue publicly. More than 900 people have been killed by Myanmar authorities since the February takeover, according to a tally kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Casualties are also rising among the military and police as armed resistance grows in both urban and rural areas. Asean leaders met in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta in April and called for an end to the violence and the start of a dialogue among contending parties to be mediated by an Asean envoy. On Sunday, Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing repeated his pledge to hold fresh elections in two years and cooperate with Asean on finding a political solution. He said without elaborating that Myanmar “is ready to work on Asean cooperation within the Asean framework, including the dialogue with the Asean special envoy in Myanmar.” Myanmar’s troubles have deepened with its worst surge of the pandemic, which has overwhelmed its crippled health care system. Limits on oxygen sales have led to widespread allegations that the military is directing supplies to government supporters and military-run hospitals. AP

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

It’s in, and big: Senators bare $1-trillion infrastructure bill

ASHINGTON—After much delay, senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, wrapping up days of painstaking work on the inches-thick bill and launching what is certain to be a lengthy debate over President Joe Biden’s big priority.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., updates reporters on the infrastructure negotiations between Republicans and Democrats, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 28. AP/J. Scott Applewhite

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act clocked in at some 2,700 pages, and senators could begin amending it soon. Despite the hurry-up-and-wait during a rare weekend session, emotions bubbled over once the bill was produced Sunday night. The final product was not intended to stray from the broad outline senators had negotiated for weeks with the White House. “We haven’t done a large, bipartisan bill of this nature in a long time,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He said a final vote could be held “in a matter of days.” A key part of Biden’s agenda, the

bipartisan bill is the first phase of the president’s infrastructure plan. It calls for $550 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels, what could be one of the more substantial expenditures on the nation’s roads, bridges, waterworks, broadband and the electric grid in years. Senators and staff labored behind the scenes for days to write the massive bill. It was supposed to be ready Friday, but by Sunday even more glitches were caught and changes made. To prod the work, Schumer kept senators in session over the weekend, encouraging the authors to finish up work. Late Sunday night, most of the

Turkey firefighters battle wildfires for sixth day

OKERTME, Turkey—Firefighters were battling to control blazes that tore through forests near Turkey’s beach destinations for the sixth day running on Monday, as watercarrying planes from the European Union prepared to join the containment efforts. The fires burning in parched conditions and strong winds since Wednesday have left eight people dead and forced residents and tourists to flee vacation resorts in boats. Many villagers lost homes and farm animals while a thick yellow haze hung in the air in the affected regions. Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said late Sunday that 119 fires that broke out in 32 provinces since Wednesday have been exting uished. Crews were still tacking seven fires in the coastal provinces of Antalya and Mugla that are popular tourist areas, and in Tunceli, southeast Turkey. The EU announced Sunday it had helped mobilize one firefighting Canadair plane from Croatia and two from Spain to help Turkey. Planes sent from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran have also been fighting the blazes. The planes from Spain would arrive on

Tuesday while the one from Croatia was expected join the efforts later on Monday, an EU official said. A fire in Mazikoy, in Mugla, reignited in strong winds on Monday, several hours after fire crews had made gains in containing the blaze, Haberturk broadcaster reported. On Sunday, residents were forced to evacuate the nearby C ok e r t me v i l l a ge a s f l a me s neared. Some got on boats and others left by cars as the fire got closer and closer—scenes which Ahmet Aras, the mayor of the nearby resort of Bodrum, described as “hell.” Precautions were taken to protect two nearby thermic power plants in the vicinity, though they were not in immediate danger. An evacuation order was also issued for the town of Turunc, near the seaside resort of Marmaris in Mugla. People boarded small boats carrying suitcases. Others waited anxiously to see if the fire would come down to the shore. High temperatures and strong winds were hampering containment efforts. Antalya registered 42 degrees Celsius (over 107 degrees Fahrenheit), about 5 to 6 degrees C higher than seasonal averages. AP

