BusinessMirror August 20, 2021 by BusinessMirror

Govt loses ₧2.5-B revenue from tariff cuts By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE government has so far lost P2.53 billion in revenues from temporarily lowering pork and rice import tariff rates. Finance Undersecretar y A ntonette Tionko said that as of August 13, the government had incurred a revenue loss of P2.52 billion from cutting the tariff rates on pork imports since April this year; and lost another P11.39 million for lowering the tariff rates for rice imports since June. Tionko also said they expect to lose P5.4 billion by the end of the year from the reduction in pork tariff rates. On top of this, she said they are projecting a revenue loss of P40.9 million due to the slash in rice import tariff rates until May 2022.

“So for pork importation, since the EO [Executive Order] on that was released, we incurred a loss of P2.52 billion since April and now we are projecting a loss of P5.4 billion revenue loss by the end of the year,” Tionko told reporters. Nonetheless, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III added the government’s decision to lower the tariff rates on pork imports halted the increase in prices. “That loss of revenue blunted the growth in the increase in prices of pork. It has really stopped the increase in prices by adding more supply,” Dominguez said. “Now, revenues, we are looking at the health of the entire economy and the welfare of the people. It’s worth it to lose some revenues so that people’s food costs are not increased.” Customs Com-

missioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero earlier said they saw a spike in pork imports to 76 million kilograms (kg) from April 9 to June 11 after President Duterte signed the EOs cutting tariff rates on incoming pork imports and hiking the minimum access volume (MAV) for a temporary period to help stabilize the domestic supply and prices of pork. Pork imports during this period for both in-quota and out-quota shipments have already accounted for 69 percent of the total 110 million kg of swine meat brought into the country from January 1 to June 11. Under EO 128, pork tariff rates were temporarily cut to 5 percent for in-quota imports and to 15 percent for out-quota imports for the first three months of the measure; and to 10 percent (in-quota) and to

20 percent (out-quota) in the next nine months. Prior to EO 128, tariff rates for pork imports were at 30 percent (in-quota) and 40 percent (out-quota). However, EO 128 was only in effect from April 7 to May 14 after President Duterte issued EO 134, repealing the previous issuance. This, after lawmakers expressed concern that the too-low pork tariff rates will flood the market with imported pork and deepen the misery of local hog raisers already reeling from the impact of African swine fever. Duterte’s signing of EO 134 paved the way for the slight increase in pork tariff rates to 10 percent (in-quota) and to 20 percent (out-quota) for the first three months; and to 15 percent (in-quota) and to 25 percent See “Govt,” A2

(2017, 2018, 2019)

n Friday, August 20, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 310

BSP: COVID RELIEF FOR w

P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 28 pages |

BANKS, PUBLIC IN PLACE

A hospital orderly wheels a patient past rows of oxygen tanks at the Quezon City General Hospital in Project 8, Quezon City. Local oxygen manufacturers are importing more cylinder tanks in preparation for a spike in demand as the Covid-19 Delta variant continues to fuel a surge in infections. NONOY LACZA

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said their Covid-19 package of relief measures for banks will remain in place as they aim to incentivize lending and support continuous delivery of banking services amid the ongoing health crisis. In a press briefing on Thursday, Diokno assured the public of the continued access to and delivery of essential banking services amid the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ ), which is scheduled to end by August 20, but at that time of briefing was still the subject of

talks for a possible extension. Diokno also vowed to keep the regulatory support the BSP extended to banks and expects that lenders will pass on the relief measures to Filipino banking consumers during this time. See “BSP,” A2

PESO exchange rates n US 50.3500

UNDP STUDY LISTS 4 Covid travel woes REASONS MANY DON’T bring ₧380-M loss HAVE THOSE JABS YET to Duty Free PHL D V By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

ACCINE acceptance in the country has improved but side effects, news about vaccines, vaccine efficacy and medical reasons continue to hinder many Filipinos from getting the jab, according to a study released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The study, titled “Trends in Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance in the

Philippines and their Implications on Health Communication,” was based on information obtained from the Facebook World Symptoms Survey; DOH Covid-19 Vaccine Survey; Pulse Asia National Survey; and Minda Survey. In a presentation on Thursday, UNDP Philippines Data Scientist Dominic Ligot said the primary barrier to getting vaccinated is concern about the side effects, with 51.6 percent saying they See “UNDP,” A2

U T Y F R EE Ph i l ip pi nes Corp., a government firm under the Department of Tourism (DOT), racked up a net loss of P379.58 million in 2020, a reversal from its net income of some P470.37 million in 2019. According to the Commission on Audit (COA), the turnaround in the DFPC’s financial position was “primarily due to the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic to the tourism industry. Nevertheless, DFPC was able to accomplish its target sales of $62 million with its actual

sales of $62.49 million, although net sales declined by 72.37 percent” in 2020 from $226.2 million in 2019. In its audit report sent to DFPC’s Board of Directors dated June 24, 2021, COA recommended, “Management establish strategies that will adapt to the changes in trade and tourism industry to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic to the Corporation and continue to observe cost-cutting measures to minimize further losses.” The DOT Secretary chairs the government firm’s board.

n japan 0.4585 n UK 69.2464 n HK 6.4652 n CHINA 7.7651 n singapore 37.0139 n australia 36.4282 n EU 58.9599 n SAUDI arabia 13.4256

See “Covid,” A2

Source: BSP (August 19, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, August 20, 2021

Flight cancellations foil attempts to fly out 79 Pinoys from Kabul By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

WO at tempt s to f ly out 79 overseas Filipino workers Wednesday night in Afghanistan via new Delhi and Islamabad these proved to be unsuccessful “due to the cancellation of all commercial flights,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement on Thursday. “As experienced by the group, access to and even within the airport is very difficult, and if able to check-in, there’s no assurance that a flight would be able to leave,” the DFA explained. There are still 90 OFWs left in Kabul, DFA reported, but only 79

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DFPC’s stores are located at the Fiesta Mall in Parañaque City; Terminals 1, 2, and 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Naia in Pasay City; the Mactan International Airport; Davao International Airport; Kalibo International Airport; Clark International Airport in Pampanga; Iloilo International Airport; the New Bacolod (Silay) International Airport in Negros Occidental; and the Luxe outlet in the Mall of Arena area in

have signified their intention to be repatriated. The DFA said it continues to repatriate the remaining Filipino in Afghanistan, “exhausting all avenues to ensure their safety and eventual evacuation.” “Some Filipinos have been able to leave through the help of their foreign employers, and last Wednesday, there were seven Filipinos who were confirmed to have evacuated Qatar, while another five were able to go to the UK.” The DFA said Philippine embassies are still verifying reports of other Filipinos who have left Kabul. “In all cases, the DFA will assist their return to the Philippines” even as it advised those who are in Afghanistan to leave at a moment’s notice.

The DFA advised them to travel light, “with minimal luggage.” The DFA has issued Alert Level 4, which means evacuation or mandatory repatriation for those OFWs for Afghanistan due to the “uncertain security situation in the country.” The Taliban overwhelmed the Afghan army as they continued their march across the country in a matter of weeks, culminating with the takeover of Kabul on Sunday (August 15), as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and conceded the insurgents had won the 20-year war. The Taliban entered the Palace and held a press conference, promising to respect the rights of women, a vow that many take guardedly,

given the Taliban’s sordid background in treating women. The quick collapse of the government triggered fear and panic in the capital, as many Afghans, interpreters, US embassy personnel and foreigners tried to leave the country via the Hamid Karzai International Airport. An initial batch of 35 Filipino workers were able to leave Kabul via a US military plane to Qatar on Sunday night, hours after the Taliban took control. “The Taliban have won with the judgement of their swords and guns, and are now responsible for the honor, property and self-preservation of their countrymen,” Ghani said in a statement posted on Facebook, his first since fleeing.

Pasay. The government firm had to temporarily close its stores during the enhanced community quarantine from March 17 to May 31, 2020. “However, when the ECQ restrictions were lifted, operations slowly commenced as selected shops were opened on certain days and store hours. Given said circumstances, the initial target sales of $245 million for CY 2020 was adjusted to $62 million,” noted COA.

government firm handed in was limited in scope and there was some issue with how it recorded transactions in its books. For one, the state auditing agency said DFPC had no supporting documents for bank debits in 2020 and prior years amounting to some P18.92 million, and yet were recognized as Loans and Receivables-Other Trade Receivables from its depository bank, Land Bank of the Philippines. Also, DFPC’s Property, Plant and Equipment account of P1.14 billion as of December 31, 2020 “included unserviceable items” costing some P38.71 million that have been already disposed of that year such as computer equipment

and software, fire equipment, furniture and fixtures, ICT equipment, and office equipment. DFPC also failed to remit 50 percent of its net income in 2019 due to the DOT amounting to P174.13 million as mandated by the Republic Act 9353 (Tourism Act of 2009), “thereby depriving the DOT of funds for its tourism programs and projects.” This was covered, however, by a board decision to defer the remittance of due to the DFPC’s current financial position. While COA found no unsettled audit charges and suspensions, there were still unsettled audit disallowances totaling P28.65 million as of December 31, 2020. These included disallowed allowances from the 2018 audit covering various travel expenses, and P28.61 million in “car plan benefits of DFPC executives and managers due to non-submission within the reglemantary period of required documents stated in the Notices of Suspension.” There is a pending appeal on the disallowed car plan. Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

COA issues ‘qualified opinion’

COA rendered a “qualified opinion” on the financial statements submitted by DFPC for 2020 and 2019, which means the financial information the

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Part of the support Diokno mentioned include the decision to allow peso-denominated loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and critically impacted large enterprises as alternative compliance with the reserve requirement; the relaxation of the requirement on the presentation of valid IDs by retail clients and micro-business owners; and the temporary waiver on PhilPass transaction fees and licensing fees for Electronic Payments and Financial Services. “The BSP will continue to closely coordinate with the banking industry to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of banking services as well as monitor the developments related to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic and take swift action, if necessary,” Diokno said. The governor noted that banks have been active in providing financial relief to their borrowers consistent with the policy intent of BSP’s relief measures. In particular, Diokno said as of end-June 2021, the level of restructured loans of banks jumped to P328.6 billion, almost seven times the P48.7 billion posted for the same period last year. The governor also said that loans to MSMEs that are used as alternative compliance with the reserve requirements have also surged since the start of the pandemic. As of reserve week ending 29 July 2021, loans to MSMEs that were utilized as alternative compliance with the BSP’s reserve requirements hit P188.7 billion, up from the P8.7 billion recorded as of end-April 2020. “These developments indicate banks’ continuing efforts to assist borrowers weather the challenges faced during this difficult period. Thus, customers are encouraged to approach banks regarding adjustments to their loan terms to match their cash flows and paying capacity,” the BSP said.

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won’t get a jab because of it and 65.8 percent saying they are not sure about getting inoculated. “Increasingly more Filipinos are willing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 since February 2021. However, there is still a considerate segment of the population who are either undecided or unwilling to the vaccine, especially at the regional level,” Ligot said in a presentation. Based on the data, Ligot said news about the vaccines has influenced 47.9 percent to say they will not get vaccinated and 62.2 percent were unsure about getting the jab because of this reason. The data also showed that vaccine effectiveness or efficacy is another barrier to vaccination, with 36 percent saying they will not get vaccinated and 34.2 percent saying they are unsure about vaccination because of it. He added that 33.6 percent of Filipinos said they will not get vaccinated because of medication reasons such as comorbidities while 30.2 percent said this is the reason they are unsure about getting vaccinated. However, reasons cited that facilitate vaccination include the need to protect themselves and their families from infection, with 78.7 percent of Filipinos saying this is their main motivation to get the jab, followed by the consideration of the risk posed by Covid-19 at 34.7 percent. Other factors that facilitate vaccination are the approval of the Food and Drug Administration or Department of Health or the government’s endorsement of the vaccine, with 33.1 percent saying they will get the jab because of this; workrelated reasons, 32.9 percent; and vaccine availability, 23.2 percent.

Demographic segments

Ligot said Filipinos can be grouped into seven demographic segments based on their responses. These segments require tailored messaging as they are in various stages of vaccine acceptance. Based on the data, 27 percent of Filipinos are part of the “Easy Sell” segment which only has a 1-percent vaccine hesitancy and are usually 25 to 54 years old who are married, have high incomes, and are highly educated. They are mainly located in the National Capital Region Plus area, ground zero of infections in the country. The other segments are the Concerned and Supporter segments which account for 22 percent and 16 percent of the population and have a vaccine hesitancy of 2 percent and 6 percent, respectively. The Concerned segment are also 25 to 54 years old, married, have mid-incomes, and mostly located in the VisMin area while the Supporter segment are 25 to 44 year olds, male, have mid-incomes, and located in provinces. In the middle of the segments are the Pragmatists who comprise 5 percent of the population and have a vaccine hesitancy of 9 percent. These are composed of 18 to 44 year old females in the NCR+ area with low income and received vocational education. The last three segments are the Complacent, Obligated, and the Skeptics which account for 11 percent, 28 percent, and 9 percent of the population, respectively. The Complacent have a vaccine hesitancy of 17 percent; Obligated, 25 percent; and Skeptics, 82 percent. The Complacent segment are 25 to 44 year olds, married, male, receive mid-incomes and located in the VisMin area while the Obligated are 25 to 44 year olds, married, highly educated and located in the LuzonVisayas area. The Skeptics are 25 to

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(out-quota) in the next nine months. The one-year effectivity of EO 134 began on May 15, 2021. Apart from this, Duterte also issued EO 133, hiking the MAV for pork imports this year to 254,210 metric tons (MT) from the current 54,210 MT. Any unavailable balance at the end of 2021 shall not be carried over to 2022. Lowering the tariff rates on rice imports, Dominguez said, enabled the country to buy the staple from more sources.

44 year olds who are female and receive mid-incomes as well as mostly located in the Visayas-Mindanao area. Ligot noted in his presentation that the Concerned, Supporter, Obligated, and Skeptics segments all included side effects as a barrier to getting vaccinated. However, The Complacent and Skeptic are the only ones who cited they did not believe Covid-19 to be a risk. The Easy Sell and Pragmatist segments both cited lack of vaccine supply and the vaccination process as barriers to getting the jab. However, the vaccination process was cited as a major barrier across all segments except for the Skeptics. The data also showed that the Easy Sell obtained their information from social media; the Concerned, television and social media; Supporters, DOH media and social media; Pragmatist and Complacents, DOH media; and the Obligated and Skeptics mainly rely on television. Using the Diffusion of Innovation Framework which maps Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards, Ligot said the Easy Sell and Concerned could be considered early adopters while Supporters would be the Early Majority. The Pragmatists would be at the top of the bell curve while the Late Majority would be composed of the Complacent and Obligated while the Skeptics would be the laggards. The Early Adopters are located in Cagayan Valley, NCR, and Northern Mindanao; Early Majority, Soccskargen, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol; Late Majority, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Caraga, Cordillera Autonomous Region, and Zamboanga; and Laggards, Western Visayas, Davao, and Mimaropa. “Given the differences among regional and demographic segments, a one-size-fits all approach for communications interventions may not be effective in encouraging vaccine acceptance. Thus a more targeted approach needs to be prioritized,” Ligot said.

Highlight benefits

During the panel discussion, World Bank Practice Leader for Human Development Ronald Upenyu Mutasa said given the need for more tailored messaging, it may also be helpful to focus on the benefits of vaccination. Based on an experimental study the World Bank did within the Philippines that surveyed 1,800 Filipinos, social benefits to getting vaccinated are highly valued and highly matter to the population. Mutasa said one clear benefit is celebrating Christmas. He said given how big Christmas is for the Filipino family, one incentive that could be highlighted is that through vaccination, Christmas can be celebrated with family. “WeknowforexamplethatFilipinos are very big on Christmas. Can we basically use a message that...highlights that if we all get vaccinated, perhaps this could actually be one incentive for us to celebrate Christmas with our families and loved ones,” Mutasa said. He added that apart from this, it is important for the government to be conscious of who is delivering the messages. Mutasa, citing UNDP study findings, said politicians have lower levels of trust among Filipinos when it comes to vaccinations. Further, the government should veer away from “mass media campaigns and mass electronic campaigns” and replace this with more targeted efforts. This should include women and individuals without College degrees who have been found to be part of the groups with high vaccine hesitancy.

President Duterte’s EO 135 which paved the way for temporary lower tariff rates on rice imports took effect on June 2 this year. The EO reduced the tariff rates for rice to 35 percent from 40 percent (inquota) and 50 percent (out-quota) for one year. “It’s just common sense. We are one of the biggest rice buyers in the world and why should we leave it ourselves to buy only from certain people. Vietnam buys a lot of rice from India. Vietnam is actually buying a lot of brokens, broken rice from India. They make that into noodles and then they consume and export their good quality rice. It’s just international trade; you use where it’s cheapest,” Dominguez said.

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Comelec defers plebiscites, shifts focus on May ‘22 natl, local polls By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE conduct of a plebiscite that could determine the division of Maguindanao into two provinces, and four other plebiscites have been deferred by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to enable the poll body focus on the forthcoming national and local elections in May. In its Resolution 10716, the Comelec en banc cited “arduous preparations” needed for the holding of May 2022 elections amid the pandemic. The poll body added that they also have put in place some quarantine protocols in and every plebiscite, thus, necessitating the rescheduling of the electoral exercises. “The preparation for the plebiscite may take longer time in view of the Covid-19 pandemic as experienced in the last March 2021Palawan plebiscite wherein the Commission took more than four months to complete the process,” the Comelec en banc said. The new issuance will apply to the following plebiscites: to ratify the creation of Barangay New Canaan into a regular and distinct barangay in the municipality of Alabel, Sarangani Province; to ratify the merging or Barangay District 1 to Barangay District 28 and renaming of Barangay 29 in Ormoc City; and to ratify the conversion of the municipality of Calaca in the province of Batangas into a component city. Also affected by the resolution are the plebiscites to ratify the conversion of the City of San Jose Del Monte into a highly Urbanized City and the division of Maguindanao Province into two provinces. “…By virtue of the powers vested in it by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, and other election laws, hereby resolve, as it hereby resolves to suspend the conduct of plebiscites,” the Comelec en banc said. The said plebiscites will now be held “within four months from the end of the election period for the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections.”

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, August 20, 2021 A3

Concepcion proposes fielding of buses exclusive to fully vaccinated commuters By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

RESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria A. Concepcion pitched the deployment of buses for fully vaccinated passengers in Metro Manila to establish a “bubble” for the public transportation system. In a news statement issued on Thursday, the Go Negosyo founder said that the proposal could aid the working population’s safe mobility amid the pandemic. “We are looking at deploying buses for fully vaccinated passengers to protect them from getting infected by the unvaccinated ones. With this, our public transportation can actually bridge the gap between

homes and workplaces, which will in turn help us create ‘micro-herd immunity’ through the safety provided by these protective bubbles,” Concepcion said. Concepcion said that building “bubble” in the workplace has been a trend amid the vaccination program rollout. “In fact, I’m glad to share that most of the factory workers in my company are already vaccinated, and with this, our company actually creates ‘micro-herd immunity’ in their workplaces,” he said. The proposal is in line with Concepcion’s call for micro-herd immunity, which refers to a close system that achieved 80 percent vaccination rollout already. Micro-herd immunity, he said,

We are looking at deploying buses for fully vaccinated passengers to protect them from getting infected by the unvaccinated ones.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria A. Concepcion can help the economy recover safely because it will allow more mobility. Concepcion previously explained that promoting herd immunity in a smaller and controlled environment

is feasible because they have implemented health protocols already. It includes offices, factories and commercial spaces. Earlier, the presidential adviser said the current Covid-19 situation

should improve by the fourth quarter to allow easing of mobility restriction and economic rebound. He explained that the last quarter is the most critical, noting that it will be the last chance this year for the businesses to recoup their losses accumulated over the last months. Metro Manila is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest form of lockdown measure, until today (August 20), unless otherwise extended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. The Department of Trade and Industry said that the number of micro, small and medium enterprises that shut down in pandemic rose to 16 percent during ECQ.

Go calls for early payment of benefits ‘Buhay sa Gulay’ urban farming program reaches N. Ecija town for ‘restive’ frontline health workers By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

DMINISTR ATION Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, taking the cue from President Duterte, pressed concerned agencies to front-load timely release of benefits for health workers deployed in the field in a continuing effort to contain the deadly Covid contagion. This, shortly after Duterte’s directive to prioritize benefits for frontline health workers after commending them for their sacrifices and service to save lives. The senator, sitting as current chairmanoftheSenate Committeeon Health reaffirmed the President’s marching orders to make sure that health workers’ benefits are “immediately and sufficiently disbursed as provided by law.” Go reminded in a news statement issued on Thursday that health workers are “the frontliners in the ongoing war against Covid-19,” which was why the Duterte administration

“should not waste time or resources in providing doctors, nurses and other qualified medical personnel what is due to them.” “Our medical frontliners are the soldiers in this fight. They sacrifice their lives to save other peoples’ lives, which was why whatever [benefit] they deserve to get should be given right away and and not delay it any longer,” Go stressed. The administration lawmaker recalled that President Duterte, in his Talk to the People address Tuesday, August 17, already asked Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to “make sure that the payment of health workers’ allowances remains a top priority.” Go quoted Duterte telling Duque: “Itong frontliners, unahin mo na lang, if there is enough money, bayaran mo.” At the same time, the senator recalled that under the Bayanihan 2 law, at least P15 billion was earmarked to pay health workers’ special risk allowance (SRA) and hazard pay, which he said has been released to

hospitals, according to Department of Health DOH) Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega. In addition, Sen. Go noted the DOH disbursed P10.85 billion for the SRA of 740,958 health workers, and another P4.24 billion for the hazard payof864,843frontliners,asreported by health department officials. Meanwhile, the DOH clarified that health-care workers who failed to receive their SRA and hazard pay may have lacked several requirements to avail of these monetary benefits. Still, Secretary Duque had assured they are “verifying and addressing concerns that some public health frontliners have not yet been paid.” In turn, Go commended DOH officials for acting on the President’s directive, as well as their efforts in leading the country’s Covid-19 response and management of the pandemic, at the same time urging them to “remain focused on their tasks at hand despite the criticisms,” reminding that their job is to save lives.

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

HE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently launched its urban farming program dubbed “Buhay sa Gulay” in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija. The Buhay Gulay Demo Farm was put up in Barangay San Francisco to promote the importance of urban farming and help contribute to the province’s food security, DAR said. The vegetable farming project is an initiative of DAR Secretary John Castriciones designed as a self-help start-up livelihood project where concerned government agencies and organizations will converge, share resources, and offer an opportunity to enable urban farmers to produce various vegetables that could also serve as additional source of income. DAR Nueva Ecija Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Eden Ponio said the first urban farming project of the province is in collaboration with the Eastern Santo Domingo Agriculture Cooperative (ESDAC) and

a 6,000-square-meter lot is allotted for vegetable production. “During this time of pandemic, it is imperative that we have food resources that we can depend on. Through the Buhay sa Gulay project, we could have a regular supply of vegetables in the community, as well as inspire our urban dwellers to cultivate their own yards and plant vegetables for their own consumption, where they could also save money to spend for food,” Ponio said. The urban farming project was launched in November last year in Tondo, Manila. It was replicated by the cities of Quezon and Caloocan in the National Capital Region. Seeing the success of Buhay sa Gulay project, other urban areas nationwide followed suit, including provinces of Palawan, Tacloban, Oriental Mindoro, Davao, Cebu, among others. Sto. Domingo Mayor Imee de Guzman lauded the department for always being on the side of small farmers and helping them flourish despite the challenges brought by Covid-19.

PRC accedes to Miaa’s request to install Public warned vs fake IACAT e-mail account Covid testing booths at 3 Naia terminals T

HE Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) is asking the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to set up a booking booth at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminals 1,2, and 3 to serve returning overseas Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In a letter to PRC Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard J. Gordon, Miaa General Manager Eddie V. Monreal stated that OFWs have been requesting for PRC’s presence in the terminals.

Gordon immediately ordered the mobilization of PRC staff and volunteers and establish a booking booth at the Naia terminals. The booking booth will give returning countrymen access to high quality, fast, and affordable Covid-19 testing which PRC can amply provide. “What is important now is to serve our balikbayans and our hardworking OFWs, and to safely bring them home to their families by providing quality, fast, and affordable testing for Covid-19,” Gordon said. The PRC booking site for Covid-19

testing is the first one with a digitized system of pre-arrival registration and computerized verification and encoding, thus, allowing the passenger to book and track their results efficiently and safely. “Testing is important. We need to test to determine who’s Covid-19 positive or not, especially with the threat of the delta variant. But we can prevent it through testing and vaccination, which PRC is providing to our fellow Filipinos. We need to win our war against Covid-19,” Gordon said. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

HE Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (I ACAT) has warned the public against scammers and fraudsters soliciting financial assistance in the purchase of eBay gift cards using a fake e-mail address of the agency’s executive director. In an advisory issued on Thursday, the IACAT said the scammers behind the scheme were using the e-mail address “executivedirector1028@gmail.com” and made it appear that it belonged to Executive Director Jinky Dedumo. The scheme employed by the fraudsters, according to IACAT, was similar to an earlier moneymaking

scam that used a bogus false e-mail address—“osecmig1@gmail.com” to make it appear that it belongs to Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra. The fake Guevarra e-mail account was being used to request assistance for the procurement of iTunes gift cards as donations to patients to hospice care units across the country, and subject to reimbursement. The IACAT earlier said Secretary Guevarra only has one official email address, “osecmig@gmail.com” while Dedumo’s official e-mail accounts are jpdedumo.iacat@gmail. com and jpdedumo@gmail.com. “In the event that you receive a

message fitting those descriptions, close the message immediately and report it as spam. However, some spam may occasionally get through to your inbox or be diverted to your Spam Folder, so please be cautious,” IACAT said. The agency warned of possible legal action against those responsible for sending messages using fake email addresses of the DOJ Secretary and Dedumo. It reminded the public that phishing is a fraudulent process used by scammers to acquire sensitive information from users such as user names, passwords, and credit card details. Joel R. San Juan

Dar assures no corruption, irregularity in handling of DA’s 2020 funds By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday assured the public that there is no corruption involved in the handling of its 2020 funds, including Bayanihan budget, after a state audit report showed that the department had nearly P12 billion of unutilized budget. In a news statement, the DA explained that their initial response to the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) were already included in the annual audit report of state auditors, which was released

publicly last July 13. “The COA has given the DA sixty [60] days from receipt of CAAR [Consolidated Annual Audit Report], within which to give updates on the findings,” it said. “As per DA Undersecretary for administration and finance Roldan Gorgonio, we received the COA report on July 2, 2021. Therefore, we still have until September 2, 2021, to satisfy the COA’s observations through our categorical replies,” it added. Since July, the DA said it has been consolidating respective reports from concerned offices and operating units to resolve the issues raised by the COA.

