BusinessMirror August 10, 2020 by BusinessMirror

Monday, August 10, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 305

BSP LENDING TWEAK SEEN TO LIFT CORPORATE BONDS

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages |

@Tyronepiad

PHL debt payments jump 42% in 1st half

HE recent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) circular discounting debt securities from the single borrowers limit (SBL) is seen to propel liquidity for the corporate bonds market, the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) said. PDEx President Antonino Nakpil said in an online listing ceremony last week that the BSP circular is seen encouraging more market maker banks as well. “The recently released circular providing for the temporary exclusion of market makers’ positions from their single borrowers limit definitely and directly supports second market liquidity for corporate bonds,” Nakpil said. Signed by BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on July 22, Circular 1091, Series of 2020 or “Exclusion of Debt Securities Held by Market Makers from Single Borrowers Limit” removes debt securities held by market makers from the credit exposure limit to a single borrower. SBL refers to the ceiling on the amount of loans a bank can extend to its clients. The Central Bank had increased the borrower’s limit to 30 percent from the current 25 percent in March to boost lending during this pandemic. This increase, which is a relief provided for the banks, is in place for six months. Year-to-date, PDEx has total new listings amounting to P291.95 billion. The total level of tradable corporate debt instruments, meanwhile, stood at P1.51 trillion. Corporate trading volume, ac-

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE Department of Tourism (DOT) is looking at pursuing its partnership with the Expedia Group to promote the Philippines in this year’s winter season in the United Kingdom. I n a n on l i ne e xc h a nge with the BusinessMirror, Tour ism Attaché for London Gerard S. Panga said, “Many Brits turn to Expedia for flight, hotel, flight+hotel package options. So visibility

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

@caiordinario

ESPITE a decline in June, the Philippine government’s debt payments ballooned in the first semester of the year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). The government’s debt service bill in the January-to-June period this year jumped 42.07 percent to P547.347 billion from the previous year’s P385.254 billion. In June, however, the country’s debt payments contracted 58.97 percent to P34.387 billion from the P83.811 billion posted in the same period last year. "The higher debt service payment for H1 2020 is mainly due to higher domestic maturities [three year FXTBs and RTB issued in 2017)] and bond exchange as well as external amortization," Treasurer Rosalia de Leon told BusinessMirror over the weekend. "Domestic IP also increases this year as a result of borrowings in 2019 and for new issuances this year." The BTr data showed interest payments increased 4.22 percent to P187.676 billion in the first semester of 2020 from P180.07 billion in the first semester last year. Amortization also grew 75.29 percent to P359.671 billion in the January-to-June period this year from P205.183 billion in the same period in 2019.

cording to a recent report by First Metro Investment Corp. and University of Asia and the Pacific, grew by 69.4 percent to P5.8 billion in June from P4.7 billion the previous month. Year-on-year, it recorded a 13.2-percent uptick. Volume for the top 5 corporates, which comprised 63.6 percent of the total amount, rose by 144.6 percent to P3.7 billion in June from P1.5 billion in May. These include SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Corp., Ayala Land Inc., SM Investments Corp. and SMC Global Power. “Moreover, their [corporate bonds] success speaks well of foreign investor confidence in the economy’s ability to overcome the negative impact of Covid-19,” the report added.

Oversubscribed

THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) listed its Covid Action Response (CARE) Bonds last week. The offering was oversubscribed by over seven times, with the order book reaching P21.5 billion. “This hopefully indicates that there is not only ample liquidity in our capital markets but also that Philippine investors are responding well in...investment opportunities,” Ephyro Luis B. Amatong, commissioner from Securities and See “BSP lending,” A2

EXPEDIA KEEN ON HELPING PHILIPPINE TOURISM RECOVER By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

By Cai U. Ordinario

is good, plus we get to promote also our partner hotels and airlines.” The ongoing partnership with online travel agency Expedia for the UK market, is with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the DOT’s marketing arm. He said, the project with Expedia, “is in the work program this year, but we won’t implement it until our country opens to foreign leisure travelers. If ever, we are looking at the fourth quarter to position our products for the winter travel season.” Continued on A2

RESIDENTS of CAA Barangay BF International in Las Piñas City brave Sunday's rainy weather with their umbrellas in order to get their cash assistance under the government's Social Amelioration Program to help low-income families impacted by the Covid-19 lockdowns. Some of them have been waiting in line as early as 4 a.m. of August 9, 2020. NONIE REYES

See “PHL debt,” A8

‘Hard scrutiny before bailout for PhilHealth’ By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

EFORE the government considers any sort of bailout for the “troubled state insurer,” lawmakers said the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) must undergo “thorough financial checkup” and “cleansing.” See related PhilHealth story on page A2. House Deputy Majority Leader Bernadette Herrera made the st atement a f ter President ia l Spokesman Har r y Roque announced that the government was ready to provide funding to ensure the survival of PhilHealth, which is tasked with implementing the landmark Universal Health Care (UHC) Act of 2019. “PhilHealth should come clean about its current financial standing

and must be willing to go through a cleansing process to rid the agency of corrupt officials and employees prior to any government bailout,” Herrera said. Last week, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had conceded that at this point, it is hard to validate with precision the financial status of PhilHealth, as its information system was deeply f lawed, and it will take time to ascertain the integrity of data. This, amid allegations by a board member that certain PhilHealth officials had tweaked the agency’s numbers to hide its true fiscal health. Accord ing to Her rera, t he government’s assurance on the UHC will “help to allay concerns that the corruption scandal and f u nd i ng proble m s hou nd i ng

PhilHealth would delay the law’s implementation.” “We cannot afford any delay in the implementation of the law, which guarantees equitable access to quality and affordable healthcare services for all Filipinos,” Herrera said.

2022 time line

PHILHEALTH Acting Senior Vice President for Actuarial Services Nerissa Santiago recently told a Senate hearing that the staterun insurance firm may cease to exist by 2022 due to the “double impact” of decreasing collections and increasing payouts for the hospitalization of Covid-19 patients. With this, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo said the actuarial life of the PhilHealth should be validated by a third party.

“My request is for you to have actuarial validation. To me, it cannot be one year left.... Give us actuarial validation and this validation should be done by a third party,” she said. Citing her computation on PhilHealth reserve fund, investment, premium contribution, invest as well as benefit payments, the economist-lawmaker said PhilHealth should have at least a P112 billion balance when it enters 2021. Earlier, the agency’s president and CEO, Ricardo Morales, said the implementation of UHC and ex pansion of pr imar y hea lth benefits may have to be delayed as the pandemic dealt a big blow to PhilHealth’s finances and capacity to pay for the health-care services of its members. Continued on A2

US 49.0550 n JAPAN 0.4650 n UK 64.4975 n HK 6.3296 n CHINA 7.0544 n SINGAPORE 35.8275 n AUSTRALIA 35.4717 n EU 58.2675 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.0852

Source: BSP (7 August 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, August 10, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

80% of Japanese firms in PHL: Supply chain woes to hurt sales

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

OUR in every five Japanese firms in the Philippines expect sales to decrease this year on supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

About 80 percent of Japanese investors overseas said they anticipate sales to decline this year, according to a report by the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro). In a reflecting of the business situation worldwide, the investors said their operations are hampered by the slowdown in international

trade due to the pandemic. “The main reason for the operational decline of Japanese companies in relation to Covid-19 was the decrease in both domestic and overseas demand,” the Jetro said in its annual Global Trade and Investment Report. For the Philippines, 85.3 percent

of Japanese firms here said they expect sales to go down for the full year of 2020. The survey, however, did not disclose how grave of a contraction they are staring at. When placed in the Southeast Asian region, sales decline is projected to be worse in Malaysia and Thailand, but is viewed to be less severe in Indonesia and Vietnam especially. Expectations of a sales decrease are at 89.4 percent in Thailand and 88.4 percent in Malaysia. On the other hand, 84.4 percent of Japanese investors in Indonesia anticipate their sales to fall, while 71 percent of those operating in Vietnam have a similar prospect. “In terms of external shocks to global supply chains, it is said that

the Great Japan Earthquake and the 2011 Thailand floods caused a ‘supply shock,’ while the Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis caused a ‘demand shock,’” the report read. “Although the Covid-19 crisis contains elements of a ‘supply shock,’ it seems that it has had a larger ‘demand shock’ impact,” it concluded. As to why, most of the respondents in the report anchored their expectation of a sales decline on the slowdown in local and foreign demand. The survey for the Philippines gathered the insights of 226 Japanese firms and was conducted between June 8 and June 11, a period when the country’s quarantine restrictions were relaxed and most of business operations were allowed

Senate PhilHealth hearing a go; DOJ probe on T

HE Senate Committee of the W hole’s scheduled second hearing on alleged fraud and corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will not be derailed by the absence of key agency officials who sent medical certificates to senators at the weekend saying they were indisposed for Tuesday, August 11. “It will push through as scheduled,” Senate President Tito Sotto told BusinessMirror over the weekend, even after his office received medical certificates on behalf of three PhilHealth officials summoned to appear at Tuesday’s inquiry. Among those who submitted medical certificates to the office of Senate President Sotto, asking to be excused from Tuesday’s hearing, is PhilHealth President-CEO Ricardo Morales, whom an oncologist at Cardinal Santos Medical Center said required chemotherapy for lymphoma. On Sunday afternoon, Morales sent word he was still willing to join Tuesday’s hearing, but asked to be spared from making a personal appearance at the Senate premises, as he is an immunocompromised patient. Reacting to the notices sent by beleaguered agency officials claiming to be ill, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, one of the key movers of the inquiry, said: “Their failure to attend Tuesday’s hearing is their loss, not the Senate’s, simply because they won’t be there to respond to new issues to be brought up by resource persons and some new incriminating

documents in our possession.” Lacson made the remarks amid a pending request by resigned PhilHealth antifraud legal officer Thorrsson Keith for him to be granted immunity from suit during his testimony, and for security, saying he had felt threatened after making his revelations. Keith and another official, board member Alejandro Cabading, had made explosive revelations against ranking agency officials, with Keith telling senators in last week’s hearing that a “mafia” in the agency could have stolen some P15 billion through various means.

Guevarra: All anomalies included

ON Sunday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said all investigations into various PhilHealth anomalies would be expedited, including the P154 billion in bogus claims for dialysis and other medical treatment of healthcare company WellMed. Guevarra was directed by President Duterte to lead a task force to investigate and put an end to corruption in PhilHealth. The task force will have as members representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit (COA), Civil Service Commission (CSC), Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), Office of the Special Assistant to the President and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC). It was given 30 days to conduct an investigation including lifestyle checks on officials of PhilHealth and to submit its

BSP lending… Exchange Commission, said during the online listing ceremony. Each bond has a tenor of 1.75 years and an interest rate of 3.05 percent per annum, payable quarterly in arrears. The proceeds of the bonds are allocated to finance and refinance eligible micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are among the most affected sectors during this pandemic. In Metro Manila alone, Amatong noted that around 149,000 MSMEs from the formal sector were disrupted by the pandemic and in the informal sector, 525,000. “We issued the CARE Bonds to address the financing needs of

Continued from A1

MSMEs, as they work to overcome the challenges brought about by Covid-19,” said BPI President Cezar P. Consing. “The amount raised adds to our capability to provide financing to this very important segment of the economy.” The bank tapped BPI Capital Corp. and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC) as the joint lead arrangers of the transaction. BPI Capital was the sole selling agent while HSBC served as participating selling agent. In the first half, the Ayala-led bank saw its net earnings decline by 15 percent to P11.68 billion as it further hiked the provisions for credit losses.

report and recommendations to the President. Guevarra said since the task force was given only 30 days to come up with a recommendation, it would zero in on alleged anomalies already under investigation by other agencies. “I will request the rest of the Task Force members to identify these ongoing investigations that may be actually expedited and completed within the period. I hope the WellMed ghost dialysis claims case is one of them,” Guevarra said. PhilHealth officials were accused last year of conspiring with WellMed in siphoning its multibillion fund by approving its accreditation despite being investigated for fraudulent claims. In August 2019, the National Bureau of Investigation filed criminal cases against 21 PhilHealth officials and employees before the DOJ in connection with the fraudulent claims for payment of dialysis and other medical treatment of PhilHealth members and beneficiaries. Among those named as respondents are members of the Accred itation Sub - Committee (ASC) from PhilHealth Regional Office National Capital Region (PRO-NCR) including its branch manager. The respondents, according to the NBI- Anti-Graft Division (NBI-AGD) are responsible in approving the accreditation of WellMed for 2019 despite the investigation conducted by PhilHealth’s Fact-Finding Investigation and Enforcement Department on the alleged fraudulent

claims of WellMed. The DOJ secretary added that they have already coordinated with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and asked to be provided a copy of its initial report into PhilHealth’s irregularities. PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica earlier said administrative charges are likely to be filed against 36 PhilHealth officials, while 13 could be charged criminally for their involvement in these irregularities.

Morales battling CA

LACSON said of Morales, “I wish him well in his fight against the Big C. In all sincerity, I join his family in praying for his recovery. It is unfortunate that these new corruption issues have exploded at a time when his health condition is at a low point.” Earlier, Sotto had advised PhilHealth’s resigned senior vice president Augustus de Villa to reveal all he knows about shenanigans in the agency while there’s still time. The retired brigadier general should speak up for the good of the country and for his own sake, Sotto said. On Thursday, de Villa submitted his irrevocable resignation effective immediately, and no reason was given for his departure. Sotto said, however, that despite his resignation, de Villa must appear at the Senate hearing and must bring the documents sought by senators on the allegedly overpriced IT equipment that the PhilHealth was to buy. Butch Fernandez, Joel R. San Juan

to reopen. Last week President Duterte decided to revert Metro Manila and nearby provinces to modified enhanced community quarantine for until August 18. As such, most business activities were ordered to close again, including dine-in restaurants, gyms and Internet cafés. Last year, Japan was the country’s fourth-largest foreign investor next to Singapore, China and South Korea. Based on records from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Japanese investments grew nearly 1 percent to P19.88 billion, from P19.72 billion in 2018. As such, Tokyo accounted for more than 5 percent of the total foreign capital registered here last year.

‘Hard scrutiny before bailout for PhilHealth’ Continued from A1

Given the circumstances, Herrera said the government must condition any emergency funding on “greater transparency, accountability and efficiency” to ensure that PhilHealth does not find itself in a similar situation in the future. “PhilHealth should not be provided additional funding unless meaningful changes are implemented to ensure it can effectively fulfill its mandate and tasks under the UHC law,” the party-list lawmaker said. For his part, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said Congress is willing to infuse capitalization to cover the Covidassociated upsurge in claims, but “we have to hold the PhilHealth to account for its apparent mismanagement of public finances.” “Over the past few years, premiums have almost always exceeded the total claims paid by PhilHealth, with some sectors bearing the brunt of premiums paid without having benefited proportionally from health insurance coverage,” he said. In 2018 alone, Salceda said the formal sector paid P65 billion in premiums but only received around P26 billion in claims, adding: “to say that PhilHealth is now struggling with sustainability is to suggest that during these years when PhilHealth premiums exceeded claims, not enough was done to strengthen the GOCC’s financial position.” “Pandemics like Covid-19 are a fact of human history. Something like this will happen again. That is why PhilHealth has to be effectively managed in good times, so that the system is prepared for bad times like these,” he said.

Bishop Pabillo, Atienza urge end to death penalty calls Continued from A8

Duterte eventually granted the request by placing the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal under modified ECQ from August 4 to 18, 2020. “They wrote [to the President] because they cared. They cared seemingly that our response to the health crisis is not enough,” Pabillo said during his homily shown on Sunday via live stream by Radyo Veritas. He said the same patriotism should also be shown in opposing legislation to bring back capital punishment. Pabillo noted it is “shameful and concerning” for the government to

be preoccupied with death penalty amid its surging Covid-19 cases, which reached 129,913 as of August 9, 2020. “Let us not allow our senators and congressmen to pass laws which are immoral and kill. Let us tell them to focus on the complaints of the people who are looking for jobs, something to eat, and medicine [during the Covid crisis],” Pabillo said.

Macro aspect

THROUGH this love for country, he noted, one can also show one’s love for God. “When we think of love, we often think of personal love.... But love

also has a macro aspect. A social aspect. Love of country is also love. And where there is love country, God is there,” Pabillo said. “God is making Himself felt through the poor condition of our country. Let us love our country and embrace God of history,” he added. Pabillo’s mass on Sunday in Radyo Veritas, was his first after having recovered from Covid-19. He tested positive for the virus last month. “I would like to thank all of you who prayed for me when I got sick. I would also like to thank God for allowing me to overcome it,” Pabillo said. Samuel P. Medenilla

EXPEDIA KEEN ON HELPING PHILIPPINE TOURISM RECOVER Continued from A1

He added, the DOT also has another partnership with Hotels. com, a subsidiary of Expedia, targetting the Scandinavian market. “But the adjusted work program is still under review; we might implement this in 2021 instead because Sweden is badly hit also by Covid-19.” The DOT, TPB and local tourism stakeholders have been holding several online meetings and webinars with foreign buyers and companies engaged in promoting destinations, in preparation for the lifting of international travel restrictions and the reopening of the Philippines to inbound tourists. For now, the DOT is looking at opening up some key destinations with no Covid-19 cases to domestic tourists and select foreign visitors from virus-free markets as well, in a concept known as travel corridors or travel bubbles. (See, “DOT eyes international ‘travel bubble’ with virus-free zones, in the BusinessMirror, June 10, 2020.) In a recent presentation to the DOT and tour ism sta keholders, Ex pedia Group Busin e s s D e v e l o p m e nt M a n a g e r K at hr y n A l ker showed t here was still a high amount of interest in the Philippines. For June 2020, most of the searches on Expedia’s site for the Philippines came from the UK and Germany, among the so-called EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) market. Searches from the UK grew by 16 percent week on week, as per the latest reference period ending July 21. Package searches grew 6 percent week on week, and searches for the Philippines from July 1 to 21, accounted for 36 percent of total searches on its site from the EMEA markets. Other than UK and Germany, other EMEA markets which have been searching about “Manila” in June 2020 were France, Spain, and Italy, while in general, top searches about Manila on Expedia came from the United States, Taiwan, Canada, Japan, and the Philippines. “We have all been impacted by Covid-19,” said Alker. “As travel restrictions lift, we anticipate people will be eager to reschedule missed holidays and plan new adventures.” She added, “Millions of travelers will use our sites to research, plan and book their flights, stays, cars, cruises and activities. We can help you rebound from this businesses recover after global crisis and reignite demand for your destination.” In May, Expedia announced a $275-million program to help its partners recover from the impact of Covid-19. The package includes $250 million in marketing credits and financial relief, and a $25-million advertising fund. “For each property that participates in the program, the company will reinvest 25 percent of the compensation earned in 2019 from the property into marketing credits for use with Expedia Group. The company is also reducing its compensation on all new bookings made within the three-month program period, regardless of the actual stay dates. Lastly, Expedia Group is extending payment terms for Hotel Collect bookings to 90 days to provide additional financial relief,” said the company in a news statement. The advertising program “focuses on destination-led and co-op campaigns, which bring together destination and supply partners with similar audiences to manage their advertising spend while maximizing their conversions,” the company added. Last year, the Philippines attracted 8.26 million foreign tourists, who spent P482.15 billion locally.