10 senators involved in the bipartisan effort rose on the Senate floor to mark the moment. “We know that this has been a long and sometimes difficult process, but we are proud this evening to announce this legislation,” said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a lead negotiator. The bill showed “we can put aside our own political differences for the good of the country,” she said. Republican negotiator Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio said the final product will be “great for the American people.” Over the long weekend of starts and stops, Schumer repeatedly warned that he was prepared to keep lawmakers in Washington for as long as it took to complete votes on both the bipartisan infrastructure plan as well as a budget blueprint that would allow the Senate to begin work later this year on a massive, $3.5 trillion social, health and environmental bill. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, predicted: “It’s going to be a grind.” Among the major new investments, the bipartisan package is expected to provide $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit and $66 billion for rail. There’s also set to be $55 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband Internet and electric vehicle charging stations. The spending is broadly popular among lawmakers, bringing longdelayed capital for big-ticket items that cities and states can rarely afford on their own. Paying for the package has been a challenge after senators rejected ideas to raise revenue from a new gas ta x or other streams. Instead, it is being financed from funding sources that might not pass muster with deficit hawks, including repurposing some $205 billion in untapped Covid-19 relief aid, as well as unemployment assistance that was turned back by some states

and relying on projected future economic growth. “I’ve got real concerns with this bill,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Bipartisan support from Republican and Democratic senators pushed the process along, and Schumer wanted the voting to be wrapped up before senators left for the August recess. Last week, 17 GOP senators joined all Democrats in voting to start work on the bipartisan bill. That support largely held, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voting yes in another procedural vote to nudge the process along in the 50-50 Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome filibuster and advance legislation. Whether the number of Republican senators willing to pass the bill grows or shrinks in the days ahead will determine if the president’s signature issue can make it across the finish line. Cornyn said he expects Schumer to allow all senators to have a chance to shape the bipartisan bill and allow for amendments from members of both parties. “I hope we can now pump the brakes a little bit and take the time and care to evaluate the benefits and the cost of this legislation,” Cornyn said. The bipartisan bill still faces a rough road in the House, where progressive law makers want a more robust package but may have to settle for this one to keep Biden’s infrastructure plans on track. The outcome with the bipartisan effort will set the stage for the next debate over Biden’s much more ambitious $3.5 tr il lion package, a strictly partisan pursuit of far-reaching programs and services including child care, tax breaks and health care that touch almost every corner of American life. Republicans strongly oppose that bill, which would require a simple majority for passage. Final votes on that measure are not expected until fall. AP

Demonstrators walk along Bismarckstrasse in Berlin on August 1, during a protest against coronavirus restrictions. Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP

Defying ban, Berlin protesters decry coronavirus measures; 600 detained

ERLIN—Thousands turned out in Berlin on Sunday to protest the German government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite a ban on the gatherings, leading to clashes with police and the detention of some 600 protesters. Local authorities had banned several different protests this weekend, including one from the Stuttgart-based Querdenker movement, but protesters in Berlin defied the ban. Berlin’s police department deployed more than 2,000 officers to try and disperse the protests, but it said officers who sought to redirect protesters or disband larger groups were “harassed and attacked.” “They tried to break through the police cordon and pull out our colleagues,” Berlin police said, adding that officers had to use irritants and batons. As the crowds made their way from Berlin’s Charlottenburg neighborhood through Tiergarten park toward the Brandenburg Gate, police warned via loudspeaker that they would use water cannons if protesters did not disperse. By Sunday evening, police had detained about 600 people, according to German media, and protesters were still marching through the city. Germany eased many of its coronavirus restrictions in May, including reopening restaurants and bars. Still, many activities, such as dining indoors at restaurants or staying in a hotel, require proof that an individual is either fully vaccinated, has recovered from the virus or can show proof of a recent negative coronavirus test.