In a separate interview with reporters on Thursday, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the issues raised by state auditors were concerns on documentation and procedures. “We are taking this seriously and we are giving them the right documents that they need and, at the same time, I would assure the public that there is no irregularity nor corruption,” he said. “While I am still in the DA, we have vowed and made a covenant of no to corruption. I will continue to fulfill my no corruption advocacy until the last day of my service to the Filipino people,” he added.

Dar also noted that the amount of funding that was returned to the National Treasury was “insignificant.” The annual audit report of COA on the DA indicated that P9.8 billion of its cash allocation for 2020 was unutilized and thus was returned to the National Treasury. The reasons behind the non-utilization included “delayed delivery of goods, delayed submission of disbursement vouchers, and nonimplementation of projects and activities due to constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic.” On top of this, the COA said P2.192 billion out of the DA’s P24.842 billion under the Bayani-

han I and II were unobligated “due to the delays in procurement process, non-implementation of projects due to unavailability of seeds and late release of funds.” The COA also flagged P2.075 billion worth of procurement contracts in nine DA offices that were approved and awarded to various suppliers despite lacking supporting documents required under existing rules and regulations. State auditors also noted that there are concerns regarding the DA’s fertilizer subsidy program such as the overpayment of reimbursement amounting to P214.894 million and unreliability of reim-

bursement of P963,000. They noted that there were errors and disparities in the unit cost of fertilizer used by farmers for reimbursement, the unit price and number of bags used in the computation of reimbursement, and incorrect data on area and lack of data on the number of fertilizers procured amounting to P328,000. The COA also pointed out that the total reported number of beneficiaries that claimed reimbursement of fertilizer assistance with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) exceeded the total number of beneficiaries under the DA’s master list.

A4 Friday, August 20, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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PHL aerospace company secures QMS certification By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

LOCAL manufacturer of automotive and aviation parts and components has

recently secured a globally accepted quality management system certification for the aerospace industry. In a news statement issued on Thursday, the Board of Investments (BOI)

reported that Daiwa Seiko Philippines earned its Aerospace Standard 9100 (AS9100D) certification. AS9100D is an industry-specific quality management system standard used by com-

panies providing products and services for the defense, space and aviation industries. “Committed to sustaining the company’s goal of stability, excellence, and global competitiveness, we are driven by the fundamental values and principles associated with Aerospace Quality Management and Environmental System, and Health and Safety Standards,” Daiwa Seiko PH Senior Executive Vice President Hidemasa Komoto. Komoto thanked the BOI and the Aerospace Industries Association of the Philippines (AIAP) for their assistance. “We are so glad of the recent Quality Management System for Aerospace AS9100D certification of Daiwa Seiko. We would like to thank the BOI for the unwavering support to the industry in ensuring our supply chain growth,” AIAP Chairman John Lee added. BOI said that its Aerospace Quality Management System (AQMS) Training Program helped the company in earning its certification. In partnership with the Department of Science and Technology and AIAP, AQMS training program began in 2017 with 18 companies and institutions joining in the initiative. This is part of the Aerospace Industry Roadmap, which aims to generate $2.57 billion worth of aerospace parts and components exports, in addition to employing 15,000 personnel by 2022.

“The training was intended to provide our local companies the skills and guidance leading to AS9100 certification. The actual certification, however, will then be up to the company itself,” BOI Executive Director for Industry Development Services Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa said. Halili-Dichosa explained that more foreign aerospace companies will likely set up manufacturing operations in the country with more local AS9100-certified parts suppliers. “As the global economy recovers, we can see the Philippines becoming a recognized manufacturer in Asia considering the Philippines’s growing expertise in the manufacture of aerospace and aviation products,” Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon M. Lopez said. “As we increase our participation in the global value chains, the capability-building programs suit well as these will further enhance the competitiveness of our local aerospace industry,” he added, noting this will generate more quality jobs and export earnings for the local industry. Daiwa Seiko, established in 1997, has been manufacturing automotive transmission and engine parts for several car manufacturers, including Mitsubishi, Nissan, Isuzu and Toyota.

POEA chief warns ‘errant’ OFWs vs contract breach, ‘job hopping’ By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

VERSEAS Filipino workers (OFW) who tend to violate the terms of their employment contract while “job hopping” abroad have risen in numbers in several countries recently, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported on Thursday. POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said they observed the trend in Poland and Canada, Taiwan, and countries where “thirdcountry” recruitment is prevalent. “It has come to this administration’s attention that there are OFWs who leave their places of work without their employers’ permission and proceed to other neighboring states to look for new employment,” Olalia said in POEA Advisory 113, Series of 2021. He warned the illegal activity could

damage the reputation of OFWs among foreign employers. It could also leave the erring OFWs vulnerable to abuse from their new employers. “Workers are reminded that those who resort to absconding from their employment sponsors become irregularly documented workers. Thus, they may fall prey to unscrupulous individuals who can take advantage of their vulnerable situation,” Olalia said. T he POE A c h ief a l so rem i nded that any form of “unjustified breach of the employment contract” by employers and workers, will be subjected to administrative sanctions. “This administration hereby reminds all OFWs to fulfill the obligations as contained in their employment contracts. They are reminded to abide by their contracts’ terms and conditions and their companies’ rules and regulations,” Olalia said.

House bill pushes pre-audit of govt projects, contracts By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

LAWMAKER on Thursday proposed the institutionalization of a preaudit system that would scrutinize government projects and contracts prior to implementation to ensure that funds are properly utilized and interventions are delivered to the public. The pre-audit system, according to San Jose Del Monte City Rep. Florida P. Robes, would also minimize scrutiny from state auditors, thus “dramatically” preventing questions on government’s use of funds. Robes noted that this system “protect the credibility of institutions as well as elected and appointed officials while in service.” However, the lawmaker pointed out that the pre-audit system would be a “more lengthy process” since government contracts and projects will be audited even before funds are released for implementation. “This system is for the protection of our officials, our people and our institutions because it ensures that the government agency has the capacity to implement the program within the allotted period,” she said in a news statement. “This will ensure that government funds are used according to what they were allocated for within the allotted period,” she added. Robes said she has already filed House Bill 7124 that would institutionalize a preaudit system in the government. Under the proposed bill, all expenditures and uses of public funds pertaining to infrastructure projects, procurement of goods and consulting services, by government agencies, including governmentowned and -controlled corporations, government financial institutions and local

governments shall undergo mandatory pre-audit before any funds are released for such projects or contracts. The expenditures also cover the lease of goods and real property, of any branch, office agency or instrumentality of the government, including state universities and colleges, according to the bill. “To ensure that there will be no delay in the disbursements, the Commission on Audit shall issue a Certificate of Pre-Audit within a period of 15 days from receipt of all pertinent documents,” Robes said. “If the COA does not issue a certificate, it is mandated to decline the issuance of the same, on valid and legal grounds within a period of 15 days from receipt of all pertinent documents relative to the intended disbursement of public funds,” Robes added. To implement the pre-audit system, the bill creates a Pre-Audit Office at the COA for the manpower requirement to guarantee immediate compliance of the system’s requirements, Robes said. The bill stipulated that COA is “mandated to submit an annual report to the President and to Congress on the status of the implementation of the pre-audit system not later than June 30 of every year following its approval.” “With the controversy hounding the Department of Health and other government agencies and instrumentalities, this affects the credibility of our officials, our institutions and the delivery of goods and services. It is the Filipino people who suffer,” Robes said. “This bill seeks to address this by making sure that even before public funds are released, they are audited to ensure that they go to where they should go at the allotted time. Walang delay at walang nasasayang na pera ng bayan,” Robes added.

News BusinessMirror

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Friday, August 20, 2021 A5

Kerwin Espinosa, 10 others indicted over drug case

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

DEPARTMENT of Justice (DOJ) panel of prosecutors has ordered the indictment of self-confessed drug lord Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa and 10 others for their alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade in Eastern Visayas from 2011 to 2016. Aside from Espinosa, the DOJ also indicted Marcelo Labay Adorco, Jose Ortiz Antipuesto, Jose Jernie Estrera, Galo Sptehen Bobares, Ferdinand Rondina, Brian Anthony Zaldivar, Nickjune Canin, Virbeca Diano, Alfred Batistis and Jose Dumaguit. The DOJ said it found probable cause to indict the respondents for violation of Section 26 (b), in relation to Section 5 of Republic Act 9165. The said provisions penalizes any attempt or conspiracy to commit illegal drug trade and imposes the punishment of life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million on any person who will be found guilty of the offense. On the other hand, the panel cleared respondents Maba Limbo, Galo Legaspi, Baysay Custodio, Victor Espina, Martin Espina, Marites Ang, Chief Inspector (CInsp.) Wilfredo Abordo, Police Office 3 (PO3) Dennis Torrefiel, Police Chief Supt. (PCSupt.) Asher Dolina, Police Chief Inspector (PCInsp.) Eufracio Javines, Police Capt. (PCpt.) Bernie Magamay, Police Staff Sergeant (PSSg.) Eduardo Betuin, PSSg. Roberto Arafol, PSSupt. Elizar Egloso, and PSSg. Marvin Parac. The DOJ said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Task Force Anti-Illegal Drugs (NBI-TFAID), which investigated and filed the complaint, failed to prove that the said 16 police officers and civilians conspired with Espinosa in selling illegal drugs in the region. It noted that the NBI’s evidence against 16 respondents were taken from several affidavits, including the extrajudicial confessions of some of the respondents in the case. However, the DOJ noted that an extrajudicial confession is binding only upon the confessant and is not admissible

against his coaccused. “The reason for the rule is that, on a principle of good faith and mutual convenience, a man’s own acts are binding upon himself, and are evidence against him. So are his conduct and declarations,” the DOJ explained. “Yet, it would not only be rightly inconvenient, but also manifestly unjust that a man should be bound by the acts of mere unauthorized strangers, and if a party ought not to be bound by the acts of strangers, neither ought their acts or conduct be used as evidence against him,” it added. On the other hand, the panel took into consideration the extrajudicial confessions made by respondents Espinosa, Adorco, Antipuesto, Bobares, Rondina, Zaldivar, Diano, Estreta, Canin, Batista and Dumaguit in finding probable cause to indict them for conspiring in the illegal drug trade in Eastern Visayas. The panel explained that a confession is admissible as evidence if it was done voluntarily and with the accused having full knowledge of its consequences and significance. “It then becomes evidence of a high order, since it is supported by the presumption— a very strong one—that no person of normal mind will deliberately and knowingly confess himself to be the perpetrator of a crime, especially if it be a serious crime, unless prompted by truth and conscience,” the panel stressed. “Verily, the confessions contained therein are admissible as evidence against them for the crime charged,” it added. The panel also did not give credence to the recantations of the extrajudicial confessions of Antipuesto, Bobares, Zaldivar and Diano. It held that their recantations were “insufficient,” thus, must be disregarded.

Clark International Airport gets ’21 Prix Versailles awards nomination By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

RIX VERSAILLES, an annual international awards organization, named the Clark International Airport as one of the finalists for the best architecture and design airport projects in the world. The airport will be competing against the following: Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt in Germany; Athens International Airport in Greece; Hazrat Sultan International Airport in Kazakhstan; New Plymouth Airport in New Zealand, and LaGuardia Airport-Terminal B in New York, United States. “To be nominated by a prestigious award-giving body is already a great honor and pride, not just as part of the DOTr, but also most importantly as a Filipino,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said. The French organization will announce the winners in the fourth quarter of the year. “To regard the Clark International Airport worthy of world recognition is already a huge encouragement for us to keep going and a reassurance that we are on the right

track,” Tugade said. The first hybrid public-private partnership (PPP) project under the Build, Build, Build (BBB) program, the modernized Clark International Airport’s new terminal was developed by Megawide Construction Corp. Luzon International Premier Airport Development (Lipad) Corp. operates the airport. Turned over ahead of schedule, Megawide and architecture partner Integrated Design Associates Ltd. (IDA), the new terminal in Pampanga had inspirations drawn from local culture, folklore, and sceneries. “Understanding that modern airports today must reflect the rich culture of their locations and provide visitors with a first taste of the local flavors, we paid homage to the mountain ranges of Zambales and the majestic Mt. Arayat by designing and building the terminal building with a fluid roofline with peaks similar to the rugged mountains of the area,” Megawide Executive Director for Infrastructure Development Louie Ferrer said. Megawide and its partners used glued laminated timber (glulam) from Austria to build the roof of the terminal, which will be operational next month.

HCWs among early Sinovac recipients may get boosters

ALACAÑANG said health-care workers (HCW), who were among the first to get their Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, may be given “booster” shots by October.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said they will be waiting for the recommendation of the Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) on whether such booster shots are necessary for Sinovac recipients, who were fully vaccinated last April. Samuel P. Medenilla

BusinessMirror

Friday, August 20, 2021

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Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Regional Office No. IV-A 4th Flr. Andenson Bldg. II, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City Telefax No.: (049) 545-7362

21.

Mr. WEI LIU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

22.

Mr. NINGBO OU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

23.

Mr. JINGHUA PANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

24.

Mr. JIRUI LIU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

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Mr. PEIXIN WANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

26.

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29.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

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August 20, 2021

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP)

Notice is hereby given that the following employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s. Name and Address of Employer: BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC. Lot 4044 Molino Blvd. Niog III, Bacoor, Cavite Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

10.

11.

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Mr. YU WU Chinese

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Mr. LIANGJUN LIAO Chinese

Mr. JUN MA Chinese

Mr. TINGSONG YAN Chinese

Mr. TAO HUANG Chinese

Mr. GUO LI Chinese

Mr. HANGDONG SHI Chinese

Mr. CHEN LI Chinese

Mr. JIA LUO Chinese

Position and Job Description

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Salary Range

Php30,000.00+++/month

18.

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Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

19.

Mr. QI WU Chinese

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Php30,000.00+++/month

20.

Mr. ZHIJIANG LIU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

44.

Mr. TUNGUI HUANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

45.

Mr. SHUXIANG XU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

46.

Mr. WEI XIA Chinese

47.

Friday, August 20, 2021 A7

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

67.

Mr. XU WU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

68.

Mr. HAITAO YANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

69.

Mr. YIFAN LIU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. SHAOFENG LI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

70.

Ms. LE THI THUY NGAN Vietnamese

Vietnamese Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

48.

Mr. WEIFENG SHI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

71.

Mr. MUYANG LI Chinese

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Php30,000.00+++/month

49.

Mr. ZHIQIANG MA Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

72.

Mr. DONG LIU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

50.

Mr. WEILIN SHI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

73.

Mr. ZHUANDI XIE Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

51.

Mr. XIANCHANG WANG Chinese

Php30,000.00+++/month

74.

Mr. TONGDA HOU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

52.

Mr. XIAOJIE WANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

75.

Mr. YUANYUAN MAO Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

53.

Mr. XILIN ZHEN Chines

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

76.

Mr. LAILUN LI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

54.

Mr. YANG SHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

77.

Mr. WEI HE Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

55.

Mr. JIJUN WEI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

78.

Mr. CHENGKE MIAO Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

56.

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Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

79.

Mr. HAO WANG Chinese

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Php30,000.00+++/month

57.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

80.

Mr. ZHIGANG MA Chinese

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer Assist sales team in business plan, acquisition, retention and management.

Php30,000.00+++/month

58.

Mr. HAI QIU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

81.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

59.

Mr. CAILING LI Chinese

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Php30,000.00+++/month

82.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

60.

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Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

83.

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Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

61.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

84.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

62.

Mr. YUJUE MA Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

85.

Mr. JUNJIE YU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

63.

Mr. YUXIANG QIN Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

86.

Mr. HONGFU ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

64.

Mr. YUQIANG ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

87.

Mr. YULONG ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

65.

Mr. DAXING QI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

88.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

66.

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Php30,000.00+++/month

89.

Mr. YAZHOU ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

BusinessMirror

Friday, August 20, 2021 Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

90.

Mr. LIANG XU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

91.

Ms. WENJING ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

92.

Mr. MENGYU WU Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

93.

Ms. XIAOFANG WANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

94.

Mr. JIANFENG LIU Chinese

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. JINWEN ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

96.

Mr. FUWEN BI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Mr. LINGHUI KONG Chinese

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

95.

97.

Php30,000.00+++/month

99.

Ms. YUE ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

100.

Mr. WEILIN LI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. KANG SHENG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. WEIHUA ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. LUOCHENG HUANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Mr. GAOQIN CAO Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

105.

Mr. SONG CHEN Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

106.

Mr. KAIWEI CHEN Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

107.

108.

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. KAZUHISA NISHIZONO Japanese

Project Leader (Senior Adviser) Control the over-all PC department functions and condition.

Php840,000.00+++/month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Ms. HEE KYUNG JUNG (SPOUSE OF CHO) Korean

Member and Consultant Detect issues and investigate ways to solve them.

Php40,000.00+++/month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. CHANGSU YOO Korean

Director- Assembly Operations Ensure effective development and implementation of maintenance engineering operating guidelines, technical services and improvements in operating procedures.

Php750,000.00+++/ annum

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. JIN ZHANG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. DEMING YAN Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

110.

Mr. WEIDONG SHEN Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

111.

Mr. HANGUANG LI Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

112.

Mr. QINGJIAN DENG Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Php150,000+++/month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. HAILING ZHU Chinese

Mold Maintenance Manager Review and analyze production, quality control, maintenance and operational reports.

Php18,000.00+++/ month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. KAZUKI FUJITA Japanese

Assistant Vice President Prepare marketing plans determining specific organization product family needs.

Php190,000.00+++/ month

Name and Address of Employer: PHISONIC TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION Buenavista II, General Trias, Cavite

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. YA-LUN TSAI Taiwanese

Operations Manager Manage and evaluate machine resources to ensure productivity and minimal downtime.

Php15,000.00+++/ month

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. SHARBEL TAOUK Australian

Production Supervisor/Plant Manager Ensure all in process checks are carried out and coordinate with stores to ensure that raw materials are available in the production are for use.

AU$60,000.00+++/ annum

Name and Address of Employer: TMA GROUP PHILIPPINES INC. CPIP, Brgy. Batino, Calamba City, Laguna

Mr. SILIN LIU Chinese

Assistant to the General Manager- SSD and SQA Administer, supervise and manage the solid state drive and SSD quality assurance departments.

Salary Range

Name and Address of Employer: BEMAC ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION PHILIPPINES INCORPORATED GMBP, Brgy. Maduya, Carmona, Cavite

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mr. SHINJI KOBAYASHI Japanese

Position and Job Description

Name and Address of Employer: BO CHENG RUBBER PHILIPPINES INC. Lima Technology Center-SEZ, Lipa City, Batangas

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

109.

Mr. BIN LI Chinese

Name and Address of Employer: AMKOR TECHNOLOGY PHILIPPINES, INC. LEPZ, Biñan City, Laguna

104.

Salary Range

Name and Address of Employer: TOSHIBA INFORMATION EQUIPMENT (PHILIPPINES), INC. SEPZ, Laguna Technopark, Biñan City, Laguna

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

103.

Position and Job Description

Name and Address of Employer: NEWLIFE MEMORIAL PLAN INC. Lot 8 Golden Gate Business Park Buenavista II, General Trias, Cavite

Mr. XIAOHUI CHEN Chinese

102.

Php30,000.00+++/month

Mandarin Customer Service Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries.

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Name and Address of Employer: ROHM ELECTRONICS PHILIPPINES, INC. PTC-SEZ, Brgy. Maduya, Carmona, Cavite

98.

101.

113.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Name and Address of Employer: ADVANCE ABILITY ASSISTANCE TRAINING CENTER, INC. Pulong Sta. Cruz, Santa Rosa City, Laguna

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Job Description

Salary Range

Mr. MASARO HAYASHI Japanese

Technical Adviser for Language and Cultural Development Identify training curriculum and tools for other project component about teaching preference for the whole academic term.

Php30,000.00+++/ month

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at the DOLE Regional Office within 30 days from the date of publication. Please inform the DOLE Regional Office if you have an information of any criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

To avail of free job referral, placement, and employment guidance services, visit the nearest Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) or log on at http://www.philjobnet.gov.ph

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

24/7 BUSINESS PROCESSING INC. 5th-6th-7th Flr. 81 Newport Bl Newport City Brgy. 183 Pasay City

HAN, YUAN Customer Service Representative (Chinese Accounts) Brief Job Description: Assists clients will all their concerns.

Basic Qualification: *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently. *Preferably 6 months to 1 year customer service experience. *Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

LIANG, JINWEN Customer Service Representative (Chinese Accounts) Brief Job Description: Assists clients will all their concerns.

Basic Qualification: *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently. *Preferably 6 months to 1 year customer service experience. *Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task.

13.

15. ALFANET GLOBAL SOLUTIONS, INC. Flr. No. 4th & 5th W Mall Bldg. Diosdado Macapagal Ave. St. Zone 10. Barangay 076, District 1 Pasay City

HAN, YOUDE Mandarin Speaking Data Encoder 3.

Brief Job Description: Maintaining database and client files with accurate data

SETO, LAP MAN Mandarin Speaking Data Encoder 4.

Brief Job Description: Maintaining database and client files with accurate data

TANG, SAI Mandarin Speaking Data Encoder 5.

Brief Job Description: Maintaining database and client files with accurate data

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Preferably with 6 months - 1 year experience, must be fluent in Mandarin and English speaking

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

16.

Brief Job Description: To manage and supervise accounting department and prepare financial statements and analysis

ZHANG, BAOJUN Contract Administrator 7.

Brief Job Description: To work with the internal procurement and contract conflicts

XIE, CHANGLIN Equipment Operator 8.

Brief Job Description: To operate heavy equipment and distribution of materials, to follow safety procedures and regulations

CHANG, WEI Project Consultant Brief Job Description: To develop detailed project plan and allocation

LIU, HAI Project Coordinator 10.

11.

Brief Job Description: To ensure project deadlines and attend on important actions and decisions

WANG, CHUANLIANG Site Manager Brief Job Description: To make safety inspection and maintain quality control

HU, ZHIWEI Structural Technical Support 12.

Brief Job Description: To properly provide solutions and manage several open issue

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, 6 months - 1 year experience

17.

MAHESHWARI ANAND, SHAILY Director - Operations And Business Development Brief Job Description: Generate Leads (B2B and B2C)

LIU, CHENBEI Accounting Manager Brief Job Description: Serve as lead point of contact for all the customer

Brief Job Description: Receives summons and legal proceedings served to the local

YI, CHANGSHUANG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative 18.

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

CHEN, XIAOSHENG Marketing And Sales Agent 19.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

FENG, YUEYI Marketing And Sales Agent 20.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

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

TIAN, HUA Marketing And Sales Agent 21.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

WANG, QI Marketing And Sales Agent 22.

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

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

25.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management of operations and finance of a designated area, providing training and development for staff, ensuring quality consistency and increasing sales and profitability WANG, DONG Area Manager

26.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin language; college degree

27.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin language; Has a college degree

Brief Job Description: Acts as key liaison between the company’s headquarters and assigned area branches. Responsible for management of operational practices and training of branch managers

MA, QI Procurement Manager 28.

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

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

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

29.

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

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information, ideas and researches to help develop marketing strategies; Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in managing incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Oversees the purchasing department and are responsible for sourcing materials, contract management, budget control, disbursement,

Basic Qualification: 5-10 years experience in supervisory position in industry-related field, multilingual Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: 5-10 years experience in supervisory position in industry-related field, multilingual Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: 5-10 years experience in supervisory position in industry-related field, multilingual Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: 5-10 years experience in supervisory position in industry-related field, multilingual Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

HONG, DONGQING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

MIN, WENQIANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

PUI KHA HUA Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

QIU, LONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

YEH, SHU-HAO Renal Service Manager

Basic Qualification: College graduate.

Brief Job Description: Management of renal service business of EG Healthcare

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

FIRST GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. Lot 5 Sta. Agueda Cor. Queensway Pagcor Drive Sto. Niño Parañaque City

WU, XIANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

YANG, LIANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/ Level and Fluent in Mandarin Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/ Level and Fluent in Mandarin Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and fluent in Mandarin / Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

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

EG HEALTHCARE, INC. 14/f Ramon Magsaysay Center 1880 Roxas Boulevard,076 Bgy. 699 Malate Manila

23.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. 4th-11th Floor Aseana 3 Building Aseana Avenue Corner Diosdado Macapagal Tambo Parañaque City

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, 6 months - 1 year experience

Basic Qualification: 1-2 years related working experience

Brief Job Description: To provide Chinese customer service

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

Basic Qualification: College Graduate, Fluent in Mandarin and English, 6 months - 1 year Experience

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, 6 months - 1 year experience

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

HE, CHENG Mandarin Customer Service

LI, HUI Area Manager

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, 6 months - 1 year experience

Basic Qualification: With at least three (3) years of experience in the gaming industry.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

FLASH EXPRESS SOFTWARE (PH) CO., LTD. INC. 9th Flr. Arthaland Century Pacific Tower 5th Avenue 30th Street Cor. 4th Avenue Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila

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

24.

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

DAXIFA CORPORATION Mpire Center 93 West Avenue Project 7 Bungad 1 Quezon City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in Mandarin and English, 6 months - 1 year experience

Brief Job Description: Search new or existing accounts in the international market to expand business profitability in the international market.

QI, XIAOMING Resident Agent

ASUKI DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT INC. 25 Arty 1 Talipapa 6 Quezon City

XIE, XINGGEN Accounting Manager

Basic Qualification: Preferably with three (3) to five (5) years of casino host or sales experiences

CRRC ZHUZHOU LOCOMOTIVE CO., LTD. PHILIPPINE BRANCH 3f Salcedo One Center 170 Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Preferably with 6 months - 1 year experience, must be fluent in Mandarin and English speaking

KANG, YOUSUN International Business Development Associate (Korean)

No.

BRIGHT IDEA TECH VENTURES INC. (WORKZELLO) U 500 5f V. Corporate Centre 125 L.p. Leviste St. Bel-air Makati City

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

Basic Qualification: Preferably with 6 months - 1 year experience, must be fluent in Mandarin and English speaking

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

ONG CHEE SONG a.k.a. WANG, ZHISONG International Business Development Manager (China) 14.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Develop and maintain relationships with local and foreign customers/patrons by equal application of professionalism and personality

Friday, August 20, 2021 A9

CHEN, JIAMIN Customer Service Representative 35.