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, August 10, 2020 A3

Senate opposition clears way for P162-B stimulus fund as House set to ratify bill

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie & Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

Program (SAP). The Senate Minority Leader emphasized the “need to increase the stimulus fund under the Bayanihan 2.” The Senate version passed on third reading had provided only for P140 billion, a sum pegged on estimated provided by economic managers of the resources available.

6953 also mandates the allocation of about P10.5 billion to enable the hiring of additional health-care workers and to provide additional allowances and benefits to medical frontliners. The House leader said that following the House’s final approval of HB 6953, both chambers could then hold bicameral conference committee negotiations to hammer out a consolidated version of Bayanihan 2 for submission to Duterte. “In reality, P162 billion is not enough,” Villafuerte said. “This body feels the national government can afford P162 billion—that’s why we’re passing it.” The lawmaker added that the swift final approval of HB 6953 is expected after leaders of different political parties and party-list groups in the chamber signed a “Manifesto of Unity” committing the bill’s plenary passage at the soonest time possible. “Bayanihan 2 will give continued special powers to the President to beat the pandemic that, according to the WHO [World Health Organization], has reached a ‘dangerous’ stage of accelerated spread as governments across the world start relaxing mobility restrictions and reopening their economies,” Villafuerte said when he sponsored the bill on the floor.

Joint session

Measure’s provisions

ENATE Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon assured support Sunday for the House-approved P162billion stimulus funding—P22 billion more than the Senate’s version—clearing the way for early approval by Congress of the Bayanihan 2 funding authority for the Duterte administration’s Covid response.The House of Representatives is set to approve on third and final reading this week the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2.

With the target final approval this week, Deputy Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte said Congress is hoping to provide President Duterte by September with special powers anew to best deal with the health crisis and the economic crisis. Ac k nowledg ing recession’s “grim reality [that] Filipinos are hungry, jobless and with no savings,” Drilon pushed for a “bigger budget” for the Social Amelioration

IN a statement, Villafuerte said HB

A MEMBER of the Joint Congressio-

nal Oversight Committee (JCOC) that monitored the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11469, Villafuerte said the swift action of the House on HB 6953 was in response to Duterte’s appeal in his State of the Nation Address to have the measure passed immediately. Moreover, he said there is a P10-billion subsidy for the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to cover the Covid-19 expanding test program and to fund the confinement of infected patients. HB 6953 provides, too, for the following: life insurance; compensation benefit of P100,000 to health-care workers infected with Covid-19; and, compensation of P1 million to the family of each frontliner who dies from the illness. Villafuerte said the measure also provides additional funding for the purchase of protective personal equipment and construction of quarantine and isolation facilities.

Deemed inadequate

THE House version also includes funds for the implementation of cash-for-work programs, new capital for government financial institutions (GFIs) to expand their provision of credit to pandemichit businesses, low-interest credit facilities for the agriculture sector and assistance to the transportation and tourism industries.

Education is also a major beneficiary of Bayanihan 2, including the provision of subsidies for educational institutions, teachers and students and funds to procure digital tools for online learning. HB 6953 also covers assistance for local government units, overseas Filipino workers, national athletes and coaches and individuals in crisis situations. Villafuerte said the next step after the enactment of Bayanihan 2 is to “work closely with the government to raise revenues” so it could sufficiently bankroll the Covid-19 response. The lawmaker describes Bayanihan 2 as a “stop-gap measure,” as he considers it inadequate to prepare the economy for recovery.

Bayanihan 1

HOUSE Deputy Minority leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate on Sunday urged the national government to fully disclose how it has spent the P3.7 trillion of the 2020 national budget before it can be trusted to spend the P162 billion under the proposed Bayanihan 2 of the House of Representatives. “Bayanihan 2 was being mislabeled as a ‘recovery’ fund although Filipinos have not even ‘healed’ under the first Bayanihan Act, as found by our own research,” the Davao-based solon said. “Bayanihan 2 still does not guarantee full funding for free mass

testing to all vulnerable members of our population, especially our frontline health-care workers and those who got in contact with people positive [with] Covid-19,” Zarate said. “Until now, the government has not yet put in place an effective contact tracing strategy, and our entire health-care system is on the brink of collapse. So why enact another version of a law when the first one has not been fully used or utilized for its intended purposes?”

Feel confident

IN a statement over the weekend, Drilon suggested that the Duterte administration “take a look at strategies” to arrest the increasing Covid-19 cases, warning that the rising number “shatters people’s confidence.” “ The people’s confidence is shattered and the corruption and incompetence issues against government officials playing a key role in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic make things even worse,” Drilon said. The lawmaker pointed out that the “key is to revive demand but that will only happen when the people feel safe to go out.” “People will feel confident when they see that the government is doing the right thing, effective measures are in place and the health-care system is not collapsing,” Drilon added. “Thus, it all boils down to our ability to control the pandemic.”

Agriculture/Commodities

A4 Monday, August 10, 2020 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

BusinessMirror

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Groups to govt: Beef up NFA rice buffer stock

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

ARIOUS rice industry groups have sounded the alarm over the government’s rice buffer stock, which they said will last for only seven days based on a nationwide daily consumption rate of 33,000 metric tons (MT).

Nagkakaisang Grupo Laban sa Rice Tarification Law (RTL) said the National Food Authority (NFA) revealed in a recent online public forum that their current rice stocks is sufficient for only week, equivalent to about 231,000 MT. “This is alarming as the next big harvest is still in October. It pays to be prepared especially with this pandemic still hovering in the picture,” Romeo Royandoyan of the Nagkakaisang Grupo Laban sa RTL said. Under present guidelines, the NFA is required to maintain a 30-day buffer stock in the July-to-September period, or the lean season, when local rice harvest is usually minimal. Quoting NFA Administrator Judy

Carol L. Dansal, the group said the agency “has not seen a need for a buffer stock larger than 1 million bags in the last 20 to 30 years.” “Since we are not out of the woods yet in this Covid-19 plus the threat of disasters is highest during this semester, our past experiences should have already given us enough lessons more or less on the definition of what a ‘sufficient buffer-stock’ should be during rainy days,” Royandoyan said.

‘Not cause for alarm’

HOWEVER, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told the BusinessMirror that the current rice stockpile of the NFA is not a cause for alarm. “Our present rice inventory is good

for 53 days of which 28 days are with households, 19 days with commercial warehouses and the remaining six days are with NFA, which is mainly for buffer stocking,” Dar said via SMS. Dansal told the BusinessMirror that NFA’s current buffer stock is “no cause for panic” and the agency has started procuring palay. “There is no cause for panic. NFA’s current buffer stock is prepositioned in the different strategic locations nationwide. And we have started to procure palay in areas where rice is being harvested,” she said via SMS. “There is no cause for concern during this pandemic as we were able to sufficiently address the requirements of LGUs [local government units] nationwide as well as the needs of other government relief agencies.” Dansal added that LGUs have already stopped buying their rice requirements from the NFA except for the City of Manila. “For now we are ready and prepared for strategies to increase our buffer stock in this coming harvest season starting September,” she said. Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said the Covid-19 pandemic revealed the weaknesses of the RTL, which has limited NFA’s buffer stocking role to

local palay procurement. Montemayor urged the government to provide the NFA with additional budget to beef up its current rice stockpile. “The pandemic reveals the weaknesses of the RTL when it downgraded NFA’s role, but continued to rely heavily on the agency for the country’s food security during this protracted health disaster situation,” he said. “We urge the government to review the law, particularly NFA’s role and installing some form of regulation over private traders considering our present situation. We also call on the government to provide an additional palay procurement budget to NFA.” Private traders, who are continuously importing rice, cannot be expected to sell lower-priced rice to local governments and other agencies distributing rice to vulnerable people during this extended lockdown period and when climate-related disasters hit the country, Montemayor added.

PSA data

LATEST Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report showed that the country’s rice stockpile as of June 1 was estimated at 2.395 million metric tons (MMT), which was 7.8 percent lower than last year’s nearly 2.6 MMT. “In comparison with the previous

month’s level of 2.794 [million] metric tons, rice stocks inventory was down by 14.3 percent,” the PSA said in its report published recently. The PSA report showed that rice stocks held by households grew by almost 20 percent on an annual basis, while stocks in commercial warehouses and NFA depositories fell by 10.7 percent and 54.9 percent, respectively. PSA data showed that rice stocks in households reached 1.256 MMT while those in commercial warehouses were estimated at 891,400 MT. NFA’s buffer stock fell to a 17-month low of 248,330 MT, the lowest since the 97,910 MT recorded in January 2019. “Rice stocks were lower in all sectors in comparison with the previous month’s levels. Stocks in the households, commercial warehouses, and NFA depositories decreased by 17.4 percent, 6.8 percent, and 22.0 percent, respectively,” it said. Rice and industry groups have been urging the NFA since last month to be transparent on the real score of its rice stocks amid the Covid-19 pandemic. They alsoproddedthegovernment,particularly the Department of Agriculture, to divulge the real score on the country’s current rice supply (See “Agri groups to DA: What’s real score on current rice supply?,” in the BusinessMirror, July 10, 2020).

Romblon gets reefer vans for storing food from DOTr, Maersk By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

HE Department of Transportation (DOTr) has provided Romblon with two refrigerated container vans (reefer vans), which will help the local government store perishable goods and farm produce during the Covid-19 pandemic. The two reefer vans were donated by Maersk. The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) repaired the two vans, which were subsequently shipped through Starhorse Shipping Lines Inc. and Certified Customs Brokerage Inc. to the towns of San Agustin and Romblon. “It has always been my goal for our provinces, especially those that rely heavily on agriculture, to have access to reefer container vans or what we call as Palamigan ng Bayan,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said. “Now that we are facing an unprecedented crisis, we can clearly see how crucial it is to support the agriculture sector. It is high time to boost our initiative and reach areas that are in dire need of help.” Palamigan ng Bayan aims to help the agriculture sector preserve the quality of their farm produce and gain better market access, as well as further strengthen and boost the government’s response efforts amid the health crisis. To date, there are 13 reefer vans that were donated to various municipalities and cities across the country. Assistant Secretary for Maritime Transport Narciso Vingson Jr. noted that his group is in close coordination with the beneficiaries to ensure that the reefer vans are used for their intended purpose. “We are monitoring these reefers vans and assessing to ensure that they are being used. So far, reports received from the ground confirm that they are serving their purpose,” Vingson said. PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago noted that this initiative will help cushion the effects of the pandemic. “These refrigerated containers will help local government units store food supply to ensure that the food will not be spoiled,” he said. On April 13, two reefer container vans were deployed to the One Bataan Center in Orani, Bataan, to help preserve the supply of perishable goods, including fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish products in the province. This was followed by another five refrigerated containers being sent to Dingalan, Aurora; Tubigon, Bohol; Claveria, Cagayan; Iloilo province; and Ormoc City, Leyte. On May 4, the Cebu Port Authority reported to the DOTr that the three reefer container vans intended for Cebu province were turned over to its Provincial Government. The CPA assisted in the turnover. The agency also reported that one of the three units was already deployed to the Municipality of San Remigio Fish Port, while the remaining two were delivered to Cebu South Bus Terminal to be used for the Provincial Bagsakan Central.

‘Possession of animals in IUCN list requires special permits’ By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

HE possession, transport, and breeding or farming of wild animals, including the progenies that were bred in duly-registered wildlife farms require a special permit, officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said. This as the DENR begins on Monday its formal investigation of a businessman from Quezon City whose two runaway ostriches went viral on social media. The animals were seen running around a private subdivision on Friday. One of the two ostriches eventually perished due to stress, according to DENR Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda. He said the owner of the ostrich, Jonathan Cruz, has voluntarily turned over to the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) one of the ostriches. “Even so, we are not taking his words for it. We are going to investigate,” Antiporda told the BusinessMirror. He said the DENR-BMB team was barred from entering the private subdivision as the entire National Capital Region was again placed under modified enhanced community quarantine. An ostrich is a large, flightless bird native to Africa. There are two kinds of ostriches in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. One is in Appendix I (Somali Ostrich) and the other is in Appendix II (Common Ostrich) which are now being farmed for their meat and egg in many countries, including the Philippines. Generally, those under Appendix II can be bred. The progenies can be bought locally, or imported. However, only those with wildlife farm permits are allowed to export wild animals under Appendix II. Wild animals under Appendix I, or critically endangered species, are strictly not allowed. Initial investigation revealed that Cruz’s runaway ostrich was bought by Edwin Hara of San Jose, Nueva Ecija. He bought a total of 12 from a farm in Mindanao. Two of the ostriches went to Jonathan Cruz. “All Jonathan Cruz needs to show us is the receipt to prove that he bought them from Mr. Hara or directly from the ostrich farm,” says DENR-BMB OIC Wildlife Resource Division Chief Theresa M. Tenazas. Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon, the concurrent director of the DENR-BMB, said they will give Cruz the chance to present proof of legal possession or acquisition of the ostriches and wildlife transport permit as they begin a formal investigation on Monday. He said wild animals bred in captivity like the saltwater crocodiles, which is now considered a farm animal, and could legally be sold for their meat, skin or other byproducts, still require appropriate permits from the DENR. Mere possession of the wild animals, he said, requires a certificate of wildlife registration. To be allowed to legally breed wild animals in captivity, breeders must secure a Wildlife Farm Permit, which means the holder has the technical and financial capacity to operate a farm for that specific animal. In the Philippines, ostriches are considered farm animals, and ostrich egg and meat are sold locally. For live ostriches, while buying them is no different from buying a goat, keeping them alive as pets would require a certificate of wildlife registration as proof of legal acquisition or ownership. Failure to present proof of legal acquisition or transport permit for the ostriches means Cruz may face charges for violation of Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Brazil marks grim milestone with 100,000 Covid deaths

IO DE JANEIRO—Brazil surpassed a grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday night, and five months after the first reported case the country has not shown signs of crushing the disease.

The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May and reported 905 for the latest 24-hour period. The Health Ministry said there had been a total of 3,012,412 confirmed infections with the new coronavirus— death and infection tolls second only to the United States. And as in many nations, experts believe that both numbers are severe undercounts due to insufficient testing. In a tribute to Covid-19 victims on Saturday morning, the non-governmental group Rio de Paz placed crosses on the sand on the famed Copacabana beach and released 1,000 red balloons into the sky. “It’s very sad. Those 100,000 represent various families, friends, parents, children,” said Marcio do Nascimento Silva, a 56-year-old taxi driver who lost his children in the pandemic and joined the tribute. “We reach that mark [100,000] and many people seem to not see it, both

among the government and our people. They are not just numbers but people. Death became normal,” Silva said. President Jair Bolsonaro—who himself reported being infected—has been a consistent skeptic about the impact of the disease and an advocate of lifting restrictions on the economy that had been imposed by state governors trying to combat it. He has frequently mingled in crowds, sometimes without a mask. On the day that Brazil reached more than 100,000 deaths, the federal government's communication secretariat confronted criticism from former Justice Minister Sergio Moro on social media for the management of the pandemic. “There are many numbers that deserve to be disclosed: - Almost 3 million lives saved or in recovery—one of the lowest deaths per million among large nations,” said the secretariat's official account on Twitter, sharing Moro's tweet. Bolsonaro answered the tweet with an emoji of shaking hands. Experts have complained of a lack of national coordination under Bolsonaro

and scattershot responses by city and state governments, with some reopening earlier than health experts recommended. “Administrative incompetence ruined our chance to have a good response to Covid,” said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil's Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials. Brazil is facing the pandemic with an interim health minister, Eduardo Pazuello, an army general who made his career in logistics. Two earlier health ministers, both physicians, exited over differences with Bolsonaro about social distance measures and the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug promoted by the president but which most studies have found to be ineffective against Covid-19, or even dangerous. Bolsonaro, who has called Covid-19 a “little flu,” says he recovered from his own infection thanks to that drug. Many of Brazil's 27 states have begun to reopen shops and restaurants, though responses have differed, as has the strain on the health system. While Brasilia, the capital, has recorded almost 80 percent occupancy of its ICU beds, Rio de Janeiro's occupation rate is now down to less than 30 percent in private hospitals. In Rio, shopping malls and restaurants have already opened and people have returned to the beaches. "The situation is very comfortable and we don't understand why it is happening. Perhaps the infection rate was much higher than what was reported

at the beginning of the pandemic and many of those on the street are immune," speculated Graccho Alvim, director of the state's association of hospitals Viviane Melo da Silva, 47, lost her mother, Esther Melo da Silva, in the Amazonas state capital of Manaus on April 9. The mother reported having a cold, and a few days later started having problems breathing. She died after five days in a public hospital. “I still don't accept her death, not yet,” said da Silva, crying, and expressing regret the family had been unable to hold a wake for her mother. “The government was saying that it was a “little flu.” It did not care. It was not worried with that and that's what happened: Innocent people died because of the negligence and the lack of preparation from the government,” she added. Nazare Rosa de Paula, 67, said many people remain indifferent to the virus despite so many deaths. She said her husband Geraldo, a 70-year-old retired bus driver, would wear a mask to go to the supermarket in Rio de Janeiro, but never believed he would be infected. In April he got what seemed to be just a flu. After his health worsened for eight days, he was diagnosed with Covid-19 and died on April 28. "It was fast. There was not time to do anything and it surprised a lot of people," de Paula said. They had been together for 43 years. “Only the feeling of missing him is left. People said that with time [it will get better], but for me, it will not end, it won’t.” AP

Monday, August 10, 2020

US sanctions HK chief over China crackdown

he US is placing sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their allies in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, over their roles in curtailing political freedoms in the former UK colony, the Treasury Department said on Friday. “The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong and we will use our tools and authorities to target those undermining their autonomy,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. Lam was sanctioned because she is “directly responsible for implementing Beijing’s policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes,” the agency said. The sanctioned individuals include Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of China’s State Council, and Chris Tang, commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force. The targeted officials will have any property and assets in the US frozen but it’s not clear whether any will be affected financially. “The US’s inappropriate comments on the National Security Law smack of political manipulation and double standards,” the Hong Kong government said in a statement. “It is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs and a grave violation of basic norms governing international relations,” it said.