Although the number of new coronavirus cases in Germany remains low compared with neighboring countries, the Delta variant has sparked an increase in new infections in the last few weeks. On Sunday, Germany reported 2,097 new cases, an increase of more than 500 over the previous Sunday. The Querdenker movement, the most visible anti-lockdown movement in Germany, has drawn thousands to its demonstrations in Berlin, uniting a disparate mix on both the right and the left, including those opposing vaccinations, coronavirus deniers, conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists. Earlier this year, Germany’s domestic intel ligence ser v ice warned the movement was becoming increasingly radical and put some of its adherents under surveillance. Wolfgang Schäuble, president of Germany’s parliament, sharply criticized the Querdenker movement Sunday, encouraging people not to be fooled by “cheap slogans.” “If practically all experts worldwide say the coronavirus is dangerous and vaccination helps, then who actually has the right to say, ‘Actually, I’m smarter than that?’” he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. “To me, that is an almost unbearable level of arrogance.” The protests follow other demonstrations against coronavirus measures around Europe. More than 200,000 people turned out Saturday in France to protest vaccination requirements for the third straight weekend, at times clashing with police. Some 80,000 others protested in cities across Italy last weekend. AP

US, UK and Israel blame Iran for ship attack; Tehran denies

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—The United States and the United Kingdom joined Israel on Sunday in alleging Iran carried out a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, putting further pressure on Tehran as it denied being involved in the assault. Calling it an “unlawful and callous attack,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said his country and its allies planned a coordinated response over the strike Thursday night on the oil tanker Mercer Street. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken soon followed, saying there was “no justification for this attack, which follows a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behavior.” The strike on the Mercer Street marked the first-known fatal attack after years of assaults on commercial shipping in the region linked to tensions with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran and its militia allies have used socalled “suicide” drones in attacks previously, which crash into targets and detonate their explosive payloads. However, Israel, the UK and the responding US Navy have yet to show physical evidence from the strike or offer intelligence

information on why they blame Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett went further than Blinken and Raab in his remarks Sunday at a Cabinet meeting, making a point to stare directly into the camera and slowly warn: “We know, at any rate, know how to convey the message to Iran in our own way.” The drone attack blasted a hole through the top of the oil tanker’s bridge, where the captain and crew command the vessel, a US official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as an investigation into the attack still was ongoing. The blast killed two crewmembers from the United Kingdom and Romania. The Navy said the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher had escorted the Mercer Street as it headed to a safe port. On Sunday, satellite-tracking information from MarineTraffic.com showed the tanker stopped off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. In his statement, R aab said it was “ highly likely” Iran attacked the tanker with one or more drones. “We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted and a clear violation of international law by Iran,” he said. “Iran must end

such attacks, and vessels must be allowed to navigate freely in accordance with international law.” Blinken similarly described the US as “confident” Iran carried out the attack, using multiple drones. “These actions threaten freedom of navigation through this crucial waterway, international shipping and commerce, and the lives of those on the vessels involved,” he said in a statement. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh described the allegation Iran carried out the attack as “baseless.” “It’s not the first time that the Zionist regime occupying Jerusalem has made such empty accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Khatibzadeh said. “Wherever this regime has gone, it has taken instability, terror and violence with it.” He added: “Whoever sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind.” Khatibzadeh spoke around an hour after Iran’s outgoing president acknowledged that his government at times “did not tell part of the truth” to the public during his term. From Jerusalem, Bennett offered condolences to both the United Kingdom and Romania for the killing of their citizens. He said Israeli intelligence had evidence linking Iran to the attack, but did not offer it.

“Iran is the one who carried out the attack against the ship,” he said. “Iran’s aggressive behavior is dangerous not only for Israel, but harms global interests in the freedom of navigation and international trade.” Other Israel-linked ships have been targeted in recent months as well amid a shadow war between the two nations, with Israeli officials blaming the Islamic Republic for the assaults. Shipping in the region began being targeted in the summer of 2019, about a year after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Israel meanwhile has been suspected of conducting a series of major attacks in Iran and on Iranian shipping. Also, Iran saw its largest warship recently sink under mysterious circumstances in the nearby Gulf of Oman. The Mercer Street, owned by Japan’s Taihei Kaiun Co., is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. In early July, the Liberian-flagged container ship CSAV Tyndall, once tied to Zodiac Maritime, suffered an unexplained explosion on board while in the northern Indian Ocean, according to the US Maritime Administration. AP