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

A10

BusinessMirror

Friday, August 20, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

FENG, SHUANGSHUANG Customer Service Representative 36.

KU, MING-KUI Customer Service Representative 37.

KUAH NING Customer Service Representative 38.

LE PAW Customer Service Representative 39.

LIANG, BICHEN Customer Service Representative 40.

SHEN, YU-CHE Customer Service Representative 41.

WANG, YUNGE Customer Service Representative 42.

WU, CANXIN Customer Service Representative 43.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls

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

44.

Brief Job Description: Prepare and maintain company documents and reports and coordinate for daily administrative reports

TIAN, JIANKANG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 45.

Brief Job Description: Prepare and maintain company documents and reports and coordinate for daily administrative reports

RAO, QINGCHEN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 46.

Brief Job Description: Assist/ help customers give customers information about products and services

DU, YUNLONG Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 47.

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

GUO, CAN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 48.

49.

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

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

LYU, XINGCAI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 50.

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

SU, JUNLEI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 51.

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

WEI, AN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 52.

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

WEN, ZHUO Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 53.

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

WEN, JIEZHI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 54.

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

HUANG, JUN Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

XU, MINGQI Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 55.

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

ZHOU, JIE Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 56.

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management

Brief Job Description: Monitor , review and report on all marketing activity and result

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management

CHEAH KAM HONG Customer Support Officer 57.

Brief Job Description: Performs variety of manual tasks related to the operation of company

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ excellent mandarin communication skills

58.

Brief Job Description: Performs variety of manual tasks related to the operation of the company

LEE ENG AUN Customer Support Officer 59.

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

Brief Job Description: Performs variety of manual tasks related to the operation of the company

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ excellent mandarin communication skills

NGUYEN THI NHAN Customer Support Officer

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

61.

60.

Brief Job Description: Performs variety of manual tasks related to the operation of the company

NGUYEN HUU MAI Project Executive Brief Job Description: Responsible with the planning, executing , monitoring, controlling and closing projects

63.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management

SATOURI, WAEL Bilingual Speaking Agent (French/English) Brief Job Description: Answers calls in French language of customers

SUN, YING Mandarin Customer Support Representative 64.

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

TAN, JINHE Mandarin Customer Support Representative 65.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management

66.

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

Basic Qualification: college graduate, preferably with 1 year experience, fluent in English, mandarin and Cantonese

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

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, give customers information about the product and services

YIN, ZHANGXIANG Strategic And Facilitation Officer 67.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: Must be proficient in the French language. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

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

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customers questions about services or products/ excellent Mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Your primary function is to help the company and its Chinese clients to generate more income for the company

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

KING-MERCHANT BUSINESS TRADING INCORPORATED Unit 2505-f The Finance Centre 26th St. Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

LIU, HUIZHEN Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist 68.

Brief Job Description: Work with external agencies and vendors to execute marketing problems

ZHANG, YAN Mandarin Speaking Marketing Specialist 69.

Brief Job Description: Conducting research and marketing strategies to develop areas of the business

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

MARKETROLE ASIA PACIFIC SERVICES, INC. 26/f, 27/f, 28/f The Enterprise Center Tower 1 6766 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas San Lorenzo Makati City

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: college graduate, preferably with 1 year experience, fluent in English, mandarin and Cantonese

Basic Qualification: College graduate preferably with 6 months to 1 year experience, fluent in english and mandarin

JDB MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTANCY CORP. 107 T & D House Magallanes St. 069, Bgy. 655 Intramuros Manila

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: college graduate, preferably with 1 year experience, fluent in English, mandarin and Cantonese

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

MA, XIAOLI Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate preferably with at least 1 year experience, fluent in english and mandarin

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

IRISBLOOM INC. Unit 25d 2/f Zeta Ii Bldg. 19 Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management

Basic Qualification: college graduate preferably with 1 year experience, fluent in English, mandarin and Cantonese

INVECH TREASURE PROCESSING CORPORATION 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Floor Six West Campus Mckinley West Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the marketing plans and protects, recommend optimization to senior management

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

HKT TELESERVICES (PHILIPPINES) INC. 10/f,17/f,32/f,& 37/f Union Bank Plaza Bldg. Meralco Ave. Cor. Onyx Road Ortigas Center Pasig City

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

GORGEOUS LEGEND BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC. 20/f Robinsons Jg Summit Center 6783 Ayala Ave. San Lorenzo Makati City

IQBAL, FRAZ Customer Support Officer

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

VIVIAN TAN YI HAN Customer Support Officer

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

GORGEOUS LEGEND BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC. 20/f Robinsons Jg Summit Center 6783 Ayala Ave. San Lorenzo Makati City

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

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ excellent mandarin communication skills

No.

62.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING Ground Level, Level 2-5 Floor Silver City 4, Ortigas East Ugong Pasig City

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

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

GLADIOLOUS INC. Unit 25d 2/f Zeta Ii Bldg. Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City

LI, QI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

No.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

75.

BANH LE TRAN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

FAN, QI Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

JENNYFER TSIA POH HUA Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

JIANG, YANG Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

LUONG HUE QUYEN Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

LY BUU NGUYET Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / mandarin fluently Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / mandarin fluently Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / mandarin fluently Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / mandarin fluently Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

76.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION PHUNG BOI SANG Chinese Speaking Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Provide outstanding and exceptional customer service

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese / mandarin fluently Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

No.

93.

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

77.

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

78.

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

79.

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

80.

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

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

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

Brief Job Description: Customer Service

HU, JIANGWEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

LIANG, DONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

LIANG, NAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

LIU, NINGNING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

LIU, YANLI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

LYU, JIAZHI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

MA, MAOXING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

MOC SOI KHOANH Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

QIAO, GUOFENG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

SU, ZHONGLIU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

SU, MINGHUI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

95.

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

96.

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

97.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 98.

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower C4 Rd. Edsa Ext. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

GE, TAO Customer Service Representative

94.

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

99.

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

100.

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

101.

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

102.

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

103.

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

104.

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

105.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

TO CHI HAI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

TRAN THI CHINH Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

TRAN THI THUY VAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

XIE, BAODUAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

XING, LIWEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

YANG, WENBIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

YANG, HUBO Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

YANG, CHONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

YUAN, PEIFANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ZENG, XIAOGUO Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ZHANG, MUHUI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ZHOU, TENG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ZHOU, SHANYU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

106.

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

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

No.

MAO, GUANNING Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 109.

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English

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

110.

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English

HUNG, WEN-YUAN Mandarin Marketing Specialist 111.

Brief Job Description: Conducting research and marketing strategies to develop areas of the business opportunities

NGUYEN THI KHANH MY Content Analyst-Vietnamese 112.

Brief Job Description: Process and maintain data accurately and in a timely manner into Refinitiv databases using technical and financial knowledge.

113.

KIM, JINKYOUNG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Communicating with the customer

FANG THIAM SHIONG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 114.

Brief Job Description: Prepare and maintain company documents and reports and coordinate for daily administrative reports.

WONG CHEE XI Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative 115.

Brief Job Description: Assist/Help customers, Give customers information about products and services

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

107.

Brief Job Description: Provides independent and objective advise in all aspect of procurement of raw materials, production and distribution of products.

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

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree, Proficiency in English and any of the abovementioned languages, and amenable to any shift. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: With experience on customer service works Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ Excellent Mandarin communication skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ Excellent Mandarin communication skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TENDEN GRAVURE MASTER COMPANY, CORP. #4 Trinidad St. Canumay Valenzuela City LI, DONGBO Technical Consultant

Basic Qualification: Expert on German maid Machine

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

116.

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English

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

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

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/ Level and Fluent in Mandarin Basic English

117.

118.

Brief Job Description: Conduct software development interpret specification and ensure to translate in Technical design documents

TAN POO WOO Chinese Language - Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Deal w/ and help resolve customer complaints

DUONG HUU HUNG Vietnamese Language - Customer Service Staff Brief Job Description: Deal w/ and help resolve customer complaints

Basic Qualification: A Bachelor’s degree in food industry management, hospitality or a related field may be helpful in gaining experience required for this field. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

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

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

ZENDESK, INCORPORATED 30th Floor Net Park 5th Ave. E-square Crescent Park Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

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

NEFERTECH FOOD TRADING Unit 6a & B 6/f The World Center Bldg. Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City

MARROCCHELLA, ANTONIO LUCA Consultant

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ excellent mandarin communication skills

SOCIALATEMYIND INC. Unit No. Unit 2c Flr. No. No. 4/f, One E-com Center Bldg. Lot No. 4/f Mall Of Asia Complex Ocean Drive St. District 1, Barangay 076, District 4 Pasay City

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

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

RODEOSPA CORPORATION 208 Aguirre Avenue Bf Homes Parañaque City

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

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ excellent mandarin communication skills

REFINITIV ASIA PTE. LTD. - PHILIPPINE BRANCH Ground Floor 18/20 Building Upper Mckinley Hill Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English

Brief Job Description: Prepare and maintain company documents and reports and coordinate for daily administrative reports

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

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

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

Brief Job Description: Prepare and maintain company documents and reports and coordinate for daily administrative reports

XU, WENMIN Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin / basic English

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

WOO, JONGUN Technical Support Customer Advocate

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZOU, CHAOJIAN Customer Service Representative

Friday, August 20, 2021 A11

119.

Brief Job Description: you take ownership of customer issues through resolution. are empathetic responsive, resourceful., and see the support experience through our customers, excellent organizational, written and oral communication skills - you must be able to convey technical jargon in a wide-array of syntax from beginner level users to developers

Basic Qualification: must be fluent in writing, reading and speaking Korean and English, has a basic knowledge of various mobile platforms; iOS, android, windows phone, blackberry and has at least three years of technical support experience Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 *Date Generated: Aug 19, 2021

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

PERFECTZEST INC. 16th Floor Tower 6789 6789 Ayala Avenue Bel-air Makati City

GUO, ZHIYONG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 108.

Brief Job Description: Prepare and maintain company documents and reports and coordinate for daily administrative reports

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in handling customer questions about services or products/ excellent mandarin communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A12 Friday, August 20, 2021

TheWorld BusinessMirror

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

Australia new cases hit record; jabs less effective against Delta

ustralia suffered its worst day since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with cases surpassing the record posted more than a year ago as an outbreak of the Delta variant spreads. New South Wales recorded 681 new cases, Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Thursday in

Sydney, where stay-at-home orders have been enforced for almost two months. Victoria state recorded 57 new infect ions—more t ha n double from the previous day, and its highest tally since September—as Melbourne endures its sixth lockdown since the pandemic began.

Regional New South Wales will remain in lockdow n until at least Aug ust 28, in l ine w it h Syd ney, Bereji k l i a n sa id. Meanwhile, vaccines against Covid-19 are less effective against the Delta variant, a large UK study showed in results that may fuel a push for booster shots for fully

vaccinated people. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s messenger RNA vaccine lost effectiveness in the first 90 days after full vaccination, though that shot and the one made by AstraZeneca Plc still staved off a majority of Covid infections. When vaccinated people did get infected with Delta, they had similar levels of virus in their bodies as those who hadn’t had their shots, backing up a recent assessment by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of Israel’s top health-care providers said initial results of a study found that a third Pfizer dose given to Israelis over 60 was 86 percent effective. Key developments:

New Zealand finds outbreak source

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said officials are confident they have discovered how the Delta strain of the virus entered the country. Current positive cases are a close match to a recent returnee from Sydney who arrived on August 7, Ardern told a press briefing Thursday in Wellington. This was a “significant development,” she said. Ardern put the country into a three-day lockdown this week after just one positive case was found in the community. Auckland and the nearby Coromandel region that the positive case visited were placed into lockdown for seven days. Case numbers have now grown to 21, will 11 new infections reported Thursday.

Thailand plan to protect manufacturing

The country started a pilot program to test, vaccinate and isolate factory workers to limit Covid-related disruptions to its export-driven manufacturing industry, one of the few bright spots in an economy crushed by

the virus. The “Factory Sandbox” initiative aims to protect 3 million jobs and support manufacturers who contribute about 700 billion baht ($21 billion) to gross domestic product, according to a government statement this week. Meanwhile, new cases stayed below 21,000 for the third straight day, while fatalities topped 300 for a second day, government data showed. Cumulative infections rose to 989,859 and total deaths reached 8,586.

China developing promising antibody

Scientists from the Institute of Microbiology under Chinese Academy of Sciences and other institutions are developing a new antibody that may be effective against coronavirus and variant strains. It stopped the virus from replicating and sickening laboratory animals, the study in the journal Nature showed. The antibody effectively prevented and treated infections from coronavirus and its variants, the institute says in a statement in its WeChat account.

Mexico sees record case increase

Mexico reported a record daily rise in cases with 28,953, bringing the total to 3,152,205, the Health Ministry said in its daily report Wednesday. The ministry reported 940 new Covid-19 deaths, for a total of 250,469. Mexico had vaccinated 61 percent of adults as of Aug. 16 with at least one dose, a little more than half having received complete vaccination, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Twitter on Tuesday.

Delta accounts for 95 percent of new N.Y. cases

Nearly all positive coronavirus cases in New York state are linked to the high transmissible

Delta variant, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. The state is seeing a dramatic increase in cases, with 4,737 new positives reported on Wednesday, up from 823 cases one month ago, according to state data. There were 20 coronavirus-related deaths and 1,888 hospitalizations. Samples collected between August 1 and August 14 showed 95 percent of the recent positives in the state are linked to the variant, Cuomo said in a news release. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 65.5 percent of New Yorkers have at least one vaccine dose.

Singapore to deport mask refuser

Singapore will deport a UK national who repeatedly refused to wear a mask in defiance of the Asian city-state’s strict social distancing rules, CNA reported. Photos of Benjamin Glynn not wearing a mask on a train in Singapore’s central business district went viral, and he was charged for that violation as well as subsequently showing up for a court appearance without a mask.

Cases rise in three South African provinces

The South African provinces of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal can expect to see their Covid-19 case rates rise in the third wave of infections in the countr y, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said. Gauteng, where a quarter of South Africans live, and North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga are over the worst of the wave while the Northern Cape and Free State are continuing to see “a steady number of new cases.” South Africa is the worst hit nation in Africa by the coronavirus, having reported over 78,000 deaths and 2.6 million infections. Bloomberg News

Malaysia’s longest-ruling party set to reclaim the premiership

UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysia’s longestgoverning political party appeared set to reclaim the premiership it lost in a shock 2018 election result, with its lawmakers summoned to the palace Thursday to verify their candidate has enough support to take office. The choice of former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob would essentially restore the ruling alliance of Muhyiddin Yassin, who resigned as prime minister on Monday after infighting in the coalition cost him majority support. Ismail’s appointment would also see the return of the United Malays National Organization, which r uled Ma laysia since independence from Britain in 1957 before it was ousted in 2018 over a multibillion-dollar financial scandal. Ismail, 61, who is an UMNO vice president, appeared to have majority support. UMNO Secretary-General Ahmad Maslan tweeted that all lawmakers from UMNO and other parties in the former ruling alliance who support Ismail have been summoned to meet Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. “With Ismail Sabri poised to become Malaysia’s next prime minister under the same alliance, many Malaysians will view it as nothing more than a game of musical chairs” with the baton passed from Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party to UMNO, said Ei Sun Oh, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

Muhyiddin departed after less than 18 months in office amid internal squabbling and mounting public anger over what was widely perceived as his government’s poor handling of the pandemic. Malaysia has one of the world’s highest infection rates and deaths per capita, despite a seven-month state of emergency and a lockdown since June. The king’s role is largely ceremonial in Malaysia, but he appoints the person he believes has majority support in Parliament as prime minister. Local media said Ismail is believed to have obtained 114 votes, surpassing the 111 needed for a simple majority. It is similar to the support Muhyiddin has before 15 UMNO lawmakers withdrew support for him, causing his government to collapse. A lawyer before he joined politics, Ismail held several ministerial posts in UMNO governments. In 2015 as trade minister, Ismail courted controversy when he urged Malay consumers to boycott profiteering Chinese businesses. He was also slammed for supporting the vaping industry, which is dominated by Malays, despite health warnings from the health ministry. In 2018 polls, Ismail waved the racial card, warning that every vote for the opposition was akin to eliminating special privileges given to Malays under a decades-old affirmative action program. Ismail was named defense minister when Muhyiddin took power in March 2020, and became the government’s public

face through daily briefings on security issues related to the pandemic. He was promoted as deputy prime minister in July as Muhyiddin sought to woo support from UMNO, which was unhappy at playing second fiddle to Muhyiddin’s smaller party. Since Muhyiddin resigned, his party has voiced support for Ismail. The other contender in the race, Anwar Ibrahim, leads a three-party alliance that is the biggest opposition bloc with 88 votes. Even if all opposition parties support him, he would still fall short with only 105 votes. Anwar was due to succeed then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad before their reformist alliance collapsed in February 2020, sparked by the withdrawal of Muhyiddin’s party. Muhyiddin then formed a new government with corruptionta inted UMNO and severa l other parties. Some analysts said Ismail would be a poor choice as he is associated with the failings of Muhyiddin’s government and that his government is likely to remain shaky. “His cabinet appointees are likely to be familiar faces and it is more than likely that similar policies that failed to arrest the pandemic advances or spur economic growth will be continued with minor tweaks,” Oh said. Other analysts warned it may also set the stage for increased politicking in UMNO as Ismail may later mount a challenge against the party president, who is fighting multiple criminal charges. AP

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Friday, August 20, 2021 A13

US urges over 150 world leaders not to come to UN over Covid-19

NITED NATIONS—The United States is urging the more than 150 countries planning to send their leader or a government minister to New York to speak in person at the UN General Assembly next month to consider giving a video address instead to prevent the annual high-level week from becoming “a super-spreader event.” A note from the US Mission sent to the 192 other UN member nations also called for all other UNhosted meetings and side events to be virtual, saying these parallel meetings that draw travelers to New York “needlessly increase risk to our community, New Yorkers and the other travelers.” The US note, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, said the Biden administration is particularly concerned about SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres and the incoming General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid hosting high-level in-person events on climate change, vaccines, the 20th anniversary of the UN World Conference Against Racism, food systems and energy. “The United States is willing to make every effort to make these important events on shared priorities successful in a virtual format,”

the note said. The UN decided in late July to let world leaders attend their annual gathering, known as the General Debate, from September 21-27 in person—or to deliver prerecorded speeches if Covid-19 restrictions prevent them from traveling. A provisional list of speakers obtained by AP has 127 heads of state and government planning to attend in person including US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, as well as prime ministers Boris Johnson of Britain, Israel’s Naftali Bennett and Narendra Modi of India, and 26 other government ministers, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s Deputy Premier Han Zheng. Among the 38 leaders planning prerecorded statements are the presidents of Iran, Egypt and Indonesia. The list has Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, coming to New York, but it is dated August 13—just before his government was ousted by the Taliban and he fled the country. The United States said it feels “strongly that the General Debate should be the only event held with

Taliban militants violently disperse rare Afghan protest

ABUL, Afghanistan—Taliban militants attacked protesters Wednesday in Afghanistan who dared to take down their banner and replace it with the country’s flag, killing at least one person and fueling fears about how the insurgents would govern this fractious nation. While the Taliban have insisted they will respect human rights, unlike during their previously draconian rule, the attack in Jalalabad came as many Afghans were hiding at home or trying to flee the country, fearful of abuses by the loosely controlled militant organization. Many people have expressed dread that the two-decade Western experiment to remake Afghanistan will not survive the resurgent Taliban, who took control of the country in a blitz that took just days. Taliban leaders talked Wednesday with senior Afghan officials about a future government. In a potential complication to any effort to stabilize the country, the head of the country’s central bank warned that American sanctions over the Taliban’s designation as a terrorist organization threatened Afghanistan’s economy, which already is dangerously low on hard foreign currency. One figure who was not at the talks in Kabul: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled as the Taliban closed in on the capital. The United Arab Emirates acknowledged Wednesday that the Gulf nation had taken him and his family in on humanitarian grounds. In an early sign of protest to the Taliban’s rule, dozens gathered in the eastern city of Jalalabad and a nearby market town to raise the tricolor national flag, a day before Afghanistan’s Independence Day, which commemorates the 1919 treaty that ended British rule. They lowered the Taliban flag—a white banner with an Islamic inscription—that the militants have raised in the areas they captured. Video footage later showed the Taliban firing into the air and attacking people with batons to disperse the crowd. Babrak Amirzada, a reporter for a local news agency, said the Taliban beat him and a TV cameraman from another agency. A local health official said the

violence killed at least one person and wounded six. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists. The Taliban did not acknowledge the protest or the violence. It was a rare resistance to their rule. In the days since the Taliban seized Kabul on Sunday, the militants only faced one other protest by a few women in the capital. There has been no armed opposition to the Taliban. But videos from the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, a stronghold of the Northern Alliance militias that allied with the US during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, appear to show potential opposition figures gathering there. That area is in the only province that has not fallen to the Taliban. Those figures include members of the deposed government—Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who asserted on Twitter that he is the country’s rightful president, and Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi—as well as Ahmad Massoud, the son of the slain Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. In an opinion piece published by The Washington Post, Massoud asked for weapons and aid to fight the Taliban. “I write from the Panjshir Valley today, ready to follow in my father’s footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the Taliban,” he wrote. “The Taliban is not a problem for the Afghan people alone. Under Taliban control, Afghanistan will without doubt become ground zero of radical Islamist terrorism; plots against democracies will be hatched here once again.” T he Ta l i b a n , me a nw h i l e , pressed ahead with their efforts to form an “inclusive, Islamic government.” They have been holding talks with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official in the ousted government. Mohammad Yusof Saha, a spokesman for Karzai, said preliminary meetings with Taliban officials would lead to eventual negotiations with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the top Taliban political leader who just returned to the country from Qatar. AP

in-person participation during high-level week.” “In light of current health concerns, heads of delegation should consider delivering their statements to the UN General Assembly’s General Debate by video,” it said. “If delegations choose to travel to New York for the General Debate, the United States requests delegations bring the minimum number of travelers necessary.” The United States said the Covid-19 pandemic “continues to pose a significant health risk around the world,” with the virulence of the Delta variant affecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people and hospitalizations increasing significantly in the United States. “All counties in New York City

are currently rated as having the highest level of community transmission,” the US note said. For people coming to UN headquarters, it said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended mandatory mask wearing at all times, six feet of social distancing, fixed seating, confirmed negative Covid-19 status to enter the building, “and if possible vaccination.” Contact tracing for UN meetings will also be needed, it said. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late Wednesday that the UN already put in place a number of measures to deal with the Delta variant, including mandatory mask-wearing at UN headquarters and reporting of vaccination status and positive Covid-19 tests. It

also has mandatory vaccination requirements for some personnel, including those servicing intergovernmental meetings prior to the high-level week, he said. Dujarric said no in-person side events will take place in the UN complex during high-level week, but he made no mention of the high-level events on climate

change, food systems, racism and other issues. “We are obviously in continuous discussion with member states, who will have to make decisions, and the host country,” Dujarric said. “The secretary-general will continue to focus on keeping everyone in the UN community safe.” AP

A14 Friday, August 20, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

From August 2020

T seems like almost every day we are faced with a new situation. Shaking hands has been replaced by a “fistbump” between friends and a nod of the head when greeting a stranger. No one would now exchange besobeso with someone. Suggesting a group hug is unthinkable. It is almost impossible to read someone else’s mood now that their 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. “How much of what we are going through will be a temporary adjustment and what might be a permanent change? That is not just a hypothetical question or an intellectual exercise. It is a serious matter.” That was what we wrote almost exactly one year ago today. Then, we were under MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine). Now, it is ECQ—enhanced community quarantine. The question then is, what has changed in the past 12 months? The answer, simple, though reasonably accurate is, not much. A survey conducted at the end of February 2021 showed that 94 percent of the people are at least somewhat worried that “You or a member of your household will contract Covid-19.” Sixty-nine percent were “very worried.” Those numbers have probably not changed for a year or more. Back then, shopping malls and schools were empty, and that is the same situation that we are facing today. There will be no face-to-face classes in public schools when school year 2021-2022 opens in September. Can anyone even remember the last time they watched a movie in a real theater instead of on television? Speaking of which, if you happened to watch any of the “doctor” shows on Netflix, remember when a surgical face mask looked medical or even “cool?” Now we keep them on a rack or table next to the door like our car keys. We are still arguing about lockdowns and those face masks as to their effectiveness in stopping the pandemic. Except, is there anyone that can say with any confidence that the pandemic is under control? Even those countries that have “opened up”—like the US, for example—are still reporting tens of thousands of new cases and hundreds if not thousands of new deaths every day. The one thing that has changed is that we are vaccinating people at a high rate. Not high enough in the experts’ opinion but as of a couple of days ago, 28 million doses have been given. A recent survey, conducted on June 23 to 26, showed that 57 percent of the respondents in Metro Manila believe that the pace of vaccination in the country is either “somewhat slow” or “too slow.” However, 83 percent of respondents in Metro Manila said they have easy access to a vaccination site. That is at least a start to full vaccination. If you have lived with a loved one who contracted and survived the initial infection of Covid, then you know what this pandemic is all about. That is, the recovery is slow and grueling, taking not days, but weeks and even months. It is a process and not an event with peaks and valleys, good and bad times, all the way. It has been a difficult year. What will we be talking and writing about in August 2022? Since 2005

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Education amid the pandemic Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

N less than a month, school year 2021-2022 will officially open in all public and private schools. And what we’ll face is an education system in flux—or even under siege.

Just like the year before, faceto-face classes will still not be allowed. Many prefer a return to the classroom for the sake of our students, who are still adjusting to distance learning. But the reality is that our children are still very vulnerable because they have not yet been vaccinated against Covid-19. Thankfully, the FDA and our vaccine experts have already allowed the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine among children 12 to 17 years old. According to Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr., the inoculation of this pediatric cohort could start by the end of September or early October this year. Be that as it may, our education sector has already taken a huge hit since face-to-face classes were suspended last year. Almost 900 private basic education schools have closed and several private higher education institutions have suspended operations. For the public school system, the impact on enrollment was not as bad as their private counterparts, but there was a reduction nonetheless.