Countermeasures

The Hong Kong government will consider countermeasures, Radio Television Hong Kong cited Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau as saying after a radio program. Yau, who is not on the sanctions list, did not provide any more detail. Lam, who works closely with Chinese authorities, has scoffed at the prospect of being targeted by US sanctions. “I do not have any assets in the United States nor do I long for moving to the United States,” Lam told reporters on July 31, adding that she would “just laugh it off” if the Trump administration sanctioned her. The sanctions are being carried out under the “President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong

Normalization,” which President Donald Trump signed last month to punish China for its moves against dissent in Hong Kong. Trump has been threatening to take action ever since Chinese officials imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in June. China’s implementation of the law, and the reaction of major trading partners who have criticized it, could have a substantial impact on a Hong Kong economy already battered by months of historic antigovernment protests and coronavirus restrictions. Hong Kong’s securities watchdog is “monitoring closely the impact that the sanctions may have on the operation of intermediaries, the interests of investors and financial stability and orderliness of the markets in Hong Kong,” the Securities and Futures Commission said in a statement posted on its web site. Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s banking regulator said local banks have no obligation to follow US sanctions under Hong Kong law and the lenders should treat customers fairly in assessing whether to continue to provide services to an individual. Last week, authorities in Hong Kong drew new red lines on the limits of dissent in the financial center, barring a dozen activists from seeking office and arresting four others over social media posts. The back-to-back actions highlighted how much the security law has strengthened Beijing’s hand. The US has already sanctioned a top member of China’s ruling Communist Party and three other officials over the alleged human rights abuses against ethnic minority Muslims in the far west region of Xinjiang. Sanctioning the Chinese officials marks yet another blow by Trump against Beijing, as he escalates his confrontation with the world’s second-largest economy heading into the November election. A tough stance toward China has emerged as a key argument to voters for Trump, who’s trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in national polls. Bloomberg News

Monday, August 10, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Temporary adjustment or permanent change?

T seems like almost every day we are faced with a new situation. Shaking hands has been replaced by a “fist-bump” between friends and a nod of the head when greeting a stranger. No one would now exchange beso-beso with someone. Suggesting a group hug now is unthinkable. It is almost impossible to read someone else’s mood now that everyone’s face is covered with a mask. Eye contact with a stranger wearing a mask is a little weird and even sinister. Welcome to the new world order. We are doing things now that would have been absolutely crazy a year ago. We came to expect that the department store cashier might check to see if our money was counterfeit. Now they might be spraying the bills with alcohol. Who could have imagined a year ago that the time would come when you could sit comfortably in a jeepney—when they are allowed to operate—and not “butt-to-butt” even during rush hour? Thank you “social distancing.” SM City Pampanga started a drive-in movie theater while its cinemas are closed. Another company is looking to make that a regular feature in Metro Manila. Max’s Restaurant and Army Navy Burger are both offering “eat in your car” services at many of their branches. Even fine dining restaurants have started home delivery of their menu items, an idea that would have been unheard of several months ago. All of these are efforts for business to survive and at the same time to adapt to this new lifestyle in the new normal. In 2019, global gross domestic product amounted to about $142 trillion. International tourism directly accounted for $2.9 trillion for that GDP and including domestic tourism, 11 percent of the global GDP was tourism related. For many countries, international tourism is vital. In Jamaica, 30 percent of all jobs depend on tourism. One-third of Iceland’s GDP comes from tourism. The Philippines is considered to have the most number of employees in the tourism industry. Can we adjust or will this be a “permanent” situation at least in the foreseeable future? Crude oil prices are now relatively stable after the 50 percent fall in January. Demand is expected to slowly recover over time. But the oil industry has been decimated, not unlike automobile manufacturing. But there are more changes. With colleges shifting to online learning, students are not willing to pay normal tuition fees. Roughly 20 percent of Harvard University’s first-year students have deferred from attending this school year. Reported at the end of July—90 percent of Philippine public school students have re-enrolled. But private schools have seen a dramatic drop in the number of re-enrollees. In 2019, private schools had 4 million students. Only 1.5 million enrolled for this year. Some 300,000 have transferred to public schools. With so few of their students returning, many private schools were forced to shut down. How much of what we are going through will be a temporary adjustment and what will become a permanent change? That is not just a hypothetical question or an intellectual exercise. It is a serious matter. Remember when a cellphone or home Internet was considered an unnecessary luxury?

We are in a recession, now what? Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

First of two parts

ur economy has plunged into its deepest contraction since 1981 as a result of a long series of lockdowns against the coronavirus, one of the strictest in Asia. Our GDP is down 16.5 percent from last year, prompting our economic managers to change their 2 percent to 3.4 percent estimates to a higher 5.5 percent rate of economic decline for this year. There is a prediction that the Philippine economy will experience one of the region’s slowest recoveries, mainly due to our failure to contain the spread of the virus and the continuing restrictions in movement. Add to these the fact that the administration’s stimulus package is inadequate for the needs of the country. Compared to last year, consumer spending dropped 15.5 percent, industrial production declined by 22.9 percent, services by 15.8 percent, while government spending increased by 22.1 percent. We have a record-high unemployment rate and a steep decline in OFW remittances,

which leads to a huge decrease in private consumption. Exports also suffered huge losses since March because the lockdowns affected production and supply operations. An economist from Singapore’s Nomura Holdings, Euben Paracuelles, says that the recession should

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Thomas M. Orbos

STREET TALK

shared social-media post caught my attention, supposedly originating from a local TV personality who concluded that the only way he could have been infected with Covid-19 was through deliveries made to his residence. This is quite alarming and worrisome as most of us are staying home and heavily relying on deliveries to secure our essentials. The question then that we need to ask: Are our deliveries safe? The delivery business is one of the “pivot” businesses in these times. It used to be that deliveries were associated with fast foods in the more affluent areas in the metropolis, and either done in-house or by a few service providers. People then availed themselves of such a service more for convenience considering the traffic situation in Metro Manila. Now, with the pandemic restricting our travel, the public has readily embraced deliveries, depending on them for all their essential needs—from groceries, food orders, online purchases and other services. Thus, the industry has grown a hundred-fold, employing thousands of independent riders, something that is very much welcome during these hard times. But again, the question—is it safe? It should be, if all the proper safety protocols are in place. Considering the apparent aggres-

siveness of the virus, such safety concerns are necessary. Currently, there are no guidelines issued by government regulators to particularly govern the safety of deliveries. But that should not stop the public from demanding these protocols from those involved in the deliveries, as well as from themselves. There are three points of entry in the logistics process that we need to make sure are safe. The first one is at the source where the merchandise or item is picked up. The second entry point is the delivery handling process itself from the time the item is picked up and up to the point where it is received by the end user. The third point would be with the end user at the point of destination. What should be the safety protocols to cover these possible points of virus entry? Here is a suggested set of guidelines—taken from currently

The best thing the rest of us can do is to avoid panic and continue planning for our economic future. A financial advisor said it is better to ignore the headlines and to simply focus our energies on doing what needs to be done to survive this crisis. Recessions are always temporary, so we must take the opportunity to position ourselves such that we are in the best place for success when it is all over.

serve as a huge wake-up call to fiscal authorities that a support package needs to be urgently implemented, adding that its size must be comparable to those that we see in other countries. The amount of support that the Senate has proposed (P140 billion) is way less than what other Southeast Asian governments are providing. At the moment, our lawmakers are still talking about the country’s spending plan and the proposed corporate income tax cut that may support families and businesses that are being hit hard

best practices in other countries and culled from various international health agencies: 1. At the source: We would assume that those at the source—be it a restaurant, a supermarket or a warehouse, have properly disinfected their raw materials, ingredients and merchandise. A different set of disinfection process is needed with food items especially frozen or fresh food and produce. Together with this would be the regular disinfecting of their premises. We would also expect that all their personnel undergo periodic testing and assume that those working in the premises are Covid negative. A seal or certification of safety from a third-party service provider should be made known to the public. More importantly, a public notice and temporarily cessation of operations must be in place in case of an infection among their personnel. 2. The delivery process n Regular disinfecting of delivery vehicles, and top boxes—There is currently an LTFRB circular that requires public transport to be disinfected every trip. Considering that these delivery vehicles cater to the public as well, such regulations must apply. n Regular infection testing of the delivery riders—Though this shall be an extra expense that will need to be borne by either the service provider, the partner rider or the end user, such testing will have to be undertaken. This can even be subsidized by the local governments as delivery opera-

by the pandemic. It would be difficult to further cut local policy rates at this time as the central bank has already slashed interest rates by a total of 175 basis points this year, to a record low of 2.25 percent. Economists say that support will have to be in the form of a lower reserve requirement ratio for banks to help the market become more liquid. Given these numbers, some people will wonder what BSP Governor Ben Diokno meant when he said that “the worst is behind us, but we are not out of the woods.” In the meantime, the best thing the rest of us can do is to avoid panic and continue planning for our economic future. A financial advisor said it is better to ignore the headlines and to simply focus our energies on doing what needs to be done to survive this crisis. Recessions are always temporary, so we must take the opportunity to position ourselves such that we are in the best place for success when it is all over. Start planning is the sound advice because the steps we take now will eventually pay off. (To be continued)

tions are mapped out per LGU. n Contactless payments—All deliveries should be cashless or at the very least “change-less” in order to lessen human interaction. n Built-in contact tracing—This process must automatically be in place with the delivery structure. Given that one rider delivers an average of five per day, the purpose of such a monitoring program is in order to check the possible spread of infection. 3. At the point of destination: Lastly, we as end users must not leave our safety to chance. Even if above steps are undertaken, it will not be wrong to add another step. Once items are secured in our homes, we need to disinfect them again; either with safe grade disinfectants, UVC lights or having it stay under the sun for a specified period. We are in this pandemic and we all need to be the guardians of our own safety; a task that has to be ensured at all points of entry. As we are now all staying in our homes, deliveries are our only link to the outside world. We need then to ensure that such a link is safe and Covid-free. We expect the highest standard of safety from those who prepare and deliver our food and other essential needs in these pandemic times. Thomas “Tim” Orbos was formerly with the DOTr and the MMDA. He has completed his graduate studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University and is an alumnus of the MIT Sloan School of Management. He can be reached via e-mail at thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Saudi Arabia turns off America’s oil taps again

What’s next?

By Julian Lee | Bloomberg Opinion

or the second time in three years, Saudi Arabia is slashing the volume of crude it’s sending to America in an attempt to force down stockpiles in the world’s most visible oil market and thereby hasten the rebalancing of supply and demand. Weekly US oil inventory data— usually published on a Wednesday and covering the period up to the previous Friday—is routinely pored over by oil analysts and traders alike. Despite their shortcomings, the figures give the most up-to-date picture of changes in the oil balance and influence trading decisions and crude prices around the world. Shifts in the flow of crude into and out of American ports can have a big impact on the level of US inventories. Riyadh has clearly decided it’s time to do its bit to bring them down from heights reached in May and June, when the coronavirus pandemic and the kingdom’s own output hike combined to drive the fastest ever surge in US commercial crude stockpiles. In the five weeks between March 20 and April 24, the inventories increased at a rate of 2.1 million barrels a day and by the first week of June it was hitting new highs. Excess stockpiles act as a drag on oil prices and the most visible stockpiles are in the US because the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration reports levels weekly. That’s in stark contrast to other places around the world where the data are much less timely, if they are published at all. China, for example, stopped divulging official data on inventory levels in 2017. It’s no wonder then that Saudi Arabia should focus on the US. This is precisely the same policy that it adopted three years ago, shortly after the wider Opec+ alliance was formed and its first output deal was running into trouble. At the time, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 10 non-Opec allies, including Russia and Mexico, agreed to cut their production by 1.66 million barrels a day from the start of 2017 to bring down swollen global oil inventories built up as a result of the first US shale boom. Poor implementation of the cuts and rising US oil production meant inventories kept on growing, despite Opec making its first output reduction in eight years. Fast-forward to today and the reduction in the flow of Saudi oil to the US is dramatic. In May and June tankers full of Saudi crude were arriving off the Gulf and West coasts of the US almost daily, sometimes more than one a day. But in July and August that has dwindled to little more than one a week. That surge in ships, which I wrote about here, briefly drove US imports of Saudi crude close to a six-year high, adding to the upward push

By once again focusing its output cuts on the US market, Riyadh is hoping to repeat the success of the second half of 2017, when oil prices rose by 51 percent from a low of $44.82 in mid-June to $67.87 by the end of the year. Unless the Covid-19 pandemic eases its grip on oil demand, Saudi Arabia may find 2020 more of a challenge. on stockpiles. But it was short-lived and imports in the last week of July were just 190,000 barrels a day, their second-lowest level in weekly data that extends back a decade. The figure could fall even further in the coming weeks. There are only 6 tankers carrying 9 million barrels of Saudi crude currently showing a US port as their destination, according to tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg. With a journey time of about six weeks from the Persian Gulf to any of the major US oil ports, that’s all the Saudi crude that’s likely to arrive by mid-September. And things aren’t likely to improve much after that. In setting its official crude prices for September, Saudi Arabia has made significant cuts to prices for European customers, where it’s competing with Russia, and smaller ones for buyers in Asia. But the kingdom has kept prices for the US unchanged from last month. By doing so, Saudi Arabia is ensuring that its crude remains uncompetitive against domestic heavy sour grades from the Gulf of Mexico, or imports from Canada, in a market where the hoped-for recovery in demand has stalled. The leaders of Saudi Arabia and the US both want to see oil prices rising from current levels—the kingdom’s budget still depends on oil revenues and the US shale industry desperately needs higher prices to recover. President Donald Trump might be quite happy to see crude imports from Saudi Arabia curtailed—after all, it would feed in nicely to his rhetoric on US energy dominance. By once again focusing its output cuts on the US market, Riyadh is hoping to repeat the success of the second half of 2017, when oil prices rose by 51 percent from a low of $44.82 in mid-June to $67.87 by the end of the year. Unless the Covid-19 pandemic eases its grip on oil demand, Saudi Arabia may find 2020 more of a challenge.

Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT

ast August 1, 2020, I had the opportunity to launch the latest initiative as Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business (VSB). In a Zoom forum attended by the recent graduates of the VSB, the What’s Next? webinar series had its first activity. Seven speakers shared their insights with the new graduates on the options to consider in response to their concern of “I have just graduated. What’s next?” These VSB graduates participated in the very first virtual commencement exercises for the Class of 2020 on July 26, 2020. The “What’s next?” webinars will focus on timely and relevant topics and issues. Resource persons, who will speak in the webinars, will share their insights on what’s currently happening and what’s next and forthcoming for the featured topic. UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo set the tone of the forum when he reminded the new graduates that they should carefully ponder their career and future direction in the context of a totally different world brought about by the Covid crisis. The seven speakers whom I invited dwelled on the various choices for

our new graduates. They each gave invaluable ideas and advice on the options available to them consisting of: n I will look for work n I will set up my own business n I will help society n I will do further learning n I will stay at home The new graduates can apply for employment in the corporate and industry sector, government, academe, or professional practice firm. Some of them may explore the options for overseas employment. However, the current employment situation in the Philippines and in most countries is

ccused of flip-flopping, the late economist John Maynard Keynes allegedly replied: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” Apocryphal or not, his rebuttal serves as a working definition of open-mindedness. It has become an underrated virtue in this time of populism, fake news and conspiracy theories. If we refuse to update our opinions in response to new and better information, there can be no progress and democracy fails. That’s why it’s worth pondering this new research about open-mindedness. It comes out of Canada but relies on survey data about Americans—that chutzpah alone will raise eyebrows stateside. It’s also likely to make you even more furious if you’re already fuming about political polarization and blaming most of it on the other side of the aisle. But try to keep an open mind. The four authors were interested in the “meta-beliefs” of Americans across the political spectrum—that is, not whether they do actually change their minds easily, which is quite hard to investigate, but whether they think we should do so when the evidence

changes. Those deemed more openminded agreed “a person should always consider new possibilities,” that “people should always take into consideration evidence that goes against their beliefs,” and that “beliefs should always be revised in response to new information or evidence.” Those considered less open-minded tended to agree that “it is important to persevere in your beliefs even when evidence is brought to bear against them,” that “certain beliefs are just too important to abandon,” that “no one can talk me out of something I know is right,” or that “loyalty to one’s ideals and principles is more important than ‘open-mindedness.’”

The “What’s next?” webinars will focus on timely and relevant topics and issues. Resource persons, who will speak in the webinars, will share their insights on what’s currently happening and what’s next and forthcoming for the featured topic. not so bright during this pandemic times. Local unemployment rate has risen to a record 17.7 percent with about 7.3 million Filipinos now unemployed. My successful entrepreneur speaker shared her insight, saying that passion and effort are key in pursuing a business venture. The millennial graduate may have better chance of being successful in business with online commerce and digital marketing emerging as essential components in the current business environment. The speaker who talked about advocacies for society pricked the conscience of the audience. He emphasized that one should focus on being a better citizen and better taxpayer for a better Philippines. I am certain that a number of our graduates have already been doing their share in helping society and their communities while they were still in college.