What is often overlooked whenever such closures are discussed is the impact of these developments on our teachers. When schools close, the teaching staffs are left without work. And for teachers who are fortunate enough to continue working, including those in our public school system, the challenges they face on a daily basis are daunting, to say the least. For many of our teachers, the new mode of learning has meant more expenses on their part. A study conducted by the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP) showed that public school teachers are using their personal money to acquire devices such as laptops, mobile phones, printers and similar gadgets, including reliable Internet connectivity. Most of them cannot afford a high-speed Internet subscription and, depending on where they are based, a stable and reliable connection may not even be available. The Department of Education (DepEd) has committed to provide

its teachers with 30 to 35 gigabytes worth of data every month for their connectivity requirements starting June this year. Some argue that this is a bit late already considering the budget for this has been available since September of 2020 when Republic Act 11519 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) was enacted. As the sponsor of the law, I was aware that at least P4 billion in funds were available for this purpose. Considering the importance of connectivity during this time and with less than a month before the new school year starts, I hope DepEd has already distributed the load to its teachers. It is also worth noting that under the 2021 General Appropriations Act, we increased the budget for the teaching supplies allowance (formerly known as the chalk allowance) from P3,500 to P5,000 for each teacher. This is aligned with the measure (SBN 1092) the Senate passed in November 2020, and which is pending at the House of Representatives, that institutionalizes this allowance, and mandates that it be increased to P10,000 by school year 2023-2024. The DepEd also saw an increase in its budget for the purchase of supplies and equipment, including gadgets for the use of teachers. Another challenge faced by our teachers has to do with travel and transportation. Even under the distance learning setup, teachers have to go to their schools several days a week to deliver and pick up the modules of their students. Consider that

we have teachers assigned in Metro Manila schools who live in Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan. For teachers assigned to farflung areas, their situation is even more difficult. In Zambales, for instance, teachers of the Poonbato Integrated School have to cross rivers and travel at least eight hours to reach the school at the foot of Mount Pinatubo so that they could deliver and pick up the learning modules of their Aeta students. Even though these journeys are oftentimes perilous, the teachers carry on as part of their commitment to educate our children. I recently filed Senate Bill 2317 or the Teachers’ Home in School Act to help address this particular issue by providing public school educators with humane living facilities within the schools or at the nearest location to where they teach. This is meant to cover public school teachers who are experiencing difficulty with commuting to their place of work or are deployed in public schools located in remote or isolated areas. During this pandemic, no sector was spared. But our education sector has been hit particularly hard. There may be competing priorities but in managing these, our students and teachers must not be relegated to the sidelines.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 17 years. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate. E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

Ethnic health-care systems strained in Myanmar amid pandemic

By Victoria Milko | AP Science Writer

AKARTA, Indonesia—When February’s military takeover of Myanmar led to the collapse of the central health-care system, independent ethnic organizations that had operated for decades on the Southeast Asian country’s borders stepped in. They provided basic medical services, treated Covid-19-patients and occasionally even tended to injuries from armed skirmishes. But a fierce new wave of coronavirus cases, and myriad other challenges — closed borders, shrinking support from international donors, and a crackdown on aid by the military, which has been accused of hoarding medical supplies for its own use—are stretching their abilities to the limit. “There is no transportation available to get proper medicine and food supplies,” a doctor working at a makeshift clinic in the jungle of eastern Myanmar told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “There are not enough oxygen cylinders in our area and clinic. Because of heavy rain, there is also difficulty to even get clean water.” The doctor’s name is being withheld to protect them from retaliation. As of Wednesday, Myanmar had more than 363,000 cases of Covid-19,

according to state-owned news media. That number is thought to be a vast undercount, as testing in the country of about 55 million people is limited. Cases first spiked in June, and many hospitals have been forced to turn away patients because of staffing shortages. Oxygen and medical supplies have been scarce, with the military accused of hoarding supplies for its own hospitals. The per capita death rate in Myanmar was the worst in Southeast Asia during one week of July, when bodies were lined up outside overwhelmed crematoriums. The number of deaths is also likely an undercount, given that only those who die at medical facilities are included in the official figures. Even before the recent coronavirus surge, the country’s central

health-care system was collapsing as the military attacked and drove underground many medical providers who were early opponents of the February takeover. When cases began to rise, the government put a chokehold on needed supplies, restricting the sale of oxygen and halting the distribution of personal protective equipment in what human rights activists have called a blatant bid to consolidate power and crush opposition. That’s where the decentralized ethnic health-care centers came in. The providers operate in Myanmar’s border states, where a majority of the country’s ethnic minorities live and where for decades about 20 armed ethnic organizations have been fighting the military for greater autonomy. In northeastern Shan state, posters with Covid-19 health messaging—recommendations to practice social distancing, wash hands often and isolate at home—have been translated into local languages and distributed through social media by regional health-care groups. Farther south, in Karen state, local health volunteers travel by foot

and motorbike with backpacks of medical equipment, educating villagers about health protocols. In other areas of the state, medics trained by local armed groups work to bring medicine and oxygen to patients via muddy dirt roads destroyed by the seasonal monsoon rains. Several ethnic organizations across the country have even been able to inoculate their residents after obtaining vaccines from China, which has strengthened its Covid-19 response on the border to stop infections in Myanmar from crossing over. Such vaccinations have taken place in the regions of Kachin, Shan and Wa, all of which border China. The important role of ethnic health-care providers has gained recognition from Myanmar’s National Unity Government—an opposition force formed this year by ousted lawmakers that calls itself the country’s legitimate ruling body. In July, the coalition formed a task force to help ethnic groups confront Covid-19. But now, these groups are facing serious challenges. For instance, they have traditionally used Myanmar’s porous border to import medical See “Myanmar,” A15

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Outlook on the real estate market

Friday, August 20, 2021 A15

Ending the War Tito Genova Valiente

Duke Donald R. Cotoco

EAGLE WATCH

ased on recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country has finally broken its contractionary streak by posting an 11.8-percent gross domestic product growth rate in Q2-2021. The services sector, which comprised three-fifths of Q2 GDP, expanded by 9.6 percent. Among the services sector’s top contributors was the “real estate and ownership of dwellings” subsector, which grew by 16.7 percent in Q2-2021, after contracting by 29.9 percent in Q2-2020. Nevertheless, the current real estate market is still 18 percent below its Q2-2019 level. After declining for five consecutive quarters, perhaps, it would be good to review the sector’s current market trends and how it is positioned toward recovery. Let us take a look at the demand prospects of three real estate submarkets: 1) office, 2) residential, and 3) industrial. “Vacancy” has been the real estate headline for the first semester of 2021, as Colliers reported further increases in vacancy rates within the capital region’s office and residential markets. In Q2-2021, the office market posted a 12.7 percent vacancy rate—up from 11.0 percent in the previous quarter—while vacancies in the residential market increased from 16.3 percent in Q1-2021 to 17.1 percent in Q2-2021. Among the top contributors of vacated offices has been the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which saw a massive decline in occupied space from 11 percent of Metro Manila’s total office stock in Q2-2020 to 6 percent in Q2-2021. As new supply completions add on to vacated spaces, Colliers projects vacancy rates to reach 15.6 percent and 17.6 percent in the office and residential markets, respectively, by end-2021. On a brighter note, total office space transactions amounting to 223,000 sqm in the first semester of 2021 saw a 10-percent growth from the same period last year. 63,000 sqm of which came from provincial areas, where Iloilo and Cebu garnered over 60 percent of provincial transactions. Although the office market recovery hinges on a successful vaccine rollout of the government and the easing of mobility restrictions, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) proclaimed spaces and the implementation of the CREATE Law (which will reduce corporate income taxes) would also be crucial in attracting outsourcing firms to operate in the country amid the pandemic. As the IT-BPM and traditional sectors remained to be the stable driver of demand for office spaces in the past year, analysts expect these sectors to lead market absorption in the next six to 12 months as well. The residential market has mostly been supply-driven as condominium completions are expected to grow by 198.5 percent in 2021. This follows developers’ anticipation of a positive economic turnaround by year-end following mass vaccinations and optimistic government forecasts. Demand, on the other hand, has mostly

Myanmar. . .

continued from A14

supplies, conduct medical trainings and—in severe cases—bring people into neighboring countries for medical treatment, said Sharon Bell, an independent researcher based in New Zealand who has studied ethnic health-care systems in Myanmar. The pandemic has prompted neighboring countries to nearly completely seal the borders, cutting off those options, Bell said. “Even before this wave of Covid-19, they had patients dying because they couldn’t be evacuated,” she said of the border health providers. Those who are able to make it across the border are faced with narrowing options for care. Previ-

been comprised of mid-income (38 percent) and upscale (57 percent) projects in Q2-2021, which are likely due to the rebound in remittances from OFW families and investors taking advantage of low interest rates. While residential demand is primarily reliant on the recovery of the office market, other factors that will help drive activity in the market include: 1) developments near infrastructure projects and transportation hubs, 2) continuous growth in remittances, and 3) digital payment solutions as recently endorsed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Of the aforementioned subsectors, the industrial market has been the most resilient against vacancies in the sector, as the rapid growth of e-commerce in the country entailed industrial space. While prices and leasing rates in the office and residential markets continue to decline, warehouse rates have already recovered and are expected to increase beyond 2021 given the rising demand, especially for cold chain facilities. Right now, Covid-19 vaccines have been the main driver for cold storage demand. Opportunities brought about by the lockdown economy, however, have led to a rising demand for frozen goods, which future investors could capitalize on. In the recently launched roadmap by the DTI-Board of Investments, a 10 to 15-percent annual growth within the cold chain industry has been projected, with revenues reaching about P20 billion by 2023. Thus, developers and logistics firms have started looking into construction of new warehouses and upgrading of new assets. In sum, the easing of restrictions, which should revive business and consumer confidence along with a robust economy, still hinges on the success of the government’s vaccination rollout and curbing of further infections amid the looming threat of new Covid-19 variants. However, following government initiatives on tax reform, infrastructure development, and industry roadmap development, the outlook on the office, residential, and industrial real estate markets are well-positioned towards recovery. Mr. Duke Donald R. Cotoco is a Research Associate at the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development. The Center is grateful to Mr. Maximo Patrick B. Figurasin III, Negotiator for Office Services at Colliers Philippines, for valuable inputs to this column.

ously relied-upon clinics—such as the Mae Tao clinic, which operates in the Thai-Myanmar border town of Mae Sot—have severely limited most of their services because of recent virus outbreaks among staff and the local community. Reduced funding from international donors has been another blow to the groups. When Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy was elected in 2015, “many international organizations shifted funding away from the ethnic health organizations to work with the state health-care system because they wanted to establish legitimacy by working inside Myanmar rather than cross-border activities,” Bell said. The funding that did remain for ethnic groups is now being blocked by the military, she said.

annotations

he 15th of August 1945 was the end of World War II. This was about a week after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, in Nagasaki. We cannot correlate the declaration of the nuclear war against Japan as the reason for the surrender of the empire. But the facts appear to dramatically bear such connection.

For the Filipinos, the threat of decimating Japan was a promise that peace would be back in the country. For the Japanese, we do not have any notion how they received the news that their mighty Nippon was surrendering. Everything, it seemed, began during that day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Kiyoshi Osawa, a Japanese in Manila, was being driven by his chauffeur to his shop on that morning of December 8 in 1945. Osawa, in his autobiography, A Japanese in the Philippines, recalls that day where, upon alighting from his car, he was greeted by a newsboy screaming the headline for the day, the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Years ago, it was easy to pinpoint the origin of the war in the Pacific to the so-called “sneak” attack. But, with more facts and more openness in the release of classified information, the beginning of this world war has become more complex. Economic embargoes, racism, the rise of an empire, and many more factors contributed to a country developing an ambition to rule the world and another empire bothered by such ambition, which it also possessed. Osawa’s narrative, however, proves how the personal can give us a glimpse of the past, which eludes the grand, and oftentimes totalizing, narratives of the formal historian. Read what happened next on that

day after he had learned what the Japanese had done in Hawaii: “Inside my shop, the phone was ringing. Through the receiver came the agitated voice of a Filipino friend. “Osawa, war is on at last. Is there anything I can do for you?” Osawa then left his office: “Back home, I took out from the closet an emergency knapsack containing rice, umeboshi (pickled ume [or plum]), and other supplies. I went out into the veranda. A car was parked opposite. Standing by the car was an elderly Filipina… “Mr. Osawa,” she said, “You use this car. Go wherever you wish and as soon as possible before it’s too late.” Osawa read into the advice of the lady about the car being a good cover for his escape. From inside the car though, Osawa would see Filipino soldiers asking him to get out. This began a series of movements that took him from Bilibid to Muntinlupa Concentration Camp. It was in Muntinlupa where the tides of war seemed to change. It was the day the Japanese planes arrived: “Then one day, we saw three Japanese bombers appear in the open sky flying wing to wing above Cavite Naval Port. Seconds later, a column of black smoke shot up into the air. The port was being bombed!” In their cells, Osawa relates how they were jubilant about the scene: “Look at how our boys are doing.” It would not take long before they

felt that they would be liberated soon. On January 2, 1942 the Japanese troops arrived at dusk in their camp to liberate them. This was the beginning of the freedom for the Japanese in the Philippines and the end for the same freedom for the Filipinos in their country. In Osawa’s words: “I never dreamed I would actually be seeing the Japanese Army on Philippine soil.” This exultation, according to Osawa, would be short-lived. The Filipinos were not expecting the Japanese to be violent: “Why are the Japanese soldiers so violent? Why do they go on rampage, beating and kicking innocent Filipinos?” Observing, the Japanese wrote in his book: “Filipino citizens were forced to make a deep, Japanese style bow when passing through military checkpoints set up everywhere in Manila. Often people were beaten up by the rough-neck military guards for trifling reasons: failing to bow properly, failing to queue in an orderly manner.” For this Japanese who arrived in 1925 as a young man of 19 years of age, and who worked his way up in the Philippine society till the early ’40s, the sight pained him.

The continuing relevance of Ninoy Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

he month of August is pregnant with events associated with our national hero, Ninoy Aquino. August 21, 1971 was the bombing of Plaza Miranda during the kick-off rally of the opposition slate of the Liberal Party. Nine people died and scores of people were seriously injured, practically maiming the senatorial candidates of the Liberal Party. Aquino was not yet around when the carnage occurred as he was scheduled to come in late to deliver the main speech of the evening late into the night. President Ferdinand Marcos and his subalterns seized upon this and insinuated that Ninoy might have a hand in the explosions. A couple of days later, the President himself linked Ninoy to the communists, accusing him of coddling the NPAs and the subversives opposed to the government. It was on August 27, 1973 when Ninoy was charged with alleged violations of the Anti-Subversion Law, and separate charges of murder, subversion and illegal possession of firearms before the military tribunal presided by Brigadier General Jose G. Syjuco. And it was also on August 21, 38 years ago, when Ninoy met his martyrdom at the tarmac of what is now known as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. For Ninoy, becoming president of our country was the next logical step in his trajectory to national leadership. He was the undisputed leader of the opposition and everyone, even his enemies, expected him to contend the presidency versus Marcos, or any of his anointed successors. With his stellar record as Mayor, Governor and Senator, not to mention his spectacular success as the youngest war correspondent in Korea and as a peace mediator who brokered the surrender of the HUK

supremo, Luis Taruc, Ninoy was a cinch to capture Malacañang after the reign of Marcos. In the midterm election of 1967, at the height of President Ferdinand Marcos’ power and popularity, Ninoy decided to run for the Senate. By staying as the Governor of Tarlac, he would remain at the mercy of the President. The administration could put the screws on Aquino and deny his province the much-needed funds to support his infrastructure projects and development programs. Only a couple of years ago, he suffered the same fate at the hands of President Diosdado Macapagal until he turned coat and joined the party in power. But it did not last when Marcos defeated Macapagal for the presidency in 1965. He ran for the Senate on the platform of “Youth! Experience! Hope!” and covered the entire country aboard a small plane or helicopter. He captured the imagination of the electorates and landed No. 2 among the elected senators. He was the only surviving member of the LP senatoriables to get elected. While in the Senate, Ninoy was the albatross around Marcos’ neck. Although the opposition was star-studded with anti-Marcos heavyweights, Ninoy was definitely their acknowl-

edged leader and majority of the Filipinos shared this. Marcos considered Ninoy as his principal protagonist; the major thorn in his side, which must be resolved. As a freshman senator, he denounced Marcos’ tactics to build a “garrison state.” He exposed the gargantuan budget for the military and the deleterious practice of extending the services of military officials loyal to him and appointing military retirees in civilian positions. He disparaged Imelda’s excesses and her compulsive obsession to build edifices as a hallmark of progress and prosperity, which he called the “edifice complex”. Stung by Ninoy’s criticism, Imelda accused Ninoy of being “ungentleman” while crying on national TV. Enraged by Ninoy’s acts, Marcos called Ninoy a “congenital liar.” In a privilege speech delivered at the Senate on September 13, 1972, Ninoy exposed Marcos’ secret plan codenamed “Oplan Sagittarius” to place the Philippines under Martial Law. Proclamation 1081 dated September 21, 1972 proclaiming Martial Law in the Philippines was declared on September 23, 1972 by Marcos. And at midnight, Ninoy was the first to be arrested while in a meeting at the Manila Hilton. He was our country’s most prominent prisoner during Martial Law for seven years and seven months until he was permitted to leave for the US to undergo a heart by-pass operation. Despite his long period of incarceration, he remained unbowed and his spirit was never broken. In a statement he addressed to the Military Commission No. 2 that tried his case, he said: “You can dispose of my flesh, but I cannot yield to you my spirit and my conscience.” When his family, friends and supporters begged him not to return home from his Boston exile, he wrote: “If I die, so be it. But I hope my death will awake our people to the need to stand up and fight for themselves.” Imelda Marcos warned him in New York that grave danger

In 1944, as again the tides of war began shifting in favor of the Americans, and the Filipinos, Osawa would suffer a dreadful accident. Both his legs would be crushed by a truck during an evacuation from Manila. He would be eventually saved by Filipino doctors and by 1946, repatriated to Gunma in Japan. In 1959, he was back in the country as a businessman once more. In Kurosawa Akira’s controversia l film, Rhapsody in August (Hachigatsu no Kyoshikyoku), the character of Richard Gere, Clark, a Japanese-American living in Hawaii, returns to Nagasaki in order to meet the only surviving sibling of his father. In a scene as magical as it is treacherously moving, Gere’s character is seen talking by the moonlight with his aunt. Seated side by side, we hear the young man expressing his apologies to the aunt who repeatedly assures him everything is fine. Of course, nothing is fine in war— not in its beginning and not even in its ending. And, whose duty is it to apologize for any war that happens and whose privilege is it to declare that everything is alright when the violations and violence are over?

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

awaited him if he pursued his plan. She said that she even told Salvador Laurel who informed her that Ninoy would be coming home on August 21, 1983 that “if he [Ninoy] comes home, he is dead, and we will all be in trouble, including you.” But Ninoy persisted against the advice of all. Ninoy could have stayed in America, and even sought political asylum there. That would have been easily granted. He was already given a fellowship in Harvard and for the first time was enjoying the company of his beloved family. He was writing books and was a much sought-after speaker who could inform and entertain capricious audiences in America. He met with famous people who were lionized in their home countries and with whom he shared similar experiences. He was idolized by his people back home. He could have bided his time and returned home when the coast was clearer and safer. Instead, he chose to come home when there was a death sentence waiting for him before a firing squad. And he was shot at the stairway of the plane a couple of steps before he could touch his native soil. Now, a marker is placed at the tarmac where Ninoy fell. Some so-called honorable members of Congress had filed a bill renaming NAIA where he met his martyrdom. They should all hearken to what former Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma has said: “Out of the dark night of the dictatorship, his supreme sacrifice illumined the path that led Filipinos back to the daylight of democracy…” Now that they are ensconced in power, they should thank Ninoy for giving us back our democracy, which they are now exploiting to the hilt. More than ever since Martial Law, our country needs a Ninoy now. May his courage and sacrifice embolden the Filipinos to preserve our hardwon freedom. This is the only way we can ensure that “his spirit lives on and his dreams shall never die.”

A16 Friday, August 20, 2021

‘ON TRACK’ WITH 1.3-B tons of food wasted GOVT 15-M VACCINATED NCR globally each year–expert ADULTS BY END-AUG

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

ISCARDING food waste could also mean throwing away the economic opportunities possible when these are put to better use, according to an expert from the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). In an Asian Development Blog, ADBI Capacity Building and Training Associate Derek Hondo said food waste such as corn cobs, edamame pods, beetroot skins, sugarcane and potato skins can be processed into alternatives to plastic. Other uses of food waste, Hondo added, include energy recapture through anaerobic digestion or methane fermentation. The biogas that can be generated can lower reliance on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Creating loops for the food

system instead of disposing of discarded food is a type of circular economy that can decrease the strain on agricultural resources. Unused food and food waste can be recycled for other purposes,” Hondo said. Citing data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Hondo said up to 11 kilograms of food per capita in Asian developing countries and 80 kilograms of food per capita in developed countries are wasted. There are also studies that

estimate that 1.3 billion tons of food are lost annually around the world, he said. However, due to the lack of data in many countries, it was difficult to measure the extent of the problem. This compounds other challenges in food systems worldwide. Hondo said these challenges include near-capacity landfill sites, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. “Governments must recognize that achieving a sustainable economy will require innovation to transition to a circular economy, which, in the context of food usage, seeks to reduce the amount of wastage,” Hondo said. Creating food loops means transitioning to a circular economy which would greatly reduce waste while also addressing several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These SDGs include Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities; Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production; and Goal 13 on climate action. Earlier, in a Policy Brief titled Urban Food Systems and the Pandemic, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Food Programme, and the International Fund for

Agricultural Development found issues and gaps in food systems in Metro Manila, especially at the height of the lockdowns. These issues also included food supply bottlenecks especially at the start of the lockdown last year; information gaps within the food system which bared ineffective ICT systems; and capacity gaps in food provisioning. The report said efforts to address these losses also mean avoiding food waste in households and adopting measures to mitigate food losses in the country’s food supply chain. However, as to the magnitude of the losses, FAO Representative Kati Tanninen said in a briefing on Thursday that there is no baseline created to measure food loss in the country. The report said in Metro Manila, Food Loss and Waste (FLW) is a “blind spot in finding solutions to hunger.” The UN said even before the pandemic, poor Filipinos who have no money to buy would scavenge food from garbage cans. This was happening, the UN said, while restaurants dumped their unsold produce in garbage cans and consumers stockpiled food without a consumption or meal plan.

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE government is on track in inoculating, before end-August, half of the 30 million adult population in Metro Manila with Covid-19 vaccines. On Thursday, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer Vivencio “Vince” Dizon reported 41 percent of such target population are now fully vaccinated. The local government units (LGU) ramped up their inoculation drive during the two-week lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR). The national government allocated 4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for the initiative. “As of August 18, we were able to give jabs to 3 million [people in] NCR. Our average jab rate in NCR also rose from 130,000 jabs per day to almost 180,000 jabs per day. There was even a day when 231,000 were administered in a day,” Dizon said in an online press briefing. “Because of that, we are now confident we will reach our target of fully vaccinating 50 percent of the eligible population [in NCR],” he added.

Bubble option

ONCE the target is met, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the government will be able to achieve “population protection” in the region, where there will be fewer Covid-infected people who will be hospitalized.

Drilon eyes ex-DBM Usec as witness in ₧42-B fund transfer By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

ENATE Minor it y L eader Frank Drilon is banking on a resigned ranking official of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to unravel a “most unusual” P42-billion fund transfer to purchase “overpriced face masks and shields” as part of emergency measures against Covid-19. In a statement Thursday, Drilon prodded ex-DBM Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao to testify before a Blue Ribbon investigation and spill the beans on the overpriced procurement of face masks and face shields, along with other medical supplies. The Minority Leader sees Lao, being a ranking insider, as the potential “missing link” that could help probers unravel the anomaly, which was raised anew by Sen. Imee Marcos during Wednesday’s Blue Ribbon hearing on audit reports on the Department of Health’s handling of P67-billion pandemic funds. Marcos wanted to know, as Blue Ribbon chairman Sen. Richard Gordon was grilling DBM and DOH officials, why P42 billion in pandemic funds lodged with DOH under Bayanihan law were transferred to the DBM, with the Lao-headed DBM Procurement Service was to handle procurement of the face masks and shields, among others. “He [Lao] leaves behind him so many questionable transactions which we will dig into,” Drilon said on Thursday, adding: “We will not leave any stone unturned in uncovering what could be a possible overpricing in [the] Procurement Service.” The Commission on Audit (COA), in its report on DOH fund management on August 11, had questioned the transfer of monies between the two departments due to “lack of documentary requirements.”

Drilon said Senate probers are also keen to know “who is the official who directed the transfer of P42 billion? Is this done as a matter of course or is this the first time it was done? It is something unusual. A government official would be afraid to do this unless directed by somebody higher. This is what I want to find out,” Drilon said, noting “the former undersecretary quietly resigned from his post last June.” The senator suggested that “if there was overpricing, Lao should satisfactorily explain, otherwise he might be made responsible. We are not talking here of small money.” He affirmed that “there is a possible overpricing in the purchase of face masks to the tune of P1 billion,” Drilon, citing the COA report, noted that the DBM-PS procured around 113,905,000 pieces of face masks from different suppliers at an exorbitant price as high as P27.72 apiece, way beyond the P2 to P5 suggested retail price (SRP) released by the DOH. During Wednesday’s hearing, Drilon asked Gordon how much the Red Cross-purchased masks last year cost, and Gordon said it was P5 each at the height of the supply crunch worldwide, but the price slid later. The procurement of face masks, Drilon noted, cost the government around P1.66 billion in sum, double what it should have shelled out only, or “around P569.52 million.” Drilon also suspected “possible overpricing” of face shields at P100 million. Citing a COA report, he added the DBM-PS purchased 1,317,711 pieces of face shields at P120 each or for a sum of P158.13 million. However, he noted that the DOH’s SRP for a face shield is anywhere from P26 to P50 per piece only, far from P120. Following the SRP of P50 for face shields, the total price should only be around P65.89 million, said Drilon.

He said this will allow the government to consider measures, which will allow more business to operate in the NCR including the proposed “transport bubble” by Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion III. Under that scheme, vaccinated individuals will be allowed to move freely in the so-called “bubbles,” which may include public transportation hubs.

More capacity

ROQUE said the vaccination rate as well as the improving health-care utilization rate in Metro Manila were among the factors considered by the IATF in deciding whether to downgrade or extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the region beyond August 20, 2021. Last Tuesday, health experts expressed concern that the alarming surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in NCR can overwhelm its existing health-care facilities. Intensive care unit (ICU) beds for Covid-19 patients in NCR reached 72 percent utilization last Sunday. Roque said the ICU bed utilization in NCR went down to 61 percent last Wednesday. “Before, there were only 1,300 ICU beds [in NCR]. This was increased to 100 so there are now 1,400 [ICU beds] in Metro Manila,” Roque said. Roque said President Duterte is expected to announce the updated community quarantine classification of NCR on Friday.

DOH eyes funding for booster shots in ’22 budget

LTHOUGH the All Experts Group has yet to recommend Covid-19 booster shots, a Department of Health official said the agency is considering including the booster shots in the 2022 budget of the DOH. “Pinag-aaralan pa ‘yan kung kailangan ng booster [That is being studied if a booster is needed], although we are considering it in the 2022 budget,” said Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, chief of the National Vaccination Operations Center, during the virtual Kapihan Session of the DOH on Thursday. She said that the All Experts Group of the DOH has yet to make a recommendation on the booster shots in a month or two.

Vaccines administered

MEANWHILE, Cabotaje said a total of 29,127,240 Covid vaccines were administered: 16,250,043 for first doses and 12,877,197 for second doses. She said a total of 42,620,800 Covid-19 vaccine doses were delivered to the country, of which 15,936,260 were donated and the rest was procured.

Covid cases

THE DOH logged 14,895 additional Covid-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections to 1,791,003. There were also 8,248 recoveries and 258 deaths. Of the total number of cases, 6.2 percent (111,720) are active, 92.0 percent (1,648,402) have recovered, and 1.72 percent (30,881) have died. There were 387 duplicates removed from the total case count. Of these, 385 are recoveries. Moreover, two cases previously tagged as recoveries have been validated to be active cases and 180 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation. All laboratories were operational on August 17, 2021 while two laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System. Based on data in the last 14 days, the two non-reporting laboratories contribute, on average, 0.2 percent of samples tested and 0.3 percent of positive individuals. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

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A Brown income climbs 5% to ₧225.9M in Jan-June

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

Brown Co. Inc. on Thursday said its income for the first semester rose 5 percent to P225.9 million from last year’s P213.6 million on the back of real estate sales and the good performance of its associates. Consolidated revenues were down almost 12 percent to P289.4 million from P327.7 million last year. It said the company’s booked real estate sales declined by 11 percent to P259.9 million due to the imposition of stricter community quarantine restrictions which affected permitting activities for the launch of new project phases. Demand for A Brown’s real estate offerings remain strong as its niche

areas of operations Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, Butuan and Misamis Oriental posted real estate reservation sales of P669 million for the first half. “The company maintains its focus on delivering healthy, environmentfriendly and low-density community concepts to cater to the middle and premium markets,” it said. A Brown’s investments in the utilities sector, recorded as equity in net earnings of associates, contributed

P167.9 million to the bottom line, a 15-percent increase from P145.4 million last year. Operating associates Palm Concepcion Power Corp. and Peakpower Energy Inc. also delivered better results for the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, the company said. Fully-owned subsidiary Vires Energy Corp. secured a notice to proceed in April by the Department of Energy for the proposed Integrated Natural-Gas Fired Power Plant and LNG Storage and Regasification Project in Batangas. A consortium of Seanergy Singapore and London Marine Consultants has started work on the Pre-FEED of the Floating Power Plant component of the Project. Irradiation Solutions Inc., another wholly-owned subsidiary, is developing the Tanay Commercial Electron Beam Facility. The project is envisioned to be the first Commercial E-Beam Facility to be built in the Philippines.

Permitting and detailed engineering design for the Tanay facility is expected to be completed by December while construction is targeted to commence by 2022 and commercial operations to start by the second half of 2023. The listed company said in July that it filed its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a shelf registration of 50 million non-voting perpetual preferred shares. The company said it will initially offer some 15 million in preferred shares at an offer price of P100 apiece, or proceeds of P1.5 billion. The rest of the preferred shares will be offered within three years. The company said it aims to use proceeds from the initial offering to fund the development of pipeline real estate projects, land banking initiatives, funding requirements of subsidiary Irradiation Solutions Inc. and other general corporate purposes.

Megawide H1 income hits ₧353M M

egawide Construction Corp. said it posted a net income of P353 million for the first semester, a turnaround from the P303-million loss it posted a year ago. Consolidated revenues rose 20 percent to P7.6 billion from the previous year’s P6.34 billion. The company said it still posted a net loss attributed to the parent company to P93 million compared with last year’s P290 million, which it said was recorded as non-cash items. Megawide said its strong construction performance, with landport and airport operations contributing revenues of P360 million and P237 million, respectively, during the period.

DOE official is new OIC of Napocor

nergy Undersecretary Donato Marcos has been designated as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the National Power Corp. (Napocor). Marcos replaced Atty. Melchor P. Ridulme, Napocor Vice President for Legal Affairs, who was previously designated as OIC following the demise of the state firm’s President and CEO, Pio J. Benavidez. Acting on the letter signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea to the Finance Secretary, the National Power Board held last Wednesday a special meeting to formally welcome Marcos to Napocor. As Napocor OIC, Marcos was given authority to oversee the day-to-day activities of the corporation, and execute its plans, programs and policies approved by the Board and those authorized as well by existing laws, rules and regulations; to represent Napocor in all dealings and transactions with offices and agencies of the government and with other entities, subject to Board confirmation and applicable provisions under the corporation’s manual of approvals; and to act on all personnel movements and promotional appointments subject to existing Civil Service Commission guidelines. Lenie Lectura

The construction segment, which is a critical component in pump-priming the economy due to its significant multiplier effect, remains a bright spot in the company’s portfolio amid the ongoing pandemic, as activities were unhampered despite the re-imposition of enhanced community quarantine. “We remain bullish for our construction segment as our primary growth driver in the coming years, as we slowly work towards global herd immunity to usher in the next normal and restart the economy. As such, we remain focused on the opportunities in this segment, especially in the infrastructure front, which will enable us to upskill and further sharpen our competencies,”

Edgar Saavedra, the company’s chairman and CEO said. The company said it submitted bids and is currently awaiting results for the Metro Manila Subway Project, where it partnered with Tokyu Construction and Tobishima Construction from Japan for Package CP-104, and for packages 1 and 7 for the North-South Commuter Rail (NSCR) Southline with Hong Kong-based Chun Wo Construction. In addition, the company, together with an established Japanese player, is seriously evaluating the electro-mechanical and track works for the Malolos-Clark and Solis-Calamba stretches of the NSCR alignment. After successfully signing the joint-venture agreement with Cebu

City for the Carbon Market Redevelopment, which has a vital integrated transport component, and advancing discussions with Baguio City for a potential landport location, the company is in initial talks for a future bus rapid transit system in southwest Luzon. “We are cognizant that restoring the country’s economic health quickly will require a faster pace of commerce, an accelerated supply chain, and support for tourism campaigns. This is why we want to focus on rail infrastructure and other TODs, leveraging on our engineering and innovation advantage, to improve connectivity within adjacent growth center and accessibility across the country, to promote economic activities,” Saavedra said. VG Cabuag

Friday, August 20, 2021

SMIC wants to help solve climate crisis

BusinessMirror file photo

M Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding firm of the Sy family, on Thursday said it signed a commitment to support the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to ensure its businesses meet global sustainability targets. “We recognize the material role we play in the Philippines. We understand our responsibilities and we commit to using the TCFD recommendations to be part of the solution to climate change,” Frederic C. DyBuncio, SMIC president and CEO said during the virtual roundtable discussion on climate-related financial disclosure organized by the Climate Change Commission. The said task force is a globally recognized set of recommendations by the Financial Stability Board and is one of the frameworks recommended by the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission on environmental, social and corporate governance reporting. SMIC joins more than 2,300 supporters in demonstrating a commitment to building a more resilient financial system and safeguarding against climate risk through better disclosures. The adoption of these recommendations helps for more effective climate-related disclosures as these could promote more informed investments and in turn could enable stakeholders to better understand the financial system’s exposures to climate-related risks, the company said.

SM said it has taken the agenda of climate change as an integral part of its business strategy and how this creates lasting value for all its stakeholders, identifying United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action as one of its focus. Its climate action strategy advances two priorities that go handin-hand: resilience to equip its stakeholders and host communities for climate emergencies and sustainability to help mitigate the climate crisis, the company said. Through SM’s leadership role in UN ARISE, the private sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, it calls for a collective effort to incorporate disaster resilience as a core strategy of its business. SMIC said it allocates 10 percent of its capital expenditures to disaster resiliency and sustainability in the design of its malls and other developments. This includes water catchment facilities which reduce flooding in neighboring communities; science-based designs such as its SM City Marikina mall that sits on 246 stilts to enable it to withstand water level rise; and building the 60-hectare SM Mall of Asia complex 4.5 meters above mean lower low water level, among others. “For a business to be able to continue to grow and last for many years, it’s very important that it supports the community in a sustainable way. In the end, it’s the community and the environment that sustains the high growth of our businesses,” DyBuncio said. VG Cabuag

Globe, IWF to fight online SSPI taps EIM graduates for RELY sexual abuse of children By Lenie Lectura @llectura

ivant Corp., the project proponent of European Union-funded Renewable Energy for Livelihood and Youth (RELY), said four Electrical Installation and Maintenance (EIM) graduates installed solar energy systems that now powers four off-grid schools in northern Cebu. T he four EIM-Solar graduates from Bantayan Senior High School are among the 12 EIM-Solar graduates that were hired by Solar Systems Philippines Inc. (SSPI) to energize a total of 16 off-grid and remote schools in Cebu and Bohol under Project RELY. SSPI has also hired EIM-Solar graduates in Palawan during the installation of solar energy systems in six off-grid schools in Puerto Princesa City and San Vicente. SSPI is the contractor for the solar energization of Moamboc and Mambacayao Elementary Schools in Bantayan, Cebu. They completed senior high school under the EIM track, which has been upgraded by RELY to include solar technology in the curriculum. Project RELY has improved the EIM track of Bantayan Senior High School, Daanbantayan National High School, San Jose National High School in Talibon, Bohol, Palawan National School in Puerto Princesa and Roxas National Comprehensive High School in Roxas,

Bloomberg

Palawan to incorporate solar technology in the curriculum. Through Project RELY, Bantayan Senior High School has been named as an assessment venue for National Certification 2 of EIM graduates by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) while Daanbantayan National High School is being considered for such designation. “We’re proud of how we have helped the senior high school students. Through Project RELY, we’ve been able to expand our pilot project in Bantayan to other partner senior high schools in Daanbantayan (Cebu), Talibon (Bohol), and Puerto Princesa and Roxas (Palawan),” Vivant Foundation Executive Director Shem Jose Garcia said. “The upgrading of the EIM track will not only ensure the sustainability of the solar energization component of RELY, but will also provide opportunities for our youth to find employment in the energy of the future.” EIM remains to be a skill requirement of the industry, partic-

ularly in the construction sector. With a National Certification from Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA), EIM graduates are recognized by local and international employers. The National Certification is part of TESDA’s efforts to make Filipino skilled workers achieve global competitiveness and to ensure a steady supply of skilled workers equipped with innovative skills and positive work values. “We do not just aim for wellequipped workforce but also a workforce that will help in making a difference in the lives of every Filipinos and contribute to nation building. This is the exceptional character of the Filipino skilled workforce that we can all be proud of,” TESDA Director General Isidro Lapeña said. The four students are Paulo Canete, Andro Ejes, Matt Hendrick Villamor and Jephte Salve. They got employed by Solar Systems Philippines Inc. (SSPI). RELY is a project funded by the EU that aims to promote use of renewable energy to improve lives and foster climate change mitigation in poor and remote communities by energizing 16 off-grid public schools in the three Philippine provinces. Aside from improving the vocational education in five partner senior high schools, RELY also includes community development targeting families in the offgrid schools.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

lobe Telecom Inc. has joined the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to bolster its fight against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC). Froilan Castelo, the company’s general counsel, said Globe recognizes the need for a strengthened arsenal against OSAEC, hence, joining IWF is a move that will empower the company to address this. “Globe has always been an ally of child rights and child protection initiatives. Partnering with international monitoring groups such as IWF is a mindful step to further our mission in eliminating OSAEC in the country. Through this, we not only advocate responsible online behavior and wellness but help protect the future generation from OSAEC,” he said. IWF is a nonprofit organization that works closely with law enforcement agencies of national governments, internet service providers and platforms, and charitable organizations in taking down webpages, keywords, hash lists, and digital fingerprints that contain child abuse materials. “In the international battle against child sexual abuse material and the criminals who spread it online, it is good to see more and more companies taking a strong

stand and joining us to eradicate this harmful content from the internet,” IWF Chief Executive Susie Hargreaves said. “Knowing videos and images of their sexual abuse are still being circulated among online predators haunts victims, making the abuse something that can seem to never go away. The work of our analysts to find and remove this content for good protects victims and helps make the internet a safer place where criminals have no place to hide.” Aside from IWF, Globe has also partnered with the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC), the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P), and the United Nations Children’s Fund, to help it with its OSAEC-related initiatives. “We intended to do a more holistic approach in addressing online child protection. We address the source of these online materials by site blocking. We understand that this space is dynamic so we need to be continuously vigilant. At the same time, we also look at the victims, and the possible victims of this illegal practice. By giving them helplines and counseling assistance, they may be able to put the experience behind them and hopefully feel safe again,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe SVP for Corporate Communications and Chief Sustainability Officer.

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, August 20, 2021

Del Monte PHL forms joint venture with dairy producer

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

el Monte Philippines Inc. on Thursday said it created a joint venture entity with Vietnam Dairy Products to enable the Vietnamese company to sell its Vinamilk products in the Philippines. Del Monte and Vinamilk will have 50-50 joint ownership and control of the said firm, the company said in its disclosure. “The corporate vehicle for the joint venture had been incorporated and is in the process of completing licensing arrangements for the use of Del Monte and Vinamilk and securing the requisite permits and licenses including business permits, impor-

tation license and market authorizations from the relevant government agencies,” the company said. The joint venture company is expected to be fully operational to directly import and sell the products within a few months, Del Monte said. In the meantime, Del Monte will be the direct importer and distributor of the dairy products from Vinamilk for the Philippine market.

“The joint venture is intended to leverage the respective strengths of Del Monte and Vinamilk: Del Monte’s established distribution network in the Philippines and brand equity for healthy food and beverage products, and Vinamilk’s vast experience and technical know-how in dairy products,” the company said. The joint venture’s initial authorized capital stock is about P300 million, while the initial capitalization is about P72 million, which will be shared equally by the two firms. The joint venture will have six directors, with each of Del Monte and Vinamilk having the right to nominate three directors. The president of the new company will be nominated bv Del Monte while the chairman and the chief financial officer will be nominated by Vinamilk. “With the joint venture, Del Monte will have the opportunity to accelerate its entry in the growing

dairy industry in the Philippines,” the company said. DMPI reported in June that its net income for fiscal year (FY) 2021 ending April rose 33 percent to P4.6 billion from the previous year’s P3.5 billion. The company attributed the increase to improved sales, lower costs and expenses and greater efficiency. The company said sales during its fiscal year, which starts in May, were up 8 percent to P34.5 billion from last year’s P31.9 billion. About two-thirds of the company’s sales came from the Philippines, while the international market accounted for the rest. The company’s local sales grew by 10 percent to P19.2 billion, as strong retail sales more than offset the decline in food service sales due to the quarantine. Sales volume rose in its convenience cooking and dessert, and healthy beverages and snacks segments.

mutual funds

August 19, 2021

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

216.44

7.07%

-5.43%

-4.58%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.4335

41.19%

-1.03%

-0.22%

9.18%

10.53%

-9.73%

-7.6%

-4.87%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7374 6.39%

-6.53% n.a.

-8.27%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7344

-4.48% n.a.

-0.97%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.9804

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

4.7902

6.5%

-4.74%

10.3%

-3.34%

-2.81%

-3.06%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7173

5.15%

-5.6%

-6.67%

-4.42% n.a.

-4.93%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

96.91

24.68%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

44.0333

8.4%

-3.91%

-3.68%

-6.01%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

465.48

6.84%

-3.58%

-3.94%

-4.81%

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

1.0711

18.16% n.a. n.a.

-2.39%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.1437

11.14%

-3.26%

-2.89%

-2.1%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

33.4357

10.45%

-3.34%

-2.54%

-3.84% -5.26%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.865

7.25% n.a. n.a.

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.529

9.22%

-3.22%

-2.89%

-5.47%

756.02

9.07%

-3.21%

-3.06%

-5.69%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.6909

11.83%

-7.06%

-5.98%

-3.89%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.4992

9.25%

-5.04%

-4.02%

-3.44%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8636 8.7%

-3.55%

-3.21%

-5.9%

United Fund, Inc. -a

-3.64%

-2.19%

-4.62%

-3.01%

-2.53%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

3.1657

9.34%

-5.59%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 101.5304

9.03%

-5.6%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities 8.01%

5.2%

5.1%

-3.87%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8157

ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.1563

20.9%

12.59%

11.64%

8.54%

-0.41%

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

1.6618

5.43%

-0.17%

-2.09%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.1771

4.81%

-1.38%

-2%

-4.74%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.5627

5.02%

-0.14%

-0.97%

-2.45%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.188

0.91% n.a. n.a.

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

1.9309

4.18%

1.44%

-0.15%

-1.69%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.6431

2.88%

0.62%

-1.32%

-3.83%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.3192

3.57%

0.73%

-1.32%

-3.65%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.0325

4.97%

-0.74%

-1%

-2.94%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.4983 5.48%

-1.58%

-2.12%

-2.1%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9728

1.81% n.a. n.a.

-4.87%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.885

2.82% n.a. n.a.

-6.76%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8697

4.26% n.a. n.a.

-6.79%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

6.73%

-1.34%

0.8758

-2.19%

-2.58%

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

$0.0384

-2.27%

2.87%

1.24%

-1.84%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0837

3.16%

3.32%

2.93%

-5.78%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.7682 15.74%

9.62%

8.13%

5.66%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2215 7.09%

5.62%

4.3%

1.61%

0.49%

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

372.87

1.27%

3.08%

2.43%

1.925

-1.3%

1.14%

0.18%

1.3%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2371

1.22%

3.56%

4.26%

0.7%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2635

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

-2.25%

2.19%

1.26%

-1.42%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4408 -0.89%

3.26%

1.65%

-0.51%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.4892

-4.71%

4.42%

1.23%

-3.14%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6

1.3189

0.65%

2.69%

-0.17%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9798

0.5%

4.37%

2.09%

-0.53%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0372

-0.86%

4.8%

1.55%

-0.46%

-5.34%

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

August 19, 2021

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK CITYSTATE BANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK COL FINANCIAL FILIPINO FUND MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

43.8 111.5 84.15 24.4 7.95 9.36 46.15 20.6 56 19.36 112.9 76 4.29 7.33 0.365 0.66 207.4 2,550

44 112 84.4 24.55 8.48 9.38 46.2 20.65 56.05 19.86 113 76.5 4.3 8.63 0.37 0.68 217 2,598

44.6 112 84 24.25 7.99 9.35 46.2 20.7 56.05 19.4 113 76.5 4.3 7.34 0.36 0.65 217 2,550

44.6 112.2 84.5 24.4 8.48 9.47 46.35 20.75 56.05 19.9 114 76.8 4.31 7.34 0.37 0.65 223 2,550

43.8 110 83.9 24.25 7.94 9.32 46 20.4 56.05 19.3 112.9 76 4.3 7.32 0.36 0.65 206 2,550

43.8 112 84.4 24.4 8.48 9.38 46.2 20.6 56.05 19.9 113 76 4.3 7.32 0.37 0.65 217 2,550

800 738,170 1,044,480 495,900 2,200 298,500 1,390,300 176,500 210 10,900 217,250 49,270 51,000 900 310,000 20,000 24,930 10

35,200 82,132,835 88,036,217.50 12,029,190 17,592 2,798,044 64,238,780 3,636,760 11,770.50 213,082 24,577,268 3,771,824.50 219,320 6,602 113,900 13,000 5,417,400 25,500

INDUSTRIAL

AC ENERGY ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER AGRINURTURE AXELUM CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR MAXS GROUP MG HLDG MONDE NISSIN SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH CONCRETE A CEMEX HLDG EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CROWN ASIA EUROMED LMG CORP PRYCE CORP GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

8.56 1.18 25.2 0.53 27.7 73.95 286 18 3.15 3.9 12.7 18.3 12.68 6.01 2.77 13.18 24.35 13.44 8.25 17 79.5 0.65 1.15 104 197.5 27 5.99 0.218 16.4 7.5 0.88 4.48 0.127 140.1 0.81 47.9 1.22 14.26 8.31 6.62 6.11 13.8 0.97 1.41 1.69 1.83 4.15 5.41 2.83 8.15 0.92 5.7 1.19 4.61

8.57 1.19 25.25 0.54 27.85 74.4 290 18.04 3.18 3.96 12.88 18.4 12.72 6.08 2.85 14.28 24.75 13.48 8.27 17.02 79.8 0.67 1.18 104.8 198 28 6 0.225 16.42 7.75 0.89 4.59 0.129 141 0.82 48.5 1.23 14.46 8.5 6.79 6.18 13.94 0.98 1.42 1.7 1.86 4.43 5.44 2.85 8.16 0.93 5.84 1.21 4.62

8.76 1.18 25 0.55 28 74.4 284.8 17.96 3.17 3.92 12.86 18.38 12.7 6.08 2.79 14.38 24.8 12.6 8.29 16.32 80.35 0.65 1.17 92 195 28 5.99 0.218 16.04 7.6 0.94 4.59 0.129 141.9 0.8 48.5 1.22 14.18 8.25 6.8 6.2 13.9 0.97 1.4 1.7 1.87 4.14 5.45 2.85 8.11 0.93 5.84 1.22 4.39

8.76 1.2 25.5 0.55 28 74.4 290 18 3.18 3.96 12.9 18.4 12.74 6.09 2.85 14.38 25.3 13.5 8.35 17.24 80.35 0.65 1.18 108 198 28 6 0.23 16.46 7.6 0.97 4.59 0.13 141.9 0.83 48.5 1.23 14.46 8.55 6.8 6.22 13.94 0.98 1.42 1.7 1.87 4.14 5.45 2.88 8.2 0.93 5.84 1.22 4.66

8.53 1.16 25 0.53 27.7 73.95 281 17.92 3.14 3.91 12.7 18.16 12.6 5.97 2.77 14.38 24.25 12.6 8.17 16.3 79 0.65 1.15 90 195 28 5.99 0.218 16.04 7.5 0.88 4.59 0.127 139.9 0.8 48 1.2 14.12 8.25 6.45 6.1 13.9 0.97 1.37 1.69 1.86 4.14 5.41 2.8 8.01 0.92 5.84 1.2 4.39

8.56 1.19 25.2 0.54 27.7 73.95 290 18 3.18 3.96 12.7 18.3 12.72 6.09 2.85 14.38 24.35 13.44 8.25 17 79.5 0.65 1.18 104.8 198 28 6 0.225 16.4 7.5 0.88 4.59 0.129 141 0.82 48 1.23 14.46 8.5 6.79 6.11 13.94 0.98 1.41 1.7 1.86 4.14 5.41 2.85 8.15 0.93 5.84 1.22 4.61

34,780,100 743,000 4,771,300 6,163,000 380,000 105,100 234,830 437,400 337,000 26,000 47,900 1,365,800 83,900 486,900 127,000 200 702,600 849,600 6,052,200 35,846,600 627,860 12,000 5,958,000 172,930 343,160 1,600 12,800 250,000 6,602,300 125,100 8,344,000 2,000 11,460,000 558,660 3,387,000 400 625,000 24,300 2,032,200 290,800 473,400 11,900 104,000 3,346,000 58,000 3,000 10,000 40,000 6,233,000 538,600 27,000 1,100 297,000 7,833,000

-17,600 29,677,808 -6,234,497.50 -11,756,090 -433,298 -10,828,760 -278,145 21,740.00 -4,832,987 746,216.50 4,300 -29,200 4,760,480 25,500

299,621,932 876,750 120,663,240 3,313,730 10,571,970 7,773,844 67,419,540 7,860,152 1,064,300 101,990 611,880 25,003,214 1,066,182 2,959,785 357,530 2,876 17,435,940 11,217,402 50,020,552 609,835,454 50,319,168 7,800 6,930,330 17,434,124.50 67,633,188 44,800 76,724 55,800 107,878,706 940,129 7,696,550 9,180 1,465,920 78,616,790 2,750,940 19,300 756,100 344,582 17,028,594 1,969,055 2,910,399 165,566 101,250 4,674,180 98,290 5,600 41,400 217,200 17,739,940 4,352,205 25,090 6,424 360,890 35,748,680

-21,534,745 -534,740 8,970,485 123,960 -4,676,810 1,553,950 43,214,110 82,576 -60,010 3,434,896 -11 -106,630 -300,360 -16,140 -43,053,976.00 405,037,790.00 -2,066,342.50 49,200 -1,952,903 10,587,178 3,000 10,900 7,985,076 3,760 834,550 8,960 19,780,070 343,980 -2,219,250 -258,532 -1,280,779 -16,800 -34,260 -369,900 24,000 120,920.00

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.03 1.01 1.02 1,463,000 1,488,440 ASIABEST GROUP 5.96 6.4 6.3 6.3 5.9 5.96 10,600 63,130 AYALA CORP 730 732.5 735 735 724 732.5 62,590 45,727,735 ABOITIZ EQUITY 41.25 41.3 40 41.3 39.35 41.3 1,288,600 52,427,360 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 10.5 10.6 9.81 10.68 9.81 10.6 8,067,800 83,860,015 AYALA LAND LOG 4.12 4.13 4.07 4.15 4.05 4.12 2,539,000 10,373,570 ANSCOR 6.8 6.86 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.8 8,300 56,045 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.92 0.94 0.93 0.94 0.91 0.94 1,894,000 1,745,600 ATN HLDG A 0.57 0.58 0.56 0.58 0.56 0.58 269,000 151,060 COSCO CAPITAL 5.14 5.16 5.06 5.16 5.04 5.16 1,859,200 9,497,415 DMCI HLDG 6.29 6.3 6.33 6.41 6.22 6.3 16,117,300 101,836,307 FILINVEST DEV 7.42 7.79 7.4 7.8 7.4 7.42 22,100 165,263 GT CAPITAL 527 527.5 534.5 534.5 526 527 218,260 115,158,285 HOUSE OF INV 3.8 3.85 3.84 3.85 3.84 3.85 9,000 34,640 JG SUMMIT 62.2 62.8 60.7 62.8 59.25 62.8 1,252,290 77,182,146.50 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.62 5.94 5.95 5.95 5.54 5.95 12,000 71,263 KEPPEL HLDG A 5 5.4 5 5.4 5 5.4 12,000 64,000 LODESTAR 0.64 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.63 0.66 75,000 47,740 LOPEZ HLDG 3 3.14 3 3.01 2.99 3 1,032,000 3,095,980 LT GROUP 9.31 9.32 9.1 9.38 9.1 9.32 8,376,000 77,768,552 MABUHAY HLDG 0.465 0.53 0.54 0.55 0.52 0.53 100,000 53,500 MJC INVESTMENTS 1.5 1.58 1.5 1.58 1.5 1.58 7,000 10,820 METRO PAC INV 3.83 3.84 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.84 13,927,000 53,407,750 PACIFICA HLDG 3.1 3.23 3.29 3.29 3.29 3.29 1,000 3,290 PRIME MEDIA 1.99 2 2 2.1 1.97 2 713,000 1,434,550 SOLID GROUP 1.19 1.22 1.17 1.22 1.17 1.22 12,000 14,540 SM INVESTMENTS 995 999 999 1,000 980 999 72,830 72,489,780 SAN MIGUEL CORP 110.5 111 111.9 111.9 109.6 111 170,000 18,844,790