Practical pointers were given by the resource person on pursuing further studies and learning by enrolling in online courses that will provide qualification certifications on various management competencies. Pursuing masteral studies may be advisable only after gaining some work or business experience. The last speaker in the “What’s next?” webinar reassured the new graduates that staying at home during the Covid pandemic is normal. She stressed that the mental stress that arise for people may be mitigated by practicing mindfulness, getting out and about even by doing exercises, maintaining good eating habits and schedule, keeping one’s mental game on point with the various apps and online programs available, and getting a good night’s sleep. Good insights to address the “What’s next?” question. Joel L. Tan-Torres is the Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. Previously, he was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. This column accepts contributions from the business community. Articles not exceeding 600 words can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

Trump’s TikTok, WeChat ban is big tech’s problem, too

By Tae Kim | Bloomberg Opinion

T finally happened. After a month of threatening to do so, President Donald Trump issued executive orders that will ban the popular Chinese-owned social-media apps TikTok and WeChat in the US on national security concerns. There are still some unknowns around the language and implementation of the decrees, and there’s a chance they get dialed back later during trade negotiations between the US and China. Whatever happens, there will likely be lasting negative ramifications—and not just for Chinese firms, but for American technology companies as well. Trump’s orders, signed late Thursday, have a 45-day lag. They prohibit any person subject to US jurisdiction from dealing with TikTok’s Beijing-based owner ByteDance Ltd. and Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. in transactions related to its WeChat app. The wording of the first order effectively puts Microsoft Corp. and ByteDance on the clock to finish their deal negotiations for TikTok’s US operations by the already stipulated September 15 target date. But the WeChat ban order may be a bigger threat as there doesn’t seem to be an obvious way out before the deadline. The threat to the Chinese apps is clear. But the details cited inside the orders may cause future headaches for the biggest US tech firms, too. For example, Trump

noted how TikTok captures location data and user-activity information that could “potentially” be used for blackmail and corporate spying. This pertains to all US social-media apps, too. Further, the president cited how TikTok videos spread “debunked conspiracy theories about the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus” as one of his reasons to ban the app. Similar conspiracy videos also sprout up often on Facebook Inc. and Google’s YouTube platforms. The problem is, the use of such justification opens the door for other countries around the world to use similar rationale to ban US apps within their borders. After all this time and nearly a year of investigation, where is the compelling evidence against these apps? It isn’t in these orders. Big Tech’s leaders are worried about these implications. According to a BuzzFeed News report, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said

Right or left, we must open our minds again By Andreas Kluth | Bloomberg Opinion

Monday, August 10, 2020

At this point, you may be feeling that this is a setup, and in a way it is. Unsurprisingly, the people who professed to value open-mindedness skewed “liberal,” whereas those we might call closed-minded tended to be “conservative.” The less open-minded attitudes were also associated with hot-button political stances such as opposing abortion and gay marriage. These respondents professed more reverence for tradition, religion and God. They were more skeptical about science. Specifically, they tended to doubt evolution and anthropogenic global warming. They were also likely to have anti-vaccine sentiments and paranormal beliefs, and to subscribe to conspiracy theories. If you locate yourself on the right, you’re doubtless irate about reading this because nobody likes being called closed-minded. You probably feel you’re being framed. If you consider yourself liberal, you’ll also be angry, because this is yet more confirmation that the game’s rigged. While you try to influence democratic debates with evidence and honest reasoning, your

opponents disdain facts and disingenuously regurgitate disinformation for the sake of being “loyal” to their group. But the truth, as usual, is more nuanced and interesting, especially for all those now raising their hands as “open-minded.” That’s because the Canadian study is only about metabelief, not lived reality. Do people who praise mental flexibility actually have more open minds? My guess is that they do, but the question is moot, as the Canadian researchers freely admit. Even if we claim to be open to new evidence, we’re still cognitively primed to construct narratives that suit us. This is called “motivated reasoning.” It involves pernicious little tricks our brains are constantly playing on us. A notorious one is confirmation bias. Even our allegedly wide-open minds embrace new facts more readily when they appear to prove our intuition and less readily when they conflict with our gut feelings. We cherry-pick. Some social psychologists don’t find this very shocking. After all, the human brain evolved mainly to

a TikTok ban would be “a really bad long-term precedent,” adding “it could very well have long-term consequences in other countries around the world.” Earlier this week, Microsoft founder Bill Gates told Bloomberg News that businesses need to know the rule set for commerce when they make investments in the US and wondered about the timing of the TikTok ban threats. “If this is such a clear thing why wasn’t it clear three months ago, six months ago?” he said. In addition to governmental risk, there may be a consumer backlash in foreign countries. By going after ByteDance and Tencent, two of the most respected Chinese Internet success stories, Trump’s actions may spark a nationalistic backlash against buying American products and services in the Asian country. Obviously, Apple Inc.’s iPhone and App Store businesses in China are top of mind, along with Starbucks Corp. and Intel Corp. that have large operations in China. The restrictions, if implemented, will also impose mental and financial hardship on vast swath of Americans who rely on the apps to communicate and make their livelihoods. Many e-commerce entrepreneurs, aspiring musicians and influencers rely on TikTok as their most effective marketing channel

amid this pandemic. And WeChat is a critical messaging tool for Chinese immigrants to communicate with their families overseas. The numbers are massive: TikTok says 100 million Americans use their app, while WeChat has 19 million daily active users in the US, according to Apptopia. For a White House that has repeatedly complained in recent months about the censorship of conservative voices, it seems pretty hypocritical to shutter the access of millions of Americans, many of them Trump supporters with large followings. That is not to say there aren’t legitimate national security issues with TikTok and WeChat. But there is a better way to hold China accountable for concerns over its intellectual property and dataprivacy practices. The US should pursue a multi-lateral partnership with its allies based on strong legal frameworks and build a clear compelling evidence-based case against China. Unfortunately, this administration’s strategy is the opposite, using haphazard, seemingly arbitrary decision-making and preying on people’s fears and paranoia, and in the months leading up to an election. A policy that lashes out without a well-thought-out end game will not be as effective, leading to unintended consequences. The US needs to do better.

convince other humans of something, whatever that might be. That skill is much more useful for survival and procreation than is the ability to arrive at true beliefs. In this sense, cognitively, we’re more like lawyers than philosophers. There’s nothing as powerful as a good story well told, whether it’s right or wrong. Another metaphor I like is that our conscious minds, however liberal or conservative, are like mahouts riding on, and ostensibly driving, elephants, which stand for our unconscious cognition. What really happens is that the elephant goes wherever it pleases. But the mahout on top uses his superior cognition and communication to expound reasons why he wanted to drive the elephant all along to the destination the animal chose. He even believes that himself. The subtext of all this is dead serious. How we handle the Covid-19 pandemic, for example, will depend on whether we as societies and individuals will accept medical evidence or fall prey to conspiracy theories that sabotage vaccination efforts. Similarly, open-mindedness is a prerequisite for

coping with climate change, and every other problem we have. Beyond that, we must cultivate open-mindedness as a public virtue to save our democracies from authoritarians and populists. They are the great oversimplifiers who try to pit in-groups against perceived out-groups by deliberately scorning evidence in favor of their own truthiness. So the rest of us—left, right or center—must recognize, value and practice open-mindedness as a civic duty and a modern form of heroism. I’m reminded of an anecdote from Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and prominent atheist. As a young man at Oxford University, he attended a lecture in which a scientist presented evidence that mercilessly refuted an entire career’s worth of research by another esteemed and elderly professor in the audience. When the talk was over, all eyes turned to that older professor. He strode up to the lecturer and said: “My dear fellow, I wish to thank you. I have been wrong these 15 years.” Young Dawkins and his peers applauded “till our hands were red.”

A8 Monday, August 10, 2020

You got mystery bag of ‘seeds?’ Tell DA–BPI

HE Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) urged the public to immediately report to the agency should they receive unsolicited “mysterious parcels” from abroad that contain unidentified seeds as these may pose risks to the country’s farm sector. The BPI National Plant Quarantine Services Division (NPQSD) told the BusinessMirror that they have not received any reports about unsolicited parcels containing unidentified seeds, but are nonetheless vigilant about such risk, having learned of the “mystery” parcels in other places. Various countries such as the United States and Canada have raised biosecurity alarms over mysterious parcels being sent unsolicited to their citizens, based on foreign news reports. The parcels, with some being tagged as “ear studs,” contained unidentified seeds, which may pose risk to a country’s agriculture sector as it may introduce foreign pests and diseases, according to reports. Foreign news reports indicated that some of the mystery seeds came from Singapore and China. The BPI-NPQSD said Filipinos who receive mysterious parcels should immediately report to them so that they can take necessary measures to avert risks to the country’s agriculture sector. “They can inform our office if they receive such a package so we

can impose necessary measures to prevent further entry of commodities that can pose risk to our agricultural sector,” the agency said in an e-mail interview. “If a report will be furnished to our office regarding this, we can have information and notify all ports of entry to be vigilant in guarding the border for the entry of such packages,” it added. The BPI-NPQSD assured the public that it is closely coordinating with the Bureau of Customs when it comes to inspection and clearance at the port of entry of shipments under its jurisdiction, which includes plants and seeds. “If we receive reports that countries are sending such commodities without the required clearances, we can send notifications to our counterpart in the said country,” it said. BPI-NPQSD explained that importers are required to secure a sanitary phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) from the agency to prove that the incoming shipment complies with Philippine import conditions to avert entry of commodities that could pose risk to the country. “A Phytosanitary Certificate should also accompany the package during arrival in the country. If the documents are not present, it should not be released at the port of entry,” it added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

DTI pitches PHL as India’s regional drug production hub

by Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

OUTING the country’s capacity to grow natural ingredients for medicines, the government is pitching the Philippines to become India’s production hub in Southeast Asia for pharmaceuticals.

In a webinar last week, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) asked Indian drug makers to make the Philippines their manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia. Senen M. Perlada, director at the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau, argued the country is ideal for medicine production, as it has capacity to produce natural components for drugs. “Maybe India’s hesitation is the scale, [but] think of the Asean market, not just the Philippine market,” Perlada said. “Our country will be a good—if

not the best—hub to manufacture,” he added. “We have a lot of natural ingredients that have found their way to pharmaceuticals like moringa [or] malunggay, yellow ginger, virgin coconut oil and others.” Further, Board of Investments Director Evariste M. Cagatan said there is growth potential in the domestic industry, and this could be realized if Indian firms make the leap of opening factories in the country. Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Cagatan reported there are at least 46 manufacturers, 650 importers and 4,800 distributors serving the local demand of around $4.5 billion. He also shared the IHS Markit forecast that pharmaceutical sales here will grow by 7.18 percent from 2022 to 2028. When compared regionally, the projected growth rate for economies in Asia and the Pacific is just 6.39 percent.

Philippine Ambassador to India Ramon S. Bagatsing Jr. recommended the reactivation of the Philippine-India Joint Working Group in Trade and Investments that last had a meeting in 2016. Likewise, he said Manila might just entice New Delhi to invest if they agree on a memorandum of understanding on investment protection. As well, Bagatsing endorsed the idea of concluding the cooperation in medical products regulation between the Food and Drug Administration and India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation to make it easy for Indian pharmaceuticals to locate here. In the fight against Covid-19, two Indian firms are supplying 90 percent of the treatment drug remdesivir to the Philippines, while two more are interested to provide this medicine. Bagatsing said he expects India to allocate coronavirus vaccine—should it develop one—to the country in line with its Act East policy. Last year, two-way trade between the Philippines and India remained unchanged from 2019 at $2.37 billion based on PSA records. However, shipments to India declined nearly 9 percent to $545.44 million, from $598.53 million. On the other hand, imports from India grew roughly 3 percent to $1.82 billion, from $1.77 billion on increased purchase of transport materials, petroleum and pharmaceuticals.

DBM clears use of OWWA fund for cash aid to displaced OFWs By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

RTHE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will now be able to provide cash aid to more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by Covid-19, after it was granted a fresh source of funding for its Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The DBM recently authorized DOLE to use some of the additional P5-billion funds, which it allocated to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) last June, for AKAP. AKAP is a one-time cash aid of P10,000 or $200 provided by DOLE to Covid-affected OFWs. “With additional funding, more OFWs will benefit from the AKAP program and even more overseas workers will be repatriated and provided with assistance,” Bello said in a statement on Sunday. DOLE Financial and Management Service (FMS) Director Warren M. Miclat gave the authorization in response to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello’s request for an additional P2.5-billion funding for AKAP.

PHL debt. . . Continued from A1

In June, interest payments reached P27.561 billion, a decline of 5.26 percent from the P29.096 billion posted in the same month last year. Amortization payments contracted 87.52 percent in June 2020 to P6.826 billion, from P54.715 billion in June 2019.

“The reply of DBM is to just get it from the P5 billion, which was released to OWWA. We will be meeting with the ILAB [International Labor Affairs Bureau]-DOLE and OWWA on the matter,” Miclat told BusinessMirror in an SMS. The P5-billion additional budget given to OWWA was initially to be used to shoulder “the cost of Covid tests of OFWs upon arrival in the country, their food and accommodation in hotels while awaiting test results and the transport to their home provinces once tested negative of the virus.” Last week, DOLE announced it is once again running out of funds for AKAP, which had benefited 233,000 OFWs as of August 8, 2020. The program initially had an allocation of P1.5 billion, but was increased by DBM by a billion due to the sheer number of its applicants. Currently, AKAP has a P2.5-billion budget allocation, which is good for only 250,000 beneficiaries. DOLE is requesting for another P2.5 billion for AKAP since DOLE’s Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) and OWWA had processed and approved the applications of 267,584 OFWs.

BTr data also showed domestic debt payments reached P24.617 billion and was largely composed of Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) valued at P13.047 billion followed by Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds worth P8.441 billion. Domestic debt payments grew 4.98 percent from P23.45 billion in June 2019. Last year, RTBs were valued at P12.582 billion while Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds amounted to P6.624 billion.

Bishop Pabillo, Atienza urge end to death penalty calls

HURCH leaders and a party-list lawmaker on Sunday weighed in against fresh calls to revive the death penalty, with the latter openly urging President Duterte to perish the thought, since he won’t be seeing executions within his term anyway. Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza on Sunday urged President Duterte to drop his push to bring back the death penalty via lethal injection, calling it “an exercise in futility and an utter waste of time.” In a statement, Atienza said, “The President won’t get any satisfaction, even if his allies in Congress steamroller the passage of a new law reviving death sentences. The President still won’t see any judicial executions while he is in office, so he might as well give it up.” Atienza had earlier said focusing on the death penalty while the nation struggles to save lives amid the Covid-19 pandemic did not make sense. “Besides, the President’s wish to put convicts to death via a medically induced coma is no longer possible,” Atienza, a pro-life crusader, said. Sodium thiopental— the first of the three-drug concoction used to deprive convicts of life and brain function in lethal injection —is no longer legally available, according to Atienza, former three-term mayor of Manila. Due to humanitarian concerns, the entire world has stopped producing and trading in the powerful anesthetic used to render convicts unconscious, before they are given a paralytic agent and a heart stopper, said Atienza.

Bishop Pabillo

SPEAKING out against attempts by lawmakers to revive death penalty and the government’s insufficient response to Covid-19 shows not only one’s love of the country, but also of God, Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo said, for his part. Pabillo made the statement days after a recent Social Weather Station (SWS) revealed that 51 percent agree with the statement “it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.” The prelate expressed his concern over this trend of not wanting to respond to pressing social issues out of fear being labeled as “trolls” or even “rebels.” Pabillo noted that many of such issues will not be addressed unless people call it out like what the medical workers, who wrote Duterte last week, begging him to reimpose an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila to give exhausted medical workers some reprieve from rising Covid-19 cases and give the government time to improve its response. Continued on A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, August 10, 2020

As profits sink, Ayala Land braces for ‘challenging’ H2 By VG Cabuag

@villygc

roperty developer Ayala Land Inc. said its net income in the first half plunged 70 percent to P4.51 billion, from last year's P15.15 billion, as most of the company's operations were hampered by the lockdowns in key Philippine cities. Revenues of the country’s secondlargest property developer was cut by half to P41.2 billion, from last year's P83.21 billion. Revenues from property development was only at P24.9 billion, a 58-percent drop mainly due to lower project bookings and suspended construction activity, it said. “Covid-19 severely impacted our performance in the first half of the year. Although we are seeing some positive signs of recovery in certain

product lines, we expect the remainder of the year to be extremely challenging," company President and CEO Bernard Vincent O. Dy said. “Our property sales started to gain traction as the economy reopened but the performance of our malls and hotels continue to be seriously affected under the current environment. We are constantly making adjustments in our operations to position the company for renewed

growth when the economy recovers.” Residential revenues also declined 54 percent to P20.5 billion while office for sale revenues dropped by 86 percent to P1.4 billion. Revenues from the sale of commercial and industrial lots fell 31 percent to P3 billion, while sales reservations registered at P38.3 billion, 47 percent lower than last year given limited selling activities during the quarantine. The drop in profit were mostly felt in the second quarter when it posted an income of P196.77 million, or just a fraction of last year's P7.83 billion. Revenues, meanwhile, were down by 70 percent to P12.79 billion from last year’s P43.53 billion. The company has so far allocated some P5 billion in waived rent to its merchant partners and earmarked P600 million to assist no-work-nopay workers in its ecosystem. No new residential projects were launched in the second quarter. In the first quarter, however, Ayala Land launched four projects with

a total value of P5 billion. These were Avida Greendale Settings at Alviera in Pampanga, Amaia Steps the Junction Place Aria in Quezon City, Amaia Scapes Cabuyao Series 3 area 2 and Bellavita Alaminos 2, both in Laguna. Office leasing revenues rose by 7 percent to P4.9 billion through the sustained operations of business process outsourcing and other firms. Commercial leasing revenues declined 31 percent to P12.9 billion given restricted mall and hotel operations and the closure of resorts. Shopping center revenues dropped 43 percent to P5.8 billion while revenues from hotels and resorts were 43 percent lower to P2.1 billion. The company’s capital expenditures (capex) reached P34.8 billion in the period, mainly for residential developments and commercial leasing assets. The full year capex estimate has been adjusted to P69.8 billion, from the previously planned P110 billion.

Coal price drop cuts SMPC earnings By Lenie Lectura @llectura

onsunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) posted a 61-percent drop in earnings in the first half due to the decline in coal and power prices. From P5.7 billion, SMPC’s net income fell to P2.2 billion at end-June, of which P1 billion was recorded in the second quarter. Earnings contribution from the coal business fell 59 percent to P1.8 billion due to weak coal sales and average selling price. From January to June, coal sales

contracted 27 percent from 7.9 million metric tons (MMT) to 5.7 MMT, while average selling price per MT fell 21 percent from P2,229 to P1,765. The government-imposed lockdown dragged down coal demand and average selling price, the company said. “We saw historic dips in prices, particularly in April when Global NewCastle coal prices reached $49.30 per metric ton, the sharpest drop in six years,” said SMPC President and COO Cristina C. Gotianun. The same reason was cited for the net loss of P236 million incurred by its energy subsidiary, Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC)

in the first half, from P1.6 billion in earnings it recorded in the same period a year ago. It said electricity sales and average selling price from March to June were also affected by the pandemic. SLPGC recorded a 43-percent drop in energy sales from 856 gigawatt hour to 489 GWh and a 38-percent cut in average selling price from P4.73 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to P2.92 per kWh. “The decrease in spot market prices in April was also staggering. From P6.71 per kWh last year, it plunged to P1.40 per kWh,” added Gotianun. Another SMPC unit Sem-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC) contributed

to its parent firm P726 million, a turnaround from P242 million in losses during the same period. The improvement was mainly attributable to higher energy sales, which grew 22 percent from 899 GWhr to 1,095 GWhr. The completion of the power facility’s life extension program for units 1 and 2 resulted in the reduction of outages by 53 percent year-on-year from 5,879 hours to 2,750 hours. The said program is a cost-effective strategy to maintain and upgrade operations of existing facilities beyond its traditional lifetime and to limit environmental complications and financial risks.

RT-PCR machines TeleTech to tap US-registered nurses for certification center donated to hospitals role in elevating the patient and member expeTEC Holdings Inc. (TeleTech) is launching a US-registered nurses with TeleTech will have

HE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has donated 6 sets of real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines worth over P14 million to government hospitals in the National Capital Region. As part of its P1-billion donation for Covid-19 response and relief efforts, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) received two sets of RT-PCR machines each last July 1, while the V. Luna General Hospital (VLGH) and Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory also received one set of PCR machines each last August 5. A complete set is composed of an ABI 7500 FAST RT-PCR machine, a desktop computer, and UPS. RT-PCR tests, which are described by the Department of Health (DOH) as the gold standard in testing for Covid-19, are confirmed through an RT-PCR machine by detecting the actual presence of the virus even when a person is asymptomatic or does not register any of the common Covid-19 symptoms.One machine costs around P2.4 million. “NGCP recognizes that the availability of vital medical equipment plays a huge factor in the government’s Covid-19 response efforts particularly in large government hospitals. We hope that our donation of 6 sets of RT-PCR machines to RITM, LCP, VLGH, and PNP Crime Lab will expedite the confirmatory process for Covid-19 testing. NGCP's stakeholders and the public can be assured that the company will continue to fulfill its commitment of supporting the country's efforts to combat this pandemic," the company said. NGCP’s P1-billion donation also includes grocery items to over 1,000 local government units and medical equipment, such as mechanical ventilators, ultrasound machine, portable x-ray machine, and PPEs to more than 300 hospitals and city/municipal/ rural health units across the country. Five brand new ambulances were also turned over to UP-PGH, Philippine Orthopedic Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center, and Binan Doctors Hospital. Lenie Lectura

new health-care program and is currently hiring United States-registered nurses (RN) for its NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) certification center in Cainta, Rizal. Initially, TeleTech will employ up to 30 nurses by mid-August and is planning to hire as many as 150. As the initiative grows, it will also invest in education programs to support local nurses looking to expand their careers with the NCLEX certification. The company will hold an online recruitment process for the safety of candidates and employees amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Once hired, the positions will be onsite in the TeleTech Cainta facility, following strict health and safety protocols.

the chance to use their experience in the nursing field, their soft skills such as empathy and compassion, and their exceptional English skills to support customers of pharmaceutical companies, the company said. RNs working with the firm can also use their nursing skills and knowledge in an environment with reduced physical demands over working in a clinical setting. TeleTech said it supports their ongoing education and career development by financing continuing education and licensing fees. “Now more than ever, delivering amazing service for essential services such as health-care is critical,” said Barbie Quizan, vice president of TeleTech. “Our US-registered nurses play an important

rience while also growing their careers. We look forward to providing career development opportunities for the local workforce as the need for skilled healthcare support increases." Almost 50 percent of the company’s Philippine workforce comes from employee referrals from existing team members. TeleTech said employees enjoy the following: Opportunity to support a global company and gain US customer experience, competitive pay, potential career advancement, and employee rewards and bonuses. A leading digital global customer experience technology and services provider, TeleTech is focused on the design, implementation and delivery of transformative customer experience, engagement and growth solutions. RoderickL.Abad

First Gen goal: Complete LNG terminal in April 2022

irst Gen Corp. LNG Corp. (FGEN LNG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lopez-led First Gen Corp., will complete its offshore LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal in January 2022, with target commercial operation in April of the same year. “Supposed to be, the target commissioning is in August 2022. We were able to adjust this to April 2022. In fact, completion is in January. There's a commissioning period, testing period that is why the full commissioning is in April 2022," said Department of Energy (DOE) Director for Energy Resources Development Rino Abad during a virtual press conference. First Gen is expected to submit to the agency the remaining requirements necessary for the issuance of a DOE permit. The company filed last March a permit to construct, expand rehabilitate and modify its application from onshore LNG terminal to offshore via an interim floating storage and

regasification unit (FSRU), which represents the initial phase of the FGEN Batangas LNG Terminal project. An FSRU is an LNG storage ship that has an onboard regasification plant capable of returning LNG back into a gaseous state and then supplying it directly into the gas network. “The change from onshore to offshore required additional permits. We have informed First Gen of this and we are just waiting for them to comply with the requirements. We're talking about 6 additional permits,” Abad said in a mix of English and Filipino. Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi clarified that the amended application of First Gen has affected the timeline of the project, including the processing of the permit. “They changed the plan from onshore to FSRU, the concept from onshore terminal to FSRU. So, they submitted their amendments,” said Cusi. "So, they studied if they

need a new application or are we going to allow the new design. The timeline has changed also. So, these are being discussed. But we are ready to address it." Abad said there were discussions with First Gen on how to maximize the construction period so that commercial operation of the LNG project could proceed at the soonest time possible. First Gen said it expects the DOE permit to be issued soon so construction can proceed within the year. The project consists of construction works necessary to modify the existing liquid fuel jetty that will enable it to become multiple-use, and build an adjunct onshore gas receiving facility to receive and deliver gas to end-users. Once completed, the project will utilize an FSRU that will be docked at the MultiPurpose Jetty to store and re-gasify LNG for use when required. Lenie Lectura

FDC weathers virus impact on economy

oti a nun family-led Filinvest Development Corp.’s (FDC) income in the first half managed to grow by 24 percent to P7.2 billion, from last year’s P5.8 billion, as the company was able to withstand the effects of the pandemic on the economy. Total revenues, however, fell 4 percent to P40.63 billion, from last year's P42.44 billion, some 51 percent of which was contributed by its banking services and 32 percent from property development, including hospitality. The company also said some 10 percent was contributed by power and about 6.8 percent came from the sugar business. “The continuing rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country and the absence of a vaccine to curb the spread of the virus sets a lot of uncertainties to this day," FDC President and CEO L. Josephine G. Yap said. “The events continue to unfold but we have also learned to adjust in order to lessen the impact of the disruptions brought about by the pandemic. We are pleased with our robust results in the first half of 2020 but we remain cognizant of the risks of a prolonged quarantine period and are doing measures to mitigate its negative impact.” In the second quarter alone, its income was also up 34 percent to P5.09 billion, from last year's P3.79 billion, while revenues were down 6 percent to P20.08 billion, from last year's P21.48 billion. In the first half, East West Bank delivered a net income contribution to the group of P4.3 billion, 60 percent higher than the same period last year, driven by better margins from its core lending and deposit-taking businesses, and higher trading gains. On a stand-alone basis, EastWest’s net interest income, which accounts for 73 percent of revenues, increased by 38 percent to P13.4 billion. Developers Fi l invest L a nd Inc. and Filinvest Alabang Inc. contributed P4.6 billion in net income to the group, rising by 8 percent from the first half of 2019. The improvement was

boosted by the income recognition amounting to P2.9 billion of the transaction between FAI and Mitsubishi Corp. in October last year for the joint development of 17,000 square meters of prime land across Festival Mall in Filinvest City, Alabang. Power unit FDC Utilities Inc. registered a net income of P996 million, 10 percent lower than the same period last year. Revenues declined by 21 percent to P4.2 billion, as volume dropped by 25 percent following the contraction in the demand from its customers beginning the latter part of March with the imposition of the lockdown measures. The lower volume was partially offset by the reduction in operating expenses by 57 percent to P367 million and the 6-percent increase in the average price. The company operates an aggregate 405-megawatt clean coal plant located in Misamis Oriental, the largest operating baseload power plant in Mindanao. Sugar operations, through Pacific Sugar Holdings Corp., contributed P310 million to FDC’s net income in the first half, growing by 19 percent year-on-year. Hotel operations under Filinvest Hospitality Corp., meanwhile, posted a revenue decline of 48 percent to P837 million in the first half as occupancy rates dropped across the properties, leading to a net loss of P298 million, from a net income of P223 million in the same period last year. It said five out of the six hotels and resorts under the Filinvest group’s portfolio remained in operation during the enhanced community quarantine, but on a very limited basis. Crimson Boracay temporarily ceased operations while the entire island of Boracay was on lockdown from March 23. Quest Tagaytay was used as a quarantine facility for overseas Filipino workers and other returning overseas Filipinos while Crimson Alabang and Quest Clark were used by BPO employees. Its portfolio of six managed properties has approximately 1,800 rooms under the Crimson and Quest brands. VG Cabuag

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, August 10, 2020

SEC issues order halting BOSS Network operations

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a cease and desist order against Building Our Success Stories Network Inc., or BOSS Network, to prevent it from luring investors into a fraudulent investment scheme posing as a multilevel marketing program. In an order issued on June 18, the SEC directed BOSS Network to stop selling securities until the registration statement is filed with the agency. The agency also ordered the company to refrain from transacting any business involving funds in its banks. The company’s business, which the agency said resembles the Ponzi scheme, is promoted in social networking sites as a multilevel marketing program for personal care products. “It is clear that BOSS Network

is soliciting investments from the public in the guise of operating a multi-level marketing business, with a promise of guaranteed high return of investment,” the SEC said. The cease and desist order covers the corporation’s directors and officers, namely Rommel Q. Tabaniag, Raquel G. Argote, Ramon C. Tabaniag, Jojie O. Servan and Ailyn Marigh F. Lim, as well as its salesmen and other representatives. The order also extends to 101Upper Class Corp., which operates the

unauthorized investment scheme called BOSS Ultimate Program (BOSS UP) in collaboration with BOSS Network. The SEC issued the cease and desist order after finding BOSS Network to have solicited investments from the public. Under the scheme, BOSS Network offers packages priced from P1,500 to P382,500. The starting package includes two perfume bottles and two bars of whitening soap, while the top-tier bundle comprises 510 units for each product. The packages come with Universal Bonus Pool shares that entitle member-investors to earn P2,250 to P707,625 in addition to bonuses they are promised for recruiting more people into the scheme. Member-investors also earn points from buying the packages offered and from recruiting people. The points supposedly correspond to incentives such as all-expensespaid trips abroad, as well as luxury timepieces and cars. The scheme constitutes the sale and offer of securities in the form of investment contracts, the SEC said. BOSS Network registered as a corporation in March 2018 primarily “to

engage in direct selling of goods and merchandise to consumers.” However, its certificate of incorporation provided that “the corporation shall not solicit, accept or take investments/placements from the public neither shall it issue investment contracts.” The SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department found that two of BOSS Network’s incorporators submitted and used invalid tax identification numbers. The SEC said BOSS Network’s business model resembles that of a Ponzi scheme, an investment fraud where the returns to existing investors are sourced from the contribution of new investors. The articles of incorporation of BOSS Network reveals the corporation’s capitalization amounted to only P1.5 million, while memberinvestors are guaranteed monthly returns ranging from 50 percent to 87 percent of the amount invested. “Payouts for investors are financed from investments of new recruits or investors. This is a fraudulent scheme which will likely cause grave or irreparable injury or prejudice to the investing public,” the SEC said.

mutual funds

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STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Trading was volatile last week and share prices continued to decline, particularly after the government reported that the country’s economy suffered a worse-than-expected contraction in the second quarter. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 82.43 points to close at 5,846.02 points. The market was sharply down on Monday after the President's announcement that Metro Manila and nearby provinces were returned to the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine in response to the proposal of healthcare workers. The index recovered in the succeeding trading sessions, and was still up despite the surprising GDP in the second quarter which shrank by 16.5 percent. The country slipped into recession as GDP contracted for two consecutive quarters. Prices, however, fell again on Friday. Average trading value for the week was higher at P6.63 billion, while foreign investors were net sellers at P8.95 billion. Other subindices ended mixed. The broader All Shares index fell 32.74 points to

August 7, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 194.35 -24.74% -10.86% -6.3% -22.83% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0105 -37.27% -14.14% -6.6% -26.88% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.6008 -35.44% -15.58% -8.92% -29.29% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6681 -28.81% -12.79% n.a. -25.6% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6645 -22.3% n.a. n.a. -21.76% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.1713 -21.96% -9.54% -6.02% -21.71% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6546 -23.64% -12.12% n.a. -23.31% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 77.93 -34.48% n.a. n.a. -24.5% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 38.923 -23.93% -9.48% -5.26% -24.1% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 419.59 -21.79% -8.65% -5.33% -21.25% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8633 n.a. n.a. n.a. -16.19% -9% -5.06% -22.95% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 0.9916 -23.76% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 29.0926 -23.68% -8.64% -4.79% -23.23% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7714 -24.22% n.a. n.a. -24.23% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 3.9616 -23.72% -9.01% -4.61% -24.16% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 663.96 -23.44% -8.94% -4.78% -23.85% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.5984 -35.12% -13.01% -8.81% -29.72% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0705 -28.17% -10.34% -5.94% -27.05% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.761 -23.64% -9.14% -4.76% -23.96% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.7987 -23.6% -7.75% -4.19% -23.39% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 89.1369 -23.27% -8.48% -3.97% -23.78% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.0649 17.42% 0.99% 2.11% 3.55% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.4966 18.43% 8.07% n.a. 8.55% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5711 -9.23% -4.1% -3.55% 0.53% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0384 -11.67% -4.92% -2.34% -6.54% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3847 -9.37% -3.59% -3.48% -9.38% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1827 n.a. n.a. n.a. -20.04% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8244 -5.95% -1.54% -0.68% -6.99% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4611 -8.08% -2.66% -1.82% -8.66% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.4241 -8.65% -2.97% -1.99% -9.06% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.8963 -11.08% -4.16% -1.99% -10.64% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2322 -16.5% -5.28% -3.28% -16.34% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9334 -7.72% n.a. n.a. -8.1% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8283 -17.02% n.a. n.a. -16.87% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8016 -19.42% n.a. n.a. -19.29% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.7954 -19.73% -6.3% -4.48% -18.4% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03982 5.15% 3.57% 2.31% 4.24% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.0485 9.09% 1.46% 2.34% 3.61% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.1191 11.14% 5.73% 4.66% 5.33% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1655 5.95% 3.18% n.a. 3.26% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 367.5 4.27% 3.19% 2.58% 2.67% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9471 2.08% 1% -0.05% 2.37% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.198 4.49% 5.03% 5.04% 2.57% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.3073 4.54% 3.14% 2.39% 3.77% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4358 4.2% 3.27% 1.85% 3.25% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6783 9.42% 4.68% 2.84% 6.98% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3051 5.91% 4.26% 2.37% 3.85% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9615 6.28% 4.44% 2.37% 4.57% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0388 9.28% 3.81% 1.87% 7.73% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1831 5.75% 4.92% 2.91% 3.5% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7498 4.71% 4.32% 2.35% 2.86% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $478.58 3.82% 2.62% 2.82% 2.18% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є216.86 -1.12% 0.69% 1.06% -1.33% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2468 4.79% 3.4% 2.8% 3.28% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0266 3.1% 2.09% 1.74% 3.1% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0971 n.a. 0.54% 0.83% 0.32% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5247 6.34% 4.12% 3.57% 5.04% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0611144 2.47% 2.18% 1.94% 1.35% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2617 4.17% 2.58% 2.81% 2.72% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 128.65 3.58% 3.28% 2.48% 2.24% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0435 2.43% n.a. n.a. 1.68% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2863 2.92% 3.04% 2.6% 1.68% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0467 1.6% n.a. n.a. 0.81% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0259 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.95 n.a. n.a. n.a. -4.04%

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."

3,467.53 points, the Financials index was down 17.42 to 1,121.71, the Industrial index rose 243.54 to 7,715.63, the Holding Firms index declined 178.58 to 5,972.80, the Property index shed 100.91 to 2,812.12, the Services index was up 41.79 to 1,421.18 and the Mining and Oil index surged 322.63 to 5,812.40. For the week, gainers led losers 122 to 104 and 19 shares were unchanged. Top gainers were Nihao Mineral Resources International Inc., Marcventures Holdings Inc., The Philodrill Corp., Ferronoux Holdings Inc., Apex Mining Co. Inc. and Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. Top losers were Altus Property Ventures Inc., ATN Holdings Inc. B, Robinsons Land Corp., iPeople Inc., PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc. and Concrete Aggregates Corp. A.