660,120 -3,045,275 16,360,460 30,037,667 -681,100 1,493,697.00 19,773,532 -76,536 -50,827,480 -30,800 46,900,259 -92,980 -28,873,182 -10,076,230 142,040 2,022,767.50 670,433

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.66 0.69 0.66 0.69 0.66 0.69 140,000 92,690 AYALA LAND 34.6 34.75 34.05 34.75 33.6 34.75 5,557,000 191,159,890 AREIT RT 36.75 36.85 36.8 36.9 36.7 36.75 985,400 36,257,560 BELLE CORP 1.38 1.42 1.37 1.42 1.37 1.42 391,000 548,470 A BROWN 0.86 0.87 0.88 0.88 0.86 0.86 400,000 346,350 CITYLAND DEVT 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.8 0.78 0.78 269,000 210,820 CROWN EQUITIES 0.125 0.128 0.125 0.129 0.125 0.128 730,000 92,890 CEBU HLDG 6.06 6.29 6.16 6.16 6.04 6.05 205,500 1,247,437 CEB LANDMASTERS 3 3.01 3.1 3.1 2.94 3 1,059,000 3,180,840 CENTURY PROP 0.42 0.425 0.425 0.43 0.415 0.425 13,040,000 5,504,450 DOUBLEDRAGON 10.08 10.1 10.16 10.16 10.08 10.1 365,800 3,699,742 DDMP RT 1.81 1.82 1.83 1.83 1.8 1.81 5,403,000 9,810,920 DM WENCESLAO 6.98 7 6.95 7 6.95 7 17,000 118,900 EMPIRE EAST 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.285 20,000 5,700 EVER GOTESCO 0.33 0.335 0.325 0.335 0.315 0.335 21,950,000 7,170,300 FILINVEST RT 7.28 7.3 7.35 7.4 7.27 7.3 3,904,400 28,532,779 FILINVEST LAND 1.1 1.11 1.1 1.11 1.1 1.1 3,891,000 4,281,620 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.86 0.87 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.86 75,000 64,140 8990 HLDG 7.11 7.38 7.06 7.06 7.06 7.06 2,200 15,532 PHIL INFRADEV 1.29 1.31 1.35 1.35 1.28 1.31 310,000 403,410 CITY AND LAND 1.24 1.28 1.27 1.28 1.24 1.24 535,000 670,170 MEGAWORLD 2.84 2.85 2.82 2.86 2.82 2.85 9,521,000 27,086,840 MRC ALLIED 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.295 0.28 0.29 7,260,000 2,080,050 PHIL ESTATES 0.53 0.54 0.51 0.54 0.51 0.53 6,647,000 3,466,660 PRIMEX CORP 1.93 1.94 1.93 1.94 1.81 1.93 450,000 838,790 ROBINSONS LAND 16.6 16.7 16.3 16.7 16.3 16.7 2,448,300 40,506,094 PHIL REALTY 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.27 590,000 159,850 ROCKWELL 1.52 1.55 1.5 1.56 1.5 1.55 185,000 285,380 STA LUCIA LAND 2.95 3 3.01 3.02 2.99 3 82,000 245,670 SM PRIME HLDG 34.5 34.7 34.85 34.85 34.1 34.7 3,534,700 122,176,640 SUNTRUST HOME 1.53 1.58 1.52 1.6 1.5 1.58 168,000 260,150 VISTA LAND 3.44 3.46 3.49 3.49 3.41 3.44 1,192,000 4,092,340 SERVICES ABS CBN 10.96 10.98 11 11 10.9 10.96 64,400 704,532 GMA NETWORK 13.6 13.64 13.5 13.8 13.24 13.6 4,288,600 57,746,008 MLA BRDCASTING 9 9.1 9.16 9.17 9.16 9.17 1,300 11,918 GLOBE TELECOM 2,102 2,106 2,110 2,134 2,068 2,102 152,300 320,199,370 PLDT 1,255 1,258 1,252 1,259 1,250 1,258 71,065 89,194,415 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.104 0.105 0.106 0.107 0.103 0.104 188,960,000 19,720,320 CONVERGE 27.5 27.95 27.2 27.95 26.85 27.95 6,957,900 190,338,305 DFNN INC 3.86 3.9 3.96 4 3.86 3.86 303,000 1,174,700 DITO CME HLDG 7.56 7.57 7.72 7.95 7.52 7.56 7,459,400 57,868,205 JACKSTONES 2.15 2.25 2.2 2.25 2.17 2.25 12,000 26,260 NOW CORP 2.03 2.05 2.06 2.08 2.03 2.03 714,000 1,458,820 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.38 0.385 0.38 0.39 0.375 0.38 4,620,000 1,745,800 PHILWEB 2.2 2.24 2.2 2.24 2.2 2.24 158,000 348,010 2GO GROUP 8.15 8.2 8.23 8.23 8.15 8.15 2,000 16,345 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.9 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 500 7,050 CHELSEA 2.55 2.58 2.53 2.6 2.51 2.55 618,000 1,586,290 CEBU AIR 43.6 44 43.8 44 43.55 44 250,700 10,980,285 INTL CONTAINER 181.9 183 182.6 183.9 180.3 183 605,540 110,602,052 LBC EXPRESS 16.22 16.7 16.22 16.22 16.22 16.22 3,800 61,636 MACROASIA 4.49 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.49 4.5 1,002,000 4,513,970 METROALLIANCE A 1.81 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.78 1.81 56,000 100,920 HARBOR STAR 1.04 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.04 1.04 164,000 171,590 ACESITE HOTEL 1.63 1.65 1.7 1.7 1.63 1.63 53,000 86,800 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.097 0.098 0.098 0.1 0.094 0.097 68,790,000 6,627,150 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.41 2.57 2.38 2.61 2.38 2.57 28,000 68,110 WATERFRONT 0.51 0.54 0.52 0.52 0.51 0.51 320,000 163,270 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7.11 7.47 7.1 7.52 7.1 7.52 1,500 10,944 STI HLDG 0.345 0.35 0.345 0.345 0.345 0.345 90,000 31,050 BERJAYA 5.45 5.5 5.5 5.52 5.45 5.5 15,800 86,702 BLOOMBERRY 5.95 5.96 5.8 6.06 5.73 5.95 4,400,100 26,163,326 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.97 2.02 1.97 2 1.97 2 2,000 3,970 LEISURE AND RES 1.44 1.52 1.49 1.53 1.42 1.53 731,000 1,096,670 MANILA JOCKEY 1.9 1.97 1.9 1.93 1.9 1.91 40,000 76,380 PH RESORTS GRP 1.67 1.68 1.65 1.7 1.65 1.67 1,417,000 2,369,040 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.4 0.405 0.41 0.41 0.4 0.4 1,100,000 444,550 ALLHOME 7.25 7.36 7.4 7.4 7.15 7.25 84,000 610,677 METRO RETAIL 1.29 1.31 1.28 1.3 1.28 1.29 1,205,000 1,561,090 PUREGOLD 39.4 39.95 39.4 39.95 38.95 39.95 1,079,900 42,569,175 ROBINSONS RTL 51.05 51.1 50.1 51.5 50 51.1 1,019,210 51,618,879.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP 87.7 88 88.75 88.75 87.7 88 7,630 672,890.50 SSI GROUP 1.06 1.07 1.09 1.09 1.05 1.06 7,688,000 8,132,030 WILCON DEPOT 24.4 24.45 24.1 24.5 24.1 24.45 449,700 10,972,975 APC GROUP 0.33 0.335 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 30,000 9,900 EASYCALL 5.21 5.35 5.21 5.21 5.21 5.21 7,000 36,470 GOLDEN MV 480 495 430.2 500 409 480 46,160 20,753,548 PRMIERE HORIZON 1.12 1.13 1.1 1.15 1.09 1.12 16,565,000 18,602,840 SBS PHIL CORP 4.18 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 7,000 29,400

120,110,340.00 429,875.00 -36,370 -79,980 -2,400 -1,244,984 335,700 209,650 -1,197,948 -4,065,030 296,700 -9,793,461 -1,782,000 -11,270 -9,089,840 8,450 -53,660 -13,440 5,691,208 -61,600 -4,947,180 -1,401,780 182,043,030 3,856,500 -27,910 -23,444,545 -666,030 1,045,776 8,160 -11,400 44,000 51,200 -6,715,325 17,155,780 27,060 237,610 5,680 10,354,963 2,000 56,880 56,200 207,730 -1,347,040 13,233,230.00 -4,020,279.50 -550,867.50 275,200 1,495,660 -9,900 -3,021,150 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 6.2 6.28 6.67 6.67 6.2 6.28 297,100 1,853,804 -28,375 APEX MINING 1.5 1.51 1.51 1.52 1.49 1.5 3,120,000 4,690,700 24,180 ATLAS MINING 6.05 6.06 6.26 6.26 6.03 6.05 2,048,700 12,481,242 54,450 Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2154 0.54% 5.12% 2.37% 0.29% BENGUET A 5.2 5.42 5.42 5.44 5.4 5.42 43,200 234,210 BENGUET B 5.08 5.34 5.34 5.34 5.34 5.34 1,200 6,408 Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7504 -0.51% 4.48% 1.71% -0.26% CENTURY PEAK 2.85 2.87 2.76 2.87 2.76 2.87 6,000 16,780 16,780 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities DIZON MINES 6.21 6.38 6.4 6.4 6.21 6.21 1,400 8,713 3,105 FERRONICKEL 2.34 2.35 2.37 2.37 2.33 2.34 2,794,000 6,553,830 1,004,100 ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $487.65 1.98% 3.17% 2.07% 0.78% GEOGRACE 0.28 0.3 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 110,000 30,800 LEPANTO A 0.137 0.138 0.139 0.14 0.137 0.138 4,990,000 689,040 ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є220.51 1.63% 1.04% 0.84% 0.61% MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 27,900,000 294,100 MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 303,400,000 3,034,200 ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2047 -2.78% 2.52% 1.38% -5.91% MARCVENTURES 0.94 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.93 0.96 1,633,000 1,543,090 NIHAO 1.2 1.25 1.31 1.31 1.2 1.2 767,000 931,970 First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0262 - 0.76% 1.85% 0.78% -1.5% NICKEL ASIA 5.43 5.45 5.57 5.63 5.42 5.43 13,900,900 76,335,017 11,369,151 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.97 0.99 0.98 0.99 0.94 0.99 467,000 456,990 PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0531 -3.62% 0.47% -1.14% -3.62% PX MINING 5.5 5.51 5.53 5.56 5.5 5.51 1,466,500 8,088,765 437,989.00 Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.529 0.82% 5.21% 1.83% -0.26% SEMIRARA MINING 17.28 17.3 17.42 17.42 17 17.3 1,636,600 28,256,290 11,703,974 UNITED PARAGON 0.0083 0.0085 0.0086 0.0087 0.0082 0.0082 109,000,000 905,500 Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0630926 3.33% 3.57% 2.08% 1.24% ACE ENEXOR 16.28 16.4 16.22 16.22 16.22 16.22 1,000 16,220 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 26,500,000 291,500 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2023 -0.87% 3.32% 0.71% -0.66% PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 16,800,000 184,600 PXP ENERGY 6.07 6.09 6.06 6.13 6.03 6.09 411,100 2,497,139 -65,047 Money Market Funds PREFFERED Primarily invested in Peso securities HOUSE PREF B 101 101.6 101 101 101 101 20,000 2,020,000 ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 130.52 1.37% 2.99% 2.54% 0.55% AC PREF B1 513 539 535 539.5 535 539.5 210 112,965 ALCO PREF C 103.1 109 106 106 103.1 103.1 9,500 1,006,797 -1,006,797 First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0544 0.99% n.a. n.a. 0.6% AC PREF B2R 520 535 520 520 520 520 950 494,000 -52,000 CEB PREF 43.55 44.5 43.6 43.6 43.55 43.55 8,300 361,760 -30,500 Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.308 1.56% 2.8% 2.55% 0.88% DD PREF 100.7 101.5 100.7 101.5 100.7 101.5 50,100 5,078,050 GTCAP PREF B 1,021 1,042 1,021 1,021 1,021 1,021 320 326,720 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities MWIDE PREF 100.5 101 101 101 100.4 101 5,340 539,220 -519,140 MWIDE PREF 2B 101 102.6 102.6 102.6 102.6 102.6 780 80,028 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0582 1.04% 1.61% n.a. 0.55% PNX PREF 3B 105 106.8 106.3 106.8 106.3 106.8 150 15,970 Feeder Funds PNX PREF 4 1,001 1,006 1,003 1,003 1,000 1,002 9,205 9,221,590 PCOR PREF 2B 1,015 1,016 1,010 1,016 1,010 1,016 340 344,600 Primarily invested in Peso securities PCOR PREF 3A 1,110 1,117 1,117 1,117 1,117 1,117 10 11,170 PCOR PREF 3B 1,155 1,159 1,160 1,160 1,159 1,159 15 17,390 Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.3343 30.29% n.a. n.a. 18.12% SMC PREF 2C 75.95 76.05 75.95 76.05 75.9 76.05 19,990 1,519,457 -212,800 SMC PREF 2F 78.5 78.65 78.65 78.65 78.5 78.5 16,510 1,298,398 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities SMC PREF 2J 76 76.15 76.15 76.15 76 76.15 38,900 2,959,790 - ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.99 4.21% n.a. n.a. 1.02% PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.4 10.78 10.4 10.4 10.4 10.4 1,700 17,680 GMA HLDG PDR 11.92 12.1 12.1 12.24 11.8 11.92 515,400 6,187,478 -4,618,254 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). WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.48 0.49 0.54 0.54 0.45 0.49 7,723,000 3,689,670 94,500 1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, TECH WARRANT 1.83 1.84 1.68 2.03 1.63 1.83 135,269,000 251,218,780 -3,466,640 2019. SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, ALTUS PROP 17.4 18 17.42 18 17.42 18 94,800 1,696,336 1,186,742 ITALPINAS 2.04 2.09 2.06 2.14 2.03 2.09 329,000 681,950 2019. KEPWEALTH 4.22 4.59 4.66 4.67 4.66 4.67 6,000 27,990 27,990 6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020. MERRYMART 3.42 3.43 3.42 3.45 3.4 3.43 1,907,000 6,512,250 -114,050 "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 EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 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." FIRST METRO ETF 100.4 100.5 100.5 100.5 100.3 100.5 5,060 508,502 22,102

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Banking&Finance

Digital banking growth hits snag with BSP move By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

HE pace of growth of digital banking hits a snag after monetary authorities decided to close the window for the application of new digital banks in the country starting September 1. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the monetary board believes the closure of the application will help them maintain a stable and competitive environment for these new digital banks. “The closure of the application window will allow the BSP to monitor the performance and impact of digital banks on the banking system and their contribution to the financial inclusion agenda,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said. “We need to ensure that the business environment continues to allow healthy competition among banks enabling them to offer innovative and competitive financial products and services to their clients,” Diokno added. Just this week, Singapore-headquartered Tyme Ltd. said it secured BSP approval for TymeBank’s GOTyme, a digital banking application set to launch next year. To date, the Monetary Board has

given approval to two incumbent banks, which have converted their existing licenses to a digital bank license. These include Singapore-based DigibankASIA Pte Ltd, “UNObank” brand and Union Bank of the Philippines’s UnionDigital Bank. Meanwhile, Overseas Filipino Bank Inc. and Tonik Digital Bank Inc. are banks that converted their existing licenses to digital banks. The BSP said digital bank applications that are received by the BSP until August 31 will be processed on a firstcome, first-served basis and will be assessed for completeness and sufficiency of documentation, information and compliance with the licensing criteria on the establishment of digital banks. Applicants that are able to submit the complete documentation on or before the said closure date will be processed by the BSP. Meanwhile, applications received on or before August 31 with noted documentary deficiencies or which do not meet the BSP’s pre-qualification criteria will be returned and will not be subject to further processing. By September 1, the BSP will no longer entertain nor accept new or returned applications, the central bank said.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Friday, August 20, 2021

State-guaranteed loans in farm sector hit ₧3.5B

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

TATE-guaranteed loans in the agriculture sector reached P3.5 billion in the first half of the year, nearing the P3.7-billion target of Philippine Guarantee Corp. (PhilGuarantee) for the entire year.

PhilGuarantee President and CEO Alberto E. Pascual said loans guaranteed through the firm’s partner lending institutions have benefitted 35,360 small farmers and fishers. Crops subsector accounted for the bulk of the guaranteed loans to agriculture sector, with P3.35 billion or 96 percent covered over the January to June 2021 period, Pascual

said in a report to the Department of Finance (DOF). Pascual said that for the second quarter of the year, guaranteed loans to the agriculture sector by 47 partner lending institutions (PLIs) have already reached P3.499 billion, which is already 95-percent of the 2021 target of P3.675 billion, benefitting 35,360 small farmers and fishers. He

added that the outstanding balance as of June 30 amounted to P1.247 billion. The livestock subsector came in second, with borrowings as of June this year amounting to P112.63 million, followed by fisheries with P27.86 million and poultry with P12.03 million. “Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis in March 2020, PhilGuarantee lost no time to enable its mandate and respond to the clarion call of the government to provide assistance to affected agri-based workers by way of its guarantee program,” Pascual said. As the administrator of the Agricultural Guarantee Fund Pool (AGFP), PhilGuarantee encourages its PLIs to lend to small farmers and fishers or their organizations, by providing guarantee coverage to their unsecured agricultural production loans.

Last year, PhilGuarantee’s approved guarantee lines to 41 PLIs extending loans to the agriculture sector amounted to P5.14 billion, with guaranteed loans totaling P4.25 billion. “This amount is 21.4 percent beyond our goal of P3.5 billion and resulted into assisting 48,038 small farmers and fisherfolk nationwide. Outstanding balance as of 31 December 2020 amounted to P401.5 million,” Pascual said. During the enhanced community quarantine period last year, Pascual said the PhilGuarantee Governing Board approved the reduction of the rate of guarantee fee from 1 percent to 0.5 percent and the increase of the guarantee coverage from 85 percent to 90 percent of the loan amount for palay-farmers’ borrowing through the AGFP. These measures were effective from April 15 to July 15, 2020.

SSS enhances online filing of funeral benefit claims

claimant; and automatic sending of email notification to the claimant on the successful online submission, assignment of the claim to the concerned branch for processing, and status of claim (approved, rejected, or denied). “The online facility for FBCAs, which we introduced last July 2020, assures memberclaimants with a faster means of transaction in the safety and convenience of their homes,” SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio was quoted in the statement as saying. The said facility can be accessed by member-claimants by logging in to their My.SSS accounts in the SSS website, proceeding to the E-Services tab and clicking “submit funeral claim application,” the SSS said. Mandatory online filing of FBCAs is applicable to all member-claimants, except for the following cases: n For funeral expenses incurred without corresponding Official Receipt/contract by member-claimant other than the

Alas and Agreement Sponsor and Witness Eden Santos after the signing of an agreement for new membership in the Alas Oplas Alliance Firms at their office in Meycauayan City, Bulacan on July 22. With the agreement, Alas Oplas Alliance Firms has now eight members in Bulacan. The other members are: SJS & Co. (CPAs); DRTorres and Company (CPAs); Osmundo Salonga Jr. Accounting Services; LM Gonzales and Co. (CPAs); Elsa Liwanag-Tinsay CPAs Co.; Mirasol Patawaran Mercado Accounting Services; and MLEC Accounting Services. Alas Oplas Alliance Firms is an association of independent CPA practitioners and firms that delivers invaluable training and tools helping members to be equipped when it comes to providing first-rate services to their own clients. The alliance has more than 130 partners in 78 firms in 13 regions nationwide. Photo courtesy Alas Oplas Alliance Firms

HE Social Security System (SSS) announced it eased the requirements for the online filing of Funeral Benefit Claim Applications (FBCAs) of member-claimants through the portal of the SSS web site. Starting July 31, member-claimants are no longer required to have an issued SSS Unified Multi-Purpose Identification or SSS digitized ID card to submit FBCAs online, the pension fund manager said. It further said that in case the claimant is the dependent legal spouse of the deceased member, an online certification with undertaking on his/her defrayal/payment of funeral expense will now be required instead of uploading and submitting other documents as proof. Moreover, the SSS has applied other process enhancements such as the automatic assignment of the FBCA filed online that has passed the system validation to the concerned SSS branch based on the registered mailing address of the

Onboarding for member retention

Fed minutes show most execs see taper this year

NEW MEMBER Photo shows (from left) Orosco Accounting Office Managing Partner Gerry Orosco, President Donnies

share the following tips from HE beginning of the Michelle Schweitz, marketing year is usually member manager, Community Brands: renewal time for most On the first 30 days: associations. This is when associations send their renewal Association World n Thank them by sending a letters to members that inpersonal email or hand-writOctavio Peralta clude a billing statement for ten note (or even take a mothe payment of their annual ment to call) with a welcome membership dues. gift as well as listing them in your e-newsletter During a crisis situation such as what we’re under, “Welcome, New Members!” experiencing now, associations anticipate n Make them feel at home by letting them members to weigh in their decision whether to know how your organization works, what to renew, delay renewal or not to renew at all. For expect, and where to go for information. Promany associations, renewal time is sometimes vide them with a digital welcome packet that stressful but an opportunity as well to revisit includes a reminder of the benefits, importhe association’s membership lifecycle. tant dates, types of communications, online In my March 15, 2017, column entitled “Asresources, etcetera. sociation Membership Life Cycle,” I described On the 30th to 60th day: the five stages that comprise the membership n Invite them to join by asking them to life cycle: awareness, recruitment, engageconnect with you and other members. ment, renewal and reinstatement. This cycle n Personalize the member experience by repeats itself in the same sequence or occurpresenting them with content specific to their rence over time. needs and interests or suggest discussion groups The membership life cycle is a useful tool they might consider joining. to diagnose and fix the challenges that face n Use your virtual events and other enevery membership program, which could, for gagement activities to make new members feel instance, expose a weak link, providing time welcome, appreciated, and part of the associaand effort into making some changes to adtion. Offer a networking virtual event where dress this weakness. they can quickly connect with each other and One way associations can address memexisting members. ber retention is by undertaking a successful On the 60th to 90th day, continue engaging onboarding program right from the start of with new members during this time as well as membership. Onboarding is not the same as an start asking for their feedback. orientation, which is a one-time event welcomFind out what they’ve found most useful ing members to the association. Onboarding is and what could make their experience even a series of events (including orientation) that better. Be sure to use their feedback to adjust helps understand how to maximize the benefits new member activities for the future, and let of membership. them know what changes you’ve made based The first months of membership set the on their inputs. stage for your relationship with new members. So, the first impression you make needs to be Octavio Peralta is founder and CEO of the Philippine Council of a good one. Your members’ entire experience Associations and Association Executives and concurrently, President with your association sways their decisions of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The to renew or not. That’s what makes your onviews Peralta expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect boarding experience so important. I’d like to those of the BusinessMirror. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org

OST Federal Reserve officials agreed last month they could start slowing the pace of bond purchases later this year, judging that enough progress had been made toward their inflation goal, while gains had been made toward their employment objective. “Various participants commented that economic and financial conditions would likely warrant a reduction in coming months,” minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 27-28 gathering, released Wednesday, said. “Several others indicated, however, that a reduction in the pace of asset purchases was more likely to become appropriate early next year.” The minutes also showed that most participants “judged that it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year.” U.S. central bankers next meet September 21-22. While the record shows that they don’t yet have agreement on the timing or pace of tapering asset purchases, most had reached consensus on keeping the composition of any reduction in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities purchases proportional. “The FOMC minutes again reveal a wide spread of opinion on the question of the timing, speed and structure of the upcoming tapering,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics Ltd. said after the release. The minutes showed split views on the durability of faster inflation as well as on key areas of policy making.

Inflation debate

WHILE the recent surge in consumer prices has grabbed policy makers’ attention and prompted wide agreement on pulling back on asset purchases, “several” meeting participants were still worried that inflation could slump back into the pre-pandemic

trend of running below the 2 percent target. On the labor front, officials saw progress—yet the late-July discussion also showed uncertainty over both near- and medium-term labor market slack, given the job destruction tied to the pandemic. Policy choices going forward are also likely to be influenced by new appointees to the Fed Board as the Biden administration moves to fill as many as four positions by early 2022. “Several participants emphasized that employment remained well below its prepandemic level and that a robust labor market, supported by a continuation of accommodative monetary policy, would allow further progress toward” labor-market goals, the minutes said. “Several participants also commented that price increases concentrated in a small number of categories were unlikely to change underlying inflation dynamics sufficiently to overcome the possibility of a persistent downward bias in inflation.”