This week

Trading of shares may remain volatile this week as investors digest the second quarter GDP figures, which analysts said magnified the listed firms' weak financial performance, which fell an average of 60 percent year-on-year for the quarter. “Preliminary indication on sequel months’ capital expenditure [capex] initiative remains hazy for most, and remains attuned with the lifting of quarantine measures. What is certain, however, is that resumption of aggressive capex plans are seen in 2021-2022,” broker 2TradeAsia said. It said intra-week fall in prices might attract bargain hunters as prices become attractive at 12 times price to earnings ratio. “Conservative bets, meanwhile, might skew toward dividend bets, others on stocks poised to benefit from global investors’ switch towards alternative havens such as precious metals. Position in anticipation and not in reaction,” the broker said. It sees immediate support for the PSEi at 5,500 points and resistance at 6,000 points.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. recommended buying the stock of Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) when its support price holds at P5.30 to P5.44 per share. “It looks like AGI is getting cozy in the oversold territory, as it has stayed in this region for the entirety of the week. Nevertheless, its support at P5.44 still managed to hold despite the downturn. Indicators are remaining heavy on the sell signs,” it said. “Expect more challenges to the stated support soon. Should this level be broken, AGI could go as low as P5.30, its almost 10-year low,” it added. AGI shares closed on Friday at P5.55 apiece. Meanwhile, it advised to trade the range on the stock of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), as buying volumes surged. “Despite the large surge in buying momentum, ICTSI is still within its range. Indicators have remained flattish for the past few days, pointing toward some sideways consolidation. Expect ICTSI to maintain its consolidation range between a support of P91.55 and a resistance of P100.40,” it said. ICTSI shares closed last week at P103.90 apiece. VG Cabuag

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance

Perspectives Solution now for agile and streamlined compliance

usiness imperatives of change and efficiency will both drive and transform legal and compliance operations. The speed of change within financial services necessitates that companies anticipate and adapt to emerging risks and ongoing transformation across multiple fronts, including technology advances, process improvements, regulatory developments, new market entrants and shifting consumer preferences. Regulatory focus on the technology sector will directly impact business strategy given attention to antitrust, sanctions and operational resilience risks. It will also spotlight customer protection risks, including bias, accessibility, and privacy especially with regard to machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services. Regulators will expect companies to understand and explain outcomes of new technology applications/ enhancements as well as the roles and responsibilities third-party service providers. Compliance challenges will remain in core areas of conduct/ethics, financial crimes, customer protection, and evolving geopolitical risks.

Technology transformation

n The use of fintech incubators and partnerships, and ongoing adoption of AI and cloud services (in business, middle and back office) requires enhanced due diligence, compliance risk management, and monitoring and testing processes n Evolving technologies, including data analytics and natural language processing, enable firms to evaluate pools of structured and unstructured data to proactively identify potential compliance risks n Agile legal and compliance integration will facilitate ongoing adoption of technology advances; regulators will expect companies to understand and be able to explain outcomes resulting from applications of new or enhanced technologies.

The excerpt was taken from KPMG article, “The new employee deal in the technology industry.” © 2020 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent member-firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the Philippines. For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may visit www. kpmg.com.ph.

BusinessMirror

Monday, August 10, 2020 B3

Govt sees cap on stimulus package will plug deficit

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

he Department of Finance (DOF) expects the cap on government’s stimulus package would prevent the deficit from ballooning. The DOF said government is willing to spendP180billioninastimuluspackageitexpects could boost the economy as lockdown measures against the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has pushed it to a recession. The package consists of P140 billion for actual spending and the expected P40 billion in tax credit through the reduction of corporate income tax (CIT) if the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) law for such is enacted. According to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, they arrived at the figure of P180 billion “to keep our fiscal deficit

in a manageable zone.” This year, Dominguez projects a ceiling on the deficit-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio at 9.6 percent, which will abate to 8.5 percent in 2021 and to 7.2 percent in 2022. The DOF chief said reducing the CIT rate will leave P40 billion in the hands of the private sector, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). He expects such would help stimulate the economy and boost consumer confidence. For 2022, Dominguez said the government will continue to borrow about P2.3 trillion to sustain a strong economic rebound.

“Whatever stimulus package we have, it has to be affordable and it has to recognize the fact that this virus may not be defeated by the end of this year,” Dominguez said. “So we have to keep, as they say, our powder dry for next year as well.” Aside from providing tax credits to businesses, Dominguez said the government’s stimulus plan also includes injecting P50 billion into the banking system, which he believes will have a multiplier effect of between 8 times and 10 times, or about P400-billion worth of economic activity. Another P5 billion will go to a credit guarantee program for distressed businesses, which has a multiplier effect of around 20 times, or about P100 billionworth of economic activity generated by the private sector, he said. “So if you add the two, you will probably end up with anywhere between P400 billion and P600 billion in economic activity,” Dominguez said. The Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) new deficit target this year is now 9.6 percent of

GDP, higher than the 8.4 percent of GDP that the DBCC set in May. The DBCC has said this was due to the cut in the estimated revenue take to P2.52 trillion from P2.61 trillion and the expected hike in disbursements to P4.34 trillion from P4.225 trillion previously. State revenues are seen to drop because of the expected contraction in real GDP growth and the P42 billion in estimated foregone revenues from the implementation of the proposed Create Act. This will reduce the corporate income tax rate (from 30 percent to 25 percent) to provide much-needed assistance to the business sector and help MSMEs retain their workers. On the other hand, disbursements are also seen to rise this year as the government anticipated additional spending of P140 billion under Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan II being pursued in Congress. Deficit targets are also revised upward to 8.5 percent in 2021 and 7.2 percent in 2022 from earlier projections of 6.6 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

‘PHL economy can weather pandemic’–bank exec By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

he Philippine economy is well-positioned to weather the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a bank official said. Security Bank President and CEO Sanjiv Vohra asserted this during an online forum last week, saying he believes the Philippine economy is being supported by “improved revenue flows, tax reforms and wise spending.” “The country’s fiscal and economic

strength borne out of improved revenue flows, tax reforms, debt management and wise spending and investing, have served us well,” Vohra said. Security Bank Chairman Alfredo S. Villarosa, meanwhile, emphasized that having the knowledge of the current situation is necessary to overcome this pandemic. “We are certainly facing something we have not faced before, at least not in our lifetime,”Villarosa said. “This is something totally new and unknown.” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez,

who was the key speaker of the online forum, said that recovery plans should consider both public safety and the economy to facilitate continued growth. Dominguez is projecting gross domestic product (GDP) growth to reach 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent next year. In the first half, the Philippines’ GDP contracted by 9 percent as the country was hit by economic slump after lockdown measures stalled business activities. “Even as we navigate through ongoing circumstances, we intend to maintain fiscal discipline, make our financial sector more in-

clusive and introduce more reforms that will help us consolidate and progress this environment,” the Finance Secretary said. Dominguez also outlined the legislative measures to push the economy toward recovery, including the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) bill. According to the chief of the Department of Finance, the proposed Create bill “is not industry-specific.” “It is to reduce the tax rate for all companies, not only big foreign companies,” Dominguez said.

Monday, August 10, 2020

Style

BusinessMirror

Legends and icons First row: Daisy Romualdez, Divina Valencia, Stella Suarez, Rosanna Ortiz; second row: Celia Rodriguez, Susan Roces, Gloria Romero, Gina Pareño; third row: Caridad Sanchez, Tessie Agana, Marita Zobel and Liza Lorena

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Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Josh Gates, 43; Justin Theroux, 49; Antonio Banderas, 60; Rosanna Arquette, 61. Happy Birthday: Haste makes waste. Slow down, smell the roses and don’t feel pressured to keep up with someone or make changes that you aren’t ready to explore. Time is on your side, and for now, the best thing you can do is live in the moment, pay more attention to what makes you happy and adjust your life to suit your needs. Your numbers are 2, 14, 23, 29, 31, 34, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take a moment to think, and wait for the right moment to put your plans in motion. Too much too fast will be your downfall. When uncertainty sets in, retreat, observe and reassess your options. HHH

AUGHT as we all are by the menacing Covid-19 pandemic, we barely have a moment to grieve the passing of our local cinema’s national treasures: Peque Gallaga, Liberty Ilagan, Lilia Dizon and Anita Linda. Add to these tremendous losses the earlier death of Kirk Douglas in February and in July, director Alan Parker and the last of the greats of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Olivia de Havilland. Sidney Poitier and Sophia Loren are the last survivors from the American Film Institute’s list of greatest actors and actresses. But world cinema still has Angela Lansbury, Betty White, Eva Marie Saint, Cicely Tyson, Harry Belafonte, Gina Lollobrigida, Tippi Hedren, Christopher Plummer, Clint Eastwood, Joanne Woodward and Gena Rowlands. All in their 90s. Late last year, the Film Development Council of the Philippines collaborated with the National Commission for Culture and Arts to celebrate the centennial of Philippine cinema. A glossy feature in Agung, the NCCA magazine, was conceptualized through the NCCA’s Public Affairs and Information Office, headed by Rene Napeñas. I was enlisted by my friend, Roel Hoang Manipon, the executive editor of the project, to write profiles of some of the most iconic, inspiring and influential personalities that have graced our screens. The legends must have made their celluloid debuts in the 1960s or earlier. And they must still be alive at the time of writing. Sadly, Amalia Fuentes and Eddie Garcia did not make the cut. The special issue was supposed to be launched in June but the pandemic ruined the plans. Sadder still, Liberty, Lilia and Anita never got to read their special tributes. So, I might as well give a glimpse of the legendary ladies that I profiled in Agung. Tessie Agana embodied the wide-eyed innocence of a child in a post-war world. At a tug of her pigtails, she can cry buckets of tears. But with a smile from this chubby-cheeked wunderkind, your worries will fade away. That’s why she was called “The Shirley Temple of the Philippines.” When LVN Pictures launched a nationwide search for a “Good Girl” for its 1957 film, Bad Boy, with Lou Salvador Jr., the “James Dean of the Philippines,” the radiant Mary Ann Respall Blanch was chosen from among 300 hopefuls. She became the dazzling beauty Marita Zobel. The LVN matriarch, Narcisa Buencamino-de León, took Milagros Bernardo under her wing and nurtured her to screen stardom like she did Nida Blanca, Delia Razon and Charito Solis and gave her the name Luz Valdez. When mestizas reigned supreme at the local cinemas, along came a morena who challenged the status quo. Caridad Sanchez was already a recognizable name in show business in her native Cebu before she broke barriers in Manila.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll feel the urge to take a risk or make a change that is not advisable. Rethink your steps before you make a mistake that you’ll have to live with for some time. Play it safe to avoid being sorry. HHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Pick up information that will help you decide your best course of action. Don’t let the changes others make or the pressures put on you to do something questionable push you in a direction that isn’t right for you. HHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Pitch in and do something to help those less fortunate. A kind word, donating items you no longer need or taking more time to relax and figure out what you want to do next will make you feel good. HHHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Protect your reputation, status and position. Look for opportunities that provide mental stimulation, and pick up skills and knowledge that allow you to head in a direction that excites you. HH

f An underrated but in-demand character actress, Eva Darren has endured the shifting tides of show business and continues to work to this day. She is considered a pioneer in soap operas, having started in the drama/fantasy Hiwaga. When France was being beguiled by Brigitte Bardot, Italy being captivated by Claudia Cardinale and Hollywood being mesmerized by Marilyn Monroe, the Philippines was being seduced by Stella Suarez. When Ursula Andress, as Honey Rider in Dr. No (1962), emerged from the Carribbean Sea wearing only a white bikini, it became an iconic moment in film and fashion history. Here, the daring Divina Valencia made a loud splash at the Montalban River in Kardong Kidlat. Rosanna Ortiz used the sexy-to-serious actress playbook, originated by Charito Solis. Meanwhile, a dainty beauty, Daisy Romualdez quickly starred with the biggest names and the most prolific directors at Sampaguita Pictures. True to her name, Nova Villa became an instant star on her first movie, Daniel Barrion (1964). That it starred Fernando Poe Jr. and was produced by one of his companies, Jafere Productions, propelled the 18-year-old’s ambition to become a movie star. A veteran and versatile character actress, acting coach and dubbing supervisor, Vangie Labalan began her entertainment career as a radio talent in her native Bacolod City in 1962. National Artist Ishmael Bernal, Labalan once proudly recalled having “discovered” her innate acting talent. Liza Lorena was a born actress. What’s more

important, she could be made into a good one. That she was classy, statuesque and with cheekbones so chiseled, the Kapampangan was also bound to be a star. In 1966, she joined Binibining Pilipinas and finished first runner-up to Clarinda Soriano, who placed in the Top 15 at Miss Universe. Sophisticated, articulate and stylish, Celia Rodriguez is a cinematic archetype. Since her beginnings as an ingenue in late 1950s films, Rodriguez has endured as a glamorous—if domineering—figure onscreen. From wild card to acclaimed actress, Gina Pareño is one of local cinema’s most unpredictable, irrepressible personalities. She burst into the scene in the 1960s as one of the prized stars at Sampaguita Pictures, became a sex symbol in the 1970s, a character actress in the 1980s and 1990s, and an international acting sensation in the 2000s. The Queen of Philippine Movies, Susan Roces is “The Face That Refreshes.” As Lola Flora Borjade Leon in ABS-CBN’s FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, Roces remains not only to be a refreshing—and reassuring—presence. The most enduring of the movie queens of the Philippines, Gloria Romero is as active today as when she ruled show business in the 1950s. “I’ll retire when I can’t memorize [my lines],” said Gloria, the gold standard for anyone who wants to be successful in show business, with a legacy of greatness, gravitas and glamour. She is the actress against whom all succeeding movie queens should live up to in terms of pulchritude, star quality and acting ability. n

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Jot down everything you want to accomplish today so you don’t miss something that can affect your progress. Uncertainty and confusion are apparent and will require appropriate measures to help you stay on track. Personal improvement is favored. HHHHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You can help without jeopardizing your health or financial well-being. Be smart about the way you handle requests and the suggestions and promises you make. Leave nothing to chance. HHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You or someone close to you will lose interest or no longer share the same goals. Open, honest discussions will be essential if you want to ensure the outcome of a pending personal matter. HHH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You can’t hide the truth or your feelings forever. Organize your thoughts and explain whatever situation you are up against from your perspective, and you’ll gain insight into what you should do next. HHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Put your plans in motion. Alter the way you live or how you relate to those who live with you. A positive attitude will help you gain allies and information to deter anyone who tries to get in your way. HHHHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t get hung up on something that is not your responsibility. Refuse to let an emotional incident come between you and someone you love. Choose congeniality over discord. HH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Consider your options and where each path will lead. A change will entice you, but once you consider what you’ll have to give up, you’ll feel compelled to look for alternatives. HHHH Birthday Baby: You are smart, ambitious and energetic. You are emotional and unpredictable.

Running a beauty business in a pandemic requires experience and expertise Beauty entrepreneur Rhea Anicoche Tan remains hopeful and positive despite the current situation.

THESE are tough times for entrepreneurs, particularly those who run SMEs. Even big businesses are feeling the economic pinch as the country goes into its first recession since 1991. Perhaps the beauty community is not as hardhit in general because people, after all, need soaps, lotions, cleansers and maybe even some makeup for online meetings. But certainly, no one is shopping or making big purchases. Beautederm Corp. President and CEO Rhea Anicoche Tan chooses to stay hopeful and productive in our current situation. Even with the pandemic continuing to send many parts of the country under quarantine, the beauty company has launched new products and even introduced new brand ambassadors. “By God’s grace, people are still buying skin care. Body soaps and facial washes are essentials. It is in our nature as Filipinos to pamper ourselves and take a

shower more than once a day,” said Tan. Two of the products which were launched in May include Beauté L’ Tous, a natural hand and body lotion, and Beauté L’ Cheveux, a natural hair oil without synthetic silicone. Tan’s experience and expertise in the online distribution business has greatly benefited Beautederm. “I have shared everything I have learned to all my resellers and distributors through years of training seminars and workshops. This is the reason why we are afloat despite the temporary closing of some of our physical stores. I also use my knowledge in marketing to come up with exciting promotional deals to help my sales team,” said Tan. One of the brand’s strategies is getting celebrities to endorse their products. With different brand ambassadors, Beautederm, which recently celebrated its 11th anniversary, gets to reach a wide range of the beauty and wellness market. The brand ambassadors include Sylvia Sanchez, Lorna Tolentino, Arjo and Ria Atayde, Carlo Aquino, Ken Chan, Gabby Concepcion, Sanya Lopez, Darren Espanto and Marian Rivera. “Through our ambassadors, we are able to target a specific demographic and psychographic, and that widens the reach of the brand. This is especially true prior and during the pandemic,” said Tan. Beautederm recently introduced Korina Sanchez Roxas as its new brand ambassador for Slender Sips K-llagen Collagen Drink, which is the product of two years of research and actual testing.

The drink is distributed by Beautéderm’s sister company RD Healthy Living Corp. This FDA-notified product contains all-natural ingredients, such as sodium hyaluronate, chamomile, pomegranate and sakura flower extracts added to collagen. “I am extremely proud to be part of this collaboration between Beautéderm and myself. People ask me how I look younger than my age. Well, K-llagen is a healthy and delicious collagen drink that I take every day,” said Roxas. Tan has always been vocal about her admiration for her new brand ambassador, who she met for the first time in person last year at luncheon arranged by a friend. “I grew up watching Ms. K on such shows as Hoy Gising, Balitang K and, of course, TV Patrol. She is a fearless broadcast journalist who inspired me to major in Mass Communications at Saint Louis University in Baguio City. I am drawn to strong, powerful, independent and compassionate women like Ms. K. She is a trailblazer who successfully showed the world that career and love for family could actually be achieved by women,” said Tan. Beautederm chose Roxas to endorse Slender Sips K-llagen because “her passion for life is so inspiring and a lot of women look up to her because of her beauty and kindness.” “Like me, she is a working mom and she has successfully balanced her family life and her career. I believe she best embodies what K-llagen stands for— that everyone could be healthy and ‘beautéful’ at any age,” said Tan.

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Monday, 13, 2020 b5 B5 Monday, August 10,July 2020

How HR Leaders Can Adapt

to Uncertain Times H

By Sue Bingham

the global communications firm Edelman shows that people trust their employers more than the government or media when it comes to Covid-19-related communication.

uman resources departments had a difficult job before the pandemic. In 2019, more than 50 percent of HR leaders struggled to ensure that employees had the skills necessary to navigate an increasingly digitized workplace. But, admittedly, this “future of work” had always seemed a safe distance ahead—far enough, at least, to thoughtfully prepare for it. Covid-19 has changed the playing field. Today, HR leaders are working around the clock and taking unprecedented measures to keep their employees safe and ensure that their organizations survive. They are navigating furloughs, layoffs and reductions in force. They are adjusting to mass remote work. All of these issues are being addressed through a familiar process: defining the problem, addressing the variables that make it complicated and agreeing on the best way forward. But today’s greatest challenges are ones that we have never faced before: They are not just complicated (predictable), but complex (unknown). Traditional problemsolving, which is aimed at addressing the complicated, is not designed to tame the unknown. To be truly effective in this “new normal,” we believe HR leaders need to develop a new core capability: a complexity mindset. Simply stated, complicated problems require linear thinking—they can often be predicted or avoided, and they can benefit from expert input. In stark contrast, complex problems live in the realm of the unknown. There are no best practices to solve complex problems because we’ve never experienced them be-

fore. In this framework, it’s crucial to tap into your organization’s collective intelligence, prioritize company values and allow solutions to emerge. This means that HR leaders will need to start collaborating more with employees at every level. Now is the time to focus on interpersonal relationships rather than control, standards and hierarchy. Adopting a complexity mindset starts by accepting that complexity exists and needs to be accounted for differently.