Treasuries advanced

TREASURIES advanced after the release, though remained down for the session, with 10-year yields at 1.28 percent as of 3:47 p.m. in New York, compared with about 1.29 percent before the release. The S&P 500 Index of equities slumped 0.8 percent. Fed policy makers have differed publicly in the weeks since the meeting over when the central bank should start tapering, with some, like Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, wanting to a see a “few more” strong jobs reports and others, such as Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, saying he’s open to announcing plans for a reduction at the next meeting if employment figures come in well. “Many participants saw potential benefits” in ending the Fed’s bond buying before targets were hit for raising interest rates,

dependent legal spouse (other preferred beneficiary). n If available proof of defrayal/payment of funeral expenses is a memorial/insurance plan and is not in the name of the deceased member and claimant as the plan holder. n If without proof to establish SSS membership of the deceased member. As of June 2021, the SSS recorded 37,174 FBCAs submitted online. Meanwhile, non-SSS member claimants must file their Funeral Benefit Claims at any SSS branch, following applicable branch servicing guidelines such as the number coding system, drop-box system, or appointment system. The step-by-step guide on how to file FBCAs online is available at https://bit.ly/ SSSFuneral. The SSS funeral benefit is a cash grant, ranging from P20,000 up to a maximum amount of P40,000, given to whoever paid for the burial expenses of a qualified deceased member.

the minutes showed. Policy makers also discussed the importance of disassociating moves on asset purchases from a decision on an eventual rate hike. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Wednesday that he would like to see the tapering of the asset-purchase program done by the first quarter of 2022—a much faster pace than prior wind-downs. On the composition of bond-buying purchases, “most participants remarked that they saw benefits in reducing the pace of net purchases of Treasury securities and agency MBS proportionally.”

Progress achieved

THE minutes indicate that officials still see room for labor-market improvement. Job gains have been strong, averaging 617,000 a month through July. The unemployment rate stood at 5.4 percent last month, but broader measures still show slack. The employment-to-population ratio for workers between 25 and 54 years old was 77.8 percent last month compared to 80.5 percent at the start of 2020, while Hispanic and Black unemployment rates remain high at 6.6 percent and 8.2 percent. The recovery has been strong with both supply and demand imbalances pushing prices higher. The Fed’s inflation indicator rose at a 4 percent pace for the 12 months ending June compared with the Fed’s 2 percent target. The minutes showed that “most participants” remarked that their standard for progress had been achieved with respect to the price stability goal. Fed officials cut their benchmark lending rate to zero in March 2020 and announced they would buy $200 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities and $500 billion of Treasuries to support market functioning. Bloomberg News

Friday, August 20, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

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Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Olivia Cheng, 42; Misha Collins, 47; Amy Adams, 47; Al Roker, 67. Happy Birthday: Slow down, relax and consider where each decision will lead. Time is on your side, and making the best decision for you will make a difference. Focus on personal growth and physical fitness, and you will be happy with the results you get and how much more you can accomplish when you feel good. Make stability and security your priorities. Your numbers are 4, 10, 18, 22, 27, 34, 47.

PHOTO BY SCOTT GRAHAM ON UNSPLASH

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Reach out to people who share your concerns, and you’ll form a tight bond. Nurture a meaningful relationship by physically showing how much you care. Change isn’t necessary, but agreeing on a plan will ease stress and help you move forward. HHHH

OW dare you, Secretary Duque! How dare you complain about the Commission on Audit’s (COA’s) factual report on the mishandling of funds in your department! How dare you play victim when at this very moment, Filipinos continue to die from Covid-19, stuck in tricycles, unable to get a bed in any hospital, with vaccines continuing to be sparse or delayed. How dare you go all emo in front of lawmakers, when thousands of grossly underpaid nurses and other health-care workers still have yet to receive the benefits due them, despite the 12-16 hours shifts they have had to pull to tend to the sick and dying among Covid patients. As a long-time government official, this is not the first time around the block, so to speak, for Health Secretary Francisco Duque III in terms of the COA audit reports. He was PhilHealth president from 2001 to 2005, Health Secretary in 2005-2009, chair of the Civil Service Commission from 2010 to 2015, GSIS president in 2017, before returning to the again head Department of Health (DOH). All of these government agencies have been audited by the COA. And this is not the first time either for the DOH to receive an “adverse opinion” from the COA, which is an auditing term that means the agency “misrepresented, misstated, and did not accurately reflect its financial performance and health” (Investopedia). In 2019, the COA also gave the DOH an adverse opinion, citing misstatements in its reported assets, liabilities and net assets/equity, including an unrecorded value of land of some P16.42 billion by the San Lazaro Hospital. Among the COA’s key findings: the DOH only disbursed some 65 percent of its obligated funds “mainly due to partial implementations/realizations of 10 DOH major programs with 11.84 percent to 86.93 percent disbursement rates, showing the inability to optimize the utilization of its authorized appropriations” for that year. The COA also found P2.2 billion in “expired or overstocked/slow moving or nearly expired” drugs

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Set your sights on what you want, and put thought into how you will get your plans in motion. A discussion with someone in a superior position will help bring about positive change that will encourage new opportunities. Mix business with pleasure. HH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Use everything available to ensure you do the best job possible. Listen to suggestions and develop ideas that help you cover every potential problem that can surface. Refuse to let anyone lead you astray. Selfimprovement projects are favored. HHH

and medicines, as well as medical and dental supplies. Similar disbursement issues and problems with expired medications were also observed in previous years’ audits of the DOH, all of which may be found on the COA’s web site. In every annual audit report, the COA issued recommendation upon recommendation on how the DOH should improve the management of its finances, how to collect liquidation reports, and how to properly enter financial transactions in their books, in keeping with accepted global accounting standards. And for the apparent lapses in the use of funds last year, Duque and other DOH officials cannot pin the blame on Covid-19 difficulties and the inability to gather the proper documents as proof of their financial transactions. Most government agencies were subjected to similar Covid challenges to their operations, and yet not all of them received adverse opinions in their audit reports. In fact, quite a few of them even received an unqualified opinion, the highest audit rating an agency can garner stating the accuracy of its financial statements. So it is extremely worrisome that government officials like Duque cry rape over the COA’s audit report when, in fact, the DOH was given a lengthy period of time to defend their financial statements. It should also be noted that the COA never said in its audit report that anyone in the DOH stole the

questioned P67.3-billion in pandemic funds. Also, it doesn’t give us taxpayers any measure of comfort to hear the highest leader of the land castigating the COA for basically doing its job. After all, to be able to claim that one is running an honest government, officials and the agencies they head have to be transparent in all transactions. The COA is an independent government body which derives its powers from the Philippine Constitution. It evaluates how an agency uses its funds commensurate to the purpose and function of its existence. And as such, the COA’s primary purpose is to safeguard public funds, taxpayers’ money so to speak, from being misspent or inappropriately used. Despite Duque’s grief and President Duterte’s frustration, it’s a welcome relief to hear COA chairman Michael Aguinaldo say his agency will continue to “fulfill its constitutional mandate.” As it should be. COA isn’t the enemy here. Neither is it the media, which merely reports on the published audit reports. It is the DOH’s responsibility to ensure it spends its budget wisely, giving the largest benefits to the most people, and ensure documents will cover all financial transactions in the fulfillment of its job. Just like any government agency. Audits are nothing new. It is part of regular government operations. Duque should stop the screeching and just do his job more efficiently. Then maybe we’ll all sleep better at night. n

Mid-Autumn Festival collection bags Packed in elegant limited-edition Filipino-designed bags, China Blue by Jereme Leung’s selection of handcrafted mooncakes in four premium flavors marks luxury hotel Conrad Manila’s celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. “We are delighted to celebrate this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival with our Harvest Mooncake Bag collection, an artisanal celebration combining festive treats and fashionable fanfare in one elegant, sustainably sourced and packaged,” shares Linda Pecoraro, Conrad Manila’s general manager. “In collaboration with local fashion designer Zarah Juan, the bags are available in two limited editions, proudly designed with the intention of preserving the cultural heritage of the Philippines.” A fine testament to local craftsmanship, the bag’s embroidery is a depiction of the traditional barong fabric with an intricate design of rice grains, a graceful and seamless homage to Mid-Autumn’s lunar harvest and the national wear of Filipinos. Each bag is handcrafted from upcycled wood by artisans of Paete, Laguna. The intricately designed bags come

in two classic colors: luscious red and coral tan. Heightening the ante this Mid-Autumn season, Executive Chinese Chef Eng Yew Khor takes inspiration from the designer bag collection to introduce the new Baked Fragrant Pandan with Taro Black Gold Charcoal Mooncake. Embellished in classic black and edible gold paint finishing, this finesse treat is handcrafted in round perfection with a luscious balance of smooth pandan paste and a creamy taro center. Celebrate a joyful abundance this Mid-Autumn season with Conrad Manila’s diverse gifting selections for business associates, family and friends. Each mooncake gift set comes in a box of four delightful baked mooncakes, with options to mix and match flavors including Baked Red Bean Single Salted Egg Yolk and Baked White Lotus Single Egg Yolk. The mooncake gift set is available for purchase from now until September 21, with a 20-percent Early Bird discount for preorders on or before August 31. More information can be found at www.eatdrinkhilton.com.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’ll have to do things differently if you want to stand out and outsmart any competition you encounter. A passionate approach to the responsibilities you take on will help you gain respect and encourage financial opportunities. Step outside your comfort zone. HHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Forge ahead. Engage in the physical aspect of your responsibilities, and you will feel productive and closer to reaching your goal. Observe what others are doing, but don’t feel compelled to follow someone who heads in a different direction than you. HHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Speak pointedly and you will resolve issues quickly, leaving more time to socialize and enjoy yourself with friends and relatives. An understanding you have with someone you love will help you decide how or where you live. Romance is encouraged. HHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t settle for less than what you want and deserve. When one door closes, another will open. Be true to yourself, and go after what you want. It’s up to you to take responsibility for your happiness. Make physical improvement a priority. HHHHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Keep your life simple and meddlers at a distance. Look for the path that satisfies your needs and makes you feel good about where you put your time, money and help. Socialize with people who offer insight and mental stimulation. HH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Act, and get things done on time. An opportunity to spend time with a friend or relative will lead to a reunion with someone you haven’t seen for some time. Expect a colorful rendition of someone’s life to spark your imagination. HHHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take precautions to avoid injury or illness. Use your intelligence to ward off an argument. Make adjustments that help you save money. Don’t limit what you can do because someone wants you to pay for something that isn’t your responsibility. HHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Think big, but don’t go over budget. Pay more attention to how you look and feel by making nutritional habits and fitness routines priorities. Be direct with someone you love regarding your intentions, then make plans. HHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look on the bright side—it will be easier to get things done and win favors from those who have something to contribute to your plan. A positive change regarding money, lifestyle and prospects looks promising.HHH Birthday Baby: You are open-minded, enthusiastic and persistent. You are innovative and helpful.

‘baby talk’ by paul coulter (and ava coulter, age 2) The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Web site for film buffs 5 Machine workers? 9 Splinter groups 14 Crime film genre 15 Artificial bait 16 Be of use 17 Graduate’s school (notice letters 3-6 in this clue’s answer) 19 Land, in Lyon 20 Fat source from a tree 21 ___ by the light 23 “Don’t give up!” 24 Face-to-face exam 26 Taking care of business 27 Became less emotionally involved with (letters 4-7) 31 Disrespects 34 No longer edible 35 Name hidden in “Friday” 36 1982 film inspired by “Pong” 37 Dell products 38 Battery contents 39 Monk’s condition, briefly 40 Batman and Robin, e.g.

1 Like the Witch of the West 4 43 Juliet’s words before “That which we call a rose” (letters 7-10) 47 Good kind of market 48 Loads and loads 49 UK military branch with jets 52 Hamsterlike pets 55 Hot, in Vegas 57 Saved on supper, perhaps 58 It celebrates 1867’s Constitution Act (letters 5-8) 60 Reeked 61 Syrian, say 62 Viral internet item 63 Like a baby’s arms, usually 64 Russo of Ransom 65 Deserving a “D” grade DOWN 1 Not suitable 2 Back biter? 3 How a bar may be lit 4 Dracula author Stoker 5 Fashion/jewelry chain 6 Ban 7 Coll. senior’s test, maybe

8 Belgrade resident 9 Smooth and lustrous 10 No matter whether 11 One might involve making a king disappear 12 Word before “rotation” or “swing” 13 Coaster? 18 Sculptor Henry 22 Amount of work 25 Garment that sounds like a certain dog’s hair 27 Channel whose first letter stands for “Game” 28 Exists no longer 29 Garfield dog 30 Road safety org. 31 Tuck away 32 Curve, as an eyebrow 33 Irish loaf 37 Groaner 38 ___ up one’s sleeve 40 Pickle flavoring 41 Fame-hungry person 42 What :-( means 44 Riding down a river, in a way

5 Toy used on a staircase 4 46 Babe director Chris 49 Contest with bronc riding 50 1836 battle site in Texas 51 Philadelphia hockey pro 52 Have a sudden inspiration? 53 “___, Brute?” 54 Lasting mark 56 Alternative to steps 59 “Whose side ___ you on?” Solution to today’s puzzle:

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, August 20, 2021

Cainta resident is grand winner of ‘Kapuso Bigay Premyo’

The award-winning Singaporean series Last Madame, which is now streaming on Netflix.

EVERYONE dreams of owning their own house but with the rising cost of daily expenses, this may not be an easy feat for the average Filipino. There is also a scarcity of affordable housing options accessible to the masses. These factors make joining promos like the Kapuso Bigay Premyo Panalo worthwhile as it gives one the chance to own a home just by sending entries with the required proofs of purchase. Kapuso Bigay Premyo Panalo was this year’s installment of GMA’s promo for the first half of the year. It recently concluded its 10-week run with P8 million worth of prizes given away to 1,600 winners and sari-sari store affiliates through its partner sponsors Aji-No-Moto Umami Seasoning, Nescafé, Milo and Bear Brand Fortified Powdered Milk Drink. The promo fulfills its mission to help and give hope to GMA viewers and listeners nationwide by giving away prizes to daily and weekly winners, including 40 winners of P100,000 cash and one winner of a house and lot unit from lumina Homes. Thirty-four-year-old Grace Jean Buringgit from Cainta, Rizal, gets the grand prize as her entry was the lucky one drawn among thousands to win a townhouse unit in one of Lumina’s neighborhoods. GMA viewers and listeners still have the chance to win cash and other prizes as the media giant is all geared up to load its bag full of hope once again in time for the most joyous season of the year. More information can be found at www. facebook.com/GMAPROMOS.

Meet the ‘Last Madame’ Erik Matti’s A Girl and A Guy

Must-watch Erik Matti film

FINDING love is hard enough in normal times, but in an era where social media is at its height, the risks multiply and the complexities escalate. Director Erik Matti shows just how tricky the world of relationships, connections and intimacies are in today’s society in his new film, A Girl and A Guy. Only available on GMovies in partnership with Upstream as its official ticketing and streaming platforms in the Philippines, A Girl and A Guy is the first Upstream Original movie since the VOD platform’s introduction last year. It stars Alexa Miro as Fiona, a gregarious, ambitious advertising production staff member who is determined, by hook or by crook, to achieve fame as a filmmaker; and Raf (Rob Gomez), a laidback and introspective marketing associate whose deep thoughts about the present keep him from planning his future. The contrast in their personalities, coupled with the intricacies of dating in digital times, promises a compelling and memorable love story. The film is also Matti’s first major film after some time, and heralds a true return to form for the veteran filmmaker, whose signature gritty and realistic style has always grabbed the attention of audiences. “We’re happy to bring to millennials one of the hottest Filipino-made films. This is also a good opportunity for our audiences to show support to our local films and talents,” said Janis Racpan, director for Business Development and Marketing at Globe Telecom. A Girl and A Guy features an ensemble cast that includes Pau Benitez, Candice Ramos, Rosh Barman, Sarah Holmes, and Carlo Tarobal. Also joining them are Emilio Francisco, Chloe Reyes, Roeder Camanag, Donna Cariaga, Marina Benipayo, and Shaun Salvador. A Girl and A Guy is rated R-18. Tickets are available on GMovies at only P210.

andor is always a lovely instrument to use when a film confuses you. Or, when you are at a loss for a handle with which you could approach an art form, which in this case is cinema. I am referring to my initial response to the TV series, Last Madame, now streaming on Netflix. Personally, I had to contend with the origin of the film, which is Singapore. Of all the Southeast Asian countries, Singapore and its film industry “suffers” from its prosperity. We expect many things from this city-state—but not a film that grips us, a cinema that will be as relentlessly unforgettable as its neighbors. Foremost, we cannot expect poverty porn from Singapore. At this point, the Western gatekeepers are eternally attracted to the depiction of hunger and crime as a banner for an “important” Asian film. That genre or obsession, after all, is a default act of many Asian cinematic traditions. Then there is that part of any nation’s life, which is history? From the outside, we sense only the present and we glimpse the future in Singapore, but not its history. It is a territory that has moved so fast away from its histories and only the museums, where the background of its development resides curated, are the keeper of such memories. Then comes this series, Last Madame. It is about brothels and the battery of women. It tells of a place and time when women are kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder. In fact, the first episode opens with a young woman made to stand on a dais so that

everybody could see her, where men could ogle at her youth from all angle. It is an auction and two bidders are furiously at it, competing for the young girl because she is a virgin. One of the bidders is a woman, a mysterious woman, all coiffed to kill and enchant. She is Fung Lan and she owns one of the top brothels in town, the House of Phoenix. Placed behind another bidder, we see in her eyes the scheme and seduction her person is capable of. She eventually bids so atrociously that she gets the young girl, much to the annoyance of a male bidder. Where the real Singapore stays clean to its ever-moving present, Last Madame looks back fiercely to a personal history. The tale begins with a young woman who goes back to Singapore, enters this old, crumbling but lovely house. The young woman is Chi Ling (Fiona Fussi), a banker who works in Hong Kong. She comes upon this old house she inherits from her family. She badly wants to sell it but a man, Guo Wen (Ky Tan) from the local historical society, enters the place—and enters the heart of Chi Ling. And yet, this never detracts from the story of the series. After some days, Chi Ling gives up on her desire to immediately gut the place and sell it, and gives in to the nosiness of Guo Wen. She allows the historian/antiquarian to inspect the mess around the house. Each time, the man finds an object, he has an explanation which captivates the woman. Boxes are opened and the past is opened, too. Letters are discovered and we read what has been. The past and the present are tangled and disentangled in a series of enchantment. This movement between the past and the present does not create a feeling of flashbacks, which can stall the flow of any narrative. Before you can hurdle the thrilling plot though, there is another element in the series, which will either distract you or be simply there for you. And this is the filmic decision to have the film in English. All characters speak the dialogues in English, with some Chinese terms inserted for, to use a 1950s literary term, local color.

In my case, after three episodes, I became less conscious of the Englishness of the dialogues. At certain points, I was savoring the piquant accents coming from actors who have varied Chinese backgrounds. Still, I wonder why the production did not opt to have the dialogues in Chinese and provided us with subtitles. Be that as it may, there are the actors. As I am not familiar with Singapore superstars or celebrity actors, the film saved me from the burden of their biographies. All of them have a particular air about them, a kind of regal movement that approaches the stilted. A believer of culture dictating performance, I found them terrifically exotic. Here is an academic question: Are the actors validating with their performance the stereotypes that Western literary traditions engendered with regard to Asian women, men and those characters at the margin? Engaging yet light are the characters of Chi Ling in the soft hands of Fiona Fussi, described as Austrian/ Hong Kong Chinese, and cool is the Guo Wen of Ky Tan. The characters, however, of the women in the brothel, the thugs and big bosses of the syndicate, and the policemen easily steal our attention. Joanne Peh, the Singapore actress who plays the last madame, retains a mystery and vulnerability that would satisfy any Orientalist. Supporting Peh are two actors manifesting bravura even as they retain low-key ignition on-screen. These are Jeff Chou, the Taiwanese actor who plays the inspector, and Lina Ng, the distinctly quiet and stolid maid of the last madame. Joanna Peh and Lina Ng would receive awards for their performances in this series. The series itself would win the Best Asian Drama category at the Asia Contents Awards (ACA) announced in October 2020, beating South Korea’s Crash Landing On You and Kingdom. Last Madame is a Singapore Toggle Original created by Jean Yeo. The series premiered on Mediacorp MeWatch Channel in Singapore in 2019. n

When life becomes a ‘drag’

Sorry, Kameron Michaels. No tea, no shade but your rant on your lackluster return to Drag Race All Stars did not make us gag much as did the announcement of not one but two audition calls for upcoming drag race reality competitions set here in our country: Drag Race Philippines and Drag Den. Drag superstar RuPaul announced on social media that her Emmy-award winning show will officially have a franchise in the Philippines, the second in Asia. following Drag Race Thailand. This comes hot on the high heels of Drag Den, to be hosted by Drag Race alumnus Manila Luzon as she searches for a Philippine Drag Supreme, according to her announcement the day before. It’s such an exciting time for us Drag Race fans and drag queens everywhere this side of the runway, as

they will finally have a more exposed platform to showcase their—you know it—charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. And to the queen contestants of both shows, let me share some unsolicited advice on what Mama Ru constantly tells us what NOT to do on every episode: f*ck it up. First, please learn how to sew. And brush up on your fashion and pop culture knowledge. You have to know the difference of the world impact of Madonna from Mariah’s. Study some acting too—both serious and, of course, comedy. Moreover, brush up on your moves and grooves, and maybe your speaking and singing voice too. To the gay beauty contest veterans who always win darling-of-the-crowd awards and those who do death-defying stunts in the talent portion (I saw one time a contestant jump from a roof and landed on a split!), go please join so that the world can see that there’s more to drag than lewk queens or pageant girls. As for who will round up the cast of Drag Race Philippines (host and judges) as well as Drag Den (judges and possibly mentors), so much opinion has already been spit out on social media and I agree with some, if not many, of them so I’d leave that to the able hands of the showrunners. Honestly, I am more concerned on who they’ll cast as the Pit Crew.

nnn AS families look for more ways to make the most of their stay-at-home time, AirConsole allows them to level up their bonding moments with its no-frills gaming set up for all ages, providing users fun casual gaming without breaking the bank. With AirConsole, users can experience crossplatform gaming by simply using a smartphone as its gamepad and a computer web browser, Android TV, or tablet as the main screen, making it more affordable than traditional gaming setups. AirConsole has a vast selection of fun multiplayer games of different genres, including quizzes, sports, racing, strategy, cards, classic arcade, and party games, with over 160 titles to choose from. “In AirConsole, we take this gaming experience to a whole new social dimension by enabling people to collaborate or challenge each other and therefore experience stronger social bonds and emotions in a collective setting,” said Anthony Cliquot, chief operating officer of AirConsole. All of these games, unique in-game content, and more premium features to level-up stay-at-home bonding with the family await AirConsole users via Sky. Just download and subscribe to the official AirConsole app to begin playing. More information ca be found at www.mysky.com. ph/fiberfreemiums.

A promo material for RuPaul’s Drag Race, a Filipino variant of which has been announced.

B6 Friday, August 20, 2021

Concepcion urges LGUs to vaccinate at least 70% of their citizens to avoid future lockdowns MPIC supports ASEAN Green Initiative through its environmental programs

N line with the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) commits to fully support the ASEAN Green Initiative (AGI) led by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). “As the Philippines’ leading infrastructure investment Company, MPIC is well-positioned to help advance ACB’s goals and objectives” said MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan. The ACB is ASEAN's response to the challenge of biodiversity loss. It is an intergovernmental organization that facilitates cooperation and coordination among the ten ASEAN Member States (AMS) and with regional and international organizations on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of such natural treasures. ACB recently launched the AGI to encourage and incentivize the planting of at least 10 million trees throughout the ASEAN Region over a period of 10 years using native species. In his opening remarks, H.E Kung Phoak, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community discussed the value of preserving and restoring ASEAN’s rich biodiversity as it hosts megadiverse ecosystems. It is home to 18% of the world’s known plants and animals, 60% of tropical peatlands, and 42% of mangroves. He also added that these natural resources are at risk because of climate change, oil exploitation, rapid land conversion, human-induced pollution, and illegal wildlife trade. These have resulted to serious consequences that affect people’s livelihood, food security, health and resiliency. MPIC Chief Finance, Risk and Sustainability Officer Chaye A. Cabal-Revilla emphasized the Group’s sustainability philosophy of integrating business and environmental stewardship in their investment strategies. This is evident in how MPIC designs, builds, and operates their businesses with minimal environment and social disruption. The group’s Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, for example, was carefully designed and built to protect the existing 278-hectare mangrove ecosystem and avoid disruption to the fisherfolk communities in the area.

Investing in environmental protection programs

IT was also an opportunity to bring awareness to MPIC’s Gabay Kalikasan environmental programs such as Metro Pacific Investments Foundation’s Shore It Up! that has institutionalized initiatives on the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity for the past 13 years. Aside from creating livelihood opportunities for coastal communities, Shore It Up! has protected over 5,300 hectares of mangroves across its three Mangrove Protection/Propagation and Information Centers. MPIC’s presentation also highlighted the group’s existing reforestation programs. These include Meralco’s “One for Trees” program that aims to rehabilitate ecosystems through reforestation and agroforestry by planting at least five (5) million trees by 2025; Maynilad’s “Plant for Life” program that engages the Dumagat indigenous community to reforest the denuded Ipo Watershed – a vital source of water for Metro Manila; and Global Business Power’s carbon sink forestry project in the Visayas region that empowers local communities in planting endemic tree species, high value crops, and fruit-bearing trees, which can eventually become a source of sustainable income for the locals. MPIC and MPIF recently forged a partnership with Rainforest Connection and Huawei for the deployment of an Internet of Things (IoT) solution to protect the country’s rainforests.

Ms. Cabal-Revilla also emphasized the pivotal role of strengthening partnerships and increasing collaboration as well as regional cooperation in restoring rich forest ecosystems. In line with this, the Group is collaborating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Laguna Lake Development Authority under the LAWA (Laguna de Bay Welfare Awareness) campaign. This project aims to align rehabilitation efforts across the Group and formulate a cohesive action plan to protect Laguna Lake, a critical water source for Metro Manila and neighboring areas. As MPIC fosters an inclusive approach in its sustainability programs, the Company, together with the rest of the MVP Group of Companies, also launched six (6) Gabay advocacies for a sustainable Philippines with specific focus areas on environmental stewardship, livelihood, health and sports, youth, education and community empowerment. MPIC’s support is aligned with its commitment to the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG#13 Climate Action which focuses on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; and SDG # 15 Life on Land that aims to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

PH healthcare company introduces a nasal spray to stop the spread, reduce the severity of the disease

ASAL surface is the first entryway for the environmental pollutants, infections and viruses. Nearly 90% of Covid-19 infections are through the nasal cavity. The Covid-19 virus surface contains many protruding spikes known as glycoproteins that binds to the ACE-2 receptors situated on the nasal mucosa cells. This allows the virus to enter and attack new healthy cells that likewise open entryways for infection passage into the body circulation. The primary symptoms of the disease include cough, fever, loss of taste & smell, body pain, sore throat which is eventually followed by the severe respiratory distress. Therefore, to reduce the consequences, action must be taken at the entry gateway (nasal mucosa) of the virus. Nasal wash with water or salt solutions might help to reduce the virus particles in the nasal mucosa. However, this is ineffective as virus continues to grow and produce new particles in the nasal mucosa cells. In addition, such treatment must be used very frequently.