Here’s how HR leaders can embrace this mindset: n Tap into the power of collective intelligence

The majority of the work force consists of smart, trustworthy people who know their jobs better than their leaders do. Given everything on HR leaders’ plates today, they will not succeed if they don’t trust their employees to help them brainstorm solutions for remote work accommodations, continued engagement and additional support. In other words, they won’t succeed if they don’t embrace collective intelligence. Traditional thinking in human resources is that employee behavior must be guided by the rules of

n Make your company values foundational

compliance. Corporate attorneys consistently tell HR leaders that they must adopt a mindset of risk mitigation in order to avoid lawsuits. This mindset translates into a culture of bureaucracy: rules, policies and practices for every bad apple ever encountered. To make matters worse, HR leaders are continuously reminded to “treat everyone the same.” Given that every person and every situation is different, this often results in a lack of fairness and good judgment. Complexity-conscious HR leaders, on the contrary, view a good company performance as the result of open and clear communication. In practice, this means that when an employee comes to them with a problem, they probe for the underlying cause instead of jumping to a rule book solution. They ask openended questions such as “What is holding you back?” or “How would you handle this?” Throughout, they assume that the vast majority

of employees are good people who will want to solve a problem once it’s brought to their attention.

n Foster a trust culture

So much has been written about the need for organizations to improve communication, recognize employees and practice transparency, but real change has been slow. As this crisis unfolds, it’s my hope that organizations will see the benefits of creating respectful, trusting workplaces and act with more urgency than before. From an employee perspective, consider that more than 60 percent of workers say senior managementemployee trust is paramount to their satisfaction. That’s because high-trust environments allow people to be their true selves, and when people can bring their whole selves to work, they are not only more creative, but also more productive. Building a high-trust culture starts with cultivating positive

beliefs about employees, because assumptions drive behavior. If you assume your employees work hard, care about the company’s success and have integrity, they are likelier to act accordingly. For HR leaders, this means rewarding exceptional performance with public recognition and individual growth opportunities; encouraging employee autonomy by letting workers set their own habits and mold their roles; and fostering transparency through open communication and evolving relationships. The goal is to develop leader-employee relationships based on genuineness and vulnerability, and to debunk the notion that managers should keep their distance from a personal standpoint. HR leaders who adopt a complexity conscious mindset recognize that trust is key to getting through this present crisis. Thankfully, many realize this and have already begun to build such cultures: Research by

Even progressive organizations backslide to traditional thinking during crises. Under greater amounts of pressure, it’s not unusual to see leaders make autocratic decisions without regard for their impact on employees. Moving forward, HR leaders can help fight this instinct by putting a greater focus on demonstrating fairness and a passion for their people. Every successful company has a set of fundamental beliefs upon which the business and its behavior are based. But too often, they are words on a wall, when they should be the very basis for how the organization executes its mission during good and bad times. Adopting a mindset of complexity means returning to the values of the company and allowing them to become a filter for decision-making in highpressure situations. If your company lists trust as one of its core values but it’s failing to deliver, pause to ask yourself: If we had trust in the vast majority of employees, what would we do differently? What’s getting in the way of trust? What personal behaviors can we demonstrate that would help build even more trust? Applying this approach yields powerful benefits: Companies that focus on social good are more likely to survive the pandemic than businesses that focus exclusively on profitability or growth. If you work in human resources, remember that your role is to be your company’s moral conscience. You should be willing to step up and challenge your organization to act in alignment with its values. Adopting a complexity mindset will help you get there. Sue Bingham is founder and principal of HPWP Group.

Remote managers are having trust issues By Sharon K. Parker, Caroline Knight & Anita Keller

OVID-19 has thrust many leaders into remote management, a mode that calls for skills that are very different from those required in face-to-face management. For the most part, managers have had to make this transition quickly and without training. While some jobs have proved wellsuited for the remote environment, many workers have home lives that present overwhelming challenges. As a result, managers may be finding their roles to be more difficult than before—and making their subordinates’ lives more stressful in the process. Even before the pandemic, managing teleworkers presented unique obstacles. Research shows that managers who cannot “see” their direct reports sometimes struggle to trust that their employees are indeed working. When such doubts creep in, managers can start to develop an unreasonable expectation that those team members be available at all times, ultimately disrupting their workhome balance and causing more job stress. If we look at what is happen-

ing today and consider the many scenarios employees may be facing—especially those with compromised finances or families to care for—we can hypothesize that certain workers are struggling to perform at the same level as they did before. This could create a negative spiral in which manager mistrust leads to micromanagement, which then leads to drops in employee motivation, eventually impairing productivity. To investigate this hypothesis, we invited remote workers all over the world to participate in an ongoing study that began last April. We developed a survey of 92 questions to investigate how Covid-19 is affecting both managers’ and employees’ work, well-being and productivity. We asked participants whether they have the opportunity to choose when, where and how they carry out their jobs; whether work interferes with their home life; and whether they experience technological hassles. We also checked how participants felt at work, in an effort to measure levels of engagement, emotional exhaustion, anxiety or enthusiasm. More than 1200 people in 24 different countries completed the survey. Our preliminary findings

suggest that many managers are struggling in their roles, and would benefit from more support. About 40 percent of the 215 supervisors and managers in our study expressed low self-confidence in their ability to manage workers remotely. Many reported lacking the confidence to influence remote workers to do their job well and effectively coordinate a team of remote workers. Managers also had negative views about remote workers’ performance. Thirty-eight percent of managers agreed that remote workers usually perform worse than those who work in an office. Many were also dubious about whether remote workers can remain motivated over time. Generally negative attitudes toward remote work seemed to spill over into the way managers’ perceived their own employees as well. Quite a few managers reported not trusting the competence of their own employees, with 29 percent questioning whether their employees had the required knowledge do to their work, and 27 percent agreeing that their employees’ lacked essential skills. Altogether, the picture is not a rosy one, suggesting that a sub-

stantial number of managers have low confidence in their capability to lead remotely, have rather negative views of this work practice and distrust their own workers. Now more than ever businesses should prioritize the development of these managers’ skills in a remote environment. Based on our research, we recommend the following actions:

Start at the highest level possible

The managers who struggled the most with leading remote teams had low job autonomy and excessively controlling and distrustful bosses. This result suggests that organizations must create change at the highest level possible.

Provide support for remote work within the organization

Organizations need to move beyond rhetoric in terms of supporting flexible work. They should ensure workers have the equipment needed, provide resources to support staff well-being and give training to support flexible working, for example. These changes will not only help workers who are operating from home; they will also allow managers to give a strong signal about the company’s genuine

commitment to this work practice.

Educate managers about the potential benefits of remote working

Existing research shows that telework can be more productive than office work when workers are afforded greater autonomy. Make sure your managers understand clearly how micromanagement can nullify the benefits of remote work and what changes should be put in place to facilitate effective teleworking.

Teach managers how to delegate

Simply telling managers to trust their employees is unlikely to be sufficient. Rather, leaders need to learn new skills of delegation and empowerment to provide their workers with greater autonomy. At the same time, autonomy shouldn’t mean less communication with employees. Rather than checking up on people as a way to micromanage them, however, managers should check in with people to provide information, guidance and support.

Have managers manage by results

Managing by results goes hand

in hand with job autonomy. When you give people the discretion to decide for themselves how and when they will work, it is important to assess whether they are delivering the results. Hence, managers need to put more focus on the outputs of the work. During the Covid-19 pandemic, some managers are having a hard time adjusting to managing without “line of sight.” As they struggle to adjust, their employees are suffering the consequences, in the form of close monitoring and distrust from their bosses. Luckily, managers can and should be supported and trained to manage their employees more effectively from a distance. It’s an important first step toward building trust and increasing productivity. Sharon K. Parker is an Australian Research Council laureate fellow, a professor of management at Curtin University and director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design. Caroline Knight is a research fellow at The Centre For Transformative Work Design. Anita Keller is an assistant professor at the organizational psychology department, University of Groningen.

B6 Monday, August 10, 2020

Pantawid ng Pag-ibig' serves close to 900K families in this pandemic

FISPC VISIT. DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs visited Martin Dino visited the Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative (FISPC) Showroom and Business Center for various Covid-19 Essential Products such as BioMat Foot Disinfecting Mat, Food Sanitation Alcohol Dispenser, HBC Hygiene Kits, SnoI Body Ionizer. It also offers coffee, complete Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Probaton, among others. Probaton is used specially to equip frontliners such as Barangay Tanod manning the checkpoints. All the above products are available at the FISPC Showroom at 821-Cortez Building, EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City (beside Cinderella Building). The store opens from 9am to 5pm, Mondays to Saturdays. For those who want to avail of FREE THERAPY using SnoI Body Ionizer, they can visit the shop for free trial for 45 minutes.

APAMILYA love reached more Filipinos as ABS-CBN Foundation’s “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig: Isang Daan. Isang Pamilya.” campaign distributed food packs and Ligtas bags outside Metro Manila for those greatly affected by the community quarantine imposed to contain COVID-19. Through “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig,” 1,500 families with senior citizens were given food packs in Sta. Barbara, Baliuag, Bulacan. Food packs and Ligtas bags were also given to over 1,000 families in Batangas. With the continuous support of various donors, ABS-CBN’s “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” was able to share the love as well to 500 families, including indigenous groups, in Bataan. Down south, several barangays all over Bicol were showered with generosity

as the network got to distribute 1,500 food packs and 3,000 Ligtas bags. Ligtas bags were first introduced in ABS-CBN’s “Tulong-Tulong sa Taal” campaign early this year. It contains food and useful items in times of emergency. As of July 30, ABS-CBN’s “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” was able to raise over P444 million cash and in-kind donations from generous individuals and organizations for the benefit of more than 872,000 families who lost their source of livelihood as the pandemic continues to hurt the country’s economy and cause unemployment. ABS-CBN Integrated Public Service head and Sagip Kapamilya director Jun Dungo expressed gratitude for the support that the campaign continues to get from generous and kind-hearted Filipinos.

“Karangalan natin na pagkatiwalaan tayo ng publiko whether individual or institutional donors. Ipinagkakatiwala nila sa atin itong kanilang donations kasi siguro iyong trust nila makakarating ito doon sa mga nangangailangan,” he said. With a goal of serving 1 million families by the end of the month, ABS-CBN Foundation’s “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig: Isang Daan. Isang Pamilya.” continues to call for donations as parts of the country remain under community quarantine. For more information, visit pantawidngpagibig.com, abs-cbnfoundation.com, or follow ABSCBN Foundation (@abscbnfoundationinc) on Facebook. For more news, follow ABSCBNPR (@abscbnpr) on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit www.abs-cbn.com/ newsroom.

Juicy Legends’ top gamer Bren Esports conquers team Indonesia

Zuellig Pharma launches virtual care application

uellig Pharma, a leading healthcare services provider in Asia, has launched eZConsult, a virtual care mobile app to address the growing need for teleconsultation amidst lockdowns and restricted movement during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Co-created with doctors and patients, eZConsult is a seamless solution that allows simple, secure and safe access to healthcare. The app connects users with an extensive panel of healthcare professionals across different specialties. It also partners with key healthcare stakeholders such as retail pharmacies, laboratories, and fintech companies that can provide advice, support and services to patients through the platform. “The need to mitigate exposure and reduce the spread of COVID-19 allows us to re-imagine how healthcare should be delivered and experienced,” said Kidit Afable, Zuellig Pharma Philippines Vice President for Strategy and Innovation. Afable explained that the need for alternatives to face-to-face doctor consultations is particularly urgent, with people worried about infectious diseases, and healthcare services being overwhelmed by COVID-19. This means many people are putting-off seeing a doctor to the detriment of their health. eZConsult allows patients to seek the care they need wherever they are. For doctors, eZConsult was designed to be complementary and supplementary to current brick-and-mortar practice. It makes managing patients easy. eZConsult schedules appointments, provides secure

options for virtual consultations and is an easy-to-use platform for secure electronic medical records. For patients, eZConsult provides endto-end healthcare services, from booking a virtual consult, getting a prescription, uploading diagnostics, e-payment, to support in managing conditions. For example, prescriptions generated through the platform for the patient can be routed to the pharmacy of the patient’s choice, fulfilled and delivered to their home. “eZConsult is backed by Zuellig Pharma’s century of experience in making healthcare more accessible in Asia,” said Maikel Kuijpers, Zuellig Pharma Philippines Chief Executive. “The virtual care network will launch in the Philippines, followed by other markets in the region,” he added. “We will continue to innovate and improve our platform to push the boundaries of virtual healthcare services. The model we are developing will transform healthcare by connecting health services through one platform and supporting patients wherever they are to take care of their health, ultimately improving health outcomes,” said Kujipers. eZConsult is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.ezconsult.io/.

Alfamart expands GCash payment coverage to most stores

ET another win in the country’s esports community was brought home by one of the top gamers of ARC Juicy Legends TOURnament, Bren Esports— the moniker of the Philippine Mobile Legends team in Razer Southeast Asia Invitational’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang event. Bren Esports could have easily won a spot in the upper bracket finals had they not taken Indonesia’s Rimo Batara lightly in Game 1. When the Philippines finally got face-to-face with Rimo Batara in a two-game series, the latter overcame a whopping 14-kill deficit that stole the series opener. The Philippine Mobile Legends team pulled off an out-of-the-ordinary pick with Alice that paved their way to redeem themselves in the second game, finishing off Indonesia in just less than 13 minutes behind teen prodigy, KarlTzy. ARC Refreshments Corporation proudly recognizes Bren Esports’ international win as their second ML team, “Bren Esports Limitless,” also competed in Juicy Legends’ Pro Division category against Aether in

July 2019 Grand Finals. Like other professional esports athletes who competed overseas, Bren Esports took Juicy Legends as a training ground to achieving the victory under their name. The recent win of Bren Esports is proof that esports can take you to many places. While electronic games are now hailed as a new kind of sport, esports is still a subject of derision by many people, especially in the Philippines. Juicy Legends’ major partner, ULVL Gaming, has always cited this problem in the esports community. Moymoy Palaboy a.k.a. Roadfill, the founder of ULVL Gaming, once said in an interview during a season of Juicy Legends where Bren Esports Limitless competed that providing young esports athletes with an inclusive platform can really go a long way. Amid some people’s perceptions that downplay esports as merely a past-time hobby that is often linked to academic delinquency, his sincerest advice was: “Kung nakikita niyong magaling kayo sa isang bagay, ‘wag kayong paghihinaan ng loob sa sasabihin ng iba. Basta ‘wag niyo lang kalilimutan siyempre ‘yung iba pang priorities niyo, lalona ‘yung

school.” (If you see yourself doing great at something, don’t be discouraged by what other people say. Just keep in mind that you have other priorities as well, especially school.) “We’ve always wanted to uphold ARC’s principle in support of our athletes. But more than the recognition that the esports community deserves, we also wanted to honor aspiring esports athletes with the platform that can further hone their skills. I think we can proudly say that Bren Esports’ victory is tantamount to the success of our initiatives to promote teamwork, sportsmanship, and resiliency in the Philippine sports,” said James Loverio, Head of Marketing, ARC Refreshments Corporation. Bren Limitless emerged as overall Champion in the first ever “Juicy Legends Tournament” last 2019. (In photo) Roadfill from ULVL Gaming and JM Ledesma and Kat Patso from ARC Refreshments Corp with [from left to right] Francisco Apilado Antillon, Kiel VJ Cruzem, Jaypee Dela Cruz, Cedric Pasusani, Renz Errol Cadua, and Christian Fajura.

HE ease-of-access to cashless payment methods, and the contactless culture brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, has made cashless transactions pretty much the norm. In response to this shift in customer behavior, Alfamart, the first and only Super Minimart chain in the Philippines, will be accepting GCash for all its stores by the end of August. Currently, there are over 20 million registered GCash users in the Philippines and it is continually growing because some cities used the cashless portal to give aid to those affected by the COVID-19 crisis. According to Alfamart COO Harvey Ong, expanding the acceptance of GCash payments to other branches is in line with Alfamart’s goal

of making shopping convenient and safe for all its customers. “In a post-pandemic society, there is more need for contactless payment options,” Ong said. “We hope to encourage the communities that we serve to use and get used to these cashless options to minimize the need for paper money and coins to exchange hands and limiting physical contact.” Ong further explained. To date, there are close to 900 Alfamart stores serving Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and South Luzon. Each store is strategically located to cover subdivisions, neighborhoods, and communities so people will have a safe, comfortable, and convenient place to get their everyday needs at supermarket prices.

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Monday, August 10, 2020 B7

Take a moment (and find God in the workplace) PR Matters

By Joy Lumawig-Buensalido

MG. This is an expression one commonly uses to express awe, surprise, gratitude and joy—and sometimes even dismay and disappointment. I'd like to believe it’s our instant way of “talking” to God. I purposely mentioned God in a previous column titled “Lessons From the Pandemic,” which related how this global health crisis has made many of us stronger and more resilient, traits that we now manifest in pleasantly unexpected ways. To use a communications term, we have “reconnected” with God and are increasingly turning to Him because of the fear and anxiety engendered by the challenges we currently face. “Oh my God” or “Oh God” is what we are wont to say. During times like this, we are also able to dip into vast reserves of goodwill and generosity. Many people have become kinder, more compassionate, and more appreciative of what they have. More important, a lot of us have turned to prayers and deepened our faith in our Almighty Father who is stronger than the deadliest virus. We trust that in God’s time, a cure or a vaccine for Covid-19 will be found and we can all put this nightmare behind us. One fine example of a dear friend and colleague who spent much of her time during the lockdown to write about all her personal thoughts about God is Frances Yu, a marketing expert, motivational speaker, and prolific writer who has produced a series of books called Take a Moment. Her first was titled Finding God in our Everyday Lives and was launched in Amazon Kindle books. Her latest is called Faith in the Workplace which is what I’m writing about here. Frances’ essays are short, easy to read, and very inspirational but what struck me most about her second title was how sincerely and naturally she wrote and drew from her own experiences.

n Events: 25th Asian Television Awards Festival opens call for entries

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—After the success of this year’s first-ever Manila-hosted 24th Asian Television Awards (ATA) last January 10 to 12 at Resorts World Manila, the region’s most celebrated TV awards show opens its Call for Entries for the 25th Asian Television Awards. The 25th ATA is slated to happen on January 15 to 17, 2021 at Nagaworld, Phnom Penh, Cambodia with Bayon TV as official broadcast partner. Gearing for its 25th silver anniversary in 2021, ATA continues to recognize the best

of on-screen and off-screen talents in Asia with over 56 categories vying for prestigious television awards in Digital, Performance Category, Technical and Creative Category, and Programming. Launched in 1996, Asian Television Awards is the Asian TV industry’s most significant and celebrated event, recognizing hundreds of Asian actors, directors, producers, hosts, programs and TV networks. It is the most widely watched awards show in the region, televised live to 500 million homes across 22 countries by its network of broadcast partners and streamed live online. The ATA entries are evaluated by an expert panel of over 60 judges from across the region. The winners are only announced during the Awards Ceremony. The 24th ATA in Manila saw the gathering of Asia’s best and brightest TV icons, giving accolades to the region’s top talents including Filipino personalities like Martin del Rosario winning the Best Leading Male Performance in the series Born Beautiful, and

I first met Frances when she was vice president for Marketing of Rustan’s Supermarket and Shopwise, which engaged our agency to handle their publicity and PR. We worked together for more than 10 years during which I witnessed how intelligent, driven, and passionate she was about achieving excellence and success. That was also the time when Frances displayed a keen sense of competitiveness. Never one to back down from any challenge, she spared no efforts to produce the best campaigns. This was the Frances who both impressed and held me in awe. But after turning 50 recently, Frances has not only mellowed beautifully but has also become a deeply spiritual person. She seems to have sublimated her intensity and ardor into a new relationship with God. In her book, she describes her old self as this: “I was an unbearable boss and colleague. I was a perfectionist. I would berate my staff publicly and make them feel stupid. No one wanted to get into a public argument with me as my tongue was very sharp and I could intimidate most people.” I was one of a fortunate handful who managed to work well with Frances so that long after we ceased our business relationship as client and agency, she and I remained friends and kept in touch through lunches, text messages, and occasional chats to consult each other about various matters. Then came one day when I was most pleasantly surprised to learn that Frances had joined our parish and had become an active member of the St. James Renewal Movement where she eventually became head of the Teaching Ministry. I was extremely happy for her because she was just as committed and active as she had been when she was in marketing. I even heard her share her personal story during one of the Church Life in the Spirit seminars and that’s when I witnessed

Catherine Yap-Yang besting Best News Presenter or Anchor for ANC show Market Edge with Cathy Yang among others. For the complete list of ATA Awards Categories, please visit https://www.asiantvawards.com/awards-categories/. For more information on ATA submissions, please e-mail support@asiantvawards.com.

n New Business: DDB Mudra Group wins marketing and communications mandate for India’s top gold refiner

MUMBAI, INDIA—DDB Mudra Group has won the integrated marketing and communications mandate for MMTC-PAMP, India’s top refiner of gold, and other precious metals. As part of the mandate, digital, creative & brand strategy will be handled by 22feet Tribal Worldwide, while media planning for the brand will be managed by OMD MudraMax. Public Relations for MMTC-PAMP will be managed by FleishmanHillard.

a spiritually evolved woman. This was a new Frances that I appreciated even more. And I was secretly so proud of her. Is it possible for someone to be fiercely competitive and still follow God’s rules? How does one share all her experiences in a book that is real and practical yet unworldly? The answers unfold in the stories, lessons, and experiences of Frances Yu. The Take a Moment book series is meant to provoke thought and reflection, and draw the mind and heart to find God in our daily, ordinary lives. These books offer simple, short yet very substantial insights from a woman who found faith when she was not looking. A most relevant book during these times, Faith in the Workplace should help readers take a look at themselves, their values, and their spirituality. More important, in the context of this pandemic, we are urged to cultivate our spirituality and are challenged to bring God not only to our homes and families, but also to our place of work—and on a broader level, even to our engagements in social media, recreation, politics, and the country. When Frances asked me to write a brief review of the book, here’s what I came up with: Faith in the Workplace is a timely and honest waker-upper to anyone who thinks that every accomplishment he achieves in the workplace is his own. Take it from prominent achiever Frances Yu who worked extremely hard to build a successful career only to realize one day that she had lost everything she deemed valuable. Her life had crumbled overnight but when her conversion began, she discovered true success. This book is a personal narrative of her life journey and how she invited God into her life. It’s not at all forced or over emotional the way some conversion sto-

An industry leader in the B2B space, the forward looking communication strategy will help establish MMTC-PAMP as a B2C brand by setting up a digital ecosystem that provides a responsible, trustworthy gold and silver purchase journey to the end consumer. This plan will include a widespread consumer awareness initiative, setting up an e-commerce platform for gold purchases, trading and positioning MMTC-PAMP as every Indian’s trusted gold provider.

Vikas Singh, MD & CEO, MMTC-PAMP

Commenting on the announcement, Vikas Singh, MD & CEO, MMTC-PAMP said, “We are delighted to have DDB Mudra Group on board as our integrated communication partner. We were impressed by their thought process and strategic vision for MMTC-PAMP and have confidence in the team as we chart out new territories and expand our horizon for the next future growth. MMTC-PAMP is deeply committed to the Indian market and will continue to

ries go. When she talks about vices and the deadly sins in the workplace, one senses that she has seen and experienced most of it. Yet in the same vein, she humbly reveals how she found blessings, a sense of fulfillment, the joy of serving others, and how it is to be human. Her faith is what makes her writing authentic and inspiring because she has lived it herself. All you need is to take a moment to grasp what Frances has to share in her two books. If Frances can use her talent to write from her heart and soul, each one of us, at the very least, might be led by her words and experience to think and pray and perhaps be also inspired to accomplish our personal reconnection with our faith. And that’s something we all need to do during these troubled times. To take a moment and find God not only in the workplace, but anywhere we are. And only then can we genuinely pray, Oh My God, and offer our prayers not only for ourselves but for all those who need these more. Finding God in our Everyday Lives and Faith in the Workplace will be available starting August 22. Those who are interested to get copies of the books may visit the website takeamoment.com.ph or email francesyu2004@yahoo.com. PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy LumawigBuensalido is the President and CEO of Buensalido & Associates Public Relations. PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@ gmail.com.

deliver rich consumer offerings through product innovation and comprehensive customer understanding.”

Vishal Mehra, Digital Head—North, DDB Mudra Group

Talking about the win, Vishal Mehra, Digital Head—North, DDB Mudra Group said, “Indians have a strong emotional connection to gold. We use it as an investment, we use it for weddings and all other auspicious occasions. Taking this fundamental understanding and using our expertise to create meaningful engagements across all consumer touchpoints is an exciting challenge for us. This is beyond a typical communication mandate, focusing on brand and business growth. We are thankful to the MMTC-PAMP team for the confidence they have in our strategic thinking, creativity, and ability to deliver at scale. And this win is a testament to the collaborative spirit of people and expertise across our group.”

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Monday, August 10, 2020

PSC PUTS HEAD ABOVE WATER R

ELEASING the allowances of national athletes and coaches in time is one thing, but finding ways on how to make ends meet only to sustain this obligation at half its level because of the Covid-19 pandemic is another. The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Sunday sought for the athletes and coaches’ understanding on the delay in the release of their allowances for June and July, pinning the setback on the overhaul of the agency’s payroll administration system. “It [overhaul] affected all employees and members of the national team,” the PSC Board of Commissioners said in a statement. “In the wake of that sad discovery of a payroll padding scam by an employee, our agency...was roused to further strengthen our processes at all fronts.” An employee of the PSC is facing multiple charges in court for siphoning payroll funds to his personal account. As a result, the sports agency reorganized its payroll scheme to prevent a repetition of the crime. “We shifted systems, in coordination with our depository bank [LandBank]. It was one of the ways we saw to tighten up our process in connection with the payroll of employees and national team members,” PSC Executive Director Guillermo Iroy said. “We had to go through the details one by one to check.” Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go on Saturday called on the PSC to release the June and July allowances of the national athletes and coaches, saying that like everybody else, “they need to survive during these difficult pandemic times.

team members by 50 percent because of the pandemic, which shuttered all casinos ran by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). The Pagcor is the main feeder of the National Sports Development Fund, where these allowances are drawn. From an average of P125 million a month before the pandemic, Pagcor’s contribution dropped to an all-time low of P9 million in May. In the next two months after that, the figures fell further to a measly P7 million.

month for new members of the national team to as high as P43,000 for those who won gold medals on the international arena. The coaches’ allowances, on the other hand, border from P22,000 to a high P60,000 a month. A good majority of them though aren’t full time national athletes or coaches. They are either privately or self-employed or are with the government or the military establishment. At present, there are 78 athletes and 52 coaches in 19 sports who are members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or Philippine National Police.

THERE are a total of 1,620 national athletes and coaches under the PSC’s care. These are broken down into: n Athletes 996 Coaches 262 n Para athletes 280 n Para coaches 82 n The payroll alone—at 100 percent—is pegged at P41 million, P6 million of which are for para athletes and coaches. With a nearly depleted NSDF, the allowances are being released at 50 percent capacity or roughly P20.5 million a month. But with a monthly remittance from Pagcor of P7 million, the hole remains so big a vacuum to fill up. Good thing, the BusinessMirror learned, that the agency has adequate and remaining operational funds to make up for the gap, a decision that got the unanimous approval of the PSC Board which stressed its mission of sustaining its obligation to the sports heroes.

FOREIGN COACHES END TOUR OF DUTY

THE PSC was forced to cut the allowances of national

THE allowances of athletes range from P12,600 a

DIFFICULT TIMES DURING PANDEMIC

ATHLETES, COACHES BEAR BRUNT

COMPENSATION FOR ACHIEVEMENTS

EXCEPT for the foreign coaches keeping an eye on the country’s qualifiers and hopefuls for the Tokyo Olympics, the contracts of all other non-Filipino coaches would be terminated on August 31, again no thanks to the pandemic. Fifteen foreign coaches would be saying goodbye for the meantime to their jobs in the country at month’s end. They each receive an average monthly salary of $3,000. Spared from the layoff are the coaches of Tokyo Olympics qualifiers world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo and pole vaulter EJ Obiena, both of whom are training in Japan and Italy, respectively. The other qualifiers—boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno—have Filipino coaches.

PSC: HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

WITH a normal situation still out of sight, the PSC is hoping to revert to the 100 percent allowance support for national athlete and coaches through the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act 2.

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

RAMIREZ

Williams fit, ready after 6-month break

L Philippine Olympic Committee President, Cavite Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, was able to rally practically all his fellow congressmen for the inclusion of a provision in the act that would support the financial needs of the national athletes and coaches. The campaign also had its supports in the Senate, led by Go, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Juan Miguel Zubiri and Edgardo Sonny Angara.

APOLOGIES FOR DELAY IN RELEASE

THE PSC Board thanked Go for “once again showing his sincere concern for sports and the Filipino athlete” when he made the call for the release of their allowances. “We appreciate the support and guidance you have been giving the sports community,” the PSC Board, led by Chairman William Ramirez, said in the same statement. “We apologize for the slight delay in the posting of allowances but rest assured that these will be released by early this week

as we have finalized the necessary requirements for the effect of this batch’s posting under the new system,” the board furthered. “We are also calling on national sports associations to ensure proper monitoring and reporting on the training and activities of the athletes under their supervision and to religiously submit as these are requirements in the processing of monthly allowances.” The PSC board is also composed of commissioners Celia Kiram, Ramon Fernandez, Arnold Agustin and Charles Raymond Maxey.

JOHNSON

WIDE OPEN FIGHT AT HARDING PARK S AN FRANCISCO—Dustin Johnson supplied the birdies, eight of them Saturday at the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship, the most he has ever made in his 157 rounds of major championship golf for a five-under 65 and a one-shot lead. Brooks Koepka supplied the needle. Koepka recovered from three straight bogeys to salvage a 69 and stay within two shots of a leaderboard more crowded than any of San Francisco’s congested highways. At stake is a chance to become only the seventh player to win the same major three straight times. He surveyed the cast of contenders, and focused on the guy at the top. “I like my chances,” Koepka said. “When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. He’s only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.” As he stepped away from the microphone,

Koepka smiled and said to Jason Day, “How about that shade?” They laughed. Too bad this isn’t a two-man show. The final round at Harding Park figures to be wide open, just like it was on a Saturday so wild that eight players had at least a share of the lead during the third round. Johnson lost his yardage book and still found his way through an enormous crowd of contenders. He made a double bogey on the ninth hole and still bounced back with a 31 on the tough, windy back nine. He needed all eight of those birdies on a day of low scores, long putts and endless possibilities. One possibility is Koepka hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy for the third straight year, which hasn’t happened since Walter Hagen won four in a row in the 1920s when it was match play. The last player to win any major three straight times was Peter Thomson at the

EXINGTON, Kentucky—Serena Williams flexed and then kissed a sinewy right bicep to show down time well spent in training even without bench pressing. “This is God given, thank you very much,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion said as she thanked her mother, Oracene. Williams now looks to flex her muscles on a tennis court for the first time in six months. She is preparing for the inaugural Top Seed Open that opens Monday near Lexington, a recently added hard court tournament that serves as a tuneup for this month’s US Open in New York. The Women’s Tennis Association first event in the US since March features a spectator-free field that includes sister Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam winner herself, Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens and rising star Coco Gauff. Serena Williams, ranked No. 9, is competing for the first time since playing for the US in the Fed Cup in February. The pandemic quickly shut everything down the next month, forcing an extended layoff. Williams has a history of blood clots and pulmonary embolisms that have affected her lung capacity. She has been “super, super careful” in avoiding exposure to Covid-19. The 38-year-old acknowledged during Saturday’s virtual news conference that she’s been “a bit of a recluse,” in addition to owning 50 face masks and taking social distancing to an extreme. “And everyone in the Serena bubble is really protective because at the end of the day, yeah, it’s cool to play tennis, but this is my life and this is my health,” Williams said. “I’ve been a little neurotic to an extent, but that’s just what I have to be right now.” AP British Open in 1956. Koepka was two shots behind on a board that features only two major champions among the top six. Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour rookie from Texas, ran off three straight birdies only to miss a 6-foot par putt on the final hole. He still shot a 65 and was one shot behind, in the final group at his first PGA Championship. Cameron Champ, who has the most powerful swing on tour, shot 67 and joined Scheffler one shot behind. AP

Woods faces another Sunday with little hope

AN FRANCISCO—One day he couldn’t find enough fairways. The next day he couldn’t make any putts. The third day he couldn’t get close enough to make any putts. That leaves a fourth day for Tiger Woods, with little to play for in the Professional Golfers Association Championship. Eight shots behind going into the third round, Woods didn’t make a birdie until the 16th hole at Harding Park. That was followed by his best shot of the day, an approach from 209 yards to 5 feet for birdie on the 18th. And then it was time to sign for a two-over 72 on

Saturday, leaving him out of contention at another major. “It’s just like yesterday,” Woods said. “I just didn’t get anything going, and had to claw and fight to get my way back, and didn’t get anything going until the last few holes.” Woods finished an hour before the leaders teed off, and he was left with another Sunday at a major without much hope. His victory in the Masters last year was one of the most emotional ever for Woods, who endured a major knee surgery and four back surgeries since his previous one 11 years earlier. AP

A time to help Bleachers’ Brew Rick Olivares bleachersbrew@gmail.com

AN out of work basketball referee from Cagayan de Oro reached out to me on my messenger asking for help. He hasn’t received any money in several months. In the meantime, several dozen football players of this professional team have not received their wages from anywhere for a month up to several years. In this difficult time, we are witness to some of the best of and worst of humanity. That Air India crash last Saturday where the captain and his copilot sacrificed their lives to save most of the passengers is at once heroic and tragic. That was like a mercy mission where they were ferrying Indians back to their native country. Asian News International, the Delhi-based news agency, donated close to $14,000 dollars to the families of the deceased and almost $2,000 to the seriously injured and a smaller amount to those with minor injuries. ANI doesn’t need to do that. But they are

compassionate enough to help out. We have seen many local groups conduct fund raisers not only for frontliners, but also for out of work coaches, sports officials, as well as people of other crafts and industry. This pandemic has seen a multitude of people go through great suffering. I myself have been severely affected by the pandemic losing my major source of income. I have somewhat kept my head above water with my savings and continuing to write and do online teaching. And throughout this pandemic, I have gone on regular food runs for the homeless along the Katipunan, Project 4, Cubao and New Manila area. I have also done food runs for homeless dogs and cats. It is both taxing financially and emotionally, but it is difficult to sit back and do nothing. One such couple who live in two push carts have been threatened by barangay officials and local policemen for staying near a hospital. It isn’t like they litter around the

WOODS

area. They in fact do a lot of cleaning. When I think about it, I can only do so much. I try to compensate by asking for donations to help those affected. And I also do some writing. Case in point, the plight of the Global FC football players because their nonpayment of wages and unfulfilled promises that are highly malicious. The wages owed them are anywhere from a month to several months to even years. Think about the anguish caused by this. And some people even have to gall to say that by writing and pointing out the ills of the sport that “it is hurting football” and that “this is not the time for that.” Pray tell...when is a good time for that? Hasn’t it occurred to them that some clubs have not fulfilled their ends of the bargain way ahead of the lockdown brought about by the pandemic. And conveniently, other officials have turned away. Oh, the blindness men wish for. And they say that they do this “for football” as if they have the sole authority to claim such. This is a time for reflection, to reinvent ourselves, and do what we can to lift humanity out of the dregs of this virus that seems so suspicious. We all have to do our part. We have to help. I have to figure out a way to help that referee down in CDO. And as for those who have made matters worse...we all need to not only call them out, but see what can be done about them.