THUMKESH KHERA, Chairman of Preventia Healthcare Inc. After rigorous research and clinical trials, a stable osmotically active, liquid bandage for direct application on the nasal surface was developed. Covispray is a glycerol based, osmotic, filmogen solution, containing 2 jellifying agents and a few specific dual acting polymers. Covispray is exclusively distributed by Preventia Healthcare Inc., a pharmaceutical company in the Philippines aimed to stop the spread and reduce the severity of the disease. “The purpose of Covispray is not to

replace any recommendation directed by the physicians. However, it is a complementary measure which is helpful to avoid progression. The severity of the infection (fever, loss of sense of taste and loss of smell, headache, body aches & pain, sore throat) has been reduced within 2 days of Covispray usage,” according to Thumkesh Khera, Chairman OF Preventia Healthcare Inc.. This nasal spray comes in a 15ml bottle with approx. 120 sprays which is good for 1 month. Therefore, a multitargeted treatment could be introduced to minimize and stop the growth of infection and its dissemination in other organs such as lungs. A treatment that reduces the immune stress and lessens the cellular destruction to avoid the inflammatory cascade. The product is researched and manufactured in France with all the supportive clinical studies done and published. The product’s technology is protected by 3 international patents. Covispray will be available at leading drugstores around Metro Manila.

RESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said that local government units (LGUs) should aim to fully vaccinate 70 to 80 percent of their citizens if they want to avoid future lockdowns. “When we talk of allowing only the vaccinated to enter public places like malls and restaurants, we can only do this in an LGU once we have achieved the target of getting 70 to 80 percent vaccinations in that LGU,” he said. He added that the unvaccinated can be protected by limiting their movements from their homes to their workplaces and vice-versa. Concepcion said that creating these bubbles for fully-vaccinated people would enable certain places to be lockdown-free, thus give a chance for businesses to recover. He added that we need to learn from what other countries are doing to protect the unvaccinated. Large cities in other countries are trying similar approaches, such as in New York City, where vaccinations are mandated for a range of indoor gatherings in order to encourage increased immunizations. In Indonesia, which suffered one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19, some malls have reopened, but only for vaccinated customers. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Eric Domingo said in reports that unvaccinated individuals have a higher risk of getting sick from COVID-19. The FDA recent report said that of the 11.7 million Filipinos inoculated in the country, only 735 - or .006 percent - had contracted COVID-19. Based on his discussions with NTF COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary

Carlito Galvez, Jr., they both agreed that the arrival of more vaccines starting September until the end of the year will be important in getting enough supply for the NCR to achieve the crucial level of vaccination rates for our capital. “Vaccines changed the game,” he said. “They are giving us the chance to keep the economy open.” While there is no Philippine law requiring mandatory vaccinations, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban said he believes the state can mandate compulsory vaccination “provided it has enough vaccines and facilities to inject them conveniently, safely, and in a timely manner.” He added that the inherent power is justified by the legal maxim, “the welfare of the people is the supreme law.” Concepcion led the private sector efforts to procure vaccines under its “A Dose of Hope” program. “We have a stake in the economy. It was imperative that we do what we could in bringing the vaccines and helping the government.” Concepcion believes that lockdowns, although difficult, are sometimes necessary if the country's economy is to recover in the fourth quarter of 2021. He said that these decisions, however, have to be guided by data. “We have locked down three times already. Nobody likes lockdowns. With the efforts of the private sector, LGUs and IATF-EID, our massive vaccination drive will put an end to lockdown,” Concepcion said.

Pinoy diabetics go natural with alternative sweetener

IABETES is the country’s fourth leading cause of death, with an annual increase of 7.8% among Filipinos based on Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2020 data. If trends continue, more Filipinos will be afflicted by diabetes in the coming years. With a significant number of consumers shifting to healthier alternatives to cut on sugar, sweeteners from stevia plant are becoming a popular substitute in the market today. Stevia is touted as a safe and healthy natural alternative sweetener with proven health benefits including diabetes prevention, decreased calorie intake, lower blood sugar levels, among others. It is a natural alternative that can significantly cut sugar in one’s diet. Originally used for its medicinal purposes such as a treatment for burns and stomach pains, stevia leaves are also chewed as a sweet treat and can also be used as food enhancers.

A tropical herb, Stevia is a natural sweetener extracted from the leaves of a bushy shrub. It is produced grown and used as food ingredient in many countries. Sweet and Fit Stevia of Glorious Industrial and Development Corporation (GIDC) is the first locally-produced stevia herbal dietary supplement registered with the Food and Drug Administration. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that sugar on food and beverages should be limited to no more than 10% of the total calories. For the average adult, this is equivalent to around 200 calories or 12 teaspoons of table sugar. For fitness buffs, Stevia is a sugar substitute in workout drinks as energy booster to increase athletic performance and endurance. A healthy lifestyle consists of not just a balanced diet, but also regular exercise, and the use of stevia in workout drinks helps promote both. For more information, visit www. sweetandfitstevia.com.

Ovialand forms new alliance with Kyushu Yaesu to expand its housing portfolio in San Pablo, Laguna

VIALAND Inc. (“Ovialand”) announces a new joint venture with Japan-based Kyushu Yaesu Co. Ltd. (“Kyushu Yaesu”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Saibu Gas Holdings Co. Ltd., for the development of Santevi. This project will comprise 810 house and lot units in San Pablo, Laguna, and the new development will initially cover 10 hectares of land. This strategic partnership is Ovialand’s second joint venture with Kyushu Yaesu. The first joint venture was signed in July 2019 for the development of Caliya. This project, which has been on time and as scheduled despite the COVID-19 pandemic, is for the development of 1,100 house and lot units in Candelaria, Quezon. “We are pleased to announce a new alliance with Kyushu Yaesu as it will strengthen our commitment to provide every Filipino with the promise of Premier Family Living in their

homes,” Pammy Olivares-Vital, President of Ovialand, said. “We are also looking forward to expanding our market share in the South Luzon region given the potential for growth. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, South Luzon comprises 33% of the national GDP and holds 25% of the total housing demand in the country.” Ovialand will invest Php 850 million in Santevi, which is its third housing development project in San Pablo, Laguna. The first project was called Sannera, with a total of 840 units and was completed in four years, and the second project was named Savana, with a total of 490 house and lot units. Overall, Ovialand has created an inventory of 2,300 house and lot units in San Pablo, Laguna in just four years. “Ovialand has seen sustained customer demand from its developments in San Pablo and as a result, we were encouraged to pursue the development of Santevi to reach more customers who are looking for a house that provides the best value for their money,” Vital said. “During this pandemic, we have seen a surge in sales from Metro Manila-based housing buyers who are looking for more space and value-for-money options. Ovialand has been consistent in satisfying the needs and standards of these buyers, and we are looking to exceed the expectations of those who will buy a house and lot at Santevi,” Vital concluded.

Sports BusinessMirror

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

Friday, August 20, 2021 B7

LULL, NOT ONLY ODDS, IN PACQUIAO’S FAVOR By Josef Ramos

AS VEGAS, Nevada—Two years without a fight made Manny Pacquiao a more dangerous opponent for Yordenis Ugás who stakes his World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight belt on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the T-Mobile Arena. “It’s a good thing for me,” the 42-year-old Pacquiao (62-72 win-loss-draw record with 39 knockouts) told the fight’s final news conference on Wednesday at the MGM Grand Arena. “It was a

‘Chooks’ store for Coach Roel

two-year rest for my body. I have been boxing since I was 12, it’s a total non-stop [boxing].” The long respite because of the Covid-19 pandemic cost Pacquiao the same belt Ugás is wearing after the WBA stripped the fighting senator of the title for “inactivity” in January. And that’s bad news for the 35-year-old substitute Cuban foe. “I rested for two years and a month. So when I came back to training, I felt so young again, the fire just keeps burning,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t like someone taking my belt without challenging me inside

BUNDIT

GODSPEED, COACH TAI

NUSORN “TAI” BUNDIT’S resignation hardly piqued the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), which worked for the issuance of the Thai coach’s visa to the country. Bundit submitted his resignation as one of the assistant coaches of the national women’s team last Sunday, stating in his letter to the PNVF that “I cannot carry out my duties accordingly.” The PNVF leadership accepted Bundit’s resignation as one of the assistants of national women’s team head coach Odjie Mamon. The PNVF, through the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), earnestly and rigidly worked for the issuance of Bundit’s visa amid difficult travel restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But instead of reporting to the PNVF, Bundit benefited from his visa for his coaching job at Creamline in the Premiere Volleyball League (PVL). Creamline lost to Cherry Tigo in the race-to-two PVL Open Conference recently in the debuting pro league’s Ilocos Norte bubble. Just like in its effort to bring Bundit to the country, the PNVF also painstakingly secured a visa for Brazilian Jorge Edson Souza de Brito as primary consultant for the women’s national team program.

IT’S time down to two days between Manny Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugás. WENDELL ALINEA

hard rounds to give Pacquiao the fight of his life—whether it be the former eight-division champion’s last fight or not. Despite the odds in his favor, Pacquiao said he shouldn’t underestimate the 35-year-old Ugás (26-4 record with 12 knockouts). “I’m not underestimating Ugás though. He has a lot of experience and fought in the Olympics,”

Sultan aims for unbeaten Inoue’s belt JONAS SULTAN sets sight on big time foes.

HOOKS-TO-GO gave Barcelona 1992 Olympics boxing bronze medalist Roel Velasco his very own Chooks-to-Go store for giving honor and pride to the country. “Roel is a ‘loyal soldier’ to the country that after his in-ring career, he continued to serve the country as one of the coaches of the national team,” Chooks-to-Go President Ronald Mascariñas said. “Although it’s been 29 years since his feat in Barcelona, his legacy continues to live on in our boxers today,” Mascariñas said. Mascariñas said Velasco and his brother Nolito “Boy” Velasco have been identifying, grooming and developing our boxers. “With their help, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam were able to clinch silver medals in the Tokyo Olympics, while Eumir Marcial bagged bronze in a stacked middleweight division,” Mascariñas said. “Roel truly is a ‘Manok ng Bayan.’” Having his own Chooks-to-Go store, Roel said it’s like winning a gold medal as he lauded the company for “never forgetting the contributions athletes like him brought to the country.” Velasco’s brother, Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco, silver medalist in Atlanta 1996, was also rewarded a Chooks-to-Go store, while Seoul 1988 Olympic bronze medalist Leopoldo Serantes received a P100,000 monthly allowance for life from Chooks-to-Go.

the ring,” he said. “After Saturday, let’s see who has it still?” Pacquiao stands as the oldest world welterweight champion and at 42, he is aiming to break his own record. But Ugás, a Beijing 2008 Olympics bronze medalist, doesn’t think so. “I’m certain that he cannot knock me out,” Ugás said through an interpreter. “I’ve done all the preparations over these past six years to get to this position, I have hit my stride and I just don’t believe I can be stopped by Manny [Pacquiao].” Ugás said that he prepared for 12

OS ANGELES, California—Only days after his spectacular victory and Jonas Sultan aims for a big time opponent—International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association bantamweight belt champion Naoya Inoue. “If he [Inoue] is still avoiding our Filipino champion [Johnriel] Casimero, I’m always available,” the 29-year-old Sultan told BusinessMirror on Wednesday while relaxing in Malibu Beach, California, with manager Junnie Navarro of the Zamboanga Valientes. Casimero, the other bantamweight world titleholder, has been challenging the undefeated Inoue (21-0 win-loss record with 18 knockouts) since their bout in April 2020 was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it looks like the 28-year-old Inoue has no plan on fighting reigning World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Casimero (31-4 record with 21 knockouts), who defended his belt last Saturday in a boring split decision win

Pacquiao said. “I know I have to be very good to win this fight.” Pacquiao’s head trainer Buboy Fernandez and consultant Freddie Roach joined Pacquiao in the activity, while Ugás brought along well-known Cuban coach Ismael Salas. Pacquiao beat erstwhile undefeated Keith Thurman two years ago, becoming the oldest welterweight champion at 40 then.

against Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux. Sultan (17-5 record with 11 knockouts) returned with a bang also on Saturday by scoring a seventh-round stoppage of American Sharone Carter in their eight-round non-title bantamweight bout, one of the undercards in the Casimero-Guillermo duel at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City. “I’m so happy that finally after two years without boxing, I’m back,” said Sultan, who expects a shot at a world title after two more fights. He thanked coaches Memo Heredia and Jorge Capetillo for molding him to fighting form, as well as Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial and IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas who helped him train during the pandemic in Los Angeles. Casimero? “I can’t fight him, he’s now my stablemate at Senator Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions,” he said. How about World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr.? “He’s my idol, nope,” said Sultan, who is supported by Navarro and Mike Venezuela of Zamboanga Valientes MLV. Josef Ramos

TAGAYTAY CITY ROLLS OUT RED CARPET FOR OLYMPIC HEROES

OKYO Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz is ready to move in to her brand new house-and-lot while fellow Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Felix Marcial will be spending Christmas this year as neighbors. Diaz was awed with the two-story house given to her by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who on Wednesday gave the women’s weightlifting champion the keys to one of her multi-million rewards for winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal. “I am very grateful to Congressman Tolentino for this wonderful and blessed gift,” said Diaz, whose parents—Eduardo and Emelita—were equally enamored with the house that sits on a 220-square meter lot with a total floor area of 168 square meters. Immediately, Diaz pointed to the yard at the right side of the house as her future home gym. “This is where I’ll build my home gym,” Diaz told Tolentino as she toured the house inside serene Isabel Heights in Barangay Kaybagal Central. “I’ll keep the backyard as it is—that’s where we do the laundry.” So when will the Olympic record

holder move in? “Maybe in a month? Not sure yet,” said Diaz, who’ll be returning to Malaysia with strength and conditioning coach Julius Naranjo to prepare for the world championships—the only gold missing in her collection—in November in Lima, Peru. It was a day to honor the country’s Olympic medalists in cool, breezy and picturesque Tagaytay City. After a Thanksgiving Mass at the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish celebrated by Cavite Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, OFS DD, and a hearty lunch of Tagaytay City’s world famous bulalo, the Olympic medalists motored to Barangay San Jose. There, construction was ongoing for three housing units, each sitting on a 110-square meter lot, for silver medalists Petecio and Paalam and bronze medalist Marcial. Construction actually started a day before the medalists, Tolentino and Senator Francis Tolentino made the ground breaking ceremony. “This is a very precious gift,” said Petecio, who couldn’t hold her emotions and thanked Tolentino with a tight hug. It seemed that the rewards for becoming national treasures couldn’t immediately sink into Paalam and Marcial’s conscience

TOKYO Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio expresses her gratitude to Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino with a tight hug.

that the two boxers displayed mini episodes of staring blankly at their future homes which are being built close to each other. “These are for you, for your enormous effort, for bringing pride and honor to the country,” said Tolentino, who was accompanied in the daylong

Medalists set to pay Palace courtesy call

OKYO Olympics medalists Hidilyn Diaz, Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Felix Marcial will make a courtesy call in a formal ceremony on Monday. President Rodrigo Duterte will be meeting weightlifter Diaz, who won the country’s first Olympic gold, Petecio (silver), Paalam (silver) and Marcial (bronze). All three are personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police— Diaz, Paalam and Marcial are with

the Air Force and Petecio with the Coast Guard—and will be reporting to their Commander in Chief for the first time since returning to the country in two batches. They will also receive their cash incentives as provided for by Republic Act 10699 or the expanded sports incentives act. Their coaches will also receive their cash bonuses. The event is organized by the Office of the President in coordination with the government’s sports arm, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

PSC Chairman William Ramirez and Commissioners Arnold Agustin, Ramon Fernandez, Celia Kiram and Charles Maxey will be attending the ceremony. Also invited are Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham Tolentino and Secretary-General Atty. Ed Gastanes, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairperson Andrea Domingo and Team Philippines Chef de Mission to the Tokyo Olympics Mariano “Nonong” Araneta.

activity by Tagaytay City Mayor Dr. Agnes Tolentino. Only a handful POC and Tagaytay City officials and media attended the ceremonies. Everyone was subjected to Antigen tests and were obliged to wear face masks and face shields the entire time while observing social distancing.

LBACETE, Spain—Jasper Philipsen secured his second stage win at this year’s Spanish Vuelta on Wednesday, with Rein Taaramae losing the leader’s red jersey to Kenny Elissonde after crashing for the second straight day. Philipsen prevailed at the final sprint of the fifth stage, a 184.4-kilometer route that finished in Albacete in southeastern Spain. Philipsen, a Belgian rider with team Alpecin-Fenix, also won the second stage of the three-week Grand Tour race. Fabio Jakobsen, who won Tuesday’s fourth stage for his biggest victory since a horrific crash at the Tour of Poland a year ago, was second on Wednesday. Taaramae finished more than two minutes back after getting

Trainers have own fight, too

AS VEGAS, Nevada—World renowned trainers Freddie Roach and Ismael Salas, too, are in a match of their own—just like their wards Manny Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugás who clash on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) for the Cuban’s World Boxing Association super welterweight belt. Hall of Fame-bound Roach, who molded Pacquiao to an eightdivision world champion, has so much to say about his senator ward. “His work ethic today is as good as it was 20 years ago,” Roach, now a fight consultant to Pacquiao, told the fight’s final news conference at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Wednesday. “He’s been unbelievable in training and sparring for this fight.” The way he saw the 42-year-old Pacquiao train at his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, Roach couldn’t resist but predict a late stoppage victory by the sitting Philippine senator. “I don’t know if it was a bigger confidence boost for me or Manny, but I’m expecting this fight to end in a knockout the way he’s been looking,” Roach said. “Manny Pacquiao has been the best fighter I’ve ever trained,” he said. “To win titles in eight divisions and be in fights here at MGM so many times, has been a dream come true.” “I’ve trained more than 40 world champions throughout my career, but no one competes with Manny Pacquiao,” he added. Salas, on the other hand, claimed that Roach has yet to beat any of his fighters. “I don’t care how many times, but I never lost to Freddie Roach,” Salas said. “But I respect him a lot as a trainer.” Salas said Ugás has been on a win-streak in his last 12 bouts or since they worked together the past few years. He reminded Pacquiao that Ugás “will not run” just his fellow Cuban, Guillermo Rigondeaux, who lost to Filipino World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero over the weekend. “The experience that Ugas has from the Olympics and more than 500 amateur bouts is going to be the most important thing for him in this fight,” said Salas, who once coached Thailand’s national team. “We’ve been on a roll these last 12 fights since Ugas started working with me. We’re going to keep it going on Saturday.” Josef Ramos

Belgian rider rules another Vuelta stage caught in a crash in the peloton with about eight kilometers to go. He also fell on Tuesday but recovered to stay in front. He finished only 125th on Wednesday after being among the dozens of riders who went down after the peloton collapsed near the front of the pack. “Again, it was a lucky crash, I’m almost OK,” he said. “Actually, it was a bad idea to be in a good position because the crash happened near the front and the guys at the back passed, but I was up there and it took some minutes to go again.” Elissonde, a French rider with team Trek-Segafredo, was able to avoid the crash and opened a fivesecond gap to two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic in the overall standings. AP

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

B8 Friday, August 20, 2021

The Volkswagen Kombi is back

Story by Randy S. Peregrino

OLKSWAGEN Philippines recently introduced the return of its iconic van, the Kombi. The long-awaited comeback of an iconic people carrier now comes in a premium, top-of-the-line form, Highline variant. As a unique fixture of Philippine streets during the second half of the 20th century, the Kombi endeared itself to Filipinos’ colorful motoring and socioeconomic culture. The latest Volkswagen Multivan Kombi.

Photos by Volkswagen Philippines

Driver-centric dashboard layout.

Now introduced as the Multivan Kombi, it redefines by adding several notches of luxury and prestige. The world’s bestselling van now comes into the local market as a reenvisioned icon, an updated and upgraded top-of-the-line Multivan. Truth be told, it is the crème de la crème of Volkswagen’s multivans. It distinguishes itself from

other Kombi configurations such as the Transporter (designed for cargo and shuttle services), Caravelle (used as an economical people carrier), and the California (designed more as a family camper). Exterior-wise, it imposes counterbalanced stature by understated yet elegant exterior lines punctuated by

Luxurious passenger rows.

the LED daytime running lights (DRL), headlights and taillights, and 17-inch alloy wheels. But inside an extension and enhancement of the owner’s wellearned privileges. Nappa leather interior envelopes the front and second-row captain seats. There are electric dual sliding doors for ease of entry and exit, all the way to the rear with the power tailgate with hands-free operation. Further, the Multivan Kombi offers more premium amenities, comfort, convenience, and connectivity features. Like the second-row captain seats that swivel for face-to-face meetings while in transit. There is also a multifunction folding table positioned between the second and third rows offering a stable spot for laptops, meals, and other tools of the trade. Moreover, the threezone Climatronic Air Conditioning is providing optimum comfort. The eight-

50 million Corollas sold

NOTE with pride the recent 50-million milestone sales of the Corolla that took the motoring world by storm. It gives me stupendous joy because I have a special affinity with this iconic Toyota model for the longest time. For one, the second brand-new car that I bought was a Corolla. For another, the Corolla has become a perennial resident at the family garage for more than 30 years now. My first brand-new car was the Beetle. One reason is, its price of 41k fitted into my salary range as a sportswriter then at Manila Bulletin in 1981. In short, I got it on loan. But you know what? I picked the Beetle chiefly because of that Beetle parked on the pavement in the cover jacket photo of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album. I’m a Beatlemaniac, remember? With the Beetle’s arrival came the decision to dispatch my Morris minivan.

inch Discover Media with navigation, meantime, runs on Android Auto and Wireless Apple CarPlay Connectivity. It also has an Active Info Display, simultaneously providing invaluable information. Motivation comes from a 2.0-liter TDI engine generating 148 hp and a substantial 340 N-m of maximum torque with a smooth-shifting sevenspeed DSG transmission. The Driver Profile Select with Dynamic Chassis Control helps maintain optimal drive practices with its option to customize individual settings based on steering, engine, cruise control, and airconditioning parameters. The function also offers variable drive modes of Normal, Sport, Comfort, or Eco, according to the situation’s needs. Standard safety features include six airbags (front, side, and head Because the minivan had seen better days—it was a Bulletin delivery truck before I acquired it—the van cost a mere 4k. The lucky buyer was my wife’s bosom friend, the eminent journalist Monica Feria (bless her soul). I had the Beetle for a good dozen years. Enjoy. With the arrival of my first Corolla in 1991—thanks to an astronomical discount from my good friend Rey Oben—the Beetle just had to go. With a heavy heart—as in the Morris goodbye—I sold my Beetle for a song to my childhood chum: 14k. Ten years later, I purchased the 10th generation Corolla—again on car loan, of course. How could I possibly pay in full a brand-new car with a mere employee’s salary? It was now a case of a Corolla dislodging a Corolla out of the garage. This time, it was the tandem of the inimitable Vince Socco and the mercurial Ariel de Jesus doing the honors in procuring my second brand-new Corolla. Almost a year after the purchase, my second Corolla scored a family milestone: It became the wedding car of my daughter. How can I not love forever my daughter’s car of her dreams, the Corolla being also the only model found in 150 countries?

curtain) plus Driver Alert, Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP), AntiSlip Regulation (ASR), Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), and Hill Start Assist (HSA). The one-ofa-kind Crosswind Assist feature of the ESP automatically applies gentle, course-corrective braking whenever the vehicle encounters strong crosswinds while running above 80 kph. The function aids the vehicle to run stable within its lane. Moreover, there is the rear camera and park distance control (PDC), which eases backing maneuvers and aids in assisting the vehicle to fit into tight parking slots. The Multivan Kombi comes with two-year warranty coverage, a two-year spare parts warranty, and 12-year no-through corrosion—all with unlimited mileage. What’s more, Volkswagen dealers guarantee at least a 3-month stock availability on fastmoving parts, either for general repair or for collision parts. Apart from the highest levels of service quality, only the most qualified technicians with skills sharpened by extensive technical and online training, using complete diagnostic tools and equipment, are guaranteed to attend your precious Volkswagen vehicle. Dealerships are also offering free 24/7 emergency roadside assistance. Overall, Volkswagen ensures 22% less on ownership costs compared to other top-tier luxury vans. The Multivan Kombi Highline comes in Black Pearlescent and Reflex Silver colors and the Reflex Silver/Starlight Blue Metallic and Reflex Silver/Fontana Red bi-color options. Other additional 12 colors available for special orders are Fontana Red, Ravenna Blue, Starlight Blue, Mojave Beige, Bay Leaf Green, Copper Bronze, Indium Grey, Candy White, and the Bi-Colors Reflex Silver/Indium Grey, Mojave Beige/Black Pearl, Candy White/Bay Leaf Green, and Candy White/Copper Bronze. The Monocolor variants of the Kombi Highline retail at P3.595 million, while the Bi-Color models go for P3.640 million. The Kombi’s long-running journey in the Philippines, thus, continues. New stories will begin, as well. From the opulent confines of the Multivan Kombi, such accounts will be told by a new generation of achievers, movers, and shakers, the who’s who of elite companies, the decision-makers, and captains of industries to an audience eager for inspiring figures to move them to their successes. Create new success stories in the company of distinguished peers onboard your own Volkswagen Multivan Kombi. To know more about the Multivan Kombi, log on to www. volkswagen.com.ph, or inquire from your nearest Volkswagen dealer. Some 20 years and 13,350 km (yes, exactly 13,350 kms) later, my 1.8G Altis Corolla remains in tip-top shape. Drives like brand new. Handles almost effortlessly. Rides comfortably. Except for a change of all four tires, nothing’s been altered. It’s been the same car as when it first found its home at the family garage in 2001. Shiny as ever. Indeed, the 1-liter, five-seater sedan that engineer Tatsuo Hasegawa has unleashed has come a long way 55 years since its inception in November 1966. It even has an electric variant now, after its supersuccessful hybrid Prius was launched in 1997. Not to mention the recently rolled out Corolla Cross—a revolutionary 12th generation SUV version, mind you—is fast doing wonders globally. In Toyota’s template of kaizen (continuous development), the search for excellence, in the words of Toyota chieftain Alfred V. Ty, “has no limits.” Corollas, like diamonds, are forever.

PEE STOP Toyota movement: Tini Arevalo is now senior VP and division head of new mobility business handling fleet and connected services, and Jing Atienza is senior VP, overall marketing head in vehicle logistics and new mobility business. Cheers!